Two Simple Steps Americans Must Take to Solve the U.S. Energy Crisis

The reality of the aging power grid in the United States is indicative of a changing society. Implementation of technological advancements for the purpose of bringing the grid up to date is the obvious next step. This is not a simple shift however. Specifically, there are two hurdles to overcome in order to implement substantive grid changes. These hurdles are a shift from the status quo and also the increase in utility bills. When a price tag is attached to anything, consumers will speak out. This doesn't mean these are hurdles impassable, but it does underscore the reality that people are skittish when change comes with a price tag.

The smart grid is a grid that allows the dualistic flow of energy and power to and from the generation source. The current power grid only supports single-way transfer of power, and is not easily accessible to new energy technologies that are being frequently developed. Thus, the need for a shift in grid technology is drastically overdue.

Ostensibly, it helps to promulgate renewables because it would allow for a common metric into which renewables could enter. The way the current technology is, renewables are either on their own separate grid given the single-wave frequencies and exchange of the current power grid. Or renewables connect to the current power grid through a series of highly expensive interfaces and mechanisms to try and integrate the two. This fact contributes to why renewables tend to have higher prices and are not used nearly as much as they perhaps could be with an updated grid.

But essentially the smart grid would allow for any and all new technologies to easily plug in and meet peoples' needs based on geographical unique locations. For example, more solar could be used in the South and Southwest and more wind power could be used in the Midwest and Northwest and bio fuels could be used more in the Northwest and Northeast.

Hurdle #1: Shift from the Status Quo

Change is always difficult. Whether in the recent attempts to pass comprehensive immigration reform or with voting laws, people will resist and fight change. The smart grid conversation is certainly no exception. Opponents to the idea most commonly cite security issues and also potential of increased radiation emissions associated with this shift in power generation. Therefore, in order to adequately meet the needs of this population, the fecundity of the smart grid must be touted and specifically, the smart grid must be framed as a long-term solution to a long-term problem facing the world. There is a dire need for new energy technologies. But without a commensurate grid through which they can be powered, the high prices of renewables and sustainable energy technologies will remain high and the division deep.

Hurdle #2: Rise in Utility Costs

Overcoming the hurdle of increased price to utility bills is a problem familiar to all technological development, and development in general. People are frequently more inclined to favor a short-term price reduction over a long term energy/technological investment into their future making the world a more sustainable place for their kids and generations to come. This is a reasonable critique of the smart grid – it will certainly cost more money, but theoretically only in the short term. Therefore, given the long term benefits from a shift in the power grid of the United States to the smart grid system, these hurdles must be overcome with diplomacy and tact, realizing that similar to move environmental issues significant change will have to come with a turn in the generation- notably, millennials.

Also, there is an opt-out option in the smart grid dialogue. Opponents say it is the easy way out and proponents say it’s only fair. The justification for an opt-out though might be to allow for phasing of this new technology as to ease the digestion of it. If it were to be implemented across the board it would take people by surprise and there would be an unpleasant backlash as a result. And after all, people rightly don't want policies heaped upon them when they might disagree. The Patriot act is a great counter example from the opposite political side. If you agree with it or not, the justification for doing it without vetting it first with the public, was the refrain of "trust us, we need to do this for you safety. While there is balance with this line of thought, mostly in that people will usually reject any form of change to some extent, the idea is to slowly introduce it and let it soak into peoples' minds, before an all-out implementation of it. This will additionally increase the ultimate effectiveness and efficiency of the smart grid, because it will allow for time to work out inevitable kinks in the implementation process.

With the rapid advancement of new energy technologies, which is greatly needed, there must be a power grid to match it. While this new smart grid will meet certain opposition, the two major hurdles can be overcome. However, action must be coupled with respect for both sides of the argument, which are equally legitimate.

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Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity Getting Dropped From Second Biggest Radio Operator

Cumulus Media, the second-largest owner and operator of radio stations in the United States, is dropping conservative heavyweights Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its distribution services.

Financial disagreements between Cumulus Media and Premiere Networks, a division of Clear Channel that distributes Limbaugh and Hannity's programs, center on declining revenues, which are largely the result of sponsors withdrawing their ads from the shows. Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey attributed a $2.4 million first-quarter decline to Limbaugh’s inflammatory remarks about Georgetown student Sandra Fluke, who he called a "slut" and “prostitute” last year.

Since those comments, over 142 companies have boycotted the show. Limbaugh responded by declaring that he is being persecuted by media buyers who are, "young women fresh out of college, liberal feminists who hate conservatism."

Given the popularity of Limbaugh and Hannity, one wonders if it was good business to abandon the two most listened-to talk show hosts on the airwaves. Is Cumulus Media doing the right thing for itself as a company by disowning programming that attracts almost 30 million listeners?

On one hand, the financial impact of losing these two top-rated shows might be a disaster for shareholders. Limbaugh and Hannity may be gone from Cumulus, but they aren't gone from the airwaves. Clear Channel, the nation's biggest distributor of radio programming, will continue to broadcast them.

On the other hand, Cumulus might not have had another choice, given the advertising exodus. As Jason Easley, a left-wing commentator with PoliticusUSA, said, “Without the public pressure, bad publicity, and shame that the boycott brought on to his advertisers, Rush Limbaugh and Cumulus would probably still have a happy marriage”

Cumulus is working on filling the vacant slots with other popular conservative hosts, such as Mike Huckabee and Mark Levin, and scouting for new hosts altogether. The company's move signals that radio distributors are fed up with the advertising losses associated with controversial programing, and that, just maybe, distributors are tired of being associated with bigots.

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Why Don Lemon Doesn't Understand Young Black America

Last week, Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly took to his program to launch into one of his “This is what’s wrong with black people” diatribes, in the wake of President Obama's comments on the Trayvon Martin ruling. Don Lemon, African American news anchor at CNN, surprised many when he backed O’Reilly’s comments, even going so far as to say that O’Reilly’s comments “did not go far enough.”

Lemon’s comments, while forceful and vitriolic, display a sort naiveté on the issue of racism, one that contends that the legacy of institutional racism and class structures do not exist.

While O’Reilly used statistics to argue his point, Lemon essentially endorsed a five-step program in dealing with issues in the black community, as if issues that plague an entire community can be solved in the style of a weight loss initiative. The recommendations, of course, are nothing new. They include finishing school, picking up trash, and bringing an end to sagging pants. Who knew that an end to sagging could cure a large portion of societal ills?

