Quantcast
Channel: BuzzFeed News
Viewing all 15742 articles
Browse latest View live

New Book Accuses Top Democrats Of Bad Behavior In '90s

0
0

A former fundraiser makes a number of serious claims about Democratic players like Terry McAuliffe and lobbyist Steve Elmendorf. McAuliffe and Elmendorf issued strong denials.

Former Congressman Dick Gephardt

The LIFE Images Collection / Getty Terry Ashe

WASHINGTON — A former Democratic fundraiser has written a tell-all book that accuses top figures in the party of shady activities in the 1990s.

Lindsay Lewis, who raised money for former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt in the 1990s, alleges in his forthcoming book Political Mercenaries a litany of unsavory doings in an era marked by fundraising scandals such as the sale of stays in the Lincoln Bedroom to donors and the DNC's scandal with illegal Chinese money. Lewis later became finance director for the DNC under Howard Dean before resigning in 2005.

The most serious accusations are made against former Gephardt insiders like chief of staff and current Washington lobbyist Steve Elmendorf, as well as current Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, whom Lewis accuses of making a homophobic remark.

Lewis writes that Elmendorf passed out campaign money to members in the Capitol, which is now a violation of House rules:

In the middle of September of 1992, our office got a call from one of the postal workers' unions with a simple offer: They had $100,000 left to give from their PAC but wanted to give that money to incumbents who really needed it. O'Hanlon and the others gathered the names and sent the list, via fax machine, over to the Rural Letter Carriers of America. About two days later, the stack of fifty checks arrived to the office, some made out for $1,000, some for $5,000, and addressed to individual members. O'Hanlon told me to take that stack up to Steve Elmendorf in the Capitol. I was opposed to the thought of distributing political money in the Capitol, but I would do the job I was handed.

I watched as Steve ran the few feet from Gephardt's office and tried to track down every member he had a check for. Classic. He was currying fa- vor for himself with each and every member he handed a check to, though he had done nothing to raise the money.

Reached for comment, Elmendorf denied that this ever happened and said that the allegations are an attempt to get back at Elmendorf for passing over Lewis for a promotion in favor of Noah Mamet, who is now President Obama's nominee for ambassador to Argentina.

"The allegation he makes is not true," Elmendorf said. "It's clear he has a grudge against me because I didn't promote him. And it's also clear from his own behavior he describes in the book that I made the right decision."

Lewis writes in the book that McAuliffe, then a top fundraiser for the Democrats, said that he wouldn't have hired Elmendorf if he had known that he is gay.

Steve had joined Gephardt in 1992 after being Congressman Dennis Eckart's (D-OH) chief of staff. The Democratic Party still hadn't fully em- braced supporting gay rights, and in one of the first off-the-cuff conversations I had with Terry McAuliffe he told me that, 'had we known Steve was gay, we would have never hired him.' Terry, as with most Democrats, has updated his views and now supports gay rights, but at the time, Steve didn't fit in with Terry's boys' network.

McAuliffe's office sent more than one statement to BuzzFeed News denying that the exchange had happened and reaffirming McAuliffe's commitment to gay rights.

"That conversation didn't happen," said Jamie Radice, McAuliffe's communications director. "Steve Elmendorf and Governor McAuliffe have been good friends for many years and any suggestion otherwise is false. Both on the campaign trail and now in office, Gov. McAuliffe has fought for equality for gay and lesbian Virginians."

"Anyone who has actually worked for Gov. McAuliffe would know this is an absurd allegation designed to drive book sales," said Brennan Bilberry, McAuliffe's communications director in his last campaign, in an email with the subject line "McAuliffe gay employee comment." "McAuliffe has rightly been recognized as a champion for equal rights not just because of his actions as governor but because of his deep personal commitment to fairness that I experienced firsthand working for him."

BuzzFeed News also received a statement from Jason Rahlan, communications director of the Human Rights Campaign, who said:

"Gov. Terry McAuliffe has been a true champion of LGBT equality. In fact, his very first act as governor was to issue an executive order protecting Virginia's LGBT state employees from discrimination. That leadership continued, as McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring refused to defend Virginia's discriminatory marriage ban. And following this week's action by the Supreme Court, he has shown national leadership in implementing marriage equality with urgency across Virginia."

Elsewhere in the book, Lewis accuses Gephardt's team of having sold committee chairmanships to Democrats who gave $100,000 per cycle to the DCCC, and says that pieces of legislation had specific fundraising goals attached to them — a tax proposal was "worth $200,000 per member on the Ways and Means Committee," he writes. Lewis writes that after he left fundraising between working for Gephardt and, later, working at the DNC under Dean, he was so broke that he sold fake ecstasy pills to make ends meet.

Lewis, who now works at the Progressive Policy Institute, said in an interview that he stands by the allegations in his book.

"Well, it definitely happened, I remember handing the checks over at the Capitol to [Elmendorf]," Lewis said.

Lewis said it was "not true" that he had written the book as the result of a grudge against Elmendorf for not promoting him, but said that the choice of Mamet over him exemplified the move towards big money and away from labor that Lewis finds troubling.

"To me it was a big point in that this was sort of the decision that national money from individuals was the most important thing," Lewis said. "Whereas I was more knowledgeable working with labor and the typical Democratic donor."

As for McAuliffe, "You've got to remember this was a long time ago and it certainly was more of the mindset of where the Democratic Party was back then, and I think it shows how far it's come, with Terry fully embracing gay marriage in Virginia now."

