Palin

Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin was an active member in making the extremist changes in her church. Among the things they did were:
1. Palin’s church ran members to take over the school board. Once elected, they insisted that the school teach their brand of creationism and not the facts of evolution. Another valley activist, Philip Munger, reported that she told him that she believed the earth is only 7000 years old and that humans walked with dinosaurs. They also pushed the schools to teach only abstinence in the classrooms instead of birth control. We all know the results of that for Palin’s family.
2. They ran members to take over the local hospital board. Their first act was to ban abortions. This was overturned by the Alaska Supreme Court. Palin even joined protesters outside a doctor’s office to prevent women from exercising their right to choice.
3. After Palin was elected to city council, she tried to force the city’s library to ban over 90 books, including, the Harry Potter books and Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. This failed so when she was elected mayor, she tried to fire the librarian. This failed but the librarian eventually retired.
4. "So Sambo beat the bitch!" This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama's win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination. According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat's primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.
5. On a questionnaire, sponsored by Eagle Forum Alaska, a conservative group, asked, “Will you support an effort to expand hate crime laws?” She said no.
6. Palin believes that gays have made an evil choice and that they need to be sent to “retraining” camps. Gov. Sarah Palin's church is currently promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.
7. Palin's churches are actively involved in a resurgent movement that was declared heretical by the Assemblies of God in 1949. This is the same 'Spiritual Warfare' movement that was featured in the award winning movie, "Jesus Camp," which showed young children being trained to do battle for the Lord. At least three of four of Palin's churches are involved with major organizations and leaders of this movement, which is referred to as The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit or the New Apostolic Reformation. The movement is training a young Joel's Army to take dominion over the United States and the world.
8. When a local minister, Howard Bess, tried to teach tolerance of homosexuals, his books got removed from all local bookstores. A local newspaper ran a cartoon showing drooling child molesters welcome to his church.
9. One of her top priorities is to pass an amendment to the US Constitution to ban gay marriage.
10. Opposes adoption rights for LGBT Americans.
11. Her belief that the end of the world will come in her time has led her to oppose the listing of the polar bear as an endangered species and to spend Alaska taxpayer money defeating a statewide initiative to end aerial shooting of wolves.
Her preacher:
According to the Christian Science Monitor, six months of fervent prayer and research identified the source of the witchcraft as a local woman called Mama Jane, who ran a "divination" center called the Emmanuel Clinic.Her alleged involvement in fortune-telling and the fact that she lived near the site of a number of fatal car accidents led Muthee to publicly declare her a witch responsible for the town's ills and order her to offer her up her soul for salvation or leave Kiambu.Says the Monitor, "Muthee held a crusade that 'brought about 200 people to Christ.'" They set up around-the-clock prayer intercession in the basement of a grocery store and eventually, says the pastor, "the demonic influence -- the 'principality' over Kiambu -- wasbroken," and Mama Jane fled the town.According to accounts of the witch hunt that circulated on evangelical Web sites such as Prayer Links Ministries, after Muthee declared Mama Jane a witch, the townspeople became suspicious and began to turn on her, demanding that she be stoned. Public outrage eventually led the police to raid her home, where they fired gunshots, killing a petpython they believed to be a demon.After Mama Jane was questioned by police -- and released -- she decided it was time to leave town, the account says.
In October 2005, he delivered 10 sermons at the Wasilla Assembly of God, the audio ofwhich was available on the church's Web site until it was removed around the time Palin's candidacy was announced.
It was during these sermons that Palin, who was then preparing for her gubernatorial run, was anointed by Muthee. His intercession, she says, was "awesome."Her June 8 speech was to mark the graduation of students from the Wasilla Assembly of God's Masters' Commission, which, as Pastor Ed Kalins explains, believes Alaska will be the refuge for American evangelicals upon the coming "End of Days." After her speech, Palin was presented with an honorary Masters' Commission diploma.

McGreevey Gets A Break

Former Gov. James E. McGreevey will not have to pay alimony to his ex-wife, a judge ruled Friday in granting the couple a divorce after a tumultuous eight-year marriage that crumbled publicly when McGreevey acknowledged he was a "gay American."

Fox News Promotes Hatred

A survivor of the recent church shooting in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Reverend Gordon Gibson, doesn't blame the conservative cultural mores of the South for the hate-motivated rampage at his church last month.Instead, citing reports that the alleged gunman had annotated copies of books by conservative pundits Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, he blames Fox News, where both have television shows. Gibson, a longtime Unitarian church member and pastor, understands the tragedy as one of national, not local, significance. The alleged shooter, he said, tapped into a national intolerance broadcast on the popular news programs as an outlet for his personal frustrations. The Unitarian Universalist Church teaches a decidedly progressive theology. The Knoxville church welcomes LGBTs and the local PFLAG chapter meets there.But tragedy struck when two people were killed and seven were injured when Jim Adkisson, 58, allegedly opened fire on the Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville on Sunday, July 27. After his arrest, Adkisson led investigators to a four-page letter in his car that outlined his hatred of liberals and singled out gays in particular, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. Fox News has yet to mention the link between their pundits and the church killings, Gibson said in an August 1 interview with the Bay Area Reporter. Gibson is staying in San Francisco this month, filling in for vacationing pastor Greg Stewart at First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco."If one goes to Fox News [Web site] and enters the shooter's name, one finds no posting," Gibson said. "Fox News is not owning that two of their folks contributed to this person's paranoia."

Tryly Good Congressman John Seiberling Dies

A tryly good man recently died. Congressman John Seiberling of Akron passed away.
http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/26217469.html

Oil Companies Still Price Gouging During War

Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation. At the same time the US government had the largest debt in history. Is our government selling us out or just retarded?

Are gay's equal or of less value?

If you go to this page of the California Secretary of State's office, you will find a listing for campaign finance for all of California's various and sundry propositions and ballot measures.
But it gets better:
You will note the last link took you to the main page for Proposition 8 and lo and behold the major financiers for the campaign (pro and con) are all listed.
These pages truly are a treasure trove of information when you enter them.
What's so cool about these pages is you can download all of the campaign finance data on these organizations in an Excel Spreadsheet (see the little "download these results in excel" link)!

Ex County Dem Chairman Dies

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jul/17/ex-dem-chairman-led-colorful-life-career/

Wasteful Government Spending Increases In The Area

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jul/14/study-valley-government-costs-soar/

Be Careful Of Where You Donate

The Los Angeles Times web site hosts a database that monitors the money spent by non-profit organizations to raise funds — and how little money was returned to the non-profit by the fund-raisers. (The database is limited to fund-raising reported to the state of California from 1997 to 2006.)
The database reports, for example, that Concerned Women for America’s education and legal action fund collected $14.7 million in gross revenue via for-profit fund-raisers during the decade.
However, CWFA only received $975,000 from its fund-raisers. It seems that more than a million dollars per year, or 93.4 percent of donations collected by for-profit fund-raisers and reported to California, went to the fundraisers, who were primarily:
InfoCision Management Corp., an Ohio telemarketing company with conservative-Christian and GOP clients,
MDS Communications Corporation, an Arizona/California outfit that also serves National Right to Life, FRC, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (They also serve the global anti-hunger charity CARE — perhaps some polite letters to CARE are in order.)
Regency Communications, apparently a now-defunct Texas telemarketer that was tied to Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Alliance and The Rutherford Institute
I understand that for-profit telemarketers don’t just raise funds; they charge fees to non-profits to conduct political advocacy, such as rallying members to call lawmakers about an antigay vote. CWFA donors expect their donations to be spent as described by the telemarketer, but CWFA’s for-profit fund-raisers can spend their majority share of the donated money any way they please. They can redirect non-profits’ fund-raising revenues — via discounts, pro bono work, and fresh donations — into partisan political campaigns. And non-profits can choose to overpay their fund-raising contractors, with the knowledge that the overpayment will benefit allies who use the same contractor.
In fact, there are vague signs of such a redistribution of donor cash at MDS Communications: While CWFA received an average 6.6 percent return from all reported for-profit fund-raisers, its returns from MDS are often negative: CWFA has repeatedly spent more than it received. Meanwhile, Family Research Council has enjoyed a 30.6 percent return on donations and National Right to Life has received returns of up to 50 percent from various MDS campaigns from 1997 to 2006.
In 2007 federal tax filings, CWFA reported $10 million in direct public support. While other organizations conduct their political advocacy in-house to maintain control of their message and conserve cash, CWFA paid its for-profit contractors more than $4 million in 2007 — $2.8 million of which appears have been for-profit political advocacy rather than pure solicitation.
The Los Angeles Times story focuses on excesses of charitable fund-raising, and so it does not report, nor even question, MDS’s fund-raising results for Democratic and GOP committees.
There is a strong and largely unregulated potential for cronyism among religious shell organizations; insiders who double-dip as employees and as contractors; fund-raisers; partisan political interests; and unrelated political causes (such as free trade) that would offend many donors to religious-right shell organizations.
Concerned Women for America isn’t alone in preying upon donors’ patriotism and concern for children while handing donations to cronies, according to the Times:
Among The Times’ findings:
More than 100 charities raised $1 million or more from commercial appeals but netted less than 25 cents per dollar. Fundraisers got the rest.
In 430 campaigns, charities got nothing: All $44 million donated went to fundraisers. In 337 of those cases, charities actually lost money, paying fees to fundraisers that exceeded the amount raised.
In hundreds of other campaigns, charities apparently entered into contracts that limited their share of donations to 20% or less, no matter how successful the campaign.
Groups with strong emotional or patriotic appeal — those supporting animals, children, veterans and public safety workers, for instance — often fared worst. Missing-children charities received less than 15% of more than $28 million raised on their behalf.
What additional restrictions, if any, are needed to prevent religious non-profit organizations from hiring fund-raisers that may siphon off donations for partisan political uses, out of sight of the donors?
And what more must be done to prevent religious organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status?

