Occupation: Managing Partner of Jenner & Block's Washington, DC office.
Education: graduated from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1991
Clinton White House: In 1997, served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno. He subsequently rose to Deputy Assistant Attorney General, supervising the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division, which represents virtually every federal agency in complex civil litigation. Perrelli also supervised the Justice Department's Tobacco Litigation Team in its litigation against the major cigarette manufacturers.
End of Life issues
"An attorney who won an award for representing Terri Schiavo's husband Michael in his efforts to kill his disabled wife is now an advisor to the transition team of incoming president Barack Obama.
Thomas Perrelli, who raised over $500,000 for the pro-abortion presidential candidate and is the managing partner of a Washington law firm, Jenner & Block LLP, is helping advise Obama on putting together a Justice Department team.
However, Perrelli provided Michael Schiavo with legal advice during his response to the Congressional bill that President Bush signed allowing the Schindler family to take their lawsuit seeking to prevent Terri's euthanasia death from state to federal courts.
Perrelli led the Jenner & Block team that developed the legal briefs opposing appeals for Michael and he ultimately received the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award in October 2006 for representing Terri's former husband at no cost.
On Michael's legal team, Perrelli worked with infamous pro-euthanasia attorney George Felos as well as lawyers from the Florida chapter of the ACLU."
Background: "The 2010 midterm elections and the resulting battles over redistricting will shape the future of both political parties. A case challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) is being offered to the Supreme Court, highlighting these political stakes. And President-elect Barack Obama's Justice Department is about to take center stage in this fight. The Constitution requires legislative districts be redrawn after each decennial national census. The 2010 midterm elections will determine the makeup of all 50 state legislatures. With few exceptions, these legislatures will then draw new lines of all congressional districts, as well as many state legislative districts, for the 2012 election and beyond. A major factor in this redistricting is the Voting Rights Act. A number of VRA's provisions apply nationwide, originally designed to protect the right of African Americans to vote. But another provision of the law has been challenged in a case that has now been offered to the U.S. Supreme Court. Section Five of the VRA requires certain jurisdictions with a history of egregious racism to go through a special process before they can make any changes affecting voting. Under Section Five, these jurisdictions must get pre-clearance from the U.S. Justice Department before they can redistrict or make any other changes to their election laws or procedures, or get a three-judge panel of the federal district court in D.C. to sign off on the jurisdiction's plan. The law requires the Justice Department or the federal court to determine whether the changes would have either the purpose or the effect of abridging the right to vote." Blackwell, Ken. "Obama Justice." Washington Times Dec. 31, 2008.
"Mr. Perrelli, a former Justice Department official and Harvard Law School classmate of Mr. Obama's, helped raise $500,000 for the president-elect's campaign, has worked as an attorney for the recording industry, which has significant business before the Justice Department, and represented Democratic lawmakers and voters involved in politically charged redistricting cases, an issue certain to rise again with the 2010 census." Dinan, Stephen. "Obama's Justice Picks Draws Ire of Pro-lifers." Jan. 6, 2009.
Miscellaneous
Close friendship with President-elect Obama
"At Harvard, (Cassandra) Butts was moot court partners with Perrelli, who first met Obama at the dinner party and served as his managing editor on the Harvard Law Review. Perrelli, a Washington lawyer who had never been a fundraiser, would go on to collect more than $500,000 for Obama's presidential campaign. He is now part of the Department of Justice transition team.
'We have all been friends together, and we found a common enterprise through Barack,' Perrelli said. Perrelli occupied seat 151 of professor Laurence Tribe's constitutional law class in the fall 1989 semester - just a few feet away from Obama (seat 26) and two others who would prove vital to his ambitions: Julius Genachowski (93) and Michael Froman (103)."
In the latestMapping America, federal surveys show that those who are currently very happily married were more likely, as adolescents, to attend religious services at least monthly and to live with both biological parents.
Viacom-Time Warner Cable Cut Deal for Price Increases
Last week, cable giant Time Warner "negotiated" a deal to keep showing Viacom's channels after December 31, 2008. As a Los Angeles Times article indicated the companies were battling hard with Viacom threatening to turn off kid's shows to get their money:
"Viacom had purchased newspaper advertisements, featuring a tearful Dora the Explorer, and placed an on-screen crawl on its channels to alert viewers to the impending programming blackout. The ads encouraged viewers to complain to Time Warner Cable."
"The tactic worked -- parents reported having to soothe children who were upset over the prospect of not being able to watch their favorite shows on Nickelodeon, including 'SpongeBob SquarePants.'"
Emotional blackmailers of children - in which circle of Hell did Dante place such scoundrels? Not a pleasant one I'll bet.
Well, of course, Time Warner capitulated and agreed to a 12% increase for the Viacom channels. Under the old agreement, for example, Viacom received about 32 cents per subscriber per month from cable operators for MTV. If you didn't want MTV - tough. Time Warner carries Viacom channels into 13.3 million houses, so one-third of a dollar per month per subscriber ain't chicken feed.
