On assignment: Ann Curry's photographs from Sudan's Nuba Mountains

World News:  Where is the story in the News, we have to see it first on Rock City?

Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:31 PM EST

Photo credit: Ann Curry

By Ann Curry
NBC News anchor
Climbing into Sudan's Nuba Mountains I turned and saw her standing above me, in a dress so clean and white it seemed out of place with her surroundings.
Something about her seemed at once strong, even heroic and yet achingly vulnerable. She didn't move as I raised my camera to take a picture of her and the sleeping baby she carried: two children among thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands living in caves to survive the relentless bombing.

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Photo credit: Ann Curry

Photo credit: Ann Curry

Even small children know to run at the sound of the government's Antonov warplanes.  Our news team had just sat down in at the mouth of a cave when the plane's "Whoooo woooooh" sound grew very loud. Suddenly children and adults started scrambling inside, tripping and falling on top of each other in a silent fear. It is odd, I realized, how quiet children are here, uttering not a word even at this moment.
All we heard was 89-year-old Cooli Kafi Darbar praying. Cooli is a former school teacher, who has been credited with translating the Bible into Kronga, the language of the Nuba people.
His quiet prayer translated, "The God of Isaac and Abraham, thank you for everything, for suffering and for blessings."
Hearing this, his 64-year-old daughter Hanna began to stare, seemingly at some memory, before she started to cry. Then she parted her lips and sang, "Why can't I find any comfort in this world," tears rolling down her left cheek and dropping off her chin.
It is a good question.

Photo credit: Ann Curry

The Nuba are being bombed nearly every day now by their own government that seems intent on clearing them from these mountains.
When the people of South Sudan fought for independence from the government of President Omar al-Bashir (the same President Bashir who the International Criminal Court has accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur), the Nuba fought with them. But when territorial lines were drawn, the Nuba were left on what they considered the wrong side of the border.

Photo credit: Ann Curry

Sudan's government says it is fighting an insurgency. We met Nuba rebels who showed us the artillery they said they'd confiscated from government troops, but they insisted their people were attacked first.
People say government military units called the "Abu Tiera," led by Ahmed Harun (also accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity in Darfur), went door to door, targeting only Nuba homes with systematic rape, murder and kidnappings while leaving Arabs untouched.
There are no accurate numbers of how many people may have disappeared, but some experts say satellite images are consistent with reports of mass graves.
Brigadier General Nimori Morat told us, "We are fighting just to live."

Photo credit: Ann Curry

The United Nations estimates that in the Nuba Mountains, and in the neighboring states that have also been attacked in the wake of South Sudan’s independence, 585,000 people have been displaced.
This seems to be a war over territory and, in one area, over oil, but it appears to have also unleashed ethnic cleansing.
"They say our skin is like charcoal," the elderly Cooli told us. Another woman who survived an attack said, ”They called us dogs and said we are the only people because we are Arabs and you are Nuba."

Photo credit: Ann Curry

Photo credit: Ann Curry

How could a war such as this be largely unknown to the rest of the world?
Journalists are not allowed into the Nuba Mountains. It was only because we snuck across the border that we reached the caves, and even then, we were wary of bombs and Sudan military units a few kilometers away. Ultimately we had to leave the same night because it was unsafe, we were told, to stay.
Sure enough, some of the places where we had been were attacked at sunrise and there appeared to be an effort to cut off the road into the Nuba Mountains completely. How will the people in the mountains survive this war, and soon, the potential famine that will result from being unable to plant their crops? Humanitarian aid has also been cut off from the mountains.

Photo credit: Ann Curry

While the international community wonders what, if anything, can be done, we saw a boy in a refugee camp wearing, of all things, an Obama t-shirt.
And we heard several people, including children, thank us for taking their picture. If they are going to suffer, and even die, they at least want the world to know what is happening here.

Photo credit: Ann Curry

Additional resources: Click here to learn more about humanitarian organizations helping Nuba refugees.

 

Discuss this post

Jump to discussion page: 1 2

Marzetta Stogner

We need to help these people, we can not stand by andnot do anything. We are a blessed nation.

• 4 votes

#1 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:20 PM EST

Sic&Tired-5366211

It seems Ann didn't want to report the whole story. The truth is its the Loving Muslims killing the Christians again, they are barbaric and need to be sent back to the stone ages where they belong. Stop coddling them, Muslims are evil, will butcher anyone who does not go along with them. They are horrible to women. Where are the womens rights groups, That's right their worry about college girls not getting their birth control, that is much more imporatant than starving children being starved by their own kind.

• 2 votes

#1.1 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:09 PM EST

posercom

So true!

