Wednesday, September 17, 2014


News Clips For The Day


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/islamic-state-pope-being-targeted-by-isis-iraqi-ambassador-to-the-holy-see-warns-9736110.html

Islamic State: Pope is 'being targeted by Isis', Iraqi ambassador to the Holy See warns
NATASHA CULZAC
Tuesday 16 September 2014

Habeeb Al-Sadr told the Italian press said Isis' threat to kill the Pope is a serious one

The Islamic State (Isis) is intent on killing the Pope, the Iraqi ambassador to the Holy See has warned the Vatican.

Habeeb Al-Sadr, who has been the ambassador since 2010, has advised that one of Isis’ goals is to assassinate the Pontiff and warned that the jihadists “don’t just threaten”, according to Italian newspaper La Nazione.

Mr Al-Sadr confirmed he did not have any specific intelligence on an impending attack but said that their "genocide" of Yazidi Christians and destruction of holy Islamic sites was an indication of their intent.

"What has been declared by the self-proclaimed Islamic State is clear – they want to kill the Pope," he told La Nazione on Tuesday, adding: "The threats against the Pope are credible."

The threat against Pope Francis, 77, was widely discussed earlier this year after he had endorsed the ‘stopping’ of Isis and its persecution of 40,000 Christians in northern Iraq. 

It was reported in August that security in Rome had been heightened after Israeli officials warned that the Pope’s censure of Isis had led the militants to target him.

The Vatican played down this risk with spokesman Reverend Federico Lombardi SJ telling the Catholic News Agency: “There is nothing serious to this. There is no particular concern in the Vatican. This news has no foundation.”

The Pontiff is preparing to travel to the majority Muslim nation of Albania on Sunday and will go to Turkey in November. He also expressed a desire to visit Tunisia after meeting the country's President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki at the Vatican on 11 September.

However, Father Lombardi has said that security on the trip to Albania will not be stepped up in light of the supposed increased threat and that the Pope will continue to travel “unhindered” in the open-air jeep that he used during his inaugural Mass in St Peter’s Square last year.

During his journey in Turkey later this year he expected to visit Istanbul and take part in the feast of St Andrew on 30 November, the Catholic News Agency reports.

Mr Al-Sadr, however, said an assault against the Pope won’t necessarily happen in an Arab or Muslim-majority country, considering that some Isis fighters are from Britain, France and America.

He said the militants "have Western passports. Isis could send these fighters to commit a terrorist act in Europe," warning that the Pope should be protected wherever he goes.





“The Islamic State (Isis) is intent on killing the Pope, the Iraqi ambassador to the Holy See has warned the Vatican. Habeeb Al-Sadr, who has been the ambassador since 2010, has advised that one of Isis’ goals is to assassinate the Pontiff and warned that the jihadists 'don’t just threaten', according to Italian newspaper La Nazione.... The threat against Pope Francis, 77, was widely discussed earlier this year after he had endorsed the ‘stopping’ of Isis and its persecution of 40,000 Christians in northern Iraq.... It was reported in August that security in Rome had been heightened after Israeli officials warned that the Pope’s censure of Isis had led the militants to target him.... He said the militants 'have Western passports. Isis could send these fighters to commit a terrorist act in Europe,' warning that the Pope should be protected wherever he goes.”

Perhaps Western governments should take the known ISIS fighters' passports so they can't come back into Europe. If it's not possible to block their passports, put their names on the equivalent of America's “No Fly List” and arrest them as soon as they arrive at an European airport or border crossing. The Pope is like a national government official anywhere, he has to downplay any security threats so as to look brave and undeterred. I notice the security measures in Rome has been heightened since the Israeli warning was received in August, however, so hopefully any would be assassins will be caught ahead of time. I notice the FBI recently caught a naturalized American citizen as he bought two rifles and silencers. The FBI keeps tabs on communications which are not secure and inserts itself into the plot, thus identifying and arresting the killer. This Pope is a forward-looking and open-minded man, a very good Pope in my opinion, so I will give a Unitarian prayer for his safety.





