**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-logo.html?pagewanted=print
Gay Channel Logo Launches Weekly Newscast
By REUTERS
November 6, 2007
Filed at 2:35 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Gay-lesbian network Logo is moving into thenetwork news business, planning to televise a half-hour weekly newscastproduced by CBS News.
"CBS News on Logo" will premiere next Monday at 7 p.m. EST. The newscaststems from a two-year partnership between the MTV Networks channel and CBSNews. A dedicated CBS News crew working out of its West 57th Streetbroadcast center had been producing three-minute interstitials that aireddaily on Logo.
Those interstitials will be replaced by the half-hour newscast.
Brian Graden, Logo president and president of MTV Networks Music GroupEntertainment, said Monday that Logo had gotten to the point where it hadthe distribution and roster of advertisers to take things to another level.
"It seemed like there was enough news to sustain that (half-hour) format andthen some, and that the audience had a concentrated interest" a year outfrom the 2008 general elections, Graden said. He didn't rule out furthernews programming based on how things go.
The new show will focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issuesincluding the 2008 election, HIV/AIDs and entertainment, sports and sciencenews. The newscast will be available on Logo as well as streamed at365gay.com (http://365gay.com), a Logo-owned Website.
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INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Iran: Stop the Execution of Child Offender Convicted of Sodomy
Summary
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) haslearned that Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen of Kurdishorigin from the city of Paveh, in the Western province of Kermanshah, hasbeen sentenced by the government to execution. Makvan has been convicted ofmultiple counts of anal rape and sentenced to execution for crimes allegedlycommitted when he was 13 years old. IGLHRC calls for an internationalresponse to stop this scheduled execution.
Imposing the death penalty for crimes committed by juveniles is prohibitedunder international law as well as by the Iranian legal system. In addition,IGLHRC calls on the international community to condemn the use of the deathpenalty as a punishment for any sex or morality-related crime, whetherconsensual or non-consensual, as unnecessarily extreme. In this case, sincenone of the alleged victims ever claimed to have been raped, and all of themadmitted to the court that their initial accounts of sexual intercourse withMakvan were false and had been acquired under coercion, the imposition ofthe death penalty is especially objectionable.
As an organization dedicated to defending the rights of sexual minoritiesworldwide, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission(IGLHRC) objects to any law, policy or ruling that penalizes consensualhomosexual relationships among adults.
Action
IGLHRC requests that you send letters in English or Persian to the followingIranian officials, demanding that the order of execution in the case ofMakvan Mouloodzadeh be withdrawn:
a.. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His EminenceAyatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei,: istiftaa@wilayah.org and info@leader.ir andinfo@khamenei.ir
b.. The Honorable Chief Justice, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyed MahmoudHashemi Shahrudi: Shahroudi@Dadgostary-tehran.ir and ijpr@iranjudiciary.org
c.. Iranian President, His Excellency Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad:dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
d.. Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Council (Parliament), HisExcellency Dr. Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel: hadadadel@majlis.ir
e.. Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Manuchehr Motaki:matbuat@mfa.gov.ir
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From Gays Without Borders
The political situation in Poland was formally changed after the election on21st of October, but not for all. Civic Platform declared, that they are notliberals in gay matter, in equality and tolerance. We can feel it today inPoznan. There are still a lot of homophobia in winning party. Politiciansfrom Civic Platform in Poznan declared, that the Equality March can notstart from Adam Mickiewicz Square, because it is the saint place for peoplein Poznan, not good for Equality March at all. We do not agree for suchlocal and general politics. This is our idea to fight with all signs ofdiscrimination. If You could show to the new polish government that gaysaround the world are still thinking about Poland will be great. Meeting withpolish Consul and solidarity demonstrations will be significant event forpolish authorities.
The government was changed, the parliament was changed, but there are stillstrong homophobia among polish authorities.
Best Regards
Lukasz Palucki
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18978548&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
Gospel Preacher's Anti-Gay 'Rant' at Obama Concert
By: DOUG IRELAND
11/01/2007
The controversy over what Mother Jones magazine called Senator BarackObama's "pander-to-black-hatred tour" featuring homophobic "ex-gay"preacher-singer Donnie McClurkin continued this past week.
An Obama gospel concert was held on Sunday, October 28, in Columbia, SouthCarolina as the final stage in what the presidential candidate billed as a"Forty Days of Faith and Family" tour of the Palmetto State. A Septemberpoll conducted by Winthrop University and ETV showed that 74 percent ofSouth Carolina African Americans believe homosexuality is "unacceptable."
In an attempt to mollify the widespread protests by the LGBT community overMcClurkin's appearance, the Obama campaign had hastily arranged at the lastminute for an openly gay South Carolina pastor, Andy Sidden, to join theroster at the concert. But Sidden's appearance was notably brief andanti-climactic; he said a short prayer to the auditorium at the verybeginning of the program, when the arena was only about half full, and thenhe left.
The Obama campaign had assured members of the LGBT community thatMcClurkin - who has told the Washington Post that he's in "a war" againstwhat he calls "the curse of homosexuality" - would not use the event tospeak against what he claims is "the choice" of homosexuality.
Instead, McClurkin delivered what outspoken Obama supporter Andrew Sullivan,who is openly gay, afterward described on his blog as a "rant."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.sovo.com/2007/11-2/news/national/7640.cfm
Clinton supporters downplay ties to anti-gay ministers
Some say Obama 'crossed a line' with gospel event
By JOSHUA LYNSEN
Nov. 02, 2007
Just one week after criticizing Sen. Barack Obama's ties to an "ex-gay"minister, supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) are downplayingher connection to anti-gay figures.
Obama was assailed last week for allowing gospel singer Donnie McClurkin toappear at a South Carolina campaign event, but the endorsement of Clinton byat least two anti-gay black ministers has so far not generated similaroutrage.
"I don't know if that's the same as, 'Here's a microphone - you can speakfor my campaign,'" said Ryan Wilson of the South Carolina Gay & LesbianPride Movement.
Some of Clinton's gay supporters, along with unaligned gays such as Wilson,said they're generally unconcerned that anti-gay ministers Bishop Eddie Longand Rev. Harold Mayberry are supporting the campaign.
Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta once marchedagainst gay marriage and hosts an "ex-gay" ministry. Mayberry has preachedagainst homosexuality to his First African Methodist Episcopal Church inOakland, Calif.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15075
Michigan case centers on gay workers' benefits
They could keep them despite ruling
LANSING (AP) | Nov 5, 11:35 AM
The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday will begin weighing whether stateuniversities and other public-sector employers can provide health insuranceto the partners of gay workers.
But even if gays lose the case, they ultimately could still get theirbenefits despite a 2004 state constitutional ban against gay marriage thatthreatened those benefits.
Universities and local governments have rewritten their domestic partnershippolicies in light of the measure.
END Inline Ad The new policies no longer specifically acknowledge domesticpartnerships but make sure "other qualified adults" -- including gaypartners -- are eligible for medical and dental care. The adults have tolive together for a certain amount of time, be unmarried, share finances andbe unrelated.
"It's a temporary, stopgap method. It's certainly not a panacea," said JayKaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.While no same-sex partners of employees have lost their health insurancewhile the legal battle continues, many now are getting health insurance onlyon a pilot basis, he said.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/article.php?articleid=2066&viewarticle=1
the bible knows nothing of homosexual orientations, says bishop generobinson
Nigel Collett
The man at the centre of the storm which is currently tearing apart theworldwide Anglican Communion, Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire - theworld's first openly gay bishop - made a surprise visit to Hong Kong lastweek. Nigel Collett reports.
This guest column was written by Nigel Collett for Hong Kong's Civil Rightsfor Sexual Diversities (www.cr4sd.org), a NGO working for the rights ofpeople who may be disadvantaged by the law, policies and social prejudicesin Hong Kong because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and sexualexpression. The column will be written by founding member Roddy Shaw andvarious writers.
Bishop Gene Robinson's election in 2003 set off the latest round in thestruggles being waged inside the Anglican Church (also known widely as theEpiscopalian Church) between a coalition of homophobic conservative andfundamentalist clergy and their liberal opponents. It led, in February thisyear, to an ultimatum being presented to the American province of the Churchby the Anglican primates assembled in Tanzania, who called upon theirAmerican colleagues to stop appointing openly gay clergy and to ceaseallowing church blessings of same sex couples on penalty of expulsion fromthe communion. This lamentable piece of blackmail was committed largely atthe urging of a few bigoted African archbishops who claim that homosexualityis a sin and threaten schism, a split in the church, if toleration is shownto it, and who will not even bring themselves to sit in the same room asfellow priests who are gay.
[PIC]The fall out from this will doubtless cause further conflict at thisyear's forthcoming meeting of all Anglican bishops at Lambeth, a gatheringto which Bishop Gene Robinson has the sad distinction of being the onlybishop in the Communion who has not been issued an invitation.
So, in the present circumstances where the Anglican Communion is too rivento have yet established a workable approach to its gay clergy, mostAnglicans are either chary of meeting Bishop Robinson or are directlyopposed to what he stands for, and it is not surprising that his visit toHong Kong was not an official one. But enough of a programme had beenarranged for him to make a local mark. He had been invited by a group ofliberal Christians (the Hong Kong Christian Institute, the Hong Kong Women'sChristian Council and the [interfaith] Spiritual Seekers Society) plus theHong Kong University's Faculty of Education, to bring his experiences offighting homophobia and discrimination to Hong Kong and to meet some of thelocal gay Christians and hear their stories.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5960.html
Gay teen couple made to sit apart on bus
5th November 2007 15:13
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
Two gay teenagers from Scotland are considering legal action after beinghumiliated on a late-night bus journey.
Steven Black, 16, and Mark Craig, 19, were told to get off the bus by thedriver and then forced to sit in separate seats, according to the SundayMail.
"If we had been all over each other, I could understand - because thatbehaviour in public is not appropriate whatever your sexuality. But Markjust had his arm around my shoulder," Steven told the paper.
"I have never been so humiliated in my life. I just can't believe we arestill made to feel like second-class citizens."
The couple chose to sit separately because they had no other way to gethome.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5962.html
Lesbian group's transgender ban challenged
5th November 2007 16:01
Maryam Omidi
An Australian transgender psychotherapist has taken a lesbian support groupto an equal opportunities tribunal on the grounds of discrimination.
Tracie O'Keefe in Sydney, claims that she was refused an invitation to anevent organised by the gay organisation Sappho's Party because of theirstrict policy excluding transgender people.
The group only allows those who were female at birth to join.
"I sent an email to them saying that I would like to go and they sent me anemail back saying it would not be appropriate for me to attend," Ms O'Keefesaid, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Sappho's Party told the tribunal that Ms O'Keefe's attendance at the eventwould impinge on the organisation's "intimacy, level of trust anddiscussion".
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama
Is Iraq Vietnam? Who really won in 2000? Which side are you on in theculture wars? These questions have divided the Baby Boomers and distortedour politics. One candidate could transcend them.
by Andrew Sullivan
December 2007
Goodbye to All That
The logic behind the candidacy of Barack Obama is not, in the end, aboutBarack Obama. It has little to do with his policy proposals, which are veryclose to his Democratic rivals' and which, with a few exceptions, existfirmly within the conventions of our politics. It has little to do withObama's considerable skills as a conciliator, legislator, or even thinker.It has even less to do with his ideological pedigree or legal background orrhetorical skills. Yes, as the many profiles prove, he has considerableintelligence and not a little guile. But so do others, not least hisformidably polished and practiced opponent Senator Hillary Clinton.
Obama, moreover, is no saint. He has flaws and tics: Often tired, sometimescrabby, intermittently solipsistic, he's a surprisingly uneven campaigner.
Listen to an excerpt from his interview with Andrew Sullivan. (Audio playerwill pop up in a new window.)
A soaring rhetorical flourish one day is undercut by a lackluster debateperformance the next. He is certainly not without self-regard. He has moreexperience in public life than his opponents want to acknowledge, but he hasnot spent much time in Washington and has never run a business. His leanphysique, close-cropped hair, and stick-out ears can give the impression ofa slightly pushy undergraduate. You can see why many of his friends andadmirers have urged him to wait his turn. He could be president in five ornine years' time-why the rush?
But he knows, and privately acknowledges, that the fundamental point of hiscandidacy is that it is happening now. In politics, timing matters. And themost persuasive case for Obama has less to do with him than with the momenthe is meeting. The moment has been a long time coming, and it is the resultof a confluence of events, from one traumatizing war in Southeast Asia toanother in the most fractious country in the Middle East. The legacy is acultural climate that stultifies our politics and corrupts our discourse.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2007/11/if-a-cross-dres.html
November 03, 2007
If a cross-dressing Republican speaks.
.will anyone listen?
OK it's a strained version of that old metaphor about a tree falling in aforest when no one's there to hear it, but you get the point.
Washington state Rep. Richard Curtis, who resigned his seat after the mediapublished details of an alleged blackmail scheme against him, says he knowshe needs to explain his previous votes against gay rights legislation. Whenhe finally gets around to talking, it will probably be way too late.
In an interview with the local Columbian newspaper, Curtis says now thathe's lawyered up he can't talk about the case until it's resolved, seeing ashow he still faces the possibility of being charged himself withsolicitation. "He said if I spoke publicly, he would drop me like a hotpotato," Curtis said, referring to his attorney.
That's too bad, since explaining his votes against domestic partners andbasic civil rights might help to remind the eager gossip blogger-mongers outthere that this man is the alleged victim here. I'm not sure what form theexplanation would take, although I can imagine that he viewed his ownsame-sex urges as wrong and a threat to his marriage -- so maybe he viewedothers the same way.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=10853
Suit by homophobic high schooler given go-ahead
Court upholds Christian's right to express anti-gay beliefs
Published Thursday, 01-Nov-2007 in issue 1036
The Associated Press - A high school student can pursue nominal damages froman eastern Kentucky school district over its required antiharassmenttraining, an appeals court ruled Friday.
The U.S. sixth circuit court of appeals ruled 2-1 that the Boyd Countyschool district's policy imposed a "chill" on student Timothy Allen Morrison's ability to profess his Christian beliefs and opposition to homosexuality.The ruling sends the case back to U.S. district judge David Bunning for ahearing on damages. Judge KarenNelson Moore, joined by Judge John R. Adams, wrote that the allegation of apolicy stifling free speech isenough to allow Morrison to seek damages. To make his case, the judges said,Morrison must show that thepolicy would "deter a person of ordinary firmness" from exercising freespeech rights.
Messages left for the Alliance Defense Fund, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-basedChristian legal group that represented Morrison, as well as the AmericanCivil Liberties Union, which represented the school district, were notimmediately returned. Morrison sued the school district, claiming that themandatory antiharassment training threatened him with punishment forexpressing religious beliefs in opposition to homosexuality. Morrison is aprofessed Christian who believes his religion requires him to speak outagainst what he sees as behavior that doesn't comport with his understandingof Christian morality.
The policy was later changed to allow students to opt out of the trainingand exempt speech that would normally be protected off campus. In thedissent, Judge Deborah Cook said Morrison chose not to speak out againsthomosexuality and thus didn't risk being punished. Cook said that Morrisonsuffered no actual harm from the policy and that holding a trial for damagesto award "a single dollar" serves no purpose and "trivializes" the businessof the federal courts in protecting the Constitution.
"We cannot find a school district constitutionally liable for chillingstudent speech every time a student chooses caution over risking possiblediscipline," she wrote.
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Today is the Day for which the whole LGBT community in Poland and Europehas been waiting for last two years - Poland's Prime Minister JaroslawKaczynski has handed in the resignation of his cabinet to the President(his twin brother Lech), officially bringing an end to the Law and Justicegovernment, in power since the autumn of 2005.
Earlier President's Palace declared that President Lech Kaczynski is toaccept the nomination of Donald Tusk (Civic Platform) as the new PrimeMinister this week.
The first test for the a new government will be November 17th when theMarch of Equality in Poznan (Western Poland) is planned. In 2005 the policein Poznan detained and interrogated 65 demonstrators during the March ofEquality organized by organizations of leftist and gay activists in Poznan.
Tonight in my organization we will celebrate the end of Kaczynskis' era!
Bottoms up!
Tomasz Szypula
Campaign Against Homophobia
ILGA-Europe
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The Detroit News
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071105/OPINION03/711050303/1007/OPINION
Obama's mistake raises questions on gay commitment
Deb Price
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sad, disappointed and more than a little hurt. That's how many Americans whoare both black and gay sound when they talk about Barack Obama.
What's upsetting them is that the Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois,despite stellar gay-rights positions, sat back and allowed a gospel concertfor his presidential campaign to essentially spiral into an anti-gayrevival.
How? As part of wooing black evangelicals in high-stakes South Carolina, hiscampaign gave star-billing at an event to Grammy-winning gospel singer andpreacher Donnie McClurkin, a self-identified "ex-gay" claiming to have beensaved from "perversion."
When the announcement of McClurkin's inclusion sparked an understandableuproar in the gay and progressive faith communities, Obama issued a big tentstatement that condemned "homophobia" and stressed he "strongly" disagreeswith McClurkin's views.
But sadly Obama stood by the choice.
Making matters worse, the Obama campaign then tossed in a white gay preacherto open the event rather than add one of the black gay or gay-friendlypastors who offered their voices.
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
I feel for Bruce Bawer ...but try coming back into the US from Europe withyour partner and your adopted child. DJ is, as you know, a quick kid. Hespends a lot of time around adults, he's not oblivious, he can read adults.And we go to Canada and/or Europe at least twice a year. I can't tell youthe number of times we've had passport and/or customs officials literallyand audibly scoff when we tell them DJ is our son -- you know, that"uusssggghhhh" sound people make when they're told something they don'tbelieve or are offended by, a cross between groaning and clearing yourthroat. We've had passport control officers roll their eyes, glare at us,look down at DJ and slowly shake their heads. And DJ understandseverything -- these people, these people in US government uniforms, think wedid something wrong by adopting him. That there's something illegitimateabout his family. The worst part, of course, is that we can't say anything.We can't defend ourselves or him or his family as we're insulted anddemeaned because God only knows what will happen if we get into an argument.
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BRUSSELS - The number of same sex couples getting married continues to soar.More and more gays, lesbians and bisexuals are tying the knot according tonew figures. Last year there was a nine percent surge in the number of samesex unions in Belgium. Same sex unions are especially popular amonglesbians. Yves Aerts of the Flemish gay association says that many lesbianshave children from an earlier marriage. They often want to give thesechildren the security that only a marriage can offer. This is why they optfor a second marriage. New adoption legislation also allows people to adopttheir partner's children. The number of children being adopted by gaycouples continues to rise as well. Last year 1,124 gay marriages wereconcluded. The figure for 2005 was 1,027.
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On questions relating to the Bible's treatment of family and morals, onemight expect assurance, if not rigidity, from Evangelical Christianity. So,it may surprise many to learn how "live" the topic of divorce remains inEvangelical circles. Last month, the cover story of the monthly ChristianityToday was titled "When to Separate What God has Joined: A Closer Reading onthe Bible on Divorce." The heated controversy provoked by the story showedhow Biblically flexible some Evangelicals can be - especially when God'sword seems at odds not just with modern American behavior, but also withsimple human kindness.Still, the controversy suggests that even thecountry's most rule-bound Christians will search for a fresh understandingof scripture when it seems unjust to them. The implications? Flexibility ondivorce may mean that evangelicals could also rethink their position on suchthings as gay marriage, as a generation of Christians far more accepting ofhomosexuality begins to move into power. (The ever-active Barna folks havefound that 57% of "born-again" Christians age 16-29 criticize their ownchurch for being "anti-homosexual.")
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Making a commitment to another person, as a partner or a parent, is thefurthest thing from "shutting out a world of trouble," because it meansmaking yourself even more vulnerable to an already troubled world; somethingthat really comes home to you when you're loved one's walk out the door togo to work, school, etc., and you realize how vulnerable they are, how muchcan happen "out there," and how little you can do to protect them. It means,or it can mean, committing to making the world you and your loved onesjourney through each day a little less troubled if you can. By extensionthat means, or can mean, doing the same for and alongside the families inyour community.
