Rings of Planet Saturn (April 28 - 30, 2013) -- Space Weather posting

www.spaceweather.com/

SATURN'S RINGS SURGE IN BRIGHTNESS: This week Saturn is at opposition--that is, opposite the sun in the skies of Earth. Saturn rises at sunset and soars almost overhead at midnight, up all night. This arrangement has a striking effect on Saturn's rings. It makes them bright. Amateur astronomer Christopher Go of the Philippines photographed the phenomenon on April 28th:

"The rings are very bright due to the Seeliger Effect," says Go. Also known as the "opposition effect," the Seeliger effect has been observed on the Moon, Earth and Mars. It happens when sunlit objects (such as the icy particles that make up Saturn's rings) hide their own shadows. A process called coherent backscattering may also contribute to the extra luminosity.
Whatever the details may be, the net result is beautiful. The Seeliger Effect should be operative for a few more days. Readers with backyard telescopes should take a look.

National Park Week: April 20 - 28, 2013 - free admission Monday 22nd - Friday 26th

from White House dot-gov - Proclamations

For generations, ordinary Americans have taken it upon themselves to preserve our national landscape. They have been public servants and private citizens, patrons and Presidents -- visionaries who saw our natural inheritance not as something to be used up, but as a treasure to be passed on. During National Park Week, we celebrate the wonders entrusted to us by our forebears and recommit to preserving them for our children and grandchildren.
We also take time to remember that in places like the Grand Canyon and the Teton Range, we see more than raw beauty. We see expansive freedom and rugged independence. We see the big ideas and bold ingenuity that inspired the first conservationists. We see our belief in collective responsibility -- the notion that all of us have an equal share in this land and an equal obligation to keep it safe. These spaces embody the best of the American spirit, and they summon us to experience it firsthand.
This week, the National Park Service will make that opportunity available to everyone by offering free admission to every park in the Union from April 22 through April 26. And to keep building on our country's long legacy of conservation, I have been proud to establish eight new National Monuments in the past year. These sites honor rich histories, spectacular landscapes, and pioneering heroes of the American story, from Colonel Charles Young to Harriet Tubman to Cesar Chavez. They also reflect my commitment to advancing a 21st-century conservation strategy that responds to the priorities of the American people, strengthens local economies, and protects our most special places for generations to come.
As we mark this week, I encourage all Americans to experience our natural heritage by stepping into the outdoors. To find a National Park in your area, visit www.NPS.gov.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 20 through April 28, 2013, as National Park Week. I encourage all Americans to visit their National Parks and be reminded of these unique blessings we share as a Nation.

Born on this date in history (April 26, 1711) - David Hume philosopher

Quotes collected by Garrison Keillor (Writer's Almanac, American Public Media) :

David Hume said, "Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty."

And, "Reading and sauntering and lounging and dozing, which I call thinking, is my supreme happiness."

And, "He is happy whose circumstances suit his temper but he is more excellent who can suit his temper to any circumstances."

www.americanpublicmedia.org/

National Volunteer Week 2013 (April 21 - 27) - Proclamation

from WHITE HOUSE dot-gov "Proclamations" released

As Americans, we are inheritors to a legacy of diversity unlike any other place on earth. We are home to more than 300 million people who come from every background, practice every faith, and hold every point of view. But where difference could draw us apart, we are bound together by a single sacred word: citizen. It defines our way of life, and it captures our belief in something bigger than ourselves -- the notion that our destiny is shared, and all of us do better when we accept certain obligations to one another.
National Volunteer Week is a time to renew that fundamentally American idea of service and responsibility. It is also a time to recognize the men, women, and children who bring that principle into practice every day by lifting up the people around them. Volunteering rates are the highest they have been in years. More Americans are answering the call to serve -- not for fanfare or attention, but because they want to give back. And as they do, they are making our communities stronger. They are boosting local economies. And they are building ladders of opportunity for those who need them most.
My Administration is dedicated to helping more Americans make that commitment. Through the Corporation for National and Community Service, we are investing in programs like AmeriCorps, FEMA Corps, and Senior Corps so more people can focus their talents on improving our neighborhoods. As we continue to draw down our forces abroad, we are opening up new ways for Americans to serve our veterans and military families here at home. We are encouraging States to let workers on unemployment insurance volunteer and build the skills they need to find a job. And this year, we are proposing new funding for the Volunteer Generation Fund that would help nonprofits recruit, manage, and maintain strong volunteer workforces. We also renamed the program the George H.W. Bush Volunteer Generation Fund, honoring the legacy of our 41st President and his enduring commitment to volunteerism.
We need not look far to see the power of service. Less than 6 months ago, when Hurricane Sandy bore down on our Atlantic coast, Americans responded with compassion and resolve. As an act of terror struck Boston at the finish line of a great race, and an explosion in Texas tore through a tight-knit community, we stood by each other in times of need. Ordinary men and women have stepped forward and accomplished extraordinary things together, uniting as friends and neighbors and fellow citizens. The strength they have shown reminds us that even in our darkest hours, we look out for each other. We pull together. And we move forward as one. During National Volunteer Week, let us tap into that spirit once more. To find a service opportunity nearby, visit www.Serve.gov.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 21 through April 27, 2013, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week by volunteering in service projects across our country and pledging to make service a part of their daily lives.

