**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/palmbeach/sfl-flpbord1215pndec15,0,5885846.story
Dignity Palm Beach, religious and social club for lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender Roman Catholics, 5:30 p.m, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 100 N.Palmway, Lake Worth. Free. Call 561-309-0088.
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpdig12151pndec15,0,7546168,print.story
Boynton Beach: Churches jointly offer Christmas celebration
December 15, 2007
New Hope First Community Church in Boynton Beach will combine services withthe Church of Our Savior MCC, and MCC of the Palm Beaches to have a "Ye theWay" Christmas celebration at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The service will be held at New Hope, 2929 S. Seacrest Blvd. A receptionwith light refreshments will follow, said Pastor Greg Denton. He said hischurch and services extend to everyone, including members of the gay andlesbian community.
"We expect 150 people to show," he said. "As an open church, we want tooffer all to come out for the holidays. It is the best time to bringeveryone together."
For information, call 561-424-0699.
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2007/12/15/a10a_leadedit_taxwatch_1215.html
TaxWatch rightly doubts Crist's tax-cut promises
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Last week, Gov. Crist was hitting up Donald Trump for money to pass theproperty-tax amendment. This week, Florida TaxWatch reminded everyone whyvoters should reject the property-tax amendment.
On Wednesday, at the group's meeting in Palm Beach, TaxWatch PresidentDominic Calabro called the amendment inadequate. If it passes, Mr. Calabrosaid, the Legislature won't feel compelled to make the necessary reforms tothe state's tax system. In an interview Thursday, Mr. Calabro said TaxWatchhasn't taken a final position. But the organization will issue a report,perhaps next week, that he believes will be "pretty unassailable."
The amendment would double the homestead exemption to $50,000, cap annualassessments on commercial property at 10 percent, allow "portability" -homeowners could take up to $500,000 in Save Our Homes benefits when theymove - and create a tangible property tax exemption of $25,000 for business.Kurt Wenner, TaxWatch's director of tax policy, offers a point-by-pointrebuttal.
"Increasing the homestead exemption," Mr. Wenner says, "helps those who havebeen hurt the least" because they have enjoyed Save Our Homes protection.Yet the anti-tax drumbeat from Tallahassee has made those who have gainedmost from Save Our Homes believe that they deserve more. A new Mason-Dixonpoll shows Taxes/Government Spending to be Floridians' highest priority, upfrom sixth a year ago.
The cap on commercial property, as Mr. Wenner notes, "would be too high tomake a difference." Some individual businesses might benefit in certainyears, but assessments across the board might never rise 10 percent. As forthe tangible property tax, Mr. Wenner says: "That's really more efficiencythan savings. Some years, this tax costs more to collect than it brings in."
As for portability, which has enticed the state's Realtors to support theamendment in hopes that it would boost sales, Mr. Wenner points out thepotential constitutional problems. Courts have allowed states to giveresidents more of a break on taxes, which Save Our Homes does. The problem,Mr. Wenner says, is that portability could pit "U.S. resident against U.S.resident." Those who have just moved to Florida would be at a much greaterdisadvantage to their neighbor, who would be paying much less in taxes andwould have all that Save Our Homes equity.
TaxWatch and the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission have portabilityproposals that would have a better chance of being upheld if challenged.Both groups have other promising ideas. By defeating the January amendment,Floridians can give the state a chance at long-term tax reform, notshort-term, unneeded tax relief.
=
Sarasota Herald Tribune
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071215/REALESTATE/712150497/1017/NEWS0501
Survey says Florida losing luster
By MICHAEL BRAGA and TOM BAYLES
michael.braga@heraldtribune.com
tom.bayles@heraldtribune.com
The downturn in the economy, spiking property taxes, the rising cost ofliving and aggravations associated with population growth have Floridiansfeeling worse about their state than they did a year ago, a Mason-Dixonsurvey released Friday by Leadership Florida shows.
Forty-three percent of Floridians now feel their quality of life isdeclining, up from 36 percent last year, the second annual Sunshine StateSurvey said.
Thirty-three percent said they would not encourage a friend or relative tomove here, while 20 percent of the 1,200 people surveyed said they areseriously thinking of leaving.
"These numbers have to do with the state of the economy and the pace ofgrowth," said Susan MacManus, a professor of public administration andpolitical science at the University of South Florida. "Taxes are very muchon people's minds. So is affordability, college tuitions, personal debt andgas prices. People are feeling strapped financially, and that is reflectedin their opinion of the state and its institutions."
The Leadership Florida survey is just the latest shadow to creep across theSunshine State since late September when the Wall Street Journal and theHerald-Tribune asked: "Is Florida Over?" and "Will Florida ContinueBooming."
more . . . . .
=
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-ohio-voting-machines,1,7779738.story
Report: Ohio Needs New Voting Machines
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press Writer
8:26 PM CST, December 14, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio
The state's top elections official recommended Friday that Ohio countiesreplace their touch-screen voting machines because the devices -- in use forroughly two years -- are vulnerable to manipulation.
A report released by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner found a host ofways in which the machines could be manipulated: When empty, a portal in theelectronic machines can be manipulated with a magnet or personal digitalassistant; ballot-creation programs are either not password-protected or usea universal password; and invasive computer messages could be introduced bya voter and spread easily.
Touch-screen machines have been purchased across the nation to comply withthe federal Help America Vote Act. Nationally, $3 billion was spent toreplace the punch-card voting system that faltered in the 2000 election.
In the 2004 race between President Bush and Democrat John Kerry, Ohio borethe brunt of claims of voting problems. Complaints included limited accessto voting machines, difficulties finding proper voting precincts and theaccuracy of vote totals in precincts using electronic machines.
Kerry conceded the election after narrowly losing Ohio and its 20 electoralvotes.
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2007/12/15/m8c_proptax_1215.html
Crist stumps for property tax reform at Orlando-area home
By DARA KAM
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 15, 2007
ORLANDO - Keith Markowitz can't remember whether he voted for Charlie Crist,but Friday the small-business owner was among the governor's biggest fans.
Crist attended a rally pushing the property tax reform amendment on the Jan.29 ballot at Markowitz's pool home, urging supporters to vote for themeasure with the promise that it will free homeowners to downsize orupgrade, as the Markowitzes wish, without having to pay hefty new propertytaxes, as is currently the case.
The event was backed by Yes on One - Save our Homes NOW Inc., a politicalcommittee supported by the Florida Association of Realtors. The group haspumped $1 million into the campaign to promote the proposed amendment, puton the ballot by lawmakers this year.
Crist impressed Markowitz with a simple line, Markowitz said.
"He wants to give us our money back. And I want it," said Markowitz,accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, and 2-year-old daughter, Jordis.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121401734.html
Registry May Soon Add Sex Offenders' Web IDs
By Catherine Rampell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 15, 2007; D02
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill that would requiresex offenders to submit e-mail addresses and other online identifiers forinclusion in the Justice Department's National Sex Offender Public Registry.
The registry is made up of data on sex offenders collected by each state.Only 11 states require sex offenders to submit online aliases to state sexoffender registries, according to the office of Sen. Charles E. Schumer(D-N.Y.), who wrote the bill with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
The legislation, dubbed the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual PredatorsAct, or KIDS, passed committee Thursday and is supported by severalchildren's advocacy groups as well as the Facebook and MySpace socialnetworking sites.
"We commend the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing the KIDS Act thatrequires convicted sex offenders to register any e-mail address or onlineidentifier they use, so social networking sites can block them fromaccessing their communities," said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief securityofficer. "This legislation is another important tool that will make MySpacean even safer place for all." Last December, MySpace began purging sexoffenders from its site based on registry information.
Facebook declined to say whether the company would use such e-mail addressesto deny and restrict sex offenders' access to its site.
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
GLBT DIGEST December 14, 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.
=
365gay.com
Is The Military Turning A Blind Eye To Gays?
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: December 13, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(New York City) A gay soldier says he disclosed his sexuality to hissuperiors, even offering graphic proof, and was neither discharged norreprimanded, despite the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy onhomosexuality, CBS News is preparing to report.
Army Sgt. Darren Manzella appears in a Lesley Stahl report on gays in thewartime U.S. military to be broadcast Sunday on 60 Minutes.
Manzella, a medic who served in Iraq for a year, currently serves as medicalliaison for the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Kuwait, where he tellsStahl that he is "out" to his entire chain of command, including athree-star general.
After leaving Iraq, he says he started receiving anonymous emails warninghim about his openness that suggested he was being watched, so he went tohis commander to head off an investigation he felt was coming.
"I didn't know how else to do it," he tells Stahl, acknowledging that heinitiated an investigation of himself by violating the policy. "I felt morecomfortable being the one to say, 'This is what is real,'" Manzella says.
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121307killer.htm
Report: Colorado Church Shooter May Have Been Gay Or Bi
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: December 13, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Denver, Colorado) A Denver television station reports that web postingsbelieved made by Matthew Murray, the young man who killed four people at twoconservative Christian missionary centers on Sunday, shows he was bisexual,possibly gay.
The postings were made on a web site for people who had left evangelicalchurches and were made under a nickname. The administrator of the sitenotified police when he saw them but too late to stop the killings.
The postings were immediately removed.
But Fox Affiliate KDVR reports that the postings alluding to his sexualitybegan last summer and became more definite over time.
"People like us are going to go to hell, according to Christians," Foxquotes from one posting made last summer. Murray goes on to list reasons.The seventh stated: "I'm bisexual."
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407clinton.htm
Clinton Advisor Out After Anti-Obama Remarks
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 14, 2007 - 7:30 am ET
(Concord, New Hampshire) A top campaign adviser to Hillary Rodham Clintonresigned, a day after suggesting Democrats should be wary of nominatingBarack Obama because his teenage drug use could make it hard for him to winthe presidency.
Clinton herself apologized to Obama as they waited to fly to Iowa for adebate.
Obama's campaign sent out a fundraising letter contending that "this kind ofattack is becoming a pattern as Clinton's support declines."
Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent NewHampshire political figure, had raised the issue of Obama's youthful druguse during a Wednesday interview, published on washingtonpost.com.
"I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personaldecision that I will step down as the co-chair of the Hillary for Presidentcampaign," Shaheen said in a statement released by the campaign Thursday."This election is too important, and we must all get back to electing thebest qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in thiscountry. That candidate is Hillary Clinton."
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407huck.htm
Huckabee: A Woman Should Submit To Her Husband
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 14, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Little Rock, Arkansas) Republican Mike Huckabee's record on women's rightsis coming under increased scrutiny, including his endorsement of theSouthern Baptist Convention's stance that women should "submit graciously"to their husbands and his opposition to sending women into combat.
Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, defended his recordThursday, saying he appointed many women to high positions in stategovernment and on his staff during his 10 1/2 years as Arkansas governor.
"If you look at my cabinet, I had more women in my cabinet and on my staffin key positions, including chief of staff, than any other governor probablyin Arkansas history," Huckabee said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Huckabee had been asked on the TV show about his support of the Baptistconvention's statement of beliefs on marriage. The former Arkansas governorand his wife Janet signed a full-page ad in USA Today in support of thestatement with 129 other evangelical leaders in 1998.
"A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husbandeven as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ," theconvention says in its statement of faith. Baptist Press reported that the1998 ad was addressed to denomination leaders and said: "You are rightbecause you called wives to graciously submit to their husband's sacrificialleadership."
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407bish.htm
Anglican Head: Gay US Bishop Still Barred
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 14, 2007 - 11:00 am ET
(London) The archbishop of Canterbury said Friday he will not reverse hisdecision to exclude a gay U.S. bishop from joining other bishops at a globalAnglican gathering next year.
Archbishop Rowan Williams' office said he had also not changed his mindabout refusing an invitation to Martyn Minns, a traditionalist U.S. priestwho was consecrated as a bishop in the Church of Nigeria.
Williams said he has also recruited professional help in trying to reachgreater understanding between the U.S. Episcopal Church and its critics bothat home and abroad. Williams' office was unable to say immediately whetherany invitations had been extended or accepted.
In his Advent message to leaders of Anglican national churches, Williamssaid Episcopal Church pledges of a moratorium on confirming any more gaybishops or on approving blessings of homosexual unions have not beenaccepted by all parts of the communion.
"Given the differences in response to the Episcopal Church revealed in theresponses of the primates, we simply cannot pretend that there is now aready-made consensus on the future of relationships between (the EpiscopalChurch) and other provinces," Williams said. "Much work remains to be done."
Statements by individual U.S. bishops that seemed to deviate from thedeclarations the bishops agreed to in New Orleans in September havecomplicated the situation, the archbishop said.
more . . . . .
=
Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50975.asp
Two Men Get 15 Years in Attack on Boy
December 14, 2007
A court in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday sentenced two Emirati mento 15 years in prison in a highly charged case involving the kidnapping andsexual assault of a French-Swiss teenage boy.
Veronique Robert, the mother of the 15-year-old victim, said ''justice wasdone'' but that she would still appeal to try to gain a life sentence forone of the defendants, a 35-year-old man she contends knew he wasHIV-positive before the attack.
He and an 18-year-old man were charged with ''kidnapping with deceit'' and''forced homosexual relations,'' a charge that can be punished with lifeimprisonment or death, in connection with the July attack on the boy.
A third defendant who is under 18 is being tried in a juvenile court on thesame charges and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The judges did not state specifically what each defendant was convicted of,in line with the confidentiality clauses in Dubai's court system. Theirnames also cannot be made public, under the court system's rules.
more . . . . .
=
Truth Wins Out
http://www.truthwinsout.org/news/truth-wins-out-unveils-new-innovative-ad-campaign-that-shows-the-foolishness-and-danger-of-%e2%80%98ex-gay%e2%80%99-therapy/
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org
Truth Wins Out Unveils New Innovative Ad Campaign That Shows The FoolishnessAnd Danger of 'Ex-Gay' Therapy
NEW YORK - Truth Wins Out introduced two new Internet Public Service
Announcements today (IPSA) that show the absurdity of the ex-gay myth, whilerebutting the blatant fear tactics that these organizations use to recruitnew members.
"We urge all bloggers to consider posting these ads, to educate Americansabout the harm done by ex-gay therapies," said Wayne Besen, ExecutiveDirector of Truth Wins Out. "These ads use cutting edge humor to address aserious issue that is tearing apart families and ruining lives."
The first ad, "Bald," addresses a lie told by Exodus International'sexecutive director Alan Chambers earlier this year on a national televisionshow.
"What I found was that homosexuality was for the young," said Chambers.
"There was a time when I wasn't going to have hair anymore. There was a timewhen I wasn't going to work out every day, and lay out in the sun, and be asmuch a commodity as I was when I was eighteen."
In "Bald" (:50), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ-JArokdKw
ex-gay survivor Nick Cavnar - a bald man from Washington, DC in his 50's -takes Chambers to task for exploiting the fears of young gay men. "I havewonderful friends," says Cavnar, "and many of them are bald too. And all ofus middle age gay bald men, just want to tell you, it's great out here."
The second groundbreaking ad, "Rubber Band" (:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW0QyvKyad0 features Dallas ex-gay survivorBrian Nesbitt, who was urged by his therapist to wear a rubber band on hiswrist and snap it whenever he saw an attractive guy.
"You feel terrible that he had to go through this in his desperate effortsto go from gay to straight," said Besen. "But, at the same time, one canonly snicker at the thought that this bizarre technique is still used andtaken seriously by ex-gay organizations."
Truth Wins Out released these ads in time for the holiday season, becausemany people return home only to be confronted by sincere, but misguided,family members and friends wielding ex-gay literature like a club.
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters right wingpropaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.
For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.
=
From Jesse Monteagudo
JesseMonteagudo@aol.com
Those of you who miss my book reviews should check out the gay Web sitewww.afterelton.com. "The Year in Gay Books," my take on 2007's gay literaryscene (the good and the bad), is featured there. Take a look at my pieceand let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices for 2007's best gaybooks. -- Jesse
=
Become a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention!
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) voters are one of the mostloyal voting-blocks in the Democratic Party. We are everywhere and we vote!
We have earned our seat at the table and it is now time to make sure we havea strong voice in selecting the Democratic Party's presidential nominee atthe National Convention August 25-28 in Denver. This is our chance to be apart of the solution this country so desperately needs.
National Stonewall Democrats worked closely with the National Committee'sLGBT Caucus to push every state to set goals for LGBT delegates to theconvention. But goals are nothing if they are not met.
That's where you come in. We need you and LGBT Democrats in every state torun for national convention delegate. We have launched our Pride in theParty program to help you run for delegate. You can find information on thedelegate selection process at our new program wesbsitewww.PrideInTheParty.org
Just sign up and we'll make sure the campaign of your presidential candidateknows you want to be a delegate. Campaigns are looking for LGBT Democratsjust like you who support them, who want to run for delegate, and who wantto be a part of electing a Democratic President. (But they can't talk to youif they canâ?Tt find you. That's why you need to sign up!)
Be sure to also check out the Delegate Information where you can downloadinformation about your stateâ?Ts delegate selection process. Our summaryshows the filing deadlines and filing requirements. It also providesinformation about contacting your State Democratic Party. (Most StateParties have information and filing forms on their website.)
So, what are you waiting for?
Sign up to run for delegate today. http://www.prideintheparty.org/
=
By Libby Post
LPost@commservices.ne
Homos for the Holidays
Well, it's that time of year again.
The weather outside is just about to be frightful. And, as far as I'mconcerned, the shopping is never delightful.
But that doesn't mean I'm the new Grinch or that my family bloodlineincludes Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's just that when I do shop, I tend to do itfrom the comfort of my den with my trusty laptop at the ready and myoverburdened credit card nearby.
Whether or not you're consumed with consumerism at this time of year, theone thing we can all agree on is that it's all about giving.
With our son turning 22 next week and only one toddler in our immediatefamily configuration, the challenge of what to give the adults in my familyis never easily answered. We're all folks, who by and large, don't reallyneed anything-we've all got good jobs, roofs over our heads, not reallywanting for anything that is within our purchasing capacity. Buying a 54"flat screen or putting a big red bow on a new car is really on the outsideof our giving range.
So instead of buying a few more CDs or another piece of Fiestaware to roundout a collection, the adults in our family have decided to make charitablegifts in honor of one another. It's a much better investment of our holidaycheer than say a crystal bowl that ends up at the back of the closet.
Overall, charitable giving has always been high on our list, and not just atthe holiday season-although we do get all those direct mails asks at thistime of year because it works. People are in a giving mood; so, we also givemoney.
more....
