Wednesday, April 29, 2009

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Bill Chameides: Staring Down the Double-Barrel Climate Shotgun Top
Dr. Bill Chameides is the dean of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He blogs regularly at theGreenGrok.com . Surprises in the climate system can very quickly make global warming a whole lot worse than predicted. Scientists have known that one such surprise could come from a sudden release of methane , from wetlands or marine clathrates frozen on the ocean bottom, or both. Thanks to a new paper , we probably know which barrel of that double-barrel shotgun to worry about first. Our understanding of the climate system is imperfect -- no argument there. And so, it is possible that this global warming thing won't be so bad, that the models have over-predicted the amount of warming and climate disruption that will occur in the coming decades. Risky Business: Underestimating Climate Change The kicker is that uncertainty cuts both ways. It is just as likely (some argue even more likely) that the models have under-predicted the change and things will be a lot worse than we now think. The major worry is a "climate surprise," an unforeseen rapid climate change. For example, the climate could pass a tipping point that, like a runaway truck barreling down a hill without brakes, triggers a much more rapid warming that leads to catastrophic climate disruption. It's a worry that has some grounding in reality. The geologic record tells us that such shifts in climate (either warming or cooling) have occurred in the past, and sometimes over the space of just a few years closely followed by a decades-long temperature response. Big Methane Burp Wreaked Climate Havoc in the Past One such event occurred about 11,600 years ago (the so-called Younger Dryas -Preboreal transition), when the northern hemisphere's climate rapidly moved from ice age to non-ice age conditions in a short period of time (over the course of several years to several decades). Analysis of air bubbles trapped in ice from that time period show that the transition was accompanied by a rapid rise in the concentration of atmospheric methane. Because methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas (more than 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide as a global warmer), the obvious inference is that much of that rapid warming was caused by methane emissions. Such a large increase in methane could have come from two sources: melting of frozen clathrates (also called methane hydrates) that are buried on the ocean's bottom and/or volatilaztion of organic carbon from wetlands as methane. (This latter source includes wetlands formed from melting permafrost.) But which one? Scientists have been unsure. Last week, a paper published in Science by Vasilii Petrenko of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and colleagues suggests an answer -- wetlands. Through what has been described as a "heroic" effort Petrenko and colleagues mined tons of ice from west Greenland. Yes, that's right, tons of ice -- one ton for each time sample collected. They then analyzed the methane trapped in the ice's bubbles for its radiocarbon abundance. Why radiocarbon? To understand, let's digress a moment to review. What Is Radiocarbon? (Hint: It's Not a Hard Rock Station on Satellite Radio, I Don't Think) Radiocarbon is the isotope of carbon that has six protons and eight neutrons (thus, C-14). Most carbon on the Earth has six protons and six neutrons (C-12). Radiocarbon is produced by cosmic rays; fast neutrons entering the upper atmosphere slam into nitrogen atoms and convert the nitrogen (N-14) to C-14. Called radiocarbon because it is radioactive, over a period of tens of thousands of years C-14 decays back into N-14. (For those of you up on your nuclear physics, C-14 has a half-life of about 6,000 years. Thus, if you started with 100 atoms of C-14, you would expect to find about half or 50 left after 6,000 years, 25 after 12,000 years, and so on.) Because radiocarbon decays on time scales of tens of thousands of years, it provides a great way to distinguish between methane from wetlands and methane from clathrates. You see, the methane in clathrates was formed millions of years ago and so has no radiocarbon left, not so for wetlands methane. Source of the Vintage Methane? And so, Petrenko et al. realized they could figure out where the methane blip from the Youger Dryas-Preboreal transition came from by looking for radiocarbon in the methane in the bubbles trapped in the ice from that period. The problem is, such a measurement requires a lot of methane, and to get that much methane requires a lot of air bubbles, which in turn requires a lot of ice -- about a ton per sample, to be exact. Undaunted by the challenge, Petrenko and his colleagues mined their tons of ice, isolated the methane, and did the radiocarbon analysis. They found that the major source of increased methane during the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition was from wetlands. What Does What Happened ~12,000 Years Ago Tell Us About Today? Huge amounts of carbon currently reside in clathrates and permafrost, more so in clathrates than permafrost, but both are substantial. If either of those reservoirs should give up their carbon as methane, the event would cause a major increase in the global warming from greenhouse gases (what we call an increase in the equivalent carbon dioxide concentration) -- and one of the climate surprises that scientists are not sure about but worry about. The Petrenko work is one of those good news/bad news things. It suggests that clathrates may not be a problem, which is good. But it confirms that melting permafrost may very well be not so good. And here is the kicker: the permafrost is melting already and methane has already been found to be bubbling up from lakes formed from melting permafrost . More on Climate Change
 
Airport In Murtha's District Gets $30M In Wartime Upgrades From Pentagon Top
At the behest of House Defense Appropriations Chairman John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), the Pentagon has spent about $30 million equipping a little-used airport named for the congressman so that it can handle behemoth military aircraft and store combat equipment for rapid deployment to foreign battlefields. More on John Murtha
 
Page Gardner: Expanding Voter Participation:The Roadmap is Clear Top
Almost half a year has passed, but the 2008 election still looms as an epochal event: With a record voter turnout, the American people, including members of many groups who have been excluded from the political process, changed the face of the nation's leadership and the direction of our public policies. In many ways, this view is not only optimistic but realistic. More than 133 million Americans cast ballots in the election last year - the largest number of voters in U.S. history and 9 million more than in 2004. Four constituencies that have historically been under-represented - African Americans, Hispanics, unmarried women and young voters (ages 18-29) - provided the margin of victory for President Obama. But the other side of the story is that 79 million eligible Americans did not vote. Forty-four million of these non-voters were not registered, and another four million were discouraged from voting because of burdensome policies, such as voter identification requirements. Disproportionate numbers of non-voters belong to the very groups that have historically been excluded and whose increased participation helped to elect Obama. With the prospect of electing the first black president, African American turnout increased dramatically in 2008, but, in 2004, only 60 percent of African Americans voted. Meanwhile, in 2008, among voting-age Americans, 21.5 million young people, 20.4 million unmarried women, and 9.8 million Hispanics did not vote. Why did 79 million Americans - more than the total population of Great Britain or France - not vote in an historic election after an exciting campaign? As Professor Nathaniel Persily of Columbia Law School testified before the Senate Rules Committee, "The United States continues to make voting more burdensome than any other industrialized democracy." As an organization focused on encouraging the political participation of the nation's 53 million unmarried women, Women's Voices, Women Vote (www.WVWV.org) recently released a report, "Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote" by Scott E. Thomas, former chairman of the Federal Elections Commission, and Alicia C. Insley and Jenifer L. Carrier. The report found that many states have confusing and cumbersome registration requirements, limited options to cast ballots before Election Day, complicated voter ID requirements, inconsistent rules regarding casting and counting provisional ballots, and varied regulations regarding the maintenance of voter lists. These obstacles make registering and voting especially difficult for underrepresented groups who tend to move more often, to have less formal education and income, to hold jobs where they can't take time off during the day, and, especially among immigrants, to lack common forms of identification. The best way to make it encourage voter participation is to enact a Federal Universal Voter Registration Act. This would establish a national mandate for universal voter registration within each state. Federal funds would be provided to the states to create permanent voter registration systems that will allow voters to stay on the rolls when they move. Short of this comprehensive initiative, five other reforms would bring the nation closer to the goal of full voter participation. First, Same Day Registration would allow eligible Americans to register on Election Day. In the 2008 presidential election, voter participation rates were highest in the states that allowed Same Day registration - 69 percent, compared to 62 percent. Second, there needs to be more clarity about voter qualifications, including whether people without permanent addresses or felons who have served their time are now eligible to vote. Qualifications should be similar in different states; the nation must not return to the days when arbitrary poll taxes and literacy tests set discriminatory standards in some parts of the country. Third, registration deadlines should not vary from Election Day to a month or more before. Americans who are excited about a presidential campaign debate a week before the election should not be told it is too late to register and vote. Fourth, registration should be brought into the Twenty-First Century. Busy Americans should be allowed to register online so that they do not have to wait on line. Fifth, there should be "no excuses" early and absentee voting. As of January, 2009, 32 states allow no-excuse early voting, 15 require excuses, and four do not allow early voting at all. There is no excuse for states not to allow no-excuses early voting. The U.S. still lags behind most other advanced democracies in the percentage of the population that votes in national elections. We know how to correct this condition, and we have "no excuse" not to remove the obstacles to expanding American democracy.
 
Jasmine Tyler: Obama Administration Calls for End to Crack-Powder Sentencing Disparity Top
On President Obama's 100th day in office the White House asked Congress to address the issue of disparity in penalties for the use of powder/crack cocaine. This historic request follows a national lobby day held yesterday that was co-sponsored by a dozen advocacy groups. The day brought together voters from Utah, California, Oklahoma, New Jersey, South Carolina and other states to pressure key members of Congress to eliminate the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences. The groups held a breakfast briefing with members of congress and victims of the federal disparity on Tuesday morning. Chocolate bars weighing fifty grams, the equivalent weight that would trigger a 10 year mandatory minimum sentence for crack cocaine, were on hand to demonstrate to members of Congress just how small that quantity is compared to the 5000 grams -- five kilos -- of powered cocaine that garners the same penalty. The 1986 and 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Acts created a disparity in sentencing between two forms of cocaine, crack cocaine and powder, at the federal level even though scientific evidence, including a major study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has proven that crack and powder cocaine have similar physiological and psychoactive effects on the human body. It takes only five grams of crack cocaine (the equivalent of the contents of two sugar packets) to receive a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, while it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to receive the same sentence. As a presidential candidate, then-Senator Obama said the "war on drugs is an utter failure" and that he believes in "shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we focus more on a public health approach." He also called for eliminating the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity, repealing the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs to reduce HIV/AIDS, and stopping the U.S. Justice Department from undermining state medical marijuana laws. Within 24 hours of taking office, the White House website made clear that Obama's campaign commitments to eliminate both the crack/powder disparity and the ban on syringe exchange funding were now official administration policy. The Obama Administration has articulated the need to address this issue by completely eliminating the disparity. Current penalties for crack cocaine are excessively harsh and have little to do with an individual's actual culpability and more to do with the color of their skin. It's not fair and it's not working. While two-thirds of crack cocaine users are white or Latino according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than 80 percent of those convicted in federal court for crack cocaine offenses in 2006 were African American. Last year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission moderately reduced sentences for crack cocaine offenses and the U.S. Supreme Court also ruled that judges have the right to sentence people below the guidelines in Kimbrough v. the United States. However, judicial discretion is still undermined by the statutory mandatory minimum sentences that Congress enacted over 20 years ago, and those mandatory minimums are the source of the crack/powder disparity. Thus far, two legislative proposals have been re-introduced in the House -- one by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-TX, and one by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-VA. Both would end the disparity between powder and crack cocaine sentences. The Senate Crime and Drugs subcommittee will hold a hearing to discuss crack cocaine sentencing on Wednesday, April 29. The House Crime, Terror and Homeland Security committee also will hold a hearing on this issue on May 21. The stars are aligning to ensure Americans will no longer be subjected to the same draconian policy set in the late 80s, which flies in the face of scientific and legal research. Congress and the administration have an obligation to fix this and show the country that our criminal justice practices will be fair and sentences proportional to the offense. We can no longer prioritize precious federal resources solely on the incarceration of individuals who are low-level, nonviolent drug users and sellers nor permit any racial group to continue to be unjustly targeted. Jasmine L. Tyler is the Deputy Director of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. Anthony Papa is the author 15 to Life.
 
