Fox News Employees Leaking to CNN

This is interesting. According to CNN Money, Fox News “journalists” are leaking go their friends at CNN that they are embarrassed by Fox’s coverage of the Russia Scandal, feel like Fox is an extension of the Trump White House and that they want to quit.

Hmmm…

“I’m watching now and screaming,” one Fox News personality said in a text message to CNN as the person watched their network’s coverage. “I want to quit.”

“It is another blow to journalists at Fox who come in every day wanting to cover the news in a fair and objective way,” one senior Fox News employee told CNN of their outlet’s coverage, adding that there were “many eye rolls” in the newsroom over how the news was covered.

…

Additionally, Fox News aired segments that questioned Mueller’s credibility and many were framed around how Trump and his allies were responding to the news. On Fox News’ homepage, the lead story at one point was focused on Trump slamming the indictment. Another lead story cited Manafort’s lawyer, and asked, “Mueller’s ‘ridiculous’ claims?”

“This kind of coverage does the viewer a huge disservice and further divides the country,” one Fox News personality told CNN.

Fox News journalists took significant issue with their network’s opinion hosts, who deflected from the news and, in Sean Hannity’s case, characterized Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt,” a term Trump used on Sunday in a angry tweet to describe the probe.

“That segment on Outbumbered [questioning Mueller’s integrity] was absurd and deserves all the scorn it can get,” a Fox News employee told CNN, referring to the network’s noontime talk show.

The person added that it was “laughable seeing Hannity and [Laura] Ingraham,” two Fox News opinion hosts who are openly supportive of Trump, “tripping over themselves saying [Mueller’s team has] found nothing thus far.”

“It’s an embarrassment,” another Fox News employee echoed to CNN. “Frankly, there are shows on our network that are backing the President at all costs, and it’s that short term strategy that undermines the good work being done by others.”

I’d say they have good reason to quit but I can understand their reluctance. Working at Fox News is a little like working in the adult porn industry. Even Megyn Kelly is struggling in regular TV News. Oh sure, she’s pretty and smart and all. It’s just that you can’t get the image of that blowjob out of your head.

Russian provocateurs on Facebook.

Have you ever wondered why Trump supporters and Bernie Bros were so intractable and angry last year? We might have part of the answer. CNN Money reports that Russian agents set up accounts on Facebook to crank up the anger and incite violence.

It’s chilling because we now have a combustible combination of highly partisan tribes with access to unlimited guns and ammunition who only needed a reason to take their shit out on refugees, immigrants and liberals.

Here is the impact:

Mark R. Jacobson, a Georgetown University professor and expert on Russian influence operations, said Russia strategically seeks to undermine U.S. political cohesion by promoting extremist views within opposing political or social groups, and hoping chaos—and violence — ensues.

“The Russians don’t want groups like Black Lives Matter [and] the Alt-Right to sit there and have discussions and debates about the future of America. They want violent clashes,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson noted that, during the Cold War, Russia sought to enhance extremist ideas within the civil rights movement in hopes of sparking race-based warfare in the U.S.

“If we start to see violent rallies… we should start to look for the hidden hand of Russian influence behind it,” he said.

Columbia University’s Albright said even if only a fraction of the accounts’ posts called for physical violence, the overall messaging sought to push audiences toward more radical viewpoints that they would act on.

“These posts contained psychological calls to action toward both online and physical behavior,” he said.

Some of the violent posts received tens of thousands of likes, comments, shares, or reactions, according to a database of messages Albright compiled from six now-deleted Russia-linked accounts, which included the accounts that posted the violent messages reviewed by CNN.

One post by Secured Borders shared in October 2016, which was interacted with more than 100,000 times, stated, “if Killary wins there will be riots nationwide, not seen since the times of Revolutionary war!!”

And that, sports fans, is why we want to tear each other apart.

In other words, “divided we fall”, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” and

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.”

The Russians have largely succeeded at turning us against ourselves.

