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(11/07/06 4:21am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana voters will decide tightly contested races Tuesday, with control of the Indiana House and three of the nation's most closely watched congressional districts at stake.\nElection officials and political analysts expect those contests to contribute to a higher turnout than the last midterm in 2002, when 38 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Indiana. About 30,000 people will man the state's 5,500 precincts, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. \nIt will be the first general election in which most voters must show a photo ID issued by the state or federal government to cast ballots. The May primary was the first statewide test of the ID requirement, which the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed into law in 2005.\nSecretary of State Todd Rokita, a Republican seeking a second term, said the law worked well in the primary and he expected the same Tuesday. He said he also did not expect any widespread problems with voting machines.\n"I think it's going to be one of Indiana's finest hours," he said. "I have a lot of faith in Hoosier voters, and I know local election officials have worked very hard to prepare for this election."\nMarion County Clerk Doris Anne Sadler has also said she does not expect major problems.\nHowever, Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy predicted "mammoth" problems in Indianapolis on Election Day because of a new computerized system in the county.\n"The whole thing could crash," he said Monday.\nDespite Rokita's optimism, his office will have a helicopter available Tuesday so he or other election officials can quickly travel to any place where problems occur.\nBureau of Motor Vehicles branches, which are normally closed Monday, were open and planned special hours yesterday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. so those who needed a free state ID could get one.\nElectionline.org, a nonpartisan, Washington-based nonprofit that monitors election reform issues, has identified Indiana as one of 10 states that could experience Election Day problems.\nIt considers Indiana's voter ID law the strictest in the nation and some could claim that the law resulted in fraud or disenfranchisement, especially in highly contested races that are narrowly decided, said Doug Chapin, Electionline.org's director.\nTreacy said that while there were no big problems in the primary, turnout was light, putting little pressure on the system.\nProviding some of the reasons for higher voter turnout are three Indiana congressional races that have drawn significant state and national attention. Democrats hope to knock off three Republican incumbents in their quest to gain at least 15 seats nationwide and take back control of the U.S. House.\nThe national parties and outside groups have spent millions in races that pit 2nd District GOP Rep. Chris Chocola against Democrat Joe Donnelly in a rematch from 2004, 9th District Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel against former Rep. Baron Hill in their third consecutive matchup and 8th District GOP Rep. John Hostettler against Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth.\nBoth parties had hundreds of volunteers phoning the loyal to remind them to vote and offering rides to the polls, especially in those targeted districts. This week's last-minute push capped months-long get-out-the-vote drives by both parties.\n"We've knocked on an extraordinary amount of doors," said Murray Clark, the state GOP chairman.\nMike Edmondson, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party, echoed that attitude for his own side.\n"I think the fact that we started over a year ago is just unprecedented," he said.\nBut both major state parties have said control of the Indiana House is their top priority this election. Democrats narrowly controlled the chamber for eight years before Republicans gained a 52-48 majority two years ago.\nThat election gave them control of both chambers, since Republicans added to their wide majority in the Senate. Republican Mitch Daniels was also elected as governor, ending 16 years of Democrats controlling that office.\nWith a GOP-controlled legislature, Daniels was able to get much of his agenda passed. It included a budget that he says is now balanced for the first time in years, tax incentives to help create jobs, statewide observance of daylight-saving time and legislation that allowed him to lease the Indiana Toll Road.\nThe latter two were highly contentious and partisan, with only a handful of House Democrats supporting the time bill and none voting for the toll road lease. Democrats have made them major campaign issues in some races.\nFour statewide contests are on the ballot, with the U.S. Senate leading the ticket. Republican Sen. Dick Lugar is expected to cruise to a sixth term, as Democrats did not field a contender. A Libertarian and a write-in candidate are challenging him.\nOther statewide contests are for secretary of state, treasurer and auditor.
