Freddie Stubbs
Freddie Stubbs's JournalAlan Grayson hedge funds skirt ethics rule
Source: Politico
TALLAHASSEE—Rep. Alan Grayson manages hedge funds that use his name in their title, a practice prohibited by congressional ethics rules designed to prevent members from using their elected post for financial gain.
The specific ethics provisions tied to the funds Grayson manages, two of which are based in the Cayman Islands, sit in a sort of gray area, and have never been examined by the House ethics committee.
Attorneys for the Democratic congressman say the funds are exempt from House ethics rules that ban a sitting member from naming a financial entity after themselves. But their stated rationale is considered “complete nonsense” by legal and finance experts who reviewed the fund’s regulatory filings.
The House ethics rules do not allow a sitting member to “permit his name to be used” in the name or advertising material for entities like law firms, associations and financial entities. The Grayson-run funds are Delaware-based Grayson Fund, L.P. and two Cayman Island-based funds called Grayson Master Fund (Cayman) Ltd. and Grayson Fund (Cayman) Ltd.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/alan-grayson-hedge-fund-ethics-119553.html
Pro-O’Malley group attacking Sanders on gun control By Jonathan Easley
Source: The Hill
A super-PAC supporting former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) for president will launch a five-digit digital ad buy in Iowa on Thursday attacking Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) over his positions on gun control.
“Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill, and Bernie Sanders voted to give gun manufacturers protections from victim lawsuits,” the ad says. “The NRA even paid for ads attacking a Sanders opponent. Bernie Sanders is no progressive when it comes to guns.”
A separate 15-second ad from the super-PAC, called Generation Forward, touts O’Malley’s support for gun control reforms and will also run in the Hawkeye State.
“Martin O’Malley banned the sale of assault rifles. Martin O’Malley enacted laws requiring licensing of handgun buyers,” the second says. “Martin O’Malley outlawed the sale of high capacity magazines. Martin O’Malley: A proven leader on gun safety.”
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/246115-pro-omalley-group-attacking-sanders-on-gun-control
Claire McCaskill, a major Clinton ally, unloads on Bernie Sanders
Source: Politico
Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) unloaded on her Senate colleague Bernie Sanders on Thursday, saying the Vermont independent is far too liberal to make it to the White House.
“I think that the media is giving Bernie a pass right now,” McCaskill said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I very rarely read in any coverage of Bernie that he’s a socialist. I think everybody wants a fight and I think they are not really giving the same scrutiny to Bernie Sanders that they’re giving to, certainly, Hillary Clinton and the other candidates.”
McCaskill endorsed Clinton’s 2016 bid almost exactly two years ago, in June 2013, making her one of the former secretary of state’s earliest major Democratic backers. In the 2008 cycle, she endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama over Clinton.
But this time, she’s all in for Hillary.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/claire-mccaskill-bernie-sanders-criticizes-liberal-2016-morning-joe-119419.html
Four South Florida mayors join growing support for Patrick Murphy’s Senate bid
Four South Florida mayors have added their names to the growing list of supporters for U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy in his bid for U.S. Senate in 2016.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Plantation Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic, Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis, Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Eric Jablin, and Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein officially endorsed Murphy, who is seeking Marco Rubio’s Senate seat.
Murphy currently represents Florida’s 18th Congressional District, which covers much of the Treasure Coast.
“Support for our campaign is growing every day,” Murphy said, “and it’s because strong leaders like Mayors Benekovic, Ortis, Jablin, and Glickstein are stepping up early to help us.”
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Source: The Hill
The Confederate battle flag was unceremoniously removed from the Alabama state Capitol grounds Wednesday morning following an order from Gov. Robert Bentley (R).
In stark contrast to the commotion in South Carolina, there was no press conference or fanfare in Montgomery — home of the 1955 Bus Boycott that launched a civil rights revolution — before two workers took down the controversial flag that had been flying over a Confederate memorial near the statehouse.
Asked about the move, Bentley told Al.com he ordered the flag’s removal “partially” because of Charleston. "This is the right thing to do,” Bentley said.
"We are facing some major issues in this state regarding the budget and other matters that we need to deal with. This had the potential to become a major distraction as we go forward. I have taxes to raise, we have work to do. And it was my decision that the flag needed to come down.”
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/245957-alabama-gov-orders-confederate-flag-removed-from-state-capitol
Alan Grayson wants future records sealed in court fight with estranged wife
Source: Palm Beach Post
Saying his estranged wife has been using court proceedings to try to “falsely, intentionally and maliciously harm” his reputation, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, has asked a judge to seal future court records in the legal fight over the break-up of their marriage.
Grayson, who filed the motion in Orange County Circuit Court last week, is expected to open a 2016 campaign for U.S. Senate soon.
