April 2006

"The Second Circuit overturned the Southern District of New York and ruled yesterday that former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani acted appropriately when he terminated one police officer and two firefighters who engaged in off-duty racially offensive behavior. The Second Circuit echoed the position of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law ("Lawyers' Committee") who, along with five other civil rights, fire fighter, and police officer advocacy groups, filed an amicus brief on behalf of New York City, arguing that substantial disruption can result from off-duty, racist conduct by public safety officials." [Read more]

"The public should be wary of the president's call for authority to 'reform' fuel economy standards for cars. It is very likely he will take the same road he did when he revised the fuel economy standards for SUVs, minivans and pickups, which will save less than two weeks of gasoline a year over the next two decades. If rumors are true that the president might target a 10 percent increase in the standard for cars, it would save less than a week's worth of gasoline over the next two decades. Talk about a drop in the bucket." [Read more]

"Members of "You Don't Speak for Me" include a cross section of the Hispanic American community: lawyers, doctors, teachers, scientists, former government and military officials, who are immigrants and children of immigrants, such as: Pete Nunez (former Assistant Secretary of Treasury, & U.S. attorney for San Diego), Col. Al Rodriguez, Ret., a highly decorated war veteran, Claudia Spencer, Ogla Robles, Rosa Candaleria, Mariann S. Davis, Esq. and more. New additions to the panel include Virginia Delegates Jack Reid, Dave Albo, and Jeff Frederick, also a Hispanic born American. Sen. George Allen is also invited." [Read more]

"RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman addressed the National Conference of Black Mayors this morning in Memphis, Tenn. Chairman Mehlman's speech was the first time an RNC Chairman has ever addressed the membership of the National Conference of Black Mayors." [Read more]

"Two years have passed since the Abu Ghraib photographs shocked the world, and other than trying a few mostly lower-level servicemen and women for their actions, the U.S. government has not done enough to remedy the widespread torture and ill-treatment of security suspects in U.S. detention centers, Amnesty International charged today." [Read more]

"Eighteen grannies who were arrested in front of a military recruitment station in Times Square, New York on October 17, 2005 were found innocent today. The grannies, who call themselves the "Granny Peace Brigade," were trying to enlist in the military in order to prevent younger men and women from dying in the Iraq war. They were arrested for blocking the entrance to the recruiting station, handcuffed and jailed for over four hours. If found guilty, the grannies would have faced 15 days behind bars." [Read more]

"As part of the entertainment industry's efforts to address the ongoing theft of music and movies online by college students, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) today announced a systematic program to identify and curtail campus Local Area Network ("LAN") piracy at universities across the country. As part of this new program, the RIAA and MPAA today sent letters to 40 university presidents in 25 states alerting them of LAN piracy problems on their campuses and encouraging immediate action to stop and prevent theft by such means." [Read more]

"With gas prices skyrocketing past $3 a gallon and oil companies reaping record profits, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and Sen. Chuck Schumer today sent the following letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, urging him to remove massive and unwarranted subsidies to Big Oil from the tax reconciliation bill he is preparing to bring to the U.S. Senate." [Read more]

"Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera today challenged homosexual activist Rick Garcia not to try to stop the Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI) referendum from getting on the ballot, saying, "Since Garcia claims the polls are on his side, why would he block a popular vote?" [Read more]

"Rep. Dicks, a member of the House Defense Appropriation Subcommittee, met yesterday with President Bush for a briefing on defense issues. He will discuss the Iraq war, his Subcommittee's current markup of the 2007 DoD appropriations bill, procurement policy issues that affect all military services, and other defense issues before taking questions from the press." [Read more]

"The following is a statement by Jeff Levi, PhD, executive director of Trust for America's Health:

"Today's recommendation by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that N-95 respirator masks should be the standard in health care settings facing a pandemic flu outbreak is laudable and consistent with the World Health Organization policy.

