There is Arizona's HB2544, Connecticut's SB391, Georgia's HB37, Indiana's SB114, Maine's LD34, Missouri's HB283, Montana's HB205, Nebraska's LB654, Oklahoma's SB91, SB384 and SB540, and Texas; HB295 and HB529.
Led by Texas with 34, the states control 107 Electoral College votes.
In the US, Noor Alameki was murdered by her father for being too "westernized" and running away from an arranged marriage. Running away from an arranged marriage. In an Islamic country, they stone.
TALIBAN SPOKESMAN: 'Anyone who knows about Islam knows that stoning is in the Koran, and that it is Islamic law. There are people who call it inhuman - but in doing so they insult the Prophet. They want to bring foreign thinking to this country'
"The voters deserved the right to make the choice of who should be mayor. And I think what the Supreme Court said was basically, in short, that the voters will make the decision who should be mayor. Nobody else should make it for them,” a victorious Emanuel said after slapping backs and shaking hands with commuters at the Clark and Lake elevated train stop near his downtown headquarters. “Some will vote for me, some will vote against me and that’ll be true for all the candidates. But that, ultimately, this decision about who should be the next mayor is for the voters to decide.”Click title of post for full article.
The Obama administration will take the next three months to roll out a replacement, which will be called the National Terrorism Advisory System. The new plan calls for notifying specific audiences about specific threats.In some cases, it might be a one-page threat description sent to law enforcement officials describing the threat, what law enforcement needs to do about it and what the federal government is doing, one of the officials said.
When agency officials think there is a threat the public should know about, they will issue an announcement and rely on news organizations and social media outlets to get the word out.
The ploy to coax the former MSNBC host into the Democratic Senate primary was hatched by activists attending a conference in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
While this week's indictment involving a grisly abortion mill in Philadelphia has shocked many, the grand jury's nearly 300-page report also contains a surprising and little-noted revelation: In the mid-1990s, the administration of Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, a pro-choice Republican, ended regular inspections of abortion clinics—a policy that continued until just last year.
Attorneys for Rahm Emanuel late today asked the Illinois Supreme Court to prevent Chicago elections officials from printing ballots for the Feb. 22 mayor's election without his name.
Emanuel's legal team also said they will ask the state's highest court on Tuesday to hear their appeal of a decision by an appellate court today to knock him off the ballot on the grounds he doesn't meet residency requirements.
"In this area, the floodgates have opened," said Michael Gerrard, director of the recently-opened Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School in New York, who contributed to the Deutsche Bank report.
Hawaii's privacy laws have long barred the release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who doesn't have a tangible interest.I don't know, call me nuts but, isn't providing proof of being a citizen when someone is president of a country considered a "tangible interest"?
“These verbal insults are more than just name-calling,” she said. “Some of them have been very pointed and very cutting, telling other children that their parents don’t love them, that they don’t care that somebody in their family had a heart attack.”Someone said that your parents don't love you?! That is just horrible.
Marcellais’ bill would require the governor to declare the fourth Wednesday in January as “No Name-Calling Day” and appoint a 10-member Commission on Bullying that would include school and law enforcement officials.Oh, a no name-calling day! That will fix it.
Beautiful people don't just get all the breaks, scientists say they're likely smarter than most people, too.
A study in England conducted by researchers at the London School of Economics found that attractive men and women generally have higher IQs.
"Physical attractiveness is significantly positively associated with general intelligence," said LSE lead researcher Satoshi Kanazawa, in the latest issue of the journal Intelligence.
The study indicated attractive men have IQs that are 13.6 points above the average, while beautiful women are 11.4 points higher than average.
• Creating an early dismissal option for frivolous lawsuits;
• Ensuring victims of frivolous lawsuits do not bear the financial burden of defending themselves through the creation of a "loser pays" system;
• Ensuring new laws cannot create causes of action unless expressly established by the Legislature; and
• Setting up expedited trials and limited discovery for lawsuits with claims between $10,000 and $100,000.
Sgt. Carlton Cook at the West Los Angeles Community Police Station says the "Easy Rider" actor called 911 on Wednesday after he spotted a car parked on the side of Sunset Boulevard. Cook says the 70-year-old Fonda is absolutely not a suspect but did not have any more details.
The call was first reported by TMZ, which says Fonda got out of his car and found the man slumped over in the front seat.