McCain Is The Immoral One

Imagine, for one moment, that it had been Barack Obama instead of John McCain who had cheated on his wife by having multiple affairs. Suppose it was Barack Obama who had married his mistress, a younger heiress of a billion dollar beer empire only a month after the ink was dry on the divorce papers. Pretend it was Michelle Obama instead of Cindy McCain who had been so addicted to painkillers that she stole money from her own charity and had been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The vilifications, smears, and berating from conservatives would be louder than a 747 takeoff. The castigating and crucifixions by the Limbaughs and O'Reillys of the world would never end. Faux piety and bellicosity from the pumped up blowhards in the religious right would flow harder than the flooding waters of the Mississippi.
But the Family Values Party has made new rules that even Woody Allen could love. "The heart wants what the heart wants." Judging the awful personal misconduct committed by a Republican is distasteful and off base. Judging the awful personal misconduct committed by a Democrat is the necessary application of social cost. It's the same Pharisaical stuff we should always expect, because when it comes to hypocrisy, Republicans are in high cotton in any season.

Military Study Shows Gays In Military Pose No Problem

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/07/military.gays.ap/index.html

Bush And Cheney Became The Communists They Hated

Bush and Cheney were just another example of what governments like the Communists will do to stay in power. Trainers for the US under their administration used a chart of torture techniques. What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.
The recycled chart is the latest and most vivid evidence of the way Communist interrogation methods that the United States long described as torture became the basis for interrogations both by the military at the base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Another Stupid Republican Idea To Reduce Gas Prices

Oil companies are price gouging like crazy during a time of war. Speculators are pushing up the price of oil because Republicans eliminated the capitol gains on their profits. Saudi Arabians and other muslim states are driving the US economy into the ground. All Republican Senator Warner can come up with is to require US citizens to limit their driving speed to 55 mph. You have got to be kidding. It was a terrible failure the first time it was tried.

Girard To Send Tax Dollars On Discriminating Scouts

GIRARD — City leaders are mulling over the proposed gift from a resident for a new building for Boy Scouts of America activities here.
Mayor James Melfi, during a Monday meeting, announced to council that an attorney from the city has expressed an interest in making “a sizeable donation” to the city with the expressed purpose of building the Scouts a new building in Liberty Park.
The Boy Scouts now have a building in Liberty Park, but Melfi said that building has been there for decades and needs to be replaced.
“Obviously, the Boy Scout cabin is pretty old and insufficient,” said Melfi. “He wants to make a donation toward a new cabin in Liberty Park.”
Councilman Michael Costarella said the Boy Scouts do take a break from activities during some summer months, allowing the city to get going on building the new facility with little interruption to Scout activities.
“As slow as government works, we should start acting on this now to make something happen before next summer,” he said.
Melfi said the donor did not specify exactly how much of a donation would be made, but said the city would likely have to contribute financially to any new facility placed in the park.
Costarella told council the Boy Scout project might be a good use of the funds being collected from a gas well recently placed in Liberty Park.
The well is in the final stages of being drilled. The city will receive royalties from allowing the operation on city property.
Council approved the drilling several years ago.
Council on Monday gave first reading to an ordinance that would direct all proceeds derived from the well in the park to a separate line item in the recreation fund, to be used for maintenance and improvements in the park.
The ordinance will need two more readings before council before it is taken to a vote.

Rep Ryan and Wilson Cop Out For Global Warming Oil Proposal

Instead of demanding energy conservation, area US Representatives went for the easy vote and supported increased oil drilling and thus consumption. They have to know that all respected scientific studies show that Miami and all of Southern Florida will be under water in a few years if we continue using oil at the rate we are now using it.
The Mahoning Valley’s representatives in the U.S. House support a proposal requiring oil companies to drill on 68 million acres of land they lease from the federal government.
“Big oil is sitting on millions of acres that have been untapped,” said Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th. “I say if they’re not going to drill on that land, the U.S. government should lease the land to some company that will.”
Wilson, who represents all of Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, who represents portions of Mahoning and Trumbull, announced their support for the bill during a Wednesday teleconference.

Pittsburgh Passes Registry

Pittsburgh City Council passed legislation Tuesday establishing a partner registry for people living together in committed relationships.
The measure passed on a 7-1 vote.
Openly gay Councilmember Bruce Kraus wrote the legislation and said it is similar to one in Philadelphia.
It will be open to both unmarried opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
Couples would be required to produce three documents indicating "mutual responsibility." After paying a $25 fee they would then sign a domestic partner registry and receive a document signifying they are registered.
The certificate could serve as proof of a relationship for couples applying for domestic partner benefits at private companies which offer them.
If one partner is a city employee, the registry would allow health benefits for that person's partner under Pittsburgh's health plan.
The registry also would be open to siblings or others in mutually dependent relationships such as a father and child.
The registration could by terminated if one partner presented an affidavit terminating the relationship or died.
"[It aims] to show that Pittsburgh is in fact a very progressive and forward-thinking city [and position it to] attract good-quality employers, and good-quality employees," Kraus told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Republican Deregulation To Raise Gas Prices

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/3952601

The Bigots Come Out In New York

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage

I hope everyone is keeping track of who the bigots are in these states. We don't want to get caught by suprise like the gays in Germany did with the Nazi party.

California Court Allows Marriage

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage
"Throughout California, Stonewall Democrats have strategically worked to build support for pro-equality positions among Democratic candidates, party officials and elected leaders," said Laurie McBride (Sacramento, CA), Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of National Stonewall Democrats. "This ruling reflects the values of our Party and the will of California voters as already expressed twice by the state legislature. Democrats are working to support this court ruling and to defeat any proposed anti-marriage initiative." The efforts of Stonewall Democrats chapters across California ensured that the California Democratic Party first voiced its support for legislation recognizing the freedom to marry in 2005, with the party permanently ratified that position in its platform earlier this year. Their work created a political climate which included more pro-equality legislators, stronger advocates and diverse partnership opportunities for the crucial work of statewide groups. In 2005 and 2007, the California legislature successfully passed the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act" which would have recognized the freedom of all California couples to enter into civil marriage. Stonewall Democrats throughout California worked through their chapters to build support for the legislation among local Democratic bodies and the state party. Their efforts supported the work of partners like Equality California who successfully built a majority of support for the legislation in both the California Assembly and Senate. Although the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act" was twice vetoed by the Republican Governor, chapters of the Stonewall Democrats continued to build Democratic support for the freedom of all Californians to marry.

Democrats Continue To Oust Republicans

A key Republican seat was taken by a Democrat in Mississippi
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/13/miss.election/index.html

Did Dann Lie Under Oath?

Didn't learn from Clinton.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/may/14/rep-8216too-many-inconsistencies8217/

Should SubPrime Millionaire Lenders Be In Jail?

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/05/the_subprime_house_of_cards.html

Ohio Dem Party Boots Marc Dann

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/may/11/ohio-democrats-vote-to-boot-dann-from-the-party/

Boccieri Fighting For More Transportation Funds

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/may/05/boccieri-urges-creation-of-transportation-district/

Evangelicals Turning Away From Politics

Even extremist evangelicals are seeing that trying to turn the US into a Christian theocracy was a mistake. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/02/evangelicals.ap/index.html

Marc Dann Affair And Poor Hiring Cripples Att. General

Ohio Att. General Marc Dann was smitten by the lure of Columbus and his power and will now pay the price. Of course, all of us whom were looking to him to protect us will also suffer.
http://www.vindy.com/under-fire/

Florida Moves To Stop Bullying

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is expected to sign legislation that would require school districts to prohibit bullying and harassment.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously on Wednesday. It already had passed the House.
Crist has said he would likely sign the bill. ''I'm against bullying, too,'' he said.
The legislation mandates that school districts throughout the state must put in place specific policies to deal with bullying that includes methods of investigating and punishments. It also bans cyber bullying.
The districts would have to comply by December 1 or risk losing state funds.

