ET Williams

The Doctor of Common Sense

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Children Go To Rehab for Smartphone Addictions

This is what’s wrong with children

Children as young as 13 being treated for addiction to mobile phones

Technology brings many advantages but for some – especially children – it can have much more damaging effects, say experts.

Children as young as 13 are checking in to a US treatment centre to try to break their addiction to mobile devices.

Experts have warned that exposing children to electronic screens leaves them at risk of permanent damage.

The reSTART Life Centre near Seattle is the only treatment unit of its kind in the western world and helps youngsters with addictions to digital technology, including video games.

Its founder Dr Hilarie Cash told Sky News: “When you start handing these devices to young children and they’re distracted by the movement, the colour and sound coming from this device, that is mesmerising enough that it will override all those natural instincts that children actually have for movement and exploration and social interaction.”

She advises people of all ages to restrict their use of devices to certain scheduled times and says families should confront their worries about the increasing influence of technology.

“I think it is really important to come together as a family and talk about tech and how much is good, how much is ok and when does it start to interfere with family relationships, with responsibilities, with sleep, and many other things,” she said.

That advice would be welcomed by the Koch family in Los Angeles. Michael, 14, and Sophia, 7, are dedicated to their phones and tablets to a degree that concerns their parents.

Dad Robert Koch said: “I can punish him and say ‘If you don’t clean your room, this is going to happen’ and he doesn’t care but if I say ‘You don’t clean your room, I’m taking away your phone’ he has a nervous breakdown.

“It has come to the point where that is how you threaten a kid, you take away his data and he freaks out.”

Mum Tammy added: “When I see his reaction it is like he has an addiction.

“We might have to do an intervention, I’m not kidding, because it is like an addict.”

But they worry that restricting access to technology risks damaging the future career prospects of their children in an increasingly connected world.

Dr Cash, whose centre is a short drive from Microsoft’s home in Redmond in Washington state, said evidence shows people can learn necessary career skills within a year and that tech firms want to employee well-rounded and developed staff.

One of those undergoing treatment at reSTART offered some advice to young people.

Xander, who has been at the centre for four weeks, said: “Go explore the world.

“There is a whole world to see and if you’re staring at a screen it is unhealthy.”

Michael Koch disagrees and believes his generation’s tech use is simply a fact of life: “We grew up with phones, we grew up with technology, we are just born with it.

“I don’t think I’m addicted.”

http://news.sky.com/story/children-as-young-as-13-being-treated-for-addiction-to-mobile-phones-10836226

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Assad Says US Aided ISIS When We Bombed Syria

The propaganda machine would have us believe this man gassed his own people but only killed 70.

Assad: America’s ‘Deep State’ – Not Trump – Blew Up Airbase in Syria

In his lengthy interview with AFP on Thursday, Syrian President Bashar Assad mused that the American “Deep State” was more responsible for pelting his Sharyat airbase with 59 cruise missiles than President Donald Trump.

When the interviewer proposed that the retaliatory missile strike marked a drastic change in Trump’s position on Syria, Assad insisted the U.S. and Syria could still be partners in fighting terrorism, once Trump wrested control of Washington away from the military-industrial complex.

“If they are serious in fighting terrorists, we’re going to be partners, and I said not only the United States. Whoever wants to fight the terrorists, we are partners,” said Assad, in the transcript provided by Syria’s SANA news service.

“This is basic for us, basic principle, let’s say,” he continued:

Actually, what has been proven recently, as I said earlier, that they are hand in glove with those terrorists, the United States and the West, they’re not serious in fighting the terrorists, and yesterday some of their statesmen were defending ISIS. They were saying that ISIS doesn’t have chemical weapons. They are defending ISIS against the Syrian government and the Syrian Army. So, actually, you cannot talk about partnership between us who work against the terrorists and who fight the terrorism and the others who are supporting explicitly the terrorists.

Assad said the American missile strike was “the first proof that it’s not about the President of the United States — it’s about the regime and the Deep State, or the deep regime in the United States.”

He said the Deep State “is still the same, it doesn’t change.”

“The president is only one of the performers on their theatre, if he wants to be a leader, he cannot, because as some say he wanted to be a leader, Trump wanted to be a leader, but every president there, if he wants to be a real leader, later he’s going to eat his words, swallow his pride if he has pride at all, and make a 180 degree U-turn, otherwise he would pay the price politically,” said Assad.

Asked if he anticipated another U.S. attack, Assad replied:

As long as the United States is being governed by this military-industrial complex, the financial companies, banks, and what you call deep regime, and works for the vested interest of those groups, of course. It could happen anytime, anywhere, not only in Syria.

Assad lamented that his military could not retaliate against the American ships that fired cruise missiles at Syria but expressed hope the Russians might do it for him.

“For us, as a small country, yeah, of course it is, everybody knows that. It’s out of reach. I mean, they can have missiles from another continent. We all know that. They are a great power, we’re not a great power. Talking about the Russians, this is another issue,” he said.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/04/13/assad-americas-deep-state-blew-up-my-airbase/

 

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Marine War Veteran Faces Prison for Legally Owned Gun

Typical of how we treat our vets.

