Sunday, March 29, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/27/395788461/app-that-aims-to-make-books-squeaky-clean-draws-ire-from-edited-writers

App That Aims To Make Books 'Squeaky Clean' Draws Ire From Edited Writers
COLIN DWYER
March 27, 2015

Photograph – Joanne Harris, seen here at the London premiere of Jack Reacher, has been a vocal critic of Clean Reader.
Ian West/PA Photos/Landov

Photograph – The three settings of Clean Reader at work: "clean," "cleaner" and "squeaky clean."
YouTube

In a stroke of irony fit for fiction, an effort by two Idaho parents to clean up their daughter's books has dredged up a fairly messy controversy. Clean Reader — an e-reader app designed to ferret out, and block, profanity in novels and nonfiction — drew significant pushback from some authors amid its recent launch.

In the face of that criticism, the folks behind Clean Reader have now backed down, announcing their intentions to stop selling books directly through the e-reading platform.

"Many authors do not want their books being sold in connection with Clean Reader," reads a statement this week on the app's Facebook page. "We have therefore taken immediate action to remove all books from our catalogue."

For all the hubbub, Jared and Kirsten Maughan, the couple who founded Clean Reader, say the app began innocuously enough. Their daughter had returned from school one day upset with the language in a book she was reading for class.

"We told her that there was probably an app for this type of thing that would replace profanity with less-offensive words," they explain on their website. "To our surprise there wasn't an app like this."

So with the help of the design firm Page Foundry, they made one themselves. The platform allows readers to load their e-books into the app, and from there use one of three settings — "clean," "cleaner" and the uber-strict "squeaky clean" — to find, block and even suggest replacements for words they find offensive. The app also directly sold e-books in their unedited form, taking a small commission from the sales, according to The Washington Post.

Blogger — and romance novel aficionado — Jennifer Porter has drawn up a rundown of the common replacements for words the app deems profanity. Among some of the noteworthies: from "whore" to "hussy," from "badass" to "tough" and, somewhat confusingly, from "vagina" to "bottom."

The Response

Although the Maughans may have initially found there was no app for that, so to speak, there was precedent: Thomas Bowdler, who in the 19th century nipped and tucked a collection of Shakespeare's work, with the hopes of rendering it more appropriate reading for women and children. In the years since, the attempt has accrued a fair bit of infamy, and the term "Bowdlerize" is now something of a dirty word itself for many writers — a sign, perhaps, of the pushback that was to come for Clean Reader.

Arguably, the leader of that angry response was author Joanne Harris, best known for her novel Chocolat. In several scathing blog posts, Harris decried what she called "censorship, not by the State, but by a religious minority."

Harris added:

"Well, we've been down this road before. We should know where it leads by now. It starts with blanking out a few words. It goes on to drape table legs and stick fig leaves on to statues. It progresses to denouncing gay or Jewish artists as 'degenerate'. It ends with burning libraries and erasing whole civilisations from history."

The Society of Authors also took issue with Clean Reader, saying, "Our concern is that the app contradicts two aspects of the author's moral rights, namely the right of integrity and the right of false attribution."

For their part, the Maughans have defended the app on legal grounds — saying the filtering system makes no changes to the e-book's original file — and on moral grounds, too. In one blog post, the founders equated the filtering system with the relationship between a chef and patrons who might not like elements of a dish.

"Is the chef offended when I don't eat the blue cheese? Perhaps," they wrote. "Do I care? Nope. I payed good money for the food and if I want to consume only part of it then I have that right."

To which novelist Margaret Atwood responded, bringing Beethoven into the mix.




“Although the Maughans may have initially found there was no app for that, so to speak, there was precedent: Thomas Bowdler, who in the 19th century nipped and tucked a collection of Shakespeare's work, with the hopes of rendering it more appropriate reading for women and children. In the years since, the attempt has accrued a fair bit of infamy, and the term "Bowdlerize" is now something of a dirty word itself for many writers — a sign, perhaps, of the pushback that was to come for Clean Reader. Arguably, the leader of that angry response was author Joanne Harris, best known for her novel Chocolat. In several scathing blog posts, Harris decried what she called "censorship, not by the State, but by a religious minority." Harris added: "Well, we've been down this road before. We should know where it leads by now. It starts with blanking out a few words. It goes on to drape table legs and stick fig leaves on to statues. It progresses to denouncing gay or Jewish artists as 'degenerate'. It ends with burning libraries and erasing whole civilisations from history."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyBH5oNQOS0

From youtube: “George Carlin first listed in 1972 in his monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television". The words are: ….” Since some people have gotten into trouble for things they have posted on the Internet, I won't list those words here, but just look it up for yourself if you don't remember what they are. Look at this youtube recording for yourself. It's very funny. I had forgotten how cute Carlin was, and how mischievous.

There's no point trying to avoid having the kids read sexual and other vulgar language. At least half of those kids have been sexually active since they were twelve years old, and they probably know some specialized activities that their parents have never heard of. I also object in principle to sanitizing literature, especially great literature. As for books of pure porn, which most modern “romances” are nowadays, it's a useless battle. I personally hate extended sexual description, so I never read those books. Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice, after all, is a true romance. If you really want to protect your kids, have them read the old tried and true classic works of the 1700s and 1800s. If they do that they will increase their vocabulary and learn good grammar, plus experience great characters and stories. Of course, that would be on the Common Core reading list, and therefore dangerous left wing propaganda.

In summary, just don't bother with this App. It's just one more thing to spend money on, when you probably should be saving for their college fund instead. With college tuition going up the way it is, you'll need the money for that. Besides, your kids are reading something smutty right now at their girlfriend's house, possibly on the Internet. Peyton Place is the novel I remember for the 1950s. It was kept behind the library desk when I was a teen, but that didn't stop me from getting my hands on it. It was actually a very good and important novel about the unfortunate life of a poverty stricken teenaged girl in the 1930s. Her vicious stepfather was abusing her sexually and beating her. Finally she took up some kind of iron rod, a fire poker maybe, and cracked his head with it. I was delighted.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyton_Place_%28novel%29

Peyton Place (novel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Peyton Place is a 1956 novel by Grace Metalious. It sold 60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release and remained on the New York Times best seller list for 59 weeks. It was adapted as both a 1957 film and a 1964–69 television series.

The main plot follows the lives of three women—lonely and repressed Constance MacKenzie; her illegitimate daughter Allison; and her employee Selena Cross, a girl from across the tracks, or "from the shacks." The novel describes how they come to terms with their identity as women and sexual beings in a small New England town. Hypocrisy, social inequities and class privilege are recurring themes in a tale that includes incest, abortion, adultery, lust and murder. The term "Peyton Place" became a generic label for any community whose inhabitants have sordid secrets.”





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/japans-2011-earthquake-caused-emissions-of-greenhouse-gases-to-rise/?

Japan 2011 earthquake released tons of greenhouse gas
By MICHAEL CASEY CBS NEWS
March 27, 2015

Photograph – In this handout image provided by U.S. Navy, an aerial view of tsunami and earthquake damage is seen from an SH-60B helicopter assigned to the Chargers of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 14 from Naval Air Facility Atsugi March 12, 2011 seen from the air of Sendai, Japan.  U.S. NAVY, GETTY IMAGES

When the 2011 earthquake struck Japan, it sparked a tsunami that decimated scores of coastal villages and caused a meltdown at one of the country's nuclear facilities.

Now, a study finds that the disaster also was responsible for the release of thousands of tons of climate-warming and ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere.

Writing in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, researchers concluded that 6,600 metric tons (7,275 U.S. tons) of gases stored in insulation, appliances and other equipment were released into the atmosphere when thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed by the the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

Emissions of these chemicals, called halocarbons, increased by 21 percent to 91 percent over typical levels, according to the study.

"What we found is a new mechanism of halocarbon emissions coming from the earthquake," said Takuya Saito, a senior researcher at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, Japan, and lead author of the new paper.

The halocarbons released include chemicals that deplete the ozone layer and are responsible for rising global temperatures. These include chlorofluorocarbons like CFC-11, a powerful ozone-depleting chemical used in foam insulation until it was phased out in 1996, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons like HCFC-22, an ozone-depleting refrigerant that is also a powerful greenhouse gas and is in the process of being phased out of use. Among other halocarbons released by the earthquake were hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, and sulfur hexafluoride, both potent greenhouse gases.

To get a sense of the impact, the researchers said the amount of halocarbons released was equivalent to the release of 19.2 million metric tons (21.2 million U.S. tons) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - an amount equal to about 10 percent of Japanese vehicle emissions in 2011.

Saito and his colleagues decided to examine the role of these chemicals after air monitoring stations recorded high levels of them. The stations are located on Hateruma Island, east of Taiwan; Cape Ochiishi, on the east side of Hokkaido; and Ryori, north of Tokyo on Honshu.

The researchers then took the air station data and combined it with an atmospheric model and other mathematical methods to figure out that increased emissions from the earthquake were involved and how much of the emissions could be attributed to the disaster.

They found that emissions of all six halocarbons were higher from March 2011 to February 2012 than they were during the same period a year earlier and a year after.

The most common halocarbon, HCFC-22, was 38 percent higher after the quake while emissions of CFC-11 were 72 percent higher. HFC-134a and HFC-32 rose by 49 percent and 63 percent, respectively.

As a result, the surge of halocarbons increased Japan's contribution from those six gases to ozone loss by 38 percent from March 2011 to February 2012 and led to an increase of 36 percent in the country's contribution to heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.

On a global scale, these gases contributed less than a percent of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas emissions. Part of that is due to the fact these six gases are minor contributors to global warming compared to carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide.

Steve Montzka, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who didn't contribute to the study, said the findings "made sense" since the destruction caused by the disaster in a country as developed as Japan would have caused significant amounts of chemicals to leak into the atmosphere.

"For Japan, this event changed their emission footprint perhaps from quarter to a third," he said. "If they want their understanding of their greenhouse gas emissions to be accurate, then Japan would have to take into account these types of events. Without it, their inventory would have been inaccurate."

And while this one event didn't dramatically alter the global climate picture, Montzka said it would be wise in the future to consider just how much natural and manmade disasters contribute to emissions.

"On a global scale, this one event had a measurable impact on global emissions but it was pretty darn small. This event didn't change things much at all," he said. "But you have destructive events happening all the time and in all different places. The accumulation over time and space of these events would enhance emissions in a way inventories may not account for. But how much is not clear."




“As a result, the surge of halocarbons increased Japan's contribution from those six gases to ozone loss by 38 percent from March 2011 to February 2012 and led to an increase of 36 percent in the country's contribution to heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. On a global scale, these gases contributed less than a percent of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas emissions. Part of that is due to the fact these six gases are minor contributors to global warming compared to carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide.”

