Leaked Audio Captures Bossy Mittens Asking Employers To Tell Their Employees How To Vote

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ThinkProgress

Newly-discovered audio from a conference call in June captures Mitt Romney asking business owners to urge their employees to vote for him.

Romney, speaking on a call to the very conservative National Federation of Independent Business, tells a group of business owners that they should “make it very clear” how they feel about the candidates. The audio, discovered by In These Times, also captures Romney telling the business owners to “pass… along to your employees” how their jobs might be effected by who wins in November:

I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope — I hope you pass those along to your employees. Nothing illegal about you talking to your employees about what you believe is best for the business, because I think that will figure into their election decision, their voting decision and of course doing that with your family and your kids as well.

There have already been some reports of employers suggesting how their employees should cast their ballots. A CEO of a Florida resort company threatened to fire his employees if Obama won. The CEO of a timeshare company did the same. And the famous right-wing Koch brothers warned of “consequences” of not voting for Romney.

US violent, property crime rates increased in 2011: DOJ

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Jurist

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced Wednesday that both violent crime and property crime rates increased from 2010 to 2011 [report, PDF; press release]. This is the first time the DOJ has reported an increase in crime rates since 1993. Overall violent crime, which the DOJ defines as rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault, increased by 17 percent. Property crime, which the DOJ defines as burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft, increased...

Suspected Osceola hate group member pleads guilty to paramilitary training

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wftv

A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to paramilitary training that allegedly involved the white supremacy group American Front at an Osceola County compound.

Kent McLellan told WFTV he’s a skinhead, but had no plans to carry out any acts of terrorism. While maintaining his innocence, McLellan pleaded guilty and will be on probation for four years.

Channel 9 was the first to obtain undercover video taken by a paid FBI informant who was inside the compound while suspected American Front members were conducting military training.

Farrakhan: Radical change needed to save U.S.

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TheFinalCall

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan told a near capacity crowd at the Bojangles Coliseum here that radical solutions and sacrifice are needed to save the country during his important and timely keynote address marking the 17th Anniversary of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement.

His remarks were delivered at a critical time, just three weeks before a closely contested election for president of the United States.

“It’s important to the extreme right, that President Obama is not reelected for four more years. They may say that its economics, it’s about jobs, but we sense that there is a deep racial undercurrent that is found in the Republican Party respecting Brother Obama and this election. Ever since he has been elected, the Republican right—with Rush Limbaugh, (Andrew) Breitbart, FOX News—members of the Senate and the Congress, many in state legislatures, their whole idea has been to get this man out of the White House and nullify any policy or position that he might come up with that might bring success to his Presidency, and might possibly give him a second term,” said Minister Farrakhan.

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Gerrymandering: The League of Dangerous Mapmakers

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TheAtlantic

Every 10 years, after U.S. census workers have fanned out across the nation, a snowy-haired gentle­man by the name of Tom Hofeller takes up anew his quest to destroy Democrats. He packs his bag and his laptop with its special Maptitude software, kisses his wife of 46 years, pats his West Highland white terrier, Kara, and departs his home in Alexandria, Virginia, for a United States that he will help carve into a jigsaw of disunity.

Where Hofeller travels depends to some degree on the migratory patterns of his fellow Americans over the previous decade. As the census shows, some states will have swelled in population, while others will have dwindled. The states that gained the most people are entitled, under the Constitution, to additional representation in the form of new congressional districts, which (since the law allows only 435 such districts) are wrenched from the states that lost the most people. After the 2010 census, eight states (all in the South and the West) gained congressional districts, which were stripped from 10 others (in the Midwest and the East Coast, as well as Katrina-ravaged Louisiana).

The creation of a new congressional district, or the loss of an old one, affects every district around it, necessitating new maps. Even states not adding or losing congressional representatives need new district maps that reflect the population shifts within their borders, so that residents are equally repre­sented no matter where they live. This ritual carving and paring of the United States into 435 sovereign units, known as redistricting, was intended by the Framers solely to keep democracy’s electoral scales balanced. Instead, redistricting today has become the most insidious practice in American politics—a way, as the opportunistic machinations following the 2010 census make evident, for our elected leaders to entrench themselves in 435 impregnable garrisons from which they can maintain political power while avoiding demographic realities.

