Freddie Stubbs
Freddie Stubbs's JournalCourt orders Brawley's wages garnished to pay restitution
Source: Poughkeepsie Journal
Notoriously known as the girl who cried rape, Tawana Brawley could finally have to pay the man she accused of horrific acts about 25 years ago, court records show.
A nurse working under the name Tawana V. Thompson Gutierrez, she owes $431,492, including interest, as part of a defamation lawsuit won by the man she accused, according to a court order to garnish her wages obtained by the Journal.
Brawley works at Laurels of Bon Air nursing home in Richmond, Va., the court records show.
After Brawley left Dutchess County, she allegedly changed her name and Social Security number to avoid paying $189,926 in a defamation lawsuit won by Steven Pagones in 1998, his lawyer, Garry Bolnick said.
Read more: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130131/NEWS01/130131013/Court-orders-Brawley-s-wages-garnished-pay-restitution
Donnelly opposing assault weapons ban
Source: Associated Press
NDIANAPOLIS -- Freshman Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly is opposing a ban on assault weapons sought by President Barack Obama.
A Donnelly spokesman told The Associated Press Wednesday that the Indiana lawmaker will vote against the ban but has not decided whether he would support universal background checks.
Donnelly, of Granger, represents a key bloc of moderate to conservative Democrats the president must win over. The announcement also marks a key early stance from Donnelly just a few months after winning a state that went heavily for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in last year's election.
Donnelly called himself "a strong supporter of the Second Amendment" in a statement issued shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee opened a hearing featuring testimony from National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Read more: http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/sbt-donnelly-opposing-assault-weapons-ban-20130131,0,7874537.story
Black delegates tempted by Virginia GOP’s Senate map
RICHMOND — At least two black House Democrats say they might vote for the GOP’s surprise Virginia Senate redistricting plan, a move that could make it easier for Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and House Speaker William J. Howell to find their way out of a sticky political quandary.
Dels. Onzlee Ware (Roanoke) and Rosalyn R. Dance (Petersburg) told The Washington Post on Wednesday that they are considering the plan, which would create a new majority-black district in Southside but also disperse black voting power in at least eight other districts.
The likely outcome would be to elect a sixth black senator but also to diminish the overall power of Democrats in the now evenly split Senate.
“Here’s an opportunity where I can actually have a great impact on African Americans, yet at the same time, it doesn’t help the entire Democratic Party,” Ware said. “Should I always have to forgo the interests of black people for the good of the party? .?.?. I have a real dilemma on my hands right now.”
more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/black-delegates-tempted-by-gops-senate-map/2013/01/30/7612e074-6b0a-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html?wprss=rss_politics
FBI raids West Palm Beach office of doctor tied to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez
Source: The Miami Herald
FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. — who has denied what he calls the “fallacious allegations.”
Agents gathered at the medical-office complex of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a contributor to Menendez and other prominent politicians, to start hauling away potential evidence in several vans.
The investigation is believed to be focusing on Melgen’s finances and the allegations about Menendez’s trips and contact with prostitutes. A spokesman for Menendez could not be reached for comment, nor could Melgen.
Melgen has an outstanding IRS lien of $11.1 million for taxes owed from 2006 to 2009, according to records filed with the Palm Beach County recorder’s office. A previous IRS lien for $6.2 million was released in 2011.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/29/3207543/fbi-raids-west-palm-beach-office.html
It's Tant. Allison Tant wins FL Dem Chair race, beats Clendenin 587-448
Allison Tant beat Alan Clendin in a hard-fought race for Florida Democratic Party chair.
Tant won 587 votes to Clendenin's 448.
"Thank you, Alan Clendenin, for making me a better candidate," Tant said.
Tant's win spared Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson a measure of embarrassment. Both pushed hard for Tant. They wanted her to lead the party because she knows how to fundraise. And they need money, truckloads of it, to unseat Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.
more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/01/its-tant-allison-tant-wins-fl-dem-chair-race-beats-clendenin-587-448.html#storylink=cpy
Assault Weapons Ban Lacks Democratic Votes to Pass Senate
Source: Bloomberg
A proposed ban on sales of assault weapons would be defeated in the U.S. Senate today unless some members changed their current views, based on a Bloomberg review of recent lawmaker statements and interviews.
