**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
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flpwater0114sbjan14,0,6071055.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
South Florida's tougher new water restrictions will start Tuesday
For most lawns, that means once-weekly starting Tuesday
By Andy Reid
January 14, 2008
Once-a-week watering limits beginning Tuesday are intended to trigger whatregulators call a "change in culture" needed to protect South Florida'swater supply.
After the driest back-to-back years on record, South Florida water managersare imposing their most far-reaching restrictions ever, covering most homesand businesses from Orlando to the Keys.
As for whether sprinklers across South Florida will shut down when they'resupposed to, Dorothea Madrigrano, of Boca Raton, said she will believe itwhen she sees it. Madrigrano said she saw too many neighbors watering atwill last year and had too many calls to report violations go unanswered.
"A lot of people just couldn't care less," Madrigrano said. "These peopleare watering their heads off and here we are following the rules."
The South Florida Water Management District contends habits have to changethis year because the strain on water supplies continues to worsen.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/378386.html
Campus paper sizzles with controversy
BY KIMBERLY MILLER
Posted on Mon, Jan. 14, 2008
A budding alternative newspaper at Palm Beach Atlantic University has becomea satirical outlet for student concerns about what some say are increasinglystrict Christian-based policies that control the campus paper and stifleunorthodox ideas.
The Bacon, which plays on the name The Beacon -- the traditional studentpaper -- uses humor to question rules students aren't apt to publiclychallenge at the 40-year-old school in downtown.
One Bacon headline from last year reads, ''Student promises not to be gay byFriday,'' in response to a school policy banning homosexuality.
Although Bacon editors say they don't fear an administrative backlash fromstories lampooning bans on secular music in the school gym and more seriousissues of ''values violations,'' they keep their identities hidden to avoidofficial queries.
Becky Peeling, PBAU's spokeswoman, said she can't respond to concernsbrought by anonymous sources, but that The Bacon isn't a worry to theschool.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/378644.html
Early voting begins Monday in Florida
Posted on Mon, Jan. 14, 2008
Early voting begins Monday for the Jan. 29 Florida primary and property tax referendum.Early voting is designated by law to begin 15 days before an election.Residents interested in voting early should check with their local electionsoffice for locations.
Voters who don't want to make a trip to the elections office can alsorequest an absentee ballot from their county's supervisor of elections bymail or by phone. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Jan. 23.
The state Legislature moved up its primary last year to Jan. 29 so that itwould have more effect, even though Democratic and Republican party rulesstate it should take place no sooner than Feb. 5. The national parties havepunished Florida by stripping the state of all Democratic delegates and halfits Republican delegation to the national nominating conventions.
Because Florida is a closed primary state, only Democrats and Republicanscan vote in those primaries. But anyone can vote for the state's propertytax referendum.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentiinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpearlyvotebox0114pnjan14,0,562616.story
Early voting sites in Palm Beach County for Jan. 29 election
January 14, 2008
More information
WHERE TO GO: Registered Palm Beach County voters can go to any of thedesignated sites to vote early, unlike Election Day voting, when people mustvote at specified neighborhood polling places.
MAKE IT FASTER: Bring your driver's license. Though other forms of ID areaccepted, a license is the one that poll workers can process most quickly.Bring a sample ballot, palm card or newspaper listing with your choicesmarked.
AVOID ERROR: If you suspect an error, summon a poll worker before pushingthe red button to cast a vote. It's too late if you've already pushed thevoting button.
IDENTIFICATION: Voters should bring photo identification that includes asignature. Besides state-issued driver's licenses or ID cards, otheraccepted forms include passports, employer IDs, buyer's club cards, studentIDs and credit cards with photographs. If the photo ID does not contain thevoter's signature, another piece of identification with a signature isrequired. A voter information card, known by many as a voter registrationcard, isn't required.
Sources: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office, state Division ofElections
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/business_monday/story/376353.html
South Florida's economic outlook
By MARTHA BRANNIGAN
Posted on Mon, Jan. 14, 2008
It seems clear that the South Florida economy, like that of the rest of thenation, will be slowing to a tortoise pace in 2008.
Much harder to discern is how bad ''bad'' will be.
Many economists and business leaders note that the region's economy isholding up remarkably well in the face of multiple shocks: the housingdownturn, the credit crunch and sky-high energy prices.
Miami-Dade and Broward counties are expected to slog through the first halfof 2008, with the economy gaining steam in the second half, aided in part bylower interest rates.
HELP FROM ABROAD
The region's big ace in the hole is its strong ties to Latin America andEurope, with robust trade and foreign investment helping offset the domesticsoftening.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/378563.html
Caution pays
Posted on Mon, Jan. 14, 2008
It seems such a natural: a people-mover between Fort Lauderdale-HollywoodInternational Airport and Port Everglades, which are less than two milesapart.
Either a monorail or suspended roadway could whisk cruise passengers fromtheir flights to the port's ships. But even after a new study unveiled at ahearing Thursday showed fairly solid numbers predicting a growing need for aseamless transit system between the two facilities, Broward Countycommissioners remain lukewarm. They shouldn't be faulted for being cautious.
Post 9/11 security demands and the project's estimated cost of $1.4 billion,how to pay for it and which system would be better -- monorail or suspendedroadway -- remain to be answered. Commissioners should direct staff togather the answers before it commits to a project that, on second look, isno slam dunk.
=
Orlando Sentinel
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/orl-lidsurvey1408jan14,0,4143967.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout
Survey results reveal residents' growing discontent with life in Florida
A survey reveals increasing dissatisfaction with life in Florida. Thediscontent may be an early warning sign, analysts say.
Maya Bell
Sentinel Staff Writer
January 14, 2008
Long a powerful magnet, Florida is losing some of its luster as pessimismabout the quality of life in paradise grows stronger.
Nearly half of the Floridians polled for the second-annual Sunshine StateSurvey say life in Florida is worse today than it was five years ago, and 37percent think the decline will continue during the next five years. Amongthe chief concerns: high property taxes and homeowners insurance, so-sopublic schools, and ineffective growth management.
As a result, one in three Floridians would tell a loved one or friend not tomove to the once-vaunted Sunshine State, and one in five is seriouslyconsidering moving elsewhere.
"Think about it: Your best friend from college called you up and said, 'Hey,we're thinking about moving to Florida and you said, 'Don't come,' " saidBrad Coker, managing partner for Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., whichconducted the phone survey in late November. "That's noteworthy. Ten yearsago, I don't think you would have seen those kinds of numbers. Everybody wasmoving here. Everyone wanted to be here."
The annual survey was established last year to identify issues of growingpublic concern and, when necessary, motivate policymakers to do somethingabout them. Sponsors plan to ask the same set of core questions every yearto give policymakers an accurate gauge of public opinion.
more . . . . .
=
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/14/State/Who_can_win_Florida.shtml
Who can win Florida?
Democrats aren't sure whether Obama or Clinton would have a better shot inNovember.
By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published January 14, 2008
If you're looking for Florida Democrats fired up about Barack Obama orHillary Rodham Clinton, you might want to look somewhere besides Florida'sPanhandle.
"Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? You could flip a coin. I'm not too sureeither one of them is going to run very well up in North Florida," saidformer Democratic state Rep. Dwight Stansel, a farmer from Wellborn who isrunning for Suwanee County tax collector.
He prefers John Edwards, a fellow Southerner.
"I could vote for John McCain even," Stansel said, "and there aren't toomany Republicans I could vote for."
The recipe for a Democrat to win statewide in Florida is this: Win big insoutheast Florida, stay competitive along the I-4 corridor loaded with swingvoters, and avoid being crushed in conservative North Florida.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/692/story/378198.html
Giuliani turns to prayer in Florida
By SARA KUGLER
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
With his plan for winning the GOP presidential nomination riding largely ona Florida victory at the end of the month, Rudy Giuliani asked anevangelical congregation for prayers instead of votes Sunday and quotedscripture to evoke a message of hope and perseverance.
"I'm not coming here to ask for your vote," he said. "That's up to you andit's not the right place. But I am coming here to ask you for something veryspecial and more important: I'm asking for your prayers."
While other Republican candidates are focused on Tuesday's Michigan primary,Giuliani is following a strategy of pushing for a Jan. 29 victory in Floridahe hopes will propel him toward a dominant showing on Feb. 5, when more than20 states hold primaries and caucuses, and then on to the nomination.
Once a strong front-runner in national polls, the former New York City mayorhas fallen well behind the three candidates jockeying for a victory inMichigan, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.
"I've faced odds that were at times seemingly impossible, situations wherepeople had given up hope, but we didn't listen to the doubters, we didn'tlisten to the naysayers," Giuliani told several thousand worshippers at ElRey Jesus church in Miami.
more . . . . .
=
Florida Today
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/OPINION/801140308/1004/opinion
Our view: Don't gamble with education
Crist, lawmakers should ensure money from gambling taxes really goes toFlorida students and classrooms
January 14, 2008
It feels like déjà vu all over again.
Florida political leaders promise that tax money from gambling will gotoward educating our children at under-funded schools and universities, withthe state reaping billions in revenue.
That makes approving a pro-gambling measure the right thing to do.
Sound familiar?
It should, because that was the pitch from Tallahassee lawmakers that ledvoters to approve the Florida Lottery in 1986. But the two decades sincethen have proven citizens were conned.
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2008/01/14/a16a_lakeo_edit_0114.html
Lake O has its limits
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Monday, January 14, 2008
Water managers say they have no other choice: If the drought continues, theymay have to drain Lake Okeechobee to supply water for farms and groves.South Florida Water Management District Board Chairman Eric Buermannprovides the grim visual: "There may be fish flipping and flopping on thebottom of the lake as the water goes down" - perhaps to an all-time low of 6feet. The board has approved a $25 million emergency plan that includes $1.4million for pumps to drain the lake, which permanently could harm the lake'shealth.
The district is stepping up efforts to complete a treatment plant by Marchinstead of August so that Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay, which now drawfrom the lake, can take water from the deep Floridan Aquifer instead. "We'renot draining the lake irresponsibly," said water district spokesman JesusRodriguez. "We're preparing for the worst possible scenario. The possibilityexists that we could cut agriculture off completely."
That would be extraordinary. The district blames the drought, noting that2006 and 2007 were the driest years since the state began keeping records,though just an inch of rainfall separates those years from the previousrecord low of 85 inches in 1955-56. Then, however, the ditch that replacedthe Kissimmee River north of the lake did not exist. Draining wetlands andwater from the northern chain of lakes causes marshes to dry out completely,killing wildlife. While the district can implant snails that the Evergladessnail kite eats, other wildlife may not reappear for years, and some speciesmay be gone forever.
Dropping the lake as low as 6 feet also would threaten tourism that the lakesupports. While agriculture deserves attention, what has happened toproposals to make farmers store more water on their own land? Many arereluctant to use crop lands for storage when the lake is available as areservoir. But if lake water is restricted, more farmers might considerbuilding reservoirs. The delay in Everglades restoration projects to storeand clean water also has been a problem.
For the future, completing the Kissimmee River restoration and thedistrict's plan for projects to store more water north of the lake couldhelp. For today, however, the district must make the lake's health as high apriority as farmers demanding water for crops.
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Monday, January 14, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
GLBT DIGEST January 13, 2008
**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.
=
From Paul Moore
Euro-Queer
UK
Registrar who says she won't do gay weddings ... and is now taking councilto a tribunal
By MARTIN DELGADO - Last updated at 21:07pm on 12th January 2008
A crucifix worn prominently around her neck, this is the marriageregistrar at the centre of a landmark legal case over her opposition to gayweddings.
Lillian Ladele has launched proceedings against Islington Council inNorth London, claiming that to officiate at civil partnership ceremoniesbetween same-sex couples is incompatible with her religious principles.
Her refusal to supervise such unions has brought her into conflict withthe council, where she has worked for more than ten years.
Now she is taking her case to an employment tribunal, claiming"discrimination or victimisation on grounds of religion or belief".
Until last month, Britain's 1,700 registrars of births, marriages anddeaths worked, in effect, on a freelance basis under the supervision of theRegistrar General.
This gave them the freedom to opt out of civil partnership ceremonies ifthey chose to do so.
But their employment status was changed on December 1 by a new law, theStatistics and Registration Act, which brought them under the control oftown halls.
As local government workers, they must now carry out council officers'instructions.
more....
=
Survey: Transgendered persons' encounters with police
Reply-To: TRANSSOC-L@GC.LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
My name is Creaig Dunton I am conducting a study at the University atAlbany School of Criminal Justice in order to examine transgenderedpersons' encounters with police, as well as their perceptions of crime andlaw enforcement. If you identify as transgender by any definition of theword, I would greatly appreciate your input into the survey. It iscompletely anonymous, and absolutely no identifiable information iscollected. Depending on your responses, it may take between 30 minutes toan hour to complete. Your participation is greatly appreciated, and willhelp society as a whole gain a greater understanding of what it means tobe transgendered.
To complete the survey, please enter the following URL into your webbrowser:
http://www.creaigdunton.com
When prompted for a user name and password, please use the user name"tgsurvey" and password "Spring08". Please do not use the quotationmarks, and note that both the user name and password are case sensitive.The survey consists of multiple choice questions and a few free responsequestions, and requires only a basic knowledge of web browsing tocomplete.
If you have any questions or concerns about the survey before beginningit, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at cd232982@albany.edu.
Thank you for your time,
Creaig A. Dunton, M.S.
School of Criminal Justice
University at Albany
Albany, NY 12222
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-religion-anglicans.html?scp=4&sq=gay
Rebel Summit Could Herald Anglican Schism
By REUTERS
Filed at 4:19 a.m. ET
January 13, 2008
LONDON (Reuters) - Conservative Anglican leaders are to stage a breakawaysummit in Jerusalem that could irretrievably fracture the 400-year-oldchurch over a dispute with liberal clergy about homosexuality.
The timing could not be worse for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams,who is struggling to maintain unity among the world's 77 million Anglicansover the issue.
The clergy, headed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, are due to meet inJerusalem six weeks before July's Lambeth Conference in Britain -- the10-yearly gathering of all Anglican leaders.
"It does look like a mess. It is another nail in poor old Rowan's cross,"said religious commentator and broadcaster Clifford Longley.
"I do see it breaking up," he said, contemplating the future of a churchwhich, unlike the regimented hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, is runby broad consensus with Williams as first-among-equals.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Regional updates from Euro-Queer
BULGARIA: found to be the most homophobic country in Europe. A recentlyconducted poll on discrimination in Bulgaria revealed an alarming level ofhomophobia among this Balkan society. Bulgaria appears to be the mostprejudiced country against sexual minorities in the European Union. Thesurvey indicates that in total as much as 80% of Bulgarians carry negativeattitudes towards gays, lesbians and transgendered people and more than ahalf are even extremely negatively oriented towards homosexuals.
--
CROATIA: Substantial decrease in abortion rates. There is a huge decline inthe number of abortions performed in the country. The factors underlyingthis significant drop are not obvious. Statistics say that during the last20 years the number of abortions performed annually dropped from 50 to 4thousands. Experts struggle to explain this unexpected and enormous change.
In 1989 the number of deliveries almost equaled the number of terminations.
Nowadays, women gave over 40 thousands births a year and the number ofofficially performed abortions is up to ten times smaller. It is claimedthat the Croatian society has become more religious in the past two decadesafter communism collapsed and this fact might have a reflection in thedecreased number of abortions. Furthermore, the position of the CatholicChurch grew in power and the religious leaders became more socially visibleand politically influential.
--
GERMANY: Demographics again on the agenda. Recently conducted study providednew data on the demographic trends that link with the constantly discussedGermany's population decline. It has been showed that the average age of thefirst childbirth is constantly on the rise. Nowadays it amounts 26 and thereis a growing tendency among German women to delay first pregnancy. It alsocoincides with the fact that more and more young people postpone thestarting of the family till late twenties. Furthermore, an increasing numberof women decide to stay childless. Statistics indicate that every fifthwomen aged 40 - 49 does not have children. This trend is especially vivid inwestern Germany where the level of education of women is also higher. Intotal twenty one percent of women in their forties who went through highereducation resign from motherhood.
--
HUNGARY: The parliament legalizes same-sex partnerships. On 17th of Decemberthe Hungarian Parliament passed a bill legalizing civil unions for bothhomosexual and heterosexual couples. It provides the same legal status forsame-sex partners as it is in the case of traditional marriages. The billnormalizes the right of inheritance, tax regulations but does not providelegal basis for child adoption, which still remains illegal in Hungary. Thenew law was passed with 185 votes while 154 parliamentarians opposed and 9abstained.
--
LITHUANIA: A threat of total ban on abortion in the country. Just before thewinter holidays, conservative parliamentarians in Lithuania presented adraft anti-abortion law. It is proposed to bring it up for discussion andvoting in the spring session of the Parliament. The author of the law,Wladyslaw Tomaszewski, is of Polish origin and represents the Polishminority in the Lithuanian Parliament. If the Parliament accepts this legalproposal in the third reading, there will be extreme backlash in the countryand Lithuania will be among three other countries in Europe (Ireland, Malta,Poland) with the most restrictive anti-abortion law. Anti-Choiceparliamentarians are exerting severe pressure on MPs with more progressiveperception of family planning by appealing to ideological and religiousarguments. One of the most passionate defenders of women's reproductiverights in the Parliament will even be questioned by the ParliamentaryCommission on Ethics because of her liberal views on abortion.
--
POLAND: Political initiative to subsidize in vitro fertilization (IVF) facesstrong opposition from the Catholic church. Newly appointed Polish ministerof health finally proposed to subsidize IVF from the state budget. Until nowPoland has remained an exceptional example of a country that does notprovide financial support to infertile couples. The initiative of the newgovernment raised strong protest among Polish bishops, who are undertakingefforts to undermine the idea of the state refunded IVF. IVF remains ahighly controversial issue in public debate and the Catholic churchpropagates extremely conservative perceptions of this method of infertilitytreatment. In the official letter addressed to Polish parliamentarians, thenational episcopate compares IVF to a 'sophisticated' way of abortion andcalls upon decision makers to reject all proposals aiming at providingsubsidization of IVF. The pressure from the Catholic church unfortunatelydoes not remain unnoticed. The parliament announced that it is going tofurther discuss the issue with the episcopate - a declaration that is reallypuzzling in light of the fact that Poland is believed to be a secularcountry.
