US Politics Mega-thread - Page 2729

Michigan officials are stepping up their efforts to address elevated lead levels in Flint's water after residents accused them of responding too slowly to the crisis.

Local officials are handing out water filters and jugs in the streets of Flint and have set up five new distribution centers for filters and testing kits.

And as Michigan Radio reports, the coordinator of the state response to the crisis says "social workers will make door-to-door visits to make sure homes have water filters correctly installed, and children are getting the services they need."

On Monday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder formed a committee made up of experts "to work on long-term solutions to the Flint water situation and ongoing public health concerns affecting residents."

The elevated lead levels are widely blamed on the city's water supply, as we previously reported. In April 2014, the city switched to getting its water from the Flint River. The new supply corroded the city's pipes, leaching lead into the tap water. Even though the city switched back to its original source, the Detroit water system, Flint's mayor says city tap water is still dangerous.

The latest efforts come as the governor faced "a growing crescendo of criticism over the weekend on the state's handling of the crisis," Michigan Radio reports.

On January 12 2016 10:28 xDaunt wrote:
Are you Clinton backers getting nervous yet?

On January 12 2016 10:58 KwarK wrote:

There are Clinton backers? But if my answer is worth anything, no. Dems have this election in the bag before it starts.

On January 12 2016 10:58 KwarK wrote:

There are Clinton backers? But if my answer is worth anything, no. Dems have this election in the bag before it starts.

On January 12 2016 11:47 Deathstar wrote:
So long as Republicans control either the House or Senate, shit will be done. They don't need to win the presidency. They just need to prolong the status quo.

On January 12 2016 12:09 Slaughter wrote:


Such a strong strategy by the Republicans: fart around until shit collapses.

On January 12 2016 11:16 Introvert wrote:
Draft Biden again? What are the ballot deadlines?

On January 12 2016 10:28 xDaunt wrote:
Are you Clinton backers getting nervous yet?

On January 12 2016 13:25 always_winter wrote:
Hate to rain on the pride parade, but the TL US Politics Mega Thread isn't an accurate portrayal of popular opinion in America. There are Clinton supporters. They are many, and they are the reason she's a front-runner. More plentiful yet are hard-line conservatives and their groupthink companions, making the uncertainty of this election surpassed only by its importance. Bernie's a longshot, still. He's the best of a depressingly thin field and his chances of success are likewise.

On January 12 2016 20:59 DickMcFanny wrote:


From what I've seen in the debates, Hillary wins per default because she's a woman.

Even if her policies were all shit, she would get elected on those grounds alone. Now sadly, she's experienced and professional and has a lot of money, so her win over Bernie and any GOP monkey is all but certain.

On January 12 2016 11:47 Deathstar wrote:
So long as Republicans control either the House or Senate, shit will be done. They don't need to win the presidency. They just need to prolong the status quo.

On January 12 2016 23:39 Seuss wrote:


I'd hope that sometime in the next 8 years things might turn around in either the House or Senate, but I'm pretty naive.

"MoveOn members are feeling the Bern," said Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action. "We will mobilize aggressively to add our collective people power to the growing movement behind the Sanders campaign, starting with a focus on voter turnout in Iowa and New Hampshire

The endorsement was widely expected. MoveOn encouraged Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to run for president but when she declined last year many of its supporters got behind Sanders' campaign.


The group lists 8 million members and says it will mobilize nearly 75,000 of its members in Iowa and New Hampshire, which hold the campaign's first two contests.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Florida's system for sentencing people to death is unconstitutional because it gives too much power to judges — and not enough to juries — to decide capital sentences.

The 8-1 ruling said that the state's sentencing procedure is flawed because juries play only an advisory role in recommending death while the judge can reach a different decision.


The court sided with Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted of the 1998 murder of his manager at a Popeye's restaurant in Pensacola. A jury divided 7-5 in favor of death, but a judge imposed the sentence.

Florida's solicitor general argued that the system was acceptable because a jury first decides if the defendant is eligible for the death penalty.

Writing for the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said a jury's "mere recommendation is not enough." She said the court was overruling previous decisions upholding the state's sentencing process.

"The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death," Sotomayor said.

The justices sent the case back to the Florida Supreme Court to determine whether the error in sentencing Hurst was harmless, or whether he should get a new sentencing hearing.

Justice Samuel Alito dissented, saying that the trial judge in Florida simply performs a reviewing function that duplicates what the jury has done.