A federal judge has ordered a Kentucky clerk to jail after she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Kim Davis, a clerk in Rowan County, was found in contempt of court on Thursday morning. She has said granting marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples would “violate God’s definition of marriage” and infringe on her personal beliefs as an Apostolic Christian.
Davis, in tears, said on the stand that she could not comply with the judge’s order. U.S. Marshals later took her into custody.
“Thank you, judge,” Davis said as she was being led out.
District Court Judge David Bunning has said Davis is bound by an oath of office to perform her duties under the law, and ordered that she be jailed until she complied with his order to grant licenses.
Bunning has upheld the Supreme Court’s decision in June to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, and wrote last month after the contempt lawsuit was filed that the state is merely forcing her to do her job within the law.
Before the hearing, dozens of protesters on both side of the issue clashed outside of the federal courthouse in Covington, some in support of Davis for standing up for her beliefs.
While clerks in other states have made similar refusals, Davis’ defiance is the most prominent — leading GOP presidential candidates to weigh in and casting a spotlight on her personal life, too.
It was revealed this week that she was divorced three times and had children out of wedlock before a religious awakening became a turning point in her life.
Davis, a registered Democrat, had worked as a deputy clerk for 27 years before voters in Rowan County elected her as clerk last November.
As an elected official, she can only be removed in a vote by state legislators, who don’t reconvene in the State House until January.
Despite her political leanings, she’s likely to get much support from Republicans lawmakers.
Not for winning or being appointed in clerk position, this will belong to her and, from that post, she can decide who deserves a service and who does not. The exercise of public service is not about choices (It’s Not About what you believe) because is a duty, and she can´t have that discriminatory behavior against any person in relation with the goods and services that the state provides to its citizens.
Public service is mandatory for all civil servant. Public administration and the civil service is characterized by the objectivity and impartiality that is embodied in the fact prevent personal or individual elements affect the civil servant criteria when making decisions.
Public and civil servants must be objective in the line of duty. It’s like saying “think with reason and not so much with the heart”. It’s like going to a restaurant and the customer orders to the waiter “I would like to order biscuits ’n’ gravy” and the waiter answers to the consumer “sorry I don’t like biscuits ’n’ gravy, so you don’t deserve it, too”.
Finally, rule of law is a principle in public administration and because of that she can´t deny the marriage service even more if the SCOTUS ruled the same sex marriage as a right nationwide. The public servants develops their duties inside a secular state.
KENTUCKY — The Supreme Court on Monday night, August 31st denied an emergency application from a Kentucky clerk who has been refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her religious objections to same-sex marriage.
Image: CNN
The clerk, Kim Davis, sought to put a lower court ruling on hold pending appeal, and in a one-page order the Supreme Court refused.
Davis is now faced with a lower court order that her office begin issuing licenses effective Monday.
The order marks the first time the issue of same-sex marriage has come back to the justices since they issued an opinion last June clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
Davis, of the Rowan County Clerk’s office, has refused to issue any marriage licenses since the decision — Obergefell v. Hodges — came down. She is an Apostolic Christian who says that she has a sincere religious objection to same-sex marriage. Other clerks in the state have expressed concern, but Davis is the only one turning away eligible couples.
In Court papers, lawyers for Davis said that her “conscience forbids her from approving a (same-sex marriage) license — because the prescribed form mandates that she authorize the proposed union and issue a license bearing her own name and imprimatur.”
“In her belief,” the lawyers wrote, “(same-sex marriage) is not, in fact, marriage.”
They said issuing a same-sex license would amount to a “searing act of validation” that would “forever echo in her conscience.”
Washington pretende tranquilizar así a sus aliados de Europa Oriental ante una posible escalada de la crisis en Ucrania
US soldiers stand in front of a Patriot missile battery at an army base in the northern Polish town of Morag, in May. Photograph: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images
Varsovia. Estados Unidos desplegará armamento pesado en Polonia a partir de mediados del 2016, anunció hoy el ministro de Defensa polaco, Tomasz Siemoniak.
Se trata de una decisión con la que Washington pretende tranquilizar a sus aliados de Europa Oriental ante una posible escalada de la crisis en Ucrania.
