Monthly Archives: July 2017

Last Night Guns N’ Roses Played An Epic Set At The Apollo, Today Appetite For Destruction Turns 30 – Stereogum

Posted: July 22, 2017 at 7:59 am

Appetite For Destruction turns 30 today. If youre a fan of rock music, it doesnt really matter when you were born thats bound to make you feel old, whether you were a teenager in 1987 or whether that album served as a hand-me-down gateway drug 10 or 15 years later. You could look at 80s hard rock and hair metal as the bastard child of classic rock, the delinquent and mutated end game, and now its best and most respected poster boys have a debut thats a full three decades old. Guns N Fuckin Roses doesnt have quite the same ring when it applies to guys in their 50s sporting a somewhat frightening array of hats. And yet, here we are.

Last night, the semi-reunited Guns N Roses played for subscribers of SiriusXM (a GNR channel launched on the satellite radio service this month) at Harlems historic Apollo Theater. It was the kind of thing that thoroughly underlined their status in some echelon of the classic rock pantheon: a sprawling three hour set that made room for an instrumental cover of Wish You Were Here and a Layla tease before November Rain, an Allman Bros. intro to Patience, a Voodoo Child tag on Civil War, and full readings of the Whos The Seeker, Soundgardens Black Hole Sun, and AC/DCs Whole Lotta Rosie. (As of last year, Axl Rose moonlights as AC/DCs new frontman.) The Kills another performatively rock n roll group in a very different context opened, prompting conversations like, Wait, whos the opener? I dont know some indie rock band

On some level, Guns N Roses status is very much solidified a massively popular band with only a few albums and one of the most its better to burn out than to fade away stories in rock history at the same time as its a dragged out, zig-zagging epic fitting for any of their 70s stadium rock forebears. But seeing them in the context of Appetites 30th birthday highlights the inescapably lost quality of their identity now. Theyre caught in some nexus between the bloated final act of classic rock in the late 70s up against the rise of punk, and then on the other side the rise of Alt Nation and a new era of now-classic rock, with a much different set of standards and proprieties that made Guns N Roses seem like dinosaurs when they were just about 30 years old.

Even when if you set aside how poorly some of this has aged their casual misogyny, Axl being a complete asshole, the general image of a belligerently wasted and debaucherous young group now scanning completely illegibly you have to buy into it if youre going to enjoy Guns N Roses in 2017. I mean, this is a band with people named Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash, and Dizzy Reed. Again, there are a lot of hats and leather, and long solos, and rock n roll swagger. Theres a quality to the whole thing that, essentially, feels like the sort of fever dream someone would concoct for either a very ham-fisted fiction about a stratospherically successful (and thus free to be very dumb) rock band, or a Spinal Tap-esque parody.

On the flipside, thats precisely what always made them so cool. Thats precisely what made them one of the last real rock n roll demigods that suburban kids around the country looked at and thought, Thats the life. Three decades on, their power might seem alien in our current musical landscape, but it is far from diminished.

Technicalities first: somehow blatantly defying a wildly self-destructive past, Axl sounds pretty great live these days, especially considering hes now in his mid-50s and some of these songs require screams and actual range. And even though it isnt the full classic lineup, its something else to see Axl flanked by Duffs punk-leaning sneer and Slash as the still-vigorous guitarist, duckwalks and everything. There are still a few anonymous figures hanging out onstage, but its better than Axls very obvious attempt to replace Slash with his cartoonish doppelgnger Buckethead.

As for that three hour setlist, it afforded the group time to play just about everything youd want to hear. (And a few things you could probably do without, but who would expect rigorous self-editing from the crew behind the dual Use Your Illusion release, let alone now that they stand as one of the last torchbearers for an ancient hard rock brand of excess.) The setlist was pretty much the same as at any given recent show, with no alteration for or acknowledgment of the fact that it was the eve of their first albums 30th anniversary. Axl barely said anything, for that matter, aside from occasionally shouting out a band member or thanking the crowd.

