Help me out on that. What are the crimes for which all those people are going to spend all that time in jail?

Kush in trouble - yep. The big question: how much did he know? Cambridge Analytica was presented to us a year ago as just this really hip tech consultancy that made skillful use of Facebook ads. It's much, much more than that - much darker in every way.

So about Cambridge Analytica, while I cannot fathom why it took so long to become a focus on the front pages of the so-called "MSM," a reporter named Harry Fox Davies writing for the Guardian had already broken that news in December 2015 in fairly great detail.

https://tinyurl.com/kctlw6n

And FB may be in some really deep doodoo.

And Facebook knew this information was public yet hadn't reached the "front pages." Facebook then chose to lie publicly about the extent of their involvement, while "who knows what" is going on privately behind the scenes. You've no doubt seen the evolving statements of Facebook as this has played out over time, and I don't see now how there's not a few Q&A sessions under penalty of perjury between Mark Zuckerberg and a few investigative committees.

In answer to most of your other questions about who knew: Mueller knows, and barring any unforeseen issues, those that don't make some sort of "deal" with Mueller will die in prison unless they live a really, really long time.

Or, as I said in my original [146], "to 'rotate' screws".

Yup. I'm particularly proud of that one.

I posited "to screw things in" or "as a screwdriver".

But in the end, I thought I'd just make the whole thing clear and if a hammer is meant to hammer, a pointer meant to point and a ruler meant to rule, fuck it, a screwdriver is either meant to screwdrive or screw. Since screwdrive isn't a word, I was hamstrung. So sue me.

For some fascinating reason, of all the things I've so far read that you have written, I find your statement "A screwdriver is a tool. Its primary use is to screw." to be the most illuminating of how your mind works.

And FB may be in some really deep doodoo: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-alex-stamos.html?smid=tw-share

Facebook’s chief information security officer, Alex Stamos, will leave the company after internal disagreements over how the social network should deal with its role in spreading disinformation, according to current and former employees briefed on the matter.

FB has basically been stonewalling ever since the election. These Cambridge Analytical stories reveal a lot FB would prefer remain hidden.

After the election there were laudatory articles about Jared Kushner's "brilliant" use of Cambridge Analytica...

Project Alamo. Poor Kush... he is in huge trouble.

An interesting little tempest all the way around.

Oh, say it isn't so! This means the POTUS has admitted he has been lying for months about Stormy Daniels and sending out Sarah Huckster Sanders to lie for him.

Who knew!? ;)

Thanks for clarifying that for me!

A screwdriver is a tool. Its primary use is to screw. It can also be used a a level, a hammer (turn it around and pound in the nail with the top of the handle) or a stabbing weapon.

Just because e.g. a Russian uses it as a stabbing weapon, and people point that out, doesn't mean all screwdrivers should never be used for their primary or benign secondary purposes.

Facebook is a tool that lets me see pics of my friends and family from around the world at Christmas, when they go on vacation, etc. It informs me when my step-brother has a kid, my friend in Texas hears a funny joke and my old co-worker in London recommends a book he likes.

Trolls (or many nationality) probably also try to feed me some clickbait, and Facebook allow them, but it doesn't mean I need to fall for it, or even pay any attention. I don't use Facebook as a source of news or education - that is what the BBC, the Economist and other high quality media channels are for. And I expect to pay for them. And I don't expect them to be cheap.

If you aren't a paying consumer then you are getting what somebody wants to give you for free - and they usually have an agenda.

Ex-Obama Campaign Director Drops Bombshell Claim on Facebook: 'They Were on Our Side'

In a Sunday tweet thread, Carol Davidson, former director of integration and media analytics for Obama for America, said the 2012 campaign led Facebook to “suck out the whole social graph” and target potential voters. They would then use that data to do things like append their email lists.
https://ijr.com/2018/03/1077083-ex-obama-campaign-director-fb/

Of course, you ignore that..

So typically hypocritical....

The school announced on Monday that rather than holding the March 29 event at the College Avenue Gymnasium, it will instead be held at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway. The Eagleton Institute of Politics said the move was being made "due to the extraordinary level of interest" in the program.

On twitter: "Channel 4 just announced that authorities have gained a warrant to search CA building TONIGHT!"

Did all of our intelligence agencies find that Russia was attempting to help Romney get elected? Hmmmm...NOPERS!