(11/07/06 4:13am)
WASHINGTON -- A half-dozen Republican congressmen ushered into office in the 1994 GOP tidal wave that tossed Democrats from power may be swept out Tuesday, casualties of a Democratic surge fueled by voter anger over the Iraq war.On the eve of the midterm elections, Republicans are hoping their acclaimed get-out-the-vote operation will ensure majority control. But some say privately they have a slim chance of retaining the House after a grueling campaign centered on turmoil in Iraq, President Bush's sagging approval numbers, political scandals and corruption investigations.\n"It all gets down to Republicans turning out the vote," said Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the House GOP's election effort.\nSidelined for 12 years, Democrats appear poised to win the House in a shift that likely would elevate Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California to speaker, the nation's first woman to hold that office, and herald in at least two years of Democratic rule.\n"From the Iraq war to the economy to how the Congress does its work, the American people want a different direction -- and that's what Democrats offer," Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the head of the House Democrats' campaign committee, said Monday.\nAt least 50 Republican seats are endangered, many with incumbents facing fierce challenges from Democrats who have sought to capitalize on the public's intense disenchantment with one-party rule.\nAmong those GOP lawmakers in hard-fought races are several vying for seventh terms, first elected in the Republican revolution of 1994.\nBack then, the party gained 52 seats to end four decades of Democratic control with promises of balancing the budget and enacting term limits. Hankering for a change in the status quo, voters that year elected Newt Gingrich's hard-charging followers who proposed the vaunted Contract with America.\n"The Republicans came to power in 1994 to change Washington, and Washington changed them," Emanuel said Sunday, while he and Reynolds sparred on NBC's "Meet the Press."\nAs Reynolds shook his head in dissent, Emanuel criticized Republicans for adding to the national debt, scandals involving the GOP rank-and-file and losing their way on fiscal and moral issues.\nGingrich's disciples in the most competitive races this year include:\n• John Hostettler in Indiana, a leading voice for social conservatives who was among six House Republicans to vote against authorizing force in Iraq in 2002. He is all but certain to lose to Democrat Brad Ellsworth, a county sheriff, in the district dubbed the "bloody eighth" for it's razor-thin election victories.\n• Steve Chabot in Ohio, a lawyer from Cincinnati who is considered somewhat of a maverick in the party despite his conservative voting record. He faces a spirited challenge from John Cranley, a Cincinnati city councilman who failed to unseat Chabot in a challenge six years ago.\n• Barbara Cubin in Wyoming, a fifth-generation resident of the state and a conservative who champions its mining and agriculture industries. Wyoming hasn't elected a Democrat to Congress since 1976, and Cubin's race against Democrat Gary Trauner, a businessman, only recently became competitive.\n• Gil Gutknecht in Minnesota, who has an occasional independent streak. In the late 1990s, he concluded that Gingrich as speaker had been "a disappointment to everybody" and that the GOP revolution had been exaggerated. Democrat Tim Walz, a high school teacher, is challenging him.\n• Charles Bass in New Hampshire, a moderate who has focused on the environment and opposed the Bush administration's proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He is in a rematch with Democrat Paul Hodes, a lawyer who ran against Bass in 2004.\n• J.D. Hayworth in Arizona, a fierce critic of illegal immigration who advocates strong U.S. borders. He opposed the president's proposal for an expanded guest-worker program until border controls are improved. Former state Sen. Harry Mitchell, a Democrat, is trying to unseat him.\nTwo other members of the rebellious Republican class of 1994 had planned to run for re-election, but they recently resigned from Congress when they became ensnared in separate scandals.\nBob Ney of Ohio pleaded guilty in the influence-peddling investigation surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, while Mark Foley of Florida admitted having sent sexually explicit electronic communications to underage males who worked as House pages. Democrats are poised to win both of their seats.\nIn the minority, Democrats need to gain 15 seats to seize control of the House.\nOn the defensive, Republicans have spent months trying to beat back well-funded Democratic opponents in districts stretching from New Hampshire to California. In the campaign's homestretch, Democrats have widened the battlefield by going after Republicans in states that historically have been solid GOP territory, including Idaho and Kansas.\nClusters of GOP-held seats in the Midwest and the Northeast alone could give Democrats the pickups they need to rise to power.\nFive Republican incumbents in Pennsylvania and three in Connecticut -- more moderate areas of the country -- could end up fired. And in the traditionally conservative Ohio River Valley, four GOP congressman in Ohio and three in Indiana are fighting for their political lives.\nThe 2006 election has been likened to 1994, when backlash against the controlling party -- then the Democrats -- triggered a change in power and ushered in an era of new rulers.\nNow, the tables appear poised to turn -- with Democrats returning the favor to the Contract-With-America crew that booted them out of office.
