New York Times
I THINK KEEPING ‘THE VOTE’ BEFORE THE PUBLIC AS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE BUT I DON’T BELIEVE IN A NATIONAL ID EITHER. Cost could be one reason but not necessarily the only reason. Idenity theft happens all to frequently and the increase in IDs in the nation of people who normally don't bother is adding to the problem.
I don't believe the government has a right beyond the census to know anything about my life. I don't break the law and that doesn't not have to be quantified in a Naitonal ID. I am allowed to make decisions at to who knows what about my life. It is a matter of personal chioce and security, especially being a woman. The USA Census determines the allotment of USA Representatives to the House and in that capacity a general overview has to be accurate, but only a general view. Any other information regarding income and items like square footage of my home is not what I would call pertinent information to purpose of "House Representation" but admittedly CAN enhance the govenment's focus to improve the quality of life in the USA for all. Howerver, wtih this administrations too much infromations in their hands is dangerous and provides venues of manipulatin to control their PARTIES elections. I think the USA census needs to be trimmed because with regime change in the USA the information places people at risk, espcially minorities.
The USA Census would have knowns the delicate nature of the populous of New Orleans.
realizing that the negligence by FEMA and the Executive Branch was far more than a mistake it was murder of BlackAmericans.
Denying Access to the Ballot
It has been clear since 2000 that the election system is in serious need of reform. But the commission led by James Baker III and former President Jimmy Carter has come up with a plan that is worse than no reform at all. Its good ideas are outweighed by one very bad idea: a voter identification requirement that would prevent large numbers of poor, black and elderly people from voting.
The commission makes helpful recommendations. It favors requiring electronic voting machines to produce paper records, and opposes partisan activity by state election officials. It fails to address other problems, like not counting provisional ballots cast at the wrong precincts.
But the bombshell recommendation is for the states to require voters to have drivers' licenses or a government-issued photo ID. That would not be a great burden for people who have drivers' licenses, but it would be for those who don't, and they are disproportionately poor, elderly or members of minorities. These voters would have to get special photo ID's and keep them updated. If they didn't have the ID's, their right to vote would be taken away. The commission recommends that the cards be free. But election administration is notoriously underfinanced, and it is not hard to imagine that states would charge for them. Georgia is already charging $20 and more for each of its state voter cards.
There is very little evidence of voters' claiming to be people they are not, and the commission admits that its members are divided about how big a problem it is. But the report goes on to say that even if there is just a small amount of fraud, it should be stopped. True, but if the solution risks disenfranchising hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of voters, it is a very bad reform.
There are more reasonable approaches. The states could require uniform ID's, but allow each voter without one to sign an affidavit attesting to his or her identity, a system some states use now. It is little wonder that a dissent came from the former Democratic leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle, a commission member. He said that "for some, the commission's ID proposal constitutes nothing short of a modern-day poll tax."
The disappointing report made public yesterday was not a complete surprise. There have been red flags waving around the commission for some time; Mr. Baker is remembered by many for his fierce fight to stop the counting of votes in Florida in 2000. There have also been complaints about the commission's process. Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor and commission member, complains that he was told he had to limit a dissent on complicated voting issues to just 250 words.
The purpose of election reform should not be making it harder to vote. We all have a duty to make our election system as good as it can be - and not to disenfranchise people in the name of reform.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/opinion/20tue2.html?pagewanted=print
Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal Is Dead at 96
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 20, 2005
Filed at 6:27 a.m. ET
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who helped track down Nazi war criminals following World War II, then spent the later decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people, died Tuesday. He was 96.
Wiesenthal, who helped find one-time SS leader Adolf Eichmann and the policeman who arrested Anne Frank, died in his sleep at his home in Vienna, said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
''I think he'll be remembered as the conscience of the Holocaust. In a way he became the permanent representative of the victims of the Holocaust, determined to bring the perpetrators of the greatest crime to justice,'' Hier told The Associated Press.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/obituaries/AP-Obit-Wiesenthal.html?hp
Simon Wiesenthal: "The Conscience of the Holocaust, Dies in Vienna" at 96
Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi Hunter has died in Vienna at the age of 96, the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today (September 20th).
"Simon Wiesenthal was the conscience of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the International Human Rights NGO named in Mr. Wiesenthal’s honor, adding, "When the Holocaust ended in 1945 and the whole world went home to forget, he alone remained behind to remember. He did not forget. He became the permanent representative of the victims, determined to bring the perpetrators of the history’s greatest crime to justice. There was no press conference and no president or Prime Minister or world leader announced his appointment. He just took the job. It was a job no one else wanted.
