Saturday, April 4, 2009

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Lee Stranahan: GOP Calls For "National Day Of Foot Stamping & Lip Pursing" Top
National Republican leaders, frustrated by the popularity of President Barack Obama and widespread public support for his policies, vowed today to remain frustrated. The statement came in a rare show of unity that brought together Republican lawmakers, right wing talk show hosts, conservative bloggers, and several people wearing tinfoil hats, wearing roller skates and carrying tea bags. "We're at a time of great national crisis and the vast minority of American people are clearly calling for us to obstruct, mock, and twist the President's efforts to solve the country's problems," said some official Republican douchebag. "We remain committed to this course of action, which we expect to include snorting, pouting and -- if needed -- a total fucking fucky fuck-fit." To show support, Fox News host Glenn Beck held his breath until he passed out and then fell on top of Congressman Eric Cantor, who had been lying in a fetal position in the corner near former Vice President Dick Cheney who had a paper bag on his head and fingers in both ears. Luckily, the scene was not witnessed by the nearly bald headed trio of Sarah Palin, Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter, who had shaved their heads earlier in the day before moving into a cave above the hills of Simi Valley, California to join the tribe of a mumu wearing Norm Coleman. A calf was sacrificed, There were many furtuve reach-arounds given behind closed doors. Michael Steele was set on fire. The blood soaked into the ground as Senator John Boehner traced the sign of the dollar with the tip of his finger into the dark earth. "The road is clear", said Newt Gingrich. And then there was only the sky and the smoke and the figure of Rush Limbaugh. More on Dick Cheney
 
Harold Pollack: Another nerd issue that matters for health reform: Preventing needless (re)hospitalization Top
Last year, my wife got sick and ended up taking in an unexpected vacation in a cardiac ICU. After a scary week, I brought her home. We called the academic medical practice where her internist and asked for an appointment. The telephone gatekeeper, apparently finding no computer data field for: "40-something nubile woman with no apparent risk-factors has heart attack," responded: "We have no available appointments...." Less than 48 hours after being discharged from a intensive care unit, she was out of the hospital, and no one medical seemed all that interested or willing to see her. As a trained health services researcher, I knew one tool to address this situation: Repeated begging and pleading. Twelve rather unpleasant days later, we got in to see the internist. Good thing. A brilliant diagnostician, he deduced that my wife hadn't had a heart attack after all. He also determined that she was receiving excessive doses of a powerful beta-blocker that put her resting pulse below 50 with roughly the metabolism of a sleeping lizard and some ugly bruising. I presented the full gory story, including my own blunders, here . My wife is fine. I'm relieved she didn't end up back at the same hospital ICU. Others aren't so lucky. The latest New England Journal of Medicine has an excellent article by Stephen Jencks, Mark Williams, and Eric Coleman on this issue. They analyzed Medicare claims data to examine the issue of unplanned re-hospitalization among Medicare recipients. Their findings provide a good example of the quality challenge facing our healthcare system, and why we need some serious reform. It's not cheap, either. Rehospitalizations cost Medicare about $17 billion. About 20% of hospitalized Medicare patients are rehospitalized within 30 days. Sometimes this is wise and appropriate. Other times, this reflects poor medical management and the failure of our inpatient and outpatient care systems to provide effective and coordinated care. To me, the article's money quote was: In the case of 50.2% of the patients who were rehospitalized within 30 days after a medical discharge to the community, there was no bill for a visit to a physician's office between the time of discharge and rehospitalization. Got that? People leave the hospital and are readmitted without so much as entering a doctor's office in-between. Poor discharge planning and meager help to patients trying to understand and follow prescribed therapies are key causes of this problem. Our system's poor support for primary care is a big piece of the puzzle, too. For example, it is troubling that the average pay of dermatologists is double that of internists . Arnold Epstein wrote an accompanying editorial noting an analysis of 18 studies of congestive heart failure patients in eight countries. These studies showed that comprehensive discharge planning with the right supports and guidance reduced readmission rates by 1/4 and improved patients' quality of life. Some years ago, I was exposed to this work as a member of an Institute of Medicine panel that explored whether Medicare should reimburse nutrition counseling and related services. I was surprised by the impact on real people of often-low-tech services by dieticians and others. The grooves of our current financing system accommodate a $40,000 hospitalization more easily than they accommodate a dietician's $200 home visit showing a heart failure patient how to do healthy cooking. The work by Jencks and colleagues underscore the importance of health services research to improve and monitor quality. This kind of work also highlights the value of having a large public plan--here the biggest one, Medicare--to improve care. Medicare provides a huge and detailed database so that clinicians and researchers can find more effective and economical approaches to patient care. Independent of this latest work, Medicare has been providing informal feedback to hospitals regarding rehospitalization and other quality measures. More generally, Medicare and other public payers have the scale and leverage to use quality measures to really improve care. Private insurers certainly work to improve quality. Public players have some better available tools. For these reasons, and for many others detailed by Thinkprogress.org , we need a public plan. Postscript for faithful readers : It's good to see that Huffingtonpost.com has thrived in my absence. I wanted to mention that most of my health policy blogging now appears at the New Republic's new web section, The Treatment . (My latest is here .) In this season when health policy wonkery matters more than ever before, you should check it out.
 
