December 13, 2014


News Clips For The Day

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/10/1350793/-John-McCain-and-Congress-helping-mining-company-steal-Apache-land


John McCain and Congress helping mining company steal ancestral, ceremonial Apache land
By Carissa Miller
December 10, 2014

Photograph – Apache Leap an area that would be included in the Copper mining land grab that Sen McCain snuck into the recent defense bill.

On December 4, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Hidden in the defense bill was a package granting an illegal land swap near Superior, AZ, for the benefit of a foreign company Rio Tinto PLC who seek to mine copper. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as part of the Senate Armed Services Committee was instrumental in pushing to get the provision language included.

All 2,400 acres are part of Apache ancestral and ceremonial lands. So although Republican lawmakers have tried for years to secure the transfer of these lands, they have always run into strong opposition from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Democratic lawmakers and conservation advocates.

Apache leaders learned of the inclusion of the provision to the NDAA while attending—ironically—the White House Tribal Nations conference.

Conservation advocates and American Indian groups, particularly the San Carlos Apache Tribe, say the mine would damage natural resources and culturally sensitive areas. A site called Apache Leap in the Tonto National Forest has been of particular concern.

Resolution Copper—a Rio Tinto venture with BHP Billiton Ltd.—would be given more than 2,000 acres of federal land in return for more than 5,000 acres of company land.

The NDAA now goes to the Senate for vote.




“Hidden in the defense bill was a package granting an illegal land swap near Superior, AZ, for the benefit of a foreign company Rio Tinto PLC who seek to mine copper. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as part of the Senate Armed Services Committee was instrumental in pushing to get the provision language included. All 2,400 acres are part of Apache ancestral and ceremonial lands. So although Republican lawmakers have tried for years to secure the transfer of these lands, they have always run into strong opposition from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Democratic lawmakers and conservation advocates. Apache leaders learned of the inclusion of the provision to the NDAA while attending—ironically—the White House Tribal Nations conference.... Resolution Copper—a Rio Tinto venture with BHP Billiton Ltd.—would be given more than 2,000 acres of federal land in return for more than 5,000 acres of company land.”

John McCain is very clever and more than a little cute, and I have always considered him one of the more honest Republicans. He sharply put down a woman in a town meeting who said that President Obama was a Muslim and not an American. I can't remember his exact words, but it was more or less “Barack Obama is a gentleman and an honest man.” He then went on to another questioner. He has also worked across the aisle with Democrats a number of times to pass important bills. I am therefore very sad to hear of this, because it's a typical Republican dirty trick. He has never made an racist comments that I am aware of, but this is so callous it might as well be racist. Maybe I'll go to his website and “call him out” on it.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/patients-outraged-after-losing-doctors-under-obamacare/

Patients outraged after losing doctors under Obamacare
By WYATT ANDREWS CBS NEWS December 12, 2014, 7:15 PM

Kevin McCarthy of Thousand Oaks, California, was surprised last spring, when he learned his family doctor of 14 years could not accept the Blue Shield insurance he'd purchased under Obamacare.

He said he was "outraged" because when he was shopping for his policy, Blue Shield confirmed his doctor was covered.

"We were duped," McCarthy said. "Hoodwinked is another good term."

Here's what happened. Insurance companies -- to save money -- are quietly selling what are called "narrow networks." They sharply restrict the number of doctors and hospitals people can see. In some cases, people may be limited to 30 percent or less of the doctors and hospitals nearby.

Jerry Flanagan, lead attorney for the Consumer Watchdog group in California, says hundreds of thousands of people lost their doctors when insurers sold narrow networks without notice.

"Consumers here were told that networks are going to be the same as they were before Obamacare ... and those are flat out lies," Flanagan said.

The upside to narrow networks is the low cost, because the doctors in these networks have agreed to discounts. The savings to consumers averages 13 to 17 percent, according to the respected McKinsey consulting firm.

Blue Shield of California chose not to appear on camera but denies it intentionally misled its customers. The company blames the problem of lost doctors on the frantic transition to Obamacare but promises this year it will "address network confusion by communicating more clearly with members."

There are two important things consumers should remember. Narrow networks are the new reality in Obamacare. And anyone who wants to be sure their doctor is in network needs to call the company to confirm and they need to keep records.