Unfortunately, the mechanism to protect consumers from such price increases, manipulation of children, and unwanted purchases of cable channels is not in place. What would that be? It is having the power to refuse to purchase and pay for cable channels.
This episode points to the need for consumer choice in cable TV channel selection. If cable subscribers had that power - - SpongeBob SquarePants would probably be the one who would need some serious consolation right now after many adults turned him off and pocketed the change.
POSITION: UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
NOMINEE: Janet Napolitano
Born: New York City, November 29, 1957
Occupation: Governor of Arizona - elected in 2002 and again in 2006
Education: Santa Clara University and law degree from University of Virginia
Political Career: While a partner in the Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca LLP, Napolitano served as attorney for Anita Hill when Hill testified against the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas. Appointed by President Bill Clinton as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, she then ran for and won the position of Arizona Attorney General in 1998 where she focused on consumer protection issues and general law enforcement.
Abortion: "I am committed to women's reproductive rights. Current protections must not be eroded, and we must continue to fight to provide Arizona women with the support they need in making decisions about their own bodies. Thus, I am pro-choice."
Napolitano vetoed every piece of abortion legislation that came across her desk - seven pro-life measures in total including a partial-birth abortion ban as well as a bill to strengthen parental consent requirements. She refused to sign measures to make sure taxpayer funds do not pay for abortions for state workers. As Governor she vetoed a bill that would allow women to know that an unborn baby will feel pain during an abortion procedure. She vetoed a bill in 2004 that would have allowed women to receive information about abortion's risk and alternatives that abortion businesses sometimes withhold from women considering abortions. In addition, she vetoed a measure that would have protected pro-life pharmacists from being forced to dispense drugs that could cause abortions.
Appointment of Judges: "Governor Napolitano defends appointment of judges even though the system never throws anyone out." "Governor Napolitano is quoted in the Yellow Sheet defending the system of merit selection in Arizona's larger counties, which allows the governor to appoint judges instead of requiring them to run for election. They are only required to run for re-election, but it's impossible to vote them out at that point since they have no name recognition from having never run a real campaign."...."It is impossible to get rid of bad judges with merit selection, and the governor is able to appoint her political flacks like former legislator Bill Brotherton who has little relevant legal experience; his background consists mainly of Democrat political activism. Three of Napolitano's 15 or so judicial appointments have been gay, considering this (20%) is significantly higher than the proportion of gays in the general population, it is clear that Napolitano is able to pursue her own political agenda in the appointment of judges. Instead of getting judgeships based on real merit, political leftists are able to get judgeships based on their leftwing ideological connections to Napolitano." [source]
Napolitano's Appointees: As Governor, Janet Napolitano has embedded pro-gay rights and pro-abortion activists throughout her administration. One example is Bryan Howard, who was appointed as a member of the governor's Commission on the Health Status of Women and Families. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded Howard their highest honor for leadership for his role as CEO of Planned Parenthood of Arizona. In his acceptance speech, he said the following: "I am proud of what I have accomplished and how we've accomplished it. I am proud that more mothers and babies survive the perils of pregnancy. I am proud that more families celebrate a new addition rather than regret it. And I am proud we are helping more young people to experience their sexuality in a healthy, thoughtful way, whether they are gay, straight, bisexual or transgendered." According to the Planned Parenthood account, Howard's "advocacy on behalf of reproductive rights has led to significant progress for women and families in Arizona, including Governor Janet Napolitano's rejection of federal abstinence-only funding." [source]
Law enforcement: As Secretary of Homeland Security the Governor's future performance can best be judged by her record on the issue of immigration in a border state. She used her veto power on some key bills to cut benefits for and the flow of illegal aliens into the state. Some of those bills included one denying in-state tuition and day care for illegal aliens and one allowing local authorities to enforce immigration law. She vetoed a bill making English the official state language. She went directly up against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's successful border operations and developed a new task force headed by the Department of Public Safety concentrating on illegal felons with outstanding warrants. Her mantra in dealing with the illegal immigration problems in her border state has been, "Security and immigration are the federal government's responsibility."
'While she has complied with allowing the border fence to be built, she has been unenthusiastic about its success. Last year, Ms. Napolitano reached a deal with Mr. Chertoff to make driver's licenses more secure under a federal program known as REAL ID, but in June she signed a bill refusing to put the standards in place, calling the program an unfinanced federal mandate. She was a vocal critic when Congress failed to pass legislation last year revamping immigration law and has also backed proposals favored by some immigrant advocacy groups, including a temporary worker program and 'a strict and stringent pathway to citizenship' for illegal immigrants already here that would include learning English and paying fines. But last year she also signed into law sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers and later complained when the Bush administration withdrew the bulk of the National Guard from the Mexican border earlier this year, as it had planned." Randal C. Archibold, New York Times, November 20, 2008
Virginity Pledge Study "Misses the Boat" on Abstinence Education
The Rosenbaum study comparing the sexual behavior of "virginity pledgers and nonpledgers" is a distraction from increasingly effective risk avoidance, or abstinence-centered, health prevention programs. Such programs are not the same as virginity pledge programs, and have stronger foundations in behavioral change than such pledges. The implication that this study should discredit federally funded abstinence programs for youth misses the boat from a behavioral science standpoint.
