Random Pic: President Obama talks with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew outside the Oval Office, May 1, 2013 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today:
11:45: The President meets with Secretary of the Treasury Lew
12:0: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney
2:0: The President meets with CEOs, business owners and entrepreneurs to discuss the importance of commonsense immigration reform
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NYT: Within days, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a series of decisions that could transform three fundamental social institutions: marriage, education and voting.
The extraordinary run of blockbuster rulings due in the space of a single week will also reshape the meaning of legal equality and help define for decades to come one of the Constitution’s grandest commands: “the equal protection of the laws.”
If those words require only equal treatment from the government, the rulings are likely to be a mixed bag that will delight and disappoint liberals and conservatives in equal measure. Under that approach, same-sex couples who want to marry would be better off at the end of the term, while blacks and Hispanics could find it harder to get into college and to vote.
More here
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SCOTUS Blog: On Monday, June 24, we will begin live blogging at 9 a.m. ET.
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Michael Tomasky: Today begins one of the biggest weeks in the Supreme Court’s recent history. Certainly the biggest since it decided on Obamacare almost exactly a year ago, and I would say even bigger, because while that was a huge deal in a news sense, these decisions will drill right into the muscle and bone of our competing constitutional theories in this country—whether the Constitution is a living document that permits judges to use it to reach conclusions about changing social morality (the liberal view), or whether it should do no such thing and judges should never think about “outcomes” (the conservative one). The decisions should certainly focus liberals’ minds on what a crucial role the Court plays in shaping our lives, and the fact that we have four justices, two on each side, age 75 or older is a reminder of how the next president may well shape the nature and size of the Court’s majority for at least a generation to come, maybe two.
More here
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Rep Thompson hangs the coathanger on the mike. Bloody awesome. #HB60 pic.twitter.com/poq3Sutaas
— Beck Wise (@wisebeck) June 24, 2013
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Time: Republicans used their majority to cut short debate and give preliminary approval early Monday to some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country as time was running out on the Texas Legislature’s special session.
Many members of the conservative majority had flyers on their desks that read “Psalm 139:13-14,” which reads in part, “You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Democrats gained strength from more than 800 demonstrators who packed the hallways of the Capitol carrying signs reading, “Stop the War on Women” to oppose Senate Bill 5. The measure would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limit abortions to surgical centers.
More here – and more at ThinkProgress
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@ReignOfApril As POTUS says, it will be tough and the climb steep, but we will get there. OFA team is down here & I don’t bet against them.
— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) June 24, 2013
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y’all keep making jokes at Texas’s expense. when we start to go blue in 2014, line of apology for kissing my Texas feminist ass forms left.
— Kat, Holy Soap (@meadowgirl) June 24, 2013
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i care about the NSA, but #reprorights are under assault in this country. since civil libertarians are silent, abortion HAS to be my issue.
— Lauren Rankin (@laurenarankin) June 24, 2013
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Excellent:
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Steve Benen: Where in the world is Edward Snowden?” is proving to be a rather complicated question.
….. there was apparently some drama in Moscow’s airport this morning, when there was heavy security surrounding a flight to Havana. Journalists tracking Snowden’s whereabouts quickly bought tickets on the flight, only to discover once they were on board and the doors were shut that he would not be on the plane.
It is, incidentally, a 12-hour flight from Moscow to Havana, which those journalists are apparently taking for no reason. On the other hand, it’ll be a whole lot of frequent-flier miles for them.
….. All of this, by the way, is turning into quite an international media spectacle. The New York Times front-page report on Snowden’s whereabouts this morning featured reporting from ten journalists in five cities on two continents…. Who knew the Snowden story would become a full-employment initiative for reporters?
Full post here
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Oooooooooooops:
Press Gazette: The (UK) Independent had to rework its front page this morning after a picture of whistleblower Edward Snowden at a Moscow airport turned out to be the wrong man.
In what appeared to be a world exclusive for the paper, its first edition showed Snowden getting off a train at the airport. But what appeared to be a coup for new editor Amol Rajan on his first day in the job was in fact a case of misidentification….. The Independent redrafted its front page, but not before first editions went to press.
