December 23, 2017


News and Views


THIS IS EXCITING, AND INFORMATIVE. WATCH THE NEWS VIDEO AND INTERVIEW.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/secret-service-holds-first-ever-live-drill-on-white-house-grounds/
By MAJOR GARRETT CBS NEWS December 22, 2017, 6:54 PM
Secret Service holds first-ever live drill on White House grounds

WASHINGTON -- Before dawn at the White House Friday, with President Trump inside the residence, a silent night suddenly roared toward daybreak. A Secret Service dog, alarmed by a would-be intruder, rushed the target, part of the first-ever live security drill on White House grounds. The goal is to find problem areas.

In his first network news interview, Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles told CBS News that agents need to simulate real-time scenarios.

Trump views demonstration of Secret Service protective techniques
"You fight like you train," Alles said. "Then you need to train like you fight. We're trying to provide realistic training that would be similar to what would happen if there's an emergency on the White House grounds."

usssdrills-garrett2.jpg
The Secret Service held a drill on White House grounds Friday, Dec. 22, 2018 CBS NEWS
There was an emergency in Sept. 2014, when fence-jumper Omar Gonzalez, with a knife in his back pocket, raced across the North Lawn and into the residence.

Gonzalez, an Army veteran, suffered from mental illness, like many fence jumpers apprehended by the Secret Service.

"You have to admire the restraint of the officers," said Alles. "The last thing we want to do is have to use lethal force, but they're well-prepared to do it on the grounds, I'll just say that."

Alles said his agency has been able to reduce fence-jumpers by adding bike racks along the fence line, but it's a different kind of threat that has him on alert.

1222-en-usssdrills-garrett.jpg
The Secret Service held the first ever live drill on White House grounds Friday, Dec. 22, 2018 CBS NEWS
"The most dangerous part would be some form of complex attack," Alles said. "Potentially a suicide attack with some kind of follow-on attack with the suicide bomber that would be my most dangerous course that we want to think about."

The Secret Service also faces other challenges. When asked about what resources the agency needs, Alles told CBS News that "of course, we have funding needs."

From 2011 to 2015, the Secret Service lost 10 percent of its workforce largely due to budget constraints and attrition.

"I think we understand that the sizing of the agency is not currently adequate. That's a stress factor on there," he said.

Alles told CBS News that not having enough agents makes for long hours and adds to the stress that comes with a Secret Service job. The director has appealed to the White House for a bigger budget to hire more agents and pay the overtime his current agents are entitled to but have not yet received.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



RADICAL RELIGIOUS THINKING AGAIN SPURS A MAN WHO ALMOST CERTAINLY HAD MENTAL PROBLEMS TO PLAN ACTION AGAINST A CHRISTIAN POWER CENTER. I DON’T THINK MOST AMERICAN RELIGIOUS RADICALS ARE AS TIED INTO NATIONAL RIVALRY BY THEIR RELIGION AS MUCH AS THE ISLAMIC GROUPS ARE. IN THE CRUSADES SOME 1500 YEARS AGO, HOWEVER, THE REASONING WAS VERY SIMILAR WITHIN CHRISTIAN EUROPE. WE, THE “PEACE-LOVING CHRISTIANS”, WERE THE AGGRESSORS. NOW, THE WHITE SUPREMACISTS WHO WANT TO MAKE AMERICA “A WHITE CHRISTIAN NATION” ARE NO DIFFERENT, REALLY. ALL PASSION AND NO LOGIC. THERE HAVE BEEN FEW IF ANY GROUP UPRISINGS BETWEEN US, BUT THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL CASES REPETITIVELY. THIS MAN WAS SUCH A CASE. IT’S VERY DISCOURAGING.

I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I FOUND THAT DURING THE MIDDLE AGES THERE WAS ACTUALLY A “CHILDREN’S CRUSADE,” OR SO TRADITION HAS CLAIMED. THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE FROM WWW.HISTORY.COM QUESTIONS THE TRUTH OF THAT, HOWEVER. THIS MINGLING OF RELIGION AND POLITICS ALWAYS FRIGHTENS ME. WHEN SO MANY TYPES OF IRRATIONALLY STRONG BONDING ARE LINKED TOGETHER WE GET THE POGROMS AND UTTER CRUELTY THAT HAPPENED IN WWII AND AT TOO MANY OTHER TIMES AS WELL.

IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO REASON OUR WAY OUT OF SUCH A GROUP HYSTERIA IF WE ARE REALLY INVOLVED IN IT EMOTIONALLY. THE TRUTH IS THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE MUCH MORE INCLINED TO BECOMING A SLAVE TO SUCH A MASTER THAN ARE OTHERS. SOME PEOPLE ARE LEADERS, SOME ARE FOLLOWERS, AND SOME ARE INDEPENDENT. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MANY MORE OF US BE INDEPENDENT, SO THAT WE COULD BE A BUFFER AGAINST THE RADICALS OF ALL KINDS. I SPEAK OFTEN OF BERNIE SANDERS, BUT HE HAS NEVER ADVOCATED VIOLENCE. HE IS FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT DAILY IN THE SENATE.

FINALLY, THOUGH IT SEEMS ODD TO HAVE TO SAY THIS, WE ALSO NEED TO TEACH STRONGLY THAT VIOLENCE IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF ARGUMENTATION. ONE MAJOR PART OF THE PROBLEM, NOT OFTEN RECOGNIZED BECAUSE IT POINTS THE FINGER AT EACH ONE OF US, IS THAT THE “SILENT MAJORITY” IF THEY SECRETLY SYMPATHIZE WITH THE LAWLESS ELEMENT OR SIMPLY MAKE NO MOVE TO HELP, ARE QUITE A LARGE PART OF THE PHENOMENON OF GROUP HATRED. SO MUCH OF IT IS UNSPOKEN THAT IT GOES UNNOTICED BY MOST.

IT’S LIKE WHAT IS CALLED THE “BATHOLITH” OF A LIVE VOLCANO. MUCH OF THAT MAGMA WON’T COME POURING OUT IN A SMALL ERUPTION, BUT IT IS STILL IN THERE KEEPING THE TEMPERATURE HIGH ENOUGH TO MELT EVERYTHING FROM LEAD TO GRANITE. IN MY ANALOGY HERE, THE BATHOLITH IS THE SILENT WATCHERS AND THE CHEERLEADERS. THAT’S WHY THE AMERICAN SOUTH IS STILL A CENTER FOR RACIST GROUPS TODAY. THE VIOLENT PEOPLE ARE NOT CLEARLY AND STRONGLY REJECTED BY THE MORE PASSIVE GROUPS. THE SAME THING HAPPENS AMONG MUSLIMS, I HAVE NO DOUBT.

JESUS SPOKE OF LOVE FOR EVERYONE. AS I UNDERSTAND THE TERM LOVE, THAT ISN’T POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE, BUT MOST OF US CAN MAINTAIN A DISTANCE FROM THE ROILING HATRED AND PUT IN THAT PLACE A STRONG RESPECT FOR THE HUMAN SOUL AND INDIVIDUAL WORTH. BELIEF IN THE WORTH OF ALL LIFE IS THE FAITH THAT I STAND ON TO ACHIEVE THIS, AND THE ARMOR OF MY KIND OF CHRISTIAN SOLDIER IS EMPATHY. IF WE EMPATHIZE WITH AND ACTIVELY RESPECT THE RIGHT OF EVERYONE TO EXIST -- AND TO MAINTAIN OUR OWN PERSONAL VIEWS -- THE HORRIFIC HATE-FILLED EVENTS WOULDN’T HAPPEN. ONE OF THE FLAWS IN THE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORKS IS THAT SELF-EXAMINATION AND CONTEMPLATION AREN’T WIDELY TAUGHT. SOME PEOPLE COME TO THAT POINT BY THEIR VERY NATURE, BUT I DON’T BELIEVE MOST DO.

