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When you've won five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles — all consecutively — you become the odds-on favorite to win another.
Add to those credentials that Jimmie Johnson tops the standings heading into the regular season's final seven races. Johnson's lead ballooned to 56 points on Sunday, a record since the point-per-position system was introduced in 2011.
Effectively, his lead is zero. Johnson has four victories. So does sixth-ranked Matt Kenseth.
If the standings reset occurred today, Johnson and Kenseth — also a former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion — would enter the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in a 2,012 point dead heat. Each top-10 Chase qualifier receives a base of 2,000 points after Richmond's Sept. 7 event with three bonus points added per victory.
Johnson and Kenseth are virtual locks to qualify for the Chase, 175 and 55 points, respectively, ahead of the current 11th-place driver Martin Truex Jr. So, too, are the remainder of the top seven that include Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.
Only Bowyer and Earnhardt are winless among the group.
From there, it gets interesting; very, very interesting.
Eighth through 11th positions are separated by 24 points. From 10th through 14th, the margin is seven markers. Twentieth place — Paul Menard — is just 36 points out of the top 10.
Sunday's New Hampshire race again produced "comers" and "goers."
Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski righted the Penske Racing ship, at least for a week, using a fourth-place finish to vault from 13th to ninth. He is joined in the top 10 by Kahne, who gained two positions.
The losers were former champions Kurt Busch, ninth to 14th and Tony Stewart, 10th to 13th.
They say there are no guarantees in stock car racing.
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup regular season certainly is proof of that.
Burton rallies, believes chase berth in future
No one questions Jeff Burton's talent or commitment. The 46-year-old Virginian has won 21 times over 20 full seasons competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, finishing among the top 10 in the standings on eight occasions.
He placed third in points in 2000, capping a four-season run of top-five championship results. Burton's most recent success in his current ride, the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, came between 2006 and 2010 when the veteran qualified for the Chase four times.
Then, disappointment. Burton ranked 20th and 19th the past two years and appeared destined for a re-run this season, flipping in and out of the top 20. Conversely, both teammates, Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard, have held positions in the top 10 in 2013. So has Kurt Busch's Furniture Row Racing, which draws technical assistance from the Childress organization.
On Sunday, the Burton of yesteryear — a four-time New Hampshire Motor Speedway winner — reappeared. Burton ran at the front of the field for most of the afternoon to finish third for his best performance on a non-restrictor plate track since a second-place effort at Dover in the fall of 2010. He moved from 21st in the standings to 17th, matching a season-high ranking.
It gives Burton Chase Wild Card eligibility but the competitor has higher goals. With seven races remaining before the Chase lineup is set, Burton is only 25 points out of the top 10.
Burton believes Sunday's performance is indicative of how his team will run as it continues to settle in with freshman Sprint Cup crew chief Luke Lambert and the many new faces that were added to the team in 2013.
"We have been running a lot better the last two months," said Burton. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we are the class of the field but we are definitely making progress and we feel like we are starting to build on something, and we understand what we're looking for now.
"And we don't think we are out of the Chase. I know everybody else in the world does, but we don't. We feel like we can still do it."
Burton has victories at two of the final regular-season tracks — at Richmond in 1998 and Bristol in 2008.
Teams savor 'extra' week
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will scatter to the four winds last week and enjoy their last break until the 2013 season concludes Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
There will be no vacation, however, for their teams as they prepare for one of the summer's signature races, the July 28 Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Bigmachinerecords.com. The 400-mile event marks the 20th season the NASCAR Sprint Cup has competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It likewise signals the beginning of ESPN/ABC television coverage of the season's remaining 17 races including the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ESPN, IMS Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio will air the Indianapolis event with live broadcasts beginning at 12 p.m. CT.
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and current points leader Jimmie Johnson is the defending Brickyard 400 winner. Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon are the co-record holders at Indianapolis with four victories apiece.
With the battle for Chase eligibility at a boil, the Indianapolis race can be seen as pivotal. Five champions — Johnson, Gordon, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett — have won at the Brickyard in at least one of their championship seasons. NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, including NASCAR Hall of Fame member Dale Earnhardt and 2014 inductee Jarrett, have won 15 of 19 races at Indy.
Eight of among the current top 10 vying for a post-season berth have yet to win at Indianapolis — Johnson and Kevin Harvick being the exceptions.
Handicapping Remainder Of Race To The Chase
Statistically speaking, it'll be a wildly entertaining run to Richmond, where the 12 drivers will crowned as contenders for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
Who will place his or her name among those 12 drivers — that's the question. Let's take a look at the statistics over the remaining seven races to cull some of the favorites.
Jimmie Johnson, points leader: It's tough to find a scenario where he doesn't make the Chase, either as a likely top-10 driver, or a Wild Card winner. Even still, he has little to worry about. He owns the top driver rating at the next seven race tracks, with a 101.6. He also has the top average running position (11.1) and the best percentage of laps in the top 15 (73.0%).
Tony Stewart, 13th: Currently, he's in a Wild Card spot. But looking at the upcoming allotment of races, figure on him entering — and staying — in the top 10. He has the third-best driver rating (97.7) to go along with 17 wins and 103 top-10 finishes at the next seven tracks.
Jeff Gordon, 12th: Bad luck has followed Gordon around for much of this season, but count on a swing towards positivity between now and the start of the Chase. With 28 wins, 101 top fives, 149 top 10s, an average running position of 12.0 and a Driver Rating of 97.6, the four-time champion boasts some of the top stats at the next seven tracks.
Kurt Busch, 14th: Busch, whose 31st-place finish at New Hampshire belied his actual performance (he had a driver rating of 111.2), took a big hit in the points last Sunday. But there shouldn't be much panic from the Furniture Row Racing camp. Busch has 13 wins (fourth-most) and a Driver Rating of 91.6 at the upcoming seven tracks.
No. 55 speeds to owners chase
In the nine-year history of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the driver champion drove for the owner of car that won that season's owner championship. All that might change this season.
If the Chase started today, the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota would make NASCAR's "postseason" as the second Wild Card thanks to Brian Vickers' win on Sunday at New Hampshire.
The victory snuck the No. 55 ahead of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, and into a prime Wild Card spot. The No. 55 is 13th in owner points, two points ahead of the No. 14, which also has one victory. Currently, the No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota holds the first Wild Card spot, thanks to its win at Sonoma and it's standings position of 11th.
As far as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is concerned, it's a supreme rarity to have a split driver-owner championship. It's only happened twice. In 1954, Lee Petty won the driver's championship, but Herb Thomas won the owner's title. In 1963, Joe Weatherly won the driver's championship, with the Wood Brothers capturing owner honors.
"One of the very first things we talked about was racing for an owner's championship," said Ty Norris, executive vice president and general manager of Michael Waltrip Racing. "Let's shake up the system. We'll have multiple drivers but if we can win some races and be in a situation where we can run for an owner's championship, that can be just as remarkable as running for a driver's championship. So our team has rallied around that. … It's something that we are very aware of."
The rules for the owner championship are the same as the driver's championship. The top-10 cars in owner points are locked into Chase, with the two cars from 11th-20th with the most wins earning Wild Card berths.
Round 3: Dash4Cash
The Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash (#Dash4Cash) has reached its third round in which NASCAR Nationwide Series points eligible drivers clash to earn $100,000 bonuses for their finishes. Drivers and fans alike have boasted how successful the program has been in creating an intense race-within-a-race for the extra cash in its first two rounds and that enthusiasm should carry over this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
Elliott Sadler banked the first round of Dash 4 Cash in Daytona with a third-place finish. Austin Dillon won the D4C $100,000 bonus with a third-place finish at New Hampshire last weekend.
With winning the award Dillon automatically qualifies for the next payout this Sunday at Chicagoland. He will compete against Brian Vickers, Brian Scott and Michael Annett for the bonus.
Of the four competing, Dillon has the best average finish at Chicago with a 4.5.
Championship contenders clash
Nothing bodes better for great action than a little controversy among title contenders. Regan Smith and Elliott Sadler have some unfinished business heading into Chicagoland following some tough racing this past weekend.
Championship standings leader Smith and defending race winner Sadler tangled on track in New Hampshire this past weekend. Frustrations and tempers were high following the incident and Sadler vowed in post-race remarks that Smith would not win the championship at season's end. Smith currently holds a 24-point lead over Sadler, who is in fifth.
Smith will have more than a smoldering Sadler on his bumper. He also must contend with the other eight drivers in the top 10 in the standings nipping at No. 7 Chevrolet's quarter panels. Smith's points lead had grown to 58 points over second heading into Road America, just four races ago. Since then it has dwindled to five points over second-place Sam Hornish Jr. But what is even more interesting is 10th-place Parker Kligerman is only 69 points back. Smith will have to be on his game the remainder of the season to hold his lead.
If Smith's past is any indication of how he will do this weekend at Chicago, his pursuers should enter the race with optimism. The standings leader has made three series starts at Chicago posting an average finish of 31.3.
Youth movement continues to shine
They are not able to rent a car on their own or even register for military service, but they sure can compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Erik Jones and Chase Elliott both have collected top-five finishes and are yet to finish outside the top 10 in seven combined starts between the two 17 year-olds this season.
Jones was offered a ride by Kyle Busch after the two competed against each other in the historic Snow Ball Derby for Late Models at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. Jones beat Busch in the 2012 event and Busch decided to give Jones an opportunity to compete in one of his trucks and the youngster has made the most of it in his first three starts.
Jones posted a pair of ninth-place finishes at Martinsville and Rockingham before pulling off his best finish to date, running second to Timothy Peters last weekend at Iowa Speedway.
Elliott is showing the consistency of a veteran despite only making four starts in the series. Elliott has yet to finish outside the top-10 in all four starts and has yet to finish lower than sixth place in all of his appearances this season. His fifth-place showing at Iowa was his third consecutive top-five finish.
The future looks bright for both drivers. Jones is next scheduled to drive for KBM when the series returns to Iowa in September, while Elliott will climb back in his truck at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.
Buescher appears to have hit stride
Despite a rough start to the 2103 season, the defending NASCAR Camping World Truck champion seems to have hit his stride. Buescher has re-entered the title conversation after his recent string of top-10 finishes.
After coming home second in a NASCAR Nationwide Series car at Daytona earlier this month, the 2012 champion backed that run up at Iowa leading laps and finishing a solid third for his third consecutive run at the front of the pack.
His recent string of solid finishes has helped the Plano, Texas native move from sixth to third in the standings, 40 points behind current leader Matt Crafton, but just two points behind second-place Jeb Burton.
Buescher is vowing to become the first driver to score back-to-back championships in the series. Three drivers have won multiple titles since the series began in 1995. Ron Hornaday Jr. leads all drivers with four titles while Jack Sprague has three and Todd Bodine counts two.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.
The spotlight will be on the .5-mile Eldora Speedway in Ohio Wednesday as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series becomes NASCAR's first national series to compete on a dirt surface since 1970. Points-eligible drivers will have a pair of challenges: some competing on a clay track for the first time and all against a number of "ringers" who make their living on such tracks. … Among anticipated "one-timers" is Scott Bloomquist, a member of the National Dirt Track Hall of Fame with more than 500 victories in a lengthy career. Wednesday's 1-800-CARCASH Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime's The Profit also will draw NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors Dave Blaney, Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader; 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck champion and current NASCAR Nationwide championship contender Austin Dillon and Tracy Hines, a former U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown and sprint car champion.
Westbound swing closes for NCTS
The annual western swing for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will conclude this Wednesday, July 17 at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Reigning series champion D.J. Kennington is also the defending winner of the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 presented by Bayer CropScience, which will be contested just four days after the trip began in British Columbia.
NASCAR Next driver Cameron Hayley — who is competing for the championship in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West — has joined the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for the two-race western trip as a teammate to Kennington. A native of Calgary, B.C., Hayley made his Canadian Tire Series debut at Motorplex Speedway in his home province on July 13 and finished seventh.
The master of Motorplex, Scott Steckly drove to Victory Lane for the third time in the last four events at the half-mile oval. In other NACAR regional touring series action from the past weekend, defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby made it two-in-a-row at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a victory in the Town Fair Tire 100 while NASCAR Next and Rev Racing driver Daniel Suárez captured his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East checkered flag in the NAPA 150 at Columbus Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the only touring division in action this week, but there will be plenty of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series competition on tap across North America. NASCAR Next driver Ryan Preece has a weekend tripleheader scheduled between Thompson International Speedway, Stafford Motor Speedway and Riverhead Raceway.


