CHARLOTTE, NC ONE OF THREE FINAL CONTENDER CITIES FOR 2020 GOP CONVENTION BID

CHARLOTTE, NC ONE OF THREE FINAL CONTENDER CITIES FOR 2020 GOP CONVENTION BID:

IS CHARLOTTE READY FOR ANOTHER POLITICAL CONVENTION? (PREVIOUSLY HOSTED 2012 DNC CONVENTION)

WHAT ABOUT TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, A ZOO, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, SAFETY?

CHARLOTTE IS AESTHETICALLY BEAUTIFUL BUT VERY BORING.

IF CHARLOTTE WINS 2020 GOP BID I HOPE THEY BEEF UP THE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION & SAFETY.


Post Sources: Charlotte Observer, WBTV, WCNC, Youtube


****** Charlotte's one of the final contenders for the 2020 RNC


The head of the state's Republican Party said Friday that he has been told the competition to host the 2020 Republican National Convention is down to about three cities, with Charlotte one of the strongest bids.

N.C. GOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse, who is attending the Republican National Committee meeting in Miami, said he has been told by numerous national Republicans that they were impressed by the city's Democratic leadership teaming up with statewide Republicans.

Woodhouse said he believed Las Vegas is a strong competitor.

CNN reported that Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald made a presentation this week to a site selection committee.

Woodhouse said Las Vegas appears to have placed a late bid to host the RNC.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the city of Las Vegas said they weren't aware of a bid.

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said Thursday that Republicans asked the city to bid, but it had to decline because it "doesn't have the facilities to accommodate the event."

On Friday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said it was surprised by the story that Las Vegas was bidding.

It said it turned down the GOP with a letter earlier this year.

Las Vegas considered bidding for the 2016 RNC, but dropped out.

But the state Republican party appears to be moving forward with a bid, even if tourism officials aren't on board yet.

On Thursday, the San Antonio City Council decided in a closed session meeting not to bid.

"There's a reason that San Antonio has not pursued a political convention for the past 20 years and why so few cities seem interested in this convention," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said, citing disruptions to traffic and neighborhoods.

As San Antonio council members prepared to consider a late bid, some Democratic activists said the city shouldn't seek the RNC.

They said the Trump administration's push for a border wall would damage the city's close ties with Mexico.

The bids for the RNC were originally due Feb. 28, but that deadline was pushed back.

In past years, cities have been vocal about wanting to land a political convention, which are said to be worth tens of millions in dollars in economic impact.

But this year only Charlotte and Las Vegas have said publicly they want it.

Charlotte hosted the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Woodhouse said he was told that as many as seven cities had expressed interested to the RNC, but some dropped out.

He doesn't know what the other city is, though he said he has heard Texas.

A tourism official in Dallas said the RNC approached the city about bidding, but the city declined.

A spokesperson for the Houston mayor's office declined to comment, but a City Council member said it had not been discussed.

"They were really impressed that a Democratic city and Democratic leaders have come together with Republicans to host the RNC," Woodhouse said.

He said the RNC will meet again in August. A decision could be made then, he said.

OBAMA'S "PLEASE VOTE FOR HILLARY" SPEECH (WHITE MALE VOTERS)

OBAMA'S "PLEASE VOTE FOR HILLARY" SPEECH:

OBAMA RETURNS A FAVOR TO THE CLINTONS.

DEMOCRATS NEED WORKING CLASS WHITE MALE VOTERS.

DEMOCRATS NEED EVERY VOTE.

Sources: ABC News, WSJ, Washington Post, YouTube

^^^^^ FYI:

I did not apply for 2016 DNC Media Credentials. Had I applied I'm sure my application would have been approved just as it was approved in 2012 without any glitches.

~ Wednesday’s action in Philadelphia

The main event: President Barack Obama

Subplot: Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s running mate

Scene-stealer? Vice President Joe Biden

September of 2012 at the DNC Convention in Charlotte, NC former US Pres Bill Clinton delivered a rousing, extremely persuasive speech to secure the incumbent Pres Barack Obama jr's re-election.

Of course it worked and now it's time for Pres Obama to return the favor.

Wednesday night (July 27, 2016) in PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania in the Wells Fargo Center, 10pm ET., 

Pres Barack Obama Jr will perform a daunting task of persuading registered American voters to believe in Hillary Rodham Clinton's second bid for the Oval Office.

While it's true Obama is a very gifted Orator, the question remains, can Obama sway worried American voters to put their confidence in a good woman with tons of Media baggage clinging to her personal and political reputation?

Hillary is well-qualified to lead the United States as President but her reputation has been all but ruined due to Scandals and NEGATIVE Media stories about her CHARACTER.

As it currently stands, 2016 Presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton share a 50-50% chance of winning the  Presidential election.

But Donald Trump has fewer skeletons in his closet.