Lewis said he was not worried about potential backlash to the book, which is being released on Oct. 21.

"I think it's an important story to tell," Lewis said. "This system's gotten out of control and Democrats rail against Republican money without acknowledging that they've played an equal if not bigger part in creating the problems we have with political money now."

"If the backlash comes, that's OK with me," Lewis said. "It's a story that I want out."


Supreme Court Allows Idaho Same-Sex Marriages To Proceed, Ends Stay

0
0

A Friday order from the court. [Update: At least one Idaho county began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday evening.]

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon ended the temporary halt on same-sex couples' marriages in Idaho.

In a two-sentence order from the court — with no listed justices dissenting — it ended the hold on the Idaho marriage case that was issued by Justice Anthony Kennedy earlier this week.

On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld a trial court ruling that Idaho's ban is unconstitutional. Later Tuesday, it issued the mandate, which is the final step putting the ruling into effect.

On Wednesday morning, however, Idaho officials asked the Supreme Court — in a filing to Kennedy — to put the ruling on hold during any appeal the state might pursue.

Kennedy granted a temporary stay while the Supreme Court considered Idaho's request and heard from the same-sex couple plaintiffs in the case. In the meantime, however, the 9th Circuit recalled its mandate — a move it is now likely to reverse given Friday's order from the Supreme Court.

Assuming the mandate is reissued, it is likely that same-sex couples will be able to marry shortly in Idaho.

Although the stay denial is important for the same-sex couples in Idaho wishing to marry, the Supreme Court's decision to deny a stay marks an unexplained — and potentially important — change from the high court.

As this year began, the Supreme Court issued a stay during Utah's appeal of the trial court decision striking down its marriage ban. The decision — and two later moves by the court to issue stays in other marriage or marriage recognition cases — signaled to lower courts that such stays were the appropriate course of action during appeals of marriage cases. In fact, many courts cited the Supreme Court's granting of stays in their own decisions to grant stays during state appeals.

Now — after the Supreme Court denied all of the pending requests to hear marriage appeals on Monday — however, the court also has denied the stay Idaho requested pending any appeal it seeks. As courts took the cue from the Supreme Court as to the stay in Utah and other stays, courts likely will take this move as a sign that stays are no longer required during marriage appeals.


View Entire List ›

North Carolina Marriage Ban Struck Down, Marriage Equality To Follow

0
0

U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn issued the friday afternoon order.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge found that North Carolina's ban on same-sex couples' marriages, passed by voters in 2012, is unconstitutional.

The move follows the Supreme Court decision on Monday morning to deny the attempted appeal of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down Virginia's similar ban.

Because North Carolina is one of the states covered by the 4th Circuit, the 4th Circuit's Virginia ruling — Bostic v. Schaefer — is controlling in North Carolina.

In the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn found that, under the Bostic ruling, "the court determines that North Carolina's laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are unconstitutional as a matter of law."

Marriages licenses are expected to be issued to same-sex couples on Friday. For example, the Register of Deeds in Wake County, North Carolina is staying open until 9 p.m., according to Equality North Carolina.

In another pending marriage case in federal court in North Carolina, U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen signaled earlier Friday afternoon that he, too, planned to take similar action in a coming order, writing, "Bostic is binding precedent on this court and, for reasons which will be explained later in a separate opinion, controls the decision in this case."


View Entire List ›

It's Business As Usual For TSA Agents Despite Enhanced Ebola Precautions

0
0

Wash your hands, wear gloves, disinfect your work station. “The precautionary measures are measures that are already in place. They’re just redoubled now because of the Ebola.”

Jason Reed / Reuters

WASHINGTON — As the government amps up security at the country's major airports because of Ebola, there's one group of workers that has seen little change in their day-to-day precautions: agents for the Transportation Security Administration.

American Federation of Government Employees General Counsel David Borer said aside from some additional briefings, TSA agents are so far only being encouraged to follow the regular precautions they'd normally take anyway: wash their hands, use gloves, and disinfect their work area.

"The precautionary measures [for Ebola] are measures that are already in place," Borer told BuzzFeed News. "They're just redoubled now because of the Ebola."

Borer said AFGE, which represents some 45,000 TSA screeners around the country, has been talking with the administration on a fairly constant basis. And while there is "concern" among agents because they come into contact with so many passengers, he said as long as everybody continues to have reliable information the situation should remain under control.

"Everybody, the TSA included, faces this sort of tug of war between communicating extensively and whatever tipping point there is where you begin to add to the panic," Borer said.

When passengers at five of the country's largest airports arrive from West Africa, Homeland Security and Customs agents evaluate them for symptoms. If someone is suspected of having Ebola, they are turned over to someone from the Centers for Disease Control.

But still the concern from TSA agents and others is there.

Workers at airports around the country, even those not at the five airports where the majority of arrivals from West Africa come in, have used the outbreak to speak out about their own workplace safety concerns.

In New York's LaGuardia airport, cabin cleaners for Delta went on strike to demand state officials look into their workplace conditions. And a cabin cleaner for ReadyJet at Boston's Logan Airport said workers sometimes are accidentally exposed to passenger's bodily fluids.

"I have seen accidents where people are draining fluid from the lavatory and get excrement on their face and body," ReadyJet cabin cleaner Edwin Lopes said in a statement sent by Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. "This is why we need better equipment to wear."

Democratic Arizona Governor's Candidate Had His Driver's License Suspended This Year

0
0

His license was suspended this year over tickets.

Duval in 2013.