“Insurance companies -- to save money -- are quietly selling what are called "narrow networks." They sharply restrict the number of doctors and hospitals people can see. In some cases, people may be limited to 30 percent or less of the doctors and hospitals nearby. Jerry Flanagan, lead attorney for the Consumer Watchdog group in California, says hundreds of thousands of people lost their doctors when insurers sold narrow networks without notice. Consumers here were told that networks are going to be the same as they were before Obamacare ... and those are flat out lies," Flanagan said. The upside to narrow networks is the low cost, because the doctors in these networks have agreed to discounts. The savings to consumers averages 13 to 17 percent, according to the respected McKinsey consulting firm.”

I see two things here. One, doctors in quite a few cases are unwilling to accept an affordable rate of payment for their services, (their ten room mansions cost too much) and so they say that they “cannot” accept insurance that is set to cut patient costs. They just aren't willing to accept lower payments for their meager 15 minutes of work. Second, the insurance companies are determined to see to it that they don't make less money under Obamacare either, so they are squeezing both the doctors and the patients. It would seem likely to me that they are getting access to a much larger number of potential customers as patients have to sign up with someone, which is clearly an advantage to Obamacare, whereas before many of those patients went without any insurance, saw a doctor only in an emergency, and then went to the ER to get treatment. Surely that doesn't benefit the insurance companies? If both the doctors and the insurers would play ball they could make a very reasonable amount of money, and still help lower the society's medical bills. Doesn't this make sense?





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sheriffs-deputies-kindness-brings-drivers-to-tears/

Unique traffic stops in Missouri bring drivers to tears
By STEVE HARTMAN CBS NEWS December 12, 2014, 7:32 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Earlier this month, in Kansas City, Missouri, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department was out looking for people. And when they spotted a subject, they went after them, in a sting operation the likes of which this country has never seen.

What made this operation especially unusual was the man behind it: a fellow in a red hat -- known to these men only as "Secret Santa."

Every year this anonymous, wealthy businessman gives out about a hundred thousand dollars worth of hundred dollar bills to random strangers. But this year, instead of doing it all himself, he deputized these deputies to give away much of it.

"Let's start with a thousand," Secret Santa said as he gave the deputies the money.

And so, armed to the teeth with Benjamins, the officers went out to do Santa's bidding. They specifically went after people they thought would appreciate it most. Cars driving while dented -- or out on Bondo -- were likely targets.

"Merry Christmas," a deputy said while handing money to a driver.

"You're kidding. Oh my God, no," answered the driver in disbelief.

Most people weren't just blown away -- most people were moved to tears. Their reactions were a combination of really needing the money and being caught off guard.

We saw Jessica Rodriguez, a mother of three, get pulled over. While the deputy walked to her car, Rodriguez talked to someone on her cell phone to tell them she'd been pulled over for "no cause."

"How you doing, m'am?" the deputy asked her.

"I'm good until you pulled me over," she answered.

"Okay, well, on behalf of Secret Santa, he wants you to have this, OK?" the deputy said as he handed her money.

Rodriguez told the deputy he saved her Christmas.

"I wasn't going to be able to get my kids anything," she told him.

"Well, I hope you may be able to get your kids something with it," he said.

As always, creating moments like that is the main mission here. But this year "Secret Santa" also had a secret agenda.

"What do you want the officers to get out of this?" I asked him.

"Joy," he answered. "You know, as tough as they are they have hearts that are bigger than the world."

Let's face it, it hasn't been a good year for law enforcement -- but for the vast majority of decent officers who will never make headlines -- Secret Santa offered this gift.

A chance to be bearer of good news for a change, a chance to really help the homeless, to thank the law-abiders, to see hands up in celebration and then be assaulted in the best possible way.

There were a lot of hugs. Our body cameras took a real beating, but it was worth it -- just to see people trust again and to see cops surrender.




"Merry Christmas," a deputy said while handing money to a driver. "You're kidding. Oh my God, no," answered the driver in disbelief. Most people weren't just blown away -- most people were moved to tears. Their reactions were a combination of really needing the money and being caught off guard. We saw Jessica Rodriguez, a mother of three, get pulled over. While the deputy walked to her car, Rodriguez talked to someone on her cell phone to tell them she'd been pulled over for "no cause." "How you doing, m'am?" the deputy asked her. "I'm good until you pulled me over," she answered. "Okay, well, on behalf of Secret Santa, he wants you to have this, OK?" the deputy said as he handed her money.... As always, creating moments like that is the main mission here. But this year "Secret Santa" also had a secret agenda. "What do you want the officers to get out of this?" I asked him. "Joy," he answered. "You know, as tough as they are they have hearts that are bigger than the world."