#1.2 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 12:43 AM EST

PJ-1795048

Hey ... before trying to pass judgements on Ann Curry or Muslims .... get this .... Sudan also has oil.

#1.3 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 1:03 AM EST

HSG1

@ Sic&Tired-5366211 - the Nuba are Christian and Muslim. Get your facts straight before criticizing. In fact, many of the amazing people of Sudan (Muslims) do not support this war. The war is by an evil regime driven by ambition for power, not religion.

• 1 vote

#1.4 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 9:55 AM EST

MrCool

Mention by the media of just some of the crap that has been going on in Africa for decades? Hundreds of thousands killed, a few hundred thousand girls and women raped and deformed. Heads being cut-off. Little children being tortured and having their right arm and a leg chopped off. Mass starvation, no water......
Then when a few unknowns decide to have a revolution in Syria the world roars?

• 1 vote

#1.5 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 12:45 PM EST

jkatze

Why isn't Ann Curry so concerned to show the plight of Americans living in poverty? We have malnourished children and seniors and whole families without a place to live. Didn't she pay attention to the bit about people not taking their meds as prescribed because they cannot afford to?
I know I am blessed. I choose to help my neighbors here at home.

• 3 votes

#2 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:27 PM EST

Isabel Osmundsenvia Facebook

People around the world need help! That's selfish to say we should only help our own! And I think they have it worse off--we don't try to bomb our people.

• 4 votes

#2.1 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:41 PM EST

Heidi Zimmermann Backes

Have you sat down with Ann Curry to find out that she isn't concerned with the plight of Americans living in poverty? I think not. She is doing her job and reporting. That is not to say there isn't a plight in the United States, but I don't see the US bombing its own people, I don't see them doing what they are doing in the Sudan. Global concerns DO effect all of us. Sometimes people need to shut their mouth and open their heart!

• 4 votes

#2.2 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:48 PM EST

Michael G. Sludervia Facebook

It is not an either/or situation. We must be doing both and we are. Please continue to reach out and help your neighbors here at home without begrudging someone their hearts desire to help their neighbor in Sudan.

• 4 votes

#2.3 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:48 PM EST

Michelle Tollinger

I think it is wonderful that you choose to help your neighbors but I think the persecution and hunting and murdering of these people is more the point in this story.

#2.4 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:07 PM EST

Michelle Tollinger

Well said Michael G Sluder! Cheers!

#2.5 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:11 PM EST

Victoria from Dallas

How can you equate what poor people go through here with being bombed and living in caves on the edge of famine? We have no idea what these people are suffering. I grew up in a very poor neighborhood with many people on foodstamps, government help, as well as a lot of homeless people. None of them are in the same destitute situation these people in Sudan are in. Their government hates them and is bombing them daily, they have little to no food, and no one is stepping in to help them.

• 1 vote

#2.6 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:11 PM EST

Citlalli Lara

I don't think you get it 'jkatze'; There's no comparison between the needs in our country and the needs of these people, they are being persecuted and killed. Poor people in the US get help from the government and many other institutions, for example, food stamps, child care, etc....I believe if you are poor in the US is because you choose to be; These people have no choice....These kids deserve a better life.

#2.7 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:17 PM EST

edward grant

While I share the view that we need to take care of Americans we need to put this subject in perspective. Even though there does exist poverty in the US, no one needs to starve to death. They may not feast on a gourmet meal but they won't die. These people not only starve but have to endure being bombed,mutalated,raped and die without medical care. Do I believe that America alone should help these people? No! Until the area has something to offer the world they probably won't get much help.

• 2 votes

#2.8 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:23 PM EST

Sic&Tired-5366211

I don't think its selfish at all to take care of your own, since Ann does not want to report the whole story, its brain dead Muslim terrorist killing their own. They claim to be loving but I've yet to see that, they treat their women terrible, have no respect for life, to concerned with their virgins. And usually a virgin is a young girl. As for me and my family we'll take care of our neighbors. As an old military man said, "I will not donate to someone who wants to kill my Grandchildren" Enough said, Hey Maybe the Taliban has some extra Dollars, they can take care of their own.

#2.9 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:30 PM EST

amber-472278

Your an idiot

• 1 vote

#2.10 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:33 PM EST

jkatze

amber, if you are referring to me, please learn to spell. There is no credibility in illiteracy.
I suspect many of the 'oh-we-must-help-these-poor-people-in-a-war-zone' comments come from folks living comfortable lives removed from the reality of life in blighted, urban America. Those are war zones. A good percentage of those gunned down in the street are innocent kids caught in cross-fire or mistaken for the enemy. A mother in Sudan is no more devastated by the murder of her children than a mother in Chicago, L.A., NY, Philly etc.
17,000,000 (28%) of American children are malnourished.
Go ahead folks, keep sending your money overseas. But you forfeit the right to bellyache about urban blight, gangs, and crime committed by kids.

