Transgender Woman Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald Gets 42 Months In Male Prison For Stabbing Man To Death Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald admitted Monday that an inner rage brewed long before an exchange of words that ended with the deadly stabbing of Dean Schmitz outside a bar in south Minneapolis last year. The pressures of being transgendered — namely, fear of rejection and of hostile reactions from others — resulted in spite and hatefulness, said McDonald, who is transitioning from a man to a woman. That pent-up fury exploded on the night of June 5, 2011, during an argument when McDonald stabbed the 47-year-old in the heart, killing him instantly. But McDonald, who on Monday was sent to prison for 3 1/2 years, said the responsibility for what happened is mutual. “I’m sure that to Dean’s family, he was a loving, caring person,” McDonald, 24, told Judge Daniel Moreno. “But that is not what I saw that night. I saw a racist, transphobic, narcissistic bigot who did not have any regard for my friends and I.” McDonald will initially be housed as a man at the St. Cloud prison, corrections spokeswoman Sarah Russell said Monday. Then the state will make its own determination of McDonald’s gender, an assessment that will involve reviewing “any and all collateral documentation and a physical and psychological evaluation,” said Russell. In the meantime, the state will house McDonald based on the inmate’s safety and the well-being of others, she said, adding that dealing with gender uncertainty among inmates “is not a unique situation” for the department. As of late January, there were 10 inmates in the state’s corrections system who have been clinically confirmed by the state as having “a gender identity disorder.” Thoughts on this? Should CeCe be in a men’s prison, especially since they say she is “transitioning” from a man to a woman?? Source
Desmond Hatchett, a 33-year-old Knoxville, Tenn., resident, appeared in court this week to ask the state for child-support help, Memphis’ WREG TV reported. When you have 30 kids (yep, 3-0, or thirty), those bills do pile up. That total is believed to be the record in Knox county, according to reports and have been born by 11 different women. His youngest are toddlers; his oldest is 14. Desmond Hatchett Seeks Child Support Help Hatchett reportedly asked the court to give him a break on his payments, claiming that he’s struggling to make ends meet with his minimum-wage job. Currently, the state requires him to divide 50 percent of his earnings among the 11 women, and he does, but some receive as little as $1.49 a month. How did Hatchett come to father so many children? He said he didn’t plan on it, but it just happened. Sure. He also revealed one dubious feat: “I had four kids in the same year. Twice,” he told Volunteer TV in 2009, adding that he was “done” having kids (he had only 21 at the time). Hatchett, who may want to consider the cost-benefit analysis of condoms, does not face any legal action because he has broken no laws.
Texas Prison Inmate Gets Votes In Democratic Primary In West Virginia And all because people in West Virginia aren’t feelin Barack Obama: Just how unpopular is President Barack Obama in some parts of the country? Enough that a man in prison in Texas got 4 out of 10 votes in West Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary. The inmate, Keith Judd, is serving time at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texas for making threats at the University of New Mexico in 1999. Obama received 59 percent of the vote to Judd’s 41 percent. For some West Virginia Democrats, simply running against Obama is enough to get Judd votes. “I voted against Obama,” said Ronnie Brown, a 43-year-old electrician from Cross Lanes who called himself a conservative Democrat. “I don’t like him. He didn’t carry the state before and I’m not going to let him carry it again.” When asked which presidential candidate he voted for, Brown said, “That guy out of Texas.” Judd was able to get on the state ballot by paying a $2,500 fee and filing a form known as a notarized certification of announcement, said Jake Glance, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office. Attracting at least 15 percent of the vote would normally qualify a candidate for a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. But state Democratic Party Executive Director Derek Scarbro said no one has filed to be a delegate for Judd. The state party also believes that Judd has failed to file paperwork required of presidential candidates, but officials continue to research the matter, Scarbro said. Voters in other conservative states showed their displeasure with Obama in Democratic primaries last March. “Keith Judd’s performance is embarrassing for Obama and our great state,” outgoing West Virginia GOP Chairman Mike Stuart said. Presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won West Virginia’s GOP primary Tuesday with more than 69 percent of the vote, with 93 percent of precincts reporting. Rick Santorum followed with 12 percent, while Ron Paul had 11 percent. Brown, the Cross Lanes electrician, went to the polls Tuesday with his 22-year-old daughter, Emily. She planned to vote for Judd too until she found out where Judd has been living. “I’m not voting for somebody who’s in prison,” she said. She was certain about one thing: “I just want to vote against Barack Obama.” Wow. So people are willing to vote for some dude in prison with a shady ponytail just to vote “against Obama”?? SMH. Source