--
POLAND: New initiative to further restrict abortion in Poland. The PolishOmbudsman Janusz Kochanowski is considering filing the complaint to thePolish Constitutional Tribunal against the article of the anti-abortion lawallowing for abortion on therapeutic grounds. He believes this article isnot constitutional due to the lack of precision . His intention is to limitaccess to abortion if health problems are not serious enough. Thisinitiative is being considered on the eve of the 15th anniversary of theintroduction of present restrictive anti-abortion law which was passed bythe Polish Parliament on January 7th 1993. His attempt to limit access tolegal abortion is grounded in the recent decision of the European Court forHuman Rights in the case of Alicja Tysiac according to which denial ofaccess to legal abortion on medical grounds was a breech of her right toprivacy under the European Convention of Human Rights.
=
From Nikki - Transgender Equality
Last night I had the opportunity to view the documentary "Call MeMalcolm". It was being shown by a GLBT Christian Church group thatmeets at the GLCC in Ft. Lauderdale. In short, the movie was amazingand deals with a comprehensive host of issues that Trans people dealwith in transitioning and life after transitioning. It also includesa study guide that I thought you might find useful for reflection..The movie is 90 minutes and excellent for teaching purposes. Youcan go to www.callmemalcolm.com to see the Study guide and reviewthe movie. It was made by the United Church of Christ.
I had the opportunity to meet Rev. Malcolm Himschoot about 3years ago. I was considering moving to Atlanta and was therechecking out property and the city. My visit to Atlanta coincidedwith the national conference on GLBT inclusion by the United Churchof Christ at Emory University. I was invited to one of theirdiscussion sessions by Rev. Erin Swensen, a MtF TS minister with thePresbyterian Church (the first in the Presbyterian denomination) . Iwas so impressed by both Malcolm and Erin and have been looking forthe documentary "Call Me Malcolm" ever since. I was so excited tofinally get to view it and it was really the best movie that I haveseen on the subject of Gender Identity/ Expression. While it doeshas a spiritual emphasis, it deals with so many other issuesrelevant to Trans people such as family, employment, medical issues,legal issues such as marriage and family definition, adoption,safety and hate crimes. It really opens up so many issues fordiscussion. I hope you take a look at the Disscussion guide atleast. It's a perfect DVD to use to educate friends and family aboutbeing Transgender.
=
To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
The only political discussion I've heard recently that I found interestingtook place on Larry King's show the other night. He was interviewingcelebrity financial adviser/author Suze Orman (baby boomer, same age as I),and he asked her who she liked among the candidates. I honestly don'tremember which Democrat she liked best, but she made it clear that she wasvoting for a Democrat for one important reason: estate taxes. I'membarrassed to tell you that hidden in this reason is a little bit ofcelebrity trivia that had completely escaped this columnist. And I callmyself a pop culture expert. You see, Suze has had a same-sex partner for 7years. She and her partner are millionaires, but because they can't marry,whichever one of them survives the other will lose 50 percent of everythinginherited to estate taxes.If they were a regular old married heterosexualcouple, there would be no inheritance taxes - their wealth would be mutuallyowned. Now this is a campaign issue that had never occurred to me, but itharkened back to a time in my single life.When I was a commercial flightattendant I had pass privileges to fly anywhere Northwest went for apittance. If I had a husband and minor children, they could go with me.
Alas, I was single and had no one to bestow this gift upon. I rememberthinking how unfair this rule was to single people and gay people who wouldnever have a spouse.
--
There's ambiguity about whether or not an Aug. 31 ruling on same-sexmarriage, currently on hold, will be overturned, if left to the Iowa SupremeCourt in April, said Randy Wilson of the Family Research Council, based inWashington, D.C., during a talk with area ministers Thursday afternoon inMt. Pleasant. Wilson, along with Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa FamilyPolicy Center in Pleasant Hill, were addressing the ministers and otherconservative activists at Faith Christian Outreach Church. A 2003 decisionto grant a lesbian couple a divorce in northwest Iowa and the Iowa SupremeCourt's (ISC) approval of that ruling set a legal precedent for the state'sacknowledgment of same-sex marriage, Wilson said. Since then, a case hascome before the ISC that is scheduled to be heard in April. The caseinvolves Polk County Judge Robert Hanson who overturned a decision by thePolk County auditor to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples saying theformer decision was unconstitutional. Hanson issued one marriage license andlater put a stay on his own decision.
--
Psychological studies of lesbian and gay couples reveal two key factors thatpromote healthier relationships and provide examples for all couples: (1)flexibility about gender roles, and (2) equal division of parenting andhousehold tasks. "It all comes down to greater equality in the relationship," says Robert-Jay Green, PhD, executive director of theRockway Institute and a nationally recognized researcher in both familyissues and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender relationships. "Researchshows that lesbian and gay couples -- by virtue of being composed of twopartners of the same gender -- have a head start in escaping the traditionalgender role divisions that make for power imbalances and dissatisfaction inmany heterosexual relationships." Green is Distinguished Professor at theCalifornia School of Professional Psychology at Alliant InternationalUniversity, the nation's largest nonprofit training institution for doctoralclinical psychologists. In a series of studies he conducted with MichaelBettinger, PhD, and Ellis Zacks, PhD, lesbian couples were found to beemotionally closer than gay male couples who, in turn, were found to beemotionally closer than heterosexual married couples.
--
The main opposition party in Spain has made a bid for conservative andCatholic votes by promising to establish a new "family" ministry if they winthe elections in March.Addressing a rally in Toledo yesterday the leader ofPartido Popular, Mariano Rajoy, suggested that the "traditional family"needs extra protection. The incumbent Socialist government has legalisedsame-sex marriage, eased divorce laws and repeatedly clashed with the RomanCatholic Church. Despite their appeals to devout Spaniards and theirconservative stance, PP have not indicated they intend to amend or abolishgay marriage should they come to power. Meanwhile El Pais newspaper reportsthat deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told agathering of legislators that Spain "does not need to be lectured aboutmorals" and accused the Roman Catholic hierarchy of lacking respect for thedemocratic process and the government.
--
Late last year, House Bill 2007 passed through Oregon's legislative process,granting domestic partnerships to same-sex couples. As always, this drew theattention of the usual spread of anti-gay groups, who spared no time inhitting the streets to gather enough petitions to halt the bill.
Unfortunately for them, they fell short of the required amount of signaturesto do so. And so for a time, it seemed that Oregon was finally andprogressively striding into the future.Now the issue has once again gracedour newspapers, as well as voters. It seems that a concern has been raisedin regard to how people in Oregon conduct petition gathering and counting.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman has suspended the law. He has set a dateof Feb. 1 for each side to make their case, which will state that themethods we use and have always used to gather and legitimize petitionsignatures is lawful. If it ends up that Oregonians have been in error allthis time, then the law will surely be suspended into the ether.
--
A Winnipeg School Division teacher who placed a photo of his same-sexmarriage partner on his classroom desk has educators scrambling to decidehow much teachers can tell kids about their personal lives.
The family of a Grade 7 student is trying to transfer to another schoolbecause the boy's teacher has placed a photo of his partner on his desk, andis answering students' questions about his personal life, said a sourcewithin the division. "The administration has already gone in to look at thesituation" and talk to the school's principal, said the source, who askednot to be identified. The source said that the classroom teacher is notaware yet that anything is happening, and would not name the school, thefamily, or the teacher. The administration is reportedly carefully avoidingbringing sexual orientation into the situation, but is looking at how muchof the teacher's personal life the teacher is discussing with students, andhow frequently. However, said the source, the family involved has citedsexual orientation as an issue, in raising complaints about the teacherwhich could eventually reach the school board.
--
AUSTIN -- It's no secret that evangelical voters helped Republican Gov. RickPerry win re-election in 2006. But critics now allege that the effort to getcongregants to the polls ran afoul of federal tax laws, and they say thesame tactics are being used to promote former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee'sGOP bid for the White House. A top Perry aide calls the accusations baseless"conspiracy theories." At issue is the Texas Restoration Project, areligious organization that urged evangelicals to stand up for Christianvalues at the ballot box. According to the Texas Freedom Network, a liberalgovernment watchdog group, the mobilization was bought and paid for by majorRepublican donors in apparent violation of federal tax laws. On Thursday,the group called for an IRS investigation.
--
Petrozavodsk, January 11, Interfax - A Karelian branch of the Youth HumanRights Group addressed the deputies of the republic's parliament anddemanded to adopt the law on homosexual marriages and to introduce legalresponsibility for discrimination of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. Thehuman rights activists also suggest revising fundamental bases ofmatrimonial relations. 'Recognition of same-sex marriages by the state andsociety give to the same-sex couples some important positions. Legalizationof the same-sex marriages transfer them from the sphere of damnable to thezone of acceptable and normal.
--
5 December 2007 marked the 2 year anniversary of the introduction of theCivil Partnership Act 2004 ("CPA"). This groundbreaking law enables same sexcouples to enter into a civil partnership, thereby providing legalrecognition of the relationship. Running alongside the CPA are theEmployment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 (the "SexualOrientation Regulations") which have been in force since 1 December 2003.
The Sexual Orientation Regulations prohibit discrimination against employeesin the work place on the grounds of their sexual orientation. The SexualOrientation Regulations follow a similar pattern to the more established SexDiscrimination Act 1975 and Race Relations Act 1976. The rights under theCPA coupled with the Sexual Orientation Regulations, confirm the government's drive to protect the rights of persons who are lesbian, gay and bisexual,particularly in their role as employees. The CPA is still in its infancy buthow effective have the Sexual Orientation Regulations been so far and howcan employers stay within the law?
=
National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Cops Accused of Ignoring Gay-Hate Crimes
Gay Hate crimes are on the rise in Sydney, with activists warning violencemay spiral out of control in the lead-up to the 30th year of Mardi Gras. TheAIDS Council Of NSW said it had received 22 reports of homophobic violencein the past six weeks alone, compared with 30 over the previous five months.
--
Less Than Two Weeks in, N.H. civil Union Count Nears 100
Nearly 100 same-sex couples have been joined in civil unions since theybecame legal in New Hampshire on New Year's Day.William Bolton, director ofthe state Vital Records Administration, said 183 civil union licenses havebeen issued since Dec. 10, when the paperwork became available; most - 171 -were issued to New Hampshire residents. The licenses are valid for 90 days.
Officials know of 95 ceremonies that have taken place and 63 happened onJan. 1, the day the civil unions law went into effect.
--
HIV in Puerto Rico From a Puerto Rican Perspective
Growing up gay in Puerto Rico adds several problems and prejudices to GLBTPuerto Ricans' lives. Three traits define the GLBT community in Puerto Rico:religion, machismo, and strong family/nationalistic ties. The Puerto Ricanpopulation is 95% Catholic. The Church is strong with a fundamentalChristian base to the morals of the culture. In 1964, the Catholic Bishopsformed a political party and threatened excommunication for anyone whodidn't join their party. Abortion was illegal (until Roe v. Wade) andhomosexuality was illegal until the Supreme Court Lawrence decision.
Homosexuality is, to quote my mother, "an abomination".
--
The Workaholic's 30-Minute Workout
Feeling your best means eating right and sweating hard-but what do you dowhen you just don't have the time? Don't despair. If you can spare 30minutes a day-a measly half an hour-we can give you a healthy, strong bodythat looks good to boot. To help come up with this fast and furious workoutfor guys who barely have time for the gym, we turned to Devin Wicks, afitness operations director at the University of California, Berkeley, andspecialty strength coach for some of the University's premier sports teams,to create a workout plan that gives you the most possible benefit in just 30minutes per day, six days a week.
--
Lifetime Pushes "Naked" Makeovers
Fads and fashions are so fickle they ultimately undo the people who tried tobe the tastemakers. The Bravo cable network reality show "Queer Eye for theStraight Guy" was all the rage for a season or two, but it collapsed afterfive seasons when the insulting schtick of ultra-hip gay men improving the"style-deficient and culture-deprived straight man" annoyed its last viewer.
--
St. Maarten is a Warm Mix of Cultures, Sexual Orientations
St. Maarten-The gay men of St. Maarten are looking forward to meeting you.
"We welcome the season," says activist Bevil Byam, "because out of season wesee the same damn faces all the time." I'm at the Turtle Pier Restaurantoverlooking the Simpson Bay Lagoon, enjoying local food and friends.
--
Black LGBT Presidential Forum, January 23 in L.A.
African-American LGBT voters have a chance to come together on Wednesday,January 23, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. to hold a presidential election forum.
"It's a Black Thang! The Black LGBT Vote '08" will be held in L.A.'shistoric African-American community of Leimert Park at the Lucy FlorenceCoffee House and Cultural Center, located at 3353 West 43rd Place.
Contenders from the Republican and Democratic parties have been invited tojoin the event.
=
365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Dissident Episcopal Bishop Suspended
(Fresno, California) The Episcopal Church has banned a California bishopfrom practicing his religious duties until March after he led hiscongregants to secede from the national church.
--
Petition Drive To Repeal Calif. Bully Law Fails, Legal Threat Continues(Sacramento, California) A conservative Christian group has failed tocollect enough signatures to force a vote to repeal a California lawprotecting students from discrimination, harassment and bullying inpublicly-funded schools.
--
Economy Tops War As Top Issue
(Washington) The faltering economy has caught the Iraq war as people's topworry, a national poll suggests, with the rapid turnabout already showing upon the presidential campaign trail and in maneuvering between President Bushand Congress.
--
Fate Of Edwards Supporters Could Be Key
(Washington) Democrat John Edwards placed second in Iowa, third in NewHampshire and faces even longer odds of pulling off a win in upcomingstates.
--
Light Crowd Greets Romney In Mich.
(Warren, Michigan) Despite embracing Michigan as the heart of his bid torevive his campaign, Republican Mitt Romney was greeted by anemic crowds ashe began his final push for votes in the crucial primary.
--
Moscow Court Acquits Gays Arrested In Election Protest
(Moscow) A Moscow judge on Friday acquitted 13 gay activists arrested lastmonth for staging a protest outside a polling station during nationalelections.
--
Maryland Defines Domestic Partners
(Annapolis, Maryland) Maryland lawmakers have moved to plug a potentialloophole in a state health insurance law that affects domestic partners.
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51568.asp
Palestinian Doctor Claims Libyan Torture
01/12/08-01/14/08
A Palestinian doctor jailed for eight years in Libya along with fiveBulgarian nurses for purportedly infecting children with the AIDS virus hasfiled a complaint with the United Nations charging he was tortured incaptivity, his Dutch lawyer said Wednesday.
Ashraf al-Hazouz and the Bulgarians, who were pardoned and freed in July,have said their convictions were based on forced confessions.
International medical groups and European governments had championed theircause, charging that the medical workers were made scapegoats for unhealthyhospital conditions in Libya. Libyan authorities accused the workers ofdeliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV.
Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld expressed hope Libya would formally admit wrongdoingand reach a financial settlement with al-Hazouz, but said the suit filed atthe U.N. Human Rights Committee in Geneva on Tuesday was necessary.
''Without a case, you don't have any leverage,'' she said.
more . . . . .
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51555.asp
Democrats Take Campaign West; Republicans Debate Ahead of S.C.
01/12/08-01/14/08
Democratic front-runners Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were takingtheir campaigns to the West on Friday in their tight race for their party'spresidential nomination, while Republican contenders vied for support in adebate that focused on Americans' anxiety about their nation's economy.
Clinton, following her unexpected triumph Tuesday in New Hampshire'sprimary, visited Las Vegas neighborhoods Thursday and led a discussion ofthe mortgage crisis -- an especially strong issue in Nevada, a state thathas led the U.S. in foreclosure rates 11 months in a row. She also spokeabout the economy Friday at a Los Angeles rally, where she detailed amassive economic-stimulus package that she said she would introduce inCongress.
On Thursday Obama received a boost from Sen. John Kerry, the party's 2004residential nominee. The Illinois senator came to Las Vegas Friday for arally with members of the Culinary Workers Union, which endorsed him earlierthis week.
Obama also secured the endorsement of Arizona's Democratic governor JanetNapolitano. The endorsement is a major gain for Obama, since Napolitano isthe most prominent Democrat in Arizona and her support could be significantin a state now regarded as winnable by a Democratic presidential candidateafter decades as a near-lock for Republicans. The Arizona primary is onFebruary 5, when more than 20 states will hold primaries or caucuses.
Both candidates are seeking a victory in the Nevada caucuses on January 19as they try to build up momentum heading into the February 5 contests. Theirnext race after Nevada is in South Carolina, which holds its Democraticprimary on January 26, a week after the Republican primary there.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/opinion/13flanagan.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Contributor: Sex and the Teenage Girl
By CAITLIN FLANAGAN
Los Angeles
January 13, 2008
THE movie "Juno" is a fairy tale about a pregnant teenager who decides tohave her baby, place it for adoption and then get on with her life. For themost part, the tone of the movie is comedic and jolly, but there is a momentwhen Juno tells her father about her condition, and he shakes his head indisappointment and says, "I thought you were the kind of girl who knew whento say when."
Female viewers flinch when he says it, because his words lay bare thebitterly unfair truth of sexuality: female desire can bring with it a formof punishment no man can begin to imagine, and so it is one appetite womenand girls must always regard with caution. Because Juno let her guard downand had a single sexual experience with a sweet, well-intentioned boy, shealone is left with this ordeal of sorrow and public shame.
In the movie, the moment passes. Juno finds a yuppie couple eager for ababy, and when the woman tries to entice her with the promise of an openadoption, the girl shakes her head adamantly: "Can't we just kick it oldschool? I could just put the baby in a basket and send it your way. Youknow, like Moses in the reeds."
It's a hilarious moment, and the sentiment turns out to be genuine. Thefinal scene of the movie shows Juno and her boyfriend returned to theircarefree adolescence, the baby - safely in the hands of his rapturous andresponsible new mother - all but forgotten. Because I'm old enough now thatteenage movie characters evoke a primarily maternal response in me (myquestion during the film wasn't "What would I do in that situation?" but"What would I do if my daughter were in that situation?"), the last scenebrought tears to my eyes. To see a young daughter, faced with the terriblefact of a pregnancy, unscathed by it and completely her old self again wasmagical.
And that's why "Juno" is a fairy tale. As any woman who has ever chosen (orbeen forced) to kick it old school can tell you, surrendering a baby whomyou will never know comes with a steep and lifelong cost. Nor is an abortionpsychologically or physically simple. It is an invasive and frighteningprocedure, and for some adolescent girls it constitutes part of their firstgynecological exam. I know grown women who've wept bitterly after abortions,no matter how sound their decisions were. How much harder are theseprocedures for girls, whose moral and emotional universe is just takingshape?
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103278.html
Riding the Change Horse
By David Ignatius
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
Back in 1972, a University of Chicago research project called the GeneralSocial Survey began asking the following question: "If your party nominateda black for president, would you vote for him if he were qualified for thejob?" The first year, 75 percent of Americans said yes.
Over the next two decades, there was steady progress in racial tolerance. By1996 the percentage willing to vote for a black candidate reached 93percent, so close to unanimity that the survey dropped the question.
