I’m not one to laugh at the mishaps of another, but I will post this video of Chris Christie falling on his butt at a radio station – SportsRadio 94WIP. As he was introduced by Angelo Cataldi, Christie pulled out his chair and rolled right off it, landing on his hind-
Whatever happened to the days when an unruly student is sent to the principal’s office or held for detention. Those days are dead, buried and forgotten in The Lone state of Texas!
According to a new bill introduced by Rep. Dan Flynn, a Republican in the Texas legislature, teachers would now have the right to shoot and kill students in the classroom, on the school grounds or at any school sponsored event.
Oh the calamity!
The Lone Star State already permits teachers to have firearms in the classroom, but H.B. 868, also known as the Teacher’s Protection Act, would authorize instructors to use “force or deadly force on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored event in defense of the educator’s person or in defense of students of the school that employs the educator.” Instructors would also have the right to use deadly force “in defense of property of the school that employs the educator.” Moreover, civil immunity would be granted to those who use deadly force, meaning they would not be liable for the injury or death of student.
And this nutjob, Flynn, is a real nutjob. Thinkprogress reports that he is one of the state’s staunchest gun-rights advocates who previously co-authored legislation to allow firearms on college campuses. In 2013, he successfully co-authored a law that reduced the minimum number of training hours needed for a concealed handgun license.
I was gearing up for his return. I had all my Romney is a flip flopper, Romney the chameleon posts from his last failed bid ready to go. I wanted to see how Romney was going to flip flop on his positions for this 2016 run, but my fun and enthusiasm just came to an end as Mitt Romney announced that he is not going to run a third campaign to become President of the United States.
In a conference call with his supporters, Mitt Romney said that he is confident that with their support he ciuld win the nomination if he runs in 2016. But he is convinced that at this time running is not his best option.
“I am convinced that we could win the nomination, but fully realize it would have been difficult test and a hard fight,” Romney’s prepared remarks on a conference call with supporters said.
And he partiality shuts the door to being drafted by his Republican colleagues.
“I’ve been asked, and will certainly be asked again if there are any circumstances whatsoever that might develop that could change my mind. That seems unlikely. Accordingly, I’m not organizing a PAC or taking donations; I’m not hiring a campaign team,” he said.
And it’s all caught on tape.
In the video, the officer is driving her patrol car with the dashboard camera recording. After a few seconds of driving, she pulls up on the man standing on the corner waiting to cross the street. The officer exited her vehicle and began telling the 69 year old to drop his weapon – a golf club he used as a cane.
The police officer accused the 70 year old of threatening her with a golf club. On the recording the officer, Cynthia Whitlatch, is seen pulling up to the man standing on a corner. She then demands the man to drop his golf club.
“You just swung that golf club at me,” Whitlatch yells.
“No, I did not!” exclaims the shocked pedestrian.
Whitlatch is heard telling the man that he is being recorded and videotaped, but review of that recording led the Seattle police department to issue the apology, as no threats were ever made to the officer.
The arrest took place in 2014 and the man, William Wingate – a black man and a veteran with no criminal record – tried telling the officer that he had done nothing wrong, except standing on the sidewalk. He was eventually arrested and pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge of unlawful use of a weapon in exchange for a two years probation which was dismissed.
Officer Whitlatch received “counseling” for her actions. According to reports, officer Whitlatch is also one of 123 Seattle police officers who filed suit to block federally mandated reforms to stop unnecessary police brutality.
A Texas man convicted of killing a 38-year-old woman nearly two decades ago while he was on parole for a triple slaying years earlier was executed Thursday evening, Dallas News reports.
Robert Ladd, 57, received a lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments he was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty. The court also rejected an appeal in which Ladd’s attorney challenged whether the pentobarbital Texas uses in executions is potent enough to not cause unconstitutional pain and suffering.
Ladd was executed for the 1996 slaying of 38-year-old Vicki Ann Garner, of Tyler, who was strangled and beaten with a hammer. Her arms and legs were bound, bedding was placed between her legs, and she was set on fire in her apartment.
In his final statement, Ladd addressed the sister of his victim by name, telling her he was “really, really sorry.”
“I really, really hope and pray you don’t have hatred in your heart,” he said, adding that he didn’t think she could have closure but hoped she could find peace. “A revenge death won’t get you anything,” he said.
Then Ladd told the warden: “Let’s ride.”
As the drug took effect, he said: “Stings my arm, man!” He began taking deep breaths, then started snoring. His snores became breaths, each one becoming less pronounced, before he stopped all movement.
He was pronounced dead at 7:02 p.m., 27 minutes after the drug was administered.
This dude will be 50 years old in April. When? When is he going to realize that living the thug life might have already passed him by some 30 years ago?
Former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight has seen his share of legal troubles. But if the allegations against him for an incident Thursday prove true, the convicted felon could find himself behind bars for a long, long time.
Police in Los Angeles say a man matching Knight’s description drove over two men with his red pick up truck — and then drove over them again as he sped away from the scene.
One man died; the other’s condition wasn’t disclosed.