• 1 vote

#2.11 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 10:57 AM EST

MrCool

jkatze Thank you for your post. Sadly it is so very true and probably more than we even know. It is said that one in four children in America goes to bed hungry. One in four girls, under the age of 18, has been sexually abused. On and on it goes and we ignore this?
There are still Americans who refuse to accept any form of government money, for reasons that are very personal.
I am now very careful about the groups in America to whom I send any money. I have grown tired of most these so called non-profits, the 501c3's with their plush offices, six and sever figure salaries, fancy new cars, and fat bank accounts as well as bunched hedge fund investments........They are not using our money given as intended. However, there are some who seem to really carry the majority of the burden and who accomplish the most good. Many of these choose not to register as a certified non-profit for their personal reasons. The only down side of that is that the donor is not able to write their "gift" off their taxes. That, to me, is the bright side; because then the giver is really giving from their heart and not for the tax advantages.
Keep on posting and helping your neighbors. That is what it is all about, that is the true American way, that is what made our nation great.

#2.12 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 1:05 PM EST

MrCool

Heidi Zimmermann Backes post 2.2 yes, and sometimes people need to get off their fat asses and act.

#2.13 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 1:08 PM EST

ctviking

Don't go to places like the Sudan. When you get kidnapped, don't expect the Navy Seals to rescue you.

• 1 vote

#3 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:32 PM EST

Heidi Zimmermann Backes

Seriously! Can you be any more close minded!

• 1 vote

#3.1 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:49 PM EST

Sic&Tired-5366211

I agree, Don't Go, it's not right to put our soldiers in danger from those THUGS,
Call up the United Nations, USA has given them Billions to feed peoples, make them do their job. I think my family has given enough money through my taxes.

#3.2 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:37 PM EST

CincinnatiOhio

This is so sad. The world, particularly the developed countries current facing a "tight budget" will sit idly by and watch them die, only years later admitting it was real. Sounds hauntingly familiar...

• 2 votes

#4 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:34 PM EST

Tessa-2144575

this is so sad, i want to help asap..

• 1 vote

#5 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:41 PM EST

SuzInTn

Seriously jkatze? President Omar-al Bashir is the no better than Hitler. He's killing off thousands of innocent people because of their nationality and the best you can do is criticize Ann Curry for trying to help these people? Perhaps you should stick your head back in the sand.
Thank you Ann for being so brave and selfless to bring light to such a travesty!

• 1 vote

#6 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:45 PM EST

Cincinnati Native

You can donate to Ryan at

#7 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:50 PM EST

Andrea-2674720

Thank you Ann for risking you life to enlighten me. I pray we can all come together and make a difference.

• 1 vote

#8 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:52 PM EST

posercom

Ann avoided mentioning the truth. Christians all over the Muslim world are being slaughtered by barbaric Muslims who despise civilized Christian People. Arab Spring-or Spring time for Hitler and the Muslim Brother Hood has created a hell on Earth for Christians in Muslim countries and for Jews in Israel and the Muslim world. NBC promoted a Marxist who disguised him self as a Christian. Marxist love Islam because it is not a religion but a totalitarian miltarized polygamist cult. We have a Carlos the Jackel in the white house and NBC helped put him there.

#8.1 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:33 PM EST

Zeinab M

I was just watching Ann Curry's report and it breaks my heart to see the condition these people are living under for no fault of their own other than being caught in the middle of two vicious, terrorists groups.

#9 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:53 PM EST

Rochester, New York

People are people no matter what part of the world they were born. BE led by one's heart and spirit, and bring hope and help to others....whether near or afar.

#10 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:54 PM EST

Cincinnati Native

You can donate to Ryan at kickstarter.com, just put in his name "ryan boyette"

#11 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:54 PM EST

anaprosa

Thank you for opening our eyes to the suffering of others. Poverty in developing countries cannot be compared to poverty in America. I am a social worker who works with low income families in DC. I have also been to India and Africa. We are rich compare to poor people in developing countries. We have government programs and food available, opportunities and choices. They don't. I wonder which International organizations are there to help?

#12 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:56 PM EST

Rochester, New York

People are people no matter what part of the world they were born. BE led by one's heart and spirit, and bring hope to others. We all need help and support on our journey.Thank you for stretching our boundaries and comfort levels.

#13 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:59 PM EST

Jamie-5366177

Ann Curry is one of my heroes and I am so thankful for her willingness t go places I can't go to and to share what she learns.