Solution To Florida and Michigan Primary Problem

Cong. Kucinich has suggested a logical way to solve the problem with Florida and Michigan. He suggested an extensive poll of democrats in the states. http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/05/kucinich_wants_polling_to_end.html

Another Company Cheats Us Out Of Paying Taxes

A company in Poland is trying to get out of paying it's fair share of local taxes. Cheating police, fire, road repair, and schools. Just to get rich. Shame on them.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/may/02/bj-alan-abatement-plan-sparks-debate/

Religious Bigots At It Again

The president of the American Family Association says Proctor & Gamble needs to stop advancing the homosexual agenda through a popular daytime soap opera.

On Wednesday, As the World Turns -- which is owned by P&G -- featured two homosexual characters kissing. Earlier this year, the show included a similar scene, after which the American Family Association (AFA) and other pro-family groups encouraged people to contact the consumer products company. With this latest development, AFA president Tim Wildmon says it appears that Cincinnati-based P&G is making a concerted effort to promote the homosexual lifestyle.

Hudson Church Split Over Gay Rights

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/18236774.html

Utility Companies Maneuvering To Avoid Regulation

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/04/cincinnatiarea_utility_challen.html

Cong. Ryan Panders To Public

Cong. Tim Ryan stated that he is willing to allow oil drilling in America's most sensative environments just to allow American's to continue excessive usage of oil and gas. Everywhere you look proof of global warming is showing up. Glacier National Park is loosing all of it's glaciers. The glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park have retreated to the end of the bay. Miami is under threat of being flooded like New Orleans if the ice shelf in Antarctica continues to melt and slip into the ocean.

Yet congress refuses to provide the leadership to really reduce our consumption of gasoline. McCain wants to eliminate the tax on gasoline. No money to repair roads. Definately no money to build passenger trains to reduce our use of gasoline. Congress proposed increasing gas mileage in cars to 25 mpg. Wow. 50 mpg might have the desired result. Providing mass transit like it Europe might help.

But no, Ryan and others just bury their heads and provide zero leadership in this area. In the meantime, we go to war to get oil. We send our last dollars to Saudia Arabia for oil. They use the money to blow up our buildings.

Where's the leadership when you need it?

Rather a Felon than a Gay

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today released data<http://oversight. house.gov/ story.asp? ID=1889> showing a dramatic rise inthe number of moral waivers issued to recruits joining the Army and MarineCorps. The number of waivers granted to recruits convicted of manslaughter,rape, kidnapping and making terrorist threats, doubled between 2006 and2007. During that same time, the Pentagon continued discharging servicemembers under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning lesbian, gay andbisexual personnel from serving openly in the military. This data shines abright light on the outrageousness and absurdity of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Cheney's Halliburton Makes Big Profit

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EARNS_HALLIBURTON?SITE=OHRAV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

More Christian Bigots Try To Create Their Own Laws

Others who have opposed the temple have voiced concerns about strangers coming into the neighborhood, prompting speculation that bigotry might be fueling the opposition. Correspondence in zoning department files ask such questions as: ''Why has Richfield become the place where all these odd religions want to be?'' ''How far do there (sic) members drive to get here?'' and ''Are these people safe?''
Currently, there is a Sikh temple in the village and there is a Jain temple in Richfield Township. All of the Christian churches in the village are in residential areas, according to Swan.

Did You Do Anything To Prevent It Happening Again?

The Supreme Court stopped a recount in Florida in 2000 that would have made Al Gore president. This is not speculation. The recount was later done.Numerous elections were stolen in 2002, in Colorado, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and elsewhere, including Senate, Governor, and House races in Georgia that were practically openly swiped by Diebold's elections unit president flying in at the last minute and altering the election machines. The theft of Don Siegelman's 2002 election as governor of Alabama was almost as transparent. One county reported a set of results from electronic machines that made Siegelman governor, then recalculated and reported a different set of results. The new results were statistically impossible, and the pair of reports strongly suggested exactly how the machines were rigged, first mistakenly and later as intended.

Another Gay Evangelical

Local Nashvillian and host of The Remix, a popular Christian youth show, Azariah Southworth, announced today that he has come out.
“This has been a long time coming. I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my faith, friends, family and more importantly myself. I know this will end my career in Christian television, but I must now live my life openly and honestly with everyone. This is my reason for doing this,” Southworth says.
Southworth has been hosting and producing the popular Christian TV show, The Remix for a year and a half. It is in syndication and can be seen in more than 128 million homes worldwide. It averages more than 200,000 viewers weekly on one of three networks. It has featured major Christian acts such as Jars of Clay, Avalon, Superchick, Building 429 and Rachael Lampa.

End don't ask

Ronald Reagans former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Lawrence J. Korb, urged Congress Apr. 16 to strike down the military ban on openly gay troops.The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network issued a press release that same day to announce that Korb had urged lawmakers to "get rid of outmoded social restrictions" like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and provided written testimony in which he suggested that the ban was "counterproductive to military readiness."

gay scholarship to KSU

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/3646072

Maine Bigots On The Attack

AUGUSTA, Maine - One of the state's most vocal opponents of gay rights has initiated a referendum aimed at banning same-sex marriages or civil unions and prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children.The referendum also would eliminate sexual orientation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and would take away funding that supports civil rights teams affiliated with the state Attorney General’s Office.Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said that if the Secretary of State’s Office approves his petition, he’ll begin recruiting organizers to gather signatures. Putting a referendum on the state ballot requires about 55,000 signatures, or 10 percent of the turnout for the last gubernatorial election.

Aids On The Increase

A CDC HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, that was quietly released recently, shows a “catastrophic” 48% increase in US HIV infections between the years 2005 and 2006. The number of infections jumped to 52,878 new reported cases in 2006 up from 35,537 reported in 2005. With the lifetime costs of one HIV-infected individual’s treatment and care estimated to be $600,000, these new CDC surveillance numbers suggest a $36 billion aggregate cost for caring for these nearly 53,000 individuals.

Schwarzenegger To Fight Anti-Gay Amendment

SAN DIEGO - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says that if an initiative to ban gay marriage qualifies for the November ballot, he's prepared to fight it.


California's governor spoke Friday in San Diego at the convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest gay Republican group.
He has previously vetoed bills that would have legalized gay marriage. A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman did not say what prompted the governor to shift his position.
Schwarzenegger said he was confident a ban would never pass in California and called the effort "a waste of time."

Candidate Spending

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Sheriff Randall Wellington didn’t have an opponent on the Democratic primary ballot, but he spent like he did.
Wellington succeeded in getting David P. Aey of Boardman removed as his opponent, jumping over the final legal hurdle Feb. 26. That’s when a federal judge denied Aey’s injunction to get back on the ballot.
Two days later, Wellington, of Youngstown, sheriff since 1999, loaned $30,000 to his campaign.
Among Wellington’s major expenses in the days leading to the March 4 primary include:
U$10,604 to Keynote Media Group of Youngstown for the production of campaign commercials.
U$7,804 paid on Feb. 27 to the Columbus law firm of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur for legal fees.
He also paid $3,646 to the Youngstown Club in Youngstown to rent the facility on primary night for what he described as a “victory party” on the check to the company.
Wellington spent more than $50,000 on his campaign, about half of it between Feb. 14 and April 4, according to finance reports filed Friday with the county board of elections.
At least Wellington has something to show for his money.
Aey didn’t make it on to the ballot, but he spent close to $70,000 seeking the sheriff’s position.
The money spent on what turned out to not even be a race was small potatoes compared to the Democratic probate court judicial primary.
The three candidates in that judicial race spent more than $200,000 of their own money combined for a job that pays about $120,000 a year.
The big spender, Susan Maruca, was also the big loser in the race.
Maruca of Poland gave $79,090 of her own money to the campaign. She finished last with 24.9 percent of the vote.
James Lanzo of Struthers, a municipal court judge in that city, gave $60,000 to his campaign. He finished in second with 31.5 percent of the vote.
Judge Mark Belinky of Boardman, appointed to the seat by the governor, contributed $61,000 of his own money and won the primary with 43.6 percent of the vote.
The primary left Judge Belinky with $3,599 in his campaign fund as of April 4.
County Court Judge Scott D. Hunter, who ran unopposed for the probate court seat in the Republican primary, had $56,972 in his campaign fund as of April 4.
Lou A. D’Apolito of Boardman spent $30,000 of his own money to capture the Democratic nomination for a common pleas court seat.
He doesn’t face opposition in the November general election.
His three opponents — Judge Timothy Franken of Beaver Township, John Jeffrey Limbian of Youngstown and Louis M. DeFabio of Canfield — didn’t file campaign finance reports by Friday’s deadline.
In his pre-primary filing for the period between Jan. 1 and Feb. 13, Judge Franken reported borrowing more than $100,000 from himself and family members for his race.

