Category Archives: Progress

(TNS) -- Ford is making "great progress" towards its goal of deploying its first fully autonomous car in 2021, says Ken Washington, Ford's vice president of research and advanced engineering and chief technology officer.

But Washington said Ford's development team, which is working alongside start-up artificial intelligence company Argo AI, isn't caught up in the race to be the first automaker.

"I think we are extremely well-positioned because weve got a technology company working with us that understands how to build the robot," Washington recently told the Free Press. "And weve got an automotive manufacturer underneath us ....with more than 100 years of experience of systems integration."

Ford is relying on Argo AI a company co-founded last year by Google car project veteran Bryan Salesky and Uber engineer Peter Rander to take the lead on the development of the brains of its self-driving car. Ford acquired a majority stake in Argo AI in February.

"We dont worry too much about where the competitors are. What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats a fit (for customers). And thats what we are focused on," he said on the same day that Ford offered members of the media rides in the company's self-driving Ford Fusion test car.

Washington has been a top executive at Ford since joining the automaker in 2014 who now is taking on even more responsibility under Ford CEO Jim Hackett. At Ford, Washington oversees the automaker's advanced research and engineering efforts and gained the additional title of chief technology officer in May.

That essentially gives Washington oversight of all of Ford's autonomous vehicle efforts as well as oversight of the development of a wide range of other new technology.

Before joining Ford, Washington was vice president of the Advanced Technology Center at Lockheed Martin and was one of the most prominent African-Americans in aerospace. Now he is one of eight top executives at Ford who reports directly to Hackett.

The Free Press spoke with Washington about his new role and Ford's autonomous vehicle programs. The following is edited for clarity and brevity, and includes some additional comments from Washington's recent blog post on Medium, which included an announcement that Ford is creating a new artificial intelligence research team.

Question: So, tell us about your new role, and what you will now be doing at Ford?

Answer: I kind of wear two hats for the company. I am the vice president of research and advanced engineering ... and that didn't change. And with Jim Hackett coming to our company as CEO, he really wants to put an emphasis on technology and its promise for enabling us to be a great business. And so he invited me to be the chief technology officer to help drive that vision. ... And so thats a new role. And in that new role, I am really just looking to do what naturally comes to any executive who oversees a group that does that kind of technology work."

Q: How do the various pieces of Ford's autonomous vehicle program fit together? You have Ford's own development team, Ford Smart Mobility and Argo AI. How does it all work?

A: We recently welcomed Sherif Marakby back to Ford (from Uber). Sherif owns autonomous vehicles at Ford, and so his job is to define for us where we are going to play in the market, and how we are going to bring autonomous vehicle technology to bear and put it into the market.

But building the autonomous vehicle has three parts three big parts. There is the virtual driver, and thats Argos job. Thats the part that replaces the driver with a robot. And that includes software and sensors.

Ford product development is building the vehicle and the autonomous vehicle team is part of that and we are working on the integration of the virtual driver into the vehicle.

Washington elaborated on the role of Ford's internal autonomous vehicle team in his Thursday blog post on Medium:

We are announcing the creation of the robotics and artificial intelligence research team as part of Ford research and advanced engineering. This move aligns multiple disciplines under one team for a more concerted effort as we increasingly come to understand the potential for robotics and artificial intelligence. The move also serves to further advance projects weve already presented such as our autonomous vehicle development program, and those we arent quite ready to reveal.

Q: It's only been a few months since Ford publicly stated its goal to commercially launch a fully autonomous vehicle by 2021 but can you tell us how that effort is going and how fast you are making progress?

A: They are going great, they are absolutely going great.... They have some fabulous momentum. Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, the cofounders of Argo AI, have attracted a really great team already. Over 100 employees are already on board at Argo. So, I am excited about the path they are on. They are making great progress.

Q: It can be difficult from the outside to really know who is leading the race to develop driverless cars. Is Ford leading? Or have you fallen behind competitors like Waymo or even GM? And how much do you think it matters right now?

A: Well I would start by saying there is so much hype out there its hard to sort through it. And you said it well when you said it kind of doesnt matter. We dont worry too much about where the competitors are. What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats fit. And thats what we are focused on.

