February 28, 2014

McCain: 'We Are All Ukrainians'

DANIEL STRAUSS – FEBRUARY 28, 2014, 4:58 PM EST

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) declared Friday that "we are all Ukrainians" in response to the news that Russia had taken over parts of Ukrainian Crimea.

"We are all Ukrainians," McCain said in an interview with TIME magazine published Friday. The comments came ahead of President Barack Obama's announcement that he would address the events.

McCain said that Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks "this is a chess match reminiscent of the Cold War and we need to realize that and act accordingly." The senior senator from Arizona added that that didn't mean he foresaw "a conflict with Russia, but we need to take certain measures that would convince Putin that there is a very high cost to actions that he is taking now."

The comment was a near carbon copy to what McCain said in 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia. At the time McCain said, "I know I speak for every American I say to him today, we are all Georgians."

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mccain-we-are-all-ukranians-now

February 28, 2014

Obama warns Russia 'there will be costs' for any military intervention in Ukraine

Source: Washington Post

In unscheduled remarks at the White House Friday afternoon, President Obama said the United States is "deeply concerned" about military movements by the Russian federation inside Ukraine, and warned that "there will be costs for any military intervention." He added that "any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty... would be deeply destabilizing."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ukraine-calls-russian-troops-invasion/2014/02/28/e066bfc8-a0be-11e3-878c-65222df220eb_story.html

February 28, 2014

Report: Background Checks Have Blocked More Than 2 Million Gun Sales

Source: TPM

ERIC LACH – FEBRUARY 28, 2014, 2:39 PM EST

Federal background checks have blocked more than 2.1 million gun purchases since the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act went into effect on Feb. 28, 1994, according to numbers released Friday by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

The organization, which advocates for stronger gun-control measures, released a report looking at the impact of the Brady law on its 20th anniversary. According to the report, the law has blocked more than one million purchases by felons, 291,000 by domestic abusers, and 118,000 by fugitives.

The Brady Campaign took the occasion of the law's anniversary to reiterate its call for stricter background check legislation.

“Lives have been saved by the Brady law as we have seen the undeniable evidence showing gun homicides have decreased since the law took effect 20 years ago,” Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign, said in a statement. “We need Congress to expand Brady background checks to make it harder for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns online, in classified advertisements or at gun shows.”

The full report is available online here.



Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/background-checks-statistics

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Brady Campaign releases a report analyzing 20 years of effective background checks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 28, 2014 Jennifer Fuson 202-370-8128 Jfuson@bradymail.org

Washington, D.C. – The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence today released a report chronicling the impact of the Brady law and revealed that felons, domestic abusers, and fugitives are the top categories of prohibited purchasers who have been denied gun purchases since the law went into effect 20 years ago.

Since February 28, 1994, the Brady law has blocked more than 2.1 million gun purchases, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is 343 purchases blocked every day. More than one million of those attempted purchases were by felons. Another 291,000 denials were to domestic abusers. And, 118,000 gun sales to fugitives were blocked thanks to background checks.

“It is clear Brady background checks work. Lives have been saved by the Brady law as we have seen the undeniable evidence showing gun homicides have decreased since the law took effect 20 years ago,” said Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “We need Congress to expand Brady background checks to make it harder for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns online, in classified advertisements or at gun shows.”

Joined by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Brady Campaign Chair Sarah Brady, Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA), Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Congressional leaders, and families of shooting victims, Gross released the report, 20 Years of Brady Background Checks: The Case for Finishing the Job to Keep America Safer, Friday at a Capitol Hill press conference.

“This report reflects the challenges we faced in passing the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 20 years ago and the results prove our efforts were worth it,” said Sarah Brady. Her husband, Jim, was the inspiration for the Brady law after he was shot and severely injured during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

Among the report’s findings:

Convicted felons, fugitives from justice, and domestic abusers made up nearly 70% of firearm purchase applications denied from 1994 to 2010, according to the most recent data available.
On average, felons are blocked 171 times a day.
On average, domestic abusers are blocked 48 times a day.
On average, fugitives are blocked 19 times a day.
Currently, roughly 40 percent of gun purchases are not subject to a Brady background check. This includes guns sold online and at gun shows when sold through unlicensed sellers. Nine in ten Americans support expanding background checks to online and gun shows sales, but despite public support, Congress failed to pass meaningful legislation to expand background checks last year. However, states still acted; 21 states passed new gun laws to curb gun violence, including eight states that passed major gun reforms in 2013. Four of those states – Colorado, Connecticut, New York, and Delaware – passed new laws expanding background checks on all gun sales.

“For 20 years, Brady background checks have prevented violence, protected communities, and saved lives. But we must do more,” Leader Pelosi said. “It’s long past time to expand and strengthen the background checks with the bipartisan King-Thompson bill -- and we’ve come together today with a clear, simple, and firm message: let’s finish the job to protect and defend the American people.”

