MAY 9 AND 10, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


DID THIS MAN HAVE TO GO TO SWITZERLAND TO GET IT DONE? GUESS SO. PERSONALLY, I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE TO GO TO A GOOD DOCTOR AND GET ONE OR PERHAPS TWO ANTI-DEPRESSANT PRESCRIPTIONS. I HAVE TWO, ONE FOR MORNING AND ONE FOR NIGHT. I ALSO USE A MED WHICH PREVENTS ME FROM HAVING A SUDDEN OR DRASTIC MOOD SWITCH – “CRASHING.” CRASHING IS VERY DANGEROUS IN SOME PEOPLE, AND THE DIRECT CAUSE OF MANY SUICIDES.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE DEPRESSION, AND IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT AN INDIVIDUAL IS “CRAZY.” MANY OF US ARE BIPOLAR, BUT THAT IS CLASSED AS A MOOD DISORDER. IT IS MY OPINION THAT PEOPLE RARELY WANT TO COMMIT SUICIDE WITHOUT BEING “DEPRESSED.” SIMPLY GOING TO CHURCH MORE IS VERY UNLIKELY TO GET RID OF BIOLOGICALLY BASED DEPRESSION, WHICH IS NOT CAUSED BY OUR SINS. MEDICATIONS NOW MOST FREQUENTLY DON’T MAKE PEOPLE FEEL MENTALLY DULLED, OR UNABLE TO PERFORM IN LIFE AS THEY ONCE DID. GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL THERAPY MAY BE NEEDED ALSO. IT’S CLEAR TO ME THAT WE SHOULD TRY CHOOSING HAPPINESS AND NOT MERELY A DULL FEELING OF SADNESS OR HOPELESSNESS!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-goodall-switzerland-assisted-suicide-beethoven-ninth-symphony/
CBS/AP May 10, 2018, 7:55 AM
104-year-old belts out Beethoven before assisted suicide

PHOTOGRAPH -- David Goodall, 104, reacts during a news conference a day before he ended his own life in an assisted suicide in Basel, Switzerland, May 9, 2018. REUTERS

BASEL, Switzerland -- A 104-year-old Australian man ended his own life by way of assisted suicide in Switzerland on Thursday, a day after cheerily singing a few bars from "Ode to Joy," to the tune of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and telling reporters the controversial procedure should be more widely available and not viewed only as a last resort for the terminally ill. As sanguine as David Goodall sounded on Wednesday, the British-born biologist's death has some people in the country where he came to die questioning if they want it to be known as the ultimate final tourist destination.

Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, but frowned upon by many doctors and some others who say it should be reserved for the terminally ill. Goodall's supporters want the practice to be more accepted as a legitimate choice for elderly, ready-to-go people like him.

Staff at the hospital in Basel were quoted by Britain's Sky News as saying Thursday that he had "gone in peace."

Euthanasia becoming more common in Netherlands
Assisted suicide still rare in U.S. after legalization
Dying wish: Arguing the right to die

Hundreds of people, many of them cancer patients, come to the small Alpine country each year to take their lives with help. But Goodall wasn't sick. He just had some vision, hearing and mobility troubles common with advancing age.

Life Circle, a small assisted suicide advocacy group based in Basel, provides aid in a minority of cases like his. The group and an outside organization, Exit International, helped Goodall achieve his wish and tried to show that it would be reasonable if others who are comparatively healthy but extremely old wanted to end their lives, too.

Swiss law currently allows assisted suicide for anyone who acknowledges in writing that they are taking their lives willingly -- without being forced. The decades-old legislation that authorized the practice also says, somewhat vaguely, that people who help others to die cannot do so for "selfish" reasons.

But Swiss critics of broader use are uncomfortable with the idea of Switzerland becoming an international hub for assisted suicide. Ethicists at a leading Swiss medical association oppose assisted suicide for anyone besides people with terminal illnesses.

Basel City Councilwoman Annemarie Pfeifer, a leading critic of Life Circle, fears that widening assisted suicide beyond the terminally ill could one day lead to "pressure" being exerted on the infirm elderly to end their lives.

"We must be very careful with life," she said. "It's not good for my city if Basel has a reputation as a city of death."

Still, the medical association is contemplating whether to ease its reservations about making assisted suicide an option for anyone besides the terminally ill, such as by possibly accepting that frail elderly people - like, say, willing people over age 80 - could take part.

Goodall and other supporters of assisted suicide have said other countries should legalize the procedure so people in very poor health as well as those who ready to die don't have to travel to Switzerland. They bemoan possible alternatives such as sudden, solo suicides -- often without proper goodbyes to loved ones.

Goodall had bid farewell to relatives in Australia and France already. Other family members were expected to be on hand for his assisted suicide on Thursday outside Basel.

On Wednesday, surprised by the turnout, the centenarian told a crowded news conference that he was ready to go -- possibly by lethal injection, but that he'll defer to the doctors on the method.

Just before he died, he quipped that if he were to choose any final music for the procedure, it might be Beethoven's Ninth Symphony -- he then sang a few bars in German for the cameras. He ruled out a return to his beloved Australian countryside.

"At my age, and even at rather less than my age, one wants to be free to choose the death and when the death is the appropriate time. My abilities have been declining over the past year or two, and my eyesight for the past five or six years, and I no longer want to continue life," Goodall said. "I am happy to have the chance tomorrow to end it."

The Swiss federal statistics office says the number of assisted suicides has been growing fast: Nine years ago, there were 297. By 2015, the most recent year tabulated, the figure had more than tripled to 965. Nearly 15 percent of the cases last year were people under 65 years old.

Goodall is not religious. But it happens that he died on Ascension Day, which commemorates Jesus' rise to heaven after final death -- a coincidence not missed by some in predominantly Christian Switzerland.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



TWO ARTICLES, SAME SUBJECT – ONE IN THE SOUTH, ONE IN THE NORTH

THIS INCIDENT ISN’T A SINGULAR EVENT, BUT APPARENTLY PART OF A TREND. THAT ISN’T GOOD. THE UNIVERSITY IS TRYING TO CHANGE THAT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/yale-cops-warned-white-student-for-calling-police-on-black-student-sleeping-in-common-area/
AP May 10, 2018, 2:31 PM
Yale cops warned white student for calling police on black student sleeping in common area

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Yale University police officers who responded to a call about a black graduate student who had fallen asleep in the common area of a campus residence admonished the white student who reported it, a university administrator said Thursday.

The officers interviewed both students and then told the complaining student that the other woman had every right to be there, according to Yale Vice President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews, who said she found the episode deeply troubling.

"This incident and others recently reported to me underscore that we have work to do to make Yale not only excellent but also inclusive," Goff-Crews said in a statement.

The black student, Lolade Siyonbola, posted two videos of the encounter Monday night on social media showing police interviewing her for more than 15 minutes. She told police she had fallen asleep while working on a paper.

Siyonbola, who said in the videos that the same student had called police months earlier on a friend who had gotten lost in a stairwell of the building, said she saw the statement from Goff-Crews as "a move in the right direction." She said requests for action by the university are currently being drafted by black graduate students.

Goff-Crews said administrators and the Yale police chief are planning listening sessions with students in the months ahead to address the episode. She said she also plans to work with administrators and students to review suggestions on how to improve the university's response to incidents of discrimination and harassmemt.

