Donald Trump, MLK, and JFK: Embracing America’s experiment

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January 17, 2017

Colorado Springs , Colo., Jan. 16, 2017 – Everyone has at least one interesting story. The lucky among us have several. And it is such stories that inform us.
Not the professors. Not Hollywood actors. Not even the New York Times, as good as is the Times’ arts section.
Growing up, most of us are infused with the hope and ideology of the young and inexperienced. That is not a bad thing. Positive energy is never a bad thing. That energy when added to the belief one person can change the world is what drives some of the best impulses of nations.
Politicians, the good ones, who speak with flowery, hopeful rhetoric appeal to our best natures, to the young people hidden under the adults’ layers of living. They serve to remind us of the mission. That everyone can work together to make the world a better place. Kumbaya.
This week, for the first time since President Barack Obama first uttered his compelling message of “Hope and Change,” many of us are again in the mood for America at her best. Regardless of political persuasion, everyone wants America to be at her best.
Giving the negative demonstrators a pass, for now, even many of them or at least their acolytes, are setting this week aside to voice their concerns.
We are all concerned. Let’s begin there.
We’re told the president-elect has been scanning speeches of John F. Kennedy:
And of Ronald Reagan:
Perhaps of Martin Luther King:
As President-Elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office, he is striving to overcome the public indiscretions of a younger version of himself. He is working to disassociate those shortcomings from the honest and dedicated man we see today.
Many won’t choose to overlook his past. Many, mostly those who voted for him, already have.
Dr. King’s ‘Dream’ and Dr. West’s proscriptions realized
In any event, it falls to him now, as the man of the moment, to capture in all of us our youthful vibrancy, and our understanding of the American experiment as one of the pinnacles in the world’s history of governance.
Now, to the two stories:
The first was recounted over a Thanksgiving Day meal in Bayside Queens in the eighties. The story-teller was a 92-year old German lady referred to as “Grandma,” regardless of family connections. Grandma was well under five feet tall, with those cobalt blue eyes of many Germans, with a difference. Grandma’s eyes actually twinkled as she spoke, and her manner was reminiscent, not of an old woman, but of a young, playful elf.
“Grandma, tell us about Hitler. What was it like then?”
Grandma told us of growing up in Prussia, where Russian and German were both spoken. Of hiding Jewish ladies in their homes years before Hitler came to power. Of them storing their valuables in pouches hidden in their clothing. Of listening at the door for which language soldiers were speaking before answering. And of cannily adopting the language of the inspector soldiers.
Grandma was newly married, a young German woman with her future stretching before her. But she encountered teenaged boys marching in the streets, in boy scout-like uniforms. When she’d ask them what they were up to, they would brush her aside.
Grandma came home to her husband, and on a feeling, just a feeling, she announced they must move to America immediately. She was not Jewish. She was a good German. And she saw her country deteriorating before her eyes. She realized the hopes of her youth were only to be realized by getting out of Germany. By making her way to the shining democracy called America.
The rest of the story is that of typical immigrants. She became a chef for wealthy families, and bore two children. One grandson, Will, went all the way to his PhD in Italian history and was a concert-grade pianist. She sacrificed so that her family would have opportunities. Her story is a typical American story.
The second story occurred only last week.
A caller to the Michael Savage radio show firmly announced, “We need a communist revolution in this country. Everyone, (then) would work together.” When the host tried to engage him by commenting that communism leads to violent dictatorships, the caller persisted. “Crazy dictators are the (only) reason those countries don’t work.
It’s a shame that Bernie Sanders didn’t get in because communism begins with socialism.” “ Everyone would work together.”
That communal shibboleth drives the Judeo-Christian ethic. It is underlying the founding of this country. It has long created a tension between individualistic capitalism and “caring” communalism, also known politically as socialism.
That all should get along and work together toward common goals is the stuff of youthful idealism. What if Grandma had supported the “communalism” of Nazi Germany?
What if she shared in the ideal of an Aryan people, of whom she was a perfect example? What if she had remained in Germany, a “good German,” believing in the devil politician’s flowery rhetoric of a stronger, more racially perfect nation?
Grandma was a rebel. She trusted in her own ability to act as an individual. She eschewed group-think and (German) political correctness, to carve out her own life. No less than the Founding Fathers, Grandma sought freedom.
So, as Donald J. Trump becomes our next president, let us honor the fight that brought him to this point. But let us now reject communalism and embrace a man whose entire life has been based on individualistic capitalism. His persona is the same persona that founded America in the first place.
He is looking to the future, as a young man would. There is no problem he will not, or cannot face. He asks only that we give him a chance. The business man who lives surrounded by the gold of his efforts now wishes only to bring that wealth and individual power back to America.
It is a worthy goal.
And it is enough.

