Author of 'More Guns, Less Crime' has UT speech canceled due to campus shooting

Not surprisingly, the gun-toting patriots that wanted the speech hope that nobody gets the wrong idea about guns. Really, despite the whole violence and death thing, they're great.

In an unfortunate coincidence, several student organizations, including the Libertarian Longhorns, the UT Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, the UT Objectivism Society and the UT Federalist Society planned to host John Lott, author of the book “More Guns, Less Crime,” at the UT Law School.

It was planned for 6 this evening. The event is postponed tentatively, said Jeff Shi, a full-time student computer science student and the president of UT Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, “and we are talking to Mr. Lott about alternative plans.”

I don’t want to comment on any political aspects of this,” Shi said. “I hope everything turns out well and the only casualties are the bad guys.”

Read More......

In Delaware, Chris Coons supports full LGBT equality -- unlike Christine 'identity disorder' O'Donnell

I posted this at AMERICAblog Gay and wanted to make sure everyone sees it.

Last week, CNN released a poll last week showing Chris Coons has a wide lead over anti-gay/anti-masturbation/witchcraft dabbler/teabagger Christine O'Donnell.

That's good.

Coons got into this race when no on thought he had a chance, since Mike Castle was viewed as the presumptive victor in both the GOP primary and the general election. Now, he's got a very good chance to be the next Senator from Delaware.

We've heard a lot about O'Donnell. Too much. Just four years ago, in 2006, O'Donnell opined that homosexuality was an "identity disorder."

We should also know some things about Chris Coons, the Democratic nominee and potential U.S. Senator.

Last Tuesday, I got the chance to talk to Chris Coons on Tuesday, shortly before the Senate voted to end filibuster of the Defense Authorization bill.

My focus was on Coon's LGBT positions, since that's the issue about which I'm most concerned these days. Also, keep in mind, the winner of this race becomes the Senator upon winning. So, if there's any chance to pass the DADT language in the lame-duck, we'll need every possible vote.

The first thing Coons told me was "If I was in the Senate, I'd vote to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell." That's a good start.

His website:

Chris has always been a supporter of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community here in Delaware. As County Executive, he created an external Diversity Commission that reviews county policies and practices and includes a representative from the LGBT community. Chris has also ensured domestic partnership benefits in New Castle County government and supported LGBT issues debated in the state legislature. If elected to the US Senate, he will continue fighting for LGBT issues such as: marriage equality for all Americans, repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act, and supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

Another supporter of marriage equality would be a very good thing.

Coons also told me he would co-sponsor legislation to repeal DOMA. To date, there's no DOMA repeal bill in that body. Paul Hodes also told us he's co-sponsor a Senate bill.

And, support for the other legislation is important since none of it passed this year.

Later today, we're going to find out if Mike Castle, who lost to O'Donnell, will enter this race as a write-in candidate. (UPDATE: Castle isn't running.)


For voters in Delaware and anyone who cares about LGBT equality, Chris Coons is the candidate. Read More......

Rutgers freshman jumps off bridge after roommate secretly films him making out with guy, puts film on Twitter

A horrific story.

18 year old Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey, reportedly jumped off a bridge to his death after his roommate secretly set up spy cameras in his dorm room, filmed him making out with another guy, and then posted the videos on Twitter.

The roommate also invited his Twitter followers to come watch Tyler, live, via hidden camera during a second date. The day after, Tyler announced on Facebook that he was going to kill himself, and shortly thereafter jumped off a bridge to his death.

NorthJersey.com has a timeline:

Sept. 1: Fall semester begins at Rutgers. Dharun Ravi and Tyler Clementi are roommates in Davidson dormitory on Busch Campus.

Sept. 19: Twitter feed from Ravi: “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with another dude. Yay.”

Sept. 21: Twitter feed from Ravi: “Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes, it’s happening again.”

Sept. 22, around 8 p.m.: Friends say Clementi sends a Facebook update: "Going to jump off the GW Bridge. Sorry."

