Showing posts with label Mark Cuban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Cuban. Show all posts

We Resist: Day 413

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Thursday, March 08, 2018
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a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Earlier today by me: Are You F#@king Kidding Me? and Hope Hicks Casually Testified Her Email Was Hacked. And late yesterday ICYMI: Breaking: Trump Asked Witnesses in Russia Probe to Disclose What They Discussed with Investigators.

Here are some more things in the news today...

Sari Horwitz and Devlin Barrett at the Washington Post: Mueller Gathers Evidence That 2017 Seychelles Meeting Was Effort to Establish Back Channel to Kremlin.

Um, okay.

If that sounds familiar, well, that's because we've known this information for almost a year. This is, of course, hardly the first time that things we've known for a very long time are reported as if they're news. The only "news," such as it is, is that Special Counsel Bob Mueller is collecting evidence (only now?!) of a year-old report long confirmed by officials from at least three different governments.


* * *

[Content Note: Nativism; authoritarianism] I have spent the better part of a year warning that the Trump administration was signalling their intent to come after documented immigrants.

In January, they did the previously unthinkable: Revoked a naturalized citizen's citizenship, reverting him to a lawful permanent resident and potentially making him subject to deportation.

In February, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest raised "grave concerns" that ICE was targeting immigrants for their "immigration advocacy — a practice she associated with America's worst enemies."

Also last month, the Supreme Court ruled "that immigrants, even those with permanent legal status and asylum seekers, do not have the right to periodic bond hearings," i.e. can be indefinitely detained.

I have said before and will keep saying: This administration's (mis)treatment of undocumented immigrants is their canary in the coalmine. Their targeting is intolerable on its face, but understand that whatever they are doing to undocumented immigrants, they will target others in the same way eventually. We must resist their nativist strategies not only because they are cruel and indecent and unjust, but also because if we fail to resist them, they will proliferate.

That is all backdrop to this story by Regina Mahone at Rewire: Reproductive Justice Activist Detained 'in Retaliation' for Protesting.
Reproductive justice activist Alejandra Pablos has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in what immigrant rights advocates are calling an act of "retaliation" for protesting in Virginia earlier this year.

Pablos works for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) and is a member of We Testify, an abortion storytelling leadership program of the National Network of Abortion Funds. She was put in deportation proceedings, losing her legal permanent resident status more than two years ago, following a drug-related arrest.

Elsewhere, other activists have called attention to apparent retaliation against protesters, most notably in Washington state. "Alejandra isn't the only one. Detainment is also evidence of ICE's pattern of singling out immigrant leaders for being outspoken and fearless community mobilizers. In recent months, ICE detained prominent immigrant activist Maru Mora-Villalpando for her 'extensive involvement with anti-ICE protests and Latino advocacy programs.' Among other immigration activists, ICE has also detained Ravi Ragbir, executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, and Eliseo Jurado, husband of a Peruvian woman taking sanctuary at a Colorado church," NLIRH said in a statement to Rewire.News after publication.

The immigrant rights organization Mijente noted in a petition on Wednesday, the same day that Pablos was taken into custody, that she had led "chants [in early January] at a peaceful protest in Virginia outside of the Department of Homeland Security," where local agents took her into custody. "It appears that after the protest in Virginia, one of the ICE agents called her deportation officer in Tucson, Arizona, and sought to get her detained in retaliation for her protest."
This is utterly unacceptable. The federal government is using the power of law enforcement to chill dissent. It is intolerable that the Trump administration is targeting and silencing undocumented immigrants in this way, and it is intolerable that they will absolutely expand their use of intimidation tactics if we don't loudly resist their attacks on immigrants and refugees.

Make noise. Amplify what is happening. Raise awareness. And make your calls to your senators and representatives to demand that they take legislative action to stop ICE from intimidating and punishing undocumented immigrants and refugees for protesting.

Those of us who can still safely resist must.

The situation is getting critical, as the federal government continues to intervene even where local and state governments are resisting their nativist agenda. Alfonso Serrano at Colorlines: Department of Justice Sues California for Immigrant Sanctuary Policies. "In its most forceful move yet against sanctuary jurisdictions, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday (March 6) sued California and the state's governor and attorney general for state laws that grant protections to immigrants with undocumented status. It's the latest volley in a mounting dispute between the Trump administration and states that limit cooperation on immigration enforcement with federal authorities." Goddammit.

