Tuesday, July 28, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-joe-biden-run-for-president/


Should Joe Biden run for president?
By STEPHANIE CONDON
CBS NEWS
July 27, 2015

Photograph -- Vice President Joe Biden speaks to workers at Bobrick Washroom Equipment in Los Angeles on July 22, 2015, where he came to discuss the "importance of increasing the minimum wage to give anyone who works hard every day the chance to earn a livable wage.'' FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Vice President Joe Biden has yet to say whether he'll throw his hat into the ring for the White House, and Democrats across the country are wondering for how much longer they'll have to wait to find out.

Biden's potential candidacy was up for debate last week among a group of Democrats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Boston Globe reports. Some Democrats in the key early-nominating state aren't waiting any longer for him.

"It was time to make a move," longtime Biden supporter Dave O'Brien told the Globe. O'Brien recently signed up to assist Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "I would feel horrible if Joe were to decide to run and I was not at his side, but my word is good and my commitment has been made," O'Brien said.

Meanwhile, the group Draft Biden -- a super PAC formed by the Democrats' grassroots supporters -- is ratcheting up its campaign to recruit the VP into the race. On Friday, the group released a digital ad in which a diverse group of people declare they are "ridin' with Biden."

"He is right now a part of one of the most influential administrations this country has seen in recent history, and he's a big reason for that success," one Biden supporter says in the ad.

Over the weekend, Draft Biden held a series of events as part of its National Day of Action, including meet-ups in Iowa, South Carolina, Virginia, California, Illinois, Biden's home state of Delaware, and elsewhere. Yet as the Boston Globe noted, the group has raised just around $80,000 in the last three months.

Biden has said he'll make a decision about entering the race by the end of the summer, though the longer he waits, the more difficult it will be to lock down support from big-name donors or build up campaign infrastructure.

But just last month, CBS News' Julianna Goldman reported that Biden was in no position to make a decision about 2016, given the recent death of his 46-year-old son Beau Biden.

"He's just not in the right state of mind" to think about the race, Goldman reported last month after talking to sources close to Biden.

At the same time, Goldman reported, "People around him think he'd be able to activate a donor network pretty quickly." Moreover, he as motivation to run: "He's passionate about the plight of the middle class," she said.

One big factor may be how well Clinton's campaign does this summer. Biden "doesn't want to get in just to be a sparring partner for Hillary Clinton," Goldman said.

Over the course of the past year, Biden has maintained a consistent base of support -- hovering around 10 percent -- among Democratic voters both nationally and in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

While Clinton has dominated the race for the Democratic nomination, there's clearly at least some thirst among Democrats for an alternative. Since outspoken liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, entered the race, his support among Democrats nationally has risen to nearly 20 percent.

Meanwhile, Clinton could become more politically vulnerable as Republicans continue to shine a harsh spotlight on her use of a private email account as secretary of state. More of her emails from her tenure in the Obama administration are slated to be released this week. And the issue is sure to come up when Clinton publicly testifies later this year before the House Select Committee on Benghazi.

The focus on her emails could keep Clinton from talking about issues that really matter to voters, Bloomberg Politics managing editor John Heilemann said on CBS This Morning on Monday.

"This issue is blotting out the sun for her in terms of her trying to get her message out," he said. The issue, he said, "will continue to dog her until she eventually has to answer every question -- as her husband likes to say, until the last dog dies."




“Meanwhile, the group Draft Biden -- a super PAC formed by the Democrats' grassroots supporters -- is ratcheting up its campaign to recruit the VP into the race. On Friday, the group released a digital ad in which a diverse group of people declare they are "ridin' with Biden." …. But just last month, CBS News' Julianna Goldman reported that Biden was in no position to make a decision about 2016, given the recent death of his 46-year-old son Beau Biden. "He's just not in the right state of mind" to think about the race, Goldman reported last month after talking to sources close to Biden. At the same time, Goldman reported, "People around him think he'd be able to activate a donor network pretty quickly." Moreover, he as motivation to run: "He's passionate about the plight of the middle class," she said. …. Over the course of the past year, Biden has maintained a consistent base of support -- hovering around 10 percent -- among Democratic voters both nationally and in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire. While Clinton has dominated the race for the Democratic nomination, there's clearly at least some thirst among Democrats for an alternative. Since outspoken liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, entered the race, his support among Democrats nationally has risen to nearly 20 percent. …. More of her emails from her tenure in the Obama administration are slated to be released this week. And the issue is sure to come up when Clinton publicly testifies later this year before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The focus on her emails could keep Clinton from talking about issues that really matter to voters ….”

