The Hollywood Liberal

Hoyer: Obama on brink of ‘significant’ immigration changes
House minority whip says president will take action if GOP idles.

Lemony Snicket Helps ‘Little Free Library’ Advocate Spencer Collins
A Kansas boy battling through a series of unfortunate events over his front-yard library is getting some support from author Daniel Handler.

Last month, 9-year-old Spencer Collins erected a “take a book, leave a book” structure as a Mother’s Day gift and as an attempt to engage with his Leawood, Kan., community. But then the Leawood City Council ordered him to remove the small library from his front yard and even threatened the young librarian with fines.

Now, Spencer is getting some public backing from Handler, a.k.a Lemony Snicket, author of the “Series Of Unfortunate Events” books.

Handler told the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s sending Spencer “a handful of Snicket books — largely from my new series, ‘All the Wrong Questions,’ in which a librarian is a hero.”

When asked if he had any advice for Spencer, Handler replied, “I would rather be advised by this librarian on what he thinks I ought to read next.”

Handler is among thousands who have voiced support for Spencer since the Leawood shut down the tiny library, which was roughly the size of a large birdhouse.

A Facebook page set up in support of the library now has more than 27,000 likes, including many from the owners of other Little Free Libraries who’ve sent in photos of their own structures.

In response, Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn said the city might be able to make an exception for Spencer’s library at its July 7 meeting.

Some 15,000 “Little Free Libraries” have sprung up around the country, so chances are there’s one (or more) near you. This map can help you to find one.

Beating of Roma Boy Exposes Tensions in France’s Underclass
The near fatal beating of a Roma youth suspected of burglary by a gang on the outskirts of Paris has highlighted the tensions in France’s economic underclass.

World Briefing: Nigeria: Deadly Blast Hits Capital
An explosion killed 21 people in a crowded shopping district in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, during rush hour on Wednesday, the police said.

World Briefing: South Korea: A Familiar Premier
President Park Geun-hye reversed her decision to replace her current prime minister, after two successive appointees stepped aside amid controversies over their qualifications.

Shiite Violence Traps Sunnis in Baghdad
Suspicions that Baghdad’s Sunnis are secretly siding with ISIS have grown as the militants get closer to the city, increasing their fears of retaliation.

Sinosphere Blog: Q. and A.: William C. Kirby on ‘Can China Lead?’
In the book “Can China Lead?”, three business school professors looked at the motors for and the constraints against greatness that China is experiencing. One of the authors, William C. Kirby, explains what they found.

The NRA Is Suddenly Concerned About Gay Couples

The gun lobby complains that the legislation goes too far by “including expansive and vaguely defined ‘dating relationships’ and individuals ‘similarly situated to a spouse.'”

The post The NRA Is Suddenly Concerned About Gay Couples appeared first on ThinkProgress.

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre

CREDIT: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The National Rifle Association has come out in opposition to a bill that would prohibit more domestic abusers from legally obtaining firearms, complaining that the restrictions could apply to partners of the same sex.

The legislation, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), would tighten existing federal restrictions against gun ownership for individuals convicted of domestic violence and stalking. Federal law prohibits individuals with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions from owning guns, but includes loopholes that allow convicted stalkers and “individuals in a current or former dating relationship who never lived together or had a child together” to purchase weapons.

Experts contest that the loose federal restrictions contribute to the nation’s high levels of gun violence, particularly against American women, who are 11 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in other high-income countries. S.1290 would expand the existing ownership prohibitions to dating partners and deny the sale of a firearm to a person convicted of the misdemeanor crime of stalking.

But in an e-mail sent to Congress on Tuesday, the gun lobby complains that the legislation goes too far by “including expansive and vaguely defined ‘dating relationships’ and individuals ‘similarly situated to a spouse.’” It goes on to single out partnered gay men:

Under S. 1290, for example, two men of equal size, strength, and economic status joined by a civil union or merely engaged (or formerly engaged) in an intimate “social relationship,” could be subject to this prohibition for conviction of simple “assault” arising from a single shoving match.

The e-mail also questions the need for including stalkers in federal restrictions, since stalking offenses “do not necessarily include violent or even threatening behavior.”

Last week, the Center for American Progress issued a report finding that some states have already enacted “laws closing some gaps related to domestic abusers’ gun access.” Still, just ten states bar those who abuse someone they are dating if they did not live together or have children together from gun ownership.

The CAP analysis recommended barring all convicted “abusers, stalkers, and people subject to related restraining orders from possessing guns” and polices that “ensure that abusers surrender any firearms they own once they become prohibited.”

The post The NRA Is Suddenly Concerned About Gay Couples appeared first on ThinkProgress.

