August 24, 2017


New and Views


HUMANS ARE, UNFORTUNATELY, PRIMITIVE. THE GREEKS, CREATORS OF GREAT ARCHITECTURAL AND ARTISTIC STONEWORK AND COMMAND OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA FOR TRADE, EMPIRE AND DIPLOMACY ARE STILL AT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LEVEL OF 10,000 BC IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. THIS SITUATION IN A BAR ON AN ANCIENT AND VERY CONSERVATIVE ISLAND CIVILIZATION; WHEN IN THIS CASE A BLACK STRANGER APPROACHED A NON-BLACK NATIVE WOMAN IN A BAR AND HAD THE EFFRONTERY TO SPEAK TO HER, THAT IS ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS. SHE SPOKE FIRST, BY THE WAY. SHE WANTED A SELFIE WITH HIM. HE WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST BLACK MAN SHE HAD EVER MET.

EDUCATION, SOCIAL INTERCHANGE WITH OUTSIDERS, A GENTLING CULTURE, WILL TEND TO RID US AS INDIVIDUALS OF MOST OF THAT SORT OF THING, BUT IF WE WERE THE ONES IN THE BAR WHEN AN EXOTIC LOOKING STRANGER APPROACHED OUR HUSBAND OR WIFE, OUR INSTINCTS ARE STILL CAPABLE OF BEING ROUSED TO A POINT OF FURY WITHIN SECONDS. THE BAR WAS IN GREECE, BUT THE OWNERSHIP AND PROBABLY THE CLIENTELE WITH ALL OF OUR INTELLIGENCE, LOVE OF FAMILY, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, PETS AND FARM ANIMALS, OUR GREAT THINKERS AND PHILOSOPHERS, AND YES, SCIENTISTS – THOSE THINGS CANNOT GIVE THE WISDOM OF THE AGES TO OUR CHILDREN, BECAUSE WE ARE ALL BORN “A CLEAN SLATE.” SO EACH INDIVIDUAL HAS TO LEARN EVERYTHING ALL OVER AGAIN. WE’RE BRIGHT UP TO A CERTAIN POINT, BUT WITHOUT A GOOD EDUCATION IN PHYSICS AND MATH AND AN IQ OF WELL OVER 140, WE WOULD NEVER FIGURE OUT THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY. EINSTEIN WASN’T JUST BRILLIANT, BUT WAS EDUCATED AS WELL AND IF YOU READ A BIOGRAPHY OF HIM, HE WAS IMMENSELY CURIOUS AND CREATIVE. HE WAS, IN SHORT, A “NERD.”

FEAR OF THE STRANGER, HATRED OF A DIFFERENT PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, AND SUCH THINGS ARE INBORN INSTINCTIVELY. UNTIL OUR GOOD PARENTS, TEACHERS, RELIGION AND “THE VILLAGE” (A LA HILLARY CLINTON’S “IT TAKES A VILLAGE”) TEACH US TO FORESWEAR SUCH PRIMITIVE THOUGHT AND EMOTIONS, THEY WILL STILL BE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE SURFACE. THAT IS BENEFICIAL WHEN WE DO LIVE IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION, BUT MOST OF US DON’T.

THAT’S ESPECIALLY TRUE OF THE “BACKWATERS” OF THE WORLD. ISLAND CULTURES ARE PARTICULARLY PRONE TO THE LACK OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE THAT CAN LEAD TO SOMETHING LIKE KILLING A STRANGER OVER AN EVENT THAT IS ACTUALLY HARMLESS, BUT WHICH IS TABOO. SPEAKING TO A WOMAN AT THE BAR, FOR INSTANCE, OR EVEN STARING AT HER – THOSE CAN LEAD TO TRAGEDY AS I THINK IT PROBABLY DID IN THIS NEWS STORY.

PEOPLE ARE PROTECTIVE OF THEIR OWN. WATCH THAT GREAT MOVIE FROM THE SEVENTIES STARRING ANTHONY QUINN CALLED “ZORBA THE GREEK.” ALSO, LISTEN TO SOME OF THE GREEK FOLK MUSIC AND YOU WILL SEE HOW ANCIENT THAT CULTURE ACTUALLY IS. I HAD A PHONOGRAPH RECORD CALLED “GREEK ISLAND AND MOUNTAIN MUSIC.” IT WAS EXOTIC, WILD, ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, BUT STIRRING ON MY INSTINCTIVE LEVELS, AND DISTINCTLY “PRIMITIVE.” BEING PARTIALLY PRIMITIVE MEANS TO BE FULLY HUMAN, BUT THAT IS THE PART OF EACH OF US THAT IS PRONE TO ACTIONS LIKE MURDER UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES. IT ALSO PRODUCES POETRY.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-killed-in-greece-bakari-henderson-family-speaks-out-first-time/
CBS NEWS August 24, 2017, 8:13 AM
Parents of American beaten to death in Greece: "We want justice for Bakari"

Photograph -- Phil and Jill Henderson CBS NEWS
Photograph -- The Henderson family (Bakari, pictured far left)
Photograph -- Bakari Henderson's family with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King CBS NEWS
Play VIDEO -- Videos show how beating death of American in Greece unfolded

The parents of the young American beaten to death in Greece are speaking for the first time. Bakari Henderson died last month on the Greek island of Zakynthos. Surveillance video captured his final moments as a mob chased him out of a bar and surrounded him on the street.

