Sunday, April 5, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-kkk-prison-workers-20150402-story.html

Informant posing as Klan hit man leads to prison guard bust
AP By Tribune wire reports
April 3, 2015

Photograph – David Elliot Moran, Thomas Jordan Driver and Charles Thomas Newcomb in their Alachua County, Florida booking photos. (Alachua County Jail)

The Ku Klux Klan hit man pulled a burner phone from his pocket and showed his Klan brother a photograph of a slain black man in rural north Florida.

"Is that what you wanted?" the hit man asked his Klan brother, a 25-year-old prison guard.

"Yes sir, thank you brother," the guard told him.

Officials said the supposed hit man was an FBI criminal informant who recorded those scenes and others over the past year. They said he faked pictures of the black man's death to help build a case against three Klan members who worked at a Florida prison. The men were charged Thursday with plotting to kill a black inmate after his release because they believed he is infected with HIV and hepatitis and he bit one of them during a fight, officials said.

The case is the latest black eye for the troubled state prison system.

The three men —Thomas Jordan Driver, David Elliot Moran, 47, and Charles Thomas Newcomb, 42 — each face one state count of conspiracy to commit murder, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office said in a statement.

The state said the murder plot started after Driver, an officer at the Department of Corrections Reception and Medical Center in rural north Florida, had a fight with the inmate.

Moran is currently a sergeant there. Newcomb was fired in 2013 for failing to meet training requirements, according to the department.

Bondi's office said the three were also members of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The group has garnered attention in recent months for distributing flyers that likened protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, to terrorists.

The FBI was alerted to the murder plot by a confidential informant inside the Klan, according to an arrest affidavit. The informant was present when Driver and Moran talked with Newcomb, identified as the KKK chapter's "Exalted Cyclops" or leader, and recorded many of their conversations.

In late 2014, authorities say Driver gave the Klan chapter, called a klavern, a photograph of the inmate, who'd been let out on supervised release.

"Both Driver and Moran ... told the (confidential informant) that they wanted (the inmate) 'six feet under'," the FBI's affidavit said.

The informant recorded all three men making plans to murder the inmate, according to the affidavit. In the recordings, the men often refer to the inmate using a racial epithet.

Their first attempt to find and kill the inmate failed and the informant recorded a conversation with Driver to confirm he still wanted him dead, the affidavit said.

"Do you want this guy terminated?" the informant asked.

"Yes sir," Driver replied, according to the affidavit.

In March, the FBI gave the informant the burner cellphone with the doctored photograph of the inmate who looked like he'd been fatally shot. The informant showed all three men the picture and recorded their jubilant reactions.

Moran and Driver both smiled when they saw the picture, and Driver shook the informant's hand in gratitude, according to the affidavit.

The case highlights an ongoing stream of high-profile problems in Florida's prison system.

Last fall, prison system officials fired nearly 50 employees, including several over allegations that they punched and beat inmates.

The deaths of inmates Randall Jordan-Aparo and Darren Rainey also drew attention.

Jordan-Aparo was reportedly gassed in a confinement cell at the Franklin Correctional Institution. Rainey, a mentally ill prisoner, was punished in 2012 with a shower so hot that his skin separated from his body at Dade Correctional Institution. The warden there was fired.

Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones, who was hired late last year to lead the troubled agency, called the arrests "disquieting."

"We are moving swiftly to terminate the employees arrested today and working closely with Office of the Attorney General to assist in their prosecution," she said in a statement.

"Our Department has zero tolerance for racism or prejudice of any kind. The actions of these individuals are unacceptable and do not, in any way, represent the thousands of good, hardworking honorable correctional officers employed at the Department of Corrections."

Driver and Moran were being held in Union County jail. Newcomb was in Alachua County Jail with bond set at $750,000.

Frank Ancona, imperial wizard of the KKK group to which the three men were said to belong, did not confirm or deny their membership.

"We at the TAK do not in any way condone, tolerate, or support any type of illegal activity in our organization and because of this we would stand by any of our members pending a decision by a court of law, not a decision of the court of media or public opinion," Ancona said.





“The state said the murder plot started after Driver, an officer at the Department of Corrections Reception and Medical Center in rural north Florida, had a fight with the inmate. Moran is currently a sergeant there. Newcomb was fired in 2013 for failing to meet training requirements, according to the department. Bondi's office said the three were also members of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The group has garnered attention in recent months for distributing flyers that likened protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, to terrorists. …. Newcomb, identified as the KKK chapter's "Exalted Cyclops" or leader, and recorded many of their conversations. …. The informant recorded all three men making plans to murder the inmate, according to the affidavit. In the recordings, the men often refer to the inmate using a racial epithet. Their first attempt to find and kill the inmate failed and the informant recorded a conversation with Driver to confirm he still wanted him dead, the affidavit said. …. The case highlights an ongoing stream of high-profile problems in Florida's prison system. Last fall, prison system officials fired nearly 50 employees, including several over allegations that they punched and beat inmates. …. Jordan-Aparo was reportedly gassed in a confinement cell at the Franklin Correctional Institution. Rainey, a mentally ill prisoner, was punished in 2012 with a shower so hot that his skin separated from his body at Dade Correctional Institution. The warden there was fired. …. "Our Department has zero tolerance for racism or prejudice of any kind. The actions of these individuals are unacceptable and do not, in any way, represent the thousands of good, hardworking honorable correctional officers employed at the Department of Corrections." …. "We at the TAK do not in any way condone, tolerate, or support any type of illegal activity in our organization and because of this we would stand by any of our members pending a decision by a court of law, not a decision of the court of media or public opinion," Ancona said.”