All jokes aside, the black community, like any other community, has its issues. Of course higher graduation rates would be great. Of course lower out-of-wedlock childbirths would, indeed, be a good thing. Unfortunately for Lemon and the bevy of commentators that reflect this line of thinking, it’s just not that simple. Institutional racism did not end when a bunch of civil rights activists hopped on a bus headed for Washington, D.C., in 1963.

Institutional racism can be found in the criminal justice system, where black youths are arrested on drug crimes 10 times more than their white counterparts, despite comparable rates of usage. Institutional racism can be found in disparate wage distribution, even accounting for factors like education. It can be found in policies like the NYPD’s Stop and Frisk, whose targets are about 90% black or brown. Institutional racism does not have to look like George Wallace or David Duke. In fact, it is more of a function of habit rather than a result of mere vile intent.

In his classic work When Work Disappears, sociologist William Julius Wilson tracked urban neighborhoods for decades, and found that unemployment had ravaged communities, in particular, communities of color. Today, because of deindustrialization and the relocation of industries, the rise in unemployment has not only created a breakdown in income power, but also a breakdown in the home and support networks that are so crucial to communities. The rise of these sort of fragmented communities have facilitated increases in gang violence as well as a sense of hopelessness — especially among young black males who see no viable options outside of gang activity.

The historic collapse of the housing bubble led to huge losses for the black community, as black wealth was all but vanquished, and all while the bankers that perpetuated this fraud received significant bailouts. And we haven’t even touched the shameful urban school systems, the rising cost of college, or inadequate housing.

The black community has its issues, but Don Lemon, please spare everyone your “righteous indignation” when it's clear that a more holistic analysis of what plagues the community is desperately needed and nowhere to be found.

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Peg Brunda is Just One Reason Anthony Weiner Had a Rough Weekend

Former congressman and current New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner has been experiencing even more heated attacks from the public as his campaign is unfolding. Weiner's campaign manager, Danny Kedem, quit on July 27 after the discovery that the former congressman had continued to exchange inappropriate messages after his 2011 resignation after being caught sending lewd messages and photos to young women via Twitter. In addition to that campaig- crushing news, the New York Daily News on Sunday uncovered that Weiner may have spent $43,100 in campaign contributions on private investigations firm T&M Protection Resources in order to fund his investigation on the claim that his Twitter account had been hacked back when the first scandal arose.

And now comes yet another slam on the mayoral campaign for Weiner, as a retired Staten Island teacher named Peg Brunda got into a rather heated conversation with the candidate about his actions. Brunda claimed that there was a double standard in between him and other politicians and civil servants like herself. In many ways, Brunda put forth a lot of insightful points about the morally-reprehensive issues Weiner waded into by continuing his campaign. Brunda taught as a teacher for 21 years and was an assistant principal for nine years, and her questions to Weiner went largely unanswered, showing the politician's further inability to positively portray himself in the public eye.

Brunda told Weiner, "[H]ad I conducted myself in the manner in which you conducted yours, my job would have been gone." Brunda continued by espousing her perspective on the scandal: "I don't quite understand how you would feel you have the moral authority as the head administrator in the city to oversee employees when your standard of conduct is so much lower than the standard of conduct that's expected of us."

Weiner responded, "That's the way the process works. But that does not mean I stop running because I run into a person who respectfully asked me a question and they disagree with me." His response in the video footage of the encounter revealed his own inept ability to defend himself. Nevertheless, in an interview with Staten Island Advance, Weiner said, "You're stuck with me." Unfortunately for Weiner, as long as voters have a say, they will only be "stuck" with him if they vote for him.

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Is Obama Deliberately Covering Up the Harmful Effects Of Fracking?

A must-read Los Angeles Times story by Neela Banerjee demonstrates that the Obama administration put the kibosh on a key Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study on hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") groundwater contamination, this time in Dimock, Pennsylvania.

Though the EPA said Dimock's water wasn't contaminated by fracking in a 2012 election-year desk statement, internal documents obtained by LA Times reporter Neela Banerjee show regional EPA staff members saying the exact opposite among friends.

"In an internal EPA PowerPoint presentation...staff members warned their superiors that several wells had been contaminated with methane and substances such as manganese and arsenic, most likely because of local natural gas production," writes Banerjee.

"The presentation, based on data collected over four and a half years at 11 wells around Dimock, concluded that 'methane and other gases released during drilling (including air from the drilling) apparently cause significant damage to the water quality.' The presentation also concluded that 'methane is at significantly higher concentrations in the aquifers after gas drilling and perhaps as a result of fracking [hydraulic fracturing] and other gas well work," Banerjee further explained.

It's essentially a repeat of Steve Lipsky's water contamination by Range Resources in late 2010 in Weatherford, Texas. In that case, the EPA conducted a taxpayer funded study, determined Range had contaminated his water, sued Range — and then proceeded todrop the suit and censor the study in March 2012.

EPA also recently kicked the can down the road on a high-profile fracking groundwater contamination study in Pavillion, Wyoming, originally set to come out in 2014. That release is now expected in 2016, another election year. Just days after EPA's decision, a Duke University study again linked fracking to groundwater contamination in theMarcellus Shale.

"We don't know what's going on, but certainly the fact that there's been such a distinct withdrawal from three high-profile cases raises questions about whether the EPA is caving to pressure from industry or antagonistic members of Congress," Kate Sinding of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) told the LA Times.

Located in the heart of the Marcellus Shale basin, Dimock was featured prominently in both Gasland documentaries, as well as in FrackNation, the industry-funded film created to counter Josh Fox's films, produced and directed by climate-change deniers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney.

In the case of FrackNation, McAleer used the EPA's desk statement for propaganda purposes. He portrayed Craig and Julie Sautner, whose water was contaminated by Cabot Oil and Gas, as "crying wolf" for expressing anger that EPA privately told them their water was contaminated, then publicly stated that it wasn't.

The Sautners aren't alone in their frustration, however, and they're in good company.

"What's surprising is to see this data set and then to see EPA walk away from Dimock," Robert Jackson, co-author of the June 2013 Duke study that included Dimock water samples, told the LA Times. "The issue here is, why wasn't EPA interested in following up on this to understand it better?"

Jackson raises the million-dollar question: Who from the industry pressured the EPA to censor the actual results of the Dimock study? In Steve Lipsky's case it was the former head of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell.

Rendell, tied to the shale gas industry via Ballard Spahr LLP law firm and venture capital firms Element Partners and Greenhill & Co., privately lobbied the EPA to shut down its study and lawsuit centered on Lipsky's groundwater contaminated by the Pennsylvania-headquarted Range Resources. His lobbying proved successful, likely in part due to three of his former aides now working as industry lobbyists.

