Saturday, September 02, 2006

FLORIDA DIGEST September 2, 2006


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September 2, 2006
Paul Hyman, Executive Director
954-463-9005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PALS Project Launches New Program for HIV+ Men

FORT LAUDERDALE/WILTON MANORS, FL - Living with HIV/AIDS can prove quite stressful. That's why the Gay and Lesbian Community Center's PALS Project has launched CHOICES, a new, five-session small-group program to help participants reduce stress by building coping skills.

The first local example of the nationally respected Healthy Relationships curriculum, this free program focuses on equipping HIV-positive men with life skills including problem solving, decision making and negotiating choices. Interactive, educational and fun, each two-hour CHOICES session will provide group members a time and space to share common experiences and learn new skills from one another.

The PALS Project will offer CHOICES (Choosing Healthy Options & Improving Communication EffectivenesS) groups both in English and Spanish. The first group will begin to meet September 7th. The PALS staff currently is facilitating intake interviews for participants.

In a supportive small-group environment, participants will apply different life skills to building healthy, safer relationships with family, friends
and sex partners. "We don't tell people that they have to disclose," states Kristofer Fegenbush of the PALS Project. "That's not our purpose. Instead,we focus on developing decision-making and problem-solving skills. We provide a safe atmosphere for guys to discuss honestly how they can makemore informed decisions about sexual behaviors and disclosure. There's greatpower in sharing common experiences. By empowering and equippingparticipants, we can help stop the spread of HIV."

Sessions involve both the practice of coping skills and motivational feedback from peers and trained facilitators. Each meeting will involve fun,interactive role-playing in a positive, engaging and creative setting."During each session we'll view several short clips from popular movies,"explained Magno Morales, who recently joined the PALS team. "These modernmovie clips serve as a launching pad for role-play and small groupdiscussions. We'll relate the clips to times when disclosure or safer sexdecisions could be made. That way, the guys can think about, discuss and actout how they might do things differently than the movie characters."

The PALS Project's commitment to providing Spanish-speaking groups reflectsthe GLCC's dedication to help better serve the Hispanic community. If you orsomeone you know may be interested in joining one of these groups, pleasecontact the PALS Project today at (954) 463-9011 or PALS@glccsf.org. Talkwith a facilitator about how the program might benefit you.

The PALS Project provides HIV+ men with real social support, accurate HIVinformation and practical, effective strategies and tools to lead safer,richer lives. Through creative efforts, the Project aims to decrease thenumber of new HIV infections in the community. The PALS Project provides asafe, non-judgmental environment for men to look at their own behavior and To make wise choices that benefit their health and the health of others."


The PALS Project is funded by The Florida Department of Health, Bureau of HIV/AIDS and is sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of SouthFlorida.



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http://www.indynews.4t.com/

The Independent Gay News

Our Choice for Governor
by Paul Harris

In a few weeks voters in Florida will have the opportunity to take part inprimary elections to decide which Democrat and which Republican will gothrough to the election in November when the next governor of our state willbe chosen. Those voters registered as Republicans will be able to vote for the choice of Republican candidate while the Democrats will choose the Democratic candidate.

The two candidates seeking the Republican nod are Tom Gallagher and Charlie Crist. Gallagher currently serves as the state's Chief Financial Officerwhile Crist is the Attorney General. They both claim that if elected theywill continue to govern the state in the manner of Jeb Bush. There are othersimilarities. Although both men claim to be "Pro-Family" they have both beendivorced in the past - Crist after only nine months of marriage, whileGallagher has acknowledged committing adultery during his first marriage.Both candidates in PAST elections declared publicly that they were"Pro-Choice," meaning that women should have the right to decide what theydid with their own bodies. They both have NOW found it politically expedientto claim to be against abortion, going so far as to voice their support forthe new proposed law in South Dakota that would lead to physicians who carryout abortions under ANY circumstances being liable to prosecution -including pregnancies resulting from rape or incest - with the exception ofsituations where the mother's life was at risk. (Crist later backed off
opposing abortion in cases of rape and incest.) Amongst the real differences between the candidates is that Crist favors stem cell research while Gallagher is opposed. Crist as Attorney General also supported the courts decisions regarding the Schiavo case while Gallagher joined Jeb Bush in going in for political grandstanding.



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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/washington/02leak.html?ei=5094&en=86b058e3e3be2d22&hp=&ex=1157256000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print


September 2, 2006
New Questions About Inquiry in C.I.A. Leak
By DAVID JOHNSTON


WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 - An enduring mystery of the C.I.A. leak case has beensolved in recent days, but with a new twist: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, theprosecutor, knew the identity of the leaker from his very first day in thespecial counsel's chair, but kept the inquiry open for nearly two more yearsbefore indicting I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's formerchief of staff, on obstruction charges.

Now, the question of whether Mr. Fitzgerald properly exercised his prosecutorial discretion in continuing to pursue possible wrongdoing in thecase has become the subject of rich debate on editorial pages and in legal and political circles.

Richard L. Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state, first told the authorities in October 2003 that he had been the primary source for the July 14, 2003, column by Robert D. Novak that identified Valerie Wilson as a C.I.A. operative and set off the leak investigation.




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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/elections/sfl-felxgov02sep02,0,2630900.story


Candidates for governor take different tacks in the final push

By Mark Hollis
Tallahassee Bureau

September 2, 2006


OCALA · The underdogs in Florida's governor's race came out charging Fridaywith new attacks and frantic-paced tours in battleground counties.

But the frontrunners showed no signs of being rattled, as they throttledback with more leisured campaign travel and toned-down stump speeches.

Running well behind Charlie Crist in the polls, Republican Tom Gallaghertouted a prized endorsement of a high-ranking conservative legislator, andhe linked Crist to gay-rights' supporters.

Crist fired back, saying that he's not going to run a divisive campaign orbe a divisive governor.

On the Democratic side, Rod Smith, who trails Jim Davis in a much closercontest than the Republican fight, stepped up the rhetoric. He accusedDavis, a congressman from Tampa, of not doing enough to persuade Congress topay for Everglades' cleanup. Davis, meanwhile, blasted U.S. Sugar Corp. forhelping to bankroll what's now become a $4-million campaign promoting Smithby attacking Davis' congressional record.



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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/15423500.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Florida Politics

Primary attacks will prove costly for Democrats

By BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com


The Democrats blew it.

(Don't worry, I'll get to the Republicans in a few inches.)

Once again, they have turned one of their own into damaged goods. Whoever wins the Democratic primary for governor will stumble toward the general election with a bruised cheek and a wobbly knee.

In contrast, the likely Republican nominee, Charlie Crist, will emerge fromthe primary sturdier than ever. Tom Gallagher's beef with Crist -- that he's not conservative enough on issues like abortion, gay rights and immigration -- makes him all the more appealing to moderate, general election voters.

On the Democratic side, the attacks and counterattacks between U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and state Sen. Rod Smith could prove more damaging.

If Smith wins the primary -- and the polls show him closing in -- he willcarry baggage as heavy as a big sack o' sugar. Campaign reports filed Friday show that corporate interests -- primarily the sugar industry -- have dumped nearly $4 million into two front groups running anti-Davis ads. More than half of the money came from a single company, U.S. Sugar.




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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-swebster02sep02,0,6145841.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines


Insults, charges mark race for Broward School Board

Campaign fliers draw criticism
By Douane D. James
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Education Writer

September 2, 2006

As the primary nears, the four-way race for a Broward County School Boardseat has turned more heated as candidates lob insults and allege ethicsviolations.

