ELIJAH CUMMINGS DEFENDS HIS 23 YR BALTIMORE REPRESENTATION (SO DO THE RATS)

ELIJAH CUMMINGS DEFENDS HIS 23 YR BALTIMORE REPRESENTATION (SO DO THE RATS):

WAS TRUMP RIGHT? IS BALTIMORE STILL “THE WIRE”??

HOW MANY BLACK MEN HAS CUMMINGS HELPED TO (SECRETLY) INCARCERATE INSTEAD OF HELPING THEM TO BECOME GAINFULLY EMPLOYED?

CONGRESSMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS (“THE BULLY”) IS KNOWN TO RETALIATE AGAINST ANYONE WHO DOESN’T AGREE WITH HIM OR CHALLENGES HIM.

IN FACT, MANY OF HIS CONSTITUENTS ARE AFRAID OF HIM WHICH EXPLAINS WHY HE’S BEEN IN PUBLIC OFFICE 23 YRS.

SO WILL CUMMINGS USE HIS CONGRESSIONAL JUDICIAL COMMITTEE POWER TO RETALIATE AGAINST PRES TRUMP OVER HIS BOLD TWEETS ABOUT BALTIMORE?

WILL CUMMINGS RETALIATE AGAINST ALL THE JOURNALISTS & BLOGGERS WHO REPORTED ON THIS STORY?

STAY TUNED.


Post Sources: Baltimore Sun, DW News, Fox News, NBC News, Turning Point USA, Washington Examiner, Youtube



**** The trouble with Trump's tweets about Baltimore is that they are true


President Trump’s recent tweets about Baltimore, rats, and the city’s political leadership have roiled Washington and prompted another round of cries of “racism” from the usual race hustlers, who are seeking out every camera they can find. But rather than focus on whether or not Trump is a racist, how about we focus on the man’s words? Are they true?

Yes, they are.

First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995, Elijah Cummings has represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District (which includes Baltimore City) for the past 23 years. Prior to that, Cummings was an elected member of Maryland's House of Delegates, representing District 39 (also Baltimore City) beginning in 1983. In all, Cummings has represented Baltimore for 36 years.

What has Baltimore to show for Cummings’ years of representation? Here are a few examples. In 2017, 13 high schools in the city of Baltimore were found to have zero students — not a single one — who were proficient in math. And out of the 3,804 students in all who took the state math proficiency test, only 14 were proficient.

Baltimore’s schools perform this poorly despite the fact that residents of Baltimore pay 3.2% city income tax, the maximum local income tax rate allowed by state law in an already high-tax state. Take that as further proof that throwing money at problems doesn’t necessarily solve them.

Crime in Baltimore is, simply put, out of control. With over 2,000 violent crimes per 100,000 people, in the year 2017 Baltimore was well within the most dangerous 1% of U.S. cities.

And then, there’s the rats, the mention of which generated much of the ire directed at Trump. He claimed that Baltimore is “rat infested," causing some left-wing pundits to claim he was using code to refer to “black and brown people.” Yet, once again, the issue is whether he was right. And he was. The city has a very real rat infestation problem.

Baltimore’s rats have long been the subject of commentary in the news and in social media. From both sides of the political aisle, everyone from Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders to Ben Carson and Baltimore’s former Mayor Catherine Pugh (who resigned in May amid federal and state corruption investigations) have been outed on the web for having publicly commented on the city’s filth and squalor in years past. A 2018 video has surfaced of Pugh touring her miserable city and nearly gagging on her own words as she exclaimed, “You can smell the rats … Oh my God, you can smell the dead animals.”

So, yes, there are rats. A lot of rats. So many rats that one citizen created a full feature-length documentary film about Baltimore’s rats. The city and county themselves launched the “Rat Attack Program” to battle the epidemic, sadly without much success.

On Monday, Baltimore’s local Fox broadcasting affiliate WBFF was reporting on Trump’s tweetstorm when, as if sensing its opportunity for two seconds of fame, a rat ran through the frame effectively photobombing the Fox45 reporter’s live shot!

As a black American pundit, I am often asked whether I think Trump is a racist. I do not, but the answer I always give is that I don’t care. What I care about is the truth.

The point is that the overarching focus on race accomplishes nothing. And if the focus is simply on truth, then in this case, Trump is unquestionably right.

That Baltimore’s political leadership has failed its constituents is inarguable. That's why those same political figures, along with the race hustlers of the day, repeatedly pull out the same card they’ve been playing for decades. They get away with it by accusing their own accusers of racism. They choose to focus on accusations of intent rather than substance of the issue.

Baltimore is steeped in squalor, and the black community there bears the brunt of its inept, corrupt political leadership. Trump hasn't had time to cause that in his less than three years in office. But in less than three seconds, his tweet has shone a glaring spotlight onto it, and that bright light is causing the rats to scurry.

SERENA WILLIAMS’ U.S. OPEN “ANGRY BLACK WOMAN” CARTOON IS RACISM AT IT’S FINEST

SERENA WILLIAMS’ U.S. OPEN “ANGRY BLACK WOMAN” CARTOON IS RACISM AT IT’S FINEST:

UNFORTUNATELY 20th CENTURY RACISM IS STILL ALIVE EVEN FOR SUPER ATHLETES.


Post Sources: ESPN, Herald Sun, Washington Post, Yahoo Sports, Youtube


**** Australian newspaper prints racist cartoon about Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka


Serena Williams made headlines (and was fined $17,000) for her outburst over the officiating nightmare at the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday. It was a polarizing moment, with Williams calling out the double standard for the conduct women’s tennis players and the inconsistent application of the rules. Now, days after the incident, a newspaper cartoonist from Australia has put his spin on it. And his spin is really, really racist.

Editorial cartoonist Mark Knight of the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun was so proud of his Serena Williams-U.S. Open cartoon, which was published in the newspaper, that he posted it on his Twitter account early Monday morning.

