Audit: Sheriff's staff 'misused' union leave for political campaigns

The sheriff's office - a quasi-judicial agency - was under investigation for improper use of union leave. H oward County's auditor is recommending the county clearly delineate the purpose of union leave after a Feb. 24 investigation found employees of the sheriff's office misused union leave. The administration is exploring options to recover misused taxpayer funds, wrote Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman in an email. All collective bargaining agreements with the county's union grant union leave for union business — but 75 percent fall short of defining what "union business" entails,...

Read more »

Geneva Talks On Syrian Political Transition: Assad Feels Safe – OpEd

It is by far clear now that Syrian president al Assad, under Russian shield, feels secure now and he is more firm than ever not to quit presidency. Russian strongman Putin who became president for third term now defends Assad who never faced – and is scared of – an election to stay in power. Possibly Putin, who promotes Russian variety of Soviet era democracy in Russian federation, feels there is hardly any difference between dynasty and democracy. After pushing for the removal of President Assad for years, now the US, under pressure from Russia which withdrew troops from Syria possibly...

Read more »

Malcolm Turnbull hits reboot after political operating system starts crashing

 Malcolm Turnbull insists the election will be fought on economic management but he has yet to clearly outline his strategy let alone make the case for it. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP His popularity sliding, his colleagues sniping and his tax plans in confusion, the prime minister has effectively pressed control-alt-delete. On the entire parliament. The reboot is intended to make him look decisive and put the policy debate back under some semblance of government control. It’s pure Francis Underwood. “If you don’t like how the table is set, turn over the table.” In fact the House of Cards...

Read more »

Conduct political campaign with decorum - MCE

The Municipal Chief Executive of the Adentan Municipal Assembly, Mr Benjamin B. Angenu, has called on politicians to conduct their political campaign with decorum and with civility devoid of insults and provocations. He said this year’s election was an opportunity for the country to demonstrate to the world that “in deed, we are the beacon of democracy in Africa”. Speaking on the recently celebrated 59th anniversary of Ghana’s independence, Mr Angenu said elections were not about life and death. “It is about the making of choices to empower competent leaders with ideas to better the...

Read more »

Political Ads Surround Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court Nomination

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge Merrick B. Garland is President Obama’s nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He’s pictured in the Rose Garden at the White House March 16, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Senate Republicans continue to oppose holding a hearing for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland. The battle is also being waged on the television airwaves, with a spate of ads on both sides of the issue. Media analyst John Carroll joins Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins...

Read more »

Donald Trump's son received threatening letter, non-lethal powder

Eric Trump, son of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, along with his wife, Lara, thanks volunteers as they make phone calls to New Hampshire voters at Trump's campaign office on February 9, 2016, in Manchester, New Hampshire. (CNN) A threatening letter addressed to Donald Trump's son Eric Trump contained a suspicious powder in its envelope, a law enforcement source said Friday. The substance, which was delivered to a New York City Trump building, was tested and appears to be lemonade mix, according to initial reports. Eric Trump's wife was going through the mail when she picked...

Read more »

Why political scientists think Merrick Garland is more liberal than lawyers do

The early consensus on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland is in, and it's that Garland is a moderate: A former prosecutor, careful in his jurisprudence, and beloved by conservative Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. At best, he's a safe pick. At worst, he's a tragically missed opportunity to appoint a woman, a person of color, or a defense attorney who might bring a different point of view. Or not. According to one measure of Supreme Court justices' ideology, Garland is hardly less left-wing than Obama's past nominees, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. When political science diverges...

Read more »

‘No alternative to political settlement of the Burundian crisis,’ Ban tells Security Counci

Briefing the Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United Nations High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein today voiced concern about spiralling violence and rights violations in Burundi, and called for an inclusive political dialogue to peacefully resolve the 11-month crisis. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited Burundi last month as part of an international effort to end the crisis, urged the country’s leaders “to summon the necessary courage and confidence” to launch a credible political process. “There is no alternative to a political settlement of the Burundian...

Read more »

City clarifies rules regarding political signs

The City of Laredo clarified Friday misconceptions and misunderstandings on political signs, saying there is often confusion about what is and isn’t allowed. “The City of Laredo’s sign ordinance was enacted to improve pedestrian and traffic safety; to protect property values; the local economy; and the quality of life by preserving and enhancing the appearance of the streetscape, and to enable the fair and consistent enforcement of the regulations,” a news release states. “Each political season, this office sends all local candidates information on the applicable sign regulations and provides...

