https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/nomination-of-the-honorable-william-pelham-barr-to-be-attorney-general-of-the-united-states
With Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg continuing to recover from cancer surgery, whispers about whether she should step down have grown louder. But as a member of the Supreme Court with life tenure, Ginsburg can remain on the bench for as long as she desires, no matter how sick she becomes.
Ginsburg had surgery Dec. 21 to remove two malignant nodules found in her left lung and has been recuperating at her home ever since. The procedure kept Ginsburg off the bench on Monday and Tuesday, marking the first time she missed oral arguments in her 25-year tenure on the Supreme Court.
Though she was not present for oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts said Ginsburg would participate in the cases by reading briefs and argument transcripts.
In addition to reviewing relevant case material from home, Ginsburg has also voted in matters before the court. There is no written rule prohibiting justices who are missing from the bench from casting their votes.
Before her cancer surgery last month, for example, Ginsburg voted remotely to deny a request from the Trump administration to enforce its new asylum policy, according to reports.
At 85, Ginsburg is not the oldest justice to have served on the high court and is not the only one to have battled illness during their tenure.
Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes and John Paul Stevens both retired at 90, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist served on the Supreme Court until his death in September 2005, nearly one year after he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Rehnquist, like Ginsburg, also worked from his home while recovering in October 2004 from a tracheotomy in connection with his cancer diagnosis.
At the time, Stevens, who presided over the court during Rehnquist's absence, said Rehnquist "reserves the right" to vote in cases before the court, including those in which he was not present for oral arguments.
Ginsburg has also battled cancer twice before. In 1999, she was treated for colon cancer, and in 2009, she was treated for pancreatic cancer.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ginsburg-can-stay-on-the-supreme-court-and-vote-no-matter-how-sick-or-disabled-she-becomes/ar-BBS02Ae?li=BBnbcA1
A self-proclaimed member of the far-right Proud Boys group who also believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory allegedly murdered his own brother with a sword.
Prosecutors say Buckey Wolfe, 26, killed his brother in Seattle on Sunday night by stabbing him in the head with a four-foot long sword.
Wolfe, who prosecutors say exhibited signs of mental illness, called police himself after the murder and claimed he thought his brother was a lizard, according to The Seattle Times. When detectives arrived, he reportedly believed they were also lizards. Wolfe has been charged with second-degree murder.
A Facebook page confirmed to belong to Wolfe by a local Seattle TV station is filled with references to Trump and other conservative figures, as well as the cartoon character Pepe the Frog, who has been embraced by the far-right.
The Facebook page also features a declaration of allegiance to the Proud Boys, the group’s so-called “first degree” of membership.
“I’m a proud Western chauvinist and I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world,” one post from February reads, before referencing the Proud Boys’ slogan. “Uhuru!!!”
Wolfe apparently made other references to the Proud Boys on Facebook, including interacting with area Proud Boys. He also posted a graphic praising the group's Pacific Northwest branch, which has repeatedly clashed with left-wing antifascist demonstrators at rallies.
Several Proud Boys are facing charges in New York after an October fight with protesters, and the group’s founder, Gavin McInnes, has attempted to distance himself from the organization.
Wolfe also appears to be a believer in QAnon, the baseless pro-Trump conspiracy theory that posits that Trump is engaged in a shadowy war against a secret cabal of pedophilic global elites in the Democratic Party.
Wolfe frequently posted QAnon-related content on Facebook, including references to QAnon believers’ motto, “Where We Go One, We Go All.”
He encouraged people to share QAnon graphics, telling his followers to “share this meme ammo.” He also made posts in the style of “Q,” the anonymous person or group of people giving the “clues” that have inspired QAnon, and posted links to the now-closed QAnon subreddit.
Wolfe referenced “swords” multiple times in his QAnon posts, saying that they would be used to defeat the “Illuminati.”
Wolfe also made several references online to the extreme conspiracy theory that some people are actually lizards in disguise. Prosecutors referenced some of Wolfe’s online postings as proof that he’s mentally ill, according to The Seattle Times.
On his YouTube channel, Wolfe declared that Trump would soon triumph over his enemies in a cataclysmic event QAnon believers call “The Storm.”
“It’s coming, and it’s gonna be good!” Wolfe said. “Y’alls are gonna get your just dues. I will be so happy, you have no idea.”
This isn’t the first time a QAnon believer has drawn law enforcement attention. In June, an armed QAnon believer allegedly shut down a bridge near the Hoover Dam with an improvised armored truck, demanding the release of a nonexistent government report that had been promised by “Q.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/proud-boy-member-accused-of-murdering-his-brother-with-a-sword-4
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-09/macron-may-trigger-debt-crisis-yellow-vest-crackdown
The Co-opt begins?
Jacline Mouraud, once the self-appointed spokeswoman of the Yellow Vests, has announced the creation of a new party. The emerging political force is described as a “party of common sense,” pursuing social and tax reforms.