Later that hour, Clementi commits suicide by jumping from the George Washington Bridge.

Not that it should matter, but Tyler was apparently a good kid, and an accomplished violinist:

Clementi was a member of the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra 2010-2011 season as a violinist. At the annual Ridgewood High School ceremony in June 2010, the senior won the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra Scholarship, the Orchestra Parents Association Award, and the National School Orchestra Award. He has been recognized by the Friends of Music that supports music in the Ridgewood public schools for his community activities.

Diane Wade, a violinist with the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra, sat next to Clementi and said he was one of the most gifted student players she had encountered in many years playing with the orchestra.

“He was so incredibly talented – I could not believe how good he was for such a young boy,” Wade said. “Such a nice kid all the way around…As a parent, he was the way you want your kids to be – polite, courteous, serious about the work he was doing and a hard worker.”

This is what it means to be gay in America in 2010. I think a lot of people who aren't gay, and even many who are, like to think that we're all rich and live in big welcoming cities where being gay is about as big a handicap as being left-handed. We say we want our civil rights, but I think a lot of people think we've got things pretty good, and behind closed doors, they probably call us whiners too.

And I'm sure our lives are pretty good, and just as good as straight people's, except for the part about not being able to get married, have children in many states, keep a job - oh yeah, and that nagging desire to kill ourselves because so many of us grew up thinking we were horrible people who would never be loved, or find love.

I think it's this kind of attitude that leads people to lecture us about "keeping the long view in mind" with regards to getting our civil rights.  I wrote in response, just yesterday, "to paraphrase Keynes, in the long view we're all dead."

Gay civil rights isn't a "social issue." It's our lives. A lot of us, myself included, grew up thinking we'd never see the age of 30 because we'd have to kill ourselves once people found out we were gay. A lot of people have no idea how hard it is to grow up being gay. To grow up thinking God made you wrong. Thinking you will never find love. Thinking your own family and friends will disown you once they know who you really are. And hearing the President of the United States - one of the "good" guys - say that you don't deserve the right to marry the person you love.

And when politicians make promises to us, break promises to us, then lecture us to "stop whining" because the other guy would hurt us even worse, it really hits a raw nerve. It suggests that they don't think our struggle is a struggle. They don't think it's as important as the "important" issues the country faces. It tells us that they think we're just another special interest, no different than the corporate lobbyist trying to get another tax break.

Until kids like Tyler Clementi stop killing themselves, we will continue to whine. We'll whine about bad politicians who try to pass legislation hurting us, and "good" politicians who say the right thing, but can't seem to find the time to fit our civil rights into their busy schedules.

We can't wait any longer. And we won't.

PS See Dan Savage's new YouTube channel "It Gets Better." It's an effort to stop gay youth from killing themselves, and something Dan started last week, before this latest suicide even happened.

Finally, someone set up a Facebook page in Tyler's memory.  Please stop by. Read More......

Indiana's GOP Sec. of State candidate accused of 'voter fraud' - could be in charge of elections

Yes, you read that headline right. Charlie White, the GOP candidate for Secretary of State in Indiana, the guy who would be overseeing elections laws, is being accused of voter fraud. And, it looks like there's a very strong case to be made against him.

Bil Browning tipped me off about this story earlier in the week. Bil provides the background here:

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is being touted as a 2012 presidential candidate by national media and conservative political pundits due, in part, to Indiana's controversial Voter ID law, one of the most restrictive voting laws in the entire country. Gov. Daniels argued strenuously that this law was necessary to 'protect the integrity of the vote' and to 'prevent voter fraud', despite there not being one single documented case of in-person voter fraud in the history of the state- until now, perhaps.

Believe it or not, questions are swirling around Charlie White, the Mitch Daniels' endorsed Republican candidate for Secretary of State. That's right, the candidate who, if elected, would be responsible for administering elections in Indiana and overseeing the exact same laws he's being accused of violating!