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How Healing Reign Became a Ministry for
Helping Alcoholics and Addicts
This ministry began through Friendship Baptist Church which both Carolyn and Diane attend. We chose to name our ministry "Healing Rain" originally because of Michael W. Smith's beautiful and moving lyrics to this inspirational song. God later led us to change the name to "Healing Reign". We believe God's healing reign will lead alcoholics and addicts down the road to recovery and to freedom!
In 2007, God called me (Diane) to help addicts after He delivered my son, Travis, from his drug addiction. Since then, God has placed men and women in my path that have needed to change their lives due to a drug or alcohol addiction. For eight years I worked with young people through the school system and for six years I worked at Middle Tyger Community Center where I was involved with several different programs. I believe that God gave me these opportunities to help prepare me for Healing Reign Ministry. God has given me a compassion, a drive, and a longing to help the next addict and lead him/her on the road to recovery.
Here at Healing Reign, we will guide you with all of our being, all of our heart and all of our soul. We love you with the love of Christ; we care for you; we pray for you. We do this because of what Christ has done for us. We will do everything in our power to lead you to a better way of life by helping you take that first step of faith. It is in our hearts for you to be free from drug and alcohol addiction. Recovery from addiction is a matter of life and death; we choose life for you.
There are always problems to be solved, and we may not have all the answers right away. Though finding the answers can be difficult, we will face the problem together and work through it until we reach a solution. We will guide you in the right direction to find the right path so you may see what God has planned for you under His healing reign.
Future Vision For Healing Reign Ministry
*a word from Diane
God is always bringing to my mind what I believe is His Vision for Healing Reign Ministry. My heart wants what God wants for Healing Reign. I am following Him by faith and faith alone. I believe that if God revealed the entire picture of His will for this ministry, that I would be totally overwhelmed. These are my thoughts of what God is showing me for the future of this ministry at this time…
Men's half-way house
Women's half-way house
Please join us in prayer that God's will be done in this ministry.

subset: commoncrawl


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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: -Hi readers, We have prepared some list of INTERVIEW QUESTIONS on HTML.All INTERVIEW QUESTIONS of HTML has a reasonable answer.While Preparing for a technical job interview of company this can be very useful for you.Here we start topic INTERVIEW QUESTIONS on HTML
TOP 20 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS on HTML
What do you understand by "markup" in HyperText Markup Language(HTML)?
Markup in HTML determines the look and structure of the web page.
Is HTML is a programming language.Explain Reason?
No HTML is only a Markup language.Which is used to create the only structure of the website and how the content will be displayed.For Programming Language it should have a functional purpose and can't create logic.Here I start a session about INTERVIEW QUESTIONS of HTML.
What do you understand by DOCTYPE in HTML?
DOCTYPE tag in HTML is not an HTML tag it just an information was given to the HTML document at the beginning so that the browser understand the version used by the HTML and allow correctly and easy rendering of web pages. IT must be noted that DOCTYPE is sometimes referred as Document type definition (DTD) and placed before the tag begins.
<! DOCTYPE html>
The difference between Block level element and inline element?
Block level element:
Block element are those which covers the full width of the browser and has a line break before and after it automatically. It can contain block or inline element.
Some block level elements are: <address>..</address>,
,
,…,
,
,

 etc.
Inline element:
An inline element is those which covers space as much as it required and does not force a line break. It can contain data or other inline elements.
Some inline elements are : ,,,,<select>,<input />etc
What do you mean by empty elements in HTML ?
Empty HTML elements(also called self-closing elements) are those elements which do not contain any content.
It does not have any ending tag. The tag ends in the starting tag by using forward slash (/) eg.
 and HTML5 does not require slash(/) to close the empty element
Note: Empty elements is written simply as
 but in XHTML empty elements requires space and trailing slash

Can we use Hyperlink other than text?
Yes, we can use hyperlinks other than text such as Images.
<imgsrc="/yourpath/image.jpg" />
This code will work same as we used hyperlinks with text which links one page to another through text, but here we link through images.
What is a comment and how we can provide comments in HTML?
In the computer programming, the comment is used generally for making the program easily readable and understandable by the user. Comments are ignored by the compiler, interpreter, and browser and mainly included in the file for easily readable.
In HTML document, we can provide comment using <!—comment — >
- Single line <!—comment– >
- Multiple line <!—
Multiline Comments
Is it possible to insert a copyright symbol in the web page through HTML?
Yes, it is possible by writing © or © in an HTML document.
What is a function of alt attribute in an element?
Alt: This attribute is used to give the alternative label or short description for the image used. If somehow due to connection problem or the image is replaced with the file then this short description about the images using alt attribute is displayed even by the browser which is helpful for the user to clarify what image should be there.
An upper limit of text field?
By default, the size of a text field is around 13 characters.
The difference between the size and max length attribute of a text field in HTML?
Size: this attribute is used to specify the width of a textbox in terms of characters. It does not affect how many characters the users can enter in a textbox. If the user enters more characters than the size of textbox specified by size property than they can see what they enter by simply scrolling left or right
Max length: this attribute is used to specify the maximum no. of characters the user can enter in the textbox. A user cannot enter any characters more than the max length of text field specified by maxlength attribute.
List the browser which supports HTML 5?
Almost all browser supports HTML5. Some of them are:
- Safari
- Mozilla Firefox
- Chrome
- Opera
- Internet Explorer
All the HTML tags have starting and ending tags always?
No , some tags in HTML have starting tag only. Examples
 : for inserting image in HTML.

 : for breaking line.

 : for giving horizontal line in an HTML.
Explain <embed> tag in HTML?
Just like images you can simply embed a video or an audio file (multimedia file) in an HTML document by using <embed > ..</embed>tag.
<embed src="path/file.mid|.mpeg|.mov|.wmv|.swf" >
<imgsrc="path/image.jpg " alt="image" />
Here <noembed>tag is used to display an alternative image if the browser does not support <embed> tag.
Define different types of the list in HTML?
In an HTML, List is of three types:
-
: Unordered list
-
: Ordered List
-
: Definition List
Unordered List is used to making the List in an unordered way or we can say by using simple plain bullets.
Ordered List is used to making the List in a sequence by providing numbers or Roman numerals instead of bullets.
Definition List is used to making the list just as we see in dictionary or encyclopedia. It uses three tags
,
 and
.
Tell me the different ways of Website layout in HTML?
Website layout simply means how we can structure our website or how our web page looks on browser. In HTML we can layout using two different ways :
- Table
Simplest way to create a layout by making table.

