Tammy Baldwin Sworn In To Senate, Becomes First Openly Gay Senator

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) is the nation's first openly gay U.S. senator and the first woman to hold the seat from her state. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

WASHINGTON -- It's been nearly 40 years since Pam Bin-Rella has flown on an airplane. But she broke with her routine in order to be in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to see her daughter, Tammy Baldwin, sworn in as the new Democratic U.S. senator from the state of Wisconsin.
"I'm thrilled. She's going to be so wonderful. I'm so proud of her," said Bin-Rella, who is in a wheelchair, at a reception in the Russell Senate Office Building for Baldwin's family and friends.
Baldwin takes the place of a Wisconsin institution, Herb Kohl, who served in the Senate since 1989, and follows in the footsteps of the legendary progressive Bob LaFollette, who also once held that seat.
But Baldwin herself has already made her mark. During the campaign, she tried to keep her message focused squarely on the economy and fighting special interests. Her election would be historic, but that wasn't why she was running. On Thursday, though, she took a moment to bask in her victory.
"I am proud to have the honor to have been sworn in just ... an hour or so ago as the first woman from the state of Wisconsin and as the first openly gay member to serve in the United States Senate in our nation's history," said Baldwin at her reception, to loud, sustained applause.
While Wisconsin has been known lately for its fractious political battles, differences were pushed aside on Thursday.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) escorted Baldwin into the chamber to take the oath of office, along with Kohl. Immediately after being sworn in and walking off the Senate floor, Baldwin ran into Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) near the elevators. The two gave each other a big hug, and the former GOP vice presidential nominee told the new senator, "Congratulations!"
While Ryan had campaigned for Baldwin's Republican opponent, Tommy Thompson, he and Baldwin were both elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 and have remained on friendly terms. He said he had just come from her reception and there were "lots of people" waiting for her there.
Ryan was a hit with Baldwin's family and friends at the reception, where people lined up to speak with him. Also at the gathering were Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); Kohl; Obama adviser David Axelrod; Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate; Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin and a host of former staffers who have worked for Baldwin over the years on campaigns and in office.
Baldwin was glowing on the walk over from the U.S. Capitol, chatting about a bet she and Johnson had made with Franken and Klobuchar about the upcoming Packers-Vikings football game.
When she finally arrived at her reception, two of her friends greeted her in the hallway, clapping and yelling, "Woooo!"
"I have relatives in all the branches of the family tree [here], and it's just so wonderful to see folks," Baldwin told The Huffington Post. "Twenty-plus relatives came in from all over the country. I also have my friend that I met on the first day of first grade at Shorewood Elementary School and friends from elementary school, middle school, high school, college. It's just wonderful."
When asked what she was going to do the rest of the day, the new senator said she would be celebrating with all the Wisconsinites who made the trip to Washington, but that it wouldn't be all fun and games: "We'll give a few media interviews also."
HuffingtonPost

Flipping Off Police Officers Constitutional, Federal Court Affirms

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday.
In a 14-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity."
John Swartz and his wife Judy Mayton-Swartz had sued two police officers who arrested Swartz in May 2006 after he flipped off an officer who was using a radar device at an intersection in St. Johnsville, N.Y. Swartz was later charged with a violation of New York's disorderly conduct statute, but the charges were dismissed on speedy trial grounds.
A federal judge in the Northern District of New York granted summary judgement to the officers in July 2011, but the Court of Appeals on Thursday erased that decision and ordered the lower court to take up the case again.
Richard Insogna, the officer who stopped Swartz and his wife when they arrived at their destination, claimed he pulled the couple over because he believed Swartz was "trying to get my attention for some reason." The appeals court didn't buy that explanation, ruling that the "nearly universal recognition that this gesture is an insult deprives such an interpretation of reasonableness."
HuffingtonPost

“Any food eaten after 8pm is poisonous” – Expert warns

A professor of Anatomy, Dr. Oladapo Ashiru, has advised Nigerians to always eat an early dinner in order to maintain good health and avoid undue strain and stress to their digestive systems.
According to the renowned Reproductive Endocrinologist, “Any food eaten after 8.00pm is poison, as the intestine shuts down after 8pm; you should try to eat before 8pm to avoid accumulation of undigested foods that are harmful to the organs”
Ashiru, while speaking at a recent event in Lagos, stressed that it is ideal to eat slowly, chew properly and drink water thirty minutes to one hour after meals. This he said allows the food digest in its real state as water dilutes the nutrients.
“People often violate the rules of the body when they do not follow the law of nature. While it is natural that foods eaten should not go into the digestive system, swallowing our foods straight without chewing deprives the food from being broken down.”
“Too much food and undigested food, lead to fermentation and subsequently, decay which eventually leads to other problems, as undigested food poison the body and it shows in the skin. Advocating that “we must only supply the body what it can take.”
He added that the intestine is the root system of the human body and that any problem with it can result in a systemic damage.
The expert, who decried the method of preparation and manner of serving food in public especially at local food courts and parties, also criticized the adoption of foreign lifestyle and penchant for foreign foods.
On some factors responsible for ill health and ageing, Ashiru listed food intake, environmental factors such as diesel, gasoline, automobile fumes and radiators, air pollution often caused by refineries, industries and waste as causes.
DailyPost

