Brain-eating amoeba infections from their own home water
 

Two People In Louisiana Killed By Amoeba Infection Traced To Tap Water. Fox News (8/24, Crees) reports, “Following the deaths of two people from Louisiana who contracted brain-eating amoeba infections from their own home water systems the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are warning people to follow appropriate guidelines when using” neti pots or other nasal-rinsing devices.

The victims died from “primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) — an almost universally fatal infection — after using neti pots filled with tap water to irrigate their sinuses.” The amoeba in question is Naegleria fowleri (N. Fowleri) described as “a climate-sensitive amoeba found in warm freshwater lakes and rivers” which “has over a 99 percent fatality rate.” The CDC and FDA recommend use of “boiled, distilled or filtered water when using neti pots or other nasal-rinsing devices” to avoid risk of infection. PAM infections are usually “associated with swimming in warm, untreated water.”

9 shooting bystander victims hit by police gunfire.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/24...#ixzz24f0kDmHe

Federal court rejects Texas voter ID law
 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court on Thursday rejected a Texas law that would require voters to present photo IDs to election officials before being allowed to cast ballots in November.

A three-judge panel in Washington unanimously ruled that the law imposes "strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor" and noted that racial minorities in Texas are more likely to live in poverty.

The decision involves an increasingly contentious political issue: a push, largely by Republican-controlled legislatures and governors' offices, to impose strict identification requirements on voters.

Republicans are aggressively seeking the requirements in the name of stamping out voter fraud. Democrats, with support from a number of studies, say fraud at the polls is largely non-existent and that Republicans are simply trying to disenfranchise minorities, poor people and college students — all groups that tend to back Democrats.

In the Texas case, the Justice Department called several lawmakers, all of them Democrats, who said they detected a clear racial motive in the push for the voter ID law. Lawyers for Texas argued that the state was simply tightening its laws. Texas called experts who demonstrated that voter ID laws had a minimal effect on turnout. Republican lawmakers testified that the legislation was the result of a popular demand for more election protections.

http://news.yahoo.com/federal-court-...161316144.html

Federal judge rules state must provide sex reassignment surgery
 

A federal court judge has ordered state officials to provide a sex-reassignment surgery for a transsexual prison inmate, convicted of murdering his wife, after finding that the treatment is the only adequate care for his serious mental illness, gender identity disorder.

US District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf also noted that the treatment for Michelle Kosilek had been prescribed by Department of Correction doctors, and that the only justifications for denying the treatment were based on public opinion.

“This fact that sex reassignment surgery is for some people medically necessary has recently become more widely recognized,” Wolf wrote in a landmark, 129-page ruling issued today.

Kosilek first sued the Department of Correction in 2000, arguing that its refusal to pay for a sex-change violates her Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment.

The department has consistently opposed Kosilek’s request.

Today, Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said the state agency has received Wolf’s ruling.

“We are reviewing the decision and exploring our appellate options,’’ Wiffin said.

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012...V5N/story.html

Southern Decadence Arrests: 9 Anti-Gay Preachers Nabbed For Disrupting New Orleans Celebration



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...ref=gay-voices

I read on yahoo yesterday that the fedral judge was going to alow an inmate to have sexual reasingment surgery while in prison.The tax payer will be footing the bill no doubt.

Judge upholds Arizona "show-your-papers" measure in mixed ruling
 

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday that a controversial Arizona "show-your-papers" immigration provision that has been upheld by the Supreme Court may go into effect, but in a split ruling blocked another measure making it a crime to harbor illegal immigrants.

The measure that was upheld, part of a broader law to combat illegal immigration in the state bordering Mexico, home to an estimated 360,000 undocumented immigrants, requires police to check the immigration status of people they stop and suspect are in the country illegally.

In allowing that measure to proceed, District Court Judge Susan Bolton ruled the law's challengers had failed to show they were likely to prevail on the merits of the case, but noted that the top court had left open the possibility of contesting the provision "after it goes into effect."

In a mixed ruling, Bolton also issued a preliminary injunction blocking a part of the state law, known as SB 1070, that made it a crime to transport, shield or harbor an illegal immigrant within Arizona's borders.

Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer, a major White House foe in the battle over illegal immigration, signed the state crackdown on illegal immigrants into law in April 2010, complaining that the federal government had failed to secure the state's border with Mexico.