One of those lobbyists is K. Scott Roy, Rendell's former "top adviser." Roy not only lobbies for Range Resources, but also sits on the executive board of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Prior to serving in the Rendell administration and becoming a fracking lobbyist, Roy worked in the office of former Pennsylvania Republican Governor Tom Ridge, who went on to serve as "strategic adviser" to the Marcellus Shale Coalition in 2012.

By law, the EPA is tasked to investigate groundwater contamination cases and punish violators of the law with criminal sentences. Instead, the industry has run roughshod over communities nationwide, letting polluters go free with no EPA accountability.

"Our federal government has a responsibility to protect the citizens in communities that are suffering consequences from fracking and to give them the full facts," wrote the NRDC's Kate Sinding in a blog post.

"It owes it to the American people to fully and fairly investigate every case that can help to answer some of the vexing scientific questions as to whether, and if so how, fracking and related activities contaminate drinking water. Sadly, EPA’s recent pattern of activity suggests neither has been happening."

In the military, dereliction of duty is a serious crime, but for upper-level EPA staffers, it seems to just be business as usual.

This article has been cross-posted from DeSmogBlog.

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The One Solution to Unemployment That Our Leaders Clearly Haven't Thought Of

During the past week we have seen strong debate about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and industry fears over the abolition of tariffs. The agreement as a whole will be a great opportunity to boost investment and encourage commerce. However, in the long run both sides of the Atlantic must address a more fundamental issue that will affect generations to come: education.

The two key principles of the agreement as announced will be the abolition of tariffs and the standardization of regulations. According to the European CommissionThe One Solution to Unemployment That Our Leaders Clearly Haven't Thought Of, EU companies will be able to sell an estimated additional €187 billion worth of goods and services a year to the United States. The commission, which will be negotiating on behalf of the EU, also predicts that the average European household will gain an annual €545 in income. The free trade partnership would become the largest ever in history, encompassing the United States and the 28 states of the European Union.

Getting rid of the remaining tariffs would increase the average GDP of European countries by 0.4% and the American GDP by over 1%, although it is not realistic to assume that all tariffs will be abandoned. The One Solution to Unemployment That Our Leaders Clearly Haven't Thought OfMore importantly, the adjustment of regulation to a transatlantic standard would probably increase GDP in both areas by over 3%, even though this is a very hard estimate to make considering the lack of details that have been given regarding the topic.

This is all good news, but what about youth unemployment?

In the euro zone over 24.4% of young adults are currently unemployed and more than 5.6 million people under 26 are unable to find a jobThe One Solution to Unemployment That Our Leaders Clearly Haven't Thought Of. This is paralleled by a lower rate of 16% in the United StatesThe One Solution to Unemployment That Our Leaders Clearly Haven't Thought Of. This however hides the fact that wages are generally lower and many jobs taken by the young in America would be considered part-time in the EU. Both sides of the Atlantic are struggling at providing good professional prospects for our generation and until now there has been little talk by transatlantic leaders about how the agreement will tackle this issue concretely.

Here’s a hint: education. Unless the two sides of the Atlantic agree to a certain education format, which enables students to transition into the professional world smoothly, the free trade agreement will do little to encourage a more mobile and international new generation.

In the past the European Union and the United States have shown some degree of understanding of the necessity to coordinate their education systems. The Atlantis ProgramThe One Solution to Unemployment That Our Leaders Clearly Haven't Thought Of, funded by the Department of Education and the Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture, looked to find ways to align the academic curricula in the two regions. However, the program was not reaching out into the professional transition that all students have to make at the end of their academic careers and lost momentum in the past few years.

TTIP must be seen as an occasion to talk about this issue. Standardizing the cost of education for EU and U.S. students would be a start, allowing for more Americans to study in Europe and vice versa. More importantly, universities and secondary schools must have access to a network of companies on both sides of the Atlantic looking to hire, encouraging mobility and international employment. Better communication between academic and private institutions can tackle structural employment and make the labor force in both regions more dynamic and competitive. Allowing better cooperation and oversight with the private sector may also help fund programs that are actually training the young for existing professions, providing better returns for an investment in higher-education or alternative technical training.

The objective has to be that of creating a more uniform and dynamic Euro-American generation of professionals. At this time in transatlantic relations, there is strong political capital behind the drafting of the trade agreement. Leaders must ensure that education becomes a core issue of the debate.

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When Will Gay Athletes Stop Being So Taboo?

Over the past decade, the shame once associated with homosexuality is nearly an unfortunate relic of the past, and Americans are increasingly acknowledging the legitimacy of a gay lifestyle. Openly gay celebrities in particular have played an important role in overturning the negative stigmas associated with homosexuality as many actors, musicians and television personalities have recently come out of the closet. There is one profession however, where being openly gay remains a taboo — professional athletics.

While some pro athletes have come out of the closet once they've retired from their careers, you could count the number of openly gay current athletes on your fingers. Just after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, NBA player Jason Collins became "the first openly gay, professional male athlete playing in a major sport." Collins' announcement came after years of being in the closet, and he was even previously engaged to WNBA player, Carolyn Moos. After admitting that he is gay, the Wizards' star was "largely greeted with open arms by the sports world." Why then, have so few professional athletes followed suit?

Source: ESPN

It is an unsaid rule, inextricably connected to cultural notions of masculinity, that pro athletes should be straight, and if they are not heterosexual in private then they will pretend to be publicly.

According to an article in ESPN, "the athletic world — that realm of all things male, musky and aggressive — is the final frontier of masculinity." Sports competitions are showcases of strength, prowess, speed and agility. If you've ever witnessed a hockey game or a boxing match, you'll see that sports revolve around domination. The most aggressive, most fearless, tireless competitor will be the last man standing. This quest for masculinity sheds light on why so many athletes resort to steroids to enhance their performances; it is not just their legacy, but their manhood that is under attack.

While conceptions of masculinity have radically changed within recent years, there are many who continue to embrace a traditional mentality that associates homosexuality with femininity. Clinging to myopic notions such as that all gay men speak in high voices, pay exaggerated attention to dress and appearance, or shy away from competition feeds "the stereotype that 'gay' equals 'unmasculine' once and for all."

The sports world is crippled by two opposite stereotypes — that "there are no gay male athletes, and every female athlete is a lesbian," said Patrick Burke, a founder of You Can Play. These stereotypes are two sides of the same coin; if masculinity is about strength and aggression, femininity is associated with daintiness and meekness. Whereas a wave of shock surrounded Collins' announcement, almost no one was surprised when WNBA player Brittney Griner came out of the closet.