Six activities for EARTH DAY (2013) -- Facts, Trivia, Involvement

from LA TIMES Online article by Karen Kaplan -- April 22, 2013 edition

. . .six things you might not have known about Earth Day (and the spirit of environmentalism it represents):

* More than 1 billion people in 192 countries are doing something to mark Earth Day this year, according to estimates from the Earth Day Network. In Veracruz, Mexico, volunteers will clean up beaches to improve the habitat for sea turtles. In Jalandhar, India, students will plant saplings. In Seoul, fans of South Korean pop star Psy’s mega-hit “Gangnam Style” will form a flash mob to perform a variation called “Eco-style.” (You can watch them practice on YouTube here.)

* Earth Day has inspired one of Google’s most ambitious Google Doodles – an animated scene of mountains, a stream and a meadow populated by bears, fish and other creatures. You can even blow virtual dandelions with your computer mouse! Check out this “sightseeing checklist” from the doodle team to make sure you don’t miss any features.

* If you feel like you want to do something but don’t know where to start, visit Pick 5 for the Environment. This website from the Environmental Protection Agency offers suggestions for your area under the headings of “water,” “air,” “land,” “energy,” “waste” and “advocacy.”

* Climate change is a massive phenomenon, but the Earth Day Network is trying to humanize it with its “Faces of Climate Change” campaign. Click here to see pictures of people from all over the world who are concerned about climate change and trying to do something about it. You can also upload your own photo to the global collection.

* What does the Vietnam War have to do with Earth Day? The “teach-ins” staged by antiwar activists in the late 1960s inspired Sen. Nelson to call for rallies across the country to focus the public’s attention on environmental issues, according to the History Channel.

* You can take this quiz to calculate your ecological footprint. Among other things, the quiz will tell you how many Earths it would take to have enough resources to support the lifestyle you live -- had a house as big as yours, flew in planes as often as you did, ate as much meat as you eat, etc. -- if everyone else on the planet lived it too.

Monday April 22, 2:50 p.m. Eastern -- Minute of Silence then Ringing of Church Bells -- Boston and state of Massachusetts

http://bostinno.streetwise.co

Moment of Silence at 2:50 pm on Monday Will Honor Marathon Bombing Victims

by reporter Lisa DeCanio

It has been seven days since two bombs went off near the Boston Marathon finish line, wounding more than 170 people and killing three. What was supposed to be a sunny and joyous New England holiday one week ago turned into one of Boston's most horrific, inciting a manhunt that resulted in a fatal gunshot wound of an MIT police office, and eventually led to the killing of one and the capture of another bombing suspect.
In honor of the victims, authorities and those otherwise affected by last week's bombing, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Tom Menino and The One Fund are calling for a statewide, one-minute moment of silence at 2:50 p.m. on Monday, April 22. That time is approximately when the first bomb went off during last Monday's race.
The moment of silence will be used to honor the victims and their families, according to a press release. The minute of silence will be followed by the ringing of church bells throughout the Bay State.

YMCA (Niles, Michigan 905 N. Front Street) - April 27 "Healthy Kids Day" 11 a.m.

Further specifics at

www.nb-ymca.org/

On Saturday, April 27, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. the Niles-Buchanan YMCA is celebrating YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day® with a free community event to get more families moving, learning and living healthier. Healthy Kids Day, a national initiative of the Y, takes place at 1,900 Y’s and features fun, educational activities such as Zumba, swimming, dancing, gymnastics, games, crafts, healthy snacks, an inflatable obstacle course and more!
The event is free; children must be accompanied by an adult.

On this date in history (104 years ago) -- death of Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain

from "Writer's Almanac" (American Public Media: Garrison Keillor):

In 1909, Mark Twain is reported to have said: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year and I expect to go out with it. ... The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'" And he was true to his word:  on April 21, 1910, a day after the comet's closest approach to Earth, Samuel Clemens died at his Connecticut home.

Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, he grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. After his father died and left the family in financial straits, he went to work as a printer's apprentice at the Hannibal Gazette, and it was there he discovered he liked to write.
He was a travel writer, a master of humor and satire, an ardent abolitionist, an inventor, a publisher, and a popular public speaker, but he wasn't a good money manager, and though he made a lot of money at his writing, he lost it all through bad investments and declared bankruptcy in 1893. He began a lecture tour the following year and earned the money to pay back the money he owed his creditors.

William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature," and Hemingway said, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain, called Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Huck Finn is also the fourth most banned book in America, and has recently come to public notice again with the publication of a new version that replaces the controversial racial epithets with the word "slave."

Benefit Race / Run / Walk for Boston Marathon Attack victims (April 15) 4/22/2013 at St. Joseph, MI

Run For Boston

Southwest Michigan

St. Joseph, MI "Sunset Coast Striders Runners Club" event

Monday April 22, 2013

6:30 p.m. Eastern Time

http://www.sunsetcoaststriders.com/

Information for "FaceBook" subscribers

Who are the "Striders"? 
Sunset Coast Striders is a not-for-profit organization serving as a welcoming group for beginning runners, bikers, etc., as well as a connecting group for the intermediate/advanced. SCS hosts group runs/rides and no/low-cost programs/events aiming to activate Southwest Michigan.