It's been several years since I heard about CFCs. There are so many dangerous things that we face nowadays, it's depressing. Of course in the old days we worried about saber toothed tigers and nomads from Germany who were called “berzerkers” because they attacked every village in their path with the ferocity of madmen. That was our forebears, the Celts. They also are reported to have dyed themselves blue for combat and, at least in the Roman day, fought in the nude.

I am sorry to say that the human creature has brought environmental ruin with him since the earliest days, clearing forest land for planting with fire, and killing off the last of the large mammals such as the mammoth by the neolithic. The result is a landscape that has very few of the original plants and animals left nowadays and more still on the extinction list. To quote T S Elliott's poem The Hollow Men,

“This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-begrudgingly-asks-u-s-for-help-in-battle-of-tikrit/

Iraq begrudgingly asks U.S. for help in battle of Tikrit
By HOLLY WILLIAMS CBS NEWS
March 27, 2015

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- While the U.S. is backing Sunni Arabs in Yemen, in Iraq it is fighting on the same side as Shiite militias who've been helping the Iraqi Army try to kick ISIS out of Tikrit. U.S.-led airstrikes targeted ISIS vehicles, heavy weapons and fighting positions around the city, which was captured by the extremists in June.

The strikes were requested by Iraq's government -- after Iraqi leaders earlier said they didn't need U.S. help to win back the city. Instead Iraq turned to military advisers from Iran to help its fighting force of more than 20,000 men -- many of them from Shiite Muslim militiamen with Iranian links.

A condition of the U.S. strikes is that the militias go home. Just outside Tikrit two weeks ago an Iraqi general -- Bahaa al-Azawi -- confidently told us that victory was days away.

"We got the ability, we got the capability to defeat terrorism, and push them away from Iraq," al-Azawi said at the time.

But the Tikrit offensive stalled -- even though one senior Iraqi politician told us ISIS may have only 20 fighters left in the city.

"There are very few. They're using snipers, and booby trapped buildings," said Saad al-Muttalibi.

Al-Muttalibi admits that Iraq's army is feeble - despite the $20 billion spent by America to train and equip it.

"I think the American money was very badly spent by the Americans," he said. "The Americans produced for us a very weak, disorganized army filled with corruption that fell within the first battle."

The U.S.-led airstrikes may help win back Tikrit. But this drawn out battle -- despite Iraqi forces vastly outnumbering ISIS militants-- does not bode well for Iraq fight in the rest of the country.




“The strikes were requested by Iraq's government -- after Iraqi leaders earlier said they didn't need U.S. help to win back the city. Instead Iraq turned to military advisers from Iran to help its fighting force of more than 20,000 men -- many of them from Shiite Muslim militiamen with Iranian links. …. A condition of the U.S. strikes is that the militias go home. Just outside Tikrit two weeks ago an Iraqi general -- Bahaa al-Azawi -- confidently told us that victory was days away."I think the American money was very badly spent by the Americans," he said. "The Americans produced for us a very weak, disorganized army filled with corruption that fell within the first battle."

I think one problem with the American efforts in the fighting is that we keep trying to back one militia group over the others, thus influencing who wins. We are afraid of Iran, but they are good fighters. We favored the Iraqi army, whom we trained and equipped, but they quickly gave up the fight and left their American weapons for ISIS to take and use against every established group in the area.

Both Sunnis and Shia have radical fundamentalist wings who want to defeat Westerners and Israeli sympathizers. The whole Middle East is made up of ethnic and religious groups who all hate each other. It is what you get when you set up governments based on religion and not on secular principles. I say help those who are opposed to ISIS and are courageous fighters. ISIS is like the army of Ghengis Khan who swept out of Asia and completely overran the disorganized farming people of Europe. Their reputation for complete brutality precedes them, and in the weaker countries the more moderate Islamic groups are trampled.

If Iran and the Kurds can go in with ground troops and win against ISIS, by all means give them weapons and back them up with air strikes. The real threats that we are facing are ISIS, al Qaeda, Boko Haram and perhaps Hamas, though Hamas mainly seems to be fighting Israel rather than sending jihadists to the Western nations to bomb civilians like al Qaeda. Islam, though they claim that they are “a religion of peace,” are all bloodthirsty in their fundamentalist extremist wings. Peace is one of their principles, but killing “the Infidel” is another. Let Islam purify itself by going back to its peaceful roots. It's a grassroots issue.





http://news.yahoo.com/germanwings-crash-co-pilot-hid-illness-airline-050913689.html

Alps crash pilot told ex 'everyone will know my name'
By Raphaelle Logerot with Kate Millar in Berlin
March 28, 2015

Duesseldorf (Germany) (AFP) - The co-pilot who investigators believe crashed a passenger jet into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, worried "health problems" would dash his dreams and vowed one day to do something to "change the whole system", an ex-girlfriend told a German newspaper.

The 26-year-old woman, identified only as Maria W., recalled in an interview with the mass-circulation Bild daily how Andreas Lubitz told her: "One day I'm going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember."

"I never knew what he meant by that but now it makes sense," it quoted the "shocked" flight attendant as saying.

The black box voice recorder indicates that Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Germanwings jet and deliberately flew Flight 4U 9525 into a mountainside as the more senior pilot tried des
perately to reopen the door during its eight-minute descent, French officials say.

As investigators race to build up a picture of Lubitz and any possible motives, new media reports emerged saying he had suffered from vision problems, adding to earlier reports he was severely depressed.

German prosecutors believe he hid an illness from his airline but have not specfied the ailment, and said he had apparently been written off sick on the day the Airbus crashed on its route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.View gallery

Bild, which showed a photo of the ex-girlfriend from behind to conceal her face, said she had flown with Lubitz on European flights for five months last year and that he had had another girlfriend since her.

She said he could be "sweet" and would give her flowers but got agitated talking about work conditions, such as pay or the pressure of the job, and was plagued by nightmares. "At night he woke up and screamed 'We're going down!'," she recalled.

If Lubitz did deliberately crash the plane, it was "because he understood that because of his health problems, his big dream of a job at Lufthansa, of a job as captain and as a long-haul pilot was practically impossible," she told Bild.

She split up with him because it became "increasingly clear that he had problems", she said.iew gallery

German police found a number "of medicines for the treatment of psychological illness" during a search at his Duesseldorf home, newspaper Welt am Sonntag weekly said, quoting an unnamed high-ranking investigator as saying he'd been treated by several neurologists and psychiatrists.

Sunday's Bild weekly and the New York Times, which cited two officials with knowledge of the investigation, said Lubitz had sought treatment for problems with his sight.

Germanwings pilot Frank Woiton was quoted by Saturday's edition of Bild as saying he had flown with Lubitz who had spoken about his ambitions to become a captain and fly long-distance routes.

He said he handled the plane well and "therefore I also left him alone in the cockpit to go to the toilet," he told the newspaper.

French police investigator Jean-Pierre Michel, who was in Duesseldorf Saturday, told AFP that Lubitz's personality was a "serious lead" in the inquiry but not the only one.

The investigation has so far not turned up a "particular element" in the co-pilot's life which could explain his alleged action in the ill-fated Airbus plane, he said.

German prosecutors revealed Friday that searches of Lubitz's homes netted "medical documents that suggest an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment", including "torn-up and current sick leave notes, among them one covering the day of the crash".

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said that Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, "for a certain period", before restarting and qualifying for the Airbus A320 in 2013.

The second-in-command had passed all psychological tests required for training, he told reporters Thursday.


Several German newspapers Saturday questioned whether doctor-patient confidentiality should always apply.

"The case of Andreas Lubitz has already sparked a debate on whether medical confidentiality for professions like pilots must be limited," said the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Germany is to hold a national memorial ceremony and service on April 17 for the victims of Tuesday's disaster, half of whom were German, with Spain accounting for at least 50 and the remainder composed of more than a dozen other nationalities.

Around 500 people earlier Saturday attended a religious ceremony in the town of Digne-les-Bains, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the remote Alpine crash zone where searchers are recovering the victims' remains and evidence.

Candles for each of the victims were placed in front of the cathedral's altar.

Lufthansa and Germanwings -- which has offered victims' families up to 50,000 euros ($54,806) per passenger towards their immediate costs -- placed a full-page condolence notice in several European newspapers Saturday.




Much of this article is repetitious, but some is not. The co-pilot's desire to be “important” and have everyone know his name is one thing that seems to be a common trend in these mass killings. Also, usually, there is some deep-seated hatred of a group or of people in general. It's not a difficult step from being a NeoNazi to being a killer of blacks, Jews and various other “different” groups. In addition to that, they have a brain chemistry or structural disorder. This man had been treated for some two years by a psychiatrist, and yet he was allowed to have a pilot's license. That is a problem. There are some jobs that carry such a high level of danger that a mentally disturbed person should not be allowed to do them. Sometimes we need to abridge civil rights and medical privacy in selective ways in order to preserve the public safety.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-who-would-americans-consider-voting-for-in-2016/

Poll: Who would Americans consider voting for in 2016?
CBS NEWS
By Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto, and Fred Backus
March 29, 2015

THE REPUBLICANS

As he did last month, Jeb Bush remains the potential candidate with the most support from Republicans, and he is also the best-known of the candidates tested. Former Governor Mike Huckabee shows the second-highest level of consideration, followed by Senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Respondents could say "yes" to as many or as few candidates as they wanted.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has undergone the biggest change since last month(interviews were being conducted for the poll when he announced his candidacy): 37 percent of Republicans would now consider voting for him, last month only 23 percent said so. Senator Rand Paul has gained 9 points since last month; now, 39 percent would consider voting for him, up from 30 percent in February.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker remains less well-known, but almost all Republicans who know him would consider voting for him; just 8 percent say they would not (the smallest percentage of any potential candidate tested in the poll). The difference between the percent that say they would consider him (35 percent) and the percent that would not (8 percent) is largest for Walker.

While the percent of Republicans that would consider voting for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has held steady, Christie also receives the highest percentage - 42 percent - who say they would not consider voting for him. Fewer Republicans now say they would consider voting for neurosurgeon Ben Carson than did so last month.

THE DEAL-BREAKERS: WHAT RULES REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES IN OR OUT?

The poll tested a number of policy positions in general terms, asking Republicans if they would consider voting for a hypothetical candidate for the party's nomination who holds a different view on an issue than they did.

Among the issues asked about in the poll, the biggest litmus tests for Republicans are candidates' positions on ISIS - which Republicans overwhelmingly see as a major threat to the U.S. - and abortion. Sixty-one percent of Republicans would not consider voting for a candidate who disagrees with them on dealing with ISIS, and half (51 percent) would not vote for someone with a different position on abortion.

