Column/Legend
1 - Prefix  - L-Life,  H-Homosexual Behavior/Perversion, R-Religion/Legal Persecution/ACLU, E-Education, M-Media Bias, O-Other
2-7 - Yr, Mo, Dy
8 - L -Letter to Editor, C-Commentary, O-Op-Ed, M-Metro

Hotlink Index of this weeks's family values related news:  [Supreme Court Battle]   [Life]   [Homosexual Behavior/Perversion]   [Religion/Religious Persecution]   [Education]   [Media]   [Other]

SUPREME COURT BATTLE
S051024        Senators face off on Miers nod
S051025        Bush refuses to disclose conversations with Miers
S051025        Leaders on right call for new pick
S051026        Miers achieved, but stayed under the radar
S051026        Senators reject Miers critics
S051026E      Judicial activism encounter
S051027        Miers' high court nomination withdrawn
S051027        Women's group calls for Miers withdrawal
S051028        Bush among last to learn of Miers' plan to quit?
S051028        'Confirmation process presents a burden'
S051028        Conservatives demand nominee in their image
S051028        Conservatives eager to put battles in past, unite behind Bush agenda and next
S051028        'I have accepted Miers' decision to withdraw'
S051028        Miers rules herself out
S051028C    . . after the furor
S051028E      Judicious actions

LIFE
L051027E      Jerry Kilgore for governor

HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR/PERVERSION
H051029        Same-sex benefits OK'd in Alaska

RELIGION/RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
R051024        Episcopal liberals prepare for split
R051024E      A flawed reading of the Constitution
R051024E     Faith and the public squared
R051025        COLORADO   New commander takes over academy
R051027       Gift of myrrh
R051027       Keep the faith, and they will come
R051028       NEW HAMPSHIRE   Catholics reach out with talks at bar
R051028       WEST VIRGINIA   Baptists reject split from national church
R051028       GEORGIA   Court upholds ban of voter ID law
R051029C    Darwinian Democrats
R051029L     Regarding Harriet

EDUCATION
E051026Md   Board picks members of new sex-ed panel

MEDIA
M051027       Snide remark

OTHER
O051024Md  Steele raising cash, but not as much as Cardin
O051025        Musical judges
O051026        Marriage found to improve blacks' lives
O051026        COLORADO   Mother sentenced in rape of children
O051026        The values issue
O051026Md  Steele running for Senate
O051026Va   Tough sex-crime penalty urged
O051027       'Nonpolitical' judge to hear DeLay motion
O051027Md  Molester exempt from sex offender registry
O051028       Black-and-blue
O051028Md  Sarbanes' son declares run for Cardin's seat
O051029        Illegitimate births set record last year

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S051028   Miers rules herself out

By Joseph Curl
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 28, 2005

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, fiercely criticized by conservatives as unqualified, abruptly withdrew her name from consideration yesterday. President Bush said he will make a new nomination "in a timely manner."
    Both Mr. Bush and Miss Miers, the White House counsel, cited senators' calls for internal administration documents as the main factor for her decision.
    "It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Mr. Bush said.
    But Democrats -- including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who had suggested to Mr. Bush that he nominate Miss Miers to the Supreme Court -- blamed right-wing conservatives for Miss Miers' demise.
    "The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination," said Mr. Reid, of Nevada. "Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues."
    For more than three weeks, conservative interest groups and pundits have said Miss Miers, who has never served in the judiciary, lacked a clear record of conservative jurisprudence and could fail to provide a strict constructionist voice on the court, as Mr. Bush promised. Republican senators had deemed Miss Miers unimpressive after meeting privately with her.
    The president said he "reluctantly accepted" Miss Miers' withdrawal and said obstinate senators caused it, but as early as last week, the White House had begun making contingency plans for the move, The Washington Times reported Saturday.
    After the morning announcement, Republicans circled the wagons, with some lamenting Miss Miers' downfall and others urging the president to move forward by quickly nominating a replacement for the slot being vacated by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
     Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had scheduled confirmation hearings for Miss Miers to begin Nov. 7, said, "This is a sad episode."
    Just two weeks ago, Mr. Specter had said a Miers withdrawal would be "a sign of incredible weakness."
    Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican, said he expects a "nominee quickly ... within days."
    Mr. Bush, who nominated John G. Roberts Jr. for the a Supreme Court seat in July to replace Justice O'Connor and then shifted him to the chief justice slot when William H. Rehnquist died, has vetted numerous candidates for the position.
    Among the front-runners are conservative federal appeals court judges Michael W. McConnell, Samuel A. Alito Jr., J. Michael Luttig, Edith Hollan Jones, Edith Brown Clement, Priscilla R. Owen and Janice Rogers Brown. Judge Alito was narrowly passed over when Mr. Bush chose Miss Miers, one administration official said.
     Inside the White House, which began the day awaiting word on possible indictments over the CIA leak scandal, the mood was upbeat -- at least publicly.
     One aide said, "The writing was on the wall" regarding what Democrats planned to attack Miss Miers on during her Senate confirmation hearing. Another aide recalled the fate of Miguel Estrada, a Bush nominee for an appeals court post who withdrew his name more than a year after his nomination because Senate Democrats refused to allow a full floor vote.
    But there were no White House recriminations launched at Democrats and no publicly expressed regrets over Mr. Bush's decision to nominate someone from outside what he calls the "judicial monastery."
    "She recognized that the process was headed toward an unresolvable impasse," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said. "She cannot answer questions on specific issues in Supreme Court cases ... and senators had made it clear that she would be required to cross those lines in the confirmation process, given her different and unique record that she has and the fact that she does not have a judicial record or other substantial public writings, opinions or briefs on constitutional matters."
    Miss Miers, 60, a longtime Bush friend and confidante, said the push for privileged information led to her withdrawal in a letter she delivered early yesterday morning to the president in the Oval Office.
    "As you know, members of the Senate have indicated their intention to seek documents about my service in the White House in order to judge whether to support me," she wrote.
    "I have been informed repeatedly that in lieu of records, I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial philosophy. ... I have steadfastly maintained that the independence of the Executive Branch be preserved and its confidential documents and information not be released to further a confirmation process. I feel compelled to adhere to this position."
    In a strange twist, in returning to her job as White House counsel, Miss Miers will advise the president on the next Supreme Court nominee.
    Justice O'Connor, whose vote has been decisive on 5-4 rulings that upheld abortion rights, sustained affirmative action and limited the application of the death penalty, will remain on the high court until a replacement is confirmed.
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S051028   Conservatives eager to put battles in past, unite behind Bush agenda and next court pick

By Donald Lambro and Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 28, 2005

Conservatives were heartened by yesterday's withdrawal of the Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination and say it has given President Bush a fresh start to unite his conservative base for the judicial, legislative and election battles to come.
    The move ends a bitter family fight with his conservative supporters that Mr. Bush could ill-afford while he and his party were under fierce attack on a growing number of political fronts.
    "This was tearing apart the conservative movement and the Republican Party and was potentially inflicting longer-term devastation to Bush's winning coalition. So it's good that the White House is bringing this chapter to a close when he needs a united party," Republican campaign strategist Scott Reed said yesterday.
    Political adviser Frank Donatelli, a Reagan White House political director, called the move "an opportunity for conservative groups and the administration to patch up their differences and get back to talking about issues."
    One of those issues will be judicial nominees, and conservatives who said the family quarrel was over also were saying Mr. Bush must now pick a proven conservative in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas to fill the Supreme Court slot.
    "The conservative movement is more united than ever and looks forward to standing behind a strong nominee in the mold of Scalia and Thomas," said Jessica Echard, executive director of the Eagle Forum, whose leader Phyllis Schlafly was among the leaders of a withdrawal campaign announced Monday. "President Bush has done the right thing."
    Free Congress Foundation Chairman Paul M. Weyrich, who hosts weekly strategy sessions attended by conservative leaders and senators, House members and administration emissaries, also saw an opportunity for healing in the withdrawal.
    "Harriet Miers' nomination was most unfortunate," Mr. Weyrich said. "It caused the president's supporters to lose confidence in him, and he can't afford that right now. He will now be able to restore that confidence by appointing a Scalia or Thomas, as he once promised -- or he will lose on other fronts."
    Other party strategists echoed the view, saying the abrupt end to the Republican Party's civil war over Miss Miers came not a moment too soon, allowing the White House to turn its attention to more politically pressing matters. Among them:
    • Top White House aides, including Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, were the targets of a grand jury inquiry into the CIA leak case that could lead to indictments today.
    • The Republican leadership in Congress also is under investigation -- former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on money-laundering charges and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on accusations of insider stock trading.
    • At the same time, Mr. Bush's job-approval ratings have sunk to the mid- to low 40s, with some polls showing signs of erosion even among Republicans, as a result of public dissatisfaction over rising casualties in Iraq, gasoline prices, the economy and the overall direction of the country.
   The Republican Congress' approval ratings were even lower, in part because of the sharp increase in government spending during the five years of Mr. Bush's presidency, opening up another battle with his conservative critics.
    But yesterday, conservative leaders who had led the fight against Miss Miers said they were ready to put the judicial battle behind them and renew their support for Mr. Bush in preparation for the political and policy struggles ahead, including the vacancy on the high court.
    "This is now a time for conservatives to reunite behind the president as he faces vital challenges at home and abroad and as he works to select a new nominee whom conservatives can endorse," said Americans for Better Justice, a group of conservative leaders who were at the forefront of the lobbying campaign to force Miss Miers to withdraw.
    Leonard A. Leo, the executive vice president of the Federalist Society who angered some conservatives by taking a lead role in promoting Miss Miers, said he would "look forward to the nomination of another judicial conservative who shares the president's philosophy that the role of courts is to interpret the law rather than make it up."
    There was a huge sigh of relief on Capitol Hill, where Republican officials said Miss Miers' decision will help unite the party and put the president's agenda back on offense.
    Mr. Bush already has made new overtures to overcome conservative complaints on his agenda, including agreeing to meet conservative demands for big spending cuts to offset the recovery costs of Hurricane Katrina, Republican leadership officials said.
    "The White House has begun shoring up its support among conservatives who have been upset with them. The president has been more forceful on spending issues, and that bodes well for his administration down the road," said Ron Bonjean, chief spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican.
    "They've been playing defense for so long on Harriet Miers that it's great to see them pivoting and going on offense again on our issues," he said.
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S051028   Conservatives demand nominee in their image

By Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 28, 2005

Conservative leaders who helped force the withdrawal of Harriet Miers said yesterday that President Bush must now appoint someone whose judicial philosophy matches that of the two most conservative justices on the Supreme Court -- and said they would accept nothing less.
    "We want Bush to fulfill his campaign commitment to give us a nominee like Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas," said Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly. "Conservatives have this old-fashioned notion that candidates should fulfill the promises they made once they get elected."
    Other leaders on the right made similar appeals to Mr. Bush and mentioned a number of candidates they would accept -- and agreed that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales would definitely not be acceptable.
    "All Bush needs to do to make things worse is to float the name of Alberto Gonzales," said American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene. Mr. Gonzales was White House counsel until Mr. Bush appointed him as attorney general and named Miss Miers to replace him as counsel.
    Mr. Gonzales is viewed skeptically by conservatives because of his statements on issues such as abortion and gun control.
    The Miers battle, meanwhile, has left scars on the Bush coalition, with some conservatives saying that Mr. Bush hoodwinked evangelical Christian leaders including James Dobson and Richard Land into supporting Miss Miers.
    "Certainly, a segment of the pro-family movement led by Dobson and Land succumbed to the schmoozing of [White House chief political strategist Karl] Rove," Mrs. Schlafly said, "but the White House obviously didn't tell them the truth, that she is a feminist. Instead, the White House assured them Miers would vote pro-life."
    Yesterday, Mr. Dobson called Miss Miers' withdrawal "a wise decision" and cited news reports of a speech in which Miss Miers defended abortion rights as "self-determination."
    "In recent days I have grown increasingly concerned about her conservative credentials, and I was dismayed to learn this week about her speech in 1993, in which she sounded pro-abortion themes and expressed so much praise for left-wing feminist leaders."
    But Mr. Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, yesterday blamed conservative critics for undermining Miss Miers' nomination, calling her "yet one more victim of a process that has gone seriously awry in the past two decades."
    "Until ... this nomination atmosphere is corrected, the country will be deprived of the services of many gifted and able people who refuse to put themselves and their families through this kind of ordeal," Mr. Land said. "President Bush and his nominee, Harriet Miers, deserved better treatment than they received."
    But Georgia pro-family activist Carolyn Meadows said the Miers nomination had undermined confidence in Mr. Bush among conservatives.
    "Before she withdrew, everywhere I went here, in my circle, people were saying that because of Miers they don't trust the president anymore -- that maybe she is a stealth candidate but that is not what we were asking for," Mrs. Meadows said.
    Naming a strong alternative to Miss Miers is the best way to undo the damage, she said.
    "I think it makes the president look strong if he makes a bad choice and then decides to undo it and if he will now do it right," Mrs. Meadows said.
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S051028   Bush among last to learn of Miers' plan to quit?

By Joseph Curl
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 28, 2005

At 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the White House residence, President Bush got a phone call from Harriet Miers, who told him she planned to withdraw from her nomination to the Supreme Court.
     The White House yesterday said the phone call was the first time the president heard she planned to quit. If that's true, he was among the last to know.
    Top conservatives have said for days that the White House was preparing for a Miers exit -- and exactly one week ago, a prominent columnist laid out the exact exit strategy the president followed yesterday. Conservative spokesmen had criticized Miss Miers' nomination from the outset.
    Senior advisers in the White House also had an idea of what was coming, according to prominent conservatives. The Washington Times reported Saturday that Sara Taylor, director of the Office of White House Political Affairs, had called conservatives to ask how to proceed should Miss Miers withdraw.
    The White House offered few details yesterday about the genesis of Miss Miers' decision to pull out. One aide said that when she informed the president of her decision, he did not try to dissuade her.
    Also Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist spoke with White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and offered a "frank assessment of the situation," Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said.
    But the White House said that Mr. Frist's call came an hour after Miss Miers had informed the president of her decision, so it was not a factor.
     Eleven hours later, she met the president in the Oval Office and handed him her withdrawal letter.
     A Republican strategist with close ties to the White House said Miss Miers did not make her decision until after 5 p.m. Wednesday. The strategist said several factors -- top among them press reports Wednesday about a speech Miss Miers had given -- combined to prompt her exit.
    In the 1993 speech, she said that "self-determination" should guide decisions about abortion and school prayer and that in cases where scientific facts are disputed and religious beliefs vary, "government should not act." Reports of the speech angered pro-life advocates.
    "That was probably the moment that she knew she couldn't go forward," the strategist said.
    While many conservatives expressed relief about the Miers withdrawal, Sen. George V. Voinovich, Ohio Republican, blasted conservative groups for undermining the president's nominee.
    "Somebody probably pulled her aside and said, 'Harriet, it's going to be a terrible experience and why go through with it, because they've already made up their minds,' " he said.
     The exit scenario, however, matched one laid out by syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer.
    "Hence the perfectly honorable way to solve the conundrum: Miers withdraws out of respect for both the Senate and the executive's prerogatives, the Senate expresses appreciation for this gracious acknowledgment of its needs and responsibilities, and the White House accepts her decision with the deepest regret and with gratitude for Miers's putting preservation of executive prerogative above personal ambition.
     "Faces saved. And we start again," he wrote Oct. 21.
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S051028   'Confirmation process presents a burden'

October 28, 2005

The letter sent to President Bush from Harriet Miers withdrawing her nomination to the Supreme Court, as released by the White House yesterday.
    Dear Mr. President:
    I write to withdraw as a nominee to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. I have been greatly honored and humbled by the confidence that you have shown in me, and have appreciated immensely your support and the support of many others. However, I am concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country.
    As you know, members of the Senate have indicated their intention to seek documents about my service in the White House in order to judge whether to support me. I have been informed repeatedly that in lieu of records, I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial philosophy. While I believe that my lengthy career provides sufficient evidence for consideration of my nomination, I am convinced the efforts to obtain Executive Branch materials and information will continue.
    As I stated in my acceptance remarks in the Oval Office, the strength and independence of our three branches of government are critical to the continued success of this great Nation. Repeatedly in the course of the process of confirmation for nominees for other positions, I have steadfastly maintained that the independence of the Executive Branch be preserved and its confidential documents and information not be released to further a confirmation process. I feel compelled to adhere to this position, especially related to my own nomination. Protection of the prerogatives of the Executive Branch and continued pursuit of my confirmation are in tension. I have decided that seeking my confirmation should yield.
    I share your commitment to appointing judges with a conservative judicial philosophy, and I look forward to continuing to support your efforts to provide the American people judges who will interpret the law, not make it. I am most grateful for the opportunity to have served your Administration and this country.
    Most respectfully,
    Harriet Ellan Miers
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S051028   'I have accepted Miers' decision to withdraw'

October 28, 2005

President Bush's statement after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court yesterday, as released by the White House:
 
