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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Immigration reform: 3 reasons it's got its best chance yet

The GOP's Sen. John McCain couldn?t do it in 2005. Spanish-speaking Texan President George W. Bush couldn?t do it in 2007. Spooked, President Obama didn?t even try it in his first term, although he had promised to.

Indeed, Republican opposition has doomed immigration reform nearly every time it has been proposed ? 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010, according to the National Journal.

By all accounts, however, this time will be different. Even the typically restrained Associated Press calls it, ?the kind of breathtaking turnaround you rarely see in politics.?

RECOMMENDED: Could you pass a US citizenship test?

Senate hearings begin this week on the 844-page immigration reform proposal written by a bipartisan group of eight senators, including co-author Florida senator and conservative idol Marco Rubio. Though opposition still looms, for the first time in years partisan outrage appears to be absent ? and this latest immigration reform proposal may have the best chance of passing in a very long while.

Here are three reasons why:

The 2012 election

You haven?t already forgotten, have you? If the 2012 election taught us anything, it is that Hispanic voters matter. Like the youth vote in 2008, Hispanics were the star bloc of the last election, arguably the reason Mr. Obama won and GOP contender Mitt Romney lost.

It?s not just the GOP that recognizes that. Obama won 71 percent of Hispanic voters in 2012, and frankly, he may feel he owes them ? especially since he?s been promising immigration reform since he ran for office in 2008.

And the GOP, well, its ?pathetic job of reaching out to people of color? (as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) told Fox News after his party?s thrashing) cost it the White House last year. And the party knows it?s more or less doomed without Hispanic support in coming years.

?If we don?t do better with Hispanics, we?ll be out of the White House forever,? Republican strategist Ana Navarro said post-election.

Potential political irrelevance? Nothing like it to fuel legislative action.

Marco Rubio

Come on, who?s got more conservative cred? than bill co-author Sen. ?I bleed Republican red? Rubio?

He?s been called the ?crown prince of the Tea Party movement,? a ?conservative hero," a Latino ?rising star,? and the GOP?s natural leader on immigration reform.

And that?s why he?s the immigration reform bill?s best bet for success. Rubio, along with Gang-of-Eight GOP heavyweights Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain, and Jeff Flake of Arizona, are targeting Republican lawmakers to support the bill.

Sure, he?s getting plenty of flak, but that hasn?t stopped the Cuban-American from Florida from making his case.

As he recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, ?Conservatism has always been about reforming government and solving problems, and that's why the conservative movement should lead on immigration reform ? defeating it without offering an alternative cannot be the conservative position on immigration reform. That would leave the issue entirely in the hands of President Obama and leave in place the disastrous status quo.?

Growing support

Unlike in 2007, when Republican outrage mounted into an all-out war against immigration reform, 2013 sees increasing support for ? and recognition of the need for ? comprehensive immigration reform from a bevy of conservative groups.

Top among them: evangelical Christians. In 2007, they were among immigration reform?s staunchest opponents; today, they are some of its biggest supporters, calling on their ranks to obey biblical injunctions to welcome the stranger.

Last month, some 300 evangelical leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to support immigration reform ? virtually unheard of six years ago.

No surprise, business leaders are also coming out more publicly in favor of immigration reform, recognizing that they need immigrants ? skilled and unskilled ? to advance their own interests. As it stands, the Gang of Eight?s proposal would establish an agricultural worker visa system as well as create more visa programs for high- and low-skill workers.

That?s why Silicon Valley and the tech industry, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are ?feverishly working" to support the immigration bill ? and shape it to their interests.

When it comes to change of heart, however, the biggest surprise has been conservative talk radio.

Six years ago, irate talk radio hosts, such as Fox News personality and syndicated talk radio host Sean Hannity, whipped up Republican outrage over immigration reform, which ultimately doomed the bill.

Not this time. Mr. Hannity "says that he 'has evolved' and that it is time for Republicans to support some kind of major change in the nation?s immigration system,? according to The New York Times.