• 1 vote

#14 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:02 PM EST

Muffy-5366075

The people of the Nuba Mountains, South Sudan, and Sudan are forgotten by most of the world. There are very few organizations ministering to them. They are the victims of some of the most heinous atrocities you can even imagine. The children and women are especially vulnerable. One such organization that is active in this area and several others has built the only indigenously operated orphanages in Sudan and the New Republic of Southern Sudan, Africa. Make Way Partners criteria for selecting the places they minister is based on just two criteria:
1. Where women & children are at highest risk of human trafficking, forced prostitution and other forms of modern-day slavery.
2. Where little to no other help is available because it is considered either "too" dangerous, "too" expensive or "too" remote for most people to go.
Visit for more information, and read Passport Through Darkness by the President of Make Way Partners, Kimberly Smith, to learn more about this inspiring ministry and the most brave woman I know.

#15 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:11 PM EST

Amaryla

We are a small part of the larger world community and should, as one of the richer parts help anyone who is suffering such atrocity. No child in any country should be allowed to starve for any reason.
A young man with all of his life before him risked his life to stay there with his wife when he was told to leave. Ann Curry risked her life to bring that story to us. I fear for anyone trapped between these warring factions.

• 1 vote

#16 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:16 PM EST

LAURIE ELISE GARVIN

i am on disability and they help like a cure is needed for ms

#17 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:21 PM EST

Amunaka

Where is god in all this...

#18 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:28 PM EST

George Richards-3714302

He/She/It is in Aspen on a two week holiday. You don't think God needs a break from us?

#18.1 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:51 PM EST

Poboy123

God is where He has always been, although we will never understand the suffering in this world. We know that He is still in control. Men have choices and there choice to be evil is apparent in Sudan. There is going to be suffering here but we have eternity to look forward too. Where will you spend eternity? Please pray for and with these people I am sure that God knows there suffering. But Jesus suffered worse on the cross and that is what we look too the CROSS and JESUS
Blessings

#18.2 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 12:04 PM EST

Still Caring

Dear Ann - thank you for bringing a new awareness to us all. This is a tragedy and needs to be reported. The links between this shrinking world and the pain throughout the world need to be recognize, reported and understood by all with compassion and hopefully a way to help those in need ...everywhere...a brilliant job reporting a peice of the truth of this world Ann - no matter how painful it is to hear it and how easy it is to feel sorry for ourselves...this information needs to be in our world awareness and part of our global decision making and caring...

• 1 vote

#19 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:46 PM EST

George Richards-3714302

Here are the facts. While the people of the Sudan suffer, people are lying dead in the streets of North Korea. The governmnet is killing its own people in Syria. The list is lengthy and none of it is of more importance than any another story of human brutality. It is noble that this story is being told, but there are countless other stories just as extreme. We cannot fix the world any longer. We cannot do it with military might and the ability in the case of Sudan to get food to the people is unworkable under present circumstances. It is simply life and death on a planet full of people bent on destroying one another. Not exactly new for the human race.

#20 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:49 PM EST

Hundreds of students march back to Ohio school

The looks on their faces say all that need to be said.......

2

hours

ago

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Students walk to a memorial remembering the victims of the Chardon High school shootings before returning to school for the first time since the shootings in Chardon, Ohio, on March 1.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Students and parents gather outside a memorial remembering the victims of the Chardon High school shootings before returning to school for the first time since the shootings in Chardon, Ohio, on March 1. Three students were killed and two others wounded by suspect TJ Lane in Monday's shooting rampage at the Ohio high school.

Aaron Josefczyk / Reuters

Three students was killed and 2 were injured in a shooting Monday morning at an Ohio high school, officials said.

CHARDON, Ohio — The deadline to file charges in a fatal high school shooting loomed as students still reeling from the slaying of three teenagers marched by the hundreds to their reopened school Thursday.

The students, many with their parents and wearing the school colors of red and black, started the day gathered around a courthouse square gazebo, quietly singing the alma mater.
Students hugged the parents and one another they left the gazebo, which was decorated with a growing memorial of red roses and carnations, stuffed animals, burned-down candles and handwritten messages of support.
Six hand-drawn angels graced a plastic-covered piece of cardboard with the wish "May God Bless everybody in Chardon." Two bunches of black and white balloons tied to the gazebo railing included red heart-shaped balloons bearing the names of two victims, and a heart cut from red felt read "ONE HEARTBEAT" and urged people to pray for the town.
"I'm just scared for everybody and I don't know how everybody is going to act going back into school," said Theodore Rosch, 16, a freshman, as his father, Will Rosch, wrapped his left arm around his son's shoulders.
A judge said prosecutors had until Thursday to file charges against the shooting suspect, T.J. Lane, a thin, quiet 17-year-old accused of opening fire on a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table at 1,100-student Chardon High School on Monday. Three students died, and two were seriously wounded.
A prosecutor has said Lane, who is in custody, will probably be charged with three counts of aggravated murder and other offenses. Prosecutors are expected to ask that he be tried as an adult.

