September 13, 2016


News and Views


https://www.yahoo.com/news/pennsylvania-girl-13-found-dead-173534112.html

U.S.
Pennsylvania Girl, 13, Found Dead 2 Days After She Vanished When She Left Home to Buy a Coloring Book
staff@people.com (K.C. Baker), People
September 12, 2016

Photograph -- Pennsylvania Girl, 13, Found Dead 2 Days After She Vanished When She Left Home to Buy a Coloring Book


A 13-year-old Pennsylvania girl who walked to the store to buy a coloring book on Friday was found dead two days later, police confirm to PEOPLE.

Shevy McGiffin of Clarion, Pennsylvania, was found dead in a stream in a forest near her home on Sunday afternoon, Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement.

McGiffin, whose father described her in media interviews as "quiet and sweet," was last seen Friday night at about 6:45 p.m., when she walked to the Dollar General store from home, about three minutes away, according to police.

Cashiers at the store saw the girl buy a coloring book Friday night, her father, Andrew Schneider, told ExploreClarion.com.

"That's the last time she was seen," Schneider told the outlet, adding that she often went to that store. "She is a very lovable girl. She would never run away. She loves her family. She loves her mom. She loves her dad."

Police began searching for her Friday night, as her parents passed out fliers asking for information about their missing daughter, police said.

A member of the Clarion Volunteer Fire Department who helped search for McGiffin found her body in a small creek about a mile from the girl’s home, police said.

Her mother told police that someone said her daughter had been seen talking to a man in a Buick and that she may have been kidnapped, according to WPXI-TV.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Police have not yet released the cause of McGiffin's death or named any suspects.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police would not comment further on the case, citing an ongoing investigation.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, he said.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family pay for funeral expenses.



This a very pretty and clearly innocent young girl, barely pubescent judging from her photograph, and on a trip to buy a new coloring book, when she was murdered three blocks from her house. Some sick individual has done another evil act against someone helpless. Her family is distraught. She has a gofundme page on the net if you have a few dollars to give toward her funeral expenses. Help if you can. Thanks.


BLACK HISTORY AND LIFE


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/smithsonian-national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture-family-heirlooms/

CBS NEWS September 12, 2016, 10:14 AM
Family heirlooms "fill vast silences" at new African American museum

Play VIDEO -- Inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture
RELATED: Why two very different U.S. senators share a "common mission"
RELATED: Rep. John Lewis: New African American museum "is about not giving up"
Play VIDEO -- African American museum director on journey from dream to reality


At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, thousands of great Americans are represented by priceless family heirlooms, donated to help them museum to share their experiences.

Among them is the freedom paper donated by 83-year-old Elaine Thompson. It belonged to her great, great, great grandfather, Joseph Trammell of Loudon County, Virginia, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan.

Rep. John Lewis: New African American museum "is about not giving up"

“You can pick up this and touch it and know that it was in his hands. Now doesn’t that send a chill down your back?” Thompson asked, holding up the folder.

Trammell protected his freedom using a tin box, knowing the paper held his only proof that he was no longer someone’s property.

“As long as he had this, they could not enslave him,” Thompson said. “Not easily, anyway.”

His freedom paper, Thompson said, offers an image of who Joseph Trammel was during a time when photos were rare. He was five-feet-seven-inches tall in height, with several marks on his body.

“The one thing I was curious about is about the scars that they mention. Probably he was beaten at some point,” Thompson said.

The tin box is the only one like it at the National African American Museum of History and Culture. During our interview, founding director Lonnie Bunch came by to personally show his appreciation.

“It means a lot to me, it really does,” Bunch told Thompson.

Nearly 40,000 items were donated – more than any other Smithsonian museum – including pictures, clothing furniture, jewelry and more.

“They fill vast silences in the record,” said Paul Gardullo, a curator at the museum.

To Gardullo, each of the personal heirlooms are treasures.

“These are things that are irreplaceable and priceless,” Gardullo said.

But many of these cherished keepsakes have a way of churning up old wounds. Rosemary Crockett donated her father’s jacket.

“My dad flew 149 missions during World War II. Fifty missions were the norm,” Crockett said. “Now, white guys were going home after 50 missions.”

Her father, the late Lt. Col. Woodrow Wilson Crockett, was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of black military personnel to fight in World War II.

“When they came back from overseas, they came off the Liberty ship. And there was a sign saying ‘White this way, colored that way,’” Rosemary recalled. “And they get back to the same… situation, that they left.”

And sharing that important history to future generations keeps people like Rosemary Crockett and Elaine Thomspon giving what’s left of a story that should never be forgotten.

“For people who look at some of these artifacts or even these very painful times and say, ‘slavery is over, we should move forward, why do we have to keep talking about it,’ what do you say to that?” Duncan asked.

“The past is never over because it influences what people do later on,” Thompson said.

People continue to donate personal items. Curators here said they’re already making plans for this museum to evolve, just like history.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will open to the public on Saturday, Sept. 24.



“As long as he had this, they could not enslave him,” Thompson said. “Not easily, anyway.” Go to the library or Youtube, possibly, for a great movie on the life a prosperous and free black man in a northern city who was kidnapped by two unscrupulous white men. That film is called “12 Years A Slave,” and came out around three years ago. The men drugged him and – on the pretext of a job playing violin at a dance -- he was carried down to a Southern State and sold into slavery. That is a true story of the life of Solomon Northup. Luckily he did make contact with another Northern white man and told him his story. That man upon his return home told the Federal authorities about the situation, after which a contingent of soldiers came down to the plantation and freed him again. When he got home his oldest children were grown and married, but his wife welcomed him back. The information was taken from his memoir, and verified in by the film writers. It was a hard story to watch, but it was very well presented and emotionally convincing.

