May 17, 2015

The ghost of liberal Democrats past

The celebration of Bernie Sanders' campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination is forgetting a long history of dashed hopes after past liberal challenges by the likes of Eugene McCarthy and Jesse Jackson. Lance Selfa, author of The Democrats: A Critical History, looks back at what they did--and didn't--accomplish in this article adapted from his book.

MANY ACTIVISTS and writers on the left welcomed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' announcement that he would challenge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

The April 30 declaration of a number of Occupy activists and others, calling themselves People for Bernie, was emblematic:



The Progressive Democrats of America had mounted an online petition calling on Sanders to run in the Democratic presidential primary, on the grounds that "{w}e all need a 'fighter' to stand up on behalf of a fair economy that works for all of us, just as Bernie Sanders has done throughout his entire career."

Echoing the message from the Nation magazine, the PDA argues that Democratic voters "would all benefit from a serious primary challenge based on policy substance and real issues rather than trivial personality differences."

Read more: http://socialistworker.org/2015/05/11/the-ghost-of-liberal-democrats-past

May 16, 2015

Texas State Aquarium Files Suit Against Chemical Supplier for accidental kill of 400 sea creatures

From Texas Standard:

It's been exactly one month and a day since a ghastly event down in Corpus Christi.

On that day, workers at the Texas State Aquarium applied a white powder to the tanks of two huge exhibits: the Islands of Steel and the flower garden. They were trying to treat an infestation of a potentially deadly flatworm that attaches itself to fish.

And then something awful began to happen: The fish in both tanks began to die. A scramble to save the fish was fruitless. In all, nearly 400 aquatic sea creatures were killed.

It now appears that the chemical used to treat the fish was not trichlorfon, which would have been safe, but instead a chemical used in motor fuels and paint. The container was mislabeled.

Read more: http://kut.org/post/texas-state-aquarium-files-suit-against-chemical-supplier

Related thread:
Texas State Aquarium accidentally kills hundreds of fish

May 16, 2015

93 of 98 Texas House Republicans Shamefully Sign Anti-Gay Letter Pledging to Defy SCOTUS on Marriage

The day after an anti-gay marriage bill died in the Texas House, 93 of the chamber's 98 Republicans signed a letter affirming the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

The Texas Tribune reports:

Schaefer, a tea partier, told the Tribune he didn't sign the letter because he wanted action, not words, in opposition to same-sex marriage.

Even though his anti-gay marriage bill fell victim to Thursday night's deadline, GOP Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. says he hopes to re-introduce it as an amendment to other legislation. From The Dallas Morning News:


Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2015/05/93-texas-house-republicans-sign-anti-gay-marriage-letter.html#.VVeCGAgOSsk.twitter

May 16, 2015

Allies Remember a Driven Hillary Rodham During '72 Texas Visit (photo of Bill with a beard)

This photo, courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library's Clinton Historical Collection, shows Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham in New Haven, Conn., in 1972.

WASHINGTON — As Garry Mauro drove up to Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern’s Texas headquarters in October 1972, a young couple burst out of the office, begging for a ride to the Austin airport.

Mauro, who would serve as state land commissioner from 1983 to 1999, obliged, racing the tall, bushy-haired Democratic operative and the 24-year-old law student from West Sixth Street east to the Robert Mueller Airport.

“We gotta get to New Haven because we gotta register late for law school,” Mauro, now 67, recalled Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham saying.

It was a frantic moment that followed an impetuous decision by the Yale Law School students to come to Texas for a doomed political endeavor in the middle of their studies.

Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/16/clintons-take-texas-1972/

May 16, 2015

Blind high school pole vaulter wins medal in Texas

Photo By Eric Gay/AP
Emory Rains' Charlotte Brown, who is legally blind, competes in the Conference 4A girls pole vault competition at the UIL Texas State Track and Field Championships, Saturday, May 16, 2015, in Austin, Texas. Brown won a Bronze medal with her third place finish.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For three years, Charlotte Brown has been chasing a medal by trying to jump over a bar she couldn't see.

The senior pole vaulter cleared that bar Saturday, earning a third-place finish at the Texas state high school championships. And proudly joining her on the podium as the bronze medal was draped around her neck — her service dog Vador.

Brown is blind, yet that's not stopped her quest to become one of the best in an event that would seem next to impossible.

"I finally did it," Brown said. "If I could send a message to anybody, it's not about pole vaulting and it's not about track. It's about finding something that makes you happy despite whatever obstacles are in your way."

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Blind-high-school-pole-vaulter-goes-for-medal-in-6267589.php

[font color=green]This is a much more inspirational story than my earlier post that a 'C' student can become president.[/font]

May 16, 2015

Rubio cashed out retirement before presidential run

DENVER (AP) — Sen. Marco Rubio cashed out most of his retirement savings while preparing to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, records released Friday show.

Rubio, 43, sold six retirement funds in September 2014 for $68,241.09, according to his personal financial disclosure statement. He made the sale even though he apparently had ample cash in the bank: He reported between $100,000 and $250,000 in a checking account and between $50,000 and $100,000 in a money market account at the end of 2014. And, so far in 2015, he estimates he has earned between $100,000 and $1 million from a new book.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio formally launched his presidential bid last month with a speech recalling his humble upbringing and about how hard his father, a bartender, and mother, a housekeeper, worked to ensure he could have greater opportunities than they did.