De confirmarse el anuncio de Siemoniak, esta será la primera vez que Estados Unidos almacene equipo militar pesado en uno de los nuevos Estados miembros de la OTAN en Europa del Este, en la frontera con Rusia.
“Después de conversar con nuestros socios estadounidenses, se han seleccionado dos emplazamientos para almacenar equipo militar pesado de Estados Unidos, uno en el oeste y otro en el noreste de Polonia”, dijo Siemoniak en declaraciones a la agencia polaca de prensa.
El ministro no dio detalles sobre qué material militar será ubicado en Polonia.
El pasado junio medios estadounidenses informaron de los planes de Washington de desplegar tanques, vehículos de combate de infantería y otras armas pesadas en la región, un armamento suficiente para las necesidades de 5.000 soldados.
Rusia se opone a cualquier presencia militar estable de la OTAN o Estados Unidos en los países del Este de Europa.
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) governs internal procedures of administrative agencies, including how they interact with the public. The APA is codified at 5 U.S.C. §§ 551-559, and encompasses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. § 552) and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a). The APA defines an “agency” broadly, and does not explicitly exclude the Office of the President, though it is generally believed that Congress would have to expressly act in order to apply APA requirements to the President.
The APA serves to police improper agency behavior, protect public safety, and secure proper entitlements. The APA governs all three main agency functions: rulemakings, adjudications, and licensing.
Rulemakings
The APA defines a “rule” as “the whole or a part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of an agency and includes the approval or prescription for the future of rates, wages, corporate or financial structures or reorganizations thereof, prices, facilities, appliances, services or allowances therefore or of valuations, costs, or accounting, or practices bearing on any of the foregoing.” In short, an agency creates a rule when it seeks to “implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy.”
The APA describes a particular rulemaking process with which agencies are required to comply. Typically, the agency must give a notice of a proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register. The Federal Register “is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.” The notice must include the date the rule will come into effect, the legal authority the agency has proposed the rule under, and the substance of the rule.
After notice is given, the agency is required to solicit and accept public comments on the rule. There is no minimum period specified for the comment period to remain open, and it often varies with the complexity of the rule. Most comment periods last between 30 and 60 days, and some are re-opened if the agency believes that there was insufficient time for the public to respond or that the agency did not receive as much feedback as it would like. The agency must then consider all of the comments that are submitted in passing the final rule.
In certain cases, an agency must undergo a formal rulemaking, which requires a courtroom-style hearing. During formal rulemaking, decisions are reached on the basis of evidence given and received on the record. Formal rulemaking is appropriate in two cases: (1) where a statute provides that rules are “required to be made on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing”; and (2) in rulemakings that involve adjudicative facts, or facts specific to the rights of an individual. A statute that requires more than an informal notice and comment rulemaking, but is less stringent than a formal rulemaking, may result in a hybrid rulemaking that blends elements of each.
The APA also describes certain cases where the notice and comment rulemaking process is not required, including 2 general exceptions and 2 specific exceptions:
General Exception 1: the Rule involves a military or foreign affairs function of the United States
General Exception 2: The Rules involves a matter relating to agency management or personally or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts
Specific Exception 1: Cases of interpretative rules, general statements of policy, or rules of agency organizations, procedure, or practice
Specific Exception 2: When the agency finds for good cause that the notice and comment process is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.
Note that courts employ a functional analysis to determine if a rule is procedural or substantive, in that substantive rules embody value judgments or substantially alter the rights or interests of parties (see Air Transp. Ass’n of Am. v. Dep’t of Transp., 900 F.2d 369). Also, under Specific Exception 2, the agency’s own delay cannot bring about good cause that the notice and comment process is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.
Adjudications
Like rulemakings, adjudications come in two forms – formal and informal. A formal adjudication is expressly required by statute to be held “on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing,” though certain limited exceptions apply. The APA does not set out rules for informal adjudications, leaving it to each agency to determine its own procedures. However, formal adjudications require the same measures as formal rulemakings, including evidence introduced on the record.
