SDB Early Evening News Reads for 110811: Circus and Showmanship Live!

Good Early Evening!

Oh, I have some news links for you today!

First things first, today Herman Cain is going to have a press conference, it should be a circus for sure. Instead of devoting a whole blog post to live blog Cain’s presser…I thought we would have an early evening news reads…and just use the comments for any updates to the Cain Fiasco.  So let’s start with a link regarding “good old Hermie Cain.” The Daily Names Early Herman Cain Accuser, Drudge Cites Obama Admin Link

News Corp’s iPad-only news outlet The Daily has outed one of the two original Herman Cain accusers as Karen Kraushaar, a communications director for the U.S. Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General For Tax Administration. According to The Daily, Kraushaar is the accuser, represented by attorney Joel Bennett, who recently decided not to go public with details of her complaint. The Drudge Report is already stressing an Obama administration connection with the headline “UNNAMED CAIN ACCUSER WORKS IN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION…”

[…]

The revelation of Kraushaar’s identity could be a major game-changer in the ever-unfolding Herman Cain saga. Stripped of her privacy, Kraushaar may very well decide to come forward after all, and at the very least, this further complicates the press conference that Cain has scheduled for later today.

While Drudge appears to be the first, he probably won’t be the last to highlight the superficial connection between Kraushaar and the Obama administration, but Kraushaar’s boss, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George, is actually a Bush administration appointee.

Let’s see how all this will play out…and what spin Cain will put on it. See the comments for live commentary.

Alright, now for some “meaty” links to pass the time…Richard Blumenthal Asks Eric Holder Where the Foreclosure Prosecutions Are | emptywheel

It took until Richard Blumenthal’s turn in Eric Holder’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee today before Holder got asked about foreclosure fraud. Blumenthal generously suggested that, “I know the foreclosure crisis is on your agenda,” and then asked if we’ll ever see a prosecution on robosigning and other fraud.

Holder responded, at first, by pointing to states Attorney Generals, claiming they are conducting investigations. I do hope he’s thinking of Eric Schneiderman, Beau Biden, and Catherine Cortez Masto, because the ones working on the settlement are pointedly avoiding any real investigation. Holder then further dodged, suggesting DOJ might find other ways–like civil suits–to hold these banks accountable.

Finally, and perhaps most interesting, Bluementhal asked why DOJ had not intervened in the Bibby, Donnelly v. Wells Fargo suit, a whistleblower suit against Wells Fargo, BoA, Chase, Ally, and others for the illegal legal fees the banks charged homeowners, including veterans.

Holder hedged in response to that question, promising he’d find out who had made the decision not to intervene and the basis for the decision.

However, like most of the people, be they journalist or congressmen, don’t go for the extra buck when questioning those who should be held accountable.

Unfortunately, Blumenthal pointedly avoided asking for a 30 day response to that request. So an explanation for why DOJ isn’t helping to sue banks for the illegal fees they’ve charged will probably come long after DOJ settles for those illegal fees.

It is like they touch on the matter, just barely, before going to the heart of it. As if this sly deceptive show of concern will appease the “people.”

Check this out…seems a bit like deja vu:

Ohio Issue 2: Election Day Robocall Instructs Voters To Go To Polls Tomorrow [UPDATE]

Union officials in Ohio are questioning whether proponents of an anti-labor ballot initiative are trying to trick opponents of the measure into staying away from the polls on Tuesday, pointing to a robocall message voters received on the morning of Election Day.

Ohio residents are voting Tuesday on Issue 2, a ballot referendum on a controversial measure known as SB 5. The law restricts collective bargaining rights for state employees, among other provisions. Opposition to the legislation inspired large protests around the state earlier in the year.

At 9:37 a.m. on Tuesday, a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) staffer in Ohio received a robocall message inaccurately telling voters the election was “tomorrow.”

“Hi, I am calling to remind you that tomorrow is Election Day,” said the voice on the message. “It is critically important that you go vote and protect the future of our country. Tomorrow, please go to the polls and vote YES on Issue 2, and vote YES on Issue 3. Paid for by American Future Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. 866-559-5854.”

A vote of yes would approve the anti-collective bargaining bill…but why would the conservative American Future Fund send out robo-calls to supposed supporters to vote on the wrong date? Perhaps they where targeting the group who are against Kasich’s anti-collective bargaining agenda? That is what one union official thinks…

…one union official suspected shenanigans, saying it was unlikely the American Future Fund would make the mistake of instructing its own supporters to turn out on the wrong day, if it was truly interested in increasing turnout.

“When you set an auto-dial to dial, you know how long it will take to go through those batch of numbers,” said a union official. “And if they were legitimately trying to turn out their people they would make sure they didn’t get the calls today.”

Anthony Caldwell, a spokesman for SEIU District 1199, said it was the union’s information technology officer who received the call and noticed, curiously, that the time stamp was slightly after 9:30 am this morning. The IT official is a registered Democrat, which made the call more suspicious.