This is shameful. I am glad to see that Bondi is taking action, though this is a black eye for the state of Florida. Fifty workers fired earlier for beating inmates. I saw a shocking TV documentary about four years ago in which a large number of guards “disciplined” an inmate with billy clubs. An attack like that could permanently injure or even kill a man, especially if they hit on the head. I wouldn't say that most prisoners are innocent, but they are at the mercy of such a large group of guards, and that kind of punishment is definitely “cruel” if not unusual. I think law enforcement people absolutely should not be vicious, even if they do need to subdue an inmate. I wonder how the other state prisons are?





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/easter-sermon-at-the-vatican-tackles-global-affairs/

Easter sermon at the Vatican tackles global affairs
AP April 5, 2015

Photograph – Pope Francis leads the Easter Mass at St Peter's square on April 5, 2015 in Vatican.  GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

VATICAN CITY - In an Easter peace wish, Pope Francis on Sunday praised the framework nuclear agreement with Iran as an opportunity to make the world safer, while expressing deep worry about bloodshed in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq,Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Cautious hope ran through Francis' "Urbi et Orbi" Easter message, a kind of papal commentary on the state of the world's affairs, which he delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square.

He had just celebrated Mass in rain-whipped St. Peter's Square for tens of thousands of people, who huddled under umbrellas or braved the downpour in thin, plastic rain-slickers.

Easter day is "so beautiful, and so ugly because of the rain," Francis said after Mass about Christianity's most important feast day. He expressed thanks for the flowers which bedecked the square and which were donated by the Netherlands, but the bright hues of the azaleas and other blossoms seemed muted by the gray skies.

Francis made his first public comments about the recent framework for an accord, reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, and aimed at ensuring Iran doesn't develop a nuclear weapon.

"In hope we entrust to the merciful Lord the framework recently agreed to in Lausanne, that it may be a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world."

Decrying the plentitude of weapons in the world in general, Francis said: "And we ask for peace for this world subjected to arms dealers, who earn their living with the blood of men and women."

He denounced "absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence" in Libya, convulsed by fighting fueled by tribal and militia rivalries. He hoped "a common desire for peace" would prevail in Yemen, wracked by civil warfare.

Francis prayed that the "roar of arms may cease" in Syria and Iraq, and that peace would come in Africa for Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Congo.

He recalled the young people, many of them targeted because they were Christians, killed last week in a Kenyan university, and lamented kidnappings, by Islamic extremists, that have plagued parts of Africa, including Nigeria.

He also cited bloodshed closer to home, in Ukraine, praying that the Eastern European nation would "rediscover peace and hope thanks to the commitment of all interested parties." Government forces have been battling Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, months after a cease-fire was proclaimed following international diplomatic efforts.

On Good Friday, Francis chastised the international community for what he called the complicit silence about the killing of Christians. On Easter he prayed that God would alleviate "the suffering of so many of our brothers persecuted because of his name."

During Mass, Francis was shielded from pelting rain by a canopy erected outside St. Peter's Basilica, while prelates carried umbrellas in the yellow and white colors of the Vatican.

The downpour petered out to a drizzle, and by the end of the ceremony, the rain had stopped. Francis, wearing a white overcoat, was driven through the square in the open-sided popemobile so he could wave to the faithful.




Francis made his first public comments about the recent framework for an accord, reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, and aimed at ensuring Iran doesn't develop a nuclear weapon. "In hope we entrust to the merciful Lord the framework recently agreed to in Lausanne, that it may be a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world." …. He also cited bloodshed closer to home, in Ukraine, praying that the Eastern European nation would "rediscover peace and hope thanks to the commitment of all interested parties." Government forces have been battling Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, months after a cease-fire was proclaimed following international diplomatic efforts. …. The downpour petered out to a drizzle, and by the end of the ceremony, the rain had stopped. Francis, wearing a white overcoat, was driven through the square in the open-sided popemobile so he could wave to the faithful.”

One reason this pope is so popular is that he is more “involved in the world” than some who seem to shelter behind tradition, avoiding real issues that affect society. Even when he talks about traditional Catholic values such as birth control, abortion, divorce and marriage, he does so with an awareness of the trauma that some of these things carry with them. He is alert, intelligent and concerned, not a figurehead. I really like him, and thousands of people do to, coming out in a driving rain to hear him speak.





http://news.yahoo.com/eu-aware-german-air-safety-lapses-deadly-alps-192315450.html

EU 'aware of German air safety lapses' before deadly Alps crash
AFP April 4, 2015

Berlin (AFP) - The European Aviation Safety Agency had voiced concerns over Germany's "non-conformity" with air safety rules before the Germanwings air crash which killed 150 people, especially on air crew health monitoring, a spokesman told AFP Saturday.

