The news over the weekend was full of stories about (the AP’s, for example) how Barack Obama will have to give up his beloved BlackBerry once he enters the White house. While I can see why he might choose to, I cannot fathom why he would have to.

 

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Ministry spent more than $500,000 to pass California's Prop. 8 gay marriage ban

By Cara Degette 11/17/08 11:50 AM
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UPDATE: Focus on the Family announced this afternoon that 202 jobs will be cut companywide — an estimated 20 percent of its workforce. Initial reports bring the total number of remaining employees to around 950.

Focus on the Family is poised to announce major layoffs to its Colorado Springs-based ministry and media empire today. The cutbacks come just weeks after the group pumped more than half a million dollars into the successful effort to pass a gay-marriage ban in California.

Critics are holding up the layoffs, which come just two months after the organization’s last round of dismissals, as a sad commentary on the true priorities of the ministry.

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Tags: church, layoffs, prop 8

Sure, it's ultra-disappointing that women find violence against women worse than a lady playing a plastic guitar in her underwear, but I'm sadded that Bill didn't rage out against the manpile version. Must have needed more skin.

School of Communication professor David Zarefsky acknowledged the word "ruthless" has been used to describe his former student Rahm Emanuel.

It's probably a good thing, Zarefsky said.

"I think it can be applied to him in a positive sense because he's just very determined to achieve his goals," he said.

Chicago Congressman and Northwestern alumnus Rahm Emanuel recently accepted an offer from president-elect Barack Obama to serve as his White House chief of staff. Emanuel, who received a master's degree in speech and communication from NU in 1985, served as a top adviser to President Bill Clinton prior to running for congressional office.

In a 2001 interview with The Daily, Emanuel said his studies at NU helped his career.

"It gave me a sense of critical thinking," Emanuel said. "I worked on speeches, I worked on communications strategy. But I also worked on policy."

Emanuel's academic interests in rhetorical analysis and persuasion makes him well-suited for his new role as chief of staff, said communication studies professor Irving Rein.

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Here's the second half of the Larry King Live Prop 8 special from Friday night that I was looking for this morning. The first half featured Cynthia Nixon. The second features Gavin Newsom, Dan Savage, Bishop Harry Jackson, Rev. Jim Garlow.

On Saturday, Dan Savage wrote on his site what he wished he'd said on Larry King:

"Well, amongst other things: When political attacks are launched from churches, political responses will be delivered to churches. If goddamned McDonald's had organized and paid for Prop 8, we'd be marching on goddamned McDonald's."

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Teddy: I'd Like To See Obama Sign Health Care Bill In First Year



Pundits may be predicting that Barack Obama won't take up health care in his first year, but someone who actually knows what he's talking about on the issue says Obama will push hard to get it done right out of the gate.

Teddy Kennedy just made a visit to Capitol Hill, where MSNBC picked him up live, and Kennedy, whose Health Committee is right in the center of discussions between all the various health care factions, predicted that Obama would act fast.

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Tags: barack obama, healthcare, ted kennedy
Current Mood: loved

Looks like Sarah Palin is cramming in as much sun and fun as she can before returning to the icy Alaskan north to resume or governor duties. 

The feisty almost-vice-president showed off just what she's been hiding underneath those expensive designer outfits while on a much-needed break from the Republican Governor's meeting in Miami.( Read more... )</div>
http://bauergriffinonline.celebuzz.com/2008/11/sarah-palin-poolside-you-betch.php

Hillary Clinton to accept Obama's offer of secretary of state job
President-elect Barack Obama reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration


Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.

Obama's advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton's foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.

Clinton would be well placed to become the country's dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops.( Read more... )

Congo rebels advance despite cease-fire
By TODD PITMAN – 1 hour ago

KANYABAYONGA, Congo (AP) — On one side of this mountaintop ghost town, a line of black-booted rebels approaches on foot with rockets and tin boxes of ammunition, seizing new territory with each footstep despite promises of a cease-fire.

On the other side, government soldiers in flip-flops balancing portable generators and luggage on their heads have begun to flee.

In between, the vast Central African nation's deepening humanitarian crisis is laid bare: Thousands of desperate civilians who used to live in this eastern Congo town huddle against coils of concertina wire surrounding a base for U.N. peacekeepers, waiting nervously for the rebels.

"We are hungry and thirsty, but we don't want any aid. We want security," said 30-year-old Jeff Machozi, who built a makeshift tent three days ago with tree branches and bamboo he ripped out of the earth. "We want this war to stop."

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I feel like the world is just starting to turn its head away from the trouble - again.

Tags: congo, un

More American kids went hungry last year
USDA: Number jumped 50 percent in 2007 — that's nearly 700,000 children

WASHINGTON - Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year’s sharp economic downturn, the Agriculture Department reported Monday.
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Admirals, generals: Let gays serve openly
More than 100 call for repeal of military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays so they can serve openly, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
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Pet owners skipping vet visits as economy sinks
You can safely cut back on pet care, but not by skimping on meds, vets say

Tim Parkinson knows his dog and cat are past due for teeth cleanings. But he isn't sure where the money will come from for the procedure. Parkinson, who lives in Lake Forest, Calif., is on disability and says rising prices are forcing him to look closely at how he spends his money on pet care.
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Current Mood: sore