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Former State Department Spokeswoman Downplays Role In Benghazi Talking Points

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“I had no conversations with Susan Rice herself,” Nuland says.

Victoria Nuland as US ambassador to NATO in 2008.

Via: Reuters/Ognen Teofilovski / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Former State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Thursday she had no hand in coming up with the talking points that UN Ambassador Susan Rice used after the Benghazi attack, and downplayed her role in refining the talking points sent out to Congress.

Nuland is nominated for the position of assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, a top diplomatic post that requires Senate confirmation and a hearing in the Foreign Relations committee. Some of the same Republican senators who have focused on Benghazi over the last 10 months asked Nuland multiple times about the timeline of events on the night of the Benghazi attack and of the circumstances surrounding an email chain leaked to the press that showed Nuland's efforts to tone down CIA talking points that referred to the event as a terrorist attack.

Idaho Senator Jim Risch asked Nuland to specify the precise date that the administration decided to start calling Benghazi a terrorist attack, and to explain whether she had a hand in coming up with Susan Rice's assertions that the attack was related to an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

"I had no conversations with Susan Rice herself," Nuland said. "We had interagency discussions that her staff participated in."

"I frankly never saw the talking points that were prepared for her in final form," Nuland said.

Responding to questioning from Senator Ron Johnson, Nuland stressed that she was in a communications job and wasn't in charge of the policy content of the talking points that the administration was giving to the House Intelligence Committee.

"I was not in a policy role in this job. I was in a communications role," Nuland said. "I simply said that I thought the policy people needed to look at them."

"These were for members of the House to use, not for an administration official to use," Nuland said. "It struck me as strange that we were given talking points to members of te House that were going considerably further than what we in the administration were saying at that point."

Pressed to name other officials at the State Department who had consulted on the talking points, Nuland named Jake Sullivan, then the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, whom she called "My regular reporting channel with regard to issues I was not able to solve at my level."

Nuland said she was concerned that the talking points would be misleading for the media.

"I felt that as media points, not as information to Congress, my concern was they were inappropriately crafted as points for the media and they would be misleading," Nuland said.

Nuland was also pressed on whether she had had contact with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the night of the attacks. She said that she had worked on a written statement with Clinton at one point during the night.

Senator Rand Paul asked Nuland about whether she knew the purpose of the CIA annex in Benghazi.

"Senator, I would be delighted to talk to you about the relationship between the State Department and the CIA in another setting," Nuland said. "I don't believe I've had a briefing on what the functions were" of the annex.

Paul finished his questioning by making a general critique of the Obama administration's culture of secrecy, in which, he said, "That's basically what the opinion is now, that it's fine to lie to Congress."

"That's the problem with running a secret government, running secret wars," Paul said. "We don't get any oversight."

Nuland is expected to be confirmed easily, though Paul has called her nomination "appalling" and has implied he might put a hold on it.


Janet Napolitano Resigning As Homeland Security Secretary To Head University Of California System

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A sudden change in the midst of a major national immigration debate.

Via: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

A senior administration official confirmed to BuzzFeed Friday that Janet Napolitano is leaving the Obama administration to head up the University of California system.

"I thank President Obama for the chance to serve our nation during this important chapter in our history," Napolitano said in a statement. "I know the Department of Homeland Security will continue to perform its important duties with the honor and cous that the American public expects."

Napolitano's nomination as UC president was an incredibly secretive process, per the Los Angeles Times, which broke the news Friday morning.

"While some may consider her to be an unconventional choice, Secretary Napolitano is without a doubt the right person at the right time to lead this incredible university," Sherry Lansing, the regent and former film industry executive who headed the search committee, said in a statement being released Friday. "She will bring fresh eyes and a new sensibility — not only to UC, but to all of California. She will stand as a vigorous advocate for faculty, students and staff at a time when great changes in our state, and across the globe, are presenting as many opportunities as challenges."

The UC system has 230,000 students and 191,000 faculty and staff.

Napolitano, 55, will be UC's first female president. She previously served as the governor of Arizona, before being poached by the Obama administration in 2009, before her second term ended.

As governor, education was one of her foremost priorities. She increased state funding for education and literary initiatives and implemented voluntary full-day kindergarten and teacher-training programs.

