The choices we make… dictate the lives we lead. SMH It took less than two weeks for Harvard Basketball co-captain Kyle Casey to withdraw from school for the entire academic year after the shake down in a widespread academic cheating scandal. With Harvard’s fall enrollment deadline looming Tuesday, Casey withdrew from school and co-captain Brandyn Curry was expected to do the same, in an attempt to preserve their final year of eligibility. On Aug. 30, Harvard College announced in a letter that its administrative board was investigating allegations that approximately 125 undergraduates “may have committed acts of academic dishonesty, ranging from inappropriate collaboration to outright plagiarism, on a take-home final exam.” The exam was for Government 1310: Introduction to Congress, a spring 2012 class with an enrollment of 279. Sources said that Casey, Curry and one additional men’s basketball player are among a group of athletes and non-athletes whose cases are pending review. They are facing charges of academic dishonesty that could carry a one-year suspension from school. Amaker, who came to Harvard in 2007 after being dismissed from Michigan, has coached the Crimson to 20-win seasons in each of the past three years, including a 26-5 record in 2011-12. They were the early favorite to repeat as Ivy League champions next season, given that Casey, who also considered attending Stanford and Vanderbilt out of high school in Medway, Mass., was a potential contender for Ivy League player of the year and Curry was expected to be among the conference’s best point guards. For at least one season, Harvard will have to make do without them. Lesson learned?? Or do you think this was a harsh punishment? Source Images via Twitter
Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made a return to the political stage last night, leading the pledge of allegiance at the Democratic National Convention. Giffords, who left Congress in January to focus on her recovery from a shooting that left her grievously wounded, was greeted with thunderous applause. She walked out with good friend and DNC chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) by her side. Watch Gabby lead the pledge below …
Two-time Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul made full use of his final campaign rally on Sunday to take his final shots at an establishment that never quite delivered on promises to include him and his libertarian followers. His rally at the University of Southern Florida’s SunDome drew over 7,000 fans, an event staged in response to a Republican convention that will not include Paul. Mitt Romney ‘s campaign offered him a speaking slot at the national event this week on condition that he provide his remarks to them in advance for their approval. Paul declined. Ron Paul Speech in Tampa He’ll still be honored in a video tribute on Tuesday night, but his convention presence – or lack thereof – was one of the first subjects Paul covered Sunday. “Today I was very excited to get a call from the RNC,” Paul said, before cracking a joke related to the weather-related postponement of Monday events. “They said they changed their mind. They’re going to give me a whole hour and I can say whatever I want – tomorrow night! Just kidding.” Paul directly referenced rules changes that may keep similarly insurgent delegates from succeeding in future elections, seeming stung by disappointment. The RNC “learned how to bend rules, break rules, and now they want to rewrite the rules,” the 77-year-old said. “That’s what we have to stop.” He also nodded to the view, common among Paul supporters, that votes had been miscounted or improperly counted in multiple primary states. “Ultimately numbers do count,” he said. “And numbers do count even when they don’t count all the votes as well. Because we do have the numbers!” Paul may be angry that after years of effort and compromise, insiders are not letting him in. But he’s also now able to speak unfiltered – even by his standards. He took full advantage on Sunday, filling 67 minutes with a laundry list of historical references, bits of his stump speech, and nostalgic philosophizing. The retiring Texas Congressman frequently wandered into territory only he will go, from criticizing Federal Reserve policies to defending WikiLeaks. Leak source Bradley Manning, Paul said, “is in the military so there are probably some debates on exactly how and what to do, but let me tell you.” “Bradley Manning didn’t kill anybody, Bradley Manning hasn’t caused the death of anybody, and what he has exposed, he is the equivalent to Daniel Ellsberg, who told us the truth about Vietnam.” “I’m afraid that if we took a poll across the country and said ‘Should we try Assange for treason?’ that most Americans would say oh yes he’s a bad guy, he’s telling us all these secrets. But guess what, he’s an Australian citizen.” On liberty,” Paul said, “When it returns, once again you’ll be able to drink raw milk. You’ll be able to make a rope out of hemp. You’ll be able to feel secure in your house because the federal government will not be able to spy on you.” On foreign policy: “People say that If people listened to me, Osama bin Laden would still be alive. You know what I say? So would the 3,000 people killed on 9/11!” On the threat of fascism: “I do think we have to worry about fascism, an expansion of what we have which is corporatism.” On his legion of young fans, and mainstreaming his movement: “Wouldn’t you say that if there was a party that said ‘We have an open tent, we want new people to come in, we want to appeal to young people’ – don’t you think they would be begging and pleading that they come into the big tent?” “We will get into the tent, believe me. Because we will become the tent.” With his retirement, becoming the tent is a task that will now fall to Paul’s son Rand, the junior senator from Kentucky, and on a host of younger candidates and members of Congress who count Paul as an influence. “The worst thing we could do is be silent,” Paul said. He left the stage to thunderous applause.
