Saturday, September 1, 2012
Florida Voter Registration Groups Win Major Victory As Judge Prepares To Block Draconian Law
The Huffington Post | By Nick Wing Posted: 08/29/2012 1:52 pm Updated: 08/29/2012 1:52 pm
A federal judge on Wednesday said he was prepared to grant a permanent injunction that would block controversial restrictions on voter registration groups passed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) last year.
Federal Judge Robert L. Hinkle had earlierput a temporary hold on the measure, declaring that it put "harsh and impractical" restrictions on civic groups focused on registering new voters. In his latest order, Hinkle stated that he intends to permanently block the law, pending the case's dismissal from a Court of Appeals. The plaintiffs and the state of Florida have reportedly agreed not to appeal Hinkle's ruling.
The Florida Times-Union reported earlier this week that voter registration groups had largely shut down their operations in the wake of the new strictures, a trend that has done serious damage to registration trends of Democratic voters.
According to the Times-Union's review of state records, in the lead-up to elections in 2004 and 2008, the 13-month period between July 1 and August 1 of election year showed an average increase in registered Democrats of 209,425 voters. Over the same time between 2011 to 2012, registered Democrats increased by only 11,365 voters. It's easily enough to swing the election.
“It has without a doubt hurt registration numbers,” said Deirdre Macnab, president of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Florida. “It really gummed up the works and made it harder for Floridians to get registered.”
The Department of Justice has also mounted a separate challenge against Florida's new voter laws, claiming that they violate the Voting Rights Act with their new limitations on early voting and third-party voter registration groups.
Isaac tracks through the Gulf of Mexico
Victims of Hurricane Isaac carry boxes of food from an aid distribution center Aug. 31 in New Orleans, La.
Satellite captures moonlit Hurricane Isaac
Just after midnight on Aug. 28, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the Suomi-NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of Isaac and the cities near the Gulf Coast.
Feds end probe of 'America's toughest sheriff' Joe Arpaio; no charges
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks to the press about the U.S. Justice Department's decision to end the criminal investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by current and former members of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona.
The federal government has closed a criminal probe of alleged financial misconduct by Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who styles himself as "America's toughest sheriff," and no charges will be filed, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Friday.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images file
Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio is shown attending Republican National Convention on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla.
A separate federal investigation relating to allegations of civil rights abuses by Arpaio's office is continuing.
The announcement on Friday marked the end of an investigation that began in November 2010 at the behest of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to examine alleged financial improprieties by the county sheriff and his deputies.
A federal criminal inquiry into several of those matters was concluded last summer with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona declining to initiate criminal charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel said in a statement that her office "is closing its investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by current and former members of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office."In addition, the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to prosecute two former officials of the county attorney's office who were accused of wrongfully prosecuting a local judge.Maricopa County authorities were informed on Friday that federal prosecutors had likewise declined to bring charges in connection with allegations that the sheriff's office had misused county credit cards or misspent money from jail facilities excise taxes.
Arpaio, who returned from the Republican National Convention on Friday night, said he was "very happy" with decision.
"I send my appreciation to the federal government for their hard work in clearing my office," he said in a news briefing.
Arpaio, 80, who is seeking re-election to a sixth term as sheriff in November, has been under a separate federal inquiry since 2008 over allegations that he and his deputies engaged in an extensive pattern of civil rights abuses.
Arpaio denied any wrongdoing, and said he would cooperate with investigators.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel, acting on behalf of the United States due to the recusal of U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo, commended the joint investigative efforts of the prosecutors and the FBI special agents who conducted the investigation.
Scheel said her office advised Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery of the decision.
Arpaio, first voted into office in 1992, has been elected five times and is seeking a sixth term.
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The federal government today sued Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the state's most populous county, accusing them of racial profiling directed at Latinos. Pete Williams reports.
In July, Arpaio said that volunteer investigators working for him concluded that President Barack Obama’s birth certificate is not legitimate.
"At the very least," he said at a news conference, "I can tell you this, based on all of the evidence presented and investigated, I cannot in good faith report to you that these documents are authentic."
Also in July, Arpaio denied in testimony in a class-action lawsuit that his deputies targeted people because of the color of their skin.
He was testifying whether police can target illegal immigrants without racially profiling Hispanic citizens and legal residents.
"I am against anyone racial profiling ... today as in my 50 years in law enforcement," Arpaio told the court during cross-examination.
Arpaio is also known for outfitting county jail inmates in pink underwear, claiming the pink shorts are less likely to be smuggled out of jail and sold on the black market, and for housing inmates in a Tent City jail in Phoenix, even when Sonoran Desert summer temperatures soar to 115 degrees.
