http://www.defendingthetruth.com Debate and discussion of political topics, current events, and general topics of discussion. A growing online community. en Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:45:31 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.defendingthetruth.com/images/solido/misc/rss.jpg http://www.defendingthetruth.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33579-obama-signs-bill-targeting-crime-indian-reservations.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:00:25 GMT President Barack Obama on Thursday signed the Tribal Law and Order Act, which provides greater law enforcement powers for tribal authorities on... President Barack Obama on Thursday signed the Tribal Law and Order Act, which provides greater law enforcement powers for tribal authorities on Indian reservations.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33579-obama-signs-bill-targeting-crime-indian-reservations.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33578-obama-sherrod-deserved-better.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:50:29 GMT President Barack Obama said Thursday that Shirley Sherrod "deserves better than what happens last week when a bogus controversy ... led to her forced resignation."


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33578-obama-sherrod-deserved-better.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/environment/33577-bp-spill-has-damage-been-exaggerated.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:47:16 GMT "The impacts have been much, much less than everyone feared," says geochemist Jacqueline Michel, a federal contractor who is coordinating shoreline assessments in Louisiana.

Yes, the spill killed birds — but so far, less than 1% of the number killed by the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska 21 years ago.

Yes, we've heard horror stories about oiled dolphins — but so far, wildlife-response teams have collected only three visibly oiled carcasses of mammals.

Yes, the spill prompted harsh restrictions on fishing and shrimping, but so far, the region's fish and shrimp have tested clean, and the restrictions are gradually being lifted.

And yes, scientists have warned that the oil could accelerate the destruction of Louisiana's disintegrating coastal marshes — a real slow-motion ecological calamity — but so far, assessment teams have found only about 350 acres of oiled marshes, when Louisiana was already losing about 15,000 acres of wetlands every year.

Marine scientist Ivor van Heerden, another former LSU prof, who's working for a spill-response contractor, says, "There's just no data to suggest this is an environmental disaster. I have no interest in making BP look good — I think they lied about the size of the spill — but we're not seeing catastrophic impacts." Van Heerden, like just about everyone else working in the Gulf these days, is being paid from BP's spill-response funds.

"There's a lot of hype, but no evidence to justify it."

The scientists I spoke with cite four basic reasons the initial eco-fears seem overblown.

First, the Deepwater oil, unlike the black glop from the Valdez, is unusually light and degradable, which is why the slick in the Gulf is dissolving surprisingly rapidly now that the gusher has been capped.

Second, the Gulf of Mexico, unlike Alaska's Prince William Sound, is very warm, which has helped bacteria break down the oil.

Third, heavy flows of Mississippi River water have helped keep the oil away from the coast, where it can do much more damage.

And finally, Mother Nature can be incredibly resilient. Van Heerden's assessment team showed me around Casse-tete Island in Timbalier Bay, where new shoots of Spartina grasses were sprouting in oiled marshes and new leaves were growing on the first black mangroves I've ever seen that were actually black. "It comes back fast, doesn't it?" van Heerden said.

Read more: BP Oil Spill: Has Environmental Damage Been Exaggerated? - TIME ]]> Environment garysher http://www.defendingthetruth.com/environment/33577-bp-spill-has-damage-been-exaggerated.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33576-ethics-committee-delays-rangel-hearing.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:40:24 GMT A colleague of Rep. Charles Rangel said Rangel and the House ethics committee are "close to a settlement" involving Rangel's alleged violations. BAD DAY FOR RANGEL? | WHAT'S AN ETHICS TRIAL? | FULL STORY


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33576-ethics-committee-delays-rangel-hearing.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/gay-marriage/33575-sdsu-campus-among-20-most-lgbt-friendly.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:14:17 GMT SDSU campus among 20 most LGBT-friendly - SignOnSanDiego.com... SDSU campus among 20 most LGBT-friendly - SignOnSanDiego.com

Was it the twice-yearly Big Gay BBQs or the Safe Zones ally training or the Queer People of Color Conference or the new minor in LGBT studies?

