Build The Wall

Seems an Alabama company (Caddell Construction, in Montgomery) is vying for POS45’s attention by being one of six “finalists” in the surreality show now called “The President,” which has built a “life-sized sample” segment along the US-Mexico border.

Why don’t the idiots build one around Alabama?

Which reminds me of a story:

On one of their patrols, two GIs in the Middle East happened upon a device halfway buried in the sand, which they thought was an IED. After determining it was not, one of them picked it up and dusted it off, whereupon a cloud of smoke began to billow from it.

Scared, he threw it down, and they began to run from it.

Just as soon they thought they’d safely distanced themselves from it, they turned around and then saw a genie appear from within the cloud of smoke.

They hesitated reaching for their rifles because the genie appeared unarmed. After all, a muscular man wearing a turban, no shirt, and a billowy pair of pants could hardly be a menace… right?

Suddenly, the genie spoke, and in a authoritative voice said,

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Phubbing: What Is It, And How To Avoid It

Could Phubbing Be Secretly Ruining Your Marriage?
By Kylie Matthew

(This IS a problem. I see it all too often in my counseling practice. – Debbie Preece, MA)

New research suggests this pernicious problem is wrecking emotional havoc.

Do you spend more quality time with your phone than you do with your spouse? Are you compulsively checking for notifications and endlessly scrolling through your social media feeds while in the presence of your honey?

If this sounds like you, you may be one of millions of people experiencing what is a relatively new psychological condition known as ‘phubbing’ that, according to influential new research, may be slowly eroding your relationship with your partner.

Phone addiction is a ‘thing.’ Seriously

Phubbing is a portmanteau of ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’ and occurs when conversation is interrupted by attention being given to a smart phone rather than the person you’re with. When it’s your loved one who bears the brunt of this compulsive action, it’s called phubbing – partner phone snubbing.

It’s a phenomenon directly resulting from the emergence of ‘phone addiction’ that, according to an extensive review of recent studies on the condition, is a problem tightly linked to unprecedented technological development over the past decade.

Unlike other forms of behavioral addiction such as gambling or gaming, in the same report it was noted that phone addiction seemingly affects young, extroverted women more than anyone else. (All ages and sexes are vulnerable.)

This isn’t surprising according to one of Australia’s foremost experts on relationships. “This is

Tinfoil Hats Not Required

Saint Irenaeus, who grew up in Smyrna (not Tennessee), near Ephesus, in the area which is now western Turkey, was the Bishop of Lyons in southern France in the early second century, is considered a Father of the Church, and was mentored by people who knew the first disciples, including the Apostolic Father, Saint Polycarp, who was the Apostle John’s disciple. Recall that Jesus the Christ called James and John “Sons of Thunder,” who were the sons of Zebedee. That might explain the confidence he felt to write five treatises in Greek on detecting and debunking heresies, which is commonly entitled in Latin as “Adversus haereses” (Refutation of Heresies), and according to the translation of its title, devoted to the “Detection and Overthrow of the False Knowledge.”

Irenaeus studied Gnostics’ writings in depth, and refuted them in meticulously painstaking detail. Gnosticism, which arose in Irenaeus’ era, was considered

Can you bear to see the divine?

Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church, (c. 375-444) was a bigoted tyrant, a divisive and headstrong leader for most of his life. He forcibly closed the churches of the Novatianists, destroyed pagan temples, and the monastaries of monks whose views differed from his own. His terroristic behavior was very much like modern radical Islamist sects including the Taliban, or ISIL. His sermons and denunciations created the climate of hate that led to the murder of Hypatia, a renown, highly respected, elderly, virtuous female philosopher and teacher of neo-Platoism who was also a friend of Orestes. She died at the hands of a mob led by

Does $2.9M Jury Verdict Put Western State Hospital, Lakewood, WA On The Ropes?

For those unaware, with well over 800 beds, Western State Hospital is the largest psychiatric hospital West of the Mississippi River. And unfortunately, it has a pockmarked history, and was in jeopardy of losing over $65M in Federal funding from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) because of gross negligence at the hospital so severe that it was in jeopardy of losing ALL it’s CMS funding.

