Thursday, August 15, 2019
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Monday, August 12, 2019
Tragedies Multiplied Over and Over
The pace of the deadliest public mass shootings has accelerated significantly in recent years. The 423 people represented here died between the Sandy Hook massacre and last weekend’s attack in Dayton, Ohio.— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 11, 2019
They accounted for more than a third of the 1,196 killed since 1966. pic.twitter.com/04mkucWlM6
Running For His Life
An excerpt from the San Francisco Examiner -
‘The Gazelle of San Quentin’
Seven years into a life sentence, Markelle Taylor was 36 and realized continued survival at San Quentin State Prison would require some spiritual help.
By JOEL P. ENGARDIO
Seven years into a life sentence, Markelle Taylor was 36 and realized continued survival at San Quentin State Prison would require some spiritual help.
“Prison can be too much to bear,” Taylor said, describing a desperate place that fosters fear and loathing over self-reflection and rehabilitation. “I didn’t have a lot of hope.”
Parole wasn’t an option for at least 15 years on his second-degree murder conviction. And meeting a sympathetic parole board could take many more years. Taylor’s friend committed suicide after being denied release four times.
“When you don’t have the strength to hang in there, you can either act out and hurt others or kill yourself,” Taylor said. “Finding a spiritual purpose for my life is what saved me.”
Taylor became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2009. But the religious conversion alone wasn’t enough to deal with the daily trauma of prison.
“Even with the spiritual assistance, I was still stressing,” he said. “I didn’t want to end up like my friend.”
A member of Taylor’s Bible group suggested some physical activity could supplement his scriptural studies and clear his mind. Taylor joined the 1,000 Mile Club, a running program led by volunteer coaches from the outside. Inmates train on a makeshift, quarter-mile track that circles the prison yard.
“Once I started running, it relieved a lot of stress. I felt more mentally balanced. I was able to make better decisions,” Taylor said. “I felt free.”
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news-columnists/the-gazelle-of-san-quentin/
‘The Gazelle of San Quentin’
Seven years into a life sentence, Markelle Taylor was 36 and realized continued survival at San Quentin State Prison would require some spiritual help.
By JOEL P. ENGARDIO
 |
| While in prison, Markelle Taylor was able to run 105 non-stop loops around the prison track — the equivalent of a marathon. (Christine Yoo/Special to S.F. Examiner) |
Seven years into a life sentence, Markelle Taylor was 36 and realized continued survival at San Quentin State Prison would require some spiritual help.
“Prison can be too much to bear,” Taylor said, describing a desperate place that fosters fear and loathing over self-reflection and rehabilitation. “I didn’t have a lot of hope.”
Parole wasn’t an option for at least 15 years on his second-degree murder conviction. And meeting a sympathetic parole board could take many more years. Taylor’s friend committed suicide after being denied release four times.
“When you don’t have the strength to hang in there, you can either act out and hurt others or kill yourself,” Taylor said. “Finding a spiritual purpose for my life is what saved me.”
Taylor became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2009. But the religious conversion alone wasn’t enough to deal with the daily trauma of prison.
“Even with the spiritual assistance, I was still stressing,” he said. “I didn’t want to end up like my friend.”
A member of Taylor’s Bible group suggested some physical activity could supplement his scriptural studies and clear his mind. Taylor joined the 1,000 Mile Club, a running program led by volunteer coaches from the outside. Inmates train on a makeshift, quarter-mile track that circles the prison yard.
“Once I started running, it relieved a lot of stress. I felt more mentally balanced. I was able to make better decisions,” Taylor said. “I felt free.”
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news-columnists/the-gazelle-of-san-quentin/
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Holy Moly!
Congrats to Simone Biles!— MEFeater Magazine (@mefeater) August 10, 2019
She is the FIRST person in HISTORY to perform a double-double dismount on a beam 🙌🏾👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/ukoAE2K7SO
Niagara Falls of the West
I visited this place - Shoshone Falls Park, Twin Falls, Idaho - recently. It was magnificent!