Marty Rubinstein, the incumbent School Board member for District 6, targetedchallengers Stewart "Stew" Webster and Phyllis C. Hope with two negativedirect-mail fliers sent to residents this week.

The fliers use the phrases "Liar, liar ... pants on fire!" for Webster and"Let's Hope not!" for Hope and question the challengers' trustworthiness and abilities to oversee the Broward School District's $5 billion budget.

Voters from Sunrise, Weston and parts of Cooper City, Davie and Lauderhill will choose a District 6 candidate Tuesday. If no one receives at least 50percent of the tally, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff inNovember.


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http://www.expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3012

The Express Gay News

EDITORIAL | www.expressgaynews.com

No Big Easy for 'ex-gays'

Therapists who try to 'convert' gays saw their plans swept away in a floodof gay support from U.S. psychologists in New Orleans meeting.
By WAYNE BESEN
Sep. 02, 2006


THE BIG EASY proved to be quite difficult for the so-called "ex-gay"industry last month. At the American Psychological Association's annual
convention in New Orleans, anti-gay forces choreographed an expensiveprotest designed to pressure the APA into endorsing ex-gay therapy.

However, instead of succor, "conversion therapy" leaders got sucker punchedwith the APA forcefully reiterating that being gay is not a mental illnessand efforts to "treat" homosexuality can be dangerous.

"The APA's concern about the positions espoused by the National Associationof Research & Therapy of Homosexuality and so-called conversion therapy isthat they are not supported by the science," an APA statement said. "Thereis simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexualorientation can be changed. Our further concern is that the positionsespoused by NARTH and Focus on the Family create an environment in whichprejudice and discrimination can flourish."



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http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060901&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=609010401&SectionCat=APE&Template=printart


Smith, Davis keep on attacking
By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER

H-T CAPITAL BUREAU


TALLAHASSEE -- The Democratic primary for governor continued its descent into negativity on Thursday, with two new television ads slamming Rod Smith on the Everglades and other issues.

Meanwhile, Smith allies renewed their criticism of Jim Davis for failing tocompensate two black men falsely convicted of murder.

Smith campaign aides suggested the attacks from Davis -- which include onead put out by the campaign and another launched by an independentenvironmental group -- were a sign that the Tampa congressman's lead in therace is slipping.

Independent polls show Davis' lead has shrunk over the past few weeks,although none of the polls has yet given Smith, a state senator from Alachua, the lead in Tuesday's primary election.




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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-harris1sep01,0,968492.story?coll=la-home-nation


Rep. Harris Goes From GOP Darling to Liability

Polls say she's no longer a shoo-in against her rivals in the U.S. Senateprimary in Florida.
By Carol J. Williams
Times Staff Writer

September 1, 2006


MIAMI - She's called for a Christian theocracy so Congress won't "legislatesin." She's lost a dozen key campaign staffers in the home stretch,advertised endorsements she didn't get and failed to pick up a singlerecommendation from Florida's leading newspapers.

Rep. Katherine Harris - the former darling of the Republican Party for herpivotal role in the 2000 presidential recount - has stumbled so badly in herbid for the U.S. Senate that pollsters and pundits no longer focus on herlongshot chances against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson in November, butinstead on the outlook for Tuesday's primary race against virtual unknowns.

Three polls released this week all put Harris, 49, at least 16 percentagepoints ahead of her three Republican rivals. But with two of the challengersclosing in on her, and the share of undecided voters larger than heradvantage, analysts say the contest for the party's nomination is far fromover.



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http://cgi.jacksonville.com/cgi-bin/printit.cgi?story=ZZNOSTORYZZ


September 1, 2006

Religious right tests voting strength in Florida races


Next Tuesday, Florida will likely follow the same pattern we have seendeveloping around the nation this midterm primary season.


An uninspired and dispirited electorate will, in huge numbers, fail to vote.

That will mean quirky results in some important races, and a major test forthe continued viability of the so-called Christian Right as a force inRepublican politics.

While most polls have shown Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist leadinghis race against Florida's Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher by at least 20 points, our InsiderAdvantage survey, conducted for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, suggested that Crist was leading, but not by a huge margin.

Unlike the other surveys, ours showed a substantial percentage of undecidedvoters. This is consistent with the results of polls we have conducted inother southern states, where these undecideds actually turned out to benonvoters. When this happens, races get tricky because only the mosthard-core voters go to the polls.



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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/01/news_pf/Hillsborough/Neither_Davis__nor_Sm.shtml


Neither Davis' nor Smith's record doused in green

The two Democrats who want to be governor have pleased and angered environmentalists over sugar, a dam, oil and the Everglades.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published September 1, 2006


TALLAHASSEE - Four months ago, several hundred Floridians began mailing little gold postcards to gubernatorial candidates, asking whether they would support clean-water environmental policies.

No Republican responded. Tampa Democrat and U.S. Rep. Jim Davis has yet to respond. Rod Smith, the Democratic state senator from Alachua, answered nearly every question, generally supportive but without the commitment the
postcards tried to elicit.

A broader look at both candidates' overall environmental records shows thatwhile Jim Davis has a better voting record than Rod Smith on theenvironment, neither candidate has lately proved himself a champion of themovement.



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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/15415054.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Proposals on hurricane insurance by major governor candidates

Associated Press


A look at major property insurance proposals by the four major candidates for governor:

GALLAGHER:

_ Would allow insurance companies to more quickly tap into the stateCatastrophe Fund, a backup account that bails them out when they have biglosses. Currently, they can dip into the fund once they've paid $5.3 billionin claims. Gallagher has proposed lowering that threshold to $3 billion,thus making more companies able to afford to write policies in Florida.Crist supports lowering the threshold to $3.2 billion.

_ Calls for the creation of individual tax-free catastrophe savings accountsto help homeowners save for items like deductibles and uninsured losses

_ Would encourage insurance companies to create tax-deferred catastrophereserve funds to help limit their reliance on reinsurance.

_ Gallagher has also pushed hard for a state program that provides grantsfor people to hurricane-proof their homes, and was among those who calledfor using a surplus in tax dollars earlier this year to offset a deficit atCitizens Property Insurance, thus preventing
Florida homeowners from getting socked with a huge assessment.



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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/15415057.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Shadowy support groups play role in gubernatorial campaigns

DAVID ROYSE
Associated Press


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Let's say you're up for a job. You've sent your resume,you've done the interview and provided references.

But there are some things about the other candidates that might just hurttheir chances.

But it would be a little unseemly to call up the personnel director and point out your competition's flaws - that might make the employer think lessof you. Wait - if somebody ELSE pointed out to the company the trouble your competition has had? If you don't ask the person to do it, you're not really sabotaging the other guy.

Welcome to politics.

If you are a registered voter, you are hiring the next governor and if youhaven't already, you may soon be sent information or see an ad on TV
pointing out things about one candidate or another - although it won'tspecifically tell you to vote for them or not.



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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/01/news_pf/Tampabay/You_d_think_there_was.shtml


You'd think there wasn't a Senate race

Neither Katherine Harris nor her GOP rivals have managed to organize much visible grass roots support.
By ANITA KUMAR, Times Staff Writer
Published September 1, 2006


TAMPA - In these final days leading to Florida's primary, navy blue signs for Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher dot countless GOP campaign forums and political mixers. Signs for other Republicans running statewide are almost as plentiful.