    Today, I have reluctantly accepted Harriet Miers' decision to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.
    I nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court because of her extraordinary legal experience, her character, and her conservative judicial philosophy. Throughout her career, she has gained the respect and admiration of her fellow attorneys. She has earned a reputation for fairness and total integrity. She has been a leader and a pioneer in the American legal profession.
    She has worked in important positions in state and local government and in the bar. And for the last five years, she has served with distinction and honor in critical positions in the Executive Branch.
    I understand and share her concern, however, about the current state of the Supreme Court confirmation process. It is clear that Senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a President's ability to receive candid counsel. Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the Constitutional separation of powers -- and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her.
    I am grateful for Harriet Miers' friendship and devotion to our country. And I am honored that she will continue to serve our Nation as White House Counsel.
    My responsibility to fill this vacancy remains. I will do so in a timely manner.
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O051028      Black-and-blue
    At a Capitol Hill breakfast yesterday sponsored by the Family Research Council, two dozen congressmen were presented with True Blue Awards, bestowed on lawmakers who vote 100 percent in defense of families and the sanctity of human life.
    It's also worth noting that Black & Blue Awards were presented this year for the first time, to members who voted "0 percent" on pro-family issues. Among those dealt a black eye was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, for being "a longtime proponent of removing faith from the public square, prayer from public schools and [creation science] from academic studies."
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R051028     GEORGIA   Court upholds ban of voter ID law
    ATLANTA -- A federal appeals court declined yesterday to let the state use a new law for local elections next month that would require voters to show photo identification before casting their ballots.
    The ruling by a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came eight days after a federal district judge temporarily barred the state from using the law, saying it amounted to an unconstitutional poll tax.
    The state, hoping to win on appeal, had asked the appeals court to lift the injunction, but the court refused.
    "We're gratified all registered voters in Georgia can vote, whether or not they can purchase a photo ID," said Neil Bradley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which joined civil rights and voting rights activists in challenging the law.
    A driver's license with a photo is sufficient under the law, but those who do not have a license must obtain a state ID card, which can cost up to $35. Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, said such cards would be given free to those who cannot afford the fee.
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R051028   NEW HAMPSHIRE   Catholics reach out with talks at bar
    MANCHESTER -- So, these two priests walk into a bar. ...
    No joke. A Roman Catholic parish has booked four talks at a local bar in an effort to reach out to twenty- and thirtysomethings who don't go to church. Alcohol will be served.
    The Ste. Marie Parish's first presentation, "Naked & Without Shame," was scheduled yesterday and was to deal with Catholic views on sexuality, contraception and marriage.
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R051028   WEST VIRGINIA   Baptists reject split from national church
    CLARKSBURG -- In a close vote, West Virginia Baptist delegates rejected a proposal to split from the American Baptist Churches USA in a dispute over homosexual issues.
    The measure, introduced by the West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth, was defeated by a 391-325 vote at the West Virginia Baptist Convention's annual meeting last week. However, the delegates voted 402-276 against reaffirming the state convention's commitment to the national church.
    The 1.5-million-member denomination has declared homosexual relationships incompatible with Christianity, but conservatives say some churches with more liberal stands have not been disciplined properly.
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S051027   Miers' high court nomination withdrawn

By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 27, 2005

President Bush withdrew the nomination of Harriet Miers today after three weeks of blistering criticism from his own party.
    Mr. Bush said that he "reluctantly accepted" Miss Miers' decision that her nomination be withdrawn and noted the highly charged atmosphere on Capitol Hill over filling a swing seat on the Supreme Court now held by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
    Specifically, Mr. Bush and Miss Miers blamed the opposition to her nomination on demands from both Democrats and Republicans for White House documents whose release they said would violate executive privilege as well as attorney-client privilege.
    "I understand and share her concern, however, about the current state of the Supreme Court confirmation process," the president said in a somber tone. "It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House, disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel."
    The most intense opposition to the nomination came from some of Mr. Bush's strongest supporters -- conservatives who wanted Justice O'Connor to be replaced by a jurist with a clear record of conservative judicial thinking.
    Although no senators publicly called for Miss Miers' withdrawal, several conservative Republicans expressed reservations about the Miers nomination. However, any concerns were ancient history within minutes of the withdrawal as Republicans strove to mend self-inflicted wounds.
    "Harriet Miers is a smart and accomplished person," said Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican. "Her acknowledgment that the principles of lawyer-client and executive privilege are larger than any one nominee demonstrates an honorable humility and commitment to first principles that are rare in Washington, D.C."
    Not everyone was so complimentary.
    "Harriet Miers is a fine and capable person, but this was clearly the wrong position for her," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, who sits on the Judiciary Committee. "Her gracious withdrawal saves Harriet Miers and the nation from a difficult and agonizing process and decision."
    Mr. Bush said he would announce a new nominee shortly, but some on Capitol Hill said they doubted a new nominee could make it to the bench before the end of the year.
    Democrats warned against nominating someone they view as "extreme."
    "There is now one clear path for the president, to choose a knowledgeable and mainstream successor in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor," Mr. Schumer said. "These are very difficult times for the country, and the nation cries out for unity. Mr. President, this is a time for leadership. Please help bring America together with a choice that unites, not divides us."
    In a letter, Miss Miers thanked Mr. Bush for the nomination and his support.
    "I have been greatly honored and humbled by the confidence that you have shown in me, and have appreciated immensely your support and the support of many others," she wrote. "However, I am concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country."
    For Mr. Bush's part, he said he remained confident in his nominee.
    "I nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court because of her extraordinary legal experience, her character and her conservative judicial philosophy," he said.
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O051027   'Nonpolitical' judge to hear DeLay motion

October 27, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The decision on who will preside over former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's criminal case will be made by a retired state judge with a reputation as a nonpolitical mediator.
    Bell County Senior Judge C.W. Duncan, 81, was selected to consider Mr. DeLay's request that state District Judge Bob Perkins not oversee his trial on conspiracy and money-laundering charges.
    Mr. DeLay, accused of masterminding a political fundraising scheme that helped put more Republicans in the Texas Legislature and Congress, contends that Judge Perkins is too much of a Democrat to give him a fair trial.
    Judge Perkins has contributed money to candidates and Democratic causes that oppose Mr. DeLay.
    Judge Duncan, also a Democrat, scheduled a Tuesday hearing for arguments on Mr. DeLay's motion.
    Judge Duncan, appointed to the bench in 1978 by Gov. Dolph Briscoe, a Democrat, and elected in 1980 and again in 1984, is low-key about his politics, friends and colleagues say.
    "He's not driven by politics and personality," said longtime Bell County District Attorney Cappy Eads. "I had Judge Duncan rule for me and rule against me both many times. Even in disagreement, I always felt that he was guided by his interpretation of the law and what he felt was the right thing to do."
    Judge Duncan has made small contributions to both Democratic and Republican candidates.
    After his 1988 retirement, Judge Duncan took senior judge status, which means he serves as a visiting judge in courts across the state. He doesn't have to run for election and "doesn't have an ax to grind politically," said Mary Harrell, a Killeen criminal defense lawyer.
    As president of the Killeen school board for nearly 20 years, Judge Duncan gained a reputation as a mediator.
    "The thing about Judge Duncan, he presided with such ... control, he was a calming influence," said Charles Patterson, a former Killeen superintendent.
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M051027   Snide remark
     "An overwhelming 79 percent of Iraqis, who risked their lives just over a week ago to cast their ballot, voted in favor of the nation's new constitution, but you'd have missed it if you sneezed during Tuesday's 'CBS Evening News' or ABC's 'World News Tonight,'?" the Media Research Center's Brent Baker writes at www.mrc.org.
    "CBS anchor Bob Schieffer delivered only this single sentence -- 'Iraq's government announced today that voters did approve the country's new constitution in this month's referendum' -- before moving on to a full story about the 2,000th death of U.S. servicemen in Iraq, a piece he could not resist introducing without adding this snide aside: 'More than 90 percent of the 2,000 who died in the war have died since the president declared major combat was at an end in May 2003.'
    "On ABC, which had time for a full piece from Terry Moran about the 'potentially huge' story of Vice President Cheney's supposed role in the [Valerie] Plame case, anchor Elizabeth Vargas briefly noted how 'in Iraq today, there was a milestone on the road to democracy: The official results show that a new constitution was ratified by an overwhelming margin.' That was it for the Iraqi constitution. ABC led with, as Vargas put it, the 'terrible milestone' of 2,000 killed in Iraq. Viewers then saw two stories: Martha Raddatz on the anguish of Army medical personnel and Barbara Pinto on parents in an Ohio town who have lost sons in Iraq," Mr. Baker said.
    "The 'NBC Nightly News' devoted a full story to the 2,000 'milestone' followed by a piece from Iraq which began with the overwhelming approval of the constitution by 79 percent, what reporter Richard Engel called 'a historic milestone' before he moved on to the ongoing violence and how 'there are some bright spots,' such as more jobs."
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S051027   Women's group calls for Miers withdrawal

By Charles Hurt and Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 27, 2005

