Houston teen dies from brain-eating amoeba

The young teen who fell ill after a swimming outing earlier this month with his high school track teammates has died.

The family of Michael John Riley Jr. announced that the 14-year-old died after contracting a lethal disease caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in the warm waters at Sam Houston State Park.

"It is with a heavy heart that we tell you, Michael John Riley Jr. lost his battle on this earth but won a victory for his place in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ," according to the family's Facebook post. "Michael fought a courageous fight over the past week, allowing him to move on to be with the Lord for future heavenly tasks, a beautiful set of wings, and a pair of gold running shoes."

The family vows to honor Riley's legacy by supporting scientific efforts to better understand primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (or PAM, as it's better known) along with an awareness campaign to prevent others from contracting the disease.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Houston-teen-dies-from-brain-eating-amoeba-6474652.php

White House says Mount McKinley to be renamed Denali

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will change the name of North America's tallest mountain peak from Mount McKinley to Denali, the White House said Sunday, bestowing the traditional Alaska Native name on the eve of a historic presidential visit to Alaska.

By renaming the peak Denali, an Athabascan word meaning "the high one," Obama is wading into a sensitive and decades-old conflict between residents of Alaska and Ohio. Alaskans have informally called the 20,320-foot mountain Denali for years, but the federal government recognizes its name invoking the 25th president, William McKinley, who was born in Ohio and assassinated early in his second term.

"With our own sense of reverence for this place, we are officially renaming the mountain Denali in recognition of the traditions of Alaska Natives and the strong support of the people of Alaska," said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

The announcement came as Obama prepared to depart early Monday on a three-day visit to Alaska, becoming the first sitting president to travel north of the Arctic Circle. As part of his visit, Obama is attempting to show solidarity with Alaska Natives, and planned to hold a round-table session with a group of Alaska Natives just after arriving Monday in Anchorage.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/article/White-House-says-Mount-McKinley-to-be-renamed-6474781.php

UT-Austin removes Jefferson Davis statue; Sons of Confederate Veterans attorney has temper tantrum

AUSTIN — UT-Austin successfully removed the Jefferson Davis statue from the shadow of the iconic UT Tower early Sunday morning.

The process took about two-and-a-half hours. Workers had to cut bolts loose before the statue could be lifted, but once they did that Jefferson Davis rose from the column he sat on easily.

-sniip-

“What has happened was a cultural atrocity — this is a discretion of art,” said Kirk Lyons, the lawyer for the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Lyons compared Sunday to Pearl Harbor, saying the Sons of Confederate Veterans had lost a battle but not the war.

“Hiroshima is coming,” Lyons said. “{President} Greg Fenves will rue the day.”

The complete article is at http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/08/ut-austin-removes-jefferson-davis-statue.html/

My teabagger Congressman is coming to town on Tuesday...

and I'm thinking about attending the Blake "Ducky Jamas" Farenthold town hall. Since I might decide to take one for the team, I'm willing to gather some input as to questions that I might ask.

On the serious side:

According to the EWG Farm Subsidies database, between 1995-2012 the government has paid over $13 billion in subsidies to rice cooperatives. The president and secretary of state have recently reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba which could provide a sizable market for exports of the rice crop in this district. Are you in favor of extending the charter of the Import-Export bank to help provide loans to Cuba so that both countries benefit by facilitating free trade and reducing agricultural subsidies in the US?

On a lighter note:

Pantone has disclosed its color palette for autumn 2015. Are you going to incorporate that color palette into your Halloween wardrobe and what is your favorite color for fall?

Has Senator Vitter provided any tips about the escort services in DC?

Further suggestions are welcome, but note that I do not want to get arrested at the event. Thanks in advance.

Campus LGBT Group Responds Beautifully After ‘Fags’ Carved In Sponsored Bench

State targets Beaumont ISD auditor's license

BEAUMONT -- The state accounting board wants to revoke the accounting licenses of Gayle W. Botley and his firm, citing a series of failures in their audits of the Beaumont school district from 2010 through 2012 and their failure to complete an audit for 2013.

The complaint by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy was sent to Botley's attorney, Frank McElroy, by certified mail on Aug. 18. McElroy, a member of the Forrest Law Group in Houston, specializes in accountant malpractice and liability.

"Mr. Botley's answers will be filed at the appropriate time and in the appropriate form," McElroy said in a brief telephone interview Thursday.

If Botley does not respond to the notice within 20 days, the state can revoke the licenses.

Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/BISD-targets-auditor-s-license-6471205.php

LA strikes 2024 Olympic bid deal with USOC

Source: AP

Los Angeles and the U.S. Olympic Committee have struck a deal that will make the city America's 2024 Olympic bidder pending approval by the city council next week.

If the council approves the deal at a meeting Tuesday, the USOC will announce Los Angeles as its candidate, a person familiar with the process told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the negotiations have not been publicly announced.

Last month, the USOC scrapped plans to make Boston the bid city and entered talks with Los Angeles. On Friday, a city council subcommittee approved the pact and sent it to the full council for a vote.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article32777343.html

H-E-B to limit Blue Bell purchases

With crowds expected Monday, the first day Blue Bell ice cream will be back on store shelves after a four-month hiatus, H-E-B has announced it will temporarily limit how many products each person can purchase.

The San Antonio-based chain, Austin’s dominant grocer, will allow each shopper to purchase no more than four Blue Bell products “to ensure more customers can receive this Texas favorite.”

H-E-B didn’t say how long the limits will be in place. More than 40 Central Texas H-E-B stores are set to have Blue Bell products back in stock sometime Monday.

Other retailers are expected to implement similar limits. In the Austin area, Randalls, Walgreens and Walmart are among the other chains that have said they will be carrying Blue Bell.

Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/business/h-e-b-to-limit-blue-bell-purchases/nnTFF/

[font color=330099]Don't bogart the Blue Bell![/font]

School funding on the line when Texas Supreme Court takes on case next week

AUSTIN — Back to the courthouse.

Four years after more than 600 school districts, the charter school system, a group of parents and even the influential Texas Association of Business sued the state on grounds the Legislature has failed to adequately fund public education, attorneys for both sides square off again Tuesday.

Although, so far, the state is 0-2 in the current legal fight that began in the fall of 2011 — it is the sixth school funding lawsuit since the mid-1980s — this should be the decisive round because the Texas Supreme Court, not a state district court, is now refereeing the bout.

Both sides know the stakes are high.

“It won’t be easy but if the Texas Supreme Court follows the facts and the law, then the children win and the state loses,” said school finance attorney David Hinojosa who, until recently, represented some of the poorest school districts and a parents group on behalf of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2015-08-28/school-funding-line-when-texas-supreme-court-takes-case-next-week#comment-379466

Should a separate group for BlackLivesMatter be created under the Activism Topic? (poll)

I submitted a question in the Ask the Administrators forum recently due to the large number of posts on this subject since there is an overlap with the political candidates in the General Discussion: Primaries forum. See thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/12598487

In addition, there might be occasions when threads from other forums such as GD, Good Reads or LBN would be redirected to this proposed group by the forum hosts.

The response from Skinner was to obtain opinions from the members of this group as to whether it would be duplicative of the efforts of this group.

My initial thoughts for this group are that it would allow everyone to discuss the BLM movement, both pro and con, within the general rules of civility followed on DU. Discussion could also touch upon other topics such as the political stances of the primary candidates; news about events associated with the movement including future events, reports on events that occurred, and livestreams of rallies in progress; and, even some borderline meta issues that would not necessarily be appropriate in other forums or groups. The group would be open to all DU members.

Please note that I am going to make this a simple Yes/No poll and that if a member votes for either choice it should not be inferred that the member either for or against the BLM movement since there are reasons (some for which I am aware and some for which I am not aware) to vote on either side. Anyone who wishes to elaborate can post a reply separate from the poll.

In addition, suggestions for the SOP of the proposed group are also welcome.

Finally, a few thousand posts ago I made a post that was callous and inappropriate about the BLM movement in the Lounge that I originally thought was humorous. When another member pointed out my error I self-deleted my post, apologized for my mistake and I apologize again. I am far from perfect and though I am willing to serve as a forum host (to offer diversity among the hosts), if anyone objects they can inform me in this thread or by PM and I will remove myself from consideration.

Thank you for your vote and any comments that you wish to leave.

ETA: It appears that the consensus of the group is that they do not want a separate group formed for BLM and I will respect the wishes of this group. I do understand that in the eyes of most people it would probably create more problems than it would solve so I will not pursue this with the administrators. I appreciate everyone's opinion and please know that I made the suggestion with the best intentions.

Peace and good luck with achieving your goals!

TxT



Should a separate group for BlackLivesMatter be created under the Activism Topic?