With well over 800 beds, Western State Hospital, Lakewood, WA is the largest psychiatric hospital West of the Mississippi River.

Chronic rampant abuse and neglect has ranged from staff sexual abuse of patients, patient-on-patient and patient-on-staff violence,  numerous escapes by criminally violent murderers – which caused the CEO to be fired by the Governor, and “wait-listing” dementia patients which may result in the new CEO’s incarceration. They no longer have national Joint Commission certification. The list of criminal wrong-doing at the facility is extensive, and violence alone has cost millions in hospital bills for staff and patients, including time lost from work, and lawsuits.

As the hospital faced inevitable death from loss of $65M in federal funds, a veritable federal hatchet, the state legislature made last-ditch efforts to salvage a rotten-to-the-core system by hiring hundreds of staff, and approved a TEMPORARY pay increase, with retention bonuses, and made other efforts to put lipstick on a dead pig.

According to one senior staff member

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire: Jeff Sessions’ Honesty Questioned

Despite all the “best intentions,” United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a Republican, and former Senator from Alabama, cannot keep the questions from coming. Our nations Intelligence Services have clearly identified involvement by a foreign government, specifically, Russia, in our 2016 General Election, to specifically sway voters for Donald Trump. Furthermore, those same intelligence agencies have also identified successful hacking efforts 39 states’ voter databases. These are not mere accusations. There is hard-core, irrefutable demonstrable evidence. Furthermore, Russia – though some say it no longer a “communist” nation – is NOT an American ally, nor will they ever be. Even before the rise and “fall” of communism in Russia, that nation and it’s leaders had NEVER been our “friends.” Consider also this fact: Even though Russia may no longer claim they are “communist,” the Russian political leaders now in power are the very same ones who were in power when Russia “was” communist. It reminds me of a song by “The Who” entitled “Won’t Get Fooled Again” which states in part, “Meet new boss… same as the old boss.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former Republican Senator from Alabama, is sworn in before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, June 13, 2017.

Lobbyist For Russian Interests Says He Attended Dinners Hosted By Sessions

Richard Burt contradicts Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he didn’t believe he had contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests during Trump’s campaign

An American lobbyist for Russian interests who helped craft an important foreign policy speech for Donald Trump has confirmed that he attended two dinners hosted by Jeff Sessions during the 2016 campaign, apparently contradicting the attorney general’s sworn testimony given this week.

Sessions testified under oath on Tuesday that he did not believe he had any contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests over the course of Trump’s campaign. But Richard Burt, a former ambassador to Germany during the Reagan administration, who has represented Russian interests in Washington, told the Guardian that he could confirm previous media reports that stated he had contacts with Sessions at the time.

“I did attend two dinners with groups of
former Republican foreign policy officials
and Senator Sessions.”
– Richard Burt, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany
during Reagan administration, and
Russian lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

Asked whether Sessions was unfamiliar with Burt’s role as a lobbyist for Russian interests – a fact that is disclosed in public records – or had any reason to be confused about the issue, Burt told the Guardian that he did not know.

Several media reports published before Trump’s election in November noted that Burt advised then candidate Trump on his first major foreign policy speech, a role that brought him into contact with Sessions personally.

Burt, who previously served on the advisory board of Alfa Capital Partners, a private equity fund where Russia’s Alfa Bank was an investor and last year was lobbying on behalf of a pipeline company that is now controlled by Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy conglomerate, first told Politico in October that he had been invited to two dinners that were hosted by Sessions last summer, at

In Defense of Photographer Tyler Shields and Comedienne Kathy Griffin

Much Ado About Nothing?

“Judith with the Head of Holofernes,” by Cristofano Allori, c.1613

Photographer Tyler Shields‘ recent depiction of comedienne Kathy Griffin holding an effigy of Donald Trump’s decapitated head is nothing new in artistic circles, neither is it new among political practitioners, or religious adherents.

“Judith Beheading Holofernes,” by Caravaggio, c.1598-1599

Caravaggio painted “Judith beheading Holoferenes” c.1600.

Cristofano Allori, completed “Judith with the Head of Holofernes” c.1613.