Fred Duval 2014 Campaign Facebook

Fred Duval, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Arizona had a suspended driver's license in 2014 for several months following a string a traffic violations.

A search of Arizona's public court records shows Duval had a number of traffic tickets over the past few years. A form Duval filed to have his license reinstated in October showed he checked "yes" when asked if his license is currently suspended.

A spokesman for Duval's campaign told BuzzFeed News that Duval paid a fine and went to traffic school in response to the tickets, but failed to pay a small fee leading to the license suspension.

The license suspension lasted from mid-June to September, according to the campaign spokesman.

A campaign aide for Duval likewise pointed to an Arizona Republic article noting Duval's Republican gubernatorial opponent Doug Ducey had 13 traffic citations over a four-year period. Ducey did not receive a license suspension.

Here's the form Duval filed in October to get his license reinstated:

Arizona Public Records

Martin O'Malley Makes His Pitch In Iowa

0
0

On Saturday, at the Maryland governor’s 17th event in Iowa since last summer, the O’Malley brand takes shape. “A big generational shift afoot.”

Twitter / Des Moines Register / Via Twitter: @KObradovich

During his fourth trip this year to Iowa this year, the early-voting state where presidential campaigns take hold or wilt, Gov. Martin O'Malley pitched his brand of leadership to local Democrats during a two-day swing through the Midwest.

The Maryland governor had three points for the crowd of 50 gathered at Baratta's Restaurant in Des Moines on Saturday morning — things "I'm noticing," he explained, as he travels from state to state on behalf of Democratic candidates.

First, O'Malley said, the economy had not improved enough under President Obama, for whom the governor was once an unapologetic surrogate. "It's working better than what it was," O'Malley said. "But it's not really working well."

Second, he argued that, especially among people under 40, there was "a big generation shift afoot" in Americans' perspectives. "Many of us were told, those of us over 50," said O'Malley, who at 51 years old barely qualifies, "that the key to success is to specialize and separate from others. Young people believe it's proximity, closer to action to others. They are multi-disciplinary, conceptually."

And last, O'Malley sold what he described as a "new way of governing" best embodied by mayors. (He was one for eight years in Baltimore.) "[It's] entrepreneurial, it's collaborative, it's performance-measured, it's individually responsive, it's real-time, real fast, and really visible for everyone to see thanks to technology and the internet," he told the group of volunteers and local officials, according to a transcript of the event provided by an O'Malley aide.

The brief speech — a diagnosis of the stagnant economy, and a proposal for fresh, executive leadership — read like the outlines of what could be O'Malley's message to national Democratic voters.

The governor has said he is making preparations to launch a possible White House bid. O'Malley will finish his second and last term as governor in January. He has spent months campaigning for other Democrats, appearing at more than 80 fundraisers and traveling to as many as 19 states since the start of 2013.

He has headlined 17 events in Iowa since last summer and donated more than $31,000 to Democrats there, according to figures provided by an aide.

On the ticket this fall, the state will decide a governor's race, two congressional races, and one of the tightest U.S. Senate races of the midterm elections. Iowa poll results published on Saturday night showed Rep. Bruce Braley, the Democrat, trailing state Sen. Joni Ernst, the Republican, by just one point.

Brad Anderson, the Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of state, appeared with O'Malley at a second event on Saturday at the state party's Des Moines field office. Anderson praised the governor for his "hard work" on behalf of candidates in the state. "I'm going to be very blunt here. There are few people that have been more helpful to Iowa Democrats in 2014 than Governor Martin O'Malley."

Earlier this year, O'Malley sent staffers, paid for through his PAC, to the state to help on campaigns there. Ready for Hillary, an outside group urging Hillary Clinton run for president again, also dispatched staff to Iowa and 13 other states.

Despite his four trips to the state, O'Malley still barely registers on national polls.

In Maryland, where his lieutenant governor and hand-picked successor is in a tighter than expected race for governor, state surveys show the majority of Marylanders don't want O'Malley to run for president. More than 60% of registered Democrats in the state said they wanted Clinton as their next nominee. Only 3% chose O'Malley. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, and Bernie Senders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont, received the same level of Maryland support.

After his two events in Iowa, O'Malley traveled to Minnesota to keynote the state Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Founders' Day dinner in Minneapolis. On Sunday, he is scheduled to return to Iowa for two Young Democrats appearances.

SD Senate Candidate Sat On Board Of Company While It Defrauded Investors Of Millions

0
0

UPDATE (10:45 p.m.): Former Sen. Larry Pressler tells BuzzFeed News he regrets he ever joined the board.

Sky Capital / Via web.archive.org

Following his tenure in the Senate, former Republican Sen. Larry Pressler sat on the board of a brokerage firm, Sky Capital, that defrauded investors of $140 million over an eight-year period, according to federal prosecutors.

Pressler, who is running for Senate in South Dakota as an independent was on the board of Sky Capital from 2004 until he resigned in 2006, according to court documents and numerous news reports. Pressler served as non-executive director of the board.

Sky Capital was founded by Ross Mandell, who served as chief executive and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2012 for conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud.

Pressler was never accused of wrongdoing, but repeatedly vouched for the character of the Mandell, who was at the center of the fraud operation.

In an interview Sunday night, Pressler told BuzzFeed News he regrets that he joined the board, saying he felt "used" and "burned."

"If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have joined the board," Pressler said. "I resigned as soon as I found out."

