Hissyspit
Hissyspit's JournalMemo to GOP: Don’t Pretend You Care
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/17/memo-to-gop-don-t-pretend-you-care.htmlMemo to GOP: Don’t Pretend You Care
by Kirsten PowersMay 17, 2013 4:45 am EDT
Republicans blasting Obama over the AP snooping scandal seem to have selective-memory disorder. They’ve been trying to nail journalists and leakers for years, writes Kirsten Powers.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus demanded Eric Holder's resignation Tuesday, saying the attorney general had "trampled on the First Amendment." This is rich. But there is more.
- snip -
A sense of shame does not seem to be a factor here. In what has become as predictable as the sunrise, Holder was up on the Hill this week, being lectured by Republican members of Congress who have wanted him fired since the day he was sworn in. GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin grilled Holder over the AP debacle, saying he wanted to "pin down" who authorized the subpoenas that yielded the AP records. When Holder explained he was recused from discussing the matter for legal reasons, Sensenbrenner nonsensically suggested that Holder go to the Truman Museum and "take a picture of the thing on his desk that said 'the buck stops here.'"
Sadly, no recent occupant of the White House has been more aggressive in persecuting whistleblowers than President Transparency. Nonetheless, prior to their newfound concern for a free press, the GOP was just last year attacking President Obama for an imagined lack of zeal in pursuing leaks. John McCain even wanted a special counsel outside the Justice Department appointed to investigate national-security leaks about Obama’s “kill list,” a story about which ended up in The New York Times. The “kill list” strangely wasn’t the problem for the GOP. The leaks were.
At a 2012 hearing in which the GOP tried to ascertain whether it could prosecute reporters, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) suggested that the U.S. attorneys subpoena journalists and demand they reveal sources that provided classified information. Gowdy said: "Put (reporters) in front of the grand jury. You either answer the question or you're going to be held in contempt and go to jail, which is what I thought all reporters aspire to do anyway. I thought that was the crown jewel of the reporter's résumé to actually go to jail protecting a source." When your baseline belief is that reporters like to go to jail, let’s just dispense with the fiction that you care about a free media.
When The Washington Post’s Dana Priest revealed in 2005 that the Bush administration had secret prisons, conservatives went nuts. Then-speaker J. Dennis Hastert and then–Senate majority leader Bill Frist sent the chairmen of the intelligence committees a request to launch a joint investigation to find the whistleblowers. It was the leaks, not the existence of secret prisons and “black sites,” that so offended their delicate sensibilities.
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Illinois Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Use; Gov. Expected to Sign into Law
Source: Chicago Tribune
@Reuters: RT @ReutersUS: Illinois senate approves medical marijuana use; governor expected to sign into law #breaking
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill
By Monique Garcia
Clout Street
1:12 p.m. CDT, May 17, 2013
SPRINGFIELD --- The Senate today approved legislation that would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with serious illnesses, sending the measure to Gov. Pat Quinn.
The issue pitted supporters arguing for compassion for those suffering from pain they say only cannabis can ease against opponents who contend the legislation would undermine public safety.
Sponsoring Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, argued the measure is one of the toughest in the nation. Haine said his bill does not reflect other states that have “sloppily” instituted medical marijuana laws.
“This bill is filled with walls to keep this limited,” said Haine, a former Madison County state’s attorney.
Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-illinois-senate-votes-medical-marijuana-20130517,0,5344892.story
French Gay Marriage Law Gets Constitutional All-Clear
Source: Reuters / France 24
@Reuters: RT @mathieuvonrohr: Breaking: French constitutional council validates gay marriage.
French gay marriage law gets constitutional all-clear
Fri May 17, 2013 11:27am EDT
PARIS (Reuters) - France's Constitutional Council cleared the way on Friday for same-sex marriage, throwing out a last-ditch effort by opponents to scupper the country's biggest social reform since abolition of the death penalty.
After months of sometimes violent street demonstrations, the Council gave the go-ahead to a law that will make France the 14th country to legalize gay weddings, in line with an election promise by Socialist President Francois Hollande.
Hollande has promised to rapidly sign a bill that lawmakers adopted in late April, raising the prospect that the first gay weddings in France could take place within weeks.
"The law allowing same-sex marriage conforms with the constitution," the council said in a statement.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE94G0JH20130517
Famed 'Hatchet Hitchhiker' Arrested in NJ Homicide
Source: Associated Press
FAMED 'HATCHET HITCHHIKER' ARRESTED IN NJ HOMICIDE
By KATIE ZEZIMA
— May. 16 8:34 PM EDT
ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) — A homeless, hatchet-wielding hitchhiker who became an Internet hero earlier this year was arrested Thursday for allegedly beating a New Jersey lawyer to death inside his home.
Caleb "Kai" McGillvary, whose star turn as "Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker" came after he intervened in an attack on a California utility worker, was arrested at a Philadelphia bus station, Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said.
"I believe that everyone is a little safer with this person off the streets," the prosecutor said. Philadelphia police could not immediately be reached for comment.
McGillvary was charged with killing Joseph Galfy, Jr., a Clark, N.J. attorney found dead Monday. Romankow said he will be processed and sent to back to New Jersey, where his bail is set at $3 million.
Galfy's body was found two days after authorities said he met McGillvary in New York City. Galfy, 73, was found wearing only his underwear and socks by police who went to his home to check on his well-being.
Statements posted on McGillvary's Facebook page following the homicide indicated the encounter was sexual in nature, Romankow said, though he declined to go into specific detail.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/famed-hatchet-hitchhiker-wanted-nj-homicide
Kabul Car Bomb KIlls 2 NATO Troops, 4 Contractors
Source: Associated Press
KABUL CAR BOMB KILLS 2 NATO TROOPS, 4 CONTRACTORS
By AMIR SHAH and KATHY GANNON
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber rammed his car into a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital on Thursday, killing at least 12 people, including two coalition troops, four civilian contractors and two children, officials said.
