Tuesday, April 21, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-aircraft-carrier-sent-to-yemen-in-response-to-iran-convoy/
U.S. aircraft carrier sent to Yemen in response to Iran
CBS/AP
April 20, 2015

Photograph – In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69) escorts the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) by the Rock of Gibraltar March 31, 2015, while transiting the Strait of Gibraltar.
 ANTHONY HOPKINS II/U.S. NAVY VIA GETTY IMAGES

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt left the Persian Gulf on Sunday and is headed toward Yemen, where there are already three U.S. amphibious ships and two destroyers, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

The Roosevelt was sent in response to a convoy of seven to nine Iranian ships which appear bound for Yemen and which could be carrying arms.

The aircraft carrier will join other American ships prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

However, Reuters reported that Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, denied the ship was sent to block possible Iranian arms shipments.

The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea amid reports of the convoy of Iranian ships.

The Houthis are battling government-backed fighters in an effort to take control of the country. The U.S. has been providing logistical and intelligence support to Saudi Arabia-led coalition launching airstrikes against the Houthis. That air campaign is now in its fourth week.

The U.S. Navy generally conducts consensual boardings of ships when needed, including to combat piracy around Africa and the region. So far, however, U.S. naval personnel have not boarded any Iranian vessels since the Yemen conflict began.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest would not comment specifically on any Navy movements in Yemeni waters, but said the U.S. has concerns about Iran's "continued support for the Houthis.

"We have seen evidence that the Iranians are supplying weapons and other armed support to the Houthis in Yemen. That support will only contribute to greater violence in that country. These are exactly the kind of destabilizing activities that we have in mind when we raise concerns about Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East."

He said "the Iranians are acutely aware of our concerns for their continued support of the Houthis by sending them large shipments of weapons."

Meanwhile, Saudi-led airstrikes hit weapons caches held by Houthis rebels, touching off massive explosions Monday in Yemen's capital that killed at least 19 people and buried scores of others under the rubble of flattened homes.

After the coalition airstrikes, mushroom clouds rose over the mountainous outskirts of Sanaa, where the arms depots are located. The Fag Atan area has been targeted several times since the start of the air campaign against the rebels known as Houthis.

"It was like the doors of hell opened all of a sudden," said Mohammed Sarhan, whose home is less than 1 mile from the site. "I felt the house lift up and fall."

The blasts - among the most powerful in Sanaa since the airstrikes began - deposited a layer of soot on the top floors of buildings in Sanaa and left streets littered with glass. Anti-aircraft fire rattled in response.

One bomb hit near the Iranian Embassy in Sanaa, drawing a sharp rebuke from Tehran.




“The Houthis are battling government-backed fighters in an effort to take control of the country. The U.S. has been providing logistical and intelligence support to Saudi Arabia-led coalition launching airstrikes against the Houthis. That air campaign is now in its fourth week. The U.S. Navy generally conducts consensual boardings of ships when needed, including to combat piracy around Africa and the region. So far, however, U.S. naval personnel have not boarded any Iranian vessels since the Yemen conflict began. White House spokesman Josh Earnest would not comment specifically on any Navy movements in Yemeni waters, but said the U.S. has concerns about Iran's "continued support for the Houthis. …. After the coalition airstrikes, mushroom clouds rose over the mountainous outskirts of Sanaa, where the arms depots are located. The Fag Atan area has been targeted several times since the start of the air campaign against the rebels known as Houthis. "It was like the doors of hell opened all of a sudden," said Mohammed Sarhan, whose home is less than 1 mile from the site. "I felt the house lift up and fall."

Apparently the enemy of my enemy is not always my friend. International relations are nothing if not complex. The enmities are intense and outside nations need to take great care in supporting one side or the other. The US is usually trying to keep stable governments in power rather than supporting a rival factor, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes we are acting in response to moves made by a strong nation like Iran, which is often considered to be an enemy to us, while our long-standing commitment to Saudi Arabia and Israel draw us in to their aid. I dread seeing us go into yet another war zone like this in Yemen, as we have after all a finite amount of strength. We are still not out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and they have both requested our continued help. Meanwhile the older enemy ISIS remains a threat to the whole Middle East. I don't feel encouraged by this new situation.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/oskar-groening-nazi-guard-at-auschwitz-death-camp-heads-to-trial-in-germany/

Nazi "accountant of Auschwitz" heads to trial in Germany
AP April 20, 2015

Photograph – A picture taken just after the liberation by the Soviet army in January, 1945, shows a group of children wearing concentration camp uniforms behind barbed wire fencing in the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp.
 AP


BERLIN -- Hedy Bohm had just turned 16 when the Nazis packed her and her parents onto a cattle car in May 1944 and sent them from Hungary to the Auschwitz death camp in occupied Poland.

After three days and nights in darkness, crammed into the standing-room-only car with babies wailing, the doors were flung open. "An inferno," is how she remembers the scene she saw.

"The soldiers yelling at us, guns and rifles pointed at us," she recalled. "Big dogs barking at us held back on their leashes by the soldiers."

One of the black-uniformed men on the ramp was likely SS guard Oskar Groening. Today 93, he goes on trial Tuesday in a state court in the northern city of Lueneburg on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. Two of those deaths were Bohm's parents, who are believed to have been killed in the gas chambers immediately upon arrival in Auschwitz.

Groening's trial is the first to test a line of German legal reasoning opened by the 2011 trial of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk on allegations he was a Sobibor death camp guard, which has unleashed an 11th-hour wave of new investigations of Nazi war crimes suspects. Prosecutors argue that anyone who was a death camp guard can be charged as an accessory to murders committed there, even without evidence of involvement in a specific death.

Bohm is today 86 and lives in Toronto where she moved after the war. She will testify as a witness about her Auschwitz experience, although she doesn't remember Groening. She is one of some 60 Holocaust survivors or their relatives from the U.S., Canada, Israel and elsewhere who have joined the prosecution as co-plaintiffs, as is allowed under German law.

Groening has openly acknowledged serving as an SS non-commissioned officer at Auschwitz, though denies committing any crimes. His memories of the cattle cars packed with Jews arriving at the death camp are just are vivid as Bohm's.

"A child who was lying there was simply pulled by the legs and chucked into a truck to be driven away," he told the BBC in an interview 10 years ago. "And when it screamed like a sick chicken, they then bashed it against the edge of the truck so it would shut up."

His attorney, Hans Holtermann, has prevented Groening from giving any new interviews, but said his client will make a statement as the trial opens. Earlier, Groening said he felt an obligation to talk about his past to confront those who deny the Holocaust.

