tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40896222198124825332024-03-13T12:26:18.607-04:00Aiken Area ProgressiveFeminist, African-American, LGBT and other progressive stuff for Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Bulloch, Burke, Columbia, Edgefield, Emanuel, Glascock, Hampton, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McCormick, McDuffie, Orangeburg, Richmond, Saluda, Screven, Taliaferro, Warren and Wilkes counties; the states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina; the United States; and the world.jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.comBlogger4514125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-38410931575086273182015-03-27T13:00:00.000-04:002015-03-27T13:00:31.830-04:00The ONLY Sweet 16 There Will Ever Be starts today!It's on to the ONLY Sweet 16 there will ever be.<br />
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However, there are no more unbeaten teams, and that has been rare in recent years in women's basketball.<br />
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So, let's get to it.<br />
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In the East Region, or Greensboro, USC essentially got a rematch clause and they're invoking it tonight in the ONLY Sweet 16 There Will Ever Be against North Carolina. This is a de-facto home game again for the Tar Heels, but Coach Dawn Staley promises that this game will not be a repeat of last year's game.<br />
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Gametime is 19:00. It's the first game of the day.<br />
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Playing 30 minutes later in the South, or Oklahoma City, region will be Kim Mulkey and the Baylor Bears against Iowa. This is notable because tournament officials decided the game will go on as planned despite tornados that tore through the metro area on Wednesday. One man died from the storms that caused Notre Dame to be late to their destination.<br />
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The Fighting Irish has the lone late game in the Sweet 16, and the last late game of this season and this NCAA Tournaments, gender notwithstanding. They will play Stanford at 22:00. The Cardinal arrived after the tornado watch was issued, but before the storms that prompted warnings arrived.<br />
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"It was really quite a storm with hail on the bus, and we were getting warnings on our phones," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. "We were thankful to get to the hotel."<br />
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In between Baylor/Iowa and Notre Dame/Stanford, is Arizona State and Florida State in the East region. Those two teams will play at 21:30, or 30 minutes before the start of the Irish/Cardinal matchup in the South.<br />
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Saturday's Sweet 16 games are mostly in the daytime, and each game will be the only one of that time playing:<br />
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Defending champion Connecticut starts it off at noon against Texas in the North, or Albany, N.Y., region.<br />
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Louisville will play Dayton, also in the North Region, at 14:00.<br />
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Maryland, who ensured the women's basketball world that there will not be an undefeated team by dispatching Princeton on Monday night, will play Duke in the West, or Spokane, Wash., Region at 17:00.<br />
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Tennessee will play the real Cinderella currently, 11-seed Gonzaga, at Gonzaga's home in the final Sweet 16 game, starting at 19:00.<br />
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The winners of the Sweet 16 games will advance to the Regional Finals on Monday and Tuesday.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Volunteers fire men's coach</span><br />
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In Knoxville, Tenn., the Tennessee Volunteers fired its third coach since the turn of the decade on January 1, 2011, and this time, for an alleged cover-up.<br />
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In an interview, Dave Hart, the AD, said they would've never hired Donnie Tydnall had they learned of his unethical conduct while at Southern Mississippi, which is also under investigation by Mark Emmert and the NCAA.<br />
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Mr. Hart axed Coach Tydnall this morning, after he deleted emails that the NCAA called vital to their investigation.<br />
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"It is disappointing that we have to take this action," said Mr. Hart in a statement released earlier today. "It is highly likely that Coach Tyndall will face significant penalties at the conclusion of the NCAA's infractions process. We believe that this decision is in the best interests of the University of Tennessee."<br />
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Under the new coach control rule, Coach Tydnall could be suspended for this upcoming season, and the next two seasons after that. Coaches can "sneak-by" the ban by sitting out during the specified seasons, since the suspensions are not open-ended.jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-17499004102131968382015-03-26T12:28:00.000-04:002015-03-26T12:28:12.977-04:00Windows Phone users can't bank on Chase<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ph81fuClgcQ/VRQs6mpwSiI/AAAAAAAAHp8/W2SoXfF4fow/s1600/chase-bank-discontinue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ph81fuClgcQ/VRQs6mpwSiI/AAAAAAAAHp8/W2SoXfF4fow/s1600/chase-bank-discontinue.jpg" height="216" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here is some more bad news for Windows Phone users:<br />
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On Sunday, Chase bank did to them what they did to sex workers nearly a year earlier: kicked all Windows phone users out of the bank by blocking access from the phone to their site.<br />
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Windows Central has more:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The implication at the time (and this all it was) was that if you had the Chase banking app on your phone it would still work into the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, this is not the case. According to reader reports, the app is completely non-functional as of today.<br />
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Users who load up the Chase Banking app for Windows Phone today receive a notice indicating that the bank no longer supports the app. When users try to login, they are greeted with a 'page not found' message instead.</blockquote>
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Keep in mind, banks have been doing the same thing to sex workers.<br />
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In fact, on April 23, 2014, Kitty Stryker posted <a href="http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-04-23/the-soapbox-porn-stars-learn-they-cant-bank-on-chase/" target="_blank">this piece on the Frisky</a> about Chase doing the same thing to sex workers then what they're doing to Windows Phone users now.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Well, turns out that a trickle down effect is happening within the banking world, as Chase recently sent letters out to <a href="http://www.xbiz.com/news/178172">hundreds of porn performers</a> telling them their bank accounts would be shut down May 11th. Perez Hilton <a href="http://perezhilton.com/2014-04-22-exclusive-porn-stars-dropped-by-chase-bank-for-career#.U1at2FVdVAp">posted a photo</a> of one of these letters from adult performer Teagan Presley, and while I am somewhat loath to link to his blog, I think it’s important to read the language. You’ll notice that Chase never specifically cites adult work in their decision, just that they “reviewed the account and determined that we will be closing it on May 11, 2014. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.”<br />
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I’m sure they’re terribly sorry. Just as they were really apologetic for refusing to process payments for Lovability CEO Tiffany Gaines. Her crime? <a href="http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/chase-bank-lovability-condoms">Selling condoms</a>, because they’re “adult-oriented material”. The same adult oriented material, of course, as Trojan, who could process their payments with no issues through Chase, but never mind. As long as they’re really sorry about it.</blockquote>
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And here is <a href="http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/chase-bank-lovability-condoms" target="_blank">Ms. Gaines's piece on xoJane</a>:<br />
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<blockquote>
“My Chase representative responded with empathy, explaining that she understood the irrationality of the rejection. Though she was “fully supportive of my company’s mission,” Chase Bank considered my company’s product a reputational risk…<br />
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…Days later, in response to the bad press, the CMO of Chase Paymentech called me to apologize for the “misunderstanding.” She agreed to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/31/chase-condom-payments_n_5051636.html" target="_blank">process my company’s payments</a> but would not agree to officially remove condoms from the “prohibited adult” category. I felt as if she was attempting to pacify me but was not taking the issue-at-large seriously.<br />
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The majority of comments on our petition have pointed out that Chase’s ability to pass judgment calls on what we can buy and sell is a breach of everyone’s rights, and it’s an especially sensitive issue when they violate our access to sexual health products.”</blockquote>
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As an ally, sex workers have all my sympathy for the way they're being treated by these crooked banksters. As one of the few allies of feminism who don't use - and plan on not owing - an IPhone, one can't help but wonder if the mass purging of Windows Phone apps by the banks are part of a larger strategy of going after groups of people who the banks consider as inferior. Everyone knows how the banks persecuted sex workers. Now, they are punishing people simply because they own a Lumia Icon, a Lumia 521, a Lumia 925, a Lumia 1520, a Samsung Ativ SE or an HTC One M8.<br />
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Eleven months ago, sex workers learned that they couldn't bank on Chase. Now, Windows Phone users are finding the same thing out.<br />
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And the grim truth is this: sex workers who own a Windows Phone are almost out of options to bank.<br />
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<a href="http://www.windowscentral.com/chase-bank-app-no-longer-works-windows-phone-support-now-entirely-cut" target="_blank">Windows Central</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-04-23/the-soapbox-porn-stars-learn-they-cant-bank-on-chase/" target="_blank">The Frisky</a><br />
<a href="http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/chase-bank-lovability-condoms" target="_blank">xoJane</a><br />
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[cross-posted on <a href="https://aikenareaprogressive.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/windows-phone-users-cant-bank-on-chase/" target="_blank">Aiken Area Progressive Wordpress</a>]jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-69161326482677003622015-03-26T10:10:00.000-04:002015-03-26T10:16:34.078-04:00Because we're not willing to capitulate to gymnophobes or immature dudebros running Google, our site was flagged as having adult contentOn Wednesday, before I did News Briefs, I found out that our news site, one that airs unfiltered news, has been hit with the adult content warning flag.<br />
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Evidently, some busybody who frequents or associates with LifeSiteNews or the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation that has absolutely nothing better to do with their life decided to flag the site.<br />
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We decided to respond to this in ten tweets.<br />
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Below the Storify post, I will give you our policy in full:<br />
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<div class="storify">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/CSRA_prsn/because-we-wouldn-t-sanitize-our-news-and-opinions/embed?header=false&border=false" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/CSRA_prsn/because-we-wouldn-t-sanitize-our-news-and-opinions.js?header=false&border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/CSRA_prsn/because-we-wouldn-t-sanitize-our-news-and-opinions" target="_blank">View the story "Because we wouldn’t sanitize our news and opinions, we got flagged for adult content" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>
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<ol>
<li><b>Unless it is absolutely sexual in nature, we will never, ever tag nudity or breastfeeding images as NSFW</b>. It's a long-standing pet peeve of ours here on AAP. Last year, to get Facebook compliant, we decided to start posting breastfeeding photos with a painted cover above the fold and the original unedited photo below. We extended that policy last month to nudity photos. That's why it's far more likely that a photo of violent content will get the NSFW tag than a photo of mere nudity or nursing.</li>
<li><b>We post that some of the content, especially the violent content, may be NC-17 in nature</b>. The writing is over to the left side of our page and has been there since 2008. Anyone who can't read that or is unwilling to read that should be permanently removed from society.</li>
<li><b>We tag violent content as NSFW or NSFL for a reason</b>. People believe that violence is normal. We at AAP refuse to accept that as an answer. Children have no business seeing violent imagery, no matter how educational it may be. They can read about World War II in their school-issued textbooks to see how our heroes beat Adolf Hitler and the Japanese Imperial Army and ended their attempt to take over the world. Content that shows an injury in process, such as the Daytona 300 crash that has sidelined Kyle Busch all season (to this point) are tagged as Not Safe for Work (or NSFW). Content that shows a death are hardly ever posted on here. However, if imagery of a death in process is so fucking important that we must post it on here, we always put it below the fold and tag the post as Not Safe for Life (or NSFL).</li>
<li><b>Some bigoted content may be tagged as NSFW at our discretion</b>. We at AAP hate bigotry. It's a major pet peeve of ours. There are many forms of bigotry: <b>gymnophobia</b>, or the hatred of nudists, topless women and/or breastfeeding mothers; <b>transphobia</b>, or the hatred of transgender people; <b>whorephobia</b>, or the hatred of sex workers; <b>homophobia</b>, or the hatred of lesbians or gay men; <b>biphobia</b>, or the hatred of bisexual women (or men); <b>classism</b>, or the hatred of economically poor people; <b>ableism</b>, or the hatred of people who suffer from severe mental illnesses such as depression; <b>sexism</b> or <b>misogyny</b>, or the hatred of women (orientation notwithstanding); and <b>racism</b>, or the hatred of people of color; are just some of the examples of the kind of unbridled bigotry that permeate our society. We reserve the right to tag content as NSFW if it is revolting enough.</li>
<li><b>Posting non-sexual nude content is part of our freedom of expression - and our freedom of the press</b>. We only post imagery of breastfeeding mothers or naked people if it is part of an educational tool or as part of our advocacy. That's why roughly 1% of all posts on here contain nudity. You read that right: only one percent of our content contains nudity, breastfeeding included.</li>
<li><b>We do not profit off anything on here</b>. Something we failed to mention when responding to Elizabeth Grattan in a comment last week after she rightfully noted that we infringed on her content, we're gonna clear up on here. We're a community news site, which means we're a not-for-profit site. In short, we don't profit off anything on here. It's the reason why our workers have side jobs away from here. We have absolutely no intentions of making our site a for-profit site.</li>
<li><b>We have never monetized from this site, and we never will do so</b>. Google's crass and flagrant violations of Microsoft's cookie policy on Internet Explorer is so blatant, these two faced hypocrites from Mountain View, Calif. should be facing a lawsuit right about now. This is one of the main reasons we never monetized on AAP in the first place. Good thing Microsoft is getting ready to go with a new browser on Windows 10 and Redmond vows to ban Google once and for all for circumventing their policies.</li>
<li><b>We will never sanitize our news</b>. Sanitizing the news simply because some find nudity or profanity offensive is the height of journalistic dishonesty and it needs to be called out. Sanitation of the news ranks right up there with false news. We would not be running this site if we were forced to sanitize our news just to satisfy a vocal bigoted minority. Sanitizing the news will not happen here. Grow up and put your big person underwear on!</li>
</ol>
jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-5764211638862089522015-03-25T20:04:00.000-04:002015-03-25T20:04:55.185-04:00Charleston passes resolution opposing offshore drilling, could pass ordinance if out-of-control state legislators fail to listen<span style="font-size: x-large;">State’s Oldest City joins SC 171 neighbor in strongly opposing offshore drilling</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ru5dfHyO0dM/UpUzMFPBa_I/AAAAAAAAEoA/zmUvZPpaiHY/s1600/Today%27s%2BNews%2BBriefs.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ru5dfHyO0dM/UpUzMFPBa_I/AAAAAAAAEoA/zmUvZPpaiHY/s400/Today%27s%2BNews%2BBriefs.png" /></a><br />
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CHARLESTON — The Charleston City Council passed a resolution, that could turn into an ordinance if the state doesn’t listen to them later, vehemently opposing offshore drilling.<br />
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The county’s seat is the second municipality in Charleston County to oppose offshore drilling. Earlier this year, Folly Beach – the warmest city in South Carolina – passed a resolution not just opposing offshore drilling, but condemning the practice as well.<br />
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Opponents of offshore drilling worry spills could damage marine life and the tourism industry.<br />
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Mayor Joe Riley, who is strongly against offshore drilling, shouted, "We don't need it!"<br />
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"What would happen if there was a spill? What would happen to the environment?" asked Mayor Riley, who is fondly aware of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill" target="_blank">what happened to the Gulf Coast after the British Petroleum oil spill in 2010</a>. "People just don't want to visit, but they want to live here because of the quality of the environment."<br />
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Environmentalists and some city officials cherish tourism in Charleston County, including the count seat. They believe a spill in South Carolina would turn away visitors and folks who want to live in the area.<br />
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"Why would you take on that kind of risk?" said Councilman Keith Waring.<br />
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"We saw an example of it just five years ago off the Gulf of Mexico. 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf. It was billions of dollars worth of damage to those local communities," said Hamilton David, an activist against offshore drilling. <br />
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Alas, Mr. Davis is correct. The cities and towns in coastal Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, all of which are south of the Interstate 10 corridor, suffered a massive spill (which is detailed in the link above) and those places are now virtual ghost towns. The tourism from these states took a massive hit and have yet to recover from a half decade of consecutive losses.<br />
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This is why we wish there was a way for the cities and towns in South Carolina to fight this massive, bloated, out-of-control, unconstitutional dictatorship of a state government in Columbia legally.<br />
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Charleston, which is the second largest city in the state, is the largest city to take a stand against this barbaric practice. Myrtle Beach had plans to pass a resolution stating their opposition to offshore drilling, but a vote was postponed. The Isle of Palms and James Island are both expected to pass similar resolutions before the month is out.<br />
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No word yet on whether coastal cities from Georgia and North Carolina have stated their opposition to offshore drilling. <br />
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<a href="http://www.wistv.com/story/28606000/charleston-city-council-votes-to-pass-resolution-opposing-offshore-drilling" target="_blank">WIS News 10</a><br />
<a name='more'></a><h2>
Ex-Richland County officer pleads to assaulting woman soldier who rejected him</h2>
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COLUMBIA — A former Richland County Sheriff’s Department officer has pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman soldier 17 months ago.<br />