Bush Presidential Library (SMU, Dallas TX campus) -- Architecture Review - LA Times

LA TIMES -- Saturday April 20, 2013

Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-bush-presidential-library-review-dallas-20130420,0,6482526.story

. . .architect Robert A.M. Stern's design for the George W. Bush presidential library, set to open to the public May 1, 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist University.
The $250-million complex holds the president's archive as well as a museum, policy institute and foundation. Officially known as the George W. Bush Presidential Center, it is carefully and cannily contextual, like much of Stern's work.
Its wide and low-slung form, sunk into a modest hill and ranging from one to three stories high, is wrapped in red brick and cream-colored limestone in an effort to match the Collegiate Georgian buildings on the rest of the SMU campus. Covering 226,000 square feet, the center is set on a 23-acre piece of land about five miles north of downtown Dallas.
Anyone who has read Bush's 2010 memoir, Decision Points, will see in Stern's design all sorts of echoes of the 43rd president's approach. The architecture of the complex, like the rhetorical approach of that book, is stripped down and unadorned.
The building, like the Bush presidency, is about firmness, being resolute, even at the expense of nuance. Perhaps the emblematic line of that presidency, after all, came in early 2002, not long after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when Bush said, "You're either with us or against us; you're either evil or you're good."
"America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause," Bush said in his second inaugural address. "My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve and have found it firm."
The resolve of Stern's architecture here is also unyielding, and perhaps too much so — especially in the entrance plaza, with its three-sided colonnade of squared-off pillars.
This outdoor room has unavoidable and frankly unnerving connections to the architecture of muscular state power. It has echoes, fairly faint but altogether present, of authoritarian landmarks, particularly the 1959 National Museum of China on Tiananmen Square in Beijing and the buildings Adalberto Libera and other architects designed for Benito Mussolini in Rome.
The museum, holding exhibits on the Bush presidency designed by Virginia-based TRD Group, covers 43,000 square feet. It includes a full-scale replica of the Oval Office that opens onto a careful re-creation of the Rose Garden. But there are some concessions to geography: the trees are crepe myrtles instead of crab-apples.
On its upper level, the complex holds an apartment available for use by the Bush family.
The building empties on the back into a 14-acre garden and public park by the landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh, which slopes down toward a noisy stretch of freeway. Seen from the garden, the complex, three stories high on this elevation, is a good deal bulkier and less coherently organized than it looks as you face the main entrance.
The western façade, facing the campus and holding the entrance to the Bush Institute, is marked by a squared-off, double-height limestone portico. It overlooks, among other buildings, the 2001 Meadows Museum by the Chicago firm Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge, another exercise in throwback contextualism but one that is a good deal frillier than Stern's design.

American Muslim Leaders react to April 15 Bombing by two brothers from Chechnya

from ONLINE coverage -- Religion News Service dot-com

WASHINGTON (RNS) American Muslim leaders said they stand against terrorism committed in the name of Islam, trying to distance themselves from the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings who were identified as Muslims with ties to Chechnya.
“We will never allow ourselves to be hijacked by this attempt, and we will not allow the perception to be that there is any religion in the world that condones the taking of innocent life,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
As the manhunt intensified in and around Boston, Muslim leaders convened a press conference Friday (April 19, 2013) to denounce the attacks and to urge the media not to link their faith with violent extremism.
Authorities say brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, planted the bombs at the Boston Marathon on Monday April 15, 2013 before going on a deadly rampage across the city in the early hours of Friday morning. The older Tsarnaev was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police while his younger brother fled.
Officials say the Tsarnaev family is originally from Chechnya, a restive region whose civil war with Russia has spawned waves of extremists. It remains unclear, however, whether the Tsarnaev brothers identified as militants for Islam.
Imam Benjamin Abdul-Haqq of Washington’s Masjid Muhammad mosque, said identifying as a Muslim is different from acting like one.
“Just because they say they’re Muslim doesn’t make them Muslim,” Abdul-Haqq said at the press conference convened by CAIR and other leading Muslim groups. “These are criminal acts, not religious acts.”
American Muslim leaders have gone to great lengths to stress that their religion does not condone violence and that terrorist acts committed in the name of Islam contradict the faith. Muslim groups appealed to Americans not to rush to judgment and not to lash out at innocent people.
“Every faith has within it heretical elements, and unfortunately some young people will listen to those elements,” said CAIR spokesman Corey Saylor. “What you’re looking at now is a force that is pushing back against that loudly and clearly.”
The Muslim leaders from CAIR, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Society of North America and other groups expressed frustration that they are once again being forced to defend their faith against the actions of extremists.
“As a Muslim American community, we should not be held accountable for the acts of any individual,” said Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America.
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/04/19/muslim-leaders-we-stand-against-terrorism/

Michelle Bachmann -- Traveled to London for Dame Margaret Thatcher funeral -- on behalf of John Boehner

from WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM Reliable Source online chat-discussion

.

Did Michelle Bachmann really travel to Margaret Thatcher funeral?

Did she travel to London to pay homage to her "Iron Lady" role model? --- NPR Morning edition correspondent seemed to indicate the Minnesota Congresswoman might be among the international group of mourners. . .

• –
  April 17, 2013 8:07 AM
• Permalink

A.

Roxanne Roberts :

She was one of the three-person congressional delegation  sent over by the Speaker.