Seems Todd Akin’s comment had a huge impact on women brave enough to come out and tell their stories. Women everywhere, one after the other, have been taking their tragedies to the media in a heroic effort. Shauna R. Prewitt wrote about her experience and how, years later, she’s raising her daughter who was the product of a viscous act so many of us struggle to tell. While a student in my final year of college, at age 21, I was raped. I have dissected that moment — the horrifying moment that I became a “victim” — from every possible angle. I have poked and prodded, examined and re-examined. Regrettably, I have even suspected myself in a desperate, ultimately futile attempt to understand how I became a victim….People who did not even know me were quick to comment or speculate on my rape. What were you wearing? Did you scream loudly? Did this occur in public? Eight years after my rape, I find myself on trial against ignorance again. Rep. Todd Akin’s recent comments that “legitimate rape” rarely results in pregnancy not only flout scientific fact but, for me, cut deeper. Akin has de-legitimized my rape. You see, nine months after my rape, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. You could say she was conceived in rape; she was. But she is also so much more than her beginnings. I blissfully believed that after I finally had decided to give birth to and to raise my daughter, life would be all roses and endless days at the playground. I was wrong again. It would not be long before I would learn firsthand that in the vast majority of states — 31 — men who father through rape are able to assert the same custody and visitation rights to their children that other fathers enjoy . When no law prohibits a rapist from exercising these rights, a woman may feel forced to bargain away her legal rights to a criminal trial in exchange for the rapist dropping the bid to have access to her child. For the sake of her child, the woman will sacrifice her need to see her once immensely powerful perpetrator humbled by the court. I know it because I lived it. I went to law school to learn how to stop it. Having fought this injustice for the past several years, I have come to believe that ignorance is to blame for this legal absence. Opponents argue no woman would ever choose to raise the child she conceived through rape. The only two studies to analyze the choices made by pregnant raped women indicate otherwise — at least 30% of women who conceive by rape make this choice. Others argue that no rapist would ever seek parental rights. Not only does my experience and that of others I know prove otherwise, but it is not surprising that a man who cruelly degrades a woman would also seek to torture her in an even more agonizing way, by seeking access to her child. Today, it seems we may face a new and unbelievable challenge: convincing legislators that women can conceive when they are raped. Our heart goes out to every Woman out there who’s ever felt that indescribable fear and struggles because she was violated. Make sure you Vote this year so we can keep Congress and Fat Cat Politicos out of our Crocthes! Source Images via Shutterstock
Bethany Appleton – a 28-year old middle school teacher in Shelbyville, Indiana – has been arrested on 13 counts of inappropriate behavior with minors. Foremost among them, Appleton reportedly sleeping with at least one student and of plying many with marijuana and alcohol. According to authorities, a police investigation uncovered several victims between April 2011 and May 2012, as investigators allege Appleton engaged in sexual relations with one victim in her home and provided alcohol and marijuana to others. She is also accused of drinking and smoking with them. Appleton – who was was hired as a mild disabilities teacher at Shelbyville Middle School in 2008 – faces four ounts of sexual misconduct with a minor, along with charges of child seduction, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and maintaining a common nuisance.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced today that House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan is his pick for Vice President. The Wisconsin Congressman will be introduced as the V.P. nominee as “The Romney Plan For A Stronger Middle Class” bus tour kicks off in Virginia. Romney is expected to speak at 8:45 a.m. in Norfolk, Va., with a retired military battleship as a backdrop … fittingly the U.S.S. Wisconsin. Two others high on Romney’s short list of VP contenders – former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio – were informed in recent days that they would not be on the ticket. Instead it will be Paul Ryan, 42, already considered a rising star in the Republican Party, is currently the chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee. He’s been in Congress since 1999 and is best known this session for his controversial budget plan this term that includes an overhaul of Medicare. Democrats have persistently claimed his plan would “end Medicare as we know it,” but the GOP considers Ryan a leading voice on fiscal issues. Both well-versed and telegenic, Ryan has stood by his plan as a solution to an ever-growing deficit and out-of-control entitlement spending. Ryan has made fiscal discipline the touchstone of his tenure; with Ryan at his side, Romney is doubling down on his perceived economic strengths. The choice promises a fierce debate over the size and role of government in America, and Democrats are relishing the chance to take on that fight. Paul Ryan: Good choice by Romney?