"I want to tell those deniers that I have seen the crematoria, I have seen the burning pits, and I want to assure you that these atrocities happened," he said. "I was there."

Though acknowledgement of his past could help mitigate the 15-year maximum sentence Groening faces if convicted, the court's focus will be on whether legally he can be found an accessory to murder for his actions.

Groening is accused of helping to operate the death camp between May and June 1944, when some 425,000 Jews from Hungary were brought there and at least 300,000 almost immediately gassed to death.

His job was to deal with the belongings stolen from camp victims. Prosecutors allege among other things that he was charged with helping collect and tally money that was found, which has earned him the moniker "the accountant of Auschwitz" from the German media.

"He helped the Nazi regime benefit economically," the indictment said, "and supported the systematic killings."

Efraim Zuroff, the head Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said even low-ranking guards were necessary for Adolf Hitler's genocidal machine to run.

"The system that the Nazis put in place in order to annihilate the Jewish people and the others they classified as enemies was made up of all sorts of people who fulfilled all sorts of tasks," Zuroff said in a telephone interview. "Obviously Oskar Groening is not as guilty as (SS head) Heinrich Himmler... but he contributed his talents to helping the system carry out mass murder."

No pleas are entered under the German system and Holtermann would not comment on his defense ahead of the trial.

"According to the indictment that was accepted there is a certain probability he did something criminal," Holtermanns said. "We will have to see what the court decides."

For decades, German legal reasoning held that camp guards could only be prosecuted if there was specific evidence they committed a crime against a specific person.

But in 2011, prosecutors won an accessory-to-murder conviction against Demjanjuk under the theory that since the sole purpose of a death camp was murder, anyone who could be proven to have served there could be found guilty of being an accessory.

The verdict was not legally binding because Demjanjuk, who steadfastly maintained he had never been a camp guard, died in 2012 before his appeals could be heard. But the special federal prosecutors office that investigates Nazi crimes launched dozens of new probes on that basis.

Thomas Will, deputy head of the office, said there are currently 11 open investigations against former Auschwitz guards, and charges have been filed in three of those cases including Groening. Another eight former Majdanek guards are also under investigation. The office is also re-examining cases from other camps, as well as former members of the einsatzgruppen mobile death squads, he said.

Bohm finds the new focus "admirable," and felt obligated to testify to do her part.

"It's something I have to face," she said.

According to his own account, Groening volunteered for the SS in 1940, and worked for two years in a paymaster's office until being assigned to Auschwitz in 1942.

In 2005, he told Der Spiegel magazine he was assigned to "ramp duty" - positioned to guard luggage taken from Jewish prisoners upon their arrival at the death camp.

He said that he quickly learned what was going on in the camp, when another SS man told him Jews were only admitted to the camp "if they're lucky." When Groening asked what that meant, he was told "some of them will be exterminated."

Groening was assigned to "inmate money administration" - keeping track of the money that the Jews and others were forced to forfeit upon arrival in the camp.

With arrivals mounting as the Nazis began to systematically deport Hungary's Jews in 1944, Groening was assigned extra duties as an auxiliary guard on the ramp.

Thoroughly indoctrinated in virulent Nazi anti-Semitism, he said that although he found the work "horrible," he also felt "I am part of this necessary thing."

It was on that ramp that Bohm was separated from her parents, whom she would never see again.

Her father, who was disabled, was sent one way with other men, and she and her mother were motioned to go another direction - which turned out to be directly to the gas chambers. But in the confusion Bohm and her mother were separated. As she ran to catch up with her, a Nazi guard with a rifle blocked her path and said "no, you go to the right."

"I cried after her, she heard me and we looked at each other," Bohm remembered. "She didn't say anything and then turned and kept walking. I never saw her again."




“One of the black-uniformed men on the ramp was likely SS guard Oskar Groening. Today 93, he goes on trial Tuesday in a state court in the northern city of Lueneburg on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. Two of those deaths were Bohm's parents, who are believed to have been killed in the gas chambers immediately upon arrival in Auschwitz. …. Prosecutors argue that anyone who was a death camp guard can be charged as an accessory to murders committed there, even without evidence of involvement in a specific death. …. Groening has openly acknowledged serving as an SS non-commissioned officer at Auschwitz, though denies committing any crimes. His memories of the cattle cars packed with Jews arriving at the death camp are just are vivid as Bohm's. "A child who was lying there was simply pulled by the legs and chucked into a truck to be driven away," he told the BBC in an interview 10 years ago. "And when it screamed like a sick chicken, they then bashed it against the edge of the truck so it would shut up." …. Earlier, Groening said he felt an obligation to talk about his past to confront those who deny the Holocaust. "I want to tell those deniers that I have seen the crematoria, I have seen the burning pits, and I want to assure you that these atrocities happened," he said. "I was there." …. His job was to deal with the belongings stolen from camp victims. Prosecutors allege among other things that he was charged with helping collect and tally money that was found, which has earned him the moniker "the accountant of Auschwitz" from the German media. "He helped the Nazi regime benefit economically," the indictment said, "and supported the systematic killings." …. No pleas are entered under the German system and Holtermann would not comment on his defense ahead of the trial. "According to the indictment that was accepted there is a certain probability he did something criminal," Holtermanns said. "We will have to see what the court decides." For decades, German legal reasoning held that camp guards could only be prosecuted if there was specific evidence they committed a crime against a specific person. …. According to his own account, Groening volunteered for the SS in 1940, and worked for two years in a paymaster's office until being assigned to Auschwitz in 1942. In 2005, he told Der Spiegel magazine he was assigned to "ramp duty" - positioned to guard luggage taken from Jewish prisoners upon their arrival at the death camp.”

“With arrivals mounting as the Nazis began to systematically deport Hungary's Jews in 1944, Groening was assigned extra duties as an auxiliary guard on the ramp. Thoroughly indoctrinated in virulent Nazi anti-Semitism, he said that although he found the work "horrible," he also felt "I am part of this necessary thing." Indoctrination is a part of all governments, religions, street gangs, political parties to some degree or another. One person who is truly alone can do little, so the human creature instinctively forms these partnerships to reach a goal. The degree of blind loyalty which is mandated within the group, it seems to me, is one of the main factors which will determine how deeply evil their actions will be. Groening almost certainly would have been killed if he had tried to obstruct the running of the death camp. The Anne Frank and Oskar Schindler stories are well-known. Schindler was not killed by the Nazis and neither was Miep Gies who along with others sheltered Anne Frank and a number of others. The fascinating Wikipedia article called “Individuals and groups assisting Jews during the Holocaust” discusses the 24,356 civilians who lent aid to Jews. That group are all named as Righteous among the Nations and honored by The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority and the Israeli Supreme Court.