© 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MANDATORY HUMAN RELATIONS SEMINARS COMPLETE WITH DISCUSSIONS FOR ALL PEOPLE IN THE USA. IT WOULD BE GROUP THINK, GROUP TALK DOING SOMETHING GOOD INSTEAD OF EVIL. EACH ONE COULD THEN FINISH OFF WITH A SOCIAL GATHERING WITH SOME TASTY FOOD – A LARGE BARBECUE, PERHAPS. THE LAW IS MAKING PROGRESS, AND MOST PEOPLE ARE, BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS THE INTRANSIGENT HATERS. SO SAD. DO WATCH THIS ALL TOO SHORT VIDEO BY CHRIS AT CHICO FREEDOM. IT SHOWS THE ACTUAL VIOLENCE OF THE “SHOVES.” IT WASN’T MERELY DISRESPECTFUL.

THOSE STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW THAT FOR EVERY PERSON LIKE THIS MAN, THERE ARE A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF OTHERS WHO VALUE HUMANITY NO MATTER THE RACE, RELIGION OR ECONOMIC CLASS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/university-of-florida-puts-lecturer-who-shoved-grabbed-students-graduation-ceremony-on-leave/
CBS/AP May 10, 2018, 9:37 AM
University of Florida puts lecturer who shoved, grabbed students on leave

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The University of Florida has placed a lecturer who shoved and grabbed students during a graduation ceremony on paid administrative leave. Videos posted to social media over the weekend showed a man dressed in an academic robe grabbing graduates and pushing them while they were displayed on the Jumbotron at the school's basketball arena on Saturday. Witnesses said African-American grads appeared to be singled out.

School spokeswoman Margot Winick said Tuesday that the marshal, whom she refused to identify, is a lecturer in the chemistry department.

The Gainesville Sun reports that the marshal rushed about 30 graduating students through the commencement line, and pushed and shoved others. When some students who are members of historically black fraternities and sororities began performing choreographed movements representing each of their organizations, the marshal grabbed them aggressively and shoved them.


FLORIDA
✔
@UF
The University is proud of the achievements of every single one of our graduates and regrets that any celebration of the day may have been diminished by those monitoring a graduation ceremony.

9:30 PM - May 5, 2018
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Chris
@ChicoFreedom
UF Twitter 🗣🗣

Somebody please find out this employee’s name!! Every time a Black student took more than TWO seconds, he aggressively pushed them. Watch it for yourself. #ItsGreatUF

5:22 PM - May 5, 2018
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University President W. Kent Fuchs said in a statement that the school "failed" to create a commencement atmosphere where all students could celebrate equally.

On Monday, Fuchs apologized.

"We were inappropriately aggressive in rushing students across the stage," Fuchs said on Twitter on Sunday. "I personally apologize, and am reaching out to the students involved. The practice has been halted for all future ceremonies."

He also apologized while speaking at another commencement ceremony on Sunday.

Winick said the school is investigating the marshal's actions and its commencement policy.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



IT IS NEVER SAFE TO TRY TO SWIM IN THE WATERS HERE. WE HAVE MANY, MANY “RETAINER PONDS” DUE TO STORM ACTIVITIES. ALLIGATORS DON’T KNOW OR CARE THAT THEY’RE IN SOMEONE’S BACKYARD AND JUST SAY TO THEMSELVES, “THIS LOOKS LIKE HOME TO ME.” ALWAYS BE AWARE OF THAT POSSIBILITY IF YOU APPROACH A BODY OF WATER HERE. I SAW SOME NEWS FOOTAGE OF A GATOR TURNING SUDDENLY SIDEWAYS TO TRY TO REACH A WOMAN WHO HAD APPROACHED IT OUT OF CURIOSITY. THEY’RE LARGE AND LOOK “SLOW,” BUT THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE. GIVE THEM AT LEAST 20 OR 30 FEET IF YOU WANT TO DO SOME NATURE OBSERVATION.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/possible-alligator-attack-florida-search-crews-find-body-gator-infested-pond/
CBS/AP May 10, 2018, 10:14 AM
Search crews find body in alligator-infested pond after possible attack

PHOTOGRAPHS – SEARCH CREW AND PHOTOGRAPHER

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Crews in central Florida have found a body in an alligator-infested pond where a witness said a teenager yelled "it bit me, it bit me," before disappearing under water. Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jeff Williamson said in a Thursday morning email that the marine unit found the body.

A reporter for CBS affiliate WKMG-TV reported on Twitter that investigators said the body was described as a black or Hispanic woman in her teens or 20s.

Authorities also said there were no discernible marks on the body from an alligator or another animal.

View image on TwitterView image on Twitter

Sachelle Saunders
@SachelleOnAir
Investigators: Body found in retention pond was black or Hispanic young woman, teens-20s. No discernable marks of alligator or other animal attack. #news6

9:40 AM - May 10, 2018
See Sachelle Saunders's other Tweets
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Eric Wolfe told 911 dispatchers on Wednesday that he saw a teen flailing his arms in the water and screaming before going under about 20 yards from shore.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Orange County Fire Rescue and the Orange County Sheriff's Office took part in the search.

Williamson said no teens in the area had been reported missing.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



BERNIE, YOU’RE THE BEST! THREE ARTICLES.

THIS IS REALLY CRUCIAL. THE NEAR DEATH OF LABOR IS ONE OF OUR WORST PROBLEMS AS A SOCIETY. ONE OF THE BEST COURSES I TOOK IN COLLEGE WAS ONE ON THE HISTORY OF LABOR IN THE USA. NOW THAT’S A WAR I CAN CHEERFULLY FIGHT. THE NEXT ARTICLE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.

http://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-labor-union-plan-wages-fight-income-inequality-2018-5
Bernie Sanders has a new plan to raise wages, and it's a major signal on where the Democratic Party is headed
Bob Bryan
MAY 10, 2018 6,252

PHOTOGRAPH -- Sen. Bernie Sanders Mark Wilson/Getty Images

.... Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced The Workplace Democracy Act, a bill that would strengthen labor unions.
.... Sanders said the plan would help boost wages and reduce income inequality.
.... The plan is unlikely to gain traction in the current Congress, but signals a priority for Democrats going forward.
.... Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday introduced a plan that he says will boost wages by strengthening labor unions.

Sanders' Workplace Democracy Act would make it easier for workers to join unions and strengthen unions' negotiating power.

The plan is cosponsored by an array of Democratic lawmakers, including possible 2020 presidential hopefuls Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Sanders, an independent and a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, said the plan was designed to help workers in the middle class.


"In order to strengthen America's middle class, we must make it a priority to restore workers' rights to bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions," Sanders said in a statement. "That is the goal of the Workplace Democracy Act."

Here's a brief outline of the plan's provisions. It would:

Allow the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, to certify a union if a majority of workers sign up. Such a move would allow unions to form easier than under the current election process. Labor advocates say elections allow for more interference from businesses trying to union formations.
Compel businesses to begin negotiations with a prospective union within 10 days. That would prevent companies from ignoring union requests and speed up the recognition process. The bill would also give businesses 90 days to reach an agreement through negotiation before compelling the two sides to go to arbitration.
Expand the definition of employer. Currently, many companies in the so-called gig economy (like ridesharing companies) consider workers as independent contractors. By expanding the definition of employer, workers could form unions and collectively bargain with these types of businesses.
Allow secondary boycotts. That would allow unions to boycott suppliers and companies associated with a business that was in a labor dispute.
Compel companies to disclose anti-union activity. This would force businesses to publicly disclose funding to anti-union consultants and distribution of anti-union materials to workers.
Sanders said the reforms would give workers more power and help boost lackluster wage growth in the US.

"Declining unionization has fueled rising inequality," Sanders said. "Today, corporate profits are at an all-time high, while wages as a percentage of the economy are near an all-time low. The middle class is disappearing, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider."

