March 27, 2014

The pope’s message to the president - By E.J. Dionne

This article/OP has been posted in the Religion forum

By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: March 26

President Obama’s first salary as a community organizer was paid by a Catholic group, and his earliest social justice work was rooted in Catholic social doctrine. He identified with Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, then Chicago’s archbishop, whose consistent ethic of life encompassed a dedication to the poor, a concern over the human costs of war and opposition to the death penalty.

You could thus imagine the president asking Pope Francis at their meeting on Thursday: Why can’t these American bishops get along with me? Or, perhaps more humbly: Holy Father, what can I do to make these guys happy?

It is a sign of how politicized the American Catholic Church has become that its different factions were lobbying hard over the message the bishop of Rome should send after meeting with the president of the United States.

Catholic conservatives hope that Francis will again condemn abortion by way of upbraiding the pro-choice Obama. They’d like strong language supporting the campaign spearheaded by the more conservative bishops against the contraception mandate in the health-care law.

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ej-dionne-the-popes-message-to-the-president/2014/03/26/8e52fd10-b50d-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html

March 26, 2014

Ted Nugent defends South African apartheid, using the n-word in newly resurfaced interview

"I'm a fun guy, not a sexist or racist," Nugent said after explaining why he uses the n-word so much

ELIAS ISQUITH

-snip-

Ted Nugent on apartheid:

“[A]partheid isn’t that cut-and-dry. All men are not created equal.”

Ted Nugent on black South Africans:

“The preponderance of South Africa is a different breed of man. I mean that with no disrespect. I say that with great respect. I love them because I’m one of them. They are still people of the earth, but they are different. They still put bones in their noses, they still walk around naked, they wipe their butts with their hands. And when I kill an antelope for ‘em, their preference is the gut pile. That’s what they fucking want to eat, the intestines. These are different people. You give ‘em toothpaste, they fucking eat it…I hope they don’t become civilized. They’re way ahead of the game.”

Ted Nugent on using the n-word:

“I use the word nigger a lot because I hang around with a lot of niggers, and they use the word nigger, and I tend to use words that communicate…I don’t mean to offend. I’m a fun guy, not a sexist or racist.”

Ted Nugent on naming his tour the “Jap Whack Tour”:

“I mean no disrespect. I’m sure the Japanese are wonderful folks.”

You can check out the original article below, via Media Matters:

-snip-

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/26/ted_nugent_defends_south_african_apartheid_and_using_the_n_word_in_newly_resurfaced_interview/

March 26, 2014

'Dirty Old Man' Judge Wants To Tell Women Lawyers What To Wear

ERIC LACH – MARCH 26, 2014, 5:07 PM EDT

A male federal judge in Nebraska is getting attention for writing a blog post Tuesday about "how young women lawyers dress."

"I have three rules that young women lawyers should follow when considering how to dress for court," U.S. District Court Richard Kopf wrote on his personal blog. "1. You can’t win. Men are both pigs and prudes. Get over it. 2. It is not about you. That goes double when you are appearing in front of a jury. 3. Think about the female law clerks. If they are likely to label you, like Jane Curtin, an ignorant slut behind your back, tone it down."

Kopf was nominated to his current position by President George H.W. Bush, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 21, 1992. He has maintained a personal blog, titled Hercules And The Umpire, since February 2013.

Kopf's post Tuesday was prompted by a recent Slate article titled "Female Lawyers Who Dress Too 'Sexy' Are Apparently a 'Huge Problem' in the Courtroom." In his own post on female attire in the courtroom, Kopf wrote that he has "been a dirty old man ever since I was a very young man." He recounted how at the church wedding of one of his daughters, he insisted that his wife look in the church's lost and found to "locate a demure white sweater for [his other daughter] to wear over her very revealing frock." And Kopf also wrote about a "wonderfully talented and very pretty female lawyer who is in her late twenties" that he knows.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/richard-kopf-blog-post-attire

