Bernie getting a lot free media in South Florida

He was the lead story on the 6:00 news on channel 10 tonight.

Sanders implies Russia, not his supporters may be to blame for online vitriol-Experts aren't so sure

LAS VEGAS — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) mounted a new defense Wednesday for the toxicity emanating from pockets of his presidential campaign’s supporters, implying it was possible Russian actors were again manipulating social media to incite Democratic divisions.

Sanders’s language was indirect, offered on the debate stage here as his opponents faulted him for the behavior of his most strident fans. It drew criticism from experts in disinformation, who said they had no direct evidence the Kremlin had masqueraded as Sanders voters to interfere in the 2020 race much as Russian trolls had done four years earlier.

“All of us remember 2016, and what we remember is efforts by Russians and others to try to interfere in our elections and divide us up,” said the senator from Vermont. “I’m not saying that’s happening, but it would not shock me.”

Even the insinuation that foreign actors may be to blame for controversial online behavior by Sanders’s most dedicated followers was an extraordinary indication of the extent to which election interference looms over the 2020 contest. It illustrated how few standards exist for assessing claims of meddling by Russia or other malicious actors, which are being vetted by the very same tech giants whose platforms became host to disinformation that went undetected four years ago.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/20/sanders-implies-russia-not-his-supporters-may-be-blame-online-vitriol-experts-arent-so-sure/#click=https://t.co/xTd00e6VY0

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti found guilty in Nike extortion trial

Source: CNBC

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti was convicted Friday by a jury of all three charges related to his efforts to extort up to $25 million from athletic apparel giant Nike, in what a top prosecutor called "and old fashioned shakedown."

The verdict in U.S. District Court in Manhattan came two years after Avenatti gained widespread notoriety for his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal disputes with President Donald Trump.

Avenatti, who briefly flirted with running for the Democratic presidential nomination, faces two other pending federal criminal cases this spring related to alleged thefts from clients, including Daniels, and other charges.

The 48-year-old attorney was accused in the Nike case of trying to shake down the publicly traded company by threatening to go public with alleged evidence that the company had bribed amateur basketball players and their families unless Nike paid him millions of dollars.



Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/02/14/disgraced-lawyer-michael-avenatti-found-guilty-in-nike-extortion-trial.html

'He's not going to be the nominee.' Miami's House Dems aren't considering Bernie

Bernie Sanders may have emerged with the most votes from the first two contests in the 2020 Democratic primary, but Miami’s House Democrats echoed many lawmakers in Washington this week when they said it’s far too soon to consider the prospect of a democratic socialist as the party’s nominee.

Sanders’ rise has set off alarm bells in the House of Representatives, where Democrats won a majority in 2018 in part by defeating Republicans in districts President Donald Trump won in 2016.

Even asking the question about whether they would support Sanders elicited eye rolls and stone-faced stares from three of Miami’s four congressional Democrats.

“He’s not going to be the nominee,” Rep. Donna Shalala said when asked if she would campaign for Sanders should he win the nomination. “That’s hypothetical question and since I don’t think he’s going to be the nominee I don’t have to answer the question.”

More: https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article240282441.html?__twitter_impression=true

Former county Republican chairwoman registers as Democrat -- to cast primary vote for Pete Buttigieg

Cindy Guerra, a former chairwoman of the Broward Republican Party, changed her party registration this week to become a Democrat.

She said she did it so she could vote for Pete Buttigieg in Florida’s March 17 Democratic presidential primary.

There are two reasons. One, Guerra is impressed with Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who finished a close second in this week’s New Hampshire primary. “I find him very impressive. I do think he’s qualified.”

The second reason: President Donald Trump.

More: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-former-republican-chairwoman-democrat-pete-buttigieg-20200214-ypwcvw7khzhojiwfra2vb2gvie-story.html

Wow. This guy wins the internet for today

Warren's campaign is canceling TV ads in SC & Nevada

Tom Steyer spent $19.2 million on radio & TV ads in NH

And he won zero delegates.

Stop whining about self-funding candidates. If voters don't like the product, they won't buy it no matter how many ads they see.

Did Bernie Sanders ever apologize for supporting Fidel Castro?

A lot of voters in South Florida would like to know.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg says deadline to ratify Equal Rights Amendment has expired: 'I'd like it to star

Source: CNN

(CNN)Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a long-time supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, suggested Monday night that the deadline to ratify the measure as a constitutional amendment has expired and that the decades long effort must start anew.

"I would like to see a new beginning," Ginsburg told an audience at Georgetown University Law Center.

"I'd like it to start over," she added.

Ginsburg was responding to a question from the moderator of the event, Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who asked whether there would ever be an Equal Rights Amendment on the federal level.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/10/politics/ruth-bader-ginsburg-equal-rights-amendment/index.html