--
My partner and I got a taste of this flying back to the US fromJohannesburg, South African to JFK. During the 1 hour refueling break inDakar, everyone had to take all belongs out of the overheads and hold themin our lap while the plane was inspected ("In order to prepare to enter USAirspace").. as if passengers spent the last 8 hours of the trip assemblingbombs and putting them in the overheads for safe keeping. Then upon arrival,my partner and I went up to passport control (The US citizen line) and wereyelled at as we were not family so we were not to come up together (not anissue in the 3 countries visited on our trip..nor any other country we havevisited and we have traveled extensively around the world). I know this doesnot compare with non-residents but we both felt anything but a nice welcomeback to our own country.
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NationalGayNews.com
http://chicagoist.com/2007/11/05/glbt_suicide.php
Conference Addresses GLBT Suicide
November 5, 2007
Aside from small-scale studies linking sexual-minority youth with highsuicide attempt rates, there isn't a ton of concrete information about thehigher risk of suicide among GLBT youth - U.S. data does not track sexualorientation as a factor in suicides. Still, there was a study in New Zealandthat showed that they were six times more likely to commit suicide thantheir heterosexual peers, and it seems generally agreed upon that the riskis much higher. That's why experts from around the country are coming toChicago for a two-day discussion on the higher risk of suicide that GLBTyouth face growing up and what can be done about it.
In order to address "disproportionately high" rates of young GLBT peoplecommitting suicide, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention isco-sponsoring the event with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and theSuicide Prevention Resource Center. The groups hope that bringing togetherthe top minds in all fields related to the issue, they will be able todevelop a "consensus statement" offering recommendations that could helpspur education and suicide prevention interventions related to the GLBTcommunity.
One of the main things it will do, hopefully, is simply raise awareness,especially among those who are in a position to help the young peoplestruggling with their identity and are able to offer a helping hand.
more . . . . .
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NationalGayNews.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5954.html
Howard declines to say who would "turn him" gay
5th November 2007 12:32
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The Prime Minister of Australia was asked an unusual question on theelection campaign trail yesterday: Who would you turn gay for?
68-year-old John Howard was campaigning at a shopping mall in Gosford, NewSouth Wales, when "jeans shop worker" Danielle tackled him about thatparticular big issue.
The PM laughed off the question, but his consistent refusal to grant equalrights for gay and lesbian Australians has been less easy to avoid.
He has been accused of pandering to homophobia to win votes, and despiteopinion polls showing 71% of Australians favouring equal rights for gaypeople, he is still opposed.
In 2004 he passed federal legislation banning same-sex marriage and earlierthis year said that HIV positive immigrants should not be allowed into thecountry.
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ExpressGayNews.com
http://expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=14827
House vote on ENDA set for Tuesday
Trans amendment likely to be introduced, withdrawn
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Nov 6, 6:23 AM
Democratic leaders have scheduled a vote in the House of RepresentativesTuesday morning on a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act thatlimits its protection against job discrimination to gays and bisexuals.
The decision to bring the bill, known as ENDA, to the House floor comesafter weeks of behind-the-scenes debate among Democratic leaders overwhether to allow a vote on an amendment to restore protections fortransgender persons to the bill.
News that House Democrats had decided to move ahead with the legislationsurfaced late Monday afternoon, when the House Rules Committee announced itwould meet within a few hours notice to decide on ground rules for thedebate and vote on the bill.
In the hastily called meeting, which drew protests from Republicans, theDemocratic-controlled rules panel approved a rule allowing threepre-arranged amendments to be introduced during the debate on the bill. Oneof the amendments calls for adding transgender protections to thelegislation.
The rule states that the trans amendment, set to be introduced by gay Rep.Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), "may be withdrawn by its proponent" before it comesup for a vote.
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ExpressGayNews.com
http://www.news-journalonline.com/scripts/printme.asp
Ex Daytona commissioner, teacher charged in sex sting
By KARI COBHAM
Staff Writer
November 02, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH -- A former Daytona Beach city commissioner and a local highschool teacher arrested Thursday during a sex sting at a Volusia mallbathroom were released from the Volusia County Brach Jail today, authoritiessaid.
Former commissioner and mayoral candidate Mike Shallow and David Behringer,an athletic trainer and teacher at Seabreeze High School, posted $1,000 bailtoday after midnight, a jail spokesman said.
Behringer resigned today, according to officials with the Volusia CountySchool District.
Shallow and Behringer were among nine men charged with lewd and lasciviousconduct and exposure of a sexual organ, both misdemeanors, police said.
"The reason that we did this sting is we all go to the mall; our kids gointo the bathroom," Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. "That they could besusceptible to this kind of behavior is absolutely a disgrace."
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365gay.com
http://365gay.com/health/fitness/Sports/110507sports.htm
Autopsy Inconclusive on Olympic Runner
by Rachel Cohen, the Associated Press
An autopsy of elite runner Ryan Shay was inconclusive Sunday after the28-year-old collapsed and died in Central Park at the U.S. men's marathonOlympic trials a day earlier.
"We want to take a closer look at the heart tissue," said Ellen Borakove,spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. She said the officelikely would reach a conclusion in a week after examining Shay's tissue onmicroscopic slides.
Shay collapsed about 5 1/2 miles into the race Saturday, and later waspronounced dead at a city hospital.
"They know how he died ... of a cardiac arrest. What caused it is what's inquestion," his father, Joe Shay, told The Associated Press. "We certainlywant to know that as soon as possible. When we know that we'll release thatto the public as soon as we can. We're patient."
Joe Shay said Saturday that Ryan was diagnosed with an enlarged heart at age14. But doctors had repeatedly cleared him for competition, because having alarger than normal heart is not unusual among elite athletes. Training hardin aerobic sports, such as cycling, running or swimming, tends to result ina bigger heart that pumps more blood throughout the body.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/110507thompson.htm
Thompson Advisor Quits Over Drug Conviction
by The Associated Press
Posted: November 5, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) An adviser to Republican Fred Thompson quit the presidentialcandidate's campaign Monday, one day after a report about his decades-oldcriminal record for drug dealing.
"I have decided to resign my position as chair of 'First Day Founders' of'The Friends of Fred Thompson,'" Philip Martin said in a statement. "Thefocus of this campaign should be on Fred Thompson's positions on the issuesan his outstanding leadership ability, not on mistakes I made some 24 yearsago. I deeply regret any embarrassment this has caused."
The campaign issued the statement.
Thompson has flown around the country in a private jet borrowed from Martin,a businessman and co-chairman of Thompson's campaign, The Washington Postreported Sunday.
Martin pleaded guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979, but thecourt withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. In 1983, he wascharged with violating probation and multiple counts of bookmaking, cocainetrafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-traffickingand conspiracy charges, and was continued on probation, the newspaper said.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/110507jersey.htm
Burger King Workers Charged In Gay Couple's Beating
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 5, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Union City, New Jersey) Two workers at a Burger King in Union City havebeen charged with assault and a hate crime in connection with the beating ofa gay couple outside the restaurant.
Christopher Soto and Angel Carbaballo, who have since been fired by thechain, are scheduled to appear in court this week.
The victims, both in their 40s, have not been named.
When the couple asked for a refund for a menu item that the counter persondiscovered was not available, another counter person then asked who wantedthe refund - "The faggots over there?"
The couple left the restaurant, but a group of Burger King employeesallegedly followed them to a side street and beat them mercilessly, thoughnot fatally.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/110607eadv.htm
Vote Expected Today On ENDA
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 6, 2007 - 7:30 am ET
(Washington) The House of Representatives is expected to vote late Tuesdaymorning on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act but the future is unclearabout an amendment to include protections for trans-workers.
ENDA, as currently worded, would make it illegal for employers todiscriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring, firing, promotingor paying an employee.
It is sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) one of only two openly gaymembers of Congress.
There are, however, some notable exceptions. It does not cover smallbusinesses, churches and the uniformed members of the armed forces.
The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to send ENDA to a vote, alongwith three amendments.
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50231.asp
Conservative Pittsburgh Diocese Votes to Begin Episcopal Split
November 06, 2007
Representatives from the Episcopal diocese of Pittsburgh votedoverwhelmingly Friday to approve constitutional amendments that are thefirst step in leaving the national church in a widening rift overhomosexuality and interpretation of Scripture.
Pittsburgh joined dioceses in San Joaquin, Calif., and Quincy, Ill., ingranting preliminary approval to separating from the national church, whichthe dioceses contend have wrongly abandoned Scriptural authority andtraditional teachings on truth, salvation, and the divinity of Jesus Christ.
''As a diocese we have come to a fork in the road,'' Pittsburgh bishopRobert Duncan said before lay delegates approved the measures 118-58 andclergy voted 109-24. ''Indeed, it has become clear that our understandingsare not only different, but mutually exclusive, even destructive to oneanother.''
The division between conservatives and the Episcopal Church, the Anglicanbody in the United States, has sharpened since the denomination consecratedNew Hampshire bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is gay, in 2003.
Duncan is among the leaders of the conservative U.S. movement.
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50251.asp
Kentucky GOP Warns Voters of State Becoming Gay Mecca
November 06, 2007
Kentucky's Republican Party funded an automated telephone call to votersstarring the voice of crooner Pat Boone, who warns that the election of theDemocratic nominee for governor will make Kentucky like San Francisco.
Polling suggests that Democrat Steven Beshear is positioned to win, withpolls showing him 25 percentage points ahead of Republican incumbent ErnieFletcher, according to PageOneQ.com. His campaign Web site also showssupport and endorsements from several local media outlets.
The audio, acquired by the Web site, GoodAsYou, reveals the antigay messagefrom Boone.
"Ernie Fletcher is a typical Kentuckian, he's worked long and hard for thestate, its people, and its traditions," Boone says. "And of course, he hascome under attack by political opponents and now he faces a man who wantshis job who has consistently supported every homosexual cause: same-sexmarriage, gay adoption, special rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual, eventransgender individuals."
The message goes on to say that Beshear has been endorsed by gay advocacygroups and implies that the candidate would nullify a voter-approvedamendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. Boone endedhis message by asking, "Now, do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky tobe like another San Francisco? Please reelect Ernie Fletcher." (TheAdvocate)
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50237.asp
Study: Same-Sex Couples Migrating to the Heartland
November 06, 2007
The Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, released a report Monday documentingwhat it called "a gay demographic explosion" in some of the country'sreddest of regions. Using recently released data from the U.S. CensusBureau's American Community Survey, the analyses show that the number ofsame-sex couples in the United States has quadrupled since 1990, growing ata rate 21 times that of the population. But increases have been the mostdramatic in the Midwest, Mountain, and Southern states.
"Clearly, more same-sex couples are willing to openly identify themselves assuch on government surveys," said Gary Gates, senior research fellow at theWilliams Institute and author of the study. "A combination of growing socialacceptance and migration to the South and West means that same-sex couplesare becoming increasingly visible in the most politically and sociallyconservative parts of the country."
Conservative regions where George H.W. Bush's support in the 1992presidential election exceeded his national vote average all hadabove-average increases in same-sex couples since 1990. Conversely, regionswhere Bill Clinton's support was above his national vote average all hadincreases of same-sex couples below the national average.
The Williams Institute study also found that state recognition of same-sexcouples was inversely related to increases in the number of same-sex couplesreporting their relationship. From 2000 to 2006, states that created formalrecognition of same-sex couples had below-average increases, while statesthat prohibited marriage between two people of the same sex experiencedabove-average increases in same-sex couples.
Utah typifies this demographic pattern. In rankings of states by theirconcentration of same-sex couples, the study finds that Utah is the biggestmover, from a ranking of 38th in 1990 to 14th in 2006.
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http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5944.html
Dead parents better than gay ones says Romney
2nd November 2007 17:20
Tony Grew
A candidate for the Republican party nomination for President of the UnitedStates has said that he thinks a child would be better off with a deadparent rather than a gay one.
Mitt Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts, was speaking at a collegein rural Iowa.
Asked what he would say to a gay couple wanting to get married, he pointedout his support for a change to the US Constitution to bar gay and lesbianAmericans from marriage.
"I believe that maintaining the strength of the marriage relationship, thefamily relationship, is critical to the strength of an entire society," hesaid, according to Rocky Mountain News.
"And I believe that the development of children is enhanced by having a maleand a female as part of their upbringing in their home.
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http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-48/119418324533370.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
Gays fight for benefits in court, could keep them despite ruling
11/4/2007, 8:25 a.m. ET
By DAVID EGGERT
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday will beginweighing whether state universities and other public-sector employers canprovide health insurance to the partners of gay workers.
But even if gays lose the case, they ultimately could still get theirbenefits despite a 2004 state constitutional ban against gay marriage thathas threatened those benefits.
Universities and local governments have rewritten their domestic partnershippolicies in light of the measure.
The new policies no longer specifically acknowledge domestic partnershipsbut make sure "other qualified adults" - including gay partners - areeligible for medical and dental care. The adults have to live together for acertain amount of time, be unmarried, share finances and be unrelated.
"It's a temporary, stopgap method. It's certainly not a panacea," said JayKaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.While no same-sex partners of employees have lost their health insurancewhile the legal battle continues, many now are getting health insurance onlyon a pilot basis, he said.
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http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13485.html
Far-right group targets porn on military bases
Posted November 5th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
It's been a while since we've last heard from the American FamilyAssociation's the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon. Every once in a while, Wildmon andthe AFA will draw headlines for attacking a group or company for beinginsufficiently "pro-family," though most of their complaints come across asbizarre rants from extremists.
The targets from recent years include, but are by no means limited to,Wal-Mart (for selling Brokeback Mountain DVDs), Target (for not havingSalvation Army bell-ringers during the Christmas season), Ford Motor Company(for purchasing ads in gay-oriented publications), and the movie "Shark Tale" (which the AFA believed was intended to "brainwash children" intoaccepting gay rights).
Now, Wildmon and the AFA have a new concern: U.S. troops' access to adultmaterials.
Ten years after Congress banned sales of sexually explicit material onmilitary bases, the Pentagon is under fire for continuing to sell adultfare, such as Penthouse and Playmates In Bed, that it doesn't considerexplicit enough to pull from its stores.
Dozens of religious and anti-pornography groups have complained to Congressand Defense Secretary Robert Gates that a Pentagon board set up to reviewmagazines and films is allowing sales of material that Congress intended toban.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
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http://pageoneq.com/news/2007/Pat_Boone_Kentucky_GOP_Electing_Democratic_governor_will_make_Kentucky_like_San_Franci_1105.html
Pat Boone, Kentucky GOP: Electing Democratic governor will make Kentuckylike San Francisco
by Michael Rogers
The Republican Party of Kentucky has created a robo-call advertisingcampaign featuring singer Pat Boone warning that the election of Democraticgubernatorial nominee Steven Beshear will put a governor in office whosupports "every homosexual cause."
Polls in the state predict an easy win for Bashear, with some placingBeshear as much as twenty-five percentage points ahead of Republicanincumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher. The calls, being placed to residents ofKentucky in anticipation of Election Day tomorrow, feature the singer askingresidents of Kentucky to support Fletcher.
In response to the calls and to an anti-gay, anti-Muslim mailer sent by theRepublican Party of Virginia last week, Brad Luna, a spokesman for the HumanRights Campaign said, "The radical right continues to try and use the KarlRove playbook of gay bashing to court a base group of voters."
"In the 2006 elections," continues Luna, "that strategy's effectiveness loststeam. Let's hope these off-year elections in the moderate to conservativestates of Virginia and Kentucky continue that trend."
Andi Johnson, Republican Party of Kentucky spokesperson, told PageOneQ thatthe ad was produced and paid for by the Kentucky GOP. When asked if shethought the ad was a way to, as President Bush has made a goal, "uniterather than divide" the country, Johnson explained that she would "need tospeak to the party chairman before answering any more questions."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://pageoneq.com/news/2007/ABC_News_secretly_catches_reactions_to_men_kissing_in_pub_1104.html
ABC News found to be secretly taping reactions to gays kissing in public
by PageOneQ
ABC is conducting a social experiment gauging the reactions of the generalpublic to displays of affection between members of the same sex.
An actor inside an RV parked in the area confirmed a witness account ofABC's week-long project. According to a police officer, "three or four" hadcomplained about men kissing in public, but nothing illegal is going on. Theactor told Fox6 that "Yes, we are working for ABC News."
The story was first reported by MyFox Birmingham.
ABC has been known in the past for controversy surrounding homosexuality.Earlier this year, Grey's Anatomy's Isaiah Washington came under fire whenit was discovered he had used the word "faggot" during a heated exchangewith co-star T.R. Knight.
Earlier this year, Media Matters, a media watchdog group, highlighted thecontroversy around a haircut obtained by candidate John Edwards as it waspresented on the ABC News Blog: "The hair cut revelation did little tominimize what some call Edwards' 'Breck Girl' image."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/05/skorea17234_txt.htm
South Korea: Rights Bill Excludes Many
Re-Introduce Comprehensive Language Into Non-Discrimination Legislation
((New York, November 5, 2007) - The South Korean cabinet should re-introducecategories protected from discrimination that the justice ministry this weekdropped from a proposed federal law, Human Rights Watch said today in aletter to the cabinet. In particular, Human Rights Watch highlightedlanguage the Ministry of Justice withdrew from the non-discrimination billthat extended protection to sexual orientation and urged the cabinet to makeexplicit that the proposed law covers discrimination based on genderidentity.
The draft legislation, Announcement No. 2007-106, was announced on October2, 2007, by the Ministry of Justice. It included sexual orientation alongwith a range of other categories as prohibited grounds of discrimination.According to Democratic Labor Party officials and news reports, the currentversion of the law excludes protection from discrimination on the basis ofmilitary status, nationality, language, appearance, family type, ideology,criminal or detention record, sexual orientation, and educational status(Christian Today 11/2/07).
The existing National Human Rights Commission Act addresses discriminationon the basis of all the categories that have been excluded from the proposedlaw except language and military status. However, the proposed federal lawwould have strengthened those protections. It would require that every fiveyears the president develop and implement a national plan to eliminatediscrimination and that every level of government implement their ownversion of the presidential plan. The law would reinforce the National HumanRights Commission's capacity to investigate and remedy the cases ofindividual petitioners.
"The current version of the bill is a disappointment," said Jessica Stern,researcher in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender program of HumanRights Watch. "What could be a landmark non-discrimination law has beenhollowed out to exclude Koreans who are in need of protection."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/07/Nov/0401.htm
PAKISTAN: Gay, Lesbian Rights Supporter Detained in Pakistan PoliceCrackdown
LAHORE, November 4, 2007 - Gay rights advocate Asma Jahangir, formerUnited Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and nowspecial rapporteur on religious intolerance, is among the many who have beenarrested in Pakistan this afternoon following the suspension of the country's constitution and the imposition of emergency rule by President PervezMusharraf.
Asma Jahangir "is an incredible activist and together with her sister, HinaJilani, has been one of the strongest forces pushing LGBT issues in the[United Nations] system," Scott Long of Human Rights Watch in New York saidby email.
Ms. Jahangir has been detained along with other members of the PakistanHuman Rights Commission. The BBC is reporting that 400 to 500 "preventativearrests" had been made so far.
Despite severe restrictions on the media, reports of the arrest of AsmaJahangir are filtering out.
The following is a report, as received, from Pakistani journalists on thearrests at the Pakistan Human Rights Commission:
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/11/06/news/nebraska/doc472f5bc737a28216601490.txt
Kansas church member demands details of criminal charges
By JOSH FUNK / The Associated Press
Monday, Nov 05, 2007 - 12:19:27 pm CST
PAPILLION - Shirley Phelps-Roper and her attorney want to know exactly whyshe has been criminally charged for protesting at a Bellevue soldier'sfuneral in June.
Her attorney, Bassel El-Kasaby, says he needs to know exactly what hisclient did to violate Nebraska law so he can defend her.
The case raises constitutional issues, because Phelps-Roper is charged withdesecrating the American flag, among other things. She says authorities arerestricting her free speech rights.
Phelps-Roper is a member of Westboro Baptist Church, whose members believethat U.S. troop deaths in Iraq are punishment for the nation's tolerance ofhomosexuality. Followers say they are entitled to protest at soldiers'funerals under the First Amendment.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-whitman/watch-out-here-come-the-_b_71204.html
Watch Out! Here Come the Queers!
