Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Was Robert Mueller Colluding With Russia?
The Mueller Report was released last week. Undoubtedly it will be discussed much more than it is read. Many of the salient facts were already well-known, including Russian efforts to sow chaos and division among Americans during the 2016 presidential election using “active measures.” These sophisticated propaganda and narrative-making tools find their origins in the Soviet KGB.
While some are pleased to deem President Trump a potential Russian agent because of his stated hopes for better relations with Russia and his tongue-in-cheek calls for Russia to find Hillary’s missing emails, it was clear long before last week that the Russian influence and hacking operations were not directed chiefly to aid his election. One can assume that Russia, like nearly every other observer, presumed Hillary would win.
Consistent with this, the report states: “The [Russian Internet Research Agency] conducted social media operations targeted at large U.S. audiences with the goal of sowing discord in the U.S. political system.” Thus, they created fake grassroots organizations “(with names such as “Being Patriotic,” “Stop All Immigrants,” “Secured Borders,” and “Tea Party News”), purported Black social justice groups (“Black Matters,” “Blacktivist,” and “Don’t Shoot Us”), LGBTQ groups (“LGBT United”), and religious groups (“United Muslims of America”).” The content suggests that Russia created fake grassroots groups (also known as “astroturf”) on either side of the divide to pick at the scabs of festering social controversies. This, in turn, would undermine national unity and the legitimacy of whomever was elected president.
What could possibly sow discord in the U.S. political system more than suggesting the president broke the law and stole an election by treacherously teaming up with a hostile foreign power? This was the essence of the charge made by former F.B.I. director James Comey, former CIA Director James Brennan, and their subordinates using the scandalous Steele dossier. This incredibly corrosive tale converted what were run-of-the-mill hacking and public relations operations, similar to those undertaken by many other nations—including the United States—into an act of war. Further, the dominant narrative (and even parts of Mueller’s report) obscured the fact that this was done without the consent, coordination, or even purpose of aiding one or another candidate.
The report also obscures the distinction of individual Russian nationals and the Russian government. Clearly, some of the influence operations originated in the Kremlin. But contacts with Russian nationals who claimed to have dirt on an opposing candidate have been deemed suspicious, in spite of the media and elite’s pretensions of cosmopolitan globalism, and in spite of the fact that these contacts were not coordinated by the Russian government.
They would never speak ill of such contacts with Chinese, Mexican, or Middle Eastern foreigners this way. Recall, how the media lost its mind over the death of the Qatari asset, Jamal Khashoggi, who was in the United States on a visa. Why was that foreign influence considered so humdrum?
What could possibly sow discord in the U.S. political system more than suggesting the president broke the law and stole an election by treacherously teaming up with a hostile foreign power? This was the essence of the charge made by former F.B.I. director James Comey, former CIA Director James Brennan, and their subordinates using the scandalous Steele dossier. This incredibly corrosive tale converted what were run-of-the-mill hacking and public relations operations, similar to those undertaken by many other nations—including the United States—into an act of war. Further, the dominant narrative (and even parts of Mueller’s report) obscured the fact that this was done without the consent, coordination, or even purpose of aiding one or another candidate.
The report also obscures the distinction of individual Russian nationals and the Russian government. Clearly, some of the influence operations originated in the Kremlin. But contacts with Russian nationals who claimed to have dirt on an opposing candidate have been deemed suspicious, in spite of the media and elite’s pretensions of cosmopolitan globalism, and in spite of the fact that these contacts were not coordinated by the Russian government.
They would never speak ill of such contacts with Chinese, Mexican, or Middle Eastern foreigners this way. Recall, how the media lost its mind over the death of the Qatari asset, Jamal Khashoggi, who was in the United States on a visa. Why was that foreign influence considered so humdrum?
The Investigation’s Pretext
Thus, the Russia panic always had an artificial feel. We are not at war with Russia. Our relations would be better, but for the instigation of domestic and European interests hostile to Russia’s traditionalism, Christianity, and nationalism. Yes, there are disputes about Russia’s muscle-flexing on its borders, whether in Georgia or Ukraine. And the intelligence community includes a great many “Sovietologists” who seem eager to go back to relive the 1980s, even while amorphous Islamic terrorist organizations have done the most damage since...
TWO CHARGED IN MAGA HAT BEATING; COULD FACE 10 YEARS IN PRISON
Don’t expect to see this on CNN but two men have been charged for their vicious attack on a Trump supporter who was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat.
It was just the latest in an ongoing series of assaults that have been instigated by Democrats and their media stooges who have been pouring fuel on the fire with their false narrative that the president is a racist and that all of those who voted for him are white nationalists.
With the left having embraced violence as an acceptable way to resolve political differences, it has become more and more dangerous for anyone who dares to wear one of the popular hats in support of the duly elected POTUS and in some cases it could even be risking one’s life to go out in public wearing one.
The latest incident went down in Germantown, Maryland over the weekend when the victim was just taking a walk to enjoy the nice weather when he was confronted by two menacing goons who attacked him from behind and beat him.
In what is perhaps the ultimate of ironies, the man who was savagely attacked by the two cowards was an immigrant and a legal one at that.
Police were quick to make the arrests and now the duo is facing multiple charges including assault and robbery and could face up to ten years in prison.