There are important ways in which abstinence programs are different from "virginity pledge" presentations. In order to accomplish behavior change or have a person successfully practice a specific behavior, precursors affecting that behavior have to be influenced. These include things such as knowledge as well as attitudes and intentions towards the behavior. The theoretical construct viewed as having the strongest effect on practicing a behavior is "self-efficacy." Self-efficacy is the belief of a person that he or she can actually practice the behavior - the belief that they can actually do it successfully. Abstinence education programs teach skills in communication and refusal and impart additional information to youth for example about healthy relationships, goal setting, disease prevention, and social responsibility. All these elements serve to better equip youth, thus increasing self-efficacy. Additionally, the longer the duration of the intervention or program, the more the health message, information, and skills imparted are reinforced. Such important program content cannot be adequately summed up and delivered during a short-term or one-time presentation.
Scholars are still building an evidence base for the relatively young field of health promotion/disease prevention programs. Studying what is most successful within abstinence curricula to determine the best prevention practices would be a better use of research time and funding. Guiding youth away from high-risk behaviors which act to the detriment of both their physical and emotional health needs to be at the forefront of prevention strategies.
I remember the scene clearly. It was the first time I'd ever fired a weapon. It was March, 1969, in Cape May, New Jersey. Our Coast Guard recruit company was banging away at the targets. Some of the fellows in Lima 74 were actually in the "butts," a sheltered trench, where they strained at the lines to haul the heavy padded targets up and down to mark the points where we had hit our marks.
We had been thoroughly trained in range safety by our demanding boot camp company commander. He was Boatswain's Mate Chief Clarence Ward Hollowell, of Hopewell, Georgia. Chief Hollowell was loud and profane. He would occasionally march into our squad bay in the middle of the night and give us "a white tornado." That's when he'd pull all the sheets and pillow cases off our racks, turn over everything, and order us to clean it all up in five minutes.
At first I thought this middle aged man from the Georgia piney woods would be a cartoon version of a southerner. His pot bellow protruded over his Coast Guard belt buckle. He bellowed at us while keeping his coffee mug grasped tightly in his hand. He was always threatening to jack ammonia. Who, I asked my mostly New York and New England bunkmates, was this Jack Ammonia? A Louisiana recruit helped with a translation: "Jack them on you. Demerits, you fool," he drawled. And if you got too many demerits, you could be kicked out of Chief Hollowell's Lima 74 company.
I soon learned that media images of southerners were wrong. Chief Hollowell was certainly rough on our black and Hispanic fellow recruits. And we'd all look around in consternation as he came into the squad bay roaring "Knives! Knives!" None of us had a knife. They'd all been confiscated. Only with some help, again from the rebels, did we realize the Chief was calling for Recruit Nieves, a Puerto Rican. Yes, the Chief was rough on the minority recruits because he was rough on all of us. He was one of the hardest and fairest men I've ever known.
Our first day on the range was one of excitement and anticipation. Most of us were city boys and suburban kids. Even though we'd been field stripping our M-1 rifles since our first week in boot camp, we had never fired them, or any rifle.
We were banging away at the targets. Beyond the butts, was the Atlantic Ocean. Any bullets that missed the targets would go out to sea. The area had been well marked off as dangerous. There were red buoys. There were radio announcements broadcast on the channel all boaters monitored in those days. All nautical charts contained "Notice to Mariners" warnings: Live Fire Area: Keep Out.
So, it was surprising when above the din we heard Chief Hollowell bellowing out: "Cease fahr! CEASE FAHR!" When we didn't respond quickly enough to suit him, he brought his swagger stick down on my neighbor's rifle with a resounding THWACK! When we had all gone silent, the Chief yelled above the wind and the waves: "When ah say cease fahr, ah mean CEASE FAHR! Are yew peepul idiots?"
He saw how puzzled we all were. (We were out there, after all, in obedience to his orders.) With his swagger stick, he pointed out to sea. "Don't you peepul see thet?" he demanded.
We strained and saw on the horizon a tiny white triangle. It might have been a sail. It might have been the superstructure of a tanker. It was hardly discernible. It must have been five miles out, far out of range of our rifles.
"We are th' Yew-nited States Coast Guard, men. We are the life savers. Thet maht be hyoo-man lahf out there. Yew don't take a chance when hyoo-man lahf is at stake. Yew give it every benefit of the doubt."
