The West Virginia eighth-grader arrested after refusing a teacher’s demand he remove a National Rifle Association T-shirt he wore to school won’t face criminal charges after all.
Jared Marcum, 14, was charged with obstruction following the April 18 incident after police who were called to Logan Middle School school said he refused to stop talking. The case generated national headlines, as Marcum’s family and attorney, Ben White, claimed the demand that he remove the NRA shirt violated his right to freedom of speech. On Thursday, Logan County Circuit Judge Eric O’Briant signed an order dismissing the charge.
Marcum’s mother, Tanya Lardieri, told WOWK that she was overcome with emotion after signing a dismissal order relating to the charge. The boy’s father, Allen Lardieri, said the couple is just glad Eric’s legal troubles are behind him.
“It should have come sooner but it’s done and we don’t have to have that concern anymore about him having a criminal record,” Allen Lardieri told WOWK. “I’m just glad that it’s over. His mother is glad it’s over.”
After he was charged, Marcum faced up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. Although the charge related to the boy’s behavior after the incident began, White said the school’s unreasonable demand that he take off the shirt caused the situation to get out of control.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-29 03:54:412013-06-29 03:54:41Charge Dismissed Against Student Who Refused to Remove NRA Shirt
In a health care decision giving hope to opponents of the federal birth-control coverage mandate, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hobby Lobby stores won’t have to start paying millions of dollars in fines next week for not complying with the requirement.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver decided the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain can proceed with its case and won’t be subject to fines in the meantime.
The reprieve gives Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. more time to argue in a lower court that for-profit businesses – not just currently exempted religious groups – should be allowed to seek an exception if the law violates their religious beliefs. The company had sued to overturn the mandate on grounds that it violates the faith of founder and CEO David Green and his family.
The appeals court remanded the case for more argument, but the judges indicated Hobby Lobby had a reasonable chance of success.
“Sincerely religious persons could find a connection between the exercise of religion and the pursuit of profit,” the judges wrote. “Would an incorporated kosher butcher really have no claim to challenge a regulation mandating non-kosher butchering practices?”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 05:44:452013-06-28 05:44:45Hobby Lobby Just Scored a Major Victory Against ObamaCare
President Obama said Thursday he has not gotten personally involved in the case of Ed Snowden, because he expects other countries to “abide by international law” and not provide harbor to a fugitive. At the same time, he indicated he does not plan to go to extraordinary lengths to capture the NSA leaker, saying: “No, I’m not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.”
As Republican lawmakers urge Obama to get tough with Russia as it denies extradition requests, Obama said he has not directly spoken with Russia’s Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping. He flashed some annoyance as he declared he has not called either leader because “I shouldn’t have to.”
He noted that the U.S. does “a whole lot of business” with both countries, and said he doesn’t want to be in a position where he’s “wheeling and dealing and trading” just to “get a guy extradited.”
The president suggested this should have been a routine bit of business for either leader, so he decided not to get personally involved. Read more from this story HERE.
Tensions flare with Ecuador, Hong Kong over Snowden
Tensions flared Thursday between the Obama administration and countries that appear to be helping NSA leaker Edward Snowden, with the State Department pointedly warning a defiant Ecuador there will be “grave consequences” if the foreign government grants Snowden asylum.
State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell also ripped Hong Kong officials for trying to claim a day earlier that a misspelled middle name on Snowden’s paperwork contributed to him being allowed to catch a flight from Hong Kong to Moscow over the weekend.
“They knew he was a wanted fugitive, and they intentionally let him go,” Ventrell said, calling their excuse frivolous. “They’ve tried to sort of say, oops, he just left. And we’re saying, no, that this was an intentional decision.”
The dueling statements escalated the already-tense stand-off involving several countries now.
The Obama administration has warned that Hong Kong’s decision to let Snowden go could hurt U.S.-China relations. U.S. officials, to little avail, are still trying to convince the Russian government to expel Snowden to the United States — Snowden is believed to be hunkered down in the Moscow airport, but Russian officials claim he is not their problem. Read more from this story HERE.
Obama administration reportedly allowed NSA to gather Americans’ Internet data until 2011
The Obama administration allowed the National Security Agency to gather Americans’ Internet information, including emails, until 2011 under a secret program launched by President George W. Bush, according to newly leaked documents.
