Aides to Kamala Harris tried to join the Illuminati, though thanks to weakened campaign disclosure rules, secret international cabals hellbent on controlling the world are kind of redundant these days. Benjamin Netanyahu formed a government with a far-right nationalist party, meaning President Obama should throw in the towel on improving relations and just name Louie Gohmert ambassador. And a woman is suing every single gay person on Earth for allegedly violating “religious and moral laws.” The court will hear her case just as soon as it's done reading all those letters to Santa Claus. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, May 6th, 2015:
YIPEEEEEE: ISRAEL FORMS FAR-RIGHT COALITION GOVERNMENT - This is why we can't have nice things, boychik. Josef Federman: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday completed the formation of a new coalition government, reaching a last-minute deal with a nationalist party just before a midnight deadline. The late-night deal saved Netanyahu from the unthinkable scenario of being forced from office. But it set the stage for the formation of a narrow coalition dominated by hard-line and religious parties that appears to be on a collision course with the U.S. and other allies. With a slim majority of just 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament, Netanyahu could also struggle to press forward with a domestic agenda…The Jewish Home party is linked to the West Bank settler movement. It opposes peace moves toward the Palestinians and has pushed for increased settlement construction on occupied lands -- a policy that is opposed by the U.S. and European countries." [AP]
IMMIGRATION COULD DERAIL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION - Elise Foley: "Immigration hard-liners in the House made it clear Tuesday that they're willing to put up a fight over even the smallest measures friendly to undocumented immigrants. The potential revolt is over an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act from Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that was approved by the House Armed Services Committee last week. The amendment asks the secretary of defense to consider allowing undocumented young people with work permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to join the military. It was approved in a 33-30 vote in committee, with support from all Democrats and six Republicans. The amendment doesn't require the Defense Department to change its policy -- rather, it simply asks the secretary to review it. But that was enough to raise the hackles of the most stringent foes of DACA. On Tuesday, 25 House Republicans, led by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), signed a letter to Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) with the vague threat that failing to strip the amendment from the bill would jeopardize the passage of the entire legislation. They ask Sessions to remove the amendment in his committee, which determines the terms of debate before bills go to the House floor." [HuffPost]
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OBAMA POURS SALT ON TPP WOUNDS WITH VISIT TO NIKE - Presumably he'll make it up when he has Richard Trumka over for his wine and cheese viewing of "Norma Rae." Dave Jamieson: "According to the White House, the president plans to visit Nike's headquarters in Oregon on Friday to continue making his case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. TPP, as it's known, is a multinational trade pact the president says would boost trade between the U.S. and 11 other countries. Obama's pursuit of the pact has drawn fierce opposition from progressive groups as well as members of his own party, who say it will send more jobs overseas and worsen income inequality… Among [unions and worker rights groups'] top concerns is potential TPP partner Vietnam. This is why the president's Nike visit is rankling the very labor advocates he's trying to win over. Nike, which is regarded as a pioneer in overseas outsourcing, has a long and checkered labor history in Vietnam. The footwear and apparel giant was pilloried for alleged sweatshop conditions in its contracted factories in Vietnam back in the 1990s, bruising its public image. By most accounts, Nike has helped make significant safety improvements in factories through its own monitoring programs since then, but wages in Vietnam are still extremely low, and the government has a poor track record of enforcing labor laws there." [HuffPost]
