December 17, 2008

he Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) commends Senator Tom Daschle on his selection as the Health and Human Services Secretary and director of the White House Office of Health Reform, a new position, in the incoming Obama-Biden Administration. In 2007, Senator Daschle joined with three other former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell to create the BPC, an organization dedicated to finding common ground on some of the most pressing public policy challenges of our time. Full release.

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker to bring sanctions against a judge in that state who has repeatedly barred Muslim women wearing religiously-mandated headscarves, or hijabs, from entering his courtroom. Yesterday, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported that a Muslim woman was jailed and then released following a dispute over whether she could enter the judge's courtroom in Douglasville, Ga., while wearing her hijab. In the past year, other Muslim women have either been jailed under similar circumstances or barred from that judge's court. Full release.

Kenneth A. Paulson, editor and senior vice president of news of USA TODAY and a nationally recognized First Amendment advocate, will become president and chief operating officer of the Newseum and the Freedom Forum in early 2009. Paulson, 55, succeeds Peter Prichard, who will work on special projects for one year before retiring. Prichard, who will be 65 next year, was also editor of USA TODAY before joining the Freedom Forum and Newseum 12 years ago. Full release.

ExxonMobil has agreed to pay nearly $6.1 million in civil penalties for violating the terms of a 2005 court-approved Clean Air Act agreement, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The 2005 settlement already required ExxonMobil to pay a $7.7 million civil penalty, perform an additional $6.7 million in supplemental environmental projects in communities around the company's refineries, and install pollution controls at six of its U.S. refineries. Full release.

Conservation Services Group (CSG), a non-profit, national energy services firm based in Massachusetts, today praised President-Elect Obama for his selection of top energy and environmental officers. Stephen L. Cowell, CEO, said the appointments of Carol Browner, Stephen Chu and Lisa Jackson underscore President-Elect Obama's commitment to solving the climate crisis. He said, "Finally, the welfare of our planet will be a priority once again." Full release.

The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald S. Lauder, has praised the minister of foreign affairs of the Netherlands, Maxime Verhagen, for making a clear statement regarding an upcoming United Nations conference on combating racism. In an interview with Dutch radio, Verhagen had said that his government might boycott a United Nations anti-racism conference in Geneva in April 2009 unless anti-Israel statements are removed from official draft documents. "It seems like the sole intention is to criticize Israel and condemn the West for slavery and its colonial history," Minister Verhagen had said, warning of a repeat of the first UN anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, which degenerated into an anti-Semitic and anti-Israel debacle. Full release.

When the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence invited Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan to accept its annual Abraham Lincoln Award in October, Duncan turned it down, saying "I don't think I deserve it," with school shootings in Chicago on the rise. "'At this rate we could lose 60 or 80 children this year,' Duncan said.At this rate, CPS could double last year's 35 student deaths, he said. 'Whole classrooms' of kids are dying each year," chronicled the "Gun Guys" newsletter blog. Full release.

Ann Ashburn, President of AmeriDream, Inc., today congratulated Shaun Donovan for being named president-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Mr. Donovan most recently served as Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City. "President-elect Obama correctly stated this weekend that we need to move past the stale arguments that say low-income Americans shouldn't even try to own a home," said Ashburn. "Shaun Donovan boasts a proven record of tearing down barriers that prevent hardworking, creditworthy families and individuals from achieving homeownership. We are encouraged by his nomination and, should he be confirmed, we hope a new era of partnership will follow. Full release.

The American Legion is calling on Congress to cease Federal funding of the Veterans Business Development Corporation (also known as The Veterans Corporation or TVC). A just-released report from the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship states that the TVC has failed in its mandate to properly provide monetary and educational resources to military veterans wishing to establish small businesses. Full release

Casey Research today announced alarming new findings in the tightening of individual credit standards, which will impact Americans' Christmas shopping -- and the ability to make payments in 2009. According to a November report by the Federal Reserve, nearly 60% of banks severely tightened their lending standards on credit card loans and 65% on other consumer loans in the last three months. As unemployment and delinquency rates go up and lenders are trying to minimize their risk, the average American suddenly finds himself cash strapped. Full release

Members of Congress are slated to receive a $4,700 pay raise beginning in January, increasing their annual salaries to $174,000. The increase for 535 House and Senate members would cost taxpayers more than $2.5 million. That salary alone, which excludes all other outside income and spousal wages, ranks each lawmaker in the top six percent of American households. Full release

A group of gay and lesbian Californians announced today they will be "taking to the airwaves" to demonstrate why the right to marry is so important for their families. The group, GetToKnowMeFirst.org, is planning a campaign of five 30-second commercials to run throughout Inauguration Week in January. The spots will run in both urban and rural markets. Full release

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