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USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Paul Rigby - 01-12-2016

"Trump's Job is to Prepare America for War"

William F. Engdahl interviewed by Joyce Riley for The Power Hour, November 21, 2016

[video=youtube_share;jb_mBFwiYWg]http://youtu.be/jb_mBFwiYWg[/video]

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Peter Lemkin - 02-12-2016

NERMEEN SHAIKH: "Wall Street Wins Again as Trump Chooses Bankers and Billionaires." That was the headline in piece by Bloomberg, on Wednesday, shortly after Donald Trump tapped former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin to be his Treasury secretary and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross to head the Commerce Department. This comes as Politico is reporting Trump is also considering Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn for a top post. The two met at Trump Tower on Tuesday. Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon is also a former Goldman Sachs Vice President who went on to head the right-wing Breitbart news site.
AMY GOODMAN: Wall Street has celebrated the news. On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs stock jumped 3.6% to an eight-year high. This all comes after Donald Trump campaigned on an anti-establishment message often publicly criticizing his opponents for their ties to Goldman Sachs. Here's Trump speaking about Ted Cruz 10 months ago.
DONALD TRUMP: What he wanted to do is say, I will protect you from Goldman Sachs. I will protect you from Citibank. And I will protect you from the banks, because I'm Robin Hood and I'm this wonderful senator and I'm going to protect you from these banks, and then he's borrowing from the banks. And by the way, he's got personal guarantees. And he got-low interest loans. He got low-interest loans. They're low interest. And now he's going to go after Goldman Sachs? It doesn't work that way. Goldman Sachs owns him. Remember that, folks. They own him.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, criticized Donald Trump for picking former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary. Brown said, "President-elect Trump campaigned against big money's power in Washington and accused Wall Street and hedge funds of getting away with murder. But now he's picked a hedge-fund manager whose Wall Street ties couldn't run deeper to lead the Treasury Department, which is exactly what this election showed the American people don't want. This isn't draining the swamp, it's stocking it with alligators." The words of Senator Sherrod Brown.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, to talk more about the election of Donald Trump, his cabinet picks, and much more, we're joined by Cornel West, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. During the Democratic primary, he endorsed Bernie Sanders. After Hillary Clinton won the nomination, West made headlines when he endorsed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. Welcome back to Democracy Now! It's great to have you with us.
CORNEL WEST: I just thank God for Democracy Now! because journalism is almost dead as we move into this neofascist age. And thank god you all are still willing to tell the truth.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, your response to the election of Donald Trump and now the cabinet he is appointing around him?
CORNEL WEST: Well, I think he's already betrayed working people in terms of making sure, in his view, that Wall Street is in the driver's seat. And what I mean by that is that in an emerging neofascist moment, you have the rule of big business, which is big banks and big corporations. You scapegoat the most vulnerable. It could be Muslims, Mexicans, gay brothers, lesbian sisters, indigenous peoples, black peoples, jews, and so on. And then you also have militaristic orientations around the world. And so, you see the extension of the repressive apparatus, as those of us who hit the streets, those of us who will be are willing to go to jail, we've had to recognize we'll have more coming at us under Trump administration. But, the crucial thing is, is that he had talked about his connection with working people. And it's clear that the one percent are still running things.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: But, you've also said, Dr. West, you just said that his administration will be neofascist. Could you explain? What do you mean by that, neofascist as opposed to fascist, and what the two mean?
CORNEL WEST: What neofascist it's an American style form of fascism. What I mean by that is we've had neoliberal rule from Carter to Obama. That neoliberal rule left in place a national security state. It left in place massive surveillance. It left in place the ability of the president to kill an American citizen with no due process. That's Obama. That was the culmination of the neoliberal era. Now you get someone who is narcissistic which is to say out of control psychologically who is ideologically confused which is to say, in over his head and who does he choose? The most right wing reactionary zealots which lead toward the arbitrary deployment of law, which is what neofascism is, but to reinforce corporate interests, big bank interest, and to keep track of those of us who are cast as peoples of color, women, jews, Arabs, Muslims, Mexicans, and so forth, and so So, this is one of the most frightening moments in the history of this very fragile empire and fragile republic.
AMY GOODMAN: So, I want to talk about some of the picks of Donald Trump, like President-elect Donald Trump's treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, deep ties to Wall Street including working as a partner for Goldman Sachs, where his father also worked. Mnuchin's hedge fund also played a role in the housing crisis after it scooped up the failing California bank IndyMac in 2008. Under Mnuchin's ownership, IndyMac foreclosed on 36,000 families, particularly elderly residents trapped in reverse mortgages. People would go to Mnuchin's home to protest outside as they were foreclosed out of their own homes. Mnuchin was accused of running a foreclosure machine. The bank, which was renamed One West, was also accused of racially discriminatory lending practices. In 2015 Mnuchin sold a bank for $3.4 billion, $1.8 billion more than he bought it for.
CORNEL WEST: This is what you call spiritual blackout. There is a level of callousness. There's a level of indifference toward poor and working people. Preoccupation with greed and most importantly, lack of accountability. Doing anything they can do unless, in the end, they get caught by the law, and of course, oftentimes they have already disproportionately influenced those who apply the laws, those who supposed to be regulating them. And so, this is another instance of Wall Street run amok. I mean, I, and some of us were very critical [indiscernible] and others, very critical of Geithner, Summers, the Ruben crowd straight out of Wall Street when brother Barack Obama moved into the White House.
AMY GOODMAN: Summers, who you knew well because he was president of Harvard when you were there a professor there
CORNEL WEST: Absolutely.
AMY GOODMAN: and got in a bit of an altercation with him.
CORNEL WEST: Bless his soul. But so that you can see on the neoliberal rule, Wall Street's still in the driver seat. We were hoping, with brother Bernie Sanders, that we could bring the neoliberal era to a close. And by neoliberal, what I mean is, when you see a social problem, you financialize, you privatize, and militarize. You get mass incarceration on the one hand, privatize schools I know sister Diane Ravitch, on of the great prophetic voices of our time, in this regard will talk about this later and then you militarize, which is to say drop bombs on seven Muslim countries and then wonder why Muslims are upset. Or you drop bombs on innocent children with U.S. drones and then wonder why the gangsters, the fascists coming out of the Muslim world, are organizing. And of course, we've got to be anti-fascist across the board. But this is going to be the most trying of times in our lifetime. There's no doubt about it. And at 63 years old, I am thoroughly fortified for this fight. I will tell you that.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, given that people who voted for Trump and continuing with what you said, many have questioned how Trump, who after all is a billionaire born into a wealthy family, how did he become a working class hero so widely perceived among the people who voted for him as someone outside of the American economic and political elite class?
CORNEL WEST: Well, a significant number of those who voted for Trump were actually working people, middle-class people, who are looking for a way out given the fact they're losers under neoliberal globalization. And they tilted toward Bernie Sanders, but the Democratic Party and its neoliberal regime marginalized him and us. And so, the only alternative is this pseudo-populist billionaire with these narcissistic sensibilities and fascist neofascist proclivities. And he presented himself as caring for their situation. And so, that economic insecurity, that economic neglect is very real. There's no doubt about that. And it's disproportionate white brothers and sisters, but they are suffering. And it was a cry of the heart.
Unfortunately, given the right-wing populist and the authoritarian orientation of Trump, he uses that kind of anguish to scapegoat Mexicans, Muslims, and others rather than confront the most powerful 21 percent of those who voted for Trump do not like him, but they feel as if they had no alternative. And we have to keep in mind 42 percent of our fellow citizens didn't go to the polls at all. Already given up on the system, you see. And so, the system itself is, now, is in such a chronic crisis. And we said before the election that Trump would be a neofascist catastrophe. And it's very clear from his picks that he is moving in that direction.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to Bernie Sanders. We had the first extensive hour with Bernie after the election. I spoke to him Monday night at the Free Library. We played it Tuesday. He spoke about how he hopes to reform the Democratic Party as the new chair. Well, it's a new position called the outreach position. He's now in the Senate Democratic leadership. Even if he is an independent socialist. This is Bernie Sanders.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: The new approach, I think, is to, a, create a fifty state strategy. That means we start playing ball in states that the Democrats have conceded decades ago. But, more importantly, we create a kind of grassroots party where the most important people in the party are not just wealthy campaign contributors, but working people, young people, people in the middle class who are going to come in and going to start telling us what their needs are and give us some ideas as to how we go forward. And I accept this responsibility as outreach chair with a lot of trepidation, but also with excitement. I'm going to be going around the country to try to do everything that I can to create a party which represents working people and not just the one percent.


