Happy Thanksgiving folks. Baking a turkey is so yesterday. Try smoking one for a change!
Month: November 2013
Tackling the recent ridiculous comments by Kanye West, where the rapper slash genius said that his fiancee Kim Kardashian is more influential than First Lady Michelle Obama, Browne crafts a hilarious response letter in the voice of the first lady directing West to have several seats.
Read below:
Dear Kanye,
Hi, it’s Michelle. Michelle Obama, Barack’s wife. Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America.
That makes me the First Lady of the United States of America. Me = Michelle Obama.
I hope all is well.
You know, Kanye, I woke up this morning. In the White House. And one of my aides told me she had something to show me. Something that would make me laugh. A “cute” thing, if you will.
It was a series of quotes, Kanye. About my husband and me. About my Vogue magazine cover. And fashion. And classism.
They were your quotes. You were the cute thing, Kanye. And my aide was right. It did make me laugh. Oh, what a hearty White House laugh it was.
Tell me, Kanye, what’s your goal with this? Why us? Are you still mad about my husband calling you a jackass a few times? Is that why you’re focusing on me instead of on all the other women who have been on the cover of Vogue?
That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? I know Barack never did apologize for the name-calling, because you know how you men are with your stubbornness.
But it’s more than that. It’s bigger than fashion. To you, this has become a couple vs. couple thing.
I once overheard some of our summer interns talking about you — about how mad you get when you’re compared to other rappers, because your peers are Jesus and Jobs and Walt Disney. I heard it and actually respected that. It shows you have some drive to be a great man. You should fight to get your respect. I see my husband, the President of the Free World, get disrespected every day. And it tears me apart.
So you have to understand where I’m coming from when I say it’s laughable for my 21-year marriage to be mentioned on the same website as your thing with Kim.
Imagine if someone compared you to Papoose, Kanye. Well, you’re Barack’s Papoose. And yes, Kim is my Remy Ma.
My husband’s not moving our family out the country so you can’t see where we stay. Because he runs the country, you see.
They constantly pat themselves on the back and brag that they are the party of responsibility and Christian morality. But I’m getting to the point where writing about another Republican charged with rape, is becoming the norm.
Robert Kerns, former chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee in Pennsylvania, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with 19 criminal counts, including rape of an unconscious victim, rape of a substantially impaired person, sexual assault, aggravated assault without consent, aggravated assault of a person unaware penetration was occurring, and 8 other forms of assault.
He also faces charges of possession of an instrument of crime with intent, possession of a controlled substance, and tampering with evidence. According to the Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman, a grand jury discovered that Kerns had “delivered a controlled substance and sexually assaulted a woman in multiple locations.”
Authorities said that Kerns had drugged the woman by spiking her drink with Ambien, a drug used to treat insomnia, during a Republican Party dinner. He then allegedly raped her multiple times when she lost consciousness.
Things were hairy there for a couple of months, what with the government shutdown (Republicans’ fault) and the still incomprehensible fail of the healthcare website (all you, Democrats), but slowly and surely, things seem to be turning around, just in time for the holidays.
For example, House Speaker John Boehner did a nice job showing that the healthcare website wasn’t such a bad experience after all. In fact, a health insurance representative tried to call him, but hung up after Boehner kept him on hold for 35 minutes. Even better, the ACA is changing the way that hospitals are treating patients, cutting down on procedures that might not be necessary, and generally becoming more efficient. And part-time workers will have more choices come January, which will replace the spare options they have now for more robust policies.
The best part, though, is that thousands of people are effectively signing up for health insurance through state exchanges and Medicaid, and will soon have a much better experience on healthcare.gov. I went on the site and breezed through the process here in New Jersey. In late October, that didn’t happen.
On the foreign front, the president and John Kerry have been working with the leaders of five other nations and have come up with what they think is a plausible plan to monitor Iran’s nuclear capacity and loosen some of the sanctions that have squeezed a good deal of pulp out of Teheran’s economy. This is not only a pivot for Obama away from confrontation and war toward a more diplomatic-centered policy, but it reinforces the notion that he’s at heart a man of peace who can finally see his vision of a more engaged Middle East come to fruition. And so far, Americans seem to support his efforts.
Of course, this will be a long, messy process. The Saudis and Israelis are wary and nervous about a reinvigorated Iran, and for good reason. Iran threatens the Saudi near-monopoly on oil in the region and their Sunni government is a natural enemy for the Iranian Shiite mullahs who really run the country. Israel is, of course, afraid that Iran will ignore any limits placed on it by a treaty and once their economy improves, will go ahead and build nuclear weapons and use them on Jerusalem.
