CNN: Jim Webb to drop out of Democratic presidential primary

By Dan Mercia, Oct. 20, 2015, CNN

(CNN)Jim Webb will end his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination at a press conference Tuesday, according to two sources with knowledge of the decision.

The former Virginia senator who launched a longshot presidential bid earlier this year is considering an independent run, according to his campaign. Craig Crawford, Webb's spokesman, declined to comment on whether the senator was dropping out of the Democratic race, however.

"Jim will have the first word at 1 p.m.," Crawford said, referring to the senator's press conference at the National Press Club in Washington.

After a prolonged exploration of a presidential bid, Webb used a more than 2,000-word blog post to announce his run.

More: www.cnn.com

The Hill: High stakes for Hillary, lawmakers in Benghazi panel showdown

By Scott Wong and Julian Hattem, Oct. 19, 2015, The Hill

Hillary Clinton isn't the only one with a lot riding on this week’s Capitol Hill hearing on the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks.

The 12-member Select Committee on Benghazi is loaded with ambitious lawmakers from both parties looking for a breakout moment on the national stage with the Democratic presidential front-runner.

More than half the Republicans serving on the panel have been mentioned as potential candidates to replace Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). And the committee’s chairman, GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.), is widely viewed as having a bright political future back home in South Carolina.

Clinton’s Democratic allies on the panel include one declared Senate candidate, Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and another potential one, veteran Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.

Here’s a look at seven members of the Benghazi panel who could shine in the spotlight during Thursday’s showdown.

Reps. Jim Jordan, Peter Roskam, Mike Pompeo and Lynn Westmoreland

The Benghazi panel is small but counts at least four potential Speaker candidates among its ranks: Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), former Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), and Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.).

More: www.thehill.com

Time: Anti-Immigration Party Triumphs in Swiss Parliamentary Elections

By Times Staff, Oct. 19, 2015, Time.com

Election reflects deep anxiety over the huge influx of migrants and refugees to Europe this year

The rightist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) triumphed in the country’s parliamentary elections Sunday, winning just under 30% of the vote for its vigorous stance against immigration. The right-leaning Liberal Party (FDP) also increased its share of parliamentary seats,Reuters reported, prompting analysts to talk of a Rechtsrutsch, or shift to the right, in the national political mood.

The SVP now controls 65 seats in the legislature — the highest of any party since the early 1960s.

Before the polls, Swiss voters listed immigration, integration and foreigners as their main concerns, the Associated Press says. Hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants have poured into Europe this year and the SVP reflected anxieties over the influx in its campaigning, making pledges to tighten restrictions on who can enter and remain in the country — including not just asylum seekers but nationals from E.U. member states. (Switzerland is not an E.U. member.)

More: www.time.com

The New York Times: Which Presidential Candidates Are Winning the Money Race

By The New York Times, Oct. 16, 2015, NYTimes.com

On Oct. 15, candidates filed reports with the Federal Election Commission on their finances through Sept. 30. The filings paint only a partial picture, however, because most outside groups supporting the candidates, like “super PACs,” will not submit their latest figures until Jan. 31.

See all candidate fundraising totals: www.nytimes.com

CNN: Hillary Clinton dismisses Benghazi 'conspiracy theories'

AP File

Washington (CNN) - Hillary Clinton said Friday that while she will do her "best" to answer the House Select Committee on Benghazi's questions in her testimony next week on Capitol Hill, she doesn't have very much to add and that "conspiracy theories" about the attack have already been debunked.

In the wide-ranging 20-minute interview Friday on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," Clinton addressed everything from her performance in the first Democratic debate and her top rival for the Democratic nomination Sen. Bernie Sanders to Republican front-runner Donald Trump's "oversize personality" and whether Vice President Joe Biden should jump into the race.

But less than a week before she testifies for the first time before the panel and on the same day as her top aide Huma Abedin testified privately before the committee, Clinton previewed her testimony and girded herself for the tough questioning she is expected to endure by pointing to the committee's political motivations. 

More: www.cnn.com

Daily Caller: Bernie Backers Declare War On CNN For Naming Hillary Debate Winner

By Blake Neff, Oct. 15, 2015

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders are clashing with CNN, claiming the channel is censoring them and building a false narrative that Hillary Clinton won Tuesday’s presidential primary debate.

The current dispute begins with the Tuesday night presidential debate. Since the debate was co-hosted by Facebook, CNN showcased a Facebook poll in its post-debate coverage that suggested Sanders won the debate in a landslide.




