Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker

"MONTGOMERY - An Alabama lawmaker who sought to ban gay marriages now wants to ban novels with gay characters from public libraries, including university libraries.

A bill by Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would prohibit the use of public funds for 'the purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.' Allen said he filed the bill to protect children from the 'homosexual agenda.'"

I really can't deal with people like this. I know some individuals who can, but I can't... I just want to yell "Off with their heads!" It's completely irrational and offensive to me and everyone I know.  ¶
- david | 11:42 PM 0 comments

  Questions for Kerik - Is he qualified to run the Department of Homeland Security? By Fred Kaplan

Specifically, Kerik started his rise to power as a veteran street cop tasked to be Giuliani's driver and bodyguard during the 1993 mayoral election. The two became friends. Giuliani made him commissioner of the Corrections Department—where, it must be said, Kerik did a bang-up job, reducing gang violence at Riker's Island by 90 percent. He then became deputy commissioner of the NYPD and, finally, the commish.

He was the city's top cop for the last 16 months of Giuliani's tenure. For the first 13 of those months, terrorism wasn't much of an issue. Kerik's three main priorities, as he laid out in a talk at the Manhattan Institute in March 2001, were reducing crime (which had been plunging for eight years already), boosting police morale (which had recently been damaged by rancorous labor negotiations), and "improving community relations" (a euphemism for "saying hello to black people once in a while," which Giuliani had barely done since his first year as mayor).

Kerik did well in all three areas. But they had nothing to do with countering terrorism—an issue that Giuliani preferred to manage himself (with much enthusiasm, but mixed results, as when, for instance, he decided to put his multimillion-dollar anti-terror command headquarters on the 23rd floor of the World Trade Center).

Not to denigrate Kerik's job performance, but he spent much of his own term writing an autobiography (which became a best seller). He used active-duty police officers to help with research on the book, a violation of policy for which the city's Conflicts of Interest Board fined Kerik $2,500. And when someone stole his publisher's cell phone and necklace, he assigned some homicide detectives to the case—a move that caused some outrage in the ranks.

  ¶
- david | 11:37 PM 0 comments

  Surprise, Surprise, Abstinence Programs Telling Lies

"Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus, and that touching a person's genitals 'can result in pregnancy,' a congressional staff analysis has found.

Those and other assertions are examples of the 'false, misleading, or distorted information' in the programs' teaching materials, said the analysis, released yesterday, which reviewed the curricula of more than a dozen projects aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
...
Among the misconceptions cited by Waxman's investigators:

• A 43-day-old fetus is a "thinking person."

• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears.

• Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31 percent of the time in heterosexual intercourse.

One curriculum, called "Me, My World, My Future," teaches that women who have an abortion "are more prone to suicide" and that as many as 10 percent of them become sterile. This contradicts the 2001 edition of a standard obstetrics textbook that says fertility is not affected by elective abortion, the Waxman report said.
...
Nonpartisan researchers have been unable to document measurable benefits of the abstinence-only model. Columbia University researchers found that although teenagers who take "virginity pledges" may wait longer to initiate sexual activity, 88 percent eventually have premarital sex."

Oh my god! I didn't see this coming at all! I thought abstinence was truly based on a desire to see children make it through their troubled teenage years and all the way to marriage without engaging in sexual intercourse. You mean it's a whole system based on lies, fear, and more lies? Jeez, that's way out of left field for a program run primarily by friends of the religious right. Way to go George W. Bush, for supporting yet another campaign of distrust and disinformation. How many times do we have to discuss this: abstinence education doesn't promote abstinence, it promotes fear!  ¶
- david | 12:51 PM 0 comments

  Key Antigun Program Loses Direct Financing

"Congress has eliminated direct financing for a Justice Department program that has been the centerpiece of the Bush administration's efforts to prosecute black-market gun crimes.

The move, which Congressional officials attributed to competing budget priorities, cuts federal grants to local and state law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting crimes committed with guns. It also raises questions about the administration's ability to persuade the Republican-controlled Congress to support its legislative priorities...

The administration had sought $45 million for local grants under the gun prosecution program, Project Safe Neighborhoods.
...
But in passing a $388 billion spending bill on Nov. 20, Congress erased all the direct money sought for the program. A related program to track and intercept illegal purchases of guns by youngsters, for which the administration sought an additional $106 million, also received nothing in the final spending package, although the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which administers it, received an overall increase of $20 million.

