August 23, 2016


News and Views


Disturbing political news --

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/bernie-sanders-group-turmoil-227297

Bernie Sanders' new group is already in turmoil
Key staffers quit amid lingering tensions from the Vermont senator's campaign.
By Edward-Isaac Dovere and Gabriel Debenedetti
08/23/16 05:14 AM EDT

Photograph -- Days before its launch, Bernie Sanders’ new political group is working its way through an internal war. | Getty
Photograph -- GettyImages-583760178.jpg
Related: Sanders calls Trump ‘the poster child of failed trade policies’, By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL
Photograph -- 05_hillary_clinton_30_ap_1160.jpg 2016
Related: Democrats debate the size of a Clinton victory, By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE
Photograph -- 160815-Donna-Brazile-AP_658108160034.jpg
Related: In private call, DNC flexes unity with Clinton camp and Sanders team, By DANIEL STRAUSS


The revolution is already tearing itself apart.

Less than a week before its official launch on Wednesday, Bernie Sanders’ new political group is working its way through an internal war that led to the departure of digital director Kenneth Pennington and at least four others from a team of 15, and the return of presidential campaign manager Jeff Weaver as the group’s new president.

“Kenneth chose to leave the organization. He’d worked on the campaign from the very beginning … he decided to do something else I guess,” Weaver said Monday evening, but “we’re very happy to be putting the A-team back together.”

People familiar with what occurred say that the board, which is chaired by the Vermont senator’s wife Jane, was growing increasingly concerned about campaign finance questions being raised over the last week. Their concern reached a breaking point, one person deeply involved with the Sanders world said, with a story last Friday from ABC News about how the group would handle the particular tax questions raised by having a senator so closely associated with a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization that has strict restrictions on its political work.

Underlying all this, though, are deep, still-raw tensions left over from the presidential campaign which by the end had become a war between the older aides who felt that their experience and planning explained Sanders’ ability to translate his message into votes, and younger aides who felt dismissed by older aides whom they felt didn’t appreciate how much of what Sanders achieved was because of their digital and organizing prowess, which turned the senator into a sensation.

Weaver shrugged off the suggestion that the group was already falling victim to a caricature of liberal infighting.

“This is an organization that’s a couple of weeks old, and every new organization has to find its footing,” he said.

There isn’t an aide closer to Bernie and Jane Sanders than Weaver. But he became a lightning rod for the criticism of the younger generation who felt that he was curt, dismissive, and overmatched. So when Jane Sanders asked Weaver, who was already involved as a legal adviser to Our Revolution, to take on a greater role early last week — before the ABC News story — Pennington and others immediately protested. They issued what amounted to an ultimatum: him or them.

“A majority of the staff quit as a result of Jeff joining,” said one person familiar with the situation, who added that they had joined with a promise from Bernie and Jane Sanders, and executive director Shannon Jackson, that Weaver wouldn't be running it and had asked for this promise specifically.

They claim as well that there was a specific argument about fundraising strategy.

Weaver said he had a vision that included more traditional — not just grassroots — fundraising, the person familiar with the situation said.

"It’s about both the fundraising and the spending: Jeff would like to take big money from rich people including billionaires and spend it on ads," said Claire Sandberg, who was the digital organizing director of the campaign and the organizing director of Our Revolution (whose entire department of four left) before quitting. "That’s the opposite of what this campaign and this movement are supposed to be about and after being very firm and raising alarm the staff felt that we had no choice but to quit."

The argument came to a boil in a conference call last week between Pennington, Weaver and Jane Sanders. After airing his complaints about Weaver without managing to move the senator’s wife, Pennington decided to quit — along with key staffers from the organizing, data, outreach and political teams with him.

Though Jackson, who was until recently the senator’s body man, will remain the executive director, the staff walkout leaves Our Revolution understaffed and with giant holes to be filled just days before the formal kickoff event, which will consist of a series of house parties that Sanders will address via livestream.

“The board asked me last week to come in and be the head. I’m very proud to do it,” Weaver said. “The board knew that I shared Bernie’s vision and I’d be true to it.”

One of the staffers who left described multiple phone calls and emails to board members expressing their dismay.

"Over the last few days, almost the entire staff resigned from the organization because they would not work for Jeff Weaver or help to enact Jeff’s vision for the organization in any way,” the former staffer said.

Also coming back aboard is Revolution Messaging, the firm that was the backbone of the Sanders campaign’s fundraising and outreach operation. Pennington had often sparred with Revolution Messaging during the campaign, with the person deeply involved in Sanders world describing Pennington as trying to hog credit. That came to a head, according to several sources, when, under Pennington’s direction, Revolution Messaging was not retained to be part of Our Revolution. The firm didn’t design the website or any of the emails that have gone out for Our Revolution to date.

