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7 notes &

CBS News’ Jan Crawford confirms widespread rumors that Chief Justice John Roberts initially voted to strike down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, but decided midway through the opinion drafting process that he could not support this constitutionally unjustifiable result. In what may be the biggest revelation of her piece, Crawford also reports that pseudo-moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy led the internal lobbying effort to bring Roberts back into the right-wing fold…

Crawford sites two unnamed sources, and there are a very limited universe of people who could have revealed this information to her. Only the justices and their personal staff would have access to this knowledge, and it is highly unlikely that a clerk or secretary would be willing to risk their entire career by revealing the Court’s confidential deliberations to the press. Crawford, moreover, is a very well connected conservative reporter who has, at times, worked closely with the Federalist Society to drive conservative legal narratives. Nothing is certain, but it is likely that one or both of Crawford’s sources is a conservative justice…

To be clear, at this point only two facts are confirmed: 1) According to Crawford, Roberts flipped his vote midstream; and 2) someone within the Court must have leaked her this information. It is perfectly appropriate for Justice Kennedy, or any other justice, for that matter, to internally lobby Roberts to try to obtain his vote in an important case. If a member of the Court has turned to conservative columnists like Will or reporters like Crawford in order to pressure and then embarrass Roberts, however, that would be a significant and unusual escalation from the justices’ regular tactics.

Supreme Court Springs A Leak; Leaks To Conservative Pundits May Have Started More Than A Month Ago (via ryking)

(Source: diadoumenos)

Filed under politics supreme court Health Care obama current events

6 notes &

Second-degree murder is a higher level of crime than manslaughter, the charge that many speculated Zimmerman would face.

The murder charge, [University of Florida law professor Michael] Seigel said, means that the prosecutor believes the killing was carried out without the heat of passion but still may not have been planned in advance.

If Zimmerman is found guilty, he could face life in prison, Seigel said.

The next big battle will likely be over whether Zimmerman should be freed on bail while the case moves forward. A judge would have to decide whether Zimmerman is a possible risk to skip out on the case and the decision could come down to whether his family or someone else would be willing to put up enough money to guarantee his attendance.

That decision will likely be fraught with peril, given the level of outrage in the community brought on by the fact that police refused to arrest Zimmerman after the shooting.

The next major battle, according to Tampa, Fla., criminal defense attorney James Felman, who has no involvement in the case, will come down to whether Zimmerman decides to use the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law as the basis for his defense.

Prosecutor Charges George Zimmerman With 2nd-Degree Murder In Trayvon Martin Killing (via ryking)

(Source: diadoumenos)

Filed under current events politics prosecution trayvon martin george zimmerman

1,208 notes &

Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me. But they all seem to. It doesn’t matter what country they’re in or what religion they claim. They all want to control women. They want to control how we dress. They want to control how we act. They even want to control the decisions we make about our own health and our own bodies. Yes, it is hard to believe but even here at home we have to stand up for women’s rights and we have to reject efforts to marginalize any one of us, because America has to set an example for the entire world.
Hillary Clinton (via apsies)

(via newsweek)

Filed under hillary clinton quotes current events politics international USA politics women's issues

632 notes &

champagnecandy: derica: Jean-Michel Basquiat | Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart) Michael Stewart was an 135 pound, 25 year old African American graffiti artist from NYC who was arrested on September 15th 1983 after being seen scrawling graffiti on a wall of First Avenue Station in Manhattan .   He was booked at the Union Square District 4 transit police headquarters for resisting arrest and unlawful possession of marijuana, then was transported to Bellevue Hospital Center to undergo psychiatric observation. Stewart was admited to  Bellevue Hospital at 03:22 am, handcuffed, legs bound and comatose. He never regained consciousness. was admitted to hospital about half an hour after his arrest in a coma from which he never awoke, dying on September 28th.   Six of those officers eventually faced homicide charges, and were acquitted.  They were all white, and the jury were all white.  According to the city’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elliot Gross’s preliminary autopsy report, Stewart’s injuries of facial bruises and abrasions on his wrists were not linked to his death  His death was from cardiac arrest caused by strangulation. The November 2 medical examiner’s final report from Dr. Gross differed from his preliminary report. Gross declined to state explicitly what caused the death, but reported that Stewart died of “physical injury to the spinal cord in the upper neck” and concluded that there were “a number of possibilities as to how an injury of this type can occur… (via southerntellect:) Jean Michel Basquiat was upset and traumatized by the police killing of Michael Stewart; he felt that it could just as easily have been him. Obviously this piece looks at police brutality, with the word “defacement” referring to both the graffiti artist’s offense and the lethal beating to the face which the police administered for that offense (and probably more than that, too; e.g. erasure, dehumanization, non-recognition). Being the son of a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, Jean Michel grew up trilingual, speaking Spanish, French, and English, and all three languages make frequent appearances on his canvases. (via zuky:) relevant, New York. read this. 

champagnecandy:

derica:

Jean-Michel Basquiat | Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart)

Michael Stewart was an 135 pound, 25 year old African American graffiti artist from NYC who was arrested on September 15th 1983 after being seen scrawling graffiti on a wall of First Avenue Station in Manhattan . 

