enlarge If you’re not familiar with ALEC , here’s the high-level overview. ALEC is the acronym for American Legislative Exchange Council, a secret right-wing consortium created to write boilerplate legislation for states to use to advance the right-wing agenda. Some of ALEC’s handiwork can be seen in Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Florida, to name a few. ALEC has a new game called Publicopoly. Some of the “properties” include government operations, health, environment, telecommunications, infrastructure, education and public safety. But of course, it’s not such a new game after all. The object of the game is to privatize everything. To that end, they have aggregated the reports of think tanks like the Mackinac Center, the Reason Foundation, the Platte Institute, and the Heartland Institute. You can find sample legislation under some of the different categories. For example, under government operations, there is a link to the State Budget Reform Toolkit , which features lots of helpful suggestions to “streamline” the state budget process. Here’s a small example of one of those suggestions: Reform State Pensions In recent years, state governments have encountered a funding crisis in their pension plans for public employees. This crisis in the states has resulted from many factors, including: Escalation in health care costs Significant losses in the stock market Costly pension and health benefits provided in defined-benefit plans Public employees retiring earlier and living longer Reduction and postponement of employer contributions to the pension plans This is their solution. I’ll bet you guessed it before you’ve even read it. Everything should be on the table, including changes in benefits and increased employee contribution rates, as well as employer contribution rates. Most importantly, states should consider replacing their defined-benefit plans with defined-contribution (401(k) style) plans for new employees. In case state legislators don’t have access to good policy wonks, ALEC helpfully supplies “model legislation” for each of their suggestions. Here’s the description of the pension model legislation: ALEC’s Statement of Principles on State and Local Government Pension and Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) Plans Other helpful suggestions include delaying automatic pay increases, and of course, “embrace the expanded use of privatization and competitive contracting.” ALEC is heavily funded (and I do mean heavily), by Charles and David Koch, Betsy and Dick DeVos, and the Walton (WalMart) family. Legislation coming soon to a state near you. By the way, I’m sure they hold all the “get out of jail free” cards, and there is no free parking. [h/t Democratic Underground ]
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GMG chief executive says newspaper group aims for ‘major transformation’ as he announces £33m cash losses for last year The Guardian and Observer lost £33m in cash terms last year, the chief executive of Guardian Media Group has said, as he committed the newspaper group to a “digital-first” strategy in which digital revenues would double to nearly £100m by 2016. Andrew Miller, giving a series of presentations to staff at the titles, said that the aim was to achieve “a major transformation” at the newspapers – including lifting digital revenues from an expected £47m in the current financial year to £91m in 2015/16 – because “doing nothing was not an option”. He warned that parent company Guardian Media Group could run out of cash in three to five years if the business operations did not change – although the company is able sell assets to generate more reserves – and said that the newspapers would aim to save £25m over the next five years – releasing funds to be reinvested in other activities. No plans for job losses were announced, and Miller indicated that the editorial budget for the Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk website network – which includes MediaGuardian.co.uk – would remain unchanged this year and next. However, any new initiatives – such as a planned move to create a US digital edition later this year – would have to be paid for from existing budgets. The Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk employ 1,500 staff across all departments and 630 journalists. The Guardian editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, said that the newspaper needed to embrace an “open” digital philosophy in which it embraced contributions from beyond the ranks of its own journalists, and posed the question whether the titles could spend 80% of their focus and attention on digital. Rusbridger said: “Every newspaper is on a journey into some kind of digital future. That doesn’t mean getting out of print, but it does require a greater focus of attention, imagination and resource on the various forms that digital future is likely to take.” He also indicated that there would be a redesign of the Guardian’s Monday to Friday editions later this year. Based on research that showed that half of readers read the newspaper in the evening, the aim was to create a title that would be “as relevant at 9am as 9pm”. It would focus less on breaking news and instead aim to emulate “Newsnight not News at Ten”. Unaudited results for the year ending 31 March showed that revenues at Guardian News & Media, the immediate parent of the newspapers and guardian.co.uk, fell to £198m last year compared with £221m the year before, a fall in revenues that reflected a sharp fall in classified advertising. Recruitment advertising has fallen by £41m in the past four years. On an underlying basis, as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, the Guardian and Observer lost £22m, but the cash loss, a more accurate measure of financial performance, was larger at £33m. That is similar to last year’s level, when the newspapers made an operating loss of £34.4m. Miller said that Guardian Media Group’s financial portfolio “offers stability” and would help the newspapers navigate the transition to an increasingly digital marketplace without the need for significant overall reductions in costs. GMG had cash and investment fund reserves of £197.5m available, after a year in which the investment fund grew by £12m. GMG may also be able to access funds from Auto Trader, which produced unspecified “record profits” last year. A refinancing raised £150m for the business, which is jointly owned by Guardian Media Group and Apax Partners, and if there are no immediate investment opportunities for Auto Trader, that cash could be shared between the owners as a dividend. •
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Sir Charles Gray to assess amount of damages in each case, as Lord Fowler demands public inquiry into scandal News of the World publisher News Group Newspapers has appointed a former high court judge to run its scheme to pay compensation to victims of phone hacking. Sir Charles Gray, who was the judge in the paper’s legal battle with former Liverpool footballer Bruce Grobbelaar, has agreed to be the independent adjudicator of the scheme. If victims choose to apply for compensation from NGN, a subsidiary of News International, Gray will assess how much a court would have paid in damages for each civil case, and the final settlement figure will be reached by adding 10% to that sum. This premium is designed to encourage victims to take part in the scheme rather than pursue legal action through the courts. The compensation scheme, which was announced in April , is designed to encourage victims to drop civil actions which lead to embarrassing revelations about the scale of the practice being made in open court. Former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Fowler said today in the House of Lords that there should be a public inquiry into the hacking affair. On Wednesday it emerged that Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs is the latest public figure to begin legal action against the News of the World and it is likely many more will follow suit. The compensation fund, which could end up costing NGN’ ultimate owner News Corporation tens of millions of pounds, will be open to the two dozen or so people who have started legal action against the paper and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was on the News of the World’s books. Potential victims who have not yet started legal action but believe the paper has a case to answer will also be able to apply. NGN has already said it will also pay their legal costs. The company said it would set out further details of the scheme, including a start date, soon. The company has already agreed a £100,000 out-of-court settlement with Sienna Miller, plus her legal costs, and issued a detailed formal apology earlier in June , although that followed court action and was unrelated to the compensation scheme, which has not yet been set up. The paper admitted 11 stories had been obtained as a direct result of hacking into her phone. The