Artemisia Gentileschi, c.1614–18 similarly depicted that scene in “Judith slaying Holofernes.”

Lucas Cranach the Elder completed “Judith with the Head

“Judith,” by Franz Stuck, 1928

of Holofernes” in 1530.

The so-called “outrage” is focused upon the female model Kathy Griffin, not the male creator artist and photographer Tyler Shields.

“Judith with the Head of Holofernes,” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1530

Why?

Men have always been fearful of powerful women. And Tyler Shields’ photograph is nothing new under the sun.

In The Book of Judith

How can you know if you’re in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship?

Just because there’s no physical violence, does that mean a relationship isn’t abusive?

No.

The adage, “can’t see the forest for the trees” is particularly true in emotionally abusive relationships, and it’s not uncommon for men and women in them to be unable to identify the relationship as being abusive.

Why is that?

It goes back to 1973 and an unsuccessful bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in which two perpetrators – both repeat offender prisoners – took four hostages, three women and one man. Over the six days they were held, the hostages began to identify and sympathize with their captors.

Hostages in the Norrmalmstorg Kreditbanken bank vault, Stockholm, Sweden. The 1973 robbery gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome” which characterized a scenario in which captives sympathized with their captors.

As the standoff was ending, police called for the hostages to come out first, but the four captives – who protected their abductors to the very end – refused. One female hostage, 23-year old Kristin Enmark, called out, “No, Jan and Clark go first—you’ll gun them down if we do! We want to leave with the robber!”

When police seized the gunmen, two female hostages cried sympathetically, “Don’t hurt them – they didn’t harm us!”

When interviewed by investigators and others following the crisis’ conclusion, the hostages reported fearing Law Enforcement Officers’ rescue effort attempts, and felt their captors were protecting them from harm. The bonds formed during that stand-off had become so strong that there were reports of one female hostage who had been engaged to be married to one of the kidnappers – which was later discovered to be false, though it is true that one hostage developed a Legal Defense Fund to help pay the perpetrators’ criminal defense costs.

Researcher Ian K.Mackenzie wrote
in “Journal For Police Crisis Negotiations”
that Stockholm Syndrome consisted of:
“strong emotional ties that develop between two persons
where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other.”

Psychological researchers utilizing the FBI’s Hostage Barricade Database System (HOBAS) – the only entity that compiles national statistics on crisis incidents (hostage, barricade, and/or suicide) which are used in research and decision making – found that

#ALpolitics: The “Alabamafication” of America

The parallels are uncannily ironic, and unmistakable.

Consider also who is Attorney General… former Alabama Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III.

—//—

Twins of Deception: Robert Bentley and Donald J. Trump

By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on May 21, 2017
Used with permission

We recently experienced in Alabama what the nation is undergoing with President Donald J. Trump – a seemingly endless saga in which the top executive official is entangled in a web of deception that was spun to hide a scandal that is spiraling out of control. The culprit in Alabama was former governor Robert Bentley. He was attempting to cover-up a secret love affair with Rebekah Mason, a “senior political adviser” who was married to one of Bentley’s department heads.

Bentley’s twin of deception at the national level is the “real” Donald J. Trump. The parallels between the two men and their misconduct are striking and frightening.

Bentley and Trump were viewed as long-shot political candidates who ran the table to win it all. Against all odds, Bentley became Governor of Alabama and Trump became President of the United States. Both men were unprepared to govern after they won. Because of their oversized egos, arrogance and stupidity, both men became embroiled in explosive political scandals.

Bentley fell in love with his much younger paramour and used state resources, campaign funds, and “dark money” to romance her. Trump fell in love with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his highest-ranking KGB agents in the U.S. – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. In doing so, Trump has foolishly compromised America’s national security interests.

Bentley’s behavior as governor became increasingly erratic after

Dying Laika Russian Dog

Laika.

First dog in space, in Sputnik 2, November 3, 1957.

She was thought to be 3 years old, a mixed breed, weighed less than 15 pounds, and was taken from wandering the streets to be a Russian sacrifice.

Up until 2002, Russians gave many lies about how she died.

