December 17, 2017


News and Views

TODAY’S READERSHIP STATISTICS SHOT UP IN THE 300 RANGE TODAY, WHICH I HAVE LEARNED USUALLY MEANS THAT THERE IS A VERY SERIOUS STORY TO BE COVERED. SINCE THE HITS WERE MAINLY FROM GERMANY, I WENT SEARCHING FOR GERMAN NEWS. THERE ARE SEVERAL STORIES, BUT THIS MAY BE THE MOST INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT. IT TELLS ABOUT RECENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN GERMANY BECAUSE PRESIDENT TRUMP RECOGNIZED JERUSALEM RECENTLY AS THE CAPITOL CITY OF ISRAEL. THIS FOLLOWS ON THE HEELS OF TWO PROMINENT BRITONS WHO YESTERDAY HAVE PUBLICLY WARNED HIM THAT TO DO SO IS LIKELY TO CAUSE MORE STRIFE.

https://www.rt.com/news/413455-anti-semitism-germany-commissioner/
Minister joins calls for anti-Semitism czar in Germany’s next government
Published time: 17 Dec, 2017 15:33

Photograph -- © Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

Germany’s acting interior minister has lent his support to the creation of an anti-Semitism commissioner in the country’s next government.

Thomas de Maiziere nailed his colors to the mast in an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, following demonstrations in Berlin in which people protesting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel were reportedly seen burning the Israeli flag. The creation of the role was also recommended by Germany’s Central Council of Jews as well as an independent panel of experts.

“A single crime motivated by anti-Semitism is one too many and shameful for our country,” he told the paper. “Hatred towards Jews must never be allowed to take hold of Germany again.” De Maziere also said that Germany “cannot tolerate” the burning of another country’s flag as it constitutes “the symbolic annihilation of a country’s right to exist.”

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Berlin police ban US & Israeli flags at protests, tighten control over pro-Palestinian demos https://on.rt.com/8uy9

4:30 PM - Dec 15, 2017
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US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital sparked protests outside the US Embassy in central Berlin and in Neukoelln, a borough of the German capital known for its high concentration of immigrants.

Last week German police took to Twitter to advise against bringing US or Israeli flags along to protest rallies against the Jerusalem decision. “Any dangerous objects as well as the US and Israeli flags are not allowed at the demo,” the Berlin police wrote in a Twitter post ahead of a pro-Palestinian rally on Friday. The police also warned potential rally participants that the officers would carry out personal searches and would be accompanied by interpreters to monitor for “offensive utterances.”

READ MORE: 'Sky hasn't fallen': Haley downplays Middle East turmoil after Trump's Jerusalem decision

“Burning a flag is not a crime, whether it be Israeli or American or from any other nation” Berlin police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf explained to broadcaster Deutsche Welle. “The only exception is, for instance, when a flag is taken from an official building such as an embassy and burned.”

Three months on from its election in September, Germany is still without a functioning government. Not having won a majority, Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Christian Democratic Union leader, has been frustrated in her attempts to enter into a coalition with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU).

One of the main sticking points in negotiations is immigration, which the CSU wants to limit to 200,000 people in the coming year.


THIS NEXT DOES APPEAR TO BE ANOTHER SCANDAL. IT DOESN’T DAMN THE DEMOCRATS OR THE MUELLER TEAM, HOWEVER, EXCEPT THAT IF EVERYTHING HERE IS CORRECT, SOME MEMBER OF THE MUELLER TEAM FAILED TO ROUTE THE EMAIL REQUEST TO THE TRUMP FOR AMERICA ORGANIZATION, BUT SENT IT DIRECTLY TO THE GSA, INSTEAD. THE GSA, EITHER MADE AN ERROR OR DIDN’T KNOW OF THE PRIOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN TRUMP AND MUELLER GROUPS AND SENT THE E-MAILS OVER TO MUELLER ON A THUMBDRIVE. THE GSA OFTEN HOLDS RECORDS OF THE EXECUTIVE AS A PART OF THEIR REGULAR FUNCTIONING, IN ITS’ OWN COMPUTER SYSTEM. SEE THE INFO ON THE GSA FUNCTIONS IN THE ARTICLE BELOW. AS AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY, THE PRESIDENT MAY NOT HAVE THE FULL POWER TO HIRE AND FIRE WITHOUT SENATE APPROVAL.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/special-counsel-robert-mueller-gets-access-to-thousands-of-trump-transition-emails-ap/
CBS/AP December 16, 2017, 9:22 PM
Special Counsel Robert Mueller gets access to thousands of Trump transition emails - AP

WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian contacts with President Donald Trump's campaign has gained access to thousands of emails sent and received by Trump officials before the start of his administration, according to several people familiar with Trump's transition organization. But the investigators did not directly request the records from Trump's still-existing transition group, Trump for America, and instead obtained them from a separate federal agency that stored the material, according to those familiar with the Trump transition organization.

CBS News poll: Americans split on Russia investigation
Analysis: Mueller investigation "should make you very nervous" if you have something to hide

A transition attorney sent letters Saturday to two congressional committees saying the General Services Administration had improperly provided the transition records to Mueller's investigators. Kory Langhofer, general counsel for the transition group, wrote to the Republican chairmen of the House Oversight committee and the Senate Homeland Security committee about what the transition contends was an "unauthorized" disclosure of its emails.

The GSA has provided office space and other aid to presidential transitions in recent years and typically houses electronic transition records in its computer system. But Trump for America considers the records private and privileged and not government property.

The people familiar with the transition organization spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the records' sensitivity.

On Sunday morning, a spokesman for the special counsel's office, Peter Carr, responded to allegations that the emails had been obtained improperly.

"When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal process," Carr said.

They said the materials included communications from more than a dozen senior Trump transition officials. Among the officials who used transition email accounts was former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to a count of making false statements to FBI agents in January and is now cooperating with Mueller's investigation. Flynn was fired by Trump in February for misleading senior administration officials about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.

It's unclear how revelatory the email accounts maintained by the GSA will be for Mueller. Several high-level Trump advisers sometimes used other email accounts to communicate about transition issues between Election Day and the inauguration.