Lane had been in trouble before, accused of choking and punching his uncle in an assault case from 2009, according to court records released this week by the Geauga County Sheriff's Office and Judge Timothy Grendell.
Lane's uncle had come by the house where Lane was living with his grandparents on Dec. 9, 2009, after Lane said he didn't want to go to a volunteer job required for school, according to the sheriff's office report.
The uncle planned to remove Lane's brother, a drug addict, in hopes of preventing further problems, but the brother didn't want to go and punched the uncle after he tried to grab his coat, the report said.
Lane jumped on his uncle and tried to put him in a "choke hold" while his brother grabbed their uncle's legs, the report said. "TJ stated that he was helping his brother out because he assumed John was hurting Adam," the report said.
Lane entered the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty plea to a reduced misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and was given a suspended sentence of up to 30 days in jail.
Grendell wouldn't say if there are other files on Lane that might be covered by a law allowing certain records to be withheld.
Longtime neighbors and friends on Wednesday expressed disbelief at how Lane could be the suspect, describing a boy from a broken family who had struggled in school but appeared to improve once he began staying with his grandparents and attending an alternative school with several dozen students.
"He went from flunking out, from what I understand, to almost a straight-A student with honors, and he was going to graduate a year early," said Russ Miller, who has known Lane for more than a decade and lives near Jack Nolan, Lane's grandfather. Nolan has familial custody of the teenager.
Miller, a Vietnam veteran, said he had talked to Lane about joining the military, but the boy hadn't made plans.
"He was a typical 17-year-old," Miller said. "He didn't really know what he wanted to do in his life." He said Lane didn't smoke, drink or do drugs and is "kind of a health nut."
Another neighbor said Lane played outside often with his sister, building snow hills and skateboarding.
Steve Sawczak, a pastor who has worked with troubled children and lives next to the Nolans, said he never saw hints of trouble from Lane. He said the grandparents gave Lane a healthy place to live and have been left shocked and devastated.

Lane's father, Thomas Lane, had served time in prison on charges of disrupting public service and felonious assault, according to state prison records. Neighbors said he visited his son often, sometimes taking him and his sister camping or to the school to catch the bus.
Prosecutor David Joyce has described the younger Lane as "someone who's not well" and said the teen didn't know the victims but chose them randomly. Killed were Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr., 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16.
Hewlin's parents told ABC News they have forgiven Lane for shooting their son, noting that Demetrius was often late for school, but not late enough on Monday.
Demetrius' mother Phyllis Ferguson said Wednesday she doesn't know what her son's last moments were like, but she can't worry about that.
"You have to accept things and move on," she said.
When asked what she would say to the suspected shooter, Ferguson said, "I would tell him I forgive him because, a lot of times, they don't know what they're doing. That's all I'd say." Hewlin's parents said they are donating his organs. Their son would have turned 17 next week.

An 18-year-old girl who was hurt in the shootings was released from the hospital Tuesday and was home with relatives, who declined to comment. The second injured teen remained in serious condition Wednesday at a suburban Cleveland hospital.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday offered condolences to Chardon High School principal Andy Fetchik, telling him in a phone call he was heartbroken by the news and asking how the principal and school community were holding up, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the .22-caliber gun used in the shooting was bought legally in August 2010 from a gun shop in Mentor, Ohio. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said Lane told authorities he stole a gun from his uncle.

But a former county sheriff who has long lived near Lane's other grandparents indicated that the shooting appears to have involved a gun that disappeared from a family barn.

A pistol fitting the description of the one used in the shootings was noticed missing after the shooting, said Carl Henderson, 74, a neighbor of grandparents Thomas and Michelle Lane. He said he has spoken to the grandfather and that the man believes the gun is the same.

Both sides in the legal case are under a gag order imposed by the judge at the prosecutor's request. Grendell earlier barred media outlets from taking photos of the suspect's face but reversed the decision Wednesday and said Lane, who appeared at his hearing wearing a bullet proof vest, may be photographed at a pending a hearing next Tuesday. Social media sites have been full of angry and hate-filled remarks directed at Lane.

The AP transmitted photos and video of Lane that were taken before Tuesday's order. The AP and at least one other media outlet, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, challenged the judge's order Wednesday.

___

Associated Press writer Ann Sanner reported from Willoughby, Ohio; AP video journalist Ted Shaffrey and AP photographer Mark Duncan reported from Chardon; and AP writer Pete Yost in Washington and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus contributed to this report.