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Former Officer Paul Derrick, now 50, appeared in court today to answer to charges third-degree assault charges stemming from a 2013 incident in which he arrested a woman soldier from Fort Jackson.<br />
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On October 7, 2013; Officer Derrick tried to talk to the now 25-year-old victim. An incident report from the Columbia Police Office revealed that the victim had no interest in talking to Officer Derrick.<br />
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Officer Derrick, who had just finished a shift and was not in uniform and intoxicated, began arguing with the victim. He later came back and returned with handcuffs, his gun and badge from his vehicle.<br />
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That’s when Officer Derrick overpowered the victim, handcuffed her, pulled her to her feet, and slammed her head into a metal table, the report states. The victim, according to the report, was also drinking alcohol.<br />
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When Columbia police eventually arrived, a deputy looked at the video and that office took custody not of the handcuffed victim, but Officer Derrick, charging him with assault.<br />
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A week later, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott fired Officer Derrick, who formerly served as a Columbia firefighter and for the last 14 years before his firing, as a Richland County Sheriff’s officer.<br />
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The victim has since filed a Richland County civil suit which has now been moved into a federal court as a civil rights matter. In her complaint, she claims she was "tortured" by Officer Derrick as he twisted, turned and pulled the handcuffs, injuring her so severely she is now permanently disabled. That case is pending before the federal court.<br />
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As part of the conditions, Officer Derrick has been given credit for time served, which is eight days in prison, and he can never again contact the victim or step foot inside of a Buffalo Wild Wings bar in the Midlands (Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Richland and Sumter counties).<br />
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<a href="http://www.wistv.com/story/28615305/ex-deputy-pleads-guilty-to-assaulting-female-soldier-at-bar-during-attempted-arrest" target="_blank">WIS News 10</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-56546610792409283512015-03-25T01:00:00.001-04:002015-03-25T01:11:16.938-04:00Morally rotten conservatives want to murder pregnant human trafficking victims with non-germane anti-choice rider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fnRAk-C7-uQ/VRJChxkq9ZI/AAAAAAAAHpo/Tmwyk7Y4c0w/s1600/130523064539_lindsey-graham-tim-scott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fnRAk-C7-uQ/VRJChxkq9ZI/AAAAAAAAHpo/Tmwyk7Y4c0w/s1600/130523064539_lindsey-graham-tim-scott.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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WASHINGTON, DC — In the past week, the crooked, morally rotten conservative liars have gone full speed ahead, lying about Senate Bill 178, and why it's being held up.<br />
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They have targeted mostly western Democrats. These Democrats make up a growing Democratic stronghold that only excludes Arizona, Idaho and Utah among the Far West.<br />
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They have sent disgusting spam, known to them as robocalls, attacking real human trafficking champions such as Senator Patty Murry (D-Wash.) for holding up an anti-choice bill that would lead to the mass slaughter of pregnant human trafficking victims if S.178 passes as it is currently written.<br />
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Keep in mind, the Hyde Amendment is not harmless, nor is it even remotely settled law. Rosie Jimenez was the first of many, many low-income people murdered by an ideological rider that should have been permanently buried six feet underground on November 30, 2007, the day after its sponsor died.<br />
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It is not settled law because the fact and the matter is that the Hyde Amendment is a totally unnecessary item that is added to the budget. It wasn't needed in 1975, and it certainly doesn't belong in a single piece of legislation – budget or otherwise – in either the state or federal governments today.<br />
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The good news is that the Washington Democratic Party spokesman, Jamal Raad, rightfully lashed conservatives for politicizing of the human trafficking legislation.<br />
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“D.C. Republicans’ first salvo against Patty Murray this cycle is attacking her for standing up for women’s ability to make their own health care choices?” he asked.<br />
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“These misleading robocalls are a pathetic waste of money from a group that has zero credibility on women’s health care.”<br />
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Exactly. There is only one simple demand, both from the Democrats and from the American people: remove the anti-choice rider that was sneaked in to the bill on January 22 without the knowledge of many of us. That's it. Remove the rider and you get the human trafficking law you've been asking for ever since 2012.<br />
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But, the conservatives are tone-deaf and they do not listen to the people. Instead, they are listening to the Wall Street Journal, which has called for the GOP to destroy our judicial system by blocking all nominees to federal benches that have severe shortages. The WSJ one of the anti-American rags that caused the government shutdown nearly 18 months ago.<br />
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So, if they're listening to the WSJ, the Democrats need to retaliate by holding entire budgets hostage. They need to make it plainly clear that there will be absolutely no budget in 2015 or 2016 until the GOP relents on everything including judges, Loretta Lynch and S.178. The Democrats need to do tit-for-tat and give the GOP extra large doses of their own medicine.<br />
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All the Democrats are asking for is the removal of a rider that doesn't belong in the budget, let alone S.178. Apparently, that is way too much to ask for.<br />
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The fact and the matter is that <b>Mitch McConnell, Richard Burr, Thom Tillis, Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott, David Perdue, Johnny Isakson, John Cornyn and the rest of the GOP want to commit mass murder of pregnant human trafficking victims and they will stop at nothing to ensure they kill as many human trafficking victims as possible without consequences</b>.<br />
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That's why it's incumbent for Democrats to stand firm and hold up S.178 until the language is removed. If the GOP wants a Hyde Amendment, they need to stop being fucking cowards and introduce a stand-alone bill. The Democrats need to insert language of their own into all bills banning any non-germane riders whatsoever.jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-56145548002813094862015-03-24T17:15:00.000-04:002015-03-24T17:15:00.358-04:00N.C. woman arrested for assault on a male after pointing gun in dispute<span style="font-size: x-large;">Woman attempted to shoot boyfriend during weekend argument</span><br />
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<a href="http://media.graytvinc.com/images/luker+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.graytvinc.com/images/luker+web.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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NEW BERN — A 34-year-old woman was arrested this past weekend after trying to shoot her boyfriend.<br />
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New Bern Police Office deputies responded to a residence on BROAD ST at 5:43 Saturday in reference to a domestic dispute. Deputies said the suspect was arguing with her boyfriend when she pulled out a handgun and fired a shot, with the bullet piercing the wall and going through an adjacent apartment complex.<br />
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No one was injured.<br />
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Amanda Luker, 34, was arrested Saturday morning by the New Bern Police Office and charged with assault on a male with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, possession of schedule II controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.<br />
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Her court appearance was held on Monday. Bond was not set during that appearance.<br />
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<a href="http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/New-Bern-woman-arrested-after-firing-a-gun-during-domestic-dispute-297131671.html" target="_blank">WITN-HD 7</a><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Mount Pleasant Police Office deputy arrested, then fired, for harassing ex-fiancée</h2>
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MOUNT PLEASANT — On the week that the Mount Pleasant Police Office sought to certify their re-accreditation, one of their deputies was fired a few hours ago after being arrested for harassing his former fiancée.<br />
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Deputy Alex Gillespie was axed around 15:18 today after the conclusion of an internal investigation.<br />
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He was arrested by the Charleston Police Office less than 14 hours earlier after his former fiancée called his (now former) employer to file her most recent harassment complaint against him on Saturday.<br />
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MPPO turned the investigation over to the Charleston Police Office immediately on Saturday and began their own internal investigation.<br />
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The victim said she felt threatened by Deputy Gillespie after she received a series of threatening and harassing phone calls from Deputy Gillespie from March 5 to March 18.<br />
<br />
The victim told police Deputy Gillespie called her four times on March 5 at 0:38. After answering the first call, she told Gillespie she did not want to talk to him anymore and she promptly hung up. The report states Deputy Gillespie began banging on her front door two minutes later at 0:40, and then got in his car and honked the horn for a few minutes without stopping.<br />
<br />
He then reportedly sent a series of text messages to the victim filled with derogatory language.<br />
<br />
On March 17, the victim claims she was on a date when Deputy Gillespie showed up uninvited, sat across from them at a bar, and stared at her for the remainder of the date, which continued through early March 18. While still at the bar on the morning of March 18, the report states the victim received texts messages from Deputy Gillespie, along with approximately 270 text messages from a close friend of his.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.live5news.com/story/28600125/mt-pleasant-officer-terminated-after-being-charged-with-harassment" target="_blank">WCSC-DT Live 5 News</a><br />
<br />
<h3>
Superintendent outed for using Grindr</h3>
<br />
FORSYTH, Ga. — A Monroe County Schools superintendent was outed as gay after local Macon-area media outed him after he used the app Grindr on his IOS or Android phone.<br />
<br />
<a class="external" href="http://www.monroe.k12.ga.us/pages/Monroe_County/About_Us/Welcome" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anthony Pack</a>, the superintendent of Monroe County Schools in Forsyth, Ga., since 2008, released a statement through his attorney, David Doer, on Thursday, March 19. Doer could not be immediately reached for comment.<br />
<br />
In the statement, Mr. Doer and Mr. Pack charged a local reporter, Will Davis of the <i>Monroe County Reporter</i>, of bullying Pack into coming out.<br />
<br />
Mr. Pack is currently under investigation for allegedly misusing school computers to correspond on Grindr or other adult media. Mr. Pack denies he has done anything wrong, and is currently on medical leave.<br />
<br />
Mr. Davis, who is editor and publisher of the <i>Monroe County Reporter</i>, published his story on Mr. Pack after receiving an anonymous tip that allegedly shows Mr. Pack exchanging sexually explicit photos and texts with another man on Grindr.<br />
<br />
The same tipster also sent the info to WMAZ-TV, the CBS affiliate in Macon.<br />
<br />
Mr. Pack insists he has not violated any Board of Education policies or
misused taxpayer money, and insisted the matter is a personal one that
was made public to humiliate him and his family. <br />
<br />
“In the last four months my wife and I have been separated and
quietly seeking an uncontested divorce,” said Mr. Pack in the statement.
“Regardless of my sexual orientation, the personal life of each member
of my family has become a discussion point for many in the form of
gossip.”<br />
<br />
I have been forced by a journalist that prefers to report on gossip
as opposed to news, and to reveal some facts about myself that I
otherwise would hold privately between me, my wife, and my children,” he
added.<br />
<br />
Grindr is not available on Windows phones.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2015/03/georgia-school-superintendent-confirms-hes-gay-after-local-media-outs-him-for-using-grindr/" target="_blank">LGBTQ Nation</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-68029939865918551462015-03-24T13:14:00.000-04:002015-03-24T13:14:36.603-04:00Talladega Nights actor, former frat boy, wants to ban frats after racist, sexist slurs from students in Greek Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/84746-will-ferrell-former-fraternity-brother-wants-to-ban-greek-life/1427205251_466568744_will-ferrell-467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/84746-will-ferrell-former-fraternity-brother-wants-to-ban-greek-life/1427205251_466568744_will-ferrell-467.jpg" height="342" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
LOS ANGELES — Apparently, one actor has had more than enough of the racism and sexism in fraternities!<br />
<br />
Will Ferrell, best known for playing Ricky Bobby in the hit movie <i>Talladega Nights</i>, wants to ban all fraternities at every college nationwide.<br />
<br />
Mr. Ferrell is a former frat boy himself, having been part of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.<br />
<br />
He was part of the question-and-answer session by entertainment writers at the New York Times, who flew into Austin to see the recently-concluded South-by-Southwest festival. One writer interviewed him about the racist chants of the now-shuttered Norman, Okla. chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon that went viral on March 15. Members of SAE were seen in the video chanting the n-word, vowing to never allow minorities into the frat and even threatening to hang minorities who try to join.<br />
<br />
Video of racist chants from other fraternities, and <a href="http://www.thefrisky.com/2015-03-23/ncsu-frat-suspended-over-book-filled-with-rape-and-lynching-jokes/" target="_blank">even sexist slurs</a> <a href="http://aikenareaprogressive.blogspot.com/2015/03/mary-beth-pierucci-leaves-planned-parenthood-augusta.html" target="_blank">from fraternities in colleges such as North Carolina State University</a>, have surfaced in the days since the SAE incident.<br />
<br />
"The incident in Oklahoma, that is a real argument for getting rid of the system altogether, in my opinion, even having been through a fraternity," said Mr. Ferrell, 47, a day after the incident. "Because when you break it down, it really is about creating cliques and clubs and being exclusionary. Fraternities were started as academic societies that were supposed to have a philanthropic arm to them. And when it’s governed by those kind of rules, then they’re still beneficial."<br />
<br />
I was lucky in that the one I was in, we were really kind of the anti-fraternity fraternity. We couldn't get anyone to vote on anything, but if you needed 40 guys to show up and build a 20-foot-tall papier-mâché version of the Matterhorn, we were there and ready."<br />
<br />
He added: "But we didn’t take it too seriously. It was just about having fun. But I think it’s an interesting dilemma for universities these days."<br />
<br />
Mr. Ferrell said that he had nothing but good memories from his days as a DTD in the 1980s at Southern California.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/will-ferrell-former-fraternity-brother-wants-to-ban-greek-life-2015243" target="_blank">Us Magazine</a> jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-51921518161630997012015-03-23T18:40:00.000-04:002015-03-23T18:40:32.284-04:00Bob Jones III apologizes for homophobic comments made in 1980<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ex-President of Greenville private college wanted LGBT people to be executed by stoning 35 years ago </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ru5dfHyO0dM/UpUzMFPBa_I/AAAAAAAAEoA/zmUvZPpaiHY/s1600/Today%27s%2BNews%2BBriefs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ru5dfHyO0dM/UpUzMFPBa_I/AAAAAAAAEoA/zmUvZPpaiHY/s1600/Today%27s%2BNews%2BBriefs.png" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
GREENVILLE — Bob Jones III’s words hurt so much, the pain of those words are still fresh 35 years later.<br />
<br />
Mr. Jones III issued a public apology this weekend for homophoic comments he made in 1980 calling for homosexuals to be stoned.<br />
<br />
"I take personal ownership for this inflammatory rhetoric," said Mr. Jones III in a statement. "This reckless statement was made in the heat of a political controversy 35 years ago."<br />
<br />
His statement came after the university earlier this week received a 2,000-signature petition asking the former college president to apologize for the homohphobic comments he made to the Associated Press while at a news conference when Jimmy Carter was president at the White House.<br />
<br />
BJUnity, which offers support for past and present lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender BJU students, mailed the petition Wednesday, Jeffrey Hoffman, the executive director, said.<br />
<br />
"We are grateful that Bob Jones III has taken responsibility for these words — words that have caused deep harm for many more people than any of us knows," said Mr. Hoffman in a response Saturday afternoon. "This means a lot to us because it represents the beginning of a change in the rhetoric and conversation."<br />
<br />
BJU Chancellor Jones III was president of the university in March of 1980 when he and a group of fundamentalist ministers went to the White House to deliver 70,000 signatures on a handwritten nationwide petition opposed to extending provisions of the Civil Rights Act to homosexuals to the Carter Administration.<br />
<br />
"I'm sure this will be greatly misquoted," said Mr. Jones III, "but it would not be a bad idea to bring the swift justice today that was brought in Israel's day against murder and rape and homosexuality. I guarantee it would solve the problem post-haste if homosexuals were stoned, if murderers were immediately killed as the Bible commands."<br />
<br />
Saturday, Mr. Jones III called those comments "antithetical to my theology and my 50 years of preaching a redeeming Christ."<br />
<br />
"Upon now reading these long-forgotten words, they seem to me as words belonging to a total stranger — were my name not attached," he said in a statement.<br />
<br />
"I cannot erase them, but wish I could, because they do not represent the belief of my heart or the content of my preaching. Neither before, nor since, that event in 1980 have I ever advocated the stoning of sinners."<br />
<br />
He added: "I apologize for the reflection those remarks bring upon Jesus Christ, Whom I love; Bob Jones University, which I have loved and served; and my own personal testimony."<br />
<br />
The 1980 petition urged then-President Jimmy Carter to oppose any presidential, judicial or legislative action from the 96th Congress that would legalize homosexuality within the federal government.<br />
<br />
"We are here to tell the president that homosexuality must not become a protective way of life; an alternate life style," said Mr. Jones III in the AP story.<br />
<br />
He added that President Carter, "who claims to be a Bible-believing Christian," is not fit to be president and that there is "no question that Ronald Reagan is the unanimous choice of Bible-believing people all over the country."<br />
<br />
Mr. Jones III endorsed Reagan in both the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections. Reagan won both elections by a 489-49 and 525-13 count, respectively.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestate.com/2015/03/22/4061862/bob-jones-iii-apologizes-for-anti.html?rh=1" target="_blank">The (Columbia) State</a><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Sharper jailed for nine years for rapes</h2>
<br />
<br />
LOS ANGELES — Former NFL player Darren Sharper pleaded not to contest any of the rape charges – nine in all – in four states last week.<br />
<br />
Today, he got nine years in prison: a year for each rape count.<br />
<br />
The incidents happened in Las Vegas County; Los Angeles County; Maricopa County, Ariz.; and Orleans Parish, La.<br />
<br />
In Los Angeles County Court, Mr. Sharper pleaded guilty to rape and attempted rape charges via videoconferencing with the authorities from Arizona as the charges were read aloud on a video monitor.<br />
<br />
"Do you understand that this is a final answer?" Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor asked Mr. Sharper.<br />
<br />
"Yes sir," said Mr. Sharper, who wore a blue pinstripe suit.<br />
<br />
Pastor
also explained to Sharper that the court considers a no-contest plea to
be "exactly the same" as a guilty plea. "Do you understand this?"