Hillary is predicted to attract many BLACK voters, many LATINO voters, many Women voters,  many Bernie Sanders supporters, many college students and most members of the LGBT community.

However most WHITE MALE Working Class voters appear to have been all but abandoned by the Democrat party in this election.

But don't worry Democrats!

Hillary's GOP opponent Mr Trump has already laid claim to every WHITE Male Working Class voter the Democrats have tossed aside.

Stay tuned to very close, nail biting Election night results.

May the best 2016 Presidential nominee win!

Only then will we know if Pres Obama's "Please Vote For Hillary" was effective.

***** What the President Will Focus on in His DNC Speech

President Obama has been working on his speech for the Democratic National Conventionon Wednesday night for the past few weeks, including late into Monday night, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said at today’s White House briefing.

Wednesday also marks 12 years since Obama was introduced on the national stage in Boston, which he will reflect on, Schultz said.

“I think he will talk about what the country has accomplished together since then. What the grit, ingenuity and determination of the American people have achieved over the last eight years,” Schultz said. “Whether that's coming back from the brink of economic collapse to the longest stretch of private-sector job growth in the nation’s history, or whether that's changing the nation’s history, or whether that's changing the way the world views the United States for the better.”

President Obama has been working on his speech for the Democratic National Conventionon Wednesday night for the past few weeks, including late into Monday night, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said at today’s White House briefing.

Wednesday also marks 12 years since Obama was introduced on the national stage in Boston, which he will reflect on, Schultz said.

TRUMP WANTS TO MAKE DETROIT GREAT AGAIN......ROMNEY'S DISRESPECT

TRUMP WANTS TO MAKE DETROIT GREAT AGAIN......ROMNEY'S DISRESPECT

REMAINING GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FACE-OFF IN DETROIT.

Sources:  Fox News, ABC News, YouTube

It's Thursday, March 3rd and tonight in the historic city of DETROIT, 4 remaining GOP presidential candidates (Trump, Rubio, Cruz & Kasich) will face-off at the Fox Theatre.

This debate is sponsored by Fox News.

Super Tuesday winner and 2016 GOP Presidential Frontrunner Donald Trump is now being targeted by 2012 GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Romney a Respected member of the GOP Establishment and a Michigan native, is demonstrating a great deal of Disrespect towards Trump by hurling insults.

Romney has even called Trump a "Fraud" among other very derogatory, negative demagogue.

Could it be that perhaps Romney is JEALOUS of Trump's glory and favorability with 2016 voters?

Regardless of Romney's JEALOUSY, 

does it make sense to help sabotage your own party's success which appears to be within close reach?

When will Romney and other GOP Establishment leaders line up behind Trump as the Koch Brothers have recently done, to help the Republican regain control of the White House?

Tune in tonight to the Detroit GOP debate at 9:00pm ET.

**** Trump answers Romney: 'Mitt is a choke artist'

Donald Trump answered Mitt Romney’s public indictment Thursday of his front-running Republican bid by skewering the 2012 GOP presidential nominee as a “failed candidate” who “let us down” with his loss to President Obama. 

“Mitt is a choke artist,” Trump told supporters at a pre-debate rally in Portland, Maine.

Trump went on to call Romney disloyal, claiming he begged Trump for his endorsement the last time around.

“You can see how loyal he is. … I could have said Mitt, drop to your knees, he would have dropped to his knees,” Trump said.

He spoke after Romney delivered a scathing speech at the University of Utah about the prospect of a Trump presidency, in what amounted to perhaps the most full-throated effort yet by a member of the so-called Republican establishment to thwart Trump’s march to the nomination.

The party’s 2012 presidential nominee issued a stark warning that Trump’s policies would lead to recession and “make America and the world less safe” -- and said the “only serious policy proposals” are coming from the other Republican candidates on the field.

“I understand the anger Americans feel today,” Romney said, but added: “Here's what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing ... the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.”

Romney also claimed Trump, if nominated, would enable Hillary Clinton to be elected president.

The speech comes ahead of the Fox News Republican primary debate Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET in Detroit, the candidates' first showdown since Super Tuesday.

Trump swiftly responded to the ex-GOP nominee, taking to Twitter to claim he’s the “only one who can beat Hillary Clinton” and recalling Romney’s record in the presidential elections so far.

Later at his rally in Maine, despite claiming he wouldn’t spend much time responding to Romney’s “irrelevant” remarks, Trump delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to many of Romney’s charges.

To Romney’s criticism of his business record, Trump said, “I made so much more money than Mitt,” and pointed to his successful ventures across New York City. 

He also said Romney begged him for his endorsement in 2012 – but Romney later tweeted that if Trump had said the things he’s saying today, he would not have accepted that endorsement.

The address earlier Thursday amounted to an astonishing full-court press by Romney to stop Trump from winning the party’s nomination. Until now, Romney has mostly criticized Trump via Twitter and media interviews, but this is his most robust effort yet to rally the party and primary voters against the GOP front-runner.