Last week, the Evansville Courier Press reported the story:

The Republican candidate for Indiana secretary of state is under fire for living on the east side of Fishers, an Indianapolis suburb, while registering to vote and representing a town council district on the west side.

In February, Charlie White moved into a condominium outside the district he represented. But at the time he did not leave his council post.

White updated his voter registration, but instead of listing the new address where he now lives, he used the address of a house in which he and his former wife lived until they divorced in 2007. She now owns that house.

White remarried in May.

He said he resigned Tuesday, as required by state law, after he was notified that he no longer lives in the district he represents.

And, he didn't live at the residence he used to register to vote either. That action sounds intentional on the part of White. I'd imagine most divorced people know that they no longer live with their exes, right?

In today's Indianapolis Star, Matthew Tully asks: "Should this voter be in charge of state elections?" Pretty clear that the answer is no:

If there were an election for dogcatcher, and it turned out that one of the leading candidates let his own dogs run wild in his neighborhood, you might think twice about casting a vote for him.

That essentially sums up the controversy surrounding Charlie White, the Republican candidate for secretary of state. White, who hopes to be the state's next chief elections officer, now acknowledges he continued to serve on the Fishers Town Council for months after moving out of the district he represented. Along the way, he also voted in a primary in a precinct in which he apparently no longer lived.

It's quite embarrassing.

After all, Democrats argue, how could White be taken seriously as the elections chief if he can't even follow the law himself?

"It is our clear position that Mr. White has committed voter fraud," Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said. "He has a lot of explaining to do, and he has serious allegations against him."

Parker is clearly enjoying the chance to rough up a Republican candidate for statewide office. Still, he's right.

Today, Bil reports the story "has continued to grow." He uses the terms "special prosecutor" and "grand jury." Bil also reports that White will undoubtedly stay on the ballot. So, this could -- and should -- help propel a win for the progressive candidate in the race, Democrat Vop Osili. Read More......

O'Donnell's bio is very misleading

From the person who wouldn't lie to the Nazis if they were looking for Anne Frank. It's all so sinful. TPM has the details on both misleading references in her profile.

The discrepancy was first reported by Gary Scott, a radio producer in Los Angeles and longtime political reporter and editor.

Turns out O'Donnell (R-DE) did receive a fellowship from a conservative think tank named the Claremont Institute, also in Claremont, Ca. but not affiliated with Claremont Graduate University. The think tank is listed properly on her campaign site, sort of.

And then there's that pesky little problem with her "Oxford" degree that wasn't. Read More......

Republicans block Gulf Oil Spill Commission from having subpeona power

Let me guess. The Republicans want to apologize again to BP. What's so wrong about asking Big Oil to provide honest testimony? Read More......

Politico asks: Who are Obama's 'whiners'?

Apparently, the whiners are me and you. From Keach Hagey at Politico:

The vice president told Democrats to “stop whining,” the president told them to “buck up,” and if there was any remaining doubt that press secretary Robert Gibbs’s exasperation over the summer with the “professional left” was the official view of the White House, they dispelled it this week.

But who, exactly, makes up this “professional left” that is so bothering President Barack Obama and his advisers? On Tuesday, Gibbs’s deputy, Bill Burton, made it clear that the occasionally critical cable personalities originally associated with this comment have the administration’s blessing.

"If you're on the left, if you're somebody like Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow or one of the folks who helps to keep our government honest and pushes and prods to make sure that folks are true to progressive values, then [the president] thinks that those folks provide an invaluable service,” Burton told reporters.

Noticeably absent from Burton’s embrace was anyone from the blogosphere once courted so avidly by the White House. Peter Daou thinks he knows why:

“With each passing day, I’m beginning to realize that the crux of the problem for Obama is a handful of prominent progressive bloggers, among them Glenn Greenwald, John Aravosis, Digby, Marcy Wheeler and Jane Hamsher.”

The article goes on to cite a series of essays by Peter Daou about the power of the liberal blogosphere, and its effects, and relationship, with the Obama administration. You can read Peter's quite interesting essays here and here.