Posted November 5, 2007 | 02:21 PM (EST)
Gary J. Gates, Senior Research Fellow, Williams Institute, UCLA School ofLaw has released a study, "Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples" in theU.S. Census and the American Community Survey, showing a massive increase insame sex couples especially in the Mountain, Midwest and Southern regions.
And massive is being gentle. Try an 863% increase from 1990 to 2006 Alabama,Kentucky and Tennessee. A 698% increase in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, NewMexico, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming.
Utah? Kentucky? Maybe I was sleeping but I did not see a stylish, yetcomfortable covered wagon train of LGBT folks heading out to the range.Gates acknowledges in his report that couples who have been historicallyleast accepted are in fact coming out and identifying themselves ingovernment surveys.
I have always questioned the one in ten formula for gays and lesbians, thenotion that one person in ten is gay. Sexuality is too fluid for thatnumber, and according to Kinsey more people live in the middle of the bellcurve than on the extremes. Now, it seems, people are more willing to talkabout it, say it out loud and scribble in the appropriate bubble on thecensus forms.
In fact, as The Economist reported as recently as 1982, only 34% ofAmericans thought homosexuality should be considered an acceptablealternative lifestyle. Now, 57% do. Since young Americans are far morerelaxed about homosexuality than their elders--three-quarters of18-34-year-olds think it is OK to be gay, whereas half of those over 55think it is not--this trend is likely to continue.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1107/110607op.htm
Far Right Revolt?
By Charlie Cook National Journal November 6, 2007
If Rudy Giuliani were to win the Republican presidential nomination, wouldthat trigger a significant third-party effort by social and religiousconservatives, potentially costing the former New York City mayor thegeneral election? Don't expect an unequivocal answer here. I, for one, amstill trying to get my arms around the fact that Giuliani is doing so welland appears to have a 50-50 chance of clinching the Republican nomination.Those odds perplex me, especially given his fairly liberal stands onhot-button cultural issues and his tangled personal life.
An argument can be made that if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York isthe Democratic nominee (as seems very likely), many Republicans -- eventhose who are far more conservative than Giuliani on such issues asabortion, gun control, and gay rights -- would hold their noses and vote forhim anyway if he is the GOP's standard-bearer. One can argue that inpolitics, hatred of the enemy is as strong a motivator as love of an ally.
Contrary to popular belief, turnout did not kill Republicans in last year'smidterm elections. Yes, Democrats turned out a bit more than usual andRepublicans a bit less. And, yes, both parties pretty much held on to theirown registered voters; relatively few defected on either side. The lopsidedelection result came from independents siding with Democrats by a 16-pointmargin. Republicans had plenty of reasons to stay home in 2006, but theydidn't end up doing so.
Of course, 2008 might not follow the same pattern. And a good case can bemade that Giuliani would lose too much of his base to win the generalelection.
Social conservatives have pretty much run the Republican Party for a longtime, at least 20 years. The assumption has been that no one who opposesthem on any key social issue can win the party's presidential nomination.Outside of the Northeast, that has also been true in most House, Senate, andgubernatorial contests.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
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http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/05/Rabbi.ART_ART_11-05-07_B4_DN8CHSP.html?sid=101
EPISCOPAL LECTURE SERIES
Gay ban isn't from Bible, rabbi says
Monday, November 5, 2007 3:33 AM
By Josh Jarman
Author Steven Greenberg is the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish rabbi in theUnited States.
With a bit of characterization and Jewish witticism, Rabbi Steven Greenbergmade his point clear: You shouldn't use the Bible to pass judgment onothers.
Greenberg shared this belief during a sermon yesterday at St. Stephen'sEpiscopal Church on the campus of Ohio State University.
Greenberg, who was raised in Bexley and is in Columbus for five days, isAmerica's first openly gay Orthodox rabbi. He spoke yesterday abouthomosexuality in the context of traditional faith as part of a lectureseries sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. He will speakabout same-sex marriage at 7 p.m. today at the church, 30 W. Woodruff Ave.
He wasn't saying that the Bible is not the revealed word of God. Butaccording to Jewish tradition, he said, God gave that word to man andentrusted him to decipher it.
"No one can say, 'It says in the Scripture,' to ground any policy,"Greenberg said. "All we can say is, 'My community says this.' "
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http://vegassyndicate.blogspot.com/2007/11/las-vegas-goes-all-out-to-attract-gay.html
Las Vegas Goes All Out to Attract Gay Travelers
Monday, November 5, 2007
On a recent night at the Palms Resort and Casino here, young men in fittedshirts and an abundance of hair gel clamored to get into a Playboy Clubparty featuring female card dealers in bunny costumes. Steps away at anotherclub, hundreds of shirtless men crowded a roaring dance floor at a partybilled as a "non-stop weekend of sensual sizzle and decadence" for the gaycommunity.
The juxtaposition of such divergent groups is likely to become more commonas the gambling mecca, after years of ignoring the gay and lesbian market,courts it with vigor. Major properties on the Las Vegas Strip are nowoffering lavish commitment ceremonies to same-sex couples (though same-sexmarriage is illegal in Nevada), as well as special hotel and entertainmentpackages geared specifically toward gay and lesbian travelers. Some resortshave mandated sensitivity programs to teach employees how to make gay andlesbian travelers feel welcome.
Las Vegas began courting the gay community a few years ago as part of abroader effort to target a range of minority audiences. But the gay-targetedcampaign intensified as casino-commissioned market studies showed the gayand lesbian travel market to be among the most lucrative. According toresearch from Community Marketing Inc., a gay and lesbian market-researchcompany, gay and lesbian travel accounts for $55 billion of the overall U.S.travel market.
Harrah's Entertainment Inc. started marketing to the gay and lesbiancommunity 18 months ago after research showed gay men spend an average of30% more than their straight counterparts when traveling. "That was a keystatistic that caught our attention," says Michael Weaver, vice president ofmarketing for Bally's, Paris Las Vegas and the Rio -- all owned by Harrah's.
Now, Vegas casinos, clubs, hotels and spas are marketing themselves as "gayfriendly," with ad campaigns in gay media such as OutTraveler and TheAdvocate magazines and cable channel Logo featuring images of same-sexcouples holding hands at romantic dinners, and checking into hotel roomstogether.
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http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-gaytherapy_27met.ART0.North.Edition1.4259d92.html
At Irving conference, therapists weigh theories on homosexuality
Therapists meeting at Irving seminar say it's not innate, not chosen
By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News
jweiss@dallasnews.com
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 27, 2007
Mental health therapists gathered at a conference in Irving this weekend aretrying to chart a middle course between commonly heard views abouthomosexuality.
The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, whichclaims 800 members, holds the official position that people who are gay orlesbian and want to change can be helped by counseling.
Leaders of the group say that nobody is born gay or lesbian. But they alsosay that nobody chooses a sexual orientation.
About 50 people showed up for the conference Friday morning and heardspeakers who asserted that:
. Innate biological tendencies unrelated to sexuality combine with perceivedchildhood rejection from the same-sex parent or peers to create apsychological need for same-sex acceptance and affection.
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http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_309014726.html
Film on families with gay children coming
By Donna Hales
Phoenix Staff Writer
- Eleven years ago Joyce Rock had never knowingly met a gay person.
She was standing in her kitchen when her son Jimmy, then the vice presidentof the Oklahoma Baptist University student body, came in during a collegebreak looking very serious.
"Mom, can I talk to you?" he asked.
"Are you going to tell me you're gay?" she asked, trying to make light ofwhat appeared to be a tense moment for her son.
"And he said 'yes,'" she recalled this week.
"It was one of the defining moments of my life. And I saw such a look offear and anguish in Jimmy's eyes that night."
Her head started spinning, and she managed to say, "That's OK, son."
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST November 6, 2007
**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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Forwarded from Susan Frishkorn
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/21067.html
Published on Sunday, November 4, 2007 by The McClatchy Newspapers
Experts: No Evidence of Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program
by Jonathan S. Landay
WASHINGTON - Despite President Bush's claims that Iran is pursuing nuclearweapons that could trigger "World War III," experts in and out of governmentsay there's no conclusive evidence that Tehran has an active nuclear-weaponsprogram.
Even his own administration appears divided about the immediacy of thethreat. While Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney speak of an Iranianweapons program as a fact, Bush's point man on Iran, Undersecretary of StateNicholas Burns, has attempted to ratchet down the rhetoric.
"Iran is seeking a nuclear capability . that some people fear might lead toa nuclear-weapons capability," Burns said in an interview Oct. 25 on PBS.
"I don't think that anyone right today thinks they're working on a bomb,"said another U.S. official, who requested anonymity because of the issue'ssensitivity. Outside experts say the operative words are "right today." Theysay Iran may have been actively seeking to create a nuclear-weapons capacityin the past and still could break out of its current uranium-enrichmentprogram and start a weapons program. They too lack definitive proof, butcite a great deal of circumstantial evidence. Bush's rhetoric seemshyperbolic compared with the measured statements by his senior aides andoutside experts.
"I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, itseems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from havingthe knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," he said Oct. 17 at a newsconference.
more...
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flavote1106nbnov06,0,2895499,print.story
Money issues dominate elections
Immigration, gay rights take back seat for voters this year
By IAN URBINA
The New York Times
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON
When it comes to the state and local ballot measures before voters acrossthe country today, it is mostly about the money.
While hot-button issues like immigration and gay rights attracted the focusof measures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns likehealth care financing, road projects and land-use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year. There isonly one congressional race (a special primary in the 5th District in Ohio),and the presidential vote is a year away. Few close contests are expected asvoters choose governors in two states and mayors in five major cities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in six states being decided, down from204 in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to theInitiative and Referendum Institute at the University of SouthernCalifornia, which tracks ballot trends. In 2006, 10 states had statewideballot initiatives concerning gay rights and three states had initiatives onmarijuana use. No states have ballot measures concerning either issue today.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who is ahead in the polls and in fundraising.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sns-ap-heart-drug,0,2632315,print.story
Bayer Halts Sales of Anti-Bleeding Drug
By ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer
7:47 PM EST, November 5, 2007
WASHINGTON
Bayer AG halted worldwide sales Monday of its anti-bleeding drug Trasylol atthe request of U.S. and foreign health officials pending further analysis ofa Canadian study that suggests it's linked to a 50 percent higher risk ofdeath than the other drugs in the clinical trial.
The Food and Drug Administration asked the company to stop selling the drug,used to prevent excessive bleeding during heart bypass surgery, until itcould receive and review further results from the study. The study comparingthe safety and efficacy of the drug with two others was recently halted.
"FDA cannot identify a specific patient population where we believe thebenefits of using Trasylol outweighs the risk," said Dr. John Jenkins,director of the agency's Office of New Drugs, during a briefing Monday.
Bayer, based in Leverkusen, Germany, said it made the decision to suspendsales after talks with FDA, the German Federal Institute for Drugs andMedicine Products along with the Canadian health department.
In the U.S., Trasylol is the third prescription drug to be suspended fromsale this year.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06cnd-vote.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Spending Is Focus of Nation's Ballot Measures
By IAN URBINA
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - When it comes to the state and local ballot measuresbefore voters across the country on Tuesday, it is mostly about the money.
While issues like immigration and gay rights were so much the focus ofmeasures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns surroundinghealth care funding, road projects and land use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year than last.There is only one Congressional race (a special primary in Ohio's FifthDistrict), the presidential vote is a year away and few close contests areexpected as voters choose governors in just two states and mayors in fivemajor cities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in six states being decided, down from204 in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to theInitiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California,which tracks ballot trends. In 2006, 10 states had statewide ballotinitiatives concerning gay rights and three states had initiativesconcerning marijuana use. No states have ballot measures concerning eitherissue on Tuesday.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong-shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who remains up in the polls and fund-raising.
more . . . . .
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/06vote.html?pagewanted=print
Spending Trumps Social Issues at Ballot Box This Time
By IAN URBINA
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - When it comes to the state and local ballot measuresbefore voters across the country on Tuesday, it is mostly about the money.
While hot-button issues like immigration and gay rights attracted the focusof measures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns likehealth care financing, road projects and land-use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year. There isonly one Congressional race (a special primary in the Fifth District inOhio), and the presidential vote is a year away. Few close contests areexpected as voters choose governors in two states and mayors in five majorcities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in 6 states being decided, down from 204in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to the Initiativeand Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California, whichtracks ballot trends. In 2006, 9 states had statewide ballot initiativesconcerning gay rights and 3 states had initiatives on marijuana use. Nostates have ballot measures concerning either issue on Tuesday.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who is ahead in the polls and in fund-raising.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/nyregion/06plumb.html?pagewanted=print
Last Defendant Is Guilty in Attack on a Gay Man
By MICHAEL BRICK
November 6, 2007
In a case that has drawn intense scrutiny to the legal meaning of hatred,the last of four young men charged with selecting a gay man as a robberytarget and chasing him to his death in traffic pleaded guilty yesterday tomanslaughter and attempted robbery as hate crimes.
The defendant, Ilya Shurov, 21, agreed to serve 17 1/2 years in prison. Inexchange, prosecutors dropped charges of felony murder as a hate crime,which could have meant a life sentence.
"If there was no life sentence," said a defense lawyer, Hermann P. Walz, "wewould have rolled the dice."
Instead, the bargained plea brought a quiet end to a case replete with asudden flash of violence, a heady philosophical debate and a series ofsoap-opera turns in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
The victim, Michael J. Sandy, 29, a designer from Williamsburg, was luredfrom his home to a secluded lot in Sheepshead Bay on Oct. 8, 2006. He wasdirected to a beach known as a meeting place for gay sex, then beaten andchased into traffic. He was struck by a car and later died of his injuries.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06moral.html?pagewanted=print
Romney Gets Major Backer on the Right
By MICHAEL LUO
November 6, 2007
Mitt Romney's presidential campaign announced yesterday an endorsement fromthe man whom some consider the father of the religious right, Paul M.Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation and a founder of the MoralMajority.
Mr. Weyrich, who also founded the Heritage Foundation, had been critical oftalk this year among Christian conservative leaders about possibly boltingthe Republican Party and backing a third-party candidate if Rudolph W.Giuliani, a supporter of abortion rights, is the nominee.
Now it appears that Mr. Weyrich is backing up that criticism with action,lining up behind Mr. Romney, despite questions many Christian conservativescontinue to harbor about the candidate's relatively recent conversion toopponent of abortion from supporter of abortion rights, as well as concernsabout Mr. Romney's being a Mormon.
Mr. Weyrich wrote a recent article about the conditions under which creatinga third party might work. In an interview last month with The New YorkTimes, he said discussion about that at this stage was premature andfoolish. He has vigorously urged conservatives to unite behind a singlecandidate, rather than diluting power by splitting support.
Before Mr. Weyrich, Mr. Romney had lined up endorsements by socialconservatives like James Bopp Jr., a well-known abortion opponent; JaySekulow, a prominent Christian conservative; and Bob Jones III, chancellorof Bob Jones University. But Romney lacked the backing of an elder statesmanof the religious right, which Mr. Weyrich is considered.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/business/media/06msnb.html?pagewanted=print
Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left
By JACQUES STEINBERG
November 6, 2007
Riding a ratings wave from "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," a program thattakes strong issue with the Bush administration, MSNBC is increasinglyseeking to showcase its nighttime lineup as a welcome haven for viewers of asimilar mind.
Lest there be any doubt that the cable channel believes there is ratingsgold in shows that criticize the administration with the same vigor withwhich Fox News's hosts often champion it, two NBC executives acknowledgedyesterday that they were talking to Rosie O'Donnell about a prime-time showon MSNBC.
During the nine months she spent on "The View" before departing abruptlylast spring, Ms. O'Donnell raised viewership notably. She did so whilelamenting the unabated casualties of the Iraq war and advocating the rightto gay marriage, among other positions.
Under one option, Ms. O'Donnell would take the 9 p.m. slot each weeknight onMSNBC, pitting her against "Larry King Live" on CNN and "Hannity & Colmes"on Fox News.
But even without Ms. O'Donnell, MSNBC already presents a three-hour block ofnighttime talk - Chris Matthews's "Hardball" at 7, Mr. Olbermann at 8, and"Live With Dan Abrams" at 9 - in which the White House takes a regularbeating. The one early-evening program on MSNBC that is often mostsympathetic to the administration, "Tucker" with Tucker Carlson at 6 p.m.,is in real danger of being canceled, said one NBC executive, who, like thosewho spoke of Ms. O'Donnell, would do so only on condition of anonymity.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06vote.html?pagewanted=print
Spending Trumps Social Issues on Ballots This Time
By IAN URBINA
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - When it comes to the state and local ballot measuresbefore voters across the country on Tuesday, it is mostly about the money.
While hot-button issues like immigration and gay rights attracted the focusof measures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns likehealth care financing, road projects and land-use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year. There isonly one Congressional race (a special primary in the Fifth District inOhio), and the presidential vote is a year away. Few close contests areexpected as voters choose governors in two states and mayors in five majorcities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in 6 states being decided, down from 204in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to the Initiativeand Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California, whichtracks ballot trends. In 2006, 9 states had statewide ballot initiativesconcerning gay rights and 3 states had initiatives on marijuana use. Nostates have ballot measures concerning either issue on Tuesday.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who is ahead in the polls and in fund-raising.
more . . . . .
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501659_pf.html
San Francisco Mayor's Race Offers Drama, but No Suspense
Oddball Group No Real Challenge to Popular Incumbent Newsom
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A06
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 -- Less than a year after admitting to an affair withhis appointments secretary, a woman married to the campaign manager who wasalso his close friend, Gavin Newsom stands before the electorate of SanFrancisco on Tuesday, all but certain of winning a second term as mayor.
Handsome, Democratic and routinely described as "hot," Newsom, 40, handledhis indiscretion with Ruby Rippey-Tourk with savvy professionalism andimpressive gloss -- qualities increasingly used to describe the city itself.
The question is how to describe the other candidates on the ballot.
There is a homeless taxi driver named Grasshopper who sleeps in his cab.There is an elderly advocate for nudism whose candidacy prompted the Leagueof Women Voters to write a bylaw requiring clothes at their debates.
The man in the fuzzy purple top hat would be Michael Powers, proprietor ofthe Power Exchange sex club.
And, here, on the roof of the building he was fortunate enough to buy beforereal estate prices drove almost everyone he knows out of Baghdad by the Bay,stands Chicken John Rinaldi, in full rant.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06tue1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
The Pakistan Mess
Editorial
November 6, 2007
By imposing martial law, Gen. Pervez Musharraf has pushed nuclear-armedPakistan further along a perilous course and underscored the failure ofPresident Bush's policy toward a key ally in the war on terrorism. Theevents should not have come as a surprise to administration officials. Thisis what you get when policy is centered slavishly on a single, autocraticruler rather than more broadly on his country.
The general, Pakistan's president, justified his crackdown as a defenseagainst Islamic militants, but his desperate and reprehensible actions -suspending the constitution, rounding up judges, beating and jailing lawyersand journalists - will embolden extremists. They will also fuel anger andmistrust among Pakistani moderates.
After winning a sham ballot last month, General Musharraf was awaiting aSupreme Court decision on whether his election, while still serving as armychief of staff, was legal. Jane Perlez and David Rohde reported in The Timesthat the dictator asserted military powers after getting word that the courtwould rule against him. A phone call at 2 a.m. Pakistan time from Secretaryof State Condoleezza Rice dissuaded the general from taking similar actionduring last summer's mass political protests, but this time nothing couldinduce him to back down.
Returning Pakistan to civilian government has been a declared goal of theUnited States since General Musharraf seized power in 1999 in a bloodlessmilitary coup. He has repeatedly broken promises to move in that direction,using his power vindictively and squandering popular support by forcingrivals into exile and intimidating anyone who tried to stand up to him. Mostof the time, Mr. Bush, who says he cannot win the anti-terrorism war withoutGeneral Musharraf but clearly can't win it with him either, acquiesced inhis misdeeds.