=
From Doug Ireland
For those who are following the lethal repression of anyone convicted ofsame-sex relations in Iran, Gay City News has just published an updatedversion of my article on the state murder last week of 21-year-old MakwanMoloudzadeh with significant fresh reporting, including a lenthy newinterview with the hanged lad's lawyer. To read this updated article, clickon:
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19092040&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
=
Forwarded from Hossein Halizadeh
halizadeh@iglhrc.org
URGENT ACTION: ASK THE PERUVIAN CONGRESS TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF YOUNGHOMOSEXUALS TO NON-DISCRIMINATION
SUMMARY
The Peruvian Congress is debating joining the Ibero-American Convention onthe Rights of Youth (Spain, 2005) that seeks to promote and safeguard therights of young people. The Convention also seeks to remedy the inequalitythat thousands of young people confront for a variety of reasons, includingfor having a sexual orientation different from heterosexuality. But theForeign Relations Committee of the Congress of Peru has raised concerns inthis respect, and opposes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender (LGBT) people.
ACTION
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) joins theHomosexual Movement of Lima (MHOL) asking that you send e-mails or faxes,urging the Peruvian Congress to ratify the Ibero-American Convention on theRights of Youth without reservations. IGLHRC has already written to membersof the Peruvian government. Feel free to cut and paste our letter (enclosed)as a sample and contact the individuals listed below.
Please send your letter to:
DR. LUIS GONZÁLES POSADA EYZAGUIRRE
President
Congress of the Peruvian Republic
lgonzales@congreso.gob.pe; aestrada@congreso.gob.pe;
mmoyano@congreso.gob.pe; ctorres@congreso.gob.pe
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SPOKESPERSONS
Congress of the Peruvian Republic
cgalindo@congreso.gob.pe; oluizar@congreso.gob.pe;
lnegreiros@congreso.gob.pe; sfujimori@congreso.gob.pe;
cbruce@congreso.gob.pe
DR. ALEJANDRO AGUINAGA RECUENCO
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Congress of Peruvian Republic
aaguinaga@congreso.gob.pe
DR. KARINA BETETA RUBIN
Chairperson of the Committee on Women and Social Development
Congress of Peruvian Republic
kbeteta@congreso.gob.pe
Please also send a copy to:
Movimiento Homosexual de Lima
estafeta@mhol.org.pe
more....
=
Revellers at a get-together in Morocco have ended up in jail after a wave ofmoral panic and accusations of staging a gay wedding
Brian Whitaker
'Tis the season to be merry. All around Britain, during the next couple ofweeks, people will be going to parties ... drinking, dancing and - quitepossibly - waking up the next day feeling a little the worse for wear. Asyou nurse your hangover, though, spare a thought for the partygoers of Ksarel-Kebir.
November 18 was also a time for merrymaking in Morocco - the country'sindependence day - and in Ksar el-Kebir, a large but run-down town 75 milessouth of Tangier, there was a party. It continued for two nights and seemsto have been a pretty lively affair, with some of the guests getting drunkor stoned. Video clips, apparently filmed by one of the guests, laterappeared on YouTube.
Unfortunately for those involved, the Islamists who have come to dominatethe town - the opposition Justice and Development party (PJD) and the Jamaaal-Adl wal-Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality Association), a technicallybanned organisation which seeks to impose Islamic law and establish acaliphate - were not amused. Why this particular party offended them so muchis still unclear, though reports say one of the organisers was a well-knownsupplier of bootleg alcohol. Whatever the real reason, it provided an excuseto mobilise the citizens in support of "moral" values by claiming that theparty was a gay wedding.
On November 21, together with other local organisations, the PJD and Jamaapresented a petition demanding "an official investigation into thecelebration of a homosexual marriage".
A couple of days later, inflammatory sermons in the mosques whipped uppopular opinion, with the result that an angry mob - variously reported at600 to 1,000 or more - took to the streets demanding "justice, punishmentand reparation".
According to Telquel, the independent French-language weekly, they tried toattack the owner of the house where the party was held and ransacked a shopbelonging to a jeweller who allegedly attended. Riot police set about thecrowd with batons. [A computer translation of Telquel's report is here.]
more....
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15673
NH gay civil unions law could be GOP windfall
Republicans face being seen as gay-bashers
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) | Dec 13, 3:49 PM
New Hampshire Democrats have given the Republicans a potent issue that'sready to burst into the open just before the leadoff presidential primary:gay civil unions.
There's a risk: Republicans who decide to run with the issue in hopes ofenergizing their GOP base could also be seen as gay-bashers and alienate thestate's political independents. There are a lot of those in New Hampshire,and they can choose either party's ballot in the Jan. 8 primary, exactly oneweek after the new civil unions law takes effect.
The law won't come in quietly.
"We hear reports of couples planning ceremonies for 12:01 on New Year's Eve.I'm certain this will be something that is in the news," said Fergus Cullen,chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "It will remind moderatesand independents in New Hampshire that they didn't plan on civil unions andsame-sex marriage when they voted for Democrats last year."
Civil unions and same-sex marriage were essentially nonissues in the 2006campaign for governor and the Legislature, then GOP-controlled. But theissue gained prominence -- and unexpected success -- when Democrats seizedcontrol of both houses of the Legislature that November.
more . . . . .
=
ExpressGayNews.com
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15663
Arrest warrants issued In legislator gay scandal case
Four men allegedly involved in extortion of former Rep. Curtis
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) | Dec 13, 10:49 AM
Arrest warrants have been issued for four men allegedly involved in theextortion of a state legislator who resigned after a gay sex scandal becamepublic.
Spokane County prosecutors contend in court documents that Cody Castagna andthree others were involved in blackmailing former Rep. Richard Curtis, R-LaCenter, in October. Castagna, 26, allegedly had sex with Curtis in a hotelroom during a rendezvous that led to allegations of cross-dressing,solicitation and blackmail.
The four men have been asked to surrender to authorities. Prosecutors onMonday sent out a news release asking for potential past victims of Castagnato come forward.
"There were multiple threats and multiple payoffs in this instance and itjust seems like this was not the first time," Police Sgt. Joe Peterson said."And we've been told by other people that this is not the first time thesuspects in this case have done this type of thing."
Castagna has said he is innocent.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15662
Proposed amendment hits signature goal
Fla. group wants to ban gay marriage
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) | Dec 13, 10:38 AM
Sponsors of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage inFlorida said they have enough signatures to get on the November 2008 ballot.
The proposal that defines marriage as "the legal union of only one man andone woman" was offered by a coalition called Florida4Marriage.org. It needed611,009 signatures from registered voters to go on the ballot.
The Florida Supreme Court already has ruled that the proposal meets basicrequirements of focusing only on one subject and offering voters a clear andaccurate summary of what it would do.
The proposal will need a 60 percent majority at the polls to become part ofthe Florida Constitution.
The Liberty Counsel, which advocates for religious civil liberties,announced in a news release that the proposal had met the signaturerequirement, which was the last step to get on the ballot.
=
Bay Area Reporter
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2516
Former HRC trans business leaders pave their own path
by Heather Cassell
h.cassell@ebar.com
Two transgender business leaders once involved with the Human RightsCampaign have taken matters into their own hands and launched their ownemployment education project.
The move comes in response to HRC's decision to back a version of theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act that does not include protections forgender identity. HRC, the nation's largest gay rights group, had previouslycommitted to supporting a trans-inclusive version of ENDA.
The sexual orientation-only version of ENDA passed the House ofRepresentatives last month.
Bay Area resident Jamison Green, 59, and Donna Rose, 48, of Arizona,tendered a joint resignation from HRC's business advisory council November27 and launched the Transgender Employment Partnership to continue the workthey began at HRC, they said.
Rose had previously resigned from HRC's board of directors, but had remainedon the business council until her recent resignation.
more . . . . .
=
SignsOnSanDiego.Com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071213-9999-7m13groshi.html
Bulk of school board against law shielding gay, lesbian students
By Leonel Sanchez
STAFF WRITER
December 13, 2007
EAST COUNTY - A majority of the Grossmont high school district board isworking with conservative groups trying to overturn an anti-discriminationlaw that aims to tighten protection for gay, lesbian and transgenderstudents.
Last month, four of the five board members joined a federal lawsuitchallenging the new law as unconstitutionally vague and a violation ofprivacy rights.
The law is expected to go into effect next month.
Despite joining the lawsuit, the trustees haven't taken an official positionas a board on the law. Tonight, they will consider a resolution to request alegal interpretation of the legislation and its use from state justice andeducational officials.
The Grossmont Union High School District oversees 11 high schools and somealternative schools in East County.
more . . . . .
=
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/12/huckabees_views_on_gays_under_greater_scrutiny/
Huckabee's views on gays under greater scrutiny
Old statements resurface as he rises in Iowa
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff
December 12, 2007
WASHINGTON - Shortly before announcing his White House bid, Mike Huckabeetold a gathering of Christian conservatives that he had the toughestposition against gay marriage of any Republican candidate. "Unless Mosescomes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain to tell ussomething different, we need to keep that understanding of marriage,"Huckabee said, referring to the movie about two gay cowboys.
Now, as Huckabee seeks to solidify his front-runner status in Iowa and hisclimb in national polls, the former Arkansas governor is coming undergreater scrutiny for his views about gays and lesbians. He has sought todefend comments he made in 1992 that gays lived "an aberrant, unnatural, andsinful lifestyle" and that gays with AIDS should be isolated, even thoughthe federal government by that time had said AIDS was not spread by casualcontact.
Huckabee is continuing to focus on the matter as a presidential candidate,saying on his website that "no other candidate has supported traditionalmarriage more consistently and steadfastly than I have. While Massachusettswas allowing homosexuals to marry, I got a constitutional amendment passedin Arkansas in 2002 defining marriage as between one man and one woman." Theleading Republican candidates oppose gay marriage, although not all back aconstitutional amendment banning it, and their views vary on civil unions.
In an interview with the Globe earlier this month, Huckabee said he opposescivil unions because he views them as legitimizing same-sex relationships inthe eyes of the state. "When you create a validity and actually put a sortof government approval on the behavior, I think that is a different set ofrules than, say, a person makes a lifestyle decision, and that's choice,"Huckabee said.
Huckabee said he would not object if gay couples use a legal document suchas power of attorney to establish asset transfers and other benefits he saidotherwise would be created through a civil union.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=12/8/07&end=12/15/07#15676
Peter LaBarbera condemns the Blade
by Rebecca Armendariz
RArmendariz@washblade.com
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth recently condemned the WashingtonBlade for running an ad for World AIDS Day and the Whitman-Walker Clinicnext to an ad for the Crew Club in D.C.
According to my big gay sources, sure, people have sex in the Crew Clubsaunas and private rooms. If you want to have anonymous sex in a publicplace, I'm sure there are plenty of places for both straight and gay peopleto to do that.
"The Blade's ad placement is a microcosm of everything that is wrong withhomosexual activists' hypocritical approach toward HIV/AIDS. They preach'safer sex' but refuse to take a 'just say no' approach toward sexbusinesses like Crew Club that foster anonymous sodomies. Meanwhile, theyclamor year after year for increased federal AIDS funding, even thoughHIV/AIDS research is already massively over-funded compared to otherdiseases that are NOT linked to immoral conduct," LaBarbera wrote.
Whoa, excuse me, Peter? HIV/AIDS in America and all around the world is anEPIDEMIC that kills scores of people each year. Are you and Mike Huckabeereally so trapped in the early 1980s as to think that it's still a diseasespread only through gay male sex? It appears so.
If people want to have anonymous sex, so be it. Just because some gay peoplechoose this kind of sex life doesn't mean straight people don't choose it,too. And then there are those who have sex in their own bedrooms. And thenthere are those who pick up a date at a bar and go home with them to THATperson's bedroom. People have sex. I hope that when they have sex, they useprotection. The fact that LaBarbera obsesses over how, why and where peopleare gettin' down, frankly, creeps me out.
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-13/locallife/feature/4261.cfm
A custodian of history
For archivist Paul Fasana, Stonewall Library's holdings speak volumes
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Thursday, December 13, 2007
For Stonewall Library volunteer archivist Paul Fasana, meticulouslycataloging and organizing thousands of artifacts from all facets of themodern gay experience is an attempt to protect GLBT culture from thehistorical fate of the women of the Middle Ages.
Although it is known that they existed, women who lived from the fifth tothe 15th century are all but forgotten, and the details of their lives arehard to come by because nobody took the time to gather or analyze theirhistory.
Stonewall library's vast collection contains detailed samplings of allthings gay - from the discreet newsletters of the Matachine Society and heDaughters of Bilitis to boxes of correspondence of gay and lesbian couplesthroughout the 20th century. News clippings and videotapes from Anita Bryant's"Save Our Children" movement are juxtaposed with steamy pulp novels withtitles like "Blow Gently" and "Return to Lesbos."
Collectively, the archive tells the story of a bustling culture that wentfrom tapping feet in obscure bathrooms to flexing its political muscles in alittle more than 50 years.
"Every item in some way reflects gay history," Fasana says, as he moves astack of Manshots magazines. "Gay history has never really been recorded.Our aim is to make sure we don't lose this history."
Fasana worked for more than 40 years in library science. He headed theresearch libraries at the New York Public Library, one of the largest andbest-researched libraries in the world.
He began organizing the Stonewall collection in 1995 shortly after he metgay philanthropist John Graves. Back then, the library's holdings werehoused in three separate warehouses and at the Metropolitan CommunityChurch. Fasana and fellow volunteer Fred Searcy were among the first peopleto begin to organize and catalogue the collection.
Today, the archives are stored in a well air-conditioned room behind theStonewall circulating library. Each piece is kept in acid-protective boxesand envelopes and is catalogued in the computerized system.
more....
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-13/view/editorial/4263.cfm
by Phil LaPadula
Bush and Congress are not serious about 'war on terror'
If they were, they would pass the federal hate-crimes billThursday, December 13, 2007
President Bush and the U.S. Congress are not really serious about theso-called "war on terror." If they were, they would take action against whatis fueling the war - hate.
Yet, last week, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives dropped agay-inclusive hate-crimes bill from the National Defense Authorization Act.Even if the bill had been passed, President Bush, under pressure fromreligious extremists, had indicated that he would veto any measure thatincluded the hate-crimes bill.
The demise of the hate-crimes bill comes less than a month after the FBIreleased a report showing an 8 percent increase in in hate crimes in 2006.The report also showed that hate crimes motivated by victims' sexualorientation increased by more than 17 percent.
But besides the home-grown hate, there is plenty of hatred smolderingoverseas, and much of it is lethal and aimed at American civilians and U.S.troops.
One wonders why Bush is opposed to the hate-crimes bill considering that heand his associates have on numerous occasions stated that "our enemies hateus" because of our freedoms. Bush has been criticized for describing the warin terms that are too simplistic. But if the president really believes it'sall about hate, why doesn't he take a stand against hate by supporting thefederal hate-crimes bill? Wouldn't that set a good example for the othercountries that are struggling with religious and ethnic-based hatreds?Wouldn't it set the right tone for the "war on terror"?
Frankly, I'm sick of hearing American politicians refer to the "war onterror." Terrorism is a tactic. Referring to the current world conflict as a"war on terror" is like referring to World War II as the "war on theblitzkrieg" or the "war on tanks." We should call it what it is: a waragainst Islamic extremism. Our enemies are people - religious fanatics - nota tactic. One could, of course, argue that religion is simply a veil tocover up what is essentially a dog-eat-dog battle over control of land andenergy resources. But clearly, religious-based hatreds are re-emergingthroughout the world, and it is those ancient hatreds that are pittinggroups of people against each other.
more....
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-13/view/columns/4266.cfm
Separating state from the church
Keeping anti-gay Ayatollah Huckabee out of the White House is a must
By STEVE CHARING
Thursday, December 13, 2007
THIS COUNTRY, AND specifically the LGBT community, does not need anAyatollah sitting in the White House. And that's exactly what we would getif the current flavor-of-the-week, Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansasshould, in comeback fashion, meander his way through the primaries to winthe GOP nomination and then upset the Democratic candidate in November of2008.
We have already experienced a devastating seven years with George W. Bush atthe helm, who some have dubbed the "minister-in-chief." While the federalgovernment is technically secular, this president has seen to it thatadministration policies and personnel meet with the approval of theChristian conservatives who, in no small way, helped to elect him twice andembraced him as one of their own.
You can point to the disproportionate number of Department of Justiceemployees who have graduated from none other than Rev. Pat Robertson's lawschool as an example of this influence. Then there was the inappropriateWhite House-backed intervention in a personal family matter in the TerriSchiavo case. Add that to the successful appointments of two veryconservative Supreme Court justices as well as other anti-gay administrationappointees who were the darlings of the religious right.
more....
=
To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Saying that we need to respect people if we expect them to respectthemselves, Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball and NBC's ChrisMatthews Show has, in response to the Larry Craig story, called for thelegalization of marriage for gay couples. On his show Thursday, Matthewsshared with his audience a humorous clip starring George Clooney and BradPitt in a public bathroom. Matthews asked his audience, "Isn't it great howwe Americans can laugh at-even at the most desperate of human acts?""Withhis political acumen and experience, Chris is one the few mainstream mediafigures who really gets the Larry Craig story," said PageOneQ's Mike Rogers,who also writes and edits BlogActive.com. logActive.com is the site thatfirst reported on Craig's activities in a bathroom within Washington, DC'sUnion Station."It's not about gay sex, and Chris reminds his audience ofthat each time the story is referenced. Chris understands the differencebetween outing and reporting on hypocrisy," Rogers added
--
By Professor Arthur Leonard - New York Law School
Minnesota Appeals Court Approves Gestational Surrogacy Contract for Gay ManRuling unanimously on December 11, a panel of the Court of Appeals ofMinnesota held in P.G.M. v. J.M.A., 2007 WL 4304448 (not reported in N.W.2dfor no discernible reason), that a gay HIV-positive lawyer from New York wasentitled to enforcement of a gestational surrogacy agreement with his niece,a Minnesota resident. The bottom line is the court's conclusion, asarticulated by Judge Bruce D. Willis, that the child has only one legalparent, P.G.M., the father, who is entitled to custody (and, incidentally,to name the child).
The court's statement of the facts sounds like a synopsis summary for a soapopera -- and one that might not be believed as realistic by anybody.According to the court, P.G.M., the product of a large family, longed tohave a child who was genetically related to himself.
=
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/12/14/State/Crist_takes__live_and.shtml
Crist takes 'live and let live' approach to marriage vote
Gay marriage foes get ballot signatures.