2017 the Detroit Free Press Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Ford's Chief Technology Officer Touts Autonomous Tech Progress - Government Technology

By Rush D. Holt and Jed S. Rakoff By Rush D. Holt and Jed S. Rakoff July 2 at 7:51 PM

Rush D. Holt is chief executive officer at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Jed S. Rakoff is a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York who served ex officio on the National Commission on Forensic Science.

Imagine this: A cop pulls you over and arrests you because you match the description of someone wanted for a heinous crime. You are innocent, but after being charged and brought to trial, you watch as experts testify with scientific certainty that hair and footprints at the scene match your own, and you are led from the courtroom in shackles.

This may seem like a scene straight out of a TV melodrama, but this scenario happens in real life far too often. A number of forensic techniques including hair- and footprint-matching, mark analysis, bloodstain-pattern analysis and others lack scientific validity and reliability yet are used frequently in our nations courtrooms.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, no fewer than 490 people have been exonerated since 1989 after being convicted on the basis of false or misleading forensic techniques. Just last month, a Michigan man was freed from jail 41 years after his conviction after prosecutors agreed that evidence against him based on an analysis of a single hair didnt meet FBI standards. Another Michigan man was released in May after 25 years in prison following a faulty conviction based on bullets matched to a gun.

During the past decade, thanks largely to a 2009 report from the National Academy of Sciences, we have made important progress in ridding our nations courtrooms of such scenarios. But the Justice Departments recent decision to not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science the primary forum through which scientists, forensic lab technicians, lawyers and judges have worked together to guide the future of forensic science threatens to stall and even reverse that progress.

The NAS report found that too few forensic disciplines, other than DNA analysis, have adequate scientific basis. The report also found that experts often overstate their claims in testimony, invoking unscientific terms like scientific certainty and claiming 100 percent accuracy.

The Justice Department is the responsible agency for prosecuting federal crimes and, in this role, makes frequent use of forensic techniques. It is therefore not appropriate for the Justice Department to be the evaluator of forensic practices. In the 2009 report, the NAS strongly recommended that to avoid a conflict of interest, an entity independent of the Justice Department should oversee forensic standards.

While the Justice Department did not fully embrace this recommendation, it went ahead and, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, helped create the National Commission on Forensic Science. From 2013 until earlier this year, the commission provided a venue for all of the relevant stakeholders to discuss issues facing forensic labs and foundational science and to advance a path forward to strengthen forensic practices and research.

By building consensus among these diverse groups who all care deeply about the integrity of our justice system, the commission promoted important reforms, such as mandatory accreditation of crime labs used by the government and the immediate disclosure to defense counsels of a government forensic experts entire file relating to a defendant. Many of the commissions recommendations have been adopted not only by the Justice Department but also by state and local crime labs. They have also resulted in changes both to prosecutorial practices and to codes of professional conduct for those working in forensic laboratories. With these improvements in providing justice, it is not time to pull back from the forensic commission.

More than 250 individuals and groups, including leading legal scholars and scientific organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, recently submitted public comments to the Justice Department on how to proceed on forensic science. The overwhelming majority of comments urged the department to ensure that there be an independent and transparent oversight body for forensic science like the now-suspended commission.

For now, the Justice Department has taken the opposite view, that there is no conflict with having internal department evaluators oversee forensic science research that their prosecutors hope to use in the courtroom. We urge the attorney general and the department to take a thorough look at the many thoughtful comments from concerned citizens and quickly reconsider this approach. Forensic science requires conflict-free independent evaluation if it is to advance the truth. Peoples lives and our societys faith in the American justice system are at stake.

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The Justice Department is squandering progress in forensic science - Washington Post

Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press Published 10:53 a.m. ET July 2, 2017 | Updated 10:56 a.m. ET July 2, 2017

Ford will make a driverless car for ride-sharing purposes by 2021, using its Ford Fusion Hybrid.(Photo: Ford Motor Company)

Ford is making "great progress" towards its goal of deploying its first fully self-driving car by 2021, says the automaker's top research executive.

But don't expect Ford to be first.

"We dont worry too much about where the competitors are," Ken Washington, Ford's vice president of research and advanced engineering and chief technology officer. "What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats a fit (for customers). And thats what we are focused on,"

He spoke as Ford gave reportersrides in the company's self-driving Ford Fusion test car.

Ford is relying on Argo AI a company co-founded last year by Google car project veteran Bryan Salesky and Uber engineer Peter Rander to take the lead on the development of the brains of its self-driving car. Ford acquired a majority stake in Argo AI in February.

