Some may stay that I am reading too much into this piece of graffiti by Justin Bieber, proudly displayed on his Instagram. On the instagram post, Justin says, “this is my escape.” But I agree with Gawker‘s take: That monkey figure sure looks familiar! It looks just like, what’s it called, centuries of racist caricatures of blacks.
The nationwide ban will be for abortions after 20 weeks. TalkingPointsMemo reports that Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Thursday introduced legislation that would ban abortions nationwide for women more than 20 weeks pregnant, the senator’s office announced.
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act draws on scientific evidence that says an unborn child can feel pain, according to Graham’s office. The legislation would make it illegal for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion after 20 weeks, or six months, of pregnancy and would mandate a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child prior to any abortion operation.
The legislation would make exceptions only in the case that an abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest against a minor.
Marissa Alexander may be a little more than a week away from getting a taste of freedom.
A judge set Alexander’s bond hearing for November 8, when she will find out if she will be released from prison while she awaits her new trial over an incident in which she fired what she described as a warning shot at her abusive husband.
Alexander attempted to seek immunity under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law in her first hearing, but was denied that opportunity. She was ultimately convicted and given a mandatory 20-year sentence under Florida’s 10-20-life law covering all crimes involving a firearm.
An appeals court judge ordered a new trial last month, not because of the Stand Your Ground ruling in the case, but because the “jury instructions on self-defense were erroneous” in her first trial. Alexander’s new trial date has been set for March 31, 2014, according to the Florida Times-Union.
Reuters is reporting that uninsured Americans are showing more interest in the coverage offered under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law despite technical problems that have hindered enrollment through a government website, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The glitches have crippled HealthCare.gov, the new online insurance marketplace meant to serve people in 36 states, frustrating millions of would-be applicants since it opened for enrollment on October 1.
The poll’s findings are good news for Obamacare supporters who worry the problems and bad press could dissuade people from signing up, particularly the young and healthy who are crucial to diversifying the pool of insured and keeping premiums down.
The uninsured view the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, more favorably since online marketplaces opened – 44 percent compared with 37 percent in September, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. It found that 56 percent oppose the program compared with 63 percent in September.
A higher proportion of the uninsured also said they are interested in buying insurance on the exchanges, with 42 percent in October, saying they were likely to enroll compared with 37 percent in September. The results have a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points
Another first for Beyoncé. While singing in a recent concert, Beyoncé took a fans phone and engaged in a FaceTime chat.
“This is a first,” Mrs Knowles says, as she said “hello” to the person on the other end of the call.
Watch
Reports of sexual assault in the military increased sharply during the last fiscal year, new Pentagon figures showed Wednesday, just weeks before a defense bill with provisions to tackle the problem is expected to reach the Senate floor.
There were 3,553 sexual assault complaints reported to the Defense Department in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, from October 2012 through June, a nearly 50 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. Defense Department officials said the numbers had continued to rise.
The numbers included sexual assaults by civilians on service members and by service members on civilians. Sexual assault was defined in the report as rape, sodomy and other unwanted sexual contact, including touching of private body parts. It did not include sexual harassment, which is handled by another office in the military.
Military officials cast the increase of reported complaints in positive terms and said it showed an increased willingness among victims of assault to come forward. But the numbers are also the latest in a series of developments underscoring the problem of sexual assault in the military, which has vexed Pentagon officials and drawn fire from Congress and the White House.
“More reports mean more victims are getting the necessary health care,” said Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton, the director of the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. “More reports means a bridge to more cases being investigated by law enforcement and more offenders being held accountable.”
Each year the department reports the number of assault claims, which lag behind a separate survey on sexual assault taken every other year among 1.4 million active-duty service members. Last summer that survey found that about 26,000 men and women in the military were sexually assaulted in 2011, up from 19,000 in 2010
Our lesson for today – Plagiarism is not okay in any media outlets except for the conservative ones, where people with multiple records of plagiarism are quickly hired and welcomed with open arms.
I’m talking about Kentucky Senator, Plagiarist extraordinaire and a beacon for Republican/Teaparty ideology, Rand Copy and Paste Without Attribution Paul.
Rand Paul, as you all know by now, loves Wikipedia, Forbes Magazine, The Week Magazine… He loves them so much that he “borrowed” entire sentences, sometimes paragraphs from those publications without citing them as sources, then passed that information on as his own. That is the true definition of plagiarism, but Paul initially admitted to no wrongdoing, and even suggested a “duel” with reporter Rachel Maddow for her role in bringing the plagiarism story to light.
Paul then somewhat accepted responsibility on Tuesday when he went on CNN and said, “ultimately, I’m the boss, and things go out under my name, so it is my fault. I never had intentionally presented anyone’s ideas as my own.”
But that semi-acceptance of him mastering the copy and paste technique was too late. Paul’s weekly column on The Washington Times was already canceled.
But fear not for this brave hero of the Republicans. Paul will still get the opportunity to display his, someone else’s work for all to see.
Shortly after The Washington Times cut ties with the copy machine from Kentucky, the conservative media outlet Breitbart News announced that they would gladly accept his services thank you.
Said Larry Solov, CEO of Breitbart News;
“We are pleased to add Senator Paul to our lineup of fearless, original thought leaders. Most of all, we think the fighting spirit he has become known for is a perfect fit for Breitbart News Network and reflects that of our founder, Andrew Breitbart.”
Yes, you heard that right. He actually referred to Rand Paul as a “fearless, original thought leader!”
So to the young and aspiring Plagiarists too lazy to do their own research, or formulate their own ideas, or credit the work they’re stealing, there is hope for you after all. Rand Paul is leading the movement!
