Tag: bill

Categories
Politics trayvon martin

George Zimmerman Hit With a $2.5 Million Legal Defense Bill

George Zimmerman got away with murdering Trayvon Martin based on dumb arguments from his attorneys like, Trayvon Martin was armed with a sidewalk and used it to attack Zimmerman. The prosecution bringing the case against Zimmerman failed to show the absurdity of that argument, and they allow the jury to walk away thinking Trayvon really had a sidewalk in his back pocket.

Zimmerman smiled when the jury came back with a not guilty verdict, and he left the courtroom a free man. But apparently not free from the bill. According to The Orlando Sentinel, the bill from Zimmerman’s lawyers has arrived, and I doubt the check will be in the mail anytime soon.

O’Mara took on the case in April 2012, saying he would represent Zimmerman at no charge. Then he discovered that Zimmerman and his family were raising funds via a website and that money was pouring in, at least initially.

Throughout the case, even after the trial, O’Mara said he and West had not been paid a dime, although they hoped to be someday.

In an interview this week, O’Mara said Zimmerman paid them “a minute amount” after the trial.

O’Mara is still hopeful, he said, that there might someday be money he and West can collect.

In truth, they have already benefited financially from Zimmerman’s legal-defense fund. Several months ago, O’Mara reported spending $52,550 on “law firm support and infrastructure.”

O’Mara and his spokesman never provided a detailed accounting as to what that included, but they said it was such things as more computers, upgraded software, new phones and improved office security.

West and O’Mara also formed a private partnership, Timber Run Enterprises LLC, and bought the building next door to O’Mara’s Concord Street office in downtown Orlando. That building, like O’Mara’s office, is a former single-family home for which the lawyers paid $270,000.

 

Categories
England New York Sports

Welcome Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow has only been in the league for three years and has already played for two different teams, the Denver Broncos which he was originally drafted and most recently the horrible experience in New York with the Jets. Now though after being rejected by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the entire Canadian Football League, and even the Arena Football League, he has been signed by the powerhouse New England Patriots for and undisclosed length and money.

If Bill Belichick can’t find a use for Tebow I’ll be shocked

While I am not a Tim Tebow fan I am very happy for him to have been signed to a team. Tebow has the heart and desire to compete that most stars lack on top of that he has the work ethic to match that of any superstar. I’m glad he’s finally on a team that can utilize his skills that he will bring, especially since he is now working again with ex Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels once again in New England. Most importantly the media circus that has followed Tebow around his rather short career will be silenced in New England as all media circus’s have been before. I wish Tim Tebow the best of luck and most of all I am happy he may finally have a chance to play the game he so desperately wants to.

Categories
Mitch McConnell Politics Senate

Republican Mitch McConnell Introduced His Own Bill, Then Filibustered His Own Bill

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may have made United States senate history today when he beat his own legislative baloney, blocking a straight up-or-down vote on a proposal that he, himself, offered for a vote Thursday morning. The bill, which would have taken the debt ceiling gun away from the head of the U.S. economy by requiring a two-thirds majority to override a presidential increase to the debt ceiling, was McConnell’s idea, but when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed with McConnell’s request for a vote on the bill Thursday afternoon, McConnell objected.

TPM‘s Sahil Kapur flagged the exchange:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wanted to prove on Thursday that Democrats don’t have the votes to weaken Congress’ authority on the debt limit. Instead they called his bluff, and he ended up filibustering his own bill.

The legislation, modeled on a proposal McConnell offered last year as a “last-choice option” to avert a U.S. debt default, would permit the president to unilaterally lift the debt ceiling unless Congress mustered a two-thirds majority to stop him.

McConnell brought up the legislation Thursday morning. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) initially objected, seemingly proving the Republican leader’s point that it cannot pass the Senate. But then Reid ran it by his members and, in the afternoon, agreed to hold that same vote. This time it was McConnell who objected.

“The Republican leader objects to his own idea,” Reid declared on the floor. “So I guess we have a filibuster of his own bill.”

h/t Mediaite

Categories
Paul Ryan Politics

Todd Akin And Paul Ryan Co-Sponsored Bill Changing Definition of ‘Rape’ to ‘Forcible Rape’

Now that Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin has made us aware that there is something called “Legitimate Rape,” and that a woman’s body is capable of “shutting that whole thing down,” we are now getting word that Mr. Akin and the Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, sponsored a bill called ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,’ that would have changed the definition of word “rape” to “forcible rape.”

The new definition of rape did not go through because of public pressure and the bill’s absurdity, but imagine what would have happened if these crazy nuts had their way – a woman who suffered the torture of being raped, would have had to explain how forcible the rape was and then a qualified third party would then determine if the forcing was enough to qualify as a rape.

Akin and Ryan were the original co-sponsors of the controversial bill H.R. 3, “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” which initially included language which changed the definition of “rape” to “forcible rape,” until public pressure forced the bill’s supporters to remove that unacceptable and narrow definition. As I wrote previously, Paul Ryan is not just anti-choice, his anti-choice views are extreme and just plain bad for all women.