This is a great new addition to the Smithsonian family, and is overdue. I hope I will someday get back up there to see it. See the reactions and views of the two Black Senators in the article below.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture-senators-cory-booker-tim-scott/

Why two very different U.S. senators share a "common mission"
CBS NEWS
September 12, 2016, 7:16 AM

Play VIDEO -- Tim Scott and Cory Booker reflect on new African American museum
RELATED: Tim Scott: South Carolina shooter has “brought our community together”
RELATED: Tim Scott: “Neutral” progress on race relations under Obama
RELATED: Sen. Cory Booker on endorsing Hillary Clinton, new book
VIDEO -- http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/sen-cory-booker-on-dnc-email-hack-convention-speech/


Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina do not have a lot in common, except that they are the only African-Americans currently serving in the United States Senate.

The two came together Thursday to visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for the very first time. The senators spoke to “CBS This Morning” co-host Charlie Rose about growing up as African-Americans, as well as their hopes for the future of America.

“I’ll tell you, when I walked in here, I first thought about my grandfather who passed away in January of this year,” Scott said. “I thought about taking him to vote for the first African American president -- a day that he never thought would come. Walking in here, understanding the weight of history, the gravity of the circumstances that we face as a nation, encouraged me, saddened me, and made me understand the important role that we can play in making this country better together.”

“As senators?” Rose asked.

“Yes sir,” Scott responded.

The two senators came from very different backgrounds. Senator Scott grew up in a poor single parent household and did not do very well in school, he said.

“So my story is, really is that, kid that almost flunked out of high school. You got a Rhodes Scholar over here,” Scott said, referring to Booker. “We have a contrast in our experience growing up and where we are today.”

“And what unites you?” Rose asked.

“Well, I think a lot. People would expect somebody who’s-- I joke with them far out there on the right and myself on the left,” Booker said, laughing. “But there is a kinship and bond I felt with Tim almost instantly -- a friendship, a commonality of experiences.”

Despite their different backgrounds, Booker said he and Scott share a common heritage, experience and families because of their “African-American experience.”

“I think because we both share a sense of common mission when it comes to our country as a whole, as well as when it comes to African-Americans in the country,” Booker said.

That sense of service led both senators to step across the aisle and fight to reform the criminal justice system together.

“We have a country right now where there’s no difference between blacks and whites for using drugs or even dealing drugs. But African-Americans are almost four times more likely to be arrested for doing things that the last two presidents admitted to doing. And it’s been such a massive reality that our prison population and jails are filled with the poor, minorities, mentally ill, drug addicted. We now are the land of the free, we’re the incarceration nation, leader in the globe, planet Earth. And it’s infecting every area of American life,” Booker said. “And so what I rejoice in is that I’m co-sponsoring legislation with Tim -- both sides of the aisle -- beginning to see a common urgency from a fiscal prudency perspective, all the way to the righteousness of this crusade. If we are going to be the land of liberty, that we need to do it-- this a different way.”

In a moving speech on the Senate floor about the contemporary issues of conflict between community and law enforcement, Scott talked about how many times he’s been stopped by police as an elected official.

Sen. Cory Booker’s moment to shine at DNC

“I have however felt the pressure applied by the scales of justice when they are slanted,” he said.

“Seven times in one year,” Scott told Rose. “And for me, what I had hoped to do with that speech was to bring light to a very old issue. My goal was to validate those of us who’ve been in that situation, who have had that experience, who have felt threatened sitting in your car, who just because of what you look like, you’ve had an experience that shakes you to your core. It’s hard to articulate with words the frustration, the insecurity, the sense of being invisible, and then completely visible. It’s hard to validate those of us who’ve been in that situation -- especially when you’ve done nothing wrong.”

Both senators hope this historic museum will serve as validation as well as proof of how far we have come and an inspiration for how far we need to go.

“It does seem to be necessary for us to remind ourselves of where we’ve been,” Scott said. “I hope that one of the beauties of this museum being here, will be an understanding and appreciation of the depth of the pain, agony, and tragedy of slavery. I hope that the weight of the past will slow your gait and bow your head. And as you walk out here, I hope that the sense of freedom and a sense of expectations will overwhelm you. And that you will feel individually responsible for making America the most amazing country for every single citizen in our land.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will open to the public on Saturday, Sept. 24.



“Well, I think a lot.” .... “So my story is, really is that, kid that almost flunked out of high school. You got a Rhodes Scholar over here,” Scott said, referring to Booker. “We have a contrast in our experience growing up and where we are today.” And that you will feel individually responsible for making America the most amazing country for every single citizen in our land.” …. My goal was to validate those of us who’ve been in that situation, who have had that experience, who have felt threatened sitting in your car, who just because of what you look like, you’ve had an experience that shakes you to your core. It’s hard to articulate with words the frustration, the insecurity, the sense of being invisible, and then completely visible. It’s hard to validate those of us who’ve been in that situation -- especially when you’ve done nothing wrong.” …. . “And so what I rejoice in is that I’m co-sponsoring legislation with Tim -- both sides of the aisle -- beginning to see a common urgency from a fiscal prudency perspective, all the way to the righteousness of this crusade.’ …. “And so what I rejoice in is that I’m co-sponsoring legislation with Tim -- both sides of the aisle -- beginning to see a common urgency from a fiscal prudency perspective, all the way to the righteousness of this crusade.”


“Well, I think a lot.” This is what I want my news blogs to do – cause the complacent, those who lack empathy, and those who are just simply mentally lazy to THINK, working toward change in those racial things, which are still so firmly entrenched among the people in this country. Some of our problem is negative peer pressure to join in the hate, and some is the discriminatory laws which are being put back into place busily by state and even federal government folks, under the tutelage of David Koch's ALEX organization, in an effort to reinstate Jim Crow. If the citizens in America will open our minds up, we will then be prepared to change our country.

See the excellent photos from the new Smithsonian museum below. Better still, go and visit there, and be prepared to think some new thoughts.



http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture/

National Museum of African American History and Culture
24 Photos

RELATED: Early look inside the new African American museum


After a nearly 15-year fight to gain legislative approval, and after years spent raising funds and construction, the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is set to open on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum reflects on four centuries of the African American experience - both trials and triumphs.