Whether this man Groening is punished as an accessory to mass murder or not, it is good to know that so many Germans and others risked their life by helping Jews escape. They are true heroes. I would like to be able to say that I could have stood up against such a government to help my fellow man. The presentday move toward the hard right in this country and in a number of European places is something that we should all think deeply about. Our aid may be needed in the future if those people succeed in gaining control in our government. Jesus is quoted as saying once that the human race is “sick with sin.” Where we find these things in ourselves we must face them and destroy them to the degree that we can. Nazi Germany was not an anomaly, but a trend in society when the history of the world is viewed over time and with less than blind patriotism. For that reason, I value patriotism less highly than I do ethical courage. There is no human virtue without courage.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/richard-ilczyszyn-widow-kelly-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-southwest-airlines/

Widow says Southwest crew "left" husband to die
CBS NEWS
April 20, 2015

The widow of a high-profile financial analyst is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, claiming a flight crew left her husband in an airplane bathroom when he desperately needed help, even treating him like an out-of-control passenger.

Richard Ilczyszyn had made a name for himself in the finance world running a successful brokerage firm, but perhaps his most important job was husband and father. "The last thing he said to me was 'I can't wait to get home to see you girls,'" wife Kelly Ilczyszyn said.

Last September, the 46-year-old was flying home from a business trip when he suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. Kelly believes he could have been saved.

"He should have been helped on the aircraft. If they just would have gotten help," she said.

His Southwest Airlines flight was preparing to land in Orange County, California, when flight attendants heard sounds from the rear restroom. According to the sheriff's report, a crew member pushed the door open slightly and saw him "slumped over," "groaning" and "crying."

The crew member said the person's foot was "wedged against the door" inside the room.

"One flight attendant said she opened the door and she saw the top of my husband's head and his head was down and he was just whimpering, and [she] left him there," Kelly said.

The airline told CBS News: "Crews treated the situation as a medical emergency... immediately arranging for first responders to meet the flight."

But Southwest called the Orange County Sheriff's Department describing an unruly passenger.

"Apparently there's a passenger in -- locked himself in the lav and is screaming and yelling," a voice on the phone call said.

The sheriff's department says that's why officers got everyone off the plane before opening the bathroom door. They found Ilczyszyn unresponsive and only then called for medical help.

"The paramedics should have met the aircraft. Absolutely. Absolutely. And he would be here today," Kelly said.

Kelly is a flight attendant herself on Southwest Airlines.

"I know if a passenger is in distress... we need to help them. We need to figure out, is he okay, does he need medical attention, what's going on. And so I was very confused why they didn't help my husband," she said.

Today Kelly is filing a wrongful death suit against Southwest and the flight crew.

"Our experts say these flight attendants and the crew, the captain, did not act reasonably based on the information that was before them," Kelly's attorney Andrew Speilberger said.

In an email, Southwest said: "Because the Crew was not successful at prying open the door, they were unable to fully assess his condition."

"Somebody that's head is down and there's no communication is somebody that's in distress, that needs help. That doesn't need a police officer. They need paramedics," Kelly said.

But heightened security concerns can create complications.

"We have been trained that any disruption in the cabin can be a diversion for another more serious security incident... and it's possible that they could not determine that that was not a serious security risk to the flight," said Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO.

Ilczyszyn never regained consciousness. Kelly described how difficult it was to tell her daughter, Sydney.

"That was the worst. My daughter and her father were so close," Kelly said. "I just said, daddy's not coming home. Daddy went to heaven."

What's left are the photos and the memories of the life they had.




“The widow of a high-profile financial analyst is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, claiming a flight crew left her husband in an airplane bathroom when he desperately needed help, even treating him like an out-of-control passenger. …. Last September, the 46-year-old was flying home from a business trip when he suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. Kelly believes he could have been saved. …. "One flight attendant said she opened the door and she saw the top of my husband's head and his head was down and he was just whimpering, and [she] left him there," Kelly said. The airline told CBS News: "Crews treated the situation as a medical emergency... immediately arranging for first responders to meet the flight." …. But Southwest called the Orange County Sheriff's Department describing an unruly passenger. The sheriff's department says that's why officers got everyone off the plane before opening the bathroom door. They found Ilczyszyn unresponsive and only then called for medical help. "The paramedics should have met the aircraft. Absolutely. Absolutely. And he would be here today," Kelly said.…. But heightened security concerns can create complications. "We have been trained that any disruption in the cabin can be a diversion for another more serious security incident... and it's possible that they could not determine that that was not a serious security risk to the flight," said Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO.”

Despite today's understandably high degree of concern over security, all people who in charge in a situation like this need to think with their heart as well as their head. Sometimes training is insufficient to cover all events. I agree with his wife when she said that someone who is slumped over and whimpering is in need of medical help. Also, a brain embolism causes great pain, which explains his “screaming and yelling.” Unfortunately the flight attendants instead interpreted the commotion as hostility. On top of that the Sheriff's men initiated a time-consuming procedure of clearing the plane of all other passengers. By the time Groening was found, he was “unresponsive.” This is one of those very sad events in which airline personnel were inappropriately following a company procedure without doing sufficient research into what was really wrong. Again, courage would have dictated opening the lavatory door fully, checking him for a pulse and removing him to the aisle so that he could be given mouth to mouth respiration. There are almost always some male attendants on a flight who could hopefully have subdued him if he had been dangerous, so I don't feel their “fear” was justified. Understandably Southwest and the whole flight crew are being sued for wrongful death, and I hope she wins.





http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-17/a-supply-side-experiment-was-a-loser-for-kansas

Supply-Side Doom in Kansas
By Barry Ritholtz
APR 17, 2015 

Every year, right after the April 15 tax deadline, the U.S. Census releases its data on the prior year’s state tax collections. It is a fascinating document, filled with great data points for tax and policy wonks. It reveals a good deal about the state of local economies, economic trends and results of specific policies. In broad terms, the financial fortunes of the states are improving.

A quick excerpt: 

State government tax revenue increased 2.2 percent, from $847.1 billion in fiscal year 2013 to $865.8 billion in 2014, the fourth consecutive increase, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections.

