by whitehouseon Apr 6, 2012
President Obama speaks about the women who have shaped his life, and explains why his Administration has worked to consider the needs of women in girls in every decision it makes. April 6, 2012
Daily Archives: 04/09/2012
Grayson on Trayvon Martin
Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager, was shot dead by a “neighborhood watch” member as Trayvon was walking home from a convenience store. Trayvon was armed with nothing but a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles. A few days ago, Alan Grayson was invited on national TV to discuss the tragedy. This is what he said:
ED SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Breaking news in the Trayvon Martin case tonight: ABC News has obtained video of George Zimmerman being brought into the Police Department on the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
I am joined by Alan Grayson, former Florida Congressman, who is from the Orlando area. Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. You have been at these rallies for Trayvon all week, and have been paying close attention to the case.
What are your impressions of this police house videotape that was obtained tonight?
ALAN GRAYSON: Well, I think it blows apart the Zimmerman argument that he was acting out of fear rather than out of hatred. But I’ll tell you, I sometimes wonder why people think that’s some kind of good defense. I don’t believe it in his case. I think if you call someone an “F’ing coon,” then you’re animated by nothing but hatred.
But still he seems to be operating under the illusion that if he simply says that he feared, then somehow that excuses the death of a young boy. It doesn’t. It just doesn’t. The boy is dead. If you do the crime, you’re going to have to do the time.
SCHULTZ: Do you believe that this videotape is inconsistent with the police report?
GRAYSON: Yes, I’ve read the police report. I saw the tape. And I think there is an inconsistency.
SCHULTZ: And what would you be thinking right now if you were representing the Martin family in this case?
GRAYSON: I think that this tape proves their point. Zimmerman should, under no circumstances, be allowed to have a gun. It should have been taken from him a long time ago. And he should have been arrested a long time ago.
He should be tried. And it looks to me like he’ll be convicted.
SCHULTZ: Alan, what do you make of the police report and the listing of the deceased as a John Doe? The timing of the report, when it was put together and then released? There are many more questions here than answers, are there not?
GRAYSON: I think so. But, honestly, I don’t find much fault in what the police did, except for the fact that [Zimmerman] hasn’t been arrested yet. Zimmerman should have been arrested. That’s the main fly in the ointment at this point. Nobody who does anything like that should be allowed to walk the streets.
SCHULTZ: Are you bothered by the casualness of this videotape and how one of the officers seems to be searching the pockets of George Zimmerman?
GRAYSON: It bothers me to see Zimmerman acting as if nothing had happened. He killed a 17-year-old boy. He stalked and killed a 17-year-old boy. And it’s appalling to me to see the kind of casualness that that video displays.
SCHULTZ: Do you know the state’s attorney, Wolfinger, who recommended that they not press charges and told the lead investigator at the time not to go down that road?
GRAYSON: No. It’s a terrible mistake. And the law really does not give them the excuse to do that. They’re referring to what’s known as the “Hold Your Ground” or “Stand Your Ground” law, which I often refer to as the “Shoot To Kill” law. That’s a law that led to a tripling – a tripling – in so-called “justifiable homicides” in Florida from the year that it was enacted all the way to the present.
It’s a bad law, but it does not apply to this situation. It does not apply to chasing after someone and shooting him in the chest.
SCHULTZ: Would that be hard to prove with the Stand Your Ground law as maybe something the Zimmerman team would use as a defense?
GRAYSON: Listen, juries figure out that sort of thing, and things way more complicated than that sort of thing, all the time. There’s no way that Zimmerman can possibly argue that he was simply standing his ground. That law was meant to apply to people who are in their homes, maybe people in their cars, not people who are literally chasing someone around the neighborhood and then killing him.
SCHULTZ: And what do you make of the right-wing smear campaign that has been fostered by some on the right that, you know, this kid was suspended from school and he was somewhat troublesome, in defense of the actions of George Zimmerman?
GRAYSON: I think it shows that many on the right wing have a taste of blood in their mouths. They kind of like the idea of vigilantism, and this is perfect case for them.
SCHULTZ: And the Stand Your Ground law, it went into effect in 2005. There have been 93 cases, 65 deaths. Do you sense that this is a turning point in this country that maybe these kinds of laws will be repealed? Or do you see more of them coming? Because we all know that ALEC, it’s well-reported that ALEC and also the NRA have been pushing these laws on legislative sessions around this country.
