Monday, September 30, 2019
FACEBOOK: 3,000 COMPLAINTS IN 2 MONTHS
The problems that Facebook is causing consumers are a long way from resolved.
That's the message from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a prominent privacy organization that has informed House Appropriations Committee members in advance of a Federal Trade Commission hearing of 3,000 new consumer complaints in just the last two months.
WARREN INVESTED IN PRIVATE PRISONS
(WASHINGTON FREE BEACON) Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren wants to ban private prisons because "no one should make a profit locking people up," but the senator has financially benefited from private prison companies in the past.
The Massachusetts senator invested up to $50,000 in a Vanguard Group fund that owned hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shares in leading private prison companies. Warren sold her stakes in that fund in exchange for a different retirement account in 2013. At the time, the fund was the largest shareholder of America's largest private prison corporation.
JUDGE DEMANDS THAT AOC APPEAR IN COURT FOR BLOCKING TWITTER FOLLOWERS
(NEWSBUSTERS) Liberals should not have been so quick to change the rules for politicians online.
When a federal judge declared that President Trump, as a politician, couldn’t block his Twitter followers, the ruling applied to other politicians as well. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is being sued by former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind for blocking him on Twitter. After Cortez tried to get the case dismissed, a judge demanded on September 27 that she appear in court to explain why she blocked Hikind and 19 other individuals.
Ocasio-Cortez’s aide explained in court that the Congresswoman blocked people if their commentary was not “constructive.” This was not enough for Brooklyn judge Frederic Block. He demanded that Ocasio-Cortez come to court herself to explain her reasons for blocking people.
NEW ANTI-BIDEN AD WILL BE DEVASTATING
If the Democrats looking for poster boys for white privilege, a viral political advertisement says, they should look no further than Joe and Hunter Biden.
The ad, released last Wednesday, is a concise, one-minute recapitulation of the exploits of Hunter Biden in both China and Ukraine -- and how they seem to have a curious connection to the vice presidential activities of his father.
The spot comes from Great America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC that's been hitting Biden hard of late.
FORM FOR WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT ALTERED 2 DAYS BEFORE COMPLAINT RELEASED
Form for whistleblower report altered 2 days before complaint released
If you were to file a whistleblower report with the intelligence community inspector general, up until Sept. 24, the conduct you were blowing the whistle on officially had to be witnessed firsthand.
The “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” form — the channel by which one reported such things — specifically stated that any kind of second-hand information about alleged wrongdoing wouldn’t do.
This appears to have changed at 4:25 p.m. on Sept. 24, when a new form was uploaded to the Director of National Intelligence’s website.
On the new form, individuals who “heard about [wrongdoing] from others” can also report it.
That date is pretty significant because it was just two days before the biggest whistleblower report in the intelligence community’s history was released to the public.
Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, reported Friday the firsthand knowledge requirement was canned sometime over the past year and change — and while it’s difficult to pin down when, evidence points to August.
“Between May 2018 and August 2019, the intelligence community secretly eliminated a requirement that whistleblowers provide direct, first-hand knowledge of alleged wrongdoings,” he wrote.
“This raises questions about the intelligence community’s behavior regarding the August submission of a whistleblower complaint against President Donald Trump. The new complaint document no longer requires potential whistleblowers who wish to have their concerns expedited to Congress to have direct, first-hand knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing that they are reporting.”
The change was first noted by researcher Stephen McIntyre, who said the revision and the timing was “something seriously strange.”
“The IC IG cannot transmit information via the ICPWA based on an employee’s second-hand knowledge of wrongdoing,” the form read.
“This includes information received from another person, such as when an employee informs you that he/she witnessed some type of wrongdoing.”
“If you think that wrongdoing took place, but can provide nothing more than second-hand or unsubstantiated assertions, IC IG will not be able to process the complaint or information for submission as an ICWPA.”
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That previous version notes it was approved on May 24, 2018. The new form, meanwhile, states it was revised sometime in August 2019 but it doesn’t specify a date.
That becomes important when you realize that the whistleblower complaint about Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — which included no firsthand knowledge about the call — was filed on Aug. 12.
Davis noted the report has plenty of references to knowledge that’s second-hand at best.
