Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Y! Alert: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

George Mitrovich: Health Care & Town Halls Top
At the tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy Friday night at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Mr. Kennedy's closest friend in the Senate, told a story of how he recently underwent prostate cancer surgery and when he came out of recovery his first phone call was from Mr. Kennedy, who said, "Given the choice between prostate cancer surgery and going to town hall meetings, you made the right choice." I thought of that story Saturday when I was driving to a middle school in the Spring Valley area of San Diego to moderate a "town hall" meeting on health care. Congresswoman Susan Davis, a Democrat from California's 53rd District, had asked me to do that, and since my regard for Ms. Davis is very high, I readily accepted her invitation. I knew from reports that more than 1,000 people were expected, and, given the demographics, it would most likely be an unfriendly crowd. In fact at breakfast that morning some friends told me to either "bag the meeting" or wear a "bulletproof vest." But, wisely or otherwise, I went, confident of my ability to handle even the most hostile of audiences. On a boiling hot day the audience in the school's gym easily topped 1,000, an amazing turnout compared to the 40 or 50 who normally attend such meetings. In addition, the 40 San Diego County Sheriff deputies assigned to the event turned several hundred more away. Congresswoman Davis welcomed the crowd and invited the veterans present to come forward and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. More than 20 did. So far so good, I thought. I was introduced and began by reading the rules that would govern our "dialogue." From memory I quoted Saint Thomas Aquinas and Alan Simpson, the great Republican senator from Wyoming (who would be a Saint if he were a Catholic). Aquinas said, "We must love them both. Those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both have labored in the search for truth, and helped us in the finding of it." Senator Simpson said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but no one is entitled to their own facts." One might think by quoting Aquinas and Simpson at the outset of a meeting, the crowd, being appreciative of the obviously high standards being set, would act correspondingly. Fat chance. The congresswoman proceeded to then outline her views on the health care legislation pending before Congress. As she did so the two-inch high, 1,000-page House bill was visible on the table beside her. Almost certainly, she was the only person present who had read the bill -- page by daunting page. Shouldn't that have given her an advantage, having actually read the bill? Yes. Did it? No. Davis then proceeded to take questions (by lottery) for 90 minutes from a crowd that was 100 percent Caucasian -- and overwhelmingly hostile. Repeatedly they shouted, "We don't want Communism!" "We don't want Socialism!" "We don't want socialized medicine!" "We want our own private health plans!" They said, "Our country is being taken from us." Some wore T-shirts that read, "Obey." Meaning, we are to "obey" Obama (that's hardly what they had in mind). The crowd was often on its feet yelling and shouting. Some seemed in danger of losing it. One lady, decked out in red, white and blue, with a star spangled hat and dark glasses, who sat right in front of the congresswoman, when she wasn't jumping up and down, was as vocal as anyone in the gym, and kept raising a hand-lettered sign that read, "Liar, Liar, Lair!" (Her graphics left something to be desired.) Her husband, wearing a cowboy hat and the requisite dark glasses, often yelled, and at one point jumped up and approached Davis in a menacing fashion. In the middle of all this a big guy, at least 6 feet 8 in height and all muscles, wearing a black T-shirt, knee length pants, and military style black boots, walked ominously across the front of the gym. I looked for a gun, but didn't see one. Whew! (I hadn't worn my bulletproof vest.) Finally, after 90 minutes, the last question went to a young man in his 30s. He had driven down from Carlsbad with his wife (an attractive couple). He said he wasn't from Ms. Davis' district, and he appreciated her holding the forum. He said they had two children and he was worried about what the government was going to do, the kind of America his children would inherit? Justifiable concerns. But surprisingly at that point he became greatly agitated and began shouting at the congresswoman. I had not expected that -- or his obvious ignorance of the pending legislation. But in that he was hardly alone. Indeed, while I greatly admired the willingness of so many to come to a town hall meeting, to give up a good part of their Saturday, it saddened me their seeming knowledge of health care appeared so Russ Limbaugh-, Glenn Beck-driven. There was fear in the middle school gym Saturday, palpable fear; fear of what the government might do to impose by fiat health care on the nation -- but it was driven by lies and distortions. To Susan Davis' credit she did not back down to the rants and shouts, which I'm afraid too many Democrats have done -- and because of their cowardice the president may have lost the health care debate. When the last question was asked and Congresswoman Davis had responded, people began filing out of the gym. It was over. Ninety minutes of high energy. Ninety minutes of loud and angry accusations. But no one died. There was no riot. No one had been assaulted. No one was injured. All good. Except for this: The angry white people who attended, who came believing "their" America was being taken from them, that a government "of The People, by The People, for The People" was being lost, left with their minds unchanged, neither moved nor persuaded by "their" representative, Congresswoman Susan Davis. They came, these 1,000 souls, to the Town Hall meeting, with their minds made up, with their right wing, Limbaugh/Beck paranoid agenda in place -- and they left in a similar state. No minds had been changed; whatever persuasion they came with, they left with. So what was accomplished? Well, all things considered, it wasn't a bad day for democracy; if, that is, you accept Mr. Churchill famous definition of democracy, "the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried." George Mitrovich is president of The City Club of San Diego. He can be reached at gmitro35@gmail.com . More on Health Care
 
Diane Sawyer: From Beauty Queen To Evening News Anchor (SLIDESHOW) Top
Diane Sawyer's life has brought her from beauty queen to "60 Minutes" correspondent to "Primetime Live" host to film-producer's wife to morning show star — and now to evening news anchor. Below, see Diane Sawyer through the years. More on ABC
 
Miyuki Hatoyama, Japan's New First Lady: I Rode A UFO To Venus (PHOTOS) Top
Over the weekend, Japan elected a new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, and welcomed a new first lady, his wife, Miyuki. The Hatoyamas should make for an interesting couple-in-chief: he's nicknamed "The Alien" thanks to his unruly head of hair, frozen appearance, and large eyes. And, according to Reuters , Miyuki said she's been to outer space. "While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus," Miyuki Hatoyama, the wife of premier-in-waiting Yukio Hatoyama, wrote in a book published last year. "It was a very beautiful place and it was really green." The account comes from a book Mrs. Hatoyama wrote entitled "Very Strange Things I've Encountered." Her husband at the time (now ex) advised her that it was probably just a dream. But rest assured, Mrs. Hatoyama writes, the soon-to-be prime minister would be much more understanding: "My current husband has a different way of thinking...[h]e would surely say 'Oh, that's great.'" Her other claims to fame include acting, interior designing and writing cookbooks. She's also tried her hand as a personal stylist. See what Miyuki's been spotted in lately: Follow HuffPost Style on Twitter and become a fan of HuffPost Style on Facebook ! More on Photo Galleries
 
Great Barrier Reef Unlikely To Survive: Study Top
Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest living organism, is under grave threat from climate warming and coastal development, and its prospects of survival are "poor," a major new report found on Wednesday. More on Australia
 
Jim Greer, Florida GOP Chair, Warns That Obama "Back To School" Speech Will Foment Socialism Top
The Orlando Weekly 's Bloggytown is reporting today that a rather generic letter, sent to school principals across the United States by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, has caused one local GOP official to completely lose his mind. Duncan's letter previewed a national address that President Barack Obama planned to give on "the importance of education." Somehow, Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer managed to take away that this meant "taxpayer dollars" would be used to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda." O-kay! Here's the letter that launched a thousand ships to the Straits Of Nutlog, bearing Greer. Dear Principal: In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 -- the first day of school for many children across America -- he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens. The letter goes on to say this is the first ever presidential address of this nature, provides the website to watch said address, and further offers teacher a "menu of activities" developed by schoolteachers to "stimulate discussion on the importance of education." It further offers preliminary details on some sort of student video contest. It's all pretty basic stuff: "The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures." [You can read the whole letter, here .] And with that, Greer was off and running, penning a letter of his own! An insane one! As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology. The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power. While I support educating our children to respect both the office of the American President and the value of community service, I do not support using our children as tools to spread liberal propaganda. The address scheduled for September 8, 2009, does not allow for healthy debate on the President's agenda, but rather obligates the youngest children in our public school system to agree with our President's initiatives or be ostracized by their teachers and classmates. He goes on to complain about "holiday parties" and prayer in school, and he refers to the President as "Pied Piper Obama." Meanwhile, I'm trying to imagine how a brief speech of routine paeans to the importance of education is going to pull off inculcating the nation's schoolchildren on the virtues of state-run auto companies, and the like. It seems to me that three days after this speech is given, most everyone is going to forget about it, the children fastest of all. Florida, which geographically dangles from the nation's underbelly like a spent prophylactic, harbors its share of fringey GOP folks. Over in the 15th District, residents have the honor of being represented by Bill Posey, the godfather of the Congressional birthers and the primary sponsor for the so-called "Birther bill." Stephen Colbert made great fun of Posey earlier this year about it , and it made the Congressman all kinds of sad! Anyway, tune in next week to see if Barack Obama pulls off this audacious plan to turn America into a Communist nation by means of a single, generic address to a nation of jittery, Ritalin-sotted schoolchildren. [Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here .] More on Barack Obama
 
Bangladesh Bans Suits To Save Power Top
The prime minister of Bangladesh has ordered male government employees to stop wearing suits, jackets and ties to save electricity. Sheikh Hasina told officials that doing so would minimise their use of air-conditioners.
 
Jets Interested In Brandon Marshall: News Day Top
The Jets are seriously exploring the possibility of trading for Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall, according to a league source familiar with the Jets' situation.
 