Someone should check with Rush and Alex Jones to see who’s paying them.

By the way, one of the reasons I frown on buzzwords like neoliberal, corporatist and Warhawk is because they tend to divide the left and no one can precisely define what these words mean except they are something bad and when you throw them at a candidate, they tend to stick. If you can’t define those words, don’t use them. They’re mental shortcuts, focus group tested to suck you in without thinking too hard.

And if you’re on the interwebs on a site that slings buzzwords around like crazy, buyer beware. Someone is probably trying to sell you discord.

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In other news, Donald Trump is talking about George Papadopoulos so tenderly, calling him a “proven to be a liar”.

Well that’s one man’s opinion. Robert Mueller doesn’t see it that way. But we do know a couple things about George Papadopoulos:

He knows when to keep his mouth shut and HE’S not going to jail for colluding with the Russians.

He can be taught.

Donald? Ehhhhhh, not so much.

The reaction

According to WaPo, Donald Trump reacted to the news of the indictments with “exasperation and disgust”. This part is interesting:

Initially, Trump felt vindicated. Though frustrated that the media were linking him to the indictment and tarnishing his presidency, he cheered that the ­charges against Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, were focused primarily on activities that began before his campaign. Trump tweeted at 10:28 a.m., “there is NO COLLUSION!”

But the president’s celebration was short-lived. A few minutes later, court documents were unsealed showing that George Papadopoulos, an unpaid foreign policy adviser on Trump’s campaign, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI about his efforts to broker a relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The case provides the clearest evidence yet of links between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.

Ohhhh, so it was Ok when he was able to throw Manafort under the bus. It’s only money laundering, it’s Paul’s problem. Whew! Dodged a bullet. DOH! Papadopolous has been talking and probably wearing a wire. S%^*! He could bring it all down. How to distance himself?

Note that Papadopolous was an “unpaid” foreign policy advisor. See?? He was a volunteer!! We didn’t even pay him. What a putz.

Not paying his advisors was a notable feature of Trump’s campaign. I wonder why that is? Oh look, here’s another article from 2016 about Trump stiffing his policy staff during the campaign. Nope, I see no reason why there would be any disloyalty.

You might notice that the indictments have nothing to do with wrongdoing by Trump. No, he was just raised to win. What’s the problem? This is what winners sometimes have to do. It’s Manafort’s problem if he got caught. People like Donald are above all that. And you know how he knows? Because as president he can pardon everyone. It’s good to be the king. And it reinforces what he’s experienced all his life. He gets praise, a pass, the ability to make others take the blame for anything he does from money laundering to bankruptcy. Surely he’s doing something right. There’s no incentive for him to behave otherwise. This life is working so well for him.

Matt Miller and Virginia Heffernan discusses Mueller’s tactics and strategy on Trumpcast and concluded that Mueller knows a lot more than he’s letting on and he’s investigating this case as if he is dealing with La Cosa Nostra. It’s a criminal enterprise not unlike organized crime and we should not be surprised at what they were prepared to do to win the White House. It’s a good thing Papadopolous flew under the radar because otherwise, he might have had to go into a witness protection program.

If I were one of the people Papadopolous tagged next, I’d be very nervous. Putin doesn’t fuck around with witnesses and there’s no reason for us to assume that anyone who works for Trump has any scruples either.

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I’m going to guess that the right wing Wurlitzer is going to be latching on to Tony Podesta’s mini fall from grace to paint John Podesta as well. Guilt by association and all that.

I don’t know the Podesta family dynamics but from my own experience I can tell you that not all siblings are alike. I’m the only liberal in my family. One sibling is a conservative and the other is a foaming at the mouth gun-totin’, judgmental fundamentalist, creationist, global warming denying blow hard in the Army. So, basically your worst troll nightmare who is only redeemed by his military service. He takes after my mom.

I am the black sheep.

So, you know, even people in the same house can grow up with completely different values and social consciences.

It happens.