The latter part worked in favor of the show, though: This was a no-nonsense, powerhouse set despite its rambling length deep into the night. They played the exact Chinese Democracy songs youd want to hear Better is a monster live and selected a good mix of hits and deep cuts from the Use Your Illusion albums, with You Could Be Mine a particular burner live, Estranged the still-more-interesting cousin to November Rain, and the welcome surprise of Coma.

Then, of course, there was the Appetite material the stuff where most of us first fell in love with them, the stuff that had a heightened impact given the timing. Thirty years later, Its So Easy and Mr. Brownstone make for a perfect, decadent one-two punch of an opening. Thirty years later, Sweet Child O Mine is still the earnest salve to its more caustic siblings. Thirty years later, Rocket Queen remains one of their best songs, a blend of serpentine groove and genuine beauty. Thirty years later, Welcome To The Jungle is as foreboding and exhilarating and infectious as ever, deserving a spot amongst the greatest classic rock songs.

By the time they finally finished playing at 1:30 AM, the weight of those 30 years could be felt in other ways, too. There was something out of time about the whole thing, seeing one of the most monolithic stadium rock bands ever in a tiny-ish theater, all these years removed from their heyday, their relevance. Out of any of the revivals and retro trends from the past 10 or 15 years, theres almost nothing major that you could point to and find actual sonic influence from Guns N Roses or their peers. Without being as vaunted as their 60s or 70s predecessors, Guns N Roses have found themselves in a similar place, exhuming the now increasingly distant past night to night.

But none of that really matters, because when you see them play these songs live, it has the effect its supposed to. It makes you feel like a wannabe rebellious teen all over again. It makes you fall back in love with their extreme depiction of rock n roll hedonism from the final days of that brand of rock n roll hedonism. It makes you remember that this was a band formed of lost kids who somehow conquered the world and for a time were the biggest thing anywhere and, song to song, it makes you remember exactly why.

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Last Night Guns N' Roses Played An Epic Set At The Apollo, Today Appetite For Destruction Turns 30 - Stereogum

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BDS: Free-Speech Conservatives Oppose Senate Bill That Would … – National Review

Posted: at 7:58 am

Sometimes in the course of our political life, someone proposes something so mind-bogglingly stupid that its hard to know exactly what to say about it. Senate Bill 720 is one of those things.

Over the past few years, a small but prominent movement has cropped up, using the age-old tactic of boycott to protest what it sees as Israels unjust occupation of territories that are assumed to belong rightfully to the Palestinians. Called BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) after the strategy it employs against the state of Israel and goods produced therein, it has acquired a certain notoriety on college campuses, not least for its uncomfortable associations with veritable anti-Semites.

Israels supporters in the Senate, justifiably seeing this as a problem, have come up with an innovative solution: Make participation in BDS or other boycotts of Israel a felony, punishable by enormous fines and up to two decades in prison. The Israel Anti-Boycott Act enjoys remarkable bipartisan support: Its not often you can get Ted Cruz and Ben Sasse to sign onto a measure alongside Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Its proponents number 43 in the Senate and 234 in the House.

The American Civil Liberties Union opposes it. This bill would impose civil and criminal punishment on individuals solely because of their political beliefs about Israel and its polices, the organization writes in a letter to senators. The thrust of itscriticism is simple. Many companies and individuals conduct no transactions with Israel, for lack of a need to; the bill would make illegal such an action only if it bears a political motivation. The bill therefore penalizes political beliefs and so is both unconstitutional and unconscionable.

This is correct, and we should be pleased that the ACLU has taken a break from mind-numbing Resistance-focused anti-Trump litigation and has rediscovered the meaning of the civil liberties so prominent in its name. This proposed legislation is indeed unconstitutional and unconscionable, an abridgment of the right to free speech, which is quasi-sacred in American life and enshrined in the founding document of our government. The senators who currently support it should be, quite frankly, ashamed of themselves; they have lost sight of one of the founding principles of American government, allowing it to be overshadowed by the spectral world of the IsraeliPalestinian dispute.

