#TURNOUTFORWHAT?

Posted on October 29, 2014 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Let me begin by stipulating one indisputable certainty. If you are eligible to vote and you do not; YOU…are part of the problem!

Occasionally, I believe a post is so time-sensitive; I follow it up with a discussion or expansion of the same topic, from one week to the next. Voting is that kind of compelling issue.

Without a doubt, I laid the framework for defining this conversation in last week’s post. And, just as with last week, this post is a directive, not simply a narrative. The instruction is still simple. The 2014 General Election Day is Tuesday, November 4^th. In North Carolina, Early Voting began Thursday, October 23^rd, and extends until this Saturday, November 1^stat 1:00 p.m. There are four (3½) days left to vote early. But remember, if for some reason, you miss every opportunity to vote early, you may, and should still do so on Election Day. So, dear readers, your mission, and hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians have already accepted it, is, GO VOTE! It’s just that simple.

Historically speaking, in midterm elections, such as this one, voting levels drop off appreciably. This trend goes back at least as far as 1840. In looking at recent elections, in 2008, a Presidential Election year, 57.1% of the voting age population cast ballots. That number was actually the highest in four decades. However, just two years later, in 2010, only 36.9% voted, a decrease of more than 20 percentage points. In 2012, the turnout rebounded by nearly 17 percentage points to 53.7%. Obviously, these vacillating numbers resulted in generating significant public policy implications.

In 2008, President Obama shocked the world and became the nation’s first African American President. Just two years hence, in 2010, in the aftermath of a low turnout election, Republicans displaced Democrats as the Majority in the House of Representatives. That change led to one Chamber of Congress alternating between reluctance to negotiate with or support the President to acting straight up intransigently, and openly working to deny any policy initiative put forth by this President.

The inside baseball discussion related to this election revolves around whether the GOP will be able to impose Double-Jeopardy on President Obama by supplanting Democrats as a Majority in the U.S. Senate. Numerous polls have suggested that such an outcome is indeed the most likely one. I don’t have a Crystal Ball, and I am certainly not taking bets on the outcome. What I will say is, in a Country in which Democrats outnumber Republicans in most states, the outcome will depend upon turnout.

In 2008, and again in 2012, Senator, and then President Obama executed flawless Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaigns. There can be no doubting the skill or facility of the operation. Nonetheless, in 2010, that apparatus remained largely on the sidelines, and Democrats suffered a huge setback. Much has been made of the President’s low poll numbers during much of his second term, up to and including this very moment. Partly as a result of his anemic polling, the President, arguably the Party’s biggest asset, has been reduced to fundraising in “safe” states, and a few campaign appearances in places where the contending Democrats have no doubts about getting elected.

That begs the question, “Will the turnout machinery work on auto-pilot?” After today, we have roughly six days, four for voting, to find out. Here in North Carolina, Early Voting has been attracting a brisk pace. Early indications are Democrats are turning out at a higher rate that Republicans. Given that trend, it is likely to come down to turnout on Election Day. To that end, somewhat akin to the adage, “The job is not complete until the paperwork is done.” This job will not be complete until everyone who is going to vote today through Saturday, and on Tuesday, November 4^th, has done so, and the ballots are counted.

I voted last Thursday afternoon during the first Day of Early Voting. I have checked-in with countless friends to ensure they have, or that they at least have doing so on their schedules and/or calendars. As for you, if you are registered and you have not voted already, I implore you to vote too. It doesn’t have to be today, but if you can, why not? And while you are at it, remind, encourage, and do whatever you can to persuade as many others as you can to vote, as well. In 2008, and again in 2012, Americans responded as though it were a Presidential Election year…because it was. This year is not, but if you vote like it is, it could change everything! We are facing a grave challenge today. How will you respond?

There are many reasons to vote. A few of the ones I care about include, in no particular order:

The Environment
Education
Healthcare
Reproductive Rights
Marriage Equality
Racial Equality
Human Rights
Prison Reform
Women’s Rights
Global Warming Awareness
Immigration Reform
Gun Law Reform
Student Loan Reform
Drug Law Reform
Worker’s Rights
Voting Rights
Fairer Sentencing
Increasing the Minimum Wage
Reduction of Police Brutality
Elimination of Gridlock in Washington