News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, said: “We very much hope that the scheme will be used as a fair and efficient alternative to obtaining compensation through court action and satisfy successful claimants that we sincerely regret any harm caused.” Gray said he had reviewed the terms of the scheme and it “provides a fair, effective and speedy means for determining compensation”. He was the judge who found in favour of Grobbelaar when he sued the News of the World for libel in 1999 over its claim he was involved in match-fixing. The footballer was awarded damages of £80,00, but that sum was reduced on appeal to £1 and Grobbelaar was ordered to pay NGN’s legal costs, which totalled several hundred thousand pounds. Fowler told the Lords there should be an inquiry into the “conspiracy against the public”. He said it was “ludicrous to suggest that the editor of a national newspaper is not aware of where the information came from”. “In the past a journalist [former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman] was actually given a custodial sentence for phone hacking,” he added. “Isn’t it the case that the editor is responsible for what goes in the newspaper and he also should be given a custodial sentence and indeed the proprietor and the board of directors?” News International maintains that senior executives did not know phone hacking was taking place. •
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Conservative Andrew Brigden was arrested after woman made allegations of sexual assault in London No action is to be taken against the Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen over allegations of sexual assault made against him. The 46-year-old MP for North West Leicestershire was arrested in the early hours of last Thursday morning after a 29-year-old woman made a complaint to police. After questioning, he was released on bail to return in mid-July. He vigorously denied any wrongdoing and co-operated with a police inquiry into the allegations. On Thursday, he was informed by Scotland Yard that the case was being dropped and he would not face charges. A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “A 46-year-old man, arrested on Thursday 9 June on suspicion of sexual assault against a 29-year-old woman at an address in SW1, [has been] released from bail with no further action.” guardian.co.uk
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New York politician Anthony Weiner to resign today after his ‘sexting’ scandal on Twitter – follow the latest developments live 12pm: Nancy Pelosi tweets: Thx followers for telling me cables cut me off – what I said: I’m here to talk about #jobs & this bill-> http://t.co/MOIijaO Here’s the top line: Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives on Thursday said they would try to force a vote on a China currency bill that House members overwhelmingly approved last year but that died in the Senate. 11.45am ET: Another reason for Weiner to go today may have been the prospect of further fallout from one of Weiner’s sexting targets : a sometime porn star named Ginger Lee, who gave a press conference yesterday: Lee, from La Vergne, Tennessee, said the pair exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, but said she never received photos from Weiner and never sent him any. She said she followed him on Twitter because she liked his stance on Planned Parenthood funding and health care, and that he repeatedly tried to turn the conversation into sexual banter. “My package and I are not going to beg,” Weiner emailed at one point, according to Allred. Another email said “I have wardrobe demands too – I need to highlight my package.” “I did not reciprocate,” Lee said Wednesday. Lee said as Weiner’s Twitter scandal was unfolding, the married lawmaker gave her a statement to put out, which read: “I haven’t met Rep Weiner. I follow him on Twitter because I support him & what he stands for. I have been hounded by his political opponents, but that hasn’t changed my view of him and what he fights for.” Lee said she was happy to talk to the congressional ethics investigation that was underway – and Weiner would have been in trouble because he asked Lee to cover up their epistolary relationship. 11.30am ET: The question is whether Weiner steps down immediately or is not seeking re-election – and thus sticking around until January 2013, the end of his current term. If he does step down as of now, that means another special election in New York state, the third in two years caused by a sex scandal. There was Democrat Eric Massa in 2010 , Republican Chris Lee earlier this year (also over sexy pictures), and now Weiner. A little further back there was Eliot Spitzer . Something in the water? 11.25am ET: “I’d much rather be discussing economic issues … than talking about this,” says Wolf Blitzer on CNN, more in sorrow than in truth. I mean, anger. The next CNN presenter immediately starts talking about “half-nude Weiner pictures” and playing clips of David Letterman makes Weiner gags. 11.20am ET: Local newspaper the New York Times speaks to a “top Democratic official” for more details on the latest developments: The top Democratic official said Mr Weiner called Representative Nancy Pelosi of California and Representative Steve Israel of New York last night while they were at the White House picnic to inform them he had decided to resign on Thursday. Mr. Weiner plans to resign in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, at 2pm, at the spot where he announced his first campaign for City Council in 1992, according to two people told of his plans. The news comes as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old congressman of his committee assignments, a blow that would severely damage his effectiveness. Ms Pelosi had called for an ethics investigation into Mr. Weiner’s actions. Mr Weiner began telling his most trusted advisers about his decision on Wednesday night by phone, informing them that it no longer seemed fair to his constituents and his colleagues for him to remain in office. Mr Weiner, a Democrat, came to the conclusion that he could no longer serve after having long discussions with his wife, Huma Abedin, when she returned home on Tuesday after traveling abroad with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 11.14am ET: Oh dear – CNN just briefly mixed up a Weiner story with an on-screen headline about al-Qaida’s new leader. Whoops. 11.05am ET: So after three weeks, why did Weiner decide to go now? Obviously the intense pressure from Democrats, including Obama, Pelosi and the powerful chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Steve Israel, has taken its toll. Weiner himself said that his wife, Huma Abedin, had supported him. But possibly she changed her mind after returning from an overseas trip in her role as an aide to Hillary Clinton. And the news that she was pregnant may have played a part. Top plausible conspiracy theory of the day is the thought that New York City was due to lose a congressional seat due to population changes, and so that Weiner’s seat was in danger of being redistricted into oblivion. 10.55am ET: All eyes are on the Democratic House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, holding a press conference right now on some trivial issue like jobs or something. But as Pelosi steps up to the mike she says: “If you’re here to ask a question about Anthony Weiner, I won’t be answering any.” There’s an old joke about the shortest measurable unit of time is the gap between a Los Angeles traffic light turning green and the car behind you honking. But here’s a record breaker – the light-speed at which cable news channels cut away from a press conference after Nancy Pelosi refuses to answer questions about Anthony Weiner. Pelosi says she’ll answer questions after Weiner makes his statement. But cable news missed that bit. 10.50am ET: Good morning from Washington DC, where Weiner-gate has reached its climax, so to speak. According to local New York television reports, Weiner plans to give a live statement at his congressional office in Brooklyn at 2pm ET – 7pm BST. But according to multiple reports he has told “friends” that he will resign. After three weeks of trying to hang on to his job, Anthony Weiner will today announce that he is stepping down as a Democratic congressman – ending a scandal that began with an errant Twitter message sent by Weiner on 27 May. After first denying responsibility and blaming hackers , Weiner was found to have had bizzare sexual relationships with at least six women via Twitter, Facebook, email and text message, exchanging provocative photographs. At a teary press conference 10 days ago Weiner finally confessed to his behaviour but insisted he would not resign. But under pressure from senior Democrats, Weiner asked for a two-week leave of absence from the House of Representatives in order to seek undisclosed treatment. The final nail may have come on Tuesday morning, when President Obama weighed in during an interview on breakfast television, in which Obama said: “If it was me, I would resign.” As today’s events unfold we’ll be following developments and reaction right here. (You can catch up with our previous live blog of Weiner’s press conference on 6 June here .) Anthony Weiner US politics New York Democrats Social media Twitter United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Republicans in Congress make fools of themselves yet again on a hearing that they are leading. Can’t they take any issue seriously except for trying to undermine the rights of women or cut off funds to Planned Parenthood? When you’re a hack, you’re a hack. Rep. Daryl Issa made a mockery out of his own hearing on Capitol Hill when he tried to shut up his own frakkin’ witness who tried to testify about an ATF program that went bad: The head of the House Oversight committee muted one of his invited witnesses on Wednesday for testifying in favor of tougher gun laws. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said an ATF official’s promotion of gun reform fell “outside the scope” of the hearing and “would not be considered valid testimony.” Appearing before the panel, Peter Forcelli, a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told lawmakers that straw purchasers – those who buy guns on behalf of others – should be hit with stiffer penalties to discourage gun trafficking. “I think perhaps a mandatory minimum one-year sentence might deter an individual from buying a gun,” Forcelli said. He was responding to a question from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who said the current penalties are so weak that they discourage state prosecutors from pursuing straw-purchase cases. Forcelli agreed the current penalties do little to intimidate straw purchasers. That brief exchange prompted Issa to intervene. “We’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation,” Issa said. Political Correction: We’re repeatedly asked whether Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) hearings into a controversial ATF operation that allowed certain shipments of firearms to cross the border into Mexico would also address the weak statutory authority that law enforcement are forced to rely on to prevent trafficking to Mexican drug cartels. Today, we learned that law enforcement witnesses called by Issa are eager to discuss the issue, but the Oversight Committee chairman is willing to do everything in his power to stop that problem from coming to the forefront. During this morning’s hearing, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) asked ATF Special Agent Peter Forcelli whether he has heard that district judges criticize the prosecutions of straw purchasers as “paper violations” because they are based on statutes that carry such low penalties. Forcelli replied, “I have, and I agree with it,” and called for a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for such offenses to better deter purchasers. Issa immediately broke in to cut off this line of discussion, saying that the witness was testifying outside of the scope of the hearing. After an extended exchange between Issa and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in which Cummings said that Issa couldn’t tell the witness what to testify to, Maloney explained why this line of questioning is crucial. ISSA: I’d only caution we’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation. That would be outside the scope of this hearing. MALONEY: I wasn’t discussing that. I was trying to figure out why the Justice Department and the [Inspector General] found that prosecutors often decline these gun cases. I want to know why they’re declining them. And to quote from the testimony, one of you said because they believe it is difficult to obtain convictions in these violations. Aren’t Republicans supposed to be tough on crime? We’re talking about guns being brought into Satan’s backyard; or if you’re not talking to Pat Buchanan—Mexico. Here’s what this hearing is about: Issa had called the hearing to examine a controversial ATF operation – dubbed “Fast and Furious” – that put firearms into the hands of known drug smugglers in order to track them to Mexican cartel leaders. Hundreds of those firearms have gone missing and several have been linked indirectly to the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a December firefight in Arizona. Terry’s family submitted a statement to Wednesday’s oversight hearing, calling for the prosecution of everyone – even government agents – involved in the tragedy. Why aren’t the penalties for bring guns into Mexico relevant to the investigation? I guess his NRA buddies wouldn’t approve.
Continue reading …Republicans in Congress make fools of themselves yet again on a hearing that they are leading. Can’t they take any issue seriously except for trying to undermine the rights of women or cut off funds to Planned Parenthood? When you’re a hack, you’re a hack. Rep. Daryl Issa made a mockery out of his own hearing on Capitol Hill when he tried to shut up his own frakkin’ witness who tried to testify about an ATF program that went bad: The head of the House Oversight committee muted one of his invited witnesses on Wednesday for testifying in favor of tougher gun laws. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said an ATF official’s promotion of gun reform fell “outside the scope” of the hearing and “would not be considered valid testimony.” Appearing before the panel, Peter Forcelli, a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told lawmakers that straw purchasers – those who buy guns on behalf of others – should be hit with stiffer penalties to discourage gun trafficking. “I think perhaps a mandatory minimum one-year sentence might deter an individual from buying a gun,” Forcelli said. He was responding to a question from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who said the current penalties are so weak that they discourage state prosecutors from pursuing straw-purchase cases. Forcelli agreed the current penalties do little to intimidate straw purchasers. That brief exchange prompted Issa to intervene. “We’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation,” Issa said. Political Correction: We’re repeatedly asked whether Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) hearings into a controversial ATF operation that allowed certain shipments of firearms to cross the border into Mexico would also address the weak statutory authority that law enforcement are forced to rely on to prevent trafficking to Mexican drug cartels. Today, we learned that law enforcement witnesses called by Issa are eager to discuss the issue, but the Oversight Committee chairman is willing to do everything in his power to stop that problem from coming to the forefront. During this morning’s hearing, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) asked ATF Special Agent Peter Forcelli whether he has heard that district judges criticize the prosecutions of straw purchasers as “paper violations” because they are based on statutes that carry such low penalties. Forcelli replied, “I have, and I agree with it,” and called for a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for such offenses to better deter purchasers. Issa immediately broke in to cut off this line of discussion, saying that the witness was testifying outside of the scope of the hearing. After an extended exchange between Issa and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in which Cummings said that Issa couldn’t tell the witness what to testify to, Maloney explained why this line of questioning is crucial. ISSA: I’d only caution we’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation. That would be outside the scope of this hearing. MALONEY: I wasn’t discussing that. I was trying to figure out why the Justice Department and the [Inspector General] found that prosecutors often decline these gun cases. I want to know why they’re declining them. And to quote from the testimony, one of you said because they believe it is difficult to obtain convictions in these violations. Aren’t Republicans supposed to be tough on crime? We’re talking about guns being brought into Satan’s backyard; or if you’re not talking to Pat Buchanan—Mexico. Here’s what this hearing is about: Issa had called the hearing to examine a controversial ATF operation – dubbed “Fast and Furious” – that put firearms into the hands of known drug smugglers in order to track them to Mexican cartel leaders. Hundreds of those firearms have gone missing and several have been linked indirectly to the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a December firefight in Arizona. Terry’s family submitted a statement to Wednesday’s oversight hearing, calling for the prosecution of everyone – even government agents – involved in the tragedy. Why aren’t the penalties for bring guns into Mexico relevant to the investigation? I guess his NRA buddies wouldn’t approve.