Reached by email Monday, Pennington declined to discuss what occurred with his departure in detail. He disputed that he had done anything but share credit, arguing that seeing it otherwise was “taking Jeff's word.”

“Rev is great. Tim [Tagaris], Michael [Whitney], and Robin [Curran] certainly are the A-Team when it comes to email fundraising,” Pennington wrote in the email. “Can't think of anyone I'd rather have.”

Our Revolution is aiming to have a long term impact on races all the way down to the most local. They say they’re hoping to start this year, getting the voters activated by Sanders involved in Senate, House and other campaigns.

But Sanders himself has yet to campaign for any candidates whatsoever aside from one rally for Eric Kingson — a New York House hopeful who subsequently lost his primary to the Democratic party's favored contender.

Sanders' attempts to get his work for other candidates off the ground has already been sputtering. Around the time he campaigned for Kingson, for example, Zephyr Teachout specifically asked him not to come and campaign for her until he ironed out his eventual endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

Revolution Messaging is already working with the campaigns of Zephyr Teachout in New York and Tim Canova in Florida, which according to the firm’s analysis on Open Secrets are the House candidates with the highest small-dollar donor percentages. Sanders has vocally supported Canova, who is challenging former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Revolution Messaging argues that this shows it’s already proven how to model the presidential campaign’s success down-ballot.

"We're honored to begin a new chapter with Our Revolution to support Sen. Sanders' vision to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot,” said Revolution Messaging founder and CEO Scott Goodstein. “Looking forward to getting the band back together."

Still, even the case of Canova is far from a clean example of Sanders' potential down-ballot influence: his campaign's top media advisors—Tad Devine, Mark Longabaugh, and Julian Mulvey, who were also top players on the Sanders campaign—left the Canova camp less than two weeks after joining it earlier this month. And polls show Canova well behind Wasserman Schultz.

Weaver said he is optimistic.

“Millions of people voted for Bernie Sanders, hundreds of thousands volunteered, millions donated,” he said. “People are very excited about continuing the work that was done on the campaign and making sure we bring Bernie’s progressive vision to reality.”



http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-political-group-raises-campaign-finance-questions/story?id=41520854

Bernie Sanders' New Political Group Raises Campaign Finance Questions
By JONATHAN KARL BENJAMIN SIEGEL
Aug 19, 2016, 12:00 AM ET

Photograph -- Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 25, 2016.
Related: Bernie Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton for President
Related: Bernie Sanders Campaign Chief Says Someone Must Be 'Accountable' for What DNC Emails Show


As a Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders put campaign finance reform at the center of his campaign agenda.

But a new organization formed by the Vermont independent to continue his political revolution across the country may be venturing into uncharted legal territory, according to campaign finance experts.

The group, called “Our Revolution,” will support progressive policy proposals and politicians across the country. According to its website, the group is operating as a 501(c)(4) organization, a tax status that will allow it to accept unlimited contributions without having to reveal its donors.

But its activities could be limited by campaign regulations because of its ties to Sanders, resulting in a highly unusual -- if not unprecedented -- political arrangement, according to Paul Ryan, the deputy executive director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center.

“This definitely raises, in my experience, novel campaign finance issues,” Ryan said in an interview.

Typically, 501(c)(4) organizations -- such as the Republican outfit Crossroads GPS founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove -- are run by political operatives, not elected officeholders or political candidates. They're required to primarily focus on social welfare, rather than elections and political activity.

For example, Organizing for Action, a group spun off from President Obama’s presidential campaigns, was created using the same 501(c)(4) nonprofit designation as Sanders' new organization. That group, which has advanced Obama's political agenda, has repeatedly distanced itself from electoral politics.

But Our Revolution remains closely aligned with the Vermont senator, who has asked the group's supporters to donate to the campaign of Tim Canova, a law professor challenging former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in her House primary.

“This race is very important for Our Revolution because if we can win this tough fight in Florida, it will send a clear message about the power of our grassroots movement that will send shockwaves through the political and media establishments,” Sanders wrote in a fundraising email.

Sanders tangled with Wasserman Schultz during the Democratic presidential primary, accusing the party's national committee of preferring Clinton for the nomination. Wasserman Schultz stepped down from her party post during the party convention in July after a leak of thousands of Democratic National Committee emails, several of which appeared to show that some staff had grown aggravated by Sanders' campaign, at some points even floating ideas about ways to undermine his candidacy.