For more than four years I have had the privilege of serving President Obama and his Administration as the Secretary of Homeland Security. The opportunity to work with the dedicated men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, who serve on the frontlines of our nation's efforts to protect our communities and families from harm, has been the highlight of my professional career. We have worked together to minimize threats of all kinds to the American public. The Department has improved the safety of travelers; implemented smart steps that make our immigration system more fair and focused while deploying record resources to protect our nation's borders; worked with states to build resiliency and make our nation's emergency and disaster response capabilities more robust; and partnered with the private sector to improve our cybersecurity. After four plus years of focusing on these challenges, I will be nominated as the next President of the University of California to play a role in educating our nation's next generation of leaders. I thank President Obama for the chance to serve our nation during this important chapter in our history, and I know the Department of Homeland Security will continue to perform its important duties with the honor and focus that the American public expects.

I want to thank Secretary Napolitano for her outstanding work on behalf of the American people over the last four years. At the Department of Homeland Security, Janet's portfolio has included some of the toughest challenges facing our country. She's worked around the clock to respond to natural disasters, from the Joplin tornado to Hurricane Sandy, helping Americans recover and rebuild. Since day one, Janet has led my administration's effort to secure our borders, deploying a historic number of resources, while also taking steps to make our immigration system fairer and more consistent with our values. And the American people are safer and more secure thanks to Janet's leadership in protecting our homeland against terrorist attacks. I've come to rely on Janet's judgment and advice, but I've also come to value her friendship. And as she begins a new chapter in a remarkable career of public service, I wish her the best of luck.


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Immigration Politics Play Out In Administration Statements Following Napolitano's Resignation

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Both Napolitano and Obama talk about making the immigration system “fairer.”

Via: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

WASHINGTON — The departure of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Friday quickly turned into another chance for the Obama administration to push for comprehensive immigration reform.

Both Napolitano and President Obama mentioned immigration in their official statements on the changes at DHS, and both used similar language charged with the politics of the ongoing debate in Washington.

"The Department has improved the safety of travelers; implemented smart steps that make our immigration system more fair and focused while deploying record resources to protect our nation's borders," Napolitano wrote in her statement announcing her departure.

Obama's statement had very similar language.

"Since day one, Janet has led my administration's effort to secure our borders, deploying a historic number of resources, while also taking steps to make our immigration system fairer and more consistent with our values," Obama said.

Though contained in the boilerplate language of most resignation day statements, the lines about immigration were a clear statement to Republican opponents of comprehensive reform who are threatening to kill any chances of it passing in the House this year. Anti-reform hardliners have said they don't trust Obama to implement new border security plans without having a "trigger" that forces him to do it before a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants opens up. Many opponents don't want a pathway in any case, but saying they don't "trust" Obama with border security has proven a winner with the Republican base.

In the statements, Napolitano and Obama take aim at this line of reasoning, referring to the increase in border patrol agents and a record number of deportations during his presidency.

At the same time, the president enjoyed overwhelming support from the Latino community in the last election thanks in part to his unilateral implementation of a DREAM Act-like policy preventing the deportation of young people brought to the United States as children by their undocumented parents. House Republicans have voted to reverse that policy and once again deport so-called DREAMers.

Polls have shown a majority of Americans support the DREAM Act as well as immigration reform similar to the bill passed in the Senate. The White House has long said Obama is on the right side of this debate – that's where the "mak[ing] our immigration system fairer and more consistent with our values" comes in.

Senate hearings after Obama announces Napolitano's replacement will no doubt feature a lot of talk about immigration reform. The White House started making it's case before Napolitano had formally left her position.

Who Should Replace S.E. Cupp At MSNBC?

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MSNBC’s midday roundtable show The Cycle lost its lone conservative voice when S.E. Cupp jumped ship for CNN and Newt Gingrich, presenting the network with an opportunity to make a bold move and bring some much needed buzz to 30 Rock.

With co-host S.E. Cupp leaving The Cycle, MSNBC will need a replacement — most likely a woman, to preserve the show's gender ratio. Here are some female pundits whom MSNBC might consider for the job.

Michelle Malkin

Michelle Malkin

It's more than a long shot for many reasons, but the pugnacious Malkin taking on three liberals every day would be hard to resist for people watching cable news in the middle of the day.

Abby Huntsman

Abby Huntsman

Young. Conservative. Plays nice with liberals (that's her with The Cycle's Krystal Ball). Plus, her dad, John Huntsman, could come on the show to clash regularly with Touré, à la Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough and Zbigniew Brzezinsk. Sorry, HuffPost Live, but this seems like a match made in heaven for MSNBC.


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9 Harsh Political Realities Of Sharknado

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You have been warned.

Sharknados are caused by global warming.

"Global warming IS the reason…" says a reporter in the film before being eaten live on camera.

Sharknados are terrible for small business.

Sharknados are terrible for small business.

Multiple small business establishments were destroyed in the tragic film.

