Romney: Obama Needs to Learn That He Lost the Midterms

On Sunday, former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney sat down with CBS Face the Nation to criticize the president’s handling of the battle against ISIS forces, as well as his potential executive action on immigration.

Romney reiterated his belief that the president has been “inept” on Middle East policy, asserting that it was a mistake to declare “no boots on the ground” in the region. “It is not acceptable for ISIS to present the kind of threat it does to the world,” the former governor said after suggesting the “no boots” remark will necessarily prove contradictory.

“If it takes our own troops” to destroy ISIS, Romney said, then “you don’t take that off the table.”

As for the possibility of Obama taking executive action to overhaul policy and protect millions of undocumented immigrants currently in the states, Romney said: “The president has got to learn that he lost this last election round.”



http://www.mediaite.com/tv/romney-obama-needs-to-learn-that-he-lost-the-midterms/

Alleged Bin Laden shooter: I'm not trying to make this about me

O'Neill's new mission is to help fellow veterans transition to civilian life. He helped start a charity called Your Grateful Nation to do just that.

"A lot of people have told me it's more stressful thinking about getting out of the Navy than going back to combat, because at least in combat they know exactly what to expect," O'Neill said.

O'Neill hopes his new-found notoriety will provide a platform for him to better serve and help fellow vets. Already they've been able to give money to a fellow former SEAL.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-navy-seal-robert-oneill-talks-to-cbs-news-about-killing-osama-bin-laden/

Police Officers Draw Guns During Unannounced ‘Active Shooter Drill’ At Elementary School

Winter Haven, Fla. (CBS TAMPA) – Students, teachers and parents were taken by surprise after an “active shooter drill” brought the Winter Haven middle school into lockdown as armed police officers burst into classrooms with their weapons drawn.

Students at Jewett Middle Academy said they were terrified when police officers burst in the doors for a planned active shooter drill – but students and teachers are irked they were not told ahead of time.

Seventh-grader Lauren Marionneaux told WTVT-TV that when the officers burst into her class with an AR-15, she was in fear for her life.

“We actually thought that someone was going to come in there and kill us,” the station quoted her as saying.

But police say they conduct these drills for the absolute safety of the students.


http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2014/11/15/police-officers-draw-guns-during-unannounced-active-shooter-drill-at-elementary-school/

Christine Pelosi named as potential new S.F. Supervisor

San Francisco Supervisor David Chiu’s election to the state Assembly will have wide reverberations at City Hall in the coming weeks — and could leave District Three unrepresented for a month — as political insiders jockey to influence not only who will replace him but also who will be the board’s new president.

Many possibilities exist for both jobs, and it seems likely that the board will have a new president before it has a new supervisor. The developments are being closely watched, because a more progressive District Three representative or president stands to shift the balance of power toward the left at the Board of Supervisors and affect whether Mayor Ed Lee can secure legislative backing for his tech-friendly, pro-business policies.

Planning Commission President Cindy Wu — a longtime affordable housing advocate whose politics are to the left of Lee’s — is favored by Chinatown power players for Chiu’s seat. For much of the past year, she has been seen as the heir apparent for the District Three seat, but her connections are giving some mayoral allies pause.

Lee is being pressured by some in his inner circle to look at other candidates considered more moderate or business-friendly. They include Julie Christensen, a neighborhood activist and product design consultant whose advocacy included the construction of the new North Beach Library, and Christine Pelosi, a Democratic Party strategist and the daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.


http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/S-F-political-insiders-jockey-for-David-Chiu-s-5884345.php

Emails show SF zookeepers pushed for extra help, warned of hazards before gorilla death

More than a year before a closing hydraulic door fatally crushed a 16-month-old gorilla, zookeepers pushed for extra staff to monitor the San Francisco Zoo’s youngest gorilla and warned that young gorillas had trouble understanding the zoo’s electric doors, documents show.

National agencies and an investigator hired by the zoo are trying to piece together what happened Nov. 7 when Kabibe, a western lowland gorilla who was born at the zoo in July 2013, somehow ended up pinned underneath one of the doors to the gorillas’ nighttime enclosure at closing time.

Initial information released by the zoo shows that the zookeeper “appeared” to not follow protocol by keeping a hand on an emergency stop button to the doors as they closed.