The task was overwhelming. The cause had few friends. The Allies were already focused on the Cold War, the survivors were rebuilding their shattered lives and Simon Wiesenthal was all alone, combining the role of both prosecutor and detective at the same time."
Overcoming the world’s indifference and apathy, Simon Wiesenthal helped bring over 1,100 Nazi War Criminals before the Bar of Justice.
There will be a news conference at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Tuesday, September 20th at 10 am.
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=312458&content_id=%7b3F90833B-C57B-42B7-BB2B-9876E0C87E89%7d¬oc=1
Ex-White House Aide Charged in Corruption Case
By PHILIP SHENON and ANNE E. KORNBLUT
Published: September 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - A senior White House budget official who resigned abruptly last week was arrested Monday on charges of lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the Justice Department for more than a year.
The arrest of the official, David H. Safavian, head of procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, was the first to result from the wide-ranging corruption investigation of Mr. Abramoff, once among the most powerful and best-paid lobbyists in Washington and a close friend of Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader.
According to court papers, Mr. Safavian, 38, is accused of lying about assistance that he gave Mr. Abramoff in his earlier work at the General Services Administration, where he was chief of staff from 2002 to 2004, and about an expensive golf trip he took with the lobbyist to Scotland in August 2002.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20lobby.html?hp&ex=1127275200&en=083385ffda531ffa&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Little Difference Found in Schizophrenia Drugs
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: September 20, 2005
A landmark government-financed study that compared drugs used to treat schizophrenia has confirmed what many psychiatrists long suspected: newer drugs that are highly promoted and widely prescribed offer few - if any - benefits over older medicines that sell for a fraction of the cost.
The study, which looked at four new-generation drugs, called atypical antipsychotics, and one older drug, found that all five blunted the symptoms of schizophrenia, a disabling disorder that affects three million Americans. But almost three-quarters of the patients who participated stopped taking the drugs they were on because of discomfort or specific side effects.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/health/psychology/20drug.html?hp&ex=1127275200&en=75fc05e76754c22a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Suicide Bomber Hits U.S. Convoy, Killing 4 Americans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 20, 2005
Filed at 3:34 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. diplomatic convoy in the northern city of Mosul, killing four Americans and wounding two others, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
A U.S. Diplomatic Security agent and three private security guards died when the suicide bomber rammed their SUV, the middle vehicle in a convoy of three, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject.
He said the victims were attached to the U.S. Consulate in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, 225 miles north of Baghdad.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Americans-killed.html
Bush Aide Will Lead Hurricane Inquiry
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and CARL HULSE
Published: September 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - President Bush has named Frances Fragos Townsend, his domestic security adviser, to lead an internal White House inquiry into the administration's performance in handling Hurricane Katrina, Scott McClellan, Mr. Bush's spokesman, said Monday.
Mr. McClellan said Ms. Townsend's job would be "to follow through on the president's commitment to determine what went wrong, what went right and lessons learned."
Ms. Townsend, a former federal prosecutor, has undertaken a number of sensitive and high-profile tasks for Mr. Bush, most recently overseeing the reorganization of the nation's intelligence services after the intelligence failures about Iraq's weapons capabilities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/national/nationalspecial/20cong.html
Blacks Join the Eating-Disorder Mainstream
By DENISE BRODEY
Published: September 20, 2005
As a teenager, Nickona Knuckles regularly binged on food and then vomited to keep her weight down.
Ms. Knuckles, who is African-American, recalled that at the time she had no idea of the devastating health effects of bulimia, nor did she care. She was one of nine black students in a high school of 3,000 and was struggling simply to be accepted
Pat Shannahan for The New York Times
As a teenager, Nickona Knuckles binged and then vomited to keep her weight down.
"When it came to body image, my perception of beauty was based on my white peers and images of white celebrities in the media," Ms. Knuckles, now 34, said in an interview at her home in Phoenix. "I didn't want to be white but it was very difficult to be comfortable with who I was."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/health/psychology/20eat.html
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Hurricane Katrina Relief:
Over 100 tons of food, clothing, medical supplies, and generators delivered; countless FEMA applicants walked through process on mobile internet facility; six families reunited; two dogs returned to their owners...