USMC War Vet Faces Prison for Legally Owned Gun Unregistered in New Jersey

A former United States Marine who traveled to New Jersey with a gun he legally owned — but which was not registered in New Jersey — is facing three years in prison for firearm law violations.

The three years is the minimum sentence that former Marine Sergeant Hisashi Pompey has to serve before he can even be eligible for parole under New Jersey’s strict gun control laws.

ABC 7 reports that Pompey did “three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan for which he received medals for bravery.” He was a military police sergeant.

Six years ago Pompey visited New Jersey and brought his legally owned handgun with him from Virginia. During the course of the night, one of Pompey’s friends got involved in a fight, retrieved the gun, and “carried it into a confrontation with police.” Police arrested Pompey’s friend then arrested Pompey, as well, for having brought an unregistered handgun into the state.

He is now asking Governor Chris Christie (R) to grant him clemency. Pompey said, “Only help I am asking for is from the governor, that’s the only one, everyone from judges to lawyers say the only person who will help me now is the governor.”

Pompey has a wife and children at home, all of whom he will have to leave for a minimum of three years if Christie does not act.

In April 2015, Christie pardoned Pennsylvania resident Shaneen Allen, who was arrested in 2013 for carrying a legally owned handgun in her car. Allen even had a Pennsylvania permit to carry the gun, but New Jersey does not recognize Pennsylvania’s permit.

On December 23, 2015, Christie pardoned U.S. Marine Joshua Velez, a Massachusetts concealed carry permit holder who was arrested over a year earlier for bringing his 9mm handgun into the state of New Jersey.

The pardon said:

WHEREAS, Joshua Velez has made a written application to the Governor for a pardon for the aforesaid offenses, and the State Parole Board, upon request of the Governor, in accordance with the law, has made an investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding said application for a Pardon;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRIS CHRISTIE, Governor the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority conferred upon me by the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and the statutes of this State, do hereby grant Joshua Velez a full and free Pardon for all criminal charges arising from the arrest occurring September 6, 2015, to include the aforesaid crimes, and this Order is applicable solely to said criminal charges and to no other.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/13/usmc-war-vet-faces-prison-for-legally-owned-gun-that-was-unregistered-in-new-jersey/

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Christian Widow of Palm Sunday Massacre Forgives ISIS Terrorist Who Killed Her Husband

Christians forgive, so I forgive but I also want them all dead.

Widow of Egyptian Christian Killed in Church Attack Says She Forgives Islamic State Perpetrators

TEL AVIV – An Egyptian television channel aired an interview with the widow of one of the victims of a deadly attack on a church in Alexandria on Palm Sunday.

Forty-four people were killed in the twin suicide attacks, which struck St. Mark’s Cathedral, the main Coptic church in Alexandria, and a church in the Nile Delta city of Tanta. The Islamic State claimed responsibility via its Aamaq news agency.

In the interview, the widow addressed the perpetrators of the attack, saying, “You took my husband, the father of my children, but I forgive you. I ask that God forgive you as well. My husband is gone. You put my husband in a place that I didn’t want him to be in and I very much want to be next to him.

“I’ll say just one thing to you, to those who did this, those who have been led astray, think about what you’re doing, think again, think about your actions. We didn’t do anything to you. When I say that I forgive you, believe me, I really forgive you.”

Her comments were expanded upon by the program’s famous presenter, Amr Adeeb, who said, “The Copts of Egypt are made of steel. For hundreds of years they’ve suffered. The Egyptian Copts love their homeland immensely and they suffer for their homeland – such power, such great tolerance and forgiveness.

“If your enemies knew how tolerant and conciliatory you were, they wouldn’t believe it. If my father had done this I wouldn’t forgive him. These people (the Copts) are made of something else. They have tolerance that is the product of very strong belief.”

After the show aired, Egyptian Christians responded on social media.

Reem Karsham said, “It’s true that we Christians live by the teachings of Jesus Christ who commanded us to love our enemies. On Good Friday we ask our father to forgive them. We are the salt of the earth spreading love wherever we are. Our blessings to our Coptic brothers in Egypt .”

Another social media user, Mari Abouaita, commented, “We aren’t made of something else, we’re simply following the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ, blessed is his name. Jesus, who was crucified by no fault of his own. The crucifix that was the symbol of humiliation became the symbol of faith and the salvation after Jesus Christ. God forgive them (the attackers) for what they’ve done.”

Gladis Odish wrote, “This is what Jesus Christ said 2000 years ago: He said, ‘You have heard to love your loved ones and hate your enemies, but I say love your enemies. Do good to those who don’t love you. Pray for those who harm you and oppress you,’ and that’s what every Christian says.”

Another commenter, Suhail Youssif, wrote, “We are not made of steel – it’s written that God took from us our heart of stone and gave us the heart of man. It’s also written they were perfect as your father in heaven and they were merciful as your father in heaven. … How great are you God, your instructions are indeed heavenly and not the instructions of the hand of man. May your name be blessed.”