GRAYSON: I think it’s a turning point that’s far more profound than that. I think we have to stop hating each other. And we have to start cherishing our differences.
The very notion that you would feel fear or hatred towards a boy who you never met in your entire life simply because he’s black is appalling. I thought that we had moved past that. It was almost 50 years ago that Martin Luther King said that he hoped his children would be judged [by the content of their character], not by the color of their skin. And we’re still waiting for that time to come.
SCHULTZ: Alan Grayson, thank you for your time tonight here on THE ED SHOW. I appreciate it.
To sign our petition, go to http://www.GraysonOnTrayvon.com.
Governor Gregoire in the Newsroom
4/4/2012 – Washington ranks high in national good government awards- 4/3/2012 – Gov. Chris Gregoire Tackles Weather and Climate Risk at Regional Forum
- 4/2/2012 – Gov. Gregoire calls election for 1st Congressional District Vacancy
- 3/29/2012 – Gov. Gregoire convenes panel to study ocean acidification
- 3/23/2012 – Gov. Gregoire signs Washington State Health Benefit Exchange bill into law
Media Matters for America: ALEC, ACA, Amnesty and more
Local Media Fail To Cover Climate Denial, ALEC Link Starting in 2008 seven states — Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky, New Mexico, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Texas — passed measures or promoted policies that would change the education curriculums in their states to begin teaching “different perspectives” in environmental science instruction. The major newspapers in each of these states gave varying coverage to the issue with some not even covering the issue at all. In addition a Media Matters investigation shows that, despite the appearance that these state proposals and model legislation by the conservative organization the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), not once did these newspapers mention ALEC or their model legislation in their coverage. Read More
Right-Wing Media Applaud Fifth Circuit Judge’s “Highly Inappropriate” Order Right-wing media figures are exalting Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith for his demand that the Department of Justice explain comments President Obama made about the Supreme Court’s review of the health care reform law. However, legal scholars argue that the judge’s request was “highly inappropriate” and “uncommonly silly.” Read More
Up With Chris Hayes Highlights “Avowedly Racist” Column From National Review Writer
Immigration Proposal To Keep Families Together Sparks Conservative “Amnesty” Attack
Speak Truth To Power: truthteam Updates … Stephanie Cutter, BarackObama.com
I wanted to make sure everyone on the Truth Team saw this, because it’s exactly why we started this group.
What you see in this video is what we’re up against from here until November 6th.
Check it out, and then pass it on:
If you feel inspired, pitch in to help fund our team’s work, and everything we do.
There’s only one way to make sure none of Romney’s false attacks stick, and that’s by calling him out on it every time:
http://my.barackobama.com/Tipsheet-April7-Video
Thanks for your help in doing that.
If you feel inspired, pitch in to help fund our team’s work, and everything we do.
American Energy Alliance, a Big Oil front group led by a former Koch Brothers lobbyist, is out with a new ad claiming that President Obama actually wants to raise the price of gas. You can’t make this stuff up — but they do!
We debunk their ad in our first two tips this week. Check them out, along with a few other hot topics, then pass them on.
#1 Big Oil’s new ad attacking President Obama
In a battleground state ad, the American Energy Alliance is falsely claiming that President Obama is actively trying to make gas prices higher. Why would they want to tear down the President? Because he’s working to end the $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies. And because he’s working with automakers to nearly double fuel economy standards by 2025, which will save families over $8,000 at the pump over the life of their car. What others would call a smart, commonsense move, they’re calling “government invention at its worst.” It’s pretty clear that this front group is looking out for only one set of interests — their own. It’s up to us to make sure they don’t succeed at misleading Americans. Pass this postalong:
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#2 Infographic: Big Oil gets a hand from… Mitt Romney
This week, we also dug in a little on where the GOP candidates stand on Big Oil. Mitt Romney’s front and center in supporting them — he would protect their $4 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies, and his new tax plan would’ve granted them even more in tax breaks, to the tune of $2.7 billion in 2011 alone. He would even give free rein to oil speculators by repealing Wall Street reform. We crunched the numbers and created this infographic. Check it out, and make sure others see it, too:
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#3 Video: Romney lies about the President on fiscal responsibility
What’s the easiest way to show someone’s lying? Their words vs. the truth, back-to-back. Check out this videofeaturing Mitt Romney’s attempt to twist the President’s words about fiscal responsibility, followed right up by exactly what the President said.