Continue reading …Republicans in Congress make fools of themselves yet again on a hearing that they are leading. Can’t they take any issue seriously except for trying to undermine the rights of women or cut off funds to Planned Parenthood? When you’re a hack, you’re a hack. Rep. Daryl Issa made a mockery out of his own hearing on Capitol Hill when he tried to shut up his own frakkin’ witness who tried to testify about an ATF program that went bad: The head of the House Oversight committee muted one of his invited witnesses on Wednesday for testifying in favor of tougher gun laws. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said an ATF official’s promotion of gun reform fell “outside the scope” of the hearing and “would not be considered valid testimony.” Appearing before the panel, Peter Forcelli, a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told lawmakers that straw purchasers – those who buy guns on behalf of others – should be hit with stiffer penalties to discourage gun trafficking. “I think perhaps a mandatory minimum one-year sentence might deter an individual from buying a gun,” Forcelli said. He was responding to a question from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who said the current penalties are so weak that they discourage state prosecutors from pursuing straw-purchase cases. Forcelli agreed the current penalties do little to intimidate straw purchasers. That brief exchange prompted Issa to intervene. “We’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation,” Issa said. Political Correction: We’re repeatedly asked whether Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) hearings into a controversial ATF operation that allowed certain shipments of firearms to cross the border into Mexico would also address the weak statutory authority that law enforcement are forced to rely on to prevent trafficking to Mexican drug cartels. Today, we learned that law enforcement witnesses called by Issa are eager to discuss the issue, but the Oversight Committee chairman is willing to do everything in his power to stop that problem from coming to the forefront. During this morning’s hearing, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) asked ATF Special Agent Peter Forcelli whether he has heard that district judges criticize the prosecutions of straw purchasers as “paper violations” because they are based on statutes that carry such low penalties. Forcelli replied, “I have, and I agree with it,” and called for a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for such offenses to better deter purchasers. Issa immediately broke in to cut off this line of discussion, saying that the witness was testifying outside of the scope of the hearing. After an extended exchange between Issa and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in which Cummings said that Issa couldn’t tell the witness what to testify to, Maloney explained why this line of questioning is crucial. ISSA: I’d only caution we’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation. That would be outside the scope of this hearing. MALONEY: I wasn’t discussing that. I was trying to figure out why the Justice Department and the [Inspector General] found that prosecutors often decline these gun cases. I want to know why they’re declining them. And to quote from the testimony, one of you said because they believe it is difficult to obtain convictions in these violations. Aren’t Republicans supposed to be tough on crime? We’re talking about guns being brought into Satan’s backyard; or if you’re not talking to Pat Buchanan—Mexico. Here’s what this hearing is about: Issa had called the hearing to examine a controversial ATF operation – dubbed “Fast and Furious” – that put firearms into the hands of known drug smugglers in order to track them to Mexican cartel leaders. Hundreds of those firearms have gone missing and several have been linked indirectly to the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a December firefight in Arizona. Terry’s family submitted a statement to Wednesday’s oversight hearing, calling for the prosecution of everyone – even government agents – involved in the tragedy. Why aren’t the penalties for bring guns into Mexico relevant to the investigation? I guess his NRA buddies wouldn’t approve.
Continue reading …Republicans in Congress make fools of themselves yet again on a hearing that they are leading. Can’t they take any issue seriously except for trying to undermine the rights of women or cut off funds to Planned Parenthood? When you’re a hack, you’re a hack. Rep. Daryl Issa made a mockery out of his own hearing on Capitol Hill when he tried to shut up his own frakkin’ witness who tried to testify about an ATF program that went bad: The head of the House Oversight committee muted one of his invited witnesses on Wednesday for testifying in favor of tougher gun laws. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said an ATF official’s promotion of gun reform fell “outside the scope” of the hearing and “would not be considered valid testimony.” Appearing before the panel, Peter Forcelli, a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told lawmakers that straw purchasers – those who buy guns on behalf of others – should be hit with stiffer penalties to discourage gun trafficking. “I think perhaps a mandatory minimum one-year sentence might deter an individual from buying a gun,” Forcelli said. He was responding to a question from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who said the current penalties are so weak that they discourage state prosecutors from pursuing straw-purchase cases. Forcelli agreed the current penalties do little to intimidate straw purchasers. That brief exchange prompted Issa to intervene. “We’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation,” Issa said. Political Correction: We’re repeatedly asked whether Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) hearings into a controversial ATF operation that allowed certain shipments of firearms to cross the border into Mexico would also address the weak statutory authority that law enforcement are forced to rely on to prevent trafficking to Mexican drug cartels. Today, we learned that law enforcement witnesses called by Issa are eager to discuss the issue, but the Oversight Committee chairman is willing to do everything in his power to stop that problem from coming to the forefront. During this morning’s hearing, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) asked ATF Special Agent Peter Forcelli whether he has heard that district judges criticize the prosecutions of straw purchasers as “paper violations” because they are based on statutes that carry such low penalties. Forcelli replied, “I have, and I agree with it,” and called for a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for such offenses to better deter purchasers. Issa immediately broke in to cut off this line of discussion, saying that the witness was testifying outside of the scope of the hearing. After an extended exchange between Issa and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in which Cummings said that Issa couldn’t tell the witness what to testify to, Maloney explained why this line of questioning is crucial. ISSA: I’d only caution we’re not here to talk about proposed gun legislation. That would be outside the scope of this hearing. MALONEY: I wasn’t discussing that. I was trying to figure out why the Justice Department and the [Inspector General] found that prosecutors often decline these gun cases. I want to know why they’re declining them. And to quote from the testimony, one of you said because they believe it is difficult to obtain convictions in these violations. Aren’t Republicans supposed to be tough on crime? We’re talking about guns being brought into Satan’s backyard; or if you’re not talking to Pat Buchanan—Mexico. Here’s what this hearing is about: Issa had called the hearing to examine a controversial ATF operation – dubbed “Fast and Furious” – that put firearms into the hands of known drug smugglers in order to track them to Mexican cartel leaders. Hundreds of those firearms have gone missing and several have been linked indirectly to the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a December firefight in Arizona. Terry’s family submitted a statement to Wednesday’s oversight hearing, calling for the prosecution of everyone – even government agents – involved in the tragedy. Why aren’t the penalties for bring guns into Mexico relevant to the investigation? I guess his NRA buddies wouldn’t approve.
