DC Metro May Shut Down Major Lines for 6 Months

The nation’s second busiest subway system may have to shut down service for 6 months in what could be a catastrophic outage for a system which carries 800,000 passengers a day. Once the nation’s crown jewel system, the problems that have brought Metro’ Subway System low are an accumulation of problems over years. About half of the blame rests with how the system is funded, the other half is based on gross incompetence at the middle and senior management level of the Authority.

Metro or the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority is an odd duck in terms of organization due to the fact that a significant portion of it’s budget comes from the Government. Which means Congressional oversight and piddling in the affairs of the company. The Company’s ownership is spread across the 7 jurisdictions it serves in the Washington Metropolitan area, including the Federal Government. The Federal Government is a player here because 53% of the passengers on the system are Federal Employees. As everything from fares to which communities are served is regulated, the company is designed never to make a profit (or even break even), and each served municipality pays a proportional part of the actual operating budget each year.

In function, the Transit Agency works like a Federal Government entity – meaning there is no motivation of the employees to either improve service, to make systems operate more efficiently, or to cut costs…Ergo the old $10,000 Toilet Seat issue. Massive cost overruns are the norm. Massive project failures are the norm. The recent Silver Line expansion ballooned from $1 billion to $3 billion, in large part due to project being managed by the corrupt Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority – a situation created because of lack of faith that Metro could manage such a large project. I mean when the Federal Government is going o take over your local transit authority – not only are things truly f’d up… But they are going to get a lot worse.

While, like any big dollar enterprise, there are incidents of corruption – even to the highest levels of the management structure, there is no evidence of any major corruption issue, or that corruption is the reason behind the Authority’s failure. It really boils down to incompetence within almost the entire senior management structure at the company’s headquarters. As such, confusion, lack of vision, lack of will, turf fights, nepotism, and duplicate organizational functions are the order of the day. And to clarify a point, very little of “the problem” has to do with the rank and file customer facing employees who in general believe in the mission of serving the community and often will go above board to make things right.

Accepting Federal money means the involvement of Congress. It also means Federal Agency Oversight, which in typical form tries to solve problems at the weed level instead of systemic. It means getting whipsawed by political trade winds in Congress, being victim to corruption at the Congressional Level, and dealing with Congressional fingers in the pie at any time. Ergo the Republicans want the system to operate without tax dollars or a fare hike (It’s the same magic which destroyed some of their own states), and the Democrats want the system to operate as a social good vehicle.

A major shutdown of the system could entail putting 500,000 cars onto the Washington area’s already gridlocked streets. It will cost the Federal Government and private businesses Billions of dollars in lost work and revenue. As a Management Consultant who has done rescues, turnarounds and restructurings of companies, and a former employee of Metro, I have a pretty good idea about what needs to be done…And it isn’t initially going to be pretty.

Lengthy Shutdowns in Washington, D.C., Metro System Are Possible

Repairs to Washington’s aging subway could require the closure of entire rail lines for months at a time, the system’s chairman, Jack Evans, said Wednesday. At the very least, Mr. Evans said, riders should expect the closure of segments of individual lines for extended periods.

His remarks were the latest indication that the system, known as Metro, will be facing significant service disruptions as its management confronts financial and safety problems.

“If we are going to fix the infrastructure, we can’t do it three hours at night,” Mr. Evans, who is also a member of the D.C. Council, said at a symposium marking Metro’s 40th anniversary.

“There may be decisions where we have to close down whole lines and repair them, which are going to be very unpopular,” Mr. Evans added. “But the only way that we are going to get this system fixed is to make unpopular decisions.”

Metro officials already closed the system for a day earlier this month for an emergency safety inspection.

Mr. Evans called the system “maybe safe, somewhat unreliable, and being complained about by everybody,” and said that its health long-term requires increased — and a permanent — source of financing, like a regional sales tax and annual federal contributions.

Paul J. Wiedefeld, Metro’s general manager, will announce a systemwide maintenance plan in four to six weeks, a Metro spokesman, Dan Stessel, said Wednesday.