The Pix from Louisiana. Volunteers delivering food and giving support.
http://michaelmoore.com/mustread/covington.php
Sunday, September 11th, 2005
A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore
To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:
On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?
How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?
That's right. Horse shows.
I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.
I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.
Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?
When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?
When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?
Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?
Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?
With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?
Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.
That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.
It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the window at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"
My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?
And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?
Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.
Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?
I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?
I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.
Yours,
Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
mmflint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=185
Monday, September 19th, 2005
See You in D.C.
A message from Cindy Sheehan
So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
(MLK, Jr. Aug. 28, 1963, I Have a Dream speech)
What Bush's Katrina shows once again is that my son died for nothing. If you listen to Bush – and fewer and fewer are, thank goodness -- we are in Iraq in part due to 9/11. All our president has been talking about has been protecting this country since 9/11. That's why people voted for him in the last election. Katrina shows it's all as sham, a fraud, a disaster as large as Katrina itself.
Hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of innocent lives wasted later what have we achieved? Nothing. Casey died for nothing and Bush says others have to die for those that have died already.
Enough, George! What is disgusting is not, as the first lady says, criticism of you, but rather the crimes you've committed against this country and our sons and daughters. Stop hiding behind your twisted idea of God and stop destroying this country.
This week I arrive in Washington DC to begin my Vigil at the White House just like I did in Texas. But this time I'll be joined by Katrina victims as well. In your America we are all victims. The failed bookends of your Presidency are Iraq and Katrina.
It is time for all of us to stand up and be counted: to show the media, Congress, and this inept, corrupt, and criminal administration that we mean business. It is time to get off of our collective behinds to show the people who are running our country into oblivion that we will stand for it no longer. We want our country back and we want our nation's young people back home, safe and sound, on our shores to help protect America. That it is time for a change in our country's "leadership." That we will never go away until our dreams are reality.
We have so-called leaders in our country who are waiting for the correct "politically expedient" time to speak up and out against the occupation of Iraq. It is no sweat for our politicos to wait for the right time, because not one of them has a child in harm's way. I don't care if the politician is a Democrat or a Republican, this is not about politics. Being a strong leader to guide our country out of the quagmire and mistake of Iraq will require people of courage and determination to stand up and say: "I don't care if I win the next election, people are dying in Iraq everyday and families are being decimated." We as the 62% of Americans who want our troops to begin coming home will follow such a leader down the difficult, but oh so rewarding, path of peace with justice.
It is no longer time for the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. It never has been the time for that. Our "now" is so fiercely urgent. Like my daughter, Carly, wrote in the last verse of her "A Nation Rocked to Sleep" poem:
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Being Rocked to Sleep?
Our leaders want to keep us numb so the pain won't be too deep,
But if we the people allow them to continue, another mother will weep,
Have you heard the sound of a Nation Being Rocked to Sleep?
Wake up: See you in DC on the 24th.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=506
Saturday, September 24
Massive March, Rally & Festival
Part of the UFPJ Sept. 24-26 D.C. Mobilization.
10:00AM All-Day Peace & Justice Festival Begins, Washington Monument Grounds
11:30AM Rally at Ellipse
12:30PM March steps off
3:00PM "Operation Ceasefire" Concert featuring Cindy Sheehan
Volunteer in D.C. On/Before Sept. 24
END THE WAR ON IRAQ
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
Leave no military bases behind
End the looting of Iraq
Stop the torture
Stop bankrupting our communities
No military recruitment in our schools
More than two years after the illegal and immoral U.S. invasion of Iraq, the nightmare continues. More than 1600 U.S. soldiers have died, at least another 15,000 have been wounded; even the most conservative estimates of Iraqi deaths number in the tens of thousands. Iraq, a once sovereign nation, now lies in ruins under the military and corporate occupation of the United States; U.S. promises to rebuild have not been kept and Iraqis still lack food, water, electricity, and other basic needs.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3091
CBC Premieres Michael Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine'
9/7/2005
As part of it's Turn On To Reality September Documentary Festival CBC Television is proud to present BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE the Academy Award®-winning documentary, from US filmmaker and social activist Michael Moore, on Sunday, September 18, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE is a tour-de-force from award-winning Michael Moore and the result is a stunningly brave piece of work. As his country's leading satirist and social documentarian, Moore, in this groundbreaking film, boldly asks a question that most Americans dare not ask in these wildly patriotic times, "Are we a nation of gun nuts — or are we just nuts?"
http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/article.asp?id=47229&issue=09072005
Extended tours of some US military units eyed in Iraq: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US military planners are considering extended tours of duty for some units in Iraq if more US troops are needed for the upcoming elections there, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Lawrence DiRita, the defense department's chief spokesman, said it was "entirely possible" commanders would want to boost the force in Iraq beyond its current level of 140,000.
