Should Giffords resign?

(CNN) -- In the months since the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, reports about her condition have been sparse. We have learned of a follow-up surgery to repair her skull and that she was recently released from a rehabilitation hospital.

Also released were a set of photos. We still, however, do not know the extent of her injuries. Out of respect for the privacy of the family, the media has not delved too deeply into the more common and troubling aftereffects of a serious trauma to the brain.

Should the media and the public be so reluctant to demand more information? The Arizona Democrat is not just a private citizen; she is a sitting member of Congress. Do Giffords' responsibilities demand a more searching inquiry into her health? No one is asking this question because it seems moot.

In reality, the congresswoman is not carrying out any of these responsibilities.

Even from the limited information that has been made available, we know that for the near term Giffords cannot carry out her committee assignments, debate on the floor of the House, and, most importantly cast a vote. The result is that for all intents and purposes, the gunman's bullet that so severely injured Giffords also silenced the people of Arizona's 8th Congressional District.

Isn't the obvious solution for her to resign and allow Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to call a special election to fill her seat? I know that this sounds cruel and heartless. After all, not only is Gabrielle Giffords not responsible for what happened to her, but in a sense she sacrificed herself, having been attacked while performing the quintessential democratic act of meeting with her constituents.

The problem is that we so often think of resignation as a sort of punishment for bad behavior. And it seems a perversion to use the names Gabrielle Gifford and Anthony Weiner, who resigned last week in a sex scandal, in the same sentence, much less to dole out to them a common punishment.

But to view resignation as only appropriate in the aftermath of misdeeds shows a misunderstanding of the what it means to be a member of Congress.

Yes, to be an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives is an honor. To be forced or coerced to give up an honor is a form of punishment.

Being a member of Congress, however, is also a job. More than that, it is a job that lies at the heart of our democracy. Although we all wish Giffords a swift and full recovery, we also wish the nearly 650,000 residents of her district to be represented in Congress. While her staff may still be in place, being assisted no doubt by other members of Congress, the staff cannot vote.

I write from experience. In the summer of 2002, the congressman who represented my Ohio district, Jim Traficant, was expelled from Congress.

Then-Gov. Robert Taft, in an act that would later be declared unconstitutional by a federal court, decided not to call for a special election. Many reasons were cited, the most important being cost and the fact that the congressional session was nearly over.

The result was that those of us in Ohio's 17th Congressional District were, from July 24 of 2002 until the new Congress convened over five months later, in much the same condition as citizens in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. On the floor of the House of Representatives, we did not count.

Did anything of importance happen during that time?

Well, none of the appropriation bills for fiscal 2003 had yet passed. More significantly, on October 16, 2002, the House voted to authorize the use of military force in Iraq.

Would my congressman's vote have made a difference in any of these votes? Probably not, but that's not the point. Democracy is about participation, not results.

This indeed is what Gabrielle Giffords would be signifying should she decide to resign. She would, after all, be replaced by someone chosen by the very voters that she risked her life to hear from on that terrible day in January.

I am also fairly confident that there are at least a few qualified candidates who the congresswoman herself might approve to serve in her place. I hear, for example, that there is an astronaut who might be looking for work this fall.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul Sracic.

CNN

UN: Ivory Coast should act on violations

Alassane Ouattara has urged the ICC to investigate major crimes committed during Ivory Coast's political standoff.The west African nation plunged into bloody chaos after a disputed vote "We need concerted action designed to break the cycle of impunity," U.N. official saysU.N. official expresses concern over violence

(CNN) -- The Ivory Coast should break a cycle of impunity and arrest perpetrators of human rights violations and other abuses after a disputed election last year, a top U.N. official said.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said she is concerned by the violence following the disputed election, including reports of summary executions, rape, torture and the use of children by parties to the conflict.

"We need concerted action designed to break the cycle of impunity, bring perpetrators to justice and rehabilitate victims in their rights and dignity," Pillay said in a statement Wednesday.

The west African nation plunged into bloody chaos after a disputed presidential vote in November.

Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo defied international calls to step down after he lost the election to Alassane Ouattara.

Forces loyal to Quattara seized the leader in April, essentially ousting him and ending the political stalemate that had raged for four months.

Rights groups have said both sides violated human rights.

