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Last year, when lawmakers considered a bill requiring DNA samples of anyone arrested on a serious felony charge, state Rep. Ernest Hewett was a critic.
The New London Democrat, like other African American lawmakers, worried such a proposal would unfairly target minorities. He also feared it would infringe on people’s civil liberties.
But Hewett said he went from a skeptic to a supporter after researching the proposal, which is once again on the legislative agenda after failing to get traction last year. “I took it as a project of mine to see what’s really going on,” he said. “And this just makes sense.”
Hewett and other supporters believe pre-conviction DNA will provide law enforcement officials with a powerful tool to catch criminals and perhaps even exonerate the innocent.
Not everyone agrees. The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut is opposed to the bill, saying it upends a longstanding principle of the American criminal justice system: that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
“There is a vast difference between using DNA as a tool in investigations – both to
A few suggestions
American Thinker Blog
A few suggestions
American Thinker Blog
A few suggestions
American Thinker Blog
This from Alfonso Nevarez in the AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department.
Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore., is in the process of laying off 7 percent of its workers due to declining sales. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 5 units at Powell’s Burnside and Beaverton stores, as well as the Hoyt Street and Northwest industrial warehouses, will be affected by the layoffs. Local 5 President Ryan Van Winkle said that Powell’s was proactive in notifying workers of their bumping and separation rights.
Local 5 has coordinated with Powell’s to establish a shop-in, which will send 7.5 percent of each purchase to a fund to assist displaced workers.
Now’s the time to stock up on books for friends, family and yourself. Each purchase you make will assist a laid-off sister or brother. To make sure the funds are directed appropriately, follow the link at the ILWU Local 5 website.
A Colorado woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Jamie Paulin Ramirez, 32, teamed up with Colleen LaRose, a.k.a ‘Jihad Jane’, in a plot to acquire military-style training and then travel to Europe to participate in violent jihad, according to prosecutors. Ramirez faces up to 15 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine.
Last month, LaRose pleaded guilty on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements and attempted identity theft. LaRose faces up to life in prison and a $ 1 million fine.
Prosecutors allege that in the summer of 2009, LaRose emailed Ramirez and invited her to join her in Europe at a military-style training camp. Ramirez accepted and that September, she traveled to Ireland with her son, “with the intent to live and train with jihadists,” according to the indictment. The day after she arrived in Ireland, Ramirez married an unnamed Muslim man whom she had never met before.
Ramirez’s interest in Islam “came out of left field,” her mother told The Wall Street Journal in an interview last year. In 2009, after taking an online class on Islam, she told her mom she was a Muslim. Family members recall her spending more and more time on the internet and wearing a hijab.
“Today’s guilty plea by Jamie Ramirez, coupled with that of Colleen LaRose last month, underscores the evolving nature of the terrorist threat we face,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
A new study (pdf) by The Muslim American Public Opinion Survey (MAPOS), the largest study of Muslim Americans ever done, “finds that involvement with the mosque, and increased religiosity increases civic engagement and support for American democratic values”:
Despite the popularized idea that Muslims are radicalized around the country in mosques, we find that mosques help Muslims integrate into US society, and in fact have a very productive role in bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States. This is a finding in social science that is consistent with decades of research on other religious groups such as Jews, Protestants and Catholics where church attendance and religiosity has been proven to result in higher civic engagement and support for core values of the American political system. Likewise, mosques are institutions that should be encouraged to function as centers of social and political integration in America.
One of the most significant findings was that American Muslims “with high levels of religiosity are overwhelmingly likely to believe that Islam is compatible with political participation in the United States”:
While 77% of those with the lowest levels of religiosity feel Islam is compatible with political involvement in America, 95% of those who are most religious feel Islam is compatible with American politics.
This data deals a significant blow to the arguments of people like Osama bin Laden and Frank Gaffney, who argue that “authentic” Islam is inherently anti-American and incompatible with democracy. It also suggests that Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has it wrong, and that what we really need are more mosques in this country.
