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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Obama ‘Disappointed’ About Senate Vote – On Dream Act

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President Barack Obama spoke to NBC’s Telemundo spanish-language television network in an exclusive interview, stating, “Well, I’m disappointed… You’ve got young people in this country who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans. They want to contribute. Some of them want to serve in our military.

He continues,

You didn’t get a single Republican to at least get this piece of legislation on the floor. And that’s what this election’s about. Are you willing to move forward on critical issues like the DREAM act which I’ve supported since I was in the Senate… or are we going to play political games?”

Mr. President, as my partner said to me as we watched this interview on TV this morning, “Gays and lesbians want to serve in our military, too!” Remember your campaign promise, to be our “fierce advocate?”Where did that go?

AmericaBlog’s Joe Sudbay reported last night, the “President didn’t call wavering Senators today, but did reach the WNBA Champion Seattle Storm.” Great.

Back to the interview.

The Telemundo reporter then asks, “Anything you can do unilaterally, without Congress, to maybe help people who are stuck in this limbo?”

Obama: “It is a very difficult thing to do administratively. Because we want comprehensive reform, because we want the DREAM act, what we don’t want is to give an excuse to the opposition to say, “Obama’s trying to doing an end run around Congress.”

You know what, Mr. President? Who cares? No matter what you do, the GOP will hate and bash you, lie about you, and do everything to get you out of office. What matters now is what you actually accomplish, not what the GOP says about you. They are already saying it. Might as well do something.

The Dream act is very important. I strongly believe in it. My mother is a social worker in the Latino community. I hear terrible, terrible stories. But I also strongly believe that the 66,500 LGBT citizens serving in our armed forces deserve the same “disappointment” from our Commander-in-Chief. More so, they deserve his advocacy.

Mr. President, there is an election coming. And people already think each side is “playing politics.” Hell, our own community thinks each side is “playing politics.”

I mean, the Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud are accusing the Democrats of screwing up the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal legislation by “playing politics” — now, that’s playing politics!

This exact same interview, Mr. President, with the exact same answers, could have — and should have — been given about the failure of Congress to move forward with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.

If you allow your Department of Justice to appeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” federal court decision, what will you be telling us?

(You’ll have to visit Telemundo to watch the interview.)

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News

Mystery Grand Jury Witness in Trump Hush Money Probe Is Former ‘Enquirer’ Publisher and Trump Ally

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March 27, 2023

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Avid followers of the Manhattan District Attorney’s moves noted the grand jury had been called into service for Monday, and soon news leaked that yet another witness would be testifying in the probe into Donald Trump’s alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Monday afternoon, NBC News’ Garrett Haake reported live on MSNBC that the mystery witness was David Pecker, the former tabloid publisher of the “National Enquirer,” who reportedly had been looking for stories in 2016 to protect Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Haake notes Monday was Pecker’s second appearance before the grand jury in the hush money case.

The New York Times also reported David Pecker as the grand jury witness, calling Pecker “a key player in the hush-money matter. He and the tabloid’s top editor helped broker the deal between the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time.”

READ MORE: ‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

“While the focus of Mr. Pecker’s testimony is unclear, he could provide valuable information for prosecutors. A longtime ally of Mr. Trump, he agreed to keep an eye out for potentially damaging stories about Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign,” The Times reports. “For a brief time in October 2016, Ms. Daniels appeared to have just that kind of story. Her agent and lawyer discussed the possibility of selling exclusive rights to her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump to The National Enquirer, which would then promise to never publish it, a practice known as ‘catch and kill.'”

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman weighed in, noting, “nothing about that decision [to have Pecker testify] suggests any change of heart on Bragg’s part to indict Trump.”

Former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman, an NYU professor of law, notes that Pecker’s “testimony can show the [hush money] scheme was designed to affect outcome of election.”

“He reportedly communicated directly with Trump on payment,” Goodman adds.

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News

‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

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2 hours ago

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March 27, 2023

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First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, speaking Monday afternoon at a National League of Cities conference, told attendees, “Our children deserve better,” as she broke the news of the Nashville school mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School where three children and three adults were shot dead.

“You know,” Dr. Biden, herself an educator and clearly pained by the news, began her remarks by saying, “I hate to say what I’m gonna say next because you know you’re so enthusiastic and with so much energy and hope and I feel it.”

“But while you’ve been in this room, I don’t know whether you’ve been on your phones but we just learned about another shooting in Tennessee, a school shooting and I am truly without words and our children deserve better, and we stand – all of us – we stand with Nashville in prayer.”

READ MORE: New WSJ Poll Is Devastating for DeSantis and His ‘Anti-Woke’ Policies

The First Lady, a former public high school English teacher and currently a professor of English at a community college, was speaking at the organization’s Congressional City Conference.

Watch Dr. Biden below or at this link.

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BREAKING NEWS

Death Toll Rises to Six as Three Children and Three Adults Declared Dead In Covenant School Mass Shooting (Streaming Video)

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4 hours ago

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March 27, 2023

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Six people have now died after a shooter shot and killed three young children and three adults at The Covenant Presbyterian School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Police say the shooter was a 28-year old woman who had two assault rifles and a handgun.

WSMV announced the rise in deaths on-air, noting that the shooter is also dead. A police spokesperson later increased the announced death toll from five to six. Including the shooter the death toll is seven.

Live streaming video via CBS News below.

This article has been updated with additional video.

1:56 PM ET: Updated to change age of shooter based on new reporting from WSMV.

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