By JACOB H. FRIES, Times Staff Writer
Published December 14, 2007
Floridians will almost certainly vote on a proposed constitutional amendmentbanning gay marriage in November, just don't expect the state's topRepublican to stump for it.
"It's not an issue that moves me," Gov. Charlie Crist told reportersThursday after sponsors of the initiative announced they had enoughsignatures to get it on the ballot.
Crist is listed as an endorser of the amendment on the Web site,www.florida4marriage.org, and while running for governor, he signed apetition in support of such a ban. But in February, he asked the GOP to stopdonating money to the effort and, Thursday, he said he'd rather focus onraising teacher pay, reducing property taxes and combatting climate change.
"I'm just a live and let live kind of guy," the governor said.
The campaign to put a same-sex marriage ban in Florida's Constitution begannearly three years ago. Thursday, proponents announced they had collectedthe 611,009 signatures required to put the issue before voters. Officially,the petition was still 253 signatures short, but election officials saidtheir data was updated once a day and might not reflect the actual total.
more . . . . .
=
National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Key Finding In HIV Spread
German AIDS researchers have discovered a protein common in semen thatboosts the infectious potential of HIV 100,000-fold - a remarkable findingthat may show how the virus can spread through sexual contact and alsosuggests new strategies to stop the epidemic.If scientists can find a drugor chemical that blocks these infection-promoting proteins, it would go along way toward development of a microbicide, a vaginal cream or gel thatcould protect women against AIDS.
--
Gay Condo-Hotel Opens in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Excited crowds turned out Saturday for the inauguration of The PrivateResidences at Casa Cupula, the world's first fractional condo-hoteldeveloped exclusively for the gay community. As noted last weekend by theNew York Times Travel section: Puerto Vallarta is "becoming gayer by theyear and [taking over] as Mexico's leading gay beach." Dozens of new andinnovative gay-owned businesses in the Romantic Zone are being enjoyed bytourists of all stripes. Now this innovative new project plants the seedsfor a new form of vacation home ownership, which resonates with many gayprofessionals.
--
Lesbian/Gay Disclosures As Unexpected Holiday Gifts
What should a family understand if a child or relative chooses to disclosetheir sexual orientation during the annual holiday gathering or decides toreveal more about his/her experiences as a gay or lesbian person? Ratherthan see the news as a 'bombshell,' perhaps they should view it as anunexpected gift, says psychologist Robert-Jay Green, PhD. Green is executivedirector of the Rockway Institute, a national center for science and LGBTpublic policy at the California School of Professional Psychology, a part ofAlliant International University in San Francisco.
--
Sex and Spirit Mix on Jesus Book Cover from Germany
A homoerotic Christ image on the cover of a new German book is sparkinginternational debate as Christmas approaches.The provocative cover artappears on the newly released German translation of "Jesus in Love," a novelabout a queer Christ by American author Kittredge Cherry.
--
Anti-Bias Protection For Gay Workers Lacks Traction
A call came in to Equality Virginia , a statewide gay advocacy group, from aHampton man a few months ago . He was being harassed by his co-workers, hesaid. They mocked him by lisping and waving limp wrists. They shut down hiscomputer when he left.He complained to the people in Human Resources , butthey told him there was nothing they could do: It's not illegal todiscriminate against gay people in the workplace in Virginia.
--
LGBTs Eye Newsom Staff Picks - San Francisco
Is there room for LGBT staffers in Mayor Gavin Newsom's second term? It is aquestion gaining more prominence as news leaks out on just who is in and whois out in the mayor's administration. Reports last week that Newsom hadasked Susan Leal, head of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission andthe city's highest ranking lesbian, to resign stunned many LGBT politicosand brought to the forefront concerns that LGBT voices within Newsom'sadministration are being diminished.
--
LGBT Leaders Question Dems on Hate Crimes
The decision last week by U.S. House and Senate leaders to remove a hatecrimes amendment from a Department of Defense authorization bill currentlybefore Congress prompted strong criticism from various quarters ranging fromthe New York Times editorial board, which harshly criticized House SpeakerNancy Pelosi for the move, to LGBT groups including the National Gay andLesbian Task Force, which pronounced itself "deeply angered anddisappointed."
--
Youth Group Returns to Roots
Gay Associated Youth recently opened its doors in Palm Desert afterescalating rental costs forced the organization to relocate from CathedralCity.
"We always knew that we'd move back to Palm Desert," said Greg Wetmore,executive director.
--
Queer, Isn't It?: Gay Men Have Large Big Toes
"I've noticed that all the gay men I've known have had large big toes."
I was sitting with friends in a Dallas restaurant, engaged in one of ourfavorite activities: making up stories about the other patrons. This led toa disagreement about the sexual orientation of a man sitting at the bar,which led to a conversation about how you could tell if a man was gay.
--
The Senior Situation: Part Three of Three
If it's true that LGBT seniors are being forced back into the closet atretirement communities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes acrossthe U.S., the folks running those establishments obviously have anobligation to address the problem. But what about those of us in the LGBTcommunity who aren't over the age of 65-do we have an obligation as well?Those in the know say the answer is "yes," though don't take that to meanthey're wagging their fingers at us.
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
365gay.com
Is The Military Turning A Blind Eye To Gays?
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: December 13, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(New York City) A gay soldier says he disclosed his sexuality to hissuperiors, even offering graphic proof, and was neither discharged norreprimanded, despite the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy onhomosexuality, CBS News is preparing to report.
Army Sgt. Darren Manzella appears in a Lesley Stahl report on gays in thewartime U.S. military to be broadcast Sunday on 60 Minutes.
Manzella, a medic who served in Iraq for a year, currently serves as medicalliaison for the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Kuwait, where he tellsStahl that he is "out" to his entire chain of command, including athree-star general.
After leaving Iraq, he says he started receiving anonymous emails warninghim about his openness that suggested he was being watched, so he went tohis commander to head off an investigation he felt was coming.
"I didn't know how else to do it," he tells Stahl, acknowledging that heinitiated an investigation of himself by violating the policy. "I felt morecomfortable being the one to say, 'This is what is real,'" Manzella says.
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121307killer.htm
Report: Colorado Church Shooter May Have Been Gay Or Bi
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: December 13, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Denver, Colorado) A Denver television station reports that web postingsbelieved made by Matthew Murray, the young man who killed four people at twoconservative Christian missionary centers on Sunday, shows he was bisexual,possibly gay.
The postings were made on a web site for people who had left evangelicalchurches and were made under a nickname. The administrator of the sitenotified police when he saw them but too late to stop the killings.
The postings were immediately removed.
But Fox Affiliate KDVR reports that the postings alluding to his sexualitybegan last summer and became more definite over time.
"People like us are going to go to hell, according to Christians," Foxquotes from one posting made last summer. Murray goes on to list reasons.The seventh stated: "I'm bisexual."
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407clinton.htm
Clinton Advisor Out After Anti-Obama Remarks
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 14, 2007 - 7:30 am ET
(Concord, New Hampshire) A top campaign adviser to Hillary Rodham Clintonresigned, a day after suggesting Democrats should be wary of nominatingBarack Obama because his teenage drug use could make it hard for him to winthe presidency.
Clinton herself apologized to Obama as they waited to fly to Iowa for adebate.
Obama's campaign sent out a fundraising letter contending that "this kind ofattack is becoming a pattern as Clinton's support declines."
Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent NewHampshire political figure, had raised the issue of Obama's youthful druguse during a Wednesday interview, published on washingtonpost.com.
"I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personaldecision that I will step down as the co-chair of the Hillary for Presidentcampaign," Shaheen said in a statement released by the campaign Thursday."This election is too important, and we must all get back to electing thebest qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in thiscountry. That candidate is Hillary Clinton."
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407huck.htm
Huckabee: A Woman Should Submit To Her Husband
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 14, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Little Rock, Arkansas) Republican Mike Huckabee's record on women's rightsis coming under increased scrutiny, including his endorsement of theSouthern Baptist Convention's stance that women should "submit graciously"to their husbands and his opposition to sending women into combat.
Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, defended his recordThursday, saying he appointed many women to high positions in stategovernment and on his staff during his 10 1/2 years as Arkansas governor.
"If you look at my cabinet, I had more women in my cabinet and on my staffin key positions, including chief of staff, than any other governor probablyin Arkansas history," Huckabee said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Huckabee had been asked on the TV show about his support of the Baptistconvention's statement of beliefs on marriage. The former Arkansas governorand his wife Janet signed a full-page ad in USA Today in support of thestatement with 129 other evangelical leaders in 1998.
"A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husbandeven as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ," theconvention says in its statement of faith. Baptist Press reported that the1998 ad was addressed to denomination leaders and said: "You are rightbecause you called wives to graciously submit to their husband's sacrificialleadership."
more . . . . .
=
365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407bish.htm
Anglican Head: Gay US Bishop Still Barred
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 14, 2007 - 11:00 am ET
(London) The archbishop of Canterbury said Friday he will not reverse hisdecision to exclude a gay U.S. bishop from joining other bishops at a globalAnglican gathering next year.
Archbishop Rowan Williams' office said he had also not changed his mindabout refusing an invitation to Martyn Minns, a traditionalist U.S. priestwho was consecrated as a bishop in the Church of Nigeria.
Williams said he has also recruited professional help in trying to reachgreater understanding between the U.S. Episcopal Church and its critics bothat home and abroad. Williams' office was unable to say immediately whetherany invitations had been extended or accepted.
In his Advent message to leaders of Anglican national churches, Williamssaid Episcopal Church pledges of a moratorium on confirming any more gaybishops or on approving blessings of homosexual unions have not beenaccepted by all parts of the communion.
"Given the differences in response to the Episcopal Church revealed in theresponses of the primates, we simply cannot pretend that there is now aready-made consensus on the future of relationships between (the EpiscopalChurch) and other provinces," Williams said. "Much work remains to be done."
Statements by individual U.S. bishops that seemed to deviate from thedeclarations the bishops agreed to in New Orleans in September havecomplicated the situation, the archbishop said.
more . . . . .
=
Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50975.asp
Two Men Get 15 Years in Attack on Boy
December 14, 2007
A court in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday sentenced two Emirati mento 15 years in prison in a highly charged case involving the kidnapping andsexual assault of a French-Swiss teenage boy.
Veronique Robert, the mother of the 15-year-old victim, said ''justice wasdone'' but that she would still appeal to try to gain a life sentence forone of the defendants, a 35-year-old man she contends knew he wasHIV-positive before the attack.
He and an 18-year-old man were charged with ''kidnapping with deceit'' and''forced homosexual relations,'' a charge that can be punished with lifeimprisonment or death, in connection with the July attack on the boy.
A third defendant who is under 18 is being tried in a juvenile court on thesame charges and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The judges did not state specifically what each defendant was convicted of,in line with the confidentiality clauses in Dubai's court system. Theirnames also cannot be made public, under the court system's rules.
more . . . . .
=
Truth Wins Out
http://www.truthwinsout.org/news/truth-wins-out-unveils-new-innovative-ad-campaign-that-shows-the-foolishness-and-danger-of-%e2%80%98ex-gay%e2%80%99-therapy/
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org
Truth Wins Out Unveils New Innovative Ad Campaign That Shows The FoolishnessAnd Danger of 'Ex-Gay' Therapy
NEW YORK - Truth Wins Out introduced two new Internet Public Service
Announcements today (IPSA) that show the absurdity of the ex-gay myth, whilerebutting the blatant fear tactics that these organizations use to recruitnew members.
"We urge all bloggers to consider posting these ads, to educate Americansabout the harm done by ex-gay therapies," said Wayne Besen, ExecutiveDirector of Truth Wins Out. "These ads use cutting edge humor to address aserious issue that is tearing apart families and ruining lives."
The first ad, "Bald," addresses a lie told by Exodus International'sexecutive director Alan Chambers earlier this year on a national televisionshow.
"What I found was that homosexuality was for the young," said Chambers.
"There was a time when I wasn't going to have hair anymore. There was a timewhen I wasn't going to work out every day, and lay out in the sun, and be asmuch a commodity as I was when I was eighteen."
In "Bald" (:50), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ-JArokdKw
ex-gay survivor Nick Cavnar - a bald man from Washington, DC in his 50's -takes Chambers to task for exploiting the fears of young gay men. "I havewonderful friends," says Cavnar, "and many of them are bald too. And all ofus middle age gay bald men, just want to tell you, it's great out here."
The second groundbreaking ad, "Rubber Band" (:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW0QyvKyad0 features Dallas ex-gay survivorBrian Nesbitt, who was urged by his therapist to wear a rubber band on hiswrist and snap it whenever he saw an attractive guy.
"You feel terrible that he had to go through this in his desperate effortsto go from gay to straight," said Besen. "But, at the same time, one canonly snicker at the thought that this bizarre technique is still used andtaken seriously by ex-gay organizations."
Truth Wins Out released these ads in time for the holiday season, becausemany people return home only to be confronted by sincere, but misguided,family members and friends wielding ex-gay literature like a club.
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters right wingpropaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.
For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.
=
From Jesse Monteagudo
JesseMonteagudo@aol.com
Those of you who miss my book reviews should check out the gay Web sitewww.afterelton.com. "The Year in Gay Books," my take on 2007's gay literaryscene (the good and the bad), is featured there. Take a look at my pieceand let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices for 2007's best gaybooks. -- Jesse
=
Become a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention!
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) voters are one of the mostloyal voting-blocks in the Democratic Party. We are everywhere and we vote!
We have earned our seat at the table and it is now time to make sure we havea strong voice in selecting the Democratic Party's presidential nominee atthe National Convention August 25-28 in Denver. This is our chance to be apart of the solution this country so desperately needs.
National Stonewall Democrats worked closely with the National Committee'sLGBT Caucus to push every state to set goals for LGBT delegates to theconvention. But goals are nothing if they are not met.
That's where you come in. We need you and LGBT Democrats in every state torun for national convention delegate. We have launched our Pride in theParty program to help you run for delegate. You can find information on thedelegate selection process at our new program wesbsitewww.PrideInTheParty.org
Just sign up and we'll make sure the campaign of your presidential candidateknows you want to be a delegate. Campaigns are looking for LGBT Democratsjust like you who support them, who want to run for delegate, and who wantto be a part of electing a Democratic President. (But they can't talk to youif they canâ?Tt find you. That's why you need to sign up!)
Be sure to also check out the Delegate Information where you can downloadinformation about your stateâ?Ts delegate selection process. Our summaryshows the filing deadlines and filing requirements. It also providesinformation about contacting your State Democratic Party. (Most StateParties have information and filing forms on their website.)
So, what are you waiting for?
Sign up to run for delegate today. http://www.prideintheparty.org/
=
By Libby Post
LPost@commservices.ne
Homos for the Holidays
Well, it's that time of year again.
The weather outside is just about to be frightful. And, as far as I'mconcerned, the shopping is never delightful.
But that doesn't mean I'm the new Grinch or that my family bloodlineincludes Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's just that when I do shop, I tend to do itfrom the comfort of my den with my trusty laptop at the ready and myoverburdened credit card nearby.
Whether or not you're consumed with consumerism at this time of year, theone thing we can all agree on is that it's all about giving.
With our son turning 22 next week and only one toddler in our immediatefamily configuration, the challenge of what to give the adults in my familyis never easily answered. We're all folks, who by and large, don't reallyneed anything-we've all got good jobs, roofs over our heads, not reallywanting for anything that is within our purchasing capacity. Buying a 54"flat screen or putting a big red bow on a new car is really on the outsideof our giving range.
So instead of buying a few more CDs or another piece of Fiestaware to roundout a collection, the adults in our family have decided to make charitablegifts in honor of one another. It's a much better investment of our holidaycheer than say a crystal bowl that ends up at the back of the closet.
Overall, charitable giving has always been high on our list, and not just atthe holiday season-although we do get all those direct mails asks at thistime of year because it works. People are in a giving mood; so, we also givemoney.
more....
=
From Doug Ireland
For those who are following the lethal repression of anyone convicted ofsame-sex relations in Iran, Gay City News has just published an updatedversion of my article on the state murder last week of 21-year-old MakwanMoloudzadeh with significant fresh reporting, including a lenthy newinterview with the hanged lad's lawyer. To read this updated article, clickon:
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19092040&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
=
Forwarded from Hossein Halizadeh
halizadeh@iglhrc.org
URGENT ACTION: ASK THE PERUVIAN CONGRESS TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF YOUNGHOMOSEXUALS TO NON-DISCRIMINATION
SUMMARY
The Peruvian Congress is debating joining the Ibero-American Convention onthe Rights of Youth (Spain, 2005) that seeks to promote and safeguard therights of young people. The Convention also seeks to remedy the inequalitythat thousands of young people confront for a variety of reasons, includingfor having a sexual orientation different from heterosexuality. But theForeign Relations Committee of the Congress of Peru has raised concerns inthis respect, and opposes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender (LGBT) people.
ACTION
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) joins theHomosexual Movement of Lima (MHOL) asking that you send e-mails or faxes,urging the Peruvian Congress to ratify the Ibero-American Convention on theRights of Youth without reservations. IGLHRC has already written to membersof the Peruvian government. Feel free to cut and paste our letter (enclosed)as a sample and contact the individuals listed below.
Please send your letter to:
DR. LUIS GONZÁLES POSADA EYZAGUIRRE
President
Congress of the Peruvian Republic
lgonzales@congreso.gob.pe; aestrada@congreso.gob.pe;
mmoyano@congreso.gob.pe; ctorres@congreso.gob.pe
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SPOKESPERSONS
Congress of the Peruvian Republic
cgalindo@congreso.gob.pe; oluizar@congreso.gob.pe;
lnegreiros@congreso.gob.pe; sfujimori@congreso.gob.pe;
cbruce@congreso.gob.pe
DR. ALEJANDRO AGUINAGA RECUENCO
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Congress of Peruvian Republic
aaguinaga@congreso.gob.pe
DR. KARINA BETETA RUBIN
Chairperson of the Committee on Women and Social Development
Congress of Peruvian Republic
kbeteta@congreso.gob.pe
Please also send a copy to:
Movimiento Homosexual de Lima
estafeta@mhol.org.pe
more....
=
Revellers at a get-together in Morocco have ended up in jail after a wave ofmoral panic and accusations of staging a gay wedding
Brian Whitaker
'Tis the season to be merry. All around Britain, during the next couple ofweeks, people will be going to parties ... drinking, dancing and - quitepossibly - waking up the next day feeling a little the worse for wear. Asyou nurse your hangover, though, spare a thought for the partygoers of Ksarel-Kebir.