AS A RESULT WE ARE LEFT WITH A TINDERBOX SOCIETY INTO WHICH A SPARK MAY FLY AT ANY TIME. FOR SUCH A RELATIVELY PROSPEROUS GROUP (COMPARED TO PLACES LIKE THE SLUMS OF INDIA, AT ANY RATE) WE ARE DOGGED WITH THIS HOSTILITY THAT IS PRESENT AT EVERY TURN. IF WE’RE NOT GENERATING IT, WE ARE SUFFERING AT THE HANDS OF SOMEONE WHO IS. THE TYPICAL AMERICAN GOAL IS TO SEEK RICHES, POSITION AND CONSTANT PLEASURE, BUT NOT GENTLENESS, WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OR PEACE. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS PERFECTION, BUT IF WE WERE TO MAKE AN HONEST AND SINCERE EFFORT AS A NATION TO MEND OUR WAYS AND MOVE INTO A BETTER PATH, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE CAN DO IT. I WILL HOPE FOR THAT TO BECOME A REALITY, AT LEAST TO A POINT, HERE IN THE US UNTIL I DIE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pier-39-san-francisco-christmas-day-terror-attack-fbi-everitt-aaron-jameson-modesto-latest/
By JUSTIN CARISSIMO CBS NEWS December 22, 2017, 6:48 PM
FBI: Man planned ISIS-inspired Christmas Day terror attack in San Francisco

Federal officials say they've arrested a man who they say was planning a terror attack on Christmas Day in San Francisco in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), CBS News justice correspondent Paula Reid reports.

Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, has been charged with providing material support for terrorism, according to federal court documents. Prosecutors say Jameson planned to detonate an explosive on the city's Pier 39 on Christmas because he knew it would be heavily crowded. Jameson was born in Modesto, California, a DOJ official told Reid.

An individual reported Jameson for suspicious activity on Facebook after he allegedly posted GIFs of attacks in the U.S. and the New York City attack that left 8 people dead in October, court documents say.

The FBI said it found a letter signed by Jameson in which he took credit for the planned attack. "You've Allowed Donald J Trump to give away Al Quds to the Jews," the letter said, using the Arabic name for "Jerusalem." Mr. Trump recently announced the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

screen-shot-2017-12-22-at-3-58-23-pm.png
Everitt Aaron Jameson FACEBOOK

Prosecutors say Jameson apparently wanted to detonate the explosives to funnel people into an area where he could inflict more casualties. The FBI executed a search warrant on his home on Dec. 20 and allegedly found multiple firearms and explosives materials.

Two days prior to the raid, an FBI employee accidently called Jameson's cellphone number from a Washington, D.C., area code, court papers say. Jameson called the number back but the employee let it go to his voicemail, which identified his name but not that he was a federal agent.

It appears that Jameson may have been clued-in that the feds were onto him. He soon told an undercover agent that "I also don't think I can do this after all. I've reconsidered."

In November, Jameson filled out a "Franchise Tow Truck Driving Application" with the Modesto Police Department, prosecutors said. The FBI investigation revealed that Jameson was previously discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps for failing to disclose his latent asthma. He attended basic recruit training and earned a sharpshooter rifle qualification. He was trained in both M16 and AK-47 rifles.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions applauded law enforcement officials in a statement Friday.

"Our incredible law enforcement officers have once again helped thwart an alleged plot to kill Americans. I want to thank the FBI agents and federal prosecutors and everyone else who helped make this possible," Sessions said.

If convicted, Jameson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"Thanks to the diligent efforts of the FBI and local law enforcement agencies, a planned attack has been prevented from occurring in our city," Acting Mayor London Breed said in a statement Friday. Breed said there were no known additional threats to her city related to the investigation.

She added, "We will not allow the thwarted attempts of one dangerous individual to disrupt our way of life. We will remain vigilant and continue to protect our city from any threat."

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



http://www.history.com/news/the-disastrous-time-tens-of-thousands-of-children-tried-to-start-a-crusade
The Disastrous Time Tens of T

ART -- The Childrens' Crusade of 1212, illustration by Walter Hutchinson. (Credit: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

By the time Stephen of Cloyes and his followers reached Paris in 1212, they were exhausted, hungry and thirsty. But nothing could keep their leader from his bold mission. His entourage waited as Stephen demanded—and got—an audience from the King of France to ask for permission to conduct a crusade.

Stephen’s vision was grandiose: Along with his followers, he’d remove Muslims from Jerusalem and reclaim the Holy Land for Catholics. But there was something else striking about Stephen—he was just 12 years old.

His followers were children, too, lured from their families by Stephen’s sermons about a divine vision he’d had. And though King Philip turned down Stephen’s request, they were undaunted. Unarmed and unprepared, these kids were determined to strike out on a crusade of their own.

But the Children’s Crusade of 1212, as it is now known, has gone down in history as a misguided disaster. And though Stephen was a real historical figure, the truth behind the crusade is less clear. Did it really happen? And were most of its warriors really children?

Blame the ravages of time for those questions. The so-called Children’s Crusade is only briefly mentioned in chronicles of the Crusades, and since it was never officially declared by a pope, it technically shouldn’t be called a crusade. However, the movement’s unusual rise—and terrible fall—earned it a nickname that still sticks today.

Art -- The children's crusade on its way to the Holy Land, 1212. (Credit: Bildagentur-Online/UIG via Getty Images)

Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade in 1095, and the religious wars that followed depended on the approval of the Church. At various times, popes would call on European believers to head to the Holy Land and try to rout out Muslims, and these Catholic Church-sanctioned Crusades continued until the 1400s.

The Children’s Crusade was different. It didn’t have the approval of the Church, it arose independently, and its participants didn’t even have weapons. Rather, they bore crosses, banners and an optimistic assumption that once they got to the Holy Land, they could convert Muslims with persuasion and divine intervention.

Though chronicles give conflicting information, there seem to have been two main groups that participated in the Children’s Crusade. There was the flock led by Stephen of Cloyes in France as well as another band of aspiring crusaders in Germany, led by a charismatic boy known as Nicholas of Cologne. Both are said to have whipped up the passions of thousands of people.

In events that have been described as a form of mass hysteria, Stephen of Cloyes and others headed to Marseille, intent on crossing the Mediterranean and heading to the Holy Land. Legend has it he assembled 30,000 people for his cause, though some historians doubt the claim and say that many of the people were assembling for another crusade or simply went home once they heard Stephen preach. Some stayed, waiting for the sea to part like Stephen had foretold.

At around the same time, another group of believers gathered in what is now Germany. Nicholas of Cologne—about whom little is known—assembled his own group of followers with reports that an angel told him to start a crusade. Nicholas is said to have inspired tens of thousands of child and adult followers, whom he began leading over the Alps toward Jerusalem.

Not everyone was enthusiastic about these self-proclaimed crusades. Though the sanctus puer (“holy children”) were motivated by religious fervor and often took the same vows as participants in papal crusades, they were seen as a threat by the Church. The boys’ ability to drum up frenetic support—and their sheer numbers of followers—terrified local clergy, who worried they were losing hold of their flock.

Art -- Procession of children during their Crusade started by Stephen, a shepherd boy who was persuaded by a priest that he was appointed by heaven to recover the Holy Sepulchre, 1212. (Credit: Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

Procession of children during their Crusade started by Stephen, a shepherd boy who was persuaded by a priest that he was appointed by heaven to recover the Holy Sepulchre, 1212. (Credit: Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

But though Nicholas and Stephen were labeled fanatics, their mystical mission to the Holy Land intrigued their followers. They held believers spellbound with sermons, songs and promises of miracles. Nicholas was so enthralling that he’s been called the inspiration for the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

The boys were good at whipping followers into a religious frenzy, but their simultaneous trips toward Jerusalem weren’t exactly well planned. As Nicholas and his flock headed over the chilly Alps, singing hymns and eagerly awaiting the conversion of the Muslims, they became exhausted and hungry. When they arrived in Genoa, Italy, they faced language barriers and annoyed townspeople who were not eager to play host to a ragged group of religious children. The people of Marseilles weren’t excited to see the crusaders, either.

