Every year, thousands of people seek asylum in the United States because they have been persecuted in other countries due to their race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion. In seeking refuge and protection, these immigrants must rely on the American court system to help them achieve safety from the great harm they have suffered. In her unique and compelling judicial memoir, Susan Yarbrough, a former US immigration judge, highlights five significant asylum cases that she heard and decided during almost eighteen years on the benchcases that profoundly changed her not only as a judge, but also as a person. Yarbrough recounts heartrending testimony described against the background of the countries in which the persecution took place, following each account with personal reflections on how she was emotionally and spiritually transformed by each person who testified. From Josu Maldonado, persecuted in El Salvador because of his religion, to Daniel Quetzal, an Indian from Guatemala who was tied naked to a pole and tortured because of his political opinion, the cases that the author shares provide an unforgettable glimpse into the lives of courageous people who risked everything for peace and freedom in the United States. Bench-Pressed is the story of five asylum seekers and the judge who was irrevocably changed by the intersection of her life with theirs.

In the late 1980s, Sven Lindqvist fell into conversation with an evangelical bodybuilder while relaxing in the sauna after his weekly swim. The conversation challenged Lindqvist's view of the sport as macho and vain and individualistic and led to his first attendance at the local gym. In Bench Press, Lindqvist takes us through his own journey in the gym, but also tells us the entertaining and bizarre history of bodybuilding and meditates on what its increased popularity tells us about contemporary society.

An amazing interview with the FIRST man to Officially Bench Press 700+ lbs. Ted Arcidi, the Boss of the Bench Press, is interviewed by bodybuilding historian Dennis B. Weis "The Yukon Hercules." During the time that Ted officially broke the 700 lb. Bench Press barrier he was in a 4th dimension of POWERLIFTING where no other man had journeyed. Powerlifters throughout the world knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that a 700 lb. Bench Press was now possible through the precedent Ted had set in this lift. Ted’s journey continued into a no man’s land where he set new standards of excellence for elite bench pressers the world over. If you love the Bench Press, this book will blow your mind!

Federal court confirmations in the United States have become openly political affairs, with partisans lining up to support their preferred candidates. Matters in the states are not much different, with once sleepy judicial elections changing into ever more contentious political slugfests, replete with single-issue interest groups and negative campaign advertising. Once on the bench, judges at every level find themselves dogged by charges of politically motivated decision-making. In this first-of-its-kind collection, prominent figures from the academy, the bench, and the press reflect on the state of the American judiciary. Using the results of a specially commissioned public opinion poll as a starting point, the contributors examine the complex mix of legal principle, political maneuvering, and press coverage that swirl around judicial selection and judicial decision making today. Essays examine the rise of explicitly political state judicial elections, the merits of judicial appointments, the rhetoric of federal judicial confirmation hearings, the quality of legal reporting, the portrayal of courts on the Internet, the inevitable tensions between judges and journalists, and the importance of regulating judicial appearances. Contributors Include: Keith J. Bybee, Charles Gardner Geyh, G. Alan Tarr, Harold See, James E. Graves, Jr., John M. Walker, Jr., Joanne F. Alper, Mark Obbie, Dahlia Lithwick, Tom Goldstein, and Anthony Lewis.

Back in the early 1990’s the 700 pound bench press wars were in their infancy and it was no surprise when I received a long distance phone call from Publisher and Executive Editor of MuscleMag International, Robert Kennedy to tell me about another new member of the elite 700 pound bench press club . His call was to inform me that a Super Heavyweight powerlifter named Ken Lain had broken Ted Arcidi’s 705.5 pound world record bench press, with a dynamic and successful attempt of 708.3 pounds and only on his second attempt, at The Deadliest Deadlift In the World meet in Longview, Texas on October 7, 1989. This e-book contains the contents of my 1990 interview for MuscleMag with Ken Lain regarding his training principles. Who is "The Yukon Hercules" You Ask? Dennis B. Weis is a Ketchikan, Alaska-based power/bodybuilder. He is a hard-hitting, uncompromising freelance professional writer and investigative research consultant in the fields of bodybuilding, nutrition, physiology, and powerlifting. Dennis was first published over two decades ago (1976) in the pages of Iron Man magazine. Since that time he has become known to almost every mainstream bodybuilding/physique magazine's readership throughout the United States and Europe. The magazines that publish his articles include and are not limited to Bodybuilding Monthly (U.K. publication), Exercise For Men Only, Hardgainer (Nicosia, Cyprus, publication), Iron Man, Muscle & Fitness, Muscle Mag International and Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness.