As a sitting senator, Sanders can’t ask donors to contribute more than $2,700 each to a campaign committee per election, or more than $5,000 to a Super PAC, which can raise unlimited amounts of money but are barred from coordinating with campaigns.

Our Revolution's connection to a federal officeholder could require the group to disclose its donors and cap the amount of money it can accept from contributors under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, Ryan said.

“It’s a bit unusual,” Kenneth Gross, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who runs the firm’s political law practice, said of Sanders’ new organization. “I’ve not seen something constructed like this before. That doesn’t mean it’s impermissible.”

Gross, who said organizations typically pursue 501(c)(4) status to avoid disclosing their donors, said officials would have to review Our Revolution’s activities throughout the year to determine any violations.

“There’s lag time in any examination of its activities,” he said. “It’s not unusual for a 501(c)(4) to engage in partisan activities before the election, and then they can even it out with nonpartisan activity after the election.”

A representative for Sanders and Our Revolution did not immediately respond to questions about whether the group plans to reveal its donors and cap contributions. Sources close to Sanders have said that the former presidential candidate wanted to keep as many options as possible open to him in the future.

Aides to the senator said he was interested in finding a way to use his hard-earned and active email list to support down-ticket candidates this cycle, but also wanted a place to educate and mentor supporters who may be inspired to run for office down the road. In addition, he has expressed interested in backing campaigns for specific issues like opposition to the Trans Pacfic Partnership trade deal, or hydraulic fracking.

A spokesman for the Federal Election Commission declined to comment on the activities of a specific organization, but said that any group raising or spending more than $1,000 in connection with a federal election is required to register as a political committee with the commission and file reports including receipts and disbursements.

The FEC does not investigate potential campaign finance law violations unless a complaint is filed against a particular group. The commission, which is led by a six-member panel, often deadlocks along party lines when reviewing allegations.

The Internal Revenue Service and Senate Ethics Committee did not immediately respond to questions about the organization.

ABC's Adam Kelsey and MaryAlice Parks contributed to this report.



This is an interesting article. It doesn’t say that Sanders’ organization is violating the law, but that its’ structure is unusual, and that it won’t be investigated for possible violations unless a complaint is filed. As described above, the structure seems to be more like what I thought such organizations should be, partly to raise and distribute financing, but largely to do additional activities like mentoring/training services and backing efforts involved with key issues – fracking, etc. Apparently what most such groups do is funnel money from one place to another.

Sanders is quoted as saying he wants to “keep as many options as possible open to him in the future.” It sounds as though he wants to keep his hands in the operation rather than let his organization do everything without much personal input. He definitely is more issue-oriented than many politicians who just want to keep getting elected and paid their salary.



ALERT: Use nasal plugs if you swim in freshwater in the South. That can include your swimming pool if it has too little chlorine and in your HOT WATER HEATER, so get those cleaned periodically and avoid getting the water in your nose. See article below:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-teen-survives-brain-eating-amoeba/

Florida teen survives brain-eating amoeba
CBS NEWS
August 23, 2016, 12:40 PM

9 PHOTOS -- Brain-eating amoeba: How to stay safe from Naegleria fowleri


A teen hospitalized in Florida has beaten the odds against a brain-eating amoeba.

Sixteen-year-old Sebastian DeLeon is now one of just four people in the last 50 years to survive a diagnosis that almost always means death, CBS Miami reports.

While choking back tears at a press conference Tuesday morning, Dr. Humberto Liriano, who treated DeLeon at Orlando’s Florida Hospital for Children, recounted how he helped treat the teen and gave an update on his condition.

“We are very optimistic,” he said. “He’s walking. He’s speaking. I saw him this morning and he’s ready to go home,” although he added that the teen wasn’t quite ready and will still need rehabilitation.

Liriano said that the teen and his family were visiting a theme park in Orlando when he developed a headache so severe he could not tolerate being touched.

His family immediately brought him to the hospital, where doctors confirmed DeLeon was infected with the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri.

Within 12 minutes, a newly-approved life-saving drug arrived at the hospital’s doors. The drug, miltefosine, comes from by a company called Profunda which happens to be based in Orlando. Treatment with the drug was credited with saving an Arkansas girl in 2013. (A dose was also rushed to South Carolina earlier this month to treat an 11-year-old girl, but she did not survive.)

Doctors worked to stabilize DeLeon and induced him into a coma for three days until it was deemed safe to wake him up. Within hours, he spoke.

DeLeon’s mother, Brunida Gonzales, also spoke briefly at the hospital Tuesday morning. She thanked God, and praised the medical staff and “every person who came to our room and gave us words of comfort and information. They were so open with us, with everything that was happening. And we are so thankful that God has given us the miracle through this medical team and this hospital for having our son back, having him full of life,” she said.

