JBMedia World News

Friday, August 30, 2013

SCOTUS Justice Ginsburg to perform same-sex wedding

SCOTUS Justice Ginsburg to perform same-sex wedding
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is performing a same-sex wedding this weekend in what is believed to be a first for a member of the nation's highest court.
Ginsburg is officiating at the marriage of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and John Roberts, a government economist, on Saturday. Kaiser says he asked Ginsburg to officiate because she is a longtime friend.
The private ceremony is taking place at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The 80-year-old Ginsburg, an opera lover, is a frequent guest at the center.
Justices generally avoid taking stands on political issues. The wedding, though, comes after the court's landmark ruling in June to expand federal recognition of same-sex marriages, striking down part of an anti-gay marriage law.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/30/supreme-court-justice-ginsburg-same-sex-wedding/2749687/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28USATODAY+-+News+Top+Stories%29

Syrians in 'conscience of the revolution' city call for President Obama to 'just do it' - Yahoo! News

Syrians in 'conscience of the revolution' city call for President Obama to 'just do it' - Yahoo! News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Because of their country's repressive history, Syrian public opinion has been difficult to gauge since the civil war began there. This video, however, shows a group of brave protestors calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to stage a military strike on the Assad regime.

One sign created for the protest showed Obama in a baseball uniform, telling him to "just do it." Another, in English, says "Hit Assad Down; Let Syria Shine." Another says, "We are not after punishing Assad more than having a military intervention to get rid of his brutal dictatorship and let us live peacefully."

The town of Kafr Nabl is in Syria's Idlib governate, and has attracted young people to relocate there because of its daring anti-government stance.

Something else striking about this video is the fairly significant number of people willing to appear in it. This is not the first time Kafr Nabl has made its views known, however. Near the Turkish border, in a region that produces olives and figs, Kafr Nabl rebelled against the government in early 2011, and, says this story by National Public Radio, was "liberated" by anti-government rebels who kicked out members of the regime. It's something like an Assad-free zone.
"It's been called the "conscience of the revolution." Every Friday, protesters take to the streets of Kafr Nabl, holding handmade posters with clever, sarcastic messages. At one point, pictures from Kafr Nabl began spreading on Facebook. Now they've gone viral. Early on the messages were directed at the Syrian government: "Stop killing us with your tanks." Then they were directed at the international community: "Let us die, but do not lie." The art is even more biting. President Obama waltzing with Syrian President Bashar Assad. References to a Pink Floyd album with Syria on the dark side of the moon. And a fictional game show called "Terrorists' Got Talent" showing Assad killing innocent people." http://news.yahoo.com/syrians-in--conscience-of-the-revolution--city-call-for-president-obama-to--just-do-it--215613300.html

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Joe Walsh: Former U.S. Rep Publishes Racist ‘I Have A Dream’ Rant | News One

Joe Walsh: Former U.S. Rep Publishes Racist ‘I Have A Dream’ Rant | News One
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), published a hypocritical, bigoted tirade describing his dream for Black America, reports The Huffington Post.
Known for his racist musings, the Tea Party darling’s list includes every single stereotypical talking point that the right wing has levied against the African-American community.
Read more from Joe Walsh’s My Own Dream for America:

In the build-up to this momentous occasion, many people have invoked King’s legacy to promote their own various causes. Yesterday, President Obama was asked by morning radio host Tom Joyner what King would think of Obamacare. The president quickly responded that King, “would like it.” While our commander-in-chief usurped King’s dream to selfishly promote his own legacy, our country’s race-baiter-in-chief, Rev. Al Sharpton is using this week to push back against the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling to strike down parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Of all the commentators who have been asking whether King’s dream has been achieved, FOX News’ Juan Williams seems to be the only one with whom I agree. When asked by Chris Wallace if the dream has been fulfilled, Williams noted that there isn’t, “any question that [African Americans] have come along way,” before importantly pointing out that blacks have to address the problems that are created within their communities. “I think that if you look at the realities of today, you’ve got to talk about things like family breakdown,” Williams said. “You’ve got to talk about the fact that 70 percent of black children today are born out of wedlock. I think Dr. King would cry.”
I have a dream that all black parents will have the right to choose where their kids attend school.
I have a dream that all black boys and girls will grow up with a father.
I have a dream that young black men will stop shooting other young black men.
I have a dream that all young black men will say “no” to gangs and to drugs.
I have a dream that all black young people will graduate from high school.
I have a dream that young black men won’t become fathers until after they’re married and they have a job.
I have a dream that young unmarried black women will say “no” to young black men who want to have sex.
I have a dream that today’s black leadership will quit blaming racism and “the system” for what ails black America.
I have a dream that black America will take responsibility for improving their own lives.
I have a dream that one day black America will cease their dependency on the government plantation, which has enslaved them to lives of poverty, and instead depend on themselves, their families, their churches, and their communities.

