It’s official: Andrew McCabe lied.
The new report from the Justice Department inspector general concludes that McCabe, the former FBI deputy director, lied to then-FBI Director James Comey, to other FBI agents, and to officials of the Office of the Inspector General. Some of those lies came when McCabe was under oath.
What did he lie about? Unauthorized disclosures about the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The information was leaked to a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
The inspector general has completed his work. The question now is, will the Justice Department prosecute McCabe? Or, put another way: Will the FBI and the Justice Department follow the same rules they apply to members of the public who lie to a federal agent?
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Supreme Court Doesn't Want to Hear Imprisoned Ex-Gov. Blagojevich's Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appeal, marking the end of a decadelong legal road and virtually guaranteeing he will remain in prison until 2024 barring a presidential pardon or commutation.
The justices did not comment in letting stand the convictions and 14-year prison term that Blagojevich is serving. It marked the second time in two years that the high court has rejected hearing Blagojevich's appeal.
Blagojevich's lawyers had hoped the Supreme Court would take up his case to make clear what constitutes illegal political fundraising. They argued that politicians are vulnerable to prosecution because the line between what's allowed and what's illegal is blurry.
His convictions included trying to extort a children's hospital for contributions and seeking cash in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected president in 2008.
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The justices did not comment in letting stand the convictions and 14-year prison term that Blagojevich is serving. It marked the second time in two years that the high court has rejected hearing Blagojevich's appeal.
Blagojevich's lawyers had hoped the Supreme Court would take up his case to make clear what constitutes illegal political fundraising. They argued that politicians are vulnerable to prosecution because the line between what's allowed and what's illegal is blurry.
His convictions included trying to extort a children's hospital for contributions and seeking cash in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected president in 2008.
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The New Treatment for Opioid Addiction: Marijuana
The price of medical marijuana could fall dramatically for some patients by mid-summer. And the drug will soon be used to treat opioid withdrawal in Pennsylvania, which will become the second state after New Jersey to allow it for that purpose.
At a news conference in Harrisburg, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said she had approved the sale of cannabis flower, the traditional smokable or vaporizable form of the plant.
"It's another tool," Levine said. "The whole idea of this program is to provide another tool in the toolbox of physicians to treat these conditions."
Since the launch of the state medical marijuana program in February, dispensaries in Pennsylvania have sold only pricey marijuana oils and extracts. Flower, also known as leaf or bud, needs no processing and is less expensive to produce.
"For some patients, the cost of their medical marijuana could drop by 50 percent with the addition of flower," said Chris Visco, owner of TerraVida Holistic Centers, a chain of dispensaries with shops in Sellersville and Abington. "It offers the lowest price per milligram of THC, the active ingredient."
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At a news conference in Harrisburg, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said she had approved the sale of cannabis flower, the traditional smokable or vaporizable form of the plant.
"It's another tool," Levine said. "The whole idea of this program is to provide another tool in the toolbox of physicians to treat these conditions."
Since the launch of the state medical marijuana program in February, dispensaries in Pennsylvania have sold only pricey marijuana oils and extracts. Flower, also known as leaf or bud, needs no processing and is less expensive to produce.
"For some patients, the cost of their medical marijuana could drop by 50 percent with the addition of flower," said Chris Visco, owner of TerraVida Holistic Centers, a chain of dispensaries with shops in Sellersville and Abington. "It offers the lowest price per milligram of THC, the active ingredient."
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With Fewer Police Applicants, Departments Engage in Bidding Wars
Hiring police officers is much harder than it used to be. To stay competitive, some are offering generous pay increases and bonuses.
Like many law enforcement agencies, the Utah Highway Patrol has lots of vacancies to fill as officers leave for higher-paying jobs. It also has a lot of competition. Salt Lake City recently announced plans to hire 50 additional officers for its police force. This prompted the city council in nearby Ogden to approve pay raises and extra bonuses for many of its officers as a preemptive measure to thwart departures to the larger department in Salt Lake.