(11/07/06 4:12am)
Hey Harlan,\nIt's Friday night, and I'm here in my room. Nobody invites me anywhere. I get along with my roommates, but they don't invite me anywhere, and the people in my hall already have cliques, and I can't fit in. I'm already in a ton of clubs, but my friends in those clubs have lives outside of the clubs. It was like this in high school, too. I didn't have a social life. I just don't understand why people don't ask me to come along with them when there's a party. I talked to my resident about this, and he said to do what I want to do, and not what other people want (drinking and stuff). Drinking isn't really my thing, but the reason why it isn't is because nobody invites me to do it in the first place. I don't know why people just don't invite me anywhere, maybe it's because I'm so plain-looking? Sure, people acknowledge me and say hi, but nothing more. What can I do?\nLonely
(11/07/06 3:54am)
Saddam Hussein has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. This is one chapter in the war on terror that I am sure many are glad to see nearing a close.\nHowever, much work remains to be done in the fight against terrorism.\nFirst on the list is obviously North Korea.\nThe latest salvo from Pyongyang comes in the form of childish name-calling as the North's leaders denounced the United States as "warmongers" and Japan as "political imbeciles." It should be easy to address Kim Jong-Il as an idiot who does not know what he is doing, so let's get started.\nThe simple fact is that North Korea has little in the way of exportable goods. Therefore, the only way to make the world pay attention to it is to play these ridiculous but risky nuclear war games. For the time being, the strategy seems to be working, but you can pay attention to a child throwing a temper tantrum only so many times before setting a bad precedent. We should just ignore North Korea until it does what we want, and if it continues to pursue nuclear weapons, we should invade.\nThe second issue on the list hits much closer to home.\nFor years now, there has been a debate in this country about what legal rights to give terrorist suspects. No, I am not kidding. There are many people in this country who think terrorists should have access to civilian courts and civilian lawyers and be charged like regular criminals.\nThe latest in this argument comes as the Center for Constitutional Rights and several other advocacy groups challenge a law President Bush signed last month that forbids terrorist suspects access to civilian courts. According to the Justice Department, the problem with allowing these suspects access to lawyers is that it would reveal top-secret details about the CIA's interrogation techniques and the locations of several secret prisons.\nThat makes sense. Even ignoring the obvious argument about not showing mercy to those who show us none in return, it makes total sense that these people should not be able to reveal details about their interrogations to the world. That information is vital to U.S. national security and should not be exposed by anyone, least of all these suspects who will likely do whatever they can to harm our nation.\nSo how should all this fit into Election Day?\nTerrorism is the most important issue any politician will have to deal with once elected. Sure, education, health care and the economy are important, but terrorism and national security issues will always be of the highest priority.\nI have serious misgivings about many Democrats and their unwillingness to fight the war on terror as aggressively as President Bush has, but recent polling shows many Americans do not share those concerns. \nSo when you go into that ballot box and cast your vote, consider the above issues and vote for the candidates who will most aggressively prosecute the war on terror.