Mark Duncan / AP

Hundreds of students and parents march to the Chardon High Schooll in Chardon, Ohio, on March 1 to honor the three students who were killed in a shooting there Monday.

Mark Duncan / AP

Students and parents march to the high school in Chardon, Ohio, on March 1 to honor the three students who were killed in a shooting there Feb. 27. The school re-opened to parents and students Thursday and classes resume Friday.

Judicial Watch Files Brief with U.S. Supreme Court Challenging Constitutionality of Obamacare

by Tom Fitton 

 Posted Feb 29th 2012 at 4:50 pm

On February 13, 2012, Judicial Watch filed an amicus curiae brief with the High Court challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, specifically the “individual mandate.” The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for the Obamacare case on March 26, 27, and 28, 2012.

The brief maintains that the “individual mandate” provision of Obamacare, which requires every American citizen to purchase health care insurance or pay a penalty, is unconstitutional – whether considered under Congress’ commerce power or taxing power:

Petitioners are trying to defend a provision in an act passed by Congress that exceeds its enumerated powers. Though Congress enacted this provision under the Commerce Clause, Congress’ power under the clause is not broad enough to compel Americans to engage in commerce by purchasing a particular product. Though Petitioners try to rescue the provision by arguing that it is valid under Congress’ taxing power even if it is invalid under Congress’ commerce power, a provision of an act that is not a tax may not be construed as a tax merely to save it from being declared unconstitutional.

Judicial Watch lawyers point out that if the Supreme Court affirms the constitutionality of the individual mandate, “it must be willing to hold that Congress’ powers under the Commerce clause are plenary and unlimited, for there remains no principled way to limit Congress’ power if it is stretched as far as Petitioners [the Obama administration] ask.”

Florida federal district judge Roger Vinson perhaps put it more colorfully when he struck down the law in its entirety last year. If the government can force American taxpayers to buy health insurance, it can also force them to decide “whether and when (or not) to buy a house, a car, a television, a dinner or even a morning cup of coffee.”
The Judicial Watch amicus was filed in support of a challenge to Obamacare by Florida and 25 other states.
Demonstrating the importance of the legal battle over Obamacare, the Supreme Court will hear five-and-a-half hours of oral argument, a rare allotment of time in the court’s modern era. (The standard is one hour.) The Supreme Court’s scrutiny will focus on the constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate. However, the court will also consider whether other components of Obamacare could take effect even if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional, among other issues.
In a December 14, 2010, editorial published in The Washington Post, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius argued that the individual mandate is essential to Obamacare: “Without an individual responsibility provision (or mandate), controlling costs and ending discrimination against people with preexisting conditions doesn’t work.”In other words, not even the Obama administration itself believes the law can survive if the individual mandate is struck down.
Judicial Watch has been extremely active in the Obamacare debate right from the beginning. It has fought for transparency over the Obamacare waivers, ultimately discovering that Big Labor was taking in a disproportionate haul. It has exposed the Obama administration’s taxpayer-funded, multi-media propaganda campaign featuring television actor Andy Griffith.
Judicial Watch has also fought for records detailing Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s involvement in any Obamacare defense discussions when she served as Obama’s Solicitor General. (It uncovered documents that raised questions about her role, causing a national uproar about her continued involvement in the High Court’s Obamacare deliberations.)
The time has come for the Supreme Court to put an end to Obamacare once and for all. The President’s socialist healthcare overhaul is an affront to the U.S. Constitution’s provisions for limited government and, as you can see with the anti-religion Obamacare contraception mandate, a fundamental threat to our God-given freedoms.

Governor Luis Fortuño Predicts Puerto Rico Will Become 51st State

by Heritage Videos

This November, voters in Puerto Rico will have another opportunity to vote on becoming our 51st state. In an exclusive interview with The Heritage Foundation, Governor Luis Fortuño said the time is right. “We are already intertwined into the national fabric,” he explained, “And what needs to happen now is for us to fully partake into the decision making process here in Washington.”

He made the case that Puerto Ricans have actively contributed to America’s defense and deserve to have a say in the way their country is operated. “We have been American citizens since 1917. We have served in every war since then with valor and courage,” said Fortuño. He noted that despite their size, more than 21,000 men and women from Puerto Rico have volunteered to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan—more than 45 other states.

Watch our short interview to learn more about the prospects of Puerto Rican statehood, the impact of drug trafficking on the island, and the influence of Hugo Chavez on the region.

The interview runs about 4 minutes. Hosted by Rob Bluey and produced by Brandon Stewart. For more videos from Heritage, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Marvin E. Quasniki's Fireside Chat - The American Dream

Uploaded by Nerdist on Feb 28, 2012

Come rest your weary bones by the fire while presidential hopeful Marvin E. Quasniki explains his vision for the new American Dream.

