Cousin Sam: In the news, Monday, November 19, 2012

____________

________

from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)

[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Not Yours to Give
[The following story about the famed American icon Davy Crockett was published in Harper's Magazine in 1867, as written by James J. Bethune, a pseudonym used by Edward S. Ellis. The events that are recounted here are true, including Crockett's opposition to the bill in question, though the precise rendering and some of the detail are fictional.]

________

from The Spokesman-Review

Judge asks Hostess to mediate with union

Israeli missile kills 11 in Gaza; many missing in later strike

Obama begins Myanmar visit
Thousands line streets to catch glimpse of U.S. president during historic trip

Obama to people of Myanmar: America ‘is with you’

Obama in Cambodia after rousing Myanmar welcome

Congress to investigate Benghazi ‘talking points’

Sandy a test of leadership
Governors, mayor praised for quick, decisive action

Hurdles loom for ‘fiscal cliff’ talks

_____

In brief: From Wire Reports:

Egypt enthrones new Coptic pope

CAIRO – The new pope of Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic church was enthroned on Sunday in an elaborate ceremony lasting nearly four hours, attended by the nation’s Muslim prime minister and a host of Cabinet ministers and politicians.

Pope Tawadros II, 60, was elected Nov. 4, but the official enthronement ceremony was held Sunday at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo. He replaced Shenouda III, who died in March after leading the ancient church for 40 years.

The packed cathedral repeatedly erupted into applause as the ceremony progressed. The ceremony’s climax came when the papal crown was placed on Tawadros’ head before he sat on the throne of St. Mark, the church’s founding saint.

Egypt’s Christians make up about 10 percent of the nation’s estimated 83 million people, the largest single Christian community in the Middle East.

Parade route had been used for years

MIDLAND, Texas – Organizers of a parade in West Texas in which four U.S. military veterans were killed when a train plowed into a truck had been using the same route for three years, investigators said Sunday.

Investigators have said the truck began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and lights were flashing.

However, some Midland residents said they believe the signal time is too short. They say the guardrails aren’t completely down by the time a train comes whizzing by.

“The signals come on and the arms go down, but before they are fully down, the train is already at the intersection,” said Mark Thomas, who lives blocks from the track and says he crosses it daily.

“These signal times are unacceptable,” Thomas added.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the warning system was activated 20 seconds before the accident, and the guardrail began to come down seven seconds after that. Everything functioned properly, spokesman Mark Rosekind said, but investigators will have to check to make sure the signal timing met the requirements for that particular crossing.

The truck was the second of two parade floats filled with wounded war veterans. The first float had already cleared the tracks when the accident happened. Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were killed and 16 more people were injured.

Killed were Marine Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Stouffer, 37; Army Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47; Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34; and Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, 43.

San Francisco eyes public nudity ban

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco may be getting ready to shed its image as a city where anything goes, including clothing.

City lawmakers are scheduled to vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would prohibit nudity in most public places, a blanket ban that represents an escalation of a two-year tiff between a devoted group of men who strut their stuff through the city’s famously gay Castro District and the supervisor who represents the area.

Supervisor Scott Wiener’s proposal would make it illegal for a person over the age of 5 to “expose his or her genitals, perineum or anal region on any public street, sidewalk, street median, parklet or plaza” or while using public transit.

“I don’t think having some guys taking their clothes off and hanging out seven days a week at Castro and Market Street is really what San Francisco is about. I think it’s a caricature of what San Francisco is about,” Wiener said.

The proposed ban predictably has produced outrage, as well as a lawsuit. Last week, about two dozen people disrobed in front of City Hall and marched around the block to the amusement of gawking tourists and high school students on a field trip.

_____

U.S. says illegal exports to Iran going through Asia

Mexican AG disputes police story of shooting
U.S. Embassy car ambushed by cops

Astronauts return to Earth

Then and Now photos: Church’s Seed Store
Onetime store now a lighting showroom

In the early days of Spokane, farmers and rural residents visited Church’s Seed Store at 915 W. First Ave. for seed, animal feed and equipment. Henry Church’s store later became Inland Seed, which was bought and moved by Portland Seed Co. in the 1920s. In 1929, Ruth Sampson, daughter of Swedish immigrants and a gifted singer, opened Ruth Sampson Sheet Music. She moved into the old seed store building in 1953, and with husband Stephen Ayers operated Sampson-Ayers House of Music – one of the largest sheet music outlets in the country. She ran the business for 50 years and died in 1991 at age 92. The building was later purchased by Carr Sales, an electrical supply company next door, and now serves as showroom and warehouse space. Carr Sales was founded by businessman Don Barnett in 1946 and is operated today by his son, Rod Barnett. – Jesse Tinsley