Mr. Wiedefeld, in his own remarks at the Wednesday meeting, said the scale of the transit agency’s woes required drastic measures.

“What we have been doing has not been working,” he said. “We cannot Band-Aid, we cannot paper over some of these issues.”

Both men’s remarks were first reported by The Washington Post.

 

 

Painting Injustice in Louisiana

This one starts with the case of Mac Phipps, jailed in a state, Louisiana,  that incarcerates more of it’s citizens than any country in the world since Pol Pot’s Cambodia.

Her Son Is In Prison, And She Paints The Faces Of A Broken Justice System

The brushstrokes in Sheila Phipps‘ paintings tell the story of a broken criminal justice system in Louisiana — a state notorious for having the highest incarceration rate in the world.

It’s a mission that Phipps, a visual artist who’s been painting since the 1980s, took up after her son, McKinley “Mac” Phipps, a former No Limit hip-hop artist, wassentenced to 30 years in prison for a 2000 nightclub shooting.

“My son was wrongfully convicted in 2001 and is now serving time for a crime he didn’t commit,” Sheila Phipps said.

The visual artist said that in the beginning she could barely face the pain of her son spending such a large portion of his life behind bars. To cope, she went to her art room, took a brush in hand, and in a series of meticulous strokes captured the element missing from her life — her son — on canvas.

“I was frustrated, and it helped me deal with the stress of everything,” Phipps told The Huffington Post.

When Phipps finished the painting of her son, she initially viewed it as a personal accomplishment. After all, it was intended to be therapeutic — a brief escape from the harsh reality of the situation. However, an emptiness remained. It prompted her to capture not only her son’s story but also those of other inmates in Louisiana who are in similar situations.

“I knew my son was not the only one who was a victim of the criminal justice system,” she said. “So I started to research other cases where individuals were convicted with questionable evidence or received excessive sentences.”

Phipps said her son ultimately became the inspiration behind her series of portraits of incarcerated men. Although she never intended her personal expression for public view, she gradually began showing her paintings as they emerged, gathering them in a series titled “Injustice Xhibition.”

The exhibit features seven incarcerated men: McKinley “Mac” Phipps Jr., Warren Scott III, Jerome “Skee” Smith, Earl Truvia, Stanley Stirgus, Rogers LaCaze Sr., and Jamil Joyner. …Read More Here…

 

Jamar Clark Killers …No Charges

Forensic evidence backs the Officer’s story

Minneapolis Officers in Jamar Clark Shooting Will Not Face Charges

Two Minneapolis police officers will not face state criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark, an unarmed black man, the prosecutor in Hennepin County said Wednesday. The announcement upset activists who had called for the officers to be prosecuted, and provided new details about the events leading up to the shooting.

Mr. Clark’s death prompted weeks of heated, sometimes tense demonstrations, and raised broad questions about racial disparities in Minnesota. Protests started almost immediately after Mr. Clark, 24, was shot on Nov. 15 as officers responded to a report of an assault.

The police said at the time that Mr. Clark was a suspect in the assault and that he had tried to interfere with paramedics treating the woman who was hurt. Some neighbors who say they witnessed the incident claim Mr. Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, contradicting the police account.

In announcing his decision, Mike Freeman, the Hennepin County attorney, said that witnesses had given conflicting accounts about the handcuffs. The evidence, he said, suggested that Mr. Clark had tried to gain control over one officer’s gun and that he had not been handcuffed when shot.

“Forensic evidence and video evidence both support the belief that Clark was not handcuffed at any time through the altercation,” said Mr. Freeman, whose office posted a trove of investigative documents online….

After the shooting in November, which was investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, activists occupied an area outside a police precinct for more than two weeks, sometimes clashing with officers. On one night, a group of outsiders came to the precinct, police said, andshot five people during a protest.

