August 31, 2015

Obama: Attacking Jews Over Iran Deal Like Saying He's 'Not Black Enough'

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said people who attack Jews who support the Iran nuclear deal are like African-Americans who differ with him on policy and then conclude he's "not black enough."

Obama, in an interview with the Jewish newspaper "Forward," was asked whether it hurt him personally when people say he's anti-Semitic.

"Oh, of course," Obama said. "And there's not a smidgeon of evidence for it, other than the fact that there have been times when I've disagreed with a particular Israeli government's position on a particular issue."

The president added, though, that he's "probably more offended when I hear members of my administration who themselves are Jewish being attacked. You saw this historically sometimes in the African-American community, where there's a difference on policy and somebody starts talking about, 'Well, you're not black enough,' or 'You're selling out.' And that, I think, is always a dangerous place to go."

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/obama-iran-deal-jews

August 31, 2015

Cruz's Dad Has Some Words For The Birthers: You're Wrong About My Son

Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) father on Sunday dismissed from the far-right fringe of his son's eligibility to run for higher office.

Some people in so-called "strict constitutionalist" circles believe that Cruz is ineligible to run for President because he was born in Calgary, Alberta, where his Cuban father and American mother were working for a time.

Rafael Cruz was asked Sunday to address concerns about his son's presidential eligibility after a speech to the National Federation of Republican Assemblies in Nashville, Tennessee, according to the Washington Post.

“The Naturalization Act of 1790 states quite clearly: a child born of a U.S.-born mother anywhere in the world is a U.S. citizen by birth and therefore a natural-born citizen,” the elder Cruz, who was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2005, responded, as quoted by the newspaper.

The senator from Texas completed the process of renouncing his Canadian citizenship in summer 2014 ahead of his widely anticipated presidential bid. Taking that step wasn't enough to satisfy some fringe bloggers, though.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rafael-cruz-smacks-down-birthers

August 31, 2015

Dick Cheney is back. Here’s why the GOP won’t listen to him.

By Paul Waldman August 31 at 12:06 PM

If you have been plagued in recent days by not knowing the answer to the question, “What would Dick Cheney do?”, then your sleepless nights may be behind you. The former vice president is back, with a new book (written with his daughter Liz), media interviews, and a much-promoted speech coming up next week.

But are the Republicans running for president listening?

That may seem like an odd question to ask. After all, the candidates seem united in their belief that Barack Obama is a weak weakling making America weak, and that if they’re president they’ll be so strong they might just install an arm-wrestling pit on the South Lawn so those terrorists know who they’re messing with. But if you look a little closer, it’s hard to see much appetite even in the GOP for the kind of ambitious empire-building that Cheney advocates.

True to form, the excerpt of the Cheneys’ book published in the Wall Street Journal delivers all the falsehoods, bizarre leaps of logic, and panicky fear-mongering we’ve come to expect from them. Cheney tried to convince America that Saddam Hussein was responsible for September 11th. He said that “we do know, with absolute certainty, that [Saddam] is using his procurement system to acquire the equipment he needs in order to enrich uranium to build a nuclear weapon.” He said, “Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.”

And that very same man now writes: “The Obama agreement will lead to a nuclear-armed Iran, a nuclear-arms race in the Middle East and, more than likely, the first use of a nuclear weapon since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

World War II figures prominently in Cheney’s new narrative, and not just because he, like so many other Republicans, compares Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlain. For Cheney, that war isn’t just a story of what could go wrong, it’s a story of what could go right. It’s a tale of American greatness and triumph, a heroic battle in which brave American boys are sent forth to beat back evil and secure our place as the guarantor of freedom in every corner of the globe:

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/08/31/dick-cheney-is-back-heres-why-the-gop-wont-listen-to-him/?

August 31, 2015

So who wants to roll back the New Deal?

By Greg Sargent August 31 at 2:09 PM

Brian Beutler has an important piece in which he raises an unsettling question: Could the next Republican president nominate one or more Supreme Court justices who would seek to restore a pre-New Deal judicial conception of liberty of contract, with the goal of undermining much of the regulatory state that many Americans take for granted today?

Beutler reports on a movement among legal-minded libertarians to rehabilitate the Lochner decision, the notorious 1905 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a state law limiting the working hours of bakers, giving its name to the “Lochner era” of Supreme Court rulings in which economic regulations established by popularly elected officials were struck down as unconstitutional. The Lochner era is widely seen to have ended during the New Deal, when the Court upheld (among many other things) a state minimum wage law, concluding that liberty of contract is not an “absolute” right.

Sam Bagenstos, a liberal constitutional scholar at the University of Michigan, tells Beutler that “a full fledged return to Lochner” could ultimately undermine a whole host of economic regulations, including minimum wage, overtime, and worker safety laws and even possibly laws protecting customers from discrimination based on race.

