Inside Trump's First Pentagon Briefing

CNN hired Sean Duffy, who immediately pushed conspiracy theories that CNN had already debunked

CNN’s new hire, former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), has used his first two appearances on the network to push a conspiracy theory that has already been widely debunked -- including by CNN’s own reporting.

The debunked Crowdstrike conspiracy theory is at the center of the impeachment inquiry into whether President Donald Trump improperly withheld congressionally approved military aid from Ukraine. The theory posits that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election on behalf of the Democrats -- conveniently exonerating Russia’s efforts to aid Trump -- and that a Ukrainian-owned company tried to cover the tracks and took the Democratic National Committee’s computer server that was hacked to Ukraine.

In reality, the FBI and Congress have investigated the 2016 election and found that Russia meddled extensively to push for Trump’s win. The company at the center of the conspiracy theory -- CrowdStrike -- is headquartered in the United States, not Ukraine. And there was never a physical DNC server that could’ve been taken to Ukraine.

But Trump still mentioned this theory during his now-infamous July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying, “I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike... I guess you have one of your wealthy people... The server, they say Ukraine has it." Thomas Bossert, Trump’s first homeland security adviser, said on September 29 that the theory “has no validity” and that he had warned Trump that he was chasing after a debunked conspiracy theory.

https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-duffy/cnn-hired-sean-duffy-who-immediately-pushed-conspiracy-theories-cnn-had-already-debunked

Women At Ernst & Young Instructed On How To Dress, Act Nicely Around Men

When women speak, they shouldn’t be shrill. Clothing must flatter, but short skirts are a no-no. After all, “sexuality scrambles the mind.” Women should look healthy and fit, with a “good haircut” and “manicured nails.”

These were just a few pieces of advice that around 30 female executives at Ernst & Young received at a training held in the accounting giant’s gleaming new office in Hoboken, New Jersey, in June 2018.

The 55-page presentation, used during the day-and-a-half seminar on leadership and empowerment, was given to HuffPost by an attendee who was appalled by its contents. Full of out-of-touch advice, the presentation focused on how women need to fix themselves to fit into a male-dominated workplace.

The training, called Power-Presence-Purpose or PPP, took place during the height of the Me Too movement when sexual misconduct accusations dominated the news. In response, large corporations, including EY, shored up their sexual harassment policies and training. A few companies banned forced arbitration over allegations of sex discrimination and assault. Some men were fired.

Women’s brains absorb information like pancakes soak up syrup so it’s hard for them to focus, the attendees were told. Men’s brains are more like waffles. They’re better able to focus because the information collects in each little waffle square.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/women-ernst-young-how-to-dress-act-around-men_n_5da721eee4b002e33e78606a

Supreme Court tosses challenge to Republican-drawn Michigan electoral maps

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a challenge to Republican-drawn electoral districts in Michigan that Democrats said were illegally configured to dilute their voting power, an action taken in the aftermath of major rulings by the justices in June prohibiting federal courts from hearing such claims.

The Supreme Court’s action voided an order in April by a three-judge panel to rework 34 districts in the state legislature and U.S. House of Representatives whose boundaries were crafted purely to advantage Republicans, a practice known as partisan gerrymandering.

The justices had put the panel’s decision on hold before they issued their rulings in the two major gerrymandering cases from Maryland and North Carolina. In a blow to election reformers, the justices found that federal courts have no role to play in reining in electoral map manipulation by politicians aimed at entrenching one party in power.

The Supreme Court on Oct. 7 threw out a similar case from Ohio in which a lower court had invalidated 16 Republican-drawn U.S. House districts that Democrats had said were drawn to unlawfully diminish their political clout.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-gerrymandering-idUSKBN1X01JU?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5dadc10e8021ed0001320c64&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Teach Your Children

Mulvaney: "He was honestly surprised at the level of pushback...At the end of the day he still..."

Trump vs. Trump: Kurds Edition

Defense chief says US troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq

Source: The Hill

U.S. troops leaving Syria will be relocated to western Iraq, where they will continue to conduct operations to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday.

Esper told reporters traveling with him to the Middle East that details regarding the U.S. military's efforts in western Iraq would be worked out in the upcoming weeks, the Associated Press reported.

The comments came after weeks of bipartisan scrutiny of President Trump's abrupt decision to pull roughly 1,000 troops from northern Syria ahead of a planned Turkish offensive in the area. Trump has repeatedly argued that it is time to get out of "endless wars" and promised to bring U.S. troops home.

But Esper said Sunday that many of the U.S. troops leaving Syria will be relocated to Iraq.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/466609-defense-chief-says-us-troops-leaving-syria-will-go-to-western-iraq

Harvesting Salt

Bill Browder: "Tulsi Gabbard say that she doesn't control the Russian bots that support her, but..."