CREDIT: Alan Karchmer

“It’s taken 200 years to complete this master plan,” Adjaye said of D.C.’s National Mall. “And last, but not least, I think this museum completes it -- makes you understand what the founding fathers were trying to achieve with the notion of ‘palaces of culture’ to educate the people. I think this museum comes at a very opportune time, to finish this master plan and to send it into the future.”

CREDIT: Alan Karchmer

Slave shackles
The museum’s 11 massive galleries display, in total, more than 30,000 priceless artifacts spanning 400 years.

Among them: Wrought iron ankle shackles, of the type used to restrain enslaved people aboard ships crossing the Atlantic from Africa to the Americas during the Middle Passage, mid-1800s.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Salve bill of sale
An official receipt, dated Dec. 23, 1835, for the sale of a 16-year-old Negro girl named Polly for $600. This bill of sale transferred ownership of Polly from Martin Bridgeman to William H. Mood, both from Jackson County, in the territory of Arkansas. A gift of Candace Greene.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Slave cabin
This weatherboard-clad slave cabin dating from the early 1800s was used at Point of Pines Plantation on Edisto Island, S.C. A gift of the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

Nat Turner's Bible
A Bible owned by Nat Turner, who led a slave revolt in 1831. Turner and his followers killed at least 55 whites. But slaves also protected a woman who would become the great-great-grandmother of Maurice and Mark Person, descendants of one of the oldest white families in Virginia.

The family heirloom - like a majority of pieces in the museum’s collection - was donated by ordinary people who pulled them out of their basements, attics and churches.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Early look inside the new African American museum
Hymnal -- Harriet Tubman’s personal book of hymns (Gospel Hymns No. 2, by P. P. Bliss and Ira D. Sankey), c. 1876.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Tuskegee Airmen

This vintage, open-cockpit biplane, a Boeing-Stearman PT-13D Kaydet, c. 1944, was used at Alabama’s renowned Tuskegee Institute to train African American pilots for service in the Army Air Corps during World War II, as part of the Tuskegee Airmen.

CREDIT: Michael R. Barnes/Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture [sic]

Satchmo
A brass Selmer trumpet owned by Louis Armstrong, c. 1946.

CREDIT: Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Bombing debris
A collection of glass shards and a shotgun shell, collected from the gutter outside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., where a terrorist bombing killed four young girls on September 15, 1963. It would be more than a decade before a case was brought against a former Ku Klux Klansman for his part in the bombing.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Rosa Parks
A dress that Rosa Parks was making shortly before she was arrested for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 1, 1955. The dress is part of the Black Fashion Museum Collection that was donated to NMAAHC.

CREDIT: Michael R. Barnes/Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Ann Lowe
A silk and satin American Beauty Dress (c. 1958-1960), by noted African American fashion designer Ann Lowe.

CREDIT: Michael R. Barnes/Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Cassis Clay’s boxing headgear from the famed 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach. After beating Sonny Liston in Miami in 1964 to become the world champion, Clay converted to Islam and became Muhammad Ali.

CREDIT: Alex Jamison/Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Sammy Davis Jr.
A pair of tap shoes worn by entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry’s Cadillac - part of the singer’s personal fleet of Cadillacs - driven during the 1986 filming of the documentary “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Carl Lewis
A jersey worn by track star Carl Lewis during the 1984 Olympic Games. Lewis won four gold medals in Los Angeles, and would win an additional five golds and a silver at the Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta Games.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s fedora worn during his Victory Tour in 1984. The hat was caught by an audience member during a concert in Giants’ Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

CREDIT: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Gabrielle Douglas
Items from the career of Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, including a leotard from her first competitive season (in 2003); the grip bag, wrist tape and uneven-bar grips she used at the 2012 London Olympics, where she won two gold medals; the ticket to the Olympics used by Douglas’ mother, Natalie Hawkins; and Douglas’ Olympic venue credentials.

CREDIT: Michael R Barnes/Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Cuture

Museum of African American History
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture officially opens on September 24, 2016.

For more info:

Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
Museum Opening: September 24 (Timed entry tickets available)
Schedule of events, Washington, D.C. (Sept. 23-25)

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan
CREDIT: Alan Karchmer


TRUMP AND BONDI

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/new-details-emerge-trumps-florida-ag-controversy?cid=eml_mra_20160907

The Rachel Maddow Show / The MaddowBlog
New details emerge in Trump’s Florida AG controversy
09/07/16 08:00 AM—UPDATED 09/07/16 08:28 AM
By Steve Benen

Photograph -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with press on Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio, as Vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence looks on. Photo by Evan Vucci/AP


As Rachel noted on the show last night, Donald Trump’s $25,000 campaign contribution to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) was problematic for all sorts of reasons, and if the Republican presidential hopeful was counting on the controversy fading away, he’s likely to be disappointed.

On Monday, for example, Trump told reporters he “never” spoke to Bondi, a claim that contradicted evidence that the Florida A.G. had personally reached out to Trump about a political donation. Yesterday, the presidential candidate clarified matters, conceding he did speak to Bondi, but not about her possible investigation into “Trump University.”

Last night, the Huffington Post reported some additional details about the simmering controversy, including a March 2014 event in which Trump opened his Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago, for a Bondi fundraiser at a generous price.

Trump, whose personal foundation had given $25,000 to a pro-Bondi group the previous fall, did not write a check to the attorney general that night. But by hosting her at Mar-a-Lago and bringing in some of his own high-profile Florida contacts, he provided her campaign with a nice financial boost. […]

The use of Mar-a-Lago alone was a donation of some value. Space at the resort is expensive to rent. Trump has charged his own presidential campaign roughly $140,000 an event for use of the resort. In contrast, the Republican Party of Florida paid only $4,855.65 for the Bondi fundraiser, cutting a check on March 25, 2014.