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It’s Gold Cup and Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot 2011. All the latest news, comment, racing, fashion, gossip, literature and action through the day. Gallery: the best images of day two Catch up with day two’s live blog Racecard 4.04pm: Good quote from Jamie Spencer in his post-race interview, upon being asked if it was poignant for him winning such a big race having been Aidan O’Brien’s stable jockey in the past, before being replaced in 2005: “We’re getting on better now,” he laughs. 4.00pm: In a state of affairs that’s anathema to some of our readers who have little time for such frippery, Ms Kate Carter esteemed editor of the Guardian’s Life & Style desk has lovingly compiled this gallery of headwear, in which she invites you to take your hats off for the the ladies of Royal Ascot as they mingle in their most momentous millinery, from stuffed flamingoes to Titantic mistakes . Enjoy. 3.55pm: From Chris Cook on-course … “Some very tired horses there. Holberg and Tastahil, tailed off, were eased to a walk before they reached the line,” he tweets. Ascot Gold Cup (345) – the result 1 Fame And Glory (J P Spencer) 11-8 Fav 2 Opinion Poll (M Barzalona) 16-1 3 Brigantin (P C Boudot) 16-1 15 ran Also: 14-1 Manighar 4th CSF: £22.97 Tricast: £272.62 The Ascot Gold Cup (3.45) – the race It’s Aim To Prosper from Tastahil, who is setting a decent gallop as they travel up the home straight, with Fame and Glory tucked in in a good position just behind the leaders with a circuit to go … still Tastahil, then Aim To Prosper, to Kolberg to Fame And Glory, on whom jockey Jamie Spencer has yet to move a muscle … with four furlongs to go Tastahil is being pressured on the outside by Duncan who kicks on from Aim To Prosper … but with Duncan heading for home two furlongs out, Fame And Glory takes the leads and bursts away from the field with Opinion Poll in hot pursuit. Fame And Glory wins the Ascot Gold Cup … making me look an even bigger idiot than usual in the process. Fame And Glory wins under Jamie Spencer for trainer Aidan O’Brien by a winning margin of three lengths. Opinion Poll was second and Brigantin was third. 3.47pm: The money’s pouring in for Fame And Glory, a favourite I think will get beaten. Some bookies in the ring are still going 11-8, although you can still get 7-4 on the exchanges. Not long now … Chris Cook on the post-Ribblesdale press conference Jim Bolger, who trains Bannimpire, was playfully reluctant about entering the press conference after his horse landed the Ribblesdale just now. “This is the downside of winning,” he said. The horse had raced as recently as Sunday and he would not normally bring a horse out again so quickly. “But she’s a very gross filly, she won’t mind my saying,” Bolger explained. “She eats and sleeps and does nothing at home. The only time she half-exerts herself is on the racecourse.” Bolger intends to aim her at next month’s Irish Oaks but hopes to find another race for her in the meantime. “The way she eats, she just might be in need of the race on the day if we can’t find something in between.” Earlier, Kevin Ryan had said he would enter his Norfolk Stakes winner, Bapak Chinta, in the Nunthorpe at York in August. The horse’s name is apparantly Malaysian for Fatherly Love. 3.41pm: More from Greg Wood in the parade ring … “Can’t find any real negatives so far, all v relaxed. Fame & Glory looks well, Duncan a grand sort too. Still don’t fancy either of them though,” he tweets. 3.39pm: This from Greg Wood in the parade ring … “Really liked Brigantin. No. 13 too, my late father’s lucky number,” he Tweets. Ulysses 1904-2011 Tony Paley writes: Meanwhile, back to Ulysses and the race itself. The 1904 Ascot Gold Cup was fully expected to be won by Sceptre who had remarkably won four Classic races in 1902, including the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas over two days and then the Oaks and the St Leger. Sceptre had finished second in the Coronation Cup at Epsom before she was pitched into the fray at Ascot. In the race itself Throwaway set a fair pace to Sceptre, with Maximum II just behind on the turn for home, when Sceptre slightly headed Throwaway, and Zinfandel took close order with him. Throwaway, however, stayed on, and won cleverly at the finish by a length with three parts of a length dividing Zinfandel in second and Sceptre in third. Here is how Joyce himself described the drama in Ulysses: ‘Madden had lost five drachmas on Sceptre for a whim of the rider’s name: Lenehan as much more. He told them of the race. The flag fell and, huuh! off, scamper, the mare ran out freshly with O. Madden up. She was leading the field. All hearts were beating. Even Phyllis could not contain herself. She waved her scarf and cried: Huzzah! Sceptre wins! But in the straight on the run home when all were in close order the dark horse Throwaway drew level, reached, outstripped her. All was lost now. Phyllis was silent: her eyes were sad anemones. Juno, she cried, I am undone. But her lover consoled her and brought her a bright casket of gold in which lay some oval sugarplums which she partook. A tear fell: one only. A whacking fine whip, said Lenehan, is W. Lane. Four winners yesterday and three today. What rider is like him? Mount him on the camel or the boisterous buffalo the victory in a hack canter is still his. But let us bear it as was the ancient wont. Mercy on the luckless! Poor Sceptre! he said with a light sigh. She is not the filly that she was. Never, by this hand, shall we behold such another. By gad, sir, a queen of them.’ 3.25pm: On the BBC, commentator Jim McGrath and former jump jockey-turned-pundit are going through the card for the Gold Cup. McGrath is concerned about the race being too stamina-sapping for the favourite, Fame and Glory, but Fitzgerald insists that there’s no better man than Jamie Spencer to switch the horse off and put it to sleep so that it’s got plenty left in the tank for the closing stages. In the betting rin, John Parrott and Gary Wiltshere reveal that Fame And Glory is 7-4 favourite, but suggest that with the amount of money pouring in for the Aidan O’Brien-trained jolly, it could go off at evens. Chris Cook’s Ascot Gold Cup (3.45) preview Supposedly the big race of the week, this is now something of an anachronism because Flat racers with the stamina for two and a half miles are badly out of fashion within the industry. The connections of today’s runners are doubtless delighted to be represented in a race with such a history of prestige but they would be even more delighted to own something fast enough to compete over a mile. Largely thanks to Yeats, it is seven years since the most recent British-trained winner (Papineau) and the betting market believes the prize will go to Ireland once