There isn't always a secret Santa around, but I would like to see cops take half a day every two weeks and go into the poor neighborhoods on foot to talk to people on the street, ask them what they need most in their life, go through Social Services departments to see who is a single mother raising three or four kids and hungry, and then follow through by getting the proper departments of the city government to get some help for them. They could work constructively with homeless and mentally disturbed people in the same simple way – blacks, Latinos and whites – and get to know “at risk” kids they see roaming around who are possibly hooking up with the wrong kind of people – gangs, pimps or drug dealers – to set up sports teams in the neighborhood or some other good activity that gives kids confidence and companionship. They could sign up with organizations like Big Brothers or Big Sisters. They could tutor a child or an adult who can't read well enough to work and succeed in school. There are some organizations that specialize in that.

Whatever they do, if it opens up their hearts to the people in the neighborhoods and allows everybody to get to know each other on a personal basis, if every police officer and citizen were to do that, there would be real improvement among the poor. Before we know it the kids will be making good grades in school and some will go to college. They will trust those police officers and tend to refrain from crime themselves. Rather than joining a violent gang they will go to the library and get a library card. And all because of the police!! Even if all of that doesn't happen, some good things certainly will occur, and the neighborhoods will be safer for the residents and for the police who have to patrol the streets. Wouldn't it be a pleasure to patrol the neighborhood without fearing constantly that somebody will shoot them from the back? Maybe a kid they once helped will give in without a struggle or be willing to give information about a crime that they are investigating. Evil and goodness are a complex chain of interactions in the past and moving forward into the future. Good comes from good, and evil comes from evil. Let it not be doubted, rough, harsh and unfair policing is evil. The God of my understanding says that! The police motto is to “serve and protect.” That should include everybody. There are police officers who already follow this rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Have you ever heard that anywhere??





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-middle-class-wealth-is-withering/

Why middle-class wealth is withering
By AIMEE PICCHI MONEYWATCH December 12, 2014, 3:46 PM

If the middle class is truly the backbone of America, the country's spine may be close to breaking.

Middle America came out of the Great Recession in a precarious position, sinking into "dissavings" -- when spending is greater than income -- thanks to a nasty combination of stagnant wages and a hit to real estate and investment values, according to a new working paper from New York University economics professor Edward N. Wolff.

That's led to a grim outcome, with virtually no change in the country's median wealth between 2010 to 2013, even as asset prices, such as the stock market and housing values, rebounded in the years following the recession, Wolff wrote. The cause? "The high dissavings rate of the middle class," he noted.

The country's widening income and wealth gap results from a perfect storm of dismal trends slamming the middle class. As the recession hit, this group had already suffered from several years of relatively stagnant wage gains. From 2007 to 2010, median income slumped almost 7 percent, and median wealth plunged by 44 percent.

So, with the recession over and the economy getting back on track, wouldn't Americans have benefited across the board? Not quite, the study found. While home values and stock prices gained, the middle class failed to see much lift because they fell into a dissavings rate of 9.9 percent relative to median income, eating into their assets to make up for stagnant wages.

"It appears that the middle class was depleting its assets to maintain its previous level of consumption," Wolff wrote. "The evidence, moreover, suggests that middle class households, experiencing stagnating incomes, expanded their debt (at least until 2007) mainly in order to finance normal consumption expenditures rather than to increase their investment portfolio."

American workers' stagnant pay has become a sore point, both among employees themselves and economists and policymakers. Real wages, or earnings after inflation is taken into account, have been falling or flat for decades, Pew Research noted earlier this year.

In fact, the average wage for American workers peaked way back in 1973, when the typical employee earned $4.03 an hour, or about $22.41 in today's dollars. The average hourly wage for nonmanagement, private-sector workers was only $20.67 in September, or about 7.8 percent below what workers earned more than 40 years ago.

The sickly average American wage, called "the great wage slowdown of the 21st century" by David Leonhardt of The New York Times, could have potentially dire outcomes. It means Americans may face increasingly lower living standards, while it also hampers economic growth and social mobility, among other problems.