The Faustian nature of the bargain is more apparent than ever. Not only hasthe general proven less committed to the anti-terrorism fight than expected(Al Qaeda and the Taliban are resurgent on the border with Afghanistan), butnow he has abandoned any pretense of moving toward democracy. Mr. Bush seemsto have gained little leverage from the more than $10 billion in Americanaid that has fattened Pakistan's coffers since Sept. 11, 2001, much of itunaccounted for.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06herbert.html?ref=opinion
Hillary's Tough Sell
Op-Ed Columnist
BOB HERBERT
November 6, 2007
The U.S. is in the midst of the most important presidential electioncampaign since World War II, and if there has ever been a time when womenvoters had the opportunity to decisively affect the nation's future, it'snow.
Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy has heightened the interest of womenvoters who would no doubt have been paying close attention to this electionin any event because of its classic lineup of issues, including the war inIraq, a highly uncertain economy and the makeover of the Supreme Court, withits implications for abortion, civil liberties and so on.
A national poll conducted for the Lifetime television network showed thatnearly 40 percent of women feel that voting in the 2008 election will bemore important than in previous years. And an overwhelming majority of womenwho are registered to vote say they plan to go to the polls.
But most of those voters are not yet committed to a particular candidate.
That means there's a treasure trove of potential votes out there amongwomen. But except for the recent flap over the treatment of Senator Clintonin last week's debate, the campaigns are nearly all being waged as if theonly votes that really matter are those of dimwitted guys fascinated by bigguns and insecure in their masculinity.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06brooks.html?ref=opinion
Present at the Creation
DAVID BROOKS
November 6, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Amman, Jordan
What is Condi doing?
This is the question that's been floating around foreign policy circles overthe past few months. It is then followed by more specific questions: Why isSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice spending her remaining time in officebanging her head against the Israeli-Palestinian problem? Why has shebothered to make eight trips to the region this year? What can possibly beaccomplished when the Israeli government is weak and the Palestinian societyis divided?
It took a trip to the region for me to finally understand that this peaceprocess is unlike any other. It's not really about Israel and thePalestinians; it's about Iran. Rice is constructing a coalition of thelosing. There is a feeling among Arab and Israeli leaders that anIran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas alliance is on the march. The nations that resistthat alliance are in retreat. The peace process is an occasion to gather the"moderate" states and to construct what Martin Indyk of the BrookingsInstitution's Saban Center calls an anti-Iran counter-alliance.
It's slightly unfortunate that the peace process itself is hollow. It's likehaving a wedding without a couple because you want to get the gueststogether for some other purpose. But that void can be filled in later. Themain point is to organize the anti-Iranians around some vehicle and thenreshape the strategic correlation of forces in the region.
Iran has done what decades of peace proposals have not done - broughtIsrael, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinians andthe U.S. together. You can go to Jerusalem or to some Arab capitals and thediagnosis of the situation is the same: Iran is gaining hegemonic strengthover the region and is spreading tentacles of instability all around.
The Syrians, who have broken with the Sunni nations and attached themselvesto Iran, are feeling stronger by the day. At least one-third of Iraq isunder Iranian influence. Hezbollah is better armed and more confident nowthan it was before its war against Israel. Hamas is being drawn closerinside the Iranian orbit and is more likely to take over the West Bank thanlose its own base in Gaza.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501594.html
Self-Inflicted Wounds
By Alberto Mora and John Shattuck
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A19
The question of whether waterboarding constitutes torture is a no-brainer.Our nation and many others have recognized for decades that it does. Onedoesn't have to have been "read into" the details of a classified program,as President Bush has suggested, to reach a judgment about thisinterrogation technique. Common sense is the only tool needed to understandthat inducing the sensation of drowning -- i.e., of dying -- is torture.
Remarkably, in his recent confirmation hearing to be attorney general, JudgeMichael Mukasey declined to say whether waterboarding is torture. There aretwo explanations for this. Mukasey himself stated that he was without enoughinformation to make the call. But some believe his unwillingness to do somay also be based on a concern that it could increase the potentialliability for those who have engaged in this practice or authorized it.
Both explanations demonstrate the corrosive effects of the decision to adoptcruelty and -- as with waterboarding -- even torture as weapons of war. Thefirst shows the tendency, pioneered by the Justice Department that Mukaseyhopes to lead, to redefine torture to make "legal" what was, and is,illegal. The second shows how concern about accountability for the abuse ofdetainees is now acting as a stimulus for ratification of cruelinterrogation policies and practices. In this confluence, we risk permanentdamage to our legal system and to the principle of accountability.
But there are also greater risks. There is no more fundamental right,whether under U.S. law or under human rights principles, than a person'sright to be free not only from torture but also from cruel treatment, thelower level of abuse under law. If we were to legitimize cruelty -- as thosewho espouse waterboarding would wish us to do -- we would do violence to theconcept of inalienable and inviolable personal rights. The protectionafforded by law to core human dignity would be shattered, with incalculabledamage to our nation's deepest values, founding principles andconstitutional order.
And we risk much more yet.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501595.html
Rudy's Torture Talk
By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A19
On the playground, lo these many years ago, I was shooting baskets when anolder boy ordered me off the court. This was just like the movies, Ireasoned, and so I stood my ground and instantly got punched right in themouth. I went down, and as I did, I remember thinking this was not at alllike the movies. It hurt. It really hurt.
The realization that life is not a movie has inexplicably yet to occur toRudy Giuliani, despite the horrors of Sept. 11. Mistaking something he musthave seen in the movies for real life, he mocked the alleged softies whocondemn torture of any kind, saying of sleep deprivation, "They talk aboutsleep deprivation. I mean, on that theory, I'm getting tortured running forpresident of the United States. That's plain silly."
It's not silly, though, to Orson Swindle. He spent six years and four monthsas a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and was subjected to beatings andsleep deprivation. One time, he went about 20 days without sleep. I askedhim if he considered it torture.
"Oh, yes."
Swindle's account of his sleep deprivation lacks precision. Some of the timehe was hallucinating, and so he relied on the reports of others to determinehow long he was forced to stay awake. His jailers wanted him to write apropaganda letter to Sen. Edward Kennedy. Ultimately, Swindle did. In theend, people being tortured usually give their jailers what they want -- thetruth, a lie, something in between. Torture can be an unreliableinterrogation tool.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501678.html
Working With a Dictator
President Bush's feeble response to Pakistan's coup mocks the 'freedom
agenda.'
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A18
PAKISTANI PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf claims that he suspended theconstitution and imposed de facto martial law Saturday to save his countryfrom Islamic extremists. But his crackdown has been directed almost entirelyat Pakistan's moderate, secular and pro-democracy opposition -- the verypeople who could offer a political alternative to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.At least 500 lawyers, judges, political party leaders, human rightsactivists and journalists have been arrested. Independent televisionstations have been shut. Lawyers who tried to demonstrate against therepression in front of the Supreme Court yesterday were attacked by securityforces.
Mr. Musharraf is waging war not against extremism but against democracy. Heacted because he feared the Supreme Court was preparing to rule that hisorchestrated reelection as president last month was unconstitutional. He wasseeking to escape from commitments made to Pakistan's secular politicalleaders and to the Bush administration that he would step down as armycommander by Nov. 15 and hold free and fair parliamentary elections earlynext year.
The choice the United States and other Western governments now face is notbetween Mr. Musharraf and the terrorist forces he has sporadically combatedsince 2001. It is between a deeply unpopular, ineffective and politicallyexhausted military ruler who is trying to extend his tenure by force and oneof the Muslim world's largest and most liberal civil societies. PresidentBush has rightly said that democracy is the best antidote to thetotalitarianism of Islamic extremists. Mr. Musharraf's own record is proofthat autocratic governments only make extremism stronger.
There should be no question as to which side the United States is on. Yet sofar the administration has hedged its bets. It has called Mr. Musharraf'smeasures "extreme" and said it "cannot support emergency rule." But Mr. Bushsaid yesterday that "we want to continue working with him" oncounterterrorism, and officials have made clear that aid directed at thatcollaboration -- which is most of the U.S. aid Pakistan receives -- will notbe affected. The general probably will regard that stance as an acquiescenceto his coup -- as will most Pakistanis and the millions of other Muslimsaround the world who are watching the U.S. response.
The United States should explicitly and fully support Pakistan's civilianpoliticians and judges. Such a stance need not cause the downfall of Mr.Musharraf; he still has the option to back down, restore the constitutionand schedule elections. But as things stand, if he manages to withstand thealmost universal domestic opposition to his coup, the United States will beblamed for propping him up -- and for taking the wrong side in a crucialtest of its seriousness about fighting extremism with democracy.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501681.html
The View From the Waterboard
A former Justice lawyer did his homework -- and raised a red flag.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A18
ATTORNEY GENERAL nominee Michael B. Mukasey may have his doubts about whatconstitutes waterboarding and whether it is illegal. Daniel Levin has nosuch questions.
Mr. Levin was acting head of the Justice Department's Office of LegalCounsel in 2004 when he volunteered to be waterboarded, according to aremarkable Nov. 2 report by Jan Crawford Greenburg and Ariane de Vogue ofABC News. In the midst of revising the Justice Department's legal rationaleon interrogation methods after the repudiation of the infamous "torturememo," Mr. Levin wanted to experience waterboarding, or simulated drowning,to determine whether it triggered the legal definition of torture. Afterbeing subjected to the technique at a Washington area military installation,Mr. Levin concluded that waterboarding could be illegal unless performedunder the strictest supervision and in the most limited of ways. Mr. Levinfinished drafting the new legal memorandum in December 2004.
According to the ABC report, Mr. Levin's findings did not sit well with theadministration. Then-White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales insisted thatMr. Levin add a footnote to the memo that made clear that the revised memodid not make the administration's previous opinions illegal. Mr. Levin wasforced out of the Justice Department a few months after Mr. Gonzales wasconfirmed as attorney general in early 2005.
Mr. Levin, now in private practice with a Washington law firm, declined todiscuss the matter. But his name can be added to the roster of accomplishedconservative lawyers, including former deputy attorney general James B.Comey and former Office of Legal Counsel chief Jack L. Goldsmith, who foundthemselves fighting to sustain the rule of law in an administration toooften eager to suspend it. If Mr. Mukasey is confirmed, as we believe heshould be, the eradication of this kind of disregard for principle and lawshould be his first priority.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501599.html?hpid=moreheadlines
At Least 4,000 Suspected of Terrorism-Related Activity in Britain, MI5Director Says
By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A15
LONDON, Nov. 5 -- British security officials suspect that at least 4,000people are involved in terrorism-related activities in Britain and thatal-Qaeda's "deliberate campaign" against Britain poses the "most immediateand acute peacetime threat" to the nation in a century, the head ofBritain's domestic spy agency said Monday.
"Terrorist attacks we have seen against the U.K. are not simply random plotsby disparate and fragmented groups," said Jonathan Evans, director generalof Britain's Security Service, commonly known as MI5. "The majority of theseattacks, successful or otherwise, have taken place because al-Qaeda has aclear determination to mount terrorist attacks against the United Kingdom."
Addressing the Society of Editors in Manchester, England, Evans said thatsecurity agents are watching about 2,000 suspected terrorists in Britain andthat they suspect "there are as many again that we don't yet know of." Theremarks by Evans, who took over as head of MI5 in April, amplified thethreat described a year ago by his predecessor, Eliza Manningham-Buller, whosaid that agents were tracking 1,600 people in at least 200 cells.
The public speech by Manningham-Buller was a rarity for the secretiveagency, but Evans has been a slightly more public figure and has defendedhis agency against criticism in unprecedented postings on its Web site.Noting that his speech Monday, to a media group, was still "fairly unusual,"Evans said he was speaking because MI5 has "a responsibility to keep thepublic informed about the threats they face and what we are doing to counterthem."
The rise in the number of identified terrorism suspects in Britain is partlyattributable to increased efforts by security services to track plotters,Evans said. British agencies have refocused on potential domestic terroristssince suicide bomb attacks on the London public transit system in July 2005killed 52 passengers. In the past 18 months, British officials have brokenup alleged plots to bomb transatlantic jetliners and detonate car bombsoutside a crowded central London nightclub.
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110500524.html?hpid=sec-politics
Final Warning for Administration
House, Seeking Documents on Firings, Nears Contempt Vote
By Dan Eggen Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer and
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A17
The House Judiciary Committee sent a final warning to the White Houseyesterday to provide Democrats with access to disputed documents andtestimony, pushing the House closer to a vote on contempt citations for twoadministration officials.
In a letter to White House counsel Fred F. Fielding, Judiciary CommitteeChairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), gave the Bush administration untilFriday to work out a deal on documents and testimony relating to last year'scontroversial removal of nine U.S. attorneys. If Fielding refuses the latestrequest, the House could vote as early as next week on the contempt charges,Democratic aides said.
The committee also filed a formal, 102-page contempt report with the Houseclerk that lays out its request for testimony from former White Housecounsel Harriet E. Miers and for documents controlled by White House Chiefof Staff Joshua B. Bolten.
Bush administration officials immediately signaled they do not intend tonegotiate, arguing that internal deliberations involving Miers and Boltenare covered by executive privilege. White House spokeswoman Dana Perinoaccused Democrats of seeking to "waste time again on another diversion"rather than pass meaningful legislation.
"It's been very clear that this is a futile attempt on their part becausethey know that it won't go anywhere," Perino said.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/297188.html
Pakistan closer to chaos
By HASSAN ABBAS
Posted on Tue, Nov. 06, 2007
Desperate to hold onto power, Pervez Musharraf has discarded Pakistan'sconstitutional framework and declared a state of emergency. His goal? Tostifle the independent judiciary and free media. Artfully, thoughshamelessly, he has tried to sell this action as an effort to bring aboutstability and help fight the war on terror more effectively. Nothing couldbe further from the truth. If Pakistan's history is any indicator, hisdecision to impose martial law may prove to be the proverbial straw thatbreaks the camel's back.
Musharraf appeared on the national scene on Oct. 12, 1999, when he ousted anelected government and announced an ambitious ''nation-building'' project.Many Pakistanis, disillusioned with Pakistan's political class, remainedmute, thinking that he might deliver. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attackson America brought Musharraf into the international limelight as he agreedto ditch the Taliban and support the U.S.-led war on terror.
Although U.S. leaders viewed Musharraf as an agent of change, he has neverachieved domestic political legitimacy, and his policies were seen as rifewith contradictions. For example, he made alliances with Islamist politicalforces (who in 2004 voted for constitutional changes legitimizing hisposition and actions). At the same time, he sidelined moderate politicalleaders while claiming that he stood for ``enlightened moderation.''
Last March, Musharraf took his boldest step, removing the chief justice ofthe Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry. To the surprise of many, hundreds ofthousands of ordinary people demanded the rule of law and the supremacy ofthe constitution, emboldening the judiciary and changing the country'spolitical dynamic. In a historic ruling that Musharraf had little choice butto accept, the Supreme Court itself reinstated the chief justice in July.
Subsequently, the energized judiciary continued ruling against governmentdecisions, embarrassing the government -- especially its intelligenceagencies. Government officials were held accountable for actions that wereusually beyond the reach of the law, ranging from beatings of journalists toillegal confinement for ``national security.''
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/295984.html
In whose hands is the war-making power?
By GEORGE F. WILL
Posted on Mon, Nov. 05, 2007
Americans are wondering, with the lassitude of uninvolved spectators,whether President Bush will initiate a war with Iran. Some Democraticpresidential candidates worry, or purport to, that he might claim anauthorization for war in a Senate resolution labeling an IranianRevolutionary Guard unit a terrorist organization. Some Democraticrepresentatives oppose the president's request for $88 million to equip B-2stealth bombers to carry ''bunker-buster'' bombs, hoping to thereby impede apresidential decision to attack Iran's hardened nuclear facilities.
While legislators try to leash a president by tinkering with a weapon, asufficient leash -- the Constitution -- is being ignored by them. They arederelict in their sworn duty to uphold it. Regarding the most momentousthing government does -- make war -- the constitutional system of checks andbalances is broken.
Congress can, however, put the Constitution's bridle back on the presidency.Congress can end unfettered executive war-making by deciding to. That mightnot require, but would be facilitated by, enacting the Constitutional WarPowers Resolution. Introduced last week by Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., ittechnically amends, but essentially would supplant, the existing War PowersResolution, which has been a nullity ever since it was passed in 1973 overPresident Nixon's veto.
Jones' measure is designed to ensure that deciding to go to war is, as theFounders insisted it be, a ''collective judgment.'' It would prohibitpresidents from initiating military actions except to repel or retaliate forsudden attacks on America or American troops abroad, or to protect andevacuate U.S. citizens abroad. It would provide for expedited judicialreview to enforce compliance with the resolution and permit the use offederal funds only for military actions taken in compliance with theresolution.
It reflects conclusions reached by the War Powers Initiative of theConstitution Project. That nonpartisan organization's 2005 study notes thatCongress' appropriation power augments the requirement of advanceauthorization by Congress before the nation goes to war. It enables Congressto stop the use of force by cutting off its funding. That check is augmentedby the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits any expenditure or obligation offunds not appropriated by Congress, and by legislation that criminalizesviolations of the act.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/story/293752.html
Today it's staph -- tomorrow, who knows
By LEONARD PITTS
Posted on Sun, Nov. 04, 2007
You might want to wash your hands after reading this.
After all, many other folks touched this paper (or screen, as the case maybe) before you, and you don't know where their hands have been. For all youknow, the last person to touch the paper was carrying Entamoeba histolyca, aparasite that causes amebiasis. You could end up with stomach cramps, bloodystools and an abscess on your liver. And that's assuming the disease doesn'tspread to your lungs and brain.
Or maybe the last person to use the computer recently came into contact withAfrican green monkeys. You could contract Marburg hemorrhagic fever. Itbrings rash, vomiting, chills, chest pain, sore throat, fever and diarrhea.And jaundice, pancreatic inflammation and severe weight loss. And deliriumand shock. And liver failure and multi-organ dysfunction. And then you mightdie.
You think I'm trying to scare you? You're right. Why should I be the onlyjournalist in America who isn't?
Consider what happened about two weeks back when every news organization inthe country suddenly, simultaneously, discovered that staph infections killpeople. You could not turn on the television or pick up any publication thisside of TV Guide without encountering alarmist stories about Staphylococcusaureus. Like flocks of birds that turn in the same direction at the sametime in response to some invisible stimulus, it was as if every news editorin the country got the same memo at the same time: This is staph week.
Most of the stories were about MRSA, i.e., Methicillin ResistantStaphylococcus aureus, a staph strain that does not respond to commonantibiotics. This made the so-called super-bug a headline magnet. You knowhow many times staph was mentioned in U.S. newspapers in the first two weeksof October? According to a computer search: 155. Know how many times it wasmentioned between the 15th and the 31st? 1,650.
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/11/05/m1bz_medicareplans_1105.html
Time to choose a medicare plan
The plan that works this year may not be the one that works next year,advocates warn seniors.
By PHIL GALEWITZ
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 05, 2007
Naomi Gandle, 79, likes her Medicare HMO because it provides her coveragefor her expensive anemia drug. Her husband, Saul, 83, likes the plan becauseit gives him a free gym membership.
The Delray Beach couple has been with Humana Inc. for three years and has nointerest in considering other insurers or changing health plans. "I see noreason to go anywhere else," said Naomi Gandle.
stare down the Nov. 15 start date for enrolling in Medicare drug and healthplans - for coverage that will take effect Jan. 1 - health-care advocatesfor older people say far too many share the Gandles' attitude and as aresult may not be getting the best deal when it comes to choosing a Medicaredrug or health plan.
"The plans count on the complacency of people to not go back and see if thesame plan that works for you this year, works next year," said Deanne Beebe,spokeswoman for the Medicare Rights Center in New York. "But the same plancan be very different one year to the next."
And this year, once again, the choices are overwhelming. Comparing plans isconfusing. Moreover, for 2008, the most popular companies are raising theirprices.
For example, UnitedHealthcare's lowest drug plan premium for 2008 is $21.70per month, compared with $12.30 in 2007. Humana's lowest drug plan premiumfor 2008 is $22.90 compared with $15.90 in 2007.
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/content/business/epaper/2007/11/05/a13bz_medicareqa_1105.html
Medicare Part D Q&A
Monday, November 05, 2007
What is Medicare Part D?
