June 25, 2015


News Clips For The Day

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cat-library-offers-purrfect-solution-to-stress/


"Cat library" offers purrfect solution to stress
By STEVE HARTMAN CBS NEWS
June 5, 2015

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- In Las Cruces, New Mexico, there's a library with no books, but a great story; a library with nothing to read, but that you have to check out; a library for people who just want to take a few minutes to sit down and get lost -- in a good kitten.

Becky Garcia is the kitten librarian. Actually, she's the receptionist at the Dona Ana County office building, where a couple years ago county officials installed a little kitty condo in the lobby. The cats are from a local shelter and they're available to any employee looking for a moment of purr bliss.

"Oh, you're typing for me, kitty," said Angela Roberson, a community planner and regular at the kitty library, as a kitten walked on her keyboard.

hartman-kitten-library-transferframe1947.jpg
A kitten rests on Angela Roberson's shoulder as she works CBS NEWS
She readily admits that her productivity goes down during these brief sessions -- but says her job satisfaction goes way up.

"It definitely relieves stress," said Angela. "I mean how can it not when you have a little fuzzy thing that you can take back to your office?"

Employees told us it makes the day fun and shows that the county does care -- and not just for the welfare of its workers, but for its homeless animals as well. See, when the county set this up it had a secret agenda.

hartman-kitten-library-transferframe2467.jpg
A kitten is caressed while sitting on a worker's desk CBS NEWS
Officials knew if people just took a few minutes to hold these animals that a bond might form. And in fact -- to date -- 100 kittens have been adopted from the library. And it's that kind of outside-the-cage thinking that folks here would like spread to other communities across the country.

"The joy, the smiles, I've seen so many smiles," said Becky.

Imagine a nation of libraries catering to those who just want to curl up with a good person.




What a great idea to save kittens from death at the pound! So many animal shelters do kill any dogs or cats that aren’t adopted after a few weeks. Unfortunately some feral animals are simply too wild and distrusting of humans to keep alive, so they are euthanized. That makes sense. If I had a few million dollars, I would definitely make animal shelters the beneficiaries of a thousand dollars or so each. Of course, what we need most is universal spaying of all stray cats. One city was in the news for its policy to allow feral cats to live outdoors unmolested as long as they were neutered and had rabies shots. One lady came out to the location where they had congregated (outside an apartment house garbage dump) and fed them dry food and fresh water daily.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-heckled-at-lgbt-gathering/

Obama heckled at LGBT gathering
CBS NEWS
June 24, 2015

Photograph -- U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Vice President Joe Biden attend a reception for LGBT Pride Month in the East Room of the White House June 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. Obama delivered remarks highlighting the progress made by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the areas of insurance, military service, marriage and other rights. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES

President Obama faced a heckler in the audience at the White House while hosting a reception to observe LGBT Pride Month Wednesday afternoon.

The crowd in the East Room was cheering when he entered, but about a minute into his speech, a protester in the audience could be heard jeering him, although her words were unintelligible. Mr. Obama and the protester talked over each other, and the president told her, "Listen, you're in my house - it's not respectful when you get invited to somebody - you're not going to get a good response from me by interrupting me like this." The protester continued to yell at the president as the crowd began to chant "Obama! Obama!" to drown out the yelling.

Poll: Americans' views on same-sex marriage
Supreme Court ruling against same-sex marriage could create chaos
The president then waited to resume his speech until the protester was escorted from the room.

Mr. Obama told the audience, "As a general rule I am just fine with a few hecklers but not when I'm up in the house, you know my attitude is if you're eating the hors d'oeuvres, you know what I'm saying, and drinking the booze..."

Shortly after the event, a group called GetEQUAL released a statement about the protester, identifying her as an undocumented transgender woman named Jennicet Gutiérrez, who was shouting "President Obama, release all LGBTQ immigrants from detention and stop all deportations." Her complaint, the release said, was that "she could not celebrate while some 75 transgender detainees were still being exposed to assault and abuse in ICE custody at this very moment."

After Gutiérrez was taken out of the room, the president resumed his remarks celebrating the accomplishments on behalf of the LGBT community. He said, "Together we've been able to do more to protect rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Americans than in any other time in our history," citing the end of don't-ask-don't-tell and the passage of a hate crimes bill named in part for Matthew Sheppard."

The president went on to note that there is still more to be done. "There are still battles to wage more hearts and minds to change as long as there is a single child in America who is afraid to be who they are, we've got more work to do," the president said.