They actually

Batteries Not Included

Needing some batteries – AAA & 9v – for some handheld electronic gizmos, I stopped in at the nearby Batteries+Plus store.

While checking out, I asked the clerk if sales were strong today, and remarked, “Moms need batteries too!”

With a wink and a nod, he knowingly acknowledged innuendo in my remark with a smile and a laugh.

“You know,” I said, “we never think of our mothers as sexual beings, and yet…”

American Poverty: Where is it, and what does it look like? Is it even what we think it is?

You’ve likely seen a meme floating around referencing how America’s Most Poverty Stricken counties voted Republican.

Yes?

I decided to research the matter to see:
1.) If it was true, and;
2.) Exactly what else I’d find.

While my analysis isn’t fully complete, there are already some early fascinating findings.

Breaking down Poverty into two categories – Per Capita Income (PCI) and Median Household Income (MHI) – has shown “the usual suspects,” but exposed some not-so-usual ones, as well.

For example, we often hear that West Virginia is a very High Poverty state, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Data from the United States Census Bureau (USCB) backs up those claims… yet only to a limited extent.

But, “pockets” of poverty may exist in an otherwise not-so-poor state (and they do), and a state may have a high number of

LET MY PEOPLE GO!

The Exodus

Frans Francken I. Hans skola: Den rike mannen och Lazarus. NM 429 (Frans Francken I, aka Frans Francken the Elder (1542-1616), His school: The rich man and Lazarus.)

I have seen your religion, and I hate it.
I have heard your doctrine, and I loathe it.
Take away your empty praise songs,
your vacuous worshiptainment.
Your mouth is full of religious words,
but your proverbs are salted manure.

“The sick deserve to be sick.
The poor deserve to be poor.
The rich deserve to be rich.
The imprisoned deserve to be imprisoned.”
Because you never saw him sick, or poor, or in prison.

“If he had followed police instructions,
if he had minded the company he keeps,
he would not have been killed,”
You say in the hearing
of a man hanging on a cross
between two thieves.

“People who live good lives
do not have pre-existing conditions,” you say,
carving these words over the hospital door:
“Who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”

“It is the church’s job, not the government’s,”
say you fat sheep,
defending your fat shepherds,
shoving and butting with shoulders and horns,
while you foul the water,
grass,
and air,
and scatter the hungry sheep.

You watch the melting glaciers and say to the waves of the sea,
“this far shall you come, and no farther,”
as if your will could change the weather,

Governor Bentley Is Gone, But Corruption Continues Unabated In #ALpolitics

Jefferson County Officials May Walk Free

Republican Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (foreground, RIGHT), and Attorney General Luther Strange. Both men were re-elected to their positions in 2010.

By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on April 30, 2017
Used with permission

Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall, 52, was appointed Alabama Attorney General by Republican Governor Robert Bentley to fulfill Luther Strange’s unexpired term.

Former Alabama Governor Robert Bentley made two major gubernatorial appointments before resigning in disgrace earlier this month. First, Bentley appointed Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. This appointment was designed to quash an ongoing criminal investigation by the Special Prosecutions Division of the Attorney General’s office into ethics violations and public corruption activities committed by Bentley and his lover, Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Strange, who traded his power to indict Bentley and Mason on felony charges in exchange for a senate seat, is now sinking in the pre-election polls as he heads into an August special primary election.

Republican Alabama Governor Robert Bentley & Communications Director cum-Political Advisor/paramour Rebekah Caldwell Mason

Next, Bentley appointed Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall to replace Luther Strange as Attorney General. Marshall is a 52-year old “good old boy” who was thrilled with the appointment. Bentley picked Marshall because he was generally regarded as the weakest district attorney in Alabama. Plus, Marshall had zero experience in public corruption cases. Bentley wanted to make sure that the new attorney general did not have the experience, courage, or motivation to come after him for his felony crimes.

Former United States Attorney Alice Martin was also Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts in the Alabama Attorney General’s office in 2013.

