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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/us/30military.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
A New Push to Roll Back 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
By THOM SHANKER and PATRICK HEALY
November 30, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 - Marking the 14th anniversary of legislation thatallowed gay men and lesbians to serve in the military but only if they kepttheir orientation secret, 28 retired generals and admirals plan to release aletter on Friday urging Congress to repeal the law.
"We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," the letter says. "Those of us signing this letter have dedicatedour lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever theywish."
The retired officers offer data showing that 65,000 gay men and lesbians nowserve in the American armed forces and that there are more than one milliongay veterans.
"They have served our nation honorably," the letter states.
The letter's release comes as rallies are scheduled on the Mall by groupscalling for a change in the law, which is known as "don't ask, don't tell"because it bars the military from investigating soldiers' sexual orientationif they keep it to themselves.
more . . . . .
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/us/politics/30repubs.html?pagewanted=print
Gay Question Puts CNN on Defensive
By JACQUES STEINBERG
November 30, 2007
The president of CNN said yesterday that the cable channel would redoubleits efforts to vet the campaign affiliations of questioners at open-forumdebates, after a retired brigadier general was permitted Wednesday to askthe Republican presidential candidates about gay men and lesbians in themilitary without CNN's knowing that he was listed on an advisory committeeof Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign.
"I think it's pretty obvious, in retrospect, our search should have turnedthis up," Jon Klein, the president of CNN's domestic networks, said in aninterview. "It's in the nature of doing something that hasn't been donebefore - you're going to try to anticipate everything, and you're going tofail at that.
"Had we known ahead of time," Mr. Klein added, "we would probably not haveused his question. It raised too many flags, in terms of motivation."
The retired general, Keith H. Kerr, was one of 5,000 people who had uploadedvideos of themselves asking potential debate questions to YouTube, whichorganized the debate with CNN. Several dozen questions were selected foruse.
Mr. Klein said that a small group of producers had conducted basic searcheson the questioners picked as finalists, including whether they had madedonations to any presidential campaigns. There was no evidence Mr. Kerr had,Mr. Klein said.
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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Oklahoma-Slaying.html?pagewanted=print
Oklahoma Man Charged in Gay Man's Death
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 29, 2007
Filed at 12:05 p.m. ET
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An alleged white supremacist has been charged withmurdering a gay man in what officials say may have been part of a ganginitiation.
Darrell Lynn Madden was charged on Wednesday with the October slaying ofSteven Domer, 62. Madden also is charged with murder in the death of hisfriend, Bradley Qualls.
Authorities allege Madden, 37, and Qualls, 26, were connected to the whitesupremacist group United Aryan Brotherhood. According to an affidavit filedwith the latest charge, Domer's death apparently was meant to be the violentact that earned a place in the gang for Qualls.
Domer, who friends said was gay, was last seen Oct. 26 near a car wash,according to court papers. A witness said Domer had been talking to two menwho matched the description of Madden and Qualls.
Domer's car was found the next day near Madden's home, according to anaffidavit from Oklahoma City police Detective Kenneth Whitebird. Madden'sroommate told police he heard Madden and another man describing an encounterwith someone who ''wouldn't even fight back,'' while a woman Madden haddated said she overheard him and Qualls talk about killing a man.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113000607_pf.html
Sanctuary From the Facts?
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 30, 2007; 7:57 AM
The Rudy-Romney dustup was great television as the two men went toe to toeover immigration. But I want to dwell for a moment on the substance.
Giuliani did talk about welcoming illegal immigrants when he was mayor.Whether New York was a sanctuary city or not, he recognized the need forillegal workers to be able to report crimes, and to educate the 70,000 kidsof illegal workers. Now, for obvious reasons, he tries to sound lesssympathetic to illegal immigration.
Mitt didn't do much to crack down on sanctuary cities in Massachusetts,either, and while he touts winning federal approval for his state police togo after illegals, that took effect two weeks before he left office.
Huckabee was asked how he could allow college scholarship for the kids ofillegal immigrants. He explained that the kids had to have been in theschool system all their lives, have A-plus averages and be applying forcitizenship. When Romney criticized that stance as a waste of taxpayers'money, Huck said: "In all due respect, we are a better country than topunish children for what their parents did."
Whatever your views on immigration, here's my point: Governors and mayorshave to deal with real-world problems. The 12 million illegal immigrants inthis country (some of whom were granted amnesty in 1986 by the saintedRonald Reagan, when the problem was much smaller) aren't going anywhere.They are so embedded in our society that some of them wound up taking careof Mitt Romney's lawn.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113000235_pf.html
Presidential Race Turns a Negative Page
By CHARLES BABINGTON
The Associated Press
Friday, November 30, 2007; 7:26 AM
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Mitt Romney is the target, abortion is the issue, andthe $100,000 ad buy will change the tone of the Iowa and New Hampshirepresidential primaries.