I’m in a quandary. Bernie may be overshadowed by the fear among our blue collar workers of the term “socialist;” Hillary has “I don’t bake cookies” through to Benghazi to overcome; Biden is considered by some to be careless in what he says and sometimes handy with the ladies. He is a handsome and pleasant man, after all. The others are not as well-known as leaders in the party. They need to step forward and announce their intentions while defining their operating principles clearly.

Personally right now I want to see Sanders come forward strongly into the lead because he has the right principles for a free and economically sound nation which takes care of its’ human beings rather than merely its’ corporations and very wealthy individuals. He’s my man.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-lawyer-you-cannot-rape-your-spouse/

Trump's lawyer apologizes for saying "You cannot rape your spouse"
By REBECCA KAPLAN CBS NEWS
July 28, 2015

Donald Trump's lawyer apologized Tuesday for comments he made to a "Daily Beast" reporter saying, "You cannot rape your spouse."

"Rarely am I surprised by the press, but the gall of this particular reporter to make such a reprehensible and false allegation against Mr. Trump truly stunned me. In my moment of shock and anger, I made an inarticulate comment - which I do not believe - and which I apologize for entirely," Cohen said in a statement.

The lawyer, Michael Cohen, made threats against a reporter who was writing about a decades-old allegation of rape by Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump. Ivana Trump used the term "rape" to describe a sexual encounter between her and her husband when she was giving a deposition during the couple's 1990 divorce.

"You're talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody. And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can't rape your spouse," Cohen had told "The Daily Beast." "You cannot rape your spouse. And there's very clear case law."

By 1993, marital rape was illegal in all 50 states. New York's marital rape exception was struck down in 1984.

Ivana Trump has gradually walked back the "rape" accusation since 1990. In a statement provided to CBS News after the "Daily Beast" story was published, she said she made the allegation "at a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald."

"The story is totally without merit," she said. "Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised 3 children that we love and are very proud of. I have nothing but fondness for Donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign."

"Incidentally," she added, "I think he would make an incredible president."

In 1993, reporter Harry Hurt III published a book called "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump" that included an extended description of the alleged rape scene. At the time, Ivana Trump provided a statement that was published in the book that said, "I felt violated" during the 1989 incident. She acknowledges she referred to it as a "rape," but said, "I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense."

In the story published by "The Daily Beast," Cohen not only vigorously denied the rape charges but is also quoted telling reporter Tim Mak, "I'm going to mess your life up."

"I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we're in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don't have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know," Cohen said. "So I'm warning you, tread very f***ing lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting. You understand me?"

In an interview on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday, Mak said the situation "devolved pretty quickly."

Mak said he was prompted to look into any rape charges against Trump after the presidential candidate described Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists in his announcement speech.

He said that Trump should respond to the rape allegations.

"Trump should be held accountable for this allegation. He should be asked pretty directly what he thinks of it and how he would like to respond," Mak said on "CBS This Morning."

He added that since Michael Cohen has represented Trump in the media on past occasions, "it's very obvious that Trump has had no problem with Michael Cohen, his special counsel, speaking on his behalf in the past."

As for the threats made by Cohen, Mak said he's not that worried.

"I'm all that concerned what might be coming my way. I think he should be asked a few hard questions whether he agrees with his lawyer's interpretation of law, which is wrong, that spousal rape exists and its not illegal," he said.