Obama on Gay Issues

In an exclusive Chicago sit-down with The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld,Democratic front-runner Barack Obama discusses "don't ask, don't tell," Rev.Wright, and what he would do for LGBT Americans if he becomes president. SeeObama <http://advocate. com/exclusive_ detail_ektid5328 5.asp> talks allthings LGBTThe Advocate

Cities Ban Discrimination

the Detroit City Council's passed an ordinance banning discrimination against transgender people by an 8–1 vote. The measure's passage comes on the heels of last week's victory in Kansas City, Mo., where the City Council unanimously passed an identical ban.

Ohio Lawmakers Make Money Grab Of Money For Tobacco Control

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OH_JOBS_COMPROMISE_TOBACCO_OHOL-?SITE=OHRAV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

NY Gov Supportive

"We will push on until we bring full marriage equality to New York state." — New York Gov. David A. Paterson

Dann Aide From Liberty Accused Of Sex Harrassment

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/apr/08/dann-aide-on-leave-amid-probe/

Republican McCain

10 things to know about McCain:1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.12. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."23. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3 4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned." 4 5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5 6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6 7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7 8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.89. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9 10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.Sources:1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008blogs.abcnews. com/politicalpun ch/2008/04/ the-complicated. html"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange. org, April 4, 2008colorofchange. org/mccain_ facts/2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News,March 12, 2008www.bloomberg. com/apps/ news?pid= 20601103& sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM &refer=us"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress,February 6, 2008thinkprogress. org/2008/ 02/06/buchanan- gandhi-mccain/3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto OfAnti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008thinkprogress. org/2008/ 02/20/mccain- torture-veto/4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007www.msnbc.msn. com/id/17222147/5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council(R) Nonpartisan CongressionalScorecard," February 2008www.childrensdefens e.org/site/ PageServer? pagename= act_learn_ scorecard2007"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007www.cnn.com/ 2007/POLITICS/ 10/03/mccain. interview/6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3,2008ap.google.com/ article/ALeqM5h- S1sWHm0tchtdMP5L cLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86 M80"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March25, 2008www.bloomberg. com/apps/ news?pid= 20601087& sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM &refer=home7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16,2008abcnews.go.com/ Politics/ wireStory? id=4301022"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008www.boston.com/ news/nation/ articles/ 2008/01/27/ famed_mccain_ temper_is_ tamed/8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don'tKnow What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008thinkprogress. org/2008/ 04/02/mccain- black-lobbyist/"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008abcnews.go.com/ Blotter/story? id=42102519. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008www.motherjones. com/washington_ dispatch/ 2008/03/john- mccain-rod- parsley-spiritua l-guide.html

Religious Bigots Ordered To Pay

A federal judge has ordered a lien placed on property owned by Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., as part of a judgment awarded by a jury to Albert Snyder, the father of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq.
Apr 4, 2008 4:00 AM (1 day ago) by Mike Silvestri, The Examiner
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - A federal judge in Baltimore ordered Westboro Baptist Church members to post their church building and nearly $500,000 more in cash and property while appealing a judgment for protesting a Marine's funeral.
The Kansas church members had hoped to avoid posting a bond while delaying payments in the $5 million judgment a jury awarded Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who died in Iraq.
Westboro church members preach that God kills American soldiers as punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality. They protested Matthew Snyder's Westminster funeral in March 2006 by waving signs with such messages as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."

OBama's Other Preacher

Just when it looked like Barack Obama had gotten away from the controversy surrounding his long-term association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a new anti-gay minister pops out of the closet.
Rev. James T. Meeks, an Illinois state senator who serves as the pastor of Chicago's Salem Baptist Church, has also reportedly been an active member of the Gatekeepers network which advocates a ban on gay marriage, and was named by Southern Poverty Law Center as one of the top "10 leading black religious voices in the anti-gay movement".
While it seems that Meeks is a very busy man, he has reportedly taken time out of his schedule to act as spiritual advisor for Obama. The close relationship with Meeks will no doubt lead many to question his platform of change and equal treatment for all citizens.

Religious Zealots Attact McDonalds

Religious Zealots have no limits.
Upset over the election of a senior executive of the fast food giant McDonald's to the Board of Directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association is calling upon his organization's members to take action. Wildmon is asking his ranks to call their local McDonald's franchises to ask why the company is "using its size and resources to promote the homosexual agenda" and to use the AFA's online action center to send company Chairman Andrew J. McKenna an email. (On the AFA page, McKenna is misidentified as the company's President.)
Last month, Richard Ellis, VP of Communications for McDonald's USA, was elected to the NGLCC board and said he was "thrilled to join the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce team and ready to get to work." McDonald's is also listed as a Chamber corporate partner.

Ohio Republicans Bribed Again

Ohio ethics panel says charter school group tied to Brennan illegally transferred funds
The Ohio Elections Commission slammed a pro-charter school political action committee with a record $5.2 million in fines for illegally funneling money to Republican candidates in 2006.

Bigot Has Nearly As Much Support As Hitler Did

The Associated PressWednesday, April 2, 20081,000 Back Anti-Gay Okla. LawmakerOKLAHOMA CITY -- More than 1,000 people have streamed into the Oklahoma Capitol to rally in support of a legislator who has been widely criticized for anti-gay remarks caught in a YouTube audio clip.A "We Stand With Sally Kern" sign is posted in the Capitol rotunda where the rally is being held.Kern made the recorded remarks about homosexuality to a recent gathering of fellow Republicans outside the Capitol. The state representative said homosexuals are a greater threat than terrorists and she has rejected demands by gay and lesbian groups that she apologize.

Strickland Proposed Huge Debt For Ohio

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/17252884.html

KSU To Offer Domestic Partner Benefits

A new contract for Kent State University faculty comes up for review this year, and an early draft released Wednesday includes a clause on health benefits extended to domestic partnerships for faculty members in a same-sex or opposite-sex relationship.
University spokesman Ron Kirksey confirmed Wednesday the domestic partnership clause is "part of" the new contract, though talks on the contract remain informal at this time.
If ratified in its current form, the contract would be a one-year extension of the current contract between the university and the KSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, starting Aug. 23 and continuing through Aug. 23, 2009.
According to a draft of the proposal, domestic partners of the same or opposite sex of a member of the AAUP bargaining unit "may be covered for all benefits in those instances where the partner is not eligible for or already covered by another employer. These benefits will include medical, dental, life, personal accident insurance, and tuition remission at the same contribution level applicable to a spouse."
All domestic partner benefits will be subject to IRS rules, and a domestic partner must share a permanent residence with the bargaining member; have been in a relationship for at least six months; intend to remain in the relationship indefinitely; not currently married or legally separated from another person; not related by blood so as to be disqualified from marriage in Ohio; and financially independent of their significant other.
Kirksey said a verbal offer was made in February, but any formal agreement is "still a ways away."
The proposal also clearly states that any agreement accepted by both parties would still have to be ratified by the KSU Board of Trustees, the AAUP and the KSU Foundation Board of Trustees.
Domestic partners applying for benefits also would be required to sign an "Affidavit of Domestic Partnership," according to the draft document, which also discusses a 3 percent raise in faculty salaries and no change in costs to faculty for employee healthcare contributions.
KSU's Faculty Senate unanimously approved a resolution on Feb. 13, 2006 to extend healthcare benefits to domestic partners under the university's health plan. Faculty senators said at the time there was no law in the state preventing such a change, and said such a extension would be in keeping with the university's non-discrimination policies.
University of Akron spokesman Ken Torisky said that university "does not currently offer" benefits to domestic partners of the same or opposite sex. Youngstown State University does offer domestic partner benefits to partners of the same sex, spokesman Ron Cole said, adding that the university first chose to do so in 2004.

Another Sheriff Candidate Bites The Dust

County elections officials say John Martynyszyn of Youngstown is expected to be disqualified, most likely at the next board meeting, May 6.
That’s because Martynyszyn voted in the Democratic primary March 4, a day after he filed to run as an independent candidate for sheriff, according to elections board records.
Martynyszyn would be the third person disqualified as a candidate for sheriff this year.
Ex-Youngstown police Detective Sgt. Rick Alli was removed as a Democratic candidate because he failed to file the proper paperwork to seek the job.
Sheriff Randall A. Wellington, who’s held the position since August 1999, filed an objection to keep David P. Aey, a former deputy sheriff who lives in Boardman, off the Democratic primary ballot.
There are two other independent sheriff candidates: Howard Faison of Youngstown, a retired sheriff’s department captain, and James S. Horvath of Boardman, a retired sheriff’s department lieutenant.
The county prosecutor’s office is reviewing paperwork filed by Faison and Horvath to determine if they are eligible to run for sheriff.