Even the New York Times, which has conspicuously avoided reporting on this story, has broken its silence, publishing a news article and an editorial this morning. The latter argued, among other things, “there’s little doubt” that Trump and Bondi “abused the public trust.”

With these details in mind, consider this timeline of events:

* Late August 2013: Bondi reached out to Trump, seeking financial support for her 2014 re-election campaign in Florida.

* Sept. 13, 2013: Bondi’s AG office acknowledged that it was investigating fraud allegations against “Trump University.”

* Sept. 17, 2013: Trump’s charitable foundation, which is legally prohibited from donating to political campaigns, cut a $25,000 check for a group supporting Bondi’s campaign.

* Oct. 15, 2013: Bondi’s office reversed course and said it wasn’t pursuing allegations made against “Trump University.”

* March 2014: Trump offered Bondi’s re-election campaign a generous deal while renting out his resort in Palm Beach.

Trump’s operation later paid a fine to the IRS for the improper campaign donation – which had been misreported to the tax agency.

Keep in mind, there’s more than one angle to this controversy. The first has to do with the accounting: Trump used his foundation to make a donation that violated federal tax law. That’s not good.

The second is the allegation that this is a straightforward “pay-for-play” scandal: Trump wanted to influence the Florida Attorney General’s office, the accusation goes, so he cut a generous check, and received the exact benefit he wanted.

Trump has been quite candid in his explanations for why he made so many political contributions to so many candidates and office-holders. “I’ve given to everybody,” he boasted earlier this year. “When I want something I get it. When I call, they kiss my ass. “It’s true. They kiss my ass.”

Trump added at a debate last year, “I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them, and they are there for me.”

So the question in the Bondi controversy is obvious: was his $25,000 contribution an investment to an official he “needed something from”?


BUT THERE’S DEFINITELY NO QUID PRO QUO HERE!




JUSTICE DONE


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mamadou-diallo-charges-dropped-against-man-who-killed-wifes-alleged-would-be-rapist/

Cops: Charges dropped against man who killed wife's would-be rapist
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS
September 7, 2016, 3:02 PM

Photograph -- Mamadou Diallo CBS NEW YORK
Video -- Charges dropped against Diallo


NEW YORK – Authorities have dropped charges against a Bronx man accused in the fatal beating of another man who police said was trying to rape his wife, reports CBS New York.

Mamadou Diallo, 61, was originally charged with manslaughter, before the count was reduced to assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges in the May 30 beating death of 43-year-old Earl Nash.

Diallo’s wife Nenegale was at home when she answered a knock at her door and Nash allegedly pushed his way in, attacked her, pulled his pants down and tore off her clothes, according to authorities.

Her sister was in a back room of the apartment and broke up the attack, and Nenegale then called her husband.

Diallo caught Nash as he was running away, and a fight broke out, according to authorities. Diallo beat Nash with a tire iron in an elevator, according to authorities. He died a short time later at a hospital. An autopsy determined his death was caused by complications related to his injuries, cocaine intoxication and heart disease.

Nash had been arrested 19 times before on charges including robbery, arson, assault, and more.

“This case was a tragedy for all whose lives intersected in that Bronx building on the night of May 30, 2016,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “We waited for three months for the autopsy results, and after a thorough investigation as well as discussions with the deceased’s family, we have determined that no grand jury action is warranted.”

Nash’s family said he suffered from schizophrenia and that his life spiraled out of control due to a lack of mental health treatment.

“As a family we pray that Mrs. Diallo and family may recover from the unfortunate trauma they’ve experienced. While we cannot [undo] the damage that was done that evening, we hope to bring some closure not only to our family but to the Diallo family as well,” Nash’s family said in a statement.

Diallo, a taxi driver whose license was revoked following the charges, said he will now try to have it reinstated. Outside the court on Wednesday, his wife smiled and said she was pleased with the decision.

“Really really happy today because it’s a surpise to me,” Nenegale Diallo told CBS New York.



EXCERPT -- “This case was a tragedy for all whose lives intersected in that Bronx building on the night of May 30, 2016,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “We waited for three months for the autopsy results, and after a thorough investigation as well as discussions with the deceased’s family, we have determined that no grand jury action is warranted.” Nash’s family said he suffered from schizophrenia and that his life spiraled out of control due to a lack of mental health treatment.”

Untreated schizophrenia can produce some of the most bizarre and violent attacks that the law ever sees. The young man who was biting the flesh off his victim’s face recently is almost certainly such a case, though drugs were suggested instead. In this situation the psychotic man came to the family’s front door and pushed his way in, grabbing Ms. Diallo and started trying to rape her. Her sister intervened and stopped the attack. Then the defendant, Mr. Diallo, chased him and beat him down with a tire iron. There was no egregious violence here, in my opinion, rather but purely instinctive and protective rage. The DA didn’t even charge him with justifiable homicide. Sometimes force has to be used. Nine out of ten men in that situation would do the same thing.


ND PIPELINE VS NATIVE AMERICANS AND JILL STEIN


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-orders-temporary-stop-work-on-portion-of-dakota-access-pipeline/

After clashes and protests, judge stops work on portion of N.D. oil pipeline
CBS/AP
September 6, 2016, 6:12 PM

Photograph -- Native American protestors and their supporters are confronted by security during a demonstration against work being done for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) oil pipeline, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, September 3, 2016. ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Photograph -- ap16118783957846.jpg, In this July 10, 2014 file photo, a worker builds up a berm against a massive saltwater spill from an underground pipeline on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation near Mandaree, N.D. Scientists say wastewater spills from oil development in western North Dakota are releasing toxins into soils and waterways. In a report published Wednesday, April 27, 2016, Duke University researchers say they detected high levels of lead, ammonium and other contaminants in surface waters affected by recent wastewater spills in the Bakken oilfield region. AP PHOTO/TYLER BELL, FILE
Photograph -- ap-16246724436020.jpg, In this Aug. 26, 2016, photo, Monte Lovejoy, a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, left, takes a photo with Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II at Cannon Ball, N.D. About 30 people, including Archambault himself, have been arrested in recent weeks for interfering with construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. JAMES MACPHERSON, AP


BISMARCK, N.D. -- The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe says a federal judge’s decision to temporarily stop work on some, but not all, of a portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline puts his people’s sacred places “at further risk of ruin and desecration.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Tuesday that work will temporarily stop between State Highway 1806 and 20 miles east of Lake Oahe, but that work will continue west of the highway.

