Redtracker

1. Montana’s District Judge G. Todd Baugh has called rapist Stacey Rambold, 54, of Billings back to court Friday, saying that his suspended sentence of 30 days in jail may have been illegal. Nevertheless, demands that Baugh resign continue unabated.

It’s not clear that the judge can redo his lenient sentence of Rambold, who was sentenced last week to 15 years with all but 31 days suspended and a one day credit for time served in the rape of 14-year-old, now dead from suicide Cherise Moralez.

In his sentencing Judge Baugh asserted that Moralez was older than her chronological age and very complicite in what happened to her, given her own control over the situation.

Prosecutors sought 20 years prison with 10 years suspended for Rambold, describeding his actions with Moralez as “the ultimate violation” of the trust she had placed in him as a teacher. An appeal may be required to change the sentence. via ABC News

2. Katie Couric is marrying her boyfriend of almost two years, financier John Molner, head of mergers and acquisitions at Brown Brothers Harriman.

“It’s actually surprising to me that it has been almost 15 years and I haven’t remarried,” she told More magazine after she and Molner had been dating for about a year. “I think life is more fun when you have someone in your life. And I always wanted to find a father figure for my daughters, but it hasn’t worked out that way. I’ve had long-term relationships, but they haven’t turned into lifelong partners.”

Molner, 50, proposed on a beach in East Hampton, NY over Labor Day weekend. Couric, 56, returns on Sept. 9 for a second season of her talk show Katie.

3. Slate Magazine digests Planned Parenthood’s new poll that says voters oppose an abortion ban at 20 weeks. It’s very difficult to read a factual, unbiased analysis of the emotional politics surrounding late term abortions. William Saletan’s analysis doesn’t challenge the medically-unproven assertion that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks.

The new PP poll claims that “when voters understand the real-world circumstances of these abortions”, “they overwhelmingly oppose” banning them, with 60 percent of support.

Given the reality that only 1 percent of abortions occur after 21 weeks, the circumstances in which they occur usually involve severe abnormalities in the fetus. Slate concludes that the prochoice debate around abortion access afte 20 weeks MUST focus on this reality, and not unfettered abortion access, to carry the debate. Otherwise, the prolife assertion that the mother is being capricious and selfish in seeking an abortion will result in a negative public opinion against her.

4. Teresa Heinz Kerry took her seat behind Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin E. Dempsey on Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday, in her first public appearance since suffering a seizure on July 7. Her husband, US Secretary of State John Kerry was testifying at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US action in Syria.

In an interesting twist of political logic, it’s Democrats who must muscle through support for President Obama’s desire to take limited, humanitarian action in Syria. Politico writes that with a majority of House Republicans unlikely to support action, Pelosi is facing an unusual test of lining up Dems with House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Hillary Clinton supports President Obama’s modified proposals against Syria.

5. Brad Dayspring, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, called Kentucky Democratic challenger to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) Alison Lundergan an “empty dress”, in response to news that the candidate has pulled slightly ahead of McConnell in the polls. Her lead in two polls organized by Democrats is within the margin of error.

LA entertainment power broker Jeffrey Katzenberg has emailed an undisclosed list of asking them to turn out to support Grimes at events in Los Angeles on Seot. 26.

Katzenberg wrote: “Alison is the antidote to McConnell and all he represents. She can win, and she will win if she gets the support she needs.” The events in Los Angeles, Katzenberg says, “will be a chance to help her seize the momentum and get her campaign off to an early and strong start.”

Politico writes that Sen. McConnell began his campaign with $10 million in reserve.