Apparently he?s not alone.

Conservative talk radio host Michael Medved told the paper he sensed a shift. ?What you are not hearing as much, except from a handful of people, is ?over my dead body,? ? Mr. Medved told the Times. ?The level of apocalyptic hysteria is much less.?

Hey, if conservative talk radio ? and Hannity ? can pull an about-face on immigration reform, this bill?s got its best chance yet.

RECOMMENDED: Could you pass a US citizenship test?

Out There: A Glossy Science Magazine or Living Fossil?

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Though the graveyard of journalism is littered with popular science magazines, a new one emerges, Nautilus, with the goal of being ?a New Yorker version of Scientific American.?

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/science/a-glossy-science-magazine-or-living-fossil.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Giffords receives Profile in Courage award

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, left, listens as her husband Capt. Mark Kelly speaks after Giffords received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Caroline Kennedy, right, poses with former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after presenting her with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, left, stands with her husband Capt. Mark Kelly after receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Caroline Kennedy, right, presents former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON (AP) ? Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords received the 2013 Profile in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Library on Sunday in recognition of the political, personal, and physical courage she has demonstrated in her fearless public advocacy for policy reforms aimed at reducing gun violence.

Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a 2011 shooting when a lone gunman opened fire as she met with constituents in a Tucson, Ariz., shopping mall, and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, have been lobbying for more gun control legislation.

This year, on the second anniversary of the January shooting, the couple started Americans for Responsible Gun Ownership, an organization that "supports the right to bear arms and responsible public policy on guns and gun ownership."

Caroline Kennedy, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, presented the award to Giffords.

Kennedy took a moment to salute the first responders and the citizens of Boston. Referring to the Boston Marathon bombings last month, Kennedy said, "All Americans have been inspired by the countless acts of selfless bravery and compassion we saw during the violence that struck this city on Patriots Day."

In presenting the award to the former Arizona Congresswoman, Kennedy said, "Gabby Giffords has turned a personal nightmare into a movement for political change."

Earlier Sunday, Giffords and Kelly spent time visiting victims of the marathon bombings at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Boston.

"For victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, we extend our deepest sympathies to all of you who have endured violence and loss," Kelly said.

"Courage means doing everything we can to prevent other parents from having to endure that loss," he said.

Alluding to her disappointment in Congress' failure to pass gun control legislation last week, Giffords called for courage from lawmakers.

"I believe we all have courage inside," she said. "I just wish there was more courage in Congress."

"It's been a hard two years for me," Giffords said, "but I want to make the world a better place more than ever."

Kelly also praised his wife.

"There are people who make things happen. There are people who watch things happen. And there are people who wonder what just happened," Kelly said. "Gabby Giffords is a person who makes things happen."

Kennedy cited Giffords' strength to carry on a difficult fight.

"Our family is still suffering from the heartbreak caused by gun violence," Kennedy said. "No one should have to lose a husband, a wife, a father, a child, to senseless murder.

"But as our nominee has shown, out of that pain and tragedy, we must find the strength to carry on, to give meaning to our lives, and to build a more just and peaceful world."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-05-US-Profile-in-Courage-Giffords/id-a7452302cb024bf48a07e09d8b55f140

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Tylenol May Ease Pain of Existential Distress, Social Rejection

Why would we want to numb existential distress?

Here's the skinny for those who think that anxiety and depression are just something that weak people complain about. These issues are a result of a physical condition. Think of it like have having diabetes, or having your legs blown off. People who succumb to extreme anxiety are some of the strongest willed people out there. They have to live with this condition day in and day out, and try to appear normal at the same time. The mechanism is easy to understand. When someone points a loaded gun at you, or in more primitive time, a tiger jumps out of the bush, your neurochemicals change. You freeze, time slows, you are ready to jump and run at a moment's notice, you are prepared to die. The same is true for harsh conditions, wartime, famine, etc. People who are naturally in a state of high stress have a better chance of survival. Life is pretty awful, but you can bear the next tragedy pretty well. Now imagine a society where we never have to deal with these things. Those that are predisposed to deal with the worst through genetics, upbringing, life events, etc., that is, who have a physically different neurochemicals, have no reason to be that way. There is no tiger, although it feels like there is. There is no war, although your brain is telling you that there is. You can't simply "suck it up" or "just get over it." It's the way that you are forced to think, and you spend your life fighting these feelings.