Despite the fact that the MLB professes to be ready for gay athletes, Glenn Burke is the only MLB players in history to come out during his career and that was decades ago. In addition, no NHL players have come out despite the leagues recent inclusive initiative to support professional gay players. It appears that for male athletes, the greatest pressure to appear straight is self-imposed from the desire to be taken seriously as a fierce competitor in the sports world.

Wade Davis and Esera Tuaolo are two ex-NFL players who came out after their athletic careers. Catalyzed by a request from the Monday Morning Quarterback, Davis and Tuaolo wrote letters to their younger selves when they were still concealing their homosexuality. They were asked to "[share] what they experienced at various life stages and what they wished they had known along the way." Their testimonies were heartfelt and painful; both athletes expressed feelings of self-hatred, depression and a paralyzing fear of being found out. Their advice in retrospect: free yourself from the burden of secrecy and come out of the closet.

Source: Salon.com

It is time to shatter the prevalent stereotype that to be gay is to be feminine, but given that these assumptions are so ingrained in our cultural fiber, to do so will be no easy task. The most effective way to disprove stereotypes is by example. Professional sports organizations have already begun the task of supporting gay players and encouraging more athletes to embrace who they are and come out of the closet. Unfortunately, these actions are not enough.

More professional athletes must be brave and honest, and prove that there is no set of qualities attached to being gay. Aggressiveness, competitive drive and ferocity are all personality traits that all people — gay and straight — possess in a spectrum. Similarly, sexual preference is completely irrelevant when it comes to talent.

Glenn Burke once said, “They can’t say that a gay man can’t play in the Majors, because I’m a gay man and I made it.” This is the valuable lesson that athletes like Jason Collins can offer their peers — gay or straight, he is the same athlete with the same ability to play ball.

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The Inspiring Story Of the Terminally-Ill 'Simpsons' Co-Creator, Who Wants to Donate His Fortune to Charity

Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpson's TV franchise, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but he is making sure his legacy lives on.

The nine-time Emmy winning TV writer and producer of The Drew Carey Show, Anger Management, Taxi, and Cheers has announced that he will donate his fortune to charity. Together with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, Simon co-wrote The Simpsons, now the longest-running scripted show in TV history.

He left the show in 1993 to focus on other "TV options and philanthropic endeavors."

Source: Gawker

Simon has been the man behind multiple philanthropic efforts including a dogs for veterans service that bears his name, The Sam Simon Foundation. He has also been an active contributor to organizations such as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, PETA, and Save the Children. An avid defender of animal rights, we can expect that a portion of Simon's fortune will go towards this charity he is so passionate about.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The TV writer has ensured that his iconic legacy and philanthropic nature will live on once he is gone. Five months ago the writer was diagnosed with a terminal case of colorectal cancer, which has spread to infect his liver, kidneys, abdomen and lymph system. When the doctors predicted that Simon would most likely have only three to six months to live, Simon got to thinking about how he would like to be remembered.

According to The Telegraph, Simon does not know the total value of his estate, but his impressive Simpsons earning — "which he has said earn him "tens of millions" annually" — will be a part of the fortune that he donates to charity.

Simon is currently unmarried and despite his previous marriages to Jennifer Tilly and Jami Ferrell, he remains childless. He has devoted to give his fortune to organizations that can use it to help others; "The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending. Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this," said Simon to The Hollywood Reporter.

The huge act of generosity that Simon is displaying is certainly uncommon today. Although many celebrities are generous advocates of their preferred charities, there are others who live lives of excess. Simon's selfless donation is a breath of fresh air. "I don't think the spirit of Hollywood is such a spirit of generosity. I think people really begrudge giving, he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Simon is not the first extremely wealthy celebrity to give back to the less fortunate. In 2007, Barron Hilton of the Hilton hotel chain donated 97% of his net worth (estimated at around $2.3-billion) to his father's charity, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, reported the Los Angeles Times. Johnny Carson, the late King of Comedy and mega-millionaire, left a trust fund for The Johnny Carson Foundation that has by now grown to about $200 million.

Sam Simon is an example of a celebrity who has remained grounded and tied to his core values despite the forces of wealth and fame. He will be remembered long after he is gone for his admired television achievements and philanthropic nature.

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Liberty-Loving Members Of Congress Silent On Bradley Manning

Paul, Wyden, and Amash take a pass. Love the leak, hate the leaker?

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., on Tuesday after receiving his verdict.

Via: Patrick Semansky / AP

WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill's self-appointed defenders of liberty remained silent Tuesday on the conviction of the soldier who revealed a trove of American secrets, WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning.

Senators and members of the House who have taken the lead against the NSA surveillance apparatus — brought to their attention by the material leaked by Edward Snowden — chose not to comment on the conviction of Manning, who leaked hundreds of thousands of classified cables to WikiLeaks in 2010. Manning was convicted Tuesday of five charges under the Espionage Act, though he was found not guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the charges leveled against him.

"I haven't had a chance to look at it," Senator Rand Paul said of the verdict while leaving an event where he was being given an award at a conference about whistleblowing sponsored by the ACORN 8 and Federally Employed Women-Legal Education Fund. Paul's address to the attendees focused on NSA domestic surveillance and on his interactions with the FBI over the nomination of James Comey, and didn't mention Manning, whose verdict had been read an hour and a half beforehand.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio were also given awards, though both sent representatives instead of showing up personally. A spokesperson for Wyden, who gave a blistering speech last week criticizing the expansion of the NSA's capabilities in recent years, did not return requests for comment.

"We don't have any comment on the verdict," said a spokesperson for Sen. Mark Udall, who, along with Wyden and Paul, has been one of the loudest anti-domestic surveillance voices in the Senate. Udall gave a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday focusing on the NSA. He has described the NSA as "close to being unconstitutional."

Rep. Justin Amash, a libertarian Republican congressman from Michigan, also did not talk about Manning on Tuesday. There was no mention of Manning on his Facebook or Twitter feeds, which are normally more active than those of most other members of Congress.

