Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.
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Question: NFL 2015: Why I hope Ray Rice gets back into the game. Last year NFL star Ray Rice committed a single act of unforgettable and inexcusable violence against then fiancee Janay Palmer . This year he and his now wife Janay hope he will be back in the NFL, a platform he has used to aggressively combat adolescent bullying in the past . As the founder of an anti-bullying organization, I hope he gets a second chance and continues his anti-bullying crusade this year, and for many years to come . The couple is infamous for what went down in a New Jersey casino elevator , where Ray knocked Janay out with one left-handed strike, leading to his arrest on assault charges . Rice was later cut by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended by the NFL . He won his appeal and is now clear to play , if a team will have him . The couple's botched press conference in May, where he failed to publicly apologize to Janay, led many to condemn him further . Fox Sports wrote,"Most of what(Ray Rice) said left the public and media shaking their heads." I met with Ray the day before that botched press conference while working at the Raven's training camp to help rookies and free agents better handle experiences with high school and college bullying . I encouraged him, when the time was right, to continue his anti-bullying crusade . His eyes watered because he deeply wants to be a hero to children again . Why would an anti-bullying advocate want Rice to have a second chance and to stay in the anti-bullying game under the right circumstances? Because Ray's deplorable but isolated act does not come close to the damage caused by bullying , and it doesn't make him a bully . We need more people like him who, once amends are made, to combat what is now the #1 form of child abuse in America . Rice is even willing to get political to fight bullying . He supported "Grace's Law," a landmark, anti-cyberbullying law passed in Maryland . "I truly hope that he continues his anti-bullying work," says Christine McComas, mother of the late Grace McComas, 15 , whose suicide is attributed to cyberbullying . "His help was probably the single biggest factor that led to the new anti-cyberbullying law named after our daughter, which has already saved lives. His empathy and support of our family in our worst hour will never be forgotten. I have four daughters, so I'm sensitive to domestic violence. I have no reason to believe he is a serial abuser, and think he should be given the chance to redeem himself. Maryland owes a lot to that man." Also, people within the Ravens organization who knew Ray well told me that what happened in that elevator was inexcusable, yet also did not define Ray's real character . Matt Lauer of the TODAY Show, while interviewing Janay, said he received numerous phone calls from people who know Ray personally . They also said that what happened in that elevator was an aberration from his usually strong character . Rice is guilty of a single act of inexcusable violence ; an act Janay says didn't happen before and hasn't happened since that fateful day . By contrast, most acts of bullying are premeditated, and don't stem from flashes of anger but rather contempt and disdain toward a target . Bullies, including domestic abusers, wed power to fear as part of a psychological campaign of cruelty in order to dominate, control, intimidate and isolate another . Yet Janay says Ray's behavior before or after this one event includes none of this . In nearly a year since the punch felt around the NFL, not one woman has come forward to accuse Rice of similar abuse . This supports Janay's statement that what happened was an isolated incident , something Janay said during her TODAY Show interview with Matt Lauer . According to Janay, good may come from this single and deplorable act . She told Lauer that though the claims of serial abuse are false,"God chose us for a reason." The couple also says that this incident, which pushed Ray into mandatory and intense counseling, made them better people, including how it compelled them to rededicate themselves to their Christian faith . If we can't give the Rice family the benefit of the doubt , then let's give them the benefit of time this new year , which will tell us whether he has truly seen the light . I believe that time will do more than tell . I believe it's on his side in 2015 . Paul Coughlin is an expert witness regarding bullying and the law, a former newspaper editor and is the author of numerous books, including Raising Bully- Proof Kids . He is the Founder of The Protectors: Freedom From Bullying--Courage, Character & Leadership for Life , which provides a comprehensive and community-wide solution to adolescent bullying in schools, summer camps, faith-based organizations, and other places where bullying can be prevalent .