(11/07/06 3:54am)
About this time every year, I notice nearly every student is wearing the exact same thing. No, not Ugg boots (because it's usually just the female students who wear those). I'm talking about jackets and backpacks from The North Face that seem to be worn by nearly all college students, both male and female.\n As a college student who doesn't own anything made by The North Face, I've been confused as to why so many students sport the products. Perhaps The North Face just makes good clothing. Perhaps students at IU feel like they are hiking whenever they have to trek across campus, and that's reason enough to buy clothes from a company that specializes in hiking and skiing gear. Or perhaps everyone in college is struggling to be exactly the same. \nTo further investigate this popular trend, I looked at The North Face's Web site (www.thenorthface.com). After looking through some of its basic apparel, I recognized a few of the backpacks I've seen seemingly thousands of students carrying around campus. I clicked on one called "Terra 40" to see what was so special about it. The first thing I noticed was that it was $99. \nNow, I can understand why students might not want to wear an elementary school backpack that has Superman or Barbie on it, but does that really mean someone needs to spend nearly $100 on something that is only used to carry books (books that are obviously not read by the way)?\nNorth Face backpacks go for as much as $379, which is the price for the "Catalyst 75." For its price, I assumed the inside of the backpack was lined with 24-carat gold. However, that was not mentioned among the Catalyst 75's supercool features. It did have easy-grip zipper pulls, though, which is probably worth $100 right there. As I was browsing through the rest of The North Face's site, I assumed the company's jackets would be more sanely priced. But after just one click, I found out I was wrong. The price range for men's North Face jackets was between $65 and $1,200. That's right: $1,200! (I'm not making this stuff up. If I did, my editors would fire me.) This is for a jacket that is not made of precious metals. In fact, this extravagantly priced "M Bariloche Triclimate Jacket" looks like the love child of a motorcycle jacket and a basic nylon jacket. I suppose it's worth every penny, since it's "the warmest, most waterproof and versatile system jacket available" according to the company's site. \nThe North Face's slogan is "never stop exploring." And perhaps this is appropriate because trendy losers with money to burn never stop exploring how to be just like everybody else. My nonfashionable advice, however, would be to never stop exploring for a great price. Unless you actually are an explorer of some kind -- in that case, kudos to you for your bravery (and for having such a nice backpack).
(11/07/06 3:53am)
'T was the day of elections and all through the nation/ The Republicans were scared, but not of inflation. \nWhispers had turned into loud roaring calls/ For a new party to dominate Congress' halls.\nThe voters were ready and poised with aggression/ To teach Karl Rove and his lackeys a lesson.\nPeople were tired of the scandalous game/ That had become so attached to the Republican name.\nWhen out of New Jersey there came a new hope/ It seemed Tom and Fred now could elope.\nGod-fearing men from all over the land/ Raced to the polls, saying gay marriage won't stand.\nThe president, too, he jumped on his plane/ Flying cross-country to speak in God's name.\n"Marriage is holy," George W. spoke/ Too little, too late, it was already broke.\nDemocrats rallied, they cried mass corruption/ Abramoff's dealings had caused an eruption.\nIncumbents were falling, admitting their shame/ The donkeys all cheered when Foley took blame.\nGo Donnelly! Go Ellsworth! Go Hill! Can't you see?/ If you win, the leader would be Pelosi.\nTo the hills of Afghan' to the fronts of Iraq/ The Dems have a plan to bring the troops back.\nWar was a platform Bush knew all too well/ He hunted the terrorists and sent them to hell.\nBut the public cried out, said: "We're lost, and we're mired,"/ So they took to the polls to get Republicans fired.\nDon't think Dems hate freedom, for that's not the case/ But you'd never know from watching this race.\nSince getting Saddam, we'd all played a game/ Of pointing our fingers and shifting the blame.\nCheney and Rumsfeld knew not what to do/ the country was turning scarily blue.\nStates that once loved them were losing their red/ Too many more burgers and Cheney was dead. \nRove never stumbled, he thought they'd come through/ Despite his best efforts, the Dem support grew.\nThe country was tired, and on further inspection/ Discovered in '04 that Bush stole the election.\nBut this day was different, no fraud would be found/ Rove would go weeping and fall to the ground.\nO'Reilly and Fox News lost all respect/ While Franken and liberals became the best bet.\nThe South even changed, which was a surprise/ Tennessee and Virginia said no to red guys.\nThe racist was ousted, which gave Webb the win/ Obama got brethren when Ford was put in.\nDistrict to district and state after state/ Republicans all seemed to meet the same fate.\nTried as they could to make us believe/ Everyone knew it was time they should leave.\nAs the sun began setting, the choice was made clear/ Voters wanted change, and they got that this year.\nIn a unified voice, these words were then spoken/ "We can do better, the country is broken."\nIn a dream this I saw, all this was the manner/ By which we united and unfolded our banner.\nThat banner read "freedom," and freedom is great/ Goodbye, GOP, better luck in '08.