The nation's largest conservative women's group yesterday called for the withdrawal of the Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination as The Washington Times learned that a key promoter of the nomination had suddenly quit the White House lobbying effort.
    Leonard A. Leo, who had been on leave from the Federalist Society to be chief conduit between the White House and conservatives, said last night that he has returned to his full-time job as executive vice president of the conservative legal group.
    The move, which surprised even Republicans working closely with Mr. Leo, came as the Concerned Women for America called for the nomination to be withdrawn in part because of reports of a 1993 speech in which Miss Miers appeared to agree with some of the grounds for the legal right to abortion.
    "We find several aspects troubling, particularly her views on abortion and a woman's 'self-determination,' quotas, feminism and the role of judges as social activists," said Jan LaRue, CWA's chief counsel. "We do not believe that our concerns will be satisfied during her hearing."
    Mrs. LaRue's group, which has about a half-million members and seeks to "bring biblical principles into all levels of public policy," had taken a "wait-and-see" stance on the nomination, but has become the latest group to join growing opposition to Miss Miers on the right. The coalition, WithdrawMiers.org, was founded Monday by several pro-family groups led by conservative icons Richard Viguerie and Phyllis Schlafly.
    But meanwhile, the White House and Republican leadership emissaries are quietly telling conservative interest groups and pundits opposed to the Miers nomination that they are out of step with their rank and file.
    Conservative activist Michael D. Brown said internal GOP polling being cited by party and administration emissaries purports to show that "70 percent of self-identified conservative voters have a favorable impression of Harriet Miers."
    The emissaries are warning that ordinary Republicans beyond the Washington Beltway continue to support the nomination because they trust President Bush, even after several weeks of conservative opposition to her, according to several conservative Miers critics who have been courted by the White House.
    The administration is "disappointed that conservatives inside the Beltway are fighting among ourselves over this nomination, and it fuels the fires for our enemies, for Democrats," said Mr. Brown, the former Federal Emergency Management Agency director.
    However, conservative opposition to the Miers nomination stiffened on Capitol Hill, in response to a report in The Washington Post yesterday that she argued that "self-determination" should be the guide for resolving issues such as abortion and school prayer.
    "The underlying theme in most of these cases is the insistence of more self-determination," she said in the 1993 speech. "The more I think about these issues, the more self-determination makes the most sense. Legislating religion or morality we gave up a long time ago."
    Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the quotations from the speech "are troubling and raise concerns."
    "It raises some questions we have to ask about in the committee hearing," said Mr. Brownback, who is undecided on the nomination. "It's something we're going to need to probe."
    "I think she has a high hill to climb," Mr. Brownback said. "I think she remains having that hill to climb. I'm not satisfied with the information we've received to date."
    In the same speech before a meeting of the Executive Women of Dallas, Miss Miers also said, "The ongoing debate continues surrounding the attempt to once again criminalize abortions or to once and for all guarantee the freedom of the individual woman's right to decide for herself whether she will have an abortion."
    Tony Perkins, founder of the conservative Family Research Center, said the words Miss Miers chose were clearly the language of pro-choice advocates.
    "This is very disturbing," said Mr. Perkins, who has carefully remained undecided on the nomination. "Miss Miers' words are a close paraphrase of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision."
    Miss Miers' 1993 speech appears to depart from a pledge she made four years earlier to the pro-life Texas United for Life during a campaign for Dallas City Council. She promised to "actively support legislation that would reinstate Texas' 1973 abortion law that prohibited all abortions except those necessary to prevent the death of the mother."
    "I find these remarks deeply troubling," Mr. Perkins said. "For so long, there was an absence of information about her judicial philosophy and this tends to point to a judicial philosophy of activism."
    Mr. Leo said last night, however, that his departure from the White House effort has nothing to do with a lack of faith in the Miers nomination.
    "This is consistent with what I was going to do," he said. "I have to return to the Federalist Society to take care of business there."
    Mr. Leo has come under intense criticism from conservative jurists -- particularly among members of the Federalist Society -- for promoting Miss Miers, whom they say lacks the clear conservative judicial philosophy that Mr. Bush promised in his bench nominees. Several members of the Federalist Society who know Mr. Leo have said that they think he is only backing Miss Miers out of loyalty to the Bush administration rather than support on the merits.
    Mr. Leo said that he announced his departure in an Oct. 19 e-mail and that it was "effective immediately."
    But as of yesterday, even Republicans working closely with him on the nomination said they had no idea Mr. Leo had relinquished his duties.
    Mr. Leo had worked as the "campaign manager," organizing the massive support among conservatives for the confirmation of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., according to a source close to Mr. Leo. But with the deep disappointment among conservatives over the Miers nomination, "there's really no campaign here," the source said.
    For their part, liberal senators were hardly impressed by Miss Miers' Dallas speech, pointing out the same inconsistency between it and other known Miers stances.
    "But the $64,000 question remains: Who is Harriet Miers? In some ways, the more we hear, the less we know. Recently released speeches by Harriet Miers only further confuse and confound," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
    "She spoke favorably of the importance of 'self-determination' in cases involving moral issues such as abortion and prayer, yet four years earlier, when running for Dallas City Council, she filled out a questionnaire from a pro-life group stating her support for a constitutional amendment banning abortion. And even more confusing, one year before that, she gave $1,000 to the Democratic National Committee," Mr. Schumer said.
    Skepticism among conservative activists is leading the White House to argue privately that infighting among conservative leaders and opinion makers is hurting Mr. Bush's reputation and only serves to make Republicans look bad.
    Conservatives are also at odds over whether Democrats will attempt to filibuster her nomination and whether Senate Republicans leaders should respond with the so-called nuclear option, thus forcing an up-or-down vote by simple majority.
    "As Republicans and conservatives, we've been fighting for this principle of an up-or-down vote on judicial appointments for years, and we can't pull back now just because conservatives are at odds over her qualifications," a Republican leadership representative said yesterday.
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R051027   Gift of myrrh
    Get ready, American Civil Liberties Union, Christians are being asked this Christmas season to flood their yards and business places with Nativity scenes.
    Charles Nestor, director of the Truth Matters' project "Operation Nativity," says it's not even Halloween yet and "already the forces are aligning to prohibit the public celebration of the birth of Jesus."
    "December 25 is the day in our culture that is set aside to acknowledge and to celebrate that Jesus of Nazareth was born," he says. "Think with me what could happen if on lawns in every community, on business property, on church lawns, at Christian schools, on empty land and literally everywhere you looked, there was the depiction of the scene that recognizes the birth of Jesus."
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R051027   Keep the faith, and they will come

By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 27, 2005

When municipal, state and federal governments faltered in their early response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of churches and synagogues stepped up to help.
    Nearly two months after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, religious groups have pledged that feeding, clothing and sheltering survivors of the storm will continue for as long as necessary. Cleaning up and rebuilding has just begun.
    "We've provided more than $11 million worth of in-kind labor since the hurricanes," says Joe Conway, spokesman for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, an agency of the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention. "In terms of rebuilding, we'll probably be here for several years."
    About 7,000 Baptists from congregations in 41 states have provided relief. The Southern Baptists -- the nation's largest non-Catholic denomination -- have not stopped cooking since Katrina hit. By Tuesday, they had cooked and served more than 9.3 million hot meals, beating their record of 2.5 million meals served after Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida in 1992, Mr. Conway says.
    "We did the majority of the cooking for the Salvation Army, and probably the Red Cross as well, and for ourselves," he says.
    Says Jeffrey Jellets, territorial disaster services coordinator for the Salvation Army: "The Southern Baptists cook the meals. We load them into containers and put them on mobile feeding units and go into New Orleans and other hard-hit areas and distribute them."
    By Tuesday, the Baptists, using mobile shower units and facilities of cooperating churches in the region, had provided more than 65,000 showers for those without water and a variety of other services, including child care and debris removal.
    Shelley Borysiewicz, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities USA, says her group has raised $63 million to support the disaster relief work of its local agencies.
    "That amount is a record. We raised $32 million after 9/11," Ms. Borysiewicz says.
    "The most important work will come in the weeks and months ahead," she says. "We know we will be [in the Gulf Coast region] providing services for three to five years."
    Temporary housing for hurricane refugees is a major component of the relief services that religious groups provide. By the end of September, relief workers in stricken Gulf Coast states estimated that 500,000 people had taken refuge in housing provided by faith-based institutions.
    Catholic Charities says its 70 local agencies have concentrated on getting refugees into housing that could become permanent, such as vacant apartments or in buildings owned by the group.
    In St. Louis, Ms. Borysiewicz says, 130 refugees have been resettled in an Adopt-a-Family program run by Catholic Charities. The program helps them find housing. It pays the first month's rent and utility costs for up to six months, and helps families find other necessities.
    She cites similar resettlement programs in Los Angeles and Lansing, Mich., and says the Catholic Charities agency in St. Louis held a job fair for refugees. In addition, Catholic Charities has provided medical care and prescription medicines.
    Nearly 16,000 volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have served in weekend "Chainsaw Brigades" to clear storm debris in Louisiana and Mississippi.
    The volunteers, mostly from Mormon congregations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas, cut and clear debris from fallen trees and cover damaged roofs with tarps to prevent water damage while hurricane victims await insurance settlements and repairs.
    "They remove fallen trees from the roofs of houses ... and they also remove trees that are blocking driveways and roads. They've put in more than 31,400 man-days of volunteer service," says Karla Brandau, spokeswoman for the Mormons' North American Southeast Area public affairs office, who has been on the scene for much of this recovery work.
    "This service is open to anyone in the community," Mrs. Brandau says. Demand for these services is high, and many people have been quoted fees of $25,000 for the same work the Mormons are doing for free, she says.
    In the Baltimore area, about 30 congregations formed a relief group called "Operation Healing: Ties That Bind," which pledged to raise $100,000 in the first 10 days after Katrina.
    Just four days after Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the coastlines of Mississippi and Alabama, the group had raised $250,000 to help hurricane victims.
    As of Oct. 13, $600,000 had been raised, according to officials at New Psalmist Baptist Church in Catonsville, Md., which helped organize the drive. "We are in it for the long haul," says the Rev. Frank M. Reid III, minister of Bethel AME, another participant in Operation Healing.
    "This initiative is not for immediate assistance as much as it is for the sustained assistance. ... 'Operation Healing: Ties That Bind' will still be around in the continued efforts that will be needed months down the road," Mr. Reid says.
    The members of CedarCreek Church, a nondenominational congregation in Perrysburg, Ohio, have made a yeoman's effort. The church dispatched six semitrailer loads of nonperishable foods, bottled water, diapers, baby formula, toilet paper and other staples to hurricane victims.
    The Perrysburg relief effort started when one church member, who once lived in hurricane-ravaged Slidell, La., near New Orleans, learned from a friend "about the devastation in Covington, a poor, predominantly black community 40 miles north of New Orleans," says Ed McCauley, executive pastor of operations at CedarCreek.
    Mr. McCauley and other CedarCreek worshippers who have gone to storm-damaged areas along the Gulf Coast to assist with cleanup efforts say they discovered that smaller towns such as Covington, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, were overshadowed by the urgent needs in New Orleans. So they have focused their donations and help on such forgotten communities.
    "It's unbelievable. We saw miles of downed trees, but people didn't have the money to pay for tree services to pull huge trees off their homes. Next week, we're taking professional roofers who belong to our church to repair roofs for people who don't have the money to do that."
    The international relief organization Samaritan's Purse, headed by the Rev. Franklin Graham, has contributed $25 million to help restore houses damaged by the hurricanes, says Jeremy Blume, a spokesman for the group.
    "This money will go for services that include repairing houses and patching roofs," Mr. Blume says. "The vast majority of this money comes from thousands and thousands of small donations from people who've known Franklin Graham for many years."
    About 500 Samaritan's Purse volunteers have been working in post-hurricane relief efforts. The group also has provided medical teams to care for refugees in shelters and will buy 300 mobile homes for displaced families.
    Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour hailed the relief efforts by churches in his state. "Churches really filled a huge service by providing the essentials to evacuees, such as food, water, shelters, and showers," Mr. Barbour said. "The state of Mississippi, as well as its citizens, appreciate the kindness and generosity of the churches that helped out during the Katrina disaster."
    Pressed by Republicans in Congress and by the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced on Sept. 26 it will reimburse churches and other religious groups that have provided food, shelter and supplies to hurricane victims.
    FEMA officials say this would be the first time the government has made large payments to religious organizations for assisting in the aftermath of a domestic natural disaster. Groups would be eligible for compensation only if they ran emergency shelters, food distribution centers or medical facilities at the request of state or local governments in states that have declared emergencies.
    Several civil-liberty advocacy groups, including the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union, say this violates the boundary between church and state. They accuse the Bush administration of using the decision to woo religious conservatives who may have been disillusioned with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
    The Rev. Robert E. Reccord, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, made clear that his church's disaster relief response is not contingent on government reimbursement.
    However, faith-based groups should not be discriminated against for helping to do what the government should have done, Mr. Reccord says.
    "What we hear over and over again is, 'Thank you for being the first on the scene. We don't know what we would have done without you,'?" he told Fox News Channel.
    • Researchers Amy Baskerville and John Sopko contributed to this report.
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O051026   Marriage found to improve blacks' lives