November 18 was also a time for merrymaking in Morocco - the country'sindependence day - and in Ksar el-Kebir, a large but run-down town 75 milessouth of Tangier, there was a party. It continued for two nights and seemsto have been a pretty lively affair, with some of the guests getting drunkor stoned. Video clips, apparently filmed by one of the guests, laterappeared on YouTube.
Unfortunately for those involved, the Islamists who have come to dominatethe town - the opposition Justice and Development party (PJD) and the Jamaaal-Adl wal-Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality Association), a technicallybanned organisation which seeks to impose Islamic law and establish acaliphate - were not amused. Why this particular party offended them so muchis still unclear, though reports say one of the organisers was a well-knownsupplier of bootleg alcohol. Whatever the real reason, it provided an excuseto mobilise the citizens in support of "moral" values by claiming that theparty was a gay wedding.
On November 21, together with other local organisations, the PJD and Jamaapresented a petition demanding "an official investigation into thecelebration of a homosexual marriage".
A couple of days later, inflammatory sermons in the mosques whipped uppopular opinion, with the result that an angry mob - variously reported at600 to 1,000 or more - took to the streets demanding "justice, punishmentand reparation".
According to Telquel, the independent French-language weekly, they tried toattack the owner of the house where the party was held and ransacked a shopbelonging to a jeweller who allegedly attended. Riot police set about thecrowd with batons. [A computer translation of Telquel's report is here.]
more....
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15673
NH gay civil unions law could be GOP windfall
Republicans face being seen as gay-bashers
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) | Dec 13, 3:49 PM
New Hampshire Democrats have given the Republicans a potent issue that'sready to burst into the open just before the leadoff presidential primary:gay civil unions.
There's a risk: Republicans who decide to run with the issue in hopes ofenergizing their GOP base could also be seen as gay-bashers and alienate thestate's political independents. There are a lot of those in New Hampshire,and they can choose either party's ballot in the Jan. 8 primary, exactly oneweek after the new civil unions law takes effect.
The law won't come in quietly.
"We hear reports of couples planning ceremonies for 12:01 on New Year's Eve.I'm certain this will be something that is in the news," said Fergus Cullen,chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "It will remind moderatesand independents in New Hampshire that they didn't plan on civil unions andsame-sex marriage when they voted for Democrats last year."
Civil unions and same-sex marriage were essentially nonissues in the 2006campaign for governor and the Legislature, then GOP-controlled. But theissue gained prominence -- and unexpected success -- when Democrats seizedcontrol of both houses of the Legislature that November.
more . . . . .
=
ExpressGayNews.com
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15663
Arrest warrants issued In legislator gay scandal case
Four men allegedly involved in extortion of former Rep. Curtis
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) | Dec 13, 10:49 AM
Arrest warrants have been issued for four men allegedly involved in theextortion of a state legislator who resigned after a gay sex scandal becamepublic.
Spokane County prosecutors contend in court documents that Cody Castagna andthree others were involved in blackmailing former Rep. Richard Curtis, R-LaCenter, in October. Castagna, 26, allegedly had sex with Curtis in a hotelroom during a rendezvous that led to allegations of cross-dressing,solicitation and blackmail.
The four men have been asked to surrender to authorities. Prosecutors onMonday sent out a news release asking for potential past victims of Castagnato come forward.
"There were multiple threats and multiple payoffs in this instance and itjust seems like this was not the first time," Police Sgt. Joe Peterson said."And we've been told by other people that this is not the first time thesuspects in this case have done this type of thing."
Castagna has said he is innocent.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15662
Proposed amendment hits signature goal
Fla. group wants to ban gay marriage
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) | Dec 13, 10:38 AM
Sponsors of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage inFlorida said they have enough signatures to get on the November 2008 ballot.
The proposal that defines marriage as "the legal union of only one man andone woman" was offered by a coalition called Florida4Marriage.org. It needed611,009 signatures from registered voters to go on the ballot.
The Florida Supreme Court already has ruled that the proposal meets basicrequirements of focusing only on one subject and offering voters a clear andaccurate summary of what it would do.
The proposal will need a 60 percent majority at the polls to become part ofthe Florida Constitution.
The Liberty Counsel, which advocates for religious civil liberties,announced in a news release that the proposal had met the signaturerequirement, which was the last step to get on the ballot.
=
Bay Area Reporter
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2516
Former HRC trans business leaders pave their own path
by Heather Cassell
h.cassell@ebar.com
Two transgender business leaders once involved with the Human RightsCampaign have taken matters into their own hands and launched their ownemployment education project.
The move comes in response to HRC's decision to back a version of theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act that does not include protections forgender identity. HRC, the nation's largest gay rights group, had previouslycommitted to supporting a trans-inclusive version of ENDA.
The sexual orientation-only version of ENDA passed the House ofRepresentatives last month.
Bay Area resident Jamison Green, 59, and Donna Rose, 48, of Arizona,tendered a joint resignation from HRC's business advisory council November27 and launched the Transgender Employment Partnership to continue the workthey began at HRC, they said.
Rose had previously resigned from HRC's board of directors, but had remainedon the business council until her recent resignation.
more . . . . .
=
SignsOnSanDiego.Com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071213-9999-7m13groshi.html
Bulk of school board against law shielding gay, lesbian students
By Leonel Sanchez
STAFF WRITER
December 13, 2007
EAST COUNTY - A majority of the Grossmont high school district board isworking with conservative groups trying to overturn an anti-discriminationlaw that aims to tighten protection for gay, lesbian and transgenderstudents.
Last month, four of the five board members joined a federal lawsuitchallenging the new law as unconstitutionally vague and a violation ofprivacy rights.
The law is expected to go into effect next month.
Despite joining the lawsuit, the trustees haven't taken an official positionas a board on the law. Tonight, they will consider a resolution to request alegal interpretation of the legislation and its use from state justice andeducational officials.
The Grossmont Union High School District oversees 11 high schools and somealternative schools in East County.
more . . . . .
=
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/12/huckabees_views_on_gays_under_greater_scrutiny/
Huckabee's views on gays under greater scrutiny
Old statements resurface as he rises in Iowa
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff
December 12, 2007
WASHINGTON - Shortly before announcing his White House bid, Mike Huckabeetold a gathering of Christian conservatives that he had the toughestposition against gay marriage of any Republican candidate. "Unless Mosescomes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain to tell ussomething different, we need to keep that understanding of marriage,"Huckabee said, referring to the movie about two gay cowboys.
Now, as Huckabee seeks to solidify his front-runner status in Iowa and hisclimb in national polls, the former Arkansas governor is coming undergreater scrutiny for his views about gays and lesbians. He has sought todefend comments he made in 1992 that gays lived "an aberrant, unnatural, andsinful lifestyle" and that gays with AIDS should be isolated, even thoughthe federal government by that time had said AIDS was not spread by casualcontact.
Huckabee is continuing to focus on the matter as a presidential candidate,saying on his website that "no other candidate has supported traditionalmarriage more consistently and steadfastly than I have. While Massachusettswas allowing homosexuals to marry, I got a constitutional amendment passedin Arkansas in 2002 defining marriage as between one man and one woman." Theleading Republican candidates oppose gay marriage, although not all back aconstitutional amendment banning it, and their views vary on civil unions.
In an interview with the Globe earlier this month, Huckabee said he opposescivil unions because he views them as legitimizing same-sex relationships inthe eyes of the state. "When you create a validity and actually put a sortof government approval on the behavior, I think that is a different set ofrules than, say, a person makes a lifestyle decision, and that's choice,"Huckabee said.
Huckabee said he would not object if gay couples use a legal document suchas power of attorney to establish asset transfers and other benefits he saidotherwise would be created through a civil union.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=12/8/07&end=12/15/07#15676
Peter LaBarbera condemns the Blade
by Rebecca Armendariz
RArmendariz@washblade.com
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth recently condemned the WashingtonBlade for running an ad for World AIDS Day and the Whitman-Walker Clinicnext to an ad for the Crew Club in D.C.
According to my big gay sources, sure, people have sex in the Crew Clubsaunas and private rooms. If you want to have anonymous sex in a publicplace, I'm sure there are plenty of places for both straight and gay peopleto to do that.
"The Blade's ad placement is a microcosm of everything that is wrong withhomosexual activists' hypocritical approach toward HIV/AIDS. They preach'safer sex' but refuse to take a 'just say no' approach toward sexbusinesses like Crew Club that foster anonymous sodomies. Meanwhile, theyclamor year after year for increased federal AIDS funding, even thoughHIV/AIDS research is already massively over-funded compared to otherdiseases that are NOT linked to immoral conduct," LaBarbera wrote.
Whoa, excuse me, Peter? HIV/AIDS in America and all around the world is anEPIDEMIC that kills scores of people each year. Are you and Mike Huckabeereally so trapped in the early 1980s as to think that it's still a diseasespread only through gay male sex? It appears so.
If people want to have anonymous sex, so be it. Just because some gay peoplechoose this kind of sex life doesn't mean straight people don't choose it,too. And then there are those who have sex in their own bedrooms. And thenthere are those who pick up a date at a bar and go home with them to THATperson's bedroom. People have sex. I hope that when they have sex, they useprotection. The fact that LaBarbera obsesses over how, why and where peopleare gettin' down, frankly, creeps me out.
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-13/locallife/feature/4261.cfm
A custodian of history
For archivist Paul Fasana, Stonewall Library's holdings speak volumes
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Thursday, December 13, 2007
For Stonewall Library volunteer archivist Paul Fasana, meticulouslycataloging and organizing thousands of artifacts from all facets of themodern gay experience is an attempt to protect GLBT culture from thehistorical fate of the women of the Middle Ages.
Although it is known that they existed, women who lived from the fifth tothe 15th century are all but forgotten, and the details of their lives arehard to come by because nobody took the time to gather or analyze theirhistory.
Stonewall library's vast collection contains detailed samplings of allthings gay - from the discreet newsletters of the Matachine Society and heDaughters of Bilitis to boxes of correspondence of gay and lesbian couplesthroughout the 20th century. News clippings and videotapes from Anita Bryant's"Save Our Children" movement are juxtaposed with steamy pulp novels withtitles like "Blow Gently" and "Return to Lesbos."
Collectively, the archive tells the story of a bustling culture that wentfrom tapping feet in obscure bathrooms to flexing its political muscles in alittle more than 50 years.
"Every item in some way reflects gay history," Fasana says, as he moves astack of Manshots magazines. "Gay history has never really been recorded.Our aim is to make sure we don't lose this history."
Fasana worked for more than 40 years in library science. He headed theresearch libraries at the New York Public Library, one of the largest andbest-researched libraries in the world.
He began organizing the Stonewall collection in 1995 shortly after he metgay philanthropist John Graves. Back then, the library's holdings werehoused in three separate warehouses and at the Metropolitan CommunityChurch. Fasana and fellow volunteer Fred Searcy were among the first peopleto begin to organize and catalogue the collection.
Today, the archives are stored in a well air-conditioned room behind theStonewall circulating library. Each piece is kept in acid-protective boxesand envelopes and is catalogued in the computerized system.
more....
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-13/view/editorial/4263.cfm
by Phil LaPadula
Bush and Congress are not serious about 'war on terror'
If they were, they would pass the federal hate-crimes billThursday, December 13, 2007
President Bush and the U.S. Congress are not really serious about theso-called "war on terror." If they were, they would take action against whatis fueling the war - hate.
Yet, last week, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives dropped agay-inclusive hate-crimes bill from the National Defense Authorization Act.Even if the bill had been passed, President Bush, under pressure fromreligious extremists, had indicated that he would veto any measure thatincluded the hate-crimes bill.
The demise of the hate-crimes bill comes less than a month after the FBIreleased a report showing an 8 percent increase in in hate crimes in 2006.The report also showed that hate crimes motivated by victims' sexualorientation increased by more than 17 percent.
But besides the home-grown hate, there is plenty of hatred smolderingoverseas, and much of it is lethal and aimed at American civilians and U.S.troops.
One wonders why Bush is opposed to the hate-crimes bill considering that heand his associates have on numerous occasions stated that "our enemies hateus" because of our freedoms. Bush has been criticized for describing the warin terms that are too simplistic. But if the president really believes it'sall about hate, why doesn't he take a stand against hate by supporting thefederal hate-crimes bill? Wouldn't that set a good example for the othercountries that are struggling with religious and ethnic-based hatreds?Wouldn't it set the right tone for the "war on terror"?
Frankly, I'm sick of hearing American politicians refer to the "war onterror." Terrorism is a tactic. Referring to the current world conflict as a"war on terror" is like referring to World War II as the "war on theblitzkrieg" or the "war on tanks." We should call it what it is: a waragainst Islamic extremism. Our enemies are people - religious fanatics - nota tactic. One could, of course, argue that religion is simply a veil tocover up what is essentially a dog-eat-dog battle over control of land andenergy resources. But clearly, religious-based hatreds are re-emergingthroughout the world, and it is those ancient hatreds that are pittinggroups of people against each other.
more....
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-13/view/columns/4266.cfm
Separating state from the church
Keeping anti-gay Ayatollah Huckabee out of the White House is a must
By STEVE CHARING
Thursday, December 13, 2007
THIS COUNTRY, AND specifically the LGBT community, does not need anAyatollah sitting in the White House. And that's exactly what we would getif the current flavor-of-the-week, Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansasshould, in comeback fashion, meander his way through the primaries to winthe GOP nomination and then upset the Democratic candidate in November of2008.
We have already experienced a devastating seven years with George W. Bush atthe helm, who some have dubbed the "minister-in-chief." While the federalgovernment is technically secular, this president has seen to it thatadministration policies and personnel meet with the approval of theChristian conservatives who, in no small way, helped to elect him twice andembraced him as one of their own.
You can point to the disproportionate number of Department of Justiceemployees who have graduated from none other than Rev. Pat Robertson's lawschool as an example of this influence. Then there was the inappropriateWhite House-backed intervention in a personal family matter in the TerriSchiavo case. Add that to the successful appointments of two veryconservative Supreme Court justices as well as other anti-gay administrationappointees who were the darlings of the religious right.
more....
=
To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Saying that we need to respect people if we expect them to respectthemselves, Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball and NBC's ChrisMatthews Show has, in response to the Larry Craig story, called for thelegalization of marriage for gay couples. On his show Thursday, Matthewsshared with his audience a humorous clip starring George Clooney and BradPitt in a public bathroom. Matthews asked his audience, "Isn't it great howwe Americans can laugh at-even at the most desperate of human acts?""Withhis political acumen and experience, Chris is one the few mainstream mediafigures who really gets the Larry Craig story," said PageOneQ's Mike Rogers,who also writes and edits BlogActive.com. logActive.com is the site thatfirst reported on Craig's activities in a bathroom within Washington, DC'sUnion Station."It's not about gay sex, and Chris reminds his audience ofthat each time the story is referenced. Chris understands the differencebetween outing and reporting on hypocrisy," Rogers added
--
By Professor Arthur Leonard - New York Law School
Minnesota Appeals Court Approves Gestational Surrogacy Contract for Gay ManRuling unanimously on December 11, a panel of the Court of Appeals ofMinnesota held in P.G.M. v. J.M.A., 2007 WL 4304448 (not reported in N.W.2dfor no discernible reason), that a gay HIV-positive lawyer from New York wasentitled to enforcement of a gestational surrogacy agreement with his niece,a Minnesota resident. The bottom line is the court's conclusion, asarticulated by Judge Bruce D. Willis, that the child has only one legalparent, P.G.M., the father, who is entitled to custody (and, incidentally,to name the child).
The court's statement of the facts sounds like a synopsis summary for a soapopera -- and one that might not be believed as realistic by anybody.According to the court, P.G.M., the product of a large family, longed tohave a child who was genetically related to himself.
=
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/12/14/State/Crist_takes__live_and.shtml
Crist takes 'live and let live' approach to marriage vote
Gay marriage foes get ballot signatures.
By JACOB H. FRIES, Times Staff Writer
Published December 14, 2007
Floridians will almost certainly vote on a proposed constitutional amendmentbanning gay marriage in November, just don't expect the state's topRepublican to stump for it.
"It's not an issue that moves me," Gov. Charlie Crist told reportersThursday after sponsors of the initiative announced they had enoughsignatures to get it on the ballot.
Crist is listed as an endorser of the amendment on the Web site,www.florida4marriage.org, and while running for governor, he signed apetition in support of such a ban. But in February, he asked the GOP to stopdonating money to the effort and, Thursday, he said he'd rather focus onraising teacher pay, reducing property taxes and combatting climate change.
"I'm just a live and let live kind of guy," the governor said.
The campaign to put a same-sex marriage ban in Florida's Constitution begannearly three years ago. Thursday, proponents announced they had collectedthe 611,009 signatures required to put the issue before voters. Officially,the petition was still 253 signatures short, but election officials saidtheir data was updated once a day and might not reflect the actual total.
more . . . . .
=
National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Key Finding In HIV Spread
German AIDS researchers have discovered a protein common in semen thatboosts the infectious potential of HIV 100,000-fold - a remarkable findingthat may show how the virus can spread through sexual contact and alsosuggests new strategies to stop the epidemic.If scientists can find a drugor chemical that blocks these infection-promoting proteins, it would go along way toward development of a microbicide, a vaginal cream or gel thatcould protect women against AIDS.
--
Gay Condo-Hotel Opens in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Excited crowds turned out Saturday for the inauguration of The PrivateResidences at Casa Cupula, the world's first fractional condo-hoteldeveloped exclusively for the gay community. As noted last weekend by theNew York Times Travel section: Puerto Vallarta is "becoming gayer by theyear and [taking over] as Mexico's leading gay beach." Dozens of new andinnovative gay-owned businesses in the Romantic Zone are being enjoyed bytourists of all stripes. Now this innovative new project plants the seedsfor a new form of vacation home ownership, which resonates with many gayprofessionals.
--
Lesbian/Gay Disclosures As Unexpected Holiday Gifts
What should a family understand if a child or relative chooses to disclosetheir sexual orientation during the annual holiday gathering or decides toreveal more about his/her experiences as a gay or lesbian person? Ratherthan see the news as a 'bombshell,' perhaps they should view it as anunexpected gift, says psychologist Robert-Jay Green, PhD. Green is executivedirector of the Rockway Institute, a national center for science and LGBTpublic policy at the California School of Professional Psychology, a part ofAlliant International University in San Francisco.