It is now critical for the Department of Health and Human Services to make this standard a reality by increasing the nation's stockpile of N-95 respirator masks." [Read more]

"Save the Children will conduct an audio news briefing on Tuesday, May 2, at 1 p.m. EDT for reporters and editorial writers to discuss the findings of its State of the World's Mothers 2006 report. According to the report, up to 2 million children die each year during the first 24 hours of life, making the first day the most dangerous of a child's life." [Read more]

"Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett will participate in the fifth annual International Competition Network (ICN) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 3 - 5. At the conference, senior antitrust officials and private antitrust experts from around the world as well as representatives from intergovernmental organizations will meet to discuss competition issues." [Read more]

"The Alliance for Community Trees (ACT), the national network of community-based urban and community forestry organizations, today announced receipt of $575,000 in funds through two grants awarded by The Home Depot Foundation.

Most of the funding - $500,000 - constitutes the second year of support for ACT's National NeighborWoods program, which supports the greening projects of local nonprofit organizations working to restore urban forests for healthier, sustainable neighborhoods." [Read more]

"Bills passed in Maine and West Virginia last week to protect the human and animal victims of domestic violence were cited as national models by the oldest national organization dedicated to protecting children and animals. The American Humane Association - a pioneer in raising public awareness for the link between animal abuse and violence to people - praised the legislation as excellent, forward- thinking examples for other states to follow." [Read more]

"Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid issued the following statement on today's vote in the U.S. Senate to cut billions meant to help troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to fund border security:

"Today, Democrats offered a way to secure our borders and support our troops. Instead, Senate Republicans chose to slash $2 billion desperately needed by our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in order to offset the costs of additional border security. We all agree it is vital that we secure our border, but Democrats believe we shouldn't do it on the backs of our troops." [Read more]

"The American Jewish Committee is urging the U.S. to appoint a Special Envoy to the new UN Human Rights Council.

"The appointment of a Special Envoy would recognize the fact that a large number of very important decisions will be made by the new Council during its first year of operation," AJC wrote to Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice." [Read more]

"With Americans across the country struggling under the skyrocketing cost of gas, and with President Bush and his Republicans in Congress offering no help to consumers, Democrats today unveiled a new plan to ease the burden on America's drivers with a 60 day holiday from the federal gas tax." [Read more]

"The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) will be joining with other social and environmental justice groups and tens of thousands of people in New York City on April 29. "We feel that it is important to have a presence in New York City on the 29th and that climate change and the environment are becoming increasingly important issues for us to speak up about. If the organic community does not unite its forces with the anti-war movement and with the movements for environmentalism and social justice then we are not going to make any changes." says Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association." [Read more]

"House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) released the following statement in response to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats' comments on gas prices.

"Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats would rather criticize Republican energy policies than offer any ideas of their own. The facts are pretty clear: Republicans have passed good legislation to combat rising gas prices, increase fuel supply, limit the types of fuel blends, and deal with fuel shortages in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Democrats have done nothing except to stand in the way." [Read more]

"Matt Daniels, president and founder of the Alliance for Marriage (AFM), has announced the launch of http://www.RCM.org -- a new advocacy Web site offering millions of Americans powerful new Web-based tools to express their united voice in support of AFM's Marriage Amendment." [Read more]

"Following is a statement by John Stanton, vice president, National Environmental Trust:

President Bush addressed concern over rising gas prices today by announcing plans to waive the Clear Air Act summer fuel requirements.

"Instead of cracking down on oil companies for price gouging, the president has opted to repeal clear air protections for asthmatic children at the outset of smog season." [Read more]

"The Interfaith Alliance joins with interfaith leaders to call on President Bush to dismantle his Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. The office runs in direct defiance of the Constitution and creates a religious hierarchy among the denominations to gain federal funds. When federal money flows directly into individual houses of worship, that constitutes "establishing religion." [Read more]

"U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao told attendees at "DOL Speaks: The 2006 Employee Benefits Conference" in Washington, D.C. today that the Bush Administration is working to protect retirement security for Americans by shoring up the private pension system. Chao described the administration's reform proposals to improve the funding of private pension plans so that America's workers and retirees can look forward to a secure retirement." [Read more]

"A national poll released today at the National Press Club by the Real Women's Voices coalition shows that while 65 percent of Americans say they are familiar with the 1973 landmark abortion case, Roe vs. Wade, only 29 percent are able to select an accurate description of the ruling." [Read more]

