January 29, 2015

Teaching the Holocaust in the public schools, an unforgettable incident.

I taught high school history in the Chicago Public Schools in a neighborhood with a mixed community of people from all over the world. This mixture just happened, it really wasn't designed or planned that way. When it came to WWII or sections where there was a lot of worthless, senseless, killing of civilians, , I showed a movie called "Night and Fog" about the Holocaust. Truly horrific, I warned the students, and they could get a pass to the library, out of class, if they didn't want to watch this. This tied in with "man's inhumanity to man" an idea which is still presented in high schools all over. This incident took place in the mid 80s, and I will never forget the moment I am about to describe.

After showing the film in one class, three students came up. They were 16 - 18 and wanted to talk about an incident that related to the film. Senseless killing of civilians. One young man was from Cambodia. The others knew him and his story. They wanted to tell it to me. He was reluctant to talk, and another student spoke. He explained that the young man had lived in Cambodia at the time of the Khmer Rouge. As they came into his home to kill his father, who was a teacher I think, which they did do... he and his mother escaped out the back window and got away. There wasn't much more to say. Eventually, they come here... I was stunned and greatly saddened. ..I had read about this. What was "Never To Happen Again" had happened and here was proof. We talked for a short while and the bell rang and the three went to the next class.

January 14, 2015

Arrested Teen Saves Life of Officer Who Arrested Him, Huff Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/teen-saves-life-police-officer-jamal-rutledge_n_6470842.html

On the wrong side of the law, but a hero by almost any other measure.

That's the short story of Jamal Rutledge, a 17-year-old who saved the life of a Florida police officer in September, when he called for help after the officer clutched his chest and collapsed while booking Rutledge into jail. The teen, and several responding officers, will be publicly recognized at a ceremony Jan. 21.

Surveillance video of the incident shows Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Franklin Foulks clutch his chest and fall to the ground while doing paperwork in the Fort Lauderdale Police Department Booking Facility, as Rutledge -- who'd already been detained -- looks on.

Rutledge approached the officer, realized the severity of his condition and "immediately began to kick the security fence and yell to alert officers in the area," police said in a statement.

Sgt. Todd Bunin heard the commotion and responded to the scene, then radioed for help from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. Meanwhile, two other officers, Robert Norvis and Raymond Ketchmark, began performing CPR and applied an AED to Foulks' chest.

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There is a video here, but it takes a while to access it ...What a story, first saw this today..

January 14, 2015

Tom Hanks Says Community College Made Him Who He is Today

Source: Huff Post

Famed actor and director Tom Hanks penned an op-ed reflecting on his time in community college, crediting it as the "place [that] made me what I am today."

Hanks writes in the New York Times on Wednesday that he applied to some prestigious schools knowing full-well they wouldn't accept a student like him with low SAT scores. He decided to go to Chabot College, a community college that accepted everyone and was free.

Hanks celebrated that Chabot had programs in nearly every discipline, "all free but for the effort and the cost of used textbooks," and his classmates "included veterans back from Vietnam, women of every marital and maternal status returning to school, middle-aged men wanting to improve their employment prospects and paychecks." The op-ed goes on to endorse President Barack Obama's plan to offer free community college nationwide.

The celebrated actor noted one public speaking class at Chabot "was unforgettable for a couple of reasons. First, the assignments forced us to get over our self-consciousness." The other reason was a flight attendant in the class he apparently had a crush on.



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/tom-hanks-community-college_n_6470806.htmlLink to source

January 13, 2015

In Stark Contrast, Albuguerque Cops Charged with Murder of Homeless Man

Source: Talking Points Memo

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS Published January 12, 2015, 2:54 PM EST

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two Albuquerque police officers were charged with murder in the March killing of a homeless camper, a shooting that generated sometimes violent protests around the city and sparked a federal investigation into a police force that has been found to use excessive force.


SWAT team member Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy will each face a single count of open murder in the death of 38-year-old James Boyd, Second District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said Monday. Open murder allows prosecutors to pursue either first-degree or second-degree murder charges.

Police said Perez and Sandy fatally shot Boyd, who was holding two knives, during an hourslong standoff in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Video from an officer's helmet camera showed Boyd, who authorities say had struggled with mental illness, appearing to surrender when officers opened fire.

The case is a departure after grand juries declined to charge officers in the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold killing of another unarmed man in New York City.


Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/albuquerque-cops-charged-murder-homeless-man

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Here is another link about this story and the DA's plans to bring these charges.

posted by... kpete

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014986574

January 12, 2015

Peter Paul and Mary... "This Land Is Your Land".... written by Woodie Guthrie

January 12, 2015

Democrats' Plan Would Benefit Middle Class, Target Rich

Source: Huffington Post/ Rueters

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic congressional leaders plan on Monday to unveil proposed legislation to boost the middle class by giving many families a tax cut that would be countered by a fee on financial transactions and reduced tax benefits for the top 1 percent of earners, the Washington Post reported.

The plan, which Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland was to introduce, could create a windfall of about $1.2 trillion over a decade, the newspaper said. As much as $800 billion of that could come from a 0.1 percent fee on stock trades, mostly from high-volume transactions, Van Hollen told the Post.

The legislation calls for a "paycheck bonus" of $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples, a bonus of $250 for people who save at least $500 a year and reduced "marriage penalties" for couples.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/12/democrats-middle-class_n_6455140.htmlLink to source

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Won't pass , but makes a statement as to what is important. The Republicans will make the case for taxing the rich less, and this tries to tax the rich more.

January 3, 2015

Sara Palin's picture of her son could end it for her.

You know, there is a certain honesty about it, but it shows what she really is...an uncaring person. And it could end it for her among many people, perhaps a huge percentage. Why? Because people who really love animals/and dogs cross all party lines. While it may not hurt the dog, anyone who looks at it, would ask this simple question,

"What kind of parent allows a child to step on a dog?"

and Sara will have to answer that question, let alone the one about taking a picture and posting it. That is the second question.

And Sara will have to answer those questions the rest of her life.

..Good...Now among her fans, it won't matter..but, I believe she will have far fewer fans after this. It is so clear from looking at the picture, ...just looking.....what kind of person Sara really is...

Who would let their son step on top of an animal for what ever reason?...and if so....what kind of person takes a picture of it...????