RandySF
RandySF's JournalCruz May Require Background Check Before Letting Supporter Shoot With Him
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) plans to take one lucky supporter with him on an upcoming "shooting excursion" as part of a recently launched fundraiser and sweepstakes for his presidential campaign. But there's a catch: the winner may have to endure a background check first.
The caveat is an interesting one given that Cruz helped lead the effort to defeat a 2013 bill that would have expanded background checks for gun sales nationwide. The bill, which was championed by President Obama in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, ultimately went down after an intense lobbying effort from pro-gun groups.
In an interview with TPM on Friday afternoon, Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler defended the contest's background check requirement and said it was "not inconsistent" with the senator's track record.
Tyler said Cruz had not taken issue with current system of background checks, but specifically opposed the 2013 bill, which would have imposed them on sales between private individuals.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/ted-cruz-background-check-shooting-contest
Florida Man Reportedly Dances On Police Car To Summon Help In Vampire Battle
Authorities in Florida have released bizarre video footage of a man dancing on the roof of a police cruiser in an attempt to summon help battling a "woman with fangs."
According to court documents obtained by The Smoking Gun, a 44-year-old Cape Coral man is facing charges of disturbing the peace and property damage, stemming from an April 7 incident, which was captured on surveillance video.
In the video, which authorities released on Wednesday, the man can be seen pulling up behind a police cruiser parked at a Cape Coral home owned by Frederic Janke, a sergeant with the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
The song "Rich Girl" by Hall & Oates can be heard blaring from the man's vehicle as he climbs atop the cruiser and begins gyrating to the 1970s Billboard Top 40 hit.
The song was followed by Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/05/vampire-hunter-dancer_n_7519170.html
Jill Duggar Reveals Parents Put ‘Locks On The Doors’ To Protect Girls From Molester Son
Jill Duggar reveals in a brand new interview set to air tonight that her parents were so desperate to keep their son Josh from harming the children that they resorted to some extreme safety measures.
“My parents said, ‘OK, we’re not going to do this hide and seek thing where two people go off and hide together,'” Jill, who was one of her brother’s victims, reveals in an interview with FOX News. “Locks on the doors. You know, everybody’s in bed — girls in the girls’ room, boys in the boys’ room.”
Jessa Duggar, also molested by Josh, goes on to defend his right to tout his strict morals and principles, despite his past sexual attacks.
“It’s right to say ‘here’s what I believe, here’s my values,’ even if you’ve made stupid mistakes or failures,” Jessa insists in the interview. “If you’ve had failures in your past it doesn’t mean you can’t be changed. I think that’s where, I think the real issue is people are making this sound like it happened yesterday.”
http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/jill-duggar-jessa-duggar-new-interview-parents-put-locks-doors-josh-duggar/
Will Huckabee and Palin be defending this family next?
A Michigan father and his son will spend years in prison for raping the same underage girl.
Marc Rowe Sr., 45, and his son, Marc Rowe Jr., 19, were convicted earlier this year of several counts of criminal sexual conduct for sexually abusing the girl for two years, starting when she was 12, MLive reports.
The elder Rowe will serve 22 to 35 years in prison, according to the New York Daily News. His son will serve at least three years. The family members were sentenced just hours apart, MLive reported on Tuesday.
The father sexually assaulted the victim from 2012 until May 2014, at which point his son began to assault the girl, who was then in eighth grade. The younger Rowe was a freshman in college at the time.
Most of the abuse took place at the father's residence, where he "coerced the victim to submit by exerting his authoritative position," according to an arrest warrant.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/04/father-son-underage-girl_n_7513136.html?cps=gravity_2425_-3538196117872743588
Dennis Hastert Hid His Skeletons As He Helped Push GOP's Anti-Gay Agenda
WASHINGTON -- During the 2004 elections, George W. Bush's campaign, managed by a closeted gay man, pushed a series of anti-gay ballot initiatives across the country. The House of Representatives, led by a male speaker who allegedly sexually assaulted a male minor, moved a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage after beating back attempts to strengthen hate crimes legislation. And the White House, led in part by a vice president with a lesbian daughter, eagerly encouraged a conservative evangelical base hostile to gay rights.
Though only slightly over a decade ago, that election seems increasingly like the relic of a far-off era as the country moves closer toward acceptance of legalizing marriage equality nationwide. But it's being revisited in light of recent revelations that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) may have sexually abused at least two male students during his time as a high school teacher and wrestling coach, and later lied to the FBI about the hush money he was paying one of them.
Hastert wasn't a strident culture warrior during his time in Congress. But he was a vital cog in the anti-gay political machinery that the GOP deployed for political benefit. And now it appears his involvement carried the same elements of duplicity and deceit as that of other Republican operatives of that era.
"The hypocrisy is breathtaking in its depth," said Elizabeth Birch, former president of the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/06/dennis-hastert-anti-gay-_n_7521394.html
Barcelona Defeats Juventus in Champions League Final
BERLIN — It is not discussed often, but there is a deep and rich tradition of manager celebrations in high-level soccer, a veritable catalog of sideline revelry. On various occasions — and with varying degrees of dignity — men in suits have danced a jig, pretended to use a lasso and hydroplaned on their knees as if their coaching box had morphed into a water ride. Just a few months ago, one man in charge even ripped his trousers in a particularly robust fit of exuberant histrionics.
