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Justice

George Zimmerman Says He Wouldn’t Do Anything Differently: ‘It Was God’s Plan’ For Me To Kill Trayvon Martin

By Judd Legum on Jul 18, 2012 at 9:54 pm

Tonight, George Zimmerman — who is currently facing second degree murder charges for killing Trayvon Martin — participated in a highly unusual interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity.

Hannity asked Zimmerman if he regretted getting out of his car to follow Trayvon, carrying a gun, or anything at all about the night he killed Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman said he regretted nothing because he believed “it was all God’s plan.” He also said there isn’t anything he would do differently in retrospect.

Watch it:

Earlier, Zimmerman did reiterate his apology to Martin’s family, which he first made during his first bail hearing. He added he would like an apology from Spike Lee and other critics, stating “if I did something wrong I would apologize.”

Update

At the very end of the interview, Zimmerman went back to the question and said, “I do wish there was something, anything I could have done that would have put me in the position where I didn’t have to take his life. And I do want to tell everyone…that I’m sorry that this happened.”

Update

Trayvon’s father responds:


Election

Former Bachmann Campaign Chief: ‘I Am Fully Aware That She Sometimes Has Difficulty With Her Facts’

By Adam Peck on Jul 18, 2012 at 6:19 pm

Former Bachmann Campaign Chief Ed Rollins

Ed Rollins, a longtime GOP strategist and the former campaign manager for Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign, penned an op-ed for Fox News’ website today slamming the Minnesota congresswoman for her recent remarks about the Muslim Brotherhood and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Chief of Staff Huma Abedin.

Bachmann has been roundly condemned by members of her own party for suggesting that Abedin, the wife of former Congressman Anthony Weiner, is part of a coordinated effort to undermine or diminish the United States’ response to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Shame on you, Michele!” writes Rollins, before unleashing a wave of criticism on his former boss:

Her unsubstantiated charge against Abedin, a widely respected top aide to Secretary Hillary Clinton, accusing her of some sort of far-fetched connection to the Muslim brotherhood, is extreme and dishonest.

Having worked for Congressman Bachman’s campaign for president, I am fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joe McCarthy level.

Rollins’ comments are the most forceful condemnation yet of Bachmann’s decision to submit a letter to several national security agencies in which she and three other congressmen claim — without a shred of evidence — that the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the US government by securing senior-level positions in various government agencies. Rollins had guided Rep. Bachmann to a surprising victory in the 2011 Iowa straw poll before he stepped down from the day-to-day responsibilities in September amidst the campaign’s falling poll numbers.

Earlier today, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) gave an impassioned defense of Abedin and denounced Bachmann on the senate floor.

Health

Study: Medicare Beneficiaries Receive Higher Quality, More Affordable Care

By Guest Blogger on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:54 pm

A study from the Commonwealth Fund found that adults receiving health care through Medicare receive higher quality care than those who have insurance through their employers or purchase their own coverage.

The report concluded that Medicare beneficiaries are both the most satisfied with their insurance, and also the least likely to have problems paying medical bills. Fifty-eight percent of adults with individual insurance report spending 10 percent or more of their income on medical costs, compared to only 29 percent of adults with medicaid. Similarly, the study found that “only 13 percent of Medicare beneficiaries were unable to pay for basic necessities such as food or rent or used up all their savings to cover medical bills, compared to 27 percent of adults with employer-based insurance and 33 percent with individual insurance.”

The findings of the study are especially pertinent as Republicans attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As ThinkProgress noted earlier this month, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act would put the Medicare system in disarray and would make it impossible for Medicare to pay doctors. The authors of the Commonwealth study noted the political turmoil surrounding Medicare:

Given the evidence that people covered by Medicare tend to feel more satisfied with their insurance plan, particularly compared to those covered by nongroup insurance plans, offering traditional Medicare coverage to the nonelderly population not on Medicare through state insurance exchanges may be an option to consider. In addition, offering a choice of traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans to the nonelderly population would build on Medicare’s wide provider network and experience in making care available to more Americans at lower costs.