April's jobs report showed that average hourly earnings grew only 2.6% year-over-year and remained below pre-recession levels despite the fact that the current economic expansion just became the second-longest in US history.

Union membership has been gradually falling for decades, and some academic studies have connected the decline to rising income inequality and slower wage growth. Workers in unions consistently earn higher wages than their non-union peers, studies have shown.

Sanders first introduced legislation called the Workplace Democracy Act as a member of the House in 1992, but it stalled. The Vermont lawmaker reintroduced similar House legislation in 1994, 195, 1997, and 1999. He also introduced a Senate version in 2015.

Given Republican control of the White House and Congress, the bill is unlikely to pass anytime soon. But, it does signal that unions and labor could be a key focus for Democrats in the next presidential election.

SEE ALSO: Bernie Sanders is about to roll out a plan to guarantee every single American a job



IT WOULD BE VERY GOOD IF WE COULD END THE PRIVILEGE OF BUSINESS OVER LABOR. BALANCE IS WHAT REALLY WORKS. REPUBLICANS AND REPUBLICAN LEANERS ALWAYS TRY TO PRESENT BERNIE AS A PIE IN THE SKY IDEALIST. HE DOES CARE ABOUT IDEALS, TRUE, BUT SO SHOULD WE ALL. HE IS ANYTHING BUT IMPRACTICAL, THOUGH. HE TRIES TO DO THINGS THAT WILL BE EFFECTIVE AND FAIR. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO END RIGHT TO WORK LAWS WITHOUT A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, BUT HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW. GO, BERNIE!

http://freebeacon.com/issues/sanders-introduces-legislation-to-end-state-right-to-work-laws/
Sanders Introduces Legislation to End State ‘Right-to-Work’ Laws
Bill would strengthen the power of organized labor
Sen. Bernie Sanders / Getty
BY: Haris Alic
May 10, 2018 10:20 am

Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) filed legislation Wednesday that would significantly strengthen the power of organized labor.

Sanders, along with senators Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), among others, introduced the Workplace Democracy Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize and enter into contractual negotiations with employers.

The legislation comes at a time when the number of unionized workers in the American economy is at an all-time low. Fueled in part by the rise of globalization and technological advancement, labor membership has steadily declined from 20.1 percent in 1983 to 10.7 percent at the end of 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sanders's bill seeks to reverse the course by scrapping current procedures in place governing the establishment of a union. Presently, 30 percent of an organization's employees must sign a petition requesting the formal creation of a union. The National Labor Relations Board then administers an election of all eligible employees to ensure that there is significant support for unionization. An employer can also choose to recognize a union provided there is sufficient evidence, usually in the form of union authorization cards, showing a majority of employers want to be represented.

If the bill was to become law, the NLRB election would be phased out in favor of a system where if a majority of workers signed up to be represented by a union, the NLRB would certify and recognize its existence.

Other aspects of the legislation would require employers to commence negotiations with a new union within 10 days of receiving a request to form a "first contract." The bill would establish a 90-day negotiation deadline before the parties could request "compulsory mediation." If that proves unsuccessful after 30 days, the parties would "have a contract settlement through binding arbitration."

The bill would also expand the definition of "employer" and "employee" to include independent contractors.

The most controversial provision of the legislation is also the newest. Tucked away in the 12-page bill is language that would repeal a portion of the National Labor Relations Act allowing states to enact "right-to-work" laws. Such laws prevent unions from mandating membership or payment of dues as a condition of employment.

Since 1947, 28 states have opted to codify right-to-work provisions into law, arguing that compulsory unionization violates the constitutional right of freedom of association and limits economic competition.

Right-to-work laws have long drawn rebuke from liberals, who claim that allowing individual employees the choice of whether to join a union or not only serves to weaken the stance from which workers negotiate with management.

In a statement announcing the legislation, Sanders declared it was no longer tolerable for "CEOs and managers" to "intimidate" workers from joining or forming unions. Sanders also asserted that the only way to reduce income inequality in America was by ensuring the proliferation of more "union jobs."

"We must no longer tolerate CEOs and managers who intimidate, threaten, or fire pro-union workers, who threaten to move plants to China if their workers vote in favor of a union, and who refuse to negotiate a first contract with workers who have voted to join unions," Sanders said. "If we are serious about reducing income and wealth inequality and rebuilding the middle class, we have got to substantially increase the number of union jobs in this country."

Sanders has introduced similar legislation in the past, although never with the provision preempting states from passing their own right-to-work laws.

It is unclear why Sanders and his Democratic colleagues in Congress believe now is the correct time to repeal right-to-work laws. In April, the national unemployment rate fell below four percent, hitting a 19-year low. Furthermore, economic data has shown that wage growth is climbing at a faster rate than at any time since 2009.

The self-described Democratic socialist has long enjoyed strong backing from big labor. Between 1989 and 2018, organized labor has constituted nearly 70 percent of all political action committee contributions accepted by Sanders, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Labor was also pivotal in underwriting Sanders's failed 2016 presidential campaign, providing the candidate with high-profile endorsements, volunteers, and monetary donations.

Sanders's office did not return requests for comment on this story.

Patrick Semmens, a spokesman for the National Right to Work Committee, expressed that the legislation only served to emphasize how the objectives of organized labor differ from those of the average worker.

"This bill is a vivid reminder that the ultimate goal of Big Labor and its allies in Congress is an America where every worker must pay tribute to a union official in order to make a living," Semmens said. "The proposed legislation contains virtually every bad legislative idea union bosses have proposed in the past century."

Semmens also said that while Sanders and other proponents claim the legislation is about protecting worker interests, in reality, it only serves to strengthen the power of union bosses over "independent workers."

"Not only would it wipe out 28 state right-to-work laws that protect workers from being forced to fund a labor union they oppose, it also would replace the secret ballot vote for unionization elections with coercive card-check campaigns, where union organizers can harass and intimidate workers until they sign cards that are then counted as ‘votes' for unionization," Semmens added. "The bill is simply about union boss power over independent workers and forcing those workers to subsidize Big Labor, which spent over $1.7 billion on politics and lobbying just during the last election cycle."

Haris Alic Email | Full Bio | RSS
Haris Alic is a Social Media Writer at the Washington Free Beacon. Prior to joining the staff, Haris worked in communications and government relations at various non-profits. Haris lives in Northern Virginia. His Twitter handle is @realHarisAlic. He can be reached at alic@freebeacon.com.


THIS ARTICLE SAYS THAT THREE OTHER BOOKS ON SANDERS ARE ON THEIR WAY OUT TO THE MARKET. I’M IN NO POSITION TO BE BUYING BOOKS, BUT MAYBE I’LL GO TO MY TRUSTY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND GET ON A WAITING LIST INSTEAD.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/run-bernie-run-sanderss-2016-campaign-manager-urges-another-bid-in-new-memoir/2018/05/10/64601630-544d-11e8-9c91-7dab596e8252_story.html
Politics
‘Run, Bernie, Run!’: Sanders’s 2016 campaign manager urges another bid in new memoir
By John Wagner May 10 at 9:26 AM

It was important to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose 2016 presidential campaign gained momentum with large-scale rallies, to outdraw Donald Trump in Phoenix. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

Bernie Sanders would have defeated Donald Trump if he were the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and remains the strongest candidate to prevail in 2020, Sanders’s campaign manager argues in a new memoir in which he also seeks to settle some scores with other politicians and the media.

In the provocatively titled book, “How Bernie Won,” Jeff Weaver offers an unapologetic insider’s view of the primary campaign of Sanders, the iconoclastic senator from Vermont whose bid proved far more robust than anyone imagined and is now weighing another run at age 76.