OUSTED DEMS MULLING A 2016 COMEBACK - Roland Burris won't answer our letters about a Kirk challenge. Manu Raju: "Begich is among a spate of ex-Democratic senators who are open to comeback bids, a dynamic that could alter the battle for the Senate majority next year. In the decade prior to the 2014 midterms, only three incumbent Democratic senators lost general election races. Then Democrats lost nine seats in November, including incumbents who fell in states as diverse as Louisiana, Colorado, Arkansas, North Carolina and Alaska..Kay Hagan...lost a tough race last year but isn’t ruling out a comeback bid against GOP Sen. Richard Burr. At least one poll shows the two in a dead heat in a potential matchup. Former Sen. Evan Bayh, who retired in 2011, isn’t moving to run for his old seat in Indiana now that GOP Sen. Dan Coats is retiring — but he hasn’t completely ruled it out, either. In Wisconsin, former Sen. Russ Feingold appears likely to run against the man who defeated him five years ago: Republican Ron Johnson." [Politico]
KAMALA HARRIS: CALL YOUR… BROTHERHOOD? - It's about damn time the Anti-Masonic party got the political boost it needed. LA Times: "An aide to state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris and two others are accused of operating a rogue police force that claimed to exist for more than 3,000 years and have jurisdiction in 33 states and Mexico, authorities said Tuesday. Brandon Kiel, David Henry and Tonette Hayes were arrested last week on suspicion of impersonating a police officer through their roles in the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Kiel, 31, has worked as the deputy director of community affairs at the California Department of Justice. An office spokesman declined to comment on the criminal investigation but said Kiel is on administrative leave...Suspicions about the Masonic Fraternal Police Department -- whose members trace their origins to the Knights Templar -- were aroused when various police chiefs in Southern California received a letter in late January that announced new leadership for the group, sheriff’s officials said. After the letters were mailed, a man claiming to be Kiel and describing himself as the police force’s 'chief deputy director' called various law enforcement agencies to schedule in-person meetings, sheriff’s officials said." [LA Times]
PROPOSED BILL WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM PAYING FOR JOHN THUNE'S COMPLIMENTARY MIMOSA - And no more moist towelettes for Kevin McCarthy. Cristina Marcos: "A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to prevent members of Congress from using official funds for first-class airfare. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) said luxury air travel is "especially wasteful," while Congress has yet to eliminate the federal deficit. 'Members of Congress are public servants of the people and should not be considered a privileged status,' Gosar and Ruiz said in a joint statement. The bill from Gosar and Ruiz, titled the Coach-Only Airfare for Capitol Hill (COACH) Act, would mandate that lawmakers and staffers can only fly first-class with personal funds. It would permit exceptions for first-class travel to accommodate disabilities or other medical needs. Fourteen lawmakers have co-sponsored the legislation, several of whom will face tough reelection races next year: Reps. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), Tom Rice (R-S.C.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) and Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.)." [The Hill]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here are toddlers chatting in ASL.
'CLASS ACTION' NEVER SOUNDED SO DIRTY - The evidence portion of the trial is bound to get a little steamy. Curtis Wong: "Identifying herself as an ambassador for God and Jesus Christ, a Nebraska woman has filed a federal lawsuit against all homosexual people on the planet for breaking 'religious and moral laws.' Sylvia Ann Driskell of Auburn argues in a seven-page, handwritten petition delivered to the U.S. District Court of Omaha that 'homosexuality is a sin and that the homosexuals know it is a sin to live a life of homosexuality,' according to the Lincoln Journal Star. 'Why else would they have been hiding in the closet(?)' The 66-year-old, who is representing herself in the lawsuit, cites Webster’s Dictionary as well as a series of Bible passages in her letter, which is riddled with spelling and punctuation errors, the Omaha World Herald reports. She challenges U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard to not “judge God to be a lier (sp),” and slams gay people as 'liers (sp), deceivers and thieves' in the case, filed simply as Driskell v. Homosexuals." [HufFPost]
COMFORT FOOD
- An evolution of tech giants' logos.
- An honest trailer for "Fifty Shades of Gray."
- Dead fish singing "Mr. Sandman."
TWITTERAMA
@BrettLoGiurato: So he’s running. MT @PeterNicholas3: Spotted: Jeb in hotel in Manhattan. Wearing T-shirt and gym shorts. Asked concierge for gym location.
@kombiz: What's the German word for people who go through twitter and favorite one side because they think it's helping someone win an argument?
@aedwardslevy: DC's seasons:
-Freezing-but-not-snowy
-Tourist
-Swamp
-Election
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