In fact I saw a panel discussion in which campaign chairs of the Romney and McCain campaigns said they never had ANY contact with ANY Russians during their respective campaigns. The Trump campaign's constant contacts with Russians were abnormal even by GOP standards.

Liz is right [89]. This (as Biden says) is a BFD.

Yep.

Going public involves an enormous amount of risk. Wylie is breaking a non-disclosure agreement and risks being sued. He is breaking the confidence of Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer.

Bannon is out at Cambridge Analytica and has been since shortly before the election. He and the Mercers have since parted ways. Bannon then had a very long sit down with Mueller and his team. :)

Tomorrow's piece is about CA's activities in the U.S.

Flynn Intel Group

So, how can anyone take this as nothing else but partisan machinations, sour grapes and sore luser whinings????

This fairly well mirrors what you said about Russian interference in our elections. My, but we've come a long way since then.

Elizabeth is correct that this is serious stuff and there is Russian involvement. You might want cut the repetitive routine and pay attention.

Because the app was deployed openly, Facebook should have known about it. The app asked users' permission before gathering their data, and Cambridge's did not. According to Facebook today: Things became problematic when Kogan shared this data with Cambridge Analytica. Facebook contends this is against the company’s terms of service.

NOW it's all about HOW Trump and the Russians got the info, not using the info itself..

No, it's both. We now know that Cambridge Analytica exploited a feature in Facebook's login (which is similar, by the way, to the login function on Google, Twitter and LinkedIn) to 'mine' data from upwards of 50,000 profiles, without the users' permission. The assholes at Facebook, by the way, knew that the data was at risk and did nothing about it - they apparently felt that app developers could be 'trusted' and had them on an honor system not to 'misuse' data they collected.

What we (and I'm sure, Mueller) would love to know is HOW they used it. One question that keeps popping up is, 'how did the Russians know who to target?' This is one possible answer.

So Channel 4 in England has been doing undercover work to get the story on CA. They've done a 3-part story, and in part 2 - which CA was trying vigorously to suppress, we learn:

Senior executives at Cambridge Analytica – the data company that credits itself with Donald Trump’s presidential victory – have been secretly filmed saying they could entrap politicians in compromising situations with bribes and Ukrainian sex workers. …

“We’ll offer a large amount of money to the candidate, to finance his campaign in exchange for land for instance, we’ll have the whole thing recorded, we’ll blank out the face of our guy and we post it on the Internet.”

In an update to the KOS piece there's a tweet saying the "Britain's Information Officer announces she is seeking a warranting to raid Cambridge Analytica and seize servers."

CA has been bankrolled by the Mercers and it looks like they've been interfering in elections around the world. And they've been working with Russians all along.

Today, for the second time now, the Supreme Court has rejected the GOP's argument and declined to step in and block the new congressional redistricting map in Pennsylvania.

It should be a lot more interesting in November to see the results from the way less gerrymandered Keystone State. :)

And yet, ya'all complained that Trump and the Russians were USING that kind of information..

NOW that it's been exposed that Odumbo did the same thing, NOW the story changes..

NOW it's all about HOW Trump and the Russians got the info, not using the info itself..

Do you see how pathetically pitiful and political you are???

yes, they did..

When Facebook found out what they were doing, they were “surprised,” she said. But she also claimed they didn’t stop them once they found out:

Face the facts, Balthy..

You are defending Odumbo because you DON'T CARE that they did exactly what ya'all accuse Trump of...

PARTY UBER ALLES

That confirmed a trend already noted in political-science literature: online social networks have the power to change voting behavior.

Maybe that's because the story is six years old.

Besides, the Obama Campaign didn't surreptitiously 'mine' the data from Facebook, as CA supposedly did, they put an app on Facebook that asked Facebook users for their permission to use their data. That's a different kettle of fish.

Again, for our ethically challenged Republican friends: paying for and asking for information is different than stealing and hacking information.

And like any tool, it can be misused..

The problem here is that ya'all (with a couple obvious exceptions) whine and scream and cry when the GOP allegedly misuses it, but ya'all are COMPLETELY silent when the Democrats misuse it..

How is this not blatant hypocrisy???

OK, let's agree that Facebook is a tool. Tools tend to be created to meet specific needs. Hammers to pound things, wrenches and screw drivers to rotate things, trowels to spread things, tapes to measure things, etc.

OF COURSE!! - How could I have failed to recognized that simple fact?

