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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jun 22, 2015
June 22, 2015
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Meet the Press (NBC):
Regarding last week's nine murders at a black church in South Carolina, SC Democratic Congressman JAMES CLYBURN joined a growing number of folks who say the Confederate flag must be taken down. He said, "That is a battle flag that flies in front of the Statehouse... That is a flag of rebellion."
He added, "We would not be having this discussion if that were the flag of the Confederate States of America because that flag is not a symbol of hate." On whether the Confederate flag promotes racism, he added, "People get emboldened by all this... You're certainly creating a climate to allow this kind of thing to happen." (Pacelli)Fox News Sunday (FOX):
MD Democratic Congresswoman DONNA EDWARDS thinks last week's murders in South Carolina send a stark message on race. She said, "All of us have work to do on race... We can see it playing out in our streets --be it Emanuel AME Church, Baltimore or Ferguson-- that we have a lot of work to do."
On any renewed push for gun control, she added, "I don't think it is inappropriate to talk about what we need to do to keep guns out of the hands of people who will abuse them." (Pacelli)State of the Union (CNN):
Charleston SC Mayor JOE RILEY insisted that last week's murders should renew a charge for gun control. He said, "We have to use this most recent tragedy to keep us working on that. We have to do that... It is insane the number of guns and the ease of getting guns in America."
And on removing the Confederate flag from state capitol grounds, he added, "They (racists) have appropriated something and used it as a symbol of hatred." (Pacelli)Face the Nation (CBS):
The president of the NAACP called for more government resources to crack down on hate crimes and hate groups. CORNELL WILLIAMS BROOKS said, "When we think about the fact that in this country, there's 784 hate groups, the level of hate crimes in this country has remained constant over years. We have to allocate resources to address these hate groups and these hate crimes."
On the Confederate flag, he called it an "anachronistic emblem of a bygone era at best... It has to come down... It must come down." (Pacelli)Lowering Standards:
The diplomas being handed out at one New York City middle school are probably setting a bad example.
Graduating eighth-graders at Robert F. Wagner Middle School on Manhattan's Upper East Side received diplomas with the word "department" misspelled. The word is spelled as "departmemt" with an "m" instead of an "n." The Department of Education says they had nothing to do with the misprint and the error was most likely made at the middle school itself. (Still)NRA Update:
If you're not safe at a gun safety course, where are you safe? A man in Florida accidently shot himself during a gun safety course at Instant Replay in East Orange County. The bullet grazed his leg. The injury wasn't life threatening and he was treated at the hospital and released. The incident is still under investigation. (Myers)
Grace notes from Vinny Marino:
GENE SIMMONS of KISS says YOU are to blame for the downfall of the music business. He was chatting with the UK's Planet Rock radio station last week and said (quote), "The masses have decided that they should get free music, download fileshare." Gene went on to say that this mindset, by the fans, is preventing the next ELVIS, BEATLES or even KISS to have a career. Oh, and don't blame the record companies. Gene said (quote), "Big corporate entities gave bands money that they never had to pay back --ever! If a band failed and the record was a complete disaster, the advance money was all the band's."
He also wants anyone who illegally downloads music to be prosecuted. Gene said (quote), "Make sure there are no incursions. Be litigious. Sue everybody. Take their homes, their cars. Don't let anybody cross that line." (Marino) -
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