June 22, 2016


News and Views


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/coast-guard-finds-life-jackets-search-missing-florida-family/

Coast Guard finds life jackets in search for missing Florida family
CBS/AP
June 22, 2016, 12:10 PM

Photograph -- Ace Kimberly, center right, sits with sons Roger and Donny and daughter Rebecca in this photo posted to social media by the U.S. Coast Guard after the family went missing in a sailboat off Florida's southwest coast.


MIAMI -- The U.S. Coast Guard found life jackets while searching for a family last seen in a 29-foot sailboat off Florida's southwest coast.

The Coast Guard also tweeted Wednesday that two kayaks being pulled by the sailboat were found as well, and that the search continues for the father and his three children.

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USCGSoutheast ✔ @USCGSoutheast
#BreakingNews #USCG a yellow kayak located also believed to belong to missing family IVO of debris field. Search continues.
1:18 PM - 22 Jun 2016
40 40 Retweets 8 8 likes

After the debris was spotted by air in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard contacted a nearby boater who collected several items and held them for a Coast Guard boat, Capt. Gregory Case said.

The tarp, water jugs, six life jackets and a propane tank were then identified by the brother of 45-year-old Ace Kimberly, who had been living on the sailboat with his children for a year.

The items were located about 33 nautical miles off Florida's Sanibel Island, the Coast Guard tweeted.

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USCGSoutheast ✔ @USCGSoutheast
#BreakingNews: USCG aircrews locate debris field approximately 33nm off Sanibel Island. 6 life jackets found, no sign of missing family.
11:21 AM - 22 Jun 2016
63 63 Retweets 22 22 likes

Kimberly left Sarasota on Sunday with 13-year-old Roger, 15-year-old Donny and 17-year-old Rebecca, for Fort Myers to have the boat repaired.

Kimberly's brother alerted the Coast Guard on Tuesday after they failed to arrive, Case said. The brother said their last word came Sunday, when Ace Kimberly told him they were sailing in "6-foot seas and thunderstorms."


Most boat dwellers are not in a sailboat that is only 29’long, and when a storm like that one blows in they will just go to their mooring place and tie up the boat. This is very sad. I also do wonder why none of them put on their life jackets. Could there have been foul play here? No word to answer some of these questions. A fascinating mystery!



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-stage-sit-in-on-house-floor-over-gun-control/

Democrats stage sit-in on House floor over gun control
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
June 22, 2016, 12:00 PM

Play VIDEO -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal on gun control


Just days after four gun control measures failed to pass in the U.S. Senate, House Democrats are staging their own historic protest on the floor of the lower chamber over firearm safety legislation.

A group of roughly 60 legislators sat down cross-legged in the middle of the House floor Wednesday, pushing for gun control votes. Some remained standing on the floor.

The group included civil rights icon Rep, John Lewis, D-Georgia, Kentucky's Rep. John Yarmuth, and Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut.

"We can no longer wait," Lewis said from the House floor. "We can no longer be patient. So today, we come to the well of the House to dramatize the need for action. Not next month, not next year, but now -- today. Sometimes you have to do something out of the ordinary. Sometimes you have to make a way out of no way."

"We have been too quiet for too long," he added. "There comes a time when you have to say something. You have to make a little noise. You have to move your feet. This is the time."

Members took turns speaker passionately at the podium, chanting "No bill, no break" after each speech and using the trending hashtag #NoBillNoBreak on Twitter to publicize their efforts.

The originators of the sit-in also signed and sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan outlining their intentions, urging the Republican leader "to keep the House in session until we have robust debate and votes on expanding background checks and banning the sale of firearms to suspected terrorists."

"Until then," the letter read, "we are resolved and committed to speaking out for victims, survivors, and families at home who deserve a vote."

YouTube ‎@YouTube
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John Lewis ✔ @repjohnlewis
My colleagues & I have had enough. We are sitting-in on the House Floor until we get a vote to address gun violence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZq2F9LcUrI&feature=youtu.be …
11:48 AM - 22 Jun 2016
7,752 7,752 Retweets 10,232 10,232 likes

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Rep. John Yarmuth ✔ @RepJohnYarmuth
I'm on the House floor with @repjohnlewis & Dems staging a sit-in to demand action on commonsense gun legislation
11:34 AM - 22 Jun 2016
5,724 5,724 Retweets 7,434 7,434 likes

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Rep. John Yarmuth ✔ @RepJohnYarmuth
Proud to sit with @RepJoeCourtney and others demanding action. #GoodTrouble #NoBillNoBreak
11:44 AM - 22 Jun 2016
869 869 Retweets 1,521 1,521 likes