Facebook is a tool for helping Dems/Libs try to rationalize what they perceive to be irrational, meaning how a buffoon Republican could possibly defeat a pre-ordained 'sure-thing' Dem presidential candidate???

Thanks for clarifying that for me!

Yea.. Ya'all don't give a royal rat's ass about THAT....

Funny, iddn't it....

When ODUMBO does that.. It's perfectly acceptable..

When TRUMP does it, it's a threat to our democracy...

You people are so blatantly hypocritical, it's laughable...

Here comes the spin..

"But... But... But... THAT'S DIFFERENT!!"

Dood! That was written by the Odumbo administration!!!

And YOU buy it!??

OF COURSE you do..

Because it says what you want to hear...

I think it was Trey Gowdy who said yesterday on the Fox Sunday Show that there are bigger issues here than Trump's political future. You should listen to him.

Of course you would say that..

Because NOW Gowdy is saying what you want to hear.. Before, when Gowdy was saying what you DIDN'T want to hear, well THEN you wanted me to ignore Gowdy...

Gods, your political hypocrisy and bigotry is so blatant and obvious...

In a Sunday tweet thread, Carol Davidson, former director of integration and media analytics for Obama for America, said the 2012 campaign led Facebook to “suck out the whole social graph” and target potential voters. They would then use that data to do things like append their email lists.
https://ijr.com/2018/03/1077083-ex-obama-campaign-director-fb/

Funny how ya'all didn't complain about the massive amounts of FaceBook data that went to the Odumbo administration to help the Odumbo agenda..

Like I said.. Ya'all really don't care about information misuse..

Ya'all just don't like it when Trump allegedly used it..

Wrong, wrong and wrong. From the January 4, 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment:

Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US Presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow's longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.

So much for "this is just the same old spy stuff". Putin's been ramping up his spycraft - he got into the last French and German elections too.

I think it was Trey Gowdy who said yesterday on the Fox Sunday Show that there are bigger issues here than Trump's political future. You should listen to him.

I'll bet you think this song is about you." - Carly Simon, You're So Vain

Party before country. There is a name for that.

All the batshit "they are traitors" used to emanate almost exclusively from the right wing fanned by Fox News, Infowars, etc.

Now I'm hearing the same thing from the left about the Republicans.

The Russian trolls did a good job. They post inflammatory nonsense designed to split us (e.g. see CRS's attempt in [117] to gin up some anger - filtered versions of propaganda fed to him via his echo chamber).

Personally I think it will backfire - at the moment it is more important as a tool to make Russian voters feel good about Putin more than anything else - the Russians have a big chip on their shoulder about how poor they are wrt to democracies. However I don't think they have thought this through - their tactics are effective but their strategy is going to tilt public opinion against them, particularly when the Republicans suffer a big election shock and realize that the Russians aren't always going to be there to help them win.

Interesting times.

I don’t think Trump’s family matters to him nearly as much as his brand does, personally. I think he’d sell any one of his kids out in order to save his own orange ass without ANY hesitation!

While we know a lot about Trump’s ties to Russia, you can bet that Putin has quite a few more that no one knows about...yet!

Michale [137]

No, it's only being REPORTED more because Trump won...

Nothing has changed in the operations of the Russian activities..

God, it really must kill you that Dear Leader is going down in flames for you to make these laughable statements!

So did Romney have secret meetings with the Russians that the press just chose not to report? Hmmmmmm....NOPE!

Did the Russians hack the DNC’s email back in 2008 or 2012 and dump it all on Wikileaks and the press just ignored that? Hmmmm....NOPE!

Did all of our intelligence agencies find that Russia was attempting to help Romney get elected? Hmmmm...NOPERS!

Is the fact that you do pretty much the same job that the Russian trolls were paid to carry out the reason that you want to downplay their actions? Does it sicken you to realize that you have assisted in the destabilization of our government and our country by serving as a megaphone for a foreign power’s propaganda machine?

No, it's only being REPORTED more because Trump won...

Nothing has changed in the operations of the Russian activities..

It's ONLY a problem for ya'all now because YOUR candidate lost...

THAT is why I can't get excited about ya'all's hysterical accusations..

It's nothing new.. It's nothing different... It's just that YOUR candidate lost...

I find my [117] clear and precise. If it sailed right over your head, I cannot help you.

Thanks for posting that! If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck....