Marshall’s first act of business was to sack Alice Martin, the well-credentialed Chief Deputy Attorney General under Luther Strange. Martin was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. As s federal prosecutor, she amassed a record number of public corruption convictions for public officials and vendors who bribed them. Her record in this regard is unmatched in Alabama history.

Matt Hart, seen here at Republican Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard’s trial, leads the Special Prosecutions Division in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.

Marshall’s second act of business was to gut the authority and power vested in Matt Hart, the chief of the Special Prosecutions Division. Matt Hart and Alice Martin investigated former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. Their investigation resulted in criminal charges against Hubbard. Last July, Hubbard was convicted of 12 counts of ethics violations and was ousted from office. Alabamians who championed ethical government celebrated Hubbard’s conviction. Bentley was enraged by it.

Republican U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (LEFT), with Republican U.S. Senator from Alabama Luther Strange. Strange was State Attorney General, and was appointed by Governor Bentley to fulfill the remainder of Sessions’ Senate term.

Bentley’s selection of Marshall has paid off for him. It netted the former governor a “sweetheart” plea deal that

Made In Alabama: Politics Like A Shakespearean Drama Thanks To #ALpolitics @GovernorBentley!

Lies & deception have an expiration date.
The truth lives forever.

New pictures emerge of Alabama Governor Bentley and his “Political Advisor” cum mistress, Rebekah Mason. Pun intended.

Alabama Republican Legislator’s Bill Would Put State In Pornography Business

Republican Jack Williams represents Alabama House District 47 (Hoover and Vestavia Hills) in the Alabama House of Representatives, and is Chair of the Commerce and Small Business Committee.

Jack Williams, a Republican Representative from Vestavia Hills, who represents portions of Jefferson county in Alabama House District 47 has filed HB 428 which would “prohibit the sale of a device that provides Internet access unless the device contains an active filter that blocks access to specified types of obscene material.”

Sounds good, right?

Of course, there are plenty of off-the-shelf subscription services to which anyone can subscribe which blocks such material. And some Internet browsers have such detection systems built-in. It’s not always perfect, and when Super Bowl XXX was played in 1995, it inadvertently created some problems because the Roman numeral X was displayed in triplicate, as if it were associated with some type of pornographic exhibition, and most porn-blocking software blocked the Super Bowl website, and news articles which mentioned “Super Bowl XXX.” That was in the “early days” of the Internet and filtering. Now, Google, and other Internet search engines have made milestones in filtering out objectionable, sexually explicit, and illegal material.

No parent wants their children subjected to such material, and every adult has the right to decide whether they want to view erotic or sexually explicit material, or not. After all, that’s what freedom means… the opportunity to make a decision, even if your neighbor doesn’t like your decision, or vice versa.

But no child should be subjected to exposure to pornography. And no rational adult would even consider doing such a thing, regardless of their personal opinion about erotica, or not. That’s a good parenting decision which rightfully belongs to parents, not the government, because no one wants the government telling them how they should raise their kids… especially in Alabama. And yet, that’s exactly what Vestavia Hills Republican Representative Jack Williams’ HB 428 does.

Federal laws protect those who decide to become involved in the production of sexually explicit material, and requires proof-positive identification of all participants being aged 18, or older, at the time of production – and has, for many, many years. In fact, Congress enacted the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 after it was discovered

National Vietnam War Veterans Day

Today, March 29, is now officially “National Vietnam War Veterans Day.”

And as with so many things, it took an act of Congress to make it so.

But it was a bipartisan effort, for which – I suppose – we can be thankful. Especially given since the do-nothing GOP is now in control of Congress.

On February 3, Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA), sponsored S.305, and along with co-sponsor Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), introduced the bill in the Senate, which was read twice, considered, read the third time, passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent, discharged by the Committee on the Judiciary, Passed/agreed to in the House by voice vote, and was signed into law by President Trump March 23, 2017. It is the 14th law Trump has signed since his inauguration.

From the date of introduction to passage, it could very well be one of the most rapidly-enacted pieces of legislation in Congressional history. Of course, THE shortest was likely 1 day, for H.J.Res.131: “Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes,” which was a government shutdown stopgap measure. Mysteriously, Congress gets rapidly active when their paychecks are imperiled.