"And I guess the thinking at the moment is, if we did need more and it was based on rotations, how would that work?" he said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4163
Activists link Katrina crisis, Iraq war
By Frederick Cusick / Philadelphia Inquirer
Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan yesterday laid some of the blame for the death and destruction associated with Hurricane Katrina on President Bush's Iraq war.
Sheehan, a Californian who became an international figure when she camped out next to Bush's vacation ranch in Crawford, Texas, last month, said Katrina was not only a natural disaster, but "a man-made tragedy and a criminal negligence disaster."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4151
British bishops lament "litany of errors" in Iraq
By Gideon Long / Reuters
LONDON, Sept 19 - The West has committed a "litany of errors" in Iraq and the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 was driven as much by American interest as by concern for the Iraqi people, British church leaders said on Monday.
In a wide-ranging report, bishops from the Church of England also criticised Western policy towards Iran and said the European Union had not tried hard enough to end a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4158
What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?
By Patrick Cockburn / The Independent
One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.
The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4160
Leaders Who Won't Choose
In Washington, it's business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe.
By Fareed Zakaria / Newsweek
Sept. 26, 2005 issue - "Adversity builds character," goes the old adage. Except that in America today we seem to be following the opposite principle. The worse things get, the more frivolous our response. President Bush explains that he will spend hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding the Gulf Coast without raising any new revenues. Republican leader Tom DeLay declines any spending cuts because "there is no fat left to cut in the federal budget."
This would be funny if it weren't so depressing. What is happening in Washington today is business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe. The scariest part is that we've been here before. After 9/11 we have created a new government agency, massively increased domestic spending and fought two wars. And the president did all this without rolling back any of his tax cuts—in fact, he expanded them—and refused to veto a single congressional spending bill. This was possible because Bush inherited a huge budget surplus in 2000. But that's all gone. The cupboard is now bare.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4154
Police Fortify Numbers for War Protests
March to Be First Since D.C. Passed Arrest Law
By Del Quentin Wilber / Washington Post
D.C. police have canceled days off and are planning to deploy several hundred officers during an antiwar demonstration next weekend that will include a march near the White House, but officials said they expect no trouble.
Saturday's rally, part of a weekend of protests and counter-protests, will be the first demonstration allowed to surround the White House in more than a decade. It is the first major rally to occur since a D.C. law that requires police to give clear warnings before arresting demonstrators took effect.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4140
The Boston Globe
25 geniuses get their day in the sun
Harvard professor among MacArthur grant winners
By Gareth Cook, Globe Staff September 20, 2005
A Massachusetts doctor fighting the global threat of viruses and a longtime Maine fisherman combining science with his experience on the water to save a way of life are among the 25 recipients of the MacArthur ''genius" grants announced today.
The MacArthur Fellows Program, now in its 25th year, awards $500,000 with no strings attached to encourage people who have shown great potential in a wide variety of fields, from the sciences to the arts. The Fellowship is unusual, and particularly dramatic, because it is shrouded in secrecy. Winners do not apply and do not even know that they are being considered until they get a phone call informing them they have won.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/20/25_geniuses_get_their_day_in_the_sun/
Winter heating cost to rocket
5 to 10 distributors face gas-price probe
By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff September 20, 2005
Massachusetts average gasoline prices finally dropped below $3 a gallon yesterday following the post-Hurricane Katrina spike. But for Bay State consumers, the worst energy news is yet to come this winter.
The nearly 1 million homeowners who use heating oil can expect to pay 31 percent more for fuel than they did last year, translating to an average $500 total increase. Natural gas utilities are seeking average rate hikes of 26 percent over last year. Electric utilities are likely to soon follow with requests for 20 percent and higher rate increases.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/09/20/winter_heating_costto_rocket/
Higher education board proposes raising college tuition
September 20, 2005
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Students may pay several hundred dollars more next year to attend one of the state's three public colleges.
The Board of Governors of Higher Education is proposing tuition increases of 3 percent to 6 percent to help raise an additional $30 million it says it needs to run the colleges and Office of Higher Education. The board is asking the state to provide an additional $11.7 million, while students would pay $18.3 million more.