Brewer welcomed the ruling, which she said brought Arizona "one big step closer to implementing the core provision of SB 1070."

http://news.yahoo.com/judge-upholds-...000045097.html

Mass. Lawmakers “Greatly Troubled” By Judge’s Sex Change Ruling
 

BOSTON (CBS) – In a letter to the state Department of Correction, 50 Massachusetts lawmakers say they are “greatly troubled” by a federal judge’s ruling that ordered prison officials to provide sex-reassignment surgery to a transgender inmate.

The lawmakers are urging that the DOC appeal the judge’s ruling.

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf made the ruling in the case of Michelle Kosilek, who was born as a man but has received hormone treatments and lives as a woman in an all-male prison.

Kosilek is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife, Cheryl.

“The nature of his punishment – life imprisonment without the possibility of parole – sheds light on the heinousness of the crime,” the letter reads.

In his ruling Tuesday, Wolf found that surgery is the “only adequate treatment” for Kosilek’s “serious medical need.”

The lawmakers responded, saying, “We find such a suggestion to be unjustifiable, against the better judgment of the citizens of this state, and offensive to the family of Cheryl McCaul.”

Cheryl’s family is grateful that the lawmakers are urging an appeal.

“I think this is a great letter,” says Cheryl’s niece Susan Ohannessian. “It needs to happen. The fight is on and we are not going to back down on this.”

Latino group asks court to stop Texas voting map
 

WASHINGTON—A Latino civil rights group is asking the Supreme Court to stop Texas from using congressional districts drawn by a lower federal court in the November election because they discriminate against minorities.

The League of United Latin American Citizens filed the request Friday. The group says the court-drawn map, intended for use only in this year's election, has the same flaws identified by federal judges in Washington who last month rejected political boundaries drawn by Texas lawmakers as discriminatory.

The interim congressional map was used in Texas' primaries in May and was devised to let the state hold elections while courts considered challenges to redistricting plans adopted by the legislature following the 2010 census. Last week, the judges who drew the interim map declined to change it.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/wa...--+Latest+news

--------------------------------------------------


Does anyone know the history behind or the criteria for drawing voting districts? I used to know this.

Not sure this is breaking news, but it didn't feel right putting it in the good news thread...not that I'm not in total agreement, I am, but....well, you know what I mean, I'm sure.




Barney Frank Torches Log Cabin Republicans: 'Many Of Them Are Nice. So Was Uncle Tom'




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1875373.html

Not breaking news, but Yahoo has posted an article from Business Insider (never heard of it) about how Obama has made and invested his own money. LINK

ANYWAY, he donated all the Nobel Prize money, and 100k of it went to the Central Asia Institute, which has been accused of lying and misusing donations. The Greg Mortenson/Three Cups of Tea scandal. ANYWAY, I got burned by them too -- for a considerably smaller donation. So I felt better when I read that people with considerably more informed advisors than I have made the same mistake.

Hopefully some of that money went for schools in Afghanistan. :(

Ma RMV will ‘be ready’ for proof of legal residence law in January
 

When the heck did this happen?


SOMERVILLE - Despite Gov. Deval Patrick’s concerns that it might be used to “identify and police” undocumented immigrants, the Registry of Motor Vehicles will be able by January to implement a new law requiring that vehicles be registered only by someone with “proof of legal residence,” according to Registrar Rachel Kaprielian.

Gov. Deval Patrick unsuccessfully sought to amend and then vetoed legislation with the new requirement, but the Legislature rejected his amendment and then overrode his veto, 24-10 in the Senate and 135-19 in the House. The plan was inserted into the fiscal 2013 state budget and while proponents said that it was a common sense safety measure, Patrick said it veered too far into stringent immigration enforcement.

The law says anyone registering ownership of a motor vehicle at the Registry of Motor Vehicles must have “proof of legal residence” though Kaprielian will be empowered to write “exemptions for out-of-state students, military personnel, senior citizens and disabled persons,” as well as other exemptions.

Under the law, people seeking to register a motor vehicle or trailer would need to provide a driver’s license, a state identification card, Social Security number or “other proof of legal residence.”