If you’re wondering why he was proud, you’re not alone. He depicts Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes of all time, as a racist stereotype, with a huge nose and big lips. She’s drawn like a Hulk baby, her strength and power twisted into infantile ugliness as she stomps on her racquet with a pacifier on the ground.

As if the racist depiction of Williams wasn’t enough, there’s more. Naomi Osaka, who beat Williams on Saturday, is Japanese-Haitian. But in the cartoon, she’s drawn as a busty, blonde white woman. And the only words in the cartoon are uttered by the umpire, who says “Can’t you just let her win?” That makes it seem like he played zero part in Saturday’s controversy, but it also implies that Williams needs to be “allowed” to win because she’s not talented enough or because she’s too “angry.”

Twitter’s response was swift and angry

Considering that the racism in Knight’s cartoon was so immense that it could have been spotted from space, Twitter jumped on it immediately and called it out for what it was: racist, hurtful, and 100% unnecessary.

In this one, Williams is drawn like a racist stereotype again, with the big lips and nose, and very defined cheeks. Additionally, she barely looks like a woman, which is obviously intentional. She’s holding up a sign and being approached by a Nike executive, in an effort to tie in the brand’s recent Colin Kaepernick commercial and make it look like Williams fighting for herself on the court was just a PR move.

Williams’ race isn’t brought up in the text of the cartoon itself, but she’s still drawn like a racist stereotype. Zanetti made the choice to draw her that way, when drawing Williams like a person wouldn’t have changed the overall meaning of the cartoon at all. But he did draw her that way, because the point of the cartoon is to make Williams look bad, not just for challenging the double standard of women’s conduct in tennis and being emotional on the court, but apparently just for being African-American.

CHAIN MIGRATION IS BACK DOOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION; IT IS STILL A CRIME

CHAIN MIGRATION IS BACK DOOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:

TRUMP SAYS NO DACA DEAL WITH CHAIN MIGRATION.

OTHER COUNTRIES IMPRISON MOST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NOT REWARD THEM.


Sources: CNN, Texas Tribune, Twitter, Youtube



******* What is 'chain migration' and how could it disrupt a DACA deal?


President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted a new requirement of any immigration deal -- and it could throw a wrench in negotiations on how to protect young undocumented immigrants in limbo.

"CHAIN MIGRATION cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration!" Trump tweeted Friday morning.

The term "chain migration" refers to immigrants coming to a country based on a connection to family. In the US, a small fraction of green cards are given out each year based on employment, with family connections being a much larger share.

That includes spouses, children and some extended family.

It was not immediately clear what specific item the President was referring to.

Trump has announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program started by President Barack Obama, which protected young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children.

This week, however, he jumpstarted talks with congressional Democrats on ways to save the program and potentially keep "Dreamers" in the US.

The demand from Trump could complicate negotiations on the Hill.

While there is widespread support for the concept of a DACA deal, most likely paired with border security measures, the details reveal deep divisions between and among the parties that remain steep hurdles to overcome.

Republicans almost universally would want any deal to prevent any naturalized DACA recipients from being able to sponsor their parents or family for citizenship as well.

Trump has separately endorsed a bill from Republican Sens.

Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia that would eliminate some categories of family sponsorship and limit green cards to immediate family and minor children.

It would also cut a diversity lottery and overhaul employment-based green cards to put a heavy emphasis on highly skilled, educated and English-speaking applicants.

But that bill faces opposition on both sides of the aisle, including from some Republicans, who don't like that it slashes green cards annually in half and doesn't allow for low-skilled applicants.

Still, transforming the US system from a familial approach to a more merit-based system has widespread support, though past proposals that have gotten both sides on board did not cut overall legal immigration.

TRUMP vs SEKULOW: DEMS CREATE MORE DRAMA (FAKE INVESTIGATIONS)

TRUMP vs SEKULOW: DEMOCRATS CREATE MORE DRAMA (FAKE INVESTIGATIONS):

ARE DEMS USING FAKE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS TO HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS??

FAKE INVESTIGATION PROBES COULD DERAIL TRUMP'S "MAKE AMERICA GREAT" AGENDA.


Sources: CNN, Fox News, Meet the Press, Youtube


***** Trump lawyer Sekulow: President has no knowledge of being investigated


Jay Sekulow, a member of President Trump’s legal team, said Sunday he has no knowledge of the president being the target of a federal probe, following Trump's recent statement suggesting that he is being investigated.

“The president has not been notified by anyone that he is under investigation,” Sekulow told “Fox News Sunday,” in a heated exchange with host Chris Wallace about whether Trump could be under investigation without knowing.

“You don’t know that he's not under investigation,” Wallace said.

Sekulow responded: “I can’t read minds.”

Sekulow also said that Trump’s tweet that led people to believe he was under investigation was in response to a Washington Post story in which unnamed sources said the president was being investigated.

The FBI and two congressional panels are investigating whether the Trump campaign or presidential transition team colluded with Russia during or after the 2016 White House race.

Jay Sekulow, a member of President Trump’s legal team, said Sunday he has no knowledge of the president being the target of a federal probe, following Trump's recent statement suggesting that he is being investigated.

“The president has not been notified by anyone that he is under investigation,” Sekulow told “Fox News Sunday,” in a heated exchange with host Chris Wallace about whether Trump could be under investigation without knowing.

“You don’t know that he's not under investigation,” Wallace said.

Sekulow responded: “I can’t read minds.”

Sekulow also said that Trump’s tweet that led people to believe he was under investigation was in response to a Washington Post story in which unnamed sources said the president was being investigated.

The FBI and two congressional panels are investigating whether the Trump campaign or presidential transition team colluded with Russia during or after the 2016 White House race.

Before Trump fired James Comey as the FBI director, Comey told the president he was not a target in the agency investigation. The Post story suggests the FBI probe, now being led by special counsel Robert Mueller, includes whether Trump obstructed justice by firing Comey.

