Detail LInk: Januari 2013

Same-sex couples have lined up to marry in city halls Washington National Cathedral is the site of presidential funerals Four presidents have had inaugural prayers there It is also a place of worship for the Episcopal Church (CNN) -- When laws went into effect in three states for same-sex couples to marry, many were quick to line up at their city halls to exchange vows. Now they may do so in one of the nation's most prominent churches -- the Washington National Cathedral. Most Americans know the house of God, also called the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, as a place where sacred rites are carried out on behalf of the nation. It has been host to the funerals of numerous presidents and of inaugural prayer services for four presidents, including Barack Obama. But it is also an active house of worship in the Episcopalian Church, said the Cathedral's dean, Gary Hall. The denomination has developed a blessing rite that mirrors current wedding ceremonies for heterosexual couples and allows each bishop to decide to allow same-sex marriages in their churches or not. Bishop Mariann Budde decided to allow the rite, since same-sex marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and now in neighboring Maryland as well, Hall said. .cnnArticleGalleryNav{border:1px solid #000;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavOn{background-color:#C03;border:1px solid #000;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:20px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavDisabled{background-color:#222;border:1px solid #000;color:#666;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleExpandableTarget{background-color:#000;display:none;position:absolute} .cnnArticlePhotoContainer{height:122px;width:214px} .cnnArticleBoxImage{cursor:pointer;height:122px;padding-top:0;width:214px} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControl{background-color:#000;color:#FFF} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControlText{cursor:pointer;float:right;font-size:10px;padding:3px 10px 3px 3px} .cnnArticleGalleryPhotoContainer cite{background:none repeat scroll 0 0 #000;bottom:48px;color:#FFF;height:auto;left:420px;opacity:.7;position:absolute;width:200px;padding:10px} .cnnArticleGalleryClose{background-color:#fff;display:block;text-align:right} .cnnArticleGalleryCloseButton{cursor:pointer} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNext span{background-color:#444;color:#CCC;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:26px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNextDisabled span{background-color:#444;color:#666;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:25px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{padding-right:68px;width:270px;margin:0 auto} .cnnGalleryContainer{float:left;clear:left;margin:0 0 20px;padding:0 0 0 10px} if (typeof cnnArticleGallery == "undefined") { var cnnArticleGallery = {}; } if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList =="undefined"){ cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList = []; } var expGallery51=new ArticleExpandableGallery(); expGallery51.setImageCount(9); //cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("Same-sex marriage amendments in U.S.", 1); The U.S. Supreme Court this month will begin considering several cases involving same-sex marriage, including one testing the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which says "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Above, Frank Capley-Alfano and Joe Capley-Alfano celebrate outside of San Francisco City Hall in February after a federal appeals court blocked the law. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":true,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":1,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in U.S."} Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire celebrates after signing marriage equality legislation into law earlier this year. Voters there approved same-sex marriage on Election Day. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":2,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} In 2010, television reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez' and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":3,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Phyllis Siegel, 76, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, 84, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office last year. (Photo by Michael Appleton-Pool/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":4,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Michael Miller, left, and Ross Zachs marry on the West Hartford Town Hall steps after same-sex marriages became legal in Connecticut in 2008. A shift in beliefs was captured in a recent Pew Center poll that found 48% of Americans now favor same-sex marriage. Just four years ago, only 39% felt that way. (Photo by Christopher Capozziello/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":5,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, shakes hands with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller after signing a same-sex marriage bill. The law was challenged, but voters approved marriage equality in a November referendum. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":6,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Lara Ramsey, left, and her partner of eight years, Jane Lohmann, play with their 7-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann. The two wed in 2004 after Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage. (Photo by Angela Jimenez/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":7,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Beth Robinson of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force was among those who fought for marriage equality in Vermont in 2009. (Photo by Jordan Silverman/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":8,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Amy Klein-Matheny, left, and her wife Jennifer were married in 2009 in Iowa after same-sex couples were allowed to marry there. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":9,"title":"Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S."} Same-sex marriage amendments in U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 > >> Same-sex marriage amendments in U.S. Event.observe(window, 'load', function() { //report the first gallery image to ADBP if(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined') { cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image, ""); } }); It was Budde's decision that led Hall to create the same-sex rite. He sees it as "another historic step toward greater equality." The states of Washington, Maine and Maryland all legalized same-sex marriages in referendums during the 2012 general election. It was already legal in the nation's capital. In March, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two appeals cases related to same-sex marriage -- California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples. The American Episcopal Church is intimately connected with the Church of England, which last week approved the advancement of male priests in same-sex committed relationships to the position of bishop. But those relationships must be celibate. City halls in Baltimore; Portland, Maine; and Seattle erupted in celebration as the first same-sex couples tied the knot in December and January. Seattle's ceremony included 133 couples, who walked outside and down rain-slickened steps afterward, where they were greeted by cheers, confetti and a brass band celebrating the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington. To wed at the National Cathedral, one member of the couple must be baptized into the Church, and both must commit to a Christian marriage of "lifelong faithfulness, love, forbearance and mutual comfort." if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

Selasa, 08 Januari 2013

Watch impressive 3-pointer

CDC: 1 in 5 high school girls binge drink

Millions of women and girls engage in binge drinking, experts say Women are more susceptible to the long-term effects of drinking About 62% of high school senior girls report binge drinking (CNN) -- Millions of high school-aged girls and women binge drink, behavior that can have disastrous results including long-term health effects, the CDC warns in a report released Tuesday. For females, binge drinking means consuming four or more drinks in one sitting. For males, it's five or more drinks. Previous reports have focused on higher rates of binge drinking among males, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its report, aims to raise awareness of binge drinking among women as a serious problem that's held steady for more than a decade. "Although binge drinking is more of a problem among men and boys, binge drinking is an important and under-recognized women's health issue," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC director. Of the estimated 23,000 annual deaths attributed to excessive alcohol use among women and girls, binge drinking was responsible for more than half of those deaths, said Frieden. Americans binge drinking more Binge drinking is the most common and most dangerous pattern of excess drinking, he said. Women process alcohol differently than men and tend to be smaller, meaning they are more susceptible to effects of drinking, including heart disease, cancer, stroke and liver disease, to name a few. Other unintended consequences might include pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the report said. To describe the prevalence of binge drinking, the CDC analyzed data from its 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual telephone survey, and the national 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, an anonymous questionnaire completed by high school students nationwide. While most binge drinkers are not alcohol-dependent, it can also lead to dependence. About 50% of all the alcohol consumed by adults, and about 90% of all the alcohol consumed by young people is consumed during a binge drinking session, according to Frieden. In 2011, when the data was collected, more than 12.5% of U.S. adult women engaged in binge drinking an average of three times per month, drinking an average of six drinks. That's nearly 14 million women. One in 8 women binge drink, according to the report. One in 5 high school girls binge drink, which is nearly as high as the binge drinking rates among high school boys. While binge-drinking rates have fallen among boys over the past 10 years, "binge-drinking rates among girls really haven't changed much over a 15-plus-year period," said Dr. Robert Brewer, of the alcohol program division of the CDC's national Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Binge drinking may harm learning, memory The greatest frequency of binge drinking is found among women aged 18-34 and high-school-age girls. About 62% of high school senior girls reported binge drinking, according to Frieden. So what can be done? Effective strategies combating binge drinking would include health care providers speaking to women and girls about their drinking habits, Frieden said. Medical caregivers should encourage less consumption for girls and women if they suspect they are consuming too much. Parents need to play a role in preventing their children from drinking. Pregnant women and underage youth should not drink at all, Frieden stressed. U.S. dietary guidelines recommend drinking in moderation -- up to one drink daily for women and up to two for men. "What we really want to do is encourage people to follow those guidelines for drinking," said Dr. Robert Brewer, of the alcohol program division of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Shaq attacks binge drinking at black colleges if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