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/reg...60197&srvc=rss

Didn't know where this one should go
 

The giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C
Panda-monium! Panda born at National Zoo; panda cam overwhelmed,

WASHINGTON -- The capital region's newest celebrity is no bigger than a stick of butter.

The National Zoo's female giant panda gave birth Sunday night, generating panda-monium in a city that has adored the rare creatures since the first pandas arrived in the wake of President Richard Nixon's 1972 groundbreaking trip to Beijing.

Zoo officials think they caught a glimpse, via panda cam, of the unnamed cub being clutched tightly by its mother, Mei Xiang (pronounced may-SHONG), but got confirmation of its arrival via loud squealing.

Back in 2010, Carly Simon came out publicly that she and other wealthy clients (of celebrity, too) were taken to the cleaners by Kenneth I Starr (a ponzi scheme very similar to the Madoff debacle).

Starr was a former CPA, and is now a dis-barred attorney; plus from what I could find, is due to get out of prison soon - they only gave him a short sentence, who knows if he reconciled the terrible crime financially to people who got burned by him.

I don't think you or myself or others who invest and are burned by schemes like this have technically made a 'mistake'. It appears obvious to me that Starr made mistakes in judgement though (Madoff, et al, too).

This does not bode well.....

California man accused of ESPN post about killing kids arrested

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/18...#ixzz270tbMneE

"A California man accused of posting comments on ESPN's website that claimed he was watching kids and wouldn't mind killing them is in jail on $1 million bail after he was arrested for investigation of making terrorist threats."

Stupid: YES
Scary person: YES
Troll: YES
Terrorist: NO

I don't like it and the posting scares me but we can't lock up people for this type of thing. Think if the precedence it sets.

I am suspecting there is more to this story than is being reported at the moment.

I thought it was odd myself and went looking for other stories on it. Seems there was more than one posting but there is no elaboration on the content aside from this headline grabber.

I am more concerned as to what ESPN's criteria is for reporting postings on their web site to authorities.

espn forums, comments, etc. ... the outlets they give for people to express their thoughts, are abused. tremendously. this sort of threat and so many others ... just meanness, are done on a daily basis ... on the boards/comments. espn doesn't police very well.

If evidence was found, I would agree but I don't see anywhere that evidence was found. As Kobi said there may be more to the story.

I do find it interesting that the bail is $100,000 for a threat but someone with actual evidence of child porn has bail at $50,000. http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/09/12...of-child-porn/

Three states join lawsuit challenging Dodd-Frank law
 

Reuters) - Three U.S. states have joined a lawsuit against federal regulators, challenging the constitutionality of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that overhauled U.S. financial oversight and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The attorneys general of Michigan, Oklahoma and South Carolina are challenging a portion of Dodd-Frank that empowers the Treasury secretary to order the liquidation of failing financial institutions, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday.

The states joined a suit filed in June by conservative think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Texas bank and a senior citizens group.

Dodd-Frank, passed by Congress in response to the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis, gives regulators broad authority to oversee financial institutions.

It has since drawn criticism from Republicans and industry groups who say the new regulations go too far and could strangle businesses and restrict credit. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pledged to repeal Dodd-Frank, but few see that promise turning into a reality.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/three-state...3--sector.html

Minister's email to gay community sparks privacy complaints




http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stor...ian-email.html

I know someone might find this interesting...
 

U.S. immigration to recognize same-sex partners
September 29, 2012 Ronnie Cohen


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Obama administration has directed immigration officials to recognize same-sex partners as family members in deportation cases, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Friday.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Pelosi in a letter that she had ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to notify its field offices "that the interpretation of the phrase â??family relationships' includes long-term, same-sex partners."

To read the entire article click link below...


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...tion-officials

Prop 8 Blog...one for our youth
 

California governor signs ‘ex-gay’ therapy ban into law
By Jacob Combs

California is now the first state to prohibit the use of so-called gay ‘conversion’ therapy on minors after Governor Jerry Brown signed a ban into law this Saturday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. From the Chronicle:

The bill, SB1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), bars mental health practitioners from performing so-called reparative therapy, which professional psychological organizations have said may cause harm. Gay rights groups have labeled them dangerous and abusive.

“This bill bans non-scientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery,” Brown said in a statement to The Chronicle.

Brown approved the ban after the public release of two other lists of bills signed and vetoed earlier Saturday. Lieu’s bill is expected to appear on a new list to be released Sunday.