Highway Patrol Col. Mike Rapich has observed what he calls a “wage war” among agencies competing for personnel. “We’re in a really aggressive recruiting effort,” he says, “probably more so than I’ve seen in the 25 years I’ve been with the agency.”
Law enforcement officials across the country say they’re struggling to fill vacancies, largely due to retirements and moves to the private sector. A national survey by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence found last year that governments are having more trouble hiring police than any other category of personnel. Agencies are scrambling to attract and retain talent, often by boosting compensation packages or ramping up recruitment.
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Like many law enforcement agencies, the Utah Highway Patrol has lots of vacancies to fill as officers leave for higher-paying jobs. It also has a lot of competition. Salt Lake City recently announced plans to hire 50 additional officers for its police force. This prompted the city council in nearby Ogden to approve pay raises and extra bonuses for many of its officers as a preemptive measure to thwart departures to the larger department in Salt Lake.
Highway Patrol Col. Mike Rapich has observed what he calls a “wage war” among agencies competing for personnel. “We’re in a really aggressive recruiting effort,” he says, “probably more so than I’ve seen in the 25 years I’ve been with the agency.”
Law enforcement officials across the country say they’re struggling to fill vacancies, largely due to retirements and moves to the private sector. A national survey by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence found last year that governments are having more trouble hiring police than any other category of personnel. Agencies are scrambling to attract and retain talent, often by boosting compensation packages or ramping up recruitment.
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Researchers mark death of Pearl Harbor mastermind Yamamoto
A group from the U.S. and Japan is trekking to a remote Pacific island jungle to document what is considered one of the most important wreck sites of World War II: the place where American fighters shot down a Japanese bomber carrying the mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Three members of a New York-based WWII research organization and a Japanese aviation expert plan to visit the crash site on Bougainville, part of Papua New Guinea, on Wednesday - the 75th anniversary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's death.
Yamamoto had spent several years in the U.S. earlier in his military career, studying at Harvard University and admiring America's industrial might.
In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, he was quite possibly the most hated man in America.
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Three members of a New York-based WWII research organization and a Japanese aviation expert plan to visit the crash site on Bougainville, part of Papua New Guinea, on Wednesday - the 75th anniversary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's death.
Yamamoto had spent several years in the U.S. earlier in his military career, studying at Harvard University and admiring America's industrial might.
In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, he was quite possibly the most hated man in America.
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Noemie Emery: Ted Kennedy's enablers at Chappaquiddick
“This one’s for you, Mary Jo.” So read signs in the Bay State in 2010, when Republican Scott Brown won the Senate seat opened up by the passing of Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy. Even before the film “Chappaquiddick,” the stain scrubbed at so hard by some of those featured in the movie had never been wholly erased.
The senator, weak as he was, was hardly the worst of the people depicted. That honor goes to the fixers, who showed up to “help” him escape the consequences of his actions. They saved his career, but not his reputation. And they gave to themselves the stigma they merit, and to his dead brothers a guilt-by-relation they did not deserve.
By 1969, when the accident happened, the Kennedys had been through a series of tortured transitions, when one of its sons met a violent ending, and the expectations around him passed on to the next: Joseph "Joe" P. Kennedy Jr. was killed in the war, and the torch passed to John F. Kennedy; JFK was killed, and the torch passed to Robert "Bobby" F. Kennedy; Bobby was murdered, and the torch passed to Ted, by whom it was dropped.
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The senator, weak as he was, was hardly the worst of the people depicted. That honor goes to the fixers, who showed up to “help” him escape the consequences of his actions. They saved his career, but not his reputation. And they gave to themselves the stigma they merit, and to his dead brothers a guilt-by-relation they did not deserve.
By 1969, when the accident happened, the Kennedys had been through a series of tortured transitions, when one of its sons met a violent ending, and the expectations around him passed on to the next: Joseph "Joe" P. Kennedy Jr. was killed in the war, and the torch passed to John F. Kennedy; JFK was killed, and the torch passed to Robert "Bobby" F. Kennedy; Bobby was murdered, and the torch passed to Ted, by whom it was dropped.