Notice must be given to an individual subject to a formal adjudication, including the time, place, and nature of the hearing, the legal authority and jurisdiction, and the matters of asserted fact and law. An agency does not need to have a private party plaintiff – instead an agency can choose to initiate action to explore an issue or an alleged violation of some law or rule (see Office of Communication of United Church of Christ v. FCC, 359 F.2d 994). However, when a private party would have standing to appeal a decision, they will also have the right to intervene in a formal adjudication.
Formal hearings (and rulemakings) are presided over by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ renders a final decision on the record, which can be held as final or appealed to the full agency. Final agency decisions are subject to judicial review.
Adjudications are subject to due process requirements when two requirements are met: (1) the hearing involves issues of adjudicative facts, or facts that effect a small, individualized group, and (2) the hearing involves the possibility of a deprivation of a property or liberty interest. That interest must be created and defined by existing rules or understandings that stem from independent sources (see Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564).
Licensing
When a license is required by a law, the agency in granting that license must comply with the same procedures governing formal rulemaking and adjudication. Application for all other licenses is governed by internal agency rules. An agency cannot revoke a license while an application for a new license remains pending. Further, licenses cannot be revoked unless the agency gives notice as to what action has provided cause for the revocation and has allowed the licensee an opportunity to correct that action.
Judicial Review
Final agency decisions are subject to judicial review. Generally, challenges to agency regulations have a six-year statute of limitations.
Scope of Review
The reviewing court shall decide “all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, and determine the meaning or applicability of the terms of an agency action.” The reviewing court must (A) compel agency action that was either “unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed” and (B) find unlawful and “set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions” that are: (1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; (2) contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity; (3) in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right; (4) without observance of procedure required by law; (5) unsupported by substantial evidence in a case subject to sections 556 and 557 of Title 5 (Government Organization and Employees) of the United States Code or otherwise reviewed on the record of an agency hearing provided by statute; or (6) unwarranted by the facts to the extend that the facts are subject to trial de novo by the reviewing court.
Standards of Review
There are three standards of review: (1) substantial evidence; (2) arbitrary and capricious; and (3) statutory interpretation.
The “substantial evidence” standard of review is required for formal rulemaking and formal adjudication. Courts are required to uphold a rule if they find the agency’s decision to be “reasonable, or the record contains such evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Agency actions that are invalidated by substantial evidence review are typically abandoned.
The “arbitrary and capricious” standard is mainly applied to informal rulemakings. In Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe (401 U.S. 402), the Supreme Court held that in order to find agency decisions arbitrary in informal adjudications, courts must first “consider whether the decision was based on a consideration of the relevant factors and whether there has been a clear error of judgment.” In performing this inquiry, courts cannot inquire as to why agencies relied upon particular data to make their decisions; however, courts can inquire as to what data the agency reviewed. Typically, when agency action is invalidated under the arbitrary and capricious standard of review, the action is remanded to the agency to substantiate the record. In the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association of the United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, the Supreme Court held that “the agency nevertheless must examine the relevant data and articulate a satisfactory explanation for its action” including a “rational connection between facts and judgment . . . to pass muster under the ‘arbitrary and capricious’ standard.”
The “statutory interpretation” standard of review involves a two-step analysis, which derived from Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council (468 U.S. 1227). Under Chevron, courts must first assess whether Congress has spoken to the “precise question at issue.” To do this, courts must look to the language and design of the statute, as well as look to the traditional canons of construction. If the court finds that Congress has not directly addressed the precise issue, the court must then determine if the agency’s action is based on a “permissible construction of the statute.” Under Chevron, legislative regulations are given deference unless they are arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute.
Mixed Judicial Review
Mixed judicial review encompasses judicial review of both law and fact. Judicial review of law investigates the statutory authority that permits the agency to make its regulation; judicial review of fact investigates the agency’s factual findings that guided its decision-making process.
Standing
Persons who suffer a “legal wrong because of agency action” or are “adversely affected or aggrieved by agency action within the meaning of a relevant statute” has standing to receive judicial review of the agency’s action (5 U.S.C. § 702). There are four elements that must be proven to gain judicial review: (1) injury in fact; (2)causation; (3) redressability; and (4) zone of interest.