And some groups are suffering more than others. The recession hurt black households much more than white households, Wolff wrote. The reason? Blacks had "a higher share of homes in their portfolio than did whites and much higher leverage than whites," the paper noted. Blacks were also more likely to have a higher ratio of mortgage debt to home value, so they were hit harder when home values fell in the recession.

Those trends have prompted a growing racial wealth divide, according to a study published by Pew Research on Friday. While the median wealth of white households was eight times the wealth of black households in 2010, that ratio had widened to 13 times by 2013, Pew said.

"The current gap between blacks and whites has reached its highest point since 1989, when whites had 17 times the wealth of black households," Pew noted. "The current white-to-Hispanic wealth ratio has reached a level not seen since 2001."

Blacks and other minorities have suffered more than whites on the income front. The median income for minorities fell 9 percent from 2010 to 2013, which means they may (like the middle class in general) be drawing on their savings to get by during the post-recession years, Pew noted.

Whites are also more likely than blacks to hold stocks, and so they've benefited more than blacks from the rising stock market. Pew added: "The racial and ethnic wealth gaps in 2013 are at or about their highest levels observed in the 30 years for which we have data."




“Middle America came out of the Great Recession in a precarious position, sinking into "dissavings" -- when spending is greater than income -- thanks to a nasty combination of stagnant wages and a hit to real estate and investment values, according to a new working paper from New York University economics professor Edward N. Wolff. That's led to a grim outcome, with virtually no change in the country's median wealth between 2010 to 2013, even as asset prices, such as the stock market and housing values, rebounded in the years following the recession, Wolff wrote. The cause? "The high dissavings rate of the middle class," he noted.... As the recession hit, this group had already suffered from several years of relatively stagnant wage gains. From 2007 to 2010, median income slumped almost 7 percent, and median wealth plunged by 44 percent.... "It appears that the middle class was depleting its assets to maintain its previous level of consumption," Wolff wrote. "The evidence, moreover, suggests that middle class households, experiencing stagnating incomes, expanded their debt (at least until 2007) mainly in order to finance normal consumption expenditures rather than to increase their investment portfolio."... Real wages, or earnings after inflation is taken into account, have been falling or flat for decades, Pew Research noted earlier this year. Those trends have prompted a growing racial wealth divide, according to a study published by Pew Research on Friday. While the median wealth of white households was eight times the wealth of black households in 2010, that ratio had widened to 13 times by 2013, Pew said.”

Spending in the middle class is greater than income, and minorities have lost more in the Great Recession and are even deeper into “dissavings” than whites in general. "The evidence, moreover, suggests that middle class households, experiencing stagnating incomes, expanded their debt (at least until 2007) mainly in order to finance normal consumption expenditures...” Real wages are at a level not seen for forty years, and consumer spending has not gone down in response, with Middle Class people even borrowing money to keep up their perceived and desired standard of living. No “belt tightening” has been occurring. We have been burning our proverbial candle at both ends.

In other words, we screwed up. I have come to my point of reckoning with it – my social security is not high enough for me to afford regular rentals, and I live in HUD housing. There have been times when I had a good amount of money to spend or save, and unfortunately I spent it. To be fair, I also had a number of times when I was unemployed, so I lost money then. I took most of my work related pension plan out early to finance my life then. I now only have a very small amount coming to me each month, with my major source of income being Social Security. Thank God I humbled myself and investigated HUD housing, so I'm doing okay now (not well, just “okay”). I am grateful every day for Social Security, which is partly why I get so hot under the collar when greedy right wing Republicans in Congress try to pass a bill that would allow those young whippersnappers to put their share of the payroll taxes into a private account. That money coming in is what keeps the benefits flowing.

Those younger than I am are going to have to cancel their credit cards and live within their incomes. I don't have one. I live on cash. Why does anybody need a credit card? What you need is a budget. Am I wrong? If everybody would truly live within their means from now on the Middle Class wouldn't be in such a bad situation. My grand nephew is just out of college and the Peace Corps and is looking for a job in Washington DC. I feel sorry for him, but there is nothing to be done except to get some kind of job and save, save, save. The idea of every US citizen owning their own house has never been feasible in truth, so why in heaven's name is it “the American Dream?” It's crazy. Rent an apartment or house, and share the rent with a housemate so you can get by on less money. There's no shame in that. There's no shame in poverty, for that matter, but we each desperately need to keep a roof over our heads and enough food for three meals a day. Some humility and wisdom will get us through.





http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-police-killings-march-washington-080136814.html

Protesters of police killings to march on DC
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
December 13, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of protesters converged on the nation's capital Saturday to help bring attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police and call for legislative action.