Justice for a Black Man killed by a white teen, in Mississippi ? We didn’t think it was possible, but Wednesday a Judge lay into 19-year-old Deryl Dedmon over his brutal killing of 47-year-old James Craig Anderson: A white teenager pleaded guilty to murder and a hate crime Wednesday for running over a black man with his pickup truck in a killing a judge called a stain on Mississippi that will take years to fade. Deryl Dedmon, 19, apologized to the victim’s family before he received two life sentences for the June 26 death of James Craig Anderson, a 47-year-old car plant worker who loved to sing in his church choir and was remembered for his sense of humor. Dedmon, a slight, blonde man wearing a blue jumpsuit, looked down as prosecutors described the killing. Dedmon admitted that he and a group of white teens were partying in Puckett, a small town outside the capital city, when he suggested they find a black man to harass and went to Jackson because of its majority-black population. They found Anderson before dawn outside a hotel. He was beaten before Dedmon ran over him. Prosecutors said Dedmon and others had targeted blacks for harassment before, usually homeless or drunk people who weren’t likely to report it to police. The victim’s sister, Barbara Anderson Young, fought back tears when she addressed the court. “My brother Craig would give you the shirt off of his back. Because of my brother, James Craig Anderson, our lives were richer, with love, respect and a love of God,” she said. “We, the Anderson family, are praying for racial reconciliation not just in Mississippi but all over this land and country. We are praying for the defendant, Dedmon, and his family that they find peace.” When it was his turn to speak, Dedmon’s shackles rattled as he turned and faced the Anderson family. “I am sincerely sorry. I do take full responsibility for my actions on that night. I pray for y’all’s family every day … and that God will soften your hearts to forgive me,” Dedmon said. Members of both families, sitting on opposite sides of a wooden court bench, wiped away tears. “I was young. I was dumb. I was ignorant … I was not raised the way that I acted that night. I was raised in a godly house. As I stand before you today, I am a changed man. I am a godly man. God has showed me to see no colors. God showed me that we are all made in the image of God so we are all based on the same thing … I do not ask y’all to forget, but I do ask y’all to forgive.” Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill Sr. had the last word. “Your prejudice has brought shame upon you and placed a great stain on the state of Mississippi. Whatever excuse you may offer for what you have done, forget that. There’s no excuse that you can offer for the family of Mr. Anderson or to your fellow Mississippians who have to try to reconcile the horrible damage you have caused,” Weill said. Weill recalled the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers who were murdered and buried in an earthen dam in a rural area in what became known as “Mississippi Burning.” “All the hard work we have done to move our state forward from that earthen dam in Neshoba County to here has been stained by you. A stain that will take years to fade,” the judge said. The case received widespread attention after a video of Anderson’s death was obtained by news organizations. The video, taken by a hotel surveillance camera, shows a green Ford truck back up in the hotel parking lot, then lunge forward. Anderson’s shirt is illuminated in the headlights before he disappears under the vehicle. Police said Dedmon was driving the truck and later bragged that he ran over Anderson, using a racial slur to describe him. Dedmon was indicted for capital murder, which in Mississippi carries a sentence of death or life in prison without parole, but District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith said prosecutors couldn’t have gotten a conviction. For capital murder, there must be an underlying offense, which had been robbery. Smith said that the investigation revealed that the group did not take Anderson’s wallet, as investigators first believed. Anderson’s family also asked prosecutors not to pursue the death penalty, saying they oppose it. They