Chairman Dave Archambault II said in a statement that the tribe is disappointed that the judge’s decision doesn’t stop the destruction of sacred sites while the tribe waits for a different ruling.

Boasberg said he’ll issue a decision by the end of Friday on the tribe’s broader push that challenges federal regulators’ decision to grant permits.

The tribe requested the stoppage after a weekend confrontation between protesters and construction workers near Lake Oahe due to workers allegedly bulldozing sites that attorney Jan Hasselman said were “of great historic and cultural significance to the tribe.”

Hasselman said Tuesday that the tribe was “disappointed that some of the important sacred sites that we had found and provided evidence for will not be protected.”

Boasberg said he’ll issue a decision by the end of Friday on the tribe’s broader push that challenges federal regulators’ decision to grant permits.

Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Donnell Preskey said four private security guards and two guard dogs were injured after several hundred protesters confronted construction crews Saturday afternoon at the Dakota Access pipeline construction site. One of the security officers was taken to a Bismarck hospital for undisclosed injuries. The two guard dogs were taken to a Bismarck veterinary clinic, Preskey said.

Tribe spokesman Steve Sitting Bear said protesters reported that six people had been bitten by security dogs, including a young child. At least 30 people were pepper-sprayed, he said. Preskey said law enforcement authorities had no reports of protesters being injured.

There were no law enforcement personnel at the site when the incident occurred, Preskey said. The crowd dispersed when officers arrived and no one was arrested, she said.

Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which is developing the pipeline, said the protesters broke through a fence and “attacked” the workers.

The incident occurred within half a mile of an encampment where hundreds of people have gathered to join the tribe’s protest of the oil pipeline, which is slated to cross the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois.

The tribe fears the pipeline will disturb sacred sites and impact drinking water for thousands of tribal members on the reservation and millions farther downstream.

The protest Saturday came one day after the tribe filed court papers saying it found several sites of “significant cultural and historic value” along the pipeline’s path.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/warrant-out-for-green-party-candidate-jill-steins-arrest-in-north-dakota/

Warrant out for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's arrest in ND
CBS/AP
September 7, 2016, 4:37 PM

Photograph -- Dr Jill Stein Green Party nominee for US President 2016 Oxford Union, Oxford , Britain 24th February 2016 (Rex Features via AP Images) AP


CANNON BALL, N.D. — A North Dakota county has issued a warrant for the arrest of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who is accused of spray-painting construction equipment during a protest against the Dakota Access pipeline.

Stein was charged Wednesday in Morton County with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief.

A spokeswoman for Stein said Tuesday that activists invited her to leave a message at the protest site, and Stein sprayed “I approve this message” in red paint on the blade of a bulldozer.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is trying to stop construction of a section of the pipeline that tribal leaders say would violate sacred and culturally sensitive grounds and possibly pollute water.

Stein herself tweeted a photo of the spray-painting incident Wednesday afternoon:


View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Follow
Dr. Jill Stein ✔ @DrJillStein
The Dakota Access Pipeline is vandalism on steroids. #NoDAPL #StandWithStandingRock
3:15 PM - 7 Sep 2016
306 306 Retweets 526 526 likes


The tribe requested the stoppage after a weekend confrontation between protesters and construction workers near Lake Oahe due to workers allegedly bulldozing sites that attorney Jan Hasselman said were “of great historic and cultural significance to the tribe.”

Hasselman said Tuesday that the tribe was “disappointed that some of the important sacred sites that we had found and provided evidence for will not be protected.”

Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Donnell Preskey said four private security guards and two guard dogs were injured after several hundred protesters confronted construction crews Saturday afternoon at the Dakota Access pipeline construction site. One of the security officers was taken to a Bismarck hospital for undisclosed injuries. The two guard dogs were taken to a Bismarck veterinary clinic, Preskey said.

Tribe spokesman Steve Sitting Bear said protesters reported that six people had been bitten by security dogs, including a young child. At least 30 people were pepper-sprayed, he said. Preskey said law enforcement authorities had no reports of protesters being injured.

pipeline-protest-gettyimages-598987004.jpg
Native American protestors and their supporters are confronted by security during a demonstration against work being done for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) oil pipeline, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, September 3, 2016. ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

There were no law enforcement personnel at the site when the incident occurred, Preskey said. The crowd dispersed when officers arrived and no one was arrested, she said.

Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which is developing the pipeline, said the protesters broke through a fence and “attacked” the workers.

The incident occurred within half a mile of an encampment where hundreds of people have gathered to join the tribe’s protest of the oil pipeline, which is slated to cross the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois.

The tribe fears the pipeline will disturb sacred sites and impact drinking water for thousands of tribal members on the reservation and millions farther downstream.

The protest Saturday came one day after the tribe filed court papers saying it found several sites of “significant cultural and historic value” along the pipeline’s path.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/libertarian-nominee-gary-johnson-what-is-aleppo/

Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson: "What is Aleppo?"
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
September 8, 2016, 8:41 AM

Photograph -- Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson gives acceptance speech during National Convention held at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida, May 29, 2016. REUTERS/KEVIN KOLCZYNSKI


Gary Johnson, the Libertarian party’s presidential nominee, made a foreign policy faux pas early Thursday morning, when he indicated in an MSNBC interview that he didn’t know about the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.

During an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” panelist Mike Barnicle asked Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico: “What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?

