Health Care Bill Vote Will be Delayed Due to John McCain’s Surgery

On Saturday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the vote on the new health care bill will be delayed. This is the second time a vote on the bill has been delayed. As no Democrats will vote in favor of the bill, Republicans can only afford to lose two votes to pass it. Senators Susan Collins and Rand Paul have already said “nope” to voting for the bill as it is now, and as Senator John McCain is recovering from a Friday surgery and would not be able to attend, McConnell’s only choice was to delay.

McCain had surgery to remove a blood clot from above his eye, but yesterday, medical experts said it could be more serious than what has been previously described. The recovery period from such an operation is normally a few weeks, said an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Nrupen Baxi. He also said that this type of blood clot would not be found in a regular check up, but only if doctors had seen symptoms that prompted a closer look. But many commented on the irony of delaying the health care vote over a health-related issue that could happen to anyone.

We’re going to wait for John McCain to recover from his excellent care so he can help us vote to take yours away. https://t.co/q36beNVl7H

— Jesse Berney (@jesseberney) July 16, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

White House Criticized for Promoting Mar-a-Lago

In a blog post from April 4, the U.S. State Department promoted Mar-a-Lago as “Trump’s Florida estate,” and claimed that by visiting “this ‘winter White House,’ Trump is belatedly fulfilling the dream of Mar-a-Lago’s original owner and designer.” After Trump was elected president, the Florida resort doubled its membership fee to $200,000. The blog post received renewed attention on Monday after it was featured on the website of the U.S. embassy in London, as well as several other U.S. embassies. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden asked on Twitter why taxpayer money is “promoting the president’s private country club.” President Obama’s chief ethics attorney, Norman Eisen, called it “exploitation” and said that this behavior needs to be stopped. Eisen is also part of a group of attorneys who have already sued Trump for an alleged violation of the emoluments clause, which states that a president can’t accept gifts or payments from foreign states without approval from Congress.

Yes, I am curious @StateDept. Why are taxpayer $$ promoting the President’s private country club? pic.twitter.com/IlPhUlvMwa

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) April 24, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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What was supposed to be a night of roasting Rob Lowe turned into a brutal attack on Ann Coulter, the infamous conservative pundit known for her inflammatory comments.

On Monday night, Comedy Central aired its long-awaited roast centered on Lowe, famous for his sex tape, DirecTV commercials, failed pilots, and occasional notable acting along the way. While many of the jokes jabbed at Lowe’s involvement with a 16-year-old and his acting career, the attention shifted and the rest of the roasters took their swings at Coulter.

Coulter showed up to do a promotional spiel on her new book, ‘In Trump We Trust.’ When it finally came time for her to talk about it, she was met with boos from the audience.

Coulter sat seemingly lifeless as each insult came, like a frog in a pot of boiling water unaware that it’s being slowly burned alive.

Here are 10 of the best insults sent her way:

1. Rob Lowe

“Why is Ann Coulter here tonight? Because the right-to-lifers wanted everyone to see what an abortion looks like up close.”

2. Pete Davidson

“Ann Coulter, if you’re here, who is scaring the crows away from our crops?”

It’s not going to be a good night for Ann Coulter #LoweRoast pic.twitter.com/LRuTG4w6Gi

— Nate (@BarstoolNate) September 6, 2016

3. Nikki Glaser

“Ann Coulter has written 11 books — 12 if you count ‘Mein Kampf'”

4. Peyton Manning

“I just realized I’m not the only athlete up here. As you all know, earlier this year Ann Coulter won the Kentucky Derby.”

5. Jewel

“As a feminist, I can’t support everything that’s being said up here tonight. But as someone who hates Ann Coulter, I’m delighted.”

6. Nikki Glaser

“The only person you will ever make happy is the Mexican who digs your grave.”

7. David Spade

“Ann seems stiff and conservative, but she gets wild in the sheets — just ask the Klan.”

8. Jewel

“Jeff Ross is going to party like its 1999, Ann Coulter is going to vote like its 1899.”

9. Jimmy Carr

“Ann Coulter is one of the most repugnant, hateful bitches alive — but it’s not too late to change, Ann. You could kill yourself.”

10. David Spade

“Is Pete white? Is he black? Ann Coulter needs to know so she can decide if she hates him”

Then it was Coulter’s time to speak, and she continued to plummet.

Audience reaction to Ann Coulter on the Rob Lowe roast are about perfect pic.twitter.com/SkI00cyLgZ

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) September 6, 2016

After that really rough night for Coulter, this post feels more like a eulogy.