Things disintegrated from there. It’s uncertain exactly what happened to all of the crusaders, but it seems that they dispersed once they got to the coastal towns. While waiting for ships to take them to Jerusalem, some took local jobs. Some returned to their towns. Others were sold into slavery or drowned at sea.

Some accounts say that a small group persisted and headed not to Jerusalem, but to Rome. But when they appeared before Pope Innocent III, he did not sanction their quest. He praised their enthusiasm, but told them they were too young to go on a crusade and told them to go home. It was a humiliating blow.

Though multiple accounts discuss Stephen and Nicholas, historians still disagree on many of the crusade’s particulars. In 1977, Peter Raedts reassessed the chronicles and concluded that participants in the Children’s Crusade had existed on the margins of society. They may have believed it was up to poor and marginalized people to take up the flag for Christianity after the first Crusades failed. Raedts concluded the crusaders were not really children, but poor people—an interpretation that calls the very name of the movement into question.

The slender accounts of the so-called Children’s Crusade make it hard to confirm or deny whether the participants were actual kids or just powerless peasants. But the ill-fated journey shows how the influence of just a few persuasive voices can incite a full-blown movement—even one that ends in humiliation and disaster.



THIS CBS STORY AND THE VIDEO THAT IT INCLUDES IS LONG, SO I DIDN’T WANT TO INCLUDE IT HERE, BUT IT SHOWS NEWS FOOTAGE FROM THE UNFORTUNATELY TRAUMATIC YEAR OF 2017, AND IT’S GOOD FOR PERSPECTIVE. LOOK AT IT WHEN YOU CAN RELAX AND PAY ATTENTION TO IT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/17-stories-that-defined-2017/?ftag=CNM-00-10aag6c
By CYDNEY ADAMS CBS NEWS December 20, 2017, 7:09 PM
17 stories that defined 2017




THE POLICE IN SCHERTZ, TX IN THIS CASE WENT ON ONE OF THOSE “HOT PURSUIT” CHASES, WHICH CONTINUED FOR SOME TWO HOURS. THE EXCITEMENT AND FRUSTRATION OF THOSE EVENTS TOO FREQUENTLY SEEMS TO CAUSE OFFICERS TO DO SOME SORT OF UNNECESSARY VIOLENCE. SHERIFF SALAZAR NEEDS TO TELL THE PUBLIC WHAT THE “TUBULAR OBJECT” WAS. THIS SOUNDS TOO MUCH LIKE A COVER STORY TO ME. I’LL NEVER FORGET THE VIDEO FOOTAGE OF AN OFFICER STANDING ON TOP OF THE HOOD OF A CAR AND FIRING SOME DOZEN OR SO TIMES RIGHT DOWN THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD, TURNING THE DRIVER INTO CHOPPED MEAT. THE REASON FOR THAT ONE, TOO, WAS THAT THE CAR RAN FROM POLICE AND MANY POLICE CARS FOLLOWED ALONG BEHIND HIM. WHEN HE WAS CAUGHT, ONE OF THE OFFICERS MORE OR LESS WENT BERSERK, WHILE THE OTHERS JUST STOOD BY AND WATCHED HIM.

MY COMPLAINT ABOUT THE POLICE CHASES IS THAT THE DAMAGE THAT IS DONE BY POLICE IN THOSE CASES RARELY IS EQUAL TO THAT DONE BY THE SUSPECT, OR TO THE LEGAL PENALTY FOR HIS OR HER CRIME. THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT AN OFFICER CLAIMS TO HAVE SEEN WHAT HE ASSUMED WAS A GUN IS ANOTHER COMMON THEME. THIS ALL BEGAN BECAUSE A MAN TOLD POLICE THAT THIS WOMAN STOLE HIS CAR. THEN THE POLICE SAID SHE WAS TRYING TO BREAK INTO THE TRAILER HOMES WHERE THE BOY WAS KILLED. IT SAYS HERE THAT SHE WAS IN HIS YARD, BUT NOT WHETHER OR NOT THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN HER HOME TOO. THIS JUST ISN’T THE KIND OF THING THAT IS USUALLY DONE BY A WOMAN -- STEALING, YES; ROBBING, NO. I SUSPECT THAT IF SHE TRIED TO BREAK IN, IT MAY WELL HAVE BEEN BECAUSE SHE KNEW THE POLICE WERE CHASING HER AND SHE WANTED TO HIDE. OF COURSE, THE DETAILS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE SPARSE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A FULL STORY. THERE ARE TOO MANY QUESTIONS HERE FOR ME.

ABOUT POLICE PROCEDURE – IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, TOO MANY TIMES ANYWAY, THEIR WHOLE APPROACH IS OF THE “QUICK AND DIRTY,” TYPE. SHOOT FIRST, THINK IF YOU GET CAUGHT. RARELY IS HOT PURSUIT ACTUALLY THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THE SITUATION, EVEN IF IT DOES SEEM REASONABLE/EXCUSABLE AT THE TIME. THIS IS ONE OF THE MANY WAYS IN WHICH POLICE TRAINING AND DAILY PRACTICES IN THE USA SEEM DOWNRIGHT ILLOGICAL TO ME, AND CERTAINLY EXTREME. WE NEED TO STOP ACCEPTING THE “RAMBO” WAY OVER THE CLEVER WAY. THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS STORY ABOUT THE WOMAN ACTUALLY MENACING ANYBODY.

A CLEAR PRIORITY FOR POLICE, I THINK, SHOULD BE THAT THEY WILL MODIFY THEIR PLAN OF ATTACK TO AVOID SHOOTING INNOCENT PEOPLE. THEY CAN USUALLY STILL “GET THEIR MAN.” IT WILL JUST TAKE A LITTLE LONGER, AND PROBABLY MORE MEN. THERE WAS A CASE WITHIN THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS IN WHICH A STRAY BULLET WENT THROUGH THE WINDOW OF A CITY TOWNHOUSE, AND HIT A LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS SITTING ON HER OWN BED. I’M AFRAID THIS “COLLATERAL DAMAGE” IDEA GIVES POLICE – AND SOLDIERS – THE IDEA THAT THEY HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY TO BE CAREFUL. THE USE OF DRONES TO KILL FROM A DISTANCE IS WORSE THAN THIS, BUT SIMILAR.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kameron-prescott-family-demands-justice-child-killed-police-schertz-texas/
By JUSTIN CARISSIMO CBS NEWS December 23, 2017, 12:44 PM
Family demands justice for 6-year-old boy killed in police gunfire

Photograph -- Kameron Prescott GOFUNDME

SCHERTZ, Texas -- The family of a slain 6-year-old boy wants justice after the child was killed by police gunfire near San Antonio.

Kameron Prescott was shot and killed when police opened fire at the Pecan Grove mobile home park this week in pursuit of a suspect. His uncle, Christopher Gonzales, said he's angry and saddened by his nephew's death. "It is shocking really," he told CBS affiliate KENS-TV. "It hasn't even hit us to the full extent yet."

Prescott's family painfully said goodbye to the young boy, who they said was always smiling. "We all put our hands on him and prayed on him, stuff like that," Gonzales said. "We are that kind of family."

Gonzales said the 6-year-old wouldn't normally be at the mobile home but was visiting his father for Christmas break.

"He was saying to his grandpa that he didn't want to be there. All day, he was saying he didn't have a good feeling. He was telling his dad he wanted to call his mom and didn't want to be there. He just kind of knew it wasn't going to be a good day," Gonzales said.

Now, his family wants answers from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office and Gonzales said he'll continue sharing his nephew's story until justice is served.

"If it is the police, we hope that you hold your people accountable. I am sorry that it comes to this, but y'all are people just like us at the end of the day. Y'all deserve to be held accountable. It is a Constitutional right. Y'all just killed a little boy, if it was y'all. There's no weapon, so it wasn't that lady," Gonzales said.

On Friday, Sheriff Javier Salazar called the shooting a "tragic accident" and said the suspect police were pursuing did not have a gun, but was carrying a "tubular" object they believed was a firearm.