This condemnation will, I would hope, suffice for those on the Left whose first instinct, on hearing the news of the bills consideration, was to ask somewhat sardonically when the ostensible right-wing defenders of free speech would profess their opposition to the bill. Sean McElwee wrote on Twitter: I expect our valiant campus speech warriors will stay silent. From The New Republics Jeet Heer: Its interesting how silent free speech absolutists are when attack is not on campus but from Senate.

This point, now made rotelyon the left, is meant to insinuate that those on the center and Right who care deeply about the state of free speech on campus Conor Friedersdorf, Nicholas Christakis, Jonathan Chait, even some at National Review are in fact nothing but reactionaries dishonestly appropriating the free speech argument to keep the boots of the rich, white, and powerful stamped down upon the backs of leftist agitators.

This is, of course, total bunk. A significant number of prominent supporters of campus free speech have also expressed opposition to the Senate bill. Nicholas Christakis has; Jonathan Chait has; Yair Rosenberg has; Walter Olson has. The hypocrites whom those on the left desperately wish their opponents to be have not materialized; they are, by and large, a highly principled bunch.

Such is exactly how most debates over free speech have played out recently. Consider the case of Lisa Durden, an adjunct professor at Essex County College who was fired after making controversial comments on Fox News. Leftists jumped on the apparent lack of outcry as prima facie proof of conservative hypocrisy on the subject: Conservatives care only when its one of their own facing opprobrium. One commentator wrote:

In contrast to other free speech-related controversies on college campuses, there has been almost no media coverage of Durdens ouster. That omission is part of a pattern: When wealthy, right-wing speakers encounter protest, the tendency among both right-wing and centrist writers is to scold snowflake students while dutifully preaching the virtues of diverse ideas in a college education, no matter how outr or dangerous those ideas may be. When marginalized faculty, often women of color, encounter professional censure, the same centrist writers say nothing. Once could almost conclude that the PC-run-amok and trigger warning controversies exist solely to reaffirm existing power dynamics. Its not really about free speech on campus at all.

And, yes, when it comes to Mike Cernovich and Milo Yiannopoulos or Tomi Lahren, thats more or less correct; they really are distasteful hypocrites who care not one bit about free speech and who use the principle instead to advance their particular cause. They are of the new breed of conservatism that views its primary goal as melting special snowflakes and doesnt give much of a damn about anything beyond that. But we knew that already; weve always known theyre unprincipled actors seeking only to aggrandize themselves. Their silence on Lisa Durden tells us nothing new or interesting about their character. Their place in the intellectual debate over free speech is marginal in any case, and what really matters is not what they think but what the more rational, principled minds of the Right and center say. From them we might be able to glean whether the defense of free speech is something truly principled or is just a veil for contemptible beliefs.

From them we hear a near-universal condemnation of Durdens firing. Jonathan Haidt of Heterodox Academy, a centrist talisman for the free-speech cause, wrote that in 2017, its clear that the threat profile is now bipartisan. Jonathan Marks, a conservative, said, I am no fan of Lisa Durden....Yet it is precisely as an academic conservative that I must say, to coin a phrase, Im with her. Similar reactions could be found across the span, from right to center, of defenders of free speech. Again, the supposed hypocrites were not what they were presumed to be.

As goes the debate over free speech, so drifts the broader current in our public sphere. Over and over again, it seems, we care more about scoring partisan points in the eternal shouting chamber of Twitter than we do about achieving concrete change in the tangible conditions of everyday life. Rank partisanship has allowed us to rest quite content with having uncovered hypocrisy on the other side. This tactic is nothing but a cheap cop-out. We blissfully avoid all the difficulties of a serious debate that challenges our intellectual precepts. It is possibly the least edifying, most counterproductive way to run a civil society. It only heightens the tensions already latent in our partisan system. It distracts us from the content and merits of the issue at hand.