AMY GOODMAN: So, a lot of questions, and I encourage people to watch the full hour at democracynow.org. You were a big supporter of Bernie Sanders. You served on the Democratic Platform Committee on behalf of Bernie Sanders. Do you think he's right to re work on reforming the Democrats rather than focus on building a new party? He is leading a movement called our revolution. He has said we have to work with Donald in different ways. He says to the people who supported him. Elizabeth Warren, in the last day, has said she is not so clear she's going to be working with Donald Trump. I mean, very interesting when Barack Obama came in, Mitch McConnell made it clear they won't work with Obama at all. But, what are your thoughts on all of this, the inside/outside strategy?
CORNEL WEST: Well, I think there's going to be a lot of different responses. I have a deep love and respect for brother Bernie Sanders. I always will. I don't always agree with him. I'm not convinced that the Democratic Party can be reformed. I think it still has a kind of allegiance to a neoliberal orientation. It still has allegiance to Wall Street, the very victory of Nancy Pelosi is a sign that neoliberalism is still hegemonic in the party. I hope that Keith Ellison is able to present a challenge to it. But, my hunch is
AMY GOODMAN: as head of if he makes it is head of the Democratic National Committee.
CORNEL WEST: If he's head of the DNC. But my hunch is the Democratic Party has simply run out of gas. I mean, this is a party that couldn't even publicly oppose TPP when we debated that in the Platform Committee. And that's just one small example. Couldn't stop couldn't vote to stop Fracking, and so on. So, it's still so tied to big money.
AMY GOODMAN: Even though Hillary Clinton had changed her position, because of the pressure of Bernie Sanders on TPP?
CORNEL WEST: Exactly, and tight there in the debates, they got the word from the White House, we didn't want to embarrass the president. Embarrass the president? What about the poor and working people who are dealing with the suffering? Is that less important than embarrassing the president? And they were very clear about that. And I pushed and pushed and pushed. Here's somebody they can't even talk about the Israeli occupation honestly. The president uses a language in 2009, they can't use it in the platform. Why? Because they tied to the lobby, they tied to AIPAC. So that, when you have those kinds of restraints on you, these albatrosses around your neck, how are you going to be a party for the people? How you going to be a party for working people, poor people. How you going to be a party for those brothers and sisters in Yemen who are dealing with U.S.-supported troops and bombs killing them, mediated with Saudi Arabian government? How you going to deal with the Palestinians, deal with the Israeli occupation? How you going to deal with Africans, the expansion of AFRICOM, and so forth? There has to be some integrity and moral consistency. And unfortunately, the Democratic Party just strikes me as not being able to meet that challenge. But, I'll work with brother Bernie Sanders and others both out of love and because I know in his heart he's got a certain deep commitment to working people. But now, even as an independent socialist, he's behaving as a New Deal liberal.
AMY GOODMAN: What does that mean?
CORNEL WEST: That means that he is a well, a Democratic Socialist is a radical who's critical of the system. A New Deal liberal works within the system and doesn't want to bring massive critique for structural change. And I can understand it because he's inside. But those of us who are outside and free, we're going to tell the truth. We're going to be honest. We will have certain kind of moral and spiritual integrity. And no matter how marginal that makes us, we're not, in any way, going to become well-adjusted to this injustice out here.


USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Paul Rigby - 02-12-2016

Paul Rigby Wrote:"Trump's Job is to Prepare America for War"

William F. Engdahl interviewed by Joyce Riley for The Power Hour, November 21, 2016

[video=youtube_share;jb_mBFwiYWg]http://youtu.be/jb_mBFwiYWg[/video]

The contrary view to Engdahl's, courtesy of The Saker:

Is Donald Trump really only a showman who will prepare the USA for war?