Vickie Karp: Third Screen: The Really Terrible Orchestra Attacks America Top
Heard novelist Alexander McCall Smith play in his beloved Really Terrible Orchestra at Town Hall Wednesday night, and all I can say is there is absolutely no danger they'll get good any time soon. I know he was relieved to hear this. It is an orchestra for people without talent, and so far, they're all keepers. The Really Terrible Orchestrea, or RTO, continues to live up to its mission of "inclusiveness," meaning you get to play with them just so long as no one else will include you. There were approximately 1,400 of us in the audience, and I may have been the only one not wearing plaid, because it was a benefit for a children's orchestra fund and the Tartan Society. The crowd outside, the ones not playing the bagpipes, included one person who told me tickets, which cost $25 or $35, were being sold on the Internet for $500. The woman sitting behind me in the balcony was a Dutch attorney who had just returned from two years with the U.N. in Afghanistan that day. That day. Apparently, she'd met the Really Terrible Orchestra's percussionist in India somewhere along her travels, and been invited way way in advance. Do you see her, she asked me as she peered forward, I can't see a thing without my glasses. Not even the guy in a kilt behind the conga drums? I asked her. Not even the guy in a kilt behind the conga drums. There was an extremely old woman sitting behind the tympanny holding a baton, and she never played a note. Not a single bang on a single piece of musical equipment. That aside, what better way to recover from being a Dutch lawyer for the U.N. in Afghanistan than to be on Broadway listening to an ode to Botswana played by Scots in kilts. In April. Here's Alexander McCall Smith on himself in the Wall Street Journal this week, with reference to his best-selling detective agency novels, and with references to W. H. Auden, of all things, on the pleasures of crime. In books. "The issue of reader expectations is one with which writers of crime or mystery fiction have long been familiar. The poet W.H. Auden is among many critics who have commented on how novels in this genre follow a classic pattern: First there is peace, then this peace is shattered by the occurrence of a crime, usually a murder. This leads to a search for the wrongdoer, his apprehension and punishment, and finally a return to peace. We need to see the moral balance restored, said Auden -- a view also expressed by P.D. James, one of the greatest crime writers of our times. According to James, the traditional detective novel reassures us that we live in a moral universe, one in which the detective is the agent of justice. In this respect, she suggests, the detective novel is really doing the work of the old-fashioned morality play."
 
Police: 4 Pa. officers injured in shooting Top
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police say a man opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call, injuring four of them, some seriously. He then barricaded himself in the home. Police spokeswoman Diane Richard says police are unable to reach one of the wounded officers because the man in the house is still armed and the area isn't secure. She declined to be specific on the extent of the officers' injuries. Richard says the officers were called to the home in the Stanton Heights neighborhood at about 7 a.m. She says a family member is believed to be with the gunman in the home. State, county and city police are at the scene along with a SWAT team and a state police helicopter. Richard says police negotiators are trying to persuade the gunman to surrender.
 
Silvio Berlusconi Telephone Call Leaves Merkel Hanging (VIDEO) Top
KEHL, Germany — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi created a stir Saturday by making the German chancellor wait while he chatted on his mobile phone with Turkey's prime minister about who should become NATO's new chief. Berlusconi was trying to persuade Recep Tayyip Erdogan to accept Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the 28-member alliance's new chief, an Italian government official said. Officials from two other countries confirmed the conversation. WATCH: The current secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of the Netherlands, is completing his term this summer. Berlusconi was making a "last-minute" effort to persuade Erdogan to reverse Turkey's objection, said the Italian government official, speaking on condition he not be identified further. Berlusconi was seen chatting on his mobile phone as he got out of his car on the German side of the Rhine River before a symbolic walk across the Europa Bridge that links Germany and France. In images shown live on European television stations, Berlusconi appeared to gesture to his phone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as if to explain why he wasn't proceeding with other NATO leaders to be greeted by her. A visibly perplexed Merkel eventually went ahead without Berlusconi, who was deep in conversation and walked toward the bank of the river as he talked on the phone instead of joining the other chiefs of state. The perceived snub came days after Queen Elizabeth II jokingly reprimanded Berlusconi for calling out "Mr. Obama" loudly after a group photo was taken at Buckingham Palace before the Group of 20 summit in London. Buckingham Palace stressed the queen was not offended by Berlusconi and that it had been a "jovial lighthearted moment." ___ Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome. More on Video
 
Police, Protesters Clash At NATO Summit In France Top
STRASBOURG, France — Black-clad protesters attacked police and set a hotel and a customs station ablaze Saturday near a bridge linking France and Germany that served hours earlier as the backdrop for a show of unity by NATO leaders. AP photographers saw other protesters storm a nearby Ibis hotel, setting fires and pilfering alcohol from its bar. An AP reporter saw intermittent scuffles between police and demonstrators in black as they gradually made their way back from the Europe Bridge and tried to enter the city center. Around 2:45 p.m. (1245 GMT), the protesters _ throwing rocks _ tried to storm a massive police blockade at the Pont d'Anvers bridge, and were driven back by water cannon, tear gas, flash bombs and rubber bullets. Across the canal, nearly 1,000 people gathered to watch the fracas. Some of the protesters were hurt, but none of the injuries appeared to be serious. Elsewhere, stacks of old tires were also set ablaze, unleashing thick plumes of black smoke that could be seen from across the river. Near the bonfire was a sign welcoming visitors to Strasbourg. First lady Michelle Obama and other spouses canceled a visit to a cancer hospital out of concern for security, the French president's office said. Some 1,000 protesters were staked out near the hospital they were to visit. Some of the protesters say they want an end to war and call NATO a tool of Western imperialism. Others simply appear bent on causing chaos. Saturday's protest began calmly but began turning violent around noon (1000 GMT) at the same Pont d'Anvers bridge. An AP reporter saw police in body armor and helmets hoisting shields as they were pelted by several hundred protesters with rocks, sticks and then Molotov cocktails. About 100 officers responded by lobbing flash bombs and volleys of tear gas into the crowds of demonstrators, many dressed in black and wearing masks or balaclavas. Members of the violence-prone "black bloc" _ named for their black clothes and hoods _ then headed toward the Europe Bridge and set fire to the customs station on the French side and sprayed graffiti on the walls of buildings. Later, German-run water cannon were driven across the Europe Bridge and used to help put out the fire. As the crowd dissipated, a convenience store was overrun and ransacked. There were no immediate reports of injuries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and two dozen other NATO leaders walked across the bridge separating Germany and France before the 60th-anniversary summit began. Across the Rhine River in Kehl, Germany, an estimated 5,000 demonstrators gathered peacefully and hoped to cross into Strasbourg but were diverted by scores of police, backed by at least five trucks with water cannons. "No nations, no border. Fight law and order," they chanted in unison as police clad in riot gear looked on, before the demonstration began to gradually subside around 3 p.m. (1300 GMT). Protesters have been frustrated by large police presence in both cities. Some 15,000 German police and 9,000 French police are on call for the summit. Helicopters have patrolled the skies and police in fast boats have crisscrossed the river, too. Earlier Saturday, some 1,800 protesters left their camp south of Strasbourg at about 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) and headed north through deserted streets to the summit site before being turned back. Elsewhere, a separate group of 200 French and German protesters _ including dozens dressed as clowns and a team of dancing percussionists _ occupied a central intersection in downtown Strasbourg after police launched flash bombs and tear gas at them. German authorities had estimated that up to 25,000 protesters would take part in several demonstrations in Kehl and the German spa town of Baden-Baden, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) away, where NATO leaders met and had supper in a lavish casino. France's interior minister has suggested 30,000 to 40,000 ultimately could show up in Strasbourg. The numbers have so far appeared much smaller. ___ David Rising reported from Kehl, Germany.
 
