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Monday Cinco de Mayo Reads: Human Interest, Interesting Humans

Posted: May 5, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: morning reads |55 Comments

Good Morning!

images (31)

Today is a day of Mexican pride and a celebration of the War of Puebla. The Mexican Army unexpectedly beat the army of France that was sent to collect some debts caused by the Mexican American War and declared cancelled by the Mexican President.  Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

I guess the Nerds had to spend all day in bed yesterday because the chattering class seems to have gone silent over the weekend. Some folks were busy down here with us and drunk tweeting from the New Orleans and Jazz Fest. Hard to believe this guy’s specialty is strategy.

 

PayPal, a company that allows web users to make monetary transactions on the web, fired senior executive Rakesh Agrawal after he made a series of insulting – and mostly incomprehensible – tweets against co-workers. Ironically, the announcement was made with a tweet.

“Rakesh Agrawal is no longer with the company. Treat everyone with respect. No excuses. PayPal has zero tolerance,” the company tweeted on Saturday.

Agarwal had joined Paypal around two months ago as its global strategy head.

Earlier, he sent out a number of tweets, slamming his co-workers. The language and (lack of) grammar in the tweets hinted that he was probably drunk when he wrote them. The tweets were later deleted but not before some Twitter users took screenshots.

In one tweet, Agarwal said, “Christina Smedley is a useless. Piece of sh*t.” In another he noted, “Duck you Smedley you useless. Middle manager.”

Smedley is vice president of global communication at PayPal.

In one more tweet, he wanted someone named Don Christmas to be fired. “People who should be fire from Paypal Don Christmas a pool a kick”.

Agarwal was apparently at a jazz festival in New Orleans when he made these tweets. Later, he realised what happened and tried to do damage control. He blamed the tweets on a new phone he was testing.

I sure would hate to have that on my resume.  Anway, like I said, it’s been a sloooowww weekend so I thought I’d put hims something a little more images (32)interesting than politics and disaster news.  There’s a terrific Hispanic woman candidate running in a California district that’s attracting a lot of attention.  I thought I’d sure her story with you because it’s a great one.  She could be quite representative of the future of Democratic Politics in this country.

Ya es tiempo — you have a voice,” Amanda Renteria, a Democratic candidate for Congress, declared one recent Saturday morning at a park in this little city southeast of Fresno. There was no need to translate the Spanish. The park was festooned with “Amanda Renteria para el Congreso” signs.

As she told her local-girl-makes-good story — daughter of onetime migrant fruit pickers, degrees from Stanford and Harvard, a job in Washington as a senator’s chief of staff — men in ranchero hats smiled with pride. Women choked back tears. Candidates like her, they said, do not come around often in places like this.

“We have been waiting, waiting,” said Diana Rodriquez, a retired teacher whose parents also worked the fields here in the agriculturally rich Central Valley, in a largely Hispanic congressional district. “We helped Obama win the election, and they still see us to be passed over. This is going to help the overall national cause — respect for our community.”

cincodemayoI found a few items from the history vault too.  Did you hear the one about the socialite and lovestruck LBJ?  Can you imagine being the secret service detail that got this duty?

On a quiet summer evening in 1964, Mary McGrory’s phone rang. The caller identified himself as a Secret Service agent and said that President Johnson wanted to stop by her apartment in 15 minutes. “Oh, really,” McGrory replied drolly, sure that the caller was a fellow reporter pulling her leg, but the man on the line insisted he was serious.

She went out into the hallway of her apartment building, a drab modern brick affair a few miles up Connecticut Avenue from the White House, and found several Secret Service agents standing near the elevator. Realizing that the leader of the free world was, indeed, on his way, she ran back inside and frantically tidied up. Several minutes later, the president appeared at her door.

At age 45, Mary McGrory was already one of the most influential political columnists in the country, a veteran of three presidential campaigns whose four-times-a-week musings in the Evening Star were an absolute must-read for everyone from political pros to the most casual observers. A Bostonian ever proud of her Irish roots, McGrory had adored President John F. Kennedy, and she had been a constant behind-the-scenes presence during the Camelot years. So she was no stranger to power, but the impromptu nature of Johnson’s visit was unnerving.

McGrory invited him in and offered the president a drink. They engaged in some friendly small talk until Johnson, tumbler of scotch in his large hand, finally put his cards on the table. “Mary, I am crazy about you,” he confessed. He wanted to sleep with her.