Late Saturday, then, Luis Enrique, Barcelona’s first-year manager, happily wrote his name alongside José Mourinho (the slide) and Pep Guardiola (the pants). Shortly after watching one of his top forwards, Luis Suárez, score what would turn out to be the decisive goal of the Champions League final, Luis Enrique, a Spaniard with a generally measured temperament, took off on a dead sprint while wildly waving his arms in a manner that suggested they had suddenly been attached to a pair of electric fans.
Perhaps someday there will be a name attached to Luis Enrique’s machinations — the Windmill? — but, for this evening, the sight was enough. Luis Enrique’s merriment was the start to a Spanish party that continued long into the night as Barcelona won its fifth European championship, and fourth in 10 years, with a 3-1 victory over Juventus at the Olympiastadion.
Fittingly enough, Suárez and Neymar, two of Barcelona’s superstar scoring trio, scored in the final, while Lionel Messi, who may be the brightest of the group, played a role in both goals. The three attackers, who some have referred to as a trident, combined for 122 goals this season, powering Barcelona to a so-called treble: La Blaugrana previously won the Spanish league and cup titles before claiming the Champions League, too. Barcelona last won all three titles in 2008-9, and it is the only club to have claimed trebles in different seasons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/sports/soccer/barcelona-defeats-juventus-in-champions-league-final.html?_r=0
Massive brawl at Vallejo (CA) high school raises additional safety concerns for the district.
VALLEJO (KRON) — A big fight at Vallejo High School last Friday has is raising new concerns about safety.
Cell phone video from a student caught the massive brawl on video. The person who took the video tells KRON 4 that upwards of 50 students were involved in the fight.
Monday, school site safety officials made their presence known, some standing on campus, others driving around in golf carts.
KRON 4 tried to talk to the person identified as the school principal, but she refused to answer any questions.
DR. Alana Shackelford, the Director of Community Engagement for the school district, refused an on-camera interview, but said that the fight involved about 20-25 students. She said that some students were bit, but was not sure of the extent of contact. Shackelford said that no ambulances were called as a result of the fight.
Police were called, but no arrests were made.
Shackelford said that the students involved were disciplined, but would not elaborate.
Also on Friday, the school was placed on lock-down twice. Once, after an employee thought he saw a weapon flashed in a car driving by the school and then again after gunshots were heard. Shackelford said that she doesn’t think these incidents were related to the fight.
http://kron4.com/2015/06/01/brawl-at-vallejo-high-school-renews-safety-concerns/
Eating Placenta After Delivery Offers No Health Benefits
A new study has shown that eating placenta after delivery offers no health benefits for moms who choose to do it.
Placentophagy is the practice of eating the placenta after giving birth. There have been claims that ingesting placenta can help raise energy levels, reduce incidences of postpartum depression and increase breast milk quantity to name a few, according to WebMD.
The study from Northwestern University has found that there is no scientific evidence to support the claims.
"There are a lot of subjective reports from women who perceived benefits, but there hasn't been any systematic research investigating the benefits or the risk of placenta ingestion," said Dr. Crystal Clark, lead investigator and co-author of the new study, Eureka Alert has learned.
Researchers reviewed 10 placentophagy research studies and noted whether the consumption of placenta—be it raw, dried, or placed in pills—had any health benefits. They found none. Dr. Clark said, "The studies on mice aren't translatable into human benefits."
http://www.latinoshealth.com/articles/6621/20150605/study-eating-placenta-after-delivery-offers-no-health-benefits.htm
Gun lobbyist courted by Ted Cruz calls for Obama’s assassination
Gun lobbyist Larry Pratt has proposed a Second Amendment solution for lawmakers with whom he disagrees, and now he wants gun owners to train their sights on President Barack Obama.
“The Second Amendment was designed for people just like the president and his administration,” Pratt told right-wing radio host Roger Fredinburg.
Right Wing Watch reported that Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, understood his apparent call for the assassination of the president might create a stir.
“If the New York Times and the Rolling Stone, and whoever else wants to have a hissy fit – yes, our guns are in our hands for people like those in our government right now that think they want to go tyrannical on us, we’ve got something for them,” Pratt said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/gun-lobbyist-courted-by-ted-cruz-calls-for-obamas-assassination/
TX teachers mock special ed students with ‘ghetto awards’, insist they didn’t mean to degrade anyone
A Texas school district has launched an investigation into two middle school teachers’ years-long practice of distributing “Ghetto Awards” to children receiving special education services, a CBS affiliate reports.
A 14-year-old Sulphur Springs Middle School student came home from school this week with a certificate that read “8th Annual Ghetto Classroom Awards” on top. The document stated the boy had specifically earned a “huh?” award this year for expressing so much confusion in class. Teachers had handed the certificates out to a classroom of students receiving supportive services for learning disabilities.
The child’s mother, Jerrika Wilkins, tells Fox 4 she “felt angry and a bit confused as to what was meant by ‘ghetto’,” when her son showed her the certificate his teachers had given him. “He feels pretty inferior,” Wilkins says of her son’s emotional reaction. “You know, he wants to succeed. You know, [the “ghetto” award] just kind of hurt his feelings.” Wilkins posted a picture of the document to Facebook.
Wilkins’ social media post caused a stir in the community, and quickly caught the attention of Michael Lamb, superintendent of Sulphur Springs Independent School District. Lamb describes his reaction to learning about the “Ghetto Awards” middle school teachers were mockingly bestowing on students.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/tx-teachers-mock-special-ed-students-with-ghetto-awards-insist-they-didnt-mean-to-degrade-anyone/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 59,228