Steve Clemons: US Border Authorities Detain German Political Leader and Undermine American Brand Top
I will be arriving in Berlin on Monday, the 11th of May -- and I am appealing to German border authorities to detain me for an hour or so -- to make amends for the treatment that a German political leader (and probably many other unnamed victims of passport screening) received at Dulles Airport. I think that any American should feel embarrassed by the treatment important guests of the United States received this past week at the hands of US Customs and Border Protection officials at Dulles International Airport. And frankly, when important political leaders from nations allied with the United States are treated poorly when entering the country, one knows that there must be a much longer line of others who can't garner headlines about their cases that are detained in similar or worse ways. Former German State Minister for Police Cem Oezdemir , who was the first ever Turkish-German Member of the German Bundestag and then became a Member of the European Parliament and is today the Co-Chair of the German Green Party, was detained by officials at Dulles Airport earlier this week and given no reason. I met Oezdemir and his wife, radio personality Pia Castro , shortly after their detainment and heard that what frustrated him most about the incident was the unwillingness of the officials to tell him anything about what was going on. A border control official just told him in a loud, aggressively confrontational voice to sit, to be quiet and wait to be called. The problem was that the officials didn't have his passport or name. Oezdemir, who had an official of the German Embassy in Washington, DC there to help expedite him through customs, had to go up to the intimidating official and say to him that there was no way Oezdemir would be called from a roster as no one had taken his name or passport yet. So, Oezdemir handed it to them. The process was, according to Oezdemir and his wife who both frequently visit the US, dehumanizing, excessively rude, and characterized by total lack of information being provided to those who are detained. Being detained without instruction or comments from the authorities creates fear, tension and uncertainty for those stopped in this way -- and one can only imagine how people who barely speak English react to such treatment. Oezdemir and his wife are fully fluent in English and still the border authorities made little effort to communicate -- and were rude at the end of the process when whatever concerns about him were obviously cleared. This kind of treatment of people -- anyone, important politically or not -- undermines the American brand. According to some reports , it is believed that Oezdemir was stopped by the official because his name "did not sound German." If that kind of profiling is going on, then the US Customs and Border Protection operation should be investigated and challenged by the US Congress, the media and the American public. It is simply outrageous that individuals would be stopped because of their name or what they ate on a plane. These stories percolate back and undermine confidence abroad in the U.S. itself. The treatment of Oezdemir and his wife -- who know this country well and know its strengths and warts -- has already been broadcast all over the German and the Turkish media. I recognize that some people on occasion will be detained and will feel like they are being manhandled by a process they don't understand at America's borders -- but the rudeness of the treatment, the lack of human tact, the lack of information provided to those detained is out of line and needs to be remedied. I know that the US Customs and Border Protection public affairs office will read this note. Apologizing to Oezdemir and his wife is not a remedy. What is a remedy is a statement that the Department of Homeland Security must unfortunately detain -- for a variety of reasons -- people who enter the US about whom red flags are raised. However, you should state that US Customs and Border Protection directors will review policies regarding communication with detainees and the "posture" overall of officers through the process. Those who are cleared should be treated as "innocents" and respected -- and told that America regrets this process but that any officers involved hope to convey as much respect, reasonableness, and humanity as possible in processing through any concerns about specific visitors. And then -- get your people at Dulles more cultural training. I wonder if our former US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad, the highest ranking Muslim in the Bush administration, ever gets the Oezdemir treatment at our borders now that he doesn't have his official passport. Fix this problem -- seriously. You are harming the nation, and there is no reason at all that can explain the poor behavior of officials when people are detained. I've seen it personally -- and heard too many stories like this one for there not to be a broader review. -- Steve Clemons directs the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation and publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note More on Turkey
 
David Axelrod Made Millions From Sale Of Firm Top
As he prepared to take a job in the White House at the end of last year, David Axelrod sold the political consulting firm that helped elect President Barack Obama for $2 million to a group of consultants who helped steer Obama's campaign. According to a disclosure form released Friday evening by the White House, the firm, AKP&D Message & Media, paid him $897,000 last year, when it had basically turned itself into an arm of the Obama campaign, which paid the company $2.5 million. More on David Axelrod
 
