NFL Players Seek Order Barring Owners From Accessing Lockout-Related Money
Bloomberg National Football League players, as part of a lawsuit filed against the league in 1992, today asked a US judge to bar owners from accessing some labor lockout-related revenues until the current impasse … Players ask judge for damages in NFL TV case Players to ask for “substantial” damages award in “lockout insurance” case NFL Players Gain Victory Over League in Workers' Comp Dispute |
Israeli military maps Hezbollah bunkers
A few thoughts, as you look at those maps of southern Lebanon provided by the IDF to the Washington Post.
Israeli intelligence is not an oxymoron. They are only showing us a fraction of what they know.
If Israel released the photos now for the purpose of convincing the world what a grave threat it faces from Hezbollah, they are completely wasting their time. The only pictures concerning Jews that ever moved the world were pictures of Auschwitz and the smoldering crematoria – and the effect wore off decades ago.
Hezbollah has rearmed itself to the teeth (under the watchful eyes of the UN) but Israel has only itself to blame. They recently had their chances to lop off Iran’s tentacles in Lebanon and Gaza, and through timidity and tentativeness they blew both.
They are very few second chances like that in life, and absolutely nothing to indicate that Israel would act any differently if there were.
(CNN) – Likely presidential candidate Haley Barbour, the Mississippi governor who has faced charges of racial insensitivity in recent months, said Thursday he will seek funding from the Mississippi legislature for a civil rights museum in the state.
In a statement issued Thursday, Barbour said he will formally ask for funding for two museums – one focusing on Mississippi’s history and the other on civil rights – when the legislature returns to complete the budget.
“These museums will enhance Mississippi’s image and play a critical role in education and tourism,” the Republican governor said in a statement.
Barbour has pushed for a civil rights museum since late January, predicting then that “People from around the world would flock to see the museum and learn about the movement.”
Barbour has found himself in the middle of several controversies regarding race in the last several months, beginning in December when he told the Weekly Standard magazine that he didn’t remember segregation-era Mississippi “being that bad.”
In February, the governor again faced heat when he refused to condemn the Mississippi chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans after the group proposed a state-sponsored license plate honoring Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who became an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Barbour however later said he would not sign the bill approving funding for the project.
He also faced fire from the state chapter of the NAACP earlier this month over the issue of redistricting, having endorsed a plan that the civil rights group alleges diminishes the influence of African-American voters in “an attempt to hijack the election process so Republicans can take over the House.”
According to The Hill, Republicans are now trying to say a looming government shutdown is not actually a shutdown, it’s a “slowdown” or a “partial shutdown.”
“The rhetorical distinction is a subtle, but politically significant, shift in the intensifying blame game between Republicans and Democrats, who must reach agreement and pass a spending bill by April 8 to avert what is commonly referred to as a government shutdown.”
Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire
Restaurateur Karen Harrington says she’s going back on the campaign trail for another attempt at unseating U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston.
Harrington won the Republican nomination in 2010 and went on to win 38 percent of the general election vote against Wasserman Schultz.
Even though Harrington announced her candidacy against Wasserman Schultz on Monday, it’s far from certain just what congressional seat either will be running for in 2012. All congressional districts will get new boundaries before next year’s elections to reflect population changes uncovered in the 2010 Census. As it exists now, the Broward/Miami-Dade County 20th District is overwhelmingly Democratic.
Harrington, 47, is the owner of Rickey’s Restaurant and Lounge with locations in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines. The 2010 campaign was her first attempt at running for office.
An-depth interview, biography and video of Harrington from last year’s campaign.
Harrington rescues a child in a rollover car crash.
Harrington’s statement about the 2012 race:
The House member leading the fight to deny aviation and rail workers fair union elections would have lost his seat by a 68-32 percent margin under the election rules he wants to impose on transportation workers.
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wants to repeal last year’s new rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided just like any other election—including congressional elections—by a majority of votes cast. Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.
A new report from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) finds that not only would Mica be an overwhelmingly loser under those rules, but not one member of Congress would have won election if they had to play by the same rules Mica, Delta Airlines and other transportation corporations want to impose on workers.
The House version of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that Mica and most House Republicans are pushing would repeal the new NMB rule. Using the old standard, CWA reports that Mica would have received just 32 percent of the votes in his 2010 reelection.
Mica received support from 69 percent of the voters in his district who cast a ballot amounting to slightly over 185,000 actual votes tallied for him. However, if you add the over 83,000 voters who voted against Rep. Mica to 312,000 eligible voters who did not participate, then Rep. Mica would only muster 32 percent of the overall total.