Bennet Kelley: The Specter Switch and the Price of Obamanoia Top
Arlen Specter's defection from the Republican Party is the "canary in the coal mine" warning Republicans they are on a path to electoral disaster. After two consecutive elections in which the party received "a thumping" in part because they were too conservative, the GOP had to choose between adopting the "big tent" philosophy Specter spoke of in order to broaden their reach beyond true believers or continue to cater to their shrinking base. Proving the maxim that there is "no utility in the second kick of a mule," the GOP has adopted the latter course with a vengeance. The party has become afflicted with paranoia and outright derangement over President Obama spinning into a political tantrum that would make Christian Bale blush and which has only highlighted how out of touch the party had become. Arlen Specter, however, comes from a long line of pragmatic conservatives, such as John Chafee or Nancy Kassebaum, who cared about governing and who measured success not by political points scored but by results achieved. This view is out of step with the Gingrich philosophy that emphasizes fighting the Democrats "with the scale and duration and savagery that is only true in civil wars." This philosophy is evident in the kamikaze obstructionism advocated by the current Republican leadership and is antithetical to the principles Specter has followed throughout his career. As Ronald Reagan said years earlier about the Democrats, it was not Specter that left the Republican Party but rather the party that left Specter. Specter, who has spoken out when his Party fell victim to extremism, such as with the nomination of Robert Bork or the Clinton impeachment, watched Obamanoia take over his party as it called the President a "tyrant" and" socialist" for reducing taxes for the middle class to lower than they were under Reagan while increasing the top marginal rate to the same rate that was in effect during the Clinton years. Even worse, he watched his party be taken over by extreme voices who assumed (without any evidence) that for whatever paranoid fear they may have about the Obama administration (e.g., guns or the fairness doctrine), that if they can think it then the Obama administration must already have it in the works. Witness Michelle Bachmann's claim that the Serve America Act would turn into re-education camps for young Americans performing community service. The tea bag protests, the ludicrous claims, openly wishing for an Obama failure and now even inane calls by some to secede from the Union have promoted and fanned the flames of fear and distrust (if not open hostility) of the government and/or the President, which runs against Specter's lifelong commitment to public service. Specter's move clears the way for former Congressman Pat Toomey to claim the Republican nomination he nearly captured six years ago. Toomey is a rabid conservative who some are dismissing as cannon fodder after Pennsylvanian's gave conservative Senator Rick Santorum an 18-point pink slip. Toomey, however, has won by big margins in Democratic areas in the past and is much smarter and savvier than Santorum. Specter's defection is both a gift and a warning to Toomey in a race that is a bellwether for the future of the GOP. It is an opportunity for Toomey to move past Obamanoia and recast the Republican message as something other than "no" and "same old, same old" and, if successful in such a battleground state, he will become the poster child of a GOP renaissance. If, however, he fails to seize this opportunity and follows the path set by party leadership, I am certain that on election night my high school classmate will finally get the opportunity to congratulate and concede to a Democrat as he and other Republicans pay the price of Obamanoia. More on Arlen Specter
 
John Oxendine: GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Joins Perry States' Rights Stance Top
Is support for states' rights the new litmus test for the GOP? For the second time in as many weeks, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the South is lamenting the spending priorities of the Obama administration and stressing the need to reaffirm states' rights in light of the "oppressive" growth of the federal government. The latest salvo comes from John Oxendine, Georgia's Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner and leading Republican gubernatorial candidate, who, "like Texas Governor Rick Perry," declared his belief that "our federal government has become oppressive in its size... and its interference into the affairs of the states." I join Governor Perry in his call and offer my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Like Governor Perry, I believe we need to follow the letter and original intent of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the essential 10th Amendment. I support Texas Resolution 50 which states that the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more. This means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states. Over the course of time, the states have been treated as agents of the federal government; many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Two weeks ago, Perry signed a resolution affirming Texas sovereignty under the 10th Amendment and flirted with the notion of seceding from the union. "There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said . "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot." The talk was largely dismissed as a bit of political showmanship from a governor facing a potentially tough reelection challenge. As for Oxendine, aides say he is not in any way calling for Georgia to secede from the union. "There is no serious person in Georgia that isn't proud that Georgia was one of the 13 original states," said Oxendine's chief strategist Jeff Breedlove. "It is very specious to suggest that what John is doing is to say secede. What he is saying is unite under the constitution in a way the our founding fathers envisioned... There is an honored role for state and local governments in our country, clearly offered by the constitution... Part of being the United States of America is to point out when the federal government is doing things that perhaps don't empower state and local government." Breedlove added that his boss' concern over the encroachment of the government has been many presidencies in the making, regardless of which party was in power. As for the current president, however, he added: "I think Obama's policies overall are certainly of concern to many in Georgia. But we are objective enough to say this is something that has happened over the decades." Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Economy, Gas Drilling Regulations Worry Colorado Community Top
Government officials on the Western Slope are bracing for a drop-off in natural gas drilling of up to 80 percent this summer -- and a corresponding plunge in tax revenues. While some politicians attribute the slowdown to the drop in energy prices and the global recession, others blame Colorado's stricter drilling regulations. More on Energy
 
Fiat To Sign Chrysler Partnership Deal: AP Top
DETROIT — Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA will sign paperwork to become a partner with Chrysler LLC by Thursday, according to three people briefed on the deal. The partnership is the last piece of a huge restructuring plan needed to keep Chrysler alive as it approaches Thursday's government deadline to cut labor costs, slash debt and take on a partner. The people said Wednesday that despite the partnership, Chrysler could still wind up under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for a short time if some creditors don't agree to reduce their debt. But they said the government would agree to finance the restructuring rather than cut off Chrysler's aid and leave it destined for liquidation. All of the people spoke on condition of anonymity because the partnership agreement had not been announced. One of the people said Fiat initially would take a 20 percent stake in the company in exchange for its small-car and engine technology. Initially Fiat would not invest any cash, but its technology is worth $8 billion to $10 billion, the person said. Fiat's stake could rise to 35 percent, and the company may be willing to invest money at a later date, the person said. President Barack Obama, speaking at a town-hall style event near St. Louis, said earlier Wednesday that he didn't know if a deal to save Chrysler would be completed. "We're hoping that you can get a merger where the taxpayers will put in some money to sweeten the deal but, ultimately, the goal is we get out of the business of building cars, and Chrysler goes and starts creating the cars that consumers want," he said. Chrysler has borrowed $4 billion from the government since the beginning of the year and could soon be in danger of running out of cash without more help. The government in March rejected Chrysler's restructuring plan and gave it 30 days to make another effort. On Sunday, the Canadian Auto Workers ratified concessions to the automaker, and the United Auto Workers in the U.S. reached a tentative cost-cutting deal that members will finish voting on by Wednesday night. Factory-level union leaders voted unanimously Monday night to recommend approval of the concessions. Then on Tuesday, four major banks that hold 70 percent of Chrysler's $6.9 billion in secured debt agreed to a deal that would erase the debt for $2 billion in cash. But 46 hedge funds that hold the remainder of the debt have refused to go along, leading to further negotiations. The people familiar with the deal said that if the hedge funds don't agree, Chrysler could go into a short "surgical" bankruptcy under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code. The smaller lenders would have little power to stop the debt from being restructured in bankruptcy court, since the lenders holding the majority of the debt are on board with the plan, the people said. If an agreement is reached, Chrysler would restructure outside of bankruptcy with government help, they said. Fiat spokesman Gualberto Ranieri declined to comment on the deal, and messages were left with a Chrysler spokeswoman. UAW members are expected to approve the contract concessions, which include taking a 55 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for about $6 billion of the $10.6 billion Chrysler must pay into a union-run trust that will take over retiree health care costs. With union issues nearly out of the way and the debt resolved either in or out of court, Fiat agreed to cement the partnership with Chrysler, the people said. "It'll be signed by tomorrow, I know that," one of the people told The Associated Press. ___ AP Business Writer Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this report.
 
Lee Camp: WATCH: "The History of Switching Teams" starring Sen. Arlen Specter Top
 
Julia Plevin: For Recession-Chic, Look to the Woodsmen Top
When a friend asked me to be a judge for the 63rd annual Woodsmen Meet at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, I could not say no. I thought it would be interesting to see who these people were who competed in such events as log rolling, fire building, sawing, and pretty much anything you can think of that involves wood and brute manpower. Of all the bizarre things I saw, what struck me most was the fashion at this meet. People were definitely trying to express themselves through their clothing choices and I wanted to learn more. After I finished judging my event, I put down my timer and picked up my reporter's notebook. I was standing with a woman from New York City who was as enthralled with the fashion as I was. She said she could imagine Bill Cunningham from the New York TImes reporting on the fashion scene at this meet. "It does look like a Renaissance festival," the chic New Yorker laughed, commenting on the tattoos and the brightly colored sateen/polyester flouncy shirts that a team from Colby College sported. "All that is missing are the plunging necklines," she added. I did not come across any plunging necklines, but I did spot some camouflage bikinis. I noticed the girls' team from Paul Smith College of the Adirondacks all had matching camouflage bikinis. The team captain told me that one girl on their team is a hunter and had the camo bikini first. When the captain saw this bikini she said, "okay, we all need to have those when we canoe in the competition," and so they all bought the bikinis on camodiva.com . As the captain said, "who doesn't like camo?" The bikinis and matching outfits promoted team spirit. A team that wore matching mumus during a previous competition inspired the Paul Smith girls to coordinate their outfits for this competition. While I had the girls' attention, I asked about The Carhartts these girls were wearing. I had never even seen this brand of pants before I came to school in New England, but now I am quite familiar with them. The baggy workpants sort of resemble the trend in boyfriend jeans that has swept that country. I mentioned this comparison of Carhartts to boyfriend jeans to a Dartmouth student. While she had not heard of this new baggy jean trend, she did think that Carhartt's were an ideal combination of fashion and practicality. The pants have their "own norms" of hygiene, she said, and many people do not wash their pants until the pants are so stiff they can stand up on their own. The Dartmouth student added, for woodsmen's competitions, practicality is key so "you split your wood and not your pants." I would have never considered Carhartts to be "cute," but spending too much time in New England had brainwashed me. I was particularly impressed with a girl from Paul Smith who donned pedal pusher-length Carhartts that she cut herself, hiking boots, a wife beater, and STIHL suspenders. When I mentioned to some of her teammates that I liked this look, the teammates divulged that this girl in the pedal-pusher Carhartts was a trendsetter and plans to patent the "Carhartt Capri." While I knew I would see some interesting sporting events and burly men at this Woodsmen's Competition, I had no idea I was embarking on trend research. Before long, we will all be wearing camouflage while chopping wood. By bringing us back to our roots, the fashion at the Woodsmen's Competition was definitely recession-chic. For more information about the Woodsmen's Weekend and to see photos from the event, click here . More on Fashion
 
Swine Flu: 9 Probable Cases In Illinois, Chicago School Closed (VIDEO) Top
UPDATE 2:15 P.M. CHICAGO (AP) -- The head of the Illinois Department of Public Health says the state has logged nine probable cases of swine flu, all in northern Illinois. Dr. Damon Arnold says five of the probable cases are in Chicago, while two are in Kane County and single cases are being reported in both Lake and DuPage counties. The people diagnosed range in age from 2 to 57. Arnold says all of the cases so far have been mild and nobody has been hospitalized. Arnold appeared at a news conference Wednesday called in the wake of Chicago's decision to close an elementary school after one student there was found to have a probable case of swine flu. Arnold, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. Pat Quinn and other officials all stressed that the state is working hard to prevent further illnesses. View more news videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video . - - - - CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago school officials shut down an elementary school Wednesday after one child contracted a probable case of swine flu, and the Illinois Department of Public Health said other cases are suspected in the state. The likely cases are Illinois' first in a swine-flu outbreak that has killed more than 150 in Mexico and spread across the U.S. and other parts of the world. The first U.S. swine flu death in the current outbreak was confirmed Wednesday, a 23-month-old child in Texas. In Chicago, attendance dropped at Joyce Kilmer Elementary School before the student was found to have a probable case of swine flu, school officials said. Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Terry Mason said the child is recovering at home. "Parents should not be alarmed but they should be prepared," he said. "If children are sick, keep them home." Chicago Public School officials said that for privacy reasons they aren't releasing any information about the student, including how the child may have contracted the illness. A specimen from the child has been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test for swine flu, said IDPH spokeswoman Kelly Jakubek. Jakubek said she didn't know if Illinois had yet received its own testing kits. Arlette Crawford, 40, learned about the probable case of swine flu when she arrived at the school with her 5-year-old daughter, Aaliyah. "I am pretty nervous," she said, recalling how on Tuesday she ate breakfast at the school with her daughter and they sat near another girl who had a flushed face, raspy voice and was sneezing. Crawford said she and a teacher persuaded the mother to take that child home. Principal Marsha Engquist of the nearby private Lake Shore School noted that this is the season for children to be sick for several reasons that cause similar symptoms, including allergies. CPS chief executive officer Ron Huberman said state health officials alerted him Tuesday night that a student at the North Side elementary school had a probable case of swine flu. He said the district alerted families through a phone system and closed the school. View more news videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video . The Chicago closing came as President Barack Obama urged school districts with confirmed cases of swine flu to consider closing to help control spread of the illness. "Parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas should shut down ... . Just sending a (sick) child from a school to a day care center would not be a good solution," Obama said. "Probable" means state health officials' tests show swine flu is probable. Officials say the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make the final determination on whether Illinois' cases match the swine flu outbreak in Mexico. As of 2008, Hispanic students made up 59.9 percent of Kilmer's population, according to CPS, but Mason cautioned against drawing conclusions or stereotyping. The school serves preschool through eighth grade. Some parents who had not heard about the school closure arrived with their children Wednesday morning and were met by school staff on the sidewalk distributing a one-page flu information sheet in English and Spanish. Mason said the school would be cleaned, but emphasized that the flu spreads through contact between people. "It's not doorknobs and water faucets, it's children coughing and sneezing," he said. "We want to emphasize that the building is not a problem." ------- Associated Press writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report. View more news videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video . -ASSOCIATED PRESS More on Swine Flu
 