Ive focused on the Left so far, but I dont mean to suggest that this phenomenon occurs only there. Its prominent enough on the right as well publications like The Federalist specialize in a sort of Obama did it too! smarminess, always allowing them to the elide the actual issue at hand. Through this strategy, they decline to express an opinion on the content of the actual matter, instead directing their ire at the Left. This is a convenient way to avoid being trapped in the contradictions and convulsions of the Trump administration, but its a terrible way to run a public sphere in a democratic society.

What, then, is a reasonable path forward? Besides taking a Luddite approach to Twitter a remarkably poor platform for any sort of reasoned and constructive discussion, prone more to aggravation than to conciliation the world might be a substantially better place if we simply decided to step away from the partisan register in which we conduct our debates. Stop thinking about what the other side thinks, at least for a while. Start looking more critically, with a more penetrating eye, at what you and your side think. Otherwise the cycle of finger-pointing will do little but deepen, and our public sphere become all the more barren.

Noah Daponte-Smith is a student of modern history and politics at Yale University and an editorial intern at National Review.

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BDS: Free-Speech Conservatives Oppose Senate Bill That Would ... - National Review

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Take that Milwaukee. Pokemon Go is protected free speech – CNET

Posted: at 7:58 am

Do you think the creators of Pokemon Go should have to fill out a 10-page event-permit application each time you want to play the augmented reality game in a public park?

Neither does a Wisconsin district judge, who just pressed pause on a local ordinance that singled out AR games for particularly tough treatment.

Some three months after Candy Lab, the creator of a Pokemon Go-like game sued Milwaukee County over the local law, US district Judge J.P. Stadtmueller gave the company, and by extension the makers of other AR games, a temporary win.

In an order Thursday, Stadtmueller ruled AR games constitute free speech and thus any law affecting them would have to be narrowly tailored so as not to unreasonably harm companies or citizens and avoid falling afoul of the First Amendment. The county had been trying to control the games after parks were allegedly trampled by Pokemon Go players last year.

Here's the ordinance:

Permits required for location-based augmented reality games. Virtual and location-based augmented reality games are not permitted in Milwaukee County parks except in those areas designated with a permit for such use by the director of the department of parks, recreation, and culture (DPRC). Permits shall be required before any company may introduce a location-based augmented reality game into the parks, effective January 1, 2017. The permitting application process is further described on DPRC's website for companies that create and promote such games. That process shall include an internal review by the DPRC to determine the appropriateness of the application based on site selection, protection of rare flora and fauna, personal safety, and the intensity of game activities on park lands. Game activity shall only occur during standard park hours, unless otherwise authorized by the DPRC director, who has the authority to designate special events and activities within the parks outside of the standard operational hours.

The permit application also requires a $250 deposit and for the event sponsor to have $1 million worth of general liability insurance.

As it stands, the judge believes the law may be unconstitutional. So Milwaukee is now unable to enforce it, at least until the relevant lawsuit -- again, by Candy Lab, not Pokemon Go creator Niantic -- reaches its conclusion.

Representatives for Milwaukee County, Candy Lab and Niantic didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

You can read the judge's order below.

Candy Lab Wisconsin Preliminary Injunction Order Augmented Reality Games by CNET News on Scribd

via The Associated Press

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Letter: Lesko shows disdain for citizens’ freedom of speech – Arizona Daily Star

Posted: at 7:57 am

RE: AZ Star (7/18/17) - "Opponents of vouchers find funds..." In response to the possibility that groups opposing vouchers are successful in collecting enough signatures to get a petition regarding the vouchers on the 2018 election ballot, state representative Debbie Lesko has a strategy to defeat the voters. She stated that if the referendum drive succeeds and the issue goes to the ballot, the legislature could make changes prior to the election. She explained that that would effectively repeal the current legislation and eliminate a public vote. If the public didn't like the new plan they would have to start the referendum drive all over again.

Such thinking demonstrates a clear disdain for the public exercising its right to free speech through voting. Lesko introduced a large number of bills in an effort to further weaken public education and promote the use of public funds for for-profit schools.