A former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and executive at Pillsbury, Cain is a conservative radio host in Atlanta who has been a popular figure on the GOP speaking circuit over the last year. Cain, who is black, is perhaps best known nationally for speaking out last year against charges made by the NAACP that the tea party is made up of "racist elements."Click title of post for full story.
Last month, Cain topped a 2012 presidential straw poll organized by the conservative blog Red State, beating out the likes of Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Still, Cain, who also previously headed the National Restaurant Association, has virtually no name recognition beyond the GOP grass roots and is not even a blip in most early presidential polls — not that he views that as a problem.'
In an interview Wednesday with CNN, Cain said he's been motivated all of his life by people who think he can't win.
"People who say that Herman Cain has no chance of winning the nomination for the Republican Party or win the presidency -- I simply say thank you," he said. "Because all my life I have been in situations where I wasn't supposed to become VP of Pillsbury, I wasn't supposed to be able to turn Godfather's Pizza around. I wasn't supposed to succeed in climbing the corporate ladder in corporate America. So to the people who say I don't have a chance, I say: Thank you. Because that inspires me."
An exploratory committee is generally the first step a potential candidate takes in seeking the White House. Cain is expected to announce whether he'll formally seek the nomination later this year.
"I believe we can be better," Obama said to a capacity crowd in the university's basketball arena and to countless others watching around the country.
"Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help me believe," the president said. "We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us."
Obama settled on a theme of challenging the country to have a debate that is worthy of those who died. He tapped into the raging debate about the role of incendiary rhetoric without dwelling on it. "Let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy. It did not," the president said.So, what's he saying here? That debate didn't cause this but, that we need to debate better? I'm lost.
The president said it was OK, even essential, for the country to suddenly be debating gun control, mental health services and the motivations of the killer.If the discourse didn't cause it, why are you talking about it? No, it's NOT okay to talk about gun control. It's NOT okay to talk about anything that doesn't pertain to this matter. Let's focus on the victims and their lives.
But then he added: "At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized — at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do — it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds," the president said.
Sarah Palin responded in a video this morning to the criticism she has received in the wake of the Tucson shooting, but many people today have been more interested in her choice language than the actual substance of her video response.Click title of post for full story.
"Within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to condemn," Palin said in the video.
She was referring to the criticism she received over her use of images of crosshairs to "target" certain lawmakers during the midterm election cycle.
As the New York Times' Michael Shear explained, "By using the term 'blood libel' to describe the criticism about political rhetoric after the shootings, Ms. Palin was inventing a new definition for an emotionally laden phrase. Blood libel is typically used to describe the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for anti-Semitism and violent pogroms against Jews."
The use of that phrase sparked some commotion in the Jewish community and spurred others to come to Palin's defense. While the term has deep connotations, there are other examples of its use in a modern political context.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the left-leaning Jewish political group J Street released a statement saying he was "saddened" by Palin's use of the term "blood libel."
The term, he said, "brings back painful echoes of a very dark time in our communal history when Jews were falsely accused of committing heinous deeds. When Governor Palin learns that many Jews are pained by and take offense at the use of the term, we are sure that she will choose to retract her comment, apologize and make a less inflammatory choice of words."
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who often comments on Israeli affairs, came to Palin's defense, saying that the term has "taken on a broad metaphorical meaning in public discourse." Dershowitz said he has used the term himself to describe false accusations against the State of Israel by the Goldstone Report. He added, "There is nothing improper and certainly nothing anti-Semitic in Sarah Palin using the term to characterize what she reasonably believes are false accusations that her words or images may have caused a mentally disturbed individual to kill and maim."So, is this just another case of the liberal media acting sensitive when it's convenient for them to do so? Oh, the hatred they have for Palin! It's laughable.
Ben Smith of Politico also points out that the phrase has been used in a political context before. For instance, the New York Post used it in a 1999 headline "after Hillary Clinton stood by as Suha Arafat accused the Israelis of 'daily and intensive use of poison gas' against Palestinian women and children," Smith reports.
Conservative pundit Glenn Reynolds used the phrase in a Wall Street Journal op-ed just two days ago.
One of the first priorities for Governor-elect Susana Martinez is to revoke the thousands of drivers’ licenses which have been issued by New Mexico to illegal aliens in recent years.Click title of post for full article.
After Arizona passed SB1070, illegal aliens have been flocking to New Mexico which does not currently require proof of citizenship to obtain a license.