Photos: Sgt. Elvis Presley's return home

2012: The hottest year on record

NEW: Last year's extreme weather could be "the new normal," environmentalist says NOAA declares 2012 the hottest on record Every state in the Lower 48 saw above-average temperatures; 19 set their own records Droughts, tropical storms and other disasters made it the second-most extreme year (CNN) -- The past year saw a mild winter give way to a balmier-than-normal spring, followed by a sweltering summer and high temperatures that lingered into the fall, all punctuated by extreme drought and intense storms. Now 2012 is officially in the books as the hottest year on record for the continental United States and the second-worst for "extreme" weather such as hurricanes, droughts or floods, the U.S. government announced Tuesday. The year's average temperature of 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit across the Lower 48 was more than 3.2 degrees warmer than the average for the 20th century, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported. That topped the previous record, set in 1998, by a full degree. Every state in the contiguous United States saw above-average temperatures in 2012, with 19 of them setting annual records of their own, NOAA said. Meanwhile, the country faced 11 weather disasters that topped $1 billion in losses each, including a lingering drought that covered 61% of the country at one point. That drought shriveled crops across the American farm belt, leading to an expected rise in food prices in 2013, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. It also turned forests of the mountain West into stands of tinder that exploded into catastrophic wildfires over the summer, scorching millions of acres and destroying hundreds of homes. And then there was Superstorm Sandy, a late October post-tropical cyclone that killed more than 110 people in the United States and nearly 70 more in the Caribbean and Canada. Damage estimates from the storm run around $80 billion in New York and New Jersey alone. The report is likely to fuel new concerns over a warming climate. Seven of the 10 hottest years in U.S. records, which date back to 1895, and four of the hottest five have now occurred since 1990, according to NOAA figures. The year also saw Arctic sea ice hit a record low in more than 30 years of satellite observations and studies that found the world's major ice sheets have been shrinking at an increasing rate. Scientists are quick to point out that no single storm can be blamed on climate change, but say a warming world raises the odds of extreme weather. "I think unfortunately, 2012 really may well be the new normal," said Daniel Lashof, director of the climate and clean air program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S. environmental group. "It's the kind of year we expect, given the global warming trend is ongoing." The science of global warming is politically controversial but generally accepted as fact by most researchers, who point to heat-trapping carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels as the major cause. Lashof's group is trying to press the Obama administration to tighten limits on carbon emissions, but he said those steps "are not going to reduce the threat of extreme weather overnight." "We need to take greater preparations, anticipating the kind of storms and droughts that we saw are going to continue to be more frequent as we go forward," he said. Wildfires race across Australia Though parts of the country such as the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf Coast had wetter-than-average years, average precipitation was nearly 2.6 inches below normal -- the 15th driest since records started being kept in the 1890s, according to NOAA. The two remaining U.S. states, remote Alaska and Hawaii, saw a mixed picture in 2012. Alaska was slightly cooler and wetter than normal, while nearly two-thirds of Hawaii's island chain faced moderate to exceptional drought conditions by December, NOAA said. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

Worst fast-food meals for sodium

9 House members back for 2nd chance

Nine of the incoming 84 members of the House are returning to Capitol Hill Most of them lost their seats in 2010 when Republicans surged into control of the House Some returning members say their election losses weren't as much about them as the climate Lawmaker who served in '90s says Congress once worked across aisle Washington (CNN) -- Among the 84 House freshmen who unpacked new offices last week, a handful is intimately familiar with doing the opposite -- packing up and moving out of the Capitol. Nine members of the new class are former members of Congress who left Capitol Hill either by choice or by force. Redrawn congressional districts helped some of them get back; others had a change of heart after leaving voluntarily. Of the seven returning Democrats, almost all lost in 2010 when Republicans swept into control of the House. Though each used the two-year hiatus differently, many say the same thing about returning: The election losses were somewhat beyond the lawmakers' control, and they plan on being the same people they were when they last served in Congress. By the numbers: 113th Congress Rep. Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat who lost in 2010, remained engaged after her loss by teaching political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and serving on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. She said her close loss was "not a surprise" to her and should be chalked up to a bad year for Democrats. var currExpandable="expand17"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/07/exp-new-house-members.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130107063549-exp-new-house-members-00002530-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand17Store=mObj; Welcoming the freshman class var currExpandable="expand27"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/06/exp-house-of-cards.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130106022811-exp-house-of-cards-00040021-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand27Store=mObj; 113th Congress sworn in var currExpandable="expand37"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/04/exp-point-tulsi-gabbard.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130104012424-exp-point-tulsi-gabbard-00002001-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand37Store=mObj; First Hindu lawmaker in Congress "My positions, my values, my stance on things are no different now than they were then," Titus said. "I won't change my principles in anyway. I would still vote for the health care bill, the American Recovery Act." Titus' vote for President Barack Obama's signature first-term legislation became a big part of the 2010 campaign and helped her opponent, Joe Heck, define the freshman congresswoman. Heck, who represents Nevada's 3rd District, is now one of Titus' colleagues. This story is familiar for Rep. Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat who is back after being ousted in 2010. Grayson said he thinks that there was "nothing that we could have done that would make a difference in the result" and that his loss in 2010 was somewhat out of his control. Grayson might be the best-known member of the class because of his rant on the House floor during the health care debate when he said that the Republicans' plan for health care was for Americans not to get sick and to "die quickly" if they did. Freshman lawmakers preview debt ceiling battle Grayson's outspokenness earned him the ire of conservatives and the affection of Democrats. And the fact that he represented a reliably Republican district doomed his re-election bid. In returning to Congress, Grayson said he wants to do more of what he did in his first term. "I look back at the things that we accomplished, and I want to do more of them," Grayson said about cutting foreclosures and getting more grant money for his district. "We did a lot of good things for people in our district." In coming back to Congress, both Titus and Grayson swapped out notably swing districts for reliably Democratic ones. New Congress more religiously diverse? When former Rep. Shelley Berkley left her seat to run for Senate, Titus opted to run in Nevada's newly drawn 1st District after her home switched districts. The new district, which includes much of Las Vegas, including the Strip, is now widely considered the safest Democratic district in Nevada. Grayson, too, upgraded to a safer seat when he moved from Florida's 8th to the 9th District, which includes 43.4% registered Democrats to 28.2% registered Republicans. The Democratic congressman ran unopposed in the party's primary and defeated Todd Long by almost 30 percentage points in the general election. "This district is entirely different," Grayson said. "I have the freedom to concentrate on the job rather than to have to concentrate on the 24-month campaign." var currExpandable="expand120"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/04/early-desantis-new-congress.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130104015232-early-desantis-new-congress-00015930-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand120Store=mObj; Freshman member's goals,113th Congress var currExpandable="expand220"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/04/exp-sotu-panel-walsh-adams-hayworth-leaving-congress-.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130104100609-exp-sotu-panel-walsh-adams-hayworth-leaving-congress-00002001-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand220Store=mObj; Leaving Congress for now var currExpandable="expand320"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='politics/2013/01/03/tsr-dnt-acosta-113-congress-breakdown.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130103083104-congress-sworn-in-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand320Store=mObj; 113th Congress more diverse, partisan Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat from Arizona who also lost in 2010, said she looks at the loss as a "learning experience." Though she was hesitant to say she wasn't going to change for this term, Kirkpatrick did say her first term was a good one. New Congress, new push for gun laws "I am very proud of my votes in my first term," Kirkpatrick said. "It was a good session. ... It was a good term." While still considered freshmen, the returnees get a bit more seniority then their first-year colleagues. In office selection, for example, they get to pick first and don't have to participate in drawing for offices. Other new members' hiatuses were a bit longer than one term -- when Republican Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona first served in Congress, Bill Clinton was president, future presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was speaker of the House and the federal budget was balanced. Salmon was first elected in 1994 and served Arizona's 1st District for three terms. In 2001, the congressman left the Capitol because he promised his constituents that he would not serve more then three terms in Congress. Even though Salmon acknowledges he "won't be doing that this time," he seems quite nostalgic for his first three terms and hopes his next one will be similar. Low bar for new Congress "I left Congress, and I felt like we made a real difference," Salmon said. "Then they blew it. They totally blew it. They started spending like a bunch of drunken sailors on shore leave." Though times have changed, Salmon acknowledged that "this isn't his first rodeo" and working on Capitol Hill is familiar to him. An example: His new office has the same phone number as his first, and his congressional pin "looks almost exactly like" the one he received on his first day of Congress. Now, Salmon said, it's time to get back to the principles he felt were successful during his first stint in Congress. "What I would really like to do is get back to the point where we are on message about what really is ailing America," Salmon said. "There was a time when Republicans and Democrats truly were working together." 113th Congress: More diverse than ever if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

