Saturday, February 20, 2016
'A man of honor': Visitors line up to pay tribute to Justice Scalia
Thomas Randall braved bitter cold temperatures and a long line Friday to make his way into the gilded lobby of the U.S. Supreme Court and pay his respects to a fellow lawyer with whom he agreed on very little.
Randall was one of hundreds of Americans who stood in a block-long line, waiting to climb the steps and pass between towering marble columns into the building where Justice Antonin Scalia lay in repose. The flag-draped casket containing the body of the 79-year-old justice rested atop the Lincoln Catafalque in the Great Hall, just outside the venerable courtroom where Scalia forged his sometimes controversial reputation as one of the most influential conservatives in the history of the high court.
Expand / Contract
Scalia was found dead in his bed on Saturday at a luxury ranch where he was vacationing. (AP)
(Associated Press)
By 10 a.m., the line to file past Scalia’s body wrapped around the block of First Street and East Capitol Street. As Randall spoke, and noted that Scalia himself had never allowed his conservative beliefs to affect personal friendships with the court’s liberal justices, others in line nodded in agreement. The sentiment provided a respite from a polarizing presidential campaign, the political gridlock just across the street in the United States Capitol and the debate over filling Scalia’s seat that flared as soon as word got out on Saturday that he had been found dead in his bed at a Texas ranch where he was vacationing.
“He’s a hero, had a good sense of humor, and was a brilliant scholar."“He is the example of bipartisanship our nation needs,” said Francis Crotti, a Baltimore native now living in Washington, to honor the son of Italian immigrants known for his sharp dissents and fealty to the literal Constitution.
- Vince McLaughlin
Just below the steps leading into the building, Scalia’s fans created a makeshift memorial that included two jars of applesauce, a pile of fortune cookies and paper bags, invocations of two of Scalia’s recent and most stinging dissenting opinions. Scalia called a majority ruling upholding ObamaCare “pure applesauce,” and likened his fellow justices’ gay marriage opinion to the "mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie." Of the decision legalizing gay marriage, Scalia wrote that he would “hide my head in a bag” if he’d ever joined such an opinion.
Expand / Contract
Scalia's body lay in repose in the building where he forged his legendary reputation.
(FoxNews.com)
“Moments like these you realize just how many lives he touched,” said Maria Calderon, a New Yorker who was visiting Washington with her husband. Seeing the well-wishers and knowing Scalia grew up in Queens gave her a warm feeling despite the blustery temperatures in the 30s.
Mike Judge, who waited in line with his wife Anne and their children, said the trip was part of a homeschool civics lesson on the Supreme Court.
“I want them to have an appreciation for Justice Scalia and to have an appreciation for the court,” Judge said. “Scalia was a man of honor.”
Vince McLaughlin, a Philadelphia native, dabbed at tears as he reflected on Scalia’s life and legal influence.
“He’s a hero, had a good sense of humor, and was a brilliant scholar,” he said. “A big loss to the Court.”
As the public began entering the building shortly after 10:30am, visitors took at the entrance of the Supreme Court holding signs in support of Scalia and his family. One sign thanked Scalia for his service to the nation. Another read “God Bless the USA and the Scalia family.”
When people trickled into the Grand Hall, many took a moment and stood in front of the casket, offering a moment of remembrance and appreciation for the life of Justice Scalia. Some made the sign of the cross while others bowed their heads and closed their eyes.
President Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, paid tribute to the late justice Friday. He also took a moment of silence and bowed his head over Scalia's casket.
Families exemplified the magnitude of the emotion this morning by walking down in almost of a consoling embrace. Some wiped tears away as they exited the Hall and walked down the front steps.
So many people wished to see Scalia in the Grand Hall of the Supreme Court that viewing hours were extended past 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. or after. His funeral will be on Saturday morning.
Evangelicals split going into SC primary
Donald Trump, a thrice-married multi-billionaire who is not averse to cussing and once said he was pro-choice, has found evangelical Christian support ahead of Saturday’s hotly contested South Carolina primary.