– April 17, 2013 12:20 PM

http://live.washingtonpost.com/the-reliable-source-041713.html

On this date in history (616 years ago in A.D. 1397 -- court of Richard II)

from American Public Media ("Writer's Almanac" - Garrison Keillor) -- April 17 list serv excerpt

Although there is no evidence that this actually happened, it is easy to imagine the scene, in part because of a famous painting of Geoffrey Chaucer reciting his poetry to the court, painted in the early 15th century. . .

The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales is one of the most famous examples of Middle English. Translated into modern English, it's something like:
When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in sundry lands.
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury wend,
The holy blessed martyr there to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill and weak.

Dennis Lehane (Boston novelist / blogger) talks to "Here and Now" Robin Young about April 15 bombings

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/04/16/dennis-lehane-marathon

Dennis Lehane of Boston, Massachusetts told Here & Now’s Robin Young that the attack will not fundamentally change the city: “If you think you’re going  to change the culture here, you really picked the wrong town.  We’re not going to change, we’re not going to suddenly give up our civil liberties. I’d be surprised if we drastically alter the marathon.”
Lehane lives close to where the attacked happened and is a trustee of the Boston Public Library. The main branch of the library is across the street from where the bombs went off.
“This is when you know that the terrorists lost. Immediately. It’s when you saw those people – civilians – running toward the blast. They were shaking, but they weren’t cowed. They ran to give help,” he said. “In that moment, the terrorist objective, which is always to sow terror – to paralyze you with terror – failed.”
After learning about the explosions, Lehane posted some thoughts on social media (Facebook page). Here are some excerpts:

"Every thought and every prayer goes out to the victims and their families and loved ones. What a senseless act of waste and violence.
This wasn’t about Boston. This was about a global gathering of the finest runners in the world on a gorgeous spring day celebrating nothing but athleticism and a love of life itself.
When I watch the footage of the first explosion, I look at the Boston Public Library Main Branch across the street, and I think no matter who they turn out to be–Islamic jihadists, home grown militia, neo-Nazis, something else–what really scares them, what they truly hate, is the access to knowledge that building exemplifies.
Youngest victim is 8. Sigh. What can you do with that? If your “CAUSE” involves the death of kids, it’s not a cause, it’s a pestilence.
So proud to be a Bostonian tonight. So brokenhearted to be one, too."

Pan-American Week (April 14 - 20, 2013) -- across the W. Hemisphere

Presidential Proclamation (whitehouse dot-gov / press office)  -- on the Americas

One hundred and twenty-three years ago, countries across the Western Hemisphere came together to found the International Union of American Republics -- a forerunner to the Organization of American States and a foundation for progress throughout the region. In the decades since, nations in the Americas have forged lasting partnerships in trade, security, and democracy that reflect our shared commitment to peace and prosperity. As we celebrate those ties this week, we recognize the Pan American community's accomplishments and recommit to advancing common goals.

Delivering prosperity for all our people takes strong, broad-based economic growth. That is why my Administration has worked tirelessly to boost trade with our partners abroad and open new markets for American products. We have worked together to increase lending through the Inter-American Development Bank, promote microfinance, reform tax systems, eliminate barriers to investment, and forge clean energy and climate partnerships. In the United States, we have secured trade agreements with Colombia and Panama. Alongside partners like Canada, Mexico, Chile, and Peru, we are making progress toward a Trans-Pacific Partnership. And inter-American trade is continuing to expand dramatically, supporting millions of jobs here in the United States and still more abroad.

These initiatives are strengthening economies across the Americas. And just as the benefits of trade and development should be shared between nations, we also know they should be shared within nations. That takes the assurance of security and transparency, education and equality, human rights and the rule of law. As countries throughout the hemisphere build up those fundamental protections and opportunities for their citizens, the United States will work alongside them. It is a commitment we make not only because it is the right thing to do -- we make it knowing that our futures depend on what we can do together as partners in progress.

On Pan American Day and during Pan American Week, we renew the bonds of friendship that unite us across cultures and continents. Let us mark this week by reinvesting in the prosperity and dignity of our peoples, confident that the Americas' best days are still ahead.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 14, 2013, as Pan American Day and April 14 through April 20, 2013, as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50 States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the officials of the other areas under the flag of the United States of America to honor these observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/12/presidential-proclamation-pan-american-day-and-pan-american-week-2013

GLEE episode on School Shooting & Lockdown -- LA TIMES coverage of angry response by Newtown, CT parents

Los Angeles, California TIMES www.latimes.com/ (Friday April 12, 2013) reported by Kevin Patrick Day

"Glee," the occasionally topical high school musical series, aired an episode on Thursday night that could have been ripped from yesterday's headlines. The topic: a school shooting.