Switching networks: TV highs and lows

"http://schema.org/NewsArticle" lang="en-US"> Switching networks: TV highs and lows - CNN.com var cnnCurrTime=new Date(1357700558000), cnnCurrHour=22, cnnCurrMin=2, cnnCurrDay="Tue", cnnIsIntl=true, clickID=212106, cnn_cvpAdpre="edition.", cnnCVPAdSectionT1="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_t1", cnnCVPAdSectionInPage="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_inpage", cnnShareUrl="%2F2013%2F01%2F08%2Fshowbiz%2Ftv%2Ftv-shows-switching-networks-gallery%2Findex.html", cnnShareTitle="Switching%20networks%3A%20TV%20highs%20and%20lows", cnnShareDesc="", cnnFirstPub=new Date('Tuesday Jan 8 12:20:51 EST 2013'), cnnSectionName="entertainment", cnnSubSectionName="ent : tv", cnnPageType="Story", cnnBrandingValue="default"; cnnPartnerValue=""; cnnOmniBranding="", cnnAuthor="Henry Hanks, CNN", disqus_category_id=207582, disqus_identifier="/2013/01/08/showbiz/tv/tv-shows-switching-networks-gallery/index.html", disqus_title="Switching networks: TV highs and lows", cnn_edtnswtchver="edition", cnnIsStoryPage=true, cnn_metadata = {}; cnn_metadata = { section: [ "entertainment", "ent : tv" ], friendly_name: "Switching networks: TV highs and lows", template_type: "content", template_type_content: "gallery", business: { cnn: { page: { author: "Henry Hanks, CNN", broadcast_franchise: "", video_embed_count: "0", publish_date: "2013/01/08", photo_gallery: "Switching networks: TV highs and lows" }, video: { video_player: "" } } }, user: { authenticated: "", segment: { age: "", zip: "", gender: "" } } }; if (typeof(cnnOmniPartner) !== "undefined") { if (cnn_metadata.template_type_content === "") { cnn_metadata.template_type_content = "partner"; } } var photo_gallery = "Switching networks: TV highs and lows"; if(typeof CNN==='undefined'){var CNN=Class.create();} CNN.expandableMap=['']; function _loginOptions(){}; var disqus_url=(typeof disqus_identifier!=='undefined') ? 'http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/showbiz/tv/tv-shows-switching-networks-gallery/index.html' : 'http://www.cnn.com'+location.pathname; cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['607x95_adlinks','336x280_adlinks']); EDITION: INTERNATIONAL U.S. MÉXICO ARABIC TV: CNNi CNN en Español Set edition preference Sign up Log in Home Video World U.S. Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East Business World Sport Entertainment Tech Travel iReport CSIManager.getInstance().call('/.element/ssi/intl/breaking_news/3.0/banner.html','','cnnBannerContainer',cnnRenderInternationalBanner); Print Email More sharing Switching networks: TV highs and lows

500-lb. tuna sells for $1.7 million

Worst fast-food meals for sodium

Gallery: No, these are the best rappers

"http://schema.org/NewsArticle" lang="en-US"> Gallery: Readers weigh in on the best rappers - CNN.com var cnnCurrTime=new Date(1357674468000), cnnCurrHour=14, cnnCurrMin=47, cnnCurrDay="Tue", cnnIsIntl=true, clickID=212106, cnn_cvpAdpre="edition.", cnnCVPAdSectionT1="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_t1", cnnCVPAdSectionInPage="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_inpage", cnnShareUrl="%2F2013%2F01%2F08%2Fshowbiz%2Fmusic%2Fgallery-readers-best-rappers%2Findex.html", cnnShareTitle="Gallery%3A%20Readers%20weigh%20in%20on%20the%20best%20rappers%20", cnnShareDesc="", cnnFirstPub=new Date('Tuesday Jan 8 12:57:28 EST 2013'), cnnSectionName="entertainment", cnnSubSectionName="ent : music", cnnPageType="Story", cnnBrandingValue="default"; cnnPartnerValue=""; cnnOmniBranding="", cnnAuthor="Lisa Respers France and David Williams, CNN", disqus_category_id=207582, disqus_identifier="/2013/01/08/showbiz/music/gallery-readers-best-rappers/index.html", disqus_title="Gallery: Readers weigh in on the best rappers ", cnn_edtnswtchver="edition", cnnIsStoryPage=true, cnn_metadata = {}; cnn_metadata = { section: [ "entertainment", "ent : music" ], friendly_name: "Gallery: Readers weigh in on the best rappers ", template_type: "content", template_type_content: "gallery", business: { cnn: { page: { author: "Lisa Respers France and David Williams, CNN", broadcast_franchise: "", video_embed_count: "0", publish_date: "2013/01/08", photo_gallery: "Photos: Readers weigh in on the best rappers " }, video: { video_player: "" } } }, user: { authenticated: "", segment: { age: "", zip: "", gender: "" } } }; if (typeof(cnnOmniPartner) !== "undefined") { if (cnn_metadata.template_type_content === "") { cnn_metadata.template_type_content = "partner"; } } var photo_gallery = "Photos: Readers weigh in on the best rappers "; if(typeof CNN==='undefined'){var CNN=Class.create();} CNN.expandableMap=['']; function _loginOptions(){}; var disqus_url=(typeof disqus_identifier!=='undefined') ? 'http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/showbiz/music/gallery-readers-best-rappers/index.html' : 'http://www.cnn.com'+location.pathname; cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['607x95_adlinks','336x280_adlinks']); EDITION: INTERNATIONAL U.S. MÉXICO ARABIC TV: CNNi CNN en Español Set edition preference Sign up Log in Home Video World U.S. Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East Business World Sport Entertainment Tech Travel iReport CSIManager.getInstance().call('/.element/ssi/intl/breaking_news/3.0/banner.html','','cnnBannerContainer',cnnRenderInternationalBanner); Print Email More sharing Gallery: Readers weigh in on the best rappers

Giffords, husband take on gun lobby

NEW: Giffords and Kelly argue an "ideological fringe" has cowed "Congress into submission" NEW: The two launched a political action committee to raise money to counter the gun lobby NEW: A Connecticut lawmaker apologized for telling Giffords to "stay out" NEW: Giffords and Kelly want background checks for private sales of firearms (CNN) -- Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly have launched what they hope will mark a new era in the battle over gun rights in America. On the second anniversary of a mass shooting in Arizona that wounded Giffords and killed six others, the couple launched a political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions, along with a website calling for contributions to help "encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership." In an op-ed in USA Today, the two make their goal clear: to counter the influence of the gun lobby. "Special interests purporting to represent gun owners but really advancing the interests of an ideological fringe have used big money and influence to cow Congress into submission," they write. var currExpandable="expand15"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='politics/2012/06/12/vo-giffords-voting-in-arizona.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120612065952-vo-giffords-voting-in-arizona-00000026-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand15Store=mObj; Giffords votes for successor in election var currExpandable="expand25"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='us/2012/07/21/ac-intv-mark-kelly-co-theater-shooting.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120721021958-ac-intv-mark-kelly-co-theater-shooting-00011410-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand25Store=mObj; Kelly in 2012: Takes long time to recover var currExpandable="expand35"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/09/07/exp-erin-mark-kelly-gabby-giffords-dnc.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120907121602-giffords-pledge-getty-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand35Store=mObj; Gabby Giffords rouses convention "Rather than working to find the balance between our rights and the regulation of a dangerous product, these groups have cast simple protections for our communities as existential threats to individual liberties. Rather than conducting a dialogue, they threaten those who divert from their orthodoxy with political extinction." Emphasizing that they support the Second Amendment and own two guns themselves, Giffords and Kelly call for "laws to require responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence." "Until now, the gun lobby's political contributions, advertising and lobbying have dwarfed spending from anti-gun violence groups. No longer. With Americans for Responsible Solutions engaging millions of people about ways to reduce gun violence and funding political activity nationwide, legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby." Bloomberg anti-gun ad marks anniversary of Arizona shooting Legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby.Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly "America has seen an astounding 11 mass shootings since a madman used a semiautomatic pistol with an extended ammunition clip to shoot me and kill six others," Giffords writes. "This country is known for using its determination and ingenuity to solve problems, big and small... But when it comes to protecting our communities from gun violence, we're not even trying — and for the worst of reasons." Giffords and Kelly have spoken out in the wake of last month's slaughter in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 27 people dead, 26 of them at Sandy Hook Elementary School -- including 20 children. Giffords wrote on Facebook at the time, "As we mourn, we must sound a call for our leaders to stand up and do what is right. This time our response must consist of more than regret, sorrow, and condolence. The children of Sandy Hook Elementary School and all victims of gun violence deserve leaders who have the courage to participate in a meaningful discussion about our gun laws -- and how they can be reformed and better enforced to prevent gun violence and death in America. This can no longer wait." Giffords and Kelly visited Newtown last week. They met with local and state leaders to discuss gun control legislation, mental health identification and treatment, and "concerns for the erosion of our societal values such that we are increasingly desensitized to violence," according to Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra. Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hugs House Cloak Room attendant Ella Terry after resigning from Congress in January 2012 That visit also highlighted the intense political concerns surrounding such issues. Connecticut State Rep. DebraLee Hovey, the state's assistant Republican leader, posted a note on her Facebook page saying, "Gabby Gifford stay out of my towns!" Hovey later issued a statement apologizing, saying, "Our community has struggled greatly through this tragedy, and we are all very sensitive to the potential for this event to be exploited for political purposes. This is what I wish to avoid." The statement added that Hovey has advocated for a dialogue on mental health issues, school safety and gun control. Kelly, a former captain in the U.S. Navy and NASA astronaut, also responded publicly in the wake of the Newtown shootings. On his Facebook page, he took on the National Rifle Association -- the central pro-gun rights lobby -- after a news conference by a top NRA official about the Newtown tragedy triggered widespread anger. Kelly wrote that the NRA's response was "defiant and delayed," and that the organization "chose narrow partisan concerns over the safety of our families and communities." The NRA has argued that it is committed to keeping people protected, and that a focus on stricter gun control is misguided. "If it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy," NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said of the anger following his initial news conference. NRA President David Keene later told CNN the group supports schools choosing whether they want armed guards. LaPierre made clear his group believes that more guns, not fewer, are necessary for security. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he said. Kelly said he knows from personal experience that that's not the case. The day Jared Loughner shot Giffords and 18 other people at a public event in Tucson, there was such a "good guy," Kelly argued in an interview with ABC. A man came out "of the store next door and nearly shot the man who took down Jared Loughner," Kelly said. "The one who eventually wrestled (Loughner) to the ground was almost killed himself by a good guy with a gun, so I don't really buy that argument." Giffords and Kelly want to require comprehensive background checks for private sales of firearms, ABC reported. And Kelly said he does not believe an extended magazine is needed for those who have guns for sport. Gunmen have used high-capacity weapons in numerous shootings, including one at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, where gunman Adam Lanza had four weapons. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, is pushing legislation to reinstate a ban on assault weapons. A former Marine's passionate disagreement with Feinstein has garnered attention online. "I own the guns I own because I acknowledge mankind's shortcomings instead of pretending like they don't exist," Joshua Boston wrote in a CNN iReport. "There are evil men in this world and there just may be a time when I need to do the unthinkable to protect me or my family." Giffords' remarkable recovery after being shot in the head has inspired many across the political spectrum. She told ABC she's doing physical therapy, yoga, and speech therapy, and working with a service dog. She has also been able to begin some outdoor activities. The tragedy two years ago thrust her and her husband into a new kind of spotlight. Tuesday marks a moment in which they are turning all that focus and attention -- as well as their passionate calls for stricter gun control -- into a political movement. "We can't be naive about what it will take to achieve the most common-sense solutions," they wrote in their op-ed. "We can't just hope that the last shooting tragedy will prevent the next. Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources." "We have experienced too much death and hurt to remain idle. Our response to the Newtown massacre must consist of more than regret, sorrow and condolence. The children of Sandy Hook Elementary School and all victims of gun violence deserve fellow citizens and leaders who have the will to prevent gun violence in the future." What do you think? Post comments below, send an iReport, or join discussions at Facebook or Twitter. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();} CNN's Tina Burnside contributed to this report.