Mueller's spokesman, Peter Carr, declined to comment. Jay Sekulow, an attorney on Trump's personal legal team, referred questions to the transition group. Neither GSA representatives nor Flynn attorney Robert Kelner were immediately available to respond to AP's emailed requests for comment.

Officials with Trump for America learned last Wednesday that GSA officials had turned over the massive cache of emails to Mueller's team. The transition group's top officials were alarmed because many of the emails that Mueller's investigators now have are sensitive records ranging from national security discussions about possible Trump international aims to candid assessments of candidates for top government posts, said those familiar with the transition.

Officials with Trump for America had been bracing for months for the prospect that Mueller's team would demand its emails, but they had been assured that any requests to the GSA would be routed to the transition organization, which claims legal ownership of the records. According to those familiar with the transition group, a top GSA official informed Trump for America last June that any request from Mueller's office would be referred to the transition.

On Sept. 1, after requests in late August from Mueller's office, the GSA turned over a flash drive containing tens of thousands of records without informing Trump for America of its move, those familiar with the transition said.

Those records included emails sent and received by 13 senior Trump transition officials.

The media site Axios* first reported on the transfer of the emails to Mueller's team.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


AXIOS* -- THE SOURCE OF THE SCOOP ON MISDIRECTED EMAIL REQUEST AND THE COMPLIANCE OF THE GSA

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/axios/

LEFT-CENTER BIAS

These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation. See all Left-Center sources.

Factual Reporting: HIGH

Notes: AXIOS Media or Axios is a news and information company started in 2016 by Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, former Chief White House correspondent at Politico, Mike Allen, and former Politico Chief Revenue Officer Roy Schwartz. Axios is well sourced and factual. Has a left-Center political bias in story selection. (2/1/2017)


https://newrepublic.com/article/142441/axios-donald-trump-made
Axios and Donald Trump Are Made For Each Other
Mike Allen's scoop-generating newsletter is the perfect vehicle for the nonstop chatter coming from the White House.
BY ALEX SHEPHARD
May 2, 2017

Axios—the brainchild of Politico veterans Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen—has now existed for a hair over 100 days. It launched just before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and it’s tempting to see Axios as being joined to his ample hip. If there is a single news organization that reflects the odd times in which we live, Axios is it.

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Of course, it’s likely that Axios will look very different 100 days from now. “I think that we’re all fools to judge any publication by its first 100 days,” Politico’s media columnist Jack Shafer told me. “I’m sure if you went back to the first 100 days of Politico you would not be very impressed.” But in many ways, the site has been impressive, emerging fully formed as a scoop-generating, light-on-its-feet news organ that speaks in the dialect of its moment. The problem is with the dialect itself.

This is best exemplified by Allen’s credulous approach to journalism. His proudly nonpartisan stance (he claims to have no ideology, and I absolutely take his word for it) is a throwback in this hyper-partisan age, as well as a double-edged sword. It allows Axios—particularly through its flagship newsletter, the successor to Allen’s agenda-setting Playbook at Politico—to present an often unvarnished account of what the White House is thinking. When the administration is in the midst of yet another debacle, this can be extremely useful. But in a White House where everyone is trying to kill each other and is lying every second of every day, the newsletter can read like a transcription of the delusions of the powerful.

This tendency would appear to be a part of Axios’s DNA. On November 30, 2016, VandeHei and Allen unveiled their great project, which they had been working on since they parted ways with Politico earlier that year. “Media is broken—and too often a scam,” VandeHei wrote in a mission statement that was labeled a manifesto, one of the company’s many genuflections to Silicon Valley. The manifesto contains numerous complaints about contemporary journalism. Stories are too boring. (They should be punchy.) They are also too long. (They should be shorter, unlike the manifesto, which is pretty long.) Websites are messy. (This is true!) “Readers and advertisers alike are too often afterthoughts.” (This one is also true, but it tellingly puts readers and advertisers on the same plane.)

Axios is driven by a style of reaching the modern (business)man in a hurry.

Before the site launched, VandeHei said that he wanted it to be a mix between The Economist and Twitter, a meaningless description that surely destroyed with the venture capitalist set. (Another thing sure to have appealed to the VC crowd: Axios’s name, which we’re told means “worthy” in Greek. If media doesn’t work out, Axios could sell its moniker to a defense contractor startup.) But if you see these brands as metaphors—one meaning “old and authoritative” and the other meaning “new and fast”—you get a sense of what Axios wants to be: It is foremost a business and technology website that reportedly charges $10,000 a year to subscribers for its market-moving insights and scoops. Just last month, Axios launched its fifth vertical, which covers the energy sector. And over the course of its existence the company has hired a host of well-respected reporters, including David Nather and Dan Primack.

That said, its political coverage remains its most visible product. Allen’s newsletter is the face of the enterprise, and it guides the style and tone of the rest of the venture. The election of Donald Trump suggests that VandeHei’s manifesto isn’t wrong: People really are sick of business as usual, especially from corporate media outlets that are beholden to either ratings or their sponsors. But that doesn’t mean that Axios, which is sponsored by several large corporations—BP, Walmart, and Koch Industries are “launch partners”—is the answer. (Of course, Axios is hardly the only media company wrapped in corporate tentacles.)

It certainly doesn’t treat the powerful with all that much skepticism. Donald Trump, for instance, has yet to make a significant deal in office and has been removed from much of the horse-trading on the Hill, but he is nevertheless referred to again and again as a “dealmaker” and a “salesman.”

Rather, it’s driven by a style of reaching the modern (business)man in a hurry. Allen seems to be the godfather of that style. He is enormously energetic, both as a journalist and as a writer, and that comes through in his prose. Within two weeks, for instance, Allen and reporter Jonathan Swan used the phrases “popped the shocker” and “popped a meaty interview,” respectively, both of which made my eyes bug out of my head. But awkward, energetic phrases are Allen’s stock-in trade and they’ve become Axios’s too. “Mike Allen is still very good at doing that thing,” Shafer said.