Dick Durbin: Banks "Frankly Own The Place" Top
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has been battling the banks the last few weeks in an effort to get 60 votes lined up for bankruptcy reform. He's losing. On Monday night in an interview with a radio host back home, he came to a stark conclusion: the banks own the Senate. "And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place," he said on WJJG 1530 AM 's "Mornings with Ray Hanania." Progress Illinois picked up the quote. Earlier Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told the Huffington Post that the most important provision of bankruptcy reform -- the authority for a bankruptcy judge to renegotiate mortgages, known as cramdown, which banks strongly oppose -- could get ripped out of the bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back, saying that a bill without such a provision wouldn't be reform at all. While Durbin has been negotiating with individual banks over the last several weeks, bank lobbyists and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have been whipping up opposition to it . A growing number of Democrats have announced opposition to cramdown, including Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Jon Tester (Mont.). "There's been a tendency on the part of some who are advocates for the legislation to overestimate the number of votes in favor," said Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.). "When I was actively involved at the moment it broke down it was my impression there were no Republicans who were willing to support it and at least a few Democrats have stated openly on the record that they were in opposition. How you get to 60 with those numbers is a mathematical problem." Ryan Grim is the author of the forthcoming book This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Radio Shack Employee Punches Customer For Trying To Return Item Top
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — A Radio Shack employee faces disorderly conduct and battery charges for punching a customer. Police said the customer was trying to return an item Sunday, but the employee wouldn't let him. The customer then asked to talk to a manager. That's when the 52-year-old male employee began punching the man. A bystander called 911. The employee is due in court May 19. ___ Information from: WEAU-TV, http://www.weau.com More on Stupid Criminals
 
James Carville Book Dishes And Disses On Hillary Campaign Top
In a forthcoming book, top Hillary supporter James Carville reveals that Bill Clinton was privately shocked and infuriated by the Hillary campaign's awful financial mismanagement, and he serves up scorching criticism of the campaign, singling out polling guru Mark Penn for "suffering fatal confusion" about delegate strategy. More on Bill Clinton
 
Swine Flu: WHO Says Flu Moving Closer To Pandemic Top
BERLIN — The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that the swine flu outbreak is moving closer to becoming a pandemic, as the United States reported the first swine flu death outside of Mexico, and Germany and Austria became the latest European nations hit by the disease. In Geneva, WHO flu chief Dr. Keiji Fukuda told reporters that there was no evidence the virus was slowing, moving the agency closer to raising its pandemic alert to phase 5, indicating widespread human-to-human transmission. But he said the health body was not yet ready to raise the level from its current level of 4, which means the virus is being passed among people. Phase 6 _ the highest in the scale _ is for a full-scale pandemic. In Mexico City, the epicenter of the epidemic, the mayor said Wednesday the outbreak seemed to be stabilizing and he was considering easing the citywide shutdown that closed schools, restaurants, concert halls and sports arenas. Swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people in Mexico and sickening over 2,400 there. But as fear and uncertainty about the disease ricocheted around the globe, nations took all sorts of precautions, some more useful than others. Britain closed a school after a 12-year-old girl was found to have the disease. Egypt slaughtered all its pigs and the central African nation of Gabon became the latest nation to ban pork imports, despite assurances that swine flu was not related to eating pork. Cuba eased its flight ban, deciding just to block flights coming in from Mexico. And Asian nations greeted returning airport travelers with teams of medical workers and carts of disinfectants, eager to keep swine flu from infecting their continent. Dr. Richard Besser, the acting chief of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said 91 cases have now been confirmed in 10 states, and health officials there reported Wednesday that a 23-month-old Mexican boy had died in Texas from the disease. Across Europe, Germany confirmed three swine flu cases and Austria one, while the number of confirmed cases rose to five in Britain and 10 in Spain. WHO conducted a scientific review Wednesday to determine exactly what is known about how the disease spreads, how it affects human health and how it can be treated. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said health officials were ordering extra medicine and "several million more" face masks to deal with the virus. British media reports, citing an unidentified European surgical mask manufacturer, said the U.K. was seeking 32 million masks to protect its health workers from a possible pandemic. "We've decided to build stocks of anti-virals, from 35 million to 50 million," Brown said, adding that the government had put in enhanced airport checks and was going to mail swine flu information leaflets to every household in Britain. France's health minister said the country will ask the European Union to suspend flights to Mexico. The U.S., the European Union and other countries have discouraged nonessential travel to Mexico. Cuba suspended all regular and charter flights from Mexico to the island but was still allowing airlines to return travelers to Mexico. New Zealand's number of swine flu cases rose to 14, 13 of them among a school group that recently returned from Mexico. All were responding well to antiviral drugs and in voluntary quarantine at home. New Zealand has 44 other possible cases, with tests under way. Mexico closed all archaeological sites and allowed restaurants in the capital to only serve takeout food in an aggressive bid to stop gatherings where the virus can spread. Schools remained closed until at least May 6. A regional beach soccer championship in Mexico was postponed and all Mexican first-division soccer games this weekend will be played with no audiences. Cruise lines were avoiding Mexican ports and holiday tour groups are canceling holiday charter flights there. Egypt's government ordered the slaughter of all pigs in the country as a precaution, though no swine flu cases have been reported there. Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork, but farmers raise up to 350,000 pigs for its Christian minority. ___ Associated Press Writers around the world contributed to this report. More on Swine Flu
 
Obama Skeptical Of Today's College Grads Top
Last Friday President Obama called for the United States to have " the highest percentage of college graduates " of anywhere in the world. But in more recent remarks, Obama seems to harbor some skepticism of what today's college grads can do. In an interview with the New York Times ' David Leonhardt published Wednesday, the president said that his grandmother, whose education ended after high school, could write a better letter than some of today's college graduates. "[S]he was able to become a vice president at a bank partly because her high-school education was rigorous enough that she could communicate and analyze information in a way that, frankly, a bunch of college kids in many parts of the country can't," the president said. "She could write a better letter than many of my -- I won't say 'many,' but a number of my former students at the University of Chicago Law School." The problem, Obama seemed to be saying, is a slippage of standards: "[W]hat it means to have graduated from high school, what it means to have graduated from a two-year college or a four-year college is not always as clear as it was several years ago." Obama said that high-school grads do fare much worse in the job market than college grads and that a solid liberal arts education is still worthwhile ("That's what I got," he said). But the president argued that more people should pursue a post-secondary education that will give them tangible skills, like engineering. In discussing the fate of the financial sector, Obama offered a subtle jab at finance workers of a certain post-college age who churned out "illusory" profits. Asked if all that profit will be missed, the president said: We will miss it in the sense that as a consequence of 25-year-olds getting million-dollar bonuses, they were willing to pay $100 for a steak dinner and that waiter was getting the kinds of tips that would make a college professor envious. And so some of the dynamic of the financial sector will have some trickle-down effects, particularly in a place like Manhattan. Maybe this is the president's way of getting back at Arizona State University for not giving him an honorary degree . Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Byron York: Obama Not So Popular If You Don't Count Blacks Top
Byron York engages in a perennial conservative media stunt -- breaking down poll numbers between blacks and whites to make the point that Democrats wouldn't be so popular if it wasn't for the 14th Amendment. Or something.
 
Beijing Olympic Athletes Identified In Doping Cases Top
LONDON — The gold medalist in one of track and field's glamour races and a silver winner in cycling are among six athletes from the Beijing Games nabbed for blood doping in the latest Olympic drug scandal. National sports bodies in Bahrain and Italy confirmed Wednesday that 1,500-meter champion Rashid Ramzi and road race medalist Davide Rebellin turned up positive for the new blood-boosting drug CERA in retests of their samples. Dominican women's weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras and prominent German cyclist Stephan Schumacher were among the others. A person with knowledge of the results told The Associated Press that Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka and Croatian 800-meter runner Vanja Perisic also tested positive. If their backup "B" samples also come back positive, the athletes face being disqualified, stripped of medals and banned from the next Olympics. The International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday that a total of seven positive tests involving six athletes came back positive for CERA, which increases endurance by stimulating production of oxygen-rich red blood cells. The IOC has not named the athletes or the sports involved. The six new cases bring to 15 the total number of athletes caught doping in Beijing, and underscore both the persistence of cheating across sports and nations and the IOC's aggressive policy in catching drug users even outside the period of the Olympics. The IOC reanalyzed a total of 948 samples from Beijing after new lab tests for CERA and insulin became available following the Olympics. The testing began in January and focused mainly on endurance events in cycling, rowing, swimming and track and field. Ramzi won Bahrain's first gold medal in track and field and is the first champion from the Beijing Games to be busted for use of performance-enhancing drugs. The Moroccan-born runner, who won the 800-1,500 double at the 2005 world championships, gave Bahrain its first ever Olympic track and field gold medal with victory in Beijing in 3 minutes, 32.94 seconds. Ramzi's "B" sample will be tested in France on June 8 and he will face an IOC hearing the same day, the Bahrain Olympic Committee said. "The Bahrain Olympic Committee apologizes for receiving such news from the International Olympic Committee since it ensured Ramzi went through all the necessary doping tests before the games and they were all negative," the committee said in a statement. Ramzi became a citizen of Bahrain after moving to the Gulf nation to take up a job in that country's armed forces in 2002, but retains a Moroccan passport and trains with old coach Khalid Boulami. If he is stripped of the Beijing victory, Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya stands to be upgraded from silver to gold. Nicolas Willis of New Zealand would go from bronze to silver, and fourth-place finisher Mehdi Baala of France could move up to the bronze medal. Track and field has been battered by Olympic drug scandals, from 100-meter winner Ben Johnson in 1988 to sprinter Marion Jones in 2000, both of whom were stripped of their golds. The International Association of Athletics Federations confirmed it had received notification of three cases in track and field, but declined to give any names because they were considered confidential. However, the person with knowledge of the results identified the two others as Tsoumeleka and Perisic. The person confirmed their identities to the AP on condition anonymity because the names haven't been released by the IOC. Tsoumeleka finished ninth in the 20-kilometer walk, and Perisic was eliminated in the first-round heats of the 800. Tsoumeleka announced in January that she had tested positive in Beijing rechecks. She was charged by a Greek prosecutor earlier this month with using banned drugs. "The IAAF would like to commend the IOC for their efforts in the storage and re-analysis of samples and for their coordination with the IAAF in this process," the federation said in a statement. "This step shows that athletes who cheat can never be comfortable that they will avoid detection and sends a strong message of deterrence." In Rome, the Italian Olympic Committee suspended Rebellin and anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri called him to a hearing on Monday. The 37-year-old Rebellin finished second behind Spain's Samuel Sanchez in the Olympic road race. If he loses his medal, Switzerland's Fabian Cancellera could move to silver and Russia's Alexander Kolobnev to bronze. Rebellin's pro cycling team, Diquigiovanni-Androni, temporarily suspended the rider, pending analysis of the "B" sample. "I don't see why I should take a path that would ruin me or my image," Rebellin told Italy's state TV on Wednesday. "I don't know if I'll still be able to race, but I will always ride because cycling is my life." The German cycling federation announced that Schumacher, who finished 13th in the Beijing time trial and dropped out before the finish of the road race, was among the positive cases. The 27-year-old Schumacher already has been banned for two years by the International Cycling Union after being caught by French authorities in retesting of Tour de France samples for CERA. Schumacher won two individual time trial stages at the Tour de France last July and wore the yellow jersey for two days as race leader. "One of the riders (Schumacher) is already under suspension and, for the other one, (Rebellin) we will be writing to him and suspending him provisionally," said International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid. The Dominican Olympic Committee identified Contreras as another of the athletes snared by the retests. She competed in the 116-pound category as Yudelquis Maridalin and finished fifth. The IOC previously disqualified nine athletes for doping at the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. In addition, there were six doping cases involving horses in the equestrian competition. The IOC has already stripped four athletes of Beijing medals _ Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska (silver), Belarusian hammer throwers Vadim Devyatovskiy (silver) and Ivan Tsikhan (bronze) and North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su (silver and bronze). More on Sports
 