The role of the blogs in Obama's falling popularity is a complicated one.  To some degree I think criticism of Obama by the blogs did eventually hurt the President in the public eye.  The top blogs may not collectively reach that many people in a country of over 300 million, but we reach the right people.  We are read by the White House, Congress, political campaigns, reporters, donors, celebrities, and more generally, politically -connected and -aware people across the country.  Our views disseminate to the right people, and if those people agree with us, the message spreads.

But I also think the blogs simply saw what was coming, that it wasn't good, and provided an early warning that was ignored by the administration.  For twenty months now, Joe and I have been warning of an impending rupture between the Democratic party and the gay community.  And a rupture is now clearly brewing, especially with the Obama administration not having achieved any of its top three promises to our community.  Did we cause that rupture or did we simply predict it?  To some degree both.  We not only alerted the community to what was coming - to the fact that the President was neither interested in our issues, nor in trying to advance them - we also informed the public every time the administration or Congress did something to set back our civil rights movement.  The Obama administration can choose to blame the messenger, but our message has proven true time and time again.

And even when you say "the blogs helped cause the President's problems" what does that mean?  The Obama administration and its apologists would have you believe that the liberal blogs have an almost svengali-like power to trick our readers, and Democratic voters generally, into being disappointed with the President and Congress.  I'm not convinced that our readers are so stupid that they'd believe "lies."  We could only get away with lying once or twice before our stories simply wouldn't pan out, our predictions wouldn't end up happening, and our readers would realize that we had no clue what was really going on in Washington politics.  Except we ended up being right.

On gay rights, Joe and I have an almost perfect track record of predicting everything the Obama administration and Democratic Congress were going to do on DADT, DOMA and ENDA, and ultimately, in predicting just how much trouble our community would be in as a result of the Democrats' disinterest in our issues.

But the gay community isn't alone.  Glenn Greenwald and the ACLU surely haven't been wrong about their early warnings regarding Obama's civil liberties policies.  And were environmentalists wrong to question whether Team Obama would act forcefully and quickly on global warming?  Have Latinos been wrong to worry that Obama wouldn't keep his promise to pass immigration reform last year, and now this year?  Then there's health care reform - yes, the President and the Congress did something, but not nearly what they were capable of doing with the majorities and the public support we gave them.

Perhaps the reason the President's voters-turned-critics have influence, and perhaps the reason the President and the party are increasingly less popular, isn't because we're consistently wrong - but rather because we're right. Read More......

WI GOPer Ron Johnson was on Finance Council of Diocese being sued over child sex abuse

Now this is starting to make sense.

On Monday, we posted video of Wisconsin's GOP Senate candidate testifying against a bill to aid victims of child sex abuse. I asked

Seriously, who sides with child sex abusers over victims?

Now, the first response for me, and I suspect many others, was: The Catholic Bishops, of course.

And, guess who was sitting on the Finance Council of the Green Bay Diocese, which was being sued by victims of child sex abuse? Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Ron Johnson.

From Uppity Wisconsin:

Oh, that's rich, Ron! I guess you're forgetting your time on the Green Bay Diocese Finance Council.

But, since you brought it up... let talk more about it: You see, under Canon Law, the Finance Council has ultimate authority, among other things, in the settling of law suits. And what is the main kind of law suit you dealt with as a member of the Finance Council? Sex abuse claims by children assaulted by priests and other clergy of the Green Bay Diocese.

In fact, you even went to the Wisconsin State Senate to strongly lobby against a bill that would have removed the statute of limitiations that prevents child victims of sexual assault from suing their assaulters and the institutions that enabled them. And when you got down to Madison, you not only spoke out against the Child Victims Act, you categorically spoke out against ALL law suits against dioceses and other employers that get sued because they reassign instead of arresting employees they know to be pedophiles.