“Nothing has changed since Comey said the president is not a target,” Sekulow also said Sunday.

Sekulow said Trump has never accused Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein of “doing anything wrong,” and has expressed no opinion about him.

Rosenstein wrote a letter that seemed to support Trump firing Comey.

He told Congress last week that he would not fire Mueller “without good cause,” amid speculation Trump wanted to get rid of Mueller.

He also said he couldn't say whether Trump has discussed Mueller, citing attorney-client privileges.

TRUMP STARES DOWN BIG CORPORATIONS OVER JOBS BEFORE HE'S SWORN IN (REXNORD)

TRUMP STARES DOWN BIG CORPORATIONS OVER JOBS BEFORE HE'S SWORN IN: (REXNORD)

WALL STREET vs MAIN STREET

HE WARNS WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF AMERICAN JOBS ARE OUTSOURCED OVERSEAS FOR GREED.


Sources: Russia Today, Fox News, Youtube


******* Corporate Greed': IN Worker Reacts to His Company's Planned Mexico Move


President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday night after a second American company announced it would be firing hundreds of workers and moving its operations to Monterrey, Mexico.

Rexnord Corporation, a portmanteau of Rex Chain Belt Incorporated and Nordberg Manufacturing, announced it would be cutting 300 jobs in its Indianapolis factory, just days after Trump secured a deal with the Carrier corporation to keep more than 1,000 Americans employed in another Indiana factory.

Trump called Rexnord's announcement "vicious" and later sounded off in a series of tweets warning companies that future outsourcing will be an "expensive mistake", and that they can expect a tariff to be imposed in order to sell their goods back into the United States.

Kyle Beaman, a ten-year employee of Rexnord told Pete Hegseth that his employer's announcement made him "sick to [his] stomach]," especially since the company's severance agreement states Beaman must train his replacement to receive his package.

"Honestly it boils down to corporate greed," he said, "The wages down there in Monterrey would be $3 per hour... At my age [I'd] probably have to reinvent myself again [to find another job]," he said.

However, Beaman expressed confidence that Trump would come through for him and his coworkers, in the way that the president-elect's deal with Carrier preserved those workers' jobs.

Watch the full discussion above and let us know what you think in the comments.

AYESHA CURRY'S TWITTER RANT BACKLASH IS RACIST (REMEMBER TIPPER GORE?)

AYESHA CURRY'S TWITTER RANT BACKLASH IS RACIST (REMEMBER TIPPER GORE?)

IGNORE STEPHEN A. SMITH'S SEXIST, MISOGYNIST REMARKS.

IN AMERICA FREE SPEECH ISN'T COLORBLIND.

DOES ANYONE REMEMBER TIPPER GORE'S CENSORSHIP PR STUNT?

IS IT POSSIBLE AYESHA CURRY'S ANTI-NBA TWEETS COULD BE AN INTENTIONAL PR STUNT?

Sources: ESPN, Huffpost, Twitter, NBA, Rollingstone, Oprah, Village Voice, Undefeated, YouTube

Ayesha Curry, wife of NBA Superstar Stephen Curry is being slammed for her recent tweets about the NBA being rigged.

Many people have previously expressed this same sentiment about the NBA Play-offs, so why is Ayesha being rebuked?

Is it due to the fact that her husband Stepen is currently employed by the NBA or does RACISM play a factor in this backlash against Ayesha?

And why is Sports Commentator Stephen A. Smith (a BLACK Man) comparing Ayesha Curry to Lebron James' wife Savannah?

Both Women are BLACK, however that is where the similarity stops.

Since the husbands of Ayesha Curry and Savannah James will play for rival teams during the 2016 Play-Off games, is it possible Ayesha is strategically posting negative NBA Twitter rants as a PR stunt?

Has the Mainstream Media forgotten about TIPPER GORE, former wife of AL GORE?

When her husband was still employed as Vice-President in the Clinton administration, TIPPER GORE launched a national campaign to shut up and Censor the music of BLACK Rappers.

Yet......

No one, not even the NAACP told TIPPER GORE to "Shut up and stay in her place".

TIPPER GORE used her fake "Family Values" Hip Hop Music Censorship campaign to bring attention to HERSELF but no one said a word.

Not even Bill and Hillary Clinton!

******* Stephen A. Smith Essentially Tells Ayesha Curry To Shut Her Mouth And Know Her Place

“You are not just Ayesha Curry. You are Steph Curry’s wife.”

What many people thought would be a night of champagne celebrations for the Curry family instead turned out rather badly for them on Thursday night.

Stephen continued to lack MVP-level sharpness in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, fouling out and then getting ejected for throwing his mouthpiece at some rich kid in a loss that pushed the series to seven games. But most of the conversation following the game centered around his wife, who hopped on Twitter to accuse the Cavs of holding up the Warriors’ family bus and the NBA of rigging the Finals for money. (She quickly deleted the latter tweet.)

TWITTER/@AYESHACURRY

Ayesha joins the NBA conspiracy theorist community.

Steph defended his wife after the game, saying, “Everybody says stuff where you get caught in the moment ... I don’t fault her from showing some emotion on Twitter.” But on ESPN’s Friday morning episode of “First Take,” “analysts” Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless completely faulted Ayesha for showing emotion.

Smith spoke at length (as seen in the above video), in fact, about how NBA wives should and should not act. He focused the conversation around wives of the NBA Finals’ two rival stars: LeBron James and Steph. Smith thinks that Ayesha, a relative rookie when it comes to the superstar NBA lifestyle, should be quiet and act more like LeBron’s wife Savannah Brinson, a 13-year veteran of the NBA family. 

“[Brinson] never brings attention to herself. She never tweets and calls out the lying. Nobody, nobody is more scrutinized than her husband, but yet she thinks about how she represents him,” Smith said.  

And there’s nothing wrong or right about that! It’s Savannah’s choice to stay low and work on a small business. It’s also Ayesha’s choice to parlay her popularity as a family-first social media presence into a Food Network show. They’re different women who are making their own mark, if Smith couldn’t tell.