SMH!!! Rep. Michelle Bachmann is once again making headlines for her claims that prominent Democrats are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) laughed off claims by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) that he has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and said she makes such baseless accusations because, deep down, she thinks Muslims are “evil.” Bachmann was already in hot water this week for saying Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, may be part of a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy to infiltrate the U.S. government. Despite being criticized by leaders of her own party, Bachmann on Thursday said Ellison, one of two Muslims in Congress, also has connections to the hard-line Islamic group. “He has a long record of being associated with [the Council on American–Islamic Relations] and with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Bachmann said during an interview on Glenn Beck’s radio show. If she accused a fellow congressman of being associated with a terrorist organization and can offer no proof, censure isn’t enough. She should be removed from the House. It is very important the we the voters stop these “Joe McCarthy” types from exerting their power in Congress. As as nation, we can NOT experience a repeat performance of McCarthy with Muslims being the replacement for Commies. Source
No blood donation for Frank Ocean ? The American Red Cross says power outages created by recent storms in the East and Midwest cut blood donations, which were already low this summer. In June there was a nationwide shortfall, with donations down more than 10% across the country. “We are asking people to please call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit us at redcrossblood.org to find a way to donate if they can,” said Stephanie Millian, Red Cross director of biomedical communications. “We need people’s help.” One group that would like to help, but legally can’t, may be moving one step closer to eligibility. Since the 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic decimated their community, gay men — or MSMs (men who have sex with men) as they are called by federal agencies — have not been allowed to donate blood. In June, a group of 64 U.S. legislators led by Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services encouraging it to move forward with a study that may lead to the end of the decades-old ban. “We remain concerned that a blanket deferral of MSM for any length of time both perpetuates the unwarranted discrimination against the bisexual and gay community and prevents healthy men from donating blood without a definitive finding of added benefit to the safety of the blood supply,” the letter said. “This is a matter of life and death and we are turning away over 50,000 healthy men who want to donate blood,” Quigley told CNN. “A straight person who has unsafe sex with multiple partners can give blood, and that creates a greater risk than a gay person in a monogamous relationship.” The policy started at a time when people didn’t know how the deadly virus that causes AIDS spread. At the time, there wasn’t a good test to detect whether HIV was present in donated blood, and HIV was getting into the nation’s blood supply. They knew this because hemophiliacs who were getting blood transfusions started showing symptoms of AIDS. What scientists also knew was that a disproportionate number of gay men were affected by the virus. To eliminate risk, the Food and Drug Administration added a screening question to the federal guidelines. Blood banks were instructed to ask male donors if they had had sex with a man, even once, since 1977. The FDA regards 1977 as the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States. If the potential donor responded “yes,” he would automatically be removed from the donor pool for life. No similar questions were asked to screen out donors who engaged in other potentially risky sexual behavior. Donors weren’t asked about the number of partners they had, nor were they asked if their sexual partners had engaged in unprotected sex with other HIV positive partners. “While the Red Cross is obligated by law to follow the FDA guidelines, we continue to work with the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) to push through policies that would be much more fair and consistent among donors who engage in similar risk activities,” Millian said. Scientists can now screen for most instances of HIV within days of infection, and the nation’s blood banks have called a lifetime ban “medically and scientifically unwarranted.” Men who have sex with men still are disproportionately affected by the virus and account for nearly half the approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it is a person’s behavior, not their sexual orientation, that puts them at risk say health experts. While he is a gay man, Adam Denney thinks he would be the perfect candidate to donate blood. He doesn’t use IV drugs. He practices safer sex. He even educates people on how to prevent new HIV infections as a regular volunteer educator with AIDS Volunteers Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky. He thinks his exclusion is unfair. “Yes, gay men are still a high-risk community, but so are minority women, and there are no standards prohibiting them from donating. There would be rightful outrage against that kind of blanket population ban,” Denney said. “I am banned based on one reason only, my sexual orientation. It’s totally discriminatory.” When Denney went to donate at a blood drive on the Eastern Kentucky University Campus a few years ago, he said he knew what likely would happen when the nurses asked the sexual history question. “I did know what I was getting into, but I was shocked by how it felt to be rejected,” he said. “It was almost like they thought I wasn’t important enough to give blood, like because I was gay I didn’t count. It was a horrible feeling.” Nathan Schaefer with GMHC, an AIDS service organization, said Denney normally would be the type of donor blood banks