RandySF
RandySF's JournalBiden heads to Florida to hit Trump on abortion rights
President Joe Biden is traveling to Florida on Tuesday to deliver remarks highlighting efforts by Democrats to safeguard abortion access and casting former President Donald Trump as a threat to reproductive rights.
The trip to Tampa is intended to "forcefully advocate for reproductive freedom and call out Donald Trump’s abortion bans, as he’s been doing since Roe was overturned,” Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler told reporters in a call previewing the president's travel plans.
The Biden campaign has been emphasizing what it sees as a potential path to victory in a red state it considers "winnable," despite Trump's victories there in 2016 and 2020.
“The idea that Donald Trump has the state in the bag could not be further from the truth,” Tyler said. “He owns not only the state of abortion rights across the country, but he owns the restriction that we’re seeing play out in Florida.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-heads-florida-hit-trump-abortion-rights-rcna148888?taid=6627848c8c42f20001faa517&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
'Burn Tel Aviv to the ground:' Calls for violence continue at Columbia
Calls for violence and terrorism at the Columbia University encampment protests continued to surface on Sunday in footage published by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists.
“[Izz ad-Din] Al-Qassam [Brigades], make us proud, take another soldier out,” anti-Israel demonstrators chanted on Friday night in a video published on social media by pro-Palestinian activist ThizzL. “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground. Go Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets too.”
On Wednesday, in another video published by ThizzL, activists called for Hamas's military wing to "kill another soldier now."
During a speech live streamed by the Palestine Solidarity Working Group on Saturday night, a protest leader said in a speech, "Let it be known that it was the Al-Aqsa Flood that put the global intifada back on the table again. And it is the sacrificial spirit of the Palestinian freedom fighters that will guide every struggle on every corner of the earth to victory."
"Remember that militancy breeds Resistance," said the speaker. "Thousands upon thousands of students around the world have been moved to rebel because of your militancy."
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-798160
https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/1782509569593241628
NV: Establishment-backed candidates have financial lead in key legislative primaries
With less than two months to go before Nevada’s June 11 primary, establishment-backed candidates in key legislative races generally have the financial edge over their opponents heading into the final pre-election stretch.
In nine legislative races tracked by The Nevada Independent, all but one of the candidates backed by either Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) or their party’s caucus in their respective chamber held a significant lead in money raised from January through March, according to an analysis of first quarter campaign finance reports released last week.
Though 10 state Senate races and 42 Assembly races are on the ballot in 2024, The Nevada Independent identified nine potentially competitive or notable races where either the winner is effectively guaranteed to prevail in November because of a lopsided party registration breakdown in the district, or because the winner will take part in a closely watched general election that could determine whether Lombardo keeps his veto power.
Democrats control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one short of a two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto) and 27 seats in the 42-member Assembly.
https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/establishment-backed-candidates-have-financial-lead-in-key-legislative-primaries
More pandas are coming to the US. This time to San Francisco, the first time since 1985
Just a few weeks after the San Diego Zoo announced that they were bringing back pandas to the United States, the San Francisco Zoo said that they're bringing the cuddly bears to northern California.
"We’re thrilled for the return of the Giant Panda to San Francisco Zoo & Gardens after all these years," Tanya Peterson, the zoo's executive director said in a statement. "The Giant Panda symbolizes hope for conservation collaboration and bridges divides between cultural differences." We thank Mayor London Breed, city leaders, and colleagues in China for returning these amazing ambassadors to beautiful San Francisco!"
The pandas are being brought to San Francisco as part of China's Panda Diplomacy program, Mayor London Breed's office said in a news release.
Breed said that the city was thrilled to be welcoming the giant pandas that efforts to bring them to the zoo had been ongoing for nearly a year, prior to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in San Francisco last November, during which U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Chinese President Xi Jinping met.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/22/san-francisco-giant-pandas-china/73413199007/
New York Voters to Weigh In On Equal Protection Amendment This Fall
As November approaches, voters’ attention will undoubtedly be fixed on the showdown between President Joe Bidenand former President Donald Trump. But when New Yorkers head to the polls this fall, they’ll also have an opportunity to weigh in on the Equal Protection of Law Amendment.
Passed in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the amendment, co-sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, would expand the class of people protected against discrimination in the Equal Protection Clause of the New York Constitution.
The measure passed in both state chambers in two consecutive legislative sessions—as required for a state constitutional amendment—and now heads to New York voters for ratification.
If it passes, new language will be added stipulating that people cannot be denied rights based on their “ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability” or “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
https://citylimits.org/2024/04/16/back-of-the-ballot-new-york-voters-to-weigh-in-on-equal-protection-amendment-this-fall/
Battle for high-profile attorney general's post headlines Pennsylvania primaries
Five Democrats and two Republicans are running for attorney general ahead of what promises to be a competitive general election for this powerful, high-profile post.
