Harris' Senate campaign 'imploding'
With more key workers set to flee, it could be the final lap for the troubled race. New hires are expected.
Jim Stratton
Sentinel Staff Writer
April 1, 2006

The last of U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' key staffers appear ready to abandon her campaign for the U.S. Senate in a wave of resignations expected to start this weekend.

Sources close to the campaign said Friday that the defections would touch virtually every level of her operation.

Harris, who is running against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, is likely to lose her chief political strategist, her campaign manager, her spokeswoman, her director of field operations and even a traveling aide who helps hand out stickers at campaign appearances.

Quote of note:

ABC Suspends Producer Over Bush-Bashing E-Mail
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 1, 2006; C01

ABC News suspended the executive producer of the weekend edition of "Good Morning America" yesterday over a pair of leaked e-mails in which he used inflammatory language to slam President Bush and Madeleine Albright.

John Green, whose unpaid suspension will last one month, apologized to the White House in a call to communications director Nicolle Wallace, while two ABC executives called the former secretary of state to apologize.

I'm mostly taking the day off. Just not feeling it.

Quote of note:

The question of how to regulate drinking water quality has roiled Washington for years. Just before leaving office, President Bill Clinton imposed a more stringent standard for arsenic, dictating that drinking water should contain no more than 10 parts per billion of the poison, which in small amounts is a known carcinogen. President Bush suspended the standard after taking office, but Congress voted to reinstate it, and in 2001, the National Academy of Sciences issued a study saying arsenic was more dangerous than the EPA had previously believed. The deadline for water systems to comply with the arsenic rule was January of this year.

EPA May Weaken Rule on Water Quality
Plan Would Affect Towns That Find Complying Costly
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 1, 2006; A04

Pin All Your Romantic Hopes on Google

When you think about it, love is just another search problem. And we’ve thought about it. A lot. Google Romance™ is our solution.

Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual DateTM, which we'll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you're looking for.

Some Doctors Voice Worry Over Abortion Pills' Safety
By GARDINER HARRIS

Abortion rights advocates once hoped that RU-486 would prove at least as safe as surgical abortions and largely end the abortion wars by making access widely available and very private.

But in the wake of reports in March that two more women had died after taking abortion pills, some doctors say they are increasingly uneasy about prescribing them.

"None of these women should be dying; it's shocking," said Dr. Peter Bours, an abortion provider in Portland, Ore., who is rethinking whether to offer pill-based, or medical, abortions.

You know the NY Times published tomorrow's stories on its web site around 11 pm at night, right? Well, I got email around 11:45 last night alerting me they're reporting the "digital divide" seems to be taking care of itself.

Then there's this from Davey D's Hip Hop Political Palace, also received via email this morning. I had to track down the link..

F--k What You Heard About Black Males from the NYTimes-Steal this article!
By Omowale Adewale (formerly L. James)

I heard y'all bombarding my email with the New York Times' article on the plight of the black male and your own analysis and your friend's analysis, and frankly, it bothered me. I'm good though. I'm straight. I just wanted to enter into the discussion.

"Steal this article."

I'd like to say I'm immune to this wave, that it's just the inaccuracy of the statements being made that I'm responding to. But of course I can't. Even as I respond to the article's active assertions I find I have to address what feels like a tacit attack.

Now I'd like to point out the reason Black folks are being painted as incapable.

The end of the obligatory grace period is nigh. Eventually, I will have to take a position on this guy and it will likely be 100% political.

Obama rallies state Democrats, throws support behind Lieberman
Associated Press
March 30, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama rallied Connecticut Democrats at their annual dinner Thursday night, throwing his support behind mentor and Senate colleague Joe Lieberman.

Obama, an Illinois Democrat who is considered a rising star in the party, was the keynote speaker at the annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner.

Lieberman, Connecticut's junior senator, is under fire from some liberal Democrats for his support of the Iraq War. He was key in booking Obama, who routinely receives more than 200 speaking invitations each week.

Oh, my god, I just bought my first comic book subscription in decades.

Never mind me, I'm clearing the space between my ears before addressing this product placement piece in the Washington Post.

Y'all don't use open threads much but here it is.

Prescribing of hyperactivity drugs is out of control
31 March 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Peter Aldhous

THE figures are mind-boggling. Nearly 4 million Americans, most of them children and young adults, are being prescribed amphetamine-like stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Up to a million more may be taking the drugs illegally.

Now, amid reports of rare but serious side effects, leading researchers and doctors are calling for a review of the way ADHD is dealt with. Many prescriptions are being written by family doctors with little expertise in diagnosing ADHD, raising doubts about how many people on these stimulants really need them. Just as worrying, large numbers of children who do have ADHD are going undiagnosed.

Quote of note:

You'd think Baca would know better after the 1999 disbandment of his "celebrity" reserve unit, which had been provided badges and guns until two members were arrested in separate incidents.