Similarly, most Axios stories are between 200 and 400 words.” I think that short is a good guideline,” Shafer told me. “Without being critical of Axios I would say that writing intelligently is the real thing to shoot for*—if you can do it in 250 words, god bless you.” Axios’s goal appears to be to make every post short enough to be fully read, not skimmed. The information is arranged like a memo. In fact, it’s not dissimilar to Trump’s reported dictum that all briefings fit on one page and include no more than nine bullet points—if it’s good enough for Trump, it’s good enough for Axios, I guess.

The problem is that contextualizing information is one of journalism’s most important duties, and the Axios model has almost no room for context. Every post feels like a briefing, but if you’re hungry for more information there’s nowhere else to go. “One of the main challenges for me in following this administration is that there is so much information and there are so many tweets and quotes,” Laura Hazard Owen, the deputy editor of the Nieman Journalism Lab, told me. “Bullet points are less helpful in that context because there’s no narrative: It’s just information being thrown at you all the time. If there’s no organizing theme, it just becomes a laundry list of things.”

Many items do end with a bit of analysis—a takeaway labeled “why it matters,” “what it means,” or “the bottom line.” Here, for instance is why the speech Trump gave on Saturday marking his 100th day in office matters: “This remarkable speech shows Trump’s inside-outside game. Inside, he’s sculpting his 100-days narrative and giving a raft of interviews, assuring Beltway reporters that he knows they still matter.... On the road, journalists are his go-to foil.” Allen ends with a bullet point of advice: “Be smart: Don’t over-interpret either half.”

Still, Axios deifies one type of journalism (scoop generation) at the expense of another (context), and the result is a blinkered experience. In this respect, Donald Trump and Mike Allen are almost perfect for one another. Trump generates a ton of chatter and Allen is an excellent stenographer of chatter.

Trump generates a ton of chatter and Allen is an excellent stenographer of chatter.

The best parts of his newsletters are often (always anonymous) quotes from powerful people. In a breathless entry filed after Trump’s well-received speech before a joint session of Congress, one aide told Allen, “For once, we had the wind at our sails. We decided not to sh*t on ourselves.” That’s a good quote! But the problem with being a stenographer for the powerful is that many of these powerful people are extremely full of it. Furthermore, you have a White House with so many conflicting voices that it makes Rashomon look like an open-and-shut case. Yet Allen dutifully reports their words, which are then shuttled to your inbox before 7 AM.

This ethos bleeds into Axios’s other coverage as well. It’s more invested in technology and Silicon Valley than its business-oriented competitors like The Wall Street Journal—there are lots of features on Elon Musk and the coming AI apocalypse—but no one would confuse it for The Verge, let alone Gizmodo. Which is to say it has invested heavily in getting the kinds of scoops that investors care about—the kinds that will make them money—not necessarily in shedding an unflattering light on some of the most powerful and wealthiest people in the world.

This is a recipe for bad journalism, yes. But it also goes against the grain of what traditional news outlets are betting on. As far as the average consumer goes, skepticism sells, resulting in subscription surges for the likes of The New York Times. “Serious investigative reporting from The New York Times and The Washington Post is really important now,” Hazard Owen told me. “That has the ability to change the narrative.” Still, investors are a valuable commodity for a news organization because they will pay lots of money to get information before other people—the Bloomberg model—and because as an audience they command more advertising dollars.

As it builds its empire, the danger for Axios is that it could become a publication for powerful, important people by powerful, important people. There are too many incentives for it to continue to transcribe the talking points of moguls in big business and politics. At a time when the two are dangerously intertwined, a credulous publication becomes dangerous as well.

Alex Shephard is a staff writer at The New Republic.
@alex_shephard


IMPORTANT TERMS AND BODIES IN THE ARTICLES ABOVE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Services_Administration
General Services Administration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The General Services Administration (GSA), an independent agency* of the United States government, was established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. government offices, provides transportation and office space to federal employees, and develops government-wide cost-minimizing policies and other management tasks.[4]

........ History[edit]

In 1947 President Harry Truman asked former President Herbert Hoover to lead what became known as the Hoover Commission to make recommendations to reorganize the operations of the federal government. One of the recommendations of the commission was the establishment of an "Office of the General Services." This proposed office would combine the responsibilities of the following organizations:

....... GSA became an independent agency on July 1, 1949, after the passage of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. General Jess Larson, Administrator of the War Assets Administration, was named GSA's first Administrator.

The first job awaiting Administrator Larson and the newly formed GSA was a complete renovation of the White House. The structure had fallen into such a state of disrepair by 1949 that one inspector of the time said the historic structure was standing “purely from habit.” . . . .


Structure[edit]

The Administrator of General Services is the chief executive of the agency. Tim Horne was named Acting Administrator on January 20, 2017.[20] GSA consists of three major services: the Public Buildings Service (PBS), the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), and the Technology Transformation Service (TTS).[3]

In addition to these three major services, the agency also consists of twelve staff offices and two independent agencies.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_agencies_of_the_United_States_government
Independent agencies of the United States government
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President.[1] In a more narrow sense, the term may also be used to describe agencies that, while constitutionally part of the executive branch, are independent of presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited.[citation needed]

Established through separate statutes passed by the Congress, each respective statutory grant of authority defines the goals the agency must work towards, as well as what substantive areas, if any, over which it may have the power of rulemaking. These agency rules (or regulations), when in force, have the power of federal law.

Independent agencies can be distinguished from the federal executive departments and other executive agencies by their structural and functional characteristics.[2] Congress can also designate certain agencies explicitly as "independent" in the governing statute, but the functional differences have more legal significance.[3]

While most executive agencies have a single director, administrator, or secretary appointed by the President of the United States, independent agencies (in the narrower sense of being outside presidential control) almost always have a commission, board, or similar collegial body consisting of five to seven members who share power over the agency.[2] (This is why many independent agencies include the word "Commission" or "Board" in their name.) The president appoints the commissioners or board members, subject to Senate confirmation, but they often serve terms that are staggered and longer than a four-year presidential term,[4] meaning that most presidents will not have the opportunity to appoint all the commissioners of a given independent agency. The president can normally designate which commissioner will serve as the chairperson.[4] Normally there are statutory provisions limiting the president's authority to remove commissioners, typically for incapacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or other good cause.[5] In addition, most independent agencies have a statutory requirement of bipartisan membership on the commission, so the president cannot simply fill vacancies with members of his own political party.[4]

In reality, the high turnover rate among these commissioners or board members means that most presidents have the opportunity to fill enough vacancies to constitute a voting majority on each independent agency commission within the first two years of the first term as president.[6]


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-john-mccain-returns-to-arizona-will-miss-vote-on-gop-tax-bill/
CBS NEWS December 17, 2017, 3:00 PM
Sen. John McCain returns to Arizona, will miss vote on GOP tax bill

Republican Sen. John McCain is returning to Arizona after spending several days in a Maryland hospital recovering from side effects from chemotherapy treatment for brain cancer, CBS News has learned.