Julian Brookes: Nicholas Stern: We Need a Global Deal on Climate Change Top
The world-renowned economist Lord Nicholas Stern made headlines in 2006 with a report for the UK government that surveyed the risks posed by climate change, the costs of addressing it, and the far greater costs of inaction. Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, called the Stern Review "the most important report on the future ever published by this government." In a new book, The Global Deal , Stern builds on his earlier work to offer a blueprint for a safer planet, laying out the specific steps that individuals, communities, companies, and nations need to take -- without delay -- to reduce emissions and head off the very worst consequences of catastrophic climate change. As the title suggests, the challenge demands international cooperation on a scale rarely, if ever before, achieved, but he's optimistic a global deal can be reached, if only because the stakes are so high, the alternative so grim, and the prize -- a secure planet on a sustainable path to prosperity -- so great. He spoke to me on the phone from Washington, D.C. Q. In your book you write that the December 2009 meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen will be "the most important international gathering since World War II." Explain why it's so important. A. Because the stakes are so high. We're looking ahead and asking ourselves the question, Do we want, 40, 50, 60 years from now, to be in a position where extended conflict for the world is unavoidable, because we would have so damaged the planet through global warming and climate change that whole populations will have to move on a huge scale? We have to look ahead and see that those dangers are actually bigger than the dangers we experienced then, after two world wars and the Great Depression, because getting out of it would be so difficult. Q. And as you say, we start in a difficult place and we're following a dangerous path. A. Yes, but a shared vision of this could pull us out of the recession in the short term, and lay the foundations for the great growth story of the next 20 or 30 years, which is low carbon technologies and energy efficiency. And having made the transition, we'll be in a low carbon growth path which would be much more attractive than the dirty high carbon growth that we have been following. Q. For that to happen, the leaders gathered in Copenhagen have to strike a "global deal." What are the broad outlines of that deal? A. The deal will have to be effective, that we make change on the scale required; efficient, in that we keep the cost down -- because there will be investment costs, and we mustn't pretend that there will not be; the question is how we keep those as low as possible -- and equitable, because there are so many different people involved in different circumstances, current and future. It's the poor countries of the world that get hit earliest and hardest, although of course we will all be profoundly damaged if we continue with business as usual. Q. So in nuts-and-bolts terms, what needs to happen? A. Basically, we have to see first where we're going as a world. And we have to get down to around 20 gigatons of CO2 equivalent -- that's CO2 plus the other greenhouse gases as a flow of emissions -- by 2050 if we're to have any chance of holding below 500 parts per million of the stock of concentration, which is essential to bring down the very big risks involved in climate change. We shouldn't be content with that, but that's the first thing that has to be agreed and understood. We're currently a little over 50 as a world, but by then there'll be nine billion of us. Q. What is the rich countries' end of the deal? A. The rich countries have got to cut carbon emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels. Q. And the developing countries? A. It's really the developing countries that should be setting out the terms of this agreement, because they're far more numerous than we are and less responsible for where we start. I don't think they will be willing to respond unless they see that kind of commitment [80 percent cut] from the rich world, because they're deeply angry and resentful, and understandably so, that it's the rich world that is responsible for perhaps two-thirds of the emissions on the planet, two-thirds of the concentrations that are in the atmosphere now. They need to set out credible climate change action plans, which means that their emissions will peak sometime around 2020, perhaps a bit earlier for China, a bit later for India. They'll say, "We will take on specific reduction paths provided in the next few years provided you, rich world, deliver on your promises in terms of delivery on your targets, sharing of technologies, and help with finance." Q: Does the U.S. have a leadership role in this? A. Yes, it does. The U.S. and China are the two biggest emitters. The U.S. has the biggest responsibility. It has been rapidly developing new technologies, which is very exciting. On the other hand, China's emissions are growing more strongly than any other major country's. And they will have major responsibility for growth of emissions in the next ten years or so. The sooner President Obama and President Hu get their hands around this jointly, come to an understanding of what the U.S. can do and what China can do, the faster we'll make progress. So their relationship in the next few months is of paramount importance in this whole story. Q. You're visiting Washington right now. Are you encouraged by the conversations you've had? Yes. I spoke to Steven Chu yesterday, the secretary of energy. I've spoken to Larry Summers, the main advisor on the economy in the White House and John Holdren, who's the chief scientist, and to Todd Stern, who's the chief negotiator. And their approach gives me much more grounds for optimism than under the previous administration. But of course you know the United States is a democratic country with particular structures in the House of Representatives and the Senate and it will be tremendously important for public discussion to move in a way that helps the House and Senate to get to emissions-reduction plans which could be part of the global deal. Actually, the Waxman-Markey is I think a very important step in that direction. Q. So you'd say you're optimistic? A. The two years [since the Stern Review came out] has been a period of greatly deepening understanding of the issues and of greatly deepening commitment at all levels in the US economy and government. That's encouraging. I don't want pretend that the arguments are over, because there's still a long and difficult way to go. But that movement has been encouraging and I think it's been reflected around the world. I've been working in India for 35 years, in China for 20, and the last two years in those two countries, the understanding and engagement on this issue has changed dramatically. Technology has moved more quickly then I anticipated. All those things make me feel that the possibility of the global deal is a very, very real one. Buy The Global Deal for $1 when you join Progressive Book Club. More on Climate Change
 
Quinn Bradlee: The Ups and Downs of Living with Learning Disabilities Top
When you have the problems and issues that I do -- being born with a hole in my heart, living with VCFS and dealing with learning disabilities -- and you seem to be doing more failing than succeeding, sometimes you start to wonder if you should keep trying. You ask yourself what's the point? Why should I even bother? Well the fact is you should bother, because quitting is not the answer. The minute you fold your hand you lose in the game of life. One of the many points in living life is to prove people wrong to a certain extent, and to prove righteousness in yourself. That is the reason I am starting a new weekly feature on FriendsOfQuinn.com called Triumph and Screwup of the Week. Each week I will write about something that I have done like leaving my keys in New York and having to take a taxi to work, and realizing once I got to work that my laptop was locked in my desk drawer, with the keys I needed to open that drawer in, need I say it...New York. I'll write about these "screw-ups" to show that they happen all the time to people with and without learning disabilities, and I've found that one of the best ways to live life is to have a sense of humor about them. But I'll also write about my triumphs: the obstacles I've overcome, the successes I've had, even the little things, like the fact that after I wrote one of my most recent blogs I spell-checked it and didn't find a single error. One of the hardest things for people to do is to take criticism, and the reason why people take criticism so hard is because people tend to give criticism in a very harsh way. All criticism is in reality is when someone observes what another can improve on. People tend to take it in a way that they are the most terrible person in the world and are most of the time in denial about everything being said to them. Criticism is a way to learn to do better, at least that's how I see it. You may not like what you are hearing, but before you start to get mad you should think about it first and see if there is any truth to what the critic is saying. Truth lies behind everything that is and is not said. I believe when somebody wants something they will get it. This is the first time that I have really worked hard at something that I have been wanting to create for so long, and after nine long years I am finally done with my book and things are finally falling into place -- they are finally happening for me. I have now had an article in Newsweek magazine, been on The View and Good Morning America and Morning Joe, and hopefully there will be many more. And I am sure there will be some criticism about my book. But I'll be ready to roll with the punches, and keep learning and maintaining my sense of humor along the way. I hope you all will add your own triumphs and screw-ups to the site, and we can share our stories with each other and offer encouragement to one another as we all go through life. Submit your triumphs and screwups!
 
Catholic Relief Services: Saying 'No' to 'The Cut' in Kenya Top
By Debbie Devoe They call it "the cut." Some girls are told their little fingers will be cut off but are assured they will grow back by the end of the three-week seclusion. Others are told they will grow a long tail between their legs if they don't get cut. Still more girls simply understand that whatever the cut is, it's a necessary part of becoming a woman and being ready for marriage. Not one fully understands that she will undergo an extremely painful circumcision. "Female circumcision is a traditional practice that dates back hundreds of years in many African countries," explains Elizabeth Mwangi, justice and peacebuilding officer for Catholic Relief Services in Kenya. "Some Kenyan communities are now recognizing the human rights and health issues involved and are taking measures to end the practice. At the same time, they want to retain the important rite of passage and cultural education that are also part of the ritual." For most Americans, the concept of female circumcision is almost unimaginable. How could parents--and particularly mothers--have their little girls undergo such a procedure? What could possibly be the benefit? In many other countries, however, female circumcision is as common and accepted as male circumcision. Each December in Kenya, girls of marrying age (which averages between 9 and 12 years old) are taken by an older female community member--sometimes by force--to a secluded location to mark the shift from childhood to adulthood. The older women teach the girls traditional lore and important skills, including how to be a good wife and care for children. During the seclusion, the girls are also circumcised, often under unsanitary conditions. The practice takes different forms based on the cultural practices of a given ethnic group, and often leads to years of pain, which can be exacerbated by infections and childbirth. Some say that female circumcision encouraged fidelity when men left home for long periods to hunt for food or graze livestock. But as governments ban the practice and people become more educated about the risks involved--including possible HIV infection from contaminated cutting instruments and even death from excessive bleeding--communities are starting to question the rite's continued value in a changing world. "In the past, it was geared for preparing girls to enter marriage," says Margaret Kanyaru, who has a 14-year-old daughter. "During that time, girls were not expected to go to school. Now HIV is also a danger." Girls typically drop out of school after being circumcised, deciding they are all grown up and need to focus on getting married--a mind-set Margaret and many other parents want to keep their daughters from adopting. In 2002, the Catholic Diocese of Meru in central Kenya committed to increasing awareness of women's and children's rights. Concerned about growing incidences of domestic violence and girls dying during circumcision procedures, the bishop asked Catholic Relief Services to help develop an alternative rite of passage. "When we started the project, we would call community members into a meeting. As soon as we started talking about female circumcision, people would get up and walk out," explains Martin Koome, the diocese's project coordinator for the alternative rite of passage. "But we persevered. Now we're at the point that when we say we're having an [alternative] seclusion, we have to limit the number of girls who can participate." But changing hundreds of years of cultural practice is extremely difficult and doesn't happen overnight. Previous initiatives implemented by other organizations had already failed. CRS and the Diocese of Meru recognized that lasting success would require full community buy-in, which would take years to achieve. Together, they set out to engage every community circle in determining if an alternative to circumcision was a worthwhile endeavor and, if so, what an ideal alternative rite of passage would offer. Over the next four years, girls, parents, elders, government officials, religious leaders of all faiths, teachers, boys, men of marrying age, and even traditional circumcisers who had an economic stake in the practice shared their thoughts about female circumcision and what was necessary for an alternative rite to succeed. CRS and the Diocese of Meru took in all this feedback and then worked with community members for two additional years to develop a weeklong curriculum for an alternative rite of passage. Interested girls can now sign up in participating parishes to attend an alternative seclusion at a school, community center or church building, typically held over the long Christmas or Easter school holidays. Girls of all faiths are encouraged to attend, and the alternative seclusions are now strongly supported by religious leaders, government officials and Meru's Council of Elders. An older female mentor accompanies each girl, just as she would in the traditional rite. The project has become so successful that parishes often have to turn away interested participants. At one seclusion in Kangeta parish, more than 500 girls applied for the 150 spaces available. During the alternative seclusion, volunteer teachers, nurses, doctors and social workers discuss with the adolescent participants a wide range of issues, including cultural lessons, health issues, relationship skills and the dangers of circumcision. Often, these discussions provide the girls with their first understanding of what they would have undergone during the traditional rite of passage. The workshops also focus on building the girls' self-esteem, teaching them to discuss sensitive issues comfortably and say a firm "no" to actions with which they disagree. "We had some friends who were circumcised. They would tell us myths: You'll never get married, you'll smell, things like that," shares 16-year-old Caroline Kanana. "Then we came here and got that knowledge [of circumcision]. If it weren't for this project, we might go join them and accept whatever they did to us." "Our grandmothers say we must feel the pain they felt to honor our culture," Caroline adds. "We need to have the courage to say there is no need to be circumcised." Support from their mentors, parents and older sisters who themselves may have already been circumcised bolsters the graduates' resolve to remain uncircumcised. The project has become so successful that parishes often have to turn away interested participants. At one seclusion in Kangeta parish, more than 500 girls applied for the 150 spaces available. Men in the surrounding area are also changing their attitudes. When the project started, it was difficult to find any man willing to marry an uncircumcised girl. Due to increased awareness of the risks involved in circumcision and its impact on sexual intimacy, many will now only consider marrying a girl who has not been cut. This shift, while extremely positive, makes it critical for communities to ensure that already circumcised girls are not stigmatized or shunned in return. The desire to respect past practices and women who have been circumcised is also why the project uses the term "female circumcision" instead of "female genital mutilation." By September 2008, at the end of the second phase of the project, 641 girls had graduated from five alternative rites of passage in five parishes. CRS and the Diocese of Meru are now aiming to offer an alternative rite of passage to an additional 1,200 girls of all faiths across 30 parishes in the region over the next three years. Parishes continue to report higher demand than can often be accommodated. During the Easter school break in April 2009, two parishes stretched their capacities to enable 334 girls to attend the alternative seclusions instead of the planned 300 participants. Additional funding would allow parishes to sponsor multiple seclusions simultaneously to serve all interested girls and families. Eventually, the diocese hopes that community support will grow to the point that community members are willing to pay a small fee for their daughters to participate in the alternative rite, just as they now pay traditional circumcisers, which could make the project self-sustaining. For now though, as the diocese slowly shifts deeply held cultural beliefs, additional private funding is required for the initiative to expand and continue. The risk of circumcision doesn't disappear after girls complete the alternative rite of passage. Family pressure, peer pressure and even pressure from a suitor can lead a graduate to change her mind. Uncircumcised adolescent girls are also at risk of being kidnapped and cut by relatives who disagree with the decision. In addition, uncircumcised women of any age are sometimes cut during childbirth, with mothers-in-law or other relatives convincing medical personnel to do the procedure without the patient's consent. These human rights abuses underscore the importance of the life skills, personal growth and increased self-esteem the girls gain during the alternative seclusions. Winfred Muthoni, 12 years old, is attending the second-to-last day of her alternative seclusion. She sits quietly on a wooden chair with her hands in her lap, her small, slightly hunched frame swallowed by a tan fleece jacket decorated with galloping horses. I ask her what she'll do if she is later pressured to be circumcised. Her light-brown eyes turn steely, and she juts her chin forward. Then she answers simply but with palpable determination: "I'd just refuse." Debbie DeVoe is CRS' regional information officer in East Africa based in Nairobi. She visited a seclusion for 158 girls in Kangeta parish in central Kenya. More on Kenya
 
