Category: News
Airline fees are ascending this summer and show no sign of leveling off.
First, United Airlines upped its change fee to $200 for domestic flights. It took just two weeks for US Airways, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines to fall in line.
Then, last week United was at it again, hiking change and cancellation fees for award tickets by as much as $75. The unannounced increases didn’t escape the watchful eye ofThe Points Guy, a travel-rewards guru who suspects that other legacy carriers may again follow suit.
Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines is venturing into fees few other airlines have levied (so far). The budget carrier made headlines in May by introducing charges of up to $100 for a carry-on bag. Starting July 1, passengers will have to pay $2 for a coffee or soft drink from the beverage cart.
h/t – cheapism
Police Search for Gunman Following Deadly Road Rage Shooting
Police were searching today for a gunman following an alleged road rage shooting in Tampa, Fla., that left one man dead.
The victim, whom authorities have identified as 47-year-old Fred William Turner Jr. of Orlando, Fla., was driving on a Florida highway when he called 911 to tell dispatchers he was being followed by a man with a gun after leaving a nearby store, ABC Tampa affiliate WFTS-TV reported.
“We know that at one point in time, this person did pull up beside him and showed him a hand gun,” Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee told “Good Morning America.”
“During the time he was on the call with the Highway Patrol, they actually heard the shooting. There were a series of shots,” he said.
Authorities responded to the scene to find Turner shot and killed in his car on the side of the roadway.
h/t – ABCNEWS
It’s been said that the biggest family fights occur during weddings and funerals.
But while the world prays for Nelson Mandela as he holds on to his life, his family is in court fighting…each other.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Mandela’s grandson, Mandela, was order to return the bodies of Nelson Mandela’s three dead children back to their original burial grounds.
In 2011, Mandela, the chief of Mvezo, dug up the bodies of the three children and moved them from Qunu to Mvezo where Nelson Mandela was born. While he may have been born there, Qunu is where Mandela was raised and where there is a family grave site. Mandela has always been very vocal about wanting to be buried near his children so the “hope” was that if his children’s bodies were buried in Mvezo, then so would Mandela and that would ultimately bring tourism dollars to the village.
– See more at: Madamenoire
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The Complicated Court
I think we were all warned that the final week of the Supreme Court term would turn us all into hypocrites, and it certainly delivered on that promise. The conservatives had to like the Voting Rights Act case decision and liberals had to like DOMA, and both sides had something to like and dislike about the Affirmative Action and the California Proposition 8 results.
In the end, none of these decisions should have been surprising. The liberal era that reached its height in the late 1960s has been declining for years and the court has done its best lately to rein in what the right sees as its excesses, especially when it comes to government power. They’ve also set back abortion rights, the rights of the accused, and have ruled fairly consistently for the rights of religious organizations to participate in the public square. To think that any of these issues is sacrosanct would be foolish, but to also think that the court’s decisions mean an end to liberal programs would likewise be incorrect.
But the conservatives have also done wonders for the gay rights movement. Not only did they finally strike down anti-sodomy laws, but yesterday’s marriage equality ruling is a huge step forward for the recognition that homosexuals must be treated with respect under the law. I know that many African-Americans don’t like the comparison between the Civil Rights Movement and today’s gay issues, but on a human scale they are exactly the same. It’s important that every citizen be welcome and be able to feel relaxed in our society. If you’re straight, the world generally works for you. If you’re gay, some parts of it don’t. Being a member of the majority or the power structure bestows on people a sense that they have control over their destiny. Everyone deserves to feel this way.
I’m looking forward to the day when people are simply married; not same-sex married or married with equality, but just…married. That’s the beauty of the court’s ruling. I also look forward to the day when all people have access to higher education and the vote. We need to work to make these happen, but I have confidence that we will.
For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest
Surviving Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been indicted by federal grand jury, charged with using weapons of mass destruction and killing 4 individuals among 30 counts of charges.
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s eldest son testified Wednesday that his father was excited about going back on tour before his death but wasn’t happy about the pressure that came with the ill-fated shows.
Michael Joseph “Prince” Jackson Jr. told jurors his father wanted more time to rehearse and had several tense phone conversations with promoters of his “This Is It” shows that sometimes ended with his father in tears.
The 16-year-old said his father remarked after one of the conversations, “They’re going to kill me.” He did not elaborate.
The testimony came in a lawsuit claiming AEG negligently hired Conrad Murray, the doctor who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.
h/t – huffingtonpost
- Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with first degree murder and five other gun-related charges on Wednesday.
Hernandez had been questioned in the killing of Odin Lloyd, an associate of Hernandez who was found dead near Hernandez’s house.
Hernandez was transported by police to his arraignment at Attleboro District Court and arrived at the courthouse just before 2 p.m. Eastern. He was mostly expressionless as he heard the charges read in the courtroom, and didn’t change expression as he heard the prosecutor outline the case against him. That included the prosecutor saying there was surveillance video of Hernandez with a gun the night Lloyd was shot. The prosecutor asked that Hernandez be held without bail, and despite Hernandez’s lawyer Michael Fee’s argument that Hernandez is not a risk to flee, the judge ordered Hernandez be held without bail.
Multiple reports said Lloyd’s family was in the courtroom for Hernandez’s arraignment.
h/t/ – yahoosports
Categories
Now Who Are The Activists?
Remember when conservatives across the nation accused liberal justices of being activists? Of making law without interpreting it? Of imposing their political ideology on court cases instead of taking a uniquely 18th century view of the constitution? Good times, no?
Welcome to the conservative majority.
Today’s ruling in the Voting Rights Act case shows that the right can be just as activist, just as ideological and just as dismissive of the democratic process as they accused the left of being. It was evident during arguments in March, and the decision was not far off from what many feared would happen.