But in one of the most high-profile races, the Republican contest for U.S.Senate, the yard signs and bumper stickers are largely and noticeably absent.

"It's very odd," said Mike Miller, a Florida fundraiser who has worked in the last three Senate races. "I've never seen anything like it."

In a primary where candidates generally agree on many of the key issues, astrong grass-roots effort is considered crucial to creating momentum, building name recognition and, in the end, gathering votes. Races are wonand lost at this level.



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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/elections/orl-gov0106sep01,0,2314482.story?coll=orl-home-promo


ELECTION 2006

Smith gains on Davis in primary
Jason Garcia
Tallahassee Bureau

September 1, 2006


TALLAHASSEE -- With just five days left before the primary, Rod Smith isclosing the gap on his chief rival, Jim Davis, in the Democratic race forgovernor, according to an Orlando Sentinel poll released Thursday.

On the Republican side, Charlie Crist holds what looks to be aninsurmountable lead over Tom Gallagher, the Mason-Dixon Polling & Researchsurvey found.

The poll has Davis, a congressman from Tampa, with 40 percent of the vote,compared with 33 percent for Smith, a state senator from Alachua. That'sless than half of the 15-point lead Davis held in a similar survey just last month -- before Smith's supporters launched a series of ads attacking him onvarious issues.

More than a quarter of likely Democratic voters still haven't picked theircandidate, the poll found.



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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-coliphant02sep02,0,7063325.story?coll=sfla-news-broward

Oliphant shouldn't be fined, judge says


By Scott Wyman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

September 2, 2006

Almost four years after the botched 2002 primary that led to her downfall asBroward County's elections supervisor, Miriam Oliphant won a court decisionthis week against the state Elections Commission's effort to fine her $10,000 for polls opening late and closing early.

Claude Arrington, an administrative law judge, said state electionsofficials have failed to prove that Oliphant intentionally neglected her
duties. The decision, though, is far from the last word in the case: theElections Commission can reject his opinion and has pressed ahead in thepast against Oliphant despite unfavorable rulings.

Oliphant said Friday she is pleased with the decision and will fight on if the commission doesn't stand behind the judge. She hopes in the end to force the state to pay her legal bills, which her attorneys say could reach $400,000.



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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2006/09/02/a6a_gopgov_0902.html

Crist rejects Gallagher's call to disavow endorsement by gay publication
By Deana Poole, Brian E. Crowley

Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 02, 2006

ORLANDO - Tom Gallagher called on his Republican primary opponent Friday to reject an endorsement from a biweekly gay and lesbian publication, saying it doesn't reflect the party's values.

Attorney General Charlie Crist was picked as the "hands-down favorite" between the Republican candidates running for governor, largely because of Crist's support of civil unions, according to a recent endorsement by Watermark Online.

"While he unsurprisingly dislikes gay marriage, Crist supports civil unions for same-sex couples," the endorsement in the Aug. 24-Sept. 6 issue reads. "He's charming, decisive - and moderate. That simply cannot be said for state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who trails Crist in the polls. This may be the reason why Gallagher talks so often about his opposition to gay marriage in his ads. He doesn't want us to forget it."



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http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/politics/15410615.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Poll gives Harris double-digit lead

BRENT KALLESTAD
Associated Press


TALLAHASSEE - Congresswoman Katherine Harris holds a double-digit lead inthe race for Florida's Republican U.S. Senate nomination less than a weekbefore the primary, according to a poll released Thursday.

However, the poll also indicates that a large number of Republicans haven't settled on a candidate, and about a third of those supporting Harris said they still might change their minds.

"If Rep. Harris had only one opponent she might be in deep trouble," saidPeter Brown, assistant polling director for the Quinnipiac UniversityPolling Institute, which conducted the poll last week. "But having three candidates splitting the anti-Harris vote is a major plus for her."

Harris was favored by 38 percent of 317 likely Republican voters.



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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/special_packages/5min/15412214.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


CAMPAIGN 2006 | GOVERNOR'S RACE
Democrats confront divided loyalties

Two issues are defining the last days of the Democratic race for governor: Rod Smith's perceived alliance with Big Sugar, and Jim Davis' vote in awrongful conviction case years ago.

BY BETH REINHARD AND MARC CAPUTO
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com


In the final few days of the Democratic race for governor, voters will betorn between two images: Jim Davis turning his back on two wrongfullyconvicted black men, and Rod Smith swimming in money from Big Sugar.

The two snapshots are closely intertwined: U.S. Sugar has bankrolled radioads and mailers highlighting Davis' 1990 vote in the Florida Legislature todeny compensation to Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee. The political attacks,however, have exposed Smith's ties to a corporation vilified byenvironmentalists for contaminating the Everglades.

And on Thursday, an Everglades group unleashed a cutthroat, $1 milliontelevision campaign across Florida that aims to bury Smithby telling voters: ``Don't let sugar money pollute this election. Tell RodSmith dirty politics won't clean up the Everglades.''



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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2006/09/02/a2f_jobs_0902.html


Study: Too many jobs in state have low pay, meager benefits
By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 02, 2006


Florida's economy ranks among the nation's strongest by some measures, yettoo many workers toil for low wages and stingy benefits, says FloridaInternational University labor expert Bruce Nissen in his "State of Working Florida 2006" report.

"Florida's workers are not prospering along with the state's economy,"Nissen writes. "It continues to be a low-wage state, with a disproportionate number and percentage of low-wage jobs."


Laboring for less

Florida's booming economy is leaving many workers behind, a Florida International University report says:



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http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060902/NEWS0501/609020321/1006/NEWS01&template=printart


September 2, 2006

Internal warfare plagues parties

Campaigns turn nasty in days before election

BY BILL COTTERELL
and AARON DESLATTE


Florida Democrats are used to beating themselves up.

It was 40 years ago that a Miami mayor ousted a governor in a bitterly fought Democratic primary -- resulting in Florida's first Republican
governor since Reconstruction.

It's been 20 years since an attorney general was beaten by a young Jacksonville legislator in another bruising Democratic runoff -- resulting
in Florida's second GOP chief executive in modern times.

But with winner-take-all primaries set for Tuesday, this year's Republican combatants have shown they can do as much mud slinging and gut punching as the Democrats ever did.




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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/02/news_pf/State/Cross_the_party_Read_.shtml


Cross the party? Read this, and you might think twice
By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer
Published September 2, 2006


MIAMI - This is what happens if you are Alex Villalobos, a Republican state
senator who crossed his party and Gov. Jeb Bush:
- You will have a leadership role taken away from you;
- You will face a fierce opponent in your party's primary, a well-known pol who will have the endorsement of the popular governor and millions ofdollars spent on his behalf;
- As you campaign around your suburban Miami-Dade district, you will be followed by a man dressed in a chicken suit.

The fight over who represents Senate District 38 - a slice of Miami-DadeCounty that includes the largely Cuban enclaves of Westchester and WestKendall - is one of the nastiest and costliest this primary season. Theoutcome this Tuesday doesn't affect just the 300,000 voters in the district;at its core, the race is a fight for the future of the Republican party. "It's a slugfest," sighed lobbyist Ron Book. "It's about as ugly as I've ever seen and it's going to come down to the wire."



NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST September 2, 2006

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http://www.capitolhillblue.com/content2/2006/09/the_real_fascists_who_threaten.html


The real fascists who threaten our security
September 1, 2006 05:26 AM
Enemies of the State


President George W. Bush and his minions tell the truth when they say the world faces a new and continued threat from fascism.