Trump is leading among evangelical Christian voters with 31 percent in the latest Fox News poll, but Sen. Ted Cruz is only eight points behind at 23 percent, with Marco Rubio at 17 percent and Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent, reflecting the divisions among evangelical voters.
“I’ve been in politics for a while, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Nate Leupp, co-chair of the Republican Party of Greenville and a self-described evangelical voter. “People are getting upset with each other.”
Cruz, the son of a preacher, was first to pursue the Christian conservative vote in South Carolina. Rafael Cruz, his father, has been campaigning for him in the state since long before Trump made his first visit, say political watchers on the ground. Cruz’s campaign says he has the endorsement of “over 300 pastors and faith leaders” in South Carolina.
“A lot of people have typically thought the evangelical vote was monolithic in South Carolina,” said Randy Page, public relations director at the conservative Bob Jones University. “Perhaps in some cycles it has been.” Page said he is personally backing Rubio.
But now there seems to be a schism among more traditionalist evangelicals like Leupp who is “stunned” that his peers are supporting a divorcee with “a foul mouth, a lack of morals,” and the more new age, Pentecostal Christians who see Trump as a man who has sinned but can be saved. The former, says Leupp and Page, are sending up their prayers for Cruz and Rubio.
The latter are represented in large part by young evangelicals, and television and megachurch pastors like Mark Burns, pastor of the Greenville, S.C-based Christian Television Network. He’s been on the campaign trail stumping for Trump. He acknowledged that he was heckled at a recent appearance at Bob Jones University when he said Trump was “pro-faith.”
“Bob Jones is (part) of the old establishment, that’s the crowd it draws,” Burns told FoxNews.com. “It doesn’t do what the Pentecostal, new age movement does, which is bring the message of grace.”
Aside from the divide among religious philosophies, Burns says South Carolinians are angry with the government and pre-packaged politicians, and are willing to forgive what they see as Trump's moral transgressions in favor of his “authenticity.”
“He is appealing to evangelicals across the board because he (is) authentic and what you see is what you get,” said Burns.
“Millions of Americans are angry and frustrated with politicians, especially those who come to South Carolina and they know the song and dance and they’re saying they are one of us and when they go back to Washington they are voting for legal abortions and same-sex marriage.”
“Trump is a fighter. He is the one to fight for Christianity and for our conservative values we hold dear.”
Leupp agrees voters are angry and that there are many evangelicals who are willing to overlook their own moral -- and political -- principles to vote for Trump. They point to Republicans who have failed them in Washington and presidential candidates who got the religious conservative backing, and lost, like Mitt Romney in 2012, and John McCain in 2008.
In 2012, white evangelical Christians went for Newt Gingrich in the primaries by 45 percent. Gingrich, a conservative stalwart (despite being married three times), won the state primaries in South Carolina and Georgia before dropping out of the race in May 2012.
Evangelicals want a winner. “They use that to justify their ‘we don’t need a person with a record, it’s time to back a person without a record’” approach,” said Leupp, who was backing Bush but is still undecided. He knows one thing: it’ll be anyone but Trump.
"Trump as a nominee would do more to destroy the conservative movement and the Republican Party than Hillary Clinton would do in four years as president,” he declared. “We need to unify behind someone who can beat Donald Trump.”
DOJ would allow Apple to keep or destroy software to help FBI hack iPhone
The White House appears to be willing to compromise with Apple in its fight with the tech giant to comply with a federal court order to provide “reasonable technical assistance” in the government’s investigation of the locked iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino gunmen.
The Obama administration told a magistrate judge Friday it would be willing to allow Apple to retain possession of and later destroy specialized software it was ordered to create to help federal authorities hack into the encrypted iPhone belong to Syed Rizwan Farook.
"Apple may maintain custody of the software, destroy it after its purpose under the order has been served, refuse to disseminate it outside of Apple and make clear to the world that it does not apply to other devices or users without lawful court orders," the Justice Department told Judge Sheri Pym. "No one outside Apple would have access to the software required by the order unless Apple itself chose to share it."