Answer: Last year NFL star Ray Rice committed a single act of unforgettable and inexcusable violence against then fiancee Janay Palmer The couple is infamous for what went down in a New Jersey casino elevator


Question: Paris: Why Obama's presence Sunday would have been height of hypocrisy. Commentators from both sides of the political aisle have discussed the "optics" of President Obama's absence from the massive, anti-terrorism march in Paris on January 11 . Sadly, they've all missed the point . It would have represented a glaring hypocrisy for Mr  Obama, or any highly- ranked official from his administration, to attend the rally . A sad fact about our pundit class, conservative or progressive, is that they too often miss the obvious . That condition infects both critics and supporters of the Obama administration . They simply cannot connect the dots with this leader . After all ,  he is an unusual president . So let me draw a line between the unconnected dots . Just two years ago, the administration blamed the killing of the American ambassador to Libya, and three security personnel, on a video that negatively depicted the prophet Muhammad . Remember that? You see , it was an unknown, bigoted Christian man from California who single- handedly caused the death of our ambassador . According to the administration, the film by Nakoula Basseley Nakoulahad sparked spontaneous riots to defend Muhammad's honor , and our ambassador got caught up in the mayhem . Mr  Obama called the filmmaker a "shadowy character," and in front of the United Nations and the world, blamed the attack on the "disgusting" movie . At that podium, he declared that "the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Congressional hearings later proved that the violence in Benghazi was due to a coordinated terrorist attack , and had nothing to do with a protest over the movie . But administration officials stuck to the lie . Just a few weeks after the attack, the filmmaker was arrested on parole charges by federal authorities , probably taking orders from Attorney General Holder . Now fast-forward to the rally in Paris-- the one that Holder would not deem worthy to attend, even though he was in Paris at the time . The one that President Obama, nor Vice President Biden, nor Secretary of State Kerry would attend either , even though other major world leaders rushed to Paris to demonstrate their solidarity . Let me draw the line between the dots a little darker :. Q : Who did the terrorists attack in Paris on January 7? A: A satirist magazine that had mocked Christians for years . Q: Why did the terrorists kill those specific journalists and cartoonists? A : For a mocking portrayal of Muhammad . Q : Isn't that the same issue that had enraged the White House after the Benghazi attack? A : You betcha . The "bad optics" that so many pundits are complaining about actually fit perfectly into the philosophical mindset of this White House . They do not want us to insult their Islamist friends . In the eyes of the Obama administration, the jihadists in Libya and France committed the same savagery for the same reason . Give the administration credit for consistency . They're not about to appear sympathetic to a French cartoonist when they had condemned the filmmaker from California . Having persecuted the latter , they weren't about to march to defend the former . What represents bad optics to most civilized people's worldview represents good optics to the Obama administration's worldview . It's all too clear that America and the world have no hope of stopping these never-ending barbaric acts until a Reagan-like figure steps up . A leader who will honestly and courageously define such terrorism as it really is : An Islamist's interpretation of the Koran . That's the definition recently used by President el-Sisi of Egypt, a man of far greater honesty and courage than America's current counterpart . Only with an American leader of Reagan-like strength will we be able to develop a plan and the determination to defeat the dark ideology of Islamism , just like Reagan managed to defeat the Soviet Union and its evil ideology . Dr  Michael Youssef is the founding pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia and the author of over 30 books, including his most recent, "Jesus, Jihad & Peace: What Does Bible Prophecy Say About World Events Today?" (Feb  17, 2015, Worthy Publishers) . Find him online at www.michaelyoussef.com and follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAYoussef .