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Five dead in shooting at Mexican music festival

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January 17, 2017

Five people have been killed and 15 injured after a gunman opened fire in a nightclub near Cancun, Mexico, during a music festival.
Shots were fired at the Blue Parrot club in Playa del Carmen, an area popular with foreign tourists, at about 2.30am on the closing night of the 10-day BPM music festival.
Organisers said in a statement that at least four people were killed. Authorities later confirmed that five people were dead. One of the victims, a woman, was killed during the stampede from the club. The dead included two Canadians, an Italian and a Colombian.
The BPM organisers said three members of their security team were killed in the shooting, which was perpetrated by a lone gunman.
The attorney general of Quintana Roo state confirmed that several of the dead appeared to have been part of the security detail at the festival.
Miguel Angel Pech said a lone gunman apparently entered the nightclub and began to exchange fire with another person inside.
Festival security personnel tried to stop the shooting and came under fire.
Mr Pech said it was not a terrorist attack. But the shooting apparently caused a rush of people heading for the exits at the beachside club, and the lone female victim was killed during the stampede.
Mr Pech said 15 people were injured, one seriously. He said five of the injured had been treated for less serious injuries at local hospitals and released.
«We are overcome with grief over this senseless act of violence and we are cooperating fully with local law enforcement and government officials as they continue their investigation,» BPM said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Video footage uploaded to social media showed people running from the club and through the streets.
A Scottish DJ playing at the festival, known as ‘Jackmaster’, tweeted: «Someone has come into the club in Playa del Carmen and opened fire. 4-5 dead and many wounded».
«This is a very sad situation. Tryna get my head around it still. Thoughts and condolences to all affected,» he said.
The BPM festival, which was entering its 10th year, has grown to be one of the most important electronic music events in the world, with top DJs flying in every January to play the clubs of Playa del Carmen along Mexico’s Caribbean coast. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

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Noor Salman, widow of Orlando massacre shooter Omar Mateen, arrested in San Francisco

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January 17, 2017

Last Updated Jan 16, 2017 3:25 PM EST
The widow of Omar Mateen, the shooter in the Orlando nightclub massacre , has been arrested in San Francisco, sources tell CBS News.
Noor Salman is facing charges of aiding and abetting, as well as obstruction of justice in the case of the worst mass shooting in American history. She moved to the San Francisco area after the June shooting, in which her husband was killed by SWAT team members after slaughtering 49 people inside a popular gay nightclub.
Salman is expected to make her first appearance tomorrow in San Francisco.
Sources tell CBS News that Noor Salman, the wife of the Orlando gunman, was communicating with Omar Mateen during the shootings. With evidence th…
Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS ) during a three-hour standoff. Salman has told the FBI that her husband had become radicalized in the year before the attack.
During the shooting, Mateen was communicating with Salman via text message. A law enforcement source said the couple exchanged, “I love you.”
Law enforcement sources have long suspected she had a role in the attack, saying previously that Salman purchased ammunition with her husband , and they believe she drove with him as he cased the Pulse nightclub prior to the shooting.
Salman’s lawyer repeated her client’s denials in a statement on Monday.
“Noor Salman had no foreknowledge nor could she predict what Omar Mateen intended to do that tragic night,” her attorney, Linda Moreno, said. “Noor has told her story of abuse at his hands. We believe it is misguided and wrong to prosecute her and that it dishonors the memories of the victims to punish an innocent person.”
CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton reported in the aftermath of the shooting in June of last year that Salman was interviewed multiple times by the FBI and was administered a polygraph test.
Salman told FBI investigators she tried to stop her husband from committing the attack.
However, as CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues has reported, officials were concerned that she had knowledge of the attack but never reached out to law enforcement in an attempt to prevent it.
The FBI is characterizing the shooting at Pulse nightclub as both a terrorist attack and a hate crime.
Last month, Salman petitioned to have the name the son she had with Mateen changed. An online docket from Contra Costa County, California, shows that Salman filed the petition in December on behalf of the 4-year-old boy, who is partly named for his father. A hearing is scheduled for February.

