September 9, 2014

Politico Reporter Catches Heat For Tweet About Ray Rice's Wife

Politico reporter Glenn Thrush offered his take Monday on the fallout surrounding former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. It was not well-received.

In a tweet, Thrush joined many in questioning the sincerity of the decision by the Ravens to cut Rice after surveillance footage emerged reportedly showing the player punching his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, inside an Atlantic City hotel elevator.

But Thrush stepped in it when he seemed to question the wisdom to terminate Rice's contract, arguing that the team "cut income" to the abused woman.

"Inconvenient truth: In terminating Ray Rice, Ravens cut income to Rice's wife whom they now care so deeply about," wrote Thrush, prompting ridicule and criticism from several others on Twitter.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/glenn-thrush-politico-ray-rice-wife

September 9, 2014

Krugman to Scotland: Be very afraid.

Next week Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom. And polling suggests that support for independence has surged over the past few months, largely because pro-independence campaigners have managed to reduce the “fear factor” — that is, concern about the economic risks of going it alone. At this point the outcome looks like a tossup.

Well, I have a message for the Scots: Be afraid, be very afraid. The risks of going it alone are huge. You may think that Scotland can become another Canada, but it’s all too likely that it would end up becoming Spain without the sunshine.

Comparing Scotland with Canada seems, at first, pretty reasonable. After all, Canada, like Scotland, is a relatively small economy that does most of its trade with a much larger neighbor. Also like Scotland, it is politically to the left of that giant neighbor. And what the Canadian example shows is that this can work. Canada is prosperous, economically stable (although I worry about high household debt and what looks like a major housing bubble) and has successfully pursued policies well to the left of those south of the border: single-payer health insurance, more generous aid to the poor, higher overall taxation.

Does Canada pay any price for independence? Probably. Labor productivity is only about three-quarters as high as it is in the United States, and some of the gap may reflect the small size of the Canadian market (yes, we have a free-trade agreement, but a lot of evidence shows that borders discourage trade all the same). Still, you can argue that Canada is doing O.K.

But Canada has its own currency, which means that its government can’t run out of money, that it can bail out its own banks if necessary, and more. An independent Scotland wouldn’t. And that makes a huge difference.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/opinion/paul-krugman-scots-what-the-heck.html?_r=0

September 7, 2014

Godzilla 2014 Sequel And Pacific Rim 2 To Set Up Crossover Movie

With the Godzilla 2014 sequel being confirmed and the Godzilla 2014 box office results have been excellent. It seems that Legendary Pictures is reportedly reconsidering their stance on keeping the Pacific Rim and Godzilla 2014 reboot franchise separate and that Pacific Rim 2 could be the set up for the Godzilla 2014 and Pacific Rim crossover!

Previously, Legendary Pictures has admitted that the Godzilla and Pacific Rim franchise would be separate from one another but that isn't the case anymore if the reports are to be believed.

The Movie News Hound has reported that due to success of the Godzilla 2014 movie and the resounding positive fan reactions to the Pacific Rim 2 announcement, Legendary Pictures has been planning on doing a crossover of the two franchises after the Godzilla 2 and Pacific Rim 2 movies end.

The Godzilla 2014 movie garnered a better-than-expected $93 million in U.S. ticket sales in its opening weekend and another $103 million from 64 overseas markets, the best international debut so far this year.


http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/35911/20140905/godzilla-2014-sequel.htm

September 7, 2014

Hawks Owner Bruce Levenson To Sell Team After Telling NBA About Racially Charged 2012 Email

In the email sent in August 2012, Levenson shared his observations of the fan experience at Hawks games. He said he concluded "southern whites" were uncomfortable at games.

"My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base," Levenson said in the email released Sunday by the Hawks.

"Please don't get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arena back then. I never felt uncomfortable, but I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority."

Levenson said Hawks crowds are 70-percent black, the team's cheerleaders are black and hip-hop music was played.

"Then I start looking around at other arenas," Levenson said. "It is completely different."

Levenson said he often heard fans say the area around Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta is dangerous.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/07/atlanta-hawks-owner-bruce-levenson_n_5779964.html

September 7, 2014

Dkos: Dems start fast out of the box: NC mail-in voting starts

North Carolina has one of the closest Senate races in the nation, with incumbent Senator Kay Hagan facing off against NC House Speaker Thom Tillis. NC starts mail-in absentee balloting 60 days before the election, earliest voting in the nation. The NC State Board of Elections has voter files at ftp://alt.ncsbe.gov/... that can be data mined. This years data shows that compared with 2010, mail-in requests have jumped 96% on this year's day 1 (Friday 9/5 this year), from 3337 to 6459 civilian in-country requests (there have also been about 1100 military and overseas requests). Now, usually mail-in voting in NC heavily benefits the GOP, but this year there has been a massive shift towards the Democrats, with a HUGE jump in Black turnout. (NC has registration by party, with race, sex and age in database) MORE BELOW THE JUMP

In 2010, the party breakdown in Day 1 requests were:
Democrat 36.7%
Libertarian 0.1%
Republican 46.1%
Unaffiliated 17.1%

Now, for 2014's Day 1:
Democrat 42.4%
Libertarian 0.2%
Republican 38.4%
Unaffiliated 19.0%

Dems are up 5.7%, GOP is down 7.7%, a significant 13.4% shift.

But more significantly, in an election where Black turnout could make the difference (and where in 2010 there was a huge enthusiasm dropoff), Blacks made up 10% of the 2010 day 1 requests, and 17% of those in 2014. On an absolute basis, the increase in total number of requests from Black voters are up 229% from 2010 (333 to 1098).

