Lawmakers are now allowed to skip the security lines at airports -- how they can expect to lead without having a dude in a blue button-down and latex gloves grope their inner thighs? Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino was indicted for tax fraud, though he should remember that there are be plenty of opportunities to GTL in jail. And during a speech to the UN, President Obama once again APOLOGIZED for America, but the worst part was when he took a sip of coffee, placed it on the ground, straightened his back and saluted the United Nations flag. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, September 24th, 2014:
OBAMA: WE MUST KILL MORE BAD GUYS - Jen Bendery: "President Barack Obama on Wednesday appealed to the global community to help the United States bring down Islamic State militants, saying it will take a broad coalition 'to dismantle this network of death.' In remarks before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Obama conveyed a strong message of collectivism, calling not just on the international community to reject violent extremism but also on the Muslim community to reject it. He used the word 'collectively' four times; 'together' 12 times; and 'cooperation' four times. 'There can be no reasoning, no negotiation, with this brand of evil,'Obama said. 'The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death.'" [HuffPost]
CORPORATE DONORS PAYING FOR GUBERNATORIAL ACCESS - Times: "[A]n error by the Republican Governors Association recently resulted in the disclosure of exactly the kind of information that political committees given tax-exempt status normally keep secret, namely their corporate donors and the size of their checks. That set off something of an online search war between the association and a Washington watchdog group that spilled other documents, Democratic and Republican, into the open. The documents, many of which the Republican officials have since removed from their website, showed that an A-to-Z of America’s most prominent companies, from Aetna to Walmart, had poured millions of dollars into the campaigns of Republican governors since 2008. One document listed 17 corporate 'members' of the governors association’s secretive 501(c)(4), the Republican Governors Public Policy Committee, which is allowed to shield its supporters from the public." [NYT]
Clinton Global Initiative staffers creepily escort reporters to the bathroom and wait outside during CGI's annual conference. Not sure yet what this means for 2016.
HUFFPOST HAIRCUTS: George Rakis (h/t David Di Martino), Brad Shannon (major shearing). BOEHNER VIDEO ALERT - Team Boehner has released another video starring the House speaker, this one about his very busy daily routine. The man relishes his morning walks -- first to Starbucks, then back home, then to Pete's Diner. The new video alluded to the fact that the speaker is a windup toy (something revealed in a previous video) when a staffer explains how they get Mechanical Boehner going at the beginning of the day: "Once he arrives we flip the switch and off we go." [YouTube]
If John Boehner is ever portrayed in a major motion picture it should be by Tom Hanks.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Shana Tovah! Oh no… Jim Yardley: "From the immigrant enclaves of the Parisian suburbs to the drizzly bureaucratic city of Brussels to the industrial heartland of Germany, Europe’s old demon returned this summer. 'Death to the Jews!' shouted protesters at pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France. 'Gas the Jews!' yelled marchers at a similar protest in Germany." [NYT]
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OBAMA AT UN: FERGUSON WAS NATIONAL FAILURE - Why is the president apologizing for America and not focusing on the good parts of our law enforcement officers wantonly killing black kids? Amanda Terkel: "Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday, President Barack Obama cited the racial strife in Ferguson, Missouri, as an example of where America has 'failed to live up to our ideals.' Obama was giving a much-anticipated address on global leadership, where he laid out his justification for the United States targeting terrorists in Syria and Iraq. 'I realize that America’s critics will be quick to point out that at times we too have failed to live up to our ideals; that America has plenty of problems within our own borders,' he said. 'This is true. In a summer marked by instability in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I know the world also took notice of the small American city of Ferguson, Missouri -- where a young man was killed, and a community was divided. So yes, we have our own racial and ethnic tensions.'" [HuffPost]
WAR ON COAL UPDATE: WHOSE SIDE IS ELAINE CHAO ON? - Dave Jamieson: "The campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes has ripped her opponent, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for siding with the coal industry over miners on issues of mine safety. But now the Grimes camp is extending that attack to McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, the former secretary of labor under George W. Bush. In a statement to HuffPost, Grimes spokeswoman Charly Norton said that Chao's tenure as head of the Labor Department, which includes the Mine Safety and Health Administration, was a disaster for miners. 'It’s horrific that rates of black lung disease have skyrocketed back to levels of the early 1970s as Mitch McConnell raked in campaign contributions from coal operators and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao gutted standards at the Mine Safety and Health Administration,' Norton said." [HuffPost]