In 2003, Congress passed a law that for the first time gave a drug benefitto all seniors. Before the law was implemented in 2006, Medicare did notcover outpatient drugs.
Do I have to buy it?
No. But if you don't have drug coverage and put off buying a plan, the pricewill be higher later.
How do I select a plan?
It's best to go to the www.medicare.gov Web site, where you can type yourmedications into a Web program and it will tell you how much you would payunder each plan. If you don't have a computer, call (800) 633-4227 or go theMedicare Answers Prescription Savings centers for one-on-one counseling.
Call (561) 688-1211 or (772) 467-0008.
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/11/05/a13bz_medicaremistakes_1105.html
Medicare plan mistakes
Monday, November 05, 2007
Five common mistakes people make when choosing a Medicare health or drugplan:
1. Staying with the same plan every year. Plans change costs and benefitsevery year, so the same plan that worked for you one year may not be thebest for you the next.
2. Choosing the same plan as your spouse. Whether a plan is best for youdepends on which prescription drugs you take or which plan your doctors orhospital is in. Thus, a plan that works for one may not be best for another.
3. Choosing a plan based on name recognition. It's easy to go with a planthat has familiar names like AARP or Aetna, but some of the best deals maybe with companies that are less well-known.
4. Choosing a plan without using the plan-finder tool at www.Medicare.gov.Trying to analyze more than 100 plans is nearly impossible without thecomputer software program available on the Medicare Web site. That's becausethe program matches the drugs you take with the plans' costs and benefits.If you can't access the Internet, find a relative or an advocacyorganization to assist, such as the Area Agency on Aging. To schedule anappointment with the Medicare Answers Prescription Savings (MAPS) program ofthe agency, call (561) 688-1211 or (772) 467-0008.
5. Not signing up for a Medicare drug plan because you don't think you needit. You will have to pay a 1 percent monthly penalty on top of your regularpremiums for every month you were eligible but didn't opt in. Over time,that can mean paying hundreds of dollars a year extra in insurance costs.Remember, this is insurance. Just because drug costs are low now doesn'tmean they won't go up next year.
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The Huffington Report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071105/black-ceos/
Black CEOs: a Tiny Group Shrinks More
ELLEN SIMON |
November 5, 2007 05:53 PM EST |
NEW YORK - It's getting lonelier at the top for black CEOs.
Only four blacks will be left running Fortune 500 companies after StanO'Neal's abrupt retirement from the top spot at Merrill Lynch & Co. lastweek and Time Warner Inc. Dick Parsons' announcement Monday that he willretire at the end of the year.
That leaves Aylwin Lewis at Sears Holding Corp., Kenneth Chenault atAmerican Express Co., Ronald Williams at Aetna Inc. and Clarence Otis atDarden Restaurants Inc. as the only black chief executives among this listof the nation's largest companies.
To some, the departures of O'Neal and Parsons underscore that all CEOs,whatever their race, have a short shelf life.
"In the best situations, these are not jobs you hold on to for more thanfive to seven years," said Alfred Edmond Jr., editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise magazine. "The bulletproof CEOs of the '80s _ those days are longgone, even for white men."
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Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/11/05/advocates_tout_rising_support_for_child_health_plan/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
Advocates tout rising support for child health plan
By John Donnelly
Globe Staff / November 5, 2007
WASHINGTON - Democrats and healthcare advocates are expressing increasingconfidence that their emphasis on expanding children's health insurance - ameasure already vetoed once by President Bush - has succeeded in puttinghealthcare on the national agenda.
more stories like thisThey point to a new round of polls that found widepublic support for the child health program.
Proponents say the difference between the Republican and Democraticpositions is stark, giving voters a clear choice on what many call the mostimportant domestic issue in next year's presidential election.
Bush, along with every Republican candidate for president, opposes adding$35 billion over five years to the State Children's Health InsuranceProgram, known as SCHIP, saying it will lead to socialized medicine.
Every Democratic candidate for president supports the expansion to cover anadditional 4 million children who currently do not have health insurance,saying it is government's role to provide health coverage for the neediest.
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USA TODAY
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/11/could-hillary-w.html
Could Hillary win the religious vote?
Despite her genuine Methodist upbringing and honest-to-God faithcredentials, the skepticism toward her among believers is deep and enduring.
Her best hope among values voters: That they stay home on Election Day.
By Paul Kengor
"I'm sorry, I know it sounds judgmental, but I just can't believe she's aChristian, and I think all her talk of faith is pure politics."
That was talk-radio host Robert Mangino from Youngstown, Ohio, and hisresponse was a common one among conservatives who recently interviewed meabout the faith of Hillary Clinton.
I responded: "Well, she has gone to church regularly since childhood, andsurely wasn't playing politics when she was baptized as an infant and goingto Vacation Bible School."
I continued my case: "You know, she has openly professed the basicfundamentals of the Christian faith - from belief in the resurrection to theTrinity - prays, reads the Bible, studies the Methodist Church's Book ofDiscipline, frequently attends and has even led Bible studies."
My interviewer was unconvinced. Our conversation reminded me of anassessment by the late Jerry Falwell at the September 2006 "Values VotersSummit:" "I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate (in 2008). Becausenothing will energize my (constituency) like Hillary Clinton. If Luciferran, he wouldn't."
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/04/AR2007110401111.html?nav=rss_print
Republican Nomination Most Open in Decades
By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, November 5, 2007; A01
For the first time in nearly 30 years, there is no breakaway front-runnerfor the Republican nomination as the first votes of Campaign 2008 loom, anda new Washington Post-ABC News poll underscores how open the GOP raceremains.
Former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani maintains a double-digit leadover his main rivals, but most of his supporters back his candidacy only"somewhat," and he has yet to gain momentum among key primary voting groupsor to distinguish himself as the best candidate for the party. Adding to themurkiness of the picture is that Republicans continue to be less satisfiedwith their candidate options than Democrats are with theirs.
In the new poll, a third of Republicans and Republican-leaning independentssaid they would vote for Giuliani if their state's primary or caucus wereheld today. That puts him 14 percentage points ahead of Sen. John McCain(Ariz.) and 17 points ahead of former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.).
Eleven percent said they would vote for former Massachusetts governor MittRomney, and 9 percent support former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Not since 1979 has the leading Republican candidate had less than 40 percentsupport in national polls in the November heading into an election year.That year Ronald Reagan was the early poll leader, as Giuliani is today, andhe went on to win the Republican nomination and the presidency.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/04/AR2007110401490.html?nav=rss_nation
Evangelical Democrat Stirs the Pot in Miss.
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 5, 2007; A03
JACKSON, Miss. -- A wealthy evangelical Christian, John Arthur Eaves Jr., isrunning a campaign for governor that is rife with what Jesus might do.
He talks about banishing "the money changers" from state politics and abouta health-care proposal focusing on the "least among us" -- just as Jesuswould -- and the cornerstone of his stump speech is familiar to anyone whoknows the bit in Matthew 6:24 about "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."
"The most important question in this campaign," he said at a typicalcampaign stop here last week, "is 'Who do you serve?' "
He is running against Republican incumbent Haley Barbour, he answers,because he wants "to serve my creator."
The 41-year-old plaintiff attorney is waging what might be the most overtlyChristian-inspired statewide race in a long time. But what is most startlingto Bible Belt voters here, where faith-based appeals most often come fromthe religious right, is that Eaves is a Democrat.
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[Send your comments about articles to rays.list@comcast.net]
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Forwarded from Susan Frishkorn
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/21067.html
Published on Sunday, November 4, 2007 by The McClatchy Newspapers
Experts: No Evidence of Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program
by Jonathan S. Landay
WASHINGTON - Despite President Bush's claims that Iran is pursuing nuclearweapons that could trigger "World War III," experts in and out of governmentsay there's no conclusive evidence that Tehran has an active nuclear-weaponsprogram.
Even his own administration appears divided about the immediacy of thethreat. While Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney speak of an Iranianweapons program as a fact, Bush's point man on Iran, Undersecretary of StateNicholas Burns, has attempted to ratchet down the rhetoric.
"Iran is seeking a nuclear capability . that some people fear might lead toa nuclear-weapons capability," Burns said in an interview Oct. 25 on PBS.
"I don't think that anyone right today thinks they're working on a bomb,"said another U.S. official, who requested anonymity because of the issue'ssensitivity. Outside experts say the operative words are "right today." Theysay Iran may have been actively seeking to create a nuclear-weapons capacityin the past and still could break out of its current uranium-enrichmentprogram and start a weapons program. They too lack definitive proof, butcite a great deal of circumstantial evidence. Bush's rhetoric seemshyperbolic compared with the measured statements by his senior aides andoutside experts.
"I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, itseems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from havingthe knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," he said Oct. 17 at a newsconference.
more...
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flavote1106nbnov06,0,2895499,print.story
Money issues dominate elections
Immigration, gay rights take back seat for voters this year
By IAN URBINA
The New York Times
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON
When it comes to the state and local ballot measures before voters acrossthe country today, it is mostly about the money.
While hot-button issues like immigration and gay rights attracted the focusof measures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns likehealth care financing, road projects and land-use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year. There isonly one congressional race (a special primary in the 5th District in Ohio),and the presidential vote is a year away. Few close contests are expected asvoters choose governors in two states and mayors in five major cities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in six states being decided, down from204 in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to theInitiative and Referendum Institute at the University of SouthernCalifornia, which tracks ballot trends. In 2006, 10 states had statewideballot initiatives concerning gay rights and three states had initiatives onmarijuana use. No states have ballot measures concerning either issue today.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who is ahead in the polls and in fundraising.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sns-ap-heart-drug,0,2632315,print.story
Bayer Halts Sales of Anti-Bleeding Drug
By ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer
7:47 PM EST, November 5, 2007
WASHINGTON
Bayer AG halted worldwide sales Monday of its anti-bleeding drug Trasylol atthe request of U.S. and foreign health officials pending further analysis ofa Canadian study that suggests it's linked to a 50 percent higher risk ofdeath than the other drugs in the clinical trial.
The Food and Drug Administration asked the company to stop selling the drug,used to prevent excessive bleeding during heart bypass surgery, until itcould receive and review further results from the study. The study comparingthe safety and efficacy of the drug with two others was recently halted.
"FDA cannot identify a specific patient population where we believe thebenefits of using Trasylol outweighs the risk," said Dr. John Jenkins,director of the agency's Office of New Drugs, during a briefing Monday.
Bayer, based in Leverkusen, Germany, said it made the decision to suspendsales after talks with FDA, the German Federal Institute for Drugs andMedicine Products along with the Canadian health department.
In the U.S., Trasylol is the third prescription drug to be suspended fromsale this year.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06cnd-vote.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Spending Is Focus of Nation's Ballot Measures
By IAN URBINA
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - When it comes to the state and local ballot measuresbefore voters across the country on Tuesday, it is mostly about the money.
While issues like immigration and gay rights were so much the focus ofmeasures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns surroundinghealth care funding, road projects and land use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year than last.There is only one Congressional race (a special primary in Ohio's FifthDistrict), the presidential vote is a year away and few close contests areexpected as voters choose governors in just two states and mayors in fivemajor cities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in six states being decided, down from204 in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to theInitiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California,which tracks ballot trends. In 2006, 10 states had statewide ballotinitiatives concerning gay rights and three states had initiativesconcerning marijuana use. No states have ballot measures concerning eitherissue on Tuesday.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong-shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who remains up in the polls and fund-raising.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/06vote.html?pagewanted=print
Spending Trumps Social Issues at Ballot Box This Time
By IAN URBINA
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - When it comes to the state and local ballot measuresbefore voters across the country on Tuesday, it is mostly about the money.
While hot-button issues like immigration and gay rights attracted the focusof measures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns likehealth care financing, road projects and land-use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year. There isonly one Congressional race (a special primary in the Fifth District inOhio), and the presidential vote is a year away. Few close contests areexpected as voters choose governors in two states and mayors in five majorcities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in 6 states being decided, down from 204in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to the Initiativeand Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California, whichtracks ballot trends. In 2006, 9 states had statewide ballot initiativesconcerning gay rights and 3 states had initiatives on marijuana use. Nostates have ballot measures concerning either issue on Tuesday.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who is ahead in the polls and in fund-raising.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/nyregion/06plumb.html?pagewanted=print
Last Defendant Is Guilty in Attack on a Gay Man
By MICHAEL BRICK
November 6, 2007
In a case that has drawn intense scrutiny to the legal meaning of hatred,the last of four young men charged with selecting a gay man as a robberytarget and chasing him to his death in traffic pleaded guilty yesterday tomanslaughter and attempted robbery as hate crimes.
The defendant, Ilya Shurov, 21, agreed to serve 17 1/2 years in prison. Inexchange, prosecutors dropped charges of felony murder as a hate crime,which could have meant a life sentence.
"If there was no life sentence," said a defense lawyer, Hermann P. Walz, "wewould have rolled the dice."
Instead, the bargained plea brought a quiet end to a case replete with asudden flash of violence, a heady philosophical debate and a series ofsoap-opera turns in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
The victim, Michael J. Sandy, 29, a designer from Williamsburg, was luredfrom his home to a secluded lot in Sheepshead Bay on Oct. 8, 2006. He wasdirected to a beach known as a meeting place for gay sex, then beaten andchased into traffic. He was struck by a car and later died of his injuries.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06moral.html?pagewanted=print
Romney Gets Major Backer on the Right
By MICHAEL LUO
November 6, 2007
Mitt Romney's presidential campaign announced yesterday an endorsement fromthe man whom some consider the father of the religious right, Paul M.Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation and a founder of the MoralMajority.
Mr. Weyrich, who also founded the Heritage Foundation, had been critical oftalk this year among Christian conservative leaders about possibly boltingthe Republican Party and backing a third-party candidate if Rudolph W.Giuliani, a supporter of abortion rights, is the nominee.
Now it appears that Mr. Weyrich is backing up that criticism with action,lining up behind Mr. Romney, despite questions many Christian conservativescontinue to harbor about the candidate's relatively recent conversion toopponent of abortion from supporter of abortion rights, as well as concernsabout Mr. Romney's being a Mormon.
Mr. Weyrich wrote a recent article about the conditions under which creatinga third party might work. In an interview last month with The New YorkTimes, he said discussion about that at this stage was premature andfoolish. He has vigorously urged conservatives to unite behind a singlecandidate, rather than diluting power by splitting support.
Before Mr. Weyrich, Mr. Romney had lined up endorsements by socialconservatives like James Bopp Jr., a well-known abortion opponent; JaySekulow, a prominent Christian conservative; and Bob Jones III, chancellorof Bob Jones University. But Romney lacked the backing of an elder statesmanof the religious right, which Mr. Weyrich is considered.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/business/media/06msnb.html?pagewanted=print
Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left
By JACQUES STEINBERG
November 6, 2007
Riding a ratings wave from "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," a program thattakes strong issue with the Bush administration, MSNBC is increasinglyseeking to showcase its nighttime lineup as a welcome haven for viewers of asimilar mind.
Lest there be any doubt that the cable channel believes there is ratingsgold in shows that criticize the administration with the same vigor withwhich Fox News's hosts often champion it, two NBC executives acknowledgedyesterday that they were talking to Rosie O'Donnell about a prime-time showon MSNBC.
During the nine months she spent on "The View" before departing abruptlylast spring, Ms. O'Donnell raised viewership notably. She did so whilelamenting the unabated casualties of the Iraq war and advocating the rightto gay marriage, among other positions.
Under one option, Ms. O'Donnell would take the 9 p.m. slot each weeknight onMSNBC, pitting her against "Larry King Live" on CNN and "Hannity & Colmes"on Fox News.
But even without Ms. O'Donnell, MSNBC already presents a three-hour block ofnighttime talk - Chris Matthews's "Hardball" at 7, Mr. Olbermann at 8, and"Live With Dan Abrams" at 9 - in which the White House takes a regularbeating. The one early-evening program on MSNBC that is often mostsympathetic to the administration, "Tucker" with Tucker Carlson at 6 p.m.,is in real danger of being canceled, said one NBC executive, who, like thosewho spoke of Ms. O'Donnell, would do so only on condition of anonymity.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06vote.html?pagewanted=print
Spending Trumps Social Issues on Ballots This Time
By IAN URBINA
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - When it comes to the state and local ballot measuresbefore voters across the country on Tuesday, it is mostly about the money.
While hot-button issues like immigration and gay rights attracted the focusof measures in the past several elections, nuts-and-bolts concerns likehealth care financing, road projects and land-use regulations fill local andstate tickets this time.
Overall, Election Day is expected to be a calmer affair this year. There isonly one Congressional race (a special primary in the Fifth District inOhio), and the presidential vote is a year away. Few close contests areexpected as voters choose governors in two states and mayors in five majorcities.
There are 34 statewide propositions in 6 states being decided, down from 204in 37 states in 2006, and 39 the year before, according to the Initiativeand Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California, whichtracks ballot trends. In 2006, 9 states had statewide ballot initiativesconcerning gay rights and 3 states had initiatives on marijuana use. Nostates have ballot measures concerning either issue on Tuesday.
In the Mississippi governor's race, John Arthur Eaves Jr., a Democrat andlong shot to win, is running an overtly religious campaign in the hope ofstealing some of the evangelical support behind the Republican incumbent,Haley Barbour, who is ahead in the polls and in fund-raising.
more . . . . .
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501659_pf.html
San Francisco Mayor's Race Offers Drama, but No Suspense
Oddball Group No Real Challenge to Popular Incumbent Newsom
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A06
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 -- Less than a year after admitting to an affair withhis appointments secretary, a woman married to the campaign manager who wasalso his close friend, Gavin Newsom stands before the electorate of SanFrancisco on Tuesday, all but certain of winning a second term as mayor.
Handsome, Democratic and routinely described as "hot," Newsom, 40, handledhis indiscretion with Ruby Rippey-Tourk with savvy professionalism andimpressive gloss -- qualities increasingly used to describe the city itself.
The question is how to describe the other candidates on the ballot.
There is a homeless taxi driver named Grasshopper who sleeps in his cab.There is an elderly advocate for nudism whose candidacy prompted the Leagueof Women Voters to write a bylaw requiring clothes at their debates.
The man in the fuzzy purple top hat would be Michael Powers, proprietor ofthe Power Exchange sex club.
And, here, on the roof of the building he was fortunate enough to buy beforereal estate prices drove almost everyone he knows out of Baghdad by the Bay,stands Chicken John Rinaldi, in full rant.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06tue1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
The Pakistan Mess
Editorial
November 6, 2007
By imposing martial law, Gen. Pervez Musharraf has pushed nuclear-armedPakistan further along a perilous course and underscored the failure ofPresident Bush's policy toward a key ally in the war on terrorism. Theevents should not have come as a surprise to administration officials. Thisis what you get when policy is centered slavishly on a single, autocraticruler rather than more broadly on his country.
The general, Pakistan's president, justified his crackdown as a defenseagainst Islamic militants, but his desperate and reprehensible actions -suspending the constitution, rounding up judges, beating and jailing lawyersand journalists - will embolden extremists. They will also fuel anger andmistrust among Pakistani moderates.
After winning a sham ballot last month, General Musharraf was awaiting aSupreme Court decision on whether his election, while still serving as armychief of staff, was legal. Jane Perlez and David Rohde reported in The Timesthat the dictator asserted military powers after getting word that the courtwould rule against him. A phone call at 2 a.m. Pakistan time from Secretaryof State Condoleezza Rice dissuaded the general from taking similar actionduring last summer's mass political protests, but this time nothing couldinduce him to back down.
Returning Pakistan to civilian government has been a declared goal of theUnited States since General Musharraf seized power in 1999 in a bloodlessmilitary coup. He has repeatedly broken promises to move in that direction,using his power vindictively and squandering popular support by forcingrivals into exile and intimidating anyone who tried to stand up to him. Mostof the time, Mr. Bush, who says he cannot win the anti-terrorism war withoutGeneral Musharraf but clearly can't win it with him either, acquiesced inhis misdeeds.