If you thought it was difficult to solve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, then this will be well-nigh impossible, but it has to work. Iran once had a vibrant economy and the people are committed to a free-market system. The religious leaders might have to make more concessions to the business sector, as the Chinese Communist Party has done in the name of capitalism, and my sense is that a rising middle class will not look kindly on a regime that would threaten that prosperity with a risky and suicidal strike on Israel. And really, do you think Iran would nuke the Old City, with its timeless Muslim shrines? I might be naive, but I don’t.
As for the Saudis, they have been fed on American weapons and support, while suppressing any free speech or political movements that could give women the right to drive, much less tolerate a free press or alternative political parties. Yet we see them as an ally and the somewhat more free Iranians as the third leg of the axis of evil. Never forget that 15 of the 19 September 11 conspirators were radicalized Saudis. That says something about the level of repression inside that country. I suspect that their bigger fear is what their society will need to undergo in order to compete in a world where Iran and Iraq have freer economies.
Clearly, we are at the beginning of the process and Obama and Kerry have to make sure that Israel is protected from any mischief, nuclear or otherwise. But Israel also has to solve its own problem with settlements and a two state solution to the Palestinian problem. Interesting times indeed.
The Republicans, and some influential Democrats such as Charles Schumer of New York, have lined up against the Iran agreement and the Republicans continue to hope and pray that people don’t sign up for health care. In addition, the House has said that they won’t be voting on the immigration bill this year (though most Americans support a path to citizenship), and this while Chris Christie is considering supporting a Dreamer bill in New Jersey (or at least the idea of one). As long as the GOP hard right continues to play hardball, the Democrats will begin to look better and better as we move towards November. Something to be thankful for?
You bet.
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Arizona authorities say a prison inmate who was in the U.S. illegally killed his cellmate because he wanted to remain behind bars.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has recommended that prosecutors charge 43-year-old Roberto Venegas-Fernandez with first-degree murder in the November 16 killing of 55-year-old Michael Patrick McNaughton
Both men were prisoners of the U.S. Marshals Service, which has said they were from the San Diego area and housed at a Corrections Corp. of America prison in Florence pending their transfer to the Bureau of Prisons.
Sheriff Paul Babeu said Venegas-Fernandez told investigators that he choked and stomped McNaughton because he likes it in prison and was afraid of being released since he has nowhere to go.
McNaughton’s death was initially believed to have resulted from a jailhouse fight, but Fernandez later told investigators that he choked his cellmate while he was sitting on his bunk.
The 43-year-old Mexican national, who is an undocumented immigrant, then stomped on McNaughton’s head and bit him in the groin, telling officials he did all that so he could remain in prison, CBS5AZ.com reported.
No one really knows for sure, but Baldwin’s Up Late almost 2 months rondavous with the cable news network is up.
The show, “Up Late,” launched in October and featured Baldwin talking softly with various guests — ranging from politicians to actors.
But behind the scenes, there were clashes between staffers on the show and the anger-prone actor.
“Both sides seemed to not be able to work with each other,” an insider said.
“He told them he didn’t want to work on the show and they said well, we don’t want you working on it,” a source close to the situation said.
Baldwin has been fuming over how MSNBC suspended his program on the heels of his latest public outburst, while tensions between the actor and staffers on the show have been growing steadily since its October debut.
One meltdown at MSNBC allegedly included demands for a personal humidifier and his own makeup room because a woman he would have been sharing it with has cancer and a sensitivity to hairspray.
An insider blasted the allegation as “completely false and coming from someone who is now upset that their job is in jeopardy because the show is not continuing.”
Network officials put Baldwin on ice almost two weeks ago after he lashed out at photographer in Manhattan, allegedly calling him a “c–ksucking f-g.”
When the video of the incident went viral on TMZ, the actor then insisted he actually called the photographer a “c–ksucking fathead.”
Publicly, both sides are claiming the severing of ties was mutual.
“We are jointly confirming that ‘Up Late’ will not continue on MSNBC,” a rep for the actor told The News.
“This is a mutual parting, and we wish Alec all the best,” said a rep for the network.
Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and executive producer of ‘”60 Minutes,” informed staff Tuesday that Lara Logan and her producer, Max McClellan, would be taking a leave of absence following an internal report on the news magazine’s discredited Oct. 27 Benghazi report.
Fager’s memo and findings of an internal review, both obtained by The Huffington Post, are below.
This story is developing…
By now most of you have received the report from Al Ortiz about the problems with the 60 Minutes story on Benghazi.There is a lot to learn from this mistake for the entire organization. We have rebuilt CBS News in a way that has dramatically improved our reporting abilities. Ironically 60 Minutes, which has been a model for those changes, fell short by broadcasting a now discredited account of an important story, and did not take full advantage of the reporting abilities of CBS News that might have prevented it from happening.
As a result, I have asked Lara Logan, who has distinguished herself and has put herself in harm’s way many times in the course of covering stories for us, to take a leave of absence, which she has agreed to do. I have asked the same of producer Max McClellan, who also has a distinguished career at CBS News.