“I believe he is the strongest candidate to reclaim the White House in 2020 in this moment in history,” Weaver writes. “His authentic message of positive change and his appeal to a broad range of voters gives Democrats the best opportunity to put together the coalition that can reclaim elected office at all levels.”

“Run, Bernie, Run!” Weaver concludes his 363-page book, set to be published on May 15.

Weaver second-guesses few of the decisions that guided Sanders through his 2016 run and dismisses critics who have argued that the senator’s bid served to weaken the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in the general election.

[Still want to know more about Bernie? Three books are on their way.]

“To the extent our campaign bears any responsibility for Trump’s victory it is that we did not defeat Hillary Clinton,” Weaver writes of campaign that won 23 nominating contests and 43 percent of the combined popular vote against Clinton.

Weaver pulls few punches when discussing the campaign’s real and perceived adversaries. They include Bill Clinton (whose presidency “tore at the fabric of the Democratic party”), then-Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (who repeatedly “put her thumb on the scale” for Hillary Clinton) and reporters and columnists who filed unfavorable reports at key junctures in Sanders’s campaign.

Weaver, for instance, writes of the campaign being undermined in the all-important New York primary by “pathetic columnists” at The Washington Post and editorial writers at the New York Daily News — all of whom, he says, “knowingly or not, functioned in this effort as campaign proxies for Hillary Clinton.”

Weaver is kinder to Larry David, the comedian who played Sanders on a recurring basis on “Saturday Night Live.”

“Bernie thought that the Larry David portray, while over-the-top, was hilarious,” Weaver relays.

Here are a half-dozen other nuggets contained in the new book:

Sanders told Weaver from the outset that he was “running to win.” Contrary to speculation that Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, entered the race to get a broader platform for his ideas, Weaver writes that Sanders told him that was not the case.

Weaver recounts a dinner between the two when Sanders was courting him to come on board as campaign manager.

“I told him if it was just an ‘educational’ campaign, I would be happy to max out and write nice things about him on social media, but I could not upend my life unless we were going to run to win,” Weaver writes. “ ‘Yes, I’m running to win,’ he assured me.”

Sanders was resistant to hiring a pollster for his presidential campaign and told him so when they first met. Sanders first met pollster Ben Tulchin, who would join the campaign several months later, at a boutique hotel in San Francisco in March 2015.

“Ben, explain to me why I should spend money from my supporters, who may be living off Social Security, on polling,” Weaver recounts Sanders as saying.

Weaver writes that Sanders was later convinced a pollster would be used not to craft his message but to allow the campaign to better target its resources.

It was important for Sanders, whose campaign gained momentum with large-scale rallies, to outdraw Trump in Phoenix. Weaver writes that Sanders and others on the campaign were well aware of a 4,000-plus crowd Trump drew in July 2015.

When Sanders scheduled a rally at the same venue a week later, “Bernie and all the rest of us wanted to beat him in that regard,” Weaver writes. “If our rally had the unintended consequence of knocking some air out of his balloon, all the better.”

Sanders’s rally drew an estimated crowd of 11,000.

Sanders was heavily prepared for the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas, but his most memorable line — about Clinton’s emails — was unrehearsed. “That was all Bernie,” Weaver writes.

During the October 2015 debate, Sanders received a standing ovation for his response to the ongoing controversy about Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

“Let me say something that may not be great in politics, but I think the secretary is right,” Sanders said. “I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.”

The Sanders campaign unsuccessfully sought to strike a deal with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) in the Iowa caucuses. Weaver writes that he reached out to O’Malley’s campaign manager in advance of the first nominating contest.

The goal was to agree to a swap of supporters in precincts where, under the complicated caucus rules, it could accrue to the benefit of one or the other campaign. Sanders had the most to gain, but Weaver also argued there was also a benefit for O’Malley.

If Sanders beat Clinton in Iowa, she would be considerably weakened heading into New Hampshire, allowing O’Malley more of an opportunity to play there, the reasoning went.

“So you are asking me to help you win today so that I have a chance to win tomorrow?” Weaver quotes O’Malley campaign manager Dave Hamrick asking him.

In the end, Weaver says, O’Malley decided against a deal. O’Malley dropped out after Iowa.

Sanders’s campaign hoped an upset victory in the New York primary would sow doubts about Clinton among Democratic superdelegates. Weaver quotes campaign consultant Tad Devine sizing up the importance of the contest.

“If we can beat her in her home state it is really going to shake people’s confidence in her, and then we will see a lot of those superdelegates start to take a second look at the race,” Weaver quotes Devine as saying.

Wooing superdelegates — elected officials and other party insiders who have a say in the nominating process and are not bound by their state’s results — proved a major hurdle for Sanders that he never surmounted.

Clinton prevailed in New York primary with 57 percent of the vote.

Relationships were not exactly warm and fuzzy between the Sanders campaign and several Democratic establishment politicians. In the book, Weaver takes shots at Democrats who worked at cross purposes with his campaign.

Bill Clinton comes in for some of the harshest criticism, including for his efforts to find a more centrist path for the party during his tenure as president.

“Bill Clinton’s administration represented an aberration in the historical trajectory of the Democratic party toward more inclusion, more economic equality and broader and broader opportunity,” Weaver writes early in the book.

Others who draw fire for their actions during the campaign include then-Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, who was among several Democratic politicians from the state who endorsed Clinton on the day of Sanders’s official announcement as a candidate.

“Shumlin’s endorsement of Clinton was a particularly tasteless move,” Weaver writes, noting that Sanders had campaigned for him during the 2014 governor’s race. “Without Bernie, he would have lost. And everyone including Shumlin knew it.”

Weaver also takes aim at Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D), among the Clinton supporters who sought to make the case that Sanders was weaker than Clinton on gun control. Weaver highlights a decision by the Malloy administration to offer loans to gun manufacturers in his state.

“He talked about gun control out of one side of his mouth while providing state dollars to the gun industry out of the other,” Weaver writes,” accusing Malloy of “hypocrisy.”

Weaver offers several glimpses of Jane Sanders, the candidate’s wife. Weaver writes that he, Bernie and Jane Sanders were sitting in an idling Jeep Cherokee ahead of Sanders’s official announcement in Burlington.

“It was Jane who pointed out the environmental impact of sitting in an idling car,” Weaver writes. “Her point was well taken, so we got out.”



KILAUEA IS GETTING MEAN

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hawaii-kilaeua-volcano-explosive-eruptions-ballistic-rocks-ashfall-lava-usgs-warning-today-2018-05-09/
By PETER MARTINEZ CBS NEWS May 9, 2018, 10:15 PM
Explosive eruptions, "ballistic rocks" possible from volcano in Hawaii

The potential for "explosive eruptions" from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano in the coming weeks is rising, which could result in pebble-sized projectiles being sprayed several miles from the fissures, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Officials in Hawaii said late Wednesday that a 15th fissure opened up.

Wednesday's USGS warning came as residents in the community of Leilani Estates have been under siege from lava.

NASA photos show lava-oozing volcano fissures on Hawaii's Big Island

The USGS also said that nearby towns could be dusted with volcanic ash if such an eruption took place.

"Steam-driven explosions at volcanos typically provide very little warning," USGS explained.

The agency tweeted a picture explaining that explosive eruptions can occur when a volcano's magma column drops below the water table and groundwater interacts with hot rock. At that point, steam pressure builds then explodes.

This diagram shows how explosive eruptions occur at Kilauea: 1) lava column drops below the water table; 2) groundwater comes in contact with magma or hot rocks, 3) the flash boiling of water causes violent steam explosions.