Injury in Fact
In Sierra Club v. Morton (405 U.S. 727), the Supreme Court held that agency action which affected environmental, aesthetic, or recreational interest, could qualify as injury in fact for standing purposes. The Supreme Court also held that agency action must directly affect personal interests, not simply those of a corporation. Additionally, if government action or inaction injures a third person in a direct fashion, that person has suffered sufficient injury in fact for standing purposes.
Causation
Causation is the connection between the injury and the agency action.
Redressability
Redressability analyzes whether judicial review of agency action is likely to bring relief to the complaining party.
Zone of Interest
The”zone of interest” requires the complaining party to demonstrate that her injury is the type of injury protected by the statute or regulation.
EPIC’s APA Comments Since 1997, EPIC has consistently submitted extensive public comments to federal agencies pursuant to the APA. EPIC has also submitted administrative comments to state and international agencies. Through these comments, EPIC makes detailed recommendations, grounded in both policy and law, for stronger privacy protection. A list of comments that EPIC has submitted since 1997 can be found at EPIC: EPIC Administrative Procedure Act (APA) Comments.
Terrible reacción. El asesino de la reportera y el camarógrafo de la cadena WDBJ7 TV (filial de CBS) señaló que ella había hecho comentarios racistas hacia él y además había sido despedido de su trabajo. Luego del ataque y al verse acorralado por la policía, se dio un tiro en la cabeza pero no consiguió morir.
Bryce Williams (Vester Lee Flanigan) registró el momento en que disparó contra la periodista y el camarógrafo de la cadena de noticias WDBJ7, para luego colgar las imagenes en redes sociales (Facebook y Twitter). ADVERTENCIA: IMAGENES EXPLÍCITAS
Williams trabajó para la misma cadena televisiva y el ataque hacia los reporteros fue un acto de venganza al ver su trabajo ignorado y luego haber sido despedido del canal. Se señala que tenía problemas de manejo de ira y complejos raciales.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships announced the appointment of the 2015-2016 class of White House Fellows. The Fellows come from diverse backgrounds, and varied professions, and have demonstrated a strong commitment to public service and leadership. The 2015-2016 class of Fellows and their biographies are included below.
The White House Fellows program was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders “first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs.” This unique opportunity to work within our nation’s government is designed to encourage active citizenship and a lifelong commitment to service. The Fellows take part in an education program designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, and current affairs. Community service is another essential element of the program, and Fellows participate in service projects throughout their year in Washington, D.C.
Selection as a White House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of professional achievement, evidence of leadership potential, and a proven commitment to public service. Each Fellow must possess the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute meaningfully at senior levels of the Federal government. Throughout its history, the program has fostered leaders in many fields, including government, business, law, media, medicine, education, diplomacy, and the military. Additional information about the White House Fellows program is available at www.whitehouse.gov/fellows.
2015-2016 Class of White House Fellows:
C. Spencer Abbot, Yorktown, VA, is a Commander in the United States Navy. He recently served as Commanding Officer of Strike-Fighter Squadron 27 in Atsugi, Japan. The squadron was recognized with the “Battle E” award as the top FA-18E/F squadron in the Pacific Fleet for 2014. He established the first afloat foreign language program for a carrier air wing, and organized a partnership with a Japanese elementary school. In 2001 and 2003, he flew combat missions at the outsets of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. He then studied Spanish at the Defense Language Institute, and worked as a volunteer diver at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He later served as an EF-18 Hornet exchange pilot with the Spanish Air Force. He received the 2008 Exceptional Pilot Award from among all Navy pilots after combat operations in Iraq. He worked in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, and coordinated with the Japanese government from U.S. Embassy Tokyo following the 2011 tsunami. Author of a number of published articles, he served as Brigade Commander at the U.S. Naval Academy, holds a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School, and an Executive M.B.A., taken in Spanish, from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.