What he doesn't admit is that the fascist leaders who so threatens worldpeace and safety is he, his administration and any members of Congress -Republican and Democrat - who support his dangerous policies.

Under Bush's watch, the American Democratic Republic has disappeared into apolice state where the American government spies at will on its owncitizens, detains citizens without basic Constitutional protections andignores the Bill of Rights as a matter of course.

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington Universitysays President Bush is guilty of high crimes against the Constitution:

The president is dead wrong. It's not a close question. Federal law isclear. When the president admits that he violated federal law that raisesserious constitutional questions of high crimes and misdemeanors.




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http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/v-print/story/14314434p-15222713c.html


Editorial: Caught in the act

Bloggers crack a Senate mystery

Published 12:01 am PDT Friday, September 1, 2006

A week or so ago, we were grumbling about the arcane practice that allows asingle member of the U.S. Senate to sidetrack legislation he or she doesn'tlike. At the time, there was a mystery about who was holding up a bill tomake government more transparent. Now it has been solved, courtesy of theblogosphere.

By contacting the offices of every senator, bloggers across the politicalspectrum narrowed the suspect list to two: Republican Ted Stevens of Alaskaand Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Stevens has admitted putting ahold on the bill to create a database from which taxpayers could find outhow and on what the government is spending their money -- including
"earmarks," which most people call pork. Byrd's office is still playingcat-and-mouse with the bloggers. Stevens' office said he wanted to be surethe bill wouldn't create a new bureaucracy before allowing it to move ahead. That's ironic coming from a man who is sponsoring a bill to spend $223 million on a bridge to an island with 50 inhabitants.




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http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645197552,00.html


Deseret Morning News, Thursday, August 31, 2006

Text of Mayor Anderson's speech

Address by Salt Lake Mayor Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson

Washington Square
Salt Lake City, Utah
August 30, 2006

A patriot is a person who loves his or her country.

Who among you loves your country so much that you have come here today toraise your voice out of deep concern for our nation - and our world?

And who among you loves your country so much that you insist that ournation's leaders tell us the truth?

So let's hear it: Give us the truth!" Because if we had had the truth, wewouldn't be here today.

Let no one deny we are patriots. We support our nation's troops. Let's hearit for our nation's troops! We have so many veterans here today. Let's hereit for the veterans! We are grateful to our veterans who have sacrificed somuch for our freedoms. We love our country, we hold dear the values uponwhich our nation was founded, and we are distressed at what our President,
our administration, and our Congress are doing to, and in the name of, ournation.



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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/opinion/02sat2.html?pagewanted=print


September 2, 2006
Editorial

The Lowdown on the Slowdown

Hiring was tepid in August, bringing average job creation in the privatesector to 102,000 jobs a month since April. That is nowhere near the levelof labor demand that's needed to give employees the clout to bargain forraises. Accordingly, hourly wages weakened in August, up only one-tenth of apercent, all of which is most likely to be eaten up by inflation. (In 26 ofthe last 28 months, annual hourly wage growth has failed to outpaceinflation.)

Sounds depressing - if you rely on your job to get by. But it was good newsfor investors. Their biggest hope these days is that the economy will slowjust enough to curb inflation, but not enough to provoke recession. Theytook August's jobs report, released yesterday by the Labor Department, asevidence that their wish was coming true.

The work force always suffers in a slowdown. But this one could hitemployees especially hard because they will experience the lows - in termsof insecurity, stagnating wages and job loss - without ever havingparticipated fully in the highs. As a share of the economy, wages and
salaries have been driven to generational lows during the expansion thatbegan in 2001. At the same time, the ability to borrow against one's home iswaning, and a slowing job market may make it harder to keep up with existingdebts, a combination that could prove very difficult for many people.



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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2006/09/through_our_enemies_eyes.html


William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security Through Our Enemies' Eyes

Is the war on terror "a battle for the future of civilization?"

These are the words Vice President Cheney used earlier this week whenspeaking in Salt Lake City.

Yesterday, President Bush told the American Legion that the Iraq war was"the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century."

Today's terrorists, he said, are "successors to fascists, to Nazis, toCommunists and other totalitarians of the 20th century."

As I said previously, it is possible that Bush and company are opening avital debate, that in fact we are witnessing the beginning of a monumentalclash and that we need to face up to that reality before we make decisionsabout the future.

Alas, the Bush administration's actions don't actually support theirrhetoric.



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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090100206_pf.html


Mexican Lawmakers Block Fox's Speech
Foes in Congress Seize Chamber

By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 2, 2006; A01


MEXICO CITY, Sept. 1 -- In a historic rebuke, opposition lawmakers seizedcontrol of Mexico's congressional chamber Friday and blocked PresidentVicente Fox from delivering his final State of the Nation address.

Fox, who was adorned in Mexico's green, red and white presidential sash,stood awkwardly in the chamber's foyer for nearly 10 minutes beforeconceding that he had no chance of entering. Surrounded by bodyguards, Foxwas handed a microphone. He quickly said that he would leave and gave a copy of his speech to a legislative official.

The lawmakers who commandeered Mexico's congressional building are aligned with the Democratic Revolutionary Party, or PRD, and its candidate, AndrésManuel López Obrador, who is demanding a full recount of the July 2presidential election results.



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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101764_pf.html


FBI Role in Terror Probe Questioned
Lawyers Point to Fine Line Between Sting and Entrapment

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 2, 2006; A01


Standing in an empty Miami warehouse on May 24 with a man he believed had ties to Osama bin Laden, a dejected Narseal Batiste talked of the setbacksto their terrorist plot and then uttered the words that helped put him in a federal prison cell.

"I want to fight some jihad," he allegedly said. "That's all I live for."

What Batiste did not know was that the bin Laden representative was really an FBI informant. The warehouse in which they were meeting had been rented and wired for sound and video by bureau agents, who were monitoring his every word.

Within a month, Batiste, 32, and six of his compatriots were arrested andcharged with conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization and bomb a federalbuilding. On June 23, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales held a news conference to announce the destruction of a terrorist cell inside the UnitedStates, hailing "our commitment to preventing terrorism through energetic
law enforcement efforts aimed at detecting and thwarting terrorist acts."



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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/opinion/02sat1.html?pagewanted=print


September 2, 2006
Editorial
Mr. Bush's Nuclear Legacy


Unless something changes soon, by the end of President Bush's second termNorth Korea will have produced enough plutonium for 10 or more nuclearweapons while Iran's scientists will be close to mastering the skills neededto build their own.

That's quite a legacy for a president sworn to keep the world's mostdangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes.

Even if the United States were not tied down in Iraq, military action wouldbe a disaster. Besides, American analysts don't know where North Korea hasstashed its plutonium nor what technology Iran might have hidden. Its hugecentrifuge plant at Natanz is still nearly empty, and the more threatenedIran feels, the more reason it has to hide its program.

If Mr. Bush has any hope of avoiding this legacy, he will have to give uphis dreams of regime change, persuade his battling inner circle he means itand direct Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to do some real diplomatichorse trading - starting with a clear pledge that the United States will nottry to overthrow their governments as long as they give up their nuclearambitions.



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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/us/02beliefs.html?pagewanted=print


September 2, 2006
Beliefs
By PETER STEINFELS


Back to school. Back to reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.

Religion?

If learning about evolution is essential for understanding contemporaryscience, if learning about sex is essential for adolescent health, islearning about religion any less essential for understanding a world of powerful and often literally explosive religious allegiances?