Led by several civil rights organizations, the crowd will march to the Capitol on Saturday afternoon with the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men who died in incidents with white police officers. Civil rights advocate The Rev. Al Sharpton also will be part of the march. The groups and marchers — with signs reading "Black Lives Matter" and "Who do you protect? Who do you serve" — are calling for law enforcement reforms after several high-profile cases of what they call police brutality.

Terry Baisden, 52, of Baltimore said she is "hopeful change is coming" and that the movement is not part of a fleeting flash of anger.

She said she hasn't protested before but felt compelled to because "changes in action, changes in belief, happen in numbers."

Protests — some violent — have occurred around the nation since grand juries last month declined to indict the officers involved in the deaths of 18-year-old Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Garner, 43, who gasped "I can't breathe" while being arrested for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes in New York. Politicians and others talked about the need for better police training, body cameras and changes in the grand jury process to restore faith in the legal system.

Murry Edwards said he made the trip to Washington from St. Louis because he wants to make sure the momentum from the movement in Ferguson reaches a national stage.

"This is the national march," Edwards said. "We have to get behind the national movement."

Sheryce Holloway, a recent graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, attended a smaller gathering outside Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington ahead of the main rally. She said she also has been participating in protests at her alma mater.

Holloway said the goal of the protests is "ending blue-on-black crime. Black lives do matter."

Saturday's march — sponsored in part by the National Action Network, the Urban League, the NAACP — is scheduled to go down Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol. At the Capitol, speakers will outline a legislative agenda they want Congress to pursue in relation to police killings.

While protesters rally in Washington, other groups including Ferguson Action will be conducting similar "Day of Resistance" movements all around the country. A large march is planned in New York City.

ONLINE See:
Justice for All March http://nationalactionnetwork.net/march-police/
National Day of Resistance: http://fergusonaction.com/day-of-resistance/




“Terry Baisden, 52, of Baltimore said she is "hopeful change is coming" and that the movement is not part of a fleeting flash of anger. She said she hasn't protested before but felt compelled to because "changes in action, changes in belief, happen in numbers."... Politicians and others talked about the need for better police training, body cameras and changes in the grand jury process to restore faith in the legal system. Murry Edwards said he made the trip to Washington from St. Louis because he wants to make sure the momentum from the movement in Ferguson reaches a national stage. "This is the national march," Edwards said. "We have to get behind the national movement."... Saturday's march — sponsored in part by the National Action Network, the Urban League, the NAACP — is scheduled to go down Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol. At the Capitol, speakers will outline a legislative agenda they want Congress to pursue in relation to police killings.”

This is really beginning to resemble a “movement,” and I am feeling drawn to get involved in it at the local level. There have been events already in Jacksonville. I do deplore brutality at the hands of anyone, especially parents and police departments, who we are supposed to trust. It's a short step from that to having those military tanks used against political rivals. Democrats and Republicans should be just “rivals,” but they are definitely enemies now. It's not just the classist society that we live in, that hurts our feelings and our pride if we let it, but the ruthless militancy of the very wealthy in their ways of doing business. Take Walmart and similar companies, who are in the news for paying minimum wage to most of their workers, while the minimum wage has long since become a starvation and hard core poverty wage. That is happening because those same ruthless employers have nearly killed the labor unions that built our Middle Class in the 1950s and 60s. The truth of American history has become so diluted and whitewashed that we lose track of basic facts like that. Those ruthless people would willingly take our society back to slavery, or at any rate to the worst days of the 1920s and 30s. I lived through enough of those events – or heard about them at first hand from my parents – that I don't want to see it again. Both my parents were poor, and we were the “working poor” when I was growing up, so I have no sympathy with the privileged groups in our society. If it's a class war, I'm going to be a soldier in it.

See the news article below. The forces of evil are gathering daily, unless I'm misreading the signs.


http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/1213/Black-teen-hung-from-swing-set-Suicide-or-lynching

Black teen hung from swing set: Suicide or lynching?