March 26, 2014

The Personhood Movement Is Tired of Republican Congressmen Betraying It

By David Weigel

Colorado Democrats wrote the "war on women" playbook. In 2010 they were tasked with defending appointed Sen. Michael Bennet in a race against Tea Party-backed Ken Buck. They won with some innovate turnout tactics, but they pummeled Buck's image by portraying him as extreme on abortion. This stuff works in a purple state that's inclined toward libertarian candidates. It's working again, as first Rep. Cory Gardner (who's running for Senate) and now Rep. Mike Coffman (who's trying to get re-elected in a swing seat) have been goaded into reversing their endorsement of "personhood amendments." Eli Stokols reports that Gardner, and then Coffman, have denounced the old ballot measure that would have defined "personhood" at the moment of conception, then denounced Democrats for trying to (I should really have a keyboard shortcut for this attack) distracting voters from Obamacare.

“There’s a reason Democratic Senator Michael Bennet called Speaker Romanoff’s attacks sleazy in 2010 – Romanoff is the Czar of sleaze,” said Tyler Sandberg, Coffman’s campaign manager. “‘Supported it at every turn?’ Mike didn’t in 2012. And he doesn’t in 2014.

“The voters have spoken twice, and the question is settled. The initiative is over-broad and full of unintended consequences, sort of like Obamacare, which let’s be honest, all of this sleaze from Romanoff is meant to be a distraction from.”

In fact, Coffman has never disavowed personhood until today.

And doing so has earned the ire of Personhood USA, the national organization that campaigns for these amendments. First it denounced Gardner. Now it's after Coffman.

more
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/03/26/the_personhood_movement_is_tired_of_republican_congressmen_betraying_it.html?

March 26, 2014

No, legalizing medical marijuana doesn’t lead to crime, according to actual crime stats

BY EMILY BADGER
March 26 at 5:00 pm

Opponents of medical marijuana envision all kinds of insidious ways that legalizing the drug might lead to crime. Make marijuana more accessible, and more people will use it. If more people use it, more will tumble through the weed "gateway" to cocaine, or worse. Those people will then engage in crime to fund their hard-drug habits, or violence in the service of getting the stuff.

Furthermore: Once word gets out about medical dispensaries, those locations will become hotspots for criminals who now know exactly where to find prey carrying cash and drugs. Same goes for grow houses, which just invite property crime.

Pondering all of these dark possibilities, it's no wonder anyone suspects mayhem in medical marijuana laws. Actual historic crime data, however, suggest there's no evidence that legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes leads to an increase in crime. In fact, states that have legalized it appear to have seen some reductions in the rates of homicide and assault.

These findings come from a nationwide study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One (which is notable for the fact that no one seems to have done this crucial analysis before). Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas looked at the FBI's Uniform Crime Report data across the country between 1990 and 2006, a span during which 11 states legalized medical marijuana. Throughout this time period, crime was broadly falling throughout the United States. But a closer look at the differences between these states – and within the states that legalized the drug before and after the law's passage – further shows no noticeable local uptick among a whole suite of crimes: homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and auto theft.

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/26/no-legalizing-medical-marijuana-doesnt-lead-to-crime-according-to-actual-crime-stats/?wpisrc=nl_eve

March 26, 2014

Egypt’s powerful military commander Abdel Fatah al-Sissi to run for president

Source: Washington Post

Egypt’s powerful military commander Abdel Fatah al-Sissi formally announced his plan to run for president, in a long anticipated address to the nation Wednesday night.

After a long meeting with a council of the country’s top military officers, Sissi said he resigned from his position as defense minister and commander of the armed forces.

“I am standing in front of you for the last time in the military uniform,” he said. “I announce my intention to run for president.”




Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-egypt-top-general-abdel-fatah-al-sissi-to-run-for-president/2014/03/26/1d66ae82-b51f-11e3-8020-b2d790b3c9e1_story.html

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Gee, what a surprise! NOT!

March 26, 2014

Pentagon says Benghazi probes cost millions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says Congress’ multiple investigations of the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, have cost the department millions of dollars and thousands of hours of personnel time.