Read more »

Political violence is an American tradition

The scene was violent and chaotic: protesters being forcibly removed from a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The image reinforced a common complaint that police can be callous toward the free-speech rights of demonstrators when seeking to preserve order. Some questions and answers about rules and procedures for police at political events: Q. Who pays for police to be there, taxpayers or event organizers? A. It depends. As part of the permitting process, local officials, the venue and the event organizers discuss the event and its logistics and decide what kind...

Read more »

Political violence is an American tradition

BERLIN – Sen. Marco Rubio says that the tension Donald Trump cultivates at his rallies is worthy “of the Third World.” He’s overstating the case, and for that, Americans should count themselves lucky. I have been to eight of Trump’s rallies in several states over the last two months, and I have seen protesters removed or jeered at each one, but I have not seen anything that could be described as a serious brawl. In Trump’s months of campaigning before growing and fired-up audiences, some of them so large they packed stadiums, no one has been seriously injured — and that includes the police...

Read more »

Spain's political stalemate starts taking economic toll

Madrid: This year was supposed to be a good one for Spanish builders but the lack of a government three months after an inconclusive general election has put the brakes on economic activity. "Everything that has to do with construction in this country is blocked," said Carlos Luaces, director general of Spain's association of sand and gravel producers, Anefa. Spain has been locked in a political stalemate since a general election on December 20 resulted in a parliament divided among the country's four main parties -- none of which won enough seats to govern alone. No party has so far been...

Read more »

Merrick Garland Battle Moves to Home Front as Senate Recesses

Senate Democrats held a news conference outside the Supreme Court. They urged Senate Republicans to proceed with the confirmation process for Judge Merrick B. Garland. CreditStephen Crowley/The New York Times WASHINGTON — The fight over the vacancy on the Supreme Court shifted from close combat in the halls of Congress to a nationwide battle on Friday as senators returned to their home states for a two-week recess and Republican and Democratic leaders began aggressively making their cases in television and radio interviews, op-ed columns and public appearances. With little hope of...

Read more »

Bernie Sanders Forges Ahead With Jabs at Donald Trump

Senator Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally on Friday in Salt Lake City. CreditKim Raff for The New York Times Undeterred by questions of delegate math or political momentum, Senator Bernie Sanders brushed off suggestions on Friday that his campaign had no way forward and forcefully made the case that he was the Democratic candidate better suited to defeat Donald J. Trump in a general election. Mr. Sanders blitzed through Idaho, Utah and Arizona ahead of crucial nominating contests in those states on Tuesday. Facing a deep deficit in the race for delegates after losses in five states...

Read more »

Brazil’s Political Crisis Deepens

Protests in Sao Paoulo against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her new chief of staff, and former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. CreditAndre Penner/Associated Press President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil is fighting for political survival as calls for her impeachment grow louder amid a widening corruption investigation and a tanking economy. Astonishingly, however, she appears to have felt she had political capital to spare last week when she appointed her predecessor and political mentor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to be chief of staff, a move that largely shields him,...

Read more »

How should Republicans denounce Trump? Past GOP presidents have already told us.

Republicans could use the rhetoric of their past presidents to repudiate Donald Trump. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) By now, the GOP establishment’s role in fueling Donald Trump’s rise is well established. What is less certain, however, is why Republican presidential candidates and other party leaders, in their futile efforts to bring Trump down, have been so reluctant to make a strong moral case against him. For instance, when Marco Rubio declared that “the Party of Lincoln and Reagan will not be held by a con artist,” the implication was that fraud — not unrepentant bigotry — is the real affront...

Read more »

Older voters, blacks and Obama backers boost Clinton in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Hillary Clinton triumphed in the Illinois Democratic primary for president Tuesday with the support of older voters, blacks and those who want to see the policies of President Barack Obama continued, according to results of interviews of voters leaving their polling places. The former secretary of state bested Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among voters 45 and older, who represented 3 in 5 of the electorate. While blacks made up less than a third, she claimed 7 in 10 of their votes. GOP EXIT POLLS Voter anger, economic worries help propel Trump to Illinois win On the...

Read more »