 He was booked at the Union Square District 4 transit police headquarters for resisting arrest and unlawful possession of marijuana, then was transported to Bellevue Hospital Center to undergo psychiatric observation. Stewart was admited to  Bellevue Hospital at 03:22 am, handcuffed, legs bound and comatose. He never regained consciousness. was admitted to hospital about half an hour after his arrest in a coma from which he never awoke, dying on September 28th.  

Six of those officers eventually faced homicide charges, and were acquitted.  They were all white, and the jury were all white.  According to the city’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elliot Gross’s preliminary autopsy report, Stewart’s injuries of facial bruises and abrasions on his wrists were not linked to his death  His death was from cardiac arrest caused by strangulation.

The November 2 medical examiner’s final report from Dr. Gross differed from his preliminary report. Gross declined to state explicitly what caused the death, but reported that Stewart died of “physical injury to the spinal cord in the upper neck” and concluded that there were “a number of possibilities as to how an injury of this type can occur…

(via southerntellect:)

Jean Michel Basquiat was upset and traumatized by the police killing of Michael Stewart; he felt that it could just as easily have been him. Obviously this piece looks at police brutality, with the word “defacement” referring to both the graffiti artist’s offense and the lethal beating to the face which the police administered for that offense (and probably more than that, too; e.g. erasure, dehumanization, non-recognition). Being the son of a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, Jean Michel grew up trilingual, speaking Spanish, French, and English, and all three languages make frequent appearances on his canvases.

(via zuky:)

relevant, New York. read this. 

Filed under politics current events police brutality art basquiat michael stewart graffiti nyc

479 notes &

theatlantic: Remembering Jan Berenstain, co-creator of ‘The Berenstain Bears’ In a sad development for those who grew up with her ubiquitous children’s books, Jan Berenstain, co-creator of The Berenstain Bears, died on Friday at age 88 after suffering a severe stroke the day before, reports the Associated Press. The longtime resident of Solebury, Pennsylvania is survived by four grandchildren and her two sons, one of which, named Mike, told the AP’s Joann Loviglio that his mother remained productive until the end. ”She was working on two books and had been doing illustrations until the day before she passed away.” All told, about 260 million of the jovial books filled with time-tested, family-oriented adages made their way into the hands of children and parents since the series first began. Read more. [Image: Associated Press]

theatlantic:

Remembering Jan Berenstain, co-creator of ‘The Berenstain Bears’

In a sad development for those who grew up with her ubiquitous children’s books, Jan Berenstain, co-creator of The Berenstain Bears, died on Friday at age 88 after suffering a severe stroke the day before, reports the Associated Press. The longtime resident of Solebury, Pennsylvania is survived by four grandchildren and her two sons, one of which, named Mike, told the AP’s Joann Loviglio that his mother remained productive until the end. ”She was working on two books and had been doing illustrations until the day before she passed away.” All told, about 260 million of the jovial books filled with time-tested, family-oriented adages made their way into the hands of children and parents since the series first began.

Read more. [Image: Associated Press]

Filed under literature books children jan berenstein current events

331 notes &

thepoliticalnotebook: Tawakkol Karman, Lleymah Gbowee and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf accept the Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony this morning. Choice quotes from their acceptance speeches: Tawakkol Karman: “I have always believed that resistance against repression and violence is possible without relying on similar repression and violence. I have always believed that human civilization is the fruit of the effort of both women and men. So, when women are treated unjustly and are deprived of their natural right in this process, all social deficiencies and cultural illnesses will be unfolded, and in the end the whole community, men and women, will suffer.” Lleymah Gbowee: “We must continue to unite in sisterhood to turn our tears into triumph. There is no time to rest until our world achieves wholeness and balance, where all men and women are considered equal and free.” Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: “I urge my sisters, and my brothers, not to be afraid. Be not afraid to denounce injustice, though you may be outnumbered. Be not afraid to seek peace, even if your voice may be small. Be not afraid to demand peace.” I really can’t find a way to fully express how much I approve of and appreciate the choice made for this year’s award and how much I admire each of these women and the work they continue to do. Photo Credit: John McConnico/AP

thepoliticalnotebook:

Tawakkol Karman, Lleymah Gbowee and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf accept the Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony this morning.

Choice quotes from their acceptance speeches:

Tawakkol Karman: “I have always believed that resistance against repression and violence is possible without relying on similar repression and violence. I have always believed that human civilization is the fruit of the effort of both women and men. So, when women are treated unjustly and are deprived of their natural right in this process, all social deficiencies and cultural illnesses will be unfolded, and in the end the whole community, men and women, will suffer.”

Lleymah Gbowee: “We must continue to unite in sisterhood to turn our tears into triumph. There is no time to rest until our world achieves wholeness and balance, where all men and women are considered equal and free.”

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: “I urge my sisters, and my brothers, not to be afraid. Be not afraid to denounce injustice, though you may be outnumbered. Be not afraid to seek peace, even if your voice may be small. Be not afraid to demand peace.”

I really can’t find a way to fully express how much I approve of and appreciate the choice made for this year’s award and how much I admire each of these women and the work they continue to do.

Photo Credit: John McConnico/AP

Filed under politics current events women's issues nobelpeaceprizes justice international