December 02, 2016

http://thesaker.is/is-donald-trump-really-only-a-showman-who-will-prepare-the-usa-for-war/

This column was written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/is-donald-trump-really-only-a-showman-who-will-prepare-the-usa-for-war/

Quote:Let me begin by immediately say that I have the utmost respect for F. William Engdahl and that I consider him a person far more knowledgeable of US politics than myself. Furthermore, I want to also make it clear that I am not going to refute a single argument Engdahl makes in support of his thesis simply because I believe that his arguments are fact-based and logical. I strongly urge everybody to read Engdahl's article "The Dangerous Deception Called The Trump Presidency" in the New Eastern Outlook and carefully consider each of his arguments. Of course, Engdahl only offers indirect, circumstantial, evidence and only time will really show whether he is right or wrong. What I propose to do today is to consider the other possibility, that in spite of all the evidence presented by Engdahl, Trump might not be a fraud and a showman. You will see that this conclusion is not necessarily more optimistic than Engdahl's.

My main argument is much more primitive than Engdahl's and even more circumstantial: I see clear signs of a *real* struggle taking place inside the US elites and if, indeed, such a struggle is taking place, then I conclude that Trump is not a showman who has been "selected" (to use Engdahl's words) by the US elites but that quite to the contrary, his election is a nightmare for these elites.

My subsidiary argument is that even if Engdahl is right and if Trump is a showman, the ploy of the US elites to save the Empire and prepare for war will fail.

Let's take them one by one:

The reality of the struggle inside the US elites

Frankly, I don't believe that the imperial "deep state" was so devious and sophisticated to order the mainstream media to organize a year-long hate campaign against Trump because the "deep state" has calculated that only such a demonization of Trump would make him popular and get him elected. Why? I just don't believe that the US propaganda machine is that flexible. You look at freaks like Rachel Maddows or Martha Raddatz and you can tell that they are for real, in the sense that they were never hired to parrot a specific political line but they were hired because they are the living embodiment of a specific political line. And that goes for 90% of the Trump-bashing media. Yeah, maybe some are cynical presstitutes, but most of them come from what I would call the "tribe of assorted minorities" which viscerally hates everything Trump stands for. Their hate is sincere, it is pure, it comes from their very identity.

Likewise, when I look at the fawning in lockstep before Hillary which the mainstream media carefully nurtured I can only conclude that this is the logical outcome of decades of brainwashing by the liberal propaganda machine. This machine was built around hating the "common" American, the "deplorables" in Hillary's parlance, and this machine could not do anything but to worship her 24/7.

I am therefore convinced that Donald Trump got elected in spite of, and not thanks to, the "Patriarchy of loveless old men like David Rockefeller or George Herbert Walker Bush". Furthermore, when I see the desperate efforts by Soros & Co to organize some kind of "color revolution" against Trump under the slogan "not my president" and the efforts by, again, Soros & Co. to get Jill Stein to get a recount only in the states were Trump won, I come to the clear conclusion that the Neocons have still not accepted their defeat and that they are still trying to prevent Trump from occupying the White House. In contrast, Engdahl writes that,

We should not imagine for one second that the Patriarchy those loveless old men like David Rockefeller or George Herbert Walker Bush or unnamed others were so overwhelmed by the political genius of candidate Trump emerging from every scandal more powerful than before, that they were surprised, out-foxed, and just groaned and let it happen. The Trump Presidency has been planned in minute detail by them and their think tanks
I don't know about you, but I sure don't get the feeling that what is taking place today is the result of something carefully planned. I fully agree that the US deep state did not just "groan and let hit happen". But rather than letting it happen, I see the US deep state fighting against Trump with everything it has! I don't think that the post-election anti-Trump hysteria has been planned by the likes of Rockefeller or Bush at all. What I see are the Neocons using every bit of "ammunition" they have to try to oppose and sabotage a Trump presidency.

Engdahl also brings some very strong arguments against the nomination of General Mike Flynn who not only is known for his rather crude anti-Islamic rhetoric, but who even co-authored a book with the notorious Neocon Michael Ledeen. That a man like Flynn could find no better co-author than Ledeen should set off "red alert" alarms in the minds of everybody who understands what Ledeen stands for and represents. And Flynn is most definitely one of the better people around Trump.

In fact, a closer look at the folks around Trump reveals a lot of Neocons, Israelis and Judaics and all in key positions. There is a definite Likudnik smell to a lot of the people Trump has surrounded himself with. But that argument could also be reversed if indeed Trump is "securely surrounded" by doubleplusgoodthinking Zionists, why their big panic? Could it be that these doubleplusgoodthinking Zionists have some very strong concerns about what Trump might do as a President once he is in full control?

Last but most definitely not least: not only has Jill Stein been used to trigger a recount in some states, but there are now rumors that some Electors are now being pressured not to give their vote to Trump, as the law says they should. Whether true or not, this kind of rumors clearly indicate that the Neocons are willing to do anything and everything to prevent Trump from getting into the White House or, if that is impossible, to maximally weaken him even if that puts the entire country at risk.

Why do I say that?

Because events have a way of getting out of control which makes the kind of reckless doubling-down the Neocons are currently engaged in extremely dangerous. Of course, nobody currently expects the Electoral College to refuse to nominate Trump. But the unexpected seems to be happening a lot these days. So what if something like that happens? Or what if some states accept Trump's victory, but others don't? What if the "not my President" slogan really goes viral and infects the minds of many more people than right now? Or even worse, what if this absolutely irresponsible rhetoric ends up in violence with either protesters or Trump himself being shot? We know that the very same US deep state which organized and executed 9/11 also used snipers in Vilnius in 1991, in Moscow in 1993 and in Kiev in 2014 to bring about an insurrection. There are also report that such snipers were used in Libya, Egypt and Syria. Is there any logical reason to think that this time around the deep state would not use such snipers *inside* the USA?

While it is possible that the current situation has been triggered by the US deep state, it is equally possible that the US deep state is losing control of the situation which might now be developing a momentum of its own. Would the US deep state really take such a risk just in order to put "Trump the showman" into the White House?