No, Chief Hollowell never took a chance where human life was concerned. We were all E-1s then, Seaman Recruits. Chief Hollowell was an E-7, Chief Petty Officer. And none of us then thought the protection of human life was above our pay grade.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is renowned for having written the most famous American novel, The Great Gatsby, which closes with one of literature's best-known lines, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the boat becomes a man becomes a trope, the story of a human being who is born old and who lives his life in reverse, moving through old age, to maturity, to the prime of life, to adolescence, to childhood, and finally to infancy. Benjamin is literally borne back ceaselessly into what for everyone else would be the past. It's an extraordinary concept, but does it make an extraordinary film?
For Fitzgerald, the futility of holding on to romance, to beauty, to life itself is implicit in every word and gesture. Moments of exquisite beauty fade instantly as they occur and their fatal aura only sharpens the impressions they leave upon the senses. Southern light lends itself to such uses and the decadent -- that is, decaying - atmosphere of New Orleans in the 1920s and '30s is overripe for such a story (Fitzgerald's original was published in 1921, and the film bears little relation to it other than the title). Cinematically, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button captures that evanescent beauty in almost every scene; it is a visually sensual movie that recreates its time in nearly every frame.
For all of that beauty, however, the film is an empty vessel, and Benjamin himself is the reason why. Were it not for the fantastic trajectory of his existence, it is altogether unclear why we should care about his life and not altogether clear that he cares about it either. His very being is the work of an artist's imagination, but he himself seems to lack an imaginative core. He not only experiences life in reverse, he experiences it passively, whether it is piano lessons, his first sexual experience, his first job as a tugboat hand, the second world war, his first real love, fatherhood, and finally, as an infant, death itself.
The film's recurring phrase, "You never know what is coming for you," is apt in a manner the movie may not intend. Things happen to Benjamin, but he is not one to go out to meet them. He passes the lives of others in the night, heading the other way. There is occasional poignancy in this passageway, but it is seldom truly evocative. The performances by the leads, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, contribute to this quality. Blanchett's porcelain features and royal bearing reinforce a coolness that contrasts starkly with the vibrancy of the film's black characters, who alone seem real. Benjamin's own coolness at the death of his adoptive mother, Queenie, played with power by Taraji Henson, seems merely odd. He behaves like a visitor at her funeral, not like a son.
The narrative flashback form used in the film has been done elsewhere, and better, most notably in another tall tale filled with picaresque Southern elegance, Tim Burton's Big Fish. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's framing story, like that of Big Fish, features parent-child tension and death-bed revelations, but the stakes in Burton's film seem far higher and relate integrally to the movie's meaning. Peter Finch's character in Big Fish makes his experiences larger-than-life and those experiences mystically grow to assume the size of his telling; Benjamin Button renders his larger-than-life experiences in a way that seems to diminish them, and he follows them into shrinking significance as the film flows on, like Heraclitus's river.
Take Burton and its genuine romance, over Button and its curious ennui.
This week, almost all of us will join with our families for Christmas Eve services. We will gather in our family circles on Christmas Day to exchange gifts, to sing carols of joy for the newborn King, and to share Christmas dinners at over-laden tables. This is a good thing to do. And while we are mindful of those who are alone at this time of year, the vast majority of us will be surrounded by our loved ones. We will hopefully be able to put aside the cares of the day, of the preceding weeks. Little thought will be given, or even should be given to the bad economic news of recent months, to political woes, or even to wars and rumors of war.
This precious freedom was not a cheap gift. In this country, the freedom to worship, to speak, freedom from want, and freedom from fear were bought dearly. And that challenge was taken up again and again throughout our history. It is being met today in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the skies, and beneath the seas.
We're often told that it is too bad we do not have more people engaged in the fight to defend faith, family, and freedom in this country. Far too many, we understand, take for granted all the freedoms we were purchased at a high price.
We could always use more volunteers, more generous supporters, more Christian friends praying that we will make wise use of our resources. We, too, pray that we will make a strong case for the independence and integrity of the church and the family when we are confronted in the public square.
Tonight, though, we should thank you, the few who read this message, who pray, and who lead in your churches and communities. We should have more, but we should always be grateful to the Lord for what we have.
General George Washington could certainly have used twice or three times as many troops when he entered the boats on that ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas Night, 1776. He had with him only 2,400 men. They were freezing. They were wet. Many were sick. Many marched with bleeding feet wrapped in rags, leaving bloody footprints in the snow.
If America had had a military draft in 1776, we could have raised a Continental Army truly worth of the name. We would have seen 300,000 young men called to the colors.
But General Washington crossed the Delaware with less than one percent of that number. Yet, his prayers were answered. With that little band, he bought America's freedom, he saved a continent.
So to you, our little band of friends and supporters, God bless you. We thank each one of you for your steadfastness, for your generous backing, for your availing prayers. We could achieve nothing without God's favor and your help. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Change Watch: Keeping track of the Obama administration
What's in store for the Obama administration? FRC has been keeping track of the president-elect's nominees with detailed backgrounders. Here's the list to date:
It was not too many years ago that all milk in this country came from dairy farmers who milked their cows by hand. To go into a dairy barn in winter was to enter a place of peace and warmth. I remember how my Uncle Bill stripped off his coat, even his shirt, to milk the cows on his Connecticut farm.
