DonViejo
DonViejo's JournalSchool board in key transgender case seeks US high court delay
Source: Reuters
01 MAR 2017 AT 15:38 ET
The Virginia school board sued by a student over bathroom access in a major transgender rights case asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to delay the matter until at least April, when President Donald Trump’s conservative nominee could be on the bench and potentially cast the deciding vote.
Lawyers on both sides of the dispute urged the justices to decide the case even though the Trump administration on Feb. 22 rescinded Obama administration guidance to public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The Gloucester County School Board asked for the delay so the Trump administration, which is not a party in the case, can file a brief providing its views.
The court, currently one justice short, has scheduled oral arguments for March 28 on whether the school board violated a federal anti-discrimination law when it blocked Gavin Grimm, a female-born transgender high school student who identifies as male, from using the boys’ bathroom. A ruling is due by the end of June.
Trump on Jan. 31 nominated appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the court caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate has scheduled Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings to begin on March 20 and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he hopes Gorsuch will be confirmed before the start of a Senate recess in mid-April.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/school-board-in-key-transgender-case-seeks-us-high-court-delay/
New York's Catholic Church seeks $100 million loan to pay priest victims
Source: Reuters
01 MAR 2017 AT 15:35 ET
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York is seeking permission for a $100 million mortgage on some of its valuable Manhattan property to fund its compensation program for people sexually abused by its priests, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
The archdiocese said last October it would compensate people who had accused priests of abusing them as children, including those prevented by statutes of limitations from filing civil lawsuits. It said at the time it would seek loans to fund the payouts, which are being decided by two independent arbitrators.
On Monday, the archdiocese filed a petition in New York state court in Manhattan seeking approval for a one-year mortgage from JPMorgan Chase on land it owns behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral; the Lotte New York Palace hotel is located on the site. The petition was necessary under a New York law governing the use of church property, Joseph Zwilling, an archdiocese spokesman, said in a telephone interview.
“Because we have begun the process of paying out the compensation to victims, the archdiocese has taken this short-term loan to cover the payments,” Zwilling said.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/new-yorks-catholic-church-seeks-100-million-loan-to-pay-priest-victims/
FCC blocks stricter broadband privacy rules from taking effect
Source: Reuters
01 MAR 2017 AT 15:58 ET
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday blocked some Obama administration rules approved last year that would have subjected broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc .
The rules, which were scheduled to take effect on Thursday, aimed to protect personal consumer data. They would subject broadband internet service providers to more stringent data security requirements than websites like Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc or Alphabet Inc’s Google unit.
The decision will “provide time for the FCC to work with the (Federal Trade Commission) to create a comprehensive and consistent framework for protecting Americans’ online privacy,” the agency said in a statement.
Under the rules, internet service providers would need to obtain consumer consent before using precise geo-location, financial information, health information, children’s information and web browsing history for advertising and internal marketing. For less sensitive information such as email addresses or service tiers, consumers would be able to opt out.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/fcc-blocks-stricter-broadband-privacy-rules-from-taking-effect/
Trump still wants you to be very, very afraid - By E.J. Dionne Jr.
By E.J. Dionne Jr. Opinion writer March 1 at 1:05 PM
The obsession with President Trump’s ability to spend one hour in a disciplined relationship with a teleprompter obscured one of his central goals on Tuesday night: He continued to try to scare the country to death.
Yes, he lived up to media expectations that he would finally attempt to look “presidential” and that he could recite words that sounded optimistic and forward-looking. He and his handlers are well aware that commentators typically reward presidents for doing what commentators say presidents need to do.
And he also issued a ritual call for bipartisanship, even though earlier in the day, he had said he regarded House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi as “incompetent, actually.” Put aside that upbraiding his female critics is one habit that is very difficult for Trump to break. It was hard to square the nice, let’s-all-get-along paragraphs with everything else Trump has been doing.
And beneath the obeisance to the Beltway rules about what addresses to joint sessions of Congress are supposed to look like lurked Trump Classic. He’s still the man who wants to aggrandize the executive and expand the power of law enforcement by making the country believe it is under threat from dark forces that only a strong hand can deal with.
He didn’t repeat his controversial use of the word “carnage,” which stood out from almost everything else he said in his inaugural address. He simply described the carnage.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-still-wants-you-to-be-very-very-afraid/2017/03/01/3a260fa8-fea6-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.67a5eaba2364&wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1
Trump acts presidential, and here's what we've decided passes for that now - Tom Toles
By Tom Toles March 1 at 1:26 PM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2017/03/01/trump-acts-presidential-and-heres-what-weve-decided-passes-for-that-now/?utm_term=.e65b494849e6&wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1
Busted: Iowa GOP lawmaker's alma mater turns out to be company that ran Sizzler steak house
Source: RawStory
DAVID EDWARDS
01 MAR 2017 AT 14:51 ET
Iowa state Sen. Mark Chelgren (R) was forced to backtrack on claims that he received a college “degree” after his alma mater was revealed to be the operator of a Sizzler steak house franchise.