In the midst of trying to decrease deficits and reform the health care system, the Commonwealth’s study highlights the potential for the expansion of public health care programs. The positive experiences of Medicare beneficiaries only further substantiate the benefits of such programs.

– Nina Liss-Schultz

Climate Progress

When National Climate Disasters Go Global: On Drought, Food, And Global Insecurity

By Climate Guest Blogger on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:49 pm

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell, via The Center For Climate and Security

The national Drought Monitor recently declared [abnormally dry conditions or] a drought for almost 80% of the contiguous United States, ranging in intensity [up] to “drought-exceptional.”

Five days ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture followed by declaring disasters in 26 U.S. states. This is the largest national disaster area ever declared.

But while the drought is obviously a serious concern for the U.S. (historically, droughts are the nation’s most costly natural disaster), it also has worrying implications for other countries that are tied to the U.S. through the global food market. Coupled with other recent extreme weather events across the globe, the U.S. drought could have a globally destabilizing influence. And while it is too early to tell exactly why these events are happening, in the way that they are happening, recent reports show that climatic changes are a part of the story.

Record-breaking droughts, and an uncertain climate future

The conditions of this drought are abnormal. The drought happened suddenly - what is called a “flash drought” – because it has occurred over a matter of months, rather than seasons or years. It is associated with record-breaking temperatures, and has been labeled among the worst droughts in U.S. history.

Climate change projections are set to make matters worse. According to NOAA and the Met Office, last year’s drought in Texas was 20 times more likely because of climate change. Furthermore, as temperatures are set to continue increasing, these conditions will become more frequent.

Impact on the global food market

In lieu of the recent drought, the U.S. Department of Agriculture adjusted its prediction for corn yields, the country’s largest export crop, down by 12%. This, and any subsequent adjustments, will likely impact global corn prices, but also meat and dairy prices, as corn is used for animal feed. Meanwhile, beef prices are still high from last year’s drought in Texas.

As a leading exporter of corn and soy, the U.S. is intricately linked to the global food market. Drought and crop failure in the U.S. could spike world food prices and have serious implications for places like Mexico, China, Central America and India, who rely heavily on imports of these crops, as well as animal feed. But this is not the first time that droughts have caused a spike in world food prices.  If this drought does lead to a price spike, it will be the fifth such spike in six years.

The security implications of food price spikes

Read more

Justice

Supreme Court To Decide If Mentally Disabled Man’s Execution Will Go Forward

By Guest Blogger on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Georgia death row inmate William Lee Hill Jr., set to be executed on Monday, has officially filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court. The appeal, filed yesterday, argues that Hill should not be executed because he is mentally retarded.

Last week the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole denied both Hill’s request to commute his sentence to life in prison and his request for a 90-day stay but his execution, originally scheduled for today, was delayed because of Georgia’s decision to change the chemicals it uses in executions. The delay gave Hill and his lawyers time to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

The case highlights a controversy stemming from a 2002 Supreme Court decision , Atkins v. Virginia. Although the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded individuals, it left it up to the individual states to determine how to assess mental retardation.

While many states use a standard called “preponderance of evidence,” Georgia is the only state to require a much stricter standard, “beyond a reasonable doubt” in making this assessment.

Hill and his lawyers argue that a 2002 determination by a judge that Hill has an IQ of 70 and is mentally retarded by a preponderance of the evidence standard makes his imminent execution unconstitutional, and critics think that the Supreme Court should take Hill’s case and clarify their ruling in Atkins. John Henry Blume, a law professor at Cornell said: “[i]t’s been frustrating to watch as the promise of Atkins has been eroded in many states through the implementation of both definitions and procedures which make it virtually impossible to prove that anyone has mental retardation.” Christof Heyns, a United Nations human rights expert, weighed in on Hill’s case earlier this week agreeing that his planned execution is unconstitutional and asserting that it would also violate international law.

Hill’s appeal is a last ditch effort to stay his execution. The U.S. Supreme Court has already declined to hear an appeal by Hill once this year.