Sure, they did the same things, but not at the volume or intensity that they did in 2016....nor with the success that they had in 2016. Their ability to create false news stories that got shared millions of times was impressive. They knew how to work the comments sections on news websites like a charm. And they are likely to do it again this year and in 2020 unless the Fake President gets off his bloated ass and orders something be done to stop them!

But that might get Putin angry and cause him to expose Lil’ Donny’s sins to the world! I am starting to believe that is the real reason Trump is so quick to drop to his knees and begin sucking at the very mention of Putin’s name... Putin has told him that the truth could set Trump “free” unless he plays his part well. It would serve Putin’s wishes to destabilize our government and our influence worldwide for Trump to be exposed as a traitor.

All of this may seem like a torrent of information, and it is. But the pieces behind “Steve Bannon’s psychological warfare tool” are coming together, and there are — at least — two big stories.

1. Christopher Wylie was approached by Steve Bannon in to build a “psychological warfare mindfuck tool” that would use big data and social media, not to directly market a candidate, but to drive open cracks in American culture. The intention was to ratchet up racial, gender, and social concerns, increasing unrest and convincing Americans—especially white Americans—that they were being left behind in their own country.

2. To drive their hate machine, Cambridge Analytica scraped information from over 50 million Americans on Facebook.

3. In 2014 and 2015, as they were building their tool, Cambridge had multiple contacts with Russian officials who were, not so coincidentally, seeking exactly the same kind of information and tool that Cambridge was building.

4. As Cambridge moved into supporting Trump, they used the information they had derived from Facebook data, and Facebook’s own targeted ad tools, to put information in front of voters in critical areas.

5. The ads, stories, and links that Cambridge provided were often not specifically “vote for Trump” pieces, so much as they were continuations of their cultural-change effort. They were intended to create a narrative that working class white voters were being ignored by the Democratic Party, who were wholly owned by urban blacks and immigrants, and that blacks and immigrants were benefiting while whites were “forgotten.” Added onto this was an layer of stories about emasculating feminists.

If some of this sounds like the actions of the Russian “hackers” in 2016 election, it’s because their approaches and actions were almost identical. Both start in 2014 working to cause disruption and exacerbate social unrest. Both turn to supporting Trump once he becomes a candidate. Both use Facebook data and tools to target their actions. And both contact WikiLeaks as the go-to site for laundering the release of data.

This could be astounding coincidence — but a simpler explanation is that Cambridge Analytica, Steve Bannon, and others in Trump’s digital effort coordinated their entire approach with Moscow.

https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/975736399126253568

His big shiny toy in NY, Trump Soho, was renamed the "Dominick Hotel" in an attempt to get guests, as it had been struggling.

Which is why the 20 point swing in rural PA was so important.

Time for the Republicans to get a bit of their own Benghazi!!! medicine, and the chances of there being something real this time around are much higher.

If not they can drag Trump's name through the dirt for two years leading up to 2020.

It is only a problem for you that Trump won. And, of course, Trump. It means that a prosecutor will be looking into his business dealings - in particular Trump Soho - which is where the biggest stink (to date) is coming from.

Or by the CIA since 1947...

Exactly...

It's been done for the last 60 years by both the US and the USSR/Russia...

It's *ONLY* a problem now because Trump won...

That's the beginning and end of the issue..

Or by the CIA since 1947...

But I expect the Russians have been ramping up operations over the years as social media becomes more prevalent in our society. The "ANYTHING" is more a matter of scale and refinement.

Let me ask you something..

Do you think ANYTHING that was done by the Russians in 2016 WASN'T done in 2014, 2012, 2010 and 2008???

Not only are you rabid elitists, you're rabid hypocrites!

I wouldn't put it so blatantly, but yea.. :D

And yet, American confidence is up, jobs are up, people are happy and prestige is coming back to America...

Sucks to be NeverTrumpers :D

So, the Russkies posted "disparaging remarks" about Hillary, and divulged the fact that she had stacked the primaries deck against Bernie, and gawdonlyknows what other mean things!!

As one of the only two people in the world smart enough not to be on Facebook, I'll have to take your word on that, but then I say SO WHAT!!

There ain't a single one of you rabid lefties that would let anything that batdshit-crazy influence YOUR votes, but you're all sufficiently gullible/foolish to believe that the "great unwashed masses" would let those things override their personal self-interest in casting THEIR ballots!