Hate Mongers Attack Gay Advertisers

McDonald's has signed on to a nationwide effort to promote "gay" and "lesbian" business ventures.According to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner, McDonald's will aggressively promote the homosexual agenda. In remarks on McDonald's Web site concerning the company becoming a member of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Skinner wrote: "Being a socially responsible organization is a fundamental part of who we are. We have an obligation to use our size and resources to make a difference in the world...and we do."
American Family Ass. tells it's members: Very important! Call your local McDonald's and ask why McDonald's is using its size and resources to promote the homosexual agenda.

General Motors has made a decision to help promote the homosexual agenda. The automaker supports the gay agenda with advertising in homosexual publications and on the gay TV cable channel LOGO. GM's Cadillac regularly places full-page ads in The Advocate, a magazine dedicated to pushing the homosexual agenda. The LOGO TV network carries programs promoting the lifestyle. The hate mongers at American Family Ass. said: GM is blocking our e-mails. They don't want to receive them. Therefore, we are asking individuals to sign the petition. We will then deliver the petitions to GM. We will provide only your name and state.

H&R Block Doesn't Support Civil Unions

The ACLU is representing a couple with a civil union who attempted to file their taxes on the company's website through their online service, TaxCut Online, but were told, "We don't support Connecticut civil union returns." Through its website, the company said the couple would have to work with one of their professionals, by phone or at one of their office locations, which would be more time consuming and substantially more expensive.
"This is yet another example of the many ways that civil unions just don't live up to marriage," said Jason Smith of Hartford, who has been with his partner Settimio Pisu for six years. "It really stung when I realized it would cost an additional $150 dollars to have our tax returns prepared. We're saving for a house and hoping to start a family, so every penny counts right now."

Marc Dann in Town

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann will provide opening remarks at “Family Violence Prevention: What Can Be Done in Ohio?” from 10 a.m. to noon Friday at the Holiday Inn, 7410 South Ave. The forum is to share research findings from the recently published “White Paper on Improving Family Violence in Ohio.” Regional forums are the first phase of a project started in 2007, through the support of the Anthem Foundation of Ohio. The Family Violence Prevention Project aspires to increase awareness of the scope and consequences of family violence in Ohio, identify realistic and promising policies and programs for abuse prevention and build support for implementing policies and programs.

Does This Sound Like Germany In The Thirties?

Last week Peter Sprigg, the Family Research Council's Vice President ofPolicy, was captured on camera calling for the forced exile of, lesbian gay,bisexual, and transgender American citizens. The comment came in response to a reporter's query about the UnitingAmerican Families Act - UAFA. Said Sprigg, "I would much prefer to exporthomosexuals from the United States than to import them into the UnitedStates because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society."

They already supported a ban on gay marriage, just like the ban on jewish marriage to Arians in Germany in the thirties.

Republicans Bail Out Lenders-Send Owners To The Streets

Here's what happened. Since the Bush regime came to power, a new species of loan became the norm, the 'sub-prime' mortgage and it's variants including loans with teeny "introductory" interest rates. From out of nowhere, a company called 'Countrywide' became America's top mortgage lender, accounting for one in five home loans, a large chuck of these 'sub-prime.'
Here's how it worked: The Grinning Family, with US average household income, gets a $200,000 mortgage at 4% for two years. Their $955 a month payment is 25% of their income. No problem. Their banker promises them a new mortgage, again at the cheap rate, in two years. But in two years, the promise ain't worth a can of spam and the Grinnings are told to scram - because their house is now worth less than the mortgage. Now, the mortgage hits 9% or $1,609 plus fees to recover the "discount" they had for two years. Suddenly, payments equal 42% to 50% of pre-tax income. Grinnings move into their Toyota.
Now, what kind of American is 'sub-prime.' Guess. No peeking. Here's a hint: 73% of HIGH INCOME Black and Hispanic borrowers were given sub-prime loans versus 17% of similar-income Whites. Dark-skinned borrowers aren't stupid – they had no choice. They were 'steered' as it's called in the mortgage sharking business.
'Steering,' sub-prime loans with usurious kickers, fake inducements to over-borrow, called 'fraudulent conveyance' or 'predatory lending' under US law, were almost completely forbidden in the olden days (Clinton Administration and earlier) by federal regulators and state laws as nothing more than fancy loan-sharking.
But when the Bush regime took over, Countrywide and its banking brethren were told to party hardy – it was OK now to steer'm, fake'm, charge'm and take'm.
But there was this annoying party-pooper. The Attorney General of New York, Eliot Spitzer, who sued these guys to a fare-thee-well. Or tried to.
Instead of regulating the banks that had run amok, Bush's regulators went on the warpath against Spitzer and states attempting to stop predatory practices. Making an unprecedented use of the legal power of "federal pre-emption, " Bush-bots ordered the states to NOT enforce their consumer protection laws.
Indeed, the feds actually filed a lawsuit to block Spitzer's investigation of ugly racial mortgage steering. Bush's banking buddies were especially steamed that Spitzer hammered bank practices across the nation using New York State laws.
Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup's Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit centers. They did this through a bit of financial legerdemain called "securitization. "
What that means is that they took a bunch of junk mortgages, like the Grinnings, loans about to go down the toilet and re-packaged them into "tranches" of bonds which were stamped "AAA" - top grade - by bond rating agencies. These gold-painted turds were sold as sparkling safe investments to US school district pension funds and town governments in Finland (really).
When the housing bubble burst and the paint flaked off, investors were left with the poop and the bankers were left with bonuses. Countrywide' s top man, Angelo Mozilo, will 'earn' a $77 million buy-out bonus this year on top of the $656 million - over half a billion dollars – he pulled in from 1998 through 2007.
But there were rumblings that the party would soon be over. Angry regulators, burned investors and the weight of millions of homes about to be boarded up were causing the sharks to sink. Countrywide' s stock was down 50%, and Citigroup was off 38%, not pleasing to the Gulf sheiks who now control its biggest share blocks.
Then, on Wednesday of this week, the unthinkable happened. Carlyle Capital went bankrupt. Who? That's Carlyle as in Carlyle Group. James Baker, Senior Counsel. Notable partners, former and past: George Bush, the Bin Laden family and more dictators, potentates, pirates and presidents than you can count.
The Fed had to act. Bernanke opened the vault and dumped $200 billion on the poor little suffering bankers. They got the public treasure – and got to keep the Grinning's house. There was no 'quid' of a foreclosure moratorium for the 'pro quo' of public bail-out. Not one family was saved – but not one banker was left behind.
Every mortgage sharking operation shot up in value. Mozilo's Countrywide stock rose 17% in one day. The Citi sheiks saw their company's stock rise $10 billion in an afternoon.
And that very same day the bail-out was decided – what a coinkydink! – the man called, 'The Sheriff of Wall Street' was cuffed. Spitzer was silenced.
Do I believe the banks called Justice and said, "Take him down today!" Naw, that's not how the system works. But the big players knew that unless Spitzer was taken out, he would create enough ruckus to spoil the party. Headlines in the financial press – one was "Wall Street Declares War on Spitzer" - made clear to Bush's enforcers at Justice who their number one target should be. And it wasn't Bin Laden.
It was the night of February 13 when Spitzer made the bone-headed choice to order take-out in his Washington Hotel room. He had just finished signing these words for the Washington Post about predatory loans:
"Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which he federal government was turning a blind eye."
Bush, said Spitzer right in the headline, was the "Predator Lenders' Partner in Crime." The President, said Spitzer, was a fugitive from justice. And Spitzer was in Washington to launch a campaign to take on the Bush regime and the biggest financial powers on the planet.
Spitzer wrote, "When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners the Bush administration will not be judged favorably."
But now, the Administration can rest assured that this love story – of Bush and his bankers - will not be told by history at all – now that the Sheriff of Wall Street has fallen on his own gun.

Privatization Hurts The US Again

The State Department has been subcontracting out important sensative jobs to private companies. It was two of these employees that accessed the passport records of candidates for the US presidency.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080322/ap_on_el_pr/passports_candidates

Another Example Why Blocking Gay Marriage Hurts

If the two women were married, Procito could be eligible for unemployment benefits. But the referee determined that domestic partners do not qualify for a policy Pennsylvania courts have developed called the "following the spouse" doctrine.

Why Spitzer Had To Go - Not Clients 1-8

It was the night of February 13 when Spitzer made the bone-headed choice to order take-out in his Washington Hotel room. He had just finished signing these words for the Washington Post about predatory loans:"Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which he federal government was turning a blind eye."Bush, said Spitzer right in the headline, was the "Predator Lenders' Partner in Crime." The President, said Spitzer, was a fugitive from justice. And Spitzer was in Washington to launch a campaign to take on the Bush regime and the biggest financial powers on the planet.