As far as laws go, it’s a good law, because the Congressional Budget Office has declared it would cost nothing. When was the last time you ever read that?

And it’s a short law – another rarity in this day and age. In fact, there are only

United Airlines Fly Flap Grounded In Written Policy

Like many, I recently read a couple articles about the dust-up involving United Airlines and their Dress Code for Employees who fly off-duty.

Most notably, the New York Times reported on the story, as of course, did others, and another unrelated passenger who took to Twitter to express their thoughts. The Times even interviewed the unrelated passenger, of whom they wrote, “The incident was first reported on Twitter by Shannon Watts, a passenger at the airport who was waiting to board a flight to Mexico. In a telephone interview from Mexico on Sunday afternoon, Ms. Watts said she noticed two visibly upset teenage girls leaving the gate next to hers. Both were wearing leggings.”

I confess that, in my haste, I made some remarks, in the form of questions, and later found a site which

How Christian Theology Says “It’s Not My Fault”

Judeo-Christian theology, and other religions, often refer to an event characterized and monikered as “The Fall,” in which the initial human subjects reportedly disobeyed their Creator (most often portrayed as the woman being gullible, simple-minded, weak, first at fault, and therefore ultimately responsible), and then were expelled from their idyllic, Paradise-like existence.

As the storylines go, their “disobedience” by

Russian Meddling in U.S. Presidential Election: How Should Congress Proceed?

There is clear, unambiguous evidence that “Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.”

“Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections” is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment that has been provided to the President and to recipients approved by the President.”

A header appears upon EVERY page and states: “This report is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment; its conclusions are identical to those in the highly classified assessment but this version does not include the full supporting information on key elements of the influence campaign.”

Several “Key Judgments” are made in the report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence which is dated 6 January 2017.

Among them:
We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President elect-Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.

• We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. All three agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this judgment; NSA has moderate confidence.

• Moscow’s approach evolved over the course of the campaign based on Russia’s understanding of the electoral prospects of the two main candidates. When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign began to focus more on undermining her future presidency.

• Further information has come to light since Election Day that, when combined with Russian behavior since early November 2016, increases our confidence in our assessments of Russian motivations and goals.

Moscow’s influence campaign followed a Russian messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence operations — such as cyber activity — with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or “trolls.” Russia, like its Soviet predecessor, has a history of conducting covert influence campaigns focused on US presidential elections that have used intelligence officers and agents and press placements to disparage candidates perceived as hostile to the Kremlin.

• Russia’s intelligence services conducted cyber operations against targets associated with the 2016 US presidential election, including targets associated with both major US political parties.

• We assess with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release US victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks.

• Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards. DHS assess es that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.

• Russia’s state-run propaganda machine contributed to the influence campaign by serving as a platform for Kremlin messaging to Russian and international audiences.

We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their election processes.

—//—

Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking

President Obama in December. Some in his administration feared that intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election could be covered up or destroyed. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, ADAM GOLDMAN and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

MARCH 1, 2017

WASHINGTON — In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn’t duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.

American allies, including the British and the Dutch, had provided information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials — and others close to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin — and associates of President-elect Trump, according to three former American officials who requested anonymity in discussing classified intelligence. Separately, American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Trump associates.

Then and now, Mr. Trump has denied that his campaign had any contact with Russian officials, and at one point he openly suggested that American spy agencies had cooked up intelligence suggesting that the Russian government had tried to meddle in the presidential election. Mr. Trump has accused the Obama administration of hyping the Russia story line as a way to discredit his new administration.

At the Obama White House, Mr. Trump’s statements stoked fears among some that intelligence could be covered up or destroyed — or its sources exposed — once power changed hands. What followed was a push to preserve the intelligence that underscored the deep anxiety with which the White House and American intelligence agencies had come to view the threat from Moscow.

It also reflected the suspicion among many in the Obama White House that the Trump campaign might have colluded with Russia on election email hacks — a suspicion that American officials say has not been confirmed. Former senior Obama administration officials said that none of the efforts were directed by Mr. Obama.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Credit Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik

Sean Spicer, the Trump White House spokesman, said,