September 4, 2019

Marianne Williamson deletes tweet saying 'power of the mind' helped turn Dorian

Spiritual guru and self-help author Marianne Williamson on Wednesday posted and then deleted a tweet suggesting that the "power of the mind" helped turn Hurricane Dorian away from delivering a more dangerous blow to the United States.

“The Bahamas, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas...may all be in our prayers now,” the Democratic presidential candidate said in the original tweet, adding, “Millions of us seeing Dorian turn away from land is not a wacky idea; it is a creative use of the power of the mind. Two minutes of prayer, visualization, meditation for those in the way of the storm.”

More: https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/09/04/marianne-williamson-hurricane-dorian-tweet-1480409?__twitter_impression=true

August 27, 2019

Rep. Ilhan Omar at center of Washington political consultant's divorce

Source: MSNBC

The wife of a Washington political consultant filed for divorce on Tuesday and alleged that her husband told her he was having an affair with Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.

Beth Mynett, who works as the medical director of the D.C. Department of Corrections, alleged in court documents that her husband, Tim Mynett, confessed his "devastating and shocking declaration of love" for Omar this past April, which led to the split. Tim Mynett's company, the political consulting firm E Street Group, has worked with Omar's campaign.

Omar's office, when asked for comment, referred NBC News to the E Street Group, which said in part, "E Street Group does not comment on the personal life of either our staff or clients."

Beth Mynett, 55, said in the divorce filing that she was "devastated by the betrayal and deceit that preceded his abrupt declaration," but she told her husband that she "loved him and was willing to fight for the marriage." However, she said he told her that "was not an option for him," according to court documents.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1047011

August 14, 2019

Warren Campaign Faces Unfair Labor Charge by Sanders Supporter

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign is facing an unfair labor practice charge alleging its confidentiality agreement with staffers unlawfully prevents them from speaking out on workplace issues.

The Aug. 13 challenge to the campaign’s non-disparagement clause was filed by Jason Legg, a tenant’s rights attorney in Denver, Colo., who supports Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for the Democratic nomination. The National Labor Relations Board accepts charges even if the filer isn’t an employee of the organization alleged to be violating federal labor laws.

At least three Democratic campaign offices have unionized—starting with Sanders in March—and are working towards collective bargaining contracts for staff, a new development in presidential campaign politics. Warren’s campaign is the second to be hit with an NLRB charge, after an unidentified former Sanders staffer in July accused campaign officials of unlawful retaliation.

The filing against the Warren campaign by a non-employee who supports one of the candidate’s challengers suggests that both unionized and non-union campaign operations could continue to deal with complaints over issues that are fairly novel in the political campaign space, where unpaid volunteers, confidentiality, and long hours are the norm. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign faced claims of labor violations that were dismissed by the NLRB in early 2018.

More: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/warren-campaign-faces-unfair-labor-charge-by-sanders-supporter

August 8, 2019

Yang surpasses Beto in Iowa poll, qualifies for fall debates

Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur running an outsider presidential campaign centered on the promise of a universal basic income, has qualified for the fall Democratic primary debates.

Yang crossed the second of two required debate thresholds on Thursday, when he polled at 2 percent in a Monmouth University poll in Iowa. He had previously received at least 2 percent in three other polls approved by the Democratic National Committee and has hit the required 130,000 unique donor mark.

At the other end of the spectrum, onetime Democratic phenom Beto O'Rourke was outperformed in the poll by Yang, clocking in at under 1 percent.

Yang is the ninth candidate to qualify for a pair of debates: one in mid-September and one sometime in October. He joins Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on stage.

More: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/08/andrew-yang-qualifies-democratic-debates-1453030

August 6, 2019

Harris, Sanders, Booker campaigned at Vegas church led by pastor who calls being gay a sin

LAS VEGAS — Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker attended services this weekend at a Baptist church led by a pastor who’s called being gay a sin — “enough to send you to hell” — and Bernie Sanders held a town hall at the church last month.

It isn’t clear what the three presidential candidates — all staunch supporters of LGBTQ rights — knew about the Rev. Robert E. Fowler Sr.’s position on homosexuality when they campaigned at Las Vegas’ Victory Missionary Baptist Church, but his views are hardly a secret: A 2017 Las Vegas Review-Journal columnabout his perspective on gay rights shows up on the first page of results for a Google search of his name.

