Meet America’s Olympians | In Focus
Shooting athlete Corey Cogdell
Heptathlon athlete Hyleas Fountain (left) & hurdler Lashinda Demus
Modern pentathlon athlete Dennis Bowsher
Fencer Alexander Massialas
Paralympic cyclist Greta Neimanas
(Source: miss-melancholy, via brokenheartdoll)
You know, if Republicans really, really wanted to quash the whole Birther issue, they could.
If they want to. But they don’t, because hey, there are enough paranoid, racist assholes in this country who, I dunno, might want to vote for Mitt Romney.
And that totally makes continually fanning the Birther flames worth it.
Finally, there is definitive proof: The presidential candidate was born in the United States, and his father was not.
Yes, Republican Mitt Romney appears eligible to be president, according to a copy of Romney’s birth certificate released to Reuters by his campaign. Willard Mitt Romney, the certificate says, was born in Detroit on March 12, 1947.
His mother, Lenore, was born in Utah and his father, former Michigan governor and one-time Republican presidential candidate George Romney, was born in Mexico.
READ MORE: Romney’s birth certificate evokes father’s controversy
After The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel endorsed Scott Walker in his recall campaign, readers responded in kind, filling up an entire page with letters criticizing the decision. You can read them here. (ht Patch’s Recall Central, via Arena of the Unwell)
Alternative to THAT TIME cover. Photograph: Matthew Farrant for the Guardian
Zoe Williams on the ‘feeding frenzy’ and the women daring to challenge the ‘breast is best’ orthodoxy:
Leaving social policy and returning to the world, it is interesting to note that the standard advice is to breastfeed exclusively (“don’t rush to mush!”) for six months, and yet only half of mothers in the UK who start breastfeeding (an impressive 91%) continue past six weeks. So there’s this very trenchant public health message that the majority of people aren’t taking any notice of – in that regard, it’s a bit like the five-a-day message in adult nutrition (ie, we mainly ignore it), and yet it’s unlike the proscription of drink-driving, which has pretty good social penetration. The message I take from that is that we tend to supplement government advice with the evidence of our own five senses, and only when the two are in accord do we take it all that seriously.
“The head of a typical public company made $9.6 million in 2011, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm. ” - BusinessWeek
Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student who recorded Tyler Clementi on a webcam prior to Clementi’s suicide, has been sentenced to 30 days in prison. Officials are saying he was charged with a bias crime, but not a hate crime, and that he acted out of gross insensitivity.
Judge Berman ordered Ravi, 20, to report to the adult correctional center in Middlesex at 9 a.m. on May 31 to serve a 30-day jail term as part of a probationary sentence, with other conditions. The three-year probationary term includes 300 hours of community service and a $10,000 assessment to be paid to a state-affiliated group that assists bias crime victims. The judge also ordered Ravi to attend, in his words, a “counseling program relative to cyber-bullying and ‘alternative lifestyles.’”
Ravi could have been in prison for up to 10 years and even faced possible deportation to India. 30 days seems like absolutely nothing in comparison. What do you think of this ruling?
Dharun Ravi was the roommate of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide in 2010 after he was spied on during a sexual encounter with another man. Now, Ravi is now facing up to 10 years in prison, for offenses including bias intimidation, a hate crime. Jeff Glor spoke with Erin Moriarty on his possible sentence.
In Focus: Mexico’s Drug War: 50,000 Dead in 6 Years
Warning: All images in this entry are shown in full. There are many dead bodies; the photographs are graphic and stark. This is the reality of the situation in Mexico right now.
Top: A masked Mexican soldier patrols the streets of Veracruz, on October 10, 2011. Soldiers of the Army, Navy and members of Federal Police patrol the streets of the city as part of “Veracruz Safe Operation” after a rising tide of violence plaguing this tourist city.
Bottom: A forensic technician points his flashlight at the shoes of a man at a crime scene in Mazatlan, on February 13, 2012. The man was shot dead by gunmen while he was walking on the street, according to local media.
See more. [Images: AFP/Getty, Reuters]
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 19, 2012
Camp David, MarylandTHE PRESIDENT: All right, everybody, listen up. First of all, I want to welcome all the leaders here. The press, you’re welcome as long as you don’t break anything. (Laughter.)
This is, by…
(Source: whitehouse.gov)
We need leaders.
Those who will stand up, step up and speak up and be counted! Counted amongst those who take charge. Counted amongst those not afraid to take over as needed. Counted amongst those who aren’t looking around waiting for someone else to make a decision for them. Counted amongst those who take a risk - a step of faith - not only for themselves, but for the good of their neighbors as well. Counted amongst those who see and know about injustices and step up to do something about it.
We need leaders.
Policeman who will have the courage to blow the whistle on those in their ranks that are abusing their authority. We are tired of not being able to put our confidence in our law enforcement. Tired of all the corruption that we are constantly finding out about after the fact. Weary of those in authority unwilling to hold their colleagues and employees accountable to live by the laws we pay them to enforce. Thank God for those Police who join the force to protect and serve and not just enforce.
We need leaders.
Politicians that answer the question. Can someone ever just answer a simple yes or no question? Where are the elected officials who we can take serious and believe in? Enough of the politicians who look at us through the camera and lie. Enough of the politicians who speak out of both sides of their mouth. Enough of the political joke we are subjected to year after year where money rules the day and those who dare speak the truth secure their defeat.
We need leaders.
Principals of schools who are qualified to lead. Qualified to deal with real people. Qualified to handle difficult situations and shape diversity into community unity on campus. Principals who administrate by principle and aren’t afraid of the public. Principals who lead by example not politics. Principals whose authority has been earned and not just appointed.
We need leaders.
Pastors of churches who won’t cave to political correctness. Pastors who are faithful to preach the truth to power. Preachers who carry their mantle and prophetic voice fearlessly holding the public accountable regardless of the pressure, protesting and picketing they might bring against them. Are we the “sheeple” of those in power? Then tell us, guide us, direct us and protect us by the Word of God!
We need leaders.
Parents on a mission in their own hearts and homes. Parents who will assure the police that we will raise good, law abiding citizens. Parents who will secure for the country future politicians of integrity. Parents who will assure the principals of students who will come to school to listen, obey, act right and learn. Parents who promise to live what they learn from the pulpit as an example for their children to follow.
So many problems in our country today.
So many issues driving us away.
So many voices, but none above the fray.
Have we lost our way?
Everyone looking out there for answers.
Everyone seeking to avoid the social cancers.
But how soon we forget amongst all the dancers.
But, are they here to stay?
Nothing wrong with a good time.
As long as it’s not on my dime.
But when I wake up none of it’s mine.
Will the government save us from this bind?
Perhaps there’s coming a better day?
And wait for it we will not.
We’ll not sit and be saved from this spot.
The day of change is the leaders lot.
We welcomed them and all they taught.
And while listening the vision was caught.
Lead; Lead your self, lead others - for this
freedom your fathers fought.
We need leaders.
By Richard R. Ramos @richardrramos
Mother’s Day Tribute of the Day: Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, taped this Mother’s Day video, which calls for the appeal of the Stand Your Ground act, the self-defense law that is the basis of George Zimmerman’s defense.
The law has come under scrutiny in the wake of Martin’s death, and Fulton’s plea gives a sense of urgency to its change.
(via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)
This Mother’s Day, let’s think about single moms in poverty. Single-mother families are five times more likely to be poor than married-couple families.
(Source: americanprogress.org)
(via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)