Looking at each of the 435 winners in the 2010 House races, on average, each only would have won 26.1 percent of the votes if they had been conducted under the rules Republicans want to impose on air and rail workers. Only six members would have even mustered 40 percent or higher and more than 1 in 10 Members would have received less than 20 percent of the vote in their elections
In a letter to House members accompanying the report CWA says:
The current rule is working and brings NMB elections in line with basic democratic tenets of fair elections. Don’t hold union elections for aviation and rail employees to a different standard than any other American election. Congress should ensure that the proposed repeal of the current
NMB elections standards does not advance and that all elections in this nation remain fair and democratic
Those who are backing the anti-democratic election rules should take a minute and read what one of their fellow Republicans, Rep. Candice Miller (Mich.) said at a House hearing
Before I came to Congress, I spent eight years as Michigan’s Secretary of State. In that job one of my prime responsibilities was to serve as my state’s chief elections officer. I’d like to think I know a little something about conducting free, open, and fair elections…Each of us who has the honor to serve in this House does so with the consent of those we serve in free elections. All we have to do is win this privilege is receive more votes than our opponent. That is the fundamental caveat of our democracy, and how we conduct elections. Why should a union election be any different?
Click here for the full report.
Some morning random notes from Tampa:
– Calculating for the New York Times, Nate Silver gives Kentucky a 61 percent chance of beating West Virginia today.
– Ken Pomeroy has Kentucky rated ninth, West Virginia 19th. He has UK winning 69-66.
– Be prepared, Rick Pitino is going to be on TNT’s studio show in New York today and tomorrow.
– Ben Shapiro of The Republican in Springfield, Massachusetts writes that Pitino has been overrated for a long time.
– Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson scored all of four points in the Vols’ embarrassing 75-45 loss to Michigan. It was the biggest margin ever in an 8-9 tournament game.
– IMHO, Mike Hamilton should be axed as Tennessee’s AD just for what he did on Wednesday, telling a Knoxville radio station he wasn’t sure if Bruce Pearl would be back next year. You don’t do that to a coach right before an NCAA Tournament game. Unless you want that coach to get beat.
– Sort of lost in the shuffle Friday was Doron Lamb saying he twisted his ankle during Thursday’s win over Princeton. Lamb said the ankle was sore, but expected to be good for today’s game.
– Terrence Jones sounded better on Friday. And he wasn’t coughing.
– Texas Tech is expected to hire Billy Gillispie on Monday.
– The Tulsa World is reporting that Mike Anderson could be named Arkansas coach as early as Monday.
– Morehead State will have a tough time with Richmond today. The Spiders are pretty good, and here’s hoping Donnie Tyndall can get his guys settled down after sending Pitino to the TNT studio.
– I still can’t get used to seeing Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Marv Albert and Steve Kerr doing college games.
– Calipari: “Our freshmen have been on a steady climb.”
– Georgia lost to Washington 68-65 last night in what was a microcosm of the Bulldogs’ season. They came close, but couldn’t win. Georgia lost a big lead at home and lost to Vanderbilt. Georgia lost a big lead in the SEC Tournament and lost to Alabama. This time, the Bulldogs were able to slow Washington’s frenetic pace, but still couldn’t win. Still like Mark Fox, though. He needs to tell Debbie Yow thanks but no thanks at North Carolina State. He will do very good things in Athens.
– Saw where President Obama was 15-1 with his Saturday picks.
– Apparently getting Chris Wright back did not make much difference for Georgetown.
– Getting Kyrie Irving back could make a big difference for Duke.
– Sure Jalen Rose and Grant Hill can’t wait for Duke-Michigan.
– Bret Bearup on Facebook: “I’d like to thank our politicians for finally dealing with our nation’s two biggest problems – teachers and public radio.”
– All the talk about Xavier’s Tu Holloway and he scored all of five points in the Muskies’ loss to Marquette. Maybe “Three Holliday” as Kenny Smith called him, would have played better.
– The SEC ended up 2-3 through the first full round. Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Georgia all lost. Kentucky survived. Florida rolled. Cats get West Virginia today. Florida gets UCLA. Both here in Tampa, by the way, where there are plenty of seats available.
– Several writers were incredulous when Calipari mentioned his graduation rates yesterday, especially when Cal started touting Bob Huggins’ grad rates.
– Joe Mazzulla can talk.
– Good showing by the Big Ten. Illinois rocked UNLV. Michigan mauled Tennessee. Ohio State and Purdue won easily. Wisconsin foiled those who thought Belmont had a shot at an upset. Michigan State didn’t belong here and proved it. Penn State lost by a bucket to Temple. Record: 5-2.
– Remember when Jay Wright was supposedly on Kentucky’s wish list? Sometimes the best hire is the guy you don’t hire.