Justice Department launches study of racial bias among police – CBS
AP September 16, 2014, 5:41 PM

WASHINGTON - Broadening its push to improve police relations with minorities, the Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in law enforcement in five American cities and recommend strategies to address the problem nationally, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

The police shooting last month of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri underscored the need for the long-planned initiative, Holder said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He said the three-year project, which will involve training, data analysis and interviews with community residents, could be a "silver lining" if it helps ease racial tensions and "pockets of distrust that show up between law enforcement and the communities that they serve."

"What I saw in Ferguson confirmed for me that the need for such an effort was pretty clear," Holder said.

The five cities have not yet been selected, but the researchers expect that the cities will offer training to officers and command staff on issues of racial bias.

The Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson spotlighted longstanding concerns about diversity in policing. The Ferguson police force is overwhelmingly white even though the suburban St. Louis city is roughly 70 percent black. A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as often as white motorists, but were less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.

Holder, who visited Ferguson last month to meet with Brown's parents and with investigators, said he was struck by the number of complaints he heard about traffic stops and the concerns from minorities about being treated unfairly during encounters with the police.

"The reality is that it certainly had a negative impact on people's view of the effectiveness and fairness of the police department," Holder said.

The Justice Department in April announced that it was soliciting bids for a racial bias project that would collect data on stops, searches and arrests. On Thursday, the department will announce that it will provide $4.75 million in grants to a team of researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, Yale University, UCLA and the Urban Institute.

In their writings, the researchers - who have been invited to cities including Chicago and New Haven to address violence there - have stressed the importance of a forum for minority communities to air grievances about law enforcement. Their work seeks to identify and curb hidden racial biases that can inform a police officer's decision about whom to consider a likely suspect and when to fire a weapon.

"Studies show that if people think that they are treated fairly by the police, that matters almost more than what the result is," Holder said. "If you get stopped for a traffic stop and feel that you are treated courteously and fairly, you are much more likely to accept the fact that you got a speeding ticket."

Both the FBI and local authorities are investigating the shooting for potential criminal charges, and the Justice Department is running a separate civil rights probe into the practices of the entire Ferguson police force. Holder said the FBI-led investigation into the shooting was moving along with good cooperation from the community.




“Broadening its push to improve police relations with minorities, the Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in law enforcement in five American cities and recommend strategies to address the problem nationally, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.... He said the three-year project, which will involve training, data analysis and interviews with community residents.... The Ferguson police force is overwhelmingly white even though the suburban St. Louis city is roughly 70 percent black. A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as often as white motorists, but were less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.... The Justice Department in April announced that it was soliciting bids for a racial bias project that would collect data on stops, searches and arrests. On Thursday, the department will announce that it will provide $4.75 million in grants to a team of researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, Yale University, UCLA and the Urban Institute.... Their work seeks to identify and curb hidden racial biases that can inform a police officer's decision about whom to consider a likely suspect and when to fire a weapon.... 'If you get stopped for a traffic stop and feel that you are treated courteously and fairly, you are much more likely to accept the fact that you got a speeding ticket.'.... Holder said the FBI-led investigation into the shooting was moving along with good cooperation from the community.”

This move by DOJ was begun in April. It follows a negative 2013 report by the Missouri Attorney General's office on the high rate of traffic stops involving black people. Unwarranted traffic stops, like the “stop and frisk” policies, look like pure harassment, but it does cost the black community money in fines that they can hardly afford and can lead to a jail sentence. If they were weaving around in the road or speeding, then by all means, give them a ticket, but if they were just “driving while black,” it is grossly unfair. Cities like Ferguson are known to follow that policy specifically to make money for the city or county from the fines collected. That money is actually budgeted in and used for expenses.

Okay. Put the fine money to good use, but don't pull people over without good cause. Stopping and frisking people just because they are in a black or poor neighborhood is equally offensive. It violates human rights to touch and invade personal space just because the person is poor, black or even may possibly be an illegal immigrant. Hispanic people as well as blacks are subjected to this in some areas where there are more of them in residence. It's time police departments took neighborhood policing to be a human service rather than a war. They are not supposed to be the KKK in a blue uniform.