Film: Lincoln gets too much credit

"Lincoln" film distorts history, some historians say Historian: "Lincoln was a racist" New PBS film tells tale of abolitionists They forced indifferent nation to confront slavery (CNN) -- He used the N-word and told racist jokes. He once said African-Americans were inferior to whites. He proposed ending slavery by shipping willing slaves back to Africa. Meet Abraham Lincoln, "The Great Emancipator" who "freed" the slaves. That's not the version of Lincoln we get from Steven Spielberg's movie "Lincoln." But there's another film that fills in the historical gaps left by Spielberg and challenges conventional wisdom about Lincoln and the Civil War. "The Abolitionists" is a PBS American Experience film premièring Tuesday that focuses on the intertwined lives of five abolitionist leaders. These men and women arguably did as much -- maybe even more -- than Lincoln to end slavery, yet few contemporary Americans recognize their names. Opinion: GOP, time to rebrand in the image of the' Great Emancipator' The three-part documentary's airing comes as the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 1863 decree signed by Lincoln that set in motion the freeing of slaves. Lincoln is a Mount Rushmore figure today, but the abolitionists also did something remarkable. They took on the colossal wealth and political power of the slave trade, and won. (Imagine activists today persuading the country to shut down Apple and Google because they deem their business practices immoral.) The abolitionists "forced the issue of slavery on to the national agenda," says Sharon Grimberg, executive producer for the PBS documentary. "They made it unavoidable." "The Abolitionists" offers four surprising revelations about how the abolitionists triumphed, and how they pioneered many of the same tactics protest movements use today. No. 1: The Great Persuader was not Lincoln The belief that slaves waited for Lincoln to free them ignores the actions they took to free themselves, new PBS film says. Near the end of "Lincoln," Spielberg shows the president delivering his second inaugural address, a majestic speech marked by harsh biblical language. Lincoln is often considered to be the nation's greatest president in part because of such speeches. He was an extraordinary writer. But the most well-known condemnation of slavery during that era didn't come from the pen of Lincoln. It came from the pen of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister who joined the abolitionist movement, the PBS film says. Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" awakened the nation to the horrors of slavery more than any other speech or book of that era, some historians say. It hit the American public like a meteor when it was published in 1852. Some historians say it started the Civil War. The novel revolved around a slave called Tom, who attempted to preserve his faith and family amid the brutality of slavery. The book became a massive best-seller and was turned into a popular play. Even people who cared nothing about slavery became furious when they read or saw "Uncle Tom's Cabin"' performed on stage, the documentary reveals. The lesson: Appeal to people's emotion, not their rationale, when trying to rally public opinion. Abolitionists had tried to rouse the conscience of Americans for years by appealing to their Christian and Democratic sensibilities. They largely failed. But Stowe's novel did something all those speeches didn't do. It told a story. She transformed slaves into sympathetic human beings who were pious, courageous and loved their children and spouses. They forced the issue of slavery on to the national agenda. They made it unavoidable.Sharon Grimberg, executive producer for the PBS American Experience documentary, "The Abolitionists" "When abolitionists were talking about the Constitution and big ideas about freedom and liberty, that's abstract," says R. Blakeslee Gilpin, a University of South Carolina history professor featured in "The Abolitionists." "But Stowe begins with the human dimension. She shows the human victims from the institution of slavery." 150 years later, myths persist about the Emancipation Proclamation No. 2: It's the economy, stupid Want to know why slavery lasted so long? The simplistic answer: racism. Another huge factor: greed, according to "The Abolitionists." Many abolitionists didn't realize this when they launched the anti-slavery movement, the documentary shows. They were motivated by Christian idealism, but it was no match for the power of money. Christianity and slavery were two of the big growth industries in early America. The country underwent two "Great Awakenings" in the early 19th century -- while slavery continued to spread. But the spread of Christianity did little to stop the spread of slavery because too many Americans made money off slavery, the documentary shows. The wealth produced by slavery transformed the United States from an economic backwater into an economic and military dynamo, says Gilpin, also author of "John Brown Still Lives!: America's Long Reckoning With Violence, Equality, and Change." "All the combined economic value of industry, land and banking did not equal the value of humans held as property in the South," Gilpin says. Many Americans hated abolitionists because they saw them as a threat to prosperity, says David Blight, a Yale University historian featured in "The Abolitionists." "They wondered if you really did destroy slavery, where would all of these black people go, and whose jobs would they take," says Blight. The South wasn't the only region that profited off the slave trade. Abolitionists faced some of their most vicious opposition in the North. New York City, for example, was a pro-slavery town because it was filled with bankers and cotton merchants who benefited from slavery, Blight says. "Jim Crow laws did not originate in the South; they originated in the North," Blight says. The lesson: Don't reduce the issue of slavery to racism. Follow the money. Photos: A look inside 'Lincoln' No. 3: Flawed reformers The historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. once said that black abolitionists used to say that the only thing white abolitionists hated more than slavery was the slave. "The Abolitionists" reveals that some of the most courageous anti-slavery activists were infected with the same white supremacist attitudes they crusaded against. White supremacy was so ingrained in early America that very few escaped its taint, even the most noble. The documentary shows how racial tensions destroyed the friendship between two of the most famous abolitionists: Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was the editor of an abolitionist newspaper who convinced Douglass that he could be a leading spokesman against the institution that once held him captive. There's this perception that good old Lincoln and a few others gave freedom to black people. The real story is that black people wrestled their freedom away.Erica Armstrong Dunbar, historian, featured in "The Abolitionists" Erica Armstrong Dunbar, a history professor featured in the film, says some abolitionists were uncomfortable with interracial relationships. They wouldn't walk with black acquaintances in public during the day, and refused to sit with them in church. Lesson: Racism was so embedded in 19th century America that even those who fought against racism were unaware that it still had a hold on them. "The majority of aboloitionists did not believe in civic equality for blacks," Dunbar says. "They believed the institution of slavery was immoral, but questions about whether blacks were equal, let alone deserved the right to vote, were an entirely different subject." Opinion: Would Lincoln be frustrated with our current Congress? No. 4: Lincoln the "recovering racist" Tell some historians that "Lincoln freed the slaves" and one can virtually see the smoke come out of their ears. "Please don't get me started," Dunbar says after hearing that phrase. "There's this perception that good old Lincoln and a few others gave freedom to black people. The real story is that black people and people like Douglass wrestled their freedom away," Dunbar says. Historians still argue over Lincoln's racial attitudes. The historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. once called him a "recovering racist" who used the N-word and liked black minstrel shows. Others point to the public comments Lincoln made during one of his famed senatorial debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858 when he said, "There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. "There must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race," Lincoln said in the speech. Spielberg's film depicts Lincoln as a resolute opponent of slavery, willing to deploy all the powers of his office to destroy it. Yet "The Abolitionists" paints another portrait of Lincoln. It recounts how he supported colonization plans to ship willing slaves back to Africa. It says that Lincoln once floated a peace treaty offer to the Confederates that would allow them to keep slaves until 1900 if they surrendered. At one White House meeting with black ministers, Lincoln virtually blamed slaves for starting the war, the film's narrator says. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery to become one of its most formidable opponents. Blight, the Yale University historian, says Lincoln always personally hated slavery. He publicly spoke out against it as early as the 1840s, and spoke often about stopping the expansion of slavery. Opinion: What Obama can learn from Lincoln Lincoln hoped to slowly end slavery without tearing the nation apart, Blight says. "He was a gradualist," Blight says. "He was trying to prevent a bloody revolution over it. He couldn't." He couldn't because of the pressure exerted by the abolitionists and the slaves themselves, other historians say. Blacks did not wait for white people to free them, they say. At least 180,000 blacks fought in the Civil War. And Douglass was one of Lincoln's harshest critics. He constantly pushed Lincoln to move aggressively against slavery. The historian William Jelani Cobb wrote in a recent New Yorker essay on slavery: "On the hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, it's worth recalling that slavery was made unsustainable largely through the efforts of those who were enslaved. The record is replete with enslaved blacks—even so-called house slaves—who poisoned slaveholders, destroyed crops, 'accidentally' burned down buildings." As for Lincoln's true feelings about blacks, that matter may always be subject to debate. "No historian would doubt that Lincoln was a man of his times," says Dunbar, author of "A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City." "He was a racist, and never truly believed that blacks could live in America after emancipation." Other historians say Lincoln was evolving into the leader that Spielberg depicts. The historian Gates once wrote that Lincoln initially opposed slavery because it was an economic institution that discriminated against white men who couldn't afford slaves. Two things changed him: The courage black troops displayed in the Civil War and his friendship with Douglass the abolitionist. "Lincoln met with Douglass at the White House three times. He was the first black person Lincoln treated as an intellectual equal, and he grew to admire him and value his opinion," Gates wrote. Gilpin says Lincoln was great not only for what he got right, but because he could admit what he got wrong. "You dream of a president like that," Gilpin says. "Not only was he a brilliant manipulator and reader of public opinion, but he had the capacity for growth. He came into office because he was a moderate but he turns out to be the Great Emancipator." Lesson: Lincoln led an epic battle against slavery, but the abolitionists lit the fuse. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