At least six of the 55 senators who caucus with Democrats have recently expressed skepticism or outright opposition to a ban, the review found. That means Democrats wouldn’t have a simple 51-vote majority to pass the measure, let alone the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster to bring it to a floor vote.
A ban on the military-style weapons is among the legislative goals President Barack Obama outlined in his recommendations to Congress on curbing gun violence. Yesterday, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California introduced legislation to outlaw such sales during a news conference where survivors of past shootings, some of them with bullets still lodged in their bodies, urged its passage.
At that event, Feinstein said it’s unclear whether the fight is winnable. “We don’t know, it’s so uphill,” she said. “It depends on the courage of Americans.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-25/assault-weapons-ban-lacks-democratic-votes-to-pass-senate.html
This was totally foreseeable:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021981532
N.J. Mayor Cory Booker Helps Rescue Freezing Dog
Source: ABC News
While out working on a story in freezing New Jersey, a reporter and camera crew from New York station WABC-TV noticed a dog left out in the cold.
Hours later, when they passed by again and saw that the dog was still outside, they decided to take the issue to Twitter, and the mayor.
Reporter Toni Yates tweeted N.J. Mayor Cory Booker and WABC. In the tweet, she applauded Newark for its heat help, but added, “Make pet owners get their dogs out of the cold.”
In another tweet, she wrote that she asked the block captain to “do something, call someone,” but doubted he would.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/n-j-mayor-cory-booker-helps-rescue-freezing-dog/
Bill proposed in Oregon would make cigarettes prescription-only drugs
Source: KPTV
If you're a regular smoker, you may want to keep an eye on a new bill in the Oregon Legislature.
Rep. Mitch Greenlick, from Portland, is sponsoring a bill that makes cigarettes a Schedule III controlled substance, meaning it would be illegal to possess or distribute cigarettes without a doctor's prescription.
Under the proposal, offenders would face maximum punishments of one year in prison, a $6,250 fine or both.
Other drugs and substances that are considered Schedule III controlled substances are ketamine, lysergic acid and anabolic steroids.
Read more: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/20662618/bill-proposed-in-oregon-would-make-cigarettes-prescription-only-drugs
Hagan backs Keystone Pipeline
Source: News & Observer
Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan is President Obama to approve construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, saying it will help create jobs and provide energy security.
Hagan was one of 53 senators who signed a letter urging Obama approve the $7 billion project that would carry oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has approved a revived route for the pipeline through his state, putting the decision for the delayed project back in the hands of the federal government.
"Setting politics aside: Nothing has changed about the thousands of jobs that Keystone XL will create," Hagan said in a letter signed by Hagan and the other senators sent in November. "Nothing has changed about the energy security to be gained through an important addition to the existing pipeline network built with sound environmental stewardship and the best modern technology.''
Read more: http://projects.newsobserver.com/node/26810
Quinnipiac: 51 Percent Of N.J. Dems Want Booker Over Lautenberg
Source: Talking Points Memo
A majority of New Jersey Democrats would back Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker (D) over Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in a 2014 intra-party primary, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday.
Fifty-one percent of registered Democrats in the Garden State indicated they would prefer Booker to be the party's nominee in next year's U.S. Senate race, compared with 30 percent who gave the nod to Lautenberg.
The poll also showed that Booker is more personally popular among all New Jersey voters than Lautenberg. Fifty-four percent have a favorable opinion of the high-profile mayor, compared with 16 percent who have an unfavorable opinion. Lautenberg, meanwhile, is viewed favorably by 42 percent of voters while 32 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the incumbent senator.
It's the second poll this month to suggest that Lautenberg's time in the Senate may be running out. A survey released earlier this month from Fairleigh Dickinson University showed a plurality of New Jersey Democrats supporting Booker over Lautenberg in a hypothetical primary.
Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/quinnipiac-51-percent-of-nj-dems-want-booker
Today is Senator Lautenberg's birthday. He is 89.
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