Tom W. Smith, who directs the biennial survey, tells this story to make apoint -- not so much about the electability of Barack Obama as about howsocial change works in America. It's gradual, he says, but once a trendbegins, it is inexorable. That has been the case on major social issues,from the role of women to racial equality to civil liberties. "Americansvery much believe in progress," says Smith. "But most change in America isthe slow and steady kind."
This snapshot neatly captures the twin pulls for the Democratic Party inthis extraordinary election campaign. The country instinctively embraceschange messages such as Obama's. But Americans want their change in gradual,digestible bites, and they like the experience and steadiness that HillaryClinton claims to represent.
"Change is really a difficult horse to ride," explains Richard Morin, asenior editor with the Pew Research Center. "It's easy to get on but hard tostay on. As soon as you get specific about change, you make enemies."
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
From Paul Moore
Euro-Queer
UK
Registrar who says she won't do gay weddings ... and is now taking councilto a tribunal
By MARTIN DELGADO - Last updated at 21:07pm on 12th January 2008
A crucifix worn prominently around her neck, this is the marriageregistrar at the centre of a landmark legal case over her opposition to gayweddings.
Lillian Ladele has launched proceedings against Islington Council inNorth London, claiming that to officiate at civil partnership ceremoniesbetween same-sex couples is incompatible with her religious principles.
Her refusal to supervise such unions has brought her into conflict withthe council, where she has worked for more than ten years.
Now she is taking her case to an employment tribunal, claiming"discrimination or victimisation on grounds of religion or belief".
Until last month, Britain's 1,700 registrars of births, marriages anddeaths worked, in effect, on a freelance basis under the supervision of theRegistrar General.
This gave them the freedom to opt out of civil partnership ceremonies ifthey chose to do so.
But their employment status was changed on December 1 by a new law, theStatistics and Registration Act, which brought them under the control oftown halls.
As local government workers, they must now carry out council officers'instructions.
more....
=
Survey: Transgendered persons' encounters with police
Reply-To: TRANSSOC-L@GC.LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
My name is Creaig Dunton I am conducting a study at the University atAlbany School of Criminal Justice in order to examine transgenderedpersons' encounters with police, as well as their perceptions of crime andlaw enforcement. If you identify as transgender by any definition of theword, I would greatly appreciate your input into the survey. It iscompletely anonymous, and absolutely no identifiable information iscollected. Depending on your responses, it may take between 30 minutes toan hour to complete. Your participation is greatly appreciated, and willhelp society as a whole gain a greater understanding of what it means tobe transgendered.
To complete the survey, please enter the following URL into your webbrowser:
http://www.creaigdunton.com
When prompted for a user name and password, please use the user name"tgsurvey" and password "Spring08". Please do not use the quotationmarks, and note that both the user name and password are case sensitive.The survey consists of multiple choice questions and a few free responsequestions, and requires only a basic knowledge of web browsing tocomplete.
If you have any questions or concerns about the survey before beginningit, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at cd232982@albany.edu.
Thank you for your time,
Creaig A. Dunton, M.S.
School of Criminal Justice
University at Albany
Albany, NY 12222
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-religion-anglicans.html?scp=4&sq=gay
Rebel Summit Could Herald Anglican Schism
By REUTERS
Filed at 4:19 a.m. ET
January 13, 2008
LONDON (Reuters) - Conservative Anglican leaders are to stage a breakawaysummit in Jerusalem that could irretrievably fracture the 400-year-oldchurch over a dispute with liberal clergy about homosexuality.
The timing could not be worse for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams,who is struggling to maintain unity among the world's 77 million Anglicansover the issue.
The clergy, headed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, are due to meet inJerusalem six weeks before July's Lambeth Conference in Britain -- the10-yearly gathering of all Anglican leaders.
"It does look like a mess. It is another nail in poor old Rowan's cross,"said religious commentator and broadcaster Clifford Longley.
"I do see it breaking up," he said, contemplating the future of a churchwhich, unlike the regimented hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, is runby broad consensus with Williams as first-among-equals.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Regional updates from Euro-Queer
BULGARIA: found to be the most homophobic country in Europe. A recentlyconducted poll on discrimination in Bulgaria revealed an alarming level ofhomophobia among this Balkan society. Bulgaria appears to be the mostprejudiced country against sexual minorities in the European Union. Thesurvey indicates that in total as much as 80% of Bulgarians carry negativeattitudes towards gays, lesbians and transgendered people and more than ahalf are even extremely negatively oriented towards homosexuals.
--
CROATIA: Substantial decrease in abortion rates. There is a huge decline inthe number of abortions performed in the country. The factors underlyingthis significant drop are not obvious. Statistics say that during the last20 years the number of abortions performed annually dropped from 50 to 4thousands. Experts struggle to explain this unexpected and enormous change.
In 1989 the number of deliveries almost equaled the number of terminations.
Nowadays, women gave over 40 thousands births a year and the number ofofficially performed abortions is up to ten times smaller. It is claimedthat the Croatian society has become more religious in the past two decadesafter communism collapsed and this fact might have a reflection in thedecreased number of abortions. Furthermore, the position of the CatholicChurch grew in power and the religious leaders became more socially visibleand politically influential.
--
GERMANY: Demographics again on the agenda. Recently conducted study providednew data on the demographic trends that link with the constantly discussedGermany's population decline. It has been showed that the average age of thefirst childbirth is constantly on the rise. Nowadays it amounts 26 and thereis a growing tendency among German women to delay first pregnancy. It alsocoincides with the fact that more and more young people postpone thestarting of the family till late twenties. Furthermore, an increasing numberof women decide to stay childless. Statistics indicate that every fifthwomen aged 40 - 49 does not have children. This trend is especially vivid inwestern Germany where the level of education of women is also higher. Intotal twenty one percent of women in their forties who went through highereducation resign from motherhood.
--
HUNGARY: The parliament legalizes same-sex partnerships. On 17th of Decemberthe Hungarian Parliament passed a bill legalizing civil unions for bothhomosexual and heterosexual couples. It provides the same legal status forsame-sex partners as it is in the case of traditional marriages. The billnormalizes the right of inheritance, tax regulations but does not providelegal basis for child adoption, which still remains illegal in Hungary. Thenew law was passed with 185 votes while 154 parliamentarians opposed and 9abstained.
--
LITHUANIA: A threat of total ban on abortion in the country. Just before thewinter holidays, conservative parliamentarians in Lithuania presented adraft anti-abortion law. It is proposed to bring it up for discussion andvoting in the spring session of the Parliament. The author of the law,Wladyslaw Tomaszewski, is of Polish origin and represents the Polishminority in the Lithuanian Parliament. If the Parliament accepts this legalproposal in the third reading, there will be extreme backlash in the countryand Lithuania will be among three other countries in Europe (Ireland, Malta,Poland) with the most restrictive anti-abortion law. Anti-Choiceparliamentarians are exerting severe pressure on MPs with more progressiveperception of family planning by appealing to ideological and religiousarguments. One of the most passionate defenders of women's reproductiverights in the Parliament will even be questioned by the ParliamentaryCommission on Ethics because of her liberal views on abortion.
--
POLAND: Political initiative to subsidize in vitro fertilization (IVF) facesstrong opposition from the Catholic church. Newly appointed Polish ministerof health finally proposed to subsidize IVF from the state budget. Until nowPoland has remained an exceptional example of a country that does notprovide financial support to infertile couples. The initiative of the newgovernment raised strong protest among Polish bishops, who are undertakingefforts to undermine the idea of the state refunded IVF. IVF remains ahighly controversial issue in public debate and the Catholic churchpropagates extremely conservative perceptions of this method of infertilitytreatment. In the official letter addressed to Polish parliamentarians, thenational episcopate compares IVF to a 'sophisticated' way of abortion andcalls upon decision makers to reject all proposals aiming at providingsubsidization of IVF. The pressure from the Catholic church unfortunatelydoes not remain unnoticed. The parliament announced that it is going tofurther discuss the issue with the episcopate - a declaration that is reallypuzzling in light of the fact that Poland is believed to be a secularcountry.
--
POLAND: New initiative to further restrict abortion in Poland. The PolishOmbudsman Janusz Kochanowski is considering filing the complaint to thePolish Constitutional Tribunal against the article of the anti-abortion lawallowing for abortion on therapeutic grounds. He believes this article isnot constitutional due to the lack of precision . His intention is to limitaccess to abortion if health problems are not serious enough. Thisinitiative is being considered on the eve of the 15th anniversary of theintroduction of present restrictive anti-abortion law which was passed bythe Polish Parliament on January 7th 1993. His attempt to limit access tolegal abortion is grounded in the recent decision of the European Court forHuman Rights in the case of Alicja Tysiac according to which denial ofaccess to legal abortion on medical grounds was a breech of her right toprivacy under the European Convention of Human Rights.
=
From Nikki - Transgender Equality
Last night I had the opportunity to view the documentary "Call MeMalcolm". It was being shown by a GLBT Christian Church group thatmeets at the GLCC in Ft. Lauderdale. In short, the movie was amazingand deals with a comprehensive host of issues that Trans people dealwith in transitioning and life after transitioning. It also includesa study guide that I thought you might find useful for reflection..The movie is 90 minutes and excellent for teaching purposes. Youcan go to www.callmemalcolm.com to see the Study guide and reviewthe movie. It was made by the United Church of Christ.
I had the opportunity to meet Rev. Malcolm Himschoot about 3years ago. I was considering moving to Atlanta and was therechecking out property and the city. My visit to Atlanta coincidedwith the national conference on GLBT inclusion by the United Churchof Christ at Emory University. I was invited to one of theirdiscussion sessions by Rev. Erin Swensen, a MtF TS minister with thePresbyterian Church (the first in the Presbyterian denomination) . Iwas so impressed by both Malcolm and Erin and have been looking forthe documentary "Call Me Malcolm" ever since. I was so excited tofinally get to view it and it was really the best movie that I haveseen on the subject of Gender Identity/ Expression. While it doeshas a spiritual emphasis, it deals with so many other issuesrelevant to Trans people such as family, employment, medical issues,legal issues such as marriage and family definition, adoption,safety and hate crimes. It really opens up so many issues fordiscussion. I hope you take a look at the Disscussion guide atleast. It's a perfect DVD to use to educate friends and family aboutbeing Transgender.
=
To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
The only political discussion I've heard recently that I found interestingtook place on Larry King's show the other night. He was interviewingcelebrity financial adviser/author Suze Orman (baby boomer, same age as I),and he asked her who she liked among the candidates. I honestly don'tremember which Democrat she liked best, but she made it clear that she wasvoting for a Democrat for one important reason: estate taxes. I'membarrassed to tell you that hidden in this reason is a little bit ofcelebrity trivia that had completely escaped this columnist. And I callmyself a pop culture expert. You see, Suze has had a same-sex partner for 7years. She and her partner are millionaires, but because they can't marry,whichever one of them survives the other will lose 50 percent of everythinginherited to estate taxes.If they were a regular old married heterosexualcouple, there would be no inheritance taxes - their wealth would be mutuallyowned. Now this is a campaign issue that had never occurred to me, but itharkened back to a time in my single life.When I was a commercial flightattendant I had pass privileges to fly anywhere Northwest went for apittance. If I had a husband and minor children, they could go with me.
Alas, I was single and had no one to bestow this gift upon. I rememberthinking how unfair this rule was to single people and gay people who wouldnever have a spouse.
--
There's ambiguity about whether or not an Aug. 31 ruling on same-sexmarriage, currently on hold, will be overturned, if left to the Iowa SupremeCourt in April, said Randy Wilson of the Family Research Council, based inWashington, D.C., during a talk with area ministers Thursday afternoon inMt. Pleasant. Wilson, along with Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa FamilyPolicy Center in Pleasant Hill, were addressing the ministers and otherconservative activists at Faith Christian Outreach Church. A 2003 decisionto grant a lesbian couple a divorce in northwest Iowa and the Iowa SupremeCourt's (ISC) approval of that ruling set a legal precedent for the state'sacknowledgment of same-sex marriage, Wilson said. Since then, a case hascome before the ISC that is scheduled to be heard in April. The caseinvolves Polk County Judge Robert Hanson who overturned a decision by thePolk County auditor to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples saying theformer decision was unconstitutional. Hanson issued one marriage license andlater put a stay on his own decision.
--
Psychological studies of lesbian and gay couples reveal two key factors thatpromote healthier relationships and provide examples for all couples: (1)flexibility about gender roles, and (2) equal division of parenting andhousehold tasks. "It all comes down to greater equality in the relationship," says Robert-Jay Green, PhD, executive director of theRockway Institute and a nationally recognized researcher in both familyissues and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender relationships. "Researchshows that lesbian and gay couples -- by virtue of being composed of twopartners of the same gender -- have a head start in escaping the traditionalgender role divisions that make for power imbalances and dissatisfaction inmany heterosexual relationships." Green is Distinguished Professor at theCalifornia School of Professional Psychology at Alliant InternationalUniversity, the nation's largest nonprofit training institution for doctoralclinical psychologists. In a series of studies he conducted with MichaelBettinger, PhD, and Ellis Zacks, PhD, lesbian couples were found to beemotionally closer than gay male couples who, in turn, were found to beemotionally closer than heterosexual married couples.
--
The main opposition party in Spain has made a bid for conservative andCatholic votes by promising to establish a new "family" ministry if they winthe elections in March.Addressing a rally in Toledo yesterday the leader ofPartido Popular, Mariano Rajoy, suggested that the "traditional family"needs extra protection. The incumbent Socialist government has legalisedsame-sex marriage, eased divorce laws and repeatedly clashed with the RomanCatholic Church. Despite their appeals to devout Spaniards and theirconservative stance, PP have not indicated they intend to amend or abolishgay marriage should they come to power. Meanwhile El Pais newspaper reportsthat deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told agathering of legislators that Spain "does not need to be lectured aboutmorals" and accused the Roman Catholic hierarchy of lacking respect for thedemocratic process and the government.
--
Late last year, House Bill 2007 passed through Oregon's legislative process,granting domestic partnerships to same-sex couples. As always, this drew theattention of the usual spread of anti-gay groups, who spared no time inhitting the streets to gather enough petitions to halt the bill.
Unfortunately for them, they fell short of the required amount of signaturesto do so. And so for a time, it seemed that Oregon was finally andprogressively striding into the future.Now the issue has once again gracedour newspapers, as well as voters. It seems that a concern has been raisedin regard to how people in Oregon conduct petition gathering and counting.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman has suspended the law. He has set a dateof Feb. 1 for each side to make their case, which will state that themethods we use and have always used to gather and legitimize petitionsignatures is lawful. If it ends up that Oregonians have been in error allthis time, then the law will surely be suspended into the ether.
--
A Winnipeg School Division teacher who placed a photo of his same-sexmarriage partner on his classroom desk has educators scrambling to decidehow much teachers can tell kids about their personal lives.
The family of a Grade 7 student is trying to transfer to another schoolbecause the boy's teacher has placed a photo of his partner on his desk, andis answering students' questions about his personal life, said a sourcewithin the division. "The administration has already gone in to look at thesituation" and talk to the school's principal, said the source, who askednot to be identified. The source said that the classroom teacher is notaware yet that anything is happening, and would not name the school, thefamily, or the teacher. The administration is reportedly carefully avoidingbringing sexual orientation into the situation, but is looking at how muchof the teacher's personal life the teacher is discussing with students, andhow frequently. However, said the source, the family involved has citedsexual orientation as an issue, in raising complaints about the teacherwhich could eventually reach the school board.
--
AUSTIN -- It's no secret that evangelical voters helped Republican Gov. RickPerry win re-election in 2006. But critics now allege that the effort to getcongregants to the polls ran afoul of federal tax laws, and they say thesame tactics are being used to promote former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee'sGOP bid for the White House. A top Perry aide calls the accusations baseless"conspiracy theories." At issue is the Texas Restoration Project, areligious organization that urged evangelicals to stand up for Christianvalues at the ballot box. According to the Texas Freedom Network, a liberalgovernment watchdog group, the mobilization was bought and paid for by majorRepublican donors in apparent violation of federal tax laws. On Thursday,the group called for an IRS investigation.
--
Petrozavodsk, January 11, Interfax - A Karelian branch of the Youth HumanRights Group addressed the deputies of the republic's parliament anddemanded to adopt the law on homosexual marriages and to introduce legalresponsibility for discrimination of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. Thehuman rights activists also suggest revising fundamental bases ofmatrimonial relations. 'Recognition of same-sex marriages by the state andsociety give to the same-sex couples some important positions. Legalizationof the same-sex marriages transfer them from the sphere of damnable to thezone of acceptable and normal.
--
5 December 2007 marked the 2 year anniversary of the introduction of theCivil Partnership Act 2004 ("CPA"). This groundbreaking law enables same sexcouples to enter into a civil partnership, thereby providing legalrecognition of the relationship. Running alongside the CPA are theEmployment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 (the "SexualOrientation Regulations") which have been in force since 1 December 2003.
The Sexual Orientation Regulations prohibit discrimination against employeesin the work place on the grounds of their sexual orientation. The SexualOrientation Regulations follow a similar pattern to the more established SexDiscrimination Act 1975 and Race Relations Act 1976. The rights under theCPA coupled with the Sexual Orientation Regulations, confirm the government's drive to protect the rights of persons who are lesbian, gay and bisexual,particularly in their role as employees. The CPA is still in its infancy buthow effective have the Sexual Orientation Regulations been so far and howcan employers stay within the law?
=
National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Cops Accused of Ignoring Gay-Hate Crimes
Gay Hate crimes are on the rise in Sydney, with activists warning violencemay spiral out of control in the lead-up to the 30th year of Mardi Gras. TheAIDS Council Of NSW said it had received 22 reports of homophobic violencein the past six weeks alone, compared with 30 over the previous five months.
--
Less Than Two Weeks in, N.H. civil Union Count Nears 100
Nearly 100 same-sex couples have been joined in civil unions since theybecame legal in New Hampshire on New Year's Day.William Bolton, director ofthe state Vital Records Administration, said 183 civil union licenses havebeen issued since Dec. 10, when the paperwork became available; most - 171 -were issued to New Hampshire residents. The licenses are valid for 90 days.
Officials know of 95 ceremonies that have taken place and 63 happened onJan. 1, the day the civil unions law went into effect.
--
HIV in Puerto Rico From a Puerto Rican Perspective
Growing up gay in Puerto Rico adds several problems and prejudices to GLBTPuerto Ricans' lives. Three traits define the GLBT community in Puerto Rico:religion, machismo, and strong family/nationalistic ties. The Puerto Ricanpopulation is 95% Catholic. The Church is strong with a fundamentalChristian base to the morals of the culture. In 1964, the Catholic Bishopsformed a political party and threatened excommunication for anyone whodidn't join their party. Abortion was illegal (until Roe v. Wade) andhomosexuality was illegal until the Supreme Court Lawrence decision.