Teeb Al-Samarrai, Oakland, CA, is a physician and epidemiologist who served as Deputy Health Officer and Tuberculosis Controller at the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in California. Her work focused on immigrant and refugee health issues, particularly tuberculosis and hepatitis B. Prior to this, Teeb served as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She’s worked internationally in diverse settings and in 2010, participated in CDC’s emergency response to the Haiti earthquake. She completed her internal medicine residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where she partnered with a local NGO, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, to establish a multidisciplinary, patient-centered refugee clinic. For this work, she was recognized with the Fred L. Sachs Award and Chief Residents’ Service Award. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at national meetings, and cited in the New York Times. Teeb served on the California Tuberculosis Controllers Association Executive Committee and the TEDMED Editorial Advisory Board. She graduated as a Regents and Alumni Scholar from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.S. in Neuroscience. She received her M.D. and an M.S. in Neuroscience from Yale University.
Andrew Anderson, Douglas, WY, is a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He recently served as the program director for a classified Department of Defense system that supported operations of highest national priority. Previously, Andrew was a Flight Test Engineer for the Air Force Test Center, where he led a team testing combat enhancements to Air Force bomber aircraft. In this role, Andrew was also the Chief Test Director for the recent X-51A hypersonic air vehicle program and led execution for this joint DoD-NASA effort that achieved a record-breaking final flight at Mach 5. In 2008, he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and fielded specialized electronic jamming equipment to roadside bomb disposal teams throughout Northern Iraq, earning the Bronze Star. Andrew received a B.S. in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy as a distinguished graduate, and earned M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. His volunteer work has included service with homeless outreach programs in the Washington, DC area, and as a mentor, math teacher and leadership seminar facilitator for inner-city middle school students with the Higher Achievement program.
Alexander Billioux, Simpsonville, SC, is an internist focused on primary care and improving health care delivery globally. He served as Assistant Chief of the Osler Medical Service at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he trained and mentored more than 140 internal medicine residents while treating patients in East Baltimore. He served as Co-Chair of the Department of Medicine’s High Value Care Committee, through which he led system-wide interventions to promote high value medical care. This included developing an innovative behavior change intervention aimed at reducing wasteful and potentially harmful medical practices, which the Society of Hospital Medicine recently adopted. Alex’s prior work and research has focused internationally on diseases of poverty such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in India, Guatemala, Haiti, and South Africa. As an Afya Bora Fellow in Global Health Leadership, he spent a year developing a public-private partnership to improve tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment in rural Uganda, and ran a clinical trial to improve tuberculosis management at rural health centers. He is a Marshall and Goldwater Scholar who received an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University, a D.Phil. in clinical medicine from the University of Oxford, and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
Sara Bleich, Baltimore, MD, worked as an Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She was responsible for leading research teams, speaking nationally and internationally, teaching, and advising students. Sara has published more than 75 papers in top journals of public health and medicine and is widely known for her research on obesity prevention. Prior to Hopkins, Sara worked as a Research Associate at the RAND Corporation and The Measurement Group. Sara has received several awards: “most outstanding abstract” at the International Conference on Obesity, “best research manuscript” in the journal Obesity, and first prize for “excellence in public interest communication” from the Frank Public Interest Conference. Sara is the recipient of several competitive grant awards: a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health and multiple Healthy Eating Research grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Sara is a Board Member at Garrison Forest School, an independent girls’ school. Sara volunteers for the Baltimore Education Scholarship Trust by speaking to donors to raise funds for low-income, minority students to attend independent school. Sara received a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard University.
Naomi Dennis, Houston, TX, is a Major in the United States Air Force and most recently served as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate to the Commander of the Air Force Expeditionary Center. Having served as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, Naomi has frequently lectured on advanced trial advocacy and used her experience in sexual assault litigation to create an interactive training module for Air Force senior leaders on how to manage sexual assault allegations from trauma to trial. During her deployment to Baghdad, her work in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq led to the successful prosecution of several high value targets. In 2010, she was named the American Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Military Lawyer of the Year. Naomi also co-founded Pink Isn’t Always Pretty, a 501c(3) non-profit grassroots organization promoting breast health and awareness among young women of color. She served as PIAP’s Executive Director from 2009-2013. Naomi received her B.A. from Howard University and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law where she was appointed to the National Order of Barristers. Prior to her appointment as a Fellow, Naomi was selected to serve as a judge on the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.