In 2011, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a press release following Mandell's conviction that he and and another Sky broker who was tried with him, "were masters of deception who had no qualms about lying to investors, manipulating stock prices, and using dubious trading practices to enrich themselves at the expense of their victims."

Pressler was one of several big name U.S. political types along with Iraq envoy L. Paul Bremer and former New York police commissioner Howard Safir that Mandell used to bring legitimacy to his scheme.

"They had one of the most prestigious boards I had ever been associated with," Pressler told BuzzFeed News. "I suppose it's the kind of board a former senator should be more careful of joining."

"It was a stellar glimmering board," he added. "As far as I knew everything was going fine. I must have been shown dummy books. In my 18 years since I've left the Senate, I've learned a lot."

The New York Post reported Pressler was having a meeting with Mandell in 2006 when when 45 FBI agents raided Sky Capital's Wall Street office but Pressler said that information cited by the Post came from Mandell and he was not there.

"I was not there," Pressler told BuzzFeed News on Sunday. "He must have been mixed up."

Following the 2006 raid, Pressler said at the time, "Obviously we have a lot of work to do," according to a Wall Street Journal article on Sky launching its own internal investigation. "We have to be sure everything is being done right." The Wall Street Journal also reported Pressler said at the time he believed the FBI may have been be looking at events that "go back aways."

Pressler had a track record of vouching for Mandell's character when the crimes took place. In a 2005 Forbes profile of Mandell and his past trading problems in the 1990s Pressler said he thought Mandell was a changed man.

"I've come to know Ross Mandell personally," Pressler was quoted by Forbes as saying. "I concede that in the 1990s he made some mistakes, but I believe in second chances for people. He's an entrepreneur and a businessman, honest and good."

"I do believe in second acts in American lives," Pressler said of Mandell another time as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Forbes said of Pressler's relationship with Mandell, he was "one of his closest advisors."

In 2002, when Pressler ran for South Dakota's at-large Congressional seat, employees of Sky Capital were the biggest donors to his campaign, according to the Sunlight Foundation's website Influence Explorer. Mandell himself donated $2,000 to Pressler's campaign. Adam Harrington, who was tried with Mandell and convicted of the same four counts, donated $1,000.

Following the FBI raid, Pressler said, "I'm flabbergasted by this whole thing."

On Sunday, in the interview with BuzzFeed News, Pressler reiterated that he was stunned by Mandell's actions at the time. "I felt burned and flabbergasted," he said. "I really thought Ross Mandell had problems and he was rebuilding himself." He denied he had a close advising relationship with Mandell, and said the information in the Forbes article came from Mandell, not him.

Court records show at least one investor who testified at the trial cited Pressler as giving Sky Capital legitimacy.

"You know, there was the guy, there was the insiders in Washington that were going to be involved in this thing, Sen. Larry Pressler," said one investor James Hankins who lost more than half a million dollars in Sky. "And when we got to the situation with Global Secure, we were talking with Dick Armey -- I didn't know who Dick Armey was at the time. And I didn't know who Senator Larry Pressler was at the time, as well. But it was a Senator and Pressler was Washington, D.C. Gives it some validity, gave a lot of validity at the time."

Pressler resigned from the company following the raid after failing "to win a board resolution for Mr. Mandell to stand down," the Journal reported, citing Pressler and another person familiar with the meeting.

"I'm actually proud of my record there," Pressler said on Sunday night. "When I made a motion to fire Mandell that failed by one vote, I walked out and resigned."

"Sometimes former senators are used and I felt used. I was burned deeply and I'm embarrassed, but I certainly did nothing wrong," he said.

"I was not one the directors who ran the company," added Pressler.

This story has been updated to include an interview with Pressler.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Alaska's Same-Sex Marriage Ban

0
0

A U.S. District Court judge said Sunday that Alaska’s refusal to recognize the existing marriages of same-sex couples is a violation of constitutional rights. [Update: The state will appeal the ruling, the governor says.]

zimmytws/zimmytws

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess said the state deprived same-sex couples their rights to due process and equal protection under the laws. Because the facts of the case were not in dispute, he immediately struck down the unconstitutional laws and ruled in favor of the five gay couples who filed the lawsuit.

Since the 1998, Alaska has defined marriage as between one man and one woman through a state constitutional amendment approved by 68% of voters. State law also specifically says out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples will not be recognized in Alaska.

Though the ban was approved by a majority of voters, Burgess, appointed to the bench in 2005 by President George W. Bush, said it was the job of the Constitution to protect the fundamental rights of minorities. Fundamental rights have long been understood to include personal choices about marriage and family, he said, and same-sex couples' marriages should be no different.

"While homosexuality and the union of same-sex couples through marriage may be against the beliefs or beyond the moral parameters of some Americans, the core purpose of the 14th Amendment is to protect and individual's freedom," he said.

AP Photo/Courtesy of Tracey Wiese


View Entire List ›


Cory Booker's Stanford Columns Show His Transformation Into Who He Is Today

0
0

A look back at the early 1990s.

Cory Booker's Facebook

Cory Booker was not your average college student. At Stanford the New Jersey senator was a star football player, a Rhodes Scholar, and an active voice in the student community.

Booker received a dean's award for service his senior year, he created a peer-counseling program for black college students, and he was senior class president.

Booker also also maintained a regular column in the school newspaper, The Stanford Daily, a glance at which shows his transformation from a 18-year-old dude-bro into the person Booker is today.

Some of the columns touched on Booker's experience as a tight end and receiver for the Stanford Cardinal football team and what other lessons football could teach in life.