 

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Christian Liberty Defender to Head the HHS Office for Civil Rights

Score one for Trump. He got it right when he appointed Severino.

Trump Appoints Religious Liberty Defender Roger Severino to Head HHS Office for Civil Rights

President Donald Trump has appointed freedom of conscience and religious liberty defender Roger Severino to head the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Severino, the former director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation, has been especially known for his criticism of Obamacare’s “nondiscrimination” regulations on the basis of “gender identity.” The guidelines propose to penalize healthcare professionals who are morally and professionally opposed to sex change surgeries and treatments.

Severino and Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, observed in a report in 2016 that Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) provides guidelines that “force many physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers to participate in sex-reassignment surgeries and treatments, even if it violates their religious beliefs or their best medical judgment.”

“Moreover, because they apply so broadly, the regulations propose to also force employers, individuals, and taxpayers to fund coverage for such procedures even if doing so conflicts with their sincere beliefs,” Severino and Anderson added.

“It’s a super appointment. Roger Severino is a very balanced thinker who is also an experienced litigator,” said Family Research Council senior fellow Ken Blackwell, according to LifeSiteNews. Blackwell added Severino, who also worked as CEO and legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is “associated with some of the best thinkers in the area of civil rights policy.”

LGBT rights advocates criticized Severino’s appointment.

“I could not think of a more dangerous person to head up the Office of Civil Rights at HHS,” JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president of policy and public affairs at the Human Rights Campaign said, according to Yahoo. “Once again, Donald Trump is declaring war against our community by appointing anti-LGBTQ people at all levels of his administration.”

“The Office for Civil Rights at HHS is essential to ensuring that all people can lead healthy lives, free of discriminatory barriers,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, adding, “Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which bans discrimination based on race, sex, disability and age in health programs and activities, is key to achieving this goal. Strong and experienced leadership at OCR committed to fully enforcing Section 1557 is therefore critical. Mr. Severino is not that leader.”

Henderson added Severino’s appointment is “part of a disturbing trend by the Trump administration of naming people who disagree or outright oppose the mission or role of an agency or office to leadership positions within those entities.”

Writing at the Daily Signal last year on the issue of North Carolina’s bathroom privacy policy, Severino asserted, “The radical left is using government power to coerce everyone, including children, into pledging allegiance to a radical new gender ideology over and above their right to privacy, safety, and religious freedom.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/14/trump-appoints-religious-liberty-defender-roger-severino-head-hhs-office-civil-rights/

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It’s ‘Racist’ To Expect Minorities To Show Up On Time

Yeah nigga I’m late. So?

Apparently It’s Now Racist To Expect People To Show Up On Time

According to diversity training materials being disseminated at publicly-funded Clemson University, expecting people from other cultures to show up on time is racist.

Yup, racist.

The university spent nearly $27,000 on diversity training materials from a company called Workplace Answers. Those materials were graciously intended for employees of the school in order to indoctrinate them.

I mean, for them to learn from.

One of the online slides depicted two groups, which included foreign professors and students, showing up to a scheduled event at 9 a.m.; one group came 15 minutes early and the other came 10 minutes late. The slide made the assertion that it would not be the inclusive thing to do to chastise the group that was late, since people must “recognize cultural differences that may impact the meeting and adjust accordingly.”

The Daily Caller reports:

One slide features a guy named Alejandro who plans a meeting between two groups. Each group contains foreign professors and students. One group shows up 15 minutes early. The second group shows up 10 minutes late.

A question-and-answer section then instructs Clemson’s professors that Alejandro would be insufficiently “inclusive” if he were to “politely ask the second group to apologize.” Alejandro would also be wrong to advise the straggling, late people who aren’t respecting everyone else’s time that “in our country, 9:00 a.m. means 9:00 a.m.”

The “inclusive” thing for Alejandro to do, the taxpayer-funded diversity materials instruct Clemson professors, is to “recognize cultural differences that may impact the meeting and adjust accordingly.” Alejandro must understand “that his cultural perspective regarding time is neither more nor less valid than any other.”

In other words, some foreigners are incapable of being on time and Americans need to shut up and accept it in the name of diversity, or something. Of course, such low expectations of those from other cultures is truly infantilizing stuff, but this is how the Left views any minority group.

These ingenuous and expensive slides were reportedly approved by Clemson Chief Diversity Officer Lee Gill. It’s unclear what a “chief diversity officer” actually does, but Gill apparently gets paid big bucks for the position, raking in over $185,000 in tax-payer funds annually.

The training materials are not mandatory by definition, but Clemson President James Clements said last year that “all employees will participate in diversity education and training,” notes Campus Reform. 

One such employee, a professor who skirted sufficient indoctrination, leaked the insane diversity slides to Campus Reform. 

http://www.dailywire.com/news/15383/apparently-its-now-racist-expect-people-shown-time-amanda-prestigiacomo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=062316-news&utm_campaign=benshapiro