“In my moment of shock and anger, I made an inarticulate comment - which I do not believe - and which I apologize for entirely," Cohen said in a statement. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, made threats against a reporter who was writing about a decades-old allegation of rape by Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump. Ivana Trump used the term "rape" to describe a sexual encounter between her and her husband when she was giving a deposition during the couple's 1990 divorce. …. ." "You cannot rape your spouse. And there's very clear case law." By 1993, marital rape was illegal in all 50 states. New York's marital rape exception was struck down in 1984. …. "The story is totally without merit," she said. "Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised 3 children that we love and are very proud of. I have nothing but fondness for Donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign." …. In 1993, reporter Harry Hurt III published a book called "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump" that included an extended description of the alleged rape scene. At the time, Ivana Trump provided a statement that was published in the book that said, "I felt violated" during the 1989 incident. She acknowledges she referred to it as a "rape," but said, "I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense." …. . And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know," Cohen said. "So I'm warning you, tread very f***ing lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting. You understand me?" In an interview on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday, Mak said the situation "devolved pretty quickly." …. As for the threats made by Cohen, Mak said he's not that worried. "I'm all that concerned what might be coming my way. I think he should be asked a few hard questions whether he agrees with his lawyer's interpretation of law, which is wrong, that spousal rape exists and it’s not illegal," he said.”

Politicians and lawyers should be ever so honest financially, ethical in relation to their fellow man, and well controlled in their use or abuse of power. If they were we would call them “statesmen” and purveyors of justice. Unfortunately a good quarter or more of them are greedy and unscrupulous. This lawyer Cohen is obviously in that category. He also has a personal bond with Trump I would think, or he wouldn’t respond with such anger in Trump’s defense. That outburst of profanity went beyond defense into the realm of fury. I wonder how many late night talks they have had over drinks discussing the sexuality and inferiority of women. He definitely should have known that the supposed legality of spousal rape had been overturned. If he knew it, why did he spontaneously come out with such a comment when defending Trump against the Daily Beast. They are known to be left of center or at least left of the Tea Party, but that is their right – freedom of the press, you know. He threatened this reporter Mak, saying "I'm going to mess your life up." That didn’t stop Mak from making his own strong, but comparatively more cogent response with no profanity. If he’s afraid, he doesn’t show it.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/principals-suicide-forged-tests-teachers-college-community-school-new-york/

Principal's suicide, forged tests rock NYC school
CBS/AP July 28, 2015

Photograph -- Teachers College Community School in Harlem
GOOGLE MAPS

NEW YORK -- Jeanene Worrell-Breeden had what she called a dream job running a public school linked with Columbia University's Teachers College when she killed herself by jumping in front of a subway car this spring.

Three months later, the city Department of Education says there was more to her sad story: The principal had fudged answers on third-graders' state English exams, and authorities learned of the cheating allegations the same day she made her fatal leap. All the school's third-grade English scores have been thrown out in the first year its students took the important test.

The scandal has stirred sorrow and uncertainty after a promising start for Teachers College Community School and clouded the career of a Wall Street worker-turned-educator who'd earned praise for her approach.

"People are devastated," Sanayi Canton, a second-grade parent and president of a local education panel, said Monday. "It has always been a very open and honest and transparent situation that we've been a part of."

The allegations, which the city Education Department said it substantiated, come amid debate over testing and the national standards known as the Common Core; teachers' unions and some parents say education is too driven by high-pressure tests, while officials say tests are tools to improve schools. Educators have been accused of doctoring scores before; 11 were convicted of criminal charges in a notorious Atlanta case this April.

Meanwhile, Teachers College Community School seemed poised to prosper in its first round of Common Core tests, which factor in teacher and principal evaluations.

Intended to pair a public school with the research and other capacities of a noted teacher-education program, Teachers College Community School boasts $30 million in backing from Columbia, graduate students helping out in classrooms and such extra features as a robotics program. Opened in 2011, the Harlem school is on track to enroll over 200 students in prekindergarten to fourth grade. Plans ultimately call for about 300 students going up to eighth grade.