This weekend marks the first negative TV advertising in the two early-votingstates as the campaign headed into the critical weeks before the firstvoting, with an independent group's claim that the former Massachusettsgovernor has flip-flopped _ a sometimes crippling charge in presidentialpolitics. Analysts say similar negative ads are likely against his chief GOPrival, Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on gun control and immigration aremarkedly different from those he espoused as New York mayor.
The anti-Romney ad campaign, by a Republican group that supports abortionrights, is fairly modest in scope. But it may open the door to bigger adbuys targeting other candidates and topics, several campaign veterans said.
"This will be the beginning of it," said Patrick Griffin, a Manchester-basedadvertising executive who handled President Bush's 2000 media effort in NewHampshire.
Given the pending ad against Romney and the confrontational tenor ofWednesday's Republican debate in Florida, Griffin said, the top campaignsmust be ready to launch hard-hitting ads the instant they decide thebenefits outweigh the risks. "You can be sure there are scripts written and,very likely, spots produced," he said.
more . . . . .
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902503_pf.html
Feeling Betrayed, Facebook Users Force Site to Honor Their Privacy
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 30, 2007; A01
Sean Lane's purchase was supposed to be a surprise for his wife. Then itappeared as a news headline -- "Sean Lane bought 14k White Gold 1/5 ctDiamond Eternity Flower Ring from overstock.com" -- last week on the socialnetworking Web site Facebook.
Without Lane's knowledge, the headline was visible to everyone in his onlinenetwork, including 500 classmates from Columbia University and 220 otherfriends, co-workers and acquaintances.
And his wife.
The wraps came off his Christmas gift thanks to a new advertising featurecalled Beacon, which shares news of Facebook members' online purchases withtheir friends. The idea, according to the company, is to allow merchants toeffectively turn millions of Facebook users into a "word-of-mouth promotion"
service.
Lane called it "Christmas ruined," and more than 50,000 other users signed apetition in recent days calling on Facebook to stop broadcasting people'stransactions without their consent.
more . . . . .
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112901939_pf.html
Know-Nothings Who Know Better
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, November 30, 2007; A23
Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani did a fine job achieving their objectives inWednesday's Republican presidential debate: Each thoroughly discredited theother.
They also disgraced themselves as they pandered relentlessly to the growinganti-immigrant feeling in their party.
Mike Huckabee and John McCain were the only candidates willing to suggestwhat now seems unmentionable: Immigrants, even those here illegally, arehuman beings and shouldn't be used as political playthings.
At least Tom Tancredo, the Colorado congressman whose railing againstimmigration has become his mission in life, was consistent with his past. Hehad every right to say, with glee, that his rivals were "trying toout-Tancredo Tancredo." It was a perfect description of the evening.
The CNN/YouTube debate was a depressing spectacle. There was littleinspiration for the future, no sense that Republicans are grappling with whytheir party has become so unpopular, and few departures from rigid adherenceto the party line on taxes, guns, gay rights and a slew of other questions.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902295_pf.html
HUNTER COLLEGE POLL
Gay Community Solid In Support of Clinton
A new poll from Hunter College finds that 63 percent of gay, lesbian andbisexual probable voters support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) as theDemocratic presidential nominee, while 22 percent back Sen. Barack Obama ofIllinois and 7 percent are for former senator John Edwards (N.C.).
Clinton's lead is cushioned by wide advantages in favorability andperceptions of her support for gay rights.
Nearly twice as many gay, lesbian and bisexual probable voters say they viewClinton "very favorably" as do voters for Obama (48 percent to 26 percent).
Clinton's margin in the primary contest among gays, lesbians and bisexualsfar surpasses her support among all Democrats and Democratic-leaningindependents (she had 49 percent in the latest Washington Post-ABC Newspoll) and exceeds that in even her best groups.
Just 13 percent of respondents in the Hunter College poll say they plan tovote in the Republican primary or caucus in their state, and few havepositive views of GOP candidates.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902110_pf.html
CNN Admits Holes in Screening of Questioners
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 30, 2007; A06
CNN expressed regret yesterday for allowing a Hillary Clinton adviser to aska question at Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, even ascontroversy swirled about two other questioners who have declared theirsupport for Democratic candidates.
Retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr, who asked why gays should not be allowed toserve openly in the military, is a member of Clinton's steering committee ongay and lesbian issues, something her campaign disclosed in a news releasein June.
"Had we known that, we probably wouldn't have used the question," said DavidBohrman, CNN's Washington bureau chief, who produced the debate. He addedthat "you could spend hours Googling everybody. What we cared about was thathe was real." CNN deleted Kerr's question from a rebroadcast of the debate.