The court declared that Section 4 of the act (which determined the formula to identify states that needed voting oversight) was unconstitutional. That renders Section 5 moot, because without jurisdictions that are required to get preclearance from the federal government before they enact laws that might violate voter’s rights, there is no need for, well, preclearance in the first place. So why not simply declare Section 5 unconstitutional as well? There was at least one vote for that as:
Justice Thomas called for striking down Section 5 immediately, saying the majority opinion had provided the reasons and merely left “the inevitable conclusion unstated.”
The most disturbing part of the decision came from Justice Roberts, who claims to care about originalism and reliance on the past, except in cases where he doesn’t. Thus,
The current coverage scheme, Chief Justice Roberts wrote, is “based on 40-year-old facts having no relationship to the present day.”
“Congress — if it is to divide the states — must identify those jurisdictions to be singled out on a basis that makes sense in light of current conditions,” he wrote. “It cannot simply rely on the past.”
What makes sense in light of current conditions is a product of the past. That’s the bedrock assumption of every history class I’ve ever taken and one that serious historians would surely agree. It’s like saying that Paula Deen said what she said only in light of what’s happening in the country in 2013 and forgetting that she is a product of a specific time, place, history and upbringing.
As usual, it took a liberal justice to remind the court why the Voting Rights Act had been passed in the first place and why we still need it today: History. From Justice Ginsburg:
“The great man who led the march from Selma to Montgomery and there called for the passage of the Voting Rights Act foresaw progress, even in Alabama,” she said. “’The arc of the moral universe is long,’ he said, but ‘it bends toward justice,’ if there is a steadfast commitment to see the task through to completion.”
“That commitment,” she said, “has been disserved by today’s decision.”
Ginsburg also laid out a chilling future based on today’s decision.
She said the focus of the Voting Rights Act had properly changed from “first-generation barriers to ballot access” to “second-generation barriers” like racial gerrymandering and laws requiring at-large voting in places with a sizable black minority. She said Section 5 had been effective in thwarting such efforts.
As if on cue, and wasting no time in trying to disenfranchise the next generation,
“With today’s decision,” said Greg Abbott, Texas’ attorney general, “the state’s voter ID law will take effect immediately. Redistricting maps passed by the Legislature may also take effect without approval from the federal government.”
Finally, you know that things are seriously awry when a liberal has to remind the conservatives of the bedrock of right wing originalist dogma:
In any event, she said, Congress, which reauthorized the law by a large majority in the House and unanimously in the Senate, was the right body to decide whether the law was needed and where.
Exactly.
Yes, we have an African-American president and we had more African-American participation in the 2012 election, and we have many more African-Americans in local and state offices. But we still have mischief and we still have false cries of voter fraud from the right. What will happen now because of this decision is that those laws will take affect and aggrieved parties will need to react to them after the fact. You were denied your vote? Oh well. Better luck next time.
Democracy indeed.
For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest
“F**king punks, these a**holes always get away.” Those were the words spoken by prosecutor John Guy during his opening statements this morning as the murder trial of George Zimmerman began in Sanford, Florida. These exact words are, of course, the ones that came out of Zimmerman’s mouth during a 911 phone call he made to say that then-17-year-old Trayvon Martin was in his gated community acting suspiciously.
Guy and the rest of the prosecution are out to prove that not only did Zimmerman follow and shoot Martin because he unfairly profiled him as someone who would possibly commit a crime, but that he shot the teen because he “wanted to.”
“George Zimmerman didn’t shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to. He shot him for the worst of all reasons – because he wanted to.” The prosecutor also took time to poke holes in Zimmerman’s account to police about what happened on that fateful night in February. Guy claimed that statements made saying Martin had his hand over Zimmerman’s mouth aren’t true seeing as Zimmerman’s DNA wasn’t found on Martin’s body, and the teen’s DNA wasn’t found on Zimmerman’s gun or holster, refuting claims that Martin got his hands on Zimmerman’s firearm during their fight, according to Guy.
h/t – Madamenoire
Nelson Mandela was in critical condition Sunday after a deterioration in his health, and doctors “are doing everything possible” for him, South Africa’s government said.
The office of President Jacob Zuma said that on Sunday evening the president had visited Mandela, the former president of the country who was imprisoned for nearly three decades as he battled the country’s apartheid system of racial separatism.
Zuma’s office said he was informed by Mandela’s doctors that his condition had become critical in the past 24 hours.
Mandela, 94, has been in intensive care for more than two weeks. He was hospitalized on June 8 for what the government said was a recurring lung infection.
h/t/ – usatoday
Categories
MHP Lets Serena Williams Have It!
Serena wrote in response to a query from Stephen Rodrick of Rolling Stone, who asked her about the rape. She said:
“I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don’t take drinks from other people. She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky. Obviously, I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”
In Harris-Perry’s ‘Open Letter” segment of the show, she responded to Serena’s comment (see video):
And Ms Harris is absolutely correct. William’s attitude is one that many women share when they hear of rape–even I sometimes engage in such backward thinking at times.
It’s like there’s an automatic defense mechanism that pops up when you hear the word ‘rape’. A defense against the idea that people just go around committing such a horrible crime without somehow being severely provoked.
We hear about a rape and think, “What she was wearing? What was she doing there so late at night? Why didn’t she know any better? What did she expect to happen?
Not rape. No women ever expects or wants that.
Setting the responsiblity for rape on the shoulders of the victim gives the onlooker credence to believe that if they don’t behave or act like however the victim has done, they themselves will remain safe from such horrors. Of course we’re wrong.
When someone decides to harm another fellow human being, it’s their wrong decision, not the unfortunate victim’s. The most cautious, prudent and intelligent among us can still fall victim to someone’s evil intentions.
And it would absolutely not be our fault.