This is disconcerting. It seems (duh!) that worse than losing the
White House this year was losing the Congress. Even when Bush "pushes" moderate issues, Congress is willing to overturn him and offer the money to other programs with other "problems like detaining illegal immigrants..."  ¶
- david | 1:39 PM 0 comments

  Frist Political Fund Can't Cover Bank Loan (Reg. Required)

"A campaign fund controlled by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has lost almost $460,000 in stock market investments since 2000 and now does not have enough to cover a sizable bank loan, according to federal election records and the manager of the Frist account.

The heaviest losses, totaling more than $500,000, occurred in a stock index fund in 2001 and 2002, years when the securities markets suffered a major downturn. But the Frist campaign account lost an additional $32,050 in July and August, a setback that was only partially offset by a gain of $11,472 in September, according to Linus Castignani, treasurer of 'Frist 2000,' which was created to finance the senator's successful campaign for a second six-year term in 2000."

Tom Daschle - "He still thinks we should put seniors' Social Security funds in the stock market?!"

Bill Frist is slimy. This doesn't mean anything politically, but I think it sure says something about his character.  ¶
- david | 1:31 PM 0 comments

  CoIntel Redux

"The American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) on Thursday accused the FBI (news - web sites) and local police of spying on political and faith-based groups and formally asked the government for information about such FBI surveillance.
...
'The FBI is wasting its time and our tax dollars spying on groups that criticize the government, like the Quakers in Colorado or Catholic Peace Ministries in Iowa,' said ACLU associate legal director Ann Beeson."

From the comments at DailyKos:

The last time this occurred was during the 1980s when the FBI was spying upon church groups that opposed U.S. policy in Central America.

Senate hearings were held on the whole issue. I think they were chaired by Senator Dodd.

In any event, should be we really be surprised? The same people were in power then that are in power now.

Once a fascist, always a fascist.

Oh man. I actually really like the idea of the government spying on peaceful protestors, cause at least it means that they're not spying on the ones willing to cause some damage to get what they want. I mean, I'm definitely not in favor of blowing anyone up, but spying on citizens (which is the CIA's job, anyway!) just reeks of corruption and injustice so deep that there must be some citizens driven to act out their feelings differently than most others...  ¶
- david | 1:15 PM 0 comments

  Red Cross Calls Gitmo Tactics 'Tantamount to Torture' I guess this is why...

"The International Committee of the Red Cross released a report that called the handling of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, 'tantamount to torture' and accused the U.S. of using both psychological and physical coercion on prisoners there. "

  ¶
- david | 7:47 PM 0 comments

  Gen. Myers: No torture at Guantanamo Bay

"Dismissing charges that tactics used at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, amount to torture, Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the military's coercion policies today in Indianapolis.

'We certainly don't think it's torture,' Myers said this morning before delivering a speech to the Economic Club of Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center.

The U.S. Department of Justice had written guidelines for interrogations of detainees from the war on terrorism, Myers said, and the military followed them.

'Let's not forget the kind of people we have down there,' he said. 'These are the people that don't know any moral values.'"

What exactly does he think he's talking about? Didn't we all decide a while ago that what happened at Abu Ghraib amounted exactly to abuse? And aren't many of the same protocols in use at Guantanamo? Even the Supreme Court has ruled that holding the prisoners without trial is illegal, and I'm still not sure who gets to draw the line between violating Geneva conventions and terrorism. This really strikes me as hubris, maybe a product of winning the war on Democrats. I'm not sure why this is coming up now though...  ¶
- david | 7:12 PM 0 comments

  Yahoo! News - Ridge Resigns Homeland Security Post

WASHINGTON - Tom Ridge, named the nation's first homeland security secretary after the Sept. 11 attacks, announced Tuesday that he is resigning after three years of reworking American security and presiding over color-coded terror alerts. He's the seventh Bush Cabinet officer leaving so far.

Ridge presided over the most significant government reorganization in 50 years. He'll be remembered for his terror alerts and tutorials about how to prepare for possible attacks, including the controversial 'disaster kits' that caused last year's run on duct tape and plastic sheeting.

Amid warnings that the country may face increased terror risks around the holidays and the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, Ridge said he will remain on the job through Feb. 1, unless his replacement is installed sooner.

Ridge acknowledged he could not prove the costly and complex security measures that have been put in place have foiled any terrorist attacks inside the United States, but he said the country is safer today than before the suicide hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania."

I think it's really weird that Tom Ridge is leaving these as his departing words. I mean, "the country is safer today than before" 9/11? Isn't that a little like me saying that my hemp necklace is keeping me safe from bears and then proving it by asking you to look for bears? Well, there haven't been any major terrorist attacks on the U.S. since 9/11, but there also weren't any for quite a few years before that... So, by much similar logic, the Bush administration made us less safe than we were before he was inaugurated... Time for him to resign!  ¶
- david | 4:36 PM 0 comments

  Falwell on Meet The Press (Signal vs. Noise) Some interesting quotes and discussion from Falwell's appearance on Meet the Press...
This may be my favorite:

“We’re not against women working outside the home unless the husband believes that it’s not the right choice.”