Happy The Hippo Seeks Female Companionship Top
WASHINGTON — Happy the hippo could soon be a lot happier. The National Zoo's solitary male Nile hippopotamus is heading to the Milwaukee County Zoo, where his new home will include a pool, a sandy beach and two potential girlfriends, Puddles and Patty. Zoo officials say they're sad to see Happy go, but that Milwaukee will offer him a great life. Happy is 27 and weighs about 7,000 pounds. He has to leave the National Zoo because his home is being eliminated for the expansion of the zoo's elephant exhibit. The Milwaukee zoo, meanwhile, is beginning a roughly $10 million expansion of its hippopotamus exhibit, part of which will allow visitors to watch hippos swimming underwater. Happy is expected to move to Milwaukee this summer. ___ Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com More on Animals
 
John McQuaid: 100 News Cycles Later Top
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama made clear his distaste of the news cycle and its trivial obsessions. Skeptics said this would hurt his chances: that to win, a candidate must dominate the news day-by-day, minute-by-minute, with attacks that keep the opposition off-balance. Yet the Obama campaign managed to win by emphasizing a longer-term strategy over the hair-trigger approach. But on Jan. 20, for all intents and purposes President Obama became the news cycle. His ambitions for toning down Washington's nasty partisan warfare - and with that, creating better prospects for his agenda - depend on his ability to nudge the news cycle away from the cable network- and Drudge-driven obsession with transient panics and cultural outrages. (An obsession that the Bush administration, with its focus on divisive electoral politics, actively cultivated.) On that front, he's been only partially successful so far. But more so than many of us thought going in. The media love nothing more than scandal, failure and disaster. But so far Obama has declined to provide them. The White House's frenzy of activity during the first 100 days - much of it politically and substantively successful, with the opposition in disarray - more or less requires that news about him focus on relaying facts. It's hard to stick with "who's up, who's down" when there's only one player on the field. And as Dan Kennedy notes , Obama has been a boon to the media business. It's more fun and better for ratings to cover a glamorous new president than an unpopular old one. The camera loves Obama, his family, even his dog. His professorial cool is a stark contrast to the at-sea press conference performances of his predecessor. We're also facing various alarming crises, so for various reasons - information, reassurance - people want to hear what Obama has to say: his prime time press conferences draw an impressive number of viewers. Robert Gibbs's White House press office, meanwhile, has been strategically smart. It has sat Obama down with conservative and liberal columnists and bloggers, and had the president give non-traditional media (including the Huffington Post) a turn at press conferences. Not surprisingly, these are explicit choices to bypass the insular White House press corps in the shaping of public opinion. Obama has lagged on the transparency front -- the creation of a friendly interface that will allow journalists, bloggers - and everyone else - full access to information and data from the White House and rest of the government.. But the technical obstacles are formidable, so this will take time. Where is all this going? We probably won't know until Obama makes his first big stumble and has to fend off the wolves. But neither a Lewinsky nor a Rovian gambit seems likely from this White House, so that's progress in itself. Grade: A minus. More on Barack Obama
 
John Marshall: Amazing Coincidences Between Phil Spector and Arlen Specter! Top
Even more incredible than the coincidences between Lincoln and JFK are the uncanny resemblances between the genius Wall of Sound 60's record producer turned murderer and the stalwart Pennsylvania Republican senator turned Democrat. Phil Spector: Until now, was always the biggest wacko at the party Arlen Specter: Until now, was in the party with the biggest wackos Phil Spector: Produced "Da Doo Run Run" Arlen Spector: Was just told by his state party "Da Don't Run Run" Arlen Spector: Was on a subcommittee on crime and drugs Phil Spector: WAS a subcommittee on crime and drugs Arlen Spector: Was always in with the gun lobby Phil Spector: Was always in the lobby with a gun Phil Spector: Got acclaim for having the Ronettes sing "Be My Baby" Arlen Spector: Got in trouble for believing women could say "Abort my baby" Arlen Spector: Almost ruined Anita Hill Phil Spector: Almost ruined Let It Be Phil Spector: Produced "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" Arlen Spector: Is being told "You've Lost That Limbaugh Feeling" Phil Spector: Bizarre behavior pissed off traditional conservative punk Johnny Ramone Arlen Spector: Traditional conservative behavior pisses off bizarre punk group, the Republicans Arlen Specter: Has served 29 years and counting Phil Spector: Will serve 25 years and counting More on Arlen Specter
 
Sara Benincasa Interviews Margaret Cho In A Bath Tub (VIDEO) Top
You may remember Sara Benincasa from her hilarious Sarah Palin impressions, or her parody of the "Reader," or because (chances are) she's your Facebook friend. Well now she's in a tub with Margaret Cho having an oddly normal conversation considering they're wet and Cho is wearing a shower cap. The pair chatted about Cho's parents, her dressmaking, and her obsession with "Hee Haw." WATCH: More on Funny Videos
 
Jamie Court: Consumers & Authors Uniting Against Google Book Deal Top
Google's overreaching in trying to tightly control scanned digital copies of world literature has stuck an alarm bell with more than just consumers and the Justice Department. I just received this email, likening Google's behavior to a mobster's, from a successful author this morning after news broke in the New York Times that our consumer group had been successful in getting the Justice Department to scrutinize the Google book deal: I am writing in support of your efforts to challenge the Author Guild/Google settlement. As an author, I feel strong-armed into opting into the settlement because I have no other recourse to sue Google, though I know they've essentially stolen a number of the valuable rights to my books, and I believe they will continue to do so if I do not opt in and refuse use. But in opting in, I fear I'm offering a tacit agreement that they did not break the law, which I believe they did. Still I, and many others, have no choice. We are being blackmailed by the behemoth that is Google. It is the equivalent of forcing a store owner to pay protection money to protect themselves from their own so-called protector. It's wrong and I encourage you to not only investigate the orphaned books situation, but to also investigate non-orphan books. I was not represented by the AG and my interests have certainly not been considered. Many authors share my frustration and concerns. Google's in slow down mode, agreeing this week to give added months of scrutiny to the settlement. The Justice Department is clearly interested in the issues Consumer Watchdog raised: whether any competitor ever could enter the market given the anti-compete clause in the settlement preventing another competitor from getting a better deal than Google. Consumer groups are also very worried about every reader having to log-in and create a Google account that tracks their literary preferences in order to have access to a digital book. Once Google puts that information together with what it already knows about us, Google may know more about us than our spouses. The resulting targeting behavioral marketing will be offering us our favorite underwear in our favorite color. Our focus is trying to remove Google's anti-compete agreement -- the so called most favored nation status -- in the settlement that prevents another company with similar ambitions from winning more favorable terms. The "most favored nation" clause guarantees Google the same terms that any future competitor might be offered. Under the most favored nation clause the registry would be prevented from offering more advantageous terms to , for example, Yahoo! or Microsoft, even if it thought better terms would be necessary to enable either to enter into the digital books business and provide competition to Google. Consumer Watchdog feels it is inappropriate for the resolution of a class action lawsuit to effectively create an "anti-compete" clause, which precludes smaller competitors from entering a market. Given the dominance of Google over the digital book market, it would no doubt take more advantageous terms to allow another smaller competitor to enter the market. The settlement also provides a mechanism for Google to deal with "orphan works." Orphan works are works under copyright, but with the rights holders unknown or not found. The danger of using such works is that a rights holder will emerge after the book has been exploited and demand substantial infringement penalties. The proposed settlement protects Google from such potentially damaging exposure, but provides no protection for others. This effectively is a barrier for competitors to enter the digital book business. Consumer Watchdog is focused on eliminating the most favored nation provision and extending the orphan works provision to cover all who digitize book. Now it sounds like authors have their own gripes, and they will be coming out of the woodwork too. There's also the very serious privacy issues that need to be addressed when one company controls information about the reading habits of the world. Google needs to be more responsive to these concerns than it has in the past. The Google Trust on the Internet is bigger than the Standard Oil Trust ever was, and it will busted if the company doesn't show a little more humility and concern for consumers than it has of late. More on Google
 
Barry Schwartz: Another Reason to Get to the Bottom of Waterboarding Top
Ray Anderson founded and runs a very successful carpet tile company called Interface. Several years ago, after reading Paul Hawken's book, The Ecology of Commerce , Anderson had a revelation. Though Interface could expect growth and profitability as far as the eye could see, its production process left a huge ecological footprint. Anderson decided that instead of focusing on leaving his grandchildren piles of money, he would try to leave them a livable planet. He launched a complete overhaul of the production process, with the aim of having no negative environmental footprint by 2020. This was a risky move, but thus far, it has been wildly successful. It is ahead of its timetable for achieving environmental responsibility, and profits are up! One reason why profits are up is that Anderson's workforce has approached its task with incredible enthusiasm and dedication. Everyone is on a mission, and this new goal has inspired everyone to work harder and smarter. They are working not just for a paycheck, but for the world's future. I think that people like Ray Anderson are a big reason why the Obama administration should welcome -- even encourage -- an inquiry into the interrogation techniques authorized and facilitated by high-level officials in the Bush administration. President Obama wants us to be looking forward, not backward. He seems worried that a broad inquiry will have us refighting battles about the Iraq war instead of thinking about how to work together to solve our current problems. He is worried that looking backward will widen the partisan divide that he is trying so hard to bridge. These are legitimate worries, but I think that a serious inquiry about torture is looking forward, and not just with respect to the relatively narrow concern with preventing torture in the future. I think the stakes are higher, and Ray Anderson shows us why. Anderson did not embark on his new path because he expected to make more money that way. He did it because he thought that taking care of the planet was the right thing to do. He was even willing to sacrifice some profit to do the right thing, if it came to that. And many of President Obama's objectives depend on people's willingness to do the right thing. Obama told the bankers, in December, that they should be asking themselves "not just is it profitable, but is it right." Just last week, he scolded the credit card companies for some of their current practices, not because they are illegal, and certainly not because they are unprofitable, but because they are unfair -- they are wrong. He is urging young people to get themselves involved in the service of others, and is expanding Americorp's budget to make that happen. In each of these examples, and in many more, President Obama is asking us to "get over ourselves" -- to think about our interests a little less, and to think about the well being of others a little more. He is asking everyone to ask "not just is it profitable, but is it right." Achieving this shift in focus is a big task, especially after almost two generations of "me-first" thinking. But I think it is an essential task. Carbon trading and regulation will contribute to making the U.S. a more responsible steward of the environment, but we will also need some people to emulate Ray Anderson, and change what they do just because it's right. Tougher regulation and smarter incentives will prevent a future collapse of the financial system that exactly mirrors the current one, but unless there are some people who, like Vanguard founder John Bogle, do the right thing because it's the right thing, no regulation, no matter how stringent, and no incentives, no matter how clever, will prevent a new and different financial collapse at some point in the future. In short, our financial crisis is in part a moral crisis. Our environmental irresponsibility is in part moral irresponsibility. And though individuals like Ray Anderson and John Bogle may provide models that inspire some of us to take doing the right thing more seriously, there is no doubt that the most significant model we have is the government. If our national leaders are not serious about doing the right thing, why should we be? And by failing to get to the bottom of waterboarding and other despicable practices, the government shows its citizens that it is not serious about doing the right thing. And so, a thorough investigation of torture is about the future, at least as much as it is about the past. It is a way to set an example that the rest of us can follow. It will facilitate the achievement of President Obama's other objectives rather than detracting from them. And this is true whether or not the "guilty" are "punished." Punishment is not the point; moral clarity and moral seriousness is. The need to achieve moral clarity and moral seriousness is for me reflected in the tenor of most of the debate about torture that I've seen thus far. Much of the argument has been what philosophers call "consequentialist." "Waterboarding worked." "It kept us safe." "Waterboarding didn't get us anything we couldn't have gotten with conventional interrogation techniques." "For every terrorist it helped us catch, it created 100 new ones." Though no one has suggested that torture is a moral good, those who argue that it is evil feel the need to add, sotto voce, "and it doesn't work." But our official, national stance regarding torture is not "don't torture prisoners unless it works." And so, to a large degree, it doesn't matter whether the documents Cheney wants declassified ever are declassified, or if they are, whether they actually show what he tells us they show. We already know that the U.S. violated its moral commitments. And investigation may tell us how and why this happened. Who knows how many more Ray Andersons will emerge as a result.
 