Joel Schwartzberg: How to Be a Divorced Dad on the First Day of School Top
The night before the first day of school was always the longest night of my life. I'd lie wide awake for hours, wondering about my locker location, who my lunch table neighbors would be, what my teachers would be like, and whether my Trapper Keeper notebook was still in style or as antiquated as the unworn parachute pants hanging in my closet. My small canvas backpack would be sitting in a corner by the door, stuffed like a sausage with notebooks, pens and dormant anxiety. I'd start the next day too nervous and too charged to eat breakfast and end it too exhausted and too intimidated to contemplate anything except dinner and sleep, usually in that order. Were it not for adrenaline and caffeinated soda, I'd never have made it through. Now that my son Charlie's entering Fourth Grade, and his sisters starting First, I still feel anxious. On their debut morning of school -- my first as a newly-minted divorced parent -- I arrive nearly an hour early and wait across the street for them to show up. When they finally do, I survey my girls' pretty dresses and colorful hair bands, and can easily see the seeds of their teenage years being planted. As we cross the street together, I look over at Charlie's massive backpack, adorned with zippered pockets, water bottle holders, super-padded straps, and reinforced bottom, and think: Are we sending this kid to school or to Costa Rica? While hordes of unfamiliar children race around us like idiots, I compare myself to every genial-looking, power-tied, flip-flop-wearing dad at the scene. I still feel like the odd dad out. Can they tell that I no longer live with my kids? Does something about my demeanor shout "part-time parent!" Is the fellow in the leather pants really going to work dressed like that? A man with a scraggly beard who'd been standing alone suddenly starts chatting us up. "My daughter's going into first grade," he says, though there's no daughter in sight. "Same here," I say politely, pointing at my girls. He just nods. A man in a maintenance uniform comes up to Charlie and greets him with a warm hello, then looks up at my ex-wife. "This little guy -- when I'm feeling down -- he just lifts me up ." I extend my hand, and the man shakes it. "Is this your wife?" he asks, pointing at my ex. "Ex-wife," I say as casually as I can. The man cocks his head, confused. "What?" "Ex-wife," I repeat. "They're divorced," Charlie says matter-of-factly. "Well...I wish my ex-wife and I got along that good," he says. My ex and I avoid looking at each other. When the kids split up for their class lines, the man with the scraggly beard comes over to me. "I couldn't help but overhear you're divorced." "Yup," I say. "I'm also divorced. I'm meeting my daughter here." "I met my kids here, too," I say. "That seems to be the divorce give-away -- when you come in separate cars." The man smiles, then tells me his own story -- messy divorce, small apartment, kids every other weekend. As he talks, I survey the asphalt playground again, this time spotting several random Dads milling around as if waiting for instructions. I excuse myself to give each of the kids a final, long hug, and watch as their teachers lead them into the school. "Come on, Gloria," one man says to his wife, prying her from a young boy who shares his mother's hair. "It's not like we're sending him into the military." I so desperately want to be a fly on the classroom bulletin board, to watch and observe everything going on. In more narcissistic moments, I want to steer my kids to success, so that they're volunteering the right answers, modeling perfect courtesy and demonstrating all the patience and poise I didn't display at all when I was in grade school. In short, I want them to be age- in appropriate. This is why teachers shoo parents away after the bell rings, or in some cases get restraining orders. After all the kids go inside, the door closes with a loud click, and the parents creep away like zombies. Well, most of us. I keep my ground, staring at the big, open classroom window, estimating just how tall I could stand in the prickly bush below it. The next time I wait with my children for those big red doors to open, I pledge not to bring my neuroses. Next time, I'll just bring tissues. Joel Schwartzberg is an award-winning essayist and author of " The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad, " from which this piece is borrowed.
 
Judge H. Lee Sarokin: The Irony in the Tobacco Companies Suing So That They Can Tell the "Truth" Top
Most of the nation's largest tobacco companies have sued to stop a federal law which curtails their marketing and forces them to print graphic warnings on their packages. ( NYTimes , 9/1/09) The companies are insisting on their right to communicate truthful information about their products to adults who have the right to receive such information. It is the industry's desire to protect its right to speak the "truth" under the protection of the First Amendment that I find so ironic. First, I think some disclosures are in order, I was the presiding judge over the first two major tobacco cases--- Cippolone and Haines . After numerous tries, the cigarette companies were finally successful in having me removed from the cases because of the following, single paragraph in one of my many opinions in these cases: "All too often in the choice between the physical health of consumers and the financial well-being of business, concealment is chosen over disclosure, sales over safety and money over morality. Who are these persons who knowingly and secretly decide to put the buying public at risk solely for the purpose of making profits and who believe that illness and death of consumers is an appropriate cost of their own prosperity! As the following facts disclose, despite some rising pretenders to the throne, the tobacco industry may be the king of concealment and disinformation." The history of tobacco advertising and public relations demonstrates that it was aimed at getting people to smoke by making it appear fashionable and safe; encouraging them to continue by debunking its risks; asserting the ease of quitting and denying the existence of addiction and finally encouraging the young to take it up to replace those who were quitting (with great difficulty) or dying from the product or other unrelated causes. The companies decry their right to discuss and publicize their potential "reduced harm" products. Most of you are too young to remember when cigarette advertisements proclaimed by someone posing as a doctor, that a particular brand was good for your "T Zone"----somewhere, as I recall, around your chest and lungs. I don't consider anyone to be a greater advocate of free speech than I. Furthermore, I note that Floyd Abrams represents some of the companies. There is no greater expert nor anyone for whom I have greater respect in this field. I make no prediction as to the outcome of the litigation. But if history is any teacher, I can think of no industry more deserving of scrutiny and strict government regulation consistent with their free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. Limits on free speech in the commercial world must be narrowly construed and directly advance a substantial government interest. Those limits should be imposed with great hesitancy, but if ever an industry deserves them based upon prior conduct, it is the tobacco industry.
 
Michelle Madhok: Never Pay Full Price (or Go to the Mall) Again--We Show You How Top
You would think by now hunting down deals online would be second nature. But quite honestly, there are so many bargains to be had, it's tough to keep up with all of them. Here's our quick guide to sites to bookmark, clubs to join, sale alerts you shouldn't miss, and more. 1. Sample the Wares Can't police the entire interwebs looking for sales? That's what SheFinds is here for. Check out our daily deals for what to buy at a discount . 2. Join the club Save up to 75% on top-of-the-line brands with Members Only sites. Merch is typically first come first serve, so make a habit of trawling the sites as you drink your morning latte. Here are a few bookmark-worthy clubs you should be perusing: Beyond The Rack Gilt Groupe HauteLook Rue La La The Top Secret Or just sign up for our newsletter and get a list of the best sales delivered directly to your inbox every Monday. 3. Shop the virtual bargain bins Every online retailer worth its salt has a sale section, a clearance section, or both. At Shopbop and CoutureCandy , you can sort the sale racks by the percentage you want to save. Net-a-Porter set up a whole site, theOutnet.com , for its on-sale goods, and that site has sales of its own. 4. Extra, extra Sign up for your favorite online stores' newsletters and you'll be hip to all kinds of stuff non-subscribers will never know about, like early sale events and codes for free shipping. (We're always psyched to hear from hip e-stores like Tobi and YOOX .)
 
Natalie Portman Buys A 'Rustic Castle-Like' Hollywood Estate (PHOTO) Top
Natalie Portman bought a charming Hollywood estate, In Touch Weekly reports: There is nothing better than lying on your sofa and doing absolutely nothing," says Natalie Portman, who just purchased this "rustic castle-like" historic estate in an exclusive, secluded enclave of LA. "Natalie wanted a property that had character and integrity, something that was special," says Richard Stanley, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in LA who specializes in architectural and historic properties. "This house is perfect for her," he says of the gorgeous 1930s-era home that the actress paid more than $3 million for. "It's a beautiful home and truly is something special. It's the trophy home of the neighborhood." The restored house is located in the same neighborhood where Hollywood legends like Cecil B. DeMille, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin and Carole Lombard once lived -- and where numerous Hollywood celebs now live today. But it's not the Hollywood label that convinced Natalie that this was the perfect home for her. It has four bedrooms and a private courtyard. It also includes two guest houses, perfect for visiting friends from back East, as well as her parents -- her father, Avner, a fertility doctor, and her mother (and former agent), Shelley, to whom she credits much of her success. "If my career stops, if I do badly in a role or if one of my movies is a total failure, I know I'll still have my parents. It helps me not to be afraid and to take risks," Natalie says. For more exclusive photos of Natalie's new home, check out this week's issue of In Touch, on newsstands now! Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Katie Couric: Diane Sawyer "One Of The Hardest Working People I Know" Top
With the news that Diane Sawyer will be replacing Charlie Gibson as anchor of ABC's "World News," the network newscasts will now feature two female anchors. Katie Couric similarly made the leap from morning show host to evening news anchor when she left NBC's "Today" for the "CBS Evening News." In a statement released to the Huffington Post, Couric had kind words for both Gibson and her new competition in the evening news: Ever since my days as a desk assistant at ABC News, I've always admired Charlie's work. He's a talented reporter, a gifted communicator, and a wonderful person. I wish him all the best. Diane is one of the hardest-working people I know and this new assignment is the latest achievement in an already accomplished and illustrious career. And as I did, I'm sure she'll quickly find that she doesn't miss that early morning alarm clock. More on Katie Couric
 
Mike Alvear: The Ten Best Celebrity Feet (Male Division) Top
Which male celebrity has the best looking feet? I asked a bunch of foot fetishists and here's the list they came up with. Stay tuned for the list of ugliest celebrity feet. I swear, you'll take a look at some of those stubs and yell, "Feets, don't fail me now!" Herewith are the top ten best looking celebrity feet (Male Division). 1. Jude Law 2. Eric Bana 2. Matthew McConoaughew 4. Wentworth Miller 5. Benjamin Bratt 6. Ian Thorpe 7. Jake Gyllenhaal 8. Aaron Eckhart 9. Jack Johnson 10. Brad Pitt The Top 10 Most Beautiful Celebrity WOMEN'S Feet The 10 Best Celebrity Kisses on the Internet The 10 Worst Celebrity Kisses on the Internet
 
Michael Wolff: Afghanistan Could Ruin Everything--Soon! Top
No, really, what are they going to do about Afghanistan? And how much time do they have left to do it? I figure a month. Summer's over, the Afghanistan election is coming to its fraudulent conclusion, the military has apparently just issued its bleakest report yet (still secret, but it will begin to leak out), and, shortly, there will be the inevitable request for ever-more troops. The formal debate got underway yesterday, starting with the conservatives. George Will made the obvious case for getting the hell out of there; Bill Kristol accused him of being a lily-livered traitor. If the conservatives are divided over this war, it's going to be murder among the Democrats. That's the real timetable, or ticking bomb: When do the Democrats, heretofore necessarily patient with the White House, blow? Continue reading on newser.com More on Afghanistan
 