On the budget and illegal immigration, Republicans divide: about half are open to backing a candidate who disagrees with them. This may reflect Republicans' views of immigration policy more broadly. Forty-four percent think illegal immigrants in the U.S. should be required to leave, while 50 percent of Republicans think they should be permitted some legal status.

Fifty-six percent are flexible on education policy. Even six in 10 Republicans who oppose Common Core say they would consider supporting a candidate for the nomination who disagrees with them on that issue.

And in terms of governing approach, 77 percent of Republicans say they would be open to a candidate who is willing to compromise with Democrats to pass legislation.

Evangelical Christian Republicans are less willing to overlook differences on abortion than non-evangelicals.

RELIGION AND POLITICS

Fifty-four percent of Americans say it is not important that a candidate for president in 2016 shares their religious beliefs, while 45 percent say it is. There are stark partisan differences on this question. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans (65 percent) say it is very or somewhat important that a presidential candidate shares their religious beliefs, while a majority of Democrats (64 percent) don't see it as that important.

Looking at religious affiliation, most Protestants think it is important that a 2016 candidate have the same religious beliefs that they do, but it is less important to most Catholics.

However, white evangelicals (regardless of denomination) are especially inclined to say a candidate sharing their religious beliefs is important to them -- 79 percent say it is, including 43 percent who say it is very important.

At this very early stage of the campaign, 50 percent of Republican evangelicals say they would consider supporting Jeb Bush, who converted to Catholicism 20 years ago, for the Republican nomination; 29 percent would not consider backing him.

Still, white evangelicals are open to backing other potential candidates, too. They are also inclined to consider candidates like Huckabee and Cruz for the Republican nomination, in addition to Paul and Rubio. More evangelicals say they would consider Walker for the GOP nomination than not, but six in 10 don't know enough about him to say.

ISSUES

Education policy and Common Core - a new set of teaching standards - have drawn particular attention from the potential candidates recently. While more than half of Americans don't know enough about Common Core to have an opinion, more say it is a bad idea than a good one. This is particularly true among Republicans: 38 percent say Common Core is a bad idea; while just 10 percent think it is good.

Most Americans support legal status for illegal immigrants currently in the U.S., including 56 percent who favor a path to citizenship. Republicans divide: 44 percent think illegal immigrations should be required to leave the U.S., while half favor legal status, including 41 percent who support a path to citizenship.

THE DEMOCRATS

Revelations about Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state have done little to change her commanding lead as the potential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2016. 81 percent would consider voting for her - the same percentage as last month.

Vice President Joe Biden follows Clinton as a distant second: 48 percent of Democrats would consider backing him for the Democratic nomination, virtually unchanged from February. But Biden has improved when it comes to the percentage of Democrats who would not consider voting for him: now just 26 percent would not consider voting for Biden, down from 35 percent last month.

Most Democrats still don't have an opinion yet of the remaining potential candidates asked about in the poll. Of this group, Senator Elizabeth Warrencontinues to have the most support: 31 percent would back Warren, and only 16 percent would not consider her for the party's nomination. Still, Warren remains unfamiliar to 53 percent of Democrats nationwide. Over two-thirds of Democrats still don't know enough about Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, or Jim Webb, though more would not consider voting for them than would consider it.

COMPETITION FOR HILLARY CLINTON?

Even though far more Democrats would consider voting for Clinton than any other candidate, most would still like to see a competitive Democratic primary. While more than eight in 10 Democrats want to see Clinton run, 66 percent want to see her run with strong competition from other Democratic candidates. Only 21 percent want to see her run without any real competition. Just one in 10 Democrats don't want her to run at all.

Liberal Democrats (74 percent) are more likely than Democrats overall (66 percent) to want to see Clinton have a competitive race, though just 4 percent of liberal Democrats don't want her to run at all.

More Americans are paying attention to the presidential campaign than they were last month, but fewer are tuning in compared to this point during the 2008 campaign, the last election in which an incumbent was not seeking re-election. Fifty-seven percent of Americans are paying a lot or some attention to the 2016 campaign, down from 72 percent in March 2007. At this point in the 2008 election cycle, a number of White House hopefuls had formally announced their candidacies.

Currently, more Republicans (69 percent) are paying attention to the campaign than either Democrats (55 percent) or independents (53 percent).

This poll was conducted by telephone March 21-24, 2015 among 1,023 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. The margin of error for the sample of Republicans is 6 points, and the margin of error the sample of Democrats is also 6 points. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

For all of the poll questions and answers go to this CBS website.

Related Articles:

At prayer breakfast, Obama condemns use of religion as "a weapon"
Rhetoric, religion, and the fight against extremists




Republicans – "As he did last month, Jeb Bush remains the potential candidate with the most support from Republicans, and he is also the best-known of the candidates tested. Former Governor Mike Huckabee shows the second-highest level of consideration, followed by Senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Respondents could say "yes" to as many or as few candidates as they wanted.... Among the issues asked about in the poll, the biggest litmus tests for Republicans are candidates' positions on ISIS - which Republicans overwhelmingly see as a major threat to the U.S. - and abortion. Sixty-one percent of Republicans would not consider voting for a candidate who disagrees with them on dealing with ISIS, and half (51 percent) would not vote for someone with a different position on abortion.... And in terms of governing approach, 77 percent of Republicans say they would be open to a candidate who is willing to compromise with Democrats to pass legislation.... Nearly two-thirds of Republicans (65 percent) say it is very or somewhat important that a presidential candidate shares their religious beliefs, while a majority of Democrats (64 percent) don't see it as that important..... At this very early stage of the campaign, 50 percent of Republican evangelicals say they would consider supporting Jeb Bush, who converted to Catholicism 20 years ago, for the Republican nomination; 29 percent would not consider backing him.”

Democrats – “Revelations about Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state have done little to change her commanding lead as the potential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2016. 81 percent would consider voting for her - the same percentage as last month.... But Biden has improved when it comes to the percentage of Democrats who would not consider voting for him: now just 26 percent would not consider voting for Biden, down from 35 percent last month.... Most Democrats still don't have an opinion yet of the remaining potential candidates asked about in the poll. Of this group, Senator Elizabeth Warrencontinues to have the most support: 31 percent would back Warren, and only 16 percent would not consider her for the party's nomination. Still, Warren remains unfamiliar to 53 percent of Democrats nationwide. Over two-thirds of Democrats still don't know enough about Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, or Jim Webb, though more would not consider voting for them than would consider it..... Liberal Democrats (74 percent) are more likely than Democrats overall (66 percent) to want to see Clinton have a competitive race, though just 4 percent of liberal Democrats don't want her to run at all.”

“Currently, more Republicans (69 percent) are paying attention to the campaign than either Democrats (55 percent) or independents (53 percent).” This is a problem that the Democrats tend to have – maybe its because there is so much depression and economic stress among Democrats, but too often we just aren't enthusiastic enough to go to the polls and vote that good old “straight Democratic ticket.” The Republicans are more aroused politically, more united in viewpoints, full of “team spirit,” and more optimistic about life. Garrison Keillor used to pick on Unitarians regularly, accusing them of being more likely to have a big argument than the more popular Lutherans.

Democrats are much like the Unitarians and for the same reasons. We are free thinkers in religion and politics – we do a lot more “thinking” than “believing” – and we are mostly liberal, but not in identical ways. I am for a much more equalized income level between the poor and the rich, freedom from religion as well as freedom of religion, full civil rights and justice for all. I am not, on the other hand completely against the death penalty, a strong and pretty active military on the world scene – in the defense of democracies, of course – and a booming strong economy that includes high wages and union activity. In that kind of situation the Republicans always start worrying aloud about the evils of inflation, but the poor have more money in their pockets and a full time job. Having an easier time financially tends to produce an overwhelming love for the materialistic world, uniformity and avid patriotism, happiness with one's inherited social and economic status, and optimism. Those are good characteristics for building a “stable” government, but not good for controlling racism and similar maladies. Self satisfied people tend to be abusive people just because they've always been favored by school administrations and police officers.





DISCRIMINATORY LAW – INDIANA


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/indiana-governor-mike-pence-will-support-legislation-to-clarify-intent-of-religious-objections-law/

Indiana Gov. responds to furor over religious objections law
CBS/AP 
March 29, 2015

Photograph – Demonstrators gather at Monument Circle to protest a controversial religious freedom bill recently signed by Governor Mike Pence, during a rally in Indianapolis on March 28, 2015.  REUTERS/NATE CHUTE

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he would support legislation to "clarify the intent" of a new state law that has attracted widespread criticism over concerns it could allow discrimination against gay people. However, in subsequent remarks, he insisted that the law was not going to change.

In an interview Saturday with the Indianapolis Star, the Republican governor said he's been in discussions with legislative leaders this weekend. He expects that a clarification bill will be introduced this coming week to the religious objections law he signed Thursday. Pence declined to provide details but told the newspaper that making gay and lesbian Indiana residents a protected legal class is "not on my agenda."

Appearing on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Pence was adamant that, "We're not going to change the law."

Host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly asked whether it's legal for a Christian florist to refuse a gay couple service, but Pence refused to answer.

Pence disputes that the law allows state-sanctioned anti-gay discrimination, as some Indiana businesses, convention organizers and others have argued. He told the Indianapolis Star that he didn't anticipate "the hostility that's been directed at our state."

Since Pence signed the bill into law Thursday, Indiana has been widely criticized by businesses and organizations around the nation, as well as on social media with the hashtag #boycottindiana – “Apple is open for everyone. We are deeply disappointed in Indiana's new law and calling on Arkansas Gov. to veto the similar #HB1228.”
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 27, 2015

Hundreds of people, some carrying signs reading "no hate in our state," gathered Saturday outside the Indiana Statehouse for a boisterous rally against a new state law that opponents say could sanction discrimination against gay people.

Rachel Cowgill and Amy Knopf have been married for 15 years.

"I don't want my child living in an environment where she's made to feel like her family is somehow less than other families," Knopf said.

The protest echoed growing opposition online as companies from Apple to pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly took to social media to express reservations about the law. Local officials and business groups around the state hope to stem the fallout, although consumer review service Angie's List said Saturday that it is suspending a planned expansion in Indianapolis because of the new law. Salesforce.com has already canceled planned events in Indiana.

Cowgill works for that company. She and Knopf fear for their family and their jobs.

"Both of our employers have started sending out notices about not wanting to be here," Knopf said.

Pence and other supporters of the law contend discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds. They also maintain that courts haven't allowed discrimination under similar laws covering the federal government and 19 other states.

"We're not here to discriminate; we're here to serve anybody we can," business owner Casey Samson said. "But just as they have the right to live their life their way, I believe we should have the right to live how we want to."

