Archive for the 'Government' Category

California ban on same-sex marriage struck down

Published by
elophan
May 15, 2008 in Human Interest/Society, Human Rights, Newz and The Courts. 0 Comments

From Bill Mears, CNN Senior Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) — In a much-anticipated ruling issued Thursday, the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.

Several gay and lesbian couples, along with the city of San Francisco and gay rights groups, sued to overturn state laws allowing only marriages between a man and a woman.

“There can be no doubt that extending the designation of marriage to same-sex couples, rather than denying it to all couples, is the equal protection remedy that is most consistent with our state’s general legislative policy and preference,” said the 120-page ruling.

It said that the state law’s language “limiting the designation of marriage to a ‘union between a man and a woman’ is unconstitutional, and that the remaining statutory language must be understood as making the designation of marriage available to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.”

With the ruling, California becomes the second state to allow same-sex couples to legally wed. Massachusetts adopted the practice in 2004, and couples don’t need to be state residents to wed there.

Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Connecticut permit civil unions, while California has a domestic-partner registration law. More than a dozen other states give gay couples some legal rights.

Seven other jurisdictions around the world have legalized same-sex marriage: Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, South Africa and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. More…

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New study amplifies warning on climate change

Published by
Gene Shinai
May 15, 2008 in Environmental Disaster, Government, Newz, The Environment and sci-tech. 1 Comment

From AFP Via Rawstory:

A wide-scale study published Wednesday has strengthened warnings, spelt out last year by UN scientists, that climate change is already on the march.

The paper, published in Nature, goes beyond the scope taken by a landmark report issued by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February 2007.

In that document, the IPCC said man-made global warming was “likely” — within a probability of 66-90 percent — to have had a “discernible” effect on many physical and biological systems.

The new study, published in the British journal Nature, is written by many of the people who wrote the so-called Working Group I report, the first of a trio of major assessments released last year by the IPCC.

Its approach widens the net of data for making a fresh analysis.

It concludes “significant changes” are already occurring among natural systems on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica, and in most oceans.

“Humans are influencing climate through increasing greenhouse gas emissions,” said lead author Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Columbia Center for Climate Systems Research.

“The warming world is causing impacts on physical and biological systems attributable at the global scale.”

The analysis is based on a trawl of hundreds of papers published in peer-reviewed journals, on data stretching back to 1970s.

These investigations covered phenomena as varied as the earlier leafing of trees and plants; the movement of species to higher latitudes and altitudes in the northern hemisphere in response to warmer weather; the shrinkage of glaciers and melting of permafrost; and changes of bird migrations in Europe, North America and Australia.

Article Continues @ Sourced Site.

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Alaska first state to hit $4 a gallon gasoline: AAA

Published by
Gene Shinai
May 15, 2008 in Gas Prices, Newz, Resources and State/Local Government. 0 Comments

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alaska hit a milestone on Wednesday that could be a sign of things to come around the United States this summer — it became the first state where the average price for regular gasoline reached $4 per gallon.

 

“It wasn’t totally unexpected,” said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for the travel and auto group AAA which issues a daily gasoline price report.

“Oil prices recently brushed against $127 per barrel so certainly, $4 gasoline could be in the cards for other states as well this summer,” said Sundstrom.

At $4 per gallon, filling up a 15-gallon tank will cost $60.

Alaskans using self-service regular gasoline paid $4.006 per gallon, said the AAA Wednesday report.The U.S. average for regular gasoline hit a record $3.758 per gallon, the same report showed.

A year ago, the U.S. average price was $3.3354 a gallon and in Alaska, the average price was $2.946 a gallon.

Gasoline price analysts will have a better handle on how many states are likely to reach $4 a gallon this summer once the Memorial Day weekend passes, said Sundstrom. That holiday weekend is May 23-26.

“Memorial Day weekend is a little to the gasoline industry what Christmas is to retailers,” said Sundstrom. “It’s one of the highest demand weekends for fuel and is a barometer for what can be expected in summer driving season demand.”

 

 

The AAA will issue its summer travel forecast on Thursday. 

 

Article Continue @ Sourced  Site.

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E-Mail Shows Racial Jokes by Secret Service Supervisors

Published by
elophan
May 14, 2008 in Government, Newz and assassination. 0 Comments

By DAVID JOHNSTON, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Secret Service supervisors shared crude sexual jokes and engaged in racially derogatory banter about blacks, and passed around an anecdote about a possible assassination of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, according to internal e-mail disclosed in a federal court filing on Friday by lawyers for black Secret Service agents.