Romney cast his alarm-bell warnings Thursday in dire terms, suggesting nothing less than the character of the nation is at stake, and saying Trump’s “brand of anger” has led “other nations into the abyss.” He said Trump “lacks the temperament to be president,” rebuking him for “bullying” and “greed” and “misogyny.” He borrowed a phrase from Marco Rubio, calling Trump a “con man” to boot. 

On the sidelines, the party’s 2008 nominee also seemed to join with Romney in expressing concerns.

“I share the concerns about Donald Trump that my friend and former Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, described in his speech today,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement, urging voters to “think long and hard about who they want to be our next Commander-in-Chief and leader of the free world.”

2016 candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich also gave Romney a Twitter thumbs-up, tweeting “well said” after the speech.

Romney has not yet endorsed a candidate in the race, or moved any closer publicly to reconsidering a run himself. Romney weighed another White House run at the beginning of 2015 before deciding against the move, reportedly after being out-raised by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- who has since suspended his campaign.

RICK SANTORUM IS NOT CRAZY, HE'D MAKE A GREAT VP: (GOP VEGAS DEBATE)

RICK SANTORUM IS NOT CRAZY, HE'D MAKE A GREAT VP: (GOP VEGAS DEBATE)

"ALL JIHADISTS ARE MUSLIMS".

Tuesday night during the GOP Debate in LAS VEGAS, former U.S. Senator & 2016 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum made some very intelligent, valid remarks about Defeating ISIL and Radical Islamist ideology.

However because SANTORUM is a Christian, the Mainstream Media will attempt to portray him as a Hateful, Muslim-hating lunatic.

Credits: CNN, YouTube

Ben Carson Explains Why Mitt Romney's 47% Comments Were Wrong ("47% Don't All Have The Same Mentality")

‪#‎47Percent‬

BEN CARSON EXPLAINS WHY ROMNEY'S 47% COMMENT WAS WRONG:

"ROMNEY assumed all the People in that 47% had the SAME Mentality."

"They Don't! Many of them are looking for a way out; For a Path to move Up."

Remarks by Dr BEN CARSON; February 8, 2015; Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace

Sources: Fox News Sunday; Bloomberg News; The Hill


ARTICLE: The Major Mistake in Romney's 47% Comments, According to Ben Carson

Likely presidential candidate Ben Carson on Sunday offered a critique of 2012 nominee Mitt Romney's “47 percent” comments, saying his fellow Republican made a key error in his characterization of Americans who don't pay federal income tax.

“He made one major mistake,” Carson said on Fox News Sunday, according to a transcript from the program. “He assumed that they all had the same mentality. They don't. A lot of people in that 47 percent are very anxious to experience the American dream. What they are looking for is the right mechanism, the pathway out.

This is what we have to provide for them, and that's going to include fixing the economy, which is not going to be that difficult to do, quite frankly—you know, some tax reform, some real tax reform, regulatory reform, you know, utilizing our natural resources the right way.”

Asked whether the debate over President Barack Obama's community college expansion plan is contributing to voters' perception that Republicans aren't looking out for the little guy, Carson said, “There are Pell grants available for poor people to go to community college already. They have existed for years and they are very effective. For those who are not poor, there is a four letter work that works extremely well. It's called W-O-R-K, work. And appreciate the education that you are getting. You know, we don't have to give away everything.”

"He assumed that they all had the same mentality. They don't."

Dr Ben Carson; 02-08-15


The retired Neurosurgeon and popular speaker said he is coming closer to announcing a White House bid.

A Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa poll in January showed him as the first choice of 9 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers, behind Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Romney (who has said he won't run again), and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

A Bloomberg Politics/Saint Anselm New Hampshire poll found Carson was the first choice of 6 percent of Republican primary voters, behind former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Paul, Walker, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Joe Williams Blackballed By GOP For Negative Remarks About Romney; Politico's Biased, Double-Standard Journalism Policies

Would Politico Have Fired Joe Williams (a BLACK Reporter) for making Negative Remarks about Barack Obama?

NO!!!

If Joe Williams were WHITE and made Negative Comments about Mitt Romney would Politico have Fired him?

NO!!!!

I have witnessed WHITE Politico Reporters on Cable News speaking openly against Mitt Romney, yet I haven't heard where any of those WHITE Reporters were Suspended or Terminated.

Firing a BLACK Journalist for making Negative remarks about a WHITE Presidential Candidate, while refusing to Fire WHITE Journalists for making Negative Remarks about BLACK & WHITE Presidential Candidates?

What example of Journalism Integrity is that Politico???

This further proves Mitt Romney does have an Adversion to People of Color, especially BLACK people and that Media Organizations like Politico often lean more to the Right than they care to admit.

Hence Politico's Biased, Double-Standard Journalism Policies.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Joe Williams: how I became a victim of the ‘right wing noise machine’

As soon as the words escaped my lips, live on national television, I suspected I might have a problem.