Worrell-Breeden, 49, came to the $138,000-a-year job from six years as principal at a Bronx elementary school and over two decades in the city school system.

"This is a chance to build the school of my dreams," the former finance worker said in a Teachers College profile at the time.

The school quickly developed a reputation that drew 464 applications for 50 kindergarten spots this year. A 2013 Education Department review praised its supportive environment and "deep sense of trust and respect," while suggesting tougher academic challenges for top students. Parents appreciated the tone of openness that Worrell-Breeden set, including through regular parent breakfasts.

"We don't have one bad thing to say" about the school, said kindergarten parent Kathie Holsenbeck. "And that's why it's so unfortunate that the actions of one person are going to taint it - because it really shouldn't."

Parents were stunned when they heard in April that Worrell-Breeden had died, unsettled again when officials said the English test scores were being invalidated. But it would be months before they learned the whole truth, parents said.

Worrell-Breeden was seen leaping onto a Harlem subway track on April 17, police said. Her death eight days later was ruled a suicide.

The day she jumped, someone told Education Department investigators that Worrell-Breeden had confided she forged answers on multiple third-graders' April 14 exams because the children hadn't finished them, according to a department memo released Monday.

It's unclear whether she knew about the investigation, first reported by the New York Post. The Education Department said Worrell-Breeden died without being questioned, but the agency wouldn't say whether she had been contacted about the allegations.

A working telephone number for her family couldn't immediately be found.

The school referred questions to the Education Department, where spokeswoman Devora Kaye emphasized the importance of test integrity and said the agency was working to help the school. Pupils won't be held back because of the invalid results, officials said.

Teachers College spokesman Jim Gardner said it remains committed to the school.

So do parents such as Holsenbeck and Canton, even if they feel bewildered.

"Why would she do that? . . . It doesn't fit her personality," Canton said. "It's a lot of unanswered questions."

The New York Post reported that Teachers College Community School and hired Worrell-Breeden despite a 2009 investigation that found she was collecting overtime pay while she was actually training with a personal trainer at her former school in the Bronx.




“The scandal has stirred sorrow and uncertainty after a promising start for Teachers College Community School and clouded the career of a Wall Street worker-turned-educator who'd earned praise for her approach. "People are devastated," Sanayi Canton, a second-grade parent and president of a local education panel, said Monday. "It has always been a very open and honest and transparent situation that we've been a part of." The allegations, which the city Education Department said it substantiated, come amid debate over testing and the national standards known as the Common Core; teachers' unions and some parents say education is too driven by high-pressure tests, while officials say tests are tools to improve schools. Educators have been accused of doctoring scores before; 11 were convicted of criminal charges in a notorious Atlanta case this April. …. Intended to pair a public school with the research and other capacities of a noted teacher-education program, Teachers College Community School boasts $30 million in backing from Columbia, graduate students helping out in classrooms and such extra features as a robotics program. …. . A 2013 Education Department review praised its supportive environment and "deep sense of trust and respect," while suggesting tougher academic challenges for top students. …. The day she jumped, someone told Education Department investigators that Worrell-Breeden had confided she forged answers on multiple third-graders' April 14 exams because the children hadn't finished them, according to a department memo released Monday. It's unclear whether she knew about the investigation, first reported by the New York Post. The Education Department said Worrell-Breeden died without being questioned, but the agency wouldn't say whether she had been contacted about the allegations.”

Several years ago there was a case of teachers standing over the shoulders of students who were taking the test and telling them the answers, and to erase their original answer. Another case in the news mentioned that the grading service for a test had found a suspiciously large number of erasures on student tests. Teachers for years have been trying to influence the scores, either by directly cheating or by “teaching to the test.” After all, what the students write on their tests can make or break the ratings that both teachers and schools are given. Failing students mean s a failing school.