McCain left Washington Sunday and is heading back to his home state to spend the holidays with his family. He will not be on hand for the final vote on the GOP tax passage expected for early this week. It is unclear when McCain might return to Washington.

Despite a razor-thin margin needed to pass the measure, McCain's presence will not likely be the determining factor in the vote. Two critical senators -- Bob Corker of Tennessee and Marco Rubio of Florida -- announced their support for the bill last week after initially saying they would oppose earlier versions.

Here are the details of the final GOP tax bill
GOP leaders aim to hold floor votes this week, with the House expected to take up the measure first on Tuesday.

McCain, 81, has been receiving treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, since Wednesday. His son-in-law said on "Face the Nation" Sunday that McCain had been "in good spirits."

"I'm happy to say that he's doing well. The truth is that as anyone knows whose family has battled cancer or any significant disease that oftentimes there are side effects of treatment that you have. The senator has been through a round of chemo and he was hospitalized this week at Walter Reed," said Ben Domenech, a conservative writer and husband of Meghan McCain.

McCain was admitted to the hospital for what his office called "normal side effects" of his cancer treatment.

A Senate Armed Services Committee hearing opened Thursday without McCain in the chairman's seat and members of the panel unsure when he'd return to Congress.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second most senior Republican, told reporters last week that he expected McCain to be back after "resting up."

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close friend of McCain, likewise said he had "not focused on the tax bill right now when it comes to Sen. McCain. I'm focused on his health."

The White House said President Trump called Cindy McCain on Friday to send his best wishes and check in on the family.

Now in his sixth Senate term, McCain underwent surgery in mid-July to remove a blood clot from above his left eye after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor called a glioblastoma, the same disease that killed Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy.

McCain's diagnosis, however did not prevent him from participating in another key vote -- the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

McCain's vote was a critical factor in the failure of the Republicans' efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act in July. McCain was one of only three GOP senators to vote against the measure, which came in dramatic fashion in the early morning hours.

When reporters asked why he cast a "no" vote on , McCain's response was simple: "I thought it was the right thing to do." Shortly after the dramatic vote, he returned home to Arizona to begin radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

But McCain's condition has appeared to worsen lately. He suffered a minor tear in his right Achilles tendon, forcing him to wear a walking brace. He eventually began using a wheelchair with members of his staff assisting him.

Some of the symptoms of glioblastoma, according to CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook, include headache, general malaise, visual problems and speech problems.

McCain is not the only senator sidelined by health problems. Sen. Thad Cochran, 80, of Mississippi, had a non-melanoma lesion removed from his nose earlier this week.

A spokesman for Cochran told CBS News last week that the senator went through an outpatient procedure and "is doing well and is available for votes as needed."

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO KNOW WHAT THE LATEST TRUMP/PUTIN PHONE CALL WAS ABOUT, THIS IS IT. OF COURSE WE DON’T KNOW IF THAT WAS ALL THEY DISCUSSED, BUT HEADS OF GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONFER FROM TIME TO TIME.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kremlin-says-putin-thanked-trump-for-cia-tip-on-bombings/
CBS/AP December 17, 2017, 12:23 PM
Kremlin says Putin thanked Trump for CIA tip on bombings

Photograph -- Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a news conference after BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Xiamen, China, Sept. 5, 2017. REUTERS/KREMLIN HANDOUT

Russian President Vladimir Putin called U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday to thank him for a CIA tip that helped thwart a series of bombings in St. Petersburg, the Kremlin said.

Putin expressed gratitude during the call for information provided by the CIA that allowed Russia's top domestic security agency to track down and arrest a group of suspects that was planning to bomb Kazan Cathedral and other crowded sites, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin added that Putin asked Trump to convey gratitude to the CIA and assured him that Russian law enforcement agencies would hand over any information they get about potential terror threats against the United States, as they have done in the past.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the call had taken place and tweeted that a full readout of the call would be released.


Sarah Sanders
✔
@PressSec
Can confirm @POTUS and President Putin spoke today. Readout from the WH coming shortly. https://twitter.com/zekejmiller/status/942433950806536192 …

11:59 AM - Dec 17, 2017
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The conversation was the second phone call between the two leaders since Thursday, when Trump thanked Putin for his remarks "acknowledging America's strong economic performance," according to the White House.

During the first call, they also discussed during ways to work together to address North Korea's nuclear and ballistic weapons program, the White House said.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, announced Friday that seven suspected followers of the Islamic State group had been arrested for allegedly planning to carry out terror attacks in St. Petersburg this weekend.

The agency said the suspects were plotting a suicide bombing in a church and a series of other explosions in the city's busiest areas this coming weekend on IS orders. It said a search of a St. Petersburg apartment found explosives, automatic weapons and extremist literature.

Russian news reports said that the Kazan Cathedral was the prime target.

Russian TV stations ran footage of FSB operatives outside an apartment building detaining a suspect, who was later shown confessing that he was told to prepare homemade bombs rigged with shrapnel.

In a tweet following the leaders' call, the Kremlin released photos of the arrests in their own readout of the phone call.

View image on Twitter
Russia in USA 🇷🇺
✔
@RusEmbUSA
Vladimir Putin has thanked @POTUS Donald Trump for @CIA🇺🇸 information that helped arrest terrorist who had plotted bomb attacks in St. Petersburg’s Kazan Cathedral
➡️ https://www.facebook.com/RusEmbUSA/posts/718333071710419 …

12:30 PM - Dec 17, 2017
25 25 Replies 161 161 Retweets 222 222 likes
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The reports included footage of a metal container, which the suspects used as a laboratory for making explosives, according to the FSB. Another video showed operatives breaking the doors and raiding an apartment used by other suspects.