While Walsh seems passionate about Black men not having children until they can afford to care for them, the former congressman is better known for being a deadbeat father than anything he accomplished during his one term as a U.S. representative.
During Walsh’s run for office, his Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth ran a pointed ad calling him out for the $117,00 in back child support that his ex-wife claimed he owed for the support of his son.
Walsh decried the ad as “dirty” at the time, but when his term was over, he petitioned a judge for a reduction in child support because he could no longer afford his already small payments because he was no longer employed.
With these facts in mind, he might want to rethink his dream to include his own child being taken care of first.
See Duckworth’s ad below:

http://newsone.com/2702665/joe-walsh-racist-dreams/

Republicans Decline To Speak At March On Washington Commemoration | News One

Republicans Decline To Speak At March On Washington Commemoration | News One
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Not a single Republican elected official — not one — participated in the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, despite invitations from event organizers, reports the Washington Post.
Republicans came up with a laundry list of excuses, from ill health to scheduling conflicts, to justify their absence, but former Republican Chair Michael Steele said that the conservative response is a typical — and damaging — one:

“It’s part of a continuing narrative that the party finds itself in with these big deals for minority communities around the country and how they perceive our response to them,” he said.
Steele was not invited to speak because he isn’t a current party or elected official. “But if I were the current chairman and hadn’t been invited, that’d be a different story,” he said. “If I hadn’t been invited, I would have forced myself on them.”

▶ Take Me to the King/I Surrender All - Tamela Mann - YouTube

▶ Take Me to the King/I Surrender All - Tamela Mann - YouTube
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Tamela Mann performs "Take Me to the King" on Bobby Jones Gospel.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

'Obamacare' protest comes to Raleigh :: WRAL.com

'Obamacare' protest comes to Raleigh :: WRAL.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

Raleigh, N.C. — A group known as the "Tea Party Express" protested the Affordable Care Act in Raleigh Wednesday.

The group gathered outside the Sheraton Raleigh to encourage Congress to oppose any spending bill that includes funding for the health care law. Among those in attendance was Greg Brannon, a Republican running to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan.
There is a difference of opinion about the law across the North Carolina congressional delegation, and it has become a partisan sticking point as Congress considers a continuing resolution for federal funding.
Fourth District Congressman David Price, a Democrat, said he wants to fund it.
Republican 13th District Congressman George Holding issued a statement Wednesday saying he approves of stalling federal funding so long as the law is included.
"'Obamacare' should be repealed and replaced with patient-centered health care reform," Holding said. "We should do whatever we can to prevent its implementation including leveraging the continuing resolution.”
Fellow Republican 6th District Congressman Howard Coble said his vote on a spending bill would not be decided by the presence of the health care law in the bill.
He and Holding added their signatures to an Aug. 21 letter to congressional Republican leaders that said, in part, "We should continue our efforts to repeal 'Obamacare' in its entirety this year, next year and until we are successful."
"Congress should not play political games with keeping the government running," Hagan said. She supports funding the Affordable Care Act.
http://www.wral.com/-obamacare-protest-comes-to-raleigh/12828010/