Bil Browning: Cleve Jones: The Man Behind the Curtain Top
I had the opportunity to meet veteran activist Cleve Jones Sunday during his recent visit to Chicago. Bilerico Project readers left questions for Jones in the comment section and sent in more via Twitter , Facebook , and e-mail and I did the interview on their behalf. The response was overwhelming. I read the questions from my iPhone to keep their voices intact. It was their interview so I simply asked what was submitted and tried to get through as many questions as possible. We'll be paraphrasing the questions in the videos, but there will be a full written transcript of all questions and answers soon. This isn't the interview I'd have done, obviously; Projectors' questions ranged from supportive to almost hostile. Instead, I wanted to share my reflections about meeting Jones and spending time watching him interact with Chicago activists - a prologue, if you will, for the Q&A we're prepping. One outstanding impression was simple and all encompassing. Cleve Jones is no gay God; he has feet of clay. I've met many of the LGBT big wigs through the blog - heads of big national organizations, entertainers, and lifelong respected activists I can only hope to emulate. With the exception of my first time meeting Kate Clinton , I'm never really starstruck or, honestly, in awe of their Super Queer powers. For all the massive egos and self-importance, they're people just like you or I. They put on their socks one at a time like everyone else. The Man Behind the Curtain Is Just a Man We met Jones at a Join The Impact Chicago meeting held in a young straight couple's home. By the time we arrived, the official meeting had ended and people were milling about and socializing. Jones was in the back yard swinging the couple's tow-headed toddler up in the air and smothering him with kisses. Many people only know Jones because of the movie Milk , but he stands out in my head because of the AIDS Quilt. I've sewn panels for the Quilt; I have friends and a former lover who's lives are represented on a small square of fabric decorated with my needlework and tears. Most of the young activists in the home's yard, however, knew the veteran activist solely from his relationship with Harvey Milk as portrayed on the big screen. Both glimpses of Jones' life, however, are simply shades of the entire man. As with anyone who's dared to step into a leadership role within our community, he has been both praised and denigrated. I was there to ask him Projector's questions, but I also wanted to satisfy my own curiosity about which role was more accurate - Wealthy Dilettante or Super Gay. Maybe I imagined something more Christ-like. Would I walk into a half circle group of wide-eyed acolytes worshipping at the feet of their chosen celebrity? Or perhaps I expected yet another older activist who'd survived the AIDS crisis and insisted on being held in high esteem for the length of time he'd outlived his friends and peers. Instead of a wannabe demigod, the man I met was entirely human. He laughs often, smokes cigarettes, talks too much and stops to play with children. He is charming, middle-class and disorganized. Who Speaks For the Everyman? It become quickly obvious that the diverse group of young people weren't hanging around to idolize a celebrity activist, they were there to learn how to effectively organize their community. The group didn't want fundraising pitches or bumper stickers; they wanted knowledge on how to change the world. They meant business. They're not your usual armchair activists that make a small donation to a national or state-level group and click a mouse button a few times a year to send an e-mail to a member of Congress. They're opinionated, racially and gender diverse, and active in many progressive issues. They also feel alone and unsupported by the community in general. These young men and women don't feel connected to the national movement. Some of them don't feel like they're a part of their local equality organizations either. They shared their frustrations at local community members lack of motivation and team building. They're radicals looking for a slot to slide into; they have a role to play in the fight for justice but it hasn't been clearly defined. These future leaders are fending for themselves. They're not connected to the power brokers and LGBT old guard who tend to be more cautious and calculating. Who speaks for them? They do. Enter Cleve Jones Like the young activists, he's not wealthy, he's not on a first name basis with all the members of the queer royalty, and he's not a professional political wonk - either inside or out of the LGBT community. He's a labor organizer now who helps to negotiate union contracts for hotel staff and other workers. Jones is over 50, not in the best health, and still seems a little in shock at both his recent celebrity status and the vociferousness of some of the attacks launched his way after he became the march's public face. His years leading the NAMES Project hardened him to the challenges of working inside the LGBT community, but his decade out of the spotlight allowed him to recharge and refocus. His experiences - whether the time spent at Harvey Milk's side, his years as the head of the AIDS Quilt and the subsequent battle for control of it, or his semi-retirement to the California desert - have shaped Jones into the gay community's Rodney Dangerfield. He's always been around, wears his heart on his sleeve, talks constantly, and gets no respect from the establishment. "My only gift worth anything is my ability to talk," he says and the truth of it is soon self-evident. "There seems to be an overwhelming belief that I'm fabulously wealthy and hang out all day by the pool with celebrities and gay leaders. I don't. They say I'm trying to position myself to be the new gay leader, but I'm not. I just want our community to see us we're entitled to equality. We don't have to ask for our rights; they're in the Constitution." Jones, with all of his flaws and baggage, is not King of the Gays. He's an everyday foot soldier with name brand recognition. Like the group of young people meeting in Chicago, he feels the need to step forward and demand equality on his own timeline instead of a pre-determined time table established by Gay Inc. He doesn't feel the community has reached out to those like him and isn't willing to wait for the crumbs the establishment drops occasionally - like cocktail parties at the White House - while stalling on issues of importance like employment and housing protections, Don't Ask Don't Tell, or relationship recognition. Accepting Responsibility For Our Own Leadership As more and more members of the LGBT community grow impatient with the slow advances we've gained, the ranks of disaffected - and imperfect - activists will continue to swell. This ragtag army of eager volunteers are straining at the leash society has put around their necks. They're not satisfied with incrementalism and platitudes. Promises without end do not interest them. America's sea change on LGBT rights hasn't happened in a vacuum. The call to "come out" has been answered and LGBT people are regularly portrayed in the media, given positions of authority, and accepted by their families and friends without prejudice for who they are. Harvey Milk started the clarion call to come out. Thousands of us have continued that mantra and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. One man's idea has turned into the largest benefit the LGBT community has ever had. A man who smoked pot, had multiple sex partners, and tilted at windmills pointed us in the right direction despite his flaws and inconvenient timing for the power establishment. Is it the right time to have another march on Washington? Of course not. There's never a "right" time; there's always going to be a reason to stick with the status quo. There will never be a gay Martin Luther King. Even Harvey Milk was a simple man who stood up for his own rights and ours. There is no LGBT royalty. It's just us. If we want what we're entitled to, we have to demand it. We have to stand up and challenge authority and tradition. We can't count on allies and celebrities to do our work for us. When we have the full equality to which we're entitled, it will be because of the work of the average, the poor, and the flawed. It will be achieved by the work of the many and the everyday citizen. And Cleve Jones, for all his flaws, is one of us. He has feet of clay - as do we all. The King is dead. Long live the Everyman. NOTE: The first two videos of the Cleve Jones interview are up on Bilerico Project now: Cleve Jones on the origins of the National Equality March Bilerico Project's interview with Cleve Jones: National Equality March questions (Crossposted from my home blog, Bilerico Project . Come visit me there to see why both the Washington Post and the Advocate named us one of the top 10 LGBT political blogs in the nation.)
 
Francesca Biller-Safran: Blacks Die at Highest rates in U.S., Healthcare Reform a Matter of Life and Death Top
While healthcare is in need of radical reform for millions of Americans, minorities and especially Blacks have historically suffered disproportionately from poor or non-existent access to even the most primitive of medical care. Grave numbers show that although African-Americans make up only 13.5 percent of the population, when compared to White men, Black men are 2.4 times more likely to die from prostate cancer, 30% percent more likely to die from heart disease; twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and 2.2 times more likely to die from the disease The data is just as grim and more so in some cases for African-American women when compared to white women with a 34% chance of dying from breast cancer although 10% less likely to be diagnosed as many have no access to healthcare; twice as likely to die from stomach cancer, and 22 times higher to be diagnosed with AIDS with a 20 % times higher rate of death. Ironically, the most thunderous vitriol about healthcare being spewed at town hall meetings across the country is both raged and waged by those already gainfully insured who can't bare the thought of sharing the pot with the poor and uninsured. And as any dream of a fair melting pot is being stirred with petulance as is healthcare reform, the democratic ideals of fairness and equality our country was founded on is being mocked with racism and classicism at its most grotesque and conspicuous. With obvious political and social transparency, those most desperate are scarcely heard from as the debate roars from the windy plains of Texas to the cool coasts of the West. This land that too uncommonly boasts a vista of the free of the brave has been landscaped with separate and unequal climates as the generationally uninsured have been disenfranchised and discriminated including a healthy and strong physical stature in society. While 46 million Americans have no insurance, one assurance that can't be denied is the shocking numbers of non-Whites who become ill and die untimely deaths from otherwise preventable and treatable diseases, costing the country more money in the long run as care becomes reactive rather than proactive. "These disparities determine how long we live and how healthy our life is," said Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D., author of 'Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the United States. "Whites live an average of 5-7 years longer than Blacks. African-Americans are more likely than whites to be victims of homicide and HIV/AIDS. Infant mortality is double for Blacks. It's been that way since statistics have been kept," LaVeist said. Health statistics are similar for other minorities, although not as severe when compared in most instances to the Black population, especially insofar as death from AIDS and infant mortality rates. Those opposed to reform defy ignorance while ignoring that although the United States spends more on health care than any industrialized country; it ranks last in the quality of health among 191 member nations, according to The World Health Organization. When rating a country's overall quality of health care, one of the most significant indicators of the population's health is the infant mortality death rate, and numbers are particularly grave for minority infants in the U.S. For African-American babies, the death rate is 2.3 times that of white infants, with four times likely to die from low birth weight. The data is most severe for Native-Americans, with the infant mortality rate topping whites by 48 percent. A stark reality remains that because health insurance is largely employer-based in this country with minorities suffering most from unemployment, healthcare has perpetually been poor or nil. At one town hall meeting, a Caucasian woman's rankle involved attacking any aspect of universal healthcare as "downright un-American and socialist." She said she is "damned near sure" she won't be responsible for picking up the bill for anyone not willing to work hard enough. At another meeting, an older White male complained that his co-pays have gone up so high that his family had to cancel their annual summer vacation to Hawaii, something he has never been "forced to endure." Try telling that story to a Black, Hispanic, Native-American or other member of a minority class with more than 100 million suffering from otherwise treatable diseases and premature death. An African-American colleague laughs bitterly at the prospect that health care might be reformed to any substantive degree. Growing up, his family had no insurance and he remembers missing weeks of school at a time as he suffered from severe asthma they could not afford to treat. His mother and father died from diabetes and a heart attack in their fifties, respectively, and neither had seen a doctor in more than 20 years. "I'm pissed off that suddenly this is big news just because whites are now feeling the pain we have always felt," Carl said. "I guess it took a Black president in order to do something about an accepted part of our reality." Sobering statistics reveal that although Blacks only make up only 13.5 percent of the civilian "non-institutionalized" population, (a relevant note as Blacks made up 41 percent of the nation's 2 million prison inmates) they are 60% more likely to die from a stroke than Whites, and if they survive, they are more likely to become disabled. With the death of Senator Ted Kennedy who called it his life's work to fight for equal and just healthcare as a right for all Americans, perhaps his passing will at the very least bring the true urgency to reform healthcare to the immediate front and center, with the actual passage of equitable healthcare a right for all Americans, rich or poor, healthy or sick, white or minority. President Obama said, "I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year." It is evident with the petulance prattled and screeched vociferously, loud and clear across the rural, urban and multicultural highways that many Americans want rapaciously to keep what they have above all humane decency and compassion, literally leaving the have-nots left out in the cold to fend for their right to the pursuit of happiness as stated in The Declaration of Independence. The document also includes the following declaration: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Martin Luther King's words ring timeless and haunting when he said, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Let's just hope that more individuals choose to truly start living as they help others to realize the dream of a healthy, just and humane life as well, as defined by a country of people whose lives literally hang in the balance of both power and political injustice. More on HIV/AIDS
 