And here's the kicker: You testified before the Wiconsin State Senate while your Green Bay Diocese Finance Council was trying to get a law suit dismissed. Not on grounds that the diocese was guilty-- they transferred predator priest John Feeney 14 times in 14 years-- but because... wait for it... the statute of limitations had expired. And here's the best part: the guy that was responsible for reassigning the predator preist, Rober Morneau, is still the auxillory bishop at the Green Bay diocese and one of his functions is to head-up the Finance Council, which Johnson was a member.

So, all in all, I would say you have all kinds of experience settling law suits-- not to mention all the ones you settled at Pacur... which I'm sure you'll be releasing since you brought this issue up.

The Catholic Church enabled and abetted child rapists. And, people like Ron Johnson are trying to let them get away with it.

UPDATE @ 1:15 PM: Just learned that SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is holding a press conference today in De Pere, Wisconsin "Calling on US Senate Candidate Ron Johnson to Challenge Green Bay Bishops on Priest Pedophilia Cover-Up." From the press release, here's why:

Victims and family members of childhood sexual abuse by clergy will be emailing a letter to Republican US Senate candidate Ron Johnson on Wednesday urging Johnson to use his close public affiliation with the diocese of Green Bay to challenge bishop David Ricken to withdraw a recently filed court motion by the diocese to stop the release of the names and case histories of all known priests who have sexually assaulted children in the diocese.

“Johnson is in a unique position to use his history and relationship with the Green Bay diocese and his candidacy for the US Senate to protect children and insist that the Bishop of Green Bay David Ricken immediately stop fighting a court motion which would finally let parents and the public know: who are the priests that have raped and sexually assaulted children in the diocese, where are they, and who is watching them right now,” says John Pilmaier, the Wisconsin Co-Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Another update @ 2:19 PM: Johnson now says he wants the Diocese to come clean -- or something along those lines. Hmmm. What does he know. And, when did he know it? Read More......

One Last Beautiful Day in Kabul

(My good friend, and citizen journalist, Mark Rendeiro has been working in Afghanistan this past month, and providing a series of exclusive reports about his visit to AMERICAblog.)

After a month of frequent hello's and short conversations, my Afghan friend AJ offerred to accompany me to any place I wanted to see in Kabul before it was time for me to leave the country. The offer alone was flattering, knowing how often foreigners pass through this country doing short-term jobs and then moving on, I was honored AJ would spend time with me to see things he had probably seen a million times. I told him I had read about the Bagh-e-Babur Gardens and that I would really like to see them. Without giving me the least bit of a "that's boring" reaction, AJ started planning the when and how.

A few days later we were in a taxi and speeding off to the Babur Gardens, built in 1528AD by the Moghul emporer Babur. The whole cab ride AJ flipped through some wrinkled pages with Dari writing on them, I soon realized he had printed out background information for our journey. As any journey across Kabul requires, we were met with plentiful traffic which gave us more time to discuss education in Afghanistan and the United States, as well as asking the cab driver about his age and his upcoming marriage. Crossing over the almost dry Kabul River, the gardens came into view, perched on the mountainside behind large walls that very successfully hide the splendor within.



After a brief discussion about how terrible it is that foreigners must pay money for accessing public gardens, we made our way past the guards, past the walls, and into the green. Suddenly the world turns peaceful, the air turns clean, and the stone faces on the street give way to smiles. As we walk up the tree lined path, I notice beautiful roses and an array of flowers to our right. Beneath the trees to our left there are people, men, women, friends, couples, sprawled out and relaxing just a few hours before lunch. Some are speaking quietly to each other, others in large groups seem to be telling stories and having a good laugh, still others aren't talking at all, just enjoying the tranquility.

A ten to fifteen minute walk up the path and we've reached a group of buildings. "This one is a ceremonial hall, that back there is a mosque, and up there is the tomb of Babur," AJ explained to me enthusiastically, as we walked from one to the other. Upon arrival at the tomb we're greeted by an old man with an ID badge on his arm, he welcomes us after waving goodbye to the previous visitors. What follows is a 4 minute, well memorized account of who is buried here, when they were buried, and what is written on the tombstone. I would love to share with you what he said, but it all happened so quickly, all I know is that it sounded fantastic. "Please sign the book", he motions towards a series of books where tourists leave little messages. I decide out of all the languages and identities that might already be in the book, it could use a Portuguese text, so I go to work on a nice message from Mark from Lisbon.