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Events throughout Portland honor Martin Luther King Jr.

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January 17, 2017

Racial tensions and social divisions stirred by the recent campaign and coming administration of President-elect Donald Trump were at the center of many comments made by speakers at the 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration dinner Monday night in Portland.
Between quoting the late civil rights leader and the singing of the Negro National Anthem, several of Maine’s political leaders called on people of all stripes to continue the fight against bigotry and hatred toward others.
U. S. Rep. Chellie Pingree received a standing ovation when she announced that she would join the growing number of Democratic members of Congress who won’t be attending Trump’s inauguration Friday.
“I’ll be staying right here in Maine,” Pingree said, noting that she’s acting in solidarity with Democratic U. S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and many others who have been insulted, belittled and fear what comes next in Trump’s 3 a.m. Twitter posts.
Pingree credited Lewis with showing her, in his words, how to “get in the way, get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble.” She urged everyone in the room to take action, saying: “This democracy belongs to all of us. We’re all in this together.”
Maine Senate Minority Leader Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, acknowledged that he has witnessed the “dark heart” of racism and bigotry among his mostly white constituents in northern Maine, including people he respects and admires.
“Words on a piece of paper claiming you are safe and equal do not make you safe and equal so long as the power structures still refuse to ensure your safety and acknowledge your equality,” Jackson told 640 attendees at the dinner hosted by the NAACP Portland Branch at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.
“So that’s why I want to say to each of you here today,” Jackson continued, “my powers are committed to beating back not only the tide of hate, but the sea from which it came.”
Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, recalled hearing her father, who was born in India, lament in recent years that he no longer felt as welcome as he once did in America in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She credited King with creating an atmosphere in which her father could feel welcome amid the sometimes horrific struggle for civil rights.
“We have the ability to come together again,” Gideon said before reading a legislative resolution declaring MLK Day that was drafted by newly elected state Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, who is president of the NAACP Portland Branch.
State Sen. Roger Katz of Augusta, a moderate Republican who said candidate Trump wasn’t “fit to be president,” said Mainers should speak out against ignorance, intolerance, racism and “the fear of other people just because of where they come from.”
One keynote speaker was Sherri Mitchell, a Penobscot Indian who is a lawyer and executive director of the Land Peace Foundation, which protects the rights of indigenous people. She urged her listeners to “persist against the tyranny unfolding around us.”
“It is no time to be afraid. It is only a time to be strong,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to sing the same song. We’re here today to bring light into the shadows.”
A second keynote speaker was Najma Abdullahi, a member of the NAACP’s King Fellows in Portland public schools. She recalled a recent encounter with a white man who insulted her Muslim faith as he passed her on the street.
“The world has a habit of treating black women as subhuman,” Abdullahi told the audience. “Racism makes it difficult to live. I am what this country needs and not what it should destroy.”
Other speakers included Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis, who urged various groups to help each other gain ground in Augusta, and Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling, who said “it’s always darkest before the dawn” and urged people to “find ways to be arm in arm.”
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Seniors with student debt quadruple in last 10 years