UN showdown set over action against Syria - Yahoo! News

UN showdown set over action against Syria - Yahoo! News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Bashar al-Assad's friends and foes headed for a showdown at the United Nations Wednesday, as Britain pushes for a resolution to pave the way for military strikes over suspected chemical attacks.
The meeting comes as the United States and its allies pressed their case for likely military action against the Syrian president's regime, despite stern warnings against intervention from key Damascus supporters Russia and Iran.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would present a resolution "condemning the chemical weapons attack by Assad" to a meeting of the Security Council's five permanent members in New York on Wednesday.
"We've always said we want the UN Security Council to live up to its responsibilities on Syria. Today they have an opportunity to do that," he said via Twitter.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also urged the Council to "find the unity to act... to use its authority for peace".
But the prospects for a quick, much less positive, vote on the draft resolution look dim.
Close Damascus ally Russia, which has already used its veto to block resolutions condemning Syria, said Wednesday it was premature for the Council to act before a UN team inspecting the sites of the alleged attacks releases its findings.
UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi confirmed that chemical "substances" were used in the attacks that are thought to have killed hundreds of people on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21.
And inspectors headed Wednesday to Eastern Ghouta, a site of one of the reported attacks, after delaying their work for a day over security concerns.
Brahimi added that any military action must have UN approval.
"I think international law is clear on this. International law says that military action must be taken after a decision by the Security Council," he said.
However, such as is the case when NATO forces helped rebels oust Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, there is a precedent for acting without the United Nations.
A senior US official said Washington has ruled out unilateral action and is conferring with allies on potential punitive strikes that could last for more than a day.
"Any military action would not be unilateral. It would include international partners," the senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.
US President Barack Obama's deputies are holding discussions with Turkey, Jordan and other partners on contingency plans in preparation for any retaliation by Syria in the event of US-led action, the official said.
"There's a possibility that the Syrian government would use chemical weapons again. I don't think you can discount that," said the official.
But if the United States took no military action, then it would send a dangerous signal to other regimes with chemical stockpiles, including North Korea, the official said.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the American military was already prepared to act if Obama gave the order -- though White House aides said no final decision had been taken.
"We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take," Hagel told the BBC. "We are ready to go, like that."
A military campaign in Syria is expected to be limited in scope, likely to last only several days and to target military sites but not chemical weapons stocks themselves, sources in Washington said.
French President Francois Hollande said his country was "ready to punish" those behind the chemical attacks and that he would meet the leader of Syria's main opposition bloc on Thursday.
But Russia warned of the consequences of any possible military action.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by the ministry as saying "a military solution will lead only to a further destabilisation of the situation in the country and the region".
And supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran, the Assad regime's chief regional ally, warned on Wednesday that "US intervention will be a disaster for the region," state television reported him as saying.
"The region is like a gunpowder depot. (Its) future cannot be predicted" in case of a strike on Syria, he added.
The developments came after US Vice President Joe Biden said the chemical attacks could only have been perpetrated by Assad's forces.
"There is no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in Syria -- the Syrian regime," said Biden.
Analysts expect to see cruise missiles launched from US and allied submarines, ships and possibly warplanes, firing into Syria from outside its waters and airspace.
Syria's UN ambassador hit back at the accusations against the regime, repeating an assertion that the alleged attacks had been carried out by rebels.
"Many facts tend to prove the innocence of the Syrian government, which has been subject to false accusations," Bashar al-Jaafari told state media.
Such facts also showed that "armed groups have used chemical weapons in order to bring about military intervention and aggression against Syria," he said.
His remarks came as rebel fighters said they fired Katyusha rockets at government positions in central Damascus on Wednesday in retaliation for the alleged chemical attacks on civilians.
The conflict erupted in March 2011 with peaceful anti-regime protests but, following a brutal crackdown on those demonstrations, it evolved into a war that has killed more than 100,000 people and created millions of refugees.http://news.yahoo.com/obama-cameron-no-doubt-syria-regime-waged-chem-071600422.html

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Viral Video Shows Police Violently Arresting Individual Who Was Allegedly Only Observing Protest | Video | TheBlaze.com

Viral Video Shows Police Violently Arresting Individual Who Was Allegedly Only Observing Protest | Video | TheBlaze.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

A video uploaded to YouTube on Monday shows multiple police officers violently arresting a man who was allegedly observing a protest at the Wisconsin State Capitol.

“Damon Terrell went to the Solidarity Sing Along to observe and take pictures and/or video,” the video’s opening scene claims. “Despite statements from the DOA that Observers will not be arrested, he was arrested for observing.”

The video then shows a group of police officers confront Terrell, who slowly backs away saying “this is not illegal,” before tackling him to the ground and taking him into custody.

Police reportedly charged Terrell with felony battery and resisting arrest. Just moments before, police had reportedly arrested his brother CJ Terrell for demonstrating.

Watch the video of the incident below:

Jeremy Ryan, the individual who uploaded the video of the arrest to YouTube, spoke with TheBlaze Tuesday afternoon and said he thinks the arrests were racially motivated.

“Police come into the rotunda, they look at him and his brother who are at the time the only minorities in the rotunda and they go straight for them,” Ryan said, noting Terrell was not participating but “walking around taking pictures” and “just observing the singalong.”