For several more hours AJ guided me past a palace, by the greenhouse, and towards a few works of art hidden between the trees and walkways. Throughout this time we discuss the complexities of life in Afghanistan, from work to school, love to family, religion to tribes, it is one big final lesson in things I have been learning about all month. These discussions are interrupted frequently as I stop to snap a picture or record a video, each time AJ would wait patiently for me, before carrying on where we left off.



Towards the end of our visit we spotted an open childrens' game involving sliding plastic circles over a wooden board, a quick explanation and we found ourselves wrapped up in several games for some time. The snack stand guy near us walked over from his responsibilities to watch us play. He tried his best in Dari to coach me to victory, but in the end the foreigner could not master this unfamiliar game and AJ took the match.

As we said goodbye to the man, I shook his hand and snapped one more picture of the board. Again AJ waited for me to take all the pictures I felt I needed to take, then he turned to me and said, "Thank you for coming here and taking these pictures. Thank you for sharing such moments with your friends so that they know that in Afghanistan it is not just war and bad things."

His words echoed in my head as we enjoyed one last fresh apple juice and walked back through the front gate and into a taxi. I scanned the sad looking Kabul River for traces of water, and thought about all the beautiful things and people I have encountered, and how they have forever changed what I think of this magical country. Read More......

More on 'small businesses' and the Bush tax cuts

Continuing to post the connections that emerged during my recent adventure on trains, planes and strangely-named buses, here's a follow-on discussion between Keith Olbermann and Chris Hayes from the excellent "small businesses means billionaires" show.

Note, however, that this discussion veers wider than the earlier one:

It brings in Karl Rove's Billionaire Boys Club & Election Purchase Boutique (introduced here by Chris in Paris).

It includes a discussion of the real motives of our snarling can't-live-without-em Blue Dogs (Movement Conservatives in People's Party clothing).

It adds a soupçon of Citizens United, the gift that keeps on taking.

Then wraps the package in a metaphor that technically can't be applied.

Here's the discussion:



An interesting mash-up — a very small number of ever-hungry billionaires buying congressional tax benefits over the corpses of the middle class; a well-bribed Congress eager to drain those corpses to feed that hunger; specialty pass-through shops to funnel those bribes to waiting congressional hands; and a court case (Citizens United, a Mr. Roberts specialty) poised to turn a fire hose of cash into a river.

It's all very neat. Chris doesn't want to call it a putsch, but he may as well have. The phrase "slow-motion coup" also comes to mind.

Side note: If you care, here's a taste of the Amazon blurb for Winner-Take-All Politics, the book Chris Hayes mentioned:

A groundbreaking work that identifies the real culprit behind one of the great economic crimes of our time— the growing inequality of incomes between the vast majority of Americans and the richest of the rich. ... Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson demonstrate convincingly that the usual suspects—foreign trade and financial globalization, technological changes in the workplace, increased education at the top—are largely innocent of the charges against them. Instead, they indict an unlikely suspect ... American politics.

Sounds like a well researched read. Available now in poor houses and homeless-shelter bookstores everywhere.

GP Read More......

Scientists continue to search for BP oil in Gulf, delayed by lack of funds

It should be a considerable concern in Washington that funds for research have been delayed so long. Collecting data now is important for the long term research into this environmental disaster. Then again, maybe too many in Washington would prefer inaction due to the potential implications related to Big Oil.

We've heard a lot of stories so far about how the oil has magically disappeared, perhaps thanks to oil eating bacteria but until there is much more serious and coordinated research, it's all a guess. We really need to get the funding problem sorted now.

On his return voyage he is encountering a void. "If that oil and gas had been consumed by bacteria you would expect to see more oxygen depletion than what we have seen," he said.