Sharknados have reignited the debate over the Second Amendment.

Sharknados have reignited the debate over the Second Amendment.

Sharknados can lead to animal cruelty.

Sharknados can lead to animal cruelty.


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Obamacare Delay Puts Democrats Back Into Defense Mode

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“Compared to the summer of 2010 when I had red-faced people threatening me that I was going to be drawn and quartered, I think explaining a delay is not going to be that bad,” said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 11: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

Via: Mark Wilson / Getty Images

WASHINGTON— The White House's decision to delay Obamacare's employer mandate has forced Democrats to yet again rush to the law's defense as Republicans look to reignite the health care war.

Speaker John Boehner has announced the House will vote next week on the employer delay and subsequently vote on a delay for the law's individual mandate — a move designed to put Democrats on record as supporting a delay for businesses but not everyone else.

"Listen, is it fair for the president to give American businesses an exemption for the health law's mandates without giving the same break to individuals and families across the country? Hell no, it isn't," Boehner said at a Thursday press conference.

Privately, House Democrats are grumbling that the administration's decision only further boxes them into the already difficult corner of defending the law as it's implementation has hit bumps in the road.

But publicly, members are downplaying the delay's significance to the overall effectiveness of law — or the pushback they might get back home.

"Compared to the summer of 2010 when I had red-faced people threatening me that I was going to be drawn and quartered, I think explaining a delay is not going to be that bad," said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes. "But if there's one thing that's concerning about the delay its that you want people to see what its like to get insurance. As things move from the abstract to the specific people are less scared."

"Look, in the real world it's better to get it right than to get it done fast. So I think taking this deliberately is the right thing to do. Are the Republicans going to raise hell about it? Of course, they've been raising hell about it for years. There's nothing new about that dynamic," he added.

Democrats have also been working to try and educate their constituents with about the law's benefits and enrollment — something they've been working to do since the law was first passed.

"The defense is to keep trying to stamp out the absurdities put out by the other side and the offense is making sure that someone who has never bought insurance understands that tax credits are generous, and yes, there's a real role for us to play in explaining the benefits of this bill," Himes said.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen likewise said Republicans, who have voted to repeal all or parts of the law 37 times, were simply using the delay as an excuse to try again to get rid of the law and argued that the public was tired of it.

"The delay was a relatively minor component that has lots of administrative issues. You would think Republicans would be cheering on the prospect of delaying that provision. Instead they've said we've just trying to use this as a way to try and get rid of the whole thing and people just roll their eyes," he said. "They've taken an all or nothing approach and the fact that they've taken this totally negative approach undercuts their position."

Van Hollen said Democrats would happily work with Republicans to fix parts of the law if Republicans were in the "frame of mind" to do so.

Rep. Jim McDermott, a Washington Democrat and advocate for single payer health care said a delay of the individual mandate, unlike the employer mandate, would make the law unworkable and he couldn't envision Democrats voting to delay it.

Even so, McDermott said it would eventually become easier to defend the law as more people enrolled and experienced the benefits. He liked the law to the implementation of Medicare, that he said experienced difficulties and eventually became extremely popular.

"This is just Medicare all over again. This is exactly how it came in, all kinds of resistance. Only difference then was that Democrats and Republicans came together to make it work," he said. "This time Republicans are determined to stop the creation of a national health plan."

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has argued since the announcement was made, that the employer mandate would only effect a small number of businesses who do not provide health insurance to their employees and the delay proved the administration's commitment to implement the law with "increased flexibility."

At her Thursday press conference Pelosi said that there was no reason for the individual mandate to be delayed as well and charged that what the administration had done was not really a delay at all. That claim earned her three Pinocchios from the Washington Post's fact checker.

"In fact, the point is, is that the mandate was not delayed. Certain reporting by businesses that could be perceived as onerous, that reporting requirement was delayed, and partially to review how it would work and how it could be better. It was not a delay of the mandate for the businesses and there shouldn't be a delay of the mandate for individuals," she said.

Obama Is Totally Just Copying Other Presidents

The Obama Administration Has Stopped Pretending They're Not Worried About Edward Snowden

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“Some 29-year-old hacker” got the business Friday. So did his international friends.

Edward Snowden's appearance on Friday at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

Human Rights Watch, Tanya Lokshina / AP

WASHINGTON — Just a couple of weeks ago, President Obama was brushing off Edward Snowden as a "a 29-year-old hacker" hardly worthy of causing an international incident.

On Friday, that attitude changed dramatically as Obama administration officials called out nations that have been friendly to the former intelligence contractor on the day he asked Russia for asylum. Officials also took a hard line against Snowden.

Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin were scheduled to have a phone call Friday afternoon, where it was expected that Snowden's situation would be discussed. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made it clear that the U.S. will be upset if Russia grants Snowden's request.

"Providing a propaganda platform for Mr. Snowden runs counter to the Russian government's previous declarations of Russia's neutrality and that they have no control over his presence in the airport," Carney said. "It's also incompatible with Russian assurances that they do not want Mr. Snowden to further damage U.S. interests."

Carney added that "our position also remains that we don't believe this should and we don't want it to do harm to our important relationship with Russia," and restated the American position that "there is absolute legal justification for him to be expelled" from the airport in Moscow and sent to the United States.

Over at the State Department, the words for Russia were equally tough.

During the State Department press briefing, spokesperson Jen Psaki said the department was "disappointed" in Russia for facilitating the meeting between Snowden and human rights groups on Friday. Snowden invited officials from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among other groups, to the airport before making his formal request for asylum from Russia.

America is not happy about it, Psaki said.

"Our focus is on our concern about how Russian authorities clearly helped assist the ability of attendees to participate in this," she said.

The Russians "facilitated a propaganda platform for Mr. Snowden," Psaki said.

Carney said the airport gathering was hypocritical for Russia, a country that often comes under scrutiny from human rights groups.

"We would urge the Russian government to afford human rights organizations the ability to do their work in Russia throughout Russia. Not just at the Moscow transit lounge," Carney said.

Psaki echoed Carney's call for Russia to release Snowden.

"We still believe that Russia has the opportunity to do the right thing and facilitate his return to the United States," she said.

Psaki said that State Department officials had been in touch with their Russian counterparts asking for Mr. Snowden back. She also said that a State Department official had spoken with Human Rights Watch about that meeting, but the official was not US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul. The wrangling over Snowden has gone to the highest levels of American diplomacy: Secretary of State John Kerry had discussed the Snowden issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting earlier this month, Psaki said.

Obama's direct call to Putin will be the step in the effort to get Snowden back on American soil by administration officials.

China also got some tough talk at the White House briefing. Hong Kong originally harbored Snowden, before allowing him to leave for Russia over U.S. objections. Carney said the move had threatened the relations built at Obama's recent summit with the new Chinese president.

"We were very disappointed with how the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong handled the Snowden case, which undermined our effort to build the trust needed to manage difficult issues," Carney said. "At the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue this week, we made clear that China's handling of this case was not consistent with the spirit of Sunnylands or with the type of relationship, the new model that we both seek to build."

As for the man himself, both Carney and Psaki were unimpressed by his summit with the human rights groups.

Snowden "is not a whistleblower, he's not a human rights activist," Psaki said.

Carney dinged the groups who met with them.

"Those groups do important work, but Mr. Snowden is not a human rights activist, or a dissident," Carney said. "He is accused of leaking classified information, has been charged with three felony accounts, and should be returned to the United States where he will be accorded full due process."


Opponents File In California Supreme Court To Stop Same-Sex Couples' Marriages

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The supporters of Proposition 8 ask for a court order “requiring [state officials] to enforce state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

Adam Chandler, 33, left, and Ivan Chandler, 38, both of Citrus Heights, wait in line to get married at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco, California, June 29, 2013. They were one of many couples getting married after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on gay marriage in California.

Via: Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group/MCT

Supporters of Proposition 8 went to the California Supreme Court on Friday, asking the court to put an immediate hold on the same-sex couples' marriages that resumed in California on June 28.

Among the requests made by the opponents of same-sex couples' marriage rights are "[t]hat this Court issue an immediate stay or injunction, to remain in place during the pendency of these writ proceedings, requiring [state officials] to enforce state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman."

Additionally, following a hearing on the petition, the Proposition 8 supporters ask the court to "order [the state officials] to enforce state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman."

In explaining the reason for making the request, they state:

Petitioners and the citizens of the State of California will suffer irreparable injury and damage unless this Court issues an immediate stay or injunction—to remain in place during the pendency of these writ proceedings—requiring Respondents to enforce state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Social Security Administration Is Now Accepting Married Gay Couples' Claims

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“We are taking claims now from individuals who believe they may be eligible for Social Security benefits,” spokesman says.

Army Capt. Michael Potoczniak and Todd Saunders, of El Cerrito, Calif., are married by deputy marriage commissioner John Loschmann, center, as witnesses Bill Hershon, left, and Sean Boileau, right, watch at City Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2013.

