Conservative Group Photoshops Out Minorities In Mailer Opposing Pro-Voting Legislation

A conservative group connected to Colorado’s Secretary of State has been sending political mailers — including a picture of a darker-skinned woman whose face was digitally removed and replaced with a white woman’s face — in an attempt to oppose a landmark voting bill that may soon become law.

Colorado is currently considering a major piece of legislation to improve the state’s voting laws by implementing Election Day Registration, automatically sending mail ballots to every voter, and creating a real-time voter database to detect and prevent fraud. It passed the House last week and will now be taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler, a frequent speaker at True The Vote events who uses his perch to warn about the supposed threat of voter fraud, is leading opposition to the bill, which is supported by a number of Republican County Clerks and the Colorado County Clerks Association.

Now, a dark money group named the “Citizens for Free and Fair Elections”, which lists its address as that of Gessler’s former firm, the Hackstaff Law Group, is sending out photoshopped mailers in an attempt to pressure the election clerks into switching their position.

Michigan High School Chooses To Protect Star Basketball Player Instead Of His Rape Victims

The National Women’s Law Center is joining forces with a Michigan-area law firm to file a complaint on behalf of a young woman who was sexually assaulted by one of her high school’s star basketball players. As RH Reality Check reports, the complaint alleges that high school administrators did nothing to help advocate for the rape victim after she came forward with her story. In fact, the principal discouraged her from filing charges because he was worried that would hurt her rapist’s chances at getting recruited to play college basketball

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After the news of the assault spread throughout the Michigan high school, the victim faced backlash from her fellow students, who called her a whore and a liar. She was the subject of intense cyberbullying, and she was also harassed by her assailant and his friends in the school’s hallways. Her parents reported the harassment to the school, but administrators took no action. “The school’s failure to address the harassment sends a chilling message to students that they should remain silent in the face of sexual assault and cannot count on their school to provide a safe learning environment,” a statement from the National Women Law Center pointed out.

Unfortunately, that’s a message that students across the country are receiving from their school administrators. Society’s pervasive victim-blaming rape culture has consistently valued sports stars over rape victims — a dynamic that was particularly evident during the events that unfolded in Steubenville, OH earlier this year. That small town made national news for covering up a sexual assault perpetrated by two of its high school football stars. Even after the teens were convicted, the media took clear sides in the case, focusing on the impact that the guilty verdict might have on the boys’ promising athletic careers rather than the fact that they committed a serious crime. And Steubenville’s football coach just received a contract extension despite the fact that he may have been complicit in the cover-up.

This Michigan high schooler is just one of countless survivors of sexual assault who have faced serious consequences after talking about the crimes perpetrated against them. The Steubenville victim received death threats once her case became national news. And two teenage sexual assault victims — 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons from Canada and 15-year-old Audrie Pott from California — recently committed suicide after their classmates bullied them with information about their alleged gang-rapes.

Do You Even Hear Muslims When They Condemn Violence?

So let me start with the standard roll call: As an American Muslim, I condemn all violence in the name of religion. Terrorism has no religion and Islam is no exception. If the Tsarnaev brothers are guilty of the Boston bombings, then I hope they are brought to justice.

Is that condemnation clear enough? Because I'm pretty sure a whole lot of people instead read blah blah blah blah blah.

Here's the deal. It is a shame that we had to employ 9,000 officers, put our lives on hold for five days, and sacrifice $1 billion in Boston revenue to catch these culprits. It is a shame that Muslim women were assaulted in retaliation, and that's even before we knew who the suspects were. And it is a shame I received threats of anti-Muslim violence and that even my non-Muslim but non-white friends called me, fearing for their safety.

And now the public lynching and double standards against Islam begin. Mental illness was the culprit during Newtown, Conn., Oak Creek, Wis., and Aurora, Colo. More than 70 percent of America's 64 previous mass shooters were white American men. But not one pundit, nor any politician, nor any Muslim has ever asked why White Americans or Christian Americans are not aggressively condemning these acts of terror. After all, why ask such a ludicrous question? Anyone with a functioning cerebrum could comprehend that these terrorists represent only themselves.

Cardinals to urge Pope to appoint more women to key posts

Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras said he was backing more posts for women after the Pope named him this month to lead a task force of eight cardinals from around the world to reform the Roman Curia, an alleged hotbed of intrigue, infighting and corruption.

The cardinal's comments, made to The Sunday Times, were backed by Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi on Sunday.

"It is a natural step – there is a move towards putting more women in key roles where they are qualified," he said.

Pope Francis "unblocks" Oscar Romero's cause for beatification

Romero was shot to death while saying Mass in El Salvador on March 24, 1980. While he is seen as a hero to many because of his solidarity with the poor and his opposition to human rights abuses, his cause has also been viewed with suspicion in some quarters, partly because of Romero's links to the controversial liberation theology movement.

Although both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have said publicly that Romero was a martyr for the faith, there's also been some question as to whether his death meets the classic test for martyrdom of being killed in odium fidei, meaning "in hatred of the faith," or whether the motives were more social and political.

If Romero is judged a martyr, he could be beatified without having a miracle attributed to his intercession.

Immediately after the election of Francis, there was speculation both in Rome and in El Salvador that history's first Latin American pope would generate new momentum for the beatification of Romero.

May they finally rest in peace.

Chicago Bulls fan sues Derrick Rose for missing season due to injury

25-year-old Matthew Thompson of Peoria, Illinois is suing Rose for missing the entire 2012-13 season–despite the fact that Chicago still managed to make the playoffs as a No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference The man claims that Rose sitting out for the entire season has led him to numerous problems such as mental breakdowns, emotional distress, and even obesity issues.

No–this is not a joke.

While it’s difficult not to feel bad for any of the problems Thompson is having, the fact that this lawsuit was filed to begin with is embarrassing. Rose is overcoming a torn ACL suffered in last year’s playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers and considering how serious this type of injury is–the last thing the Bulls needed to do was see their star guard return to the court too soon that would put his knee at risk.

The fact that Thompson is trying to put the blame on Rose’s decision not to return to the court yet despite being cleared by doctors has to be one of the most ridiculous things in the world. Injuries in sports take place all of the time and Rose has every right in the world to return when he feels most comfortable.

Great idea!

Tennessee lawmaker (R-Obviously) passes resolution to honor himself

Lundberg's resolution, written by his own staff, honors his public relations firm, The Corporate Image, and says things like "the owners and employees of The Corporate Image are many such noteworthy persons" and "the company has continued to set the standard for the highest quality professional services."

"Ten years ago, I did this - I asked my state representative to do it. Now, the company is 20 years old, so who do I ask?" Lundberg said.

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Lundberg passed another resolution back in 2009 honoring his daughter for graduating high school. When asked about that resolution Wednesday, Lundberg said he stands by that one, too.

Suspect in wheelchair arrested, cherry tomatoes covering... well, read for yourself

Seattle police said a man in a wheelchair with multiple shoplifting arrests was busted at a store while wearing nothing but cherry tomatoes on his crotch.

The Seattle Police Department said officers were called to a store just after 6:20 a.m. Friday on a report of a man causing a disturbance -- and they arrived to find the suspect in the produce aisle with his pants on the floor and a pile of cherry tomatoes over his genitals, KOMO-TV, Seattle, reported Wednesday.

The man, who was arrested on suspicion of burglary, was found to be concealing most of a still-frozen Jimmy Dean sausage sandwich.

Police said the man has numerous previous arrests for shoplifting and told officers he is not allowed inside the supermarket, part of the QFC chain based in Bellevue, Wash.