h,t – NBC
Year: 2013
If you thought something as serious as George Bush’s recent heart surgery would demand some respect and a little bit of civility from these Republicans, then think again! ABC is reporting that the Republican National Congressional Committee used Bush’s medical procedure as an opportunity to raise money!
Following former President George W. Bush’s heart surgery Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee reportedly used a “get well soon” card for Bush to raise money for its organization.
“President George W. Bush courageously defended our freedom and our country, and America misses his days in office now more than ever before,” the NRCC wrote on its website, with a link to sign a card. The e-card on the website did not appear to link to a fundraising pitch.
However, the NRCC originally emailed supporters a version of the e-card that linked to a fundraising page for the NRCC, according to The Dallas Morning News.
After signing, supporters were prompted to, “Chip in $5 to help us send President Bush a bouquet of bluebonnets – the Texas state flower.” But the listed donation possibilities went up as high as $250, according to the Dallas newspaper.
When asked, the NRCC did not send the original emailed pitch to ABC News or comment on the reported fundraising, instead emailing a brief statement.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Americans to show President Bush how much they care about him as he recovers,” NRCC spokesman Daniel Scarpinato wrote. “The reaction has been overwhelming, and we all look forward to his speedy recovery.”
In a new wave of crime that occurs in an instant, thieves are cagily sliding into victim’s cars and snatching valuables from open windows, in what police are calling “sliding.”
From Corbin, Ky., to Tampa, slippery sliders are being caught on camera all across the country. Sometimes the perpetrator is caught red-handed, but most of the time the victim has no idea until it’s too late.
Often operating at gas stations while customers are casually pumping fuel, thieves lying in wait pounce, snatching purses and other valuables, then running off.
“They’re not looking for a confrontation,” Houston police officer Jim Woods told ABC News.
“They just want the property, because they know it’s being left abandoned and you’re not paying enough attention.”And police say these types of crimes are on the rise.
In an incident caught on tape at a Houston gas station, a woman pulled up and walked into the station as a man in a neighboring vehicle cased the inside of her car. Once she returned to the pump, the slider struck.“It’s very scary that someone could just surprise you and just steal all of your belongings,” the victim said.
Authorities say the best thing the public can do is lock car doors every time the vehicle is exited.
h/t – abcnews
Shortly after the NYPD asked the public for helping identifying someone suspected of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl inside a McDonald’s play structure, the cops have made an arrest. And the suspect is a 14-year-old boy.
The boy was charged with criminal sexual act. Because he is a minor, his name hasn’t been released and “his case will be handled with Family Court.”
The alleged incident is alarming: The child was assaulted, police say, inside the tubular play structure at a McDonald’s on Hillside Avenue and Avon Street. The Post’s sources say the suspect had walked into the location at 6:45 p.m. and headed “for the play area where he hid until the child encountered him and he ran off around 8:25 p.m… The man forced the girl to perform oral sex until she fled down the slide and told her mom what happened, sources added. The enraged and distraught mother begged a security guard for help but he did nothing as the suspect tried to flee out an emergency exit, sources said.”
Both the Post and Daily News say the mother tried the grab him, but he escaped.
The police are also looking into whether this attack is linked to a March incident at the same McDonald’s, when a nine-year-old was fondled.
h/t – gothamist
People protest against presidents all the time, but never in the history of this country has anyone felt the need to sing “bye bye black sheep” at a protest… until now, for this particular president.
But rest assured that these same barnyard vocalists would insist that the color of the president’s skin had nothing to do with their musical selection.
A raucous crowd of supporters and protesters from both ends of the political spectrum showed up outside President Barack Obama’s appearance in Phoenix, Ariz. on Tuesday, with some of his detractors turning to racially charged attacks to express their opposition.
From the Arizona Republic:
Obama foes at one point sang, “Bye Bye Black Sheep,” a derogatory reference to the president’s skin color, while protesters like Deanne Bartram raised a sign saying, “Impeach the Half-White Muslim!”
The Republic reported that hundreds of people gathered outside Desert Vista High School as Obama unveiled a plan to overhaul the nation’s mortgage finance system. Some protesters came from Obama’s left, urging him to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline and take other actions on climate change. But a prevailing theme among many in the protest appeared to be issues of race. Some even suggested that Obama himself was to blame for racial tensions.
“We have gone back so many years,” Judy Burris told the Republic, arguing Obama had taken the nation back to pre-Civil Rights era levels of racism. “He’s divided all the races. I hate him for that.”
The irony.