Get READY to Up Your Bench with 18 Of The Best Bench Press Routines Of All Time! The bench press has long been counted among the most important muscle and strength-building compound exercises, it is only natural that all powerbuilders want to develop a respectable bench press weight. However, building shapely armor-plated muscles in the chest is just as important as the weight you bench. Discover how to perfect your form in an easy to understand step-by-step manner while you also get access to the very best 18 bench press specialization programs of all time. Find out the secrets of the world’s most powerful men to help you Bench Press Twice As Much As You Think You Can!

Patrick Joseph “Pat” Casey was born in 1936 and grew up in and around Los Angeles. He was unarguably the first powerlifting superstar in that he was the best lifter in the world when powerlifting became an official sport in 1965, complete with rules and championships. Pat was a powerlifting pioneer, a primordial specialist, a man that built a sensational physique using a simple selection of barebones strength exercises, all done using bar-bending poundage in marathon training sessions.

"What is Powerlifting?" There is a growing misconception among athletes, athletic coaches, and the general public of the true definition of Powerlifting. The sport of Powerlifting consists of three (3) lifts : The Squat, the Bench Press, and the Deadlift along with a required TOTAL. "What are the real Powerlifting Records?" A new Powerlifting organization will often advertise a newly established set of lifting records without credence to existing marks. For the purpose of education and history of the sport, the original Powerlifting Records from the state of West Virginia including several National, American, and World Powerlifting Records are highlighted. "What is strong?" Strength training methods specific to "getting strong" may or may not originate from those who have performed at the highest level in competitive Powerlifting or Weightlifting. A total of five (5) Training Logs directly from the Workout Journals of the author are mapped. The workouts include the sets and repetitions, poundages, and maximum lifts from the official Powerlifting competitions. The achievements, Powerlifting, and Weightlifting Records of several lifters are identified and ranked within the book for the purpose of "Setting the Records Straight."

At the First Baptist Church of Maeby, Arkansas, the sins of the child belonged to the parents until the child turned thirteen. Sarah Jones was only eight years old in the summer of 1964, but with her mother Esther Mae on eight prayer lists and flipping around town with the generally mistrusted civil rights organizers, Sarah believed it was time to get baptized and take responsibility for her own sins. That would mean sitting on the mourner’s bench come revival, waiting for her sign, and then testifying in front of the whole church. But first, Sarah would need to navigate the growing tensions of small-town Arkansas in the 1960s. Both smarter and more serious than her years (a “fifty-year-old mind in an eight-year-old body,” according to Esther), Sarah was torn between the traditions, religion, and work ethic of her community and the progressive civil rights and feminist politics of her mother, who had recently returned from art school in Chicago. When organizers from the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came to town just as the revival was beginning, Sarah couldn’t help but be caught up in the turmoil. Most folks just wanted to keep the peace, and Reverend Jefferson called the SNCC organizers “the evil among us.” But her mother, along with local civil rights activist Carrie Dilworth, the SNCC organizers, Daisy Bates, attorney John Walker, and indeed most of the country, seemed determined to push Maeby toward integration. With characters as vibrant and evocative as their setting, Mourner’s Bench is the story of a young girl coming to terms with religion, racism, and feminism while also navigating the terrain of early adolescence and trying to settle into her place in her family and community.