Then, on Wednesday of this week, the unthinkable happened. Carlyle Capital went bankrupt. Who? That's Carlyle as in Carlyle Group. James Baker, Senior Counsel. Notable partners, former and past: George Bush, the Bin Laden family and more dictators, potentates, pirates and presidents than you can count.The Fed had to act. Bernanke opened the vault and dumped $200 billion on the poor little suffering bankers. They got the public treasure and got to keep the Grinning's house. There was no `quid' of a foreclosure moratorium for the `pro quo' of public bail-out. Not one family was saved but not one banker was left behind.Every mortgage sharking operation shot up in value. Mozilo's Countrywide stock rose 17% in one day. The Citi sheiks saw their company's stock rise $10 billion in an afternoon.And that very same day the bail-out was decided what a coinkydink! the man called, `The Sheriff of Wall Street' was cuffed. Spitzer was silenced.

Washington Expand Domestic Partnership Benefits

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004278712_webdomestic12.html

Why Evangelical Attacks On Gays Is Serious

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/

More Proof The War Was Evil

A DETAILED Pentagon study confirms there was no direct link between late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda network, debunking a claim President George W Bush's administration used to justify invading Iraq.Coming five years after the start of the war in Iraq, the study of 600,000 official Iraqi documents and thousands of hours of interrogations of former Saddam Hussein colleagues "found no smoking gun (ie direct connection) between Saddam's Iraq and al-Qaeda," said the study, quoted in US media today. The US administration appeared to bury the release of the study, making it available only at individual request and by mail - instead of posting it on the internet or handing it out to reporters.

Rep Hagan and Sen Cafaro Support EHEA-Thank them

House sponsors include: Joint Primary Sponsors Representatives Jon Peterson and Dan Stewart with cosponsors Redfern, Yuko, Szollosi, Ujvagi, Skindell, Foley, Celeste, Koziura, Budish, Yates, Chandler, Brown, Hagan, Brady, Sykes, and House Minority Leader Beatty.
Senate sponsors include: Primary Sponsor Senator (Dale) Miller with cosponsors Goodman, Morano, Smith, Fedor, Cafaro, Kearney, Roberts, Sawyer and Senate Minority Leader (Ray) Miller.

Spain's Pro-Gay Leader Wins Re-election

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/world/europe/10spain.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Training Young Bigots/Nazis

http://www.missionamerica.com/agenda.php?articlenum=78

Democrat Wins GOP Hastert's Seat

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/09hastert.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Oil Companies Price Gouge While Congress Fiddles

Oil companies continue price gouging during wartime with an even greater price hike in gasoline. They are already making record profits. Much of the profits are going to dictators in countries that dislike the US, like Saudia Arabia, Dubai, Iran, and Venezuela. Say goodbye to more greenbacks. Hello to fewer dollars to borrow or earn right here in the US.
http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/3434701

Business Abuse Guest Worker Program

Thousands of US students are graduating in the computer usage, but businesses continue to only hire cheap guest workers from other countries. They make up cheap excuses, like the employee must have prior work experience in their specific job. This leaves out recent graduates and allows the Republican business owners to hire cheap foreign labor. http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/16410066.html

Gay Rights Group Beats Bigoted Church School

A Gay rights group in Kentucky took the State to court for paying for a Pharmacy school at an openly bigoted Southern Baptist College. The group won. http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2008/03/06/5

Taxpayers Getting Cheated By Fees On Public Lands

federal land agencies have been imposing new fees and increasing existing ones at recreation sites across the West in an effort to raise tens of millions of dollars.
Additionally, hundreds of marginally profitable campsites and other public facilities on federal lands have been closed, and thousands more like overlooks and picnic tables are being considered for removal.
The Forest Service and BLM have doubled their fees charged for recreation since Bush entered office.

Southern Baptists Continue Bigotry

Why would anyone be surprised that the Southern Baptist Convention would be anti-gay?

The Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845 to protect, defend, and preserve their sacred institution of slavery.

Cong LaTourette Votes Against Renewable Energy Act

Cong. Ryan voted for the Renewable Energy Act. Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (236-182, 11 Not Voting)The House voted to repeal certain tax deductions for oil and gas companies in order to pay for the extension of renewable energy and energy conservation tax credits for individuals.Rep. Tim Ryan voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Wellington has Opponents

Seeing Wellington as vulnerable, independents line up to run against Mahoning County Sheriff Wellington. http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/mar/04/three-file-to-run-against-sheriff/

Business Investments Affect Supreme Court

Because of his business investments, Chief Justice Roberts was unable to vote in a crucial case before the supreme court. This meant a tie. Perhaps it is time that we require Justices of the Supreme Court to divest themselves of all holdings to prevent this type of problem. After all, they hold this job for life and the pay is very good.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/washington/04scotus.html?th&emc=th

Proof Trickle Down Does Not Work

If it wasn't enough proof that trickle down doesn't work when wages have kept lowering as companies got richer, now comes proof that selfish business owners just hoard their riches.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/business/04cash.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Sen Brown On List for Vice President

http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/02/vice_president_brown.html

Bush Aid To Churches Plagiarist

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/01aide.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1204376991-K9fOrQVY67dDJO/OYzkbgQ

Jail USA

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer 47 minutes ago
NEW YORK - For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator. It urges states to curtail corrections spending by placing fewer low-risk offenders behind bars.
Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it's more than any other nation.
The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.
The steadily growing inmate population "is saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime," the report said.
Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, said budget woes are pressuring many states to consider new, cost-saving corrections policies that might have been shunned in the recent past for fear of appearing soft on crime.
"We're seeing more and more states being creative because of tight budgets," she said in an interview. "They want to be tough on crime. They want to be a law-and-order state. But they also want to save money, and they want to be effective."
The report cited Kansas and Texas as states that have acted decisively to slow the growth of their inmate population. They are making greater use of community supervision for low-risk offenders and employing sanctions other than reimprisonment for offenders who commit technical violations of parole and probation rules.
"The new approach, born of bipartisan leadership, is allowing the two states to ensure they have enough prison beds for violent offenders while helping less dangerous lawbreakers become productive, taxpaying citizens," the report said.
While many state governments have shown bipartisan interest in curbing prison growth, there also are persistent calls to proceed cautiously.
"We need to be smarter," said David Muhlhausen, a criminal justice expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "We're not incarcerating all the people who commit serious crimes. But we're also probably incarcerating people who don't need to be."
According to the report, the inmate population increased last year in 36 states and the federal prison system.
The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state's crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state's inmate population has increased by 600 percent.
The report was compiled by the Pew Center's Public Safety Performance Project, which is working with 13 states on developing programs to divert offenders from prison without jeopardizing public safety.
"Getting tough on criminals has gotten tough on taxpayers," said the project's director, Adam Gelb.
According to the report, the average annual cost per prisoner was $23,876, with Rhode Island spending the most ($44,860) and Louisiana the least ($13,009). It said California — which faces a $16 billion budget shortfall — spent $8.8 billion on corrections last year, while Texas, which has slightly more inmates, was a distant second with spending of $3.3 billion.
On average, states spend 6.8 percent of their general fund dollars on corrections, the report said. Oregon had the highest spending rate, at 10.9 percent; Alabama the lowest at 2.6 percent.
Four states — Vermont, Michigan, Oregon and Connecticut — now spend more on corrections than they do on higher education, the report said.
"These sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, referring to the full report. "Perhaps, if we adequately invested in our children and in education, kids who now grow up to be criminals could become productive workers and taxpayers."
The report said prison growth and higher incarceration rates do not reflect an increase in the nation's overall population. Instead, it said, more people are behind bars mainly because of tough sentencing measures, such as "three-strikes" laws, that result in longer prison stays.
"For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling," the report said. "While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine."
The racial disparity for women also is stark. One of every 355 white women aged 35 to 39 is behind bars, compared with one of every 100 black women in that age group.
The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails. That's out of almost 230 million American adults.
The report said the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations which round out the Top 10.
The U.S. also is among the world leaders in capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, its 53 executions in 2006 were exceeded only by China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.

Republican Deregulation To Increase Electricity 40%

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/feb/28/valley-water-agency-considers-windmills/

Texas Republicans To Determine Democratic Candidate

Republicans in Texas are planning to vote in the Democratic Primary to defeat Hillary. They should not be choosing the opponent they want. I'm sure it is happening in Ohio too, but this is shameful because Texas will go to the Republican candidate for President in the General Election.

TV talking head, Lou Dobbs tells everyone to register as an independent. Then when the primary arrives, they vote wherever they feel like that day. They should not be determining the candidates for any Party if they don't want to be part of the Party.