asked Judge Pastor.<br />
<br />
""Yes sir," replied Mr. Sharper.<br />
<br />
Via videoconferencing, Mr. Sharper was sentenced to nine years in prison with no chance of early release or parole. He will be reporting to Maricopa County Jail, which is run by notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio, once all the cases are closed.<br />
<br />
By agreeing to the plea deal, Sharper avoids the risk of receiving an
even worse punishment in the future and expensive litigation that could
drag on indefinitely in four states. If convicted, he faced life in
prison both in Louisiana and in Los Angeles.<br />
<br />
His suspected string of serial rapes ended in 14 months ago, when he was arrested on a suspicion of rape in Los Angeles. At the
time of his first arrest, he had 20 zolpidem pills in his possession – a date rape drug known by its brand name Ambien. Sharper obtained a
prescription for the drug after suffering sleep problems he attributed
to his 14-year career in the NFL with the New Orleans Saint, Green Bay
Packers and Minnesota Vikings, according to a workers compensation claim
form he filed in 2012.<br />
<br />
The drug can be slipped into drinks to
knock women into a deep REM sleep and rape them, and that's what authorities say Mr. Sharper
did repeatedly.<br />
<br />
Mr. Sharper
ultimately was charged with nine rapes in four states, including three
in consecutive nights in two different states 14 months ago.<br />
<br />
Excepting Arizona, where a judge ruled last April there was "proof
evident" Sharper raped a woman there in 16 months ago, not one
of the cases went to a hearing.<br />
<br />
DNA found inside
the women's body partially matched Sharper's, and a witness reported
waking up and seeing Sharper stark naked and making thrusting movements over
the woman, according to a detective's testimony at the hearing.<br />
<br />
There are five such cases that are still outstanding.<br />
<br />
On April 27, Mr. Sharper will enter guilty pleas to remaining five rape charges: two in Las Vegas and three in New Orleans. Because of the distance between jurisdictions, the hearing will be videoconferenced from New Orleans once Las Vegas County authorities begin their hearing.<br />
<br />
Mr. Sharper got a vasectomy before all of the incidents.<br />
<br />
He was charged with five sex crimes in Arizona, which really caused an uproar.<br />
<br />
In Los Angeles, he was charged with raping and drugging two women: one 17 months ago and another 14 months ago.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, he was also charged with the 18-month-old rapes of women in Vegas and New Orleans, dating back to August 31, 2013.<br />
<br />
Ironically, enough, the serial rapist wrote this in his book, which is being burned by a lot of those who bought them I am sure:<br />
<br />
"Money cannot buy the women we love everyday security, which men take
for granted. So, it's going to take strong, accountable
men to educate young boys and influence other men to deal with women
respectfully, honorably and fairly at all times."<br />
<br />
The sentences will all run concurrently, which means he won't do anymore than the nine years he received from Maricopa County. He will be eligible for release on April 27, 2024. Mr. Sharper will be on probation for the rest of his natural life, which means that he could spend more time in jail if he is to be involved in any way in an incident upon release. He has been in jail for almost 13 months since he was declared a flight risk, and Mr. Sharper has received credit for the time served.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/03/23/darren-sharper-plea-deal-rape-sentenced-los-angeles-phoenix-las-vegas-new-orleans/70326360/" target="_blank">Arizona Republic</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-90334908759625202272015-03-23T08:54:00.000-04:002015-03-23T08:54:14.992-04:00Worst Person of the Day: Joel Casselberry, for calling Mo’ne Davis a slut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xwDY5_shRvU/VRAMnfsj4ZI/AAAAAAAAHpQ/pnFSTrcMFFg/s1600/casselberry.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xwDY5_shRvU/VRAMnfsj4ZI/AAAAAAAAHpQ/pnFSTrcMFFg/s1600/casselberry.jpeg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Joel Cassleberry is one of the worst.<br />
<br />
Over the weekend, he sent out a tweet, calling a Little League star, one who brought back interest in the game of baseball, a slut.<br />
<br />
Here is the tweet:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Disney is making a movie about Mo’ne Davis? WHAT A JOKE. That slut got rocked by Nevada.</blockquote>
<br />
Not a surprise that Mr. Casselberry deleted the tweet, thinking the world wasn’t gonna see it. Pfft.<br />
<br />
Not only was he wrong, but he is also a bonafied slut-shamer.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, the college ran Mr. Casselberry off their baseball team.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Bloomsburg Univ is deeply saddened by what was written about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MoneDavis?src=hash">#MoneDavis</a> by one of our student-athletes. His words do not represent us.<br />
— BU Huskies (@GoBUHuskies) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoBUHuskies/status/579424305001455616">March 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
We take matter very seriously; addressed the issue with the student-athlete (who has been dismissed from team), coach, and the team.<br />
— BU Huskies (@GoBUHuskies) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoBUHuskies/status/579424669624877056">March 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
Sexists, slut-shamers, whorephobes and racists needed to be dealt with accordingly. The way Bloomsburg dealt with Mr. Casselberry is an excellent start.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/baseball-player-booted-from-team-for-calling-14-year-old-little-league-heroine-a-slut-on-twitter/" target="_blank">Raw Story</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-27831749132690213542015-03-22T20:25:00.000-04:002015-03-22T20:25:47.974-04:00American heroes, aged 91 and 108, die during month<span style="font-size: x-large;">Abortion provider dies at 91</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0K2YGatsro/VQ9N_1lCaBI/AAAAAAAAHo4/7Syq-yrMrAA/s1600/Dr-Mildred-Hanson-tnb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0K2YGatsro/VQ9N_1lCaBI/AAAAAAAAHo4/7Syq-yrMrAA/s1600/Dr-Mildred-Hanson-tnb.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
MINNEAPOLIS — A woman who was an abortion provider during the nationwide criminalization of abortion before <i>Roe vs. Wade</i> has died.<br />
<br />
Dr. Mildred Hanson, a longtime obstetrician-gynecologist and abortion provider, died on March 4. She would have been 92 years old later this year.<br />
<br />
Dr. Hanson was one of the few doctors who performed abortions, often against federal law, before the January 22, 1973 decision that legalized the procedure. Her daughter Marilee Hanson, also a practicing ob-gyn, said her
mother was shaped by that era. One of her relatives died of a
septic abortion that she could not get at any medical facility due to the national criminalization of abortion, and she saw many women suffer from blood infections
caused by botched back-alley procedures.<br />
<br />
Initially, “Millie’’
Hanson set out to be a general surgeon, until a program director at the
University of Minnesota turned her down flat. “He said, ‘Millie, there’s
never been a woman go through our program — and you’re not going to be
the first,’ ” said her surviving daughter.<br />
<br />
At that point, Dr. Hanson became a fearless advocate on the subject of abortion, and decided to go to the medical school at Minnesota anyways. She graduated with honors from the school in 1952.<br />
<br />
“The thing I repeatedly
saw was her willing to be a voice,” said Dan Buck, an organizer for
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. “She was larger than life when it came to
being vocal and adamant that women needed access to a full range of
reproductive health services.”<br />
<br />
“I was frustrated that there was such an easy thing to do that was
within our grasp technically, and yet we were denying it to women, and
women were dying because of it,” <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3503403.html" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">she told an interviewer in 2003</a>.<br />
<br />
The moment <i>Roe vs. Wade</i> made abortion legal, Dr. Hanson began openly providing the service. In 1974, she became the medical director of <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-minnesota-north-dakota-south-dakota/who-we-are/history" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota</a>,
serving the three states for nearly three decades while also running her own
clinic, where she continued to provide abortion care until she retired
from practice altogether in late 2013. When Planned Parenthood was firebombed by Christian terrorists
in 1977, she simply relocated patients to her private clinic while the
building was repaired.<br />
<br />
Later, she would be among the first people in the nation to <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.citypages.com/2001-06-27/news/no-choice/full/" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">wear a bulletproof vest</a> and install bulletproof glass in her clinic, but she remained undaunted.<br />
<br />
“If <em>Roe v. Wade</em> were repealed, I think I’d go right on doing
abortions,” she said in the same 2003 interview. “And I would frankly
just wait for them to come and get me, because I would want to
demonstrate that this is a detriment to the health of women.”<br />
<br />
She wasn’t afraid to tell the truth and defend the constitutional right to abortion as well as pro-choice policies and lawmakers, even if the truth angered some people in her circle. She was truly the model of a physician activist. “The three greatest
life-saving medical innovations of the 20th century,” she would tell
groups of medical students, activists and politicians alike, “were vaccines,
penicillin, and legal abortion.”<br />
<br />
It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Hanson personally inspired
thousands of citizen activists over the years, including many who went on to
become abortion providers themselves. In addition to speaking to groups
of reproductive rights advocates, writing letters to the
editor of Minneapolis papers shredding misogynist laws and politicians, and attending pro-choice lobby day events,
she mentored hundreds of medical students and residents, opening her
clinic for valuable observation opportunities. She had a reputation for
kindness.<br />
<br />
“This was the first time in my medical education where one doctor or
teacher took time to quiz me alone or explain things to me in a setting
other than a lecture hall. I have learned a tremendous amount from this
experience about the medicine behind abortion provision and the art of
being a caring physician,” reported one second-year University of
Minnesota medical student in the local chapter of the <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.msfc.org/" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">Medical Students for Choice</a> annual newsletter after shadowing Dr. Hanson during a day at her practice. Such a sentiment was very common.<br />
<br />
Compassionate, and unfailingly generous, Dr. Millie Hanson leaves behind a truly monumental legacy.<br />
<br />
Fans and admirers can honor that legacy by volunteering as a clinic
escort anywhere in the continental United States, donating to an abortion fund, or writing a blistering letter to
the editor of papers such as <a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/115289839.html" target="_blank"><i>the (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune</i></a> or <a href="http://www.thestate.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/submit-letter/index.html" target="_blank"><i>the (Columbia) State</i></a> newspaper about why politicians should not dictate medical decisions. <a class="ext-link" href="http://data.rhrealitycheck.org/" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">As abortion restrictions</a>
intensify across the country, work and advocacy like Dr. Hanson’s — and
work and advocacy carried out in her name — is more important than ever.<br />
<br />
She was eulogized on March 9.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://rhrc.us/1Hx6TgP" target="_blank">RH Reality Check</a><br />
<a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/295999081.html" target="_blank">Minneapolis Star-Tribune</a><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Centenarian female veteran dies</h2>
<br />SAN ANTONIO — The oldest World War II veteran in the United States has died after being ill for the first time in her life.<br />
<br />
Lucy Coffey, who served starting at the age of 37 throughout the Pacific, was
found dead in her bed Thursday morning after being ill for about a week
and suffering a chronic cough, Quita Marquez, a friend and Bexar County,
Texas, veterans service officer, said.<br />
<br />
"She was an incredible lady who will be missed dearly," the
organization said in a statement. "Her contributions to our country and
community will not be forgotten."<br />
<br />
"She was truly a pioneer, and full of life and spunk," Veterans Service Officer Marquez told the <i>San Antonio Express-News</i>.<br />
<br />
Sergeant Coffey visited the White House last year, meeting President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.<br />
<br />
President
Obama issued a statement Friday that hailed Coffey for setting an
example that has "inspired generations of patriots since".<br />
<br />
"When
Vice President Biden and I had the honor of meeting Sergeant Coffey at
the White House last year ... it was clear that the passage of time
never dampened her patriotic love of country or her pioneering spirit," President Obama's statement read. "As we remember her life and salute her service, our
thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and loved ones
today."<br />
<br />
Vice President Biden tweeted about Coffey, with whom he shared a few laughs during her White House visit.<br />
<br />
"Lucy
Coffey was a pioneer for women in the armed forces, and her legacy will
live on," Vice President Biden tweeted. "I was honored to meet her."<br />
<br />
She quit her day job at a grocery store in 1941 to enlist and serve in the military shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. She rose to the rank of sergeant, earning two bronze stars during her
service and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon during the Battle of
Luzon.<br />
<br />
After her discharge in late 1945, a few months after World War II ended, Sgt. Coffey continued to work as an
Army civilian in Okinawa, Japan, for until late 1958 or early 1959, before returning to
Texas. She worked in the procurement office at Kelly Air Force Base in
San Antonio until her retirement in 1971.<br />
<br />
She was one of just over 400,000 American women who served during World War II.<br />
<br />
Another piece of our history, resting in peace. Goodbye, Sergeant.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/03/19/lucy-coffey-oldest-american-woman-veteran-dies/25062081/" target="_blank">USA Today</a> <br />
jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-90187086454915807572015-03-22T13:54:00.000-04:002015-03-22T13:54:34.874-04:00MetroPCS to go live with Microsoft Lumia 640 in late May or early June; Lumia 640 XL's target date of 8/31 remains for mobile MVNO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.windowscentral.com/sites/wpcentral.com/files/styles/larger/public/field/image/2015/03/Lumia-640-collection-press-images_0.jpg?itok=nkmtBBPZ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.windowscentral.com/sites/wpcentral.com/files/styles/larger/public/field/image/2015/03/Lumia-640-collection-press-images_0.jpg?itok=nkmtBBPZ" height="228" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
RICHARDSON, Texas — So, all of a sudden, T-Mobile has an early exclusive all to their own.<br />
<br />
MetroPCS announced that they won’t sell the Microsoft Lumia 640 until sometime between May 19 and June 6.<br />
<br />
That phone is not expected at AT&T until June 20 at earliest.<br />
<br />
And as if that’s not enough, here is some bad news: the single SIM version of the Microsoft Lumia 640 does not support <b>L</b>ong <b>T</b>erm <b>E</b>volution, which means that version won’t be sold in the States at all.<br />
<br />
Cost of the device is looking to be $99.99 no-contract, although final pricing is not locked in 100% just yet.<br />
<br />
Here are the mobile phone’s stats, to recap:<br />
<ul>
<li>Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 1.2 GHz quad-core processor </li>
<li>5-inch HD (1280x720) IPS LCD, 294 PPI, Glance screen, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Sunlight readability enhancements </li>
<li>1GB RAM </li>
<li>8 GB internal mass memory + up to 128 GB Micro SD & 30GB free OneDrive cloud storage </li>
<li>Rear camera: 8 MP AF, f/2.2, 1080p @ 30 fps video (continuous autofocus), LED flash, Lumia Camera 5.0 (with Dynamic Flash, HDR)</li>
<li>Front camera: HD 1 MP wide angle, f/2.4, 720p video</li>
</ul>
The flagship Microsoft Lumia 640 XL is also expected come to MetroPCS (and T-Mobile), but not before the meteorological autumn, shortly <i><b>after</b></i> Windows 10 is released for phones and desktops. All seven of the Lumia 640s are notable in the fact that they will be the only phones in the world running the Windows Phone 8.1.2 operating system right out of the box, but the United States will get only three models, two of which are dual SIM (Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM and Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.windowscentral.com/metropcs-launch-microsoft-lumia-640-mid-late-may-priced-99" target="_blank">Windows Central</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-77924222824876351072015-03-22T10:26:00.000-04:002015-03-22T10:26:52.242-04:00Aiken Area Progressive rant: No, state fetal homicide laws are not needed. Nor are they necessary. The UVVA law is sufficient enough!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6eeSeZ8yNdM/VQ7KRQxCRdI/AAAAAAAAHok/NaiIDdY8J_0/s1600/dynel%2Blane.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6eeSeZ8yNdM/VQ7KRQxCRdI/AAAAAAAAHok/NaiIDdY8J_0/s1600/dynel%2Blane.jpeg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
DENVER, Colo. — Last week, a major story – yet another Craigslist crime – hit my Facebook page.<br />
<br />
This one, about a woman who attacked a pregnant person and ripped a fetus out of the victim.<br />
<br />