His parents, Jill and Phil Henderson, invited "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King and her team into their home in Austin, Texas, for an interview you'll see only on "CBS This Morning."

Jill said "Bakari" meant "of noble promise," a name Henderson lived up to. "He was proud of it," she said.

Henderson showed plenty of promise as a recent graduate of the University of Arizona. At 22 years old, he had already traveled the world. Last month he was in Greece to get a new venture off the ground.

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The Henderson family (Bakari, pictured far left)

"He was there for a photo shoot for his new clothing line that he was launching," Jill said. "Phil had originally said, 'Well, maybe you should, you know, have a plan B.' And he said, 'Well, plan Bs are for people who aren't confident in their plan A.'"

"It's typical Bakari. I just laugh. I say, 'Okay,'" Phil said.

Henderson, it seems, was up for a challenge.

Videos of Henderson jumping off a cliff and enjoying the beach were shot the day before his parents noticed a missed phone call in the middle of the night from the U.S. embassy.

"I was thinking maybe, 'Okay, you found his wallet. He's over there, and he's tryin' to get to another country. What's goin' on?' So, when I called and I'm hoping, because it's that night call, you know, you don't want, so I'm just hopin'," Phil said. "We prayed before we even called her back."

They prayed that Bakari was okay, he said.

But the news was devastating. Their youngest son had been killed after an altercation in a Serbian bar. A woman told authorities it started when she asked for a selfie with Henderson. She said a Serbian man asked her, "Why are you talking to a black guy?" before hitting Henderson in the face.

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Phil and Jill Henderson CBS NEWS

"Do you think this was a racially motivated incident? Or do you just think it was just something that was out of control, and he just happened to be the unlucky victim here?" King asked.

"How it started may not have started that way. It may have started out as an American issue, and then resulted in, you know, a black American tragedy," Jill said.

The Hendersons said their son was comfortable traveling around the world.

"More comfortable overseas than in the United States," Jill said. "He just felt it was safer over in Europe and overseas in general. He said, you know, with the climate, with African-American males in the U.S., that he just felt more comfortable overseas."

"Isn't that ironic, that he could say to you, 'I feel more comfortable in another country other than my own'?" King said.

"Yes. Yes," Jill said.

"And he ends up losing his life in another country. For what reason, we still don't know exactly," King said.

"Exactly," Jill responded.

Nine suspects face charges of voluntary manslaughter for the violent beating, which happened shortly after the attackers chased Henderson out of the bar. While Phil has looked at the footage from that night, Jill has chosen not to.

"I just want to keep his memory alive. I don't want to introduce any negativity into my spirit. And I really do want to remember him as a go-lucky, energetic, fun-loving, happy Bakari," Jill said. "I miss that about him. And I just miss his energy, his hugs, his laugh, his loud, boisterous laugh. I mean, his smile. Just everything."

"He just brightens up a room. I'm gonna miss -- his competitiveness," Phil said, choking up with emotion. "And whenever a sporting event come on, he calls. Boxing event, whatever it is, soccer -- he loved it. And I'm just going to miss that."

The whole family is feeling the void, including younger sister Jory and older brother P.J.

"I miss talking. Right now, we would be talking about the Cowboys and Eagles," P.J. said. "So it's going into football season without that is different. So, yeah, that's what -- right now is what I'm missing, just talking sports with him."

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Bakari Henderson's family with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King CBS NEWS

They took us to a mural an artist painted of Bakari, shaded in purple. His mom said it was his favorite color. It also coats the walls of his bedroom where they shared something special.

"This is a recording," Jill said -- a prayer Bakari led on a family phone call last June, asking God for health and peace around the world.

"I'd also like to pray for Donald Trump. Hopefully he can make our society a better place, not worse," Bakari could be heard saying.

Those words really resonate in this household, as his parents try to make sense of their son's brutal death.

"You know, I first thought, 'What parents would raise such barbarians to do such an evil thing to another human being?' And then the Holy Spirit just kind of spoke to me and said, 'You know what, it's bigger than that. It's so much bigger than that,'" Jill said. "Because the world that we live in today, our leaders sit back and they just almost condone this type of behavior. So they don't condemn it. And by their silence, they promote it. And so I think in order for us to move forward, we're gonna have to do better in general."

"What is it that you're still seeking? What is it that you still want?" King asked.

"We want justice for Bakari," Jill said. "Justice would mean to have everyone involved ... to be locked up, and hopefully for a very long time."

The family has hired a lawyer and said they plan to be there to represent their son when the case goes to trial. A pair of GoFundMe pages have raised more than $100,000 to cover their costs.

In the meantime, the Hendersons tell us they've heard nothing from members of Congress other than a single phone call from Sen. John Cornyn's office when trying to bring home Henderson's remains.

As for that clothing line Henderson was working on? His parents said they plan to launch it for him.



HERE COMES THIS YEAR’S FIRST CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE. IT’S GOING TO HIT TEXAS INSTEAD OF LOUISIANA, THANK GOODNESS. SORRY, TEXAS, BUT NEW ORLEANS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT MORE OFTEN THAN EVERY 10 OR 15 YEARS. LOUISIANA IS BELOW SEA LEVEL. I HAD A GREAT VISIT THERE FOR THE MARDI GRAS A BUNCH OF YEARS AGO, BUT I “WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE THERE.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-harvey-bears-down-on-texas-as-residents-prepare-for-major-storm/
CBS/AP August 24, 2017, 4:45 PM
Hurricane Harvey bears down on Texas as residents prepare for major storm

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Tropical Storm Harvey intensified Thursday into a hurricane that forecasters said would be the first major hurricane to hit Texas in nine years.