Reporters Uncensored: The Rape of the Congo Top
--Zach Schubert The UN calls the Democratic Republic of the Congo the new rape capital of the world. By their estimate, 35,000 women have been raped there since January. As ethnic militias continue to fight a decade long civil war, the use of sexual violence as a weapon of terror has risen to an almost unprecedented level. In the late 19th century, the Congo Free State was founded as a colony of Belgium. Since it abruptly gained independence in 1960 it was immediately bogged by corruption. When Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in 1965, briefly renaming the country Zaire, he presided over a notoriously corrupt and inhumane government. He was overthrown during the Rwandan civil war, after the Rwandan government supported a Zairian rebel group in the hopes of clearing Tutsi camps that had crossed the border. When the newly installed president, Laurent D. Kabila, again split with his Rwandan supporters a year later, a second civil war sparked what would become "Africa's first world war." A decade later, Congolese troops continue to clash with Interahamwe, the Rwandan rebels who first started the genocide. Although ethnic violence is pervasive, it also masks a deeper struggle over the Congo's uniquely valuable resources. The Congo, as large as Western Europe, contains 80 percent of the world's coltan. Coltan, a metal that conducts heat exceptionally brilliantly, is an essential component in cell phones and laptops. It can be mined by anyone will a shovel, leading to shallow pockmarks all across the country. It is largely for this reason, under the pretense of hunting Tutsi fighters, that the Interahamwe persist. The practice of rape as a weapon of war spread to the Congo through the Interahamwe, though now soldiers on both sides use it. The weapon's power is its ability to demoralize an enemy. Says Zainab Salbi of Women for Women International, "When a husband is forced to see the rape of his wife or his daughter in front of him, this is a complete emasculation of the husband, and telling the whole society that we are destroying the most respected members of your society." In recent months, this tactic of humiliation has found a new outlet: men raping other men. Homosexuality is taboo in Congolese culture, and the trauma victims suffer can be crippling. Many seek help only if their health is threatened. Others, unwilling to suffer the shame, die untreated. Adding to the danger is the increasing spread of sexually transmitted disease and HIV. In a country where HIV is already rampant and medical resources are scarce, rape wards have shown a surge of HIV positive patients. Joining us via Skype this week is Keith Harmon Snow, an independent journalist, war correspondent and photographer. Keith has worked as a genocide investigator and serves on the advisory board of the Friends of the Congo. He will further discuss the history of the conflict, as well as the role of the Congolese and Rwandan governments. Also Skyping in will be RUTV political analyst Omoyele Sowore. He will deliver his own analysis on the culture of rape based on his experiences as a journalist in Africa. We're live at 6pm (EDT) Wednesday and on demand at www.livestream.com/reportersuncensored. More on Congo
 
Teresa Rodriguez Williamson: Iran: My Biggest Regret Top
In March, a few of my Persian friends from the band Shams Ensemble asked me to join them on their trip to Tehran. Three of the band members live in California, while the others live in Iran. My friends planned on staying a month to celebrate Narooz, the Persian New Year , and I planned to go for a few weeks to meet the other band members, their families, and to submerge myself in their beautiful Persian culture. Narooz is a 13-day celebration that begins each year on the first day of Spring. The weeks leading up to the holiday are saturated with sights, smells, and the sounds of revival: pastries are baked, seeds sprouted, and troubadors -- known as Haji Firuz -- dress up in makeup and brightly-colored free-flowing outfits parade through the streets, singing and dancing with tambourines, kettle drums, and trumpets. Like other cultures and religions that celebrate the Spring Equinox, Iranians focus on family unity -- hence the length of festivities -- and designate the season of rebirth as an opportunity to reconnect with each other. I felt honored that my friends would invite me to share in this holiday with their families and dreamt about an authentic introduction to Iranian culture. I Googled the Azadi Tower and spent nights fantasizing about symbolically entering this gateway into the country. I was walking around the structure with my friends, enjoying the warm Tehran nights and learning a few words in Farsi. My darling friend Shahab smiled when I told him this, and in his endearingly broken English he spoke of eating sweet medjool dates and sipping mint tea with his mother. He plays percussion in the band, and in his spare time, he plays the cello. My friends talked about the beautiful Mashhad countryside, which is home to the ancient and opulent Astan Quds Razavi library. Constructed circa 937 A.D. , this gilded splendor is considered the most important library in the Islamic world. It is home to hundreds of thousands of original books, manuscripts, and priceless relics. An unabridged bookworm, this was one of my definite must-dos. For weeks I dreamed about this trip. My friends were as excited as I was. They looked forward to showing me their homes, introducing me to their families, and - as tradition demands -- on kebob and saffron rice. They laughed at the thought of me covered, and initially I was intimidated by the prospect of concealing my hair -- which I spend a fortune on, by the way -- but my friends assured me I could still wear my Manolo Blahniks under my Hijab, and that was encouraging. After doing a bit of research I found there are many.... um.... ways to wear a Hijab. Take a look: But then I got busy, and I forgot the warm smiles of my Persian friends who so graciously offered to take care of my visa and book my flights. They all -- every one of them -- offered their homes to me. But I ran out of time, and never cleared my schedule. Instead of focusing on the incredible opportunity I was given, I worried about my business and my bank account. My friends did visit Iran -- without me. They returned with stories of a peaceful and happy reunion with their friends and family. This was before the terror of the election nightmares. Before tear gas and riots, before innocent people were shot at point-blank. Before something as personal as Facebook accounts were shut down. I missed an incredible opportunity. In light of everything that happened I regret not having gone to Iran with my friends. And am sad to think I don't have a chance to go back for a very long time. And if, or when I do, things won't be the same. Thankfully most of my friends left Tehran before hell broke open. But a few are still there, and I am happy to report they'll be in California next week. Together again, we will eat kebob and sip on mint tea. But it won't be under the warm Persian sun. Instead, an invisible weight will hang over us -- a distorted reality that has cloaked the country in outrage since the election -- and, coupled with my own regret at not having gone with them when I could have, we will wonder whether we missed out on a shared experience we cannot ever have. This has taught me a great lesson: When given an opportunity, seize it! I can always make more money. But I can't make more time -- and I certainly won't always be given such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Yes, my friends are coming to the United States to perform three concerts. They can't perform in Iran, after all, they have women in the band, and they did write the song that became the anthem for the Green Revolution. The concert they are performing in San Francisco is to raise money for Amnesty International . Here are the details of their US concerts: What: Shams Ensemble presents "Voices of Freedom" When: Sunday, September 27th, 2009 @ 7 pm Where: Davies Symphony Hall 201 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA Visit www.CityBoxOffice.com or call 415.392.4400 New York: Rose Hall at Lincoln Center October 3, 2009 @ 8 pm For ticket info visit www.jalc.org or call 212.721.6500 Los Angeles: Royce Hall at UCLA October 10, 2009 @ 8pm For ticket info visit www.uclalive.org or call 310.825.2101 Check out Ali Majdfar's incredible photos of Iran's beautiful countryside. Big thanks to music lover Evan Karp and TDWMedia.com . More on Iran
 
Rep. Jack Franks: Franks to Blago: Don't Spend it All at Once Top
Rod Blagojevich would be wise to put aside any profits from his new book, The Governor , because if he's convicted on the federal charges against him he will have to surrender those profits to the state of Illinois. I have not purchased or read The Governor , however, I have been following the news articles and reports on the book's early release and have been amused by the excerpts that I've seen from the book. It is a self-serving diatribe designed to influence a jury pool rather than a tell-all, expose-the-bad-guys type of book. Back in February, I filed House Bill 4078 before Blagojevich inked his six-figure book deal in anticipation that he would continue his habit of trying to turn a profit by feeding off the citizens of Illinois. The bill was signed into law August 18, 2009. Now, if Blagojevich is convicted on the federal charges against him, he will have to forfeit all profits gained from his participation in any activities based on his notoriety to the state of Illinois. That will include profits from The Governor , any paid radio and television appearances, his Web site and more. The people of Illinois have paid dearly for the mistakes of Rod Blagojevich. His legacy as governor has left our state in the worst fiscal crisis it has ever seen, due in part to his circumventing the legislature and developing programs which the state did not, and does not, have the money to fund, as well as repeatedly stalemating the budgeting process each of his six years in office. His actions as one of the most mislead leaders in Illinois history should not be rewarded financially, and he should not profit from sharing his story with the world. Critics of the new law say it violates Blagojevich's first amendment rights, but it does no such thing. Blagojevich absolutely has the right to say whatever he wants, write as many books as he wants and share his side of the story with whomever he chooses. However, if he is convicted, all those monies can then the turned over to the state. He has a family to support like the rest of us, and like us he could do the honest thing and get a real job. He needs to understand, as all crooked politicians must know, that crime does not pay. If convicted, instead of cashing in, he will be cashing out. More on Rod Blagojevich
 