General sales and gross receipts taxes drove most of the revenue growth, increasing from $258.9 billion to $271.3 billion, or 4.8 percent. Severance taxes increased 6.0 percent, from $16.8 billion to $17.8 billion, and motor fuel taxes increased 3.4 percent, from $40.1 billion to $41.5 billion.

You can read the full press release here or access all of the data directly from the Census.

There are some truly fascinating data points in the report:

• North Dakota had the biggest percentage increase in revenue, a gain of almost 16 percent, from $5.3 billion to $6.1 billion, as drillers and workers flocked to the region to participate in the fracking boom.

• Alaska had the largest decreases in revenue, a decline of $1.7 billion (34 percent), from $5.1 billion to $3.4 billion, as royalties from oil and gas leases plummeted.

• Kansas also had a big decline in revenue, falling 3.8 percent, from $7.6 billion to $7.3 billion. (Delaware had a 5.1 percent decline, second to Alaska in percentage terms, on revenue of just $100 million.)

Let's focus on Kansas, because of all the states its tax data reflects conscious policy choices as opposed to larger economic forces, such as falling oil prices.

Under the leadership of Republican Governor Sam Brownback, the state radically cut income taxes on corporations and individuals. Going on the assumption that this would generate a burst of economic growth and higher tax revenue, no alternative sources of revenue were put into place. Similarly, the state failed to lower spending.

Alas, reality trumps theory. As we have seen almost every time this thesis has been put into practice, it fails. The tax cuts don't magically kick the economy into higher gear and the government ends up short of money. Remember former President George W. Bush and his tax cuts? Same deal.

Much of the intellectual heft for this theory can be traced to economist Arthur Laffer, a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board who is sometimes referred to as the father of supply-side economics. To cite just one example: Laffer, along with Stephen Moore, expounded on this thesis in a September 2012 report, "Taxes Really Do Matter: Look at the States."

Now it is true that excessively high tax rates can cause economic harm. For those of you old enough to remember, think about when the Rolling Stones decamped from the U.K. to France in response to Britain’s 98 percent wealth tax; more recently the band U2 shielded some of its assets by shifting them from Ireland to the Netherlands.

The argument goes that cutting tax rates would have led these big earners to stay, and that capturing a reduced amount of revenue is better than losing the potential revenue completely.

Nor is anything wrong with the underlying premise of supply-side economics per se: We can increase economic growth by lowering barriers for producers to supply goods and services and make capital investments. A greater supply of goods and services at lower prices benefits all consumers, helping to expand business activity, hiring and spending. All of that naturally leads to higher tax revenue for the government.

And yet some economic radicals have taken the supply-side theory to absurd places. Perhaps the most radical is Grover Norquist, the promoter of the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” Norquist opposes any and all increases in taxes, and has persuaded many politicians and almost all Republicans to sign the pledge.

While serving as Kansas’s U.S senator, Brownback signed the pledge, and was a central player behind putting the theory into practice in the state. Unfortunately for Kansas, the real world has a tendency of introducing frictions that theory often ignores. Kansas now is confronting annual budget deficits, severe cuts in education and road maintenance, and credit-rating downgrades.

Ideally, states should be looking for the optimal point where tax rates produce the greatest revenue with the lowest burden. The range includes value choices between somewhat more revenue versus somewhat lower taxes.

Now, after Brownback's supply-side experiment, Kansas has become a sort of mirror image of the high-tax nation that the wealthy like Mick Jagger and U2 tend to flee. Those in the middle class in Kansas might like to leave for a state with services that aren't starved for money. But like many people of modest means, they aren't especially mobile, and often have deep roots in a community: They own homes, have family and friends nearby and have children in the local school system. Picking up and moving a small business or residence to the next state is harder than it sounds.

The bottom line: The results from the economic laboratory known as Kansas are in. Supply side theory -- and Kansans -- lost. The only question is whether those like Brownback have learned anything.

To contact the author on this story:
Barry Ritholtz at britholtz3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor on this story:
James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.net




“It is a fascinating document, filled with great data points for tax and policy wonks. It reveals a good deal about the state of local economies, economic trends and results of specific policies. …. Let's focus on Kansas, because of all the states its tax data reflects conscious policy choices as opposed to larger economic forces, such as falling oil prices. Under the leadership of Republican Governor Sam Brownback, the state radically cut income taxes on corporations and individuals. Going on the assumption that this would generate a burst of economic growth and higher tax revenue, no alternative sources of revenue were put into place. Similarly, the state failed to lower spending. Alas, reality trumps theory. As we have seen almost every time this thesis has been put into practice, it fails. The tax cuts don't magically kick the economy into higher gear and the government ends up short of money. Remember former President George W. Bush and his tax cuts? Same deal. …. economist Arthur Laffer, a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board who is sometimes referred to as the father of supply-side economics. …. The argument goes that cutting tax rates would have led these big earners to stay, and that capturing a reduced amount of revenue is better than losing the potential revenue completely. …. We can increase economic growth by lowering barriers for producers to supply goods and services and make capital investments. A greater supply of goods and services at lower prices benefits all consumers, helping to expand business activity, hiring and spending. All of that naturally leads to higher tax revenue for the government. And yet some economic radicals have taken the supply-side theory to absurd places. Perhaps the most radical is Grover Norquist, the promoter of the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” Norquist opposes any and all increases in taxes, and has persuaded many politicians and almost all Republicans to sign the pledge. …. Unfortunately for Kansas, the real world has a tendency of introducing frictions that theory often ignores. Kansas now is confronting annual budget deficits, severe cuts in education and road maintenance, and credit-rating downgrades. Ideally, states should be looking for the optimal point where tax rates produce the greatest revenue with the lowest burden.”

“The only question is whether those like Brownback have learned anything.” I personally tend to distrust theories, especially in a situation when real facts cannot be measured or witnessed in their operation. I took an economics course which only covered Supply Side economics and only in theory. The book did not cover “econometrics” which consist of the facts proving the theory. The book also covered Keynesian economics, but the professor didn't cover those chapters, and I didn't read them.

The Wikipedia article below describes the Keynesian theory. Republicans tend to think that Classical Economics or “Supply Side” is always the best policy, and that the imbalances in the economy will automatically correct the situation, producing growth and universal prosperity. Democrats believe in the “mixed” Keynesian system. As Keynes stated, “governments should solve problems in the short run rather than waiting for market forces to do it in the long run, because, "in the long run, we are all dead." That is how Roosevelt pulled our country out of the Great Depression of the 1930's and I believe it is needed again now, only not the one time “stimulus”of 2008, but a huge overall project of infrastructure and social spending, such as the New Deal policies did. The reason for it all was to financially stabilize the poor and Middle Class and the banks, which had failed on a nationwide basis due to the stock market plunge.