Homosexuality is, to quote my mother, "an abomination".
--
The Workaholic's 30-Minute Workout
Feeling your best means eating right and sweating hard-but what do you dowhen you just don't have the time? Don't despair. If you can spare 30minutes a day-a measly half an hour-we can give you a healthy, strong bodythat looks good to boot. To help come up with this fast and furious workoutfor guys who barely have time for the gym, we turned to Devin Wicks, afitness operations director at the University of California, Berkeley, andspecialty strength coach for some of the University's premier sports teams,to create a workout plan that gives you the most possible benefit in just 30minutes per day, six days a week.
--
Lifetime Pushes "Naked" Makeovers
Fads and fashions are so fickle they ultimately undo the people who tried tobe the tastemakers. The Bravo cable network reality show "Queer Eye for theStraight Guy" was all the rage for a season or two, but it collapsed afterfive seasons when the insulting schtick of ultra-hip gay men improving the"style-deficient and culture-deprived straight man" annoyed its last viewer.
--
St. Maarten is a Warm Mix of Cultures, Sexual Orientations
St. Maarten-The gay men of St. Maarten are looking forward to meeting you.
"We welcome the season," says activist Bevil Byam, "because out of season wesee the same damn faces all the time." I'm at the Turtle Pier Restaurantoverlooking the Simpson Bay Lagoon, enjoying local food and friends.
--
Black LGBT Presidential Forum, January 23 in L.A.
African-American LGBT voters have a chance to come together on Wednesday,January 23, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. to hold a presidential election forum.
"It's a Black Thang! The Black LGBT Vote '08" will be held in L.A.'shistoric African-American community of Leimert Park at the Lucy FlorenceCoffee House and Cultural Center, located at 3353 West 43rd Place.
Contenders from the Republican and Democratic parties have been invited tojoin the event.
=
365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Dissident Episcopal Bishop Suspended
(Fresno, California) The Episcopal Church has banned a California bishopfrom practicing his religious duties until March after he led hiscongregants to secede from the national church.
--
Petition Drive To Repeal Calif. Bully Law Fails, Legal Threat Continues(Sacramento, California) A conservative Christian group has failed tocollect enough signatures to force a vote to repeal a California lawprotecting students from discrimination, harassment and bullying inpublicly-funded schools.
--
Economy Tops War As Top Issue
(Washington) The faltering economy has caught the Iraq war as people's topworry, a national poll suggests, with the rapid turnabout already showing upon the presidential campaign trail and in maneuvering between President Bushand Congress.
--
Fate Of Edwards Supporters Could Be Key
(Washington) Democrat John Edwards placed second in Iowa, third in NewHampshire and faces even longer odds of pulling off a win in upcomingstates.
--
Light Crowd Greets Romney In Mich.
(Warren, Michigan) Despite embracing Michigan as the heart of his bid torevive his campaign, Republican Mitt Romney was greeted by anemic crowds ashe began his final push for votes in the crucial primary.
--
Moscow Court Acquits Gays Arrested In Election Protest
(Moscow) A Moscow judge on Friday acquitted 13 gay activists arrested lastmonth for staging a protest outside a polling station during nationalelections.
--
Maryland Defines Domestic Partners
(Annapolis, Maryland) Maryland lawmakers have moved to plug a potentialloophole in a state health insurance law that affects domestic partners.
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51568.asp
Palestinian Doctor Claims Libyan Torture
01/12/08-01/14/08
A Palestinian doctor jailed for eight years in Libya along with fiveBulgarian nurses for purportedly infecting children with the AIDS virus hasfiled a complaint with the United Nations charging he was tortured incaptivity, his Dutch lawyer said Wednesday.
Ashraf al-Hazouz and the Bulgarians, who were pardoned and freed in July,have said their convictions were based on forced confessions.
International medical groups and European governments had championed theircause, charging that the medical workers were made scapegoats for unhealthyhospital conditions in Libya. Libyan authorities accused the workers ofdeliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV.
Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld expressed hope Libya would formally admit wrongdoingand reach a financial settlement with al-Hazouz, but said the suit filed atthe U.N. Human Rights Committee in Geneva on Tuesday was necessary.
''Without a case, you don't have any leverage,'' she said.
more . . . . .
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51555.asp
Democrats Take Campaign West; Republicans Debate Ahead of S.C.
01/12/08-01/14/08
Democratic front-runners Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were takingtheir campaigns to the West on Friday in their tight race for their party'spresidential nomination, while Republican contenders vied for support in adebate that focused on Americans' anxiety about their nation's economy.
Clinton, following her unexpected triumph Tuesday in New Hampshire'sprimary, visited Las Vegas neighborhoods Thursday and led a discussion ofthe mortgage crisis -- an especially strong issue in Nevada, a state thathas led the U.S. in foreclosure rates 11 months in a row. She also spokeabout the economy Friday at a Los Angeles rally, where she detailed amassive economic-stimulus package that she said she would introduce inCongress.
On Thursday Obama received a boost from Sen. John Kerry, the party's 2004residential nominee. The Illinois senator came to Las Vegas Friday for arally with members of the Culinary Workers Union, which endorsed him earlierthis week.
Obama also secured the endorsement of Arizona's Democratic governor JanetNapolitano. The endorsement is a major gain for Obama, since Napolitano isthe most prominent Democrat in Arizona and her support could be significantin a state now regarded as winnable by a Democratic presidential candidateafter decades as a near-lock for Republicans. The Arizona primary is onFebruary 5, when more than 20 states will hold primaries or caucuses.
Both candidates are seeking a victory in the Nevada caucuses on January 19as they try to build up momentum heading into the February 5 contests. Theirnext race after Nevada is in South Carolina, which holds its Democraticprimary on January 26, a week after the Republican primary there.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/opinion/13flanagan.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Contributor: Sex and the Teenage Girl
By CAITLIN FLANAGAN
Los Angeles
January 13, 2008
THE movie "Juno" is a fairy tale about a pregnant teenager who decides tohave her baby, place it for adoption and then get on with her life. For themost part, the tone of the movie is comedic and jolly, but there is a momentwhen Juno tells her father about her condition, and he shakes his head indisappointment and says, "I thought you were the kind of girl who knew whento say when."
Female viewers flinch when he says it, because his words lay bare thebitterly unfair truth of sexuality: female desire can bring with it a formof punishment no man can begin to imagine, and so it is one appetite womenand girls must always regard with caution. Because Juno let her guard downand had a single sexual experience with a sweet, well-intentioned boy, shealone is left with this ordeal of sorrow and public shame.
In the movie, the moment passes. Juno finds a yuppie couple eager for ababy, and when the woman tries to entice her with the promise of an openadoption, the girl shakes her head adamantly: "Can't we just kick it oldschool? I could just put the baby in a basket and send it your way. Youknow, like Moses in the reeds."
It's a hilarious moment, and the sentiment turns out to be genuine. Thefinal scene of the movie shows Juno and her boyfriend returned to theircarefree adolescence, the baby - safely in the hands of his rapturous andresponsible new mother - all but forgotten. Because I'm old enough now thatteenage movie characters evoke a primarily maternal response in me (myquestion during the film wasn't "What would I do in that situation?" but"What would I do if my daughter were in that situation?"), the last scenebrought tears to my eyes. To see a young daughter, faced with the terriblefact of a pregnancy, unscathed by it and completely her old self again wasmagical.
And that's why "Juno" is a fairy tale. As any woman who has ever chosen (orbeen forced) to kick it old school can tell you, surrendering a baby whomyou will never know comes with a steep and lifelong cost. Nor is an abortionpsychologically or physically simple. It is an invasive and frighteningprocedure, and for some adolescent girls it constitutes part of their firstgynecological exam. I know grown women who've wept bitterly after abortions,no matter how sound their decisions were. How much harder are theseprocedures for girls, whose moral and emotional universe is just takingshape?
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103278.html
Riding the Change Horse
By David Ignatius
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
Back in 1972, a University of Chicago research project called the GeneralSocial Survey began asking the following question: "If your party nominateda black for president, would you vote for him if he were qualified for thejob?" The first year, 75 percent of Americans said yes.
Over the next two decades, there was steady progress in racial tolerance. By1996 the percentage willing to vote for a black candidate reached 93percent, so close to unanimity that the survey dropped the question.
Tom W. Smith, who directs the biennial survey, tells this story to make apoint -- not so much about the electability of Barack Obama as about howsocial change works in America. It's gradual, he says, but once a trendbegins, it is inexorable. That has been the case on major social issues,from the role of women to racial equality to civil liberties. "Americansvery much believe in progress," says Smith. "But most change in America isthe slow and steady kind."
This snapshot neatly captures the twin pulls for the Democratic Party inthis extraordinary election campaign. The country instinctively embraceschange messages such as Obama's. But Americans want their change in gradual,digestible bites, and they like the experience and steadiness that HillaryClinton claims to represent.
"Change is really a difficult horse to ride," explains Richard Morin, asenior editor with the Pew Research Center. "It's easy to get on but hard tostay on. As soon as you get specific about change, you make enemies."
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST January 13, 2008
**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.
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Republican-Rdp.html?scp=5&sq=gay
Republican Candidates Stump in Michigan
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:20 a.m. ET
January 13, 2008
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) -- Mitt Romney and John McCain argued about theirconcern for the auto industry, while Mike Huckabee spotlighted hisopposition to abortion, as the Republican presidential contenders campaignedSaturday before Michigan's potentially make-or-break primary.
Romney, seeking a rebound in Tuesday's primary after losing to Huckabee inthe Iowa caucuses and McCain in the New Hampshire primary, made an impromptustop at a General Motors plant near here after 200 layoffs were announcedlast week.
He pledged to make restoring the domestic auto industry -- once the linchpinof Michigan's economy -- a top priority if elected president.
''In some respects, Michigan is like the canary in the mine shaft: WhatMichigan is experiencing, the whole nation will experience unless we fixwhat's happening in Michigan and learn lessons here we can apply across thenation,'' he said in Traverse City amid a fly-around of the state.
Romney's criticism of Washington was a none-too-subtle shot at McCain, anArizona senator who has said that some of Michigan's lost jobs are goneforever. A Detroit News poll released Saturday showed the race a statisticaldead heat, with McCain at 27 percent and Romney at 26 percent. Huckabee wasthird with 19 percent. A Detroit Free Press poll also released for Sundayshowed Romney at 27 percent, McCain at 22 and Huckabee at 16.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/opinion/13rich.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Columnist: Haven't We Heard This Voice Before?
By FRANK RICH
January 13, 2008
SHE had me at "Well, that hurts my feelings."
One cliché about Hillary Clinton is true. For whatever reason - and it's nocrime - the spontaneous, outgoing person who impresses those who meet heroffstage often evaporates when she steps into the public spotlight. But inthe crucial debate before the New Hampshire primary, the private Clintonpopped out for the first time in the 2008 campaign. She parried a maleinquisitor's questioning of her likability by being, of all things, likable.
Not only did Mrs. Clinton betray some (but not too many) hurt feelings withgenuine humor, she upped the ante by flattering Barack Obama as "verylikable." Which prompted the Illinois senator to match Mrs. Clinton's mosthuman moment to date with the most inhuman of his own. To usefamily-newspaper language, he behaved like a jerk - or, to be more precise,like Rick Lazio, the now-forgotten adversary who cleared Mrs. Clinton's pathto the Senate by boorishly waving a paper in her face during a 2000 debate.
Mr. Obama's grudging "You're likable enough, Hillary" made him look like "anex-husband that was turning over the alimony check," in the formulation ofPaul Begala, a Clinton backer. The moment stood in stark contrast to Mr.Obama's behavior in the corresponding debate just before the Iowa caucuses.There he raised his head high to defend Joe Biden's honor when Mr. Biden wasquestioned about his tic of spouting racial malapropisms.
Whatever the precise impact of the incessant video replays of Mr. Obama's condescension or of Mrs. Clinton's later quasi tears, Tuesday's vote speaksfor itself. In her 2.6 percentage-point, 7,500-vote victory, Mrs. Clintonbeat Mr. Obama among women voters by 12 percentage points only five daysafter he carried them by 5 points in Iowa. As we reopen the gender wars, let's not forget that it's 2008, not 1968. There are actually some men who areoffended by sexist male behavior too. Or by the female misogyny exemplifiedby the South Carolina woman who asked John McCain in November, "How do webeat the bitch?"
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/politics/13huckabee.html?hp
Huckabee Splits Young Evangelicals and Old Guard
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
January 13, 2008
WASHINGTON - Much of the national leadership of the Christian conservativemovement has turned a cold shoulder to the Republican presidential campaignof Mike Huckabee, wary of his populist approach to economic issues and hiscriticism of the Bush administration's foreign policy. But that has onlyfired up Brett and Alex Harris.
The Harris brothers, 19-year-old evangelical authors and speakers who grewup steeped in the conservative Christian movement, are the creators of Huck's Army, an online network that has connected 12,000 Huckabee campaignvolunteers, including several hundred in Michigan, which votes Tuesday, andSouth Carolina, which votes Saturday.
They say they like Mr. Huckabee for the same reason many of their elders donot: "He reaches outside the normal Republican box," Brett Harris said in aninterview from his home near Portland, Ore.
The brothers fell for Mr. Huckabee last August when they saw him drawapplause on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" for explaining that hebelieved in a Christian obligation to care for prenatal "life" and alsoeducation, health care, jobs and other aspects of "life." "It is a new kindof evangelical conservative position," Brett Harris said. Alex Harris added,"And we are not going to have to be embarrassed about him."
Mr. Huckabee, who was a Southern Baptist minister before serving as governorof Arkansas, is the only candidate in the presidential race who identifieshimself as an evangelical. But instead of uniting conservative Christians,his candidacy is threatening to drive a wedge into the movement, potentiallydividing its best-known national leaders from part of their base andupending assumptions that have held the right wing together for the last 30years.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/politics/13michigan.html
Michigan Voters Wary of Revitalization Talk
By MONICA DAVEY
January 13, 2008
STANDISH, Mich. - This quiet town, tucked between the thumb and the rest ofthe fingers in Michigan's mitten, feels worlds away from the strugglingautomobile factories of Flint and Detroit. But economic gloom has made itsway here just as it has seeped through so much of this state.
"People come in looking for work, but how could I hire someone to help us?"said Karen Dunn, 55, glancing around her empty coffee shop along Standish'smain thoroughfare. "To help with what?"
In Michigan, where the unemployment rate, 7.4 percent in November, is thehighest in the nation, people say the troubled economy is, by far, the mostimportant issue any leader must address right now.
As they looked to Tuesday's primary, nearly all of about two dozen peopleinterviewed here in recent days said they were relieved to see thepresidential candidates finally speaking of the financial issues thatworried them every day.
But many said they were also deeply skeptical of all the new economicpromises: the sudden release of candidates' revitalization packages, talk ofretraining programs, television commercials pledging help. While the economyseems now to have emerged as an issue among voters nationally, as job growthhas stalled and oil prices hit $100 a barrel, Michigan, where theunemployment rate has been higher than the national average since September2000, has been pondering the situation far longer.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103279.html
A GOP Numbers Crunch
By George F. Will
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
The first year of the 2008 campaign -- think about that -- has clearlyestablished that the Republican Party's prospects are cloudy. In the firsttwo major contests, Mike Huckabee has finished first and third, John McCainfourth and first, Mitt Romney second twice. Rudy Giuliani has been treadingwater, waiting for Florida, which on Jan. 29 will allocate more conventiondelegates (114) than Iowa, Wyoming and New Hampshire combined (92). So,clinging to cliches as to a lifeline, Republicans congratulate themselves onhow evenly the party's strengths, such as they are, are spread among theircandidates.
But although only one-third of 1 percent of the national electorate -- thosewho have participated in the Iowa, Wyoming and New Hampshire nominatingevents -- have spoken, the Democrats have even more reason than they didthree weeks ago to look forward to a rollicking November. RealisticRepublicans are looking for shelter.
Nov. 4 could be their most disagreeable day since Nov. 3, 1964. Actually,this November could be even worse, because in 1964 Barry Goldwater's loss of44 states served a purpose, the ideological reorientation and revitalizationof the party. Which Republican candidate this year could produce a similarlyconstructive loss?
Today, all the usual indicators are dismal for Republicans. If that broadassertion seems counterintuitive, produce a counterexample. The adverseindicators include: shifts in voters' identifications with the two parties(Democrats now 50 percent, Republicans 36 percent); the tendency ofindependents (they favored Democratic candidates by 18 points in 2006); thefact that Democrats hold a majority of congressional seats in states with303 electoral votes; the Democrats' strength and the Republicans' relativeweakness in fundraising; the percentage of Americans who think the countryis on the "wrong track"; the Republicans' enthusiasm deficit relative toDemocrats' embrace of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, one of whom will benominated.
Iowa and New Hampshire were two of the three states (New Mexico was thethird) that changed partisan alignment between 2000 and 2004 -- Iowa turningred, New Hampshire blue. This month, Democratic participation was twice theRepublican participation in Iowa and almost 22 percent higher in NewHampshire. George W. Bush won Iowa by just 0.67 percent of the vote.Whomever the Republicans nominate should assume that he must replace Iowa'sseven electoral votes if he is to reach Bush's 2004 total of 286.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103281.html
Will They Play the Race Card?
By Marjorie Valbrun
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
I'm scared for Barack Obama, but not for the same reasons that many otherblack voters are. While the possibility of a crazed gunman coming after himdoes worry me, my real fear is grounded in something more probable -- thatHillary Clinton, after her less-than-stellar showing in Iowa and her closecall in New Hampshire, will now go straight for Obama's jugular. Race,whether used subtly or as a blunt weapon, will undoubtedly be a factor.
We saw inklings of it last February in South Carolina, a state rich withblack voters that holds its primary this month. News reports disclosed thatan influential state lawmaker and prominent megachurch minister who hadendorsed Clinton also happened to have a political consulting contract withthe campaign worth some $200,000. Two other black state senators who laterendorsed Clinton have financial ties to the lawmaker on the Clinton payroll.While the Clinton campaign defended the deal as legitimate and said thestate senator was a longtime supporter, it looked to many like a slicker,ostensibly more respectable version of the old political strategy ofspreading "street money" to black preachers to either depress or get out theblack vote.
Last month, William Shaheen, a political surrogate for Clinton, was quotedpublicly peddling concerns about Obama's admitted past drug use andintimating that Republicans -- not, heaven forbid, candidate Clintonherself -- would raise questions about it if Obama was nominated.