Amash, along with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and three other House members, introduced an amendment to Congress last week that did not pass but would have severely limited the NSA's ability to surveil Americans. Going further, Amash has formally requested the resignation of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

The silence from the nascent liberty movement's voices in Congress illustrates the difficult spot these lawmakers find themselves in when it comes to the people responsible for releasing the very information they're using as a rallying cry. Most try to walk a fine line between relying on the leaked information and praising the leaker him or herself. And Manning, given his association with WikiLeaks and the sheer volume of the material he revealed, is a more controversial figure even than Edward Snowden. In an interview with Reason magazine, Amash's spokesperson Will Adams was asked: "Is Edward Snowden a hero or a traitor? How does he compare to Bradley Manning?"

Adams responded: "We are not yet familiar with all the details of whether or not Edward Snowden exhausted all possible internal remedies before giving the information to the media. It is important and a great benefit to the American people to know about this type of surveillance, which we believe threatens our constitutional rights."

Amash's office did not return requests for comment.

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4 Movies With Plot Twists That Enraged Everyone

A plot twist is a narrative device used in works of fiction and can be defined as an unexpected turn of events that retroactively changes the meaning and significance of everything that happened in the story up until that point. It's a common trick in a storyteller's toolbox which, when properly used, can bring relevance and emotion to a work of art. Like a scalpel, it can heal and improve a subject by revealing its interior and piecing it together to make it work. This is an article about the movies that got drunk, took that scalpel, and used it to play five-finger fillet on their friend's wife as a party trick. Obviously, spoilers abound.

1. 'Saw'

I don't know if most of the people who watched Saw were as aggravated by its ending twist as I was. I have a feeling that torture porn fans aren't as concerned about the movie's story as they are about the many ways it shows how the human body reacts to sharp-edged metals, so maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but the fact remains that the big reveal at the end is completely idiotic.

If you don't remember, here's how it goes down: A doctor dude wakes up chained next to a photographer dude in a filthy toilet that should be an embarrassment to the owners of whatever establishment houses it, and there's also a fat corpse dude lying in the middle. A tape recorder in the fat corpse's hand informs them that they are the proud new victims of the Jigsaw Killer's latest shenanigans, and so the doctor dude has to kill the photographer dude before six o'clock or the Jigsaw Killer will cap his wife and daughter. Through a series of contrived and convoluted events we learn that the creepy guy holding doctor dude's wife and daughter hostage ain't no Jigsaw Killer. He was actually being forced by the true Jigsaw Killer to do all that kidnapping stuff. Oooo. And the Jigsaw Killer was the fat corpse in the bathroom all along. OooOOOooo.

Okay, first off, why did the Jigsaw Killer feel he needed so badly to be in the same room as his victims? I get that maybe he gets a kick out of it, but if he has to pretend like he's dead all the time, where's his erection gonna go? And that's not the only bodily function that could betray him. They stay in there for hours upon hours — what if he needs to sneeze really bad, or blow a loud fart? What if one of the other two guys there with him tells a really really good joke??? Or maybe they tell such a bad joke that the Jigsaw Killer has to pretend to laugh at it, so as not to make things awkward?

But the really stupid part is how earlier in the movie the guy holding Doctor Dude's family hostage is shown clearly enjoying it. Like, he's gently caressing the wife's face with his gun and all that. If he's a desperate victim forced into this conundrum, why does he act like that?

2. 'The Village'

X Movies With Plot Twists That Enraged EveryoneThis one is kind of the opposite of Saw for me, because I enjoyed it much more than most other people did — which is to say I didn't hate it completely. I think it's because the ridiculous and moronic nature of the twist ending reminded me so much of myself, I couldn't help but give it a chance. This was directed by current ninth place on the FBI's Most Wanted List for sucking too bad M. Night Shyamalan, and it signaled the start of his descent from “exciting new voice in cinema” to “paying to see his films by now is morally irresponsible.”

Basically, there's an 18^th century village in the middle of nowhere that has always been haunted by hooded monsters who dwell in the surrounding forest, so no one ever leaves and no one really knows much of anything about the outside world. Turns out, though, that halfway through the movie someone gets a nasty boo boo and has no chance of surviving unless the villagers are able to get some meds to settle him down, so the totally level-headed and responsible higher uppers of the place decide that the best thing to do is to send a blind woman straight into the supposedly unsurvivable monster forest so she can fetch the needed medications from a nearby hospital, because maybe they thought that would be a good way to avoid having to tap into the city funds for some street signs in braille.

Long story short, the blind girl manages to get out of the forest after all and what should she encounter before her, but a modern interstate highway and a park patrol who leads her to the park service's med shack?

Yes, the village was actually an experiment by a bunch of modern-day academics to see if a people's quality of life would be better if they lived in 18^th century conditions. You know, that time when toilet papers were a wedding gift and people routinely died from the flu? In reality, the whole monster song and dance bit was just a ruse made up by the creators of the experiment to keep the residents from ever venturing out of their little time-locked island stranded inside a national park. Basically, the Matrix with waistcoats.

So yeah.

3. 'Terminator 3'

Man, remember that movie? Arnold Schwarzenegger with the heart-shaped glasses? “Talk to the Hand”? You don't remember it? That's OK. Most people don't.

It was a direct sequel to Terminator 2 and is set nine years after that movie, and John Connor is now a sad sack working as a building contractor or something. In the future, Skynet figures out that whatever is worth trying once is worth trying twice, so they send back to the past another killer robot after him and the people who will be his future mates in the resistance. Throwing up their hands with a weary sigh as they hear what Skynet has done, the human Resistance goes, “Well... OK, I guess we have to send our own robot again to protect John,” and then Terminator 2 happens again, but worse.

This time, however, John Connor and his plucky gang decide to have a go at stopping the whole apocalypse thing from happening so they don't have to go through all of these motions again. They fight Skynet's sexy robot, then a bunch of explosions, and then they reach what is supposedly Skynet's central hub or something, but alas, it's not a central hub. It's a nuclear shelter they were sent to so they can survive the coming atomic brouhaha and do their revolution bit in the future. The Earth explodes anyway and everything happens the way it would happen if the characters had just stayed home.

So basically, the whole movie was pointless. Joke's on us, I guess.

4. 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn'

Yeah, I know. Ragging on a Twilight movie is beating a dead horse, but this one was special. It was the only one I actually watched in its entirety and indeed, it sucked. It sucked in the beginning and it sucked in the middle, so I was prepared for a sucky ending, but I never realized the depths that this movie could reach. It was already scratching at the bottom of the barrel, but when one would think it could not get any worse, it did.

The plot of the movie follows a bunch of plot happening, and in the end there's big confrontation between werewolves and vampires in the middle of nowhere. That was the part where I pulled the gun out of my mouth, because I started realizing that the big fight that followed actually kicked a little ass. It had some cool special effects and a lot of people burning and a lot of people getting decapitated. It got me going for a while, but of course, it took advantage of my innocence and swindled me out of that last sliver of enjoyment. Turns out that the whole thing didn't happen. It was an illusion projected into the villain's head by the psychic vampire girl. It was all a dream.