And on like page after like page about this story, frenzied wingnuts were quick to sharpen their fangs about why more unnecessary – and unneeded – laws were needed after crassly irresponsible journalists from Denver media to South Carolina media repeated a lie, Goebbels-style, about the lack of a fetal homicide law in Colorado.<br />
<br />
Here are the facts.<br />
<br />
There is a fetal homicide law in all 50 states – that includes Colorado.<br />
<br />
That fetal homicide law will be 11 years old on April 1 and is known officially as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, or (less informally) the Laci and Connor Act of 2004.<br />
<br />
Here is the text of that law:<br />
<br />
<h3>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</h3>
<ul>This Act may be cited as the `Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004' or `Laci and Conner's Law'.</ul>
<h3>
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN.</h3>
<ul>(a) IN GENERAL- Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 90 the following:</ul>
<h3>
<b>`CHAPTER 90A--PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN</b></h3>
`Sec. <br />
<ul><ul>`1841. Protection of unborn children.</ul>
</ul>
<h4>
`Sec. 1841. Protection of unborn children</h4>
<ul>`(a)(1) Whoever engages in conduct that violates any of the provisions of law listed in subsection (b) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury (as defined in section 1365) to, a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section.</ul>
<ul>`(2)(A) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the punishment for that separate offense is the same as the punishment provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother.</ul>
<ul>`(B) An offense under this section does not require proof that--</ul>
<ul><ul>`(i) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(ii) the defendant intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child.</ul>
</ul>
<ul>`(C) If the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall instead of being punished under subparagraph (A), be punished as provided under sections 1111, 1112, and 1113 of this title for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.</ul>
<ul>`(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the death penalty shall not be imposed for an offense under this section.</ul>
<ul>`(b) The provisions referred to in subsection (a) are the following:</ul>
<ul><ul>`(1) Sections 36, 37, 43, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 229, 242, 245, 247, 248, 351, 831, 844(d), (f), (h)(1),</ul>
</ul>
and (i), 924(j), 930, 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114, 1116, 1118, 1119, 1120, 1121, 1153(a), 1201(a), 1203, 1365(a), 1501, 1503, 1505, 1512, 1513, 1751, 1864, 1951, 1952 (a)(1)(B), (a)(2)(B), and (a)(3)(B), 1958, 1959, 1992, 2113, 2114, 2116, 2118, 2119, 2191, 2231, 2241(a), 2245, 2261, 2261A, 2280, 2281, 2332, 2332a, 2332b, 2340A, and 2441 of this title. <br />
<ul><ul>`(2) Section 408(e) of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 848(e)).</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(3) Section 202 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2283).</ul>
</ul>
<ul>`(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the prosecution--</ul>
<ul><ul>`(1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law;</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(2) of any person for any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.</ul>
</ul>
<ul>`(d) As used in this section, the term `unborn child' means a child in utero, and the term `child in utero' or `child, who is in utero' means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.'.</ul>
<ul>(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 90 the following new item:</ul>
<b>1841'.</b> <br />
<h3>
SEC. 3. MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM.</h3>
<ul>(a) PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN- Subchapter X of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by inserting after section 919 (article 119) the following new section:</ul>
<h4>
`Sec. 919a. Art. 119a. Death or injury of an unborn child</h4>
<ul>`(a)(1) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in conduct that violates any of the provisions of law listed in subsection (b) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of title 18) to, a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section and shall, upon conviction, be punished by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct, which shall be consistent with the punishments prescribed by the President for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother.</ul>
<ul>`(2) An offense under this section does not require proof that--</ul>
<ul><ul>`(i) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(ii) the accused intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child.</ul>
</ul>
<ul>`(3) If the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall, instead of being punished under paragraph (1), be punished as provided under sections 880, 918, and 919(a) of this title (articles 80, 118, and 119(a)) for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.</ul>
<ul>`(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the death penalty shall not be imposed for an offense under this section.</ul>
<ul>`(b) The provisions referred to in subsection (a) are sections 918, 919(a), 919(b)(2), 920(a), 922, 924, 926, and 928 of this title (articles 118, 119(a), 119(b)(2), 120(a), 122, 124, 126, and 128).</ul>
<ul>`(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the prosecution--</ul>
<ul><ul>`(1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law;</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(2) of any person for any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>`(3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.</ul>
</ul>
<ul>`(d) In this section, the term `unborn child' means a child in utero, and the term `child in utero' or `child, who is in utero' means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.'.</ul>
<ul>(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of such subchapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 919 the following new item:</ul>
<ul><ul>`919a. 119a. Death or injury of an unborn child.'.</ul>
<ul></ul>
</ul>
<br />
To further prove that there is such a law, here is a photo <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/H.R._1997_signing.jpg" target="_blank">via Wikipedia</a> of George W. Bush signing the bill into law on April 1, 2004:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/H.R._1997_signing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/H.R._1997_signing.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So why then, is the media lying, about there not being a fetal homicide law in Colorado?<br />
<br />
They want another unnecessary and unneeded state law on the books, that’s why.<br />
<br />
There are already enough state – and federal – laws on the books dealing with pregnancy as is. Whoever is the district attorney in Longmont, Colo. better read up on the Laci and Conner Act of 2004 and file charges against 34-year-old Dynel Lane (photographed, top) based off that law instead of calling for another unnecessary and unneeded state law.<br />
<br />
A federal law is not just for federal authorities to use. States, counties and towns can elect to use federal laws in local jurisdictions to file local charges – they do it all the time when it comes to gun laws. The fact that people are complaining about the ‘lack of’ a fetal homicide law instead of actually researching is the height of laziness – both physically and intellectually – and that is one of my major pet peeves!<br />
<br />
To answer the question of whether Colorado needs a fetal homicide law: the answer is a definitive no. In fact, state fetal homicide laws are not needed anywhere anymore, because of a federal law that passed 254-163 in the House and 61-38 in the Senate a month later.<br />
<br />
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 is sufficient enough to use in this case.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c108:5:./temp/~c108EbN1el::">thomas.loc.gov</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unborn_Victims_of_Violence_Act" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-78092880361621347682015-03-21T21:16:00.001-04:002015-03-21T21:16:56.443-04:00Kickass Man of the Day: Professor who booted male student for denying rape culture<span style="font-size: x-large;">Professor Savery slammed student for making victims of rape ‘uncomfortable’</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V1I-PfGrqbE/VQ36czXmz3I/AAAAAAAAHoM/ckOojRQyFPw/s1600/Savery-Pancho-kickass-man-tnb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V1I-PfGrqbE/VQ36czXmz3I/AAAAAAAAHoM/ckOojRQyFPw/s1600/Savery-Pancho-kickass-man-tnb.png" /></a></div>
<br />
PORTLAND, Ore. — Here is a male professor who won’t put up with rape apologism.<br />
<br />
Sometime last week, Professor Pancho Savery (photographed) had a heated argument with a 19-year-old student named Jeremiah True, who claimed that rape culture was made up during Humanities 110, even though all peer-reviewed stats show that <b>one in every six men are raped by a woman</b>, and <b>one in every five women are raped by a man</b>.<br />
<br />
Mr. True said, “I am critical of the idea of a rape culture because it does not exist. We live in a society that hates rape, but also hasn’t optimized the best way to handle rape. Changing the legal definition of rape is a slippery slope. If Sexual assault becomes qualified as rape, what happens next? What else can we legally redefine to become rape? Why would we want to inflate the numbers of rape in our society?”<br />
<br />
After rape victims started to become triggered, Professor Savery booted Mr. True from the class indefinitely. A change.org petition has since popped up calling on Professor Savery to reinstate Mr. True to the class.<br />
<br />
But here is the thing, Mr. True: we at Aiken Area Progressive have long identified sexual assault as rape, and that’s because 1) the crimes are very similar in nature and 2) the identities of sexual assault victims are not released by the media – we don’t release the identities of any crime victim unless the victim is a public servant or a well-known celebrity. The first answer should shut down any doubts as to whether sexual assault is rape.<br />
<br />
A freshman co-ed is in the same class as Mr. True, and she noted that he was booted for disrupting class, not for what he said.<br />
<br />
“In response to being respectfully asked to stop, he discussed [his views] more openly and more aggressively, and just disregarded people’s lived experiences,” she said, according to <a class="external" href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/college-professor-bans-student-from-class-for-his-views-on-r#.wgMRNoXNV" target="_blank"><i>BuzzFeed</i></a>. “He continued to argue with people who had expressed to him that they felt unsafe and uncomfortable. He said rape culture didn’t exist, but I feel like I live rape culture every day.”<br />
<br />
In short, he triggered people.<br />
<br />
“There are several survivors of sexual assault in our conference, and you have made them extremely uncomfortable with what they see as not only your undermining incidents of rape, but of also placing too much emphasis on men being unfairly charged with rape,” Savery said in the email. “[Other students] have said that things you have said in our conference have made them so upset that they have difficulty concentrating in other classes. I, as conference leader, have to do what is best for the well-being of the entire class, and I am therefore banning you from conference for the remainder of the semester.”<br />
<br />
Bravo, Professor. Bravo. We need to have safe spaces for survivors, even at colleges, where ideas should be challenged in a manner that is appropriate for all people.<br />
<br />
Thank you for recognizing that denying rape culture is a form of violence against women-identified people. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/1940421/one-in-five-rape-statistics-debunked-college-student-jeremiah-true-banned-for-dismissing-rape-culture/" target="_blank">Inquisitr</a><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Montana legislature defy governor’s veto threat, pass ban on telemed abortions</h2>
<br />
HELENA, Mont. — The War on Montana Women has gotten under way.<br />
<br />
HB 587, which would ban telemed abortions, passed by a 53-46 mark. Only GOP members voted yea on the bill.<br />
<br />
Four Republicans joined all of the Democrats in voting no on the big government measure.<br />
<br />
Abortion providers use telemedicine to offer access to abortion care
to people in rural areas, who do not live anywhere near a legitimate women’s health-care provider. At a local health clinic, where the
medication is dispensed, a patient will sit with a nurse while
communicating with his/her doctor via video conferencing tools.<br />
<br />
Rep. Keith Regier falsely claimed during the debate that the bill’s ‘intent’ is to
ensure that abortion providers are able to determine the exact number of
weeks of the pregnancy and if there are any complications from an
ectopic pregnancy.<br />
<br />
Twenty out of every 1,000 pregnancies, or 2%, are ectopic, <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/basics/risk-factors/con-20024262" rel="external" target="_blank" title="(Open in new tab) ">according to the Mayo Clinic</a>.<br />
<br />
“Telemedicine abortion care is not good for the woman,” said the bill’s sponsor, <a href="http://data.rhrealitycheck.org/person/keith-regier/">Rep. Reiger</a>, <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/03/16/good-gander-abortion-amendment-fails/24876017/" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">the <i>Great Falls Tribune</i> reported</a>.<br />
<br />
Research has shown that telemedicine abortion is extremely safe and effective, more safe than most other methods of abortion. Ibis Reproductive Health <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.ibisreproductivehealth.org/projects/telemedicine-projects-improve-access-abortion-care" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">concluded</a>
that “restricting telemedicine for medication abortion is not evidence
based, and limits women’s access to high-quality abortion care,
particularly in rural areas.”<br />
<br />
Rep. Ellie Boldman Hill (D-Missoula) offered an amendment to
“protect” men from vasectomy by telemedicine. Not surprisingly, the GOP majority rejected the amendment in a
55-45 vote.<br />
<br />
Rep. Hill correctly noted that the intent of the bill is to make abortion care more
difficult to access for people in rural areas.<br />
<br />
“We all know what this
bill is about,” said Rep. Hill during the floor debate, <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/17/telemedicine-abortion/24907217/" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">Gannett media reported</a>. “Let’s take our ‘nanny state’ [and] make it an inability to get reproductive care equally.”<br />
<br />
Telemedicine abortion care is available in only two states, both of which are in the midwestern United States: Iowa and Minnesota. <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_MA.pdf" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">Sadly, 17 states have passed laws</a> banning the practice. Arkansas <a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/02/26/arkansas-governor-signs-telemedicine-abortion-ban/">became the latest state</a> to ban the practice when Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a telemed ban into law last month.<br />
<br />
Since 2011, anti-choice lawbreakers around the country have <a class="ext-link" href="http://data.rhrealitycheck.org/law-topic/telemedicine-abortion-ban/" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">introduced several bills</a> to end telemedicine abortion, all at the
urging of powerful national and state anti-human rights groups and lobbies such as the National Right to ‘Life’ Committee and the Susan B. Anthony List.<br />
<br />
Martha Stahl, president of Planned Parenthood of Montana, <a class="ext-link" href="http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/regier-calls-for-banning-abortions-by-telemedicine/article_516756d2-c351-11e4-86b7-838e57308dfd.html" rel="external" title="(Open in new tab) ">told the <em>Flathead News</em></a> that the bill would restrict abortion access in a state that has a large rural population and many miles of rural highway.<br />
<br />
“This bill is part of a broader effort to restrict or end access to
safe, legal abortion in Montana. Ultimately, decisions about whether to
choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child must be left to a
woman, her family and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor,” she said. “No matter where a woman lives she should be able to access safe,
quality healthcare.”<br />
<br />
HB 587 now moves to the state senate, where it will await a committee
hearing before being brought to the floor for a vote. The GOP hold a
29-21 edge in the Senate. Neither chamber has enough votes to override a likely veto from Gov. Steve Bullock (D).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/03/18/montana-house-passes-telemedicine-abortion-ban/">RH Reality Check</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-35966883182347400442015-03-21T13:31:00.002-04:002015-03-21T13:31:43.685-04:00Victory in Spokane: nudity ban proposal cast aside after almost all signatures were deemed invalid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--YjYdPgfD28/VNyrH2G4wAI/AAAAAAAAHaE/jNwsB5f65Zs/s1600/control%2Byour%2Bchildren%2Bnot%2Bour%2Bnudity%2Bwith%2Bsignpost.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--YjYdPgfD28/VNyrH2G4wAI/AAAAAAAAHaE/jNwsB5f65Zs/s1600/control%2Byour%2Bchildren%2Bnot%2Bour%2Bnudity%2Bwith%2Bsignpost.png" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
SPOKANE, Wash. — Remember the last time we talked about <a href="http://aikenareaprogressive.blogspot.com/2015/03/nudists-rip-apart-facade-of-gymnophobic-mom-petitioners-in-spokane-town-hall.html" target="_blank">the three gymnophobic mothers who tried to ramrod a public nudity ban with special rights for themselves in Eastern Washington</a>?<br />
<br />
Good news.<br />
<br />
There won’t be a vote, either in the City Council or on Election Day, after all.<br />
<br />
Nearly 100% of the signatures to cast the nudity ban were deemed invalid by the Spokane City Council, who went over every last signature with a fine-tooth comb.<br />
<br />
According to the Spokesman-Review, a third of the signatures came from people who regard registering to vote as a Mark of the Beast.<br />
<br />
Another third came from confused people who thought they were signing up for a chance at a free Dyson vacuum.<br />