--
Sex and Spirit Mix on Jesus Book Cover from Germany
A homoerotic Christ image on the cover of a new German book is sparkinginternational debate as Christmas approaches.The provocative cover artappears on the newly released German translation of "Jesus in Love," a novelabout a queer Christ by American author Kittredge Cherry.
--
Anti-Bias Protection For Gay Workers Lacks Traction
A call came in to Equality Virginia , a statewide gay advocacy group, from aHampton man a few months ago . He was being harassed by his co-workers, hesaid. They mocked him by lisping and waving limp wrists. They shut down hiscomputer when he left.He complained to the people in Human Resources , butthey told him there was nothing they could do: It's not illegal todiscriminate against gay people in the workplace in Virginia.
--
LGBTs Eye Newsom Staff Picks - San Francisco
Is there room for LGBT staffers in Mayor Gavin Newsom's second term? It is aquestion gaining more prominence as news leaks out on just who is in and whois out in the mayor's administration. Reports last week that Newsom hadasked Susan Leal, head of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission andthe city's highest ranking lesbian, to resign stunned many LGBT politicosand brought to the forefront concerns that LGBT voices within Newsom'sadministration are being diminished.
--
LGBT Leaders Question Dems on Hate Crimes
The decision last week by U.S. House and Senate leaders to remove a hatecrimes amendment from a Department of Defense authorization bill currentlybefore Congress prompted strong criticism from various quarters ranging fromthe New York Times editorial board, which harshly criticized House SpeakerNancy Pelosi for the move, to LGBT groups including the National Gay andLesbian Task Force, which pronounced itself "deeply angered anddisappointed."
--
Youth Group Returns to Roots
Gay Associated Youth recently opened its doors in Palm Desert afterescalating rental costs forced the organization to relocate from CathedralCity.
"We always knew that we'd move back to Palm Desert," said Greg Wetmore,executive director.
--
Queer, Isn't It?: Gay Men Have Large Big Toes
"I've noticed that all the gay men I've known have had large big toes."
I was sitting with friends in a Dallas restaurant, engaged in one of ourfavorite activities: making up stories about the other patrons. This led toa disagreement about the sexual orientation of a man sitting at the bar,which led to a conversation about how you could tell if a man was gay.
--
The Senior Situation: Part Three of Three
If it's true that LGBT seniors are being forced back into the closet atretirement communities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes acrossthe U.S., the folks running those establishments obviously have anobligation to address the problem. But what about those of us in the LGBTcommunity who aren't over the age of 65-do we have an obligation as well?Those in the know say the answer is "yes," though don't take that to meanthey're wagging their fingers at us.
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST December 14, 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.
=
NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/nyregion/14nyc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
So Many Presidential Debates, So Little Concern Shown for Cities
By CLYDE HABERMAN
December 14, 2007
NYC
In mid-October, I noted that the Democrats and Republicans had held 17 or sopresidential debates (the number can vary, depending on who's counting), butthat with all the gabbing they managed not to focus on America's cities.
Well, two months have passed, and that observation is no longer valid.
The candidates have now held 25 or so debates without talking about urbanissues.
Someone ought to alert the Guinness people. For sidestepping matters ofdirect concern to more than 80 percent of the population - people living inmetropolitan areas - this has to be some kind of record.
The grievance is hardly new. But it is glaring this time around because ofthe large number of candidates who you'd think would have cities and theirsuburbs high in their minds. Look at them: former mayors of New York Cityand Cleveland, a senator from New York, a former community organizer out ofChicago.
more . . . . .
=
WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400512_pf.html
Vatican defends duty to evangelize and accept converts
By Philip Pullella
Reuters
Friday, December 14, 2007; 8:22 AM
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church on Friday defended its"right and duty" to spread its message to non-believers and to welcomeconverts, particularly from other Christian churches.
A document from the Vatican's doctrinal department also rejected chargesfrom some quarters that spreading the faith and receiving converts amountedto proselytism, or seeking new members aggressively or through coercion.
The document comes after the Russian Orthodox Church accused Catholics oftrying to poach souls in the former Soviet Union and as a growing number ofAnglicans are converting to Catholicism following deep divisions in theirown Church.
The 19-page "Note on Some Aspects of Evangelisation," was written by theVatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedictheaded until his election as pontiff in 2005.
Evangelisation, the document said, was "an inalienable right and duty, anexpression of religious liberty ...," adding that the right to share one'sown faith with others is not respected in some countries.
more . . . . .
=
MiamiHerald.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/v-print/story/344633.html
Archbishop: No change over gay bishop
By ROBERT BARR
Posted on Fri, Dec. 14, 2007
The archbishop of Canterbury said Friday he will not reverse his decision toexclude a gay U.S. bishop from joining other bishops at a global Anglicangathering next year.
Archbishop Rowan Williams' office said he had also not changed his mindabout refusing an invitation to Martyn Minns, a traditionalist U.S. priestwho was consecrated as a bishop in the Church of Nigeria.
Williams said he has also recruited professional help in trying to reachgreater understanding between the U.S. Episcopal Church and its critics bothat home and abroad. Williams' office was unable to say immediately whetherany invitations had been extended or accepted.
In his Advent message to leaders of Anglican national churches, Williamssaid Episcopal Church pledges of a moratorium on confirming any more gaybishops or on approving blessings of homosexual unions have not beenaccepted by all parts of the communion.
"Given the differences in response to the Episcopal Church revealed in theresponses of the primates, we simply cannot pretend that there is now aready-made consensus on the future of relationships between (the EpiscopalChurch) and other provinces," Williams said. "Much work remains to be done."
more . . . . .
=
Salon
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/12/14/dem_debate/index_np.html
The last Iowa debate (Thank God!)
The Democrats have their final pre-caucus debate, and it's just as dull asWednesday's Republican dud. When Mike Huckabee tells Elizabeth Edwards adebate is boring, it's boring.
By Walter Shapiro
Dec. 14, 2007
When Elizabeth Edwards arrived at the private jet terminal here Thursdaymorning for the last Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, she raninto Mike Huckabee waiting to take off after having survived Wednesday'sRepublican face-off. Chatting with the Iowa Republican front-runner, sheasked what to expect, since both debates, sponsored by the Des MoinesRegister, had the same moderator. Huckabee responded with an impolitic buton-target description: "It's pretty boring."
With America locked in pit-bull political polarization, there are few topicsthat can unite the parties other than a shared agreement that both DesMoines Register debates were duds. The mid-afternoon Democratic main eventwas less a clash of issues and images than an opportunity for all sixcandidates to recite their favorite lines from their stump speeches and TVcommercials. It was déjà vu time even though the caucuses are still threeweeks away.
To anyone who has been listening -- and that group decidedly includes IowaDemocrats who plan to attend the caucuses -- there was little that was new.Hillary Clinton, practicing the politics of empathy, talked about how Iowans"feel as though they're standing on a trap door. They are one pink slip, onemissed mortgage payment, one medical diagnosis away from falling through."Barack Obama called the struggle to halt global warming "a moralimperative." And John Edwards brandished a disarming smile as he railedagainst "corporate power and greed."
A long-term ripple effect from a debate can be significant even if thereporters huddled in the press room are baffled about what should be theheadline of the day. But monitoring Thursday's 5 p.m. local newscasts on WOI(ABC) and KCCI (CBS) failed to reveal a sound-bite consensus. The onlymemorable line shown at the top of the hour on either station was BillRichardson's paean to the first caucus state: "What I like best about Iowansis that you like underdogs. And you like to shake things up. You don't likethe national media and the smarty-pants set telling you who's going to bethe next president."
Audible on the tape of Richardson's "underdog" crack was Clinton's signaturelaugh. But judging from the news coverage of her own campaign on WOI,Clinton may have little to laugh about. The debate recap segued into an ABCreport about divisions in the Clinton camp over whether to become moreaggressive toward Obama and Edwards. This was followed by the news that BillShaheen, the husband of former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, resignedas national co-chair of the Clinton campaign after suggesting that Obama'syouthful cocaine usage would be a political liability if he were thenominee.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/world/15climate.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
At Bali Climate Conference, Signs of Compromise
By THOMAS FULLER and GRAHAM BOWLEY
December 15, 2007
NUSA DUA, Indonesia - Countries gathering at a United Nations conference onclimate change looked to be heading for a landmark agreement Friday on adeadline for negotiations to reduce the world's greenhouse gases, officialssaid.
The tenor of the conference improved markedly from Thursday when, amidgrowing frustration with the United States, European nations threatened toboycott separate talks proposed by the Bush administration in Hawaii nextmonth.
Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change, which is playing host to the meeting, and whoon Thursday raised serious concerns about the slow pace of the talks, saidthat countries were "on the brink of agreement."
"It's not actually all that much that is outstanding," he said. "People areworking very hard to resolve outstanding issues."
The countries seemed to be nudging toward a deal on the plan for furthernegotiations over the next two years, although a final agreement was notexpected until later Friday or in the early hours of Saturday morning.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14fri1.html?ref=opinion
Editorial: Notes From the Global War on Terror
December 14, 2007
During the presidential campaign, candidates from both parties will warn ofthe risk of another terrorist attack on this country. Americans shouldinsist that they also explain how they will repair the damage President Bushhas done to America's intelligence-gathering capabilities in the name offighting terrorism.
Congress certainly has not done the job. For six years, it stood by mutelyor actively approved as President Bush's team cooked the books to justifywar, drew the nation's electronic spies into illegal wiretapping and turnedintelligence agents and uniformed soldiers into torturers at outlaw prisons.
Now, with the opposition party in control on Capitol Hill, lawmakers have achance to start setting right some wrongs in these areas. But there aredisturbing signs that they will once again fail to do what is needed.
EAVESDROPPING After the disclosure that Mr. Bush had authorized the NationalSecurity Agency to eavesdrop on Americans' international phone calls ande-mail messages without a court warrant, Congress has been struggling towrite a law that does three important things: force the president to obeythe 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA; preserve the powerof judges to approve and monitor surveillance of Americans; and update FISAto keep pace with technology. Last summer, Congress gave Mr. Bush a billthat had the needed updates but made it easier to spy on Americans.
That law expires in February, and the House has passed a bill that updatesFISA while doing a great deal to ensure real judicial and Congressionaloversight of any eavesdropping. The Senate Judiciary Committee also wrote abill that does those things - with a sensible two-year expiration date.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14krugman.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Columnist: After the Money's Gone
By PAUL KRUGMAN
December 14, 2007
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced plans to lend $40 billion tobanks. By my count, it's the fourth high-profile attempt to rescue thefinancial system since things started falling apart about five months ago.Maybe this one will do the trick, but I wouldn't count on it.
In past financial crises - the stock market crash of 1987, the aftermath ofRussia's default in 1998 - the Fed has been able to wave its magic wand andmake market turmoil disappear. But this time the magic isn't working.
Why not? Because the problem with the markets isn't just a lack ofliquidity - there's also a fundamental problem of solvency.
Let me explain the difference with a hypothetical example.
Suppose that there's a nasty rumor about the First Bank of Pottersville:people say that the bank made a huge loan to the president's brother-in-law,who squandered the money on a failed business venture.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14fri2.html?ref=opinion
Editorial: Say It Ain't So, Roger, and Barry, and . . .
December 14, 2007
Yesterday's report from the former Senator George Mitchell makes itinescapably clear that major league baseball is permeated with awin-at-all-costs drug culture that has spread far beyond a handful ofall-star performers. Most everyone knew that Barry Bonds, holder of thecareer home-run record, was being tried for perjury after denying that heused steroids. But it is dismaying to find that dozens of other players werealso implicated in the report as users of performance-enhancing drugs,including the redoubtable Roger Clemens, who won the Cy Young award a recordseven times, and seven winners of baseball's most valuable player award.
Only the most die-hard devotee of superhuman records can fail to recognizethe damage done by steroids, human growth hormone and other drugs to thesport of baseball and to individual players. There is the health toll, asbodies break down after prolonged drug usage. There is the unfairness, aschemically enhanced athletes compete against those who rely solely on theirown abilities. There is the perversion of baseball heroes as role models,with the tragic result that hundreds of thousands of high school athleteshave been taking steroids, believing that they are the road to fame andriches.
And for legions of history-minded fans, there is the increasing meaninglessof baseball records. How does one compare the apparently drug-enhancedproduction of home runs by Mr. Bonds and Mark McGwire with the likelycleaner achievements of Babe Ruth, Roger Maris or Hank Aaron? Is Mr.Clemens, who denies the allegations, to be considered, not an iron man, buta sorry amalgam of chemicals?
There is plenty of blame to go around for this travesty. Commissioners andowners desperate to attract fans were far too willing to look the other way.Players intent on gaining an edge were all too eager to turn to chemicals.And their players' union adamantly opposed rigorous testing and penaltiesfor two decades.
Only in recent years, as the extent of the scandal began to emerge, hasbaseball adopted penalties that seem stronger than those in otherprofessional sports, though far weaker than the Olympic standards.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14fri3.html?ref=opinion
Editorial Observer: Campaigns Like These Make It Hard to Find a Reason toBelieve
By EDUARDO PORTER
December 14, 2007
As I watched Mitt Romney tie himself into a constitutional knot as he arguedthat religion should provide a guide for public policy but not be used tochoose a president, it made me suspect that all the candidates in the race -republican and Democratic - must believe that I lack some essential virtue.
I'm an atheist. When people trot out the well-worn John Adams quote, "OurConstitution was made only for a moral and religious people," I can't helpfeeling squeezed out of the polity. Mr. Romney was trying to soundecumenical. But speeches like his confirm the impossibility for an atheistto be elected to national office in this country. Any atheist with politicalambitions would have to drop the atheism first.
Atheists have solid reasons not to believe. We don't need a divine being toexplain the natural world, and don't know why we should trust claims abouthumankind's divine origins because they are in religious texts. Give "2001:A Space Odyssey" a thousand years and who knows what might happen.
Yet believing for tactical reasons has a long intellectual pedigree.
It is a variation of Pascal's wager - one of the most famous arguments inthe philosophy of religion. Articulated by the 17th-century Frenchphilosopher and gambler Blaise Pascal, it posits that rational people shouldbelieve in God even if it is impossible to prove whether He exists, simplybecause it is a better bet.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/holier-than-they/index.html?ref=opinion
Holier Than They
Tags: Christianity, politics and religion
December 13, 2007, 9:09 pm
For years, the left - and moderates - permitted the right to frame itself asthe sole custodian of "family values" in the United States. It was only whenvast numbers of American families woke up to the fact that they were notbeing valued at all - that, in fact, they were being fleeced - thatnon-conservatives shook themselves into a sentient state and began to talkabout replacing empty words with substantive promises about health care,child care and college aid.
Now a similar thing is happening with religion. We are, we've repeatedlybeen told in the past week, in the grip of a faith war. There has been a lotof interesting discussion of Mormonism and Evangelical Protestantism, aboutMitt Romney and Mike Huckabee outdoing themselves to appeal to Christianconservatives, and about John McCain's belief in a "Christian nation." Therehas been dismay about a political moment in which it seems a candidate mustpass a religious litmus test to gain national viability. There have beencomparisons to John F. Kennedy, talk of the Founding Fathers, of theseparation of church and state, and of how the Puritans' rather intolerantvision of religious freedom continues to trickle down to our day.
But one line of questioning, it seems to me, is missing. One point of viewis inexpressible, taboo. I am not referring to atheism - the one beliefsystem that clearly had no place in the vision of America Romney painted inhis much-anticipated speech on faith last week. Rather, I'm thinking of thenow entirely muted issue of whether the basic ethical foundations of Romney,Huckabee et al's political views truly are "Christian" - in thegood-neighborly sense of the word.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/us/nationalspecial3/14liberty.html?hp
U.S. Falters in Terror Case Against 7 in Miami
By KIRK SEMPLE
December 14, 2007
MIAMI - One of seven indigent men charged with plotting to blow up the SearsTower in Chicago as part of an Islamic jihad was acquitted on Thursday, anda mistrial was declared in the prosecution of the six others after the jurysaid it was hopelessly deadlocked.
The outcome was a significant defeat for the Bush administration, which haddescribed the case as a major crackdown on homegrown terrorists.
Officials had acknowledged that the defendants, known as the Liberty CitySeven for the depressed section of Miami where they frequently gathered in arundown warehouse, had never acquired weapons or equipment and had posed noimmediate threat. But, the officials said, the case underscored a need forpre-emptive terrorism prosecutions.
In acquitting Lyglenson Lemorin, 32, a Haitian immigrant who was cast by theprosecution as a junior foot soldier in the group, the jurors were compelledby evidence that suggested he had tried "to distance himself" from theothers, Jeffrey Agron, the jury foreman, said outside the courthouse.
Mr. Lemorin had split with the group's leader, Narseal Batiste, 33, andmoved to Atlanta months before the seven were arrested last year, accordingto The Associated Press.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/education/14recess.html
School Recess Gets Gentler, and the Adults Are Dismayed
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
December 14, 2007
MONTVILLE, Conn. - Children at the Oakdale School here in southeasternConnecticut returned this fall to learn that their traditional recess hadgone the way of the peanut butter sandwich and the Gumby lunchbox.
No longer could they let off their youthful energy - pent up from hours oflong division - by cavorting outside for 22 minutes of unstructured play, orperhaps with a vigorous game of tag or dodgeball. Such games had beenvirtually banned by the principal, Mark S. Johnson, along with kickball,soccer and other "body-banging" activities, as he put it, where knees - andfeelings - might get bruised.
Instead, children are encouraged to jump rope, play with Hula Hoops orgently fling a Frisbee. Balls are practically controlled substances,parceled out under close supervision by playground monitors.
The traditional recess, a rite of grade school, is endangered not only inthe Oakdale School here in Montville, a town of 18,500. From Cheyenne, Wyo.,to Wyckoff, N.J., recess - long seen as a way for children to develop socialcompetence, recharge after long lessons, and resist obesity - is beingrethought and pared down.
In the face of this, a national campaign called Rescuing Recess, sponsoredby such organizations as the Cartoon Network, the National Parent TeacherAssociation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NationalEducation Association, has taken hold at many schools where parents andchildren fear that recess will go the way of the one-room schoolhouse.
more . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301457.html
Plan B For Pelosi And Reid
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, December 14, 2007; A39
Congressional Democrats need a Plan B.
Republicans chortle as they block Democratic initiatives -- and accuse themajority of being unable to govern. Rank-and-filers are furious that theirleaders can't end the Iraq war. President Bush sits back and vetoes at will.
