http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/entertainment/article77724112.html

MACON, Ga.

Former president Jimmy Carter shared the stage with rock star Gregg Allman, as the statesman helped bestow an honorary academic degree on the Southern rock icon.

Allman, the longtime keyboard player and vocalist for The Allman Brothers Band, received an honorary doctorate of humanities Saturday from Mercer University in Macon, where the band spent its early years.

In a video of the event posted online by The Telegraph of Macon, Carter tells the crowd he might not have been president if the band hadn't "adopted" him. Drawing laughs from the audience, Carter says the band's endorsement let people know he "must be qualified to be president of the United States."

Carter is a member of Mercer's Board of Trustees. He exhorted graduating students to work for peace and human rights.

In an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” King used the term “Japs” in a criticism of likely Republican nominee Donald Trump’s approach to national security. King compared the candidate to a hypothetical trigger-happy “guy at the end of the bar” who is oblivious to the consequences of actions like dropping a nuclear bomb.

“There’s real issues with him, real problems with his views,” King said of Trump. “I don’t know if he’s thought them through, or if it’s just like the guy at the end of the bar that says, ‘Oh screw them, bomb them, kill them, pull out, bring them home. You know, why pay for the Japs, why pay for the Koreans?’”

Speaking with The Hill on Friday, King refused to apologize. “I stand by the merits of what I said. I was quoting the guy at the end of the bar who needlessly offends, who makes snaps decisions and doesn’t care, who suddenly says, ‘The hell with them, the Japs and Koreans,’” King told the outlet.

He went on, “If someone wants to say, ‘The mick at the end of the bar,’ I wouldn’t be offended by it,” citing an antiquated slur against Irish people. (King’s paternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland.) King’s office could not be reached for further comment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congressman-uses-slur-tv_us_57367f4ae4b077d4d6f337e0

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Gill Parker Payne, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of using force or threat of force to intentionally obstruct the free exercise of a person’s religious beliefs.

Court documents say that on December 11, 2015, Payne saw the woman several rows in front of him on the plane. He admitted that he saw she was wearing a hijab and was aware that it is a religious practice of Muslim women to wear a head scarf.

Payne admitted to investigators that he walked up the aisle to where the woman was sitting and stopped next to her seat. He then told her to take off the scarf, and said something to the effect of, “Take it off! This is America!” He then removed the hijab and pulled it off the woman’s head, exposing her and leaving her feeling violated.

“No matter one’s faith, all Americans are entitled to peacefully exercise their religious beliefs free from discrimination and violence,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Using or threatening force against individuals because of their religion is an affront to the fundamental values of this nation, and the Civil Rights Division will continue to be vigilant in protecting the religious liberties guaranteed to all Americans.”

http://www.wcnc.com/news/crime/gastonia-man-pleads-guilty-to-removing-muslim-womans-head-scarf-during-flight/192539129

Inside the GOP effort to draft an independent candidate to derail Trump

Earlier prospects included former senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis. Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and retired Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal have been bandied about as potentially potent political outsiders.

The recruiters also delved into the world of reality television for someone who might out-Trump Trump: Mark Cuban, the brash billionaire businessman and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.

Again and again, though, these anti-Trump Republicans have heard the same tepid response: Thanks, but no thanks.

“I don’t see it happening,” Cuban wrote in an email.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-gop-effort-to-draft-an-independent-candidate-to-derail-trump/2016/05/14/1b04682e-1877-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html

The casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson told Donald J. Trump in a private meeting last week that he was willing to contribute more to help elect him than he has to any previous campaign, a sum that could exceed $100 million, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge of Mr. Adelson’s commitment.

As significant, Mr. Adelson, a billionaire based in Las Vegas, has decided that he will significantly scale back his giving to congressional Republicans and direct most of his contributions to groups dedicated to Mr. Trump’s campaign. The two Republicans familiar with Mr. Adelson’s plans spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Mr. Adelson’s pledge to Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, comes at an opportune time. Mr. Trump has relied on a mix of his own wealth and small-dollar contributions to finance his primary effort and lacks the sort of major donor network needed to sustain him in the general election. Mr. Trump has said that he may need $1 billion for the campaign but has only recently begun scheduling fund-raisers and hiring finance staff members. Many of the Republican Party’s wealthiest contributors, including the billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch, have indicated they are unlikely to give to his candidacy.

What remains unclear is how Mr. Adelson plans to contribute his money to Mr. Trump. He will give the maximum allowed to Mr. Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, but to spend the amount he contemplates would require donating through a “super PAC,” able to accept unlimited donations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/us/politics/sheldon-adelson-donald-trump.html?_r=0

During his first week back on the Hill, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he has no interest in becoming a Supreme Court justice -- now or in the future.

Some top Republicans had suggested Cruz as a possible option to fill Antonin Scalia's vacant seat were the party to win back the White House in November, but in an interview with Texas radio station WBAP on Friday Cruz said "That is not a desire of my heart."

Cruz told the station he "has had several opportunities in the past to go to the bench, and I certainly deeply respect the job that the justices do."

He added, "I am committed to the fight of ensuring that we have strong, principled constitutionalists on the court. But I believe that I can do a great more good fighting across the political spectrum."

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/05/13/ted-cruz-supreme-court-seat/21376928/

Patrick Stewart Verified account
?@SirPatStew

Made me forget the humidity for a moment. Worth 5 bucks.



https://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/730481361920741377?lang=en

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sheldon-adelson-i-endorse-donald-trump-for-president/2016/05/12/ea89d7f0-17a0-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Sheldon Adelson: I endorse Donald Trump for president

While the primary cycle still has some important elections ahead, it is clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.

I am endorsing Trump’s bid for president and strongly encourage my fellow Republicans — especially our Republican elected officials, party loyalists and operatives, and those who provide important financial backing — to do the same.

The alternative to Trump being sworn in as the nation’s 45th president is frightening.

For nearly eight years, Republicans have fought tooth and nail against President Obama and his policies. We waged battles over debt, government spending, Obamacare and the Iran nuclear deal — an issue of paramount importance to me personally and to many others around the world.