Harry Moroz: The Libertarian Gotcha Top
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act , a bill signed into law in 2008 in response to the Year of the Recall , is generating quite a bit of controversy for a measure designed to protect children from lead and other unsafe consumer products. Thrift and resale shops, along with small toy manufacturers, have complained since the law's passage that its ban on the manufacturing and sale of products with more than the tiniest amount of lead and its requirement for third-party testing would drive these small establishments out of business. In essence, the criticism is that the CPSIA's regulation of children's products is both too strict and overly broad because it includes a comprehensive ban on the manufacture and sale of everything from older children's books to toys and clothes. A June Reason magazine article outlines how "hipster moms" - owners of mom-and-pop toy shops - and conservative politicians are uniting against the repressive "regulatory state" imposed by the law. Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum, no right-winger, called the ban "draconian." To add insult to injury, Reason 's blog Hit and Run passed on word from the AP earlier this week that the Consumer Product Safety Commission had permitted Mattel, one of the biggest culprits during the Year of the Recall, to use its own laboratories in countries like Malaysia and Mexico to fulfill the law's mandatory testing requirements. Reason concluded that Mattel's lobbying, which resulted in a provision allowing these in-house labs to be certified by the CPSC, has given Mattel "a cost advantage on mandatory testing, and a handy new government-sponsored barrier to entry for its competitors." Drum wrote, simply, "this just stinks." Proposed changes to the law that would exempt the small toymakers and resale shops from the CPSIA's requirements seem reasonable. A food safety bill passed by the House in June included exemptions for farmer's markets and other direct-to-consumer sellers. Plus, consumers who shop at thrift stores usually know that they are buying a product whose quality is degraded by age or use and might be dangerous: the type of shop itself provides a signal to consumers about what they are purchasing. If they are concerned about toy safety, they can go elsewhere. And yet, there is something suspicious about the battering that the CPSIA is taking. Indeed, in recent months complaints of "statist" regulation have become more frequent as conservatives complain that bureaucrats are entering parts of our lives that were previously sacred. For instance, the financial services industry worries that a Consumer Product Safety Commission would stifle financial innovation, though we - and economists - are at pains to describe exactly what financial innovation has done for us recently. Regulation has once again become a whipping boy that cannot possibly improve consumers' lives, but can only create "barriers to entry" for small businesses. I can understand the concerns of the small toymaker. But let's not forget that children's products that contain lead are dangerous. Let's not assume that the CPSC is unyielding to toymakers' concerns when the agency has issued statements (even if less than crystal clear) that it will not enforce the CPSIA ban against the children's products like children's books that contain lead but have never caused lead poisoning. Let's also not forget that not everyone who shops at a thrift store is a "hipster mom" who can shop elsewhere: should we not protect consumers who shop second-hand out of necessity? The libertarian "gotcha" in the CPSIA is the story about the certification of Mattel's labs. The lesson is that regulation inevitably has significant unintended consequences that hurt the small guy and that its purpose is inevitably contorted to the benefit of the big guy with the resources to lobby. As compelling as this story is, though, it is incomplete. Prior to the CPSIA, Mattel would certify the safety of its children's products only if it felt like it and always in the lab of its choice. That is, the libertarian preference existed prior to the CPSIA and the result was a year in which Mattel had to recall 13 products . Now, the Consumer Product Safety Commission must certify that the labs used by Mattel actually meet the Commission's safety standards. In fact, the CPSC disapproved one of Mattel's labs that applied for certification. Previously, Mattel's cost-advantage came from outsourcing manufacturing and testing services and fabricating faulty and dangerous products. Now, its cost-advantage must come from manufacturing quality products that meet CPSC standards. This is not to say that Mattel did not exert inappropriate or undesirable influence over the CPSC or to downplay the concerns of small businesses. But the suggestion that regulation always distorts the market in ways that harm both consumers and producers is wrong. The goal is better regulation, not less.
 
Trey Ellis: Passion and Anger Are Potent Weapons in the Hand of the Calm and Collected Top
All right. So the Dems have been swiftboated again . The Republicans throw out a series of outlandish lies worthy of a grade-school playground (whole-scale granny-cide, John Kerry ate human flesh while patrolling the Mekong Delta) and the Democrats try to just laugh it off. The Dems chortle, "Who would ever encourage such nonsense." Um, how about every single possible news outlet? Crazy sells. Crazy brings eyeballs to the flat screen. How hard is that to understand? Even if it's against your nature a rapid, vigorous counter attack is the only logical choice. But the most corrosive effect of Democratic leadership passivity in response to high-pitched lunatic right wing charges is to the Democratic masses. There is nothing more dispiriting than watching the people you've elected to lead you be bullied. Especially when the opponent stands at an historic level of weakness. It's like watching your big, strapping dad get beat up by your scrawny weasel of a next-door neighbor. The President's poll numbers have fallen not because of policy but because he's being perceived as weak and that weakness scares us. It doesn't have to be this way. This is health care we're talking about. Actual lives stand in the balance. Why is there only passion on the side of keeping things the way they are? What we need right now is some fire. If you're always angry and shouting, like O'Reilly or Beck, folks learn to tune out. However, as in Obama's case, if you're known for your calm, then anger, used judiciously, can be devastatingly effective. As a parent to young kids he must know that. When they're really out of line you have to shout. You have to discipline. Kids constantly test the boundaries of their powers and will take over a household if the parents aren't stern enough. Republicans are the same way. Republicans in the minority are cranky and thin-skinned and shrill. But they are not in charge anymore. Senator Grassley's betrayal, for example, could have been an excellent, teachable moment. When he jumped on the death panel bandwagon the White House needed to immediately and publicly scold him and kick him out of the gang of six. He was given tremendous, unwarranted power and, wham!, that power should have been instantly and ferociously taken away. If he wanted to come back and play he would have to say he was sorry and be a good, compliant boy from now on. Other Republicans and Democrats unwilling to play nice would then be on notice. The President would be saying, "I'm patient up to a point but if you get way out of line I will be stern and merciless." Right now, nobody fears the President, and no change that we can believe in will come to policies favorable to entrenched and well-funded special interests without some passion and anger. When kids are acting up they have to know that there are consequences. You can't well parent a household without a healthy dose of fear. More on Health Care
 
Thomas Frank: Why Democrats Are Losing on Health Care Top
What's dragging the Democrats down in the health-care debate isn't confusion about details. On this the president and his supporters have proven themselves the ablest of technocrats, easily identifying each plan's particulars and its shortcomings, laying everything out on nice flow charts. It is the big questions that are tripping them up. Concerns about the size and role of government are what seem to leave reformers stammering and speechless in town-hall meetings. The right wants to have a debate over fundamental principles; elected Democrats seem incapable of giving it to them. And in the silence, some lousy ideas have flourished. If universal health insurance goes down to defeat again this year, Democrats will have to live with the shame not only of having failed to enact their No. 1 priority, but also of having been beaten by arguments that a novice debater would have no trouble putting down. Consider the assertion, repeated often in different forms, that health insurance is a form of property, a matter of pure personal responsibility. Those who have insurance, the argument goes, have it because they've played by the rules. Sure, insurance is expensive, but being prudent people, they recognized that they needed it, and so they worked hard, chose good employers, and got insurance privately, the way you're supposed to. Those who don't have what they need, on the other hand, should have thought of that before they chose a toxic life of fast food and fast morals. Healthiness is, in this sense, how the market tests your compliance with its rules, and the idea of having to bail out those who failed the test--why, the suggestion itself is offensive. We have all heard some version of the concluding line, usually delivered in the key of fury: By what right do you ask me to pay for someone else's health care? This image of sturdy loners carving their way through a tough world is an attractive one. But there is no aspect of life where it makes less sense than health care. To begin with, we already pay for other people's health care; that's how insurance works, with customers guarding collectively against risks that none of them can afford to face individually. Our health-care dollars are well mingled already, with some of us paying in more than we consume while others use our money to secure medical services for themselves alone. The only truly individualistic health-care choice--where you receive care that is unpolluted by anyone else's funds--is to forgo insurance altogether, paying out-of-pocket for health services as you need them. Of course, such a system would eventually become the opposite of the moral test imagined by our Calvinist friends, with the market slowly weeding its true believers out of the population. The idea that merit determines healthiness is almost as risible. To be sure, we should all eat right, brush our teeth, and cut down on sweets, but that will hardly help us if we're born with a condition that requires expensive treatment. Or if we eat cookie dough that's tainted with E. coli. Or if our industry dies and our employer shuts down. Or if our insurance company, looking out for its own health, finds some pretext to rescind our policy. The righteous individualists among us might also consider that our current health-insurance system, which delivers them the medicine they think they've earned, is in fact massively subsidized by government, with Uncle Sam using the tax code to encourage employers to buy health insurance. And were it not for government programs like Medicare and Medicaid taking over the most expensive populations, the political scientist Jacob Hacker pointed out to me recently, the system of private insurance would probably have destroyed itself long ago. That image we cherish of our ruggedly self-reliant selves, in other words, is only possible thanks to Lyndon Johnson and the statist views of our New Dealer ancestors. One reason government got involved is that our ancestors understood something that escapes those who brag so loudly about their prudence at today's town-hall meetings: That health care is not an individual commodity to be bought and enjoyed like other products. That the health of each of us depends on the health of the rest of us, as epidemics from the Middle Ages to this year's flu have demonstrated. Health care is "a public good," says the Chicago labor lawyer Tom Geoghegan. "You can't capture health care just for yourself. You have to share it with others in order to protect your own health." Yes, Democrats can prove that America pays more for health care than other countries; yes, they have won the dispute that private health insurance is needlessly expensive. But what they've lost is the argument that we are a society. Read other Opinion Journal articles: Inventing a Future for AIG California's Man-Made Drought
 
Joe Territo: Atlantic City (and all of New Jersey) Bets on Green Energy Top
Where can you find the largest solar roof in America? What state seriously is trying to become the nation's hotbed of wind power? No. The correct answers are: New Jersey, and New Jersey. Despite the refinery-fueled appearance of environmental wasteland that New Yorkers see when they cross the Hudson and head down the Turnpike, the Garden State - as quietly as a hybrid engine - also is becoming the Green State. The Atlantic City Convention Center has the largest solar roof in the nation , powering more than a quarter of the building's electricity. A report in the Press of Atlantic City says the Center also is about to get a $1.5 million grant for wind turbines to increase its green power. On the other side of the South Jersey peninsula, Delsea Energy of Toms River has proposed a 160-turbine wind farm in the Delaware Bay . The Associated Press today reports the state government is opposing that plan because it could threaten birds. The state is not trying to reject it, but seeking changes as not to disrupt a major stopover for winged creatures that migrate along the East Coast. New Jersey also has plans to power more than 64,000 homes with solar energy by 2013 , while a water agency in the state considers harnessing hydropower . So the next time you hold your nose while filling up with cheap gas at the Vince Lombardi rest stop, breathe easy knowing New Jersey is doing its part to clean up our environment and decrease dependence on fossil fuels.
 