Sustained winds reached 85 mph Thursday afternoon. The hurricane is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, then stall near the middle Texas coast through the weekend. Harvey is expected to come ashore between Port O'Connor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile stretch of coastline about 70 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.

Forecasters said a "life-threatening" storm surge along with rains and wind were likely, and Harvey was intensifying faster than previously forecast. A major hurricane means at least a Category 3, with winds greater than 110 mph.

Wind speeds could reach 130 mph as Harvey continues to strengthen. That would make the storm a Category 4, defined as having wind speeds between 130 and 150 mph. The National Hurricane Center says "catastrophic damage" accompanies Category 4 storms.

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Hurricane Harvey off the coast of Texas on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. NOAA

Harvey would be the first major hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in September 2008 brought winds of 110 mph to the Galveston and Houston areas and caused some $22 billion in damage. The last Category 4 storm to hit the state was Hurricane Bret in 1999, which made landfall on the southern coast.

As of midday Thursday, Harvey was about 340 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, moving to the north-northwest at about 10 mph.

Once Harvey makes landfall, it's possible the storm then could stall inland for as long as three days, exacerbating the threat of flooding brought by tropical downpours, the National Hurricane Center said. Some forecasts indicated rain totals over several days extending into next week could exceed 24 inches.

The storm surge from Harvey will likely be at least 10 feet and could top 15 feet.

Several cities and counties along the coast have issued mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the storm, CBS affiliate KHOU-TV reports.

Numerous cities were shipping in sandbags, extra water and other items ahead of the storm.

In Corpus Christi, dozens of people were waiting in line early Thursday at a local Sam's Club. Down the coast in South Padre Island, Dave Evans took advantage of the free sandbags, noting he and his fiancée live in an older house prone to flooding.

"The master bedroom floods every time the rain gets very strong. I think our home is below sea level," Evans told The Brownsville Herald.

Tropical Weather Texas

Shoppers pass empty shelves along the bottled water aisle in a Houston grocery store as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico, on Thu., Aug. 24, 2017. AP
Alex Garcia, of Corpus Christi, was buying bottled water, bread and other basics in Sugar Land, a Houston suburb, after dropping his daughter off at college in Houston.

He said grocery items likely were more available in Houston than back home, where Garcia, a beer distributor salesman, said stores were "crazy."

"We'll be selling lots of beer," he laughed.

Garcia's house is about 3 miles from the bay. While a seawall offers some protection, "It floods in Corpus all the time," he said.

"Harvey is looking like it's going to just meander around the area," National Weather Service meteorologist Penny Zabel said. "It's going to hang out for a few days, and that's why we're looking at such high rainfall amounts."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level, making state resources available for possible rescue and recovery actions. Abbott also pre-emptively declared a state of disaster for 30 counties on or near the coast, to speed deployment of state resources to any areas affected.

Nearly all of the state's 367-mile coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning or watch as of Thursday.



THANK YOU, FLORIDA – GOV. SCOTT PERHAPS – FOR ACTUALLY DOING JUSTICE IN A CASE BETWEEN A WHITE MURDERER AND NOT ONE, BUT TWO, UNFORTUNATE BLACK MEN. I’M OF TWO MINDS ABOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, BUT IF WE HAVE IT AT ALL, IT SHOULD APPLY TO BOTH BLACKS AND WHITES. I’M FROM THE SOUTH, SO I DON’T HATE SOUTHERN CULTURE AT ITS’ BEST, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO KKK, WHITE NATIONALISM, AND OTHER EQUALLY LAWLESS BANDS OF EMOTIONALLY STUPID AND BESTIAL WHITE PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO TERRORIZE BLACKS, I HAVE NO SYMPATHY WHATSOEVER. THAT AIN’T MY SOUTH!!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-asay-for-the-first-time-florida-executes-white-man-in-black-mans-killing/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP August 24, 2017, 6:46 PM
For the first time, Florida executes white man in black man's killing

Photograph -- This undated photo provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Mark Asay. Asay was convicted by a jury of two racially motivated, premeditated murders in Jacksonville in 1987, and sentenced to death. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS VIA AP

STARKE, Fla. -- For the first time in the state's history, Florida on Thursday executed a white man for killing a black man.

Mark Asay was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke. His death followed a three-drug injection that began with the anesthetic, etomidate. Though approved by the Florida Supreme Court, etomidate has been criticized by some as being unproven in an execution.

Hours before his scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court denied without comment Asay's final appeal. Asay, who was white, was convicted by a jury of two 1987 Jacksonville murders that prosecutors said were racially motivated.

Asay, now 53, fatally shot Robert Lee Booker, 34, a black man, after making multiple racist comments, prosecutors said. Asay's second victim was Robert McDowell, 26, who was mixed race, white and Hispanic. Prosecutors say Asay had hired McDowell, who was dressed as a woman, for sex and shot him six times after discovering his gender.

McDowell was described as black during Asay's trial, with prosecutors alleging that Asay shot both men because of their race, reports the Miami Herald. Asay reportedly had white supremacist tattoos on his body.

The Florida Supreme Court said earlier this week that McDowell's race was mistakenly identified during the trial, but said it didn't affect the trial's outcome, the paper reports.

At least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center. A total of 92 Florida inmates have been executed in that time period.

Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference NAACP and an opponent of capital punishment, told the Miami Herald she believes the case shows how black inmates are punished disproportionately.

"It does make the case even stronger that there's this disparity gap that exists between black and white — who gets the death penalty and who gets exonerated," she told the paper.

She also opposes the death penalty in Asay's case.

Asay's execution also marked the first use of the drug etomidate, the first of three drugs administered in Florida's new execution cocktail. It is replacing midazolam, which has been harder to acquire after many drug companies began refusing to provide it for executions. The etomidate is followed by rocuronium bromide, a paralytic, and finally, potassium acetate, which stops the heart. It is Florida's first time using potassium acetate too, which was used in a 2015 execution in Oklahoma by mistake, but has not been used elsewhere, a death penalty expert said.

State corrections officials have defended the choice, saying it has been reviewed. The corrections department refused to answer questions from The Associated Press about how it chose etomidate.

Doctors hired by Asay's attorneys raised questions about etomidate in court declarations, saying there are cases where it had caused pain along with involuntary writhing in patients.

But in its opinion allowing the drug to be used, the state's high court said earlier this month that four expert witnesses demonstrated that Asay "is at small risk of mild to moderate pain."

The execution was Florida's first in 19 months, since the U.S. Supreme Court halted the practice in the state after finding its method for sentencing people to death to be unconstitutional.

The court ruled that the old system was illegal because it gave judges, not juries, the power to decide.

Since then, Florida's Legislature passed a law requiring a unanimous jury for death penalty recommendations.

In Asay's case, jurors recommended death for both murder counts by a 9-3 vote. Even though the new law requires unanimity, Florida's high court ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling did not apply to older cases.

Asay's lawyer Martin McClain has said Asay's sentence should have also be negated based on the new, stricter standards, reports the Miami Herald. McClain has also reportedly cited deficient legal counsel and improperly handled court records as he fought for an execution stay, the paper reports.

Asay was the 24th inmate executed since Gov. Rick Scott has taken office, the most under any governor in Florida history.

Booker's son, Vittorio Robinson, who was 15 when his father was killed, told the Florida Times-Union newspaper in Jacksonville that his father's death helped him realize that racism was still alive.

"I just couldn't believe it," he said, describing when he learned of his father's death. "And then it dawned on me, there are actually still people out there that thought that way."



“CORE VALUES INDEED!” ALL THAT FANCY TALK, AND YET NO HEART. HERE’S SOME MORE OF THE VOLUNTARY HUMAN STUPIDITY THAT I SO OFTEN SEE. SPORTS OR BEING A CHEERLEADER ARE SIMPLY NOT WORTH THAT. I USED TO DO SPLITS FOR FUN. IT DIDN’T HURT ME. SOME CAN DO IT AND SOME CAN’T. WHY, WHY WON’T THE PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY VALUE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OVER SPORTS AND “CHEERLEADING.” THE REALLY IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS ARE NOT THOSE THAT HAVE STAR VALUE, BUT THOSE WHICH WILL EQUIP A YOUNG PERSON TO READ AVIDLY AND WITH UNDERSTANDING, DO THEIR MATH (WITH A TUTOR IF NEED BE), TAKE AT LEAST SOME SCIENCE, STUDY HISTORY, THINK AS WELL AS MEMORIZING, AND CONSIDER A LAW OR SCIENCE DEGREE!! THAT’S WHAT I THINK A SCHOOL SHOULD BE ABOUT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheerleader-forced-into-splits-ally-wakefield-mother-kirsten/
CBS NEWS August 24, 2017, 7:32 PM
"I was horrified": Mother of cheerleader forced into splits speaks out

DENVER -- Police in Denver are investigating a cheerleading coach after disturbing cellphone video emerged that appears to show a young cheerleader being forced to perform a painful exercise.

Ally Wakefield, a 13-year-old high school freshman, can be seen on video screaming in agony while other cheerleaders held her -- their coach pushing her leg down to do splits.

She begged nine times in less than 24 seconds for them to stop, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

"What was your feeling when you first saw this video?" Petersen asked Kirsten, Ally's mother.

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Kirsten Wakefield CBS NEWS

"I was horrified," she replied. "My daughter showed them to me while I was driving … I almost hit a car and ran off the road."

The coach, Ozell Williams, does gymnastic exhibitions at football games. Williams didn't respond to a request from CBS News, but told a local newspaper the videos were taken out of context and insisted this was normal training for splits.

He and other school administrators have been suspended.

Ally is now under the care of a physical therapist.

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Ally Wakefield being pushed into a split

"So this really hurt her?" Petersen asked Kirsten.

"Yes, it caused her muscle tissue to tear and her ligaments, as well as pulling a hamstring," Kirsten said.

The incident was in June, but the videos only surfaced Wednesday night.

The school's superintendent released a statement, saying "the images and actions depicted are extremely distressing and absolutely contrary to our core values..."

The Denver Police Department is investigating the incident and others involving Wakefield's fellow cheerleaders. Late Thursday afternoon, the families met with police in what may become a criminal investigation.