– Kansas-Illinois in Round of 32 should be fun. Kansas’ Bill Self once coached at Illinois, of course. His successor there, Bruce Weber, got so tired of hearing about Self he held a mock funeral for the former coach. Word was Self did not approve.
– VCU coach Shaka Smart, your phone is ringing.
– Give it up for ex-Kentucky assistant Leonard Hamilton, who has guided Florida State to the school’s first NCAA Tournament win in 13 years.
– Calipari said Friday he wishes now that he played Eloy Vargas and Josh Harrellson together early in the season.
– Key today: Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding.
– Huggins on his demeanor now: “You should have seen me back when.”
– Bilas says Huggins sideline attire makes him look like he’s playing 18 holes in Scotland.
– When Dunbar product Darnell Burton was playing for Huggins up in Cincinnati, I traveled to UC to do a story on Burton. I got a day-of-game interview with Huggins in his office. He was great. In the course of the conversation, it came up that at the time Huggins was suing the Cats Pause for an article in which Jersey Red alleged that Cincinnati was cheating. Said Huggins, “I’m going to own that paper.” Now that would have been something. Bob Huggins owning the Cats Pause.
– In Huggins’ eight wins over Calipari, three were decided by two points or less, a fourth came in overtime. Does that mean Huggins has been lucky? Or does it mean Cal can’t win close games? How you look at each coach probably determines your answer.
– West Virginia has 36 points back from last year’s win over Kentucky. The Cats have nine points back.
– Ohio State is the last team to knock Kentucky out of the NCAA Tournament in successive years.
ABC News’ Tahman Bradley and Sunlen Miller Report: Wearing a dark suit with a green tie and shamrocks posing as a pocket square, President Obama announced from the Oval Office this St. Patrick’s Day that he will visit Ireland in…
Political Punch
Seattle Post Intelligencer |
Eagles seek upset of Cardinals in Southwest Regional
Kansas City Star By Sports Network Not unfamiliar with each other in NCAA Tournament play, the 13th-seeded Morehead State Eagles and the fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals meet today for Southwest Regional second-round action from the Pepsi Center. … NCAA Bracket Preview, Predictions: Louisville Vs. Morehead State NCAA Tournament Schedule: Louisville Cardinals Vs. Morehead State Eagles Kenneth Faried fuels Morehead State's run to NCAA tournament |
ESPN |
GMs seek stricter boarding, charging enforcement
Fox News BOCA RATON, Fla. — Armed with the empirical data on concussions provided by the NHL's Hockey Operations department Monday, the NHL's 30 general managers spent close to five hours Tuesday trying to shape a comprehensive policy to curb the number of … Enforcing penalties, supplemental discipline keys Concussions: New rules for treating NHL players Suspensions For Repeat Offenders In NHL |
(CNN) – Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign announced Monday he will not seek reelection in 2012, saying in statement “there are consequences for sin.”
“I do not want to put my family, those that I care about, or this state through what would be a very ugly campaign that would ultimately cause a great deal more pain than has already been felt as a result of my actions. For these reasons, I will not seek reelection in 2012,” Ensign said during remarks at the Lloyd G. George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas.
During the speech, the two-term senator made reference to his extramarital affair with Cindy Hampton, his onetime campaign treasurer, which he admitted to last June. She is the wife of Doug Hampton, a former top aide to the senator.
Ensign and his family were longtime friends with the Hamptons. Doug Hampton has given interviews stating his family has received money and employment offers from Ensign after he and his wife left the Senate staff in April 2008. Ensign admitted his parents gave the Hamptons $ 96,000 but said the money was a gift, not an effort to suppress word of the affair.
“As I have learned through my mistake, there are consequences to sin.” Ensign said during his speech on Monday. “When a person is in a leadership role, those consequences can affect a lot of people in a very negative way.”
“I know that God has forgiven me, and so has my wife. Darlene and I are doing better than ever and have gotten through this with a stronger marriage for which I am incredibly thankful. I can only hope that someday all those whom I have hurt or disappointed will find it in their hearts to forgive me, as well.”
Ensign, who still faces Senate ethics charges resulting from the affair, had over the past few months been touring Nevada, asking voters in his home state for their forgiveness.
.– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Translating Democrat waterboy, Greg Sargent at the Washington Post, the Wisconsin Democrats are flailing. Now, desperate to try and help their image and too afraid of the union bosses to go back to work, they’ve devised a strategy to try and turn the tables on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Governor Scott Walker’s conduct on the prank call with the David Koch imposter has largely receded from the national media spotlight, but if Wisconsin Democrats have their way, it will be the subject of an investigation by Wisconsin’s enforcer of campaign finance laws.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party is set to file a complaint today to the state Government Accountability Board that alleges Walker repeatedly violated Wisconsin statutes by appearing to request support from Koch in shoring up vulnerable Republicans and by indicating that he would use the threat of layoffs as a political tool.