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Top 10 Ann Coulter Insults from the Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Ann Coulter Gets Roasted…At Rob Lowe’s Roast

Rob Lowe’s Comedy Central roast was Saturday night, and it was filled with Hollywood A-Listers like Ralph Macchio, Jewel, and of course, Ann Coulter. And even though the roast was for Rob Lowe, Coulter got slammed pretty hard as well. Possibly the harshest condemnation came from Pete Davidson, of “SNL,” who said: “Ann describes herself as a polemicist but most people call her a c***.”

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: August 29, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Donald Trump is know for touting the most controversial comments while on the campaign trail, but his November declaration that “thousands” of New Jersey Muslims celebrated on 9/11 continues to gain traction with fellow Republicans–despite evidence disputing it.

Trump claims that he saw “with his own eyes” on television thousands of people cheering as the buildings came down. Yet experts have combed through news clips from that time period and found nothing. There were, however, several news clips from that time of people celebrating the attack overseas in Muslim countries. Some people have chalked Trump’s comments up to a misrepresentation of those videos, while others think he just pulled the memory out of thin air.

Needless to say, controversy over the comment has caused a division within the Republican party. Some GOP members agree with Trump, and others condemn the political ploy, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who said it just “didn’t happen” and “I don’t believe it,” respectively. So if you’re looking to keep tabs, here is a list of  the people who have so far chosen to hop on Trump’s Muslim-partying-bandwagon.

Dr. Ben Carson

Carson was one of the first people to support Trump’s claims by saying that he also saw a video of thousands of Muslims partying on 9/11–in New Jersey. But when reporters began to hound him he opted to clarify his statement saying, “I did see the film. I don’t know where they were, but I did see the film.”

Rudy Giuliani

The former mayor of New York City who was in office during the 9/11 attacks should be a reputable source–right? Well, when questioned by CNN Giuliani said “we did have some celebrating, that is true.” However, he rebuked claims that it was “thousands,” but more like “10, 20, 30, 40” people. Giuliani then recounted a story of a Muslim-owned candy shop he’d heard about where some Muslims celebrating in the streets that day were beaten up by local school children.

On the other hand George Pataki, the governor of New York at the time of the attack, disagreed.

Not sure what luxury spider-hole @realDonaldTrump was hiding in on Sept11 but I saw Americans come together that day @GStephanopoulos

— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) November 22, 2015

Debbie Schussel

Schussel, a controversial anti-Muslim right-winged columnist, wrote a column swearing that “thousands of Palestinian Muslims outside Paterson’s town hall” celebrated that day, and even referred to an MTV news report in Paterson, NJ from that time as proof. MTV has since debunked these claims  by digging up the clip in question, which can be watched below. They edited it to add in new footage where they reinterviewed the main witness from that day, then-high school senior Emily Acevedo, who claimed to see kids rioting. Fourteen years later Acevedo says what she saw that night “would have happened any other summer night.”  

Ann Coulter

The controversial commentator claimed to have proof that Muslims did celebrate on 9/11 when she tweeted out a video featuring a Howard Stern taping, where callers claimed to have seen Muslims celebrating in Paterson. Again these claims have not been substantiated.

WOW – THIS MAKES IT 10 PIECES OF PROOF OF MUSLIMS CELEBRATING 9/11 ATTACK IN NJ! @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/3v21LUJyWI — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) December 2, 2015

So are all of these people flat out liars, or could they just be exaggerating or remembering what happened that day wrong? Well according to Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist and expert on the ways the mind concocts memories at the University of California, that very well could be the case. She claims Trump may be just misremembering rather than lying saying,” just because someone tells you something with a lot of confidence, detail and emotion, it doesn’t mean it really happened.” Whether it’s misremembering or lying, it unfortunately appears to be spreading around.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Here’s The Growing List of People Who Swear NJ Muslims Celebrated on 9/11 appeared first on Law Street.

Every now and then, we like to report on the various twitter battles, gaffes, mishaps, and everything in between because, frankly, who doesn’t find them funny? Law Street writer Anneliese Mahoney recounted the biggest political twitter mistakes of 2013 and now half way into 2014, the twitter fails, political or otherwise, just keep coming. Let us bear witness to the five latest WTH moments on Twitter so far this year.

