MLK Memorial Ceremony

Washington (CNN) -- As the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial was officially dedicated Sunday, speakers called for moving King's ideals and values forward and confronting issues including bullying and social and economic justice for all Americans. The monument to the slain civil rights leader was due to have been unveiled on August 28, the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington when King delivered his world-altering "I Have a Dream" speech, but Hurricane Irene forced the event to be postponed.
Perhaps, said the Rev. Bernice King, one of King's daughters, that postponement was due to divine intervention. "Perhaps God wanted us to move beyond the dream into action," she said.
"As we dedicate this monument, I can hear my father saying that oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever," she said. "The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself ... I hear my father saying what we are seeing now, all across the streets of America and the world, is a freedom explosion."
She called for "a radical revolution of values and reordering of priorities in this nation."

She urged attendees to also pay homage to her mother, Coretta Scott King, who even as a grieving widow with four children "raised a nation in my father's teachings and values. It was vitally important to her that his life and principles become institutionalized."
President Barack Obama was expected to speak at the ceremony Sunday.
The memorial site, which features a striking 30-foot statue of King gazing out on the iconic Tidal Basin, lies between the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on the National Mall. The statue, representing a "Stone of Hope," sits forward from a "Mountain of Despair." [Read More]

Jets trading Mason to Texans confirms mutiny

Over the weekend, rumors of a mutiny orchestrated by New York Jets receivers frustrated with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's system surfaced. Santonio Holmes(notes) and first-year Jets Plaxico Burress(notes) and Derrick Mason(notes) allegedly approached head coach Rex Ryan to voice their displeasure with the offense.

All parties involved emphatically denied reports thereof following New York's 30-21 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
But to confirm that some form of insubordination recently took place, look no further than Mason (13 receptions, 115 yards) being moved to the Houston Texans for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, the New York Daily News, citing a league source, reported late Tuesday night.
Mason, 37, according to the report, was traded to Houston for criticizing the offense and his inability to learn Schottenheimer's playbook.
Five weeks into the 2011-12 season, Gang Green hasn't resembled a cohesive unit on offense, making last year's team look like the 1999 St. Louis Rams by comparison. They've struggled in the passing game, and quarterback Mark Sanchez's(notes) 56.1 completion percentage doesn't help much, either. [Read More]

California Governor Signs Dream Act

By VAUHINI VARA

California Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday finished signing the California Dream Act, under which California students who are undocumented immigrants will qualify for state-funded financial aid for college. 

The controversial bill is the highest-profile act to expand undocumented students' access to higher education after a federal Dream Act, which would have given undocumented students a path to short-term permanent residency status, failed last year to attract enough support in Congress.

"The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us," Mr. Brown said.

Under current law, undocumented students pay resident tuition rates if they have graduated from a California high school and affirmed that they are in the process of applying to legalize their immigration status. Starting January 1, 2013, those students will be eligible to apply for state-funded Cal Grants and other public aid.

The legislation builds on a previous bill signed into law in July, which makes financial aid from private sources available to the same pool of students. The two laws are collectively known as the California Dream Act.

The California Department of Finance estimates that 2,500 students will qualify for Cal Grants as a result of the bill, at a cost of $14.5 million. The overall Cal Grant program is funded at $1.4 billion, meaning that 1% of all Cal Grant funds will be potentially impacted.

The bill's passage comes as several states have revisited their immigration laws in the wake of last year's defeat of the federal Dream Act. In Alabama, a controversial new law lets officials check the immigration status of students in public schools, which the federal government is seeking to block.

Meanwhile, Illinois in August passed its own Dream Act, which gives undocumented students access to privately funded grants. But California's bill is especially significant because it is the nation's largest state and home to far more undocumented residents than any other. It is also the first bill that uses public funds to help undocumented students.