One leading libertarian lawyer tells Beutler frankly that the goal is to invalidate much social welfare legislation “at the federal level,” though I would add that a Lochner restoration might invalidate a fair amount of it at the state level as well. Libertarians are frustrated with the Roberts court for its rulings preserving Obamacare — decisions that have been widely interpreted as a sign of Roberts’ judicial restraint and deference to the elected branches — and the hope is that a Republican president will appoint more unabashedly activist judges when it comes to placing limits on federal power to regulate the economy:

The hope is that this anger propels a libertarian-minded president into office and inspires him to nominate less restrained judges. The next president will likely have the opportunity to appoint at least one, and possibly as many as four Supreme Court justices. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is now 82. Stephen Breyer is 77. Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia are both 79. If one of these justices retires under a Republican president, who then appoints a Lochnerian to fill the vacancy, it will change the Court profoundly. If more than one of them steps down, the Court will become unrecognizable….

In July, the conservative columnist George Will made a provocative new demand of the next Republican president: “Ask this of potential court nominees: Do you agree that Lochner correctly reflected the U.S. natural rights tradition and the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments’ affirmation of unenumerated rights?”

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/08/31/so-who-wants-to-roll-back-the-new-deal/?

August 31, 2015

Today's News Re: Kentucky and Homophobic County Clerk

KENTUCKY: Thrice-Rejected Gay Couple Sues Rowan County And Clerk Kim Davis In Federal Court

August 31, 2015

After being turned away for a marriage license for the third time last week, a Kentucky gay couple has sued Rowan County and clerk Kim Davis in federal court. Davis is already being sued by the ACLU. Via Lexington’s CBS affiliate:

The lawsuit was filed Aug. 25 in U.S. District Court by William Smith Jr. and James Yates, but a summons was delivered Monday to Rowan County Judge Executive Walter Blevins, who is named as a defendant with Davis and the county. Other defendants, including Davis, were expected to be served this week, attorneys have told WKYT. The lawsuit says Davis and Rowan County “willfully, intentionally, and with deliberate indifference” to the couple’s rights established a custom or policy to “refuse to issue marriage licenses to individuals eligible to marry in order to deny such individuals, including Smith and Yates, their Constitutional right to marry.” Smith and Yates suffered and “continue to suffer irreparable damage, including but not limited to embarrassment, humiliation, loss of family security and benefits accessible by other married couples,” according to the lawsuit. Smith and Yates are seeking a jury trial, a “reasonable amount” for compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees. Davis has refused to issue marriage licenses, citing her Christian faith and constitutional right to religious liberty, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 26 that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. She is being sued by the ACLU because her office stopped issuing marriage licenses.

RELATED: It appears that the business day has ended in Kentucky without Davis issuing any marriage licenses, potentially opening her up to a contempt of court charge. Last week Rowan County itself charged her with official misconduct following a complaint by Yates and Smith.

Yates and Smith have been together for nine years.



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http://www.joemygod.com/2015/08/31/kentucky-thrice-rejected-gay-couple-sues-rowan-county-and-clerk-kim-davis-in-federal-court/

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Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver: All Kentucky Has To Do Is Take Kim Davis’s Name Off All Marriage Licenses

“Providing religious conviction accommodations is not antithetical for public employees. Throughout our history the courts have accommodated people’s deeply held religious beliefs. The Supreme Court’s marriage opinion does not suggest that religious accommodations cannot be made or that people have a fundamental right to receive a marriage license from a particular clerk. The stay request offers several options such as removing Davis’s name from the marriage license, thus removing the personal nature of the authorization. Another accommodation would be to allow licenses to be issued by the chief executive of Rowan County or developing a statewide, online marriage license process. There is absolutely no reason that this case has gone so far without reasonable people respecting and accommodating Kim Davis’s First Amendment rights.”

– Hate group leader Mat Staver, lowering the bar significantly via press release.

http://www.joemygod.com/2015/08/31/liberty-counsels-mat-staver-all-kentucky-has-to-do-is-take-kim-daviss-name-off-all-marriage-licenses/
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Another Stalling Tactic: Kim Davis Re-Appeals

There’s less than an hour to go in the business day in Kentucky and county clerk Kim Davis has filed yet another notice of appeal. I can’t even tell what this one is really about. Below is a screen shot from Equality Case Files.





http://www.joemygod.com/2015/08/31/another-stalling-tactic-kim-davis-re-appeals/

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PETITION: Make Kim Davis Pay

Over 4000 have signed a Change.org petition to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, demanding that county clerk Kim Davis be held personally liable for the legal costs associated with her battle against same-sex marriage. From the petition:

Kim Davis is the Rowan county, KY court clerk who continues to defy the law by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on her “Christian faith”. She has been ordered to perform the duties of her elected position and issue the licenses by not only the Governor, but also District Judge David Bunning. Yet, she continues to defy the law. On August 26th, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling, denying her appeal and telling her to do her job. Regardless, she continues to defy the courts, and now wants to take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Someone, most likely the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, will have to pay her legal fees. It’s time to stand up and say no, we refuse to pay her legal fees. She should have to pay EVERY penny of her own legal bills. It’s time to stand up and send her a message. Tell Governor Beshear, the KY House of Representatives, and the KY Senate, that WE refuse to pay her bill!