"Today, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin sent the following letter to President Bush, urging him to help ease the pain Americans are experiencing at the gas station by putting aside the energy policies he allowed oil companies to write and joining Democrats in their continuing efforts to stop price gouging, rein in gratuitous subsidies to Big Oil, and make America energy independent." [Read more]

"Fears of a genocide now occurring in labor and concentration camps across China were brought into international focus by a protest at a DC press conference on April 21 by Dr. Wenyi Wang. Friends of Falun Gong USA (FoFG) affirms the urgent need to investigate this atrocity -- a frenzied attempt to extract organs from live Falun Gong practitioners, destroy evidence and make money before new regulations take effect." [Read more]

"Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) re-launched http://www.jackinthehouse.org. The site details the web of corruption led by former Republican super lobbyist Jack Abramoff and 29 of his ethically-challenged friends and allies. Since first launching jackinthehouse.org in April 2005, over 100,000 people have visited the site and thousands have contacted the House Ethics Committee asking for a full investigation into members of Congress who are linked to Abramoff and his cronies." [Read more]

"On April 26, World Intellectual Property Day, IPI will host a briefing at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC featuring intellectual property experts who will discuss the value of IP for developing countries and what is being done globally to promote greater awareness of and protection for intellectual property rights." [Read more]

"The ProjectBlackBook.com publication positions itself between a magazine and an analytic report, presenting data and diagnostic editorial that delivers context and relevance for senior executives, marketing professionals & entrepreneurs operating in virtually any industry. Through select data mining and informed analysis of billions of Internet data records, the journal publishes qualified statistics of linking relationships of domains and affiliate networks." [Read more]

"Jonathan Spitz, a partner with Jackson Lewis LLP, one of the nation's largest and most experienced law firms specializing in labor, employment and immigration law, is available to talk with members of the media about issues and options for employers as they prepare for a possible nationwide work stoppage on May 1, a day protest organizers are calling "A Day Without an Immigrant."

Approximately one million people demonstrated on April 10, 2006 in cities including Dallas, Washington, D.C., New York, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Philadelphia. A larger event is planned for May 1, with calls by organizers for "a general strike, boycott, no sales or purchases, walkouts, marches, and actions in financial centers and at anti-immigrant corporations throughout the country." [Read more]

"The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has granted the government's motion to dismiss in Cook v. Rumsfeld, a constitutional challenge to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. The decision, from Judge George A. O'Toole Jr., was released on April 24." [Read more]

"The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned attacks Monday evening (local time) on the Egyptian resort city of Dahab that left a number of people dead or injured. Egyptian authorities said the blasts were likely caused by bombs.

In a statement, the Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said:

"We condemn these cowardly attacks, offer condolences to the loved ones of all those who were killed or injured and call for the swift apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators." [Read more]

"Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP has recently published a white paper, titled "Women Leaders and the Bottom Line," which focuses on the correlation between women leaders and improved financial performance at corporations. Authored by top women leaders from the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro, the white paper highlights several studies that demonstrate the positive impact of women leaders on financial performance..." [Read more]

"The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials released the following statement in response to President George W. Bush's speech today in Irvine, Calif., on immigration reform:

"The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) is encouraged by President's Bush's remarks today on comprehensive immigration reform. We appreciate the President's recognition of the numerous contributions immigrants make to our country and his passion for reminding Americans that immigrants are human beings who should be treated with dignity and compassion." [Read more]

"Today, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to stand which prohibits public schools from censoring the religious viewpoints of students in class assignments. Baldwinsville School District v. Peck involves a kindergarten student from Syracuse, N.Y., who drew a poster depicting Jesus kneeling on one knee with his hands open to the sky. The class artwork was later displayed at a school event. However, school officials blocked any view of Jesus by folding the poster in half." [Read more]

"In response to today's launch of the "Save the Internet" Coalition, a misguided group of leftist organizations selling network neutrality legislation as a "First Amendment for the Internet," FreedomWorks is refocusing its long-standing campaign to bring about free-market telecommunications reform. The campaign aims to bring truth and clarity to the too-often misunderstood concept of net neutrality." [Read more]

"Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid today delivered the following remarks on the Floor of the U.S. Senate, urging Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to use the limited time remaining in the 109th Congress to solve the most important problems facing the lives of the American people and reaffirming the Democratic commitment to comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately, President Bush and his Republican Leadership have chosen to devote the limited time left to partisan pet projects." [Read more]

