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June 2016

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 11, 2016 9 Comments
Riot police had to break up a huge clash between England and Russia fans only hours before the countries met at Euro 2016. The violence left a 51-year-old England supporter fighting for his life. Pictures show him on the "ground with blood pouring from a head wound while a French police officer tried to revive him." https://twitter.com/DailyMailUK/status/741721515239059456 The attacks occurred in France's port city of Marseille at 3PM local time. It took the police four years to disperse the crowd.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 11, 2016 13 Comments
The House has voted to condemn a carbon tax as "detrimental to American families and businesses." The Hill reports:
The House voted Friday to condemn a potential carbon tax, closing the door on a climate change policy popular in some conservative circles. Lawmakers passed, by a 237-163 vote, a GOP-backed resolution listing pitfalls from a tax on carbon dioxide emissions and concluding that such a policy “would be detrimental to American families and businesses, and is not in the best interest of the United States.” Six Democrats voted with the GOP for the resolution. No Republicans dissented. The non-binding resolution is first and foremost a defensive measure, to get lawmakers on the record against a carbon tax, in case it’s part of a future proposal, perhaps part of a comprehensive tax reform package or in return for repealing certain regulations. President Obama has not proposed a carbon tax, and while many Democrats support the idea, it has not taken hold as a serious legislative proposal in years.
Obama has, in fact, proposed carbon taxes, the most recent being the $10 per barrel tax on oil; a fact noted in this Hill article: "The House also voted 253-144 to condemn Obama’s proposal from earlier this year to impose a $10.25 tax on each barrel of oil, an idea that never got much support in Congress."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 11, 2016 23 Comments
House Republicans are proposing five changes to ObamaCare while still asserting that they are interested in and working for full repeal.  Still wildly unpopular, ObamaCare highlights the divide between Republican and conservative voters who want it repealed and their representatives on the hill who, while having (show) voted for repeal many times over the past few years, seem less interested in repeal with each passing year. Unlike previous changes Congress has made to ObamaCare (rescinding some funds in the "Louisiana Purchase," ensuring that TRICARE plans are deemed to meet ObamaCare's minimum insurance requirements, and other such moves), the new proposed changes seem to be made with an eye to the long-term. The Hill reports:
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday held a hearing on five bills that would make relatively small changes to the health law, such as changing the documentation required to enroll in coverage or changing how insurers can use someone's age in setting premiums. The moves indicate that Republicans have not ruled out making adjustments to the existing law despite preperations to tout their long-awaited replacement plan for all of ObamaCare, coming from Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) task force later this month.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 11, 2016 2 Comments
In the past few weeks, concerns about the Zika virus have caused Today host Savannah Guthrie and U.S. cyclist Tejay van Garderen to cancel their plans to go to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A new study may cause other athletes to reconsider their sports ambitions.
Scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant "super bacteria" off beaches in Rio de Janeiro that will host Olympic swimming events and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete when the Games start on Aug. 5. The findings from two unpublished academic studies seen by Reuters concern Rio's most popular spots for tourists and greatly increase the areas known to be infected by the microbes normally found only in hospitals. They also heighten concerns that Rio's sewage-infested waterways are unsafe.

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 11, 2016 6 Comments
Hillary Clinton has a brand new scandal to deal with. The ongoing investigation into her emails has revealed that a donor to the Clinton Foundation landed a plum appointment with a government intelligence board despite the fact that he had no relevant experience. ABC News has the story:
How Clinton Donor Got on Sensitive Intelligence Board Newly released State Department emails help reveal how a major Clinton Foundation donor was placed on a sensitive government intelligence advisory board even though he had no obvious experience in the field, a decision that appeared to baffle the department’s professional staff. The emails further reveal how, after inquiries from ABC News, the Clinton staff sought to “protect the name” of the Secretary, “stall” the ABC News reporter and ultimately accept the resignation of the donor just two days later.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 11, 2016 13 Comments
Last week, I noticed the elite media actually looking under the hood at the real "new jobs" numbers for the first time in over 7 years. Now, Gallup has released a poll confirming the fears that many of us had in 2008: Obama was the second coming of Jimmy Carter.
According to Gallup, Americans' satisfaction levels with the way things are going in the U.S. are low and President Obama will be leaving office with a lower overall satisfaction average of any president since Jimmy Carter. Only 29% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. according to the Gallup poll conducted during the first week of June. The Gallup poll asked, “In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?”