They are there to arrest criminals and protect law and order. If a citizen or personal property are being threatened, arrest the perpetrators. Those are crimes. Hanging around on the corner gambling and smoking weed or selling coke are crimes. Arrest the “perps” for those things. Just walking down the street while black should be decriminalized immediately or sooner. It should be unconscionable and unthinkable – police bullying pure and simple. When the police stop being bullies, the minority and poor communities will accept their actions much more peacefully. Most poor citizens are not, in fact, criminals. They're just having a hard time in life. In short, I am glad to see this study being done by the DOJ, and hopefully it will result in actual federal and state government actions to clean up those police forces which are corrupt. Of course many and hopefully most police officers are “public servants” as they are supposed to be, and I honor them for the dangerous work they do.





Rewriting history? Texas tackles textbook debate
CBS/AP  September 16, 2014, 7:01 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- The long-running ideological dispute over what gets taught in Texas classrooms flared anew over proposed history textbooks Tuesday, with academics decrying lessons they said exaggerate the importance of Christian values on the nation's Founding Fathers while conservatives complained of anti-American, pro-Islam biases.

The Board of Education will approve new history textbooks for the state's 5-plus million public school students in November. But it heard hours of complaints about 104 proposed books during a sometimes heated public hearing.

Jacqueline Jones, chairwoman of the University of Texas' History Department, said one U.S. history high school book cheerleads for President Ronald Reagan and the significance of America's free enterprise system while glossing over Gov. George Wallace's attempt to block school integration in Alabama. She also pointed to a phrase stating that "the minimum wage remains one of the New Deal's most controversial legacies."

"We do our students a disservice when we scrub history clean of unpleasant truths," Jones said "and when we present an inaccurate view of the past that promotes a simple-minded, ideologically driven point of view."

Objections such as Jones' were the most common, but some conservatives complained that the books marginalized Reagan and other top Republicans, even as they heaped praise on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"I guess Ronald Reagan did nothing in two terms," scoffed Republican board member Ken Mercer of San Antonio.

Debates over academic curriculum and textbooks have for years thrust Texas' Board of Education into the national spotlight, sparking battles over issues such as how to teach climate change and natural selection. Many publishers sell books created for Texas to school districts in other states.

Last November, a dispute over teaching evolution delayed approval of a new science textbook.

In 2010, while approving the history curriculum standards that this year's round of new books are supposed to follow, conservatives on the board required that students evaluate whether the United Nations undermines U.S. sovereignty and study the Congressional GOP's 1994 Contract with America.

Kathleen Wellman, a history professor at Southern Methodist University, said many books give Moses - the biblical Hebrew leader who received the Ten Commandments from God - credit for influencing the U.S. Constitution, so much so that Texas students might believe "Moses was the first American."

"Moses shows up everywhere doing everything," Wellman said.

All of Tuesday's comments are sent to the publishers, who can provide responses in defense of what's written, or make changes, before final approval of the books.

Some community leaders complained that proposed books downplayed Hispanic accomplishments, incorrectly depicted jihad as a call to holy war, or were biased in favor of Israeli points of view in Middle East conflicts. But conservative activists said they didn't go far enough in accurately depicting religious extremism in modern terrorism.

Amy Jo Baker, a retired history teacher and former social studies director for the San Antonio Independent School District, said she was saddened that one book for sixth graders incorrectly described jihad, for many Muslims, as the struggle to be a better person. She also noted a high school history text that said young people in Cuba receive "many benefits" from the communist government, while also noting that they live in a police state.

"I think our students deserve textbooks that are historically accurate and not politically correct," Baker said, adding that she wants textbooks that "reflect not America as the bad guy, but America as an exceptional nation."

A group of experts convened by the left-leaning advocacy group Texas Freedom Network has objected to some proposed books' overemphasizing the influence of the Ten Commandments and other Christian tenants on the American Revolution.