The FBI is now investigating the death of Lennon Lacy, a 17-year-old found dead in a North Carolina trailer park, hanging from a swing set by a dog leash and a belt that were not his own.

By Martha Waggoner, Associated Press DECEMBER 13, 2014

BLADENBORO, N.C. — The black teenager was found in a North Carolinatrailer park, hanging from a swing set by a dog leash and a belt that were not his own. His mother said he showed no sign of suicidal thoughts, yet authorities quickly ruled that he had taken his own life.

Now the FBI is reviewing the investigation after Lennon Lacy's relatives and the NAACP raised doubts about the official findings, which the county coroner also questions.

A 911 caller reported spotting the 17-year-old's body Aug. 29 in the small town of Bladenboro, about 100 miles south of Raleigh. His feet were suspended 2 inches off the ground.

Recommended: INFOGRAPHIC Race equality in America: How far have we come?

The state medical examiner ruled that the boy killed himself, but his mother said she does not believe it.

"When I saw him, I just knew automatically he didn't do that to himself," Claudia Lacy told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "If he was going to harm himself, his demeanor would have changed. His whole routine, everything, his attitude, everything would have changed."

She last saw the youngest of her four sons alive as the middle linebacker prepared for a high school football game by putting together his uniform in the early hours of the day he died.

His father told him that he needed to get some sleep before the game, his first after his mother made him take a year off from the team to focus on his grades.

"OK, Daddy," he said. They then heard a door close, which was not unusual, Claudia Lacy said, because her son liked to run at night when the air was cool.

About 13 hours later, she identified his body in the back of an ambulance. The swing set was in clear sight of about 10 trailers.

She said she felt let down when investigators ruled it a suicide and brought her concerns to the state chapter of the NAACP, which has organized a march Saturday in Bladenboro. 

The march will begin Saturday morning at the First Baptist Church in Bladenboro. The NAACP is reminding participants that the march is supposed to be non-violent.

On Friday, federal officials confirmed they were reviewing the investigation. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Tom Walker said Walker's office acted at the request of attorneys from the North Carolina NAACP representing the family.

"We don't know what happened that terrible night," said the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP chapter. "It is possible that a 17-year-old excited about life could commit suicide. The family is prepared to accept the truth. They're not prepared to accept this theory that's been posited with a rush to a conclusion of suicide so quickly. We have said there are far too many unanswered questions."

Bladen County District Attorney Jon David said Friday that he also asked the FBI to review the case because the family and the NAACP said they had information that they would provide only to federal authorities. He said he had seen no evidence of foul play.

"Not only is the case open, but our minds are open," David said.

In the 911 call, the dispatcher advises the caller to try to get the person down in case he was still alive. When investigators arrived at the trailer park that the NAACP has described as predominantly white, the body was on the ground. Investigators told NAACP attorneys that one shoe was on the body and one was on the ground, said Al McSurely, a lawyer working for the NAACP.

The shoes were 1.5 sizes too small for Lacy and did not belong to him, his family said.

The family also questioned whether authorities took photos at the scene, and if they did, whether those photos were provided to the state medical examiner.

David said Friday that many photos were taken, but the NAACP attorneys said they were not aware of any.

Bladenboro Police Chief Chris Hunt referred all questions to the State Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina's top law enforcement agency. A spokeswoman for the bureau has said agents addressed all viable leads.

Bladen County Coroner Hubert Kinlaw said he signed a death certificate calling the cause of death a suicide because that's how the form came back from the medical examiner. Kinlaw, who went to the scene, said he now wonders whether Lennon really killed himself.

"How did it happen? How did he wind up there?" he said. "These are all questions that are out there."

But the medical examiner, Dr. Deborah Radisch, said in a discussion with a pathologist hired by the NAACP that she based her ruling partially on Kinlaw's conclusion that Lacy killed himself.

And Claudia Lacy inadvertently contributed to the conclusion of suicide. When asked if Lennon had been depressed, she said yes, that his great-uncle had been buried the day before. She said she meant that Lennon was sad, grieving over the loss of a family member, not suicidal.

"Here's a mother who knows at the end of the day she's going to have to accept that either it was a suicide or it was a lynching," Barber said. "And because of the history of the South and the history of this country, in some strange way, she would almost rather it be a suicide."