[wooslider slide_page=”top-5-twitter-mishaps-gaffes-straight-fails-of-2014″ slider_type=”slides” thumbnails=”default” order=”ASC” order_by=”date”]

—

Ashley Powell (@ashley_powell)

Featured image courtesy of [Maryland GovPics via Flickr]

Ashley Powell

Ashley Powell is a founding member of Law Street Media, and its original Lead Editor. She is a graduate of The George Washington University. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 5 Twitter Mishaps, Gaffes, and Straight Fails So Far in 2014 appeared first on Law Street.

Loves, the conservaturds are at it again.

Conservative pundit and asshole extraordinaire Ann Coulter decided to use her considerable star power for the greater good this week. Harnessing the power of social media, she took to Twitter to show support for her fellow human beings, advocating an end to gender-based violence and oppression around the world.

LOL JUST KIDDING.

Did I have you going for a second there?

Probably not! Because unless you live in an actual cave, you know that Ann Coulter is probably the least positive person in the history of political pundits.

Thank goodness this lady is just a culture maker and not a legislator. That would make her even more horrifying than she already is (which is saying a lot).

So, since we’ve established that the woman infamous for condoning the murder of abortionists, reversing women’s suffrage, and “perfecting” Jews (I literally cannot) isn’t using her Twitter account to spread peace and light throughout the social media universe, let’s talk about what she IS using it for.

This jerk is using it to mock Malala Yousafzai’s Twitter campaign to #BringBackOurGirls.

#Malala stands in solidarity with Nigerians & people everywhere calling for action to #BringBackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/woAjreav0W

— Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) May 4, 2014

Last week, I wrote about the 300 girls in the Nigerian village of Chibok who were abducted from school, OF ALL PLACES, and are now being sold into sexual, marital slavery for a few dollars a pop by Boko Haram, an Islamist fundamentalist group.   That’s what Malala’s #BringBackOurGirls campaign is all about. It’s about raising awareness of a wildly, disgustingly awful human rights violation that’s happening in Nigeria right now. It’s about starting conversations around the world about gender-based violence and oppression. And of course, it’s about drawing attention to a grossly under-reported story that deserves way more attention than it’s currently receiving.   Basically, Malala wants women not to be abducted and sold into slavery. And when they are, she demands that it be stopped. Ann Coulter does the opposite. In response to Malala’s #BringBackOurGirls campaign, Ms. Coulter tweeted this:

My hashtag contribution to world affairs … pic.twitter.com/Wkb8ozYZFC — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) May 12, 2014

#BringBackOurCountry.

Ann Coulter, you officially win The Worst Person on Twitter Award. I literally cannot with you and your vomit-inducing shenanigans.

What country, exactly, Ms. Coulter, are you looking to bring back? One where its citizens don’t care when girls are targets for violence because they’re receiving an education? One where women are abducted, beaten, raped, sold like cattle — and no one bats an eye?

Because that’s all you’re advocating when you turn a call to bring abducted women home safely into a warped, twisted statement about how fucked up our country is. The United States may not look the way you want it to look — being all full of Jews and voting women and abortionists and whatnot — but this is not an appropriate way to express your distaste.

Not even a little bit.

Luckily, the legions of Twitter users are in agreement, and they’re restoring our collective faith in humanity. With a magical little tool called Photoshop, folks who DON’T think saving abducted Nigerian women is a cause to shit all over, taught Ann Coulter a lesson.

And it’s awesome.

Here are some of the best Ann Coulter-Photoshop-Takedowns. Scroll through and rejoice in the wonderfulness that can still exist in the world, right alongside the bile of people like Ann Coulter.

@CletisStump @Kalaax008 What Coulter does for a ‘living’. pic.twitter.com/pWz1LiDZnn

— ⒿⓄⓁⓉⒾⓃ ⒿⓄⒺ (@fullofbalogna) May 12, 2014

Wildly accurate.

Man, sometimes I’m shocked by the shit @AnnCoulter says for attention. pic.twitter.com/m3QnG2ZJhr — Atchka! (@atchka) May 12, 2014

Wouldn’t that be magical?

Thanks for calling Ann Coulter, and all of her conservaturd followers, on their bullshit, Internet. We love you. Keep fighting the good fight.

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Hannah R. Winsten (@HannahRWinsten) is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York City. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow.

Featured Image Courtesy of [Gage Skidmore via Flickr]

Hannah R. Winsten

Hannah R. Winsten is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York’s sixth borough. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow. Contact Hannah at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Ann Coulter Destroys Our Faith in Humanity, Sassy Twitter Users Restore It appeared first on Law Street.