The plan

According to Engdahl, Donald Trump was put into office to,

prepare America for war, a war the banks of Wall Street and the US military industrial complex are not presently in a position economically or industrially or otherwise, geopolitically, to win. His job will be to reposition the United States for them to reverse the trend to disintegration of American global hegemony, to, as the Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz Project for the New American Century put it in their September, 2000 report, "rebuild America's defenses." To do that preparation, a deception strategy that will fatally weaken the developing deep bonds between Russia and China will be priority. It's already begun. We have a friendly phone call from The Donald to Vladimir the Fearsome in Moscow. Russian media is euphoric about a new era in US-Russia relations after Obama. Then suddenly we hear the war-mongering NATO head, Stoltenberg, suddenly purr soothing words to Russia. Float the idea that California Congressman and Putin acquaintance, Dana Rohrabacher, is leaked as a possible Secretary of State. It's classic Kissinger Balance of Power geopoliticsseem to ally with the weaker of two mortal enemies, Russia, to isolate the stronger, China. Presumably Vladimir Putin is not so naïve or stupid as to fall for it, but that is the plot of Trump's handlers.
If that indeed the plan, then I fully agree with Engdahl Putin is not so naive or stupid to fall for it. In fact, such a possibility has been discussed many times by Russian experts on various Russian talkshows and they all agree that while Russia will definitely tone down its criticism of the USA if Trump appears to be interested in collaborating with Russia, there is no chance in hell that Moscow would in any way let the Americans weaken or otherwise affect the unofficial but extremely strong strategic partnership between Russia and China. Besides, the USA have nothing very interesting to offer the Russians anyway. Why would the Russians spend any capital on a clearly dying Empire when they have an extremely beneficial alliance with a growing superpower? Does anybody in Washington DC really think that two decades of rabid russophobia have suddenly been forgotten or that anybody in Russia will ever trust a word coming out of an American politician's mouth? For the past two years Russia has been scrambling to prepare for war against the USA and NATO. Now that the danger of President Hillary has almost certainly passed, yes the Russians are delighted that a thermonuclear war has become unlikely. But they will never forget how close it came and they will most definitely not stop their preparations. At most, they will somewhat slow down some programs, but that's it. Fundamentally Russia will continue her rapid pace of military development which, considering the situation in the Ukraine and in the Middle-East, is a sound decision regardless of what the Americans do or say.

I think I can very accurately predict what Russia will do during the next four years: Putin will meet with Trump and try to work out with him as many of the outstanding issues between the USA and Russia as possible (that is, assuming the Neocons around Trump don't torpedo it all before it even starts!). If Trump wants a reasonable solution for Syria and the Ukraine, he will get it from the Russians. If Trump is serious about forcing the CIA & Co. to stop using al-Qaeda & Co., that is to say if Trump is serious about smashing Daesh, the Russians will help him too. And if Trump wants the Russians to help secure a deal for Israel and Palestine, or help mediate some deal with the DPRK the Russians will oblige again. But what will not stop is the massive re-armament of the Russian armed forces and the Russian efforts to politically decouple the EU from the USA. These are strategic goals of Russia which will not be affected by the USA. Furthermore, even if during the next four years the USA spends X billion dollars on "defense", Russia will spend far less but get much more than the USA. Why? Because the entire US military-industrial complex is corrupt to the bone and the US armed forces in an advanced state of decay.

Contrary to what some Russian (and non-Russian) hurray-patriots think, Russia is still much weaker than the USA, but she is catching up at a rate which the USA is simply not able to match, Trump or not Trump, so the power ratio of the USA to Russia in four years will be even more favorable to Russia than it is now. If the Neocons really think that they can somehow reverse or even significantly affect this trend they are wrong. The USA are going down and Russia is going up, and nothing can stop this process.

The strongest argument in favor of Engdahl's thesis is this: while the Neocons have always been clever and very driven, they are not very bright and they can only see as far as the immediate short term. Furthermore, their truly infinite arrogance always brings them to the same solution when presented with a crisis: double down. And if that don't work, double down again. And again. And again. This is why all their grand plans first kinda work, but then inevitably come crashing down, over and over again.

Right now, there is nothing more stupid and self-defeating the USA could do than to double down on all their failures, miscalculations and mistakes. The smart thing to do is what Trump promises to do: to change course, "drain the swamp" in DC and save the USA by giving up on the AngloZionist Empire. I hope that this is what the slogan "make America great again" means: make it great by dumping the Empire.

My gut-feeling is that Trump is at least partially sincere, how could we explain the current Neocon panic otherwise? They seem to know something which really is freaking them out. Might that be that Trump is serious about kicking their collective rear-end back down to the basement from which they crawled out?

This being said, please don't conclude that I am any more optimistic than Engdahl. I am not. It's just that my fear is different from his. He thinks that Trump is a fraud while I think that the Trump is unlikely to have the right combination of intelligence, willpower, courage, abnegation and patriotism to purge the USA from the Neocon rot. Simply put I don't think that Trump will be the "American Putin". Furthermore, I think that the choice of Pence as VP is indicative a deeply misguided hope by Trump that he can appease the Neocons.

Finally, let's try to make sense out of Trump's absolutely bizarre and, frankly, irrational phobia of Iran. Is that not his attempt at throwing the Neocons a bone to chew on in the hope that they will let him be if he "gives" them Iran?

One thing is absolutely certain: if the Americans attack Iran, any rapprochement with Russia will immediately go down the tubes. There is no way Trump can get some kind of partnership with Russia while threatening Iran. Yet another contradiction in the putative Neocon plan.

God knows I hope that I am wrong. And, of course, I hope that Engdahl is wrong too. Miracles do happen and sometimes seemingly mediocre or hesitant individuals end up showing a strength and willpower which can change the course of history. But I think that Engdahl is asking the right questions and sounding the right warnings. While it is legitimate to hope for a miracle, one must never forget miracles happen very rarely and that it is far more likely that they will not happen.

The Saker

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Tracy Riddle - 02-12-2016

"Likewise, when I look at the fawning in lockstep before Hillary which the mainstream media carefully nurtured I can only conclude that this is the logical outcome of decades of brainwashing by the liberal propaganda machine. This machine was built around hating the "common" American, the "deplorables" in Hillary's parlance, and this machine could not do anything but to worship her 24/7."