Most people don't have these feelings. Lucky them. The problem is that they can't conceive of what it's like when you are constantly on alert, because any lapse means that you will die. Now therapy does help to some extent. It helps you identify triggers, and to identify when your body is telling you something that's not true. But it's tiring, and painful to deal with. Having some kind of medication to help alleviate that, and get you back to a stable level of neurochemicals is a god send. The problem with meds is that every one has side effects, so it is imperative that you find a doctor to help you find the best dosage and mix with the least side effects. And do therapy at the same time to learn to see those effects on your moods and thinking.

So, yes, it is wonderful to have another option for anxiety when your brain is telling you to run and hide and there is nothing there. We're not talking about suppressing minor ennui or occasional blues. We're not saying to get rid of all emotions. But if taking a couple of over the counter pills with minor side effects can get a truly anxious person through a touch situation, then I'm all for that.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/iZwcuUWtgKk/story01.htm

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Gunshots, trauma killed bomb suspect

BOSTON (AP) ? A suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings died from gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to his head and torso, a funeral director said Friday.

Worcester funeral home owner Peter Stefan has 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body and read details from his death certificate. The certificate cites Tsarnaev's "gunshot wounds of torso and extremities" and lists the time of his death as 1:35 a.m. on April 19, four days after the deadly bombing, Stefan said.

Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with authorities who had launched a massive manhunt for him and his brother, ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago. Police have said he ran out of ammunition before his younger brother dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing.

Tsarnaev's family on Friday was making arrangements for his funeral as investigators searched the woods near a college attended by 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was captured less than a day after his brother's death.

The funeral parlor in Worcester is familiar with Muslim services and said it will handle arrangements for Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose body was released by the state medical examiner Thursday night.

The body initially was taken to a North Attleborough funeral home, where it was greeted by about 20 protesters. Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, an hour's drive west of Boston, said everybody deserves a dignified burial service no matter the circumstances of his or her death and he is prepared for protests.

"My problem here is trying to find a gravesite. A lot of people don't want to do it. They don't want to be involved with this," said Stefan, who said dozens of protesters gathered outside his funeral home, upset with his decision to handle the funeral. "I keep bringing up the point of Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh or Ted Bundy. Somebody had to do those, too."

Meanwhile, two U.S. officials said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told interrogators that he and his brother initially considered setting off their bombs on July Fourth.

Boston police said they planned to review security procedures for the Independence Day Boston Pops concert and fireworks display, which draws a crowd of more than 500,000 annually and is broadcast to a national TV audience. Authorities plan to look at security procedures for large events held in other cities, notably the massive New Year's Eve celebration held each year in New York City's Times Square, Massachusetts state police spokesman David Procopio said.

Gov. Deval Patrick said everything possible will be done to assure a safe event.

"I think the most important thing is that we got them, and there's investigation continuing about where the other leads may lead," he said. "I can tell you, having been thoroughly briefed, that the law enforcement at every level is pursuing everything."

As part of the bombing investigation, federal, state and local authorities were searching the woods near the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, could not say what investigators were looking for but said residents should know there is no threat to public safety.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a suburban Boston backyard, faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. Three of his college classmates were arrested Wednesday and accused of helping after the bombing to remove a laptop and backpack from his dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

The April 15 bombing, using pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards, killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

The brothers decided to carry out the attack before Independence Day when they finished assembling the bombs, the surviving suspect told interrogators after he was arrested, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the investigation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Investigators believe some of the explosives used in the attack were assembled in Tamerlan Tsarnaev's home, though there may have been some assembly elsewhere, one of the officials said. It does not appear that the brothers ever had big, definitive plans, the official said.