More here
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Snowden’s clever plan to bankrupt world news outfits by draining their travel budgets chasing his ghost is working great so far
— Zandar (@ZandarVTS) June 24, 2013
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“Ladies and gentlemen, we do have a completely overbooked flight today. Are there any volunteers willing to…yes, you sir in the glasses!”
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) June 24, 2013
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Ecuador’s foreign minister says Snowden is being persecuted by the US….. too funny: Human Rights Watch
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ThinkProgress: Republicans are reintroducing a bill to allow states to redistribute federal education dollars currently targeted at the country’s poorest school districts. The A-PLUS Act, originally crafted by the arch-conservative Heritage Foundation, was first introduced in 2007, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) have revived it for 2013.
More here
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On this day:
June 24, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
June 24, 2010: First Lady Michelle Obama hosts First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva of Russia, right, on the Truman Balcony of the White House (Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
June 24, 2009: President Obama his personal aide Reggie Love share a laugh outside the Oval Office in the White House. Personal secretary Katie Johnson is in the background (Photo by Pete Souza)
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MoooooOOOOOooooorning – happy Monday!
The Obama Diary 
Morning!
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone, and congrats taiping on #1 🙂
Thanks again Chips, for yet another wonderful, info-packed R & S!!!
MoooOOOOOooorning Taiping, mooooooorning everyone!
Can’t believe I’m first, was just trying to get back to last thread. TOD has been awesome the last few months. My go-to site for news. Thanks Chips and all the blog tyrants. Especially for the foreign and Texas coverage. If Women don’t get engaged for 2014 we will see our rights list. Texas is 40% minority but half are not registered. Time to support Texas Blue project. Thanks all.
Congrats on 1st taipong1, I am a former Texan and I just can’t imagine the hell those women are going to go through because of such rotten men in the legislature. I sincerely hope they can oust a few of them. The SCOTUS ruling is going to be very important. And now they have decided to take on the Recess Appointments of President Obama. God I dislike these right wingers on the court.
After all of that,
Good Mornnig everyone. 🙂
Morning 🙂
Good Morning TOD!!
Today might be one for the ages.
Morning a congrats on First!
Chips, LL and UT…this is a great site for a thread. Bookmark it
https://www.healthcare.gov/
Good Monday Morning Chipsticks, TODers…Everyone!!! 🙂
Hope everyone has a wonderful and productive day. Act as if what you do makes a difference because it does.
GG/CH: Well let’s see…does anti-women’s rights bill affect ME. Does it impact my rights and freedoms? Then no problem. No story here. But Snowden is my hero!
What are they Huntley and Brinkley? Does Greenwald have a permanent guest seat on this show?
This is the funniest response I’ve read in a long time.
I’m on the floor laughing.
Wondering when the lightbulb will go off in dimwit’s Hayes’s head.
I don’t think it will arapaho. Hayes strikes me as one of those guys who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else even when he’s obviously being played for a dope.
Good morning, Chips, TOD ohana and Lurkers.
We do live in interesting times, do we not?
Thanks for continuing to keep the anti-women bills issue front and center Chiparoo. The battle to turn Texas blue will be tough but I laugh at the naysayers on the left and right who don’t realize the ground is shifting beneath them. OFA (Battleground Texas) is on the ground here and I do not bet against them because what they see sitting down, a lot of people can’t see standing up.
No matter the outcome, I am so proud of Texas men and women all over the state and even out of state for making their voices heard by protesting, tweeting their representatives, tweeting, facebooking, emailing, and spreading the information far and wide. For flooding the voicemails of representatives with call after call after call and for making the local and national media take notice that if something like this can happen in Texas, that’s huge news indeed. The GOP should be very scared indeed.
Waiting with bated breath and crossed fingers for the SCOTUS. This is another day when they can move this country forward or strip crucial rights from a vast majority of all kinds of minorities.
A pleasure UT, from reading you and others on this I get the feeling this could be a big turning point for Texas, surely more and more people there will now see the true madness of the GOP?