Jennifer Grayson: Eco Etiquette: The Obsessively Organic Parent, Best Green Cleaners Top
I am mom to the most magnificent 5-year-old girl, and am admittedly obsessive about her health -- especially when it comes to the food she eats. We only eat organic, and I rarely allow sugary treats in the house (the closest we get is home-baked oatmeal cookies made with honey). My dilemma: Now that she's old enough to start having play dates, I'm sending her to homes where kids eat all sorts of junk. The parents don't even know what "organic" means! Even at the homes of her friends who do eat relatively healthy, I still don't want her ingesting all the pesticides, growth hormones, etc., from conventional foods. Do I send her off to her play dates with her own snacks? Or should I only let her have play dates at our house, where I can control what she eats? -Bonnie I'm not yet a mother, but I fully understand your desire to go to any length to ensure your daughter's health and well-being. It's a scary world out there -- the incidence of childhood cancers , autism , even type 1 diabetes is increasing, and no one has conclusively determined what environmental factors may be to blame. There's an old adage that I often play over in my head when I feel frustrated by the overwhelming urge to hide in a little green corner of my home, where I never have to deal with the environmental hazards of everyday life, like breathing the smog-filled air in Los Angeles, or using a cell phone : God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Sure, you could send your daughter off to every single play date accompanied by organic carrot sticks and tamari roasted almonds -- and you could also risk alienating the parents of your daughter's friends by lecturing them about the garbage they're feeding their own children -- but what's going to happen when she's in a situation that you can't reasonably control or change, like visiting the gift shop on a school field trip (space ice cream!) or when she's 18 years old, off at college, and facing the frozen yogurt machine in her dining hall at breakfast? Don't discount the stress, either, of making your daughter feel like she has to be perfect all the time, or of being singled out to eat whole grains while her friends feast on Toaster Strudels; I would argue that having fun and throwing caution to the wind on occasion is just as important to overall health as a strict organic diet. Better to turn this into a teachable moment. She's only 5, but it's not too early to plant the seeds of green living. If you're not already, make it a habit to take her grocery shopping with you and explain why it's important to our health and the environment to choose organic foods when we can, but that it's not a perfect world and part of growing up is learning how to make educated choices. And when her friends visit your house for play dates and you serve healthy yet delicious snacks, you can smile knowingly when you overhear your 5-year-old elucidate to her pals why they, too, should eat organic. For the ultimate reassurance, just look at me: Long before green was cool and my friends were gobbling up chicken nuggets and tater tots in the cafeteria, my mom sent me off to school every day (at age 5) with organic tomato, mozzarella, and arugula sandwiches on home-baked nine-grain bread. But every once in a while, my dad would slip in a Hostess Cup Cake. Without that, I would have probably ended up a neurotic, crazed eco-zealot with no friends, instead of the beacon of reasonable green wisdom I've now become. What are your favorite eco-friendly household cleaners? There are so many on the store shelves now that I barely know which ones are effective, let alone which are truly safe for the environment. -Tad It's good news that the shelves are so crowded with green cleaners, because it means that market demand is moving away from products that are hazardous to our health, polluting our waterways, and increasing our dependence on foreign oil (most conventional cleaning products are petroleum-based). Even bleach behemoth Clorox has a line of eco cleaning products, and a very successful one at that; at last count, the company had cornered 42 percent of the natural cleaners market. But despite the plethora of pretty looking citrus-/lavender-/cucumber-scented soaps, sprays, and scrubs, I'm still a fan of what Urban Homestead authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen dubbed the "holy trinity" of household cleaning at their recent workshop that I attended: baking soda, distilled white vinegar, and Dr. Bronner's soap. The brilliant part about baking soda and vinegar is that they're dirt cheap (Dr. Bronner's is a bit pricier, but a little goes a really long way). Some ideas: Combine 2 cups of water and 1/4 cup vinegar in a spray bottle for an ammonia-free window cleaner (add 1/2 tsp. of soap for the first cleaning); sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge to wipe down kitchen surfaces; and add a squirt of Dr. Bronner's to a pail of warm water to mop your floors. Too DIY for your taste? Look for cleaners that are free of ammonia, chlorine, triclosan, petroleum, phosphates, and artificial fragrances. (Labels like "nontoxic" and "biodegradable" are helpful clues, too.) Send all your eco-inquiries to Jennifer Grayson at eco.etiquette@gmail.com . Questions may be edited for length and clarity.
 
James Hoggan: The Dose Makes the Poison -- in Chemicals and in Public Relations Top
In the face of every toxic threat that humans have yet created, here is a realization that is equally optimistic and discouraging: humans needn't fear science; but we should be terrified by the lies we tell ourselves about the good and bad things that human "mastery" of science can bring. This point struck me as I was reading Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie 's excellent book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck . As the lighthearted title suggests, this is a jaunty walk through the horrors of chemical poisoning -- a very personal voyage of discovery by the authors, who actually arranged for themselves typical exposures to the kinds of cancer-causing chemicals that all of us might run into on any particular day. Their conclusion (minor): risks lurk around every corner. Their conclusion (major): Our failure to recognize and regulate those risks is not based on a lack of knowledge. It's based on a high degree of societal recklessness that flows directly from leaving the chemical salespeople in charge of risk management. The chemical and pharmacological industries' profit-driven public relations is trumping our efforts to make prudent judgments about our health and safety. As regular readers of my columns will know, this is certainly the case in the fossil fuel/climate change discussion. Although we know the risks of a warming world - although the science is clear and the physics quite simple - a dedicated group of people have fought to instill doubt, arguing that climate change isn't happening, isn't our fault or isn't going to be a bad thing. For example, the coal company coalition, the Western Fuels Association, launched a campaign in the early 1990s to convince people that pouring greenhouse gases into the air will be good for the world because plants rely on CO2 for energy. But as every alcoholic knows, there are serious risks to getting too much of a good thing. Smith and Lourie contemplate this truth by quoting the wisdom of the 16th century philosopher and physician Paracelsus , who said: "All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous." As Lourie and Smith demonstrate, we're often getting too much of a good thing - and there are some things out there that are so bad for humans that there is no "safe" level of exposure - no point at which they are NOT a poison. Notwithstanding, there are always people around telling us that we shouldn't pay too much attention to risk. Smith and Lourie quote Gideon Forman, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Physicians, who is particularly critical of PR campaigns to minimize risk. In reference to the role that chemical companies play in the debate over the toxicity of pesticides, Forman says: "Much of it is based on the sort of thinking that was used by the tobacco lobby. The first thing they say is that there is no science connecting cigarettes to cancer or pesticides to cancer. And then the whole thrust of what the industry does is to place doubts in the minds of legislators. So industry doesn't have to prove anything. They just have to raise doubt and that was exactly their game plan with tobacco." But, as Death by Duck documents, the industry types do more than push a particular argument. They sponsor high-tone organizations like the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, the founding director of which was Dr. John Graham, who George W. Bush rewarded in 2001 with an appointment as head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Graham, an individual on whom Americans were counting for good advice as a research leader and sage practice as a bureaucrat, was guest speaker at a conference that Rick Smith attended in the late 1990s. Graham "talked about the potential benefits of global warming and how noxious emissions from coal plants may be good for our farms. He also suggested that too little research has been done on the potential health benefits of dioxin, one of the world's most notoriously deadly substances. People like Graham are supposed to be the gatekeepers. They're the ones who we rely upon to look after our interests. When you grab an baby bottle off the shelf and use it to feed your infant, you want to believe that responsible people -- in industry as well as in government -- are using the precautionary principle as a way of saving us from risk. You don't want to think that you fed all your children a dangerous organic compound called Bisphenal A. If that's how you think, Smith and Lourie have depressing news. On too many issues, it seems that industry and government have failed dramatically in fulfilling this responsibility. But if you fear that Death by Duck will be a downer, take heart. The authors have kept their own optimism and have crafted a final chapter full of good advice for avoiding the threats of our toxic day-to-day. But they also urge people to get involved -- to push government to be more responsible in its regulatory duties. Nobody begrudges the taxes they pay for services they actually want. But everyone resents the missing billions that were spent NOT protecting us from threats like DDT -- which, even when this image ran in a 1947 advertising campaign, was already drawing attention as a potentially harmful chemical. We deserve better, but we will only get it if we demand it. If you doubt that, read Slow Death by Rubber Duck. It will inspire you.
 
Mike Elk: Labor Gets Tough and Threatens to Cut Off Cowardly Democrats Top
For a long time, Corporate Democrats have taken advantage of organized labor to mobilize voters for them and fund their campaigns. However, when big votes come up against powerful corporate interests, these Democrats continually abandon organized labor on key issues like the public option, Employee Free Choice Act, trade agreements, and other issues important for working people. Ironically, they still go back to labor when they need them to get elected and in the past labor has often complied, giving them funds and ground troops. Speaking yesterday at the Center for American Progress, Richard Trumka, the incoming president of the AFL-CIO, said those days are over. He put a shoot across the bowel of such cowardly Democrats: Today, more than ever, we need to be a labor movement that stands by our friends, punishes its enemies, and challenges those who, well, can't seem to decide which side they're on. I'm talking about the politicians who always want us to turn out our members to vote for them, but who somehow, always seem to forget workers after the votes are counted. In an effort to counter wavering Democrats, organized labor has asked Democrats a fundamental question: Which Side Are They On? Democrats are either with working people or against them. This isn't just some rhetoric designed to be molded to some vague, yet-to-be-defined compromise: Labor is making very specific demands. In an interview today on Politico , incoming AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said that the AFL-CIO will not support a bill that does not have a public option, an employer mandate for coverage, and no tax on employer-provided health benefits. These are serious demands that every Democrat will now be forced to listen to due to labor's threat to cut off support. The labor movement under the leadership of Richard Trumka intends to be much more aggressive in forcing Democrats to stand by their campaign promises to working people. Speaking last month at the Sheet Metal Workers Convention, Richard Trumka said : Well, we need to send them a special message: it's that you may have forgotten what the labor movement did to get you elected; but, by God, we never will! And if you stab us in the back on health care this year don't you dare ask us for our support next year! The labor movement is saying no surrender, no defeat in our fight for health care, an economy for all, the Employee Free Choice Act, and a host of other issues. The days of labor movement laying down and accepting what Democrats offer to give them are over. The message to Democrats is clear: "Which Side Are You On?" . You are either with us or against us.
 