Jiverly Voong, NY Gunman, Angry Over Poor English Skills, Job Loss Top
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The man who police say killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at an immigrant community center was depressed and angry over losing his job and about his poor English skills, officials said Saturday. Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told NBC's "Today" that people "degraded and disrespected" the gunman over his poor English. Mayor Matthew Ryan, speaking on ABC's "Good Morning America," said the man, believed to be 42-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Voong, was angry about his language issues and his lack of employment. On Friday, he barricaded the American Civic Association community center's back door with his car, walked in the front and started shooting with two handguns. Within minutes, a receptionist, 12 immigrants taking a citizenship class and the gunman were dead. Another receptionist, who played dead after she was shot in the abdomen, called 911 to get police to the scene within two minutes. Zikuski said the injured receptionist stayed on the phone for 90 minutes, "feeding us information constantly," despite a serious wound in the abdomen. "She's a hero in her own right," he said. Four people were critically wounded in the Friday massacre, and 37 others made it out, including 26 who hid for hours in a basement boiler room while police tried to determine whether the gunman was still alive and whether he was holding any hostages, Zikuski said. Investigators said they had yet to establish a motive for the shooting, which was at least the fifth deadly mass shooting in the U.S. in the past month. The suspected killer carried ID with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong, of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., but that was believed to be an alias, said a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The man was found dead in an office with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a satchel containing ammunition slung around his neck, authorities said. Police found two handguns _ a 9 mm and a .45-caliber _ and a hunting knife. A second law enforcement official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the handguns were registered to Jiverly Wong, another name the man used. Both officials were not authorized to speak publicly. A woman who answered the phone at a listing for Henry D. Voong said she was Jiverly Voong's sister but would not give her name. She said her brother had been in the country for 28 years and had citizenship. Zikuski told "Today" that the shooter had worked in Binghamton for Shop-Vac, which closed in November. The sister told the AP on Friday that her brother worked at a company where "they make the vacuums." The mayor told ABC that the gunman "had lost a job recently and was somewhat angry." "He had language issues, didn't speak English that well, and was really concerned about his employment situation," Ryan said. Initial reports suggested Voong had recently been let go from IBM, which has roots in the region, but a person at IBM said there was no record of a Jiverly Voong ever working there. His father, Henry Voong, does work there. The attack at the American Civic Association, which helps immigrants settle in this country, came just after 10 a.m. as people from all over the globe _ Latin America, China, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Africa _ gathered for English and citizenship lessons in an effort to become a bigger part of their new home. The gunman parked his car against the back door before barging through the front and opening fire, apparently without saying a word. He then entered a room just off the reception area and fired on a citizenship class while terrified people scrambled into a boiler room and a storage room. Abdelhak Ettouri, a Moroccan immigrant who lives in nearby Johnson City, told the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin he found the back door locked when he tried to flee, then ran to hide in the basement as he heard 12 to 14 shots: "Tak-tak-tak-tak." Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, was in an English class when her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room. "I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting," Tokhtabayeva told the AP. "I heard shooting, very long time, and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished." Hoi Nguyen of Binghamton said his 36-year-old daughter Phuong Nguyen, who survived the massacre, was taking an English class in the basement when the gunfire started. "She said it sounded like a firecracker and everyone in the class was startled," he said. "Then the teacher locked the door, called the police, then told everyone they couldn't leave the room." Police arrived in minutes, heard no gunfire and waited for about an hour before entering the building to make sure it was safe for officers. They then spent two hours searching the building. They led a number of men out in plastic handcuffs while trying to sort out victims from the killer or killers. The police chief said the suspected gunman "was no stranger" to the community center and may have gone there to take a class. He said he had no idea what the shooter's motive was. On Friday evening, police searched Voong's house and carried out three computer hard drives, a brown canvas rifle case, a briefcase, a small suitcase and several paper bags. Dr. Jeffrey King, speaking at the Catholic Charities office, said he was certain his mother, 72-year-old Roberta King, who taught English at the community center, was among the dead. Authorities read a list of survivors and his mother's name wasn't on it, he said. The shootings took place in a neighborhood of homes and small businesses in downtown Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 situated 140 miles northwest of New York City. The region was the home to Endicott-Johnson shoe company and the birthplace of IBM, which between them employed tens of thousands of workers before the shoe company closed a decade ago and IBM downsized in recent years. A string of attacks in the U.S. in the last month left 44 people dead in all. A gunman killed 10 people and himself in Samson, Ala.; shootings that began with a traffic stop in Oakland, Calif., left four police officers and the gunman dead; an apparent murder-suicide in Santa Clara, Calif., left six dead; and a gunman went on a rampage at a nursing home Sunday, killing seven elderly residents and a nurse who cared for them. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Hill, John Kekis and Michael Rubinkam in Binghamton; Carolyn Thompson and John Wawrow in Buffalo, N.Y.; Jessica M. Pasko, George M. Walsh and Chris Carola in Albany; Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y.; Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles; and the AP News Information Research Center in New York.
 