Outgoing open-borders advocate, Gov. Bill Richardson, made it worse by passing a law banning DMV clerks from asking an applicant if they are in the country legally. As a result, New Mexico had become a favorite with human smugglers and those who make their living from selling fraudulent documents.
Click title of this post for full story.
[The] Center for American Progress today is releasing a report, “Power of the President,” proposing 30 executive actions the president can take to advance progressive change in the areas of energy, the economy, health care, education, foreign policy, and national security. “The following authorities can be used to ensure progress on key issues facing the country today: Executive orders, Rulemaking, Agency management, Convening and creating public-private partnerships , Commanding the armed forces, Diplomacy.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A majority of Americans reject the view that heated political rhetoric was a factor in the weekend shootings in Arizona which killed six and critically wounded a congresswoman, a CBS News poll said on Tuesday.
Since the Saturday incident in which Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank range, various politicians and commentators have said a climate in which strong language and ideological polarization is common may have contributed to the attack.
Some of the analysts cited anti-government statements from the man arrested in the shooting, Jared Lee Loughner, as support for that view.
But CBS said its nationwide telephone poll found that, "57 percent of respondents said the harsh political tone had nothing to do with the shooting, compared to 32 percent who felt it did."
Rejection of a link was strongest among Republicans, 69 percent of whom felt harsh rhetoric was not related to the attack, while 19 percent thought it played a part.
Among Democrats 49 percent placed no blame on the heated political tone against 42 percent who did. Among independents the split was 56 percent to 33 percent, CBS said.
It said its poll of 673 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
(Reporting by Jerry Norton; Editing by Jackie Frank)
Federal officials released Loughner's mug shot, showing him smiling into the camera despite hints of a black eye.Source LINK.
"Yes, I am Jared Lee Loughner," said Loughner, with a freshly shaved head, when the Judge Lawrence Anderson asked him to confirm his identity.
Holding up a financial affidavit, Anderson asked the Loughner, "I can't read your signature. I know how hard it is to sign with handcuffs on. Did you sign this?"
Loughner, with a fresh bruise on the side of his head, leaned forward to look at the paper and responded, ""Yes I signed it. Mrs. Clarke did help me out." Mrs. Clarke refers to his court appointed public defender, Judy Clarke.
Every federal judge in the southern district of Arizona recused themselves from the case because one of Loughran's alleged victims was federal judge John Roll.
His former classmate is describing him as a "left wing pot-head." So much for those evil right-wingers.FBI agents working on the Gabrielle Giffords shooting encountered trouble gaining entry to the suspect's family home Monday morning.
Family members of Jared Loughner apparently had put on 4-by-4 double-thick plywood that blocked access to the front porch of their north Tucson home.
At about 12:25 p.m., agents began banging on the blockade, yelling, "This is the FBI. Let us in."
Some agents were sent behind the house, and they were able to get inside after talking to family members.
It's not immediately clear why the Loughner family had put up the blockade, but there were reports of at least one media representative who had gotten to the yard of the family home earlier in the day. Loughner remains in custody and has an appearance in federal court later Monday.
A classmate of the man accused of shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords this morning describes him as "left wing" and a "pot head" in a series of posts on Twitter this afternoon.
Caitie Parker did not immediately respond to our request for an interview, but her "tweets" in the hours after the shooting paint a picture of Jared Loughner as a substance-abusing loner who had met Giffords before the shooting. She says, Loughner described the congresswoman as "stupid and unintelligent."
We've confirmed that Parker and Loughner went to school together at Mountain View High School in Tucson and that both attended Pima Community College, so her claims of knowing Loughner seem to be legit.
Parker "tweets" that she and Loughner were in the band together and were friends until 2007 when he became "reclusive" after getting alcohol poisoning and dropping out of college.
She describes him as "quite liberal" and as a "political radical."
Below is a log of "tweets" posted by Parker beginning around the time of the shooting.
The Arizona sheriff investigating the Tucson shooting that left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded had harsh words today for those engaging in political rhetoric, calling conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh "irresponsible" for continuing the vitriol.That's most of the stories so far.
"The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information," Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said today.
"[Limbaugh] attacks people, angers them against government, angers them against elected officials and that kind of behavior in my opinion is not without consequences."
Limbaugh today railed against the media and Dupnik for trying to draw a link between the heated political climate and the shooting rampage, calling the sheriff a "fool." But Dupnik stood by his assertions.
