As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara escorted the American president and first lady across the red carpet after they left Air Force One, the tension in the air was palpable – not between the U.S. and Israeli leaders, but between Trump and his wife.
Melania Trump takes on critics in interview with Randy Rainbow
Melania Trump sat down with CNN’s Anderson Cooper for her first interview since the release of the 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape, where her husband can be heard bragging about committing sexually assault on women.
Cooper pressed Donald Trump during the second presidential debate on whether he understood that what he described in the footage was sexual assault, which Trump would not concede.
Cooper then asked if he had ever done any of the things he described, to which he said he had not. This denial to an audience of millions prompted a number of women to come forward with allegations claiming otherwise.
Trump denies the allegations against him.
The interview has its stunning moments, like Melania arguing that Donald’s so-called “locker room talk” was just because he is, you know, like your average teenage boy …who just so happened to be nearly 60 at the time.
The 2016 election has been so absurd that it is both all too easy to mock and yet hard to match in its own right
Our favorite fake election correspondent Randy Rainbow somehow manages to pull it off yet again.
This day, 35 years ago, marks the passing of English singer
and songwriter and former member of The Beatles, John Lennon.
(Born John Winston Lennon; Oct. 9, 1940 – 8 Dec.19, 80)
John Lennon was an English musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the members of the Beatles, for his subsequent solo career, and for his political activism and pacifism.
He was shot by “a deranged American gunman” (I refuse to use his name) in the archway of the building where he lived, The Dakota, in New York City on 8 December 1980.
Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.
After sustaining four fatal gunshot wounds, Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital. He was 40 years old.
At the hospital, it was stated that nobody could have lived for more than a few minutes after sustaining such injuries. Shortly after local news stations reported Lennon’s death, crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota.
Lennon was cremated on 10 December 1980 at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. The ashes were given to Ono, who chose not to hold a funeral for him.
She gave life. She is a wife.
She is a mother and she is a friend.
She is a sister a survivor to the end.
Appreciate her, we don’t dare.
Ask her worries, we don’t care.
Wipe away her tears, they are invisible as air.
She works cooks and clean.
She laughs, helps comfort, and hides her pain.
When you struggle she pulls you through
All this is she and what do we do?
Complain and create a mess.
Provide stress and leave her feeling depressed.
Push her away and ignore her advice.
Tell her she is nothing without thinking twice.
She was raped tortured and abused.
Told she was nothing and would always be used just for pleasure forget her pain.
She swallows her pride, put her feelings aside.
Does as you need in order for you to be free.
Ignores your ignorance and tolerates your flaws.
You call her Bitch, Slut, Hoe and Tramp
She answers with pride dignity and a complete loss of self.
You call her nothing.
I call her Strong, Smart, Sensual, Caring, Giving, Surviving, Tolerant and powerful ….
A federal judge on Thursday, August 21, 2014, ruled Florida’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional and ordered the state to recognize marriages legally performed elsewhere. U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, however, immediately stayed his order until after the appeals process is completed.
“When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination,” Hinkle wrote. “Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.”
Hinkle’s ruling comes after 22 individuals including nine married couples sued Florida to recognize their marriages or grant them marriage licenses. Plaintiffs in the case include eight same-sex couples from South Florida and the LGBT rights group SAVE.
“While we are overjoyed that the judge erred on the side of fairness by ordering the state of Florida recognize the legal marriages of the plaintiffs, we will continue to make the case that it is Florida’s responsibility to recognize the legal marriages of ALL same-sex couples, and not only those named as plaintiffs in our suit,” SAVE Executive Director Tony Lima said in a statement. “SAVE will continue to advocate for a pro-equality ruling as the court examines the case further in the weeks and months ahead.”
Congrats to the legal teams, the ACLU of Florida, SAVE, and all of the plaintiff couples – including Bob & Chuck, military veterans who have been together for 51 years – on today’s big win in federal court for marriage in Florida!
In March, eight same-sex couples who married elsewhere in the United States sued Florida to recognize their unions: Sloan Grimsley and Joyce Albu of Palm Beach Gardens; Lindsay Myers and Sarah Humlie of Pensacola; Chuck Hunziger and Bob Collier of Broward; Juan Del Hierro and Thomas Gantt Jr. of Miami; Christian Ulvert and Carlos Andrade of Miami; Richard Milstein and Eric Hankin of Miami; Robert Loupo and John Fitzgerald of Miami; and Denise Hueso and Sandra Jean Newson of Miami.
