Monica Lewinsky – GEORGE ROTHERT

Monica Lewinsky’s Legacy

“In the past you were looking for fingerprints and then it was DNA, and now you’re looking more and more towards examining people’s digital footprint.”

Smartphones don’t make people smarter; in fact, a smartphone in the hands of a dumb person makes it easier for a dumb person to suffer the consequences of dumbness.
Luca Mangiarano walked into a bank in Austin Texas and handed a note to a teller: “This is a robbery, please give me all your 100’s and 50’s in a envelope and everything will be ok.” The bank employee complied. Mangiarano left the bank, hopped on an electric scooter and rolled away.

(If you haven’t yet been nearly run over by scooter or had to walk around one abandoned on a sidewalk, you soon will. There are several companies scattering their for-rent scooters around various cities. You download an app to your smartphone to rent one.)

The Evolving Brett Kavanaugh

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as you likely know, has re-thought his principled position on consideration of Supreme Court nominees. Previously, he was adamant that Senate hearings were not appropriate before the American people had spoken in an election. Now, of course, he is anxious for a speedy confirmation, before the upcoming election, of the latest nominee. That candidate, Brett Kavanaugh, has had his own evolution of a firmly-held belief. In 2009, he wrote about bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. His opinion no doubt strengthened his perceived qualifications to join the Supreme Court.

“In particular, Congress might consider a law exempting a President — while in office — from criminal prosecution and investigation, including from questioning by criminal prosecutors or defense counsel.”

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ICYMI: John Oliver Debuts Facebook Ad

As we all know, Facebook has recently had some well-publicized problems: Russian bots, a precipitous one-day drop in shareholder value, privacy issues et cetera. In response, they’ve launched an advertising campaign to reassure us all that Facebook is a safe and comfortable place.
In case you missed it, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” premiered Facebook’s latest advertisement.

In case you have any lingering delusions about privacy, read the Boston Globe’s summary of how your every movement is being tracked and sold. We’ve come a long way since Kramerbooks bookstore fought voyeur Kenneth Starr’s subpoena of Monica Lewinsky’s book purchases.

Where Are You, Kenneth Starr?

Time for some perspective…

… at the one-year anniversary of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russia’s messing with our 2016 election.

President Donald Trump sent out a Twitter message celebrating the milestone: “Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History…”

Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani told Fox News (sic) viewers, “It’s about time to get the darn thing over with. It’s about time to say, ‘Enough. We’ve tortured this president enough.’”

Vice-President Mike Pence said, “And in the interest of the country, I think it’s time to wrap it up. I would very respectfully encourage the special counsel and his team to bring their work to completion.”

Continue reading “Where Are You, Kenneth Starr?”