The New York senator's campaign said in a statement that "Gen. Kerr is not acampaign employee and was not acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign."
Kerr, a Californian who said he became openly gay after 43 years in themilitary, was one of 5,000 people who submitted videotaped questions throughYouTube. CNN also placed Kerr in the St. Petersburg, Fla., audience, wherehe followed up by calling the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy"destructive."
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flagiuliani1130sbnov30,0,2817346,print.story
Billing for security exposes Giuliani
By GLEN JOHNSON
The Associated Press
November 30, 2007
CONCORD, N.H.
The revelation that security costs for Rudy Giuliani's trysts with JudithNathan were spread to obscure New York accounts exposes the former mayor toharsh questions his campaign wanted badly to avoid - about character,truthfulness and a penchant for secrecy.
Conservatives who were already troubled by Giuliani's support for abortionrights and gay rights have further reason to wonder about the thrice-marriedcandidate's morality.
Republicans seeking a candidate who can challenge Democrat Hillary RodhamClinton on issues of integrity may feel betrayed.
People who argue Giuliani overplays his anti-terrorism experience can wonderwhether it was security - or protection from prying eyes - he was receivingin the Hamptons.
And voters wary of the Bush administration's secrecy might be concernedabout a candidate who, at minimum, surrounds himself with people who refusedto answer questions when confronted with evidence suggesting the securitycosts were being squirreled away.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-fla18aintldig11302sbnov30,0,3903775,print.story
Sex overtakes drug use as leading cause of HIV in China
November 30, 2007
KHARTOUMYEREVANBEIJING BEIRUTSANTIAGO
Sex has overtaken drug use as the main cause of HIV infections in China,leading to worries the disease may spread outside of high-risk groups intothe general population, according to experts and a report released Thursday.
There were an estimated 50,000 new cases of HIV in 2007 taking the total to700,000 people living with the virus in China, said the report issuedjointly by UNAIDS and a committee of the State Council, China's Cabinet.
Despite a fall in the rate of new cases from when data was last collected in2005, infections were still spreading and sex - not intravenous drug use -is now the main form of transmission, Health Minister Chen Zhu said at anews conference.
Prostitutes and gay men were singled out for risky behavior that wascontributing to most of the new cases, Chen said.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-campaign-negative-ads,0,6034181,print.story
Presidential Race Turns a Negative Page
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer
6:44 AM EST, November 30, 2007
MANCHESTER, N.H.
Mitt Romney is the target, abortion is the issue, and the $100,000 ad buywill change the tone of the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential primaries.
This weekend marks the first negative TV advertising in the two early-votingstates as the campaign headed into the critical weeks before the firstvoting, with an independent group's claim that the former Massachusettsgovernor has flip-flopped -- a sometimes crippling charge in presidentialpolitics. Analysts say similar negative ads are likely against his chief GOPrival, Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on gun control and immigration aremarkedly different from those he espoused as New York mayor.
The anti-Romney ad campaign, by a Republican group that supports abortionrights, is fairly modest in scope. But it may open the door to bigger adbuys targeting other candidates and topics, several campaign veterans said.
"This will be the beginning of it," said Patrick Griffin, a Manchester-based advertising executive who handled President Bush's 2000 media effort in NewHampshire.
Given the pending ad against Romney and the confrontational tenor ofWednesday's Republican debate in Florida, Griffin said, the top campaignsmust be ready to launch hard-hitting ads the instant they decide thebenefits outweigh the risks. "You can be sure there are scripts written and,very likely, spots produced," he said.
more . . . . .
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MiamiHerald.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/v-print/story/326582.html
Presidential race turns a negative page
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Posted on Fri, Nov. 30, 2007
Mitt Romney is the target, abortion is the issue, and the $100,000 ad buywill change the tone of the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential primaries.
This weekend marks the first negative TV advertising in the two early-votingstates as the campaign headed into the critical weeks before the firstvoting, with an independent group's claim that the former Massachusettsgovernor has flip-flopped - a sometimes crippling charge in presidentialpolitics. Analysts say similar negative ads are likely against his chief GOPrival, Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on gun control and immigration aremarkedly different from those he espoused as New York mayor.
The anti-Romney ad campaign, by a Republican group that supports abortionrights, is fairly modest in scope. But it may open the door to bigger adbuys targeting other candidates and topics, several campaign veterans said.
"This will be the beginning of it," said Patrick Griffin, a Manchester-basedadvertising executive who handled President Bush's 2000 media effort in NewHampshire.
Given the pending ad against Romney and the confrontational tenor ofWednesday's Republican debate in Florida, Griffin said, the top campaignsmust be ready to launch hard-hitting ads the instant they decide thebenefits outweigh the risks. "You can be sure there are scripts written and,very likely, spots produced," he said.
more . . . . .
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