- Div
Div is an html block level element and is mainly used for grouping different element into one.
What is an inline frame in HTML?
Inline frame in HTML is a frame which can appear anywhere in HTML document which can embed any other images, sound, youtube videos or HTML documents even.
Inline frame in HTML is given by tag in HTML document. It provides the rectangular region with its own scrollbar independent of the surrounding page's scroll bar along with borders to display the embedded object (videos or images or maps etc.). some browser does not support.
<iframesrc="/abc.html"> (including HTML document)
What do you understand by
 tag?

element in HTML is called as Preformatted text .It is a block level element. Text inside the
 tag is displayed in a fixed-width font ("monospace") and in the same way as typed in the document including whitespace and newline and tab.

tag is generally used for displaying programming code and unusual formatting text.
Is
 is used to give full browser width?
No, here the table does not occupy the full browser width even the width is given 100% as the graphical browser is basically designed to leave a margin between the actual content and the display area.
Even the navigator also leaves some space for the scroll bar on the right-hand side of the display area. If the page is not long enough, the scrollbar does not appear.
What do you understand by marquee tag in HTML?
marquee element in an HTML is generally used to insert scrolling area of text either horizontal or vertical.
<marquee> tag is generally now not used by the browser instead we can use CSS for providing this effect.


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Exactly what is a Payg Sim Card
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/vlwsuijc/public_html/wp-content/plugins/q-and-a/inc/functions.php on line 252
A SIM (customer identification module) card is definitely an innovative method to deliver plan to cellular and wireless phones. Rather than the telephone storing information, the Sim stores such things as telephone number and identification, and could be switched between compatible phones when needed. Many those who have phones with this particular feature have once a month mobile phone contracts, but there's an increasing marketplace for the payg Sim too.
Like every prepaid plan, the payg Sim enables individuals to purchase minutes prior to use, and just add minutes when needed. Many would rather not use contracts due to costs for overuse, and since they might have to stick with similar phone plan not less than annually. In Europe especially, prepaid is commonly accepted contracted service. There's certainly an industry for prepaid plans in other areas around the globe too.
The normal prepaid plan might not use a Sim but phones which use them could be convenient for a number of reasons. First, lots of people with prepaid plans pay roaming costs when they exit their physical area, especially once they travel in other nations. Rather than having to pay exorbitant costs using the same local telephone number, vacationers can buy a payg Sim for that country by which they'll travel. This would help reduce costs. If minutes run low, many nations sell additional minutes that may be easily added simply by entering a unique code in to the phone, and several plans offer purchasing minutes online too.
Furthermore, since people switch cards to be able to access service, making calls in overseas doesn't add charges holiday to a mobile phone plans, prepaid or contract. The payg Sim, once set up in a telephone, may be the only card billed. Some cards of the character are country specific, yet others are worldwide, permitting individuals to make use of the Sim from as well as in numerous nations. Rate each minute charge varies, and calls from overseas by are often a lot more costly than local calls. Prepaid credit cards are often best bought in the home country because individuals will possess a telephone number before they travel, as well as in certain nations, acquiring a mobile phone might have residency needs or taxes that vacationers may wish to avoid.
It's not necessary to utilize a payg Sim for travel. Many prefer them for local use. Advantages in easy adding minutes if needed, in staying away from contracts, as well as in switching in one phone to a different without losing a mobile phone number or vital calling information are reported as principal reasons to utilize a prepaid plan having a payg Sim. For individuals who use cell phones frequently, prepaid plans tend to be costly, and several are best with flat rate or contract plans rather. In conditions in which the phone is mainly use in short calls, or when you are traveling, the prepaid Sim might be a possible option. Anybody thinking about it though, should make certain to possess a phone that actually works with SIM cards, or be ready to get one.


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A ‡Khomani San Project supported by the TFPD Foundation
Dawid Kruiper, the recently deceased leader of the ǂKhomani San, led his people through a land claim settlement that saw the restoration of a section of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to his community. In addition, he believed that many of the social ills that plague the ǂKhomani San community today stem from their having lost much of their traditional link with nature. He believed that re-establishing this connection with the land was vital for the survival of their culture and identity.
Dawid Kruiper's dream was to establish a traditional village as a "Veldskool" (Field School) in their part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. He wanted a place where young people would spend time, learning to live traditionally, mentored by their elders. In addition, it would be a place where the elders could return to live their tradition, away from the negative influences of their current lives.
Realising the Dream – !Gam !Gaub
Now his dream has beeen realized. Members of the ‡Khomani San have collaborated to construct, from natural materials, a traditional village called !Gam !Gaub. Meaning "Renewal of Old Traditions," it overlooks Twee Indabas Pan, an important site to the Bushmen in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
!Gam !Gaub is where young people will learn to live side by side with nature; to not fear the predators of the Kgalagadi; to hunt traditionally, and to understand the medicinal properties of the plants. They will learn their language, stories, dances and crafting skills from their elders. They will learn to respect and protect nature as their ancestors have done for centuries past.
!Gam !Gaub has been cleared and traditional grass huts built within a thorn bush enclosure. The area will be used for activities such as crafting, dancing and storytelling. A separate living area has also been constructed for the sixteen young ‡Khomani San and their mentors who will live at the village on a permanent rotational basis. Residents will live their culture and craft, and dress traditionally. They will learn tracking skills in the surrounding wilderness.[nggallery id=14]
Extending !Gam !Gaub's facilities to visiting tourists and students
!Gam !Gaub will also offer educational facilities to tourists and students who wish to learn more about this lifestyle. Visitors will be able to join the ǂKhomani San students at !Gam !Gaub, learning rudimentary skills and experiencing the natural rhythms of this ancient culture. This extension of the Veldskool to people outside the community has many benefits to both groups. While the tourists will provide a source of revenue to !Gam !Gaub by staying there, they will also offer an opportunity for the ǂKhomani San students to practice and deepen their newly learned skills, as they share their knowledge with the visitors.
!Gam !Gaub will offer a variety of visitor interactions, including short morning sessions or overnight visits. Co-ordinated by the ǂKhomani San and Mier-owned !Xaus Lodge, visitors will have the option of being driven to !Gam !Gaub, or participating in a guided hike through the dunes to !Gam !Gaub as part of the !Xaus Lodge experience.
What is required to ensure !Gam !Gaub's sustainability
The students and mentors who will live at and study at !Gam !Gaub do not have the financial resources to support this facility. An amount of R50,000 per month is needed to cover a daily stipend and logistical back-up for the 16 youngsters and their mentors. This includes vehicle operating costs for the transport of participants, food and water supplies and other basic necessities to support the learning process.
Once-off items will be required to a value of R1,1 million. This includes a radio communication system for emergencies, borehole, solar pump, solar water purification system and storage tank as well as two second-hand 4×4 Bakkies for the transport of people and supplies and to provide back-up support for any emergency situation.
How to contribute
Your contribution is invaluable for the fulfilment of Dawid Kuiper's dream to retain the culture and identity of the ǂKhomani San and may be made to:
The TFPD Foundation, and it's role in !Gam !Gaub
The TFPD Foundation has committed to the ǂKhomani San community to assist them to raise the necessary funds to ensure the sustainability of !Gam !Gam. In addition, through !Xaus Lodge, marketing and logistical support will be provided to !Gam !Gaub by TFPD.
If you would like to donate to the project please contact the TFPD Foundation at email@example.com or on ph +27 (0)21 701 7860.
Banking details are: TFPD Foundation NPC | Bank: ABSA | Account No: 4078230407 | Branch Code: 632005 | Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ | All contributions will be acknowledged and if needed, a Section 18A Tax Certificate will be issued.