 

How SC Judges Could Force a Vote to Confirm

The Supreme Court requires a minimum of 6 Justices in attendance for the Court to legally hear cases. Perhaps it is time for a boycott by the Justices themselves.The result of not reaching a Quorum isn’t dismissal of the case, the case is moved onto the docket of next year’s cases to be heard. The reason this has not been used before is that it sets a dangerous precedent if used solely to delay the hearing of cases.

28 U.S.C. 1 provides:

The Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of a Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom shall constitute a quorum.

However – if the Court cannot meet…

 

Teen Sexually Assaulted, Pepper Sprayed at Trump Event

The violence at Trump events is escalating…In this case a 15 Year Old girl is molested and attacked by “brave” Trump supporters.

Hopefully the police will arrest these scumbags, and the girl will sue them for millions.

Cops: Teen Sexually Assaulted, Pepper Sprayed, Called ‘N**ger Lover’ at Trump Rally

Police in Paul Ryan’s Wisconsin hometown say they are searching for two suspects who they say attacked a protester.

Janesville, Wisconsin, police say a teenage girl was sexually assaulted and pepper-sprayed outside a Donald Trump campaign event Tuesday. “A 15 year [old] girl from Janesville was peppered-sprayed in the crowd by a non-law enforcement person,” police said in astatement. “A male in the [crowd] groped the 15 year [old] girl when she pushed him away; another person in the [crowd] sprayed her. We are currently looking for two suspects, one for the sexual assault and one for the pepper-spray.”

In one video, the girl can be heard yelling at a middle-age man with gray hair after she said he touched her chest.

In another video via ABC News, a Trump supporter can be heard yelling, “You goddamn communist nigger-lover, get the hell out of here!”

The apparent assault came hours after Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was charged with battery against former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields after grabbing her at a Jupiter, Florida, event on March 8.

But in recent months, violence has become common practice at rallies for the real-estate mogul. In January, he told his supporters to “knock the crap out of [protesters].” He added, “I will pay for the legal fees. I promise.”

 

Really Bad Idea From Gun Nuts

Some years ago, I had a friend who was a gunsmith. He loved to tinker and try modifications to weapons. He came up with a machine pistol, capable of firing 1300 rounds per minute. The difference between his new gun and everything else on the market at that time, was a unique compensation system he invented, which vastly reduced recoil – meaning the gun on full auto didn’t pull off target as it was fired. He thought the Military would jump all over it, so he made two copies and tried to sell it to them. There were several other potential customers in Federal Law Enforcement he demonstrated the weapon to. The post-Vietnam Military wasn’t interested in small, handheld weapons. The Law Enforcement agencies went nuts, even though the weapon could never be sold legally to the public – and had it banned from production in the US and banned for export. The rationale was that if a bad guy ever got hold of one of them, because of it’s small size and conceal ability, rate of fire, and accuracy he would be virtually unstoppable. The two prototypes were destroyed.

I think this gun should be banned. First, from a Law Enforcement standpoint a Cop will never know whether that Cell Phone a suspect  has is really a Cell Phone – resulting in numerous killings of innocent people. Next, something like this provides the conceal-ability which would allow a John Hinckley character, who shot President Reagan to get close enough undetected to assassinate a political figure. Hinckley used a .32 Caliber which is significantly smaller. The inventor is lying in the below article about the effectiveness of the .380 round. It is, in terms of destructive power, only a step or two below that of a 9 mm. Generally it is used in small, semiautomatic handguns, which don’t have the accuracy or range of bigger guns due to the barrel length.

I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff out there, including laptops which convert into sub-machine guns. But those types of systems are no available to the general public, and require stringent licensing.

This is absolutely STUPID nuts.

A New Gun Folds Up To Look Just Like A Smartphone

Its creator wanted a more discreet firearm to carry around.

This is not a smartphone. This is a gun.

It’s the Ideal Conceal, a .380-caliber pistol that folds up into a box shape. The creator designed the firearm to look like a phone so people could carry it around in public without attracting attention.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s ready for action:

Note – there appears to be capability to mount an internal laser sight on the front.