Johnson said: “About...?”

“Aleppo,” Barnicle repeated.

“And,” Johnson asked, “what is Aleppo?”

Barnicle, in seeming disbelief, said: “You’re kidding.”

“No,” Johnson said.

“Aleppo is in Syria,” Barnicle explained. “It’s the epicenter of the refugee crisis.”

“OK, got it, got it,” Johnson interrupted. “Well, with regard to Syria, I do think that it’s a mess and that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end.”

Later, Johnson was asked by Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin how he felt about the interview.

“I’m incredibly frustrated with myself,” he said.

When pressed whether Johnson felt it should be considered a “big flap,” the former New Mexico governor replied: “Well sure, it should. Absolutely.”



Well, clearly Johnson has been too busy with gubernatorial duties to keep up closely, which is a legitimate strike against him, but he was quick on the pickup when his memory was refreshed, and accepted the blame like a man. I don’t know much at all about him, but these exchanges go to his credit, unlike Donald Trump.

See the following website for a long list of his stated viewpoints, though several of them are not recent. http://www.ontheissues.org/Gary_Johnson.htm. He strikes me as a fiscal conservative, but wants no racial or sexual discrimination. He’s a bit of a free-thinker and I saw no religious bias, including on the abortion issue. He is against government sponsoring of any religion. He sounds sensible. I’m still not going to vote for him, but he doesn’t scare me.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/body-of-kidnapped-montana-woman-rita-maze-found-near-spokane/

Kidnapped mom calls family from trunk, found dead 325 miles away
CBS/AP
September 8, 2016, 7:11 AM

Photograph -- Rita Maze and her daughter Rochelle. FACEBOOK


HELENA, Mont. -- A woman who was kidnapped at a Montana rest stop in broad daylight was able to talk with her husband by cellphone several times and even talked with police, but she was dead by the time authorities found her car 325 miles away near Spokane International Airport, Montana authorities said.

Rita Maze, 47, of Great Falls called her husband Tuesday evening and said she had been struck on the head at an Interstate 15 rest stop north of Helena and that she was in the trunk of her car, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said Wednesday.

A motive, information on any possible suspects, and detail on how the kidnapping occurred were not immediately available. But Dutton said there was a person of interest in the case and authorities were looking at surveillance video from a convenience store.

Maze’s husband reported her missing. Dutton said that he spoke with her several times as cell coverage allowed.

“She didn’t know her location, but she was able to talk to them over her cellphone, sporadically, as coverage faded in and out,” Dutton said.

Rochelle Maze told the Great Falls Tribune her mother was “hysterical” and hard to understand when they spoke on the phone for about 10 minutes.

“I told her that I loved her,” Rochelle Maze said. “That’s the last thing she heard.”

The phone then went dead or lost a signal, and the two were unable to reach each other again.

Law enforcement tracked the use of her cellphone to help locate the vehicle. Her car’s license plate was captured on a license plate reader near Post Falls, Idaho.

A Helena police officer talked to Maze shortly before she died, Dutton said.

Her body was found in the trunk of her car at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Spokane County Deputy Mark Gregory said. The cause of death was not released.

The FBI is investigating because interstate travel was involved. A spokeswoman said the agency wasn’t releasing any further information, and Lewis and Clark County referred all questions to the FBI.

Maze was a longtime cook at Morningside Elementary School in Great Falls, the Great Falls Tribune reported.

Rochelle Maze told CBS affiliate KXLH that her mother was her best friend.

“My mom was always a playful mom,” she said. “She was always swimming with us in the pool and throwing us around. Taking us on park days and always being a kid with us. She was a child at heart at all times. That is what I remember about my mom.”



“I told her that I loved her,” Rochelle Maze said. “That’s the last thing she heard.” The phone then went dead or lost a signal, and the two were unable to reach each other again. Law enforcement tracked the use of her cellphone to help locate the vehicle. Her car’s license plate was captured on a license plate reader near Post Falls, Idaho.” Some people are afraid of these strategically placed cameras, or of their potential for unscrupulous use by Big Brother. When they are used as recommended however, as in this case, they can be a life saver. Unfortunately, in this case it just didn’t happen fast enough. I hope they will catch the criminal here, and “put him under the jail,” as we Southerners used to say in the 1950s. It doesn’t present a very realistic visual image, but it does have a satisfying degree of forcefulness to it.



LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE – NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY, MR. SHATNER

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/now-50-star-trek-continues-to-live-long-and-prosper/

Now 50, "Star Trek" continues to live long and prosper
CBS NEWS
September 4, 2016, 10:38 AM

33 PHOTOS -- The best (and worst) original "Star Trek" episodes
Photograph -- fans-at-star-trek-convention-las-vegas-620.jpg
Cosplayers attend a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. CBS NEWS
Photograph -- star-trek-tv-cast-244.jpg
Clockwise from top left: Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy of TV’s “Star Trek.” PARAMOUNT TELEVISION
28 PHOTOS -- Evolution of the Starship Enterprise
Photograph -- star-trek-william-shatner-interview-620.jpg, The sci-fi TV show starring William Shatner that debuted in 1966 was saved from oblivion by passionate fans - and has since become a multimedia phenomenon. CBS NEWS



“Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise …”

“Star Trek”’s exploration of the final frontier has spanned five decades now, with more to come, as Faith Salie now explains...

It’s a line that launched a pop culture powerhouse -- a line that, would you believe, even 50 years later, STILL doesn’t sound quite right to William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

“When I heard it, I thought, ‘I’m not doing it right. There’s something I’m not doing,’” Shatner told Salie. “It’s not right.”

“Star Trek,” the original series -- which lasted just three years from 1966 to 1969 -- boldly set off on a voyage that’s still travelling at warp speed half a century later.

That show led to spinoff series and movies, including a 2009 big-budget reboot that introduced Kirk and his gang to a new generation of fans.