Emails and documents obtained by The San Francisco Examiner on Friday show that gorilla keepers warned that young gorillas did not understand closing doors, and that after Kabibe was introduced to the group, workers pushed for a third zookeeper who was never hired.



http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/emails-show-sf-zookeepers-pushed-for-extra-help-warned-of-hazards-before-gorilla-death/Content?oid=2912089

My wish: Obama for future Mayor of Chicago.

Being a president should not have to be the end of time in elected office. He's will still be relatively young, in good shape and mentally keen as ever when he leaves the White House in 2017. And it should never be considered a "step down".

Four names pop up ahead of possible Boxer retirement.

Among the most talked-about potential candidates are (Gavin) Newsom, (Kamela) Harris, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his successor, Eric Garcetti.

California Democrats most often come with one of two pedigrees: Bay Area or Los Angeles. A ranking Democrat in the Bay Area is known by more than a quarter of the state's Democrats; a Democrat in the Southern California area commands the attention of upward of 40%. That is a key advantage over politicians from other areas, but the edge vanishes if it's divided by multiple candidates.

For example, Newsom and Harris. Their profiles in the recent poll were almost identical. Each was at least twice as popular in the Bay Area as in Los Angeles County, though Newsom was more popular up north, on their joint home ground; their standings among Democrats, independents, minority voters, urban residents, men and women, young and old were remarkably similar.

One of them against, say, Villaraigosa, would be a classic North-South clash. But if there were two candidates from the north, the edge could move south.


http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-california-politics-20141109-story.html?track=lat-email-latimescalifornia

Terry McAuliffe: 60 Days Until Hillary Decision

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says Hillary Clinton will know whether she's running for president in 2016 within the next 60 days.

That's the timeline the Clinton confidante outlined to U.S. News' Nikki Schwab Thursday night during a conversation at the Knock Out Abuse gala, an anti-domestic violence charity event held at The Ritz-Carlton in Washington.

Here's what McAuliffe said:

"She’s got to make that decision and she’s got to spend the next 60 days making that decision. Obviously I’m close friends with the Clintons, I chaired her last campaign. If you know Hillary, she’s going to make up her own mind. I tell you, I hope she runs. It’s time for a woman president of the United States of America. Put the woman issue aside for a minute – she’s tough, she is smart, she is very pro-business, she will get this economy going. She will help the middle class. So I’m hoping she runs, but you know, it’s her decision. But I’m really hoping she runs, but I’m leaving that decision to her."

Poll on Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein: Step aside

A University of Southern California/Los Angeles Times poll released over the weekend shows that most California voters surveyed think their two veteran Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, should not run for re-election.

Beyond the expected big majority of Republicans feeling that way, Democratic voters were divided almost equally on the question.

Boxer, who turns 74 on Tuesday and is up for re-election in two years, and Feinstein, 81, whose term expires in 2018, have not said whether they will try to win new six-year terms. But they have dropped a few hints.

Feinstein is preparing to reintroduce sweeping legislation to expand protection of the California desert. Last week, she told a gathering of environmentalists that it would be "the final campaign" to see the bill through.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Poll-on-Barbara-Boxer-Dianne-Feinstein-Step-5883364.php

Duckworth interested in challenging Kirk for Senate seat in 2016

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is interested in a 2016 Senate run against Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., but for now is focused on the impending birth of her daughter, who is due any day.

A member of Duckworth’s team — who is familiar with how Duckworth is approaching the possibility of a 2016 run — confirmed that Duckworth is “interested, open and curious” about a Senate bid and is receptive to having conversations about the race.

Duckworth, 46, is taking her time, having just won a second term to represent the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District.

Ten years ago this week, Duckworth, a retired member of the Illinois National Guard, was shot down while flying a Black Hawk helicopter over Iraq. She lost both legs and shattered her right arm.

Duckworth is the only Democrat in Illinois who can cut into the enormous goodwill Kirk has stockpiled as a result of a massive stroke that kept him out of the Senate for almost a year.

Both Duckworth and Kirk use wheelchairs and canes.


http://politics.suntimes.com/article/washington/duckworth-interested-challenging-kirk-senate-seat-2016/thu-11132014-843pm