Ideal Conceal’s website explains the logic behind the $395 gun: “Smartphones are EVERYWHERE, so your new pistol will easily blend in with today’s environment. In its locked position it will be virtually undetectable because it hides in plain sight.”

The website also advises folks to check local concealed carry laws before purchasing the firearm.

Kirk Kjellberg, CEO of Minnesota-based company Ideal Conceal, told a local news outlet that he came up with the concept for the pistol after a boy in a restaurant noticed he was carrying a concealed gun. Kjellberg has a concealed carry permit and a firearm license, he told The Huffington Post, but he added that it’s still “pretty embarrassing when people stare at you.”

“A little child, a boy about 7, saw me, and said, ‘Mommy, Mommy, that guy’s got a gun!’ And the whole restaurant of course turns and stares at you. And I thought, there’s just got be something better,” said Kjellberg, per NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis.

Critics of the gun have pointed out that it could pose a security risk in public places like airports, according to KARE. But Kjellberg insists the gun is meant for people concerned about their own personal safety.

“We don’t want anything sinister to go on with it,” Kjellberg told KARE. “It’s just made for mainstream America, not criminal enterprise.”

He told HuffPost that the gun, which holds two rounds, isn’t very powerful. “If you’re going to try to hurt somebody, it will probably take more firepower,” Kjellberg said. 

There were 13,286 gun deaths in U.S. in 2015. Between 2007 and 2013, people carrying concealed weapons were responsible for nearly 500 civilian deaths, according to the Violence Policy Institute.

In recent years, police have shot and killed several people carrying items mistaken for guns. In January, police in Las Vegas shot and killed an unarmed man carrying a cell phone that looked to police like a firearm.

 

How Off the Charts is Real Estate in San Francisco?

Here is the story of a guy paying $400 a month to live in an 8′ x 3′ box…And you gotta wonder why they have a homeless problem.

San Francisco Newcomer Pays $400 Rent To Live In A Box In Friend’s Apartment

Amid the Bay Area’s red-hot real estate market, a newcomer to San Francisco is living in a small wooden box at his friend’s home.

Illustrator Peter Berkowitz recently moved into the box, which he described as a “pod.” The box is tucked away in a corner of the living room at his friend’s apartment, located a few blocks from the ocean.

On his blog, Berkowitz said the pod is the “coziest bedroom” he has ever had. Along with a bed, the box has a fold down desk, a cushioned backboard and LED lights for reading.

The pod, which measures 8 feet long, 3.5 feet wide and 4 feet tall, cost $1,300 to build.

Berkowitz also has access to the rest of his friend’s apartment.

“I built it largely myself, with the help of some friends who kind of knew what they were doing,” Berkowitz said in an interview on Live 105’s “Kevin Klein Live” Tuesday morning.

Berkowitz said he is paying $400 a month in rent, far lower than the $3,000 average rent for a one-bedroom San Francisco apartment.

“Yes, living in a pod is silly.  But the silliness is endemic to San Francisco’s absurdly high housing prices – the pod is just a solution that works for me,” Berkowitz said on his blog.

High real estate prices and rents have led to some creative ways to lower living costs. Last year, an employee at Google lived rent-free in a truck parked at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View. The employee slept in the truck, while he ate at the company cafeteria and showered at the company gym.

 

Out of Bounds on Campus

White folks have been “appropriating” from black folks for 400 years in America. Black folks have been “appropriating” right back just as long…

Starting with “Christianity”.

If you go to Texas, the impact of such cross group appropriation is hard to miss. There are probably as many African American words and concepts appropriated into the American lexicon as Hispanic. We use a lot of terms in our language which are derived from Spanish, celebrate a non-existent Spanish “Holiday”, eat Mexican Food, and sit on the beach with a Corona. Indeed, our Language, our styles, our customs are a melange of all the peoples who have come, been brought to, or existed in America before the first Europeans managed to wander here and survive long enough to multiply.