I thought of that scene in the dairy barn when my wife and I visited Versailles in France. Queen Marie Antoinette liked to play the role of milkmaid. King Louis XIV built that palace as a monument to his own greatness. He may have styled himself the Sun King, but his palace was freezing. In all their portraits the kings and queens of France are draped in magnificent furs. Fur was the foundation of France's colonial empire in North America. Rich beaver, mink, and, especially, snow-white ermine pelts were brought back to France from Canada. Those furs in the elaborate portraits were not just for show. Surrounded as those royals were by gold, marble, and fine crystal, they nonetheless lived in a frigid atmosphere. As much as it delights the eye, all that gold was cold.
At this time of year, we celebrate the birth of the King of Kings. But our Lord Jesus was born in no great palace. However exalted such a birthplace might have been, such palaces were death traps. Many of those little princes of France died of pneumonia. No. our Lord was born in a lowly stable. And we believe that baby Jesus was surrounded at his birth by oxen, donkeys, and other farm animals. His birthplace must have been warm and secure.
Our Heavenly Father knows what we need. He knew where to place His only begotten Son that He might be kept warm and safe. There, in that rude stable, nurtured by His loving Mother, with faithful Joseph the Carpenter standing watch, the Christ Child came into our world.
Jesus' birth is the most important thing that ever happened in this world. God's Word became Flesh. Jesus came to conquer sin and death. He came to give us forgiveness of our sins that we might live with Him forever. Compared with this incomparable Truth, what is the significance of princes of finance or commanders of armies, of kings and queens, of presidents and prime ministers? Jesus is Lord. That is the Good News we need. It is the Good News we have received.
Just when you thought the toymakers could not go any further with crazy toys and ensuring children grow up faster, it appears that there is a new version of Betsy Wetsy on the toy market. There is an overwhelming demand at various retailers for this toy. While I do not have anything wrong with dolls (believe me, I once played with dolls), this doll has gone beyond the original design to more realistic childlike qualities.
According to The Washington Post, this new doll has caused a stir amongst many parents, who either find this doll inappropriate or just feel it is another toy that will be fun for their child. However, you might be wondering if this will have any impact on the child.
"With 5,000 toys introduced into the market every year, "what happens is that there's huge competition to get noticed. And what that means to toys is that they get more and more and more and more outrageous," said Susan Linn, professor of child psychology at Harvard and director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "This toy is shocking enough that it's going to be noticed. But at best, this toy is unnecessary. At worst, it's really gross."
But Jim Silver, editor of Time to Play, a Web magazine that reviews toys, says children want reality.
"By the time they're 5 or 6, they don't want a play cellphone, they want a real cellphone," Silver said. "A baby doll is all about nurturing. So what Mom went through with them, they want to go through with their dolls. And how do you do real potty training without pooping?" Silver said he laughed when he first saw the pooping dolls and wondered if they were necessary. Although he said he has been sworn to secrecy about next year's new toys, an early peek shows reality is only going to get more real. "You're going to see the envelope pushed to make baby dolls as real as possible without being offensive in any way.
It appears that the toy makers do not have any decency when it comes to producing age appropriate products. The fact that you have a toy reviewer indicating that the envelope will be pushed some more by the toy makers, you might wonder what will our children will be subject to next.
Earlier this month, the Alan Guttmacher Institute attacked my September Family Research Council study which documented the effectiveness of state level pro-life parental involvement laws. They claim that my methodology is 'faulty.' They also argue that forcing minors to reveal their pregnancy to their parents places teens at risk of abuse.
In my response I document three studies in peer reviewed journals that show that the overall incidence of abortion among minors declines after the passage of parental involvement laws. Additionally,parental involvement laws protect minors in other ways. Parental involvement laws make it more difficult for child predators to use abortions to cover up their criminal behavior.
Furthermore, many minors seeking abortions without their parents' knowledge are at risk because they are unaware of their own medical history. In my response, I report cases where minors undergoing abortions died because they experienced an allergic reaction to the anesthesia.
It is for these reasons and others that many district attorneys, law enforcement officials, and groups representing crisis pregnancy centers support pro-life parental involvement laws. Here is a link to my full response [PDF].
EDUCATION: Emanuel graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981, and received a Master's Degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985.
EXPERIENCE: Rep. Rahm Emanuel is currently the White House Chief-of-Staff designate. He has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 5th District since January 3, 2003. At the beginning of his second term, Emanuel received an assignment to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxes, trade, Social Security, and Medicare issues. Additionally, Emanuel was appointed by then House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to serve as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2005 and later as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in 2007.