<br />
And the remainder, the only real people who signed the petition, lived nowhere near Spokane. They are Christian and Mormon extremists who refer to the city as ‘Spo-Sodom’ and are highly offended by people exercising their God-given Constitutional rights to be naked in public. In fact, I firmly believe that the only three signatures from the Spokane City Limits came from the gymnophobic Mormom moms.<br />
<br />
Doug Clark goes on to say that creating a public exposure law is a waste of time and money. I agree. Not to mention that such a law would also be struck down as unconstitutional should it ever make it to the full Ninth Circuit or D.C. Circuit Courts.<br />
<br />
In closing, we’re gonna quote Rachel Maddow:<br />
<br />
But here’s the thing about rights - they’re not actually supposed to be voted on. That’s why they’re called rights.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/mar/19/doug-clark-nudity-vote-nixed-viable-voters-busy/" target="_blank">Spokesman-Review</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-45281920573307483762015-03-21T03:43:00.000-04:002015-03-21T03:43:08.204-04:00Terrific: USC, Syracuse to meet Sunday after dispatching of Savannah State, Nebraska<span style="font-size: large;">Homer leads host Gamecocks to lopsided win over Tigers</span><br />
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COLUMBIA — After a 12-year moratorium on the state hosting big NCAA-sanctioned tournaments due to the Confederate flag flap, Aja Wilson, a Richland County native, and the Gamecocks sent the faithful home happy in their penultimate home game.<br />
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Ms. Wilson led the team with 15 points, and Alaina Coates and Aleighsa Welch had 12 points each as top-seeded South Carolina overcame a sluggish first half and defeated Savannah State 81-48 on Friday night.<br />
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Ezinne Kalu had 21 points for the Tigers, which end their season at 21-11.<br />
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The Gamecocks, which are undefeated at home, will have one last home game on Sunday night, win or lose.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wltx.com/story/sports/ncaa/usc-gamecocks/2015/03/20/south-carolina-beats-savannah-state-81-48/25114263/" target="_blank">WLTX News 19</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Orangewomen turns back Huskers</span><br />
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COLUMBIA — For the Syracuse University family, this was a time to get away from the distractions that severely crippled roundball at the school, with the crushing sanctions against the men’s basketball team that cost Jim Boeheim 108 wins and the rest of his coaching career as far as a conference tournament, an NCAA Men’s Tourney or a Men’s National Invitation Tournament (MNIT) appearance goes (if a team is on probation, they’re not allowed to participate in any preseason or postseason events, conference tourneys are considered a postseason event).<br />
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Brianna Butler scored the go-ahead basket with just under a minute left, and the Orangewomen hung on to send Nebraska back to Lincoln, Neb. with a 72-69 score.<br />
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Alexis Peterson led the Orangewomen with 24 points, with one-sixth of her total points coming at the charity stripe in the last minute.<br />
<br />
Forwaard Emily Cady led the Cornhuskers with 18 points. She was one of four seniors who played their last game in Columbia, a reversal of what it usually is in sports (with the Gamecocks baseball team playing in Lincoln for the College World Series).<br />
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The other three seniors who played their last game were: forward Hailie Sample, and guards Tear'a Laudermill and Brandi Jeffery. Each one of them registered four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, meaning they never missed the tournament in their college careers.<br />
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The Orangewomen and the Gamecocks will play at 19:00 Sunday for the right to play in the Only Sweet 16 There Will Ever Be.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">UPSETS GALORE!</span><br />
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There were no fewer than a trio of upsets in the opening day of the tournament.<br />
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In the matinee at Iowa City, Iowa, Adrienne Motley scored 30 points to lead the 11-seed U to an 86-80 upset over 6-seed <b>Washington</b> in a game that <b>Miami</b> mascot Sebastian the Ibis would have been proud of.<br />
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Jessica Thomas and Michelle Woods were also in double figures. They scored 19 and 17 points for the Hurricanes, respectively.<br />
<br />
Kelsey Plum and Talia Watson each scored 17 points to lead the Huskies.<br />
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In Waco, Texas, tenth-seed <b>Arkansas</b> stunned seventh-seed <b>Northwestern</b> 57-55 after Jessica Jackson made the front-end of a one-and-one that gave the Sows the lead for good.<br />
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The Wildcats had several chances to dispatch the Razorbacks, but Nia Coffey missed two j’s in a three-second span that would have either given Northwestern the lead or tied it.<br />
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In Corvallis, Ore., Keani Albanez and Sunny Greinacher each lead all scorers, scoring 19 points apiece, and they led 11-seed <b>Gonzaga</b> to shock 6-seed <b>George Washington</b> 82-69.<br />
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The Bulldogs shot exactly 50% from three-point range, while cold shooting doomed the Colonials, who were also led by a pair – Hannah Schiable and Kelli Prange. Each woman scored 13 points to lead the Colonials.<br />
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Chelsea Waters was the only Bulldog that did not score a point.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Irish wins, effectively eliminating a 16-seed’s chance to get a win in tourney</span><br />
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The <b>Notre Dame</b> Irish was the most endangered of the 1-seeds, but much like the aforementioned USC, they turned on the juice and blew the doors off <b>Montana</b> at their home in South Bend, Ind., 77-43.<br />
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Not a single player for the Monte from Missoula, Mont. reached double figures. Kayleigh Valley led the team with nine points.<br />
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Conversely, Jewell Lloyd didn’t skip a beat for the Fighting Irish, scoring nearly a quarter of the team’s 77 points – she scored 18, doubling Ms. Valley’s output. Brianna Turner was the only other Irish in double figures, however, scoring 12. <br />
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Other winners on Friday were: California (4), DePaul (9), Oregon State (3), Texas (5), Iowa (3), Mississippi State (5), Kentucky (2), Baylor (2), Dayton (7) and Duke (2).<br />
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Today’s games are as follows:<br />
<br />
In Annapolis, Md.:<br />
<br />
Undefeated Princeton (8) plays (9) Green Bay at 11:05<br />
(1) Maryland hosts New Mexico State (16) at 13:33<br />
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In Knoxville, Tenn.:<br />
<br />
(7) Chattanooga plays (10) Pitt at 11:05<br />
(2) Tennessee hosts Boise State at 13:33<br />
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In Hartford:<br />
<br />
(8) Rutgers plays (9) Seton Hall at 18:30<br />
(1) Connecticut hosts Saint Francis at 21:00<br />
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In Louisville, Ky.:<br />
<br />
(3) Louisville hosts (14) Brigham Young at 16:00<br />
(6) South Florida plays (11) Louisiana State at 18:30<br />
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In Stanford, Calif.:<br />
<br />
(5) Oklahoma plays (12) Quinnipiac at 16:00<br />
(4) Stanford hosts (13) California State-Northridge at 18:30<br />
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In Chapel Hill, N.C.:<br />
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(4) North Carolina hosts (13) Liberty at 11:05<br />
(5) Ohio State plays (12) James Madison at 13:33<br />
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In Tempe, Ariz.:<br />
<br />
(6) Texas A&M plays (11) Arkansas-Little Rock at 16:00<br />
(3) Arizona State hosts (14) Ohio at 18:30<br />
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In Tallahassee, Fla.:<br />
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(7) Florida Gulf Coast plays (10) Oklahoma State at 11:05<br />
(2) Florida State hosts (15) Alabama State at 13:33<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Men’s basketball: 16 seeds fail yet again to win, upsets upset brackets</span><br />
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And yet again, the 16 seeds must wait yet another year to make history in the men’s NCAA Tournament.<br />
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Coastal Carolina, a university in Conway, came the closest among the 16 seeds, to defeating a top seed. In the end, though, Wisconsin made sure that didn’t happen, pulling away for an 86-72 win over the Chanticleers. In fact, the Chanticleers came the closest out of any of the eight 16 seeds, men or women, to pulling the upset (UConn and Maryland will easily destroy their 16 seeded foes on the women’s side).<br />
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Duke, Villanova and undefeated Kentucky all mopped the floor of their 16-seeded opponents.<br />
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The 2 seeds did likewise with their 15 seeded foes.<br />
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However, the Super Spoilers are in the Houston and Los Angeles regions: four of the five double-digit seeds in the Terrific 32 come from those two regions. The fifth, Dayton, is in the Syracuse region.<br />
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Back to the Wildcats, their run at perfection could end on the same day that Princeton’s run could end (should the Tigers lose to Green Bay).<br />
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On the men’s side, the last time a team went perfect was in 1976. That year, Indiana turned the trick.<br />
<br />
But, the game is a lot different than it was in 1976.<br />
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And not just that, but Cincinnati is also no slouch when it comes to men’s basketball.<br />
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Those things are why it is very likely that we could see Kentucky’s run at perfection end today.<br />
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Meanwhile, the Tigers plan to take their frustration of being the 8-seed out on the Phoenix.<br />
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However, the Phoenix themselves are no slouches either, entering the game with a 28-4 record.<br />
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Which brings us to this factoid: never in college basketball history has more than one of the last of the unbeatens, gender notwithstanding, lost on the same exact day. We have two such teams right now.<br />
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This could be big, as the women complete its Terrific 32 and the men prepare to hand out invites to the Regional Semifinals.<br />
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Stay tuned.jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-72530827260933740102015-03-20T20:50:00.002-04:002015-03-20T20:50:43.111-04:00Mary Beth Pierucci leaves Planned Parenthood Augusta<span style="font-size: x-large;">Pierucci was longtime director of local women's health clinic</span><br />
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Some incredibly sad news to bring to you to start off the News Briefs.<br />
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MaryBeth Pierucci completed her final day at the Planned Parenthood Southeast clinic in downtown Augusta.<br />
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Here is the message she wrote on Facebook:<br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"*G","type":45}" id="fbPhotoPageCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">“Today is my last day at Planned Parenthood Southeast. Many of you are friends I have had the pleasure of working with during my nearly two decades of work with PP. I have so many cherished memories of this rewarding work. Although I will no longer be an employee I will always support the work and mission of PP. Thanks Augusta staff for the incredibly fun and touching sent off last night!”</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"*G","type":45}" id="fbPhotoPageCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">The clinic serves Central Georgia, as well as Aiken County in South Carolina. In addition to Metro Augusta, the Aiken County portions of Batesburg-Leesville (zip code 29006), Monetta (zip code 29105), Ridge Spring (zip code 29129), Springfield (zip code 29146) and Williston (zip code 29853) are all served by the local Planned Parenthood clinic on BROAD ST.</span></span><br />
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I had the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Pierucci through the letters she wrote for the Augusta Chronicle, the only local paper in Augusta since the closing of the Augusta Focus. She wrote the truth about the anti-choicers, both in the Gold Dome and in the newsroom at the Chronicle, and made sure that the women of Augusta were informed about the state of their rights, which has been under constant attack ever since Roy Barnes was defeated by Sonny Perdue as the governor of the state of Georgia.<br />
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We will miss Mrs. Pierucci working at the local women's health clinic on BROAD ST.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Tri-State woman could sue the Gaye family for royalties to 1976 song</h2>
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CHARLOTTE — A North Carolina woman is mulling a possible lawsuit against the estate of Marvin Gaye over copyrights and royalties.<br />
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Fonda Bryant plans to go after the the estate of the legendary Marvin Gaye, who recently won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the writers of the 2013 rape culture anthem "Blurred Lines."<br />
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She is the daughter of soul singer, Johnnie Taylor, whom she never had a relationship with. She is an heir to her father’s estate.<br />
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The late Mr. Taylor had a chart-topping hit in 1976 called “Disco Lady”, the year before Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" was released. But Mrs. Bryant believes Taylor's song inspired the late Marvin Gaye.<br />
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"Obviously, he took our fathers song, twisted it, made a lot of money off it and didn't give my father credit," said Mrs. Bryant.<br />
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"It's nothing personal against them, but at the same token, if they feel like Pharrell and them ripped them off, then how do you think we feel? It's like okay, you ripped our father off," she added.<br />
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One can debate if the two songs sound alike, but Bryant is now determined to fight for the credit she believes her father deserves.<br />
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"He would probably tell us to go get our you know what money. That's what he would say," said Mrs. Bryant.<br />
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Mrs. Bryant said that she got notice after a piece showed up on the Hollywood Reporter, an entertainment site with a conservative point of view.<br />
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She contacted Howard King, the author of the piece, first thing this morning.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wistv.com/story/28568625/charlotte-woman-considering-suit-against-marvin-gayes-estate" target="_blank">WBTV-DT 3</a><br />
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<h3>
N.C. State bans alcohol at most Greek events for remainder of semester</h3>
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RALEIGH — After racist scandals involving Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities, and sexual assault probes involving fraternity brothers at Pennsylvania State, Duke and their own school, North Carolina State is cracking down on alcohol consumption at most of its Greek events.<br />
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A news release Friday from university spokesman Fred Hartman said the school worked with the Interfraternity Council to temporarily suspend social events that involve alcohol for more than 20 fraternities and sororities. The ban doesn't apply to historically black Greek organizations, or the Multicultural Greek Council.<br />
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The Pi Kappa Phi chapter was suspended after derogatory comments attributed to members in a notebook were found at a restaurant near campus. Separately, new details about a drug paraphernalia seizure surfaced in a search warrant related to a sexual assault allegation at Alpha Tau Omega, which was also suspended earlier this month.<br />
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WRAL-DT posted photos of a notebook attributed to Pi Kappa Phi brothers. The notebook included sexually insensitive and racist comments.<br />
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One comment said: "If she's hot enough, she doesn't need a pulse." Another said: "Man, that tree is so perfect for a lynching."<br />
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The school said it received "an apparent pledge book" on Friday and was investigating. Some fraternities make new members keep notebooks and/or personal blogs with information about brothers during the initiation process.<br />
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"The written comments and quotes reported earlier this evening are offensive and unacceptable," said Pi Kappa Phi Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Timmes.<br />
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The book was turned in by NCSU co-ed Katie Perry, who said she found it while working at a restaurant.<br />
