August 26, 2015

Behind the Biden hype

As the veep decides, friends tell POLITICO he's undecided and still 'not himself' while inside the White House Obama has at times privately leaned to Clinton.

By Glenn Thrush

8/26/15 5:06 AM EDT
Updated 8/26/15 12:38 PM EDT

The Joe Biden who has been reaching out to Democratic operatives and would-be donors for a potential 2016 bid isn’t quite the happy warrior of bygone days. Mourning the loss of his eldest son Beau, who succumbed to a brain tumor three months ago, and under intense pressure from the presidential hype he’s helped stoke, Biden is more subdued, grayer and grimly on-task than usual — this while occupying political center stage for the first time since the promising opening days of his doomed 1988 campaign.

For all the breathless reporting on Biden’s every move and meeting, he is, at core, a 72-year-old man presented with an unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at one of the worst times of his life.

Several people Biden has talked to in the past month say he starts off conversations by conceding that “some days are better than others,” mixing recollections of Beau with logistical questions about mounting a state-by-state challenge to a vulnerable yet still formidable Hillary Clinton.

“He’s just not himself,” says a longtime friend of Biden’s. “He’s sort of all over the place. He’s engaged but not in that childlike, manic way he usually is. He’s taking it all in and soaking up information, but he’s hard to read. And Joe Biden isn’t usually that hard to read.”

That isn’t to say Biden won’t decide to run — he clearly sees Clinton’s struggles with her email scandal as an opportunity, and no politician in recent history has proven to be as resilient in the face of personal tragedy.

To the annoyance of the Clinton campaign, Biden’s allies have strategically leaked his modest, noncommittal doings to the media, which have given otherwise ho-hum confabs with Elizabeth Warren and President Barack Obama’s former counsel Bob Bauer bombshell treatment. (Warren, according to a person with knowledge of the interaction, offered her usual warning against bringing more Wall Street executives into the White House; the talk with Bauer, an old Biden friend who worked with him closely in the White House, was intended to be an informal, personal check-in session that was leaked against the wishes of the participants.)


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/joe-beau-biden-president-hype-2016-121749.html#ixzz3jxZEC0K8

August 26, 2015

Court orders defiant Kentucky clerk to issue same-sex marriage licenses in compliance with SCOTUS...

Source: RawStory

Court orders defiant Kentucky clerk to issue same-sex marriage licenses in compliance with SCOTUS ruling

A court on Wednesday ordered a Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses citing her religious beliefs to begin issuing the licenses.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was sued in a class action after the Supreme Court issued its landmark Obergefell ruling after she was caught on video refusing to issue a license to David V. Moore and David Ermold in July. She claimed the ruling violates her Christian beliefs.

As reported by the National Law Journal’s Mike Sacks on Wednesday, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that in her role as county clerk, she or anyone in office must comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Mike Sacks
?@MikeSacksEsq

Sixth Circuit says Kentucky's Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has to issue #SSM licenses:

http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/kentucky_ca6_20150826.pdf …

-snip-



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/court-orders-defiant-kentucky-clerk-to-issue-same-sex-marriage-licenses-in-compliance-with-scotus-ruling/

---

6th Circuit Orders Anti-Gay Clerk to Begin Issuing Marriage Licenses Immediately

On Wednesday, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay a lower court’s decision ordering Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, to resume granting marriage licenses. Davis—a taxpayer-funded public servant—refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects gay people’s right to wed in Obergefell v. Hodges. She then declared that she would refuse to grant marriage licenses to any couple, to avoid giving them to same-sex couples. Several same-sex couples sued, but Davis insisted that the state was violating her rights to free speech and free exercise of religion by forcing her to grant licenses to gay people. A federal district judge ruled against her but put his decision on hold until the 6th Circuit weighed in.

Now the 6th Circuit has come out emphatically against Davis. To justify keeping the district court’s ruling on hold, Davis would have to prove that she has “a strong likelihood of success on the merits.” But, the court held, “in light of the binding holding of Obergefell, it cannot be defensibly argued” that Davis “may decline to act in conformity with the United States Constitution as interpreted by a dispositive holding of the United States Supreme Court. There is thus little or no likelihood” that Davis “in her official capacity will prevail on appeal.”

To justify its holding, the court cited a string of cases that held that “where a public employee’s speech is made pursuant to his duties, ‘the relevant speaker [is] the government entity, not the individual.’ ” That’s exactly right, of course: By taking a job with the government, Davis became a public employee required to serve the whole public. She does not maintain an individual right to refuse to serve some people simply because of her own religious beliefs. Davis isn’t arguing for a right to free speech. She’s demanding that the state finance her own discrimination. And under the U.S. Constitution, that is a losing argument.