I’d used the phrase trying to explain why Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spent so much time chatting with Fox News, why he’s kept the mainstream press at bay, and why he seemed so awkward and stiff around Minorities.

It didn’t take long for my suspicions to be confirmed.

Within hours, my Blackberry was filled with racist hate mail, my Twitter account had been ravaged, I was on indefinite suspension, and my 28-year career was in jeopardy.

The Right Wing Noise Machine — a small cabal of self-appointed watchdogs on a perpetual hunt for perceived liberal bias — had struck again.

By now, my cautionary tale is familiar: after saying Romney, a Millionaire Businessman, is more comfortable with around people like him was like waving a red cape waving in front of a charging bull — namely, Big Media, an arm of the late Andrew Breitbart’s online empire, and DC Caller, a web site scandal sheet run by Tucker Carlson.

After rummaging through some 3,000 tweets, they cherry-picked ones designed to prove their flimsy case: that I was biased against Romney, a Racist against Whites and a representative of my employer’s slant against Conservatives.

At this point, I have to own my role in the story: I was careless on Twitter, ignored some warning signs, and realized too late that my followers weren’t the only ones watching me.

Life on the business end of a scandal, is mortifying; an old friend told me I’d raced past the blues singer and the rock guitarist to become the lead result in a Joe Williams Google search, for all the wrong reasons.

Yet it’s easy to miss the larger lesson in my cautionary tale — that a tiny group of organizations with internet access, a money pipeline and next to no credibility can coerce powerful, independent news organizations that pride themselves on speaking truth to power.

Rather than inform the public or operate as a legitimate check on the media, pointing out gaps in newsroom diversity or errors in coverage, members of the RWNM only care about their agenda: harassing, undermining, discrediting and embarrassing people who don’t agree with their view of the world.

Breitbart.com, the group that targeted me, is the same outfit behind the case of Shirley Sherrod, the Agriculture Department official who was fired after a video surfaced of her making racially inflammatory remarks — a video that was later shown to be heavily edited and taken out of context.

Another RWNM member: James O’Keefe, the conservative agent provocateur whose ham-fisted, out-of-context “stings” helped take down ACORN, an organization dedicated to registering minority voters, led to the firing of an NPR executive for making disparaging remarks about the Tea Party – and landed him in jail for tampering with the phones in the office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) while trying to engineer another elaborate, phony set-up.

And Daily Caller, the group that posted embarrassing tweets of mine that had nothing to do with anti-Romney bias, employs Neil Munro, the reporter who harassed President Barack Obama by yelling out irrelevant questions during a White House press conference a few days ago.

Given that dismal track record — and the big “reveal” trumpeted by Breitbart himself, a decades-old video that showed Obama, as a law student, once said some nice things about Harvard Law professor Derrick Bell — it’s surprising that any allegations these groups make are taken seriously, and that major news organizations with solid credentials don’t tell these guys to take a long hike off a short pier.

Yet the specious claims and hollow arguments of the RWNM’s promoters somehow are still heard and accepted by those who have the power to change the dynamic.

Too often, however, they don’t, with results akin to a kid forking over his lunch money whenever the schoolyard bully decides to shake his fist.

Just ask Chris Hayes, host of MSNBC’s Up with Chris Hayes.

For simply questioning whether the word “hero” is overused to desensitize the American public to perpetual war, he got a face full of shrapnel from “outraged” RWNM conservatives who publicly questioned everything from his patriotism to his manhood.

Hayes issued an apology days later, but the Right Wing Message Machine’s phony outrage had done its work, adding more ice to the chilling effect it’s layered on American journalism and critical thought.

Reporters and news organizations have always prided itself on being fearless, independent and intrepid, willing to push back on government and stand up for free speech. Now, in a hyper-kinetic, hyper-partisan age, it seems we’re not even willing to push back on our own critics, which doesn’t bode all that well for my colleagues.

I’d bet my last dollar that I’m not the only journalist in Washington who’s written, said, tweeted or done something that Breitbart.com and company would see as biased. To paraphrase an old adage, they see themselves as hammers, and journalists are the nails.

To my great regret, I wasn’t the first person to stumble into their cross-hairs, and I’m certain I won’t be the last.

Unless journalists and their employers decide to stand up to the bullies, only one question remains: who’s next?





Joe Williams to leave POLITICO

Joe Williams, the POLITICO reporter who was suspended last week for controversial remarks he had made on television and Twitter, will leave his job.

"After some cordial discussions, Joe Williams and I mutually decided that the best step for him is to begin a transition to the next phase of his career," POLITICO Editor-in-Chief John Harris wrote in a memo to staff, sent early Saturday morning. "Joe is an experienced and respected journalist, with keen insights into politics. After nearly 30 years in the business, he has the authority and is ready to give voice to his insights and conclusions in a new setting."