Some of the columns touched on Booker's experience as a tight end and receiver for the Stanford Cardinal football team and what other lessons football could teach in life.

Stanford Daily

Other columns discussed Booker's own religious faith and experiences he encountered from atheist and Christian student groups.

Other columns discussed Booker's own religious faith and experiences he encountered from atheist and Christian student groups.

Stanford Daily


View Entire List ›

Smiling People For Voter ID On Iowa GOP Candidate's Website Clearly German Teenagers

0
0

Whoops.

Paul Pate is a Republican running for Iowa secretary of state, a position he previously held and is running for again. One of his biggest issues is voter identification. Here's his website home page:

Paul Pate is a Republican running for Iowa secretary of state, a position he previously held and is running for again. One of his biggest issues is voter identification. Here's his website home page:

Via pateforiowa.com

The card show, however, is clearly not an Iowa driver's license. This is what one looks like:

The card show, however, is clearly not an Iowa driver's license. This is what one looks like:

Via iowadot.gov

Here's a closer look at the people in the image:

Here's a closer look at the people in the image:

Via pateforiowa.com

A reverse image search shows the picture comes from a Germany-based photographer.

A reverse image search shows the picture comes from a Germany-based photographer.


View Entire List ›

Vatican Document Signals Changing Dialogue About Gay People, Same-Sex Couples

0
0

In a new report, Catholic Church leaders state that “homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community.”

Max Rossi / Reuters

A groundbreaking document, compiled after the first week of discussions at an assembly of more than 200 Catholic Church leaders from around the world, calls for "serious reflection" on "the question of homosexuality" and urges Catholic communities to find a space for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people within the catechism.

"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community," the document states. "Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?"

While the text does not signal any change in the Catholic Church's opposition to "homosexual acts" or same-sex marriage, its tone is far more restrained and compassionate than in earlier official Vatican documents on the subject. It bears a similarity to the language of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops's "Always Our Children" pastoral message, a document to parents of gay children that generated controversy when it was issued in 1997.

The document from the assembly, known as the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, is significant, because, for the first time, the leaders of the Catholic Church appear to be responding to the more moderate tone Pope Francis has set in the past about the role of same-sex couples, the children of same-sex couples' marriages, and civil unions.

Although the pope stated that marriage is "between a man and a woman" in a March interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he acknowledged that some types of civil unions might be acceptable to the Catholic Church. "The secular states want to justify civil unions to regulate different situations of living together, driven by the need to regulate economic aspects between people, such as ensuring health care," he said. "These are coexistence agreements of various kinds, of which I wouldn't know how to identify their different forms. We have to look at the different cases and evaluate them in their variety."

In January, the pope urged the Church to "consider how to proclaim Jesus Christ to a generation that is changing," particularly emphasizing the need to welcome children and young adults who were raised by same-sex or divorced parents. "We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them," he said.

The Synod on Family ends on Oct. 25.

Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?

The question of homosexuality leads to a serious reflection on how to elaborate realistic paths of affective growth and human and evangelical maturity integrating the sexual dimension: it appears therefore as an important educative challenge. The Church furthermore affirms that unions between people of the same sex cannot be considered on the same footing as matrimony between man and woman. Nor is it acceptable that pressure be brought to bear on pastors or that international bodies make financial aid dependent on the introduction of regulations inspired by gender ideology.

Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners. Furthermore, the Church pays special attention to the children who live with couples of the same sex, emphasizing that the needs and rights of the little ones must always be given priority.

Via news.va

Top Idaho Republicans Split Over Response To Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

0
0

After a Friday ruling from the Supreme Court denying Idaho’s request to put the marriage ruling on hold, the governor continues to fight — but the attorney general takes a different approach. [Update: Marriages to start Wednesday, 9th Circuit rules.]

Jody, left, and Maria May-Chang greet as couples gather at the Ada County Courthouse to apply for same-sex marriage licenses in Boise, Idaho on October 8, 2014.

Patrick Sweeney / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Idaho Gov. Butch Otter went to court on Monday morning seeking to keep same-sex couples from marrying in the state.

Hours later, however, the state's attorney general, Lawrence Wasden, split with the governor. He argued that recent Supreme Court action means state officials "cannot satisfy the stringent standards governing issuance of stays." In other words, because the Supreme Court didn't think a stay was appropriate in the case, Wasden does not think the state could make a successful argument in favor of a stay.

The dueling Republican officials' filings at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was a sign of the almost breakneck pace of change in the legal fight over whether states can prohibit same-sex couples from marrying.

The Monday moves followed a week of legal maneuvering by the state since the appeals court ruled on Oct. 7 that Idaho's ban on same-sex couples' marriages is unconstitutional.

On Friday evening, Oct. 10, the Supreme Court denied Idaho's request for the court to issue a stay keeping the 9th Circuit from issuing its mandate — the final step in putting its ruling into effect.

Soon after, lawyers for the same-sex couples who had sued Idaho asked for the 9th Circuit to end the stay it earlier had granted to the state pending the outcome of its appeal of the trial court's decision. The 9th Circuit ordered a response to the request from state officials by 12 p.m. PT Monday.

Although Wasden noted that his filing did "not reflect reconsideration of their position concerning the validity of Idaho's marriage laws or the strength of their legal position," the split with the governor over whether same-sex couples should be able to marry during any appeal is a significant concession in a strong conservative state.