(11/07/06 3:53am)
It's nearly Thanksgiving, which can only mean one thing: It's time to put up Christmas decorations. The flashing lights, and talking Santas. The Douglas firs doomed to spend their last miserable days clamped mercilessly inside a wrought iron vise, gasping painfully for the last ounce of water you so graciously provided after severing their trunks from their roots. Blessed art thou who neglects the evergreens.\nBut damned be he who neglects to vote!Today is Election Day, and I know you feel a strong inclination not to vote. But you have at least as much responsibility to participate in the democratic process as you have to decorate your house for the holidays. If you spent all last week celebrating Halloween, vomiting fun-size Snickers bars onto your cheap, homemade costume, surely you can find a half an hour to cast a ballot. \nAt this point, I couldn't care less who you vote for, just so long as you vote for someone. To be perfectly honest, none of the candidates are particularly appealing, and I sympathize with your apathy. But that's all the more reason to go to the polls. The Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee are as indifferent as you are. They choose self-serving, morally bankrupt, brain-dead candidates because they know it doesn't make a difference to the public. Show the parties that you're passionate about solid leadership by turning out at the polls, even if you vote for yourself out of spite. When the national committees realize the "second-worst choice" isn't good enough for the voters, they'll find real politicians with goals, not agendas. \nIt's true that incumbents are virtually invincible, but only because many voters won't go out and vote for anyone else. This year, in fact, Indiana has three races that could go either way. The RNC has thrown nearly $3 million at Republican candidates from the 2nd, 8th and 9th districts, and all have strong Democratic challengers. To get the Dems elected, you have to vote. But in a strange catch-22, you also have to vote to defeat them. So for the love of God and all that is holy, please vote!\nI'm going to sweeten the deal a bit. I know the last election was mostly an appeal to emotional passions, and this one has been nothing but racial slurs and mudslinging. Still, choosing officials is one of the most significant decisions you'll ever make. The outcome affects you on a daily basis, whether you realize it or not. \nTherefore, for every person who casts a ballot in Indiana, I won't kill an animal on the endangered species list.\nIf you don't know where to vote but you want to do your part to save 4 million giant pandas, Bengal tigers and Florida manatees, visit www.indianavoters.com/PublicSite/Public/PublicPollingPlace.aspx. Enter your county and address, and the billions of hamster wheels endlessly spinning in Silicon Valley will point you to your closest polling station. \nHappy Super Tuesday, everyone. It's time to do the one thing that justifies your right to live in a democracy. Vote!
(11/07/06 3:52am)
Iraq officials eased the curfew imposed in the capital ahead of Saddam Hussein's conviction and death sentence, with residents once more allowed to walk the streets and
(11/07/06 3:52am)
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Daniel Ortega appeared headed back to the presidency 16 years after a U.S.-backed rebellion helped oust the former Marxist revolutionary, as partial results and the country's top electoral watchdog indicated he had easily defeated four opponents.The Sandinista leader's victory in Sunday's election, if confirmed by final results, would expand the club of leftist Latin American rulers led by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who has tried to help his Nicaraguan ally by shipping cheap oil to the energy-starved nation.\nOrtega, who led Nicaragua from 1985-1990, repeatedly has said he no longer is the Marxist revolutionary who fought U.S.-backed Contra rebels in a war that left 30,000 dead and the economy in shambles.\nBut while he has toned down his leftist rhetoric and pledged to continue free-trade policies, the United States remains openly wary of its former Cold War foe. Washington has threatened to withhold aid to the nation, fearing a return to the socialist economic policies of the 1980s.\nThe race has generated intense international interest, including a visit by Oliver North, the former White House aide at the heart of the Iran-Contra controversy. That effort to oust Ortega's Moscow-leaning Sandinista regime created a huge scandal in the United States when it became known that Washington secretly sold arms to Iran and used the money to fund and arm the Contra operation.