Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalYoung immigrants shout down Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Several dozen young immigrants shouted down Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the U.S. House, on Monday during an event in San Francisco, following her recent conversations with President Donald Trump over the future of a program that grants many of them legal status.
"We are immigrant youth, undocumented and unafraid," they shouted as they overtook an event Pelosi was holding to encourage passing legislation that would give many young immigrants legal status.
After smiling and occasionally trying to speak through much of the protest, an aggravated Pelosi told the protesters to "just stop it, now," shortly before she was led out of the room.
She was appearing with Democratic U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee and Jared Huffman at College Track San Francisco, a program to expand college access. She was scheduled to appear Monday afternoon in Sacramento for a similar event.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Young-immigrants-shout-down-Democratic-leader-12206586.php
Biden rejects universal basic income idea popular in Silicon Valley
Source: The Hill
Former Vice President Joe Biden is criticizing the universal basic income idea that is gaining traction in Silicon Valley, and is arguing instead that the U.S. needs to "build a future that puts work first."
"Our children and grandchildren deserve the promise we've had: the skills to get ahead, the chance to earn a paycheck, and a steady job that rewards hard work," Biden wrote in a blog post for the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware.
Some prominent voices in the technology industry, such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff, have recently championed the idea of a universal basic income. Supporters of the idea have argued that a guaranteed income from the government could help people in light of concerns about job losses due to technological advances.
But Biden said that there's a "better way forward" and that policymakers should prioritize work.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/351186-biden-rejects-universal-basic-income-idea-popular-in-silicon-valley
UC Berkeley faculty calls for boycott when conservatives speak
Source: The Hill
Faculty members at the University of California, Berkeley are calling for a campus boycott when conservative speakers are scheduled to speak in the city later this month.
In an open letter, professors and staff members are calling for classes to be canceled, for buildings to be closed and for students not to be penalized for not showing up to campus from Sept. 24 to 27, SFGate.com reported.
The letter comes ahead of "Free Speech Week," a four-day event during which controversial figures including Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopoulos and Stephen Bannon are expected to appear.
The letter says signs point "towards an escalated and uncontrollable confrontation both on and off campus during these four days."
"Therefore, as faculty committed to the safety of our students and our campus, we are calling for a complete boycott of all classes and campus activities while these Alt-Right events are taking place at the very center of UC Berkeley’s campus," the letter says.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/351165-uc-berkeley-faculty-call-for-boycott-when-conservatives-speak
Harvard dean rescinds Chelsea Mannings visiting fellow invitation, calling it a mistake
Source: The Washington Post
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government rescinded a visiting fellowship offered to Chelsea Manning, the former military intelligence analyst who spent seven years in prison for leaking classified government secrets, after the university faced forceful backlash from CIA Director Mike Pompeo among others.
“I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a Visiting Fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility,” Douglas W. Elmendorf, the school’s dean, wrote in a 700-word statement released shortly after midnight Friday.
Manning was one of four visiting fellows announced two days earlier by the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. As part of the program, visiting fellows appear on Harvard’s campus for speaking engagements and events, interacting with undergraduate students on “topical issues of today,” the school’s initial announcement explained.
Elmendorf decided to withdraw the invitation after realizing that “many people view a Visiting Fellow title as an honorific,” though the school had not intended to “honor [Manning] in any way or to endorse any of her words or deeds.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/09/14/former-cia-directors-shun-harvard-after-the-school-invites-chelsea-manning-to-campus/?utm_term=.e107dda40527
Supreme Court rules against State Attorney Ayala on death penalty cases
Source: The Orlando Sentinel
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Gov. Rick Scott has the authority to take death penalty cases away from Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala, who has said she won’t seek capital punishment for anyone.
“Far from being unreasoned or arbitrary ... the reassignments are predicated upon ‘good and sufficient reason,’ namely Ayala’s blanket refusal to pursue the death penalty in any case despite Florida law establishing the death penalty as an appropriate sentence under certain circumstances,” Justice C. Alan Lawson wrote.
The court was split 5-2, with Justices Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince dissenting.