Christians vs. Christians
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
How Ferguson widened an enormous rift between black Christians and white evangelicals
By Jemar Tisby
Six days after Brown’s killing, I wrote for the first time publicly about my traumatic encounters with the police. Every black man I know has harrowing stories of being pulled over, searched, handcuffed or even held at gunpoint. When I encouraged readers to "pause to consider the level and extent of injustice that many blacks have experienced at the hands of law enforcement officers,” the responses disclosed a deep divide.
One told me to submit myself to the authority of the police. He wrote, "Let us exhort each other to be in subjection (Romans 13:5) to police and other civil authorities so long as they are not causing us to commit evil/sin as shown by the example of the apostles and other disciples of Christ’s generation.” He didn’t acknowledge that police can be wrong, too.
Another person said that it wasn’t just black people who had to be cautious of the police. She, as a white woman, had distasteful run-ins, too. “I think cops do stereotype, they did it to me, my dad and no doubt black people. It sucks but don’t think it happens to you alone. Rural cops do it to city folks or people driving out of state plates, city cops do it to minorities, folks who drive muscle cars or people like me who drive clunkers.”
Still another person told me I was just wrong and thought he would correct me. After giving a litany of “facts” related to the Trayvon Martin killing in 2012 and Brown’s death, he said I was being duped by the media. "So, again, I would strongly admonish you to really understand what actually happened and the proper context of each case in which the (liberal) media is saying that somehow we have a war of white police officers killing young black teens. Don’t be hoodwinked.” He ended by pointing me to what he thought were reliable news sources such as the Blaze and conservative commentator Michael Savage’s website.
Those responses came from a single blog post. I can’t list the vitriol that erupted in the comment sections of similar posts on Twitter and Facebook.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/08/09/how-ferguson-widened-an-enormous-rift-between-black-christians-white-evangelicals/
How Ferguson widened an enormous rift between black Christians and white evangelicals
By Jemar Tisby
Six days after Brown’s killing, I wrote for the first time publicly about my traumatic encounters with the police. Every black man I know has harrowing stories of being pulled over, searched, handcuffed or even held at gunpoint. When I encouraged readers to "pause to consider the level and extent of injustice that many blacks have experienced at the hands of law enforcement officers,” the responses disclosed a deep divide.
One told me to submit myself to the authority of the police. He wrote, "Let us exhort each other to be in subjection (Romans 13:5) to police and other civil authorities so long as they are not causing us to commit evil/sin as shown by the example of the apostles and other disciples of Christ’s generation.” He didn’t acknowledge that police can be wrong, too.
Another person said that it wasn’t just black people who had to be cautious of the police. She, as a white woman, had distasteful run-ins, too. “I think cops do stereotype, they did it to me, my dad and no doubt black people. It sucks but don’t think it happens to you alone. Rural cops do it to city folks or people driving out of state plates, city cops do it to minorities, folks who drive muscle cars or people like me who drive clunkers.”
Still another person told me I was just wrong and thought he would correct me. After giving a litany of “facts” related to the Trayvon Martin killing in 2012 and Brown’s death, he said I was being duped by the media. "So, again, I would strongly admonish you to really understand what actually happened and the proper context of each case in which the (liberal) media is saying that somehow we have a war of white police officers killing young black teens. Don’t be hoodwinked.” He ended by pointing me to what he thought were reliable news sources such as the Blaze and conservative commentator Michael Savage’s website.
Those responses came from a single blog post. I can’t list the vitriol that erupted in the comment sections of similar posts on Twitter and Facebook.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/08/09/how-ferguson-widened-an-enormous-rift-between-black-christians-white-evangelicals/
Wow!
From NJ.com
 |
| Jordan Thomas, a Rhodes Scholar from Newark and a Princeton University graduate, received 430,000 LinkedIn views for getting accepted to both Yale Law School and Harvard Business School. He's wearing a Yale snuggie, holding a Rhodes scholarship notebook book and a Harvard banner with the Princeton tiger mascot on his shoulder. (Courtesy photo)
https://www.nj.com/education/2019/08/this-nj-rhodes-scholar-is-going-to-harvard-and-yale.html
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