“For a group [American Future Fund] that has coordinated a million dollar mail campaign, I find it highly unlikely they would make a simple clerical error and send out a robocall to non-supporters telling them to vote the day after Election Day,” said Caldwell.

In other election news: Greenwald: Koch Brothers Fund Voter Suppression for Minorities, Elderly, Students | Informed Comment

Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films exposes the most aggressive interference in the ability of Americans to vote since sheriffs in the Deep South stopped giving African-Americans that Latin exam.

Give that link a few minutes of your time, Cole makes good points about:

Obviously, the US if you take the entire population is a center-left country, but it can be configured as a right wing country if you just kick enough people off the voting rolls on various pretexts.

The 99% are increasingly in a fight not just for their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods, with the top 1%. They are now even in a fight for their democratic participation.

Click to read the last sentence of this post from Cole, I love it!

A great link from Susie Madrak: Suburban Guerrilla » Blog Archive » ‘This home is occupied’

The more of this I see, the happier I am:

She is right, Occupy Atlanta has moved to a new location. The home of a police officer that is being foreclosed upon.

Tawanna Rorey’s husband, a police officer based in Gwinnett County, e-mailed Occupy Atlanta to explain that his home was going to be foreclosed on and his family was in danger of being evicted on Monday. So within a few hours Occupy Atlanta developed an action plan to move to Snellville, Georgia on Monday to stop the foreclosure. At least two dozen protesters encamped on the family’s lawn, to the applause of neighbors and bystanders

Now that is a good idea…

Here are some other news links for you, quick and painless… 😉

The latest from Ron Paul On Elizabeth Warren: ‘She’s A Socialist’

For those who think the EPA is looking out for public safety, think again: The EPA Isn’t Protecting You From the Worst Polluters

More proof of the “gift” Obama has given his bigest supporters on Wall St.: Stop Boo Hooing, Bankers – You’re Doing Even Better Under Obama

Can you believe this woman is doing it again? What is wrong with these people. Maternal Martyr, Michelle Duggar, Willing to Risk Life for Baby No. 20 Take a look at the explanation for Number 20…

“We do not take for granted the wonderful blessings of life that God has bestowed upon us!” writes Michelle on The Duggar Family website. “Many years ago, Jim Bob & I gave this area of our lives to God, allowing Him to grant life as He saw fit.”

The flip side of the Quiverfull ideal of “trusting the Lord with our family planning” which Jim Bob & Michelle embrace and promote through their TV Reality show, website, and numerous books, is that Michelle also accepts the possibility of her own or her baby’s deaths, should such tragedy occur, as God’s will

Lastly, there is a website/company that actually sets up “escorts” for married men, and they are pretty blatant with there advertising. Ashley Madison Ads Says ‘No Way’ To Overweight Women (PHOTOS)

Ashley Madison, a “married dating service for discreet encounters” (yes, such a thing exists), just released the second of two ads that mock a plus-size model for her look, Jezebel reports.

The dating site, which seeks to connect married or “attached” individuals for affairs, released an ad last week stating, “Did your wife SCARE you last night?” with a photo of an overweight woman lounging sexily in lingerie.

The logic, we presume: with a wife that frighteningly fat, the only solution is to seek sex elsewhere. With married folks on Ashley Madison, specifically.

Now the site has released a second ad that reduces the argument even further to this simple logic: skinny = good, fat = bad. The same image of the scantily clad plus-size model is juxtaposed with another woman, a slender model boasting smoother hair, tanner skin and, oh yeah — a body half the size.

The ad tagline: “We call it as we see it.”

But the model who Ashley Madison used is also calling it like she sees it.

Model Jacqueline, who runs a BBW (“Big Beautiful Woman”) website called JuicyJackie.com, wrote a first-person essay for Jezebel.com, defending her body and condemning Ashley Madison’s treatment of it:

I am a size 32. I am beautiful. I think women of all sizes are beautiful. Beauty is not and has never been one-size-fits-all. I do not appreciate my image being used, without notice or permission, to tell women I have never met otherwise.

Not only is it personally offensive, Jacqueline wrote, but it sends the wrong message to viewers, particularly those who are overweight themselves:

As has been widely reported, teens are committing suicide in shocking numbers all over the world as direct result of this sort of shaming ridicule. Be it directed at race, size, sexual orientation or anything, bullying is a vicious force in this world. Contributing to this widespread and creeping depression by suggesting, blatantly and without pretense, that fat people are patently undeserving of love and loyalty is repulsive. It is incumbent upon advertisers, and society at large, to act responsibly before foisting something like this onto the world.

Ashley Madison’s response to Jacqueline’s reasonable request last week?

“The best thing that could’ve happened to this woman is that we used her in our ad. […] if she can get great publicity from this, all the power to her,” the site’s CEO told Jezebel.

So, what are you all reading today? See you later for the Cain press conference, I’ll have my popcorn ready for the show.