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Japan decries alleged rape by US troops on Okinawa

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AP

Japan's defense minister said he was deeply concerned by allegations that two American military servicemen had raped a woman on the island of Okinawa and suggested that the U.S. take more measures to prevent such attacks.

"This is a very serious crime," Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told reporters Wednesday. Morimoto said the case follows another sexual assault in August, and he indicated he was considering discussing the matter with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The sailors were identified as Seaman Christopher Browning and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker of the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas. According to Japanese media, they had been drinking before they attacked the woman, in her 20s, who was on her way home before dawn Tuesday.

The two were in Japanese police custody, according to Okinawa Prefectural Police spokesman Takashi Shirado. Later Tuesday, police handed over investigation to prosecutors to decide whether to press formal charges.

Browning and Dozierwalker are both 23 and enlisted in 2008. They were assigned to the Fort Worth base the same year. Base spokesman Don Ray declined to comment on the men's arrests.

The arrests sparked immediate anger on Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan and has recently seen massive protests against plans to deploy the Marine Corps' MV-22 Osprey to a base there because of safety concerns.

Okinawa Gov. Kazuhiro Nakaima, who has been in Tokyo since earlier this week, said the United States should worry about the consequences of repeated crime by U.S. servicemen on the island, where people already resent their presence.

Guilty Cop Calls NYPD "Most Corrupt Police Department" In World History

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Gothamist

While pleading guilty to a felony civil rights violation in a Brooklyn courtroom yesterday, Officer Admir Kacamakovic, an eight-year veteran of the department, wasn't shy about sharing his true feelings about the NYPD. “I have been working with the most goddamned corrupt police department this world has ever known,” Kacamakovic declared in open court. Waving an official police ID card in front of him, he added, "I’m willing to say goodbye to this goddamn piece of s--t. I want to hand in this ID." That won't be a problem.

Kacamakovic, you may recall, was accused by the FBI of a lot of questionable activity, including pepper-spraying two patrons outside his cousin's bar in 2008 while screaming, "No one f***s with my cousin’s place!" He was in uniform and on duty at the time. After one of the patrons pressed charges, Kacamakovic allegedly used the NYPD’s computer system to search a federal database about the assault victim.

According to the FBI, Kacamakovic, while on duty, had intervened in a traffic dispute, and after one of the men involved in the dispute said he was going to file a complaint against Kacamakovic, he slapped the cuffs on hard. Yesterday he pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for illegally detaining and handcuffing the man so tightly he caused permanent wrist damage. As part of his plea agreement, Kacamakovic will resign from the NYPD and will not apply for a job in law enforcement in the future. He faces up to ten years in prison at sentencing.

“I don’t know why I didn’t commit suicide yet,” Kacamakovic, 32, told the Judge William Kuntz II, a former member of the NYPD’s Civilian Complaint Review Board. The Daily News reports, oddly, that Judge Kuntz "referred to himself as 'Father Vader' because his deep voice sounds like the Star Wars villain Darth Vader." Kuntz "counseled the cop to relax," telling him, "God is good, life is long and suicide is not on the table. Let’s fuhgeddaboudit, as we say in Brooklyn." Ha yeah, tell that to the guy with permanent scarring on his wrists.

Prosecutors Overcharge Black PG County Cops - Judge Takes Top Charges Away from Jury

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WashPost

A Prince George’s County circuit court judge on Wednesday threw out the first-degree assault charges against two Prince George’s County police officers caught on video beating an unarmed University of Maryland student during a raucous basketball postgame celebration in 2010, essentially ruling that the student’s injuries were not serious enough to warrant the charge.

As prosecutors closed their case against Officers Reginald Baker and James Harrison, Judge Beverly J. Woodard ruled that jurors should not even consider the more serious charges. In doing so, Woodard granted a defense attorneys’ motion for a judgment of acquittal on that count. She said prosecutors had not presented evidence that University of Maryland student John McKenna had sustained “serious and permanent injuries” or that the officers intended to inflict such injuries.

“There’s been no permanency,” Woodard said. “He recovered from his head injury.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Ruddy argued that he needed to show only that Baker and Harrison intended to cause serious physical harm, and the roughly 12 blows they delivered to McKenna while he was prone provided evidence of that. He said McKenna suffered a concussion, the effects of which could be lasting.

Ruddy said video showed that Baker and Harrison struck McKenna in the head, though Woodard disputed that, noting prosecutors’ own expert testified he saw only body blows. She said the concussion -- the seriousness of which she questioned -- could have been caused when the officers struck McKenna with a riot shield, which prosecutors’ expert said was reasonable conduct.