New York Jets Sing John Madden Karaoke On Jimmy Fallon (VIDEO) Top
New York Jet players Dustin Keller, Kerry Rhodes, and Jerricho Cotchery dropped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to sing some remixed John Madden karaoke. Jets' fans better hope that these guys can play better than they can sing. More on Jimmy Fallon
 
Charlie Gibson's Announcement E-Mail: "I Love This News Department...To The Depths Of My Soul" Top
Below is the text of the e-mail Charlie Gibson sent to colleagues at ABC's "World News" announcing his departure from the program . He will retire in January, and Diane Sawyer will succeed him. I have always been taught you should never bury the lead - so I write to tell you that I have told David Westin I want to step down as anchor of World News, and retire from full time employment at ABC News. It has not been an easy decision to make. This has been my professional home for almost 35 years. And I love this news department, and all who work in it, to the depths of my soul. I have received much comment, and quite a few emails and letters referring to the signoff Eddie Pinder convinced me to use - wishing that everyone has had a good day. But the proudest part for me has been saying "...for all of us at ABC News...", since those words signify in my mind that I have been in a position to speak for an entire news department that I consider second to none. It had been my intention to step down from my job at Good Morning America in 2007 but with Peter's illness, Bob's injuries, and Elizabeth's pregnancy, the job at World News came open in May of 2006, and David asked me to step in as anchor. It was an honor to do so. The program is now operating at a very accelerated, but steady, cruising speed, and I think it is an opportune time for a transition - both for the broadcast and for me. Life is dynamic; it is not static. I have told David I would like to continue in some capacity contributing occasionally to ABC News. He has been receptive to the idea - and we will be discussing what that role might be. Most importantly, my heart is full of gratitude for those with whom I have had the privilege to work as a correspondent, as a host at Good Morning America, at Special Events, and now as anchor at World News. I'll be anchoring World News through December and will have a chance to thank many of you personally. In the meantime let's get back to the news. More on ABC
 
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, Lockerbie Bomber, Taken To Intensive Care Top
TRIPOLI, Libya — The only man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was taken to intensive care Wednesday after his illness from terminal prostate cancer worsened, family members said. According to Libyan officials, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's health has swiftly deteriorated since he was released from a Scottish prison less than two weeks ago and returned home to Libya to die. The family members, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said they have not been allowed to visit him and there was no way to independently verify al-Megrahi's condition. Scottish officials released al-Megrahi from prison on Aug. 20 on compassionate grounds, sparking an international uproar. At the time, Scottish officials said doctors had determined he had less than three months to live. On Tuesday, the head of the Libyan State Information Agency, Majid al-Dursi, said al-Megrahi is in the hospital and described him as "very sick." "His health is deteriorating fast since he arrived," al-Dursi said. Asked how long al-Megrahi could still have to live, he answered: "Only God knows when it will be over. But he is dying now." Television footage on Britain's Channel 4 Sunday showed al-Megrahi in the hospital, breathing through an oxygen mask and propped up by pillows. Al-Megrahi was the only person convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 people on board the plane and 11 people on the ground. His release from prison has been sharply criticized by victims' families in the United States, President Barack Obama and FBI director Robert Mueller. The release and return to Libya, where he was greeted warmly at the airport by cheering supporters, has outraged many of the Lockerbie victims' families and raised questions about whether he was freed to facilitate lucrative oil trade with Libya. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought Wednesday to beat back criticism surrounding the release, insisting that he gave no assurances to Libya's leaders that the bomber would be freed in exchange for oil contracts. Scotland has also denied that business interests had anything to do with allowing al-Megrahi to leave prison after completing only eight years of his life sentence. Britain has regional governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that are responsible for local issues but retains power over foreign policy. Britain has growing economic interests in Libya – from oil exploration to financial services. Last year, British imports from Libya topped some 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion). Scotland has defended the release, arguing that compassionate release is a standard part of Scottish justice for dying prisoners.
 
UC Davis Report: Gunshows Linked To Crime Top
The UC Davis Violence Prevention program will release a report today that claims guns shows are a major source of weapons used in crimes.
 
Quinn Tops Hynes For Governor In New Poll Commissioned By His Campaign Top
Gov. Pat Quinn recently commissioned a statewide poll measuring both his and challenger Dan Hynes' support among Democratic voters. The survey, conducted by Democratic pollster Anzalone Liszt, found Quinn leading the state comptroller by 28 points on the sample ballot.
 
"Negro" Used On School Form Top
Faced with complaints from parents and students about racial insensitivity, state and local education officials have dropped the word negro from a racial background form that went out to every Broward public school student the first day of school.
 
The Media Consortium: The Daily Pulse: Deep Six the Gang of Six Top
By Lindsay Beyerstein, TMC MediaWire Blogger Ed. note: The Weekly Pulse is becoming the Daily Pulse for September. Every weekday, we'll bring you highlights from the health care reform debate, including exclusive video interviews with leading experts and independent journalists each Friday. Even better, you can be a part of the conversation . Stay tuned to find out more! A power shift is underway in Washington. Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick announced on Monday that a special election to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy would not take place until January 19, 2010. With Kennedy's seat empty, the Democrats no longer have the 60 votes they need to break a filibuster in the Senate. Up until this point, the White House was hoping for a compromise bill that the entire Democratic caucus, and maybe even a few Republicans, could agree on. Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly notes that the Gang of Six has made itself irrelevant. These powerful members of the Senate Finance Committee were in charge of hammering out a bipartisan health care bill.  They forgot that they were only powerful if people believed a bipartisan compromise was attainable. Talking Points Memo reports that the White House has given up on Republican gangster Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY). They finally got the hint when Enzi told a radio listeners that Democrats wanted to kill the elderly with comparative efficacy research. The White House should have cut its losses two weeks ago when Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) repeated the "death panel" meme at a town hall meeting.  Grassley has also been raising money campaigning against "Obama-care." It's looking more and more like the Democrats will have to look to budget reconciliation, a special parliamentary procedure that could sidestep a filibuster and pass a healthcare bill by a simple majority vote. In Salon, Robert Reich pleads with the congressional Democrats to instill some party discipline in their caucus. America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's top lobby group, dispatched 50,000 employees to town halls to fight the public option. Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones took a cue from Michael Moore in Sicko . She asks AHIP what kind of insurance their top lobbyist has. Mencimer says AHIP was so standoffish you'd think she had a preexisting condition. In Mother Jones , Ben Buchwalter and Nikki Gloudeman take a closer look at the corporate megabucks behind the town hall brawls . Corporate enemies of healthcare reform are using front groups like FreedomWorks to organize angry mobs at town hall meetings. Zach Roth of TPM Muckraker reports that "legendary GOP bamboozler" Howard Kaloogian has launched a tea party bus tour to protest healthcare reform. Speaking of frauds, you've probably heard about so-called crisis pregnancy centers that pose as abortion clinics in order to cajole women into having babies. Ever wonder what happens to those babies? In the Nation , Kathryn Joyce goes inside the world of high-pressure Christian adoption agencies that support desperate women, as long as they promise to give up their babies. This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care and is free to reprint. Visit  Healthcare.newsladder.net for a complete list of articles on health care affordability, health care laws, and health care controversy. For the best progressive reporting on the Economy, and Immigration, check out Economy.Newsladder.net and Immigration.Newsladder.net . This is a project of The Media Consortium , a network of 50 leading independent media outlets, and created by NewsLadder . More on Health Care
 
Washington Monthly's Annual College Rankings Released Top
Today the Washington Monthly releases its annual College Rankings. It's our alternative to U.S. News & World Report's rankings, which we find objectionable for a number of reasons (see "A Different Kind of College Ranking"). Whereas U.S. News relies on crude and easily manipulated measures of money and prestige, we rank schools based on what they are doing for the country -- by improving social mobility, producing research, and promoting public service.
 
Emma Ruby-Sachs: What South Africa's Water Trial Can Teach Us About Health Care For All Top
As the debate rages on about health care, issues of basic rights and essential services are the focus of much discussion. Just what should our government provide for us? If services are provided, how much should each citizen get? In South Africa today and tomorrow, the Constitutional Court will be looking at exactly those questions. And their conclusions will be instructive. When I lived in Cape Town and Johannesburg, the most shocking difference, and there are a lot of differences, was the lack of water fountains. We expect, in North America, to pause on our bike ride or run by a standing tap to fill up our water bottles. Practically speaking, those without homes, can do the same - ensuring that, of the many ailments plaguing our poorest citizens, dehydration won't be top of the list. In the southern part of Africa, water is a scarce resource, kind of like trying to find a knee surgeon in rural Illinois. When the Apartheid government crowded Black South Africans into townships to provide cheap labor for the adjoining white neighborhoods, water was provided free to every home. Fifteen years after Mandela's victory, water is sold, at a profit, to most township homes. Those who cannot afford to pay are provided with just enough water per month, per household to flush the toilet a few times a day. Those cholera outbreaks that make the news every few months are no accident. They are the product of a government that decided essential services don't need to be provided for free. Well, residents of Johannesburg grew tired with the lack of government support and brought a legal challenge to the water privatization scheme. In the lower courts, their argument for government provided essential services has been accepted. We will soon see what the high court has to say about free basic water for all. South Africa's constitution is very different from that of the United States. They have the tools to demand essential services in court and we are left with political wrangling in Washington. But the argument is the same. If the government abandons the most basic needs of its population, the result is widespread disease and death. It may be cholera in South Africa and swine flu here in the North, but the consequences will be dire. Let's hope that the Constitutional Court and the U.S. court of public opinion come to the right conclusion and accept responsibility for essential services. More on Health Care
 
AARP Seeks More Neutral Image After Shedding Thousands Of Members Top
WASHINGTON -- AARP, which has lost tens of thousands of members over its support for efforts to revamp the health care system, is preparing a post-Labor Day blitz to try to cast itself as a politically impartial advocate on health care issues. More on Health Care
 