It is sad that this principal actually committed suicide, but she should have resisted the temptation to cheat on the tests. That isn’t a good solution to the problems caused, some think, by Common Core, in that the number and difficulty of annual tests given to kids nowadays may be detrimental rather than helpful. I agree with that. We had no such situation as teachers “teaching to the test,” or – heaven forbid – cheating on the kids scores, when I was in school. I do remember several standardized tests, but there weren’t as many as now, and I didn’t find them very difficult. The logical purpose of testing is to see what each individual student has learned and improve on it if possible. Moving a whole group of kids forward without the inevitable variances in their abilities is probably not the best goal. Tutoring on an individual basis or summer school for an entire classroom who all did poorly would be appropriate. Teachers should be observed occasionally in the classroom to see how well they explain and present material, and maintain discipline. That’s my view. Standardized tests shouldn’t become such a burden that both kids and school officials are really traumatized, and that is what happened in this particular case. Besides, the idea that there is no room for argument and discussion on the matter of what, after all, is true, is to me brainwashing and much too controlling. My best teachers encouraged discussion rather than rote memorization of sound bites of information. Kids who question more will inevitably learn more. They will enjoy the process and will read on their own beyond the school assignments. That’s a good thing. I know, they might pick up controversial ideas that way, but in balance they will do much better. The only memorization I defend is those long elegant poems such as “The Raven” and “The Rime of The Ancient Mariner.” Listening to those is good for the soul. Some highly technical information such as medical or legal knowledge has to be at least partially memorized, but that isn’t taught in high school.

I think Common Core is useful in bringing curricula in line with a better definition of a quality education. Subjects like the internment of the Japanese in WWII and the hideous Tuskegee syphilis experiment were entirely unknown to me, and I must say beyond my imagination. I couldn’t believe our government had done such things. Everybody in this country hated Hitler, but we were doing some of the same things, including eugenics programs. Many conservatives hate Common Core as being anti-American, because it teaches science and American history in a way more in line with high quality University courses. In other words under Common Core, science is not presented according to fundamentalist Biblical standards; the historical treatment of American Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics and blacks is not whitewashed as it used to be in high school in my day; the environmental issues such as global warming due to greenhouse gases are presented to young children as serious problems for our own and future generations; the view that poverty is directly caused by laziness, inferiority and dishonesty, etc.; and finally, the view that government should not interfere with that poverty/wealth cycle that we see increasingly in this country is being openly questioned. Being kind to gay kids, etc. is encouraged under Common Core, for instance.

Governor Perry of Texas, for one example, has tried to water this modern “liberal” teaching down in his Texas textbooks. Rewriting textbooks for that purpose is a big “No-No” to me. The Republicans and other conservatives are largely owned body and soul by the Koch brothers and the business community in general, so, to them the USA should be 1) a Christian nation, 2) an absolutely controllable population, and therefore educated no more than they “need” to be to do a particular job, 3) the perfect business environment for the very wealthy and for huge corporations.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gruesome-find-100-bodies-stuffed-into-ancient-house/

Gruesome find: 100 bodies stuffed into ancient house
By OWEN JARUS
LIVESCIENCE.COM
July 28, 2015

Photograph -- The 5,000-year-old house found in China was about 14 by 15 feet in size. PHOTO COURTESY CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY

The remains of 97 human bodies have been found stuffed into a small 5,000-year-old house in a prehistoric village in northeast China, researchers report in two separate studies.

The bodies of juveniles, young adults and middle-age adults were packed together in the house -- smaller than a modern-day squash court -- before it burnt down. Anthropologists who studied the remains say a "prehistoric disaster," possibly an epidemic of some sort, killed these people.