She described her son as a very energetic and adventurous teen.

Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic, single-cell amoeba, is found in the brackish waters of freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers.

While not dangerous if swallowed, it can attack the brain if it gets into the nasal cavity.

Initial symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck. They usually appear between one to 14 days after infection.

Although the infection is very rare, it is extremely lethal, killing 97 percent of people infected.

“I’ve treated amoeba cases in the past and they’re all severely... fatal,” DeLeon’s doctor said. “So this is a story we need to tell about Sebastian DeLeon.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/brain-eating-amoeba-how-to-stay-safe-from-naegleria-fowleri/

9 Photographs – go to website – with captions on each:

It sounds like something out of a horror movie. But a "brain-eating" amoeba has infected at least 40 people in the U.S. over the past decade. The single-celled organisms go by the scientific name Naegleria folweri, and may infect people who swim in lakes or rivers. Are the bugs found in swimming pools too? How do they get into the brain? And what can be done to limit the risk? For answers to those and other questions about Naegleria, keep clicking... CREDIT: CDC Public Health Image Library


Exactly where are the amoeba found?
In the U.S., they're typically found in freshwater sources in southern states. In addition to lakes and rivers, these include hot springs, warn water runoff from industrial plants, poorly maintained swimming pools, and water heaters kept at temperatures below 117 degrees. The amoeba can also be found in soil. CREDIT: Flickr/George Wesley


How does infection occur?
Typically, Naegleria fowleri amoeba infect people through the nose. Once they have a toehold there, they travel up to the brain, where they destroy tissue. The infection typically occurs when people go swimming in lakes and rivers and other surface water, especially in warm weather. CREDIT: Flickr/tbone_sandwich


Can drinking water cause infection?
Drinking contaminated water does not lead to infection. In very rare instances, however, people become infected with Naegleria fowleri by ingesting water from swimming pools that don't have enough chlorine. Swimming in a properly maintained pool cannot lead to infection with Naegleria fowleri. CREDIT: CBS/iStockphoto


Can the infection be passed from person to person?
No, you can't catch Naegleria folweri from another person. CREDIT: istockphoto


What are the symptoms?
Initial symptoms, which start within the first week of infection, include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck. Later symptoms include confusion, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. Death typically occurs within 12 days. CREDIT: istockphoto


Is the infection treatable?
In the lab, several drugs are effective against Naegleria fowleri. But it's not clear whether they work in humans. Almost every person to have become infected has died. Anyone who experiences symptoms should seek medical attention promptly - especially if he/she has recently been swimming in warm freshwater. CREDIT: istockphoto


How can I reduce my risk?
Always assume that there is a low level of risk anytime you swim, dive, or water-ski in warm freshwater in the South. Hold your nose shut or use nose clips when you go into the water. And avoid digging in or stirring up sediment in potentially infectious bodies of water. CREDIT: istockphoto



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/latina-waitress-in-virginia-gets-racist-message-instead-of-tip/

Latina waitress in Virginia gets racist message instead of tip
CBS NEWS
August 22, 2016, 3:24 PM

Photograph -- One of Virginia restaurant worker Sadie Elledge’s customers wrote “we only tip citizens” on their receipt, which sparked a social media uproar after it was posted by Elledge’s grandfather. FACEBOOK/JOHN ELLEDGE

HARRISONBURG, Virginia - An 18-year-old waitress working the lunch shift at a Virginia restaurant was left with a racist message instead of a cash tip recently, and her grandfather started a social media firestorm that shamed the customers, according to reports.

Sadie Elledge was working at Jess’ Lunch in downtown Harrisonburg when she got a reciept that said “We only tip citizens” where a tip amount should have been written, reports CBS affiliate WUSA-TV.

The girl’s grandfather, John Elledge, took a photo and posted it to Facebook along with some choice words calling the couple “a total piece of dung.”

Sadie was born in the United States, thus making her an American citizen since birth. She is of Honduran and Mexican descent, the Washington Post reported.

“I’ve gotten six wonderful grandkids,” John Elledge told The Washington Post. “Sadie’s the third oldest. Her dad’s Honduran — my son — and her mother is Mexican. We’re a totally bicultural family. A pretty typical bicultural family.”

After the story began to go viral online, John Elledge outed the restaurant where the incident took place at the encouraging of the restaurant’s manager. He also ended up posting to Facebook the identity of one of the two people involved.

The Post reports the offending couple who left the “tip” eventually caught wind of it, and stormed back into the restaurant.