But state Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, said Indiana's law goes further than those laws and opens the door to discrimination.

"This law does not openly allow discrimination, no, but what it does is create a road map, a path to discrimination," he told the crowd, which stretched across the south steps and lawn of the Statehouse. "Indiana's version of this law is not the same as that in other states. It adds all kinds of new stuff and it moves us further down the road to discrimination."

The measure, which takes effect in July, prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.

Angie's List had sought an $18.5 million incentive package from Indianapolis' City-County Council to add 1,000 jobs over five years. But founder and CEO Bill Oseterle said in a statement Saturday that the expansion was on hold "until we fully understand the implications of the freedom restoration act on our employees."

Saturday's crowd, for which police didn't have an exact estimate, chanted "Pence must go!" several times and many people held signs like "I'm pretty sure God doesn't hate anyone" and "No hate in our state."

In the newspaper interview, Pence said he didn't expect the reaction the law has generated.

"I just can't account for the hostility that's been directed at our state," he said. "I've been taken aback by the mischaracterizations from outside the state of Indiana about what is in this bill."

Zach Adamson, a Democrat on Indianapolis' City-County Council, said to cheers that the law has nothing to do with religious freedom but everything to do with discrimination.

"This isn't 1950 Alabama; it's 2015 Indiana," he told the crowd, adding that the law has brought embarrassment on the state.

Among those who attended the rally was Jennifer Fox, a 40-year-old from Indianapolis who was joined by her wife, Erin Fox, and their two boys, ages 5 and 8, and other relatives.

Fox said they married last June on the first day that same-sex marriage became legal in Indiana under a federal court ruling. She believes the religious objections law is a sort of reward to Republican lawmakers and their Conservative Christian constituents who strongly opposed allowing the legalization of gay marriage in the state.

"I believe that's where this is coming from - to find ways to push their own agenda, which is not a religious agenda; it's aimed at a specific section of people," Fox said.

Although many Indianapolis businesses have expressed opposition to the law and support for gays and lesbians, Fox worries her family could be turned away from a restaurant or other business and that her sons would suffer emotionally.

"I certainly would not want them to think that there's something wrong with our family because we're a loving family," she said.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican who opposed the law, said he and other city officials would be talking to many businesses and convention planners to counter the uproar the law has caused. "I'm more concerned about making sure that everyone knows they can come in here and feel welcome," Ballard said.

The Indianapolis-based NCAA has expressed concerns about the law and has suggested it could move future events elsewhere; the men's Final Four will be held in the city next weekend.




“Hundreds of people, some carrying signs reading "no hate in our state," gathered Saturday outside the Indiana Statehouse for a boisterous rally against a new state law that opponents say could sanction discrimination against gay people.... Saturday's crowd, for which police didn't have an exact estimate, chanted "Pence must go!" several times and many people held signs like "I'm pretty sure God doesn't hate anyone" and "No hate in our state." In an interview Saturday with the Indianapolis Star, the Republican governor said he's been in discussions with legislative leaders this weekend. He expects that a clarification bill will be introduced this coming week to the religious objections law he signed Thursday. Pence declined to provide details but told the newspaper that making gay and lesbian Indiana residents a protected legal class is "not on my agenda." Appearing on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Pence was adamant that, "We're not going to change the law.".... Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican who opposed the law, said he and other city officials would be talking to many businesses and convention planners to counter the uproar the law has caused. "I'm more concerned about making sure that everyone knows they can come in here and feel welcome," Ballard said. The Indianapolis-based NCAA has expressed concerns about the law and has suggested it could move future events elsewhere; the men's Final Four will be held in the city next weekend. …. Host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly asked whether it's legal for a Christian florist to refuse a gay couple service, but Pence refused to answer. Pence disputes that the law allows state-sanctioned anti-gay discrimination, as some Indiana businesses, convention organizers and others have argued. He told the Indianapolis Star that he didn't anticipate "the hostility that's been directed at our state.".... Zach Adamson, a Democrat on Indianapolis' City-County Council, said to cheers that the law has nothing to do with religious freedom but everything to do with discrimination. "This isn't 1950 Alabama; it's 2015 Indiana," he told the crowd, adding that the law has brought embarrassment on the state. The protest echoed growing opposition online as companies from Apple to pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly took to social media to express reservations about the law. Local officials and business groups around the state hope to stem the fallout, although consumer review service Angie's List said Saturday that it is suspending a planned expansion in Indianapolis because of the new law. Salesforce.com has already canceled planned events in Indiana.... Pence and other supporters of the law contend discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds....

Governor Spence and the state house of Indiana are meeting some strong grassroots resistance of this law. Large and reputable businesses have been making statements against the law, and the number of protestors against Spence is given in an NPR article as being about 3,000 rather than “hundreds.” The word that gays and lesbians are not sinner or mentally ill, just “different,” is out on the streets now since Act Up began to promote gay rights. There are now many young people who feel strongly that their peers who are gay should not be treated unfairly by the law, or by civilians either. That's the real problem with this law. Up until the last couple of years gays have been “protected” as Governor Spence claims, but that is good because there are political and social radicals who want to root out these “unchristian” people and force them into mental health counseling, a ridiculous marriage, or better still, just beat them up as they walk through the park together.

I think the whole premise that a business can have a religious or social viewpoint is ridiculous anyway. To me a corporation is absolutely not “an individual,” shouldn't be able to give bunches of money to a political candidate or get huge tax breaks, while the poor are hated and scorned for getting the Earned Income Credit which allows them to eat and have shelter. That is a perversion of our Constitutional law and what we stand for as a republic. If that is exactly and actually what the Constitution says, then we should write an amendment to change it. So this Indiana bill that allows businesses to get away with refusing service due to any citizen's personal characteristic, from skin color to religion to sexual orientation, should be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and voted out. I have a feeling that Governor Spence is not going to be reelected, anyway. There are thousands and thousands of gay people in this country, and even if we aren't gay we may support a fair legal system that will not keep such laws in force.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/yemen-airstrikes-will-continue-until-rebels-withdraw-arab-leaders-say/

Arab leaders: Airstrikes will continue until Yemeni rebels withdraw
AP March 29, 2015

Video – White House isn't ruling out U.S. involvement in Yemen

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen will continue until Shiite rebels there "withdraw and surrender their weapons," a summit of Arab leaders decided Sunday, as they also agreed in principle to forming a joint military force.

The decision by the Arab League puts it on a path to potentially more aggressively challenge Shiite power Iran, which is backing the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis.

A Saudi-led coalition began bombing Yemen on Thursday, saying it was targeting the Houthis and their allies, which include forces loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

At the summit, held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby read a final communique outlining the leaders' views.

"Yemen was on the brink of the abyss, requiring effective Arab and international moves after all means of reaching a peaceful resolution have been exhausted to end the Houthi coup and restore legitimacy," Elaraby said.

The Houthis began their offensive in September, seizing the capital, Sanaa, and later holding embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi under house arrest. The rebels ultimately took over government in Yemen and ultimately forced Hadi to flee the country in recent days.

Speaking at the summit Saturday, Hadi directly accused Iran of being behind the Houthi offensive, raising the specter of a regional conflict. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebel movement, though the Islamic Republic has provided humanitarian and other aid.

Speaking after Elaraby, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said leaders also agreed in principle to creating a joint Arab military force. He said a high-level panel will work under the supervision of Arab chiefs of staff to work out the structure and mechanism of the force.

Egyptian military and security officials have said the proposed force would be made of up to 40,000 elite troops and will be headquartered in either Cairo or Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The force would be backed by jet fighters, warships and light armor.

However, it is unlikely that all 22-member nations of the often-fractious Arab League will join the proposed force. Creation of such a force has been a longtime goal that has eluded Arab nations in the 65 years since they signed a rarely used joint defense agreement.

Now in its fourth day, the Saudi-led airstrike campaign has pushed Houthi rebels out of contested air bases and destroyed any jet fighter remaining in Yemen, Saudi Brig. Gen. Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri said.

The strikes also continued to target Scud missiles in Yemen, leaving most of their launching pads "devastated," according to remarks carried Saturday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. However, he warned that the rebels could control more of the missiles. His account could not be immediately corroborated.

Meanwhile Sunday, Pakistan dispatched a plane to the Yemeni city of Hodeida, hoping to evacuate some 500 citizens gathered there, said Shujaat Azim, an adviser to Pakistan's prime minister. Azim told state-run Pakistan Television more flights would follow as those controlling Yemen's airports allowed them.

Pakistan says some 3,000 of its citizens live in Yemen. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj also tweeted Sunday: "We are doing everything to evacuate our people from Yemen at the earliest by all routes - land, sea and air."




"Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen will continue until Shiite rebels there "withdraw and surrender their weapons," a summit of Arab leaders decided Sunday, as they also agreed in principle to forming a joint military force. The decision by the Arab League puts it on a path to potentially more aggressively challenge Shiite power Iran, which is backing the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis..... At the summit, held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby read a final communique outlining the leaders' views. "Yemen was on the brink of the abyss, requiring effective Arab and international moves after all means of reaching a peaceful resolution have been exhausted to end the Houthi coup and restore legitimacy," Elaraby said.... Speaking after Elaraby, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said leaders also agreed in principle to creating a joint Arab military force. He said a high-level panel will work under the supervision of Arab chiefs of staff to work out the structure and mechanism of the force. Egyptian military and security officials have said the proposed force would be made of up to 40,000 elite troops and will be headquartered in either Cairo or Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The force would be backed by jet fighters, warships and light armor..... Creation of such a force has been a longtime goal that has eluded Arab nations in the 65 years since they signed a rarely used joint defense agreement.... Meanwhile Sunday, Pakistan dispatched a plane to the Yemeni city of Hodeida, hoping to evacuate some 500 citizens gathered there, said Shujaat Azim, an adviser to Pakistan's prime minister. Azim told state-run Pakistan Television more flights would follow as those controlling Yemen's airports allowed them.”

I don't know what the Obama administration thinks about this Arab League, but if they unite to fight ISIS and possibly keep coups from occurring as it seems they are doing in Yemen they will tend, I think, to produce less fracturing of national identities due to coups and religious warfare. The extremely complex religious and ethnic map there is surely prone to constant warfare and instability. The US and others don't like Iran, but they have proven to be a stable government since the Carter/Reagan administrations, and as a result they are strong enough to actually present a front against ISIS. It gives me hope for the prevention of fundamentalist groups from trying to bomb American and British cities, as ISIS has declared it intends to do. Some groups of people have to be fought, not appeased or convinced into our way of thinking.






http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-blind-artists-altruistic-vision/

​A blind artist's altruistic vision
CBS NEWS
March 29, 2015

Photograph – Jeff Hanson lost most of his sight as a child, but that hasn't stopped him from embarking on a career as a painter - and a philanthropist.  CBS NEWS

NOTE: I suggest you go to this website for the 27 incredibly beautiful photographs of his paintings and the complete article, which is two pages long. He is “legally blind,” not completely blind. I don't see how a completely blind person would be able to paint, especially not like this. Excerpts from the article are copied below.

