In response to Trump admin’s announcement of mass deportations, Columbia University offering ‘stress management’ group for illegal immigrants

Columbia University in New York is offering a variety of resources for illegal immigrant students who feel alienated by the Trump administration's promise of mass deportation from the United States.

What are the details?

Campus Reform reports that one such resource is a "stress management" course and support group.

The university made the move following President Donald Trump's announcement of a major crackdown on illegal immigration.

In a Thursday statement, the school said, "Columbia has long welcomed undocumented students and supported the DACA program. We will continue to make this support clear in court, in Washington D.C. and in our own community."

In the statement, the school reminded illegal immigrant students that they have a safe place to decompress from any stress they might feel as a result of the administration's push on illegal immigration.

A portion of the statement read:

In light of recent announcements that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will soon be conducting large-scale nationwide raids intended to arrest people who are in the United States without immigration documentation, University Life wants to remind all Columbia community members of the resources available on campus for DACA and undocumented students…Columbia has long welcomed undocumented students and supported the DACA program. We will continue to make this support clear in court, in Washington D.C. and in our own community.

Ixchel Rosal, who is associate vice president for student life, added that Columbia University is proud to offer courses and groups on "stress management" for their population of illegal immigrants.

The programs are also offered to American-born students to openly discuss immigration policy and fears stemming from the administration's promise of sweeping ICE raids.

What else?

The report from Campus Reform also points out that the school is available to appoint what is referred to as "travel monitors," who are people in place to alert the school if any illegal immigrants leaving the country for study abroad sessions are not safely and easily able to get back inside the country.

13 Philadelphia police officers will be fired over social media posts

Thirteen Philadelphia police officers are expected to be dismissed because of their activities on social media, the department announced Thursday.

What are the details?

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross told reporters the officers are set to be suspended with the intent to dismiss, after officials reviewed their social media posts flagged for being potentially offensive. The 13 officers were already pulled off the streets and sent to desk duty along with 60 other officers last month, after The Plain View Project exposed posts made by more than 300 current members of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Ross explained that the officers doomed for termination had made posts that "advocated violence," NBC News reported. All but three of the remaining officers on desk duty will be suspended anywhere from five to 30 days, depending on how offensive their posts were determined to be.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the police department's social media policy states that employees "are prohibited from using ethnic slurs, profanity, personal insults; material that is harassing, defamatory, fraudulent, or discriminatory."

According to KHOU-TV, the city's police union expressed its disappointment that the officers "will be terminated without due process."

What's the background?

The Plain View Project compiled a database of allegedly controversial social media posts from thousands of current and former law enforcement officers spanning over the course of several years, and released the contents on June 1. Posts were flagged over their potential for being offensive in nature, such as for glorifying police brutality, expressing anti-Muslim sentiment, or racism.

In one post, a Philadelphia officer reportedly commented online that a suspect should be "taken out back and put down like the rabid animal that he is," and another officer posted a meme that read, "Death to Islam."

In addition to Philadelphia, the project targeted police departments in York, Pennsylvania; Phoenix; Dallas; St. Louis; Twin Falls, Idaho; Denison, Texas; and Lake County, Florida.

N. Chicago cops on line-of-duty disability get 'emergency recall' dispatcher training order. If they don't comply, they lose pensions.

Brian Carder spent 17 years with the North Chicago Police Department — and his tenure with the force took a toll on his body, WBBM-TV reported.

"I got hit by a car once," he told the station. "Well, actually twice."

Carder said he suffered a broken hand, broken collarbone, "a couple concussions," and underwent two hip replacements as an officer, WBBM reported.

Finally he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2009 and approved for a line-of-duty disability pension — his only source of income — and health benefits, the station said.

'Emergency recall'

But that all could be out the window after Carder and seven other former North Chicago cops injured in the line of duty got "emergency recall" letters in May ordering them to attend orientation for 911 police dispatcher training or lose their pensions, WBBM said.

North Chicago's police chief said in the emergency recall letter that the department's dispatch center is "dramatically understaffed," the station said, adding that the shortage is partly due to employees leaving for better long-term employment prospects over expected future consolidation.

The letter also said at times there's only one dispatcher on duty, the station added, and if that dispatcher is on another call or needs a break no one is available.

WBBM said it hasn't heard back from the police chief, and North Chicago's city attorney declined to comment.