A black, apparently college student, woman objecting to a white man wearing dreads…In California no less.

WTF?

Somebody please sit this campus Nazi down and educate her! “Appropriation” is in equal part admiration. It is how black folks Blues, Jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, and Rap became international icons, copied an imitated around the world. If it wasn’t for white folks, Blues would be a dead art form. Mal-Appropriation is a different animal, of which we have numerous examples in Black Americana. I really don’t give a good damn about a white boy wearing a Tupac T-Shirt, although I do hope some enterprising black T-Shirt maker sold it to him. 60% of all Hip Hop is bought by white folks. Without that market “Two Chains” would have to change his name to “One Chain” or no chains at all…

These campus students are getting to be as racist as Trump people.

 

Interview With Angela Davis On Current Election

Angela Davis, one of those historical figures from the Civil Rights era who is still around and making news.

Why Activist Angela Davis Isn’t Endorsing Any Candidate For President

“We need a new party,” Davis declared.

Revolutionary activist Angela Davis is not impressed with the current roster of candidates running for president.

Davis — whose work has always taken a critical look at issues of race, gender, prisons and politics — spoke with Democracy Now! in an interview posted Monday and explained why she is not endorsing a candidate.

“I don’t endorse,” Davis told Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman. “I believe in independent politics. I still think that we need a new party, a party that is grounded in labor, a party that can speak to all of the issues around racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, what is happening in the world. We don’t yet have that party.” Watch a full video clip below:

Davis condemned the “fascist appeal” of Donald Trump as well as his failure to outright denounce the endorsement of David Duke, the white supremacist and former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

“The Ku Klux Klan, of course, evokes the racist, terrorist, violent history of—associated with the era following slavery up to the present,” Davis said. “The extent to which Donald Trump was beating around the bush, seemingly in an effort not to alienate those who might support the Klan today, is an indication that he is helping.”

For decades, Davis has been regarded as a radical activist, freedom fighter and feminist icon who has consistently spoken out against many of America’s ills. Davis has always been passionate about ending oppression in all its forms and fighting for the abolition of prisons. It is a position fueled by her own experience spending 16 months incarcerated after being placed on FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List on false charges 50 years ago.

Davis’ profound activism has helped to distinguish her as leading black revolutionary figure. Many present-day Black Lives Matter activists are inspired by her accomplishments and she said she shares a strong appreciation for their work, too.

“I think it’s really wonderful that Black Lives Matter activists are participating in this electoral period in this way, forcing candidates to speak on issues about which they might not speak,” Davis said.

Davis said she admires the ways in which activists today have demanded attention in the current election cycle, particularly as it involves calling out candidate Hillary Clinton on past comments she made referring to at-risk youth as “superpredators” and demanding she acknowledge the repercussions of her support for the 1994 Crime Bill, which sent a disproportionate number of black men and women to jail.

“It seems to me that if she’s interested in the votes of not only African Americans and people of color, but of all people who are progressive and attempting to speak out against the racism of over incarceration, she would simply say, ‘I was wrong then,’ that ‘superpredator’ is a racially coded term,’” Davis said. “It’s so interesting that she tends to rely on a kind of universalism that prevents her from acknowledging the extent to which racism is so much a force and an influence in this country.”

While Davis said Clinton is reluctant to address racism, she said she also believes her opponent Bernie Sanders suffers from certain limitations, too. When it comes to Sanders, Davis said she believes he engages in “a kind of economic reductionism” that prevents him from fully understanding and relaying information that will “enlighten us about the persistence of racism, racist violence, state violence,” Davis said.

“It seems that he does not have the vocabulary that allows him to acknowledge the role and the influence that racism has played historically,” she added. “He thinks that economic justice will automatically lead us to racial justice.”…Read the Rest Here…

On the last I think Davis is wrong. First – there is no way to eliminate racism. Second, economic justice goes a long way in fixing the most pernicious results of modern racism, and destroys the infrastructure which supports it. Which is kind of interesting because this was why back in the 60’s she advocated communism. The fundamental root of communism being an economic system.

