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Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton during his father's presidential campaign, after being told the information was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." (Elyse Samuels,Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Hysteria among the media and Trump opponents over the prospect of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin may have hit its crescendo this week. Thats right: The wailing from the media and their allies about Donald Trump Jr.s meeting with some Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer (whatever that means) may be the last gasp of this faux scandal. Good riddance.

Predictably, the New York Times started the ball rolling with front-page coverage, going so far as to argue, The accounts of the meeting represent the first public indication that at least some in the campaign were willing to accept Russian help. As if this were some breakthrough moment. The Times followed up with a headline yesterday that the meeting request and subject matter discussed in the prior story weretransmitted to Trump Jr. via an email. Holy cow. The Times is so desperate to move the story that the meetings arrangement over email is being made into Page 1 news. You would have thought it had come through a dead drop under a bridge somewhere.

[New York Times reporter on Donald Trump Jr.s claim of transparency: Nonsense]

And, of course, CNN has been apoplectic in its breathless coverage, running one story after another about this development on the air and online. But Politico takes the prize for the most over-the-top, made-up news, claimingthat Donald Trump Jr.s meeting could amount to a crime.

As I have written before, there are always people hovering around campaigns trying to peddle information and traffic in supposed silver bullets. There should be nothing to report on when a private citizen who works at a campaign takes a meeting with a friend of a friend offering information about an opponent. And yet, the media wants to make it a smoking gun.

If taking meetings with such people is a crime, then I hope there is a statute of limitations because I would have been a repeat offender.

Dont get me wrong. Trump Jr. should not have taken the meeting. These offers of information on the down-low are greeted with eye-rolling, and red flags are almost always clearly visible. No senior campaign official, much less a family member of the candidate, should take such a meeting.

Having the meeting was a rookie, amateur mistake. Between human curiosity and a campaign professionals duty to get the dirt when you can, Trump Jr. likely felt that the person had to be heard. In a normal case, the meeting should have been handed off to a lackey. Said lackey would have then reported the scoop or lack thereof and awaited further instruction.

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was nothing inappropriate about a meeting Donald Trump Jr. had with a Russian attorney during the campaign last year. (Reuters)

However, after seeing todays email exchange dump from Trump Jr., it is easy to see that the meeting should have never happened. Period.

I double down on the idea that this meeting was a rookie, amateur mistake. Even the lackey should not have taken this meeting. It was bad judgment, but not collaboration with the Russians.

Just imagine: Trump Jr. is sitting there when he gets an email from a music promoter screaming with red flags and some comical language (does Russia even have a Crown prosecutor?) and he takes the bait. Wince! Anybody should have known better.

Anyway, Trump Jr. took the one-off meeting, and nothing happened. Is that not proof of non-collusion in and of itself? If you choose to believe otherwise, your disdain for President Trump is getting the best of you and you need help.

[Why in the world would Donald Trump Jr. take this meeting?]

Regarding the delusion that a crime actually occurred in any of this, my favorite allegation is that by having this meeting and listening to what was said, Donald Trump Jr. somehow could have violated the law. According to Politico, Trump Jr.s statements put him potentially in legal cross hairs for violating federal criminal statutes prohibiting solicitation or acceptance of anything of value from a foreign national, as well as a conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Im just barely a lawyer, but I know over-lawyering when I see it. I mean, by that standard, what if someone walked into a campaign and suggested an idea that led to that candidates victory? Would it have been a crime to accept a thing of value in the form of an idea? Of course not.

This whole thing is getting weird.

For many in the media and elsewhere, the collective grievances that they have against Trump personally, the White House as a whole and Trumps policies somehow justify their zealous promotion of the collusionscandal. But not because the story is valid. Rather, the media know that they are not getting to Trump with anything else. Today, much of the news coverage of Trump and Co. is about payback. The media thinks they arent getting the truth and so they dont have to deliver it either. It is a bad cycle that is not working for the White House or the media.With this much intensity, it is hard to see how this ends well.

Read more from the original source:
The media's mass hysteria over 'collusion' is out of control - Washington Post (blog)

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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Bertelsmann Tightens Control Over Penguin Random House - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

With public-health experts gathering in for the London Summit on Family Planning, the United Colors of Benetton and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are introducing new ad campaigns meant to raise awareness about global access to birth control.

Called Power Her Choices, one campaign, created by Fabrica, Benettons in-house communication center, centers on a light bulb shaped like a womb, as well as a light installation with lit bulbs spelling phrases, changing the words I am pregnant to I am not ready to be pregnant. GIFs from the video are also being distributed on social media.

The idea behind the campaign is raising awareness, Omar Gharzeddine, a media specialist with the United Nations Population Fund, tells Marketing Daily, especially about access to contraceptives in the developing world.

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More than 214 million women dont have access to modern contraceptives, and he says that in 2016, about 770,000 girls, some as young as 10, had children, often with devastating effects on their health and future, the UNFPA reports. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, an estimated 25 percent of young women leave school due to an unintended pregnancy.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a co-host of the summit, is also running a video on social media, featuring a young British woman denied birth-control billsand even condomsby her doctor, clinics and pharmacists. Imagine if it was this hard to get the contraceptive advice, support and access you need, the dystopian spot asks, adding thats its a reality for many women. Access to contraceptives enables women to make informed decisions about their health and future, unlocking a cycle of prosperity that benefits everyone, the foundation says about the ad. It's time to give every woman and girl the opportunity to plan for#HerFuture.

