truesee's Blog

http://www.wreg.com/sns-nutrition-food-porn,0,878300.photogallery

Clinton: Rush Limbaugh Comment “Doesn’t Make Any Sense”

April 17, 2010 5:02 PM

ABC NEWS

In my EXCLUSIVE “This Week” interview, former President Bill Clinton told me Rush Limbaugh’s assertion that Clinton had “set the stage for violence in this country” and that “any acts of future violence” would be on Clinton’s shoulders, “doesn’t make any sense”. 

Clinton marked the upcoming 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on Friday with a major speech to the Center for American Progress, in which he warned that “the words we use really do matter, because there's this vast echo chamber, and they go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the connected and the unhinged alike.”

Conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh took to the air, Friday, after the speech and said that Clinton’s remarks, which drew parallels between the anti-government sentiment in the mid-90s and present-day anti-government expressions, “just gave the kooks out there an excuse to be violent.”

Responding directly to Limbaugh, Clinton told me, “The only point I tried to make was that we ought to have a lot of political dissent  -- a lot of political argument.  Nobody is right all the time.  But we also have to take responsibility for the possible consequences of what we say. “ 

One of those consequences, Clinton said, was threats against public officials.  “We shouldn't demonize the government or its public employees or its elected officials.  We can disagree with them.  We can harshly criticize them.  But when we turn them into an object of demonization, you know, you -- you increase the number of threats.”

Clinton added, “I worry about these threats against the president and the Congress.  And I worry about more careless language even against -- some of which we've seen against the Republican governor in New Jersey, Governor Christie.”   A recently leaked memo from a New Jersey teachers union contained a joke suggesting that Governor Christie should die. 

“I just think we all have to be careful.  We ought to remember after Oklahoma City, we learned something about the difference in disagreement and demonization,”  Clinton said. 

Tune in to “This Week” on Sunday to watch the complete interview, in which I ask the former President about his Clinton Global Initiative University, whether there ought to be a Clinton on the Supreme Court, the mistakes he made as President on financial regulation and his advice on the Middle East peace process.  Former President Bill Clinton – only on “This Week”.
 
WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/04/clinton-rush-limbaugh-comment-doesnt-make-any-sense.html 

TAPPER:  You gave a speech on Friday talking about -- on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing that's coming up.  How public officials have a responsibility to be careful with their words.  This prompted a response from -- from Rush Limbaugh: 
 "You have just set the stage for violence in this country.  Any future acts of violence are on your shoulders, Mr. Clinton." 
Do you have any response?

CLINTON:  Doesn't make any sense. The only point I tried to make was that we ought to have a lot of political dissent  -- a lot of political argument.  Nobody is right all the time.  But we also have to take responsibility for the possible consequences of what we say. 

And we shouldn't demonize the government or its public employees or its elected officials.  We can disagree with them.  We can harshly criticize them.  But when we turn them into an object of demonization, you know, you -- you increase the number of threats.

I worry about these threats against the president and the Congress.  And I worry about more careless language even against -- some of which we've seen against the Republican governor in New Jersey, Governor Christie.   I just think we all have to be careful.  We ought to remember after Oklahoma City, we learned something about the difference in disagreement and demonization.

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2010/04/sarah_palins_midwest_common_se_2.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/15/AR2010041502434.html?nav%3Dhcmodule&sub=AR

Bill Clinton says that President Obama should consider someone younger to fill the recently vacated Supreme Court post -- not his wife, Hillary Clinton.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have both held big jobs in their lives, but the ex-president said Sunday that Supreme Court justice shouldn't be among them - they're too old.

"I'd like to see him put someone in there, late 40s, early 50s, on the court, and someone with a lot of energy for the job," the 63-year-old Clinton told ABC's "This Week" when asked about President Obama's upcoming replacement of Justice John Paul Stevens.

Since Stevens, 90, announced his retirement, both Clintons have been mentioned as possible - albeit long-shot - nominees to the high court. 

The former president predicted that no matter whom Obama nominates, he should expect a fight from Senate Republicans.

But the ex-president said he and his wife, Secretary of State Clinton - who met at Yale Law School in the early 1970s - would counsel the president against picking either of them.

"She would be good at it," Clinton said of his wife, 62, adding that at "one point in her life, she might [have] been interested."

"But she's like me, you know, we're kind of doers," Clinton said. "I think if she were asked, she would advise the President to appoint some 10, 15 years younger." 