Danny Groner: ABC Keeps Its Eye on the Franchise Top
I first noticed it when watching last week's episode of "Shaq Vs." on ABC. The athlete/celebrity faced off with beach volleyballers Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Shaq and others gave attention to May-Treanor's achilles injury that she endured last year. But nowhere in the broadcast did they reveal how the volleyball player sustained her injury. It was during a training session for the hit ABC show "Dancing With The Stars." I both applauded and questioned the network's decision to downplay the cause of May-Treanor's injury. It did strike me as a deliberate decision on the part of the network to protect one of its most popular and significant shows. It was clear to me then that executive producers at ABC had a clear and careful approach to keep all of its programs and interests astride. Just because it's the summer, when other networks tune out behind reruns, ABC wouldn't take a vacation from sticking to marketing strategies, efforts and their overall gameplan. Other examples keep popping up, more noticeable and noteworthy ones. Charles Gibson announced today that he'll be leaving "ABC World News Tonight" at the end of the year. What could have been met by panic or guessing was quickly quelled by Gibson's assertion and confidence that his replacement, Diane Sawyer, will fill his shoes well. Gibson's message is delivered with the same intonation he brings to his nightly telecasts; it's also emblematic of ABC's strategy to assure the public that there's no reason for concern. ABC is also in the news today for another reason: Whitney Houston's Central Park performance . Several Web sites last evening reported that Houston's taped song set didn't go as planned with the singer struggling to hit some high notes, her voice cracking at one point. It wasn't the magical moment that ABC had envisioned when they recruited her for her taped "Good Morning America" segment. Thanks to some desktop editing, Houston sounded better during this morning's show than she did at yesterday's taping. Even Houston's explanation for why her voice went limp proved to be part of the ABC mission to keep their shows, stars and exposure part of the same upbeat and promotional package. Houston apologized to her fans saying that she strained her voice while talking to Oprah, the poster woman for the ABC network. If you can drop Oprah's name, all will be forgiven. It's clear that there are long-term and lasting benefits to having so many people under the one ABC roof. Having Oprah at your disposal, with her demographic reach and her influence, can at times carry your network through tougher times. And that's what ABC seems to do extremely well, bringing all of its talent and ideas together as one unit that works as part of the same public relations machine. Through this lens, it's obvious why ESPN lined up their sideline personality Erin Andrews to appear on Oprah's program. ESPN and ABC are sibling networks within the same Disney family. Andrews is the victim in her story, but the scrutiny and questions remain focused on her. America still wants to hear her story. Who better to tell than Oprah? Now, this announcement was met with its own scrutiny by the sports-following public. It's a non-story to some, an terribly unfortunate event that took place. It's not something worth dwelling on and retelling on a public stage, they've argued . In order to understand the rationale behind the decision, though, you must step back and look at ABC's sense of opportunity here. Oprah's their cleaner of sorts, who they bring in when the big story arises and arrives. But this is more than just about giving Andrews the chance to tell her side. For ABC, this is continuing their efforts to blur the lines between sports and entertainment. Andrews has already been showing up in magazines and on gossip sites. Couple that fact with Shaq's role in a summer series that's showing success at this crossbreeding attempt. This isn't simply about sports; it's a experiment to see how far you can push a star's popularity to attract new audiences to your existing projects. Through well thought out schemes, ABC hopes to leave open the possibility that "Shaq Vs." viewers could take to ABc programs outside that demographic. Gibson paves the way for a new era of a female news anchor at the World News desk. "Good Morning America" finds a strange, yet commendable, way to bring Whitney Houston die-hards to Oprah. And network executives hope Erin Andrews will do the same to knock down the image barrier that stands between the clubhouse and Oprah's couch. Summer television is alive with ABC hybrids. More on Oprah
 
Joel B. Schwartzberg: Duty vs. Conscience at Gitmo: A Former 9/11 Prosecutor Speaks Out Top
Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch, a government prosecutor, was more than motivated to convict alleged 9/11 conspirator Mohamedou Ould Slahi. After all, Couch was friends with Michael Horrocks, a co-pilot of one of the jets hijacked on September 11, 2001. But when Couch gained access to details of Slahi's treatment at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, he was not only shocked, but offended. Couch says Slahi was tortured. "I felt like what had been done to Slahi just reprehensible," Couch tells NOW on PBS' David Brancaccio. "For that reason alone, I refused to have any further participation in this case." In this web-exclusive video from NOW on PBS , Couch shares what he saw and heard at Guantanamo, and talks candidly about his controversial decision. "We can not compromise our respect for the dignity of every human being, " he tells Brancaccio. "If we compromise that, then al Qaeda has been able to effect more of an impact on this country than they have by drivin' a couple airplanes in the Word Trade Center, or crashing one into the Pentagon. Because they've torn at the very fabric of who we are as Americans." This weekend on NOW , learn more about the tactic of of "preventative detention," a government plan that may detain suspects indefinitely without trial or even formal charges. More on Guantánamo Bay
 
California Wildfire Photos: HuffPost Readers Send In Their Pics Top
To see the latest photos from California, scroll down below the map. The California wildfires continue to rage throughout Southern California, with thousands of firefighters at work to stop further destruction. For those of you on the ground in the affected areas, send us your photos and tell us what you see. Do you have fire photos or pictures of the aftermath? Submit them here. Here's how it works: hit the participate button, leave your description and mark the location of where your photo was taken by searching for an address in the box on the top right of the map, upload your photo and hit submit. Do you have any stories about the fires? Have you been evacuated? Have you had your property damaged? Send us your accounts at submissions+wildfires@huffingtonpost.com. Check out the photos readers have sent in so far. Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Fire official: Big LA forest fire human caused Top
LOS ANGELES — A U.S. Forest Service official says the huge wildfire burning in the mountains north of Los Angeles was human-caused. Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said Wednesday that it's not known specifically how it was started. Investigators will be trying to determine whether it was accidental or arson. Carlton says investigators have leads that brought them to the conclusion but he will not give any further information. Carlton notes that the options were lightning or a human cause and lightning has been ruled out. The 140,000-acre blaze erupted Aug. 26. The ignition point has only been identified as mile marker 29 on Angeles Crest Highway. ___ Associated Press Writer Jacob Adelman contributed to this report. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. LOS ANGELES (AP) – Firefighters made more progress Wednesday against a giant wildfire that has ravaged a national forest north of Los Angeles, with another day of cooperative weather providing a big assist to beleaguered fire crews. The blaze in the Angeles National Forest had burned nearly 219 square miles, or 140,150 acres, by early Wednesday. Firefighters have created a perimeter around 22 percent of the blaze, largely by removing brush with bulldozers and setting controlled burns. Bulldozers still have 95 miles of fire line to build. "The crews are making excellent progress based on the improved weather conditions," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich at a Wednesday news conference. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the fire area Wednesday morning and served breakfast to firefighters, scooping Cream of Wheat into paper bowls and giving them plenty of protein so "they get all pumped up for the next fight out there with those fires." Since erupting Aug. 26, the blaze has more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters and forced thousands of people from their homes. The cause was still not known. Officials also were keeping a close eye on the wind, which had been calm overnight but could pick up Wednesday afternoon and move flames closer to homes and a historic observatory. Mount Wilson is currently strongly defended. U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich was not willing to say a corner had been turned. In a hillside neighborhood of Glendale, Frank Virgallito stood in a group anxiously watching a controlled burn edge toward their neighborhood. Virgallito said he and his neighbors had been on high alert since Friday but ignored a voluntary evacuation. "You don't sleep well," Virgallito said. "I get up every hour and a half or two hours to get a good view of where the fire is. For four days we've been a little sleep-deprived. It's unnerving." Virgallito said he saw deer, coyote and skunks scampering down his street away from the heat and ash of the smoldering wilderness. Officials also worried about the threat to a historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. But on Tuesday, firefighters set backfires near the facilities before a giant World War II-era seaplane-turned-air tanker made a huge water drop on flames inching toward the peak from the north and west. By nightfall, 150 firefighters and engines were stationed at the peak to defend the towers, said fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal. The flames crossed the Angeles Crest Highway into the San Gabriel Wilderness to the east on Tuesday, Lowenthal said. Firefighters made progress on fire breaks to the north near Acton and southwest from Altadena to the Sunland neighborhood. Firefighters and longtime residents know it could be so much worse. Autumn is the season for the ferocious Santa Ana winds to sweep in from the northeastern deserts, gaining speed through narrow mountain canyons, sapping moisture from vegetation and pushing flames farther out into the suburbs. "If we had Santa Anas, we still have all this open land here on the western flank and islands of vegetation would throw embers into the air, which would blow down to the homes," Fire spokesman Henry Martinez said, his voice trailing off as he imagined the worst-case scenario. "Let's hope that doesn't happen." The wildfire season usually doesn't gather steam until the winds hit in October, but the Station fire has been driven by dryness instead of wind. The region is in the midst of a three-year drought, and the tinder-dry forest is ripe for an explosive fire. Fire officials said 12,000 homes were threatened, but as evacuations are lifted, that number will likely fall. Smoke billowed thousands of feet up in the air, forming what firefighters call an "ice cap," which dissipated and was pushed east for at least 800 miles. In Colorado, smoke from the Station Fire combined with soot from local fires to block mountain views from Denver. "That really speaks to the columns of smoke and how much burning was going on," said Norv Larson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, Colo. "I've put haze in the forecast. I don't see it ending anytime soon," Larson said. "We've got our fires here, you've got your fires there." Flames charred other parts of Southern California, including one that burned at least 1.5 square miles in the San Bernardino County community of Oak Glen and another that threatened 400 homes in Yucaipa and was at 70 percent containment. "There's action everywhere," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said as a helicopter interrupted his comments at a news conference in San Bernardino County. Lance Williams, 49, managed to save his aunt's home in Delta Flats, a remote community tucked in a canyon in the Angeles National Forest, but returned Tuesday to find his neighbors' homes in ashes. "It looked like hell," Williams said. "The fire was creating its own winds. There was no way of predicting which way it would go." He said he used a water pump to fight off the firestorm that raced down hillsides into the canyon. By the time he ran out of water, fire crews had arrived to defend the home that had been in his family since 1945. Near the remains of house, the charred frames of animal cages swayed in a light wind. In one of the cages, the remains of three small dogs were found. The massive fire also took a toll on firefighters who bunk down each night in tents at the huge fire command center. Glendale firefighter-paramedic Jack Hayes, 31, said he had not taken a day off for a week. "You can't sleep," said Hayes, who had the beginnings of a beard and bloodshot eyes. "You're ready to go and there's always something you could be doing." Two firefighters – Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale – were killed Sunday when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road. Quinones' wife is expecting a child soon, and Hall had a wife and two adult children. ___ Associated Press writers Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins, Daisy Nguyen and Jacob Adelman in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)