After a quarter-century of complaints about the eclipse of religion inhistory textbooks and others used in the public schools, a kind of consensushas emerged. As Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Center operated by theFreedom Forum puts it,"Knowledge of the world's religions is essential for comprehending much ofhistory, literature, art and contemporary events" - and conveying thatknowledge in public schools is constitutional.

That doesn't mean it is easy. Parents, school boards, administrators andteachers are justifiably nervous about bias, proselytizing and communitydivision. Reports of proposed Bible courses that are theologically loaded donothing to calm these fears. Alongside those who worry that teaching aboutdifferent religions will turn into preaching on behalf of one are those equally worried that such teaching will convey the relativistic message thatreligious differences are inconsequential.



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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101535_pf.html


Put My Son on Trial -- or Free Him

By Khalid Al-Odah
Saturday, September 2, 2006; A29

KUWAIT CITY -- The United States recently responded to pressure from the German government and released detainee Murat Kurnaz from Guantanamo Bay.Although he spent four years in the U.S. prison there, Kurnaz was nevercharged with a crime, and there are no indications that he was involved inany terrorist-related activity. Had he been afforded his constitutionalright to due process upon detention, it is highly likely that this innocent man would not have wasted four years of his life in prison.

Two years ago the Supreme Court mandated due process for men held at Guantanamo. More recently, in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld , the courtdeclared that military tribunals are not an appropriate method for thesetrials. Even so, the Bush administration maintains that the Hamdan ruling directly applies only to the 10 detainees who have been formally labeled
"enemy combatants." What happens to the other 450 or so detainees who have not been charged with any crimes and who, like Murat Kurnaz, are likely to be innocent?



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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/world/middleeast/02prexy.html?pagewanted=print


September 2, 2006
News Analysis
Bush's Shift of Tone on Iraq: The Grim Cost of Losing
By DAVID E. SANGER


WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 - President Bush's newest effort to rebuild eroding support for the war in Iraq features a distinct shift in approach: Ratherthan stressing the benefits of eventual victory, he and his top aides arebeginning to lay out the grim consequences of failure.

It is a striking change of tone for a president who prides himself onoptimism and has usually maintained that demeanor, at least in public, whilehis aides cast critics as defeatists.

But in his speech on Thursday in Salt Lake City - the first in a series tocommemorate the Sept. 11 anniversary - he picked up on an approach that Gen.John P. Abizaid, Vice President Dick Cheney and others have refined in thepast few months: a warning that defeat in Iraq will only move the battleelsewhere, threatening allies in the Middle East and eventually, Mr. Bush
insisted, Americans "in the streets of our own cities."




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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0609010295sep01,0,2889110.story?coll=chi-newsopinioncommentary-hed


The death knell of newspapers sounds premature

Jack Fuller, a former editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune

September 1, 2006



The other day during a visit to one of Chicago's leading civic institutions,the conversation turned to the press.

Everyone in the room was a member of the 50- or 60-something generation anddeeply engaged in the life of the city. So naturally they viewed with alarmthe toll the Internet has taken on newspapers.

One of the organization's leaders reported direly that a young staffmember--who is very civically engaged--said she gets absolutely none of hernews from the papers.

It wasn't the first time I had heard this. But it was entirely inaccurate.Not that the staff member was lying. She just didn't realize where news actually comes from.

Nobody gets all his news from media other than newspapers, simply because
newspapers originate most of the information that finds its way into all
media.



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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/31/ap/politics/printableD8JRN8MG3.shtml


Activists Want Ohio Election Chief Out

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 31, 2006


(AP) Activists filed a civil-rights lawsuit Thursday claiming Secretary of State Ken Blackwell deprived people of their voting rights during the 2004presidential election and seeking to have him removed from overseeing the general election in November.

The plaintiffs, who range from the Ohio Voter Rights Alliance for Democracy to the head of a Columbus neighborhood association, accuse Blackwell of distributing fewer voting machines per person in black neighborhoods, purging voter registrations and disproportionately assigning provisional ballots to blacks. Those provisional ballots then were disqualified at higher rates than in nearby precincts that were mostly white, the plaintiffs allege.

"The court should appoint someone that everyone will say is honest andcompetent and will ensure that the appropriate security measures are inplace and we don't have this kind of vulnerability in the next election,"said attorney Cliff Arnebeck, who represents the plaintiffs.




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http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-08-31-midterm-elections-inside_x.htm


Republicans tense as voter disillusionment sets in

Updated 8/31/2006 11:39 PM ET
By Jill Lawrence and Susan Page, USA TODAY


EMMAUS, Pa. - The buzzing of 150 friends and neighbors quieted as KathleenMiller told them about her older son, a Marine who was injured in Iraq, andher younger son, who is in the Army and has orders to go there in October.

"I am afraid," Miller said. "That's why we need Bob Casey, so he can join aDemocratic Congress and help find a solution to this war."

Miller, a Democratic activist, delivered her stark message in awood-and-brick barn decked with balloons, sparkly white lights and Caseyhimself. The state treasurer, son of the late governor Bob Casey, had adouble-digit lead over two-term Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in a USA
TODAY/Gallup Poll last week.



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Vets Exposed to Radiation Lose Ruling
Knight Ridder | August 29, 2006


WASHINGTON - Radiation exposure took Alice Broudy's husband a generation ago.

This week, a court ruling sliced away at her bid for redress.

In a quiet ruling that nonetheless resonates nationwide, a federal appellatecourt rejected efforts by Broudy and others seeking claims on behalf of"atomic veterans." The same court simultaneously rejected bids by otherveterans exposed to biological and chemical agents.

Taken together, the dual rulings by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals willlikely impede many veterans hoping for compensation. At the very least, itwill complicate future claims.

"It's a significant ruling," Washington-based attorney David Cynamon, whorepresented veterans in both cases, said Friday. "Unfortunately, it's a significantly bad ruling."



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http://www.latimes.com/wireless/avantgo/la-na-hillary2sep02,0,4582024.story


Can Recast Clinton Play to Nation?

In the senator's role as a champion of locals, she has won over onetimefoes. But that may not translate to a bigger -- say, presidential -- stage.

By Mark Z. Barabak, Times Staff Writer


GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - Six years ago, when Hillary Rodham Clinton first ran forthe U.S. Senate, Republican Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds derided her as acarpetbagger who brought nothing to New York but overweening ambition.

Today, he raves about their relationship. "I've found her always willing tolisten and to roll up her sleeves and go to work with me," the Buffalo-arealawmaker said in a phone call between recent campaign stops.

Reynolds is no partisan slouch. He has close ties to the Bush administrationand heads the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. He has the mostconservative voting record of anyone in New York's 29-member Housedelegation.

But like many New Yorkers who were skeptical, if not downright hostile, whenClinton planted herself in affluent Westchester County and startedcampaigning in 1999, his views of the former first lady have changed considerably. The turnabout helps explain why Clinton is romping to
reelection in November - and may offer clues about how she plans to run for president, if she chooses to take that plunge.

GLBT DIGEST - September 2, 2006

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101461_pf.html


Hoping Md. Is 'Ready for a Person Like Me'

House Candidate Would Be State's 1st Transgender Lawmaker

By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 2, 2006; B01


Dana Beyer rapped on a door at the end of a leafy Silver Spring cul-de-sac.A woman answered. She listened to the candidate's spiel, sought her views onabortion rights (for) and growth (against) and found little on which the twodid not agree.