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House Democrat Pushes Licensing Requirement for Handgun Owners
Representative Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) is pushing legislation to require licenses for handgun owners throughout the United States.
The legislation, HR 5490, is titled the “Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act.”
HR 5490 would not only require licenses but would also provide federal grants to help states cover the expense of a licensing program.
The bill is based on the inaccurate claim that “33,000 Americans were killed by guns” in 2013. Hillary Clinton made this claim again and again during her failed 2016 campaign, and Breitbart News showed that her claims actually exaggerated “gun violence” deaths by 66 percent.
In reality, the number of accidental deaths was 505, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the number of deaths due to actual “gun violence” was 11,208. The number of suicides was 21,175. When Clinton spoke, she would combine homicides, accidental deaths, and suicides as if all were the result of “gun violence” and present a death toll of 33,000. Rep. Esty is doing the same thing.
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The legislation, HR 5490, is titled the “Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act.”
HR 5490 would not only require licenses but would also provide federal grants to help states cover the expense of a licensing program.
The bill is based on the inaccurate claim that “33,000 Americans were killed by guns” in 2013. Hillary Clinton made this claim again and again during her failed 2016 campaign, and Breitbart News showed that her claims actually exaggerated “gun violence” deaths by 66 percent.
In reality, the number of accidental deaths was 505, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the number of deaths due to actual “gun violence” was 11,208. The number of suicides was 21,175. When Clinton spoke, she would combine homicides, accidental deaths, and suicides as if all were the result of “gun violence” and present a death toll of 33,000. Rep. Esty is doing the same thing.
More
Philadelphia Starbucks manager claims loitering was ongoing problem
The Starbucks manager who called the police on two black customers for trespassing has spoken out, claiming that loitering has been an ongoing issue in the store.
The employee, named only as Holly, has since 'mutually parted ways' with the Philadelphia store after video went viral of the two men being arrested as they waited for their friend to arrive at the coffee shop.
The incident has sparked sit-ins and protests at the store as many claim the black men were racially profiled by the manager. On Monday, interfaith clergy leaders staged a sit-in at the Center City Starbucks to demand action.
Holly, who managed the 18th and Spruce Street location for a year before leaving the company, told AppleNews.com on Saturday that she'd had problems with loiterers and one had even chased her round the shop after she asked them to leave.
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The employee, named only as Holly, has since 'mutually parted ways' with the Philadelphia store after video went viral of the two men being arrested as they waited for their friend to arrive at the coffee shop.
The incident has sparked sit-ins and protests at the store as many claim the black men were racially profiled by the manager. On Monday, interfaith clergy leaders staged a sit-in at the Center City Starbucks to demand action.
Holly, who managed the 18th and Spruce Street location for a year before leaving the company, told AppleNews.com on Saturday that she'd had problems with loiterers and one had even chased her round the shop after she asked them to leave.
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It's the end of the Castro era in Cuba
With Raúl to step down as president, his chosen successor emerged as the only candidate to replace him.
Raúl Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel 12 years ago and led Cuba through some of its biggest changes in decades, is expected to step down as president on Thursday and hand power to someone outside the Castro dynasty for the first time since the Cuban revolution more than half a century ago.
During his two terms as president, Mr. Castro opened up his Communist country to a small but vital private sector and, perhaps most significantly, diplomatic relations with the United States. It was a notable departure from his brother’s agenda, yet it was possible only because he, too, was a Castro.
Raúl Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel 12 years ago and led Cuba through some of its biggest changes in decades, is expected to step down as president on Thursday and hand power to someone outside the Castro dynasty for the first time since the Cuban revolution more than half a century ago.
During his two terms as president, Mr. Castro opened up his Communist country to a small but vital private sector and, perhaps most significantly, diplomatic relations with the United States. It was a notable departure from his brother’s agenda, yet it was possible only because he, too, was a Castro.
New ways to tackle prostate cancer discovered
Thousands of men's lives could be saved after a world first study found new ways to tackle prostate cancer.
Scientists have discovered 80 proteins which trigger prostate cancer and cause it to spread.