“I think that whenever you go after the first two minorities that you see that that looks a bit racist and I do think there were some racial motives,” he continued. “I can’t see any other reason why they were chosen, so I do think it was racially motivated.”

Ryan said he didn’t see “any resisting whatsoever” and that officers “just grabbed him [Terrell] and threw him onto the hard marble floor and started manhandling him.”

In his opinion, disciplinary actions should immediately be taken against the officers involved.

“I think these officers should be at least taken off rotunda duty,” Ryan said. “I think it creates a safety risk for everyone when you have officers like that behaving in a public building”

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Capitol Police did not respond to multiple requests for comment from TheBlaze on Tuesday.

Watch another video showing the incident from a different angle:

However, Stephanie Marquis, reportedly speaking for the Department of Administration, said in a statement obtained by the Journal Sentinel on Monday, that “both individuals refused to leave and actively resisted officers when they were placed under arrest…. When officers began to arrest Damon Terrell, he began to walk away and actively resisted arrest.”

She reportedly added that one officer sustained an injury, but declined to go into details citing medical privacy concerns.

Still, Ryan says he thinks Terrell did nothing wrong.

“It does appear as though an officer may have been injured in the struggle, however, just because an officer gets arrested illegally arresting someone doesn’t mean the individual assaulted the officer,” he said.

A video posted on a local Occupy group’s website appears to show Terrell moments before his arrest telling an officer that arrests of the singalong protesters are “not” legal.

The protest, called the “Solidarity Sing Along” occurs every day at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. It originally started to protest Governor Scott Walker’s position on collective bargaining, but, after protesters were told they need permits to demonstrate in the building, has evolved into a protest over free speech rights.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/27/viral-video-shows-police-violently-arresting-individual-who-was-allegedly-only-observing-protest/

Home Base system to help NC teachers | abc11.com

Home Base system to help NC teachers | abc11.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The Department of Public Instruction held a demonstration Tuesday morning to show how the Home Base system will work as it is implemented across the state.

The computer system will allow teachers to go to one place to find lesson plans, assessments, and track their students' progress instead of going to multiple websites.
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. June Atkinson says this is going to help school districts save money in the long run and help teachers who right now are facing some challenges.
Eventually, teachers will be able to have students use the system if they want to do work ahead of time, do extra work, or get extra help. The system will also cut down on text books by using digital ones.
Atkinson explained that with teachers facing a tough new budget, this system could save them some sanity.
"Our teachers have many, many challenges this year with larger class sizes, with less money for text books, less money for instructional materials and supplies. So Home Base will help them. This will allow them to do the work faster and they can be assured that the materials on the website will be vetted," she said.
Most of the program's nearly $20 million price tag is coming from Race to the Top, a federal grant program. It will cost a little more than that to maintain the program every year and officials say that money will come out of state funds.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9220761

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Raleigh police threaten arrest for charity feeding homeless | abc11.com

Raleigh police threaten arrest for charity feeding homeless | abc11.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A group from a local church has been feeding the homeless in downtown Raleigh virtually every Saturday and Sunday for the past six years, until this weekend.

When volunteers from Love Wins Ministries showed up at Moore Square Saturday morning, they said they were greeted with officers from the Raleigh Police Department. The group wrote on their blog, that the officers told them if they distributed any food to the nearly 70 people waiting, they would be arrested.

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PHOTOS: Police threaten arrest for charity feeding homeless

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The 100 sausage biscuits and gallons of coffee went uneaten because of the fear of arrests. The group said in the past they had a good relationship with the Raleigh Police Department. Because of a city ordinance, the distribution of food in any of the city's parks is prohibited.
» Click here to read the city ordinance «
Love Ministries' Rev. Hugh Hollowell said that if the group were to get a permit to distribute the food it would cost $800 each day.
However, the group said they would set up on the sidewalk, making sure to clean up after themselves and keep the sidewalk clear.
Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue told ABC11 that no arrests were made Saturday in connection with the feeding activity.
"People were simply informed the ordinance prohibits the kinds of actions some groups have been engaged in at the park. Work is ongoing with those involved, some of whom are developing alternative sites, etc.," Sughrue said.
The group has asked for help from the public in finding a private building or parking lot downtown that they can use to feed the hungry.
Several groups rallied in support of the group Sunday afternoon at Moore Square. Love Ministries said it did not organize the event and that they just want to feed the homeless. Raleigh mayor Nancy McFarlane was on hand at the rally and talked with Hollowell.
"I can't tell you why it kind of came up just now, I think it's really been recognized that its growing and growing, there's more need," McFarlane said. "I'm sorry for the confrontation or whatever happened yesterday, but I think the outcome is going to be good."
McFarlane said there will be a special meeting to address the issue. She expects to announce a time and place for the meeting on Monday.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9218431