Nothing doing

Most of the disabled former cops who received the emergency recall letter didn't show up for dispatch orientation last week, the station said — and with that the city filed a motion to revoke their pensions.

The motion says they've transferred other city employees into dispatch even though they also have no prior experience, WBBM added.

Not so simple

Turns out several of the disabled former officers live out of state, too, the station said — so it's not as simple as rolling out of bed and heading off to work for the day.

Carder told WBBM he doesn't know what he'd do without his pension: "I'd be homeless."

"Take a person's livelihood away after they already made a pretty significant sacrifice, it's just outrageous," he added to the station.

What's next?

The next meeting before the Police Pension Board is slated for October, WBBM reported, adding that the board will have final say over terminating the pensions. The station noted that the former officers could possibly appeal.

Democratic congressman introduces measure to abolish the term ‘illegal alien’: ‘Words matter’

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) has introduced a bill banning the terms "illegal alien" as well as "alien" from the U.S. government's legal code.

Castro, who is also chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, made the announcement in a Tuesday news release.

What are the details?

Castro — whose twin brother, Julián, is running for president of the United States — said that "words matter" in his news release.

"Words matter," he insisted. "It's vital that we respect the dignity of immigrants fleeing violence and prosecution in our language. The words 'alien' and 'illegal alien' work to demonize and dehumanize the migrant community.

"They should have no place," he continued, "in our government's description of human beings."

Castro's CHANGE Act — or the Correcting Alienating Names in Government Act — proposes to eradicate both "illegal alien" and "alien" throughout the Immigration and Nationality Act, replacing them with the words "foreign national" and "undocumented foreign national."

Castro's statement continued, "Immigrants come to our borders in good faith and work hard for the opportunity to achieve a better life for themselves and their family. Eliminating this language from government expression puts us one step closer to preserving their dignity and ensuring their safety."

The news release adds:

In the midst of our current cultural dynamics, this bill is integral to creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for incoming and current immigrants living in the United States. America at its core is a nation of immigrants, and throughout the nation's history, immigrants from around the globe have kept our workforce and community vibrant and helped us build the greatest economic engine in the world. It is only right that we respect their place in our history by ensuring that our government documents and legal code respects their place in society as well.

What else?

A June Rasmussen poll found that 26 percent of registered voter respondents considered the phrase "illegal immigrant" offensive. Sixty-one percent of respondents said that it was not a problematic term.

Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar introduce resolution aimed at bolstering Israel boycotts

Freshmen Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) have introduced a resolution restricting legislative measures to stop boycotts, while promoting it as an endorsement for the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement against Israel.

What are the details?

The two congresswomen were joined by fellow Democrat John Lewis (Ga.) in proposing House Resolution 496, "affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution."

The language of the measure points to the Boston Tea Party and Montgomery bus boycott as historic examples of how such economic sanctions have been effectively used in the past. In an interview with Al-Monitor on Tuesday, Omar made it clear that the intention of the resolution was to provide a pathway for the BDS initiative to thrive.

"We are introducing a resolution...to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our First Amendment rights in regard to boycotting," Omar told the outlet. "And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement."

The far-left progressives hoped to give the BDS movement legs by introducing their measure on Tuesday — the week before an anti-BDS resolution, HR 246, is set to be considered, according to The Hill.

After the Omar-Tlaib-Lewis resolution was filed, it was hailed by the official BDS movement for Palestinian rights, which said it "warmly welcomes" the "ground-breaking resolution [that] will inspire human rights defenders everywhere."

The BDS movement for Palestinian rights warmly welcomes the resolution introduced by Congress members Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and US civil rights veteran John Lewis "Affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights.” pic.twitter.com/G1ZDpRjgwd

— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) July 17, 2019

Anything else?

Tlaib and Omar are the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress, and have been accused several times of anti-Semitism in their outspokenness against Israel.

Omar has taken heat from both sides of the political aisle over a number of anti-Semitic tweets, which have been deleted. Most notably, the congresswoman wrote in 2012, "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel." 

NY Times, WaPo blast space program that landed us on moon as 'mostly white and male,' guilty of 'gender bias' — and readers hit back

As the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing approaches Saturday — July 20, 1969 — the New York Times and the Washington Post took the opportunity on Twitter to blast NASA's space program that accomplished the world-changing feat as "mostly white and male" and guilty of "gender bias."