THIS MAN, A RESPECTED PRIEST, SOME 40 YEARS AGO WAS A KKK MEMBER, AND BURNED A CROSS IN A BLACK COUPLE’S YARD. WHEN IT WAS DISCOVERED SOME YEARS LATER, HE WAS COMMANDED BY A FEDERAL JUDGE TO PAY THE FAMILY $23,000 IN DAMAGES. UNFORTUNATELY, HE FAILED TO DO SO. NOW A NOSY “FAKE NEWS” REPORTER CAME TO THE DIOCESE ASKING ABOUT HIM. HE HAS WRITTEN A PUBLIC APOLOGY BUT IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THERE MAY NOT BE SUFFICIENT SINCERITY THERE, SINCE HE DIDN’T APOLOGIZE UNTIL HE WAS FOUND OUT. TOO BAD. THE CASE IS ONGOING. PERHAPS I WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT IT LATER.

BEING IN HONORED AND RESPONSIBLE PLACES HAS NEVER STOPPED WHITE MEN FROM BEING IN THE KKK. MAYBE PUBLIC EXPOSURES SUCH AS THE TELEVISED HATEFUL MARCH WITH TORCHES IN CHARLOTTESVILLE WILL CAUSE PEOPLE TO DO SOME DEEP LEVEL AND HONEST THINKING ABOUT THESE RACIAL ISSUES. IT IS CLEAR TO ME FROM THE FACT THAT WHITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE BEEN STEPPING FORWARD TO PROTEST EVENTS LIKE THAT AT CHARLOTTESVILLE LAST WEEK, AND CITIES ARE VOLUNTARILY TAKING DOWN THEIR STATUES, THAT OUR PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER PREPARED TO CLOSE THEIR EYES TO THE HATEFULNESS THAT GROUPS LIKE THE KKK FOSTER.

OF COURSE, MAYBE IT WAS THE BLACK PEOPLE OUTSIDE CITY HALL, WHO HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT THE CHANGE OF HEART. LOTS OF WHITE PEOPLE HAVE VOICED HATRED AT BLACK LIVES MATTER, BUT I NOTICE THAT THEY ARE ALSO CHANGING THEIR WAYS. THEY’RE GRIPING, BUT COMPLYING. THAT’S GOOD. SO, IT’S A LITTLE OF BOTH, I’M SURE. OF COURSE, THE DIOCESE SAID THAT AITCHESON’S CONFESSION CAME AFTER REPORTERS BEGAN ASKING ABOUT HIM. SAD, BUT NOT SURPRISING. APPARENTLY, SOMEONE ELSE KNEW AND INFORMED THE REPORTER. THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A WELL-INFORMED WHISTLE BLOWER TO CLEAR THE WAY FOR JUSTICE.

I HOPE THAT THE TIDE IS TURNING. THE HIGHLY OBNOXIOUS FAR RIGHT AND THE SORDID RUSSIAN CONNECTIONS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO PUBLIC FEAR AND ANGER OVER A NEAR TAKEOVER BY TRULY DEMONIC FORCES, AND THEY/WE JUST DON’T WANT TO TURN THE CLOCK BACK TO A BARBARIC TIME PERIOD. I BELIEVE I SEE “THE PEOPLE” SPEAKING, LOUDLY AND UNDERSTANDABLY. I WILL PERSONALLY NEVER FORGET THE SIGHT OF THOSE DAMNED TORCHES AND MEN POURING DOWN THE HILL IN A BEAUTIFUL, QUIET UNIVERSITY TOWN. THAT COULD HAVE EASILY HAVE BEEN CHAPEL HILL, AND I MIGHT HAVE CRIED. I CONFESS THAT I WAS DELIGHTED TO SEE THEM CONFRONTED BY AN EQUALLY IMPLACABLE GROUP, THE BLACK-CLAD ANTIFA WITH THEIR CLUBS AND BASEBALL BATS WHACKING AWAY AT THEM.

NOW I WANT TO SEE BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES FALL IN BEHIND THE CITIZENS AND IMPROVE OUR LAWS AND THE WIMPY ACTIONS BY JUDGES. I ALSO WANT TO SEE THE CITY GOVERNMENTS, POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND POLICE UNIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY CHARGED CRIMINALLY EVERY TIME A HATE-BASED POLICE KILLING OCCURS. THE FAULT IN THOSE THINGS STARTS AT THE TOP. I’LL BET IF THE CITY HAD TO PAY A STEEP FINANCIAL FINE EVERY TIME THERE IS A KILLING OVER A “BROKEN TAILLIGHT,” OR AN OFFICER PLEADING INNOCENT BECAUSE HE “FEARED FOR HIS LIFE,” WE WOULD SEE REAL CHANGE. POLICE DEPARTMENTS WOULD SEE THAT IT IS THEIR BEST INTERESTS TO SIMPLY FIRE THE BLACKGUARDS. UNTIL THESE PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER GIVEN TACIT APPROVAL, THE HATE BUSINESS (PROBABLY FUNDED BY THE NRA) WILL CONTINUE TO WIN.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/william-aitcheson-virginia-diocese-kkk-priest-past/
CBS NEWS August 24, 2017, 7:47 PM
Diocese says it learned of priest's KKK past decades ago

FAIRFAX, Va. -- A priest in Virginia made a very public and shocking confession this week about his earlier life as a cross-burning member of the Ku Klux Klan.

William Aitcheson, 62, made a confession in an essay published Monday, writing, "My actions were despicable … while 40 years have passed, I must say this: 'I'm sorry.'"

He wrote that "images from Charlottesville brought back memories of a bleak period in my life that I would have preferred to forget."

CBS News' Errol Barnett reports a spokesman for the Arlington diocese said Thursday: "At the time he began ministry here in 1993, the diocese learned of his past as well as his sincere conversion of heart."

