The University of Massachusetts - Amherst College Democrats apologized to Democratic Congressional candidate Alex Morse for the “distress” and “homophobic attacks”triggered by the letter they released earlier this monthalleging inappropriate behavior.
However, The Intercept reportedthat the Massachusetts Democratic Party had discussed with the College Democrats ways to damage Morse's campaigns as early as October, 2019. Supporters of Morse then called for an investigationinto the claims made in The Intercept’s reporting.
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The College Democrats, who are now under new leadership, sent a letter apologizing to its membership as well as a note apologizing to Morse directly.
“We want to tell you that we are deeply sorry for the distress that the public reaction to the letter must have caused you,” the note, which was obtained by The Hill, read.
The group claimed that they did not intend for the letter to become public. They also rejected The Intercept’s reporting, claiming that they were not aware of those conversations.
“However, we should have realized that the language of the letter was careless and played into homophobic stereotypes that have been used to oppress gay men in politics. We understand that no apology of ours can make up for the homophobic attacks you have suffered as a result of our actions; nonetheless, we wish to apologize,” they added.
Morse, who is back by Justice Democrats and several other progressive groups, has been ahead of the 16-term incumbent in at least two polls. Neal, however, has entered the race with a significantly larger war chest of $2.75 million in cash on hand heading into the primary. Morse’s campaign has $296,000.
David Freese is mobbed at home plate after circling the bases on his 11th inning game winning homer during Game 6 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Thursday October 27, 2011 in St. Louis. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Laurie Skrivan
“Bread and circuses,” said the Roman writer Juvenal.
The “circuses” came with a sneer. Juvenal felt that the once-noble Roman citizenry no longer cared about good government. They wanted only to be amused.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that Juvenal was too negative. By the time he wrote about bread and circuses sometime in the early second century — although the Romans had not yet started to date things B.C. and A.D. — the situation in Rome was looking up. Juvenal had been born during the reign of Nero. Things then got steadier for a couple of centuries.
But still, the phrase and the sentiment behind it, lived on.
With us, the circuses are sports. They occupy our minds — I’m talking now about the smaller, less-developed male mind in particular — way too much. How many hours of my life have I devoted to the Cubs, the Blues or random football teams?
Sometimes when I would drive at night, I would search the dial for a game. Any game. It might be a team I didn’t care a whit about.
Although I score low on self-awareness, I would sometimes think, “What if I took this time to listen to a foreign language on tape?” Or, “What if I were to listen to an intelligent discussion on politics?”
That dates me, I know. An intelligent discussion on politics?
I used to think that was possible. I began my newspaper career at a conservative newspaper in Phoenix. The editorial writers all aspired to be William F. Buckley. They used big words. They took pride in sharp, but understated, retorts. Although I did not hang out with the editorial writers, I occasionally watched Buckley’s “Firing Line.” It was too educational for me.
But society changed. Buckley was replaced by Rush Limbaugh. He was an entertainer rather than an educator. He did not believe in understated retorts. He was not conservative as much as anti-liberal. The people on both sides who tried to copy his success were the same. They were anti-liberal or anti-conservative.
Middle-of-the-roaders were scorned. Terry Anderson was an Associated Press reporter in Lebanon when he was captured by Hezbollah fighters in 1985. He was held hostage for almost seven years. When he was finally released, he used his celebrity to get a radio show. It was a bust. He wasn’t angry enough. He later ran for the state senate in Ohio. His opponent said Anderson was “soft on terrorism” because he said he was trying to forgive his captors. Before joining the AP, Anderson had been a Marine in Vietnam.
So there is something to be said about sports. About circuses. About putting politics and anger aside.
Then the coronavirus came along and disrupted our lives. Or maybe you think media is using the virus, which you think is no worse than the flu, to disrupt our lives. I suppose it depends on what network you watch.
No matter. For whatever reason, the circus was suddenly put on hold. All the psychic energy that normally went into sports went where? Let me guess. You learned a foreign language. You bought an economics textbook and learned what Taft-Hartley is all about. You bought and watched reruns of “The Firing Line.”
Or something similar to this.
I did not. I watched reruns all right, but not “The Firing Line.” Reruns of old games!
Yes, I watched the Cubs win the 2016 World Series all over again. I saw the Blues win Game Seven again in Boston.
I used my time well.