Painter Jeff Hanson is a young artist with an inner vision that defies his physical limitations. Tracy Smith shows us how he does it: You've got to wonder, looking at these paintings, with their vibrant colors and deep textures: How does this artist see the world?

Truth is, he really can't.

Twenty-one-year-old Jeff Hanson is legally blind. He also has a few other physical and mental challenges, but that hasn't stopped him -- or apparently even slowed him down.

He's done about 1,400 paintings to date. "My mom keeps track for me," he said.

His mom, Julie Hanson, helped turn the basement of their Kansas City home into a rainbow-splattered assembly line.

The man in the paint-splattered surgical scrubs is Jeff's dad, Dr. Hal Hanson, head of the ER at a local hospital. Sometimes dad helps load up the putty knife ... and Jeff does the rest. ….

When Hal and Julie Hanson were married, all of their dreams seemed to be coming true. In 1993, they were blessed with a healthy baby, who grew into a healthy kid. All seemed well, until little Jeff started bumping into things.

"He couldn't see that there was a curb," Hal said. "He couldn't see that there was a stairway, and he would fall down it. And we realized, he's not seeing a lot."

Their only child had a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis. The disease caused a brain tumor that was stunting his growth, and slowly robbing him of his sight. ….

To distract Jeff during chemo, Julie would have him use watercolors to decorate little notecards.

And as he painted, something inside him clicked.

"To me, it was nothing more than kid art," said Hal. "I didn't see any genius to it. It would be something that you would put on the refrigerator with a magnet and forget it in a couple of days, and it would make it to the trash can."

Luckily, it turns out, Julie couldn't bring herself to throw any of her son's artwork away.

"I started using his note cards for thank-you notes during chemotherapy and radiation," she said. "But as I started to do that, my friends would say, 'Do you have any extras? I would love some of those.'"

Jeff started selling them at a makeshift stand in his family's driveway, and a business was born

Because Jeff can barely see what he's working on, his process is unique:

First, he slathers a kind of plastic goop on canvas, front and sides. After it hardens, and gets a coat of flat black, Jeff uses those ridges to feel his way around his painting as he works.

Now, he can't keep up with demand: Jeff has at least a six-month backlog of orders -- and some pretty prominent fans. Warren Buffett has a painting; Elton John has two.

A Jeff Hanson original typically goes for around $4,000.

According to Hal Hanson, Jeff has supported himself with his painting. "We really haven't been involved in this financially at all," he told Smith.

After expenses, Jeff makes around $50,000 a year.

He's in it for the money -- just not for himself. For every painting that Jeff sells, it seems he donates another one. For Jeff, the real goal isn't making a fortune: it's raising a fortune, and giving it away. Hanson's paintings frequently sell for $20,000 or more at charity auctions.

A couple of years ago he made a vow to give away a million dollars by age 20. He made it -- with two days to spare.

Jeff Hanson may never see the stars in the sky; his father gave up on that dream a long time ago.

"You can't see stars with tears in your eyes," Hal told Smith. "And it made me cry. So, we move on. And this is a new horizon."

And that's okay? "It's great," said Hal.

Like his paintings, Jeff's future is brighter than his parents could ever have hoped -- and that is something you don't need a telescope to see.




“His mom, Julie Hanson, helped turn the basement of their Kansas City home into a rainbow-splattered assembly line. The man in the paint-splattered surgical scrubs is Jeff's dad, Dr. Hal Hanson, head of the ER at a local hospital. Sometimes dad helps load up the putty knife ... and Jeff does the rest. …. When Hal and Julie Hanson were married, all of their dreams seemed to be coming true. In 1993, they were blessed with a healthy baby, who grew into a healthy kid. All seemed well, until little Jeff started bumping into things. "He couldn't see that there was a curb," Hal said. "He couldn't see that there was a stairway, and he would fall down it. And we realized, he's not seeing a lot.".... "I started using his note cards for thank-you notes during chemotherapy and radiation," she said. "But as I started to do that, my friends would say, 'Do you have any extras? I would love some of those.'" Jeff started selling them at a makeshift stand in his family's driveway, and a business was born Because Jeff can barely see what he's working on, his process is unique: First, he slathers a kind of plastic goop on canvas, front and sides. After it hardens, and gets a coat of flat black, Jeff uses those ridges to feel his way around his painting as he works.... A Jeff Hanson original typically goes for around $4,000. According to Hal Hanson, Jeff has supported himself with his painting. "We really haven't been involved in this financially at all," he told Smith. After expenses, Jeff makes around $50,000 a year. He's in it for the money -- just not for himself. For every painting that Jeff sells, it seems he donates another one. For Jeff, the real goal isn't making a fortune: it's raising a fortune, and giving it away. Hanson's paintings frequently sell for $20,000 or more at charity auctions.”

Every now and then I run across a news article that really stands out from the crowd. Every day I search until I find at least six good articles, often eight, and see if something informational from the Net would add to their interest value in my viewpoint. It can take eight hours or so in all, especially if my mind is not too clearly functioning at the time. My best time to concentrate and really work is first thing in the morning after breakfast and coffee. If I get started too late in the day I'm not usually as enthusiastic about the process and drag my feet a bit.

Today I got up around 8:00 and had breakfast, then sat down to work immediately. I was not attracted to the headlines on this one, but to the 27 color photographs of his extraordinary paintings. Then I saw that he has very limited eyesight and paints by touch. Wow! I love his composition and rather impressionistic renderings, and his amazing use of bright colors. I suggest that you go to this website and click on his paintings, which will allow you to move through and look at each of them. He is only 20 years old and has not only made, but given away, $2,000.000. I'll never look at blind people in the same way again.

Saturday, March 28, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-sae-racist-chant-national-fraternity-event-investigation/

School: Racist chant stems from national frat event
CBS/AP
March 27, 2015

Photograph –

A racist chant caught on video being recited by University of Oklahoma fraternity members came from a leadership cruise the national fraternity organization held four years ago, according to the findings of an investigation the school released Friday.

In a letter accompanying the findings, university president David Boren wrote there was "no indication" the chant was part of the national Sigma Alpha Epsilon organization's formal teaching.

Boren also wrote that the chant was apparently "widely known" and "informally shared amongst members on the leadership cruise."

The school's investigation found that members of Oklahoma's SAE chapter learned the chant on the cruise and brought it back to the fraternity.

The chant became "formalized" within the fraternity over time and was eventually taught to pledges, the investigation found.

The school already has disbanded the SAE chapter and expelled two students who it said were leading the chant. In the video, students on a bus can be seen taking part in a chant that includes references to lynching and uses a racial slur to describe how the fraternity would never accept black members.

A lawyer for the SAE chapter said this week that an agreement had been reached in which no other members of the fraternity will be expelled. Attorney Stephen Jones also said the two students whom Boren expelled actually withdrew from the university first.

Following its investigation, the school said Friday that punishments ranged from permanent withdrawals to community service and mandatory cultural sensitivity training.




“A racist chant caught on video being recited by University of Oklahoma fraternity members came from a leadership cruise the national fraternity organization held four years ago, according to the findings of an investigation the school released Friday. In a letter accompanying the findings, university president David Boren wrote there was "no indication" the chant was part of the national Sigma Alpha Epsilon organization's formal teaching. Boren also wrote that the chant was apparently "widely known" and "informally shared amongst members on the leadership cruise.".... Following its investigation, the school said Friday that punishments ranged from permanent withdrawals to community service and mandatory cultural sensitivity training.”

The chant was “widely known” and “informally shared,” but apparently no person in leadership at the cruise bothered to put a stop to it. From the way it is written, it sounds like high school level playground fare. I hate peer group pressure in general, especially when it involves the teaching of something evil rather than the material of a higher standard. I wouldn't want to see something like this – after all lynching is a serious social problem in this country – promoted as the “right thing to do.” I'm afraid our society really is corrupt.







LUBITZ – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION – TWO ARTICLES

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/germanwings-flight-9525-co-pilot-andreas-lubitz-area-crash-site/

Germanwings co-pilot no stranger to crash site area
CBS/AP
March 28, 2015

SISTERON, France -- The German co-pilot accused of crashing a passenger plane in the French Alps frequented a gliding club near the crash site as a child with his parents, according to a member of the club.

Francis Kefer, a member of the club in the town of Sisteron, said on i-Tele television that Andreas Lubitz's family and other members of the gliding club in his hometown of Montabaur, Germany, came to the region regularly between 1996 and 2003.

French prosecutors say Lubitz deliberately slammed the Germanwings flight into a mountain on Tuesday, killing all 150 people aboard. German prosecutors are trying to determine what caused Lubitz to take such a devastating decision.

The crash site is about 30 miles away from the Aero-club de Sisteron glider airfield.

Officials at the club would not comment Saturday.

The area, with its numerous peaks and valleys and stunning panoramas, is popular with glider pilots. In the final moments of the Germanwings flight, Lubitz overflew the major turning points for gliders in the region, flying from one peak to another, according to local glider pilots.

A special Mass was being held Saturday in the nearby town of Digne-les-Bains to honor the victims and support their families.

Bishop Jean-Philippe Nault led the Mass, attended by about 200 people from the surrounding region, deeply shaken by the crash. It was the deadliest crash on French soil in decades.

The plane shattered into thousands of pieces, and police are toiling to retrieve the remains of the victims and the aircraft from a hard-to-reach Alpine valley near the village of Le Vernet.

Not a single intact body from the 150 souls on the doomed airliner has been found, CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports.

Evidence and debris has to be taken by helicopter to an area where mobile labs have been set up, Pizzey reports. Technicians will have to use DNA to identify what is left of the victims. Dental analysis is also crucial. That includes a system of radiography, which allows them to take dental imprints, according to Col. Patrick Thuron of the French Gendarmerie.

"Normally 90 percent of victims are identified by their dental records," he said.

Lubitz's employers, authorities and acquaintances described a man who hid evidence of an illness from his employers - including a torn-up doctor's note that would have kept him off work the day authorities say he crashed Flight 9525.

Frank Woiton, another Germanwings pilot, said Andreas Lubitz told him he wanted to become a long-distance pilot and fly Airbus A380 or Boeing 747 planes.