Salazar said the incident took place after a man reported that the suspect, 30-year-old Amanda Jones, had stolen his car. Police said they located the suspect and chased her for nearly two hours as she attempted to break into homes in the mobile home community. They said they found her at outside the boy's home where she was fatally shot by police.

Salazar said it's unclear who fired the fatal round, but all five officers at the scene were placed on administrative leave. He also said officials are reviewing body camera footage of the incident.

A woman who identified herself as Prescott's aunt created a GoFundMe to help the family cover funeral expenses. The page raised more than $10,000 as of Saturday morning.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


I REALLY AM NOT FOND OF ROBOTS. I STILL PREFER PEOPLE. I ALSO KNOW THAT IF THE MACHINES TRY TO START TAKING OVER THE USA I MAY MAKE MYSELF A DUGOUT CANOE AND START OUT ACROSS THE OCEAN TO BRITAIN, WHERE I'M FAIRLY SURE THE HUMANITIES WILL STILL BE APPRECIATED, AND WHERE MY ANCESTORS CAME FROM. I CAN DIE ON MY HOME SOIL.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/11/14/uta-robots-human/
UTA Working To Make Robots Become More Human
By Robbie Owens November 14, 2017 at 5:13 pm

ARLINGTON (CBS 11 NEWS) – Once the stuff of science fiction, robots today run our factories and touch nearly aspect of our lives. Now, an interdisciplinary research project at University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) looks to explore what could happen if robots can learn to touch our hearts.

“The question I always get is ‘Why? Why would you want to do that?'” said Julienne Greer, Ph.D with a laugh.

Dr. Greer is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, and Director of the university’s ‘Living Lab’ where participants interact with the robots in a home-like setting.

“We can bring all the things that make theater so human: the ability to connect, the ability to understand another human being’s life… empathy.”

The research project looks to include input from the departments of education and social work as well in an effort to make the so called ‘social companion’ robots more human. Study participants interact with two robots, Nao [ pronounced ‘now’ ] and Pepper. Pepper, for example, answers questions and composes music as a student simply moves his hands.

screen shot 2017 11 14 at 5 08 59 pm UTA Working To Make Robots Become More Human
UTA robot Pepper with CBS11’s Robbie Owens (Robbie Owens)

“I think it’s really a beautiful thing, to help, to be that companion,”” said theatre arts student Darrion Dockins,

Researchers say there is no worry that robots will replace humans. But, Dr. Greer insists that technology can help fill in the gap– especially with the healthcare needs of an aging nation.

“I am programming robots that will allow you to stay in your home longer,” said Dr. Greer, “When I say that, that’s when people go: `how quickly can you get them to me?'”

UTA researchers say the study has already shown that participants interacting with the robots reported more engagement and less depression.

“What I like to say is these robots can’t even climb stairs at this point,” said Dr. Greer with a laugh. “So if you’re really scared, just walk up a couple of stairs and you should be absolutely fine.”

ABOUT THE WRITER --
Robbie Owens
Facebook

Robbie grew up in northeast Texas, in a tiny town where her family’s history spans six generations.

After working in the business world for several years, Robbie received a Masters of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School. She completed her graduate work with a 4.0 GPA, earning her the school’s highest honor – the Harrington Award.

After graduate school, Robbie moved back to Texas where she began her career at KWTX-TV in Waco. Robbie later worked in Austin as an Education Reporter at KVUE-TV.

After a brief stop in Kansas, she returned to Dallas where she worked briefly at a local station before roaming the state with the News of Texas.

In her spare time, Robbie enjoys refinishing antique furniture and spending family time with her husband and daughter.



CBS HAS FOUND A VERY APPEALING NEWS STORY TO PROVIDE A BREAK FROM THE MORE PAINFUL ONES THAT COMPRISE THE USUAL READING. THERE IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL OLD CHRISTMAS STORY BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN THAT THIS BRINGS TO MIND OF THE INNER LIFE OF A TREE. THOSE MEMORIES GO BACK TO MY EARLIEST YEARS. THAT TREE WAS NOT ONLY SENTIENT, IT HAD A STORY TO TELL. OF COURSE, IF YOU ARE AN ADULT, YOU WON’T BELIEVE THAT, BUT CHILDREN WILL. IT’S GOOD FOR THEIR INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, TOO. THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SURGES OF PURE EMPATHY THAT I REMEMBER FROM MY FOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH LIFE.

SEE MY SEPARATE BLOG FOR TODAY CALLED “THE LONELY CHRISTMAS TREE.” THE ANDERSEN TALE IS AT THE HCA.GILEAD.ORG WEBSITE, AND IS SIMPLY CALLED THE FIR TREE.:
SEE HTTP://HCA.GILEAD.ORG.IL/FIR_TREE.HTML.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-the-family-who-kept-their-christmas-tree-alive-for-34-years/
CBS NEWS December 23, 2017, 11:55 AM
Meet the California family who has kept their Christmas tree alive for 34 years

Meet the California family who has kept their Christmas tree alive for 34 years
Share Tweet Reddit Flipboard Email
Joe and Gina Mistretta bought a potted Scotch pine 34 years ago, when it was about three feet tall. Back then, it was so small it could only hold one string of lights. When the holiday was over, out it went -- not to the trash or a recycling bin, but to a new, year-round home in the yard, reports CBS News correspondent Mireya Villarreal.

"It looks different every year. Some years are good, some years are not. You happened to catch it on a really good year," Gina said.

"It's got its own shape, it's got its own character, but it's still growing," Joe said.

A few years later, Joe and Gina had two little boys who grew to love Christmas morning around their tiny tree. Now 27 and 31, it's the only Christmas tree Michael and Joe Jr. have ever known.

ctm-122317-tree.jpg
The Mistretti family with their 34-year-old Christmas tree. CBS NEWS

"If someone is more traditional, for a triangular tree, that's great. But it's really what the tree represents," Joe Jr. said.

"It's like people -- it's got good years and bad years, and even when we thought it wasn't going to make it, they were like, 'Well, you can't get rid of this tree, Dad. This is our tree,'" Joe said.

While it looks more like a Christmas bush, with a little TLC it continues to thrive.

"I enjoy trimming it, I go out there, I spend a little time with it," Joe said. "Yeah, I'm a tree talker now."

He's re-potted the tree four times and it even survived a fire. The home's front door had to be doubled in size so the nearly 300-pound tree can be rolled in.

"There is no perfect life, there is no perfect tree and we like it that way. And the ornaments that we put on it are not perfectly put in the perfect spot, but they mean something to us," Gina said.

ctm-122317-tree-1.jpg
Ornaments on the Mistretti family's Christmas tree. CBS NEWS

The tree is a time capsule of their lives. It was there when Gina's parents were alive and shared the holidays with them. It was there when Michael was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 13 and 5 years later when he went into remission.

"It's really a family member. You bring it in and you go OK, it's time for you now, come on. I've taken care of you the whole year, now it's your turn. Show time!" Joe said.

"It definitely represents tradition….It brings back memories," Joe Jr. added.

And it will continue to be there as the family makes new memories. After all, the Scotch pine could well be around for another 100 years.

"There's so many people who have touched this, our lives and have been part of that tree," Joe said. "We're getting older and the tree's getting older with us and you know it's growing with us."

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


BERNIE STORIES

AFTER ALMOST A WEEK WITHOUT ANY INTERESTING BERNIE STORY, I FOUND THREE TODAY. SEE BELOW.

ONE OF THOSE POLITICAL SATIRISTS IS AT IT AGAIN, ONLY HE IS CLONING BERNIE SANDERS IN A MAN ON THE STREET STYLE INTERVIEW VIDEO. THE PEOPLE ATE IT UP WITH A SPOON. I WILL SAY IT THIS TIME BEFORE DONALD TRUMP DOES – THIS IS DEFINITELY FAKE NEWS, AND IT’S NOT FROM THE “MAINSTREAM MEDIA.” IT’S FROM MEDIATE, A SITE THAT IS RATED TO BE FAIRLY LIBERAL. I DON’T WANT TO SEE SILLINESS AND EXTREME DISRESPECT AS “LIBERAL,” HOWEVER. THAT’S MORE THE TYPE OF THING THAT CONCEITED YOUNG FINANCIALLY SECURE PEOPLE LIKE TO DO FOR THEIR PERSONAL ENTERTAINMENT.