USGS Volcanoes🌋
✔
@USGSVolcanoes
#HVO/#USGS Volcanic Activity Notice
for #Kilauea: Steady lowering of lava lake at summit of #KilaueaVolcano has raised potential for explosive eruptions in coming weeks. https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/status.html … @CivilDefenseHI will issue alerts if needed: http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts/ #KilaueaErupts

2:24 PM - May 9, 2018
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A look at the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii. USGS/HAWAII VOLCANO OBSERVATORY

The USGS said that even more violent eruptions could occur, shooting "ballistic rocks" weighing up to several tons about a mile away. In addition, there's the potential for steam and hazardous sulfur dioxide emissions.

The Reuters news agency reports that exposure to very high levels of the gas, which causes acid rain, can be life-threatening, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reported from Pahoa, Hawaii, that residents were warned to stay indoors Wednesday with their windows closed because sulfuric acid in the air can cause headaches, lung irritation and even induce asthma attacks.

Those fumes are called "vog" -- or volcanic fog. They can drift far from the eruption and hang in the air.

Evans followed the National Guard back to the lava zone where they are measuring the levels of sulfur dioxide gas just to see how bad it is (see image below). He said the gas smells like rotten eggs and mentioned that the air is safe as long as the wind is blowing in the opposite direction.

"I hit my [asthma] pump three times this morning," resident Dan Kelly told Evans. "Last night I had to leave I was choking ... and just trying to get out to the ... fresh air down the coast."

Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano
U.S. Army National Guard First Lt. Aaron Hew Len takes measurements for sulfur dioxide gas at volcanic fissures in the Leilani Estates neighborhood in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island on May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. GETTY

Kilauea is the world's most active volcano and has been in near-constant eruption since 1983.

Lava has flowed from fissures and has destroyed at least 36 homes and other buildings, plus anything else in its path, since it erupted about a week ago.

At a Wednesday evening press conference, Hawaii Gov. David Ige reported that a geothermal energy plant is quickening its removal of stored flammable gas. The facility is located across the highway from where lava has been erupting in Leilani Estates.

He said the Puna Geothermal Venture plant has about 50,000 gallons of pentane on site. He said it would be "very hazardous" if a volcanic vent were to open under the facility where the fuel is stored.

Officials expect to finish removing the gas by Thursday.

Authorities had previously ordered nearly 2,000 residents to leave Lanipuna Gardens and the neighboring Leilani Estates, both located in the mostly rural district of Puna on Hawaii's Big Island. But some had ignored the order and stayed to watch over their property.

"There were a number of people at their residences," Talmadge Magno, the administrator for Hawaii County Civil Defense, said at a news conference. There was no sign of holdouts in Lanipuna afterward, he said.

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Lava seen from a new fissure caused by the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. APAUHAWAIITOURS/YOUTUBE

CBS affiliate KGMB-TV writes that Lanipuna Gardens is home to about 250 people and, like Leilani Estates, has been under a mandatory evacuation order since Thursday. The station mentions that authorities have not allowed Lanipuna Gardens residents to return to retrieve belongings, as they have in Leilani Estates, because of hazardous fumes in the area.

Officials announced Wednesday evening a 15th fissure opened up in Leilani Estates, this after two other ones formed Tuesday. Reuters reports fountains of lava had spewed up to 300 feet from the vents and more than 115 acres of land have been scorched by lava so far.

There is no indication when the eruption might stop, or how far the lava might spread.

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A look at the lava flow in Hawaii. BRANDON CLEMENT/LSM

Evans spoke to other residents this week who lived in the lava's path of destruction.

Kelena Kealoha fled the California wildfires for his dream home in Hawaii.

"I was going to raise my daughters here, but it doesn't look like it was going to turn out to be the scenario we hoped," Kealoha said. "I've never experienced lava consuming all of my possessions before ... I guess it's kind of mixed emotions."

Amber Makuakane's home is already gone. The single mom doesn't know how to tell her 4-year-old son.

"I need to figure that out," she said with tears in her eyes. "My son asks, 'Mommy, can we go home?'"

Scientists have no real prediction as to when or where the lava will flow -- or when it will end.

Wednesday evening, NASA tweeted an image from a satellite that passed over the volcanic activity in Hawaii. They wrote that "scientists use a unique set of nine different Earth views to calculate the height of the plume":

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

NASA
✔
@NASA
With @NASAEarth data collected as our satellites pass over Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano, scientists use a unique set of nine different Earth views to calculate the height of the plume & see it more distinctly than a normal near-vertical view: https://go.nasa.gov/2I7DKPv

6:02 PM - May 9, 2018
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THIS INTRODUCTION TO GUNS SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT PARENTAL PERMISSION, CERTAINLY. THE ELEVEN YEAR-OLD BOY HAD THE TOTALLY PREDICTABLE RESPONSE TO THE SITUATION, UNFORTUNATELY. “I NEED A 22 CALIBER.” SOMEHOW IT JUST DOESN’T SEEM CRUCIAL TO ME, AS IS THE DESCRIPTION BY PHYS ED TEACHERS ON THE TRUTH ABOUT “THE FACTS OF LIFE.” THAT WAS IN THE SEVENTH GRADE; AND WAS USUALLY TWO YEARS OR SO AFTER WE HAD ALREADY RESEARCHED FOR OURSELVES AND HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH FRIENDS. WE HAD A GRAY’S HOME MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA AT HOME WHICH I SHARED WITH MY GIRLFRIEND. THIS BIT OF INFORMATION DOES LOOK TO ME LIKE THE GROUNDS FOR A LAWSUIT: “GUICE SAYS AFTER TELLING THE STORY ON THE NEWS, SHE RECEIVED A CALL SAYING SHE IS NO LONGER ON THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER LIST, WITH NO REASON AS TO WHY.” I HOPE THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT SHE IS BLACK.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-upset-kids-given-impromptu-gun-show-on-school-trip-south-carolina/
By CAITLIN O'KANE CBS NEWS May 9, 2018, 2:36 PM
Parents upset after kids given to impromptu gun show on school trip

A group of fifth grade students from St. George, South Carolina, were offered a tour this week of the middle school they will be attending next year. The tour took an unexpected detour when teachers invited the owner of a gun armory to show off some rifles.

Belinda Guice, who joined her son on the trip, was outraged when the group of 11-year-olds were exposed to guns at such a young age. "When we got done with that show my son said, 'Mom, I need a .22 caliber,'" Guice told CBS affiliate WCSC-TV.

The school trip took a turn when a teacher had the kids walk to the back of the building. A gun armory and old gutted military tank sit next to the school campus, and the students were brought over to look at the tank.

"That part was fine," Guice said. "But once you take my son along with a lot of kids onto the other side of the building and start a gun show, that's where my concern came in."

She says teachers invited the owner of the armory to show off some guns to the students, without asking parents' permission. Guice, who is also a substitute teacher in the school district, was shocked.

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After the tour of the middle school, and instead of going back to the elementary school, Belinda Guice said her son and fellow students were taken to an armory where they were shown guns. BELINDA GUICE

"You took away my right, you took away all of these other kids' parents' rights to allow for me to tell you if I want my son to be introduced to this type of stuff," the upset mother said.

Guice says after telling the story on the news, she received a call saying she is no longer on the substitute teacher list, with no reason as to why.