He wrote: “The Ukraine call complaint against Trump is riddled not with evidence directly witnessed by the complainant, but with repeated references to what anonymous officials allegedly told the complainant:
‘I have received information from multiple U.S. Government officials,’ ‘officials have informed me,’ ‘officials with direct knowledge of the call informed me,’ ‘the White House officials who told me this information,’ ‘I was told by White House officials,’ ‘the officials I spoke with,’ ‘I was told that a State Department official,’ ‘I learned from multiple U.S. officials,’ ‘One White House official described this act,’ ‘Based on multiple readouts of these meetings recounted to me,’ ‘I also learned from multiple U.S. officials,’ ‘The U.S. officials characterized this meeting,’ ‘multiple U.S. officials told me,’ ‘I learned from U.S. officials,’ ‘I also learned from a U.S. official,’ ‘several U.S. officials told me,’ ‘I heard from multiple U.S. officials,’ and ‘multiple U.S. officials told me.’”
Up until the afternoon of Sept. 24, you likely wouldn’t be able to report any of this on the “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” form. It’s unclear when the firsthand knowledge requirement actually went away — as Davis noted, it could be anytime between May 24, 2018 and sometime in August.
This could all be a coincidence. But that would be a pretty massive coincidence.
It’s difficult to definitively state a causal relationship here, but the timing certainly makes it look as if some wider allowance was made for the specific complaint at some level.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the change wasn’t warranted or the whistleblower complaint wasn’t something that should have been examined, either — but if this is more than a coincidence, it puts the complaint and the initial decision not to release it in a new light.
An official with the Director of National Intelligence wouldn’t comment on when the revision to the form was made or what the reasoning behind it was when reached by The Federalist, either. That shouldn’t be a good augury for anyone.
There are plenty of answers that need to be provided in the wake of this whistleblower complaint.
Republicans and conservatives shouldn’t kid themselves: Some of them need to come from the president and those around him.
The intelligence community needs to provide some answers about this, too.
It would be edifying, for instance, to find out when this form was revised. I think a lot of people would also like to know what input prompted the change.
If those are questions the intelligence community can’t quickly and decisively answer, this report is looking swampier and swampier.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/intel-community-uploaded-altered-whistleblower-form-2-days-complaint-released-public/#2heqTCe9o6MCBM2C.99
HUNTER BIDEN SPENT HIS MONEY ON PROSTITUTES, DRUGS
The Wall Street Journal reported in October of 2014 that the Vice President’s son, Hunter Biden, was released from the Navy for cocaine use.
There was no stopping the Biden’s however. A couple months later, young Biden was on the Board of the largest gas and oil company in the Ukraine making $50,000 a year, an exorbitant amount for a Board member at any company. According to Business Insider –
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S ADVICE FOR WASHINGTON, D.C.
George Washington's advice for Washington, D.C.
Exclusive: Chuck Norris offers hope to young people through history lesson
The largest amount of buried treasure discovered in American history is known as the Saddle Ridge hoard, unearthed in the Gold Country of the Sierra Nevada in California.
In February 2013, a couple was walking their dog on their property when they noticed a partially rusted can sticking out of the ground. As they pulled it out, it felt particularly heavy, like it was solid iron. Much to their surprise, it was full of old gold coins. Can you imagine?
As you would expect, the couple thought if there was one can, there might be another. They dug up another seven cans full of gold throughout their Saddle Ridge property. Most of the coins were $20 gold pieces minted in San Francisco somewhere between 1847 and 1894 (the Gold Rush), but some were minted earlier in Georgia.
So, what does one do with eight cans of old gold coins? Initially, the couple hid them just like their original owner. They placed the cans in an old ice chest, then buried it under a pile of wood on their property.
The Saddle Ridge treasure trove has a total of 1,427 gold coins with a face value of $27,980. But their actual value is estimated at a whopping $10 million dollars plus.
Who buried those eight cans of gold on their property? No one can figure that out, though there are several great theories. The secret origin of the largest buried treasure find in America remains a mystery to this day.
One website hypothesized of the treasure's origins, giving various guesses then concluding: "The most likely explanation might be that the coins were put there by a wealthy, probably slightly unhinged, person who lived on the property and simply didn't trust banks to keep their money safe. So instead, they buried their money somewhere on their property and died before they could tell anyone where it was."
Isn't that just like what many Americans still do today with what they treasure most? They keep it to themselves and "bury" it without telling a soul. But I'm talking about real treasures like faith, family and freedom. Let me explain.
As I watched the explosive news and political rancor about impeachment ensuing in Washington, D.C. this week, I thought:
Is anyone thinking about the younger generations watching this charade, passing by broadcasts of mainstream media and hearing the panic, despair and deepening divisions in America?