On April 10, 2014, the ACLU of Florida amended its complaint by adding another plaintiff: Arlene Goldberg of Fort Myers, whose wife, Carol Goldwasser, died March 13. Goldberg and Goldwasser had been partners for 47 years. They moved from New York City to Florida in 1989 and married in New York in October 2011.
The ACLU suit eventually was consolidated with a similar case involving two couples in North Florida, one already married and the other wanting to wed.
“It’s the first federal decision in Florida. When the stay is lifted, it will have statewide impact,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “What it will mean, when the stay is ultimately lifted, is that these families will be protected and strengthened. They’ll start getting health insurance, pension benefits. They could protect their families with survivors benefits. These are the dramatic, practical ways that this victory will ultimately help families in Florida.”
In human context, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage), or co-residence/shared consumption. Members of the immediate family may include a spouse, parent, brother and sister, and son and daughter.
Members of the extended family may include grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew and niece, or sibling-in-law. In most societies the family is the principal institution for the socialization of children.
As the basic unit for raising children, anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a husband, his wife, and children; also called nuclear family); avuncular (for example a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended family in which parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent’s family.
As a unit of socialization, the family is the object of analysis for anthropologists and sociologists of the family.
“Family” is used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, global village and humanism.
A huge loss …. always wondering “what if”. It’s one of those “I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when … ” moments. When I heard that the plane was missing, my heart skipped a bit. “No, not again; not him”.
Yet it was. Sad loss …. what if?
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Lawyer
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr., often referred to as JFK Jr. or John-John in the press, was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m. on July 16, John F. Kennedy Jr. took off from Essex County Airport in New Jersey in his Piper Saratoga plane with his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, on board. He planned to drop off Lauren in Martha’s Vineyard and then continue to Hyannis Port, where his cousin Rory was getting married.
At about 9:30 p.m., 34 miles west of Martha’s Vineyard Airport,Kennedy began his descent through haze and darkness. About seven miles from the shore, he made a right turn away from his destination and ascended several hundred feet.
After Kennedy turned back left and resumed a descent, his plane turned right and began a rapid descent of 4,700 feet per minute, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s official report of the accident. The “airplane struck the water in a nose-down attitude,” reported the NTSB.
“There is always hope,” said Coast Guard Lt. Gary Jones. “But unfortunately, when you find certain pieces of evidence, you have to be prepared for anything.”
As days passed, Americans began to lose hope that any passengers would be found alive. On July 21, divers recovered the three bodies eight miles offshore. A memorial ceremony for the three was held on July 22, where their remains were scattered at sea from a navy destroyer, the USS Briscoe.
With only 310 hours of total flight practice when the incident occurred, Kennedy was considered an inexperienced pilot who could not yet deal with night conditions or flying over water.
Heather Elvis (age 20) of Socastee, an area located near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was reported missing after her car was found abandoned near Peachtree Landing located along the Waccamaw River on Thursday night, 12/19/2013. Heather’s latest phone call was made at about 3:00 a.m. early Wednesday morning, 12/18/2013.
Heather is described as a white female with brown eyes and brown hair.
Tip Line: 843-915-TIPS(8477) or 843-915-5350 Main Police Number, or Just call 911 to get a quick response.
“The one thing I keep seeing day in, day out is that people are forgetting what this is about – what it’s about is that this is still not done. I haven’t found my daughter.”
Sidney Moorer, 38 — whose name was listed in Horry County’s original police report on Heather’s disappearance — and Tammy Moorer, his wife, are charged with kidnapping and murder. Both defendants were also charged with obstruction of justice and indecent exposure.
Arrest warrants for Sidney and Tammy Moorer state that law enforcement had probable cause to believe that the couple killed Heather Elvis at the Peachtree Boat Landing, where her car was found abandoned on December 19.
Police declined to comment on the nature of the evidence forming the basis for the murder charges, except to say that multiple pieces of evidence were found during a search of the Myrtle Beach couple’s house and property. Another home on the property, occupied by Tammy Moorer’s parents, was also searched.