Woiton, who like Lubitz comes from Montabaur, says he met the 27-year-old for the first time three weeks ago when they flew Duesseldorf to Vienna and back together.

Woiton told German public broadcaster WDR on Friday that Lubitz didn't stand out and appeared like any other colleague.

He says Lubitz "flew well and knew how to handle the plane."

Searches conducted at Lubitz's homes in Duesseldorf and in the town of Montabaur turned up documents pointing to "an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment," but no suicide note was found, said Ralf Herrenbrueck, of the Duesseldorf prosecutors' office.

Prosecutors didn't specify what illness Lubitz may have been suffering from, or say whether it was mental or physical. German media reported Friday that the 27-year-old had suffered from depression.

Germanwings declined Saturday to comment when asked whether the company was aware of any psychological problems Lubitz might have had.

The Duesseldorf University Hospital said Friday that Lubitz had been a patient there over the past two months and last went in for a "diagnostic evaluation" on March 10. It declined to provide details, citing medical confidentiality, but denied reports it had treated Lubitz for depression.

Neighbors described a man whose physical health was superb and road race records show Lubitz took part in several long-distance runs.

Prosecutors said there was no indication of any political or religious motivation for Lubitz's actions on the Barcelona-Duesseldorf flight.



http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/28/395966613/pilot-who-downed-airliner-vowed-to-do-something-to-be-remembered

Pilot Who Downed Airliner Vowed 'To Do Something' To Be Remembered
Scott Neuman
MARCH 28, 2015

Photograph – A German police investigator carries a box after searching an apartment believed to belong to the crashed Germanwings flight 4U 9524 co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in Duesseldorf, on Thursday.
Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters/Landov

The co-pilot who deliberately downed an airliner over the French Alps this week, killing all 150 aboard, had told a girlfriend sometime last year that he would "do something" that would make people remember his name, a German newspaper reports.

Andreas Lubitz, 27, who reportedly had hidden a note declaring him medically unfit to fly on the day he crashed the Germanwings A320, told a former girlfriend and flight attendant, identified by Bild only as "Mary W." that: "One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it."

She was quoted by the newspaper as saying she didn't understand what he meant by the remark until she heard of the crash on Tuesday.

She also told Bild that Lubitz had nightmares and had woken up at night and screamed "We're going down!"

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Dusseldorf confirmed that they had found a torn-up doctor's note in Lubitz' apartment that pronounced him unfit to fly.

"Medical documents were found that indicate an ongoing illness and appropriate medical treatment," the prosecutors said in a statement. "The circumstance that torn-up current medical certificates – also pertaining to the day of the act – were found, supports, after preliminary examination, the assumption that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional circles."

According to Euronews:

"Germanwings said Lubitz had not given them a sick note that would have grounded him on the day of the crash.

"German law requires workers to immediately tell their employers if they are unable to work."

But The New York Times reports that there remains "considerable confusion about the precise nature and severity of his psychiatric condition. A German hospital said it had evaluated Mr. Lubitz twice in the past two months but added that he had not been there for assessment or treatment of depression."

And, The Guardian writes:

"No suicide note or claim of responsibility had been found, the prosecutors said.

"Legal experts said that on the evidence that has emerged so far – which suggests the co-pilot may have had a history of depression and psychiatric problems – the airline would find it difficult to prove that the crash was not its fault."




“The co-pilot who deliberately downed an airliner over the French Alps this week, killing all 150 aboard, had told a girlfriend sometime last year that he would "do something" that would make people remember his name, a German newspaper reports. Andreas Lubitz, 27, who reportedly had hidden a note declaring him medically unfit to fly on the day he crashed the Germanwings A320, told a former girlfriend and flight attendant, identified by Bild only as "Mary W." that: "One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it.".... She also told Bild that Lubitz had nightmares and had woken up at night and screamed "We're going down!".... But The New York Times reports that there remains "considerable confusion about the precise nature and severity of his psychiatric condition. A German hospital said it had evaluated Mr. Lubitz twice in the past two months but added that he had not been there for assessment or treatment of depression.".... "Legal experts said that on the evidence that has emerged so far – which suggests the co-pilot may have had a history of depression and psychiatric problems – the airline would find it difficult to prove that the crash was not its fault."

Why is psychiatric illness the subject of so much denial and lack of serious consideration in our society? A surprising number of people just don't think that mental illness is real. They think it's “a lack of faith.” A friend of mine once said to me, on the subject of a criminal being acquitted on psychiatric grounds, that she didn't think the person had been “unable to know right from wrong.” As long as courts continue to use that ridiculous definition of insanity, the average person will treat mental conditions as being simply a matter of the lack of “will power.” In fact they are thinking disorders that can run from the simplest such as depression (a mood disorder) to severe delusions, compulsions or hallucinations. This man, his girlfriend stated, had been waking up with nightmares screaming “We're going down.”

I suspect that this pilot was suffering from something much more serious than a “mood” disorder. Many mental conditions can include depression, but may have worse symptoms as well. Hearing that he was “depressed” makes people tend to think that he wasn't also a paranoid schizophrenic. I don't think this pilot should have been given a license to fly at all, much less being allowed to work that day. I wonder how many suicidal individuals are also homicidal? The ones who really hit the headlines are those who take a gun after “going off their meds” and shoot 40 or 50 people and THEN kill themselves.

There is a need for more long-term care facilities for those who are too dangerous to allow out on the streets. Unfortunately our country has been through a trend of closing those hospitals (to save government money) on the grounds that modern medicines completely take care of the problem, or worse still, that the mentally ill who are forced into permanent hospital care are being “deprived of their rights.” This carries the right to refuse medical care to the point of the ridiculous. The same is true for people who refuse treatment for Ebola, in my opinion. There are limits to rights, and the public need for safety should be one of those limitations.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/27/395728638/italys-highest-court-overturns-amanda-knox-conviction

Italy's Highest Court Overturns Amanda Knox Conviction
Krishnadev Calamur
March 27, 2015

Italy's highest court has overturned a murder conviction in the case of Amanda Knox.

The court's decision puts an end to a story that began in 2009 when Knox was found guilty of murdering 21-year-old Meredith Kirchner two years earlier. The verdict was overturned in 2011. But a year later, the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittal and sent the case back to an appeals court in Florence. Last year, that court reinstated the original guilty verdict against Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

As NPR's Scott Neuman reported at the time of the verdict in Florence: "The latest ruling reinstates the initial verdict and sentences Knox, who currently lives in Seattle, to 28 1/2 years in prison and is likely to set up a long battle over her extradition."

Knox, who left Italy after the verdict in 2011, now lives in Seattle. She told NPR in an interview in 2013 that the Italian Supreme Court's decision was looming over her.

It's this "horrendous thing that just never ends," she said. "I do not think that I will be convicted because there just simply is not that evidence. I just simply did not do it. I feel like I'm having to prove my innocence as opposed to have the prosecution prove my guilt."

Reuters reports the court also acquitted Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.




I do hope this will prove to be the final time that she will be charged with murder. I believe she is innocent. When this kind of “witch hunt” against an unpopular American girl happens, the police lose the chance to investigate the crime more intensively and find the other suspect who really did the crime.






http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/03/27/395777411/harry-reid-the-senator-who-never-forgot-the-path-he-took

6 Things You Might Not Have Known About Harry Reid
Amita Kelly
March 27, 2015

Photograph – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid greets supporters in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., during a campaign stop in 2010.
Laura Rauch/AP

Longtime Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, 75, who announced Friday he would not run for re-election in 2016, isn't exactly known for his charisma on Capitol Hill. But he has become known as someone who will always put up a fight.

That toughness can be seen throughout his life and political career. It was an essential quality during his hardscrabble childhood and time in the boxing ring. And it's what he later brought to fighting organized crime in Nevada and, more recently, taking off his gloves against the Tea Party Republicans.

"He's got that curmudgeonly charm that is hard to replace," President Obama said Friday, surprising Reid by calling into KNPR during an interview with the Senate minority leader, who has helped shepherd through major pieces of legislation for this president. "I'm going to miss him."

Obama added, though, "The system works better when over time some new blood comes in."

The president also lauded Reid's respect for where he grew up.

"I don't know anybody who understands more his roots, where he came from, what it means to not have anything when you're born, and scramble and scrape and work to get something," Obama said. "He has never forgotten the path that he took ... in terms of someone who's got heart and cares about ordinary people trying to chase the American dream, I don't think there's been anybody ever."

Here are six things you may not know about those roots and how they've informed Reid's political career:

He was born in a desert mining town.

Born in 1939, Reid was raised in Searchlight, Nev., the son of a miner. The home he grew up in had no indoor toilet or hot water and was built out of scavenged railroad ties.

"We did things that wouldn't be much fun for other kids," Reid once said in a video on his website, recalling that he used to sit on a ridge in town and count cars. "Why? Something to do." His father, a persistent drinker, committed suicide after he became ill and could no longer work.

Reid's upbringing contributed to a tough attitude that can still be seen in his life and politics — most recently when he badly injured his eye and cheek while exercising.

He played football in high school and was an amateur boxer. He met his wife, Landra, in college and they converted to Mormonism.

His hometown of Searchlight remained important to him — he moved back in the 1990s with his family and stayed there until last year, when he moved to Las Vegas to be closer to his children. His most recent home in the town was quite an upgrade compared with what he grew up in. The house he sold when he went to Las Vegas went for $1.7 million.

He became lieutenant governor of Nevada at age 30.

In 1970, Reid became the youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada history after two years in the state assembly. He ran for Senate four years later, but lost narrowly. He also ran for mayor of Las Vegas and lost. But he was appointed chairman of the state's Gaming Commission, where his work reads like a prime-time TV drama — he confronted organized crime, worried about having his phone tapped, and even once had a (failed) bomb planted in his car. The appointment put him back on Nevada's political map and by 1986, when he ran for U.S. Senate and won, the New York Times referred to him as "something of a boy wonder in Nevada politics."

He hasn't always had a clean mouth in the Senate.

"I think Sen. Reid often says what we're all thinking but perhaps are afraid to say," the late Sen. Ted Kennedy once said. As the New Yorker noted in a 2005 profile, he's called Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan a "political hack," Clarence Thomas an "embarrassment" and George W. Bush a "liar" and a "loser." Despite the forceful word choice, he generally comes across as soft-spoken, lacking charisma and, unlike some of his colleagues in congressional leadership, is not known to make himself a fixture on cable TV or Sunday morning political shows.

He once took on Nevada's brothels.

In 2011, Reid called for a ban on the state's brothels, even though they are taxed legally in some parts of the state. He said brothels harmed the state's image and dissuaded business from coming. "Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment, not as the last place where prostitution is still legal," Reid he said.

