The Daily Moth 8-30-19
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It’s Friday, August 30. Ready for news?
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August 30 Top News Briefs
Here are six top news briefs.
The first — A military judge has set January 11, 2021 as the start of a trial at Guantanamo Bay of five men who are charged as plotters of the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. The men face the death penalty. There will be a military jury and the trial will be at a war court facility in Cuba.
The second — a professional race car driver, Jessi Combs, was killed on Tuesday in a crash while attempting to break her own land speed record in a jet car at the Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon. She was 39. The cause of the crash is under investigation. She was known for her roles on television shows “Mythbusters” and “Xtreme 4x4.”
The third news — the Justice Department’s inspector general said former FBI Director James Comey violated FBI policies when he gave memos that detailed his private conversations with President Trump to a reporter after he was fired. The inspector general said this set a dangerous example for FBI employees, but did not say that Comey leaked classified information. There will be no prosecution against Comey.
The fourth news — a 19-year-old freshman at High Point University in North Carolina was arrested and accused of planning a mass shooting. Law enforcement said he had illegal possession of a pistol and a shotgun in his dorm room and that he was planning a shooting since last December.
The fifth news — a federal judge formally dismissed the criminal sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein because he died by suicide by hanging in jail several weeks ago, but the investigation on his alleged crimes and possible co-conspirators will continue.
Epstein’s lawyers said they doubted a medical examiner’s conclusion that Epstein hanged himself. There are already several investigations on breaches of protocol by jail staff prior to Epstein’s death.
The sixth news — there are 215 possible cases in the U.S. of severe lung disease from vaping. One woman from Illinois died last week from critical lung disease that is suspected to be caused by vaping, but it is not known what products the person took. There is suspicion that the illnesses are from bootleg or street vaping products.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration are working together to investigate what is causing this. They said many of the cases are from vape products that have THC or CBD in it, but other cases have come up from those who use nicotine products.
Those who have the lung disease show symptoms that include breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, chest pain, vomiting and diarrhea, or fevers and fatigue.
9/11: https://nyti.ms/2LkY0jo
Jessi Combs: https://people.com/tv/mythbusters-jessi-combs-dead-jet-car-crash/
Comey: https://www.apnews.com/ee2870cb0c9148e08161d851b26092e9
College Student: https://myfox8.com/2019/08/28/high-point-university-found-with-guns-on-campus-had-plans-to-shoot-up-school-police-say/
Epstein: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-jeffrey-epstein-idUSKCN1VJ28B?utm_source=reddit.com
Vaping: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/cdc-investigating-215-possible-cases-of-vaping-related-severe-lung-disease.html
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Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind wants their deaf principal back
On August 1st, the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) decided to replace Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind’s (HSDB) deaf principal of 3 three years, Dr. Angel Ramos, with a hearing principal that the HSDB community says has no experience or background in Deaf Education.
In Hawai’i, being a principal is equivalent to being a superintendent. The HSDB community is speaking out to get their deaf principal back.
Dr. Ramos has over 30 years of experience in the field of Deaf Education with 14 years of experience of being a principal/superintendent. He was the first Deaf Hispanic/Latino person to receive a doctorate from Gallaudet University and the second Deaf Hispanic/Latino person to receive a PhD in this country as Dr. Robert Davila was the first. His first job was a NYC taxi driver and later became a superintendent. He is very active in the Deaf community and he published a book.
The Daily Moth reached out to the leaders of a group that prefer to call themselves Nā Kiaʻi o ke Kula Kuli which means “protectors of the deaf school” to explain what is going on.
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TOM GRAHAM:
We work at Hawaii School for the Deaf (HSDB) where it happened on August 1st. Our deaf principal Dr. Angel Ramos was forcibly reassigned.
COLLEEN CIDADE:
Reassigned to where? At a hearing school. Right now, our principal at HSDB is a hearing person who does not sign. This person’s background in deaf education is severely lacking. How does this person communicate as a hearing principal? With ASL interpreters all day long. Not only that, with Angel reassigned, he also now requires an interpreter assigned to him all day as well. With both in consideration, we’re spending such a large amount of money towards funding these interpreters! My goodness.
GRAHAM:
When he came here, our programs have shown improvement over 3 years including the ASL, Robotics and many other programs. We’ve shown progress, but now all that work is gone! The staff here at HSDB are just feeling completely thrown off.
CIDADE:
It’s not only that! There have been students who have come up to us asking, “Where’s Angel? Where’s Angel?” I’d be completely stumped and heartbroken. I decided to do something about this by setting up a protector movement. I’m not talking about a protest! It’s a protector movement and we have to do it for the sake of our deaf children’s future, am I right?!
GRAHAM:
Yep! So please support us!
BOTH:
Aloha!
We also got comments from HSDB students sharing how they felt about Dr. Ramos being replaced.
EVA, 7thgrade:
During the student’s first day at school, we saw that there was a different school principal! I was really disappointed, and I want to have him (Dr. Ramos) back!