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Rep. Joe Courtney ✔ @RepJoeCourtney
#Nomoresilence.@HouseDemocrats are sitting-in to demand an up or down vote on legislation to #EndGunViolence #Enough
11:43 AM - 22 Jun 2016
79 79 Retweets 120 120 likes

Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton threw her support behind the sit-in Wednesday, praising the lawmakers' protest as "real leadership":

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Hillary Clinton ✔ @HillaryClinton
This is what real leadership looks like. https://twitter.com/igorvolsky/status/745638278406242304 …
12:01 PM - 22 Jun 2016
3,066 3,066 Retweets 6,316 6,316 likes
President Obama thanked Rep. Lewis for his actions in a tweet Wednesday afternoon:

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President Obama ✔ @POTUS
Thank you John Lewis for leading on gun violence where we need it most. https://twitter.com/repjohnlewis/status/745631702186336256 …
1:45 PM - 22 Jun 2016
10,706 10,706 Retweets 20,984 20,984 likes

Other lawmakers from the Senate are also throwing their weight behind the floor sit-in.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who led a filibuster in the Senate last week leading to the votes on gun measures, also walked in to the House chamber to show his support. His fellow Connecticut senator, Richard Blumenthal, also joined the sit-in, along with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Minnesota Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, also stepped onto the House floor Wednesday afternoon.

"I think this is truly exceptional, and it reflects the American mood," Murphy told CBS News of the House protest, calling it an "unprecedented moment" in legislative history. "We ultimately got a vote in the Senate, it has led to compromised negotiations that are happening right now that might actually get this done. The only thing we can't do right now is be silent, and I'm glad that my former colleagues in the House are stepping in a big way."

Blumenthal lauded the sit-in as sending "a message to the American people that they need to rise up and be heard just as these Congressmen are trying to be heard, and to vote."

"This is the beginning of something much bigger, and it will shake the business as usual approach of the United States Congress - there's no more business as usual," Blumenthal told CBS in an interview. "The nation has reached at tipping point, Orlando sent a signal that enough is enough, and that's what they're saying."

Some Republican lawmakers were sharply critical of the protest, however.

Michigan Rep. Justin Amash slammed his Democratic colleagues for refusing to leave "until our Constitution replaces due process with secret lists."

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Justin Amash ✔ @justinamash
Democrats are staging a sit-in on the House floor. They refuse to leave until our Constitution replaces due process with secret lists.
2:06 PM - 22 Jun 2016
1,045 1,045 Retweets 896 896 likes
Rep. Mark Walker, R-North Carolina, jumped in with his own critique, calling the "sit-in" a "disgrace to Woolworth's," where civil rights demonstrators held lunch counter sit-ins to protest segregation in the early 1960s.

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Rep. Mark Walker ✔ @RepMarkWalker
Calling this a sit-in is a disgrace to Woolworth's. They sat-in for rights. Dems are "sitting-in" to strip them away https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/745679387450871808 …
2:42 PM - 22 Jun 2016
346 346 Retweets 330 330 likes

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, further assured CBS that the lower chamber would find a way to conduct its legislative business.

"We are not going to let them interfere with us doing the people's work," Rep. Scalise said. "They might try to do that but we are not going to let them take away the rights of people's voices to be heard on the House floor."

In an interview with CBS News' Julianna Goldman, Rep. Lewis said he was "convinced" that if a vote on gun control were held on the House floor, it would pass.

"The American people are sick and tired. More than 85 percent -- some polls are saying more than 90 or 95 percent -- want action," Lewis noted. "Just let the people debate it. Let members of Congress debate it. Members of the House: let's pass it."

Democratic lawmakers' frustrations on gun control inaction boiled over in the aftermath of the shooting at an Orlando nightclub last week, when a gunman opened fire and killed dozens of people in the deadliest U.S. mass shooting in history.

The Democrats' sit-in comes a little over a week after they shouted down Paul Ryan on the floor during a moment of silence after Orlando shooting, demanding that a vote be held on gun control legislation.

Over the past five years, legislators have introduced more than 100 gun control measures in Congress. But despite numerous mass shootings in the country since 2011, none of them have passed into law, and few have made it to the House or Senate floor for a vote.

And in the latest legislative battle over firearm safety Monday, after Democrats staged a nearly 15-hour filibuster, Senate Republicans blocked four amendments that would have expanded criminal background checks before gun purchases and instituted a "no fly, no buy" policy for those on federal terror watch lists, among other policies.