WHAT BOTHERS ME MOST, HOWEVER, IS THAT IT DOESN’T PRESENT ITSELF AS A SPOOF, OR CLUE THE POOR FOLKS WHOM THEY INTERVIEW IN TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS JUST A JOKE. IT’S LIKE THE OLD TV SHOW “CANDID CAMERA,” WITHOUT THE GOOD-HEARTED FUN. THE PEOPLE AT MEDIATE, APPARENTLY, AREN’T ABOVE CONFUSING ISSUES ON SERIOUS SUBJECTS, EITHER. I THINK THIS KIND OF THING SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED ON A SERIOUS NEWS SITE. OF COURSE, WHO SAYS MEDIATE IS SERIOUS? THEY’RE CLEARLY LIKE BREITBART, JUST IN IT FOR THE MONEY, AND WILLING TO SAY ANYTHING TO GET ATTENTION. THE ONLY GO9OD NEWS IS THAT THEY DON’T SEEM TO BE FASCISTS.

THIS “NEWS STORY” OFFENDS ME ALSO, BECAUSE IT CONSISTS OF TELLING PASSERSBY THAT THE CURRENT REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN IS ACTUALLY MODELED ON ONE BY BERNIE SANDERS, THEN ASKS WHAT THEY THINK OF IT. WHAT THIS “STORY” IS MOST SIMILAR TO IS THE OUTRAGEOUS, BUT ADMITTEDLY VERY FUNNY, MOVIE CALLED “BORAT.” THE LOGICAL BASE OF THE STORY IS THAT THOSE (STUPID) LIBERALS WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING. I THINK THESE PEOPLE IN THE INTERVIEW WILL FEEL LIKE FOOLS WHEN THEY SEE THIS ON THEIR LOCAL NEWS SHOW.

IT ALSO ANNOYS ME, TOO, BECAUSE IT ADDS NO USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT ANY SUBJECT, UNLESS IT’S AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW HOW “AVERAGE” PEOPLE CAN BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF SO VERY EASILY. YUK, YUK, YUK!! GO TO THE WEBSITE NOW FOR A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT I’M YAMMERING ON ABOUT. I PERSONALLY WILL NEVER EVEN GLANCE AT THEIR “NEWS” SITE AGAIN. AND, IN APOLOGY TO THE KAZAKHS, I DO NOT PREJUDGE ANY GROUP, AND ESPECIALLY ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT IS CONSIDERED CLEVER TO MAKE FUN OF THEM. I WOULD RATHER SEE PEOPLE DEVELOP THEIR WIT ON SOME OTHER SUBJECT.

SO, THIS IS THE SUPPOSED “BERNIE PLAN.”
https://www.mediaite.com/online/watch-liberals-support-the-gop-tax-plan-after-being-told-it-came-from-bernie-sanders/
Watch Liberals Support the GOP Tax Plan… After Being Told It Came From Bernie Sanders
by Joseph A. Wulfsohn | 12:09 am, December 23rd, 2017

AND NOW FOR “BORAT” AS DESCRIBED ON WIKIPEDIA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat

Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (or simply Borat) is a 2006 British-American mockumentary comedy film written and produced by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who also plays the title character, Borat Sagdiyev, a fictitious Kazakh journalist travelling through the United States recording real-life interactions with Americans. The film was directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Much of the film features unscripted vignettes of Borat interviewing and interacting with Americans, who believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of American customs.[4] It is the second of three films built around Baron Cohen's characters from Da Ali G Show (2000–04): the first, Ali G Indahouse, was released in 2002, and featured a cameo by Borat, and the third, Brüno, was released in 2009. The film is produced by Baron Cohen's production company, Four By Two Productions ("Four By Two" is Cockney rhyming slang for "Jew").[5]

The film was well received, both critically and commercially; it earned $261 million worldwide. Baron Cohen won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, as Borat, while the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in the same category.[6] Borat was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 79th Academy Awards.

Controversy surrounded the film from two years prior to its release, and after the film's release, some cast members spoke against, and even sued, its creators. It was banned in all Arab countries except Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (which released the film heavily censored),[7] and the Russian government discouraged Russian cinemas from showing it.[8] It was released on DVD 5 March 2007 (a day later in Region 1 countries).

THE KAZAKH PEOPLE ARE CLEARLY MONGOLIAN, AND DRESSED IN THEIR COLORFUL FINERY, ARE BEAUTIFUL. FOR A VERY INTERESTING, INFORMATIONAL, AND RESPECTFUL STORY ON THE KAZAKHS, GO TO: HTTPS://WWW.ADVANTOUR.COM/KAZAKHSTAN/PEOPLE.HTM.



WHAT II LIKE ABOUT BERNIE IS THAT HE ISN'T VICIOUS, BUT NOT PASSIVE EITHER. HE HAS A VERY GENTLE SIDE. WHEN THE LITTLE WREN SAT ON HIS PODIUM AND LOOKED AT HIM, HE SMILED THE MOST GENTLE AND BEAUTIFUL SMILE. AS I READ THIS NEWS STORY, WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT SANDERS CAUGHT MCCONNELL WITH HIS HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR AND SMACKED IT. MCCONNELL CLAIMS SANDERS IS ON A WAR AGAINST KENTUCKY. THAT’S TOTAL BS, BUT THEN MCCONNELL IS IN THE HABIT OF TRYING TO RULE THE ROOST. IT JUST DIDN’T WORK THIS TIME. “THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN AGREED THAT THE PROVISIONS VIOLATED THE SENATE’S BUDGET RULES, SO IT WAS SCRAPPED. MCCONNELL WAS ENRAGED.”

http://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-war-kentucky-tax-plan-mitch-mcconnell-757468
BERNIE SANDERS AND DEMOCRATS HAVE DECLARED “WAR ON KENTUCKY” SAYS MITCH MCCONNELL
BY NICOLE GOODKIND ON 12/22/17 AT 3:39 PM

Bernie Sanders is waging a “war on Kentucky” by forcing Republicans to remove a provision in the GOP tax plan this week that would have helped a Bluegrass State college for low-income students, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blasted the firebrand independent a hypocrite.

The new war goes back to Tuesday night, when Sanders and other Democrats successfully challenged a higher education endowment tax that would have exempted tuition-free schools with fewer than 500 tuition-paying students and endowments larger than $500,000 per full-time student—a carve-out that apparently only applies to Berea College in McConnell’s home state.

The Senate parliamentarian agreed that the provisions violated the Senate’s budget rules, so it was scrapped. McConnell was enraged.

“They didn’t have to raise the challenge when required,” he said. “They chose to. And in the process they knowingly hurt schools that provide tuition-free education to students who can’t otherwise afford to go to college. This is especially hypocritical coming from the man who claims to support free college for all. I remember the presidential campaign last year.”

Sanders claimed that McConnell added the provision knowing that it went against parliamentary rules and that it would be flagged. “I am glad that Senator McConnell has suddenly developed an interest in making college affordable for working class families. I would hope, therefore, that he would co-sponsor my legislation making all public colleges and universities tuition-free,” he said. “I do find it ironic that, while taxing higher education, Senator McConnell’s legislation provided massive tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations.”

McConnell upped his language on Friday, saying that Sanders and Senate Democrats are now waging a “war on Kentucky.”

“It’s a little college in the foothills of Appalachia that started in 1855 by abolitionists who don’t have any money, and (students) get to go to school for nothing and they work their way through,” McConnell explained. “Berea got caught by one of the provisions in the tax bill that provides a tax on college endowments after a certain point.”

But as the two politicians fight over the provision, Berea suffers. The college only admits students whose families are unable to pay for higher education. The median income of a family with a student attending Berea is $29,000, and 98 percent of students get federal Pell grants.