The University of Rhode Island would raise its tuition 6 percent to $7,724 for in-state students. With room and board increases as well, in-state students would pay a total of $16,464 per year.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/09/20/higher_education_board_proposes_raising_college_tuition/
Man charged in N.J. kidnap attempt is former N.H. cop
September 20, 2005
WHITEFIELD, N.H. --The Whitefield man being held on charges he tried to kidnap a boy in New Jersey last month is a former police officer who met the youngster through a homosexually oriented Web site, court documents and police say.
George Nugent, 56, is a former police officer in Lancaster, Northumberland and Litchfield, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported Tuesday. His most recent job was for a construction company in Plymouth.
He is being held without bail as a fugitive from justice from New Jersey, where he is charged with chaining a boy around the neck and trying to kidnap him.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/09/20/man_charged_in_nj_kidnap_attempt_is_former_nh_cop/
Major developments in Katrina's aftermath
By The Associated Press September 20, 2005
Major developments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
-- President Bush says he was concerned that Tropical Storm Rita could hit the already devastated Gulf Coast as he prepares for a fifth trip to the region to survey hurricane recovery efforts.
-- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin suspends his plan to start reopening large parts of the city to residents and told those who have returned to be prepared to evacuate again as Rita approaches the gulf. Some business owners and residents say they'll stay put.
-- The city is requesting 200 buses to assist in a possible evacuation. They would start running 48 hours before landfall from the downtown convention center and a stadium in Algiers.
-- The death toll in Louisiana spikes to 736, as receding floodwaters allow search and recovery crews to accelerate their probes into the city's decimated neighborhoods. The toll across the Gulf Coast is 973.
-- Brig. Gen. Robert Crear says the Army Corps of Engineers hopes to have New Orleans' levees back to being capable of handling a Category 3 storm by June, the start of the next hurricane season.
-- President Fidel Castro is lamenting that the U.S. government has still not responded to his offer to send nearly 1,600 Cuban doctors to help Hurricane Katrina victims, saying the team could have saved lives.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/20/major_developments_in_katrinas_aftermath/
Princeton claims progress against grade inflation
By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press Writer September 19, 2005
Princeton University bigwigs are lauding the fact that fewer of their students got "A's" last year.
To them, the falling grades don't mean that the students are less capable or lazier, but that a year-old policy designed to hold in check grade inflation is working.
In the 2003-04 school year, 46 percent of grades given to undergraduates were "A-plus," "A" or "A-minus." Princeton wants to bring that down to 35 percent. It got about half way there last year, when 41 percent of grades were in the "A" range.
Princeton's efforts are among the most ambitious among elite schools trying to rein in the awarding of uniformly high grades, which some academics see as cheapening grade-point averages.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/09/19/princeton_claims_progress_against_grade_inflation/
AP reporter included in dengue fever cases
A worker fumigates the work area of a construction site as part of anti-mosquito breeding efforts Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005 in Singapore. Singapore has yet to pinpoint a reason for the spike in number of dengue infections and has embarked on a drive to weed out the cause. Eight people have died from dengue fever this year in the city-state. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
By Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer September 20, 2005
SINGAPORE --Hooked to an intravenous drip on wheels, I shuffled from my hospital bed to the bathroom and slumped over the sink to brush my teeth. Blood oozed from my gums, a symptom of dengue fever.
On another laborious visit to the bathroom, the IV needle pulled free, and big drops of blood splashed to the floor as I pressed a buzzer and waited for a nurse to find a vein again.
The high fever, aching joints and sharp, grinding headaches left me disoriented and bedridden for days when I had dengue fever in June. But doctors warned me that the biggest danger was bleeding because the mosquito-borne virus lowers the number of platelets, clotting agents in the blood, to dangerous levels.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/09/20/ap_reporter_included_in_dengue_fever_cases/
Voting improvement
September 20, 2005
THE MENINO administration and the Justice Department averted a court showdown last week over minority voting rights in Boston. Now Secretary of State William Galvin, the state's leading election official, is left to deal with the thorny details of the breakthrough settlement agreement.
In July the federal government sued the city, alleging that local officials had discriminated against voters with limited English skills by skimping on bilingual poll workers and election materials written in foreign languages. The Justice Department even charged the city with improperly influencing the ballot choices of Asian voters and demanded that city officials sign a consent decree admitting wrongdoing. To its credit, the Menino administration stood up to the Justice Department, which had provided little proof of its harsh allegations.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/20/voting_improvement/
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