“So far, people we talked to said it looked like it was an intentional act. So we’re handling it as a homicide,” Los Angeles Police Lt. John Corina said.
The hit-and-run stemmed from an argument Knight allegedly had on the set of the N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton” and then spilled over to the parking lot of Tam’s Burgers.
“A red pickup truck is involved in this, and those people were also at the other altercation, so yes, it all suggests that he was the person driving that truck,” Corina said.
The official report states that only “35 permanent jobs” will be created from the construction of the Keystone pipeline. That same report, conducted by the State Department, found the negative impact of the pipeline on the environment could be tremendous. But still, with all this researched evidence staring them in the face, Republicans continue to push, fighting this six year battle to get the pipeline approve.
The 62-36 vote advanced a top priority of the newly empowered GOP, and marked the first time the Senate passed a bill authorizing the pipeline, despite numerous attempts to force President Barack Obama’s hand on the issue. Nine Democrats joined with 53 Republicans to back the measure.
This bill “is an important accomplishment for the country,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. “We are hoping the president upon reflection will agree to sign on to a bill that the State Department said could create up to 42,000 jobs and the State Department said creates little to no impact on the environment.”
Still the vote was short of the threshold needed to override a veto, and the legislation still must be reconciled with the version the House passed.
The plane went missing almost a year ago on March 8th 2014, but after months of searching and coming up with nothing, the Malaysia government issued a formal declaration stating that the passengers on MH370 is presumed dead.
The formal declaration, read Thursday by civil aviation director Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, will allow the families of those presumed dead to continue the compensation process with the airline or with insurers.
“It is therefore, with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, we officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident in accordance with the Standards of Annexes 12 and 13 to the Chicago Convention and that all 239 of the passengers and crew on board MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives,” Azharuddin said.
A co-worker asked if I had watched the “speech” Sarah Palin delivered in Iowa last week. Of course I didn’t. I try to be as productive as possible and sitting down to watch Sarah Palin ramble on about nothing is counterproductive and a total waste of time!
But he insisted. “I dare you,” he said. “Try to figure out what the mama grizzly was saying and if you can, lunch is on me. Go ahead,” he insisted, “give it a shot.”
I looked at my watch and realized it was almost lunchtime. A free lunch? Just for watching and summarizing a speech by Sarah Palin? I can do this, I thought and I took him up on his challenge.
I couldn’t get past the first 5 minutes of the speech. Needless to say, I ended up buying lunch today.
#ThanksSarah!
As reported by Rachel Maddow, Bryan Fischer, the man who was the face and voice of the Conservative organization, The American Family Association, and the man who is well known as a Republican/Christian-Conservative hate-monger, has lost his job with the group because of statements he recently made against Jews and gays.
According to Maddow’s reporting, Bryan Fischer and his group paid for a trip to Israel for the Republican National Committee after Fischer made some disparaging remarks about the Jewish people and gays. Speaking about Jews, Fischer referred to their religion as a “counterfeit religion” and said that Christianity is the only religion in the United States covered under the First Amendment.
“Counterfeit religion, alternative religions to Christianity have no First Amendment right to the free expression of Religion,” Fischer said. He also went on talking about the Holocaust being done by Hitler and gay people.
According to Tim Wildmon, the President of the American Family Accociation, “Bryan Fischer is just a talk show host,” and is no longer associated with the American Family Association. Mr. Wildmon told the Maddow show that “the soundbite quotes, you know, the Hitler and homosexuality one” were the quotes that broke the camel’s back.
Maddow explains below.
Police said she entered the police station “brandishing a weapon,” so that apparently meant the three grown men with guns felt threatened enough to gun down the 17 year old mentally challenged girl in the lobby of the police station.
Police said that Kristiana Coignard entered Longview’s police station at 6.30pm on Thursday and asked to speak with an officer through the lobby courtesy phone. The teenager was still in the lobby of the police station when, according to police, she threatened the officers while wielding a weapon — reportedly a knife — and was shot “multiple times,” according to a local official.
Exactly what led three male officers to shoot Coignard dead is still unclear. The Longview police department has not released any further statements on the events.
Kristie Brian, spokeswoman for Longview Police, said that footage of the incident does exist, but is not available to the public, nor are records of the brief call Coignard made from the police department’s lobby. Brian did not confirm what type of weapon Coignard was allegedly threatening the officers with.
Heather Robertson, Coignard’s aunt, told ThinkProgress that her niece, who was living with her in Longview, had mental illness issues since her mother died when she was four. Robertson added that Coignard attempted suicide various times, but was taking medications, and that she did not have a criminal record or a history of violent behavior toward others.
“I think it was a cry for help,” Robertson said. “I think they could have done something. They are grown men. I think there is something they are not telling us.”
Stewart took on just about everyone who hyped the recent blizzard out of proportion, but he had a special word or two or three for CNN’ and Don Lemon, as Lemon climbed into a vehicle he called “the blizzardmobile” and ventured out on the streets of New York after authorities made clear that “non-essential” and “non emergency” vehicles must stay off the roads.