“For 20 years, the Brady Act has helped prevent guns from falling into dangerous hands. Now it is time to finish the job by passing my bipartisan bill that makes sure people can’t bypass a background check by simply going online or to a gun show,” said Rep. Mike Thompson. “We know background checks work. They keep guns away from criminals, terrorists, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill, and they respect people’s Second Amendment Rights. People on both sides of the aisle came together 20 years ago and passed the original Brady Act. In two decades it has saved countless lives. It’s time to come together again and finish the job.”

“Jim and I are optimistic about the future,” said Sarah Brady. “It took six years and seven votes to pass the Brady bill, but we stayed the course until we passed the legislation. We are not going away and we’ll continue the fight until we finish the job and get expand background checks to all gun sales.”

To read the report in its entirety visit: http://www.bradycampaign.org/programs/finish-the-job/20th-anniversary-report

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http://www.bradycampaign.org/brady-campaign-releases-a-report-analyzing-20-years-of-effective-background-checks

February 28, 2014

Paralyzed GOP Lawmaker On Medicaid Opposes Medicaid Expansion

DYLAN SCOTT – FEBRUARY 28, 2014, 10:11 AM EST

More than a decade ago, Arkansas Rep. Josh Miller (R) was in a catastrophic car accident that broke his neck and left him paralyzed. Medicare and Medicaid paid the $1 million bill for his hospitalization and rehabilitation.

But this week, as the Arkansas legislature has debated continuing its privatized Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, Miller has remained steadfast in his opposition.

The Arkansas Times highlighted the contrast in a Thursday report. The alternative newspaper reported that Miller receives ongoing coverage through the government programs, including Medicaid-covered personal care assistance.

The Times asked Miller, 33, about this apparent contradiction: Shouldn't someone who has experienced the benefits of health insurance, including insurance paid for by the government, understand the importance of expanding those benefits to others?

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/arkansas-gop-lawmaker-medicaid-expansion

February 28, 2014

JOE BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT?

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

POSTED BY JOHN CASSIDY

Vice-President Joe Biden is running for President in 2016.

That is, he’s thinking about it seriously. That is, he’s not going to let Hillary Clinton, her fearsome political machine, or Jim Messina, his boss’s former campaign manager, make his decision for him. That is, he considers himself more than a match for Hillary, but he’s not oblivious to the polls showing her way, way ahead of him. That is, what the heck, he’s seventy-one, he’s still full of energy, he’s served President Obama loyally, he loves the game, and he thinks—pundits and pollsters be damned—that this might be the moment for an old-school, shit-kicking, hand-grasping, mouth-running, stick-up-for-the-working-stiff pol like himself.

“It’s either going to be me or someone else who is going to make this argument in the Democratic Party,” he told Glenn Thrush, the author of a bang-up new profile at Politico. “When productivity increased, when profit increased, the people who are the reason for the increase were to share in the bounty. That’s what was settled in the late ’30s on collective bargaining, the Fair Labor Standards Act. … Guess what? The workers are getting screwed.”

Surely, they are. But that wasn’t all we’ve heard from the Vice-President in recent days. “It’s as likely I run as I don’t run,” he said on “The View,” the ABC talk show. “Well, you know, I was planning on making a major announcement tonight, but I decided tonight’s your night,” he joked to Seth Meyers, the new host of NBC’s “Late Night.”

more
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2014/02/joe-biden-for-president.html

February 28, 2014

Ukraine's Yanukovych says he won't ask Russia to intervene militarily

Source: Washington Post

Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said Friday he had no intention of asking for Russian military intervention in Ukraine, blamed the chaos there on Western manipulation and said he would not return to his country until his security could be guaranteed.

Speaking in Russian at a news conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on–Don, Yanukovych insisted he remains the legitimate president of Ukraine and that he did not order police to fire on demonstrators. He said Russia should intervene in the Ukrainian crisis, although he said he could not say how.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/yanukovych-says-he-will-not-ask-russia-to-intervene-militarily-in-ukraine/2014/02/28/b0381734-a082-11e3-a050-dc3322a94fa7_story.html

February 28, 2014

The American Conservative: The Collapse Of The Anti-SSM Side

By ROD DREHER • February 26, 2014, 4:57 PM

A major, decisive battle in the culture war is over. The other side won. Soon their efforts will amount to little more than bouncing the rubble.

I don’t know what else to conclude from this latest comprehensive poll from this new, comprehensive poll from the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute, taking a snapshot of America’s views on same-sex marriage. Excerpts:

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According to the PRRI press release, it is hard to overestimate the age/generation factor in opposing same-sex marriage. Opponents of SSM are literally dying off. For the overwhelming majority of Millennials, SSM is seen as just and right. None of this is news, by the way, not to anybody who has been following this story.

more
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/the-collapse-of-the-anti-ssm-side/

February 28, 2014

The Death-Throes Of The Anti-Gay Movement - By Andrew Sullivan

FEB 20 2014 @ 2:30PM

I know the danger to gay people remains great, and I don’t want to minimize the impact of living in a state where businesses of all kinds are empowered by law to put “No Gays Allowed” or “No Gays Served” in their best practices. But in America in the 21st Century, the movement that seeks to legislate outright discrimination against a tiny minority is doomed to bitter failure. It’s doomed because the principle of non-discrimination is now endemic in American culture – and among the younger generation the first article of their civil religion. Such a principle became embedded in the national identity in the Civil Rights era, where the evil of Jim Crow laws was exposed with fatal finality.