'Dating Game killer' sentenced in deaths

Rodney Alcala is already on California's death row, convicted of killing 4 women and a girl He faces two new 25-years-to-life sentences in the '70s deaths of two women in New York Weeping judge: "This kind of case, I have never experienced, and I hope to never again" In 1978, Alcala was a winning bachelor on the television show "The Dating Game" New York (CNN) -- In courtroom packed with the victims' relatives and friends -- many with eyes swollen from crying -- a New York judge broke down in tears Monday as she sentenced the already-imprisoned "Dating Game Killer" to 25 years to life for the murders of two 23-year-old women in the 1970s. Rodney Alcala -- already on death row in California after being convicted of strangling four women and a 12-year-old-girl there -- now faces two new 25-to-life sentences for the grisly murders of the New York women. The California murders took place between November 1977 and June 1979, and crime scenes dotted a wide swath of suburban Los Angeles, from Burbank to El Segundo. "This kind of case, I have never experienced, and I hope to never again," Judge Bonnie Wittner said between bouts of tears in Manhattan Criminal Court Monday. Alcala, 69, pleaded guilty last December to the murder of Cornelia Crilley, who was killed in New York in June 1971, and the murder of Ellen Hover, whose body was found in Westchester County in 1977. Rodney Alcala appeared on "The Dating Game" in the 1970s, in the midst of a murder spree. Crilley's younger sister, Katie Stigell, spoke on behalf of the family in the courtroom Monday, and remembered her sister as a beautiful girl with a wonderful personality who "loved roses, daisies, and most of all, laughing." "She had her father's blue eyes and sense of humor," an emotional Stigell said. "To think that smile of hers, that you were the last to see it," Stigell said directly to Alcala, who was present in court for the sentencing Monday. "It's not about you today, it's about her," Stigell added. var currExpandable="expand19"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2010/03/10/foreman.dating.killer.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://cnn.com/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130108014005-crilley-hoover-split-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand19Store=mObj; 2010: Killer's game show past Dozens of Crilley's family members packed the courthouse wearing stickers printed with the young girl's face on it and a message that read, "Cornelia always in our hearts." Crilley, a 23-year-old TWA flight attendant, was found raped and strangled inside her Upper East Side apartment in June 1971, the Manhattan district attorney's office said in a news release at the time of the indictment in January 2011. Hover, also 23 and living in Manhattan, was found dead in Westchester County in 1977, the 2011 news release said. Hover's sister, Charlotte Rosenberg, described her beloved big sister as someone who "chose to see the good in everyone she met because she had such a huge and open heart," in a victim impact statement read in court by an assistant district attorney. Rosenberg and her sister, Victoria Rudolph, chose not to attend the sentencing, but said they were grateful to submit an impact statement on behalf of their family. "She was a talented painter and pianist and dreamed of going to medical school," Rosenberg wrote about her sister. Rosenberg wanted to make the distinction that her sister was not an heiress, as some news accounts at the time had indicated, but that her father planted the story to ensure that local and national papers continued to cover Hover's disappearance until she could be found. "She was an amazing big sister...so dedicated to the entire family," Rosenberg wrote. "It is my hope that the swift conclusion of these cases brings closure to the Crilley and Hover families, who have spent decades awaiting justice and now have been spared the pain of trial," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said at a news conference following the sentencing Monday. Relatives and friends of Hover and Crilley thanked the prosecutor's cold case unit for its efforts in bringing an end to their suffering. Assistant District Attorney Alex Spiro methodically read Alcala's "chronology of carnage" to a hushed courtroom. In 1978, Alcala was a winning bachelor on the television show "The Dating Game." At the time, he had been convicted in the 1968 rape of an 8-year-old girl and served a 34-month sentence, authorities said. A year before his appearance on the game show, Alcala raped, sodomized and killed 18-year-old Jill Barcomb and 27-year-old nurse Georgia Wixted in California, prosecutors said. During his appearance on "The Dating Game," Alcala was introduced as a "successful photographer" who might also be found skydiving or motorcycling. In June 1979, Alcala beat, raped and strangled Charlotte Lamb, a 33-year-old legal secretary, in the laundry room of her El Segundo apartment complex, authorities said. That same month, he raped and murdered Jill Parenteau, 21, strangling her with a cord or a stocking in her Burbank apartment, they said. Alcala's blood was collected from the scene after he cut himself crawling out a window, the prosecutor said, adding, "Based on a semi-rare blood match, Alcala was linked to the murder." He was charged with murdering Parenteau, but the case was dismissed after he was convicted of killing 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, also in 1979. Alcala approached the girl at the beach in Huntington Beach, California, and asked her to pose for pictures, authorities said. She did, they said, and Alcala then kidnapped and murdered her, dumping her body in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Alcala was convicted in Samsoe's killing in 1980 and sentenced to death, but the California Supreme Court subsequently overturned his conviction. A second trial, in 1986, also resulted in a death sentence, but it was overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. As he awaited a third trial, Alcala's DNA was linked to the crime scenes in the Barcomb, Wixted and Lamb cases, and he was charged with killing them and Parenteau. Jed Mills, who was "Bachelor No. 2" on "The Dating Game" alongside Alcala's "Bachelor No. 1," recalled that he had an almost immediate aversion to him. "Something about him, I could not be near him," Mills said last year. Alcala succeeded in charming bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw from the other side of the game show's wall. But she declined the date that the show offered them: tennis lessons, tennis clothes and a trip to an amusement park. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();} CNN's Jesse Solomon, Jason Kessler, Chris Kokenes and Ann O'Neill contributed to this report.