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

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Hutchison, Trump’s pick for NATO envoy, seems headed for confirmation – Fox News

Posted: at 7:54 am

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican and former U.S. senator from Texas, appears on track to win Senate confirmation as President Trumps choice for U.S. ambassador to NATO, the Texas Tribune reported this week.

Hutchison, 74, whom Trump nominated in June, faced questioning at a hearing Thursday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and appeared to have bipartisan support.

Her backers included Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both R-Texas, and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who was Hillary Clintons running mate in the 2016 presidential election.

Few statesmen have the qualifications, the relationships, and gravitas that Senator Hutchison brings to this position, Cruz told the panel. After years of inadequate resourcing, Kay led an effort in the Senate to rebuild our military and helped prepare it to meet the new, more stringent demands of the global war on terror.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 2013. (2013 Getty Images)

Cruz succeeded Hutchison in the Senate, where the nominee served from 1993 to 2013.

Added Kaine: Kay Bailey, Im so excited youre the nominee. Your nomination sends a signal the NATO relationship is an important one.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks Aug. 1, 2016 in Richmond, Virginia. (2016 Getty Images)

Hutchison used part of her testimony Thursday to assure committee members that, if confirmed to represent the U.S. in the Western military alliance, she intended to take a tough stance on Russia, the Tribune reported.

We are beefing up defenses for an aggressive Russia," she told the committee, adding that she backs members of Congress who are considering new sanctions against Russia in response to its cyberattacks.

Several senators said they found Hutchisons positions reassuring, given concerns on Capitol Hill about Trumps relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Tribune reported.

In her testimony,Hutchison said it was likely that Russia interfered in the 2016 American elections, a conclusion that aligns with a consensus among the country's intelligence agencies.

If confirmed for the ambassadorship, Hutchison will likely have to chart a path between the longtime U.S. commitment to the alliance and Trumps criticism of other member countries, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The president has frequently charged NATO members with failing to pay their fair share of the organizations defense costs.

In June, Trump opted not to reaffirm Americas commitment to Article V of the NATO treaty, which assures that all member countries will come to each others defense in case of an attack.

But Hutchisons remarks seemed designed to reassure senators that she believed in NATOs mission, the Morning News reported.

I am a strong supporter of this historic defense and security alliance that was formed to protect freedom for all of its members, united and indivisible, Hutchison said.I look forward to the Senate confirmation process.

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Kay Bailey Hutchison vows toughness on Russia as NATO … – Texas Tribune

Posted: at 7:54 am

WASHINGTON Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison testified on Thursday that she would take a tough stance on Russia if she is confirmed as the new ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"We are beefing up defenses for an aggressive Russia," she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, adding that she supports lawmakers considering new sanctions on Russian in response to its cyberattacks at home and abroad. "I think that Congress is doing the right thing."

Hutchison's comments were striking given that the man who nominated her to the NATO post President Donald Trump continues to cultivate an oddly close relationship with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin.Several senators, including Democrats, said Thursdaythey found Hutchison's positions reassuring, and they were anything but adversarial in their questioning of her.

"Kay Bailey, I'm so excited you're the nominee," said U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat and 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president."Your nomination sends a signal the NATO relationship is an important one."

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The Senate haspassed Russian sanctionsin a near-unanimous vote, but the legislation is stalled in the House amid procedural and partisan infighting. Most members of Congress believe Trump is against new sanctions, setting the stage for a potential veto or veto override in the coming months.

In her testimony,Hutchison calledit likely that Russia interfered in the 2016 American elections, a conclusion Trump and many Republicans have yet to fully accept despite a consensus among the country's intelligence agencies.

Hutchison was one of several ambassador nominees who participated in Thursday'spanel.Texas' two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, introduced Hutchison to the committee with high praise.

She was relentless; she would not stop until she achieved her objective," Cornyn said of his time serving with her in the Senate.And most importantly, she always did what she thought was the right thing for Texas. Whether it was working with Republicans or Democrats, that was always her guiding star.

As I think about the type of individual best-suited to represent the U.S. on the world stage, I can think of no one better than Kay," he added.