"He’ll be on leave of absence during this transition, and he’s got my gratitude for the contributions he made here, both as reporter and editor. I have told Joe — and it’s a sentiment others who worked closely with him here share — that he’ll have my support as he prepares for what I expect will be a good and prominent next chapter in his career," Harris wrote.

In an MSNBC interview on June 21, Williams suggested that Mitt Romney was only comfortable around white people, prompting the conservative website Breitbart.com to flag a number of negative remarks Williams had made about Romney on Twitter. That night, Harris and Executive Editor Jim VandeHei sent a memo to staff announcing that Williams's remarks "fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment," and that he would be suspended pending review.

In response to this morning's news, Williams wrote: "While I'm disappointed at the circumstances of my departure, I'm grateful to John Harris for giving me an opportunity to work with him at Politico."



Ex-Politico White House correspondent Joe Williams pleaded guilty to assaulting ex-wife

It has been revealed that disgraced political commentator Joe Williams pleaded guilty and was convicted of assaulting his ex-wife, author Amy Alexander on May 24 of this year.

The former Politico White House correspondent who lost his job last month for a racial comment aimed at Mitt Romney received a $200 fine and six months probation.

The probation ends on November 24 this year and comes on top of a year long court order against the controversial reporter that compels him to stay away from his two children's school and to surrender all his firearms.

Williams and his wife divorced on April 7 2008 after approximately 12 years of marriage.

Previous to the court granting the divorce, Alexander had filed for restraining order against Williams on August 2, 2007, that was dismissed after Alexander withdrew the complaint.

Williams refused to comment on the allegations of domestic violence but his ex-wife did make a statement:

'I can't comment on a legal case but will say that I sincerely hope that Joe Williams finds his professional footing and that he also begins to take seriously his responsibilities as the father of our two children.'

The Politico reporter lost his job last month when he said that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was more comfortable around white.

Williams made the controversial comments just over a week ago on MSNBC and was let go by the political website in an announcement made on Saturday morning by the editor, John Harris.

'After some cordial discussions, Joe Williams and I mutually decided that the best step for him is to begin a transition to the next phase of his career,' wrote Harris.

Already suspended from his job for saying that the former Massachusetts governor was 'very comfortable' around 'white folks', Williams had tried to claim that he was the victim of a right-wing smear campaign.

However, as commentators and conservative websites trawled through Williams' Twitter account postings, they discovered other pointed examples of his apparent biased towards Romney.

Upon his initial suspension by Politico, the website claimed that his comments on MSNBC 'fell short of our standards for fairness and judgement'.

Referring to his tweets, he was also cited for 'an unacceptable number' of statements and for not being able to 'cover politics fairly and free of partisan bias.'

'Joe is an experienced and respected journalist, with keen insights into politics,' said the statement from John Harris.

'After nearly 30 years in the business, he has the authority and is ready to give voice to his insights and conclusions in a new setting.'

Williams himself was reported by Politico to have responded, 'While I'm disappointed at the circumstances of my departure, I'm grateful to John Harris for giving me an opportunity to work with him at Politico.'

Before his suspension for making racially-charged statements about Mitt Romney Joe Williams apparently had some other concerns about appropriate race relations in the political sphere.

White House reporter Joe Williams, who worked for Politico since April 2011, tweeted on March 30 of 2012, 'what's most irritating is the overlay of blatant racism. that's the secret sauce in the Politico s***burger'.

The controversy began while speaking as a contributor during Martin Bashir's MSNBC show, Williams, who is African-American said that Romney is more at ease when he makes his frequent appearances on Fox News Channel and implied that race is a consideration.

Saying that Romney 'is very, very comfortable' during his appearances on 'Fox and Friends', Mr Williams went on to comment, 'They're white folks who are very much relaxed in their own company.'

With a history of describing Romney and other Republicans in a controversial manner on his Twitter account, Williams was suspended after a meeting with Politico's founding editors John Harris and Jim VandeHei.

Shortly after the suspension was announced, his Twitter feed became private.

The Daily Caller was able to still view the account somehow, and asked Williams about the 'special sauce' Tweet.

He responded that on March 30 'I was having a bad day,' and then directed any further questions to his attorney.

'Regrettably, an unacceptable number of Joe Williams's public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility,' the Politico editors said at the time of his suspension.

They have not publicly commented about his allegations of racism at the political news outlet.

'(The MSNBC) appearance came in the context of other remarks on Twitter that, cumulatively, require us to make clear that our standards are serious, and so are the consequences for disregarding them.

'This is true for all POLITICO journalists, including an experienced and well-respected voice like Joe Williams.

'Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter.'

Making frequent references to racial factors during his MSNBC appearances, Mr. Williams stepped over the line it seems with his opinions last week.

'And (Romney's appearances on Fox & Friends are) unscripted. It’s the only time they let Mitt off the leash. But it also points out a larger problem he’s got to solve if he wants to be successful come this fall.