Read the same-sex couples' request to dissolve the stay:


View Entire List ›

Lawyer: It Looks Like Court Assigned Marriage Cases To Specific Judges "To Influence The Outcome"

0
0

The lawyer for the coalition that backed Nevada’s ban on same-sex couples’ marriages made the explosive claim in a filing asking the Nevada marriage case to be reheard by the appeals court.

Antioco Carillo (left) and Theodore Small are the first same-sex couple in Clark County to receive a marriage certificate at the Marriage License Bureau in Las Vegas, Oct. 9.

L.E. Baskow / Reuters

WASHINGTON — The lawyer representing the group that supports Nevada's ban on same-sex couples' marriages made an explosive claim on Monday: He argued that a federal appeals court appears to have picked specific judges "in order to influence the outcome" of marriage cases.

Same-sex couples began marrying in Nevada on Oct. 9, following the decision of a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals two days earlier that the state's marriage ban is unconstitutional.

On Monday, the lawyer for the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, Monte Stewart, requested a larger panel of the 9th Circuit to rehear the case.

One of the reasons he asked for the rehearing, he claimed, is the "high likelihood that the number of Judges [Stephen] Reinhardt and [Marsha] Berzon's assignments to the Relevant Cases, including this and the Hawaii and Idaho marriage cases (which we treat as one for these purposes), did not result from a neutral judge-assignment process."

Stewart wrote that the claim was the result of "©areful statistical analysis" by Dr. James H. Matis.

Stewart went further, writing, "The appearance of unfairness is not a close question here. Even without the aid of professional statisticians, a reasonable person will immediately sense that something is amiss when one judge out of more than thirty is assigned over a four and one-half year period to five of this Circuit's eleven cases involving the federal constitutional rights of gay men and lesbians, another to four of those cases, and both of them to the momentous 'gay marriage' cases."

In an affidavit filed and signed by Stewart with the filing, he noted the legal team's decision to obtain the analysis from Matis and includes Stewart's personal conclusion that the panel of judges that heard the Nevada marriage case was one of the most favorable possible panels for the same-sex couple plaintiffs and "among the least favorable" for "the man-woman marriage side." He then added that "such preferences and conclusions are known and understood by all at the Ninth Circuit involved with the judge-assignment process."

Because of this claimed "appearance of unfairness," Stewart argued in the request that an en banc rehearing is needed in order "to vindicate the values and integrity of [the appeals court's] own judge-assignment process."

The claim:

The claim:

What happened:

What happened:


View Entire List ›

Immigration Activists Call Out Kentucky Dem's "Morally Reprehensible" Tactics

0
0

Alison Lundergan Grimes promises she won’t support amnesty. “She is essentially aligning herself with her opponent.”

youtube.com

WASHINGTON — Latino advocates were shocked to learn Monday that Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes is running an under-the-radar campaign to paint herself as less interested in a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants than her opponent, Senator Mitch McConnell.

"I approve this message because I've never supported amnesty or benefits for illegal immigrants and I never will," Grimes says in a TV ad first uncovered by Vox. The ad attacks McConnell for voting in favor of a bipartisan immigration bill in 1986 that was the last time Washington provided a path to legality for undocumented workers.

The TV ad is, as Vox notes, "unlisted on YouTube, meaning it doesn't show up on Grimes' main YouTube page and isn't searchable — minimizing the likelihood that out-of-state supporters will see it."

The subterfuge did not sit well with Latino and immigrant advocates, most of whom are supporting Democrats like Grimes against the GOP in November.

"It smacks of desperation," said Frank Sharry, president of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice. "It's a real eye-roller. First of all, when Democrats try to get to the right of Republicans on immigration it just doesn't work. Number two, she's attacking him for a vote in 1986? Really?"

Democrats and Latinos have struggled to connect on a number of fronts this cycle. Red state incumbents, facing an electorate likely to include fewer Democratic base voters than the 2012 cycle, successfully pressured President Obama to delay a long-promised set of executive actions on immigration. Obama's delay didn't help rally the Latino base to Democratic candidates in tough races — but it did prompt a brushfire backlash against some Democrats.

Presente.org is a grassroots group targeting Democratic Senate incumbents who supported delaying the executive action delay by urging Latinos not to vote for them. Arturo Carmona, the group's executive director, told BuzzFeed News Grimes' put her in a new category of Democrats turning on the Latino base.

"Alison Ludergan Grimes is trying to play the anti-immigrant card. She's gotten into the race to the bottom with Sen. McConnell on who can bash on immigrants the most, which is pretty much as low as you can get, frankly, when you look at McConnell," he said. "She's basically using the lives of millions of undocumented immigrants to advance her political aspirations. It's totally morally reprehensible. It represents the worst of the Democratic Party and an increasingly dying breed across the nation when you look at the Democratic Party in particular."

Grimes will avoid the fate of other red state Democrats targeted by Presente, however — Carmona said his group didn't have time or budget to launch a paid advertising campaign against her.

Unlike some states in the South, Kentucky's Latino population is relatively small. But Bluegrass State Latino activists are aware of Grimes' anti-"amnesty" ad and they say it's not going to help drive their voters to the polls.

"It definitely makes it extremely difficult to be excited about her campaign," said Erin Howard, a Kentucky-based former board member at United We Dream, a national DREAMer advocacy group. "Her campaign made a gross miscalculation with this ad because she won't gain much by throwing immigrants under the bus ... Her ad reinforces falsehoods about immigration and essentially aligns her with her opponent."