"Was it just a fluke that we found it, or is there an oil carpet on the ground?"

So where is the oil? It's been two months since any new crude from BP's well entered the Gulf. Independent estimates suggest 4.4m barrels of oil spewed out into the Gulf of Mexico, but there is no scientific agreement on its fate. "You could say it's a mystery," said Amon.

Did the oil sink to the bottom? A University of Georgia research expedition earlier this month discovered a thick coating of oil on the sea floor, 16 nautical miles from the BP well-head.

Is it floating in the depths? One team of researchers reported finding a deep sea plume of oil and natural gas the size of Manhattan, that was slow to degrade. A second study of the plume found the oil and gas were quickly being gobbled up by microbes.

Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The President is waking up in Des Moines, Iowa today. He's doing another one of his backyard events to talk about the economy and take questions. Yesterday, over a crowd of over 26,000 greeted Obama in Madison.

From Iowa, Obama is flying to Richmond, VA, for another small event with "a local Richmond family at the Southampton Recreation Association." Then, he's going to talk to more families from the area. These small "family" events seem to be the new thing for Team Obama.

While the President is on the trail, members of Congress are trying to wrap up their work -- so they can all get out on the trail. There are reports that the Senate will finish today -- if it can pass the continuing resolution (known as the "CR"), which will fund the government until early December. The new fiscal year starts October 1st. Unclear if Senator DeMint, who runs the Senate these days, will let it happen. Once the CR passes the Senate, it will be sent to the House. The House is taking a vote on substance today: legislation that will pressure China over its currency.

Remember at the beginning of this Congress when we had such hopes because we had a Democratic President and huge majorities in the House and Senate? They were going to fulfill their campaign promises and we'd all be living in a better America. Yeah, not so much. If your bills haven't passed by now, they won't. And, don't expect anything in the next Congress. We'll hear a lot of rumblings about the lame duck, but, seriously, don't rely on that. On the LGBT agenda, we're going to fall short on most of the promises made. ENDA isn't happening. And, DADT repeal is supposedly on that lame duck agenda.

But, don't gripe, groan or whine. Read More......

Blair warned about torture in early 2002

That would be the same Tony Blair who is a Middle East peace envoy. The Guardian:

Tony Blair was warned a matter of weeks after American forces began rounding up terror suspects that British nationals held by the US in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay were being tortured, secret documents disclosed in the high court reveal.

He expressed concern about their treatment after initially being sceptical, he admits in a hand-written note on a Foreign Office (FO) document dated 18 January 2002. It appears among heavily redacted MI5 and FO documents released in court hearings in which British nationals are suing the government, MI5 and MI6.

Read More......

Kim Jong-un promoted to senior party leadership position in Northh Korea

Yesterday a general and today a Vice Chairman position. It's interesting how both Cuba and North Korea - supposed communist outposts - can't shake nepotism. Of course, we don't have much room to talk in the US with our own royal families who keep growing. BBC:

The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been appointed to two key party posts, in a move widely seen as part of a gradual transfer of power.

Kim Jong-un was named vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party and was appointed to its central committee, state media said.

Kim Jong-il, thought to be in poor health, was re-elected as leader at the party's first congress for 30 years.

Read More......

Al Franken seeks legislation to reduce debt collection abuse

It's always good to see someone in Washington who shows more interest in regular voters rather than the deepest pockets. We sure could use people in Congress like Franken. StarTribune:

Franken would make it an unfair practice under federal law for private firms to use arrest warrants in debt collections, according to a summary of his proposed bill. Consumers would have the right to sue collectors over the practice. Franken said the bill won't limit judges' authority to issue arrest warrants against debtors who can pay, but don't show up in court when a creditor sues.

"That should come from the court, not the debt collector," said Franken, who asserted that the collections industry relies too much on public resources, such as sheriffs' offices, to collect private debts.

His legislation also would require collectors to furnish consumers with more information about what they owe, including a breakdown of fees and interest, and notify people of what rights they have.

Read More......