It made sense to me, then. When I was watching the battle unfold I thought “That can't be happening. All these main characters dying? But it's got to be happening, because the only alternative is that it is all a dream, and no one does that anymore. International law forbids it, unless you're Jacob's Ladder, and Jacob's Ladder this ain't,” but what I failed to realize is that Twilight respects no laws. It respects nothing. It's a force of nature, it laughs at our feeble attempts at civilized order. It's like a giant magic pig stampeding through town: You can't reason with it. And you can't kill it, because it's magic. The only thing you can do is get away from its path, and I was fool enough to traipse right into it, so I deserved what I got, and what I got was pain. I could hear that magic pig's horrifying chortle long after it had trampled me over and ran away with the last shreds of my spirit stuck to its hooves and flailing in the air, and what that chortle said was, “Up yours, sucker!”

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Chris Christie Is The "King Of Bacon," Says Rand Paul

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie continued their war of words on Tuesday when the senator went on CNN’s “Situation Room” and slammed the governor over spending.

"This is the king of bacon talking about bacon," Paul said about Christie.

Source: youtube.com

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Amelia Earhart Forever Changed Our View of Women

Everyone knows that Amelia Earhart was the first aviatrix (female pilot) to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and that she mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific while attempting to complete a circumnavigational flight; but most people’s knowledge of her ends there. What they don’t know is that Amelia Mary Earhart was a pioneer in more than just aviation: she was an equal rights activist, a teacher, and an author, as well.

Earhart was politically affiliated with the National Woman’s Party and was an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. In terms of her marriage, she informed her husband via a letter on their wedding day that she would “not hold [her husband, George Putnam] to any midaevil code of faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly.” She laughed off the idea of taking her husband’s surname, and indeed, Putnam soon became known as Mr. Earhart. She totally changed the playing field with everything she did, and notably supported very modern views of equality between men and women for her time period.

Amelia’s first transatlantic flight was completed in 1928 alongside Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, having been inspired by Charles Lindbergh; because she was unfamiliar with the model of the plane, her duty was to keep the flight log. Despite her minimal participation, she was treated with the same respect and celebration as her male companions once the plane reached the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. This trip was what inspired her to take her solo flight on the same route later on in her career.

Earhart soon became a bit of a celebrity, and was able to make money off of women’s fashion items and luggage that bore her name, as well as several promotional items. More than just putting her names on the items, she also had significant input in their designs, wanting everything to be sleek, simplistic, and modern.

George Putnam, Earhart’s publicity agent after the 1928 transatlantic flight before he became her husband, helped her publish a book when she first began to rise to fame, as part of the publicity surrounding her in the late 1920s. It was marketed alongside the wide array of products bearing her name, and helped the world recognize that Amelia was more than a stuntwoman, but was also an intelligent woman who could hold her own.

Following her first transatlantic flight, as she rose to fame, she embarked on a lecturing tour across the country. After the success of that tour, she took a series of new lecture tours, alongside promoting her first book, and continuing on over the next few years. Purdue University invited Amelia to join the aviation faculty, and she was able to counsel young women on career choices and give lectures to inspire others with her love of aviation. Her passion for flying extended into her passion for inspiring young women; she loved to teach girls about their own potential, and make them understand that the limits imposed on them by men and by society did not need to dictate their lives.

The money from press tours, lecture tours, books, and merchandise went towards further funding her flying career, including competitive flying races across the North American continent. Her endeavors, while they might be viewed as “stunts” today, were very instrumental in proving to the masses that taking to the skies was no longer just for daredevils and crazy people, but that everyone and anyone could fly.

Putting her passion for aviation and her belief in womens’ rights together, Amelia helped to found the Ninety Nines, a non-profit international organization for women pilots that still runs today. Now, the organization spans thirty countries and includes over 5,000 members, as well as an Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund, a program that assists in funding flight lessons for both recreational and career-based pilots, in honor of its spearhead and inspiration.

Amelia Earhart was truly the embodiment of a Renaissance woman, from her passion for women’s rights to her tireless efforts in education and aviation alike. Up until the moment that her plane was lost over the Pacific Ocean, and even after she was officially declared dead nearly two years later, she was and has remained an inspiration to all women everywhere. She changed the way the world viewed women at a time when women themselves were discovering their true potential: she transformed the woman’s image from a passive, submissive, delicate one into one that was able to take charge, actively shape her future, and revolutionize her field.

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New York City Top Cop Ray Kelly Isn't the Right Choice for DHS Chief

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is stepping down to run the University of California system at a pivotal moment in the country’s effort to revamp its domestic security infrastructure and spruce up its global reputation. There are now 15 vacant top posts at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is adding to the uncertainty surrounding Napolitano's exit.

Among the candidates to replace Napolitano is New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. A stern director with a unique eye for the public spotlight, Kelly is revered for his post-9/11 zero-tolerance crackdown on criminal activity (especially on public transportation and near renowned landmarks), but has been criticized for being a chief proponent of the city's controversial “stop and frisk” policy. Kelly’s candidacy for the DHS post could be viewed as an attempt to quell the lingering uneasiness of a public forever changed by the attacks on U.S. soil.

Although Kelly is a strong candidate — his experience includes Clinton-era leadership of agencies now under DHS — he is not the right man for the Cabinet-level job. Here are a few reasons why:

Obama still needs to answer the call for more diversity.

In recent months, President Barack Obama has judiciously filled top jobs in the administration, heeding a calls for diversity in his senior ranks. Despite this new hiring surge, voids remain, especially in positions key to the maintenance of America’s economic and national security. The top DHS post should go to a seasoned administrator who is close to the immigration-reform debate and committed to maintaining a fair and balanced security infrastructure. Despite Kelly’s stature and years of law enforcement experience, other candidates in the running for the top DHS spot would bring both fresh cultural diversity and ample political skills to the table.

DHS needs an internal reorganization wizard, not a political celebrity.

The DHS was established in a post-9/11 frenzy, and was cobbled together from federal agencies that were both directly and tangentially tasked with protecting America’s borders. As such, the DHS is fundamentally a bureaucracy. The next department chief will need to be both pragmatic and aggressive in his or her efforts to audit the department for inefficiencies, and reappropriate the agency's funds. Much as Italy chose a technocrat as prime minister to balance its checkbook, Obama should choose someone with financial and structural management experience for top billing at DHS.