After the four measures failed to advance, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, unveiled legislation Tuesday to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns. Its backers say the bill could actually win over a 60-vote majority and pass through the Senate.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the powerful House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment to limit the sale of firearms to those the U.S. Attorney General has a "reasonable suspicion" of being involved in terrorist activity. Democrats pushed the measure as one that could have made a real difference in Orlando, where gunman Omar Mateen had been previously investigated by federal officials for links to terrorism. Republicans, however, maintained that it violates due process rights for gun purchasers. The provision failed to pass out of committee, 16-31.

While Democrats sat on the floor of the lower chamber, the House briefly returned for legislative business at noon.

But the Republican presiding over the chamber quickly ordered the House back into recess. Democrats were asked to leave the well of the House floor, but legislators refused to budge from their positions.

"We will not be moved," Florida Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat, said on the floor.

A spokesperson for Ryan's office said in a tweet that the House was on recess because members were not "following the rules."

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AshLee Strong @AshLeeStrong
The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the House has recessed subject to the call of the chair.
12:17 PM - 22 Jun 2016
54 54 Retweets 37 37 likes

Cameras controlled by the House Recording Studio and typically trained on the House floor have also been shut off during the recess. Rules say the House Recording Studio cameras can only be on when the House is in session, and coverage operates at the direction of the House speaker.

A senior House GOP leadership aide told CBS News, "This rule of the House is being enforced, as it has been since TV cameras were first installed in the House."

The aide further noted that Democrats, back in 2008 when they had control of the House, had turned cameras, lights, and microphones off during one similar GOP attempt to push for a vote allowing offshore drilling.

In protest, members on the House floor Wednesday instead took to broadcasting the proceedings from livestreaming phone app Periscope:

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Scott Peters ✔ @ScottPetersSD
LIVE on #Periscope https://www.periscope.tv/w/ajliWTFkdktPckJCb0FCUVh8MU95S0FsYmdlUUR4YhvruxHY4vwDfq5dVSrIksqE_IHw577UMS_Mk3h3_SQm …
12:27 PM - 22 Jun 2016
Photo published for Scott Peters @ScottPetersSD
Scott Peters @ScottPetersSD
Untitled
periscope.tv


Go to the website and look at all the photographs. Some of your favorite legislators are sitting on the floor; one is smiling but most are scowling. This is almost as good as the time that Sen. Ted Cruz did a very good reading of Green Eggs and Ham on the floor of the Senate during a filibuster. I do love it when I see people really being human, even if they’re the wrong political party. Most debate on the floor of both houses is like the ad on TV in which a woman addresses the camera and says, “You thought your insurance policy would tell you what is covered, but it didn’t. It just said ‘blah blah blah blah blah!’”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-carolina-artifacts-lost-colony/

North Carolina artifacts could be linked to "Lost Colony"
AP June 22, 2016, 4:44 PM

Photograph -- Pottery pieces were found that could have been part of a jar belonging to a member of the "Lost Colony" on North Carolina's Roanoke Island. COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE


MANTEO, N.C. -- Archaeologists on North Carolina's Roanoke Island found pottery pieces that could have been part of a jar belonging to a medicine maker of the Roanoke Island voyages and perhaps a member of the "Lost Colony."

Two quarter-size fragments, colored blue, white and brown, were discovered buried in the soil near an earthen mound believed to have been a 16th century fort, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

"It was an exciting find," said Eric Deetz, an archaeologist with the First Colony Foundation who was part of the dig earlier this month. "That pottery had something to do with the Elizabethan presence on that island."

"Lost Colony" settlers disappeared from Roanoke Island in the late 16th century after English explorer Walter Raleigh sent three groups to the coast of North Carolina in 1584, 1585 and 1587.

Artifacts have been uncovered throughout the years in and around the areas where the settlers are believed to have built forts.

And while archaeologists have yet to discover the fate of the colony, discoveries such as the pottery offer glimpses into the colonists' lives.

According to Deetz, the recent pieces found are part of a jar that might have been used by members of the colony to mix salves and medicines.


“Archaeologists on North Carolina's Roanoke Island found pottery pieces that could have been part of a jar belonging to a medicine maker of the Roanoke Island voyages and perhaps a member of the "Lost Colony." Two quarter-size fragments, colored blue, white and brown, were discovered buried in the soil near an earthen mound believed to have been a 16th century fort, The Virginian-Pilot reported. "It was an exciting find," said Eric Deetz, an archaeologist with the First Colony Foundation who was part of the dig earlier this month. "That pottery had something to do with the Elizabethan presence on that island." …. And while archaeologists have yet to discover the fate of the colony, discoveries such as the pottery offer glimpses into the colonists' lives. According to Deetz, the recent pieces found are part of a jar that might have been used by members of the colony to mix salves and medicines.”


