n2doc

n2doc's Journal

March 30, 2017

Centrist group in House 'will never' meet with Freedom Caucus

The centrist Tuesday Group affirmed at a meeting Wednesday that they will not meet with the conservative Freedom Caucus to negotiate changes to an ObamaCare replacement bill, according to Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.).

“I am not speaking for the White House, I'm not speaking for the Speaker, but I will speak for the Tuesday Group,” Collins, a member of the group, told reporters. “We have never negotiated with the Freedom Caucus, there was never a meeting scheduled with the Freedom Caucus, we will never meet with the Freedom Caucus, because it's not appropriate for a group of ad hoc members.”

“It's not regular order, that's not our role,” Collins added. He said the regular healthcare committees should handle the issue.

He said the Tuesday Group had a meeting on Wednesday and he can state “unequivocally” that other members of the group agree they should not meet with the Freedom Caucus.

“It was just reiterated, that next time one of those calls comes in [from the Freedom Caucus], just hang up,” Collins said of the Tuesday Group meeting.

more
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/326502-centrist-group-in-house-will-never-meet-with-freedom-caucus

March 30, 2017

Dont Be Fooled by North Carolina, There Is No Repeal of Anti-Trans HB2, Only More Discrimination

By Chase Strangio, Staff Attorney, ACLU LGBT & HIV Project

What do they say about déjà vu all over again?

That is what seems to be happening in North Carolina where lawmakers are again rushing through a poorly thought-out, dangerous backroom deal under the guise of removing their hideous anti-LGBTQ law, HB2. But behind closed doors, in the middle of the night, all we are left with is a claimed “compromise” to repeal HB2 that just further entrenches discrimination against LGBTQ North Carolinians.

You may remember North Carolina’s infamous House Bill 2 (HB2), the bill that has cost the state over $3.75 billion dollars, cost its former Gov. Pat McCrory his election, and cost thousands of LGBTQ North Carolinians their piece of mind and safety. It has been a stain on the state compounding the disgrace of a General Assembly that had already systematically worked to disenfranchise Black voters and solidify power for those already seated in office.

Yesterday, as the legislature approached today’s deadline imposed by the NCAA to repeal HB2, newly elected Gov. Roy Cooper, Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore reached what they are calling a “compromise” repeal of HB2.

But let us be clear – this is no compromise. This is no repeal. This is HB2.0 and is perhaps more insidious in its targeting of LGBTQ – and particularly of trans and gender non-conforming – people. It is a backroom deal that shows no input from the community, that shows no leadership from lawmakers, that shows a callous disregard for the basic humanity of the trans and gender non-conforming people that call North Carolina home.

more
https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/dont-be-fooled-north-carolina-there-no-repeal-anti-trans-hb2-only-more

March 30, 2017

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback vetoes Medicaid expansion bill

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback on Thursday vetoed a bill expanding eligibility for Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), saying he could not support legislation that provided tax dollars to Planned Parenthood.

State lawmakers in the Republican-controlled senate voted in favor of the measure on Tuesday, just days after President Donald Trump's efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, also known as Obamacare, ended with the bill being pulled from a vote.

all of article

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kansas-medicaid-idUSKBN17127J

Should have waited until he was gone to vote on this.

March 30, 2017

Toon: The WMD's have been found

March 30, 2017

Thursday TOON Roundup 3- The Rest

Spicer

Nunes

North Carolina

Bigot

Climate

NFL

United Airlines

March 30, 2017

Thursday TOON Roundup 2 - Party of Destruction

Health

GOP

March 30, 2017

Thursday Toon Roundup 1- Orange Planet Killer

March 29, 2017

Maine is poised to make it a lot harder for police to steal your stuff

By Payton Alexander

Maine is poised to make it a lot harder for police to seize your property without charging you with a crime, as lawmakers introduced a bill this month to reform the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws. With civil asset forfeiture, police can seize cash, vehicles and even homes, provided only that the property is suspected of being used in a crime. Often, no charges or convictions are required. Senator Eric Brakey, along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors, introduced Senate Bill 888 March 7, which would require a criminal conviction before any property is seized, as well as close a loophole that allows local law enforcement to skirt state law by working with the federal government.

“Barring state and local law enforcement agencies from passing off cases to the feds is particularly important,” writes Mark Maharrey for the Tenth Amendment Center. “In several states with strict asset forfeiture laws, prosecutors have done just that. By placing the case under federal jurisdiction, law enforcement can bypass the need for a conviction under state law and collect up to 80 percent of the proceeds from forfeited assets via the federal Equitable Sharing Program.”

Currently, police in Maine do not have the right to keep the proceeds of forfeitures, which reduces the perverse incentive to ‘police for profit’ that plagues departments in other states. However, the state has a low bar to forfeit property, does not require a conviction and provides limited protections for innocent third-party property owners.

According to the Institute for Justice, even though Maine requires police departments to maintain an inventory of the property they seize, reports need not be filed with a centralized agency or published online, making it harder for the public to hold them accountable. Looking at just Maine Drug Enforcement Agency reports alone, law enforcement in the Pine Tree State seized more than $1.5 million in cash from 2009 to 2013. Unfortunately, no value is reported for non-cash assets that were seized and then auctioned or sold.

more
http://rare.us/rare-politics/issues/government-run-amok/maine-is-poised-to-make-it-a-lot-harder-for-police-to-steal-your-stuff/

I'll bet leNutcase vetos it....