In the episode, titled, "Shooting Star," one of the students of McKinley High School, a girl with Down syndrome played by Lauren Potter, brings a firearm to the high school where it discharges, putting true fear in the hearts of the students.
Though there have been several incidents of school shootings in recent years, the timing of the episode nearly four months after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was too much for the parents of that town.
Andrew Paley, whose children survived the shooting at Sandy Hook, appeared on CNN on Friday to complain that no one from "Glee" or its network, Fox, reached out to warn the people of Newtown about the content of the episode.
"We have no problem, at least the parents I've spoken to, that they aired an episode that had a school shooting," Paley said. "What's really upsetting is that no one, none of the producers, reached out to the town of Newtown to let us residents, who are so close to this, know that this episode was airing and that if anybody is a fan of 'Glee'... it would have been a shocker to them if they didn't know what the episode was about."
Luckily, the people of Newtown did recieve a warning via a Newtown victims' advocacy group, called Newtown Action Alliance, which got wind of the episode's content early and sent out a warning email.
"I would suggest if you do watch this TV show to either not watch it tonight or watch with caution," the email says, in part.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-glee-school-shooting-newtown-20130412,0,4864160.story

50 years later -- Churches of Birmingham, AL & Southern Clergy reply to "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

http://christianchurchestogether.org/

 Christian Churches Together

Response to

Dr. King Letter from Birmingham Jail

A Symposium on Race, Faith and Our Future

On April 14-15, Christian Churches Together will gather in Birmingham to pray and seek God’s wisdom

for a renewed commitment to racial justice in our country.

In their one-page letter, the church leaders remember with gratitude the sacrifices of the leaders of the civil rights movement, who demonstrated the power of Christian, nonviolent action. They also express repentance that “some of us have not progressed far enough beyond the initial message from the Birmingham clergy.”
“Too often our follow-through has been far less than our spoken commitments. Too often we have chosen to be comfortable rather than prophetic. Too often we have chosen not to see the evidence of a racism that is less overt but still permeates our national life in corrosive ways.”
In their experiences at the Civil Rights Institute and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the church leaders, who were of multiple races and represented a wide range of church backgrounds, found inspiration and renewed commitment. They describe two windows at the church – one where the face of Jesus had been blown out from the bombing in 1963 that killed four girls, and the other that depicts a Christ figure who with one hand rejects the injustice of the world and with the other extends forgiveness.
“In the spirit of this loving Jesus, and in the spirit of those who committed their very lives to that love, we renew our commitment to ending racism in all forms. We begin by taking time on Monday, January 17, 2013 to reread the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”–along with the message from the Birmingham clergy that prompted King’s letter–and to reflect on its meaning for us today. We urge all within our churches to do the same.”
Formed in 2007, CCT is the broadest Christian fellowship in the country, with members from the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Historic Black, and Evangelical/Pentecostal families. In addition to 36 national communions, its membership includes six national organizations–the American Bible Society, Bread for the World, Evangelicals for Social Action, Habitat for Humanity, Sojourners, and World Vision. For the full letter and a list of the member communions, go to www.christianchurchestogether.org.

Mother of 6-year-old killed in Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting speaks on Sat. Radio/Video Address

details of the weekly White House address -- www.washingtonpost.com/

Francine Wheeler reminisces about how her son Ben sang with perfect pitch, was learning to play piano and wanted to be an architect or, like his big brother dreamed of, a paleontologist. Then, her voice cracking and eyes welling with tears as she sits beside her husband, Wheeler pleads with the nation to call their U.S. Senators and urge them to pass the gun-control legislation they began considering this week.
“We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us,” Wheeler says in the four-minute 20-second video produced by the White House.
Mrs. Wheeler’s remarks are a heart-wrenching capstone to a week of intense lobbying in Washington by parents of children slaughtered at Sandy Hook Elementary School. After Obama issued a forceful call for swift action during a campaign-style rally in Connecticut on Monday, he brought about a dozen Sandy Hook parents with him to Washington aboard Air Force One. The parents spent the week meeting personally with senators to lobby them to support stricter gun laws, including the expansion of background checks for all gun buyers.
“When I packed for Washington on Monday, it looked like the Senate might not act at all,” Wheeler says in the video. “Then, after the president spoke in Hartford, and a dozen of us met with senators to share our stories, more than two-thirds of the Senate voted to move forward. But that’s only the start. They haven’t yet passed any bills that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. And a lot of people are fighting to make sure they never do.”
Obama asked Wheeler to deliver the weekly address, which is aired nationally on television and radio and is almost always given by the president. She becomes the only person other than Obama or Vice President Biden to deliver the address during this administration, a White House official said. Wheeler wrote the remarks with her husband, the official added, and together they taped the video on Friday morning in the library at the White House.
Wheeler says in her remarks that Ben’s killing has given her the courage to advocate for gun policy changes in Washington.  “I’ve heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded,” she says. “But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday. And in the four months since we lost our loved ones, thousands of other Americans have died at the end of a gun. Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief. Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/13/mother-of-newtown-victim-delivers-emotional-weekly-address-in-obamas-stead/?hpid=z1

Happy 66th Birthday to David Letterman (b. April 12, 1947 - Indianapolis, IN)

Facts and interesting data about the CBS "Late Night" host -- collected at Internet Movie Database:

Born at 6:00 a.m. - CST.
Has an older sister named Janice and a younger sister named Gretchen.
Hero is Johnny Carson.
While working as a weatherman in Indianapolis, he once congratulated a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane.
Says he never uses the same tie twice in his show.
Underwent quintuple bypass surgery on 14 January 2000.
Before his heart bypass surgery, he had not missed a day due to illness in his up-to-then 18 years of late-night. [NBC "Late Show w/David Letterman" 1982 - 1993 / CBS "Late Show w/David Letterman" 1993 and still on-air]
Multi-purpose names he uses for any man: "Larry," "Kenny," and "Rodney". Multi-purpose names for women: "Linda".
His father, Joe Letterman, was a florist who died of a heart attack in 1973. Mother Dorothy Mengering remarried in 1983 to Hans Mengering.
He once hosted a game show pilot called The Riddlers (1977) (TV). Its celebrity guests were Joyce Bulifant, Michael McKean, Debralee Scott, Robert Urich and Jo Anne Worley.
He was frequently a celebrity guest on TV game shows of the 1970s, among them "The (New) $25,000 Pyramid" (1973), "The Gong Show" (1976), and "Liar's Club" (1976).
Funds a scholarship at Ball State University, Muncie, IN (his alma mater, class of 1969).
Worked as a grocery bagger in Indianapolis in high school.
Guest hosted "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson"  51 times between 1978 - 1992.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001468/

Wahoo Gazette: Reminder to visit George W. Bush Library Interactive Exhibit (SMU, Dallas, TX)

www.cbs.com/ The Late Show (11:35 p.m. Eastern Time weekdays)

 The George W. Bush Presidential Library is opening soon. No expense has been spared on this project. We take a look at this attempt.
ANNOUNCER: "The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is a premiere destination for researchers, students and families alike. The museum features over 100,000 artifacts, and dozens of interactive activities that let you pretend to be the president."

Cut to a split-screen of some of GW Bush's most popular moments of his reign in the White House. We see George doing his stuff, and a Library visitor doing the same George stuff. "Trip. Bump your head. Trip again. Dodge a shoe. Drop a dog. And spit on the White House lawn. The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum; the only missing ingredient is you."

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 A visitor to the G.W. Bush Library enjoys interactive fun.

Show #3833
http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/wahoo_gazette/1000592

Earth Day 2013 -- what are the emphases? -- seeking "faces" at Earthday dot-org/2013

The Face of Climate Change

Climate change can seem like a remote problem for our leaders, but the fact is that it's already impacting real people, animals, and beloved places. These Faces of Climate Change are multiplying every day. Fortunately, other Faces of Climate Change are multiplying too: those stepping up to do something about it. Help us personalize the massive challenge climate change presents by taking a photo and telling your story. How has climate change impacted you? What are you doing to be part of the solution?

http://www.earthday.org/2013/

Help build a global mosiac. If possible, include a face in your picture and hold up a sign that says "The Face of Climate Change."

My Question (Washingtonpost chat Discussion) and Lisa DiMoraes' answer (Latest in TV) - April 12, 2013

from www.washingtonpost.com/

Was the April 11 "Glee" episode an anomaly or a part of the show's sign-off season?

The Glee crew prepare for Regionals by singing their "last song" -- two gunshots are heard and the High School goes into total lockdown where a SWAT team does not find a shooter nor any true clues as to the location of the limited shots . . . Seems like this show is ready for a Finale at the Nationals come May Sweeps . . .

• – April 12, 2013 8:22 AM

A.

Lisa de Moraes :

Typically when a ratings-grab stunt is pulled during a non-sweeps week it means the show is trying to goose the ratings because the network is trying to make up its mind in re whether to bring it back next season. Otherwise, ratings stunts like that are saved for sweeps months.

– april 12, 2013 1:12 PM

 

http://live.washingtonpost.com/lisa-de-moraes-130412.html

National Library Workers Day (ALA dot-org sponsorship) - April 16, 2013

from ala dot-org (American Library Association) --

What is National Library Workers Day?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.

Nation honors former Prisoners-of-War (April 9, 2013)

Presidential Proclamation

From the days of the Revolutionary War to the trials of our times, America has been blessed with an unbroken chain of patriots who have always stepped forward to serve. Whenever our country has come under attack, our men and women in uniform have risen to its defense. And whenever our freedoms have been threatened, they have responded with unyielding resolve -- sometimes trading their liberty to secure our own.
Today (April 9, 2013), we pay tribute to former prisoners of war who made that profound sacrifice. Caught behind enemy lines and stripped of their rights, these service members endured trials few of us can imagine. Many lost their lives. But in reflecting on the tragic price they paid, we also remember how their courage lit up even the darkest night. Where others might have given up or broken down, they dug in. They summoned an iron will. In their strength, we see the measure of their character; in their sacrifice, we see the spirit of a Nation.
As we express our gratitude to heroes who gave so much for their country, we remain mindful that no one gesture is enough to truly honor their service. For that, we must recommit to serving our veterans as well as they served us -- not just today, but every day. We must pursue a full accounting of those who are still missing. And for service members who have come home, we must never stop fighting to give them the stability and the support they have earned. That is the promise we renew today -- for former prisoners of war, for their families, and for every American who has sworn an oath to protect and defend.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 9, 2013, as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day of remembrance by honoring all American prisoners of war, our service members, and our veterans. I also call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/08/presidential-proclamation-national-former-prisoner-war-recognition-day

Famous African-American Poet / Memoirist Maya Angelou -- Book Tour interview

Noted at www.drshow.org/  -- NPR Call-in Talk - Interview show (upcoming on April 15, 2013)

Maya Angelou: "Mom & Me & Mom"

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-04-15/maya-angelou-mom-me-mom

Monday, April 15, 2013 - 11:06 a.m. [verify with your Local Affiliate -- National Public Radio]

 

Maya Angelou: "Mom & Me & Mom" (2013 autobiography / memoir);

Legendary author Maya Angelou on her relationship with her late mother, Vivian Baxter.