The EASA, an EU agency, "had pointed out several cases of non-conformity," spokesman Dominique Fouda said, confirming a Wall Street Journal report.

"On the basis of the EASA recommendations the European Commission launched, in late 2014, a process calling for accountability from Germany," he continued.

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a Germanwings airliner on March 24, had searched online for information about suicide and cockpit doors, according to prosecutors.

All 150 people on board Flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf were killed when it crashed into the Alps in the bloodiest such disaster on French soil in decades.

German prosecutors have said Lubitz was diagnosed as suicidal "several years ago", before he became a pilot.

The parent company of Germanwings, German flag carrier Lufthansa, has come under huge pressure after it emerged that Lubitz had informed his bosses that he had suffered from severe depression.

Lufthansa said the co-pilot had told the airline in 2009 about his illness after interrupting his flight training.

Doctors had recently found no sign that Lubitz, 27, intended to hurt himself or others, but he was receiving treatment from neurologists and psychiatrists who had signed him off sick from work a number of times, including on the day of the crash.

Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr has said the airline was utterly unaware of any health issues that could have compromised Lubitz's fitness to fly, calling him "100-percent airworthy".

According to Saturday's edition of the Wall Street Journal, "EU officials said Germany's air-safety regulator suffered from chronic staffing shortfalls that could undermine its ability to run checks of carriers and crew, including medical checks."

An EU Commission spokesman told AFP that, based on the EASA findings, it had "told Germany to get its aviation industry in conformity" with the rules.

"Germany's responses are currently being evaluated," he added.

"This is part of a continuous system of supervision" in a process which can culminate in corrective action.




“The European Aviation Safety Agency had voiced concerns over Germany's "non-conformity" with air safety rules before the Germanwings air crash which killed 150 people, especially on air crew health monitoring, a spokesman told AFP Saturday. The EASA, an EU agency, "had pointed out several cases of non-conformity," spokesman Dominique Fouda said, confirming a Wall Street Journal report. "On the basis of the EASA recommendations the European Commission launched, in late 2014, a process calling for accountability from Germany," he continued. …. According to Saturday's edition of the Wall Street Journal, "EU officials said Germany's air-safety regulator suffered from chronic staffing shortfalls that could undermine its ability to run checks of carriers and crew, including medical checks." An EU Commission spokesman told AFP that, based on the EASA findings, it had "told Germany to get its aviation industry in conformity" with the rules.”

I wonder what else Germany was “out of compliance” over? I wonder if they have had a history of deregulation like the US did under Ronald Reagan. Regulation is not a useless thing, especially in these cases when there is real danger. At the time the air traffic controllers were cut back I was worried. Giving one person too many tasks to perform at once is a recipe for mishaps. There had been reports of controllers (as do surgeons and nurses) working long hours with nothing but catnaps and endless cups of coffee. It may “save” money, but it wastes human life when two airliners find themselves on a collision course.





http://news.yahoo.com/3-san-francisco-officers-face-suspensions-over-racist-161326414.html

7 San Francisco officers suspended over racist texts
AP By KRISTIN J. BENDER
April 3, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Seven San Francisco police officers accused of sending racist and homophobic text messages have been suspended, and the police chief has recommended that they be fired.

Chief Greg Suhr announced Friday that he has asked a police oversight committee to approve firing the officers. Six others face disciplinary actions that include reassignment to positions that don't have contact with the public. Another officer tied to the investigation already has resigned.

The text messages "are of such despicable thinking that those responsible clearly fall below the minimum standards required to be a police officer," Suhr said in a statement.

But the officers, who were not identified, violated department policy to varying degrees, Suhr said.

Two officers who sent inflammatory texts were reassigned and will have their cases considered by the police commission, which can hand down penalties up to termination.
The remaining four officers did not send text messages that included "hate speech," said Suhr, who will decide how to punish them. He can suspend an officer without pay for up to 10 days.
Authorities say the texts targeting blacks, Mexicans, Filipinos and gay men were sent between 2011 and 2012. They were discovered by federal authorities investigating a former police sergeant, who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Meanwhile, District Attorney George Gascon said his office will review all cases going back 10 years that were linked to the officers either by writing a report, submitting evidence or testifying in court.
City leaders have raised concern that any prejudice by the officers could have led to unfair treatment, particularly in cases involving black defendants.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association earlier issued a statement saying the actions were not emblematic of individuals it represents.




“Seven San Francisco police officers accused of sending racist and homophobic text messages have been suspended, and the police chief has recommended that they be fired. …. Six others face disciplinary actions that include reassignment to positions that don't have contact with the public. Another officer tied to the investigation already has resigned. …. The text messages "are of such despicable thinking that those responsible clearly fall below the minimum standards required to be a police officer," Suhr said in a statement.”