"There are more than 100 pages of errors," said Kathy Miller, Freedom Network's president. Board member David Bradley, a Beaumont Republican, noted that some of the academics doing reviews for Miller's group were paid and that she was "a hired gun" because she is a registered lobbyist with the Texas Legislature.

Despite some testy moments, Mount Pleasant Republican and board vice chairman Thomas Ratliff joked that the exchanges were cordial compared to past board ideological clashes.

"We're batting a thousand," he laughed, "No one took a swing at each other."




“The long-running ideological dispute over what gets taught in Texas classrooms flared anew over proposed history textbooks Tuesday, with academics decrying lessons they said exaggerate the importance of Christian values on the nation's Founding Fathers while conservatives complained of anti-American, pro-Islam biases.... Jacqueline Jones, chairwoman of the University of Texas' History Department, said one U.S. history high school book cheerleads for President Ronald Reagan and the significance of America's free enterprise system while glossing over Gov. George Wallace's attempt to block school integration in Alabama. She also pointed to a phrase stating that 'the minimum wage remains one of the New Deal's most controversial legacies.'... Debates over academic curriculum and textbooks have for years thrust Texas' Board of Education into the national spotlight, sparking battles over issues such as how to teach climate change and natural selection. Many publishers sell books created for Texas to school districts in other states. Last November, a dispute over teaching evolution delayed approval of a new science textbook.... In 2010, while approving the history curriculum standards that this year's round of new books are supposed to follow, conservatives on the board required that students evaluate whether the United Nations undermines U.S. sovereignty and study the Congressional GOP's 1994 Contract with America.”

"'We're batting a thousand,' he laughed, 'No one took a swing at each other.'" I am encouraged that public discussions are still being allowed over what our schoolbooks teach. Without it we would indeed be losing our democracy. I am struck, however, by the statements of both sides on what their objections are. Personally, I want our schools to teach good citizenship and a completely fair review of the historical record – which includes good relations between the races and a moral view of what our soldiers do while abroad – national pride but not glossing over of national misdeeds. Surely we can now agree, for the most part that over a hundred years of brutal slavery in the South was a terrible deed.

I was shocked when I heard on the radio that the US had been torturing prisoners in Iraqi prisons. It's one of those moments when I “remember where I was when I heard it.” I don't think we should scrub the historical record to remove evidence of the wrongdoings of any US group. Tell the historical events as they occurred, including arguments on each side. While discussing the vile actions of the KKK, tell it as a part of the difficult transition in the South after they lost the war, and that many people in the South were afraid of “a black uprising”up into the 1920's. It doesn't justify killing black people for no good reason or intimidation practices to keep the black citizens from voting, but it showed the complex truth of the time period.

High School students are ready to hear the truth about life. Don't overpraise the Christian religion in its influence over America's founders either, as many of those founders were in fact Deists, who believed in God and the teachings of Jesus, but not in Jesus as God. They were philosophically inclined and formed much of the thought that became our Constitution. That's how minority rights like the freedom from a state religion came to be. The school should teach history in much more detail to high school kids with the contrasting viewpoints included in the discussion, so that they will know and understand more about it in its complex detail. School boards shouldn't use the textbooks or classrooms to “preach” their particular doctrine or indoctrinate kids toward either of the rival political parties positions, but rather to open up their minds and teach the ability to think the issues through. That will produce a fair and enlightened view of history. As a separate subject and in classroom discussion, say in a civics class, issues like human interactions – including bullying which has become a terrible problem in the last few years, poverty reduction, freedom from social class discrimination, better racial relations, free thought as an American right, and admitting immigrants to our society could be discussed. That class should be required for high school graduation. "'We do our students a disservice when we scrub history clean of unpleasant truths,' Jones said 'and when we present an inaccurate view of the past that promotes a simple-minded, ideologically driven point of view.'" This statement by Ms. Jones sums up my position.