The Grimes campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ebola Drug Makers Could Be Immune From Liability Under 2005 Law

0
0

If the Department of Health and Human Services declares a public health emergency, manufacturers could benefit from a liability waiver, even if potential risks were known before the drugs were used.

Jaime R. Carrero / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Vaccine manufacturers scrambling to get Ebola-related products to market could enjoy nearly unlimited immunity from lawsuits, thanks to language inserted into a defense spending bill under questionable circumstances days before Congress headed home for Christmas in 2005.

The language allows the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide blanket liability immunity to manufacturers of vaccines and other "countermeasures" after declaring a public health emergency in response to a pandemic.

Specifically, the language reads:

if the Secretary makes a determination that a disease or other health condition or other threat to health constitutes a public health emergency, or that there is a credible risk that the disease, condition, or threat may in the future constitute such an emergency, the Secretary may make a declaration, through publication in the Federal Register, recommending, under conditions as the Secretary may specify, the manufacture, testing, development, distribution, administration, or use of one or more covered countermeasures, and stating that subsection (a) is in effect with respect to the activities so recommended.

The law also bars any judicial review of claims against companies that manufacture the vaccines covered by the liability waiver. Only in the case of narrowly defined "willful misconduct" could someone injured by a vaccine — or the family of people who lost their lives as a result of a covered drug — file suit in federal court.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and former Speaker Denny Hastert inserted the liability provisions into the fiscal year 2005 Defense Department appropriations bill.

The move was highly unusual. Not only did it come during a then-rare weekend session in which Congress was rushing to wrap up work before Christmas, but it appears to have been included after House and Senate negotiators had agreed to a deal on the bill that did not include the provision.

At the time, outbreaks of avian bird flu had raised fears of a massive pandemic that could catch governments off guard. Frist and other supporters argued the language was critical to ensuring vaccines could be quickly provided in case of an outbreak.

Still, the exemption was not without its critics. Rep. John Conyers argued that if HHS declares a public health emergency and designates a vaccine as a countermeasure, even if it is later demonstrated that the company knew of potential risks, "families who are trying to gain compensation for their losses are left without recourse."

Similarly, former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, for instance, harshly criticized the proposal before it was included, argued it constituted a "massive holiday gift to the pharmaceutical industry. … Liability is not the reason for vaccine shortages, especially in the case of avian flu."

Indeed, vaccines have become an increasing part of the pharmaceutical industry's business over the last decade.

According to the World Health Organization, vaccines, while still a small part of overall global drug sales, have shown 10–15% growth per year, and have gone from a $5 billion market in 2005 to nearly $24 billion in 2013.

The pharmaceutical industry is a significant player in U.S. politics, as well. According to Open Secrets, since the 2006 cycle, political contributions by individuals in the industry and associated political action campaigns tops more than $150 million.

Congress appears to have approved the language since 2005, including in a 2013 public health bill. While the Senate passed the measure by "unanimous consent" — meaning no lawmaker raised an objection — in February of 2013, the House passed the bill in March on a 370 to 28 vote. President Obama signed the bill into law March 13, 2013.


Senate Candidate Changed His Address On His Website From D.C. To South Dakota

0
0

Late last year, he made the switch.

Before filing to run for Senate in South Dakota as an independent, former Republican Sen. Larry Pressler updated his personal website to change his address to South Dakota.

Politico previously reported Pressler lists his principal residence as Washington, D.C., and Pressler told Politico he's lived in D.C. since losing his Senate seat in 1996.

The address listed previously was that of the Pressler Group, Pressler's home and Washington-based consulting group. The new address is that of his Senate campaign.

Here's Pressler's website in June 2013, via the Web Archive, showing his address as Washington-based.

Here's Pressler's website in June 2013, via the Web Archive, showing his address as Washington-based.

Via web.archive.org

And here's Pressler's personal website by December 2013 saying he was located in South Dakota:

And here's Pressler's personal website by December 2013 saying he was located in South Dakota:

Via larrypressler.com

Pat Roberts Said In 1996 He'd Only Serve Two Terms — He's Running For His Fourth

0
0

“I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate.”

"I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate," said Pat Roberts in 1996.

Roberts was a Republican congressman at the time running to replace retiring Sen. Nancy Kassebaum.

Roberts is today running for his fourth term as senator and is in a tight race against independent candidate Greg Orman, a businessman.

Roberts was one of the few candidates that year vehemently resisting taking a term-limits pledge in 1996, saying he was wary of the idea.

Here's the video:

View Video ›

Here's The Map Of What Marriage Equality Looks Like In The U.S. Today

0
0

The status of same-sex couples’ marriage rights is changing daily. BuzzFeed News will be updating this map as changes warrant to give everyone an up-to-the-minute view of what the latest marriage news means.

John Gara/BuzzFeed

Same-sex couples can marry in a majority of states in the country — something that was not true until October 2014. Since the Supreme Court decided not to hear appeals of challenges to five states' marriage bans on Oct. 6, the ground has been shifting quickly.

As the process continues to play out, BuzzFeed News will be updating this map and the descriptions below to keep tabs on what's happening at any given moment in the many challenges to bans playing out across the country.

In the less than 10-and-a-half years since same-sex couples began marrying in Massachusetts, 24 other states and Washington, D.C., have joined the ranks of states where same-sex couples can marry.

In 13 jurisdictions, lawmakers voted for marriage equality — although voters initially reversed that action in Maine and the legislation was vetoed in California. The other 12 jurisdictions: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C.