'Romney is very, very comfortable, it seems, with people who are like him.
'That’s one of the reasons why he seems so stiff and awkward in town hall settings, why he can’t relate to people other than that.

'But when he comes on ‘Fox & Friends,’ they’re like him.

'They’re white folks who are very much relaxed in their own company.'

The suspension of Williams follows his continued ridicule of Romney on his Twitter feed.

He has made tweets that allude to Romney being served his food by a butler: 'Jeeves knows my tastes' he wrote when Romney said he has never eaten anything surprising.


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Sources: Daily Mail, MSNBC, NY Mag, Politico, Russia Today, The Grio, The Root, The Young Turks, Twitter, Youtube, Google Maps

Eric Holder Vows To Protect Voting Rights At La Raza Meeting In Vegas (Decision 2012)

Holder vows fight for civil rights at La Raza meeting

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Saturday told an Hispanic civil rights group that the nation's fight to ensure racial equality, fairness and justice for all "remains far from over" and he vowed to step up prosecution of those who discriminate against Latinos, African-Americans and other minorities.

He thanked the National Council of La Raza for leading the way for decades to protect Latinos and other disenfranchised immigrants and Americans. And he said President Barack Obama's Justice Department would work hard this election year to ensure voters have equal ballot access no matter their heritage or race.

"Our nation's struggle to overcome injustice and eliminate disparities remains far from over," Holder said, speaking to a luncheon audience of 1,850 people on the opening day of the four-day conference in Las Vegas. "We have further to travel on the road to equality."

The nation's first African-American attorney general, Holder was the keynote speaker at the conference of the largest U.S. civil rights organization representing Latinos, a rising political power in Nevada and the nation. In general, Hispanics are a Democratic-leaning voting bloc that could decide the White House race.

President Obama is sending Vice President Joe Biden to address the group on Tuesday, the last day of the conference of 5,000 La Raza members at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney sent one of his top Hispanic advisers to the conference. Former U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez wasn't offered a speaking role, but he greeted people attending a Latino Expo on Saturday as part of the conference.

Holder appeared relaxed, joking it was good to get out of Washington. Two weeks ago, lawmakers voted to hold him in contempt of Congress as Republicans pummel him over a botched government gun-tracking operation nicknamed " Fast and Furious."

"It's particularly nice to be outside of Washington, D.C.," Holder said.

A member of the audience shouted, "We love you!"

"I love you back," Holder said. "It's been an interesting few weeks in Washington."

In his 18-minute speech, Holder said he was pleased the U.S. Supreme Court recently threw out most of an Arizona law to crack down on illegal immigrants in the border state next to Mexico. But Holder said he was disappointed the high court upheld the most controversial part of the law that would allow police to ask for papers proving a person's immigration status if the person is stopped for some other reason.

The "show me your papers" part of the law must be narrowly enforced, the high court said, or it, too, would be open to a separate legal challenge.

The attorney general said the Justice Department would be watching enforcement of the Arizona law carefully, ready to intervene if it is abused and used to indiscriminately stop suspected illegal immigrants.

"Such laws cannot be seen as a license to engage in racial profiling," Holder said to applause.

Holder praised Obama for recently instructing federal authorities not to deport young adult children of undocumented immigrants who grew up in the United States. Instead, the Obama administration will launch a program to let young immigrants apply for two-year work permits.

Holder said the administration would continue to press Congress to pass the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to U.S. citizenship for those young immigrants who attend college or join the U.S. military. Meanwhile, he said there's no reason to waste money and effort to deport them.

Obama's new policy will "make our immigration enforcement effort not only more efficient and cost-effective, but also more just," Holder said. "There's no question this action represents a significant and a long overdue improvement of our immigration policy."

U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., addressed the conference lunch ahead of Holder. She, too, praised Obama's actions on immigration and called for passage of the DREAM Act . She also contrasted her views with those of her Republican opponent for U.S. Senate, incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, who doesn't support the DREAM Act and has praised the Arizona law.

"He says he wants to bring it here to Nevada," Berkley said. "Nevada doesn't want the Arizona law. Nevada doesn't need the Arizona law. And Nevada will do just fine without it."

Holder praised Berkley, calling the Democratic supporter of Obama "an extremely effective advocate for the people of Nevada."

"And I think she would make an excellent U.S. senator," he said.

Heller did not attend the La Raza conference. His campaign said he was spending the weekend celebrating his 28th wedding anniversary with his family and campaigning in Reno. Heller is among the Nevada politicians on the conference's honorary host committee, however.

Heller and Romney campaign officials manned booths at the Latino Expo, a free event for Hispanics and other members of the community being held with the conference. Democrats also reached out to the Latino crowd with more than 25,000 people expected to visit the free expo.

In an interview at the expo, Romney's Hispanic adviser, Gutierrez, said Latinos should have a natural affinity for Republicans' conservative policies, including "family, faith and hard work."