For much of his political career, Rubio has struggled with debt. He paid off student loans only after becoming a U.S. senator in 2010 and writing an autobiography that paid him more than $1.1 million in royalties. His latest filings show he owes at least $450,000 on two mortgages and a home equity loan he took out in 2005.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Rubio-cashed-out-retirement-before-presidential-6267118.php

May 16, 2015

George W. Bush in SMU commencement speech: ‘C’ students, you too can be president

UNIVERSITY PARK — Former President George W. Bush said his decision to speak at Southern Methodist University’s centennial commencement Saturday was a “practical one.”

“I got a call from my landlord…{SMU President} Gerald Turner,” Bush said. “Rather than raising the rent or threatening to withhold our security deposit, I was relieved to hear President Turner ask me if I believed in free speech.”

Bush said he did. Turner replied, “perfect, here’s your chance to give one.”

Thousands of students and their families packed Moody Coliseum for the ceremony, which marked the 100th anniversary of school’s spring commencement. Bush was both light-hearted and serious during his speech. He was self-deprecating at times about his speaking and painting skills, and he invoked his faith while prodding graduates to participate in the civic life.

Saturday’s speech was the first Bush has given since leaving office, but his second at SMU. He first spoke at the university in 1999 while governor of Texas. His presidential center is on the campus.

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/george-w-bush-gives-commencement-speech-at-smus-100th-graduation-ceremony.html/

Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

May 16, 2015

George W. Bush in SMU commencement speech: ‘C’ students, you too can be president

UNIVERSITY PARK — Former President George W. Bush said his decision to speak at Southern Methodist University’s centennial commencement Saturday was a “practical one.”

“I got a call from my landlord…{SMU President} Gerald Turner,” Bush said. “Rather than raising the rent or threatening to withhold our security deposit, I was relieved to hear President Turner ask me if I believed in free speech.”

Bush said he did. Turner replied, “perfect, here’s your chance to give one.”

Thousands of students and their families packed Moody Coliseum for the ceremony, which marked the 100th anniversary of school’s spring commencement. Bush was both light-hearted and serious during his speech. He was self-deprecating at times about his speaking and painting skills, and he invoked his faith while prodding graduates to participate in the civic life.

Saturday’s speech was the first Bush has given since leaving office, but his second at SMU. He first spoke at the university in 1999 while governor of Texas. His presidential center is on the campus.

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/george-w-bush-gives-commencement-speech-at-smus-100th-graduation-ceremony.html/

Cross-posted in General Discussion.

May 16, 2015

Dozens of Cubans stranded at sea aboard Coast Guard vessel

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thirty-eight Cuban migrants caught trying to sail to the U.S. are stranded aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, waiting for permission from the Cuban government to return home, The Associated Press has learned.

The would-be immigrants had tourist visas to the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia when they were intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard, U.S. officials said. The Cuban government has refused re-entry to island because their return does not comport with a repatriation agreement with the U.S., one official said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the situation.

The migrants were among about 96 Cubans who were intercepted at sea and taken aboard the Coast Guard cutter Vigilant, a 210-foot ship operating out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The ship typically carries 75 officers and crew. The Cuban government allowed the return of the other 58 people.

The Cuban government has made no public comment about the case.

Read more: http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/us_news/article_ff9281b9-7598-52c4-ba60-7c1a0415507f.html

May 16, 2015

Update: Cocaine-using ‘Sociopath’ Neurosurgeon Duntsch Arrested for Shoplifting Pants

Photo: Dallas County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Duntsch may be the most famous neurosurgeon in Texas. In the last few years, he’s been the subject of multiple news features in the Observer, The Dallas Morning News and “The Today Show,” and even landed a starring role in a TV spot during the governor’s race last year.

But Duntsch is no Dr. Oz. He’s become so famous lately because of what he represents: the deadly web of protections under Texas law that keep even the most dangerously inept surgeons in the operating room, and protects them and the hospitals that employ them after they maim and kill their patients.

But a police report last month suggests that the law may finally have caught up with Duntsch. A bit.

Two years ago, Saul Elbein pieced together Duntsch’s career in Dallas from late 2010 to mid-2013, unfolding in a steady drumbeat of tragedy: patients paralyzed, injured and killed, one after another as other doctors looked on in horror and tried to repair his botched work. “Therapeutic misadventure” was the cause of death the medical examiner gave for Duntsch’s 55-year-old patient Kellie Martin, who died during a routine surgery to ease her chronic back pain. Records noted “impairment from drugs or alcohol” were affecting his performance. “The {Medical Board} must stop this sociopath Duntsch immediately or he will continue {to} maim and kill innocent patients,” Baylor surgeon Randall Kirby warned the board.

Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/surgeon-christopher-duntsch-arrested-for-shoplifting-pants/

Related Threads:
Greg Abbott Defends Sociopathic Surgeon Over Victims of Botched Spinal Surgeries Aug 2014
Greg Abbott Intervenes In Suit Involving "Sociopathic Neurosurgeon" Mar 2014
Plano’s Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon Mar 2014
Federal suit: Baylor failed to stop cocaine-using surgeon from harming patients Jan 2014
Dr. Christopher Duntsch, Plano Surgeon Suspended for Killing Patients, Gets Sued for Malpractice Jun 2013