Cruz, who succeeded Hutchison in the Senate, joked to his colleagues that they preferred her to him.

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"You know I agree with the presidents effort to extract more from our allies in support of NATO. I think thats a positive direction for our country," he said. "But I think it is also very good to have a U.S. ambassador who has a strong will and a gracious smile to represent America."

Hutchison is expected to coast to confirmation.

Disclosure: The author of this article briefly worked for Kay Bailey Hutchison more than a decade ago.

Read related Tribune coverage:

Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison,under consideration for the NATO ambassadorship, played a key role in shepherding U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson through hisSenate confirmation. [link]

President Trump has nominated former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to be the nation's new NATO ambassador. [link]

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Elite softball teams welcome challenge at NSA world series – The … – Virginia Gazette

Posted: at 7:54 am

An hour before the 9 a.m. first pitch for his team's 16-and-under game Friday at Kiwanis Park, Line Drive Express Softball Club coach Doug Hill glanced across the field at his team's opponent, the Illiana Dream Seams, on day five of the National Softball Association Class A Eastern World Series.

Hill's Gold squad hails from Midland in Central Michigan and the Dream Seams from Martinsville in Eastern Illinois. All Hill knew about the Dream Seams is what he could see through the fence: a team beginning its warmups wearing an ensemble with splashes of black, red and yellow similar to the University of Maryland's often bold getups. The night before, he was not even sure which state they were from. Hill said it is his superstition to not get wrapped up in scouting reports during massive tournaments like these, with 20 teams in their age group and more than 85 overall from 10 different states.

That is part of the fun. That is part of the reason why many of the teams including Hill's group, donning Central Michigan University's burgundy and gold colors, visited the tournament that held games Monday-Friday at Kiwanis, and Quarterpath parks as well as Stoney Run Athletic Complex in Newport News.

After running into the same teams in regular weekend tournaments, a change of scenery and exposure to different philosophies and coaching styles makes events like these attractive for some teams, even to the ones that drove more than 12 hours like Hill's.

"It's really immaterial what they're doing," Hill said. "I always tell them to do our work and don't worry about theirs."

If that sounds at all ruthless, it is because Line Drive Express is used to winning. Hill, who owns the club, is a NSA hall of famer having coached the sport the last 27 years. Prior to that, he played football at Northwood University in Midland and semi-professional softball.

Line Drive Express had 13 state championships and three NSA world series titles to its name entering Friday's competition, when it needed to win five games to take another title back to Michigan. The club had only needed to finish first or second in at least one qualifier to secure a spot in the world series field; but it won four separate qualifying tournaments for good measure.

All but two of Hill's players are committed to play in college including his daughter, Bailey, who said staying pumped up is vital in tourneys like these that are made even more grueling by the extreme heat that accompanied this one.

The dugouts of the Line Drive Express and Dream Seams were blaring music Friday morning before most folks in Williamsburg had ventured out to work.

"When I go out there, I always know I have to give it my all even if I'm dead," said Line Drive Express pitcher Faith Barden, a Western Michigan University recruit. "And I always have the defense behind me to be able to back me up."

Line Drive Express was fortunate to make it to Friday after a tough win Thursday night over Chesapeake's Elite Fastpitch, which had to survive four games on Thursday, one more than Line Drive Express.

The Chesapeake team's exit left the Blue Ridge Sudden Impact the only team from Virginia still standing in the bracket.

Lynch Station, south of Lynchburg, is home for Sudden Impact, which took on the Central Illinois Cyclones in game one on Friday.

New York teams from Long Island and West Seneca rounded out the 16-and-under teams that made it to Friday.

Sudden Impact has traveled as far away as Las Vegas for NSA world series tournaments but set its sights on the Williamsburg tournament because they wanted to play in their home state.

Sudden Impact might have been the defacto home team by Friday but Virginia license plates were outnumbered by ones from Michigan and Illinois in the Kiwanis parking lot.

The Cyclones came from Peoria, having qualified in two previous tournaments including the Illinois NSA event.