Gutierrez criticized Obama for not working on comprehensive immigration reform and only offering Hispanics short-term solutions in an election-year pitch for votes. He said stimulus spending didn't offer long-term job prospects for Americans, including Hispanics who suffer higher rates of unemployment - about 11 percent compared with 8.2 percent overall.

Gutierrez said Obama's offer of two-year work permits for young adult children of immigrants was a "patchwork solution" that didn't solve the long-running undocumented immigrant problem.

The presidential election, Gutierrez said, would come down to who could do a better job at boosting the economy to create jobs and improve the lives of Hispanics and all Americans. He said Romney's business experience makes him more qualified than Obama, a former U.S. senator.

"It's about who can do the job because this country is in trouble," Gutierrez said. "We need the right leadership. This is the biggest CEO job in the world. … It is obvious that we need a change. We need a positive change."

In recent weeks, Romney has been stepping up his outreach to Latinos, particularly in battleground states such as Nevada where they made up about 15 percent of the electorate in the last election. Four years ago, Obama overwhelmingly won Hispanics in Nevada by a ratio of 3 -to-1 over his GOP presidential foe, John McCain, and he remains popular among Latinos.

In June, Romney named dozens of top Republican Hispanics as national and state advisers to his campaign, including Gutierrez and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. Gutierrez was commerce secretary for four years under former President George W. Bush.

Sandoval delivered a videotaped welcome to the La Raza conference.

Lisa Navarrete, an adviser to the president of the La Raza organization, said Romney lost a good chance to address Latinos. She said his Hispanic adviser Gutierrez could only come on Saturday and the conference organizers couldn't fit him into the schedule at the last minute.

"We think it was a missed opportunity," Navarrete said. "Our community doesn't know Governor Romney very well. If he wants to engage the community he has to address the community. For us, we're disappointed."


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Sources: AP, lvrj.com, Youtube, Google Maps

Enrique Peña Nieto Calls Arizona's Immigration Law "Discriminatory", Seeks New Debate On Drug War

Mexican President-Elect Tells Fareed Zakaria: Solution To AZ Law Is Fixing Mexican Economy

Mexican President-Elect Enrique Peña Nieto spoke to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria this week for an interview airing tomorrow, and in a preview released today, Peña Nieto reacts to our Supreme Court upholding parts of Arizona’s controversial SB-1070 law.

While calling the law “discriminatory,” he acknowledged that the solution was making immigration “a decision and not a necessity for Mexicans.”

Zakaria asked Peña Nieto to respond to the Arizona law and explain how, as president of Mexico, his administration would address the immigration problem, particularly the criminal side of it.

He called the law “discriminatory” and argued that said laws “do not recognize the contribution and the value of millions of immigrants” to the American economy.

He added, however, that as President of Mexico, “I understand that Mexico must facilitate conditions for greater economic development through structural reforms, treasury reform, labor reform… in order to generate jobs and great opportunities in our culture.”

The bottom line for him was to make “immigration a decision and not a necessity for Mexicans.”





Mexico's Peña Nieto calls for 'new debate' on the drug war

Mexico's Enrique Peña Nieto called for a "new debate" on the drug war and said the United States must play an important role in that discussion.

The presumptive president-elect spoke this week to Fareed Zakaria in an interviewing airing on this week's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

"Yes, I do believe we should open up a new debate regarding how to wage war on drug trafficking. Personally, I'm not in favor of legalizing drugs. I'm not persuaded by that as an argument.

However, let's open up a new debate, a review, in which the U.S. plays a fundamental role in conducting this review," said Peña Nieto.

More than 47,500 people have died in drug-related violence since Felipe Calderon, Mexico's current president, made combating cartels a top priority when he took office in 2006.

Peña Nieto has pledged to focus more on reducing violence and less on catching cartel leaders and blocking drugs from reaching the United States.

"What we seek now in our new strategy is to adjust what's been done up until now. It's not a radical change.

It's to broaden the coverage and above all, the emphasis I aspire to of reducing the violence in our country," he told Zakaria.

"I'm persuaded that if we achieve the specialization in the work carried out by the various branches of the federal police and the inspector general's office, waging war on impunity will allow us to combat crime," he said.

The presumptive president-elect also weighed in on Arizona's immigration law, which allows police to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws if "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is in the United States illegally.

The controversial provision was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

It struck down other parts of the law.

"Clearly, it seems to me that these are discriminatory laws that don't recognize the contribution and the value of millions of immigrants, particularly from my country, who make enormous contributions to the United States' economic development.

It's clear to me that Mexico must facilitate conditions for greater economic development through structural reforms, energy reforms, treasury reform, labor reform, in order to generate jobs and greater opportunities in my country, so that immigration is a decision and not a necessity for Mexicans," he said.