###

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/08/26/kim_davis_sixth_circuit_orders_anti_gay_clerk_to_issue_marriage_licenses.html

August 26, 2015

‘Dictator’ Jim Bob Duggar teaches his sons to repress their lust using THIS weird code word

Sources familiar with the Duggar family says that behind the scenes, patriarch Jim Bob Duggar rules the clan with an iron hand and uses a code word to drill the boys in the family in repressing their lust for attractive women.

According to People magazine, multiple people have come forward to say that 50-year-old Jim Bob has been the driving force behind the family’s 10 years in the national spotlight. The devout “Quiverfull” Christian father’s jovial, good-humored public image is actually at odds with his demeanor when the cameras aren’t rolling.

“Jim Bob’s favorite word is ‘no,'” one source said to People. “He’s like a dictator. He once saw a guy kissing a girl before marriage and confronted him about it. And the guy said, ‘Jim Bob, show me that verse in the Bible that says we can’t kiss. Get out your Bible.’ And Jim Bob was like, ‘Uhhhh …’ because no one ever confronts Jim Bob. No one.”

“Jim Bob calls the shots,” said another source. “Always has and always will.”

The family reportedly maintains strict control over how much contact the Duggar offspring and their spouses may have with the outside world.

“The scary thing is, I don’t know who is talking to Anna, outside of the people in Duggarville,” said a source.

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/dictator-jim-bob-duggar-teaches-his-sons-to-repress-their-lust-using-this-weird-code-word/

August 26, 2015

Bernie Sanders: ‘Family values’ is Republican code for ‘let’s control women’s bodies’

Source: RawStory

At a rally in Littleton, New Hampshire on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took aim at a longstanding Republican talking point, “family values.”

“Many of my Republican colleagues who come through New Hampshire and Iowa and so forth,” said the 2016 Democratic nomination hopeful in video shot by Holly Owsianik, “they often talk about family values.”

“They just loooove families,” he quipped. “But all of you know what they mean by family values. And what they mean by family values is that the women of this country should not have the right to control their own bodies. I disagree.”

“What they mean by family values is that women are not smart enough to be able to purchase the contraceptives they need,” he continued. “I disagree.”

-snip-


Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/bernie-sanders-family-values-is-republican-code-for-lets-control-womens-bodies/

August 26, 2015

Josh Duggar Enters Rehab For Pornography Addiction

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — Days after he confessed to cheating on his wife and an addiction to pornography, Josh Duggar has entered rehab.

The ex-reality star checked himself into a long-term treatment center, according to his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.

Their announcement Wednesday on the family's website did not specify the nature or duration of treatment, nor did it identify the facility. But the statement spoke of "a long journey toward wholeness and recovery."

"We pray that in this he comes to complete repentance and sincere change," his parents said, adding they are "deeply grieved" by his actions, which have "brought great insult to the values and faith we hold dear." The couple also said Josh's wife, Anna, with whom he has four children, is receiving "counsel and help for her own heart and future."

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/josh-duggar-rehab-pornography-addiction

August 26, 2015

Ted Cruz is the true GOP dark horse: How he’s winning over the fanatical right at exactly the right

Ted Cruz is the true GOP dark horse: How he’s winning over the fanatical right at exactly the right time

When Donald Trump's campaign collapses, as it almost certainly still will, Cruz is well positioned to fill the void

HEATHER DIGBY PARTON

While Donald Trump continues to inspire what he calls “the silent majority” (and everyone else calls the racist rump of the GOP) and the other assumed front-runners Walker, Rubio and Bush flounder and flop around, another candidate is quietly gathering support from a discrete, but powerful, GOP constituency. As Peter Montgomery of Right Wing watch pointed out earlier this week, Ted Cruz is making a huge play for the religious right. And they like what they’re seeing.

Montgomery notes that influential conservative Christian leaders have been getting progressively more anxious about the fact that they’ve been asked to pony up for less-than-devout candidates like McCain and somewhat alien religious observers like Mitt Romney when they are the reliable foot-soldiers for the Republican party who deliver votes year in and year out. With this year’s massive field from which to choose including hardcore true-believers Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum, these religious leaders are looking closely at all the candidates, but are homing in on Cruz.

Montgomery writes:

One big sign came late last month, when news that broke that Farris and Dan Wilks had given $15 million to Keep the Promise, a pro-Cruz super PAC. Not coincidentally, David Lane told NBC News last year that, “With Citizens United…you can have somebody who gives $15 or $20 million into a super PAC and that changes the game.” The billionaire Wilks brothers from Texas have become sugar daddies to right-wing groups generally, and to David Lane’s Pastors and Pews events specifically.

A couple weeks later, Cruz stopped by the headquarters of the American Family Association. Lane’s American Renewal Project operates under the AFA’s umbrella, and Cruz sounded like he was reading Lane’s talking points. Cruz told AFA President Tim Wildmon that mobilizing evangelical Christian voters is the key to saving America, saying, “Nothing is more important in the next 18 months than that the body of Christ rise up and that Christians stand up, that pastors stand up and lead.”