"Some of the crimes committed during the post electoral crisis are particularly serious and might well constitute crimes against humanity," said Vitit Muntabhorn, who leads the commission of inquiry into Ivory Coast.

"This can be said for example of the generalized and systematic attacks on communities who were targeted because of their supposed political beliefs or their ethnicity."

More than 300,000 people are still displaced two months after the political crisis was settled, the United Nations refugee agency said this week.

Displaced people are further at risk because they are in areas with food shortages and the threat of disease, heightened by the rainy season,

Ongoing violence has also prevented their return home.

Communal tensions are still high in the southwestern Sassandra region, where more than 280 civilians were killed last month by mercenaries on the run from the commercial capital of Abidjan, the U.N. refugee agency said.

"Many of the dead are buried in mass graves," said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the refugee agency.

About 17,000 people are displaced in that region, including an unknown number still hiding in the forest, she said.

Ouattara has urged the International Criminal Court to investigate major crimes committed during the political standoff.

This month, the United Nations called for investigations after reports of attacks by forces loyal to Ouattara in areas known to support Gbagbo.

"The new government must show zero tolerance for the behavior of some elements of the Republican troops who continue to commit exactions," Muntabhorn said.

Ouattara has said he plans to set up a truth and reconciliation commission.

CNN's Ben Brumfield contributed to this report

CNN

Should You Build That Website You've Been Talking About? [FLOWCHART] (Mashable)

So you've got a great idea for a website. That makes you and about 17 bajillion others. When it comes to committing to building a site or app, there are a ton of factors to take into consideration. Even if you have a killer idea or two, you still need skills, chops, and a web-savvy posse to help you execute and promote your site.

[More from Mashable: How to Decide Whether Your Business Needs an App [INFOGRAPHIC]]

Here's a handy flowchart from creative marketplace Vitamin Talent to help you decide whether it's time to build an awesome website, time to go back to school, time to hire a dev or two, or time to go back to the drawing board.

If this flowchart is really lighting a fire under your most recent website idea, you can also check out our lists of resources for devs and web designers and free sites for learning how to code.

[More from Mashable: Is There a Social Media Tech Bubble? [INFOGRAPHIC]]

Click image to see larger version.

[Source: Vitamin Talent]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Yahoo! News

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Should bin Laden bounty go to 9/11 victims' families?

New York (CNN) -- Any unclaimed bounty money from the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden should go to the first responders, victims' families and survivors of the 9/11 terror attacks, a pair of New York congressmen said Sunday.

Reps. Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler have introduced legislation that would award up to $50 million of the bounty approved by Congress to help fund organizations that provide health care, psychological care and other resources to those most directly affected in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"These programs are ones that desperately need funding that are still everyday dealing with the ramifications of September 11," Weiner said at a news conference from ground zero.

"Hopefully they will now benefit from this reward money."

The bounty is part of the Rewards for Justice program run by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Since its creation in 1984, it has paid out over $100 million to more than 60 people.

The State Department approved a bounty of up to $25 million for bin Laden in 2001. Three years later, Congress authorized raising the figure to $50 million, although it was never increased by the State Department.

The program grants money to people who provided "actionable information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide," according to its website.

"The department does not generally discuss nominations for awards," State Department spokesman Harry Edwards said shortly after bin Laden was killed last week. The offer, he added, is for a maximum of $25 million. "If it were paid, it could be less."

It is possible that no reward money will be granted. Unidentified detainees provided a key piece of information that helped investigators locate bin Laden, Obama administration officials said.

Even if only a portion of the reward money is given out, the lawmakers plan to introduce legislation to Congress that would funnel the remainder to groups that help survivors and family members "so it doesn't sit fallow in a bank account." Weiner said

"[The reward] was allocated for 9/11 victims in effect, and this is simply, saying use it more effectively for the purpose that it was set up in the first place," Nadler said.

The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 paid out an average of $2.1 million to thousands of victims' family members who filed claims in the wake of the terrorist attacks, the fund's website said. In addition, survivors who filed personal injury claims with the fund were awarded payments ranging from $500 to $8.6 million.

The State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore had no comment on the possible legislation Sunday night.

CNN's Ben Rooney contributed to this report.

CNN

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