The data collection was first reported by the Guardian newspaper. An official confirmed its existence to the Associated Press.
The NSA ended the program that collected email logs and timing, but not content, in 2011 because it did not do what was needed to stop terrorist attacks, according to the NSA’s director. Gen. Keith Alexander, who also heads the U.S. Cyber Command, said all data was purged at that time.
The Guardian Thursday released documents detailing the collection, although the program was also described earlier this month by The Washington Post.
The Guardian said that according to secret documents it had obtained, a federal judge sitting on the FISA court, a secret surveillance panel, would approve a collection order for Internet metadata every 90 days. Read more from this story HERE.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 05:40:312013-06-28 05:40:31Obama Downplays Snowden Case, Says US Not ‘Scrambling Jets to Get a 29-Year-Old Hacker’ (+video)
By David Espo and Erica Werner. With a solemnity reserved for momentous occasions, the Senate passed historic legislation Thursday offering the priceless hope of citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in America’s shadows. The bill also promises a military-style effort to secure the long-porous border with Mexico.
The bipartisan vote was 68-32 on a measure that sits atop President Barack Obama’s second-term domestic agenda. But the bill’s prospects are highly uncertain in the Republican-controlled House, where party leaders are jockeying for position in advance of expected action next month.
Spectators in galleries that overlook the Senate floor watched expectantly as senators voted one by one from their desks. Some onlookers erupted in chants of “Yes, we can” after Vice President Joe Biden announced the vote result.
After three weeks of debate, there was no doubt about the outcome. Fourteen Republicans joined all 52 Democrats and two independents to support the bill.
In a written statement, Obama coupled praise for the Senate’s action with a plea for resolve by supporters as the House works on the issue. “Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen,” said the president, who was traveling in Africa. Read more from this story HERE.
Senate passes massive immigration bill – Here are the 14 Republicans who voted for it
By Jason Howerton. The Senate has passed massive immigration legislation that will offer a pathway to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, while promising border security in the future.
The vote was 68-32, far more than the majority needed to send the measure to the House. Prospects there are not nearly as good and many conservatives are opposed.
Vice President Joe Biden presided, and senators cast their votes from their desks, both steps reserved for momentous votes.
The bill, a priority for President Barack Obama, would amount to the most sweeping changes in decades to the nation’s immigration laws. After three weeks of debate, there was no doubt about the outcome. Fourteen Republicans joined all 52 Democrats and two independents to support the bill.
Here are the 14 GOP senators who voted for the legislation:
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 05:38:512013-06-28 05:38:51Amnesty Bill Passes Senate; Here are the RINO’s Who Voted for It (+video)
Polygamists nationwide are cheering the Supreme Court’s rulings on Wednesday, which paved the way for gay marriage in California and federal recognition for married same-sex couples.
“I was very glad,” polygamist Anne Wilde told Buzzfeed on Wednesday. “The nuclear family, with a dad and a mom and two or three kids, is not the majority anymore. Now it’s grandparents taking care of kids, single parents, gay parents. I think people are more and more understanding that as consenting adults, we should be able to raise a family however we choose.”
Joe Darger, a Utah-based polygamist who has three wives, told Buzzfeed that the court “has taken a step in correcting some inequality, and that’s certainly something that’s going to trickle down and impact us.”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 05:36:062013-06-28 05:36:06Polygamists Hope Supreme Court Rulings Will Pave Way to Decriminalization
The government watchdog that exposed IRS targeting of conservative groups gave a blunt response to Democrats’ claims that the agency also targeted liberals: It never happened.
“We found no indication in any of these other materials that ‘Progressives’ was a term used to refer cases for scrutiny for political campaign intervention,” IRS Inspector General J. Russell George wrote in a letter to Democrats.
Democrats have since turned on the IG’s office, claiming it is only telling half the story.
But Republicans used the letter, and a House hearing on Thursday, to counter that narrative — getting the current IRS chief to confirm that, in fact, there’s no evidence to date that progressives were targeted.