As Executive Producer, I am responsible for what gets on the air. I pride myself in catching almost everything, but this deception got through and it shouldn’t have.
When faced with a such an error, we must use it as an opportunity to make our broadcast even stronger. We are making adjustments at 60 Minutes to reduce the chances of it happening again.
There is a lot of pride at CBS News. Every broadcast is working hard to live up to the high standard set at CBS News for excellence in reporting. This was a regrettable mistake. But there are many fine professionals at 60 Minutes who produce some of the very best of broadcast journalism, covering the important and interesting stories of our times, and they will continue to do so each and every Sunday.
Jeff Fage
Chairman, CBS News
Executive Producer, 60 MinutesSUMMARY OF FINDINGS
My review found that the Benghazi story aired by 60 Minutes on October 27 was deficient in several respects:
–From the start, Lara Logan and her producing team were looking for a different angle to the story of the Benghazi attack. They believed they found it in the story of Dylan Davies, written under the pseudonym, “Morgan Jones”. It purported to be the first western eyewitness account of the attack. But Logan’s report went to air without 60 Minutes knowing what Davies had told the FBI and the State Department about his own activities and location on the night of the attack.
–The fact that the FBI and the State Department had information that differed from the account Davies gave to 60 Minutes was knowable before the piece aired. But the wider reporting resources of CBS News were not employed in an effort to confirm his account. It’s possible that reporters and producers with better access to inside FBI sources could have found out that Davies had given varying and conflicting accounts of his story.
–Members of the 60 Minutes reporting team conducted interviews with Davies and other individuals in his book, including the doctor who received and treated Ambassador Stevens at the Benghazi hospital. They went to Davies’ employer Blue Mountain, the State Department, the FBI (which had interviewed Davies), and other government agencies to ask about their investigations into the attack. Logan and producer Max McClellan told me they found no reason to doubt Davies’ account and found no holes in his story. But the team did not sufficiently vet Davies’ account of his own actions and whereabouts that night.
–Davies told 60 Minutes that he had lied to his own employer that night about his location, telling Blue Mountain that he was staying at his villa, as his superior ordered him to do, but telling 60 Minutes that he then defied that order and went to the compound. This crucial point – his admission that he had not told his employer the truth about his own actions – should have been a red flag in the editorial vetting process.
–After the story aired, the Washington Post reported the existence of a so-called “incident report” that had been prepared by Davies for Blue Mountain in which he reportedly said he spent most of the night at his villa, and had not gone to the hospital or the mission compound. Reached by phone, Davies told the 60 Minutes team that he had not written the incident report, disavowed any knowledge of it, and insisted that the account he gave 60 Minutes was word for word what he had told the FBI. Based on that information and the strong conviction expressed by the team about their story, Jeff Fager defended the story and the reporting to the press.
–On November 7, the New York Times informed Fager that the FBI’s version of Davies’ story differed from what he had told 60 Minutes. Within hours, CBS News was able to confirm that in the FBI’s account of their interview, Davies was not at the hospital or the mission compound the night of the attack. 60 Minutes announced that a correction would be made, that the broadcast had been misled, and that it was a mistake to include Davies in the story. Later a State Department source also told CBS News that Davies had stayed at his villa that night and had not witnessed the attack.
–Questions have been raised about the recent pictures from the compound which were displayed at the end of the report, including a picture of Ambassador Stevens’ schedule for the day after the attack. Video taken by the producer-cameraman whom the 60 Minutes team sent to the Benghazi compound last month clearly shows that the pictures of the Technical Operations Center were authentic, including the picture of the schedule in the debris.
–Questions have also been raised about the role of Al Qaeda in the attack since Logan declared in the report that Al Qaeda fighters had carried it out. Al Qaeda’s role is the subject of much disagreement and debate. While Logan had multiple sources and good reasons to have confidence in them, her assertions that Al Qaeda carried out the attack and controlled the hospital were not adequately attributed in her report.
–In October of 2012, one month before starting work on the Benghazi story, Logan made a speech in which she took a strong public position arguing that the US Government was misrepresenting the threat from Al Qaeda, and urging actions that the US should take in response to the Benghazi attack. From a CBS News Standards perspective, there is a conflict in taking a public position on the government’s handling of Benghazi and Al Qaeda, while continuing to report on the story.
–The book, written by Davies and a co-author, was published by Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, part of the CBS Corporation. 60 Minutes erred in not disclosing that connection in the segment.Al Ortiz
Executive Director of Standards and Practices
CBS News
Mike Woodson can say anything about his pet, J.R. Smith, and nobody takes it too seriously. But the Knicks coach certainly is beside himself regarding Smith, who has not been playing at the level befitting the 2012-13 Sixth Man Award winner.