I don't know what media this guy was watching all year, but it wasn't the US media.

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Cliff Varnell - 03-12-2016

Trump wants to do more business in Taiwan --so out the window goes the long-standing "one China" policy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-calls-taiwan_us_5841f96be4b017f37fe4bcae

What's good for Trump, Inc. has to be good for the country and the world, right?

Who could have seen this coming...?::face.palm::

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Cliff Varnell - 05-12-2016

Cliff Varnell Wrote:Who could have seen this coming...?::face.palm::


The new Sec. of Defense has a hard-on for Iran.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/james-mattis-iran-secretary-of-defense-214500

When "the adult in the room" is called "Mad Dog" you know it's going to be hellish.

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - David Guyatt - 05-12-2016

Quote:Then, Mattis linked Iran to the rise of ISIS. "I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief," he said.

::cokesniff::
::laughingdog::

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Peter Lemkin - 05-12-2016

In a scandal that could upend the outcome of the election, new documents reveal that President-elect Donald Trump coerced Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg into tweaking his website's algorithm in a way that benefitted the GOP nominee.
Earlier this year, Facebook was accused of shutting out conservative outlets from its "Trending News" column. Trump, who was worried that this could cost him the election, spent $9 million of his own money to hire several private investigators. They were tasked with digging into Zuckerberg's background.
They struck gold in late July, shortly after Trump had accepted the Republican nomination in Cleveland. His investigators found the smoking gun showing that Zuckerberg had screwed Eduardo Saverin out of an ownership stake in Facebook. The document further showed that Zuckerberg had not been the inventor of Facebook but, rather, had stolen the idea from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which had been alluded to in the movie "A Social Network."
In an August 3 phone call, Trump threatened to go public with the documents, which WhoWhatWhy obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. That would have put Zuckerberg in a precarious situation. To ensure Trump's silence, he agreed to help his fellow billionaire win the presidency. For his part, the GOP nominee promised to unleash Steve Bannon's army of offshore pepe trolls.
The impact of his assistance could be noted immediately. As readers may recall, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had built a very large lead in the race following her convention. On August 4, she was up by 8 points in the average of national polls.
However, after Zuckerberg ordered his Facebook Premium Algorithm Loop Mapping (FacePALM) team to tweak his company's software, the dynamics of the race changed and Trump was closing the gap quickly.
A simple change to the algorithm ensured that anti-Trump stories would no longer be visible by Facebook users who were registered as Independents. Instead, they saw a barrage of articles about Clinton's private email server, the Clinton Foundation and rumors of Clinton's affair with her campaign chair John Podesta.
Zuckerberg's involvement shows the incredible power that social media companies have. WhoWhatWhy warned about the outsized impact of Facebook, Google, etc. more than a year ago and it looks as though our fears were well founded.

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Peter Lemkin - 05-12-2016

WhoWhatWhy's Ongoing Recount Roundup

[Image: Cowboy-1-257x300.jpg]As the country really, the world looks on, developments regarding the US presidential election recount efforts remain fluid. In three key states, judges are ruling on whether and how the process should be allowed to proceed, and county officials are gearing up for scrutiny.
In this space, WhoWhatWhy will offer a roundup of the latest reports. Here is a look at relevant stories from around the Web related to our ongoing "Election Audit" coverage.

***

PENNSYLVANIA

Officials Allegedly Price-Gouging Voters Seeking Affidavits

Sunday, 12/4

According to Palmer Report, election workers in Bushkill Township Center, Northampton County, were caught gouging voters attempting to fill out affidavits in support of the recount effort.
The site confirmed the identity of Beverly DeSignor, a resident of Bushkill, Pennsylvania, and published her first-hand account where she witnessed a remarkable increase in the fee to file for the visitor after her.
"The sudden change in protocol on the part of county officials, from one group of citizens to the next, appears to represent an escalating attempt on the part of the officials to make it harder for the public to carry out their right to a recount," Palmer Report wrote. "Prices don't simply change from 25 cents to $150 per person within a span of minutes."
The site acknowledged that DeSignor has heard from Jill Stein's campaign regarding the incident.

MICHIGAN

Judge Skeptical of Ordering Immediate Recount

Sunday, 12/4, 12:53 p.m.

A federal judge was asking skeptical questions Sunday about Green Party candidate Jill Stein's request to order the immediate start of a presidential recount in Michigan.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith asked Stein attorney Mark Brewer to explain what the harm is in waiting until Wednesday, as planned, especially after Brewer conceded that the recount could still likely be completed by Dec. 13 if started Wednesday, though it would take more money and resources.
To get a court order, Stein must show she will suffer "irreparable harm" if the recount doesn't start immediately. Lawyers for the Michigan Republican Party argued that there can be no irreparable harm, if the recount can still get done with a Wednesday start.

Jill Stein Takes to Facebook Live

Saturday, 12/3, 11:51 p.m.
Former Green Party candidate Jill Stein spoke to the American people directly Saturday night, broadcasting live on Facebook and offering the status of her team's initiative in three key states.
"The process allows for many ways that we can ensure that we can verify this vote, Stein said. "That is the process that we have proceeded with in each of these three states.
[Image: Jill_Stein_Facebook.jpg]Jill Stein speaking on Facebook Live. Photo credit: Jill Stein / Facebook.