Worse, Democrats are starting to blame each other, with those in the Housewondering why their Senate colleagues don't force Republicans to engage ingrueling, old-fashioned filibusters. Instead, the GOP kills bills by comingup with just 41 votes. Senators defend themselves by saying that their Housecolleagues don't understand how the august "upper" chamber works these days.
If Bush's strategy is to drag Congress down to his low level of publicesteem, he is succeeding brilliantly. A Post-ABC News poll released thisweek found that only 33 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling ofhis job -- and just 32 percent felt positively about Congress's performance.The only comfort for Democrats: The public dislikes Republicans in Congress(32 percent approval) even more than it dislikes congressional Democrats (40percent approval).
The Democrats' core problem is that they have been unable to place blame forgridlock where it largely belongs, on the Republican minority and thepresident.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301502.html
Code Huckabee
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, December 14, 2007; A39
Is the thought of Mike Huckabee as president just vaguely scary? Or have welearned enough about the man that we should be hair-on-fire alarmed at theprospect, still pretty remote, that he could actually win?
True, none of his opponents for the Republican nomination inspires muchconfidence. And it's amusing to see how thoroughly Huckabee vexes, confoundsand unnerves the Republican establishment. You could even argue that theparty deserves him. But the nation doesn't.
Rudy Giuliani, who has led in the national polls for most of the year, seemsto want to deal with the rest of the world the way he dealt with thesqueegee men and crackhead muggers who once plagued New York; potentially --and this is hard to believe -- he could lower our standing in the worldbeyond even the depths to which George W. Bush has brought us. But at leastGiuliani, when pressed, admits to harboring fairly cosmopolitan andenlightened views on domestic issues such as abortion, immigration and guncontrol.
Mitt Romney, who led in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire for months, hasdisavowed the moderate positions he took on those wedge issues when he wasgovernor of Massachusetts. And down at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson -- whofamously distrusted organized religion -- must have been whirring like aturbine at Romney's declaration that "freedom requires religion." But all ofRomney's pandering still hasn't managed to dispel the notion that, beneaththe rhetoric, he's probably a pretty reasonable guy.
Not so with Huckabee, who has defined himself, basically, as anti-reason.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301630.html
Crackup in Bolivia?
Evo Morales's attempt to push through a constitutional rewrite threatens tosplit the country.
Friday, December 14, 2007; A38
VENEZUELAN President Hugo Ch¿vez may have been forced to concede defeat ina constitutional referendum this month, but his eccentric project toaccumulate power lives on. Mr. Ch¿vez, who according to multipleindependent reports announced the vote against his "Bolivarian revolution"only under pressure from the Venezuelan military, has already said he willtry again. Meanwhile, two of his populist followers, in Bolivia and Ecuador,are pressing ahead with copycat constitutional coups. Ecuador's RafaelCorrea and Bolivia's Evo Morales both say their aim is to give more powerand resources to poor and indigenous people. As with Mr. Ch¿vez, thattranslates in practice into the aggregation of presidential powers and theremoval of current limits on their tenures in office.
The power grabs were breeding stiff resistance even before Venezuelansdemonstrated that Mr. Ch¿vez's "21st-century socialism" could be rebuffed.Now the focus has shifted to Bolivia -- where Mr. Morales has provoked aprovincial rebellion that some fear could lead to a civil war.
A former coca farmer who has allowed himself to be overtly tutored by Mr.Ch¿vez, Mr. Morales convened a constitutional convention 16 months ago,only to see it stall because of strong opposition to his radical proposalsto redistribute property and wealth and to potentially make himselfpresident-for-life. Last month, his followers responded by voting through aconstitutional draft at a meeting that excluded the opposition; the actionprovoked demonstrations in which at least three people died. On Sunday, thedocument was given final approval by another rump session that ignored alegal requirement that a two-thirds majority of the convention vote infavor.
Leaders of four of the six Bolivian provinces with elected oppositiongovernors responded by announcing a plan to declare autonomy tomorrow. Theresistance is centered in Santa Cruz, Bolivia's richest city and the centerof the country's energy industry. Having just presented the opposition witha fait accompli, Mr. Morales had the nerve to call the autonomy proposals"illegal, unconstitutional and separatist," and his interior ministerthreatened to use force against the provinces.
Mr. Morales would be better off absorbing the lesson just taught to Mr.Ch¿vez -- that Latin Americans aren't willing to give up their freedoms fora strongman's socialism. He has proposed holding a referendum on his owntenure in power next month; he should hold it, and put his divisiveconstitution on hold.
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301288.html?hpid=topnews
House Passes Bill to Ban CIA's Use of Harsh Interrogation Tactics
By Joby Warrick and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 14, 2007; A07
The House approved legislation yesterday that would bar the CIA from usingwaterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, drawing an immediateveto threat from the White House and setting up another political showdownover what constitutes torture.
The measure, approved by a largely party-line vote of 222 to 199, wouldrequire U.S. intelligence agencies to follow Army rules adopted last yearthat explicitly forbid waterboarding. It also would require interrogators toadhere to a strict interpretation of the Geneva Conventions on the treatmentof prisoners of war. The rules, required by Congress for all DefenseDepartment personnel, also ban sexual humiliation, "mock" executions and theuse of attack dogs, and prohibit the withholding of food and medical care.
The passage of the bill, which must still win Senate approval, fulfills apromise by House Democratic leaders to seek a ban on interrogation practicesthat have prompted the condemnation of human rights groups and manygovernments around the world. It comes amid a furor over the CIA'sannouncement a week ago that it destroyed in 2005 videotapes showing the useof harsh interrogation tactics on two terrorism suspects.
The White House vowed to veto the measure. Limiting the CIA to interrogationtechniques authorized by the Army Field Manual "would prevent the UnitedStates from conducting lawful interrogations of senior al Qaeda terroriststo obtain intelligence needed to protect Americans from attack," the Officeof Management and Budget said in a statement.
Key Republicans also opposed the measure. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), theHouse intelligence committee's ranking GOP member, said applying theunclassified Army Field Manual to all interrogations would give terroristgroups full knowledge of U.S. interrogation techniques.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400638.html?hpid=topnews
Bali Talks Yield Some Progress on Global Climate Pact
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007; 11:34 AM
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 14 -- International negotiators continued to meetaround the clock Friday, making some headway in their effort towardachieving a new global climate pact by the end of 2009, including agreementon a deal to protect the world's tropical forests.
In an evening press conference, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer toldreporters that delegates were "on the brink of agreement," havingestablished what developed countries must do to confront a warming earth.Negotiators were still exploring how to define the role of developingcountries in the upcoming climate negotiations, which will culminate inCopenhagen two years from now.
"People are working very hard to resolve outstanding issues," de Boer said."The only question is how long is it going to take to get, how long we willhave to stay up to wait for it."
While negotiators have not fully resolved whether industrialized countriesshould pledge to aim for a 25 to 40 percent emissions cut by 2020, accordingto participants in the talks, they made initial progress today byestablishing a process to help compensate poor nations for preserving theirtropical forests. Without divulging the details, European Union environmentminister Stavros Dimas said of the forest package, "It is a good balance,and is one of the substantial achievements of this conference."
While aides continued to finalize the text of the forest package throughoutthe day, officials said it would ensure the next climate agreement -- whichwill run between 2012 and 2016 -- would aim to reduce the greenhouse gasemissions that arise from the burning and logging of forests worldwide.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
Forwarded from Ron Mills
Lawmakers vote to hold Bolten and Rove in contempt
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to hold two top aides toPresident George W. Bush in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperatein its probe of fired federal prosecutors. On a largely party-line vote of11-7, the Democratic-led panel sent contempt citations against White HouseChief of Staff Josh Bolten and former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove to thefull Senate for consideration.
For Updates Check: http://RonMills.us
=
Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
As Controversy Heats Up, Hispanics Feel a Chill
The 2007 National Survey of Latinos finds that Hispanics in the U.S. arefeeling a range of negative effects from increased public attention andstepped up enforcement measures. Just over half of all Hispanic adults inthe U.S. worry that they, a family member or a close friend could bedeported, and nearly two-thirds say the failure of Congress to enact animmigration reform bill has made life more difficult for all Latinos.
--
With Feds Stuck, States Tackle Immigration
If you need any proof of how divided America is on immigration, look at itsstate capitols. State lawmakers have taken widely divergent approaches todealing with an influx of immigrants; some are rolling out welcome matswhile others are slamming shut their doors.
--
How the World Sees China
Rising anti-Americanism in recent years has given China a decided imageadvantage over the U.S. But Pew polling suggests that perceptions of China'sincreasing military and economic power could boost anti-Chinese sentiment inyears to come.
--
Health Problems, Priorities and Donors Worldwide
The new Kaiser/Pew Global Health Survey compares the health priorities ofpeople in developing nations with those of their governments and theinternational organizations that work in global health.
--
Oprah Boosts Obama's Visibility; Republicans Applaud Romney Speech
This week's News Interest Index survey finds that awareness of Oprah Winfrey's
support for Barack Obama is equally high across parties, genders and racialgroups. The leading Republican candidates continue to lag behind Obama andClinton in public visibility, while Mitt Romney's speech about his faith andpolitics draws mixed reviews overall but generally favorable views amongRepublicans and GOP-leaners.
--
South Korea's Coming Election Highlights Christian Community
The fact that the presidential frontrunner is a Protestant Church leaderhighlights the growing numbers, influence and religious intensity of SouthKorea's Christians. Some 30% of South Korea's population now identifies asChristian, and growth in South Korean Christianity has been fueled at leastin part by the rapid spread of pentecostal varieties of Protestantism.
--
83%: Support Public Christmas Displays
More than eight-in-ten Americans say that displays of Christmas symbols suchas nativity scenes and Christmas trees should be allowed on governmentproperty -- as long as they are part of a display that includes symbols ofother faiths and holiday traditions. Check back every weekday for anothernumber in the news.
=
NEW from DIRELAND, December 13
SHAME ON THE DES MOINES REGISTER!
Iowa's leading newspaper excluded both Congressman Dennis Kucinich andSenator Mike Gravel from the debate among the Democratic presidentialcandidates it sponsored today. I told them off -- to read my Letter to theEditor, and find out how you can protest too, click on:
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2007/12/shame-on-the-de.html
=
December 13, 2007
FADP CONTACT:
Mark Elliott: 727-215-9646
NEW JERSEY VOTES TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
Today, the New Jersey State Legislature voted to repeal that state'sDeath Penalty. "This vote is a victory for law enforcement officers,prosecutors, crime victim's advocates and taxpayers," states MarkElliott, Executive Director of Floridians for Alternatives to the DeathPenalty.
The overwhelming and bipartisan vote to repeal New Jersey's DeathPenalty came after study, discussion and deliberation - and afterhundreds and hundreds of hours of testimony from police, prosecutors,murder victims' family members and others.
Their testimony was heard by a special commission, appointed tothoroughly study the pros and cons of the Death Penalty - and torecommend what measures could be taken to fix the state's Death Penaltystatutes. The commission was made up of victims' rights advocates,county prosecutors and other members of law enforcement, a retired NewJersey Supreme Court justice and many others.
The study found that there was no "fix" for the Death Penalty. It foundthat it is a deeply flawed public policy. The commission further foundthat the Death Penalty squanders millions in tax dollars, does notserve a legitimate purpose such as crime deterrence, delays healing forthe loved ones of murder victims and, despite many safeguards, carriesno guarantee against our worst nightmare - the execution of an innocentperson.
After reviewing testimony of colossal costs (over $10 million a year),lack of deterrence, risk of executing innocents and detrimental effectson murder victims families, the New Jersey Legislature decided to shiftthe valuable resources spent pursuing executions over to programs forthe survivors of homicide victims and support for law enforcement.
more....
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400501.html
OPEC sees risks to economy, easing pressure on oil prices
Reuters
Friday, December 14, 2007; 6:46 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC said on Friday there were risks an economic slowdowncould worsen in 2008 and forecast that weaker growth and easing politicaltension could take the heat out of near-record oil prices.
OPEC, in its December Monthly Oil Market Report, estimated world economieswill grow by 4.8 percent next year, down from 5.2 percent in 2007, and saidthere were "considerable downside risks" to the outlook.
"Prospects for 2008 are increasingly clouded by the expected slowdown in theU.S. economy and other OECD regions, and by continued turbulence infinancial markets in the wake of the deepening subprime mortgage crisis,"the report said.
"The improving geopolitical situation and slowing economic outlook shouldhelp to further ease the pressure on the market."
OPEC also forecast world oil demand would grow by 1.3 million barrels perday next year, steady from the previous estimate and much lower than someprojections.
more . . . . .
=
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/14/some_voters_hear_body_language_of_candidates_clearly/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
Some voters hear body language of candidates clearly
Hints of intent, character can be communicated
By Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff | December 14, 2007
The talking heads gab about front-runners and wannabes, attacks made anddeflected, answers carefully parsed. But when Newbury Street hairstylistMario Russo watches the Democratic presidential debates, he looks atsomething different: body language.
Senator Hillary Clinton carries herself with an uncanny stillness, Russosaid: "She pretty much keeps the same stance all the way through. It'salmost as if she's set in clay." Senator Barack Obama, now rising in thepolls, "is much more animated and open . . . He gestures with his wholeupper body." It's a sign of personality and confidence, Russo said. "I thinkit influences people a great deal."
In Kingston, N.H., retired engineer Bob Morse said he has watched Republicandebates with a similar goal: finding subtle signals of character and intent.He thinks Rudy Giuliani seems to want the job of president, that FredThompson seems to want it handed to him, that Mitt Romney wants it so badlythat it's becoming a bit of a problem.
"I feel a little disconnected," Morse said of Romney's debate performances."I feel like I'm getting a political, well-thought-out, politically correctanswer or statement, rather than what's on his mind."
It goes to show what challenges the candidates have faced as they haveapproached each presidential debate: They've had to hone their messages,stake out their positions, but also come across as accessible and human. Andin this candidate-filled, schedule-challenged political season, they've hadto do it more often than usual. Between the two political parties,candidates have taken part in 22 debates this year, including this week'smidday debates in Johnston, Iowa, sponsored by the Des Moines Register - thefinal two debates before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.
more . . . . .
=
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/14/at_final_outing_a_reluctance_to_sling_mud/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
NEWS ANALYSIS: At final outing, a reluctance to sling mud
By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Staff | December 14, 2007
WASHINGTON - Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, who rose to the top of theIowa caucus polls by preaching change and uplift, dialed himself down a bityesterday in the last debate before the voting starts on Jan. 3.
Obama was thoughtful and presidential, offering wonky details on the "capand trade" plan to fight carbon emissions, the potential savings to Medicareof bringing obesity back to 1980 levels, and how many US corporationsregister in the Cayman Islands to avoid taxes.
He also struck a judicious tone, warning that parents should play a role ineducation by turning off TVs and telling their children to "put down thevideo game"; he later attested to his colleague Joe Biden's commitment tocivil rights after Biden got hit with a question about some insensitivestatements about race.
Obama has never been a particularly vivid presence in the debates, butyesterday he was boring with a purpose: convincing voters he was no flash inthe pan, no meteor headed for a crash landing. His sober, seriousperformance did him no harm.
His main rival, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, had a complementaryagenda, seeking to add a little more inspiration and uplift to her campaign,which has been sagging in some polls.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301501.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
An Overdose of Public Piety
By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, December 14, 2007; A39
Mitt Romney declares, "Freedom and religion endure together, or perishalone." Barack Obama opens his speech at his South Carolina Oprah rally with"Giving all praise and honor to God. Look at the day that the Lord hasmade." Mike Huckabee explains his surge in the polls thus: "There's only oneexplanation for it, and it's not a human one. It's the same power thathelped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a crowd of 5,000people."
This campaign is knee-deep in religion, and it's only going to get worse.I'd thought that the limits of professed public piety had already beenachieved during the Republican CNN-YouTube debate when some squirrellylooking guy held up a Bible and asked, "Do you believe every word of thisbook?" -- and not one candidate dared reply: None of your damn business.
Instead, Giuliani, Romney and Huckabee bent a knee and tried appeasementwith various interpretations of scriptural literalism. The right answer, theonly answer, is that the very question is offensive. The Constitutionprohibits any religious test for office. And while that proscribes onlygovernment action, the law is also meant to be a teacher. In the same waythat civil rights laws established not just the legal but also the moralnorm that one simply does not discriminate on the basis of race -- changingthe practice of one generation and the consciousness of the next -- so theconstitutional injunction against religious tests is meant to make citizensunderstand that such tests are profoundly un-American.
Now, there's nothing wrong with having a spirited debate on the place ofreligion in politics. But the candidates are confusing two arguments. Thefirst, which conservatives are winning, is defending the legitimacy ofreligion in the public square. The second, which conservatives are bound tolose, is proclaiming the privileged status of religion in political life.
A certain kind of liberal argues that having a religious underpinning forany public policy is disqualifying because it is an imposition of religionon others. Thus, if your opposition to embryonic stem cell research comesfrom a religious belief in the ensoulment of life at conception, you'resomehow violating the separation of church and state by making other peoplebend to your religion.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301926.html
Labor Board Under Attack
Democratic Critics Allege Anti-Worker Stance
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007; D01
Democrats escalated attacks on the National Labor Relations Board at acongressional hearing yesterday, accusing the panel's Republican majority ofturning the nation's labor laws "inside out" by making it harder for workersto form unions.
In an unusual public airing of ideological differences, NLRB Chairman RobertJ. Battista, a Republican appointed by President Bush, sparred withDemocrats, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and fellowboard member Wilma B. Liebman, over interpretation of the nation's NewDeal-era labor laws.
Battista was challenged to defend a string of decisions that have favoredmanagement. The rulings cover technical procedures that unions use toorganize, as well as remedies, such as back pay, that the board can orderwhen companies illegally try to stop union campaigns.
"Our critics' prognostications that the NLRB system is broken and has becomea tool of corporate interest are simply false," Battista said in preparedremarks. "Unions are winning a majority of representation elections." Underquestioning, Battista said the board was focusing on what employees want,not on the demands of unions or companies.
Labor unions have become increasingly frustrated with the NLRB's rulingssince Bush took office. They say the board, made up of three Republicans andtwo Democrats, has removed large categories of workers from coverage by theNational Labor Relations Act, including nurses, teaching assistants atprivate colleges and temporary employment agency employees. They say theboard has made it more difficult for workers to win back pay or otherremedies when employers unlawfully try to block organizing drives.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301733.html?hpid=topnews
Hispanics Feeling Heat Of Immigration Debate
Survey Finds Majority Feel Vulnerable
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007; A22
Regardless of their immigration status, Hispanics across the United Statesare feeling anxious and discriminated against amid the intensifying debateover immigration and stepped-up enforcement by authorities, according to astudy of the nation's largest minority group released yesterday.