Answer: It would have represented a glaring hypocrisy for Mr  Obama, or any highly- ranked official from his administration, to attend the rally


Question: A defining moment for the French right. France lost five of its most prominent political cartoonists yesterday . For decades, they had mocked the powerful, the sacred, the dictators, and all those who believed themselves above criticism . These cartoonists felt there was no better way to fight fundamentalism than through derision and laughter . The late Charb, Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief, was killed, evoking the words of Spanish republican icon Dolores Ibarruri, who was known to boast:"I'd rather die standing than live kneeling." It is this very impertinence, this freedom to rebel against ideologies, structures and hierarchies through art and literature, that has been targeted . France is known for its triad "liberty, equality, brotherhood" engraved at the helm of every school, on all official buildings . This motto attributed to French theologian and writer Francois Fenelon at the end of the 17th century was popularised during the French Revolution , when popular unrest toppled religious and authoritative powers . This philosophy was central to Charlie Hebdo's editorial line and promoted by Charb, known for his firm leftist stands, and for advocating for more justice and wealth redistribution . Yet ,  the likely beneficiaries of this heinous act will be the very opponents of this libertarian and humanist stance . A few hours after the events, extreme right leader Marine Le Pen immediately seized the opportunity to unleash her short-sighted Islamophobic attacks . While spontaneous gatherings and demonstrations took place across the country to show the country's grief and support for the victims , Le Pen dissuaded her supporters from participating . She later set conditions for taking part in the Republican march organised for next Sunday . This political move is unsurprising from Le Pen . Her political platform is built upon her populist claims of the threats stemming from Islam and more generally, from immigrants . She built her political success on the rise of communitarianism and the growing rifts and dissent in French society . A solidarity march gathering all religions and all sectors of the population in favour of freedom of the press does not play to her political hand . While the French Muslim authorities have called on every mosque in the country to strongly condemn this act of terrorism and encourage participation in the march , Le Pen would rather continue her own crusade alone and capitalise on growing French fears . She would rather call for"open war on Islam" than demonstrate with the 99.99 percent of French Muslims who respect the Republican law . Her traditional supporters, such as skinhead groups "Riposte Laique" and "Bloc identitaire", have called for a "civil war in the country against Islamisation" . But they have failed to mention that Ahmed Merabet, the brave policeman who tried to stop the terrorists and was shot dead in the street, was himself Muslim and defended French Republican values through a lifetime of service in the police force . While traditional parties call for national unity in a peaceful march , Le Pen's supporters blow on the ashes of societal discontent , encouraging retaliation against this act of terrorism . Mosques were reportedly shot at in Le Mans at midnight , a kebab restaurant was bombed in Villefranche . Barbary is answered by stupidity . Ironically, Le Pen will likely benefit from the fears and shock after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, a magazine that has been one of her strongest opponents . Le Pen can hardly call for the protection of freedom of the press when her own party has regularly tried to limit it by selecting the newspapers and networks who could cover her meetings and ask her questions . Two years ago, her own father vehemently criticised Charlie Hebdo , calling the publication a rag after it ridiculed his political party . Marine Le Pen herself then officially asked for the resignation of any journalist that would show Charlie Hebdo's cover on national TV . Similarly ,  Nicolas Sarkozy is an awkward defender of Charlie Hebdo . First ,  his strategy to win back the presidency in 2017 is to stress on the inability of Francois Hollande to fill the shoes of president, constantly criticising his lack of authority and charisma . The current terrorist crisis is a defining moment for Hollande who might now well prove his capacity to unite a grieving society . More importantly, Sarkozy can hardly support Charlie Hebdo and freedom of the press when he himself personally demanded the resignation of one of its cartoonists in 2008 . At the time Sarkozy was furious that the magazine had published a cartoon mocking his son Jean Sarkozy , whose ambition dwarves the legendary one of his father . Charlie Hebdo described Jean Sarkozy's marriage to a very wealthy Jewish heiress as an attempt to secure his future after failing to finish his university degree . Nicolas Sarkozy managed to obtain the dismissal of the cartoonist Sine and put him on trial for anti-Semitism . Ironically, his colleagues were not so fortunate yesterday when faced with fundamentalists claiming Charlie Hebdo was an enemy of the Muslim prophet .

Answer:
France lost five of its most prominent political cartoonists yesterday