Make all the noise.

* * *


Also on the subject of trade:


* * *

Carol Rosenberg at the Miami Herald: Now We Know Why Defense Attorneys Quit the USS Cole Case: They Found a Microphone. "Lawyers for the alleged USS Cole bombing mastermind quit the capital case after discovering a microphone in their special client meeting room and were denied the opportunity to either talk about or investigate it, the Miami Herald has learned. The narrative, contained in a 15-page prosecution filing obtained by the Herald, is the first authoritative description of the episode that caused three civilian defense attorneys to resign from the death-penalty case of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri on ethical grounds: Rick Kammen, a seasoned death-penalty defender, and Rosa Eliades and Mary Spears. In fact, the prosecution says the listening device that lawyers discovered in an early August inspection of their special meeting room was a legacy of past interrogations — and, across 50 days of ostensibly confidential attorney-client meetings, was never turned on." Holy shit.

Brian Stelter at CNN: Sinclair's New Media-Bashing Promos Rankle Local Anchors. "The instructions to local stations say that the promos 'should play using news time, not commercial time.' ...'Please produce the attached scripts exactly as they are written,' the instructions say. ...The promos begin with one or two anchors introducing themselves and saying 'I'm [we are] extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [proper news brand name of local station] produces. But I'm [we are] concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.' Then the media bashing begins. 'The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,' the script says. 'More alarming, national media outlets are publishing these same fake stories without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the national media are using their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control 'exactly what people think' ...This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.'" OMFG. Sinclair is going to put the final nail in the coffin of U.S. TV news media.

[CN: Racism; police brutality] Tanasia Kenney at the Atlanta Black Star: 'I Can't Breathe!' Police Beating of Black North Carolina Man Draws Outrage. "Authorities are investigating police body camera footage from August that shows two white officers beating, then Tasering a Black man accused of jaywalking in Asheville, N.C. The footage, obtained by the Citizen Times, shows Officer Chris Hickman beating local man Johnnie Jermaine Rush with several blows to the head while another officer held him down. Rush was also shocked twice with a stun gun, saying several times that he couldn't breathe as officers struggled to restrain him."

Again, this started with a municipal violation. Over-policing by way of municipal violations is a dynamic from which the vast majority of white USians are insulated, because white supremacy, racial privilege, and segregation explicitly act in service to insulate us from precisely this reality: The brutal policing of black USians for municipal violations, using minor infractions to generate fines and police records that have lasting impact on black lives and communities. I will again recommend [CN: video autoplays at link] this segment by John Oliver on municipal violations.

I am very angry that Rush was assaulted by the police, and I am very glad he survived the encounter.

[CN: Environmental racism] Ayana Byrd at Colorlines: EPA Rules That Landfill in Majority Black Alabama Town is Not a Health Hazard. "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined there is “insufficient evidence” to rule in favor of residents of an overwhelmingly Black town who filed a civil rights case in response to what they say are dangerous health risks associated with their local landfill. Arrowhead Landfill is located in Uniontown, Alabama. It holds waste from 33 states and is twice the size of New York City's 843-acre Central Park. ...For the past eight years, it has also held 4 million tons of coal ash, relocated from a coal plant 330 miles away in Kingston, Tennessee. Uniontown's population, which is 90 percent Black with half of the residents living below the poverty line, has suffered a number of illnesses since the coal ash arrived." Fucking hell.

[CN: Homophobia; slut-shaming] Andy Towle at Towleroad: NFL Prospect Derrius Guice Says Team Asked If He Is Gay in NFL Combine Interview. "Former LSU running back Derrius Guice said he was asked if he is gay during an interview at this week's NFL Combine. Guice made the disclosure during an interview with SiriusXM's NFL show Late Hits, according to USA Today: ''It was pretty crazy,' Guice said in an interview on the SiriusXM NFL show Late Hits. 'Some people are really trying to get in your head and test your reaction. …I go in one room, and a team will ask me do I like men, just to see my reaction. I go in another room, they'll try to bring up one of my family members or something and tell me, 'Hey, I heard your mom sells herself. How do you feel about that?''' ...The NFL is looking into Guice's claim, according to spokesperson Brian McCarthy."