That is the worst case of rabid elitism anybody ever heard of.

And BTW, are you nutjobs really advocating for the denial of constitutionalfree speech to our Russian neighbors simply because you think they helped elect Trump??

Not only are you rabid elitists, you're rabid hypocrites!

No.. It's just never been as widely reported as it is today...

I can assure you that in the 80s and 90s, the USSR and then RUSSIA had some HUGELY successful intelligence coups..

But they were never widely reported..

And WHY are they so widely reported today?? Because the Leftist MSM hates Trump and wants to take him down..

If Hillary had one, you and I BOTH know that we wouldn't be seeing ANYTHING about this Russian action..

I don't understand why you aren't taking this issue seriously.

For the EXACT same reason ya'all never took the Benghazi debacle seriously..

Because, in ya'all's mind, it was NOTHING but political machinations...

Russia "interference" is to me what Benghazi was to ya'all...

That should help you understand why I don't take it seriously...

Trump might better serve himself if he drops the whining about collusion and reinvents the slogans to include corruption, witness tampering, threatening and general skullduggery, he might have some decent material before he's forced to wing his lies. But who am I, a mere mortal, to suggest the obvious to a man who recently decided he knew everything there was to know about governing in a democracy...The titan, who if pressed, could put a broom up his arse and sweep clean the nation while striding the political landscape.

One can only weep at the misplaced hubris...

Mr Five-time Draft-Dodger, with all the proven courage of a Marmoset, stomping around inaugurating the death penalty for drug dealers is frankly, laughable. Chalk up another idea destined to die of its own accord on the vine, thankfully Trump brings his proven track record for catastrophe and debacle to all his own gigs. Let's face reality for giggles, The Marx Brothers would stand a better chance of blowing drug-dealer death penalties past a reasonably educated society.

I said it on the eve of Trump's swearing in...''I wouldn't let Trump run a bath, let alone a twitchy, polarised and heavily armed society''...I mean, nothing imaginable could go wrong.

LL&P

They have never been as effective as they are today. Times change, Michale, and the reactions must change accordingly.

I don't understand why you aren't taking this issue seriously.

That's what Romney said in 2012.. Ya'all laughed and scoffed at him then..

But NOW that it's to the Left's political advantage, NOW Russia is the greatest enemy..

"We are at war with {Russia}... We have always been at war with {Russia}.."
-1984

Do you see how I have trouble taking the claims at face value??

It's obvious that it's nothing but partisan maneuvering..

You really don't have the luxury of fretting the little and petty stuff in the face of Russia's active measures.

Russia has had these kinds of active measures since they were the Soviet Union and before..

The *ONLY* reason it's an issue now is because it's to the advantage of the Democrat Party to be an issue..

There is no threat today that wasn't present during the Obama years 2008 thru 2016....

A: 'Cause he was looking for love in all the wrong places.

hehehehehe Oh that is so wrong on so many levels.. :D

Michale, you need to focus on the greatest enemies of liberal democracy, in general, and of American democracy, in particular.

One of the greatest is Russia. Republicans and Democrats and Independents should be able to agree on that much and focus their efforts to combat it.

You really don't have the luxury of fretting the little and petty stuff in the face of Russia's active measures.

Any enemy of the US Constitution is my enemy.. :D

You are looking for enemies in all the wrong places.

This is why it's impossible to take ANYTHING the anti-gun nuts say seriously...

Hillary is the kind of person who always has to make 2 speeches..

The 2nd one to apologize...

You hysterical NeverTrumpers are tripping all over yerselves trying to make a case that simply can't be made..

it's hilarious to watch this keystone cops routine.. :D

Plenty of facts that prove it, eh?? :D

Yer funny...

Hey, that's politics, dude. The other side is worse.

Of course they are.. But THEY say ya'all are the worst..

It's all nothing but political bigotry...

We also know, based on several indictments brought by Mueller already, that in addition to all of this, the Russians were engaged in a vigorous disinformation campaign here in the states, in which they devoted significant resources to jamming the social networks with disparaging information about Hillary using bots, trolls and US-based spies. They set up competing rallies, to spread chaos, they hacked voter rolls and possibly more.

"Amazing. Everything you just said there was wrong"
-Luke Skywalker, THE LAST JEDI

Meanwhile, the Russians had hacked their way into our electrical grid, water and power systems, including nuclear facilities.

Which has nothing to do with Trump or the election..