This statement by Suhr is encouraging – that there is, after all, a “minimum standard” in order to be a good police officer. In small southern towns in the good old days of the 50's I have heard it said that the only requirements to be a police officer is size and a great willingness if not a desire to rough people up. The town bully was often the first hired. That really is not now, and shouldn't ever have been, acceptable. An officer will need a good positive mindset, true caring about even the blacks and the poor, enough education to make them alert and able to subdue a potential criminal without killing him. I firmly believe they shouldn't out on the street patrolling without a partner to aid in apprehending suspects. That would really help about the number of times when an officer is “in fear of his life.”

Those body cameras are being used now but not everywhere, and that needs to happen. Intimidation is not a high quality technique for that. Being able to talk to people respectfully and with some compassion is essential, in my book. In short, it takes a well-qualified rather than a minimally qualified person. It really might help if more women were hired than are now serving. Officers don't in my opinion have to be religious, but they do need to be fair and honest. I keep seeing too little compassion in some religious people I know, so I don't think that religion is a good substitute for that. Some healthy empathy with other life forms including humans is essential.

Planting drugs in some poor fall guy's car in order to charge him with possession should not occur, and stealing cocaine from the evidence room to sell on the street themselves also shouldn't. One problem with police work is that they have access to crimes from taking bribes to the temptation to beat someone viciously for little or no reason. They have, I feel, too much autonomy in most cities at this time. They need supervision and perhaps mental health checkups periodically like the airline pilots do. There is a potential for their doing great harm, otherwise.

“The San Francisco Police Officers Association earlier issued a statement saying the actions were not emblematic of individuals it represents.” This is a good sign. In the recent NYC case of the stranglehold having been used, the police officers and also the Union president fought bitterly against punishing the policeman. The Chief when he first heard Mayor de Blassio's condemnation of police irregularities was very defensive. After a week or so, however, he came out with a more conciliatory comment, and now the NYPD has been showing signs of being willing to acknowledge that there is a problem, and then really going to work on it. The city government of Ferguson MO has also made efforts to meet the black community halfway. More and more cities are still coming into the spotlight – this situation in SFPD is the latest I've seen, but it looks more promising than the other two cities did, so far at least. I'm feeling a little bit hopeful about all this lately.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/violent-video-games-dont-affect-kids-behavior-but-this-might/

Violent video games don't affect kids' behavior -- but this might
By  RANDY DOTINGA HEALTHDAY
April 3, 2015

Photograph – A new study found no impact on children's behavior from playing violent video games, but playing more than an hour a day may have a negative effect.  LISA F. YOUNG

A small study offers a mixed view on whether video games may make kids more aggressive.

Those children who spend more time playing games might be slightly likelier to be hyperactive and to get into fights. But violent video games seem to have no effect on behavior, according to British researchers.

The researchers also said they discovered that kids who played video games for less than an hour a day were more likely to be less aggressive and rated as better-behaved by their teachers.

And even if spending a lot of time playing video games every day may alter the way kids act in everyday life, "all observed behaviors were very small in magnitude, suggesting only a minor relationship at best and that games do not have as large an impact as some parents and practitioners worry," said study author Andrew Przybylski. He is an experimental psychologist at the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University.

In the study, researchers looked at 217 teens, 110 males and 107 females, and examined both their video game-playing habits and their personalities as judged by their teachers.

A bit more than half of the girls had never played video games, compared to just 13 percent of the boys. Sixteen percent (18) of the boys played video games more than three hours a day, compared to 3 percent (4) of the girls.

The researchers found that the 22 kids who played video games the most each day were the likeliest to have behavioral problems, exhibit hyperactivity and have trouble academically, although the effects were "quite small in magnitude," Przybylski said. He added that there's no way to know whether kids are drawn to video games because of their personalities, or whether video games alter their personalities.

The kinds of video games that the kids played appeared to have no effect after the researchers adjusted their statistics so factors such as gender wouldn't have an effect.

And there was even an unexpected benefit to playing for short amounts of time each day, the study authors found.

"Individuals who regularly played less than an hour a day of any type of game were actually less likely than their non-playing peers to fight with or bully peers and were rated as better behaved by their teachers," said study co-author Allison Fine Mishkin, a graduate student at Oxford Internet Institute. "This suggests that, in small doses, video games are a valuable and valid form of play which we do not need to fear."

Christopher Ferguson, chair of the psychology department at Stetson University in Florida and a leading critic of studies linking violence to movies and video games, praised the study. In this research area, "it is often difficult to discern good science from overstated panic," he said.

The new study is "in many ways an improvement over what has come before," he added, especially since it relies on perceptions from teachers about the behavior of kids, not the self-descriptions of the kids themselves.

Craig Anderson, director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University, has a different view. He said the study doesn't say much that's new, and he believes that violent video games have been proven to increase aggressive behavior and thinking.

Dr. Claire McCarthy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, wouldn't go so far as to criticize video games. Considering the lack of definitive research, "we need to be a little bit careful when it comes to vilifying video games," she said. "And we are unlikely to ever know all the answers about the true effects of video games," she added.

"All we can really do is use our common sense, and make sure that kids get plenty of time away from screens, too," McCarthy said. "Playing video games doesn't usually help kids learn the behavioral skills they need to succeed. They still need to get shut off sometimes."

The study was published online recently in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture.