I would like to simply state that the need for this is obvious to me. If the poor and Middle Class have a job and therefore some money to spend they will provide demand for goods and services, and thus bring greater prosperity for the whole country. As my father said of the Depression Era, “You could buy a lot with a dime, if you had a dime.” Roosevelt's plan succeeded in reversing the extreme recession and banking failures. Under the New Deal, artists were hired to work on sculpture, murals, etc. at parks and official government buildings; roads and dams were built; the US entering with a full commitment into World War II also served to inject money into our economy due to military spending on new weapons and technologies; a safety net for the poor was instituted in the form of the Social Security system. The graduated income tax that caused the wealthier people to pay higher taxes than the poor also helped to even out the distribution of wealth in the nation. The Earned Income Tax Credit came later under a series of poverty programs in the sixties and seventies. Roosevelt didn't put just a small amount of money into the economy, but a very great deal. If you already know how Keynesian Economics works, don't read this Wikipedia article. It is, however, very clearly written and interesting.


Keynesian economics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keynesian economics (/ˈkeɪnziən/ kayn-zee-ən; orKeynesianism) is the view that in the short run, especially duringrecessions, economic output is strongly influenced by aggregate demand (total spending in the economy). In the Keynesian view, aggregate demand does not necessarily equal the productive capacity of the economy; instead, it is influenced by a host of factors and sometimes behaves erratically, affecting production, employment, and inflation.[1]

The theories forming the basis of Keynesian economics were first presented by the British economist John Maynard Keynes in his book,The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936, during the Great Depression. Keynes contrasted his approach to the aggregate supply-focused 'classical' economics that preceded his book. The interpretations of Keynes that followed are contentious and several schools of economic thought claim his legacy.

Keynesian economists often argue that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes which require active policy responses by the public sector, in particular, monetary policy actions by the central bank and fiscal policy actions by the government, in order to stabilize output over the business cycle.[2]Keynesian economics advocates a mixed economy – predominantly private sector, but with a role for government intervention during recessions.

Keynesian economics served as the standard economic model in thedeveloped nations during the later part of the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war economic expansion (1945–1973), though it lost some influence following the oil shock and resulting stagflation of the 1970s.[3] The advent of the global financial crisis in 2008 has caused aresurgence in Keynesian thought.[4]

Prior to the publication of Keynes's General Theory, mainstream economic thought held that a state of general equilibrium existed in the economy: because the needs of consumers are always greater than the capacity of the producers to satisfy those needs, everything that is produced will eventually be consumed once the appropriate price is found for it. This perception is reflected in Say's Law[5] and in the writing of David Ricardo,[6] which state that individuals produce so that they can either consume what they have manufactured or sell their output so that they can buy someone else's output. This argument rests upon the assumption that if a surplus of goods or services exists, they would naturally drop in price to the point where they would be consumed.

Keynes's theory overturned the mainstream thought of the time and brought about a greater awareness of structural inadequacies: problems such as unemployment, for example, are not viewed as a result of moral deficiencies like laziness, but rather result from imbalances in demand and whether the economy was expanding or contracting. Keynes argued that because there was no guarantee that the goods that individuals produce would be met with demand, unemployment was a natural consequence especially in the instance of an economy undergoing contraction.

He saw the economy as unable to maintain itself at full employment and believed that it was necessary for the government to step in and put under-utilised savings to work through government spending. Thus, according to Keynesian theory, some individually rational microeconomic-level actions such as not investing savings in the goods and services produced by the economy, if taken collectively by a large proportion of individuals and firms, can lead to outcomes wherein the economy operates below its potential output and growth rate.

Prior to Keynes, a situation in which aggregate demand for goods and services did not meet supply was referred to byclassical economists as a general glut, although there was disagreement among them as to whether a general glut was possible. Keynes argued that when a glut occurred, it was the over-reaction of producers and the laying off of workers that led to a fall in demand and perpetuated the problem. Keynesians therefore advocate an active stabilization policy to reduce the amplitude of the business cycle, which they rank among the most serious of economic problems. According to the theory, government spending can be used to increase aggregate demand, thus increasing economic activity, reducing unemployment and deflation.

Keynes argued that the solution to the Great Depression was to stimulate the economy ("inducement to invest") through some combination of two approaches:
1. A reduction in interest rates (monetary policy), and
2. Government investment in infrastructure (fiscal policy).
By reducing the interest rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks, the government sends a signal to commercial banks that they should do the same for their customers.

Investment by government in infrastructure injects income into the economy by creating business opportunity, employment and demand and reversing the effects of the aforementioned imbalance.[1] Governments source the funding for this expenditure by borrowing funds from the economy through the issue of government bonds, and because government spending exceeds the amount of tax income that the government receives, this creates a fiscal deficit.

A central conclusion of Keynesian economics is that, in some situations, no strong automatic mechanism moves output and employment towards full employment levels. This conclusion conflicts with economic approaches that assume a strong general tendency towards equilibrium. In the 'neoclassical synthesis', which combines Keynesian macro concepts with a micro foundation, the conditions of general equilibrium allow for price adjustment to eventually achieve this goal. More broadly, Keynes saw his theory as a general theory, in which utilization of resources could be high or low, whereas previous economics focused on the particular case of full utilization.

The new classical macroeconomics movement, which began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, criticized Keynesian theories, while New Keynesian economics has sought to base Keynes's ideas on more rigorous theoretical foundations.

Some interpretations of Keynes have emphasized his stress on the international coordination of Keynesian policies, the need for international economic institutions, and the ways in which economic forces could lead to war or could promote peace.[7]

During the Great Depression, the classical theory attributed mass unemployment to high and rigid real wages.[citation needed]

To Keynes, the determination of wages was more complicated. First, he argued that it is not real but nominal wages that are set in negotiations between employers and workers, as opposed to a barter relationship. Second, nominal wage cuts would be difficult to put into effect because of laws and wage contracts. Even classical economists admitted that these exist; unlike Keynes, they advocated abolishing minimum wages, unions, and long-term contracts, increasing labour market flexibility. However, to Keynes, people will resist nominal wage reductions, even without unions, until they see other wages falling and a general fall of prices.