"The vitriol affects the [unstable] personality that we are talking about," he said. "You can say, 'Oh no, it doesn't,' but my opinion is that it does."
Owen Wilson is going to be a dad. A spokeswoman for the 42-year-old actor says he and his girlfriend are expecting a child together. Publicist Ina Treciokas says Wilson and Jade Duell "are happy to be expecting a baby."
No other details were available.
Wilson appears in the recent films "Little Fockers" and "How Do You Know." His other credits include "Marley & Me," "Drillbit Taylor" and "Wedding Crashers."
The point is that there’s room in a democracy for people who ridicule and denounce those who disagree with them; there isn’t any place for eliminationist rhetoric, for suggestions that those on the other side of a debate must be removed from that debate by whatever means necessary.
And it’s the saturation of our political discourse — and especially our airwaves — with eliminationist rhetoric that lies behind the rising tide of violence.
Where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It’s hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be “armed and dangerous” without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P.
And there’s a huge contrast in the media. Listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you’ll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans. But you won’t hear jokes about shooting government officials or beheading a journalist at The Washington Post. Listen to Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, and you will.
Of course, the likes of Mr. Beck and Mr. O’Reilly are responding to popular demand. Citizens of other democracies may marvel at the American psyche, at the way efforts by mildly liberal presidents to expand health coverage are met with cries of tyranny and talk of armed resistance. Still, that’s what happens whenever a Democrat occupies the White House, and there’s a market for anyone willing to stoke that anger.
But even if hate is what many want to hear, that doesn’t excuse those who pander to that desire. They should be shunned by all decent people.Eliminationist rhetoric? Excuse me? Has this guy even listened to talk radio? I've been listening to talk radio for well over 10 years now and, I have NEVER once heard any talk show host ever encourage anyone to go out and shoot people. Oh, wait. I did here Randi Rhodes on Airhead America make a big joke about shooting then president of the United States, George W. Bush.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been happening: the purveyors of hate have been treated with respect, even deference, by the G.O.P. establishment. As David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter, has put it, “Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we’re discovering we work for Fox.”
Click title of post for source.
Kentucky lawmakers took a first step Thursday toward a crackdown on illegal immigrants, advancing a bill that would give police broad authority to check the immigration status of people they stop.
In its first test of support, the measure cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on an 8-3 vote after a lengthy discussion in which one opponent branded it as a “12th century bill of rights.”
The bill now heads to the full Senate, where it has the support of Republican leaders who set the chamber’s agenda. The legislation is an outgrowth of a controversial Arizona immigration law that is facing legal challenge.
The Kentucky rendition would allow law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of someone when “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person is an illegal immigrant.
A Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that the top US Federal Judge for the State of Arizona was assassinated barely 72-hours after he made a critical ruling against the Obama administrations plan to begin the confiscation of their citizen’s private retirement and banking accounts in order to stave off their nations imminent economic collapse, and after having the US Marshals protecting him removed.
According to this SVR report, Federal Judge John McCarthy Roll was the Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona who this past Friday issued what is called a “preliminary ruling” in a case titled “United States of America v. $333,520.00 in United States Currency et al” [Case Number: 4:2010cv00703 Filed: November 30, 2010] wherein he stated he was preparing to rule against Obama’s power to seize American citizens money without clear and convincing evidence of a crime being committed.Click title of post for full article.
The case being ruled on by Judge Roll, this report continues, was about bulk cash smuggling into or out of the United States that the Obama administration claimed was their right to seize under what are called Presidential Executive Orders, instead of using existing laws. The Obama administration used as support for their claim before Judge Roll, the SVR says, the seizing of all American citizens’ gold, in 1933, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 6102, which was ruled at the time to be constitutional.
But Giuliani shouldn't waste his time by making another run for President. The 2008 try was such a strategic disaster, he'd have to pull a Jedi mind trick to convince Republican primary voters he's viable.
The shooting spree in Tucson on Saturday has fueled debate about extreme political rhetoric in the United States after an acrimonious campaign for congressional elections in November.
Loughner was due to appear in court in Phoenix at 2 p.m. MST (4 p.m. EST) on Monday, the Justice Department said, as reports emerged of a troubled man who had been asked to leave a local college for disruptive behavior.
He will be represented in court by Judy Clarke, the lawyer who defended Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, the federal defenders' office said. "Our understanding is that Judy Clarke is who is assigned to the case and she has accepted," said Manny Tarango, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Phoenix.So, who is this guy? Jared Lee Loughner is obviously an unstable man but, what motivated him to go out and do such a horrible thing?