  ¶
- david | 4:27 PM 0 comments

  Federal Plan to Keep Data on Students Worries Some

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 - A proposal by the federal government to create a vast new database of enrollment records on all college and university students is raising concerns that the move will erode the privacy rights of students.

Until now, universities have provided individual student information to the federal government only in connection with federally financed student aid. Otherwise, colleges and universities submit information about overall enrollment, graduation, prices and financial aid without identifying particular students.

For the first time, however, colleges and universities would have to give the government data on all students individually, whether or not they received financial assistance, with their Social Security numbers.
...

  ¶
- david | 12:03 AM 0 comments

  Soliciting Nothing A campaign for Buy Nothing Day goes very wrong, with the local police stepping on the toes of free speech and arresting a few people soliciting nothing.  ¶
- david | 12:03 AM 0 comments

  Stem cell from umbilical cord blood used to treat paralysis

South Korean researchers say they've used stem cell therapy to enable a paralyzed patient to walk after she was not even able to stand for the last 19 years.
...
The woman could now walk unassisted, the scientists said.
...
The researchers said they isolated stem cells from umbilical cord blood and then injected them into the damaged part of the woman's spinal cord.

Three cheers for modern science... however, I honestly don't know if this kind of science is legal in the States. It was umbilical cord blood, so it should be AOK, right?  ¶
- david | 11:56 PM 0 comments

  The World's Shortest Comprehensive Recycling Guide Recycling is good. We like recycling. Recycle quickly and completely, or else!  ¶
- david | 11:47 PM 0 comments

  Political Wire: Moderate Senators Weigh Cooperation With Bush While they're figuring out which of our senators it would be best to aim for in 2006, let's figure out a way to make it politically impossible for those same senators to lose. One of the most reassuring pieces of common wisdom these days is this: 2006 will be a much easier fight, seeing as this time around repubs have got a pretty much green light for whatever they'd like to do (and can't blame anything on anyone else) so this difficult situation won't win them any supporters (unless things get better, in which case, i guess i'd have to admit they deserve support? can that be right?)  ¶
- david | 11:39 PM 0 comments

  Majority want Supreme Court nominee to uphold Roe v. Wade

WASHINGTON A majority of Americans in a new Associated Press poll say President Bush's next Supreme Court nominee should be willing to uphold abortion rights.
Nearly six in ten people say the nominee should back the 1973 Roe versus Wade decision that legalized abortion. And about the same number of people feel the nominee should give his or her position on abortion before being approved for the job.

A majority of Republicans, evangelicals and people over 65 say they want a nominee who would overturn the decision.

  ¶
- david | 4:19 PM 0 comments

  Skidmore's Representative So, amazingly enough, our normally very progressive and nice representative doesn't seem very comunicative about his vote on the 'Republicans are proud to be criminals' / "delay rule" thing (for more on this disgusting vote, see here):

that phrase refers to House Republicans' decision to get rid of an 11-year-old party rule that required leadership members to step aside temporarily if indicted.

...

The rule change was approved by voice vote during a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Nov. 17. That means there's no written record of the vote.

Spurred on by Josh Marshall, author of the political blog http:// talkingpointsmemo.com, constituents having been calling members of Congress to ask how they voted.

Three people who called Sweeney's D.C. office reported back with similar stories: His staff either couldn't or wouldn't say how he had voted. Staffers professed not to know the answer, or said they hadn't yet had a chance to talk to Sweeney about his vote, or said the vote was private. Sometimes, they reportedly tried all these tactics in one conversation.

Aren't you proud of him? I wrote my email (a call would have been godawfully expensive for me) a week and a half ago, but I never got a response (true, I'm no longer actually registered in the district...).   ¶
- josh | 3:13 AM 1 comments

  Coalition troops launch daring raid

In the biggest operation of its kind so far in Iraq, 130 men raced up the Euphrates river at 50mph in camouflaged vessels, each boat armed with two machine guns and a grenade launcher.

The stealth craft were used to sneak up on an area infested with insurgents and terrorists on the east bank of the Euphrates - just across the water from the Black Watch's temporary base at Camp Dogwood.

Some of the rockets that have rained down on the Black Watch over the last four weeks are believed to have been fired from the area, which is covered by palm groves and farm land.

There have also been reported sightings of Jordanian terror chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the same lawless area of north Babil province, some 40 miles south of Baghdad.

  ¶
- david | 8:43 PM 1 comments