American consumers now have not one, but two federal agencies they can call upon for help dealing with abusive debt collectors.
The Federal Trade Commission has brought several cases against problem debt collectors over the past couple of years. And the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has started publishing rules debt collectors have to follow to conduct business fairly.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB was set up to be the first federal agency solely focused on making consumers get a fair shake from financial firms. The agency has pulled many non-traditional financial providers into its purview, such as debt collectors. Recently the CFPB created five form letters consumers can use when dealing with debt collectors to make sure they are treated fairly.
h/t – abcnews
Categories
Jazz Icon George Duke Dies at 67
He pioneered the funk and R&B genres during his career of more than four decades.
Jazz musician George Duke died Monday in Los Angeles at age 67.
A pioneer in the funk and R&B genres, he had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to his label Concord Music Group, which confirmed his death.
“The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father’s friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming,” said his son, Rashid Duke, in a statement. “Thank you all for your concern, prayers and support.”
Born in San Rafael, Calif., Duke aspired to a music career from an early age, after his mother took him to a Duke Ellington concert.
h/t – usatoday
President Barack Obama formally canceled a much-discussed visit to Moscow next month for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a lack of progress in bilateral relations since Putin regained the presidency a year ago.
Obama will still attend a G-20 summit in St. Petersburg in early September, but now will go to Sweden beforehand instead of stopping in Moscow to meet with Putin, the White House announced.
“Following a careful review begun in July, we have reached the conclusion that there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a U.S.-Russia Summit in early September,” a White House statement said.
It noted progress in relations with Russia during Obama’s first term, much of it when Dmitry Medvedev was president and Putin was prime minister. Putin regained the presidency in May 2012.
“Given our lack of progress on issues such as missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, and human rights and civil society in the last 12 months, we have informed the Russian government that we believe it would be more constructive to postpone the summit until we have more results from our shared agenda,” the White House said.
Categories
Ariel Castro’s House of Horrors Demolished
The notorious Cleveland house of horrors where Ariel Castro held three women captive for more than a decade was left in a pile of rubble after demolition crews knocked it down on Wednesday.
The wooden-framed house was razed as part of a deal that spared the convicted monster the death penalty when he was sentenced last week to life in prison, plus a millennium.
One of his victims, Michelle Knight, arrived at the Seymour Ave. home just before a track hoe began ripping the home to shreds about 7 a.m..
Knight — who was 22 when Castro kidnapped and imprisoned her — released several yellow balloons at the site, saying they represented children who were never found after they were abducted.
“Nobody was there for me when I was missing, and I want the people to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope, and their child will come back,” Knight told reporters, according to NBC News.
Everyone has heard of Bayer aspirin, it is a household name. Bayer AG also manufactures numerous other products, from pesticides to medicine for hemophiliacs called Factor 8.
In 1984 Bayer became aware that several batches of this Factor 8 contained HIV. They knew this because there was an outbreak of HIV among hemophiliac children, and this outbreak was traced back to Bayer.
Unable to sell their Factor 8 in the US, Bayer, with the FDA’s permission, (yes that’s right, the FDA allowed Bayer to potentially kill thousands) sold this HIV infected medicine to Argentina, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore after February 1984, according to the documents obtained by the NY Times. The documents showed how Cutter Biological, a division of Bayer, shipped more than 100,000 vials of unheated concentrate, worth more than $4 million, after it began selling the safer product.
h/t – fitlife
Categories
Rick “Oops” Perry Gets It Wrong… Again
He was giving a speech in Louisiana, but he told the crowd that he was in Florida.
The exchange;
“There are many other states that embrace those conservative values, the approach that we’ve taken over the years… I’m in one today in Florida. You look at South Carolina, you look at Florida.”
“You’re in Louisiana!” an audience member shouted.
“I know,” Perry responded. “And I said that. I’m in one of those states that reflect those today in Louisiana,” he deadpanned, drawing audience laughter and applause.
“You got that,” another individual said.
“I got that,” Perry replied. “But I’m from Texas, so let’s start there.”
Oops!
A gifted Florida teenager has made history across the pond.
Gabrielle Turnquest, from Windermere, has demonstrated superior academic prowess to become the youngest person to qualify as a barrister in the U.K.
She was called to the Bar of England and Wales after passing her exams with flying colors at just 18.
What makes this achievement even more extraordinary is that the average lawyer undertakes the notoriously rigorous Bar Professional Training Course when they are 27, according to The University of Law records.
h/t – thegrio