Good morning, Chips and TODers. Lots going on today. Fasten your seat belts!
Good morning Chipsticks & TOD family. I’m in Atlanta, Ga. My 97yr old Aunt passed on to glory & I’ve attended her funeral & now I’m spending a few days with family. I’ll be back on the West Coast (right coast) on Thurs.
Been reading good stuff on TOD
Keep up the great job everyone!
G’morning GGail! Welcome back, and may your dear Aunt RIP. Enjoy the rest of your time with family and hope to be seeing more of you around here soon! 🙂
Thanks hf.
There’s a lot going on!
Ah GGail, may your Aunt rest in peace, what an amazing age.
Yes my dear Chipsticks, she lived a long beautiful life. One of my cousins said that when Aunt Tina got to Heaven, my mother and the rest of her siblings asked her “what took you so long?”
“What took you so long?”
Ah, sweetest thing ever!
No doubt they did! And maybe your Aunt Tina will say, “Dunno! Nice view from up here!” Blessings!
I bet she is saying that MP 🙂
May your Aunt RIP and may you share happy memories of her with your family. Thinking of you GGail.
Nice try BBC. And Mi6 is a place where they just gather the best restaurant coupons? What part of the word traitor are they not understanding?
Don’t forget folks (for those who are available), Joy Ann Reid will be filling in for Alex Wagner today.
Latest update from the SCOTUS.
Good morning all you wonderful people!!! Thank you Chips for another treasure!
BTW I had a dream about snowman. I was piloting the plane he was on…..we went somewhere but I cannot remember where…shoot!!!
“Republicans are reintroducing a bill to allow states to redistribute federal education dollars currently targeted at the country’s poorest school districts…”
Republicans have a problem with equal access to education because they know that education brings about empowerment and opportunity. It is not by chance that public education is deteriorating and resources are being reduced or eliminated. They are trying to make the case for more privatized education which we all know will have limited and selective access. And we all know who will be denied access.
Too many laws being proposed by GOP lawmakers have one goal in mind…to inhibit any program or resource or legal protection that can improve the quality of life; especially for minorities… Be it immigration, education, voting rights…
I read the ThinkProgress.org article on this subject, but left just as confused as before I read it.
Who in the House is reintroducing? Will it be part of another bill (i.e., a Poison Pill for Dems to swallow or the WH to veto)? Is Think Progress the only organization reporting on this (I follow the AP’s education reporter @Philip_Elliott, and haven’t seen any tweets from him on this subject, though he seems pretty right-leaning to me)?
Equador foreign minister Ricardo Patino: “The word treason has been batted around in recent days… We need to ask who has betrayed who?”
Really dood ? Grandstanding at this point ?
The Supreme court is still giving corporations preference over people. A supervisor is not a supervisor unless she can take tangible employment actions against the victim 5/4 decision
http://www.scotusblog.com/
Well then that supervisor can’t be a part of the disciplinary process of that employee if indeed a supervisor isn’t a supervisor.
Update.
85,000 people on the scotus blog at the minute
SCOTUS has ruled on Fisher v. Texas. Affirmative action case. Huge news.
what does it mean ?
Been in a state of anxirty all morning..can breathe a lil better
Me too PF58. It’s been a very stressful morning awaiting this decision.
It is deep how a decision by 9 people can cut to shreds the blood sweat tears and lives of so many freedom fighters…it does not seem quite right!!
Good Morning Chips and my fellow TOD’ers. Busy morning I see
Hate is too strong a word for me so I’ll just say that I detest Clarence Thomas with every fiber of my being.
Clarence Thomas is just one symptom of a much bigger problem here. As civil rights are being debated by SCOTUS, we have a bunch of moronic self-righteous privileged assholes doing their best to discourage dem turnout in the midterms with their “civil liberties” crap. It’s GOP presidents and GOP local, state and congressional members who pave the way for REAL oppression by the court systems.
These people are being increasingly given bigger and louder platforms in the media to distract the nation (and world) with their bullshit “pet issues” du jour, while people continue to be oppressed by all kinds of outrageous and restrictive laws. Yes, Clarence Thomas is an ASS, no doubt, but he’s just part of a much bigger problem here.