more. Aidan O’Brien’s Fame And Glory is favourite and he deserves your respect as the winner of four Group Ones, including the Irish Derby and the Coronation Cup. Plus, he has plenty of experience of rain-softened ground, though he has never raced beyond a mile and three-quarters. Duncan ran on well to win last month’s Yorkshire Cup. He has sometimes looked a quirky sort but, alas for him, a gelding operation may have put an end to that and he has plenty of solid form to his name, having chased home Harbinger in a much shorter race at last year’s Royal meeting. Godolphin’s Holberg won the Queen’s Vase over two miles at the Royal meeting in 2009 but rain-softened ground was given as a partial explanation of his latest defeat, which makes you fear for his chances today. The veterans Geordieland and Kasbah Bliss are back for another crack at this prize and both have form of sufficient quality in the book, if you go back far enough. Hello and good afternoon, Glendenning here. We’ve a wealth of live sport going on this afternoon, so don’t forget that as well as following Royal Ascot, you can also keep tabs on England v Sri Lanka in the cricket with Andy Bull and The US Open in golf with Scott Murray. 3.11pm: Time to hand over to Barry Glendenning…. 3.09pm: 3.05pm Ribblesdale Fillies’ Stakes: the result 1. Banimpire (K J Manning) 2. Field of Miracles (R Hughes) 3. Dorcas Lane (P Hanagan) 4. Look at me (Ryan Moore) 3.06pm: 3.05pm Ribblesdale Fillies’ Stakes: the race they’re off….Sunday Best starts well….Field of Miracles leads as they come round the bend….followed by Sunday Bess and Musharakaat….Field of Miracles still leads….Sunday Bess has gone…..into the home straight….Field of Miracles leads….Field of Miracles being chased by Banimpire….Banimpire takes the lead and wins by less than a head….they may call for photofinish to make sure….. 3.05pm: Tony Paley writes: It is looking more than likely that Frankel the wonder horse will be going to Glorious Goodwood and the Sussex Stakes rather than the Juddmonte International Stakes later in August. The trainer of Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes winner, Henry Cecil, was collared by At The Races presenter Matt Chapman at Ascot today and he told him it was “probable” Frankel would go to Goodwood. Here is the Chapman (@MCYeeehaaa) tweet . 3.03pm: SkyBet’s MattDoyle tweets : Raining heavily with the fillies circling paddock for Ribblesdale. Zain Al Boldan is small and hard trained 3.05pm Ribblesdale Fillies’ Stakes: the odds Sportingbet says: Rumh 4 Banimpire 4 Highest 8 Zain Al Boldan 8 Dorcas Lane 8 Look At Me 10 ArizonaJewel 10 Bar 12 2.57pm: Cornelius Lysaght tweets : @MCYeeehaaa reporting Sir Henry Cecil told him it’s ‘probable’ Frankel to go for Glorious Goodwood clash with Canford Cliffs 2.55pm: Chris Cook’s update on the first race : Bapak Chinta means Fatherly Love, owner tells us. Will have an entry in Nunthorpe Chris Cook’s 3.05pm Ribblesdale Fillies’ Stakes Preview Godolphin enjoyed a major moment of glory with Rewilding in yesterday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes and may make it two for the week here with Rumh. Her trainer, Saeed bin Suroor, must certainly hope so, as he’s having a much less productive season so far than Godolphin’s other trainer, Mahmood al-Zarooni, who has both Rewilding and the Guineas winner Blue Bunting in his care. Godolphin insist that the two men are not competing but it would only be natural if Bin Suroor felt the need to prove himself once more and he has sent out the winner of this race for the past two years. Rumh hacked up by six lengths in a Listed race last week. Before that, she chased home Izzi Top and Dancing Rain at Newbury, which looks pretty good now that those two have been first and third in the Oaks. The favourite is Banimpire, trained by Jim Bolger, the Official Shrewdie of Royal Ascot. This filly is pretty tough, winning her fourth race of the year on Sunday. She has also run well in defeat on two occasions, including when fifth in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. If this turns into a test on rain-softened ground, Make My Heart Sing may come into the reckoning, even though jockey bookings suggests she is Aidan O’Brien’s second-string behind Look At Me. By Sadler’s Wells out of a Shirely Heights mare, Make My Heart Sing is bred to improve for time and distance. She won her maiden at Cork last month on her first try at today’s trip of a mile and a half. 2.49pm: Hats, hats, hats . 2.49pm: And here’s the Queen’s hat. Pink. 2.35pm: The best of the action in the first race came in the centre of the track. We will see if a pattern develops through the day. 2.30pm Norfolk Stakes: the result 1. Bapak Chinta (P Makin) 2. Boomerang Bob (S Sanders) 3. Crown Dependency (R Hughes) 4. Burwaaz (R Hills) 2.31pm: 2.30pm Norfolk Stakes: the race They’re off…Everyday Dave gets a good start…there’s a big pack in the middle of the course….five horses on the stands side…..Bapak Chinta near the front….it tires….but holds on to win…. 2.29pm: Geoffrey Riddle tweets from the paddock: Everyday Dave, Charles The Great and Bannock the best in the paddock for the Norfolk Stakes. Hardly original, but there you are. 2.27pm: Will the far side of the straight course come into play today? The rain has set into the track. 2.26pm: 2.30pm Norfolk Stakes: the odds Sportingbet says: Silverheels 11/2 Everyday Dave 11/2 Bapak Chinta 6 Crown Dependency 7 Bannock 7 Pymans Theory 10 Betfair says : Silverheels 6.6 Bannock 6.8 Everyday Dave 7.4 2.14pm: Know your place The Middleton family were to be found in the fourth carriage in the Royal procession. Ex-Racing Post correspondent James Willoughby tweets : Carol Middleton in Royal procession? Not so much as a guest, but to serve meals in a box and advise in case of emergency carriage evacuation 2.12pm: Hello, hello, hello Chris Cook writes: The limousines are not the only eye-catching vehicles here. Cleverly sited alongside the tracks in the station car park is a British Transport Police Custody Unit, immediately visible to anyone arriving by rail. “We’ve got six cells for those who misbehave themselves,” said a WPC, who politely declined a request for a quick inspection of the facility, opining that the Guardian’s reporter seemed a likely sort to get a closer look at some point in the week. 2.10pm: Ulysses 1904-2011 Tony Paley writes: As we return to the action in James Joyce’s Ulysses, Bantam Lyons, who is looking for an Ascot Gold Cup tip, is intrigued by Leopold Bloom’s exclamation: Bantam Lyons raised his eyes suddenly and leered weakly. — What’s that? his sharp voice said. — I say you can keep it, Mr Bloom answered. I was going to throw it away that moment. Bantam Lyons doubted an instant, leering: then thrust the outspread sheets back on Mr Bloom’s arms. — I’ll risk it, he said. Here, thanks. He sped off towards Conway’s corner. God speed scut. Lyons scurries off to back the outsider Throwaway on the mistaken assumption that Bloom has selected the beast . . . 