\nA statistical survey of official results, carried out by the Nicaraguan Civic Group for Ethics and Transparency, gave Ortega 38.5 percent to 29.5 percent for the wealthy banker Eduardo Montealegre.\nThe vote sampling, known as a quick count, had a margin of error of 1.7 percentage points. Ortega's four opponents asked the group to carry out the count because they were concerned that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal was controlled by the Sandinistas.\nOfficially, with 40 percent of all polling stations counted, Ortega had 40 percent of the vote compared to 33 percent for Montealegre. Electoral officials have been slow to announce results, and it was not clear when final count would be available.\nThree other rivals were well behind: Sandinista dissident Edmundo Jarquin, ruling-party candidate Jose Rizo and former Contra rebel Eden Pastora.\nTo win outright and avoid a runoff, Ortega needs just 35 percent of the vote and a 5-point advantage over his closest opponent.\nLate Sunday, Ortega's supporters flooded the streets, setting off celebratory fireworks, waving the party's red-and-black flag and swaying to the candidate's campaign song, set to the tune of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."\nThe U.S. Embassy said it was too soon to "make an overall judgment on the fairness and transparency of the process."\n"We are receiving reports of some anomalies in the electoral process," including polling stations that opened late and closed early, the embassy said.\nBut Roberto Rivas, president of the Supreme Electoral Council, dismissed the U.S. statement.\n"We have promised the Nicaraguan people transparent elections, and that's what we've done," he said. "I think there were enough observers to witness that."\nOrtega, 60, had already made three unsuccessful attempts at re-election. This was his fifth consecutive presidential campaign.\n"Nicaragua wins today," he said after voting, confident of a first-round win.\nMontealegre brushed aside the partial results, saying: "No one has won here. The Nicaraguan people, in a runoff, will determine the next president."\nAt stake are millions of dollars in potential investments, many from foreign companies drawn to Nicaragua by its cheap labor, low crime rates and decision to join the new Central American Free Trade Agreement.\n"We are playing with the stability of the country," said Jose Adan Aguirre, president of the Chamber of Commerce.\nOn election day, Nicaraguans hiked miles through the jungle, paddled canoes down remote rivers and waited under a searing sun to vote.\nOverall the process was peaceful, but many polling stations opened late to long lines. After the polls closed, angry voters pounded on doors, shouting at officials inside to let them in.\nPolls have shown Ortega would have trouble winning a December runoff. While he has a loyal base of support, many voters still have bitter memories of Sandinista rule, in which homes and businesses were seized.\nOrtega insists he has changed. In fact, his vice-presidential candidate was once one of his biggest enemies: Jaime Morales, who served as the spokesman for the Contras.\nAs Sandinista leader, Ortega seized Morales' estate, but they reconciled after Ortega offered to pay Morales for his former home -- now Ortega's campaign headquarters.\nMarvin Lopez, a 46-year-old doctor waiting at the same polling station where Ortega voted, said he feared an Ortega win would bring back uncontrollable inflation and conflict.\n"I don't want to return to a dictatorship, the misery, the abuse of families' rights," he said.\nWaiting at the end of the line was 26-year-old student Gema Amaya Larios, who said she woke at dawn to cast her vote for Ortega, saying: "Everyone else just cares about their own interests."\nAmid fears of fraud, armed soldiers kept guard at polling stations monitored by more than 18,000 observers -- including three former presidents: Jimmy Carter, Peru's Alejandro Toledo and Panama's Nicolas Ardito Barletta.\nIn a veiled reference to the United States and Venezuela, Toledo condemned "any interference, wherever it comes from, whether it be Asia, Europe, North America or Latin America."\nVenezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel on Sunday accused the United States of "blackmail and pressure to twist this process" in Nicaragua.\nNicaraguan presidents cannot serve two consecutive terms, and President Enrique Bolanos steps down Jan. 10.