I don’t think Thomas is a sympton of a bigger problem. He’s been dealing with these issues of self hate and personal racism toward Black people for a very long time. This is one man who has been fighting himself his entire life and losing.
But aren’t these self-hating Blacks the very types that the GOP loves to push? Blacks who have internalized notions of white supremacy and have accepted that Black people are inferior and deserve whatever oppression comes their way? Any Black individual or group who dares to challenge that notion is fought back aggressively – e.g., Eric Holder and Barack Obama.
Do you see the self-appointed civil Libertarians such as Glen Greenwald going after Clarence Thomas with the venom that they go after Holder and Obama? The answer is no. Ask yourself why.
Thomas has to do what that white mean tea party wife of his say.
The big irony, Donna, is that he was a beneficially of Affirmative Action when he attended Yale Law school. I can even argue that he benefited from affirmative action when Bush nominated him to the Supreme Court. His nomination to the Court was certainly not based on merit. I think Thomas still holds a big grudge against Black people because many Civil Rights organizations opposed his nomination. Another reason for his grudge may stem from being rejected by black women, like Anita Hill.
Is the economy back to doing crappy again?
Maybe a correction?
? speculating…
Watching markets- yes I sold my stock on Friday. Not taking a chance with this FED stuff.
One of my relatives is always advising against such moves especially when the Stock Markets are gyrating like it has been for a few days now. In a 3-5 yrs period, the Markets always stay relatively stable and profitable.
I can’t take a chance going long, with FED and Bernanke playing games.
I made good money don’t worry.
🙂
You are correct, as a government employee I can my TSP is doing well.
Jovie, this is all going to sort itself out. there are reactions from Wall St. that stabilize. Don’t be overwrought that the entire economy is tanking because Wall St. had a hissy fit over scaling back Fed stimulus. We cannot and should not take a few days, even a few weeks of market reaction as absolute proof of a bigger picture.
Also, they think this is a good time to take some profit. Markets go up and down.
So what happened with Snowdirt? Is Putin gonna play ball?
Putin will play ball, he might be crazy but he ain’t stupid.
Russia says its not intervening because it has nothing to do with them
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/report-kremlin-says-russia-didnt-know-snowden-was?ref=fpb
If Russia isn’t intervening then why make a statement, Russia doesn’t want to appear being helpful to the U.S. but they will provide information as to where Snowden’s location is.
If they are not getting involved (which is kind of odd) will they allow us to take him out of there?
The WSJ article was released at 6:44 AM. Possibly things have changed but maybe not.
Excuse me, The TPM piece was released at 6:44 AM.
RT
Breaking : Clint Eastwood seen on flight to Cuba talking to empty window seat.
Media swoons.
😀
Lord Have Mercy. That was 😆 Hilarious.
Zimmerman’s attorney made a knock knock joke in his opening statement. Trayvon Martin’s parents are in the court room shedding tears for their son who was murdered and the defense make a knock knock joke? Some people really are sick and twisted.
WOW…that’s sure going to help the jury sympathize with Zimmerman….
REALLY. Their client killed a young man who by all reports was minding his own damn business and he is making knock, knock jokes. Well then lets play along “Knock knock. Who’s there? Life. Life who? Life sentence, because that is what Zimmerman should and will get
More like Evil. For he never gave a bleeping thought about Trayvon Martin’s parents feelings.
Is that the lawyer’s way of saying, “Yeah I think he’s guilty too.”
GM TODers.
Arise. Arose. Arisen.
Wow, you folks were Busy last night. Great Posts. Great R & S this AM. Thank you all. Thank you Chips.
If you would like to follow the George Zimmerman Trial:
http://3chicspolitico.com/2013/06/24/state-of-florida-vs-george-zimmerman/
GM Chips, TOD….. O/T but can somebody explain to me why Nadal is the #5 seed at Wimbledon? 6-6 Tie break in 1rst, struggling..