In a statement provided to WCSC-TV, Dorchester School District Four said the trip and subsequent gun show were "reviewed and handled in accordance with District policies."

screen-shot-2018-05-09-at-1-04-10-pm.png
Dorchester School District Four's response to the field trip in question. WCSC-TV
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


SPEAKING POWER TO TRUTH

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/researchers-say-a-breathalyzer-has-flaws-casting-doubt-on-countless-convictions/
By ZACK WHITTAKER ZDNET May 10, 2018, 12:32 PM
Researchers say a breathalyzer has flaws, casting doubt on countless convictions

PHOTOGRAPH -- GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

The source code behind a police breathalyzer widely used in multiple states -- and millions of drunk driving arrests -- is under fire.

It's the latest case of technology and the real world colliding -- one that revolves around source code, calibration of equipment, two researchers and legal maneuvering, state law enforcement agencies, and Draeger, the breathalyzer's manufacturer.

This most recent skirmish began a decade ago when Washington state police sought to replace its aging fleet of breathalyzers. When the Washington police opened solicitations, the only bidder, Draeger, a German medical technology maker, won the contract to sell its flagship device, the Alcotest 9510, across the state.

But defense attorneys have long believed the breathalyzer is faulty.

Jason Lantz, a Washington-based defense lawyer, enlisted a software engineer and a security researcher to examine its source code. The two experts wrote in a preliminary report that they found flaws capable of producing incorrect breath test results. The defense hailed the results as a breakthrough, believing the findings could cast doubt on countless drunk-driving prosecutions.

The two distributed their early findings to attendees at a conference for defense lawyers, which Draeger said was in violation of a court-signed protective order the experts had agreed to, and the company threatened to sue.

Their research was left unfinished, and a final report was never completed.

Draeger said in a statement the company was protecting its source code and intellectual property, not muzzling research.

"Pursuant to a protective order, Draeger provided the source code to both of the defense experts in Snohomish County," said Marion Varec, a spokesperson for Draeger. "That source code is highly proprietary and it was important to Draeger that the protective order limit its use to the purposes of the litigation at issue." Draeger says it believes that one of the experts entrusted to examine the source code was using it in violation of the protective order, so Draeger sent the expert a cease and desist letter. Draeger says it "worked with the expert to resolve the issue."

Of the law firms we spoke to that were at the conference and received the report, none knew of Draeger's threat to launch legal action. A person with a copy of the report allowed ZDNet to read it.

The breathalyzer has become a staple in law enforcement, with more than a million Americans arrested each year for driving under the influence of alcohol -- an offense known as a DUI. Drunk driving has its own economy: A multi-billion dollar business for lawyers, state governments, and the breathalyzer manufacturers -- all of which have a commercial stake at play.

Yet, the case in Washington is only the latest in several legal battles where the breathalyzer has faced scrutiny about the technology used to secure convictions.

Trial by machine
When one Washington state driver accused of drunk-driving in 2015 disputed the reading, his defense counsel petitioned the court to obtain the device's source code from Draeger.

Lantz, who was leading the legal effort to review the Alcotest 9510 in the state, hired two software engineers, Falcon Momot, a security consultant, and Robert Walker, a software engineer and decade-long Microsoft veteran, who were tasked with examining the code. The code was obtained under a court-signed protective order, putting strict controls on Momot and Walker to protect the source code, though the order permitted the researchers to report their findings, with some limitations. Although the researchers were not given a device, the researchers were given a binary file containing the state's configuration set by Washington State Patrol.

Although their findings had yet to be verified against one of the breathalyzers, their preliminary report outlined several issues in the code that they said could impact the outcome of an alcohol breath test.

In order to produce a result, the Alcotest 9510 uses two sensors to measure alcohol content in a breath sample: An infrared beam that measures how much light goes through the breath, and a fuel cell that measures the electrical current of the sample. The results should be about the same and within a small margin of error -- usually within a thousandth of a decimal point. If the results are too far apart, the test will be rejected.

But the report said that under some conditions the breathalyzer can return an inflated reading -- a result that could also push a person over the legal limit.

One attorney, who read the report, said they believed the report showed the breathalyzer "tipped the scales" in favor of prosecutors, and against drivers.

One section in the report raised issue with a lack of adjustment of a person's breath temperature.

Breath temperature can fluctuate throughout the day, but, according to the report, can also wildly change the results of an alcohol breath test. Without correction, a single digit over a normal breath temperature of 34 degrees centigrade can inflate the results by six percent -- enough to push a person over the limit.

The quadratic formula set by the Washington State Patrol should correct the breath temperature to prevent false results. The quadratic formula corrects warmer breath downward, said the report, but the code doesn't explain how the corrections are made. The corrections "may be insufficient" if the formula is faulty, the report added.

Issues with the code notwithstanding, Washington chose not to install a component to measure breath temperature, according to testimony in a 2015 hearing, and later confirmed by Draeger.

Kyle Moore, a spokesperson for Washington State Patrol said the police department "tested and approved the instrument that best fit our business needs," and believes the device can produce accurate results without the breath temperature sensor.

The code is also meant to check to ensure the device is operating within a certain temperature range set by Draeger, because the device can produce incorrect results if it's too hot or too cold.

But the report said a check meant to measure the ambient temperature was disabled in the state configuration.

"The unit could record a result even when outside of its operational requirements," said the report. If the breathalyzer was too warm, the printed-out results would give no indication the test might be invalid, the report said.

Draeger disputed this finding. A spokesperson said the Washington devices check their temperature, the check is enabled, and that the devices will not produce a reading while the device is outside its operational temperature range.

When asked, a Washington State Patrol spokesperson would not say if the breathalyzer was configured to allow breath tests outside its operational temperature range, saying only that the device "has been tested and validated in various ambient temperatures."

The report also scrutinized the other sensor -- the fuel cell -- used to measure a person's alcohol levels. Any fuel cell will degrade over time -- more so when the breathalyzer is used often. This decay can alter the accuracy of test results. The code is meant to adjust the results to balance out the fuel cell's decline, but the report said the correction is flawed. Breathalyzers should be re-calibrated every year, but the state's configuration limits those adjustments only to the first six months, the report added.

"We also note that the calibration age does not account for the use frequency of conditions; a unit that has been used hundreds of times per day would have the same correction as one used only once or twice in several months," the report said.

Concluding the nine-page report, the researchers say they are "skeptical" that the Alcotest 9510 can produce a reliable measurement of breath alcohol.

"Although the apparatus states its output in very absolute terms, we recommend interpreting the results with extreme caution," the report said.

Legal battles

Although Momot and Walker's code review was limited to devices in Washington, similar concerns dragged other states into protracted legal battles, forcing prosecutors to defend not only the breathalyzer but also how it's configured.

But the line between Draeger's source code and each state's configuration is blurry, making it difficult to know who is responsible for incorrect results.

Draeger said in an email that the "calibration and adjustment procedures depend on the instrument, additional equipment and materials, and the persons performing these procedures." When asked about the guardrails put in place to prevent calibration errors, the company said, "only trained and certified personnel perform special instrument certification procedures."

Washington State Patrol said the device produces accurate results, even without certain sensors installed.

Draeger's breathalyzer is widely used across the U.S., including in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. It's often the only breathalyzer used in the states where they were bought.

In both New Jersey and Massachusetts, defense lawyers raised concerns. By acquiring the devices used by the states, lawyers commissioned engineers to analyze the code who say they found flaws that they say could produce incorrect results.

But defense teams in both states largely failed to stop their state governments from using the devices, public records show.

New Jersey's top court found in 2008 that a similar Alcotest breathalyzer -- said to use the same underlying algorithms as the Alcotest 9510 -- was "generally scientifically reliable" and can be used with some configuration changes. One such change was to adjust the breathalyzer's results for women over age 60 -- who often aren't able to produce the minimum breath volume of 1.5 liters required for a test. But defense lawyers argued that these changes were never put into place.

alcotest-6510.jpg
Dräger Alcotest 6510 ®DRÄGERWERK AG & CO. KGAA
The same court ruled five years later that the breathalyzer "remains scientifically reliable, and generates results that are admissible" in court.

