Democrats defending the death penalty?
"Calif. to appeal death penalty ruling | Associated Press August 23, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO — California’s attorney general will appeal a federal court ruling that called the state’s death penalty unconstitutional.
The announcement Thursday by Attorney General Kamala Harris came after US District Judge Cormac Carney in Los Angeles ruled last month that the state’s death penalty takes too long to carry out and that the unpredictable delays are arbitrary and unfair.
Death penalty opponents have long argued that California’s delays amounted to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, but until Carney’s ruling, the argument failed to persuade a judge.
Harris, however, said the amount of time it takes to execute inmates in California ensures they receive due process. ‘‘I am appealing the court’s decision because it is not supported by the law, and it undermines important protections that our courts provide to defendants,’’ Harris said in a prepared statement. ‘‘This flawed ruling requires appellate review.’’
Death penalty opponents had called on Harris to let Carney’s ruling stand rather than risk a reversal in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
‘‘We hope the Ninth Circuit will recognize that California’s death penalty system is as broken and unconstitutional as Judge Cormac found,’’ Matt Cherry, executive director of Death Penalty Focus, which seeks to abolish capital punishment, said in response to Harris’s move.
Death penalty backers supported Harris’s decision.
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I oppose the death penalty on the grounds that it is irreversible; however, if the mob wants to hang bankers and war criminals I won't get in the way and I'll never convict a person for defending themselves.
"Calif. students plotted attack, police say" by Christopher Weber | Associated Press August 20, 2014
SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. — Investigators acting on a tip unraveled an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a suburban Los Angeles high school, arresting a pair of students who planned to target three school staffers and kill as many people as possible, police said Tuesday.
I am expecting loads of false flag hoax shootings this school season.
School officials learned of the plot on Thursday and notified detectives, who began watching the 16- and 17-year-old boys and monitoring their online activity, South Pasadena Police Chief Arthur Miller said.
Which proves how stoopid are today's kids and shows the power of surveillance -- if you buy into this.
The pair did not have a date for an attack or weapons, but their online messaging included the names of three staffers to target and threats to randomly kill students, Miller said.
That's what this was about? Young love?
They were also researching automatic firearms, handguns, knives, explosives, and tactical techniques, he said.
‘‘Three or four days’ worth of surveillance on the Internet indicated that they had a very real threat,’’ he said. ‘‘They had a plan in mind that they were going to execute.’’
And upstage ISIS?
Miller said police interviewed the boys and realized how cold-hearted the plot was. He provided no specifics, and officials at South Pasadena High School did not disclose details of the initial tip.
Classes start again Thursday in the quaint San Gabriel Valley suburb known for its good schools and community involvement in education. Police plan to have a larger presence than usual on campus for the first day of school.
Related: Securing All Schools
Just wait until the first kid gets mistakenly blown away by a school campus cop, then let the lawsuits fly.
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"California drought stings bees, honey supplies | Associated Press August 22, 2014
LOS BANOS, Calif. — California is one of the largest US honey producers, with abundant crops and wildflowers that provide nectar that bees turn into honey. But the lack of rain has ravaged plants and forced farmers to scale back crop production, leaving fewer places for honeybees to forage.
The historic drought, now in its third year, is reducing supplies of California honey, raising prices for consumers and making it harder for beekeepers to earn a living.
‘‘Our honey crop is severely impacted by the drought, and it does impact our bottom line as a business,’’ said Gene Brandi, a beekeeper in Los Banos, a farming town in California’s Central Valley.
The state’s deepening drought is having widespread impacts across the state. More than 80 percent of the state is under ‘‘extreme’’ or ‘‘exceptional’’ drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. Governor Jerry Brown has declared a drought emergency, and residents now face fines of up to $500 a day for wasting water.
The drought is just the latest blow to honeybees, which pollinate about one third of US agricultural crops. In recent years, bee populations worldwide have been decimated by pesticides, parasites, and colony collapse disorder, a mysterious phenomenon in which worker bees disappear.
Everything but the kitchen (GMO) sink mentioned.
The drought is worsening a worldwide shortage of honey that has pushed prices to all-time highs....
Oh, $omeone benefiting from price rises, huh?
Hmmmmmm!
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Related: 140,000 bees removed from Mansfield chapel
Veteran rock climber killed in fall in Yosemite
God help us all.
"Audit: $93m in Medi-Cal payments could be fraudulent" | August 21, 2014
SACRAMENTO — State auditors have found that Medi-Cal, the nation’s largest Medicaid program, was hit with more than $93 million in potentially fraudulent bills by substance abuse clinics across California.
I knew there was money in the addiction cri$i$.
The audit released Tuesday reviewed billing data from July 2008 to December 2013 for Medi-Cal’s Drug Treatment program, which reimburses outpatient rehabilitation clinics, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The state’s Department of Health Care Services and the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs failed to administer the program ‘‘and created opportunities for fraud,’’ according to the report.
The audit flagged $93.7 million in payments that were ‘‘potentially indicative of fraudulent activity.’’ Red flags included providers billing for treatment on holidays or for more than five days a week. In some cases, multiple beneficiaries were listed as living at the same address.
There were 323 instances in which the state reimbursed providers for services to dead clients. Nearly $1 million in payments went to clinics that were potentially not authorized.
There i$ life after death.
A review led the state health department to cut ties with more than 200 clinics and refer their operators for criminal prosecution, department spokesman Norman Williams told the Sacramento Bee. The department plans to visit every clinic in the state as part of a sweeping recertification review, Williams said.
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Related: Medicaid insurers prodding Mass. on funds
We are so like.