Linking Ryan to Akin and the idea that there is such a thing as “legitimate rape” based on pseudo-science and folklore is something that needs to be done before the upcoming election. While Team Romney attempted to create distance with Akin, saying that both Romney and Ryan “disagree” with his statements, there was nothing in their statement that said they condemn his remarks as hurtful to victims. There was also nothing in Team Romney’s statement that pointed out that what Akin said about pregnancies resulting from rape being rare is just flat-out wrong.

Ryan was against abortion in all cases including rape until Team Romney’s statement. Romney has said he would get rid of Planned Parenthood and has been moving further right on women’s issues since he was a pro-choice governor of Massachusetts. This could be a huge problem for the Republican ticket in November.

Categories
Arizona Featured

Arizona Declares Women Pregnant Two Weeks Before Sex

A measure that passed Arizona’s Senate claims that it would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but experts say that the bill is far more restrictive, effectively banning abortions after 18 weeks and declaring that a woman could be pregnant 2 weeks before she even had sex.

Arizona’s HB 2036 takes Nebraska’s 20-week abortion ban one step further by starting the clock on pregnancies at the woman’s last last menstrual period, which could be two weeks before fertilization.

Specifically, the bill would “[p]rohibit abortions at or after twenty weeks of gestation, except in cases of a medical emergency, based on the documented risks to women’s health and the strong medical evidence that unborn children feel pain during an abortion at that gestational age,” where gestational age is defined as “age of the unborn child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman.”

Source: Mother Jones

Categories
child support House of Representatives Illinois Politics

The Deadbeat Joe Walsh Bill Is Introduced In The House

Why this have to be a rule or law is beyond me. There are many professions where background checks are conducted on potential candidates, and if an applicant is found owing child support, he or she is automatically disqualified.

Well, as of now, Congress is different.

We all remember Republican Representative and Teaparty favorite, Joe Walsh. At the time when he won his House Seat representing the 8th congressional district in Illinois, Walsh was a deadbeat to the tune of over $117, 000. He hadn’t paid child support in over 9 years!

If left up to Democratic Rep. Jack Franks, Deadbeats like Walsh wouldn’t be able to clean shoes in Washington.

A bill clearly inspired by U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh’s child support issues would forbid people owing more than $10,000 in back child support from running for office in Illinois. House Bill 3932, filed Tuesday by state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, would require statements of candidacy to include a statement that the person running for office is not delinquent by $10,000 or more.

Walsh, a tea party Republican freshman representing the 8th Congressional District, is facing allegations in court by his ex-wife that he owes her more than $100,000 in back child support. Walsh has not been found delinquent or in contempt of court in the ongoing dispute.

The bill would have no effect on Walsh, but it is a step in the right direction. If regular jobs disqualify a deadbeat, why should that deadbeat be able to get a job making laws in the United States government?

Then again, the House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans. Don’t expect this bill to see the light of day.

Categories
Politics veterans weekly address

President Obama Addresses Jobs For Veterans – Video

President Obama used his weekly address to ask Congress to “put partisanship aside,” and pass his jobs bill that would put America’s veterans back to work. “Today, more than 850,000 veterans remain unemployed,” the president said. “And too many are struggling to find a job worthy of their talents and experience.”

He continued.

That’s not right.  We ask these men and women to leave their families and their jobs and risk their lives to fight for our country.  The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they get home.

The President again, made his pledge to the men and women of our armed services.

As Commander-in-Chief, I want every veteran to know that America will always honor your service and your sacrifice – not just today, but every day.  And just as you fought for us, we’re going to keep fighting for you – for more jobs, for more security, for the opportunity to keep your families strong and America competitive in the 21st century.

Categories
Politics

Republicans Blocked Yet Another Part of Obama’s Job Bill

This story is becoming old. For the third time, congressional Republicans blocked another part of President Obama’s Jobs Bill.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in the Senate Thursday dealt President Barack Obama the third in a string of defeats on his stimulus-style jobs agenda, blocking a $60 billion measure for building and repairing infrastructure like roads and rail lines.

Supporters of the failed measure said it would have created tens of thousands of construction jobs and lifted the still-struggling economy. But Republicans unanimously opposed it for its tax surcharge on the wealthy and spending totals they said were too high.

The 51-49 vote fell well short of the 60 votes required under Senate procedures to start work on the bill. Every Republican opposed the president, as did Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska and former Democrat Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who still aligns with the party.

Although they try, these Republicans still cannot keep the American people down. Reports out today found that the unemployment rate fell, from 9.1% to 9%.  A small drop, but given the Republican’s goal of making this president fail by destroying the middle class, any reduction in the unemployment figures are welcomed news.