You just want to throw anything you can against the wall and HOPE that something against Trump sticks..

It's ALL nothing but hysterical bigotry..

ESPECIALLY hilarious since it was Odumbo who promised Putin fealty and it was Hillary who wanted to "reset" relations with the Russians.. And don't forget it was Odumbo who mocked Romney when he was saying the EXACT same thing about the Russians that ya'all are now..

Face reality, dood.. You ain't got jack.. Nothing but hysterical NeverTrumpism.. :D

Hey, that's politics, dude. The other side is worse.

The critical question is: is it true? It is, and the evidence of it is mounting every day.

Plenty. There are now dozens of witnesses who have spoken publicly, and probably dozens more that Mueller has talked to, but not made public yet.

What we know from the public record is that the Russians hacked the DNC and Podesta. We know that Papadopolis heard about the hack, told a diplomat about it in a London bar, then flew back to the US and told a whole room full of people in Trump Tower about it, including Trump and Sessions. We know that a group of Russians met with Manafort and Don Trump, Jr., among others to offer the "dirt" to the Trump campaign, and that the hacked material eventually made its way to Wikileaks. We know that Roger Stone, who had been business partners with Manafort and Gates, and has an ongoing political relationship with Trump, somehow knew ahead of time when Assange would release that material (which had already been released in uncurated format by an actor who called himself "Guccifer", whom Stone claims to have also communicated with).

We know that Cambridge Analytica made overtures to Assange, offering to aid the release of the hacked emails. We don't know whether Cambridge was also offering either to Assange or the Trump campaign, advice about which emails to emphasize, based on the psychological profiles of voters they'd worked up based on the stolen Facebook material.

We also know, based on several indictments brought by Mueller already, that in addition to all of this, the Russians were engaged in a vigorous disinformation campaign here in the states, in which they devoted significant resources to jamming the social networks with disparaging information about Hillary using bots, trolls and US-based spies. They set up competing rallies, to spread chaos, they hacked voter rolls and possibly more.

Meanwhile, the Russians had hacked their way into our electrical grid, water and power systems, including nuclear facilities.

And none of this is being addressed by the Republicans in charge of the country, in order to spare the ego of the Child in the Oval Office.

We know all that much so far for sure. It's public record. As I said, there's certainly much more that we haven't been told about yet.

Yea, rules.. Rules Democrats don't follow when it's to their advantage not to...

The whole thing turns, appropriately, on the issue of theft. Hillary might have paid for part of the Dossier, but it seems the folks around Trump preferred to just take what they wanted, from Facebook, from the DNC, from private emails, and weaponize it.

Any facts that prove this??

No??? Of course not..

It's nothing but propaganda...

The kind of propaganda we wouldn't hear a PEEP about if Hillary had won the election....

So, how can anyone take this as nothing else but partisan machinations, sour grapes and sore luser whinings????

Obviously, you need to take a good look at this issue as it goes far beyond the art of political persuasion ... AND, Russian linkages are involved.

This is a very serious issue and deserves a serious discussion, not misplaced sarcasm.

I really don't think it does...

It's ONLY a problem for the Left because the Right candidates won...

If Hillary had won, we wouldn't be hearing a THING about it from the Left..

Ya'all are honest enough to admit that this is fact..

This is nothing but after-action justification for a loss that no one here can accept..

It's NOTHING but partisan politics in play..

That's why I can't get excited about it.. Because I *KNOW* that ya'all would be making MY same argument if Hillary had won and it was the Right who was bringing up all this felgercarb...

The only difference is, in that case, we would all be in agreement..

Just like you can't enforce a non-disclosure agreement that you've forgotten to sign. There are rules.

There are such things as rules. From the article:

Most damning of all, he had a letter from Facebook’s own lawyers admitting that Cambridge Analytica had acquired the data illegitimately.

And to the extent that they might have used this information during the US election, they probably broke a few US campaign laws as well.

The whole thing turns, appropriately, on the issue of theft. Hillary might have paid for part of the Dossier, but it seems the folks around Trump preferred to just take what they wanted, from Facebook, from the DNC, from private emails, and weaponize it. Cambridge offered to help distribute the stolen stuff that Wikileaks had, that's a part of the record.

Liz is right [89]. This (as Biden says) is a BFD.

Going public involves an enormous amount of risk. Wylie is breaking a non-disclosure agreement and risks being sued. He is breaking the confidence of Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer.