Emanuel began his career with the consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He worked on Democrat Paul Simon's 1984 election to the U.S. Senate and in 1989 served as a senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Richard M. Daley. Emanuel served as a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998, after directing Clinton's campaign finance committee. In the White House, Emanuel was initially Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy.
Taxpayer Funded Abortion: Emanuel supports taxpayer funded abortion and co-sponsored a bill that ensured access and taxpayer funding for abortion and abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. Prevention First Act. H.R.819; http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00819:@@@P
Parental Notification: Emanuel supports allowing teenagers to be transported across state lines to obtain an abortion without a parent's (or guardian's) knowledge. He voted against the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act on two occasions. The bill would have restricted the interstate transport of minors for the purpose of obtaining an abortion, if by doing so the minor would be evading a home-state parental notice or consent law. H R 748, April 27, 2005, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll144.xml; S 403, Sept. 26, 2006, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll479.xml.
Human Cloning: Emanuel voted against a ban on cloning human beings and supported an amendment to allow human cloning for reproduction and medical research. H.R. 534 (H AMEND 5), Feb. 27, 2003, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll039.xml.
Unborn Victims: Emanuel voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Laci and Conner's Law), which proposed to make it an added criminal offense for someone to injure or kill a child in the womb while carrying out a crime against a pregnant woman. H.R. 1997, Feb. 26, 2004, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll031.xml.
Sexual Orientation Special Rights: Emanuel voted to add sexual orientation to U.S. civil rights law protecting against discrimination based on sex, race and religion. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would make it unlawful to discriminate against an individual on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, including actions based on the actual or perceived sexual orientation of a person with whom the individual associates or has associated. H.R. 3685, Nov. 13, 2007, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1057.xml.
Same-sex Benefits: Emanuel co-sponsored the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2007, which would extend benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees. H.R. 4838, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR04838:@@@P
Marriage Tax Penalty: Emanuel voted against the bill that would have permanently removed the Marriage Tax Penalty from the federal income tax code. The bill would have amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the marriage penalty relief provided under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. H.R. 4181, April 28, 2004, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll138.xml.
Immigration
Driver's Licenses: Emanuel voted against the Real ID Act, which set minimal security requirements for state driver's licenses and identification cards. H.R. 418, Feb. 19, 2005, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll031.xml.
Illegal Aliens: Emanuel voted against the Undocumented Immigrant Emergency Medical Assistance, which would have required hospitals to report (to the federal government) illegal aliens who receive emergency medical treatment. H.R. 3722, May 18, 2004, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll182.xml.
The day after Newsweek published it's inaccurate article called "Our Mutual Joy," FRC sent the following letter to the editor for their exclusive use to provide some small balance to their highly biased article. As it does not appear you will be reading it in the pages of Newsweek, you can see it here for yourself:
Having years ago completed my doctoral dissertation on the subject of the Bible and homosexuality, I found "Our Mutual Joy" to be breathtaking in its summary dismissal of thousands of years of Judeo/Christian belief and teaching regarding homosexual behavior - not to mention the virtually unanimous judgment of societies throughout history in defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
That fundamental understanding regarding marriage is reflected by the 29 states that have passed constitutional amendments and the additional 15 states that have passed laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
But this overwhelming conviction is evidently of little consequence to Newsweek, which cobbled together a list of specious pro-homosexuality arguments similar to what I encountered a quarter of a century ago. They were unconvincing then, and have not improved with age. For those interested in the other side of this issue - which Newsweek inexcusably failed to provide - an outstanding treatment of the subject is Prof. Robert A. J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, which makes short work of the tendentious pabulum served up by "Our Mutual Joy."
Timothy J. Dailey
Senior Fellow for Policy
Family Research Council
Washington, DC
On Saturday this reviewer had the opportunity to be the only unaccompanied adult in a theater full of parents and tots to see the new Universal release The Tale of Despereaux. The movie is an adaptation of the book by Kate DiCamillo, which came highly recommended by my almost 15-year-old son, who had warm memories of it from his youth but who was, apparently, concerned about being seen in a theater filled with children small enough to have to peep at the screen over the back of the seats in front of them. I had no such concern, which tells you something about me. Having not read the book or seen any comments from Ms. DiCamillo before writing my own, I cannot do any comparisons of the experiences of reading and viewing this family fare. First of all, the film is indeed family fare, having no scatological moments and being blissfully free of any references to bodily functions as substitutes for actual wit.
As regards wit, this animated film is strong on both a visual and verbal level, spinning its interest around the trope of a young mouse whose intention to be anything but mousy turns his fear-driven world upside down. Young Despereaux Tilling, the swashbuckling rodent, is physically the most delicate creature in the movie, possessed of both absurdly outsized ears and a romantically outsized nature. He is driven to take on a "quest" that, while executed within the confines of a single castle, has all the scope of Arthurian legend: a lost item of great value (prize soup, in this case), an abject King mourning the loss of his beloved queen, a beautiful princess (voiced by Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame) who waits sadly for the return of both sunlight and rain to her indifferent world, and plotters and villains by the score, including the malevolent and ravenous denizens of "Ratworld," who despise (and relish, with relish) all things mouse-like.
