March 5, 2017

Dread sets in, Pence: "worst governor ever"

Democrats who worked with the VP shudder at the thought of him being in the Oval Office

It’s impossible to predict whether President Donald Trump will be impeached, but as of last month 40 percent of voters wanted an impeachment to happen. This statistic raises an important question: Were Trump to leave office, would Vice President Mike Pence be better or worse than The Donald?

According to Indiana state legislators who worked with Pence, it would probably be worse.

“I think that in my lifetime, he’s probably the worst governor we ever had,” Indiana State Senator Karen Tallian, a Democrat, told Salon. “I think Mike Pence made a mess of everything. He would throw out these sort of bombshell ideas and then leave them for his staff people to implement. And his staff people normally made a mess.”

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/05/president-pences-problems-indiana-democrats-say-vp-was-the-worst-governor-we-ever-had/

March 4, 2017

'Stand your ground' changes bad for law enforcement

By Andrew Warren, state attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit, which covers Hillsborough County.

The Florida Legislature is considering significant changes to the "stand your ground'' law that will make our communities less safe and unnecessarily disrupt our criminal justice system while doing nothing to protect those who legally own guns.

The Legislature also has falsely suggested the proposed changes will have no financial impact. The proposed legislation fundamentally changes our jury system by requiring, for the first time in Florida legal history, that state prosecutors would have to disprove a legal defense to even begin prosecuting a case. The proposals quickly moving through this year's legislative process threaten public safety and undermine the fair and equal criminal justice system that our community deserves.

In 2005, the Legislature enacted the nation's first "stand your ground'' law, which removed a person's duty to retreat before using force in self-defense of himself, another person, his home, or property. In legal terms, "stand your ground'' expanded the scope of the long-standing defense of self-defense. Procedurally, a criminal defendant asserting "stand your ground'' immunity must establish by a preponderance of evidence (more than 50 percent standard) at a pretrial hearing that he or she acted in self-defense.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-stand-your-ground-changes-bad-for-law-enforcement/2315131

March 4, 2017

This Letter Trumps Grandfather Wrote Begging Not To Be Deported

http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/03/03/read-letter-trumps-grandfather-wrote-begging-not-deported/

Translated from the original German by Harper’s Bazaar, it is a moving and heartfelt letter that perfectly describes the struggle of an immigrant and the terror that deportation instills in people.

Most Serene, Most Powerful Prince Regent! Most Gracious Regent and Lord!

I was born in Kallstadt on March 14, 1869. My parents were honest, plain, pious vineyard workers. They strictly held me to everything good — to diligence and piety, to regular attendance in school and church, to absolute obedience toward the high authority.

After my confirmation, in 1882, I apprenticed to become a barber. I emigrated in 1885, in my sixteenth year. In America I carried on my business with diligence, discretion, and prudence. God’s blessing was with me, and I became rich. I obtained American citizenship in 1892. In 1902 I met my current wife. Sadly, she could not tolerate the climate in New York, and I went with my dear family back to Kallstadt.

The town was glad to have received a capable and productive citizen. My old mother was happy to see her son, her dear daughter-in-law, and her granddaughter around her; she knows now that I will take care of her in her old age.

But we were confronted all at once, as if by a lightning strike from fair skies, with the news that the High Royal State Ministry had decided that we must leave our residence in the Kingdom of Bavaria. We were paralyzed with fright; our happy family life was tarnished. My wife has been overcome by anxiety, and my lovely child has become sick.

Why should we be deported? This is very, very hard for a family. What will our fellow citizens think if honest subjects are faced with such a decree — not to mention the great material losses it would incur. I would like to become a Bavarian citizen again.

In this urgent situation I have no other recourse than to turn to our adored, noble, wise, and just sovereign lord, our exalted ruler His Royal Highness, highest of all, who has already dried so many tears, who has ruled so beneficially and justly and wisely and softly and is warmly and deeply loved, with the most humble request that the highest of all will himself in mercy deign to allow the applicant to stay in the most gracious Kingdom of Bavaria.

Your most humble and obedient,

Friedrich Trump

Friedrich Trump’s request was denied, and he was repatriated to the United States, where he ran brothels and bars during the Yukon Gold Rush.

March 4, 2017

You Are More Likely To Be Shot In A Republican State

Solid ‘Blue’ Hawaii is the state where you’re least likely to be the victim of gun violence. However, states run by Republicans can’t make the same claim.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you are much more likely to be shot if your state is run by Republicans.