NBC's Jim Gold and Reuters contributed to this report.
Posted: 08/31/2012 1:37 pm Jason Cherkis
TAMPA, Fla. -- During these past four days at the RNC convention, janitors have worked around the clock picking up after delegates, conservative stars like Ann Coulter and Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), and the thousands of reporters in cavernous filing rooms. And many are doing so making less than minimum wage.
Carolyn Walker said she has been cleaning the convention center for 13 years. She had been making $8 per hour until a few years ago, when the cleaning contract went to another company, Cleanevent USA. The new company meant a new, downsized paycheck. She's now making minimum wage -- $7.67 per hour. But that wasn't the only hit to her wallet.
Walker said the company charges her $6 per week for uniforms. "It stinks to tell you the truth," she said. "We work very hard." It effectively means she's making less than Florida's minimum wage.
Larry Gilmore, 32, and Jean Baptiste, 27, recounted similar hits to their paychecks byCleanevent. Baptiste said he's charged $11 per week for uniforms -- a thin blue short-sleeve shirt and dark pants.
As Rep. Paul Ryan delivered his acceptance speech on Wednesday night, Baptiste wheeled his giant can through the convention center, picking up trash left by reporters from The New York Times, CBS, The Huffington Post and other media outlets. All you heard in the massive room was Ryan's speech and the wheels on Baptiste's plastic trash can. He said he had only one complaint about the work. "It's good," he explained. "I just wish they paid more. I can't keep up with the rent."
Baptiste's rent in Tampa is $575. His electric bill can be as high as $160 per month. If he wants to park near the convention center for work, he -- and the others -- said they would be charged for the privilege. Baptiste said he does not use that parking garage.
Asked about the details of his paycheck, one worker, who refused to give a name, replied "So much money for the haves and so little money for the have-nots. I want you to note that distinction."
Mike Sheehan, Cleanevent's regional manager, said the convention has been a boon, providing enough work to effectively expand his company. He's utilized 105 people to clean up after the RNC -- including about 40 new workers hired for the convention.
Sheehan usually goes through a temp service to hire extra staff for big events. He said he may not do so anymore, adding that he plans on keeping a lot of the new janitors. The new workers, he said, aren't getting charged for uniforms, since they aren't regular employees. Only the longtime, steady employees like Walker are getting charged. "It's like five or six dollars" a week, he said.
Is the uniform charge fair? "No," Sheehan admitted. "It's better to just issue them and allow them to purchase extra shirts at cost. That's where I'm heading now."
Zandra Jones, 29, is one of the new janitors. She hasn't been hit with any uniform charge. Maybe, if Sheehan keeps his promise, she won't have to.
After two years of fruitlessly looking for work, filling out application after application, Jones landed a job with the company two weeks ago. She's already figured out what she likes best about the job. "Working. Just working period," she said. "Just having work."
The state Department of Labor couldn't be reached for comment after business hours on Thursday.
Eric Cantor 'Probably Can't Speak' To Why Paul Ryan Included Obama Medicare Cuts In His Budget
The Huffington Post | By Luke Johnson Posted: 08/31/2012 12:24 pm
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.)couldn't address why vice-presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) attacked a $716 billion Medicare reduction from the Affordable Care Act during his acceptance speech after Ryan included the cuts in his own budget.
In an interview with Fortune magazine published Thursday, Cantor was asked about Ryan proposing his own budget to turn Medicare into a quasi-voucher system, using the same cuts he called a cold "power play" by Democrats during his Republican National Convention speech on Wednesday.
"The assumption was that, um, the, the, ah, again — I probably can't speak to that in an exact way so I better just not," he said.
Cantor also attacked President Barack Obama for the cuts during the Fortuneinterview, saying he's engaging in "scare tactics." "At the same time, he is the one who is taking massive amounts of cash out of very popular programs like Medicare Advantage and the prescription drug program," Cantor said. "This directly impacts seniors."
The Obama health care law will reduce Medicare spending over 10 years by cutting subsidies to private Medicare Advantage plans and payments to hospitals and other providers -- not to beneficiaries. According to Medicare actuaries, the cuts extend the life of the program's trust fund from 2016 to 2024. Contrary to Cantor's description, the Affordable Care Act actually enhances Medicare prescription drug coverage,closing the infamous "donut hole" for enrollees with coverage.
While Cantor couldn't explain why Ryan included the reduction and subsequently attacked it, Ryan has said that he added the cuts because Obama included them first.
"He put those cuts there," he said while eating a hot dog at a recent campaign stop after he was announced as the nominee. "We would never have done it in the first place."
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