"It's very interesting that Donald Trump and his allies have moved to block our way to assure that this is a valid and reliable election result. … During the campaign, as you may know, Donald Trump raised this issue in a very big way, saying that the election was rigged. Well, many people resonated with that concern. Now we are proceeding to clarify, one way or the other."
Stein reiterated her position that the main goal is to force hand recounts in these states rather than a machine recount.
"If you just simply take the ballots and put them back into the same optical scanners, you run the same risk of getting the same errors again," Stein said. "We want a hand count.
"There were 17 or so districts that were just going to do machine counts, but now the vast majority of them have moved over and now they're all doing hand counts. So a big shout out to the boards of election for standing up to do the right thing."
In the case of Michigan, Stein said her legal team has filed a lawsuit to try to push back on Attorney General Bill Schuette's initiative to get the state's Supreme Court to halt the hand recount there, altogether.
"The attorney general (for the state of Michigan), filed a lawsuit against his own departments of election to try to stop the recount from going through," Stein said. "The board of election had already approved the recount by hand, which was supposed to have started by Friday (Dec. 2). This ally of Donald Trump, the Attorney General Bill Schuette, filed to stop this grassroots campaign for democracy. It's actually really quite astounding that they did that."
Stein acknowledged that her supporters attempting to force a statewide recount in Pennsylvania were required by a state court to pay approximately a $1 million bond, and have had to abandon their suit.
"(These are) average citizens just standing up for the democracy we deserve," Stein said. "That 100 citizens have to jump through these hoops in order to file for their right to go to court, statewide, and then they're told they have to pay $1 million. It's really pretty mind boggling.
"So, we will be announcing on Monday steps we're going to take in order to keep this case moving forward."
Stein clarified that select recount efforts at the precinct level are still proceeding.
"However, in Pennsylvania, these are all electronic machines with no paper trail," Stein said. "We are going to need to look at these machines, to go and look under the hood and ensure that they have not been tampered with, they don't have programming errors, and that they have counted the vote correctly."

PENNSYLVANIA

Stein Team Vows to Bring Recount Bid to Federal Court

Sunday, 12/4, 3:53 a.m.

[Image: PA_US_Court_Seal.jpg]An attorney for Green Party candidate Jill Stein said late Saturday evening that the campaign would bring its effort to launch a Pennsylvania recount to federal court.
Earlier in the day, the recount effort appeared to be scuttled by a $1 million bond requirement handed down by the state's Commonwealth Court. That court had scheduled a 10 a.m. hearing in the case that's now been canceled.
"Make no mistake the Stein campaign will continue to fight for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania," said Jonathan Abady, who's leading Stein's recount efforts, in a written statement. "We are committed to this fight to protect the civil and voting rights of all Americans."
Abady said the campaign would file for emergency relief in federal court on Monday, "on constitutional grounds."
Individual recount efforts continue at the precinct level throughout the state.

PENNSYLVANIA

Greens Drop Statewide Recount Suit

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Multiple news outlets are now reporting that Jill Stein's effort for a statewide recount are over after her supporters dropped a court case on the initiative Saturday night.
However, her team will continue to force select recounts and analyze election software in targeted precincts across the Keystone State.
According to the filing, Green Party-backed voters who filed the case described themselves as "regular citizens of ordinary means," and cited the obstacle of submitting the $1 million bond ordered by the court by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline.

MICHIGAN

Stein Supporters Sue to Speed up Recount

Saturday, 12/3, 9:12 a.m.

Supporters of former Green Party candidate Jill Stein filed suit in federal court late Friday to allow the recount to begin immediately.
Under state law, the recount cannot start until two business days after the court ruling allowing it to begin. That ruling was delayed by a Trump campaign objection to the recount, which had to be heard on Friday morning. The four-member Board of State Canvassers who heard the Trump complaint were deadlocked, splitting along party lines.
Stein claims the delay is unreasonable and violates equal protection and due process rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
Stalling until Wednesday would be "effectively denying the right to vote" if the recount is not completed in time to meet the federal deadline of December 13.
The Stein group's case has been assigned to US District Judge Mark Goldsmith, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.

FLORIDA

Recount Suit Filed at Deadline

Saturday, 12/3, AM

Late Friday, the attorney for the nonprofit, Protect Our Elections, announced that he has officially contested the certification of Donald Trump as winner of the Florida election, creating at least some possibility that a Florida recount may happen.
Clint Curtis announced via his official Facebook page that he has filed the election complaint on behalf of the group.
[Image: DS200_Scanner.jpg]DS-200 optical scanner. Photo credit: Verified Voting Foundation, Inc.

The infamous DS-200 optical scan machine is used in many parts of the state. Also, affidavits are being gathered from voters who claim they were illegally turned away from the polls. County election officials are reporting that thousands of absentee ballots were requested but never sent out in Broward County alone.
The suit names Donald Trump, his running mate Mike Pence, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants, among many others. It lists over a hundred examples of irregularities during the voting process this year.
View the official complaint here, in PDF format.

WISCONSIN

Machines With Tampered Seals Alleged

Saturday, 12/3

Jill Stein's official website has posted pictures suggesting some voting machines in St. Croix County had broken seals. Provided by an elections observer identified only as "Wendy," the images have gained notable traction on sites such as PalmerReport and DailyKos.
No detail is provided on when and where the images were actually taken. Further, as Snopes detailed Saturday afternoon, the machines don't appear to match those listed by the Wisconsin Elections Commission website (PDF).
"Wendy's" photos show machines made by ES&S iVotronics, while the WEC site shows all St. Croix County sites using machines made by Dominion/Command Central-Edge.
Until more context emerges on when those images were taken, where, and who provided them, the allegation should be viewed with considerable suspicion.

WISCONSIN, PENNSYLVANIA, MICHIGAN

Trump Supporters Turn Up Pressure for Recount Obstruction

Friday, 12/2, 6:00 p.m.

In a surprise to precisely no one, President-elect Donald Trump's supporters went to court in all three states Friday, determined to prevent, halt or stall ongoing election recount efforts.
With less than two weeks before the states would have to complete the tasks to meet a federal deadline to certify their election results, the tactic of stalling leaves the efforts in jeopardy.
In Wisconsin, U.S. District Judge James Peterson rejected a request to immediately halt the recount, insisting there was no harm in letting it to continue while the court considers the lawsuit, which will be heard on Dec. 9.

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia Launches Voluntary Recount

Friday, 12/2, 6:00 p.m.

Philadelphia is not waiting to see if Donald Trump gets his way and halts the Pennsylvania recount efforts. The city began conducting a voluntary recount after finding considerable discrepancies in voting totals there.
A revision in totals the past two days have resulted in Trump's statewide margin over Hillary Clinton reduced from over 71,000 votes to approximately 49,000.
Out of 6 million votes cast, the recounted tallies put Trump's lead at 0.8 percent. State law would have required an automatic recount if the lead was within 0.5 percent. Trump's margin of victory appears to be shrinking as more counties record their final tallies.