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Colin Powell to North Carolina Governor: ‘There is no voter fraud’ | The Raw Story

Colin Powell to North Carolina Governor: ‘There is no voter fraud’ | The Raw Story
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Speaking at the CEO Forum in Raleigh, North Carolina to an audience that included Governor Pat McCrory (R), former Secretary of State Colin Powell attacked the restrictive voting law the governor signed into law on August 12. The new law requires photo identification at the polls, limits the number of early voting days and makes it difficult for college students, both in-state and out, to vote.
Moments after the Governor left the stage, Powell said he generally wants “to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote.” He also said that the new law will hurt Republicans, because it “immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs.” To minority voters, he said, it sends the message that “we are really sort of punishing you.’”
Gov. McCrory defended the bill after signing it, claiming it was necessary to prevent voter fraud. “The need for photo ID has been questioned by those who say voter fraud is not a problem in North Carolina,” he wrote. “However, without the higher level of identification a photograph provides, is it possible to know? Even if the instances of misidentified people casting votes are low, that shouldn’t prevent us from putting this non-burdensome safeguard in place. Just because you haven’t been robbed doesn’t mean you shouldn’t lock your doors at night or when you’re away from home.”
In what appeared to be a direct rebuke of the Governor’s claim that such fraud is widespread but difficult to detect, Powell said “You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud. How can it be widespread and undetected?”http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/22/colin-powell-to-north-carolina-governor-there-is-no-voter-fraud/

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

McCrory uses Facebook to call out lawmakers :: WRAL.com

McCrory uses Facebook to call out lawmakers :: WRAL.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Pat McCrory is using Facebook to call on lawmakers to sustain two vetoes he issued earlier this month.
"Contact your representative, Julia Howard @ 919-733-5904 who represents Davie and Forsyth counties and tell her to sustain my vetoes of fiscally irresponsible & job-killing legislation: HB 392 & HB 786," reads one of more than a dozen posts the governor made to his official Facebook account Tuesday night.
McCrory vetoes included a bill that would require drug testing for welfare recipients, and a measure that would extend the amount of time farm workers could be employed without undergoing a background check.
McCrory has said he vetoed the drug testing bill because of a potential constitutional issue. The background check bill, he said, would open a loophole for people here illegally to take jobs away from North Carolinians.
When a governor vetoes a bill after the legislature has adjourned, he has 40 days to call the General Assembly back into session to try to override his veto or make adjustments to the measures in question. McCrory has still not called the legislature back and his 40-day window ends shortly after Labor Day.
Senior Republican leaders have said over the past few weeks that sentiment is growing within the House Republican caucus to override McCrory's vetoes. More Info

General Assembly, lawmakers, legislature, legislators generic

Find your representative
Among those the governor is calling out on Facebook are House Finance Co-Chairwoman Julia Howard, R-Davie, House Finance Co-Chairman David Lewis, R-Harnett, Appropriations Chairman Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, Judiciary Chairman Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston, and Republican Conference Leader Ruth Samuelson, R-Mecklenburg. http://www.wral.com/mccrory-uses-facebook-to-call-out-lawmakers/12799078/

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Texas Deputy Allegedly Rapes Woman In Front Of 3 Children [VIDEO] | News One

Texas Deputy Allegedly Rapes Woman In Front Of 3 Children [VIDEO] | News One
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Lisa Rodriguez has accused a Texas sheriff’s deputy of sexually assaulting her in front of her children, reports KHOU.com.
Rodriguez, a resident of Houston’s Cloverleaf area in East Harris County, said the deputy came to her home to question her about harassing phone calls, but ended up raping her.

“He hurt me,” Rodriguez said. “He took something from me without even asking. That’s what hurt the most and my children were in the same house I was.”

Her brother, Bobby Rodriguez, continued the story after she was interrupted by investigators:

“He was like well, if you don’t go to jail what can you do for me,” Bobby Rodriguez was told. “That’s when they went upstairs and he told her it was best for them to talk in the room.”
Rodriguez said after the deputy raped her and left, Rodriguez called her brother and they reported what happened. “The Harris County Sheriff’s Office takes these allegations extremely serious,” said Captain Ken Melancon. “He’s actually been temporarily relieved of duty pending the outcome of this investigation.” A rape kit was done and the Harris County Internal Affairs Department and Special Victims Unit are investigating.