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Is Praying a Crime?
I just received an email from one of my dear friends from college.¬Ý Her father-in-law, Frank Lay, is principal at Pace High School in Pensacola, Florida.¬Ý My friend informed me that Lay and his athletic director, Robert Freeman, are facing criminal charges for saying a prayer before a meal to dedicate the completion of a new field house for the school.¬Ý
Make sure you caught that'ÄîCRIMINAL charges for saying a prayer.¬Ý A possible fine, jail time, or both.
This is not one of those stories passed around on the internet without names attached written about¬Ýsomeone who knows someone who knows someone.¬Ý This is my friend'Äôs father-in-law.¬Ý Her husband'Äôs father.¬Ý I know her husband and met his father at their wedding.¬Ý This is all true and pretty incredibly terrifying to contemplate.
CRIMINAL charges'Äîpossible jail time'Äîfor saying a prayer.¬Ý Stop for a moment and think about this:¬Ý regardless of any details of the case, is there ANY situation in this country you can think of in which someone should face criminal prosecution for a prayer?!¬Ý
No, they didn'Äôt pray then fire a gun or burn a cross or yell 'Äúfire'Äù in the auditorium or slander someone or even litter.¬Ý No, they just prayed.¬Ý
I'm writing this in hopes that everyone who reads this will do the same—pray for these men and pray that Lady Justice takes off the dang blindfold so she can see the trash can where this case needs to be thrown.
Apparently, the seeds of this incident can be traced to'Äîyou guessed it'Äîthe ACLU.¬Ý In August of 2008, two Pace High School students and their parents sued the Santa Rosa School District, claiming that religion had been forced upon them at the school.¬Ý The school district had agreed to a temporary injunction while the case was being decided.¬Ý The ACLU claims this prayer violated the injunction.
I'Äôve admitted in previous articles that I'Äôm no scholar of history, but I can'Äôt find in the Constitution where someone has a right to not hear religion.¬Ý For religion to be forced upon someone, they would have to be required to participate.¬Ý Abstaining from a lunch blessing simply means that you keep your eyes open, don'Äôt bow your head, and think about anything in the world you want to think about for the duration of this unbearable inconvenience of listening to someone talk to their Lord for'Ķ oh, maybe 30 seconds.
Let'Äôs go to the source, the Constitution.¬Ý 'ÄúCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'Äù¬Ý I'Äôm scratching my head right now.¬Ý 'ÄúCongress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, or PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF'Äù dangit!!!¬Ý It'Äôs a good thing I'Äôm a religious man, or I might have used some stronger language there.
For those of you who aren'Äôt aware, for well over a hundred years, the states in this country DID have preferred religions.¬Ý Go back and read the article 'ÄúWe Don'Äôt Live in a Democracy, Part 1'Äù and you'Äôll see where we started to veer off track.¬Ý Our Founding Fathers didn'Äôt want an all-encompassing federal government dictating everything to the individual states.¬Ý States were allowed to have state-sponsored religions and did.¬Ý The Constitution says 'ÄúCongress shall make no law'Ķ'Äù'Äîit doesn'Äôt say NOBODY can make such law.¬Ý They didn'Äôt fear religion'Äîthey feared the federal government getting involved.
To quote the aforementioned article: 'ÄúWith the addition of the 14th Amendment in 1868, the Bill of Rights were essentially applied to states, binding state governments the same as they do the federal.¬Ý A 1913 Supreme Court ruling extrapolated this to mean that states'Äîlike the federal government'Äîcould no longer have state-sanctioned religions.'Äù¬Ý This is when everything went way south in a handbasket.
What this has resulted in is a society in which legalism trumps common sense at every turn.¬Ý Much like the Pharisees in the Bible, we split hairs and split hairs and split hairs until the system is so convoluted that no human could possibly thrive.¬Ý A robot perhaps, but not the flawed, imperfect beings that we are.
There are things that can work in a community that can'Äôt work for an entire nation'Äîhence the dispersion of power between the feds and the states.¬Ý The federal government tries to please everybody.¬Ý Anyone with half a brain learned long ago that when you try to please everybody you end up pleasing nobody.¬Ý What happens in Los Angeles, California should not determine a standard to be applied in a remote community in Montana, West Virginia, or South Carolina.
This is a perfect example of a result illuminating the problem.¬Ý I have come to the conclusion that the bank and Wall Street bailouts were a mistake.¬Ý Follow the math here:¬Ý the feds give money to the banks.¬Ý The feds get money from taxpayers.¬Ý Where there is money, there are often strings attached'Äîunderstandably.¬Ý If the taxpayers are bailing out Wall Street, then taxpayers should have a say-so about how things are run in these businesses'Äîsuch as C.E.O.s and their salaries.¬Ý The logic makes sense.¬Ý But that'Äôs exactly the problem.¬Ý When the federal government'Äîrather than stockholders'Äîstarts dictating the hiring and compensation practices of business, something is horribly wrong.¬Ý I say this to point out my previous concern.¬Ý If you agree that government dictating who should be running a certain business is a bad, bad idea, then you have to backtrack until the real problem becomes clear.¬Ý The bailouts were a mistake.
Now let'Äôs apply that to the Lay/Freeman case.¬Ý The Founding Fathers established'ÄîRIGHT OUT OF THE GATE'Äîthe first, the very first, number one, numero uno Amendment'Äîfreedom of religion.¬Ý The free exercise thereof.¬Ý Now, because of the Supreme Court precedent of incorporation and its flawed logic, we have a federal government actually prosecuting a high school principal for what?¬Ý Praying.¬Ý Exercising religion freely.
Imagine having that conversation with our Founding Fathers.¬Ý Imagine walking into that room when these divinely-inspired men were laying the foundation for this incredible country we live in.¬Ý Imagine telling them that 230-some years later, two men would face jail time for praying before lunch at a school.¬Ý They just might have packed up their things and said, 'ÄúForget it!¬Ý It just can'Äôt work!¬Ý Let'Äôs go home.'Äù
We have come 180 degrees from where we started and the beautiful way things should be working.¬Ý We'Äôve really messed up the system.¬Ý I ask all of you to pass this story along to everyone you know, then I ask you to do what Mr. Lay and Mr. Freeman did.


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customer buying journey
Craft a Killer Sales Playbook
The Sales Playbook, Defined
A sales playbook is a collection of tactics or methods that characterizes the roles and responsibilities for you (and your sales team), lays out clear objectives, identifies metrics for measurement, and provides a common framework and approach for closing sales.
The playbook helps you implement a common sales methodology that leverages the processes used by high performers. The outcome? You can sell more effectively and handle different selling situations, position against a particular competitor, or communicate the value proposition to each person in the buying process.
In the big picture, a good playbook needs to do several things:
- Define your sales process and methodology — not only what you need to do but how to make it happen
- Identify how your process maps to your customer's buying process
- Tell you how to engage with a prospective customer
- Diagram the engagement experience
- Accelerate sales effectiveness and accuracy.
The Components of the Sales Playbook, Explained
In the sports world, a "play" is an action designed to achieve a specific purpose in specific conditions. When you design a playbook you need to define the conditions. Therefore, at a minimum, the following knowledge needs to be integrated into the playbook:
- Customer analysis – Identifies the market, key trends, key buyers and influencers, a profile of the ideal customer, the customers' pain points and preferences and the critical business issues customers are trying to solve.
- Buying process – Identifies conditions or events that trigger consideration, evaluation, and purchase. What are the behaviors of a qualified lead?
- Company offer and value proposition – Describes and clarifies what your company offers and the ways in which your products and services address the customer's pain points and business issues.
- Competitive analysis – Details how competitors position themselves in the market, their selling process, typical moves by each competitor, and recommendations on how to counter these moves.
- Sales methodology – Maps the customer buying process, and outlines your sales process, that is, the standard set of critical steps that move the customer to buy. While this section should outline the sales cycle stages and responsibilities, it should go beyond just describing the steps in the sales cycle. It should provide instructions on what information needs to be collected at each stage in the process, identify the players in each step, and how to assess the opportunity.
- Countering objections – Gives specific instruction on how to address each common objection sales might encounter.
- Best practices – Lists proven tips, techniques — and under what circumstances to use them. This section should also capture what hasn't worked in the past and associated lessons learned.
- Your Buyer Personae — A section (perhaps an appendix) that answers the question, "Who is my ideal prospect?"
A Worthwhile Investment
While developing a sales playbook is an extensive investment of your time, it has a big payoff in that it surfaces customer pains and preferences, improves sales effectiveness and productivity, and exposes and corrects weaknesses in the way you currently operate.
When completed, your playbook becomes a living document of your sales methodology and provides tactical guidelines and instructions that enable you to discover important ways to address the vulnerabilities of both your company and competitors. With a practical sales playbook, you can leverage strengths, differentiate offers, prove business value, and ultimately improve your win/loss ratio.
This entry was posted in Alignment, Marketing and Sales Alignment and tagged C-Suite, CEO, CFO, CMO, COO, customer buying journey, Customer Insight, Marketing, marketing accountability, marketing alignment, marketing analytics, marketing and sales alignment, Marketing and Sales Pipeline, marketing data, marketing strategy, sales, Sales Strategy.
Measuring Relevancy: A Three Step Approach for Linking Content and Behavior
Various studies over the years have examined the relationship between content relevancy and behavior. Almost everyone would agree that content must be relevant. But what is relevance? According to Wikipedia: "Relevance describes how pertinent, connected, or applicable something is to a given matter." A thing is relevant if it serves as a means to a given purpose.
In the context of this discussion, the purpose of content is to positively influence customer or employee behavior, such as increasing purchase frequency, purchase velocity (time to purchase), likelihood to recommend, productivity, etc.
When we ask marketers and others how they measure content relevancy, we often hear, "We base it on response rate." If the response rate meets the target, then we assume the content is relevant; if response doesn't meet the target, we assume it's not relevant.
Clearly there is a relationship between relevance and response. Intuitively we believe that the more relevant the content, the higher the response will be. But measuring response rate is not the best measure of relevancy. Many factors can affect response rate, such as time of year, personalization, and incentives. Also, in today's multi-channel environment, we want to account for responses or interactions beyond what we might typically measure, such as click-throughs or downloads.
So, what is the best way to measure relevancy?
The best-practice approaches for measuring relevancy are many, and many of them are complex and require modeling. For example, information diagrams are an excellent tool. But marketers, who are usually spread thin, need a simpler approach.
The following three steps provide a way to tie interaction (behavior) with content. It's critical
that you have a good inventory of all your content and a way to define and count interactions, because once you do, you'll be able to create a measure of relevancy.
The process and equation include the following:
1. Count every single piece of content you created this week (new Web content, emails,
articles, tweets, etc.). We'll call this C.
2. Count the collective number of interactions (opens, click-throughs, downloads, likes,
mentions, etc.) for all of your content this week from the intended target (you'll need to
have clear definitions for interactions and a way to only include intended targets in your
count). We'll call this I.
3. Divide total interactions by total content created to determine Relevancy: R = I/C
To illustrate the concept, let's say you are interested in increasing conversations with a particular set of buyers. As a result, this week you undertook the following content activities:
• Posted a new whitepaper on a key issue in your industry to your website and your
Facebook page
• Tweeted three times about the new whitepapers
• Distributed an email with a link to the new whitepaper to the appropriate audience
• Published a summary of the whitepaper to three LinkedIn Groups
• Held a webinar on the same key issue in your industry
• Posted a recording of the webinar on your website, SlideShare, and Facebook page
• Held a tweet chat during the webinar
• Tweeted the webinar recording three times
• Posted a blog on the topic to your blog
We'll count those as 17 content activities.
For that very same content, during the same week, you had the following interactions:
• 15 downloads of the whitepaper from your site
• 15 retweets of the whitepaper
• 15 Likes from your LinkedIn Groups and blog page
• 25 people who attended the webinar and participated in the tweet chat
• 15 retweets of the webinar
• 15 views of the recording on SlideShare
That's a total of 100 interactions. It's likely that some of these interactions are from the same people engaging multiple times, and you may eventually want to account for that likelihood in your equation. But, for starters, we can now create a content relevancy measure:
Using the same information, had we measured only the response rate, we might have counted only the downloads and attendees—40 responses—so we might have had the following calculation:
As you can see, the difference is significant.
By collecting the interaction data over time, we will be able to understand the relationship between the relevancy and the intended behavior, which in this example is increased "conversations."
I strongly encourage you to consider relevancy as a key measure for your content marketing. By tracking relevancy, you will be able to not only set benchmarks and performance targets for your content but also model content relevancy for intended behavior.
This entry was posted in Alignment, Analytics, Customer Centricity, marketing, Marketing Accountability, Marketing and Sales Alignment, marketing automation, marketing automation software, Marketing Daily, Marketing Dashboards, Marketing Effectiveness, Marketing Management, Marketing Measurement, Marketing Performance, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Trends, Pipeline Metrics, Product Marketing, social media, sustainability, Uncategorized and tagged advertising, business, business intelligence, CEO, CFO, CMO, content creation, content marketing, content relevancy, customer buying journey, customer experience, customer lifetime value, customer relationship management, customer segmentation, email marketing, market research, Marketing, marketing accountability, marketing analytics, marketing and sales alignment, marketing dashboards, marketing metrics, marketing mix, marketing performance management, marketing performance measurement, marketing plan, marketing processes, marketing ROI, marketing trends, measuring customer loyalty, performance marketing, proving marketing, sales and marketing, social marketing, social media, social media platforms, strategic marketing, VisionEdge Marketing.