Woodson certainly didn’t enjoy some of Smith’s recent psychobabble after recent Knicks losses to Indiana and Washington.
After the Indiana game, Smith said he felt like “panicking’’ because of the poor start. Woodson knocked him Sunday and went even further Monday after the morning shootaround at Portland’s Moda Center.
When asked if he was irritated by Smith’s panic remark, Woodson said: “To be sitting here after 12 games talking about I’m in a panic stage, I might need to punch him out and get it out of his thought process.”
The Knicks coach then smirked, but it wasn’t meant entirely as a big joke.
“If we panic,’’ said point guard Raymond Felton, “we might as just well shut down the season.’’
After the Pacers heartbreaker Wednesday, Smith said: “Like you say, it’s too early to panic, but me, personally, I’m panicking. I don’t like this.’’
The Republican Party of Florida on Monday called for the resignation of Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.), who was sentenced last week for cocaine possession.
“The people of Florida’s 19th Congressional District need a Congressman who is 100 percent focused on the needs of Southwest Florida,” state GOP chairman Lenny Curry said in a statement. “Therefore, Congressman Radel should step down and focus his attention on rehabilitation and his family.”
Radel took a leave of absence and checked into a rehabilitation facility last week after he was sentenced in Washington to one year on probation for cocaine possession.
Radel, sworn into office just 10 months ago, had been celebrated as a tea party favorite. Among other things, he favored drug tests for food stamp recipients.
Terry Miller, chairman of the Lee County, Fla., GOP, told The Associated Press of his disappointment following Radel’s sentencing.
“We thought we had an up-and-coming star in the party,” Miller said.
Republicans will not be happy hearing this papal message. Sarah Palin already wondered if his views were too liberal. What will they say now?
Pontiff’s first major publication calls on global leaders to guarantee work, education and healthcare
Pope Francis has attacked unfettered capitalism as “a new tyranny”, urging global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality in the first major work he has authored alone as pontiff.
The 84-page document, known as an apostolic exhortation, amounted to an official platform for his papacy, building on views he has aired in sermons and remarks since he became the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years in March.
In it, Francis went further than previous comments criticising the global economic system, attacking the “idolatry of money” and beseeching politicians to guarantee all citizens “dignified work, education and healthcare”.
He also called on rich people to share their wealth. “Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills,” Francis wrote in the document issued on Tuesday.
“How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”
The pope said renewal of the church could not be put off and the Vatican and its entrenched hierarchy “also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion”.
“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,” he wrote
Here we go again.
Responding to the recent Nuclear Option used by Democrats to put a stop the some of the Republicans’ record breaking filibuster marathon, Rush Limbaugh resorted to what he knows best in attempting to explain the process to his audience. Limbaugh’s way of explaining the rules change to his low information listeners, was to compare the change to raping women.
Let’s forget the Senate for a minute. Let’s say, let’s take 10 people in a room and they’re a group. And the room is made up of six men and four women. OK? The group has a rule that the men cannot rape the women. The group also has a rule that says any rule that will be changed must require six votes, of the 10, to change the rule. Every now and then, some lunatic in the group proposes to change the rule to allow women to be raped. But they never were able to get six votes for it. There were always the four women voting against it and they always found two guys.
Well, the guy that kept proposing that women be raped finally got tired of it, and he was in the majority and he was one that [said], ‘You know what? We’re going to change the rule. Now all we need is five.” And well, ‘you can’t do that.’ ‘Yes we are. We’re the majority. We’re changing the rule.’ And then they vote. Can the women be raped? Well, all it would take then is half of the room. You can change the rule to say three. You can change the rule to say three people want it, it’s going to happen. There’s no rule. When the majority can change the rules there aren’t any.
He couldn’t tell then the truth, so he uses language his listeners are sure to understand.
Video
In the interview, Murray claimed that he and Michael Jackson joked that neither would have sex with Rowe, the mother of Jackson’s kids.
Rowe fired back to TMZ, saying she believes within 18 months, “A Jackson fan will shoot him dead, and I’d buy the bullet.” Rowe added, “I wouldn’t shoot him but I’d buy the bullet … a hollowpoint.”
Rowe continued, “If I had a dog as ugly as him [Murray] I’d shave its ass, make it walk backwards and put a wig on it.” And, she says, “It takes 2 to f**k and there’s not enough alcohol in the world.”
Rowe, who raises horses on her ranch, says, “At least I can breed. He can’t even write prescriptions anymore.”
She’s also indignant that Murray is claiming MJ took his own life by injecting himself with the fatal dose of Propofol while Murray was out of the room. She says, “It’s so disgusting he’s trashing the dead. The jury sure didn’t buy his story.”
View Murray’s “60 Minutes Australia” interview below.