By Cheryl Wetzstein
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 26, 2005

Marriage benefits black families and can even make a difference in whether a family with children lives in poverty, but has little or no impact on a couple's health, according to a new study.
    These benefits, however, are not always evenly distributed within the black family. It appears that men and children -- especially boys -- are helped more from marriage than women, said Linda Malone-Colon, co-author of "The Consequences of Marriage for African Americans."
    The study was released this week by the Institute of American Values (IAV).
    While both husbands and wives report more satisfaction with their lives, compared with singles, she said husbands register far greater satisfaction with family life than wives.
    "A lot more research needs to be done" on these and other issues, said Mrs. Malone-Colon, who is the director of the new National Healthy Marriage Resource Center, a clearinghouse for marriage information supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and private funders.
    The Bush administration has made strengthening marriage one of its domestic policy goals. To date, HHS has spent more than $25 million on healthy-marriage projects around the country.
    The state of the black family concerns many scholars. Census data show that 34 percent of black families are headed by married couples. This is a substantial reversal from 1950, when almost 80 percent of black families were headed by married couples.
    The IAV report sought to answer questions about this shift by reviewing 125 social science articles and national survey data on how marriage affects black families.
    The five researchers found that, on average, married black men and women were wealthier and happier than their unmarried peers.
    Economically, having a spouse -- and often a second income -- brought substantial dividends. One study reviewed in the report found that family incomes of black single parents (usually mothers) grew by 81 percent when they married.
    Marriage also benefited children, especially boys.
    "[W]hen African-American boys live with their father in the home -- particularly their married father -- they typically receive substantially more parental support," the report said. As a result, black boys of married parents tend to do better in school and markedly are less likely to become delinquent.
    However, in the area of health -- where marriage usually brings strong benefits to married couples -- data was meager and inconclusive.
    "Our research finds that marriage brings small health benefits to black men and none to black women," said Mrs. Malone-Colon and her co-authors Lorraine Blackman of Indiana University, Obie Clayton of Morehouse College, Norval Glenn of the University of Texas at Austin and Alex Roberts of IAV.
    "These findings are unexpected and beg for explanation," they said.
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O051026       COLORADO   Mother sentenced in rape of children
    DENVER -- A Denver judge has sentenced a woman to 110 years in prison for allowing her husband to rape two of their children for years, reports said yesterday.
    Karen Rodriguez sobbed Monday, begged for mercy and said she feared for her and her children's lives if she tried to leave her husband, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
    Judge Herbert Stern said he thought Rodriguez was a victim of "horrific domestic violence," but she contributed to the children's victimization and should have left her husband, the Denver Post said.
    The children testified against their mother. Before the assaults, Rodriguez would dress the son, now 18, as a schoolgirl with makeup.
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O051026       The values issue
    "The Republicans have had a bad few weeks. However, the Democrats have had a rough decade. ..." syndicated columnist James P. Pinkerton writes.
    "Yes, top GOPers in Washington are in deep trouble, even as the White House braces for the negative impact of the 2,000th American fatality in Iraq. So that's one way of assessing the political situation," Mr. Pinkerton said.
    "But there's another way, which asks, Which party better shares the bedrock values of most Americans? That's a happier question for Republicans.
    "A new paper by Democratic thinkers William Galston and Elaine Kamarck, 'The Politics of Polarization,' argues that over the past three decades a 'great sorting out' has occurred, leaving conservatives and religious believers mostly in the Republican Party, liberals and seculars mostly in the Democratic Party.
    "The problem for Democrats is that self-described conservatives outnumber self-described liberals [34 percent to 21 percent]. Furthermore, Galston and Kamarck -- veterans of the Clinton White House -- contend many moderates incline toward conservatism on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and the public display of religion. A Pew Center poll asked, for example, if it was proper to display the Ten Commandments in a government building; 72 percent of Americans said 'proper,' 22 percent 'improper.'
    "As Galston and Kamarck observe, religion and the social-issue controversies it raises have been 'the overriding factor' in the realignment of the parties -- or, to put it more bluntly, the shrinkage of the Democratic Party. The authors regret this shrinking, but don't see a reversal so long as their party is seen as anti-religious.
    "But is it unfair to say that Democrats are anti-faith? Maybe. Yet in politics, perception is reality."
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S051026   Senators reject Miers critics

By Charles Hurt and Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 26, 2005

Senate Republicans yesterday dismissed conservative leaders' adamant opposition to the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers.
    "This is absurd," said Sen. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee. "We need to move on to hearings."
    Some senators -- especially those viewed as seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2008 -- defended the right of conservatives to weigh in on the nomination. But several Republicans said the conservatives are not offering anything constructive.
    "It's awfully hard to be critical of something you know nothing about," said Sen. Larry E. Craig, Idaho Republican.
    Many conservatives say Miss Miers -- President Bush's White House counsel -- lacks a clear and solid record of conservative jurisprudence and could wind up being wooed by the liberal wing of the Supreme Court.
    Anger at Mr. Bush from his conservative base has only intensified since the nomination was announced three weeks ago. And yesterday, a group of conservative leaders organized an effort to force the White House to withdraw the nomination, a scenario the White House rejected.
    "Enough is enough," Mr. DeWine said. "If I pick up one more paper and read about one more group that I've never heard of saying they're for Miers or against Miers -- it just doesn't matter at this point."
    Manuel Miranda, who has helped organize much of the opposition to Miss Miers, said this battle will not be forgotten by the Republican base.
    "Mike DeWine is going to lose in Ohio, and he should be more aware of grass-roots sentiment," Mr. Miranda said. "Mike DeWine doesn't have a great deal of conservative support in Ohio and ham-fisted remarks aren't going to help with that."
    Democrats continued to remain silent on the nomination, eagerly watching Republican officials openly sparring with their staunchest supporters.
    Accordingly, senators eyeing the Republican nomination for president in 2008 weren't so quick to tell conservatives to pipe down.
    "There are people who care a great deal about this particular vacancy on the Supreme Court and they're expressing their views," Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican, said very carefully. "You listen to all people who have a point of view."
    Off Capitol Hill, BetterJustice.com, a new group made up of conservatives, including former Bush White House speechwriter David Frum, planned to begin airing a television advertisement tonight that calls on Mr. Bush to give up on Miss Miers' nomination.
    The wording of the ad is careful to criticize Mr. Bush's choice of Miss Miers, but not the president himself.
    "Even the best leaders make mistakes," says an unseen female announcer in opening the 30-second TV spot, as still black-and-white pictures of the president appear on the screen.
    Miss Miers' picture replaces Mrs. Bush's as the voice says, "Conservatives support President Bush but not Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers."
    The ad, to appear on various prime-time news and talk shows on the Fox News Channel for a week, quotes Judge Robert H. Bork as saying he doesn't think Miss Miers is qualified and as calling her nomination "a disaster on every level."
    Next, leading talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh is quoted saying, "I am totally behind the president, but I disagree with his nomination."
    The ad concludes with words that cannot be pleasing to Mr. Bush -- "America deserves better. Go to BetterJustice.com. Urge President Bush to withdraw the nomination of Harriet Miers."
    The ad is scheduled to run on the Fox News Channel's "Special Report With Brit Hume," "Hannity & Colmes" and "Fox & Friends." A version of the ad also is expected to run soon on nationally syndicated talk-radio shows, including Mr. Limbaugh's and conservatives Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity.
    Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, said he's waiting for the hearings, scheduled to begin Nov. 7.
    "I think all of us in the Senate should take a deep breath and listen," he said
    Mr. DeWine said Republican senators facing challengers in the 2006 election -- such as himself -- need not worry that their positions on the nomination will be held against them.
    "This is not a factor," he said yesterday. "People are not having a big discussion back in Ohio. It's not a huge issue."
    Mr. Frum said BetterJustice.com was formed about 10 days ago. He said the group has raised about $300,000 and will spend $250,000 to air the ad.
    His fellow BetterJustice board members are syndicated columnists Mona Charen and Linda Chavez; New York lawyer George Conway; New York Times columnist Virginia Postrel; Roger Clegg, vice president of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest; attorneys E.C. Birg and Ephraim Wernick; and businessman Michael Dokupil.
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S051026   Miers achieved, but stayed under the radar