Now, the Christianist right is putting its full weight behind legal discrimination against any groups or individuals who might offend someone’s sincerely held religious conscience. Arizona’s Senate just passed a new bill expanding the concept of religious freedom from being the province of “religious assemblies and institutions” to a much broader category that includes “any individual, association, partnership, corporation, church, religious assembly or institution, estate, trust, foundation or other legal entity.” So rights once accorded to purely religious institutions are now for anyone – any business, any teacher, any pharmacist, any florist, any hotel-owner and on and on.

I’ve had my say on this, but it’s worth reiterating that this bill has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. It is, rather, is an attack on Christian principles and a betrayal of the Gospels.

If there was one aspect of organized religion that Jesus opposed, it was its attempt to draw lines around the unclean, the marginalized and the sinners. Among his radical acts was immersing himself with sinners of all sorts – prostitutes, lepers, and collaborators with an occupying power. Segregation – the placing of a group of unholy people outside of mainstream interaction – was anathema to Jesus and should be to all Christians. To construct a legal regime in which those people are fair game for outright ostracism and segregation is a disgusting inversion of both democratic and Christian values.

more
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/02/20/the-death-throes-of-the-anti-gay-movement/

February 28, 2014

How conservatives lost the culture war

The triumph of gay marriage is rooted in the country's founding

By Damon Linker | 6:28am ET

This is a demoralizing moment for combatants on the conservative side of the culture war. Every few days, it seems, a judge strikes down a state statute or constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (The latest was in Texas.) The Supreme Court (or rather, Justice Anthony Kennedy) seems poised to nationalize gay marriage at any time. And of course there's the defeat of Arizona's anti-gay bill. The desperate effort of Arizona lawmakers to pass such a law in the first place (along with a similar ill-fated attempt in Kansas) recently inspired Andrew Sullivan to remark that we're living through the "death throes of the anti-gay movement."

That may well be right. But what if we're living through something even more significant? A poll released this week by the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute reinforces what a series of surveys have shown for years: an incredibly rapid and far-reaching shift toward public acceptance of both homosexuality and gay marriage. Indeed, PRRI's new numbers are so stunning that they inspired conservative culture warrior Rod Dreher to declare in no uncertain terms that "the culture war is over. The other side won."

When it comes to gay issues, I think he's right. (Abortion is another matter altogether.)

How did it happen? As I've argued before, the triumph of gay marriage can ultimately be traced back to the 2,000-year-old Christian ideal of equality. More recently, a shift in the definition of marriage took place after the introduction of the birth-control pill in 1957.

more
http://theweek.com/article/index/257126/how-conservatives-lost-the-culture-war

February 28, 2014

Will Jordan Davis Become the First Transgender Miss England?

Jordan Davis had a difficult upbringing, was bullied at school, and now—at 17—is hoping to become the first transgender winner of Miss England.

Jordan Davis was recently in an IKEA when a woman approached her. “You’re the girl in the paper,” the woman said. “Well, fair play to you. But no offense, love: The photos don’t do you justice. You look much better in person.” On the phone from her home in Coventry, England, Davis laughs. “All my life I wanted to be famous, but now I don’t like it.”

Well, she may have to get used to an extended 15 minutes. Davis, 17, is only the second declared transgender contestant to have taken part in the Miss England pageant. In 2012, the first, Jackie Green, reached the final of the national competition; Davis is in final 15 of her regional Coventry heat. If she wins that, she goes through to the national finals as Green did. Davis’s story has been featured in the local and national press.

When she first had sent pictures to Diane Slater, organizer of the Miss Coventry competition, the two women met up, but Davis felt she couldn’t tell Slater about being transgender, so she revealed all later via a Facebook message. She recalls Slater saying: “I would never have guessed in a million years.” Davis laughs. “She was very supportive and checked the rules and regulations: There was nothing in them to say contestants had to be born female or be biologically female.”

Slater didn’t divulge Davis’s sexual identity when she appeared in front of the judges at the audition for the Miss Coventry contest. “I walked into the room equal to the rest of the girls,” Davis says. There, she and the other women were judged on how they spoke and posed and for their elegance. “I passed with flying colors,” Davis says proudly. Out of 300 women, she was one of 15 chosen. She then came out about being transgendered, and heard that the response of one of the Miss England organizers was: “No way, she’s so pretty.”

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/28/will-jordan-davis-become-the-first-transgender-miss-england.html