Archaeology is a wonderful subject. Unlike history the digs don’t usually have a written record found on the spot, but just an intriguing assemblage of this kind of artifacts. What I love about them is that if you have enough objects, you can track the passage of time and you can “channel” the inhabitants by touching their possessions, as they are all things used by real people living an ordinary life centuries or thousands of years before. Now that’s exciting!



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/orlando-shooting-mohammad-malik-man-told-fbi-about-omar-mateen-in-2014/

Fellow Muslim told FBI about gunman 2 years before Orlando shooting
By DAVID BEGNAUD CBS NEWS
June 21, 2016, 7:08 PM

Photograph -- orlando-shooting-omar-mateen-mohammad-malik.jpg, Mohammad Malik CBS NEWS
Photograph -- orlando-shooting-omar-mateen-mosque.jpg, The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, in Fort Pierce, Florida. CBS NEWS
Play VIDEO -- AG Loretta Lynch: Orlando gunman's motive may never be known
Play VIDEO -- Trump on Orlando Shooter: "There were a lot of red flags"


FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- After the Orlando massacre, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized Muslims for not raising red flags about other Muslims who might be plotting attacks.

Mohammad Malik says he did just that -- warning the FBI about nightclub shooter Omar Mateen two years ago.

"The fact that this person was a Muslim, and also that he was a Muslim from my community and somebody that I knew -- very, very, very disturbing," Mailk told CBS News.

Malik met Mateen 10 years ago. They attended the same mosque in Fort Pierce, Florida, two hours south of Orlando.

"Most of our conversations were religious based, but nothing radical or homophobic or hate related," Malik said.

Another man who attended the mosque was 22-year-old Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, who was influenced by the radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and became the first known American suicide bomber in Syria.

But Malik doesn't believe there was a connection between Mateen and Abu-Salha.

"Many people will not believe this and are reluctant to do so, but it is truly a coincidence," Malik said.

Shortly after Abu-Salha launched his attack in May 2014, Malik heard Mateen talk about al-Awlaki's videos. Malik says he then called the FBI.

"He told me they were very powerful," he recalled. "That raised the red flag even higher for me."

The FBI did investigate Mateen -- for the second time in two years -- and cleared him of any suspicion. Malik says the FBI never asked about Mateen again, but did contact him about the Muslim community.

"These people that have committed these acts have radicalized on their own -- not through the mosque," Malik said.

He has gone public with his story because of recent comments made by Trump, who argues the Muslim community isn't doing enough.

"He [Trump] says a lot of stuff, I believe, without factual evidence. The FBI is saying the complete opposite of what he says, that we do come forward and help -- I'm an example of that," Malik asserted. "I came forward and I tried to do the right thing."

CBS News also learned Tuesday that Mateen entered the Pulse nightclub at least once before the start of the massacre. Investigators say Mateen got a wristband, allowing him access. He then left at some point, returned about two hours later and started shooting.



“After the Orlando massacre, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized Muslims for not raising red flags about other Muslims who might be plotting attacks. Mohammad Malik says he did just that -- warning the FBI about nightclub shooter Omar Mateen two years ago. "The fact that this person was a Muslim, and also that he was a Muslim from my community and somebody that I knew -- very, very, very disturbing," Mailk told CBS News. …. "Most of our conversations were religious based, but nothing radical or homophobic or hate related," Malik said. Another man who attended the mosque was 22-year-old Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, who was influenced by the radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and became the first known American suicide bomber in Syria. But Malik doesn't believe there was a connection between Mateen and Abu-Salha. "Many people will not believe this and are reluctant to do so, but it is truly a coincidence," Malik said. …. Malik heard Mateen talk about al-Awlaki's videos. Malik says he then called the FBI. "He told me they were very powerful," he recalled. "That raised the red flag even higher for me." The FBI did investigate Mateen -- for the second time in two years -- and cleared him of any suspicion. Malik says the FBI never asked about Mateen again, but did contact him about the Muslim community. "These people that have committed these acts have radicalized on their own -- not through the mosque," Malik said. ….