A new study (pdf) by The Muslim American Public Opinion Survey (MAPOS), the largest study of Muslim Americans ever done, “finds that involvement with the mosque, and increased religiosity increases civic engagement and support for American democratic values”:
Despite the popularized idea that Muslims are radicalized around the country in mosques, we find that mosques help Muslims integrate into US society, and in fact have a very productive role in bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States. This is a finding in social science that is consistent with decades of research on other religious groups such as Jews, Protestants and Catholics where church attendance and religiosity has been proven to result in higher civic engagement and support for core values of the American political system. Likewise, mosques are institutions that should be encouraged to function as centers of social and political integration in America.
One of the most significant findings was that American Muslims “with high levels of religiosity are overwhelmingly likely to believe that Islam is compatible with political participation in the United States”:
While 77% of those with the lowest levels of religiosity feel Islam is compatible with political involvement in America, 95% of those who are most religious feel Islam is compatible with American politics.
This data deals a significant blow to the arguments of people like Osama bin Laden and Frank Gaffney, who argue that “authentic” Islam is inherently anti-American and incompatible with democracy. It also suggests that Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has it wrong, and that what we really need are more mosques in this country.
Washington (CNN) – Hollywood celebrity Ben Affleck is bringing his star power to Capitol Hill Tuesday, and teaming up with an unlikely partner -Cindy McCain, wife of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain- to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo.
ABC News reports that Affleck and McCain will appear on Tuesday before the House Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee at a panel held by Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey. Affleck said last week that he will speak alongside representatives from the State Department, USAID, and other human rights groups to “bring increased investment and attention from both the public and private sectors to the devastating humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo.”
“When you look at this place where 3 million people died over the last 15 years, that is a humanitarian catastrophe,” Affleck told ABC News’ Jake Tapper on Monday.
“People are dying, really dying and have been for a long time. I don’t know that I can make any more argument about why you should pay attention to this. At a certain point, you know, it just seems morally self evident,” Affleck said.
During the interview, McCain acknowledged that she and Affleck make an unlikely pair.
“It is an odd couple relationship, I’ve had other people say that to me.” Cindy McCain told ABC News’ Jake Tapper, of her decision to work with Affleck, who recruited McCain on behalf of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a non-profit organization that he founded in 2010.
McCain went on to explain her initial skepticism, saying her experience with celebrity activists, “had not been good. It hadn’t been heartfelt.” But, McCain said, “Ben has a working knowledge of this region. He not only understands the issues, but he understands what we need to be doing.”
Last fall the Oscar-winning-screenwriter hosted a bi-partisan panel discussion on U.S. foreign policy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo featuring Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry and GOP Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas.
He launched ECI in 2010 to provide support for Congolese community organizations working to rebuild the war-ravaged country. “The people of eastern Congo are remarkably resilient and Congressman Smith’s leadership is helping the Congolese rise above their troubled past,” he said.
Affleck isn’t new to the political arena: he previously testified before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services in July of 2001 to support funding for stem cell research at a hearing titled “The Promise of the Genomic Revolution,” and in 2008 he met then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi after observing House floor proceedings as he researched his role in “State of Play,” a political drama set in Washington, D.C.
– CNN’s Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
Gov Rick Scott said Friday he’ll need Republicans from across the state, and especially tea party activists, to come to his aid during the upcoming legislative session.
During his two months as governor, Scott has set out to radically reshape Florida government.
And, speaking to a Broward Republican Party fundraiser four days before his first legislative session, the new governor said he expects he’ll get the kind of public pushback that’s erupted in Wisconsin and Ohio as those states’ new Republican chief executives have sought to cut spending and extract concessions from unionized government workers.
“You’ve got to stay active in this campaign,” Scott said. “Just like what’s happened to Scott Walker and John Kasich in Ohio is going to happen in Florida.” When that happens, he said, “I’m sure the tea party will show up.”
The governor received polite applause during his 13-minute address, but it didn’t equal the enthusiastic ovation that went to U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation. West praised rags-to-riches business successes, Ronald Reagan and the tea party movement, and called for a “renewed commitment to love America.”
Scott said he’ll need help to overcome resistance to his plan to force government employees to contribute 5 percent of their salaries to help cover the cost of their pension benefits.
State employees “don’t pay a dime for their pensions,” something Scott said isn’t fair when everyone in the room probably pays more toward their 401(k) retirement programs than their employers contribute on their behalf. He received no applause for his comments on state employee pensions.