- snip -
NATO did not immediately release the nationalities of the killed troops and contractors. Six Afghan civilians, including children, were also killed in the explosion, Kabul provincial police spokesman Hashmad Stanakzi said.
Hizb-e-Islami said its newly formed special "martyrdom" unit had been stalking the convoy for weeks. The announcement could mean a steep escalation for the movement, based in northeastern Afghanistan, which has fought against the American-led coalition but is also a fierce rival of the Taliban.
Severed body parts littered the scene of the blast in eastern Kabul, and one coalition vehicle was reduced to a mangled pile of metal. The explosion, which wounded more than 35 others people, was powerful enough to rattle buildings on the other side of the city.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/explosion-afghan-capital-shakes-buildings
BREAKING: Acting IRS Commissioner Steps Down, Obama Announces
Source: CBS News
@CBSNews: BREAKING: President Obama says Secretary Lew has requested/accepted resignation of acting IRS commissioner http://t.co/XgrXBdswcX
Acting IRS commissioner steps down, Obama announces
May 15, 2013
President Obama on Wednesday announced that acting IRS commissioner Steve Miller is stepping down amid investigations into political discrimination carried out by the IRS against conservative groups.
Miller, a career bureaucrat at the IRS, was tapped to serve as acting commissioner after commissioner Doug Shulman, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, stepped down in November.
CBS News has confirmed that Miller was informed of the IRS's targeting policy in May 2012. On July 25, 2012, Miller testified before a House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, but he did not mention the agency's heightened scrutiny for the applications of conservative groups. After learning of the controversial IRS practice, he also wrote at least two letters to Congress explaining the process for reviewing tax-exempt status applications; in neither of those letters did he mention the targeting.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57584707/acting-irs-commissioner-steps-down-obama-announces
BREAKING: White House Releases 100 Pages of Emails and Notes on Benghazi Attacks
Source: Associated Press
@AP: BREAKING: White House releases 100 pages of emails and notes on Benghazi attacks.
http://reuters.tumblr.com/post/50520232277/white-house-releases-over-100-pages-of-emails-about
By Jake Tapper, CNN Chief Washington Correspondent
The White House released more than 100 pages of e-mails on Wednesday in a bid to quell critics who say President Barack Obama and his aides played politics with national security following the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.
The exchanges detailing discussions between top Obama administration officials from multiple agencies suggest the CIA took the lead in developing talking points to describe the attack last September 11 that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
Those talking points, which were requested by members of the House Intelligence Committee, were originally drafted by the CIA. The lawmakers had requested unclassified information they could use in media interviews. Following the original drafting of talking points, CIA analysts made a handful of significant changes, according to administration sources.
In the CIA’s original set of talking points, the first bullet point included a reference that the Benghazi attack was “spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. consulate and subsequently its annex.”
Read more: http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/15/white-house-releases-100-pages-of-benghazi-e-mails
U.N. General Assembly adopts resolution condemning Syrian president Assad's forces
Source: Reuters / Al Jazeera
@Reuters: U.N. General Assembly adopts resolution condemning Syrian president Assad's forces in civil war, supporting opposition coalition #breaking
@BloombergNews: RT @flaviajackson: #UN resolution on #Syria passes 107-12 with 59 abstensions. Compares to 133 or 2/3 majority in similar vote last August..
UN condemns Syrian government for violence
Last updated: 42 minutes ago
General Assembly approves Qatari-drafted move condemning alleged rights abuses by government amid continued violence.
The UN General Assembly has voted to pass a resolution condemning the Syrian government for human rights violations and call for a transitional government.
The measure was approved by a vote of 107 to 12, with 59 member states abstaining. That was a tighter margin than in August of last year, when 133 states voted to approve a similar resolution. Russia fiercely opposed the resolution as a potential obstacle to peace talks.
The resolution strongly condemns the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on two points: the escalation of heavy weapons on civilian areas, and what Qatar, which drafted the statement, calls systematic violations of human rights.
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/story/2013515153154534102
Breaking: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Signs Bill Legalizing Gay Marriage; 12th State to Do So
Source: Associated Press
@BreakingNews: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signs bill legalizing gay marriage; 12th state to do so - @AP
MINNESOTA GOV. DAYTON SIGNS GAY MARRIAGE BILL
By PATRICK CONDON
— May. 14 6:16 PM EDT
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has signed a bill that legalizes gay marriage, making the state the 12th to do so.
Cheering spectators filled the south lawn of the state Capitol for the outdoor ceremony, with rainbow and American flags fluttering in a sweltering breeze.
Dayton thanked legislators for political courage before signing the bill.
His signature came just a day after the state Senate approved it.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/minn-gay-marriage-sponsors-its-personal
Gunmen Open Fire on Liquor Stores in Iraq, 11 Dead
Source: Associated Press
GUNMEN OPEN FIRE ON LIQUOR STORES IN IRAQ, 11 DEAD
By SAMEER N. YACOUB
— May. 14 2:57 PM EDT
HEROR, Iraq (AP) — A convoy of gunmen opened fire on a row of liquor stores in eastern Baghdad immediately after sunset on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding five others, officials said.
Police said the gunmen were in four cars that had stopped in the area and attacked shortly after sunset. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media.
The attack in the Zayouna neighborhood came as the stores were at their peak business time, when commuters buy alcohol on the way home from work. Police say the four liquor stores hit had been rebuilt after bombers destroyed them in a previous attack last year.
Nobody claimed responsibility, although Islamic extremists have frequently targeted liquor stores in Iraq, where alcohol is available in most cities.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1st-kurdish-fighters-enter-iraq-turkey
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