The revelation means drugs currently used to treat breast, ovarian and skin cancer could in future be given to prostate cancer patients.
They could be life-saving for the one in seven men who die within a decade of getting prostate cancer.
These men need further treatment beyond radiotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery to remove their prostate gland. Currently there are just seven drugs available to block two proteins which cause prostate cancer.
But the study led by the Institute of Cancer Research in London has now found another 80 proteins which could be stopped with a single daily pill.
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Scientists have discovered 80 proteins which trigger prostate cancer and cause it to spread.
The revelation means drugs currently used to treat breast, ovarian and skin cancer could in future be given to prostate cancer patients.
They could be life-saving for the one in seven men who die within a decade of getting prostate cancer.
These men need further treatment beyond radiotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery to remove their prostate gland. Currently there are just seven drugs available to block two proteins which cause prostate cancer.
But the study led by the Institute of Cancer Research in London has now found another 80 proteins which could be stopped with a single daily pill.
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Automatic Voter Registration Goes Beyond the DMV
New Jersey on Tuesday became the 12th state, plus the District of Columbia, to enact an automatic voter registration law, which is intended to increase participation in elections.
While automatic voter registration (AVR) is itself a new trend -- first adopted in Oregon in 2015 -- New Jersey's law represents a new twist: It allows the practice to extend beyond the DMV.
Automatic voter registration typically happens when people apply for or renew a driver's license. But four of the last five laws of this kind either require or open the door for people to be automatically registered to vote when they interact with government in other ways.
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Illegal immigrants seeking jobs, not safety, survey shows
The Hondurans who make up most of the illegal immigrant caravan still churning through Mexico say they’re asylum seekers — but the vast majority of their countrymen making the journey north are actually regular economic migrants, according to a new study this month.
Relatively few are actually fleeing violence, while more than 80 percent told pollsters it’s all about better opportunities elsewhere. The poll was taken by the Reflection, Research and Communication Team, which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic order of Jesuits in Honduras, and surveyed nearly 1,600 Hondurans in February, just a month before the caravan organized.
A stunning 44.3 percent of Hondurans said they are looking to emigrate — a figure that suggests a new surge of people could be headed north.
The findings, which were released last week in Honduras and translated and released here in the U.S. by the Center for Immigration Studies on Monday, contrast with the image of the caravan, whose participants claim they are asylum seekers who deserve political protections in the U.S.
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Relatively few are actually fleeing violence, while more than 80 percent told pollsters it’s all about better opportunities elsewhere. The poll was taken by the Reflection, Research and Communication Team, which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic order of Jesuits in Honduras, and surveyed nearly 1,600 Hondurans in February, just a month before the caravan organized.
A stunning 44.3 percent of Hondurans said they are looking to emigrate — a figure that suggests a new surge of people could be headed north.
The findings, which were released last week in Honduras and translated and released here in the U.S. by the Center for Immigration Studies on Monday, contrast with the image of the caravan, whose participants claim they are asylum seekers who deserve political protections in the U.S.
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Somehow, it is supposed to be a scandal that Sean Hannity asked Michael Cohen for advice
President Trump’s tweet that “Attorney-client confidentiality is dead” was doubly accurate. I concede that Judge Kimba Wood has a law degree and many years of experience and I don’t, but I am still stunned by her cavalier disregard for the protections of lawyer-client confidentiality. She refused a request by President Trump and Michael Cohen’s lawyers to be the first to review documents seized from the lawyer’s office and homes..
Another person whose privacy was shredded by Judge Wood is Sean Hannity. Right there, on the front page of the New York Times and constantly on CNN and MSNBC, the supposedly shocking news that Michael Cohen named Sean Hannity as a client of his when forced to name all of his clients in open court by Judge Kimba Wood. More shocking to me is that a federal judge would so casually force disclosure of any lawyer’s client list, which are not, in my understanding, matters of public record. But Judge Wood, who named no legal reasoning for her ruling, must have some basis in law…one would hope. The question now is moot, since the horse is out of the barn, but the ruling strikes me as wrong-headed.