The man “was yelling and screaming about the four digits [of the credit card],” Tom Marchese, the manager at Jess’ Lunch told the Post. “I said it’s not even your card. Are you really concerned about that or are you more concerned about what was put on social media? He said, ‘Well, both.’ ”

“I told him why is he even yelling at me; he should go to the person that did it,” Marchese said.

John Elledge caught wind of the confrontation, and returned to the restaurant to take part and meet the couple face to face, the Post reports.

“We didn’t talk much,” Elledge told The Post. The female in the couple “was mad that I posted it…. The guy, he was being really belligerent.”

” … She was asking me why I posted it,” Elledge said. “I said obviously, it was an insult — your signature against my granddaughter — darn right I’m going to post it. And no apologies.”



I’m so glad to see people fighting back hard enough to get the full attention of the bully. The sad thing is that this young woman had to read the despicable comment. She's only 18 years old. She hasn't lived long enough to get a really thick skin yet.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-probing-possible-virginia-terror-attack/

FBI probing possible Virginia terror attack
CBS NEWS
August 23, 2016, 6:04 AM

Photograph -- Entrance to Roanoke County, Virginia apartment complex where man and woman were stabbed on August 20, 2016 in what the FBI is investigating as a possible terrorist attack WDBJ-TV


ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. -- The FBI is investigating a double stabbing here Saturday night as a possible terrorist attack, reports CBS News Investigative Unit Senior Producer Pat Milton, citing law enforcement sources.

One told Milton the suspect yelled “Allah Akbar” -- Arabic for God is Great -- during the stabbing. Witnesses told police they heard the same thing, reports CBS Roanoke affiliate WDBJ-TV.

Police said Wasil Farooqui, 20, of Roanoke County, stabbed a man and woman in a random attack that left the victims severely wounded and hospitalized. He’s charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and is being held without bond.

A law enforcement source said the FBI is investigating whether the knife attack was possibly inspired by ISIS and whether the suspect may have been trying to behead his victims.

The source said the stabbing victims are believed to have been picked at random.

The victims told police they were attacked as they entered The Pines Apartments just before 8 p.m.

The male was able to fight off the attacker, who fled the scene, police said.

While officers were at the hospital with the victims, a male, subsequently identified as Farooqui, came into the emergency room with injuries of his own, authorities said. He met the description of the suspect in the stabbing, and further investigation by police led to his arrest, they said.

A U.S. intelligence source tells CBS News Farooqui has been on the FBI’s radar for months and is believed to be self-radicalized.

That source says authorities aren’t sure whether Farooqui is an American citizen.

The source adds that Farooqui tried to go to Syria earlier this year but only got as far as Europe, then returned to the U.S., and the trip is what alerted law enforcement to him.



Police said Wasil Farooqui, 20, of Roanoke County, stabbed a man and woman in a random attack that left the victims severely wounded and hospitalized. He’s charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and is being held without bond. A law enforcement source said the FBI is investigating whether the knife attack was possibly inspired by ISIS and whether the suspect may have been trying to behead his victims. …. The source said the stabbing victims are believed to have been picked at random.”

Killings like this which are totally pointless and gruesome (trying to decapitate them??) are a sign of societal disease. It’s in the US and also in the Middle East, and so often goes under the heading of a religion. Heaven protect me from such religion. We need to teach mutual concern and gentleness rather than arcane doctrines that go back thousands of years, and are presented as being necessary for our being acceptable to an angry god. That is definitely not “the God of my understanding,” but it is to so many people who consider contemplative religions to be inferior to those very emotional ones.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-bingo-hall-raid-nets-enough-guns-to-start-a-small-war/

Bingo hall raid nets enough guns "to start a small war"
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS
August 22, 2016, 2:19 PM

Photograph -- Guns that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office says were confiscated during a raid on the Paradise Day & Night Bingo Hall in South Houston, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. CBS AFFILIATE KHOU


SOUTH HOUSTON, Texas — A Texas bingo hall looked more like a “doomsday shelter” when police raided it earlier this week, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

Authorities confiscated 100 guns, $87,000 and body armor, said Harris County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ruben Diaz.

“Enough, what I would consider, to start a small war,” Diaz said during a Friday press conference. “This is one of largest seizures of guns I’ve seen in one particular spot.”

Investigators found the stash of cash, guns, ammunition and body armor hidden in an underground bunker below the Paradise Day & Night Bingo Hall.

Owners Robert Jones and Fred Kennedy, along with 10 others, were arrested after a year-long undercover operation.