Occasionally, I would accidentally turn on cable news. The blame lies with my wife. She is an engaged citizen. Juvenal would have liked her. She would rather watch news than “Forensic Files.” And watch an old game? That would make no sense to her.
“You know they’re going to win, right?”
“Mary, please. I think Ben Zobrist is about to hit a double down the line and Almora will score and Rizzo will go to third. Let me concentrate.”
So I got through the time of no circuses. I was relieved when they came back. Now real life has intruded on the circus.
This past week, some professional basketball and baseball teams decided not to play. They did this to show their solidarity with protesters. Some individual players opted to sit out even when their teams played.
Good for them. They, too, are engaged citizens. They are using their celebrity platform to express themselves. They have every right to do so. They want to make the world a better place.
It was a very imperfect place when I was young. But you could forget abut the imperfections when you went to the circus. It wasn’t the real world, and I understand that, but sometimes I miss it very much.
August 29, 2020 at 10:40PM
https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/coronavirus/mcclellan-send-in-the-clowns/article_79a23948-0044-546a-a6fe-9778e0d77cc7.html
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos participates in an event hosted by U.S. ... [+]President Donald Trump with students, teachers and administrators about how to safely re-open schools during the novel coronavirus pandemic in the East Room at the White House July 07, 2020 in Washington, DC. As the number of COVID-19 cases surge across southern states like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Arizona, Trump joined with guests from across the country to discuss how to responsibly return to the classroom. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
On Thursday, a U.S. District judge in San Francisco ruled that the Department of Education used “interpretive jiggery pokery” to make its case, and placed a preliminary junction against the rule.
The department has argued that CARES Act relief money should be sent to private schools based on their total enrollment, not, as Congress directed, on the number of students from low-income families (thereby directing millions of dollars away from public schools). Judge James Donato (an Obama appointee confirmed with a 90-5 vote) was unimpressed by their argument.
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The department’s argument hinges on the notion that certain portions of the CARES Act are “ambiguous,” suggesting phrases such as “in the same manner” require clarification and interpretation. The Act directs aid to students from low-income families, but, says the department, the pandemic affects everybody; hence, ambiguity. As a long-time English teacher, I’d argue that the department’s arguments are disingenuous and silly. Donato agrees.
“When construing a statute,” writes Donato, “a virtuoso feat of analysis is neither required nor particularly useful.” Noting that the words Congress used in the CARES Act “are familiar and uncomplicated, to say the least,” Donato goes on to note the dictionary definitions of “same” and “manner,” concluding that Congress’s intent is “plain as day.” He quotes Justice Scalia in noting that it is hard to imagine how anyone could maintain with a straight face that the law is unclear.
As Rothstein did, Donato notes that the department had no legal right to “interpret” the law that Congress wrote. “An executive agency like the department has no authority to rewrite Congress’s plain and unambiguous commands under the guise of interpretation.”
This ruling puts a halt to implementation of the department’s rule in eight states, plus DC and four big city school districts; states affected are California, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, Betsy DeVos’s home state.
August 29, 2020 at 08:53PM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/08/29/second-federal-judge-slams-devos-plan-to-send-federal-funds-to-private-schools/
Second Federal Judge Slams DeVos Plan To Send Federal Funds To Private Schools - Forbes
MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, MI – Mose Lacy was considered royalty in the Beecher community so it’s appropriate that he received a send-off fit for a king.
Lacy, who died Aug. 19 at age 82, lay in state Friday at center court of the Beecher field house that bears his name and several hundred people showed up to pay their respects. He was laid to rest Saturday after a funeral service inside the gym.
The former Beecher basketball coach is being remembered fondly not only for the success his teams enjoyed but for the lives he touched in the community and the men he molded after moving to the Flint area from his native Alabama in 1969.
Lacy was beloved in the Beecher community not for his basketball success but because he helped mold hundreds of boys into productive men.
He treated everyone the same, whether it was a star player, somebody who rode the bench or just a stranger he crossed paths while going about his daily business in the community, according to younger brother Solomon.
“The thing that made him in this community is his relationship with the whole community,” said Solomon Lacy, who replaced his brother as Beecher’s head coach when Mose retired. “Daddies, uncles, guys on the street. He had something for all of them.
“He had the kind of personality to address all of them. He didn’t overlook anybody.”