New York still needs Kelly.

As Kelly pointed out in his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, New York City is significantly safer than it was a decade ago, but remains a target for both large- and small-scale criminal activity, the perpetrators of which are both foreign and domestic. The controversy surrounding the New York City Police Department’s “stop and frisk” policy could be enough to take Kelly out of the running, but it also serves as a reminder that Kelly has more work to do in New York, in order to consolidate his legacy as a local champion of national counterterrorism and homeland security measures.

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Anthony Weiner: I Won't Drop Out Because "Quit Isn't The Way We Roll In New York City"

“If someone wants to come out with something embarrassing about you in your private life you got to talk about that a little bit.”

Source: vimeo.com

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All You Need to Know About the New Literary Genre For Young People

The millennial generation seems to be doing things a bit different from their predecessors. Between a combination of soaring student debt and the lackluster economy and jobs market, many who graduate college then return home and work jobs below their education level simply to make ends meet, or to provide some stability while they pursue further educational studies. While this is hardly a new phenomenon — the term “emerging adulthood” was first coined in a 2000 article in the American Psychologist by Jeffrey Arnett — now the literary world has begun to take notice.

The term "New Adult fiction" was coined by St. Martin’s Press in 2009, when they made a call for fiction that was similar to Young Adult, but could be marketed for a slightly older audience. The target demographic is the 18-30 age group, and it’s not hard to see why. Millennials in their twenties are going through numerous experiences as emerging adulthood appears to be more and more of a trend than fluke.

These experiences, naturally, have created a new audience. And while many in their twenties (and older) have no problem reading Young Adult novels or fiction typically aimed at adults, there aren’t many works in these genres that explore this period of life, or if there are, it’s not done in such a way that really speaks to current experiences.

The twenties are indeed a turbulent and exciting period of massive change in one’s life. They typically involve a whole host of experiences. For those who have had to return home after living at school, the sense of empowerment and freedom college granted could feel as if it’s been taken away, or there is the terror of moving to a completely new location for work where you know no one. Relationships, both old and new, become profoundly redefined during this time. The friends from high school and college you thought would be close to you for life can quickly become just names and pictures on a Facebook newsfeed. Your tastes in a partner may have shifted completely, regardless of whether or not you currently have one, and what you want in a relationship has the potential to become much different from what you wanted just a few years or even months earlier. The struggle to define oneself becomes of profound importance in one’s twenties.

Is it any wonder then, that so many readers in this age group would seek out fiction that speaks more to the themes and issues they concern themselves with?

Typically, the publishing industry is slow to change, and this is no exception. Many agents and publishers claim New Adult to be little more than a marketing gimmick by self-published authors and small press publishers, while others say there is not enough of an audience. Fortunately, authors have not simply heeded these words and pushed ahead anyway, and in the age of digital print have managed to self-publish these works.

The result is some of these authors have been successful, and now the publishing industry is starting to take note. Publishers are now looking to some of these self-published works and acquiring them for mass distribution. New Adult fiction looks as if it has made quite a splash in the publishing industry, and for the time being, is here to stay.

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Judge Extends Order That Ohio Officials Recognize Gay Couple's Marriage

The state’s ban on recognizing same-sex couples’ marriages cannot be enforced against John Arthur and James Obergefell through August 19.

Via: Photo courtesy of Jim Obergefell

WASHINGTON — The order that Ohio officials recognize the marriage of James Obergefell and John Arthur was extended for two weeks through August 19, following a status conference between the parties Tuesday morning.

The same-sex couple sued to force Ohio officials to recognize their Maryland marriage, despite Ohio's constitutional amendment and statute prohibiting such recognition. The couple filed the lawsuit because Arthur is in hospice care and is seeking to force Ohio to recognize him as married on his death certificate and recognize Obergefell as his surviving spouse.

Last week, Judge Timothy Black issued a temporary restraining order that applied those restrictions to Ohio officials through August 5.

A telephone status conference was held Tuesday, with the order extending the temporary order resulting.

The extension was made, Black wrote, "in order to facilitate the parties' further negotiations of a proposed litigation calendar for resolution." The next status conference, also to happen by telephone, is set for 11 a.m. August 13.

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Watch David Ortiz Explode At Umpire After Bad Call

David Ortiz is a nine-time MLB All-Star, cranking out a sterling .321 average while pacing his Red Sox to a share of the most wins in baseball this year. Big Papi shouldn't have much to complain about, especially not a blown call on a single pitch.

But Ortiz absolutely lost it Saturday, exploding after what looked like ball four was called a strike against Orioles reliever Jairo Asencio. Ortiz would go on to strike out, and despite Boston's 7-2 lead in the seventh inning, he had some choice parting words for home plate umpire Tim Timmons, leading to a subsequent ejection.

What ensues is ridiculous to say the least. Papi has to be held back by bench coaches, teammates and manager John Farrell before grabbing a bat and smashing the dugout bullpen phone. Debris goes everywhere, and the swing itself just narrowly misses All-Star teammate Dustin Pedroia.

"I got 17 years in the league and I don't think I deserve to be disrespected like that," Ortiz said in a postgame interview. He was far from apologetic for the episode: "We're not snapping every day out there. There's a reason why we snap ... I'm not a bad guy and I'm trying to do my job. You don't take my at-bat away from me like that."

Pedroia later acknowledged the humor of the Red Sox's smallest player going against a man nicknamed Big Papi, but the issue itself is no laughing matter. Pedroia could have been seriously injured sitting next to Ortiz's swings, and the shattered phone pieces came dangerously close to his face.

However, it is encouraging, in a weird way, to see a veteran like Ortiz react so emotionally to something so mundane. Fatter contracts in today's sports result in many athletes losing their competitive drive, but Ortiz's meltdown over one botched call with his team already up five runs shows a star still taking the game seriously as ever. Farrell's done a commendable job in his first year as manager, and as long as this issue doesn't blow up into something bigger in the clubhouse, a little bit of unbridled passion doesn't hurt a game as stoic as baseball.

What do you think of Ortiz's blowup? Sound off in the comments section.

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A Millennial Takedown Of Fox News' Blatant Islamophobia

Fox News Channel is an Islamophobic media source that clearly demonstrated their bigoted sentiment towards Muslims with a recent interview of Reza Aslan.

On Friday, Fox News religion correspondent Lauren Green had the effrontery to open an interview with Reza Aslan, a historian and PhD professor of religion and author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, by asking, "you're a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?"