 

Anonymous vs Ted Cruz

Got this one from over at Subrealism, which is a great somewhat right of center site run by a friend.

Anonymous is now threatening to expose Cruz’ visits to the ladies of the night. Not sure anyone in the Republican Party other than his wife and kids cares…But it is a thought.

Now…Who did Trump hire to do the video work?

 

 

Trump Campaign Manager Arrested

The Trump Thugs are going down. Donald Trump’s National Campaign Manager’s mugging of a female reporter has earned him a visit to the Police Station with a charges of assault.

Trump Campaign Manager Charged With Battery Of Reporter He Called ‘Delusional’

Corey Lewandowski turned himself in to police early Tuesday.

Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with battery Tuesday following an incident in which he allegedly grabbed a reporter, Michelle Fields, at a campaign event earlier this month.

Lewandowski turned himself in to police Tuesday morning in Jupiter, Florida, where he was charged with misdemeanor battery.

Trump and Lewandowski have repeatedly denied that the campaign manager grabbed Fields, and Lewandowski has called Fields “delusional.”

Fields released a photo of her arm with a series of finger-shaped bruises. And newly released video footage appears to show Lewandowski reaching over and roughly grabbing Fields at the Jupiter event, nearly throwing her off balance.

The video suggests that Lewandowski was lying when he attacked Fields’ credibility and accused her of seeking attention. This is a tactic Trump himself has popularized, through vicious and personal attacks on journalists like Megyn Kelly and Jorge Ramos.

Fields resigned from Breitbart News shortly after the incident, because she said the news outlet failed to publicly stand by her.

The Trump campaign responded to the charges Tuesday morning, telling reporters that Lewandowski will plead not guilty and that he intends to fight the charges.

Lewandowski will be represented by two defense lawyers. One of them is Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney who was forced to resign that post in 1996 after he was accused of biting a stripper in Miami.

 

Wisconsin Paper, and Local Radio Do Major Trump Takedown

Looks like the “Steely Knives” are out in Wisconsin to kill the Trump campaign.First, the conservative talking heads in the state eviscerated him in interviews on talk radio…

And now the major Newspaper in the state has published a blistering condemnation.

Trump Pinata’s now popular in not only Mexico…But North of the Border

By any measure, Donald Trump is unfit to be president

No to Donald Trump.

No to his bigotry.

No to his contempt for women and minorities. No to his vague, clueless bluster about the problems facing the nation.

No to Trumpism, which runs counter to the ideals of this nation of immigrants, to the notion that by working together under the rule of law, we can protect freedom and promote inclusion and fair play.

Wisconsin Republicans: Reject this un-American candidate on April 5.

And consider these facts:

■Trump has stoked the smoldering fears of immigrants long latent in American political culture. He calls for walling out immigrants and deporting 11 million people. It is an impossible and disruptive policy that would divide families, require enormous law enforcement resources and drive the undocumented deeper into the shadows. Worse, it wouldn’t address the problem of supply and demand for labor. It likely would harm entire industries — including Wisconsin dairy operations — and encourage public corruption such as we haven’t seen since Prohibition.

■Trump’s blustering anti-Muslim rhetoric is helping to recruit new terrorists. He promises to “bomb the sh– out of ISIS” and demands that all Muslims be banned from entering the country. He singles out an entire religion, against the First Amendment promise that we can worship as we choose, instead of focusing on the terrorists who have brought shame to their faith. He refuses to rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons. He says “torture works,” and despite never having fought for his country, he ridicules Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who suffered years of torture in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Trump advocates killing the civilian families of terrorists and violating international law, promising the military will follow his orders over their constitutional and moral duties. The Islamic State thinks so much of Trump’s sound bites that it has used them in recruitment videos.