MICHIGAN

State's AG Sues to Halt Recount Effort

Friday, Dec. 2, 9:54 a.m.

The Donald Trump campaign's objection hearing before the Board of Canvassers on Friday morning was sent to recess right from the opening bell when news broke that Michigan's attorney general, Republican Bill Schuette, is filing a lawsuit asking the state's Supreme Court to halt the recount, altogether.
[Image: Bill_Schuett.jpg]Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. Photo credit: Aaronjbaylis / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).

"Michigan voters rejected (Jill) Stein's candidacy by massive margins but her refusal to accept that state-verified result poses an expensive and risky threat to hard-working taxpayers and abuses the intent of Michigan law," Schuette said in a release.
"We have asked the court to end the recount which Stein is pursuing in violation of Michigan laws that protect the integrity of our elections. It is inexcusable for Stein to put Michigan voters at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Electoral College in the process."
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson estimated the recount cost at $5 million earlier this week, considerably more than the $973,250 check Stein submitted to the state Bureau of Elections. Still, Stein has since responded by promising to work with the state to cover the difference.
Schuette is expected to run for governor in 2018.
Trump's attorneys were set to argue on the grounds that 1) Stein is a fourth-place finisher, thus not entitled to petition for a recount, 2) there isn't time to complete a recount by the Dec. 13 deadline, and 3) her petition is technically deficient because it was not properly signed and sworn.
Mark Brewer, a Stein attorney and former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, countered that Stein does not have to prove she was aggrieved, and has every right to petition for a recount.
"I would remind everybody that the original source of the claim that this election was rigged was Mr. Trump," and a manual recount could also dispel his allegations, Brewer told the Detroit Free Press.

WISCONSIN

Gov. Walker Considers Change to Recount Law

Friday, Dec. 2, 9:25 a.m.
Citing Jill Stein's fourth-place finish in his state, Gov. Scott Walker said Friday he would look into limiting the ability of candidates to ask for recounts.
"I think a lot of people no matter where they sit on the political spectrum kind of scratch their head on why someone would ask for a recount when they came in fourth," Walker, a Republican, told reporters in Madison.
"I think we should call it for what it is and really it's just a fundraising scheme for the Green Party. It's perfectly legal. It's their right to do that. They're paying for it. The taxpayer's not paying for it. The only real concern I have is that for a lot of these clerks, local clerks, they're already busy."

MINNESOTA

Republican's Recount Request Begins Monday

Thursday, 12/1, 10 p.m.

A Republican has initiated a recount, set for Monday, for Minnesota's 8th District race.
GOP challenger Stewart Mills lost to U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan in the Nov. 8 election by 2,009 votes among the nearly 357,000 cast. The Mills campaign has to pay for it, because the 0.58% margin is just short of the 0.50% required.
"This will be not quite 13 years for me in this position and this will be our fifth recount," said St. Louis County auditor Donald Dicklich, citing the 2010 gubernatorial recount that confirmed Mark Dayton's election over Tom Emmer and the 2008 US Senate recount that reversed Norm Coleman's election over Al Franken, giving Franken the seat.

MICHIGAN

Trump campaign files recount objection

Thursday, Dec. 1, 5:23 p.m.

[Image: Michigan_Secretary_of_State_Seal.jpg]
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the campaign for Donald Trump has effectively shut down recount efforts in the state, at least until next week, after filing a recount objection.
The Trump campaign called the recount effort "lawless and insulting," and insisted "Stein does not and could not possibly allege a good faith belief that she may have won the state of Michigan."
Apparently, the Trump team wants people to believe the effort is all about a Stein victory.
Meanwhile, a Stein attorney reminded officials the law is clear: any candidate has a right to request a recount.
The state's Board of Canvassers will convene Friday morning to rule on the issue, but state law requires a two-day delay afterward. The delay means that crucial work scheduled for this weekend will not happen.
With a Dec. 13 deadline for completing the hand recount of 4.8 million votes, the time available to finish in time is razor-thin.

PENNSYLVANIA

With Philadelphia complete, Trump's lead down to 46,000

Thursday, Dec. 1, 1:43 p.m.

On election night, CNN had Pennsylvania in the Donald Trump column by a margin of over 67,000 votes. Almost three weeks later, with the City of Philadelphia finally finished counting votes, including absentee and provisional ballots, the margin was down to 46,000. Nearly 5 million people voted in the state.
While that creates a difference of about 0.8%, the state requires a margin of less than 0.5% or 30,000 votes to force an automatic recount. Attorneys for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will appear in court on Monday to argue for a statewide recount.
Nearly 46,000 Keystone State Democrats switched their registration to Republican early this year, in what was termed the "ditch and switch" movement for Trump.
It is interesting to note that Stein received 49,776 votes in Pennsylvania.

MICHIGAN

Trump Campaign Staffer Convicted of Election Fraud

11/30, 1:54 p.m.

In Michigan, a Donald Trump campaign staffer was convicted on all 10 counts of felony election fraud stemming from a judicial race in 2012. Brandon Hall, 27, forged signatures on petitions in an effort to get candidate Chris Houghtaling on the ballot.
[Image: Donald_Trump_Brandon_Hall.jpg]Donald Trump and Brandon Hall (inset) Photo credit: Dario Steckley / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) and hallforhouse / YouTube.

The ruling could not come at a less opportune time for Trump, with his people and the GOP arguing against the merits of former Green Party candidate Jill Stein's ongoing recount efforts.
In June, Hall's legal team argued that the charges should be misdemeanors, and the case reached the state's supreme court. That didn't go so well.
Trump's Michigan campaign team hired him anyway.
"Donald Trump has made claim after claim calling the integrity of the election into question, but his Michigan campaign had no problem hiring a staff member facing election law charges," Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, told the Grand Haven Tribune on Wednesday.
"The fact that the Trump campaign and the Michigan Republican Party embraced Brandon Hall is just one more reason to recount and audit the vote in Michigan."
Here is Hall's blog, dormant since Oct. 28. Seems he's been busy.