On his basketball teams, none of his players were treated with star status.
Nobody Lacy coached was more talented than the late Roy Marble. He was the 1985 Mr. Basketball runner-up to Northwestern’s Glen Rice after leading the Bucs to a 27-0 record, played in the McDonald’s All-American game, starred at Iowa and played in the NBA.
But Lacy didn’t hesitate to tell Marble when he wasn’t meeting expectations.
“Nobody got treated any differently because of their skilled level,” Solomon Lacy said. “I saw him ream Roy Marble up one side and down the other. He said, ‘You know what you can do if you don’t like how I run things.’ Roy said, ‘I ain’t said nothing, Mr. Lacy!’”
Courtney Hawkins was among the most gifted athletes ever to come out of Beecher.
He was All-State in football, basketball and track, played football at Michigan State and in the NFL for nine seasons, and eventually became Beecher’s athletic director and football coach before returning to MSU this year as the Spartans’ wide receivers coach.
But Lacy once told Hawkins after a regional playoff game to take off his uniform and leave it in the locker room if he wasn’t going to play the Beecher way. Hawkins later said he had just committed to Michigan State and Lacy was bringing him down a notch.
Hawkins was devoted to Lacy and Friday, he was the final person to said his goodbyes, speaking to him in private before kissing his old coach.
“There’s so many great memories, so many life lessons,” said Hawkins, who became emotional while recalling Lacy. “There’s things I that I teach my kids now, there’s things I’m teaching up at Michigan State right now, that came straight from coach, about discipline and having things in line.
“We’ve always been looked down upon because we’re little, small Beecher. But coach made sure we knew we were important, that we were special, that we could be great and we could achieve whatever goals we had and our dreams.
“Some chose to listen and some didn’t but he gave you the road map. Without coach, there’s so many of us that are successful, it just wouldn’t have happened. I’m not shooting any smoke, it just would not have happened.”
Lacy wasn’t shy about speaking up when he thought his players weren’t being treated fairly and that rubbed many people the wrong way. He was often at odds with referees whom he thought were doing a sub-par job, leading to public reprimands.
He could also be intimidating to people who didn’t know him.
But away from the basketball floor or football field, where he was an assistant offensive line coach, Lacy was a big softy in many ways.
“Just a misunderstood diamond,” Hawkins said. “He was funny. Just things that people don’t know. He was a funny, funny guy. His bark was way bigger than his bite. He’s got a huge voice that would scare the hell out of some people.
“But once you get to know coach and you understand his angle and where he’s coming from, that huge voice was yelling out love. I was able to live my dream, college football and then pro football. Every step of the way, this is the guy that I would call on.
“‘Coach, what do you think? Should I do this, should I do that?’ I was a free agent. ‘Coach. you think I should play here or go play there?’ He never steered me wrong.”
In his Twitter tribute to Lacy on Facebook last week, Hawkins called his former coach a “father to the fatherless” because of the way he looked after athletes who came from single-parent households.
But Lacy was more than that, according to daughter Sophia Lacy. He also filled the role of mother for her.
“My dad was my backbone,” said Sophia, Lacy’s only child who lives in South Carolina. “He was always there for me. My mother died when I was 18. He was my father and my mother. He flew me up here every summer. My mother never had to put him on child support or anything. He sent money when he wasn’t supposed to send money. ‘Get yourself some extra stuff.’
“I remember some of these kids sitting on my dad’s porch. I’d see Courtney or Carl (Banks, a former New York Giant) sitting on the porch waiting to talk to him. I remember he would buy tennis shoes and do stuff for other people that didn’t have enough food or stuff like that.
“As I got older, I understood what he meant to Beecher. It touches my heart.”
Lacy made Sophia’s oldest daughter, India, promise to finish high school and go to college. He would often drive her to Michigan State and today she’s a certified public accountant.
“He was real proud of that,” Sophia Lacy said.
While he was battling prostate cancer for the past couple of years, Lacy would tell his youngest granddaughter, 13-year-old Kamya, not to shed any tears over him and instead celebrate his life.
While Lacy was demanding of his players – how many great coaches aren’t? – he also had a soft side that not everybody saw.
When a player had a bad game on a Friday night, Lacy would often show up unannounced on Saturday morning, drive the player to McDonald’s, buy him breakfast and talk about what had happened the previous night.