“Those children who spend more time playing games might be slightly likelier to be hyperactive and to get into fights. But violent video games seem to have no effect on behavior, according to British researchers. The researchers also said they discovered that kids who played video games for less than an hour a day were more likely to be less aggressive and rated as better-behaved by their teachers. …. only a minor relationship at best and that games do not have as large an impact as some parents and practitioners worry," …. "This suggests that, in small doses, video games are a valuable and valid form of play which we do not need to fear." Christopher Ferguson, chair of the psychology department at Stetson University in Florida and a leading critic of studies linking violence to movies and video games, praised the study. In this research area, "it is often difficult to discern good science from overstated panic," he said. …. Craig Anderson, director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University, has a different view. He said the study doesn't say much that's new, and he believes that violent video games have been proven to increase aggressive behavior and thinking. …. McCarthy said. "Playing video games doesn't usually help kids learn the behavioral skills they need to succeed. They still need to get shut off sometimes."

“The researchers found that the 22 kids who played video games the most each day were the likeliest to have behavioral problems, exhibit hyperactivity and have trouble academically, although the effects were "quite small in magnitude," Przybylski said. He added that there's no way to know whether kids are drawn to video games because of their personalities, or whether video games alter their personalities.” I'm afraid it may be a little of both, and wouldn't allow a kid of mine to close himself up with a computer all day like that.

I personally am not drawn at all to video games for more than five or ten minutes except for Minesweeper and Solitaire. Minesweeper was really exciting until I figured out exactly how to pick squares without setting off a mine. If you hit a mine it explodes and the game is over. A young friend of mine is addicted to video games, especially a car racing game. I do remember Ms Packman, which I enjoyed. Mostly I like to read, do the blog, and watch old detective shows on TV. If I'm outdoors I like to take a slow, leisurely walk in an area with trees and a pond.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-presidential-job-application/

The presidential job application
By JOHN DICKERSON CBS NEWS
April 3, 2015

This article originally appeared on Slate.

Presidential announcement season is upon us. Sen. Ted Cruz has jumped in the pool. Sen. Rand Paul is expected to join him next week. Sen. Marco Rubio will do the same thing the following week. Hillary Clinton will take her step "soon" according to staffers-in-waiting who are eager to switch from their personal Gmail accounts to the official campaign one.

What Americans think of Hillary Clinton's email practices

Al Gore said that a presidential campaign is like a job interview. If that's true, then when these candidates announce, we should hand them a few preliminary questions at the start of the process. After all, that's even required of the average Starbucks employee. Presumably this job is harder.

So here are a few preliminary inquiries. These are not gotcha questions. They're open-book questions. Candidates may refer to their notes, or their campaign biographies, as the case may be. Also, they can take their time. The first contest in Iowa isn't for another 10 months.

1. What's the biggest crisis you've faced in your professional life and how did you handle it?
Everyone agrees there is no real experience that can prepare a person for the presidency. This is not a reason to allow candidates to duck questions about experience though. I'm sure there's nothing like the first time a quarterback plays in a Super Bowl, but that doesn't keep us from looking at his previous games to come to some conclusion about his ability to handle the big game. One thing we know is that presidents face few easy decisions. Also, crises often hits early, whether it's the Bay of Pigs or the downing of an EP-3 spy plane. Will a candidate know what it's like to be in a pinch? Will they know how to keep their head when everyone around them is losing theirs? This is the kind of question where a good answer can pretty much allow you to leave the remaining questions blank. For example, when Dwight Eisenhower was nominated he told the 1952 GOP convention: "I know something of the solemn responsibility of leading a crusade. I have led one." That's a pretty good résumé line. This question refers to "professional life," so it need not only apply to political office. (Ben Carson once led a 70-member surgical team for 22 hours to separate conjoined twins. That would be a good thing to talk about here.)

2. What's the biggest personal crisis you've faced and how did you handle it?
We'll probably never get candidates to answer this question--though several Republicans came close in 2011 at an Iowa forum hosted by the Family Leader and Democrats came close at the Sojourners forum in 2007. Personal moments matter because they offer a window into a candidate's temperament, a quality anyone close to a president mentions as a key attribute for the job. It's the equanimity and sense of self that helps them deal with uncertainty, chaos, and overwhelming pressure. These qualities are tested in personal crucibles in a different way than they are in professional circumstances. George W. Bush's turn from alcohol to faith, for example, told us something about his mindset that was different than the challenges he'd faced in his professional life.

3. What's your greatest political triumph?
This is an easy one for the politicians who are running because they've won elections. But they can't just point to their own victories and move on. This question seeks to get at why they won, what they saw in the electorate that others did not, and what they learned about people along the way. Being president requires understanding the political landscape. A candidate's answer to this question will give us some understanding about how he or she will read the currents when they take office.

4. What's your greatest governing triumph?
Another way to ask this question: What bill did you pass or program did you enact that you are most proud of and why? This is a simple enough question (for everyone except Sen. Ted Cruz) and tells us something about whether the candidates can actually work within the political system they're hoping to lead.