NOTE: This post first appeared on EzKool… just in case Rand Paul gets any ideas.
You know it was just a matter of time before the most honest news reporter in today’s media got around to discussing President Obama’s claim, “if you like your insurance policy, you can keep it.” Jon Stewart of Comedy Central admitted that the president’s claim was “somewhat dishonest,” especially given the fact that a small portion of Americans with garbage insurance plans are forced to upgrade to better plans because of Obamacare.
But when Stewart looked at this dishonesty and compared it to what Republicans and the conservative media have said about Obamacare, Stewart concluded that Republicans are “lying like motherf*ckers!”
“Yes, the president has been somewhat dishonest about the promise of his health care program,” Stewart admitted. “But here’s the weird part — his opponents have been lying like motherf*ckers about its effects.”
Why don’t the real so-called reporters report the truth like a host at Comedy Central? This is why people are tuning in to a comedy station to get their news!
A Mississippi-based minister, inspired by the Obama White House’s anti-obesity efforts, is trying to purge his flock of fried chicken.
“Fried chicken has mysterious powers,” Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church pastor Michael Minor told WMC-TV.
While he helps members his congregation go through the process of signing up for health care through the Affordable Care Act, Minor is banning the “mysterious” bird from all church events.
“People are healthier, [they have] more energy. Their weight is down and once you get the weight down, you want to keep it down,” said Minor.
According to BuzzFeed, Minor has also helped promote the first lady’s signature “Let’s Move” healthy eating initiative and his church has received a federal grant for his efforts to get Mississippians registered for Obamacare.
The poor health of his parishioners was the main motivation for his stand against tasty but fattening food.
“It was so bad, I was having a funeral every weekend,” he said.
Consider this another example of what NRA’s Wayne LaPierre would call, a “Responsible gun owner,” taking his gun and his child to Walmart and getting shot in return.
The Russellville Police Department is investigating an accidental shooting of a man by his child in a Walmart parking lot.
RPD Public Information Officer Drew Latch stated that police responded in the Arkansas area store at approximately 11:04 a.m. Saturday in reference to a possible shooting.
The Courier News reports, “Upon arrival, officers witnessed a man who had injuries to his back. After further investigation, it was determined the man had accidentally been shot by his child. While the child was attempting to enter the vehicle, the child accidentally grabbed a hold of a loaded shotgun, that had not been secured, to help pull himself into the vehicle (truck).”
As the child grabbed the shotgun, he or she accidentally pulled the trigger and caused the shotgun to discharge and strike his father in the back. In the back.
The child was uninjured.
The father was identified as Monty Wheeler and was transported to Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center by Pope County EMS.
His condition was reportedly deemed as stable at the time of this release.
Raw Story reports that they contacted the Russellville Police Department, but they were told that Wheeler was unknown to them, and that they would not share his current condition with Raw Story because it isn’t “his immediately [sic] family.”
Chris Christie of New Jersey won re-election by a crushing margin on Tuesday, a victory that vaulted him to the front ranks of Republican presidential contenders and made him his party’s foremost proponent of pragmatism over ideology the New York Times reports.
Mr. Christie declared that his decisive win should be a lesson for the nation’s broken political system and his feuding party: In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by over 700,000, Mr. Christie won a majority of the votes of women and Hispanics and made impressive inroads among younger voters and blacks — groups that Republicans nationally have struggled to attract.
The governor prevailed despite holding positions contrary to those of many New Jersey voters on several key issues, including same-sex marriage, abortion rights and the minimum wage, and despite an economic recovery that has trailed the rest of the country.
He attracted a broad coalition by campaigning as a straight-talking, even swaggering, leader who could reach across the aisle to solve problems.
“I know that if we can do this in Trenton, N.J., then maybe the folks in Washington, D.C., should tune in their TVs right now and see how it’s done,” Mr. Christie told a packed crowd at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, where his musical idol, Bruce Springsteen, holds holiday concerts, and where red and blue lighting gave the gathering a presidential campaign-like glow.
The governor all but lectured Republicans about how to appeal to groups beyond their base. “We don’t just show up in the places where we’re comfortable, we show up in the places we’re uncomfortable,” he said, adding, “You don’t just show up 6 months before an election.”
Around the country, Republicans alarmed by the surging grass roots support for the Tea Party wing were cheered by Mr. Christie’s success, saying they hope their party will learn not only from the size of Mr. Christie’s margin over Barbara Buono, a Democratic state senator, but also from the makeup of his support.
“We’ll be led back by our governors, and Chris Christie is now at the forefront of that resurgence,” said Ed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Renisha McBride, 19, was shot to death in a Dearborn Heights, Michigan neighborhood after seeking help following a car crash, reports The Detroit News.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, McBride knocked on the door of a home, hoping for assistance. Instead, she got a gunshot wound to the head.
“He shot her in the head … for what? For knocking on his door,” said McBride’s maternal aunt, Bernita Spinks. “If he felt scared or threatened, he should have called 911.”
“You see a young black lady on your porch and you shoot?” asked Spinks. “He killed my niece and he needs to pay for it. He needs to be in jail.
“There was no windows broken. My niece didn’t bother anyone,” said Spinks. “She went looking for help and now she’s dead.”
The Dearborn Police Department have confirmed the shooting, but have not released the name of the suspect. They initially told McBride’s family that her body was “dumped,” but have now admitted that she died on the man’s porch, reports FOX 32.
The investigation is ongoing and findings will be forwarded to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Read more here: http://hellobeautiful.com/2013/11/05/renisha-mcbride-shot-after-car-accident/