More than half of the 2,003 Hispanic adults surveyed by the nonpartisan PewHispanic Center said they worry that they or a close friend or family membermight be deported, and nearly two-thirds believed that Congress's failure topass a bill restructuring immigration law this year has made life moredifficult for all Latinos.
"What we have here is a portrait of a population that is feeling vulnerablein the current political and policy climate," said Paul Taylor, actingdirector of the Pew Hispanic Center. "And what's interesting is that it'snot just true of the foreign born but of the native born, including manypeople who have been here for generations."
Though the federal government has substantially increased enforcementactions such as workplace raids over the past five years, the numbersarrested through such actions remain infinitesimal compared to the almost 8million undocumented immigrants in the workforce.
Nonetheless, noted Taylor, "as part of tried and true enforcement policy, anumber of raids in the last year or so have been very high profile. . . . Soin some ways, the actual numbers [arrested] may underestimate the changedreality as it is perceived by people in the Latino community."
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/nyregion/14nyc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
So Many Presidential Debates, So Little Concern Shown for Cities
By CLYDE HABERMAN
December 14, 2007
NYC
In mid-October, I noted that the Democrats and Republicans had held 17 or sopresidential debates (the number can vary, depending on who's counting), butthat with all the gabbing they managed not to focus on America's cities.
Well, two months have passed, and that observation is no longer valid.
The candidates have now held 25 or so debates without talking about urbanissues.
Someone ought to alert the Guinness people. For sidestepping matters ofdirect concern to more than 80 percent of the population - people living inmetropolitan areas - this has to be some kind of record.
The grievance is hardly new. But it is glaring this time around because ofthe large number of candidates who you'd think would have cities and theirsuburbs high in their minds. Look at them: former mayors of New York Cityand Cleveland, a senator from New York, a former community organizer out ofChicago.
more . . . . .
=
WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400512_pf.html
Vatican defends duty to evangelize and accept converts
By Philip Pullella
Reuters
Friday, December 14, 2007; 8:22 AM
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church on Friday defended its"right and duty" to spread its message to non-believers and to welcomeconverts, particularly from other Christian churches.
A document from the Vatican's doctrinal department also rejected chargesfrom some quarters that spreading the faith and receiving converts amountedto proselytism, or seeking new members aggressively or through coercion.
The document comes after the Russian Orthodox Church accused Catholics oftrying to poach souls in the former Soviet Union and as a growing number ofAnglicans are converting to Catholicism following deep divisions in theirown Church.
The 19-page "Note on Some Aspects of Evangelisation," was written by theVatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedictheaded until his election as pontiff in 2005.
Evangelisation, the document said, was "an inalienable right and duty, anexpression of religious liberty ...," adding that the right to share one'sown faith with others is not respected in some countries.
more . . . . .
=
MiamiHerald.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/v-print/story/344633.html
Archbishop: No change over gay bishop
By ROBERT BARR
Posted on Fri, Dec. 14, 2007
The archbishop of Canterbury said Friday he will not reverse his decision toexclude a gay U.S. bishop from joining other bishops at a global Anglicangathering next year.
Archbishop Rowan Williams' office said he had also not changed his mindabout refusing an invitation to Martyn Minns, a traditionalist U.S. priestwho was consecrated as a bishop in the Church of Nigeria.
Williams said he has also recruited professional help in trying to reachgreater understanding between the U.S. Episcopal Church and its critics bothat home and abroad. Williams' office was unable to say immediately whetherany invitations had been extended or accepted.
In his Advent message to leaders of Anglican national churches, Williamssaid Episcopal Church pledges of a moratorium on confirming any more gaybishops or on approving blessings of homosexual unions have not beenaccepted by all parts of the communion.
"Given the differences in response to the Episcopal Church revealed in theresponses of the primates, we simply cannot pretend that there is now aready-made consensus on the future of relationships between (the EpiscopalChurch) and other provinces," Williams said. "Much work remains to be done."
more . . . . .
=
Salon
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/12/14/dem_debate/index_np.html
The last Iowa debate (Thank God!)
The Democrats have their final pre-caucus debate, and it's just as dull asWednesday's Republican dud. When Mike Huckabee tells Elizabeth Edwards adebate is boring, it's boring.
By Walter Shapiro
Dec. 14, 2007
When Elizabeth Edwards arrived at the private jet terminal here Thursdaymorning for the last Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, she raninto Mike Huckabee waiting to take off after having survived Wednesday'sRepublican face-off. Chatting with the Iowa Republican front-runner, sheasked what to expect, since both debates, sponsored by the Des MoinesRegister, had the same moderator. Huckabee responded with an impolitic buton-target description: "It's pretty boring."
With America locked in pit-bull political polarization, there are few topicsthat can unite the parties other than a shared agreement that both DesMoines Register debates were duds. The mid-afternoon Democratic main eventwas less a clash of issues and images than an opportunity for all sixcandidates to recite their favorite lines from their stump speeches and TVcommercials. It was déjà vu time even though the caucuses are still threeweeks away.
To anyone who has been listening -- and that group decidedly includes IowaDemocrats who plan to attend the caucuses -- there was little that was new.Hillary Clinton, practicing the politics of empathy, talked about how Iowans"feel as though they're standing on a trap door. They are one pink slip, onemissed mortgage payment, one medical diagnosis away from falling through."Barack Obama called the struggle to halt global warming "a moralimperative." And John Edwards brandished a disarming smile as he railedagainst "corporate power and greed."
A long-term ripple effect from a debate can be significant even if thereporters huddled in the press room are baffled about what should be theheadline of the day. But monitoring Thursday's 5 p.m. local newscasts on WOI(ABC) and KCCI (CBS) failed to reveal a sound-bite consensus. The onlymemorable line shown at the top of the hour on either station was BillRichardson's paean to the first caucus state: "What I like best about Iowansis that you like underdogs. And you like to shake things up. You don't likethe national media and the smarty-pants set telling you who's going to bethe next president."
Audible on the tape of Richardson's "underdog" crack was Clinton's signaturelaugh. But judging from the news coverage of her own campaign on WOI,Clinton may have little to laugh about. The debate recap segued into an ABCreport about divisions in the Clinton camp over whether to become moreaggressive toward Obama and Edwards. This was followed by the news that BillShaheen, the husband of former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, resignedas national co-chair of the Clinton campaign after suggesting that Obama'syouthful cocaine usage would be a political liability if he were thenominee.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/world/15climate.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
At Bali Climate Conference, Signs of Compromise
By THOMAS FULLER and GRAHAM BOWLEY
December 15, 2007
NUSA DUA, Indonesia - Countries gathering at a United Nations conference onclimate change looked to be heading for a landmark agreement Friday on adeadline for negotiations to reduce the world's greenhouse gases, officialssaid.
The tenor of the conference improved markedly from Thursday when, amidgrowing frustration with the United States, European nations threatened toboycott separate talks proposed by the Bush administration in Hawaii nextmonth.
Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change, which is playing host to the meeting, and whoon Thursday raised serious concerns about the slow pace of the talks, saidthat countries were "on the brink of agreement."
"It's not actually all that much that is outstanding," he said. "People areworking very hard to resolve outstanding issues."
The countries seemed to be nudging toward a deal on the plan for furthernegotiations over the next two years, although a final agreement was notexpected until later Friday or in the early hours of Saturday morning.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14fri1.html?ref=opinion
Editorial: Notes From the Global War on Terror
December 14, 2007
During the presidential campaign, candidates from both parties will warn ofthe risk of another terrorist attack on this country. Americans shouldinsist that they also explain how they will repair the damage President Bushhas done to America's intelligence-gathering capabilities in the name offighting terrorism.
Congress certainly has not done the job. For six years, it stood by mutelyor actively approved as President Bush's team cooked the books to justifywar, drew the nation's electronic spies into illegal wiretapping and turnedintelligence agents and uniformed soldiers into torturers at outlaw prisons.
Now, with the opposition party in control on Capitol Hill, lawmakers have achance to start setting right some wrongs in these areas. But there aredisturbing signs that they will once again fail to do what is needed.
EAVESDROPPING After the disclosure that Mr. Bush had authorized the NationalSecurity Agency to eavesdrop on Americans' international phone calls ande-mail messages without a court warrant, Congress has been struggling towrite a law that does three important things: force the president to obeythe 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA; preserve the powerof judges to approve and monitor surveillance of Americans; and update FISAto keep pace with technology. Last summer, Congress gave Mr. Bush a billthat had the needed updates but made it easier to spy on Americans.
That law expires in February, and the House has passed a bill that updatesFISA while doing a great deal to ensure real judicial and Congressionaloversight of any eavesdropping. The Senate Judiciary Committee also wrote abill that does those things - with a sensible two-year expiration date.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14krugman.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Columnist: After the Money's Gone
By PAUL KRUGMAN
December 14, 2007
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced plans to lend $40 billion tobanks. By my count, it's the fourth high-profile attempt to rescue thefinancial system since things started falling apart about five months ago.Maybe this one will do the trick, but I wouldn't count on it.
In past financial crises - the stock market crash of 1987, the aftermath ofRussia's default in 1998 - the Fed has been able to wave its magic wand andmake market turmoil disappear. But this time the magic isn't working.
Why not? Because the problem with the markets isn't just a lack ofliquidity - there's also a fundamental problem of solvency.
Let me explain the difference with a hypothetical example.
Suppose that there's a nasty rumor about the First Bank of Pottersville:people say that the bank made a huge loan to the president's brother-in-law,who squandered the money on a failed business venture.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14fri2.html?ref=opinion
Editorial: Say It Ain't So, Roger, and Barry, and . . .
December 14, 2007
Yesterday's report from the former Senator George Mitchell makes itinescapably clear that major league baseball is permeated with awin-at-all-costs drug culture that has spread far beyond a handful ofall-star performers. Most everyone knew that Barry Bonds, holder of thecareer home-run record, was being tried for perjury after denying that heused steroids. But it is dismaying to find that dozens of other players werealso implicated in the report as users of performance-enhancing drugs,including the redoubtable Roger Clemens, who won the Cy Young award a recordseven times, and seven winners of baseball's most valuable player award.
Only the most die-hard devotee of superhuman records can fail to recognizethe damage done by steroids, human growth hormone and other drugs to thesport of baseball and to individual players. There is the health toll, asbodies break down after prolonged drug usage. There is the unfairness, aschemically enhanced athletes compete against those who rely solely on theirown abilities. There is the perversion of baseball heroes as role models,with the tragic result that hundreds of thousands of high school athleteshave been taking steroids, believing that they are the road to fame andriches.
And for legions of history-minded fans, there is the increasing meaninglessof baseball records. How does one compare the apparently drug-enhancedproduction of home runs by Mr. Bonds and Mark McGwire with the likelycleaner achievements of Babe Ruth, Roger Maris or Hank Aaron? Is Mr.Clemens, who denies the allegations, to be considered, not an iron man, buta sorry amalgam of chemicals?
There is plenty of blame to go around for this travesty. Commissioners andowners desperate to attract fans were far too willing to look the other way.Players intent on gaining an edge were all too eager to turn to chemicals.And their players' union adamantly opposed rigorous testing and penaltiesfor two decades.
Only in recent years, as the extent of the scandal began to emerge, hasbaseball adopted penalties that seem stronger than those in otherprofessional sports, though far weaker than the Olympic standards.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/opinion/14fri3.html?ref=opinion
Editorial Observer: Campaigns Like These Make It Hard to Find a Reason toBelieve
By EDUARDO PORTER
December 14, 2007
As I watched Mitt Romney tie himself into a constitutional knot as he arguedthat religion should provide a guide for public policy but not be used tochoose a president, it made me suspect that all the candidates in the race -republican and Democratic - must believe that I lack some essential virtue.
I'm an atheist. When people trot out the well-worn John Adams quote, "OurConstitution was made only for a moral and religious people," I can't helpfeeling squeezed out of the polity. Mr. Romney was trying to soundecumenical. But speeches like his confirm the impossibility for an atheistto be elected to national office in this country. Any atheist with politicalambitions would have to drop the atheism first.
Atheists have solid reasons not to believe. We don't need a divine being toexplain the natural world, and don't know why we should trust claims abouthumankind's divine origins because they are in religious texts. Give "2001:A Space Odyssey" a thousand years and who knows what might happen.
Yet believing for tactical reasons has a long intellectual pedigree.
It is a variation of Pascal's wager - one of the most famous arguments inthe philosophy of religion. Articulated by the 17th-century Frenchphilosopher and gambler Blaise Pascal, it posits that rational people shouldbelieve in God even if it is impossible to prove whether He exists, simplybecause it is a better bet.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/holier-than-they/index.html?ref=opinion
Holier Than They
Tags: Christianity, politics and religion
December 13, 2007, 9:09 pm
For years, the left - and moderates - permitted the right to frame itself asthe sole custodian of "family values" in the United States. It was only whenvast numbers of American families woke up to the fact that they were notbeing valued at all - that, in fact, they were being fleeced - thatnon-conservatives shook themselves into a sentient state and began to talkabout replacing empty words with substantive promises about health care,child care and college aid.
Now a similar thing is happening with religion. We are, we've repeatedlybeen told in the past week, in the grip of a faith war. There has been a lotof interesting discussion of Mormonism and Evangelical Protestantism, aboutMitt Romney and Mike Huckabee outdoing themselves to appeal to Christianconservatives, and about John McCain's belief in a "Christian nation." Therehas been dismay about a political moment in which it seems a candidate mustpass a religious litmus test to gain national viability. There have beencomparisons to John F. Kennedy, talk of the Founding Fathers, of theseparation of church and state, and of how the Puritans' rather intolerantvision of religious freedom continues to trickle down to our day.
But one line of questioning, it seems to me, is missing. One point of viewis inexpressible, taboo. I am not referring to atheism - the one beliefsystem that clearly had no place in the vision of America Romney painted inhis much-anticipated speech on faith last week. Rather, I'm thinking of thenow entirely muted issue of whether the basic ethical foundations of Romney,Huckabee et al's political views truly are "Christian" - in thegood-neighborly sense of the word.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/us/nationalspecial3/14liberty.html?hp
U.S. Falters in Terror Case Against 7 in Miami
By KIRK SEMPLE
December 14, 2007
MIAMI - One of seven indigent men charged with plotting to blow up the SearsTower in Chicago as part of an Islamic jihad was acquitted on Thursday, anda mistrial was declared in the prosecution of the six others after the jurysaid it was hopelessly deadlocked.
The outcome was a significant defeat for the Bush administration, which haddescribed the case as a major crackdown on homegrown terrorists.
Officials had acknowledged that the defendants, known as the Liberty CitySeven for the depressed section of Miami where they frequently gathered in arundown warehouse, had never acquired weapons or equipment and had posed noimmediate threat. But, the officials said, the case underscored a need forpre-emptive terrorism prosecutions.
In acquitting Lyglenson Lemorin, 32, a Haitian immigrant who was cast by theprosecution as a junior foot soldier in the group, the jurors were compelledby evidence that suggested he had tried "to distance himself" from theothers, Jeffrey Agron, the jury foreman, said outside the courthouse.
Mr. Lemorin had split with the group's leader, Narseal Batiste, 33, andmoved to Atlanta months before the seven were arrested last year, accordingto The Associated Press.
more . . . . .
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/education/14recess.html
School Recess Gets Gentler, and the Adults Are Dismayed
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
December 14, 2007
MONTVILLE, Conn. - Children at the Oakdale School here in southeasternConnecticut returned this fall to learn that their traditional recess hadgone the way of the peanut butter sandwich and the Gumby lunchbox.
No longer could they let off their youthful energy - pent up from hours oflong division - by cavorting outside for 22 minutes of unstructured play, orperhaps with a vigorous game of tag or dodgeball. Such games had beenvirtually banned by the principal, Mark S. Johnson, along with kickball,soccer and other "body-banging" activities, as he put it, where knees - andfeelings - might get bruised.
Instead, children are encouraged to jump rope, play with Hula Hoops orgently fling a Frisbee. Balls are practically controlled substances,parceled out under close supervision by playground monitors.
The traditional recess, a rite of grade school, is endangered not only inthe Oakdale School here in Montville, a town of 18,500. From Cheyenne, Wyo.,to Wyckoff, N.J., recess - long seen as a way for children to develop socialcompetence, recharge after long lessons, and resist obesity - is beingrethought and pared down.
In the face of this, a national campaign called Rescuing Recess, sponsoredby such organizations as the Cartoon Network, the National Parent TeacherAssociation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NationalEducation Association, has taken hold at many schools where parents andchildren fear that recess will go the way of the one-room schoolhouse.
more . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301457.html
Plan B For Pelosi And Reid
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, December 14, 2007; A39
Congressional Democrats need a Plan B.
Republicans chortle as they block Democratic initiatives -- and accuse themajority of being unable to govern. Rank-and-filers are furious that theirleaders can't end the Iraq war. President Bush sits back and vetoes at will.
Worse, Democrats are starting to blame each other, with those in the Housewondering why their Senate colleagues don't force Republicans to engage ingrueling, old-fashioned filibusters. Instead, the GOP kills bills by comingup with just 41 votes. Senators defend themselves by saying that their Housecolleagues don't understand how the august "upper" chamber works these days.
If Bush's strategy is to drag Congress down to his low level of publicesteem, he is succeeding brilliantly. A Post-ABC News poll released thisweek found that only 33 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling ofhis job -- and just 32 percent felt positively about Congress's performance.The only comfort for Democrats: The public dislikes Republicans in Congress(32 percent approval) even more than it dislikes congressional Democrats (40percent approval).
The Democrats' core problem is that they have been unable to place blame forgridlock where it largely belongs, on the Republican minority and thepresident.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301502.html
Code Huckabee
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, December 14, 2007; A39
Is the thought of Mike Huckabee as president just vaguely scary? Or have welearned enough about the man that we should be hair-on-fire alarmed at theprospect, still pretty remote, that he could actually win?
True, none of his opponents for the Republican nomination inspires muchconfidence. And it's amusing to see how thoroughly Huckabee vexes, confoundsand unnerves the Republican establishment. You could even argue that theparty deserves him. But the nation doesn't.