Shereef Elnahal, Baltimore, MD, is taking a leave from residency in Radiation Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has authored over a dozen publications on health care quality, operations management, and patient safety. Shereef co-developed a published methodology that doubled clinic efficiency in the Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Multidisciplinary Clinic, cutting patient wait times by half. As an operations consultant for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Pittsburgh VA hospitals, he expanded on this work to improve care access for veterans and active duty servicemembers. He was a Fellow in the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, and served as Chair of the House Staff Patient Safety and Quality Council at Hopkins. Shereef served on advisory boards for two firms focused on patient education and clinical operations. He also co-founded the Baltimore chapter of The Triple Helix, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that publishes an internationally-circulated journal on science in society. His civic contributions earned him the 2015 National Quality Scholar Award from the American College of Medical Quality. Shereef received a dual-degree M.D. and M.B.A. with Distinction from Harvard University, where he was President of the Harvard Longwood Muslim association. He also graduatedsumma cum laude with a B.A. in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University.
September Hargrove, New Orleans, LA, served as Chief Operating Officer of the PowerMoves. NOLA Initiative at the New Orleans Startup Fund, where she led a national effort to address the lack of racial diversity in tech entrepreneurship and provide access to venture capital for high-growth entrepreneurs of color. Her efforts have supported nearly 90 startups collectively raise over $17 million. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in tech and entrepreneurship throughout Louisiana. Prior to this, September was the Economic Development Policy & Program Manager for Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, LA. Her work focused on creating an economic opportunity agenda and the development of the City’s Reentry Workforce Strategy for ex-offenders. September began her career as a gubernatorial appointee and legislative specialist in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Administration. She is an alumnus of the California Senate Fellowship and Public Policy International Affairs (PPIA) programs. September has served on the boards of the Young Leadership Council, New Orleans Women’s Shelter, New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute, and the Sacramento County Children’s Coalition. She holds a Master in Public Policy and Urban Planning from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Corey Harrison, Browns Mills, NJ, was the Corporate Strategy Executive at iCIMS, a leading talent acquisition software company. At iCIMS, Corey drove the development and execution of corporate strategy and evaluated merger and acquisition opportunities. Before joining iCIMS, Corey was an Associate Director at UBS Investment Bank where he advised private equity general partners on raising institutional capital. Corey began his career in information technology and operations, first as an Analyst in the Johnson & Johnson Information Management Leadership Development Program, in which he received the highest performance rating and finished at the top of his class worldwide, and later as a Six Sigma Black Belt for AIG and the Tata Group. Concurrent with his professional and academic endeavors, Corey has held several community leadership roles and has spent fifteen years mentoring and training thousands of young professionals on leadership and entrepreneurship. Corey received an M.B.A. from Yale University, where he was awarded the Mendillo-Earle Scholarship and fellowships from the Robert Toigo Foundation, Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, and Goldman Sachs. Corey received a B.S. in Business and Economics from Lehigh University and an M.S. in Leadership and Information Technology from Duquesne University.
La’Shanda Holmes, Fayetteville, NC, is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard and is the Coast Guard’s first African-American female helicopter pilot. After growing up in the foster care system, she put herself through college, became a pilot, and amassed over 1,500 flight hours conducting search and rescue, counter drug, and law enforcement missions. She was previously stationed at Air Station Atlantic City as an Aircraft Commander and managed over 6,800 flight hours for the Coast Guard’s largest MH-65 helicopter unit. She deployed five times to Washington, DC, as a Rotary Wing Air Intercept pilot where she supervised an 18-member team and sustained two strip alert aircraft to defend the President and the Nation’s capital in support of Operation Noble Eagle. Her honors include the 2014 Blacks in Government award, selection as one of Grio’s Top 100 History Makers, and a nomination for an NAACP award for her work on The Smithsonian’s “Black Wings” documentary. She is a Bonner Scholar, graduated Spelman College with a degree in psychology, and is a graduate student at Oklahoma University. She sits on the board of directors of two non-profits that enrich youth through aviation: Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum and Girls Fly!