The filing includes 10 e-mail messages that were among documents the agency recently turned over to lawyers for the black agents as part of an increasingly bitter discrimination lawsuit. The messages were written mainly from 2003 through 2005, and were sent to and from e-mail accounts of at least 20 Secret Service supervisors.

The messages offer a glimpse into the darker recesses of an agency known for protecting presidents and other dignitaries but whose culture is regarded as one of the most insular in federal law enforcement.

The disclosure of the messages follows an incident last month in which a noose was found in a room used by a black instructor at a Secret Service training facility in Beltsville, Md. Agency officials said that episode was under internal investigation.

A March 3, 2003, message describing Mr. Jackson as the “Righteous Reverend” was passed among several Secret Service supervisors. The message, about a missile striking an airplane in which Mr. Jackson and his wife were traveling, concludes, it “certainly wouldn’t be a great loss and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”

The legal skirmishing in the discrimination suit has heated up in recent months, with Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson rebuking the Secret Service for failing to produce documents and for destroying relevant records and e-mail. More…

Everyone remember when the Secret Service let people into an Obama event in Dallas, without checking people for weapons? I’ll be holding my breath during the rest of the campaigning, and Barack’s terms as president, with the hope that none of us will wake up to the news that he’s been assassinated. This is absolute bullsh#t! -Sue

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House panel probes neocon phone jamming in New Hampshire election

Published by
elophan
May 14, 2008 in Election Fraud, Newz, The Congress and The GOP. 1 Comment

By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A House panel is probing the Election Day 2002 phone-jamming plot by GOP operatives against New Hampshire Democrats.

Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., wants the panel to focus on key “unanswered questions” about whether the White House played a role in the plot — and whether the Justice Department dragged its feet on the case for political reasons.

“I want to know what the connection was between the White House, the Republican National Committee and the conspiracy to jam phones,” said Hodes, who was scheduled to testify Wednesday before a joint panel of two Judiciary Committee subcommittees.

Hodes said the public deserves to know whether political interference delayed prosecution of the case until after the 2004 elections and President Bush’s re-election. The controversy over the alleged political firings of eight federal prosecutors underscores the need to hold the Justice Department accountable, he said.

The phone-jamming scandal has led to at least three criminal prosecutions and a lawsuit that was settled with Republicans paying the Democrats $135,000.

Allen Raymond, a Republican consultant who served three months in prison for his role organizing the jamming, will also testify. He wrote a book entitled “How to Rig an Election.”

Charles McGee, former executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party, pleaded guilty and served seven months in prison for his role in the scheme. More…

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Democrats plan surtax on high income earners to pay for veterans’ education

Published by
elophan
May 14, 2008 in Education, Military, Newz, The Congress and Veterans. 0 Comments

NEW YORK (Reuters) - House Democrats are proposing a surtax on high-income earners as a way to fund an expansion of education benefits for veterans, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

Under the proposal, a surtax of 0.5 percent will be levied on couples earning more than $1 million a year, and individuals earning more than $500,000 a year, the Journal said, citing Democratic aides. More…

If shrub vetoes it, that would once again prove how much he HATES the members of our military. -Sue

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Federal Letters Tell Students They’re Security Threats

Published by
elophan
May 13, 2008 in Education, Foreign, Government, Human Interest/Society and Newz. 1 Comment

By SCOTT SHANE, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A German graduate student in oceanography at M.I.T. applied to the Transportation Security Administration for a new ID card allowing him to work around ships and docks.

What the student, Wilken-Jon von Appen, received in return was a letter that not only turned him down but added an ominous warning from John M. Busch, a security administration official: “I have determined that you pose a security threat.”

Similar letters have gone to 5,000 applicants across the country who have at least initially been turned down for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism, agency officials said Monday.

“I was pretty much speechless and quite intimidated,” said Mr. von Appen, whose research is supported by a $65,000-a-year grant from the National Science Foundation.

A British student at M.I.T. who was rejected, Sophie Clayton, 28, said that at first she was amused at what appeared to be a bureaucratic absurdity. But as she pondered the designation, Ms. Clayton said she grew worried. “The two words ‘security threat’ are now in the files next to my name, my photograph and my fingerprints,” she said.

Ellen Howe, a security agency spokeswoman, said she did not believe the denial letters would cause students any problems with visa renewal or airport security checks. They will even be able to enter secure ports and ships for their work as long as they are accompanied by someone with the new ID, Ms. Howe said. More…

What planet is Ellen Howe living on? Elderly American citizens with no criminal record can’t even get past airport security, and they’ve not been labeled a security threat! These foreign students will be lucky to not end up in Gitmo! Geesh! -Sue

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Charges Dropped Against Alleged ‘20th Hijacker’

Published by
elophan
May 13, 2008 in Gitmo, Government, Law and Justice and Newz. 0 Comments

By BEN FOX, The Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was alleged to have been the so-called “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said Monday.

Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent.

But in reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against al-Qahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, the Saudi’s military lawyer.

Crawford dismissed the charges Friday without prejudice, meaning they can be filed again later, but the defense only learned about it Monday, Broyles told The Associated Press.

Al-Qahtani in October 2006 recanted a confession he said he made after he was tortured and humiliated at Guantanamo.

The alleged torture, which he detailed in a written statement, included being beaten, restrained for long periods in uncomfortable positions, threatened with dogs, exposed to loud music and freezing temperatures and stripped nude in front of female personnel.

U.S. authorities have acknowledged that al-Qahtani was treated harshly at Guantanamo. More…

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Kill Old People Cheap Act of 2008

Published by
elophan
May 12, 2008 in Health Care, Human Rights, Newz and State/Local Government. 0 Comments

Nursing Homes, along with their politically active PAAC’s have funneled huge sums of money to Tennessee legislators in an effort to support nursing home supported legislation which would placestrict limits and hurdles on those who would sue nursing homes as a result of the negligence and abuse of their elderly patients.

It is hard to imagine how legislators voted into office by the general public would even consider supporting legislation which would take away longstanding rights to victims of nursing home negligence and abuse to make a claim in court to remedy these wrongs.

The only beneficiaries of this legislation are the large corporations which own nursing homes throughout Tennessee. Those that will be hurt by this legislation are residents of nursing homes who will have limited abilities to fight abuse and neglect in nursing homes if this draconian legislation is passed.

The lackeys controlled by nursing homes in Tennessee who have introduced this legislation have the gall to name this proposed legislation: “The Nursing Home Patient Protection Act of 2008”. With this ridiculous nomenclature, these nursing home lackeys hope to obscure the fact that the bill is anything but a patient protection act. On the contrary, it removes from nursing home residents the little protection they have under the law as it is now.

Cook County, Tennessee Representative Henry Fincher who heads a key subcommittee in the Tennessee legislature has correctly labeled this bill the “Kill Old People Cheap Act of 2008”.

Senate sponsor of the bill, Jim Tracey, a Republican, lamely argues that: “If we can cut the cost of insurance down for nursing homes, they can have more nurses, better patient care.” If he really believes this ridiculous statement, it shows what a simpleton Senator Tracey really is. Does it not occur to him that the way nursing homes can avoid lawsuits is simply to give good patient care. Who could argue against a nursing home giving good patient care? More…

If this passes, you can bet you’ll see this type of legislation coming to your state as well. -Sue

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State Programs Add Safety Net for the Poorest

Published by
elophan
May 12, 2008 in Children, Class, Human Interest/Society, Newz and State/Local Government. 0 Comments

By RACHEL L. SWARNS, The New York Times

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For years, state welfare offices like the one alongside Interstate 30 have drawn the unemployed. But these days, the red-brick building here is also attracting poor, working parents with an unexpected offer: $204 a month in cash.

Shelly Thomas, a stockroom clerk and single mother, is using her windfall from the State of Arkansas to tune up the old Chevrolet she drives to work. Talia Greenwood, a day care worker with four children, spends the money on gas, diapers and baby formula.

The women are pioneers in an emerging social experiment as states across the country try to go beyond simply moving people off welfare. Over the last two years, officials in Arkansas and at least a dozen other states have announced plans to extend the safety net — through monthly cash payments — to thousands of low-income workers struggling to gain a foothold in the work world.

Most states focus on people who have left welfare for low-wage jobs. Officials believe that the programs, which typically combine several months of cash assistance with career counseling, health insurance and subsidized child care, will help low-wage workers weather family illnesses and cash shortages and deter them from cycling back onto the welfare rolls.

Arkansas provides poor working parents with $204 a month, plus bonuses for staying employed, for up to two years. Oregon offers $150 a month for up to a year. Virginia gives $50 a month for up to a year. And the California Legislature is considering a plan, proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to provide $40 a month to 41,000 working families that receive food stamps.

The programs differ considerably. While Utah offers $474 a month for two months and $237 for a third month for a family of three, Michigan provides $10 a month for six months. Massachusetts gives $7 a month to more than 13,000 food stamp recipients.

The new strategy reflects, in part, a growing concern about the challenges facing the poor nearly 12 years after Congress overhauled welfare laws. While states have drastically reduced their welfare caseloads, research suggests that they have been far less successful in helping people find and keep jobs that lift families out of poverty. More…

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