See KHOU report below:
As previously reported by NewsOne, this heinous act is, unfortunately, not an anomaly. In February 2012, a 19-year-old mother of two in Milwaukee called 911 after a brick was thrown through her bathroom window and someone began kicking her front door.
After distracting his partner, Police Officer Ladmarald Cates allegedly raped the woman.
Read more on that story here.
Even more recently, two police officers in Lauderhill, Florida found themselves on the other side of the law after being arrested for forcing women into sexual intercourse and groin-punching during a routing traffic stop on May 24, 2012.
Read more on that story here.
http://newsone.com/2678351/texas-deputy-allegedly-rapes-woman-in-front-of-3-children-video/

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Cory Booker Wins Senate Special Election Primary | #NJSEN | At the Races

Cory Booker Wins Senate Special Election Primary | #NJSEN | At the Races
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Newark Mayor Cory Booker won the Democratic primary Tuesday and is now favored to win the New Jersey Senate special election in October.
Booker held off three other elected officials in the no-drama, two-month sprint to win the low-turnout nomination fight with relative ease. Less than an hour after polls closed, Booker led with 56 percent of the vote when the Associated Press called the race with just 7 percent of precincts reporting.
Trailing Booker was Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. with 25 percent, Rep. Rush D. Holt with 14 percent and state Speaker Sheila Oliver with 4 percent.
In the Oct. 16 special to fill the remaining term of the late Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, Booker faces Republican nominee Steve Lonegan. In the GOP primary, Lonegan, a legally blind conservative activist and former mayor of a small borough in Bergen County, handily defeated Alieta Eck, a physician and first-time candidate.
Beyond his financial advantage and personal popularity, Booker is a heavy favorite thanks to the state’s strong Democratic lean in federal elections. President Barack Obama won the state with 58 percent in 2012, and no Republican has been elected to the Senate from New Jersey in four decades.
The race is rated Safe Democratic by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.
After Gov. Chris Christie set the special election date in early June — a day after Lautenberg died of viral pneumonia — Booker entered the race as the instant front-runner. He boasted a national profile and was able to count on well-connected friends in the political, entertainment and tech worlds for support.
When it came to fundraising, he left the competition in the dust. After filing with the Federal Election Commission in January, Booker raised $8.6 million through July 24, the end of the pre-primary fundraising period.
Booker’s name identification advantage, impressive campaign team and the short timeframe of the race allowed the mayor to cruise into primary day with his margin of victory and potential fit in the Senate the only lingering questions.
Deeper dives into Booker’s finances, including details of a sizable stake in an internet company called Waywire and the annual payouts he reportedly received since leaving his former law firm, didn’t surface until the last week of the race and apparently had no bearing on the end result.
Pallone’s endorsement by the Lautenberg family and Holt’s background as a nuclear physicist never provided the spark both needed. The special-election clock ran out on them, but they have options for 2014: seek re-election to the House or challenge the eventual winner of this Senate seat for a full term. http://atr.rollcall.com/cory-booker-wins-senate-special-election-primary-njsen/

Method to Racist Madness in Fresh Racial Attacks on President Barack Obama. : ThyBlackMan.com

Method to Racist Madness in Fresh Racial Attacks on President Barack Obama. : ThyBlackMan.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
In quick succession in one week’s time, a protestor waves a sign “bye bye black sheep” and a small chorus chimes in and puts it to the popular song ditty of “Bye, Bye, Blackbird” in front of Desert Vista High School in Phoenix where President Obama spoke about housing finance reform. Hundreds of attendees at a Missouri state fair roared with laughter and applause at a rodeo clown’s mocking Barack Obama. In Orlando, a knot of protestors wave racially insulting signs including “Kenyan Go Home” at Obama’s motorcade. And a GOP congressman hints that there’s sentiment among House Republicans for an Obama impeachment drive over questions about his American citizenship. These despicable and outrageous displays of racism should be condemned. But at least they’re honest in that the upfront bigots shredded the carefully honed script that has been the template for the racially sneaky and insidious attacks on Obama. The script reads like this: Whenever an elected official, Tea Party figure, or even leader, or gobs of protestors wave their racially loaded signs, posters, and shout racially derogatory barbs at Obama, Tea Party and GOP leaders chalk it up to variously a fringe few, or crank, and then wail that it’s blatantly unfair to, as well as politically conniving, to tar the Tea Party, let alone, the GOP as racist for the acts of a kooky few. They’d have a legitimate grip except for one, actually two, small points. In 2012 a Brown University social scientist used polling experiments and an independent survey to identify a series of issues that have been bitter and contentious between Obama and the GOP and that are seemingly race neutral such as tax policy, health care reform, Supreme Court appointments, and political party identification. He found that those with a racial antipathy toward blacks were more prone to oppose anything that Obama supported. http://thyblackman.com/2013/08/13/method-to-racist-madness-in-fresh-racial-attacks-on-president-barack-obama/