"He [Trump] says a lot of stuff, I believe, without factual evidence. The FBI is saying the complete opposite of what he says, that we do come forward and help -- I'm an example of that," Malik asserted. "I came forward and I tried to do the right thing." We have some problems in this country that do make it hard on the “peace loving Muslims.” We generally know very little of foreign languages – who knows what plot they are hatching up? Also, we see brown to olive skin, a long ankle length garment on the men, and a garment of one of several kinds on the women intended specifically to cover her face. (If a woman’s face and/or body is uncovered, she can make eyes at the men around her who are NOT her husband. Macho men are nothing if not jealous.)

To give the American fears some perspective, however, there was an episode several years back in which an Islamic woman had to take off her headdress to get a driver’s license. To her that was a breach of her religious freedom, but to the driver’s license folks it was a simple matter of requiring a clear photograph so she could be identified from her license. Sometimes people have to give in on a religious point for the common good. Foreigners must give in on numerous issues if they are to live in this society. I read years ago that relocating is a traumatic event similar to getting a divorce. To recount a humorous event, a male acquaintance of mine some 50 years ago was arrested in Greensboro, NC for driving down the road wearing a ski mask. The officers reasonably suspected that his goal was to hide his identity. He didn’t seem like a criminal to me, but he was a little strange and for all I know could have been borderline insane. One of the problems with psychotic killers is that they often, though they often do seem “a little strange,” do not seem to be insane. I do think, however, that driving down the road in a ski mask is irrational at best.

Anyway, Trump was incorrect in assuming that Islamic people have NOT cooperated with authorities, but it is true the problem is a real issue to me as well as to Trump. I just don’t think that refusing to accept any (more!) Islamic people into this country is the way to go at it. I do think that every person from known hostile areas should be vetted thoroughly BEFORE they are allowed in. In the case of Mateen, the FBI had several times checked him out and even found some of his associations suspicious, but because they didn’t have enough information to convict him of anything, they just let him go. They frequently leave “suspicious” foreigners alone and watch them, or try to infiltrate their group of supposed conspirators. The trouble with that is obvious, however. Sometimes they really are dangerous, a “ticking time bomb” so to speak. If the Feds are going to watch somebody like that they should watch him very closely.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-it-doesnt-appear-that-im-going-to-be-the-nominee/

Bernie Sanders: "It doesn't appear that I'm going to be the nominee"
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
June 22, 2016, 3:03 PM


Bernie Sanders admitted publicly for the first time Wednesday that it's unlikely he'll the Democratic nominee in 2016.

"It doesn't appear that I'm going to be the nominee, so I'm not going to be determining the scope of the convention," the presidential candidate said in an interview on C-SPAN when asked if he has begun preparing a speech for the convention next month in Philadelphia.

"I've given a few speeches in my life. It would be nice to speak at the Democratic National Convention. If for whatever reason they don't want me to speak, then whatever. But I do think I'll speak at the convention," the Vermont senator added.

Sanders remains in the presidential race even though Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee. He added that his campaign is "negotiating almost every day with the Clinton people" and he's continuing to push for a more progressive Democratic platform.

"I think it is fair to say that the Democratic platform will be by far the most progressive platform in the Democratic Party," Sanders said, adding that he wants that to apply to issues including the economy, criminal justice, climate change, education and more.

During the interview, Sanders was asked if the moment in one of the first primary debates when Sanders said people are "sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails" was a mistake.

"It was the right thing to do," Sanders replied.

Sanders' comments came a little less than a week after he spoke to his supporters via a live-stream last Thursday. In that speech, he didn't concede the Democratic race, but he did make it clear that he will fight to ensure that Donald Trump isn't elected president.

"The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly," he said, adding, "And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time."

It's still unclear whether Sanders intends to drop out before the Democratic convention in July.



“Sanders remains in the presidential race even though Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee. He added that his campaign is "negotiating almost every day with the Clinton people" and he's continuing to push for a more progressive Democratic platform. "I think it is fair to say that the Democratic platform will be by far the most progressive platform in the Democratic Party," Sanders said, adding that he wants that to apply to issues including the economy, criminal justice, climate change, education and more. …. "The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly," he said, adding, "And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time." It's still unclear whether Sanders intends to drop out before the Democratic convention in July.”


Do any of you remember Pat Paulsen? He was the hysterically funny comedian who ran for president in 1968, forming the role of gadfly to the DNC and the Republicans as well, and that is partly what Sanders has done. He is well aware that he probably won’t be the nominee, but he is speaking for important causes in this country, and at a time when those evil and creepy neo-Nazis have boldly come out into the open in our political life. Go, Bernie!