The new law will take effect on January 1 and will prohibit mental health providers from practicing therapy with an aim “”to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

The Courage Campaign, which sponsors P8TT, was among the groups spearheading the push to pass SB 1172 through the legislature and encourage Governor Brown to sign the bill. Rick Jacobs, Courage’s founder and chair, issued the following statement the bill was signed:

“Governor Brown has shown courage for enacting the first law in the nation to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for gay people. The Governor’s action will protect thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth of California. This law will save lives here and across the nation by ending the torture of young people through the quackery that suggests that gay people can decide somehow not to be gay, which is akin to white people deciding not to be white. Once again, California is a model for the nation.”

This woman rocks!
 

Overweight News Anchor Takes Fat-Shaming Bully to Task on Air
 

When Jennifer Livingston, the morning news anchor for WKBT-TV in La Crosse, Wisconsin, got the email last week, she was stunned.

"Now those of us in the media get a healthy dose of critiques from our viewers throughout the year, and we realize that it comes with having a job in the public eye," she said. "But this email was more than that."

Tuesday morning, when she took a took a deep breath and, her voice was trembling just a little, read the email out loud. On air.

"Hi, Jennifer," she read. "It's unusual that I see your morning show, but I did so for a very short time today. I was surprised indeed to witness that your physical conniption hasn't improved for many years. Surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular. Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain. I leave you this note hoping that you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle."

She didn't identify the writer of the email, saying only that she received it on Friday from a La Crosse Man, and that the subject was "Community Responsibility."

October is National Anti-Bullying month, she pointed out to her viewers. "It is a major issue in the lives of young people today, and as the mother of three young girls, it scares me to death," she said. While the cruel words "mean nothing to me," what angers her is the fact that kids are bullied, in person and via email and social media, every day.

"This behavior is learned. It is passed down from people like the man who wrote me that email," she pointed out. "If you are at home and you are talking about the 'Fat News Lady,' guess what? Your children are probably going to go to school and call someone fat."

"We need to teach our kind to be kind, not critical, and we need to do that by example," she added, thanking viewers and Facebook fans for taking a stand against a bully. "We are better than that email. We are better than the bullies which try to take us down."

She wrapped up her editorial with a word to kids who find themselves facing bullies of their own.

"To all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the color your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face. Listen to me right now: Do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies," she said. "Learn from my experience that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many."

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-livin...193700343.html

Arkansas Republicans' comments on slavery, Muslims stir controversy
 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - Republicans in Arkansas are struggling to get past the controversy generated by a state lawmaker who wrote that slavery might have benefited blacks and a candidate who has advocated expelling Muslims from the United States.

The Republican politicians' comments have been roundly criticized and have created an opportunity for Democrats ahead of the November 6 election. Arkansas has a Democratic governor but has voted Republican in the past three presidential elections.

In his self-published 2009 book titled "Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative," state Representative Jon Hubbard of Jonesboro, Arkansas, writes that "the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise."

Hubbard, a retired teacher and Vietnam veteran who was elected to the statehouse in 2010, also wrote, "Wouldn't life for blacks in America today be more enjoyable and successful if they would only learn to appreciate the value of a good education?"

His book also says that blacks "are likely much better than they ever would have enjoyed living in sub-Saharan Africa."

Charles Fuqua of Batesville, Arkansas, is currently seeking a House of Representatives seat. His e-book "God's Law: The Only Political Solution" came out in April on Amazon.

"I see no solution to the Muslim problem short of expelling all followers of the religion from the United States," he writes in his book, according to The Arkansas Times newspaper.

Fuqua, an attorney, served as a state representative from 1995 to 1998 before losing a state senate race.

Neither Hubbard nor Fuqua could be reached for comment. Both are running for election in November.

The Republican Party of Arkansas denounced their comments and distanced itself from the two candidates.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/arkansas-re...235129440.html

Single euro zone budget gains momentum ahead of summit
 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Debate about the idea of creating a separate budget for euro zone countries is intensifying in the run-up to an EU summit later this month, with less opposition to the proposal than many officials first expected, diplomats say.

While conceptually it may make sense for the countries that share one currency to also create a single budget, it immediately raises thorny questions about sovereignty, budget discipline and long-term ambitions.