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My Independent Reading
I have picked up the book You've Gotta Connect by James Alan Sturtevant and I can't put it down. The author is so engaging. He writes with a conversational tone that captures the reader's attention. He is a teacher in the classroom so he is real and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. I highly recommend this book to help in making connections with today's students. You won't be sorry!
When the class wasn't listening to the teacher's instructions and began to work before she was finished speaking, the teacher calmly reminded the students of the PBIS goal clearly written on the board. Like magic, the students stopped working and listened to all the directions. But was this really magic? No! This teacher has thoughtfully posted goals that shape her students behavior. If she notices her students are struggling with a particular behavior, she uses the PBIS goal at the beginning and throughout the class period to kindly remind students of expectations. Breaking down goals into smaller more manageable chunks that everyone can find success in really sets the tone in this classroom. Would you like to see this in action? Contact one of your LCMS coaches to check it out!
7th Grade Speaking Goals!
It was definitly the highlight of our day to be able to celebrate our coaching success for second trimester! So many good things are happening at LCMS! Go TITANS! #BelieveAchieveLCMS
Monitor the writing process!
This picture represents one way that we monitor students progress through the writing process. Students move their marker to the phase they are working in. The teachers can easily see if students are falling behind and know how to tailor instruction to meet needs of small groups. It may seem simple, but students get really excited to move their marker and see progress in writing! #BelieveAchieveLCMS
LCMS Coaches
Jennifer Johnson
June 2016


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Longform essay competition open
Writers ages 35 and younger can compete for a prize.
The Bodley Head/Financial Times Essay Prize seeks to discover the world's best young talent in longform essay writing.
Entries must be in English and have no more than 3,500 words. Any nonfiction topic will be accepted, but the work must not have been previously published in any language.
The winner will receive GBP1,000 (US$1,432), an e-publication with Bodley Head and a mentoring session with the FT/Bodley Head. Two runners-up will each receive GBP500 (US$716) and an e-publication.
The deadline is May 31.
For more information on how to apply, click here.
(sursa: International Journalists' Network)


