turbinetree
turbinetree's JournalZuckerberg: Facebook 'better prepared' ahead of midterms
BY HARPER NEIDIG - 09/13/18 01:34 PM EDT
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday that the social network is better equipped to fight potential interference efforts ahead of this year's election than it was in 2016.
“In 2016, our election security efforts prepared us for traditional cyberattacks like phishing, malware, and hacking,” he wrote in a blog post. “We identified those and notified the government and those affected. What we didn't expect were foreign actors launching coordinated information operations with networks of fake accounts spreading division and misinformation.
“Today, Facebook is better prepared for these kinds of attacks,” he continued.
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/406538-zuckerberg-says-facebook-better-prepared-ahead-of-midterms
That's good to know Mr. Zuckerburg, I am just wondering if you are going to allow the "weekly standard", still be the arbiter site for "fact checking and to be a censor when comes to items being written by an attorney(s)s on Think Progress like Ian Millhiser?
https://thinkprogress.org/facebook-weekly-standard-fact-check-thinkprogress-6176df1d5749/
Big In Montana
VA Supreme Court Dismisses Candidate's Appeal To Stay On Ballot In Forgery Case
By Matt Shuham
September 13, 2018 11:54 am
The Virginia Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed independent congressional candidate Shaun Brown’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that she be kicked off the ballot in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
Brown’s name first appeared on the ballot due in part to a signature-gathering effort by campaign staffers for Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA), her would-be Republican opponent in the race. Dozens of signatures collected by the Republican’s staffers were later found to be fraudulent, spurring a Democratic lawsuit, which led to Circuit Court Judge Gregory Rupe kicking Brown off the ballot earlier this month.
But, the Supreme Court said Wednesday, Rupe’s issuance of a temporary injunction to keep Brown’s name off the ballot “leaves pending [the Democratic Party of Virginia’s] corresponding request that Brown be permanently enjoined from appearing on the ballot until such time as she collects sufficient valid signatures” and therefore “lacks the finality necessary to serve as a predicate for this Court’s general appellate jurisdiction.”
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/va-supreme-court-dismisses-candidates-appeal-to-stay-on-ballot-in-forgery-case
Sen. King says he'll vote 'no' on Kavanaugh's nomination for Supreme Court
Maine's independent U.S. senator cites 5 reasons for his decision, and says the 'stakes are too high' to support President Trump's nominee.
Sen. Angus King said Wednesday that he will vote against confirming U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
King, an independent from Maine, said in a statement that his decision followed careful deliberation and a thorough review of Kavanaugh’s record, at least what was made available to him. The statement said the senator also took into account “the opinions of thousands of Maine people who have written and called into his office or approached the senator personally.”
“I consider the vote the Senate is about to take on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court to be among the most important my colleagues and I will ever face,” King said in the statement. “Unlike most of our decisions, which can be amended, repealed, or otherwise corrected over time, this is a one-time vote on a lifetime appointment which will likely profoundly affect our country for the foreseeable future. There are no do-overs or second chances on this one; each of us, including the people of Maine, will have to live with the consequences of this vote for years to come.
“After this intensive process, I have determined that I cannot support this nomination.”
King’s decision is not seen as a surprise – he also voted against Justice Neil Gorsuch last year – but it underscores how close the vote is expected to be in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. If Democrats unite in opposition, Kavanaugh’s nomination could be derailed if just two Republicans vote no.
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/09/12/king-says-hell-vote-no-on-kavanaugh-confirmation/
What We Know About Trump's Arts Council Nominees
Two Obscure Picks With No Public Profiles, No Presences in the Creative Community
By Jeanette Lenoir
Today we look at two more of Trump’s nominees for the National Council on the Arts, having examined the other two in a recent article. The council is an 18-member board that advises the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, on grants and policies.
Barbara Coleen Long is the wife of Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), who lists his top policy issue as “Conservative values.” A 20-year search of the Nexis news database turns up not a single mention of her before her July 12 nomination to this prestigious federal advisory board. Repeated requests to the congressman’s office to interview with Mrs. Long were unsuccessful.
The nominee is unknown in the national arts world—or even in her own small community of Springfield, other than as someone who attends local performances. Indeed, prior to July 12, the day Trump nominated her, we could not find a single news report mentioning her.
-snip-
The fourth nominee is Michelle Itzcak, a board certified, registered art therapist and a licensed mental health counselor in Indiana. What she will contribute to the national arts scene is anyone’s guess.
Itzcak did not respond to a message left on her answering machine. A secretary in her therapy office said she would notify Itzcak. The nominee did not respond to these requests.
How did Itczak get nominated, being relatively unknown in her own town’s art scene? Even Jeremy Efroymson, a major name in the Indianapolis art scene, declined to comment.
People named to federal boards usually have track records that get them into the news. So we did a Nexis news database search for all English language news going back 20 years to find news reports prior to the July 12 appointment by Trump.
https://www.dcreport.org/2018/09/10/what-we-know-about-trumps-arts-council-nominees/
Credit-Card Republicans Dig A $900 Billion Hole
Trump’s Deficit Chickens Now Coming Home To Roost
By Stan Collender, The Budget Guy
The first of two official government reports that will be released this month showing that the federal budget deficit is soaring was issued on Monday when the Congressional Budget Office published it’s Monthly Budget Review for August.
According to CBO, the deficit through the first 11 months of fiscal 2018 was $895 billion, a $222 billion (32.8%) increase over the same period in 2017.
Some of the increase was the result of timing shifts, that is, spending that was made at the end of August because the first two days of September were on weekend. The deficit for the 11-month period would have been only $154 billion larger than 2017 had it not been for that.