Grass is Not his Forte. He has not played many matches due to injuries. Last, by seeding him 5th……my bias, Rafa would have a tougher lineup……Not at all fair in my book.
He is 2x Champion and just won the French…..only person in the field who has won more Wimbledon’s is Federer….they seeded him #3 at the French last month as well, 8x Champion…. Nadal is probably gonna get smoked by Isner in the 3rd round now….makes no sense!
I understand your frustration lovelyplains, but Champions play the hand they are dealt and keep on going. Besides, there is no home court advantage in Tennis.
I wouldn’t care if there was a universal standard…. you say there is no home court advantage…. why is Murray seeded #2 ahead of Fedex, 7x Wibledon champ? ……….never mind, just venting here….pay no attention!
He won last year and has beaten top seeds within the last 12 months? The Tennis ranking today is almost a joke. Look at how Serena is ranked most of the time.
It probably does relate to the surface LP – Wimbledon is about the only grass court left in the major tournaments.
Lovely, I have no idea how these rankings work beyond what I’ve been able to read over the years, but in most sports winners are often penalized. Both the NBA and NFL championship teams are placed in last place when it comes to the draft order, seeding a player or a team is often a crap shoot.
I agree Don…. except even in the NBA if you the 13th worst team you can still get the #1 pick…..so stupid. And in NFL, even if you have a worse record, if you go further in the playoffs, that afects your where your pick is….dont pay attention to me……….. maybe some breakfast will calm me down!!!! Thanks for playing along….
Agreed. Agree. Agreeing.
So Rafa just lost first set 7-6…. Murray is seeded 2 ahead of Federer, and Ferrer, who just got smoked by Rafa in straight sets is #4?
They take grass court wins in wimbeldon for the ranking. Remember the guy who beat rafa last year in the first round ? He shot up something like 75 ranks with that one win even though he lost the second round.
And fedex eases into 2nd round with straight sets.
I guess b/c Rafa skipped the Grass tourney warmup last week he gets tossed to #5, but Fedex won that tourney and Murray is seeded ahead of him……… I give up!!!
It is my understanding Rafa missed so many tournaments last year he dropped to #5 in the world computer rankings after the French Open. Wimbledon is using the world rankings for the draw. The rankings are weighted on the past 12 months.
wiki
Players and doubles pairs are admitted to the main events on the basis of their international rankings, with consideration also given to their previous performances at grass court events.
The Committee seeds the top players and pairs on the basis of their rankings, but it can change the seedings based on a player’s previous grass court performance. Since 2002 a seeding committee has not been required for the Gentlemen’s Singles following an agreement with the ATP. The seeding order is determined using the formula: ATP Entry System Position points + 100% points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 months + 75% points earned for the best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that.
See?
Brady and breed fighting for union and workers rights?
That’s good!
Camille wrote this beautiful comment about our FLOTUS over at POU:
“–Would Black People Have Still Backed Obama if was married to a white woman, or in the case with the Dark Girls doc, if he had been married to a mixed race woman?—“
This goes well beyond colour and race — in my opinion–
Let’s just say that there wouldn’t have been a viable candidate Obama without this particular woman, Michelle Obama, by his side—
And contrary to contemptuous bellyaching and envious musings in some quarters, Michelle Obama is simply not and will never be interchangeable with “Jane any woman will do/could have been/done Doe”–
Five years later and after his historic ascent to the presidency, it’s far too easy to begin to forget just what it really took —
There’s been this rather bizarre, but quite amusing tendency and corrupt instinct by some – and even a few on the president’s team, to begin to try to revise stuff — to downplay the singular importance of this very unassuming but fiercely intelligent, wise, strong, warm, witty, grounded, principled, passionate, astute, dignified, elegant, unspoiled, unaffected, sensible, insightful, dedicated, loyal, disciplined, genuine, sincere, family-oriented and all around amazing woman with whom he has taken this journey together–
I’m not just talking the incredible sacrifices she made for him to live out his dreams and ambitions while she practically gave up all of hers to support his noble aspirations–
She was after all the one who even though 3 years younger than he, was already for all intents and purposes, on the fast track –practicing law at one of the most prestigious Law firms in the country after having made her way against far too many odds, and in what is still very much a story of triumph, from the SouthSide of Chicago to Princeton and then on to Harvard Law school–
He very lovingly and respectfully courted her; and she married him.