Fed Sees Signs Recession May Be Easing Top
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it see signs the recession is easing and that the economic outlook has "improved modestly" since last month. Against that backdrop, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues left a key interest rate at a record low of between zero and 0.25 percent, and decided against taking any new steps to shore up the economy. Aggressive action already taken _ including a $1.2 trillion effort last month _ should gradually help bolster economic activity, the Fed said. It did, however, leave the door open to future action if needed. Fed policymakers offered a less dour assessment of the economy than the one provided at its previous meeting in mid-March. "The economy has continued to contract, though the pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slower," the Fed said. The worst of the recession _ in terms of lost economic activity _ could be past. The economic outlook has "improved modestly" since the March meeting, partly reflecting some easing of strains in financial markets, the Fed said. Even so, "economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time," the Fed added. And, while consumer spending has shown "signs of stabilizing," it is still being constrained by rising unemployment, falling home values and hard-to-get credit, the Fed said. Meanwhile, weak sales and credit difficulties have forced businesses to cut spending and lay off workers, the Fed said. To nurture economic activity, the Fed pledged anew to keep its key bank lending rate at a record low "for an extended period." Economists predict the Fed will keep the rate there well into next year. Looking ahead, the Fed didn't rule out expanding existing programs or creating new ones to bolster the economy. At its March meeting, the Fed launched a $1.2 trillion effort to lower interest rates and get Americans to boost spending, which would help spur economic activity. Specifically, the Fed in March said it would start buying government debt _ $300 billion over the next six months _ and would buy an additional $850 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities and debt from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fed on Wednesday said it will continue to evaluate "the timing and overall amounts" of its government securities purchases in light of evolving economic and financial conditions. More on The Fed
 
Human Rights Watch: Zimbabwe's Human Rights Situation Still Deteriorating Under Mugabe Top
By Tiseke Kasambala Johannesburg -- Tendai Biti is not what you'd expect from a representative of the Zimbabwean government. Now the country's finance minister, he's a former human rights lawyer and dedicated opponent of President Robert Mugabe. As a member of the Movement for Democratic Change that won elections last year, Biti saw his political allies beaten, tortured, and even killed by the ruling party's henchmen until finally, reluctantly, Mugabe said he would share power. Biti is the international face of Zimbabwe's new "inclusive government," and he came to Washington to plead a heart-wrenching case. More than half the population of his country is surviving on international food aid. Reports of cholera outbreaks abated after international agencies rushed in thousands of truckloads of potable water, but 4,000 people have already died of it and most public health experts expect the epidemic to rise again. There's no money to fix the country's collapsed water system. Schools are closed for lack of funds to pay teachers; hospitals and clinics are nearly empty of doctors, nurses, medicine, and equipment. Unemployment stands at more than 90 percent. After years of being looted by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, Zimbabwe is dead broke. Biti and his colleagues from neighboring countries in southern Africa have been visiting Washington and London in an effort to persuade Western governments to lift sanctions on ZANU-PF members in the government and ask international lenders to restore development aid. And because of who he is, over time, Biti has a chance of changing those lenders' minds. We all can agree that people in Zimbabwe desperately need help. But the West must be very, very careful in how it gives it. Mugabe remains fully in charge and his loyalists run the key security ministries and the notorious Joint Operations Command, responsible for some of Zimbabwe's most gruesome human rights crimes. He has unilaterally increased the number of ministers to 43 in order to water down the opposition's influence, and many of the 29,000 "Green Bombers" who perpetrated so much violence during the election season last year are on the civil service payroll. Human rights activists and opposition supporters are still regularly attacked, arrested, and prosecuted in a court system that obeys Mugabe's bidding. Mobs are still invading and taking over the properties of commercial farmers. The media are still not free. And all the while, Mugabe is going about unilaterally rewriting the terms of the power-sharing agreement -- and without any sanction from Zimbabwe's neighbors. Western governments are already providing $900 million in humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe, through the United Nations and non-governmental relief agencies. This money is literally keeping the country alive. What Biti has come to request is development aid: direct, government-to-government support that will help fill the state coffers and, in theory at least, allow basic services to resume: schools, hospitals, public agencies of all kinds. The problem is that the Finance Ministry does not control the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, whose governor, Gideon Gono, has funded the crudest forms of state repression. Gono admitted recently that he raided the accounts of foreign aid groups in order to pay government salaries and called on international lenders to "let bygones be bygones." The signs are that the United States and the European Union are aware of the risks of rushing in too quickly. Mr Biti received a polite welcome in Washington DC this past week. But he was told that the donors have few problems with his plans and intentions, just his ability to deliver while the architects of Zimbabwe's misery retain control of the country's security forces, judicial system and central bank. So, for now, the targeted travel restrictions and asset freezes on top officials of ZANU-PF will remain in place, and we are told by the United States government that any resumption of development aid will require dramatic improvement across a range of critical human rights indices: judicial reform, media freedoms, and prosecutions of those responsible for the most serious human rights atrocities. The US government and the Europeans should now explain to their taxpayers, who will have to fund any development aid for Zimbabwe, in more detail exactly what they propose to do and when. The trick for now is for Zimbabwe's international donors to find creative ways of supporting Zimbabwe's ruined health and education systems without perpetuating Mugabe's reign of terror, abuse and corruption. That's where the conversation with Biti has started and where it must ultimately finish. Tiseke Kasambala is Zimbabwe researcher for Human Rights Watch. More on Zimbabwe
 
Judge: Alleged Torture Cop Burge Can Be Subpoenaed To Testify Top
UPDATE 1:40 P.M. A judge granted permission, without any objection from prosecutors, to Cortez's lawyers to subpoena Jon Burge to testify in court, the Tribune reports . "The really significant thing is that we're now going to have Burge in here," Taylor said. "He's going to take the 5th, but that's important in a post-conviction hearing because the judge can draw inference from that." - - - - CHICAGO (AP) -- judge is set to rule on whether a former Chicago police commander can be subpoenaed to testify at a hearing on an inmate's petition to get his murder conviction overturned. Cook County Circuit Judge Clayton Crane is expected to rule Wednesday on if Jon Burge and former detective Anthony Maslanka will be ordered testify at a May 18 hearing for Cortez Brown. Brown's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by former Gov. George Ryan. He claims he confessed to killing two men in 1990 only after detectives under Burge's command beat him with their fists and a flashlight. Burge has been charged in federal court with perjury and obstruction-of-justice charges. He has pleaded not guilty. -ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Pizza Box Is Easier To Reuse And Recycle (VIDEO) Top
Simple changes in manufacturing can help consumers go green. Here's a great example: By adding some perforations to a pizza box, it becomes multi-use: Open box, tear off square, serve pizza on cardboard square. Fold remaining parts of box up to store leftover pizza. Because it's easily taken apart, it's also a lot easier to fit in your average recycling container! Love it. WATCH: Via BuzzFeed !
 
Carl Jeffers: As Specter Moves to the Left, So Does the Supreme Court Top
The announcement by Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter that he was changing his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat has stimulated intense energetic debate over how it happened, why it happened, and what will be the consequences. But perhaps the most significant long-term consequence of this action may well be the new dynamic that the Specter switch could create for President Obama's ultimate Supreme Court appointments -- and everyone understands that the appointment of two or more Supreme Court justices during one Administration can have greater, and far longer-lasting, impact than most of all the other legislative initiatives and programs enacted during that administration's term in office. And so far, we have actually heard very little commentary on this perhaps most significant impact of all of the consequences of the Specter switch. I will address this specific consequence in this essay, but let's first provide some additional overview to this event. The first observation that strikes me is the irony of the switch itself. Usually, as in the recent case of Jim Jeffords who switched from being a Republican to an Independent who would caucus with the Democrats, this usually happens when the Senator who is switching parties is doing so to provide more power to the opposition Party in the Congress, not to buttress the President's power -- so that's a bit ironic. Richard Shelby of Alabama is another example of the more usual course. And yes , some of Specter's motivation has to be based on principle, despite the argument of his critics that the decision was entirely based on political self-interest. Not entirely. If Specter didn't actually feel more comfortable on principle with much of the philosophy of government of the Obama administration, he wouldn't be able to switch over and expect to have the support of the administration in his re-election effort or expect to be given substantive committee and leadership power within his new party in the Senate. He wouldn't have been able to survive being alienated by both sides, and he certainly wouldn't be expecting to run and win re-election next year in that kind of environment. But certainly, the current polls showing Specter not being able to get out of the Republican primary were definitely a significant factor in his decision. And let's remember, not only will he now have President Obama coming into Pennsylvania to campaign for him, but he'll also have Joe Biden coming in with his strong ties in the State, and he'll also have Hillary Clinton coming in, and she won the State in the primary campaign. And we also must mention the fact that Pennsylvania's changing demographics and changing political dynamic with Obama already having driven most moderate Republicans over to the Democrats clearly laid out a road map to victory for Specter next year, and that road map did not recommend any stopovers at Republican rest stops. So as is usually the case, the extreme critics on both sides miss the mark entirely, while an objective review of the facts tends to include a little of the commentary from both sides. Arlen Specter clearly understands the politics, and he knows this move does help him immensely on the political front. But Arlen Specter is also a man of principle, and he has demonstrated that in his almost thirty years in the Senate, and he could not have just abandoned that entirely purely for political gain. But the bottom line is that the administration now has the possibility of enacting its full court agenda for health care reform, education reform, environmental and energy reform, economic reform and recovery, and generally expanding the role of government as a "pro-active" agent for change in the country. And with the likelihood of Al Franken being certified as the new Senator from Minnesota, Specter's 60th vote now gives the administration that potential. It is enormous. And any Republican or conservative who denies that is simply in denial. But while the conversation has not yet focused much on the Supreme Court, any historian can tell you that having a 60-vote filibuster-proof Senate for the President changes the dynamic entirely for the President's Supreme Court nominee selections, and it changes it in his favor. And remember, even with the threat of filibuster and a very divided Senate, any President who can make two or more appointments to the Supreme Court during his term in office will impact the direction of the country in the most significant way for at least a generation or more after that President leaves office. But if that President has 60 votes on his or her side in the Senate, then the Supreme Court selection process reaches an entirely new level of opportunity for that President -- and again, the impact of Specter's 60th vote for the Obama administration in this regard is enormous. First, it is possible that even if President Obama serves only one term, and it is almost a certainty that if he serves two terms, this President will have two Supreme Court selections to make, and they most likely would be appointments to replace Justices Ginsberg and Stevens, two of the more liberal members of the Court, with Stevens being the most liberal Justice on the Court. It has always been my assertion that given the current make up of Congress, and given Obama's natural inclination to work for consensus if possible and minimize confrontation, he would likely name Justices more along the philosophical lines of Justices Kennedy and Souter, Justices considered to be moderate centrists, although Kennedy has often times proved to be more conservative than moderate, and David Souter has almost consistently proven himself to be more liberal than moderate (to the chagrin of the first President Bush) . But it is in the mold of these two Justices that I had projected appointments by Barack Obama to be framed. But now, with the likelihood of a filibuster proof Senate, and with the enhanced leverage the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party could now have on the selection process, I believe that President Obama may be more comfortable with making court appointments more philosophically framed in the mold of Justices Ginsberg and Stevens themselves, the very Justices the President would likely be replacing, and that , my friends, changes everything -- from abortion to civil rights to gay marriage to affirmative action to environmental issues to the role of religion to individual rights to national security to the prerogatives of the Chief Executive. It changes everything! And perhaps more than in any other area, the Specter switch to the Democrats now gives this President the chance to really implement his agenda, the agenda he was confident and comfortable with promoting before the September 15, 2008 weekend economic crisis changed the campaign and the country -- and probably elected him as well. If this scenario regarding the Supreme Court comes to pass, let no one ever forget how the Arlen Specter decision will have contributed to that scenario. I opened this essay by mentioning one of the ironies of this evolving event -- let me close with another one. In commenting on the Arlen Specter switch to the Democrats, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele accused Specter of "flipping the bird at Republicans." Isn't it ironic that we have come to a time in America where one African-American male may lead his party to the very top, and another African-American male may lead his party to the very bottom! Carl Jeffers is a Los Angeles-and Seattle based columnist, TV political analyst, radio talk show host and commentator, and a national lecturer. To contact, e-mail cjintel@juno.com . More on Arlen Specter
 