In fact, it was all of those aspects of life at San Diego State University, and more, that led to its recent recognition as one of the 20 best colleges in the country for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

The honor was bestowed by Campus Pride, a nine-year-old nonprofit focused on making college campuses safer and more inviting for LGBT students.

“They are definitely very progressive at San Diego State and they are doing amazing things,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, which maintains a Web-based “campus climate index” measuring the LGBT friendliness of campuses across the country.

The index awards colleges one to five stars based on their answers to a detailed questionnaire about programs and services available on campus.

San Diego State had been a 4.5-star campus, but this summer was upgraded to five stars, a rank held by only 20 campuses – among them the University of Oregon, Ohio State, UCLA and UC Berkeley.

UC San Diego, the only other local school ranked, has a 4.5-star rating.

“I think it’s amazing,” said Janelle Fejeran, a 22-year-old senior who is active in the campus’ Safe Zones program and other LGBT organizations.

“It’s so fulfilling. Four years ago, when I first started, it didn’t feel like it was an LGBT-friendly campus. But it’s evolved. Everyone has worked so hard. And to have this award is really great.

“To be one of the top-20 LGBT-friendly campuses is going to have a huge impact. It will truly influence students to come and be confident and pursue what they want.”

The Safe Zones program, which promotes awareness and nonjudgmental treatment of LGBT students, is one key to SDSU’s five-star rating, students and faculty said, as did Windmeyer of Campus Pride.

“We offer certification training on LGBT issues,” said Susan Cayleff, a professor of women’s studies and co-chairwoman of the 2½-year-old old Safe Zones program. “We have trained many members of the public safety department, counseling and health services workers, faculty, administrators and students.

“Once they are trained, they serve as resources for referrals. When they complete the training, they get a symbol. Those that have permanent offices display them on their doors. Those who are mobile on campus, like students, carry them on backpacks ... It shows they are trained allies, go-to people.”

In addition to referrals, the Safe Zone symbols simply indicate that the bearers will supply a supportive ear to any LGBT concerns.

Cayleff is one of a number of professors who teach classes within the LGBT minor that the university began offering just last fall.

The creation of the minor is another element that helped win the five stars, several people said.

Cayleff said there were probably only two or three other such minors on campuses in the state when SDSU launched its program.

“Most major universities? No, they don’t have them,” she said. “So this is a very, very big thing.”

Several members of the campus community mentioned the Queer People of Color Conference that SDSU hosted in May as another element that helped win recognition.

“It was held in Aztec Center,” said Aaron Bruce, the university’s director of diversity. “We had about 400 students, high school and college, from all over. It was a really good event.”

They also point to the Big Gay BBQ held once a semester to bring together students, faculty staff and community members with free food and live entertainment.

Other events they cite are an annual rainbow flag raising in July and Lavender Graduation, an event that celebrates the achievements of graduating LGBT students.

“We look at everything from policies and procedures to academic programs to events to make LGBT students feel welcome,” Windmeyer said. “Do they try to openly recruit LGBT students to campus? Do they have a mentoring program for LGBT students like they do for other minorities? Campus police, do they have training in LGBT issues?

“We really do look at every aspect of a campus community to determine a star rating.”

Windmeyer suggested that neither SDSU nor any campus should be complacent.

“It’s quite an honor to receive a five-star rating,” he said, “realizing that just means they are in the 90th percentile or better and even then there is room for improvement.”

And next year, he said, Campus Pride will be modifying its index and “the bar will be raised even higher.”

Cayleff, the women’s studies professor, said there has been negligible resistance to all the advances on LGBT issues on campus.

“There are individual incidents of conflict, particularly with people with strong religious beliefs, and it would be naive to say that there are not pockets of opposition,” she said. “But no broad campus group has responded with hostility. And I think a lot of that is because all the remarkable things we’ve done in the last couple years we’ve done in coalition.”