NY man indicted on charges of trying to aid ISIS – CBS
AP  September 16, 2014, 9:55 PM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - An upstate New York man accused of plotting to kill members of the U.S. military and others faces new charges that he tried to aid the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Mufid Elfgeeh, 30, of Rochester, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to the designated foreign terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

According to court documents, Elfgeeh tried to assist three individuals in traveling to Syria to join and fight with the extremist group in 2013 and early 2014. Prosecutors said two of the individuals were cooperating with the FBI.

"Disrupting and holding accountable those who seek to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations is and shall remain a critical national security priority," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin.

Elfgeeh was arrested earlier this year by members of the FBI's Rochester Joint Terrorism Task Force after federal authorities said he bought two handguns and two silencers as part of a plan to kill members of the U.S. armed forces returning from war, as well as Shiites in the Rochester area.

The investigation included linking Elfgeeh's home computer to tweets from alias Twitter accounts expressing support for al-Qaida, violent holy war and Sunni insurgent groups in Syria, according to court papers.

The FBI said it had been investigating Elfgeeh, a naturalized U.S. citizen, since early last year.

Information on Elfgeeh's lawyer was not immediately available.




If spying on people in the US can be put to good use, as I believe it can be, this is such a use. The more often we can catch crimes before they happen, the better. This shows that not all naturalized US citizens can be trusted, or even native born citizens for that matter. Many of those Americans who have gone to join ISIS are white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who have absorbed an extremist viewpoint, either because they are seeking adventure or are disaffected from their community or family. There is a tendency among young adults in their twenties to join a cult or go to fight for a cause somewhere. Unfortunately, though they aren't basically evil like a child molester, they are dangerous and must be stopped. Good for the FBI!





Forensic science solves mystery of Richard III's death
By AGATA BLASZCZAK-BOXE CBS NEWS
September 17, 2014, 5:00 AM

More than 500 years after Richard III became the last king of England to die in battle, researchers using modern forensic science have figured out which injuries likely caused his death.

Scientists used whole body CT scans and micro-CT imaging of injured bones to examine signs of trauma to the royal skeleton, which was discovered buried under a parking lot in Leicester, England, in September 2012. DNA tests confirmed its identity five months later.

According to the findings outlined in the new study, the king sustained a total of 11 wounds at or near the time of his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. Nine of the injuries were inflicted to the skull, which suggests that he had removed or lost his helmet. Two other wounds were found elsewhere on the body.

The investigators conclude that three of the injuries -- two inflicted to the inferior aspect, or underside, of the king's skull and one to his pelvis -- could have potentially caused death quickly. However, they detected signs that the pelvis injury may have occurred after the king was already dead, and therefore believe the other two injuries likely caused his death.

The fatal wounds to his skull were caused by "a large sharp force trauma possibly from a sword or staff weapon, such as a halberd or bill, and a penetrating injury from the tip of an edged weapon," study author Guy Rutty, of the East Midlands Pathology Unit at the University of Leicester, said in a statement. "Richard's head injuries are consistent with some near-contemporary accounts of the battle, which suggest that Richard abandoned his horse after it became stuck in a mire and was killed while fighting his enemies."

"Richard's injuries represent a sustained attack or an attack by several assailants with weapons from the later medieval period," study author Sarah Hainsworth, a professor of materials engineering at the University of Leicester, said in a statement.

The researchers did not find any indications of defensive wounds to the king's arms and hands, which suggests that Richard was still wearing armor -- except for his helmet -- during his final moments.

King Richard III was immortalized by Shakespeare as a villainous hunchback who had his brother and nephews killed to secure the throne for himself. After the discovery of his long-lost grave two years ago, scientists were able to determine that Richard did, in fact, suffer from scoliosis or curvature of the spine.

"We wanted to know if Shakespeare's description was accurate, or an exaggeration to help legitimize the Tudor monarchs on the throne at the time," Piers Mitchell, an anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, told CBS News in an email when the study of his spine came out last May. Examination of the skeleton using 3D imaging technology indicated "Richard did have a marked spinal deformity due to scoliosis. However, there was no evidence from his skeleton for his having a withered arm or a limp, as portrayed in Shakespeare's play."

