The White House abruptly cancelled President Obama's campaign trip on Wednesday so he could hold a meeting on the federal response to Ebola.
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
In Increasingly Red Louisiana, Democrat Landrieu Struggles To Hold On
Sen. Mary Landrieu, right, greets candidates, Rep. Bill Cassidy, left and Rob Maness, center, after Tuesday's debate. Most observers don't see how Landrieu can pull enough support to avoid a runoff in the state's open primary. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Gerald Herbert/AP
Sen. Mary Landrieu, right, greets candidates, Rep. Bill Cassidy, left and Rob Maness, center, after Tuesday's debate. Most observers don't see how Landrieu can pull enough support to avoid a runoff in the state's open primary.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Listening to Sen. Mary Landrieu's opponents, you might think President Obama was up for re-election. Tuesday night in Shreveport, the three candidates faced off in a debate for the first time.
Democrat Landrieu is waging hard-fought battle for re-election in a race that could help decide which party has control of the U.S. Senate. Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy and a tea party candidate, Rob Maness, are her main challengers in Louisiana's open primary on November 4th.
At the debate, whether the question was about fighting terrorism or curtailing student debt, Cassidy managed to tie Landrieu to the nation's top Democrat and her vote for his signature health care plan.
"We need a better economy than the Obama and the Obamacare economy. Sen. Landrieu, when she voted for Obamacare...in essence put a wet blanket over that economy," he said.
Cassidy is a physician from Baton Rouge, and is Landrieu's top challenger. He wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which he claims is costing consumers. "Clearly this is the unaffordable health care act," he said.
Landrieu defends her vote for the law, but says it needs some tweaks. The three-term incumbent Democrat would rather talk about positions that distinguish her from the president. Her support for the Keystone pipeline, and expanding domestic energy production, for instance – popular positions in a state where the oil and gas industry dominates.
Landrieu, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, wants to make the race more about how her seniority can help the state.
"While President Obama is not on the ballot, the future of Louisiana is, and electing a senator that can get the job done when it comes to energy, building a middle class in our country and in Louisiana. Using my influence and my clout, which is really the people's influence and the people's clout in Louisiana," she said.
But retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness, the tea party-backed Republican in the race, calls that the "incumbent protection racket."
"You know what Senator Landrieu?" he said. "The president's policies are on the ballot and they're in your person. And we talked about energy jobs a moment ago. They're hurting energy jobs."
Maness positions himself as the true conservative in the race and has picked up the support of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
The Republican establishment is behind Cassidy. Arizona Sen. John McCain campaigned across Louisiana earlier this week, saying the Senate needs a doctor like Cassidy to help fix the broken VA.
McCain asked veterans to go on another mission "by sending Bill Cassidy to the United States Senate."
Louisiana's open primary system puts all candidates, regardless of party, on the ballot together. If no one gets a majority, the race is decided in a December runoff between the top two finishers. Most observers don't see how Landrieu can pull enough support to avoid the runoff — and a head-to-head match with a Republican candidate.
"Mary Landrieu, I would say, is in trouble," says Stephanie Grace, political columnist for the Advocate newspaper. "Not really for anything she did, for really being a Democrat in the Deep South. And that in this current environment which is very hostile to Democrats in the Deep South and President Obama."
Louisiana is a much redder state than it was when Landrieu was first elected to the Senate in 1996. She still has strong support in Democratic pockets like New Orleans, where her brother is mayor and her father once held the job. But elsewhere, she has to make the case.
On Wednesday, she stopped in Lafayette, the heart of the state's oil and gas corridor, to rally a big part of her base – women.
The message she wants them to spread is that she now holds the gavel at the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
"We can write the bill, we can write the energy policy. And I have an opponent that says he wants to get to the Senate. He doesn't get this chairmanship. He'd have to stay there 18 years."
Mary Doucet of Opelousas was among the more than 400 women who turned out for today's luncheon. She says Landrieu's committee chairmanship is important. "Louisiana has been noted for a lot of natural resources so that's a plus for Louisiana. So why would you want to put somebody new there?" she asks.