As thrilled as he was to see the likes of Marble, Hawkins and Banks enjoy professional success, Solomon Lacy said his brother was proud to see several of his former players become ministers.
“That was special to him,” Solomon Lacy said. “And the other thing that was special to him is how many of his kids turned out to be good, contributing people to the community. Courtney, Earnest Steward, Aaron Williams. He was proud of them.
“He said, ’I don’t take a lot of credit for the ones who went pro. But I’d like to think I made the difference between these men being a good daddy, a good husband. If I played any role in there, that’s as important to me as them going pro.’”
Lacy won Class B state championships in 1985 and 1987 as Beecher’s head coach after helping the Bucs win one in 1976, when he was an assistant coach.
Current Bucs coach Mike Williams has far surpassed that level of success after leading the Bucs to five state titles in six years. But Lacy never resented that. In fact, it was just the opposite.
“He’s been a mentor to me, like a father figure,” said Williams, who replaced Hawkins as Beecher’s AD. “He’s just someone special that we’re really going to miss. He was there for all the victories but the most special moment I had with him was after we lost in 2008 in the state championship.
“I was down, I was out, and he was the first person to call. He told me everything was going to be OK. He told me that I would win multiple state titles, just keep doing what I was doing. He was my biggest fan and he always helped uplift me.”
Like Hawkins and Sophia Lacy, Williams will remember Lacy for his sense of humor.
One of Williams’ favorite memories involves point guard Keyon Menifield, who will be the Bucs’ top player this season. It happened three years ago when Menifield, who has since grown to be 6-foot-2, was a diminutive freshman playing in his first varsity game.
“Keyon’s first free throws, his legs were shaking,” Williams said. “Keyon was about 5-foot-2 at the time. A lot of people questioned why would I have a kid that small on varsity. Mose came into the locker room after the game and said, ‘Where’s the little dude at? Mike, I want to see the little dude!’
“Keyon had no idea who coach Lacy was. He just grabbed Keyon and he hugged him and said, ‘You’re going to be all right.’ Coach Lacy took those big old hands and smacked him on the butt and it looked like Keyon lifted up two feet off the ground.
“Coach Lacy left the locker room and we looked at Keyon and said, ‘Do you know that is?’ He said no. ‘That’s who this building is named after and he said you’re going to be all right.’ We just laughed. It brought joy to the room and that’s what coach Lacy did.
“Whether he loved you hard or whether he loved you soft, he always brought joy to the room.”
August 30, 2020 at 02:20AM
https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2020/08/beecher-gives-legendary-basketball-coach-mose-lacy-send-off-fit-for-a-king.html
Beecher gives legendary basketball coach Mose Lacy send-off fit for a king - MLive.com
How soon could your second stimulus check come? We lay out some possible dates from the time the bill is passed to when your money could actually arrive.
James Martin/CNET
The IRS could still send out a second stimulus check for eligible Americans by the end of the year, but the decision to pass another economic stimulus packagerests in the hands of Congress. Though talks on a new rescue bill are starting to look iffy, there's still hope that both sides could find common ground and pass a comprehensive bill or standalone legislation that includes a fresh round of direct payments. Both sides of the aisle have publicly expressed a desire to resume negotiations.
"We have said again and again that we're willing to come down and meet them in the middle -- that would be $2.2 trillion," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday after a call with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that failed to move the needle.
Your check, direct deposit or EIP card could come sooner rather than later with a second round of payments, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who's said the IRS can start issuing checks within a week of negotiators striking a deal. In contrast, it took two and a half weeks for the IRS to begin sending out the first round of stimulus payments after the CARES Act passed in March.
That timeline from Mnuchin can help us sketch out a potential schedule for a second stimulus payment -- we'll explain more below. This story updates regularly.
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How soon could the IRS deliver a second stimulus check?
Any hope of negotiations starting up again are sliding into September, possibly after the Congress returns to work after an August break. The Senate is adjourned until after Labor Day, which is Sept. 7.
Here are some possible dates that another stimulus bill could pass and the IRS could send the first checks. For reference, we also include the timeline for the now expired CARES Act. The payments don't go out to everyone at once, so we'll go over which groups of people could get their payment first.
When could the second stimulus checks go out?