I am herewith urging you to Rock The Vote. If anyone happens to ask you, why, or #TURNOUTFORWHAT? Refer them to the list above, or…urge them to pick their own reason.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rijpU5yD55I

http://vote.forwardnc.com/?voteEarly

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/27/4270185_democrats-up-in-ncs-early-voting.html?rh=1

http://vote.forwardnc.com/?voteEarly

http://www.ncvoterguide.org

http://ncelectionconnection.com/voting-in-nc/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/28/1339821/-North-Carolina-turns-blue-Early-voting-data-deep-dive-10-27-Edition#

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/28/both-parties-are-happy-with-early-vote-data-theyre-worried-too/

http://www.jdnews.com/news/local/early-voting-continues-through-nov-1-for-registered-voters-in-north-carolina-1.391379

http://www.wncn.com/story/27024591/nearly-400000-early-votes-already-cast-in-nc

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29766398

http://elections.mytimetovote.com/dates/north_carolina.html

http://www.wcnc.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/24/dems-dominate-day-1-of-early-voting-in-nc/17860349/

http://www.hpe.com/news/x532298771/Early-voting-at-fast-pace-so-far

“North Carolina Raise Up:” Early Voting Starts Tomorrow

Posted on October 22, 2014 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

This post is a straightforward matter. It will be brief.

While most weeks I endeavor to tell a story though the blog, today’s edition is really more of a directive than a than a narrative. The instruction is quite simple. The 2014 General Election Day is Tuesday, November 4^th. In North Carolina, Early Voting begins tomorrow and extends until November 1^st. Absentee Ballots may be requested by mail until Tuesday, October 28^th. Your mission, and I know you will choose to accept it, is, GO VOTE! It’s really that simple.

The deadline for registration for the November Election was October 10^th. So, if you’ve yet to register, you’re too late for this election. However, as I like to say, if you ARE eligible, and do not vote, YOU, my friend, are part of the problem.

I am reminded of the expression, “Think globally; act locally.” In a very real sense, we can apply that sagacious advice to voting. We all want our world to be a better place. Often in contemplating that wanting, we think of all the faraway implications of that desire. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, most people’s truth is, it is controlling the nearby, mundane, and readily manageable details that make the greatest impact on our lives, and the lives of those we love and care about most.

Voting is like that. For sure, it is important to ponder for whom you will cast your ballot. Moreover, in the best-case scenario, you’ll learn what they stand for, and the kinds of things for which you can…and should…hold them accountable.

Here in Charlotte, my ballot will include a seat for the U.S. Senate, a seat for the U.S. House of Representatives, a NC State Senate seat, a NC House of Representatives seat, a District Attorney seat, three at-large seats and one District seat for the Board of County Commissioners, a seat for County Sheriff, three seats for Associate Justice of the NC Supreme Court and one for Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court, four seats for the NC Court of Appeals, two seats for NC Superior Court, eight seats for NC District Court, two seats for Soil & Water Conservation District, and Referenda on: a Constitutional Amendment to allow any person accused of a crime in a non Death Penalty case to forego a jury trial, a local sales tax of .25%, Public Improvement Bonds, Housing Bonds, and Neighborhood Improvement Bonds. There you have it; local infrastructure, and elected officials who will make policy that will affect matters in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Raleigh/Statewide, and Washington/the Nation/and the world.

Your and my local actions will have repercussions all the way to global boundaries, as in when our U.S. Senator potentially exercises his vote on our next war. I will not tell you for whom to vote. What I will say is there is one Party that has systematically tamped down, some say suppressed, voting opportunities. That same Party has opposed healthcare reform, defeated an attempt to increase the minimum wage, and refused allow an extension of unemployment benefits, as well as consistently opposed a number of other matters generally deemed to be progressive public policy. I will not be voting for individuals in that Party!

As for you, I implore you to vote. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, but if you can, why not? And while you are at it, remind, encourage, and do whatever you can to persuade as many others as you can to vote, as well. In 2012, Americans responded enthusiastically to the challenge posed by those who attempted to discourage voting. We are facing a similar challenge today. How will you respond?

I say, “North Carolina Raise Up:” Early Voting Starts Tomorrow!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHnA94-hTC8&sns=em

http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOE/voter/Pages/Voting-Info-Lookup.aspx

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Early+Voting+in+Mecklenburg+County&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/midterms-Democrats-Senate-black-voters/2014/10/20/id/601773/

http://www.ncvoterguide.org

http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOE/Pages/default.aspx

http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOE/Documents/G14%20early%20voting.pdf

http://ncelectionconnection.com/voting-in-nc/

http://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_elections,_2014

http://www.ncvotered.com

A Look Back at the MMM: My Generation’s March on Washington

Posted on October 15, 2014 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Tomorrow will mark the 19^th Anniversary of the Million Man March (MMM). Before moving to the narrative, I know there are those who are disturbed that I would deign to conflate or equate The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; the March of A. Phillip Randolph, of Bayard Rustin, and of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I understand completely, and that is not what I’m doing.