NBC: Leno Will Air In Boston Come Hell Or High Water Top
NBC sources are adamant the network will be victorious in its surprise standoff with a rebelling Boston station that's refusing to air Jay Leno's talk show in the fall. The station's contract, they said, is clear: WHDH cannot opt out of a regularly scheduled hour of primetime programming. "He cannot do it," one source said of station owner Ed Ansin. "He could request a one-off exception, and that only happens for very unusual situations." And even if WHDH manages to thwart NBC's efforts to compel it to air Leno, NBC threatens to strip the station of its affiliation and create a new NBC carrier using its Boston-area Telemundo station. More on NBC
 
Gay Marriages Expected To Begin In Iowa April 24 Top
DES MOINES, Iowa — Gay marriage, seemingly the province of the nation's two coasts, is just weeks away from becoming a reality in the heartland and apparently it will be years before social conservatives have a chance to stop it. The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman. Now gays and lesbians may exchange vows as soon as April 24 following the landmark decision. The county attorney who defended the law said he would not seek a rehearing. The only recourse for opponents appeared to be a constitutional amendment, which couldn't get on the ballot until 2012 at the earliest. "I would say the mood is one of mourning right now in a lot of ways," said a dejected Bryan English, spokesman for the Iowa Family Policy Center, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage. In the meantime, same-sex marriage opponents may try to enact residency requirements for marriage so that gays and lesbians from across the country could not travel to Iowa to wed. U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, urged the Legislature to do so, saying he feared without residency requirements Iowa would "become the gay marriage mecca." Only Massachusetts and Connecticut currently permit same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November. For gays and lesbians, meanwhile, the day was one of jubilation. The Vermont House of Representatives also passed a measure Friday that would allow same-sex couples to wed, on a 94-52 roll call vote, just short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised veto by Gov. Jim Douglas. Gay marriage supporters hoped to convince a few Vermont legislators to switch when it comes to the override vote, which could be taken as soon as Tuesday. In Iowa, hundreds cheered, waved rainbow flags and shed tears of joy at rallies in seven cities Friday evening. "Corn-fed and Ready to Wed!" read one man's sign at a gathering at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. In downtown Des Moines, about 300 people gathered beneath rainbow flags to celebrate including Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie. "We finally have equality in Iowa," said Harold Delaria, of Des Moines, who attended the rally and has two gay children. "It's kind of the last wall of legalized discrimination and it's coming tumbling down." The Rev. Diane McLanahan of Trinity United Methodist Church in Des Moines acknowledged that many people of faith won't agree with the ruling. With that in mind, she said the court has reached a decision that "pretty much insists that this will not be a debate about religious rights but a matter of equality and fairness." In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld an August 2007 decision by a judge who found that a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of equal protection. Iowa lawmakers have "excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification," the justices wrote. To issue any other decision, the seven justices said, "would be an abdication of our constitutional duty." At a news conference announcing the decision, plaintiff Kate Varnum, 34, introduced her partner, Trish Varnum, as "my fiance." "I never thought I'd be able to say that," she said, fighting back tears. Jason Morgan, 38, said he and his partner, Chuck Swaggerty, adopted two sons, confronted the death of Swaggerty's mother and endured a four-year legal battle as plaintiffs. "If being together though all of that isn't love and commitment or isn't family or marriage, then I don't know what is," Morgan said. "We are very happy with the decision today and very proud to live in Iowa." Iowa has a history of being in the forefront on social issues. It was among the first states to legalize interracial marriage and to allow married women to own property. It was also the first state to admit a woman to the bar to practice law and was a leader in school desegregation. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, said state lawmakers were unlikely to consider gay marriage legislation in this legislative session, which is expected to end within weeks. Gronstal also said he's "not inclined" to propose a constitutional amendment during next year's session. Without a vote by the Legislature this year or next, the soonest gay marriage could be repealed would be 2014. Amendments to Iowa's constitution must be passed by the House and Senate in two consecutive general assemblies, which each last two years, and then approved by a simple majority of voters during a general election. Iowa's Democratic governor, Chet Culver, said he would review the decision before announcing his views. ___ Associated Press writers Nigel Duara in Urbandale and Marco Santana, Melanie S. Welte, Michael Crumb and Mike Glover in Des Moines contributed to this report. ___ On the Net: Iowa Supreme Court: http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/ Lambda Legal: http://www.lambdalegal.org/ More on Gay Marriage
 
Guy Ritchie "Saddened" By Madonna Adoption Failure Top
Guy Ritchie has expressed his sadness over ex Madonna's failed attempt to adopt 3-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James from Malawi. "Madonna is a fantastic and loving mother who cares deeply about her own children, and children who may need additional help and support," he said in a statement Friday. See photos of other stars who have adopted "I fully supported Madonna in her decision to apply for this adoption, and I am saddened that her application has been rejected. She is motivated only by being a caring parent who seeks to share some of the advantages and opportunities that her life has given her," he said of his ex, who has appealed Friday's surprise ruling. More on Madonna
 