Ex-Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty In Baltimore Jail Conspiracy « CBS Baltimore

Ex-Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty In Baltimore Jail Conspiracy « CBS Baltimore
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
A corrections officer at the Baltimore City Detention Center has pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into the facility for members of the Black Guerilla Family gang.
Jennifer Owens, 31, of Randallstown entered the plea Tuesday in federal court in Baltimore. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison at sentencing in January.
Owens is among more than two dozen people charged in April in a vast drug-smuggling operation at the downtown Baltimore jail. One of the alleged leaders of the gang, Tavon White, pleaded guilty last month to racketeering conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Owens, who has two children by White, smuggled pills, marijuana and tobacco in the jail on behalf of White and others. http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/08/13/ex-corrections-officer-pleads-guilty-in-baltimore-jail-conspiracy/

Saturday, August 10, 2013

FCC Agrees To Cap Exorbitant Prison Phone Rates | ThinkProgress

FCC Agrees To Cap Exorbitant Prison Phone Rates | ThinkProgress
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
After a protracted battle to end inordinate charges for phone calls from prison that exceeded $17 for a 15-minute phone, the Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to cap the rate for interstate calls at 25 cents per minutes, meaning 15-minute calls could no longer cost more than $3.25.
The 2-1 FCC decision not only relieves the burden on inmates for whom phone calls are the primary means of contact with loved ones, including young children. It also curbs exploitation of a largely unregulated sector of the phone market, which fostered generous profits and what amounted to legalized kickbacks to states in exchange for lucrative contracts.
The effort to curb prison phone calls started with a lawsuit filed more than a decade ago that was referred to the FCC. The FCC sat on the matter for years, until it agreed in November to consider action on the matter. Factoring into the FCC’s ruling was the policy’s impact on the 2.7 million U.S. children with an incarcerated parent. Increased familial communication not only benefits those children; it also lowers the chance of inmates committing a later offense. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/08/09/2445871/fcc-agrees-to-cap-exorbitant-prison-phone-rates/

Women Lawmakers Push Paid Sick Leave In New Jersey | ThinkProgress

Women Lawmakers Push Paid Sick Leave In New Jersey | ThinkProgress
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
On Thursday, a group of women lawmakers were joined by union and community leaders to promote a bill that would guarantee New Jersey workers paid sick leave.
The bill, A4125, was introduced by Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg in the spring. It would give workers at companies with more than 11 people the ability to accrue up to seven days of paid sick leave a year and five days a year for those at smaller companies.
While New Jersey is one of just three states that offer workers paid family leave, the lawmakers say 1.2 million New Jersey residents don’t have access to paid time off if they or a loved one falls sick.
The battle in New Jersey comes as the fight to pass similar legislation heats up in Massachusetts. If either succeeds in passing a bill, it would join five other cities and the state of Connecticut. New York City was the latest to pass such a law, becoming the largest city in the country to guarantee workers paid sick leave.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/09/2445531/paid-sick-leave-new-jersey/

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Moynihan Report (1965) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

