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Civil Rights Leader Quits NAACP Over Judicial Nominee
WASHINGTON — A Democratic champion of the left has resigned as a member of the NAACP, saying officials tried to strong-arm him into dropping his endorsement of a controversial Bush judicial nominee.
posted by TAotB at 3:43:00 PM
WTC Air Pollution Study Exposed
Air pollution from the World Trade Center collapse caused some pregnant women to give birth to smaller babies, researchers claim.
What’s really going on is that environmental activists are preparing more attacks on President Bush’s proposal for reducing air pollution.
Led by notorious eco-activist researcher Philip Landrigan (search), researchers from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine reported in the Aug. 6 Journal of the American Medical Association (search) that babies born to pregnant women exposed to air pollution from the WTC were twice as likely to be small for their gestational age than babies born to women who were pregnant during the attacks but not near the WTC site.
posted by TAotB at 9:06:00 AM
If today's journalists were sent back in time to cover World War II, a Reuter's dispatch dated Aug. 12, 1945, might look something like this:
President Truman (search), just a few months into his young presidency, is coming under increasing fire from some Congressional Republicans for what appears to be a deteriorating security situation in occupied Germany, with some calling for his removal from office.
Over three months after a formal declaration of an end to hostilities, the occupation is bogged down. Fanatical elements of the former Nazi (search) regime who, in their zeal to liberate their nation from the foreign occupiers, call themselves members of the Werwolf (werewolves) continue to commit almost-daily acts of sabotage against Germany's already-ravaged infrastructure, and attack American troops. They have been laying road mines, poisoning food and water supplies, and setting various traps, often lethal, for the occupying forces.
posted by TAotB at 1:17:00 PM
There have been close to 300 separate studies nation-wide on the relationship between class size and student achievement. Professor Eric Hanushek (search), an economist at the University of Rochester, reviewed these studies and discovered that only 15 percent of them suggest that reducing class size improves student learning as measured by standardized tests.
Indeed, in 72 percent of the studies reviewed, there was no statistically significant effect on measurable student achievement associated with smaller classes. Even more surprisingly, in 13 percent of the studies reviewed, student test scores actually declined as class size was reduced. In sum, a full 85 percent of all of the studies on class size and student achievement found that reducing class size did not improve student performance.
posted by TAotB at 11:11:00 AM
In a very scary break with tradition, precedent, and rules, the SCOTUS has used international laws and treaties to form their rulings. Correct if I am wrong, but isn't the SCOTUS supposed to decide cases based on the Consitution of the United States? Aren't their rulings supposed to reflect the society within our borders? Scary indeed.
Ginsburg: Int'l Law Shaped Court Rulings
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is looking beyond America's borders for guidance in handling cases on issues like the death penalty and gay rights, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (news - web sites) said Saturday.
The justices referred to the findings of foreign courts this summer in their own ruling that states may not punish gay couples for having sex.
And in 2002, the court said that executing mentally retarded people is unconstitutionally cruel. That ruling noted that the practice was opposed internationally.
posted by TAotB at 12:10:00 PM
Phyllis Schlafly: Teaching history: fact or fiction?
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, in a report called 'Losing America's Memory: Historical Illiteracy in the 21st Century,' charged that 55 colleges and universities, including the most prestigious, have no U.S. history requirement and only a fifth of colleges require courses in history at all.
On the other hand, some colleges do require courses in 'non-Eurocentric culture or society,' and that requirement can be filled by courses in human development, sociology, theater, dance or film. Social science requirements can be met by courses in women's studies.
posted by TAotB at 10:51:00 AM
OpinionJournal - AFTER THE WAR
Why then did Unscom and the U.S. intelligence community believe so firmly that the weapons programs continued big time long after 1991? It was because there was plenty of evidence indicating that the Iraqis were lying, in the form of documents, communications intercepts, defector reports, and other types of suspicious behavior. But this evidence may have been the product of a deeper deceit, and its importance overestimated by everybody.
We know for sure that the Iraqis had very ambitious chemical, biological, and nuclear programs in the '80s. They used chemical weapons against the Kurds and Iranians, and evidently had more potent stocks of VX and sarin ready for use. The U.S. was surprised with the extent of these programs, including their progress on nuclear weapons, when they were revealed by Unscom after the first Gulf War. Unscom, backed by the implicit threat of U.S. power, was able to destroy many of these weapons and evidently motivated the Iraqis to get rid of others it didn't find. After that point, with Iraq under U.N. sanctions, Saddam Hussein likely ordered that the programs be reconstituted, and some desultory efforts were made along these lines. But the extent of this reconstitution was vastly exaggerated by the Iraqis themselves.
posted by TAotB at 10:38:00 AM
Boxer's quote sounds sorta like what happend with Lautenberg, doesn't it? At least this time the Dems would be replacing the candidate legally.
Seventeen state senators met behind closed doors Monday to discuss a possible Democratic alternative to Davis. Sen. Barbara Boxer said Democrats should field another candidate if polls indicate Davis would lose.
posted by TAotB at 10:29:00 AM
In an extremely rare move for this administration, President Bush has recommended the defunding of the COPS program. Read on.
One look at the COPS program, and you can see why it should. First, the federal government has no business paying to hire, train and equip state and local law enforcement officers for their everyday duties. Local police departments need the independence to respond to local concerns without having the federal government looking over their shoulders. And communities have the responsibility to provide for the safety of their people.
posted by TAotB at 10:19:00 AM
Davis Asks Court to Delay Recall, Make Him a Candidate
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gray Davis asked the California Supreme Court on Monday to delay his Oct. 7 recall election until March and list his name on the ballot among the candidates seeking to replace him.
posted by TAotB at 2:32:00 PM
So now the Dems think it is a bad thing that the Reps are trying to include more minorities?
Texas Democrats-in-Exile Lash Out at Governor
What kind of image is that?' Van de Putte said. 'I think the real danger here is not to Gov. Perry. I think the real danger here is to the White House and the Republican efforts that would want to be so inclusive.'
posted by TAotB at 2:30:00 PM
Report: Powell, Deputy Won't Serve in Second Bush Term
Powell has refused to discuss his political future. The secretary's standard response is that he serves at the 'pleasure of the president,' even though he is widely known to have interests other than government service.
'I serve at the pleasure of the president,' Powell said last month. 'That's the only answer I've ever given to that question, no matter what form it comes in.'
posted by TAotB at 2:28:00 PM
Hollings Expected to Announce Retirement
Veteran Democratic Sen. Ernest Hollings (search) of South Carolina will not seek re-election next year, sources told Fox News on Monday.
posted by TAotB at 2:27:00 PM