"House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R- Tenn.) today sent a joint letter to President George W. Bush urging him to direct the U.S. Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate any potential gasoline price gouging or energy market speculation that could be contributing to high gasoline prices." [Read more]

"Last week, President Bush declared that he was decisive, that he was, in fact, the "Decider-in- Chief." Yet, on issue after issue, he has ignored or pushed off big decisions or argued that there was nothing he could do." [Read more]

"A debate between Richard Miniter, Fox News commentator and author of "Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror,” and Paul L. Williams, Ph.D., award-winning journalist and author of "The Al Qaeda Connection," and "The Dunces of Doomsday," on the subject of al Qaeda's possession of suitcase nuclear weapons will take place on Friday, April 28, at 10 a.m. in the Murrow Room of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The debate will be monitored by Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard and co-host of "The Beltway Boys." [Read more]

"National Association of Attorneys General President and Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter will convene a Conference to Address Public Corruption, Tuesday, April 25, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

The one-day event will bring together a range of representatives and diverse perspectives from the media, industry, government and academia to discuss the origins and nature of public corruption and what they can do in cooperation with other law enforcement entities to stamp it out." [Read more]

"Recent events, including the election of Hamas in the Palestinian territories and a new government in Israel, indicate that both Israelis and Palestinians are moving further away from a negotiated settlement to their conflict. While the United States has long championed a strategy of negotiation, a new framework of unilateralism is emerging." [Read more]

"White supremacists and other far-right extremists are engaging in a growing number of violent assaults against legal and illegal immigrants and those perceived to be immigrants, while singling out all Hispanic Americans as potential targets, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). To counter this emerging new threat, the League has outlined a broad public policy Action Agenda stressing Congressional action and increased vigilance by law enforcement." [Read more]

"Egypt is the second largest recipient of U.S. tax dollars. Yet Egypt's record of human rights abuses against its minority citizens is staggering. The International Christian Union (ICU) will hold a press conference and rally TODAY to demand that the U.S. government stop funding Egypt's human rights abuses and intervene." [Read more]

"GovSec, U.S. Law and Ready! bring together over 9,000 of America's Homeland Security professionals who work in the federal government; federal, state, and local law enforcement, and on the frontlines of emergency response.

GovSec, U.S. Law and Ready! Conference, Training and Workshops provide a forum where these integral professionals can discuss in an open forum topics from the war in Iraq, to avian flu, to the aftermath of Katrina and United States' port security." [Read more]

"Saturday, April 22, 2006, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) will deliver the weekly Democratic Radio Address, discussing America's dangerous dependence on foreign oil. As we celebrate Earth Day, Americans are being forced to pay the price for the Bush Administration's energy policies every day at the gas station. Democrats believe America needs a new direction, and are committed to making our nation energy independent.

The text of Senator Nelson's remarks as prepared is below." [Read more]

"For nearly 20 years, conflict between the government of Uganda and a terrorist organization, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has gripped northern Uganda. This brutal conflict has displaced more than 1.8 million people, caused skyrocketing HIV and AIDS rates, and is costing more than $100 million per year.

War continues to be waged in Uganda by these abducted children who have been turned into "kill or be killed" mercenaries. Children, afraid to sleep in their own beds for fear of being abducted, become "night commuters," walking miles to cities and protected camps to sleep." [Read more]

"Following is an op-ed by Mark Cromer, Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization, on illegal immigration:

Illegal Immigration: A Costly Crisis

The numbers' game surrounding illegal immigration seeks to conceal the staggering costs of supporting millions of economic refugees from Mexico.

It is said that in war, truth is the first casualty.

Perhaps that is why the hard facts of what is happening in America today as a result of unrelenting mass waves of illegal immigration are being killed in nightly news cycles and buried amid the glib eulogies from pundits who smirk at Americans who don't have nannies and who mow their own lawns." [Read more]

"Although many environmental organizations will strain to find the black lining in the silver cloud of environmental progress on the occasion of Earth Day, the Earth Day Information Center, a project of The National Center for Public Policy Research, is pleased to note environmental progress in many areas. Earth Day is Saturday, April 22." [Read more]

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