It’s a good time to be a Trekkie! And those making the pilgrimage to last month’s annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas -- no matter the species -- were feeling out of this world.

There, among the Kirks and the Spocks and the Hortas, Salie found perhaps “Star Trek”’s most important fan of all: 83-year-old Bjo Trimble.

Trimble told Salie that, upon sitting down in front of her TV on September 8, 1966, “We were thrilled to have grownup science fiction finally. Not, you know, ‘There’s an ugly monster, let’s kill it!’”

That night, Bjo and her husband, John, discovered a sci-fi show they could warm up to, in the middle of the Cold War.

Salie asked, “What kind of message did ‘Star Trek’ give to audiences who were worried that the world might be blown up in the next ten years?”

“Well, the message was, maybe it wouldn’t be,” Trimble replied.

Creator Gene Roddenberry may have pitched his show to the NBC brass as “a ‘Wagon Train’ to the stars,” but it was his hopeful view of the future -- stories of a racially-diverse crew settling problems peacefully -- that turned its viewers on. Still, by the end of the second season, word got out that the voyages of the Starship Enterprise were about to be cancelled.

Trimble said of her husband, “We talked about it. And he said, ‘There oughta be something we could do about that.”

Using 20th century technology of pen, paper and postage stamps, Trimble boldly went where no fan has gone before, and began a letter-writing campaign to save “Star Trek.”

Letters were sent not just to NBC, “but to all the NBC affiliates, to all your local TV stations and, most importantly, all the sponsors,” she said.

It worked! “Star Trek” was renewed for one more season. Though officially cancelled after that third season, Trimble’s efforts meant that “Star Trek” now had enough episodes (79 of them) to live on in reruns.

“’Star Trek’ was on every single night,” said Scott Mantz, the film critic for “Access Hollywood” (and, if his bar mitzvah photos are any indication, a lifelong Trekkie). “And Syndication [sic] was where a whole new generation of “Trek” fans discovered the show, said Scott Mantz, the film critic for “Access Hollywood” (and, if his bar mitzvah photos are any indication, a lifelong Trekkie).

“Keep in mind that when ‘Star Trek’ premiered, you had television shows like ‘Bewitched,’ like ‘Gomer Pyle.’ And yet you flipped a channel and you’re watching ‘Star Trek’? This was so ahead of its time!”

For Mantz, it wasn’t just the storytelling that was ahead of its time; it was the way “Star Trek” motivated viewers to become fans.

“No entertainment property before ‘Star Trek’ had done a convention -- organizing fans, bringing people together, to dress up like their characters,” he said.

And sometimes, “Star Trek” fans can become “Star Trek” family. Meet Deborah Kirk. When she married, her husband, Barry, took HER surname. Their son’s name? Patrick James Tiberius Kirk.

“Now this is a family that really loves ‘Star Trek,’” Mantz laughed.

If all of this seems a bit spacey to you, consider all the “Star Trek” science fiction has today is science fact.

“Things like a communicator-cell phone, the use of computers, flat-screen monitors, iPads,” said Mike Massimino, a special advisor to the Intrepid Museum in New York City. He grew up watching “Star Trek.” A few decades later, he explored the final frontier for himself, as a NASA astronaut.

But it wasn’t just the technology that was ahead of its time. “If you look at the space program in the ‘60s when it came out, it was primarily white male test pilots who were there,” Massimino said. “Then it expanded -- they took civilian scientists, and then men and women of color. And even big Italian guys from New York, me!”

Which brings us back to the captain. For the Shakespearean-trained actor, “Star Trek” has always been, first and foremost, all about entertainment.

“You have interesting villains,” said Shatner. “You have strange, wonderful life forms that take place. You have mental gymnastics, plots.”

“You have love,” offered Salie.

“And you have love. Lots and lots of love! Oh yes! Pardon me a moment while I think about all that love,” he laughed.

And for the fans now there’s more love than ever. A new spin-off series, “Star Trek: Discovery,” launches on CBS All Access this January.

The voyages of the Starship Enterprise are far from over.

WATCH: Original “Star Trek” episodes on CBS All Access

First Look - Test Flight of Star Trek's U.S.S. Discovery by Star Trek on YouTube
For more info:

startrek.com
Exhibit: “Starfleet Academy Experience” at New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (through October 31)
Exhibit: “Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds” at the EMP Museum at Seattle Center (through January 31, 2017)
Follow @StarTrek on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
“Star Trek Beyond” (Official site)



“Salie asked, “What kind of message did ‘Star Trek’ give to audiences who were worried that the world might be blown up in the next ten years?” “Well, the message was, maybe it wouldn’t be,” Trimble replied.” The “hippie generation, the baby boomers,” were not merely a wild and unprincipled group of young people who were into nothing but drugs and free love. They (we) were those who came into the world and into our maturity in the middle of a very threatening “Cold War” with Russia.

It was unfortunately clear to us that either Russia or the US might actually start a nuclear war. Go to the library and get “On the Beach,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “A Canticle For Leibowitz,” are great for a glimpse at how we felt in those days. I was told that both the US and Russia had an agreement that if one party nuked one of our cities the other country would immediately take out one of theirs in response.

That was a big part of our “diplomacy,” and if you listen to Republicans today you can still hear echoes of that in their campaign rhetoric. To me, the most dangerous thing would be a “halfway measure” like tactical nukes to be used on the battlefield. They wouldn’t have the same explosive power as our big city destroyers, but they would spread deadly radiation and start the ball rolling downhill toward a true nuclear war.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-ntsb-investigators-have-beef-with-movie-sully/

Former NTSB investigators have beef with movie "Sully"
CBS/AP
September 8, 2016, 7:35 AM

Photograph -- Passengers wait for rescue on wings of US Airways Airbus 320 jetliner that safely ditched in frigid waters of Hudson River in New York, after flock of birds knocked out both its engines in January 2009 AP PHOTO/STEVEN DAY


WASHINGTON -- Losing thrust in both engines but still managing to land an airliner full of people in the Hudson River without the loss of a single life is plenty dramatic. But the drama in “Sully,” the movie about the “Miracle on the Hudson” ditching of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, doesn’t stop there.

