Author: hearseeno

McConnell Covered Up CIA Reports That Russian Hacks Were Aimed At Electing Trump

from Washington Post 12/9/16:

in mid-September:

Obama dispatched Monaco, FBI Director James B. Comey and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to make the pitch for a “show of solidarity and bipartisan unity” against Russian interference in the election, according to a senior administration official.

…

In a secure room in the Capitol used for briefings involving classified information, administration officials broadly laid out the evidence U.S. spy agencies had collected, showing Russia’s role in cyber-intrusions in at least two states and in hacking the emails of the Democratic organizations and individuals.

And they made a case for a united, bipartisan front in response to what one official described as “the threat posed by unprecedented meddling by a foreign power in our election process.”

The Democratic leaders in the room unanimously agreed on the need to take the threat seriously. Republicans, however, were divided, with at least two GOP lawmakers reluctant to accede to the White House requests.

According to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics.

Some of the Republicans in the briefing also seemed opposed to the idea of going public with such explosive allegations in the final stages of an election, a move that they argued would only rattle public confidence and play into Moscow’s hands.

McConnell’s office did not respond to a request for comment. After the election, Trump chose McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, as his nominee for transportation secretary.

McConnell Covered Up CIA Reports That Russian Hacks Were Aimed At Electing Trump

White nationalist movement growing much faster than Isis on social media

note-a-bear:

shychemist:

The number of white nationalists and self-identified Nazi sympathisers on Twitter have multiplied more than 600 per cent in the last four years, outperforming the so-called Islamic State (Isis) in everything from follower counts to number of daily tweets, a new study found.

Researchers at George Washington University’s Programme on Extremism analysed 18 accounts belonging to major white nationalist groups and organisations – such as the American Nazi Party and the National Socialist Movement – mostly located in the US.

These accounts saw a sharp increase in followers, from about 3,500 in 2012 to 22,000 in 2016. The study notes that while Isis stood out for its outreach and recruitment using Twitter since the group’s emergence a few years ago, white nationalist groups have excelled in the medium.

Continue Reading.

It’s almost like they’ve been there all along and are now just using social legitimacy to connect to one another in visible ways.

Shocking

White nationalist movement growing much faster than Isis on social media

welkinalauda:

Mr Ketch pulls up to the cool jazz strains of “Take Five.”

The anti-Lucifer Five-Man Band (witch, angel, king of hell, giant, fire extinguisher) gets back together for one last show.
[”The Chick is often considered the heart of the group. This role is played by a woman or girl. Someone female. Otherwise, it is not a Five-Man Band.”  Cf. Ladyheart.]

They set their stage in room 5 at the Plains Motel.

After the show, Castiel tries to treat Kelly to lunch at the Five Corners Cafe, but she slips out the back instead.

Hmmm…. there’s been a fair amount of number references this season.  “3 way” stops and the like.  Must cogitate. 🙂

jessicameats:

yuleagin-nova:

jenniferrpovey:

kittykat8311:

itsqueerlyhalloween:

firstoffrostfall:

thedarkitalian:

his-quietus-make:

All the pubs in the UK

How many fucking places do you need to get drunk?!?!

As many as possible

“why aren’t that many in the top of Scotland?” those are mountains fam nobody’s that desperate

most villages i know have way more pubs than all their shops combined

The thing is, pubs are not just places to get drunk.

In many small towns they are the only place to get a meal that is not fast food without cooking it yourself. Even in larger towns they can have the best food.

They’re where you go to play darts, sing karaoke, play trivia.

They’re where you go to meet people to talk to – and no, not just people you might want to hook up with. When I was in college, regular department lunches, students and professors alike, happened…in the back room of a nearby pub. We’d get pies, one beer, and discuss the stuff we didn’t get to in class.

Pubs are places where the bartender knows your name, and where exchanges like “We’re out.” “I’ll have the other one.” are fully understood. Seriously, some people will walk into their “local” and their drink will be poured and on the bar before they get to it.

Yes, there’s alcohol, and absolutely some people go to the pub to get drunk. But a pub is not the same thing as a bar.

Pubs fall into the “third space” that is neither home nor work. In America, we had this little thing happen called Prohibition.

Alcohol became something you had to sneak.

A place to get a drink became a place to get a drink. It was the speakeasy. It was the den of vice.

The role of the pub was taken over by the coffee house.

So, Americans, don’t think of the British pub as a sports bar (where you go to watch a game), or as a regular bar (where you go to get drunk), or a bar and grill (a restaurant with good beer).

Think of it as a coffee shop that sells alcohol. As that vital third place.

And then you might understand why Britain has so many of them. (Britain does have coffee shops too, mind, but they don’t get turned into the third place in the same way as here, although Costa still way beats Starbucks).