Mouraud greatly contributed to stirring up the Yellow Vests protests and has become a highly recognizable figure after posting a video against fuel tax hikes which has been viewed several million times since October.
However, she does not seem to crave political leadership, and it remains unclear who will actually head the party. “I require no title, I’m trying to create a party, and that’s good. Further, as in any party, there will be a vote. Would it be me [elected the head of the party] or not, I don’t care, this is not important,” she said on Monday, as quoted by French media.
“The main thing is to create it, to unite people against violence and to ensure respect for our institutions.”
The party already has quite a name – Les Émergents (the Emerging) – though it might change, according to Mouraud, as others might come up with other ideas. The program of the party is expected to be unveiled in late January. Its goals so far appear to be rather vague.
The party is described by Mouraud as a “party of common sense,” which will provide “new and constructive ideas for the country, in harmony with the challenges of climate change.”
The party’s statutes are being drafted with the “help of competent persons,” namely “lawyers, former parliamentarians,” she stated.
Mouraud herself, a 51-year-old composer and hypnotherapist from the French region of Brittany, has no political experience.
However, Mouraud has recently distanced herself from the protesters, who have wreaked havoc in the streets of French cities in recent months. In early December, she and another prominent figure of the protest – Benjamin Cauchy – claimed they received death threats from hardline protesters who warned them against making any concessions with the government.
https://www.rt.com/news/448353-yellow-vest-stuff/
FF RR
Teachers in Los Angeles, whose 640,000 students make it the nation's second-largest school district, are ready to strike Thursday over a contract dispute that follows teacher walkouts in other states that emboldened organized labor after a critical defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court.
United Teachers Los Angeles said its 35,000 members would walk off the job for the first time in 30 years if a deal wasn't reached on higher pay and smaller class sizes. The Los Angeles Unified School District says the union's demands could bankrupt the school system, which is projecting a half-billion-dollar deficit this budget year and has billions obligated for pension payments and health coverage for retired teachers.
Negotiations are continuing, but little progress is evident. The two sides rejected Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's offer to broker a deal.
Thousands of teachers took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles last month to demand a new contract. They wore red shirts, banged drums and carried signs that read "Stand With LA Teachers!" as they marched.
They are hoping to build on the "Red4Ed" movement that began last year in West Virginia, where a strike resulted in a raise. It moved to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado and Washington state, spreading from conservative states with "right to work" laws that limit the ability to strike to the more liberal West Coast with strong unions.
"What you're seeing with unions is real enthusiasm and a belief that you can actually be successful," said Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois. "The educational sector is rife with deep grievance and frustration, but there's now a sense that you can actually win."
Actions elsewhere emboldened Los Angeles teachers, union President Alex Caputo-Pearl said.
"Each state is different, but the commonality across all states is teachers, and parents are sick of schools not being invested in," he said.
But unlike other states, schools will stay open if a strike happens. The district has hired hundreds of substitutes to replace teachers and others who leave for picket lines. The union said it's "irresponsible" to hire substitutes and called on parents to consider keeping students home or join the marchers if a strike goes forward.
It comes as unions are stinging from a Supreme Court ruling last year that said government workers can't be required to join unions and pay dues.
Larry Sand, a retired Los Angeles and New York City teacher who heads the California Teachers Empowerment Network, said he believes the Los Angeles union sees its showdown with the district as a public "sales pitch" for organized labor now that teachers have a choice about joining.
Sand, whose organization describes itself as a nonpartisan information source for teachers and the public, said overly generous benefits for teachers in the past have overburdened the district.
Teachers earn between $44,000 and $86,000 a year depending on their education and experience, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The district says the average teacher salary is $75,000, which reflects the older, more experienced workforce.
The district has offered a 6 percent raise over the first two years of a three-year contract. The union wants a 6.5 percent hike at the start of a two-year contract. Health care fully paid by the district and a pension plan would be unchanged under both proposals.
The union also wants significantly smaller class sizes, which routinely top 30 students, and more nurses, librarians and counselors to "fully staff" the district's campuses in Los Angeles and all or parts of 31 smaller cities, plus several unincorporated areas.
The union argues that the district is hoarding reserves of $1.8 billion that could be used to fund the pay and staffing hikes. The district said that money is needed to cover retiree benefits and other expenses.
Schools Superintendent Austin Beutner, an investment banker and former Los Angeles deputy mayor without experience in education, has become a lightning rod in negotiations.
The union says Beutner and school board members who voted him in are trying to privatize the district, encouraging school closures and flipping public schools into charters. Charter schools are privately operated public schools that compete for students and the funds they bring in.
Beutner, who attended public school, has said his plan to reorganize the district would improve services to students and families. He and his supporters on the board envision an education system with a "portfolio approach" — public and charter schools under the same leadership.
More:
https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article224120195.html#storylink=latest_side