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"The contents were horrible," she said in short interview with The Associated Press on her front step. "I wanted to make sure everybody knew this was going on so it could be corrected. ... Frats are looked up to, but this is what they are doing."<br />
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She said she's received mixed reactions from other students, mostly through Facebook and Twitter. She alerted NCSU to one student's negative comment and told Raleigh police that someone posted her address online, but she didn't consider any of the messages physical threats.<br />
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In announcing the alcohol crackdown, the university said they also plan training on diversity for chapters and other measures to increase accountability.<br />
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In the Alpha Tau Omega investigation, a co-ed called the Raleigh Police Office on March 1 to say that she was raped at a fraternity house. She also told deputies that drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and prescription pills were being sold out of the house.<br />
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North Carolina State Campus Police Sgt. J.P. Dye wrote in a warrant that he smelled marijuana from 20 feet away when he went to search the house, and he seized drug paraphernalia, a scale and white powder in a small bag. At the time of the search, the house was vacant.<br />
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Wynn Smiley, Alpha Tau Omega's national chief executive officer, said in an interview that the fraternity kicked out a pledge after he admitted to having white powder and other drug paraphernalia in his room.<br />
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He had been associated with the organization for less than 31 days, Smiley said.<br />
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He said the national organization conducted its own investigation with a lawyer and other alumni advisers, and the organization is currently blaming the victim, believing the co-ed was exaggerating about drugs being sold and the level of drug activity.<br />
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"It just didn't line up with what we were finding out," he said.<br />
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He also questioned her credibility on the sexual assault allegation.<br />
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Kayle Graham, a junior psychology major at N.C. State, said racism and sexism among students is sad because the younger generation's attitude indicates where the country is heading.<br />
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"It's unfortunate that at a college level, students aren't as mature and socially aware as one would like them to be," she said.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wistv.com/story/28572295/nc-state-temporarily-bans-alcohol-at-most-fraternity-events" target="_blank">WIS News 10</a><br />
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<h4>
Woman dies from blood clot at West Oak High School</h4>
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WESTMINSTER — Her family was planning to attend her graduation in late May or early June.<br />
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Instead, they’re planning a homegoing ceremony for an 18-year-old West Oak High School pupil.<br />
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The Oconee County Coroner’s Office said that Sierra Jaid Sims, 18, died from cardiac arrest resulting from a large blood clot in one of her lungs.<br />
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Ms. Sims collapsed after walking to her chorus course. EMTs immediately arrived on the scene. The teen was conscious, complained of some chest pain and was having trouble breathing when they arrived.<br />
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Her health deteriorated so rapidly, she was in critical condition by the time she arrived at a hospital in Walhalla.<br />
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She was pronounced dead before the school day ended.<br />
<br />
The OCCO said an autopsy performed Friday showed the girl died from pulmonary embolus,
a large blood clot that blocked the pulmonary arteries that lead to the
lungs. The coroner says he doesn't think any trauma led to her death.<br />
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Grief counselors will be at the school indefinitely to console classmates and friends of Ms. Sims. She was due to graduate sometime between May 22 and June 5.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/28574355/coroner-sc-high-school-student-dies-after-blood-clot" target="_blank">WMBF 32 News</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-17788386940513590482015-03-20T15:53:00.000-04:002015-03-20T15:53:39.479-04:00We Were Right: Facebook removes breastfeeding photo on Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kd92YVje19c/VQx5Y-owp3I/AAAAAAAAHnk/8Cn7ADpgB70/s1600/FB_20150320_08_51_40_Saved_Picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kd92YVje19c/VQx5Y-owp3I/AAAAAAAAHnk/8Cn7ADpgB70/s1600/FB_20150320_08_51_40_Saved_Picture.jpg" height="361" width="400" /></a></div>
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MENLO PARK, Calif. — On Tuesday (Saint Patrick’s Day), <a href="http://aikenareaprogressive.blogspot.com/2015/03/facebook-guidelines-fact-v-fiction.html" target="_blank">we noted that Facebook still does not allow breastfeeding photos on their site unless such photos are posted for satirical, humorous or educational purposes</a>.<br />
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Guess what happened a day after that, on Wednesday?<br />
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Look below.<br />
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Facebook removed the photo because, as they claimed, photos of breastfeeding violated their guidelines because, according to them, it’s suggestive content or it contains an excessive amount of skin. Yes, breastfeeding is nudity, but the leaky boob is also the subset of nudity that is widely accepted as okay across the world, even in third-world countries.<br />
<br />
So, why is it that Facebook still does not accept imagery of breastfeeding, while underdeveloped countries like Madagascar do?<br />
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Check out Felicity Jones’s Tumblr page called <a href="http://shitthatgotmebanned.com/" target="_blank">Shit That Got Me Banned</a>, to see just how arbitrary Facebook’s community standards are. It’s the reason why the Nudism and Naturism Daily News, published by <a href="https://twitter.com/nudiarist" target="_blank">Chet Kresiak</a>, is no longer active on the site.<br />
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Facebook may have fed the tech and mainstream media a monstrous lie on Sunday night and Monday, but we at Aiken Area Progressive certainly did not eat it or fall for it. <br />
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<a href="https://m.facebook.com/BreastfeedingCenter/photos/a.615919055097568.1073741826.125791110777034/880565151966289/?type=1&refid=17&_ft_&__tn__=C" target="_blank">Breastfeeding Center of Greater Washington, DC Facebook Like Page</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-46058568564801504232015-03-20T07:55:00.000-04:002015-03-20T07:55:31.280-04:00Ladies play today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6nly1QjEoxw/VQwJc0UUd7I/AAAAAAAAHnE/0TnGI7TJK6w/s1600/2015%2Bwomen%27s%2Bbracket.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6nly1QjEoxw/VQwJc0UUd7I/AAAAAAAAHnE/0TnGI7TJK6w/s1600/2015%2Bwomen's%2Bbracket.png" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />The NCAA Women’s Tournament is starting a day earlier.<br />
<br />
After starting on the weekend since its humble beginnings, the NCAA Women’s tournament will start on a weekday for the first time in its history.<br />
<br />
Here are the games today, times Eastern Daylight Time, and in fiscal time. Tri-State colleges are in bold.<br />
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<br />
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph6">
No. 6 Washington vs. No. 11 Miami (Fla.), Noon</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph7">
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Iowa State Noon</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph8">
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Arkansas, Noon</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph9">
<b>No. 4 Duke</b> vs. No. 13 Albany, Noon</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph10">
No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 15 Northwestern State, 14:30</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph11">
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Tennessee State, 14:30</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph12">
No. 3 Iowa vs. No. 14 American, 14:30 </div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph13">
No. 5 Mississippi St. vs No. 12 Tulane, 14:30 </div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph14">
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky, 17:00</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph15">
No. 3 Oregon State vs. No. 14 South Dakota, 17:00</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph16">
No. 8 Minnesota vs. No 9 DePaul 17:00</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph17">
<b>No. 1 South Carolina</b> vs. <b>No. 16 Savannah State</b>, 17:00</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph18">
No. 4 California vs. No. 13 Wichita State. 19:30 </div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph19">
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No 16 Montana, 19:30</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph20">
No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 Nebraska, 19:30</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph21">
No. 6 George Washington vs No. 11 Gonzaga, 19:30</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph21">
<br /></div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph21">
The odds of getting a perfect women’s bracket is not in anyone’s favor: the odds of that happening are<span><span> one in <b>nine quintillion two hundred twenty-three
quadrillion three hundred seventy-two trillion thirty-six billion eight
hundred fifty-four million seven hundred seventy-five thousand eight
hundred eight</b>!
That's 1 in 9,223,372,036,8</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>54,775,808. Yikes!</span></div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph21">
<br /></div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph21">
<span>March Madness fans, will you be watching today? Or will being at work take you away from seeing the ladies get their A-game on?</span></div>
jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-90786544076216525062015-03-20T07:32:00.000-04:002015-03-20T07:32:06.834-04:00The Finish Line: Hollywood, here they come!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
FONTANA, Calif. — In the shadows of Hollywood, come the best in the sports business.<br />
<br />
This weekend’s stop at the Auto Club Speedway is the last 197+ mph thrill ride on the schedule prior to Talladega, Ala. on the weekend of May 3.<br />
<br />
This is the home track of several drivers, as they are from the southern California area. Among the regionals entered in this race are six-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, who won his first career race at the speedway as a rookie in 2002; defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick, who is already in the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup; and Cole Whitt.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">HARVICK IS FIRST IN THE CHASE</span><br />
<br />
Jeff Gordon was the first driver to get in the Chase in 2014, doing so in May.<br />
<br />
Mr. Harvick is now the earliest ever to lock in a spot in the Chase, doing so on March 15.<br />
<br />
Mr. Harvick won in dominating fashion, winning for a seventh time at Phoenix International Raceway, a track he has always been good at. He is now the all-time winningest driver at the track.<br />
<br />
This Sunday provides Mr. Johnson and Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano, known as JLo, to be the second driver to lock in a Chase spot.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">FORMER DRIVER ARRESTED IN UTAH FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR</span><br />
<br />
The Saint George (Utah) Police Office arrested Timothy Tyler Andrew Walker, 35, for failure to appear on Monday morning.<br />
<br />
The man was scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning, and he eventually did show up. However, he showed up too late to avoid being rung up on failure to appear charges.<br />
<br />
When Washington County (Utah) Fifth District Court Judge Eric A. Ludlow noticed that Mr. Walker did not show up within 60 seconds of his hearing, the sentencing hearing went on as planned, and Judge Ludlow cut a bench warrant for the former driver’s arrest.<br />
<br />
Mr. Walker was due to be sentenced for a chase in the countrysides of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. During the pursuit, speeds topped out at a breakneck 162 mph. When he was taken into custody at the end of the chase, state police found methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol in his car.<br />
<br />
Mr. Walker pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and failure to stop for an officer, both of which are felonies, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, impaired driving and having an open container.<br />
<br />
He was one of the first to be suspended from the sport: NASCAR indefinitely suspended him in 2007. He never petitioned to be reinstated, which means he cannot come back to the sport in any capacity until he completes the Road to Recovery program.<br />
<br />
The Hermosa, Calif. native competed in 28 races in NASCAR — 19 in the Xfinity Series, and nine in the Camping World Truck Series. His best overall finish was eighth in a 2007 Truck race in Martinsville.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SILENCE WHEN BUSCH WAS INTRODUCED</span><br />
<br />
Last week at Avondale, Ariz. Kurt Busch was back in a car for the first time since his domestic violence suspension was rescinded. As he was introduced on Sunday, March 15, there was a deafening silence at the track. No one cheered, and hardly anyone booed him.<br />
<br />
Mr. Ku. Busch went on to finish second in the race, behind his teammate, Mr. Harvick, who won the race.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">VICTIM SHREDS NASCAR FOR DECISION TO REINSTATE BUSCH</span><br />
<br />
Mr. Ku. Busch’s domestic violence victim condemned NASCAR swiftly in a statement on March 13 over his reinstatement.<br />
<br />
“I was stunned,” the victim told media outlets. “A judge found Kurt to have committed an act of abuse.”<br />
<br />
What I find disappointing and upsetting is that Kurt is now trying to play the victim in saying he has been falsely accused.”<br />
<br />
It was very clear in (Jones’s) decision it wasn’t a ‘maybe’ that Kurt committed abuse. It was most definitely he did. He felt that Kurt’s testimony was not truthful.”<br />
<br />
She took to social media to further attack NASCAR’s decision.<br />
<br />
“NASCAR took a strong stand against domestic violence, suspending Kurt, which I thought was fantastic,” she said. “Then they announce he’s reinstated.”<br />
<br />
He’s cured in three weeks. It sends a bad message. He got a three-week vacation.”<br />
<br />
Aiken Area Progressive condemned NASCAR for the reinstatement on March 13. <a href="http://aikenareaprogressive.blogspot.com/2015/03/short-oval-this-week-as-current-points-will-be-used.html" target="_blank">Read our short statement here</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">FAMILY COURT COMMISH TURNS BACK BUSCH’S ATTEMPT TO PRESENT NEW EVIDENCE, TESTIMONY</span><br />
<br />
A Kent County (Del.) Family Court Commissioner denied Mr. Ku. Busch’s attorneys’ motions to reopen a civil protection order hearing.<br />
<br />
On February 16, the Commissioner, David Jones, issued an order of protection against the original Sprint Cup Champion. It was sought by Mr. Ku. Busch’s domestic violence victim.<br />
<br />
The driver’s attorneys claimed that they had new evidence against the victim.<br />
<br />
“The court finds that the witnesses’ statements add little, if any,
evidentiary value regarding that issue to the respondent’s trial
testimony,” wrote Commissioner Jones in his ruling on Monday.<br />
<br />
The victim later wrote, “The protection from abuse order gave me a sense of safety, and I’m
greatly relieved that the court reaffirmed my account and upheld it.”<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">xfinity SERIES</span><br />
<br />
While the drama was limited to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the xfinity Series was not without drama of its own.<br />
<br />
One of its declared drivers is now out indefinitely.<br />
<br />
Jamie Dick, 26, is out indefinitely after he was diagnosed with diabetes following Saturday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway.<br />
<br />
Jeffrey Earnhardt, one of Dale Earnhardt Junior’s relatives, will be subbing for Mr. Dick, who is the second driver in the series to be diagnosed with the disease.<br />
<br />
Mr. Dick released a statement afterwards:<br />
<br />
“I would like to thank everyone for their support during this
difficult time. It was quite a surprise to hear the diagnosis from the
doctors, but the response from the NASCAR and PIR medical staffs was
outstanding.”<br />
<br />
The support from the racing community, my Viva Motorsports team, and
the fans has been overwhelming. Now I need to learn about this disease
and do whatever it takes to get back behind the wheel as soon as
possible.”<br />
<br />
Mr. Dick was rushed to the hospital after the race. He had complained of dizziness and fatigue.<br />
<br />
Ryan Reed, the Daytona 300 winner, suffers from Type I diabetes.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ENTRY LIST EXCEEDS SPOTS AVAILABLE (AGAIN)</span><br />
<br />
For the fifth race in a row, the number of entrants exceed the number of starting positions available.<br />
<br />
This is the first time since the new qualifying and new points format that there has been this many races to begin the season with more than 43 entrants each week in succession.<br />
<br />
Forty-five drivers are entered, which means two drivers will be taking the long sad ride (almost) all the way to the East Coast in Virginia.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">NO SAFER BARRIER PRESENT AT LOWER PART OF SPEEDWAY</span><br />