Republican Cassidy counters that argument by saying Landrieu's chairmanship would be a moot point if the GOP gains control of the Senate.
Louisiana Race Could Determine Control Of The Senate
Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is in fight of her career as the GOP ramps up to take control of U.S. Senate. Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge physician, is her strongest opponent.
What Is Really Tearing America Apart
What separates Americans the most?
Race ... religion ... gender ...
According to Shanto Iyengar, a political scientist at Stanford University, often the most divisive aspect of contemporary society is: politics.
Divided We Stand
"Unlike race, gender and other social divides where group-related attitudes and behaviors are constrained by social norms," writes Shanto – with co-author Sean J. Westwood of Princeton University – in the recently published report Fear and Loathing Across Party Lines: New Evidence on Group Polarization, "there are no corresponding pressures to temper disapproval of political opponents. "
Political contentiousness – establishing differences and distinctions between people of opposing parties — is often encouraged. "In fact, political hostility toward the opposition is acceptable, even appropriate," the political scientists discovered. "Partisans therefore feel free to express animus and engage in discriminatory behavior toward opposing partisans."
The findings reveal that political partisanship influences decisions and behavior not only inside the voting booth, but outside of it as well. Partisanship, the authors contend, "is a political and social divide."
Research shows: More and more residential neighborhoods are politically homogenous. Partisan politics has become a key indicator in interpersonal relations.There is a greater tendency by parents these days to raise objections to a son or daughter marrying someone who supports the opposing political party. "Actual marriage across party lines is rare," the report points out. "In a 2009 survey of married couples, only nine percent consisted of Democrat-Republican pairs."
Political Profiling
Apparently, political affiliation sometimes trumps racial preference.
The researchers asked 1,000 participants – some African-American, some white — to read through several resumes of high school seniors who were competing for scholarships. The resumes included certain racial cues, such as "president of the African-American Student Association," and certain political cues, such as "president of the Young Republicans."
Race was important, research showed. African-American resume-readers exhibited a preference — 73 percent to 27 percent — for African-American applicants. White readers also displayed a slight preference for African-American candidates.
But when it came to political preference, Democratic and Republican readers chose in-party applicants some 80 percent of the time – even if academic credentials were weaker.
"We were quite surprised at the outcome of the party versus racial divide comparison," Shanto tells NPR.
Conclusion
In the university's summary, Shanto says, "While Republicans view fellow partisans as patriotic, well-informed and altruistic, Democrats are judged to exhibit precisely the opposite traits."
When asked about ways to alleviate the conflict, Shanto tells NPR that his study "does not deal with mechanisms for reducing the divide."
So it's up to us. Maybe that's why we call it the U.S.
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The Protojournalist: An experimental storytelling project for the LURVers — Listeners, Users, Readers, Viewers — of NPR. @NPRtpj
Lebanon road accidents killed 100 over two months: ISF
BEIRUT: One hundred people have been killed in car accidents during the months of August and September, according to a report published by Internal Security Forces Wednesday.
Fifty-five people were killed in car accidents during the month of August while 45 people were killed in September, bringing the death toll for 2014 to 355 this year, according to ISF figures.
The high death rates indicate that very little progress has been achieved with regards to the implementation of a new traffic law.
Lebanon’s Shura Council made way for the implementation of long-awaited legislation last July that was supposed to reduce road safety violations by imposing progressive fines and stricter punishments for violators.
The law stipulates the formation of a National Committee for Road Safety headed by the interior minister and a National Council for Road Safety led by the prime minister.
It also calls for the formation of a road unit within the ISF that would work on improving enforcement of the law.
Under the new system, each driver begins with 12 points which disappear ith each violation. Upon the loss of all points, a driver's license is suspended for six months.
The most severe offenses, which incur a prison sentence of one month to two years and fines from LL1 million to LL3 million, include exceeding the speed limit by 60 km/hour, driving without a license, and driving with a blood alcohol level of more than one gram per liter of blood.
Under the previous rules, speeding tickets were set at LL50,000, and those caught driving without a license only had to pay a small fine.