The Apollo program was designed by men, for men. If we do not acknowledge the gender bias of the early space program, it becomes difficult to move past it. https://t.co/Mt7rVLgAaf

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 17, 2019

"The Apollo program was designed by men, for men," the Times' tweeted Wednesday. "If we do not acknowledge the gender bias of the early space program, it becomes difficult to move past it."

The culture that put men on the moon was intense, fun, family-unfriendly, and mostly white and male https://t.co/x5vQBuU4IN

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 16, 2019

"The culture that put men on the moon was intense, fun, family-unfriendly, and mostly white and male," the Post's Tuesday tweet read.

What did the articles say?

The Times' tweet linked to an article that pointed out the influence of 1950s and 1960s America on the space program — decades during which equality for women in the culture and in the workplace was far from the norm. The article noted that NASA's technological forays when women were allowed in the space program didn't pass muster as they were constructed with men in mind.

"If we want to land the first woman on the moon, let's make sure she has tools designed with her in mind," the Times' piece concluded. "Eliminating the legacy of gender bias is just one small step."

The Post's article linked in the paper's tweet ran in mid-June and also noted the dearth of women involved in the space program, except as secretaries for the most part. But Frances "Poppy" Northcutt — a return-to-Earth specialist who became the first woman in a technical position in Houston — was one of the few exceptions.

"I was used to being the only woman in the room," she told the Post.

"There were a couple of guys who were pretty 'handsy.' Nobody did a thing about it," fellow female engineer Parrish Nelson Hirasaki noted to the paper, although adding that "nobody was going to mess with Poppy. They'd ask her to make them coffee, and she would say, 'My ovaries do not uniquely qualify me to make coffee.'"

Northcutt eventually became a lawyer and president of the Texas chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Post added.

How did folks react to the tweets from the Times and the Post?

While some resonated with the sentiments behind the papers' Twitter posts, others weren't so enthralled.

Some reactions to the Times' tweet:

• "Don't get me started on D-Day."
• "If you're a woman, there's a 99.9999999% chance you will never go to the moon. If you're a man, there is a 99.9999997% chance you will never go to the moon. PATRIARCHY!!!"
• "All the news that woke enough to print."
• "The nonstop virtual signaling is pathetic. Give it a rest!"
• "The American news media: Making sure America never makes the mistake of being proud of its accomplishments. Thank you, haters!"
• "Good God. I hate the woke left. Can't we celebrate any achievement without it being tainted by this lunacy?"

And some reactions to the Post's tweet:

• "Democracy dies with horrible woke takes on life."
• "Seems like it's trendy to judge everyone by skin color and gender now. Gross."
• "The WaPo is becoming more America-hating by the day. It's getting super-tiresome."
• "You have a great knack for ruining everything."
• "I keep telling my friends that moon landings are racist and sexist. Now I have source data."

Oh, and there was another World War II reference:

Colin Kaepernick’s Nike commercial has been nominated for an Emmy Award

A Nike commercial featuring activist and former NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, is up for an Emmy Award.

The commercial, which featured the former football player who became more famous for his off-the-field activism than for his brief NFL career, went viral when it launched last fall.

The campaign's tagline said: "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything."

What are the details?

The commercial, titled, "Dream Crazy," is up for an Emmy Award, according to Footwear News, Ad agency Wieden+Kennedy and production company Park Pictures share the nomination with Nike.

The campaign, which launched in September, prompted both backlash and support, as Kaepernick has been instrumental in the national anthem kneeling protests that took place during NFL regular season games in 2016.

Kaepernick has also been a proponent of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The commercial features other people such as LeBron James and Serena Williams, and heavily focuses on their athletic achievements in addition to their public life activism and philanthropy.

What's the background?

Kaepernick was the catalyst of the ongoing protests by NFL players who chose to kneel during the playing of the national anthem. The former quarterback began taking a knee during "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the 2016 preseason, and continued kneeling throughout the season, along with players from other teams doing the same.

The football player-turned-activist explained his motivation to protest racial inequality and police brutality.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he said. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way."

"There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder," he said, referring to instances where police officers have killed black suspects without being criminally charged.

The Emmy Awards will take place Sunday, Sept. 22.