Topping off the list is Alaska, where for every 100,000 people, 23.4 of them were shot to death. Louisiana comes in second with 20.4.

Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming are tied for third with 19.6. Following close behind is mostly red Montana with 19.2, which has a Democratic governor, but Republican-controlled state legislature. Solid red New Mexico comes in at 18.6; Missouri and Oklahoma score 18.1 and 18.0 respectively, per 100,000 residents.

South Carolina; 17.3, Arkansas: 16.9, Tennessee: 16.0, and Kentucky: 15.2, round out the top of the list.

http://samuel-warde.com/2017/02/data-shows-likely-shot-republican-state/

March 3, 2017

Trump suspends Obama airline transparency review

The Trump administration said on Friday it is suspending action on an Obama administration decision in October to probe a long-time practice by some airlines of preventing various travel websites from showing their fares and whether to require transparency in airline baggage and other fees.

The U.S. Transportation Department said in a notice Friday it is suspending a public comment period on the review of the practices to "allow the president's appointees the opportunity to review and consider this action."

Airlines generated $3.8 billion in baggage fees in 2015 and the Obama administration said in October it was formally exploring requiring airlines and ticket agents to provide consumers with prices that include service fees for baggage and other services alongside fares at points of sale.

Separately, the Trump administration is also extending the compliance date for a new regulation requiring reporting of data for mishandled baggage and wheelchairs in aircraft cargo compartments for one year - until Jan. 1, 2019.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/03/us-suspends-obama-airline-transparency-review.html

March 3, 2017

Rick Perry Is Officially in Charge of America's Nuclear Weapons Stockpile

Ben Carson Is Now Officially in Charge of Housing Policy



I never knew what a nightmare was like until now

March 3, 2017

White House: Keystone exempt from 'Buy American' requirements

The Keystone XL Pipeline will not be subject to President Donald Trump's executive order requiring infrastructure projects to be built with American steel, a White House spokeswoman said today.

Trump signed the order calling for the Commerce Department to develop a plan for U.S. steel to be used in “all new pipelines, as well as retrofitted, repaired or expanded pipelines” inside the U.S. projects “to the maximum extent possible.”

By the White House’s judgment, that description would not include Keystone XL, which developer TransCanada first proposed in 2008.

“The Keystone XL Pipeline is currently in the process of being constructed, so it does not count as a new, retrofitted, repaired or expanded pipeline,” the White House spokeswoman said.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/keystone-pipeline-buy-american-exemption-235639?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange

March 2, 2017

OMG, Rick 'Batboy' Scott names Carlos Beruff to chair the powerful Constitution Revision Commission

Gov. Rick Scott has named Sarasota businessman Carlos Beruff to be the chairman of the powerful Constitution Revision Commission, the 37-member commission that will be dominated by Scott appointees which has the power to put proposals directly onto the 2018 ballot.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/scott-names-carlos-beruff-to-chair-the-powerful-constitution-revision/2314973

March 2, 2017

Barack Obama named recipient of JFK Profile in Courage Award

BOSTON — Former President Barack Obama has been named the 2017 winner of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/barack-obama-named-recipient-of-jfk-profile-in-courage-award/2315082

March 2, 2017

Life Inside Alabama's Most Sadistic Christian Bootcamp

Solid Rock Ministries in Mobile, Alabama. Three officials from the church’s program for troubled teens were convicted in January 2017 of aggravated child abuse.

It was October 2011, and Captain Charles Kennedy, a veteran policeman, was in the main office at the Restoration Youth Academy (RYA), a Christian home for troubled teens in Prichard, Alabama, when he caught a glimpse of something shocking on a close-circuit monitor: a naked boy crouching in a 6-by-8-foot isolation room as a light bulb burned overhead.

Kennedy had been waiting for William Knott, the program’s manager, to return with some paperwork, and when he walked back into the office, Kennedy asked about the boy, whose name he later learned was Robert. He wanted to know what the boy had done to deserve such treatment. Knott, a squat, powerfully built ex-sailor, calmly explained his rationale: “He’s got an attitude. He’s only been there for a day, and he’ll be there for another day or two.”

http://www.newsweek.com/2017/03/10/saving-youth-foundation-alabama-christian-school-beatings-nudity-562257.html