Consider how millions of youth recently marched in protests around the world as they cried out in total desperation for environmental help and justice because they've been utterly convinced that the end of the world was imminent because of global warming.
Is it? Who's teaching them the end is so near that it's causing them to panic and literally cry?
The Los Angeles Times explained:
"Underneath the activism lies a simple truth: Young people are incredibly scared about climate change." Psychologists reported in Newsweek that more and more kids are suffering from "eco-anxiety." The liberal New York Times took it one step further, reporting that "Climate change is scarring kids."
Despite what side of the debate you land on, is anxiety, panic and hopelessness really the desired outcome that educators and far-left politicians want to produce in younger generations? (The praise for the global marches by mainstream media, progressives and socialists showed me the far-left are more concerned with using these young people for their own political agendas than they are in giving them a chance to learn in school, and not suffering extreme fear or eco-anxiety.)
And what effect now do we expect the frenzy and chaos of a presidential impeachment will have upon younger generations?
Having lived through three years of watching mainstream media and liberal Democrats prey and pounce upon the president for allegedly colluding with Russia in the 2016 American election, kids now get to observe another three-ring circus about his alleged colluding with the Ukraine over the upcoming 2020 election.
Where does this madness end? And what about its effects upon younger generations? If they already believe the environmental Apocalypse is imminent, are we now going to deliver to their hearts the hopeless message that their country's capital is so divided it will implode and collapse?
Are we really surprised by young people's panic and hopelessness today?
A recent study also showed that "Loneliness is surging among Millennials." The most technologically advanced generation with a plethora of social media, and yet loneliness surges?
According to internet market research firm YouGov, "The social media generation is the one that feels the most alone."
Their latest report details a surge in feelings of loneliness among the Millennial generation currently between the ages of 23 and 38.
If we ever need a return to optimism and hope, and our society to decency and civility, it is now; and we don't need a new president to do that.
We need to relearn and follow the wisdom of leaders like our first president, George Washington, in his presidential farewell address.
I'd like to unearth this documentary treasure, unknown I'd expect to most Americans, as a buried national treasure that can lead our country and posterity to a better and more civilized united future.
As OurDocuments.gov explains, "In the 32-page handwritten address, Washington urged Americans to avoid excessive political party spirit and geographical distinctions.
In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances with other nations. The address was printed in Philadelphia's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796."
Dr. Gordon L. Anderson (Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University), the president of Paragon House and author of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," penned an excellent summary of our nation's first president's speech, titling it:
"20 Unheeded Warnings in Washington's Farewell Address." Here they are:
- Be vigilant. People will seek to use the government for selfish ends.
- Avoid overgrown military establishments; they are hostile to liberty.
- Prevent all obstructions to the execution of the laws.
- Control bureaucracies; make sure they all work together.
- Avoid political parties; they will cause divisive factions and unscrupulous men will use them to undermine the government.
- Give allegiance to the Constitution; improve it as necessary.
- Do not alter the Constitution lightly, or based on hypothesis; apply the experience applied when it was created.
- Be suspicious of administrators; they may serve themselves rather than the people.
- Watch for consolidation of power in any department of government.
- Preserve existing checks and balances and add more where power needs to be checked.
- Religion and morality are essential to create the virtue necessary to preserve the union.
- Promote widespread education; democracy requires literate citizens that understand the system of governance and take responsibility for themselves.
- Avoid debt; and immediately discharge any debt created by war.
- Taxes are unpleasant; government spending should be candidly conducted.
- Cultivate peace and justice toward all nations.
- Avoid alliances and maintain neutrality among nations.
- Avoid dependency; a weak state that allies with a stronger state will become its servant.
- Real patriots will resist intrigues, while dupes will surrender to interests.
- In trade, give no nation a favored nation status.
- Be guided by principles, not interests.
I would encourage you to read them one more time, and even slower, further pondering their meaning.
Regarding America's return to civility in particular, did you notice #11? "Religion and morality are essential to create the virtue necessary to preserve the union"?
Look at these amazing words from our first Commander-in-Chief's farewell address as he admonished us:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
What Washington was basically saying is, if we've got God, we've got the gold and what we need to establish and maintain civility, decency and morality, because God serves as a basis for moral and civil absolutes.
God also commands us to love everyone – even our enemies, and instill hope and value in everyone – including ourselves – from the cradle to the grave.