"It's good to see more women running," she told the candidate as the twoparted.

For the five decades preceding a fateful 2003 trip to San Francisco, DanaBeyer lived her life as a man named Wayne. The September primary will tellwhether her legislative district, one of the most progressive in Maryland,is ready to elect the state's first transgender lawmaker.

Beyer, 54, a retired eye surgeon, is running against seven other Democratsfor three seats that will represent District 18, which includes Chevy Chase,Kensington and parts of Wheaton and Silver Spring, in Maryland's House ofDelegates. "Mansionization" rates as a major issue here.



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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101368_pf.html


Serving With Distinction

Saturday, September 2, 2006; A27


Regarding Fred Gould's Aug. 26 Free for All letter, "No Folly":

I hope the public was not confused by the Defense Department's policy towardgay men and lesbians in the military and by Gould's rhetoric.

I was a linguist in the Air Force for five years in the late 1980s and early1990s. Gay men and lesbians are indeed in the military. I knew them andworked beside them and respected their excellent work in defending ournation. None of these airmen, sailors and soldiers came right out and toldthose around them that they were gay, but it was well known and understood,and I knew of no one who felt uncomfortable working with them. I knew of oneairman who was tossed from the service because "the wrong people" got wordthat he was gay. The fellow airmen I talked to felt as saddened by the lossas I did. He was among the best linguists and one of the hardest workers wehad.

Gay men and lesbians should be welcomed and honored in our country's armedservices.

-- Mike Conti
Catonsville



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http://www.expressgaynews.com/2006/9-2/news/localnews/conv.cfm

Express Gay News

Gay journalists come 'Out in the Sunshine'

At convention, journalists will discuss how recent media buy-outs affectbeing out in the newsroom
By SHERI ELFMAN
Saturday, September 02, 2006


Gay and lesbian journalists will turn their focus on South Florida Sept.7-10, where National Lesbian & Gay Journalism Association members willgather from all over the United States for the 15th annual convention,dubbed "Out in the Sunshine."

More than 650 members are expected at the convention, according toorganizers.

"We've grown to nearly 1,400 members," said Executive Director PamelaStrother. "We now have 25 chapters across the country."

NLGJA was founded 16 years ago, and Strother has been a member of the groupfor 10 years. She's been the executive director for the last six. She saidshe has seen first-hand the differences that members have made.

"Our primary work is not only about fair and accurate and increased coverage" in the news of gay and lesbian people, she said. "It's also aboutworkplace issues. It's about domesticpartnership rights and being out in
the newsroom."



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http://www.365gay.com/opinion/Libby/Libby.htm


Of Hoaxes And Heroes

by Libby Post


One of the perks of writing about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendercommunity is getting to know some of its real heroes. Wayne Besen is one ofthem.

Besen has dedicated his life's work to debunking the myths of the so-calledex-gay movement and exposing conversion therapy for what it really is-a shamof psycho-babble that purports to cure people of being queer. No one couldsooner cure me of being a lesbian than they could cure Bill Clinton of beingstraight-both are just innate to whom we are as people.

Letting LGBT people be who they are without shame is the crux of Wayne Besen's work. The author of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and LiesBehind the Ex-Gay Myth, Besen recently launched a new organization called Truth Wins Out (TWO)-named as a juxtaposition to the lies and manipulationof Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conferences that feature supposedex-gays who, according to their leaders, "enjoy freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

What I admire about Besen is his take-no-prisoners attitude. He understandsthat we have to counter the Radical Christian Right and its hateful rhetoricstrongly and forcefully-without apology.




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The current issue of The Express Gay News is online

http://expressgaynews.com





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http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/classifieds/real_estate/15374540.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Gay-friendly business booming
Realtor's interest in ensuring equal rights leads to growing share in sales
By Yoshi Kato
TIMES CORRESPONDENT

AS ILLUSTRATED in both history and fiction, sometimes it takes a singlemoment to initiate a movement. For Realtor and socially consciousentrepreneur Jeff Hammerberg, the catalyst in creating the nation's firstgay and lesbian referral company was an incident with one of his colleagues.

"I started working at a Re/Max office in Denver in 1990 and witnessedhomophobia there about 10 or 12 years ago," says Hammerberg. "A gay malecouple had walked into the office off the street and was met by the flooragent on duty.

"He was a decent guy and a decent Realtor, but he certainly wasn'tgay-friendly," he notes, by phone from his office in Denver. "He would makegay jokes after the couple left, and I realized that something was notright."




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http://www.edgeptown.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=14624&pf=1


Department of Defense University Elects Gay Student President
by Troy Espera
Gaywired.com
Thursday Aug 31, 2006


GLBT advocates applauded the Department of Defense's university Wednesdayfor electing its first openly gay man to the post of student councilpresident.

The Uniformed Services University, a Department of Defense military medical,nursing and graduate school, elected Patrick M. High to lead its studentgovernment. It's the latest step forward, advocates say, in the fight torepeal the military's controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, whichgays and lesbians from serving in the armed forces.

High, who will represent graduate students at the university, previouslyserved nine years in the Illinois Army National Guard and is currently aPh.D. candidate at USU. High was elected by a student body that includesuniformed personnel in the armed forces.

"Patrick High's election as student council president is just the latest ina series of signs that those serving in our armed forces are ready towelcome openly gay colleagues," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director ofServicemembers Legal Defense Network, in a media statement issued Wednesday."High was elected based on his qualifications for the post, and that same
criteria should be the guiding force throughout the military. His fellowstudents, including military students, have placed their trust in a leader who represents their ideals and goals."

FLORIDA DIGEST September 1, 2006

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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org


Orlando Sentinel, FL, August 26, 2006
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-harris2606aug26,0,6328992.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Harris' comments draw fierce reactionPolitical and religious officials criticize the candidate's comments onelecting Christians.

Jim Stratton, Sentinel Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris said this week that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that a failure to electChristians to political office will allowlawmaking bodies to "legislate sin."

The remarks, published in the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist StateConvention, unleashed a torrent of criticism from political and religiousofficials.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, said she was "disgusted" by the comments "and deeply disappointed in Rep. Harris personally."

Harris, Wasserman Schultz said, "clearly shows that she does not deserve tobe a representative. . . ."

State Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, demanded an apology, saying thestatements were "outrageous, even by her standards."




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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/legislature/sfl-felxgop01sep01,0,5689307.story


Gallagher, Crist court conservatives in final swings before GOP gubernatorial primary

By Mark Hollis
Tallahassee Bureau

September 1, 2006


SEBRING · Tom Gallagher and Charlie Crist swept into conservativestrongholds of Florida Thursday, with Gallagher launching verbal grenades tointensify interest in the Republican primary for governor despite pollsshowing the race is looking like a runaway for Crist.

Gallagher started a three-day campaign bus tour, mainly throughRepublican-rich suburbs near Tampa and Orlando and at Fred's Marketbreakfast nook in Plant City. There, only a few mid-morning diners recognized Gallagher and just a handful said they were sure they would votefor him Tuesday.

Crist, meanwhile, held several street-corner, sign-waving events inPensacola and Fort Walton Beach before greeting supporters at his campaignheadquarters in St. Petersburg. There, he made get-out-the-vote phone callsto Republicans.

"His focus right now is to meet with voters and supporters," said ErinIsaac, a Crist campaign spokeswoman. "We are encouraged by the poll numbersbut are focused on getting Charlie Crist Republicans out on election day."