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Another person whose privacy was shredded by Judge Wood is Sean Hannity. Right there, on the front page of the New York Times and constantly on CNN and MSNBC, the supposedly shocking news that Michael Cohen named Sean Hannity as a client of his when forced to name all of his clients in open court by Judge Kimba Wood. More shocking to me is that a federal judge would so casually force disclosure of any lawyer’s client list, which are not, in my understanding, matters of public record. But Judge Wood, who named no legal reasoning for her ruling, must have some basis in law…one would hope. The question now is moot, since the horse is out of the barn, but the ruling strikes me as wrong-headed.
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Ketamine spray can stop suicidal thoughts, study finds
An anesthetic that is also used as a ‘club drug’ can help people with dangerously suicidal thoughts, rapidly treating their depression and wish to die, researchers reported Monday.
The drug, called ketamine, has already been shown to help when given intravenously. Developers tried a nasal spray formulation that they thought might act more quickly and be easier to give.
The hope is to help patients hold on until more traditional anti-depressants and therapy have a chance to click in, developers said.
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The drug, called ketamine, has already been shown to help when given intravenously. Developers tried a nasal spray formulation that they thought might act more quickly and be easier to give.
The hope is to help patients hold on until more traditional anti-depressants and therapy have a chance to click in, developers said.
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Crowley Making Moves to Succeed Pelosi as Dem House Leader
Democratic lawmakers and aides say Rep. Joe Crowley’s (D., N.Y.) maneuvers to become the Democrats’ next House leader are no secret, despite his maintained stance that he has no such intention.
Nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers and aides interviewed by Politico generally agreed: Crowley is making moves to succeed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) in hopes of being the next speaker of the House. Crowley, who serves as the Democratic Caucus chairman, said he’s focused on Democrats winning the House and doesn't have plans to challenge Pelosi, but his travel schedule has been reminiscent of a party leader’s.
Some Democrats want him to go for it.
"I think Pelosi and Hoyer ought to take the message from [Paul] Ryan’s retirement and realize it’s time for this caucus to move on. And I think Crowley fits the bill to be our next leader," Rep. Filemon Vela (D., Texas) said.
Vela’s comments reflect a wider dissatisfaction with Pelosi, whose leadership has been called "toxic" to the party’s image. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D., N.J.) also gave Crowley an unsolicited endorsement in March, saying the House’s culture was changing and Democrats ought to "start fresh."
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Nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers and aides interviewed by Politico generally agreed: Crowley is making moves to succeed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) in hopes of being the next speaker of the House. Crowley, who serves as the Democratic Caucus chairman, said he’s focused on Democrats winning the House and doesn't have plans to challenge Pelosi, but his travel schedule has been reminiscent of a party leader’s.
Some Democrats want him to go for it.
"I think Pelosi and Hoyer ought to take the message from [Paul] Ryan’s retirement and realize it’s time for this caucus to move on. And I think Crowley fits the bill to be our next leader," Rep. Filemon Vela (D., Texas) said.
Vela’s comments reflect a wider dissatisfaction with Pelosi, whose leadership has been called "toxic" to the party’s image. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D., N.J.) also gave Crowley an unsolicited endorsement in March, saying the House’s culture was changing and Democrats ought to "start fresh."
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The 4-Day School Week Gets Introduced to Cities and Suburbs
The public school in Campo, Colorado, hasn’t required all its students to come to class on Fridays for nearly two decades. The 44-student district dropped a weekday to boost attendance and better attract teachers to a town so deep in farm country that the nearest grocery store is more than 20 miles away.
“I think the four-day week helped us, initially, in recruiting teachers,” the superintendent, Nikki Johnson, said. “Now that so many districts are on four-day, that’s not much of an incentive.”
No national database tracks the number of public schools that cram instructional hours into four days. But the schedule — long popular in rural Western communities — is becoming more common elsewhere as school leaders search for ways to both attract teachers and save money.
In Oklahoma, for instance, where teachers recently staged a walkout to demand more school funding, cash-strapped districts have been using four-day weeks to cope with a teacher shortage and state budget cuts. Last school year, 97 districts of 513 ran on the compressed schedule, nearly twice as many as the previous year.