NBC News reported on Wednesday that Chelgren’s “business degree” came under scrutiny due to a bill he is sponsoring which would limit the number of liberal professors that state universities could hire.
Iowa State Republicans spokesperson Ed Failor admitted to NBC News that Chelgren did not actually hold a formal degree even though the Senate Republicans’ website said otherwise. The website has since updated his biography to remove references to the “degree.”
“This was a management course he took when he worked for Sizzler, kind of like Hamburger University at McDonald’s,” Failor explained. “He got a certificate.”
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/busted-iowa-gop-lawmakers-alma-mater-turns-out-to-company-that-ran-sizzler-steak-house/
Report: GOPer Said 'Poorly-Dressed' House Dems Wore White For Clinton
By KRISTIN SALAKY Published MARCH 1, 2017, 3:32 PM EDT
Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) knocked the "poorly-dressed" women of the House Democrats who wore white pantsuits to President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, according to Politico.
Cramer brought up the event during a radio town hall address on Wednesday, according to the site. A constituent said Democrats should work with President Trump, even though Republicans did not work with President Barack Obama when he was in office.
The congressman reportedly agreed that there are many issues that the two parties can agree on and that they should work together on, but then brought up the female House Democrats choice of attire for the address, according to Politico. He called it a "disease" that they would wear white pantsuits in order to support former Democratic Presidential nominee Hilary Clinton.
“But by the way, did you notice how poorly several of them were dressed as well?” he asked, according to the report. “It is a syndrome. There is no question, there is a disease associated with the notion that a bunch of women would wear bad-looking white pantsuits in solidarity with Hillary Clinton to celebrate her loss. You cannot get that weird.”
more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/women-house-democrats-wear-white-cramer
Trump's Proposal To Gut The State Department Runs Into GOP Buzzsaw
By ALICE OLLSTEIN Published MARCH 1, 2017, 2:22 PM EDT
President Donald Trump's first budget proposal is full of red meat for conservatives: a massive hike in military spending paid for by deep cuts to domestic programs that are perennial targets for Republicans, such as the Environmental Protection Agency.
But one key piece of the plan has run into a buzzsaw of opposition from Republican lawmakers: a bid to slash the State Department's funding by more than a third.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) bluntly told reporters this week that a budget with such cuts could "probably not" pass the Senate, and several members of his caucus confirmed to TPM that they would oppose such a move.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told TPM his response to the proposed cuts is: "I don't agree." Asked to elaborate, McCain vehemently repeated "I don't agree" several more times.
more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/state-department-cuts-trump
CNN: Trump lied to anchors about immigration to get 'positive press coverage' in run-up to speech
DAVID FERGUSON
01 MAR 2017 AT 14:42 ET
CNN’s White House correspondent Sara Murray said Wednesday that the White House pulled a “bait-and-switch” with anchors from the network at a meeting on Tuesday regarding the topic of immigration.
“Let’s just change gears entirely and talk about the bait and switch that the president pulled when it came to immigration yesterday. He had this meeting with the anchors, he talked about a path to legal status,” Murray said, according to Media Matters.
“Basically they fed us things that they thought these anchors would like, that they thought would give them positive press coverage for the next few hours. A senior administration official admitted that it was a misdirection play. And you will note that when the president was actually out there speaking to the American public, he didn’t talk about a path to legal status,” she explained.
“He talked about reforming the legal immigration system so it’s merit-based,” Murray said. “That means fewer low-skilled workers, fewer people coming on family ties, more people coming on high-skilled visas. That is still closer to a Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon framework of the world than Gang of Eight, who pushed comprehensive immigration reform.”
more
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/cnn-trump-lied-to-anchors-about-immigration-to-get-positive-press-coverage-in-run-up-to-speech/
Karl Rove: Democratic Responses To Trump's Speech 'Affected His Delivery'
By ESME CRIBB Published MARCH 1, 2017, 2:24 PM EDT
Former George W. Bush aide Karl Rove said Wednesday that Democrats' less-than-enthusiastic responses to President Donald Trump's speech to Congress "affected his delivery."
"You could tell it affected his delivery a little bit," Rove said Wednesday in an interview on Fox Business Network. "He started reading almost exclusively from the panel to his left, which allowed him to look at the right side of the chamber, which were the Republicans."
He said that Democrats were "in an awkward place" during the speech and looked "churlish and small" in their reactions.
"They don’t like him, they didn't want to seen as, you know, they're being pressed by their hard left to oppose him on each and every thing," Rove said. "I mean, when he denounced hate and evil in all of its forms, a lot of Democrats didn’t applaud and very few of them stood. That’s just how poisoned the atmosphere is."
more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/karl-rove-democratic-responses-trump-speech-affected-his-delivery
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Name: DonGender: Male
Hometown: Massachusetts
Home country: United States
Member since: Sat Sep 1, 2012, 03:28 PM
Number of posts: 60,536