Prosecutors also claim the owners were using family-owned ATMs to launder some of the $15 million in illegal earnings over the last four years.

But the suspects’ attorney denies those claims.

“It’s ridiculous is what it is. It’s a legitimate bingo hall,” said Stephen St. Mark, defense attorney. “They’re running a state-licensed bingo operation.”

Jones and Kennedy are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.



A “doomsday shelter” is a term I hadn’t heard, but I know a couple who are highly concerned about an imminent apocalypse through their religion, and are stockpiling goods. Many of the Religious Right are into such things. It’s hard to tell whether people these days are more Rightist or more Religious, but what they certainly are is potentially dangerous. What this probably was is an illegal gun sales group purely for getting wealthier and wealthier, with a money laundering sideline. Just a little family business, huh?



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/23/491069932/stanford-bans-hard-liquor-from-on-campus-parties-limits-bottle-sizes

Stanford Bans Hard Liquor From On-Campus Parties, Limits Bottle Sizes
CAMILA DOMONOSKE
August 23, 20162:57 PM ET

Photograph -- Hoover Tower is seen through a sculpture by Kenneth Snelson on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2009. Chip Chipman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
THE TWO-WAY -- Sentence In Stanford Sexual Assault Case Sparks Outrage
THE TWO-WAY -- THE TWO-WAY
Dartmouth Bans Hard Liquor On Campus


As Stanford undergrads get ready for the fall semester, the university's administrators have issued a new mandate: Pack your books and calculators, but leave the fifths and handles at home.

On Monday, just over a month before classes resume, the university announced a set of changes to its alcohol policy.

Hard liquor will now be completely banned from on-campus parties — unless the party is hosted by groups exclusively for graduate students, and in that case, only mixed drinks are allowed. "Straight shots of hard alcohol are never allowed at any party," the school says.

Beer and wine are still allowed.

And in dorms, individual students (provided they're 21 and over) will be allowed to have liquor — but only in bottles smaller than 750 mL.

Violating the policy could prompt "administrative action" and could result in people being kicked out of on-campus housing.

In its statement, Stanford called this "a sensible, creative solution that has roots in research-based solutions." Administrators say they are aiming not to prohibit alcohol, but to limit high-risk behavior, specifically. They believe limiting bottle sizes will have that effect:

"Most alcohol retailers only sell large-volume containers — 750 mL and above. Only select retailers sell hard alcohol containers smaller in volume than 750 mL. Therefore, the outlet density of establishments that sell hard alcohol around campus will be greatly reduced. Also, the costs associated with purchasing smaller containers of hard alcohol are higher than the cost per volume of larger containers, which may serve as a deterrent."

Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin tells NPR that her office is not aware of any other college that has instituted a bottle-size limit on hard alcohol.

But Stanford is far from the first school to restrict liquor on campus. Bowdoin, Bates, Colby and Notre Dame have all had bans in place for more than six years.

Dartmouth banned hard liquor entirely at the beginning of 2015, while the University of Virginia established rules limiting hard liquor at large Greek parties to events with a hired bartender.

Both Dartmouth and U.Va. announced their policy changes in the wake of high-profile sexual assault allegations.

Stanford's policy change comes just a few months after former Stanford student Brock Allen Turner was sentenced to just six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

During the case, Turner blamed his behavior on drinking. "I made a mistake, I drank too much, and my decision hurt someone ... my poor decision making and excessive drinking hurt someone that night," he said in a statement. "I've been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behavior that I briefly experienced in my four months at school."

In a letter that went viral, the woman Turner assaulted repeatedly pointed out that drinking was not Turner's crime: It was assault.

"You were not wrong for drinking. Everyone around you was not sexually assaulting me. You were wrong for doing what nobody else was doing," she said, before graphically describing the assault. "Why am I still explaining this."

"You realize, having a drinking problem is different than drinking and then forcefully trying to have sex with someone?" she said.

On Twitter, two Stanford professors expressed frustration with the announcement of the alcohol policy change, specifically that it was announced in the wake of sexual assaults but addresses drinking instead of consent.


Follow
Michele Dauber @mldauber
Alcohol must be in bottle small enough so you can use it "secretly" so @Stanford isn't blamed when you rape someone. https://twitter.com/ceohunty/status/767783219169267712 …
2:38 PM - 22 Aug 2016
6 6 Retweets 16 16 likes


Follow
Adrian Daub @adriandaub
#Stanford: not solving the problem, but solving a problem that, when you squint, is sorta kinda next to that problem https://twitter.com/mldauber/status/767796512420093953 …
9:02 PM - 22 Aug 2016
7 7 Retweets 9 9 likes


Lapin, the campus spokeswoman, says the concern over high-risk drinking at Stanford goes back "many months." She pointed to a letter from the president and provost in March that mentions alcohol poisoning and academic problems, as well as sexual assault, as reasons for the college's concern over alcohol misuse.

