XPost: alt.fan.sean-hannity, talk.politics.misc, alt.politics.democrats   
   XPost: alt.war.civil.usa   
   From: nigger-lovers@disney.com   
      
   Congressman Alcee Hastings, an outspoken and sometimes   
   controversial figure in Florida and Washington, has died after   
   battling pancreatic cancer. He was 84.   
      
   Hastings began his career as a civil rights lawyer. In 1979,   
   President Jimmy Carter appointed him to a U.S. District Court   
   seat, making him Florida's first African American federal judge.   
      
   Two years later, Hastings was indicted by a federal grand jury   
   and later convicted on conspiracy and obstruction of justice   
   charges for soliciting a bribe. While he was acquitted of the   
   charges in a second trial, in 1988 the House of Representatives   
   voted to impeach Hastings for his role in the bribery scandal.   
   He was convicted in the Senate and removed from the federal   
   bench.   
      
   In 1992, he ran and was elected to Congress. For nearly three   
   decades he represented communities in Miami-Dade, Broward and in   
   later years when his district was redrawn, Palm Beach County.   
   Hastings was Florida's longest-serving member of Congress. An   
   ardent Democrat, he was an outspoken critic of former President   
   Donald Trump and a champion of progressive causes.   
      
   Controversies surrounding Hastings continued after he entered   
   Congress. In 2017, Roll Call reported the Treasury Department   
   paid $220,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by a   
   former congressional staffer. Hastings denied the charges and   
   said he was "outraged" at the settlement.   
      
   In 2019, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into   
   Hastings and his relationship with a staffer. House rules do not   
   allow members of Congress to be romantically involved with   
   staff, but spouses are allowed to work in their offices. The   
   committee's investigation ended after it was disclosed that   
   Hastings and the staffer had married.   
      
   Hastings announced he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in   
   2019, but continued to work until his death. News of his passing   
   brought condolences from Democratic and Republican colleagues   
   alike.   
      
   "Today, our Congressional community has been devastated by the   
   passing of a cherished colleague, the Dean of the Florida   
   Delegation: Congressman Alcee Hastings," said House Speaker   
   Nancy Pelosi in a statement. "Congressman Hastings was a beloved   
   son of Florida, a respected leader in our Democratic Caucus and   
   in the Congress. As an icon of the Congressional Black Caucus,   
   he was an historic force in our nation's politics. His passing   
   is a great loss for America."   
      
   Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat whose   
   district adjoined Hastings', said, "Florida has lost a   
   brilliant, fearless, giant-hearted advocate for this state that   
   he dearly loved, and Congress has lost a wise, patient and   
   compassionate statesman. I have lost a treasured friend and true   
   mentor, someone I constantly leaned on for sage counsel."   
      
   Republican Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who served with   
   Hastings on the House Rules Committee, called him a "good friend   
   and valued colleague." In a statement, he said, "He fought an   
   heroic battle against cancer with personal courage, good humor &   
   incredible dedication to his duties as a Member of Congress."   
      
   Hastings' death further narrows what is already a razor-thin   
   majority for Democrats in the House, bringing it to 218 to 211.   
   A special election in Hastings' reliably blue district will be   
   held to fill a seat that he won by 57 points in 2020.   
      
   https://www.npr.org/2021/04/06/984756651/longtime-florida-   
   congressman-alcee-hastings-dies-at-84   
       
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)