Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 9-26-17

White House And Political News
President Trump’s Actions Against Pro Athletes Results In Widespread Divide And Backlash
Trump during his speech in Alabama.
Republicans Circulate New Version Of Health Care Bill To Try And Win 50 Votes
Donald Trump denounced protests by NFL players and took back a White House invi- tation for NBA champion Stephen Curry in a two-day rant that targeted top profes- sional athletes and brought swift condemnation Saturday and Sunday from league execu- tives and star players.
Wading into thorny issues of race and politics, Trump’s comments in a Friday night speech stating, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disre- spects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired. He's fired!'"
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement Saturday morning rejecting Trump's comments as divi- sive. And a number of promi- nent NFL players have also responded; "The behavior of the President is unacceptable and needs to be addressed," tweeted Seattle Seahawks cor- nerback Richard Sherman.
Trump continued his rant against pro athletes in a series of Saturday tweets also drew sharp responses from some of the nation’s top athletes, with LeBron James calling the president a “bum.” Hours later, Major League Baseball saw its first player take a knee during
the national anthem. And, NFL players, and coaches stood in unity and kneeled.
Trump started by an- nouncing that Curry, the popular two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors, would not be welcome at the White House for the commemorative visit traditionally made by championship teams: “Going to the White House is consid- ered a great honor for a cham- pionship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
Later, Trump reiterated what he said at a rally in Ala- bama the previous night — that NFL players who kneel for the national anthem should be fired, and called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to tell them to stand. Goodell and several team owners criticized the com- ments.
The Warriors said it was clear they were not welcome at the White House and decided to go the Washington, but not to the White House.Warriors general manager Bob Myers said he was surprised by the invitation being pulled, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disap- pointed that the Warriors won’t be at the White House.
As before, Republicans are proposing to replace the Af- fordable Care Act with a less
generous state-based program, and then introduce a new, sep- arate limit on federal Medicaid spending.
But with Republicans clearly struggling to find 50 votes in favor of that bill, they’ve made some important revisions.
Sen. John McCain has said he will not vote for the bill. The new bill, like the old one, would realize the long- standing conservative goal of reducing government’s power
over health care.
No less important, passing
allow Republicans to tell their most fervent supporters that they have repealed Obamacare ― and to quiet donors who, ac- cording to a recent New York Times story, are “furious” at the GOP’s lack of legislative progress.
That is why Republican leaders are still trying to get their bill through ― even though it is highly unpopular and has provoked condemna- tion from virtually every major organization that represents the people who provide health care, the people who pay for it, or the people who get it.
Republicans on Sunday evening circulated a new ver- sion of their bad legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
The broad architecture of the legislation, which Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced in late July and have been promoting ever since, hasn’t changed all that much.
Based on initial inspection, by Politico and Vox, the new bill is a lot like the original bill, which would kill existing fed- eral health programs, reduce government spending, and leave millions without insur- ance.
Each set of revisions seems designed to win over key Re- publican senators who have been critical of the legislation sofar―andtodosobefore Saturday, when Republicans, who hold just 52 seats in the Senate, lose parliamentary au- thority to pass repeal with 50 votes instead of the usual 60.
Sens. Cassidy and Graham revised bill trying to get 50 votes.
Graham-Cassidy would
Senators Kamala Harrris And Cory Booker Could
Be Possible Candidates For President In 2020
Sen. Kamala Harris, is the potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate generat- ing the most excitement among the Black political elite, according to participants at this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation policy forum in Washington held over the weekend. With Sen. Cory Booker, senator from New Jersey a distant second.
Harris’ outreach to other political leaders, her attention to issues of importance to vot- ers of color, her perceived fe- rocity, and even her status as a graduate of a historically black college — Howard University — were cited as reasons she’s emerged as an early, if far from prohibitive, favorite.
Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker were talked about by members of the Congressional Black Caucus during its weekend of events.
The early leanings of the Black political influencers are important because a mostly unified African-American elec- torate has helped push the vic-
tors of the last two open Dem- ocratic presidential primaries — Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 — to the party’s nomination.
According To Investigation: Russians Used Facebook To Help Donald Trump Win
Members of a hacking group connected to Russia's military intelligence unit, the GRU, began creating fake Facebook accounts to amplify stolen emails as early as June 2016, people familiar with the company's investigation into Russia's use of the platform told The Washington Post.
The Post's report comes weeks after Facebook an- nounced that inauthentic ac- counts linked to Russia were able to use the platform to spread fake news and pur- chase $100,000 worth of po- litical ads during the election.
The accounts linked to the GRU's hacking group, called APT28, or Fancy Bear, report- edly set up an account called DCLeaks and one under the moniker Guccifer 2.0 that helped spread the emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee in late 2015.
Cybersecurity experts be- lieve Fancy Bear was also be- hind the DNC hack.
Facebook contacted the FBI at the time, according to the Post, but determined upon examining the accounts fur- ther that they were financially
motivated and did not seem linked to a foreign govern- ment.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said shortly after President Donald Trump won the election that it was "crazy" to think his company had been used as a platform for Russian propa- ganda. But the company began to look again after Zuckerberg was pulled aside by President Barack Obama later that month, who implored him to take the issue seriously, according to the Post.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017