Opinion: 'Django' stirs race debate

Gene Seymour: Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino spatting over "Django Unchained" Seymour says film, which upends slavery narrative, is classic comic-book Tarantino He says debate is over whether white artists have right to tell any part of black American story Seymour notes James Baldwin's sound advice: "If you don't like their alternative, write yours" Editor's note: Gene Seymour is a film critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post. (CNN) -- Spike Lee says he's never going to see Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" because he's certain it is "disrespectful of my ancestors." Tarantino says he doesn't need to waste time responding to Lee's accusation. That, as they say, is that. So why do we insist on staring at two egomaniacs staring down each other? Race. Again. The subject that never fails to provoke, antagonize, alienate -- and fascinate rubber-necking onlookers from sea to shining sea. Fixating on race is an absurdity that has no rational reason to exist, yet no one quite knows how to eliminate it from humankind. The only thing dumber than race is underestimating its importance. Gene Seymour "Django Unchained" is Tarantino's latest exercise in genre-bending audacity, an antic ripsnorter folding in most of what its director knows and loves about spaghetti westerns, 1970s blaxploitation thrillers and his own ribald, recklessly violent body of work. Its title character, played by Jamie Foxx, is a slave bought and freed by a drolly effective German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), who agrees to help Django emancipate his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), from a decadent plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Become a fan of CNNOpinion Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments. "Django" makes no pretense of being anything other than a phantasmagoric pseudo-western, rife with calculated vulgarity, anachronism and impropriety. Its body count rivals that of Tarantino's 2003 martial-arts epic, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (to whose messily operatic set pieces of slaughter "Django" bears an uncanny resemblance). Marquee blog: What's the verdict on "Django Unchanied"? The movie has so far grossed more than $100 million since its Christmas Day nationwide release. Critics' reactions have ranged from wild-eyed enthusiasm (The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris: "Corkscrewed, inside-out, upside-down, simultaneously clear-eyed and out of its mind") to wary detachment (The Detroit News' Tom Long: "(Y)ou may leave ... wishing for both more and less") to borderline outrage (Slate's Dana Stevens: "There's something about (Tarantino's) directorial delectation in all these acts of racial violence that left me not just physically, but morally queasy.") Given advance hype for the movie as extravagant as its violence, I doubt that audience members, whatever their race or age, bought tickets with the expectation of seeing some historically faithful saga of antebellum life, and neither did I. We were buying a comic book. Many people have a grievance against the very notion of comic books, but I don't. Expect a movie or a comic book to explain everything about anything and all you earn is surplus sadness that you don't really need. Nevertheless, there are many who, unlike Lee, have seen the movie and carry the same grievances as he does. The most scathing attack came from that novelist-satirist-poet Ishmael Reed, writing in The Wall Street Journal: "To compare this movie to a spaghetti western and a blaxploitation film is an insult to both genres. It's a Tarantino home movie with all the racist licks of his other movies." He aimed this laser shot at the Oscar-nominated actor who plays the treacherous "house slave" to DiCaprio's character: "Samuel L. Jackson ... plays himself." var currExpandable="expand110"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='showbiz/2012/12/25/iri-django-unchained-quentin-tarantino-raw-uncut-youtube.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121225060450-iri-django-unchained-quentin-tarantino-raw-uncut-youtube-00041701-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand110Store=mObj; Tarantino's 'Django' balancing act var currExpandable="expand210"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='showbiz/2012/12/18/bts-django-cast-violence-in-movies.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121218092653-bts-django-cast-violence-in-movies-00014322-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand210Store=mObj; Film violence inspires real violence? var currExpandable="expand310"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='showbiz/2012/12/19/iri-django-unchained.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120607044841-django-unchained-movie-still-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand310Store=mObj; Tarantino's genre-twisting Western var currExpandable="expand410"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='showbiz/2012/12/25/iri-django-unchained-jamie-foxx-kerry-washington-uncut-raw-youtube.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121225053054-iri-django-unchained-jamie-foxx-kerry-washington-uncut-raw-youtube-00021013-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand410Store=mObj; Jamie Foxx: 'Django' controversy is good I doubt Jackson felt the blow. He has, in fact, further provoked the movie's antagonists by running straight at an interviewer asking about the movie's prolific use of the "N-word," refusing to answer the question unless the reporter, who is white, actually says the dread epithet aloud. (He didn't.) Still, Reed's condemnation discloses what may lie at the heart of Lee's objection: the debate over whether white artists have the right to tell any part of the black American story -- which, as Reed writes, is as old as Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 abolitionist novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." It is also as recent as 1967 when the white Southern novelist William Styron published, "The Confessions of Nat Turner," a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel told in the first-person voice of the brilliant-but-doomed leader of an 1838 slave rebellion. The outcry from African-American novelists was so intense that a collection of essays, "William Styron's Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond" was published a year later. James Baldwin, a friend of Styron's who was one of the few African-American authors speaking out on the book's behalf, put his position as succinctly as possible: "I will not tell another writer what to write. If you don't like their alternative, write yours." It's still sound advice -- and in the intervening years, black authors have taken it, from Alex Haley's 1976 blockbuster, "Roots," to Toni Morrison's haunting "Beloved" from 1987. Both were adapted for the screen, and while "Roots," the television miniseries, delivered a resounding national impact, the 1998 movie adaptation of "Beloved," even with Oprah Winfrey as producer and co-star, earned about $26 million, roughly half of its $50 million budget. I remember many of my African-American relatives and friends who told me they were not going to see "Beloved," no matter how good it was or who was in it, because they simply did not want to watch a movie about slavery's legacy. Some of these same folks, on the other hand, tell me they were psyched about seeing a movie, however "incorrect" on several levels, in which a black ex-slave secures freedom for his wife, kills every white man who stands in his way -- and gets away with it. Exasperated? If you're not, you should be. Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();} The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gene Seymour.