More: www.dailycaller.com

Democratic Debate CNN 2015 VIDEO Democratic Debate CNN 2016

ABC News: What to Expect From Bernie Sanders at Tuesday's Democratic Debate

By Ryan Struyk and Maryalice Parks, Oct. 12, 2015, ABC News

Bernie Sanders may be the outsider in the Democratic nomination race, but that doesn't mean he's a stranger to the debate stage.

Sanders (I-Vermont) has run for elected office more than a dozen times and is a veteran debater. As all eyes turn to Tuesday's first Democratic debate of the 2016 campaign, the big question is now: How will Sanders' fiery rhetoric and pointed platform play on the national stage?

"I think he's going to do very well," said Greg Guma, a Vermont-based journalist. “He is a strong debater. He will be speaking from the heart, from the basis of principles…he has fundamental positions that he does not equivocate on."

Guma said that another one of Sanders’ strengths is the ability to put opponents on the defensive by putting the issues in stark terms. “He has talked this year about how we are heading towards an oligarchy, and so, in a sense, he has said it is a choice between me and building a political movement to save the country or we’re heading toward oligarchy,” Guma explained. “Even the Democrat is in a sense put on the other side.”

More: www.abcnews.go.com

FPI: 15 Mass-Shootings Later, President Obama, Hillary Still Out Of Touch With Gun Laws

C-SPAN: Planned Parenthood Medical Procedures

CBS News: Conservatives to back Daniel Webster over Kevin McCarthy for House speaker

By Stephanie Condon, Oct. 7, 2015, CBS News

The House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 anti-establishment conservatives, announced Wednesday that they are endorsing Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Florida, to serve as the next speaker of the House.

The House Republican conference will vote by secret ballot on Thursday to nominate its candidate for speaker. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California -- currently No. 2 in the House -- is likely to emerge as the nominee, even without the support of the Freedom Caucus.

However, McCarthy will need the support of at least some Freedom Caucus members when the full House of Representatives votes for the new speaker on October 29. A candidate will need at least 218 votes to be elected speaker, …

More: www.cbsnews.com

ABC News: These 6 Stalled Bills Aimed at Mass Shootings Like Umpqua Flounder in Congress

By Ali Weinberg and Ben Siegel, Oct 2, 2015, ABC News

President Obama expressed frustration that Thursday’s shooting in Oregon would likely not spur Congress to pass legislation geared at reducing gun violence.

“This is a political choice that we make to allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction,” he said during his address from the White House briefing room Thursday night.

Congress’ last big push on big-ticket gun control legislation came in 2013, with Sens. Joe Manchin, D-Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Va., responding to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut by crafting a bill that would have expanded background checks for online sales and gun shows.

But it still faced resistance from conservative groups and the National Rifle Association, and did not clear the Senate, nor was it expected to clear the Republican-controlled House.

Since Manchin-Toomey, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have continued to push new legislation, but all have been, at some point or another in the legislative process, become stalled.

More: www.abcnews.go.com

Washington Post: Shooting in Oregon: 11 essential facts about guns and mass shootings in America

By Max Ehrenfreund, Oct. 1, 2015, Washington Post

Numerous people are reportedly dead in a shooting on the campus of a community college in rural Oregon. It's the latest incident of gun violence in a series this year, including a shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, La. and another at a church in Charleston, S.C.

It is not yet clear how many people have been killed in Thursday morning's incident at Umqua Community College in Douglas County or the full circumstances of the shooting.

In this post, adapted from previous versions after mass killings in the past, we explore America's unique role among advanced countries as a place where support for guns is widespread -- as is violence involving firearms. There are some perhaps surprising findings -- gun ownership in the United States is declining overall, for instance. But although mass killings have occurred with increasing frequency in recent years, support for gun rights is still resolute in America.

More: www.washingtonpost.com

RCP: Presidential Tantrums Won't End Gun Violence

By Michael Gerson, Oct. 6, 2015, RCP

WASHINGTON -- Following the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College, a "smoldering" (as one commentator put it) President Obama gave a revealing speech -- a clarification, a culmination, of much that had come before. "What has become routine," he said, "of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of commonsense gun legislation. Right now, I can imagine the press releases being cranked out. 'We need more guns,' they'll argue. ... Does anybody believe that?" "This is a political choice we make," he claimed, "to allow this to happen every few months in America."

The president's frustration, after delivering a sad series of similar speeches, is understandable. But his argument is still indefensible.

Even if you support "commonsense gun legislation" (as I do), there was nothing in Obama's speech that effectively argued for it. No policy proposals or serious justifications. No one listening to the speech would be persuaded to take a position he or she did not already hold. Obama was saying, in essence, that it is obvious what we should do about mass gun violence, that evil people are blocking it, and that they have innocent blood on their hands.