[CN: Sexual assault] Staff at the Daily Beast: NBA Probing Mark Cuban After New Witness Emerges on Sex-Assault Report. "The NBA will be looking into Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's 2011 sexual-assault investigation, specifically 'reviewing the allegations...and the decision by prosecutors not to pursue the case,' after a man at the bar that night came forward to support the unnamed woman's claims of assault. Christopher White, a security worker, told The Oregonian he witnessed the woman's reaction after Cuban reportedly shoved his hand down her jeans and touched her inappropriately. 'She jumped away like she was not happy with him,' White said. 'That's when the energy in the room kind of exploded.'"

[CN: Sexual assault] Staff and Agencies at the Guardian: NYPD on Verge of Arrest in Harvey Weinstein Rape Investigation. "The New York police department is ready to make an arrest in the sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein. New York City's chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, said on 7 March that police have gathered considerable evidence in the investigation, but it is up to the district attorney to decide whether, and when, the disgraced film producer gets indicted. 'It's his case right now,' Boyce said of Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. 'I would ask you to ask him.' However, the Daily Beast quoted a police official with direct knowledge of the case as saying: 'We're ready to go with an arrest.' The district attorney's office had no comment."

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

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We Resist: Day 412

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Wednesday, March 07, 2018
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a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: Joe Biden, What Are You Even Doing? and Gary Cohn Jumps Ship to Dogwhistled Anti-Semitism and On the Stormy Daniels Story.

Arelis R. Hernández at the Washington Post: Exodus from Puerto Rico Grows as Island Struggles to Rebound from Hurricane Maria.
Experts say the storm and its widespread devastation undoubtedly have sped up the pace of migration as residents have dealt with extended power outages, communication lapses, infrastructure failures and, in some cases, isolation. What already was the largest exodus in the island's history now includes people fleeing in droves simply to achieve some sense of normalcy.

Just this week, a power outage put nearly 900,000 residents in and around the capital city of San Juan in the dark and without water — again. Tens of thousands in Puerto Rico have had no electricity since the hurricane struck five months ago, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that 1 in 10 customers still won't have it as of the end of March.

The island's bankrupt public utility has struggled to restore power amid contracting scandals, materiel shortages and intermittent blackouts, and the biggest restoration contractor, Fluor Corp., confirmed that it is pulling out of Puerto Rico in the next several weeks after reaching the funding limit of its $746 million contract.

The governor announced plans last month to privatize the electric utility, sparking standoffs with unionized workers and arousing suspicions from residents. Some municipalities such as San Sebastian, a town in the island's northwest corner, didn't wait and formed their own volunteer brigades to string up power lines and return electricity to thousands of residents.

Nearly 58,000 homes here have roofs made of blue tarps while they await federal assistance; more than 437,000 residents — about 2 of every 5 who applied so far — have received money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for home repairs.

For many, the future feels ominous.
It utterly guts me that so many Puerto Ricans are being forced to leave their homes in search of stability that the U.S. federal government should be able — and willing — to provide. This is a terrible shame, and I am stricken by the thought that Republicans are deliberately neglecting Puerto Rico to turn it into a profiteering opportunity for the wealthy. After all, the worse things get on the island, the lower the property values in one of the most beautiful places on the planet, just a short flight away from the continental U.S. That there are plans to privatize Puerto Rico's power because of lingering failures does not bode well. Just...fuck.

[Content Note: Genocide] Saphora Smith at NBC News: Rohingya Muslims Will Soon Face Cyclones, Monsoons in Bangladesh. "Refugees driven out of Myanmar by what the U.S. has called 'ethnic cleansing' now face a new threat: the looming monsoon and cyclone season. Authorities have warned that more than 100,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled into neighboring Bangladesh are at risk of losing their makeshift homes to the deadly floods and landslides that accompany seasonal rains. Workers are scrambling to reinforce shelters and dig drainage systems before the bad weather is expected next month. ...[The situation] is largely the same in other makeshift camps housing the refugees near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. 'It's a race against time,' said Caroline Gluck, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in the country. 'We're very alarmed, we're very concerned, we're doing what we can, but we're not sure it's going to be enough.'"

Goddammit. And where is the U.S. State Department during this? "Engaged vigorously in the diplomatic realm." Oh.