In a March 11 letter, the Pentagon described repetitive requests for information from about 50 congressional hearings, briefings and interviews. The department was responding to a Feb. 4 letter from Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

The Sept. 11 assault killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. An independent review and bipartisan Senate Intelligence committee report have mainly faulted the State Department and the security at the mission.

Smith, in a subsequent letter to the committee’s Republican chairman, complained about the financial strain on the military.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/03/25/pentagon_says_benghazi_probes_cost_millions/

March 26, 2014

Obama Shifts To Attack Mode Against GOP On Immigration

SAHIL KAPUR – MARCH 26, 2014, 12:04 PM EDT

House Democrats formally moved ahead Wednesday with a long-shot push to force a House vote on immigration reform, against the will of the majority Republican leaders.

They filed a so-called discharge petition, which would let them force a vote on the Senate-passed overhaul if they get 218 signatories. The move was quickly applauded by President Barack Obama, who elevated his rhetoric against House GOP leaders after largely refraining from attacks thus far in the hope that they'll move on the issue.

"Last year, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together to pass a commonsense bill to fix our broken immigration system," the president said in a statement Wednesday. "But so far, Republicans in the House have refused to allow meaningful immigration reform legislation to even come up for a vote. ... Immigration reform is the right thing to do for our economy, our security, and our future. A vast majority of the American people agree. The only thing standing in the way is the unwillingness of Republicans in Congress to catch up with the rest of the country."

The effort is unlikely to succeed, as even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has acknowledged. Discharge petitions rarely do. It is an attempt to elevate the pressure on House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who has signaled he won't act on the issue this year.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-shifts-to-attack-mode-against-gop

March 26, 2014

Limbaugh Defends Nate Silver: Democrats Are The Poll Truthers Now!

CAITLIN MACNEAL – MARCH 26, 2014, 12:20 PM EDT

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday sympathized with polling whiz Nate Silver, characterizing him as former hero of Democrats.

"This is what they tend to do. They invest in a singular, messianic personality -- and when that person doesn't follow what they hope or want, then they are challenged," Limbaugh said on his show. "I mean, it's a sanity challenge. So they're very upset and turning on him, and it probably is going to get worse for the poor guy before it gets better."

Some Democrats criticized Silver this week when he predicted that Republicans could take back the Senate in the 2014 election. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee executive director Guy Cecil defended four of the incumbent senators Silver picked as likely to lose to a GOP candidate.

Limbaugh charged that Democrats only like Silver when he predicts elections in their favor.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/limbaugh-defends-nate-silver

March 26, 2014

The Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong. Obamacare Isn't Dooming Democrats in November

PHILIP BUMP

The conventional wisdom says that the botched Obamacare rollout and the program's general unpopularity are dooming Democratic chances in November, but it's wrong. Even with Obamacare's problems compounded by multiple tweaks and delays (including the newest), Democrats would be in a similarly bad position, no matter what.

There's a good overview of the two main parties' strengths and weaknesses from Thomas Edsall in The New York Times, using the upcoming midterm elections as a way to talk about the long-term prospects of each party. It's thorough, if unsurprising: the Democratic strength with young and non-white voters is likely to be an asset in 2016 and beyond.

Edsall also pins the party's current problems on Obamacare. "The damage inflicted on the Democratic Party by the dysfunctional website and the reaction to it is hard to overestimate," he writes, noting poll data from Real Clear Politics on a generic congressional ballot. "As the figure illustrates, the generic vote shifted from a 5.5 percentage point Democratic advantage on Oct. 15, 2013, to a 2.5 percentage point Republican advantage on Dec. 2." That's a very brief version of the long-running argument: the Florida special election showed that people are freaked about the law; nearly half the country wants to repeal it.

What Edsall glosses over, though, is that the congressional ballot data was artificially inflated by the complete train wreck of the government shutdown, which completely tanked Republican poll numbers. The Healthcare.gov mess certainly meant that the Democrats lost an opportunity to capitalize on a surprising lead — a lead that was always bound to decline to some extent.

more
http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/03/the-conventional-wisdom-is-wrong-obamacare-isnt-dooming-democrats-in-november/359617/