Forced to defend his vast erudition, Aslan responded by reminding Green that he is "a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament, and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades, who also just happens to be a Muslim."

Read More: Fox News Explains Why Muslims are "Cause for Alarm"

Green dismissed his academic background and interrupted him with "it still begs the question: why would you be interested in the founder of Christianity?" Aslan remained imperturbable and responded by saying, "because it's my job as an academic. I am a professor of religion including the New Testament. That's what I do for a living actually."

Green's questioning demonstrated Fox News Channel's implacable nature toward Muslims. Her obstinate effort to disclaim Aslan's credentials as a writer was embarrassing. Frankly, if Green were interviewing a non-Muslim individual who wrote a book about Islam she would not question their qualifications based on their religious preference.

Read More: Sean Hannity's Epic Tantrum Over Muslim Extremists

In numerous Fox interviews of Steven Emerson, an American journalist and so-called pundit on Islamic extremism, not once did they ask him to apprise the viewers of his credentials or imply that not being a Muslim somehow disqualifies him from writing on Islam. Apparently an M.A. in sociology makes Emerson a certified expert on Muslims.

The tacit supposition is that being a Muslim — despite having four degrees including a PhD in religion — somehow negates a scholar's ability to engage in an academic work about Jesus, peace be upon him.

Most Muslims in America are inured to Fox News' Islamophobic rhetoric by now. This wouldn't be the first time Fox demonstrated its bigoted opinions of Islam and Muslims. Their opinions were especially apparent following the Boston Marathon bombings. Green's daunting and disingenuous interview provides a mere glimpse into Fox New Channel's Islamophobic coverage.

Read More: The Worst Fox News Anti-Muslim Reactions to Terrorism

This interview goes well with several other incidents of attacks on Islam and Muslims like Fox Host Sean Hannity's claim that using a Quran for the swearing ceremony of Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-Minn.) "will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones" and is commensurate to using "Hitler's Mein Kampf, which is the Nazi bible."

And non of us will forget Fox's perennial claim that President Obama is a Muslim, with Eric Bolling, Fox News commentator, advancing this myth by stating that the Obama administration "answers to the Quran first and to the Constitution second." Of course, the implication here is that being a Muslim is the worst characteristic a political leader can embody. The icing on Fox News' bigoted crap cake would have to be when host Brian Kilmeade said, "not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."

Read More: Fox News Pundit Bill Beckel Calls for a Ban of Mosques

These are only a few examples of Fox News Channel's Islamophobic rhetoric. Unfortunately, Fox's biased coverage will be swallowed by millions of insular viewers who have been indoctrinated by their broadcasting. This perpetuates increased hate and intolerance of Muslims in America, which is why it is extremely significant that disinterested and veracious media coverage — something that is so scarce today — must be demanded.

Journalistic integrity is completely dead at Fox. However, it isn't too late to attempt to revive other media sources and create new ones in an effort to produce a society with unbiased media so that every citizen can make their own decisions on momentous issues instead of being force-fed garbage.

What did you think of this Fox interview?

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"Ready For Hillary" PAC Merger Falls Through

Insiders versus outsiders and a disagreement over who made the first move. “It wasn’t necessarily a deal that could be sweetened enough for me and my team,” says HillaryFTW’s Pacheco.

Via: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

A planned merger between two political action committees competing to lay the groundwork for a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign fell through this month despite weeks of talks between the groups, BuzzFeed has learned.

Under the discussed arrangement, Ready for Hillary, the leading PAC supporting Clinton's possible presidential campaign in 2016, would have absorbed a smaller California-based group, HillaryFTW, or "Hillary For the Win."

Hector Pacheco, a 26-year-old attorney, founded HillaryFTW in March. He said he decided against the merger after about three weeks of talks with Ready for Hillary because of what he called "a handful of differences."

"We are focused on California fundraising, Latina outreach, and trying to get down into raising money for political polling," said Pacheco. "They're more interested in running a campaign. The feeling was that this was the Hillary Clinton campaign without Hillary Clinton. So it wasn't necessarily a deal that could be sweetened enough for me and my team."

For one, Pacheco said he wants his effort to stay rooted in the West Coast, where he hopes to "create a groundswell around Hillary." Ready for Hillary is based in Northern Virginia, though it has hosted small rallies across the country.

Ready for Hillary, Pacheco argued, is too "connected to D.C. and the East Coast, and more plugged into the scene there," he said. "Whereas we're more of an outsider group, and that's something we enjoy and pride ourselves in."

"This race is still three years away, but as we discussed the merger, it was clear that they wanted to make sure everything looked great from the get-go. They didn't want to do big fundraisers. It was like perception is reality for them, and that's not something we're focusing on," Pacheco said.

Ready for Hillary is the larger of the two groups. The PAC announced Tuesday that it would file a report with the Federal Election Committee at the end of the month showing more than $1 million in contributions. The group has also hired 270 Strategies, a firm founded by former campaign staffers for President Obama, to build what it calls "a national grassroots army" in support of the former Secretary of State. Ready for Hillary has said it will turn down million-dollar donations and focus less on fundraising, and more on harnessing early support for Clinton's potential candidacy.

Pacheco, an entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles, has a team of 25 people involved with HillaryFTW. The group uses office space in Venice, Calif., he said.

"They pitched the idea that we should merge with the whole concept being that bringing two different efforts under one umbrella would help coordinate the message," Pacheco said, "and that having it come from one entity would increase the firepower."

But a spokesman for Ready for Hillary, who confirmed that talks took place, said it was Pacheco's group who first approached with the idea, by way of a mutual associate, Michael Trujillo, who worked on Clinton's 2008 presidential bid. Trujillo has been quoted as an "advisor" to HillaryFTW, though Pacheco says the former campaign staffer is not working for the group in a formal capacity.

In a statement to BuzzFeed, Ready for Hillary's Seth Bringman said, "HillaryFTW reached out to us and we were happy to answer their questions and discuss how we might work together, but ultimately they determined the timing wasn't right. We always welcome conversations with pro-Hillary groups and individuals about how we can work together to encourage Hillary to run."

By his account, Pacheco says Trujillo connected him with Ready for Hillary, but that "they were definitely pitching me."

"If it seemed like Ready for Hillary was implying I came to them and asked to merge into their operation, that is incorrect," Pacheco said. "They reached out to me, set up a conference call with all their execs, had their lawyer reaching out to me to take care of the filing."

"Because our West Coast emphasis and fundraising appeal is different, I had to say no," he added.

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