[CN: Terrorism; abductions; misogyny] Samuel Okocha at Rewire: Nigerians Continue #BringBackOurGirls Campaign Amid New Kidnappings, Violence. "Members of Nigeria's Bring Back Our Girls movement are vowing to continue the push to free girls who remain in Boko Haram's captivity amid news of another abduction of schoolgirls and increasing terror by the extremist group. Despite military and territorial gains against the terrorist group, Boko Haram has continued to unleash despair with the latest kidnapping of more than 100 schoolgirls in the northeast Nigerian town of Dapchi, believed to be the largest mass abduction since the 2014 notorious Chibok kidnappings. At least three aid workers died on March 1 in another Boko Haram attack in Borno's border town of Rann." Seethe.

* * *

Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire at the AP: West Wing Turmoil with Staff Exits; No Chaos, Trump Says. "Cohn's departure has sparked internal fears of an even larger exodus, raising concerns in Washington of a coming 'brain drain' around the president that will only make it more difficult for Trump to advance his already languishing policy agenda. Multiple White House officials said the president has been pushing anxious aides to stay on the job. 'Everyone wants to work in the White House,' Trump said during a news conference Tuesday. 'They all want a piece of the Oval Office.' The reality is far different."

Insert all the jokes here about a "brain drain" in Trump's White House, but, as I've said many times before, the fact that there aren't smart, competent, experienced, ethical people willing to work for the executive branch is not funny. It is terrifying. No one wants to live in a country being run by corrupt fools.

David Voreacos and Greg Farrell at Bloomberg: Trump Fundraiser's Email Breach Shows Risks Before Midterms. "A top Republican fundraiser for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign learned last week that his email accounts had been hacked, sowing concerns that document leaks could roil another national U.S. election cycle. Elliott Broidy, a deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, became aware of the problem when a reporter asked about some of his private messages, said his attorney, Christopher Clark. Broidy then alerted law-enforcement officials, who are now investigating the breach of his private and business emails. Some news organizations have cited Broidy's communications in articles over the past week, describing how he sought to use his political ties to advance his business interests and those of foreign leaders. More embarrassing revelations could follow. All the information will be released soon on 'the dark web,' according to a note accompanying emails sent to Bloomberg."

Hacked DNC and Clinton campaign emails were reported without regard for the fact that they were illegally obtained, and the Russians, who were behind the hacking, never faced any consequences, so of course it's going to happen again during the next election cycle. We have learned nothing and taken no precautions to prevent a repeat of election interference. If anything, meddlers will double-down, because they know nothing will be done to stop or punish them.

Meanwhile, the investigation of the 2016 clusterfuck continues...


Swapna Krishna at Engadget: Russians Used Fake Social Accounts to Gather Americans' Personal Data. "The Internet Research Agency, which is backed by the Russian government, used fake social media accounts to collect names, email addresses, and more. The activity continued after the 2016 election. Using social media, Russian accounts such as @Black4Black and @BlackMattersUS reached out to small business owners, asking for personal information in order to write profiles and promotional content. They promised to add these companies to a business directory as part of their activist outreach. But nothing ever happened. ...It's not fully clear why Russian operatives want this personal information, but it could be tied to either identity theft or a larger effort to influence US politics." COULD BE!


We are so fucked.

* * *

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Amanda Terkel at the Huffington Post: Ben Carson Removes Anti-Discrimination Language from HUD Mission Statement. "Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is changing the mission statement of his agency, removing promises of inclusive and discrimination-free communities. In a March 5 memo addressed to HUD political staff, Amy Thompson, the department's assistant secretary for public affairs, explained that the statement is being updated 'in an effort to align HUD's mission with the Secretary's priorities and that of the Administration.' The new mission statement reads: 'HUD's mission is to ensure Americans have access to fair, affordable housing and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, thereby strengthening our communities and nation.' ...The Carson mission statement is quite different from the current one, which is still up on HUD's website. That one promises 'strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.' It also says these communities will be 'free from discrimination'."


[CN: War on agency] Rebekah Entralgo at ThinkProgress: Mississippi Senate Passes the Most Restrictive Abortion Ban in the Country. "On Tuesday, the Mississippi state senate passed a bill 35-14 that would ban abortions after just 15 weeks of pregnancy. The senate vote brings the state one step closer to enacting the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. Current state law prohibits the procedure 20 weeks after a woman's last period. No other state has a 15-week restriction. State lawmakers have previously argued that a 20-week ban was necessary in order to prevent fetal pain; by moving the ban to 15 weeks, the Mississippi legislature is making clear that this bill isn't really about the fetus, but about a larger attack on Roe v. Wade."