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http://www.indynews.4t.com/0317/features2.html

The Independent Gay News

POLITICS

The Independent's Endorsements for Judgeships

By Paul Harris
Publisher
PHarris@ourindy.com


As you read this the 20 early voting polling stations are already open andpeople are trickling in to cast their votes. Election day itself is Tuesday,September 5 when all the polling stations will be open. Because most of theelections taking place are primary campaigns for seats in the State Houseand Senate and for the Governorship as well as for elections for judges theturnout will probably be low - maybe under 20%. As a result a well-organizedminority such as the GLBT vote can have a signi?cant impact upon theelection in ensuring that good, gay-friendly candidates get elected.

In some cases we know who is gay-friendly and who isn't from the way theyhave voted, or spoken, or behaved in the past.

However, in elections for judgeships the candidates have to remain'non-partisan' and there are fairly strict rules as to what questions youcan ask of a candidate seeking to be a judge as well as what he or she cansay in response. As a result the reality is that a lot of candidates for judgeships indicate almost by a series of 'nods and winks' where they stand on the political spectrum.



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http://www.local10.com/news/9774950/detail.html


Cell Phone Parking Lot Opens At FLL

POSTED: 9:06 am EDT September 1, 2006


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Traveling in and out of the FortLauderdale-Hollywood International Airport just got easier in time for LaborDay.

Before Friday, there was no place to park and wait for arrivals anddepartures for free, but that has changed with the opening of the airport'scell phone waiting area.

"People that are waiting for someone to arrive, they can't stop at the curb,they can't wait there, so they have to keep moving,"Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said. "Then they try to stopalong the highway there. Well, they can't stop there either because they're in the flight path and they're creating a traffic hazard."

Now, there is a 49-space cell phone waiting area along Perimeter Road,complete with monitors to display flight arrivals and departures.

"One of the major complaints we heard about from people was the fact thatthey had to drive around in a circle waiting to pick up somebody," Broward County Mayor Ben Graber said.



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http://www.expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3001


Gay activists back Gottlieb in school board race

Candidates state their positions on safe schools, 'We Are Family' video
By PHIL LAPADULA
Aug. 26, 2006


Several local gay activists are backing the candidacy of Jennifer Gottlieb in the at-large school board race in Broward County. She will be one ofthree candidates on the Sept. 5 primary ballot in the Dist. 8 nonpartisanrace.

Gottlieb is the wife of state Rep. Kenneth Gottlieb, a Democrat, who for thepast three years has introduced a school anti-bullying bill in the statelegislature that includes protections for gay students. The bill stalled allthree years, but this year Gottlieb worked with Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a Republican, to craft compromise legislation that would allow individual school districts to decide whether or not to include categories in theiranti-bullying policies. That bill passed the Florida House but stalled inthe Senate.

Gay activists hosted a fundraiser for Jennifer Gottlieb Sunday, Aug. 13, at Stork's Bakery on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The event raisedabout $2,500 for her campaign, according to organizers.

In an interview, Gottlieb said she strongly supports her husband's approachto addressing school bullying.

NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST September 1, 2006

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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101446_pf.html


Iran, Ready For a Test Of Wills

By David Ignatius
Friday, September 1, 2006; A21

TEHRAN -- Behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's defiant rhetoric lies a conviction that is widely shared here: Iran is a rising power in the Middle East while the United States is in decline -- and now is the moment for Iran to emerge as a regional superpower.

You hear versions of this cocky nationalism in almost every conversation. And when you look around this surprisingly modern metropolis of 12 million people, it's easy to think that Iran's time may indeed have come. The problem is that its national ambitions are wrapped today in the fanatical language of Ahmadinejad, who emerged from among the hardest of this country's hard-core Islamic revolutionaries. He and his followers seem eager for the confrontation that lies ahead.

The situation in Iraq bolsters Iranian confidence in its test of wills against America. As the Iranians view it, the United States has stumbled into a pit from which it cannot easily escape. There is a disagreement here between pragmatists who see in America's troubles an opportunity to open a mutually beneficial dialogue with the Great Satan and hard-liners who would rather let America suffer.

"Iran thinks in Iraq it has the upper hand -- that is the view of the Iranian military and political establishment," says Kayhan Barzegar, a professor of international relations here who advises some members of the leadership on Iraq. He prepared a recent paper, "Iran's Security Interest in the New Iraq," for Iran's Expediency Council, which is headed by former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and is the center point for the pragmatist faction. Barzegar says that it is precisely because the United States needs Iran's assistance that a dialogue between the two over Iraq makes sense.



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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

The Washington Post

Posted by Chris Cillizza
Posted at 06:01 AM ET, 09/ 1/2006

The Friday Line: U.S. House Races

The silly season is upon us. Television ads are hitting the airwaves, mailboxes are stuffed with direct mail appeals and average voters are beginning to pay attention to the campaign.

Volatility is the rule in these finals two months as campaigns often yo-yo from neck and neck to non-competitive in the blink of an eye. That volatility led to the addition of several races to this month's Line -- most notably Indiana's 2nd district, which has emerged as one of Democrats' best chances for a pickup, and Connecticut's 5th district, where both public and private polling show Rep. Nancy Johnson in for her toughest race in more than a decade.

Given how much is changing daily on the electoral landscape, we will now be doing the Line twice a week until Election Day. It will rotate between House, Senate and governors' races (we'll pick up the presidential Line shortly after the 2006 midterms conclude) and will normally appear Fridays and Mondays. Look for a new Senate Line next Tuesday (Monday is Labor Day and an official Fix Day of Rest.)Remember the #1 ranked race is the most likely to switch parties, and your comments are welcome below.


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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101444_pf.html

Hezbollah's 'Victory'

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, September 1, 2006; A21

"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 . . . that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not."
-- Hasan Nasrallah,

Hezbollah leader, Aug. 27

So much for the "strategic and historic victory" Nasrallah had claimed less than two weeks earlier. What real victor declares that, had he known, he would not have started the war that ended in triumph?

Nasrallah's admission, vastly underplayed in the West, makes clear what the Lebanese already knew. Hezbollah may have won the propaganda war, but on the ground it lost. Badly.

True, under the inept and indecisive leadership of Ehud Olmert, Israel did miss the opportunity to militarily destroy Hezbollah and make it a non-factor in Israel's security, Lebanon's politics and Iran's foreign policy. Nonetheless, Hezbollah was seriously hurt. It lost hundreds of its
best fighters. A deeply entrenched infrastructure on Israel's border is in ruins. The great hero has had to go so deep into hiding that Nasrallah has been called "the underground mullah."


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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083002730_pf.html

We're Not Winning This War
Despite Some Notable Achievements, New Thinking Is Needed on the Home Front
and Abroad

By John Lehman
Thursday, August 31, 2006; A25

Are we winning the war? The first question to ask is, what war? The Bush administration continues to muddle a national understanding of the conflict we are in by calling it the "war on terror." This political correctness presumably seeks to avoid hurting the feelings of the Saudis and other Muslims, but it comes at high cost. This not a war against terror any more than World War II was a war against kamikazes.

We are at war with jihadists motivated by a violent ideology based on an extremist interpretation of the Islamic faith. This enemy is decentralized and geographically dispersed around the world. Its organizations range from a fully functioning state such as Iran to small groups of individuals in American cities.