"I think we are extremely well-positioned because weve got a technology company working with us that understands how to build the robot," Washington said recently. "And weve got an automotive manufacturer underneath us ....with more than 100 years of experience of systems integration."

Washington has been a top executive at Ford since joining the automaker in 2014 who now is taking on even more responsibility under Ford CEO Jim Hackett. At Ford, Washington oversees the automaker's advanced research and engineering efforts and gained the additional title of chief technology officer in May.

That essentially gives Washington oversight of all of Ford's autonomous vehicle efforts as well as oversight of the development of a wide range of other new technology.

Before joining Ford, Washington was vice president of the Advanced Technology Center at Lockheed Martin and was one of the most prominent African-Americans in aerospace. Now he is one of eight top executives at Ford who reports directly to Hackett.

We spoke with Washington about his new role and Ford's autonomous vehicle programs. The following is edited for clarity and brevity, and includes some additional comments from Washington's recent blog post on Medium, which included an announcement that Ford is creating a new artificial intelligence research team.

Question: So, tell us about your new role, and what you will now be doing at Ford?

Answer: I kind of wear two hats for the company. I am the vice president of research and advanced engineering ... and that didn't change. And with Jim Hackett coming to our company as CEO, he really wants to put an emphasis on technology and its promise for enabling us to be a great business. And so he invited me to be the chief technology officer to help drive that vision. ... And so thats a new role. And in that new role, I am really just looking to do what naturally comes to any executive who oversees a group that does that kind of technology work."

Q: How do the various pieces of Ford's autonomous vehicle program fit together? You have Ford's own development team, Ford Smart Mobility and Argo AI. How does it all work?

A: We recently welcomed Sherif Marakby back to Ford (from Uber). Sherif owns autonomous vehicles at Ford, and so his job is to define for us where we are going to play in the market, and how we are going to bring autonomous vehicle technology to bear and put it into the market.

But building the autonomous vehicle has three parts three big parts. There is the virtual driver, and thats Argos job. Thats the part that replaces the driver with a robot. And that includes software and sensors.

Ford product development is building the vehicle and the autonomous vehicle team is part of that and we are working on the integration of the virtual driver into the vehicle.

Washington elaborated on the role of Ford's internal autonomous vehicle team in his Thursday blog post on Medium:

We are announcing the creation of the robotics and artificial intelligence research team as part of Ford research and advanced engineering. This move aligns multiple disciplines under one team for a more concerted effort as we increasingly come to understand the potential for robotics and artificial intelligence. The move also serves to further advance projects weve already presented such as our autonomous vehicle development program, and those we arent quite ready to reveal.

Q: It's only been a few months since Ford publicly stated its goal to commercially launch a fully autonomous vehicle by 2021 but can you tell us how that effort is going and how fast you are making progress?

A: They are going great, they are absolutely going great.... They have some fabulous momentum. Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, the co-founders of Argo AI, have attracted a really great team already. Over 100 employees are already on board at Argo. So, I am excited about the path they are on. They are making great progress.

Q: It can be difficult from the outside to really know who is leading the race to develop driverless cars. Is Ford leading? Or have you fallen behind competitors like Waymo or even GM? And how much do you think it matters right now?

A: Well I would start by saying there is so much hype out there its hard to sort through it. And you said it well when you said it kind of doesnt matter. We dont worry too much about where the competitors are. What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats fit. And thats what we are focused on.

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Ford exec points to 'great progress' on driverless cars - USA Today - USA TODAY

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., speaks during his weekly news conference in the Capitol on June, 29, 2017.Bill ClarkCQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) In firm control of the federal government, President Donald Trump and his Republican Party have so far failed to deliver on core campaign promises on health care, taxes and infrastructure. But in New York's Trump Tower cafe, the Gentry family blames Congress, not the president.

Like many Trump voters across America, the Alabama couple, vacationing last week with their three children, says they are deeply frustrated with the president's GOP allies, faulting them for derailing Trump's plans. As the family of five lunched in Trump Tower, Sheila Gentry offered a pointed message to those concerned with the GOP's ability to govern five months into the Trump presidency.

"Shut up. Get on board. And let's give President Trump the benefit of the doubt. It takes a while," said the 46-year-old nursing educator from Section, Alabama.