More: www.realclearpolitics.com

The Hill: Clinton unveils gun-control plan

By Jesse Byrnes, Oct. 5, 2015, The Hill

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton announced new gun-control measures on Monday in the wake of the mass shooting at a community college in Oregon.

Clinton's gun-control proposal, announced in New Hampshire, calls for closing the so-called gun show loophole on private gun sales, potentially through executive action, and allow victims of gun violence to sue weapon manufacturers by proposing a repeal of legislation.

During a pair of town halls in New Hampshire, Clinton also called for eliminating the "Charleston loophole," a reference to the June shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., by barring those with felony records from buying guns if results of a federal background check aren't returned within three days.

"I really do want to push hard to get more sensible restraints on gun ownership in the wrong hands, and then to try and keep track of people who shouldn’t have guns," Clinton said during the first event aired on NBC's "Today Show."

"I want to work with the Congress – we got very close. There was a bipartisan bill, it didn’t go all the way, but I will also look for ways as president to tighten some of these checks, to get more of the background checks done on more of the sales at gun shows and online than we currently have," she added.

More: www.thehill.com

Ted Kennedy Jr. Ought To Apologize To Patrick Kennedy For Ridiculing Him Over His New Book On Addiction And Mental Illness By Alexandra D. Datig

Available on Amazon.com

By Alexandra D. Datig, Oct. 5, 2015

The Boston Globe published an article on Sunday about an interview Patrick Kennedy gave regarding his new book “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction.”

It may come as a surprise to some that Patrick Kennedy, who is in recovery more than four consecutive years, found himself being criticized by his own family for courageously talking about his battles with addiction and mental illness.  In the Boston Globe article Kennedy’s brother Ted Jr. is quoted as having said about his brother’s account that it is an “inaccurate and unfair portrayal of our family.”

The Kennedy Family is one of America’s most prominent families that has seen the dark side of public life in the most devastating ways imaginable.  The prolonged suffering resulting from shooting deaths of his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy are without a doubt a lifelong reflection of sorrow for Patrick Kennedy and the Kennedy family as a whole.  Many Americans can probably understand how such devastation can result in finding comfort in the bottle to numb out the reality of what took place.  The question is however; can Americans understand with the same level of empathy how Patrick Kennedy found solace in recovery to deal with the reality of the devastation he is reminded of for the rest of his life?

Beating addiction is the toughest thing I have ever done.  Even after 16 years of recovery, I realize I know very little about addiction, especially someone else’s.  What I do know is addiction is a daily reprieve. It is a second chance at life.  A chance every addict deserves.  Why is it then we don’t see the kind of family support people in recovery deserve?

While drinking and drugging is a conscious choice, the progressive brain disease resulting from addiction is not.  Bottles of alcohol do not warn drinking may cause lack of impulse control that cause behavior which may be harmful to the user and may cause the user to become a danger to him or herself and others.  Families should to be educated to become more understanding of the helplessness and hopelessness addiction brings. 

Patrick Kennedy is courageous and brave to take on the issue of addiction and mental illness at the government level.  His work to bring about much needed change in how we view addiction as a health problem instead of a moral failing and a criminal justice problem ought to be strongly supported, especially by his family.

Lack of family support can further devastate and even trigger harmful relapse in an addict.  Family support is essential for the mental health of the entire family as addiction affects those around the user in ways that warrant treatment.  In essence, the entire family becomes ill when having to defend the addict’s actions because we don’t know enough about the type of mental illness addiction brings as each case is uniquely different.

Patrick Kennedy is working on behalf of so may to bring change to understanding the intervention process, so we can begin to fight addiction and mental illness with love, empathy and understanding, not merciless shaming and ridicule.   

Ted Kennedy Jr. should apologize to Patrick Kennedy for ridiculing him over his new book on addiction and mental illness, instead of making him more vulnerable by criticizing him for doing the best he could.

Boston Globe: Patrick Kennedy defends book about family’s problems

By Patricia Wen, Oct. 4, 2014, Boston Globe

Patrick Kennedy on Sunday defended himself against criticism from relatives over revelations about his father, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and other family members in his new book about substance abuse, insisting what he wrote is accurate.

Kennedy, in an interview with the Globe and in an appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” acknowledged that he had created divisions in his family over what he says is members’ tendency to deny problems with addiction.

“I’m writing very truthfully,” Patrick Kennedy said during a telephone interview with the Globe Sunday while he was attending a “Unite to Face Addiction” rally in Washington, D.C.

His remarks came after his older brother, Ted Kennedy Jr., 54, said in a statement the book paints an “inaccurate and unfair portrayal of our family.’’

He added that while he admired Patrick Kennedy’s “candor about his own challenges” with addiction, he was “heartbroken” about the book.

More: www.bostonglobe.com