Obama really does have a charm and wit about him that helps in situations like this. He playfully chided her and “wagged his finger” at her saying, “No, no, no, no, no!” and had her physically removed from the room. He then went on to acknowledge that there is still a need for a great deal of progress for the LGBT community. Some conservatives think he is not a “strong” enough president, but I do feel safer with someone in office who doesn’t become very angry and cause an international incident. It would be easy to start WWIII with Putin or Kim, for instance. Putin is a soccer player, and Obama is a chess player. I prefer the latter.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/charleston-shooting-ex-follower-of-racist-ideology-explains-radicalization/

Former skinhead explains how he was radicalized
By DEAN REYNOLDS CBS NEWS
June 23, 2015

Photograph -- Charles Picciolini in his neo-Nazi days

Dylann Roof described in a manifesto how he came to embrace racism through online forums. One man told how he made that same descent into darkness -- but came out of it.

Open a certain box in Christian Picciolini's home and the first things to pop out are painful reminders of his past, artifacts of his days as a race-baiting skinhead.

"I was a neo-Nazi skinhead from 1987 to 1995, roughly from the time I was 14 years old until I was 21.

He says he and alleged Charleston shooter Dylann Roof might once have been kindred spirits.

He says during those days he would have applauded Roof.

"I would have thought this guy had the courage to speak for the rest of us and do something," he said.

Picciolini grew up the son of immigrants in a blue collar suburb of Chicago.

"I was standing here smoking a joint," he explained. "And the guy walked up to me and he just said 'don't you know that's what the communists and Jews want you to do to keep you docile.' I was infatuated by this power, he had a shaved head and boots and thin suspenders on and I'd never seen anything like it, and from that moment on I wanted to like that guy.

He liked the message and loved the music.

"White power for America! White power for America!" Piccolini shouted, leading his old band Final Solution.

"The music spoke of unemployment and spoke of black on white crimes," Picciolini said. "When I was told that the white race was being attacked from all sides and that minorities were to blame for all the problems that I was having, I bought in."

Back then, recruitment was one kid at a time. But these days the radical fringe can easily work its way into anyone's home computer.

"It's much easier," said Picciolini. "Because there is a layer of anonymity for people and you can say almost anything you want."

Now, watching events unfold in Charleston, Picciolini hears echoes in the sentiments of Dylann Roof.

Christian Picciolini shows the relics of his past life as a racist ideagogue, but he has since left it behind. CBS NEWS
"He could literally have torn pages out of my book and posted it online," he said. "The rhetoric is the same.

"Not everyone becomes a Dylann Roof. But I think that there are thousands of people like him across our country that eventually could be radicalized enough to cause as much damage as he did."

These days Christian Picciolini tries to help others leave the skinhead movement just like he did. He co-founded a non-profit organization called Life After Hate.




The video with this article plays the harsh, angry, raucous music that was partly responsible for his radicalization. That kind of radicalization is clearly a mental health issue and one that grew and developed from that disenchanted and alienated time of life that so many young people go through, though the end result of their actions is what we have to call “evil.” In the end the law has to stand up for civil rights and justice, and now this young man is probably going to be facing the death penalty. Unfortunately, it makes sense.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/charleston-violence-returns-nations-focus-to-race-relations/

Charleston massacre returns nation's focus to race relations
By JIM AXELROD CBS NEWS
June 18, 2015

Photograph -- After the deadly shootings in Charleston, S.C., the nation found itself again asking painful questions about race relations. CBS NEWS

The violence in Charleston comes at a time of increasing mistrust between blacks and whites.

When Walter Scott -- an unarmed black man -- was shot and killed by a white police officer two months ago, the Charleston area took center stage in the nation's painful examination of race relations.

Exactly where it finds itself again tonight.

And it's a country that's growing increasingly pessimistic. In a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, 61 percent said race relations in this country were bad, the highest number since the Rodney King riots 23 years ago.

But the full picture of hate in this country may actually be more troubling. The FBI reported 5,922 hate crimes in 2013. Richard Cohen, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, says that is just a fraction.

"The true number -- according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics -- is over 200,000, so it's wrong by a factor of over 30 unfortunately," said Cohen. "Hate crime reporting in our country is purely voluntary and hundreds of jurisdictions don't participate."

Take South Carolina, where the Southern Poverty Law Center has counted 13 white supremacist groups. But where Cohen says there were zero race-based hate crimes reported last year.

"Jurisdictions are not required to report hate crimes," said Cohen. "South Carolina not only isn't required to report hate crime federally, there's not even a hate crime law in South Carolina."

