Category: Democratic News

Senator John Kerry refused to apologize for his remarks telling a group of college students they could either work hard in school or “get stuck in Iraq.” CNN reports on President Bush’s response, “Even in the midst of a heated campaign season, there are still some things we should all be able to agree on, and one of the most important is that every one of our troops deserves our gratitude and respect.”

Kerry was unapologetic, “The White House’s attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe,” the Massachusetts senator said. “It’s a stunning statement about their willingness to reduce anything in America to raw politics.”

Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland defended Kerry, “John Kerry is a patriot who has fought tooth and nail for veterans ever since he came home from Vietnam. He has stood with his brothers in arms unlike this administration, which exploits our troops to make a political point and divide America,” Cleland said in a statment.

Kerry fired back in a pointed statement. “I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed-suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq.” He further criticized “Republican hacks who have never worn the uniform of our country.”

“If anyone owes the troops in the fields an apology, it is the president,” Kerry said.

If you haven’t yet, you owe it to yourself to spend the next 9 minutes of your life watching or reading Keith Olberman’s commentary at MSNBC. The entire piece is absolutely riveting, a complete condemnation of the Bush Administration and the Military Commissions Act. Among his more pointed remarks:

For, on this first full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering:

A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from.

Give yourself just 9 minutes.

A story off the AP wire describes the case of a teenage girl in Chicago who suffered from stabbing pains in her face that felt “like electric shocks,” lasting anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds each and striking 20 to 30 times a day.? Doctors diagnosed her with trigeminal neuralgia, a nerve disorder sometimes called “suicide disease” because of the excruciating and dispiriting pain it causes.

After trying pain killers and stronger medication, the cure proved more simple: she removed the metal stud from her pierced tongue.? The pain vanished two days later.

These are not the only complications from tongue-piercing, some life-threatening, described in a recent article from the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A tragic story in today’s Chicago Sun-Times demonstrates the continuing need for attention to teen suicide. The story details a “lovesick 16-year old girl” in Atlanta, GA, who crashed her car into another vehicle in a suicide attempt. In the moments leading up to the crash, the girl was sending text messages to the female classmate who spurned her. The girl survived. However, a woman driving the other car was killed, 30-year old Nancy Salado-Mayo, a mother of three.

The teenager, Louise Egan Brunstad, was charged with murder.

”There was what might be described as a countdown to the actual event — 10, 9, 8 . . . then the crash,” District Attorney Paul Howard said.

Prosecutors intend to try her as an adult. She faces an automatic life sentence if convicted.

Tragedies like this are all too common. Suicide is still the leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds, the sixth leading cause of death for 5 to 14 year olds.

And suicide is preventable. Thirty percent of all young people who commit suicide are gay or lesbian. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1989). This statistic is incredibly shocking, as gay teens only comprise approximately one-tenth of the teen population. This means that they are 300 times more likely to kill themselves than heterosexual youth.

Among The Warning Signs of Teen Suicide:

• Change in eating and sleeping habits.
• Drug and alcohol abuse.
• Noticeable personality change.
• Violent reactions, rebellious behavior, running away.
• Persistent boredom, difficulty concentrating, falling grades.

In Searching for a Way Out: Stopping Gay Teen Suicides, Ciara Torres reports:

Examples of discrimination are ubiquitous. In 42 states, gays have no legal protection from employment or housing discrimination. Worse, laws put on the books during colonial times still criminalize homosexual acts in 25 states. These laws were upheld in 1986 by the Supreme Court in the Bowers v. Hardwick case.

Thus young gay individuals realize that they must hide their identity for fear of social and legal consequences which can destroy their lives. Homosexuals can be fired, evicted, kept from their own biological children, restricted from adopting children, and imprisoned for sodomy. The homosexuality of historical figures has been systematically left out of education in the public schools, giving gay youth the false impression that gays have never affected history in a positive way.