The new study was published Tuesday in the journal The Lancet.




“Scientists used whole body CT scans and micro-CT imaging of injured bones to examine signs of trauma to the royal skeleton, which was discovered buried under a parking lot in Leicester, England, in September 2012. DNA tests confirmed its identity five months later.... The fatal wounds to his skull were caused by "a large sharp force trauma possibly from a sword or staff weapon, such as a halberd or bill, and a penetrating injury from the tip of an edged weapon," study author Guy Rutty, of the East Midlands Pathology Unit at the University of Leicester, said in a statement. 'Richard's head injuries are consistent with some near-contemporary accounts of the battle, which suggest that Richard abandoned his horse after it became stuck in a mire and was killed while fighting his enemies.'... After the discovery of his long-lost grave two years ago, scientists were able to determine that Richard did, in fact, suffer from scoliosis or curvature of the spine.”

This is a great use of archaeology – to substantiate the historical record, or in this case, Shakespeare's word. I was horrified when I found out why the lopping off of the head of a soldier in battle was called the “coup de grace.” Death from the kind of wounds that were received in Medieval battles was slow and horrific, often from gangrene. When I was reading a fiction book on a Civil War battle a man living near the battle site took a hammer and went through the battlefield killing those who were crying out or otherwise suffering to stop their misery. They had been abandoned by their army and were slowly dying. In King Richard's case, there was no coup de grace – he died from many cuts and possibly slowly. This story has some grisly facts in it, but it does make history come to life in a very realistic way. Great article.





Republicans want Senate control, but won't disclose agenda
By REBECCA KAPLAN CBS NEWS September 16, 2014, 5:48 PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, is being cagey about the Republicans' plans if they win the majority in November.

"I'm not going to lay out what the agenda's going to be if in fact we become the majority. We're still hoping the American people will conclude that they'd like to go in a different direction," McConnell told reporters Tuesday when asked whether he would reverse a rule change implemented by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada earlier this year that made it more difficult for the minority to hold up judicial and executive branch nominees.

McConnell then said there are "a number of things that we would like to do differently," and listed approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and a repeal of the medical device tax as two issues he would like to vote on.

Last week, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who serves as the vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he suspects that repealing the Affordable Care Act will be a top priority.

"I suspect we will vote to repeal early - to put on record the fact that we Republicans think it's a bad policy and we think it's hurting our constituents," he said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast.

Asked to analyze the state of the midterm elections, McConnell said, "I think the races are yet to be won. Our friends on the other side are tough competitors." But he said the GOP has terrific candidates and seems optimistic.

Reid, on the other hand, still insists that it's too soon to panic over the possibility of losing his job.

"If the election were today we would be just fine. Election's not today, it's 48 days away," Reid told reporters. "We're doing fine, and I just think any about Republicans taking the senate is really premature and not based upon fact."

Several election trackers, including one from CBS News and the New York Times, say the GOP is more likely to control the Senate after the midterm elections. But the stakes change quickly: on Tuesday, the Washington Post's statistical model put the Democrats' chances of holding the Senate at 51 percent.

"We have much better candidates than they have," Reid said.

President Obama is set to hit the campaign trail this fall to help congressional Democrats, although he is planning a smaller slate of appearances than previous presidents because of his low poll numbers.

The White House seems optimistic about the prospects of holding onto the open Senate seat in Michigan, which is being vacated by retiring Democrat Carl Levin. They also see Democratic Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Kay Hagan of North Carolina holding onto their narrow leads, and a possible victory for Rep. Bruce Braley in the race for the open Iowa Senate seat.

With three Democratic Senate seats all but certain to turn Republican in the fall, the Democrats need to prevent the GOP from picking up another three to take control over the Senate. There are nine races where the Republican candidate stands a good chance.