Michigan: A Tie in the Number of Delegates

by Charles C. Johnson
As usual, the game’s rules have been misreported by our media. So what if Mitt Romney won the popular vote? Like the Scrabble player who boasts about the quality of words he is making and yet loses the game, this is simply not how the game of our politics is played.
While it is indeed the case that Mitt Romney won a plurality of the number of votes cast, and indeed, won more votes in 2012 than he did in 2008, he tied in the number of delegates awarded. It is that figure–the number of delegates awarded–that is the only figure that matters.
Have a look at the map here:

In other words, Santorum, if you break it down by congressional district, Santorum won five congressional districts controlled by Republicans and two controlled by Democrats, while Romney won four congressional seats controlled by Republicans and three controlled by Democrats. If you toss out Michigan’s 15th district (which was loss after the 2010 census because nobody wants to live in Michigan anymore) and don’t count the swing districts (which broke evenly) or the two very Democratic districts in Detroit that broke evenly, and average the partisan voting index of the districts won by Romney and Santorum, you get the following result: Santorum’s congressional districts were +2 Republican, while Romney’s were roughly +2 Democrat.  As Democratic areas tend to be more populous than Republican ones, this largely explains Romney’s victory.
This is important because it gives you a sense of how much of the appeal for Mitt Romney is in the states or areas that are the most Democratic. Given this break down, it’s easy to argue that Operation Hilarity fizzled. If it did, wouldn’t you expect more of the congressional districts controlled by Democrats to have voted for Rick Santorum? And yet that is not what happened.
As The Washington Post points out, this is because only 9% of Democrats voted in 2012. Though this figure is up from 7% in 2008, it is roughly half of the 17% of Democrats who voted for John McCain in 2000. In other words, it totally failed, most likely because the numbers of moderate Republicans or Independents outweighed the number of Democrats who bothered to vote.
The numbers of Romney’s victory then should give Romney cause for worry. He simply has not won Republican areas. Humorously, though, he’s now trying to claim that Santorum is the candidate of liberal Democrats in a new attack ad:

Of course, the implicit suggestion in this ad is that a bunch of Democrats in Detroit, one of America’s most liberal cities, know who is going to be a weaker candidate than Barack Obama, a president who, incidentally, has one of the lowest approval ratings in swing states. I have a hard time buying that for several reasons.
The Democratic Party has officially abandoned the white working class, as The New York Times reported. The white working class supported the Republicans in the 2010 election by a record-setting 63-33. It would seem, then, that this is fertile ground for the Republicans to make still more inroads and therefore win the election, but Romney has all but been written off by this key demographic of the 2012 elections.  If the economy is his salient issue, why is he doing so poorly among the people that would most benefit from the economy’s turn around? The white, non-college educated working class.
Once again, as elsewhere, Romney won those who had at least some college and those making more than $100,000 a year, while Santorum won those who had no college and make less than $100,000 a year. This is very bad news for Romney moving forward, and the signs of it have been clear ever since the beginning. In Florida, Romney won the suburban and urban areas. In South Carolina, he won the capitol and not much else. He has done very poorly among those he most needs.
Demographer Joel Kotkin points out that while cities continue to get larger, so too do the white exurbs. It could very well be argued that part of the reason that Democrats tend to be so hostile to “suburban sprawl” is that they are trying to water down the Republican vote by restricting the number of homes that can be built or purchased thereabouts.
Going forward, there will be a very serious problem for Mitt Romney in the Republican party. He’s running out of blue (or purple) states he will never win in a general election. His challenge will be to see if he can win a single Republican, non-Mormon-dominated state. Thus far, he hasn’t, and he is running out time to do a turn around of his own campaign. Unfortunately for Romney, he doesn’t seem to notice this problem.
For Santorum, his challenge is whether or not he can appeal to women, particularly white working class women. If he can, he will win the election. If he cannot, he will not. It’s really that simple. Indeed, had Santorum performed equal to how he performed with men, he would have defeated Romney on his home turf. Fortunately for Santorum, he does seem to know this, which was why he mentioned the three women that have been most present in his life–his mother, his wife, and his daughter.
To keep women from turning on Santorum, expect him to try to sure up endorsements from prominent Republican women, and perhaps the queen of the right, herself, Sarah Palin, whose very femininity and conservatism is a heady brew.