The Democratic Party needs to go back to the days when you had to vote in your parties primary. If you changed parties, you had to sit out one primary election.

What The Nigerians Running The Anti-Gay Episcopal Church Are Like

"God's Country" (Nigeria) by Eliza Griswold. "Using militias and marketing strategies, Christianity and Islam are competing for believers by promising Nigerians prosperity in this world as well as salvation in the next." There are mass conversions, defects, animosities, and massacres in this dire competition between the Muslims of the North and the Christians of the South. Rene Girard's thesis about "the mimetic principle" is in effect: The two sides imitate each other and escalate in both marketing efforts and militial action. The well-document killings by Muslims are truly abhorrent; Christian belligerency, reactive or initiatory, is apocalyptically fierce. Griswold tells, for example, how the Christian Association of Nigeria "militia" attacked a Muslim town, killing 660 Muslims, burning twelve mosques and three hundred homes.
Griswold's father had been primate of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A at the time of the massacre, and a colleague of Archbishop Peter Akinola, who was then the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria. Akinola is now the head of the eighteen-million- member Anglican Church in Nigeria, and the spiritual and ecclesiastical host to many dissident American Anglicans who have accepted him as their bishop. To put it politely, Akinola, stiffing Griswold, launched into an attack linking Islam and liberal Protestantism while defending what Americans call "the prosperity gospel." "I've said before: let no Muslim think they have the monopoly on violence." Both sides in the Muslim-Christian conflict cite their Scriptures; one pastor legitimated rape by Christians on the basis of Matthew 24:19: "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days."

Another Closeted Republican

I am convinced that Lincoln was bisexual. The article Dewey sent the link to -- Explaining a Presential Relationship bought up some very interesting points. Why is this such a issue in this day and age? Anway, thought you all would find the below of interest.
Robert L. Kincaid, Speed's biographer, describes the gay dialectic of their relationship: "Thus it was that Joshua Fry Speed and Abraham Lincoln passed the first hours in their bed together. Speed saw in Lincoln the rough-hewn product of the frontier. . . In Joshua Fry Speed, Abraham Lincoln saw a youth who was truly a 'gentleman to the manor born'" The two men shared the same bed for four years; both Speed and Lincoln always used the specific term "four years" in the way lovers mention anniversaries; they never said "several" or "many" but always used the specific number. They both had counted the years and held them sacred. Kincaid rightly concluded, "How much Speed contributed to the development of Lincoln in the four years they slept together is idle speculation, but their kindred hopes and ambitions fused into a unity and understanding which was never broken" (Kincaid, Robert L. 'Joshua Fry Speed, Lincoln's Most Intimate Friend.' Harrogate, Tennessee; Lincoln Memorial University, 1943)
If there were ever any quarrels or differences between Speed and Lincoln, they were not recorded. Their separation was brought on by events beyond their control. Speed's father died; he had to return to Louisville to help settle the estate and to comfort his mother. While there, Speed was pressured into marriage much against his wishes. Lincoln himself sought out a substitute in Mary Todd. Like Speed, she was from an upper-class Kentucky background, was well educated and was attracted to the tall man's prospects. Having lost Joshua and not yet ready for Mary, Lincoln cancelled the plans for marriage on January 1, 1841. Lincoln was thrown into the depths of despair, mourning for his Joshua who had left him. A friend wrote, "We have been very much distressed, on Mr. Lincoln's account; hearing that he had two Cat fits and a Duck fit since we left." Toward the end of the month, Lincoln himself wrote his law partner John Stuart, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell: I awfully forebode I shall not" (The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Roy P. Basler, editor. 9 Vols, New Brunswick NJ; 1953 - 1955, Vol I, 229)
Lincoln recovered only after he had joined Speed that summer in Kentucky. Speed's biographer holds that "no incident in Lincoln's life was perhaps more enjoyable than his visit in the Speed home at 'Farmington' near Louisville in August and September, 1841" (Kincaid, 15) But when Speed married in February, 1842, Lincoln wrote from Springfield, "I feel somewhat jealous of both of you now; you will be so exclusively concerned for one another, that I shall be forgotten entirely" (The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Roy P. Basler, editor. 9 Vols, New Brunswick NJ; 1953 - 1955, Vol I, 281)
Mother Speed gave the skeptic Lincoln a copy of the Bible to restore his spirits, but Lincoln never really recovered from the loss of his greatest love. As he mused in a letter to Speed about their friendship: "I regret to learn that you have resolved not to return to Illinois. I shall be very lonesome without you. How miserably things seem to be arranged in this world. If we have no friends, we have no pleasure; and if we have them, we are sure to lose them, and be doubly pained by the loss" (Lincoln, I, 281) . Lincoln never forgot Speed; he wanted to name his first born after Joshua (Mary objected). After Lincoln was elected President, he saw Speed several times and found time for them to be alone together. In Chicago, the president=elect arranged for Mary to divert Speed's wife so they could slip off together to Speed's hotel room. "When the two men were alone, Lincoln stretched his long frame upon the bed, and," according to Speed's biographer, "Offered a post to Speed. . . But Speed declined" (Kincaid, 22-23). But their romance essentially ended January 1, 1841.
What more evidence could be called for in proving Joshua Speed and Abraham Lincoln were lovers? Lincoln's breakdown after his separation from Speed was always recognized by him as the lowest point in his life. Since Lincoln was a lawyer and Speed quite discreet, their physical relations never came into court. Indeed homosexuality seems not to have been a prosecuted crime in the circuits where Lincoln practiced. And snobbishness and pretentiousness more than lustiness led to social ostracism. Lincoln as a lawyer/politician and Speed as a storekeeper had finely honed skills for giving people what they wanted, folksy friendliness. Neither man was exclusively homosexual but that they were married and had sexual intercourse with a woman is not evidence they were not homosexual. Suppose something quite unlikely; the two men never had any "genital contact" during the four years they shared the same bed. Would that abstinence have made them any less homosexual? Speed was no casual pickup; he was Lincoln's type. Like Mary Todd Lincoln he was a Kentucky belle; was a couple classes above Lincoln; supported the tall man in his ambitions; and knew just how to soothe and relieve his depressions. What one biographer writes of Mary Todd was equally true of Joshua Speed: "She provided a marriage-long course in middle-class etiquette" (Baker, Jean H. 'Mary Tood Lincoln: A Biography', New York,: Norton, 1987, p132). The main difference between Mary and Joshua in their relations with Lincoln was that Lincoln tried to spend all his time with Speed while he was eager to get away from Mary.
Women were never Lincoln's first choice as love objects. Sarah Lincoln (His beloved stepmother) recalled that he never took much to the young girls. Indeed he seems to have been repelled from women as sexual partners. One grisly tale concerns Matilda, his stepsister, who had secretly followed him into the woods for a "good long chat and a wild romp." Matilda found Abe splitting wood and as a surprise jumped on his back whiel he was splitting wood. As she jumped he "accidentally" axed her in the thigh (some more genteel accounts say "ankle"). Lincoln then tore off the "tail of his undergarment" to stop the bleeding. Psychohistorian Charles Strozier writes that "the issue then became what to tell Sarah. Matilda was inclined to lie but Lincoln urged her to tell the truth. . . This ruthless honesty is ostensibly the point of the story. . . However, the sexual play and excitement between adolescent siblings unrelated by blood, living in a one-room cabin, seem the deeper meaning of the anecdote" (Strozier, Charles B. "Lincoln's Quest for Union: Public and Private Meanings.' New York; Basic Books, 1982, p22-23).
By contrast the story about Lincoln's visit to the prostitute is seldom told: he didn't have sex because he lacked the needed two dollars. But the humor does not disguise the fact that Lincoln avoided sex with a woman. One of his better documented courtings was with Mary Owens, a woman many believe he proposed to because she was sure to reject him. Owens later claimed Lincoln was "deficient in those little links that make up the chain of a woman's happiness" (Hertz, Emanuel, "The Hidden Lincoln from the Letters and Papers of Wiliam H. Harndon." New York; Viking Press, 1938 p303). And Mary Todd's sister stated quite definitively that "Lincoln was unable to talk to women and was not sufficiently educated in the female line to do so" (Baker, 89)
Lincoln married Mary Todd in November, 1842, and their marriage still offers room for historians to argue and novelists to imagine. Gore Vidal convincingly suggests that Lincoln had contracted syphilis which he passed on to Marry; three of their four children - Edward (1846 - 1850), Willie (1850 - 1862), and Tad (1853 - 1871) - all died prematurely and Mary herself suffered mental disorders (Vidal, passim). Mary Todd had several close, passionate relations with other women. While she had an informed and vigorous interest in politics, her husband progressively excluded her from his confidence. The early deaths of her children brought many nightmares; after the birth of Tad in 1853 she ceased having sexual relations with her husband and they soon maintained separate bedrooms.
After Joshua Speed, Lincoln himself never formed another intimate relationship with anyone (including Mary Todd), but he did pursue more casual male friendships. Between 1842 and 1861, he spent as much time on the road as at home. While other married circuit lawyers and politicians tried to go home as often as possible, Lincoln preferred sleeping overnight with the unmarried men. Thus he teamed up with Ward Hill Lamon, a husky twenty-year old beauty who went on to become his bodyguard. Once he slept four or five nights with Lamon at Lamon's house while Mary Todd was in New York City on a shopping trip. Lamon also provided for a beautiful group of Pennsylvania soldiers ("Bucktail Brigade") to guard Lincoln in the summer quarters in 1862. Margaret Leech writes, "He grew to like the Bucktails, especially Company K, with whose captain he became so friendly that he invited him to share his bed on autumn nights when Mrs. Lincoln was away from home" (Leech,Margaret. "Reveille In Washington" New York; Harper, 1941, p303). The captain got transferred by Company K continued on duty at the White House.