"They just need a good whoopin'," said her husband, Travis Gentry, a 48-year-old engineer, likening congressional infighting to unruly kids in the back seat of the car.

As Washington Republicans decry Trump's latest round of Twitter attacks , Republicans on the ground from New York to Louisiana to Iowa continue to stand by the president and his unorthodox leadership style. For now at least, rank-and-file Republicans are far more willing to blame the GOP-led Congress for their party's lack of progress, sending an early warning sign as the GOP looks to preserve its House and Senate majorities in next year's midterm elections.

Inside and outside the Beltway surrounding the nation's capital, Republicans worry their party could pay a steep political price unless they show significant progress on their years-long promise to repeal and replace Democrat Barack Obama's health care law . Even more disturbing, some say, is the Republican Party's nascent struggle to overhaul the nation's tax system, never mind Trump's unfulfilled vows to repair roads and bridges across America and build a massive border wall.

"It's a problem for Republicans, who were put in place to fix this stuff. If you can't fix it, I need someone who can," said Ernie Rudolph, a 72-year-old cybersecurity executive from suburban Des Moines, Iowa.

There is no easy path forward for the Republican Party.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that health care legislation backed by House and Senate Republican leaders and favored by Trump would ultimately leave more than 20 million additional Americans without health care, while enacting deep cuts to Medicaid and other programs that address the opioid epidemic. In some cases, the plans would most hurt Trump's most passionate supporters.

Just 17% of Americans support the Senate's health care plan, according to a poll released last week, making it one of the least popular major legislative proposals in history.

The president on Friday injected new uncertainty into the debate by urging congressional Republicans simply to repeal Obama's health care law "immediately" while crafting a replacement plan later, which would leave tens of millions of Americans without health care with no clear solution.

That shift came a day after several Republicans in Congress condemned Trump's personal Twitter attack against MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, which was viewed across Washington as an unwanted distraction in the midst of a sensitive policy debate.

Trump's nationwide approval rating hovered below 40% in Gallup's weekly tracking survey, even before the tweet. At the same time, just one in four voters approve of Republicans in Congress, Quinnipiac University found.

Democrats, meanwhile, report sustained energy on the ground in swing districts where Republicans face tough re-election challenges. Democrats need to flip 24 seats to win the House majority next fall, a goal that operatives in both parties see as increasingly possible as the GOP struggles to govern.

A former Obama administration national security aide, Andy Kim, is among a large class of fresh Democratic recruits.

"People are fired up," said Kim, who's challenging Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J. "It's not just about the health care bill. It's not just about Trump. ... They're concerned about the ability of this government to put together any credible legislation going forward."

Republicans are also concerned.

In Iowa's Adair County, GOP Chairman Ryan Frederick fears that Republican voters will begin to lose confidence in their party's plans for taxes, infrastructure and immigration should the health care overhaul fail.

"Everyone I know looks at trying to get Obamacare repealed and says, 'If we're making this much of a pig's breakfast out of that, what are we going to do with tax reform?'" Frederick said.

"We've dreamed of killing Obamacare for seven years. And we have the House, the Senate and the presidency, and we can't do it?" he continued. "What's the deal, guys?"

Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere bemoans "factionalism" in his party. Intraparty divisions are holding up health care, he says, which in turn keeps the GOP-led government from tackling other priorities.

He's looking to Trump for leadership.

"He's the ultimate negotiator," Villere said. "We'll see how good he is."

Back in Trump Tower, Sheila Gentry conceded that Trump's tweets sometimes make her cringe, but she still has confidence in her president. She can't say the same for congressional Republicans.

"The Republicans who are in there now that aren't being very supportive, they're going to find themselves without a job soon if they don't step it up," she said.

___

Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio contributed to this report.

Continued here:

Republican Voters Blame Congress, Not Trump, For a Lack of Progress - TIME

Volunteers with the Farmington Community Garden held a fundraiser Saturday to help move forward with the progress of the garden.

Garden Coordinator Melanie Montgomery said their fundraiser went very well. They held a rummage sale, seed swap and a lemonade stand.

Every person is walking away with something and that is great, said Montgomery. We have had a few people pay more than their total as a donation and we also had several people drop donations off. There was even one lady who dropped off a big bag of seeds for the garden. Another lady donated dried gourds.

Montgomery said they put this event together because they need funds to be able to buy the supplies to build the garden, which is located at Boyce and Perrine. She said last year they did really well, but have used those funds to buy the supplies for the garden.