The spokesman also said Aitcheson's "past was not common knowledge to current staff 24 years later."

Philip and Barbara Butler have been reluctantly recalling the night they were terrorized by the KKK as newlyweds.

"It's 40 years and it came back again," Barbara told CBS News.

This week, they discovered Aitcheson was responsible for burning a 7-foot cross in their front yard has been a practicing Catholic priest, an hour's drive away.

Play VIDEO -- Family questions sincerity of priest's confession on KKK past

Church officials say Aitcheson's statement this week came after a reporter began asking questions and that's when "he acknowledged his past and saw the opportunity to tell his story."

After his arrest decades ago, Aitcheson's racist offenses became front page news partly because he had threatened the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, Corretta Scott-King, and because President Reagan visited two of his victims -- the Butlers.

"There shouldn't be any place in our country for that sort of thing," President Reagan said in 1982.

"I will never, ever forget. We didn't deserve this. No one deserves this," Barbara said.

The church has accepted his offer to "temporarily" step away from the "public ministry" and says he would like to meet with the Butler family privately.

They say that won't happen until he reveals who helped him burn the cross on their lawn.

A federal judge ordered Aitcheson to pay the family $23,000 in damages in the early 1980s -- but they say he never did.

The Catholic Dioces of Arlington says arrangements are being made to ensure he fulfills his legal and moral obligations to the Butler family.



THIS STORY IS ON THE INITIATION OF A COOPERATIVE EFFORT BY A DEMOCRAT AND A REPUBLICAN WHO HAD ROLES IN THE CAMPAIGNS OF HILLARY CLINTON AND MITT ROMNEY. BOTH WERE HACKED. HILLARY WAS DAMAGED THE WORSE, I THINK, BUT THE DIFFICULTY OF KEEP THE BLACK HAT HACKERS OUT REPRESENTS A TRUE DANGER TO OUR SOCIETY, UNLESS OF COURSE UNLESS WE WANT TO THROW UP OUR HANDS AND GIVE UP. HARVARD UNIVERSITY IS INVOLVED IN IT, AND A DOCUMENT WILL BE PRODUCED WHICH WILL GIVE PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO CAMPAIGNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON HOW TO AVOID THE SITUATION IN THE FUTURE. IT’S MY EXPERIENCE THAT NOTHING IS PERFECT, BUT I’M DELIGHTED TO SEE SOMEONE ACTUALLY STUDYING THE MATTER.

A GREAT NEW SERIES OF NEWS ARTICLES BY CBS HAS BEEN BEGUN – “ISSUES THAT MATTER.” THE ELECTION OF A DONALD TRUMP IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY HAS CAUSED ME TO THINK EVEN MORE THAN I HAD IN THE PAST ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS SHOULD BE MANDATED FOR ANYONE WHO EVEN RUNS FOR PRESIDENT. SUPPOSE, FOR ONE SIMPLE AND LOGICAL THING, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO PASS THE CIVIL SERVICE EXAM AT THE HIGHEST GRADE, AND SHOW PROOF OF AT LEAST A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE IN A FIELD LIKE HISTORY, WITH A MASTERS IN LAW AS WELL. HE/SHE SHOULD ALSO HAVE SOME MILITARY EXPERIENCE, I THINK, AND PASS THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PSYCHIATRIC EXAM, OR WHATEVER TEST TO SPOT INSANITY IS BEING USED TODAY, AS WELL AS AN IQ TEST. ANY PRESIDENT OR CONGRESSPERSON SHOULD HAVE AN IQ OF AT LEAST 130.

JUST BEING A BUSINESS MAN IS NOT ENOUGH. JUST HAVING ENOUGH MONEY TO GO TO AN IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE IS ALSO NOT ENOUGH. AND WHILE WE’RE AT IT, WHY DON’T WE ALSO MANDATE A YEAR OR SO OF BONE FIDE COMMUNITY SERVICE, LIKE WORKING ON A ONE-TO-ONE LEVEL WITH THE POOR, THE HOMELESS OR THE MENTALLY DISABLED. THAT WOULD PRODUCE A MORE GENUINELY “WELL-ROUNDED” INDIVIDUAL WHO COULD SERVE THE PEOPLE DURING HIS PRESIDENCY RATHER THAN MERELY RAKING IN ILLEGAL MONEY AT EVERY TURN. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW MANY RATHER POOR PEOPLE MAKE IT INTO GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND COME OUT MILLIONAIRES? THAT ISN’T A COINCIDENCE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robby-mook-matt-rhoades-tackle-election-hacking-in-joint-project/
CBS NEWS August 24, 2017, 1:07 PM
Issues That Matter: Presidential campaign managers take on election hacking in bipartisan push

In this installment of our ongoing series, Issues That Matter, we take a closer look at how cyberhacking could be influencing U.S. elections and threatening our democracy.

Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook, and Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, both ran presidential campaigns that were targeted by foreign hackers. Now they're joining forces with Harvard to create a "playbook" of best practices to help both Republicans and Democrats shield elections from cyberattacks.

Rhoades and Mook joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss their new initiative and why cybersecurity threats must be dealt with in a bipartisan way.