:-( "Former Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, was seriously injured in a tractor accident in Greenford, Ohio, Tuesday night. Traficant’s wife Trish told The Vindicator Wednesday morning the former congressman is in 'very critical condition' and was 'sedated and he’s not doing well.' According to a press release from Wade Branson, chief of the Goshen Police Department, police and emergency vehicles responded to a “private property crash” at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday night." [Roll Call]
NO GRIDLOCK FOR CONGRESS AT THE AIRPORT - Those of you hoping to catch a glimpse of Harry Reid's socks will be sorely disappointed. Matt Sledge: "Members of Congress may have helped create the nightmare that is flying in America after Sept. 11, but they no longer have to endure it. Under a special Transportation Security Administration 'whitelist,' lawmakers and other government officials breeze past airport security. The TSA claims it's all about efficiency -- but critics at the American Civil Liberties Union say it's undemocratic. Under the TSA's Precheck program, 447 members of Congress have elected to skip to the head of the line, according to a Sept. 18 Government Accountability Office report. Members of the general public can and do join Precheck as well, but have to pay to go through an application process that includes being fingerprinted. And they don't get a helping hand from the TSA's legislative affairs office." [HuffPost]
Weird: "'I’m probably the single person in all of the universe least able to speak to this issue, but I’m delighted to be here,' former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said on the 'Independents' Tuesday night about a 'Grindr, but for cuddling' app." [Mediaite]
GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE CALLS REPORTER SWEETHEART - The "Women for Charlie" part is really what turns this into performance art. Laura Bassett: "Charlie Baker, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts, called a female reporter 'sweetheart' while dismissing her question about domestic violence in the NFL, Blue Mass Group reported on Wednesday. The reporter, Fox 25's Sharman Sacchetti, had asked Baker at a 'Women for Charlie' event last week whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should be fired over mishandling cases of players involved in domestic violence incidents...'Okay, this is gonna be the last one sweetheart,' Baker said, putting his hand on Sacchetti's shoulder. 'Sweetheart?' Sacchetti replied. Baker then said he was 'kidding.'" [HuffPost]
Like "It Get's Better," but for people who wear Izod polos: "A new ad campaign for the latest group of Americans to feel disenfranchised notes that its members are just like normal people: They read The New York Times, listen to Spotify, shop at Trader Joe’s, drive energy efficient cars, have tattoos and beards and, most importantly, 'have feelings.' So who are these unfairly maligned citizens, who, according to their website, are viewed as being worse than Genghis Khan? Republicans... The campaign, which was initiated by the Plano, Texas-based Glass House Strategies, encourages Republicans to post pictures on Twitter and Facebook of their bougie activities with the hashtag #ImARepublican." [HuffPost's Samantha Lachman]
THE SITUATION UNDER INDICTMENT BY DOJ - Try dodging this grenade. AP: "A former star of the MTV reality show 'Jersey Shore' and his brother have pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges. Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino and his brother Marc were charged in a seven-count indictment released Wednesday by the U.S. attorney's office. They're alleged to have failed to pay required taxes on nearly $9 million earned between 2010 and 2012, mainly through two businesses they owned between. The counts range from conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a five-year maximum prison sentence, to false filing and failure to file." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a dog who wants your food.
CONSERVATIVES UP IN ARMS OVER AP HISTORY COURSE - The "Saul Alinsky: A great American, or the greatest American?" test prompt does raise some eyebrows. Rebecca Klein: "From South Carolina to Colorado, conservative activists want to make sure that teachers do not use the College Board's new framework for Advanced Placement U.S. History classes. Over the past few months, conservatives have criticized the new AP U.S. History course framework -- set to hit classrooms this fall -- claiming that the course structure contains anti-American biases. While the College Board has called the claims baseless, school districts around the country are reconsidering their use of the course. In August, the Republican National Committee adopted a resolution condemning the framework for reflecting a 'radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation's history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects.'" [HuffPost]
COMFORT FOOD
- Watch a slow-motion video of a tattoo being affixed to skin.
- Pizza delivery man is injured in crash, police complete delivery.
- Dogs returning lost and found items at the airport. Dutch airlines have their viral marketing down pat.
- A traveler left his iPad on an airplane and had it returned loaded with airline employee selfies.
TWITTERAMA
@LOLGOP: Obama: We welcome scrutiny in the United States. In fact, there's a whole news channel devoted to me playing golf.
@delrayser: Gym, Tan, Lawyer up RT @samsteinhp: DoJ just announced that Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino has been indicted for tax crimes involving $8.9m
How to end an interview:
1. Thank them for their time.2. Shake their hand firmly.3. Firmer.4. Firmer yet.5. BREAK HIS HAND YOU MUST WIN
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