On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered Apple to help the FBI hack into the phone used by Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed people in December.
Although the judge instructed Apple to create the software for the FBI, she said it could be loaded onto the phone at an Apple facility. The Justice Department made explicit Friday that Apple could retain custody of the software at all times.
That's a good "compromise position" because "they're giving all the power to Apple," Jason Healey, a former director on cyber policy at the White House, told the Associated Press.
"They're telling Apple, 'You hold the software, we're not asking you to put a backdoor in the encryption, we just want to be able to brute force this thing,'" Healey said. "If the precedent is this, that they deliver the phone to Apple and Apple does it, I think that's a pretty good precedent that can't be done en masse on the next thousand iPhones."
Specifically, the government wants Apple to bypass a self-destruct feature that erases the phone's data after too many unsuccessful attempts to guess the passcode. Apple has helped the government before in this and previous cases, but this time Apple CEO Tim Cook said no and Apple is appealing the order.
The Justice Department filed a motion earlier Friday to compel Apple to comply with the court order.
"Apple has attempted to design and market its products to allow technology, rather than the law, to control access to data which has been found by this Court to be warranted for an important investigation. Despite its efforts, Apple nonetheless retains the technical ability to comply with the order, and so should be required to obey it," the motion states.
While the judge on the case says the government is only asking for help unlocking one, single iPhone, Apple says the case is much bigger than that and sets a dangerous precedent. Cook says the company doesn't have a system to bypass the self-destruct one.
Trump jumps into iPhone security row, calls for boycott of Apple products
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Apple products until the tech giant complies with a judge’s order to help hack the phone of a shooter in the deadly San Bernardino terror attack.
Apple announced Wednesday that the company will fight a federal magistrate's order to help the Obama administration break into an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in last December's attack that killed 14 people.
Related: Apple ups the ante in Silicon Valley's encryption battle with government
“I like the idea of ‘boycott Apple’ until such time as they give that information, I think that’s a great idea,” Trump said, during a rally at Pawley’s Island, S.C.
“First of all, the phone is not even owned by this young thug that killed all these people – the phone’s owned by the government,” he said, aiming a jab at the Apple CEO. “Tim Cook is looking to do a big number, probably to show how liberal he is.”
Related: Why Apple's security battle with the FBI is a PR masterstroke
Citing Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks, Reuters reports that Trump does not use an iPhone.
Social media giants Facebook and Twitter have backed Apple in its dispute with the FBI, as has Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Experts have also lauded Apple’s move as a PR masterstroke.
Related: John McAfee vows he can break iPhone encryption, promises to eat his shoe on live TV if he can't
This not the first time that Trump has weighed in on technology issues. Last year he surprised his rivals during a debate when he suggested clamping down on Internet connectivity as a way to limit ISIS’ ability to recruit and raise funds online.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Trump punches back against Pope just before crucial primary: Who does that?
Maybe Donald Trump was bored by boxing with Cruz, Rubio and Jeb and decided to punch up.
Maybe it was a heavenly gift that enabled Trump to hijack the news cycle once again.
Maybe it’s that the Pope landed the first blow.
Whatever the case, the Republican presidential front-runner is now engaged in a war of words with the leader of the Catholic Church.
I was stunned by this turn of events, which instantly blew other political stories off the media radar. Let’s put it this way: Suddenly, there’s not that much chatter about Nikki Haley endorsing Marco Rubio.
My initial reaction was to ask a question that’s been repeatedly raised since Trump got into the race. Has he finally, this time, gone too far?
Who picks a fight with the pontiff two days before a South Carolina primary in which you’ve got a big lead?
But it’s a little more complicated than that.
When Pope Francis visited America last fall, some conservatives objected to the way he injected himself into U.S. politics with what they view as left-of-center views on climate change, divorce and abortion. While the Pope also made comments that lean to the conservative side, he is identified with a message of tolerance as summed up in his response to a question about gays: “Who am I to judge?”