Shaheen, who was co-chairman of the New Hampshire campaign but has sinceresigned, told The Post: "It'll be: 'When was the last time? Did you evergive drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?' There are so manyopenings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."
What's harder to overcome is the idea that these patently insinceresentiments about Obama -- coming from an experienced political adviserworking for a tightly controlled and heavily scripted campaign -- weren'tpart of a deliberate attempt to paint the Illinois senator as astereotypical black drug dealer.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103282.html
The Vote A Son Didn't Get
By David S. Broder
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
When George Romney was the Republican governor of Michigan 40 years ago, hislieutenant governor was William Milliken, the personable heir to adepartment store dynasty in Traverse City.
They were partners in a socially progressive, business-oriented stateadministration, notable for its involvement with the economic struggles ofheavily Democratic Detroit.
When Romney challenged Richard Nixon for the GOP presidential nomination in1968, Milliken and his wife, Helen, gave Romney their full support. And whenRomney left the governorship the next year to become Nixon's secretary ofhousing and urban development, Milliken became his successor. He wonelection three times -- serving for a record 14 years as a popular chiefexecutive until he retired in 1983.
When I reached Milliken by phone at his home five days before Tuesday'sMichigan primary, I asked whether he was involved in the current GOPcampaign. "I haven't been," he said, "but I'm about to jump in. I'm waitingfor a phone call from John McCain so I can tell him I'm endorsing him."
Milliken's decision is not a surprise. He did the same thing eight yearsago, when McCain followed up his victory over George W. Bush in NewHampshire by winning Michigan -- the last significant state the Arizonasenator won before the battle turned against him in South Carolina.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103280.html
Why Al-Qaeda Is Losing
By Gary Anderson
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
The conventional wisdom is that al-Qaeda is making a comeback from its routein Afghanistan. Many point to its success in killing Benazir Bhutto inPakistan and to its support of Islamic insurgents there as evidence. Not so.Al-Qaeda is waning. Its decline has less to do with our success than withthe institutional limitations of the al-Qaeda organization. Simply stated,to know al-Qaeda closely is not to love it.
Everyplace where al-Qaeda has gained some measure of control over a civilianpopulation, it has quickly worn out its welcome. This happened in Kabul andin Anbar province in western Iraq. It may well happen in Pakistan as areaction to the killing of Bhutto.
No one likes to be brutalized and dominated by foreigners. The weakness ofal-Qaeda is that everywhere it goes its people are strangers. This is no wayto build a worldwide caliphate.
We may not be loved in Iraq and Afghanistan, but compared with thedeliberately brutal methods of bin Laden's associates we become a palatablealternative. This is particularly true because, like visiting grandchildren,we will eventually go home.
Bhutto once responded to a friend who was concerned about her safety bysaying, "Muslims don't kill women." She was only partly right; real Muslimsdon't do that, but al-Qaeda does. Its members have killed more Muslimcivilians than have misdirected coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Afghanistancombined. The difference is that the Americans and their allies regret andinvestigate such incidents; al-Qaeda plans and celebrates them.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202308.html?hpid=moreheadlines
White House Secrecy Starts to Give
As Congress Intensifies Efforts for Openness, Administration Accedes
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008; A05
After years of hammering on the walls of secrecy surrounding the Bush WhiteHouse, activists and Congress have begun, slowly, to open some cracks.
A federal magistrate on Tuesday ordered the administration to reveal by thisweek whether it has backup copies of millions of missing White Housee-mails, which may describe decisions related to the Iraq war.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that lists of presidential visitors thatPresident Bush has kept secret are in fact public records.
On New Year's Eve, Bush bowed to lawmakers in his own party and signed abill speeding the release of millions of government documents requested byAmericans under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a measure he hasopposed.
In the waning days of an administration marked by a penchant forconfidentiality, open government groups and Congress have redoubled effortsto ensure that the written record of the Bush presidency is not lost tohistory. They say recent developments show growing irritation with apresident who has used national security concerns to draw a veil over theworkings of the executive branch and to hoard power for the White House.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011201422.html?hpid=moreheadlines
U.S. Journalist Is Ordered to Leave Pakistan
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 13, 2008; A21
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 12 -- An American freelance journalist and scholarbased in Pakistan was ordered to leave the country this week after writingan article that might have been deemed unflattering to the Pakistanigovernment, according to friends, colleagues and a U.S.-based media rightsgroup.
Nicholas Schmidle, a frequent contributor to Slate magazine and a fellowwith the Institute of Current World Affairs in Washington, was served with adeportation notice at his Islamabad home Tuesday night and left Pakistan onFriday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.
Under an arrangement hammered out with Pakistani officials, his departurewould not be recorded as a deportation if he agreed to leave the country,according to a colleague familiar with the deal.
His wife, an American student studying in Islamabad, was asked to leave withhim.
"I am extremely disappointed at being asked to leave Pakistan, where my wifeand I had lived since February 2006," Schmidle said in an e-mail. "We lovethe country, we love the people there, and we hope to be able to go backsoon."
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/418/v-print/story/377507.html
Five myths of anti-immigration talk
BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
It's time to debunk the biggest myths of the antiimmigration movement thathas swept this country over the past two years, and may still have an impacton the 2008 presidential race: that they are not anti-Hispanic nor opposelegal immigration, but are only against ''illegal'' immigration.
Before we get into why most U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls -- withthe exception of Sen. John McCain -- and cable television anti-immigrationcrusaders on CNN and Fox News are deceiving the public with their claim thatthey are only against ''illegal'' immigration, let me tell you what bringsme to address this issue.
Last week, after I wrote about the loss of ''antiimmigration'' candidates inthe New Hampshire primary, I was instantly flooded with more than 100e-mails that almost unanimously criticized me for labeling Republicanhopefuls Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and others as ''anti-immigration''candidates.
They are not ''anti-immigration,'' but anti-''illegal'' immigration, thereaders said, almost in unison. So here goes my respectful response to thisand other big myths of the anti-immigration movement:
. Myth No. 1: ''We are only against illegal immigration. Undocumentedimmigrants should get in line for visas.'' That's deceptive because youcan't demand that people get into line when, for the most part, there is nolie to get into.
While the U.S. labor market is demanding 1.5 million mostly low-skilledimmigrants a year -- and will demand many more in coming years, as the U.S.population becomes increasingly educated -- the current immigration systemallows into the U.S. an average of one million legal immigrants a year, andmost of them are already here.
''There is a huge mismatch between what the U.S. labor market needs and thesupply of immigration visas,'' says Frank Sharry, head of the NationalImmigration Forum, which advocates both secure borders and a path to legalresidence for many of the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the UnitedStates.
On top of that, most anti-immigration groups want to reduce legalimmigration. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), afavorite of radio and cable television Hispanic immigrant-bashing newsshows, wants to reduce legal immigration from the current 1 million a yearto about 300,000, with a 20-year cooling-off period.
. Myth No. 2: ''Anti-immigration advocates are not anti-Hispanic.'' Maybemany aren't, but when was the last time you heard anti-immigrationRepublican hopefuls or cable television talk show hosts lashing out againstillegal immigrants from Canada?
In addition, the escalating immigration hysteria has created an uglyenvironment that affects all Hispanics -- both legal and undocumented -- inmany parts of the country, as recent studies by the Anti-Defamation Leagueand the Southern Poverty Law Center have shown.
''We are seeing more discrimination and harassment,'' says Michele Waslin,of the Immigration Policy Center. ``Anybody who is Hispanic-looking or hasan Hispanic last name is being treated as an undocumented immigrant.''
. Myth No. 3: ''We are a nation of laws, and the law says you have to enterthe country legally.'' Yes, but we are also a nation of immigrants. And, bythe way, nearly half of all undocumented immigrants enter the countrylegally, and overstay their visas.
. Myth No. 4: ''Building a border fence will solve the problem.'' Wrong. Aslong as the per capita income in the United States is five times bigger thanthat of Mexico, and as long as U.S. labor market demands millions oflow-skilled jobs that Americans won't fill, people will jump over the fence,dig tunnels under it or come through Canada.
. Myth No. 5: Those of us who criticize anti-immigration groups are''amnesty'' and ''open borders'' supporters. Baloney. I, for one, supportboth border protection and an earned path to legalization for millions ofundocumented workers who pay taxes and are willing to learn English.
My conclusion: Let's call things by their names, and agree that mostopponents of a comprehensive immigration package are anti-immigration.
The only way to solve the current immigration crisis will be to legalizeundocumented workers who have paid their dues, and to increase economicintegration with Mexico and the rest of Latin America in order to reducepoverty and emigration pressures south of the border. The rest is, for themost part, populist demagoguery.
=
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/13/State/McCain_s_momentum_gro.shtml
McCain's momentum grows toward Florida
By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published January 13, 2008
If John McCain can get through the Michigan and South Carolina primariesTuesday and Saturday, get ready to see him practically move to Floridabefore our Jan. 29 primary. Already a series of fundraising events are linedup, and there's lots of buzz about former supporters for Mitt Romney andFred Thompson looking to jump aboard the McCain team.
"It's the biggest change I've ever seen in a campaign. It's amazing," saidTallahassee lobbyist, buddy-o-Charlie Crist and uber fundraiser BrianBallard, whose phone is ringing with offers of help from people who hadwritten off the Arizona senator as toast. "(Fundraising) events that beforewould have been a strain to raise $35,000 to $50,000 we now think we can do$250,000."
Among the first ship jumpers to McCain? Former Tampa state Rep. SandyMurman, who had been backing Fred Thompson.
Crist might be jumping on that bandwagon
Then there's the prospect of a Crist endorsement. McCain happens to be theonly presidential candidate who campaigned for Crist during thegubernatorial primary against Tom Gallagher.
"The small list of people that really believed that Charlie was not going toendorse McCain has shrunk even further," said Republican consultant RickWilson, noting the Crist allies like Ballard aggressively helping McCain.
more . . . . .
=
Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-rosabrooks_12edi.ART.State.Edition1.37e1589.html
Rosa Brooks: Electability - sex, race and the Gen Y vote
Younger Americans just don't see what the big deal is
09:02 AM CST on Saturday, January 12, 2008
The media just can't stop gushing and clucking and gasping about the "new"candidates in this year's Democratic presidential race. Oh, my gosh, HillaryClinton is female! Barack Obama is, uh, black! Will American voters accept afemale candidate? A black candidate? Are voters more sexist or more racist?What's a bigger problem in America today, sexism or racism?
Snore.
Simplistic efforts to evaluate whether racism or sexism is "worse" areinherently meaningless. Racism and sexism operate in complex and differentways. We should reflect on the ways in which both have marred our historyand cast shadows over our future, but let's not turn it into a parlor gameabout who's got it worse, women or blacks.
Increasingly, the media obsession with whether Americans will be less likelyto vote for a black man or for a woman is also beside the point - because,to an emerging generation of younger voters, the very terms in which thequestions have been framed no longer make much sense.
Start with race. In the context of the 2008 election, the question, "Wouldyou vote for a black man for president?" takes for granted certainassumptions: that there is a clearly defined category we can label "blackmen," that Mr. Obama fits into that category and that belonging to thatcategory matters.
more . . . . .
=
Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/POLITICS/801120439&imw=Y
Detroit News/WXYZ poll
White, pro-life Protestants likely to dominate Michigan GOP primary
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Voters likely to cast ballots in Tuesday's Michigan Republican primary willtend to be conservative, white, elderly, Protestant, pro-life, male and veryRepublican, according to a Detroit News/WXYZ Action News survey.
Pollster Ed Sarpolus says each of the leading candidates -- Arizona Sen.John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee -- brings a unique set of voters to the polls.
"McCain is getting the moderates and Catholics out, Huckabee brings theyoung moms who like his family values message, Romney brings out theRepublican establishment voters," Sarpolus said.
The poll of 604 likely voters shows a small crossover vote -- only 9 percentof GOP primary voters will be Democrats and 5 percent independents while 83percent will be Republican.
Nearly two-thirds -- 64 percent -- identified themselves as conservatives,and one-quarter said they were moderates.
more . . . . .
=
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-12-michigan-poll_N.htm
Romney, Clinton lead Michigan poll
By Chris Christoff and Ben Schmitt, Detroit Free Press
DETROIT - Voters planning to participate in Tuesday's Michigan presidentialprimary favor Mitt Romney and Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to a pollreleased Saturday night.
Republican voters whose greatest concern is the economy could give Romney,the former Massachusetts Governor and Bloomfield Hills native, his firstmajor state victory.
In the Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll, Romney leads Sen. JohnMcCain 27% to 22% with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in third place at16%.
Romney, whose father George was Michigan's governor in the 1960s, needs awin here after second place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"I think Republicans will pick a Republican nominee and that's me," Romneysaid Saturday in an interview with the Free Press. Romney also said whilemany Michiganders don't remember his father, "my dad's reputation has lastedlonger than I can easily understand."
more . . . . .
=
Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/OPINION03/801130307/1031
Is race influencing poll numbers?
Eugene Robinson
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Pollsters and pundits were quick to discount race and the so-called "Bradleyeffect" as factors in Barack Obama's narrow loss to Hillary Clinton in theNew Hampshire primary. Given that the same pollsters and pundits (OK, metoo) were so wrong about the outcome, I think we ought to take a closerlook.
The phenomenon is named after the late Tom Bradley, who in 1982 seemedcertain to become the first black governor of California. Pre-election pollsshowed Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles, with a double-digit lead over hiswhite opponent, George Deukmejian. But Bradley lost.
Subsequently, several high-profile races involving black candidates followedthe same pattern in which apparent leads somehow evaporated on Election Day.The polls said David Dinkins would beat Rudy Giuliani by more than 10 pointsin the 1989 New York mayoral race; Dinkins ended up winning with 50 percentof the vote to Giuliani's 48 percent. That same year, the polls gave DouglasWilder an 11-point lead over Marshall Coleman in the Virginia governor'srace; Wilder squeaked into office by less than half a percentage point. In1990, the polls said Harvey Gantt would handily defeat incumbent NorthCarolina senator Jesse Helms; Gantt lost, and it wasn't even close.
Was it that voters told pollsters they intended to vote for African-Americancandidates and then, in the privacy of the voting booth, chose whitecandidates instead? Not really. In each of these instances, pre-electionpolls were quite accurate in predicting the black candidate's vote. Whathappened was that the polls greatly underestimated the vote for the whitecandidates. Unusually large numbers of self-described undecided voters endedup making the same decision.
Fast-forward to Tuesday night in New Hampshire, and in broad terms that'swhat happened to Obama: His vote was roughly as predicted by election-evepolls, but Clinton's was dramatically bigger than expected. There are somany caveats, however, that it's impossible to diagnose the "Bradley effect"with any confidence.
more . . . . .
=
Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5450115.html
Global audience tunes in to 2008 race
'Great spectacle' is drawing intense coverage much earlier than usual
By KEVIN SULLIVAN and MARY JORDAN
Washington Post
Jan. 12, 2008, 11:32PM
LONDON - John Mbugua, 56, a taxi driver in Mombasa, Kenya, woke himself at 3a.m. the day of the Iowa caucuses and flipped on CNN. He watched for hours,not understanding precisely what or where Iowa was but thrilled about thevictory of Barack Obama, the first U.S. presidential contender with Kenyanroots.
"I have never been interested in the elections before," Mbugua, who also gotup at 4 a.m. to watch the New Hampshire primary results, said in a telephoneinterview. "But now everybody is watching. Everybody feels that Kenya has astake in the outcome of the U.S. election."
From Mombasa's sandy shores on the Indian Ocean to the hot tubs ofReykjavik, Iceland, the U.S. primary elections are creating unprecedentedinterest and excitement in a global audience that normally doesn't tune inuntil the general election in November.
This year's wide-open primary season has created an eager global audiencethat suddenly knows its Hillary from its Huckabee.
"It's a great spectacle, and people are avidly devouring it," said JeremyO'Grady, editor in chief of the Week, a British magazine. O'Grady said majorBritish newspapers this week alone have devoted more than 87 pages to newsof the U.S. primaries, including 22 front-page stories - exceptionallyintense coverage of a foreign news event. More than 700 correspondents from50 countries covered the Iowa and New Hampshire events.
more . . . . .
=
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ticket13jan13,1,6399818.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo
TOP OF THE TICKET Blog Excerpts
Ouch: Kerry's Obama endorsement a major diss
Also: Bloomberg moves ahead on cross-country polling; Paul's standing hasn'tmoved; and Giuliani? Campaign issues are moving on, with or without him.
By DON FREDERICK and ANDREW MALCOLM
January 13, 2008
John Kerry went to John Edwards' home state the other day to endorse someoneelse in the Democratic presidential race: Barack Obama.
A major-league diss? Yes. A surprise? Hardly.
Our colleague James Rainey recently spent time with Kerry to produce a richpiece updating the activities -- and aspirations -- of the 2004 Democraticpresidential nominee. And following Kerry's implicit rejection of Edwards,he offered these thoughts:
Kerry's relationship with Edwards has been strained since early in the lastpresidential race, when the younger and more naturally gifted polthreatened, first, to overtake Kerry during the primaries and, then, toovershadow him in the general election.
Edwards never embraced the traditional role of the VP candidate as attackdog on the opposite ticket, Kerry's team believed. They also felt Edwardsnever deferred to the top of the ticket. "I had to constantly call theirroad show and remind them that Edwards was running for vice president, notpresident," said one top Kerry aide.
more . . . . .
=
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-dems_jan13,1,738169.story?track=rss
Clinton makes push for Hispanics' support in Nevada
Toe-to-toe fight tries to cool down Obama
By Michael Martinez
Tribune national correspondent
January 13, 2008
LAS VEGAS
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton rallied Latino voters andleaders Saturday and sought to make a dent in the union endorsements that sofar have heavily favored her rival Barack Obama.
Clinton and several Latino leaders chose the headquarters of the Sheet MetalWorkers Local 88 to say she understands the growing Hispanic community'spolitical needs. Obama is scheduled to announce Sunday his lineup ofsupporting Latino leaders in California.
"She can make it happen. We can make it happen. You can make it happen.That's the difference in this election," said Henry Cisneros, a formerCabinet member for President Bill Clinton, Sen. Clinton's husband."Adelante, Hillary Clinton!" he added, urging her "forward" in Spanish.
In appealing to Hispanics, Clinton, of New York, pledged improvements ineducation and health care and added that she would seek relief forhomeowners at risk of losing their residences in what she labeled thenation's mortgage crisis.