Germany's precise ideas about how a single budget would be financed, managed and employed are likely to be vastly different from Portugal's, Estonia's, Italy's or France's once leaders and finance ministers get into the nitty-gritty of the concept.

Yet there are already some broad proposals doing the rounds, including the idea -- backed by France -- that the budget could be financed by revenue from a financial transactions tax (FTT).

Germany and France are already driving an initiative to establish an FTT among nine euro zone, the minimum number permitted to do it alone. There is already support from eight countries and a ninth could come on board as soon as next week, giving added impetus to the plan.

But other euro zone countries that might like a single budget, such as Finland, are lukewarm on the idea of an FTT, underscoring just how complex negotiations could become.

There are also differences of opinion about why a single budget is desirable. Germany sees it as a means of building solidarity and tightening budget rules without moving to the more extreme suggestion of mutualising all euro zone debt.

France sees a single budget more as a means of ironing out divergences in social and employment policy, arguing that it could be used to help underwrite unemployment benefits in a country suffering from much higher joblessness than the rest.

While many countries are voicing quiet support for the idea, it is also clear that most have a conflicting take on what it would involve if it were ever to become a reality.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/single-euro...--finance.html
-----------------------


This is scary news. One the one hand it can be seen as desperate times call for desperate measures. On the other hand, it can be seen as advancing the new world order of one currency and one economy.

Wealth Gap Between Congress and Average Americans Widens
 

According to a new report in The Washington Post, the median net worth of the current Congress rose 5% during the recession while it fell 39% for the average American. The wealthiest one-third of lawmakers saw their net worth rise 14%.

The Washington Post disclosed these statistics in a recent story on the wealth gap between Congressional members and the American public.

"These are supposed to be our representatives," says The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task. "If they're not living the same lives or understanding the lives that the average American is living, how can they really represent our interests?"

The Post analyzed the financial disclosure forms and public records for all Congressional members from 2004 to 2010. Some key findings of the report are:

By 2010, the median estimated wealth for members of the House of Representatives was $746,000; for senators it was $2.6 million.
There was virtually no difference between the wealth of Republicans and Democrats in 2010. Just six years earlier, the net worth of Republicans was 44% higher than the net worth of Democrats.
28% of Congress, or 150 members, reported earning more income from outside jobs and investments than from their Congressional salary of $174,000.
27% of Congressional members saw a decline in their net worth between 2004 and 2010.
Lawmakers acquired their wealth in a variety of ways but real estate, institutional funds and the wealth of their spouses were the top three sources.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi increased her wealth by an estimated $60 million between 2004 and 2010. The gains primarily came from the commercial real estate holdings of her husband, according to The Post. Representative Darrell Issa made his reported $448 million in commercial real estate as well as other financial investments.

"We have this huge disparity that's only getting worse in terms of inequality in this country," says The Daily Ticker's Henry Blodget. "If it continues, the country will begin to break apart and get more and more antagonistic class warfare. It's something we have got to solve not only in Congress but in the American public at large."

Is Congress pursuing policies that benefit middle and lower income Americans? The Washington Post found that 73 lawmakers sponsored or co-sponsored legislation that could benefit businesses or industries that involved those Congressional members or their families.

"It's just outrageous that our legislators could be profiting directly from the legislation that they're making," says Aaron Task.

Top 10 Wealthiest Members of Congress (by household assets, 2010) according to The Washington Post:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) $448.1M
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) $380.4M
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) $231.7M
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) $143.2M
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) $136.2M
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) $101.1M
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. VA) $99.1M
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) $85.6M
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) $73.2M
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) $69.0M

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily...164000800.html

The only way to solve this is to get private money out of political campaigns. Public financing of all campaigns and all elections. That way the regular man or woman of any socioeconomic class can run for office and get elected.........

You always hear that the Republicans are the filthy rich ones.........yet the top 10 is 7 Democrats and 3 Republicans.......mmmmmm

I never thought I would see advertising like this, I am so excited!
 

'Every trip is unique': Expedia releases groundbreaking same-sex marriage advert
Find Your Understanding advert has been watched more than a million times on YouTube
Poignant advert shows a father travelling across the U.S. to attend his daughter's same-sex wedding
Some viewers have branded the clip 'sinful' and 'sexually deviant'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ge-advert.html