RandySF
RandySF's JournalIf local Arab leaders tank Biden in Michigan....
They deserve whatever they get from Trump.
Far-right mayor faces tough reelection in Alaska's largest city
Nine different candidates have filed to challenge Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson in the city's fast-approaching April 2 elections, but while the contest is officially nonpartisan, battle lines have already been drawn—some ideological, and some personal.
Out of this large field, the Anchorage Daily News writes that three of Bronson's opponents are waging credible campaigns to deny him a second three-year term as leader of The Last Frontier's largest city. (Anchorage is the rare major American city where terms last an odd number of years.)
The only Democrat in this trio is former state House Majority Leader Chris Tuck, while the other two members—former Anchorage Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance and former Anchorage Economic Development Corp. CEO Bill Popp—aren't registered with any party. The local Democratic Party, however, endorsed both Tuck and LaFrance.
Anchorage, according to data from Dave's Redistricting App, favored Joe Biden 49-47 in 2020. But the hard-right Bronson, a first-time candidate who emphasized his opposition to the city's pandemic health measures, won the race for mayor 51-49 against Democratic Assembly member Forrest Dunbar six months later, when Biden wasn't on the ticket.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/30/2220486/-Far-right-mayor-faces-tough-reelection-in-Alaska-s-largest-city
MI: Democrats Xiong, Herzberg win state House special primary races in metro Detroit
Democrats Mai Xiong and Peter Herzberg have won state House special primary elections on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.
Both metro Detroit seats are Democratic strongholds, so Xiong and Herzberg go into the April 16 special general election as favorites. If they prevail in the general election, Democrats will be back to a 56-54 majority in the House.
The 13th District includes Macomb and Wayne counties, as well as the city of Warren and a small part of Detroit. Former state Rep. Lori Stone (D-Warren) represented the district until she won her election as Warren mayor in November.
Xiong, a Macomb County commissioner who amassed many endorsements, including that of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, romped in the Democratic primary with 78.9%, according to unofficial returns.
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/01/31/democrats-xiong-herzberg-win-state-house-special-primary-races-in-metro-detroit/
I'm tired of 'proportional retaliation'.
We need to start hitting our adversaries back so hard that they never think of menacing us again.
Democrats want to nix Arizona's early ballot collection prohibition
Prior to 2016, Arizonans could legally collect the early voting ballots of friends, family and community members to return them to be counted, and Democrats want to bring that practice back.
But legislation nixing the state’s prohibition on ballot collecting is almost certainly dead-on-arrival with Republicans in control of both the state House and Senate.
Rep. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton, D-Tucson, told the Arizona Mirror that even though her House Bill 2335 is unlikely to become law, she still believes that introducing it was worthwhile. A similar bill was introduced last year by then-Rep. Athena Salman but was never considered.
“It’s important not to be silent,” Stahl Hamilton said. “This is one step in pushing for a strengthened democracy.”
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/013024_early_ballots/democrats-want-nix-arizonas-early-ballot-collection-prohibition/
Speaker White (R) discusses Mississippi ballot initiative proposal
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The first month of the 2024 Legislative Session is nearing a close, and it has been an action-packed start to the year.
There have been two special sessions and movement on a ballot initiative bill already, all under new House leadership.
House Speaker Jason White (R-District 48) was sworn in on January 2 and has hit the ground running. The first bout of major action under his leadership came when this year’s push to restore the ballot initiative was brought up on the House floor.
The bill has been criticized for its restrictions on what can get on the ballot, the most notable being any restoration of abortion rights.
https://www.wjtv.com/news/politics/mississippi-politics/speaker-white-discusses-mississippi-ballot-initiative-proposal/
AR: Ballot language rejected for proposed constitutional amendment aiming to ease access to medical marijuana
Arkansas' attorney general rejected ballot language Monday for a proposed constitutional amendment aiming to ease access to medical marijuana.
Griffin's office found several issues with the amendment's wording, saying parts of it were ambiguous or misleading.
The amendment, put forth by Arkansans for Patient Access, would allow nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants and pharmacists -- in addition to doctors -- to provide written certification for medical marijuana on behalf of patients.
The amendment would allow patients to grow marijuana at home and extend the validity of patient cards from one year to three years. If the federal government were to end its prohibition against marijuana, the amendment would allow adults to own up to one ounce of cannabis and allow licensed cultivators and dispensaries to sell the drug for adult use.
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2024/jan/30/ballot-language-rejected-for-proposed/
Anti-Abortion Movement Details Its 2025 Plans and They're Terrifying
Everyone knows abortion is on the ballot this fall, but the anti-abortion movement just gave the most detail yet about what they will push for if a Republican (let’s face it: Donald Trump) wins the presidency. Conservative activists from the Heritage Foundation, National Right to Life Committee, Students for Life, and more were shockingly open in a new Politico story about their plans to restrict and even ban abortion via executive action.
Given how close the last few elections have been, these activists know it will be extremely difficult to pass restrictions in Congress, so they’re working on proposing new rules for federal agencies and drafting executive orders and memos to slash access. Getting federal agencies to take up new rules is a drawn-out process that involves seeking public comment before changes can take effect, unlike executive actions; though groups can still sue over those. Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life, told Politico, “The conversations we’re having with the presidential candidates and their campaigns have been very clear: We expect them to act swiftly.”
Here’s an overview of what the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project wants the next GOP president to do:
- Let ERs refuse to perform life-saving abortions
- Reverse HIPAA privacy protections for abortion
- Ban some or all abortions without Congress
https://jezebel.com/anti-abortion-movement-details-its-2025-plans-and-theyr-1851209007
France Makes History With Constitutional Guarantee Of Abortion Rights
France's lower house of parliament has resoundingly approved a groundbreaking measure that aims to inscribe abortion as a "guaranteed freedom" in the nation's constitution. This significant stride towards safeguarding reproductive rights echoes a commitment made by President Emmanuel Macron in the preceding year.
https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/french-parliament-pass-amendment-for-abortion-rights-2408552
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and a MAGA Meltdown
The N.F.L.’s fan base is huge and diverse, but it includes a profoundly conservative element that cheered on the star quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s one-man crusade against Covid vaccines and jeered Black players who knelt during the national anthem. The league has long battled charges of misogyny, from the front offices of the Washington Commanders to multiple cases of sexual and domestic assault and abuse.
The Swift-Kelce story line, for some, has delivered a bruising hit to traditional gender norms, with a rich, powerful woman elevating a successful football player to a new level of fame.
Some of the Monday morning quarterbacking has been downright silly, including speculation that Ms. Swift is after Mr. Kelce for his money. (Her net worth exceeds $1 billion, a different universe than the athlete’s merely wealthy status.)
Other accusations appear to be driven by fear and grounded in some truth, or at least in her command of her 279 million Instagram followers: that she has enormous influence, and has supported Democrats in the past. For much of her extensive music career, Ms. Swift avoided politics, but in 2018, she endorsed two Democrats in Tennessee, where she owns two homes: former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who was running for the Senate against then-Representative Marsha Blackburn, and Jim Cooper, a House member who has since retired.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-trump.html
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 59,076