[CN: Sexual assault] Nigel Jaquiss at Willamette Week: In 2011, Portland Police Investigated a Sexual Assault Complaint Against Billionaire Mark Cuban: He Wasn't Charged; Here's What Happened. "The woman, whom WW is not naming because she's the alleged victim of sexual assault, agreed to a brief interview after WW obtained the police report and contacted her. She says she never contacted the media or sought publicity or compensation from Cuban and has put the incident behind her. 'I really left it in the past,' she says. 'I haven't thought about it for seven years.' Now married and in her mid-30s, the woman works in the medical field and enjoys hiking with her yellow Lab. 'I have a wonderful life,' she says. 'I'm a happy person.' But she's sticking to her story. 'I filed the report because what he did was wrong,' she adds. 'I stand behind that report 1,000 percent.'"

As you may recall, Marc Cuban was recently SHOCKED! to discover that a number of women spent years being harassed in the corporate offices of the Dallas Mavericks, the basketball team he owns. Ahem.

And finally...


Is there a single Republican who isn't a thoroughly hypocritical, ethically bankrupt, vile asshole?

That's rhetorical.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...
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"It Was This Zoo, This Complete S--tshow."

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Wednesday, February 21, 2018
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[Content Note: Sexual harassment. Video may autoplay at link.]

My friend Jessica Luther has been working on this Sports Illustrated piece with Jon Wertheim for months, and I hope you will take the time to read it, because it is terrific, difficult to read, and extremely necessary: "Inside the Corrosive Workplace Culture of the Dallas Mavericks."

It's important for a number of reasons, primarily that the women who, in some cases, spent years being harassed and denied both safety and justice, are being heard and believed by reporters who are amplifying their voices.

Another reason is because the Dallas Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, has political aspirations. And he did not handle this situation well, to put it mildly.

It's difficult to believe he had no idea what was going on in the executive offices of a team with which he has routinely bragged about being hands-on, but even if we take his account at face value, there are serious problems:

Reached by SI on Monday, Cuban expressed embarrassment and horror at the accusations—but insisted he had no knowledge of the corrosive culture in his offices. "This is all new to me," he said. "The only awareness I have is because I heard you guys were looking into some things… Based off of what I've read here, we just fired our HR person. I don't have any tolerance for what I've read."

Cuban continued in an emotional response: "It's wrong. It's abhorrent. It's not a situation we condone. I can't tell you how many times, particularly since all this [#MeToo] stuff has been coming out recently I asked our HR director, 'Do we have a problem? Do we have any issues I have to be aware of?' And the answer was no."

Pressed on how it is that a proudly hyperattentive owner could be so oblivious, Cuban said, "I deferred to the CEO, who at the time was Terdema, and to HR… I was involved in basketball operations, but other than getting the financials and reports, I was not involved in the day to day [of the business side] at all. That's why I just deferred. I let people do their jobs. And if there were anything like this at all I was supposed to be made aware, obviously I was not."
So, if we believe that (unbelievable) version of events, here's the problem: The CEO was, by all accounts, the worst offender.

Cuban is trying to pass responsibility onto his CEO and to the HR manager, the former of whom sexually harassed and groped female employees and the latter of whom created a hostile workplace environment by sending out homophobic and anti-choice emails.

He put his trust in untrustworthy men.

And then he relied on their takes when he asked if there were "any issues" he should be aware of, given all of the sexual harassment "stuff" being publicly discussed recently.

First, sexual harassment isn't new. That's something about which the owner of a male-dominated company should have been concerned long before now.

Secondly, and most importantly, a culture of harassment is concealed from the top down. If Cuban was seriously concerned about whether there was a culture of abuse at his company, the people to whom he should have been speaking were the women who worked for him, particularly in the lower levels of the corporate hierarchy.

"I just deferred. I let people do their jobs." Except they weren't doing their jobs, and they were harming women. And it would have been incredibly easy to find that out. But Cuban never bothered speaking to the women who worked for him.

I am very glad that Jessica Luther and Jon Wertheim did. I suspect the women are, too.

Open Wide...
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