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Well, that is good news. :-) ]]> Gay Marriage highway80west http://www.defendingthetruth.com/gay-marriage/33575-sdsu-campus-among-20-most-lgbt-friendly.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33574-sherrod-plans-sue-breitbart.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:20:43 GMT Former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she will pursue a lawsuit against conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart -- the... Former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she will pursue a lawsuit against conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart -- the man responsible for posting an edited video clip of Sherrod appearing to say she discriminated against a white farmer looking for assistance


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33574-sherrod-plans-sue-breitbart.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33573-borger-obama-congress-different-planets.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:30:48 GMT It's not easy being a Democrat these days.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33573-borger-obama-congress-different-planets.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33572-obama-deliver-education-address.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:25:22 GMT President Barack Obama will deliver a major education reform speech at the National Urban League's 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington Thursday morning.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33572-obama-deliver-education-address.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33571-hearing-address-mismanagement-arlington-cemetery.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:50:38 GMT A senate subcommittee hearing is scheduled Thursday to examine the mismanagement of Arlington Cemetery, one of the nation's most hallowed burial places for its war dead.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33571-hearing-address-mismanagement-arlington-cemetery.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/global-politics/33570-gw-bush-texas-chainsaw-massacre.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:32:58 GMT

There was a story goin' around that George W Bush was the only survivor of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that a bunch of good 'ol boys in Brownsville Texas had formed an "outlaw" motorcycle group,

They were approached by a movie producer and were persuaded to attend their club house wearing "colors."

However unbeknown to them the movie producer had other plans, the theme of the movie he was making was that another rival motorcycle gang and they were at "war,"

To that end while the Brownsville boys were all dressed up and the cameras were rolling, killers wearing suspender overalls and pigs head masks arrived with chainsaws and hacked fifteen of them to death!



Scuttlebutt says GWB was a member of the Brownsville group, and the "official" story is that he never attended the club house meet on the night of the attack! ]]> Global Politics Martin Timothy http://www.defendingthetruth.com/global-politics/33570-gw-bush-texas-chainsaw-massacre.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33569-parts-arizona-immigration-law-goes-into-effect.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:50:48 GMT Parts of an Arizona immigration law goes into effect Thursday after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that blocked the most... Parts of an Arizona immigration law goes into effect Thursday after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that blocked the most controversial aspects of it.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33569-parts-arizona-immigration-law-goes-into-effect.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/entertainment/33568-damn-deadbeats.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:32:51 GMT This is my ebay sales for this little project. Not bad for having begun on Saturday! Image: http://tristanrobinblakeman.com/Picture_1.png ... This is my ebay sales for this little project. Not bad for having begun on Saturday!



After three days of having won the auctions, there is still 650 bucks outstanding! Geeeeeeeeeesh. I would be so embarrassed to not pay for auctions!

I want all that money by Saturday so we can go to the Best Buy sale and get a nice big flat screen for the bedroom! ]]> Entertainment tristanrobin http://www.defendingthetruth.com/entertainment/33568-damn-deadbeats.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33567-house-passes-bill-reduce-cocaine-penalty-disparity.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:10:16 GMT Ending a decade-long campaign led by African-American lawmakers, the House Wednesday approved and sent to President Barack Obama a measure to reduce... Ending a decade-long campaign led by African-American lawmakers, the House Wednesday approved and sent to President Barack Obama a measure to reduce the disparity in penalties between use of crack and powder cocaine.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33567-house-passes-bill-reduce-cocaine-penalty-disparity.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33566-obama-urges-gop-back-bill-aiding-small-businesses.html Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:50:43 GMT President Barack Obama on Wednesday challenged Senate Republicans to back a bill that would help small businesses, calling its provisions "things the Republican Party has said it supported for years."


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33566-obama-urges-gop-back-bill-aiding-small-businesses.html http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33565-iraq-veterans-come-home-vice-presidential-welcome.html Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:00:08 GMT Iraq veterans from the Army's 10th Mountain Division came home to Fort Drum, New York, Wednesday for a welcome that included Vice President Joe Biden.


More... ]]> CNN Latest News CNN.com http://www.defendingthetruth.com/cnn-latest-news/33565-iraq-veterans-come-home-vice-presidential-welcome.html