Wind May Have Forced North Korea To Delay Rocket Launch Top
SEOUL, South Korea — High winds may have forced North Korea to delay its rocket launch, despite the country's insistence Saturday that preparations were complete for the liftoff that many suspect is intended to test the country's long-range missile capabilities. Regional powers deployed warships and trained their satellites on the communist country to monitor what they suspect will be a test for a missile capable of reaching Alaska. Preparations for sending "an experimental communications satellite" into space were complete, North Korea's state-run media said in a dispatch Saturday morning, adding, "The satellite will be launched soon." However, the day's stated 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. timeframe passed without any sign of a launch. North Korea had announced last month the launch would take place sometime between April 4 and 8 during those hours. Winds reported as "relatively strong" around the northeastern North Korean launch pad in Musudan-ri may have kept the North from launching the rocket Saturday, analyst Paik Hak-soon of the private Sejong Institute think tank said. "North Korea cannot afford a technical failure," he said. "North Korea wouldn't fire the rocket if there's even a minor concern about the weather." Japan again urged North Korea to refrain from a launch that Washington, Seoul and Tokyo suspect is a guise for testing the regime's long-range missile technology _ a worrying development because North Korea has acknowledged it has nuclear weapons and has repeatedly broken promises to shelve its nuclear program or halt rocket tests. "The launch will damage peace and stability in Asia. We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from it," chief Japanese government spokesman Takeo Kawamura said Saturday, adding that it would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution barring the country from ballistic missile activity. President Barack Obama said Friday that a launch would be "provocative" and prompt the U.S. to "take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it can't threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity." Chinese President Hu Jintao, meeting Friday with South Korea's Lee Myung-bak, agreed the launch would "negatively affect peace and stability in Northeast Asia and there should be a discussion among related countries" after it takes place, Lee's office said. "Respective nations made efforts to urge North Korea to refrain from the launch. But if North Korea really plans to launch, it is very regrettable," Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone told reporters Saturday. U.N. Security Council diplomats said a draft resolution was circulating that could reaffirm and tighten enforcement of the demands and sanctions of a resolution passed in October 2006 after a North Korean nuclear test. Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. envoy on North Korea, promised consequences if the launch goes ahead but a strong united response might be elusive since China and Russia hold veto power in the council and could argue that nonmilitary space missions are exempt. Taking no chances, Japan deployed warships and Patriot missile interceptors off its northern coast to shoot down any wayward rocket parts that the North has said might fall over the area, saying it is only protecting its territory and has no intention of trying to shoot down the rocket itself. North Korea threatened retaliation against any interception of the satellite, telling Japan such a move would mean "war," and said American U-2 spy planes would be shot down if they broach its airspace. In a sign of jitters in Japan, public broadcaster NHK quoted the government as saying North Korea appeared to have launched a rocket, then quickly retracted the story. Kawamura said information provided by the Defense Ministry was incorrect. "We put out the wrong information, and we apologize to the public for causing worries," he told reporters. Observation cameras and radars that North Korea installed near the launch pad were not activated Saturday, the Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed South Korean government official as saying. South Korea's Defense Ministry said it was trying to confirm the report. With tensions rising in the region, Bosworth said he was prepared to go to North Korea after the "dust from the missiles settles" in order to restart six-nation negotiations aimed at getting the North to abandon its nuclear program. North Korea also is holding two American journalists accused of crossing into the country illegally from China and engaging in "hostile acts." Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV media venture, were detained last month. A South Korean who works at a joint economic zone in the northern border town of Kaesong also remained in North Korean custody Saturday for allegedly denouncing the North's political system and inciting female North Korean employees to flee the communist country. The South Korean government urged citizens working at joint economic zones and in Pyongyang to return home because of the "grave" tensions on the peninsula. More than 600 South Koreans left North Korea on Saturday, the Unification Ministry said in Seoul. ___ Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul, Shino Yuasa in Tokyo, Foster Klug in Washington and John Heilprin at the U.N. contributed to this report. More on North Korea
 
NATO sending more support to Afghanistan Top
STRASBOURG, France — NATO allies have agreed to send up to 5,000 more military personnel to Afghanistan as the alliance steps up its campaign to stabilize the country before elections in August, the White House said Saturday. About 3,000 of the personnel will be on short-term deployments, sent in to provide security before the pivotal elections this summer, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Another 1,400 to 2,000 will provide training for Afghanistan's national army. "If we don't get the security around the elections right, a lot of the other things we want to do won't matter," Gibbs said. NATO leaders also agreed to create a $100 million trust fund to assist Afghanistan's army, with $57 million of it coming from Germany. The United States is sending in 21,000 additional troops as part of President Barack Obama's new anti-terror strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Earlier Saturday, Obama welcomed Albania and Croatia to the alliance and declared to other nations that "the door to membership will remain open." "It is a measure of our vitality that we are still welcoming new members," Obama said of NATO, which is marking its 60th anniversary at a summit dominated by the war in Afghanistan. Obama, the one doing the welcoming, is himself new to the table. He is taking part in his first NATO summit and seeking support from allied nations toward the plodding effort in Afghanistan, where the new U.S. president is sending in more troops and civilian help. As the leaders got down to business, the two NATO summit hosts, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, made it clear they embraced new U.S. leadership. "We are very pleased to work with him," Sarkozy said of Obama. "We trust him." Meanwhile, outside, police fired tear gas and flash bombs at protesters throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks less than 2 miles from the gathering of world leaders. First lady Michelle Obama and other spouses canceled a visit to a cancer hospital out of concern for security, the French president's office said. One of NATO'S stickiest political issues is how and where to grow. Germany, France and many other NATO nations fear any more NATO eastward expansion will further damage the alliance's ties to Russia. Said Obama: "The door to membership will remain open for other countries that meet NATO standards and can make a meaningful contribution to allied security." Founded in 1949, NATO has added members since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, its Soviet-dominated Cold War foe. In contrast to the alliance's previous eastward expansion, which infuriated Russia, Moscow has not objected to the inclusion of Albania and Croatia in NATO. Albania and Croatia officially joined NATO this week. Obama praised them for having already deployed troops to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, calling that commitment a sign that both countries will be strong contributors. "We are proud to have you as allies," Obama said. He also made a pitch for Macedonia and said he looks forward to the day when it will would join the alliance, too. Macedonia's accession to NATO has been stalled over a dispute with Greece. Earlier, in a move symbolic of NATO's unity, Obama began his Saturday by joining Merkel and other heads of states in walking along a pedestrian bridge that links Germany and France across the Rhine River. The leaders met Sarkozy at the center of the bridge, then crossed together onto the French side in Strasbourg and posed for a group photo. In the midst of an eight-day trip abroad, Obama says it is a new day in U.S.-European relations. But he encountered the same old story of allied reluctance to send more troops to Afghanistan. ___ Associated Press writers Jennifer Loven and Mark S. Smith contributed to this story from Strasbourg. More on France
 