Rudy Giuliani, who has led in the national polls for most of the year, seemsto want to deal with the rest of the world the way he dealt with thesqueegee men and crackhead muggers who once plagued New York; potentially --and this is hard to believe -- he could lower our standing in the worldbeyond even the depths to which George W. Bush has brought us. But at leastGiuliani, when pressed, admits to harboring fairly cosmopolitan andenlightened views on domestic issues such as abortion, immigration and guncontrol.
Mitt Romney, who led in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire for months, hasdisavowed the moderate positions he took on those wedge issues when he wasgovernor of Massachusetts. And down at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson -- whofamously distrusted organized religion -- must have been whirring like aturbine at Romney's declaration that "freedom requires religion." But all ofRomney's pandering still hasn't managed to dispel the notion that, beneaththe rhetoric, he's probably a pretty reasonable guy.
Not so with Huckabee, who has defined himself, basically, as anti-reason.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301630.html
Crackup in Bolivia?
Evo Morales's attempt to push through a constitutional rewrite threatens tosplit the country.
Friday, December 14, 2007; A38
VENEZUELAN President Hugo Ch¿vez may have been forced to concede defeat ina constitutional referendum this month, but his eccentric project toaccumulate power lives on. Mr. Ch¿vez, who according to multipleindependent reports announced the vote against his "Bolivarian revolution"only under pressure from the Venezuelan military, has already said he willtry again. Meanwhile, two of his populist followers, in Bolivia and Ecuador,are pressing ahead with copycat constitutional coups. Ecuador's RafaelCorrea and Bolivia's Evo Morales both say their aim is to give more powerand resources to poor and indigenous people. As with Mr. Ch¿vez, thattranslates in practice into the aggregation of presidential powers and theremoval of current limits on their tenures in office.
The power grabs were breeding stiff resistance even before Venezuelansdemonstrated that Mr. Ch¿vez's "21st-century socialism" could be rebuffed.Now the focus has shifted to Bolivia -- where Mr. Morales has provoked aprovincial rebellion that some fear could lead to a civil war.
A former coca farmer who has allowed himself to be overtly tutored by Mr.Ch¿vez, Mr. Morales convened a constitutional convention 16 months ago,only to see it stall because of strong opposition to his radical proposalsto redistribute property and wealth and to potentially make himselfpresident-for-life. Last month, his followers responded by voting through aconstitutional draft at a meeting that excluded the opposition; the actionprovoked demonstrations in which at least three people died. On Sunday, thedocument was given final approval by another rump session that ignored alegal requirement that a two-thirds majority of the convention vote infavor.
Leaders of four of the six Bolivian provinces with elected oppositiongovernors responded by announcing a plan to declare autonomy tomorrow. Theresistance is centered in Santa Cruz, Bolivia's richest city and the centerof the country's energy industry. Having just presented the opposition witha fait accompli, Mr. Morales had the nerve to call the autonomy proposals"illegal, unconstitutional and separatist," and his interior ministerthreatened to use force against the provinces.
Mr. Morales would be better off absorbing the lesson just taught to Mr.Ch¿vez -- that Latin Americans aren't willing to give up their freedoms fora strongman's socialism. He has proposed holding a referendum on his owntenure in power next month; he should hold it, and put his divisiveconstitution on hold.
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301288.html?hpid=topnews
House Passes Bill to Ban CIA's Use of Harsh Interrogation Tactics
By Joby Warrick and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 14, 2007; A07
The House approved legislation yesterday that would bar the CIA from usingwaterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, drawing an immediateveto threat from the White House and setting up another political showdownover what constitutes torture.
The measure, approved by a largely party-line vote of 222 to 199, wouldrequire U.S. intelligence agencies to follow Army rules adopted last yearthat explicitly forbid waterboarding. It also would require interrogators toadhere to a strict interpretation of the Geneva Conventions on the treatmentof prisoners of war. The rules, required by Congress for all DefenseDepartment personnel, also ban sexual humiliation, "mock" executions and theuse of attack dogs, and prohibit the withholding of food and medical care.
The passage of the bill, which must still win Senate approval, fulfills apromise by House Democratic leaders to seek a ban on interrogation practicesthat have prompted the condemnation of human rights groups and manygovernments around the world. It comes amid a furor over the CIA'sannouncement a week ago that it destroyed in 2005 videotapes showing the useof harsh interrogation tactics on two terrorism suspects.
The White House vowed to veto the measure. Limiting the CIA to interrogationtechniques authorized by the Army Field Manual "would prevent the UnitedStates from conducting lawful interrogations of senior al Qaeda terroriststo obtain intelligence needed to protect Americans from attack," the Officeof Management and Budget said in a statement.
Key Republicans also opposed the measure. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), theHouse intelligence committee's ranking GOP member, said applying theunclassified Army Field Manual to all interrogations would give terroristgroups full knowledge of U.S. interrogation techniques.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400638.html?hpid=topnews
Bali Talks Yield Some Progress on Global Climate Pact
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007; 11:34 AM
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 14 -- International negotiators continued to meetaround the clock Friday, making some headway in their effort towardachieving a new global climate pact by the end of 2009, including agreementon a deal to protect the world's tropical forests.
In an evening press conference, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer toldreporters that delegates were "on the brink of agreement," havingestablished what developed countries must do to confront a warming earth.Negotiators were still exploring how to define the role of developingcountries in the upcoming climate negotiations, which will culminate inCopenhagen two years from now.
"People are working very hard to resolve outstanding issues," de Boer said."The only question is how long is it going to take to get, how long we willhave to stay up to wait for it."
While negotiators have not fully resolved whether industrialized countriesshould pledge to aim for a 25 to 40 percent emissions cut by 2020, accordingto participants in the talks, they made initial progress today byestablishing a process to help compensate poor nations for preserving theirtropical forests. Without divulging the details, European Union environmentminister Stavros Dimas said of the forest package, "It is a good balance,and is one of the substantial achievements of this conference."
While aides continued to finalize the text of the forest package throughoutthe day, officials said it would ensure the next climate agreement -- whichwill run between 2012 and 2016 -- would aim to reduce the greenhouse gasemissions that arise from the burning and logging of forests worldwide.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
Forwarded from Ron Mills
Lawmakers vote to hold Bolten and Rove in contempt
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to hold two top aides toPresident George W. Bush in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperatein its probe of fired federal prosecutors. On a largely party-line vote of11-7, the Democratic-led panel sent contempt citations against White HouseChief of Staff Josh Bolten and former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove to thefull Senate for consideration.
For Updates Check: http://RonMills.us
=
Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
As Controversy Heats Up, Hispanics Feel a Chill
The 2007 National Survey of Latinos finds that Hispanics in the U.S. arefeeling a range of negative effects from increased public attention andstepped up enforcement measures. Just over half of all Hispanic adults inthe U.S. worry that they, a family member or a close friend could bedeported, and nearly two-thirds say the failure of Congress to enact animmigration reform bill has made life more difficult for all Latinos.
--
With Feds Stuck, States Tackle Immigration
If you need any proof of how divided America is on immigration, look at itsstate capitols. State lawmakers have taken widely divergent approaches todealing with an influx of immigrants; some are rolling out welcome matswhile others are slamming shut their doors.
--
How the World Sees China
Rising anti-Americanism in recent years has given China a decided imageadvantage over the U.S. But Pew polling suggests that perceptions of China'sincreasing military and economic power could boost anti-Chinese sentiment inyears to come.
--
Health Problems, Priorities and Donors Worldwide
The new Kaiser/Pew Global Health Survey compares the health priorities ofpeople in developing nations with those of their governments and theinternational organizations that work in global health.
--
Oprah Boosts Obama's Visibility; Republicans Applaud Romney Speech
This week's News Interest Index survey finds that awareness of Oprah Winfrey's
support for Barack Obama is equally high across parties, genders and racialgroups. The leading Republican candidates continue to lag behind Obama andClinton in public visibility, while Mitt Romney's speech about his faith andpolitics draws mixed reviews overall but generally favorable views amongRepublicans and GOP-leaners.
--
South Korea's Coming Election Highlights Christian Community
The fact that the presidential frontrunner is a Protestant Church leaderhighlights the growing numbers, influence and religious intensity of SouthKorea's Christians. Some 30% of South Korea's population now identifies asChristian, and growth in South Korean Christianity has been fueled at leastin part by the rapid spread of pentecostal varieties of Protestantism.
--
83%: Support Public Christmas Displays
More than eight-in-ten Americans say that displays of Christmas symbols suchas nativity scenes and Christmas trees should be allowed on governmentproperty -- as long as they are part of a display that includes symbols ofother faiths and holiday traditions. Check back every weekday for anothernumber in the news.
=
NEW from DIRELAND, December 13
SHAME ON THE DES MOINES REGISTER!
Iowa's leading newspaper excluded both Congressman Dennis Kucinich andSenator Mike Gravel from the debate among the Democratic presidentialcandidates it sponsored today. I told them off -- to read my Letter to theEditor, and find out how you can protest too, click on:
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2007/12/shame-on-the-de.html
=
December 13, 2007
FADP CONTACT:
Mark Elliott: 727-215-9646
NEW JERSEY VOTES TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
Today, the New Jersey State Legislature voted to repeal that state'sDeath Penalty. "This vote is a victory for law enforcement officers,prosecutors, crime victim's advocates and taxpayers," states MarkElliott, Executive Director of Floridians for Alternatives to the DeathPenalty.
The overwhelming and bipartisan vote to repeal New Jersey's DeathPenalty came after study, discussion and deliberation - and afterhundreds and hundreds of hours of testimony from police, prosecutors,murder victims' family members and others.
Their testimony was heard by a special commission, appointed tothoroughly study the pros and cons of the Death Penalty - and torecommend what measures could be taken to fix the state's Death Penaltystatutes. The commission was made up of victims' rights advocates,county prosecutors and other members of law enforcement, a retired NewJersey Supreme Court justice and many others.
The study found that there was no "fix" for the Death Penalty. It foundthat it is a deeply flawed public policy. The commission further foundthat the Death Penalty squanders millions in tax dollars, does notserve a legitimate purpose such as crime deterrence, delays healing forthe loved ones of murder victims and, despite many safeguards, carriesno guarantee against our worst nightmare - the execution of an innocentperson.
After reviewing testimony of colossal costs (over $10 million a year),lack of deterrence, risk of executing innocents and detrimental effectson murder victims families, the New Jersey Legislature decided to shiftthe valuable resources spent pursuing executions over to programs forthe survivors of homicide victims and support for law enforcement.
more....
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400501.html
OPEC sees risks to economy, easing pressure on oil prices
Reuters
Friday, December 14, 2007; 6:46 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC said on Friday there were risks an economic slowdowncould worsen in 2008 and forecast that weaker growth and easing politicaltension could take the heat out of near-record oil prices.
OPEC, in its December Monthly Oil Market Report, estimated world economieswill grow by 4.8 percent next year, down from 5.2 percent in 2007, and saidthere were "considerable downside risks" to the outlook.
"Prospects for 2008 are increasingly clouded by the expected slowdown in theU.S. economy and other OECD regions, and by continued turbulence infinancial markets in the wake of the deepening subprime mortgage crisis,"the report said.
"The improving geopolitical situation and slowing economic outlook shouldhelp to further ease the pressure on the market."
OPEC also forecast world oil demand would grow by 1.3 million barrels perday next year, steady from the previous estimate and much lower than someprojections.
more . . . . .
=
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/14/some_voters_hear_body_language_of_candidates_clearly/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
Some voters hear body language of candidates clearly
Hints of intent, character can be communicated
By Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff | December 14, 2007
The talking heads gab about front-runners and wannabes, attacks made anddeflected, answers carefully parsed. But when Newbury Street hairstylistMario Russo watches the Democratic presidential debates, he looks atsomething different: body language.
Senator Hillary Clinton carries herself with an uncanny stillness, Russosaid: "She pretty much keeps the same stance all the way through. It'salmost as if she's set in clay." Senator Barack Obama, now rising in thepolls, "is much more animated and open . . . He gestures with his wholeupper body." It's a sign of personality and confidence, Russo said. "I thinkit influences people a great deal."
In Kingston, N.H., retired engineer Bob Morse said he has watched Republicandebates with a similar goal: finding subtle signals of character and intent.He thinks Rudy Giuliani seems to want the job of president, that FredThompson seems to want it handed to him, that Mitt Romney wants it so badlythat it's becoming a bit of a problem.
"I feel a little disconnected," Morse said of Romney's debate performances."I feel like I'm getting a political, well-thought-out, politically correctanswer or statement, rather than what's on his mind."
It goes to show what challenges the candidates have faced as they haveapproached each presidential debate: They've had to hone their messages,stake out their positions, but also come across as accessible and human. Andin this candidate-filled, schedule-challenged political season, they've hadto do it more often than usual. Between the two political parties,candidates have taken part in 22 debates this year, including this week'smidday debates in Johnston, Iowa, sponsored by the Des Moines Register - thefinal two debates before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.
more . . . . .
=
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/14/at_final_outing_a_reluctance_to_sling_mud/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
NEWS ANALYSIS: At final outing, a reluctance to sling mud
By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Staff | December 14, 2007
WASHINGTON - Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, who rose to the top of theIowa caucus polls by preaching change and uplift, dialed himself down a bityesterday in the last debate before the voting starts on Jan. 3.
Obama was thoughtful and presidential, offering wonky details on the "capand trade" plan to fight carbon emissions, the potential savings to Medicareof bringing obesity back to 1980 levels, and how many US corporationsregister in the Cayman Islands to avoid taxes.
He also struck a judicious tone, warning that parents should play a role ineducation by turning off TVs and telling their children to "put down thevideo game"; he later attested to his colleague Joe Biden's commitment tocivil rights after Biden got hit with a question about some insensitivestatements about race.
Obama has never been a particularly vivid presence in the debates, butyesterday he was boring with a purpose: convincing voters he was no flash inthe pan, no meteor headed for a crash landing. His sober, seriousperformance did him no harm.
His main rival, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, had a complementaryagenda, seeking to add a little more inspiration and uplift to her campaign,which has been sagging in some polls.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301501.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
An Overdose of Public Piety
By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, December 14, 2007; A39
Mitt Romney declares, "Freedom and religion endure together, or perishalone." Barack Obama opens his speech at his South Carolina Oprah rally with"Giving all praise and honor to God. Look at the day that the Lord hasmade." Mike Huckabee explains his surge in the polls thus: "There's only oneexplanation for it, and it's not a human one. It's the same power thathelped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a crowd of 5,000people."
This campaign is knee-deep in religion, and it's only going to get worse.I'd thought that the limits of professed public piety had already beenachieved during the Republican CNN-YouTube debate when some squirrellylooking guy held up a Bible and asked, "Do you believe every word of thisbook?" -- and not one candidate dared reply: None of your damn business.
Instead, Giuliani, Romney and Huckabee bent a knee and tried appeasementwith various interpretations of scriptural literalism. The right answer, theonly answer, is that the very question is offensive. The Constitutionprohibits any religious test for office. And while that proscribes onlygovernment action, the law is also meant to be a teacher. In the same waythat civil rights laws established not just the legal but also the moralnorm that one simply does not discriminate on the basis of race -- changingthe practice of one generation and the consciousness of the next -- so theconstitutional injunction against religious tests is meant to make citizensunderstand that such tests are profoundly un-American.
Now, there's nothing wrong with having a spirited debate on the place ofreligion in politics. But the candidates are confusing two arguments. Thefirst, which conservatives are winning, is defending the legitimacy ofreligion in the public square. The second, which conservatives are bound tolose, is proclaiming the privileged status of religion in political life.
A certain kind of liberal argues that having a religious underpinning forany public policy is disqualifying because it is an imposition of religionon others. Thus, if your opposition to embryonic stem cell research comesfrom a religious belief in the ensoulment of life at conception, you'resomehow violating the separation of church and state by making other peoplebend to your religion.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301926.html
Labor Board Under Attack
Democratic Critics Allege Anti-Worker Stance
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007; D01
Democrats escalated attacks on the National Labor Relations Board at acongressional hearing yesterday, accusing the panel's Republican majority ofturning the nation's labor laws "inside out" by making it harder for workersto form unions.
In an unusual public airing of ideological differences, NLRB Chairman RobertJ. Battista, a Republican appointed by President Bush, sparred withDemocrats, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and fellowboard member Wilma B. Liebman, over interpretation of the nation's NewDeal-era labor laws.
Battista was challenged to defend a string of decisions that have favoredmanagement. The rulings cover technical procedures that unions use toorganize, as well as remedies, such as back pay, that the board can orderwhen companies illegally try to stop union campaigns.
"Our critics' prognostications that the NLRB system is broken and has becomea tool of corporate interest are simply false," Battista said in preparedremarks. "Unions are winning a majority of representation elections." Underquestioning, Battista said the board was focusing on what employees want,not on the demands of unions or companies.
Labor unions have become increasingly frustrated with the NLRB's rulingssince Bush took office. They say the board, made up of three Republicans andtwo Democrats, has removed large categories of workers from coverage by theNational Labor Relations Act, including nurses, teaching assistants atprivate colleges and temporary employment agency employees. They say theboard has made it more difficult for workers to win back pay or otherremedies when employers unlawfully try to block organizing drives.
more . . . . .
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301733.html?hpid=topnews
Hispanics Feeling Heat Of Immigration Debate
Survey Finds Majority Feel Vulnerable
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007; A22
Regardless of their immigration status, Hispanics across the United Statesare feeling anxious and discriminated against amid the intensifying debateover immigration and stepped-up enforcement by authorities, according to astudy of the nation's largest minority group released yesterday.
More than half of the 2,003 Hispanic adults surveyed by the nonpartisan PewHispanic Center said they worry that they or a close friend or family membermight be deported, and nearly two-thirds believed that Congress's failure topass a bill restructuring immigration law this year has made life moredifficult for all Latinos.
"What we have here is a portrait of a population that is feeling vulnerablein the current political and policy climate," said Paul Taylor, actingdirector of the Pew Hispanic Center. "And what's interesting is that it'snot just true of the foreign born but of the native born, including manypeople who have been here for generations."
Though the federal government has substantially increased enforcementactions such as workplace raids over the past five years, the numbersarrested through such actions remain infinitesimal compared to the almost 8million undocumented immigrants in the workforce.
Nonetheless, noted Taylor, "as part of tried and true enforcement policy, anumber of raids in the last year or so have been very high profile. . . . Soin some ways, the actual numbers [arrested] may underestimate the changedreality as it is perceived by people in the Latino community."
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)