Lolita Grayson filed for divorce in January 2014. Alan Grayson countered three months later with a petition for an annulment, contending their “apparent marriage” in 1990 was never valid because Lolita Grayson didn’t disclose she was still married to a man she had wed in 1980. An annulment would likely allow Alan Grayson to keep more of his estimated $26 million net worth than he would retain in a divorce.
The Graysons appeared to reach an annulment agreement in April, but Lolita Grayson refused to sign the deal — prompting Alan Grayson to call her a “gold digger” in a TV interview. Alan Grayson filed a motion this month asking the court to enforce the settlement, claiming a verbal agreement existed even though Lolita Grayson didn’t put her signature on the document. In a response, Lolita Grayson’s attorney accused Alan Grayson of trying to “bully her into submission.”
Read more: http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/06/24/alan-grayson-wants-future-records-sealed-in-court-fight-with-estranged-wife/
Here Are Some Top New York Times Editors Joking About Mass Killings
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--uErR--Do--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1310025159465924902.pngThe New York Times jealously guards its status as America’s paper of record through an obsessive focus on decorum and propriety. So it’s interesting to see in two leaked photos that the paper’s brass has a sense of humor behind its respectable front—even if that humor veers into “making light of mass killings” territory.
Above is an old photo of the Times’ longtime opinion editor Andrew Rosenthal wielding a toy M-16 and a bottle of wine over many staffers stained with fake blood, “recreating,” according to the source who shared the photos with me, “the Nepalese royal massacre with the ‘dead and dying’ foreign desk.” The calendar on the wall indicates that it is June 2001—the same month in which Nepal crown prince Dipendra went on a spree shooting and killed 10 members of the royal family, including the king, queen, and himself, with three guns, including an M-16.
This photo, along with another that appears to show then-foreign desk editor and future Times executive editor Bill Keller presiding over a fake mass-suicide scene, meant to invoke the 1997 self-murders of the Heaven’s Gate cult, were recently provided to Gawker by a former Times staffer.
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--QPYnx14T--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1310025159591983142.jpg
“These photos are in poor taste, not reflective of the values of The New York Times and deeply regrettable,” Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. told Gawker in an emailed statement after being asked about them Tuesday morning.
more: http://gawker.com/here-are-some-top-n-y-times-editors-and-staff-joking-a-1713336525
Senate Hands a Victory to Obama on Trade Pact
Source: The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted to end debate on legislation granting President Obama enhanced negotiating powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord, virtually ensuring final passage on Wednesday of Mr. Obama’s top legislative priority in his final years in office.
The procedural decision barely cleared the 60 votes needed — the tally was 60 to 37 — but final passage will need only 51 votes. It was the second time the Senate blocked a filibuster of the so-called trade promotion authority, but this time the bill was shorn of a measure to offer enhanced retraining and education assistance to workers displaced by international trade accords. That measure faces a crucial procedural vote on Wednesday as well.
Passage of a stand-alone trade promotion bill will put pressure on House Democrats. Earlier this month, they brought down the worker aid provision when it was legislatively linked to the trade-negotiating legislation, believing that the maneuver would torpedo the entire trade package.
But Republican leaders — with the White House’s support — found a parliamentary way to corner the Democrats by separating the two pieces of the bill. By Wednesday evening, legislation will most likely be on the president’s desk giving him the power to complete the trade accord, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, knowing Congress could not amend or filibuster the final agreement. He can sign it whether or not the House passes worker dislocation assistance, which is scheduled to come to a vote on Friday.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/us/politics/senate-vote-on-trade-bill.html
House advances trade re-vote
Source: The Hill
The House Thursday morning easily cleared a procedural hurdle to re-vote later in the day on giving President Obama fast-track authority to seal trade deals.
A "rule" that sets parameters for floor debate passed on a vote of 244-181. Only one Republican voted against it, while seven pro-trade Democrats broke party lines to support the rule.
The lack of fanfare for Thursday's rule vote stood in contrast to last week, when 34 Republicans nearly derailed the rule for considering the trade package. Eight Democrats ultimately voted at the last minute to save it.
Rules are votes of party discipline, as they are essentially a referendum on the majority party's strategy of handling legislation on the floor.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/245404-house-advances-trade-re-vote
Police oversight panelists say Rachel Dolezal said father was black police officer
Source: Spokesman-Review
Rachel Dolezal’s misrepresentations may extend beyond her racial and ethnic background.
The civil rights advocate portrayed herself as the daughter of a black Oakland police officer when seeking appointment to Spokane’s police oversight commission last year. That blend of life experiences impressed at least two of those involved in the selection process.
“I thought that kind of background would be beneficial,” said Spokane City Councilman and Public Safety Committee Chairman Jon Snyder.
Former Spokane police Officer Cliff Walter agreed.
Read more: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jun/16/police-oversight-panelists-say-dolezal-said-in/
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