Obviously, you need to take a good look at this issue as it goes far beyond the art of political persuasion ... AND, Russian linkages are involved.

This is a very serious issue and deserves a serious discussion, not misplaced sarcasm.

Conor Lamb was plenty liberal—Obamacare, union support, more. But he didn’t check every box or play the identity politics game.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-democrats-only-hope-give-up-leftism-for-lambism

If Democrats want ANY chance in winning the House & Senate, they need to nominate candidates who are pro-gun, pro-NRA, pro-life and who spit on the identity politics bullshit..

The facts are clear...

I hope you accept that sarcasm as the good-natured ribbing it was intended to be.. :D

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump

You mean!!! Candidates use INFORMATION to try and sway voters to vote for them!!!??????

Say it ain't so!!! :D

What HAS this world come to!!???

Here's hoping you will write about this because it's a topic that invites the MEGO factor as mine eyes glaze over ...

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump

Have you read about the Christopher Wylie revelations?

The irony is that the much-vaunted tax cut that added so much to the deficit was just "meh" for so many people that the GOP is starting to shy away from leaning on it as a mid-term issue.

Some folks could have predicted as much. If you want to boost the GNP, you have to prime the economy from the bottom, not the top, because wealth flows up, not down. Conservatives reject that because it contradicts their premise that the bottom of the economic ladder is a black hole into which money is wasted and lost, not invested. They believe that cash infusion at the top spurs investment in heavy industry, which boosts employment and spreads wealth.

Well, the numbers are coming in, and they prove the former, rather than the latter is true, at least in this economic environment. Besides, with a trillion dollars now sloshing around on dark markets, it's hard for bankers to plead that there isn't enough investment money looking for projects already out there. An properly written infrastructure bill could soak some of that up.

By the way, whatever happened to the 'repatriation' project the GOP was going to embark on to bring money in from offshore accounts? Could it be that their donor class is suddenly a lot less interested in surrendering their Caribbean tax shelters?

Because some of things she says serve to keep the electorate divided.

Consider the fact that those who wish to keep the electorate divided are going to spin whatever is said in order to do it... regardless of what is actually said in response to a question.

And, you have misread and/or misunderstood my comments today if you think they were to mean that certain women should "shut up and sit down". Because they were rather meant to say that Hillary should stop saying stupid stuff - seated or standing - that further divides the country.

When pretty much everything one says in answer to a question is quickly spun into a statement equivalent to "stupid stuff" by those who wish to demonize, the only way to avoid all that is to stop speaking at all, and if you'll review that comment, you'll easily discover that I blamed the "shitheads."

Unless you consider yourself one of the "shitheads," you needn't be the least bit offended by any of it... and be thankful too that it's not your country. :)

It's also a good idea to remember that not every critic of Hillary or any other pol is motivated by an urge to demonize.

Yes, Elizabeth, but in Paula's defense, some people actually do so often sound similar to the scandalous propaganda machines like Cambridge Analytica and people like Steve Bannon and his ilk, thus contributing to the enabling of those who are motivated by an urge to demonize.

Of course, the statement above is less a statement of fact and more an attempt at me simply trying to make a point... as I am wont to do. :)

Why is it that Hillary et alia keep being blamed as "enablers" for the men's actions?

Because some of things she says serve to keep the electorate divided.

And, you have misread and/or misunderstood my comments today if you think they were to mean that certain women should "shut up and sit down". Because they were rather meant to say that Hillary should stop saying stupid stuff - seated or standing - that further divides the country.

Frak principles...

The guy who voted for Benedict Donald is lecturing about principles.

Well, isn't that precious!? :) *LOL*

Perfectly stated and what I was meaning with my post at [81], which I typed and posted before I read yours.

Well done, sir... exactly right. :)

Other point of fact, obama did not ignore his opponents, he tried very hard to include them in policy decisions, often to a fault.

^^^^^ This! ^^^^^ :)

I think the worst thing about how Hillary continues to talk about the 2016 election is that she is contributing to the enabling of scandalous propaganda machines like Cambridge Analytica and of people like Steve Bannon and his ilk.