In nearby Massachusetts, a scandal that blew up in 2017 involving alleged failings in the breathalyzer threw thousands of prosecutions into disarray, because "all but two of the 392 machines" examined in the state had not been properly calibrated.

A district judge ruled that breath test results from miscalibrated devices for two years prior to September 2014 were "presumptively unreliable," said Joe Bernard, a defense attorney who led the case against the Alcotest 9510 in Massachusetts.

Bernard, and his colleague Tom Workman, a computer forensic expert who later trained as a lawyer and consulted on the case, obtained the state's source code and produced a report.

In a phone call, Workman criticized the Draeger breathalyzer, arguing that it can produce widely inflated results. One section of his report claimed the device had a litany of programming errors, including code that -- like in Washington -- apparently fails to correct for fuel cell fatigue.

But the court rejected the findings and found the source code still produced sound scientific results.

"Throw caution to the wind"

While legal battles were ongoing, Washington waited to push ahead with its deployment, but the ruling in New Jersey case in 2008 was seen as a vote of confidence.

Almost a year later, Washington State Patrol's toxicologist said in an email seen by ZDNetthat the police department should "throw caution to the wind" to deploy the device to police officers across the state without commissioning an independent source code evaluation -- though she recommended confirming with the chief of police.

When asked whether an independent evaluation was ever commissioned, a Washington State Patrol spokesperson would not comment further and referred back to the legal filings in the case.

A later email in 2015 confirmed that the Washington State Patrol' "never commissioned" an independent evaluation.

Moses Garcia, a former Washington state prosecutor who now works for a non-profit providing local governments in the state with legal advice, said in an email that the earlier breathalyzer in the New Jersey case had already been deemed admissible, and that the newer Alcotest 9510 uses the "same basic algorithms and formulas" as its predecessor.

The former prosecutor criticized the defense's discovery effort as "speculation."

"In adopting and approving the [Alcotest 9510], the Washington breath alcohol program exceeds, by far, the scientific standards accepted in the scientific community for breath test instrument validation," he said.

Five years after the contract was signed, Washington State Patrol began deploying hundreds of Draeger breathalyzers in 2014 -- sparking interest from defense attorneys in the state.

Not long after, defense attorneys in the state sought access to the devices.

Lantz was granted access to the source code used for Momot and Walker's code review by a local county court. In one of several recent phone calls with ZDNet, he recounted how he set out to see if there were problems with the state's device.

"We thought we would find something but nothing like this," he said.

Settlements and setbacks

Hundreds of DUI lawyers descended on Las Vegas in mid-2017 for their annual gathering.

At the event, the two researchers shared their findings, which claimed the Alcotest 9510 having a "defective design."

Word spread quickly. Draeger sent the researchers a cease and desist letter claiming defamation and alleging the two violated a protective order, designed to protect the source code from leaking.

Draeger and the researchers settled before a case was filed in court, avoiding any protracted legal battle. A legal case disputing the fine print of the order could have taken years to resolve.

Draeger said it "remains willing to provide the source code for use in other litigation in Washington, so long as a proper protective order is in place."

Beyond a tweet by Walker pointing to a settlement statement on his site, there was little to indicate there had been any legal action against the pair.

The statement said that the two experts "never intended to violate the protective order" and denied any wrongdoing. But the two sides "agree" the draft report was based on incomplete data and not finished -- and that "no one in possession of the report should rely on it for any purpose."

We reached out to Walker with questions, but he referred only to the settlement statement on his company's website, and he declined to comment further.

Draeger would not say why the settlement did not include a retraction on the report's findings.

"There has not been an evidentiary hearing in Washington. If and when there is one, Draeger will cooperate fully," a spokesperson said.

But Lantz paints a different picture. The defense attorney said he believes there "really was no technical violation of the protective order," because the report didn't disclose any source code.

"I do believe that [Draeger] is trying to interpret the protective order to be something that it's not," he said. "If we could go back in time, I would've asked that the report was not handed out -- just because of the optics of it."

Lantz said the protective order is vague, but contends it was framed to prevent the researchers from using the source code or their findings for commercial gain -- effectively preventing Momot and Walker from using their knowledge to build their own competing devices. He believes the order gives Draeger near complete control over the code and anything the company deems "protected" information.

That's when Draeger "began developing a strategy on how to block" the researchers' report, said Lantz, because the company didn't want the "pervasive exposure of these flaws."

"I believe that interest of Draeger's to protect their bottom line overlaps with the state's interest to keep juries from hearing this information about the problems," he said.

Draeger maintained that it is protecting its intellectual property. The company said in response that it "takes very seriously the proprietary nature of its source code," and "protects proprietary information as a sound business practice," which can include various types of communications or agreements for a particular matter.

Momot and Walker are no longer involved with the case, but Sam Felton, a Washington-based software engineer, is set to conduct another review of the Alcotest 9510 code. When contacted, Felton would not speak in specifics about his findings to date, citing his own protective order, except that he found things in the code that caused him "to have concerns."

And Lantz, now at a new law firm, is working on starting discovery proceedings in neighboring King County, home of Seattle, the largest city in the state.

This article originally appeared on ZDNet. Zack Whittaker can be reached securely on Signal and WhatsApp at 646-755–8849, and his PGP fingerprint for email is: 4D0E 92F2 E36A EC51 DAAE 5D97 CB8C 15FA EB6C EEA5.

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DO LISTEN TO THIS VIDEO AS WELL AS READING THE ARTICLE. DISCUSSION GROUPS ON SOCIAL ISSUES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO INDIVIDUALS, WHO OTHERWISE WOULD BE FACING DESPICABLE CONDITIONS ALONE. IT’S ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR A DEPRESSED GROUP SUCH AS WOMEN IN A RIGHTIST AND OPPRESSIVE AREA. A SANDERS PROTEGE HAS WON A SEAT IN THE STATE SENATE, AND WOMEN ARE ENCOURAGED – TO THE POINT THAT THEY ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE AS WELL. IS THIS A REVOLUTION?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbsn-originals-grassroots-in-alabama-emerging-womens-movement/
CBS NEWS March 25, 2018, 12:04 AM
Grassroots in Alabama: An Emerging Women's Movement

Something new is taking root amid the cotton and peanut fields and Gulf Coast beaches of Baldwin County, Alabama. A grassroots movement propelled by women is aiming to change politics here from the ground up.

"In Alabama we're taught that women are to be quiet, not cause trouble. But it seems like the climate has changed here," said Heather Brown, 42, a freelance writer, wife and mother of three who lives in the town of Summerdale.

She's not causing trouble, but she's not keeping quiet either. For her, it started last fall when Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of sexual misconduct by several women, including some who said they were in their teens when it happened.

"The sexual allegations against Roy Moore came out, and we just had the #MeToo movement, and it just seemed like the perfect time and opportunity to use our voices to speak our truths," Brown said.

Outraged and determined to take action, volunteers -- many of them new to politics -- knocked on doors and placed countless phone calls urging voters to do something Alabamians hadn't done in decades: elect a Democrat, Doug Jones, to the U.S. Senate.

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Heather Brown rallies for Democrat Doug Jones in the Alabama special election for senate in December 2017. CBS NEWS
In the lead up to the special election in December, Brown and local women organized a protest against Moore dressed in the red cloaks and white bonnets of "handmaids" -- women held as men's property in the dystopian novel and TV series, "The Handmaid's Tale."