Last week, the FSB said it also arrested several IS-linked suspects in Moscow, where they allegedly were plotting a series of suicide bombings over New Year's.

In April, a suicide bombing in the St. Petersburg's subway left 16 dead and wounded more than 50.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doug-jones-talks-about-alabama-senate-victory/
CBS NEWS December 17, 2017, 10:24 AM
Doug Jones on Senate victory: "Old Alabama" lost to "New Alabama"

Democrat Doug Jones made headlines last Tuesday winning the election for U.S. Senate in Alabama.
This morning, the Senator-elect has some questions to answer from Manuel Bojorquez:

Even after Roy Moore faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, some involving teenagers, many political experts thought the Republican -- who rode his horse in to cast his vote last week -- could still ride off to victory.

But they didn't ask Doug Jones -- now the first Democratic Senator from Alabama in decades.

doug-jones-interview-promo.jpg
Doug Jones, the Democratic Senator-elect from Alabama. CBS NEWS
How did he do it? "People forget that, you know, a Republican didn't send anybody to the Senate for over 100 years before; that changed," Jones said. "And it changes one election at a time."

Bojorquez asked, "Do you think you would've won had the Washington Post not broken the story about the sexual misconduct allegations against Roy Moore?"

"Yes," Jones replied. "I think we would've beaten him. We were getting traction. We were being inclusive and talking about issues that people care about."

His stunning win in deep-red Alabama came by about 20,000 votes -- that slim margin of victory thanks to Republicans who rejected Moore with write-in votes, and a significant turnout by African-Americans.

Alabama Senate race: Doug Jones wins, but Roy Moore isn't conceding (CBS News, 12/13/17)
How Doug Jones beat Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race (CBS News, 12/13/17)
Alabama voters, senators react to Doug Jones' Senate victory (CBS News, 12/13/17)
Roy Moore tells supporters "battle is not over" in Alabama's Senate race (CBS News, 12/16/17)
Bojorquez asked Jones about his victory speech last Tuesday: "You got up there and said, 'I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for this, and now, I don't know what the hell to say.' Is it because you were so surprised, shocked?"

"No, I was just kind of overcome," said Jones. "It was just being out on that stage and seeing that little sea of people that when you look across there, it represented Alabama."

Democratic Senate Candidate Doug Jones Holds Election Night Watch Party In Birmingham
Senator-elect Doug Jones and his wife, Louise Jones, greet supporters during his election night gathering at the Sheraton Hotel on December 12, 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. Jones defeated his republican challenger Roy Moore to claim Alabama's U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
So who is Doug Jones?

The 63-year-old grew up in Fairfield, Alabama, when the South was still segregated. His interest in social justice led him to become a lawyer.

In 1997 he was appointed U.S. Attorney, and he decided to take on a case that had been unresolved for decades: the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four African-American girls. He prosecuted two of the Klansmen who were involved – a fact that became a prominent part of this year's campaign.

"It seemed to have resonated," said Bojorquez.

"It did," said Jones. "It was important for everyone in the state. When you're on the right side of history, you can accomplish a lot of things."

Prosecuting that case earned him comparisons to another Alabama attorney, Atticus Finch, the moral hero in the classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," which Jones called "incredibly flattering."

He showed Bojorquez his autographed copy of the book signed by Harper Lee. "And she put on there, 'To Doug Jones, with admiration.' That's a real prize!"

But Jones says he's still a red-state Democrat. He a gun owner and hunter, and a strong Second Amendment supporter; and while he would not vote for the current GOP tax bill, he does favor lowering the corporate tax rate.

He says his win is proof his "Sweet Home Alabama" wants more from politicians.

Bojorquez said, "One of your supporters who was out canvassing, we interviewed him, [and] he said this is old Alabama versus new Alabama."

"I think that that's a good description," Jones said.

"What is 'old Alabama'?"

"Old Alabama is nothing but divisive politics -- demagogues that try to divide us. You know, we are still living with all of the images in black and white, and of the George Wallace era, and the Roy Moores, to be honest with you.

"I am here for all people. And Alabama is changing. Alabama is getting more diverse every day. … That's the new Alabama."

While he still hasn't heard from Roy Moore, Jones says he got a gracious phone call from President Trump congratulating him on Election Night -- and says he knows, even in victory, he now has a lot of Alabamians to win over.

Jones said, "I can work with the president. I can work with people in my own party. And when I talk about reaching across the aisle, there's probably a fair amount of issues I want to reach inside the Democratic caucus, to try to pull them a little bit more to make sure that they know that the people of Alabama might need a little bit different direction."

"That sounds great. But given the current political climate, is it possible?"

"It's as possible as a snow in December in Alabama, or a long-shot Democrat getting elected from a deep red state!"

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



PEOPLE CAN SAY ALL THEY WANT ABOUT HOW PIT BULLS ARE REALLY GREAT DOGS, BUT I WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO DISAGREE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bethany-lynn-stephens-mauled-to-death-by-her-dogs-while-taking-them-for-a-walk-police-say/
CBS NEWS December 17, 2017, 1:50 PM
Woman mauled to death by her dogs while on a walk, police say

Photograph -- Bethany Lynn Stephens WTKR

GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. -- Police say a 22-year-old woman found dead in Virginia was mauled to death by her dogs, CBS affiliate WTKR reports.

Bethany Lynn Stephens' body was discovered in the woods on Thursday night, Goochland County Sheriff James Agnew said. Her father had called police around 8:20 p.m. when he went searching for her where she usually walked her dogs, Agnew said.

The two dogs each weigh more than 100 pounds, WTKR reports. Police described them as pit bulls.

Police said the dogs appeared to be guarding Bethany's body and officers spent 60 to 90 minutes trying to catch them. The victim's body was taken to the medical examiner's office.

"It appeared the attack was a violent attack initiated by the victims' dogs while the victim was out for a walk with the dogs," Agnew said of the medical examiner's initial report. "The victim had defensive wounds on her hands and arms trying to keep the dogs away from her, which would be consistent with being attacked while she was still alive."