On August 27^th and 28^th, 1963, I was nine years old. My participation came courtesy of my vantage point, seated in front of our 19-inch Black & White TV. It was informative, and inspiring, but it was not in-person (for me). Rustin, Randolph, King, and their co-participants and contemporaries, through their actions, reframed the trajectory of the landscape of American society, as we knew it. All of us are forever in their debt…each and every one of us. If you are an American today, whether you were born by then, or lived here at that time, if you are here now, you are obliged to credit, or blame if you choose, them for the country we have become.

By October 16, 1995, I was forty-something. I had been aware of the planning and development of the Million Man March from its early stages. From the outset, I was committed that this time, I would be fully present and accounted for. This time, timing was on my side. I actually had a job that made it not only acceptable, but also desirable to be there. I went, on my own aegis, not for work. But with a job title, Minority Affairs Director, I had no doubt; it was meant for me to be there.

Most of the rest of this post will be devoted to a verbatim recounting of an essay I wrote about my first person experience attending the March. The essay was one of three that appeared in the November 1995 Edition of OUTLOOK (Vol. 26 No. 11), the Newsmagazine for employees of Mecklenburg County, NC. All three were captured under the broad heading, “Reflections on the Million Man March.”

Here’s my essay:

For me, this event was at once a culmination and a commencement.

Nearly a year ago Minister Louis Farrakhan spoke here in Charlotte and announced plans for a Million Man March to be held in Washington, D.C. I left the Convention Center that evening committed to be at the March. My interest and enthusiasm culminated with my participation on Monday, October 16, 1995.

The March also was the point of commencement for the strategies and action to create positive and deeply rooted change in the social fabric of our individual communities and in the entire nation.

Though estimates of the actual attendance are in dispute, whether the number was 400,000 or more than a million, the turnout was epic. By the former measure, it is the largest civil rights rally in the history of this country; the latter would make it simply the largest gathering ever on the Washington Mall.

Being there was to be engulfed by the spirit of the moment; surrounded by a sea of positively focused humanity. It was an endeavor whose moment had come. It had to be done!

The day was characterized by its organizers as a time for collective atonement, reconciliation, responsibility, and absence: atonement for having been AWOL from familial responsibility; reconciliation to the women, children, families, and communities that had been abandoned; responsibility for our own actions and the consequences of those actions; and absence from normal daily employment and consumption (buying) patterns. These steps underscore the seriousness of our circumstances, and provide a vehicle to penetrate the nation’s consciousness. (Mission accomplished).

Minister Farrakhan and the Reverend Benjamin Chavis are correctly viewed as principal symbols of “The March.” They played central roles in conceiving and organizing the effort. In the final analysis however, “The March” belonged to THE PEOPLE. No one, two, or twenty individuals could adequately represent the total spectrum of this undertaking. It spanned wide ranges of economy, geography, religion, politics, ideology, age, gender, disability, and general point of view. African-Americans united to respond to the beleaguered condition of people…not against anyone.

Speaker after speaker – Maya Angelou, Charles Rangel, Kwaisi Mfume, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, Jawanza Kunjufu, John Conyers, Stevie Wonder, Tynnetta Muhammad, Kurt Schmoke, Marion Berry, Benjamin Chavis, and Louis Farrakhan – in their own way, challenged and urged those in attendance, those watching at home (or at work) and those who would later hear about it, to work together to heal our society.

Minister Farrakhan specifically outlined several steps that participants should take, including:

Register to vote and actively work to make sure others do;
Affiliate with an organization(s) focused on improving the Black Community;
Join a church, synagogue, mosque, etc., and put your religion to work in the community;
Adopt one of the 25,000 black children waiting for adoption;
Develop a relationship with a prisoner and help that person in their transition to life after prison;
Establish a black United Fund to help our communities.

These steps alone will not alleviate all the problems we face. But if these measures are adopted, we will have taken one giant step forward.