5. What experience have you had that will serve you well as president?
Not every candidate will have a governing triumph they can talk about. But surely they've done something with their lives they can boast about. Cruz, for example, said his successful career as Texas' solicitor general demonstrated his capacity to be president. But the point of this question is not just to dig up their shining moments--which the candidates freely tell anyone who gets in their path--but to hear how a candidate explains how those skills apply to the office they hope to hold. House Speaker John Boehner, for example, said that his life working in a bar was great training for dealing with his House Republicans. This not only tells us something about Boehner's skill set, but also tells us how he sees his job.

6. What historical presidential moment tells us the most about your vision of the office?
This is something like asking a Home Depot employee about their greatest home improvement project. Have these candidates studied the job they hope to hold? For a president, history is like a user manual for a job no one can be fully prepared for. That not only tells us if a candidate is thinking about the actual business of being president (Newt Gingrich was particularly good at this), but whether they have a fantastical vision of the office or a more realistic one. Gov. Scott Walker, for example, has said that Reagan's move against the air traffic control workers sent a message to Communist leaders in Russia. Russian experts disagree. Debating just that simple question would tell us a lot about the Wisconsin governor.

7. Tell us a joke.
Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates said temperament and a sense of humor are the two key presidential attributes. "I think a sense of humor and a sense of the absurd reflects a balance and a perspective on the world that is very healthy," said Gates when I asked him about presidential attributes last year. "Of all the presidents that I worked for, there are only two who had no discernible sense of humor: Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. I rest my case."

No candidate can answer all of these questions completely or perfectly, but at least we can measure how far short they fall from the ideal. Then from there we can judge whether they have the qualities to be the 45th president. Or, the candidates can offer a lively argument for why these questions don't make sense and other questions should be asked. As voters attending town hall meetings these questions are there for you to ask, too. Any time you think the media has gotten too wrapped up in the horse race or the frivolous kerfuffle of the day you can ask one of these Dudley-Do-Right questions.

On many job applications there is also a box in which applicants can tell their prospective employer any other significant facts they think will help them get the job. It's an important addendum meant to capture characteristics that might be missed by a necessarily limited form. We don't have that space here because that's essentially what the rest of the campaign is for.




“Al Gore said that a presidential campaign is like a job interview. If that's true, then when these candidates announce, we should hand them a few preliminary questions at the start of the process. After all, that's even required of the average Starbucks employee. Presumably this job is harder. So here are a few preliminary inquiries. These are not gotcha questions. They're open-book questions. Candidates may refer to their notes, or their campaign biographies, as the case may be. Also, they can take their time. The first contest in Iowa isn't for another 10 months. …. One thing we know is that presidents face few easy decisions. Also, crises often hits early, whether it's the Bay of Pigs or the downing of an EP-3 spy plane. …. Personal moments matter because they offer a window into a candidate's temperament, a quality anyone close to a president mentions as a key attribute for the job. It's the equanimity and sense of self that helps them deal with uncertainty, chaos, and overwhelming pressure. …. But they can't just point to their own victories and move on. This question seeks to get at why they won, what they saw in the electorate that others did not, and what they learned about people along the way. …. This is a simple enough question (for everyone except Sen. Ted Cruz) and tells us something about whether the candidates can actually work within the political system they're hoping to lead. …. But the point of this question is not just to dig up their shining moments--which the candidates freely tell anyone who gets in their path--but to hear how a candidate explains how those skills apply to the office they hope to hold. …. Have these candidates studied the job they hope to hold? For a president, history is like a user manual for a job no one can be fully prepared for. That not only tells us if a candidate is thinking about the actual business of being president (Newt Gingrich was particularly good at this), but whether they have a fantastical vision of the office or a more realistic one. …. Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates said temperament and a sense of humor are the two key presidential attributes. "I think a sense of humor and a sense of the absurd reflects a balance and a perspective on the world that is very healthy," said Gates …”