As for himself, "I'm already 63-years-old," said Clinton, who neglected to mention that his law license was suspended for five years after he left office as part of a settlement over the Monica Lewinsky affair.

"I hope I live to be 90," he said. "I hope I'm just as healthy as Justice Stevens is. But it's not predictable." 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/04/18/2010-04-18_bill_clinton_hillary_and_i_are_too_old_to_be_appointed_to_the_supreme_court.html#ixzz0lUV8sOoI

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/18/goldman-sachs-bonuses-ban_n_542006.html

Pelosi: Two 'pillars' down, one more to go in passing Obama 'blueprint'

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said the Democrats are one bill away from completing President Barack Obama’s “blueprint for American prosperity.”

“We have passed two of the three pillars in the historic healthcare and education reform and are working towards a clean energy and climate agenda in Congress,” Pelosi said in her remarks to the California Democratic Party state convention in Los Angeles on Saturday. “And essential to prosperity for middle-income Americans is reining in Wall Street.”

“The House has passed Wall Street reform, and working with our colleagues in the Senate, we will ensure that never again will those who are reckless on Wall Street make people jobless on Main Street,” she said.

During her speech, Pelosi singled out several members of the California delegation who were in attendance. “We must reelect and retain the extraordinary leadership of my colleagues in Congress who are here today,” she said.

After returning from the spring recess, House Dems moved into a light schedule with short weeks and relatively easy votes over the next seven weeks to smooth the way for campaign season.

And just hours before completing work for 2009, Pelosi summoned reporters to her office and declared that she was "in campaign mode."

On Saturday, she encouraged those at her state's Democratic convention to help Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s (D-Calif.) reelection campaign, according to the Orange County Register. Sanchez is expected to face a strong challenge from well-funded state Assemblyman Van Tran (R).

Pelosi also praised Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) for being “fabulous.”

Boxer is a “champion for creating jobs, protecting our environment, and educating our children, someone whom it is our top priority to re-elect this year,” Pelosi said.

The three-term senator is expected to face a tough campaign this cycle. President Barack Obama will be in Los Angeles on Monday for a star-studded fundraiser to boost Boxer's campaign.

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/04/oregon_supreme_court_says_ok_t.html

Pedophile, 100, gets more prison time

Lou Michel

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Updated: April 16, 2010, 12:24 pm
Published: April 16, 2010, 2:28 pm

Theodore A. Sypnier, the convicted 100-year-old pedophile, has been sentenced to two more years in prison for violating his parole, state parole officials announced today.

Sypnier will be almost 103 years old by the time he completes his latest incarceration for refusing to attend sex offender classes. 

Sypnier was released last fall to an East Side halfway house after serving 18 months in prison for the same type of parole violation.

A parole revocation specialist recommend to a judge in March that Sypnier finish out most of his parole behind bars.

"I don't want to go back. I'd rather die," a weeping Sypnier told The Buffalo News at that time.

The state Parole Board has now unanimously decided to impose the maximum punishment recommended at the hearing, according to Carole Claren-Weaver, a state parole spokeswoman. 

"I am very happy that the authorities are becoming more enlightened about how sex offenders are incorrigible and will never change, regardless of their age," said Martha Juchnowski, the 58-year-old daughter of Sypnier, who says her father molested her and other neighborhood girls when they lived in Riverside. 

Sypnier, whom authorities say sexually molested children for decades in Buffalo and later in the Town of Tonawanda, was released from prison in 2008, after he was arrested in 1999 and convicted of sexually inappropriate behavior with two young sisters.

The parole portion of Sypnier's sentence will not be completed until May 16, 2012. So after completing his 24 months in prison, parole officials still will have additional time to supervise him upon his release.

But Sypnier's victims and state lawmakers have said that he should be recommended for civil confinement prior to the completion of his latest prison sentence. In order for that to happen, the state's Office of Mental Health would have to determine he has a mental abnormality through a review by psychiatric professionals.

If that proved to be the case, the Office of Mental Health would then forward the findings to the state Attorney General's Office, which has the power to file a civil lawsuit seeking confinement.

A trial would eventually be held to determine if Sypnier required confinement.

At 100, Theodore Sypnier is New York state's oldest registered sex offender 

                  LINK TO PREVIOUS STORY

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/12/10/2009-12-10_100yearold_sex_offender_to_be_released_.html#ixzz0lPHxgwfW

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/16/goldman-sachs-fraud-expla_n_540938.html

Former President Clinton: Tea Party OK, but anti-Obama rage may inspire another Oklahoma bombing

Richard Sisk
Daily News Washington Bureau

 

Originally Published:Friday, April 16th 2010, 3:40 PM
Updated: Friday, April 16th 2010, 5:32 PM

 

Waugh/AP

It's been 15 years since the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed by extremist Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City on April 19, 2005...