"The NSA folks here at Williamsburg have been excellent," said Cyclones manager Aaron Barrington. "They treated us well. We got to go to Busch Gardens and do some things we don't get to do in Illinois."

As Barrington and tournament site director Scott Hinders each noted, the Eastern World Series is the big and final tournament of the season for most of the teams. A few of the Cyclones will go on to play for colleges, Barrington said, while others will choose their post-secondary schools of choice solely for educational reasons, meaning competitive softball at this level ended for them in Williamsburg.

Line Drive Express started its season in November before moving indoors for the winter. While not quite a vacation, the Eastern World Series provided the club a chance to enjoy the conclusion of long travel campaign.

"These guys are here because they earned it," Hill said. "That's what I enjoy about this sport. This is their payback for all the hard work."

Holtzman can be reached by phone at 757-298-5830.

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USA Pride: Local 14U team to compete in NSA North World Series – Huron Daily Tribune

Posted: at 7:54 am

By Seth Stapleton Tribune Sports Writer

USA Pride vs. Millington

USA Pride: Local 14U team to compete in NSA North World Series

SEBEWAING It was a simple doubleheader between two area softball teams, but it served a much bigger purpose.

Tuesday's games between 14U squads USA Pride and Millington were both a tuneup and a fundraiser for a USA team that is on its way to the National Softball Association North World Series.

"It should never surprise me, in the communities of Unionville and Sebewaing, that we would have a good turnout," said USA Pride coach Tom Williamson of the event. "And it was a better turnout than I expected."

Williamson said the initial goal of the friendly matchup Tuesday was to just find a good team to play a doubleheader against. With the help of the community though, it turned into a fundraiser and an opportunity to promote the entire travel program.

Williamson, who has been part of USA's summer travel softball program for many years, said it's the first time a USA team will compete in the NSA World Series.

"Our goal as a program is not to go win tournaments, we want to go compete," Williamson said. "If we win, great, but we just want to play the best competition we can to get better as a program."

In the past, USA travel teams have always played in three or four tournaments throughout the summer. This year, the 14U team decided to try to qualify for the NSA tournament. They played in a qualifier in Midland over Memorial Day weekend and placed second, qualifying them for the big event.

It will take place in Crown Point, Indiana, beginning Tuesday. USA Pride will open the tournament at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, then play again at 4:45 p.m. that day. From there, the team will be seeded into a double elimination bracket. At minimum, they will play a total of four games.

"They are so excited they can't stand it," Williamson said of the team. "I'm really happy in the fact that we are representing USA travel softball as a whole. We're representing USA and really proud of it."

At the NSA tournament, USA Pride will be competing against around 40 teams from the likes of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Kentucky. While the task may seem daunting, Williamson feels his team is playing its best ball of the summer at this point in time, fresh off a title at the Grand Blanc tournament a weekend ago.

"They're hitting the ball really well and we've got three pitchers, which is important to get through a long tournament," Williamson said. "I'm really pleased with the way that we're playing right now. We've gotten better all year long, so we'll see what happens when we go into next week."

Added Williamson: "This team, it is truly like family. Every single one of these kids get along so well. And more importantly, the parents are unbelievable. The amount of help we've received is amazing. As a coach, you can't ask for anything more than that."

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Testimony of co-defendant contentious in upcoming Fort Collins murder trial – Loveland Reporter-Herald

Posted: at 7:54 am

By Sam Lounsberry

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Corzo-Avendano

A 13-day trial is set to start Monday for Tolentino Corzo-Avendano, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the February 2016 stabbing attack in a Fort Collins home that left a woman blind in one eye and her grandmother dead.

Attorneys met to discuss the course of the upcoming trial at a hearing Wednesday, and the planned testimony of a former co-defendant in the murder case became a point of contention between prosecution and defense teams.

Corzo-Avendano, 27, was arrested after the reported stabbing of 26-year-old Sara Mondragon and her 61-year-old grandmother Cathy Mondragon, who died shortly after the attack.