More from the series:
Issues That Matter: Education challenges facing the next president
Issues That Matter: Dr. David Agus, Steven Brill on rising health care costs
Issues That Matter: Key legal challenges facing the next president

"It's a bipartisan challenge. In 2012, when I was Mitt's campaign manager, we were actually hacked in the fall of 2011 and we were told by the FBI that the Chinese had hacked into our campaign. What the problem was -- and we didn't make a big to-do about it -- but we had to spend precious campaign dollars to up our cybersecurity network," Rhoades said. "Right now, there's a lot of campaigns, 2018, that are gonna go through similar challenges and threats."

A January intelligence report revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a covert campaign to undermine and influence the U.S. election. The report said, "We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its campaign aimed at the U.S. presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide."

"This threat is real. Countries and intelligence services are gonna attack our candidates, they're gonna attack our election officials, we've seen the proof of concept on this. And if we don't deal with it in a bipartisan way, if we don't come together and say an attack on one is an attack on all, that trust will erode," Mook said.

President Trump criticizes Obama for handling of Russian hacks
Play VIDEO
President Trump criticizes Obama for handling of Russian hacks

Mook dealt with one of the more visible examples of campaign cyberattacks when Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta fell victim to a phishing scam that resulted in the release of thousands of emails. It spurred a media firestorm.

"What was different, and the way the threat has evolved is, they're stealing information and putting it out into the press. And as Matt said, we want candidates to get out there and talk about the issues," Mook said of the hack's damage to Clinton's presidential bid. "If we allow foreign countries to steal information and push it out there, we're not going to have that debate and we're going to let those foreign countries decide what we're talking about."

While the security of presidential elections is crucial to a healthy democracy, Rhoades said he's actually less worried about 2020 than he is about how the "next rising star" could be targeted.

"You can see a Barack Obama or a George W. Bush coming a mile away and if some hacker were to go into their email and misconstrue some exchange, you could change the course of history," Rhoades said. "We want to do something tangible that actually helps campaigns, and one thing we're working on is a document that can be used by both Republican and Democrat campaigns -- a playbook of best practices from a cybersecurity standpoint," Rhoades said.

The pair believes the government plays an important role in the security of our elections, but they are hoping to highlight untapped existing resources with their effort.

"We're certainly advocating for the government to be an active partner, but part of actually why Matt and I did this was we saw there was so many resources in the private sector to help deal with this," Mook said. "There's a lot of resources out there we just need to get them connected."



ALL OF THESE LAST THREE ARTICLES OR VIDEOS ARE ON THE CULTURE WAR THAT HAS BROKEN OUT SUDDENLY AND STRONGLY BETWEEN THOSE “WHITE RIGHTS” PEOPLE OF ALL KINDS AND THOSE OF US WHO VALUE EVERYBODY’S RIGHTS. TO ME, THAT’S THE PART OF THE USA PHILOSOPHY THAT DOES MAKE US A “GOOD” NATION – BUT ONLY TO THE DEGREE THAT WE DO LOYALLY UPHOLD THE VALUE OF ALL HUMAN LIFE AND NOT JUST SOME EVER SO “SPECIAL” GROUP.

I AND EVERYONE WHO IS NOT A RACIST OR NEO-NAZI OR OTHER SUCH WHITE RIGHTS ENTHUSIAST, ARE PRETTY MUCH UP IN ARMS EMOTIONALLY ABOUT THE WHOLE MATTER. FOR ME THE WHOLE THING STARTED FOR ME WHEN I WAS WATCHING THE NEWS AND SAW A HORDE OF WHITE GUYS MARCHING TOWARD THE CAMERA WITH TORCHES AND CHANTING NAZI SLOGANS LIKE “JEWS WILL NOT REPLACE US,” AND “BLOOD AND SOIL.” IT WAS SO OBVIOUSLY HOSTILE THAT I WAS SHOCKED, SCARED AND ANGRY. I AM SO PROUD OF THOSE OF US, YES THE ANTIFA AND THE OTHERS WHO CAME TO STAND UP FOR THE MULTICULTURAL NATION WHICH WE ARE.

WE ARE ALL, IN OUR WAY, STANDING UP TO THIS ATTEMPTED FASCIST COUP. MY WAY IS WATCH THE NEWS EVENTS AS THEY OCCUR AND TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL, AND PUBLISH IT WITH MY PERSONAL VIEW OF WHAT THE IMPORTANCE TO OUR SOCIETY IS. OUR COUNTRY HAS BEEN SO PASSIVE UNTIL CHARLOTTESVILLE THAT I WAS REALLY WORRIED THAT THOSE GOONS WHO ARE SUCH AVID FOLLOWERS OF TRUMP WOULD BE ALLOWED TO RAVAGE THE COUNTRY WITH NO PUSHBACK, BUT I WAS MISTAKEN. THE ANTIFA CAME PREPARED TO PUT UP A CLEAR RESISTANCE, AND THEY DID. IF THE KNIGHTS OF THE KKK ARE GOING TO COME MARCHING, AT LEAST WE WILL NOT PASSIVELY – OR IN SOME KIND OF SIMPLE-MINDED CONCEIT – ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN WITHOUT A STRONG STRUGGLE.

THE ANTIFA ARE BEING DAMNED BY THE RIGHT-LEANING PEOPLE AS THE AGGRESSORS, BUT THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT THEIR REAL PLAN AT CHARLOTTESVILLE WAS. THEY SAY THEY WERE PROTESTING THE REMOVAL OF A CIVIL WAR STATUE, BUT THEY CLEARLY WERE TRYING TO INTIMIDATE. UNFORTUNATELY FOR THEM, THEY DID NOT SUCCEED IN THAT.