 

Guests

Maya Angelou

author, poet, playwright, and performer
Professor Emerita, Wake Forest University

Yom HaShoah: Union of Reform Judaism definition (April 6 - 7, 2013)

from http://urj.org/

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on the 27th of Nissan. Shoah, which means catastrophe or utter destruction in Hebrew, refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II. This is a memorial day for those who died in the Shoah.

The Shoah (also known as the Holocaust, from a Greek word meaning "sacrifice by fire,") was initiated by the members of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, which seized power in Germany in 1933. The Nazis believed in a doctrine of racial superiority, centering around the idea that that people of Northern European descent were somehow better than members of all other races – especially the Jews, who were "unworthy of life."

After taking power, the Nazis gradually restricted the rights of German Jewish citizens and encouraged their followers to commit acts of violence and destruction against Jews and their property. During World War II (1939-1945), the Nazis implemented their "final solution," a plan to concentrate and annihilate all European Jews. Jews were first crammed together in ghettoes and slave-labor camps, where disease, brutality, and malnutrition ran rampant. Eventually, they were sent to death camps, where millions were murdered in special facilities designed to kill a tremendous number of people over a brief period of time. In addition to the six million Jews who died - two-thirds of the European Jewish population – the Nazis also killed millions of others, including Roma (Gypsies) and Slavs, political and religious dissidents, the handicapped, and gays and lesbians.
http://urj.org/holidays/hashoah/

On April 3, 1968 (45 years ago) -- "I've been up to the mountaintop" speech of MLK at Memphis, TN

Writer's Almanac (American Public Media: Garrison Keillor)

It was on April 3 in 1968 that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had come to support striking sanitation workers, in which he famously said, "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!"

The next day, he was assassinated.

Chuck Hagel on Defense Cuts - Pentagon Review (April 3, 2013)

Defense Department dot-gov News summarization:

[2013] sequester cuts and budget uncertainty have “led to far more abrupt and deeper reductions than were planned or expected,” he added.
“Now, DOD is grappling with the serious and immediate challenges of sequester -- which is forcing us to take as much as a $41 billion cut in this current fiscal year, and if it continues, will reduce projected defense spending by another $500 billion over the next decade,” the secretary said.
Much more hard work, difficult decisions and strategic prioritizing remain to be done, he said, and “deep political and institutional obstacles to necessary reforms will need to be engaged and overcome.”
The secretary said the department’s enduring mission -- defending the nation and advancing America’s strategic interests -- must be approached in the context of “unprecedented shifts in the world order, new global challenges and deep global fiscal uncertainty.”
The 21st-century security landscape is marked by the threat of violent extremism from weak states and ungoverned spaces in the Middle East and North Africa, Hagel said. Other security issues, he said, include the proliferation of weapons and materials; increasing access to advanced military technology among state and nonstate actors, risks of regional conflict that could draw in the United States, and “the debilitating and dangerous curse of human despair and poverty, as well as the uncertain implications of environmental degradation.”
Hagel said cyberattacks, “which barely registered as a threat a decade ago, have grown into a defining security challenge” which allows enemies to strike security, energy, economic and other critical infrastructure with the benefit of anonymity and distance.
All in all, Hagel said, the world is combustible and complex, and America’s responsibilities are enormous. The military’s role in meeting those responsibilities is essential, he said, but as part of a total government approach.
“Most of the pressing security challenges today have important political, economic, and cultural components, and do not necessarily lend themselves to being resolved by conventional military strength,” the secretary noted.
Defense leaders need time, flexibility, budget certainty and partnership with Congress to effectively explore new approaches to acquisition, personnel, and overhead costs, he said. Hagel emphasized that future strategic planning will emphasize DOD’s “inherent strengths” of leadership development, training, mobility and logistics, special operations, cyber, space, and research and development.
“The goal of the senior leadership of this department today is to learn from the miscalculations and mistakes of the past drawdowns, and make the right decisions that will sustain our military strength, advance our strategic interests, and protect our nation well into the future,” Hagel said.

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119689

Toni Morrison 2012 novel ( HOME ) -- read at West Point Military Academy Class

from NY TIMES dot-com / At War blog -- March 24, 2013

At West Point, Morrison Gets at Truths of War in Fiction

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Seated with members of the African-American Arts Forum at West Point, Ms. Morrison ate her Army-issue ravioli and prepared to read from her most recent novel, Home, to the freshman cadets, who studied the book in English class this semester.
The novel is the story of Frank Money, a black Georgia native and Korean War veteran struggling to reintegrate into civilian life in a segregated America, while struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I read Home last winter and immediately saw that the text touched on so many relevant topics, such as PTSD, as well as race,” explained Lt. Col. Scott Chancellor, who directs West Point’s freshman English program and called Ms. Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner, “the greatest living American writer.” [Abigail Meisel reporting]

It was Lieutenant Colonel Chancellor who invited Ms. Morrison to speak. But exploring the costs of war is not foreign to the school’s curriculum, said Col. Scott Krawczyk, the head of the academy’s English and philosophy programs, who taught Home to a section of first-year cadets. (Other works on the syllabus were by Franz Kafka and Sylvia Plath.)
“At West Point we ensure that cadets are made to struggle with moral ambiguity so that when they confront tangled scenarios, they will be able to do that well,” Colonel Krawczyk said, referring to their future as officers. “Morrison gives us just enough psychological complication of Frank Money to open up an understanding of how desperately malignant the realm of war can be.”