Why is it that Hillary et alia keep being blamed as "enablers" for the men's actions? I think it would serve people well to consider the possibility and begin to catch on to the fact that the propaganda machines like Donald Trump, Cambridge Analytica, and Steve Bannon and their ilk (the "shitheads") will drag Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Rogers, Elizabeth Warren and __________ <--- {insert woman politician's name here} through the mud if it serves their ends of scaring a particular type of menfolk who seem to be terrified of the prospect that a woman might gain some political power in America.

Ladies (and gentlemen too), please understand that blaming Hillary, Nancy, Maxine, Elizabeth et alia for not "shutting up" and "sitting down" so as not to provoke the shitheads is exactly what the shitheads want you to do. Believe me when I tell you that if all of these women listed above were to "shut up" and "sit down," they would quickly be replaced with other ones that would be accused of enabling the shitheads because that's the object of the exercise.

Enough said. :)

Yes, very well said, Don. Although, I will say it does seem that "gentleman" persons (and indeed some women) are so much more quickly to judge women politicians in harsher terms than they do their male counterparts.

Conor Lamb is pro-life... This is fact..

Incorrect... as per your usual.

Conor Lamb, a moderate Democrat vying to win the special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th District, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD on Monday that he does not support proposals to ban abortions after 20 weeks, the point at which fetuses can feel pain.

“I’d have voted against it,” Lamb answered when asked how he would vote on such a bill. Lamb added that he would not describe his beliefs as “pro-life.”

“I just want to say, I don’t use the term ‘pro-life’ to describe what I personally believe, because that’s a political term. It’s not one that you learn in Catholic school or anywhere else in the church,” he said.

...

Lamb has said throughout the campaign that he is personally opposed to abortion due to his Catholic faith, but he has indicated that belief would not translate into legislative action.

“We believe that life begins at conception,” he said, “but as a matter of separation of church and state, I think a woman has the right to choose under the law, so I would vote against” a ban on abortion after 20 weeks.

https://tinyurl.com/ya6kjoy7

Conor Lamb is "pro-choice" and supports a woman's right to choose. Speaking of "choice," you do know that rather than believing the utter nonsensical BS being spoon-fed to the minions by the right-wing fabricating spinners, you could learn things for yourself so as not to make yourself appear as though your head is up your ass, right?

Look at the Lamb win.. He won because he ran as a Republican.. Pro-Life Pro-NRA...

Conor Lamb is a Catholic who believes in separation of Church and State and would vote against legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks... not remotely the "pro-life" candidate the righties are claiming he is and you're spewing back here on cue.

Pro-NRA?

“I’d be willing to look at proposals that would strengthen our background check system, but I want to start where the broad agreement already is, and the broad agreement already is that we’re not doing a good enough job keeping guns out of the hands of people with mental health conditions and with criminals.” ~ Conor Lamb

So perhaps, Michale, you are equating the fact that a veteran who is pro-gun is also a supporter of the NRA... or are you just spewing back a right-wing talking point on cue? Sounds to me like he'd likely close the gun show loophole and doesn't exactly meet the GOP's "pro-NRA" talking point.

If you keep repeating the utter nonsensical right-wing BS that Lamb "ran as a Republican," people will think you're an anus and not just because you admit to being one.

And yet, here you are.. Talking to an anus...

How does that make you feel?? :D

Russ didn't say you were an "anus." He said that "when you speak, its like hearing every anus on the planet 'speak' at once!" The reason it's like hearing all the anuses speak simultaneously is because it's like every idiot has their head planted firmly up their own ass; although, it was very big of you to admit to being an anus. :)

In other words, you don't care HOW much a candidate is with Trump and with guns and with the NRA...

You are loyal to the Democrat Party and that is *ALL* that matters to ya...

PARTY UBER ALLES

Frak principles...

PARTY UBER ALLES

:D

That, of course, SHOULD go without saying.

Criticism is often motivated by an urge to make something or someone better, after all. That's why it's often referred to as constructive.

I listened to Bill Maher on Friday, and he made a good point - when the Republicans start to demonize one of our leaders, and the trolls try to split the Democrats into factions (Hillary vs. Bernie) it is good to remember the point nypoet22 makes in [72] and focus on what Democrats agree on instead of our differences.

Conor Lamb stood as the Democrat and he won. If he has been a Bernie-Bro or a Hillaryite he might have lost. I want winners and if that also includes Michale squirming to pretend that Lamb is really a Republican because he can't handle defeat, then that is just icing on the cake.

I'd say there's a huge difference between a private citizen being self serving in business and a public servant being self serving in office.