If she were looking for easy street or seeking an already made man – which he certainly wasn’t — or an immediately guaranteed future and someone with already actualized “potential” , I think she could have very easily focused on nabbing herself an already established man of which there were many in her newly emerged world– Because we all know too well that they as a couple, had to struggle and together stretch their scant resources in the early days–
She’d effectively put her own ambitions on ice, bore and terrifically raised their beautiful daughters – even while he was often away pursuing his ambitions—and together they made a humanly perfect family of which she was the principal architect — with her strength of character, strong values and deep respect and appreciation for the various levels and role of family and its many players – nuclear and extended; order, structure and a great sense of the importance of deeply assured security and love for the children they’d brought into the world together–
http://pragmaticobotsunite.com/sunday-afternoon-thread-keep-scattin/
The rest is at the link above
Agree 1000x
Agree 1,000,000x
Never ceases to amaze me that things that we get caught up in…we get our panties in a bunch over Paula Dean’s use of the N word…yet in our community…the word is used rather frequently…we hear it from the lips of our neighbors and we hear it blaring from the car radios of our young people….
“–Would Black People Have Still Backed Obama if was married to a white woman, or in the case with the Dark Girls doc, if he had been married to a mixed race woman?—”
the question is IRRELEVANT………
we are in the death throes of a fight in our country…for our right to vote…our workers right…control of our bodies…..
these are the things that need our attention…not a fake hypthesis…
Was there an attack on her that provoked this article? Not sure why there’s such a strong defense, since Michelle Obama’s approval rating is very high… Seems strange.
Guns a blazin’ ——. “6 dead, dozens wounded in first summer weekend in Chgo.”
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ridiculous! Insanity!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-1st-summer-weekend-leaves-4-dead-dozens-wounded-20130623,0,1958415.story
Hey dodster, I may be very naïve here, but how the hell can they not stop these massacres!!! Are people protesting in mass..
I had a friend of mine say to me “It’s just gangs”. This is a good liberal, a good person, living smack dab in the middle of the bungalow belt on the northwest side of Chicago. I guess if it doesn’t come up to her doorstep (and it very well could) this weekly death toll is not important.
Wars on the streets concern all of us.
GM all. So many things to follow today, SC, Zimmerman trial, Snowden, and so many others.
Unfortunately, the things there are that we can’t follow is the GOP doing something about jobs, climate, immigration, environment, education, etc.
My guess is by tonight Z’s team will be begging the prosecution for some type of plea deal.
The opening statement appears to be a lawyer giving evidence. Weirdest opening I’ve ever heard (not that I’ve heard very many)
This is a must read. If Congress doesn’t do something to reverse this limitation of Title VII, workers are screwed.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/sc-gov-nikki-haley-may-not-seek-reelection
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said that although she already has the framework for another gubernatorial bid, she may not seek reelection in 2014, the Florence Morning News reported Sunday.
Right, that’s like saying “you knocked me out only because I wanted to go take a nap.”
Is she thinking of running for President? This woman is dangerous and ignorant.
G’nite from my world – hope you all have a great day
nite nite, don’t let nothing bite.
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/06/24/today-at-the-supreme-court/
folks been saying this all along.
he didn’t ‘discover’ shyt that made him ‘ reveal’ because of his ‘ conscience’.
MOFO WENT LOOKING FOR A JOB SO THAT HE COULD BETRAY THIS COUNTRY.
…………………………………………..
EXCLUSIVE: Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance
Edward Snowden secured a job with a US government contractor for one reason alone – to obtain evidence on Washington’s cyberspying networks, the South China Morning Post can reveal.
For the first time, Snowden has admitted he sought a position at Booz
Allen Hamilton so he could collect proof about the US National Security
Agency’s secret surveillance programmes ahead of planned leaks to…
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/exclusive-snowden-sought-booz-allen-job-gather-evidence-nsa