According to MyHorryNews.com, Heather Elvis’ phone call history shows calls between Elvis and Sidney Moorer in the early morning hours of December 18.
Police have declined to comment on the nature of Heather’s relationship with Moorer.
Terry Elvis said he had never heard of Sidney or Tammy Moorer until he began searching through Heather’s phone call records and Googled the number. In an e-mail response to a request for comment, Sidney Moorer’s attorney Kirk Truslow wrote, “Sidney has no connection to, nor knowledge of, any facts surrounding the disappearance of Heather Elvis.”
“Moorer is currently incarcerated awaiting a bond hearing which unfortunately will not occur until the week of March 17,” he wrote.
A call to Tammy Moorer’s attorney was returned; however, no statement was provided before publication of this article.
“They can focus on the case until hell freezes over, but it’s not going to fix anything,” Heather’s father said. “It’s not going to bring resolution, unless somebody can tell me where she’s at. It’s not going to bring happiness if someone is found guilty. Not joy. Not elation. This is a lose-lose situation.”
Despite his frustration, Terry Elvis said he is extremely proud of law enforcement doing everything in its power to bring justice in the case.
“There have been times when I’m so angry that I can’t see straight,” he said, “but that’s the reflection of the blind rage of a father … totally consumed with finding my daughter.”
Today, Google celebrates what would have been the 115th birthday of Percy Julian, a chemist whose research led to chemical birth control and immune-suppressing medications.
Julian was born in Alabama on April 11, 1899, at a time when his city of Montgomery didn’t provide public education for black students post-middle school. Despite this, Julian persevered and ended up both attending and excelling at Indiana’s DePauw University. He later returned to the university to work on synthesizing plant products into medicine, where he found much success; some of his accomplishments include creating a synthetic cortisone to inexpensively treat arthritis and discovering a treatment for glaucoma.
Julian received many honors in (and after) his lifetime, including being the first black chemist to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild yam. His work helped greatly reduce the cost of steroid intermediates to large multinational pharmaceutical companies, helping to significantly expand the use of several important drugs.
Julian received more than 130 chemical patents. He was one of the first African-Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted from any field.
Percy Lavon Julian
Julian circa 1940–1950
BornApril 11, 1899 Montgomery, AlabamaDiedApril 19, 1975 (aged 76) Waukegan, IllinoisOccupationChemistSpouse(s)Anna Roselle JohnsonChildrenPercy Lavon Julian, Jr.
(1940–2008)
Faith Roselle Julian
(1944– )ParentsElizabeth Lena Adams
(1878–?)
James Sumner Julian
(1871–1951)
~~Early life and education~~
Percy Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama as the first child of six born to James Sumner Julian and Elizabeth Lena Julian, née Adams. Both of his parents were graduates of what was to be Alabama State University. His father, James, whose own father had been a slave, was employed as a clerk in the Railway Service of the United States Post Office, while his mother, Elizabeth, worked as a schoolteacher. Percy Julian grew up in the time of racist Jim Crow culture and legal regime in the southern United States. Among his childhood memories was finding a lynched man hanged from a tree while walking in the woods near his home. At a time when access to an education beyond the eighth grade was extremely rare for African-Americans, Julian’s parents steered all of their children toward higher education.
Julian attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. The college accepted few African-American students. The segregated nature of the town forced social humiliations. Julian was not allowed to live in the college dormitories and first stayed in an off-campus boarding home, which refused to serve him meals. It took him days before Julian found an establishment where he could eat. He later found work firing the furnace, waiting tables, and doing other odd jobs in a fraternity house; in return, he was allowed to sleep in the attic and eat at the house. Julian graduated from DePauw in 1920 Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian. By 1930 Julian’s father would move the entire family to Greencastle so that all his children could attend college at DePauw. The father was still working as a railroad postal clerk.
After graduating from DePauw, Julian wanted to obtain his doctorate in chemistry, but learned it would be difficult for an African-American. Instead he obtained a position as a chemistry instructor at Fisk University.
In 1923 he received an Austin Fellowship in Chemistry, which allowed him to attend Harvard University to obtain his M.S. However, worried that white American students would resent being taught by an African-American, Harvard withdrew Julian’s teaching assistantship, making it impossible for him to complete his Ph.D. at Harvard.