The first traumatic injuries she suffered were to her throat and face, Agnew said. "It appears she was taken to the ground, lost consciousness, and the dogs then mauled her to death," he added.

Agnew said the investigation is ongoing but there were no strangulation marks on her body and the incident was not ruled a homicide. The dogs are with Goochland Animal Control and the sheriff's office will pursue euthanization.

"It was an absolutely grisly mauling," he added. "In my 40 years of law enforcement I've never seen anything quite like it. I hope I never see anything like it again."


© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


KING COAL*

I REALLY DO LOVE THE TRULY SMALL TOWNS THAT USED TO DOT THE SOUTHERN US COUNTRYSIDE. I GREW UP IN WHAT WAS TECHNICALLY A SMALL CITY. AN OLD CENSUS SAID THAT DURING THE EARLY 1950S WHEN I WAS YOUNG WE HAD BETWEEN TEN AND FIFTEEN THOUSAND PEOPLE. MADRID, NM HAD AT THE TIME OF THE COAL BOOM SOME 3000 PEOPLE, AND AFTER WWII THE DEMAND FOR COAL WAS DOWN, SO THE JOBS WERE DOWN, ALSO. IN 2010, AFTER BEING “REPOPULATED,” IT WAS 204. IN THE 1970S THE BOOMERS PRODUCED A BATCH OF HIPPIES AND ARTISTS WHO WANTED TO LIVE IN A SLOWER AND MORE SCENIC PLACE, SO THEY MOVED THERE. THE ARTICLE DIDN’T SAY HOW MANY CITIZENS THERE ARE NOW, BUT WITH AN ASSUMED INCREASE, IT IS PERHAPS 225, WOULD YOU SAY? IF I LIVE LONG ENOUGH AND I WIN THE LOTTERY, I WANT TO TOUR THE LITTLE BACKWATERS OF THE US BY CAR ALONG THE SMALL UNDEVELOPED STATE ROADS. TOWNS LIKE THAT ARE BEAUTIFUL TO ME. IT’S LIKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WILD FLOWERS AND HOT HOUSE ROSES.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Coal
King Coal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

King Coal is a 1917 novel by Upton Sinclair that describes the poor working conditions in the coal mining industry in the western United States during the 1910s, from the perspective of a single protagonist, Hal Warner. As in his earlier work, The Jungle, Sinclair uses the novel to express his socialist viewpoint. The book is based on the 1913-1914 Colorado coal strikes and written just after the Ludlow massacre. The sequel to King Coal was posthumously published under the title, The Coal War


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-ghost-towns-christmas-past-madrid-new-mexico/
CBS NEWS December 17, 2017, 10:57 AM
A ghost town's Christmas past

'TIS THE SEASON for visitors to flock to the town of Madrid, New Mexico for a close-up look at its unusual take on Christmas. Conor Knighton is just back:

Welcome to the tiny town of Madrid, New Mexico, where the 300-odd residents (emphasis on the odd) proudly march to the beat of their own drummer in their annual off-beat Christmas parade.

"The tone of the parade and the speed is set by the yak," said Tina Walker. "So it depends: if the yak's in a fast mood, then the parade will go faster. If the yak's in a slow mood, then the parade will go slower."

For a few brief moments every December ("Normally, it's about eight minutes!" laughed Don Cloud), this two-lane stretch of Highway 14 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is taken over by a rag-tag collection of hippie trailers and buses, led by a red-nosed yak.

Because, well, why not?

madrid-new-mexico-christmas-parade-led-by-a-red-nosed-yak-620.jpg
Madrid's annual Christmas Parade, led by a red-nosed yak. CBS NEWS

Visitors come to gawk, but really, this is for the locals. They love throwing parties.

Just ask Santa Claus: "Yeah, well, of course we're a tourist town. Or as they say, we're a 'drinking town with a tourist problem.'"

Today, Madrid is known as its funky shops and boutiques. But each winter, the twinkling lights on these old wooden homes are a reminder of what first made Madrid famous. It's a window into a ghost town's Christmas past.

Madrid was once a bustling coal town, run by the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company. At its peak in the 1930s, the mine was churning out a couple of hundred thousands tons of coal a year. "As the town grew with the coal mining operation, they actually had up to 3,000 people here at one time," said Melinda Bonewell, who runs the Old Coal Town Museum, which pays tribute to Madrid's coal-fueled history.

madrid-nm-christmas-620.jpg
Madrid, New Mexico, was a coal mining town that electrified visitors in the 1930s with its Christmas light displays. CBS NEWS

A surprising number of its early residents were children. "It was kind of opposite of a lot of coal mining company-owned towns at the time," said Bonewell, "where there were whole families here. And they wanted activities for those families."

The town had access to cheap power, and so come Christmas time, Madrid sparkled. The miners built an electrified Christmas wonderland here.

Madrid's annual Christmas light displays gained national attention; up to 100,000 people would visit.

madrid-new-mexico-old-christmas-display-620.jpg
An old Madrid, N.M., Christmas display. CBS NEWS

"There was even reports of TWA Airlines flying over to see the lights," said Bonewell. "It was just so bright and spectacular that they re-routed their flights to see Madrid lights."

But as World War II broke out, Madrid's Christmas went dark. The miners went off to war, and when they returned, there was no longer the same demand for coal. The jobs weren't there.

So, said Bonewell, the buildings became ghost town buildings almost overnight: "They even left, like, silverware and dishes on the tables, and they just packed their cars and left."

There were a few failed attempts to sell the entire town, and Madrid was essentially abandoned -- until the 1970s, when it slowly began to be repopulated by a group of offbeat artists looking for cheap housing. "It was bikers and outlaws and artists and hippies," said Barbara Fail. "It was just a really good place to be."

Fail fell in love with Madrid, and moved here to pursue her art. She's now a proud "Madroid," and serves as President of the town's cultural preservation initiative.

"We've tried to come back, and do some of the cutouts, and some of things that were traditionally always here," she said.

madrid-new-mexico-christmas-lights-nativity-scene-620.jpg
A Nativity scene in Madrid, New Mexico. CBS NEWS

Most the old plywood cutouts and decorations are gone, and Madrid's modest light display isn't going to wow anyone in 2017. But it's a tribute to the miners who worked so hard to make this place special.