<br />
Daytona Beach was slammed for it. Hampton, Ga. was ripped for it.<br />
<br />
Now, Auto Club Speedway is the third track thus far to not have SAFER Barriers on the inside retaining walls of the track.<br />
<br />
Auto Club will begin SAFER barrier installation along the
frontstretch and backstretch walls that are currently uncovered after
next Sunday's race. The walls are expected to be completed before NASCAR
returns in 2016. It's not clear how much will be done before IndyCar’s
visit on June 27. CART driver <a href="http://racing-reference.info/video_links" target="_blank">Greg Moore was killed instantly at the age of 24 after hitting an unprotected wall roof- and head-first on Samhain in 1999</a>. He suffered a basal skull fracture after the impact at nearly 215 mph.<br />
<br />
Tracks are reviewing their safety standards following Kyle Busch’s February crash in the Daytona 300 xfinity race. He hit a concrete wall and broke his right leg and left foot.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">GLOSSARY:</span><br />
<br />
<b>Groove</b>: a favored line around the race track. Shown darker in color than the rest of the asphalt. Can change with track conditions. <br />
<b>High line</b>: the upmost part of the track. Also called the <b>upper groove</b>.<br />
<b>Low line</b>: the lowest part of the track. Also called the <b>lower groove</b>.<br />
<b>Middle line</b>: the middle part of the track. Also called the <b>middle groove</b>. This is used commonly at tracks with progressive banking and restrictor plates, this is called endless racing.<br />
<b>Grey area</b>: the part of the track not in the groove. Commonly called <b>the marbles</b>. jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-25363770842080183632015-03-19T18:41:00.000-04:002015-03-19T18:41:46.362-04:00Durst ruled out as possible suspect in missing N.C. State student case<span style="font-size: x-large;">Affluent man arrested for murder in other parts of US ruled out as suspect in Raleigh missing persons case</span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
RALEIGH — Authorities in the Golden State have ruled Robert Durst out as a possible suspect in the disappearance of a North Carolina State University student.<br />
<br />
The missing co-ed had just finished her freshman year at N.C. State in 1997 when she was last seen or heard from in the San Francisco area, while trying to get more credits by taking classes at California-Berkeley. The missing co-ed was a native of Charlotte.<br />
<br />
She has been missing since June 23, 1997. Her classes at California-Berkeley were to start on June 24, 1997.<br />
<br />
<div class="copy-paste-block">
Mr. Durst, now 71, an eccentric heir to a New York
real estate fortune, lived in northern California at the time. He was
arrested this week in connection with the execution-style slaying of a
California woman nearly 15 years ago and is a also a suspect in the death of a woman in the New Orleans area. He is not expected to be charged with killing his wife in 1982.</div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<span> </span></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<span>He was acquitted of a murder 12 years ago in Texas. If convicted of the death of his platonic friend, Mr. Durst could join the hundreds of inmates on California’s death row.<br /><a name='more'></a></span></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<h2>
<span>Man arrested for breaking into Claflin women’s dormitories</span></h2>
</div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<span><br /></span></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<span>ORANGEBURG — I wonder if the idiots in Columbia will try to close Claflin College down over this, which is much more egregious than what S.C. State has done.</span></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<span><br /></span></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<span>A male student at Claflin College was arrested for breaking into numerous dormitories belonging to the women on campus.</span></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<br />The school stopped short of identifying the suspect in this case, but they say they believe they have their man.<br />
<br />
"An
investigation is ongoing and the University will prosecute the intruder
to the fullest extent of the law," said a news release.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wistv.com/story/28565636/claflin-university-police-arrest-man-suspected-of-breaking-into-womens-dorms" target="_blank">WIS News 10</a><br />
<br />
<h3>
Ex-Leland Police Office deputy pleads innocent to attempted murder, violence against women charges</h3>
<br />
CONWAY — A former deputy for the Leland (N.C.) Police Office has pleaded innocent to all charges against him.<br />
<br />
Officers from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and deputies from the Horry County Police Department jointly produced a warrant that shows that Deputy Henry Howard Hank Smith faces twenty-four (24) charges total for a wild ride he took cops from the Coastal Carolinas on:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>nine counts of attempted murder (seven counts from Brunswick County, two counts from Horry County),</li>
<li>assault by pointing a gun,</li>
<li>two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, </li>
<li>communicating threats,</li>
<li>assault,</li>
<li>seven counts of assaulting a
law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon,</li>
<li>fleeing or eluding arrest
with a motor vehicle,</li>
<li>failure to stop for a blue light, and </li>
<li>assault with a firearm.</li>
</ol>
<br />
Deputy Smith told the judge he didn't have enough time with his attorney and
wants more time before he makes the decision whether to go to trial.<br /><br />He has until April to take the plea, and plead guilty to attempted murder in Horry County.<br /><br />Each
charge holds a sentence of 20 years, which would run concurrently, so
20 years total. Those are two of five charges Deputy Smith faces from Horry County.<br /><br />However, the three lesser Horry County charges would be dropped if he takes the plea deal.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/28555151/former-leland-police-officer-pleads-not-guilty-on-attempted-murder-charges" target="_blank">WMBF 32 News</a> </div>
jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-61985831491953425842015-03-19T15:45:00.000-04:002015-03-19T15:45:04.710-04:00Thank you Thursday: rape survivors and the S.C. Democratic Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
This was the week that ordinary people became heroes in the fight to stop the spread of fascism across America.<br />
<br />
Boy, do we ever need these heroes.<br />
<br />
We’ll start chronologically with the awards.<br />
<br />
Which means we’re starting off by honoring rape victims.<br />
<br />
It was publicly announced weeks ago that an overwhelming majority of rape victims – 98% to be exact – strongly opposed what the gun lobby is trying to do. Rape victims are not willing to be the gun lobby’s political pawns – in fact, almost all of them are fighting back against them.<br />
<br />
First off, the gun lobby stuck its nose where it did not belong in this particular instance. That is very much open and shut, black and white. That’s why we’re glad that victims of sexual assault are fighting back against the gun enthusiasts in Columbia; Carson City, Nev. and 12 other state capitals. Women, because they are far more likely to be rape victims, are strongly opposed to campus carry by a 70-22 margin. They also opposed allowing guns by a 77-18 margin.<br />
<br />
And if you actually look at the poll from Texas, instead of dismissing it simply because Everytown did it, you’d notice that not one group of people support guns on collegiate campus, even if they support allowing guns in other places such as bars and restaurants. Not one.<br />
<br />
Eleven out of every 20 Republican voters oppose allowing guns on campus, as do 11 out of every 20 independents, and 11 out of every 20 gun owners.<br />
<br />
Eleven out of every 20 conservatives oppose allowing students to bring a gun to class, and 13 out of every 25 gun owners oppose, still a majority.<br />
<br />
Five out of every eight conservatives and Republicans oppose allowing guns at sporting events like college football, well aware of how rowdy the atmosphere can get. Women oppose guns at sporting events by a 75-20 margin. <br />
<br />
Forty-seven percent of all conservatives support campus carry overall, while 49% oppose. And while only 48% of conservative voters oppose allowing guns in dormitories, campus carry loses on this question to them, too: only 45% of conservatives support allowing guns in dorms.<br />
<br />
To our surprise, Republicans and conservatives actually oppose allowing guns in areas of colleges that serve alcohol by wide margins. <br />
<br />
In fact, scan the poll and the only two questions in which you find less than 50% oppose allowing campus carry is overall, and when it comes to dorms. Forty-six percent of respondents who said that both they and someone they know own a gun each said that they support and oppose campus carry overall, the only tie in this poll. These voters are the only ones to say yes to any part of campus carry at all: 48% said that they support allowing guns in dorms, while 41% said they oppose. These are the ones who also support campus carry even if the colleges have to significantly raise tuition in order to comply with such a law, and the costs to comply if such legislation passes could go up in the billions of dollars range in Texas alone should the Supreme Court overturn the Affordable Care Act, which is colloquially known as Obamacare. The ones who said they and someone they know own a gun also support campus carry even though a professor in Idaho shot himself less than two weeks after the state forced universities against their will to comply with the new – and likely unconstitutional – law.<br />
<br />
We’re sure that those in the other 13 states where these nonsensical laws are being considered would have the just about same sentiments, considering that Texas has some of the loosest gun laws in the nation.<br />
<br />
Nearly every rape survivor oppose allowing guns on campus, regardless of political affiliation.<br />
<br />
“If my rapist had a gun at school, I have no doubt I would be dead,” Landen Gambill, one of the activists working with Know Your IX, <a href="https://www.change.org/p/arizona-state-house-don-t-vote-to-allow-guns-on-college-campuses">wrote in a recent petition</a> aimed at the politicians currently debating proposed campus carry bills. “That’s why I started this petition asking legislators in these states not to allow guns on campuses and put survivors like me in even more danger.”<br />
<br />
There are numerous petitions calling on politicians and the gun lobby to stop using rape victims as their political pawns. One <a href="https://act.everytown.org/act/Know-Your-IX-Petition?source=twns_Know-Your-IX-Petition&utm_source=tw_n_&utm_medium=_s&utm_campaign=Know-Your-IX-Petition">different petition</a> from two groups, including the aforementioned Know Your IX, asks supporters to “tell lawmakers to apologize for blaming victims of sexual assault, and to stop exploiting campus sexual assault to push the gun lobby’s agenda.”<br />
<br />
From what people know about the way sexual assault operates on college campuses, given the heightened attention since Steubenville, Ohio 24 months ago, adding guns to the mix <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/01/09/1419481/concealed-weapons-not-womens-issue/">doesn’t make a lick of sense</a>. Most rapes between students takes place under the influence of alcohol and drugs and/or among people who <a href="http://www.rainn.org/statistics">already know each other</a>. It’s clear that college women will not feel comfortable at all wielding a firearm against one of their friends.<br />
<br />
Plus, there’s a lot of empirical evidence suggesting that firearms make sexual assault more deadly for victims. Access to guns <a href="http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/01/111286/access-guns-increases-risk-suicide-homicide">increases the risk of homicide and/or suicide</a> in the <a href="http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full">home</a>. And women are <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/04/1669671/colorado-guns-away-from-abusers/">seven times more likely to be shot and killed</a> by a perpetrator of sexual violence than the other way around, even when the women purchased a gun <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/29/2854511/domestic-violence-gun-background-checks/">for their own protection</a>. And keep in mind, campus rapists are people who abide by tough gun laws, which are why they are charged only with rape – and not charged with rape <i>and</i> murder. It’s extremely rare for a campus rapist to murder their victims. So, the folly that criminals don’t follow tough gun laws is just plain nonsense when it comes to this instance, and that dog just won’t hunt here.<br />
<br />
<b>That’s why <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/04/poll-finds-most-college-leaders-oppose-concealed-carry-campus">university presidents</a>, rape survivors, domestic violence survivors, <a href="http://www.palestineherald.com/news/campus-carry-gets-chilly-reception-from-ut-students/article_3b525988-b621-11e4-9eb3-dfdc0d972845.html">college students</a>, and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/01/09/1419481/concealed-weapons-not-womens-issue/">domestic violence experts</a> are all opposed to the idea of allowing concealed weapons on campus</b>. Critics have accused the gun lobby of <a href="http://www.rgj.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/03/11/nevada-gun-bill-hijacks-campus-rape-issue-view/24732663/">hijacking an important conversation</a> about campus rape to push their agenda. “<b>This is just a problematic tactic conjured up by the conservative right to use the purity of young women as a bartering chip in the ongoing gun control debate</b>,” one student at Indiana University <a href="http://www.idsnews.com/article/2015/02/a-bad-shot-in-the-dark">wrote in a recent op-ed</a>.<br />
<br />
So, to the 98% of all rape victims standing up and fighting the radical gun lobby agenda: you are one of our Thank You Thursday winners!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Back home, Nikki Haley decided that she wants to interfere in the Boeing union elections.<br />
<br />
However, labor groups are having none of it.<br />
<br />
And thankfully, the South Carolina Democratic Party is doing something productive for the first time in a long while by getting involved in the union elections to stop Haley and her radical anti-business, anti-South Carolina agenda dead in their tracks.<br />
<br />
“We’ll make sure in terms of the public perception there is equal pushback,” said party Chairman Jaime Harrison Tuesday during a conference call with reporters. “Because we know Gov. Haley is going to do everything she can to push back.”<br />
<br />
Mr. Harrison slammed the crooked Haley for demonizing unionized workers as thugs, even while the nonunion workers mooch off the hard work that unionized workers do.<br />
<br />
“These are men and women who get up for work every day,” he said.<br />
<br />
Harrison said the union vote at Boeing shouldn’t be an opportunity to
demonize the working class. Basic job protections that most Americans
enjoy today – such as not having to work on Christmas Day (December 25) – “are the results of the hard work that unions have done,” he
said.<br />
<br />
Even though the workers can choose not to join a union should the vote go against Haley and Boeing, they must accept the results. That’s the big thing about this.<br />
<br />
So, the South Carolina Democratic Party get out second and final Thank You Thursday!jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-12866272007658838462015-03-18T23:05:00.000-04:002015-03-18T23:05:22.308-04:0025 Years Ago in the States: Super Mario Bros. 3 is released<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
March 18, 1990.<br />
<br />
It was a Sunday unlike any other in the United States.<br />
<br />
More than a month after the game’s release in Canada, Super Mario Bros. 3 was released here.<br />
<br />
Among the items you are able to get: Super Leaf and the P Wing, which turn you into Raccoon Mario (Luigi); the Frog Suit, which turns you into Frog Mario (Luigi); Hammer Suit, which turns you into Hammer Mario (Luigi); the Karubi Shoe; and the item that was voted the best all-time in the Mario Series, the Tanooki Suit, which turns you into Tanooki Mario (Luigi) with the ability to turn into a statue.<br />
<br />
The Super Star and Fire Flower, the latter of which turns the player into Fiery Mario (Luigi), were revamped on the game. Upon getting the star as Super Mario (Luigi), you can flip. Upon activating the Fire Flower, Mario and Luigi are able to float for a second while shooting fireballs. <br />
<br />
I remember spending endless summer days when it was too stormy or too hot to go outside in the Clinton years playing all the way through the game, due to its unique graphics, which was unfortunately nerfed by Nintendo when they remade the game for both the Super Nintendo and the Game Boy Advance. Upside down clear pipes, clear water, nice clean Nintendo sound. All that was nerfed on the remakes.<br />
<br />
The original was the best, and still remains the best.<br />
<br />
My favorite stage of all time is a surprise to all those who may know my Mario stuff. It's World 7-3, in Pipe Land. That's because it has continuous Super Stars. There are four specific blocks in the stage with a Super Star, and you must sprint like a Dallas Cowboys rusher in order to get them, or else only a solitary coin will be in the blocks. The Super Star is crucial in order to get past Lakitu and the unhatched Spiny-es in the stage (green Spiny-es are unhatched, red and white Spiny-es are hatched).<br />
<br />
Other notable stages on this game include:<br />
<br />
World 1-1 (Grass Land): The first of 58 stages on the game. <br />
<br />
World 1-4 (Grass Land): The first auto-scroll stage in the Mario Series. Also notable as being the first stage since World 8-4 in Super Mario Bros. in which you can't go back to get anything you may have missed. <br />
<br />
Sun Stage (Desert Land): it's a desert stage where you'll have to use a Mushroom Kingdom twister in order to float for a few seconds to avoid contact with the Sun.<br />
<br />
Water Land (World 3): Water, duh. I love being in water. I wish I could swim, though.<br />