In 1929, while an instructor at Howard University, Julian received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to continue his graduate work at the University of Vienna, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1931. He studied under Ernst Späth and was considered an impressive student. In Europe, he found freedom from the racial prejudices that had nearly stifled him in the States. He freely participated in intellectual social gatherings, went to the opera and found greater acceptance among his peers. Julian was one of the first African-Americans to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, after St. Elmo Brady and Edward M. A. Chandler.
After returning from Vienna, Julian taught for one year at Howard University, where he met his future wife, Anna Roselle Johnson (Ph.D. in Sociology, 1937, University of Pennsylvania). They married on December 24, 1935 and had two children: Percy Lavon Julian, Jr. (August 31, 1940 – February 24, 2008), who became a prestigious civil rights lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin; and Faith Roselle Julian (1944– ), who still resides in their Oak Park home and often makes inspirational speeches about her father and his contributions to science.
At Howard, Julian became involved in university politics, setting off an embarrassing chain of events. At the university president’s request, he goaded a white chemist named Jacob Shohan into resigning. Shohan retaliated by releasing to the local African-American newspaper the letters Julian had written to him from Vienna. The letters contained accounts of Julian’s sex life and criticism of individual Howard faculty members. Then Julian’s laboratory assistant, Robert Thompson, charged he had discovered his wife together with Julian in a sexual tryst. When Thompson was fired for filing a lawsuit against the University, he too gave the paper racy letters which Julian had written to him from Vienna. Through the summer of 1932, the Baltimore Afro-American published all of Julian’s letters.
Eventually, the scandal and accompanying pressure forced Julian to resign. He lost his position and everything he had worked for.
At the lowest point in Julian’s career, his former mentor, William Blanchard, threw him a much-needed lifeline. Blanchard offered Julian a position to teach organic chemistry at DePauw University in 1932. Julian then helped Josef Pikl, a fellow student at the University of Vienna, to come to the United States to work with him at DePauw.
In 1935 Julian and Pikl completed the total synthesis of physostigmine and confirmed the structural formula assigned to it. Robert Robinson of Oxford University in the U.K. had been the first to publish a synthesis of physostigmine, but Julian noticed that the melting point of Robinson’s end product was wrong, indicating that he had not created it. When Julian completed his synthesis, the melting point matched the correct one for natural physostigmine from the calabar bean.
Julian also extracted stigmasterol, which took its name from Physostigma venenosum, the west African calabar bean that he hoped could serve as raw material for synthesis of human steroidal hormones. At about this time, in 1934, Butenandt and Fernholz, in Germany, had shown that stigmasterol, isolated from soybean oil, could be converted to progesterone by synthetic organic chemistry.
~~Legacy and honors~~
In 1950, the Chicago Sun-Times named Percy Julian the Chicagoan of the Year.
In 1980, the science and mathematics building on the DePauw University campus was rededicated as the Percy L. Julian Mathematics and Science Center. In Greencastle, Indiana, where DePauw is located, a street was named after Julian.
Illinois State University, where Julian served on the board of trustees, named a hall after him.
Production on the biopic began at DePauw University‘s Greencastle campus in May 2002 and included video of Julian’s bust on display in the atrium of the university’s Percy Lavon Julian Science and Mathematics Center. Completion and broadcasting of the documentary program was delayed in order for Nova to commission and publish a matching book on Julian’s life.
“His story is a story of great accomplishment, of heroic efforts and overcoming tremendous odds … a story about who we are and what we stand for and the challenges that have been there and the challenges that are still with us.”
~~Black History in Oak Park: Who was Percy Julian?~~
~~Published on Feb 5, 2013 – Summary~~
Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine; and was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work would lay the foundation for the steroid drug industry’s production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.
Around 1950 Julian moved his family from Chicago to the village of Oak Park, Illinois, where the Julians were the first African-American family. Although some residents welcomed them into the community, there was also opposition by some. Their home was fire-bombed on Thanksgiving Day, 1950, before they moved in. After the Julians had moved to Oak Park, the house was attacked with dynamite on June 12, 1951. The attacks galvanized the community and a community group was formed to support the Julians.
~~FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO MANKIND, THANK YOU PERCY JULIAN~~
It Is What It Is 