We are fighting this war on three distinct fronts: the home front, the operational front and the strategic-political front. Let us look first at the home front. The Bush administration deserves much credit for the fact that, despite determined efforts to carry them out, there have been no
successful Islamist attacks within the United States since Sept. 11, 2001. This is a significant achievement, but there are growing dangers and continuing vulnerabilities.


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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/washington/01educ.html?ei=5094&en=d16821c93090d899&hp=&ex=1157169600&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print


September 1, 2006

Education Dept. Shared Student Data With F.B.I.
By JONATHAN D. GLATER

The Federal Education Department shared personal information on hundreds of student loan applicants with the Federal Bureau of Investigation across a five-year period that began after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the agencies said yesterday.

Under the program, called Project Strikeback, the Education Department received names from the F.B.I. and checked them against its student aid database, forwarding information. Each year, the Education Department collects information from 14 million applications for federal student aid.

Neither agency would say whether any investigations resulted. The agencies said the program had been closed. The effort was reported yesterday by a graduate student, Laura McGann, at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, as part of a reporting project that focused on national security and civil liberties.

In a statement, Mary Mitchelson, counsel to the inspector general of the Education Department, said, "Using names provided by the bureau, we examined the Department of Education's student financial aid databases to determine if the individuals received or applied for federal student financial assistance."



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/business/01energy.html?pagewanted=print


September 1, 2006

California Plan to Cut Gases Splits Industry
By JAD MOUAWAD and JEREMY W. PETERS

After becoming chief executive of PG&E last year, Peter Darbee met with a large number of leading climate scientists, he said, to make up his own mind about global warming.

As a result of his wide inquiries, PG&E, the parent of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which serves Northern California and is one of the nation's largest energy utilities, broke away from the industry pack to support sweeping efforts to reduce the greenhouse-gas emissions that are widely blamed for global warming.

"The evidence in the scientific community is lopsided - it's not even close," Mr. Darbee said. "Climate change is a problem."California is once again at the forefront of the nation's environmental policy, with a far-reaching pledge to curb carbon emissions by 2020. But the
deal struck on Wednesday between Democratic legislators and the Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has divided businesses and industries in California.

While high-technology companies have lined up behind the move, arguing that it will put California at the forefront of alternative energy development, most of those representing basic industries contend that it will retard the economy, force energy-intensive businesses out of state and increase costs for all Californians.


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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/opinion/01fri2.html?pagewanted=print

September 1, 2006
Editorial

From California, a Breakthrough

California, long a leader on environmental issues, has done it again, approving a pathbreaking bill that would impose the country's broadest and most stringent controls on emissions of carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas. California's action stands in bold and welcome contrast to the federal government's reluctance to take aggressive action on a problem of mounting concern among scientists and the general public.

The deal between the state's Democratic leadership and its Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, would reduce California's carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. This is by any measure a huge undertaking. It will be up to state agencies, chiefly the California Air Resources Board, to work out the details, but the plan allows for market-based mechanisms
like emissions trading to achieve the maximum possible gains at the lowest cost.

Of the bill's many architects, the most important were two Democratic members of the Assembly, Fabian Núñez and Fran Pavley. Ms. Pavley was also the author of another groundbreaking measure four years ago limiting carbon dioxide emissions from cars and light trucks. That measure, which Mr. Schwarzenegger also embraces, is now the subject of a lawsuit from the automobile companies and the Bush administration.

Taken together with other state actions - including an important agreement among several Northeastern states to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants - California's assertiveness has suggested to some people that the country may be at a transformational moment on climate change, with the states leading a powerful "bottom-up" movement to deal with the problem.


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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101438_pf.html
Scold War Buildup
The Perils of Foreign Policy by Report Card

By John R. Hamilton
Friday, September 1, 2006; A21

Attempts to explain the vehemence of anti-U.S. feeling abroad correctly home in on Iraq and other unpopular policies of the current administration. But over the past three decades the kudzu-like growth of another U.S. practice, used by Congress and by Democratic and Republican administrations alike, has nurtured seething resentment abroad.

This is what might be called "foreign policy by report card," the issuing of public assessments of the performance of other countries, with the threat of economic or political sanctions for those whose performance, in our view, doesn't make the grade. The overuse of these mandated reports makes us seem judgmental, moralistic and bullying.

The degree to which public reports accompanied by the threat of sanctions have been institutionalized in U.S. policy is stunning. A partial list:

Each year we issue detailed human rights reports on every country in the world, including those whose performance appears superior to our own. We judge whether other countries have provided sufficient cooperation in fighting illegal drugs. We place countries whose protection of intellectual property has been insufficient on "watch lists," threatening trade sanctions against those that do not improve. We judge respect for labor rights abroad through a public petition process set up under the System of Generalized (trade) Preferences. We publish annual reports on other countries' respect for religious freedom.




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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901045_pf.html

Diversionary Strike On a Rights Group

By Kathleen Peratis
Wednesday, August 30, 2006; A19

In early August Human Rights Watch issued a 49-page report, "Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon," charging Israel with war crimes in its conduct of the war in Lebanon. Many of the Lebanese civilian casualties could not be explained by Hezbollah soldiers' hiding among civilians, Human Rights Watch charged. Although Hezbollah
fighters did hide among civilians, the rights group discovered that in about two dozen instances, involving about a third of the civilian deaths, there had been no Hezbollah presence at the time of the attacks and the targets had little or no military value.

The report was based on the same methodology that Human Rights Watch has used for more than 20 years in situations in which many witnesses have an incentive to lie: face-to-face probing and on-site inspections -- in this case in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

The critics of reports on this subject -- Amnesty International made similar charges -- have been ferocious. They have not merely deployed the common defense of accusing the accusers of getting the facts wrong. They have gone much further and accused the accusers of bad intent. For example: NGO Monitor, echoing other critics, claims that "central in the strategy" of Amnesty International is "to delegitimize Israel."

But the real vitriol has been reserved for Human Rights Watch and its executive director, Kenneth Roth. Rabbi Avi Shafran of Agudath Israel has called Roth "loathsome." An editorial in the New York Sun accused Roth of "de-legitimization of Judaism" because his group condemned Israel's strategy as "an eye for an eye." Rabbi Aryeh Spero in Human Events Online referred to
Roth as a "human rights impostor," and likened him to "Nazis and Communists." On Sunday, the Jerusalem Post published an op-ed by NGO Monitor's Gerald Steinberg titled "Ken Roth's Blood Libel."



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-leisure-country-politics.html?pagewanted=print


August 30, 2006

Chicks Row Looms Large for Country Music Liberals
By REUTERS
Filed at 4:34 p.m. ET

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Ever since the Dixie Chicks were boycotted by radio stations for insulting President George W. Bush in 2003, country music liberals have felt under siege but that doesn't mean there aren't any in Nashville.

With 75 million country albums sold a year, and 2,000 radio stations devoted to it, country music is more than hillbillies in cowboy hats line dancing and singing ``Stand by Your Man'' -- it's big business, and it encompasses a broad range of fans and musicians, across the political spectrum.

The difference is some shout louder than others, and those who might agree with the Dixie Chicks often keep quiet.``I had one artist manager tell me, 'We might have artists who feel that
way, but they're not going to put a record out and see it get 'Dixie Chicked,''' said Wade Jessen, director of the country charts for Billboard magazine.

The Dixie Chicks controversy stems from lead singer Natalie Maines' March 2003 comments in London that the band was ''ashamed'' of fellow Texan Bush. Many country radio stations dropped them from their playlists.

GLBT DIGEST September 1, 2006

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