We have had some supplies donated. The mulch was donated by Tall Timber Tree Service and the top soils was donated by CWC out of Perryville. Freedom waste also donated to the garden, Montgomery said. We are trying to build the rest of the garden. We have 12 more beds to build.

She explained there will be a childrens garden area and another area with fruit trees and berry bushes. They hope to have the garden complete by next year.

Its been moving along slowly because we have to work with what supplies we were able to buy, said Montgomery. Its been slow because we havent really had the funds to be able to buy the materials, so its taking us longer.

Montgomery said last year they had a hog roast and raised quite a bit of money, which allowed them to get the irrigation system. She stressed its really important they have that so its easier for everyone to water their beds.

Everybody really gets together and has helped build it, said Montgomery. Its really a community thing. Its all kinds of different people and it's great we can get together to so this. I want to thank everyone who has donated things and supported our events to make this possible for the community.

Brigitte Zettl, technical advisor for the garden,said the community designed the garden and she did the drafting.

We sat down together at the library and just voted on what we all wanted, said Zettl. I put it on paper and made it all fit to scale. We have a pretty strong core group of volunteers.

Zettl said to be honest, for the garden to move forward more quickly they need more help. They could use more people helping with fundraising events and especially building the garden.

Just coming on Saturdays putting the beds together, filling beds with soil and spreading mulch, said Zettl. The more the merrier and the faster we will have a beautiful garden here if more people come.

Zettl said there are people who have already bought some of the plots and they are $12 for a year to rent a plot.

You get one four by eight plot and you can do up to three per family, said Zettl. Actually we have quite a few still available and if you buy a plot this year, since the garden is still being built you can have the plot for free next year.

The page will come up and you can print off the application and send it in to the P.O. Box thats listed on the application, said Zettl. We usually have a garden meeting the first Friday of every month over at the Farmington Public Library and its at 6 p.m.

Zettl said that is great place to get more information and to meet everyone. She added this has been a really great opportunity for her and her daughter.

To do some character-building things together, helping to promote the garden and meet our neighbors, said Zettl. Building the garden together has been a wonderful thing for us to as family. It has been a real benefit to me to spend time together.

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Community Garden, a work in progress - Daily Journal Online

A southern Utah fishing lake is reopening as firefighters gain more of a handle on a two-week old wildfire that has forced out 1,500 people from the area.

BRIAN HEAD, Utah A southern Utah fishing lake is reopening as firefighters gain more of a handle on a two-week old wildfire that has forced out 1,500 people from the area.

The U.S. Forest Service said Sunday that firefighters have made good progress on the blaze thats burned 93 square miles of land.

Its 65 percent contained, with full containment of the western portion expected by the time one of two crews of firefighters from Nevada, Idaho and Utah are relieved of duty Sunday.

Campers, fishers and swimmers can now visit Panguitch Lake.

Authorities are reopening roads but warned drivers to be alert for possible falling rocks and debris.

Multiple communities remain under evacuation orders.

The fire has burned 13 residences and prompted evacuation orders at Brian Head and the Dry Lake area. The orders for those areas have since been lifted, but more than 1,800 firefighters are continuing to battle the blaze.

Because of the fire, Brian Heads July Fourth celebration will be more subdued than in past years. The usual fireworks display is also off the schedule this year and Brian Head Resort spokesman Mark Wilder expects a smaller crowd than the 15,000 or so people who usually attend.

Brian Head town manager Bret Howser said people have been trickling back into town and good vibes are in the air.

Wilder said Friday that the resort areas residents are grateful to firefighters who kept the ski area largely untouched by the flames from the wildfire, which officials say was started June 17 by a man burning a pile of weeds.

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Firefighters make progress on Brian Head fire; lake reopens - Las Vegas Review-Journal

MUSCATINE Progress continues on Muscatine Power & Water's Fiber to the Home project. Expected to be completed in 2018, the project will provide faster internet and enhanced cable television services for customers of MP&W's Communications Utility by replacing traditional coaxial cable with fiber optic technology. On Tuesday, Tim Reed, director of utility service delivery, told the Board of Water, Electric, and Communications Trustees that 73,000 feet, or around 15 percent, of the new aerial wiring is in place, with 1,000 aerial drops completed, and 13,500 feet of new underground wiring is in place with 25 drops completed.