Where Are the GOP Supporters of Voting Rights?
From: Ari Berman

One year after the Supreme Court gutted the VRA, few Republicans have signed on to a legislative solution.

Despite SCOTUS Ban, 15 States Still Allow Mandatory Life Without Parole for Juveniles
From: Steven Hsieh

Two years after the Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional, many states are still able to send children to die in prison without recourse.

Supreme Court Kills the Old Robocop Dream
From: Back Issues

The justices didn’t quote Christian Parenti, but they should have.

Why Obama Needs to Ignore ‘Armchair Warriors’ and Focus on the Global Economy
From: Katrina vanden Heuvel

Obama’s real failure has been his inability to lead a global New Deal.

Luis Suárez May Bite, but FIFA Sucks Blood
From: Dave Zirin

Suspending Luis Suárez is the right thing to do. But the organization responsible for issuing judgment is absent of moral weight.

Thad Cochran’s Democratic Campaign
E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
WASHINGTON — “There is something a bit strange, there is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that’s decided by liberal Democrats.”The words of Chris McDaniel, the tea party candidate vanquished in Mississippi’s runoff on Tuesday by Sen. Thad Cochran and the state’s GOP establishment, were not the most gracious. But they contained an important truth about why Cochran prevailed after finishing second in the first round of voting on June 3.In winning, Cochran overturned many of the cliches of political analysis: that runoffs draw lower turnouts than the main event; that…

Tea Party Mischief on Exports

A Surprise Race That Shouldn’t Have Been
Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
Just a few years ago, this probably wouldn’t have been worth mentioning: Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, a six-term incumbent with a strong conservative record who had ceaselessly brought home the bacon for his state, defeated a Republican primary challenge from a rookie state legislator and former radio host.

Today’s GDP Number Isn’t as Bad as It Sounds
Danny Vinik, New Republic
The economy contracted at an annualized rate of negative 2.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. In other words, the economy in the first three months of the year actually shrank. The contraction is worse than expected: forecasters were predicting it would be just negative 1.8 percent. And to give you a sense of scale, GDP fell by 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, at the depths of the recession. In other words, this is an ugly number.

WND Founder Stopped at Airport With Loaded Gun
Joseph Farah, the co-founder of the conservative website now known as WND and one of the guiding lights of the birther movement, was caught by TSA agents at Dulles International Airport on Sunday with a loaded .38-caliber revolver in his carry-on bag.

Woman Banned From Memphis Zoo For Trying To Feed Cookies To Lions
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Zoo officials have banned a woman after saying she climbed over a barrier to the enclosure where lions…

West readies package of sector sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and its European allies are finalizing a package of sanctions on Russia’s key economic sectors that could be levied as early as this week, though the package might be delayed because of positive signals from Russian President Vladimir Putin, administration officials and others close to the decision-making said Tuesday.

Thad Cochran thanks supporters after hard-fought primary win
The veteran senator from Mississippi was forced into a primary runoff against state Sen. Chris McDaniel, but the six-term Republican narrowly defeated his tea party challenger.

Texas Values’ Jonathan Saenz: Gay Activists Are Trying To “Put People In Jail”

Texas Values president Jonathan Saenz agreed with a right-wing radio host that gay activists are trying to put Christians in concentration camps, asserting that the gay rights movement wants “to put people in jail” if they disagree with marriage equality and “the homosexual lifestyle.”

In a June 20 interview with Raging Elephants Radio, Saenz condemned a recent Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruling affirming that a Denver-area baker had violated the state’s non-discrimination law by refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex couple. Host Claver Kamau-Imani asked Saenz whether the ruling was tantamount to sending the baker to a “concentration camp.” Saenz agreed, asserting that there’s “no question” gay rights supporters ultimately aim to imprison opponents of LGBT equality:

KANAU-IMANI: Alright, let’s get back to Colorado. So you have a baker that does wedding cakes and they say they don’t want to do a two-man wedding cake or a two-woman wedding cake with the little figurines on top or whatever. And so the homosexual couple, whether it’s man and man, woman and woman, whatever, they go to this specially created commission to deal with this, file a complaint against the business, and so the commission says ‘No, you’re gonna make this cake, plus, you’re going to go to concentration camp,’ essentially. Is that what you’re telling us, Jonathan?

SAENZ: That’s right, that’s right. You know, they tried to do something like that here in Texas – I think it was a bill by Sen. Rodney Ellis that dealt with hate crime stuff, where they would’ve forced you to participate in an event of the quote-unquote community that you had offended. And so we testified against this legislation and it ended up dying on the Senate side. But I mean, this is what they want. I mean, there’s no question. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen them try to do it with legislation here in Texas at the state level. It is a goal of theirs to put people in jail that disagree with homosexual marriage, without question – or the homosexual lifestyle. [emphasis added]