Scott touted one of the major decisions of the first two months of his term: rejecting $ 2.4 billion of federal money to help build a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando.
Miami, Florida (CNN) – President Barack Obama teams up with Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida later Friday, to help the state’s Democratic senator raise campaign cash for what could be a rough road to re-election next year.
The president, Nelson, and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, will attend two fundraisers in Miami Beach. The first will be held at the Fountainbleau Resort Hotel and the second at the Miami Beach, Florida home of Judith and Michael Adler, large contributors to Democratic candidates and causes.
A source with knowledge of the events tells CNN that the money raised at the fundraisers will be split between Sen. Nelson’s re-election campaign and the DSCC. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Nelson had $ 3,083,493 in cash on hand as of the end of last year.
The two-term Nelson is under the 50 percent mark against possible Republican challengers in five 2012 hypothetical general election matchups, according to a survey from last month commissioned by Ron Sachs Communications and conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research.
And a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in January indicated that 45 percent of Florida voters approved of the job Nelson’s doing as senator, with 21 percent disapproving and 34 percent unsure.
Two of the top non-partisan political handicappers, the Rothenberg Political Report and the Cook Political Report, rate the race as “Lean Democrat.”
Obama won Florida by three percentage points over Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. But the GOP did very well in the Sunshine state in last November’s midterm elections, holding onto the governor’s office, an open senate seat, and winning back four House seats controlled by the Democrats. But Nelson could be helped in his re-election bid by having the president at the top of the ticket on the ballot in November 2012.
Earlier in the day the president will attend an education event at Miami’s Central High School, along with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The event is part of the Obama administration’s push to “out-educate, out-innovate” the global competition.
Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @PsteinhauserCNN
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed Friday, Sen. Jim DeMint argued that if PBS, CPB, and Sesame Street can afford lavish salaries for their executives, then surely they have the money to survive as private, non-commercial broadcasters. (He doesn't even mention how people chipping in $ 25 to "save" shows like Sesame Street might feel misled if they saw the salary numbers.)
PBS President Paula Kerger even recorded a personal television appeal that told viewers exactly how to contact members of Congress in order to "let your representative know how you feel about the elimination of funding for public broadcasting." But if PBS can pay Ms. Kerger $ 632,233 in annual compensation—as reported on the 990 tax forms all nonprofits are required to file—surely it can operate without tax dollars.
The executives at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which distributes the taxpayer money allocated for public broadcasting to other stations, are also generously compensated. According to CPB's 2009 tax forms, President and CEO Patricia de Stacy Harrison received $ 298,884 in reportable compensation and another $ 70,630 in other compensation from the organization and related organizations that year. That's practically a pittance compared to Kevin Klose, president emeritus of NPR, who received more than $ 1.2 million in compensation, according to the tax forms the nonprofit filed in 2009.
Harrison was a wildly controversial choice when she was appointed to the CPB by President Bush in 2005, since she had been co-chair of the Republican National Commitee from 1997 to 2001. Once appointed, she quickly "went native," becoming a fierce protector of the subsidized liberal sandbox. DeMint continued:
Despite how accessible media has become to Americans over the years, funding for CPB has grown considerably. In 2001, the federal government appropriated $ 340 million for CPB. Last year it got $ 420 million. As Congress considers ways to close the $ 1.6 trillion deficit, cutting funding for the CPB has even been proposed by President Obama's bipartisan deficit reduction commission. Instead, Mr. Obama wants to increase CPB's funding to $ 451 million in his latest budget.
Meanwhile, highly successful, brand-name public programs like Sesame Street make millions on their own. "Sesame Street," for example, made more than $ 211 million from toy and consumer product sales from 2003-2006. Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $ 956,513 in compensation in 2008. With earnings like that, Big Bird doesn't need the taxpayers to help him compete against the Nickleodeon cable channel's Dora the Explorer.
PS: The sad state of the National Lampoon brand is proven by an attempt by "humorist" Philip Rodney Moon to explore how terrible PBS will get if conservatives defund it, including a show called "Mr. Roger Ailes' Neighborhood."