Two men charged after allegedly attacking man for wearing 'MAGA' hat in Germantown fox5dc.com/news/local-new…
349 people are talking about this
Two men are facing charges in Montgomery County for allegedly attacking a man because he was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat in Germantown over the weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, police say a Germantown man was out enjoying the warm weather and walking through his neighborhood when he says two men walked up and became outraged by the hat that he was wearing. He says he was shocked when one of the men allegedly hit him from...
President Trump Sends Letter To 11 Year Old Girl Whose Teacher Would Not Allow her To Write About The President As Her Hero...
"I am proud of you for standing up for yourself. Everyone deserves to receive the same care and respect we give to ourselves. I encourage you always to be yourself and keep making your voice heard. There is no one else like you, and our country's bright future relies upon your leadership!"
STORY:
Mom says daughter couldn't use resident Trump for hero project
A Lake Ronkomkoma mother claims her daughter was not allowed to have President Donald Trump as her hero for a class assignment.
When sixth-graders at Samoset Middle School were assigned to pick a hero on whom they would write a report, 11-year-old Bella Moscato said her choice was a no-brainer.
"Donald Trump is my hero," she says.
The 45th U.S. president has been Bella's idol since she was 8 years old, which is why she dressed up as Trump for a third-grade class project. But Bella says when she told her sixth-grade teacher that Trump was her choice for the hero project, the teacher nixed the idea.
Bella says her teacher said Trump "spreads negativity and says bad stuff about women" in front of another teacher and students in the class. The teacher told her to pick another hero.
Bella's mother, Valerie Moscato, says she was outraged when her daughter called her from school about the incident. She says what the teacher did amounts to intimidation and censorship.
Arthur Moscato, the girl's father, says he can't believe someone would tell his daughter that the current U.S. president cannot be her hero.
ANALYSIS: 57% disapprove of Trump in new poll....Because it was RIGGED.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of registered voters surveyed disapprove of Trump. Only thirty-nine percent (39%) approve.
However, poll reporting often lacks important context: Who was surveyed.
In this case, significantly more Democrats than Republicans are represented in the Morning Consult-Politico poll. Without this context, readers may draw misleading conclusions.
Furthermore, the reported demographic sample of this tracking poll has changed significantly in recent months.
Here are a few details that can be found in the data from the poll:
Democrats are more heavily represented.
- 742 Democrats (37%)
- 600 Republicans (30%)
- 142 more Democrats than Republicans
- 7 percentage points more Democrats than Republicans
Women are more heavily represented.
- 932 men (47%)
- 1060 women (53%)
- 128 more women than men
- 6 percentage points more women than men
Obama supporters are far more heavily represented.
Those surveyed voted heavily for Democrat Barack Obama over Republican Mitt Romney for President in 2012.
- 43% voted for Obama
- 26% voted for Romney.
That 17 percentage point difference closely mirrors the 18 percentage point pro- vs. anti-Trump vote.
The Morning Consult-Politico poll is a “national tracking” poll. Tracking polls typically interview the same people over time. Because of that, they often can accurately detecting trends even if the sample is potentially skewed.
In this instance, demographics of the national tracking sample has changed significantly. That implies different people were interviewed (which would make trends less reliable) or that the data was “weighted” in the arcane and somewhat mysterious ways that data is often weighted in polls to reportedly make the results more accurately reflect the population at large. The poll notes: “All statistics are calculated with demographic post-stratification weights applied.”
The same poll reported quite a different sample in April when compared to January 2019.
There are significantly more Democrats in the newer poll that shows lower numbers for Trump.–analysis of Morning Consult-Politico poll by SharylAttkisson.com
- 43 more Democrats in new, April survey (699 in Jan.; 742 in April)
- 30 more Democrat men in April survey (266 Dem. men in Jan.; 296 Dem. men in April)
- 13 more Democrat women in April survey (433 Dem. women in Jan.; 446 Dem. women in April)
- 15 more Independents in new, April survey (634 Ind. in Jan.; 649 Ind. in April)
- 47 fewer Independent men in April survey (356 Ind. men in Jan.; 309 Ind. men in April)
- 62 more Independent women in April survey (278 Ind. women in Jan; 340 Ind. women in April)
Elizabeth Warren Goes Full Socialist at CNN Town Hall, Everything’s FREE
Take a look at this, and every voter should see it:
“This is the America we live in now. Basically to get a shot at a middle class life you've got to have some post high school technical training, two-year college, four-year college, maybe graduate school depending on who you are and what you’re ending up doing.
The position of the federal government has been, good luck to you, you’re on your own. The one thing they’ve done, they have’ done is lent tens of thousands of dollars to students.
It is crushing them. My proposal is to say, this isn’t right. What we have to do as a country is roll back that debt. So I have two parts to the proposal.
Part one is that we say that we’re going to roll back student loan debt for about 95% of students who have debt. That’s part one.
And part two is to make sure that we never get in this mess again on student loan debt and that is to make college universally available with free tuition and fees and to put more money into Pell grants so that students of color, so that our poorest students have real access to college and that we put real money into our historically black colleges and universities.
This is about opportunity for everyone. And can we talk about how to pay for...
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #600
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Blogs With Rule 5 Links
These Blogs Provide Links To Rule 5 Sites:
The Other McCain has: Rule 5 Sunday: Aisha Tyler
Proof Positive has: Best Of Web Link Around
The Woodsterman has: Rule 5 Woodsterman Style
EBL has: Rule 5 And FMJRA
The Right Way has: Rule 5 Saturday LinkORama
The Pirate's Cove has: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)