Re: Halloween

Ok, how many former JW kids out there snuck out of the house at least once to go trick or treating? Raise your hands.

Thought so.

This one goes out to all you Walking Dead fans. By the way, George Romero filmed one of his zombie movies in the closest mall to my house.

Yeah, THAT mall.

Stay Tuned with Preet summarizes today’s indictments.

Preet Bharara, former US Attorney in NY, and current host of the not to be missed podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet, did a 12 minute summary of the indictments that Robert Mueller brought against Papadopolous, Manafort and Gates.

Why should you listen.

Preet Bharara’s podcast is refreshingly non-partisan. No really. Go listen to all of his episodes and you’ll see what I mean. The guy is really into the law and Justice. His podcast started recently and omg is it timely. He breaks down the details about what Mueller is doing and what it portends down the road.

The most interesting indictment today was the one agains George Papadopolous. Preet tells you how important Papadopolous is as a witness and what he might have done to cooperate with Mueller. In short, Papadopolous was accused of obstructing justice. But if I’m not mistaken, he could be the linchpin in the case against other high level White House officials because of the date that James Comey was asked to give his loyalty to Trump.

Believe it or not, sports fans, this is not a day for rejoicing. What is happening is very, very serious. We should all be alarmed and ashamed that it ever came to this. And it’s not over yet. It may never be over. We are ruled by thugs and criminals.

Popcorn and Road Trips

“If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed.”

– J. Reuben Clark, former President, LDS Church

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So much going on today and I’m at work. I can hardly wait to bust out the popcorn later. But let’s not get giddy. We’ve seen what the right wing Wurlitzer can do. They had to control the message to get control in the first place. Still, the arrest and conviction of George Papadopolous, The Trump campaign Foreign Policy advisor, was a surprise. Putin wanted to get rid of the Magnitsky act something special and he only had to find the candidate with the least integrity and loyalty to our country to get it.

I have no idea how far Mueller will go or how many dominos will fall. I suspect that the R’s in Congress are trying damage control right now, especially Bob Corker’s foreign relations committee. I read somewhere that he was having a hearing today.

It’s going to get ugly. Watch for Trump to mobilize his thugs to cause havoc and issue threats against the libtards.

Update: The court has ruled that Trump can’t discriminate against transgendered people in the military.

It just isn’t Donald’s day today.

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I need a vacation. Haven’t had a real one in years. Either I haven’t had the money or I haven’t had the time. I’m dying for a road trip out west, maybe ending up on a houseboat on Lake Powell but I’ll take recommendations.

Who will it be?

We’re supposed to know who Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is going to indict for Russian interference today and judging by the way Trump tweeted his panic attack yesterday, it might be someone close to him.

My bet is it’s Manafort. That’s kind of like Mueller Lite but it could be just the first of many dominos. And unlike Russia, we don’t usually torture people in order to get them to sign false documents. Nevertheless, my guess is that since Trump doesn’t hire people with integrity or character, whoever Mueller indicts is going to break as soon as he’s deprived of his iPhone.

We shall see.

In the meantime, the White House is engaging in a smear and confuse game over Clinton and uranium that is so preposterous and evil that it’s difficult to understand how people could actually believe it. And yet they do.

But watch what happens when anchor Joy Reid does her homework and has nothing to lose. Caution: Joy uses actual journalism skills to question her guest. Sensitive Fox News viewers may find this disturbing:

See how easy that was, Jake Tapper? Do it just like that.

And Brian Stelter sums up exactly what’s going on. [insert same tiresome disclaimer for Fox News viewers, yes, I know I’m wasting my breath because the color of the sky is different in their world but let’s just call this a public service]

Now, it shouldn’t be necessary for Stelter to point this out. It should be OBVIOUS to the people among us who can think and sort through misdirection on their own. *I* didn’t need to hear this and it’s not because I’m a liberal Democrat. It’s because I spent 23 years in a lab and learned to tell important information from unimportant information and listened to enough presentations to know when someone was baffling me with bullshit. So, I’m kinda fireproofed. And many of you reading this just know when you’re being lied to and don’t defer to authority JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE AUTHORITIES.