World Autism Awareness Day - April 2 - Presidential 2013 Proclamation

from whitehouse.gov/

A PROCLAMATION

Today (Tuesday April 2, 2013), public health officials estimate that 1 in every 88 children in America is growing up on the autism spectrum. It is a reality that affects millions of families every day, from the classroom to the job market. And while our country has made progress in supporting Americans with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), we are only beginning to understand the factors behind the challenges they face. On World Autism Awareness Day, we recommit to helping individuals on the autism spectrum reach their full potential.
To achieve that goal, we need a health care system that works for children and adults with ASDs. The Affordable Care Act prevents insurers from denying coverage to children on the autism spectrum, and it ensures new health plans must cover autism screenings at no cost to parents. Beginning in 2014, the Act will make it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against men and women with preexisting conditions, including ASDs. And looking ahead, my Administration is investing in medical research that can help unlock tomorrow's breakthroughs in autism detection, intervention, and education.
Leveling the playing field for Americans on the autism spectrum also takes commitment in our schools. That is why we are advancing initiatives to help students with ASDs get a good education free from discrimination and undue hardship. And it is why we are making sure that education can lead to meaningful employment by supporting vocational rehabilitation programs and opening higher education to more people on the autism spectrum.
All Americans should have the chance to live full, independent lives and follow their talents wherever they lead. This month, we recognize Americans with ASDs who are walking through doors of opportunity, and we recommit to opening them wider in the years ahead.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2, 2013, as World Autism Awareness Day. I encourage all Americans to learn more about autism and what they can do to support individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.

Auroras to be visible (April 6 - 7)

from SPACE WEATHER dot-com

WEEKEND AURORAS? A solar wind stream is expected to brush against Earth's magnetic field on April 6-7, possibly causing geomagnetic disturbances around the poles. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras beaming through the waxing twilight of northern spring.

http://www.spaceweather.com/

Born on April 5, 1588 -- Philosopher Thomas Hobbes

from AMERICAN Public Media -- "Writer's Almanac" written and broadcasted by Garrison Keillor

April 5 is the birthday of Thomas Hobbes, born in Westport, Wiltshire, England (1588) who witnessed a chaotic time in English politics, with two civil wars and the execution of the king. He wrote his most famous book, Leviathan, in the midst of it, in which he argues that people need a strong central authority to keep them from collapsing into war and chaos, a world with "no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." He believed that because we don't share the same ideas about what's right and wrong, we need a sovereign to enforce a set of laws.

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

Birthday of youngest Lincoln son - "Tad" in 1853

On this date in ABRAHAM LINCOLN ONLINE dot-org History

April 4, 1853
Thomas (Tad) Lincoln is born to Abraham and Mary (Todd)  in their Springfield, Illinois home.

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln.html

42 km/Marathon Course -- Bethlehem (Church of the Nativity) - West Bank, Palestine

from Middle East Post website -- Debut of such a world-class event for runners
https://middleastpost.com/international-marathon-in-palestine-new-surprising-destination-for-international-runners/

Palestine also offers a magnificent natural landscape and cultural heritage, that they want to show the world – not least the Church of the Nativity.
And this it where it all starts. On April 21, 2013, the historic marathon kicks off at the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, and takes the runners on a four-loop street course for the marathon, or a two- or one-loop course for the half-marathon or 10k-race.
The challenge of finding a 42km course stretch on Palestinian territory 
The new street race has been in the works for a year. Two Danish women, and long-time friends, Lærke Hein and Signe Fischer, first got the idea, when they were brainstorming on developing a cultural exchange-event between Palestine and Denmark – or ideally the rest of the world. “We do it to show that the Palestinians love their land and have a lot to offer, and are perfectly capable of hosting an international marathon”, Signe Fischer who has been stationed in a Danish NGO in Jerusalem since 2009, explains. “We want to contribute to tell a different story than the one of conflict and war.”
But there are other ways to promote mutual understanding than challenging people to run a long-distance race, one might think. To that, Signe Fischer, points out that due to continuous loss of land, it is impossible to close off a 42km marathon-stretch, for which reason the marathon runners will repeat a four loop course. And that in itself sends an important message.
No political agenda
Although this may sound as a pro-Palestine event, the women emphasize that this is about giving the Palestinians the opportunity to invite people in to explore their beautiful country. Also, it’s about promoting health, especially among Palestinian women. We have already set up running practice every week on the West Bank, where local runners, involved in the project invite everyone to train with them to finish one of the three distance races offered on April 21st.
Managing a world class race
To ensure the runners' safety and professional handling of the event, Palestine Marathon has partnered with the Danish sports event agency, YWC sport, who is behind a series of
Danish triathlon races, and works with international sports timing and security organisations, who have agreed to handle Palestine Marathon as well.

Contact directly sfs@righttomovement.com Signe Fischer's email