There are some presidents during my lifetime who don't seem fully qualified for the job, such as George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Neither of them seemed to have a tendency to think deeply about anything, including the Presidency. The writer of this article said that Jimmy Carter had no sense of humor. I don't think that's a fair statement. I've seen him grin when he heard a humorous statement made. I don't laugh very often, but I do often grin when something is funny. I don't think I've ever seen Carter laugh, though. He was a deep thinker on social issues and really cared – which is in my opinion one of the greatest characteristics for a president to possess – . and a very hard worker even with a saw and hammer on free housing for the poor. He was concerned about people and how laws should help us as citizens. He stood up for women when the Baptist Church said that they should obey their husbands. I was very proud of him for that. He promptly resigned his lifelong membership in the church when that doctrine came out. He has been involved in charities and wasn't steeped in party politics like so many (Ted Cruz for instance). He was always a gentleman. President Obama has a good sense of humor, a concern for the lives of the less wealthy in which I include the Middle Class, has come up with good personal initiatives on several subjects by using his executive powers when Congress pointlessly and negatively blocked all efforts in the congress, and he gets along surprisingly well with Republicans who must frustrate him immensely with their foot dragging about passing laws, their claims that he isn't an American citizen, etc. Of course he's smart enough to realize that they are just trying to be abusive and are not in his intellectual class for the most part. Cruz is bright – he graduated from Harvard Law School, but he has no noticeable character or ethical concerns. Obama is cool under fire. He is probably the calmest president I've seen except for General Eisenhower. I even saw things that I liked about Lyndon Johnson, though when he picked his beagle up by its ears I never forgave him for that. He was in more ways than one a crude man and could be lacking in sensitivity, partly because he was absolutely ruled by his testosterone. Dear old Bill Clinton had the same flaw, but he could also be a gentleman and was very intelligent in an incisive way that allowed him to frustrate those who never stopped trying to ruin him completely. He was too strong and stubborn for that to work – strength under pressure. That's a very important characteristic to me. Of all the presidents the ones I disliked most were Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Reagan had no social conscience whatsoever by my definition. He was just a rich man enjoying his wealth. I never forgave him for releasing the hostages by selling Iran some American arms to bribe them, and of course talking about the “trickle down” theory of economics. Sometimes there just isn't enough stuff trickling down for the very poor. For 2016 I really have no idea who I want to vote for. Clinton interests me, but I like Warren better, and even Joe Biden. I am already getting excited about the next election. Politics stirs my blood. I've helped out in several elections and always enjoyed it. The main thing I want is for another Democrat to win and for Ted Cruz to be discovered in some very dastardly skulduggery and drop out of the race. He is personally inferior in my opinion to any of these men except for Reagan and Nixon. Well, we'll see soon now.






http://www.cbsnews.com/news/monroe-louisiana-principal-bans-gay-student-tux-prom/

Principal bans gay student from wearing a tux at prom
AP April 5, 2015

MONROE, La. - A gay student in Louisiana says she is going to skip her prom because the school principal won't let her wear a tuxedo.

Claudettia Love, a senior and one of the top students at Carroll High in Monroe, said she was planning on going to the prom with a group of friends, but now they are staying away.

"I told my mom, 'They're using me. They put me in all these honors and advanced placement classes so I can take all of these tests and get good grades and better the school, but when it's time for me to celebrate the fact that I've accomplished what I need to accomplish and I'm about to graduate, they don't want to let me do it, the way I want to,'" she told The News-Star.

The decision is part of the school's dress code and not anything personal, principal Patrick Taylor told The News-Star.

Monroe City School Board President Rodney McFarland disagreed.

"Banning her from her prom just because of what she wants to wear - that's discrimination," he said. "As far as I know there is no Monroe City School Board policy saying what someone has to wear to attend the prom. You can't just go making up policies."

He said he planned to ask Superintendent Brent Vidrine to talk to Taylor.

Love's mother, Geraldine Jackson, said Taylor told her faculty members said they wouldn't supervise the April 24 prom if girls wore tuxes. "That's his exact words. 'Girls wear dresses and boys wear tuxes, and that's the way it is,'" she said.

Last year, Love was one of a group of students presented in a Monroe City School Board meeting as part of the school's high achieving medical magnet program. She will represent the school at the annual Scholars' Banquet, an event for the top students in Ouachita Parish, and has a full scholarship to Jackson State University.




“The decision is part of the school's dress code and not anything personal, principal Patrick Taylor told The News-Star. Monroe City School Board President Rodney McFarland disagreed. "Banning her from her prom just because of what she wants to wear - that's discrimination," he said. "As far as I know there is no Monroe City School Board policy saying what someone has to wear to attend the prom. You can't just go making up policies."

I feel sorry for this girl if she really feels that her gender identity is definitely male, but if she is just trying to make a political point I'm less enthusiastic about her stance. I do not “feel” like a 100% feminine person and I almost never wear a skirt anymore or makeup. I'm comfortable that way. It's neat-looking casuals slacks that are of a fabric that can be dressed up for me – never denim – and my hair is in a feminine style, but rarely any jewelry. I can't afford gold and diamonds and I no longer wear short skirts anymore. I did when I was in college. I prefer to meet life and other people as a “plain” but not neuter person. I'm feminine inside, but I don't want men to get confused about me, and I don't want to attract an abusive man which can happen if I look submissive. I'm not submissive, so I don't want to be married again unless some really spectacular person comes along. I have done my time and I want to be free. I wonder if this girl feels the same way.








http://www.npr.org/2015/04/05/397302426/lowering-a-citys-homeless-population-by-forcing-the-homeless-out

Lowering A City's Homeless Population — By Forcing The Homeless Out
Greg Allen
April 5, 2015

Photograph – The city of Hollywood, Fla., bought the Homeless Voice shelter from its owner, a longtime advocate for the homeless who agreed to stay away from the city for the next 30 years.
Greg Allen

It's been a week of goodbyes at the Homeless Voice in Hollywood, Fla. For nearly 13 years, this rundown, 22-room hotel operated as a homeless shelter.

On most nights, hotel manager Christine Jordan says, more than 200 homeless men and women stayed here, some sleeping on mats in the cafeteria.

"We called this the emergency level ... almost 40 people in here every night," she says. Some stayed for free and others paid on a sliding scale. "[Now], everything's gone. I can't cry anymore."

