April 28, 2015

Walker Plan Cedes Early Momentum to Bush

Gov. Scott Walker (R) “has put campaign plans in motion that cede early momentum to his chief rival, Jeb Bush, in favor of beating Mr. Bush and other opponents with a long-game strategy designed to achieve financial and political success next winter,” the New York Times reports.

“The strategy, described in interviews with advisers and donors to Mr. Walker, is an acknowledgment that despite leading in some early polls and earning praise from party kingmakers, Mr. Walker faces serious obstacles — money, readiness, stature — to becoming his party’s standard-bearer… Advisers said that Mr. Walker, conceding that he has no hope of raising more than Mr. Bush this spring and summer, is devoting considerable time instead to addressing a weakness that could derail him with a single gaffe no matter how much some donors love him: his lack of depth on issues facing a president, especially national security.”

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http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=104619293&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4936742

April 28, 2015

Aggressive Effort Underway to Recruit Elizabeth Warren

The New York Observer “has obtained private email correspondence among a small group of Democratic insiders that reveals a plan to recruit Sen. Elizabeth Warren to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.”

“The email, sent by Niko Elmaleh to a group that includes Andy Tobias, who has been the treasurer of the Democratic National Committee since Bill Clinton was president, and Jim Dean, the chairman of the nation’s largest political action committee, Burlington, Vt.-based Democracy for America.”

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http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=104625241&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4936742

April 27, 2015

Washington Post Editorial: The Supreme Court must finish the job on same-sex equality

By Editorial Board April 27 at 1:59 PM
THE SUPREME Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case widely expected to decide a great civil rights issue of this century: what the Constitution demands on same-sex marriage. The justices took an incrementalist approach the last time they considered a same-sex marriage case, ruling in favor of equal treatment for gay men and lesbians but stopping short of striking down state-level bans on same-sex marriage across the country. The court is now being asked to finish the job, ruling that such marriage restrictions are fundamentally at odds with the Constitution’s guarantees.

We understand the caution the court has exercised. Even staunch supporters of same-sex marriage worry that a ruling perceived to impose a view on wide parts of the country that will not accept it could harm the cause of equality, stoking culture wars rather than pointing the way toward social acceptance. But this position has always been, at best, an argument for stopping at a moral way station before reaching the inevitable conclusion: Gay men and lesbians deserve dignity and respect under the law, and the principles embedded in the 14th Amendment require this.

Both principled and practical considerations now argue for the court to travel to that final destination. The justices already have allowed a wave of same-sex marriages to proceed in dozens of states; as lower-court judges have scrapped ban after ban over the past year and a half, state officials have had to perform same-sex marriages consistent with those rulings. The justices refused to halt that process and in so doing created thousands of facts on the ground — real, live married men and women officially committed to one another — that should not be written off as legal aberrations. And the more same-sex marriage becomes routine, the faster arguments against it melt away.

If the court strikes down the nation’s same-sex marriage bans, what will its reasoning be? Under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, discriminatory government policies generally must have a rational justification. This is not a difficult standard to meet, but supporters of prohibition nevertheless have failed to come up with anything plausible. The court could leave it at that, or it could insist that cases involving state discrimination against gay men and lesbians deserve special care, demanding that the government meet a higher standard to apply any policy that treats them differently from other Americans.

Either rationale would lead to the same result. But the court must think broadly about the legal status of gay men and lesbians generally. The 14th Amendment demands that the government have exceptional reasons to discriminate against historically targeted minorities. Gay men and lesbians certainly qualify for that sort of consideration in this and future cases.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-supreme-court-must-finish-the-job-on-same-sex-equality/2015/04/27/6a33e79e-eba5-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html?

April 27, 2015

Majority of Voters Back Iran Deal

Source: PoliticalWire/Quinnipiac Polling

A new Quinnipiac poll finds American voters support the preliminary agreement with Iran to restrict that country’s nuclear program by a wide margin, 58% to 33%.

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Read more: http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=104612168&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4936413

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April 27, 2015

Inside Warren’s Campaign to Influence Clinton

Ryan Lizza has a must-read piece on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and what she’s really trying to do in 2016.

“Warren is not running for President. But she is mounting a campaign to insure that Clinton and other prominent Democrats adhere to her agenda of reversing income inequality and beating back the influence of corporate power in politics. These are issues that Warren has pursued for three decades, as an academic, a policy adviser to Democrats, an Obama Administration regulator, and, since 2012, a U.S. senator and the anchor of a progressive wing of the Democratic Party.”