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Pity the politicians: LF sue over 128 thieves jab
BEIRUT: Lebanese are not known for holding back their animosity towards politicians, casually referring to them as crooks and criminals who have plundered the country. Thus it came as a surprise when two citizens last week were charged with slander and libel for denouncing lawmakers as “thieves.”
The Civil Movement for Accountability - a coalition of NGOs and student associations - has been fighting a second extension of Parliament’s term through an active civil society campaign. In their Oct. 1 protest, activists from the CMFA took to the streets once again carrying their usual signs addressed to members of Parliament: “We’re sick of you,” “Get out,” and “128 thieves.” This time, however, the word “thieves” landed two of them with an unexpected lawsuit from the Lebanese Forces political party.
“The details of the lawsuit are somewhat vague at this time because the defendants have still not received an official legal document or subpoena,” Reda Hassan, communication manager at the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, told The Daily Star.
“We basically found out last week when Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam announced the lawsuit in the media and then the National News Agency confirmed it,” Hassan said.
Karam’s announcement sparked an uproar on social media, which would soon be swarming with selfies of citizens holding up signs similar to the one that got the activists in trouble.
The CMFA emphasized that the basis for their accusations has never been monetary, and that their reasons for calling the MPs thieves have been clear since the outset of the movement.
“They are violating the Constitution and the people’s sovereignty,” said Hassan. “They are occupying Parliament; stealing our right to vote and to elect our representatives.”
During a press conference held Saturday in response to the lawsuit, the CMFA demanded the Lebanese Forces publicly apologize to the Lebanese people for “attempting to silence their voices.” They also insisted that the party drop its charges, describing the lawsuit as “a reflection of the level of arrogance in the political class.”
“We consider this a legal action against civil society, our entire movement, and everything it represents,” Hassan explained, “starting with the first 17-month extension in May 2013, and up until now.”
If the legislature extends its mandate, this will be the second time in less than two years. While polls are set to take place in November, an extension appears to be looming due to the unstable security situation and the presidential void dragging on into its fifth month.
“What is most unsettling about this lawsuit is that we have members of an already illegitimate Parliament filing a lawsuit against their own people, against citizens who are paying the MPs’ salaries and [who] are simply asking for elections,” Hassan added.
He believes the suit may be a media stunt by the Lebanese Forces to reinforce their position against the proposed extension and set themselves apart from the parties in Parliament who support postponing the vote.
“We support all aspects of the CMFA, but we will not accept these generalizations,” Melhem Riachi, chairman of the Lebanese Forces’ communication department, told The Daily Star. “They can’t claim that everyone is a thief, and especially not the Lebanese Forces MPs. They have to put their finger on the wound; to specify the thieves and the sources of corruption.”
Aside from this contention, Riachi stressed that the party and its MPs are with the activists at the forefront of the movement demanding elections. “We do not insist on taking them to court,” he continued, “but we want them to take a public stance now and ensure that these chaotic accusations will not continue.”
The CMFA argues that any politicians who consider themselves exempt from accusations must take more effective actions to prevent the extension. “It’s not enough to make public statements condemning it without really doing anything,” Hassan elaborated, referring to the supervisory council that has yet to be approved by the government in order to oversee parliamentary elections.
He also pointed to the apparent lack of electoral campaigns, despite the Interior Ministry’s announcement in September that there are 514 final candidates. “These are some of the most important indicators of whether or not the politicians actually intend on holding elections.”
Instead of deterring the movement, news of the lawsuit seems to have further motivated activists, who claim that they refuse to let it hijack their cause. In parallel with the online campaign, the CMFA has called for a protest Wednesday evening at Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut to express their frustration with the ordeal and reaffirm their views against the extension.
“The legal and logical grounds of the lawsuit are so absurd that public support for us has been overwhelming,” Hassan observed. “It should be clear though that our framework has not changed. We are standing in the face of the extension, and even if it seems inevitable, we will continue to do so.”
Lebanon tests vodka energy drinks for additives
Lebanon tests vodka energy drinks for additives
Consumer protection inspectors test samples of vodka-based energy drinks after officials said they would would ban the...
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