The site, whose modern-day name is "Hamin Mangha," dates back to a time before writing was used in the area, when people lived in relatively small settlements, growing crops and hunting for food. The village contains the remains of pottery, grinding instruments, arrows and spearheads, providing information on their way of life. [In Photos: Remains of 'End of World' Epidemic Found in Ancient Egypt]

"Hamin Mangha site is the largest and best-preserved prehistoric settlement site found to date in northeast China," a team of archaeologists wrote in a translated report published in the most recent edition of the journal Chinese Archaeology (the original report appeared in Chinese in the journal Kaogu). In one field season, between April and November 2011, the researchers found the foundations of 29 houses, most of which are simple one-room structures containing a hearth and doorway.

hamin-mangha-1.jpg
Archaeologists found nearly 100 bodies in a small house in northeast China. The house burned down at some point, leaving some of the bodies charred and deformed. PHOTO COURTESY CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY

The house with the bodies, dubbed "F40," was just 210 square feet (about 20 square meters). "On the floor, numerous human skeletons are disorderly scattered," the archaeologists wrote.

Photos taken by the archaeologists convey the prehistoric scene better than words do. "The skeletons in the northwest are relatively complete, while those in the east often [have] only skulls, with limb bones scarcely remaining," the archaeologists wrote. "But in the south, limb bones were discovered in a mess, forming two or three layers."

Could this be the world's first known murder? At some point the structure burnt down. The fire likely caused wooden beams of the roof to collapse, leaving parts of skulls and limb bones not only charred but also deformed in some way, the archaeologists wrote.

The remains were never buried and were left behind for archaeologists to discover 5,000 years later.

What happened?

An anthropological team at Jilin University in China is studying the prehistoric remains, trying to determine what happened to these people. The team has published a second study, in Chinese, in the Jilin University Journal - Social Sciences edition, on their finds. (A brief English-language summary of their results is available on the American Association of Physical Anthropologists website.)

The Jilin team found that the people in that house died as the result of a "prehistoric disaster" that resulted in dead bodies being stuffed into the house.

The dead came in faster than they could be buried. "The human bone accumulation in F40 was formed because ancient humans put remains into the house successively and stacked centrally," wrote team leaders Ya Wei Zhou and Hong Zhu in the study.

The team found that about half of the individuals were between 19 and 35 years of age. No remains of older adults were found.

The ages of the victims at Hamin Mangha are similar to those found in another prehistoric mass burial, which was previously unearthed in modern-day Miaozigou in northeast China, the researchers noted.

"This similarity may indicate that the cause of the Hamin Mangha site was similar to that of the Miaozigou sites. That is, they both possibly relate to an outbreak of an acute infectious disease," wrote Zhou and Zhu.

If it was a disease, it killed off people from all age groups quickly, leaving no time for survivors to properly bury the deceased. The scientists did not speculate as to what disease it may have been.

The excavation was carried out by researchers from the Inner Mongolian Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Research Center for Chinese Frontier Archaeology of Jilin University.




“The remains of 97 human bodies have been found stuffed into a small 5,000-year-old house in a prehistoric village in northeast China, researchers report in two separate studies. The bodies of juveniles, young adults and middle-age adults were packed together in the house -- smaller than a modern-day squash court -- before it burnt down. Anthropologists who studied the remains say a "prehistoric disaster," possibly an epidemic of some sort, killed these people. …. In one field season, between April and November 2011, the researchers found the foundations of 29 houses, most of which are simple one-room structures containing a hearth and doorway. …. The Jilin team found that the people in that house died as the result of a "prehistoric disaster" that resulted in dead bodies being stuffed into the house. The dead came in faster than they could be buried. "The human bone accumulation in F40 was formed because ancient humans put remains into the house successively and stacked centrally," wrote team leaders Ya Wei Zhou and Hong Zhu in the study. The team found that about half of the individuals were between 19 and 35 years of age. No remains of older adults were found. …. "This similarity may indicate that the cause of the Hamin Mangha site was similar to that of the Miaozigou sites. That is, they both possibly relate to an outbreak of an acute infectious disease," wrote Zhou and Zhu. If it was a disease, it killed off people from all age groups quickly, leaving no time for survivors to properly bury the deceased. The scientists did not speculate as to what disease it may have been.”

