Monthly Archives: September 2013

Jon Stewart Rips CNN Apart for Confusing, Frenzied Shooting Coverage

"Jon Stewart opened Tuesday night's Daily Show with a powerful indictment of how cable news covered the Washington Navy Yard shooting, aimed squarely at the 'breathless wrongness' of CNN. Stewart spent not one, but two whole segments mercilessly tearing CNN apart for how awfully it covered the shooting, especially all the unnecessary speculation. Stewart yelled at one CNN reporter, 'You're just standing in front of a camera naming shit you see!' and likened it to 'walking down the street with a five-year-old.' He ran the gamut from one anchor demanding to know the size of a building to another asking about the clothes someone who may have been the suspect possibly wore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJon Stewart Rips CNN Apart for Confusing, Frenzied Shooting Coverage

Rand Paul: ‘I Ask That We Begin The End Of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing’

"Paul mentioned other examples of draconian mandatory minimums, including the 55-year sentence that Weldon Angelos, a 24-year-old Utah music entrepreneur, received for a few small pot sales. Brett Tolman, a former U.S. attorney for Utah, noted that the DEA could have busted Angelos after the first undercover buy but waited for two more, knowing that Angelos’ possession of a gun would trigger stacked sentences adding up to more than half a century. Paul also cited Edward Clay, an 18-year-old first-time offender who got 10 years after he was caught with less than two ounces of cocaine, and John Horner, a 46-year-old father of three who got a 25-year mandatory minimum." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul: ‘I Ask That We Begin The End Of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing’

Minimum Wage Madness

"Switzerland is one of the few modern nations without a minimum wage law. In 2003, 'The Economist' magazine reported: 'Switzerland’s unemployment neared a five-year high of 3.9 percent in February.' In February of this year, Switzerland’s unemployment rate was 3.1 percent. A recent issue of 'The Economist' showed Switzerland’s unemployment rate as 2.1 percent. Most Americans today have never seen unemployment rates that low. However, there was a time when there was no federal minimum wage law in the United States. The last time was during the Coolidge administration, when the annual unemployment rate got as low as 1.8 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMinimum Wage Madness

Rep holds up vodka and steak on House floor to shame food stamp opponents

"Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) on Thursday held up steak, vodka and caviar during her House floor speech in an effort to shame Republicans who want to slash $40 billion from the food stamp budget, while they continue to go on 'lavish' trips financed by taxpayers and other groups. Earlier this month, House Republicans introduced a bill that caved to conservative members and doubled the amount of cuts the party was proposing to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 'They dine at lavish restaurants, eating steak, vodka and even caviar,' she added, showing food props to members of the House. 'They receive money to do this. That’s right, they don’t pay out of pocket for these meals.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRep holds up vodka and steak on House floor to shame food stamp opponents

Ohio cop on paid leave after threatening handcuffed family with Taser

"Police in Washington Township, Ohio are investigating an officer’s conduct after footage surfaced online of him waving his Tazer at two people already handcuffed on the ground and seemingly grabbing a teenage boy during a traffic stop. The Toledo Blade reported on Wednesday that Officer Eric Hart was on paid leave while his department investigates his encounter on Sunday with Aaron Tatkowski, his daughter-in-law Cassandra Meyers, and Meyers’ 14-year-old son. The description for the video contends that Hart blocked Tatkowski’s driveway while stopping Meyers, and that the confrontation began after Tatkowski asked Hart to move his vehicle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio cop on paid leave after threatening handcuffed family with Taser

Ohio cop on paid leave after threatening handcuffed family with Taser

"Police in Washington Township, Ohio are investigating an officer’s conduct after footage surfaced online of him waving his Tazer at two people already handcuffed on the ground and seemingly grabbing a teenage boy during a traffic stop. The Toledo Blade reported on Wednesday that Officer Eric Hart was on paid leave while his department investigates his encounter on Sunday with Aaron Tatkowski, his daughter-in-law Cassandra Meyers, and Meyers’ 14-year-old son. The description for the video contends that Hart blocked Tatkowski’s driveway while stopping Meyers, and that the confrontation began after Tatkowski asked Hart to move his vehicle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio cop on paid leave after threatening handcuffed family with Taser

Arkansas mayor fires rifle seized by police, shattering city hall window

"An Arkansas mayor admitted this week that he had accidentally fired a rifle inside city hall, shattering a window. Flippin James 'J.J.' Hudson told the Baxter Bulletin that nine days after he fired the rifle that had been seized by police, the incident had been 'all been taken care of; it’s all been cleaned up.' 'I’m not going to have any further comment on it,' he said. But according to the paper, the shards of glass could still be seen over the entrance of city hall and the window had still not been repaired." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArkansas mayor fires rifle seized by police, shattering city hall window

Arkansas mayor fires rifle seized by police, shattering city hall window

"An Arkansas mayor admitted this week that he had accidentally fired a rifle inside city hall, shattering a window. Flippin James 'J.J.' Hudson told the Baxter Bulletin that nine days after he fired the rifle that had been seized by police, the incident had been 'all been taken care of; it’s all been cleaned up.' 'I’m not going to have any further comment on it,' he said. But according to the paper, the shards of glass could still be seen over the entrance of city hall and the window had still not been repaired." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArkansas mayor fires rifle seized by police, shattering city hall window

Did You Know: YOU Are Responsible for the Washington Navy Yard Murders

"ABC Radio this morning broadcast the voice of a 'Pentagon official' who explained that the maniac who murdered all those people at the Washington Navy Yard was not able to just walk in with a shotgun and begin blasting away because of the government’s asinine gun-free-zone-on-military-bases policy, or its grotesquely inept 'security' policies, but because of 'budget cuts.' It is you stingy, selfish taxpayers who are at fault here for not paying enough taxes. Shame on you. How much more blood will be on your hands?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDid You Know: YOU Are Responsible for the Washington Navy Yard Murders