McConnell introduced language into the tax bill to exempt the college from a 1.4-percent excise tax meant to be imposed on colleges with large endowments. Only institutions with at least 500 “tuition-paying,” students would be subjected to the tax, stated the now-defunct provision.

McConnell said Democrats knowingly hurt “schools,” implying that the provision would aid multiple universities, but the exemption was written specifically for Berea. There are a handful of tuition-free colleges in the United States, but Berea, with an endowment of $1.2 billion, is the only free school with a large enough reserve fund to be subject to the excise-tax.

The original intention of the Republican-introduced excise tax was to encourage universities with large endowments like Harvard and Princeton to use more of that money to lower tuition and award financial aid.

Berea estimates the endowment tax will cost it $1 million each year, most of which will be taken from its scholarship funds. “We need to make about $4 million a year to keep our doors open,” the school’s spokesman, Tim Jordan, said. “So losing $1 million could have a significant effect on us.”

Jordan declined to comment on the politics behind the decision.

McConnell has said he will work with his colleagues in Congress and on the Kentucky government level to exempt Berea College from the effects of the excise tax.


THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DEPRESSING STORIES I'VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME, EVEN OF DLT STORIES. AS HE LIKES TO INTONE IN HIS LITTLE COMMENTS, "SAD!"

https://mic.com/articles/187043/the-bully-doctrine-trump-once-again-makes-threats-on-the-world-stage-and-has-his-bluff-called#.0N1yUmhmm
The Bully Doctrine: Trump once again makes threats on the world stage — and has his bluff called

President Donald Trump this week suggested he may seek retribution against countries that voted for a United Nations resolution condemning his decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“Let them vote against us,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”

But that apparent threat to cut aid to countries supporting the measure, and Ambassador Nikki Haley’s suggestion that the United States could pull out of the U.N., didn’t work — 128 countries voted to pass the resolution, urging the United States to reverse its decision.

It was the latest example of Trump using threats as a negotiating tactic on the world stage — and of other world powers calling his bluff.

“It’s clear the rest of the world doesn’t take Donald Trump seriously,” Stephen Miles, director of Win Without War, a progressive foreign policy advocacy program of the Center for International Policy, said in a phone interview. “When most Americans don’t believe the president says truthful things, why would the rest of the world?”

Empty threats?

President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Before the U.N. vote Thursday, it seemed unlikely that Trump would end up following through on his threats, according to Dan Arbell, the former deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

“It will be very difficult to carry this out,” said Arbell, now a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy. “It’s not impossible, but if he does, I think it will be more symbolic than anything else.”

As the New York Times reported earlier this week, following through on the threat would, in many cases, require congressional approval — and would likely alienate key allies in the Middle East.

“I’m not ruling out that he will take some stand or at least go through the motions and try to demonstrate that he’s not just all talk,” Arbell said. “But it’s hard to see how many members of Congress would be supporting such a move.”

Trump isn’t the only president to have failed to follow through on international threats — his predecessor, Barack Obama, famously said Syrian President Bashar Assad would be crossing a “red line” in 2012 if he used chemical weapons, but didn’t punish him after he launched a chemical attack on his own people in 2013.

But Trump was a harsh critic of Obama’s failure to act — both at the time and this year, when he launched an airstrike against the regime.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Red line statement was a disaster for President Obama.

6:27 PM - Sep 10, 2013
116 116 Replies 123 123 Retweets 78 78 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Advertisement

“President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a ‘red line’ against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing,” Trump said in April.

Still, Trump has issued his own series of threats he hasn’t been able to follow through on this year — most notably, against North Korea, which he vowed in September to “totally destroy” if it continued its nuclear provocations.

While such warnings have served to ratchet up the rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang, they haven’t seemed to deter Kim Jong Un from continuing his nuclear program.

“I think it’s just another example of his recklessness,” Miles said. “It’s undermining America’s credibility.”

The threats to cut off aid — or cut ties with the U.N. — also echoed Trump’s promises to cut trade with China, which continues to conduct business with the Kim regime.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.

11:14 AM - Sep 3, 2017
35,677 35,677 Replies 46,196 46,196 Retweets 169,206 169,206 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy

But, as the Times reported in September, “aggressively targeting China could disrupt the global supply chain, raising costs for American manufacturers. It could also inflame geopolitical tensions at a time when Washington needs Beijing’s help in dealing with North Korea.”

As such, his stern warnings frequently lack much teeth.

Trump did not appear to issue a public reaction to Thursday’s U.N. vote, but Haley — bizarrely — invited the countries that did not cast a ballot condemning the U.S. decision to a “friendship” party.

View image on TwitterView image on Twitter

Michelle Nichols
✔
@michellenichols
The 8 countries who voted no with the #US on the #UNGA #Jerusalem resolution, the 35 who abstained and the 21 who did not cast a vote have been invited to a reception by @nikkihaley as a “thank you for your friendship to the United States”

5:57 PM - Dec 21, 2017
80 80 Replies 307 307 Retweets 278 278 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Former CIA director John Brennan slammed the Trump administration Thursday over the threats, saying they were “outrageous.”


John O. Brennan
✔
@JohnBrennan
Trump Admin threat to retaliate against nations that exercise sovereign right in UN to oppose US position on Jerusalem is beyond outrageous. Shows @realDonaldTrump expects blind loyalty and subservience from everyone—qualities usually found in narcissistic, vengeful autocrats.

4:04 PM - Dec 21, 2017
10,069 10,069 Replies 35,758 35,758 Retweets 73,152 73,152 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
“[Trump] expects blind loyalty and subservience from everyone — qualities usually found in narcissistic, vengeful autocrats,” he wrote.

By
Eric Lutz
Eric Lutz is a staff writer at Mic. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at ericlutz@mic.com.


https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2017-12-22/meet-our-revolutions-new-class-of-bernie-spin-offs/
Meet Our Revolution’s New Class of Bernie Spin-Offs
Can they turn Texas blue?
BY MICHAEL KING, FRI., DEC. 22, 2017

"If I can do it, then anybody can do it."

That's La'Shadion Shemwell, elected in June to the McKin­ney City Council in Collin County. He adds: "Having been arrested, being a minority, having tattoos and dreadlocks, being a poor person with all the odds against me – if I can do it, then anybody can do it."

Shemwell is among candidates and activists featured in the Dec. 18-25 cover story in The Nation, "Building a Blue Texas" by John Nichols. Nichols traveled the state with Jim Hightower, Nina Turner, and other members of Our Revolution (www.ourrevolution.com), the organizational spin-off of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. The national board has designated the Lone Star chapter as its first state affiliate, and Nichols reports on its aggressive, optimistic determination to run progressive candidates statewide and in local nonpartisan elections. "I think people know that if we break through in Texas, anything is possible," Our Revolution President Turner tells Nich­ols. "We have to do the work here if we are going to renew the Democratic Party."

Nichols follows the group on an organizing tour of the state, through East Texas and elsewhere, talking to Central Texas activists like Austin Community College trustee Julie Ann Nitsch and congressional candidate Derrick Crowe. Nitsch tells him of the renewed energy coming from young Texans. "There are people who haven't trusted the Democratic Party, but they trust Our Revolution."

As Hightower sees it, the Our Revolution campaign is renewing the commitment once represented by the state party's progressive wing. "There's an energy – you can feel it," he says. And though Nichols' story was written before the Alabama Senate election, the Doug Jones victory there could well be harbinger in Texas ... and across the country.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 22, 2017 with the headline: Texas Revolution?