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#4 Keeping his Word: Manufacturing
Vice President Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail and recently spoke with factory workers in Davenport, Iowa, saying, “I come here today with a very, very simple message: Manufacturing is back.” We noted the occasion with a videoabout how President Obama kept his word from four years ago when he said, “To those who think that the decline of American manufacturing is inevitable or that manufacturing has no place in the 21st century economy, we say right here and right now that the fight for manufacturing’s future is the fight for America’s future.” A report yesterday shows American manufacturing expanding for the 32nd consecutive month. Watch the video, then ask your friends to check it out, too:
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The President and Vice President have been fighting to bring back
manufacturing jobs — though Mitt Romney said the President was “out of touch” for suggesting that young people pursue these jobs. But when we take a lookat Mitt Romney’s jobs record, we can see that he’s shipped jobs overseas, and even chosen to invest some of his money there. So before he tries again to tout his jobs record at Bain Capital or as governor of Massachusetts, fight back — with the facts:
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#5 Five times Romney’s flunked on foreign policy
Mitt Romney has exhibited a significant lack of knowledge when it comes to foreign policy. From saying he’d like to continue to stay in Afghanistan when most Americans disagree, to calling Russia our “number one geopolitical foe,” we put together his top five foreign policy blunders. Pass them on:
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#6 What happens if we repeal Obamacare
To cap off the two-year anniversary of Obamacare, we put together a videohighlighting what would happen if any of the leading GOP candidates got their way and repealed it. Watch the short video, then share it with friends and family. This is one thing we need to make sure people know:
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Before I sign off, just one more thing. As you probably saw from the number of emails in your inbox last week, we faced a major fundraising deadline on Saturday — our first big test of 2012. We’ll report back after we crunch the numbers, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who chipped in to support the campaign. And, of course, thanks for all you do as members of the Truth Team.
Until next time,
Stephanie
the Progress Report: Voter Suppression Group – Alec – and more …
Major Corporations Flee Conservative Voter Suppression Group
Progressives Put Spotlight on Shadowy Conservative Group
You’ve probably never heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), but one of its biggest accomplishments has been in the news lately: so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws that encourage people like Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman to shoot first and ask questions later. ALEC is also responsible for the nationwide conservative campaign to suppress votes — particularly if those votes happen to come from students, communities of color, and others who might not be amenable to the agenda of conservatives or corporate special interests.
How does ALEC work?
ALEC allows its corporate sponsors to propose so-called model bills on a wide variety of issues. Are you a polluter and worried that too many people in a community might vote for tighter clean air rules? All you have to do is give ALEC some money and you can write one bill that will loosen existing rules on polluters and another one that will make it harder for people in that same community to vote in the first place. Win-win for corporate special interests. Lose-lose for that community — and our democracy.
Once corporations write their bills, then ALEC distributes them through its other members: state legislators across the country. These state legislators then dutifully introduce the bills, many of which then ultimately become law. Since Republicans took over multiple state legislatures in 2010, ALEC’s success rate has been particularly high.
Think state legislators wouldn’t just copy-paste bills written by corporations and other special interests? Think again. Earlier this year, a legislator in Florida introduced an ALEC bill but forgot to take out the ALEC preamble before doing so. Oops.
How is ALEC working to suppress the vote?
Model legislation proposed by ALEC has been a key factor in the wave of voter suppression laws both introduced and passed in the last year in states as diverse as Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida. Conservatives are using a variety of tactics to suppress the vote:
- Restrictive voter ID requirements (1 in 10 voters — more than 20 million Americans — lack such IDs)
- Residency restrictions, often used to intimidate students
- Dramatically curtailments of early voting
- Laws that game the electoral college votes in various states
- Laws that make it all but impossible for mass voter registration drives to occur
Taken together, these measures sweeping the states stand to disenfranchise millions of Americans.