IN BOSTON THEY CAME IN FORCE AGAIN, ONLY TO BE MET BY THOUSANDS OF ANTIFASCISTS, THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY THE FIGHTING GROUP CALLED ANTIFA. THEY WERE, NONETHELESS, IN SUCH LARGE NUMBERS THAT THE WHITE RIGHTS GUYS HAD TO BE ESSENTIALLY RESCUED BY THE POLICE AND USHERED OUT OF THE AREA. NO, THINGS ARE NOT GOING TO BE AS EASY FOR THEM AS THEY BELIEVED.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLvY9bdXHfk
Hate Rising: White Supremacy in America
CBS News Video
Published on Aug 21, 2017

White supremacists in the U.S. are growing in number, and changing their tactics. To go mainstream, they're organising to run for local office. What's behind their rise? Tony Dukoupil investigates for "CBSN: On Assignment"



http://www.cbs.com/shows/cbsn-on-assignment/video/_ChcuFa_nLgCH9LUskxzTK9Ta8lAphk5/tensions-escalate-as-hate-groups-proliferate-in-america/
CBSN On Assignment

White supremacy going mainstream? S1 (4:16)
Great interview with Tony Dukoupil.



https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/hate-rising-white-supremacy-in-america/
Hate Rising: White Supremacy in America

AUGUST 21, 2017, 10:07 PM| White supremacists in the U.S. are growing in number, and changing their tactics. To go mainstream, they're organising to run for local office. What's behind their rise? Tony Dukoupil investigates for "CBSN: On Assignment"
VIDEO ONLY.



THIS IS A FULL-LENGTH WRITTEN ARTICLE WITH A VIDEO. THIS QUOTATION SAYS IT ALL: “A RECENT HUFFPOST/YOUGOV POLL FOUND THAT TRUMP VOTERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BELIEVE THAT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WHITES IS WORSE THAN DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ANY OTHER GROUP." WHAT NONSENSE. THEY HOLD NEARLY EVERY PUBLIC OFFICE IN NEARLY EVERY GOVERNMENT FROM THE CITY TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WHAT THE HECK DO THEY WANT?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hate-rising-cbsn-on-assignment/
By LAUREN MELTZER, TONY DOKOUPIL CBS NEWS August 21, 2017, 5:57 PM
Hate Rising: White supremacy's rise in the U.S.

43 Photos -- Rallies across U.S. protest white supremacists

"In all of our years of tracking, we've never seen this many [hate] groups," Heidi Beirich told CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil. Beirich is the director of Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) Intelligence Project, which monitors hate group activity online. "We've never seen their ideas penetrating the mainstream the way they are. I would say most Americans don't realize how much of this there is."

Explore more stories from "CBSN: On Assignment"

It's been a little over a week since neo-Nazis marched in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting "Jews will not replace us." In the intervening days, debate has raged over just how America's national conversation has become a real-time discussion of white supremacy and its place in the U.S., muddied by President Trump's ambiguity on the matter. The groups in question -- who openly espouse racist views and have felt newly emboldened since the recent presidential campaign -- find themselves pushing into the mainstream.

Dokoupil traveled to Alabama for "CBSN: On Assignment" to speak with Beirich, before heading to Boston for last weekend's rally.

The flashpoints of this debate have been, for once, out in the open -- manifesting as public protests and counter-protests in the streets of major cities. Saturday saw a so-called "free speech" protest on Boston Common, organized by right-wing elements but dwarfed by its anti-supremacy counter-protest from the left. A similar, if smaller, pair of gatherings clashed in a shouting match in Laguna Beach, California.

Tensions escalate as hate groups proliferate in America
Play VIDEO
Tensions escalate as hate groups proliferate in America

The nation witnessed what's considered one of the largest white supremacy marches in decades as hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Charlottesville. During the rally, a car rammed into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters, injuring dozens and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. All this against a backdrop of a national debate around the rights and wrongs of maintaining statues that celebrate the Confederacy.

The SPLC estimates that there are currently more than 900 hate groups -- organizations with beliefs that attack an entire group of people -- operating in the country. Many of these hate groups subscribe to the ideals of white supremacy.

In fact, Beirich says the number of hate groups has doubled over the past two decades -- a trend that appears to follow the impact minorities, financial crisis and political elections have on society.

According to the SPLC, there's a new generation of so-called white nationalism being run by millennials. Matt Heimbach, one of the main organizers of the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, is the face of this movement.

"Well, we have energy, I think, because Donald Trump's election showed that the majority of white American's social, working class America believes in sovereignty," Heimbach told "CBSN: On Assignment."

Tense right-wing "free speech" rallies held in Boston
Play VIDEO
Tense right-wing "free speech" rallies held in Boston

Heimbach represents a minority who feel strongly that "white America" is under growing threat. A recent HuffPost/YouGov poll found that Trump voters are more likely to believe that discrimination against whites is worse than discrimination against any other group. In the aftermath of Charlottesville, white supremacists feel re-energized. Their goal: to infiltrate the mainstream.

Heimbach, along with many other self-proclaimed white supremacists, deny that the Holocaust ever happened. He says his intent is to create an all-white nation -- excluding African-Americans, Jews and homosexuals.

Starting this fall, Heimbach will begin recruiting candidates to run in local elections. At this time, he claims about 1,000 people have joined his political party.

"We're going to be running through our local school board, for county council," he said. "Being able to have an influence in the community to show nationalists can have better governments than the two broken political parties."