Those of us assembled on the Mall on Monday, October 16, 1995 were prayerful, powerful, respectful, and reverent. More importantly, we were inspired by having been there, and we left committed to begin, continue, or accelerate our personal efforts to implement solutions to the trenchant social problems we face in our communities. I’m ready to do my part.

Peace!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Arguably, a dozen years before I conceived and introduced The Sphinx of Charlotte/Break It Down, this essay was my very first blog. Who knew? Now, you do. I hope you enjoyed this narrative version of Throw Back Thursday (remember, tomorrow is the anniversary), brought to you on Wednesday. So there you have it, “A Look Back at the MMM: My Generation’s March on Washington!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom

http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_march_on_washington_for_jobs_and_freedom/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/382949/Million-Man-March

http://www.noi.org/about-million-man-march/

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/million-man-march-1995

http://www.c-span.org/video/?67630-1/million-man-march

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8UB-shmJfQ

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/million-man-march-black-history-photo_n_2774778.html

http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2010/10/the_million_man_march_15_years_later.html

The United States Secret Service: The President’s Vest

Posted on October 8, 2014 by alphaheel

Break It Down!

The United States Secret Service (USSS) is a federal law enforcement agency that is currently part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. With a reported one third of the currency in circulation being counterfeit at the time, the Secret Service was created on July 5, 1865 in Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency. Today, the agency has two specific areas of responsibility:

Financial Crimes, covering missions such as prevention and investigation of counterfeiting of S. currency and U.S. treasury securities, and investigation of major fraud
Protection, which entails ensuring the safety of current and former national leaders and their families, such as the President, past presidents, vice presidents, presidential candidates, visiting heads of state, and foreign embassies (per an agreement with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) Office of Foreign Missions (OFM), etc.

The Secret Service assumed full authority for presidential security in 1902. In the area of protection, the President’s security is his security detail’s number one priority. As the saying goes, any member of his security detail is prepared to take a bullet for him.

This situation has happened twice. On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican Nationalists opened fire on Private Leslie Coffelt at Blair House in Washington, DC, in an attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. Private Coffelt was mortally wounded, but also killed one of the attempted assassins, Griselio Torresola. The other accomplice, Oscar Collazo, was wounded, but he survived his injuries, and spent 29 years in jail before returning to Puerto Rico in 1979.

On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley, Jr., attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan as he was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. Special Agent Tim McCarthy stepped in front of President Reagan and although he took a bullet to the abdomen, he later made a full recovery. To date, Private Coffelt is the only member of the Secret Service to be killed in a Presidential assassination attempt.

In addition to the two failed attempts in during which Secret Service agents were shot, four Presidents have been assassinated:

President Abraham Lincoln – 1865
President James A. Garfield – 1881
President William McKinley – 1901
President John F. Kennedy – 1963

There have been a number of other attempts, including:

January 30, 1835 – A man pointed two guns at President Andrew Jackson and pulled the triggers. Miraculously, neither fired
October 16, 1909 – Texas Ranger Private C.R. Moore and private security specialist Frederick Russell Burnham captured and disarmed a would be assassin within a few feet of President William Howard Taft, who was in El Paso, Texas to attend a Summit with Mexican President, Porfirio Díaz
October 14, 1912 – three years after President Theodore Roosevelt left office, he was running for President again as a Third Party candidate, and was shot while running for re-election. The bullet remained in him until his death in 1919
November 19, 1928 – while in Argentina, President Herbert Hoover escaped an assassination attempt by Argentine anarchists, led by Severino Di Giovanni. He was arrested before he could place the explosives in President Hoover’s railcar.
February 15, 1933 – Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at President Franklin Roosevelt, killing Chicago Mayor, Anton Cermak. The attempt occurred less than three weeks before the President would be sworn in for his first term
In the summer of 1947 – shortly prior to the creation of the state of Israel, the Zionist group Stern Gang sent a number of letter bombs to President Harry S. Truman and high-ranking cabinet members. The letters were intercepted in the White House mail room, and the Secret Service diffused them
April 13, 1972 – Arthur Bremer carried a firearm to an event, intending to shoot President Richard Nixon. After being repelled by security he left. Several weeks later he shot and seriously injured Alabama George Wallace
February 22, 1974 – Samuel Byck, planning to kill President Nixon by crashing a plane into the White House, hijacked a plane by force. He shot the pilot and co-pilot, but could not take off because the wheels were blocked. An officer shot him through the window; he in turn committed suicide with his pistol.
September 5, 1975 – Lynnette (Squeaky) Fromme, a Charles Manson follower, drew a pistol on President Gerald Ford when he reached to shake her hand at the California State Capitol (Sacramento). She had four bullets in the magazine, but none in the chamber. She was quickly detained.
September 22, 1975 – Sara Jane Moore fired a revolver at President Ford from 40 feet away, in San Francisco, California. A bystander grabbed her arm, and the shot missed the President. She was sentenced to life in Prison, and paroled in 2007, a year after President Ford’s death by natural causes.
May 5, 1979 – Raymond Lee Harvey was arrested by the Secret Service 10 minutes before President Jimmy Carter was scheduled to give a speech at the Civic Center Mall in Los Angeles. Harvey claimed to be part of a plot to assassinate President Carter, and named Osvaldo Espinoza Ortiz as a co-conspirator. Officials eventually dropped charges against the pair due to lack of evidence
April 13, 1993 – Fourteen men believed to be working for Saddam Hussein smuggled bombs into Kuwait to assassinate President George H. W. Bush during a visit there to speak at Kuwait University. Kuwait police foiled the attempt when they found the bombs and arrested the suspected assassins.
January 21, 1994 – Ronald Gene Barbour plotted to kill President Bill Clinton while he was jogging. Mr. Barbour returned home to Florida after a week without having fired a shot, as the President was on a state visit to Russia. He was later arrested and spent 5 years in prison.
September 12, 1994 – Frank Eugene Corder flew a stolen single engine Cessna into a tree on the White House lawn. He was killed in the incident.
October 29, 1994 – Francisco Martin Duran fired at least 29 shots with a semi-automatic rifle at the White House. He thought he was shooting at President Clinton. The President was inside the White House. Three tourists, Harry Rakosky, Ken Davis and Robert Haines tackled Duran before he harmed anyone. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
1996 – During a visit to Manila to visit the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Lewis Merletti, Director of the Secret Service re-routes the President’s motorcade before driving over a bridge, after intercepting a message that an attack was imminent. An investigation determined later that there was a bomb under the bridge. Later, intelligence briefs revealed that the mastermind behind the bomb was a terrorist living in Afghanistan named Osama bin Laden
May 10, 2005 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live Soviet-made grenade toward the podium where George W. Bush was speaking. Because the device was wrapped tightly in a handkerchief, it did not detonate immediately, even though the pin was pulled. Arutyunian escaped that day, but was captured after killing an Interior Ministry agent in July 2005. He was sentenced to life in prison.
August 2008 – Cousins Tharin Gartrell and Shawn Adolf and their friend Nathan Johnson allegedly planned to assassinate Barack Obama during his acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. However, officials insist there was no substantial threat.
October 22, 2008 – Paul Schlesselman and Daniel Cowart, two white supremacists, plotted to drive their car toward nominee Obama and raise their guns and open fire. They were arrested before acting to execute the plot. They pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the plot in 2010, and were sentenced to 10 and 14 years in prison, respectively.
April 2009 – A man of Syrian origins plotted to kill President Obama at the Alliance of Civilizations Summit in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2009. The man confessed of his involvement in the plot, and that of three alleged accomplices.
April 2013 – Another attempt was made when a letter laced with ricin was sent to President Obama

And I hasten to add, these are just those attempts that have been reported. It is clear, that the Secret Service has many challenging jobs. Protecting the President is just one of them; though likely the most high profile.

Taken in that light, it is no surprise that Julia Pierson, the Director of the Secret Service until last week, resigned under bi-partisan pressure. The organization has had a long and mostly distinguished history of providing Presidential protection. Yet, it’s been a difficult, and scandal-filled few years.

Ms. Pierson was hired to clean up and repair the agency’s muddied reputation. After 17 months, the consensus on Capitol Hill was, she failed. In the end, a recent fence jumper, made his way all the way across the White House lawn, into the facility, all the way to the vicinity of the Green Room. This was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back. But that was by no means the only issue.

A man stopped his car near the White House and fired several shots at the structure, some of which hit the building. There was considerable confusion about what actually happened, and as a result, it took several days to confirm there had actually been shots fired. One of the Obama’s daughters was at home at the time, yet the Obama’s were not told until even later.