Doug Jones won a hard-fought victory in a campaign watched nationwide. And Heather Brown realized she was just getting started.

"I never dreamed that this little 'handmaid' protest we were doing would change my life," she said. "When we had that big win with Doug Jones, it was like, 'Oh, we can do it!' You know, the little things we were doing helped bring about that win."

She decided to run for office herself, seeking a a seat on the Baldwin County Commission as part of a wave of new Democratic candidates challenging the local Republican power structure.

Brown is one of nine Democrats -- five of them women -- now running for office in a county where the party hasn't had local candidates on the ballot in more than a decade.

"I decided to run because I want to be the change, not just talk about being the change," she declared.

It's part of a trend seen nationwide as more women jump into political races to make their voices heard. According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, so far this year 233 women have filed to run for U.S. Senate, House and governors races, and another 350 are considered likely to file soon -- numbers that would break records.

But the newly energized Democrats in Alabama have their work cut out for them. Alabama is one of the reddest of red states, giving President Trump 62.9 percent of the vote in 2016.

"To be blue here in sea of red, you are seriously outnumbered. It takes a lot of conversation, a lot of relationship building, to show we're not really all that different," Brown said.

Volunteer political consultant Hanh Hua is helping her get a handle on what it will take to compete. Hua, 32, grew up in Alabama after her family immigrated from Vietnam.

"I'm a weird mix of like a lot of different cultures -- of like Vietnamese, American, Southern," she quipped.

She moved back home last year after more than a decade of living and working in Boston and Hanoi, explaining, "I just felt, like, this weird calling that I had to be in Alabama at this time."

She's found political organizing for the candidates and causes she supports to be a challenge, especially compared to the resources of the party in power.

women-hahn3.jpg
Hanh Hua, left, and Heather Brown talk politics at an Alabama restaurant. CBS NEWS
"The Republican infrastructure's just super well organized and a well oiled machine," she said, while the state Democrats are still in startup mode.

"Actually when I consulted for the state party this summer, sometimes I wished I was Republican. I was like, 'Oh, infrastructure! Organization!' I wish I had that. But we'll slowly get there."

One of the issues driving Heather Brown to get involved in government is health care, and for her it's personal. She works from home and cares for her husband, Randy, who is disabled from complications of diabetes.

"You don't expect at 33 to hear from doctor, to hear you'll be permanently disabled, never work again. I wasn't even 30 at time. It's changed me a lot," she said. "And we went from your typical family to a family who had to struggle to raise their children. ... And I think going from somebody who knew what it was like to have the American dream and lose it, through something that you couldn't control ... I realized just how hard things can be."

She's bonded over those experiences with her friend Katrina Hardy, 40, a health care worker who also cares for a disabled husband.

"We agree a lot on where our health care is and what needs to be done in Medicare benefits and disability benefits because both of us have husbands that are disabled," Hardy said.

The bureaucratic problems her elderly patients encounter motivate her even more.

"You know, people like Miss Ella are why I'm going to involve myself in Washington at some point," she said. "They said she hadn't met her insurance deductible. So in order for this 93-year-old sweet woman to sleep, she has to pay $345 for a 30-day prescription. That breaks my heart."

But don't mistake Katrina Hardy for a progressive.

"I'm a big conservative," she declared, a proud Republican and Trump supporter who does not see eye to eye with her friend Heather on a host of other issues.

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Katrina Hardy describes herself as "a big conservative." CBS NEWS
Their friendship manages to transcend politics, but it isn't always easy. On a shopping trip together, the friendly banter turns divisive and Heather holds her tongue as Katrina says she doesn't want refugees or "people from terrorist countries" coming to America.

Later she reflects, "Katrina is probably more representative of the majority of Alabama, especially Baldwin County, than I would be. But Katrina and I can talk about health care and use that to build a relationship where you can talk about things like immigration, that you don't agree on, and still stay civil."

Back home with Randy, Heather gets some encouragement not to give up.

"You're part of a big movement that's needed to happen for quite some time and it's nothin' but a good thing and it's gaining momentum every day," he tells her. "I mean, I'm tired of the good old boy system. The good old boy system ain't done nothin' in the last 12-16 years in lower Alabama. It's time for the good old girl system."

She laughs, "I like that! We're gonna start a new trend."

She celebrated the news that she's qualified for the ballot, and even though she admits the odds are stacked against her, she's keeping up the fight.

"I want to make sure when I have grandchildren, that they come into a word that is receptive to them no matter what. Maybe I want their future to not be a fight to be them."

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CAZ



MSNBC MADDOW
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/8/18
Key party primaries set up midterm showdowns
Rachel Maddow reports on the latest results in primary elections happening around the United States, and is joined by Steve Kornacki for a breakdown of the Republican race in West Virginia. Duration: 7:00


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/8/18
Judge OKs Russian hackers' request for 70 years of US intel
Rachel Maddow reports on lawyers who say they represent the Russian hackers indicted by Robert Mueller questing 70 years of intelligence on US interference in foreign elections, and the judge in the case agreeing to proceed with the request over Robert Mueller's concerns. Duration: 3:21


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/8/18
Newly exposed payments to Trump confidant Cohen add depth to case
Rachel Maddow reports on a set of payments to Donald Trump confidant Michael Cohen exposed in an online posting by Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti, from corporations like AT&T, Russian oligarch-connected firms, and some as yet unexplained sources. Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney joins to discuss the legal implications. Duration: 16:50


THIS EVENING’S MADDOW SHOW IS MORE ENLIGHTENING AND ENTERTAINING THAN USUAL. SHE DEALS WITH THE INTRICATE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TRUMP’S LAWYER MICHAEL COHEN. I DON’T REMEMBER THIS IMPLICATING TRUMP, BUT COHEN’S DOINGS ARE OBVIOUSLY UNDERHANDED AND PROBABLY ILLEGAL. SETTLE BACK WITH A NICE COLD DRINK AND LISTEN.


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/9/18
Dubious explanations follow revelation of payments to Cohen
Rachel Maddow reviews the implausible explanations from corporations exposed as having paid Donald Trump confidant Michael Cohen sums totaling millions of dollars, including claims of paying for his expertise in healthcare and accounting. Duration: 22:27


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/9/18
Avenatti: Cohen selling access to the highest office in the land
Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, talks with Rachel Maddow about the revelations in a document he published to the web about money paid to Michael Cohen, arguing that the most charitable explanation of what that money was for was selling access to the president. Duration: 7:43


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/9/18
Avenatti: Michael Cohen only really has one employer
Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, talks with Rachel Maddow about what conclusions can be drawn from the financial information that has been made public so far about Donald Trump confidant Michael Cohen. Duration: 5:37


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/9/18
How Gina Haspel destroyed evidence of the CIA's torture program
Rachel Maddow looks back at when the CIA torture program was exposed and how 92 tapes of interrogations were destroyed on the orders of Gina Haspel. Duration: 4:59


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/8/18
Tortured prisoner wants input on Gina Haspel CIA nomination
Rachel Maddow reports that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was tortured by the CIA to the point of "confessing" falsehoods and nonsense, wants to submit a six paragraph statement to the Senate hearing on the nomination of Gina Haspel to be the director of the CIA. Duration: 4:28


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/7/18
NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigns after abuse report
Rachel Maddow reports breaking news that after a report in the New Yorker of four women accusing him of physical abuse, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced his resignation. Duration: 1:11


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/4/18
No precedent for Congress members trying to help Trump defense
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about the lack of any real precedent in American history for the way some Republicans in Congress are trying to abuse the power of their office to help Donald Trump's defense team. Duration: 4:15