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January 17, 2017

The number of older Americans taking on student debt on behalf of their children and grandchildren has quadrupled in the past decade, with consumers 60 and older now holding $66.7 billion in student loan debt, according to a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The skyrocketing cost of college has placed a particular burden on older Americans, many of whom are struggling to pay back growing debts in their retirement years, the report said. Nearly 40 percent of federal student loan borrowers 65 and older are in default, the highest rate for any age group, the data shows.
“Student loan debt is clearly an intergenerational problem, and what we’re seeing is that this is unfortunately putting older consumers’ retirement at risk,” said Seth Frotman, assistant director of the CFPB’s office for students. “Older Americans are struggling under the weight of student loan debt.”
Americans owe nearly $1.4 trillion in outstanding student loans. A slow job-market recovery, growing income inequality and stagnant wages have made it difficult for younger Americans to be economically independent, and there are signs that those financial struggles are dragging down their parents and grandparents as well.
“A large portion of older student loan borrowers struggle to afford basic needs,” the report said, adding that older borrowers were increasingly likely to have skipped necessary doctors’ appointments and prescription medications because they couldn’t afford them.
A growing number of borrowers 65 and older also said that their Social Security benefits – often the only source of regular retirement income for older Americans – had been seized because of unpaid student loans, according to the report. Those with student loan debt also had less money saved for retirement than did their counterparts without student loan debt.
The escalating cost of college – and the insurmountable debts that follow – were hot-button issues during last year’s presidential campaign. Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders won the support of millions of millennials in part by promising to offer free tuition at all state colleges and universities.
For his part, President-elect Donald Trump has said he will reduce the burden on borrowers by capping federal student loan payments at 12.5 percent of their income. After 15 years, their debts could be forgiven entirely, he said in an October speech in Ohio.
“Students should not be asked to pay more on their loans than they can afford,” he said. “The debt should not be an albatross around their necks for the rest of their lives.”
While Americans between ages 18 and 39 continue to hold most of the country’s student loan debt, older Americans are increasingly affected. A record 2.8 million Americans over 60 had outstanding student loans in 2015, up from 700,000 in 2005, the report said.
Older Americans are also taking on larger swaths of student debt – the average borrower over 60 now owes $23,500 in student loans, nearly double the $12,100 they did a decade earlier, the report said. On top of that, many also have mortgages, auto loans and medical debt.
“When you’re retired, you’re on a fixed income, and there are so many things that could go wrong – your house could get a leaky roof, you might need medical care – and it becomes very difficult for people to balance all of those expenses,” said Maggie Flowers, associate director of economic security at the National Council on Aging in Arlington, Virginia.
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More than 4 in 10 say Trump should sell his businesses — but even more say he shouldn’t, poll finds

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January 17, 2017

A narrow majority of Americans say Donald Trump should not have to sell his businesses to separate them from his duties as president — but a large majority say the president-elect should release his tax returns, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The poll finds 52 percent of those surveyed say Trump’s decision to hand over control of his businesses to his adult sons and another executive “is enough” to separate his business interests from his obligations as president. A somewhat smaller share, 42 percent, say Trump should sell his businesses outright.
The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday, starting a day after the news conference where Trump sought to allay concerns about conflicts between his businesses and presidential duties. His decision to stop short of selling his businesses was criticized by the director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, who said the plan didn’t “meet the standards … that every president of the past four decades has met.”
[ Trump outlines plan to shift assets, give up management of his company ]
Trump’s continued refusal to release his tax returns continues to be an unpopular decision, with 74 percent of Americans saying he should make the documents public, including 53 percent of Republicans.
Trump said last week that he believes only reporters, and not the broader public, care about his tax returns. The Post-ABC poll finds that roughly 2 in 5 Americans both want to see Trump release of tax returns and say they “care a lot” about him doing so.
Americans are sharply divided over whether the president-elect, his family and advisers are complying with federal ethics laws, with 43 percent saying they are and 44 percent saying they are not. The question draws a sharp partisan split, with 79 percent of Republicans saying Trump’s team is complying with ethics laws while 72 percent of Democrats say they are not. Independents split nearly evenly on the question: 44 saying the Trump team is complying, and 43 percent say they’re not.
This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone Jan. 12-15, 2017, among a random national sample of 1,005 adults, including landline and cellphone respondents. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York.
Emily Guskin contributed to this report.

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© Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/16/over-4-in-10-say-trump-should-sell-his-businesses-but-even-more-say-he-shouldnt-poll-finds/
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7 On Your Side details about affordable lenses

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January 17, 2017

Have you contacted the company but your complaint still isn’t resolved? Have you asked to speak with a supervisor? Have you read the 7 On Your Side FAQs? If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and you’re still having trouble, 7 On Your Side wants to help you.