“Clinton has taken notice. Last December, she invited Warren to a private meeting at her Washington home, near Embassy Row, to hear Warren’s advice on issues such as income inequality. In recent months, members of Clinton’s policy team have consulted with Dan Geldon, one of Warren’s closest advisers, about economic policy… Clinton even sounds like Warren these days, evidently hoping to fend off charges that she is a captive of Wall Street money and influence.”

Huffington Post: Warren is still Clinton’s biggest threat even if she isn’t running

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http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=104614184&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4936413

April 27, 2015

Republicans Brace for Another Unruly Primary Season

“The 2016 Republican presidential contest, designed to be a tidy affair, is instead shaping up to be a chaotic, drawn-out slog, thanks largely to an expanding pool of rich patrons raining money on a broad field of candidates,” the Washington Post reports.

“Never have so many candidates entered a White House contest boosted by such huge sums. The financial arms race could fuel a protracted primary season similar to the one in 2012 — exactly what party leaders were hoping to avoid.”

Newt Gingrich on ABC News: “This is now maybe the most open field in Republican history. I used to say the most open since 1940, but they’ve now blown past that. I think we may have 25 candidates.”

Wonk Wire: A Republican zombie apocalypse?

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http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=104615328&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4936413

April 27, 2015

Fox & Friends attacks Miami’s history-making black woman cop because she could be a flag-hating Musl

Fox & Friends attacks Miami’s history-making black woman cop because she could be a flag-hating Muslim

Elisabeth Hasselbeck and the hosts of Fox & Friends suggested on Monday that they had a “right to know” if the first black woman to be appointed Assistant Chief of Police in Miami was a Muslim who hated America because she stood at attention during the Pledge of Allegiance instead of placing her hand over her heart.

In a letter last week, Miami Fraternal Order of Police President Sgt. Javier Ortiz demanded that Assistant Chief Anita Najiy be reprimanded and removed from her position as honor guard commander. According to Ortiz, Najiy did not place her hand over her heart during the Pledge of Allegiance “to make a political statement.”

Ortiz posted a video of Najiy on the police union’s YouTube channel, which showed her standing at attention as other officers placed their hands over their hearts.

However, Police Maj. Delrish Moss told The Miami Herald that Najiy was simply following military protocol, which states that one should “stand at attention, remain silent, and face the flag” when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance indoors.

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/fox-friends-attacks-miamis-history-making-black-woman-cop-because-she-could-be-a-flag-hating-muslim/

April 27, 2015

Loretta Lynch sworn in as new US attorney general

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Loretta Lynch has been sworn in as the nation’s 83rd attorney general.

She was sworn in Monday at a Justice Department ceremony, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding. Lynch replaces Eric Holder, who left the job Friday after six years as attorney general.

The 55-year-old Lynch was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday following a months-long delay after her nomination got caught up in a dispute over human trafficking legislation.

She was previously the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which encompasses much of New York City, and is expected to serve as the top federal law enforcement official for the remainder of the Obama administration. She’s the first African-American woman to hold the post.

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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/04/27/loretta_lynch_sworn_in_as_new_us_attorney_general/

April 27, 2015

“I am shaken to my bones”: Gay NYC real-estate baron apologizes for hosting Ted Cruz event

Both said they were "deeply sorry" for their "inconceivable" ignorance -- but the boycotts have already started
SCOTT ERIC KAUFMAN

Facing a furious backlash from the LGBT community, the two gay New York City real estate developers who own nearly three-quarters of the real estate in Fire Island Pines and LGBT-oriented hotel The OUT NYC issued an apology over the weekend for hosting a fundraiser for arch conservative Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

David Badash at the New Civil Rights Movement reported that Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass are furiously backtracking on their support for the Tea Party favorite and 2016 presidential hopeful, calling the fundraising dinner “a terrible mistake.”

“I am shaken to my bones by the e-mails, texts, postings and phone calls of the past few days,” Reisner said on Facebook Sunday night. “I made a terrible mistake. I was ignorant, naive and much too quick in accepting a request to co-host a dinner with Cruz at my home without taking the time to completely understand all of his positions on gay rights. I’ve spent the past 24 hours reviewing videos of Cruz’ statements on gay marriage and I am shocked and angry,” Reisner continued. “I sincerely apologize for hurting the gay community and so many of our friends, family, allies, customers and employees. I will try my best to make up for my poor judgement. Again, I am deeply sorry.”