“So far, the evidence only shows conservatives being systematically targeted by the IRS,” Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., said.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 05:34:072013-06-28 05:34:07Watchdog Knocks Down Dem Claim That Liberal Groups Were Targeted by IRS
Well, we almost made it through a whole week without a new Obama Regime scandal, but the good folks at Judicial Watch never rest, and they announced today that they’ve obtained records from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) exposing that millions of dollars have been spent by the agency on the warrantless collection and analysis of Americans’ financial transactions.
The full extent of the CFPB personal financial data collection program is revealed in a document obtained by Judicial Watch entitled “INDEFINITE-DELIVERY INDEFINITY-QUANTITY (IDIQ) STATEMENT OF WORK.” According to the IDIQ document’s stated Objective: “The CFPB seeks to acquire and maintain a nationally representative panel of credit information on consumers for use in a wide range of policy research projects… The panel shall be a random sample of consumer credit files obtains from a national database of credit files.”
To accomplish this objective, the CFPB describes the scope of the program accordingly:
The panel shall include 5 million consumers, and joint borrowers, co-signers, and authorized users [emphasis added]. The initial panel shall contain 10 years of historical data on a quarterly basis [emphasis added]…
There may be an economic cure for the nation’s obesity: Hike the price of food.
Raising the price of a calorie for home consumption by 10 percent might lower the percentage of body fat in youths about 8 or 9 percent, according to new research from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
“An increase in the price of a calorie regardless of its source would improve obesity outcomes,” according to a working paper that three researchers prepared for the private, nonprofit bureau.
As the nation confronts an epidemic of flab, many experts have pointed a finger at low food prices as a cause, leading to proposals for taxes on sugary drinks, fast-food and junk food, as well as reductions in government farm subsidies.
The new research, which focused on youths, reinforces the idea that prices affect obesity and that raising fast-food prices would help, although pushing up the prices of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, might hurt.
Not even the kind of cash Hollywood donated to President Obama can protect them from unintended consequences.
Three letters have been giving the payroll-services industry fits for several months now: ACA. That’s the semi-acronym for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and it’s up to the payroll industry — which cuts checks to production workers and offers related financial services to TV and film studios — to help educate its clients on the rules before a good portion of the law kicks in Jan. 1.
“It’s a morass of regulations and requirements, and everyone’s trying to figure out what their exposure is,” says Eric Belcher, president and CEO of Cast & Crew Entertainment Services. Adds Mark Goldstein, CEO of Entertainment Partners, which has held 16 seminars to help studios understand ACA: “It’s going to be a very big deal.”
Determining the exact nature of the new laws has been difficult, given that many ACA terms have yet to be worked out. Hollywood productions, for instance, might find it irksome simply trying to categorize employees as full- or part-time, seasonal or variable, and it’s important that they get the classifications right lest they face hefty fines. “ACA is thousands of pages, and it wasn’t written with this industry in mind,” says Belcher.
In fairness, who could have possibly guessed that a top-down solution from Washington and thousands of pages of regulations would cause problems for businesses with unorthodox work schedules, scads of part-time, contract, union and non-union employees from different fields, and the need for flexibility?
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 05:22:032013-06-28 05:22:03Hollywood: Hey, This Obamacare Thing is Going to be Pretty Costly and Complicated For Us
When the city of San Leandro, Calif., purchased a license-plate reader for its police department in 2008, computer security consultant Michael Katz-Lacabe asked the city for a record of every time the scanners had photographed his car.
The results shocked him.
The paperback-size device, installed on the outside of police cars, can log thousands of license plates in an eight-hour patrol shift. Katz-Lacabe said it had photographed his two cars on 112 occasions, including one image from 2009 that shows him and his daughters stepping out of his Toyota Prius in their driveway.
That photograph, Katz-Lacabe said, made him “frightened and concerned about the magnitude of police surveillance and data collection.” The single patrol car in San Leandro equipped with a plate reader had logged his car once a week on average, photographing his license plate and documenting the time and location.
At a rapid pace, and mostly hidden from the public, police agencies throughout California have been collecting millions of records on drivers and feeding them to intelligence fusion centers operated by local, state and federal law enforcement.
With heightened concern over secret intelligence operations at the National Security Agency, the localized effort to track drivers highlights the extent to which the government has committed to collecting large amounts of data on people who have done nothing wrong.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-06-28 04:50:252013-06-28 04:50:25License-Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records on Drivers