Voters in three states approved marriage equality at the polls: Maine in an initiative the reversed voters' earlier decision, as well as Maryland and Washington, where efforts to reverse marriage equality through a referendum were rebuffed.

State courts, considering state law, found a right to marriage equality in Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, and New Mexico — although constitutional amendments later reversed those decisions in Hawaii and California.

Finally, beginning with Utah, the final frontier of marriage equality — federal courts considering federal rights — led to marriage equality after courts found bans on same-sex couples' marriages to be unconstitutional in 10 states: Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In this quickly changing environment, there are a growing number of states where same-sex couples are able to marry — but a related appeal, from some person or organization, is ongoing.

In Oregon, the National Organization for Marriage attempted to intervene in the case and was denied. They appealed that denial, were rejected, and have asked the full appeals court to rehear their appeal. In light of the Supreme Court's 2013 decision that outside groups have no standing to appeal a marriage decision when state or local officials no longer are appealing the issue, NOM is unlikely to succeed in this appeal.

In Nevada, the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage has asked the full appeals court to rehear last week's decision striking down Nevada's ban on same-sex couples' marriages. For the same reason as with the Prop 8 case, the coalition here is unlikely to succeed in this appeal request.

In North Carolina, state lawmakers have attempted to intervene in marriage litigation and could attempt to appeal decisions ending the state's marriage ban.

In Alaska and Idaho, officials have said they are appealing the trial and appeals court decisions, respectively.


View Entire List ›

Chamber Of Commerce Has Spent $15 Million On Races Where GOP Opposes Them On Immigration

0
0

The pro-business lobby is big on an overhaul of current immigration laws. Most of their money is going to races with people who aren’t.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce may want the GOP to change its tune on immigration policy, but that isn't stopping the powerful business lobby from pouring more than $15 million into efforts to re-elect nearly two dozen Republicans who disagree with them.

In fact, in four Senate races in North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, and Kentucky that could determine control of the Senate, the Chamber has spent nearly $7.8 million propping up Republicans against providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Earlier this year the Chamber made clear that it would not base its support for candidates solely on their immigration stances — and spent significant sums on primary races to support Republicans that disagreed with them.

But the sheer volume of money going towards candidates who have either voted against Chamber-backed immigration bills or publicly repudiated them is remarkable.

All told, the Chamber has spent just more than $15 million in 22 House and Senate races across the country, according to data collected by Open Secrets. In addition to marquee races like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign and state Rep. Thom Tillis' challenge to Sen. Kay Hagan in North Carolina, the Chamber has also backed candidates House races in Arizona, West Virginia, and Alabama.

Spending in support of candidates opposed to their immigration agenda represents more than half of the $28.2 million the Chamber has spent so far on the 2014 elections, according to the data.

The Chamber did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but earlier this year, spokeswoman Blair Latoff Holmes told BuzzFeed News, "The Chamber is not a single issue organization and we aren't going to agree with members or candidates 100% of the time … Immigration is certainly a top-tier issue for the Chamber but we're also focused on policies that will create jobs and grow the economy such regulatory reform, trade, and energy development to name a few."

For immigration activists, the Chamber's decision to spend significant amounts on candidates who oppose them on immigration reform is another reminder of the fair-weather-friend nature of political allies.

Earlier this week, Allison Grimes, who is facing off against McConnell in Kentucky, ran a controversial ad blasting her opponent for supporting a Reagan-era "amnesty" bill. The ad enraged Latino organizations, but for Grimes, who is hoping to suppress conservative voters as part of her electoral strategy, abandoning them could help her oust one of the most powerful Republicans in the country.

New Ad: Vote Or Buy A Bulletproof Vest For Sons

0
0

A get-out-the-vote ad by a Florida-based group is part of its new “Vest or Vote” campaign, which is rallying voters around police violence against black boys.

youtube.com

WASHINGTON – The ad is in black and white, and features a young mother and her son in her kitchen. She puts her coffee mug down to distract her son from a video game he's playing.

"Did you study?" she asks intently. He says yes.

Of even more concern than homework, though, is her request that he wear a bulletproof vest. "I need to know when I'm at work that you're going to be safe," she pleads. "Do it for me." After initially resisting, he eventually complies.

"Every 28 hours an African-American is killed by a police officer, security guard or vigilante. No parent in America should have to put their child in a bulletproof vest. On Nov. 4, you have a choice; Vest or Vote," it says.

The ad is a about a minute-and-a-half will run on YouTube and stream on the DreamDefenders.org. It's already getting attention in some Democratic circles. The creative was done in partnership with BRPR Group based in Miami, a Dream Defenders spokesman said.

It's part of the Dream Defenders' "Vest or Vote" campaign, which organizers say is meant to relay dramatic irony around the urgency of voting in this year's midterm elections. Dream Defenders accepts grants from individual donors; a crowd funding campaign on IndieGogo recently raised $22,000. It is based in Florida with ten chapters, mostly on college campuses, including Florida State, Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic.

Phillip Agnew, the executive director of the Florida-based group, is also a paid organizer for the SEIU.

A spokesman said the campaign also has a billboard in Tallahassee, as well as a digital ad [shown below] on the Dream Defenders' website which parodies an online sale for bulletproof vests.

"It's what we call exaggerated reality," said Steve Pargett, communications director for Dream Defenders. "But here in Florida, it really is the way that mothers are thinking. Mothers are scared for their children. And young people don't feel as safe as they did before Trayvon Martin was killed. It's a reality for people living here."

Viewing all 15742 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images