■Trump has belittled women for decades. His coarse comments about his opponent in the early primaries, Carly Fiorina, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and Heidi Cruz, the wife of his closest opponent for the Republican nomination, were just the latest in a long line of outrageous sexist statements. He has called womenfat pigs, slobs and dogs. He has made rude sexual comments on talk radio shows. In the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, he had an astounding 70% unfavorable rating among women overall, which makes him unelectable in a general election.

■Trump has incited violence at his rallies with heated rhetoric aimed at firing up supporters while portraying himself as a tough guy. From behind a wall of Secret Service protection, Trump has said that in the past protesters “would be carried out on a stretcher” or that he would like to punch them “in the face.” After a white North Carolina man sucker-punched an African-American protester who was being led away, Trump offered to pay the assailant’s legal fees. In Chicago, after protesters infiltrated a Trump rally, the candidate called off the event and fist fights broke out. At a rally in Iowa, he “joked” that he could shoot someone “in the middle of Fifth Avenue” and not lose a single vote….Read The Rest Here…

 

Georgia Governor Does a Drop Kick on Anti-Gay KKK Bill

Spurred on by threats by everyone from Disney to the NFL to take their business elsewhere, Republican Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal got the message.

Governor Rejects a Religious-Freedom Bill

Nathan Deal sides with corporations and gay-rights advocates who objected to the legislation backed by conservative evangelicals.

As an expansive religious-liberty bill moved through Georgia’s Republican-dominated state legislature this winter, Governor Nathan Deal found himself caught in a pitched battle over gay rights, with conservative evangelicals on one side and major corporations on the other.

On Monday, he sided with big business by announcing he would veto legislation that he said could lead to state-sanctioned discrimination against gay people. “I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith based community in Georgia of which my family and I are a part of for all of our lives,” Deal, a Republican, said at a news conference declaring his decision. “Our actions on H.B. 757 are not just about protecting the faith-based community or providing a business-friendly climate for job growth in Georgia. This is about the character of our State and the character of its people.”

He added:

Our cities and countryside are populated with people who worship God in a myriad of ways and in very diverse settings. Our people work side-by-side without regard to the color of our skin, or the religion we adhere to. We are working to make life better for our families and our communities. That is the character of Georgia. I intend to do my part to keep it that way.

The governor’s rejection of the bill is the latest twist in a war over religious liberty and gay rights that has played out in conservative states during the nine months since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Public outcries followed similar efforts last year in Indiana and Arkansas to pass legislation that would allow pastors and vendors to cite religious objections in denying services to gay couples.

The Georgia version, which was itself viewed as a compromise designed to win broader support, would not only have allowed faith-based groups to deny “social, educational, and charitable services” to people based on their religious beliefs—but in some cases, would also have preserved their right to fire people for the same reason. A corporate coalition that included Disney, Time Warner, and other major employers threatened to boycott the state if Deal signed the legislation into law. The NFL hinted the law could affect its decision to hold a future Super Bowl in Atlanta.

In announcing his veto, Deal acknowledged threats by interests on both sides, but he said they were not a determining factor in his decision.

Some of those in the religious community who support this bill have resorted to insults that question my moral convictions and my character. Some within the business community who oppose this bill have resorted to threats of withdrawing jobs from our state. I do not respond well to insults or threats. The people of Georgia deserve a leader who will made sound judgments based on solid reasons that are not inflamed by emotion. That is what I intend to do.

Deal was reelected to a second term as governor in 2014 and cannot run for a third, so electoral considerations may have been less of a factor for him than for other Republican governors facing similar decisions….More…

 

Shooting IN US Capitol Building!

This one is just breaking and as such there are few details. One suspect has been apprehended at this point, and the Capital Police are searching on the possibility there might be others and have the Office Buildings and Capitol Building on lockdown. This shooting was apparently was in the Visitor Center. There is no information about the captured shooter and motives at this point

U.S. Capitol Police officer shot in Visitors Center; shooter in custody

Officials confirm a U.S. Capitol Police officer has been shot in the Capitol Visitors Center. Police say the officer wounds are not serious,and a shooter is in custody.