The Internet also makes the job of tracking hate much more challenging. One pop-ular white supremacist website now has 300,000 registered users, up 60 percent in five years.




“The Internet also makes the job of tracking hate much more challenging. One pop-ular white supremacist website now has 300,000 registered users, up 60 percent in five years. …. But the full picture of hate in this country may actually be more troubling. The FBI reported 5,922 hate crimes in 2013. Richard Cohen, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, says that is just a fraction. "The true number -- according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics -- is over 200,000, so it's wrong by a factor of over 30 unfortunately," said Cohen. "Hate crime reporting in our country is purely voluntary and hundreds of jurisdictions don't participate." Take South Carolina, where the Southern Poverty Law Center has counted 13 white supremacist groups. But where Cohen says there were zero race-based hate crimes reported last year.”

South Carolina, along with a number of other states, has only voluntary reporting of hate crimes and there is no hate crime law on the books. The Tea Party Republicans have been vocal in their complaints against “hate crime laws,” as being unnecessary as long as rape, assault, murder, etc. are in force. The point is that a murder for sexual jealousy is often considered – or was when I was young in the South – an act which is in some eyes “justifiable homicide” and the murderer may get off with a year or so in prison, especially if he is rich and white or if the victim is black or of another race. Likewise, if he is a hater of blacks and Jews and kills someone of those groups, well that’s his right and privilege under the doctrine of “free thought.” The rise in popularity of one hate site by 60% (!!!) is “a sign of the times,” in which the poor and Middle Class of all races are getting poorer and are therefore under greater and greater stress. They are looking for someone to blame and the blacks and Jews will do just fine. I was pleased to see that a number of whites made their views known in support for the black church which was so horribly violated last week. The violence of the baseless act repulsed them, I think, making them stand up for human rights. I am very relieved to see this, because I had become discouraged about the virtues of our US population here since Ferguson. I believe it is possible for us to become the “city upon a hill” so touted by the Tea Party, in our daily lives as we REFORM voluntarily as well as enact important new laws to back up the changes. If we can get to the point that our police forces across the whole country will fire bad officers and hire good one, train them in human relations, plus enforcing supervisory discipline as needed, we will be in a much better place.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pennsylvania-court-law-nra-gun-challenges/

Court tosses Pennsylvania law aiding NRA gun challenges
AP June 25, 2015

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A state court on Thursday struck down a law designed to make it easier for gun owners and organizations like the National Rifle Association to challenge local firearms ordinances in court.

The Commonwealth Court said the procedure that the Republican-controlled Legislature used to enact the law in the final days of last year's session violated the state constitution. The ruling came after dozens of municipalities had already repealed their gun laws.

Under the law, gun owners no longer had to show they were harmed by a local ordinance to challenge it, and it let "membership organizations" like the NRA sue on behalf of any Pennsylvania member. The law also allowed successful challengers to seek damages.

The NRA's lobbying arm had called the measure "the strongest firearms pre-emption statute in the country."

Five Democratic legislators and the cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster sued to block the law, saying it was passed improperly. The GOP defendants included House Speaker Mike Turzai and then-Gov. Tom Corbett, who lost his bid for re-election last year.

Thursday's ruling sends "a very strong message to the General Assembly that the old way of doing business just isn't acceptable anymore," said Mark McDonald, press secretary to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. "The law requires and the public expects transparency, deliberation and public debate."

Said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto: "I'm overjoyed that the court system is joining us in standing up for citizens and public safety instead of special rights for the gun lobby."

Pennsylvania, which has a strong tradition of hunting and gun ownership, has long prohibited its municipalities from enforcing firearms ordinances that regulate the ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of guns or ammunition. Gun-rights groups complained that scores of municipalities ignored the 40-year-old prohibition by approving their own gun restrictions.

The NRA seized on the new state law, which took effect in January, to challenge gun measures in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster. None of those lawsuits have been decided, and the judges presiding over them may opt to delay ruling until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court takes up the issue of the new law's constitutionality.

"We understand that this case is probably headed to a higher court," said Jonathan Goldstein, an attorney for the NRA.

About 50 Pennsylvania municipalities have already repealed, or were in the process of repealing, their gun laws, according to a running tally kept by Joshua Prince, an attorney for four pro-gun groups, who had put the municipalities on notice that they would face legal action unless they rescinded their firearms ordinances.

Sen. Daylin Leach, one of five Democrats who joined in the challenge of the state law, said the municipalities that repealed their gun ordinances because of the law can now restore them.

But Prince said that would be unwise. He predicted the Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether to keep the new law on the books.