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© Source: http://abc7news.com/shopping/7-on-your-side-details-about-affordable-lenses-/1705852/
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Britain hoping for an early trade deal with US

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January 17, 2017

Downing Street has welcomed Donald Trump’s pledge to work to secure a rapid trade agreement with Britain.
In an interview with ‘The Times’ and German newspaper ‘Bild’, the US president-elect said he would be inviting British Prime Minister Theresa May for early talks in Washington following his inauguration on Friday and predicted that leaving the European Union would be a «great thing» for the UK.
In contrast to Barack Obama, who said Britain would be at the «back of the queue» when it came to a trade deal with the US, Mr Trump made clear it would be a priority for his administration.
«We’re going to work hard to get it done quickly and done properly. Good for both sides,» he said. «I will be meeting with (Mrs May). She’s requesting a meeting and we’ll have a meeting right after I get into the White House. I think we’re going to get something done very quickly. »
Responding to the comments, Mrs May’s official spokeswoman said: «We welcome the commitment from the president-elect to engage with the UK on this, to work together to agree a deal quickly.
«That highlights one of the opportunities of the UK leaving the EU. »
The spokeswoman said Mrs May’s expected visit to Washington in the spring would provide an opportunity for «early discussions» on a UK-US trade deal.
She said it would be possible to hold «scoping discussions» before Brexit takes place on possible measures to bring down barriers to UK-US trade.
«We welcome the enthusiasm and energy the president-elect and his team are showing for engaging with the UK,» she said.
Former UK cabinet minister Michael Gove interviewed the controversial tycoon, and afterwards said Britain has a «special place» in Mr Trump’s heart.
Mr Trump’s «aggressive» public persona is at odds with his warmer private side, Mr Gove said.

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What we've learned in NHL: This trade is a Wild win, and balanced scoring fuels Capitals

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January 17, 2017

What we learned from the past week in the NHL :
It sometimes takes years to determine which team “won” a trade, but it’s safe to say the Minnesota Wild came out ahead when they acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk from Arizona for a 2015 third-round draft pick. On Sunday, the second anniversary of the trade, Dubnyk made 33 saves as the Wild rallied past the Chicago Blackhawks , 3-2, taking sole possession of the Central Division lead and extending their road points streak to 10-0-2. He leads the NHL this season in save percentage (.940) and goals-against average (1.78). Minnesota has won four straight and is 8-1-1 in its last 10. In addition, the Wild have beaten the Blackhawks in eight straight regular-season games, though that’s not consolation for being sent home by Chicago in the playoffs in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
It took an eight-goal, overtime victory by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday to end the Washington Capitals ’ nine-game winning streak. The freewheeling, back-and-forth style was uncharacteristic for the Capitals, who had outscored their opponents, 40-11, during a winning streak that lifted them ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and to the top of the Metropolitan Division. It also was a dramatic change of pace for the Penguins, who had scored only six goals in losing their previous three games. Before they faced the Penguins on Monday the Capitals hadn’t allowed an even-strength goal in six games, which is impressive.
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist , long ago nicknamed “King Henrik,” has been struggling lately, raising questions about whether advancing age — he will be 35 in March — is closing the window for him to win the Stanley Cup. Lundqvist caught a bad break Saturday when starter Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury during the first period of the Rangers’ game at Montreal and Lundqvist, who was scheduled to rest after playing Friday, had to make a relief appearance. He gave up five goals on 22 shots, including three goals in 62 seconds in the third period, in a 5-4 victory for the Canadiens. He has allowed four or more goals in five of his last seven appearances for the Rangers, who are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
The rigid salary cap makes it difficult to make major trades, but rumors have picked up steam since Arizona and Colorado hit the point where they must look toward next season. Elliotte Friedman of Canada’s Sportsnet said last week that the Coyotes might move veteran Shane Doan if the return is right for them and the situation is right for Doan, 40, their last link to their Winnipeg roots. The Avalanche , seeking a top-four defenseman, might be willing to trade one of their core forwards. The asking price would be high for Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog, but they’re impact players who could help a Cup contender.

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Blake Shelton to perform on Wednesday's People's Choice Awards ceremony

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January 17, 2017

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (UPI) — Country music star Blake Shelton has been booked to perform at the People’s Choice Awards ceremony in Los Angeles Wednesday.
Confirmed to attend the fan-voted prize presentation are Kristen Bell , Ellen DeGeneres , Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hanks , Boris Kodjoe, Matt LeBlanc , Jennifer Lopez , Bill Paxton , Tyler Perry , Adam Rodriguez , John Stamos , Wilmer Valderrama and Kerry Washington .
The gala will air on CBS with The Great Indoors star Joel McHale hosting.