have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against seven teens, including two young girls who were allegedly in the truck with Dedmon. One of the teens, John Aaron Rice, is charged with simple assault in the case. Authorities said he left the scene in another vehicle before Anderson was killed. Rice has pleaded not guilty and is free on a $5,000 bond. The FBI has been investigating the case, too, and the judge told Dedmon that his guilty plea in state court would not prevent him from facing federal charges. Smith said after the hearing there may be additional arrests and promised more details at a news conference Thursday. Smith said this is the first hate crime prosecution in Mississippi that he could find. “This guilty plea is just the beginning,” Smith said. So sad. It sounds like they are going to prosecute him to the full extent of the law. Even if they can’t do more than give him another life sentence it is important that he be hit with every charge — especially in the state of Mississippi where so many black men lost their lives only to never receive justice. R.I.P. James Craig Anderson We will never forget. Source More On Bossip! Super Freaks: Celebrities That Chopped Down Adult Film Stars Date Night! 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MTV Unplugged – A Live Album, due April 9, captures every intimate moment of band’s stripped-back set. By James Montgomery Florence Welch Photo: Harry Herd/ WireImage Back in December, Florence and the Machine stripped down for a taping of MTV’s venerable “Unplugged” series. And not surprisingly, this presented a rather unique set of difficulties for the usually voluminous band — though not the kind you’d expect. “It’s such a huge thing, and it was so intimate, and I really enjoy doing things stripped back and having the strings and the choir, it was really wonderful,” Florence Welch told MTV News. “But, what to say in between? I got so bashful. I was so grateful to be there, and I was trying to express that, and it just went into this weird, stilted speech. … It ended up with me trying to talk but not saying any words. … Singing is fine; talking, not so much.” Then again, we suspect Welch is just being modest, because April 9, Florence and the Machine will release MTV Unplugged – A Live Album, which captures every intimate moment of their performance (“I genuinely hope they don’t include my talking,” Welch admitted, laughing), including stirring takes on their hits “Dog Days Are Over,” “Shake It Out” and “Cosmic Love,” plus a pair of covers: “Try a Little Tenderness” and “Jackson” (with guest vocals by Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme). Judging from the list of songs, you’d think the “Unplugged” taping was well-rehearsed. But as Welch explained, nothing could be further from the truth. “We kind of winged it. I felt really comfortable: I’m kind of in my element in that environment, when you’re able to really play ,” she said. “The thing I don’t enjoy about TV performances is that I have to sing live to a backing track, because most times they can’t afford to mic up the whole band, so you have to sing to something that’s just going to keep going, with or without you. And performing in a stripped-back sense, with a band that’s playing around you? It’s so organic, and there’s so much freedom to it.” Of course, her “Unplugged” performance also earned rave reviews from one very prominent guest: Kanye West, who was front and center for the taping, and made his approval known from the get-go. “He was dancing and really going for it in the front row; it was amazing,” Welch said. “At award shows, you can’t really see anyone, because there’s lights, and they’re kind of far away, but for this, it was just like Kanye was just there. And I covered ‘Try a Little Tenderness,’ and he’d just sampled that for the Watch the Throne album, so I was like, ‘Um, Hi … you kind of got there before me, but I’m going to do this now, and it’s kind of for you …’ He was smiling the whole way through, and I think he’s a total genius, so to have him there was really incredible.” Related Artists Florence + the Machine Kanye West
But MTV News did find one bachelor pad tuned in to the primary. By Andrew Jenks Andrew Jenks at Ohio State University Photo: MTV News COLUMBUS, Ohio — After spending the morning not finding many young people heading to vote (maybe they were waiting for later), I took to the streets to find out what people were up to on Super Tuesday in the most scrutinized swing state in the 2012 election . “What are you doing today?” I asked young people on the Ohio State University campus on a day when their state was offering up the second-biggest delegate prize of all 10 Super Tuesday contests. But, as an experiment, I didn’t bring up the primary, because I wanted to see if they would. Victoria Aeling: “I plan on painting.” Shane Wiegerig: “Volunteering.” Zach Gray: “Class and going to the bank.” Clearly, some