Reed said individual activations should begin in the fall.

"I hesitate to put a date on it because there are so many pieces that have to come together," Reed said.

During the meeting, the board authorized General Manager Sal LoBianco to enter into an agreement for competitive local exchange carrier switching services and operational support for the project. LoBianco said a five-year contract is being negotiated with ImOn Communications of Cedar Rapids to provide voice services.

"This will allow us to get into a business relationship with ImOn a little more quickly," LoBianco said.

All three utilities at Muscatine Power & Water continue to outperform the budget.

The Electric Utility was budgeted to post a deficit of $1,008,131 in May, but the actual loss was $467,510. Jerry Gowey, director of finance and administrative services, reported revenue of $7,383,000 in May was $555,000 more than budgeted. From January to May, a loss of $3,419,487 was budgeted, but the actual deficit was $1,676,283 with a cash balance of $46,227,000 and no debt.

The Water Utility was budgeted to post a loss of $27,898 in May, but the actual loss was $18,917. Gowey said May revenue of $527,000 was $6,707 better than budget. For the year to date through May, profit of $28,877 was budgeted, but actual profit of $154,816 has been posted with a cash balance of $461,000 and debt of $5.6 million. Of that, $5.5 million was to the Electric Utility and $100,000 was to Iowa's State Revolving Fund.

A profit of $147,459 was budgeted for the Communications Utility in May, but the actual profit was $210,103. Gowey said May revenue of $1,158,000 was $10,642 better than budget. For the year through May, a profit of $557,879 was budgeted, but actual profit of $918,967 was posted with a cash balance of $881,000 and debt of $9,044,000, all to the Electric Utility.

The board approved changes in its leadership, effective July 1. Board Chair Susan Eversmeyer, co-owner of River Rehabilitation, stepped down as board chair. Vice Chair Doyle Tubandt, president of Kent Corporation, will replace Eversmeyer. Keith Porter, president and CEO of Stanley Foundation, will be the new Vice Chair.

Gowey will continue as the Board Secretary.

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Progress continues on Fiber to Home project - Muscatine Journal

Michael Symons, Townsquare Media

TRENTON The board that counts votes in the Assembly chamber stayed largely as it was on Sunday from where it was when the government shutdown began with one small difference, a vote moving from the abstention list to those voting in favor of the budget.

Assemblyman James Kennedy from Rahway said that while he knows it may take longer for some of his colleaguesto move on the budget he did what he believed was right, and was going back to where he originally stood on the budget.

Kennedy said after he first cast his vote he noticed the rest of the votes made what he described as a Christmas tree.

It was divided almost in thirds, he said. I believe there were 27 yes votes and 25 no votes and then 22 abstentions.

Christie OKd posters at government offices blaming speaker for shutdown. Is that legal?

After 30 minutes of seeing very little movement on the votes Kennedy said he changed his vote to abstain when he realized things were at a standstill.

The speaker asked me why I had changed my vote, and I told him that we need to go back and negotiate some sort of settlement, he said. The message I was sending to leadership was go back in the back room (and negotiate). It doesnt seem like were so far away from a settlement based on what everybody is saying. Theres gotta be something that makes this move.

Horizon in the conversation as shutdown continues, Sweeney says

When members of the assembly asked about the disparity in votes Kennedy said initially they were told that the divide was not related to Governor Chris Christies plans to overhaul the funding and governance of Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield, but rather to do with an issue of the governor looking for the newspapers or something else that had been previously talked about.

After a full day passed with little to no movement Kennedy said It became blatantly obvious that this was about Horizon, and nothing but Horizon.

I find it difficult to understand why youd shut down government over an issue thats not even in this particular budget, he said. So here we are. Hes down at a state park and nobody else is and the rest is history.

After two decades as the mayor of Rahway, Kennedy is at the end of his first term in Trenton, and said he has heard the concerns of his constituents.

Primarily we were hearing anger over the Horizon bill, he said. Theres a great number of people in New Jersey that are covered by them including myself and others.

While the Horizon bill has not yet been presented to the Assembly, Kennedy said he had heard enough talk about it among his colleagues to believe that a compromise could be reached.

Theres room for negotiation and it seems unconscionable to shut down government on Fourth of July weekend, he said.

