Archive for the ‘Eric Holder’ Category

Judge found dead in Hudson River was ‘force for good’ | New York … – New York Post

A pioneering judge, who became the first Muslim woman in US history to serve on the bench, was found dead Wednesday washed up on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River, sources said.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, was discovered floating in the water near 132nd Street and Hudson Parkway around 1:45 p.m., according to police sources.

Witnesses had spotted her fully clothed body and called 911, cops said.

Sources told The Post that Abdus-Salaam, an associate judge of the Court of Appeals, had been reported missing from her home in Harlem earlier in the day.

Her husband later identified her body. Sources said it showed no obvious signs of trauma or injuries indicating criminality or foul play,and that her death appeared to be a suicide.

Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrote in a statement Wednesday night.

She was a pioneer, he said. Through her writings, her wisdom, and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come. I was proud to appoint her to the states highest court and am deeply saddened by her passing.

After receiving her degree from Columbia Law School, she began her legal career working as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services. Abdus-Salaam rose through the state ranks before eventually being elected to the Supreme Court in 1993.

She was then appointed to the Court of Appeals by Cuomo in 2013.Former US Attorney General Eric Holder, who went to Columbia with Abdus-Salaam, was in attendance for her historic swearing-in ceremony and described how she had defined herself by her relentless pursuit of excellence while also managing to be a great dancer.

Sheila could boogie, Holder joked at the time. She was witty and a great deal of fun to spend time with.

Abdus-Salaam went on to note how unlikely her and Holders professional achievements in law would have been four decades ago.

Who knew that we would both attain such high positions, and that you would be the first black United States attorney general, and I would be the first black woman on the New York Court of Appeals? she told him with a big smile.

As word of Abdus-Salaams death spread Wednesday, countless lawyers and judges began paying tribute to her.

Im deeply saddened at having lost a dear friend and colleague, and the court has suffered a terrible blow, Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the state Court of Appeals from 2009 to 2015, told The Post.

She was a superb jurist and an even more superb human being, he said. I knew her for many, many years. To some degree, we grew up together in the court. Ive known her in all her different roles in the court. Its just so shocking. She was a very genteel, lovely lady and judge. If you ask anyone about her, people would say only the most wonderful things. Thats why it makes it even more difficult to understand.

Additional reporting by Jazmin Rosa

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Judge found dead in Hudson River was 'force for good' | New York ... - New York Post

Dems are always invited to give commencement speeches – New York Post

The class of 2017 can count on all the traditional trappings of college commencement: caps and gowns, Pomp and Circumstance, and a heaping helping of left-wing politics.

Academias longstanding liberal bias has only hardened after last Novembers election sent Donald Trump to the White House, a Post review of more than 200 colleges commencement plans reveals.

It is a reflection of orthodoxy, as well as a fear of disturbance, said John O. McGinnis, a law professor and campus speech analyst at Northwestern University. Students realize that they can push the administration around.

Just four colleges have asked members of the Trump administration to speak at graduation this year. But at least 14, from Columbia University to Stanford, plan to give Obama administration officials like Joe Biden, Valerie Jarrett, John Kerry and Eric Holder honorary degrees and speaking slots.

Only Trump himself, Vice President Mike Pence and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are set to appear at college graduation ceremonies.

Compare that to 2009, the first year of the Obama administration, when 14 Cabinet members and staffers were so honored, according to CampusReform.com. President Obama gave three commencement addresses that spring.

Trump, whose sole commencement appearance will be at evangelical Liberty University on May 13, did not receive the traditional invitation from University of Notre Dame that five of the last six presidents have accepted in their first year in office.

Instead, Pence will appear at the Catholic college, despite a growing campus protest against his visit.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have two invitations each, and Sen. Bernie Sanders has three, including a speech at CUNYs Brooklyn College.

The college watchdog group FIRE, which tracks protests against campus speakers, saw a sharp spike in commencement controversies in 2013 and 2014, when right-leaning guests like Dr. Ben Carson and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were forced out of commencement roles and colleges learned their lesson.

Many schools have begun to invite less controversial commencement speakers, and a lot of schools now have internal speakers only, said FIREs Ari Cohn.

The University of Michigan announced in March that it would abandon its commencement speaker tradition this year.

Twenty colleges The Post reviewed are hosting current and former Democratic elected officials, including Howard Dean, Rep. John Lewis and Sens. Kamala Harris, Tim Kaine, Cory Booker and Tammy Duckworth.

But only 10 of the schools are hosting Republican senators and governors nearly all of them, like former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maine Sen. Susan Collins, political moderates.

The atmosphere of orthodoxy is now being enforced by violent or at least unpleasant protests that discourage viewpoint diversity, said McGinnis, pointing to demonstrations that silenced right-leaning speakers at Claremont McKenna College and Middlebury College in the last two months.