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 11, 2016 11 Comments
Juan Hernandez is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans who attended the Donald Trump rally in San Jose last week and was assaulted by a violent mob with other attendees. For the mere offense of attending a political event, Hernandez suffered a broken nose and a concussion. Let's make it as plain as possible. If Hernandez, who is Latino and gay, was a Hillary Clinton supporter who had suffered this violence at the hands of Trump supporters, not only would it be nightly news for days, it would be indisputable proof that all Republicans are racist, violent homophobes. Hernandez told his story in an article for the Washington Post:
I’m voting for Donald Trump, so I went to see him speak. Protesters broke my nose. Last Thursday, I left work about 5 p.m. and drove to the San Jose Convention Center to hear Donald Trump speak.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 10, 2016 15 Comments
At our first appointment, just over six weeks into the pregnancy, we were able to see our tiny little girl's heart pump fluttering away. There are many, many reasons I've always been pro-life, but this is definitely one of them. Most of the information out there is animated and shows a little cartoon baby in its earliest stages of in utero development, but this video posted by a Catholic Priest, shows a little one at seven weeks and four days.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 10, 2016 9 Comments
Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy protection due to the $140 million verdict to Hulk Hogan after they published a video of him having sex with his best friend's wife. I saw people celebrating the bankruptcy news, but this action allows Gawker to delay any payment to Hogan. The bankruptcy also allows the company "to continue operating and paying its staff" with a $22 million loan. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy claim actually puts Gawker under federal protection so they can reorganize and pay their debts:
Under Chapter 11, a debtor can restructure its finances through a plan of reorganization approved by the bankruptcy court. By reducing obligations and modifying payment terms, a Chapter 11 plan can help a debtor balance its income and expenses, regain profitability, and continue in operation. Under Chapter 11, a debtor also can sell some or all of its assets so it can downsize its business if necessary or pay down claims that it owes.
The company "listed estimated assets of $50 million to $100 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million." Gawker includes Deadspin and Jezebel.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 10, 2016 4 Comments
Over 200 people attended WWII veteran Serina Vine's funeral after word spread on social media she did not have any living relatives. Vine passed away on May 21 at the Community Living Center in DC. Only a few people planned to attend the funeral, but that changed when Army Mj. Jaspen Boothe received a message on Facebook and retired Marine William Jones organized the funeral:
Army Maj. Jaspen Boothe, who addressed the crowd in a dress and combat boots, said she received a Facebook message Friday stating just four people had RSVP’d for the funeral. So she reached out to various organizations to tell them about the woman she described as homeless but not hopeless. She said Vine was her sister because both swore to defend the Constitution. “We are all a testament to what we do when we are called to honor our fellow brothers and sisters,” said Boothe. She is president of the nonprofit Final Salute Inc., which assists homeless female veterans. Boothe, who is now in the Army Reserve, said she was homeless for about a year in 2006.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 10, 2016 17 Comments
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest labeled the investigation into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails as "criminal." From Fox News:
“That's why the president, when discussing this issue in each stage, has reiterated his commitment to this principle that any criminal investigation should be conducted independent of any sort of political interference,” Earnest said.
Fox News had asked Earnest if President Barack Obama's endorsement for Clinton for president "might apply pressure to investigators assigned" to her case.

Posted by Andrew Branca on June 10, 2016 10 Comments
On May 26 we posted that two of the six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray—Sergeant Alicia White and Officer William Porter—had filed defamation and invasion of privacy charges against Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Major Samuel Cogen of the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office . It was Cogen who swore out criminal charges against the officers, presumably at Mosby’s request. We followed this up with a post on June 8 noting that the two officers had amended their complaint to include allegations of malicious prosecution, false arrest, and violation of the Maryland declaration of rights, article 24 and 26. At the same time, we noted that a third officer, Lieutenant Brian Rice, had filed a civil suit against Mosby on similar grounds. Today we learned that another two officers, Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, have jointly filed similar charges against Mosby. In total, now, five of the six officers charged by Mosby in Gray’s death are suing her and Cogen for various forms of misconduct.

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 10, 2016 6 Comments
Elizabeth Warren was too cowardly to endorse a candidate during the 2016 Democratic primary but now that Hillary has safely crossed the finish line and Bernie's revolution is fading in the rear view mirror, Warren is going all in for Clinton. Elizabeth Warren's endorsement of Hillary Clinton proves she is a fraud. This is not a matter of opinion, this is fact. Donald Trump may be a wealthy man but Hillary Clinton is the indisputable candidate of Wall Street in this election. The fact that Warren would stand "with her" is proof that all of Warren's anti-Wall Street rhetoric is nothing more than hot air which disappears in the face of partisanship.

Posted by Andrew Branca on June 10, 2016 49 Comments
Prosecutors in the Freddie Gray trial of van driver Officer Caesar Goodson suddenly announced on Thursday, the first day of Goodson's trial, a new theory of the case never before formally argued by them:  that they believe Gray's injuries were the result of a malicious "rough ride" delivered by Goodson.  As the Baltimore Sun reports (emphasis added):
Before Thursday, prosecutors had presented evidence of a diving-type injury that caused his injuries inside the van, but had not directly alleged that Gray was hurt as a result of aggressive driving by the van driver.
The media and activists (but I repeat myself) have previously suggested that a "rough ride" might be in play in this case, but the prosecution itself has never directly made this claim part of their theory of the case--not, that is, until the opening day of Officer Goodson's trial. Officer Goodson is charged with murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment in the death of Freddie Gray. By all indications the prosecution has long planned to convict Goodson on the grounds that he had failed in a legal duty to provide Gray with adequately prompt medical care.  Specifically, the prosecution had planned to argue that Goodson was aware that Gray was having difficulty breathing, because of a statement to that effect by his colleague Police Officer William Porter. Porter is alleged by Detective Syreeta Teel to have made a statement to the effect that Gray was saying he was having difficulty breathing during an initial unrecorded interview by Teel.  In a later recorded interview, however, Porter made no similar statement.  Further, when Porter took the witness stand at his own trial (the first of the Freddie Gray trials, and ending in a hung jury), he denied having ever made the statement.
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