Rayden Llano, Miami, FL, was Program Director of Health Policy and Economics at LSE Enterprise, where he worked with public institutions on health policy issues and conducted healthcare research. Previously, he worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Rwanda and as a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Asia, where he developed a tuberculosis and migration framework providing policy guidance to WHO member states. As a Luce Scholar at the University of Tokyo, he was the lead author of a study published in The Lancet and helped secure funding for the establishment of a global health committee within the Japanese parliament that has been chaired by two former prime ministers. Collectively, he has worked on healthcare issues in the U.S., Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. He is an advisor to the president of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and mentors Hispanic high school and college students. A Marshall Scholar, he received an M.P.P. from the University of Cambridge, an M.Sc. in International Health Policy and Health Economics from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University.
Jennifer Macdonald, St. Cloud, MN, is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a Family Medicine physician at UCLA. She served 11 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard and completed a tour abroad, during which she volunteered as a medical provider in addition to her primary duties as a musician. She completed morale missions to remote bases as a keyboardist and traveled as a solo vocalist to high profile international Transition of Authority ceremonies, performing the American and Iraqi national anthems as territories of Iraq were relinquished from American back to Iraqi authority. She participated in humanitarian aid missions to benefit disabled children of Basra, Iraq, and was awarded a U.S. Army Bronze Star for her collective efforts. She is committed to care of the underserved, and toward this end, co-led a humanitarian mission to East Africa and co-founded an NGO during her undergraduate years at the College of St. Benedict, served as a class representative and free clinic volunteer during her time at the University of Minnesota Medical School, engaged in multiple patient outreach and quality initiatives with the UCLA Family Medicine Residency Program, served on the California Academy of Family Physicians Resident Council, and established a lasting connection between her institution and the West Los Angeles VA Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team. A rich family life with her husband and two young children balances her professional aspirations.
Erik Malmstrom, West Hartford, CT, was a Business Development Manager for Cargill Grain and Oilseed Supply Chain Mideast and Africa at Cargill, Inc., a leading multinational agribusiness. He was responsible for sourcing, analyzing, and managing investment opportunities across Africa, including his business unit’s largest ever acquisition of an oilseed crush plant in Zambia. Prior to Cargill, he served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, graduating from Army Ranger and Airborne Schools and earning the Bronze Star Medal for outstanding combat service as a rifle platoon leader in northeastern Afghanistan. Subsequently, he worked as an impact investor, strategy consultant, and independent researcher in Afghanistan, Egypt, Haiti, and other transitional economies before co-founding CrossBoundary LLC, an investment advisory firm dedicated to unlocking the power of capital to make strong returns and lasting impact in frontier markets. He has been a contributing writer to the New York Times, term member on the Council on Foreign Relations, and co-president of Harvard Alumni for Agriculture. He received a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and a joint M.B.A. and M.P.P. from Harvard Business and Kennedy Schools, and was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at Makerere University in Uganda.
Rei Onishi, Citrus Heights, CA, was a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. He was responsible for defending the constitutionality of California’s laws, and helped craft and implement the legal strategy to defend California’s 2012 public pension reforms. He also played a leading role in developing and implementing the Department’s agenda to fight transnational organized crime, and served as an adviser to the Department’s Bureau of Children’s Justice. Before joining the Department, Rei clerked on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, worked on justice sector reform in West Africa, taught in Japan through the JET Program, co-authored travel books, and was a California Senate Fellow. As President of the Buck Scholars Association, Rei co-founded the Buck Fellows Program, a mentoring and scholarship program for low-income high school students whose parents never graduated from college. He also served on the Board of Directors of Wu Yee Children’s Services and the American Constitution Society Bay Area Lawyer Chapter. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa/magna cum laude from Harvard and received his M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government and J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on the Harvard Law Review and a Chayes International Public Service Fellow.