Sara Mondragon is now reportedly blind in her left eye and can no longer walk.

A co-defendant of Corzo-Avendano, 42-year-old Tomas Vigil, was also originally charged with first-degree murder in the incident, but has since accepted a plea agreement for admitting to armed burglary with a crime of violence sentence enhancer.

Vigil is still being held in the Larimer County Jail, though, and because the District Attorney's Office plans to call him as a witness in its case against Corzo-Avendano during trial, Vigil's pending testimony was discussed between prosecuting and defense attorneys Wednesday.

Deputy District Attorney Nick Cummings said Vigil should not be allowed to be cross-examined by Corzo-Avendano's defense counsel due to Vigil's likely choice to remain silent and plead the Fifth Amendment.

However, defense attorney Kathryn Hay argued a witness's right to the Fifth Amendment is outstripped by a defendant's right to a full legal defense as outlined by the Sixth Amendment, and called Vigil's upcoming testimony "ripe for cross-examination."

8th District Judge Julie Kunce Field, who will preside over the trial, ordered the District Attorney's Office to file a written motion on the matter, and will rule on the course of Vigil's testimony after Hay and defense attorney Matthew Landers file a written response.

Previous motions filed by Landers included one to suppress from evidence given to the jury statements Corzo-Avendano made during his arrest and while in custody of Fort Collins police, and another to suppress phone conversations between Corzo-Avendano and Sara Mondragon while the former was in custody at the Larimer County Jail prior to the alleged stabbing assault.

Defense counsel has argued that police elicited responses from Corzo-Avendano illegally, prior to reading him his Miranda rights and after he evoked his right to have counsel present.

Prosecutors have not offered Corzo-Avendano a plea deal throughout the proceedings.

Sam Lounsberry: 970-635-3630, slounsberry@prairiemountainmedia.com and twitter.com/samlounz.

Excerpt from:
Testimony of co-defendant contentious in upcoming Fort Collins murder trial - Loveland Reporter-Herald

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Attorney General Sessions ignores 4th Amendment – Allentown Morning Call

Posted: at 7:53 am

On July 17, 229 years after ratification of the Constitution, Jeff Sessions, the honorable attorney general of the USA, issued his recommendation that asset forfeiture be increased.

Meanwhile in middle town USA, a collective shrug of the shoulders was the response. Who cares if a few drug dealers have their ill-gotten gains taken from them? Yet, it is a shame if innocent Americans happen have their property and cash taken from them without due process of law. There must be a good reason for this gross violation of the Fourth Amendment.

As a matter of fact, thanks to Sessions, we now know the Founding Fathers had it all wrong. We are not innocent until proven guilty, and we owe Sessions our gratitude for correcting a 200-year-old mistake in our justice system.

Since he has determined we are all inherently guilty, it is futile to try to prove our innocence. Therefore, the only patriotic thing to do is to voluntarily forfeit our assets so he won't waste our tax dollars seizing them.

Donald Harris

Whitehall Township

See the rest here:
Attorney General Sessions ignores 4th Amendment - Allentown Morning Call

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Monthly Archives: July 2017

Last Night Guns N’ Roses Played An Epic Set At The Apollo, Today Appetite For Destruction Turns 30 – Stereogum

BDS: Free-Speech Conservatives Oppose Senate Bill That Would … – National Review

Take that Milwaukee. Pokemon Go is protected free speech – CNET

Letter: Lesko shows disdain for citizens’ freedom of speech – Arizona Daily Star

Hutchison, Trump’s pick for NATO envoy, seems headed for confirmation – Fox News

Kay Bailey Hutchison vows toughness on Russia as NATO … – Texas Tribune

Elite softball teams welcome challenge at NSA world series – The … – Virginia Gazette

USA Pride: Local 14U team to compete in NSA North World Series – Huron Daily Tribune

Testimony of co-defendant contentious in upcoming Fort Collins murder trial – Loveland Reporter-Herald

Attorney General Sessions ignores 4th Amendment – Allentown Morning Call

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