But there are some people out there who regularly cannot tell the difference. And they probably aren’t going to listen to a single thing Stelter has to say. That’s who we have to worry about.

Yes, it is probably a waste of our time. But we have to do it anyway.

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Stormy weather, southern warmth:

The Cautionary Tale of Sergei Magnitsky.

To the Trump supporters:

You have no idea what kind of people you voted for. But it is on you to find out. At least do your research.

Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer who represented the interests of venture capitalist Bill Browder in Russia. Browder made an enemy in Vladimir Putin when he started to expose Putin’s criminal activity. Basically, Putin’s Russia is like The Godfather on steroids cubed.

Putin had Browder deported and Browder quickly got his money out of Russia after paying a hefty tax. What happens next to his lawyer Magnitsky is chilling and horrific. Browder has been in an international crusade to bring justice in Magnitsky’s name ever since.

Preet Bharara at the podcast Stay Tuned talked with Browder in his latest episode. This is going to be a movie someday. Magnitsky is one of those rare people like John McCain. Tough as nails. But what happened to him should give us all chills because now that Trump and his gang are in charge, and I include any Republican who is bowing to the wishes of his donors right now, we are all living under a criminal enterprise of massive proportions.

The meetings that Manafort and the Trump campaign set up with Russian government representatives were for the purpose of undoing the Magnitsky Act. That is Putin’s goal and he aided the candidate he thought most likely to help him get it done.

I don’t know what law or laws were violated last year. Was it treason? Did it have to do with money laundering? I am not a lawyer. But make no mistake, what happened here was an act so unimaginable to most Americans that we are only now wrapping our heads around it.

Obama should have done more. I guess everyone assumed Hillary would win. And in a way, the whole ugliness of the 2016 campaign is being exposed at the same time with the treatment of women by media guys just beginning to come to light. Maybe the Russia thing might have gotten more attention if there weren’t a group of influential guys and their fraternal order getting away with treating women like shit and assuming they weren’t smart enough to run the country. Let’s get it all out because we should all be dumbstruck with outrage and incredulity at what a clusterfuck we are in now.

The Magnitsky affair puts the whole campaign in the proper perspective. Putin owns us.

I wish I were exaggerating.

And if I were a family member living with someone who is wired to Fox News, I’d take a sledgehammer to the cable box and “cut the cord”. It’s pumping poison into your home. It’s unAmerican and you’re living with the enemy.

Noooooo

The NYTimes ranks Pittsburgh as the most likely candidate for Amazon’s new HQ.

{{face plant}}

Actually, Pittsburgh is awesome.

Oh Jeez

Make sure you check out the post Feel Good Friday before or after you read this description of Matt Taibbi and Mark Aimes in Russia and their sexcapades there.

It explains so much of what happened in 2008 and 2016 when the bros on the left just couldn’t get behind Clinton.

So so much.

You know they talk like this. You’re aware of something unspoken when you’re in a meeting and you’re the only girl present and you happen to look not too shabby. But I don’t know if any of us really want to read their thought bubbles. Because then we’d want to get our vaginas surgically altered to include a taser.

Let’s get it all out now. Let all the worms that lurk in the mud hatch out and take a good long look at it.

Then we really have to ask ourselves why it is that so many of the new crop of pundits are young male Ivy League graduates. Oh, we have part of the answer.

I always wondered why lefty esoteric guys of the SNAG variety are such dicks when it comes to respecting women’s minds and intellects. Turns out it’s institutional and they really don’t have to.

Note to right wingers: far from being embarrassed about this, I think we’re really getting into exposing this shit. It’s been a long time coming. It gave us Donald Trump. And now, the women on the left are going to claim some scalps. Or junk. Whatever we can rip off first.