Fowler said in a 2013 radio interview that “whether you commit adultery, whether you commit fornication, whether you’re a child molester, you gossip, you lie, you cheat on your taxes, you don’t pay your tithes, things of that nature — all of that is wrapped together as sin, along with homosexuality. And so at our church, we don’t believe that there’s any one sin that’s greater than anything else.”

And he said he still held those views in an interview Sunday night with the Bay Area News Group: “Homosexuality, adultery, fornication, those are all sexual sins addressed in scripture.”

more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/05/presidential-election-las-vegas-church-lgbtq-rights/amp/

July 26, 2019

Watch out, Michael Bennett!

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1154755760104103937?s=19

July 26, 2019

Warren Fellowship Applicants: Campaign Program Was a 'Great Scam'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has built much of her political career as a champion of workers and consumers against the deceptive and exploitative practices of corporations and employers.

But as she navigates the latest chapter of that career arc—a run for the Democratic nomination for the presidency—the Massachusetts Democrat faces criticism from several of her own supporters who said the lowest tier of her campaign structure doesn’t match the image she projects. 

Two early converts to Warren described the process for entry into her campaign’s volunteer fellowship program as deceptive and at times exploitative in interviews with The Daily Beast. They said they were pushed towards unpaid positions over paid ones, misled over the availability of financial assistance and asked to sign highly-restrictive nondisclosure agreements that worker advocacy groups concede are irregular.  Both applicants verified their accounts with emails and text messages from the Warren campaign.  

The complaints from those offered unpaid fellowships could raise new questions for Warren as she seeks to put her lengthy history advocating for consumer and worker rights at the center of her rising campaign. 

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-elizabeth-warren-fellowship-applicants-say-campaign-program-was-a-great-scam

July 17, 2019

Planned Parenthood president forced out after only 8 months

Source: ABC News

The president of Planned Parenthood, Dr. Leana Wen, was ousted Tuesday after just eight months on the job as the organization faced unprecedented challenges related to its role as the leading abortion provider in the U.S.

Wen, in a Twitter post, said she learned that Planned Parenthood's board "ended my employment at a secret meeting." She indicated the board wanted more emphasis on political advocacy, while she sought to prioritize Planned Parenthood's role as a provider of health care services ranging from birth control to cancer screenings.

"We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood," Wen said. "I am stepping down sooner than I had hoped."

Her departure came as the Trump administration announced it would start enforcing new rules that ban taxpayer-funded family planning clinics referring women for abortions. Planned Parenthood, the largest recipient of those funds, says it will not abide by those rules.


Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/planned-parenthood-president-forced-months-64376851

July 12, 2019

R. Kelly arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges

Source: The Hill

Singer R. Kelly was again arrested on federal sex charges while in Chicago on Thursday night, months after he was released on bail for other sexual abuse charges.

Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, confirmed to the Associated Pressthat the R&B star was taken into custody by federal authorities while he was walking his dog.

His arrest came after a federal grand jury on Thursday indicted him on 13 counts including sex comes and obstruction of justice.

“The counts include child porn, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice,” Fitzpatrick said.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/452755-r-kelly-arrested-in-chicago-on-federal-sex-crime-charges

July 12, 2019

CBC lawmakers rip Justice Democrats for targeting black lawmakers for primaries

Source: The Hill

Congressional Black Caucus members are furious at Justice Democrats, accusing the outside progressive group aligned with firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) of trying to oust lawmakers of color, specifically African-American lawmakers.

Justice Democrats is backing primary challengers to eight-term Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a Hispanic Caucus member, and 10-term Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). The insurgent group also made noise this year about challenging Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a CBC member seen as the heir apparent to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

And CBC leaders are fretting that Justice Democrats may target other black lawmakers in the coming weeks and months, including Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Emanual Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Anthony Brown (D-Md.). Brown said the group has been making calls in his district, actively trying to recruit a challenger to run against him.

"It just seems strange that the social Democrats seem to be targeting members of the Congressional Black Caucus, individuals who have stood and fought to make sure that African Americans are included and part of this process," Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), a senior CBC member, told The Hill.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/452701-cbc-members-accuse-aoc-linked-justice-democrats-of-targeting-black?amp&__twitter_impression=true