He is, apparently, willing to judge Donald Trump.
The stage was set when the Pope visited the Mexican side of the U.S. border and what he called a humanitarian crisis. When a Reuters reporter on the flight back to the Vatican asked about Trump, the pontiff declined to say whether Americans should vote for him, but added:
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.”
The Pope said he would give Trump the benefit of the doubt until he saw what the billionaire has said. “I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.”
Trump did not turn the other cheek.
In a statement that he read in South Carolina, Trump said:
“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened.”
Blaming disparaging remarks by the Mexican government, Trump said: “The Pope only heard one side of the story - he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States.”
And then there was this: “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian.”
Let’s just say Trump didn’t tone down his comments in taking on the world’s most famous religious leader. He stuck to his mantra of hitting back harder whenever he is hit.
On the other hand, Pope Francis did take a pretty hard shot in suggesting that Trump is “not Christian.” He could have taken issue with the candidate’s stance on immigration, or lack of charity toward the less fortunate, without challenging his religion—one of the strongest things a pope can say.
Since the other leading Republican candidates have similar policies on protecting the border, one could infer that Francis, who got along well with President Obama, has a particular dislike for Trump.
The worst interpretation for Trump: He alienated some Catholic voters (who are in a minority in South Carolina), and perhaps raised questions among evangelicals, among whom he is leading Ted Cruz in the state--although some may not be fans of the Vatican. Trump seems disrespectful in squaring off against a moral leader.
The best interpretation for Trump: He showed strength by not backing down, even against a pope. He reinforced his signature stance about building a wall at Mexico’s expense. And he stomped on any news that Rubio, Cruz or Bush might make in the closing days.
How will this play out in Saturday’s voting? Only heaven knows.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.
Maybe it was a heavenly gift that enabled Trump to hijack the news cycle once again.
Maybe it’s that the Pope landed the first blow.
Whatever the case, the Republican presidential front-runner is now engaged in a war of words with the leader of the Catholic Church.
I was stunned by this turn of events, which instantly blew other political stories off the media radar. Let’s put it this way: Suddenly, there’s not that much chatter about Nikki Haley endorsing Marco Rubio.
My initial reaction was to ask a question that’s been repeatedly raised since Trump got into the race. Has he finally, this time, gone too far?
Who picks a fight with the pontiff two days before a South Carolina primary in which you’ve got a big lead?
But it’s a little more complicated than that.
When Pope Francis visited America last fall, some conservatives objected to the way he injected himself into U.S. politics with what they view as left-of-center views on climate change, divorce and abortion. While the Pope also made comments that lean to the conservative side, he is identified with a message of tolerance as summed up in his response to a question about gays: “Who am I to judge?”
He is, apparently, willing to judge Donald Trump.
The stage was set when the Pope visited the Mexican side of the U.S. border and what he called a humanitarian crisis. When a Reuters reporter on the flight back to the Vatican asked about Trump, the pontiff declined to say whether Americans should vote for him, but added:
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.”
The Pope said he would give Trump the benefit of the doubt until he saw what the billionaire has said. “I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.”
Trump did not turn the other cheek.
In a statement that he read in South Carolina, Trump said:
“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened.”
Blaming disparaging remarks by the Mexican government, Trump said: “The Pope only heard one side of the story - he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States.”
And then there was this: “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian.”
Let’s just say Trump didn’t tone down his comments in taking on the world’s most famous religious leader. He stuck to his mantra of hitting back harder whenever he is hit.
On the other hand, Pope Francis did take a pretty hard shot in suggesting that Trump is “not Christian.” He could have taken issue with the candidate’s stance on immigration, or lack of charity toward the less fortunate, without challenging his religion—one of the strongest things a pope can say.
Since the other leading Republican candidates have similar policies on protecting the border, one could infer that Francis, who got along well with President Obama, has a particular dislike for Trump.
The worst interpretation for Trump: He alienated some Catholic voters (who are in a minority in South Carolina), and perhaps raised questions among evangelicals, among whom he is leading Ted Cruz in the state--although some may not be fans of the Vatican. Trump seems disrespectful in squaring off against a moral leader.