Via: Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration has begun taking claims from married same-sex couples who believe they are eligible for benefits, although the administration will not process them until the instructions for handling such claims are finalized.

The change, announced by Social Security spokesman Mark Hinkle on Friday, comes about in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on June 26 that the Defense of Marriage Act's ban on same-sex couples' marriages being recognized by the federal government is unconstitutional.

"We are taking claims now from individuals who believe they may be eligible for Social Security benefits. We will process these claims as soon as we have finalized our instructions," Hinkle said in a statement.

He went on to note, "We are working with the Department of Justice to determine how the decision affects our programs and to develop appropriate instructions for our personnel."

These Republicans Who Want To Limit Food Stamps Represent A Lot Of Food Stamp Recipients

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These are some of the members of Congress who have been the most vocal in support of limiting SNAP and the number of households receiving SNAP benefits in their districts.

Louie Gohmert - Texas' 1st Congressional District

Louie Gohmert - Texas' 1st Congressional District

Via: http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/SNAPCharacteristics/

Mick Mulvaney - South Carolina's 5th Congressional District

Mick Mulvaney - South Carolina's 5th Congressional District

Via: fns.usda.gov

Tim Huelskamp - Kansas' 1st Congressional District

Tim Huelskamp - Kansas' 1st Congressional District

Via: fns.usda.gov

Michele Bachmann - Minnesota's 6th Congressional District

Michele Bachmann - Minnesota's 6th Congressional District

Via: fns.usda.gov


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Read The New Justice Department Guidelines For Snooping On Reporters

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Eric Holder’s report comes after criticisms over the Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press phone records. Update: The White House applauds Holder’s report, signals a move away from criminal investigations of leakers.

Via: J. Scott Applewhite, File / AP

WASHINGTON — The bad news if you're a reporter writing about information the government would rather not be published: The Justice Department can still snoop on you.

The good news, after a new report from the Justice Department Friday: They'll probably have to tell you about it.

Following outrage over news that federal investigators seeking to prosecute government leakers obtained thousands of phone records from the Associated Press and the e-mails of Fox News correspondent James Rosen, President Obama ordered Attorney General Eric Holder to review how and when the Justice Department snoops on journalists. On Friday, Holder presented his report and distributed it to the public.

Holder's statement on the report:


"The Department of Justice is firmly committed to ensuring our nation's security, and protecting the American people, while at the same time safeguarding the freedom of the press. These revised guidelines will help ensure the proper balance is struck when pursuing investigations into unauthorized disclosures. While these reforms will make a meaningful difference, there are additional protections that only Congress can provide. For that reason, we continue to support the passage of media shield legislation. I look forward to working with leaders from both parties to achieve this goal, and am grateful to all of the journalists, free speech advocates, experts, and Administration leaders who have come together in recent weeks – in good faith, and with mutual respect – to guide and inform the changes we announce today."

Update: White House spokesperson Matt Lehrich said the president applauds Holder's report, and joined Holder's call for a media shield law. He signaled the government will focus on punishing leakers with other means besides criminal investigations.

"[A]s the Justice Department states in its report, pursuing a criminal investigation and prosecution is not always the most efficient and effective way to address leaks of classified information," Lehrich said in a statement. "There are circumstances in which leaks are better addressed through administrative means, such as withdrawal of security clearances or imposition of other sanctions. The President agrees with the Justice Department's recommendation and has directed his team to explore how the Administration could more effectively use alternatives in appropriate cases."

Al Sharpton: Zimmerman Verdict "An Atrocity ... A Slap In The Face To Those That Believe In Justice."

Zimmerman Defense Lawyer On Knock-Knock Joke: "I Still Think The Joke Was Funny."

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“I’m sorry I didn’t tell it better but there was an important reason for it,” Zimmerman Defense lawyer Don West said, responding to a question about the personal criticism he’s faced over his handling of the case.

View Video ›

Via:

West began his opening statement with the joke:

Knock, knock. Who's there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Congratulations, you're on the jury.


Nobody laughed.

Can Obama Heal Racial Divide After Zimmerman Verdict?

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From the Race Speech to the Beer Summit to Sanford, Fla.

Source: youtube.com

WASHINGTON — At the outset of the Trayvon Martin saga, President Obama took sides in the racially fraught debate. Now that Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, has been acquitted, Obama finds himself in a role for which he is unusually qualified, but which he has sought for most of his term to avoid: racial healer-in-chief.

The president of the United States is a lawyer who taught constitutional law. He is the author of a book whose subtitle is, "A Story of Race and Inheritance." His March 2008 "race speech" is already read as a masterpiece of American rhetoric, and in it he offered a choice:

"We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle — as we did in the O.J. trial — or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina — or as fodder for the nightly news," he said. "Or… we can come together and say, 'Not this time.'"