There is much room for hope, however. When schools support gay and lesbian teens, the positive results are phenomenal. The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network reports on how Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have taken the lead in reaching out to gay and lesbian students. Sister Mary Ellen Gevelinger, O.P., Ed.D. and Laurel Zimmerman tell of a girl who stood in front of a class and reported of her friend Heidi. Heidi had been beaten, kicked, and reviled by her parents. When she was 14 she was told she could no longer live at home. She moved from place to place, stayed with relatives and friends with whom she was barely tolerated. She attended three different high schools. “Students and teachers at the schools she attended often treated her as an outcast, so eventually she learned to keep to herself and tell no one about who or what she was.”

Her sin? In her early teens, she had told her parents she was a lesbian. The girl concluded her remarks to the class, “I am Heidi.”

The Archdiocese took the lead:

We developed the following mission statement: “The Pastoral Care and Sexual Identity Study Group in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis exists to support competent and compassionate pastoral care for all students, families, and staff in the Catholic schools communities.” By the end of the year, we had identified four goals:

1. Hold a workshop for all teachers, administrators, and counselors on the topic of sexual identity.
2. Train faculty members in each school to function as “safe staff.”
3. Teach students and teachers that homophobic behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable.
4. Form an interschool support group for students.

Sr. Gevelinger and Laurel Zimmerman respond to the question, how can a Catholic school system reach out to gay and lesbian students? They cite many writings from Catholic bishops that show “less concern for homosexual behaviors and more concern for the pastoral care and just treatment.” They provide evidence with the followin statement from John Roach, Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (1991):

“Many homosexuals experience unnecessary pain and suffering … It is the firm intention of this local church not only to advocate for the rights of homosexual persons, but to provide care for such persons.”

There is hope. Sadly, Louise Egan Brunstad, age 16, is now charged with murder. And Mrs. Nancy Salado-Mayo, age 30, mother of three, is dead.

News outlets are reporting today that Barack Obama has finally admitted that he has not ruled out a run for the presidency in 2008. This is good news. However, there are quite a few who think 2008 may be too early for Senator Obama.

I was proud and honored to work Sen. Obama’s campaign for election to the U.S. Senate. I met him first at the “Barn” in Olympia Fields, IL. At the time it was easy to approach the then-State Senator, and ask him how he stood on some key issues. First impressions? Then, as now, gold. He spoke to me, not at me.

I have no doubt that Sen. Obama could, can, and will become one of our greatest U.S. presidents. Imagine a U.S. President who can talk to, not down to, the American people. Imagine a U.S. President who can talk to, not down to, the international community, the press. You name it.

And I’m confident that wife Michelle will keep him grounded. She better. I’ve often wondered what his Achilles heel might be. I’m sure the weird-right is wondering as well. But I think he can handle them. With Michelle at his side.

The Greeks spoke of kairos, the right time, the ample time, the perfect moment.

Obama just needs to be himself. He’s remarkable. But himself at the right time, right place.

And not a moment too soon.

Who can ever replace Mark Foley?

A Democrat. Tim Mahoney.

Mahoney is running to replace Mark Foley in Congress. Americans are completely fed up with Republican leadership. Yes, we know that the Democrats are not perfect, but the Democrats never claimed to be perfect. When we have problems, we take care of them. When the White House has problems, they promote and give medals.

Mahoney believes in responsibility and accountability, regardless of anyone’s political affiliation. He has pledged to fight for fiscal responsibility. He is a successful rancher and businessman who supports 9/11 Commission reforms to keep our country safe. Mahoney’s website reports that Republicans are pouring in money to produce negative campaign ads.

Mahoney has been campaigning for over a year, and the disgraced Republicans in Florida have a hand-picked candidate to try to keep the seat. If you can contribute at all, the time is now.

The New York Sun reports that a new Republican ad financed by white billionaire J. Patrick Roone calls black women “Hos.” The group, America’s Pac, began running ads last month in more than two dozen congressional districts. The ads triumph some right-wing pride issues: warrantless wiretapping and school choice among them. The most notorious of the ads target abortion, accusing Democrats of discrimination because “black babies are terminated at triple the rate of white babies.” The most shameful exchange explicitly exploits African Americans. In an exchange between two black men:

“If you make a little mistake with one of your ‘hos,’ you’ll want to dispose of that problem tout suite, no questions asked,” one of the men says.