The Commonwealth Court's decision hinged on how the bill was put together last year.

The gun provision was merged with a bill whose intent was to establish criminal penalties for theft of secondary metals, such as wires or cables. The Commonwealth Court judges said that process violated constitutional requirements that bills may not be altered to change their original purpose and must be confined to one subject.




“A state court on Thursday struck down a law designed to make it easier for gun owners and organizations like the National Rifle Association to challenge local firearms ordinances in court. The Commonwealth Court said the procedure that the Republican-controlled Legislature used to enact the law in the final days of last year's session violated the state constitution. The ruling came after dozens of municipalities had already repealed their gun laws. Under the law, gun owners no longer had to show they were harmed by a local ordinance to challenge it, and it let "membership organizations" like the NRA sue on behalf of any Pennsylvania member. The law also allowed successful challengers to seek damages. …. Thursday's ruling sends "a very strong message to the General Assembly that the old way of doing business just isn't acceptable anymore," said Mark McDonald, press secretary to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. "The law requires and the public expects transparency, deliberation and public debate." Said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto: "I'm overjoyed that the court system is joining us in standing up for citizens and public safety instead of special rights for the gun lobby." …. The Commonwealth Court's decision hinged on how the bill was put together last year. The gun provision was merged with a bill whose intent was to establish criminal penalties for theft of secondary metals, such as wires or cables. The Commonwealth Court judges said that process violated constitutional requirements that bills may not be altered to change their original purpose and must be confined to one subject.”

One of the things that has irritated me for years is the habit in the US legislature of linking highly objectionable provisions with a necessary budget bill, with the result that the “poison pill” law will be approved or on the other hand, the federal budget will be blocked, with the result that the government will be shut down. That is a favorite ploy of the Tea Party. There should be a law against that – as in the Pennsylvania system here – requiring no more than one subject in a law. Besides if that were the case no law would be thousands of pages long, thus preventing lawmakers from reading it all the way through before they voted on it.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-minorities-increasingly-in-the-majority/

U.S. minorities increasingly in the majority
By AIMEE PICCHI MONEYWATCH
June 25, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Race in America
Play VIDEO -- Poll: Race relations in the U.S. at new low

The face of America is changing.

The baby boomers, once the country's largest generation, can no longer hold claim to the title. The so-called millennial generation, or those Americans born between 1982 and 2000, is now the country's biggest segment of the population, with 83.1 million members, compared with 75.4 million for the boomers, according to a new U.S. Census report.

It's not only the numbers that are shifting, but also the country's diversity. Millennials, who represent more than one-quarter of the U.S. population, are more racially diverse than the nation's older generations, Census data shows. About 44 percent are part of a minority race or ethnic group, compared with only about 22 percent for Americans over the age of 65.

Still, there's another generation that's giving the millennials a run on the claim of being America's most diverse group. The country's youngest citizens, those younger than 5 years old, are the first group in U.S. history to represent a "majority-minority," which means more of them are minorities than whites. About 50.2 percent of Americans younger than 5 are minorities, the Census said.


That's having a long-term impact on America's racial and generational composition. A decade ago, minorities represented about 33 percent of the country. That's shifted to almost 38 percent in 2014.

Several trends are driving the changes, such as immigration from China and Mexico, along with an increase in multiracial families.

"Mexico has been the largest sending country of immigrants for quite some time, but China has taken over as the top sending country," said Ben Bolender, chief of the Census' Population Estimates Branch. The country's entire population is expected to tip into "majority-minority" in 2044, he said.

Asked whether the term "minority" will need to be dropped when that happens, Bolender said, "It's difficult to formulate race definitions that people can identify accurately in." That's why the Census is considering changing how it asks about race in 2020, he noted. "The definitions are constantly changing, so we'll have to wait and see what terminology is most appropriate."

In 2020, the Census may ask people to check off what "categories" best describe themselves, rather than race. It might also add new racial categories, such as one for people of Middle Eastern or North African heritage.

The share of multiracial babies has surged, rising from 1 percent in 1970 to 10 percent in 2013, according to a Pew Research Center study published earlier this month. Taboos against interracial marriage and relationships have faded, and demographers believe there will be more multiracial children born in future decades.

These social shifts are also having other effects. That includes how businesses market their products, with many companies eager to attract millennials, given the group's size. Whole Foods (WFM), just to cite one example, is opening a new chain that will target millennials. While details regarding the concept weren't available, millennials are a frugal group, often looking for bargains and good values.