Add to that an instance in which the President while visiting Atlanta was on an elevator with an individual who was found to be carrying a gun. All in all in a world filled with anxiety over terrorists and others who would do harm to Americans in general, and the President, in particular, these gaffes and lapses were rightly deemed too much to bear. So Ms. Pierson paid a steep price. Hopefully, the chance will help ensure that the President does not pay the ultimate price. After all, it’s important to remember, “The United States Secret Service: The President’s Vest!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service

http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/barack-obamas-safety?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyemail&mbid=nl_100214_Daily&CUST_ID=23617046&spMailingID=7172006&spUserID=MzQ0Nzk4MjUwNjMS1&spJobID=540193138&spReportId=NTQwMTkzMTM4S0

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/long-list-breaches-scandals-secret-service-under-obama-n215751

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gaffes-testing-special-bond-between-president-and-his-protectors/2014/10/01/120cf84c-4972-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141002_Secret_Service__not-so-secret_gaffes.html

http://www.securityinfowatch.com/news/11709098/secret-service-chief-julia-pierson-resigns-in-wake-of-security-gaffes

http://time.com/3468764/joe-clancy-secret-service/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/10/01/353043411/secret-service-director-julia-pierson-resigns

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/julia-pierson-resigns-as-secret-service-director/2014/10/01/ea39a396-499f-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/us/julia-pierson-secret-service.html?_r=0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_who_died_in_office

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/uspresidents/f/faq_assassinat.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots

http://www.answers.com/Q/How_many_US_vice_presidents_have_been_assassinated

http://timelines.latimes.com/us-presidential-assassinations-and-attempts/

Coming To America: Actually, Ebola is Here…and Now!

Posted on October 1, 2014 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

It has taken a while for the current epidemic of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), which is centered in West Africa, to reach America. The current outbreak of the disease was discovered in March 2013. Subsequently, it was determined to have started in Guinea in December 2013. Since then it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.

It took nine months, but yesterday, the first case was confirmed in the United States. It was bound to happen; just a matter of time. It’s a small world; frequent transcontinental travel heightens exposure and ensures elevated instances of that exposure to persons carrying the virus. This is especially true in countries experiencing an outbreak. The disease, while not highly contagious, is exceptionally infectious.

The disease is caused by the Ebola virus (EBOV). It may be acquired via contact with blood or bodily fluids of infected animals. There are no documented cases of the disease spreading through the air. Once human infection occurs, the disease may spread between people, as well.

Male survivors may be able to transmit the disease via semen for nearly two months. To make the diagnosis, typically other diseases with similar symptoms such as cholera, typhoid fever, malaria, cholera and other viral hemorrhagic fevers are first excluded. To confirm the diagnosis, blood samples are tested for viral antibodies, viral RNA, or the virus itself. Ebola causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which can affect multiple organ systems in the body and is often accompanied by bleeding. Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat

Previously, two high profile cases of American exposure and contraction occurred when American health missionaries, Dr. Kent Brantly, of Ft. Worth, Texas, and Charlottean, Nancy Writebol, were infected with the virus in July while working with the Charlotte-based SIM missionary group to treat Ebola patients in Liberia. Both were treated with an experimental drug, and then transferred separately to Emory Hospital in Atlanta. Both have subsequently been determined to be Ebola-free.

Now comes word from U.S. health officials (yesterday) that a yet-to-be-named American man is the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. This person is being treated in Dallas, Texas.

The unidentified man left Liberia September 19^th, and arrived in in the United States September 20^th, according to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the time of his arrival in the U.S., the man did not have symptoms. However, four or five days later, he began to exhibit them. He has been hospitalized and isolated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday. Health Officials, pointing to privacy concerns, declined to release any details about how the patient contracted the virus, what he was doing in Liberia, or the parameters of his treatment plan. Dr. Edward Goodman, of the hospital said, “I can say he is ill. He is under intensive care.”

Because of the nature of spreading the virus, authorities do not suspect that passengers on the patient’s flight are at risk. However, the patient did indicate he had direct contact with several people after he became symptomatic. Medical officials are contacting those people for follow-up. The crew that transported him to the hospital is being held in isolation. None had shown symptoms of the disease as of yesterday.

Dr. Frieden downplayed the risk to public health. No other suspected cases of Ebola have been identified in Texas. He noted, “It’s a severe disease, which has a high-case fatality rate, even with the best of care, but there are core, tried and true public health interventions that stop it. The bottom line here is that I have no doubt that we will control this importation or this case of Ebola so that it does not spread widely in this country.”

For months we have watched as the news of this disease has been discussed, primarily as though it were just another African malady. Well, those days are over. Coming To America: Actually, Ebola is Here…and Now!

I’m done; holla back!

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