Investigators said they had found an envelope at Loughner's residence with the handwritten phrases "I planned ahead" and "My assassination," along with the name "Giffords" and what appeared to be Loughner's signature.
The suspect opened fire with a semi-automatic Glock pistol while the Democratic congresswoman was attending a political meeting in a supermarket parking lot. U.S. federal judge John Roll and a 9-year-old girl were among the six people killed.
Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat, was in critical condition after surgery, but was able to follow simple commands, such as holding up two fingers when asked, doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson said.
A single bullet traveled the length of her brain on the left side, hitting an area that controls speech. Given the devastating wound, doctors said they were uncertain about the extent of brain damage she may have suffered.
She has been put into a pharmaceutical coma but was being awakened frequently to check her progress.
"There are obvious areas of our brain that are less tolerant to intrusion," said Dr. Michael Lemole. "I don't want to go down the speculation road but at the same time we're cautiously optimistic."
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said a wounded woman, identified by CNN as Patricia Maisch, had grabbed away an ammunition magazine from the gunman as he tried to reload after shooting into the crowd. He managed to fit in another magazine but it jammed and he was tackled by two men.
Apparently, this is his youtube page.IS DAILY KOS INVOLVED IN ARIZONA MURDERS? “My CongressWOMAN voted against Nancy Pelosi! And is now DEAD to me!” — eerie Daily Kos hit piece on Gabrielle Giffords just two days before assassination attempt; repeated use of word “dead” in relation to Giffords just 48 hours before she and a dozen others were fired upon. UPDATE: Daily Kos scrubs “dead to me” thread but screengrabs document everything; UPDATE: school classmates and former friends describe shooter Jared Lee Loughner as committed Leftist
The FBI arrested a Baltimore man Wednesday after he allegedly tried to detonate a phony bomb at a military recruitment center in Maryland, authorities told NPR.Of course, I'm sure you all know how I feel about Alex Jones by now. Personally, I think this guy is scum of the lowest order. I used to think he was just misinformed, a lazy reporter, but someone with good intentions. Now, I think it's been proven, by those who follow up on his stories, that the man is actually a full-on propagandist.
A 21-year-old Muslim convert named Antonio Martinez, of Baltimore, was taken into custody this morning shortly after he allegedly tried to detonate the phony bomb at an armed forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Md., west of Baltimore. Officials close to the case say Martinez was caught in a sting operation.
Authorities started tracking Martinez in October when he allegedly approached an FBI informant and said he wanted to attack a U.S. military target. Officials say Martinez decided on the target and got what he thought was a bomb from the FBI.
"There was no actual danger to the public as the explosives were inert and the suspect had been carefully monitored by law enforcement for months," the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland said in a statement.
Officials say that there was a concern Martinez would reach out to terrorists overseas, so the FBI interceded in an effort to keep a lid on any unfolding attack. Officials close to the case say Martinez tried to enlist others in the plot, but they refused. Those efforts are allegedly recorded by law enforcement.
Martinez appeared in court Wednesday afternoon and was ordered held in custody until a hearing scheduled for Monday. Officials told NPR that they did not believe this plot was linked in any way to recent drive-by shootings at military installations in the Washington area.
The Martinez case is the second sting operation by the FBI in as many weeks. The day after Thanksgiving, a Somali-born teenager was arrested in Portland, Ore., after using a cell phone to try to detonate what he thought were explosives in a van. He allegedly thought he was going to bomb a crowded downtown Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer says he was entrapped.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington Tuesday, struck back at Democrats in the Senate who may try to change the Senate rules regarding the filibuster to make it easier for the diminishing number of Democrats to pass liberal pieces of legislation more easily.
Referencing the recent midterm elections in which Americans sent a clear message that they were dissatisfied with Democrats and their liberal agenda, Alexander said Democrats were attempting to change the filibuster rules because “when you lose the game, you change the rules,” and said such rule changes would amount to an “electoral nullification.”
At issue is the speculation that Democrats are serious about changing the Senate rules so that only 51 votes, rather than the 60 currently needed, will end debate, which would essentially eliminate the ability of the minority to block legislation it deems to be harmful. While they had audaciously planned to to make an attempt on the first day of the new Congress, the Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Udall (D-Colo.), may wait a few weeks to try to change the Senate rules.