Keynes rejected the idea that cutting wages would cure recessions. He examined the explanations for this idea and found them all faulty. He also considered the most likely consequences of cutting wages in recessions, under various different circumstances. He concluded that such wage cutting would be more likely to make recessions worse rather than better.[8]

Further, if wages and prices were falling, people would start to expect them to fall. This could make the economy spiral downward as those who had money would simply wait as falling prices made it more valuable – rather than spending. As Irving Fisher argued in 1933, in his Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions, deflation (falling prices) can make a depression deeper as falling prices and wages made pre-existing nominal debts more valuable in real terms.

To Keynes, excessive saving, i.e. saving beyond planned investment, was a serious problem, encouraging recession or even depression. Excessive saving results if investment falls, perhaps due to falling consumer demand, over-investment in earlier years, or pessimistic business expectations, and if saving does not immediately fall in step, the economy would decline.

To Keynes, excessive saving, i.e. saving beyond planned investment, was a serious problem, encouraging recession or even depression. Excessive saving results if investment falls, perhaps due to falling consumer demand, over-investment in earlier years, or pessimistic business expectations, and if saving does not immediately fall in step, the economy would decline.

…. “He argued that governments should solve problems in the short run rather than waiting for market forces to do it in the long run, because, "in the long run, we are all dead."[11] ….  Finally, government outlays need not always be wasteful: government investment in public goods that will not be provided by profit-seekers will encourage the private sector's growth. That is, government spending on such things as basic research, public health, education, and infrastructure could help the long-term growth of potential output.”





POLICE STORIES – TWO ARTICLES


http://abcnews.go.com/US/baltimore-mayor-angry-freddie-grays-unexplained-death-arrest/story?id=30443983

Baltimore Mayor 'Angry' About Freddie Gray's Unexplained Death After Arrest
By EMILY SHAPIRO
Apr 20, 2015

Baltimore officials said today they share residents’ frustration with the lack of answers for why Freddie Gray, whose family says he was injured during his arrest last week by Baltimore police, died Sunday.

“This is a very, very tense time for Baltimore city,” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference this afternoon. “And I understand the community’s frustration. I understand it because I’m frustrated. I’m angry that we are here again. That we have had to tell another mother that their child is dead.

“I’m frustrated that not only that we're here but we don’t have all of the answers.”

Rawlings-Blake complimented the city’s “peaceful demonstrations” and added that officials are “moving as quickly as possible to determine exactly how his death occurred.” The six officers involved are suspended with pay, as per policy, according to Police Commissioner Anthony Batts.

Officials agreed with the family that Gray suffered a spinal injury but don't how or when.

Few Details About Police Encounter That Led to Man's Death
Man Injured After Confrontation With Baltimore Police

Gray "clung to life for seven days" before he died Sunday, according to his family's attorney.

Gray was a "healthy" man when he was "chased" by police last Sunday "without any evidence he had committed a crime,” William Murphy Jr., an attorney for Gray's family, said.

Baltimore police said Gray, 25, had been trying to flee from officers.

Gray "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence" and was apprehended after a brief foot chase, according to the charging document.

"This officer noticed a knife clipped to the inside of his front right pants pocket. The defendant was arrested without force or incident. The knife was recovered," the charging document said.

But Mayor Rawlings-Blake said today, "We know that having a knife is not necessarily a crime. It is not necessarily probable cause to chase someone. So we still have questions.”

Cellphone video appeared to capture Gray screaming as officers dragged him to a police van.

"His take-down and arrest without probable cause occurred under a police video camera, which taped everything including the police dragging and throwing Freddie into a police vehicle while he screamed in pain," Murphy said in a statement to ABC News.

The charging document also states that during transport, Gray suffered a medical emergency and was immediately transported to Shock Trauma.

“I know that when Mr. Gray was placed inside that van, he was able to talk and he was upset,” Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said at today’s news conference. “And when Mr. Gray was taken out of that van, he could not talk and he could not breathe.”

Gray did request medical attention, Rodriguez confirmed, but police are now trying to determine at what time. "I am deeply troubled by this,” Rodriguez said.

Police say a police vehicle was requested for transport and Gray asked for an inhaler.

The driver then believed Gray was acting "irate" in the back, police said. Police stopped the vehicle and placed him in leg irons. The van driver then asked for an additional unit to check on Gray, according to police.

Deputy Police Commissioner Rodriguez said “part of what our investigation will do is identify exactly what was going on ... what was said by Gray ... what was relayed by officers ... what actions we did take or should’ve taken.”

"What we don’t have at this point is how Mr. Gray sustained those injuries,” he said today, when an autopsy was being conducted.

Family lawyer Murphy said, "While in police custody, his spine was 80 percent severed at his neck. He lapsed into a coma, died, was resuscitated, stayed in a coma and last Monday, underwent extensive surgery at Shock Trauma to save his life."

The police department will conclude its investigation by next Friday, May 1, they said, and then the investigation will go to the Baltimore State’s Attorney to decide whether charges will be filed.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is considering opening an investigation into Gray’s death, sources told ABC News.




“Baltimore officials said today they share residents’ frustration with the lack of answers for why Freddie Gray, whose family says he was injured during his arrest last week by Baltimore police, died Sunday. “This is a very, very tense time for Baltimore city,” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference this afternoon. …. Rawlings-Blake complimented the city’s “peaceful demonstrations” and added that officials are “moving as quickly as possible to determine exactly how his death occurred.” The six officers involved are suspended with pay, as per policy, according to Police Commissioner Anthony Batts. Officials agreed with the family that Gray suffered a spinal injury but don't how or when. …."His take-down and arrest without probable cause occurred under a police video camera, which taped everything including the police dragging and throwing Freddie into a police vehicle while he screamed in pain," Murphy said in a statement to ABC News. …. "What we don’t have at this point is how Mr. Gray sustained those injuries,” he said today, when an autopsy was being conducted. Family lawyer Murphy said, "While in police custody, his spine was 80 percent severed at his neck. He lapsed into a coma, died, was resuscitated, stayed in a coma and last Monday, underwent extensive surgery at Shock Trauma to save his life."

Was a police officer in the back seat with Gray? His neck was 80% severed, so that does sound like something happened with the knife he was carrying. How did six officers come to be a part of this investigation, and what were their roles in dealing with him? Why did they chase him down “without probably cause?” See the Wikipedia article below on probably cause.