"You're the fastest growing state but you're also the highest foreclosurerate," Clinton said to about 200 Nevada supporters and precinct captains.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Susan Frishkorn
frishkorn@bellsouth.net
Welcome, Mr President, to the Misery You've Created
In eight years Palestinians have seen the bald eagle of enlightened US powerdegenerate into a phoney, biased, cynical lame duck
by Jonathan Steele
Published on Friday, January 11, 2008 by The Guardian/UK
It is a well-deserved irony for George Bush that his first presidentialvisit to Israel coincided this week with the storm of excitement produced bythe unexpected outcome of the two New Hampshire primaries. Nothing couldbetter highlight the irrelevance of the final year of the Bush presidency.
The moment at which an incumbent becomes a lame duck fluctuates in every USadministration, depending on circumstances. The day on which the first votesare cast is traditionally the symbolic date, even though the race has beenunder way in the media for months. This year's riveting contests in NewHampshire certainly proved that true, overshadowing whatever interest therewas in Bush's plans for influencing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Even before the president left Washington, expectations for his visit werelow. His much-trumpeted meeting of Middle Eastern leaders in Annapolis inNovember produced a predictably tinny follow-up. Little happened in thesubsequent six weeks, and it was only courtesy to Bush that impelled EhudOlmert and Mahmoud Abbas to meet again in advance of the president'stouchdown in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and produce the blandest pretence ofprogress. According to Olmert's spokesman, they agreed to "authorise theirnegotiating teams to conduct direct and ongoing negotiations on all the coreissues". Isn't this tautological statement merely a repeat of what they hadalready launched in Annapolis?
Bush's engagement in the world's most intractable dispute is late, piecemealand phoney. Above all, it is one-sided. As Ghassan Khatib, a formerPalestinian minister, remarked this week: "Palestinians agree that in thehistory of the United States, Bush is more biased toward Israel than anyother American president." In any conflict, responsibility for making thelargest concessions always rests on the stronger party, especially when mostof the wrong is on its side. But, despite his rhetoric yesterday, Bush hasnot used Washington's enormous leverage over Israel to end the occupation ofthe West Bank and East Jerusalem.
He has not even applied pressure for an end to the expansion of Israelisettlements or the dismantling of the spider's web of roadblocks that makenormal life for Palestinians impossible. A US plan for benchmarks by whichto judge Israeli progress was quickly abandoned last spring at the firstwhiff of concern by Olmert's government. Occasional state departmentpronouncements disapproving of settlement expansion are not followed bymeasures to reflect US anger when - as happened in Jerusalem again onWednesday - Olmert makes it clear he will continue the illegal constructionof Israeli homes.
more....
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Republican-Rdp.html?scp=5&sq=gay
Republican Candidates Stump in Michigan
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:20 a.m. ET
January 13, 2008
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) -- Mitt Romney and John McCain argued about theirconcern for the auto industry, while Mike Huckabee spotlighted hisopposition to abortion, as the Republican presidential contenders campaignedSaturday before Michigan's potentially make-or-break primary.
Romney, seeking a rebound in Tuesday's primary after losing to Huckabee inthe Iowa caucuses and McCain in the New Hampshire primary, made an impromptustop at a General Motors plant near here after 200 layoffs were announcedlast week.
He pledged to make restoring the domestic auto industry -- once the linchpinof Michigan's economy -- a top priority if elected president.
''In some respects, Michigan is like the canary in the mine shaft: WhatMichigan is experiencing, the whole nation will experience unless we fixwhat's happening in Michigan and learn lessons here we can apply across thenation,'' he said in Traverse City amid a fly-around of the state.
Romney's criticism of Washington was a none-too-subtle shot at McCain, anArizona senator who has said that some of Michigan's lost jobs are goneforever. A Detroit News poll released Saturday showed the race a statisticaldead heat, with McCain at 27 percent and Romney at 26 percent. Huckabee wasthird with 19 percent. A Detroit Free Press poll also released for Sundayshowed Romney at 27 percent, McCain at 22 and Huckabee at 16.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/opinion/13rich.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Columnist: Haven't We Heard This Voice Before?
By FRANK RICH
January 13, 2008
SHE had me at "Well, that hurts my feelings."
One cliché about Hillary Clinton is true. For whatever reason - and it's nocrime - the spontaneous, outgoing person who impresses those who meet heroffstage often evaporates when she steps into the public spotlight. But inthe crucial debate before the New Hampshire primary, the private Clintonpopped out for the first time in the 2008 campaign. She parried a maleinquisitor's questioning of her likability by being, of all things, likable.
Not only did Mrs. Clinton betray some (but not too many) hurt feelings withgenuine humor, she upped the ante by flattering Barack Obama as "verylikable." Which prompted the Illinois senator to match Mrs. Clinton's mosthuman moment to date with the most inhuman of his own. To usefamily-newspaper language, he behaved like a jerk - or, to be more precise,like Rick Lazio, the now-forgotten adversary who cleared Mrs. Clinton's pathto the Senate by boorishly waving a paper in her face during a 2000 debate.
Mr. Obama's grudging "You're likable enough, Hillary" made him look like "anex-husband that was turning over the alimony check," in the formulation ofPaul Begala, a Clinton backer. The moment stood in stark contrast to Mr.Obama's behavior in the corresponding debate just before the Iowa caucuses.There he raised his head high to defend Joe Biden's honor when Mr. Biden wasquestioned about his tic of spouting racial malapropisms.
Whatever the precise impact of the incessant video replays of Mr. Obama's condescension or of Mrs. Clinton's later quasi tears, Tuesday's vote speaksfor itself. In her 2.6 percentage-point, 7,500-vote victory, Mrs. Clintonbeat Mr. Obama among women voters by 12 percentage points only five daysafter he carried them by 5 points in Iowa. As we reopen the gender wars, let's not forget that it's 2008, not 1968. There are actually some men who areoffended by sexist male behavior too. Or by the female misogyny exemplifiedby the South Carolina woman who asked John McCain in November, "How do webeat the bitch?"
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/politics/13huckabee.html?hp
Huckabee Splits Young Evangelicals and Old Guard
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
January 13, 2008
WASHINGTON - Much of the national leadership of the Christian conservativemovement has turned a cold shoulder to the Republican presidential campaignof Mike Huckabee, wary of his populist approach to economic issues and hiscriticism of the Bush administration's foreign policy. But that has onlyfired up Brett and Alex Harris.
The Harris brothers, 19-year-old evangelical authors and speakers who grewup steeped in the conservative Christian movement, are the creators of Huck's Army, an online network that has connected 12,000 Huckabee campaignvolunteers, including several hundred in Michigan, which votes Tuesday, andSouth Carolina, which votes Saturday.
They say they like Mr. Huckabee for the same reason many of their elders donot: "He reaches outside the normal Republican box," Brett Harris said in aninterview from his home near Portland, Ore.
The brothers fell for Mr. Huckabee last August when they saw him drawapplause on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" for explaining that hebelieved in a Christian obligation to care for prenatal "life" and alsoeducation, health care, jobs and other aspects of "life." "It is a new kindof evangelical conservative position," Brett Harris said. Alex Harris added,"And we are not going to have to be embarrassed about him."
Mr. Huckabee, who was a Southern Baptist minister before serving as governorof Arkansas, is the only candidate in the presidential race who identifieshimself as an evangelical. But instead of uniting conservative Christians,his candidacy is threatening to drive a wedge into the movement, potentiallydividing its best-known national leaders from part of their base andupending assumptions that have held the right wing together for the last 30years.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/politics/13michigan.html
Michigan Voters Wary of Revitalization Talk
By MONICA DAVEY
January 13, 2008
STANDISH, Mich. - This quiet town, tucked between the thumb and the rest ofthe fingers in Michigan's mitten, feels worlds away from the strugglingautomobile factories of Flint and Detroit. But economic gloom has made itsway here just as it has seeped through so much of this state.
"People come in looking for work, but how could I hire someone to help us?"said Karen Dunn, 55, glancing around her empty coffee shop along Standish'smain thoroughfare. "To help with what?"
In Michigan, where the unemployment rate, 7.4 percent in November, is thehighest in the nation, people say the troubled economy is, by far, the mostimportant issue any leader must address right now.
As they looked to Tuesday's primary, nearly all of about two dozen peopleinterviewed here in recent days said they were relieved to see thepresidential candidates finally speaking of the financial issues thatworried them every day.
But many said they were also deeply skeptical of all the new economicpromises: the sudden release of candidates' revitalization packages, talk ofretraining programs, television commercials pledging help. While the economyseems now to have emerged as an issue among voters nationally, as job growthhas stalled and oil prices hit $100 a barrel, Michigan, where theunemployment rate has been higher than the national average since September2000, has been pondering the situation far longer.
more . . . . .
=
New York Times
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103279.html
A GOP Numbers Crunch
By George F. Will
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
The first year of the 2008 campaign -- think about that -- has clearlyestablished that the Republican Party's prospects are cloudy. In the firsttwo major contests, Mike Huckabee has finished first and third, John McCainfourth and first, Mitt Romney second twice. Rudy Giuliani has been treadingwater, waiting for Florida, which on Jan. 29 will allocate more conventiondelegates (114) than Iowa, Wyoming and New Hampshire combined (92). So,clinging to cliches as to a lifeline, Republicans congratulate themselves onhow evenly the party's strengths, such as they are, are spread among theircandidates.
But although only one-third of 1 percent of the national electorate -- thosewho have participated in the Iowa, Wyoming and New Hampshire nominatingevents -- have spoken, the Democrats have even more reason than they didthree weeks ago to look forward to a rollicking November. RealisticRepublicans are looking for shelter.
Nov. 4 could be their most disagreeable day since Nov. 3, 1964. Actually,this November could be even worse, because in 1964 Barry Goldwater's loss of44 states served a purpose, the ideological reorientation and revitalizationof the party. Which Republican candidate this year could produce a similarlyconstructive loss?
Today, all the usual indicators are dismal for Republicans. If that broadassertion seems counterintuitive, produce a counterexample. The adverseindicators include: shifts in voters' identifications with the two parties(Democrats now 50 percent, Republicans 36 percent); the tendency ofindependents (they favored Democratic candidates by 18 points in 2006); thefact that Democrats hold a majority of congressional seats in states with303 electoral votes; the Democrats' strength and the Republicans' relativeweakness in fundraising; the percentage of Americans who think the countryis on the "wrong track"; the Republicans' enthusiasm deficit relative toDemocrats' embrace of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, one of whom will benominated.
Iowa and New Hampshire were two of the three states (New Mexico was thethird) that changed partisan alignment between 2000 and 2004 -- Iowa turningred, New Hampshire blue. This month, Democratic participation was twice theRepublican participation in Iowa and almost 22 percent higher in NewHampshire. George W. Bush won Iowa by just 0.67 percent of the vote.Whomever the Republicans nominate should assume that he must replace Iowa'sseven electoral votes if he is to reach Bush's 2004 total of 286.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103281.html
Will They Play the Race Card?
By Marjorie Valbrun
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
I'm scared for Barack Obama, but not for the same reasons that many otherblack voters are. While the possibility of a crazed gunman coming after himdoes worry me, my real fear is grounded in something more probable -- thatHillary Clinton, after her less-than-stellar showing in Iowa and her closecall in New Hampshire, will now go straight for Obama's jugular. Race,whether used subtly or as a blunt weapon, will undoubtedly be a factor.
We saw inklings of it last February in South Carolina, a state rich withblack voters that holds its primary this month. News reports disclosed thatan influential state lawmaker and prominent megachurch minister who hadendorsed Clinton also happened to have a political consulting contract withthe campaign worth some $200,000. Two other black state senators who laterendorsed Clinton have financial ties to the lawmaker on the Clinton payroll.While the Clinton campaign defended the deal as legitimate and said thestate senator was a longtime supporter, it looked to many like a slicker,ostensibly more respectable version of the old political strategy ofspreading "street money" to black preachers to either depress or get out theblack vote.
Last month, William Shaheen, a political surrogate for Clinton, was quotedpublicly peddling concerns about Obama's admitted past drug use andintimating that Republicans -- not, heaven forbid, candidate Clintonherself -- would raise questions about it if Obama was nominated.
Shaheen, who was co-chairman of the New Hampshire campaign but has sinceresigned, told The Post: "It'll be: 'When was the last time? Did you evergive drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?' There are so manyopenings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."
What's harder to overcome is the idea that these patently insinceresentiments about Obama -- coming from an experienced political adviserworking for a tightly controlled and heavily scripted campaign -- weren'tpart of a deliberate attempt to paint the Illinois senator as astereotypical black drug dealer.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103282.html
The Vote A Son Didn't Get
By David S. Broder
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
When George Romney was the Republican governor of Michigan 40 years ago, hislieutenant governor was William Milliken, the personable heir to adepartment store dynasty in Traverse City.
They were partners in a socially progressive, business-oriented stateadministration, notable for its involvement with the economic struggles ofheavily Democratic Detroit.
When Romney challenged Richard Nixon for the GOP presidential nomination in1968, Milliken and his wife, Helen, gave Romney their full support. And whenRomney left the governorship the next year to become Nixon's secretary ofhousing and urban development, Milliken became his successor. He wonelection three times -- serving for a record 14 years as a popular chiefexecutive until he retired in 1983.
When I reached Milliken by phone at his home five days before Tuesday'sMichigan primary, I asked whether he was involved in the current GOPcampaign. "I haven't been," he said, "but I'm about to jump in. I'm waitingfor a phone call from John McCain so I can tell him I'm endorsing him."
Milliken's decision is not a surprise. He did the same thing eight yearsago, when McCain followed up his victory over George W. Bush in NewHampshire by winning Michigan -- the last significant state the Arizonasenator won before the battle turned against him in South Carolina.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103280.html
Why Al-Qaeda Is Losing
By Gary Anderson
Sunday, January 13, 2008; B07
The conventional wisdom is that al-Qaeda is making a comeback from its routein Afghanistan. Many point to its success in killing Benazir Bhutto inPakistan and to its support of Islamic insurgents there as evidence. Not so.Al-Qaeda is waning. Its decline has less to do with our success than withthe institutional limitations of the al-Qaeda organization. Simply stated,to know al-Qaeda closely is not to love it.
Everyplace where al-Qaeda has gained some measure of control over a civilianpopulation, it has quickly worn out its welcome. This happened in Kabul andin Anbar province in western Iraq. It may well happen in Pakistan as areaction to the killing of Bhutto.
No one likes to be brutalized and dominated by foreigners. The weakness ofal-Qaeda is that everywhere it goes its people are strangers. This is no wayto build a worldwide caliphate.
We may not be loved in Iraq and Afghanistan, but compared with thedeliberately brutal methods of bin Laden's associates we become a palatablealternative. This is particularly true because, like visiting grandchildren,we will eventually go home.
Bhutto once responded to a friend who was concerned about her safety bysaying, "Muslims don't kill women." She was only partly right; real Muslimsdon't do that, but al-Qaeda does. Its members have killed more Muslimcivilians than have misdirected coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Afghanistancombined. The difference is that the Americans and their allies regret andinvestigate such incidents; al-Qaeda plans and celebrates them.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202308.html?hpid=moreheadlines
White House Secrecy Starts to Give
As Congress Intensifies Efforts for Openness, Administration Accedes
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008; A05
After years of hammering on the walls of secrecy surrounding the Bush WhiteHouse, activists and Congress have begun, slowly, to open some cracks.
A federal magistrate on Tuesday ordered the administration to reveal by thisweek whether it has backup copies of millions of missing White Housee-mails, which may describe decisions related to the Iraq war.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that lists of presidential visitors thatPresident Bush has kept secret are in fact public records.
On New Year's Eve, Bush bowed to lawmakers in his own party and signed abill speeding the release of millions of government documents requested byAmericans under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a measure he hasopposed.
In the waning days of an administration marked by a penchant forconfidentiality, open government groups and Congress have redoubled effortsto ensure that the written record of the Bush presidency is not lost tohistory. They say recent developments show growing irritation with apresident who has used national security concerns to draw a veil over theworkings of the executive branch and to hoard power for the White House.
more . . . . .
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011201422.html?hpid=moreheadlines
U.S. Journalist Is Ordered to Leave Pakistan
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 13, 2008; A21
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 12 -- An American freelance journalist and scholarbased in Pakistan was ordered to leave the country this week after writingan article that might have been deemed unflattering to the Pakistanigovernment, according to friends, colleagues and a U.S.-based media rightsgroup.
Nicholas Schmidle, a frequent contributor to Slate magazine and a fellowwith the Institute of Current World Affairs in Washington, was served with adeportation notice at his Islamabad home Tuesday night and left Pakistan onFriday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.
Under an arrangement hammered out with Pakistani officials, his departurewould not be recorded as a deportation if he agreed to leave the country,according to a colleague familiar with the deal.
His wife, an American student studying in Islamabad, was asked to leave withhim.
"I am extremely disappointed at being asked to leave Pakistan, where my wifeand I had lived since February 2006," Schmidle said in an e-mail. "We lovethe country, we love the people there, and we hope to be able to go backsoon."
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/418/v-print/story/377507.html
Five myths of anti-immigration talk
BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
It's time to debunk the biggest myths of the antiimmigration movement thathas swept this country over the past two years, and may still have an impacton the 2008 presidential race: that they are not anti-Hispanic nor opposelegal immigration, but are only against ''illegal'' immigration.
Before we get into why most U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls -- withthe exception of Sen. John McCain -- and cable television anti-immigrationcrusaders on CNN and Fox News are deceiving the public with their claim thatthey are only against ''illegal'' immigration, let me tell you what bringsme to address this issue.
Last week, after I wrote about the loss of ''antiimmigration'' candidates inthe New Hampshire primary, I was instantly flooded with more than 100e-mails that almost unanimously criticized me for labeling Republicanhopefuls Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and others as ''anti-immigration''candidates.
They are not ''anti-immigration,'' but anti-''illegal'' immigration, thereaders said, almost in unison. So here goes my respectful response to thisand other big myths of the anti-immigration movement:
. Myth No. 1: ''We are only against illegal immigration. Undocumentedimmigrants should get in line for visas.'' That's deceptive because youcan't demand that people get into line when, for the most part, there is nolie to get into.
While the U.S. labor market is demanding 1.5 million mostly low-skilledimmigrants a year -- and will demand many more in coming years, as the U.S.population becomes increasingly educated -- the current immigration systemallows into the U.S. an average of one million legal immigrants a year, andmost of them are already here.
''There is a huge mismatch between what the U.S. labor market needs and thesupply of immigration visas,'' says Frank Sharry, head of the NationalImmigration Forum, which advocates both secure borders and a path to legalresidence for many of the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the UnitedStates.
On top of that, most anti-immigration groups want to reduce legalimmigration. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), afavorite of radio and cable television Hispanic immigrant-bashing newsshows, wants to reduce legal immigration from the current 1 million a yearto about 300,000, with a 20-year cooling-off period.