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'The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell' for Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Read the transcript to the Tuesday show
April 29, 2014
Guests: Dorian Warren, Ziva Branstetter, Zach Wahls, Garrett Bryant,
Kristin Lombardi
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: Again, the breaking news this hour, the state
of Oklahoma, botching the first of what was planned to be a double
execution tonight. Still not entirely clear what happened. But we`ve got
more on that breaking news story in the last word and including an
eyewitness to what happened there in that prison tonight.
Stay with us.
"THE LAST WORD" starts right now.
ARI MELBER, GUEST HOST: Banned for life. Al Sharpton and Eugene Robinson
join me tonight to talk about the Clippers` owner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now to the story that continues to anger so many.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We start with some breaking news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Los Angeles Clippers` owner Donald Sterling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Racist remarks purportedly made by Sterling.
ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: Effective immediately, I am banning Mr.
Sterling for life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Sterling, the owner of Los Angeles Clippers,
has been banned for life.
SILVER: For life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Sterling acknowledged that it is his voice on
the tapes.
SILVER: I will urge the board of governors --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t see any way.
SILVER: -- to exercise its authority.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way, no how --
SILVER: -- to force a sale of the team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Donald Sterling can continue to own the Los Angeles
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A 3/4 vote is required for owners to remove Donald
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They could have a 3/4 of a vote. And they can vote him
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From ownership of the team.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one should be surprised.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s the worst kept secret in the National Basketball
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has been an issue in the NBA for years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doesn`t this really create a problem for the league?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sterling is a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doesn`t the league have to do something.
SILVER: Effective immediately, I am banning Mr. Sterling for life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers
has been banned for life.
SILVER: For life.
MELBER: I`m Ari Melber, in for Lawrence O`Donnell.
And we begin tonight with an absence. Many fans are gathering to watch the
Clippers play game five of the playoffs. One person will be noticeably
absent, the owner, Donald Sterling, the man who shocked many in and out of
the sports world with his racist view that black Americans should be
socially segregated and stigmatized.
Well, today, as we`re reporting, Mr. Sterling became the one who was
stigmatized and isolated as the NBA commissioner took the unusual step of
banning him from the league for life.
SILVER: The hateful opinions, voiced by that man are those of Mr.
Sterling. The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and
harmful. That they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my
personal outrage.
I will urge the board of governors to exercise its authority to force a
sale of the team and will do everything in my power to ensure that that
I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to
remove him.
MELBER: The ban means no games, no practices and no ability to make
decisions about the team. The league also instituted a $2.5 million fine
against Sterling.
Now, after today`s announcement, the Clippers homepage featured only a logo
and three simple words, "We are one."
Tonight, just minutes ago, Clippers coach Doc Rivers spoke out about the
NBA action and the road ahead.
DOC RIVER, LA CLIPPERS COACH: I thought Adam Silver today was fantastic.
Personally, I thought he, he made a decision that really was the right one.
That had to be made. You know?
I don`t think this is something that, you know, we rejoice in or anything
like that. You know, I told the players, you know, about the decision.
And you know, I think they were just happy that it was a resolution and
it`s over, at least the start of it to be.
Other than that, you know, I was just really proud of them. I`ve been
proud of the players and the NBA overall. I have been proud of the
ownership, throughout the league. And -- I think, just we are all in a
better place because of this.
MELBER: So far, six teams have publicly come out and supported today`s
decision, a number that may continue to grow. And the backlash and
reverberations do continue. Protesters gathered outside the Staples Center
tonight. Ticket sales slumped for tonight`s game. While some companies
are reinstating their advertisements, Burger King now became the latest
sponsor to suspend its partnership with the Clippers.
What does the woman at the center of the Donald Sterling scandal, V.
Stiviano, what does she think of today`s decision?
Her lawyer tells "The Los Angeles Times" tonight that she was saddened and
never wanted any harm to Donald.
However, these tapes got out, Donald Sterling harmed himself. And in a
nation that has struggled so long with the vestiges of social and legal
racism, of exclusion built on segregation. Sending black Americans to
separate schools and separate water fountains and Jim Crow justice. The
world of signs that basically always said "no coloreds allowed."
Today, a big force in public life knocked down that kind of sign and put up
a new one, "No racists allowed."
Joining me now to discuss, politics host -- the host of "POLITICS NATION",
I should say, Reverend Al Sharpton, who was instrumental in putting
pressure on the NBA to take these actions against Donald Sterling, and
"Washington Post`s" Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winner who`s been
covering the story.
Welcome to you both, gentlemen.
AL SHARPTON, POLITICS NATION: Thank you.
EUGENE ROBINSON, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks, Ari.
MELBER: Reverend, let me start with you. You have been in and out of
these kinds of battles for many years. We have discussed across the
country really, how different this one has been. Walk us through why that
SHARPTON: Well, you know, Saturday when I first got involved when the
tapes went public, the difference that I have seen over the last couple of
days is the swiftness there has been a response. And the widespread
support to have everyone from every major basketball star, from LeBron
James, all the way to Michael Jordan, from Oprah Winfrey, to the president
of the United States, I think was something that we have seen -- we have
not seen in these types of situations before.
I was involved from Marge Schott, all the way through to Imus. And,
clearly, there has been widespread support. But the definitive way that
NBA Commissioner Silver made the announcement today, "Banned for life", no
involvement, and that he is sure he will get the other owners to support
him and forcing the sale of the team, I think deals with this particular
I spoke with Commissioner Silver this afternoon. And he was a pleasure to
meet with heads of civil rights groups and others. I just left a meeting
with some of us. Lead national civil rights groups here in Washington with
the Congressional Black Caucus.
And it was left on the table, now, Ari, how do we set up things that this
is not a reoccurring thing. How are people vetted? How did this guy
remain there despite a history of discrimination? And where is the
ownership of the team going? So I think that, that the part of, part of
what Mr. -- what Donald has represented is, is over for his part.
But I think where we must go now is where is basketball and sports going to
go to restructure and guarantee the public that we are not going to have
another one of these kind of guys laying in the cut until somebody comes
with a tape and busts him. This is an unbelievable situation. That can
never reoccur.
MELBER: And, Reverend, from the meetings you have been in, are you
satisfied with the time line of the NBA at this point?
SHARPTON: Well, I think that the time line is compared to a Marge Schott
or others is faster. I think again where we go from here is our concern.
But I think when you look at the fact that -- that it took a tape.
This man had the largest payout of a discrimination suit we have seen, when
you look at the Elgin Baylor lawsuit. It should not have come to this.
Imagine if the tape had not gone public, he would still be in charge of the
Clippers. That`s what Adam Silver has to deal with civil rights leadership
and others about and going forward.
And I think how firm he was today gives us some level of confidence that he
will engage in that serious discussion. Where it will lead, we will see.
MELBER: Absolutely. When you think about it, as you mention, Reverend,
the tape and what grew out of it. And what people wanted to hear. Eugene,
take a listen to something that Doc Rivers brought up here. It`s a point
that is somewhat profound, when we think about how we talk about race and
how to deal with these kind of infractions.
Take a listen.
RIVERS: With the burden of racism, it always falls on the person who has
been offended to respond. And I have always thought that that is
interesting. You know? I felt the pressure on my players, you know,
everyone was waiting for them to give a response.
And, you know, I kempt thinking. I mean, they didn`t do anything, you
know? Yet, they had to respond. And so, Adam responded. And I thought
that that was the sigh of relief.
MELBER: Eugene, you know the way he laid that out. I thought was actually
pretty heavy. And makes the point that comes up a lot, whether you`re
talking about workplace discrimination or what it takes legally to
challenge this stuff.
What did you make of that thought there and where we are now tonight?
ROBINSON: You know, I think that that`s an interesting point. That`s an
interesting way to look at it, especially when you talk about the Clippers,
who, those players who are really on the spot. But you know if, if you
take a step back and kind of look at what`s happened in the last four days,
I really think that, that in many ways the most important actors who got us
to this resolution -- obviously, it was, Adam Silver`s decision -- but the
actors who, who, kind of, kind of made this inevitable in my mind were the
players. The players of the entire league, 80 percent of whom, almost 80
percent of whom, are black.
And, you know, they were confronted. The world was confronted. And
couldn`t look away from evidence that there was a team owner in the NBA who
could, who thought of his, the black people who work with, for him with the
same, sort of racist paternalistic contempt that, that an old south
plantation owner might have had for the people who worked in his field.
That`s hardly an exaggeration from the -- from the tone of the tapes.
And, so, if that was intolerable to the players, they made it clear, they
weren`t going to stand for it. I have every confidence there were going to
be boycotts by players perhaps as soon as this evening if this had not been
resolved in something in a way it finally was resolved.
So, I think that the players making it clear that this was a defining
moment for the league, in a league that, in the final analysis, is about
the players. I think was the significant factor here.
MELBER: Yes. Reverend, speak to that and to the sort of the age and the
kind of out-of-touchness of some of these views. No shock to feel who work
in these areas, file discrimination lawsuits. And yet, we live in an
America where we are often told we should be post racial or color blind.
The attorney general as you know, of course, who spoke to your conference
recently, was criticized roundly several years back when he talked about us
being a nation of coward on race. It seems we still have a lot of work to
SHARPTON: Well, in this past week, we have seen the Supreme Court decision
upholding Michigan affirmative action decision to take race out as a factor
despite the fact that you still have a race gap there in higher education.
We see the rancher Bundy talking about young blacks don`t have anything to
do because we haven`t taught them how to pick cotton. And then you end the
week with the owner of an NBA team saying these kinds of things.
So, clearly, the Attorney General Eric Holder was right. We don`t want to
deal with these things. I think all of this combined is a wake-up call.
But I think that what America couldn`t stomach was you`re saying that an
NBA owner can say these kinds of things. Here`s somebody that is an
American mainstream, a major figure, saying this.
And I agree that, that the players standing up, and the players saying that
we are not going to be treated like that -- I think that was the thing that
pushed it over the top. Because the no matter what we did in the civil
rights community or in media, if those players had said, it didn`t bother
them. It didn`t matter to them, or in some way, countered that. It would
not have brought us to this point.
So, I think that they showed a real integrity that, that -- frankly, was
not surprising to me, but I think it was something that, that it must be
underscored because they chose their integrity over what could have been
their careers, if many of them hadn`t stood together.
MELBER: Let me ask you, before I go to Gene.
ROBINSON: You are absolutely right, Reverend, especially we should note,
LeBron James, the game`s biggest star, who started tweeting immediately on
SHARPTON: That`s right.
ROBINSON: And other players came out very quickly. And which was a signal
to the other players that no, this is OK. We, we need to do this.
MELBER: Absolutely. And you know you talk about that. Talk about ability
to get the word out. All I was going to say at the end is -- we would
include a statement from Donald Sterling if and when he saw fit to make
one. He has not expressed any contrition according to the press conference
today, according to the NBA commissioner. He hasn`t spoken out. And that
will be another piece of this obviously, some one we are all waiting to
hear from even as the world moves forward and on without him.
Reverend Sharpton and Eugene Robinson, thanks for your time tonight.
SHARPTON: Thank you.
ROBINSON: Thank you, Ari.
MELBER: Absolutely.
Coming up, conservative and politics of race. These comments by Mr.
Sterling have Ted Cruz praising President Obama. That is straight ahead.
And the Boy Scouts strike again, punishing a 19-year-old scout leader
because of a Facebook post basically from other people implying that he
happened to be gay. That scout, and Zach Wahls join us.
And we have some breaking news, an important news from Oklahoma where
tonight an execution was halted at the last minute. Something did go