Benue lawmaker slumps and dies during exercise

Benue State was on Thursday thrown into mourning following the death of a former member of the state House of Assembly, Msen Sarwuan.
The lawmaker’s sudden death shocked the people of the state as many of them wept profusely on hearing the news of his demise.
Sarwuan slumped and died during early morning exercise in Makurdi, the state capital.
A member of the family, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, confirmed that the deceased, who was a one- time caretaker chairman of Buruku local government council, slumped and died during a “keep fit” exercise.
The family in a statement described the lawmaker’s death as shocking, saying he did not develop any sign of illness.
 DailyPost

Hillary Clinton Returns To Work Next Week After Blood Clot

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sidelined for almost a month by a string of medical problems, is upbeat and planning to return to work next week, the State Department said Thursday.
One day after being released from the New York hospital that was treating a blood clot in her head, Clinton was at home resting, but was far from idle. She spent the day engaging with senior staff, reviewing paperwork and calling in to a meeting of her foreign policy advisory board, said her spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland.
"She's looking forward to getting back to the office," Nuland said. "She is very much planning to do so next week."
The announcement that Clinton soon would return to her Washington office ended what had been a somber point of uncertainty hanging over her month-long health ordeal: whether the 65-year-old secretary would be able to resume her duties before stepping down at the start of President Barack Obama's second term, as she had long planned to do.
Clinton in early December began the final few weeks of a widely lauded term as the nation's top diplomat. But a celebratory mood increasingly gave way to worry and uncertainty over her future as she took ill with a stomach virus, then seemed to deteriorate. While at home recuperating from the virus, Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, fell and struck her head, leading to a concussion, her spokesman said.
Then on Sunday, doctors performing a follow-up exam discovered a clot in a vein that runs through the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. Clinton was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where doctors began administering blood thinners to dissolve the clot. Clinton's physicians have said there was no neurological damage and they expect her to make a full recovery.
Until Wednesday, when Clinton was photographed getting into a van with her husband, Bill, and daughter, Chelsea, a few hours before being released, she hadn't been seen in public since Dec. 7.
How much of her normal schedule the globetrotting Clinton will be able to resume is not yet clear, and her doctors have advised her not to travel abroad for the time being, her spokeswoman said. In the meantime, well wishes are pouring in from around the world.
"I think you could call the number of good will messages a tsunami," Nuland said.

Clinton's illness in December abruptly halted her usually jam-packed schedule, forcing her to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East and to postpone scheduled testimony before Congress on the fatal Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. "She is committed to testifying, and we are working with the committees on an appropriate set of dates," Nuland said.
She was also absent from the White House last month when Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to succeed her.
The State Department said Thursday that Kerry has started meeting with diplomatic staff to prepare for his Senate confirmation hearings, and while at the department's Foggy Bottom headquarters on Wednesday he received a large amount of briefing materials. Kerry will return to the State Department for regular meetings starting Friday.
Clinton's medical struggles have also raised questions about her political future and how her health might influence her decision about whether to run for president in 2016, a move prominent Democrats have been urging her to consider.
Patients with the particular type of clot Clinton has are typically on a blood thinner for three to six months and are monitored to see if the clot goes away, said Dr. Ralph Sacco, a neurologist at the University of Miami. Even if the clot does not fully dissolve, it can become stable and do no harm.
"Vein clots can come and go and sometimes not even cause symptoms," said Sacco who was not involved in Clinton's care. "A very high proportion of people have great recovery."
Clinton also suffered from a blood clot in 1998, midway through her husband's second term as president. That clot was located in her knee.
HuffingtonPost

Kidnap Suspect Nabbed At Bank Premises

Men of the Delta State police command have arrested a member of a kidnap gang at a bank in Agbor, Delta State, while attempting to collect N50 million ransom which his group asked an Agbor-based housewife to cough out or risk abduction.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO,  Mr. Famous Ajieh, said in a statement Wednesday that investigation was in process as efforts were on to arrest his accomplices.
He said: “One Mrs. Orumgbe Veronica has been receiving threatening text messages from unknown persons through GSM number asking her to pay N50 million ransom into Access Bank account with account name (withheld) or risk being kidnapped.
“Based on the report, police operatives swung into action in collaboration with the various GSM service providers and Access Bank management. This synergy yielded result on December 20, 2012 at about 0900 hours when the said (owner of the account number) was arrested at Access Bank, Agbor.
“Items recovered from him include a handset with GSM number (withheld) one of the GSM numbers used for the threat messages.”
The PPRO also stated that a patrol team successfully rescued one Mrs. Ogboma of Ozoro Polytechnic in Delta State, who was kidnapped by a four-man gang along old Emede road, Oleh, following a hot chase the team gave the fleeing suspects shortly after the woman was kidnapped.
Naij

End refinery TAMs

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation should stop the endless Turnaround Maintenance contracts of the four moribund refineries. It was widely reported two weeks ago when the Minster of Petroleum Resources said that the NNPC was carrying out another TAM on all the refineries at a cost of N256bn. She said the contract would be awarded this year. To me, such a contract is unnecessary when the Idika Kalu committee report on the refineries has yet to be considered up till now. The committee recommended that the refineries should be sold to private investors for better management because it is obvious that the NNPC or any government cannot successfully manage the refineries. In order for the N256bn not to go down the drain, like the previous TAM contracts, the idea should be stopped until a final decision is taken on the Kalu Idika report. Government should stop the idea of importing fuel, because the system is characterised by large scale fraud. I believe the fraud connected with the current fuel subsidy scam is enough to build a new refinery which we have been clamouring for. Mr. President take note.

Johnson Alabi, 

Punch