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/08/26/ted_cruz_is_the_true_gop_dark_horse_how_hes_winning_over_the_fanatical_right_at_exactly_the_right_time/

August 26, 2015

Bobby Jindal: No, I'm Not An 'Anchor Baby'

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said Tuesday at an event in Iowa that he is not an "anchor baby."

The declaration came in response to a question from an audience member after Jindal spoke about his parents' immigration from India to the United States, joking that he was a "pre-existing condition" at the time, according to The Des Moines Register.

"Did I hear you say you were an anchor baby?" the audience member asked, as quoted by the newspaper. "No, no, I'm not," Jindal responded. He went on to ascribe talk about him being an "anchor baby" to progressives and labelled the chatter a distraction from the real issues, according to The Des Moines Register.

Jindal followed presidential rival Donald Trump's lead last week in calling for an end to the policy of birthright citizenship, which automatically grants citizenship to children born on U.S. soil regardless of their parentage.

As TPM previously reported, a fringe movement of self-described "strict constitutionalists" believe that Jindal isn't even eligible to mount a presidential campaign because his parents were not naturalized U.S. citizens at the time of his birth. But Jindal does indeed qualify as "natural born" citizen, according to a 2011 report from the Congressional Research Service on presidential eligibility requirements.

###

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bobby-jindal-not-anchor-baby

August 26, 2015

Why Fox News' Defense Of Megyn Kelly Is Going To Backfire

Donald Trump has reignited his sexist harassment campaign against Megyn Kelly, and the folks at Fox News are, in seemingly coordinated fashion, striking back. Fellow Fox News hosts and pundits are asking Trump to cool it, and even Roger Ailes has released a statement calling Trump’s abuse “unacceptable” and “disturbing." It’s almost touching, watching all these conservative media people who usually profit at peddling sexism choose, this time at least, to join together in an effort to stop this one particular instance of it.

It’s also going to backfire.

Conservative media and Fox News in particular have spent years - decades, if you count talk radio - training their audiences to believe that exhortations against sexism and racism are nothing but the “political correctness” police trying to kill your good time. Indeed, one reason that Trump was able to get so much attention for his presidential run in the first place is that Fox has spent years building him up, knowing that their audience enjoys vicariously needling imagined liberals and feminists with his loud-mouthed insult comic act.

As Jill Filipovic as Cosmopolitan recently explained in a feature piece about the conservative website Twitchy, there are entire sectors of the conservative media dedicated to getting the audiences to spend all day and night trying to piss off liberals, believing themselves to be courageous freedom fighters against the P.C. police. Women, in particular, are favorite targets. There’s apparently no getting tired of the pleasure of feeling naughty because you say mean things about women and racial minorities for conservative audiences.

Well, conservative media built Twitchy Nation, and now it looks like they have to live in it. You can’t tell people, day in and day out, that nothing is more fun than putting some mouthy broad in her place and then get upset when they continue to think it’s fun, even when the mouthy broad is one of yours.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/fox-news-defense-megyn-kelly-backfire

August 26, 2015

Trump Imitates Asians During Iowa Campaign Stop: 'We Want Deal'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used broken English to imitate Asian negotiators during a campaign speech on Tuesday in Iowa.

During his campaign, Trump has repeatedly said that the United States is too closely tied to China's economy.

On Tuesday, the former reality TV star played out a conversation he imagined he would have with negotiators from Asian nations.

"Negotiating with Japan, negotiating with China, when these people walk into the room, they don't say, 'Oh hello, how's the weather, so beautiful outside, isn't it lovely? How are the Yankees doing? Oh they are doing wonderful, great,' " Trump said in his speech. "They say, 'We want deal."

###

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-asian-imitation-video

August 26, 2015

After sabotage letter, Cotton wants US to ‘speak with one voice’ - By Steve Benen

Congressional Republicans are unanimous in their opposition to the international nuclear agreement with Iran, but even among GOP lawmakers, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) stands out as unique. Arguably no American lawmaker has done more to undermine U.S. foreign policy than the right-wing freshman.

This week, as support for the diplomatic deal grows on Capitol Hill, opponents confronted the very real possibility that a Republican bill to derail the agreement may not even get the 60 votes it needs in the Senate to overcome a Democratic filibuster. This in turn led Cotton to issue a fascinating press statement (via Salon’s Simon Maloy).

“First, the president did an end-run around the Constitution by refusing to submit the Iran deal as a treaty requiring a two-thirds vote of the Senate for approval. Now Harry Reid wants to deny the American people a voice entirely by blocking an up-or-down vote on this terrible deal. (…)

“The Congress and the president should speak with one voice when it comes to dealing with the Iranians, but it seems that Harry Reid believes that only his and the president’s voices matter.”

more
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/after-sabotage-letter-cotton-wants-us-speak-one-voice?cid=eml_mra_20150826