Jurors will still be allowed to consider second degree assault and misconduct in office charges against the officers. Defense attorneys began their case Wednesday morning, calling a mounted police officer working that night as their first witness.

 

 

Trayvon Martin Murder Case set for June 10, 2013

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Orlando Sentinel

George Zimmerman's murder trial in the death of Trayvon Martin was set for June 10 during a hearing in court this morning.

Zimmerman, 29, is charged with second-degree murder for shooting Trayvon, an unarmed 17-year-old, in Sanford Feb. 26, a homicide that set off civil-rights rallies across the country.

This morning, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson set Zimmerman’s trial for June 10. Attorneys in the case said they estimate the trial will last three weeks. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda said he expected jury selection would take longer than the trial itself.

The hearing, known as a docket sounding, lasted about six minutes. Though the judge set a date, Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara was noncommittal about when he’d be fully prepared.

“I don’t know today when we’ll be ready for trial,” he said.

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Disgraced NYPD Chief/Inmate Bernard Kerik surfaces at perjury trial

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Wistv

Federal inmate No. 84888-054 has saluted victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on his blog. He's also used it to lend his opposition to an Islamic center near ground zero, and to honor his father this past Father's Day.

The behind-bars blogging by convicted former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik is a bit of a mystery: Federal prisoners don't have Internet access, except for limited email correspondence that's apparently allowing someone to post for him.

In recent days, Kerik had a more direct line of communication with the outside world - only this time, it's against his will, under oath and on a sore subject.

Prosecutors in the Bronx forced the one-time protege of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to testify as a government witness at the perjury trial of two contractor brothers who arranged for to have his apartment remodeled. The same investigation resulted in Kerik pleading guilty in 2006 and 2009 to state and federal false statement and other charges stemming from allegations that, while a city official, he knowingly paid on only $30,000 for renovations worth between $165,000 and $255,000.

"Fair to say you're not happy to be here?" a prosecutor asked Kerik on Monday.

"Yes, sir," responded Kerik.

Kerik, 57, who's serving time in a Maryland prison on the federal charges, has been temporarily transferred to a lower Manhattan lockup while appearing at the Bronx trial.

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What the Obama administration has said about the Libya attack

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CNN

Questions surrounding the September 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead took center stage in the second presidential debate between President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

In the debate, Obama said he had identified the deaths as a terrorist incident within a day. Romney said it took the administration two weeks to label it as such.

Critics have also accused the administration of laying blame for the attack on mobs angered by an anti-Muslim movie and for failing to properly recognize the security threat in the region.

Here's a look at notable comments made by administration officials, publicly and in interviews with CNN, since the attack:

September 12 -- President Barack Obama:

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack. ... No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation."

September 12 -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

"We are working to determine the precise motivations and methods of those who carried out this assault. Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior, along with the protest that took place at our embassy in Cairo yesterday, as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is no justification for this; none."

September 12 -- White House spokesman Jay Carney, in response to questions about whether the attack was planned:

"It's too early for us to make that judgment. I think -- I know that this is being investigated, and we're working with the Libyan government to investigate the incident. So I would not want to speculate on that at this time."

September 12 -- Obama, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, again uses the "act of terror" line:

"No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America."

He repeats the line again the next day in Golden, Colorado. "I want people around the world to hear me: To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished."

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Chicago Releases Gang Maps

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Atlanticcites

Chicago police commissioner Garry McCarthy drew heavy criticism this summer when crime statistics showed, in mid-June, that homicides were up 38 percent over the previous year. When the rise in murders first became noticeable, back in March, McCarthy announced the city would conduct a so-called "gang audit" to help police get a handle on the problem. The audit found that Chicago now has some 625 gang factions — up from 500 about a decade ago, according to Chicago magazine.

In the aftermath of the audit WBEZ took steps to compile an interactive map of gang territory throughout the city. Using a reference called the Gang Book, published by the Chicago Crime Commission, as well as public homicide data, the public radio station created an overlay of communities and gangs that's searchable by address:

George Soros: Reduce the Number of Black Males in Prison

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FloraTV

When the Obama administration took office in 2009, there was a groundswell of belief that America was entering a “post-racial” era in which preference, discrimination and prejudice would begin to dissipate and that minorities, especially African-Americans, would begin to see themselves in a better economic and social position.