But he can’t, because his sexism won’t allow him to recognize Ayesha as an independent person from her husband. “You are not just Ayesha Curry. You are Steph Curry’s wife,” he shockingly said (and Bayless agreed!). Apparently, once a woman marries an NBA player, they no longer have their own identity. They’re merely ornamental.  

Smith claims that because “everybody veers towards Steph Curry,” we’re ignoring Ayesha’s tweets. Quite the contrary, as much has been made of her tweets Thursday morning. 

“If this were Savannah acting like this, do you know how much heat LeBron James may have taken?” Smith continued to argue. 

Savannah “acting like this” may indeed cause some heat for LeBron. Yet in the spectrum of overly critical LeBron stories, Smith’s “acting like this” hypothetical would likely amount to nothing. Would LeBron and Savannah suffer if she started defending LeBron’s flopping? No. Will Ayesha and Steph suffer because of a few tweets? No. When you’re Steph Curry or LeBron James, two of the biggest athletes alive, it’ll take a lot more than heated tweets to “hurt yourself or your husband or your family in any way,” as Smith said.

Ayesha evidently watched Smith’s diatribe, and responded on Twitter immediately: 

Seeing the tweet, Smith responded live on “First Take” and continued to explain why she was out of line.

“It is not me. It is you,” he said.

No it isn’t, Steven. No it isn’t. 

DONALD TRUMP vs BARACK OBAMA: A NEW POLITICAL MOVEMENT (3.0)

@realDonaldTrump

DONALD TRUMP vs BARACK OBAMA: A NEW POLITICAL MOVEMENT

TRUMP BORROWS A PAGE FROM OBAMA'S 2008 POLITICAL PLAYBOOK.

HILLARY CLINTON IS LEFT IN THE CAMPAIGN DUST AGAIN.

Sources: Political Insider,  MSNBC, The Hill, Rawstory, Webtrends, YouTube

In 2007 Barack Obama Jr officially launched his 2008 campaign for the Oval Office.

During his time on the campaign trail Pres Obama made new political inroads via his unmatched use of Social Media, Google and the Mainstream Media.

Needless to say due to such wise strategy, Obama ushered in a New Political Movement and emerged victoriously in Nov 2008 against his GOP challenger US Senator John McCain.

In fact many registered GOP voters cast their ballots for Obama in 2008.

Fast forward eight years later.

2016 Presumptive GOP US Presidential nominee Donald J Trump appears to have borrowed a page from Pres Obama's 2008 political playbook as it relates to Trump's command of Television Media and Social Media.

Trump has also persuaded large numbers of Democrat voters to switch parties and vote him during the GOP primaries.

So where is Trump's 2016 Democrat presidential challenger Hillary Clinton?

Trump appears to have left Hillary in the dust just as Obama did to her in 2008.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

This is not your Great-grandparents US Presidential election.

Grab a bowl of popcorn and a beverage of choice because this race is going to be ELECTRIC and On FIRE!

Stay Tuned

I predict that Trump is slated to WIN.

***** House Just Passed “Donald Trump Act” – Sends Big Message to Obama!

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is shining a massive spotlight on President Barack Obama’s amnesty agenda.

Trump knows that the border is so unprotected that dangerous criminals and terrorists can cross into America with ease.

That’s why the U.S. House of Representatives just issued a major defeat to Obama! Known as the “Donald Trump Act,” House Resolution 3099 takes direct aim at cities which don’t enforce federal laws about sanctuary cities.

The House passed it by an overwhelming 241-197 vote. This is a big deal!

Sanctuary cities have come under heavy scrutiny in the wake of Kathryn Steinle’s death on July 1 in San Francisco. Authorities charged Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez with her killing. Lopez-Sanchez, who is in the U.S. illegally, has a history of felony convictions and has been deported five times.

Critics of the sanctuary laws say such policies encourage people to immigrate to the U.S. illegally at the expense of citizens.

“A refuge for whom? A sanctuary for whom?” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said. “A sanctuary for Kate Steinle? Or a refuge for a convicted felon with a 25-year-long criminal history?”

Democrats accused House Republicans of bringing up the bill in part because of real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s focus on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities; they dubbed the bill the “Donald Trump Act.”

“Just a few weeks into his campaign and Donald Trump has a bill on the floor of the House. That is better than some of the senators he’s running against.” Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said mockingly.

via The Hill

Democrats can mock this legislation all they want. It’s clear that Republicans are getting serious about exposing the shameful problems caused by millions of illegal aliens flooding into this country.

#Don'tDoubleMyRate! Obama Urges Congress To Act On Student Loans NOW!

You could owe an extra $1,000 unless Congress takes action soon.

Taking out Stafford Loans to help pay for college?

Interest rates on new subsidized loans are scheduled to double on July 1 and more than 7 million students around the country will rack up an average of $1,000 of extra debt each. Congress has the power to stop that from happening. Unfortunately, so far, Republicans in Congress have voted to let those rates go ahead and double in order to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

President Obama knows that’s not acceptable. Today, higher education isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity that every American family should be able to afford. But it’s also getting more and more expensive.

For the first time ever, Americans owe more in student loans than in credit card debt. That’s why the President is calling on Congress to keep interest rates low so that every hardworking student gets a fair shot at the skills and training needed to get a good job in today's economy.


Sources: White House.gov, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube

Trayvon Martin's Name Mentioned More Than 600,000 Times On Social Media Sites!

Trayvon Martin Shooting Death Sparks Outrage on Social Media

Social media has put the spotlight on the story Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager who was shot to death last month by a neighborhood watch captain in Florida.

Martin was killed when he was returning to a gated community in Sanford, Fla., from buying candy at a convenience store. He did not have a weapon, the Associated Press reports.

The neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, hasn’t been charged in the shooting of Martin, and has said he shot the teen in self-defense.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, civil-rights activists and some lawmakers say race played a role in the killing and that the Sanford Police Department mishandled its investigation of the incident. They are also furious that Mr. Zimmerman hasn’t been arrested or even charged with anything.

Late Monday, the Justice Department’s civil rights division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that they were looking into the matter.

The story has ignited fury on social media. A Facebook page for Trayvon Martin was started on March 15, which has more than 31,000 fans. It has been used to share information about Trayvon Martin, the details surrounding his death and the ongoing controversy.

Trayvon Martin has been mentioned more than 596,000 times on Twitter since Feb. 26, the day Trayvon Martin died, according to social media monitoring firm PeopleBrowsr.


View Larger Map


Sources: CNN, Facebook, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, Youtube, Google Maps

Twitter Turns 6 Today! Happy Birthday! Social Media Success!

Happy 6th Birthday, Twitter!


"Just setting up my twttr," Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent from a service that no one had heard of exactly six years ago. It was the first tweet, or 140-character message, to ever be sent on Twitter.

Twitter hasn't changed all that much since Dorsey fired off that tweet at 3:50PM on March 21, 2006. However, while the format is the same -- 140 characters to make a statement, hashtags used to sort by topic, and an @ symbol attached to a username – the service has changed the way millions of people consume information, share and communicate.

"It's really been about how people have changed around the platform and they've gotten very used to conversing in these short text bursts," says Mashable editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff, who uses Twitter daily. He says people are turning to Twitter first as a way to get their news out.

"It's become incredibly important in people's lives to share information first with their audience, with their friends, you know, people they've never met before, but it's just become a truly powerful platform."

Powerful, indeed. Once criticized as a place where people go to share what they ate for breakfast, the micro-blogging site is now the first place many people go to get their news.

Tech evangelist Robert Scoble tells ABC News Twitter has become part of our media diet. "I don't see it going away, I see it becoming more and more important."

Think about that famous picture of Captain Chesley Sullenberger's US Airways plane landing on the Hudson River. It appeared first on Twitter.

And what about the Arab Spring? A 2011 study from the University of Washington says Twitter and other social media sites played a central role leading up to the toppling of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictators. Turns out Twitter is a great way to organize a revolution.

And the death of Osama bin Laden? If you were on Twitter, you knew about it before President Obama gave his televised address to the nation.

And then-candidate Barack Obama certainly wasn't the first politician to use social media on the campaign trail, but he was the first to realize and harness the money-raising powers of Twitter and other social networks. His followers were kept updated on his progress and when he won the presidency, he tweeted: "We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks."

Since then, politicians have taken to Twitter to reach their constituents and get their message out.

"Politicians understand that if people feel like these tweets are coming directly from them, they may be able to understand the politician a little bit better and they certainly feel like they have a more direct connection, or a more personal connection to these people," says Ulanoff.

About a year ago, Twitter was valued at about $10 billion, while it struggled to explain its business model to people. Now it's firmly planted in the world of advertising and is using promoted tweets as a way to make money, bring in $139 million last year in ad revenue.

Scoble says there's "a number of different ways to make money but the top one is going to be advertising."

Twitter has used cash from a round of private investment funding last year (there's talk of a public share offer at some point) to invest in services and talent. Most recently it bought Posterous, a micro-blogging service, similar to Tumblr.

The company hasn't revealed what it intends to do with the service, but Gartner research director Michael Gartenberg says, "It appears Twitter is looking to evolve from the status update service it started as to an information service optimized for sharing and consuming information and content."

Based on that, maybe in its sixth year Twitter might see its biggest changes.


View Larger Map


Sources: ABC News, Twitter, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama's Twitter Town Hall: GOP Crashes! 2012 Web 2.0 Success Or Tired Gimmick?

Twitter town hall: Obama answers not short, but tweet

In the end, a 140-character limit was too restrictive for President Barack Obama, whose answers at the first-ever presidential Twitter town hall Wednesday greatly exceeded his message box.

“I know on Twitter I am supposed to be short,” Obama said on Wednesday, holding forth just a little longer on higher education.

Obama, who last year at a press conference misidentified the popular social media site as “Twitters,” opened the event by making history as the first president to livetweet. The ghosts of the historic, ornate East Room might be forgiven for watching without understanding.

“In order to reduce the deficit, what costs would you cut and what investments would you keep,” Obama tweeted to himself at the start of the town hall, signing it “bo.”

In style and substance, Obama’s Twitter town hall echoed his recent Facebook town hall: Attended by a youngish company executive — this time, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey instead of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg — Obama fielded mostly bland set-ups that served as launching pads for familiar talking points.

“What changes to the tax system do you think are necessary to help solve the deficit problem and for the system to be fair?,” asked almorrison88, in a typical question selected by Twitter.

While the #AskObama hashtag on Twitter seethed with questions about marijuana, sex, politics, movie references and other titillating topics, the questions culled by Twitter and posed to Obama mostly played it safe with jobs, the economy, collective bargaining and higher education.

Asked what he might have done differently in handling the economic recession, Obama said he would have better explained to Americans how long recovery would take, and he would have recognized sooner that housing was a bigger problem than he first believed.

Twitter gatekeepers also let a question through from Republican House Speaker John Boehner: “After embarking on a record spending binge that’s left us deeper in debt, where are the jobs?”

“Obviously John is the speaker of the House, he is a Republican and so this is a slightly skewed question,” Obama responded, bristling slightly at what appeared to be an unforeseen challenge. “What he is right about is that we have not seen fast enough job growth relative to the need.”

For the White House, part of the genius of Twitter is the perception it creates that the president is accessible to anyone with an account. That egalitarian notion dovetails with the 2012 campaign aspiration to re-engage supporters as de facto organizers and advisers.

“I still think the #AskObama @Townhall is awesome even if none of my questions get an answer,” user JohnnyAudacity tweeted Wednesday. “makes me feel good just to submit Q’s & ideas.”

