January 12, 2015

Warren Wins: Obama Treasury Pick Bows Out Of Nomination Process

Source: TPM

By DANIEL STRAUSS Published JANUARY 12, 2015, 5:22 PM EST

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has won her push to stop banker Antonio Weiss from becoming the under secretary for domestic policy at the Treasury Department.

Weiss asked President Barack Obama not to resend his nomination for the job, Politico reported on Monday and the White House confirmed to TPM.

Weiss, a Democrat and banker at Lazard, had been in the crosshairs of Warren over the last few weeks as she railed against the unnecessary influence of Wall Street in the halls of Congress.

Warren had maintained that Weiss's background as a banker who was involved in a merger between Tim Horton's and Burger King disqualified him from the Treasury post.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/antonio-weiss-elizabeth-warren-renomination

January 12, 2015

Santorum Calls Possible GOP Rivals ‘Bomb Throwers’

Rick Santorum dismissed possible 2016 primary competitors Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as “bomb throwers” with few achievements, the New York Times reports.

Said Santorum: “Do we really want someone with this little experience? And the only experience they have basically — not Rubio, but Cruz and Paul because I don’t think Rubio is going to go — is bomb throwing? Do we really want somebody who’s a bomb thrower, with no track record of any accomplishments?”

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http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/12/santorum-calls-possible-gop-rivals-bomb-throwers/

January 12, 2015

How Will History Judge Barack Obama?

Jonathan Chait: “He has amassed a record of policy accomplishment far deeper than even many of his supporters give him credit for. He has also survived a dismal, and frequently terrifying, 72 months when at every moment, to go by the day-to-day media, a crisis has threatened to rock his presidency to its core. The episodes have been all-consuming: the BP oil spill, swine flu, the Christmas underwear bomber, the IRS scandal, the healthcare.org launch, the border crisis, Benghazi. Depending on how you count, upwards of 19 events have been described as ‘Obama’s Katrina.'”

“Obama’s response to these crises—or, you could say, his method of leadership—has been surprisingly consistent. He has a legendarily, almost fanatically placid temperament. He has now spent eight years, counting from the start of his first presidential campaign, keeping his head while others were losing theirs, and avoiding rhetorical overreach at the risk of underreach.”

New York Magazine: 53 historians weigh in on Obama’s legacy

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http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/12/how-will-history-judge-obama/

January 12, 2015

Rick Scott for President?

January 12, 2015 By Taegan Goddard

Insiders say Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) wants to become president, the Miami Herald reports.

“It’s anyone’s guess how a politician with such low favorability ratings who has never captured 50 percent of the vote in Florida can win nationwide (or in Florida in a presidential election year, when the electorate is more liberal-leaning).”

“There’s a small possibility he could run in 2018 for U.S. Senate against Nelson. Independently wealthy and a great fundraiser, Scott would be a force to be reckoned with in a federal race, where there are strict limits on raising outside campaign money.”

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http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/12/rick-scott-for-president/

More at link ato Miami Herald, above, in the article

January 11, 2015

For Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, a history of ambition fuels a possible 2016 collision

By Philip Rucker and Robert Costa January 10 at 7:34 PM

Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney have much in common. Both were pragmatic as governors, mild-mannered as candidates and more comfortable balancing budgets at their desks than clinking glasses at a political dinner.

The two Republican leaders’ personal rapport is cordial. But they are hardly chummy — and at moments their relationship has been strained, with each man’s intertwined political network carrying some grievances with the other’s.

As Bush, 61, and Romney, 67, explore presidential campaigns in 2016, they are like boxers warming up for what could become a brutal bout, sizing each other up and mulling whether or when to step into the ring.

Their early maneuvering reveals a level of competitiveness and snippiness that stems from a long history following similar career paths in business and politics prescribed by their dynastic families.

“We’re seeing the first shots of the war between clan Romney and clan Bush,” said Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist who has worked for both men. “Both bring to the battle incredibly powerful fan clubs as well as wounds they have to heal. How ugly could it get? You’re only competing to lead the free world.”

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-jeb-bush-and-mitt-romney-a-history-of-ambition-fuels-a-possible-2016-collision/2015/01/10/255bfbaa-98f0-11e4-927a-4fa2638cd1b0_story.html?hpid=z1

January 10, 2015

Muslim Grocery Clerk Saved Hostages

24-year-old Muslim grocery clerk, Lassana Bathily, who works at the kosher grocery store in Paris that came under siege by a terrorist on Friday, managed to save 15 hostages by hiding them in the store’s basement freezer. After a gunman opened fire inside the store, the Mali native ran along with 15 customers down to the store basement. “When they ran down, I opened the door [to the freezer],” he told France’s BFMTV. He then shut off the freezer and turned out the light, leaving the customers hiding safely inside as he told them, “Stay calm here. I’m going out.” Once police killed the gunman and hostages were freed, some thanked Bathily. “They congratulated me,” he said.

Read it at The Standard

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/01/10/muslim-grocery-clerk-saved-hostages.html

January 10, 2015

Prosecutor In Eric Garner Case Running For Congress In New York

By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published JANUARY 10, 2015, 12:24 PM EST

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, the prosecutor in the Eric Garner case, will run for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY).

Grimm announced in December that he would resign from his seat after pleading guilty to tax evasion. Donovan announced last week that he was considering seeking the Republican nomination for the seat, and said that in the last few days he has received a lot of encouragement.

"I made that announcement after a 24 hour period in which my phone never stopped ringing with expressions of enthusiastic support from elected officials, party leaders, and residents of Staten Island and Brooklyn," he said in a statement Friday. "In the week since my last announcement the enthusiasm for my candidacy has only broadened and intensified, with expressions of support also from beyond the two boroughs."

The Staten Island GOP executive committee planned to meet Saturday to officially support Donovan in his bid for the nomination, according to the New York Daily News.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/eric-garner-prosecutor-run-congress

January 10, 2015

Hezbollah Chief: Extremists Harm Islam More Than Cartoons

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS Published JANUARY 9, 2015, 11:34 AM EST

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah group says Islamic extremists have insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad more than those who published satirical cartoons mocking the religion.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah did not directly mention the Paris attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead, but he said Islamic extremists who behead and slaughter people — a reference to the IS group's rampages in Iraq and Syria — have done more harm to Islam than anyone else in history. Nasrallah spoke Friday via video link to supporters gathered in southern Beirut.

Nasrallah's Shiite group is fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad. His remarks are in stark contrast to those of Sunni militants from the IS group and al-Qaida who have called for attacks on Western countries.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/sheikh-hassan-nasrallah-terrorist-attack

January 9, 2015

Dublin Priest Says He Is Gay During Mass -- Receives a standing ovation

A Dublin priest received a standing ovation after coming out as gay during Mass. Father Martin Dolan, a priest at the Church of St Nicholas of Myra for 15 years, called on parishioners to support same-sex marriage in an upcoming referendum in May. “I’m gay myself,” he added, prompting parishioners to stand up and clap for the priest. “We are all very proud of Father Martin,” said youth worker Liz O’Connor. “Because he has admitted that he is gay he doesn’t change the person that he was before it.”

Read it at Belfast Telegraph

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/01/09/dublin-priest-says-he-is-gay-during-mass.html

January 9, 2015

Manchin Mulls Another Bid for West Virginia Governor

January 9, 2015 By Taegan Goddard

Still frustrated by gridlock in Washington, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told the Associated Press that he will decide by this summer whether he will return to West Virginia to run for a possible third term as governor in 2016.

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http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/09/manchin-mulls-another-bid-for-west-virginia-governor/

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The link to the AP article has the details