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“I think the four-day week helped us, initially, in recruiting teachers,” the superintendent, Nikki Johnson, said. “Now that so many districts are on four-day, that’s not much of an incentive.”
No national database tracks the number of public schools that cram instructional hours into four days. But the schedule — long popular in rural Western communities — is becoming more common elsewhere as school leaders search for ways to both attract teachers and save money.
In Oklahoma, for instance, where teachers recently staged a walkout to demand more school funding, cash-strapped districts have been using four-day weeks to cope with a teacher shortage and state budget cuts. Last school year, 97 districts of 513 ran on the compressed schedule, nearly twice as many as the previous year.
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Three Men Charged With Trying To Smuggle Miniguns Into Mexico
Remember when President Obama tried to claim the blood being spilled in Mexico was the result of lax American gun laws? Not only did he completely ignore his own administration’s role in guns going south of the border, but pretends that Mexican drug cartels don’t have access to guns the ordinary American citizen can’t get.
Things like miniguns.
Charged with a litany of gun violations to include possessing and transferring unregistered machine guns and unlawfully exporting firearms to Mexico were Tyler Carlson, 28, of Austin; Michael Fox, 69 of Georgetown; and Tracy Garwood, 62, of Scottsdale.
According to court documents, in June 2016, Customs agents inspecting a vehicle crossing into Mexico at Anzalduas, Texas, recovered 15 AK-47 style rifles, four handguns, 4,000 rounds of ammunition and the power supply and feed chute for a Garwood M-134G Minigun. This triggered an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations that ultimately labeled Carlson as the go-between who worked to smuggle as many as 200 guns across the border to Mexico without a license going back to 2014, paid for in over $270,000 in postal money orders.
Prosecutors hold the firearms were obtained by Carlson from Fox, a federal firearms licensee and a former lawman who, with the help of Garwood, also built a number of off-the-books Miniguns for the man. Garwood, who started a Scottsdale-based company specializing in an improved generation of the multi-barreled 7.62mm machine gun in 1999, allegedly told the ATF that a number of M134G rotor housings– considered the receiver of the Minigun– were destroyed, but the parts, controlled items under the National Firearms Act, were recovered in a 2017 search warrant at Fox’s home in Texas with their markings partially obliterated.
Why, it’s almost like gun laws don’t stop people inclined to commit criminal acts.
Hmmmmmmmm. Funny how that shakes out, isn’t it?
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Things like miniguns.
Charged with a litany of gun violations to include possessing and transferring unregistered machine guns and unlawfully exporting firearms to Mexico were Tyler Carlson, 28, of Austin; Michael Fox, 69 of Georgetown; and Tracy Garwood, 62, of Scottsdale.
According to court documents, in June 2016, Customs agents inspecting a vehicle crossing into Mexico at Anzalduas, Texas, recovered 15 AK-47 style rifles, four handguns, 4,000 rounds of ammunition and the power supply and feed chute for a Garwood M-134G Minigun. This triggered an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations that ultimately labeled Carlson as the go-between who worked to smuggle as many as 200 guns across the border to Mexico without a license going back to 2014, paid for in over $270,000 in postal money orders.
Prosecutors hold the firearms were obtained by Carlson from Fox, a federal firearms licensee and a former lawman who, with the help of Garwood, also built a number of off-the-books Miniguns for the man. Garwood, who started a Scottsdale-based company specializing in an improved generation of the multi-barreled 7.62mm machine gun in 1999, allegedly told the ATF that a number of M134G rotor housings– considered the receiver of the Minigun– were destroyed, but the parts, controlled items under the National Firearms Act, were recovered in a 2017 search warrant at Fox’s home in Texas with their markings partially obliterated.
Why, it’s almost like gun laws don’t stop people inclined to commit criminal acts.
Hmmmmmmmm. Funny how that shakes out, isn’t it?
More
AP U.S. History Textbook Promotes Leftist Bias
Textbook blames political differences in America on racism, bigotry and sexism.