are hungry for. Studies show those who give blood when they are young become regular lifetime donors, something most blood banks are struggling to find these days. GMHC has been fighting to change the ban for years. In 2010 GMHC joined a coalition of other nonprofits to encourage Congress to send a letter to HHS to end the ban, which some members of congress did. In June of that year, HHS brought together an independent panel of experts. The Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability reviewed the policy and decided to keep it and concluded the ban was “suboptimal,” because it allows high-risk individuals to donate while keeping low-risk donors out. However, the expert committee also concluded “available scientific data are inadequate to support change to a specific alternate policy.” The panel suggested the policy not be changed and recommended further evaluation. HHS then promised to conduct feasibility studies to determine if there was a subset of the gay male population that would pose little or no threat to the blood supply. “We finally got them to stop defending the policy at the very least, which was pretty significant,” Schaefer said. The HHS is still determining the criteria for which part of the population to study. GMHC suggested the population to consider should include gay men who have had only one sex partner in the past six months. Spain and Italy, two countries with more progressive donor policies, hold everyone to that standard regardless of sexual orientation. Schaefer takes the point one step further. “A straight person could donate today after having unprotected sex with hundreds of partners, and in the United States they won’t ask about that behavior,” he said. He added that four out of five gay men are HIV negative, which he estimated means 2 million additional people could be blood donors. A 2010 study by the Williams Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles estimated that if gay men who had not had sexual contact for the past 12 months were allowed to donate blood, more than 53,000 additional men would likely make more than 89,000 blood donations. That number may seem small, but blood banks say it could help enormously, especially now, when blood supply shortages are common. After Denney was denied the chance to donate, he asked some of his friends to help him demonstrate outside the blood drive. They produced signs to raise awareness about the ban and distributed educational material. They also escorted people to the drive, because they wanted people to continue to donate. “A lot of people in the Bible Belt assume you have AIDS if you are a gay man,” he said. “We wanted them to understand that is not the case. We are banned based on an outdated policy. When people questioned us, I told them about how I always heard that people who donate blood are heroes. Gay men want to be heroes, too.” What do you think? Should this ban be lifted? Source
Condoleeza Rice Speaks Out Against Obama Immigration Policy; Predicts Mitt Romney As Presidential Victor More shameless shade from the GOP… Condoleeza Rice, whose post-Bush years have been spent mostly at Stanford University, is making her voice heard in political circles again. Just days after reportedly bringing down the house with a powerful speech at a Utah retreat with Republicans donors for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, Rice flew to Washington to headline a fundraiser for ShePAC, a new super PAC that supports conservative female candidates. The appearance was notably her very first DC fundraiser for a political outside group, complete with a private foreign policy briefing with sitting female lawmakers and Republican House and Senate candidates from across the country. “This is a truly consequential election. This is perhaps a turning point for the country. I’m very often asked to speak about the foreign policy aspects and there are some key important foreign policy issues before us,” Rice said before briefly listing a series of challenges abroad. “There are many foreign policy issues on the agenda, but we are not going to address any of those international challenges unless we get it right at home. And it’s not right at home right now, and the American people know it.” She went on to tell her own story of a child who grew up in the segregated South whose parents encouraged her to seek an education. Rice lamented what he sees as changing attitudes about opportunities for success in the United States and–without calling him by name–criticized President Barack Obama for announcing that his administration would selectively enforce immigration laws. “Americans who come here from other places to be a part of that belief that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, which is why we need an immigration policy that works,” Rice said. “But, by the way, we need one that the Congress and the president work out together, and we need to do something about access to education.” Rice, whose name is increasingly coming up as a possible candidate to become Romney’s running mate, ended her talk with a shout-out to the former Massachusetts governor. “America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect, and we’re going to do it again,” she said. “We’re going to strengthen ourselves, our democracy at home, we’re going to strengthen our economy, we’re going to do it with great leadership like the people in this room and like Governor Mitt Romney, who will be a terrific president.” Hmmm sounds like Condoleezy is buildin up those brownie points for that V.P. nomination. Do you think the former Secretary of State would make a good Vice President? Source Image via Wenn
It doesn’t matter what the names on the label may say, A$AP Rocky stays wearing some weird looking clothes b. No slander, he said so on “Wassup,” okay? The Harlem rapper recently linked up with Parisian publication WAD Magazine for its “Cocktail” issue. Naturally, we would assume the convo veered toward the “Goldie” MC’s penchant for expensive designer gear in the mag’s editorial feature, titled “A$APARI$.”… Continue