It all came to an end last week, when the city of Hollywood closed a deal with the shelter's owner, Sean Cononie, a homeless advocate and entrepreneur. Hollywood bought Cononie's hotel and several other properties for $4.8 million. More than 100 of the shelter's residents boarded buses and headed to new quarters in Central Florida, 200-plus miles away. Some others made their way into the county shelter system.

For the city, this marked the end of a long and unhappy relationship with Cononie. A decade ago, Hollywood tried and failed to shut down his shelter, which was self-supporting. His homeless clients paid rent by selling the Homeless Voice newspaper or by drawing on disability or other government benefits.

Now the South Florida beach community is in the midst of a building boom, with developers setting their sights on the shelter's aging neighborhood. Cononie decided to cash in and move his shelter and tenants out of the city, but he's not happy about it.

"This has been my home," he says. "Most people know that I sleep at the shelter. So it's been traumatic ... I sold the homeless out. I had no choice in the matter. They wouldn't let us expand here. We weren't getting the services we needed from the city."

Cononie, 50, says the deal he made with the city allows him to continue working with the homeless — anywhere but in Hollywood. That's because of an unusual provision that bans him from living in the city for the next 30 years. By the time that provision expires, he'll be 80.

"They were afraid if I owned a house that I would let a homeless person spend the night," he says. "And it would be a slippery slope for me to get away with opening up another shelter."

Hollywood is located in Broward County, which has had a contentious relationship with homeless residents and those who serve them. Neighboring Ft. Lauderdale has long tried to restrict feeding programs for the homeless.

But, says Hollywood spokesperson Raelin Storey, "This is not about the city of Hollywood not being open to providing assistance for individuals who are experiencing homelessness." She notes that the city is home to a 125-bed, homeless shelter that is run by the county.

Like much of South Florida, Hollywood is seeing a building boom, with more than $1 billion of development in the works. Storey says that Cononie's homeless shelter presented an obstacle in an area targeted for redevelopment along one of the city's main commercial corridors. "The concentration along this particular corridor was creating a scenario where the city couldn't see the redevelopment potential," she says.

It's a similar story in other Florida coastal cities. Lorraine Wilby, with the Task Force Fore Ending Homelessness in Ft. Lauderdale, says that after building out the beachfront, developers are moving inland. "And where the development is happening," she says, "is some rundown, old, single-occupancy rooms and boarding houses and all those affordable or attainable places to live for people."

In recent years, Wilby says, her group, which served nearly 5,000 homeless clients in Broward County last year, has seen a marked increase in homelessness among the working poor — people with fulltime jobs who can't afford to pay first and last month's rent plus a security deposit.

As old neighborhoods give way to new development, Wilby warns that a lack of affordable housing will mean Hollywood's homeless problem is likely to persist long after Cononie and his shelter have moved on.




“The city of Hollywood, Fla., bought the Homeless Voice shelter from its owner, a longtime advocate for the homeless who agreed to stay away from the city for the next 30 years.” This is really shocking to me, but it's not the first time I've heard of cities who want tourists to visit and thing the city is beautiful, and who go on a campaign to “move” the homeless population out of the downtown area. Some good solid Florida citizens call the homeless “bums” and “tramps.” Unfortunately there are lots of homeless people here. The weather is warm, and it's pleasant to sleep outside. …. On most nights, hotel manager Christine Jordan says, more than 200 homeless men and women stayed here, some sleeping on mats in the cafeteria. "We called this the emergency level ... almost 40 people in here every night," she says. Some stayed for free and others paid on a sliding scale. "[Now], everything's gone. I can't cry anymore." It all came to an end last week, when the city of Hollywood closed a deal with the shelter's owner, Sean Cononie, a homeless advocate and entrepreneur. Hollywood bought Cononie's hotel and several other properties for $4.8 million. More than 100 of the shelter's residents boarded buses and headed to new quarters in Central Florida, 200-plus miles away. Some others made their way into the county shelter system. …. Hollywood tried and failed to shut down his shelter, which was self-supporting. His homeless clients paid rent by selling the Homeless Voice newspaper or by drawing on disability or other government benefits. …. I had no choice in the matter. They wouldn't let us expand here. We weren't getting the services we needed from the city." Cononie, 50, says the deal he made with the city allows him to continue working with the homeless — anywhere but in Hollywood. …. Neighboring Ft. Lauderdale has long tried to restrict feeding programs for the homeless. But, says Hollywood spokesperson Raelin Storey, "This is not about the city of Hollywood not being open to providing assistance for individuals who are experiencing homelessness." She notes that the city is home to a 125-bed, homeless shelter that is run by the county.”

“In recent years, Wilby says, her group, which served nearly 5,000 homeless clients in Broward County last year, has seen a marked increase in homelessness among the working poor — people with fulltime jobs who can't afford to pay first and last month's rent plus a security deposit.” I naively thought that the “working poor” were bringing in enough money to pay rent at a low-cost location. This sounds like a real emergency to me. Don't they have HUD housing there? With that we get a reducible rent if our income goes down. It's high time for a federal minimum wage at $10 to $15 an hour to be put through. I wonder if President Obama could do something with one of his executive orders? I'll be looking for more stories about this. It's definitely a major problem.