Biden's $459,388.65 Hotel Bill
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
The poor..... criminals? Who is the victim? #Stuebenville
When the guilty verdict was announced in the Steubenville rape case on Sunday, journalists had to figure out how they would frame the story. Perhaps because of the lack of details about the unnamed 16-year-old “Jane Doe” victim, the collective media narrative became centered on her assailants.The media's coverage focused on the rapists' emotions, instead of the the victim's.
Stories about the case relied far too heavily on the public details about the defendants, 17-year-old Trent Mays and 16-year-old Ma’lik Richmond, to set up a sympathetic portrayal of two bright young football stars whose lives have been ruined by the criminal justice system. By emphasizing the boys’ good grades and bright futures, as well as by describing the victim as “drunk” without clarifying that the defendants were also drinking, many mainstream media outlets became active participants in furthering victim-blaming rape culture:
1. CNN discusses how the boys were “promising students.” The cable channel came under fire on Sunday after focusing their coverage on the two defendants as “young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students” and emphasizing the emotional atmosphere in the courtroom when the boys were convicted and felt “their lives fall apart.” Anchor Candy Crowley even interviewed a legal expert about the lasting ramifications that being convicted of rape will have on the young, vulnerable boys — noting that registering as sex offenders will “haunt them for the rest of their lives.”
2. ABC News makes excuses for the rapist. ABC ran a profile of Ma’lik Richmond, one of the two assailants, leading up to the trial. Its portrayal was quite positive; it began with an array of excuses for Richmond’s behavior, including that “he was in a celebratory mood” the night of the assault, and talks extensively about Richmond’s promising football career. Another article opened by describing the criminal proceedings as “every parent’s nightmare and a cautionary tale for teenagers living in today’s digital world” — though the actual problem was the crime of rape, not that it was caught on video.
3. NBC News laments the boys’ “promising football careers.” Reporter Ron Allen opened up the NBC nightly news coverage of the Steubenville verdict by pointing out that the boys, “must now register as sex offenders.” It then went on to lament that “both boys had promising football careers, Mays a the quarterback, Richmond the receiver, on the beloved high school team and dreams of college. In court their lawyers and parents plead with the judge not to impose a harsh sentence.”
Watch it:
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Mancini starting to crack under the pressure... sounds like Rafa Benitez back in the Liverpool days!
http://bit.ly/15bzUM4 City manager Mancini's astonishing rant: United are so lucky to be 15 points clear ... #MailOnline
Sean Penn calls Chavez a "champion of the poor" (who amassed a $2 billion fortune while leading his 'socialist' revolution)
.
You gotta love those 'socialists' who find time to become billionaires on the backs of those 'poor and oppressed' people they claim to represent.
"Penn, who has been a longtime supporter of Chavez, made a surprise appearance in Bolivia in December to attend a candlelight vigil for the health of the leader. Said Penn at the vigil: “He’s one of the most important forces we’ve had on this planet, and I’ll wish him nothing but that great strength he has shown over and over again. I do it in love, and I do it in gratitude."
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
Obama: 'I am not a dictator' -
"I am not a dictator," President Obama said Friday while defending his efforts to stop the sequester. "I'm the president."
Obama said there are limits to what he can do to get a deal on the sequester during a press conference in which he blamed Republicans for standing in the way of a deal.
The president was responding to a question about why he hadn't locked the leaders into a room to get a deal. "So ultimately if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say, 'I have to catch a plane,' I can't have Secret Service block the doorway," he said.
Obama met with Republican leaders Sen. McConnell (Ky.) and Speaker Boehner (Ohio) before the press conference. He has been criticized by Republicans for not doing more to try to reach a deal. GOP leaders say he has been more interested in blaming Republicans for the $85 billion in automatic cuts set to be triggered on Friday than in crafting a deal.
But Obama on Friday characterized himself as the reasonable party in the talks and someone who couldn't force Republicans to make a deal.
"I know that this has been some of the conventional wisdom that's been floating around Washington that even though most people agree that I'm being reasonable, that most people agree that I'm presenting a fair deal, the fact that they don't take it means that I should somehow do a Jedi mind-meld and convince them" to agree on a deal, Obama said.
Obama on Friday said the nation will survive the sequester, though he said it would be painful for many people.
“We will get through this. This is not going to be an apocalypse, I think as some people have said,” Obama said following the 52-minute meeting with Boehner, McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“It's just dumb. And it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt individual people and it's going to hurt the economy over all,” he said.
More from The Hill:
• Obama: $85 billion sequester cuts 'not going to be an apocalypse'
• Boehner says no new taxes after sequester meeting in White House
• IRS moves to collect billions in fees from healthcare law
• Senate GOP sees smoother ride for Brennan nomination
The sequester is set to begin on Friday and will cause across-the-board cuts to defense and domestic discretionary spending. Thousands of federal workers are expected to be furloughed, but not until April, so the pain from the cuts will be felt over time.
Lawmakers and Obama appeared to make no progress toward a resolution during the meeting.
Boehner told reporters the House has already voted twice on measure to replace the sequester, and “shouldn't have to pass a third bill.”
He also reiterated his position that Republicans will accept no new tax hikes to replace the sequester, something demanded by Obama and Democrats.
“The discussion about revenue is over,” Boehner said.
Inside the meeting, Boehner delivered a message personally to Obama and the other congressional leaders that he has given repeatedly to reporters and privately to the House Republican conference in recent days.
The Speaker urged Obama and Senate Democrats to present a plan to replace the sequester that could pass the Democratic-led Senate, according to a summary of the meeting provided by Boehner’s office. And in a sign the Speaker has little interest in trekking back-and-forth to the White House for high-level private negotiations, he “suggested the most productive way to resolve the sequester issue will be through regular order,” Boehner’s office said.
This story was updated at 1:10 p.m.
via thehill.com
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