ALSO IN MICHIGAN


Wed 11/30, 2:30 p.m.
Stein followed through and filed her request for a hand recount, citing blank votes. The undertaking will begin Friday, examining 4.8 million votes that originally yielded a 10,000-vote victory for Trump.
Thur. 12/1, 12:10 a.m
With the recount there set to begin Friday, one state official sees the cost as being largely on the shoulders of Michigan taxpayers. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson estimates the bill across 6,300 precincts at $5 million, considerably more than the $973,250 check Stein submitted to the state Bureau of Elections. Stein's attorney responded that her client will work with the state to cover the additional cost.
Wed. 11/30,7 p.m.
One veteran election attorney, well-versed in recounts, details what must happen to get the effort done by Dec. 13. The state will need "all hands on deck. … It's got to be a very efficiently run process because you've got 83 counties and … 4.8 million votes," Melvin Hollowell told Michigan Radio. Can it be completed in time? "It all depends on whether there is a lot of challenges or not."

WISCONSIN


Wed. 11/30, 5:05 p.m.
[Image: Waukesha_Admin_Center.jpg]Counting absentee ballots at Waukesha Administration Center, Waukesha, WI. Photo credit: Michael Bacos for WhoWhatWhy

A district county judge rejected former Green Party candidate Jill Stein's lawsuit demanding a hand recount. Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn ruled that Wisconsin's 72 county clerks can decide for themselves how they want to conduct their recount procedure. Stein will not appeal the decision, and the recount will begin today. "It's (the counties') decision," Bailey-Rihn said. "It's their discretion. I may disagree with it, but I must follow the law."
Wed. 11/30, 4 p.m.
The Journal-Sentinel, the state's biggest newspaper, also slammed Stein's "vanity project" in a Wednesday editorial, calling the recount "a colossal waste of money and energy when there is not a shred of credible evidence of fraud or error."
Thur., 12/1, 9:53 a.m.
State Republicans have filed a federal elections complaint against both Stein and Democrat Hillary Clinton, who supported the recount suit. "Clinton stands as the only actor that would benefit from a recount taking place in Wisconsin or elsewhere," the complaint reads. "As outlined below, the Clinton campaign's direct involvement in the recount process, which was announced well before the recount itself was paid for and finalized, demonstrates a clear link between the actions of the Stein campaign and the strategic goals of Hillary for America."

PENNSYLVANIA


[Image: Lehigh_County_Courthouse.jpg]Lehigh County Courthouse, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Photo credit: Brad Clinesmith / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Thur., 12/1, 12:01 a.m.
State Republicans aim to block recount efforts in some precincts, curiously arguing that those seeking recounts were in the wrong place at the right time.
Wed., 11/30, 9:31 p.m.
A recount of votes already took place in Lehigh County on Wednesday. There, a group of observers, mobilized by Stein's campaign, gathered in the Board of Elections office in the basement of the County administration building to observe. When it was over, the totals matched those reported on election night almost exactly. The results uncovered three absentee ballots and a military ballot that had been uncounted the first time around. Clinton won the county by 6,800 votes, while Trump took the state by more than 67,000 votes.

ELSEWHERE


Stein's running mate, Ajamu Baraka, questioned publicly whether it's the wise course for the former Green Party nominee to pursue the recount. "I'm not in favor of the recount," Baraka told CNN. "It would be seen as carrying the water for the Democrats."
In Nevada, five counties are set to conduct recounts. Independent presidential candidate Roque De La Fuente paid about $14,000 for the effort. The process has to begin within five days, and must be completed within five additional days. If the results show a difference of at least 1 percent for De La Fuente or Clinton, a full state recount will be launched. Clinton won Nevada by more than 26,000 votes.

USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!! - Tracy Riddle - 05-12-2016

Peter Lemkin Wrote:In a scandal that could upend the outcome of the election, new documents reveal that President-elect Donald Trump coerced Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg into tweaking his website's algorithm in a way that benefitted the GOP nominee.
Earlier this year, Facebook was accused of shutting out conservative outlets from its "Trending News" column. Trump, who was worried that this could cost him the election, spent $9 million of his own money to hire several private investigators. They were tasked with digging into Zuckerberg's background.
They struck gold in late July, shortly after Trump had accepted the Republican nomination in Cleveland. His investigators found the smoking gun showing that Zuckerberg had screwed Eduardo Saverin out of an ownership stake in Facebook. The document further showed that Zuckerberg had not been the inventor of Facebook but, rather, had stolen the idea from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which had been alluded to in the movie "A Social Network."
In an August 3 phone call, Trump threatened to go public with the documents, which WhoWhatWhy obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. That would have put Zuckerberg in a precarious situation. To ensure Trump's silence, he agreed to help his fellow billionaire win the presidency. For his part, the GOP nominee promised to unleash Steve Bannon's army of offshore pepe trolls.
The impact of his assistance could be noted immediately. As readers may recall, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had built a very large lead in the race following her convention. On August 4, she was up by 8 points in the average of national polls.
However, after Zuckerberg ordered his Facebook Premium Algorithm Loop Mapping (FacePALM) team to tweak his company's software, the dynamics of the race changed and Trump was closing the gap quickly.
A simple change to the algorithm ensured that anti-Trump stories would no longer be visible by Facebook users who were registered as Independents. Instead, they saw a barrage of articles about Clinton's private email server, the Clinton Foundation and rumors of Clinton's affair with her campaign chair John Podesta.
Zuckerberg's involvement shows the incredible power that social media companies have. WhoWhatWhy warned about the outsized impact of Facebook, Google, etc. more than a year ago and it looks as though our fears were well founded.

Peter, he wrote this as an example of the dangers of fake news:

http://whowhatwhy.org/2016/12/04/trump-caught-blackmailing-zuckerberg-rigging-facebook/
As you may have noticed, just about everything in this "article" is made up. Why did we write it? To highlight the growing problem of fake news.
In addition to posting it with a cartoon, we actually tried to make this story sound increasingly ridiculous, for example by calling Zuckerberg's team FacePALM, or pretending that it was possible to file FOIA requests to get information from private persons or companies. Most importantly, we said there were documents but we didn't provide them (although somebody who was actually trying to mislead could have forged those).
But we also wanted to demonstrate how easy it is to make something sound true-ish. We included plenty of corroborating background information, such as Trump's rise in the polls and the accusation that Facebook censored conservative news.