Some attendees at the White House event had a similar reaction: “I still can’t believe that I’ve sat 15 ft from @BarackObama for past hour,” said Tweetup participant CMcNally, adding the hashtag, “#starstruck.”

Even so, it’s hard to name a prominent politician less suited to the 140-character constraints of Twitter than Obama, whose locutions veer toward the expository over the pithy.

As it turned out, the questions at the Twitter town hall hewed to the tight character limit, but Obama did not — his answers — not tweeted, but spoken aloud — were as long as in any other venue. The White House Twitter team boiled down his responses to the proscribed length for various official Twitter feeds reporting the event.

The messy, small-d-democratic ethos of Twitter also presented a conundrum for the White House, which strongly favors tightly choreographed and controlled Obama town hall events to a disorderly Internet free-for-all.

Some of the funnier, offbeat topics posed to Obama that didn’t make the town hall list sought dating advice, wondered where have all the cowboys gone and whether diet Dr. Pepper really tastes as good as the original, among others.

Thornier issues raised by users that also didn’t make the cut included questions about the treatment of Bradley Manning, police brutality and race, and the administration’s broken promise on installing solar panels at the White House.

To establish some control, the White House made a partner of Twitter for the first-ever Twitter town hall, deputizing Dorsey to pose questions to the president culled from the welter posed by Twitter users. Dorsey said the questions were chosen by eight “curators” screening the #AskObama hashtag in regions around the country.

In some instances, Obama indirectly engaged with his Twitter questioners, but the relay setup of question-to-curator-to-Dorsey-to-Obama cost the event the kind of instant intimacy that is a Twitter selling point.

“RenegadeNerd,” Obama said, looking at a Twitter user’s profile picture projected large on a screen along with his question about raising the debt ceiling through executive order. “That picture captures it all there. He’s looking kind of confused.”

While Obama answered the question at length, saying Congress shouldn’t toy with the debt ceiling, Twitter users agreed online that RenegadeNerd henceforth would have no trouble getting dates.

Reviews from Twitter users following the event were characteristically mixed: “Qs reflected Twitter’s diversity & unparalleled access: from regular folks in TX and NH to economy experts to House Speak & NYT journo,” tweeted ChloeS as the event concluded.

The very next tweet on #AskObama, from Umair, said, “People, you don’t need to ‘communicate’ more with your politicians. You need more power to participate in your democracy.”

Until now, Obama’s forays into the Twitterverse have been rather formal and distant. His Twitter feed is staffed by others and directs followers to his speeches, events and official video — the same information that is available on the White House website, and also from various official White House Twitter accounts.

Numerous administration officials are on Twitter — communications director Dan Pfeiffer tweets with fellow Hoyas about Georgetown University athletics, in addition to hyping the president’s activities and message.

Press secretary Jay Carney has an account he rarely uses, while White House social media director Macon Phillips uses his official account to communicate frequently with more than 9,000 followers.

Like the White House Flickr page, Twitter is also a way for the administration to circumvent the critical scrum of the White House press corps and communicate directly with supporters.

There is also significant potential for Twitter in the 2012 campaign.

“[Twitter users] are going to be used for fundraising purposes, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Garth Jowett, a media literacy professor at the University of Houston. “Coalescing $20 donations is going to be the way of the future.”

Already, the BarackObama Twitter account, run by 2012 campaign staff, has been outfitted with the colors and logo of the 2012 campaign.

Sources: CNN, Huffington Post, NY Times, Politico

Fox News Site Post "Obama Is Dead" Rumors! Warning, Conspiracy Or Hacked?

Hackers Commandeer a Fox News Twitter Account

A series of alarming Twitter posts about President Obama appeared on Fox News’ Twitter account for political news early Monday morning, and the Web site for the cable television network said it was a victim of hacking.

The Twitter account, @foxnewspolitics, one of many operated by Fox News, claimed that the president died while campaigning in Iowa, but gave no source for the news. On Monday morning, FoxNews.com first posted a brief statement saying that the reports were incorrect, and that it regretted “any distress the false Tweets may have created.”

The six messages were removed online around noon on Monday, about 10 hours after they were first posted, but not before attracting a flurry of attention overnight and in the morning.

Because of the seriousness of the content, containing graphic, though fictional, descriptions of the president’s death, senior Secret Service officials had gathered Monday morning to discuss them, said a law enforcement official who declined to be identified because of an investigation into the matter.

A spokesman for the Secret Service, George Ogilvie, said, “We are investigating the matter and will be conducting appropriate follow-up.” The White House declined to comment.

In a statement Monday afternoon, Twitter indicated that its own servers were not broken into; instead, the e-mail account associated with the specific Twitter feed was compromised, and from there the hacker or hackers were able to gain access.



Twitter referred other questions about the incident to Fox News; a spokeswoman there did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FoxNews.com political news Twitter account, which has some 36,000 followers, had been dormant since Friday, but at about 2 a.m. Monday, a message was posted there that eerily presaged the posts that would follow about the president: “just regained full access to our Twitter and email. Happy 4th.” The next post said that the president “has just passed. The President is dead. A sad 4th of July indeed.”

The next one said he had been “shot twice in the lower pelvic area and in the neck; shooter unknown,” and offered the disturbing detail that he “bled out.” The next post said that the president was shot at Ross’s restaurant in Iowa.

The last Tweet stated: “We wish @joebiden the best of luck as our new President of the United States. In such a time of madness, there’s light at the end of tunnel.”

President Obama had been spending the weekend with his family at Camp David, and returned to the White House on Sunday, according to the official schedule.

FoxNews.com posted a short statement early on Monday morning explaining what had happened: “Hackers sent out several malicious and false Tweets claiming that President Obama had been assassinated. Those reports are incorrect, of course, and the president is spending the July 4 holiday with his family. The hacking is being investigated, and FoxNews.com regrets any distress the false Tweets may have created.”