had no plans. Many admitted they had no idea today was the day that could turn the tide in the long, bitter scramble to finally find a solid GOP front-runner to take on President Obama in November. But it wasn’t long before I landed at an all-guys apartment, which they referred to as their “trashed pad.” There was a beat-up pool table, dirty kitchen and holes in the wall. You would think this was strictly “Animal House,” but they were watching CNN and, yes, following Super Tuesday results. I quickly realized there weren’t any generalizations to be made in this crash pad. Joe Doll was a simple guy. He shrugged his shoulders. “If they are a cool guy and they are realistic about things then I’ll vote for them,” he said of GOP hopefuls such as Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. “People don’t see the candidates as serious, so they aren’t taking it serious.” Brian Bode spoke with conviction. “I am voting, but I don’t think it will make a difference, because our Congress is controlled by lobbyists,” he said. He wasn’t happy, and it was easy to tell. If Libertarian pot-stirrer Ron Paul wasn’t in the running, Brian wasn’t planning on voting. Then there was the incredibly outspoken Mark Jepsen. “I went to rivalry class today,” he said. OK, fair enough, I thought. Guy has a hobby, maybe doesn’t care for — wait, he continued … “I registered to vote … not far away from here. Not sure if I am going to do it. … Probably will work out later. … Other than that, not too much. Maybe see a movie, may go out and drink. I think of politics as poli-tricks.” In Ohio, it was clear that everyone I spoke to looks at government in a very different way. I can see that this certainly is a swing state. Some have no idea it’s Super Tuesday, others have been waiting for this day for a long time, and then there are the ones who feel so totally disconnected from the current political discourse that they won’t even bother. Whoever ends up winning the nomination certainly has work cut out for them. MTV has Super Tuesday covered, with reporters on the scene in Georgia, Ohio and Massachusetts! Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage on all the primaries, and stick with Power Of 12 throughout the presidential election season. Related Videos Super Tuesday: MTV News Is On The Ground!
Santigold is showing her multiple personalities on the cover of her sophomore album, Master Of My Make-Believe (due May 1). The “Big Mouth” singer, who recently had quite a bit to say on the state of pop music, transforms into a sultry “Bond girl”-esque guard, a classically-painted army officer, and an intimidating, mustached man. … More » Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Idolator Discovery Date : 27/02/2012 23:43 Number of articles : 2
Ron Paul comes in third in latest GOP contest. By Gil Kaufman Mitt Romney Photo: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images Just four days after notching his most convincing win of the primary season so far, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney made it two in a row by taking Saturday night’s Republican caucus in Nevada with 47.6 percent of the vote. In a season where three different candidates have won the first four contests, that gives Romney the distinction of being the first to grab two consecutive wins. “This is not the first time you’ve given me your vote of confidence, and this time I’m going to take it to the White House,” a clearly excited Romney said at a victory speech, where he once again turned his attention away from his Republican opponents and on President Obama. Unlike Florida, where Representative Ron Paul didn’t compete in order to focus on Nevada and other upcoming states, and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was forced to suspend his campaigning to deal with a sick child, all four remaining candidates worked the road in the first Western contest of the season. After coming in 14 points behind Romney in Florida, Newt Gingrich was hoping for a solid comeback but could not rely on a strong debate performance, as there was not one in advance of the latest battle. On Saturday night he finished well behind Romney, rolling up just 22.7 percent of the vote (with 71 percent of precincts reporting at press time). While Romney took to the stage in a room full of cheering supporters, the Gingrich headquarters was a stark contrast, an empty room where the former House Speaker spoke to reporters via television. “I am a candidate for president of the United States,” Gingrich said. “I will be the candidate of the president of the United States.” Romney won Nevada handily in 2008, taking 51 percent of the vote because his rivals in the last GOP primary race basically let him run unopposed assuming the state’s large Mormon population would ensure Romney — who is Mormon — a win. Though Mormons only account for 7 percent of the state’s population (around 180,000), they