One of Nevada's legal brothels, Sherri's Ranch, jumped into the debate by posting a list of reasons Reid's statement wasn't true — along with a photo of Reid — on its blog. "We all know that politicians and public figures enjoy the company of prostitutes as much as any other American citizen, if not more so ... So why not host political events in locations close to legalized brothels, where public servants can blow off steam in a worry-free environment?"

He's kept that stance and more recently said brothels would hurt Las Vegas' chance of being selected to host the 2016 GOP convention.

His workout routine included 250 situps, three times per week.

Reid was badly injured while exercising earlier this year, suffering broken ribs, broken bones in his face and needing surgery on his eye. He was hurt when an exercise band snapped and sent him crashing into some cabinets at his Las Vegas home. He spoke about his exercise routine to KNPR, saying he did 250 situps three times a week, along with "some yoga-type stuff."

"I don't know how many people out there could sit and do 250 situps. Or do the strength and exercise routines I did with those bands hundreds of times," he said after the accident.

He has said repeatedly, until now, that he would run in 2016.

In a video announcing he would not seek re-election, Reid said his decision did not have to do with his eye injury, the fact that he is now minority leader or his chances of re-election. But it may be all three.

In 2013, he was asked by Roll Call whether Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray might be in a position to become leader. Reid's response: "If I drop dead? I don't know." He also told KNPR earlier this year, after his injury, that he didn't intend to change his plans to seek re-election.

In any case, the toughness from his upbringing and boxing days came through, yet again, even in his departure announcement. In a video explaining that would not run in 2016, he said: "These bruises I have on my face, on my eye, are an inconvenience but trust me they're nothing compared to some of the bruises I got when I was fighting in the ring."




“That toughness can be seen throughout his life and political career. It was an essential quality during his hardscrabble childhood and time in the boxing ring. And it's what he later brought to fighting organized crime in Nevada and, more recently, taking off his gloves against the Tea Party Republicans. "He's got that curmudgeonly charm that is hard to replace," President Obama said Friday, surprising Reid by calling into KNPR during an interview with the Senate minority leader, who has helped shepherd through major pieces of legislation for this president. "I'm going to miss him." .... "I think Sen. Reid often says what we're all thinking but perhaps are afraid to say," the late Sen. Ted Kennedy once said. As the New Yorker noted in a 2005 profile, he's called Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan a "political hack," Clarence Thomas an "embarrassment" and George W. Bush a "liar" and a "loser." …. He said brothels harmed the state's image and dissuaded business from coming. "Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment, not as the last place where prostitution is still legal," Reid he said.... Reid was badly injured while exercising earlier this year, suffering broken ribs, broken bones in his face and needing surgery on his eye. He was hurt when an exercise band snapped and sent him crashing into some cabinets at his Las Vegas home. He spoke about his exercise routine to KNPR, saying he did 250 situps three times a week, along with "some yoga-type stuff."

There is a great deal more to this article, and it's all important, so I will simply say that we need more Democrats the likes of Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank and Harry Reid. They say what progressives need to express, not because it's popular, but because it's true. I'm sorry he is quitting. It won't be until 2016, however, so Tea Party, don't party yet!





http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/27/395869048/-nprreads-leaving-guantanamo-and-why-black-people-dont-call-police

#NPRreads: Leaving Guantanamo, And Why Black People Don't Call Police
Camila Domonoske

Photograph – After years in Guantanamo, ex-detainees find little solace in Uruguay
By Joshua Partlow @partlowj

GUANTANAMO PRISONERS

You can look at Guantanamo Bay as an issue of national security, or human rights, or law, or diplomacy or politics. But these days, a few hundred former detainees are looking from a different angle: the rear-view mirror.

Here, The Washington Post spends a week with a man grappling with the twin shocks of freedom and a foreign culture: Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab. Dhiab spent 12 years in Guantanamo, was never charged with a crime and now lives in Uruguay with five other former prisoners.

This detail-rich piece is not about the legal dispute swirling around the former detainee. Instead, it's about learning a language, rediscovering technology, grappling with anger and struggling to restart a life. Toward the beginning, a bit of symbolism strung up on a coat hanger sucked me in immediately:

"The marks of a dozen years in a cell and the hunger strikes he held there show in his gaunt 43-year-old frame, his beard flecked with gray. He hobbles around on crutches, still wearing the Army green T-shirt and sweat pants given to him in Guantanamo. The infamous orange uniform — a Bob Barker brand 65-35 poly-cotton blend made in El Salvador — hangs in his closet for safekeeping."

BLACKS AND POLICE

The New York Times' Richard Fausset paints a compelling –- even heartbreaking –- portrait of Anthony Hill, the black Air Force veteran shot and killed by a white police officer on March 9 near Atlanta. He wove a narrative that speaks to the mental health challenges veterans face in this country and the unrest surrounding what Fausset describes as the "roiling movement of Americans who questioned the value that police officers face on black lives."

Fausset writes:

"Long before two bullets from a police officer's handgun tore through Anthony Hill's chest, he had tattooed it with the words of advice that his grandfather regularly imparted to him in this small Southern city: 'Be sensible.'

"Last week, Mr. Hill's relatives buried him in Moncks Corner. On their shirts and lapels, they had pinned photos of him, smiling and sharp, in his Air Force uniform. It was a wordless rebuke to the TV news images that had shown Mr. Hill as he wandered in his last moments — naked, unarmed and acting in a way that alarmed neighbors — through his suburban Atlanta apartment complex."




Guantanamo Bay – “Here, The Washington Post spends a week with a man grappling with the twin shocks of freedom and a foreign culture: Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab. Dhiab spent 12 years in Guantanamo, was never charged with a crime and now lives in Uruguay with five other former prisoners. This detail-rich piece is not about the legal dispute swirling around the former detainee. Instead, it's about learning a language, rediscovering technology, grappling with anger and struggling to restart a life.” I'm glad to see that these people who, after all, weren't criminals or even jihadists, but simply captured and brought to Guantanamo, are in a free environment with a group of their peers from the prison. They will have a bond together and someone who speaks their language. Meanwhile they have to learn Spanish. Dhiab saved his prison uniform for “symbolic” reasons. I suppose that makes sense. I wonder what he does with his time? Do they have jobs, or worship services? I do hope Obama manages to free, or try and convict everyone at Guantanamo, and closes the camp.

Black man shot – “He wove a narrative that speaks to the mental health challenges veterans face in this country and the unrest surrounding what Fausset describes as the "roiling movement of Americans who questioned the value that police officers face on black lives." Police are very poorly trained and disciplined when necessary on issues that impact the mentally deranged. There have been a number of articles about this issue in the last 6 months or so. There is even now a trial going before the Supreme Court on the freedom of police officers to essentially execute them on the street. They should, instead, take measures to arrest them and deliver them to an inpatient mental hospital. This probably will take two or more officers to achieve, but it is worth the extra man-hours. This is an administrative and perhaps a political problem. As this article says, black lives are not “worth much” to many police officers.

A similar subject, but more alarming to me, is found on the Internet at website : http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/03/24/is-the-supreme-court-about-to-give-cops-the-right-to-execute-the-mentally-ill/. The Supreme Court is actually considering giving police carte blanche to simply shoot people who are showing mental symptoms without even trying to arrest them, or under the often specious claim that the officer “felt afraid” of them. If the court does okay this action by police, we will lose one of our most important freedoms in this country. Police officers have a dangerous job, so they should be trained well in martial arts and go in teams of two when they answer calls or patrol the streets checking for trouble. This man was unarmed, and naked – in other words, clearly mentally deranged. He should have been approached by two or more officers and apprehended with minimum force, then put into a mental facility. Most cities have a number of them for people who have been “Baker Acted.” A simple jail cell is the wrong place for mental patients, but too often they end up there, and are even tried criminally. In this case, unfortunately he was simply shot to death in the street.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/03/27/395815996/southern-baptists-dont-shy-away-from-talking-about-their-racist-past

Southern Baptists Don't Shy Away From Talking About Their Racist Past
Debbie Elliott
March 27, 2015

Photograph – Russell Moore preaching during the first plenary address, "Black, And White And Red All Over: Why Racial Reconciliation Is A Gospel Issue."
Alli Rader

Southern Baptist leaders were supposed to be talking about bioethics this week at a summit in Nashville, Tenn. That changed in December after a New York grand jury declined to return an indictment in the police choking death of Eric Garner.

When Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, sent out tweets expressing his shock, there was pushback. Should the church get involved in a divisive political issue?

Moore says it's an old argument: "In the 19th century, when Christians would bring up the question 'how can you claim to own another human being made in the image of God?' slaveholders would say 'that's a political issue — let's stick with preaching the gospel.' "

Race long has been a thorny issue for Southern Baptists. The convention was born from the nation's divide over race — breaking off as a denomination in favor of slavery and slaveholders in 1845.

The convention renounced its racist past and apologized 20 years ago for supporting slavery and segregation. Since then, it has drawn more diverse members and elected its first African-American pastor as president.

Even so, most Southern Baptist congregations tend to be predominantly one race or another. That's been a focus during the leadership conference in Nashville.

"Now, what people will say is, 'well we're trying to reach people with the gospel and people would rather be around people like them,' Moore said in his opening remarks. "Sure they would. And I'd like to fight and fornicate and smoke weed and go to heaven."

The mixed-race audience at the convention is mostly Southern Baptist pastors and seminary students from around the country. Longtime Mississippi civil rights activist John Perkins was an invited speaker; he says evangelical Christians have a lot to unpack.
"I think that they, like most other groups, accommodated to racism and bigotry and thought that they could preach the gospel without being reconciled, which is a mistake," Perkins says.

The emphasis for too long has been on saving souls — reconciling with God — without the companion responsibility to be reconciled to one another, says Jarvis Williams, a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

"When I read the Bible, I see the gospel saying this is how you become a Christian," he says, "But this is also the gospel — how you live with each other and love as Christians."

Williams says that in today's climate, evangelicals have tended to respond to racial controversies like the one in Ferguson, Mo., with either cluelessness or what he calls "the sin of silence."

"They just don't understand why an African-American can ask the question — 'did he get pulled over, did he have this experience, because of his ethnic identity?'" he asks. "I think many folks in the dominant racial group are clueless to that question, because they've never experienced that degree of racism that's part of the black experience in this country."

It's hard to talk about race anyway, much less when a crisis erupts, says Williams. He thinks that's where dialogues like this one in Nashville can help.

Pastor Jamie Mosley from Hendersonville, Tenn., wants to know how to put what he's hearing into action back home.

"There's this umbrella of 'racism is sin, racism is something that the church can't stand for' — I think we can all can agree to that," he says. "But once you get under that umbrella to 'well then what do we do?' — then you have a lot of legitimate questions."