Two members of the Sheriff's Executive Council in Riverside County recently admitted using their badges for their own benefit: one showing it to investigators serving a search warrant at his office in a Medi-Cal fraud case, the other to get into a secure airport area. Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona went over the top with his reserve deputy program, issuing badges, weapons permits and powers of arrest to 86 people without the training or background checks mandated by the state. One was later arrested for waving his gun and badge at golfers he thought were playing too slow.

Badges of dishonor
March 31, 2006

HERE'S A RADICAL SUGGESTION for sheriffs who want to thank campaign contributors and other influential friends: Look them squarely in the eye, shake their hands and say with all sincerity, "Thank you." If they insist on lingering, clap them on the shoulder and say, "Really."

In Southern California, the gratitude is more likely to take the shape of an official-looking badge, a seat on some meaningless panel and, in one county, gun permits and the power of arrest. The practice of making politically connected pals civilian pseudo-deputies has been problematic for decades, as some of them invariably misuse their power and flash the badge or a sheriff's photo ID in an attempt to obtain special favors. It's political patronage at its shabbiest.

After making a living attacking affirmative action programs for Black folks, after being the first nominee for Secretary of Labor to hire illegal aliens, Linda Chavez leaps to defend the honor of her people.

Mexican-born men, for example, are more likely to be in the labor force than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the Census Bureau. Nearly half of Latino immigrants own their own homes. While most immigrants from Latin America, especially Mexico and Central America, lag in educational attainment, their children are far more likely to stay in school: according to research by the Pew Hispanic Center, 80 percent of second-generation Latinos graduate from high school. Almost half of second-generation Latinos ages 25 to 44 have attended college, and those who graduate earn more on average than non-Hispanic white workers.

Check a clip; check the synopsis, below; then check the show times and locations.

Most people have heard of the voting irregularities that marred the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Some even know of the resulting challenges to the electoral votes by African-American congressional representatives. However, because the mainstream media shies away from reporting cases of imperiled democracy the public is left to believe these stories are at worst insignificant rumors or at best one-off incidents that result from an overburdened election system.

American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of disenfranchisement witnessed from 2000 to 2004 while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles but also found herself in the middle of one after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Some call Cynthia McKinney a civil rights leader among the ranks of Shirley Chisholm and Malcolm X. Others call her a conspiracy theorist and a ‘looney.’ American Blackout gains unprecedented access to one of the most controversial and dangerous politicians in America and examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence political dissent.

The film features interviews with: US Congressional Representatives, John Lewis, Cynthia McKinney, John Conyers, Bernie Sanders, and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones; former US Civil Rights Commissioner & Dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Law, Christopher Edley; BBC journalist Greg Palast; and, Van Jones, Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center.

American Blackout is directed by GNN’s Ian Inaba, the creator of the controversial pre-election music video for Eminem’s “Mosh” (watch the video at: http://gnn.tv/videos/28/ ), and features music from: DJ Shadow, Soulsavers and Thievery Corporation, among others.

The "investigation" isn't over, they've already decided to issue an arrest warrant.

The tape, the official said, only shows McKinney walking around the security checkpoint, which members of Congress are allowed to do. It does not show her confrontation with the officer who, not recognizing McKinney as a member of Congress, tried to stop her and have her go through the metal detector. McKinney acknowledged that she was not wearing the special lapel pin given to the 435 House members to make them easier to identify.

Andy Maybo, head of the Capitol Hill chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, praised the officer involved in the incident, who has not been identified.

The police union, he said, was "extremely proud of our officer. He has upheld his duties and responsibilities in a professional manner," Maybo said. "He was correct in his actions and we support him 100 percent."

Reminds me of an old joke..."What do you call a nigger with a medical degree?"

McKinney faces arrest over security incident
By BOB KEMPER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/31/06

Known by the initials NCMAF, Keizer's group is a private, 40-year-old association of more than 60 Christian, Jewish and Muslim denominations. It says it represents 5,430 of the 7,620 chaplains in the armed forces.

The calls for an executive order to protect the right to pray in Jesus's name have originated in large part from a rival association, the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers. Formed two years ago, it says it represents about 800 chaplains, exclusively from evangelical Christian churches...

Prodded by complaints from ICECE, 74 members of Congress signed a letter to President Bush last fall saying that "it has come to our attention that in all branches of the military it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christian chaplains to use the name of Jesus when praying."

Read this at The Black Commentator and tell me what you think.

Device warns you if you're boring or irritating
29 March 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Celeste Biever

A DEVICE that can pick up on people's emotions is being developed to help people with autism relate to those around them. It will alert its autistic user if the person they are talking to starts showing signs of getting bored or annoyed.