One of the things that I have noticed before about early prehistoric sites is the extremely small houses that they apparently lived in. The dwellings in most Iron Age settlements in the UK were often that small, too. They must have slept all together and huddled up against each other, which may have given them more freedom from the cold in winter. The only heat source was a central hearth. Such close contact would make the spread of diseases a major problem, especially airborne viruses, and the expedient of putting all the bodies in one hut and away from the living would be wise. I wonder if the hut was burned in order to get rid of the cadavers. I can’t imagine living that way. Humans had little control over nature at that point, and a rampaging disease must have been horribly frightening.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-seuss-long-lost-book-set-to-be-released-what-pet-should-i-get/

New Dr. Seuss book trips off the tongue; already a hit among the young
By DEAN REYNOLDS CBS NEWS
July 27, 2015

Photograph -- American author and illustrator Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904 - 1991) sits at his drafting table in his home office with a copy of his book, 'The Cat in the Hat', La Jolla, California, April 25, 1957. (Photo by Gene Lester/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES, GENE LESTER

CHICAGO -- A Dr. Seuss story once lost is now found and is due out on bookshelves on Tuesday. For stories in verse, it's the hit of the season. And there's a rhyme, and a good reason.

"What Pet Should I Get?" is Seuss's latest to date. Though written long ago, it was well worth the wait.

The theme is quite simple, any kid understands. "Make up your mind," is what the book demands.

22-dr-seuss.jpg
"Dr. Seuss is more popular now than he was during his lifetime," said Bill Dreyer the Curator for the Art of Seuss.

So many drawings and writings did the doctor produce.

"In the 25 years since he's now been gone, another 450 million books have been sold," said Dreyer.

American author and illustrator Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904 - 1991) sits at his drafting table in his home office with a copy of his book, 'The Cat in the Hat', La Jolla, California, April 25, 1957. (Photo by Gene Lester/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES, GENE LESTER
There's a story about "What Pet Should I Get?" How the tale was found is a good tale we bet.

Cathy Goldsmith, VP and Associate Publisher, Random House Young Readers, said though the good doctor's gone, his words just won't quit.

"Shortly after Dr. Seuss died his widow did some renovations in the house and I think the box was packed up then and just forgotten about," she said. "I went literally running down the hall to my bosses office and said they found a box. They want us to come and look. We were literally on a plane like three business days later!"

What they found was his latest work. This book that just trips off the tongue, especially when it's read by the younger than young.

Readers are left to wonder at the end of the book, which pet did they get? But don't feel like a Shnook. A Lorax, an Ooblek are two it could be. Say a Grinch, or a Sneetch. Why not two, why not three?

Another book is what this ending implies.

"I understand from Random House that there are more books that will come out of this find," Dreyer said.

Out of this find? Yes, out of this find. Another Seuss book for you, if you are so inclined.




I was twelve years old or so before I ran into Dr. Seuss. My sister had her first child shortly after that, and that’s the first time I saw any of his books. I was delighted with them – not only were they wildly ridiculous, they were sophisticated and well-produced. When I learned to read we only had books like “Dick and Jane” which was useful only because it repeated the same easy words over and over. They had no story and were boring to me.

The first Dr. Seuss book came out in 1937, but didn’t make a big hit. During the 1940’s he worked as a political cartoonist and during the war with the government on propaganda posters and training films. See the following website for a biography of Geisel’s life -- http://www.biography.com/people/dr-seuss-9479638#early-career - What startled me about the Dr. Seuss books was that they were as funny to me as they were to the young kids. Like Bugs Bunny and Popeye, they were made up of sophisticated humor intermingled with totally wacky horseplay, and with some on adult subjects. “The theme is quite simple, any kid understands. "Make up your mind," is what the book demands.” This description is of this new book just recently found. Dr. Seuss instead of talking down and issuing demands to children, talked “with them” and was aware of their developmental needs. Many parents, even if they don’t physically abuse their children, do mentally and emotionally fail to meet their minds as they exist. “My parents don’t understand me” is a genuine problem, not just a juvenile self-pitying complaint. Reading Dr. Seuss to the young kids can help their emotional well-being as well as their reading. I know I have learned a great deal of an emotional or philosophical nature by reading certain stories. Stories aren't merely useful for light entertainment.