Patricia Stark: Confidence Alone Top
When I first left my full time job to go into my own business it was a little nerve wracking -- not only because I was hoping I could make it on my own, but because it was at times uncomfortable to be alone. I had always worked with groups of people, had someone to eat lunch with, joke around with, and feel a part of. But when I found myself going it alone I felt, well, naked. I had to get used to calling on clients alone, traveling alone, and eating meals at a table by myself surrounded by pairs or groups of other people. Now I travel all over the country alone and feel confident and comfortable pretty much anyplace I go. But for people who don't have to venture out on their own the thought of it can strike fear in otherwise surefooted folks. Odds have it that at some point you'll be in a situation where you'll have to go it alone whether you like it or not. No family, no kids, no friends or co-workers. So experiment in advance and it won't throw you when it does happen. At the very least you'll increase your overall confidence by doing so. Here are some things you can do to gain more confidence going it alone: 1. Force yourself to go eat in a diner, coffee shop, or restaurant alone even if it scares the heck out of you. Start at a counter first. Many times the folks that sit at the counter are alone too so you'll be in good company and can experiment with striking up a conversation with other people around you. Immediately ask for the servers name or read their name tag and use their name. Establishing rapport with the server or hostess will increase your comfort level immediately. Work to develop the gift of gab and an interest in other people. 2. If you're going to an event or a night out with friends - meet them there. Walking into a nightclub, bar, or concert alone can be intimidating. The only way to overcome this is to feel the fear and do it anyway as they say. And just don't go alone but get there early! Now you'll have to find your comfort zone, find a seat, get yourself settled and make some small talk. The more you do this the easier it becomes. 3. Be an observer; enjoy being a people watcher, without staring, of course. If you're in a crowded room alone, put a pleasant look on your face and scan the crowd, notice what types of people are there, count the men to women ratio, age range, who looks like they're having fun and who doesn't. By playing these little observation games you'll actually forget to be self conscious. You won't be hanging your head, trying to hide until your friends get there, you'll look confident and interesting. 4. Always carry a book, magazine, or newspaper with you. This way if you get stuck alone somewhere you'll have something to do if there's not a lot of people watching or if interacting with others isn't possible. 5. Remember we all came into this world alone and we all leave it alone, we were brave enough to be born, brave enough to live, and hopefully brave enough when we're done here - so learn to enjoy your own company, when you can do that you actually end up having more to give to others, because you're stronger, more confident, and you'll find yourself thinking about how to make others feel more comfortable wherever you go. View these tips in video format: Patricia Stark is the host of Craving Confidence , a weekly show about confidence, life, and business skills. To subscribe to the show or the monthly newsletter, visit www.cravingconfidence.com
 
Steven Waldman: Safe, Legal & Early -- A New Way of Thinking About Abortion Top
The political debate on abortion has for several decades focused on the wrong moral question: Does life begin at conception? Those who believe it does, oppose abortion. Those who don't, or think the question is unanswerable, believe the pregnant woman should make that choice. Yet consider this statistical couplet. According to a 2007 survey commissioned by a progressive think tank called Third Way, 69 percent of Americans believe abortion is the "taking of a human life," but 72 percent believe it should be legal. Let that soak in. Most people think abortion is taking a human life and yet most favor the procedure being legal. How grotesque! Are we Americans utterly immoral? Actually, what the data proclaim is something that politicians and activists can't: Most Americans believe there are gradations of life within the womb. Some living things are more alive than others, and so the later in the pregnancy it gets, the more uncomfortable people become with the idea of ending it. But in reality they believe both that a life stirs very early on and that a one-week-old embryo is more "killable" than a nine-month-old fetus. For them, determining whether "life" begins at conception really doesn't determine anything. A handful of surveys get at this. According to a 2003 Gallup poll , 29 percent of the people surveyed believed abortion should be illegal in the first three months of pregnancy, 68 percent thought it should be illegal in the second trimester, and 84 percent in the third trimester. Many women who have had abortions wished they could have the procedure earlier. In a 2006 survey of 1,209 abortion patients by the Guttmacher Institute (a pro-choice but widely respected nonprofit group that researches reproductive health issues), 58 percent said they would have preferred to have done it earlier--including 91 percent of those who had abortions in their second trimester. Surely part of the reason for this preference is that later abortions are more complicated, dangerous and expensive. But that's not all. Consider the reasons offered to researchers in that study by this 21-year-old, low-income woman: "I do [wish I had had the abortion earlier] because when I came here last Friday and they told me, like, 'You're in your second trimester,' and I'm like...'Goodness, now what am I going to do?' Because I didn't want to go into my second trimester, because it's like, basically, really becoming a baby, you know. I just really didn't want to do it that late." She did have the abortion. Her failure to get the abortion right away didn't lead her to carry the pregnancy to term but rather to end it -- uncomfortably -- when her fetus was, in her own eyes, "basically, really becoming a baby." This belief that life within the womb is on a continuum is not explicitly reflected in the political debates about abortion. We debate whether we should have parental notification--not when we should have it. We question politicians on whether they'd provide government funding for abortion, not ever asking whether subsidies should be provided for early abortions but not late. The debate has evolved that way in part because of the fundamentally religious nature of the pro-life activist position. The essential point about the position of pro-life activists -- including the Catholic Church and conservative evangelicals -- is not that they believe "life" begins at conception. It's that they believe a life that God creates on Day One is morally equivalent to a life at month one or month nine or 18 years. "The whole point of pro-life reasoning," says Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life, "is to encourage people toward intellectual, ethical and scientific consistency: A life is a life, no matter how small." Meanwhile, many pro-choice leaders have embraced a mirror image of this approach. The woman has a right to choose, whether the pregnancy is in its first day, first month or ninth month. Instead, an abortion policy matching the values implicit in the polls would focus less on rights or numbers and more on timing. Success would be measured on the basis of moving abortions earlier in the gestational cycle -- even if that conceivably means more overall abortions. It would be not about whether, how or how many, but when. Not "safe, legal and rare" as Bill Clinton once said, but "safe, legal and early." In a longer piece that first appeared on PoliticsDaily.com , I argued that: --Some pro-life policies actually lead to more abortions in the second and third trimesters --Some pro-choicers have abandoned the true spirit of Roe v. Wade, which did not envision an inviolable, 9-month-long right to choose --Policies should be geared toward shifting abortions earlier in the cycle. Please read the rest of the piece here and let me know what you think.
 
Joshua Schoen: Why the Peapod Will Change America and Save Chrysler in the Process Top
On Earth Day, April 25, 2009, Chrysler announced a new car called the Peapod. This revolutionary product will change the face of the American auto industry. The world has been clamoring for all-electric vehicles that allow ease and mobility within a short range. On average, Americans spent four percent of their annual income on gasoline in 2008. The Peapod will cut these costs dramatically, ultimately costing about 2 cents per mile. This will make it by far the cheapest option for auto travel on the market. The Peapod, a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV), allows drivers to take their kids to soccer and pick up groceries without emitting any carbon dioxide. This cute car (its front appears to smile) offers more inside. It offers iPod and iPhone connectivity as well as an app that shows the amount of carbon dioxide saved by using the Peapod. Many already know that the Chrysler group is in dire straits and its future is uncertain. This product might be the magic elixir that will save the company by becoming the most relevant form of transportation for the new generation. Much like the Beetle in the 60s, the Peapod may develop into a form of affordable, fashionable transportation for the masses. Yet if it proves to be the new Beetle, the Peapod will not only be stylish but will also protect the environment from millions of tons of CO¬2 that is released into the air. Although this car comes with the hefty price tag of $12,500 it is one of the cheapest to keep on the road. If the Peapod proves to be the future of the short-range drive, all I can say is "where do I sign up?" More on Earth Day
 
Afghanistan: Taliban Threatens Wave Of Attacks Against US Surge Top
KABUL — The Taliban vowed Wednesday to launch a wave of attacks in a spring offensive as a surge of American troops arrives in Afghanistan, a threat delivered on the same day that 42 militants were reported killed in clashes. Taliban leaders regularly boast of impending attacks that never materialize _ such as proclaiming that hundreds or thousands of suicide bombers were waiting to attack around the country _ but the new threat from a top-tier commander could signal a more aggressive stance. A U.S. military spokesman said the Taliban's warning showed the militants are worried by the rising number of international troops. Mullah Berader, a top deputy to Taliban commander Mullah Omar, said the Taliban would unleash ambushes, roadside bombings and suicide attacks Thursday against foreign and Afghan troops, government officials and "whoever is supporting invaders in our country." "As American and NATO countries plan to send more troops to Afghanistan, it is necessary for the Afghans and Afghan mujahedeen to defend their country," militant spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a statement that he attributed to Berader. Taliban fighters have increased attacks the last three years in a resurgence following the toppling of their radical Islamist regime by a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. President Barack Obama has ordered 21,000 more U.S. troops to the country to bolster the 38,000 American and 32,000 allied troops already in the country. Given the influx, U.S. commanders have long said they expect a spike in violence this summer, the season when Taliban attacks are most numerous. Many of the new troops will deploy to southern Afghanistan, the Taliban's stronghold. Col. Greg Julian, spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, called Berader's threat a sign that the U.S. is making the right move by pouring troops into the militants' southern strongholds, where they fund their operations with profits from opium poppies and heroin. "This is a demonstration that this is the worst possible thing that could happen in their mind. They don't want to see an increase in troops because they know they will be forced away from their source of income and it could lead to their demise," Julian said. The U.S. and other NATO countries now have some 70,000 soldiers in Afghanistan _ a record level. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he would send 700 more soldiers by July to boost security for Afghanistan's August presidential election, but said Britain's troop numbers would return to the current 8,300 by November. Australia plans to add 450 soldiers, increasing its force to about 1,550, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Wednesday, saying Obama persuaded him to increase the deployment during discussions last week. In fighting Wednesday, coalition and Afghan forces reported killing 42 militants in three clashes. No casualties were reported for Afghan or international troops. Combat generally rises as the weather warms, and even more violence is expected as U.S. troops continue to move into areas they previously had not operated in. In the largest battle, a convoy of Afghan police and soldiers of the U.S.-led coalition was attacked during a patrol in southern Uruzgan province, a statement said. The troops fired back and called in attacks by aircraft, killing 23 insurgents. Nine other militants were killed when troops came under fire during a search operation in neighboring Helmand province and 10 insurgents died southwest of Kabul when international and Afghan troops attacked compounds believed to belong to Taliban operatives, the coalition said. The clashes came as Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, met with Afghan officials in the capital. Some 3,750 German soldiers are based in Afghanistan's relatively peaceful north, but the force was hit by an attack Wednesday. A suicide bomber jumped in front of a German armored personnel carrier, wounding four German soldiers, the NATO-led force said. More on Afghanistan
 
Senate Guru: Arlen Specter's Impact on Al Franken Top
{ First, a cheap plug for my blog Senate Guru . } Before Arlen Specter's Party switch announcement yesterday , the Senate's Democratic caucus stood at 58 members. Senator-elect Al Franken represented Democrats' 59th vote toward cloture, still short of reliably ending Republican filibusters. But now, with Specter joining the Democratic caucus, Senator-elect Franken represents the big 6-0, which is why Republicans will redouble their efforts to delay Senator-elect Franken's seating - and why we in the netroots must redouble our efforts to send obstructionist Republicans a message and also provide them with adequate disincentive from delaying Senator-elect Franken's seating any further. Since the " One Dollar a Day to Make Norm Coleman Go Away " effort started just a couple weeks ago, about $40,000 has been raised to remind the Republicans funding Norm Coleman's endless appeals that, for every single day that they delay the implementation of the will of Minnesota voters, progressive voters will raise money to use against these Republicans on Election Day 2010. Your support will strengthen that message! Norm Coleman and his fellow Republicans recently scored a success in further delaying Senator-elect Franken's seating, as the trial schedule adopted by the state Supreme Court for Coleman's appeal is such that oral arguments before the Court won't begin until June 1st, over a month from now. Further, although Minnesota election policy dictates that Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty must prepare and sign Senator-elect Franken's election certificate once the state Supreme Court hands down its decision, Pawlenty has hemmed and hawed as to whether he would follow state election policy accordingly. With a D next to Arlen Specter's name, Republicans will go full force to block Senator-elect Franken's seating. Please join us in eliminating Republicans' incentive to delay Senator-elect Franken's seating any further by taking part in the " One Dollar a Day to Make Norm Coleman Go Away " effort. Above at right is video of the segment on MSNBC's Hardball highlighting the effort. More on Arlen Specter
 