As many Americans ask themselves whether or not they are better off than they were four years ago, social critics and economists have re-examined the question of a post-racial America under Obama. Though the President himself has expressed doubt that his election was going to end America’s cultural divide, there are signs that America’s black population isn’t much better off than they were in 2008– and in some cases, they are worse off. A new book titled Invisible Men: Mass Incarceration and the Myth of Black Progress examines the plight of young black males and how an entire generation of men are still far behind in terms of wealth, employment, income, and health.

In an Open Society Foundation conference titled Innovation and Impact Forum for Black Male Achievement, progressive philanthropist George Soros expresses concern that even under an African-American president, the justice system is still unfair toward black males.

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Judge to Decide If Brewer Burning Suspect Gets New Trial - Black Teen Faces 15 years after Racialized Trial

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CBS News

The case of a South Florida teen convicted in a fiery attack on a middle school classmate went back to court Wednesday where a judge heard arguments about whether a new trial is warranted for the alleged ringleader.

Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry will consider if there was insufficient evidence of juror misconduct for a new trial for 18-year-old Matthew Bent. Bent was convicted in June of aggravated battery in the 2009 attack on Michael Brewer, who was then 15.

The jury foreperson Karen Bates-McCord claimed there was racial animosity and division that affected the verdict. She told the judge that jurors began deciding the case while testimony was still going on. Others on the jury told the judge it was just idle chit chat.

Bates-McCord said race played a role too, that fellow juror Maria Linter called her racist. Linter has denied the claim.

If the judge rules in Bent’s favor, he’ll get a new trial.  When the hearing was over, the judge said he will not make a decision today but will issue his ruling by Monday.

Bent faces up to 15 years in prison if the conviction stands.

Supreme Court to consider Arizona voter eligibility law

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Jurist

The US Supreme Court on Monday granted [order list, PDF] review of Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. [docket; cert petition, PDF], the first case of the term where they will consider one of the states' new voting laws [JURIST backgrounder]. Arizona's 2004 Proposition 200 [PDF], in part, requires citizens to show "proof of citizenship" in addition to photo identification, to vote. The court will determine if this requirement violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) [materials]. The court will also look at if the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in their ruling, erred by creating a heightened presumption test of the Elections Clause [text] of the Constitution. The lower courts suggested that the presumption against preempting [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] a state's laws do not apply when the Elections Clause is in play, and that election law is a federal province to which a state must strictly conform. Justice Anthony Kennedy stayed [JURIST report] the law in June, which blocked the law's implementation for this election season, but vacated the stay [order, PDF] later that month.

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Prison Crowding Undermines Safety

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Sentencing Project

Columnist Joe Davidson writes that a recent Government Accountability Office report on the Bureau of Prisons shows that inmate overcrowding undermines the safety of inmates and the agency’s staff. The report noted that “double and triple bunking, waiting lists for education and drug treatment programs, limited meaningful work opportunities, and increased inmate-to-staff ratios” led to the problem. Davidson noted that greater flexibility in reducing the prison population by modifying sentencing policies, as a number of states have done, could alleviate the problem if the federal government followed suit.

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Jesse Jackson, Jr. Talks to Reporter: 'I am Not Well'

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Hotline On Call 

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill, has been out of the public eye for months as he receives treatment for bipolar disorder. But Monday, The Daily found him outside of his Washington home, smoking a cigar, and spoke to the lawmaker -- the first time he's talked to press since taking a leave of absence from Congress early this summer:

Jackson told The Daily that he is "not well" and has doctor's appointments twice a day at George Washington University Hospital, not far from his home in the trendy DuPont Circle neighborhood: "I go over there ... at 10 [a.m.] and 1 p.m."

When The Daily's photographer took his picture earlier in the day, Jackson explained he had been "picking up my kids." He didn't elaborate on whether he was headed to the school or had just returned when he decided to take a cigar break on the steps, resting his lit Monte Cristo on a wall leading up to the front entrance of his red-brick Victorian. On the driveway were a cigar butt, a cigar band, a half-foot pile of ashes and a nearly full box of matches.

 

Jackson has had a rough few days. Gawker reported that he was seen out drinking at the same bar two nights in a row recently, with a different woman each night. And the Wall Street Journal reported that he's the subject of a criminal probe.