"As a result of the failure of Congress to pass the Dream Act, we now have both pro-immigrant youth legislation and anti-immigrant youth legislation" that states are pursuing on their own, said Kent Wong, an immigration expert at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

*http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203476804576619292756560716.html

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Jorge Posada Emotional After Yankees Loss To Tigers

The signature chant of "Hip Hip, Jorge!" may never reverberate through the upper reaches of Yankee Stadium again. OK, there may be Old Timer's Day appearances each summer where the affectionate call is dusted off. But last night may very well have been the last meaningful game that Jorge Posada ever plays in Yankee pinstripes.
After 17 seasons in the Bronx, seven AL pennants and five World Series titles, Posada's career as a Yankee may have ended on Thursday night when Tigers closer Jose Valverde struck out A-Rod in the bottom of the ninth.
Posada, who received a standing ovation during every plate appearance in Game 5, couldn't hide his emotions during the postgame press conference.
“It’s tough. I really have no words. I’m sorry,” Posada said when he was asked questions about his future. The catcher-turned-DH then teared up and walked away.
Of the three members of the Yankees' beloved "Core Four" still on the roster -- Andy Pettitte retired after last season -- Posada has had the most contentious twilight to his tenure. While both Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera reached career milestones this season, Posada found himself fighting just to remain the lineup. He lost the starting catching job to Russell Martin before the season even began and struggled mightily as he transitioned to a designated hitter role. Early in the season, Posada took himself out of the lineup after manager Joe Girardi dropped him to ninth in the batting order. Although he apologized the next day there was no disguising the difficulty that he and his employers were having with his inevitable decline. In August, Girardi began spreading around the DH at-bats and Posada played only sparingly.
Despite his plummeting production and playing time, the prideful Posada insisted that he still thinks he will play in 2012. Whether or not he plays with the Yankees remains to be seen. The presence of Jesus Montero, a young power-hitting catcher-DH, makes that seem very unlikely.
"He’s had a tremendous career, and I’m sure he’s going to continue to play, [read more]

Best in Blogs: Steve Jobs Quotes, Final Interviews and What Bill Gates Thought

By Christopher John Farley

What did Bill Gates have to say about the passing of Steve Jobs? What did Jobs have to say to his biographer right before the end? And what are some of  Jobs’s best quotes? A look at some of the most interesting Jobs-related posts from the Wall Street Journal blogs.
Bill Gates on Steve Jobs: In a statement, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates expressed his condolences on the death of Steve Jobs, saying that it had “been an insanely great honor” to work with his long-time rival and Apple Inc. co-founder. [Digits]
Jobs’s Death Focuses Attention on Rare Form of Pancreatic Cancer: Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously kept quiet about his illness and while a rare form of pancreatic cancer was at the root of his struggles, the company’s announcement of his death yesterday didn’t include information about the precise cause. [Health]
Steve Jobs Knew The End Was Near Weeks Ago, Says Coming Biography: Steve Jobs knew that he was dying weeks before the end, according to a coming biography. [Speakeasy]
How Steve Jobs iChanged the World: He helped create the iPhone, the iPad, the iMac, and iTunes. Philosopher D.E. Wittkower on how Steve Jobs helped create a brave new iWorld. [Speakeasy]
Steve Jobs: Love What You Do: Steve Jobs’s products have also made life easier for many Jugglers, allowing people to essentially carry their digital lives with them in the form of the iPhone and iPad, saving time and allowing people to multitask more efficiently. [The Juggle]
Starbucks CEO Says It Isn’t Always About The Founder: Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz on Thursday had a bit of advice for people worried about Apple in the wake of the death [read more]

 

 

'Anywhere But Here': The Novel's Link to Steve Jobs

By JillSlattery on Oct-7-11 7:39am

You probably know an awul lot about Steve Jobs. You know that he was a brilliant visionary who revolutionized the way that we interact with technology. You know that he perferred to wear simple, black mock turtlenecks above all else. And you know that he passed away too soon.

But did you know that Steve Jobs was the brother of the novelist Mona Simpson, who wrote the acclaimed bestseller Anywhere But Here? Jobs, who was adopted, didn't meet his biological sister until he was 27 years old, but the two eventually became very close. Simpson even dedicated Anywhere but Here to him.

The novel is set in the 1960s and '70s, and follows 12-year-old Ann August as she travels cross-country to California with her flighty mother.  The novel became a bestseller and was eventually adapted into a film starring Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon.

Greatness cannot always be replicated. But sometimes it runs in families, it seems.
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