Trump defends Putin’s “I didn’t meddle, swear,” the dems have several notable election victories, Bitcoin Cash is gaining in momentum against Bitcoin Classic, the latest on the AT&T / Time Warner deal, and more.
Putin “Means It”
On Saturday, November 11th, President Trump flew Air Force One to Hanoi, Vietnam from Danang where the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit was taking place. On the flight he told reporters of his recent meeting with President Putin at the summit: “he said he didn’t meddle — I asked him again.”
Allegations (and FBI confirmation of those allegations), of Russia’s interference with the federal 2016 election have been nagging the Trump presidency since day 1. And since becoming President-elect, Trump has consistently denied that Putin had any involvement in his victory.
“You can only ask so many times. I just asked him again. He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did.”
“Every time he sees me he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. I think he is very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country.” Reported by The New York Times
As we know, former Director of the FBI (2001 – 2013) Robert Mueller has been investigating allegations of collusion with Russia and the US intelligence community, including the FBI, CIA, NSA, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence, has already confirmed that there was foreign meddling within the federal election. The Wall Street Journal discusses that here. In late October Mueller’s Special Counsel filed charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Manafort business associate, Rick Gates. More here on that.
This is our new global reality, where truth is not significant. Apparently it doesn’t matter if a country’s top investigative branch confirms activity, if the leader says, ‘nah, didn’t happen.’
The Dems Get a Taste of Victory
Last week, on November 7th, the state of Virginia held its gubernatorial election for governor. The incumbent Governor, Terry McAuliffe (D), was not able to seek re-election as Virginia’s constitution allows Governors to serve only one term. Virginia is the only state to follow such laws. Democratic candidate Ralph Northam beat out Republican candidate Ed Gillespie by the largest margin for a democrat in the state since 1985; 54% to 45% of votes.
Also in Virginia, Danica Roem (D) was elected to the house of delegates as the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker. It was a momentous win, not only because she beat out incumbent Robert Marshall (R) for the seat, but because Marshall publicly showed great disapproval for transgender people and had proposed the controversial “bathroom bill” that would’ve put restrictions on which bathrooms transgender people could use. Bit of a shit time for Marshall, pun intended.
In a time when it seems that the US is losing ground on efforts to combat racism, Wilmot Collins becomes the first African American mayor in Montana, representing Helena, the state’s capital. The Guardian reported that Collins, “now 54-years-old, moved to the US from Liberia when he was 31 and beat Helena’s four-term incumbent with a promise to focus on affordable housing and solutions for teen homelessness.”
In New Hampshire, Democratic candidate Joyce Craig became the first female to hold the position of Mayor of the state’s largest city, Manchester. Craig beat Republican candidate and incumbent mayor who had previously held the position for four terms, Ted Gatsas.
And finally, democratic candidate Vi Lyles was voted in as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, becoming the city’s first female African American mayor. Vi Lyles had worked for the City of Charlotte for nearly 30 years, starting as an analyst and then becoming budget director before taking the role of assistant city manager.
A Volatile Love-Affair: BTC & BCH
A cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Cash forked off of the Bitcoin blockchain in August. The team behind Bitcoin Cash instigated the creation of a new Bitcoin cryptocurrency because they believed in increased block size for faster and greater transactions.
Last Wednesday we saw Bitcoin hit the USD $7,800 mark – a new high for the cryptocurrency, but today it dropped 25% to below USD $5,900. Bitcoin has been mired in controversy as of late; on Wednesday plans to double the Bitcoin blocksize and split off into another new Bitcoin, referred to as SegWit2x, fell apart after the SegWit2x team couldn’t find enough consensus amongst miners and stakeholders to bring the split to fruition. With network congestion and rising transaction costs, Bitcoin Cash has provided an attractive alternative; between Wednesday and today the cryptocurrency doubled to more than USD $1,500.
The AT&T / Time Warner Deal
AT&T, a telecom company, is looking to purchase Time Warner, a media company. Strategically, the $85 billion merger would provide AT&T with new content opportunities, advertising revenue, and subscriptions, and Time Warner with new distribution opportunities.
However, the deal is now in jeopardy. On Wednesday The Financial Times reported that the sale of CNN may be a condition for the merger, at the request of regulators and the Department of Justice (DOJ). If this comes to pass, there would be questions as to whether President Trump intervened in the deal. Trump has denied involvement, citing someone else, speculated to be the DOJ’s Antitrust Chief Makan Delrahim, who may want to block the deal unless AT&T sells off CNN. AT&T’s CEO has since insisted that CNN would not be sold off.
+ What Happened
So far I am really enjoying the book, and not because it suits my pro-Hillary narrative, but because thus far I am finding it an honest account of what happened. Mind you, I am on page 17. But so far, so good.
+ Newspapers Really Are the Best Way to Sunday
The New York Times Sunday paper is my weekend ritual. A hot pot of French press coffee, toast, and a thick paper full of interesting stories, significant political and business news, and The Style Section. Doesn’t get better than that. Today’s newspaper is featured in the pic above.
