MERRICK GARLAND: HE'S NO JUSTICE SCALIA, OBAMA'S 3RD TERM

MERRICK GARLAND: HE'S NO JUSTICE SCALIA, OBAMA'S 3RD TERM

GARLAND WAS APPOINTED AS AN APPELLATE JUDGE IN 1997 BY BILL CLINTON.

Sources: CNN, Washington Times, Youtube

February 12, 2016 Conservative SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia was Murdered.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Pres Obama nominated  Scalia's replacement, Appellate Court Judge Merrick Brian Garland, a LIBERAL appointed by former president BILL CLINTON in 1997.

Due to this being a presidential election year, the GOP-controlled Senate has already refused to confirm Garland.

Scalia's open seat places the 2016 presidential election in a dangerous predicament.

If Garland is not confirmed, in the event of a Bush v Gore-style election battle the SCOTUS will remain deadlocked.

A deadlocked SCOTUS court in an election results battle presents two possible scenarios:

1).  A long drawn out, expensive litigation until a decision is made.

2) Obama is legally allowed to remain President until a decision is made.

Thus Obama may get the 3rd term he has been hoping for.

***** Jeffrey Toobin: Sure, Merrick Garland is qualified, but this is politics

Story highlights

• Jeffrey Toobin: Supreme Court nominee is unlikely to survive political maelstrom 
• Toobin says Republicans will likely not bend and allow hearing or vote on Merrick Garland 
• Cost of allowing Obama pick who could tip court is too great for GOP, he says.
• Should Merrick Garland's friends be offering him congratulations -- or condolences? After a distinguished career in public service, Garland has been tapped for the legal profession's highest honor -- to be a Supreme Court justice. But President Barack Obama's nomination thrusts Garland into a political maelstrom he is unlikely to survive -- at least as a judge on the nation's highest court.

Garland, who is 63, has had a storybook career. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (like the justice he would be replacing, Antonin Scalia), was clerk for a pair of legendary judges (Henry Friendly and William Brennan), and a partner at a prominent law firm -- which he gave up to work as a line prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

He was a Justice Department official and then judge for the last 18 years on the second most important court in the nation. 

The issue of Garland's qualifications to be on the Supreme Court is beyond question.

But Republicans have said that because Obama is in the last year of his term, the seat on the court should be determined by the voters -- who will be choosing the next president. They have vowed, in very explicit terms, to refuse to give Garland a hearing or a vote. 

Most Republican senators will refuse even to meet with him. And while Republican senators have so far avoided attacking Garland's qualifications, conservative interest groups are already pledging to run television advertisements portraying the judge as a mindless liberal and Obama stooge.

It's all very ... political. But the Supreme Court has always been as much a political body as a legal one. Supporters of the President, and of Garland, are seeking to impose the maximum amount of political pain on their opponents in the Senate.

Democrats have already started calling out their Republican counterparts as do-nothing obstructionists. This is how the process will play out, and the outcome will depend on the politics. Do Republicans stick with their base and refuse a vote? Or do they cave under criticism and allow Garland to proceed through the process?

The odds strongly favor continuing Republican solidarity. The seat is the tipping point to a Democratic majority on the court, and the GOP will put up with a lot of heat to prevent the loss of the court for a generation. 

True, a President Hillary Clinton might pick someone even more liberal, but better to risk a fight later than lose one now. When it comes to the Supreme Court, political calculation is nothing new. There were no good old days.

Anthony Weiner Politically Marred For Marrying A Muslim? Peter King? Could Be!

Why Is Congressman Anthony Weiner (D) Suddenly Being Vilified In The Media After Experiencing A 13-Year Political Winning Streak?

Surely Its NOT Just About Some Lewd Twitter Photo!

Instead Its Really About His New Muslim Wife!

That's Right!

Brooklyn Congressman Anthony Weiner Recently Married A Beautiful Muslim Woman By The Name Of Huma Abedin, 34 (Former Aide To Hillary).

Last July Weiner & Huma Said Their Vows In A Ceremony Officiated By Former Pres. Bill Clinton.

Now We Know What's Really Going On!

Is It Possible GOP Long Island Congressman & Muslim Basher Peter King Has Anything To Do With This?

Come On People Let's Be Real!

You Know Peter King Don't You?

The Same Congressman Peter King (R) Who Held A Hearing On Capitol Hill Earlier This Year About "Muslim Radicalization"?

Yes THAT Peter King!

Did You Really Think Peter King Was Going To Allow A Liberal Brooklyn Congressman Who Marries A Muslim Woman, Run For New York City Mayor Without Some Political Backlash?

Please Not A Chance!

Don't Get It Twisted!

Its Highly Possible Peter King Has Absolutely NOTHING To Do With This Scenario.

Than Again Its Highly Possible King Might Just Have A Little To Do With It.

Either Way Its Political Backlash That Did NOT Just Come Out Of Left Field. More Like The Right Field!

This Is Why I Believe Democrats & Independents Should Continue Supporting Congressman Weiner. Especially Those Who Reside In His District.

God Bless Congressman Weiner & His Wife Huma!

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

Anthony Weiner Marries Huma Abedin

Rep. Anthony Weiner married his glamorous gal pal Huma Abedin in Long Island Saturday in a lavish ceremony officiated by former President Bill Clinton.

The power couple exchanged their "I do's" inside the secluded Oheka Castle in Huntington.

Clinton jokingly said that marrying a politician can be tough because it's "easy to distrust them, whatever their religion," a source told the Daily News.