The federal government typically runs a budget surplus in September so the final deficit for 2018 may be somewhat lower than the results through August. CBO said that the total deficit for the year will be close to the $793 billion estimate it made in its analysis of the Trump 2019 budget that it updated last month. That would make the year-over-year increase only 19.3%.
https://www.dcreport.org/2018/09/12/credit-card-republicans-dig-a-900-billion-hole/
Just a reminder, that since the wealthy 1% to 8% don't much pay much of anything in taxes and got "pass through taxes", and corporations now don't pay from 0% to 10% if the country is lucky..................and the best hedge fund managers and banks just attacking the entire world, for more greed...................your /our Social Security and Medicare , Education, and etc...................will be used to supplement this short fall in outright, whats a good word..................(mine) is irresponsibility ?
And the two Santa Claus theory will be applied.......................
McConnell wants to trap Democrats in DC to stop them from campaigning
Source: Shareblue
By Eric Boehlert - September 12, 2018
He'll try anything to hold off the blue wave.
Republican leaders are scrambling for ways to stave off the likely blue wave of midterm election victories for Democrats in November.
The latest desperate maneuver from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is to try to keep Democratic senators off the campaign trail this fall.
McConnell “is planning to keep the chamber in session for a significant portion of October if not four entire weeks, costing Democrats key campaign trail days and allowing the Senate to continue its work into the fall,” Politico reports.
By contrast, the House is expected to go on recess during the second half of September and all of October because of the campaign season.
Read more: https://shareblue.com/mcconnell-october-session-senate-trap-democrats-stop-campaigning/
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/election?p0=263&iso=20181106T12&msg=2018%20Midterm%20Elections
Devin Nunes is more determined than ever to hurt national security
By Tommy Christopher - September 12, 2018
Trump's biggest cheerleader in Congress says he wants to declassify the 'tools and techniques' the FBI used to investigate the Trump campaign — which could damage U.S. counterintelligence operations.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) has been on a relentless crusade to smear the FBI and undermine the Trump/Russia investigation — and this week, he showed that he doesn’t care how much he undermines national security in the process.
In an interview with Arkansas’ Conduit News Radio on Monday, Nunes told host Paul Harrell that he hopes Trump will declassify documents related to the Russia investigation this week.
Specifically, Nunes wants to reveal the redacted portions of a FISA warrant application that was used to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page.
“We think the American people deserve to see the rest of what they used, and the tools and techniques that were used to target the Trump campaign and Trump campaign associates,” Nunes told Harrell. “And that’s what we’re asking the president to declassify.”
There’s a big problem with Nunes’ statement: the “tools and techniques” used by the FBI and the Justice Department in counterintelligence investigations are precisely the sorts of things that shouldn’t be made public, because that could compromise covert operations and sources.
https://shareblue.com/devin-nunes-doj-fbi-tools-techniques-hurt-national-security/
This enabling traitor is going to get someone killed............................
Solution:
https://www.andrewjanzforcongress.com/
Doctors hate Medicare's proposed billing changes
Source: Axios
Physicians have inundated the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with comments in a bid to kill a major change to how they would get paid for routine patient visits.
Where it stands: Medicare wants to create a new, fixed payment rate next year for all office visits, regardless of how much time physicians spend with the patient or how sick the patient is.
For most new patients, doctors would get paid $135 for an office visit (compared with the current range of $76-$211, depending on the visit’s medical code).
For returning patients, doctors would get paid $93 (compared with the current range of $45-$148).
Some codes could be added to account for complex visits.
What they're saying: Pretty much every state and national physician group (including the American Medical Association) hates the proposal and wants it dead. Doctors who would lose the most money, such as oncologists and neurologists, were the most vocal.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/doctors-hate-medicare-proposal-fixed-payment-office-visits-b526e5ff-9a8d-448c-b995-626657622d40.html
Most people do not realize that most Medicare patients are on a fixed income, like myself, I have to pay 20% of that fee, unless I have some supplemental plan..................I think in my opinion it should be paid 100% with no out of pocket expense..............medical cost do not keep up with inflation costs..................or drug prices...................
Trump OKs sanctions for foreigners who meddle in elections
Source: AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday authorizing sanctions against foreigners who meddle in U.S. elections, a move that counters critics who claim he has not taking election security seriously enough.
The executive order covers not just interference with campaign infrastructure, but it also covers the distribution of disinformation and propaganda, national security adviser John Bolton told reporters. The order requires the Office of the National Intelligence Director to conduct regular assessments about potential foreign interference in the elections, asks for reports by the Homeland Security and Justice departments in the case of meddling in campaign-related infrastructure, he said. It also describes a process for the Treasury and State departments to recommend appropriate, automatic sanctions.
“We felt it was important to demonstrate the president has taken command of this issue, that it’s something he cares deeply about — that the integrity of our elections and our constitutional process are a high priority to him,” Bolton said.
With the midterm elections now two months away, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said the U.S. is not currently seeing the intensity of Russian intervention that was experienced in 2016, but didn’t rule it out. He said the U.S. is also worried about the cyber activities of China, North Korea and Iran.
Read more: https://apnews.com/6086f3bdb0184b9dbdc623045e0b17cb/Trump-OKs-sanctions-for-foreigners-who-meddle-in-elections
So 700 plus days after you got in jerk you sign an executive order now..................well I just gotta ask, have you signed in this executive order money to protect the votes and the machines........................nope...............you signed this to make it look good....................you do realize in your own narcissistic lack of cognitive way of thinking to not protect the country from foreign interference, that Bill Nelson of Florida, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri have stated that there are issues of hacking happening............................now, your about 700 days to late in your thinking, and I bet you were forced to sign this.................
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