are rabid voters and reliably make up one-quarter of Republican caucus-goers. But it wasn’t it as clear-cut this time. Even Santorum, who has moved to the back of the pack since his recount win in Iowa a month ago, put up a strong battle, though he ended up in fourth place with just 11.1 percent. And Paul, who was counting on the state’s vocal Tea Party contingent and independent voters to come out for him, had a decent showing in third place with 18.6 percent. As he did in Florida, Romney came in with a much bigger ground game than the rest of the field, a record of visiting the state often over the past year-and-a-half and, for what it’s worth, the endorsement of real-estate mogul and once-potential candidate Donald Trump. Regardless of the results, unlike winner-take-all Florida, no actual delegates will be awarded following the Nevada caucus. As in Iowa, delegates will be elected to go to the county convention and then to a state gathering, who will then decide where the state’s 34 delegates go to the GOP convention in Tampa. It’s possible the delegates who go to Florida in late August may not reflect the final results of Saturday’s vote. Voting also began Saturday in Maine’s caucus, whose vote will take place over the next week. More voters go to the polls on Tuesday, when Colorado and Minnesota also caucus. Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage of the primaries and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.
MTV News takes a closer look at legislation passed last year in the state that has voter-registration groups up in arms. By Gil Kaufman Mitt Romney campaigns in Dunedin, Florida on Monday Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/ AFP/ Getty Images TAMPA, Florida — It’s a teenage rite of passage up there with learning to drive and attending prom: your first time voting . But according to some longtime voter-registration organizations, that right could be threatened this year in a number of states due to new laws that make signing up new voters more difficult. The issue has come into sharp relief this week in Florida, which holds its presidential primary Tuesday. A bill passed last year in the state includes a number of new rules for how civic organizations can register new voters, as well as ones that reduce the number of early voting days from 14 to eight and prohibit early voting on the Sunday before an election . The part of the new law that has troubled groups such as Rock the Vote and the League of Women Voters the most, though, is the one that forces such third-party organizations to submit voter-registration applications within 48 hours of receiving them, instead of the 10 days as provided by the pervious law. These groups — which are among several who have suspended their voter-registration drives in Florida this year because of a lawsuit over the changes — say the fines and threats of potential civil lawsuits have put a chill on their get-out-the-vote efforts. “We are outraged at these new laws that will prevent opportunities for youth civic participation,” Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit in early December. Attorneys for the groups claim Florida’s new voter laws violate the U.S. Constitution and federal laws by violating their constitutionally protected rights of speech and association and failing to give individuals and groups fair notice of how to comply with the laws’ “confusing and unclear mandates.” They also argue that the laws breach the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, a federal law designed in part to “encourage community-based voter-registration activity.” Supporters of the law say it will save money by eliminating extra voting days and is a bulwark against voter fraud, which its supporters argue is a constant threat to the democratic process. Some Democrats, however, have accused Republicans — Florida is among the half-dozen states with GOP-led legislatures that passed new voting laws last year — of using the provisions to disenfranchise some traditionally key Democratic voting blocs, including racial minorities, the poor, the young and elderly voters. There were 31 cases of voter fraud referred to Florida authorities between January 2008 and 2011, and only two resulted in arrests out of the 8.1 million votes cast in the 2008 election. A hearing was held in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, led by U.S. Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Dick Durbin of Illinois, in which the men described the bill as a “voter suppression act” and vowed to have the courts address what Durbin sees as a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. MTV is on the scene in Florida! Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage of the primaries and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season. Related Videos Florida Primary: The Race Is On! Barnstorming The Iowa Caucus With Andrew Jenks