The film is built on the steady virtues of its heroic characters (in addition to Despereaux, there is the morally conflicted rat, Roscuro, heir to a long line of fairy tale figures whose actions result in unintended harm to the established order and unjust banishment) and the destructive ambitions of a jealous servant girl, Miggity Sow, who, it can be charitably said, yearns for a princess-hood that lies beyond her natural endowment. This superbly animated film includes some scenes of genuine menace (cat takes the hindmost) that younger children will remember in their dreams, genuine pathos (the servant girl is handed over as a baby to a mean life that wounds her heart and spurs her acts of cruelty), and genuine tenderness (a princess's gentle kiss) that lingers in the mind.
The voices are supplied by a Hollywood and United Kingdom A-list of talent, and the music, while derivative of other orchestral work, is both professional and appropriate. Sigourney Weaver provides a wry narration that contains much of the film's humor, as do the sequences of Despereaux's fretful parents, who worry that their tiny son's lack of cravenness will undo the pact of timidity that has become their way of life (in this the movie has relevance to elements of our risk-avoidant culture that would ban such things as kickball in the schoolyard). Finally, Despereaux is a reader, and he finds his inspiration in tales of courage and selflessness, written in glorious script with bold illustrations in the style of N.C Wyeth that echo in Despereaux's mind's eye. A film that calls viewers back to the written word, and to what those words can do to evoke images, stir courage and instill virtue, is on the right path to a timeless message.
The Tale of Despereaux contains nothing offensive, is rated G, and has no specific religious content. It opens Friday, December 19 nationwide.
It appears that some of former President Bill Clinton's donors to his foundation are raising some eyebrows on how it will affect his wife's new role as President-elect Obama's Secretary of State. According to the AP:
Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments gave at least $46 million, while corporate donors included the Blackwater security firm that protects U.S. diplomats in Iraq . . .
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the foundation, and other government donors included Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica. The Dutch national lottery gave $5 million to $10 million . . .
The list also underscores ties between the Clintons and India, a connection that could complicate diplomatic perceptions of whether Hillary Clinton can be a neutral broker between India and neighboring Pakistan in a region where Obama will face an early test of his foreign policy leadership.
Amar Singh, a donor in the $1 million to $5 million category, is an Indian politician who played host to Bill Clinton on a visit to India in 2005 and met Hillary Clinton in New York in September to discuss an India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement.
Two other Indian interests gave between $500,000 and $1 million each.
Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Oman gave $1 million to $5 million each.
Saudi businessman Nasser Al-Rashid gave $1 million to $5 million.
Friends of Saudi Arabia and the Dubai Foundation each gave $1 million to $5 million, as did the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office.
China Overseas Real Estate Development and the U.S. Islamic World Conference each gave $250,000 to $500,000.
No. 97 on the Forbes billionaire list, Ethiopian-Saudi business tycoon Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi.
Issam Fares, a former deputy prime minister of Lebanon.
Lukas Lundin, chairman of oil, gas and mining businesses including Tanganyika Oil Company Ltd., an international oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in Syria, and Vostok Nafta Investment Ltd., an investment company that focuses on Russia and other former Soviet republics.
Change Watch Backgrounder: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
POSITION: UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE
NOMINEE: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)
Born: October 26, 1947
Family: Husband - 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton; daughter, Chelsea Clinton
Occupation: Senator from the State of New York
Education: undergraduate degree from Wellesley College; J.D., Yale Law School '73
Political Career: Following law school Hillary Clinton was a Congressional legal counsel in the Nixon impeachment trials. Married Bill Clinton in Arkansas in 1975 and became the First Lady of the State of Arkansas when her husband was elected Governor. She was named the first female partner at the Rose Law Firm in 1979. She was active in a number of organizations regarding child welfare and sat on the board of Wal-Mart and several other corporations. When her husband became President, she used her role as First Lady to launch her own initiative, the Clinton health care plan, which failed to gain approval from the Congress in 1994, 1997, and 1999. She was the only First Lady to be subpoenaed, testifying before a federal grand jury as a consequence of the Whitewater controversy in 1996. She was elected as a U.S. senator from New York State in 2000 and was re-elected in 2006. She ran for President in 2008. [source]
Life Issues: On all issues of life, Planned Parenthood has its team in place with President Obama at the top and Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton is pro-abortion on all fronts. She will be influential in forcing Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) legislation that will, with a stroke of the President's pen, turn back all progress in protecting innocent life that has been made over the past 36 years since Roe v Wade. Sen. Clinton has been an original cosponsor of FOCA in the past two years. Addressing the international women's conferences in Cairo she established her position on abortion as a "basic right" in 1994. Five years later she addressed an international conference called Cairo Plus Five at The Hague and reaffirmed this position, as well as her support for restoration of U.S. tax support for the United Nations Population Fund. Clinton has stated her opposition to forced abortion and use of family planning and contends that the UNFPA, which has been barred from U.S. support because of a Presidential finding of participation in China's forced one-child policy, is cooperating with Chinese officials on voluntary measures and deserves support.