Meanwhile, the judge who gained infamy in the Brock Turner case has made headlines again.

Aaron Persky recused himself from a different sex-related case, in which he was due to decide whether to reduce a felony conviction for possession of child pornography to a misdemeanor.

The judge, who was subjected to a recall campaign after the Turner case, cited "publicity surrounding the case" that "resulted in a personal family situation" in stepping down from the child porn decision, The Mercury News reports.



“On Twitter, two Stanford professors expressed frustration with the announcement of the alcohol policy change, specifically that it was announced in the wake of sexual assaults but addresses drinking instead of consent.” BLM speaks of “White privilege.” In this case, the problem is “Male privilege.” There should be no implied consent. Also, when a rape does occur on campus and is reported, it should not be swept under the rug, blamed on the woman, or diminished in seriousness. I’m glad to see that several colleges are paying attention to the issues. It’s baby steps, but they are moving in the right direction.



http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/23/491053523/tighter-patent-rules-could-help-lower-drug-prices-study-shows

Tighter Patent Rules Could Help Lower Drug Prices, Study
ALISON KODJAK
August 23, 201611:14 AM ET

Art image -- Bull's Eye/Imagezoo/Getty Images


The U.S. could rein in rising drug prices by being more selective about giving patents to pharmaceutical companies for marginal developments, a study concludes.

That's because brand-name drugs with patents that grant exclusivity account for about 72 percent of drug spending, even though they are only about 10 percent of all prescriptions dispensed, according to the study, published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association.

"You've got a bunch of different tactics that are being used that can extend that exclusivity," says Aaron Kesselheim, a professor at Harvard Medical School and the study's lead author.

He says the patent office is too permissive in granting patents for drug properties that have no bearing on its therapeutic value.

Under the current law, new chemically based medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration get the right to sell their drugs with no competition from generics for five to seven years. More complex biologic drugs get 12 years of protection.

But drugmakers can also use their patents to keep competitors out of the market.

The study found that new drugs have a median 12.5 years of exclusive market access, and it's even longer for completely new medications.

Kesselheim says drugmakers often use "life-cycle management" tactics to extend their exclusive market access.

He pointed to a cholesterol drug named Tricor-1 as an example. The medication was made by Abbott Labs. When a company applied to make a generic version, Abbott sued, delaying the competitor's entry to the market, according to an account excerpted in the blog The Incidental Economist.

As the lawsuit proceeded, Abbott changed the dosage of the drug, named it Tricor-2, and aggressively moved patients to the new version. When the generic version of Tricor-1 was finally approved, very few people were taking it anymore.

Kesselheim says the patent office is charged with protecting inventions that are "novel, useful and non-obvious," but that it has been lax in interpreting those parameters. If patents were harder to get on nonessential properties of medications, there would likely be more competition sooner.

"We did a study a while back and found one HIV medication has over 100 different patents covering formulations and crystal structures and methods of use," he says.

Drugmakers often argue that high prices help them recoup the costs of developing new drugs. But the JAMA study found no relationship between development costs and profits on medications.

Still, the patent system does give companies incentives to take risks on new medications, says Jacob Sherkow, a professor of law at New York Law School.

"Companies spend billions of dollars researching drugs and ushering them through FDA approval," Sherkow says. "They wouldn't do that unless they could charge supercompetitive prices to make up for those investments."

Patents aren't the only price reduction tool available to the government.

The JAMA study concludes that if Medicare and other government programs were allowed to refuse to cover some medications, that may also put downward pressure on prices.

The health care program for the elderly and disabled buys about one-third of the prescription drugs sold in the U.S. But the federal law that created the Medicare prescription drug program bars it from negotiating for lower prices, while requiring it to cover almost all drugs on the market. Medicaid is also required to pay for all FDA-approved drugs.

Ameet Sarpatwari, a study co-author, says the lack of information on drugs' prices and effectiveness makes it hard for government programs and consumers to compare them.

"Those comparisons need to be done, and that information needs to be disseminated," he says.



http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2012/sep/04/tammy-baldwin/uncle-sam-barred-bargaining-medicare-drug-prices-s/

Uncle Sam barred from bargaining Medicare drug prices, Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin says, blaming rival Tommy Thompson
By Tom Kertscher on Tuesday, September 4th, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.


When it comes to the massive Medicare Part D prescription drug program, you’d think Uncle Sam would have pretty good leverage in negotiating drug prices.

