Animated history of the US. Of course the cartoon is highly oversimplified, and most critics consider it one of the weakest parts of the film. But it makes a valid claim which you ignore entirely: That the strategy to promote "gun rights" for white people and to outlaw gun possession by black people was a way to uphold racism without letting an openly terrorist organization like the KKK flourish. Did the 19th century NRA in the southern states promote gun rights for black people? I highly doubt it. But if they didn't, one of their functions was to continue the racism of the KKK. This is the key message of this part of the animation, which is again being ignored by its critics. Buell shooting in Flint. You write: "Fact: The little boy was the class thug, already suspended from school for stabbing another kid with a pencil, and had fought with Kayla the day before". This characterization of a six-year-old as a pencil-stabbing thug is exactly the kind of hysteria that Moore's film warns against. It is the typical right-wing reaction which looks for simple answers that do not contradict the Republican mindset. The kid was a little bastard, and the parents were involved in drugs -- case closed. But why do people deal with drugs? Because it's so much fun to do so? It is by now well documented that the CIA tolerated crack sales in US cities to fund the operation of South American "contras" It is equally well known that the so-called "war on drugs" begun under the Nixon administration is a failure which has cost hundreds of billions and made America the world leader in prison population (both in relative and absolute numbers). 

Question: "Which key message(s) do(es) this passage say the critics ignored?"

Response: "The strategy to promote "gun rights" for white people while outlawing it for black people allowed racisim to continue without allowing to KKK to flourish"

A: yes


Captured Moments by Will Shetterly I remember Papa's stopbox, a teal blue Tiempo Capturado that Mama brought home for his birthday. It was huge and inefficient, and she should never have spent so many pesos on a toy, but Papa would not let her return it. He used it to preserve baby tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries in translucent cubes that he stored in the pantry for spring-time meals in the middle of winter. Mama kept her mink jacket, a family hand-me-down, safe from time in a stopbox, and lent the capturador to my uncle for his stamp collection. Sometimes they would let us little ones to seal a treasured toy or a last piece of birthday cake until we begged them for its release, usually a few hours after enclosing it. When my father died, a year after my mother, my sisters and I cleaned out their apartment. We found our baby shoes protected in stopboxes. I took mine home, where they sat above my computer while I worked on my first play. One night when I did not believe love had ever existed for anyone, I used my own capturador, a sleek titanium Sanyo Tardar Ahora, to undo the stopbox. Bringing my face close to the shoes, I breathed deeply of air that my parents had trapped while closing up that symbol of their love for me. The instant would have been improved had my baby shoes been cleaned before they were encased. But as soon as I coughed, I laughed, and I did not try to kill myself that night. 

Question: "What reason did the author give for coughing after breathing in the air from the stopbox the baby shoes were stored in?"

Response: "The baby shoes were not cleaned"

A: yes


A West Tennessee nonprofit organization will use a $300,000 federal grant to hire an attorney and a Spanish-speaking paralegal to help provide legal assistance to domestic violence victims. The U.S. Department of Justice two-year grant will begin Oct. 1, which is the start of domestic violence awareness month. U.S. Rep. John Tanner announced Monday that the grant was awarded to West Tennessee Legal Services of Jackson. The organization provides legal assistance and advocacy in 17 counties. "This award will offer assistance as we look for whatever ways possible to stop domestic violence and help the women, men and children who are victims of abuse," Tanner said in a news statement. The organization doesn't have a staff member who speaks Spanish and the need is increasing with growing Hispanic populations, said the organization's executive director Steven Xanthopoulos. He estimated the money will help handle at least another 180 cases next year. The group closes about 2,500 cases a year. The money was timed well because the legal group had recently lost about $120,000 in grant money due to a decrease in the poverty population in West Tennessee in Census 2000, Xanthopoulos said. "The drop in poverty is a good thing, but there is still a great need out there," he said. "So this was a very good thing." Having legal representation at divorce and child custody hearings is important in helping victims leave abusive and sometimes dangerous situations, said Margaret Cole, executive director of Wo/Men's Resource and Rape Assistance Program in Jackson. Her organization and Northwest Safeline are partners in the grant. Northwest Safeline, based in Dyersburg, is a family violence intervention project that serves Dyer, Obion, Lake and Crockett counties. 

Question: "How many cases does the West Tennessee Legal Services of Jackson close a year?"

Response: "About 2500"

A:
yes