I do love legal phrases. “Fruit of the poisonous tree” from this article is very creative, I think. I've always liked hearing lawyers talk. They are analytical thinkers but more practical than theoretical. When I hear a highly theoretical person talk I find myself drowsing off after the first ten minutes or rolling my eyes. Not only are they prone to going on and on endlessly, but I have a tendency to doubt the validity of what they are saying. Like the Economic theorizing in the article above. Supply Side theory ignores the simple fact that if the citizenry is “flat busted and besides I'm broke,” as one woman said to me once, they can't buy all those goods and services and a recession will ensue.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonablesearches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. It was adopted in response to the abuse of the writ of assistance, a type of general search warrant issued by the British government and a major source of tension in pre-Revolutionary America. …. Under the Fourth Amendment, search and seizure (including arrest) should be limited in scope according to specific information supplied to the issuing court, usually by a law enforcement officer who has sworn by it.

Fourth Amendment case law deals with three central questions: what government activities constitute "search" and "seizure"; what constitutes probable cause for these actions; and how violations of Fourth Amendment rights should be addressed. Early court decisions limited the amendment's scope to a law enforcement officer's physical intrusion onto private property, but with Katz v. United States (1967), theSupreme Court held that its protections, such as the warrant requirement, extend to the privacy of individuals as well as physical locations.

Law enforcement officers need a warrant for most search and seizure activities, but the Court has defined a series of exceptions for consent searches,motor vehicle searches, evidence in plain view, exigent circumstances, border searches, and other situations. The exclusionary rule is one way the amendment is enforced. Established in Weeks v. United States (1914), this rule holds that evidence obtained through a Fourth Amendment violation is generally inadmissible at criminal trials. Evidence discovered as a later result of an illegal search may also be inadmissible as "fruit of the poisonous tree," unless it inevitably would have been discovered by legal means.”





http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-address-possible-charges-2-police-beatings-124325941.html

Detroit-area officer charged with assault
AP By ED WHITE
Monday, April 20, 2015

Photograph – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy speaks during a news conference in Detroit Monday, April 20, 2015 

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area police officer who hauled a man out of his car and repeatedly punched him in the head was charged Monday with assault stemming from the January traffic stop, which wasn't publicly known until a video was broadcast in March.

"The job of a peace officer can be dangerous," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "But we cannot tolerate those who abuse their authority, violate their oath and prey on citizens rather than protecting them."

Recently fired Inkster Officer William Melendez was charged with mistreatment of a prisoner and assault, both felonies. Melendez has declined to discuss any specifics of how he treated Floyd Dent but said last week, "I did nothing wrong here." Defense attorney David Lee declined to comment Monday.

The dashcam video shows Dent, 57, being pulled from his car by two officers during the stop on Jan. 28. He was repeatedly punched in the forehead by Melendez while on the ground, and is bloody when he stands up.

Worthy said her office didn't know about the incident until March 23, when WDIV-TV aired the video. Melendez, 46, a former Detroit officer, had not been disciplined until the story broke.

"We probably wouldn't know about it" without the video, Worthy said. Nonetheless, she declined to criticize the Inkster department.

A drug charge will be dropped against Dent, who claims a bag of cocaine was planted in his car during the arrest. A judge already has dismissed a charge of resisting police.
"I would like to thank Prosecutor Kym Worthy for her courage and conviction," Dent said.

After he was fired last week, Melendez told WXYZ-TV that he considered himself a "political speed bump" in a period of intense national scrutiny of police tactics.

"It is a very stressful job where you have to make split-second decisions," Melendez said.

This isn't the first criminal case related to his work. In 2004, Melendez and seven other Detroit officers were acquitted of lying, falsifying reports and planting evidence. Federal prosecutors had accused him and another officer of being the "masterminds" of a conspiracy to "run roughshod over the civil rights of the victims."

Separately, Worthy said there would be no charges in a Jan. 12 incident involving officers from Grosse Pointe Park and Highland Park who were investigating a car theft. An armed carjacking suspect, Andrew Jackson, was kicked and punched on the ground during an arrest in Detroit. A video was recorded by a woman in her home.

Some actions by the officers were "disturbing and inexplicable" but don't rise to criminal conduct, said Worthy, who added that it's up to the respective departments to order any discipline.

Jackson, who has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the officers, didn't cooperate with investigators who wanted to ask him about the arrest, the prosecutor said.




“A Detroit-area police officer who hauled a man out of his car and repeatedly punched him in the head was charged Monday with assault stemming from the January traffic stop, which wasn't publicly known until a video was broadcast in March. "The job of a peace officer can be dangerous," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "But we cannot tolerate those who abuse their authority, violate their oath and prey on citizens rather than protecting them." …. The dashcam video shows Dent, 57, being pulled from his car by two officers during the stop on Jan. 28. He was repeatedly punched in the forehead by Melendez while on the ground, and is bloody when he stands up. Worthy said her office didn't know about the incident until March 23, when WDIV-TV aired the video. Melendez, 46, a former Detroit officer, had not been disciplined until the story broke. …. A drug charge will be dropped against Dent, who claims a bag of cocaine was planted in his car during the arrest. A judge already has dismissed a charge of resisting police. "I would like to thank Prosecutor Kym Worthy for her courage and conviction," Dent said. After he was fired last week, Melendez told WXYZ-TV that he considered himself a "political speed bump" in a period of intense national scrutiny of police tactics. "It is a very stressful job where you have to make split-second decisions," Melendez said. This isn't the first criminal case related to his work. In 2004, Melendez and seven other Detroit officers were acquitted of lying, falsifying reports and planting evidence. Federal prosecutors had accused him and another officer of being the "masterminds" of a conspiracy to "run roughshod over the civil rights of the victims."

I was wondering while reading this why we see so much falsification of reports and planting of evidence around the country, but it is probably because the officers simply think it will make their arrest record look better and perhaps get them a promotion. The “conspiracy to run roughshod over the civil rights of the victims” is more like potential hate crimes, I would say. Melendez excused himself by blaming the current close examination of “police tactics” and the “stressful” nature of the job with it's split second decisions. When officers shout, curse, or physically attack a suspect from the first moment rather than to try talking to him, that is an unacceptable “police tactic.” It's abuse, in my opinion. It doesn't even make sense. I would agree that there is a need for split second decisions in police work, but that's the nature of the beast.