Conservative firebrand Andrew Breitbart has died at age 43

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart died early this morning at the age of 43. Msnbc's Chuck Todd reports.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Andrew Breitbart, the conservative firebrand and Web publisher, has died, according to his Big Government website. In a brief post, the site said he died at age 43 of natural causes.
His death was confirmed to msnbc.com by the Los Angeles Coroner's Office.
According to the Associated Press,  Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight Thursday when he collapsed, his father-in-law Orson Bean said.
Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center, Bean said.
Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.
"I don't know what to say. It's devastating," Bean told The Associated Press. He is survived by his wife Susannah Bean Breitbart, 41, and four children.
Breitbart, in addition to publishing a number of websites devoted to repudiating what he saw as the liberal-dominated coverage of politics and culture, once served as an editor for the Drudge Report and helped Arianna Huffington launch the Huffington Post website.
One of Breitbart's notable efforts was the controversial investigations that led to the resignations of former Rep. Anthony Weiner and former Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod. Last year, Sherrod brought a legal action for defamation against Breitbart.
In addition to his Web properties, Breitbart was also very active on Twitter, where he often retweeted criticism from some of his harshest critics. The last tweet from his account was from late Wednesday.
Following news of his death, Breitbart's name shot to the top of Twitter trends.
In addition, a number of Republican lawmakers tweeted their sympathies.

• Eric Cantor ‏ @EricCantor  I'm stunned to hear about the passing of Andrew Breitbart. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Susie, his children, and his friends
• Thaddeus McCotter ‏ @ThadMcCotter  Good by & God bless, Brother Andrew. You are loved & mourned & ever remembered. biggovernment.com/lsolov/2012/03…
• Herman Cain ‏ @THEHermanCain  I admired @AndrewBreitbart's fighting spirit. Thoughts & Prayers to his family. He was my friend & I will miss him #RIP
• Rep Blake Farenthold (R-TX)‏ @farenthold RIP Andrew Breitbart your conservative voice will be missed and your family is in my prayers.

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

by Larry Solov

With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart.

Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.
We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior.
Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love.
Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, Righteous Indignation:

I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.
Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.

Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.

Senate defeats limit on birth control coverage

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By Tom Curry, msnbc.com National Affairs Writer

Updated at 12:05 PM ET
The Senate Thursday defeated a proposal that would have allowed employers and health plans regulated by the 2010 health care law to opt out of paying for medical services that are contrary to their religious beliefs or moral convictions.
The vote to defeat the proposal was 51 to 48, with one Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, voting with 50 Democrats against the amendment offered by Sen. Roy Blunt, R- Mo.
Three Democrats, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, voted with most Republicans for the proposal.
Blunt and his allies said it was necessary to protect the First Amendment conscience rights of religiously affiliated employers to not pay for medical services such as contraceptives which they oppose on moral grounds.
Related: Birth control a wedge issue for both parties
Lining up on the other side were senators, mostly Democrats, who said that Blunt and his allies were trying to deny women necessary medical services that should be paid for by employers under the Affordable Care Act.
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney created confusion on the eve of Thursday’s Senate vote by first telling a reporter in Ohio that he opposed the Blunt amendment, but then shortly after saying he’d misunderstood the reporter’s question and did in fact support the amendment.
Adding to the embarrassment for Romney was the fact that Blunt is his most prominent supporter in the Senate. “Of course Roy Blunt, who is my liaison to the Senate, is someone I support and of course I support that amendment,” Romney told Boston radio host Howie Carr.
In the 2010 health care overhaul, Congress gave the secretary of Health and Human Services the power to decide exactly what services must be paid for by most employers and their insurance plans as “essential health benefits.”
Three weeks ago, President Barack Obama tried to defuse a controversy over religious affiliated employers covering contraceptives by requiring their insurance plans to pay for them – but that leaves the problem of those employers who self-insure.
A supporter of the Blunt amendment, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R- N.H. told the Senate Wednesday that “this debate comes down to the legacy left behind by our Founding Fathers… We have a choice between being responsible stewards of their legacy as reflected in the First Amendment to the Constitution, or allowing the federal government to interfere in religious life in an unprecedented way…. If we allow the government to dictate the coverage and plans paid for by a religious institution, that’s the first step down a slippery slope.”
Leading the opposition to the Blunt proposal, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., said “right wing Republicans” were “trying to take away women’s health care.”
The Blunt amendment, she said, “not only says that any insurer or any employer for any reason could stop women from getting access to contraception, it could also stop all of our families from getting access to essential health care services….”
 She said that under the Blunt amendment if an employer had a moral objection to an employee who smoked, the employer would be able to deny smoking cessation treatment to that employee.
She gave another hypothetical of an employer who refuses to pay for diabetes treatment: “Someone who may have diabetes, and the employer or the insurer says, ‘You know what? That was your problem; you ate too much sugar as a kid. Too bad.’”
Thursday’s vote is likely to be a litmus test that will be used by both Democrats and Republicans in Senate campaigns in the fall.
Among Republicans in competitive Senate races this November, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts has already said he supports the Blunt amendment.