“The Governor’s decision in this case fundamentally undermines the constitutional role of duly elected State Attorneys,” Quince wrote.
Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ayala-scott-death-penalty-supreme-court-20170831-story.html
Leslie Wimes, DNC member Nikki Barnes spotted at Rick Bakers election watch party
Of all of the surprises that occurred in St. Petersburg’s mayoral primary on Tuesday — and there were a lot — one of the most intriguing to Democratic politicos in Florida has to be the appearance of Nikki Barnes and Leslie Wimes at Rick Baker‘s election watch party.
Barnes is a member of the Democratic National Committee.
Wimes is the president of the Democratic African-American Women Caucus.
https://twitter.com/SeanPhillippi/status/902702289349214208
Although the St. Petersburg mayoral race is a non-partisan affair, it’s well-known that Baker is a staunch Republican and his opponent, Rick Kriseman, is a loyal Democrat, so much so that his re-election was endorsed by former president Barack Obama.
more: http://floridapolitics.com/archives/243930-leslie-wimes-dnc-member-nikki-barnes-spotted-rick-bakers-election-watch-party
University fires professor who blamed Harvey on Trump vote
Source: The Associated Press
The University of Tampa has fired a visiting assistant professor who suggested in a tweet that Hurricane Harvey's destruction is "instant karma" for Texas because it voted Republican.
Sociology professor Kenneth L. Storey posted the tweet and two responses on Sunday before removing the entire thread and his profile photo.
University spokesman Eric Cardenas said in a statement Tuesday that Storey was fired after the school weathered an outpouring of online outrage over the comments.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Storey issued an apology on Monday, writing that he "never meant to wish ill will upon any group.
Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-utampa-fires-professor-20170829-story.html
Canova sues for access to ballots from 2016 primary loss to Wasserman Schultz
Tim Canova, who has suggested he might not really have lost his 2016 primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is suing the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office to gain access to the ballots from the election.
Canova is challenging Wasserman Schultz again in the 2018 primary. In June, when he announced his plan for a rematch, he said election integrity would be a top priority, and vowed to seek a recount of the results regardless of the outcome.
In the lawsuit filed June 6 in Broward County Circuit Court, Canova said Lulu Friesdat, a person acting on his behalf, has been unsuccessful in getting access to the 2016 primary ballots under the state’s public records law. He wants Circuit Judge Raag Singhal to order the Supervisor of Elections Office to provide the records, which he said Snipes has refused to produce for “copying and/or scanning.”
Burnadette Norris-Weeks, counsel for Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, asked Singhal to dismiss the case. On July 5, Norris-Weeks wrote in her argument for dismissal that the Canova team can’t show its side has actually made an attempt to get the records he requested. Also, she said, Canova’s side never asked for photocopies, but instead wanted to bring in scanning equipment.
more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-reg-tim-canova-ballots-lawsuit-20170810-story.html
Sentencing postponed for doctor accused of bribing senator
Source: The Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A sentencing hearing in a Medicare fraud case against a prominent Florida eye doctor accused of bribing New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has been postponed.
Attorneys for Dr. Salomon Melgen said in court documents filed Thursday they and prosecutors have agreed to cancel Friday's scheduled sentencing hearing until December.
That would be after next month's scheduled joint bribery trial against Menendez and Melgen in New Jersey.
Melgen's attorneys say in court documents the delay is necessary because the hearing could take longer than a day. Federal prosecutors declined comment.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/congressional/20170810_ap_4572cae5dffa4ccb817a21ffcaffcca7.html
Death of federal prosecutor found on beach was suicide, investigators say
Source: The Sun-Sentinel
Thhe death of a federal prosecutor whose body was found on the beach in Hollywood has been ruled a suicide, Hollywood police said Thursday.
Beranton J. Whisenant Jr. 38, was found dead by a beachgoer in Hollywood near Magnolia Terrace shortly before 6:30 a.m. on May 24.
Detectives and a medical examiner found Whisenant died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Hollywood police said.
He was assigned to the Miami office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and been hired as federal prosecutor a few months earlier.
Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/hollywood/fl-sb-hollywood-whisenant-ruled-suicide-20170810-story.html
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