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World 4-4 (Giant Land): The only true water stage in Giant Land, a Frog Suit is almost necessary to avoid the Lakitu and the Spiny-es, the latter of which cannot be defeated by anything other than fireballs when it goes underwater. There is a secret pipe bottom left.<br />
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World 4-5 (Giant Land): Reversible Bullet Bills that turn red (Mario, Super Mario or Raccoon Mario), green (Luigi, Super Luigi, Raccoon Luigi or Frog Suit), gray (Hammer Suit or Statue), brown (Tanooki Suit), or orange (Fiery Mario or Fiery Luigi).<br />
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World 4-6 (Giant Land): The only stage in the world in which everything looks normal.<br />
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World 5-1 (Sky Land): There is a secret exit here. A Music Box awaits those who can make it.<br />
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World 5-2 (Sky Land): The only true water stage in Sky Land, but the best way is way above that. P Wing helps here.<br />
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Land-to-Sky Castle: You must enter the castle and enter a pipe in order to access the sky. It is the only castle in the whole game that does not have Boom-Boom or another enemy.<br />
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Sky Castle 2: Upside down Podobos. What the fuck? <br />
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World 5-9 (Sky Land): Fire Chomps make their first appearance here. Also, this is the first of two odd-numbered stages in the game in which the screen scrolls by itself.<br />
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Ice Land: love the ice, except when it gets on trees!<br />
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World 6-5 (Ice Land): This is the first of two levels in which a certain item is required to complete the objectives and thus, the stage. It is one of two stages in the game in which the player gets 400 on the timer, the first time since World 8-4 on Super Mario Bros. in which a player gets 400 ticks in order to complete a timed stage. It gets more hectic than children do at times.<br />
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World 6-6 (Ice Land): the first of two water stages in this world.<br />
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World 6-7 (Ice Land): The last of the odd-numbered auto-scroll stages and one that gets nerve-racking.<br />
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Ice Castle 2: The iciest castle of them all. This Boom-Boom is the easiest to beat. One hammer puts him out. <br />
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World 6-8 (Ice Land): the only spring/summer/autumn weather stage in the world.<br />
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World 6-9 (Ice Land): the last of the two water stages in the world.<br />
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Pipe Land: love the pipes.<br />
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World 7-1 (Pipe Land): This stage is notable for being the first wraparound level, meaning the only way to pass this stage is by going up.<br />
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World 7-3 (Pipe Land): see above.<br />
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World 7-4 (Pipe Land): this is the last true water stage in the game and boy it is a major letdown. However, an enemy known as Spiny Cheep-Cheep make it's only appearance before New Super Mario Bros. Wii 19 years later, in 2009. This is also the last auto-scroll stage of the game. The next true auto-scroll stage in the series is Donut Plains 2, on Super Mario World.<br />
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Pipe Castle 1: The only enemy on this stage is the boss, Boom-Boom. So, you won't have to worry about failing the objective, which is to get into an overhead gray pipe, an objective that can only be completed by Tanooki Mario (Luigi). This is the final of two stages in the game in which a certain item must be acquired to complete an objective. This stage also has the shortest amount of time given to complete it: 200 ticks.<br />
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World 7-6 (Pipe Land): The last of the wraparound stages.<br />
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World 7-7 (Pipe Land): Remember World 7-3, when the Super Star was optional? Well, here, the Super Star is actually required to complete the objectives and the stage. Otherwise, you're in deep shit with the Munchers.<br />
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World 7-8 (Pipe Land): This stage also has a bunch of Munchers, but there are also footholds, meaning that there are no required items necessary to complete the stage, although the Super Star and Hammer Suit helps. This stage is the only one in which a solitary Fire Nipper Plant will be found, guarding the exit.<br />
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World 7-9 (Pipe Land): The only stage in the land that don't have a lot of pipes. Rather, the stage is primarily tubing.<br />
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Kookie's Airship: This is notable as being the only Airship in the game that can travel faster than Mario. Also, upon defeating Kookie, King Koopa, not Princess Peach, sends Mario a letter.<br />
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Dark Land: King Koopa's lair, where his military patrols and attempts to prevent Peach from being saved.<br />
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Battleship: the only water boss stage in the game outside of Water Castle 3.<br />
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Hand Level 1: Notable for containing all of the Hammer Brother family.<br />
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World 8-1 (Dark Land): the penultimate stage in the game, it's pitch black with clear pipes. Notable for the fact that three one-up mushrooms can be found.<br />
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World 8-2 (Dark Land): the 58th and final stage. In other words, you can't collect three cards here.<br />
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Dark Castle: The final castle of the game.<br />
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Tank 2: The final battle with Boom-Boom.<br />
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King Koopa's Castle: the final stage overall on the game.<br />
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So, readers: what do you remember about this game?jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-84299467441933140262015-03-18T18:08:00.000-04:002015-03-18T18:08:10.556-04:00Man convicted of murdering Democrat strategist<span style="font-size: x-large;">33-year-old gets auto natural life in prison term; jury still deliberating on attempted murder of victim's hubby</span><br />
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RALEIGH — A 33-year-old man was convicted of murdering a Wake County Democratic Party strategist who threatened to expose a controversy involving former Representative Brad Miller (D-N.C.).<br />
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The jury went into deliberations and returned about 48 minutes later to find Jonathan Broyhill, 33, guilty of capital murder in the 23-month-old death of the 29-year-old woman. She had been stabbed in her back, chest, abdomen and face. As of this post, they were still deliberating on the charges of attempted murder and and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury stemming from the attack on the victim’s then-younger husband, who rushed in and screamed when he saw his wife’s lifeless body on the floor.<br />
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“As sure as God made little green apples, they decided that was the motive for this case, and this case became one of trying to prove that allegation,” attorney Joseph Arbour told the jury of five men and seven women.<br />
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“They stopped looking at it as an investigation and started turning it into, ‘How do we prove that allegation?’ He took money from a US congressman. He killed a young lady who had no reason to be killed. He harmed his best friend. These people were well connected, they knew a lot of people,” continued Mr. Arbour. “A decision was made very early on.”<br />
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Mr. Broyhill was immediately sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, after the state ended its campaign to seek the death penalty in the case.<br />
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<h2>
Horry County man busted for sexual abuse</h2>
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NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — A middle aged northern Horry County man was arrested for sexual abuse.<br />
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The North Myrtle Beach Police Office responded to a call of first-, second- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The three girls, all with the same parent, told the NMBPO deputies that the suspect made them commit sexual acts. According to the police report, each victim – ages 10, 13 and 15 – said “no” several times.<br />
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The victims’ mother called the NMBPO after one of them told her about the incident, which allegedly happened for several years before she disclosed it, fearing what might happen to her and her sisters. They told police that some of the acts occurred at the city park on HILL ST and at the suspect’s residence. <br />
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There is no statute of limitations on reporting alleged criminal sexual conduct in South Carolina.<br />
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Bryan Furman, 54, was arrested by the North Myrtle Beach Police Office and charged with three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.<br />
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He is at the J. Reuben Detention Center in Conway.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/28551457/north-myrtle-beach-man-charged-after-alleged-sexual-abuse-police-say" target="_blank">WMBF 32 News</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-146446705377227812015-03-18T13:21:00.000-04:002015-03-18T13:21:10.371-04:00Windows 10 mobile requirements unveiled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eRufqt7ZyRw/VQmuZN2rOiI/AAAAAAAAHmY/RUN4FUoNoTY/s1600/Windows-10-Phone-Hardware-Requirements-620x312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eRufqt7ZyRw/VQmuZN2rOiI/AAAAAAAAHmY/RUN4FUoNoTY/s1600/Windows-10-Phone-Hardware-Requirements-620x312.jpg" height="201" width="400" /></a></div>
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REDMOND, Wash. — Early this morning, Microsoft released the requirements for Windows 10.<br />
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There are a few changes, but all in all, nothing that is any different from Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8.<br />
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Without further ado, here are the requirements:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Windows 10 mobile or Windows 10 for phones</span><br />
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<ul>
<li>The firmware must be Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) 2.3.1 with secure boot enabled.</li>
<li>The random access memory (RAM) must be at least 512 megabytes.</li>
<li>The storage must be at least four gigabytes, or at least eight gigabytes sans an SD card. A Micro SD card or a standard SD card will be required for devices that have less than eight gigabytes of space in order to support any updates.</li>
<li>The graphics must be DirectX 9.</li>
<li>The following buttons are required on a phone in order to upgrade: the volume button, the Power On/Off button, the back button, the Windows start button and the search button. The camera button is not required for the updates, but that button is recommended for low-end devices.</li>
<li>The screen size <b>cannot be any <u>lower than 2.995 inches</u> and cannot be any <u>higher than 7.994 inches</u></b>.</li>
<li>While all devices will have high definition imagery built-in, the device must have at least two gigabytes of RAM to get full high definition resolution.</li>
</ul>
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Requirements for desktops, notebooks, netbooks, and larger tablets are below the fold.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Windows 10 for desktops</span><br />
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<ul>
<li>AMD and Intel are back as Microsoft’s premier chipmakers, and this time, they have a third competitor: Qualcomm.</li>
<li>Intel is the only chipmaker that will have LTE-enabled chips with the Atom x3, unfortunately.</li>
<li>The memory is the same as it was for Windows 8: one gigabyte for 32-bit systems, two gigabytes for 64-bit systems.</li>
<li>There must be at least 16 gigabytes of storage for a 32-bit download, and 20 gigabytes for a 64-bit download.</li>
<li>Windows 10 was originally announced as being free only for Windows 7 and 8.1 devices. Now, the Windows 10 upgrade will be free for those running any operating system that has not yet reached its end-of-life: Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1.</li>
<li>Those who have pirated copies of Windows Vista, 8 and 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. (via CNet)</li>
<li>Power and audio are required for non-touchscreen devices. Everything else is optional.</li>
<li>For devices that have a detachable keyboard: power, audio, wireless, touch and volume buttons are all required. Two-fingered touch must also be human interface device (HID) compliant. Connectors, sensors, start, rotation lock and notifications are all optional.</li>
<li>The firmware must be Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) 2.3.1 with secure boot enabled.</li>
<li>The graphics must be DirectX 9.</li>
<li>The screen size must be a minimum of seven inches for the Pro version, eight for the consumer version of Windows 10 for desktops.</li>
<li>The minimum resolution for Windows 10 for desktops must be 800 by 600 pixels.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://wmpoweruser.com/microsoft-reveals-minimum-hardware-requirements-for-windows-10-for-phones/" target="_blank">WMPowerUser</a><br />
<a href="http://microsoft-news.com/windows-10-desktop-minimum-hardware-requirements-revealed/" target="_blank">WMPowerUser (2)</a>jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089622219812482533.post-30490826476983599952015-03-18T00:24:00.000-04:002015-03-18T00:24:51.092-04:00T-Mobile about to light up the LTE in Barnwell County?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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BARNWELL — If you have been in the City of Barnwell on an LTE-capable T-Mobile or MetroPCS smartphone lately, you noticed that you are able to receive calls and texts, but not go online or on apps.<br />
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On my way to reschedule an appointment at Polly Best Center, I noticed that I had signal, but data was not on.<br />
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I consulted with T-Mobile on Twitter. This is the exchange I had with them. I will do a new post should additional convo be added.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/TMobile">@TMobile</a> I was in Barnwell, S.C. earlier. While I got a signal, I wasn't able to access my data. Does this have to do with the LTE upgrade?<br />
— Jovan (@CSRA_prsn) <a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn/status/577579185201393664">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn">@CSRA_prsn</a> The network update could be impacting the current signal in Barnwell. When you were there, did you try restarting your... 1/2<br />
— T-Mobile USA (@TMobileHelp) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobileHelp/status/577591022902984704">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/TMobileHelp">@TMobileHelp</a> yes. I did. I restarted it while I was parked across from the hospital on REYNOLDS RD.<br />
— Jovan (@CSRA_prsn) <a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn/status/577591312200810496">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn">@CSRA_prsn</a> You should have had 2G signal while you were there so you should have had data access. Are you still in that area for... 1/2<br />
— T-Mobile USA (@TMobileHelp) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobileHelp/status/577606023915114496">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn">@CSRA_prsn</a> ...further troubleshooting? *A_M 2/2<br />
— T-Mobile USA (@TMobileHelp) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobileHelp/status/577606027367055360">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/TMobileHelp">@TMobileHelp</a> not now. I'm in Williston, about 11 miles away. 2G data is ok here.<br />
— Jovan (@CSRA_prsn) <a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn/status/577622711746297856">March 17, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/CSRA_prsn">@CSRA_prsn</a> If you are in that area again, please contact us while you are there so we can troubleshoot. Thank you! *A_M<br />
— T-Mobile USA (@TMobileHelp) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobileHelp/status/577641519793987585">March 17, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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For the better part of six months, Sensorly has detected LTE signals lighting up US Route 278, but mainly between Williston and North Augusta in Aiken County. Therefore, the LTE switchover is complete and customers on MetroPCS and/or T-Mobile should not have a problem getting LTE signals anywhere along US 278 from Williston west to Thomson, Ga.<br />
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However, this is the first time since the upgrades were announced that possible LTE has been detected from the US 278/SC 39 intersection to the east through Barnwell. Most of US 278 east from Williston to Hampton is literally useless for T-Mobile and MetroPCS at the moment.<br />
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However, that is nowhere near as atrocious as <b>the worst highway in Aiken County, US Route 78</b>, between Montmorenci and Williston, and US 78 between Crane/Dixie-Narco and Denmark.<br />
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The switchover of 2G to 4G/LTE is expected to be completed by June 27. Stay tuned here for any changes in local LTE coverage.jovanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149776502916778975noreply@blogger.com0