Davis is a public employee so it seems unlikely that she could be made to pay. Has this ever happened before?

http://www.joemygod.com/2015/08/31/petition-make-kim-davis-pay/

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August 31, 2015

Boehner And McConnell Rocked As Republican Disapproval Hits A Record High

By: Jason Easley
Monday, August, 31st, 2015, 11:15 am

A new Quinnipiac Poll has revealed that disapproval of Congressional Republicans has reached a record high and voters will blame the GOP if the government shuts down.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, “Voters disapprove 81 – 12 percent of the way Republicans in Congress are doing their job and give the Republican Party a negative 31 – 58 percent favorability.” Democrats are also in negative territory, but they are more than twice as popular as Republicans in Congress (27% approval), and a net 17 points better than the Republican Party (40%-50% approval/disapproval).

The Congressional Republican disapproval rating today is 14 points higher (88%) today than when they shut the government down in October 2013 (74%). Republicans have managed to register their lowest approval rating since in since the question was first asked in February 2009. The previous low for Congressional Republicans was 76% disapproval in January 2014.

Boehner and McConnell could drive their party even deeper into the hole if they don’t prevent a government shutdown at the end of September. The Quinnipiac poll found that by a margin of 41%-33% Republicans will be blamed if the government shuts down. Independents will blame Republicans 37%-33%.

more
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/08/31/boehner-mcconnell-rocked-republican-disapproval-hits-record-high.html

August 31, 2015

To Restore Trust in Government, Slow Wall Street's... - By Sen Tammy Baldwin & Hillary Clinton

To Restore Trust in Government, Slow Wall Street's Revolving Door

One of our nation's greatest strengths is that we are governed by each other -- what President Lincoln celebrated as "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people."

But increasingly, Americans' trust in government is eroding. And a big reason for that is the so-called revolving door between government and the private sector.

Inviting outside voices into government is often a good thing. When public servants have experience beyond Washington, they bring new ideas, new perspectives, and new knowledge to the work of governing this huge, complicated country of ours. Some of America's most dedicated public servants got their start in technology, business, academia, or other fields. Most of the time, that private-sector experience is an asset, not a liability.

But in some cases, it can affect the public trust -- for example, if a public servant's past and future are tied to the financial industry. That's when people start worrying that the foxes are guarding the hen house.

The American people need to be able to trust that every single person in Washington -- from the President of the United States all the way down to agency employees -- is putting the interests of the people first.

more
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-clinton/wall-street-revolving-door_b_8064504.html?1441031416

August 31, 2015

Trump Attack Video Hits Jeb On 'Act Of Love' Remark: 'FORGET LOVE'

A new Instagram video from GOP frontrunner Donald Trump posted Monday attempts to draw a connection between former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's "thoughts on illegal immigrants" and murders allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

The short rehashes Bush's much-maligned "act of love" remark from April about undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. illegally as a means of providing for their children.

The ad cuts between Bush and mugshots of Francisco Sanchez, Santana Ganona, and Brian Omar Hyde, all of whom are undocumented immigrants linked to high profile murders in recent months.

"LOVE? FORGET LOVE (sic) IT'S TIME TO GET TOUGH!" the ad booms.

-snip-



Watch the full video via Donald Trump's Instagram

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-jeb-bush-immigration-attack-ad

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The return of Willie Horton

August 31, 2015

Is Ben Carson’s Moment Next?

Rick Klein: “The retired neurosurgeon has none of Donald Trump’s showmanship, and he isn’t even a middle-of-the-night attack-Tweeter. But he is in a strong second place in Iowa, just five points behind Trump in the new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll, eclipsing the support of Ted Cruz and Scott Walker combined. A whopping 79 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers view Carson favorably, with only 8 percent (!) viewing him unfavorably.”

“That suggests tremendous upside for a man who is every bit the outsider Trump is, only with, arguably, a more compelling personal story and, inarguably, a less abrasive personal style. The anti-establishment fervor that’s driving Trump has more than enough left over for Carson, evidently. And he’s running stronger than Trump among women and evangelicals in the new poll, too.”

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http://politicalwire.com/2015/08/31/is-ben-carsons-moment-next/

August 31, 2015

Pastor Rick Perry: Like Jesus, I’ll Clear The Money Changers From The Temple, “Onward Christian...

Source: JoeMyGod

Pastor Rick Perry: Like Jesus, I’ll Clear The Money Changers From The Temple, “Onward Christian Soldiers!”

August 31, 2015

He’s out of money and his campaign manager already quit, but Rick Perry went all crazy preacher at a “Stand With God” rally in South Carolina this weekend, comparing himself to Jesus and literally shaking his fist at the “money-changers” in Washington. “Jesus was angry. I’m angry. I hope you’re angry. What are you willing to die for? Are you willing to rise up and stand for God and to go forward and live for the principles and the values that this country were based upon. Are you ready? Onward Christian soldiers!”

Read more: http://www.joemygod.com/2015/08/31/pastor-rick-perry-like-jesus-ill-clear-the-money-changers-from-the-temple-onward-christian-soldiers-video/