The current Bush administration has made certain that U.S. foreign assistance, through the Mexico City Policy,does not encourage abortion and abortion referral as an American export. This policy is certain to change under an Obama-Clinton foreign policy regime. Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women's Health Coalition, says, "Without spending a penny more, the new administration can do an enormous amount just by standing strong for the human rights of women and for the kinds of actions that are not simply needed but that countries time and time again - since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights - have agreed to," We can expect to see abortion policy advanced as a "human right" following the swearing in of Barack Obama and confirmation of Secretary of State Clinton. "The rights approach has not been reflected in [Bush administration] policy," says Jamila Taylor from the Center for Health and Gender Equity. "Do it from a human rights perspective, not even just a reproductive rights perspective. 'Human rights' runs the gamut of issues - access to education, income generation - all the things that make women vulnerable or empowered around the world." Taylor and Germain will play major roles with the State Department under Hillary Clinton and they are prepared to use all international documents in the promotion of abortion. The Secretary of State can set administration policy on HIV/AIDS and the office of the Coordinator on AIDS is situated in the State Department, meaning the Secretary of State could push the office to make gender concerns a priority in PEPFAR funding. [source]
Senator Clinton voted twice in Congress against the ban on Partial-Birth Abortion. She led the fight along with Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to force the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow abortifacients to be sold in pharmacies without a doctor's prescription. She also supported legislation to give teens access to "emergency contraceptives." Clinton supports expansion of the current federal policy so that more lines of stem cells can be experimented upon, namely those derived from the killing of human embryos. [source]
Human Sexuality & Marriage: Sen. Clinton is supported by homosexual organizations like the Human Rights Campaign. She steps away from saying she supports gay marriage but uses the term "civil unions with fully equality of benefits." "I believe in full equality of benefits, nothing left out. From my perspective there is a great likelihood of us getting to that point in civil unions or domestic partnerships and that is my very considered opinion." [source]
Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and she supports the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and supports allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, which would require amending the Uniform Code of Military Justice that establishes penalties for certain sexual acts outside marriage. "It hurts all our troops, and this, to me, is a matter of national security," she said to a group of HRC supporters. Clinton has said she would work to pass a federal law outlawing employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and she would work to extend benefits to the partners of federal employees. [source] She supports and co-sponsored legislation to expand Medicaid benefits to the special class of HIV-positive homosexuals and she supports "hate crime" (thought crime) legislation. Clinton supports gay adoption. [source]
Judges/Constitution: Senator Clinton in railing against the Roberts Court asserted the need for a closer tie between Congress and the courts. In an address to the American Constitution Society in New York on February 27, 2004 she said, "I believe it is time for Congress to reassert itself, and I am pleased to report that Senator Ted Kennedy and I this week introduced a bill called 'FAIRNESS: The Civil Rights Act of 2004.' It is an effort to realign the balance between Congress and the courts by responding to recent decisions that have unduly narrowed existing laws. The bill restores the ability of individuals to seek relief from discriminatory practices in federally funded programs..." Clearly the bill is intended to impose legislative power over them when they construe a law more narrowly than some in Congress prefer. She stood in strong opposition to numerous Bush cabinet and court appointees. [source]
Religious Freedom: While Senator Clinton supported the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (which was written to protect civil rights laws and require employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for their employees to practice their faith in the work environment), she supports ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) which would force certain religious entities to hire and promote individuals irrespective of their adherence to the moral tenets of the employer.
Health Care: This is an area in which Senator Clinton plays out all her issues regarding abortion. In 1993 her health plan included RU-486 and widely available abortion. In response to the plan as a clear conduit for expanded abortion, Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) attached an amendment to the bill allowing for a "conscience exemption" in which doctors and hospitals would not be forced to perform abortions. One of President Bill Clinton's first acts in office was to push the RU-486 abortion pill regimen to market through an expedited FDA approval process that was criticized by pro-lifers as too quick for the safety of the women who would take the pill. Injuries and even deaths have resulted from hemorrhage, septic infection and other problems due to or masked by the drug's action.
On the fourth day of the Clinton presidency, January 23, 1993, the 20th anniversary of Roe v Wade, Bill Clinton signed a series of executive orders undoing the policies of the Reagan era relating to abortion. This was done at the advice of his wife. In her view, the milestone anniversary of Roe v Wade was the perfect opportunity to move the new presidency on course in terms of "women's rights" and signal that what she termed "the religious right" had lost its dominance regarding abortion policy. [source]
In the year 2009 it is clear that in her new and even more powerful position as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton will deal the country similar if not identical setbacks for the sanctity of innocent human life.