The best interpretation for Trump: He showed strength by not backing down, even against a pope. He reinforced his signature stance about building a wall at Mexico’s expense. And he stomped on any news that Rubio, Cruz or Bush might make in the closing days.
How will this play out in Saturday’s voting? Only heaven knows.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.
Fox News Poll: Trump still leads national race for GOP nomination
Donald Trump continues to dominate the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new Fox News national poll of registered voters.
Trump leads with 36 percent among self-identified GOP primary voters. Ted Cruz captures 19 percent and Marco Rubio receives 15 percent.
CLICK TO READ THE POLL RESULTS
Jeb Bush and Ben Carson get nine percent a piece, and John Kasich gets eight percent.
The poll, released Thursday, was conducted Monday through Wednesday evenings -- after a heated Republican debate Saturday in South Carolina (and also after Valentine’s Day Sunday).
Trump’s success is due to his ability to make in-roads with core elements of the GOP base.
For example, white evangelical Christians voting in the GOP primary favor Trump (28 percent) and Cruz (26 percent) over Rubio (15 percent) and Carson (15 percent).
Cruz has a slim one-point edge over Trump among those who identify as “very” conservative (29-28 percent). Another 16 percent back Rubio.
Men (40 percent) are more likely than women (32 percent) to make Trump their first choice. Still, he’s the favorite for each.
Nearly six in 10 Republicans want the next president to be someone from outside the political establishment -- and those voters go heavily for Trump (55 percent vs. 15 percent for Cruz and 11 percent Carson).
Meanwhile, Trump is the candidate Republican voters trust to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Thirty-nine percent would put Trump in the room with Putin -- that’s more than double the 18 percent who say Cruz. Fourteen percent say Rubio and 10 percent Bush.
For those pundits who thought the Republican faithful would fall back in line when faced with the possibility of Trump making Supreme Court appointments, consider this: Trump ties Cruz as the candidate GOP primary voters think would do the best job handling nominations to the high court (26 percent each).
Taking into consideration that this is an election year, 62 percent of all voters say it is the responsibility of current leaders, President Obama and the Senate, to act to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Scalia’s recent death. Compare that to 34 percent who think the president shouldn’t get to nominate someone for a life-time appointment this late in his term.
Despite Trump’s strengths in the primary race, he’s the weakest of the GOP candidates in hypothetical matchups against Clinton. Rubio (+4) and Kasich (+3) perform best against Clinton. Cruz and Bush each top Clinton by just one point.
Trump trails the Democrat by five points: Clinton 47 percent vs. Trump 42 percent. Sanders trounces Trump by 53-38 percent.
By a slim 49-48 percent, Republicans think Trump “has the temperament” to serve effectively as president, while voters overall say he doesn’t by 67-30.
Republicans say by 62-31 percent that Rubio “has the toughness” to serve effectively. By comparison, most voters aren’t so sure: 43 percent say he does, while 46 percent disagree.
Is Cruz likeable enough to do the job? By two-to-one most Republicans say he has the “personality” to serve effectively as president (65-30). Overall, voters are more likely to say no (44 percent yes vs. 49 percent no).
Who could kids look up to in the White House? GOP primary voters think Carson (26 percent) is the best role model for children today, while nearly half say Trump is the worst (49 percent).
Pollpourri
The president is on television -- a lot. Voters say they would “most dread” watching Trump (40 percent) and Clinton (31 percent) on television for the next four years. Democrats are more likely to say Trump (56 percent) than Republicans are to say Clinton (50 percent).
Independents? They would dread watching Trump the most (40 percent), followed by Clinton (27 percent).
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cellphone interviews with 1,031 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from February 15-17, 2016. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all registered voters, and 4.5 points for the Republican primary voter sample (404).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Tit for Tat ? ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the an...
-
NEW YORK (AP) — As New York City faced one of its darkest days with the death toll from the coronavirus surging past 4,000 — more th...