terribly wrong. The state was using controversial drug cocktails, which
have been challenged repeatedly in court. One of the witnesses to the
botched execution will join me live.
MELBER: We`re also reporting on breaking news from Oklahoma tonight, where
an execution using those controversial drug cocktails went horribly wrong.
An inmate had to be revived on a gurney. A witness will tell us what she
saw, coming up.
But next, Donald Sterling and this problem of racism in our modern
REPORTER: Any comments regarding Mr. Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A.
Clippers, comments.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: No. It`s reprehensible.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Obviously, it is outrageous,
unacceptable comment. Have they now made a recommendation?
REPORTER: Ban him for life, the harshest possible penalty. Ban him for
life from the games, $2.5 million fine, and Silver is urging him to sell
the team.
MCCONNELL: Sounds pretty good to me.
MELBER: Some unity there.
Republican leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, condemning Donald
Sterling`s racist comments at the Capitol today.
Well, Ted Cruz went on to Facebook to say President Obama was right.
Quote, "I agree with President Obama, Don Sterling`s comments are ignorant
and offensive. Millions of Americans of all races love the NBA and these
racist sentiments have utterly no place in our society", end quote.
Donald Sterling`s odious comments are, of course, easy to identify and
thankfully as we are seeing, easier and easier now a days to commend. It`s
commendable when people do it.
But broad, unequivocal condemnation of blatantly racist comments doesn`t
mean, of course, that racism is over in America, as some on the right to
continue to suggest.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO HOST: In the big scheme of things, what difference
does it make if a crackpot owns an NBA team?
Bernie Goldberg made a great point about all of this. This Sterling
business, he said, take a look at the reaction to it. There is no way this
is a racist country. There is not one shred of tolerance for what this guy
said, might have said, might be thinking. There isn`t one shred of
tolerance. There is no way this is a racist country. He is exactly right
about that.
BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS: Here is the headline: it`s primarily his problem.
Not the country`s problem. He`s shameful, but does not represent anyone
other than himself.
MELBER: Of course, structural racial discrimination does still exist. We
have some evidence, look at a federal court decision just today in
Wisconsin where a judge invalidated a very controversial and very unequal
voter ID law. It was signed in 2011 by Republican Governor Scott Walker.
And it was invalidated because of in part, its unfair impact directly on
minority voters.
The photo ID requirement applies to all voters regardless of race.
However, as we see in the ruling, the requirement places a unique and
heightened burden on those who must obtain an ID, if they wish to continue
voting in Wisconsin. The evidence at trial demonstrates this burden
disproportionately impacts black and Latino voters, as the defendants can
see. The plaintiffs` evidence shows minorities are less likely than whites
currently possessing a qualifying ID.
There wasn`t quite as much broad bipartisan or furious condemnation of
that. It was, as we mentioned, passed by Republicans.
Joining us now, E.J. Dionne, columnist for "The Washington Post" and MSNBC
political analyst, and Dorian Warren, associate professor of political
science and public affairs at Columbia University.
Welcome to you both.
E.J. DIONNE, THE WASHINGTON POST: Thank you.
DORIAN WARREN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Thanks, Ari. Good to be with you.
MELBER: Let me start here, Dorian. It is interesting to see these
incidents of racism which we were discussing with Reverend Sharpton, last
week, Cliven Bundy, this week with the NBA. And here, one conservative
echo chamber response is because the racism was condemned there is no
I want to go beyond that because it`s simplistic enough to dismiss. And
look specifically at the conservative concept of color blindness which is
what was used to support the voter ID law and knocking down of course the
Voting Rights Act last year, where conservatives are saying, whatever is
out there, all laws should be an all policies should be as color blind as
possible. That`s the road to equality.
WARREN: So, you said the key word there, Ari. There is a distinct, we
should make between racist words and speech. And racist practices and
We should be focused on the policies and racial impact of policies. That,
those Republican leaders frankly stand for. So if you think about the
Michigan, affirmative action case, John Roberts adheres to that ideology of
color blindness that assumes racism equals bad speech or words, and not
policies. Where -- the Wisconsin law that was struck down today, the voter
suppression law, one of the things that the judge said in striking down is
the state cannot produce one example of fraud, which gets to the intent
behind the law and impact of the law.
It was designed to disproportionately affect minority voters, low income
voters, who tend to favor Democrats. We could go down the list. The
minimum wage, the Congress is voting on, disproportionately affects workers
of color. Republicans are against that.
The fact that 24 states have refused to expand Medicaid disproportionately
affects people of color, that`s a life and death issue for people. It
affects millions of people.
So, let`s -- I want to encourage us to get back to focus on racial policies
and the impact of policies versus the racist speech that people say. Yes,
we should all condemn it. But the policies affect millions of more
MELBER: E.J., join in on that point. Of course, the reverend, for folks
who are watching a few minutes ago making the connection to affirmative
action ruling in Michigan, and the idea that the only reason we got he got
here because of the tape and we have to plumb a little deeper into looking
at the structural problems.
DIONNE: You know, I was thinking tonight of W.E.B. DuBois` line, the
problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. And a lot of
people seem to think, well, now the 20th century is over, we made a lot of
progress. And we have made a lot of progress as a country. And therefore,
this problem no longer exists.
Now, it continues to exist in the 21st century. And I think it is very
important to make a distinction between expressions of racism and
legislation like those voter ID laws that clearly have a disparate impact.
But I think the other thing here is about power. And I was really struck
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar`s piece in "Time Magazine", where as Gene Robinson
pointed out, the NBA players, 76 percent of whom are African-American, have
real power here. There was something horribly wrong with these kinds of
statements in the NBA, where African-Americans make such a great
But when Mr. Sterling had to make the settlement for discriminating against
tenants, no one worried much about the tenants. No one raised any of these
issues whether he should own a team, because those tenants don`t have the
same kind of power.
And so, I think we also have to keep in mind the issues of power when we
discuss these things.
MELBER: Yes. And I think -- look, that goes to the political piece,
Dorian, which is often the way that people in Washington, D.C., define
racial politics such as it is, is about whether people are using race in
sort of campaign ads, right? Or whether race is a dog whistle and that`s a
way to take someone down. And that`s obviously terrible. And we
rightfully condemn it.
But racial discrimination is not only an issue for, you know, black
candidates or superstars in the NBA. The grinding ongoing sort of Jim Crow
separate justice system is something that the powerless have to deal with
on a daily basis, and that are from voting laws as you mention to, to --
felony convictions being -- being, ground for revoking your voting rights,
something of communities that are largely disappeared from politics
WARREN: That`s right. E.J. hit it right on the head. We weren`t asking
questions when Sterling had to settle that lawsuit for racist practices and
behavior, in terms of not renting to black and Latino residents. By the
way, Kevin Johnson is not off the hook here either. He also has been
accused of being a slumlord when it comes to black and Latino residents of
And I think E.J.`s point about power is very interesting in this regard.
We`re not even having a discussion in terms of who should own the Clippers.
Hey, why not ask the players to pool their money and buy the Clippers?
That will be a show of power as well. Instead, we are saying, oh, maybe
Magic will buy it.
No, let the players buy the team and own the team at the end of the day.
DIONNE: I love the idea. In fact one thing I was thinking, let`s do the
Green Bay Packers model have the players own it or have the fans own it.
You know, it makes you ask question about this whole ownership structure.
WARREN: Or the residents of L.A., for instance.
DIONNE: Yes, exactly.
MELBER: An idea born here on the last word for a L.A. Clippers co-op. I
like it. E.J. Dionne, and Dorian Warren, thank you both for being there.
I appreciate it.
DIONNE: Good to be with you.
MELBER: Absolutely.
Now, coming up, we do have a LAST WORD exclusive. A boy scout is outed and
ousted and that boy scout will join me, along with friend of the show, Zach
And next, a witness to the execution we have been reporting which halted
tonight when it went horribly wrong.
ARI MELBER, MSNBC ANCHOR: We have breaking news of a botched execution at
the Oklahoma state penitentiary. The first of two executions scheduled at
the prison tonight. That began at 6:23 p.m. local time. That`s according
to news accounts. Thirteen minutes after the first drug was given to
inmate Clinton Lockett, still alive, writhing on the gurney, shaking
uncontrollably according to several witnesses. The Oklahoma department of
correction says it use aid new three drug combination but it failed. So
about 20 minutes into Lockett`s execution it was halted officially by the
department`s director, but he did not survive, the inmate.
ROBERT PATTON, OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION: At approximately 7:06,
inmate suffered what appears to be a massive heart attack and passed away.
That is it. That is all of my statement. That is all the information I
have at this time.
MELBER: The second execution for inmate Charles Warner that was scheduled
for later this evening has now been officially delayed for a term of 14
Joining us now on the phone, is enterprise editor for the Tulsa world
newspaper, Ziva Branstetter. She witnessed the botched execution tonight.
She is here to report on what she saw. What happened. What did you see,
what do we know about the botch execution?
ZIVA BRANSTETTER, ENTERPRISE EDITOR, TULSA WORLD NEWSPAPER (via phone):
Yes. So, this is fourth I have witnessed. The other three have gone off
relatively problem free. The execution started later than the others. It
started 6:23. About 13 minutes into the execution after he had been
declared unconscious, the inmate began writhing in pain. His body was sort
of bucking. He was clenching his jaw. Several times he mumbled phrases
that were largely unintelligible. The only word we could make out, was
man. He seemed to be in a lot of pain. Several times he rose, head and
shoulders rose up off the gurney as if he was trying to get off the gurney.
About 6:16, but I am sorry about 15 minutes after the execution began, the
physician who was in the room went around, lifted up the sheet that was
covering his right arm. Looked at his arm. And then the -- the warden, in
the room, said we are going to temporarily close the blinds. The blind
were closed. The media witnesses could not see what transpired after that
The warden director Robert Patton, and officials went out of the room.
They`re on the phone for 10 or 15 minutes. They all came back in the room
and the warden announce they`d had a problem with the execution. But the
inmate`s vain has basically failed.
MELBER: Right. And even that assertion has been at least challenged or
disputed by some, Ziva, though I understand that was the official
statement. My colleague, Rachel Maddow spoke earlier to the attorney for
Charles Warner, whose execution was stayed tonight, but with regard to the
point that you reported on. The apparent pain of the inmate, experimental
for not. These drugs are not supposed to act in a way that is painful or
torturous. They are supposed to sedate and execute. Let me play a little
for you to listen to then respond to how she described what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was look watching somebody be tortured. And
that`s the farthest thing from a constitutional execution that we could
imagine. We just have to have an investigation. We have to have
transparency the process.
MELBER: Ziva, can you shed any light on that?
BRANSTETTER: I would agree. Looked like he was in a great deal of pain.
I mean, certainly the prison officials didn`t intend to torture Mr.
Lockett. However, (INAUDIBLE) a sedative. And it is not the first time
Oklahoma used the three drug protocol. I understand that in Florida they
use the same drug but they tried five times more of it. So there were some
indications that there could be some, use with this execution.
As media witnesses we were disturbed that we could not see what was going
on behind the curtains. We felt like, that`s our job to report what
happened. You know, we were informed later, he died 43 minutes after the
execution began of a heart attack. The prison told us that they don`t know
if this will be classified as an execution that will be up to the state
medical examiner.
MELBER: Ziva, let me, let me jump in. You raise a lack of transparency
and reporters, of course, observing something. That is one of the most
important grave activities the government conducts. Also, give us briefly
the background on the, the issues around secrecy on the drug use themselves
and that case.
BRANSTETTER: Yes. So the reason witnesses are in the execution chamber
just so that we can observe and report to the public that this has been
done in a constitutional manner. So without being able to see what
happened 15 minutes after the execution began. We really don`t know. So
that is troubling as a media witness. You know, the prison officials have
to speak for themselves why they decided to close the curtains.
As far as the secrecy, in 2011, Oklahoma passed a law that shield the
identities of these drug makers, the pharmacies, and the actual
executioners themselves. There was a long battle over this case and over
the secrecy law. And it ended up in sort of standoff between our state
governor and the state`s highest court. Basically, it ended with the
governor issuing an order to, to stay the execution on seven days. And
that`s how both of the executions wound up on the same day.
MELBER: Right. You look at that history, that dispute. And then this
breakdown tonight. You wonder what could have been if there had been more
information, more oversight of the drugs in use. This an important story.