TRUE BLUE: See What Jill Biden Wore At Tuesday's 'Teacher' Ceremony (PHOTOS) Top
Jill Biden arrived at Tuesday's Teacher of the Year ceremony looking radiant in a checked blue skirt suit. See her outfit below or read more about Jill Biden's style here . More on Photo Galleries
 
UAE Condemns Royal Sheikh Torture Tape Top
After first dismissing it as a private matter, the government of the United Arab Emirates today condemned a video tape showing a member of the royal family torturing a grain dealer, with the help of men in uniform. More on Middle East
 
Virginia Foxx: Story of Matthew Shepard's Murder A "Hoax" (VIDEO) Top
As the House of Representatives debates an expansion of hate crimes legislation, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has taken the rhetoric to a new level, claiming that those who say Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming for being gay are perpetrating a "hoax" on the American people. "I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills," said Foxx. A Foxx spokesman didn't immediately return a call. The "hoax" notion relative to Matthew Shepard is a popular meme on right-wing blogs. The Matthew Shepard Foundation is dedicated to reducing hate crimes. The New York Times reported in 1998: "According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious." Media Matters uploaded the video of Foxx's statement. WATCH: Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
David Ormsby: Cullerton Legislature Pay Cut Idea Needs Polishing, But it's a Gem Top
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) recently floated the idea of imposing a "symbolic and appropriate" salary cut on state lawmakers . Good idea. But the lawmaker pay cut should not occur willy-nilly. It should occur as a matter of principled budgeting policy: If the state cuts its payments to its vendors -- hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, community mental health providers, child welfare agencies, foster parents, home health aides for seniors -- all those on the front lines delivering services on behalf state government but who are the first to get the budget shaft from the state, then elected officials' salaries ought to get whacked, too. Year-in and year-out the Legislature refuses to provide cost of living or doing business increases to these vendors. Meanwhile the governor's office -- particularly under Rod Blagojevich -- imposes cuts by stealth. Blagojevich each year routinely slapped 3 percent "reserves" on human service provider contracts and never returned the dough. Thus, a cut. And a double whammy. For example, a Chicago child welfare agency, which provides care to HIV/AIDS-affected toddlers, has watched its state contract of $780,000 in 2003 wither to $729,000 today, all from gubernatorial imposed "reserves." And the Legislature has refused to compensate agencies like this one in subsequent budget years. And in the last eight fiscal years, Illinois community mental health providers have received only two cost-of-doing-business increases. Two. Just two. Meanwhile, they have been subjected regularly to the Blagojevich-imposed three percent contract "reserves" or, in reality, cuts. As a result, the state now pays these providers only $1.07 for $1.48 of costs. To pay for state-contracted care, community mental health providers must eliminate privately funded care -- fewer visits to home-bound seniors, few school mental health clinics, fewer counselors -- to subsidize this deadbeat better known as the state of Illinois. It's a disgrace. Meanwhile, the state doles out like clockwork -- where the "tick" follows the "tock" -- annual cost of living increases to unionized state employees performing the same work as their private sector, non-profit counterparts but whom the state cuts almost annually. And it's all blessed by the Legislature. How screwed up is that? This is where Cullerton's legislator pay idea comes in. If the Legislature refuses to give its vendors a raise, then they forgo a raise. If the Legislature or governor cuts funding for state vendors, then lawmaker and gubernatorial salaries should be cut by an equal percentage. Call it the "what's good for the goose and gander" policy of budgeting. You can bet your over-mortgaged house that state vendors would never go begging for a raise again. Cullerton is on to something. Good for him.
 
Pelosi: Republicans Should Take Back Their Party Top
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democratic leaders say Sen. Arlen Specter's party switch is a sign that Republicans should become more like, well, Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California told reporters Wednesday that the GOP should return to the days when it advocated for the environment and individual rights. The nation, she said, needs a strong Republican Party that does not alienate moderates. But not too strong, added Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Specter stunned the political world Tuesday by switching from Republican to Democrat. He said there aren't enough moderates left in Pennsylvania for him to win a GOP primary. Many Republicans said good riddance, but Specter's departure deeply shook the party establishment. More on Arlen Specter
 
Suzette Standring: Laetare Medal: Glendon is the Wrong Recipient Top
Real faith is not a one-trick pony. Faith is not an exclusive club membership. One does not grow stronger in the love the Lord by rejecting others. Yet this is the message that Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, sent when she rejected the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal because she disapproved of President Obama receiving an honorary degree and giving the commencement speech at the Catholic institution. Her position is that the president's support of abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research does not fit in with Catholic morality and so an honorary degree to the president violates a 2004 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's statement that Catholic institutions should not honor people whose actions conflict with the church's moral principles. By that definition, no one could ever be up for an award. Everyone steps into sinful territory daily. No one should be completely labeled by opinions on a particular issue or defined by the grievous mistakes of the past. Glendon's action violates a basic tenet of Christianity, that we are all flawed and that God's grace and timetable allows us to change and grow. Glendon should be reminded that her boss (God) works his will even through the worst circumstances or fallen characters. Moses had murdered an Egyptian but God later used him to lead the Israelites. King David, Jesus' ancestor, was not perfect. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and got her husband out of the way by sending him to the front lines to get killed. Before Paul became one of the greatest teachers of the gospel, he was one of the most zealous anti-Christian persecutors. Glendon has turned her rejection of the University of Notre Dame's top honor into a bully pulpit. The Laetare Medal, first awarded in 1883, recognizes outstanding service to the Roman Catholic Church and society performed by a candidate "whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity." Glendon is a Harvard University law professor and anti-abortion scholar who formerly served as Ambassador to the Holy See under the Bush Administration. She is gifted, talented and has enjoyed a prestigious career. Yet this does not qualify Glendon to pronounce President Obama unfit to address Catholic graduates based on her disapproval of his pro-choice platform. John F. Kennedy is a former Laetare award recipient but his low morality score in marital fidelity is common knowledge. Yet JFK should not be totally defined by his transgressions. Biblically speaking, one sin is no worse than another, it simply points out that we are all equal in our imperfections and in need of grace. "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). She claims she was being used as a tempering presence to a pro-choice president. Since when is offering both sides of an issue, even symbolically, considered an abuse? The Harvard law professor should know better. Though Glendon has dedicated her career to anti-abortion, a public call for humiliation of the president is not the way to bring people to the Lord. I doubt anyone will think twice about getting an abortion or have a personal interest in Christianity sparked due to Glendon rejecting the Laetare Medal because the University of Notre Dame won't reject President Obama. Her approach reminds me of "shunning," a punishment for perceived moral violations, which was practiced by now-extinct Puritans. Back in the 17th century, one's survival against harsh weather and scarcity depended on the help of neighbors. For the "ungodly," being cast out of the community was a matter of life or death. People toed the line not out of faith but out of fear. Today, in our largely anonymous and independent society, survival doesn't depend on church approval. But then, faith was always meant to be a personal spiritual connection, born from a genuine relationship with God. A congregation or "body of Christ" was always meant to exalt, inspire and encourage such a connection with the divine - not to glorify the group itself. According to a Pew Research study, 44% of surveyed American adults no longer belong to their childhood faith. Catholicism has suffered the greatest net loss of believers. Not having their spiritual needs met was the biggest reason for leaving Catholicism as cited by 71% of the respondents. Glendon's public rejection of her award in order to set an example against President Obama propagates the stereotyping of Christians as judgmental, exclusionary and punitive. She would do well to re-read the memo from her "Boss" who said in Mark 2:17, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." If abortion is considered a spiritual sickness in our society then healing is practiced best as a compassionate and loving art. As a Laetare award candidate, Glendon had a great platform to inspire a message of hope and perseverance on behalf of the unborn. After all, frightened pregnant women with no options are most in need of hope and perseverance. But instead of extolling divine possibilities, she chose to politicize. Based on the spirit of the Laetare Medal, Glendon made the right decision to reject it. There is nothing about being exclusionary and punitive that illustrates the ideals of faith. She was the wrong representative. Email Suzette Standring: suzmar@comcast.net She is the award winning author of The Art of Column Writing.
 
Billy Parish: Green Jobs for America's Youth - 100 Days of Progress Top
100 days ago, President Barack Obama took the oath of office with an overwhelming mandate from America's youth. Two out of every three citizens under the age of 30 voted for Obama in the 2008 election. We demanded change and Obama promised it. We demanded green jobs, strong climate policy, a safer and more prosperous future, and we came 12,000 strong to DC to make sure he and his administration heard us. The demand to get involved building a greener, more sustainable future is there, but the supply of opportunities has not been. Over the last eight years, we've missed countless chances to invest in a clean energy economy, in science and engineering, and in green jobs for America's youth. But things have begun to change. There are at least three major signs of progress to report on this front in just the first 100 days of President Obama's administration: 1. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which will create millions of new jobs and fund programs like the recently launched Youth Conservation Corps that will put 15,000 young people to work "resurrecting the treasures of America" 2. The creation of a Clean Energy Service Corps as part of the Serve America Act that will engage tens of thousands of youth in moving America towards energy independence 3. A new national energy education initiative announced yesterday that will inspire and train young Americans "to tackle the single most important challenge of their generation -- the need to develop cheap, abundant, clean energy and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy." Among it's many aims, this initiative will: * Invest $777 million in 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers to address the fundamental scientific roadblocks to clean energy and energy security * Establish a $5 billion "Race To The Top" fund to encourage states to improve the quality and supply of math and science teachers * Launch RE-ENERGYSE (REgaining our ENERGY Science and Engineering Edge) to empower young men and women to invent and commercialize advanced energy technologies These are huge accomplishments. The supply is beginning to meet demand, but we still have a long way to go. There remains tremendous untapped desire among young people for green jobs and green opportunities - see a recent LA Times article on the surging demand for clean energy careers or Bob Herbert's powerful op-ed last June about the 4 million "disconnected youth," 16 to 24, "who are not in school and basically have no hope of finding work". President Obama knows that "energy is this generation's great project" and as long as there is demand for more jobs researching geothermal technology, installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, and conserving our natural resources, we need to increase the supply of opportunities. There is no "silver bullet." As Bill McKibben likes to say, we need "silver buckshot". We need to marshall all the human potential in this great country to address these challenges. I applaud President Obama on an extremely successful 100 days, but I ask for more. The young people of America are ready and willing to serve. Let's give them the opportunity. This entry is cross-posted at It's Getting Hot In Here . More on Barack Obama
 
"Obama Effect" On Muslim World Falling As Terrorism Rises Top
A new report from the American Security Project, "Are We Winning? Measuring Progress in the War on Terror: An Interim Update", outlines troubling global trends that bode ill for champions of the current US "war on terror" counterterrorism policy. Namely, the report discusses the "explosive growth in Islamist violence in 2008" and a "dampening of the initial 'Obama effect' in the Muslim world." The report also highlights the emergence of new terrorism "hot spots" in Russia and the Philippines, as well as a continuation of violence in other extant "hot spots," including Somalia and Pakistan. With these trends and new developments in mind, the report expresses concern for global terrorism's trajectory going forth into 2009, given the global financial crisis. Though the Mideast and Northern Africa are somewhat insulated from Western financial vagaries, a number of indirect economic factors can still impact the political and economic stability of certain states in the region. As for the sanguinely viewed "Obama Effect" on the Muslim World, the report laments that US approval dropped following the Israeli-Gaza incursion earlier this year. And, notably, the report states that, "Unfortunately, only 21% of Afghans believe that an Obama presidency will make a positive difference in their country, compared to 16%, who think it will make things worse." However, more hopeful data is also cited that indicates America's tarnished record from the past eight years is not beyond repair. Thus, the "Obama Effect" is not an outrightly delusional mis-perception, but there is a dearth of evidence to suggest it has yet to have any meaningful impact in the Muslim world. Read the full report here: Are We Winning? Measuring Progress in the War on Terror: An Interim Update - Free Legal Forms ------ Keep in touch with Huffington Post World on Facebook and Twitter . More on Terrorism
 

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