By Guy Taylor
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 26, 2005

DALLAS -- The year President Kennedy was assassinated in her hometown, Harriet Miers became a student at conservative, comfortable Southern Methodist University, best known in the Southwest for its storybook campus, its pretty coeds and All-American halfbacks.
    For the Catholic-raised daughter of a Dallas real estate salesman, the first year of college went smoothly. She scored high marks and blended easily with her competitive, mainly male peers of 1963 after years of overachieving at a public high school.
    Then her father suffered a severe stroke, the effects of which would become the first major turning point in the life of the woman whose past has been described as "obscure" and whose nomination by President Bush to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court has ignited a storm of controversy within the president's most loyal constituency.
    With the family business in collapse, 19-year-old Harriet Miers' future was bleak. She had to decide whether to drop out of college and take a job to help the family or find a way to stay in school at a time when women were breaking into the male-dominated Texas professional world only with great difficulty.
    It was a decision that friends and family say ultimately was made by Miss Miers' mother, Sally, who was dismayed at the prospect of her youngest daughter dropping out of school.
    "She very much was determined that her daughter was going to get an excellent education," says Elizabeth Lang-Miers, Miss Miers' sister-in-law and a Texas appeals court judge.
    Sally Miers telephoned SMU officials and pleaded with them to make a special arrangement for her daughter, such as a scholarship, financial aid and a work-study job to keep her in school.
    "The university said they could do it and have been immensely proud to have had her as a student and alum ever since," Mrs. Lang-Miers says.
    Miss Miers graduated from SMU and the university's Dedman School of Law and became the first woman to head a prestigious Dallas law firm and the Dallas and Texas bar associations.
    The fourth of five children, Harriet Ellen Miers was born on Aug. 10, 1945, in Dallas. Her mother and father, Harris W. Miers Sr., settled the family -- older brothers Harris and Robert, younger brother Jeb and older sister Catherine -- in the comfortable Preston Hollow neighborhood just north of downtown Dallas.
    Childhood friends recall Preston Hollow as predominantly white with a peaceful religious diversity of middle-class Jews, Catholics and Protestants.
    "Nobody ever locked their doors," says Tom Dunning, a friend of Miss Miers and her brothers when they were growing up.
    Miss Miers rode her bicycle a mile and a half from the family's small ranch-style house to George B. Dealey Elementary School. Mr. Dunning, now a businessman and former Dallas mayoral candidate, recalled that for fun as teens, the youngsters would "go to a movie, or go bowling or to 'Kips' for a hamburger and a milkshake. After a football or basketball game, a church would have a sock hop. There was not a whole lot of drinking, and if there were fights, it was with fists."
    Miss Miers attended Hillcrest High School, where she was a star tennis player and more active in extracurricular activities than most and where she followed the rules. She was secretary of the Latin Club and National Honor Society in her senior year. Photographs in the 1963 Hillcrest High yearbook are accompanied by two or three lines about each student; next to Harriet Miers' picture, there's a long list citing her involvement in multiple clubs and the school newspaper, and her role as senior class treasurer. Classmates voted her "Best All Around in Sports," although at the time, tennis was the only competitive sport for girls.
    Curiously, despite her extracurricular commitments, former classmates recall little about her.
    "She was someone who was involved in a lot of things, but never sort of the face of any particular group," says Ron Natinsky, a Dallas City Council member who had a civics class with her.
    "She was always sort of there but not very visible in a way," he says. "She had a long list of clubs and organizations she belonged to, but it's kind of like one of those people that you know are there, but are they really there?"
    Hillcrest High was, in that era, for whites only.
    "It was the way Dallas was," says Mr. Natinsky. "It was like we were still living in the last of the era before we got caught up in the social change of the '60s.
    "The long hair, the '60s, had just not quite gotten to Dallas at that point."
    The Kennedy assassination in November 1963 rocked the closed world of the young college students. Afterward, if "you told people you were from Dallas, Texas, you were almost a pariah," Mr. Natinsky recalls.
    After graduation, Miss Miers lived at home as a student at SMU. Her classmates remember that she was popular and made many friends. Unlike many of the women at SMU, she did not pledge a sorority.
    She first wanted to be a teacher, earning an undergraduate degree in mathematics, but changed her mind and became one of the first women accepted for law school in 1967, one of 12 in the class of about 150. She quickly became one of the best students and was the only woman in her class chosen for the law review.
    "There were 20 to 30 students who liked to go and have beer at the local hangout about five or six blocks from the campus," says Gary R. Rice, a Dallas lawyer who was on the law review with her. "She was not in that group."
    The times were bubbling with change on campuses across America, but classmates can't recall her politics or religion -- subjects which would become important to her later.
    "I remember her as sort of a mainstream person," Mr. Rice says.
    Alan Bromberg, who taught her at Dedman School of Law, supplies a simple reason why he remembers her.
    "Brains. She was smart, she was responsive, she had good intelligent answers to the kind of difficult questions that professors love to ask.
    "She was not one of the aggressive students who volunteer an answer anytime a question is posed, she was the kind of student who if specifically asked a question came up with a very sharp answer."
    Beverly Neblett Ballantine, a close friend who was a year ahead of Miss Miers in law school, recalls that the SMU campus, where good times were important, seemed removed from the civil rights and anti-war activism going on elsewhere, but that the Vietnam "draft was on everyone's mind."
    Many male students were married, some to avoid the draft, and SMU did not tolerate the emerging drug culture or war protest. Two men were expelled from the law school for growing marijuana in their apartment.
    Women competed for summer internships or jobs with particular difficulty.
    "All of the guys that were with me on law review were getting top-notch, paying summer internships," Mrs. Ballantine remembers. "I had one law firm tell me that they wouldn't hire me because one of the older woman secretaries wouldn't work for a woman.
    "I'm assuming Harriet had the same problems."
    Miss Miers also had heavy family responsibilities, helping her mother and sick father. But friends say she was somehow unfazed by issues of discrimination or sex.
    "Harriet was always the strongest, one of the most wonderful friends I've ever had," Mrs. Ballantine says. "I am a lifelong Democrat, and I can still say that, she's just a really steady person."
    Miss Miers' "steadiness" might explain why friends recall so little about her political beliefs and critics call her past "obscure."
    This was what attracted the attention of the conservative male-dominated law firms of Dallas. Because none of the Dallas firms were hiring women out of law school, Miss Miers took a clerkship for two years under U.S. District Judge Joe E. Estes. He became a mentor and in 1972 guided her to Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely, one of the city's most prominent law firms.
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S051025   Bush refuses to disclose conversations with Miers

By Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 25, 2005

President Bush said yesterday that he will not release White House records of his private conversations with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, despite demands from Democrats and Republicans who want the documents before her Senate confirmation hearings begin Nov. 7.
    Releasing documents that include Miss Miers' recommendations would compromise the ability of future presidents to get confidential advice from top aides, including their White House counsels, Mr. Bush said.
    "Recently, requests ... have been made by Democrats and Republicans about paperwork," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "They may ask for paperwork about the decision-making process, what her recommendations were and that would breach very important confidentiality. And it's a red line I'm not willing to cross."
    Such a refusal makes the confirmation of an already troubled nomination even tougher, said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter.
    "These hearings pose a difficulty for the nominee on how much she's going to be able to say," said the Pennsylvania Republican, noting Miss Miers' limited paper trail. "And if you have a nominee who ... declines or is precluded from answering many, many, many questions, that makes it hard on the nominee and makes it hard on the ability of the Senate to evaluate it."
    Asked whether Mr. Bush's outright refusal bodes poorly for compromise -- especially considering that both Democrats and Republicans have requested the documents -- Mr. Specter replied: "I don't know to what extent he is focused on it."
    Mr. Specter and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat and ranking member of the committee, asked Miss Miers to deliver more documentation from her tenure at the White House by Wednesday. Mr. Specter said he's "hopeful" that a compromise will be reached, but Democrats were less optimistic.
    "The president says people need to learn more about Harriet Miers, and senators on both sides of the aisle agree," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat. "That is why we have asked for documents from her time in the White House that aren't covered by any privilege, and it is disappointing to me, and I am sure to all of us, that it looks like the White House is now refusing to agree to those requests."
    Meanwhile, Miss Miers continued with her previously scheduled meetings with senators on Capitol Hill yesterday.
    Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who has said he wants someone with a clear record of conservative jurisprudence, declined to speak to reporters after meeting with Miss Miers. In a written statement, however, he said the meeting was "cordial and another step in the Senate's advice and consent process."
    "My standards for a nominee to the Supreme Court have not changed," Mr. Coburn said. "A nominee should have personal integrity, a demonstrated commitment to judicial restraint and life experiences that have equipped them appropriately for a lifetime term on the bench. I look forward to joining my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee in exploring these issues with Ms. Miers during her confirmation hearing."
    After a similar meeting in July with then-Judge John G. Roberts Jr., Mr. Coburn told local reporters that he "feels comfortable right now" with Judge Roberts. Mr. Coburn had declined to endorse Judge Roberts until after the hearings.
    "He's obviously very bright," Mr. Coburn told the Daily Oklahoman after his meeting. "He's a very meek man, which I like."
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O051025      Musical judges
    A retired Texas judge will decide next week whether state District Judge Bob Perkins, who has contributed to such groups as MoveOn.org, should continue presiding over the trial of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on money laundering and conspiracy charges.
    C.?W. Duncan, a former state district judge, will preside at a Nov. 1 hearing on Mr. DeLay's request that Judge Perkins leave the case, the Associated Press reports. Mr. DeLay's attorneys argue that Judge Perkins' political contributions make a fair trial impossible.
    Judge Perkins referred the decision to B.B. Schraub, presiding judge of the third administrative judicial region. Judge Schraub yesterday assigned the case to Mr. Duncan. The hearing will be in Judge Perkins' Austin courtroom.
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S051025   Leaders on right call for new pick

By Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 25, 2005

Two longtime leaders of the conservative movement yesterday called for the withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court.
    "We expected President Bush to appoint a woman with the opposite judicial philosophy and paper trail of Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- our disappointment is acute," said Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of the St. Louis-based Eagle Forum.
    Mrs. Schlafly joined pioneering conservative fundraiser Richard Viguerie and other, lesser-known leaders on the pro-family right yesterday in announcing the formation of a coalition, WithdrawMiers.org.
    They described it as a "multipronged campaign to urge the withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court."
    President Bush avoided the Miers nomination issue yesterday, pointedly changing the subject when a reporter asked him to comment on a report in the Saturday editions of The Washington Times about the White House's contingency plans for withdrawing Miss Miers' nomination in the face of opposition to her from liberals and conservatives.
    Instead, he said Miss Miers is an "extraordinary woman."
    "She was a legal pioneer in Texas," Mr. Bush said. "She was ranked one of the top 50 women lawyers in the United States on a consistent basis."
    Mr. Viguerie, in his first public statement of opposition to the nomination, said Mr. Bush "has broken his word to his conservative base and has greatly diminished his credibility."
    "If the president does not quickly withdraw the nomination," Mr. Viguerie said, it will reflect "a shaky will" on his part to engage the Senate and the nation "in one of the most important debates of our lifetime."
    Mrs. Schlafly and Mr. Viguerie added their names to a growing list of respected conservatives who have expressed disappointment or outright disapproval of the choice of Miss Miers. None, until now, had called for her withdrawal.
    The public statements by Mrs. Schlafly and Mr. Viguerie represent major setbacks to the White House campaign to rally conservative support for Miss Miers -- and are considered significant for another reason.
    "With Phyllis and Richard going public and [American Conservative Union Chairman] David Keene's break with Bush on this last week, the door has opened for conservative leaders to say it's OK to criticize the president," said Merrill Matthews, an analyst for the Institute for Policy Innovation. "It also opens the door for conservatives to disagree with Bush on other things."
    "The bigger story here is that the conservative movement is showing that it is bigger than this administration," he said. "The only two religious-conservative groups strongly in favor of Miers are James Dobson's Focus on the Family and Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition. And they have been trying to sell it by saying, 'We need an evangelical on the court.' "
    With Mrs. Schlafly, Mr. Viguerie -- both of whom are Catholic -- and several other pro-family leaders going public, Mr. Matthews, an evangelical, said he thinks "principle is beginning to triumph over politics."
    "I believe conservative opposition is beginning to coalesce around withdrawal," said Joseph Cella, co-founder of Fidelis, a Catholic advocacy group.
    The leaders of the coalition he helped form think "that the best interests of the country and the Supreme Court would be served if Miss Miers withdraws her nomination," he added.
    "Should Miss Miers decide not to withdraw, we respectfully ask President Bush to withdraw her nomination and immediately begin the vetting process of candidates who are stronger alternatives," Mr. Cella said.
    Another member of the new coalition is Ken Connor, current chairman of the Center for a Just Society and former president of the Family Research Council.
    "The president promised to nominate jurists in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas," Mr. Connor said in a statement with the other coalition members. "To date, there is no objective evidence confirming that Ms. Miers holds a judicial philosophy consistent with those two justices."
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R051025   COLORADO   New commander takes over academy
    COLORADO SPRINGS -- A new superintendent took command of the Air Force Academy yesterday, saying his goal is to make the school a safe environment for cadets amid complaints of sexual assault and religious intolerance.
    "We have to have a positive learning environment, one that is free from discrimination and assault," Lt. Gen. John Regni said. "Right on the heels of that is safety."
    He succeeds Lt. Gen. John Rosa, who was brought in to help the academy recover from a sexual-assault scandal. Dozens of female cadets said they were punished or forced out after reporting sexual assault.
    Gen. Regni, who was previously commander of the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., said his job was made easier by changes under Gen. Rosa, who is retiring from the Air Force to become president of The Citadel, the state military college in South Carolina and his alma mater.
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R051024   Episcopal liberals prepare for split

By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 24, 2005

A liberal Episcopal group is crafting a strategy to disenfranchise about 16 conservative bishops if the denomination's pivotal General Convention next year in Columbus, Ohio, results in a church split.
    Informally named the "Day After" for the aftermath of the June 13-21 event, the strategy outlines a way to file canonical charges against conservative bishops, unseat them from their dioceses, have interim bishops waiting to replace them and draft lawsuits ready to file before secular courts for possession of diocesan property.
    The strategy was revealed in a leaked copy of minutes drafted at a Sept. 29 meeting in Dallas of a 10-member steering committee for Via Media, a network of 13 liberal independent Episcopal groups.
    "It was a worst-case scenario -- what people in various dioceses would need to do if their bishop and much of their diocesan leadership decided to walk away from the Episcopal Church," said Joan Gundersen, the steering committee member who drafted the minutes.
    Conservatives also "have made statements to that effect," she said.
    In July, about 20 liberal and conservative Episcopal bishops met secretly in Los Angeles to discuss how to divide billions in church assets in the event of a split.
    The memo assumes that the Episcopal Church will refuse to renounce its 2003 consecration of V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the denomination's first openly homosexual bishop, an action many archbishops in the 70-million-member Anglican Communion have urged it to do.
    If the 2.2-million-member Episcopal Church votes to uphold Bishop Robinson's consecration, conservative bishops are widely expected to walk out. Sixteen of them are affiliated with two conservative groups -- the American Anglican Communion (AAC) and the Anglican Communion Network.
    "What will be our response the 'Day After,'?" the minutes ask, "when [conservative] bishops start announcing they are in a 'new' Anglican Communion and the Network is 'recognized' as the only legitimate expression of the Anglican Communion in North America?"
    The AAC condemned Via Media by calling the minutes a "planned coup of biblically faithful dioceses."
    "If Via Media's plans become a reality, every orthodox bishop and diocese will be ousted, leaving dioceses with rogue bishops and diocesan commissions," its statement said.
    Ms. Gundersen defended the group's actions as merely preparing for a hypothetical situation.
    "It's like buying flood insurance," she said. "You hope to high heaven you never have to use it."
    The steering committee that drafted the minutes acts as the board for Via Media, a group that has no office, no budget and no executive director, she said. It does have a Web site, at www.viamediausa.org.
    Although not officially part of the Episcopal Church, Via Media's activities have been covered in detail by Episcopal News Service.
    Two observers from the Episcopal Church's Executive Council attended its March 2004 founding meeting in Atlanta, Atlanta Bishop Neil Alexander preached at Via Media's closing Eucharist, and presiding Bishop Frank Griswold sent a letter of greeting to the group.
    Michael Battle, associate academic dean at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, spoke April 30 at Via Media's Dallas chapter meeting.
    The group has an impressive list of friendly bishop contacts, judging from a list posted in the minutes. One of those listed, Washington Bishop John Chane, has not been contacted by Via Media, according to a diocesan spokesman.
    The group is most active in dioceses whose bishops have been critical of the Robinson consecration, such as Albany, N.Y.; Central Florida; Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas; Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and South Carolina.
    "We are loyal Episcopalians," said Ms. Gunderson, a visiting scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. "We have no secret meetings. We are concerned about the direction our dioceses are taking."
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S051024   Senators face off on Miers nod