2.01pm: The Queen’s hat… …is pink 1.55pm: Chris Cook’s 2.30pm Norfolk Stakes preview Here’s another of these two-year-old races, lots of horses with hardly any form in a five-furlong dash. On fast ground, you could get some help from the time figures that each has achieved so far but, after this morning’s rain, such evidence is much less compelling. Nine of the last 10 winners had won their previous start, which, in theory, reduces today’s 20 runners to eight possible winners. That being said, I like Bannock, beaten by Pyman’s Theory in Sandown’s National Stakes last time. He met serious traffic trouble that day and I make him an unlucky loser who is being under-rated at odds of 8-1. The American trainer Wesley Ward has had no luck so far this week but his Everyday Dave, an eight-length winner at Chantilly last month, looks like starting favourite. Bapak Chinta won a Hamilton maiden last month and that wouldn’t normally lead a horse to start at around 5-1 at Royal Ascot but he quickened three lengths clear of Frederick Engels, who, of course, won the Windsor Castle here on Tuesday. Then again, Shumoos had also beaten Frederick Engels before getting beaten herself (very narrowly) in yesterday’s Queen Mary. Pyman’s Theory is named after an idea put forward by the Racing Post’s James Pyman that the progeny of Exceed And Excel fare surprisingly well at Ascot. This filly comes from the Tom Dascombe stable that won the Sandringham yesterday and is by that sire, as is Ed Dunlop’s Burwaaz. Both are among the eight last-time-out winners in the field. Incidentally, Frederick Engels was also declared to run in this race but will not take part so soon after the Tuesday race and neither will Ballesteros, Caspar Netscher, Lupo D’Oro or Ebony Clarets, all of which have run earlier this week. Bear Behind, a fair fifth to Frederick Engels on Tuesday, is still expected to run. 1.37pm: Silly hat competition Chris Cook tweets: Silly hat – titanic being sunk by an iceberg http://twitpic.com/5cazk8 1.20pm: What colour hat will the Queen wear today? Francis Keogh tweets : Royal Ascot: Yellow fav for Queen’s hat. I reckon blue (via trainer @lawneyhill ) is the colour. Mr + Mrs Middleton in a carriage. No Kate 1.03pm: The going Chris Cook writes: After 11mm of rain this morning, the going is officially good to soft, soft in places. The clerk of the course, Chris Stickels, says he is “very pleased” with how the home straight has taken the downpour and it is worth bearing in mind that it has generally drained very well since it was relaid a few years ago. Skybet’s Matt Doyle advises me of the following market movers. Silverheels is 11-2 from 7-1 in the opener at 2.30 and, as a son of Verglas, should appreciate any give. Rumh is a “warm order” in the Ribblesdale, though the 7-2 is holding for now. Fame And Glory has been trimmed to 9-4 from 5-2 for the Gold Cup, while each-way punters are backing Aaim To Prosper (40-1 from 50s). High-drawn runners are all the rage in the Britannia, with Belgian Bill 8-1 from 11s. Brown Panther is 5-1 from 7s in the last after “solid, professional money”. Ulysses 1904-2011 Tony Paley writes: James Joyce’s Ulysses takes place on 16 June 1904 and the running of the Ascot Gold Cup on that day plays an integral part in the adventures of the central character, Leopold Bloom, as he traverses the Dublin streets. The references to the race mainly take place in chapter 5 (“The Lotus Eaters”) As we join our hero he has bumped into the unsavoury Bantam Lyons who is looking for a tip: At his armpit Bantam Lyons’ voice and hand said: — Hello, Bloom. What’s the best news? Is that today’s [paper]? Show us a minute. Shaved off his moustache again, by Jove! Long cold upper lip. To look younger. He does look balmy. Younger than I am. Bantam Lyons’s yellow blacknailed fingers unrolled the baton. Wants a wash too. Take off the rough dirt. Good morning, have you used Pears’ soap? Dandruff on his shoulders. Scalp wants oiling. — I want to see about that French horse that’s running today, Bantam Lyons said. Where the bugger is it? He rustled the pleated pages, jerking his chin on his high collar. Barber’s itch. Tight collar he’ll lose his hair. Better leave him the paper and get shut of him. — You can keep it, Mr Bloom said. — Ascot. Gold cup. Wait, Bantam Lyons muttered. Half a mo. Maximum the second. — I was just going to throw it away, Mr Bloom said. For those of you unfamiliar with James Joyce’s original, O Brother Where Art Thou? is a modern Hollywood take on the story. Everett Ulysses McGill (George Clooney), Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and Pete (John Turturro). 12.44pm: Silliest hat of the day competition Chris Cook has spotted this hat at Ascot today. Fashion writer Imogen Fox says: “I think it looks like she was inspired by the Louise Bourgeois spider at the Tate Modern. She looks like the kind of woman that favours her fashion with an art reference thrown in.” We’re sure there will be more contestants to come…. 12.34pm: The NFL comes to Royal Ascot Chris Cook writes : Yesterday, I met Wes Welker. This may mean little to you but it was pretty staggering to me, because I enjoy a bit of American Football and so I know that he plays as a wide receiver for the New England Patriots. He holds quite a few records and is the only receiver in the history of the game to have 110 or more catches in three different seasons. More importantly, he is also part-owner of Gypsy Robin, who ran in the Queen Mary yesterday. Still, I was assured by some American broadcasters that he would not have made the journey, so there was no point in getting excited. As the jockey was getting legged-up, I wandered over to talk to the group of top-hatted men who I took to be his other owners. “Wes Welker?” one of them replied when I asked. “Yeah, we know him. He’s a really great guy. I hear he has an enormous cock.” Beginning to suspect, I looked at this man’s Royal Enclosure badge. “Wes Welker,” it said. Oh God. Boasting aside, he could not have been more charming. “I’m very nervous right now,” he said. “We had an opportunity to come here to Royal Ascot and I thought, I can’t miss this.” Welker has no family connection with horse racing but has had a longstanding appreciation for the sport which he is now in a position to indulge. “I enjoy it deeply. I’ve always kind of enjoyed it, the competition of it all. “I got in touch with some friends that have friends in the business. Now I’m a minority owner that’s having a fun time with it. “I’m here until Sunday and then I get back home to start training again.” Gypsy Robin must have given him a thrill by going