Sargent posts a copy of their complaint. This is all they’ve got, after 3 weeks camped out in out-of-state hotels? They must be dumber than I thought. Based on his tone, they didn’t even impress Greg Sargent very much. That, or his editor at WaPo only lets him carry the water so far. Even his Dem-friendly summary is enough to conclude there’s no there there. Hint: Democrats are desperate for some good PR, so they decided to give a bogus Koch-related complaint stunt a shot. Hopefully now they will find a way to get back to work. The cowardly Wisconsin Democrats have been AWOL for three weeks in what amounts to an assault on the democratic process.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party is set to file a complaint today to the state Government Accountability Board that alleges Walker repeatedly violated Wisconsin statutes by appearing to request support from Koch in shoring up vulnerable Republicans and by indicating that he would use the threat of layoffs as a political tool.
I’ve got a copy of the complaint, to be released later today, and it’s worth a read, not necessarily because of the impact it may or may not have, but because it’s a reminder of how egregous Walker’s conduct on the call really was.
The complaint also alleges that it was improper for Walker to suggest to Koch that Republicans in swing areas might need shoring up, since this smacks of illegal coordiation, though to my mind it isn’t clear what he was asking for. It also says that Walker’s claim that he “thought about” planting troublemakers in the crowd “constitutes a conspiracy to recklessly endanger public safety,” though here too it’s not quite clear what Walker really considered doing.
Translating Democrat waterboy, Greg Sargent at the Washington Post, the Wisconsin Democrats are flailing. Now, desperate to try and help their image and too afraid of the union bosses to go back to work, they’ve devised a strategy to try and turn the tables on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Governor Scott Walker’s conduct on the prank call with the David Koch imposter has largely receded from the national media spotlight, but if Wisconsin Democrats have their way, it will be the subject of an investigation by Wisconsin’s enforcer of campaign finance laws.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party is set to file a complaint today to the state Government Accountability Board that alleges Walker repeatedly violated Wisconsin statutes by appearing to request support from Koch in shoring up vulnerable Republicans and by indicating that he would use the threat of layoffs as a political tool.
Sargent posts a copy of their complaint. This is all they’ve got, after 3 weeks camped out in out-of-state hotels? They must be dumber than I thought. Based on his tone, they didn’t even impress Greg Sargent very much. That, or his editor at WaPo only lets him carry the water so far. Even his Dem-friendly summary is enough to conclude there’s no there there. Hint: Democrats are desperate for some good PR, so they decided to give a bogus Koch-related complaint stunt a shot. Hopefully now they will find a way to get back to work. The cowardly Wisconsin Democrats have been AWOL for three weeks in what amounts to an assault on the democratic process.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party is set to file a complaint today to the state Government Accountability Board that alleges Walker repeatedly violated Wisconsin statutes by appearing to request support from Koch in shoring up vulnerable Republicans and by indicating that he would use the threat of layoffs as a political tool.
I’ve got a copy of the complaint, to be released later today, and it’s worth a read, not necessarily because of the impact it may or may not have, but because it’s a reminder of how egregous Walker’s conduct on the call really was.
The complaint also alleges that it was improper for Walker to suggest to Koch that Republicans in swing areas might need shoring up, since this smacks of illegal coordiation, though to my mind it isn’t clear what he was asking for. It also says that Walker’s claim that he “thought about” planting troublemakers in the crowd “constitutes a conspiracy to recklessly endanger public safety,” though here too it’s not quite clear what Walker really considered doing.
GOP chances for a pick up are slim, but better today than they have been in the past.
American Thinker Blog
(CNN) – A Democratic source informed of the decision tells CNN that Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, will not run for another term.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser first reported on Wednesday that Akaka will not seek reelection.
Akaka was first elected to the Senate in 1990, after serving 14 years in the House.
Akaka will join a growing list of incumbent Democrats who have announced their retirements this year. So far, Sens. Kent Conrad, Jim Webb, Jeff Bingaman, and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman have announced they will not seek reelection, opening up five Democratically-held Senate seats in 2012.
Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Jon Kyl have also announced that they will not seek another term in office.
Update:
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Patty Murray released a statement on Akaka’s retirement:
“Senator Akaka has served this country with distinction for his entire adult life. All Americans are grateful for his service. He will be missed, but Democrats will absolutely keep his seat. With a heavily-leaning Democratic electorate and their native son up for re-election as President of the United States, we are confident the people of Hawaii will continue to have two Democrats serving them in the United States Senate.”
-CNN Political Research Director Robert Yoon contributed to this report.