–Alex Brown

Economy

Federal Reserve Chairman Says Economy Is Hurting, Refuses To Do Anything About It

By Pat Garofalo on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spent the last two days testifying before Congress on the state of the U.S. economy. During his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee today, Bernanke noted that the economy is still recovering quite slowly:

The pace of economic recovery appears to have slowed during the first half of this year, with real gross domestic product (GDP) likely having risen at only a modest pace. In the labor market, the rate of job gains has diminished recently, and, following a period of improvement, the unemployment rate has been little changed at an elevated level since January.

But Bernanke then added that the Fed is not really going to do anything about it, even though it’s mandated to strive for full employment:

In its [most recent] statement, the [Federal Open Markets Committee] noted that it was prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability.

This is, sadly, nothing new. As economist Chad Stone showed in U.S. News & World Report, the Fed has consistently failed in its obligation to fight unemployment:

The Economist opined that Bernanke “ought to be brimming with apologies for such a miserable performance.” Slate’s Matt Yglesias added, “it’s not that the economy is slowing down and then separately he’s considering what to do about it. Demand growth is slowing because he and his colleagues are refusing to stabilize it.”

Center for American Progress Action Fund economist Adam Hersh explained earlier this week that there are at least six things that the Fed could do to help boost the economy. Meanwhile, Republicans are actively trying to get Bernanke to swear that he won’t do anything else to spark employment growth.

NEWS FLASH

Soldiers Plan To Make History By Marching In Uniform In San Diego Pride Parade | Hundreds of active-duty soldiers plan to march in Saturday’s San Diego LGBT Pride Parade, where many of them will wear T-shirts bearing their branch of service. For the first time in history, some of these military members will be marching in uniform. However, the military requires that service members ask permission from their respective commands to wear the uniform at civic events, so it is unclear how many will be allowed. The Navy has already announced that it will not authorize its service members to wear their uniforms in the parade. “We’re just trying to show people that we bleed the same blood,” said Sean Sala, a former Navy Sailor and current organizer of the parade’s military contingent. At last year’s parade, hundreds of soldiers wore branch t-shirts in what appeared to be the first such instance of active-duty military contingent marching in a pride parade.

– Ben Sherman

By Guest Blogger on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:37 pm

Election

Romney Embraces Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories During Ohio Town Hall

By Zack Beauchamp on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:24 pm

Mitt Romney has singled out the Drudge Report as one of his favorite websites. But the candidate’s public embrace of the right-wing publication is more than an effort to win over conservative readers: Romney actually believes in some of the debunked conspiracy theories extremist groups peddle.

During a town hall in Ohio on Wednesday, Romney responded to question about the United Nations by declaring that the international body will undermine Americans’ Second Amendment rights and dictate how families should raise their children:

ROMNEY: Turning to the United Nations to tell us how to raise our kids, or whether we can have the Second Amendment rights that our Constitution gave us, I mean, that is the wrong way to go, right? Do not cede sovereignty. I’m happy to talk there. I’m not willing to give American sovereignty in any way, shape or form to the United Nations or any other body. We are a free nation. We fought for freedom and independence. We are going to keep freedom and independence.

Watch it:

The “guns” reference concerns Arms Trade Treaty, a U.N. initiative to prevent weapons from getting into the hands of terrorists and genocidaires. Both Drudge and the NRA have insisted that it poses a threat to American gun ownership. However, as ThinkProgress has documented, the treaty can’t and won’t: there are no provisions being negotiated in the treaty that affect domestic gun ownership, the State Department has publicly committed to rejecting any treaty that does, and Constitutional protections for gun ownership would trump a U.N. treaty according the Supreme Court even if a treaty infringing on the Second Amendment somehow made it through Congress.

Romney’s “Telling us how raise our kids” conspiracy refers to the notion peddled by pundit Dick Morris. He claims that the U.N. is coming for our children through the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty expressing standards for the acceptable treatment of children that every country — except Somalia and the United States — has ratified. The Convention “can only be implemented through domestic legislation enacted by Congress or state legislatures, in a manner and time-frame determined by our own legislative process.” Thus, the U.N. can’t force the United States to pass laws interpreting Treaty provisions in any particular fashion and “contains no controlling language or mandates” for the signatory nations.