Film: Lincoln gets too much credit

"Lincoln" film distorts history, some historians say Historian: "Lincoln was a racist" New PBS film tells tale of abolitionists They forced indifferent nation to confront slavery (CNN) -- He used the N-word and told racist jokes. He once said African-Americans were inferior to whites. He proposed ending slavery by shipping willing slaves back to Africa. Meet Abraham Lincoln, "The Great Emancipator" who "freed" the slaves. That's not the version of Lincoln we get from Steven Spielberg's movie "Lincoln." But there's another film that fills in the historical gaps left by Spielberg and challenges conventional wisdom about Lincoln and the Civil War. "The Abolitionists" is a PBS American Experience film premièring Tuesday that focuses on the intertwined lives of five abolitionist leaders. These men and women arguably did as much -- maybe even more -- than Lincoln to end slavery, yet few contemporary Americans recognize their names. The three-part documentary's airing comes as the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 1863 decree signed by Lincoln that set in motion the freeing of slaves. Lincoln is a Mount Rushmore figure today, but the abolitionists also did something remarkable. They took on the colossal wealth and political power of the slave trade, and won. (Imagine activists today persuading the country to shut down Apple and Google because they deem their business practices immoral.) The abolitionists "forced the issue of slavery on to the national agenda," says Sharon Grimberg, executive producer for the PBS documentary. "They made it unavoidable." "The Abolitionists" offers four surprising revelations about how the abolitionists triumphed, and how they pioneered many of the same tactics protest movements use today. No. 1: The Great Persuader was not Lincoln The belief that slaves waited for Lincoln to free them ignores the actions they took to free themselves, new PBS film says. Near the end of "Lincoln," Spielberg shows the president delivering his second inaugural address, a majestic speech marked by harsh biblical language. Lincoln is often considered to be the nation's greatest president in part because of such speeches. He was an extraordinary writer. But the most well-known condemnation of slavery during that era didn't come from the pen of Lincoln. It came from the pen of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister who joined the abolitionist movement, the PBS film says. Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" awakened the nation to the horrors of slavery more than any other speech or book of that era, some historians say. It hit the American public like a meteor when it was published in 1852. Some historians say it started the Civil War. The novel revolved around a slave called Tom, who attempted to preserve his faith and family amid the brutality of slavery. The book became a massive best-seller and was turned into a popular play. Even people who cared nothing about slavery became furious when they read or saw "Uncle Tom's Cabin"' performed on stage, the documentary reveals. The lesson: Appeal to people's emotion, not their rationale, when trying to rally public opinion. Abolitionists had tried to rouse the conscience of Americans for years by appealing to their Christian and Democratic sensibilities. They largely failed. But Stowe's novel did something all those speeches didn't do. It told a story. She transformed slaves into sympathetic human beings who were pious, courageous and loved their children and spouses. They forced the issue of slavery on to the national agenda. They made it unavoidable.Sharon Grimberg, executive producer for the PBS American Experience documentary, "The Abolitionists" "When abolitionists were talking about the Constitution and big ideas about freedom and liberty, that's abstract," says R. Blakeslee Gilpin, a University of South Carolina history professor featured in "The Abolitionists." "But Stowe begins with the human dimension. She shows the human victims from the institution of slavery." No. 2: It's the economy, stupid Want to know why slavery lasted so long? The simplistic answer: racism. Another huge factor: greed, according to "The Abolitionists." Many abolitionists didn't realize this when they launched the anti-slavery movement, the documentary shows. They were motivated by Christian idealism, but it was no match for the power of money. Christianity and slavery were two of the big growth industries in early America. The country underwent two "Great Awakenings" in the early 19th century -- while slavery continued to spread. But the spread of Christianity did little to stop the spread of slavery because too many Americans made money off slavery, the documentary shows. The wealth produced by slavery transformed the United States from an economic backwater into an economic and military dynamo, says Gilpin, also author of "John Brown Still Lives!: America's Long Reckoning With Violence, Equality, and Change." "All the combined economic value of industry, land and banking did not equal the value of humans held as property in the South," Gilpin says. Many Americans hated abolitionists because they saw them as a threat to prosperity, says David Blight, a Yale University historian featured in "The Abolitionists." "They wondered if you really did destroy slavery, where would all of these black people go, and whose jobs would they take," says Blight. The South wasn't the only region that profited off the slave trade. Abolitionists faced some of their most vicious opposition in the North. New York City, for example, was a pro-slavery town because it was filled with bankers and cotton merchants who benefited from slavery, Blight says. "Jim Crow laws did not originate in the South; they originated in the North," Blight says. The lesson: Don't reduce the issue of slavery to racism. Follow the money. No. 3: Flawed reformers The historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. once said that black abolitionists used to say that the only thing white abolitionists hated more than slavery was the slave. "The Abolitionists" reveals that some of the most courageous anti-slavery activists were infected with the same white supremacist attitudes they crusaded against. White supremacy was so ingrained in early America that very few escaped its taint, even the most noble. The documentary shows how racial tensions destroyed the friendship between two of the most famous abolitionists: Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was the editor of an abolitionist newspaper who convinced Douglass that he could be a leading spokesman against the institution that once held him captive. There's this perception that good old Lincoln and a few others gave freedom to black people. The real story is that black people wrestled their freedom away.Erica Armstrong Dunbar, historian, featured in "The Abolitionists" Erica Armstrong Dunbar, a history professor featured in the film, says some abolitionists were uncomfortable with interracial relationships. They wouldn't walk with black acquaintances in public during the day, and refused to sit with them in church. Lesson: Racism was so embedded in 19th century America that even those who fought against racism were unaware that it still had a hold on them. "The majority of aboloitionists did not believe in civic equality for blacks," Dunbar says. "They believed the institution of slavery was immoral, but questions about whether blacks were equal, let alone deserved the right to vote, were an entirely different subject." No. 4: Lincoln the "recovering racist" Tell some historians that "Lincoln freed the slaves" and one can virtually see the smoke come out of their ears. "Please don't get me started," Dunbar says after hearing that phrase. "There's this perception that good old Lincoln and a few others gave freedom to black people. The real story is that black people and people like Douglass wrestled their freedom away," Dunbar says. Historians still argue over Lincoln's racial attitudes. The historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. once called him a "recovering racist" who used the N-word and liked black minstrel shows. Others point to the public comments Lincoln made during one of his famed senatorial debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858 when he said, "There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. "There must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race," Lincoln said in the speech. Spielberg's film depicts Lincoln as a resolute opponent of slavery, willing to deploy all the powers of his office to destroy it. Yet "The Abolitionists" paints another portrait of Lincoln. It recounts how he supported colonization plans to ship willing slaves back to Africa. It says that Lincoln once floated a peace treaty offer to the Confederates that would allow them to keep slaves until 1900 if they surrendered. At one White House meeting with black ministers, Lincoln virtually blamed slaves for starting the war, the film's narrator says. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery to become one of its most formidable opponents. Blight, the Yale University historian, says Lincoln always personally hated slavery. He publicly spoke out against it as early as the 1840s, and spoke often about stopping the expansion of slavery. Lincoln hoped to slowly end slavery without tearing the nation apart, Blight says. "He was a gradualist," Blight says. "He was trying to prevent a bloody revolution over it. He couldn't." He couldn't because of the pressure exerted by the abolitionists and the slaves themselves, other historians say. Blacks did not wait for white people to free them, they say. At least 180,000 blacks fought in the Civil War. And Douglass was one of Lincoln's harshest critics. He constantly pushed Lincoln to move aggressively against slavery. The historian William Jelani Cobb wrote in a recent New Yorker essay on slavery: "On the hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, it's worth recalling that slavery was made unsustainable largely through the efforts of those who were enslaved. The record is replete with enslaved blacks—even so-called house slaves—who poisoned slaveholders, destroyed crops, 'accidentally' burned down buildings." As for Lincoln's true feelings about blacks, that matter may always be subject to debate. "No historian would doubt that Lincoln was a man of his times," says Dunbar, author of "A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City." "He was a racist, and never truly believed that blacks could live in America after emancipation." Other historians say Lincoln was evolving into the leader that Spielberg depicts. The historian Gates once wrote that Lincoln initially opposed slavery because it was an economic institution that discriminated against white men who couldn't afford slaves. Two things changed him: The courage black troops displayed in the Civil War and his friendship with Douglass the abolitionist. "Lincoln met with Douglass at the White House three times. He was the first black person Lincoln treated as an intellectual equal, and he grew to admire him and value his opinion," Gates wrote. Gilpin says Lincoln was great not only for what he got right, but because he could admit what he got wrong. "You dream of a president like that," Gilpin says. "Not only was he a brilliant manipulator and reader of public opinion, but he had the capacity for growth. He came into office because he was a moderate but he turns out to be the Great Emancipator." Lesson: Lincoln led an epic battle against slavery, but the abolitionists lit the fuse. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