For much, much more information on the nationwide conservative voter suppression campaign please check Voter Suppression 101, a new report released earlier this week by the Center for American Progress.
Progressives Fight Back, Win Huge Early Victories
Rashad Robinson of Color of Change, the group that lead more than 400 advertisers to boycott Glenn Beck, had a clear and simple message for ALEC’s corporate sponsors this week:
“You can’t come for black folks’ money by day and try to take away our vote by night.”
On Wednesday morning, Color of Change sprung into action with a campaign pressuring Coca-Cola to stop funding ALEC. Within just hours, the beverage giant bailed on ALEC. Thursday morning, it was revealed the PepsiCo was also leaving ALEC. Last night, Kraft Foods announced that it too was leaving the group, even though less than 24 hours earlier it had said it was standing pat. And just this afternoon, software maker Intuit, best known for its TurboTax progam, announced its relationship with ALEC was also no more.
Following these impressive victories against the conservative voter suppression machine, Color of Change plans to announce new corporate targets next week.
IN ONE SENTENCE: Reforms to make voting easier were working and it’s clear that the conservative campaign to suppress the vote has nothing to do with the non-problem of voter fraud and everything to do with preventing millions of Americans from casting ballots this fall.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed
Obama: ‘Congress would get more done if there were more women.’
NASA scientist: climate change is a moral issue on a par with slavery.
The new face of the U.S. Border Patrol is a semi-automatic-toting Steven Seagal.
Mr. Secrecy aka Mitt Romney.
CNN contributor Erick Erickson says he “kind of” likes the fact “that women aren’t members of the Masters.”
The Catholic Church cuts funds to an immigrant group because it doesn’t discriminate against gay people.
Despite giving 23 years of tax returns to the McCain campaign during VP vetting in 2008, Mitt Romney won’t let the American people see more than 2 years worth. (Incidentally, Romney was of course passed over by McCain for Sarah Palin.)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is the third Republican senator to criticize the GOP’s war on women.
The New York Times golf reporter, who is a woman, was admonished for complaining about gender discrimination at the Augusta National.
Surprise: new research confirms that carbon dioxide is making the planet warmer.
Other recent Progress Reports
Apr 5, 2012: GAME ON: Mr. 1 Percent, Revealed
Mitt Romney, Part 1: Of, By, and For the 1 Percent No matter how hard he shakes his Etch A Sketch over the next seven months, Mitt Romney won’t be able to erase the fact the he and his policies are of, by, and for the wealthiest one percent of Americans — policies that will [...]
Apr 4, 2012: Today’s TOP 10 Romney Distortions, Half-truths, & Lies
Mendacious Mitt While the media rushed to declare the Republican presidential primary effectively over after last night’s victories for Mitt Romney in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, they have been considerably less eager to call out Romney’s numerous and oft-repeated distortions, half-truths, and outright lies. Here’s the rundown of Romney’s top ten lies [...]
Apr 3, 2012: The GOP ‘Prescription For Decline’
President Obama: 2012 is ‘Make-or-Break Moment for the Middle Class’ Speaking today to a convention of news editors, President Obama laid out in the clearest possible terms the two competing visions for America’s future and the choice the country faces over the next few months: I believe this is a make-or-break moment for the middle [...]
Apr 2, 2012: War On Women Taking Its Toll On The GOP
Women Are Running Away From Republicans A new poll of battleground states out yesterday underscores the political consequences of the GOP’s all-out war on women and their health care. The poll’s key findings: Among all registered voters, the president leads Mitt Romney 51 percent to 42 percent after trailing Romney by 2 points in the [...]
the Daily Share: Politics, War On Women, StephenColbert and more
We Think We’ve Found A New Slogan For Fox News
This Astounding Conflict Of Interest Might Cost Us The Affordable Care Act
You’ll Never Guess Who Called Out The GOP On Its War On Women
HILARIOUS: Stephen Colbert Demolishes New GOP Magazine For Teens
We Think We’ve Found A New Slogan For Fox News
This ‘Trustworthy’ Senator Wants You To Think Global Warming Is A Hoax
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Tina Fey On The ‘Success’ Of Sarah Palin In One Super-Shareable Graphic |
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FDR Saw This Coming And Tried To Warn Us |