The Faustian nature of the bargain is more apparent than ever. Not only hasthe general proven less committed to the anti-terrorism fight than expected(Al Qaeda and the Taliban are resurgent on the border with Afghanistan), butnow he has abandoned any pretense of moving toward democracy. Mr. Bush seemsto have gained little leverage from the more than $10 billion in Americanaid that has fattened Pakistan's coffers since Sept. 11, 2001, much of itunaccounted for.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06herbert.html?ref=opinion
Hillary's Tough Sell
Op-Ed Columnist
BOB HERBERT
November 6, 2007
The U.S. is in the midst of the most important presidential electioncampaign since World War II, and if there has ever been a time when womenvoters had the opportunity to decisively affect the nation's future, it'snow.
Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy has heightened the interest of womenvoters who would no doubt have been paying close attention to this electionin any event because of its classic lineup of issues, including the war inIraq, a highly uncertain economy and the makeover of the Supreme Court, withits implications for abortion, civil liberties and so on.
A national poll conducted for the Lifetime television network showed thatnearly 40 percent of women feel that voting in the 2008 election will bemore important than in previous years. And an overwhelming majority of womenwho are registered to vote say they plan to go to the polls.
But most of those voters are not yet committed to a particular candidate.
That means there's a treasure trove of potential votes out there amongwomen. But except for the recent flap over the treatment of Senator Clintonin last week's debate, the campaigns are nearly all being waged as if theonly votes that really matter are those of dimwitted guys fascinated by bigguns and insecure in their masculinity.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06brooks.html?ref=opinion
Present at the Creation
DAVID BROOKS
November 6, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Amman, Jordan
What is Condi doing?
This is the question that's been floating around foreign policy circles overthe past few months. It is then followed by more specific questions: Why isSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice spending her remaining time in officebanging her head against the Israeli-Palestinian problem? Why has shebothered to make eight trips to the region this year? What can possibly beaccomplished when the Israeli government is weak and the Palestinian societyis divided?
It took a trip to the region for me to finally understand that this peaceprocess is unlike any other. It's not really about Israel and thePalestinians; it's about Iran. Rice is constructing a coalition of thelosing. There is a feeling among Arab and Israeli leaders that anIran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas alliance is on the march. The nations that resistthat alliance are in retreat. The peace process is an occasion to gather the"moderate" states and to construct what Martin Indyk of the BrookingsInstitution's Saban Center calls an anti-Iran counter-alliance.
It's slightly unfortunate that the peace process itself is hollow. It's likehaving a wedding without a couple because you want to get the gueststogether for some other purpose. But that void can be filled in later. Themain point is to organize the anti-Iranians around some vehicle and thenreshape the strategic correlation of forces in the region.
Iran has done what decades of peace proposals have not done - broughtIsrael, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinians andthe U.S. together. You can go to Jerusalem or to some Arab capitals and thediagnosis of the situation is the same: Iran is gaining hegemonic strengthover the region and is spreading tentacles of instability all around.
The Syrians, who have broken with the Sunni nations and attached themselvesto Iran, are feeling stronger by the day. At least one-third of Iraq isunder Iranian influence. Hezbollah is better armed and more confident nowthan it was before its war against Israel. Hamas is being drawn closerinside the Iranian orbit and is more likely to take over the West Bank thanlose its own base in Gaza.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501594.html
Self-Inflicted Wounds
By Alberto Mora and John Shattuck
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A19
The question of whether waterboarding constitutes torture is a no-brainer.Our nation and many others have recognized for decades that it does. Onedoesn't have to have been "read into" the details of a classified program,as President Bush has suggested, to reach a judgment about thisinterrogation technique. Common sense is the only tool needed to understandthat inducing the sensation of drowning -- i.e., of dying -- is torture.
Remarkably, in his recent confirmation hearing to be attorney general, JudgeMichael Mukasey declined to say whether waterboarding is torture. There aretwo explanations for this. Mukasey himself stated that he was without enoughinformation to make the call. But some believe his unwillingness to do somay also be based on a concern that it could increase the potentialliability for those who have engaged in this practice or authorized it.
Both explanations demonstrate the corrosive effects of the decision to adoptcruelty and -- as with waterboarding -- even torture as weapons of war. Thefirst shows the tendency, pioneered by the Justice Department that Mukaseyhopes to lead, to redefine torture to make "legal" what was, and is,illegal. The second shows how concern about accountability for the abuse ofdetainees is now acting as a stimulus for ratification of cruelinterrogation policies and practices. In this confluence, we risk permanentdamage to our legal system and to the principle of accountability.
But there are also greater risks. There is no more fundamental right,whether under U.S. law or under human rights principles, than a person'sright to be free not only from torture but also from cruel treatment, thelower level of abuse under law. If we were to legitimize cruelty -- as thosewho espouse waterboarding would wish us to do -- we would do violence to theconcept of inalienable and inviolable personal rights. The protectionafforded by law to core human dignity would be shattered, with incalculabledamage to our nation's deepest values, founding principles andconstitutional order.
And we risk much more yet.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501595.html
Rudy's Torture Talk
By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A19
On the playground, lo these many years ago, I was shooting baskets when anolder boy ordered me off the court. This was just like the movies, Ireasoned, and so I stood my ground and instantly got punched right in themouth. I went down, and as I did, I remember thinking this was not at alllike the movies. It hurt. It really hurt.
The realization that life is not a movie has inexplicably yet to occur toRudy Giuliani, despite the horrors of Sept. 11. Mistaking something he musthave seen in the movies for real life, he mocked the alleged softies whocondemn torture of any kind, saying of sleep deprivation, "They talk aboutsleep deprivation. I mean, on that theory, I'm getting tortured running forpresident of the United States. That's plain silly."
It's not silly, though, to Orson Swindle. He spent six years and four monthsas a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and was subjected to beatings andsleep deprivation. One time, he went about 20 days without sleep. I askedhim if he considered it torture.
"Oh, yes."
Swindle's account of his sleep deprivation lacks precision. Some of the timehe was hallucinating, and so he relied on the reports of others to determinehow long he was forced to stay awake. His jailers wanted him to write apropaganda letter to Sen. Edward Kennedy. Ultimately, Swindle did. In theend, people being tortured usually give their jailers what they want -- thetruth, a lie, something in between. Torture can be an unreliableinterrogation tool.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501678.html
Working With a Dictator
President Bush's feeble response to Pakistan's coup mocks the 'freedom
agenda.'
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A18
PAKISTANI PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf claims that he suspended theconstitution and imposed de facto martial law Saturday to save his countryfrom Islamic extremists. But his crackdown has been directed almost entirelyat Pakistan's moderate, secular and pro-democracy opposition -- the verypeople who could offer a political alternative to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.At least 500 lawyers, judges, political party leaders, human rightsactivists and journalists have been arrested. Independent televisionstations have been shut. Lawyers who tried to demonstrate against therepression in front of the Supreme Court yesterday were attacked by securityforces.
Mr. Musharraf is waging war not against extremism but against democracy. Heacted because he feared the Supreme Court was preparing to rule that hisorchestrated reelection as president last month was unconstitutional. He wasseeking to escape from commitments made to Pakistan's secular politicalleaders and to the Bush administration that he would step down as armycommander by Nov. 15 and hold free and fair parliamentary elections earlynext year.
The choice the United States and other Western governments now face is notbetween Mr. Musharraf and the terrorist forces he has sporadically combatedsince 2001. It is between a deeply unpopular, ineffective and politicallyexhausted military ruler who is trying to extend his tenure by force and oneof the Muslim world's largest and most liberal civil societies. PresidentBush has rightly said that democracy is the best antidote to thetotalitarianism of Islamic extremists. Mr. Musharraf's own record is proofthat autocratic governments only make extremism stronger.
There should be no question as to which side the United States is on. Yet sofar the administration has hedged its bets. It has called Mr. Musharraf'smeasures "extreme" and said it "cannot support emergency rule." But Mr. Bushsaid yesterday that "we want to continue working with him" oncounterterrorism, and officials have made clear that aid directed at thatcollaboration -- which is most of the U.S. aid Pakistan receives -- will notbe affected. The general probably will regard that stance as an acquiescenceto his coup -- as will most Pakistanis and the millions of other Muslimsaround the world who are watching the U.S. response.
The United States should explicitly and fully support Pakistan's civilianpoliticians and judges. Such a stance need not cause the downfall of Mr.Musharraf; he still has the option to back down, restore the constitutionand schedule elections. But as things stand, if he manages to withstand thealmost universal domestic opposition to his coup, the United States will beblamed for propping him up -- and for taking the wrong side in a crucialtest of its seriousness about fighting extremism with democracy.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501681.html
The View From the Waterboard
A former Justice lawyer did his homework -- and raised a red flag.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A18
ATTORNEY GENERAL nominee Michael B. Mukasey may have his doubts about whatconstitutes waterboarding and whether it is illegal. Daniel Levin has nosuch questions.
Mr. Levin was acting head of the Justice Department's Office of LegalCounsel in 2004 when he volunteered to be waterboarded, according to aremarkable Nov. 2 report by Jan Crawford Greenburg and Ariane de Vogue ofABC News. In the midst of revising the Justice Department's legal rationaleon interrogation methods after the repudiation of the infamous "torturememo," Mr. Levin wanted to experience waterboarding, or simulated drowning,to determine whether it triggered the legal definition of torture. Afterbeing subjected to the technique at a Washington area military installation,Mr. Levin concluded that waterboarding could be illegal unless performedunder the strictest supervision and in the most limited of ways. Mr. Levinfinished drafting the new legal memorandum in December 2004.
According to the ABC report, Mr. Levin's findings did not sit well with theadministration. Then-White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales insisted thatMr. Levin add a footnote to the memo that made clear that the revised memodid not make the administration's previous opinions illegal. Mr. Levin wasforced out of the Justice Department a few months after Mr. Gonzales wasconfirmed as attorney general in early 2005.
Mr. Levin, now in private practice with a Washington law firm, declined todiscuss the matter. But his name can be added to the roster of accomplishedconservative lawyers, including former deputy attorney general James B.Comey and former Office of Legal Counsel chief Jack L. Goldsmith, who foundthemselves fighting to sustain the rule of law in an administration toooften eager to suspend it. If Mr. Mukasey is confirmed, as we believe heshould be, the eradication of this kind of disregard for principle and lawshould be his first priority.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501599.html?hpid=moreheadlines
At Least 4,000 Suspected of Terrorism-Related Activity in Britain, MI5Director Says
By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A15
LONDON, Nov. 5 -- British security officials suspect that at least 4,000people are involved in terrorism-related activities in Britain and thatal-Qaeda's "deliberate campaign" against Britain poses the "most immediateand acute peacetime threat" to the nation in a century, the head ofBritain's domestic spy agency said Monday.
"Terrorist attacks we have seen against the U.K. are not simply random plotsby disparate and fragmented groups," said Jonathan Evans, director generalof Britain's Security Service, commonly known as MI5. "The majority of theseattacks, successful or otherwise, have taken place because al-Qaeda has aclear determination to mount terrorist attacks against the United Kingdom."
Addressing the Society of Editors in Manchester, England, Evans said thatsecurity agents are watching about 2,000 suspected terrorists in Britain andthat they suspect "there are as many again that we don't yet know of." Theremarks by Evans, who took over as head of MI5 in April, amplified thethreat described a year ago by his predecessor, Eliza Manningham-Buller, whosaid that agents were tracking 1,600 people in at least 200 cells.
The public speech by Manningham-Buller was a rarity for the secretiveagency, but Evans has been a slightly more public figure and has defendedhis agency against criticism in unprecedented postings on its Web site.Noting that his speech Monday, to a media group, was still "fairly unusual,"Evans said he was speaking because MI5 has "a responsibility to keep thepublic informed about the threats they face and what we are doing to counterthem."
The rise in the number of identified terrorism suspects in Britain is partlyattributable to increased efforts by security services to track plotters,Evans said. British agencies have refocused on potential domestic terroristssince suicide bomb attacks on the London public transit system in July 2005killed 52 passengers. In the past 18 months, British officials have brokenup alleged plots to bomb transatlantic jetliners and detonate car bombsoutside a crowded central London nightclub.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110500524.html?hpid=sec-politics
Final Warning for Administration
House, Seeking Documents on Firings, Nears Contempt Vote
By Dan Eggen Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer and
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; A17
The House Judiciary Committee sent a final warning to the White Houseyesterday to provide Democrats with access to disputed documents andtestimony, pushing the House closer to a vote on contempt citations for twoadministration officials.
In a letter to White House counsel Fred F. Fielding, Judiciary CommitteeChairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), gave the Bush administration untilFriday to work out a deal on documents and testimony relating to last year'scontroversial removal of nine U.S. attorneys. If Fielding refuses the latestrequest, the House could vote as early as next week on the contempt charges,Democratic aides said.
The committee also filed a formal, 102-page contempt report with the Houseclerk that lays out its request for testimony from former White Housecounsel Harriet E. Miers and for documents controlled by White House Chiefof Staff Joshua B. Bolten.
Bush administration officials immediately signaled they do not intend tonegotiate, arguing that internal deliberations involving Miers and Boltenare covered by executive privilege. White House spokeswoman Dana Perinoaccused Democrats of seeking to "waste time again on another diversion"rather than pass meaningful legislation.
"It's been very clear that this is a futile attempt on their part becausethey know that it won't go anywhere," Perino said.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/297188.html
Pakistan closer to chaos
By HASSAN ABBAS
Posted on Tue, Nov. 06, 2007
Desperate to hold onto power, Pervez Musharraf has discarded Pakistan'sconstitutional framework and declared a state of emergency. His goal? Tostifle the independent judiciary and free media. Artfully, thoughshamelessly, he has tried to sell this action as an effort to bring aboutstability and help fight the war on terror more effectively. Nothing couldbe further from the truth. If Pakistan's history is any indicator, hisdecision to impose martial law may prove to be the proverbial straw thatbreaks the camel's back.
Musharraf appeared on the national scene on Oct. 12, 1999, when he ousted anelected government and announced an ambitious ''nation-building'' project.Many Pakistanis, disillusioned with Pakistan's political class, remainedmute, thinking that he might deliver. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attackson America brought Musharraf into the international limelight as he agreedto ditch the Taliban and support the U.S.-led war on terror.
Although U.S. leaders viewed Musharraf as an agent of change, he has neverachieved domestic political legitimacy, and his policies were seen as rifewith contradictions. For example, he made alliances with Islamist politicalforces (who in 2004 voted for constitutional changes legitimizing hisposition and actions). At the same time, he sidelined moderate politicalleaders while claiming that he stood for ``enlightened moderation.''
Last March, Musharraf took his boldest step, removing the chief justice ofthe Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry. To the surprise of many, hundreds ofthousands of ordinary people demanded the rule of law and the supremacy ofthe constitution, emboldening the judiciary and changing the country'spolitical dynamic. In a historic ruling that Musharraf had little choice butto accept, the Supreme Court itself reinstated the chief justice in July.
Subsequently, the energized judiciary continued ruling against governmentdecisions, embarrassing the government -- especially its intelligenceagencies. Government officials were held accountable for actions that wereusually beyond the reach of the law, ranging from beatings of journalists toillegal confinement for ``national security.''
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/295984.html
In whose hands is the war-making power?
By GEORGE F. WILL
Posted on Mon, Nov. 05, 2007
Americans are wondering, with the lassitude of uninvolved spectators,whether President Bush will initiate a war with Iran. Some Democraticpresidential candidates worry, or purport to, that he might claim anauthorization for war in a Senate resolution labeling an IranianRevolutionary Guard unit a terrorist organization. Some Democraticrepresentatives oppose the president's request for $88 million to equip B-2stealth bombers to carry ''bunker-buster'' bombs, hoping to thereby impede apresidential decision to attack Iran's hardened nuclear facilities.
While legislators try to leash a president by tinkering with a weapon, asufficient leash -- the Constitution -- is being ignored by them. They arederelict in their sworn duty to uphold it. Regarding the most momentousthing government does -- make war -- the constitutional system of checks andbalances is broken.
Congress can, however, put the Constitution's bridle back on the presidency.Congress can end unfettered executive war-making by deciding to. That mightnot require, but would be facilitated by, enacting the Constitutional WarPowers Resolution. Introduced last week by Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., ittechnically amends, but essentially would supplant, the existing War PowersResolution, which has been a nullity ever since it was passed in 1973 overPresident Nixon's veto.
Jones' measure is designed to ensure that deciding to go to war is, as theFounders insisted it be, a ''collective judgment.'' It would prohibitpresidents from initiating military actions except to repel or retaliate forsudden attacks on America or American troops abroad, or to protect andevacuate U.S. citizens abroad. It would provide for expedited judicialreview to enforce compliance with the resolution and permit the use offederal funds only for military actions taken in compliance with theresolution.
It reflects conclusions reached by the War Powers Initiative of theConstitution Project. That nonpartisan organization's 2005 study notes thatCongress' appropriation power augments the requirement of advanceauthorization by Congress before the nation goes to war. It enables Congressto stop the use of force by cutting off its funding. That check is augmentedby the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits any expenditure or obligation offunds not appropriated by Congress, and by legislation that criminalizesviolations of the act.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/story/293752.html
Today it's staph -- tomorrow, who knows
By LEONARD PITTS
Posted on Sun, Nov. 04, 2007
You might want to wash your hands after reading this.
After all, many other folks touched this paper (or screen, as the case maybe) before you, and you don't know where their hands have been. For all youknow, the last person to touch the paper was carrying Entamoeba histolyca, aparasite that causes amebiasis. You could end up with stomach cramps, bloodystools and an abscess on your liver. And that's assuming the disease doesn'tspread to your lungs and brain.
Or maybe the last person to use the computer recently came into contact withAfrican green monkeys. You could contract Marburg hemorrhagic fever. Itbrings rash, vomiting, chills, chest pain, sore throat, fever and diarrhea.And jaundice, pancreatic inflammation and severe weight loss. And deliriumand shock. And liver failure and multi-organ dysfunction. And then you mightdie.
You think I'm trying to scare you? You're right. Why should I be the onlyjournalist in America who isn't?
Consider what happened about two weeks back when every news organization inthe country suddenly, simultaneously, discovered that staph infections killpeople. You could not turn on the television or pick up any publication thisside of TV Guide without encountering alarmist stories about Staphylococcusaureus. Like flocks of birds that turn in the same direction at the sametime in response to some invisible stimulus, it was as if every news editorin the country got the same memo at the same time: This is staph week.
Most of the stories were about MRSA, i.e., Methicillin ResistantStaphylococcus aureus, a staph strain that does not respond to commonantibiotics. This made the so-called super-bug a headline magnet. You knowhow many times staph was mentioned in U.S. newspapers in the first two weeksof October? According to a computer search: 155. Know how many times it wasmentioned between the 15th and the 31st? 1,650.
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/11/05/m1bz_medicareplans_1105.html
Time to choose a medicare plan
The plan that works this year may not be the one that works next year,advocates warn seniors.
By PHIL GALEWITZ
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 05, 2007
Naomi Gandle, 79, likes her Medicare HMO because it provides her coveragefor her expensive anemia drug. Her husband, Saul, 83, likes the plan becauseit gives him a free gym membership.
The Delray Beach couple has been with Humana Inc. for three years and has nointerest in considering other insurers or changing health plans. "I see noreason to go anywhere else," said Naomi Gandle.
stare down the Nov. 15 start date for enrolling in Medicare drug and healthplans - for coverage that will take effect Jan. 1 - health-care advocatesfor older people say far too many share the Gandles' attitude and as aresult may not be getting the best deal when it comes to choosing a Medicaredrug or health plan.
"The plans count on the complacency of people to not go back and see if thesame plan that works for you this year, works next year," said Deanne Beebe,spokeswoman for the Medicare Rights Center in New York. "But the same plancan be very different one year to the next."
And this year, once again, the choices are overwhelming. Comparing plans isconfusing. Moreover, for 2008, the most popular companies are raising theirprices.
For example, UnitedHealthcare's lowest drug plan premium for 2008 is $21.70per month, compared with $12.30 in 2007. Humana's lowest drug plan premiumfor 2008 is $22.90 compared with $15.90 in 2007.
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/content/business/epaper/2007/11/05/a13bz_medicareqa_1105.html
Medicare Part D Q&A
Monday, November 05, 2007
What is Medicare Part D?