A forthcoming 2019 edition U.S. history textbook published by Pearson and intended for AP classes has ruffled feathers for its clearly leftist political bias. An excerpt from the updated textbook describes the motives of those voting in 2016 election like it came straight from a Democrat fundraising email:
Trump’s supporters saw the vote as a victory for people who, like themselves, had been forgotten in a fast-changing America–a mostly older, often rural or suburban, and overwhelmingly white group. Clinton’s supporters feared that the election had been determined by people who were afraid of a rapidly developing ethnic diversity of the country, discomfort with their candidate’s gender, and nostalgia for an earlier time in the nation’s history. They also worried about the mental stability of the president elect and the anger that he and his supporters brought to the nation.
Elsewhere, it becomes even more apparent that the textbook seeks to interpret diverse political motivations primarily through the lens of race. For example, the description of President Donald Trump’s cabinet: “They were largely white males, more so than any cabinet since Ronald Reagan.” Or this example that suggests the reason for the political differences in the country are primarily due to race: “Those who had long thought of the nation as a white and Christian country sometimes found it difficult to adjust” to the changing cultural mores. The textbook concludes that Trump’s political positions and views are “not-very-hidden racism.”
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A forthcoming 2019 edition U.S. history textbook published by Pearson and intended for AP classes has ruffled feathers for its clearly leftist political bias. An excerpt from the updated textbook describes the motives of those voting in 2016 election like it came straight from a Democrat fundraising email:
Trump’s supporters saw the vote as a victory for people who, like themselves, had been forgotten in a fast-changing America–a mostly older, often rural or suburban, and overwhelmingly white group. Clinton’s supporters feared that the election had been determined by people who were afraid of a rapidly developing ethnic diversity of the country, discomfort with their candidate’s gender, and nostalgia for an earlier time in the nation’s history. They also worried about the mental stability of the president elect and the anger that he and his supporters brought to the nation.
Elsewhere, it becomes even more apparent that the textbook seeks to interpret diverse political motivations primarily through the lens of race. For example, the description of President Donald Trump’s cabinet: “They were largely white males, more so than any cabinet since Ronald Reagan.” Or this example that suggests the reason for the political differences in the country are primarily due to race: “Those who had long thought of the nation as a white and Christian country sometimes found it difficult to adjust” to the changing cultural mores. The textbook concludes that Trump’s political positions and views are “not-very-hidden racism.”
More
Thousands of apps in Google Play Store may be illegally tracking children
Thousands of popular children’s apps available for download on Google Play may be violating child privacy laws, according to a new study, drawing more attention to big tech’s data-collection efforts.
The study analyzed 5,855 of the most popular free children’s apps and found that a majority of them may be violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). According to the study, thousands of the tested apps collected the personal data of children under age 13 without a parent’s permission.
“This is a market failure,” Serge Egelman, a co-author of the study and the director of usable security and privacy research at the International Computer Science Institute at UC-Berkeley, told the Washington Post. “The rampant potential violations that we have uncovered points out basic enforcement work that needs to be done.”
The researchers found that potential privacy violations came in different forms. More than 1,100 children’s apps collect identifying information from kids using tracking software whose terms of service actually prohibit their use for children’s apps..
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http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/04/17/thousands-apps-in-google-play-store-may-be-illegally-tracking-children-study-finds.html
The study analyzed 5,855 of the most popular free children’s apps and found that a majority of them may be violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). According to the study, thousands of the tested apps collected the personal data of children under age 13 without a parent’s permission.
“This is a market failure,” Serge Egelman, a co-author of the study and the director of usable security and privacy research at the International Computer Science Institute at UC-Berkeley, told the Washington Post. “The rampant potential violations that we have uncovered points out basic enforcement work that needs to be done.”
The researchers found that potential privacy violations came in different forms. More than 1,100 children’s apps collect identifying information from kids using tracking software whose terms of service actually prohibit their use for children’s apps..
More
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/04/17/thousands-apps-in-google-play-store-may-be-illegally-tracking-children-study-finds.html
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