If all police officers were more highly trained to notice the small things and beware of traps like racial bias, the officer's emotional condition at the time, and the failure to determine whether there is “probably cause” or not in the first place, I maintain that their split second decisions would be more accurate and the beatings or shootings fewer. Besides, his 2004 troubles when he and seven other officers acted together in what the Federal Prosecutors called a “conspiracy” to violate civil rights show something about his character, and lead me to wonder why he was still on the force at all. That is also a common denominator often, that the policeman after breaking the rules is allowed to keep his job. That administrative policy does not impress other officers with the danger of going afoul of the law, and it allows proven “bad apples” to continue to be involved with the public. Cases I can think of which would fit the description of a conspiracy are when officers decide to “punish” a suspect or a hated individual the way they have been known to do with gay men and racial minorities, or in the infamous Rodney King video. King had “disrespected” a white female officer who tried to arrest him without help – a basic mistake – and he was punished by some dozen officers who pulled up to the scene after the incident started and beat him within an inch of his life.





HERO COPS

http://www.policeone.com/police-heroes/articles/8529301-Video-NJ-cops-pull-woman-from-car-seconds-before-it-explodes/

Video: NJ cops pull woman from car seconds before it explodes
By PoliceOne Staff
April 20, 2015

Video – Rescue and fire

KINNELON, N.J. — Dash cam video captured two officers saving a suspected DUI driver mere moments before her vehicle burst into flames.

According to NJ.com, Officers Mark Ehrenburg and Rickey Ferriola were responding to reports of an erratic driver when they came upon the single-vehicle crash.

45-year-old Dawn Milosky was unconscious from a head injury she’d sustained in the accident. The officers rushed to extract her as liquid poured from the vehicle and flames began to rise.

Police managed to get Milosky out of the vehicle after cutting her seatbelt. The car exploded shortly after they dragged her to safety.

Milosky, who has been charged with driving while intoxicated in connection to the crash, was transported to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries. 




“Dash cam video captured two officers saving a suspected DUI driver mere moments before her vehicle burst into flames. According to NJ.com, Officers Mark Ehrenburg and Rickey Ferriola were responding to reports of an erratic driver when they came upon the single-vehicle crash. …. Milosky, who has been charged with driving while intoxicated in connection to the crash, was transported to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.” Alongside cases of police behavior which is abusive, here are two officers who cooperated against the time pressure of smoke pouring out of the car, slowly and painstakingly pulling her out and into a waiting car. Facing fire and the imminent danger of an explosion which could kill them, they persisted in working to free her. The video is impressive.

Policeone.com, the source of this story, has a daily segment on the stories of policemen who are heroes rather than villains, and other police-related issues. Stories like these don't always get wide publication across the nation as the stories of abuse of power do. This is a suggested website for information to the concerned or curious.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-accepts-resignation-us-bishop-robert-finn-failure-report-child-abuse-clergy/

U.S. bishop resigns over sex abuse cover-up
AP April 21, 2015

Photograph – Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph appears in court during in a bench trial Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012.  AP

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of a U.S. bishop who pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected priestly child abuser in the first known case of a pope sanctioning bishops for covering up for pedophiles.

The Vatican said Tuesday that Bishop Robert Finn had offered his resignation under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign early for illness or some "grave" reason that makes them unfit for office. It didn't provide a reason.

Finn, who leads the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, waited six months before notifying police about the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, whose computer contained hundreds of lewd photos of young girls taken in and around churches where he worked. Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Finn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to report suspected abuse and was sentenced to two years' probation in 2012. Ever since, he has faced pressure from local Roman Catholics to step down, with some parishioners petitioning Francis to remove him from the diocese.

No U.S. bishop has been removed for covering up for guilty clergy.

Finn remains the highest-ranking church official in the U.S. to be convicted of failing to take action in response to abuse allegations. The Vatican's failure to sanction or remove him had fueled victims' complaints that bishops were continuing to enjoy protections even under the "zero tolerance" pledge of Francis.

Even Francis' top sex abuse adviser, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, had said publicly that Francis needs to "urgently" address Finn's case, though he later stressed that Finn deserved due process and must be spared "crowd-based condemnations."

The Vatican last fall sent a Canadian archbishop to Finn's diocese as part of his an investigation of his leadership. But until Tuesday, there had been no word about what the pope would do.

Finn's resignation comes as Francis is facing similar pressure to remove a Chilean bishop, Juan Barros, amid an unprecedented outcry over his longtime affiliation with Chile's most notorious molester, the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

Karadima's victims say Barros witnessed their abuse decades ago. He has denied knowing anything until he read news reports of Karadima's crimes in 2010. The Vatican has defended the appointment. Karadima was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for sexually abusing minors.

Earlier this month, members of the pope's sex abuse advisory commission came to Rome in an unscheduled session to voice their concern about Barros.

O'Malley subsequently told the pope that the Vatican must come up with "appropriate procedures and modalities to evaluate and adjudicate cases of 'abuse of office'" when bishops fail to protect children.




“Finn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to report suspected abuse and was sentenced to two years' probation in 2012. Ever since, he has faced pressure from local Roman Catholics to step down, with some parishioners petitioning Francis to remove him from the diocese. No U.S. bishop has been removed for covering up for guilty clergy. Finn remains the highest-ranking church official in the U.S. to be convicted of failing to take action in response to abuse allegations. The Vatican's failure to sanction or remove him had fueled victims' complaints that bishops were continuing to enjoy protections even under the "zero tolerance" pledge of Francis. …. Finn's resignation comes as Francis is facing similar pressure to remove a Chilean bishop, Juan Barros, amid an unprecedented outcry over his longtime affiliation with Chile's most notorious molester, the Rev. Fernando Karadima. …. Earlier this month, members of the pope's sex abuse advisory commission came to Rome in an unscheduled session to voice their concern about Barros. O'Malley subsequently told the pope that the Vatican must come up with "appropriate procedures and modalities to evaluate and adjudicate cases of 'abuse of office'" when bishops fail to protect children.”

There is a basic problem with an all-male priesthood who must remain “abstinent” sexually and live a life without the love of a woman. I believe many of the men who live in that manner simply aren't attracted to adult women at all. Their personal psychology leads them to men or children. I want to see priests be allowed to marry and live a normal life. People need a loving sexual intimacy and going one's whole life without it is difficult to do, nor is it even healthy. A man who is too timid, likewise, to make advances to a woman or who is “repelled” by the sexual nature of women are not really normal psychologically, and often have worse flaws such as sadism. Many rapists have abnormal relationships with women, especially hatred of their mother. I vote for a married Catholic clergy and the priesthood of women, or better still, no priests at all, but simply pastors of both sexes who preach and perform other basic services equally. That was one of the early questions that was decided by Christian communities in the second century or so after Jesus was executed. Women such as Mary Magdalene had strong positions in those communities, and many think that Jesus himself favored full apostleship for women.