In 2003, Congress passed a law that for the first time gave a drug benefitto all seniors. Before the law was implemented in 2006, Medicare did notcover outpatient drugs.
Do I have to buy it?
No. But if you don't have drug coverage and put off buying a plan, the pricewill be higher later.
How do I select a plan?
It's best to go to the www.medicare.gov Web site, where you can type yourmedications into a Web program and it will tell you how much you would payunder each plan. If you don't have a computer, call (800) 633-4227 or go theMedicare Answers Prescription Savings centers for one-on-one counseling.
Call (561) 688-1211 or (772) 467-0008.
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/11/05/a13bz_medicaremistakes_1105.html
Medicare plan mistakes
Monday, November 05, 2007
Five common mistakes people make when choosing a Medicare health or drugplan:
1. Staying with the same plan every year. Plans change costs and benefitsevery year, so the same plan that worked for you one year may not be thebest for you the next.
2. Choosing the same plan as your spouse. Whether a plan is best for youdepends on which prescription drugs you take or which plan your doctors orhospital is in. Thus, a plan that works for one may not be best for another.
3. Choosing a plan based on name recognition. It's easy to go with a planthat has familiar names like AARP or Aetna, but some of the best deals maybe with companies that are less well-known.
4. Choosing a plan without using the plan-finder tool at www.Medicare.gov.Trying to analyze more than 100 plans is nearly impossible without thecomputer software program available on the Medicare Web site. That's becausethe program matches the drugs you take with the plans' costs and benefits.If you can't access the Internet, find a relative or an advocacyorganization to assist, such as the Area Agency on Aging. To schedule anappointment with the Medicare Answers Prescription Savings (MAPS) program ofthe agency, call (561) 688-1211 or (772) 467-0008.
5. Not signing up for a Medicare drug plan because you don't think you needit. You will have to pay a 1 percent monthly penalty on top of your regularpremiums for every month you were eligible but didn't opt in. Over time,that can mean paying hundreds of dollars a year extra in insurance costs.Remember, this is insurance. Just because drug costs are low now doesn'tmean they won't go up next year.
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The Huffington Report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071105/black-ceos/
Black CEOs: a Tiny Group Shrinks More
ELLEN SIMON |
November 5, 2007 05:53 PM EST |
NEW YORK - It's getting lonelier at the top for black CEOs.
Only four blacks will be left running Fortune 500 companies after StanO'Neal's abrupt retirement from the top spot at Merrill Lynch & Co. lastweek and Time Warner Inc. Dick Parsons' announcement Monday that he willretire at the end of the year.
That leaves Aylwin Lewis at Sears Holding Corp., Kenneth Chenault atAmerican Express Co., Ronald Williams at Aetna Inc. and Clarence Otis atDarden Restaurants Inc. as the only black chief executives among this listof the nation's largest companies.
To some, the departures of O'Neal and Parsons underscore that all CEOs,whatever their race, have a short shelf life.
"In the best situations, these are not jobs you hold on to for more thanfive to seven years," said Alfred Edmond Jr., editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise magazine. "The bulletproof CEOs of the '80s _ those days are longgone, even for white men."
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Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/11/05/advocates_tout_rising_support_for_child_health_plan/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
Advocates tout rising support for child health plan
By John Donnelly
Globe Staff / November 5, 2007
WASHINGTON - Democrats and healthcare advocates are expressing increasingconfidence that their emphasis on expanding children's health insurance - ameasure already vetoed once by President Bush - has succeeded in puttinghealthcare on the national agenda.
more stories like thisThey point to a new round of polls that found widepublic support for the child health program.
Proponents say the difference between the Republican and Democraticpositions is stark, giving voters a clear choice on what many call the mostimportant domestic issue in next year's presidential election.
Bush, along with every Republican candidate for president, opposes adding$35 billion over five years to the State Children's Health InsuranceProgram, known as SCHIP, saying it will lead to socialized medicine.
Every Democratic candidate for president supports the expansion to cover anadditional 4 million children who currently do not have health insurance,saying it is government's role to provide health coverage for the neediest.
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USA TODAY
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/11/could-hillary-w.html
Could Hillary win the religious vote?
Despite her genuine Methodist upbringing and honest-to-God faithcredentials, the skepticism toward her among believers is deep and enduring.
Her best hope among values voters: That they stay home on Election Day.
By Paul Kengor
"I'm sorry, I know it sounds judgmental, but I just can't believe she's aChristian, and I think all her talk of faith is pure politics."
That was talk-radio host Robert Mangino from Youngstown, Ohio, and hisresponse was a common one among conservatives who recently interviewed meabout the faith of Hillary Clinton.
I responded: "Well, she has gone to church regularly since childhood, andsurely wasn't playing politics when she was baptized as an infant and goingto Vacation Bible School."
I continued my case: "You know, she has openly professed the basicfundamentals of the Christian faith - from belief in the resurrection to theTrinity - prays, reads the Bible, studies the Methodist Church's Book ofDiscipline, frequently attends and has even led Bible studies."
My interviewer was unconvinced. Our conversation reminded me of anassessment by the late Jerry Falwell at the September 2006 "Values VotersSummit:" "I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate (in 2008). Becausenothing will energize my (constituency) like Hillary Clinton. If Luciferran, he wouldn't."
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/04/AR2007110401111.html?nav=rss_print
Republican Nomination Most Open in Decades
By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, November 5, 2007; A01
For the first time in nearly 30 years, there is no breakaway front-runnerfor the Republican nomination as the first votes of Campaign 2008 loom, anda new Washington Post-ABC News poll underscores how open the GOP raceremains.
Former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani maintains a double-digit leadover his main rivals, but most of his supporters back his candidacy only"somewhat," and he has yet to gain momentum among key primary voting groupsor to distinguish himself as the best candidate for the party. Adding to themurkiness of the picture is that Republicans continue to be less satisfiedwith their candidate options than Democrats are with theirs.
In the new poll, a third of Republicans and Republican-leaning independentssaid they would vote for Giuliani if their state's primary or caucus wereheld today. That puts him 14 percentage points ahead of Sen. John McCain(Ariz.) and 17 points ahead of former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.).
Eleven percent said they would vote for former Massachusetts governor MittRomney, and 9 percent support former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Not since 1979 has the leading Republican candidate had less than 40 percentsupport in national polls in the November heading into an election year.That year Ronald Reagan was the early poll leader, as Giuliani is today, andhe went on to win the Republican nomination and the presidency.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/04/AR2007110401490.html?nav=rss_nation
Evangelical Democrat Stirs the Pot in Miss.
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 5, 2007; A03
JACKSON, Miss. -- A wealthy evangelical Christian, John Arthur Eaves Jr., isrunning a campaign for governor that is rife with what Jesus might do.
He talks about banishing "the money changers" from state politics and abouta health-care proposal focusing on the "least among us" -- just as Jesuswould -- and the cornerstone of his stump speech is familiar to anyone whoknows the bit in Matthew 6:24 about "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."
"The most important question in this campaign," he said at a typicalcampaign stop here last week, "is 'Who do you serve?' "
He is running against Republican incumbent Haley Barbour, he answers,because he wants "to serve my creator."
The 41-year-old plaintiff attorney is waging what might be the most overtlyChristian-inspired statewide race in a long time. But what is most startlingto Bible Belt voters here, where faith-based appeals most often come fromthe religious right, is that Eaves is a Democrat.
more . . . . .
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#####
FLORIDA DIGEST November 6, 2007
**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-fl3bdig11060nbnov06,0,6137706,print.story
Broward County: Opinions on Medicaid can be shared Thursday
November 6, 2007
Florida Medicaid beneficiaries and medical providers can express their opinions about the state's controversial Medicaid reform program at a daylong session Thursday.
State officials will hear from providers such as doctors, hospitals, clinics and service firms from 9 a.m. to noon, and from recipients from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn on Griffin Road at Interstate 95 in Dania Beach.
The year-old reform program being tested in Broward and four other counties attempts to save money and improve care by shifting most recipients into HMO-style health plans.
For more details on the comment sessions, call the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration at 888-419-3456.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flcbord1106nbnov06,0,7026489.story
LECTURES
Legal Rights of Sexual Minorities, third lecture in Nova SoutheasternUniversity's Shepard Broad Law Center's Goodwin Symposium, with MattForeman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 6p.m., Large Lecture Hall, NSU's Shepard Broad Law Center, 3305 College Ave.,Davie. Free and open to the public, but RSVP required atwww.nsulaw.nova.edu/events/rsvp.cfm or by calling 954-262-6295.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flbromney1106nbnov06,0,7718673,print.story
Romney talks about conservative judges, social policy in NSU speechAt NSU, he cites gay marriage, porn as threats
By Anthony Man
Political Writer
November 6, 2007
Davie
America's families and their future are under attack, Republicanpresidential candidate Mitt Romney said Monday. The threats: gay marriage,Internet pornography and out-of-wedlock births.
"The foundation of society, which is the family, is under stress," Romneytold an audience at Nova Southeastern University. Judges are makingdecisions that "threaten the fundamental values and the culture that hasmade America successful."
His 38-minute appearance was sponsored by the Federalist Society chapter atNova Southeastern University's Law School. The national organization isaimed at getting more conservative and libertarian judges on the bench andspreading that brand of judicial thinking.
Romney would solve the problem through appointments from the mold of SupremeCourt Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas who would "follow the lawand not make the law."
Most of the audience of about 300 applauded, although a significant share,perhaps half, was silent when Romney called for amending the U.S.Constitution to add a ban on same-sex marriage.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbdig11061nbnov06,0,2113589,print.story
Davie: Gay task force director to give lecture at NSU
November 6, 2007
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian TaskForce, will give a lecture at 6 p.m. today at the Shepard Broad Law Centerat Nova Southeastern University, 3305 College Ave.
His appearance is part of the law school's 2007 Goodwin Symposium onsexuality, morality and the law, "30 Years After Anita Bryant's Crusade: TheContinuing Role of Morality in the Development of Legal Rights for SexualMinorities."
The lecture is free and open to the public. RSVP by calling 954-262-6111.
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-flbmayocol1106nbnov06,0,7378420,print.column
Mysteries abound as Jenne's sentencing looms
Michael Mayo
News Columnist
November 6, 2007
In 10 days, former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne is scheduled to face a federaljudge for criminal sentencing.
Come Nov. 16, we'll see what U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas makesof Jenne's version of contrition since he stood in court Sept. 5 and pleadedguilty to four felonies. Some of Jenne's actions leave a lot to be desired.
There was the tone-deaf apology Jenne read outside the courthouse after hisplea, in which he tried to minimize his wrongdoing by calling them "personalmistakes" and "errors in judgment." He also said, "I would neverdeliberately or consciously violate or compromise my sworn duties assheriff."
There was the news Jenne applied for his state pension the day he resigned.The benefits, worth at least $126,000 a year, are frozen pending thesentencing. "We're still in a holding pattern," said James Miller, aspokesman for the state agency that administers pensions. Jenne might haveto forfeit the pension because of his conviction; a final decision will bemade after the state reviews his case.
Now there's Jenne's four-page response to the government's Pre-sentenceInvestigation report, in which he continues to downplay wrongdoing and shiftblame. Under federal rules, the public doesn't get to see the pre-sentencereport, just Jenne's response.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbpark1106nbnov06,0,5213380,print.story
Broward County might require voter approval for sale of park land
Panel considers requiring voter OK for sale, new use
By Scott Wyman
November 6, 2007
Parks in Broward County could not be redeveloped for housing, businesses oreven a school or library unless voters first agree, under a change beingconsidered to the county charter.
Officials working to update the charter are concerned the scarcity of openland in Broward eventually will turn parks into easy targets for thoselooking for space to build. They are moving toward asking voters next fallto require referendums any time county commissioners want to sell park landor change its use.
The proposal comes as the county is wrapping up a $400 million expansion ofthe park system. That has included buying up the last untouched pieces ofnative Florida, restoring land to open space and building new regionalparks.
"As less and less open space is available in the county, there will be moreand more pressure to convert existing parks and open space to development,"said Richard Weiss, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who serves on the CharterReview Commission. "I think the parks need protection from that kind ofpressure."
The county's network of 47 parks encompasses 6,500 acres.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpcharter1106pnnov06,0,5162832,print.story
School Board may vote to appeal state decision on charter schools
By Rhonda J. Miller
November 6, 2007
The Palm Beach County School Board will decide Wednesday whether to appeal astate ruling that took away its exclusive authority to grant approval forcharter schools.
The School Board also will consider whether to restate its challenge to theconstitutionality of the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission, the stategroup given the shared right to approve and monitor charter schools.
Those who favor the shared authority say it gives charter schools options ifthey are denied by the local school board or want to bypass it altogether.Opponents say state law gives local districts exclusive right to controlpublic schools within their borders.
Traditionally, only local school boards could approve charter schools, whichare public schools with independent governing bodies that get about $6,000per student from state and local funds.
That changed when the 2006 Legislature created the Tallahassee-based FloridaSchools of Excellence Commission.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flppastor1106pnnov06,0,2621886,print.story
Pastor faces prostitution solicitation charges in police sting
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
November 6, 2007
PORT ST. LUCIE
The pastor of one of the area's largest churches offered $30 to anundercover police officer for oral sex and a massage, according to a WestPalm Beach Police Department arrest affidavit.
The Rev. Ronald McCaskill, pastor of New Life Christian Centre in Port St.Lucie, was arrested about 12:30 p.m. Friday in West Palm Beach on a chargeof soliciting prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The affidavit says the arrest was part of a "john reverse" operation inwhich a female police officer posed as a prostitute. McCaskill, 54, of FortPierce, reportedly drove up to the undercover officer in the 6900 block ofSouth Dixie Highway and agreed to pay $30 for oral sex and a massage.McCaskill was one of 13 men arrested Friday during the prostitutionsolicitation sting.
He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail shortly after 2 p.m. Fridaywith bail set at $250, records show. He posted bail by 11 p.m., according tohis booking report.
According to a news release issued for the church's 10th anniversary in2002, New Life Christian Centre began in 1992 as a 12-member prayer groupled by McCaskill. It has grown into a congregation of several thousandworking in several ministries, including the Fire House Youth Center, westof Fort Pierce, and the New Life Kidz Center adjacent to the churchsanctuary.
more . . . . .
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www.MarkLaFontaine.com
Join Candidate Mark LaFontaine
Avi & Chef Simone
for a Campaign Fundraiser
November 12th 2007 6:00 PM
Dinner at MAMALE
KOSHER Restaurant
1672 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale, 33334
954-563-0770
Minimum Contribution $50.00
Seating is Limited Please RSVP - 954-651-3147
If you would prefer to contribute by mail, send a check to:
Mark LaFontaine Campaign
P.O. Box 23697
Oakland Park, FL 33307-3697
=
World AIDS Day Interfaith Service
NOVEMBER 30, 2007 - 8:30 p.m.
Congregation Etz Chaim and the GLBT Clergy and Friends will host a WorldAIDS Day Interfaith Service on Friday evening, November 30th at 8:30 PM atEtz Chaim, 1881 NE 26th Street, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
(954-564-9232.)
Everyone is invited to participate in the Friday night Shabbat Service inmemory and support of our family and friends who have died or who are livingwith HIV/AIDS in our community and around the world.
This is a very important service for all of South Florida. Rev. Dr. KathleenBishop of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale reminds us that "It is atime for all people to join together as people of faith to support everyonein need in our community. Banding together to help those who are ill andchallenged with HIV/AIDS gives us an opportunity to live together as God hasmandated us to do as brothers and sisters in humanity."
As of press time, the following congregations/organizations areparticipating:
Congregation Etz Chaim
Church of Our Savior MCC Boynton Beach
Discovering God, Inc.
New Hope First Community Church, Boynton Beach
Sunshine Cathedral MCC, Fort Lauderdale
Parish of Sts Francis and Claire
Spiritus Institute
The Sanctuary Inc.
Unitarian Universalist Churches in Weston and Fort Lauderdale
The GLBT Clergy and Friends is an interfaith community that ministers to allpeople without discrimination. The group actively supports and encouragescooperation between people of all faiths, genders, orientations andcultural-ethnic heritages to work together to ensure peace and justice inour communities and around the world.
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South Florida Social Circle
Our Holiday Luncheon will be held Aboard the Celebrity Cruise Lines Millennium on
Sunday, December 16th in the beautiful two story dinning room of theMetropolitan Restaurant with floor to ceiling windows and spectacular oceanviews.
DEADLINE FOR PAID RESERVATIONS:
Must Be Received No later than
Thursday, November 15th
Call TODAY if you want to join us for this very special event.
Call NOW: 954-761-3855
It is limited to only 55 people, and we already have 20 people going!
It will be a Five Star Dinning Experience including wine. Everyone thatattends will be able to join our exclusive tour of the Millennium, one ofthe finest cruise ships in the world.
The event is only $39 per person, and includes transportation on a luxurycoach to the ship, your luncheon, the ships tour and gratuity.
RESERVATIONS
DEADLINE FOR PAID RESERVATIONS:
No later than Thursday, November 15th
You must call Doug right away if you want to go.
Call NOW: 954-761-3855
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbwater1106nbnov06,0,7689844.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
As Lake Okeechobee's level falls, more water curbs likely
By Mike Clary
November 6, 2007
The modest cold front that pushed through the state last weekend signaledthe start of South Florida's sweet season, when the humidity falls, skiesturn crisp and blue and rain is rare.
Therein lies the problem.
Already mired in drought, South Florida faces an annual dry season thatpromises to be even drier than normal, thanks to a cyclical Pacific Oceanphenomenon known as La Nina that scientists say is almost certain to lead toa historic low water level in Lake Okeechobee. One water official speculatedthat the water level could dip to 7 feet - almost 2 feet below the previouslow.
To prepare for a five-month dry season, water managers are consideringtighter water use restrictions.
According to a National Weather Service forecast, the average 15 to 20inches of rain South Florida sees during the November-to-May dry seasoncould drop as much as 65 percent.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flppastor1106pnnov06,0,2893127.story
Pastor faces prostitution solicitation charges in police sting
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
November 6, 2007
PORT ST. LUCIE
The pastor of one of the area's largest churches offered $30 to anundercover police officer for oral sex and a massage, according to a WestPalm Beach Police Department arrest affidavit.
The Rev. Ronald McCaskill, pastor of New Life Christian Centre in Port St.Lucie, was arrested about 12:30 p.m. Friday in West Palm Beach on a chargeof soliciting prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The affidavit says the arrest was part of a "john reverse" operation inwhich a female police officer posed as a prostitute. McCaskill, 54, of FortPierce, reportedly drove up to the undercover officer in the 6900 block ofSouth Dixie Highway and agreed to pay $30 for oral sex and a massage.McCaskill was one of 13 men arrested Friday during the prostitutionsolicitation sting.
He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail shortly after 2 p.m. Fridaywith bail set at $250, records show. He posted bail by 11 p.m., according tohis booking report.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzregent1106nbnov06,0,725712.story
Fort Lauderdale's Regent Cruise Line reported sold for $1 billion
By Tom Stieghorst
November 6, 2007
Fort Lauderdale-based Regent Seven Seas Cruises may have been the subjectof a quiet takeover battle, according to at least one published report.
Spokesmen for Regent and its Minneapolis-based parent company declinedcomment on a posting at CFO.com that said Regent has been sold for $1billion to Apollo Management LP.
"I would be unable to comment on market speculation at this time," said SamMacalus, corporate spokesman for Carlson Cos., a privately held Minnetonka,Minn., concern that owns a variety of travel brands, including the Radissonhotel chain and Carlson Wagonlit travel agencies.
CFO.com, which is part of the same company that publishes The Economistmagazine, on Oct. 29 said that Apollo won an auction for Regent, beating outtwo other private equity firms.
"We generally, as a rule, do not comment on transactions we may or may notbe involved in," said Steven Anreder, a spokesman for Apollo in New York.
more . . . . .
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Sarasota Herald Tribune
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071105/NEWS/711050540
Amendment banning same-sex marriages closing in on ballot spot in November2008
Opponents stress that measure could affect straight couples
By ANNA SCOTT
anna.scott@heraldtribune.com
A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Florida is closing inon a spot on the 2008 ballot, triggering a political battle that could swayvoters in a presidential year.