Edmonds/AP...but former President Clinton warns a similar attack could be sparked by fringe groups angry at the current administration.

WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton warned Friday that the anti-government fringe could provoke the kind of political extremism that preceded the Oklahoma City bombing.

"Before the bombing occurred, there was a sort of fever" in the political dialogue that was in ways similar in content to the anger currently boiling up on talk radio and on the Internet, Clinton said at a forum on the 15th anniversary of the attack by Timothy McVeigh that killed 168.

"The fabric of American life had been unraveling" in 1995 amid high unemployment, Clinton said. 

"The structure of the Cold War -- the clear bipolar world -- was coming to an end," Clinton said. "There were more and more people having trouble figuring out where they fit in. It is true that we see some of that today."

Clinton said people have the right "to advocate whatever the livin' Sam Hill they want to advocate" but they must observe "the basic line dividing criticism from violence or its advocacy."

The enthusiasm for the current Tea Party movement was essentially within bounds, Clinton said.

"This Tea Party movement can be a healthy thing if they are making us justify every dollar of taxes we raise and every dollar of money we've spent," Clinton said.

"But when you get mad, sometimes you end up producing the exact opposite result of what you say you are for." 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/04/16/2010-04-16_former_president_clinton_warns_tea_party_could_feed_same_extremism_that_led_to_o.html#ixzz0lJh8YAMT

Maple Shade school ends project after complaints about cross-dressing request

April 15, 2010, 5:27AM

MAPLE SHADE -- A teacher's explanation to parents of a women's history project planned for her third-graders contained these words: "If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt."

That didn't stop a parent and a blogger from complaining that little boys were being asked to cross-dress as part of the "gay agenda." From there, the Maude Wilkins School's project about the evolution of women's clothing quickly took on a life of its own — and now it's been called off completely.

"In hindsight," Superintendent Michael Livengood said Wednesday, "maybe a different activity could have been chosen that was a little bit more relevant to history."

It's the second time in six months that a New Jersey school program has attracted wide attention for something officials say was planned innocently. About 70 protesters visited a Burlington County school in October, upset about a song in which students praised President Obama.

In both cases, administrators said, the ensuing uproar was due to blogs that spread the word but got the intent wrong.

The latest saga began this month when teacher Tonya Uibel sent a letter home with her pupils announcing that all third-graders at Maude Wilkins were required to participate in a Women's History Month project examining how women's fashion has changed over time.

The letter said, in part: "If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt, as there are many time periods where women wore jeans, pants and trousers. However, each child must be able to express what time period their outfit is from. Most of all, your child should have fun creating their outfit and learning about how women's clothing has changed!"

Janine Giandomenico, a mother of a boy in the class and a frequent user of online social networks, posted a complaint on Facebook. By Monday, her concerns had worked their way to Warner Todd Huston, an opinion writer and editor of the Publius' Forum site.

He skewered the school and suggested that the timing of the event, scheduled for Friday, was designed to coincide with a national "Day of Silence" to protest harassment of gays.

"Pushing the gay agenda while feminizing our young boys through a cross-dressing day? This isn't your parent's grade school celebration, for sure," he wrote.

On Monday, as the Web traffic swelled and national media outlets picked up on the story, principal Beth Norcia decided to cancel the fashion show. She wrote in a new letter to parents that instead, students would draw how women's fashion had evolved.

One third-grader, Elizabeth Heisler, said as school let out Wednesday that none of her classmates had seemed confused about whether boys were supposed to wear dresses. The cancellation of the fashion show means she doesn't get to wear her red and black "can-can" dress to school on Friday.

The episode confounded her mother, Andrea Heisler.

"I would never think my son was going to come to school in an 1800s dress and petticoat," she said.

Livengood, who leads the Maple Shade Township school district, acknowledged that the initial letter could be misunderstood.

But he said the school wasn't trying to make anyone uncomfortable — and wasn't even aware of the gay rights protests scheduled the same day.

"It's unbelievable to me that the wording of a letter to a group of third-graders has caused this," he said. "Do they really think that our little group of third-grade teachers has conspired to try to get boys to cross-dress?"

The district hasn't heard complaints from any parents besides Giandomenico, Livengood said.