It harkens back to a time when the Merriest Christmas in the Southwest came courtesy of some lumps of coal.


For more info:

Visit Madrid, New Mexico
Madrid Old Coal Town Museum, Madrid, N.M.
Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway, New Mexico
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid,_New_Mexico
Madrid, New Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Madrid (/ˈmædrɪd/, Spanish: [maˈðɾið]) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 149 at the 2000 census and 204 in 2010.[1] Today, Madrid has become an artists' community with galleries lining New Mexico State Road 14 (the Turquoise Trail). It retains remnants of its history with the Mineshaft Tavern and the Coal Mine Museum.[citation needed]

History

Beginnings[edit]

Lead mines in the area around Madrid captured the interest of Roque Madrid* in the 17th century.[2] It is unclear whether the current name of the community comes from that of earlier residents or the capital of Spain.[2] The dominant English pronunciation of the name differs from that of the Spanish capital, with emphasis on the first syllable: MAD-rid.[2] Coal mining began in the area around 1835.[2]

Anthracite coal breaker and power house buildings, Madrid, circa 1935. Anthracite coal was preferred for passenger trains, as it burned cleaner.

The coal deposits were called the Cerrillos Coal Bank following the arrival in early 1880 of the New Mexico & Southern Pacific Railroad (as the AT&SF in New Mexico was organized), named after the nearby mining and railroad town of Cerrillos Station. After a dozen years at the Coal Bank of wildcat, unpermitted, and unorganized mining the AT&SF acquired the property on December 10, 1891, and through purposefully-created subsidiaries solidified its control. The Cerrillos Coal & Iron Co. developed the layout for the town, mines, and facilities, and the Cerrillos Coal Railroad Co. built the 6.25-mile standard gauge spur from the AT&SF main line at Waldo Junction.[citation needed]

In late August 1892, the spur finally terminated at the relatively new mining camp of Keeseeville (an illegal trespass settlement, however one whose 20-acre plat had been approved by Santa Fe County). At the site of Keeseeville, which the Cerrillos Coal Railroad co-opted, the town of Madrid was built. More accurately the Cerrillos Coal Railroad transported-in, section by section, prefabricated wooden miner's cabins from as far away as Topeka, Kansas; there were insufficient carpenters and suppliers in the region to provide the instant infrastructure that was needed for the town.[citation needed]

Madrid celebrated its "founding" in 1895. Since the town was for the next 80 years wholly owned by a series of corporations, the town itself was never incorporated.[citation needed] From the late 1940s, the demand for coal withered: Natural gas gradually replaced coal as the preferred home-heating fuel, and the AT&SF was replacing its coal-fired steam locomotives with diesel-electrics. By 1954 the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company ceased to operate and most of the residents moved away. The railroad spur was removed shortly thereafter.

Madrid Miners AA Minor League Baseball team[edit]
The Miners were started by the Madrid Employees Club and won many pennants. The Oscar Huber Ballpark was the first lighted ballpark west of the Mississippi in the 1920s.[3]

Geography[edit]
Madrid is located at 35°24′21″N 106°09′16″W (35.405833, -106.154498).[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2), all land.[citation needed]

Demographics[edit]
Ambox current red.svg

This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2014)

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 149 people, 82 households, and 27 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 105.0 people per square mile (40.5/km2). There were 103 housing units at an average density of 72.6 per square mile (28.0/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.93% White, 2.01% African American, 1.34% Native American, 4.03% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.81% of the population.

There were 82 households out of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.7% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 65.9% were non-families. 52.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.82 and the average family size was 2.68.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 16.8% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 36.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 109.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $21,905, and the median income for a family was $7,386. Males had a median income of $50,385 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,025. There were 52.4% of families and 19.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including 43.5% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

In popular culture[edit]
Film[edit]
The ending of the film Wild Hogs (2007) was set and filmed in the town.[citation needed]

Literature[edit]
Belinda Vasquez Garcia's novel, The Witch Narratives: Reincarnation (2012), is set in Madrid during the 1920s and 1930s when Madrid was a company-owned coal-mining town.[6][7]

Madrid and details about the town's attractions are mentioned in chapter 15 of A.J. DeWall's novel, Forever Man (2014).[8]

Television[edit]
In the opening scene of Breaking Bad (season 5) episode 14 ("Ozymandias"), Walter White takes a break after his first methamphetamine cook to phone his wife, Skyler, to suggest the family do something the show's creator (Vince Gilligan) says he and his girlfriend did:[9] "head up to Turquoise Trail and stop at Tinkertown, maybe grab some lunch in Madrid".[10]

Notable people[edit]
Mae Marsh, actress


ROQUE MADRID

https://sites.google.com/site/beyondoriginsofnmfamilies/nm-families-a-z/madrid
NM Families A-Z‎ > ‎
Madrid

Francisco de Madrid II (ONMF: 66), apparently a son of Francisco de Madrid I and María de la Vega Márquez, was identified by fray Angélico Chávez as the father of Lorenzo de Madrid, Roque de Madrid, Juan de Madrid, and possibly two others, Francisco III and Pedro (ONMF, 660; NMR, 1038, DM 1691, March 24, no. 3). The information provided by fray Angélico Chávez in Origins of New Mexico Families about Francisco de Madrid II is brief, and even the name of Madrid's wife is not identified.

Research into a number of records of the Inquisition for seventeenth century New Mexico has uncovered several pieces of additional information concerning Francisco de Madrid II. In 1662, he held the rank of sargento mayor and had been appointed as Comisario de Cavallos. On 6 September 1662, Francisco de Madrid provided testimony before officials of the Inquisition in Santa Fe and declared he was forty-nine years of age (born circa 1613), and named his wife as doña María de Albizu (AGN, Inquisición, tomo 593, folio 154-56). A month later, on 10 October 1662, he again gave Inquisition testimony in Santa Fe and this time he gave his age as forty-seven (born circa 1615) (AGN Galería No. 4, Concursos de Peñalosa, exp 605). In addition, he was identified as being castizo, meaning one of his parents was español and the other was mixed español-Indian (mestizo/mestiza) (AGN, Inquisición t. 587, f. 377).