Mati Weiderpass echoed his sentiments, writing that “I came to realize that I might have nullified my past efforts and accomplishments in just one week. On the eve of this momentous legal occasion at the Supreme Court, I dedicate myself to work even harder to advance our cause that I share with the LGBT community; our community.”

But those who read these statements were having none of it. Keith Gibbons wrote that it’s “inconceivable that any well-informed, aware adult in this country could not known where Ted Cruz stood issues affecting the LGBT community.”

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/04/27/%E2%80%9Ci_am_shaken_to_my_bones%E2%80%9D_gay_nyc_real_estate_baron_apologizes_for_hosting_ted_cruz_event/

April 27, 2015

This anti-gay movie is true evil: What are Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee doing in the vile “documentar

This anti-gay movie is true evil: What are Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee doing in the vile “documentary” “Light Wins”?

"Light Wins" is 2015's most bigoted, dishonest and disgusting film. Doesn't matter to two GOP presidential hopefuls

EDWIN LYNGAR

“Prayer, God and his commandments were kicked out of the classroom because they might influence children not to lie, steal and kill. But ushered into that void was a dark agenda that robs children of their innocence and puts their life [sic] at risk … We now know with the redefinition of marriage comes a state invitation to indoctrinate your child,” says Janet Porter of Faith2Action speaking in her film “Light Wins.”

If you actually believe what is said about gay people in “Light Wins” you’d have no choice but to grab a torch and pitchfork and join a Christian mob to drive “homosexuals” into the sea. The slander against gays is as breathtaking as the ambition and dishonesty of the film. It first gained notoriety among a wider audience after Right Wing Watch brought attention to some snippets of the film released online. Those clips come off like a gay version of “Reefer Madness,” that hysterical anti-pot film from the ’30s. I found the clips so absurd, I thought it would be “fun” to buy the whole movie (released in March) and pick it apart. By the end of this 100-minute misinformation marathon, I was not laughing. It is as paranoid, dishonest and bigoted a thing as I have ever seen in my life, but it’s also earnest, deeply religious and well organized.

It’s hard to believe such a work could still have any impact, even in the darkest recesses of our superstition-driven society, but the film lays down a step-by-step case on why being gay is “dangerous,” why gays cannot also be Christians and how schools are indoctrinating your children into the “homosexual lifestyle.” If you could switch off your critical thinking skills, you too could be caught up in the anti-gay hysteria. It’s easy to dismiss such a collection of bizarre claims, but that’s a mistake. This movie will damage someone, a gay child in a Christian household, perhaps, or a middle-aged Christian agonizing over his or her sexuality, real people who are too often suffering.

Porter is careful in her movie to avoid slamming individual gay people; instead she leverages the whole “love the sinner, hate the sin” routine. She uses a lot of roundabout talk about “darkness” and “homosexual acts” and “religious freedom” to mask the cruelty and hate, but the point is more than clear. “When evil is called good,” Porter says in her opening monologue, “darkness is ushered into the land, and with that darkness comes a threat to our freedoms.” She equates gay people with the hordes of Sauron but adds a “no offense intended” to make the whole thing seem OK.

As much as I hate to repeat vile awfulness, I have to cite some more examples from the film. For instance, David Benham compares gays to “adulterers” and “thieves.” James Dobson, a fundamentalist pillar of cruelty, claims gay marriage could destroy the fabric of society. John R. Diggs Jr., an actual medical doctor of some kind, likens “homosexual behavior” to bestiality and child sacrifice, all while quoting scripture to back up his insults. Throughout the movie, the Bible is used less as a book and more as a blunt instrument.

The film features a rogue’s gallery of discredited villains, kooks and bigots, people like Ken Ham, David Parton, Gordon “Court Martial” Klingenschmitt and Phyllis Schlafly, just to name a few. There are too many to mention by name, although I want to point out that Schlafly takes an extra moment to brag about defeating equal rights for women. Basically, if you’ve ever said something really stupid and have been called out by Right Wing Watch, you got invited to be in this movie.

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/04/27/this_anti_gay_movie_is_true_evil_what_are_rand_paul_and_mike_huckabee_doing_in_the_vile_documentary_light_wins/