So, Ziva Branstetter of the Tulsa World Newspaper, thank you for your
report tonight. We will be staying on the story as well.
BRANSTETTER: Thank you very much.
MELBER: Coming up, we have, as I mentioned earlier, a last word exclusive,
that Boy Scout leader who was outed and then ousted.
MELBER: House majority leader Eric Cantor today asked the kissing
Congressman Republican Vance McAllister of Louisiana to resign. Cantor
told "Politico," I believe we ought to hold ourselves to higher standards.
And I think that what has happened in his instincts doesn`t meet that
standard. McAllister is not running for re-election and responded today
saying quote "I do not feel it is in my constituents best interest to leave
them without representation for the second time in less than a year. My
district deserves a voice."
And up next, the boy scouts punish a 19-year-old scout leader over
basically rumors that he was gay. He joins me for his first national
television interview. That`s next.
MELBER: The boy scouts of America are in the headlines again tonight.
This time, after a boy scout says he was outed and then ousted. 19-year-
old Garrett Brian who has been in the scouts since he was 11 years old says
he did everything to actually keep his sexual orientation from the boy
scouts. He did mention on facebook he was quote "in a relationship" after
meeting his first boyfriend. And some of his friend then posted, benign
comments asking questions like, what`s his name? Then one week after the
facebook post, Garrett says he was told by a camp leader he wouldn`t be
extend aid job offer this year because of the social media post suggesting
he engaged in homosexuality.
Garrett is basically call the in something we have reported on before, the
age gap of the boy scouts current policy on when it is OK to be gay, when
you are young. Under current Boy Scout policy gay youth are welcome, but
gay adults are not. Policy states we do not grant membership who are open
homosexuals or engaged in behavior that would become a distraction to the
motion of the boy scouts of America.
Now, Garrett told NBC news.com. I was willing to keep my sexuality hidden
to stay involve involved. They wanted to make this an issue now. Because
of that I will continue to make it an issue.
And joining me now for a "Last Word" exclusive, Garrett Bryant and Zach
Wahls executive director of scouts for equality.
Welcome to you both.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Ari.
MELBER: Hi.
Garrett. Just tell me about this. Explain this age restriction thing
which we have talked about before and your situation.
GARRETT BRYANT, OUTED AND OUSTED FROM BOY SCOUT: Well, at present I am a
member what is called venturing, high adventure form of the boy scouts of
America. Co-ed program where youth is defined as under 21 but over the age
of 14. I do not think I was affected by this membership ban. So it came
as a bit of a shock when, when I was informed that I would not be allowed
to participate as a staff member this year.
MELBER: And Zach, walk us through the larger sort of evolution if you want
to call it that that the boy scouts are in.
ZACH WAHLS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SCOUTS FOR EQUALITY: Well this is part of
an ongoing policy change in the boy scouts are going through. May of 2013
they voted to end their ban on gay youth but kept in place their ban on gay
adults. The issue exists where there is as you mentioned a discrepancy
between the programs that fall under the boy scouts of America, umbrella
where youth means something in one program and something in a different
But I think it is important to note despite the difference in what is
considered a youth in venturing, which is the Boy Scout program, Garrett
was willing to keep his sexual orientation private to not tell under the
boy scouts don`t ask don`t tell policy. But the boy scouts were going to
look on social media and prompt this almost investigation into his sexual
orientation which is why we are --.
MELBER: Yes, you are ailing sort of the issue here. This a came up of
course as many will remember in the military context, don`t ask, don`t
tell. Being a very difficult compromise of sorts and that came out of the
Clinton era in the military. But didn`t also often involve don`t ask.
Because particularly in the age of the internet there was a lot of asking
effectively going on when they`re rummaging around your space as your
friends postings et cetera.
The other thing I want to ask you, Garrett, though, is when you look at
that specific example and of course as you know Bob Gates, the president,
President Obama`s former secretary of defense, who oversaw the shift away
from that policy, and is going to be the president of the boy scouts, what
would you want to say off to him tonight or sale of y publicly. What he
should do?
BRYANT: I just like to say that I hope he will extends the same courtesy
in the scouts as he did in the military. He knows firsthand that don`t ask
don`t tell does not work in the military. So, he should also know that`s
it doesn`t work in the boy scouts of America.
MELBER: And, and, let me ask you, Zach. I want to actually read something
that Garrett had said here -- excuse me that one scouting official had said
to NBC news.
Quote "the way we look at it we want to be a safe haven for kids and that`s
where we are at. And we don`t want sex of any type in camp either
heterosexual or homosexual or anything. Not to put too fine a point on it,
but how much of this relates back to some sort of idea or stigma that
someone who happens to be gay is going to be more likely to have sex in a
context that would be obviously inappropriate there with, with the
WAHLS: Well, it is definitely a double standard. When a straight scout
master says that his unit or brings his wife or references his wife in any
context, he is certainly not, you know, quote-unquote "injecting his
sexuality into scouting." But when a friend of Garrett`s, posts something
on a facebook, and not even Garrett himself but a friend of Garrett to
makes a vague illusion to Garrett`s orientation or the gender of his
partner in this case, that is somehow some deliberate insertion of
But I think it also speaks to a broader point, Ari, about what you just
mention earlier about protecting children. The realities that there are
gay youth in the program, especially given the BSA decision last may to
allow investigate youth in the program. And so, what kind of message does
this send to 12, 13, 14, 15-year-old scouts, gay eagle scouts who are still
in the program, when we are seeing somebody like Garrett who its clearly
eminently qualified leader being denied the position. And I think that is
a very harmful message, discriminatory, and frankly, it is a message that
has no place in scouting.
MELBER: Yes. And Garrett, how are you and your friend is taking this
generally before you go?
BRYANT: My friends in camp and outside have been very supportive. Several
friends within the camp itself have actually flat out offered to resign
over this. I asked them not to. The amount of support that I have
received within the camp staff has given me hope as to the future of this
policy in the boy scouts. This will not stand for much longer I don`t
Excellent. That is a note of optimism there. Garrett Bryant, Zach Wahls.
Thank you both for joining us tonight.
WAHLS: All right. Thank you.
BRYANT: Thank you.
MELBER: You got it.
And coming up, how the White House its using movie stars to get a message
across to men about sexual assault.
MELBER: Here is something you probably haven`t seen before. Richard
Nixon`s application off to join, yes, the FBI in 1937. The national
archives putting the document on display off to the public for the first
time. Turns out after law school at Duke University, 24-year-old Nixon
applied to be a special agent and he was accepted. But his appointment was
revoked before he was ever notified. J. Edgar Hoover later told him
apparently it was due to budget cuts. Some things never change.
Up next the alarming rate of sex assaults against women on college
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a big problem and we need your help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is called sexual assault. It has to stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to stop it. So listen up. If she doesn`t
consent or if she can`t consent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a crime. It is wrong.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need all of you to be
part of the solution. This as it bout respect. It is about
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is up to all of us to put
an end to sexual assault. And that starts with you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because one is too many.
MELBER: The White House released that PSA today part of the Obama
administration`s new push to combat sexual assault on campus. The problem
has become an epidemic. One in five female college students are sexually
assaulted at some point. Though only 12 percent of incidents are
officially reported.
In January, President Obama created a task force to address this issue. It
released its first report today, including a new Web site of resources for
students and educators, notalone.gov, and policy recommendations for
colleges. Some of those include conduction anonymous surveys about sexual
assault, maintaining confidentiality for sexual assault crimes on campus,
and launching programs to change the culture and social pressures around
sexual assault including the example of by stander intervention programs
which encourage men and women to intervene in social or drunk environs
where assaults scud could be common.
While sex crimes are generally prosecuted under state criminal law, many
experts say the federal government has been lax in using the accountability
mechanisms at its disposal. To pick one example, while a 1972 federal law
does enable penalty for publicly funded colleges which may fail to address
sex crimes and gender discrimination, no university has ever actually been
penalized for insufficient enforcement according to a "The New York Times"
report to.
Today`s recommendations from the White House task force were better than
nothing. But they may also amount to nothing very different from any of
the victims of the assaults.
Joining me now is Kristin Lombardi, a reporter on the issue of sexual
assaults on college campuses, and who has been all over the issues,
KRISTIN LOMBARDI, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: Thank you, Ari, for having
MELBER: What are we to make of this report today, what the White House is
trying to do, and how this intersects with the epidemic?
LOMBARDI: Well, I would say that on the one hand this is a very good day
for students who have been victimized. When I first started reporting on
the issue of campus sexual assault in 2009, the senate Republican integrity
sent to examine how colleges and universities handle student allegations of
sexual assault. Back then, this was a very pervasive problem, and
intractable problem and a largely hidden problem. Today awareness of this
issue, momentum around this issue has reached the highest levels of
government. And I think a lot of student victims who have I have been
talking to over the years are optimistic about that.
One of the good things that came out of the White House task force report
today was the recommendation that schools conduct standardized anonymous
surveys on their college campuses in order to -- to get a sense of the
scope of campus sexual assault on their individual campuses. That`s a very
good thing. It is a recommendation that mirrors the recommendation of a
group of senators, led by senators Kirsten Gillibrand who sent a letter to
the White House task force last week suggesting that the task force require
schools to do this.
MELBER: Let me jump in there because requirements are born Senator
Gillibrand I think has been hugely leader on this issue in the military
context and the civilian context. And yet when I was reading the report, I
welcome it as something. But so much of it was language of
recommendations, nonbinding actions on the by stander policy that I
mention, you know there are studies that show, as you well know, that when
you use those programs to educate students and get them involved.
One New Hampshire study found that where, 38 percent of men who had gone
through the training were more like, were more likely to be intervening in
a sexual assault compared to 12 percent for those who didn`t.
Do you think it is time for the fed to stand up and make that mandatory as
a condition for federal funding for schools or make some of this have more
LOMBARDI: Prevention programming? I believe prevention programming will
become mandatory as the part of the campus save act which was passed last
spring as the part of the reauthorization of the violence against women
act. The justice department as part of these recommendations is supposed
to be piloting and evaluating some of the most effective prevention
programs. These are positive steps. And I don`t want to downplay them.
At the same time, when I was -- what I was trying to get at was a lot of
the students that I have spoken with have expressed, you know, a fear that
perhaps what may come out of the task force is simply a public service
announcement. And what they want is better federal enforcement.
MELBER: Right.
LOMBARDI: That`s what they want.
MELBER: I think that is well put. I think that is the important part.
And the awareness as the step as your saying and improvements from `09 or
improvements in the Congress and yet so much more to do.
We are out of time, but I hope we can revisit this, and revisit it with
you. Thank you very much. Kristin Lombardi gets the last word tonight.
LOMBARDI: Thank you very much.
MELBER: I have been Ari Melber, in here for Lawrence O`Donnell. All In
with Chris Hayes is up next.
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text:
Last night I met Maria Woodford's mentor, the amazing blues singer/songwriter, Gaye Adegbalola! Gaye and Roddy Barnes (stunning piano and vocals) performed last night at Tierney's Tavern in Montclair, NJ. Over the top! I'm still smiling….
Incredible musicians and fabulous performers! When the evening ended, I wanted it to start all over again.
Sketchbook drawings: drawn first with fountain pen filled with Noodler's Black Ink, followed by Peerless Watercolors applied with waterbrush.


text:
BENEFITING: New Jersey Institute for Disabilities
ORGANIZER: Kelly
EVENT: 2015 Lakeview 5K
EVENT DATE: Jun 06, 2015
Rich Lauch
Kelly Buzy wrote -Team Keefe is running again this year in memory of Debra Lee!!
Debra Lee Keefe was a dear sister, aunt, friend and loved one. She passed away on 3/20/12 due to complications from a car accident. She was a very giving person. She loved children and always wanted to participate in the Lakeview 5k. So again this year Debbie, our family and friends will be there to run in your shoes, to help the Lakeview School reach their goals. All proceeds directly benefit the array of programs of the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities, which provides comprehensive services to more than 1,500 infants, children and adults throughout New Jersey. Help us make a difference this year. We love you, Debbie. Let's go Team Keefe! #TEAMKEEFE