Obama said in that speech that "race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now," but the politics of race proved intensely and obviously distracting for the first black president, who largely avoided the sort of explicit campaign around racial understanding that President Bill Clinton once led. He stepped once, by accident, onto this charged terrain, saying the police officer who arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates in his own home had acted "stupidly." In the ensuing firestorm, he brought Gates and the police officer who arrested him together at the White House for an obsessively-covered conversation about race in the form of a "beer summit."

The issue then, like now, was one based in African-American anger over lasting stereotypes casting innocent black men as criminals by default. Supporters of the police in that case said Gates' supporters were too quick to assign overt racism on the part of authorities. They counted Obama among that group.

Almost exactly four years later, Obama offered a rare comment on a local homicide in Sanford, Fla.: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," the president said, making the killing personal — though he avoided his mistake in the Gates situation of weighing in on the merits of the case. "I think [Trayvon's parents] are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."

And in the case of the Martin shooting and subsequent Zimmerman trial, the criticisms were the same. When Obama said his son would look like Trayvon, Zimmerman's supporters accused him of fueling the storyline that Zimmerman is a racist.

Now George Zimmerman's acquittal is Obama's next beer summit moment, a chance to try and bring the divided sides of a racial fight together after they had been starkly divided by the collision of America's lasting biases and the justice system. Obama's style has been to use his own identity to resolve intractable racial contradictions — between his own white grandmother's fear of a black stranger and his own black identity, between Gates's justified outrage and a police officer's snap judgment. It's a style that critics on both sides often find intellectually dissatisfying, but which has at times found broad national emotional appeal.

The White House has steadfastly declined to comment on the Zimmerman trial as it has unfolded before a national audience on cable TV. Now that the trial is over, Obama will not be able to avoid a conversation about race and justice that is sure to grip the country in the coming day.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night.

But this is a conversation Obama has been having, in public and in private, for much of his professional ife. He brought together the two sides after the Gates case and usd his unique position as the first black president in American to discuss a subject that has been a focus of his professional career. Now that the Zimmerman trial — a deadly encounter, not just an infuriating one — the role that is open for the President of the United States is as healer.


Democratic Candidates For NYC Mayor All Express Outrage At Zimmerman Verdict

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Unanimous distaste for the verdict from the major Democrats in the 2013 primary for New York City mayor.


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275,000 People Have Already Signed NAACP Call For Civil Rights Charges Against George Zimmerman

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An appeal to Attorney General Eric Holder from the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. [Updated]

People react to George Zimmerman's acquittal at Seminole County Court.

Via: Steve Nesius / Reuters

The NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, saw a massive, instant response to a petition Saturday night urging the Department of Justice to open a civil rights case against George Zimmerman, who was cleared of all criminal charges in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The petition gained more than 275,000 signatures overnight, NAACP spokesman Eric Wingerter told BuzzFeed Sunday afternoon.

The appeal asks Attorney General Eric Holder to "address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today" and press civil rights charges against Zimmerman, who shot an unarmed Martin last February in what he said was an act of self-defense.

"The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida's prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began," the petition reads.

"The most fundamental of civil rights — the right to life — was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin," the appeal goes on. "We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation."

The NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, posted the petition around 10:30 p.m., just a half an hour after the Florida jury reached its not-guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial. Within the first hour of its publication online, the petition garnered 57,600 signatures, according to Wingerter.

In his own statement earlier Saturday evening, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said the group was "outraged and heartbroken over today's verdict."

"We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed," Jealous said.

Wingerter said the organization will keep its tech support team "up through the night" monitoring the high traffic on the website and petition.

The full text of the petition reads as follows:

Attorney General Eric Holder,

The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida's prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began. Today, with the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it is time for the Department of Justice to act.

The most fundamental of civil rights — the right to life — was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin. We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation.

Please address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today.

Thank you.

This post has been updated to reflect the most current figures for petition signatures. (7/14/13, 4:00 p.m.)

American Man Detained In Northern Ireland On Suspicion Of IRA Activity

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Wisconsin man arrested following jailhouse visit with Irish nationalist dissident accused of plotting pipebomb attack.

Via: myspace.com

WASHINGTON — A 24-year-old American man was arrested last weekend in Belfast as part of an investigation into an IRA-style pipe-bomb attack and is still being detained by Northern Irish authorities.