There has also been a big urban trend in 2014. Including the military and overseas ballots, 2016 of the 7560 total requests (26.6% of the total) come from just two Democratic leaning counties, Mecklenburg (Charlotte) and Wake (Raleigh and Cary). Those two counties, with a million residents each, make up 20.0% of the State's population.

So, we now have the first actual election data in the nation, not based on polls. While there are still 58 days til the election, this Day 1 snapshot could be a significant portent. If the GOP is trailing in their traditional strong-hold of mail-in ballots, could this show things to come?


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/07/1327802/-Dems-start-fast-out-of-the-box-NC-mail-in-voting-starts

September 7, 2014

Kevin Sorbo's Message To Jews: 'News Bulletin: You Did Kill Jesus'

Kevin Sorbo continues to make the rounds of Religious Right radio programs to promote the the DVD release of his recent film "God's Not Dead." While appearing on Jerry Newcombe's "Vocal Point" radio program recently, Sorbo noted that Mel Gibson had created a lot more opportunities for Christian filmmakers in Hollywood with the success of his film "The Passion of the Christ," which made a lot of money despite concerns from Jewish leaders that the film was anti-Semitic.

Sorbo, for his part, does not really understand what Jews were so upset about.

"He got attacked when he was shooting 'The Passion' from the Jewish community, saying 'look at the way you're portraying us,'" Sorbo said. "News bulletin: you did kill Jesus!"

Newcombe immediately attempted to rein in Sorbo's statement, saying that the Jews actually just "delivered him over to the Romans," to which Sorbo replied that the Jews still "had a hand in it" before noting that, despite their concerns, the film went on to earn hundreds of millions of dollars "so Mel sort of had the last laugh, there":


http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kevin-sorbos-message-jews-news-bulletin-you-did-kill-jesus#sthash.4RGQ5vxI.dpuf

September 7, 2014

Gun-toting border militia terrifies smugglers — who turn out to be bat-counting biologists

A group of heavily-armed militia surrounded and confronted a group of people near the U.S.-Mexico border who they thought were illegal migrants or smugglers, but who turned out to be a group of conservationists conducting a wildlife population survey.

According to Tucson News Now, the standoff took place on the night of Aug. 23 in Gardner Canyon area near Sonoita, Arizona, where members of a small group of biologists were counting bats.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada told TNN that the militia men — who are civilian volunteers and not actual federal border patrol agents — were riding ATVs, wearing camouflage and brandishing weapons when they came upon the group of scientists.

“Obviously, they mistook them for smugglers or illegal entrants,” said Estrada. “They were armed. They put a spotlight on them.”



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/04/gun-toting-border-militia-terrifies-smugglers-who-turn-out-to-be-bat-counting-biologists/

September 6, 2014

Time to bite the bullet and see if my son has a reading disability.

When it comes to school, my 8-year old son is like two different kids in one. His math skills are above grade level and he can already beat some adults in chess. He can remember small details from events that took place years ago and knows all 50 days by sight and location. But when it's time to read, he sounds like he's way behind and struggles to describe what he just went over. It's frustrating and worrying. The teachers from kidergarten on up say he's just fine, but I've always had this nagging doubt. Fear of learning the truth has kept me from having checked out, but we can't put it off any longer. Wish us luck.

September 6, 2014

The Pentagon gave local cops nearly 12,000 bayonets over the past 8 years

Through the 1033 program, the federal government has geared America's local police departments with military-grade equipment — ranging from airplanes to bayonets — worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

NPR combed through the transaction data for the program to find out where the equipment went and what kind of gear was involved. Since 2006, the Pentagon distributed more than 79,000 assault rifles, 205 grenade launchers, nearly 12,000 bayonets, nearly 4,000 combat knives, 50 airplanes, 479 bomb detonator robots, and much more to America's local cops.

t's not immediately clear why some of these places would need so much military-grade equipment. With the notable exception of Starr County, Texas, the counties and states on the list have modest crime rates, and they aren't hotbeds for drug or terrorist activity — the two main targets of the federal government's police militarization schemes.*

The proliferation of such weapons could soon come to an end. Following outcry against police militarization during the August protests in Ferguson, Missouri, the Obama administration ordered a review that will consider whether local police should have the equipment, whether they need to receive more training if they obtain the gear, and how the federal government can better oversee the equipment's use. The Pentagon said it could even take back some of the equipment if it's deemed necessary.

http://www.vox.com/2014/9/3/6101895/charts-police-militarization-1033-program-obama-administration

September 5, 2014

Teen murder victim was bullied by alleged killer since kindergarten.

Personal note: My son had bullies in kindergarten who would just not let up. And since the district decided to do nothing (except say I was "overreacting&quot , I got him the hell out of that school.

MacMurray told KTVU Rashawn and his two brothers went to the market to get snacks and something to drink while their mom waited at a park down the street. According to MacMurray, as Rashawn left the store, someone stabbed him. That was when her nephews ran to tell their mother what happened.

"She tried to do CPR. She tried to save her son's life. She grabbed him put him into the car and took him to the hospital. She did the best that she can," said MacMurray.

Rashawn knew the teen suspected of killing him, according to MacMurry. She said the teen used to threaten Rashawn and the two attended the same school from kindergarten until last year.

NacMurray said school leaders were aware of the problems. A school spokeswoman told KTVU a federal law prevents officials from commenting on students private issues.

"They have a record before he graduated. This kid was troubling him made threats over the Internet. You know he put up with this; didn't give a fight or anything," said MacMurray.


http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/family-teen-arrested-stabbing-had-history-victim/nhFhx/