“When Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, sent out tweets expressing his shock, there was pushback. Should the church get involved in a divisive political issue? Moore says it's an old argument: "In the 19th century, when Christians would bring up the question 'how can you claim to own another human being made in the image of God?' slaveholders would say 'that's a political issue — let's stick with preaching the gospel.' …. Even so, most Southern Baptist congregations tend to be predominantly one race or another. That's been a focus during the leadership conference in Nashville. "Now, what people will say is, 'well we're trying to reach people with the gospel and people would rather be around people like them,' Moore said in his opening remarks. "Sure they would. And I'd like to fight and fornicate and smoke weed and go to heaven." …. The emphasis for too long has been on saving souls — reconciling with God — without the companion responsibility to be reconciled to one another, says Jarvis Williams, a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "When I read the Bible, I see the gospel saying this is how you become a Christian," he says, "But this is also the gospel — how you live with each other and love as Christians." Williams says that in today's climate, evangelicals have tended to respond to racial controversies like the one in Ferguson, Mo., with either cluelessness or what he calls "the sin of silence." …. "I think many folks in the dominant racial group are clueless to that question, because they've never experienced that degree of racism that's part of the black experience in this country." It's hard to talk about race anyway, much less when a crisis erupts, says Williams. He thinks that's where dialogues like this one in Nashville can help. Pastor Jamie Mosley from Hendersonville, Tenn., wants to know how to put what he's hearing into action back home.”

When the Christian Church faces this question, in the light of their religion and of their ever so important “patriotic” feelings as good American citizens, they will have to look at our Constitution and the history behind that political split between the North and the South in the 1860s. It wasn't just over States' Rights, but over black skin and white abuse. I have heard whites who don't even “believe” that blacks are human and intellectually equal to whites, and scientific studies showing the mental “differences” between us still appear sometimes. Well known anthropologists have tried to prove which of the prehistoric peoples were closer to black people. (The Neanderthals were, of course, because their skulls were somewhat thicker than those of Homo Sapiens.) The words coon, spook, jigaboo, monkeys and other despicable terms that are actually worse than the ignorant corruption of the word Negro, were heard in Thomasville, NC in my youth. That didn't occur very often, actually, because even then it was considered ignorant and rude. Calling names is not considered good behavior anywhere, but when people want to vent their hatred, they come out with those terms.

It's all because white Southerners have in too many cases failed to admit that gross mistreatment of a group of people is deeply and irrevocably immoral. They're “still fighting the Civil War,” or the War Between The States as they like to call it. Letting down their wall of self defense on these matters would make it clear that they need to, first, repent, and second, mend their ways thoroughly – integrate those churches, for goodness sake, and stop backing police brutality against blacks. Also stop calling poor white people “white trash.” It's all a part of the same evil – our antiquated and grossly unfair class structure. “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” as a great man once said. End of sermon.

Everybody in the South should go see the recent movie, “Twelve Years A Slave,” in which a free black man in the north was kidnapped by white slavers who were actually hired by Southerners to bring back their escaped slaves. That was a common practice at the time, and Northern states freely allowed them to do this. This movie is a true life story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who was sold to the slaveholder Michael Fassbender. He was finally identified as a free black by a Canadian abolitionist and freed by several federal governmental officials and the help of a lawyer. The slave owner gave him up without a fight.




http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/27/395860569/jury-rules-against-ellen-pao-clearing-kleiner-perkins-of-discrimination

Jury Rules Against Ellen Pao, Clearing Kleiner Perkins Of Discrimination
Eyder Peralta
March 27, 2015

A California jury has ruled against Ellen Pao by finding that Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers did not discriminate against her because of her gender nor did the venture capital firm deny her a promotion because of her gender.

Pao's lawsuit was the highest-profile gender discrimination case to come out of Silicon Valley.

USA Today reports:

"As the jury forewoman read out the 'no' of the first part of the verdict, Pao's lawyer, Therese Lawless, reached over and squeezed her shoulder. As the list of 'no's' continued, there were a few muted gasps in the room.

"Next came a hiccup on the question of whether or not Pao was retaliated against because she wrote a memo about what she believed was gender discrimination at the firm or because she eventually filed a lawsuit against the firm.

The AP adds:

"A court clerk previously said the jury had cleared venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers of discriminating and retaliating against Ellen Pao.

"However, the jury was re-polled in the courtroom after the announcement and the discrepancy was found involving one retaliation allegation."

The jury was asked to clear up the discrepancy and they came back soon after to clear Kleiner Perkins of the last accusation.

As we reported, Pao had sued her former employer for $16 million in damages.




"Next came a hiccup on the question of whether or not Pao was retaliated against because she wrote a memo about what she believed was gender discrimination at the firm or because she eventually filed a lawsuit against the firm. The AP adds: "A court clerk previously said the jury had cleared venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers of discriminating and retaliating against Ellen Pao. "However, the jury was re-polled in the courtroom after the announcement and the discrepancy was found involving one retaliation allegation."

Our class structure is not merely about the privileges accorded to the wealthy, but about keeping everybody else down. The same thing operates against women in the work situations around the country as it does against blacks. I am glad to say I was lucky enough to have worked for a very good investment company called the Calvert Group for a little over five years, and I can safely say that they do not, unless they have radically changed, discriminate against anyone. There are good guys in business, after all it seems.





http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/gowdy-clinton-wiped-her-server-clean-116472.html

Trey Gowdy: Hillary Clinton wiped her server clean
By LAUREN FRENCH
3/27/15

Photograph – Clinton was under a subpoena for all correspondence from her tenure as secretary of state that focused on Libya and Benghazi. | Getty

Hillary Clinton wiped “clean” the private server housing emails from her tenure as secretary of state, the chairman of the House committee investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi said Friday.

“While it is not clear precisely when Secretary Clinton decided to permanently delete all emails from her server, it appears she made the decision after October 28, 2014, when the Department of State for the first time asked the Secretary to return her public record to the Department,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, said in a statement.

Clinton was under a subpoena order from the panel for all documents related to the 2012 attacks on the American compound there. But David Kendall, an attorney for Clinton, said the 900 pages of emails previously provided to the panel cover its request.


Kendall also informed the committee that Clinton’s emails from her time at the State Department have been permanently erased.

Gowdy said that Clinton’s response to the subpoena means he and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will now contemplate new legal actions against Clinton.

“After seeking and receiving a two week extension from the Committee, Secretary Clinton failed to provide a single new document to the subpoena issued by the Committee and refused to provide her private server to the Inspector General for the State Department or any other independent arbiter for analysis,” Gowdy said.

Clinton previously said she decided to delete the emails after her lawyers reviewed the server for work-related correspondence. She said the deletion of private emails occurred “at the end” of that review.

In a letter provided to the committee, Kendall said Clinton would not be turning over the server to a third-party for review and that the emails no longer exist on the private server located in her New York home.

“There is no basis to support the proposed third-party review of the server that hosted the hdr22@clintonemail.com account,” Kendall wrote. “To avoid prolonging a discussion that would be academic, I have confirmed with the secretary’s IT support that no emails…..for the time period January 21, 2009 through February 1, 2013 reside on the server or on any back-up systems associated with the server.”

The broad subpoena from Gowdy included any emails relating to Libya, weapons located in the country, the Benghazi attacks and administration statements following the attacks on the compound.
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Shortly after the New York Times reported on Clinton’s private email use, she requested that the State Department make public all documents from her time at the agency. The State Department has said it’s working though these documents – which include 55,000 pages – for review.

The agency has also said it will focus on vetting the 300 pages the Benghazi Committee has already received. Kendall said the State Department is “uniquely positioned” to respond to requests for additional documents, a sign from Clinton’s camp that they believe she has fully responded to any standing legal requests.

Kendall added, “Thus, there are no hdr22@clintonemail.com e-mails from Secretary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State on the server for any review, even if such review were appropriate or legally authorized.”

The letter added that requests from a second email, hrod17@clintonemail.com, are not germane as that address was “not an address that existed during Secretary Clinton’s tenure.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Benghazi panel, said Clinton’s response “confirms” that the former secretary of state has provided all documents related to the Benghazi attacks to the committee.

“This confirms what we all knew—that Secretary Clinton already produced her official records to the State Department, that she did not keep her personal emails, and that the Select Committee has already obtained her emails relating to the attacks in Benghazi,” said Cummings (D-Md.). “It is time for the Committee to stop this political charade and instead make these documents public and schedule Secretary Clinton’s public testimony now.”

The move all but ensures congressional Republicans’ focus on Clinton will intensify. The Benghazi panel has already said it will bring Clinton in to testify at least twice — once privately about her email use while at State and at another public hearing on the Obama administration’s reaction to Benghazi. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has also signaled plans to investigate Clinton’s use of private email.

Gowdy’s subpoenas came after it was reported that Clinton stored her emails on a private server and used a personal email address while at the State Department. Clinton has already made more than 900 pages of emails available to the committee but the panel has requested the entire swath of documents – a request Gowdy has repeatedly said is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation into the 2012 terrorist attacks.




“While it is not clear precisely when Secretary Clinton decided to permanently delete all emails from her server, it appears she made the decision after October 28, 2014, when the Department of State for the first time asked the Secretary to return her public record to the Department,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, said in a statement. Clinton was under a subpoena order from the panel for all documents related to the 2012 attacks on the American compound there. But David Kendall, an attorney for Clinton, said the 900 pages of emails previously provided to the panel cover its request..... Clinton previously said she decided to delete the emails after her lawyers reviewed the server for work-related correspondence. She said the deletion of private emails occurred “at the end” of that review. In a letter provided to the committee, Kendall said Clinton would not be turning over the server to a third-party for review and that the emails no longer exist on the private server located in her New York home..... The agency has also said it will focus on vetting the 300 pages the Benghazi Committee has already received. Kendall said the State Department is “uniquely positioned” to respond to requests for additional documents, a sign from Clinton’s camp that they believe she has fully responded to any standing legal requests. Kendall added, “Thus, there are no hdr22@clintonemail.com e-mails from Secretary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State on the server for any review, even if such review were appropriate or legally authorized.”.... Select Committee has already obtained her emails relating to the attacks in Benghazi,” said Cummings (D-Md.). “It is time for the Committee to stop this political charade and instead make these documents public and schedule Secretary Clinton’s public testimony now.”

Clinton to Republicans, “the ball is in your court.” I'm sure there will be more on this subject fairly soon. I admire Clinton's intestinal fortitude and logic. She plays like Mr. Spock did on the bridge of the Enterprise. This will make some hate her to an even greater degree, but I personally admire her move. The Republicans will undoubtedly now sue her or something. It's too late, though.