ZACHARY, 12thgrade:
Yeah, and I know that there are plenty of us whose principal has been traditionally hearing. It’s always been the same story until finally we got a principal who is deaf! That’s so far out! Imagine a principal you could easily communicate and connect with each morning when we have the time to just chat! And now, we’re back to a hearing principal once again. What’s up with that?
EVA:
Dr. Angel places an emphasis on the CARES philosophy: Communication, Aloha, Respect, Responsibility, Effort and Self-Control. It’s about family, ohana.
ZACHARY:
You know, I have 3 cousins, one of who is about 3 or 4 years old. Once the kid asked me, “Where’s Angel?” That was incredibly heartbreaking for me. This kid really looked up to Angel as a role model.
BOTH STUDENTS:
We want Angel back!
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We reached out to HIDOE for their comments about this situation. The Communications Director, Lindsay Chambers, responded and said that HIDOE cannot share anything related with this. Chambers mentioned that HIDOE does recognize the unique supports needed at HSDB and will continue to give ongoing support.
Today the HIDOE will go to HSDB to talk to some teachers. The protest to have Dr. Ramos back starts today. It will continue until September 24th. There will be people flying in from Maui to be involved. September 24th is the final date for the decision on whether Dr. Ramos will return to HSDB or stay at the public school he is currently being placed at.
The group of protectors have developed a website called “HSDB Soar” that you can see various videos and updates. There is also a petition that over 1,500 people have already signed. Their goal is to reach 2,500.
(PICTURE OF WEBSITE AND PETITION)
You can find links to HSDB Soar and the petition in the transcript below.
Stay tuned for more updates.
PETITION LINK
https://www.change.org/p/hawai-i-school-for-the-deaf-and-the-blind-save-our-angel-ramos-hsdb-soar?recruiter=993514368&recruited_by_id=afc70380-c248-11e9-8a96-91
WEBSITE:
https://www.hsdbsoar.org
DR. ANGEL RAMOS:
http://hsdb.k12.hi.us/about-hsdb/administration/profile-dr-angel-ramos/
Ramos’ book: https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Spirit-Chronicle-Angel-Ramos/dp/0974143014
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Deaf man describes surviving Hurricane Andrew in 1992
Hurricane Dorian is now a Category 3 and is forecast to turn into a 4 when it strikes Florida on Monday. It is being compared to Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm that struck Florida with 175 mph winds in 1992, killing 65 people and causing over $27 billion in damage.
I want to show you an interview with Andrés ‘Flash’ Otalora, who was seriously injured by the hurricane.
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ANDRÉS ‘FLASH’ OTALORA:
I’m a survivor of Hurricane Andrew. It happened on August 24, 1992.
On August 22, it was my father’s 50th birthday celebration. There were some warnings of a hurricane coming but I didn’t fully grasp it.
On August 23 during the evening, that’s when it started getting intense. Inside of the house, I could feel pressure. I had to pop my ears. I’d never experienced that kind of pressure. I felt rattling and you could hear things striking the house. I’m not sure what they were, maybe a garbage can or a tree branch. The TV went black. The telephone lines went out as well. There was no way to call 911 or anything. You were stuck inside of the house.
I felt more and more pressure. I was sleeping on the couch when all of a sudden the roof collapsed. The beam hit my knee, causing it to shift the other way with two bones snapping. The bones were sticking out of the skin.
I was out of it. My father dragged me into the bathroom. Of course, I didn’t feel it as I was more focused on trying to survive. The rainwater was really sharp and burning me. You couldn’t open your eyes because was so painful. The rain was relentless.
It finally stopped about 8 or 9 in the morning. I was bleeding really badly. My father was trying to console me. When I saw my knee, I passed out. I lost a lot of blood. I remember one guy who helped me into his station wagon. It had those wooden sides. I forgot what they were called. I remember the guy picking me up and my leg was just dangling. I was placed in the back of the car. I saw everything outside and it felt like the twilight zone.
Roofs were ripped apart. Military was everywhere. When we got to the hospital, there were so many people and insufficient space for hospital rooms. I had to stay on a bed in the hallway lined up with others. There was no air conditioning because there was no electricity. Everyone was screaming, including myself. I was in a lot of pain. Doctors decided to transfer me to a Fort Lauderdale hospital where there was air conditioning and experienced doctors who could perform the surgery on my leg. It took around nine months to start walking again.
Today, I still think about the hurricane. When I’m sleeping, I do… dream about it sometimes. But I have a good life, I travel, I have a family, a job, my daughter, and my dog. Friends. Life is good. Don’t take things for granted.
If a hurricane was coming, I would evacuate. I don’t want to experience a hurricane again. It’s not something you want to challenge, it’s not an “experience” to be had.
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ALEX:
Thank you, Flash, for sharing your story. It is a wake-up call that hurricanes are not something to be taken lightly.
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That is all for this week. Thank you for watching “The Daily Moth.” Follow us on Facebook for the latest. Have a wonderful weekend and stay with the light!
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Convo [https://convo.click/2mVhM8h]
Gallaudet University: [gallaudet.edu]