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September 2016

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 30, 2016 11 Comments
In this week's entry in the "public official says dumb things on social media, asked to resign" files, we feature the mayor of a tiny town in Pennsylvania who used his Facebook account to post messages and images deemed racist. According to Fox News, "[Charles] Wasko was elected mayor of the borough of roughly 4,500 residents about 100 miles west of Philadelphia in 2013. Running unopposed as a Republican, he tallied 202 votes, against 78 write-in ballots for others." Fox News continues:
Wasko isn't paid as mayor and votes only to break ties on the council. But he also oversees the police department in the borough, where the acting chief, Matthew Millsaps, said he was "disturbed" by the images. "This in no way reflects the ideology of this department," Millsaps said, noting the department has a Hispanic man and black woman among its eight officers.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 30, 2016 7 Comments
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson earned another high-end endorsement when the Chicago Tribune editorial board picked him as their choice for president. The board wrote:
This year neither major party presents a good option. So the Chicago Tribune today endorses Libertarian Gary Johnson for president of the United States. Every American who casts a vote for him is standing for principles — and can be proud of that vote. Yes, proud of a candidate in 2016.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 30, 2016 2 Comments
The GOP looks like it can maintain its majority in the Senate, but the main Senate super PAC has decided to spend $21 million more in six races just to be on the safe side. The Senate Leadership Fund has moved its concentration to New Hampshire, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Republicans have become more confident since they have seen voters separate GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump from the Senate candidates. This week, The New York Times Upshot blog said the GOP had a 53% of maintaining the majority. That same blog gave the GOP only a 40% chance in August.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 30, 2016 23 Comments
I have been following the developments related to the police shooting of Alfred Olango, after he took a shooting a stance and failed to comply with responding officers' orders following a disturbance he created. Perhaps inspired by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's innovative outreach to the black community, one plucky supporter donned his "Make America Great Again" attire and headed to the scene of protests that have ensued since the incident. Feras Jabro, 21, a San Diego State student videotaped his experience on Periscope. Shockingly, the social justice crowd decided to give him some mob justice instead.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 30, 2016 6 Comments
In recent years, Republicans won a majority of governor elections, growing to 31 states. Even blue states like Massachusetts which don't often vote Republican for president, will sometimes hand the role of governor to the GOP. As far as 2016 goes, Republicans don't have much to worry about. The Washington Post reports:
Republicans still have a shot at a record number of governors’ mansions, but Democrats aren’t going without a fight Republicans have a chance to build on their majorities and win a record number of governors' seats in 2016. Democrats are doing everything they can to stop them.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 30, 2016 21 Comments
Mika Brzezinski prefaced her remarks by saying she wanted to phrase them "carefully," but then, in the most careless way, Brzezinski clearly accused Donald Trump of being mentally ill. On today's Morning Joe, reacting to a depiction of Trump by New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters as being incapable of taking criticism of his performance, leading his advisers to communicate with him via the media, Mika said that was "very sick" and "it sounds like they're dealing with someone who, doesn't—how do I say this carefully—is very troubled, is very disturbed."

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 30, 2016 30 Comments
The Young America's Foundation chapter at the University of California Los Angeles is hosting a lecture by conservative feminist Christina Hoff Sommers but campus feminists find that offensive and took it upon themselves to tear down campus flyers. The YAF blog reports:
WATCH: CSULA Feminists Tear Down YAF Fliers for Sommers Lecture Thursday morning, members of the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter at California State University- Los Angeles (CSULA) caught a pair of disgruntled feminists on camera tearing down flyers advertising the group’s lecture with Christina Hoff Sommers scheduled for Oct. 4.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on September 29, 2016 8 Comments
Last night, the Indian Army carried out a series of covert operations targeting Jihadi bases along its border with Pakistan. According to official Indian sources, the counter-terrorism strikes killed 38 Islamists as well as couple of soldiers of Pakistan's regular army, who were overseeing these Jihadi bases. Indian Special Forces went 2-3 km inside Pakistan’s border destroying up to 6 Jihadi camps. No casualties were reported on the Indian side. The strikes come less than 2 weeks after Islamists attacked an Indian Army base in India's Kashmir region, killing 18 soldiers. India has faced a sustained terrorist campaign in its Muslim majority northern state of Kashmir since the 1990s. Terrorists have killed nearly 5,000 Indian civilians and over 2,000 Indian soldiers since 2001. Tonight's cross-border operation, first of its kind conducted by India, shows the change in country's military doctrine since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office 2 years ago.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 29, 2016 20 Comments
As if the election season isn't scary enough, the start of October a few days away and Halloween-themed everything can be seen everywhere. In Southern California, Knotts Berry Farm pulls out all the stops in making its amusement park the scariest place on earth. However, according to some mental health advocates, the newest attraction was too much.
A popular Halloween attraction at Knott's Berry Farm and California's Great America was shutting down, officials announced Wednesday, after some took to social media calling the display "offensive" to those suffering from mental illness.
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