Categories
Politics

President Obama On The Road Again For The American Jobs Act

The President began another three-day trip on Monday, as he continues his push to put Americans back to work. Mr. Obama will visit cities in both North Carolina and Virginia, telling the American people of his jobs bill that will keep teachers and emergency responders on the job, while providing for infrastructure funds to hire thousands more workers.

In the first vote on the President’s $447 billion jobs bill, Senate Republicans unanimously defeated the legislation. But the President is not giving up the fight. He told the crowd at an airport in Asheville, North Carolina, “We’re going to give members of Congress another chance to step up to the plate and do the right thing. Maybe they just couldn’t understand the whole all at once. So we’re going to break it up into bite-size pieces so they can take a thoughtful approach to this legislation.”

At another stop at a high school in Millers Creek, the President told the crowd of about 2000 supporters, “I need you to give Congress a piece of your mind. Tell them what’s at stake here… There are too many of our fellow Americans hurting and you can’t stand by and do nothing. Now is the time to act.”

Watch the President’s speech below.

Categories
Arizona Barack Obama Birthers Donald Trump

Jan Brewer Kills Birther Bill In Arizona

We didn’t think she had it in her. But today, Jan Brewer vetoed a bill passed by both the Arizona Senate and House, and would have required all Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates to prove they are United States citizens.

The bill, which was sponsored in part and written to appease the Birther movement, would have appointed a person to determine the eligibility of presidential candidates, based on nothing else but their birth certificate and if that wasn’t available, their circumcision certificate (for males only, of course. Don’t ask what proof they’re asking of women).

“I do not support designating one person as the gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically motivated decisions,” Ms Brewer said in a statement.

For some reason, and we’re not quite sure what that reason is – *wink wink* – birth certificates or questioning whether or not a president was born in this country, was never an issue with previous presidents. Something about President Obama – and we haven’t quite put our finger on it – has triggered an entire movement, now led by presidential hopeful Donald Trump, requesting this particular president comply with their demands.

“I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their ‘early baptismal circumcision certificates’ among other records to the Arizona secretary of state,” Ms Brewer said.

I guess knowing what the presidential candidate’s penis looked like was not an appealing thought for Mrs. Brewer. Too bad her fellow Republicans felt otherwise in the vetoed bill.

Categories
Barack Obama Birthers Birthers Natural born citizen of the United States Republican United States

Georgia Wants Proof Of Citizenship Mr. President, Or Don’t Land There

It’s the lie that just wont stop. Republicans in Gerogia are pushing a bill that would require all presidential candidates to prove his or her citizenship before landing in the state. The birtherism lie continues.

House Bill 401 would not allow a candidate on the ballot until the Secretary of State receives “adequate evidence of such person’s eligibility for election” to those offices. The bill’s sponsor is Mark Hatfield, R-Waycross, but has huge backing with other GOP members.

“I think the issue with our sitting president has been left unresolved for a significant length of time that people have concerns,” Hatfield said. “But this is not just about our current president. It’s about enforcing the constitutional provisions for anyone who seeks the office of presidency.”

The proposal is a slight change from a similar bill from Hatfield last year. That bill would have required presidential candidates in Georgia to file an affidavit swearing to be a natural-born citizen.

Both measures are inspired by the “birther” movement that believes President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. The claim has been widely disproved when Hawaii released records of Obama’s birth, but it remains a popular sentiment among some factions.

In an effort to help explain the Birther’s issues, please watch this brief video explaining the whole conspiracy that supposedly began over 47 years ago, when Mr. Obama was born.

Read the rest of the report here.

Categories
Democratic Politics Republican Party (United States) Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Wisconsin Assembly Approves Anti-Union Bill

Early Friday morning, after three days of a Democratic filibusterer, Wisconsin State Assembly voted and passed the bill stripping union public workers of their collective bargaining rights. The bill still has to be approved in the state’s Senate, where Senate Democrats have been missing in action for over a week now.

State Assembly Democrats are not happy with how the vote was held. According to reporting from Huffington Post, many Democratic members did not even know the vote was being called. The report states;

After more than 60 hours in which Democrats threw out dozens of amendments and delivered rambling speeches, Republicans halted debate early Friday. In a matter of seconds, they had approved the bill. Only a few Democrats realized what was going on and managed to vote before the roll was closed.

The Democrats rose from their seats and rushed at the Republicans shouting, “Shame!” as the Republicans exited the chamber.

“I’m incensed. I’m shocked,” said Rep. John Richards, D-Milwaukee. “What a terrible, terrible day for Wisconsin.”

Republicans refused to speak to reporters, though Majority Leader Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, did issue a written statement.

“The vote we took wasn’t the easy thing to do, but it was the right thing to do,” Suder said.

We are witnessing the dismantling of the constitutionally protected first amendment for Wisconsin public employees, where simply having their union representative sit at a negotiating table and speak on their behalf is slowly being taken away.

Read the report here.

Exit mobile version