Cohn concurred.

What we are seeing is a demand for ideological purity in totality, he said. Not only an increasing unwillingness to listen to a speech you might disagree with, but an unwillingness to allow anyone else to listen to people you disagree with.

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Dems are always invited to give commencement speeches - New York Post

Fast and Furious Returns: ‘Scandal-free’ Obama and his Henchman Holder on the Firing Line Again – TexasGOPVote

Its funny how the scandal-free administration of Obama suddenly finds itself embroiled in scandals.

Obama kept a tight lid on scandals, threatening most of the press corps, and of course all the scurrilous politicians in DC. Honestly, if it wasnt for his black book, Obama might be rotting in a federal prison.

And what of Eric Holder? Certainly, Americans would feel that justice was servedif he received some prison time.

Aside from the scandal of the Lefts creation that backfired, aka Russia-Gate, others have begun to resurface.

As FOX Newsreported,

The cartel member suspected of shooting and killing Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010 with a gun supplied by the U.S. government was arrested in Mexico Wednesday, senior law enforcement, Border Patrol, and congressional sources told Fox News.

The suspect,Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, was apprehended by a joint U.S.-Mexico law enforcement task force that included the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals and the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC).

A $250,000 reward had been sought for information leading to the arrest of Osorio-Arellanes, who was captured at a ranch on the border of the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua. U.S. authorities have said they will seek his extradition.

Who knows what this Mexican bandito might say.

He could talk to avoid the U.S. justice system, or he could talk to get the heck out of Mexico.

Recall the incident that took the border patrol agents life.

Terry was killed on Dec. 14, 2010 in a gunfight between Border Patrol agents and members of a five-man cartel rip crew, which regularly patrolled the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border looking for drug dealers to rob.

The agents death exposed Operation Fast and Furious, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operation in which the federal government allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them once they made their way into Mexico. But the agency lost track of more than 1,400 of the 2,000 guns they allowed smugglers to buy. Two of those guns were found at the scene of Terrys killing.

The operation set off a political firestorm, and then-Attorney General Eric Holderwas held in contempt of Congress after he refused to divulge documents for a congressional investigation.

Lets hope that President Trump revisits some of these scandals.

Then, when the truth comes out hold the Obama administration accountable.

Americans need to feel that no person is above the law. Restoring that faith to the public would be priceless.

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Fast and Furious Returns: 'Scandal-free' Obama and his Henchman Holder on the Firing Line Again - TexasGOPVote

Power and Punishment: Two New Books About Race and Crime – New York Times


New York Times
Power and Punishment: Two New Books About Race and Crime
New York Times
In 1995, one year after Bill Clinton signed the biggest crime bill in American history, the nation's first black United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Eric Holder, announced a major anti-crime initiative called Operation Ceasefire at a ...

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Power and Punishment: Two New Books About Race and Crime - New York Times

Company’s worth still more than $60B behind Uber – Tristatehomepage.com

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - It's good to be Lyft right now.

The company announced on Tuesday that it has raised a fresh $600 million from investors. The new funding bumps up Lyft's valuation to $7.5 billion -- still far short of Uber's estimated $68 billion worth.

The news comes at an interesting time, as Uber's ethics and company culture are being sharply criticized.

A former female engineer alleged sexism and harassment at Uber in February. The company hired Eric Holder to conduct an investigation, which is supposed to close at the end of the month. Uber is also fighting a lawsuit against Alphabet's self driving car unit, Waymo, which is accusing Uber of stealing trade secrets.

And in January, a boycott of Uber went viral. Social media users urged customers to #DeleteUber after the company was perceived as breaking up a taxi strike of drivers protesting President Trump's travel ban.

Lyft said it has seen a 60-percent increase in week-over-week new passenger signups since the #DeleteUber debacle.

According to a source, Lyft has been fundraising since late last year, just before Uber's troubles began.

But Lyft has used Uber's situation as a chance to position itself as the ethical alternative to Uber.

And apparently, Lyft's new investors agree.

"Every ride we requested began with our asking the driver which service they most preferred to drive for. Time and again, the answer was Lyft," wrote Vincent Letteri, director of private equity at KKR about the firm's decision to invest in Lyft. "In our analysis, we also saw a mature, focused management team that stands out."

Letteri cited Lyft's new Round Up & Donate program -- announced at the end of March. It's one way the company has worked to generate a more wholesome image for itself. It gives passengers the ability to round up fares to the dollar, donating that change to a charity of choice.

In addition to new funding from existing investors, Lyft's latest round of funding comes from new backers like KKR, Alliance Bernstein, Baillie Gifford, and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

"We have big plans on the horizon, and will continue investing in new technology and hospitality in order to create experiences that passengers and drivers will love," said cofounder John Zimmer in a statement.

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Company's worth still more than $60B behind Uber - Tristatehomepage.com