Its the second womens empowerment campaign from Benetton this year. Earlier this spring, it made a splash with its global United By Half ad, a gender-equality effort linked to International Womens Day.

Originally posted here:
Benetton, Gates Foundation Launch Birth Control Ads - MediaPost Communications

Americans confidence in the police has climbed back to its historical average inGallups 25-year trend.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Americans now say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in law enforcement, rebounding from a record-low of 52% in June 2015.

The return to the historical average comes after confidence edged downward during the tumultuous years of 2014 and 2015, Gallup reports. Overall confidence fell from 57% in 2013 to 53% in June 2014, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman's acquittal led to the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Confidence in police then dropped to a record-tying low of 52% in June 2015, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained national attention with a series of protests against police shootings of unarmed blacks in New York City; Ferguson, Missouri; and North Charleston, South Carolina.

According to Gallup, the measure has been on the rise over the past two years, as the percentage of Americans confident in police climbed back to 56 percent in June 2016 and 57 percent in June 2017.

Only two other institutions (the military and small business) of the 15 others measured this year scored higher than the police, writes Gallup.

While overall confidence experiencedan increase, the measure fellamong certain groups including Hispanics, blacks, liberals, and younger adults ages 18-34.

The average confidence from 2012 to 2014 for Hispanics was 59 percent, compared to the average from 2015 to 2017 of 45 percent. For blacks, average confidence dropped from 35 percent to 30 percent.

The drop in confidence is most significant among liberals and young adults.

Among liberals, average confidence fell 12 percent, from 51 percent to 39 percent. Young adults average confidence in police also fell 12 percent, from 56 percent to 44 percent.

Confidence also fell among Democrats and Democrat-leaning respondents, dropping from 52 percent to 44 percent.

Confidence rose among whites, conservatives, adults 55 and older,Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents.

The overall percentage of Americans who said they were confident in the police changed little from 2012-2014 (55%) to 2015-2017 (54%). But major differences have emerged among various subgroups over the past three years, writes Gallup.

The results come just days after an NYPD officer was shot and killed in her patrol car in an unprovoked attack.

Officer Miosotis Familia, 48, was a mother of three and a 12-year veteran of the force.

Despite how police officers like Familiarisk their lives every day to serve and protect, Americans, much like in Washington when it comes topolitics, are divided overtheir confidence forlaw enforcement.

Thank you for supporting MRCTV! As a tax-deductible, charitable organization, we rely on the support of our readers to keep us running! Keep MRCTV going with your gift here!

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Confidence in Police on the Rise, But Dropping Among the Left - MRCTV (blog)

A crowdfunding page raising money for lawsuits filed on behalf of Louisiana police against the Black Lives Matter group has been removed because it does not promote harmony.

The page was set up by a personal injury lawyer, Donna Grodner, who wanted to raise $20,000 in funds for suits she has filed against the activist movement on behalf of Baton Rouge police officers.

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2012 in response to teenager Trayvon Martins killing by George Zimmerman. It calls for an end to racism and the killing of black people by police.

Grodner has filed two suits against the leaders of the group, including Deray Mckesson and Johnetta Elzie on behalf of Louisiana police. Crowdfunding site, YouCaring, removed the campaign from its site on Sunday, saying its not the right platform for such a cause.

In alignment with our mission, we removed this fundraiser because it was not within our community guidelines around promoting harmony, Marketing Officer Maly Ly told NewsHour Weekend, as cited by Yahoo.

We are not the right platform to air grievances, or engage in contentious disputes or controversial public opinion.

Grodner created a page on another crowdfunding site, GoFundMe, after being removed from YouCaring.

First lawsuit debris injury

One of the suits filed by Grodner accuses BLM of being responsible for an unnamed officer reportedly getting hit by debris at a July 9 protest, which took place after the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and motorist Philando Castile a day later in Minnesota.

A rock-like substance hit the officer in the face, causing him to lose his teeth, the Seattle Times reports. The suit doesnt accuse Mckesson of throwing anything, but of having incited violence on behalf of BLM.

The suit was filed in November and in March, a judge said the question was whether under Louisiana law, Black Lives Matter is capable of suing and being sued, and is yet to make that decision.

A lawsuit was filed on Sunday against Baton Rouge and Louisiana police by 13 protesters and two journalists arrested during the same Baton Rouge protests.

The second suit, filed Friday in Baton Rouge, accuses the movement of being responsible for an attack on police by gunman Gavin Long on July 17, 2016. Two police officers and a sheriff died, and two deputies and an officer were injured in the attack.

BLM members Mckesson, Elzie, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi are named in the suit, which alleges the violence was caused or contributed to by the leaders of and by BLACK LIVES MATTER a militant anti-police national organization.

The suit, filed by one of the officers injured in the attack, seeks at least $75,000 in damages and claims BLM are to blame for the mans injuries as it incited violence against police, and did nothing to dissuade the ongoing violence and injury to police.

The suit accuses the group of having justified the violence as necessary to the movement and war.

"By embracing and supporting violence in protest that could have been conducted peacefully, BLM declared a virtual war on police," it says.

Long, a recently discharged Marine, left a three-page note saying he wanted to target police officers because of the justice systems failure to hold bad cops accountable for their actions, and to create substantial change within Americas police force and judicial system.

Long had not attended any BLM protests, an investigative report found, the Washington Post reports.

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Anti-Black Lives Matter crowdfunding page banned 'for not promoting harmony' - RT