(This is your PSA from the person who has lived in both countries).

Third spaces in America are actually exceedingly rare, even coffee houses are more business than social space.

The village my parents live in has only one shop/Post Office but two pubs. One pub serves good food, the other serves very good food. The one nearest my parents has free wifi (so my parents go there when their internet goes down), a weekly quiz, and serves as a meeting place for village organisations such as the investment club.

I even did a book launch event at one of them and I’m teetotal.

By the way, the village has zero coffee shops. The pub is the place to go if you want to hang out with your neighbours.

This is what I loved about living in Chicago – the neighborhood bars.  Chicago is zoned in 1 mile squares and the joke is that you’ll find a church and a bar in each square.  Small, little pubs on the corner, sandwiched in between walk up apartments and the main street zoned for businesses.  Literally a “3rd space” or “liminal space” in between.  God, I hope they’re still there. 

Source: facebook.com

BREAKING: Republicans Will Re-File Religious Freedom Bill Protecting Anti-Gay Beliefs

tpfnews:

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Lee of Utah will reintroduce a bill next year to protect people and corporations that hold a religious objection to same-sex marriage, a spokesman for his office told BuzzFeed News, adding that the political climate amid Donald Trump’s presidency will give the legislation a better shot at advancing than it had the past two years.

“Hopefully November’s results will give us the momentum we need to get this done next year,” said Lee’s spokesman, Conn Carroll.

Trump vowed during the campaign to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, arguing it would “protect the deeply held religious beliefs of Catholics and the beliefs of Americans of all faiths.”

Carroll added, “We do plan to reintroduce FADA next Congress and we welcome Trump’s positive words about the bill.”

The measure was filed in both the House and Senate in 2015, but only got a hearing in the House. The bill faltered amid protests from Democrats and speculation that President Obama would veto the measure if it reached his desk.

“Any effort to protect religious liberty has brighter prospects with a new Congress and new administration,” said Sen. Ted Cruz.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a co-sponsor of the bill who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the bill was referred in the current Congress, believes the election results are a game-changer.

“The prospects for protecting religious freedom are brighter now than they have been in a long time,” the Texas Republican told BuzzFeed News. “We are having ongoing conversations with our colleagues both in Congress and leaders in the new administration about a multitude of ways we can honor the commitment made to the voters in this last election.”

The First Amendment Defense Act would ban the federal government from punishing individuals and corporations — for example, denying them a tax exemption or a grant — if they act on a “religious belief or moral conviction” that marriage is between one man and one woman. It also protects those who think “that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”

It had 172 House co-sponsors and 37 in the Senate.

This time around, Cruz said, “Any effort to protect religious liberty has brighter prospects with a new Congress and new administration,”adding that a “relentless assault” on religious liberty was a key driver for voters.

Carroll said he “absolutely” believes the bill will get a Senate hearing next year. “We made great progress last Congress, the first Congress it was introduced, the House had hearing, and we have every reason to believe the momentum will continue next year.”

But LGBT groups and Democrats have insisted the measure attempts to legalize anti-gay discrimination, undermining the Supreme Court’s marriage ruling last year, and may be found unconstitutional. A federal court suspended a similar bill passed by Mississippi legislature this year due to concerns it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho, did not respond to questions about whether he would re-file the bill. Trump’s transition team did not reply when asked if the president-elect stood by his pledge to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Well, this opens the door for both denial of marriage rights and denial of birth control access.  …. I knew this was coming.  I mean you could see it coming from a mile off.  It’s just so disheartening.  

BREAKING: Republicans Will Re-File Religious Freedom Bill Protecting Anti-Gay Beliefs

BREAKING: According to secret CIA assessment, Russia interfered with the election for Trump

tpfnews:

According to the Washington Post, a secret CIA assessment found Russia made efforts to sway the the 2016 presidential election in Donald Trump’s favor.

In a “closed-door briefing” detailed by the Post, agency officials told senators Russia aimed to put Trump in the White House. According to the agency, individuals with connection to Russia provided Wikileaks with thousands of hacked Democratic National Committee emails that likely caused Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers to dip in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

One senior unnamed U.S. official who the Post said that the the intelligence leaks were part of a deliberate attempt to hurt Clinton in the polls.

“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” the official said. “That’s the consensus view.”

According to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics.

Some of the Republicans in the briefing also seemed opposed to the idea of going public with such explosive allegations in the final stages of an election, a move that they argued would only rattle public confidence and play into Moscow’s hands.

McConnell’s office did not respond to a request for comment. After the election, Trump chose McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, as his nominee for transportation secretary.

BREAKING: According to secret CIA assessment, Russia interfered with the election for Trump