France, Germany Endorse Obama's Afghanistan Plans, But Won't Commit More Troops Top
STRASBOURG, France — NATO's European leaders pledged a significant increase in troops for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan at their 60th anniversary summit Saturday, but the alliance seemed sure to arouse hostility in the Muslim world by choosing the controversial Danish prime minister as the alliance's new secretary general. NATO leaders also launched work on a new strategic concept for the alliance in the future, and said they would seek to overcome differences with Russia. While the allies tried to project harmony, violent protests marred the event as black-clad protesters attacked police and set a customs station ablaze at a bridge used as the backdrop for a walk by NATO leaders from Germany across the Rhine river to France. All 28 NATO leaders unanimously approved Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the new civilian leader of the alliance. Turkey was strongly opposed to Fogh Rasmussen. He had infuriated many Muslims by defending freedom of speech during an uproar over a Danish newspaper's publication of the cartoons in 2005. He has also angered Turkey by opposing its membership in the European Union. "Every head of state and government is fully convinced the Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the best choice for NATO," said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of the Netherlands, the alliance's outgoing secretary general. "A solution has been found also for the concerns expressed by Turkey, and we are unanimous in this," he said. The day started when German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Barack Obama and some two dozen other NATO leaders met French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the halfway point on the Europe bridge in a symbolic departure from the enmity that once tore apart Europe. As leaders met behind closed doors, protesters tossed rocks at police, set the customs station ablaze, smashed the windows of trucks using TV equipment used in the ceremonies and stormed a nearby budget hotel, setting fires and pilfering alcohol from its bar. Amid public antipathy to an expansion of Europe's role in Afghanistan, European leaders remain deeply skeptical about whether more troops can stabilize a country devastated by decades of war. NATO's ability to succeed there is seen as a crucial test of the power and relevance of the alliance founded to counterbalance the Soviet Union but now struggling against a rising insurgency far beyond its borders. Sarkozy and Merkel again stressed their support for the new strategy on Afghanistan that Obama was formally unveiling at the summit. "We cannot afford to lose," Sarkozy said in opening remarks, "because there (Afghanistan), some of the freedom of the world is at stake." Merkel, the summit co-host, said that Afghanistan was a "test" case for the alliance. In that light, de Hoop Scheffer said the summit had decided to set up a NATO Training Mission for Afghanistan. The alliance had also decided to provide monitoring and liaison teams that would work with Afghanistan's fledgeling security forces, and would set up a trust fund to sustain the Afghan National Army. Good will toward Obama, who worked the room patting leaders he had just met on the back, was in ample evidence. "We trust him," Sarkozy said. "We were expecting and waiting for the words we heard." However, both Merkel and Sarkozy stressed the need for Afghanistan's government and security forces to shoulder an increasing share of the burden. They gave no sign they were prepared to send more troops. Both countries believe civilian aid and training for police are what is needed to stabilize Afghanistan. "What we need to do is to understand Afghanistan is a text case for all of us," Merkel said. "We need to promote Afghanization." At the summit's opening on Friday, Obama promised to repair damaged relations with Europe and asked for support of his new strategy, which has him adding 21,000 U.S. troops to the force of 38,000 struggling against Taliban advances alongside a like number of European, Canadian and non-NATO forces Defense Secretary John Hutton told BBC radio in an interview broadcast Saturday that it was "very possible" that extra European contributions to the Afghan mission would be agreed, and that a further expansion of the U.K. military presence remained possible. Spain said ahead of the summit that it would add a small contingent to help train Afghan army officers. Belgium said it will add some 65 soldiers to a force of 500 and send two more F-16 jet fighters, bringing the total number it has sent to six. A senior U.S. official traveling with Obama said Saturday that the administration expects that pledges and commitments from other NATO nations would come in over the next several weeks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions had been announced. Obama and the allies endorsed a return to normal relations with Russia, nine months after Moscow invaded Georgia. Obama took a moment to welcome Albania and Croatia to being alliance membership to 28. Obama said he looked forward to the day when Macedonia will join NATO. Macedonia's accession to NATO has been blocked over a dispute the country has with Greece. Obama also said that "the door to membership will remain open" for countries that meet NATO standards and can make a meaningful contribution to allied security. He did not specify whether future members could come from the former Soviet Union, which Russia opposes. Nonetheless, the allies sought to mend bridges with Russia. "There is a shared view in NATO that we must cooperate with Russia," de Hoop Scheffer said. He said differences remained with Russia over Georgia, but the two sides had a common interest in cooperating in areas such as anti-piracy patrols. "We think this relationship can deliver more than it has up to now," he said. And the alliance officially recognized France's return to full participation on NATO's military councils, after a 43-year absence. Looking to the future, the leaders issued a declaration Saturday that formally launches the creation of a new "strategic concept" or road map to define NATO's roles, missions and way of functioning. It would be the first such revision of the alliance's purpose and function since 1999. ___ Associated Press Writer Tom Raum contributed to this report. More on Barack Obama
 
