Month: August 2017

Liberty Links 08/05/17

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If you appreciate my work and want to contribute to independent media, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit our Support Page. Must Reads Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (The Atlantic) Seymour Hersh Discussing Wikileaks, DNC Leaks, Seth Rich & FBI Report (YouTube) Wells Fargo May Have Forced 570,000 Customers Into Unneeded Auto Insurance (No one will go to … Read more

Anti-Populist Coward Jeff Sessions Threatens the First Amendment

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When you take a look at which issues Jeff Sessions gets most passionate about (asset forfeiture, drug war foolishness, cracking down on media), there’s one thing that ties it all together. He has a very deep-seated and visceral disdain for the American public. He’s your typical cowardly prosecutor looking to make a name for himself by picking on the weak and dispossessed, while never targeting elite criminals. One thing you’ll always notice about Sessions is how much of a thug he is. He’d never dare take on a bank executive or powerful politician, but prefers to marshals resources toward the most anti-populist crusades possible. His latest move to target freedom of the press is no exception.

Today’s announcement from the Department of Justice regarding a crackdown on leaks has two main components. The first is somewhat understandable, but the second is not.

Let’s review what’s happening courtesy of The Hill:

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Zuckerberg’s Recent Hires Tell Us A Lot About His Worldview and It’s Not Good

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Increasingly, a number of influential people in Silicon Valley seem to think that Mark Zuckerberg will likely run for president of the United States one day. And some people, including myself, believe that he could indeed win. “He wants to be emperor” is a phrase that has become common among people who have known him over the years.

From January’s Post: “He Wants to be Emperor” – How Mark Zuckerberg is Scheming to Become President

Mark Zuckerberg wants to be President. That much is obvious, and it’s been obvious for quite some time. I’ve written a couple of articles about it, as have countless others. Then yesterday, there was a lot of chatter about the Facebook CEO hiring Joel Benenson to advise him and his wife on their charitable giving. Most of these articles focused on the superficial “does this really mean he’s running?” angle. In contrast, I want to dig into why his recent hires tell you all you need to know about who Zuckerberg is, and why his worldview is nothing more than technocratic neoliberalism.

Let’s start off by examining a few excerpts from yesterday’s article from Politico about the hiring of Joel Benenson:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have hired Democratic pollster Joel Benenson, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama and the chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, as a consultant, according to a person familiar with the hire.

Benenson’s company, Benenson Strategy Group, will be conducting research for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the couple’s philanthropy. The organization — whose mission statement, according to its website, is “advancing human potential and promoting equality” — is endowed with the couple’s Facebook fortune.

In January, the couple hired David Plouffe, campaign manager for Obama’s 2008 presidential run, as president of policy and advocacy. Plouffe had previously worked at Uber. Ken Mehlman, who ran President George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, also sits on the board.

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New Court Documents Shine a Spotlight on the Shady Business Practices of Monsanto

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I’ve spent much of my time over the past several years focused on trying to understand the world around me. The most consequential thing I’ve discovered over that time is that an enormous portion of the U.S. economy is little more than a rent-seeking racket. It’s everywhere you look. Throughout every industry, at “think tanks,” and within government, there’s some elaborate scam happening that hurts the many while a handful of parasites win. This is destroying the social and economic fabric of our civilization. It’s basically become a rampant disease, and the recent release of court documents related to Monsanto further highlights the point.

This is precisely why nobody trusts institutions or “experts” any more. People aren’t being anti-science so much as they rationally no longer trust fraudsters acting like they’re doing work to inform the public. It’s not my fault for not trusting them, it’s their fault for being shady.

Here’s some of what The New York Times reported regarding the Monsanto docs:

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Kamala Harris is Being Aggressively Manufactured for 2020 by Wealthy Clinton Donors

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Kamala Harris’ coming out party as the person chosen to be manufactured as a puppet for the rich and powerful going into 2020 became obvious last month with the publication of an article in The New York Post titled, Dems’ Rising Star Meets With Clinton Inner Circle in Hamptons. Here are a few excerpts:

The Democrats’ “Great Freshman Hope,” Sen. Kamala Harris, is heading to the Hamptons to meet with Hillary Clinton’s biggest backers.

The California senator is being fêted in Bridgehampton on Saturday at the home of MWWPR guru Michael Kempner, a staunch Clinton supporter who was one of her national-finance co-chairs and a led fund-raiser for her 2008 bid for the presidency. He was also listed as one of the top “bundlers” for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, having raised $3 million.

Guests there to greet Harris are expected to include Margo Alexander, a member of Clinton’s inner circle; Dennis Mehiel, a Democratic donor who is the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, even though he lives between a sprawling Westchester estate and an Upper East Side pad; designer Steven Gambrel and Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman.

Washington lobbyist Liz Robbins is also hosting a separate Hamptons lunch for Harris.

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