Florida4Marriage, the group pushing the amendment, has 597,000 signaturesand needs only 13,000 more to put it before voters.
Proponents of the ban are heartened by polls showing that the amendment hasa good chance of getting the 60 percent of votes necessary for passage.
"People intuitively understand why marriage should be between a man and awoman," said John Stemberger, head of Florida4Marriage. "This campaign isnot a shot in the dark."
But the issue is more complicated than it sounds.
more . . . . .
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Florida Today
http://www.flatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071105/NEWS01/711050334/1006/news01
Lawyers expect to sit Allen jury Tuesday
BY KEYONNA SUMMERS
FLORIDA TODAY
November 5, 2007
VIERA -- Despite struggling to find potential jurors not "tainted" bypre-trial publicity, attorneys in the Bob Allen sex for hire case arehopeful they can start opening statements by Tuesday afternoon.
Attorneys choosing jurors for the sex solicitation trial of state Rep. BobAllen ran into problems this morning after several people in the jury poolindicated they could not set aside their opinions about the case.
By lunch, attorneys dismissed nine of 14 jurors who said they alreadybelieved the seven-year legislator, accused of agreeing to pay an undercoverpolice officer $20 to perform a sex act at a park in Titusville, was guiltybased on information they had heard in media accounts of the trial evidence.
Allen, being tried on a single charge of solicitation for a prostitute,faces a $500 fine and up to 60 days if convicted.
Flanked by his three attorneys, Allen appeared calm as he sat at the defensetable in courtroom 3C of the Moore Justice Center in Viera. The courtroomwas packed with media, attorneys and other spectators.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbrebate1106nbnov06,0,7697891.story?track=rss
Parkland plan gives residents incentives for going green
By Lisa J. Huriash
November 6, 2007
PARKLAND
Residents could soon collect some green for helping save the planet.
This week, the City Commission will discuss eco-friendly incentives thatwould pay residents $200 for buying a hybrid car; $150 for installinglow-flow toilets and shower heads; up to $175 for solar panels; and more.
Officials said they would be pioneers in Broward County for a multi-facetedrebate program. Tamarac has one for water conservation that is confined toultra-low-flow toilets - $100 for the first the $75 for the second. "In thisday and age, we need to learn to become more environmental," said Vice MayorJared Moskowitz, who proposed the Parkland plan. "We always hear becomingmore environmental costs money. So why can't being environmental save youmoney?"
Cities and agencies across the nation are offering such incentives - fromfree parking spaces to the use of restricted highway lanes to drivers ofhybrid cars. Businesses are cashing in too, luring customers withenergy-efficient appliances that help reduce carbon emissions.
City staffers in Parkland said the proposals would cost City Hall as much as$104,000 and estimate almost 900 residents would participate.
more . . . . .
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St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/06/State/Inmates_seek_rehearin.shtml
Inmates seek rehearing on execution method
The men ask the state Supreme Court to review their challenges to lethalinjection.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 6, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Two death row inmates asked the Florida Supreme Court onMonday to rehear their challenges to the state's lethal injection procedure.
The justices last week unanimously rejected arguments that the procedure isunconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. That cleared the way for theNov. 15 execution of Mark Dean Schwab for the 1991 rape and murder of11-year-old Junny Rios-Martinez in Brevard County.
Monday's rehearing requests were filed on behalf of Schwab and Ian DecoLightbourne, who has not yet been scheduled for execution. Lightbournekilled Nancy O'Farrell after breaking into her Marion County home in 1981.
The state responded that Lightbourne's rehearing request should be rejectedbecause it "does nothing more than quarrel with this court's decision."
A response to Schwab's request was not immediately filed.
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to rays.list@comcast.net]
#####
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-fl3bdig11060nbnov06,0,6137706,print.story
Broward County: Opinions on Medicaid can be shared Thursday
November 6, 2007
Florida Medicaid beneficiaries and medical providers can express their opinions about the state's controversial Medicaid reform program at a daylong session Thursday.
State officials will hear from providers such as doctors, hospitals, clinics and service firms from 9 a.m. to noon, and from recipients from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn on Griffin Road at Interstate 95 in Dania Beach.
The year-old reform program being tested in Broward and four other counties attempts to save money and improve care by shifting most recipients into HMO-style health plans.
For more details on the comment sessions, call the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration at 888-419-3456.
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flcbord1106nbnov06,0,7026489.story
LECTURES
Legal Rights of Sexual Minorities, third lecture in Nova SoutheasternUniversity's Shepard Broad Law Center's Goodwin Symposium, with MattForeman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 6p.m., Large Lecture Hall, NSU's Shepard Broad Law Center, 3305 College Ave.,Davie. Free and open to the public, but RSVP required atwww.nsulaw.nova.edu/events/rsvp.cfm or by calling 954-262-6295.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flbromney1106nbnov06,0,7718673,print.story
Romney talks about conservative judges, social policy in NSU speechAt NSU, he cites gay marriage, porn as threats
By Anthony Man
Political Writer
November 6, 2007
Davie
America's families and their future are under attack, Republicanpresidential candidate Mitt Romney said Monday. The threats: gay marriage,Internet pornography and out-of-wedlock births.
"The foundation of society, which is the family, is under stress," Romneytold an audience at Nova Southeastern University. Judges are makingdecisions that "threaten the fundamental values and the culture that hasmade America successful."
His 38-minute appearance was sponsored by the Federalist Society chapter atNova Southeastern University's Law School. The national organization isaimed at getting more conservative and libertarian judges on the bench andspreading that brand of judicial thinking.
Romney would solve the problem through appointments from the mold of SupremeCourt Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas who would "follow the lawand not make the law."
Most of the audience of about 300 applauded, although a significant share,perhaps half, was silent when Romney called for amending the U.S.Constitution to add a ban on same-sex marriage.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbdig11061nbnov06,0,2113589,print.story
Davie: Gay task force director to give lecture at NSU
November 6, 2007
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian TaskForce, will give a lecture at 6 p.m. today at the Shepard Broad Law Centerat Nova Southeastern University, 3305 College Ave.
His appearance is part of the law school's 2007 Goodwin Symposium onsexuality, morality and the law, "30 Years After Anita Bryant's Crusade: TheContinuing Role of Morality in the Development of Legal Rights for SexualMinorities."
The lecture is free and open to the public. RSVP by calling 954-262-6111.
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-flbmayocol1106nbnov06,0,7378420,print.column
Mysteries abound as Jenne's sentencing looms
Michael Mayo
News Columnist
November 6, 2007
In 10 days, former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne is scheduled to face a federaljudge for criminal sentencing.
Come Nov. 16, we'll see what U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas makesof Jenne's version of contrition since he stood in court Sept. 5 and pleadedguilty to four felonies. Some of Jenne's actions leave a lot to be desired.
There was the tone-deaf apology Jenne read outside the courthouse after hisplea, in which he tried to minimize his wrongdoing by calling them "personalmistakes" and "errors in judgment." He also said, "I would neverdeliberately or consciously violate or compromise my sworn duties assheriff."
There was the news Jenne applied for his state pension the day he resigned.The benefits, worth at least $126,000 a year, are frozen pending thesentencing. "We're still in a holding pattern," said James Miller, aspokesman for the state agency that administers pensions. Jenne might haveto forfeit the pension because of his conviction; a final decision will bemade after the state reviews his case.
Now there's Jenne's four-page response to the government's Pre-sentenceInvestigation report, in which he continues to downplay wrongdoing and shiftblame. Under federal rules, the public doesn't get to see the pre-sentencereport, just Jenne's response.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbpark1106nbnov06,0,5213380,print.story
Broward County might require voter approval for sale of park land
Panel considers requiring voter OK for sale, new use
By Scott Wyman
November 6, 2007
Parks in Broward County could not be redeveloped for housing, businesses oreven a school or library unless voters first agree, under a change beingconsidered to the county charter.
Officials working to update the charter are concerned the scarcity of openland in Broward eventually will turn parks into easy targets for thoselooking for space to build. They are moving toward asking voters next fallto require referendums any time county commissioners want to sell park landor change its use.
The proposal comes as the county is wrapping up a $400 million expansion ofthe park system. That has included buying up the last untouched pieces ofnative Florida, restoring land to open space and building new regionalparks.
"As less and less open space is available in the county, there will be moreand more pressure to convert existing parks and open space to development,"said Richard Weiss, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who serves on the CharterReview Commission. "I think the parks need protection from that kind ofpressure."
The county's network of 47 parks encompasses 6,500 acres.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpcharter1106pnnov06,0,5162832,print.story
School Board may vote to appeal state decision on charter schools
By Rhonda J. Miller
November 6, 2007
The Palm Beach County School Board will decide Wednesday whether to appeal astate ruling that took away its exclusive authority to grant approval forcharter schools.
The School Board also will consider whether to restate its challenge to theconstitutionality of the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission, the stategroup given the shared right to approve and monitor charter schools.
Those who favor the shared authority say it gives charter schools options ifthey are denied by the local school board or want to bypass it altogether.Opponents say state law gives local districts exclusive right to controlpublic schools within their borders.
Traditionally, only local school boards could approve charter schools, whichare public schools with independent governing bodies that get about $6,000per student from state and local funds.
That changed when the 2006 Legislature created the Tallahassee-based FloridaSchools of Excellence Commission.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flppastor1106pnnov06,0,2621886,print.story
Pastor faces prostitution solicitation charges in police sting
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
November 6, 2007
PORT ST. LUCIE
The pastor of one of the area's largest churches offered $30 to anundercover police officer for oral sex and a massage, according to a WestPalm Beach Police Department arrest affidavit.
The Rev. Ronald McCaskill, pastor of New Life Christian Centre in Port St.Lucie, was arrested about 12:30 p.m. Friday in West Palm Beach on a chargeof soliciting prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The affidavit says the arrest was part of a "john reverse" operation inwhich a female police officer posed as a prostitute. McCaskill, 54, of FortPierce, reportedly drove up to the undercover officer in the 6900 block ofSouth Dixie Highway and agreed to pay $30 for oral sex and a massage.McCaskill was one of 13 men arrested Friday during the prostitutionsolicitation sting.
He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail shortly after 2 p.m. Fridaywith bail set at $250, records show. He posted bail by 11 p.m., according tohis booking report.
According to a news release issued for the church's 10th anniversary in2002, New Life Christian Centre began in 1992 as a 12-member prayer groupled by McCaskill. It has grown into a congregation of several thousandworking in several ministries, including the Fire House Youth Center, westof Fort Pierce, and the New Life Kidz Center adjacent to the churchsanctuary.
more . . . . .
=
www.MarkLaFontaine.com
Join Candidate Mark LaFontaine
Avi & Chef Simone
for a Campaign Fundraiser
November 12th 2007 6:00 PM
Dinner at MAMALE
KOSHER Restaurant
1672 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale, 33334
954-563-0770
Minimum Contribution $50.00
Seating is Limited Please RSVP - 954-651-3147
If you would prefer to contribute by mail, send a check to:
Mark LaFontaine Campaign
P.O. Box 23697
Oakland Park, FL 33307-3697
=
World AIDS Day Interfaith Service
NOVEMBER 30, 2007 - 8:30 p.m.
Congregation Etz Chaim and the GLBT Clergy and Friends will host a WorldAIDS Day Interfaith Service on Friday evening, November 30th at 8:30 PM atEtz Chaim, 1881 NE 26th Street, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
(954-564-9232.)
Everyone is invited to participate in the Friday night Shabbat Service inmemory and support of our family and friends who have died or who are livingwith HIV/AIDS in our community and around the world.
This is a very important service for all of South Florida. Rev. Dr. KathleenBishop of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale reminds us that "It is atime for all people to join together as people of faith to support everyonein need in our community. Banding together to help those who are ill andchallenged with HIV/AIDS gives us an opportunity to live together as God hasmandated us to do as brothers and sisters in humanity."
As of press time, the following congregations/organizations areparticipating:
Congregation Etz Chaim
Church of Our Savior MCC Boynton Beach
Discovering God, Inc.
New Hope First Community Church, Boynton Beach
Sunshine Cathedral MCC, Fort Lauderdale
Parish of Sts Francis and Claire
Spiritus Institute
The Sanctuary Inc.
Unitarian Universalist Churches in Weston and Fort Lauderdale
The GLBT Clergy and Friends is an interfaith community that ministers to allpeople without discrimination. The group actively supports and encouragescooperation between people of all faiths, genders, orientations andcultural-ethnic heritages to work together to ensure peace and justice inour communities and around the world.
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South Florida Social Circle
Our Holiday Luncheon will be held Aboard the Celebrity Cruise Lines Millennium on
Sunday, December 16th in the beautiful two story dinning room of theMetropolitan Restaurant with floor to ceiling windows and spectacular oceanviews.
DEADLINE FOR PAID RESERVATIONS:
Must Be Received No later than
Thursday, November 15th
Call TODAY if you want to join us for this very special event.
Call NOW: 954-761-3855
It is limited to only 55 people, and we already have 20 people going!
It will be a Five Star Dinning Experience including wine. Everyone thatattends will be able to join our exclusive tour of the Millennium, one ofthe finest cruise ships in the world.
The event is only $39 per person, and includes transportation on a luxurycoach to the ship, your luncheon, the ships tour and gratuity.
RESERVATIONS
DEADLINE FOR PAID RESERVATIONS:
No later than Thursday, November 15th
You must call Doug right away if you want to go.
Call NOW: 954-761-3855
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbwater1106nbnov06,0,7689844.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
As Lake Okeechobee's level falls, more water curbs likely
By Mike Clary
November 6, 2007
The modest cold front that pushed through the state last weekend signaledthe start of South Florida's sweet season, when the humidity falls, skiesturn crisp and blue and rain is rare.
Therein lies the problem.
Already mired in drought, South Florida faces an annual dry season thatpromises to be even drier than normal, thanks to a cyclical Pacific Oceanphenomenon known as La Nina that scientists say is almost certain to lead toa historic low water level in Lake Okeechobee. One water official speculatedthat the water level could dip to 7 feet - almost 2 feet below the previouslow.
To prepare for a five-month dry season, water managers are consideringtighter water use restrictions.
According to a National Weather Service forecast, the average 15 to 20inches of rain South Florida sees during the November-to-May dry seasoncould drop as much as 65 percent.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flppastor1106pnnov06,0,2893127.story
Pastor faces prostitution solicitation charges in police sting
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
November 6, 2007
PORT ST. LUCIE
The pastor of one of the area's largest churches offered $30 to anundercover police officer for oral sex and a massage, according to a WestPalm Beach Police Department arrest affidavit.
The Rev. Ronald McCaskill, pastor of New Life Christian Centre in Port St.Lucie, was arrested about 12:30 p.m. Friday in West Palm Beach on a chargeof soliciting prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The affidavit says the arrest was part of a "john reverse" operation inwhich a female police officer posed as a prostitute. McCaskill, 54, of FortPierce, reportedly drove up to the undercover officer in the 6900 block ofSouth Dixie Highway and agreed to pay $30 for oral sex and a massage.McCaskill was one of 13 men arrested Friday during the prostitutionsolicitation sting.
He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail shortly after 2 p.m. Fridaywith bail set at $250, records show. He posted bail by 11 p.m., according tohis booking report.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzregent1106nbnov06,0,725712.story
Fort Lauderdale's Regent Cruise Line reported sold for $1 billion
By Tom Stieghorst
November 6, 2007
Fort Lauderdale-based Regent Seven Seas Cruises may have been the subjectof a quiet takeover battle, according to at least one published report.
Spokesmen for Regent and its Minneapolis-based parent company declinedcomment on a posting at CFO.com that said Regent has been sold for $1billion to Apollo Management LP.
"I would be unable to comment on market speculation at this time," said SamMacalus, corporate spokesman for Carlson Cos., a privately held Minnetonka,Minn., concern that owns a variety of travel brands, including the Radissonhotel chain and Carlson Wagonlit travel agencies.
CFO.com, which is part of the same company that publishes The Economistmagazine, on Oct. 29 said that Apollo won an auction for Regent, beating outtwo other private equity firms.
"We generally, as a rule, do not comment on transactions we may or may notbe involved in," said Steven Anreder, a spokesman for Apollo in New York.
more . . . . .
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Sarasota Herald Tribune
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071105/NEWS/711050540
Amendment banning same-sex marriages closing in on ballot spot in November2008
Opponents stress that measure could affect straight couples
By ANNA SCOTT
anna.scott@heraldtribune.com
A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Florida is closing inon a spot on the 2008 ballot, triggering a political battle that could swayvoters in a presidential year.
Florida4Marriage, the group pushing the amendment, has 597,000 signaturesand needs only 13,000 more to put it before voters.
Proponents of the ban are heartened by polls showing that the amendment hasa good chance of getting the 60 percent of votes necessary for passage.
"People intuitively understand why marriage should be between a man and awoman," said John Stemberger, head of Florida4Marriage. "This campaign isnot a shot in the dark."
But the issue is more complicated than it sounds.
more . . . . .
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Florida Today
http://www.flatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071105/NEWS01/711050334/1006/news01
Lawyers expect to sit Allen jury Tuesday
BY KEYONNA SUMMERS
FLORIDA TODAY
November 5, 2007
VIERA -- Despite struggling to find potential jurors not "tainted" bypre-trial publicity, attorneys in the Bob Allen sex for hire case arehopeful they can start opening statements by Tuesday afternoon.
Attorneys choosing jurors for the sex solicitation trial of state Rep. BobAllen ran into problems this morning after several people in the jury poolindicated they could not set aside their opinions about the case.
By lunch, attorneys dismissed nine of 14 jurors who said they alreadybelieved the seven-year legislator, accused of agreeing to pay an undercoverpolice officer $20 to perform a sex act at a park in Titusville, was guiltybased on information they had heard in media accounts of the trial evidence.
Allen, being tried on a single charge of solicitation for a prostitute,faces a $500 fine and up to 60 days if convicted.
Flanked by his three attorneys, Allen appeared calm as he sat at the defensetable in courtroom 3C of the Moore Justice Center in Viera. The courtroomwas packed with media, attorneys and other spectators.
more . . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbrebate1106nbnov06,0,7697891.story?track=rss
Parkland plan gives residents incentives for going green
By Lisa J. Huriash
November 6, 2007
PARKLAND
Residents could soon collect some green for helping save the planet.
This week, the City Commission will discuss eco-friendly incentives thatwould pay residents $200 for buying a hybrid car; $150 for installinglow-flow toilets and shower heads; up to $175 for solar panels; and more.
Officials said they would be pioneers in Broward County for a multi-facetedrebate program. Tamarac has one for water conservation that is confined toultra-low-flow toilets - $100 for the first the $75 for the second. "In thisday and age, we need to learn to become more environmental," said Vice MayorJared Moskowitz, who proposed the Parkland plan. "We always hear becomingmore environmental costs money. So why can't being environmental save youmoney?"
Cities and agencies across the nation are offering such incentives - fromfree parking spaces to the use of restricted highway lanes to drivers ofhybrid cars. Businesses are cashing in too, luring customers withenergy-efficient appliances that help reduce carbon emissions.
City staffers in Parkland said the proposals would cost City Hall as much as$104,000 and estimate almost 900 residents would participate.
more . . . . .
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St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/06/State/Inmates_seek_rehearin.shtml
Inmates seek rehearing on execution method
The men ask the state Supreme Court to review their challenges to lethalinjection.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 6, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Two death row inmates asked the Florida Supreme Court onMonday to rehear their challenges to the state's lethal injection procedure.
The justices last week unanimously rejected arguments that the procedure isunconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. That cleared the way for theNov. 15 execution of Mark Dean Schwab for the 1991 rape and murder of11-year-old Junny Rios-Martinez in Brevard County.
Monday's rehearing requests were filed on behalf of Schwab and Ian DecoLightbourne, who has not yet been scheduled for execution. Lightbournekilled Nancy O'Farrell after breaking into her Marion County home in 1981.
The state responded that Lightbourne's rehearing request should be rejectedbecause it "does nothing more than quarrel with this court's decision."
A response to Schwab's request was not immediately filed.
more . . . . .
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