That might be due to their values, but it could also reflect the fact that the millennial generation is coming of age during the slow economic recovery that has followed the Great Recession, an era of weak wage growth and, for many, diminished opportunity as inequality increases. Many are also struggling under the burden of student loans, with the class of 2015 graduating as the most indebted ever.

Indeed, while millennials are now the biggest generation in America, they are far from the richest. As a group they are heavily in debt, with half of them reporting that paying down their loans consumes more than half their monthly income, according to a 2014 study by Wells Fargo (WFC). Many are delaying buying a home and starting a family, given their debt issues and the uneven recovery.

A diverse future

The historic shift in America's racial composition is most visible in certain parts of the country. There are five U.S. states where the population has already shifted to a majority-minority, according to the latest Census data.

Hawaii has the most diverse population, with 77 percent of its residents counting as members of a minority race or ethnic group. Next is Washington, D.C., at 64.2 percent, followed by California at 61.5 percent. New Mexico is the fourth-most diverse state, at 61.1 percent, with Texas ranking fifth at 56.5 percent.

Several other states are on the threshold of switching from being predominantly white to a majority-minority. They include Nevada, with 48.5 percent of its population considered minorities.

What does America's minority population look like? Hispanics are the largest group, with 55.4 million as of July 2014, or an increase of 2.1 percent from the previous year.

The black population counts 45.7 million Americans, an increase of 1.3 percent since July 2013. Asians are the third-largest group, at 20.3 million, an increase of 3.2 percent from the previous year. American Indians totaled 6.5 million in mid-2014, an increase of 1.4 percent since the previous year.

As for non-Hispanic whites, there are 197.9 million in the country, an increase of 0.5 percent from the previous year.




“The so-called millennial generation, or those Americans born between 1982 and 2000, is now the country's biggest segment of the population, with 83.1 million members, compared with 75.4 million for the boomers, according to a new U.S. Census report. It's not only the numbers that are shifting, but also the country's diversity. Millennials, who represent more than one-quarter of the U.S. population, are more racially diverse than the nation's older generations, Census data shows. About 44 percent are part of a minority race or ethnic group, compared with only about 22 percent for Americans over the age of 65. …. About 50.2 percent of Americans younger than 5 are minorities, the Census said. That's having a long-term impact on America's racial and generational composition. A decade ago, minorities represented about 33 percent of the country. That's shifted to almost 38 percent in 2014. Several trends are driving the changes, such as immigration from China and Mexico, along with an increase in multiracial families. …. . The country's entire population is expected to tip into "majority-minority" in 2044, he said. Asked whether the term "minority" will need to be dropped when that happens, Bolender said, "It's difficult to formulate race definitions that people can identify accurately in." That's why the Census is considering changing how it asks about race in 2020, he noted. "The definitions are constantly changing, so we'll have to wait and see what terminology is most appropriate." …. While details regarding the concept weren't available, millennials are a frugal group, often looking for bargains and good values. That might be due to their values, but it could also reflect the fact that the millennial generation is coming of age during the slow economic recovery that has followed the Great Recession, an era of weak wage growth and, for many, diminished opportunity as inequality increases. Many are also struggling under the burden of student loans, with the class of 2015 graduating as the most indebted ever. …. . There are five U.S. states where the population has already shifted to a majority-minority, according to the latest Census data. Hawaii has the most diverse population, with 77 percent of its residents counting as members of a minority race or ethnic group. Next is Washington, D.C., at 64.2 percent, followed by California at 61.5 percent. New Mexico is the fourth-most diverse state, at 61.1 percent, with Texas ranking fifth at 56.5 percent. Several other states are on the threshold of switching from being predominantly white to a majority-minority. They include Nevada, with 48.5 percent of its population considered minorities.”

It looks as though people who have a phobia about skin color, etc., are in for some traumatic times in the future. This change could possibly mean that political progressives, liberals and Democrats will begin to dominate as time goes on, and laws discriminating against them will have been expunged from the system. That assumes that the Koch brothers will not have taken over the country lock stock and barrel and we are no longer still a democracy by 2044. I will, of course, be dead by then, so I’ll never know if my group of people won or lost the political race here. If the present upsurge in Neo-Nazi feeling in Europe and the US does continue, perhaps everything I hold dear will be gone by then. I hope the earth will still have enough water on it to grow beautiful wild flowers and animals even if the human population is greatly diminished or fully extinct. I hope there will be at least some enclaves of humans left who can read all our books that will be left and perhaps start our civilization up again. I suggest that any of you have not yet read the wonderful book by Walter Miller, Jr. which is called “A Canticle For Leibowitz” will take a week or so and read it now!