She told The Associated Press via Facebook message that she would be available for an interview, but has not responded to subsequent requests. On her Twitter account, she had this to say: "WE WON-CANCELLED! THANKS 4 YR SUPPORT!"

Still, Livengood said, he's learned a lesson — to make sure communications from teachers to parents are reviewed before they go out.

Burglary suspect found dangling from ventilation system says he was playing hide-and-seek

Associated Press

9:02 p.m. EDT

April 15, 2010

NORTH EAST, Md. (AP) — A burglary suspect came up with a creative explanation after he was found dangling from the ventilation system of a Maryland convenience store. He told police he was playing hide-and-seek.

Cecil County sheriff's deputies said the owner of a BP convenience store in North East was opening up Wednesday morning when he spotted a pair of feet dangling from a duct. Deputies responded and freed a 20-year-old man.

Deputies said the man removed a ventilation cover and crawled through the vent before getting stuck and setting off a fire extinguisher that sprayed powder all over the store.

The man told deputies he was playing hide-and-seek on the roof with other adults and decided to hide in the ventilation system. He said the other players couldn't figure out where he was and stopped looking for him.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002529-503544.html?tag=pop

Will the Steelers entertain trade offers for Ben Roethlisberger?

Steelers leave door open to trading Roethlisberger.
SportingNews

The most telling nugget from Thursday’s press conference by Steelers president Art Rooney came not from anything he said in his prepared remarks, but in response to a question regarding whether there’s any truth to the notion that the team is willing to trade quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"We don’t talk about trades in advance," Rooney said. "That’s been a consistent policy, and I think that’s the way we’ll proceed. The only thing I’ll add is at this point we have not discussed a trade with any other club." 

The Steelers, based on Rooney’s remarks, are occupying the position that Pennsylvania’s other NFL franchise assumed after the 2010 season. They will not say that their starting quarterback is on the block, they will not say that he isn’t, and they will wait for the phone to ring.

It makes sense. Last week’s Santonio Holmes fire sale, which arose when the Steelers called around the league in an effort to find an immediate trade partner, occurred when the team initiated the process. This time around, the Steelers will sit back and see whether anyone makes an offer between now and the draft, which launches a week from today. 

And an offer could be coming. Earlier today, a non-Steelers team source told me that potentially interested teams already are comparing notes in an effort to determine whether Roethlisberger can be had.

Some say that the Steelers would trade Roethlisberger only if they receive an offer that "blows them away." That’s the same thing, however, that many were saying about the Eagles and Donovan McNabb, before the Eagles shipped McNabb within the division for something far less than a Herschel Walker-style bounty.

Given that the draft launches in seven days—and Rooney has said that discipline won’t be imposed against Roethlisberger until the week after the draft at the earliest—it’s hardly a stretch to conclude that the one of the true purposes of today’s press conference was to open the bidding without sacrificing any leverage. Though at a certain level it seems like a silly proposition, a sophisticated negotiator recognizes the power of not being the party to make the first move.

The lack of a salary cap makes it easy for the Steelers to make a move. No bonus acceleration would apply, and the new team would have no obligation to write a large bonus check in exchange for a six-year commitment that includes, according to NFLPA records, base salaries of $8.05 million in 2010, $11.6 million in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and $12.1 million in 2015. 

Then there’s the question of discipline. For now, it appears that the Steelers will, in coordination with the league, levy a suspension for conduct detrimental at some point after the draft. But if he’s traded prior to or during the draft, the Steelers would no longer have jurisdiction over him. If Roethlisberger is traded, the league would then be acting alon

Though it’s possible that the Steelers don’t feel the same sense of urgency to move Roethlisberger that they experienced over the weekend with Holmes, it’s clear that he’s available. If he wasn’t, Rooney would have said so with the kind of plain, blunt manner in which many Pittsburghers prefer to communicate. Rooney said nothing to dispel the suggestion that Roethlisberger might not be back, so it’s fair to wonder whether Roethlisberger will end up heading to a new NFL city in the not-too-distant future.

So who would be interested? The Bills, Jaguars, Broncos, Raiders, Panthers and every team in the NFC West should be studying tape and deciding whether to get in the bidding. Given that he’s five years younger than McNabb, under contract for six years, and sufficiently scared to swear off barhopping and VIP rooms for at least seven years, it would be easy to justify giving up a first-round pick for a very good player who has been thoroughly humiliated and humbled.

Unless the Steelers want substantially more, it’s not all that crazy to conclude that, for a first-round pick, a deal could be done.