By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 24, 2005

Senators disagreed yesterday over the Supreme Court prospects for Harriet Miers, with a key Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee saying the nominee would lose a confirmation vote, a prediction dismissed by two of the panel's Republicans, including its chairman.
    "If you held the vote today, she would not get a majority either in the Judiciary Committee or on the floor," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat and one of the committee's most vocal liberals. Mr. Schumer noted that only a handful of Republican senators have endorsed the nominee.
    But Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, called such statements premature, saying, "There are no votes one way or another."
    "I don't think the nomination is in trouble," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation" yesterday. "I believe that the critical part's going to be when she testifies before the committee. We have a Constitution. People ought to follow it, instead of having all of this prejudgment."
    Nominated just three weeks ago, Miss Miers has raised concerns among conservatives that she does not have a reliable record as a jurist. In response, the White House has striven to highlight her evangelical background and opposition to abortion -- which has raised alarm among liberals.
    Few senators on either side have been mollified by private meetings with Miss Miers in their offices on Capitol Hill. There have been conflicting reports and accusations that Miss Miers declined, or was unable, to answer basic questions about constitutional law.
    The Washington Times reported last week that the White House had informed Republican Senate lawyers that they would schedule no new meetings between Miss Miers and senators. The Times also reported that her only meetings left were two on Friday. They already had been bumped -- along with a handful of other previously scheduled meetings -- to this week, according to the White House and Senate lawyers. The White House refuses, however, to release Miss Miers' official schedule.
    Senate aides say Miss Miers will focus most of her attention these next two weeks on studying and practicing for the hearings, slated to begin Nov. 7.
    "The hearings will be 'make or break' for Harriet Miers in a way they haven't been for any other nominee," Mr. Schumer said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "She'll have to do very well there. She has a tough road to hoe."
    Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee, has known Miss Miers for 15 years and is her most avid supporter. He said yesterday that Mr. Schumer was wrong to prejudge the outcome of confirmation.
    "Before the gavel has even fallen on the first day of hearings, my colleague has already determined the outcome," Mr. Cornyn said. "Fairness alone should dictate that senators withhold judgment."
    Mr. Cornyn also predicted that "the more senators have an opportunity to know her, the more support will grow for this nomination."
    Republicans also dismissed speculation that the White House is drafting contingency plans for withdrawing the nomination if things don't start improving.
    The Washington Times reported Saturday that White House political director Sara Taylor made phone calls to select conservative leaders. In those calls, according to one recipient and another conservative familiar with other, similar calls, Miss Taylor asked advice on how to go about withdrawing the nomination if they were to decide to do so.
    The White House denies that such calls have been made.
    Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican and committee member, has been adamant that he wants a nominee with a clear conservative record. He remains unconvinced on the Miers nomination, but said yesterday he's unaware of any rumblings of a withdrawal.
    "I haven't seen anything coming from the White House that say that they're going to pull this nomination," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "They're doing everything they can to prepare Harriet Miers for the hearings right now."
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O051029   Illegitimate births set record last year

ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 29, 2005

Nearly 1.5 million babies, a record, were born to unmarried women in the United States last year, the government reported yesterday. And it isn't just teenagers any more.
    "People have the impression that teens and unmarried mothers are synonymous," said Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics.
    But last year teens accounted for just 24 percent of unwed births, down from 50 percent in 1970, she said.
    The increases in unmarried births have been among women in their 20s, she said, particularly those 25 to 29.
    Many of the women in that age group are living with partners but still count as unmarried mothers if they haven't formally married, Miss Ventura said.
    The 20s are the prime childbearing years, regardless of whether the mother is married or not, she said.
    Among teens, more than 80 percent of mothers were unmarried.
    There were 1,470,152 babies born to single women in 2004, 35.7 percent of all births in the country, NCHS said. That was up from 1,415,995 a year earlier.
    Births to older women continued to increase, Brady Hamilton of NCHS said, reflecting choices these women are making in terms of careers and having families.
    The birth rate for women aged 35 to 39 increased 4 percent from 2003 to 2004. It was up 3 percent for women aged 40 to 44 and 9 percent for those 45 to 49.
    Other findings of the report included:
    • There was a total of 4,115,590 births in the country in 2004, up from 4,089,950 in 2003.
    • Births to whites declined by nearly 18,000 while Hispanics were up 32,000; there was an increase of more than 8,000 in births to Asians and a rise of just 72 births among black women.
    • The total birth rate was 14 per 1,000 women, down from 14.1 in 2003.
    • The birth rate for women aged 15 to 19 was 41.2 per 1,000, down from 41.6 in 2003 and a record low. The teen birth rate was 61.8 in 1991 and has been declining since.
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H051029   Same-sex benefits OK'd in Alaska

October 29, 2005

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The Alaska Supreme Court yesterday ruled it is unconstitutional to bar benefits to the same-sex partners of public employees, a victory for homosexual rights advocates in one of the first states to pass a constitutional ban on same-sex "marriage."
    Overturning a lower court ruling, the state high court said barring benefits for state and city employees' same-sex partners violates the Alaska Constitution's equal protection clause.
    "It's a good day for Alaska families," said Carrie Evans, state legislative director for the Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign.
    She said the decision sets the stage for Alaska to join 11 other states that already have laws, policies or union contracts providing employee benefits in all eligible same-sex unions.
    Anchorage City Attorney Fred Boness said officials would not appeal the court's decision.
    "We're disappointed that we lost, and I think it means we're going to have to provide those benefits in the future to qualifying same-sex couples," Mr. Boness said.
    A message left at the Alaska attorney general's office was not returned.
    Nine homosexual government workers and their partners in 2002 joined the Alaska American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in appealing a lower court ruling in a 1999 lawsuit filed against the state and the Municipality of Anchorage after voters passed a constitutional amendment blocking state recognition of same-sex "marriage."
    In the 2001 Superior Court ruling overturned yesterday, Judge Stephanie Joannides said the state and city did not have to extend benefits to same-sex couples, equating them with unmarried heterosexual couples who also are not eligible.
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O051028Md   Sarbanes' son declares run for Cardin's seat

October 28, 2005

BALTIMORE (AP) -- John P. Sarbanes, the son of Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, has announced his candidacy for Maryland's 3rd Congressional District seat, saying health care and public education reform would be his top priorities.
    Mr. Sarbanes joins a crowded field of Democrats running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, a Democrat. The 3rd Congressional District includes parts of Baltimore city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties.
    Mr. Cardin is running for the Senate seat held by Mr. Sarbanes' father, who is retiring.
    The younger Sarbanes currently heads the health care practice at the Baltimore law firm Venable LLP. He served for seven years as a special assistant to state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick and as a volunteer board member of the advocacy group the Public Justice Center.
    This is his first run for public office, and he said he is following his father's example.
    "What I learned from him is that community service is a very high commitment," Mr. Sarbanes said Wednesday. "His example to me is that you can make a difference in public service and you can do it with integrity."
    Former Baltimore Health Commissioner Peter Beilenson, state Sen. Paula Hollinger, Delegate Neil Quinter and Anne Arundel County Council member Bill Burlison also are running for the 3rd District seat.
    Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens and Mr. Cardin's nephew, state Delegate John Cardin, are considering campaigns.
    "I respect them all," Mr. Sarbanes said of the other candidates. "I am looking forward to engaging in a respectful and constructive discussion on the issues that affect us."
    No Republicans have declared for the race.
    Mr. Sarbanes said a national initiative is needed to fill public schools with talented, dedicated teachers and principals. He said "it was a mistake to go into Iraq" and that it was time to discuss how to bring the troops home.
    And he said the United States must commit to providing universal health care.
    "The fact that 46 million people are uninsured, with millions more underinsured, is not only morally wrong and economically irresponsible," Mr. Sarbanes said. "In terms of our standing on the international scene, it is downright embarrassing."
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O051027Md   Molester exempt from sex offender registry

October 27, 2005

GALENA, Md. (AP) -- A Kent County man convicted of molesting two Boy Scouts in the 1980s will not have to register as a sex offender after serving a prison sentence because the crime was long ago, a judge has ruled.
    James Carl Combs, now 41 and living in Galena, was an assistant scoutmaster in Cecilton in the early 1980s, when he molested two boys, ages 12 and 14, a jury decided in August.
    The charges came about after one of the victims, now in his 30s, recalled the sexual abuse during a psychotherapy session in November, said Detective 1st Class Adam Streight with the Cecil County Sheriff's Office.
    The therapist followed state law in notifying police about the sex abuse, and Combs was convicted of a second-degree sex offense and five counts of sexual child abuse.
    At Combs' sentencing Monday, prosecutors asked for six years in prison, with Combs registering as a sex offender after his release.
    State sentencing guidelines call for four to nine years in prison for the offenses.
    Instead, Cecil County Circuit Court Judge O. Robert Lidums gave Combs a three-month term at the county jail and three months of house arrest.
    Judge Lidums also decided that because Combs' crimes predated Megan's Law, which requires released sex offenders to register with police when they move into a community and for residents to be notified, Combs would not have to join the registry.
    The light sentence disappointed one of the victims, who told the county newspaper, "It's pretty