Then, in what has to be one of the most awkward and unromantic propositions in presidential history, Johnson tried to make the case that since McGrory had always admired Kennedy, she should now transfer her affections to him

The Kent State shootings happened 44 years ago yesterday.

A large crowd gathered just after 11data:text/mce-internal,6:20 p.m. Saturday behind the Taylor Hall at Kent State University to honor the fallen. The crowd stood near the Victory Bell holding candles in remembrance of May 4th, 1970.

It was 44 years ago that four students were killed after 67 shots were fired in 13 seconds by the National Guard.

The students were pushed over to the parking lot of Prentice Hall as they were protesting the Vietnam War.

Students and volunteers are still standing in the parking lot area where the four students died. The students will stand there for 12 hours honoring the victims in the very spot where they were shot and killed.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, a forum was held where survivors answered questions and spoke about the day they will never forget.

“To me, May 4th means life, but it also means death and murder,” said Dean Kahler, who was shot and will never walk again.

“This is a horrific thing and [the students’] blood was spilled on this campus. It should never be forgotten,” he said.

Another survivor, Joe Lewis, wants immunity to be given to the shooters. He said that’s how the truth can come out so we know what really happened that day.

“It’s a continued quest for the truth,” Lewis said. “The memories need to be an example of what went wrong.”

President Obama returned some historical items to Korea during his trip last week.  Evidently, a soldier fighting there some 60 years ago brought the Cinco-de-mayo-dancerancient seals home with him.  His wife found them, realized they were something important, and felt they should be returned to the country.

President Obama’s trip to South Korea included a return delivery of nine ancient royal seals taken by a U.S. soldier during the Korean War six decades ago.

“I wanted to just let the Korean people know that they’re back where they belong,” Obama said during an event Friday in Seoul. “And this is a symbol, hopefully, of the respect that we have for Korean culture and our friendship. They’re very beautiful.”

Obama said that, during the war, a Marine found the seals and took them to the United States as mementos. “I don’t think he fully appreciated the historic significance of them,” Obama said.

“After his passing, his widow discovered how important they were, and she graciously recognized that they appropriately belonged here in Korea,” Obama said. “So she facilitated the return.”

It’s great when artifacts can be safely returned the their peoples and countries of origin.

Here’s an interesting experiment done by the New York Rescue Mission.  How do you look at the homeless?

There are some epic pictures of Audrey Hepburn here doing her humanitarian work with the UN.  She would have been 85 yesterday.  Here’s her official website.  She was more than just a pretty face.  

So, I will look for something more earth-shattering to discuss later today, but meanwhile, enjoy a little bit of human interest and let us know what’s on your reading and blogging list today?

 

 

55 Comments on “Monday Cinco de Mayo Reads: Human Interest, Interesting Humans”

  1. joanelle's avatar joanelle says:
    May 5, 2014 at 8:44 am

    Sometimes not having something earth shattering to discuss is a nice break. I thought this was an interesting post that brought some smiles to my face. Thanks, Dak!

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      May 5, 2014 at 10:18 am

      Sometimes it’s just good to forget all the bad stuff and remember that there every person has a story and some of them are simply wonderful!

      • janicen's avatar janicen says:
        May 5, 2014 at 12:29 pm

        I just started reading Capital. I’m such a slow reader that it will take me a long time to get through it but it’s pretty damned interesting. Piketty is a good writer.

  2. leefeller's avatar leefeller says:
    May 5, 2014 at 9:12 am

    Thanks for the video, it was an emotional video, which shows us how differences alienate us from other people who are not just like us…instead people not like us, are viewed as an annoyance, by contempt and even with fear and hate. Disdain for the masses starts at the top and this is the real trickle down theory. (my political rant)
    You know, I am finding WordPress a much more enlightening experience then what I absorb on political web news. Thanks again.

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      May 5, 2014 at 10:20 am

      The part that really got me was when one woman’s aunt said … “she didn’t even look” …

      The thing I like about blogging and sky dancing in particular is that we share things. It’s like a grown up show and tell! Every one brings their treasure to the discussion!

      • leefeller's avatar leefeller says:
        May 5, 2014 at 10:38 am

        Yes, I am learning and I love learning new things.. Thanks. My situation is rural… though when I go into town, I see many more homeless than we had in the past and a much larger number of women. I suppose NY has a huge number of homeless, more than I can imagine.

      • janicen's avatar janicen says:
        May 5, 2014 at 12:27 pm

        That video was pretty moving. I forget which spy novels or maybe it was detective novels that say the best disguise is to dress up like a homeless person because nobody makes eye contact with you and people do their best not to notice you.

        • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:
          May 5, 2014 at 7:29 pm

          Agreed, we have become so insensitive to the homeless. We are not a warm and loving people, or so it seems.

      • leefeller's avatar leefeller says:
        May 5, 2014 at 1:13 pm

        Learning usually requires new ideas…we can call it treasure. Thanks.

  3. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 9:56 am

    Great post, especially the telling video! To add, this is a really good piece of poll analysis, with a nice chart.

    WaPo: E.J. Dionne Jr.: The Hillary difference

    There are two majorities in the country right now. One disapproves of President Obama. The other is still inclined to vote Democratic. The key question for the 2014 elections is whether voting this fall — and Obama’s approval ratings — can come into line with the electorate’s broader Democratic leanings.

    There is also this: Obama’s difficulties do not appear to be hurting Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the presidency in 2016.
    …
    The roughly one-eighth of voters who disapprove of Obama but nonetheless support Clinton for 2016 may be the most important group in the electorate. If Democratic candidates can collectively manage to corral Clinton’s share of the national electorate this fall, the party would likely keep control of the Senate and might take over the House of Representatives. The latter outcome is now seen (even by most Democrats) as a virtual impossibility. These Hillary Difference Voters, as we’ll call them, could find themselves the most courted contingent in this year’s contests. …

    • NW Luna's avatar NW Luna says:
      May 5, 2014 at 1:54 pm

      Obama’s difficulties do not appear to be hurting Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the presidency in 2016.

      I find it hilarious that he would be surprised at this!

      • RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
        May 5, 2014 at 2:39 pm

        So did I, but I’m not sure EJ was surprised. The rest of the piece was really pretty good, especially the voter breakdown.

  4. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    May 5, 2014 at 10:07 am

    Today is the 21st anniversary of the West Memphis child murders. I’ve been reading quite a bit about the case over the past week, and I’m pretty convinced that the West Memphis 3 are guilty of the crimes, although they didn’t get a fair trial.

    In 2011, they were released from prison with help from celebrities Johnny Depp, Natalie Maines, Eddie Vedder, and others. They were close to getting a new trial, which probably would have forced the prosecutor to dismiss the case, but instead they pled guilty through an Alford plea and released for time served.

  5. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 11:07 am

    Poll: Nation’s Uninsured Rate Hits Lowest Point Since 2008

    The percentage of uninsured Americans in April hit its lowest point ever since Gallup began its monthly tracking poll in 2008.

    The uninsured rate dropped to 13.4 percent in April, according to the Gallup poll released Monday, down from 15.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014 and a peak of 18 percent before Obamacare enrollment started in October.
    …
    The 4.6 percentage-point drop since Obamacare enrollment launched is the equivalent of 11 million adults gaining insurance.

    The April results were based on a survey of 14,704 U.S. adults, conducted from April 1 to 30. Its margin of error was 1 percentage point.

    If this isn’t helpful to Democrats, we either have an uncaring or ignorant public.

  6. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    May 5, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    There’s another college campus lockdown and shooting in progress … not the kind of earth shattering news I was hoping for …

    http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2014-05-05/2-sought-paine-shooting

  7. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    May 5, 2014 at 1:20 pm

    The ugly majority on SCOTUS does it again:

    http://www.alan.com/2014/05/05/supreme-court-upholds-government-forcing-prayer-down-our-throats/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+liberaland+%28Alan+Colmes+Liberaland%29

    • NW Luna's avatar NW Luna says:
      May 5, 2014 at 2:05 pm

      I think it’s a disappointing if not alarming decision.

      Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court’s four liberal justices, said, “I respectfully dissent from the court’s opinion because I think the Town of Greece’s prayer practices violate that norm of religious equality — the breathtakingly generous constitutional idea that our public institutions belong no less to the Buddhist or Hindu than to the Methodist or Episcopalian.”

      http://seattletimes.com/text/2023535064.html

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        May 5, 2014 at 2:19 pm

        People praying in public around me creeps me out to no end. It makes my skin crawl. I just don’t think those five SCOTUS creeps get that at all. There is no such thing as a public prayer that isn’t made to promote a single vision of what is and what isn’t. Doesn’t make any difference to me if they use generic “GAWD”. That’s not relevant to a whole lot of people. Any one starts praying in public in front of me an make a definite NOISY exit.

    • RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
      May 5, 2014 at 3:57 pm

      From Charlie Pierce:

      Here with an opposing viewpoint is Mr. J. Madison of Orange County, Virginia.

      Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principle of religious freedom? In strictness the answer on both points must be in the negative. The Constitution of the U. S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them; and these are to be paid out of the national taxes.

  8. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    May 5, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    More on Purity Balls: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/05/purity-balls-america-virginity-obsession

    The images from Swedish photographer David Magnusson’s new book, Purity, are beautiful, disturbing and tell a distinctly American story – a story wherein a girl’s virginity is held up as a moral ideal above all else, a story in which the most important characteristic of a young woman is whether or not she is sexually active. This narrative of good girls and bad girls, pure girls and dirty girls, is one that follows young women throughout their lives. Purity balls simply lay that dichotomy bare. In a clip from a Nightline Prime episode on these disconcerting events , a father tells his braces-clad daughter, “You are married to the Lord, and your father is your boyfriend.” (Update: As part of a purity event over the weekend sponsored by the Las Vegas police department, one of its officers told girls that if they had pre-marital sex they would end up rape victims, gang members, drug addicts or prostitutes.)

    sick! sick! ick! ick!

  9. NW Luna's avatar NW Luna says:
    May 5, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    For the first time ever, the World Health Organization on Monday declared the spread of polio an international public health emergency that could grow in the next few months and unravel the nearly three-decade effort to eradicate the crippling disease.

    The agency described current polio outbreaks across at least 10 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East as an “extraordinary event” that required a coordinated international response. It identified Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon as having allowed the virus to spread beyond their borders, and recommended that those three governments require citizens to obtain a certificate proving they have been vaccinated for polio before traveling abroad.

    “Until it is eradicated, polio will continue to spread internationally, find and paralyze susceptible kids,” Dr. Bruce Aylward, who leads WHO’s polio efforts, said during a press briefing.

    Critics, however, questioned whether Monday’s announcement would make much of a difference, given the limits faced by governments confronting not only polio but armed insurrection and widespread poverty.

  10. NW Luna's avatar NW Luna says:
    May 5, 2014 at 2:58 pm

    Former President George H.W. Bush was honored Sunday with a Kennedy “courage” award for agreeing to raise taxes to confront a spiraling deficit, jeopardizing his presidency that ended after just one term. ….

    “America’s gain was President Bush’s loss, and his decision to put country above party and political prospects makes him an example of a modern profile in courage that is all too rare,” he said.

    In a message read by his granddaughter, Bush expressed regret he could not accept the award in person. He blamed his absence on “a nasty rumor” that the evening’s awards dinner would include broccoli — a vegetable the 41st president famously dislikes.

    “Candidly speaking, my grandfather didn’t want to raise taxes,” Lauren Bush said as she accepted the award. “But … he felt he owed the American people action and results. “

  11. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    Texas Kaos: Rick Perry’s Texas is a mess

    This is pretty terrible but I think it’s worse than stated here.

  12. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    Texas Watch: Judge Concerned About Sweetheart Deal for Farmers Insurance

    Greg Abbott is a louse AG and would be a worse governor. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office and insurance giant Farmers Insurance appeared in court together to urge a Texas judge to approve a sweetheart deal that would have let Farmers off the hook for millions in interest on excessive premiums. Texas Judge Scott Jenkins refused to accept the settlement proposal.

  13. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    Texas Nuclear Weapons Plant Cited for Safety Issues

    For those concerned about the fertilizer plant explosion in West. The nation’s only nuclear weapons assembly and dismantling plant is outside Amarillo. Federal safety regulators have notified the facility owner of numerous safety concerns, including improperly packaging and shipping explosive materials.

    Life’s just a bowl of cherries here with the RWNJs.

  14. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    Steve Kornacki filling in for Maddow tonight and I think he sucks. It’s like Politico on TV. Am I the only one who feels that way?

  15. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    May 5, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    Holy Shit! Kornacki is a total douche nozzle.

  16. NW Luna's avatar NW Luna says:
    May 5, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    Hey Ralph! I will probably be in Dallas, TX the end of this month for a few days, at a medical conference. Are you anywhere close? (My knowledge of Texas geography is not very good.) Any other Sky Dancers in the area?

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      May 5, 2014 at 10:18 pm

      Mona is in Houston

    • Beata's avatar Beata says:
      May 6, 2014 at 8:52 am

      Texas is a big state. My great-grandfather settled in Harris County ( Houston area ) in the late 1800’s. I used to have distant cousins there. I remember traveling through the state when I was a kid and it seemed to go on forever.

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