The office was last won by Josh Shapiro, who gained a great deal of attention for his many legal battles with Donald Trump, including his efforts to protect the results of Pennsylvania's election results in 2020 from Trump's barrage of baseless lawsuits.
Shapiro rode those successes to the governor's mansion in 2022, winning in a landslide. After his victory, the new chief executive tapped fellow Democrat Michelle Henry to succeed him as attorney general, though she opted against running for a full term. But aware of the office's great power and its ability to serve as a stepping stone, a large field emerged eager to follow in Shapiro's footsteps.
On the Democratic side, former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is the only candidate who has held statewide office and the only one who hails from outside the Philadelphia area. DePasquale served in the state House in York County in the south-central part of the state before winning a 2012 election for auditor. After term limits prevented him from running again, he challenged GOP Rep. Scott Perry in 2020, losing an expensive race for the 10th District by a 53-47 margin.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/22/2236697/-Battle-for-high-profile-attorney-general-s-post-headlines-Pennsylvania-primaries
Group launches campaign to oust 2 Arizona justices over abortion ruling
PHOENIX — A political action group is launching a campaign to deny new terms to two of the state Supreme Court justices who voted to allow the 1864 law on abortion to once again be enforced in Arizona.
The organization, called Progress Arizona, is also gearing up to kill a Republican legislator’s proposal to strip voters of the right to decide whether to retain judges in office or oust them.
Supreme Court Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King, both appointees of former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, are on the statewide November ballot for retention. Neither would comment on the campaign against them.
If voters remove them, a rare outcome, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs would name their replacements.
https://tucson.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/arizona-election-2024-abortion-ruling-court-justices-new-terms-voters/article_3b8e4388-00ce-11ef-be03-9be75fe70808.html
AZ: Mohave County Supervisor asks judge to grant him immunity to scrap ballot machines
PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes wants a judge to toss a bid by Mohave County Supervisor seeking a court order granting him immunity if he votes to scrap machine counting of ballots.
In court filings, Emma Mark, one of the lawyers in Mayes' office, told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brad Astrowsky that what Ron Gould really wants is a judicial declaration that he can vote to require that ballots be counted by hand. As part of that, the supervisor claims he needs an order blocking Mayes from subjecting him to "threats and intimidation" for pushing for hand counts of elections.
Gould voted last year to require a hand count of the 2024 election. But he was on the losing end of a 3-2 vote by the board to scrap the idea after members got a letter from Mayes.
"We hope you will choose not to violate the law and thus that it will not be necessary to consider whether criminal prosecution is warranted for conducting an illegal hand count," the attorney general wrote at the time.
https://www.wmicentral.com/news/mohave-county-supervisors-asks-judge-to-grant-him-immunity-to-scrap-ballot-machines/article_dd83b38b-c3da-574f-a308-cf9a89f6e0c6.html
Ranked choice voting could be on the ballot for DC come November
Washington, D.C. voters will get the opportunity in November to choose whether or not they want to implement a ranked choice voting initiative.
The ballot measure, also known as Initiative 83, was proposed by an organization called Make All Votes Count and spearheaded by Lisa D.T. Rice, an advisory neighborhood commissioner from Ward 7.
The initiative seeks to allow independent voters to participate in party primaries and gives voters the ability to choose a preferred candidate first, and if they don’t win, voters can choose their next favorite until one candidate can secure more than half of the votes.
“We deserve a better system,” Rice told the Eagle. “Our current system consistently benefits entrenched politicians with deep pockets; very much not serving the younger demographic.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ranked-choice-voting-could-be-on-the-ballot-for-dc-come-november/ar-BB1l563L
Philly DA Krasner withdraws arrest warrant for embattled state Rep. Kevin Boyle (D)
An arrest warrant for Pennsylvania state Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia) has been withdrawn after previously unavailable information was obtained by authorities, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said Monday.
Police said last week that Boyle faced arrest for a charge that he had violated a protection from abuse order obtained by his ex-wife.
The announcement late Monday afternoon came about 15 hours before polls open in the primary election where Boyle is on the ballot for the Democratic nomination to run for reelection in his northeast Philadelphia district.
It also follows a partisan dispute in the House last week in which Republican leaders objected to Boyle’s vote being cast in his absence by the Democratic whip while he faces arrest.
https://penncapital-star.com/campaigns-elections/philly-da-krasner-withdraws-arrest-warrant-for-embattled-state-rep-kevin-boyle/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 58,661