Twitter accounts are hacked from time to time, but Monday’s incident attracted national attention because a presidential assassination was referenced and because a major news organization was affected. Increasingly, news organizations like Fox News have embraced Twitter as a venue for promotion and interaction with readers.

The false Twitter posts about Mr. Obama seemed even more provocative because Fox News is widely perceived to be a voice of opposition to the Obama administration. On Monday, thousands of people on Twitter poked fun at the incident and at Fox News by pretending to guess Fox’s Twitter passwords.

A spokeswoman for Twitter, Carolyn Penner, would not address why the posts to the Fox News political Twitter account stayed up so long, nor would she address reports about who was responsible. “We don’t comment on specific accounts, for privacy reasons,” she said.

A group calling itself the Script Kiddies claimed responsibility for hacking the Fox News Twitter account, according to Adam Peck, the former editor of Think, an online student magazine operated at Stony Brook University, who said he had conversed via instant messaging early Monday morning with a member of the group.

The Script Kiddies, Mr. Peck said, had posted to its own Twitter account that it had hacked Fox News’ political Twitter account and wanted to speak to The Huffington Post, supplying an address at the instant-messaging service AIM. Mr. Peck, 23, said he figured he would try the address as well.

The first conversation took place around 12:38 a.m., Mr. Peck said, before the inflammatory posts to Twitter appeared. “We did ask them what their purpose was,” Mr. Peck said. “They said that they did align themselves with Anonymous and the antisec movement,” he added, meaning “anti-security movement,” or hacking efforts designed to uncover information corporations or governments are trying to hide.

In the instant message, the person claiming to be a representative of the Script Kiddies said to Mr. Peck that there “will always be a group of people that need to stand up for everyone else and attempt to keep the governments in balance with its people.” The person claimed to be a former member of the better-known hacker group Anonymous.

According to the instant-message record, which Mr. Peck provided to The New York Times, the person with whom he communicated at Script Kiddies said that Fox News “was selected because we figured their security would be just as much of a joke as their reporting.”

Mr. Peck said he reached back to the Script Kiddies when the first Tweets about the president were published, asking if the group had hacked the Twitter feed.

Mr. Peck said he received a mercurial message in response: “I cannot confirm that at this time. Stay tuned.”

Adding to the confusion, the Twitter account for the Script Kiddies at some point seemed to disappear, Mr. Peck said. He started “frantically searching elsewhere to find corroboration of this story.” But after 10 minutes of not finding it anywhere online, he said he figured it was the work of this group.

Several news reports referenced Think’s interview, but for a time on Monday, the link to the interview was disabled. Mr. Peck, who will be graduating in December with a degree in journalism, said he suspected the shutdown was due to overuse. “We’re not used to having all that much traffic,” he said.

Sources: CNN, NY Times, Russia Today, Youtube

Weiner Resigns! GOP Takes NYC For 2012?? Could Be

Today Brooklyn Congressman Anthony Weiner Resigned From Public Office Amid A Twitter Sexting Scandal.

I Must Admit This Situation Is NOTHING To Laugh About & Quite A Sad Day For Brooklyn, New York.

To The Hecklers Who Disrupted Weiner's Resignation Speech, What A Bunch Of Idiots!!

Weiner An Advocate For His City's "Underdog" Citizens, Used His Political Prowess & Loud Voice To Fight For Social Issues Which Affected America's Senior Citizens, Veterans, Young People, Middle Class & Low Income Voters.

But Due To Perhaps Receiving Wrong Advice, Embarrassment & His Ego, Weiner Mishandled, Actually More Like Terribly Bungled The Way This Scandal Played Out.

Thus He Was Forced To Resign In Disgrace.

Had He Handled This Scandal Correctly i.e., NOT Lying!

I Believe He Would Have Been Able To Ride It Out Until November 2012.

He Didn't So He Was Forced To Resign.

Prior To Resigning Weiner Was On The Fast Track To Become New York City's Next Mayor In 2013, And I Don't Doubt He Would Have Won.

New Yorkers Love Courageous, Loud, Hardworking People Who Also LOVE NEW YORK!

Since Anthony Weiner Possessed All Three Attributes, He Would Have Easily Won The Mayor's Seat.

Do I Still Believe That Despite Weiner's Personal Foolish Decision To Sext Photos Of His "Private Assets", This Entire Scandal Was A Set Up Backed By The GOP?

YES I Still Believe It Was A GOP Backed Trap Weiner Walked Right Into!

Who Was Behind This Set Up?

I Don't Know.

Perhaps......

Mayor Bloomberg (Remember The Brooklyn Snow Scandal?)

Rep. Peter King

Donald Trump

Sarah Palin

Andrew Breitbart

It Could Have Been A Number Of People!

Whomever It Was, Weiner Just Happened To Walk Right Into Their Trap.

You See GOP Leaders Are Hoping To Persuade New York City's Largely Democratic Voter Base To Vote Republican In 2012.

Why Do You Think Sarah Palin & Gov. Rick Perry Recently Spent Time In New York City?

GOP Leaders Know They Already Have Most Southern Voters In Their Pockets. ("Southern Strategy")

But In Order To Whip President Obama They Need "Yankees" Too.

They Want To Persuade Northern Voters To Vote Republican Come 2012!!

Now Do You See Why Republicans Didn't Want A Powerful, Liberal Voice Like Anthony Weiner To Continue Representing Brooklyn Up Until 2012??

I Know Pres. Obama Suggested Weiner Resign & He Was Correct!

Why?

Had Weiner Remained In Public Office, The Mainstream Media Would Have Continued Nagging Democrats Until Either He Resigned Or Until The 2012 Elections.

So It Was Imperative He Resign To Allow Fellow Congressional Democrats To Focus On Stopping Those Discriminatory, Unfair, Unequal, Medicare Killing, Destructive Educational Budget Cuts Disguised As "Deficit Reduction" Proposed By Current Congressional GOP Lawmakers.