See player get engaged midcourt

Piers' verbal shelling

Visit William Shatner's world

Watch her hit amazing 3-pointer

500-lb. tuna sells for $1.7 million

Gun fanatic yells at Piers

Marijuana use is too risky a choice

David Frum: Casual use of marijuana shouldn't be a reason to lock people up He says there are serious risks to brain development, mental health in using marijuana Frum says it's better to send simple message that marijuana is illegal He says too often social rules become so complex many people can't navigate them Editor's note: David Frum, a CNN contributor, is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He is the author of eight books, including a new novel, "Patriots," and his post-election e-book, "Why Romney Lost." Frum was a special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002. (CNN) -- Last week, I joined the board of a new organization to oppose marijuana legalization: Smart Approaches to Marijuana. The group is headed by former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy and includes Kevin Sabet, a veteran of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama. The new group rejects the "war on drugs" model. It agrees that we don't want to lock people up for casual marijuana use -- or even stigmatize them with an arrest record. But what we do want to do is send a clear message: Marijuana use is a bad choice. David Frum There are many excellent reasons to avoid marijuana. Marijuana use damages brain development in young people. Heavy users become socially isolated and perform worse in school and at work. Marijuana smoke harms the lungs. A growing body of evidence suggests that marijuana can trigger psychotic symptoms that otherwise would have remained latent. It's possible to imagine a marijuana rule that tries to respond precisely to such risk factors as happen to be known by the current state of science. Such a rule might say: "You shouldn't use marijuana until you are over 25, or after your brain has ceased to develop, whichever comes first. You shouldn't use marijuana if you are predisposed to certain mental illnesses (most of which we can't yet diagnose in advance). Be aware that about one-sixth of users will become chronically dependent on marijuana, and as a result will suffer a serious degradation of life outcomes. As yet, we have no sure idea at what dosage marijuana will impair your ability to drive safely, or how long the impairment will last. Be as careful as you can, within the limits of our present knowledge!" Yet as a parent of three, two exiting adolescence and one entering, I've found that the argument that makes the biggest impression is: "Marijuana is illegal. Stay away." I think many other parents have found the same thing. When we write social rules, we always need to consider: Who are we writing rules for? Some people can cope with complexity. Others need clarity. Some people will snap back from an early mistake. Others will never recover. Become a fan of CNNOpinion Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments. "Just say no" is an easy rule to follow. "It depends on individual risk factors, many of them unknowable in advance" -- that rule is not so easy. Richard Branson: War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure Over the past three decades, and in area after area of social life, Americans have replaced simple rules that anybody can follow with complex rules that baffle large numbers of people. Consider, for example, the home mortgage. Once the mortgage was a very simple product. Put 20% down, then sign up for a fixed schedule of payments over the next 30 years. In the space of a single generation, these 30-year fixed-rate amortizing mortgages turned what had been a nation of renters into a nation of homeowners. The goal of public policy should be to protect ... the vulnerable from making life-wrecking mistakes in the first place. For more sophisticated buyers, however, the standard mortgage was a big nuisance. For them, bankers developed more flexible products: no money down, no documentation, interest-only, adjustable rate. These products met genuine needs. But as they diffused down-market, they became traps for people who did not understand the risks they were accepting. Consider how we finance higher education. Once, state governments subsidized their universities to offer a low tuition fee to all comers. Fee increases at private universities were constrained by the lower fees at the public institutions: Duke can raise its price only so high above the University of North Carolina. The universities soon realized, however, that by setting their tuition fees low, they were forgoing revenues that might be collected from the most affluent students. Universities rapidly raised their tuition fees, then offered discounts and aid to students in need. Kevin Sabet: Legalize Pot? No, reform laws But while anybody could understand a $500 per semester tuition bill, the new system of rebates confuses the very people who most need help. A few days before Christmas, Jason DeParle of The New York Times reported a depressing example of the toll modern financial aid exacts upon students from less sophisticated backgrounds. He told the story of three bright girls from poor families who had recently tried -- and failed -- to gain college degrees. One of them was admitted to Emory, a prestigious school with a full-ticket price of $50,000, but one that grants very generous financial aid -- if the student can figure out how to make the financial aid work for her. var currExpandable="expand116"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/01/nr-brooke-colorado-marijuana-clubs-robert-corry-jr-intv.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/category/anchors/brooke-baldwin/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130101054108-denver-marijuana-club-new-years-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand116Store=mObj; Private pot club now open in Colorado var currExpandable="expand216"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/12/10/exp-erin-obama-pot-problem-john-avlon.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='cnn.com/OutFront'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121206112746-nr-baldwin-marijuana-gangaprenuer-00000924-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand216Store=mObj; Obama's pot problem var currExpandable="expand316"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/12/11/exp-nr-carter-marijuana.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121211044755-exp-nr-carter-marijuana-00002001-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand316Store=mObj; Fmr. Pres. Jimmy Carter talks marijuana var currExpandable="expand416"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/12/07/exp-erin-washington-legalizes-pot-but-have-to-wait-a-year.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='cnn.com/OutFront'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121206050034-dnt-early-marquez-washington-pot-law-00014312-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand416Store=mObj; New pot law leaves Washington in limbo The trouble was that students who most need aid are often precisely those who have nobody around them who has ever successfully navigated a complicated bureaucratic institution like a university financial aid office. "Though Emory sent weekly e-mails -- 17 of them, along with an invitation to a program for minority students -- they went to a school account she had not learned to check," DeParle wrote. "Angelica reported that her mother made $35,000 a year and paid about half of that in rent. With her housing costs so high, Emory assumed the family had extra money and assigned ... an income of $51,000. ... (Angelica) discovered what had happened only recently." Unable to cope with the school's e-mail system or to decrypt its rules for imputing family income, Angelica finally dropped out of Emory, burdened by $61,000 in student debt. In 1943, Vice President Henry Wallace published a book celebrating the coming "century of the common man." That century did not last very long. We have transitioned instead into the era of the clever man and clever woman. We have revised our institutions, our programs, our rules in ways that offer profitable new chances to those with cultural know-how -- and that inflict disastrous consequences on those who are overwhelmed by a world of ever-more-abundant and ever-more-risky choices. Opinion: The end of the war on marijuana We're not going to uninvent the no-money-down loan. Universities that receive applications from all over the planet cannot finance themselves like an old-fashioned state land-grant college. But we need to recognize that modern life is becoming steadily more dangerous for people prone to make bad choices. At a time when they need more help than ever to climb the ladder, marijuana legalization kicks them back down the ladder. The goal of public policy should not be to punish vulnerable kids for making life-wrecking mistakes. The goal of public policy should be to protect (to the extent we can) the vulnerable from making life-wrecking mistakes in the first place. There's a trade-off, yes, and it takes the form of denying less vulnerable people easy access to a pleasure they believe they can safely use. But they are likely deluding themselves about how well they are managing their drug use. And even if they are not deluded -- if they really are so capable and effective -- then surely they can see that society has already been massively re-engineered for their benefit already. Surely, enough is enough? Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();} The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

Senin, 07 Januari 2013

Marine's pro-gun letter goes viral

Former Marine says he will not register his guns even if a federal law is passed Marine's open letter goes viral online; draws fiery responses from CNN commenters Sen. Dianne Feinstein said after the Newtown school shooting that she plans to introduce a ban on assault weapons The bill aims to revisit a 1994 assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 (CNN) -- It started off as a letter, but for former Marine Joshua Boston it was more than that. It was about his freedom. The Afghanistan veteran wrote an open letter to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, saying that he would not register his weapons with the government even if a ban on assault weapons is passed. The letter started on CNN iReport and gained mass attention online, obtaining a quarter-million views as of Friday evening and appearing on several other news outlets. Boston said he was inspired to send in the iReport because he felt as though some gun owners were being unfairly targeted. He is angered by "the fact that I'm supposed to be punished for doing nothing more than owning a rifle that looks scary because its stock isn't made out of wood," he said. Feinstein has said she plans to introduce a bill in January that would place a ban on assault weapons. Gun rights legislation gained renewed attention after an armed gunman killed 20 children and six adults in the Newtown school shooting. var currExpandable="expand15"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/06/exp-sotu-heitkamp-hudson-gun-control-obama-admin-plan.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://sotu.blogs.cnn.com/'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130106050537-exp-sotu-heitkamp-hudson-gun-control-obama-admin-plan-00002001-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand15Store=mObj; New lawmakers weigh in on gun control var currExpandable="expand25"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='politics/2013/01/05/exp-gun-control-congress-thompson-newsroom.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130105115936-exp-gun-control-congress-thompson-newsroom-00002001-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand25Store=mObj; Don't call it gun control, advocate says var currExpandable="expand35"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/01/05/ybl-gun-control-as-a-health-issue-christine-romans-segment.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121218055014-gun-sales-t1-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand35Store=mObj; Gun control and public health var currExpandable="expand45"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/12/30/rs-guns-and-the-media.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121230044121-rs-guns-and-the-media-00003723-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand45Store=mObj; Guns and the media The bill aims to revisit a 1994 ban that expired in 2004. The prohibition did not eliminate assault weapons, but restricted their features, limiting magazine capacity to 10 rounds and regulating pistol grips, bayonet attachments and flash suppressors. Politics: Gun owners fear new legislation could tread on their rights Boston said he served in Afghanistan twice and Iraq twice between 2004 and 2011. Although no longer serving in the military, the 26-year-old said he still owns guns and believes the government does not need to know what guns he owns; he believes weapons registration would lead to confiscation. Many of the people who posted the more than 1,400 passionate comments about the letter said they agreed with Boston. Both pro- and anti-gun supporters weighed in on the idea of registering weapons in the United States and the use of assault weapons. "I, like you am a former Marine corporal and I support you 110%," wrote CNN iReport user TMuttDaddy. "It's nobody's business how many guns I own. I also support restoring the gun ownership right for felons. Provided the crime was nonviolent and not repeat offenders. I do think we need to address how firearms are stored and secured. We need to require owners to secure their weapons in such a way that makes them difficult to steal. I suggest gun safes and trigger locks. We need to do all we can to keep guns off the street." iReport: Why would someone own a military-style rifle? Str8shot wrote, "This is absolutely the best response to the attack on civilian gun ownership that I've seen in some time." "I'd stand, proudly, with this man in preserving our rights. He clearly understood his pledge to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic and sounds like he'll do it. I'm right there with him!" Despite the number of mass shootings in the United States in 2012, Boston said he believes the laws already set in place for gun control are plenty. He adds that more laws will simply remove a means of defense for people. "I own the guns I own because I acknowledge mankind's shortcomings instead of pretending like they don't exist," Boston wrote. "There are evil men in this world and there just may be a time when I need to do the unthinkable to protect me or my family." But many commenters disagreed with Boston's take. "I respect gun usage to a point when they are use (sic) with respect and with common sense," wrote iReporter RindaLynn. "Guns do not save people. People choosing not to use guns save people," RindaLynn added. Opinion: Case for gun rights is stronger than you think YankCT highlighted the value of Boston's military contributions even while disagreeing with his views. "Ms. Feinstein is an elected official who was selected by voters to represent their interests in a governing body," YankCT wrote. "She has the authority and responsibility to do just that until the people whom she represents decide otherwise through their votes. This gentleman believes that he is above the law. This is untrue; in fact, my guess is that he swore to defend the country and respect its laws when he entered the Marines." At points in his letter, Boston addresses the senator directly: "I am not your subject," he writes. "I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant." In response to Boston's letter, Feinstein released this statement: "Senator Feinstein respects Cpl. Boston's service. She has heard from thousands of people -- including many gun owners -- who support her plan to stop the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of assault weapons and large capacity magazines, strips and drums that hold more than 10 rounds. � As Senator Feinstein has said, the legislation will be carefully focused to protect the rights of existing gun owners by exempting hundreds of weapons used for hunting and sporting purposes." A reader called freddieman said he was inspired to send his own senators a message. He said he is a veteran and comes from a military family. "I will not lose my rights because those who do not follow the laws and freedoms of this land choose not to follow," he said. Analysis: Guns and the law Have you reached out to your representative over issues of gun control? Should people register their weapons with the government? Let us know what you think in the comments below. if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}