But the government is actually barred from doing such bargaining, according to Democratic Wisconsin Congresswoman Rep. Tammy Baldwin -- who lays blame on her opponent for the U.S. Senate, Republican Tommy Thompson.

Baldwin attacked Thompson, who served as health and human services secretary under GOP President George W. Bush, in an Aug. 15, 2012, interview.

She told John "Sly" Sylvester, a liberal talk show host on WTDY-AM and -FM in Madison:

"We have written into law, under Tommy Thompson's watch, a prohibition for the federal government to be involved in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for better prices for seniors for drugs. That's unbelievable. You know, if you buy in bulk, you get a better deal."

Let's check both parts of Baldwin’s claim -- that the government is prohibited from negotiating on drug prices and that Thompson played a role in creating the ban.

Negotiating drug prices

Medicare Part D is a voluntary insurance program for prescription drugs for people on Medicare. Congress created it by passing legislation in 2003, although the program didn’t take effect until 2006.

Here is some background from PolitiFact National:

In rating as Half True a claim by former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum -- that Medicare Part D came in 40 percent under budget because of its design -- our colleagues explained that private insurance companies offer a variety of plans subsidized by the government, and beneficiaries get to choose the plan that's best for them.

PolitiFact National has also reported on the program as part of its Obameter, which tracks promises President Barack Obama made as a candidate in 2008.

Since Congress approved the program, proposed by Bush, Democrats have groused that it was a huge giveaway for the pharmaceutical industry because it did not allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Obama vowed to change the program to allow Medicare negotiate lower prices. But he backed away from the pledge during negotiations over his health care reform bill, and no provision on negotiating drug prices was included in the bill that became law in 2010.

(That eventually led our colleagues to rate Obama’s pledge as a Promise Broken.)

That isn’t to say there isn’t any negotiating.

A July 2006 New York Times article cited by Baldwin campaign spokesman John Kraus reported that "Congress -- in what critics saw as a sop to the drug industry — barred the government from having a negotiating role. Instead, prices are worked out between drug makers and the dozens of large and small Part D drug plans run by commercial insurers."

Thompson campaign spokesman Brian Nemoir also cited the negotiating done by the various companies offering Medicare Part D plans, arguing it has resulted in the overall cost of Medicare Part D to be lower than projected.

(PolitiFact National found in June 2011, in rating Santorum’s claim, that the program came in under budget because fewer people than expected used it, drug spending increased less than expected and the program had encouraged use of generic drugs.)

But we’re not here to settle Nemoir’s claim; and one could argue, as Baldwin does, that costs could be even lower if the federal government did the negotiating.

When we checked back with Nemoir, he acknowledged that the federal government is prohibited from negotiating drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D plans.

Thompson’s role

The second part of Baldwin’s claim is that the prohibition was put into law "under Thompson’s watch" -- indicating he didn’t unilaterally impose the ban, but played a role.

Kraus cited a number of news articles, including one in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that said Thompson was the Bush administration’s "point man" on getting Medicare Part D through Congress; and one in the Philadelphia Inquirer that said Thompson "lobbied tirelessly" for the plan.

Moreover, Nemoir acknowledged that the prohibition on the federal government was done under Thompson.

Our rating

Baldwin said federal law adopted "under Tommy Thompson's watch" prohibits the federal government from negotiating for "better prices" on prescription drugs for senior citizens.

Her reference was to the Medicare Part D prescription program, which Thompson lobbied for and which includes the prohibition she stated.

We rate Baldwin’s statement True.



I’m glad to see that this bizarre ban on Medicare’s negotiating prices came in during Bush’s terms rather than a Democrat’s, but it is ridiculous to me. Okay. The Big Pharma lobby pulled strings with the Republicans and got the rule into the law, but while the Republicans saved their BIG MONEY friends from losing another source of profits, they did their own No No at the same time. They raised prices.

Luckily the Medicare patients who get their prescriptions subsidized or paid outright won’t have to pay the whole price, but it does cause the cost of doing Government business to rise considerably, considering how expensive some medications are, and for some, paying a copay is also difficult, so it does hurt the poor.

People with ongoing life or death illnesses like HIV, heart disease and cancer will have to pay a great deal for that. Medicaid, at least in FL, doesn’t pay more than a small amount, and the patient bears the remaining cost. And given the way Federal Budgets are written, that means something perhaps equally as necessary is cut short – infrastructure, schools, prisons and law enforcement, environmental care. Why does the legislature write so many laws that just don’t function well? In this case, it’s clearly to please Big Pharma. That’s not statesmanship.