What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. China has hacked data on 4 million US govt workers. 

From Bloomberg  “The disclosure by U.S. officials that Chinese hackers stole records of as many as 4 million government workers is now being linked to the thefts of personal information from health-care companies.

Forensic evidence indicates that the group of hackers responsible for the U.S. government breach announced Thursday likely carried out attacks on health-insurance providers Anthem Inc. and Premera Blue Cross that were reported earlier this year, said John Hultquist of iSight Partners Inc. The cyber-intelligence company works with federal investigators.

The thefts are thought to be part of a broader effort by Chinese hackers to obtain health-care records and other personal information stored on millions of U.S. government employees and contractors from various sources, including insurers, government agencies and federal contractors, said a U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The data could be used to target individuals with access to sensitive information who have financial, marital or other problems and might be subject to bribery, blackmail, entrapment and other espionage tools, the official said.”

_____________________________________

2. In hindsight I’m guessing the mayor sees the error in her “let them have space to destroy things” strategy. At least you would hope she’d see the connection.

From CBS/Baltimore  “Baltimore’s top cop confirms what WJZ has been reporting – -almost 200,000 narcotics are on the streets of Baltimore, and police say they’re fueling deadly turf wars.”

“Police believe stolen prescription drugs are driving the violence sweeping the city. “There’s enough narcotics on the streets of Baltimore to keep it intoxicated for a year,” Commissioner Batts said.

More than 175,000 units or doses of drugs were looted from 27 pharmacies and two methadone clinics during the April 27 riots. Almost half of those businesses haven’t even finished assessing what was stolen.”

“I think that part of it’s connected to turf battled between gangs and independent drug dealers. You also have a new source, a new inventory of drugs on the street that people have to sell,” said DEA Special Agent Gary Tuggle. “They’re selling to a limited number of people, so they’re vying for that customer base.””

_____________________________________

3. Worst part is many still believe the lies. They’re too lazy to check it on their own. Others don’t even care that they’re false, since it fits their memes. 

From NationalReview  “Have you noticed your liberal friends on Facebook spotlighting some unbelievably shocking comments from Republican presidential candidates lately?

Comments like Ted Cruz declaring on May 22, “While there may have been an age difference, Josh Duggar’s transgressions are far less an affront to God than what gays do to each other.”

Or Dr. Ben Carson saying on May 10, “Mother’s Day is a sad, lonely day for women who aborted their babies. Even if they have a living child, they focus on the one they murdered. It’s why suicide rates are so high on Mother’s Day.”

Or Marco Rubio asking on May 26, “Why wouldn’t I trust Josh Duggar to babysit my children? I’d rather leave my daughters alone with him than with Beyonce or Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift.”

Of course, all of these quotes are fake. They come from a “satirical” Facebook page, “Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off.” But that hasn’t stopped more than a few liberals from enthusiastically sharing graphics featuring the imaginary incendiary comments, and stirring themselves into the attendant froth of outrage. The site declares itself to be “for entertainment purposes only,” and that may be true — if you’re the kind of person who devours made-up, outrageous quotes from conservative politicians for fun. But there’s nothing funny about it from the perspective of the politicians’ presidential campaigns, who are starting to see the fake quotes and positions permeate the world of actual news.

“It’s obviously frustrating for any campaign, because the point of these sites is not to inform the public, it’s to cause trouble,” says Brian Phillips, director of rapid response at Cruz for President, who deals with these sorts of stories all the time. “There’s a whole industry of anti-conservative reporters or sometimes just folks on the Left who don’t really care about reporting the truth, who have another agenda to make a candidate look extreme.””

_____________________________________

4. And on a related note……

Same goes for the liberal media. They don’t care if it’s true, as long as it furthers the cause.

From HotAir  “RedState’s Erick Erickson was the closing keynote speaker after a two-day conference on food stamp reform, Obamacare and government fraud hosted by the Foundation for Government Accountability. Here, Erickson spoke at length about liberal media culture, and the delusions from within these circles.”

“Erickson described this cadre of lefty reporters and bloggers as clubby; they’re more interested in narrative than facts, they’re interested in getting from A to B, and they want to change the world for the better, whatever that is–but there are ways to disrupt that narrative.”

“Also, for the grassroots activists, Erickson noted how members of Congress tell him how “dumb” the foot soldiers have become, but it’s not their fault. They’re just not properly informed, with their fact sheets filled with errors–and in some cases not really knowing the policy which prompted the phone call to said legislator.”

“Erickson also said conservatives have to do a better job defending our friends. Granted, there are some people who need to be let go – Erickson didn’t name names – but overall, we shouldn’t sit idly by as the left descends upon the Duck Dynasty guys in an effort to drive them out. He noted that they’re not martyrs of the early Christian period, but we need to stand by folks when they voice their opinions or try to tell the truth about government corruption and fraud.

Now at the same time, the left, which Erickson described as the “Hordes of Mordor,” don’t just go after conservatives; they eat each other–and it’s just as bad.”

_____________________________________