The Moynihan Report (1965) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

The Negro Family:
The Case For National Action
Office of Policy Planning and Research
United States Department of Labor
March 1965
________________________________________
Two hundred years ago, in 1765, nine assembled colonies first joined together to demand freedom from arbitrary power.
For the first century we struggled to hold together the first continental union of democracy in the history of man. One hundred years ago, in 1865, following a terrible test of blood and fire, the compact of union was finally sealed.
For a second century we labored to establish a unity of purpose and interest among the many groups which make up the American community.
That struggle has often brought pain and violence. It is not yet over.
State of the Union Message of President Lyndon B. Johnson,
January 4, 1965.
________________________________________
The United States is approaching a new crisis in race relations.
In the decade that began with the school desegregation decision of the Supreme Court, and ended with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the demand of Negro Americans for full recognition of their civil rights was finally met.
The effort, no matter how savage and brutal, of some State and local governments to thwart the exercise of those rights is doomed. The nation will not put up with it -- least of all the Negroes. The present moment will pass. In the meantime, a new period is beginning.
In this new period the expectations of the Negro Americans will go beyond civil rights. Being Americans, they will now expect that in the near future equal opportunities for them as a group will produce roughly equal results, as compared with other groups. This is not going to happen. Nor will it happen for generations to come unless a new and special effort is made.
There are two reasons. First, the racist virus in the American blood stream still afflicts us: Negroes will encounter serious personal prejudice for at least another generation. Second, three centuries of sometimes unimaginable mistreatment have taken their toll on the Negro people. The harsh fact is that as a group, at the present time, in terms of ability to win out in the competitions of American life, they are not equal to most of those groups with which they will be competing. Individually, Negro Americans reach the highest peaks of achievement. But collectively, in the spectrum of American ethnic and religious and regional groups, where some get plenty and some get none, where some send eighty percent of their children to college and others pull them out of school at the 8th grade, Negroes are among the weakest.
The most difficult fact for white Americans to understand is that in these terms the circumstances of the Negro American community in recent years has probably been getting worse, not better.
Indices of dollars of income, standards of living, and years of education deceive. The gap between the Negro and most other groups in American society is widening.
The fundamental problem, in which this is most clearly the case, is that of family structure. The evidence -- not final, but powerfully persuasive -- is that the Negro family in the urban ghettos is crumbling. A middle-class group has managed to save itself, but for vast numbers of the unskilled, poorly educated city working class the fabric of conventional social relationships has all but disintegrated. There are indications that the situation may have been arrested in the past few years, but the general post-war trend is unmistakable. So long as this situation persists, the cycle of poverty and disadvantage will continue to repeat itself.
The thesis of this paper is that these events, in combination, confront the nation with a new kind of problem. Measures that have worked in the past, or would work for most groups in the present, will not work here. A national effort is required that will give a unity of purpose to the many activities of the Federal government in this area, directed to a new kind of national goal: the establishment of a stable Negro family structure.
This would be a new departure for Federal policy. And a difficult one. But it almost certainly offers the only possibility of resolving in our time what is, after all, the nation's oldest, and most intransigent, and now its most dangerous social problem. What Gunnar Myrdal said in An American Dilemma remains true today: "America is free to chose whether the Negro shall remain her liability or become her opportunity."
http://www.blackpast.org/?q=primary/moynihan-report-1965

Saturday, August 3, 2013

John McCain: 'It's been a long time since I've been scared' - Hadas Gold - POLITICO.com

John McCain: 'It's been a long time since I've been scared' - Hadas Gold - POLITICO.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:

Fellow politicians shouldn’t try to scare Sen. John McCain with personal attacks — it won’t work, he says.
In an interview released Friday with ABC News/Yahoo, the Arizona Republican said members of Congress should not call those who disagree with them “scared,” and that it’s been a long time since he’s been scared.

Reality check on shutdown

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“We need to be careful in the way we treat each other,” McCain said. “I have been as ferocious a fighter and I think as partisan as strong as anybody but, I really try hard not to get personal. Debate on the issue as hard as you can, but don’t say that your opponents, people who disagree with you, are scared. It’s been a long time since I’ve been scared.”

(PHOTOS: John McCain’s life and career)
McCain warned that the fresh faces in Congress like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) who are threatening to shut down the government over Obamacare might need some “corporate memory.”
“The people who are pushing this Obamacare vs. government shutdown, none of them that I know were here the last time we saw that movie,” he said.
No matter who the next Republican presidential nominee is, they won’t win if Congress fails to pass immigration reform, McCain said.
“If we fail on immigration reform, it won’t matter who our nominee is because of the polarization of the Hispanic vote,” McCain said. “Now that’s not why I’m for immigration reform, but it certainly is one of the consequences of a failure.
McCain’s “crystal ball” on immigration is “a little cloudy” he said, because the August recess will be “a very seminal month.”
“Members are back interacting with their constituents and we see a coalition of Evangelicals, of the Catholic Church, of business, of labor, of small business, high tech, across the board, support the likes of which we, I’ve never seen, for one specific part of legislation. So I hope that sends my colleagues on the House side back with at least a willingness to move forward with some legislation, so we can go to conference,” McCain said.

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