Zachary Gevelinger, from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, was arrested on July 6th in Belfast and taken to the town of Antrim for questioning. Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman Gordon Fyffe confirmed the arrest of a man in his 20s on that day to BuzzFeed. Fyffe declined to confirm Gevelinger's identity but a source familiar with the situation confirmed the name to BuzzFeed, and it has appeared in Northern Irish and local Wisconsin media. Gevelinger was picked up by detectives from Northern Ireland's police service "investigating dissident republican activity," according to Fyffe. The PSNI were granted 96 extra hours to continue to hold Gevelinger on Thursday.

The arrest came just days before July 12th, the date Protestant hardliners in North Ireland celebrate the anniversary of William the Orange's defeat of Catholics in Ireland. For centuries "The Twelfth" has been a point of contention between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland: for decades there have been clashes between Protestant militant groups and Catholics, and protestant organizations have organized marches through Catholic areas as a show of force.

Gevelinger was paying a jailhouse visit to Christine Connor, a 27-year-old woman who has been charged with trying to kill two police officers in a pipe-bomb attack in north Belfast in May. Gevelinger had reportedly corresponded with Connor prior to the visit. According to Irish News, he was arrested immediately after leaving the jail where Connor is incarcerated and his belongings, including a computer, were seized from his hotel room.

Gevelinger appears to have been involved with Socialist Party politics in the United States. A source sent a copy of the minutes of the 2009 Socialist Party USA convention in Newark, New Jersey, in which Gevelinger is listed as being one of the seated delegates from Wisconsin.

Pat Noble, a 19-year-old who made a few headlines earlier this year for becoming a Socialist Party school board member in Red Bank, New jersey, tweeted and Facebooked about knowing Gevelinger.

"Zach is a good comrade that I've known for a couple of years," Noble said on his Facebook page. He also claimed that "The US Embassy is blocking his telephone calls and possibly allowing his medications to be denied." This claim has been repeated on the website Indymedia, which wrote that calls to the US consulate on Gevelinger's behalf were blocked.

Gevelinger has a MySpace profile with the screen name of Zapatista_EZLN, and a profile on the travel site Wayn on which he posted that he's been to Northern Ireland. Gevelinger included a travel tip for Belfast: "I stayed at the Global Village Hostel in South Belfast, Northern Ireland. I highly suggest staying ther [sic]. It is cheap, perfect location, and wonderful staff."

He tweeted last year about searching for a job in Ireland. His Twitter also references an experience observing "colonial officers" on a visit to Belfast.

Gevelinger appears to have attended the University of Wisconsin-Plattesville, where he ran in a student body election in 2009.

A spokeswoman for the State Department would not confirm details of Gevelinger's arrest and detention to BuzzFeed, saying "Due to privacy considerations, we do not have any information to share at this time." Nor would a spokesman for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who would only say that "I'm afraid we don't routinely comment on security matters."

Gevelinger's family in Wisconsin has released a statement to the media in Wisconsin requesting privacy and pointing out that Gevelinger has not been charged with a crime. "We fully expect that Zach will be released very soon," the statement says.

Civil Case Against Zimmerman In Florida Has Little Chance Of Success

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A University of Miami law professor tells BuzzFeed that “Stand Your Ground” will probably keep George Zimmerman from facing a civil trial. Federal charges still possible.

Via: TV Pool / AP

WASHINGTON — It's extremely unlikely George Zimmerman will pay a civil fine for killing Trayvon Martin, according to lawyers in Florida and other legal experts. That leaves it up to the U.S. Justice Department to take up the cause of Martin's supporters, a risky prospect in its own right thanks to the evidentiary problems that plagued state prosecutors. One Florida law professor said he'd be "stunned" if a federal prosecution of Zimmerman goes ahead.

The reason a successful civil case is unlikely to be successful for the Martin family, according to Lave, is Florida's Stand Your Ground law — the legal construct that was key to the legal decisions at the start of the Martin saga, but didn't play a central role in the criminal trial that led to Zimmerman's acquittal. The law is written in such a way that Zimmerman can easily use his criminal acquittal to duck a civil case, according to Lave.

"Technically, there can still be a civil case," said Tamara Rice Lave, a professor of criminal law at the University of Miami and a former San Diego public defender. "However, Stand Your Ground is going to preclude that."

At the start of his trial, Zimmerman waived the right to have a judge determine he was immune from prosectuion in the Martin shooting under to Stand Your Ground, which says people can use deadly force rather than flee a situation where they feel their lives are in danger. After his acquittal, Zimmerman can rely on getting that immunity in a civil case, Lave said.