ON THIS RED LIPSTICK ISSUE, MY SOUTHERN CONSERVATISM SHOWS. THE LIPS SHOULD NOT OVERSHADOW THE REST OF THE FACE, JUST SPEAKING ARTISTICALLY. SECOND, THERE IS A TREND THAT I SOMETIMES SEE ON TV SHOWS TO SHOW MEN IN LIPSTICK, I THINK TO MAKE THEM LOOK YOUTHFUL. TO ME, IT JUST IRRITATES ME, AND MAKES ME WONDER HOW THE ACTORS CAN STAND TO DO THAT. IT’S LIKE THOSE LITTLE POODLES WITH FLUFF PUFFS IN VARIOUS SURPRISING PARTS OF THEIR BODIES. DON’T YOU SUPPOSE THEY ARE EMBARRASSED TO BE MADE TO LOOK LIKE SOMETHING WHICH CLEARLY IS NOT A REAL DOG?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/history-of-red-lipstick_us_5a26f575e4b0ee6f9637dbda?utm_hp_ref=england
STYLE 12/07/2017 03:56 pm ET
Wearing Red Lipstick Once Put Women At Risk Of Being Punished The Same As Witches
Fun fact: A man could separate from his wife if he believed she deceived him with the use of makeup.
By Julia Brucculieri

Photograph -- SAMIR HUSSEIN VIA GETTY IMAGES, Taylor Swift has made red lipstick one of her signature beauty looks over the years.

If there’s one thing almost every makeup lover has in their arsenal, it’s red lipstick.

Throughout history, the bright shade has symbolized everything from bravery and strength, to resilience, feminism and even power. Over the years, the shade worn by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Gwen Stefani, Taylor Swift and even Rosie the Riveter has become a classic, thought to inspire confidence in those who wear it.

As Poppy King, founder of Lipstick Queen, once said, “That is the magic of lipstick.”

That same “magic,” though, wasn’t always seen as a good thing, especially when it came to lipstick, and cosmetics in general.

In fact, in the early days of Christianity and the eventual rise of the Church of England, the simple act of wearing lipstick was seen as being both sinful and deceitful ― and could even be punishable by law.

“With the rise of Christianity, you get people like St. Jerome saying any attempt to change the way a woman looks is an act against God. God has given you your face, that’s the face you should stick with. Any attempt to change it at all to emphasize or to conceal ― it’s sinful,” Madeleine Marsh, author of Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from Victorian Times to the Present Day, told HuffPost.

Marsh also referenced a letter by St. Cyprian in which he condemned the wearing of any cosmetics, or what he thought “falsified” one’s appearance. St. Cyprian was the bishop of Carthage and was said to be an important figure in the development of Christian thought in the third century.

“All women in general should be warned that the work of God and His creature and image should in no way be falsified by employing yellow coloring or black powder or rouge, or, finally, any cosmetic at all that spoils the natural features,” St. Cyprian wrote, adding, “They are laying hands on God when they strive to remake what He has made, and to transform it, not knowing that everything that comes into existence is the work of God; that whatever is changed, is the work of the devil.”

Applying makeup, St. Cyprian said, was “an assault upon the divine work, a violation of the truth.”

Fast forward to the 1400s and 1500s, and the era of the early Church of England, during which the church remained “actively against the idea of women wearing makeup,” said Rachel Weingarten, beauty historian and author of Hello Gorgeous! Beauty Products in America, ’40s-’60s.

“You could divorce your wife if she wore makeup. It was actually seen as a sin, because there was the idea that she wasn’t what she seemed to be,” Weingarten said.

In the late 1700s, England even passed a law stating that any woman who used cosmetics, false hair or even high-heeled shoes to “impose upon, seduce or betray into matrimony any of his Majesty’s male subjects [...] shall incur the penalty of the law now enforced against witchcraft and like misdemeanors and that the marriage upon conviction shall stand null and void.”

“That’s one of the most extreme responses ever to makeup,” Marsh noted.

On top of that, many of the ingredients people were using as makeup were quite dangerous, which resulted in a number of deaths. As Marsh noted, the severe reaction to cosmetics, then, was partly in response to that. (Surely people dying unexpectedly or mysteriously because of cosmetics didn’t help with the witchcraft idea, either.)

“But equally, it was the idea that men didn’t want to be deceived,” Marsh said.

And despite how much we think society has evolved, this attitude remains prevalent today. According to a YouGov survey from this year, 63 percent of men think women wear makeup “to trick people into thinking they’re attractive.”

But we digress.

Photograph -- DONALDSON COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES -- Even Rosie the Riveter wore red lipstick, as Marsh pointed out.

Society’s attitude toward red lipstick shifted quite drastically in the World War II era, and it became seen as a symbol of bravery, patriotism and resilience. Women were at home taking on jobs previously filled by men, as they were on the battleground.

“When you look at the wartime period, pin-up girls and whatnot, they’ve all got bright red lipstick on,” Marsh explained. “It was a time for strength and women, whether they were boiler-suited* big girls or whatever, they had to be strong, and lipstick was a part of that.”

Women were also experiencing feelings of freedom and independence during this time, after they had gotten a taste of life outside the home while their husbands were away.

Weingarten echoed Marsh’s statement, noting that makeup ― lipstick in particular ― experienced a sort of renaissance during the WWII period.

“There were many reasons that was said to be the case; first of all, to keep the spirits up, to show that while the war raged on, it [presented] the idea that life was normal,” Weingarten said. “Hitler was said to despise red lipstick in particular, so it was seen as a sign of rebellion, an FU to everything he stood for. It was also considered incredibly patriotic; it was a symbol of the red, white and blue.”

She added, “So, anyone who’s ever dismissed the idea of beauty and makeup as being frivolous, doesn’t realize the cultural and sociological impact.”

Julia Brucculieri
Style and Beauty Reporter, HuffPost


*BOILER SUITED – http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/boiler-suit
noun mainly UK US, usually coveralls
A piece of clothing that covers both the upper and lower parts of the body and is worn especially over other clothes to protect them


THIS HUFF POST STORY IS A LITTLE OLD, BUT IMPORTANT, I THINK. WHAT GOES THROUGH THIS PRESIDENT’S MIND DOES MATTER, EVEN IF HE IS “ONLY JOKING.” OFTENTIMES WHAT PEOPLE JOKE ABOUT IS TELLING INDEED. THE HUFF POST ARTICLE HERE CALLS ANN COULTER A PROVOCATEUR, AND THAT DOES EXPLAIN WHY I’VE ALWAYS DETESTED HER. WHAT WORRIES ME IS THE SHEER NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM THAT SIDE OF THE FENCE WHO THINK ALIKE. COULTER IS JUST A CHEERLEADER FOR A VICIOUS GROUP WHO HAPPEN TO BE IN POWER RIGHT NOW. MOST OF THESE EVENTS ARE OCCURRING IN THE UK, BUT SIMILAR THINGS HAVE HAPPENED HERE. WHEN YOU FINISH WITH THIS, LOOK AT THE FACEBOOK POST THAT ONE OF UU FRIENDS SENT ME. THE YOUNG MAN IN THAT ONE LOOKS A GREAT DEAL LIKE TOM HANKS. COULD THEY BE RELATED?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-anti-muslim-retweets-ann-coulter-pamela-geller_us_5a202d14e4b037b8ea206c34?utm_hp_ref=england
POLITICS 11/30/2017 03:44 pm ET
How Those Anti-Muslim Videos Probably Got Into Trump’s Twitter Feed
And the deeply troubling, bot-fueled surge of anti-Muslim activity on Twitter over the last year, as revealed by a new report.
By Christopher Mathias

How did the president of the United States come to retweet three anti-Muslim videos to his 43 million followers early Wednesday morning? Based on the Twitter accounts he follows and the surge in anti-Muslim activity on the social media platform this year, here’s one possible scenario.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN’S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS @JaydaBF @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9

— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) November 29, 2017
Jayda Fransen is a leader of Britain First, a far-right extremist group in the U.K. that wants Islam banned in the country. Its members are known for carrying out “mosque invasions” and committing hate crimes. Last year Fransen herself was convicted of religiously aggravated assault for accosting a Muslim woman. She has also openly supported a prominent Polish anti-Semite arrested for burning an effigy of an Orthodox Jew.

Naturally, Fransen has a verified Twitter account, which she used Tuesday at 3:40 p.m. EST to send this message: “VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!”

The accompanying video — which has made the rounds on anti-Muslim hate and conspiracy sites for months — shows an assailant who is neither a migrant, according to the Embassy of the Netherlands, or a Muslim, according to Dutch media.