Weiner's Resignation Not Only Leaves Brooklyn (9th District) With NO Congressional Representation, But Its A Possibility The 9th District May Be Phased Out Altogether.

However Folks All Is Not Lost!!

What Better Time For Brooklynites To Come Together & Quickly Demand That A Special Election Be Held.

Who Should Continue To Represent The 9th District?

Either A Democrat Or An Independent!

Democrats Or Independents Who Largely Vote For Democrats, SHOULD Continue To Represent Brooklyn (9th District).

That Said, I Suggest Brooklynites Who Reside In The 9th District Unite, Mobilize & Fight For Proper Representation & Fight To Keep Their Congressional District Active.

What Person To Better Help Brooklynites Keep What Belongs To Them Than Former Congressman ANTHONY DAVID WEINER???

That's Right!

Anthony Weiner Should Continue Demonstrating To The People Of New York City Especially Brooklynites, That He Cares MORE About THEM, Than He Does About Himself.

Weiner Should NOT Give Up & Lie Down!

He Should Of Course Get Some Necessary Mental Health Treatment And Than Get Back In The Political Ring Of Fire!

Anthony David Weiner Was Born To Be A Political Powerhouse For America's Senior Citizens, Veterans, Young People, Middle Class & Low Income Citizens.

Such A Calling Is His God-Given Destiny!

I Know God Will Forgive Anthony Weiner & So Should Mankind.

How Dare Any Of Us Choose NOT To Give Weiner A Second Chance When NONE Of Us Are Perfect!!

You Heard Me!

NO Human Being Is Perfect! Only God!

Now That Weiner Has Temporarily Stepped Down, He Should Begin To Map Out A Plan To Get Back In The Ring As Soon As Possible.

Anthony David Weiner, The People Of New York & America STILL Need You!

Get Well & Get Going Again Soon!

Please!

We Love You!

God Bless You & Your Family!




Weiner Quits House Seat Over ‘Mistakes’


Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a high-profile New York Democrat who had been considered a leading candidate to be the city’s next mayor, said Thursday that he was resigning from Congress following revelations of lewd online exchanges with several women.

“I’m here to apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment that I have caused,” Mr. Weiner said, adding that he had hoped to be able to continue serving his constituents. “Unfortunately,” he said, “the distraction I created has made that impossible.”

Mr. Weiner announced his resignation in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, at a senior center where he announced his first campaign for City Council in 1991. But while that moment was filled with promise and excitement, his resignation occurred in a raucous and circuslike atmosphere, punctuated by shouting from a group of hecklers.

Mr. Weiner tried to deliver his brief statement in a restrained manner, but struggled to be heard above the din of the hecklers, some of whom shouted vulgarities and one of whom called him a “pervert.”

The departing congressman, who did not take any questions, said he had been proud to serve the people of his district who “represent the same middle class story as mine.” He said he was stepping down so that he could “continue to heal from the damage I have caused.”

Mr. Weiner’s decision reflected more than a personal failure, but followed an intense push from top Democrats who worried that the scandal was a distraction and was hurting the momentum they believed they were gaining against Republicans in the budget battle as they prepared for elections next year.

On Wednesday night, Mr. Weiner called Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California and Steve Israel of New York while they were at a White House picnic to inform them he had decided to resign, a top Democratic official said.

The news came as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old congressman of his committee assignments, a blow that would severely damage his effectiveness.

“Congressman Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations,” Ms. Pelosi, the House minority leader, said in a statement. “Today, he made the right judgment in resigning.”

Mr. Weiner began telling his most trusted advisers about his decision on Wednesday night by phone, informing them that it no longer seemed fair to his constituents and his colleagues for him to remain in office.

Mr. Weiner, a Democrat, came to the conclusion that he could no longer serve after having long discussions with his wife, Huma Abedin, when she returned to Washington on Wednesday after traveling abroad with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ms. Abedin did not appear by his side on Thursday.

“I’m sorry it has come to this, but I think it’s best for both him and his family and for the Congress,” said Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a fellow Democrat from New York. “While the disclosures of his behavior have been incredibly disappointing, I’m going to choose to remember all the good things he’s done for his district and our city.”

A special election to fill his seat will be called for by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and can occur 70 to 80 days after he makes the call, according to election law experts. The winner would serve out the rest of Mr. Weiner’s term, through 2012.

But the victor might have a brief political career since the district is a strong candidate to be eliminated as part of the redistricting process that is already under way.

The scandal involving Mr. Weiner erupted last month after a photograph of him wearing tight-fitting underpants was sent to a college student in Washington State. Mr. Weiner denied having anything to do with it, but during an emotional news conference on June 6, he admitted to having sent the image and to having had inappropriate online exchanges with at least six women.

Friends said that Mr. Weiner, who has been distraught for much of the past 10 days, seemed at peace with his decision on Wednesday night as he drafted his resignation speech.

Despite his decision, Mr. Weiner still had some supporters in his district, which includes neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.

“He did nothing to hurt the public interest,” said Arie Ciuraru, 55, as he stood outside a pizza restaurant in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, where he works. “To face his wife, he paid already. I feel sorry for him.”

Pressure on Mr. Weiner to leave the House has been building for days, with top House Democrats, including Ms. Pelosi, coming forward over the weekend to urge him publicly to spare himself, his family and his party any more embarrassment.

But that pressure intensified earlier this week when President Obama publicly suggested that Mr. Weiner should step down and Ms. Pelosi told reporters that she was prepared to strip Mr. Weiner of his committee assignments if he did not leave.

At the same time, the House ethics committee had formally opened an inquiry into Mr. Weiner’s conduct, including trading private messages with a teenage girl in Delaware. The investigation raised the prospect that he would face formal charges and sanctions, including expulsion. But with his decision to resign, the investigation is expected to end, because the committee has jurisdiction only over the actions of members of Congress.


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Sources: CNN, Fox News, LA Times, MSNBC, NY Times, Washington Post, Youtube, Google Maps