"One of the things that Stand Your Ground does, is it says that if you prove by a preponderance of the evidence, which is 51%, that you acted lawfully under Stand Your Ground you can't be prosecuted criminally sued civilly, and he's just gotten a not guilty verdict," she said. "And so it's pretty clear he's going to win that."

Darren Hutchinson, a constitutional law professor at the University Of Florida, agreed that a civil case could blow up due to Stand Your Ground, but he was less convinced a judge is guaranteed to give Zimmerman immunity under the law.

"It's still hard, given a acquittal, to win in a civil case," he said. He noted that if Zimmerman doesn't get immunity under Stand Your Ground, the burden of proof would be much different and give the Martin family attorneys the chance for a win.

"If they got over the procedural hurdle [of immunity], I wouldn't say that it would be impossible," Hutchinson said. "I still think it's difficult, given the lack of evidence we have in the case and the main eyewitness against him [Martin] being dead."

Many outside observers look to O.J. Simpson's civil conviction following his criminal conviction as a map for how the Martin family should proceed. Lave said the comparison doesn't make much sense.

"If you think about the O.J. case...no state had Stand Your Ground laws then. California doesn't have it now, so there was nothing that prevented [the civil case] from happening," she said. In Florida, the law is different: Stand Your Ground gives Zimmerman legal power to shut down a civil case before it begins, something Lave said was a virtual certainty.

Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said in multiple TV interviews Sunday that Trayvon's parents are considering a civil case but haven't made a final decision.

"I'm sure we'll spend some time talking to them and make the appropriate decisions," Crump told MSNBC's Steve Kornacki, "but right now they are going to church this morning and leaning on a higher authority because they are very confused about the justice system and how all of this has transpired."

Martin family supporters, including the NAACP, have called on the Justice Department to take up the Zimmerman case, perhaps charging the former neighborhood watch volunteer for civil rights violations. On Sunday, NAACP president Ben Jealous told CNN his group has had conversations with "senior members" of Attorney General Eric Holder's staff about pursuing a civil rights case.

"We are glad what they began months back continues, which is a serious reviewing of everything that came out in this case, everything that was known before this case," Jealous said.

Justice Department spokespeople did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the conversations with the NAACP.

Hutchinson said a federal prosecution is unlikely in his estimation.

"The federal jurisdiction in this case, the most likely would be a hate crimes statute," he said. "Most of the federal criminal civil rights laws are directed to state actors, so if the the police killed Trayvon I could see a federal case more easily."

Hutchinson said federal prosecutors would have a hard time proving racial bias.

"What overt evidence would they have of race to show that [Zimmerman] acted in a racial fashion when he decided to kill Trayvon Martin?" Hutchinson said. "It would be a criminal case, with beyond a reasonable doubt, a really tough standard. So to show racial motivation, it would be really tough."

Hutchinson said he can see the Justice Department "giving attention to investigating and then announcing, 'we've decided there's nothing here for us to do.'" But he doesn't see the Justice Department charging Zimmerman with a crime.

"I would be be stunned by a federal prosecution, let's put it that way," Hutchinson said.

Lave said that federal prosecutors can go after Zimmerman without fear of running afoul of double jeopardy, which prevents a person from being charged with the same crime twice. Double Jeopardy doesn't apply across jurisdictions, giving federal prosecutors latitude to take on the case. Federal prosecutors can learn from the mistakes Florida prosecutors made in their case, Lave said, but they'll still be stuck with a case based on conflicting witness testimony and a lack of physical evidence due, Lave said, to the months between the shooting and Zimmerman's arrest.

But the difficulty federal prosecutors may face doesn't mean a federal prosecution is out of the question, according to Lave.

"We make many decisions in this country based on resources, which we should because we have limited resources. But sometimes justice is more important than resources," she said. "So if the federal government feels that this is a miscarriage of justice, then they should do something about it."

Obama's Statement On The Zimmerman Verdict

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President calls for “calm reflection” after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. “We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken.”

President Obama addressed the Trayvon Martin shooting on March 23, 2012.

Via: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

The White House released the following Sunday:

The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that's a job for all of us. That's the way to honor Trayvon Martin.

A jury on Saturday accepted that Zimmerman acted out of self-defense in February 2012 when he pursued, confronted and fatally shot Martin, an unarmed high school student.

Weeks after the 17-year-old was shot, as outrage was bubbling up around the country, President Obama spoke of the case in highly personal terms. "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," the president had said, during a Rose Garden news conference in which the primary business had been to announce his nominee for president of the World Bank.

"I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this," Obama said. "All of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen."

LINK: Can Obama Heal Racial Divide After Zimmerman Verdict?


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