The brothers' mother insists the allegations against them are lies.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security ordered border agents to immediately begin verifying that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government's first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.

The order from a senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, David J. Murphy, was circulated Thursday and came one day after President Barack Obama's administration acknowledged that one of the students accused of hiding evidence, Azamat Tazhayakov, of Kazakhstan, was allowed to return to the U.S. in January without a valid student visa.

Tazhayakov's lawyer has said he had nothing to do with the bombing and was shocked by it.

A benefit concert featuring Aerosmith, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett is scheduled for May 30 at the TD Garden in Boston. The proceeds will go to The One Fund, which has taken in more than $28 million for those injured and the families of those who were killed.

The fund's administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, said Friday he plans to hold meetings with victims next week and begin cutting checks by the end of June.

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy and Mark Pratt in Boston and Pete Yost, Eileen Sullivan and Alicia A. Caldwell in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-bomb-suspect-died-gunshots-blunt-trauma-000018135.html

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PFT: Vikings' Allen still in Ponder's corner

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Getty Images

The Jaguars have stood pat at quarterback in the offseason, good news for third-year pro Blaine Gabbert, who thus gets another chance to show he can be the club?s long-term answer at the position.

Whether Gabbert can seize the opportunity remains to be seen. But this is much is clear ? the Jaguars believe improving the pass protection even just a little bit could help Gabbert, and they have data that suggests as much.

In a story published Friday, Jaguars general manager David Caldwell told NFL.com?s Albert Breer that data provided by senior vice president of football technology and analytics?Tony Khan in the pre-draft process helped show how Gabbert?s performance related to the time he had to throw. Khan?s data, Breer reported, showed that?Gabbert ranked among the ?top-third? of the NFL at his position when he had 2.6 seconds before throwing.

In two NFL seasons, Gabbert has been sacked 62 times in 25 games (24 starts), and though he?s thrown more TDs than interceptions (21-17), he?s completed just 53.8 percent of his throws, and his play has come under criticism.

The statistics provided by Khan, Caldwell told NFL.com, did help the Jaguars decide to take an offensive tackle second overall.?According to Caldwell, the Jaguars had decided two weeks before the draft that they would be taking either Texas A&M?s Luke Joeckel or Central Michigan?s Eric Fisher with the No. 2 overall pick if Kansas City took one of the tackles first.

?What we did was fill a need where the value met the need,? Caldwell told NFL.com. ?It became clear two weeks prior, after we met with the scouting staff, the personnel staff, got their feedback, that the two highest-rated guys were the tackles. The coaches told us we needed to upgrade the line. So this was gonna be a solid pick; we felt we?d get a cornerstone, a pillar for the team.?

The Chiefs, of course, took Fisher, leaving Joeckel for the Jaguars. Joeckel is expected to ply right tackle for Jacksonville as a rookie, with veteran Eugene Monroe on the left side. Monroe, per Pro Football Focus statistics, gave up just five sacks a season ago, but Cameron Bradfield and Guy Whimper, who combined to start all 16 games at right tackle for Jacksonville in 2012, surrendered a combined 11 sacks, according to PFF.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/03/jared-allen-tells-christian-ponder-you-have-to-be-the-guy/related/

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Gillmor Gang: Glass Onion

The Gillmor Gang ? Robert Scoble, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, and Steve Gillmor ? well, we talked Google Glass. @scobleizer has certainly made the case for the life-altering shower-taking scenarios, but what the Gang got into was what happens next. Do we wait for the actual launch early next year, or is the die already cast with this alpha rollout? One thing for sure: there's plenty to unravel in this second Glass hour in a row.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/A_GSMPYEvC8/

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