August 1, 2019

Alarm over voter purges as 17m Americans removed from rolls in two years

Alarm over voter purges as 17m Americans removed from rolls in two years
Areas with discriminatory history purging at higher rates
Brennan Center report finds millions ‘wrongfully purged’

US election jurisdictions with histories of egregious voter discrimination have been purging voter rolls at a rate 40% beyond the national average, according to a watchdog report released Thursday.

At least 17 million voters were purged nationwide between 2016 and 2018, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice. The number was basically unchanged from the previous two-year period.

While the rate of voter purges elsewhere has declined slowly, jurisdictions released from federal oversight by a watershed 2013 supreme court ruling had purge rates “significantly higher” than jurisdictions not previously subjected to oversight, the Brennan Center found in a previous report.

That trend has continued, the watchdog said, with the disproportionate purging of voters resulting in an estimated 1.1 million fewer voters between 2016 and 2018.

Voter purges accelerated in the United States with the 2013 Shelby County v Holder ruling, which released counties with histories of voter discrimination from federal oversight imposed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/01/voter-purges-us-elections-brennan-center-report

August 1, 2019

Trump Orders Navy to Strip Medals From Prosecutors who tried that Navy Seal on war crimes

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/us/politics/trump-navy-seal-war-crimes.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

WASHINGTON — President Trump intervened Tuesday once again on behalf of a Navy SEAL who was charged but acquitted of war crimes in the death of a captured Islamic State fighter in Iraq, ordering the military to punish the prosecutors who tried the case in the first place.

Mr. Trump angrily lashed out at the Navy for awarding commendations to prosecutors in the murder trial of Edward Gallagher, a former special operations chief, and he publicly instructed Pentagon officials to strip them of the medals. His announcement was a remarkable rebuke by a president of his own Navy leadership.

“The Prosecutors who lost the case against SEAL Eddie Gallagher (who I released from solitary confinement so he could fight his case properly), were ridiculously given a Navy Achievement Medal,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “Not only did they lose the case, they had difficulty with respect to information that may have been obtained from opposing lawyers and for giving immunity in a totally incompetent fashion.”

He added: “I have directed the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer & Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson to immediately withdraw and rescind the awards. I am very happy for Eddie Gallagher and his family!”

August 1, 2019

Mario Lopez issues apology for his controversial remarks about transgender children after backlash

Mario Lopez doesn't show for work on Extra after apologizing for his 'ignorant and insensitive' comments about Charlize Theron raising seven-year-old trans daughter

Mario Lopez missed the latest taping of Extra on Wednesday after issuing an apology for his controversial remarks about transgender children in Hollywood

Lopez was asked about the 'new trend' on the Candace Owens podcast in June

Owens specifically name-dropped Charlize Theron, who openly declared last month that her seven-year-old Jackson identifies as a girl

Lopez said it is 'dangerous' for parents to support young children's transitions

Amid fierce backlash Lopez admitted his words were 'ignorant and insensitive'


Appearing misinformed, Mario suggested transgender people were simply choosing a gender on a whim instead of recognizing them as people whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth.

'I Just think it's dangerous as a parent to make that determination then — 'Okay, well then you're going to be a boy or a girl,' whatever the case may be. It's sort of alarming and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on.'

He also went on to conflate sexuality - which relates to one's sexual orientation - with gender identity telling Owens: 'When you're a kid… You don't know anything about sexuality, you're just a kid.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7307233/Mario-Lopez-apologizes-ignorant-insensitive-comments-raising-transgender-children.html


Lopez appears to be in hot water with the producers on 'Extra', who released a statement saying: 'While we have enjoyed a long relationship with Mario Lopez, who we know to be a caring person, the opinions he expressed in this interview do not reflect those of Extra. We wholeheartedly embrace our friends from the LGBTQ community and believe they need support and love. For more support on these issues you can go to GLAAD.org.'