Date passed by Senate
Date passed by House
Date signed
First checks sent
Original CARES Act
March 25
March 26
March 27
April 15
If Senate passes
If House passes
If president signs
First checks could be sent
Final negotiated bill
Sept. 8
Sept. 9
Sept. 10
Week of Sept. 21
Sept. 10
Sept. 11
Sept. 14
Week of Sept. 28
Sept. 14
Sept. 15
Sept. 16
Week of Sept. 28
Which group would get a second stimulus check first?
It's likely the IRS would use roughly the same calculations and tools for sending out the second stimulus check as it did for the first one, including the IRS Get My Payment tool for tracking your stimulus check payment and signing up for direct deposit.
First group: The IRS sent the first batch of stimulus checks to people who had filed 2018 or 2019 tax returns and had already provided the IRS with their direct deposit information, according to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Following that model, the next stimulus payment could first reach people who've already registered for direct deposit, either as part of their 2019 tax filing or before.
Second group: The next group were Social Security beneficiaries who had direct deposit information on file with federal agencies. (About 80 million people got their checks through direct deposit in the first week they were disbursed, according to the IRS.)
Third group: Paper checks didn't start getting mailed out until about a week later, to people who hadn't signed up for direct deposit, but you could still register for the electronic bank transfer as late as May 13.
Fifth group: Anyone who received their checks after June or who is still waiting to receive their stimulus payment. The IRS has told CNET that direct payments will continue through the end of 2020 for some individuals who were not part of the previous groups. Here's what could be holding up the stimulus check delivery for some and how to contact the IRS to report a missing, lost or stolen check.
Another stimulus check for up to $1,200 could find its way into your bank account this year.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Why your second stimulus check could arrive later than someone else's
We won't know for sure until a new bill is passed and the IRS forms a plan to send out checks, but here are points to consider.
Changes to aid for dependents: This depends on which version of the bill passes. The CARES Act allotted $500 for dependents age 16 and under. The Republican-backed HEALS Act also allocates $500 for dependents, of any age. But the Democratic-backed Heroes Act suggests $1,200 for a maximum of three dependents. If a change is made, even if it ultimately leads to more money being sent, it could require the IRS to adjust its accounting system. That may potentially slow things down for you.
Banking status: With the first checks, people who didn't submit direct deposit information to the IRS had to wait longer to receive the stimulus money through the mail. As of June, 120 million people had received the stimulus money via direct deposit, 35 million were sent a check in the mail and 4 million were sent a prepaid debit card. The IRS hasn't provided an update on how many people received a stimulus check by Aug. 1.
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Banking status has affected the speed of payments since the CARES Act passed, disproportionately impacting Black Americans and other people of color, according to an analysis by the think tank Urban Institute. People who are white and whose incomes were above the poverty line were more likely to have received their first stimulus check by the end of May than people who are Black, Hispanic or below the poverty line, the analysis found.
People who didn't make enough money to be required to file federal income tax returns in 2018 or 2019 also would not get a stimulus check unless they submitted a form to the IRS, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This group includes low-income families with children and a far greater number of Black people and people of color.
When's the latest date you could receive another stimulus check?
Once again, the schedule for the first stimulus checks may provide an indication, but there's no official news until another relief package is finalized.
The IRS will have sent about 200 million checks by the time the agency is done distributing the first raft of payments. (The total US population is over 330 million people, according to the Census Bureau.)
The majority of those were sent by the beginning of June, though the IRS said it will continue to send payments through the end of the year.
Some Americans are still waiting for their first stimulus check to arrive.
ROGERS CITY — The Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners voted Friday to send a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration in support of its airport, which could lose GPS landing capability if a proposed wind farm is built in Moltke Township.
The project would feature 66 wind turbines, each towering 574 feet above the ground, and each would probe into restricted airspace, the FAA determined recently.
Nine of the towers would be in the line of approach for aircraft, which the FAA deems a risk for pilots. The commissioners hope the developer, SStar Ridge-Run Energy, will work with the county to find a feasible solution that allows the project to move forward without any ill effects on the airport.
Richard Edmund NealProgressives look to unseat top Democrat in Massachusetts primary Pelosi predicts Democrats will get Trump tax returns if Biden wins San Juan mayor endorses Morse for Congress in MA primary MORE (D-Mass.), was accused of using his status as Mayor of Holyoke, Mass., and a lecturer at the institution to seek relationships with students. 
