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I worked long and hard to see Sharice David's name on this wall

San Jose mayor hit by SUV while bicycling

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, an avid bicyclist, was struck by an SUV on New Year’s Day while cycling on Salt Lake Drive near the east foothills, a San Jose spokesman confirmed.

The mayor of the nation’s 10th largest city was not severely injured in the accident, which occurred at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, though he did suffer “minor fractures,” according to a written statement released Tuesday evening by the mayor’s office.

However, his best friend, Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said he apparently broke his collar bone and a chest bone, and suffered neck and back injuries as well.

Liccardo will remain at Regional Medical Center in San Jose for at least one night, according to the mayor’s spokesman, David Low.

Low described the mayor as “a bit banged up, but it’s nothing overly serious.”

In the statement issued Tuesday evening, the mayor was feeling well enough to joke: “Fortunately, the doctors state that all defects to the head were pre-existing conditions.”

The accident occurred when the driver of the vehicle was making a right turn, Guardino said. The driver of the vehicle pulled over and stayed at the scene, while Liccardo was taken to the hospital to be checked out, according to the written statement.

The driver of the 2002 SUV was not arrested, according to San Jose police. Drugs and alcohol were not suspected either, a spokeswoman said.



https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/01/san-jose-mayor-hit-by-car-while-bicycling/

Some American Ikea employees are getting slapped with pay cuts -- and they worry it'll spark a exodus

Some Ikea US store employees will be ringing in the new year with pay cuts.

Employees have told Business Insider that some managers and team leads have had their salaries slashed, thanks to O4G — or organization for growth.

O4G, which officially rolled out on October 15, 2017 throughout Ikea US, restructured store employee roles and store departments. As a result of altered job descriptions and the elimination of certain shopkeeper-level gigs, some employees will see a pay cut on January 1, 2019. One employee even described the situation of a colleague who was told a promotion would come with a pay cut, thanks to the restructuring.

Affected employees have been aware of said cuts since O4G launched. In its initial announcement regarding the restructuring, Ikea US also extended pay protection until 2019.

O4G has proven controversial with employees, to the extent that Ikea US President Lars Petersson recently apologized to workers for issues with its rollout. Ikea US has also announced its intention of bumping up the pay for employees in certain stores and departments. Still, many employees, whom Ikea calls coworkers, took issue with the method by which Ikea US went about launching O4G — especially in regards to the pay cuts.

"Everyone would have respected Ikea more if they'd done something dramatic like shutting down for a half a day so that they could get a meeting with all the coworkers and just say, 'Listen, we realize that we've been doing some things wrong,'" former customer-service coordinator Gene Bender told Business Insider.


https://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Some-American-Ikea-employees-are-getting-slapped-13501600.php?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Mitt Romney: The president shapes the public character of the nation. Trump's character falls short.

The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December. The departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F.?Kelly, the appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president’s thoughtless claim that America has long been a “sucker” in world affairs all defined his presidency down.

It is well known that Donald Trump was not my choice for the Republican presidential nomination. After he became the nominee, I hoped his campaign would refrain from resentment and name-calling. It did not. When he won the election, I hoped he would rise to the occasion. His early appointments of Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Nikki Haley, Gary Cohn, H.R. McMaster, Kelly and Mattis were encouraging. But, on balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.

It is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided. He was right to align U.S. corporate taxes with those of global competitors, to strip out excessive regulations, to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, to reform criminal justice and to appoint conservative judges. These are policies mainstream Republicans have promoted for years. But policies and appointments are only a part of a presidency.

To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. A president should unite us and inspire us to follow “our better angels.” A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit. With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romney-the-president-shapes-the-public-character-of-the-nation-trumps-character-falls-short/2019/01/01/37a3c8c2-0d1a-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?utm_term=.210e72185c44

Ohio doctor fired by hospital after saying she would give Jews 'the wrong meds'

A hospital in Cleveland reportedly fired a resident after it was discovered she had been sharing anti-Semitic comments on social media.

Cleveland.com reported on Sunday that the Cleveland Clinic confirmed that Lara Kollab is no longer working with the organization after having only worked as a supervised resident with the clinic from July to September last year.

“She is no longer working at Cleveland Clinic. In no way do these beliefs reflect those of our organization. We fully embrace diversity, inclusion and a culture of safety and respect across our entire health system,” the organization also said in a statement on Sunday.

According to Times of Israel, Kollab had a history of making anti-Semitic comments on social media for years, dating back to 2011.

Kollab had reportedly called for violence against Jews in several tweets, in which she also referred to Jews as "dogs" and compared Israel to the Nazi regime.

Kollab could also be seen saying she would “purposely give all the yahood the wrong meds,” using the Arabic word for Jews, in a screenshot of a tweet made in 2012 shared by the publication.


https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/423410-ohio-doctor-who-said-she-would-give-jews-the-wrong-meds-fired?__twitter_impression=true

Politico questions Warren's "likability".

Bonus Tweet of the Day

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sworn into office (Video after the link)