And that’s a problem, say the former government investigators involved in the real-life probe of the 2009 accident. The public, as well as pilots and others in the aviation industry who see the movie may get the wrong impression -- that investigators were trying to smear the pilot, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, they said.

“We’re not the KGB. We’re not the Gestapo,” said Robert Benzon, who led the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation. “We’re the guys with the white hats on.”

The film, scheduled for release in theaters Friday, portrays investigators as more like prosecutors looking for any excuse to blame Sullenberger for the mishap.

Could the plane have made it back to LaGuardia Airport if Sullenberger (a CBS News aviation and safety expert, portrayed in the film by Tom Hanks) have turned it around? Did the thrust in both engines quit after the plane struck a flock of geese or was there still some power in one? Was the US Airways captain’s performance affected by other factors? When was his last alcoholic drink? Was he having problems at home?

It’s true that those questions were asked, and many more, over the course of the 18-month investigation, but that’s just part of NTSB’s meticulous investigation process that is intended to find all possible flaws that contribute to a crash, investigators said. That way, the board can make safety recommendations to the government, industry, labor unions, aircraft makers and others in an effort to prevent future accidents. Thirty-five safety recommendations were ultimately issued as a result of the Flight 1549 investigation.

Investigators recalled Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeff Skiles, portrayed by actor Aaron Eckhart, as comfortable and cooperative. Pilot union officials representing them were present during all the interviews and at later public forums.

“These guys were already national heroes,” said Benzon, who is now retired. “We weren’t out to embarrass anybody at all.”

But that’s not how it comes across in the film, directed by Clint Eastwood.

“Until I read the script, I didn’t know the investigative board was trying to paint the picture that he (Sullenberger) had done the wrong thing. They were kind of railroading him into ‘it was his fault,”’ Eastwood said in a publicity video for the Warner Bros. film.

Hanks told The Associated Press in an interview that a draft script included the names of real-life NTSB officials, but Sullenberger - who is an adviser on the film - requested they be taken out.

“He said, ‘These are people who are not prosecutors. They are doing a very important job, and if, for editorial purposes, we want to make it more of a prosecutorial process, it ain’t fair to them,”’ said Hanks. “That’s an easy thing to change.”

Malcolm Brenner, a human factors expert who was among the investigators who interviewed Sullenberger the day after the ditching, said he recalls being extraordinarily impressed at the time with both pilots and how well they worked together in the midst of the crisis. He said he’s also been impressed since then with how Sullenberger has used his fame to promote aviation safety.

“I think there is a real integrity there,” said Brenner, now an aviation consultant. “I happen to be a big fan of the man.”

Tom Haueter, who was the NTSB’s head of major accident investigations at the time and is now a consultant, said he fears the movie will discourage pilots and others from fully cooperating with the board in the future.

“There is a very good chance,” said Haueter, “that there is a segment of the population that will take this as proof of government incompetence and it will make things worse.”




I personally love Sullenberger for his logical, cool head and his “balls.” (Pardon my French!) There is “a segment” of this country, usually conspiracy theorists and other Rightwing Nutters, who to hear them talk don’t trust “government” at all. That’s an insane, bloodthirsty viewpoint in a society with several billion people, who want no part of their kind of “freedom”. Most of those folks want every American to walk around with an AK47 strapped across their big, fat bellies. I want a city where I can get in my car and go buy the things I need, without being held up at gunpoint; and if it weren’t for “government” that wouldn’t be possible.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colin-powell-defends-personal-email-set-up-while-secretary-of-state/

Colin Powell defends personal email set-up while secretary of state
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
September 8, 2016, 2:46 PM

Photograph -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is interviewed by CBS News’ David Martin


Colin Powell defended himself Thursday after the disclosure a day earlier of an email exchange between him and Hillary Clinton in 2009 showing how he talked about skirting State Department servers.

In a statement, the former secretary of state, who served under President George W. Bush, said that he wasn’t trying to influence Clinton when he emailed her advice.

“As noted by the FBI and Congressman Cummings in his comments about my exchange of emails with Secretary Clinton in 2009, Secretary Clinton has stated that she was not influenced by my email in making her decisions on email use. I was not trying to influence her but just to explain what I had done eight years earlier to begin the transformation of the State Department’s information system,” Powell said.

He then explained that emails he sent to a public email account from his public email account did not go through State Department servers.

“With respect to records, if I sent an email from my public email account to an addressee at another public email account it would not have gone through State Department servers. It was a private conversation similar to a phone call. If I sent it to a state.gov address it should have been captured and retained by State servers. I was not aware at the time of any requirement for private, unclassified exchanges to be treated as official records,” Powell said.

He added that he stands by his decisions and is “fully accountable.”

The department’s regulations regarding email at the time Powell served as secretary of state, however, were much looser and more vague than they were during Clinton’s tenure.

His statement comes a day after Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released an email exchange between Clinton and Powell from two days after she took over the cabinet position in 2009.

Clinton wanted to continue using her Blackberry in her new position and Powell responded saying he didn’t have one and developed another system instead that allowed him to communicate with people without it going through servers at the State Department.

“What I did do was have a personal computer that was hooked up to a private phone line (sounds ancient.) So I could communicate with a wide range of friends directly without it going through the State Department servers,” Powell wrote. “I even used it to do business with some foreign leaders and some of the senior folks in the Department on their personal email accounts. I did the same thing on the road in hotels.”

CBS News’ Steve Chaggaris contributed to this report.



Don’t you think we’ve beaten this dead horse long enough, fellas? He’s not going to get up.



If you’re bored with all those real news articles now, go to Wikipedia for something you will definitely like, at least if you are of a certain age – Mad Magazine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Neuman.