. Myth No. 2: ''Anti-immigration advocates are not anti-Hispanic.'' Maybemany aren't, but when was the last time you heard anti-immigrationRepublican hopefuls or cable television talk show hosts lashing out againstillegal immigrants from Canada?
In addition, the escalating immigration hysteria has created an uglyenvironment that affects all Hispanics -- both legal and undocumented -- inmany parts of the country, as recent studies by the Anti-Defamation Leagueand the Southern Poverty Law Center have shown.
''We are seeing more discrimination and harassment,'' says Michele Waslin,of the Immigration Policy Center. ``Anybody who is Hispanic-looking or hasan Hispanic last name is being treated as an undocumented immigrant.''
. Myth No. 3: ''We are a nation of laws, and the law says you have to enterthe country legally.'' Yes, but we are also a nation of immigrants. And, bythe way, nearly half of all undocumented immigrants enter the countrylegally, and overstay their visas.
. Myth No. 4: ''Building a border fence will solve the problem.'' Wrong. Aslong as the per capita income in the United States is five times bigger thanthat of Mexico, and as long as U.S. labor market demands millions oflow-skilled jobs that Americans won't fill, people will jump over the fence,dig tunnels under it or come through Canada.
. Myth No. 5: Those of us who criticize anti-immigration groups are''amnesty'' and ''open borders'' supporters. Baloney. I, for one, supportboth border protection and an earned path to legalization for millions ofundocumented workers who pay taxes and are willing to learn English.
My conclusion: Let's call things by their names, and agree that mostopponents of a comprehensive immigration package are anti-immigration.
The only way to solve the current immigration crisis will be to legalizeundocumented workers who have paid their dues, and to increase economicintegration with Mexico and the rest of Latin America in order to reducepoverty and emigration pressures south of the border. The rest is, for themost part, populist demagoguery.
=
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/13/State/McCain_s_momentum_gro.shtml
McCain's momentum grows toward Florida
By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published January 13, 2008
If John McCain can get through the Michigan and South Carolina primariesTuesday and Saturday, get ready to see him practically move to Floridabefore our Jan. 29 primary. Already a series of fundraising events are linedup, and there's lots of buzz about former supporters for Mitt Romney andFred Thompson looking to jump aboard the McCain team.
"It's the biggest change I've ever seen in a campaign. It's amazing," saidTallahassee lobbyist, buddy-o-Charlie Crist and uber fundraiser BrianBallard, whose phone is ringing with offers of help from people who hadwritten off the Arizona senator as toast. "(Fundraising) events that beforewould have been a strain to raise $35,000 to $50,000 we now think we can do$250,000."
Among the first ship jumpers to McCain? Former Tampa state Rep. SandyMurman, who had been backing Fred Thompson.
Crist might be jumping on that bandwagon
Then there's the prospect of a Crist endorsement. McCain happens to be theonly presidential candidate who campaigned for Crist during thegubernatorial primary against Tom Gallagher.
"The small list of people that really believed that Charlie was not going toendorse McCain has shrunk even further," said Republican consultant RickWilson, noting the Crist allies like Ballard aggressively helping McCain.
more . . . . .
=
Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-rosabrooks_12edi.ART.State.Edition1.37e1589.html
Rosa Brooks: Electability - sex, race and the Gen Y vote
Younger Americans just don't see what the big deal is
09:02 AM CST on Saturday, January 12, 2008
The media just can't stop gushing and clucking and gasping about the "new"candidates in this year's Democratic presidential race. Oh, my gosh, HillaryClinton is female! Barack Obama is, uh, black! Will American voters accept afemale candidate? A black candidate? Are voters more sexist or more racist?What's a bigger problem in America today, sexism or racism?
Snore.
Simplistic efforts to evaluate whether racism or sexism is "worse" areinherently meaningless. Racism and sexism operate in complex and differentways. We should reflect on the ways in which both have marred our historyand cast shadows over our future, but let's not turn it into a parlor gameabout who's got it worse, women or blacks.
Increasingly, the media obsession with whether Americans will be less likelyto vote for a black man or for a woman is also beside the point - because,to an emerging generation of younger voters, the very terms in which thequestions have been framed no longer make much sense.
Start with race. In the context of the 2008 election, the question, "Wouldyou vote for a black man for president?" takes for granted certainassumptions: that there is a clearly defined category we can label "blackmen," that Mr. Obama fits into that category and that belonging to thatcategory matters.
more . . . . .
=
Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/POLITICS/801120439&imw=Y
Detroit News/WXYZ poll
White, pro-life Protestants likely to dominate Michigan GOP primary
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Voters likely to cast ballots in Tuesday's Michigan Republican primary willtend to be conservative, white, elderly, Protestant, pro-life, male and veryRepublican, according to a Detroit News/WXYZ Action News survey.
Pollster Ed Sarpolus says each of the leading candidates -- Arizona Sen.John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee -- brings a unique set of voters to the polls.
"McCain is getting the moderates and Catholics out, Huckabee brings theyoung moms who like his family values message, Romney brings out theRepublican establishment voters," Sarpolus said.
The poll of 604 likely voters shows a small crossover vote -- only 9 percentof GOP primary voters will be Democrats and 5 percent independents while 83percent will be Republican.
Nearly two-thirds -- 64 percent -- identified themselves as conservatives,and one-quarter said they were moderates.
more . . . . .
=
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-12-michigan-poll_N.htm
Romney, Clinton lead Michigan poll
By Chris Christoff and Ben Schmitt, Detroit Free Press
DETROIT - Voters planning to participate in Tuesday's Michigan presidentialprimary favor Mitt Romney and Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to a pollreleased Saturday night.
Republican voters whose greatest concern is the economy could give Romney,the former Massachusetts Governor and Bloomfield Hills native, his firstmajor state victory.
In the Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll, Romney leads Sen. JohnMcCain 27% to 22% with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in third place at16%.
Romney, whose father George was Michigan's governor in the 1960s, needs awin here after second place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"I think Republicans will pick a Republican nominee and that's me," Romneysaid Saturday in an interview with the Free Press. Romney also said whilemany Michiganders don't remember his father, "my dad's reputation has lastedlonger than I can easily understand."
more . . . . .
=
Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/OPINION03/801130307/1031
Is race influencing poll numbers?
Eugene Robinson
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Pollsters and pundits were quick to discount race and the so-called "Bradleyeffect" as factors in Barack Obama's narrow loss to Hillary Clinton in theNew Hampshire primary. Given that the same pollsters and pundits (OK, metoo) were so wrong about the outcome, I think we ought to take a closerlook.
The phenomenon is named after the late Tom Bradley, who in 1982 seemedcertain to become the first black governor of California. Pre-election pollsshowed Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles, with a double-digit lead over hiswhite opponent, George Deukmejian. But Bradley lost.
Subsequently, several high-profile races involving black candidates followedthe same pattern in which apparent leads somehow evaporated on Election Day.The polls said David Dinkins would beat Rudy Giuliani by more than 10 pointsin the 1989 New York mayoral race; Dinkins ended up winning with 50 percentof the vote to Giuliani's 48 percent. That same year, the polls gave DouglasWilder an 11-point lead over Marshall Coleman in the Virginia governor'srace; Wilder squeaked into office by less than half a percentage point. In1990, the polls said Harvey Gantt would handily defeat incumbent NorthCarolina senator Jesse Helms; Gantt lost, and it wasn't even close.
Was it that voters told pollsters they intended to vote for African-Americancandidates and then, in the privacy of the voting booth, chose whitecandidates instead? Not really. In each of these instances, pre-electionpolls were quite accurate in predicting the black candidate's vote. Whathappened was that the polls greatly underestimated the vote for the whitecandidates. Unusually large numbers of self-described undecided voters endedup making the same decision.
Fast-forward to Tuesday night in New Hampshire, and in broad terms that'swhat happened to Obama: His vote was roughly as predicted by election-evepolls, but Clinton's was dramatically bigger than expected. There are somany caveats, however, that it's impossible to diagnose the "Bradley effect"with any confidence.
more . . . . .
=
Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5450115.html
Global audience tunes in to 2008 race
'Great spectacle' is drawing intense coverage much earlier than usual
By KEVIN SULLIVAN and MARY JORDAN
Washington Post
Jan. 12, 2008, 11:32PM
LONDON - John Mbugua, 56, a taxi driver in Mombasa, Kenya, woke himself at 3a.m. the day of the Iowa caucuses and flipped on CNN. He watched for hours,not understanding precisely what or where Iowa was but thrilled about thevictory of Barack Obama, the first U.S. presidential contender with Kenyanroots.
"I have never been interested in the elections before," Mbugua, who also gotup at 4 a.m. to watch the New Hampshire primary results, said in a telephoneinterview. "But now everybody is watching. Everybody feels that Kenya has astake in the outcome of the U.S. election."
From Mombasa's sandy shores on the Indian Ocean to the hot tubs ofReykjavik, Iceland, the U.S. primary elections are creating unprecedentedinterest and excitement in a global audience that normally doesn't tune inuntil the general election in November.
This year's wide-open primary season has created an eager global audiencethat suddenly knows its Hillary from its Huckabee.
"It's a great spectacle, and people are avidly devouring it," said JeremyO'Grady, editor in chief of the Week, a British magazine. O'Grady said majorBritish newspapers this week alone have devoted more than 87 pages to newsof the U.S. primaries, including 22 front-page stories - exceptionallyintense coverage of a foreign news event. More than 700 correspondents from50 countries covered the Iowa and New Hampshire events.
more . . . . .
=
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ticket13jan13,1,6399818.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo
TOP OF THE TICKET Blog Excerpts
Ouch: Kerry's Obama endorsement a major diss
Also: Bloomberg moves ahead on cross-country polling; Paul's standing hasn'tmoved; and Giuliani? Campaign issues are moving on, with or without him.
By DON FREDERICK and ANDREW MALCOLM
January 13, 2008
John Kerry went to John Edwards' home state the other day to endorse someoneelse in the Democratic presidential race: Barack Obama.
A major-league diss? Yes. A surprise? Hardly.
Our colleague James Rainey recently spent time with Kerry to produce a richpiece updating the activities -- and aspirations -- of the 2004 Democraticpresidential nominee. And following Kerry's implicit rejection of Edwards,he offered these thoughts:
Kerry's relationship with Edwards has been strained since early in the lastpresidential race, when the younger and more naturally gifted polthreatened, first, to overtake Kerry during the primaries and, then, toovershadow him in the general election.
Edwards never embraced the traditional role of the VP candidate as attackdog on the opposite ticket, Kerry's team believed. They also felt Edwardsnever deferred to the top of the ticket. "I had to constantly call theirroad show and remind them that Edwards was running for vice president, notpresident," said one top Kerry aide.
more . . . . .
=
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-dems_jan13,1,738169.story?track=rss
Clinton makes push for Hispanics' support in Nevada
Toe-to-toe fight tries to cool down Obama
By Michael Martinez
Tribune national correspondent
January 13, 2008
LAS VEGAS
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton rallied Latino voters andleaders Saturday and sought to make a dent in the union endorsements that sofar have heavily favored her rival Barack Obama.
Clinton and several Latino leaders chose the headquarters of the Sheet MetalWorkers Local 88 to say she understands the growing Hispanic community'spolitical needs. Obama is scheduled to announce Sunday his lineup ofsupporting Latino leaders in California.
"She can make it happen. We can make it happen. You can make it happen.That's the difference in this election," said Henry Cisneros, a formerCabinet member for President Bill Clinton, Sen. Clinton's husband."Adelante, Hillary Clinton!" he added, urging her "forward" in Spanish.
In appealing to Hispanics, Clinton, of New York, pledged improvements ineducation and health care and added that she would seek relief forhomeowners at risk of losing their residences in what she labeled thenation's mortgage crisis.
"You're the fastest growing state but you're also the highest foreclosurerate," Clinton said to about 200 Nevada supporters and precinct captains.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Susan Frishkorn
frishkorn@bellsouth.net
Welcome, Mr President, to the Misery You've Created
In eight years Palestinians have seen the bald eagle of enlightened US powerdegenerate into a phoney, biased, cynical lame duck
by Jonathan Steele
Published on Friday, January 11, 2008 by The Guardian/UK
It is a well-deserved irony for George Bush that his first presidentialvisit to Israel coincided this week with the storm of excitement produced bythe unexpected outcome of the two New Hampshire primaries. Nothing couldbetter highlight the irrelevance of the final year of the Bush presidency.
The moment at which an incumbent becomes a lame duck fluctuates in every USadministration, depending on circumstances. The day on which the first votesare cast is traditionally the symbolic date, even though the race has beenunder way in the media for months. This year's riveting contests in NewHampshire certainly proved that true, overshadowing whatever interest therewas in Bush's plans for influencing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Even before the president left Washington, expectations for his visit werelow. His much-trumpeted meeting of Middle Eastern leaders in Annapolis inNovember produced a predictably tinny follow-up. Little happened in thesubsequent six weeks, and it was only courtesy to Bush that impelled EhudOlmert and Mahmoud Abbas to meet again in advance of the president'stouchdown in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and produce the blandest pretence ofprogress. According to Olmert's spokesman, they agreed to "authorise theirnegotiating teams to conduct direct and ongoing negotiations on all the coreissues". Isn't this tautological statement merely a repeat of what they hadalready launched in Annapolis?
Bush's engagement in the world's most intractable dispute is late, piecemealand phoney. Above all, it is one-sided. As Ghassan Khatib, a formerPalestinian minister, remarked this week: "Palestinians agree that in thehistory of the United States, Bush is more biased toward Israel than anyother American president." In any conflict, responsibility for making thelargest concessions always rests on the stronger party, especially when mostof the wrong is on its side. But, despite his rhetoric yesterday, Bush hasnot used Washington's enormous leverage over Israel to end the occupation ofthe West Bank and East Jerusalem.
He has not even applied pressure for an end to the expansion of Israelisettlements or the dismantling of the spider's web of roadblocks that makenormal life for Palestinians impossible. A US plan for benchmarks by whichto judge Israeli progress was quickly abandoned last spring at the firstwhiff of concern by Olmert's government. Occasional state departmentpronouncements disapproving of settlement expansion are not followed bymeasures to reflect US anger when - as happened in Jerusalem again onWednesday - Olmert makes it clear he will continue the illegal constructionof Israeli homes.
more....
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST January 13, 2008
**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.
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202329.html?hpid=sec-politics
Giuliani Talks About Insurance in Fla.
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 12, 2008; 8:30 PM
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani saidSaturday that his experience as New York City's mayor during the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks is a big reason why he supports a national insurancebackup fund.
"Maybe I feel more strongly about this because of what I went through asmayor. I don't even know how to describe Sept. 11. I don't know ifcatastrophe is even the right word," Giuliani said. "There's no possible waywe could have gotten through that alone. No possible way."
A national catastrophe fund is a top federal priority for Gov. Charlie Cristand two Democratic congressmen from Florida, Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney, havea bill that passed the House which would create a the backup fund in hopesof making property insurance more affordable and accessible.
"I more than most realize how important it was to us to have federal help,federal backup," Giuliani said during a town hall meeting at a seniorcenter. "Look, it's going to be there because of the kind of people we are.We might as well try to organize it in a sensible way."
He spoke about familiar themes before taking questions _ fighting terrorism,limiting medical malpractice lawsuit awards and improving health carethrough private competition.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/sfl-flfproptax0113sbjan13,0,6198634.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
Property tax-cut fate hard to call, with only two full weeks before vote
By Linda Kleindienst
Tallahassee Bureau Chief
January 13, 2008
TALLAHASSEE
It was supposed to be a no-brainer. Give Florida voters a chance to cuttheir taxes and they will, case closed.
But with just over two weeks before the fate of Amendment 1 is decided, thefuture - and the impact - of the much-heralded tax-cut package on the Jan.29 ballot is murky.
Special interests have lined up on both sides, but many homeowners have beenleft in the middle, still wondering how to vote and whether their propertytaxes will drop as state politicians promised.
Polling to date shows public support hovering just below the 60 percentneeded for passage.
Compared to previous constitutional amendment battles - such as high-speedrail, Everglades cleanup and slots - the fight over the tax package has beena relatively low-profile affair.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Michael Rajner
merajner@gmail.com
The Bradenton Herald
Bradenton.com
Sunday, Jan 13, 2008
Posted on Fri, Jan. 11, 2008
Manatee boy has AIDS; mother charged
By ROBERT NAPPER
rnapper@bradenton.com
BRADENTON, FL - Authorities say a Bradenton mother knew how to keep her 3-year-old son from contracting HIV from her at birth.
Cecelia Ann Sliker, 36, had taken such steps for her first son, now 6, who was born after she was diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports said.
But Sliker's youngest son has tested positive for AIDS because she failed to take steps to prevent transmission at birth, amounting to felony child neglect, according to sheriff's reports.
Some time before giving birth to her first child, Sliker was diagnosed with HIV, the sheriff's report said. With the first child, Sliker followed up on care and medication for the child's health.
"This child did not become infected with the disease," the sheriff's report said.
Bradenton pediatrician Catherine Giangreco said that is often the case with expectant mothers who take steps to prevent transmission of HIV to their children.
Giangreco said pregnant women with HIV are given a specific regimen of anti-viral medicine before birth that is extremely effective in preventing ransmission, which usually occurs at birth when bodily fluids of mother and child mix.
more....
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/sfl-flbearlyvote0113sbjan13,0,5198425.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
Early presidential primary voting begins Monday in Broward County
Presidential primaries, state property tax issue on ballot
By Michael Turnbell
January 13, 2008
Ready to show your support for the Democratic or Republican presidentialnominees or have a say in how much property tax you want to pay?
Starting Monday, you'll have your chance.
Early voting for the Jan. 29 primary begins Monday and continues throughJan. 27, with 16 sites scattered throughout Broward County open seven days aweek.
And even though few presidential candidates actually have ventured intoFlorida - most Republicans will be in South Carolina until that state's Jan.19 primary, and the Democrats have pledged not to come here at all - BrowardCounty Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes says she expects voter interestwill be strong.
Snipes predicts close to half of Broward's 888,000 registered voters willcast ballots in the primary. That's up considerably from the 17 percent whovoted in the last presidential primary in 2004, when there was no GOPcontest.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flboconnor0113sbjan13,0,5838756.story
Former Wilton Manors Municipal Judge Francis D. O'Connor, 78
By Brian Haas
January 13, 2008
Francis D. O'Connor, former Wilton Manors municipal judge, attorney andpatriarch of a family of attorneys, died Friday at his home. He was 78.
Known as "Frank" to most who knew him, Mr. O'Connor's health had been indecline since he had a stroke in December 2006, said his son TerrenceO'Connor.