Security

Republicans Abandon ‘Government Doesn’t Create Jobs’ Mantra In Fight To Preserve Military Spending

By Ben Armbruster on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:23 pm

Rep. Howard 'Buck' McKeon (R-CA) (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Defense industry-backed Republicans are so desperate to stave off the automatic military spending cuts that they’re trying to scare Americans about job losses and an ensuing nose-diving economy should the military spending cuts hold.

Except there’s one problem. Republicans aren’t supposed to believe that government spending creates jobs. But in this last act of desperation, however, it seems that Republicans pushing to preserve America’s bloated military budget have come to a pretty significant epiphany. Next week, three right-wing think tanks will co-host Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Reps. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) and Randy Forbers (R-VA) to “discuss the dangers of deeper defense cuts.” All four lawmakers are warning about job loss because of sequestration, yet they’ve all previously argued that government spending doesn’t create jobs:

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE

Now: “So we’re not just talking about the jobs issue, which is, of course, of concern to anyone who serves in Congress. We’re talking about lost lives if we don’t give our men and women the equipment that they need.” [6/24/12]

Then: “It’s not the government that’s going to create jobs in this country, it’s our small businesses, it’s the private sector.” [9/22/10]

SEN. JON KYL

Now: “The whole point here [staving off the sequester] is to try to get some economic growth, job creation, to get out of this recession.” [5/24/12]

Then: “Faced with the reality of historic unemployment rates and record federal debt, I had hoped that President Obama, by now, would understand that even more government spending doesn’t create jobs.” [9/09/11]

REP. BUCK MCKEON

Now: “Sequestration’s impact on the economy would be sudden and severe, … result[ing] in the loss of about 1 million jobs in 2013 and 2014 and a half a percent cut to America’s already meager economic growth.” [6/24/12]

Then: “We don’t look to the government usually to create jobs. What we like to see them do is get out of our hair and let us create the jobs.” [5/21/12]

REP. RANDY FORBES

Now: “For reasons of both national security and local jobs, citizens of Hampton Roads ought to carefully consider the sober assessments of our military commanders and leaders regarding the impacts of adding another $600 billion in security cuts to the $489 billion Congress has already enacted.” [10/08/11]

Then: “Congressman Forbes believes there is a simple truth when it comes to job creation in America: real solutions create real growth that generates real jobs. In order to make this happen, government needs to get out of the way.” [Forbes' website]

And outside of the hypocrisy, the GOP’s jobs argument is spurious. Republicans are holding up a new industry-backed study claiming the military spending cuts will mean a loss of nearly one million jobs. But experts have pointed out the report’s many flaws, mainly that government spending in non-defense sectors of the economy creates more jobs.

The study is good for “political purposes, not very good analysis of the labor market,” said defense budget expert Gordon Adams. CATO expert Chris Preble said the report shows that the industry is just “trying to save their profits.”

There’s also no evidence that the military spending sequester will be “devastating” as some have argued and polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans favor cutting DOD’s budget. But Republicans will most likely ignore these facts and fight to preserve the Pentagon’s needlessly bloated budget, all while abandoning a central tenet of their party’s ideology.

Alyssa

Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford Will Rob Marvel Universe Banks In ‘Item 47′

By Alyssa Rosenberg on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:08 pm

I am pretty excited to see Item 47, the short film that Marvel is packaging up with the DVD release of The Avengers, in which Jesse Bradford and Lizzy Caplan get one of those crazy energy weapons that Loki’s troops used in their invasion of New York and rob some banks:

I totally get why Marvel wants to keep building heroes in Phase 2. But it is kind of bizarre to me that they don’t make these very smart, lower-budget stories about the people whose lives are affected by living in a work with superheroes, whether they’re ordinary people who have sudden access to extraordinary technology, or the bureaucrats who have to manage both the lives of superheroes and the fallout surrounding their existence, as hedges against the possibility, as the release dates suggest, the Phase 2 movies only make hundreds of millions of dollars rather than billions.

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