“That’s too cold. I don’t snuff my own seed,” the other replies.

“Maybe you do have a reason to vote Republican,” the first man says.

Another ad attempts to link Democrats to white supremacist David Duke, who served as a Republican in the Louisiana Legislature:

“I can understand why a Ku Klux Klan cracker like David Duke makes nice with the terrorists,”a male voice in the ad says. “What I want to know is why so many of the Democrat politicians I helped elect are on the same side of the Iraq war as David Duke.”

The ads are completely inflammatory. Essentially, the ads are financed by white billionaires recruiting black actors who apparently speak on behalf of the black community.

Just when you thought FOX news was Odd and Biased, they go right over the edge.

David Friend’s new book, Watching the World Change, takes a look at the images of 9/11, some of the stories behind them, and the effect of these images on a post-9/11 world. The book has made a major impact on the lives of many, and Friend’s website has become a focal point for people’s memories and reflections.

What has escaped the attention of many up to this point was a disturbing quote in the book from Roger Ailes, head of FOX news. Friend asked him, “What was the significance of two billion people being able to watch the same thing at the same time on September 11?” Ailes’ response was extremely disturbing:

“The implications from a television standpoint are simply that: When the end of the world comes, we’ll be able to cover it live until the last camera goes out. I believe I mean it literally. If you can witness something like [9/11] by two billion people, live, then there’s nothing that can’t be covered. And if we get into a world war, with nuclear weapons, I assume we’ll be covering it live.”

“It’s horrifying to think about. But maybe God set it up that way. You can either figure out how to live in freedom…and hope, or you can watch yourselves burn to death. Nine-eleven is a warning shot that says: Look, this can go either way. It’s your choice, folks.”

The political and religious implications of this statement are horrifying. Do the execs. at FOX really believe that the end is near, and they will somehow be blest to cover the final battle? When pressed as to whether he really meant that we would all be watching the Apocalypse live on FOX, Ailes responded, “I believe I mean it literally.”

Someone check the man’s medication and turn the channel.

Judy Shepard spoke at Roosevelt University in Chicago Monday, October 16. Her son Matthew was murdered at age 21 in an anti-gay hate crime October 12, 1998. The presentation was not at all what I expected. I’m not sure what I expected. Perhaps I’m still grieving for Matt, and expected tears from his mother, or someone angry. But Judy Shepard told a soft, determined, calm, and, at times, humorous story.

She started by reading the victim impact statement which she first read at the sentencing hearing for Russell Henderson, one of the two men convicted in the murder of Matthew Shepard.

“I’ll never understand why anyone would hurt Matt,” Shepard said in the statement.

She then segued into a brief presentation on the importance of voting. Mrs. Shepard, a proud Democrat, spoke at length about life in Wyoming, a staunchly Republican state with a population of 450,000 people. Her tongue-in-cheek humor about Wyoming provided a window into her warm spirit, “People give the same answer when asked either why they live or do not live in Wyoming: ‘Because no one else lives there.'”

She came on stage after a brief film that spoke about two hate crimes: the murder of her son Matthew, and the murder of James Byrd, Jr. Mrs. Shepard said she felt it was important to speak about both because all crimes of hate are related.

This was not a person speaking in anger. While conveying her family’s pain seeing Matt in the hospital, hardly recognizable, she spoke about the unimaginable with strength. She seemed to draw strength from reading the victim impact statement, and conveyed strength as she continued to tell her story. She spoke about the importance of gays and lesbians coming out to family, friends, and co-workers. Telling one humorous anecdote, she recalled speaking to a 50 year old man who told her he was so touched by her talk that he finally came out to his mother. She laughed, “You mean she really didn’t know? Trust me, a mother knows.”

She spoke about Matt coming out to her at age 18. Her response was simple, “What took you so long to tell me?” Her husband Dennis took a bit longer to understand Matt’s coming out, but not much more. He was not present Monday, but his victim impact statement is worth thoughtful reflection.
Her story was about pain, forgiveness, and realizing that the pain continues for others; that racism continues, bigotry continues, hate continues.

The presentation was over too soon.

Support the Matthew Shepard foundation.