off like a scalded cat but, alas, she couldn’t keep up such a pace and faded. Still, it was action of a kind. Welker must hope that the dispute between NFL team-owners and the players can be resolved so that he himself can step back in front of the cameras at some point later this year. 12.33pm: Will Hayler’s tips Having recommended Opinion Poll as a value bet in the Gold Cup at the 33-1 which was available in a place yesterday, Godolphin’s soft-ground lover represents considerably less in the way of value at the 16-1 to which he has shortened already this morning. But with conditions having evidently turned in his favour after six hours of persistent rain (which now, finally, seems to have ended), it’s no surprise to see punters looking in his direction. Former trainer Michael Jarvis used to withdraw the horse whenever the ground was on the fast side of good and although Godolphin have been less discriminatory, the vast majority of his best performances have come when the word ‘soft’ has appeared in the going description. It’s not going to be bottomless by any means. The drainage on the straight course is so effective that it probably can’t ever be much worse than good to soft again on that stretch of the track. But if you already had any doubts about Fame And Glory seeing out the two and a half miles, his prospects of doing so cannot have been improved by this morning’s weather, particularly if Tastahil and/or Fictional Account set out from the front to make it a thorough test. Another interesting punting aspect to this morning’s rain will be to examine the influence it plays on the results of the big-field handicaps on the straight course. Jockeys on horses drawn high got the best of neither world when drifting across to the middle of the track in yesterday’s Hunt Cup, but hopefully a more substantial number of runners in today’s Britannia will be prepared to look for fresh ground, where the rain hasn’t got into the poached soil, between the middle and the far rail. That’s where the Goingstick has suggested conditions might be quickest in any case. I might just try a trifecta permutation of the eight lowest-drawn horses in the race to test out the theory. 12.20pm: The going Chris Cook writes: The going was still officially good at 9am but officials say they will check again before racing and expect to change it, in light of the rain that has been falling since 7am. “We are forecast heavy showers on and off all day,” says Chris Stickels, the clerk of the course, “but the worst are meant to be over by the end of this morning, hopefully.” Showers are also due for the next two days. 11.57am: Wish you were there? While a fabulous day of racing lies ahead, if you are sat in an office somewhere you can console yourself with the thought that the weather has so far been less kind than on the first two days. Here is a gallery of the best images of the day so far. The gallery will be updated with new pictures through the day. 11.49am: Tony Paley’s Royal Ascot: James Joyce and more 1. What is it like to own a horse running at Royal Ascot? Daily Telegraph scribe Matthew Norman once owned a leg in a Thoroughbred and he recounts his travails here . 2. Sheikh Mohammed has been rather more successful than Norman and can be forgiven for getting a little jiggy after the victory of his Rewilding following a pulsating battle with So You Think in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes yesterday. The ruler of Dubai tweeted with a link to a Facebook page highlighting the win this morning. 3. Legendary Australian trainer Bart Cummings made no secret of the fact that he was mightily upset when So You Think was taken from his stable by the Coolmore mob and sent to race with Aidan O’Brien. Cummings caused a furore recently when he said the racing over here “isn’t worth two bob.” O’Brien fessed up that he might have left So You Think a little short of work and Cummings put the boot in this morning on Sky Sports Radio. Read what he had to say here . 4. Today is Bloomsday when fans of James Joyce celebrate the exact day the action in his most famous work, Ulysses, was set. By coincidence it is also Ascot Gold Cup day as it was in 1904 when Leopold Bloom made his odyssey around Dublin. Here is the background to the significance of the race in the book . We will be bringing you James Joyce quotes through the day to sate your literary thirst…. 11.30am: Ladies’ Day preview Will Hayler writes: “Opinion Poll can defy the favourite to land Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.” Chris Cook writes: “Kieren Fallon says he has settled dispute with Native Khan owner Araci.” The best of Royal Ascot 2011 Day Two Greg Wood writes: “Frankie Dettori’s Ascot win upsets punters and stewards.” Will Hayler writes: “Frankie Dettori foils So You Think in Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot.” Greg Wood writes: “Aidan O’Brien takes blame after favourite So You Think comes up short.” Catch up with Day Two’s Live blog . A beautiful gallery by Steve Bloor of the best images of day two. Bet365′s tipping competition You could win a £50 bet from Bet365 by proving your tipping prowess on today’s races. All you have to do is give us your selections for all of today’s races at Ascot. As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price. Non-runners count as losers. Please post all your tips in a single posting, using the comment facility below, before the first race at 2.30pm. There are six races at Ascot today and you must post a single selection for each race. Our usual terms and conditions, which you can read here will apply, except that this will be a strictly one-day thing. If we get a tie after all the races have been run, the winner will be the one who posted their tips earliest out of those with the highest score. If you don’t win today, you will still have a final chance to do so tomorrow. Congratulations to snowy81 , who won yesterday’s competition. He had the highly impressive treble of Julienas (12-1), Best Terms (12-1) and Rewilding (17-2). Racecard 2.30 Norfolk Stakes Will Hayler: Burwaaz; Top Form: Bapak Chinta (nap) 3.05 Ribblesdale Stakes Will Hayler: Arizona Jewel; Top Form: Banimpire 3.45 Ascot Gold Cup Will Hayler: Opinion Poll; Top Form: Holberg 4.25 Britannia Stakes Will Hayler: Belgian Bill; Top Form: Sagramor (nb) 5.00 Tercentenary Stakes Will Hayler: Tazahum; Top Form: Alkimos 5.35 King George V Handicap Will Hayler: Census (nap); Top Form: Census Twitter The best of our team’s tweets will be on this blog, but you can follow our Royal Ascot team here: Tony Paley , Greg Wood , Chris Cook , Barry Glendenning , Will Hayler and Steve Busfield . Royal Ascot Horse racing Steve Busfield Barry Glendenning Tony Paley Greg Wood Chris Cook Will Hayler guardian.co.uk
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