Reality Star Jade Goody Buried In Lavish Affair Top
LONDON — In a flower-laden vintage Rolls Royce hearse tracked by a crowd of photographers and a television helicopter, Jade Goody was being laid to rest Saturday in much the same style as she had lived as a reality star _ in the full view of cameras. She died of cancer March 22 at age 27, shortly after marrying her fiance Jack Tweed in a media extravaganza. Hundreds of fans and journalists gathered at St. John the Baptist Church in Buckhurst Hill, just east of London, where a large television screen was installed by the roadside to relay Saturday's service to the public. Her publicist said Goody wouldn't have wanted it any other way. "She will have a big smile on her face when she sees what is going on today," Clifford told reporters before the burial. Goody first caught viewers' attention in 2002 when she appeared in the "Big Brother" television reality show where contestants are locked inside a house and filmed for weeks at a time. Goody's crude language and eye-popping gaffes _ she once asked fellow contestants whether Rio de Janeiro was a person _ both repelled and fascinated audiences. Goody was vilified in the press as uneducated and criticized for allegedly racist behavior. But her reputation was rehabilitated when she made the decision to film her battle with cervical cancer to raise money for the education of her two young sons. Politicians, clergymen and doctors praised her for drawing attention to the importance of screening for the disease. Those gathered to attend the funeral Saturday said Goody _ known simply as Jade _ was a British everywoman made good. "She was just a real woman who always put her kids first to the end," said mother-of-seven Kirsty Brooks, 34, who traveled more than seven hours with her three sisters to witness the funeral. Some floral tributes to the star made playful references to her malapropisms, while others praised her as a legend, a wife and a daughter. Clifford said Goody would have been pleased with the attention. "In life she loved being loved and it is pretty clear that this is the overwhelming feeling today," Clifford said.
 
McCartney & Starr Reminisce About India Trip Top
NEW YORK — Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are still meditative about their trip to India. The two remaining Beatles are sharing the stage Saturday night when McCartney headlines Radio City Music Hall. McCartney said at a press conference Friday that the Maharishi had given the band a "great gift." He said it came at a time "when we were looking for something to kind of stabilize us toward the end of the crazy 1960s." Saturday's concert, called "Change Begins Within," benefits the David Lynch Foundation. The organization's initiative is to teach one million at risk youths mediation techniques. Besides Starr, McCartney will be joined by Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Moby, Paul Horn, Bettye LaVette and some surprise guests. More on India
 
Denis Leary Mocks Letterman For Not Getting Hitched Sooner (VIDEO) Top
Denis Leary appeared on the "Late Show" last night to promote the new season of "Rescue Me," and ended up talking more about Dave's recent nuptials than the show. Letterman recently married Regina Lasko , his long-time girlfriend and mother of his child. Leary was awed at the fact that Letterman dated her for 23 years before getting hitched and that she allowed that to happen. WATCH: More on David Letterman
 
"Family Guy," "American Dad" Men Talk Hillary Clinton, Maureen Dowd (VIDEO) Top
Characters from "Family Guy" and "American Dad" riff on Hillary Clinton and Maureen Dowd in a promo for Fox's Sunday lineup. "Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State," Peter Griffin says. "What do you think?" "Well I think she's doing great, but I bet Joe Biden would like a little less blonde ambition at State," Stewie replies. "I read that in the New York Times !" Roger the Alien says. "Yeah, that was in Maureen Dowd's column," Cleveland chimes in. "Well," Stewie stutters, "that Maureen Dowd sounds like one sharp tack. I'll have to start reading her. What paper does she write for again?" Watch: In November, Dowd wrote in the New York Times about Obama's possible selection of Clinton as Secretary of State: How, one may ask, can he put Hillary -- who voted to authorize the Iraq war without even reading the intelligence assessment -- in charge of patching up a foreign policy and a world riven by that war? You can hear the gnashing of teeth from John Kerry -- who thought the job was promised to him in return for his endorsement after New Hampshire -- and Bill "Judas" Richardson, who met Friday with Obama in Chicago to discuss the job. And Joe Biden would probably like a little less blond ambition at State so he could be the shadow secretary. But as James Carville has said, a campaign is the time to stab your enemies and a transition is the time to stab your friends. More on Video
 
Best Late Night Jokes Of The Week: Bush Is Uncool, Pizza Should Not Come With Drugs, And More (VIDEO) Top
David Letterman brought back his popular segment "Cool/Not Cool" this week, and once again our former president was proven less than slick. Jimmy Kimmel kept it local by looking at a New York pizza place accused of delivering more than pies, Jay Leno mocked old people and Stephen Colbert looked at Cheney's "secret assassination squad" saying: "So Dick Cheney had a roving band of executioners around the world taking orders from their dark overlord. That's like finding out Liberace was gay. You had a hint." For last week's best late night jokes, click here . WATCH: More on Late Night Shows
 
Rihanna Jet-Setting To Barbados, Chris Brown Seeking Counseling Top
With Chris Brown due in court next week for the alleged assault on Rihanna, the singers have kept their distance from each other, with Brown quietly holed up in his hometown with family and old friends while Rihanna has hop-scotched the country in glamorous style. Rihanna's latest stop Friday: her native Barbados. "She's home," the singer's father Ronald Fenty tells PEOPLE of the singer, who was photographed at the island's international airport wearing a long, gauzy beige dress, white sunglasses and sandals. "She is in good spirits. And she sounds great." More on Chris Brown & Rihanna
 
Jackie Earle Haley Signs On As New Freddy Krueger Top
Jackie Earle Haley has gone from Little Children to teen tormentor. The Oscar-nominated actor will don Freddy Krueger's signature striped sweater in the upcoming revamp of A Nightmare on Elm Street, New Line's attempt to scream new life into the 25-year-old slasher-flick franchise. Cameras are expected to start rolling May 5 in Chicago, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which first learned that Haley would be fitted for Robert Englund's razor glove.
 
A Night Out With The Bacon Brothers Top
Together with four band mates, they perform 40 to 50 gigs a year, sometimes more when they're promoting a new record, as they are now with "New Year's Day," their sixth. Their names may be famous, but their gigs are low key. A recent performance at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, N.J., was broadcast live on a public radio station, WFUV, to a small but enthusiastic crowd. The Bacons played for just an hour.
 

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