Mr. O'Connor was born in Chicago. He moved to South Florida as a young manand lived in the Fort Lauderdale area for more than 50 years. The MarineCorps veteran graduated from the University of Florida College of Law andwas admitted to the Florida Bar in 1957. In 1960, he formed the law firm ofMorgan, Carratt and O'Connor, PA, in Fort Lauderdale with two colleagues.
Two of his sons, Terrence and Michael O'Connor, are attorneys with the firm.
Terrence O'Connor said his father was a Wilton Manors municipal judge forabout five years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He said he was tough anddemanding, but practical. He recalled visiting his father's court as a childand marveling at the way his father dealt with minors.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/377470.html
Fire union assails Giuliani
BY MARC CAPUTO
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
Rudy Giuliani's plan to ride in a Miami-Dade firetruck in Sunday's ThreeKings parade has outraged some firefighters who say the presidentialcandidate has ''lied'' about his 9/11 record because he did too little toequip and protect emergency workers.
The controversy -- unwittingly set in motion by County Commissioner RebecaSosa -- has politically pitted firefighters against one another inMiami-Dade as well as in New York. To quiet the feud, the IAFF's localMiami-Dade chapter, 1403, will cover its numbers on the union-ownedfiretruck by draping it with an American flag.
Giuliani's campaign said he will probably ride in the truck and walk besideit with firefighters.
The campaign responded to questions about his record with a statement thatstressed his generous spending on New York emergency management agencies. Italso dismissed some firefighter attacks on his mayoral record as a partisansmear linked to the Democratic-leaning International Association of FireFighters union, which released a popular but questionable YouTube video andwebsite calling the Republican's leadership an ``Urban Legend.''
Jim Riches, a recently retired New York firefighter featured in the union'smedia, told The Miami Herald that Giuliani doesn't deserve to go anywherenear a flag-draped firetruck.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/377502.html
Florida still critical for Democrats
BY LESLEY CLARK AND BETH REINHARD
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
Forget what you've heard about Florida's primary not making any differencein the Democratic nomination process. So what if candidates are boycottingthe state?
Here's why Florida's Democratic primary on Jan. 29 will likely matter: Onemillion -- maybe two million -- people will go to the polls. The names ofeight Democratic candidates will be on the ballot. The votes will betallied, and the results will be announced.
''It has to have value because someone is going to win and someone is goingto lose, and whoever wins is certainly going to claim it,'' said Democraticpollster Tom Eldon, who has been surveying likely primary voters. ``Unlessthe media boycotts the race, Florida will have an impact.''
In a race in which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have split the winningsso far and could do the same in Nevada and South Carolina, Florida willserve as the largest testing ground yet. It also will deliver the last boostof momentum before a 22-state voting blitz on Feb. 5 that is likely tosettle the nomination.
''If this continues to be as close and roller-coaster-like as we're seeing,there will be a strong message that comes out of Florida,'' said the state'sDemocratic Party chairwoman, Karen Thurman. ``After Iowa and New Hampshire,I didn't see headlines about the number of delegates that the candidatesgot. It's been about the winner.''
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/story/377439.html
Romney leads McCain in Michigan, poll shows
By STEVEN THOMMA
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
Mitt Romney leads John McCain days before a potentially pivotal Republicanprimary in Michigan, with Romney's business experience and home-state tiesapparently helping in a state where the economy is taking center stage,according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll.
The rise of the economy as an issue and Romney's new strength after twolosses underscored how volatile the campaign has become as the partygrapples to find a new leader and direction for the post-Bush era.
No winner has yet to gain a bounce into the next contest, and in Michigan,11 percent of likely primary voters were still undecided, a bloc big enoughto swing the vote in any direction. Even among those who say they support acandidate, 39 percent said they still could change their minds.
Likely voters in Michigan rank the economy and jobs their top concern, wellabove some of the other issues that had dominated much of the Republicandebate nationally for months, such as national security and terrorism, taxesand government spending, moral issues, and illegal immigration.
That's little surprise in a state with an ailing auto industry and thenation's highest unemployment rate. But it also could be a sign of ashifting political landscape as the rest of the country also starts to seewarning signs of an economic slump.
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/13/s4c_ABSENTEE_0113.html
Postage not listed on first batch of absentee ballots
By CHRISTOPHER S. MOODY
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Whether you make the trip to the polls or mail an absentee ballot this year,you're probably going to wait in line either way - that, or pay a little bitmore for postage than necessary.
When the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections sent out the first batchof nearly 4,000-5,000 absentee ballots, there was no indication of the exactamount of postage needed to return them. Unless voters went to the postoffice, there was little way to tell the correct price, leaving somescratching their heads.
The postage price to send an absentee ballot is 97 cents or $1.14, dependingon the district.
Jupiter residents Valerie and Richard Cadmus received their absentee ballotsa few weeks ago. Their first reaction was to slap a stamp on the envelopeand put it in the mailbox, but Valerie Cadmus didn't want to risk theirvotes not making it to the election office.
"Neither my husband nor I are stupid, and when it says first class on here,you do it," said Valerie Cadmus, who decided to send her husband to the postoffice, just to be certain her votes would be counted. "If we got confused,what about other people?"
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/01/13/a13a_glades_0113.html
Everglades project can ease harm of climate change, scientist says
By ROBERT P. KING
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008
CAPTIVA - Global warming means South Florida faces a future of erodedcoasts, flooded barrier islands, mud-clogged bays, dying coral reefs, swathsof dead mangroves and saw grass, and shorelines reeking with blooming algae,a University of Miami scientist warned environmentalists Saturday.
But Harold Wanless offered one glimmer of hope: Restoring the Everglades canpostpone some of the damage - but only if it's done right. That meansrecreating enough of the marsh's natural flow to rebuild eroded peat, whichcould hold back the salt and protect South Florida's drinking water supply.
"Everglades restoration is more important than ever," Wanless told hundredsof activists, engineers and state and federal leaders at the EvergladesCoalition's annual conference. Even so, he said Florida faces a grim fate ifscientists' worst fears are realized about the melting of glaciers inAntarctica and Greenland.
"We have set into motion a monster," said Wanless, who chairs theuniversity's department of geological sciences. "I wish I was writing you anovel. But unfortunately this is, as far as we can see, very real."
Wanless' presentation cast a brief pall over the four-day Evergladesgathering.
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/business/epaper/2008/01/13/a1f_econpower_0113.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6
A green opportunity grows as the nation strives for energy efficiency
By KRISTI E. SWARTZ
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Tommy Boroughs was a law student at Duke University in the late 1960s whenhe saw North Carolina transform its economy from one based on tobacco,textiles and furniture to one based on technology, ideas and innovation.
Boroughs, who is now the executive director of the Florida EnergyCommission, said it took local and state government, as well as the businesscommunity, to create what's now known internationally as the ResearchTriangle Park.
"They put money behind it, and they worked the plan," he said.
And Boroughs said Florida can transform itself into a "low-carbon" economy:One that builds clean-emissions businesses and promotes renewable energy.
"Let's focus on building an industry here and play it strategically, notjust for the quick hit," said Boroughs, a former president of the OrlandoUtilities Commission. "You want to draw those businesses that will drawothers, and to do that, you have to cooperate."
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202329.html?hpid=sec-politics
Giuliani Talks About Insurance in Fla.
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 12, 2008; 8:30 PM
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani saidSaturday that his experience as New York City's mayor during the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks is a big reason why he supports a national insurancebackup fund.
"Maybe I feel more strongly about this because of what I went through asmayor. I don't even know how to describe Sept. 11. I don't know ifcatastrophe is even the right word," Giuliani said. "There's no possible waywe could have gotten through that alone. No possible way."
A national catastrophe fund is a top federal priority for Gov. Charlie Cristand two Democratic congressmen from Florida, Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney, havea bill that passed the House which would create a the backup fund in hopesof making property insurance more affordable and accessible.
"I more than most realize how important it was to us to have federal help,federal backup," Giuliani said during a town hall meeting at a seniorcenter. "Look, it's going to be there because of the kind of people we are.We might as well try to organize it in a sensible way."
He spoke about familiar themes before taking questions _ fighting terrorism,limiting medical malpractice lawsuit awards and improving health carethrough private competition.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/sfl-flfproptax0113sbjan13,0,6198634.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
Property tax-cut fate hard to call, with only two full weeks before vote
By Linda Kleindienst
Tallahassee Bureau Chief
January 13, 2008
TALLAHASSEE
It was supposed to be a no-brainer. Give Florida voters a chance to cuttheir taxes and they will, case closed.
But with just over two weeks before the fate of Amendment 1 is decided, thefuture - and the impact - of the much-heralded tax-cut package on the Jan.29 ballot is murky.
Special interests have lined up on both sides, but many homeowners have beenleft in the middle, still wondering how to vote and whether their propertytaxes will drop as state politicians promised.
Polling to date shows public support hovering just below the 60 percentneeded for passage.
Compared to previous constitutional amendment battles - such as high-speedrail, Everglades cleanup and slots - the fight over the tax package has beena relatively low-profile affair.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Michael Rajner
merajner@gmail.com
The Bradenton Herald
Bradenton.com
Sunday, Jan 13, 2008
Posted on Fri, Jan. 11, 2008
Manatee boy has AIDS; mother charged
By ROBERT NAPPER
rnapper@bradenton.com
BRADENTON, FL - Authorities say a Bradenton mother knew how to keep her 3-year-old son from contracting HIV from her at birth.
Cecelia Ann Sliker, 36, had taken such steps for her first son, now 6, who was born after she was diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports said.
But Sliker's youngest son has tested positive for AIDS because she failed to take steps to prevent transmission at birth, amounting to felony child neglect, according to sheriff's reports.
Some time before giving birth to her first child, Sliker was diagnosed with HIV, the sheriff's report said. With the first child, Sliker followed up on care and medication for the child's health.
"This child did not become infected with the disease," the sheriff's report said.
Bradenton pediatrician Catherine Giangreco said that is often the case with expectant mothers who take steps to prevent transmission of HIV to their children.
Giangreco said pregnant women with HIV are given a specific regimen of anti-viral medicine before birth that is extremely effective in preventing ransmission, which usually occurs at birth when bodily fluids of mother and child mix.
more....
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/sfl-flbearlyvote0113sbjan13,0,5198425.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
Early presidential primary voting begins Monday in Broward County
Presidential primaries, state property tax issue on ballot
By Michael Turnbell
January 13, 2008
Ready to show your support for the Democratic or Republican presidentialnominees or have a say in how much property tax you want to pay?
Starting Monday, you'll have your chance.
Early voting for the Jan. 29 primary begins Monday and continues throughJan. 27, with 16 sites scattered throughout Broward County open seven days aweek.
And even though few presidential candidates actually have ventured intoFlorida - most Republicans will be in South Carolina until that state's Jan.19 primary, and the Democrats have pledged not to come here at all - BrowardCounty Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes says she expects voter interestwill be strong.
Snipes predicts close to half of Broward's 888,000 registered voters willcast ballots in the primary. That's up considerably from the 17 percent whovoted in the last presidential primary in 2004, when there was no GOPcontest.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flboconnor0113sbjan13,0,5838756.story
Former Wilton Manors Municipal Judge Francis D. O'Connor, 78
By Brian Haas
January 13, 2008
Francis D. O'Connor, former Wilton Manors municipal judge, attorney andpatriarch of a family of attorneys, died Friday at his home. He was 78.
Known as "Frank" to most who knew him, Mr. O'Connor's health had been indecline since he had a stroke in December 2006, said his son TerrenceO'Connor.
Mr. O'Connor was born in Chicago. He moved to South Florida as a young manand lived in the Fort Lauderdale area for more than 50 years. The MarineCorps veteran graduated from the University of Florida College of Law andwas admitted to the Florida Bar in 1957. In 1960, he formed the law firm ofMorgan, Carratt and O'Connor, PA, in Fort Lauderdale with two colleagues.
Two of his sons, Terrence and Michael O'Connor, are attorneys with the firm.
Terrence O'Connor said his father was a Wilton Manors municipal judge forabout five years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He said he was tough anddemanding, but practical. He recalled visiting his father's court as a childand marveling at the way his father dealt with minors.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/377470.html
Fire union assails Giuliani
BY MARC CAPUTO
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
Rudy Giuliani's plan to ride in a Miami-Dade firetruck in Sunday's ThreeKings parade has outraged some firefighters who say the presidentialcandidate has ''lied'' about his 9/11 record because he did too little toequip and protect emergency workers.
The controversy -- unwittingly set in motion by County Commissioner RebecaSosa -- has politically pitted firefighters against one another inMiami-Dade as well as in New York. To quiet the feud, the IAFF's localMiami-Dade chapter, 1403, will cover its numbers on the union-ownedfiretruck by draping it with an American flag.
Giuliani's campaign said he will probably ride in the truck and walk besideit with firefighters.
The campaign responded to questions about his record with a statement thatstressed his generous spending on New York emergency management agencies. Italso dismissed some firefighter attacks on his mayoral record as a partisansmear linked to the Democratic-leaning International Association of FireFighters union, which released a popular but questionable YouTube video andwebsite calling the Republican's leadership an ``Urban Legend.''
Jim Riches, a recently retired New York firefighter featured in the union'smedia, told The Miami Herald that Giuliani doesn't deserve to go anywherenear a flag-draped firetruck.
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/377502.html
Florida still critical for Democrats
BY LESLEY CLARK AND BETH REINHARD
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
Forget what you've heard about Florida's primary not making any differencein the Democratic nomination process. So what if candidates are boycottingthe state?
Here's why Florida's Democratic primary on Jan. 29 will likely matter: Onemillion -- maybe two million -- people will go to the polls. The names ofeight Democratic candidates will be on the ballot. The votes will betallied, and the results will be announced.
''It has to have value because someone is going to win and someone is goingto lose, and whoever wins is certainly going to claim it,'' said Democraticpollster Tom Eldon, who has been surveying likely primary voters. ``Unlessthe media boycotts the race, Florida will have an impact.''
In a race in which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have split the winningsso far and could do the same in Nevada and South Carolina, Florida willserve as the largest testing ground yet. It also will deliver the last boostof momentum before a 22-state voting blitz on Feb. 5 that is likely tosettle the nomination.
''If this continues to be as close and roller-coaster-like as we're seeing,there will be a strong message that comes out of Florida,'' said the state'sDemocratic Party chairwoman, Karen Thurman. ``After Iowa and New Hampshire,I didn't see headlines about the number of delegates that the candidatesgot. It's been about the winner.''
more . . . . .
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/story/377439.html
Romney leads McCain in Michigan, poll shows
By STEVEN THOMMA
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
Mitt Romney leads John McCain days before a potentially pivotal Republicanprimary in Michigan, with Romney's business experience and home-state tiesapparently helping in a state where the economy is taking center stage,according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll.
The rise of the economy as an issue and Romney's new strength after twolosses underscored how volatile the campaign has become as the partygrapples to find a new leader and direction for the post-Bush era.
No winner has yet to gain a bounce into the next contest, and in Michigan,11 percent of likely primary voters were still undecided, a bloc big enoughto swing the vote in any direction. Even among those who say they support acandidate, 39 percent said they still could change their minds.
Likely voters in Michigan rank the economy and jobs their top concern, wellabove some of the other issues that had dominated much of the Republicandebate nationally for months, such as national security and terrorism, taxesand government spending, moral issues, and illegal immigration.
That's little surprise in a state with an ailing auto industry and thenation's highest unemployment rate. But it also could be a sign of ashifting political landscape as the rest of the country also starts to seewarning signs of an economic slump.
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/13/s4c_ABSENTEE_0113.html
Postage not listed on first batch of absentee ballots
By CHRISTOPHER S. MOODY
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Whether you make the trip to the polls or mail an absentee ballot this year,you're probably going to wait in line either way - that, or pay a little bitmore for postage than necessary.
When the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections sent out the first batchof nearly 4,000-5,000 absentee ballots, there was no indication of the exactamount of postage needed to return them. Unless voters went to the postoffice, there was little way to tell the correct price, leaving somescratching their heads.
The postage price to send an absentee ballot is 97 cents or $1.14, dependingon the district.
Jupiter residents Valerie and Richard Cadmus received their absentee ballotsa few weeks ago. Their first reaction was to slap a stamp on the envelopeand put it in the mailbox, but Valerie Cadmus didn't want to risk theirvotes not making it to the election office.
"Neither my husband nor I are stupid, and when it says first class on here,you do it," said Valerie Cadmus, who decided to send her husband to the postoffice, just to be certain her votes would be counted. "If we got confused,what about other people?"
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/01/13/a13a_glades_0113.html
Everglades project can ease harm of climate change, scientist says
By ROBERT P. KING
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008
CAPTIVA - Global warming means South Florida faces a future of erodedcoasts, flooded barrier islands, mud-clogged bays, dying coral reefs, swathsof dead mangroves and saw grass, and shorelines reeking with blooming algae,a University of Miami scientist warned environmentalists Saturday.
But Harold Wanless offered one glimmer of hope: Restoring the Everglades canpostpone some of the damage - but only if it's done right. That meansrecreating enough of the marsh's natural flow to rebuild eroded peat, whichcould hold back the salt and protect South Florida's drinking water supply.
"Everglades restoration is more important than ever," Wanless told hundredsof activists, engineers and state and federal leaders at the EvergladesCoalition's annual conference. Even so, he said Florida faces a grim fate ifscientists' worst fears are realized about the melting of glaciers inAntarctica and Greenland.
"We have set into motion a monster," said Wanless, who chairs theuniversity's department of geological sciences. "I wish I was writing you anovel. But unfortunately this is, as far as we can see, very real."
Wanless' presentation cast a brief pall over the four-day Evergladesgathering.
more . . . . .
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/business/epaper/2008/01/13/a1f_econpower_0113.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6
A green opportunity grows as the nation strives for energy efficiency
By KRISTI E. SWARTZ
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Tommy Boroughs was a law student at Duke University in the late 1960s whenhe saw North Carolina transform its economy from one based on tobacco,textiles and furniture to one based on technology, ideas and innovation.
Boroughs, who is now the executive director of the Florida EnergyCommission, said it took local and state government, as well as the businesscommunity, to create what's now known internationally as the ResearchTriangle Park.
"They put money behind it, and they worked the plan," he said.
And Boroughs said Florida can transform itself into a "low-carbon" economy:One that builds clean-emissions businesses and promotes renewable energy.
"Let's focus on building an industry here and play it strategically, notjust for the quick hit," said Boroughs, a former president of the OrlandoUtilities Commission. "You want to draw those businesses that will drawothers, and to do that, you have to cooperate."
more . . . . .
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)