Even as Kennedy moved to the yes column and there was talk of a second moving on Sunday as well Kennedy said he knows it could be a long process to get to a final resolution.

Im a realist. I think youll see a few more, but I dont see it reaching 41 that easily, he said. I wouldnt be surprised if I saw at the end of the frustration when the public is totally disgusted with the inaction that maybe the Rs come over and approve the budget.

Even if the budget is approved Kennedy said he and his colleagues are aware there could be consequences if the Horizon bill is not approved as well.

Budget impasse leads to NJ government shutdown heres whats open & closed

Everybody knows the results of that. Its going to be a slash and burn approach instead of realistically looking at this without punishing people whose opinion is different than others, he said. Thats the sad part of government today.

At a time when partisan politics is at a boiling point at all levels of government Kennedy, a Democrat, said he is a team player to a point, but when its irrational Im not.

Theres a lot of Republicans that are like that. Theres a lot of Democrats that are like that. And there needs to be some common sense here, he said. This budget should be approved. Ive talked to colleagues on both sides of the aisle that say hey, this is as good of a budget as were going to carve. They should approve it.

Whenthe shutdown comes to an end and the government reopens Kennedy said there will still be plenty of work for the legislature to do.

Then you go back to governing, he said. Its last weeks news and therell be new issues to deal with. Its not like the state isnt suffering from important things to deal with.

Christie has called for a special session of both houses of the legislature for 10 a.m. on Monday morning to address the shutdown and budget standstill.

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Small progress in budget standstill as one NJ assemblyman changes vote - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

Another summer, another affirmative action lawsuit.

Edward Blum, the legal strategist and conservative activist who orchestrated the Fisher v. University of Texas lawsuit, is seeking to sue the University over concerns regarding the admissions process once more. Blum argues this time using the Texas Constitution that UT cannot consider applicants differently because of race and ethnicity.

Blums lawsuit, filed in support of white and Asian plaintiffs who felt disadvantaged by the policy, makes the same denunciation of affirmative action as in the previous Fisher v. University of Texas case. This isnt an issue of whether or not certain groups, including Asian applicants, have a right to feel wronged this is a matter of repeatedly attacking a necessary protection and offering nothing constructive in its place.

Blum, a Texas Ex, isnt a lawyer, but nonetheless has a knack for ushering cases into the federal arena. A seasoned strategist, Blums current mission is to reconstruct the Universitys admissions processes so that they adhere to one interpretation of Texas Equal Rights Amendment (1972). That is, disable the consideration of race when reviewing the 25 percent of students who are not admitted automatically to the University, a process he feels violates the amendments equality protection.

The lawsuits goal of eliminating a system which protects one population black and Hispanic applicants but sporadically hinders another in the eyes of his nonprofit, Students for Fair Admissions, is tantamount to simply shifting the burden of inequality. We need to be constructive instead of targeting already disadvantaged populations when tackling the staggeringly tricky issue of discrimination.

Disabling Texas use of affirmative action is a mistake that will only benefit the select members of Blums nonprofit, students who decry a perceived inequity in admissions when white and Asian students are stacked up against students of other races.

To those who feel wronged by the system, consider the inherent advantage in being white, in being male and white, or even the advantage in being poor and white instead of poor and black or Hispanic. Consider the gradation of discrimination experienced by Asians: Some Asians benefit from affirmative action, while others are less advantaged. Changing the demographics wont alter the far-reaching, and harmful, precedent Blums case hopes to set.

Affirmative action provides Texans with greater opportunity to succeed. Top universities, including Harvard University, Brown University and The University of Chicago, stand firmly in support of affirmative action. Fortune 500 companies support affirmative action. The growth of the UT student body agrees with affirmative action: Diversity increased once the measure was readopted in 2005.

The legal battle over equality in university admissions will not end once the new suit has been filed and resolved. This is a contentious issue with no obvious resolution. Affirmative action is a strong step in the right direction. While I might be counted among those who benefit from a ruling in Blums favor, I know that we must continue to protect diversity in our student body with every instrument available.

We have to stand firmly against discrimination. In the face of pressure to alter admissions processes, we must use affirmative action as a tool to level the playing field for all Texans.

Emily Severe is a Business Honors junior from Round Rock, Texas.

More:

With new affirmative action case, no progress - UT The Daily Texan

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Giants ace Bumgarner pleased with progress, but when will he return? - Sacramento Bee