Ann Coulter is an American far-right, anti-immigration and anti-Muslim provocateur known for appearing at white nationalist events. Her verified Twitter account is among only 45 accounts that the president follows. Coulter follows Fransen on Twitter, and on Tuesday night, she retweeted her fellow bigot from across the pond:


SCREENSHOT
And so early Wednesday morning, it’s possible that Trump rolled out of bed, fixed his hair, turned on “Fox & Friends” and opened up Twitter. Scrolling through his feed, he might have seen Coulter’s retweet of Fransen.

Perhaps liking what he saw, he could’ve clicked on Fransen’s Twitter profile, scrolled down, and then started retweeting between 6:32 and 6:49 a.m.

Trump retweeted Fransen three times. First was the Dutch “Muslim migrant” video.” The second tweet read, “VIDEO: Muslim Destroys Statue of Virgin Mary!” ― which left out some crucial context. It wasn’t just any “Muslim” in the 2013 video, but extremist cleric Abo Omar Ghabra, then with the Syrian militant Islamist group Jabhet al-Nusra.

The third retweet read, “VIDEO: Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” That video showed a horrifying incident in Alexandria, Egypt, during clashes between rival political groups in 2013.


Amarnath Amarasingam
✔
@AmarAmarasingam
The video that Trump retweeted is from July 2013 in Alexandria, Egypt. And it was shocking then as it is now. That’s why the murderer in the video faced the death penalty in 2015. http://observers.france24.com/en/20130708-egypt-teenager-roof-al-qaeda-video …

8:09 AM - Nov 29, 2017

Egyptian teen pushed off roof 'by Salafi'
Of the many harrowing amateur videos to have come out of Egypt these past few days, one from Alexandria has particularly shocked Egyptians. The video,

observers.france24.com
17 17 Replies 537 537 Retweets 654 654 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on how Trump saw Fransen’s tweets or whether it was Trump who actually pressed the retweet button. However it happened, millions of Americans woke up Wednesday to their president spreading the word of a British Islamophobe.

At a White House briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended her boss, arguing that it didn’t matter whether the videos were real because “the threat is real.”

“I’m not talking about the nature of the video,” she told reporters. “I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing. The threat is real and that is what the president is talking about.”


That same day, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah was asked how the president came across Fransen’s tweets. “Look, we are not going to be focusing on process,” he said. “I know you guys want to. We are going to be focusing on the issues.”

Trump’s bigotry, white nationalism and ties to the anti-Muslim movement are well-documented. His retweets Wednesday were not surprising, and whatever outrage the American public has mustered will soon enough shift to yet another presidential provocation or scandal in a year of unending presidential provocations and scandals.

But what Trump did Wednesday underscores a growing problem for his favorite social media platform. A new report by the British anti-racist group Hope Not Hate shows that anti-Muslim activists like Fransen have gained outsized influence on Twitter over the last year, due to rising anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe and the U.S., and due to the use of bots to amplify anti-Muslim hate.

Fransen had just 13,000 followers on Twitter in March, according to the Hope Not Hate report. Before the president retweeted her Wednesday, she had about 52,000.

The report describes her as part of a global network of anti-Muslim activists who use Twitter to push the narrative that Islam, the world’s second largest religion, is an “imminent threat” to Western civilization. Hope Not Hate monitored the accounts of anti-Muslim activists, including Fransen’s (@JaydaBF), from March until November. During that time, those accounts saw an average 117 percent growth in followers:

The anti-Muslim accounts often exploited terror attacks in the U.K. to spread their messages, doctored images and fake news. In the process, they gained much bigger followings.

Within 48 hours of the May terror attack in Manchester, Tommy Robinson, a former leader of the far-right and virulently anti-Muslim English Defence League, added nearly 30,000 new followers. Similarly, Robinson gained 22,365 followers after the Westminster attack in March. From March to November, he saw an average weekly increase of 6,422 followers.

These accounts have a real impact on how other people talk about Muslims, the report found. Thirty-two of the 100 most shared tweets regarding the London Bridge attack in June, for example, expressed negative views of Muslims.

Part of the explanation for the growth of anti-Muslim accounts, the report says, is the use of bots — automated, semi-automated or otherwise fake accounts that can tweet or automatically retweet Islamophobic propaganda.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

Pamela Geller
✔
@PamelaGeller
“Our shared values” http://dlvr.it/Nj1RDx

6:57 AM - Mar 23, 2017
37 37 Replies 171 171 Retweets 180 180 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Hope Not Hate’s report focuses on one account, @SouthLoneStar, which tweeted an image of a Muslim woman walking past a group of people helping the victim of the Westminster terror attack. @SouthLoneStar falsely asserted that the photo proved the woman’s indifference to terror’s victims. The image went viral, eventually being shared by American white nationalist figurehead Richard Spencer and American anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller.

Later, Twitter would tell the U.S. House Intelligence Committee that @SouthLoneStar was among 2,700 fake accounts set up by Russia to impact American and British politics.

Hope Not Hate’s report also identified 102 suspected bot accounts that have amplified Geller’s tweets. Geller, who rose to prominence in the anti-Muslim movement during protests over the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York, is a prolific tweeter, often posting links to her site Geller Report.


HOPE NOT HATE
Geller’s Twitter account saw a steady rise in followers through 2017, and according to Hope Not Hate, her website doubled its traffic, from 1 million views per month to over 2 million, in the period between July and October.

In May, hers was among the first accounts to share the video of the “Muslim migrant” teen attacking another teen in the Netherlands ― the same video the president shared on Wednesday.

Asked by HuffPost about Trump’s retweets of Fransen, Geller replied that “the videos are authentic and have circulated for years.”

They’re neither “‘far-right; nor ‘Islamophobic,’” she continued. “They’re just factual. Once again the media is blaming the messenger instead of dealing with Islamic violence. He didn’t add any rhetoric. He retweeted authentic videos. If Muslims sincerely condemn jihad terror and Sharia oppression, they shouldn’t oppose him.”

Speaking at a Wednesday night event promoting her new book in Manhattan, Geller lashed out at The Guardian, which first reported on the Hope Not Hate report. “I don’t know what a bot is,” she said.

“What they’re trying to do … is have Twitter shut me down, because what we have been able to do is build this large social media following,” she added.


STEPHANIE KEITH VIA GETTY IMAGES
Anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller said the videos retweeted by Trump are not “Islamophobic.”
The Hope Not Hate report notes that Geller runs a “mirror” Twitter account (@atlasshrugs) that posts the same tweets as her main account (@PamelaGeller). This strategy, the report explains, “helps her stay online in case one account is suspended, while at the same inflates the reach of her message.” It’s also a possible violation of Twitter’s terms of service, which largely prohibit mirror accounts.

Twitter would not comment on the record as to whether Geller was violating its terms of service, nor did it respond to HuffPost questions about the Hope Not Hate report.

Asked whether the Fransen videos the president retweeted might have violated any of the company’s terms of service, a Twitter spokesperson sent this statement:

As appropriate, we take action against content that violates our terms of service, including hiding some content behind sensitive media filters. As our Help Center notes: “To help ensure people have an opportunity to see every side of an issue, there may be the rare occasion when we allow controversial content or behavior which may otherwise violate our Rules to remain on our service because we believe there is a legitimate public interest in its availability. Each situation is evaluated on a case by case basis and ultimately decided upon by a cross-functional team.”

Fransen, meanwhile, has been soaking up the attention Trump’s retweets have brought her. “GOD BLESS TRUMP!” she tweeted Wednesday. “GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In the 24 hours since the president retweeted her, she has gained nearly 30,000 new followers.

Ashley Feinberg contributed to this report.

Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Here’s how.


Christopher Mathias
National Reporter, HuffPost


IMMIGRATION FROM ANOTHER ANGLE –

COULD THIS YOUNG MAN BE TOM HANKS’ GRANDSON? THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS THAT I’VE EVER WATCHED. IT’S UP THERE WITH ANDY GRIFFITH’S “WHAT IT WAS WAS FOOTBALL.”
https://www.facebook.com/VerySeriousContent/videos/1988860197807404/