Obama Snubbed San Francisco Mayor

During his Senate run in Illinois in 2004, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is said to have declined to have his picture taken with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who was in the center of a national turmoil over his decision to allow same-sex marriage in the city.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that the snub took place at a fund-raiser hosted by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
"I gave a fund-raiser at (Obama's) request at the Waterfront restaurant," Brown told the Chronicle. "And he said to me, he would really appreciate it if he didn't get his photo taken with my mayor. He said he would really not like to have his picture taken with Gavin."

Clinton Winning Democrats

Obama continued to win the black vote and whites in red states. Is this support in the red states a sign of the Clinton dislike in the south?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/06/super.main/index.html

Preacher Copeland Declares Holy War Against Senator

Pentecostal Preacher Pledges Holy War Against GOP SenatorBy Steve Benen,The Carpetbagger ReportIt hasn't generated a lot of headlines, but in the world of religion and politics, it's a pretty big deal. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, recently asked six high-profile, hyper-wealthy Pentecostal televangelists for their financial records, under the suspicion that they're using their ministries for personal gain. (Imagine that.)Not surprisingly, most of the televangelists' ministries have been loath to cooperate with the inquiry. One in particular is pledging a holy war.Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has gone after more than a few iconic nonprofits during his tenure atop the Finance Committee, including the Red Cross, Smithsonian and Harvard University.But now the Finance ranking member and former chairman may have met his match: televangelist Kenneth Copeland of the sprawling Kenneth Copeland Ministries based in Newark, Texas.In a Jan. 22 closed-circuit broadcast of his 2008 Ministers' Conference obtained by Roll Call, Copeland pledges a holy war against "Brother Grassley" and the Senate for attempting to get a look at the controversial ministry's finances. Grassley wrote a Nov. 6 letter to Copeland and five other prominent ministers requesting a variety of financial information."You render unto the government what belongs to the government. And you render unto God what belongs to God," Copeland loudly intones to approving murmurs from the crowd of 1,000 ministers and their guests.Oh, the irony is rich.These TV preachers believe the separation of church and state is some kind of Satanic, communist plot to be rejected by decent people everywhere. That is, right up until a senator wonders if perhaps they're abusing their tax-exempt status, at which point the church-state wall is high and impregnable.

Republicans Take From Poor To Give To The Rich

Bush's Republican supported cuts in Estate Tax would give the Wal Mart children $34 million over ten years and cut Medicare by $29 million over the same ten years.
http://www.alternet.org/story/48278/

Mobil Sets Record For Rip-Off Profits

Mobil Oil Company set a new record for excessive profits last year. All this price gouging was done during a time of war. Not only are they un-American, but the government that let them gouge the public should be ashamed too. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080201/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_exxon_mobil

Ohio Primary Debates

LOS ANGELES (CNN) – CNN announced Thursday that it will partner with the Ohio Democratic Party and the Ohio Republican Party for back-to-back presidential debates at the end of February.
With the race for each party nomination likely to extend beyond the February 5 Super Tuesday contests, it’s increasingly possible the critical battleground state of Ohio – which holds its presidential primary March 4, along with three other states — could very well determine the 2008 Democratic and Republican nominees.
"Ohio will once again decide who wins the White House,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. “The Ohio Democratic debate is important because it will allow the next President of the United States to address the issues most important to Ohioans."
Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine also highlighted the state’s potential kingmaker status. "No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio,” said DeWine. “It's a critical battleground state in November that could play a deciding role on March 4. We're proud to partner with CNN on this debate in advance of what could be a decisive primary election in the Buckeye State."
The Democratic debate will take place Wednesday, February 27, while the Republican debate will follow on Thursday, February 28. The network said further details will be released soon.

Republican Channel Fox News Loosing Out

Let's take an extended multiple choice quiz. Right now, which of the following topics is likely causing the discomfort inside Ailes' Fox News empire?
A) CNN's resurgence as the go-to cable destination for election coverage.B) The incredible shrinking candidacy of Fox News' favored son, Rudy Giuliani.C) The still-standing candidacy of Fox News nemesis and well-funded, anti-war GOP candidate Rep. Ron Paul.D) The Democratic candidates' blanket refusal to debate on Fox News during the primary season.E) Host Bill O'Reilly being so desperate for an interview from a Democratic contender that he had to schlep all the way to New Hampshire, where he shoved an aide to Sen. Barack Obama and then had to be calmed down by Secret Service agents.F) Former Fox News architect and Ailes confidante Dan Cooper posting chapters from his a wildly unflattering tell-all book about his old boss. ("The best thing that ever happened to Roger Ailes was 9/11.")G) The fledgling Fox Business Network, whose anemic ratings are in danger of being surpassed by some large city public access channels.H) Host John Gibson's recent heartless attacks on actor Heath Ledger, just hours after the young actor was found dead.I) Fox News reporter Major Garrett botching his "exclusive" that Paul Begala and James Carville were going to join Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, and then refusing to correct the record.

Evangelicals Fight LGBT Citizens

evangelicals rate gays as top election issue
http://www.pinknews .co.uk/news/ articles/ 2005-6628. html

22nd January 2008 11:15Tony GrewA survey has revealed that for evangelical Christians in the United States homosexuality is one of the key issues in the 2008 election.The Barna Group's research found that in this important group of voters, whose strong support propelled George W Bush into the White House, abortion was the most pressing problem their country faces for 94%.For 75% of evangelicals "homosexual lifestyles" or the "political efforts of homosexual activists" were a concern. Among the general population only 35% agreed."Out of more than sixty different subgroups reviewed, there were no differences of opinion on these two survey questions, suggesting that the two issues may be linked in Americans' minds," the report states.However, 23% of voters said the "political efforts of conservative Christians" are a major problem facing the country.

Homophobia Based On Puritan Sexual Hangups

At its root, anti-Queer sentiment is based in a visceral sense that what we do is wrong and distasteful. Our staunchest opponents do not care about nor are they compelled by how much we love each other, how successfully we raise our children, or how dutifully we pay our taxes, or how we serve the public good in numerous other ways. In the final analysis, they just think we're nasty.Anti-Queer arguments based in religion, culture and the creation of children are all smoke screens to cover up something that's really very base: disgust. Trying to rationalize and cover up disgust with other excuses merely serves to justify the perpetuation of political, social and physical violence against Queer communities. But if we pay attention to the messages from the LGBTQQI movement -- particularly the messages we send ourselves -- it would appear that we have forgotten that our marginalization is based in others' discomfort around our sexuality, and we've responded by not talking about our sexuality and instead talking about love.

Are Bigoted/Homophobic Evangelicals Killing Christianity

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/24/best.selling.christian.ap/index.html

Canada Avoiding Torture in Afghanistan - Not US

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/world/americas/24canada.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Study Shows Bush Adm Lied 935 Times Before War

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/23/bush.iraq/index.html

VP Gore Back Gay Marriage

"I think it's wrong for the government to discriminate against people because of a person's sexual orientation. I think that gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women to make contracts, have hospital visiting rights, and join together in marriage. I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage to allow it for gays and lesbians. Shouldn't we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to one partner regardless of sexual orientation? Because if we don't do that, then to that extent you are promoting promiscuity and promoting all the problems that can result from promiscuity. And the loyalty and love that people feel for one another when they fall in love ought to be celebrated and encouraged and shouldn't be prevented by any form of discrimination in the law." - Vice President Al Gore

Another Terrorist Case Exagerated By Bush

The Miami "terrorists" who Bush said were planning to blow up a building in Chicago had their case thrown out as just plain imaginary. Now the case against the American caught in Afghanistan turns out to be nothing but exageration by the Bush administration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/us/23padilla.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1201090406-W0XPSgoSf6gNrb/aIJuCqg