An official tally of returns Friday confirmed Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, as the winner of Mexico's presidential election.

But until the country's electoral tribunal ratifies the results - and challenges are virtually assured - he remains the presumptive president-elect.

Peña Nieto's closest rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has vowed to challenge the results, accusing the PRI of vote-buying, and said that he would take his complaints through the legal system.

The federal electoral tribunal, known as TRIFE, will begin to accept complaints Monday of voting irregularities.

The tribunal will have until September 6 to complete its investigation and ratify - or reverse - the official election results.

The new president will be sworn in December 1.





Police in Arizona arrest 20, dismantle drug trafficking cell of Sinaloa Cartel

Authorities in Tempe, Arizona, dismantled a drug trafficking cell associated with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, arresting 20 people and seizing three tons of marijuana, 30 pounds of methamphetamine and $2.4 million in cash, police said.

A six-month investigation by Tempe police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency also concluded with the seizure of an airplane, 10 vehicles and 14 firearms, police said Friday.

The cartel delivered illegal drugs in Tempe and branched out to customers in New York, Alabama, California and other states, police said.

"This operation demonstrated a collaborative effort by state and federal law enforcement agencies," Tempe Chief of Police Tom Ryff said in a statement.

The drug trafficking "stretched across the Mexico border and into Arizona and beyond," said Doug Coleman, special agent in charge of the DEA's Phoenix office.

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico's most powerful drug-trafficking groups, and cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera is widely known as Mexico's most-wanted fugitive.

Forbes magazine has placed him on its list of the world's most powerful people, reporting his net worth at $1 billion as of March.


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Sources: CNN, Mediaite, Google Maps

Voter ID Suppression Laws Disenfranchise 50% Of Registered Voters In 2012; POLL TAXES!

Increasing Numbers of Registered Voters Could Lose Right to Vote because of New ID Laws

Generally speaking, election tacticians for both major parties pursue two strategies: make sure your supporters actually go to the polls on Election Day and try to persuade undecided voters to lean your way when they cast their ballots.

But this year, Republicans have aggressively added a new tactic…limiting the number of Democrats who are able to vote.

They have done this by passing state laws requiring voters to present ID, often with photos, on the assumption that voters who are too old or too poor to have photo IDs are more likely to vote Democratic.

For example, new laws requiring voters in Pennsylvania and Mississippi to show ID at polling places could result in thousands not voting in November.

State elections officials in Pennsylvania say more than three quarters of a million registered voters do not have the most common required documentation: a drivers license or ID card from the state Transportation Department.

In Philadelphia alone, more than 186,000 registered voters (18% of the city’s total registration) lack a license or state ID.

Many of these voters could be turned away in November unless they can provide the above forms of identification or a U.S. passport, student ID card, current military identification or ID cards issued to government employees.

The percentage of registered voters statewide at risk of not being allowed to vote is 9.2%, out of 8.2 million people.

The administration of Governor Tom Corbett had previously claimed that only 1% of registered voters did not have the required photo ID.

The new law was adopted by Republican lawmakers and Corbett over the objections of Democrats who argued that the restriction would disenfranchise thousands of voters, especially the poor, elderly and young.

A similar conundrum faces voters in Mississippi, where the voter ID law has a Catch-22 aspect.

Those who need to obtain an ID to qualify to vote must show a certified birth certificate, but for those who don’t have a birth certificate, they need to show an ID to get one.

Besides Pennsylvania and Mississippi, five other states have passed strict photo ID laws…Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee and Wisconsin, although Wisconsin’s law is being challenged in the courts.

Texas and South Carolina have also passed such laws, but they are being challenged by the federal government.

In Virginia, a law enacted in May requires those who show up without ID to cast a provisional ballot and then present ID within a few days for their ballots to count.



After 50 and 70 Years of Voting, Two 93-Year-Olds Sue to Keep Right to Vote without Photo ID

Viviette Applewhite, 93, of Philadelphia has become the face of a civil liberties lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania for requiring voters to show identification before voting. The new requirement was signed into law by Republican Governor Tom Corbett on March 14.

The wheelchair-bound Applewhite says she has voted since 1960, but won’t be able to do so this November because of the new legal requirement. She doesn’t possess a driver’s license and is unable to obtain a birth certificate from the state, she says, making it impossible for her to show the requisite ID at the polls.

Another 93-year-old plaintiff, Bea Bookler, first voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. She has the documents needed to obtain a valid photo ID, but state law requires that she present them in person and she is too frail to do so.

Representing Applewhite, Bookler and eight other plaintiffs are the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Color People. They contend the law will disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible Pennsylvanians who lack ID.

A 2006 survey by the Brennan Center for Justice concluded that about 13 million adult American citizens lack the kind of proof needed to comply with voter ID laws.


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Sources: AllGov, MSNBC, Political Articles, TPM Muckracker, Uptake Video, Young Philly Politics, Youtube, Google Maps