According to Chávez, the wife of Francisco de Madrid II was a daughter of Juan Ruiz Cáceres. A pre-nuptial investigation record dated 24 March 1691 identifies Juan de Madrid as a son of Francisco de Madrid and Sebastiana Ruiz. Another pre-nuptial investigation record identifies Roque de Madrid as a son of Sebastiana Ruiz de Cáceres. It appears that Francisco was widowed of Sebastiana by September 1662 and was then married with doña María de Albizu, whose previous husband, Cristóbal Enríquez, was beheaded in 1643 for his role in the murder of Governor Rosas (ONMF, 28). It is not known if Francisco de Madrid and doña María de Albizu had any children during the course of their marriage.

In an Inquisition testimony given by Juan Luján, alcalde mayor of La Cañada, countering false claims made by Governor don Bernardo López de Mendizábal, Sargento Mayor Francisco de Madrid was referred to as one of the honorable men in the town of Santa Fe who had twice held the post of alcalde ordinario, and Luján further stated that Madrid was married with doña María de Albizu, a mestiza and a very honorable lady as well as the legitimate daughter of Maestre de Campo Tomás de Albizu (AGN, Galería No. 4, Concursos de Peñalosa, exp. 605).

Doña María de Albizu provided testimony in Santa Fe on 4 November 1661 in the Inquisition's case against Governor López de Mendizábal, declaring she was forty years old (born circa 1621), a native and resident of Santa Fe, and named her husband as Sargento Mayor Francisco de Madrid. She also referred to doña María de Abendaño as her "cuñada," sister-in-law (AGN, Inq, t. 593, f. 267). Testimony given by doña Catalina de Zamora in March 1662 identified doña María de Abendaño as the wife of Antonio de Salas, parents of Petronila de Salas (AGN, Inquisición, t. 593, f. 294). The exact nature of the relationship between doña María de Albizu and doña María de Abendaño as sisters-in-law is not clear based on available genealogical information.

Doña María de Albizu, born circa 1621, had first married Cristóbal Enríquez, and they were the parents of Estefanía Enríquez, born circa 1641 (ONMF: 15 & 28). According to Inquisition records, Estefanía Enríquez married her blood uncle, Agustín Carbajal, "por sangre en segunda y prima hermana de María Márquez [first wife of Carvajal]" (AGN, Inquisición, t. 587, f. 309-12).

Researcher: José Antonio Esquibel

The above information was originally published as : José Antonio Esquibel, “Francisco de Madrid II: Information from Seventeenth Century Inquisition Records,” in El Farolito, quarterly journal of the Olibama López Tushar Hispanic Legacy Research Center, Vol. 4, No. 3, fall 2001: 12-14.


AND NOW FOR THE FINAL TIDBIT ON THE NEW MEXICO TOWN ABOVE, SEE: HTTPS://WWW.AMAZON.COM/TERESA-CONFRONTS-SPANISH-INQUISITION-SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY/DP/0806153369
Doña Teresa Confronts the Spanish Inquisition: A Seventeenth-Century New Mexican Drama 1st Edition
by Frances Levine Ph.D. (Author)
2016

In 1598, at the height of the Spanish Inquisition, New Mexico became Spain’s northernmost New World colony. The censures of the Catholic Church reached all the way to Santa Fe, where in the mid-1660s, Doña Teresa Aguilera y Roche, the wife of New Mexico governor Bernardo López de Mendizábal, came under the Inquisition’s scrutiny. She and her husband were tried in Mexico City for the crime of judaizante, the practice of Jewish rituals. Using the handwritten briefs that Doña Teresa prepared for her defense, as well as depositions by servants, ethnohistorian Frances Levine paints a remarkable portrait of daily life in seventeenth-century New Mexico. Doña Teresa Confronts the Spanish Inquisition also offers a rare glimpse into the intellectual and emotional life of an educated European woman at a particularly dangerous time in Spanish colonial history.

New Mexico’s remoteness attracted crypto-Jews and conversos, Jews who practiced their faith behind a front of Roman Catholicism. But were Doña Teresa and her husband truly conversos? Or were the charges against them simply their enemies’ means of silencing political opposition? Doña Teresa had grown up in Italy and had lived in Colombia as the daughter of the governor of Cartagena. She was far better educated than most of the men in New Mexico. But education and prestige were no protection against persecution. The fine furnishings, fabrics, and tableware that Doña Teresa installed in the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe made her an object of suspicion and jealousy, and her ability to read and write in several languages made her the target of outlandish claims.

Doña Teresa Confronts the Spanish Inquisition uncovers issues that resonate today: conflicts between religious and secular authority; the weight of evidence versus hearsay in court. Doña Teresa’s voice—set in the context of the history of the Inquisition—is a powerful addition to the memory of that time.



MADDOW CLIPS

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/13/17
Republicans look for excuses for Trump to fire Mueller
Rep. Eric Swalwell talks with Rachel Maddow about Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pressing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for a reason for Donald Trump to fire Robert Mueller. Duration: 5:27


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/15/17
TRMS Law School: What happens to Trump probe if Mueller is fired?
What happens to the Trump Russia investigation and the progress made in cases so far if Robert Mueller is fired? Former U.S. attorneys Chuck Rosenberg, Barbara McQuade, Edward Stanton, and Paul Fishman offer their views. Duration: 10:06


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/15/17
TRMS Law School: How independent is the FBI?
The character of the FBI and recent efforts to politicize its work are discussed by former U.S. attorneys Chuck Rosenberg, Barbara McQuade, Edward Stanton, and Paul Fishman answer legal questions from Rachel Maddow and TRMS viewers. Duration: 9:09


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/15/17
TRMS Law School: What happens if Donald Trump pardons Mike Flynn?
Former U.S. attorneys Chuck Rosenberg, Barbara McQuade, Edward Stanton, and Paul Fishman answer legal questions from Rachel Maddow and TRMS viewers about the Mike Flynn's plea deal with Robert Mueller and a potential pardon from Donald Trump. Duration: 18:03