ABC7 News reports that the U.S. Capitol Complex is on lockdown.

Capitol Police locked down the multi-building complex at the U.S. Capitol just before 3 p.m. Monday, for what was billed as “a potential security threat.”

According to The Associated Press, the White House was also put on lockdown.

The Senate sergeant at arms issued a statement Monday afternoon as the reports began streaming in: “Shooter has been caught. One police officer shot, but not seriously. Remain sheltered in place.”

5 PM Update –

Identified as Larry Dawson from Social Media Site

A man was shot by U.S. Capitol Police after firing shots inside the Capitol Visitors Center Monday afternoon, according to CNN.

CNN reports that the man set off an alarm as he went through a metal detector at the Center, and was stopped by security. The man then drew a gun and pointed it at an officer. According to CNN, U.S. Capitol Police quickly fired back and the man was shot and taken into custody.

U.S. Capitol Police said in a press conference that the man is currently undergoing surgery for his injuries.

A woman was also injured by shrapnel during the shooting, CNN reported.

Capitol officials initially reported that a U.S. Capitol Police officer was also shot in the incident, but later retracted that statement.

ABC News identified the shooting suspect as Larry Dawson of Tennessee. Dawson had a previous encounter with authorities in D.C. when he interrupted a House session in October 2015.

U.S. Capitol Police said during the conference that the suspect was known to them.

The whole U.S. Capitol Complex and the White House were placed on lockdown and “shelter in place” status while authorities investigated the incident.

 

Shootout at the OK Corral — Guns at the Republican Convention

3000-4000 crazy people with guns in hotly contested political convention…What could go wrong? Throw in limitless supplies of liquor…And it’s your average Girl Scout Bake Sale!

Open carry at the Republican National Convention?

A petition for the open carry of firearms at the Republican National Convention has amassed more than 42,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

The convention is scheduled to take place in Cleveland from July 18 to 21 at the Quicken Loans Arena, which bans all weapons on property. While Ohio allows open-carry, the venue’s ban is permitted by state law.

The petition’s author, known as N A, finds fault with the policy, calling it “a direct affront to the Second Amendment.” Pointing to an article that ranks Cleveland among the United States’ most dangerous cities and mentioning “the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack,” the author said the Republican National Committee and the Quicken Loans Arena are putting people at risk.

“Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life,” the petition reads. “All three remaining Republican candidates have spoken out on the issue and are unified in their opposition to Barack HUSSEIN Obama’s “gun-free zones.’”

The author then called on the Quicken Loans Arena, the National Rifle Association, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Republican National Committee and the GOP presidential contenders to act.

None of the individuals named in the petition immediately responded to a request for comment from NBC News.

On the Sunday morning talk shows, Trump declined to discuss the petition at length.

“I have not seen the petition,” Trump said on ABC. “I want to see what it says. I want to read the fine print. I have to see what it says. I’m a very, very strong person for Second Amendment. I think very few people are stronger. And I have to see the petition.”

When host Jonathan Karl asked Trump to put the specific petition aside and delineate more broadly about the notion of delegates carrying firearms at the convention, Trump refused to consider the prospect.

“I don’t want to forget the petition,” Trump told Karl. “It’s the first I hear about it — of it, and frankly, you know, nobody is stronger on the Second Amendment than me. But I would like to take a look at it.”

A federal spending bill apportioned $50 million to Cleveland to help with the cost of convention security, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The paper reported that the city has proposed using part of the funds to purchase 2,000 sets of riot gear.

Although the City of Cleveland would not comment on operational security matters, it said in a March 18 statement that it looked forward to a successful convention while “working with our federal, state and local security as well as our business partners.”

Cleveland needs to spend the $50 mil on a dozen or so Armored Cars and about 100 “Ma Deuce” 50 Cal Machine guns to surround he convention center…

So none of the miscreants escapes.

ISIS hardly wants to attack these morons and lose all their advertising material.