US Politics Mega-thread - Page 1177

DENVER (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday ruled Oklahoma must allow gay couples to wed, marking the second time it has found the U.S. Constitution protects same-sex marriage.

The decision from a three-judge panel in Denver upholds rulings that struck down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban.

The 2-1 ruling comes after the same panel ruled June 25 that Utah's ban on same-sex marriage violates the Constitution. It was the first time an appellate court determined last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act means states cannot deny gays the ability to wed.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put its Oklahoma and Utah rulings on hold pending an appeal. Utah's attorney general has said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Gay marriage in the two states will remain on hold.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Friday afternoon voted unanimously to allow federal prisoners behind bars for certain drug trafficking crimes to petition to have their sentences reduced. The change is expected to impact around 46,000 current federal prisoners, and to lower sentences by an average of more than two years.

The commission, made up of seven people, voted to allow tens of thousands of prisoners to petition judges for a sentencing reduction based on new guidelines. The implementation of the change will be delayed, however, with the first prisoners affected by the change likely to be released early in November 2015.

“This amendment received unanimous support from Commissioners because it is a measured approach,” Judge Patti B. Saris, the chairwoman of the Sentencing Commission, said in a statement. “It reduces prison costs and populations and responds to statutory and guidelines changes since the drug guidelines were initially developed, while safeguarding public safety."

The Justice Department initially had not backed the whole proposal, instead suggesting a middle path that would only make around 27,000 prisoners eligible. That position was the result of a compromise, because many U.S. Attorneys across the country had been opposed to any retroactive reforms.

But the Justice Department now supports the change.

"We have been in ongoing discussions with the Commission during its deliberations on this issue, and conveyed the department's support for this balanced approach," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement released Friday. "In the interest of fairness, it makes sense to apply changes to the sentencing guidelines retroactively, and the idea of a one-year implementation delay will adequately address public safety concerns by ensuring that judges have adequate time to consider whether an eligible individual is an appropriate candidate for a reduced sentence."

Criminal justice advocates praised the change as a matter of fairness.

A man in Virginia that was charged for firing a gun at police who were attempting to enter his house in the middle of the night, unannounced, has finally been exonerated in a jury trail. Not only did police not announce themselves, but they were also at the wrong address.


Following the intrusion, Watson was arrested and charged with reckless use of a firearm.

In the year and a half since the incident, there have been a number of court cases, the first of which Watson was found guilty by a judge. After appealing his case, Watson finally got a his trial in front of a jury, who threw his charge out after deliberating for less than an hour.

The jury caught the officers in multiple lies throughout the course of the trial, and were struck by the fact that this whole thing could have been prevented had the officers been competent enough to respond to the correct house.

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Obama administration is reopening the Eastern Seaboard to offshore oil and gas exploration, approving seismic surveys using sonic cannons that can pinpoint energy deposits deep beneath the ocean floor.

Friday's announcement is the first real step toward what could be a transformation in coastal states, creating thousands of jobs to support a new energy infrastructure. But it dismayed environmentalists and people who owe their livelihoods to fisheries and tourism.

The cannons create noise pollution in waters shared by whales, dolphins and turtles, sending sound waves 100 times louder than a jet engine reverberating through the deep every ten seconds for weeks at a time. Arguing that endangered species could be harmed was the environmental groups' best hope for extending a decades-old ban against drilling off the U.S. Atlantic coast.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management acknowledged that thousands of sea creatures will be harmed even as it approved opening the outer continental shelf from Delaware to Florida to exploration. Energy companies need the data as they prepare to apply for drilling leases in 2018, when current congressional limits expire.

"The bureau's decision reflects a carefully analyzed and balanced approach that will allow us to increase our understanding of potential offshore resources while protecting the human, marine, and coastal environments," acting BOEM Director Walter Cruickshank said in a statement.

Sonic cannons are already used in the western Gulf of Mexico, off Alaska and in other offshore oil operations around the world. They are towed behind boats, sending down pulses of sound that reverberate beneath the sea floor and rebound to the surface. Hydrophones capture the results, which computers translate into high resolution, three-dimensional images.

On July 19 2014 05:45 GreenHorizons wrote:


Source

The police show up at the wrong house unannounced, try to break in, and they press charges against the victim. More so, after getting caught lying, pressing bullshit charges, disrupting this families life, and making him practically unemployable while he tries to clear a wreckless firearms charge off his record, the police suffer just some embarrassement and no charges.... Straight bullshit... But yeah poor Bundy can't keep grazing on land he doesn't own, that's the story that deserves 24 hour coverage on government overreach.

Yet people wonder why no one buys the paramour of personal freedom BS from most of the right.

On July 19 2014 06:53 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Hopefully not, if Canada is so desperate for exports then Harper and the rest should build into Asia and foot the bill. It's a global commodity no matter what.

On July 19 2014 09:09 SnipedSoul wrote:
Keystone XL was never meant to supply the US with oil. It's going to the Port Arthur foreign trade zone in Texas for refining and export to Asia. You won't even see any tax money from oil sent through XL.

Also, the Northern Gateway pipeline is already seeing massive pushback from residents in BC. I would be surprised if it's built within 10 years, let alone ever.

On July 19 2014 10:32 SnipedSoul wrote:
They aren't going to stop using rails to ship oil even if they build every proposed pipeline. Production will increase until both pipelines and rails are again at capacity.

Even if Obama approves the pipeline, you still have to convince American farmers in Nebraska to let a Canadian company build an oil pipeline through their land so that they can refine oil tax free and send the products to Asia.

It also doesn't take that many people to build a pipeline. A few hundred laborers for digging and welding is about it. Once it's built, you need a few maintenance people to service pump stations and perform inspections / repairs. Most of the jobs come from the production of oil, not the transport.

On July 19 2014 12:00 SnipedSoul wrote:
The Keystone XL goes to the Port Arthur Foreign Trade Zone where the US collects little, if any, taxes.

Most of the jobs you're talking about will be in Alberta at the TransCanada Pipe Lines office.

On July 19 2014 06:49 Wolfstan wrote:
Hopefully that means approval of Keystone XL as well.

On July 19 2014 13:06 Danglars wrote:
That's all I want for by Christmas. Do it for the sake of bipartisanship and not obstructionism!