One of the problems facing people with autism is an inability to pick up on social cues. Failure to notice that they are boring or confusing their listeners can be particularly damaging, says Rana El Kaliouby of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It's sad because people then avoid having conversations with them."

This comes from the Eric J. Heller Gallery.

There's a whole bag of really gorgeous visualizations of quantum mechanical states. It reminded me I'd always meant to look for volumes 3 and 4 of Dynamics: the Geometry of Behavior by Ralph Abraham and Chris Shaw. I've had volumes 1 and two for years...they plus Flatland added up to a single shaping influence on the way I think.

How to survive a marital tiff
11 March 2006

OLDER couples should take care over the way they argue if they want to avoid heart attacks. If marital spats are hostile, wives have an increased chance of heart attack, while for men it is controlling behaviour in arguments that increases heart risk.

Psychologist Tim Smith and colleagues at the University of Utah encouraged 150 married couples aged around 60 to argue and rated the arguments for levels of hostility and controlling behaviour. Two days later, the couples had chest scans.

Women who are hostile are more likely to have coronary disease, Smith told a meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Denver, Colorado, last week.

Though is is basically good news:

The lawmakers offered property tax cuts, sales tax cuts and more school aid. They rejected the governor's attempts to rein in Medicaid spending and his plan to increase the tax on cigarettes. Come January, a new governor will be saddled with paying for it.

I fully expect these funds to be folded into the cost-per-student enemies of public education use in their rhetoric.

New Money for School Construction but Not Daily Expenses
By MICHAEL COOPER

ALBANY, March 29 — The budget accord that lawmakers reached here on Tuesday night will let Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg move forward with what city officials are calling the most ambitious school construction program in the city's history.

You will never, in a million years, guess who wrote this today:

[T]he exclusionists are wrong when they say the current wave of immigration is tearing our social fabric. The facts show that the recent rise in immigration hasn't been accompanied by social breakdown, but by social repair. As immigration has surged, violent crime has fallen by 57 percent. Teen pregnancies and abortion rates have declined by a third. Teenagers are having fewer sexual partners and losing their virginity later. Teen suicide rates have dropped. The divorce rate for young people is on the way down...

[T]he immigrants themselves are like a booster shot of traditional morality injected into the body politic. Immigrants work hard. They build community groups. They have traditional ideas about family structure, and they work heroically to make them a reality.

My heart bleeds.

Mr. Fischetti asked Judge Raggi to consider the circumstances of Mr. Schwarz's imprisonment, including months of solitary confinement in a 7-foot-by-9-foot cell. He recited his history as an altar boy, Boy Scout, high school football captain and marine. He spoke of the Schwarz family's financial and medical troubles, how hard it was for them to visit an out-of-state prison, and the harassment they face.

"He's known as the Louima cop," Mr. Fischetti said.

Leniency Request Is Denied for Officer in Louima Case
By MICHAEL BRICK

Nearly a decade after the station house attack on Abner Louima, an act of police brutality that had epic consequences for the city and its police force, a federal judge told a former police officer yesterday that his perjury had prevented a full accounting of the crime.

Man, I'm glad I look nothing like Will Smith...

Drone aircraft may prowl U.S. skies
By Declan McCullagh

Unmanned aerial vehicles have soared the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq for years, spotting enemy encampments, protecting military bases, and even launching missile attacks against suspected terrorists.

Now UAVs may be landing in the United States.

A House of Representatives panel on Wednesday heard testimony from police agencies that envision using UAVs for everything from border security to domestic surveillance high above American cities. Private companies also hope to use UAVs for tasks such as aerial photography and pipeline monitoring.

Quote of note:

McKinney also once ran into problems at the White House. USA Today reported that when McKinney, who is African-American, and a young white aide arrived at a welcoming ceremony in May 1998 for then-Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the guard at the gate deferred to the aide as the person of authority. Once in the executive mansion, McKinney said, another guard tried to stop her until Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) stepped in.

"I am absolutely sick and tired of having to have my appearance at the White House validated by white people," McKinney wrote in a complaint to then-President Bill Clinton. "I don't need to be stopped or questioned because I happen to look like hired help."

And here's another:

The officer involved was not identified, but police officials said he was ready to press charges against McKinney — a rare, if not unprecedented, action by a Capitol police officer against a member of Congress.

Police and congressional officials said they were not aware of any other incidents in which a member of Congress struck a Capitol Hill police officer or an officer pressed charges against a member, though conflicts between members and police at security checkpoints are not rare.

McKinney hits Capitol officer at checkpoint
By BOB KEMPER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/30/06

Quote of note:

Providing equal coverage for treatment of mental disorders did not increase the use of mental health services under the federal employee program, the researchers said. But it did lead to "significant reductions in out-of-pocket spending" for many government workers and retirees.

Study Backs Equal Coverage for Mental Ills
By ROBERT PEAR