RandySF
RandySF's JournalBoehner’s office cuts off C-SPAN cameras as GOP takes verbal beating
A strange thing happened Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill.
As Rep. Stenny Hoyer (D-MD) attempted to call for a vote to extend a payroll tax cut to middle class and working Americans, his Republican colleagues adjourned the House and walked out of the chamber. And if that weren’t odd enough, it got even stranger: As Hoyer railed against them for failing to help working Americans, footage from C-SPAN went silent, then cut away.
Moments later, C-SPAN took to the Internet to explain that it wasn’t their doing, but someone working for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
The incident occurred mere moments after the House went into session. Hoyer made a motion for a vote on the Senate’s payroll tax cut extension, which would extend the lower rates for another two months, but the Republican presiding over the House did not acknowledge the motion. He instead adjourned the House, then got up and walked out.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/21/boehners-office-cuts-off-c-span-cameras-as-gop-takes-beating/
Two Women Share First Kiss After U.S. Navy Ship's Return
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when two women sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the pier after one of them returned from 80 days at sea.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, Calif., descended from the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship and shared a quick kiss in the rain with her partner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles. Gaeta, 23, wore her Navy dress uniform while Snell, 22, wore a black leather jacket, scarf and blue jeans. The crowd screamed and waved flags around them.
"It's something new, that's for sure," Gaeta told reporters after the kiss.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NAVY_GAY_KISS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Florida GOPer Vern Buchanan Said FEC ‘Exonerated’ Him — It Didn’t
The Federal Election Commission thinks Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) either lied to them or has a terrible memory problem.
An FEC report obtained by TPM about allegations that Buchanan had his former car company reimburse employees for donations to his political campaign finds that there wasn’t enough evidence to show that Buchanan broke the law. Buchanan’s team had previously claimed that he was “completely exonerated” by the commission, citing letters from the FEC.
Not quite. The FEC’s general counsel report finds that Buchanan’s “lack of recall” about an affidavit his lawyers asked his former business partner to sign “does not seem credible.”
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/florida_goper_vern_buchanan_said_fec_exonerated_him_--_it_didnt.php?ref=fpblg
Latino Vet Injured In Arpaio’s Jail Dies
After being kept alive for days following a fight with officers in one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jails, a Latino military veteran died late Tuesday when he was taken off life support by doctors at a Phoenix hospital, his family’s attorney tells TPM.
Ernest “Marty” Atencio was 44. He was injured early Friday morning, just hours after the Justice Department accused the Arizona sheriff of running an agency that regularly violates the rights of Latinos.
“His entire family was by his bedside when he passed,” the family’s attorney, Mike Manning, said. His parents, two brothers and three sons were there to make the decision.
Atencio had been taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in critical condition with injuries from the fight. Doctors later determined he had been shocked at least four times with a Taser, according to Manning.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/latino_military_veteran_injured_in_arpaios_jail_taken_off_life_support.php?ref=fpb
Does anyone plan to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?
I never read the book, but the movie looks interesting.
SF Mayor Lee calls Candlestick outages 'national embarrassment'
NOTE: I considered posting this under California, but decided on General Discussion because it was witnesses by a national audience.
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called the power outages that left fans and players in the dark at Monday night's 49ers game at Candlestick Park a "national embarrassment" at a news conference Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters after an unrelated news conference that morning, Lee said he would "make sure that we've covered every base so this doesn't happen again."
Lee, who was at Monday night's game, said he spoke with PG&E CEO Anthony Earley Tuesday morning and was told that the first outage was caused by a splice failure on an overhead line near the stadium, and that the cause of the second outage was under investigation.
The first outage began at 5:19 p.m., shortly before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was scheduled to begin. Service was restored 20 minutes later and the game got under way, but the lights went out again at about 6:45 p.m. during the second quarter.
Candlestick Park was the only facility in the area to be affected by the outage. No homes lost power.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/sf-mayor-lee-calls-candlestick-outages-national-em/nF6hh/
School Officials Apologize Over Racist Comic in Newsletter
A Pleasant Hill school secretary reminded us today why it is so very important to proofread before hitting send. The substitute secretary accidentally sent out this racist cartoon below (credit goes to claycord.com) along with the school newsletter, somehow mistaking the offensive image for a harmless comic.
Of course, it hasn't gone over well in Contra Costa County.
​ According to the Contra Costa Times, the Sequoia Middle School newsletter was sent out last week showing Franklin, the African American Peanuts character, with a noose around his neck. Below the image, it reads "white pride."
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/12/racist_comic_contra_costa_county.php
Tea-baggers scare "job creators" away from the community.
In a letter to the Troy Chamber of Commerce, Magna International government affairs manager Frank Ervin says the company is unlikely to locate future facilities in Troy, and may scale-back its current operations in the Oakland County community because of Troy's decision to scrap plans for a new transit center.
Based on Ervin's letter, it appears the decision was as much about the tone and behavior of Troy officials like Mayor Janice Daniels, as it was about the substance of the transit center decision.
Dec. 20, Ervin letter via WDIV: After watching the disappointing behavior of City Council and being exposed to some of the individual actions such as those of the Mayor and Councilman Fleming this morning I am drafting a memo to all Magna group presidents and our Magna corporate executives strongly recommending that Magna International no longer consider the City of Troy for future site considerations, expansions or new job creation. I have also recommended that where ever and when ever possible we reduce our footprint and employment level in Troy in favor or communities who act in the best interest of both the residents and business and not simply use their public position to advance their own private agenda.
The auto supplier currently maintains its United States headquarters in Troy. According to their website, Magna operates “275 manufacturing operations and 85 product development, engineering and sales centres in 26 countries.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/12/following_troy_transit_center.html
SF: Mayor’s homeless fund sat untouched for years as homelessness worsened
Homeless advocates and city officials rarely agree on anything, but there was universal joy last week when Mayor Ed Lee said the city would match a private donation of $1.5 million to house up to 200 homeless families in time for Christmas.
Along with the smiles, though, was plenty of head-scratching.
Why did hardly anybody know about the Mayor’s Fund for the Homeless? Why was $824,000 – including a $500,000 donation from the Dave Matthews Band after it played a charity concert here in 2004 – sitting unused for years, including as the recession struck and the number of homeless families on the waiting list for shelter soared?
http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2011/12/18/mayors-homeless-fund-sat-untouched-for-years-as-homelessness-worsened/?tsp=1
Israeli woman refuses ultra-Orthodox dictate to move to back of bus
A woman passenger on a public bus from Ashdod to Jerusalem Friday was told by an ultra-Orthodox male passenger to move to the back of the bus. The man held the door of the bus open and would not allow it to move for approximately 30 minutes.
When other passengers began to complain about the delay, the driver called the police. The policeman who arrived on the scene spoke with the man and then also asked the woman, Tanya Rosenblit, to move to the back of the bus. When she refused, the man who had been holding the door alighted and the bus continued on its way.
Rosenblit, who said she was dressed modestly, was traveling on Egged bus 451 to get to work in Jerusalem. She said a Haredi man, who boarded two stops after she did, refused to allow the driver to close the door after he saw Rosenblit. Rosenblit said the man called her a derogatory word for a non-Jewish woman, and told the driver it was his right to have her sit in the back and that he had paid to be able to do so.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-woman-refuses-ultra-orthodox-dictate-to-move-to-back-of-bus-1.402021
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Current location: San Francisco, CA
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