Maxeme Tuchman, Miami, FL, served as the Executive Director of Teach For America Miami-Dade and was responsible for overseeing daily regional operations for 26 staff members and cultivating $6M of private and public support in service of over 500 current teachers and alums. Prior to that, she served in Mayor Bloomberg’s bullpen managing the NYC Waterfalls, a public art installation that generated $69 million in economic activity. She also co-created the NYC Civic Corps, an AmeriCorps VISTA program that in its first three years had 448 participants hosted by 97 organizations that then were able to utilize 1.7 million new volunteers. Her commitment to educational equity began as a Teach For America corps member, teaching 480 high school students in inner-city Miami, and has led to working on educational innovation projects with organizations such as the Harlem Children’s Zone, DC Public Schools, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is a graduate of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and the Miami Fellows Leadership Program. Maxeme received her B.A. from New College of Florida and holds an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Kamillah Wood, Washington, DC, served as the Associate Medical Director of Mobile Health Programs at Children’s National Health System, providing comprehensive medical care to underserved children in the Anacostia region of Washington, DC. In addition to providing direct clinical and wraparound services, she created an educational program for parents and families called the Legislative Educational Advocacy Program (LEAP), which helped to inform local community members about current policy issues, the legislative process and the importance of civic engagement. Prior to this position, Kamillah completed a fellowship in health policy and health disparities as a Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy where she also obtained an M.P.H. from the Harvard University School of Public Health. In addition to her fellowship training, Kamillah completed her pediatrics residency at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was selected to be a Chief Resident. In this leadership role, she worked on several hospital-wide committees to address issues from emergency preparedness to implementation of an inpatient electronic health record. She received her M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, and graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University.
El envío de los aviones de guerra busca reforzar a sus aliados de la OTAN, especialmente en Europa Oriental
Washington. El Gobierno de Estados Unidos anunció hoy que desplegará cazas invisibles a radares F-22 en Europa, como parte de su plan de apoyo a la Alianza Atlántica anunciado el año pasado por el intervencionismo ruso en Ucrania.
La secretaria de la Fuerza Aérea, Deborah James, informó hoy en rueda de prensa que el Pentágono desplegará hasta cuatro de estos cazas de última generación.
James no especificó dónde y cuándo serán desplegados estos F-22 por motivos de seguridad.
El despliegue es un paso más en el mayor compromiso de Estados Unidos para reforzar a sus aliados de la OTAN, especialmente en Europa Oriental, tras el apoyo militar de Rusia a los separatistas en Ucrania y la anexión de la península de Crimea.
Estados Unidos anunció en junio del año pasado un aumento del número de soldados y material militar, así como más maniobras conjuntas, para demostrar su compromiso con sus socios en las fronteras orientales de la OTAN.
El pasado mes de junio, Estados Unidos anunció también el despliegue de tanques y piezas de artillería en las repúblicas bálticas, uno de los movimientos más importantes frente a Rusia desde la Guerra Fría.
Los cazas F-22, con la última tecnología antirradar, han sido utilizados por primera vez en combate real durante los bombardeos contra posiciones del grupo yihadista Estado Islámico en Siria e Iraq.
Imagen: medios cubanos antes del acuerdo de Cuba con USA
Estados Unidos de América es miembro de la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) desde los inicios de esta organización internacional. En concreto, Estados Unidos ratifica la Carta de la Organización de Estados Americanos el 19 junio de 1951. Únicamente establece la siguiente reserva a la Carta:
“El Senado de los Estados Unidos aprueba la ratificación de la Carta con la reserva de que ninguna de sus disposiciones se considerará en el sentido de ampliar los poderes del gobierno Federal de los Estados Unidos o de limitar los poderes de los distintos Estados de la Unión Federal con respecto a cualquier materia que la Constitución de la Unión Federal con respecto a cualquier materia que la Constitución reconozca como comprendida dentro de los poderes reservados a los distintos Estados.”
Cabe destacar que Estados Unidos no ha ratificado la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos (Pacto de San José). Por este motivo, Estados Unidos está únicamente sujeto a la jurisdicción de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en su condición de institución de la OEA. Estados Unidos, por tanto, no está sujeto a la jurisdicción de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos ni tampoco a la Comisión cuando ésta actúa bajo sus funciones de órgano de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos.
Graciosa caricatura que resume la situación de los EE.UU. respecto de su participación en la Corte IDH