“Asked to analyze the state of the midterm elections, McConnell said, "I think the races are yet to be won. Our friends on the other side are tough competitors." But he said the GOP has terrific candidates and seems optimistic. Reid, on the other hand, still insists that it's too soon to panic over the possibility of losing his job. 'If the election were today we would be just fine. Election's not today, it's 48 days away,' Reid told reporters. 'We're doing fine, and I just think any about Republicans taking the senate is really premature and not based upon fact.'... With three Democratic Senate seats all but certain to turn Republican in the fall, the Democrats need to prevent the GOP from picking up another three to take control over the Senate. There are nine races where the Republican candidate stands a good chance.”

Senators are very different from Congressmen. To hear these Senators talk you wouldn't guess that a deadly war was going on among them. I've always preferred Senators – they tend to sound more well-educated than Congressmen and just generally play a much more fair game. They aren't talking about shutting down the government as a strategic ploy. Still, I will be sure to go vote in November for my Democratic candidates unless I'm in the hospital with a deadly illness. I have given money to the Democratic Senators and am doing a little volunteer work for Charlie Crist in the FL gubernatorial campaign. With the Affordable Care Act on the chopping block this election is crucial. Go Democrats!






School bus driver dies after saving child during safety drill
CBS/AP  September 16, 2014, 5:43 PM

CLEVELAND - An Ohio school bus driver is being hailed as a hero after tossing a child out of the way of a rolling bus Tuesday morning before the vehicle rolled over the driver herself and she was killed.

"She sacrificed her own life to save the life of this 10-year-old girl," said Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards.

The bus driver has been identified as 51-year-old Laura Zborowski of Akron.

Edwards said the bus pulled up beside Middlebury Academy in Akron and Zborowski asked the students to perform routine evacuation drills. The students, about 40 ranging from kindergartners to eighth-graders, first exited the bus at the front and lined up single file on the sidewalk as instructed. They then got back on the bus and exited the rear emergency exit, Edwards said.

The 10-year-old girl, the last to exit, was climbing out the back of the bus when the vehicle started rolling backward, Edwards said. Zborowski threw the girl onto the tree lawn and then the bus rolled over Zborowski.

"I don't think she had time to react," Edwards said.

The bus came to a stop after rolling into a tree, Edwards said.

"She was amazing,'' said Brandi Goostre, who spoke with CBS Action 19 News in Akron, Ohio. "It takes a strong person to do that. It makes you think to yourself, would you be brave enough to do that."

Zborowski worked for a private bus company, Cincinnati-based Petermann, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. Zborowski was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours after the 8:10 a.m. Accident.

Middlebury Academy and the Akron school district sent grief counselors to the charter school.

"Our focus is making sure kids feel safe and supportive and to get whatever resources we can into the school immediately," school executive director Joe Palmer said.

Edwards said the Ohio State Highway Patrol will examine the mechanics of the bus to determine what caused it to roll backward. National Express spokeswoman Molly Hart said the Warrenville, Illinois, company is working with local authorities and conducting its own investigation.

A website for Petermann said the company transports 50,000 Ohio children each school day.




“'She was amazing,'' said Brandi Goostre, who spoke with CBS Action 19 News in Akron, Ohio. "It takes a strong person to do that. It makes you think to yourself, would you be brave enough to do that.' Zborowski worked for a private bus company, Cincinnati-based Petermann, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. Zborowski was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours after the 8:10 a.m. Accident. Middlebury Academy and the Akron school district sent grief counselors to the charter school. 'Our focus is making sure kids feel safe and supportive and to get whatever resources we can into the school immediately,' school executive director Joe Palmer said.”

This is one of those cases when an ordinary person does something selfless to save another, and unfortunately dies as a result of it. Young students do feel it strongly when such events occur. I remember a crossing guard when I was in about the third grade who was killed on the railroad track in my hometown. The newspaper featured a story about the man and the school teachers talked about it in class , so we kids were able to talk about our feelings as a group. It did help to get past the incident, and to say goodbye to him. He was very well-liked, as he was kind and friendly to us when we crossed the street. Such people make a community a warm and supportive place for kids to grow up.