The ex-Prez also praised the 45-year-old Weiner's tenacity while courting Abedin, 34, who looked resplendent in a white Oscar de la Renta gown.


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Sources: CNN, C-Span, Huffington Post, Mediaite, MSNBC, NY Daily News, NY Post, NY Times, Google Maps

Lou Dobbs Steps Down From CNN...Who Will Replace Him?

Lou Dobbs Explains His Decision to Leave CNN


The text of Mr. Dobbs’ announcement about leaving CNN:

This will be my last broadcast here on CNN, where I’ve worked for most of the past 30 years, and where I have many friends and colleagues whom I admire deeply and respect greatly.

I’m the last of the original anchors here on CNN and I’m proud to have had the privilege to helping to build the world’s first news network.

I’m grateful for the many opportunities that CNN has given me over these many years. I’ve tried to reciprocate with a full measure of my ability and my energy.

Over the past six months it’s become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day. And to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible.

I’ve talked extensively with Jonathan Klein — Jon’s the president of CNN — and as a result of those talks, Jon and i have agreed to a release from my contract that will enable me to pursue new opportunities.

At this point, I’m considering a number of options and directions, and I assure you, I will let you know when I set my course. I truly believe that the major issues of our time include the growth of our middle class, the creation of more jobs, health care, immigration policy, the environment, climate change, and our military involvement, of course, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But each of those issues is, in my opinion, informed by our capacity to demonstrate strong resilience of our now weakened capitalist economy and demonstrate the political will to overcome the lack of true representation in Washington, D.C.

I believe these to be profoundly, critically important issues, and I will continue to strive to deal honestly and straightforwardly with those issues in the future.

Unfortunately, these issues are now defined in the public arena by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous, empirical thought and forthright analysis and discussion. I’ll be working diligently to change that as best i can. And as for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market economy, I will strive as well to be a leader in that national conversation.

It’s been my great honor to work with each and every person at this wonderful network. I will be eternally grateful to CNN, to Ted Turner, and to all of my colleagues and friends, and of course to you at home. I thank you, and may God bless you.

Mr. Dobbs then went to a commercial break.






Lou Dobbs Abruptly Quits CNN


Months ago the president of CNN/U.S., Jonathan Klein, offered a choice to Lou Dobbs, the channel’s most outspoken anchor. Mr. Dobbs could vent his opinions on radio and anchor an objective newscast on television, or he could leave CNN.

For a time, Mr. Dobbs did tone down his TV rhetoric, but on Wednesday he made a more drastic decision: He chose opinion.

Mr. Dobbs told viewers that he was resigning from his CNN job immediately. Sitting before an image of an American flag on his studio set, he said “some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day.”

He remained vague about how he would contribute “to the national conversation,” saying that he was considering “a number of options and directions.”

The abrupt announcement caught even some of his closest staff members by surprise. They were told about the decision only hours before Mr. Dobbs’s 7 p.m. program. CNN, a unit of Time Warner, said it would name a replacement for Mr. Dobbs on Thursday morning.

Mr. Klein said in a statement that “Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere.”

“All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom,” he said.

Mr. Klein and Mr. Dobbs declined interview requests.

Well known for his opposition to illegal immigration, Mr. Dobbs was an outlier at CNN, which has sought to be seen as the neutral turf of cable news.

“If CNN wants to be seen as the thoughtful, unbiased, middle of the road alternative to Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left, this decision goes along with that,” said Geneva Overholser, the director of the School of Journalism at the University of Southern California.

She said the anchor’s decision also makes sense “if he really wants to be Lou Dobbs, man of opinion.”

Mr. Dobbs’s show drew an average of 631,000 viewers in October, putting him in third place behind Fox News and MSNBC. Like those for other CNN programs, his ratings have declined in recent months.

His contract was not to expire until the end of 2011, people with knowledge of his deal said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because contract information is typically treated confidentially. Mr. Dobbs told viewers that Mr. Klein had agreed to release him from his contract early.

People inside CNN have speculated for months that Mr. Dobbs could pick up and move to another network, a possibility that gained momentum in September when he met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel.

At the time Mr. Dobbs was characterized by people close to him as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox representative said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”

Mr. Dobbs quit CNN once before, in 1999, after disputes with the network’s president at the time, Rick Kaplan. That time, he also exited midweek, on a Tuesday. He became the chief executive of Space.com, an astronomy news source, but returned to the network two years later.

“I’m grateful for the many opportunities that CNN has given me over these many years,” Mr. Dobbs said, noting that he is “the last of the original anchors here on CNN.”

Over the years Mr. Dobbs evolved from being a sober business anchor to a commentator who labeled himself “Mr. Independent.” The issues at the top of his agenda — ones that he mentioned again on Wednesday in explaining his departure — include immigration policy, the growth of the country’s middle class, climate change, and the military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had saved his most ideological remarks for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, he raised the ire of his bosses and provoked criticism from progressive groups.

More recently, his coverage of immigration provoked protests by Hispanic groups. On Wednesday one of the groups, Presente.org, which had called on CNN to fire the anchor, declared a “victory.”

Roberto Lovato, a co-founder of the group, said, “We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate.”

Speaking on CNN Wednesday, Mr. Dobbs said he would strive to strengthen the public discourse from an as-yet-unnamed podium.

“As for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market economy, I will strive as well to be a leader in that national conversation,” he said.

He concluded his last CNN broadcast by saying, “I’ll see you next on the radio.”

Then he crossed 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan, walked into an Irish pub frequented by colleagues and was greeted with a round of applause.



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Sources: NY Times, MSNBC, CNN, Youtube, Google Maps