(11/06/06 5:53am)
JERUSALM -- Israel's attorney general refused to ban a gay pride parade in Jerusalem despite threats of violence from ultra-Orthodox Jews, instructing police and gay activists to try to work out a compromise, the police commander said Sunday. \nA Justice Ministry statement said Attorney General Meni Mazuz ordered police to meet with gay activists "to work out a reasonable alternative proposal" for the march, set for Friday on a route through the middle of the city. The meeting is to take place Monday, gay activists said, and a compromise was likely.\nUltra-Orthodox Jews have rioted in Jerusalem nearly every night over the past week, burning garbage cans, blocking roads and assaulting police officers in an attempt to get the authorities to call off the march, approved months ago by the Supreme Court. Many religious Jews, Muslims and Christians see homosexuality as a sin and the march as an affront to the sanctity of the holy city.\nPolice said Sunday that the danger of violence was too great to allow the march to proceed but left the final decision to Mazuz.\n"We understand that the potential danger to life and bloodshed is greater than that to free speech," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.\nElla Canetti, one of the organizers of the gay pride march, said they would meet police on Monday and were willing to be flexible.\n"We are prepared to alter the route of our march to meet police concerns," she told The Associated Press. "According to what we understand, a modest gay pride march will take place in Jerusalem."\nAfter meeting Mazuz, Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco said, "It may be that there will be a march and a closing event at place which both sides decide is reasonable and minimizes potential damage and danger."\nBut it was unclear whether such a compromise would satisfy the ultra-Orthodox Jewish opponents.\nAt last year's march, an ultra-Orthodox man stabbed and wounded three participants.\nThere was some dissent Sunday among gay activists. Saar Nathaniel, a gay member of Jerusalem's City Council and one of the march's planners, suggested Sunday that gay activists cancel the march in return for ultra-Orthodox members of parliament supporting gay rights legislation.\nA gay columnist in the liberal Haaretz daily called on organizers to show sensitivity for Jerusalem's special status as a city holy to three faiths and move the march to the more permissive Tel Aviv.\nJerusalem police said six policemen have been hurt in the clashes over the past week and 60 rioters have been arrested. Over the weekend, the disturbances spread outside Jerusalem to the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, where rioters blocked one of Israel's main highways with burning tires.
(11/06/06 5:22am)
The head of the GOP Senate campaigns on Sunday sought to deflect growing criticism about the war in Iraq, saying her party will prevail in Tuesday's elections partly because "Democrats appear to be content with losing." Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., acknowledged that Republicans face a tight race to maintain control of the Senate but that voters will focus more narrowly on local issues. Democrats need to take six seats to gain power in the 100-member Senate.
(11/06/06 5:20am)
BERLIN -- A German electric company said Sunday a high-voltage transmission line it shut down over a river to let a ship pass could have caused the chain-reaction power outages that left about 10 million people in the dark across Europe.\nThe blackouts Saturday night briefly halted trains in Germany and trapped dozens of people in elevators in France and Italy. Austria, Belgium and Spain were also affected, though supplies to most regions were quickly restored. No injuries were reported.\nThe outages raised fresh questions about the reliability of Europe's interconnected power grids and drew an immediate call for stronger coordination.\nA private German company, E.On AG, said the problems began in northwestern Germany, where its network became overloaded possibly because it shut down the transmission line over the river. The company said it had shut down transmission lines in the past without causing problems, and it was still investigating what happened this time.\nTheo Horstmann, a spokesman for another German power firm RWE AG, said the shortage caused substations across Europe to close down automatically to maintain supplies elsewhere.\nSwaths of western Germany, including the industrial Ruhr region, were without power for a half-hour, delaying scores of trains for up to two hours, said Achim Stauss, spokesman for rail operator Deutsche Bahn.\nOfficials said thousands of worried people overwhelmed emergency services with telephone calls.\nFrench power distributor RTE said the problems in Germany caused a "brutal imbalance" in supply and demand of electricity across the continent.\n"Such imbalances must be corrected immediately to avoid a complete meltdown of the European electric system," the company said in a statement.\nAs a result, RTE shut off supplies to some 5 million people across most regions of the country, including parts of Paris, for about a half-hour.\nThe company estimated that 10 million people were affected in all Europe.\nThe German government demanded a quick explanation from Essen-based E.On of what happened -- and of how it will prevent any reoccurrence.\n"Power outages of this kind are not only annoying for people, but also represent a considerable risk for the economy," said Economy Minister Michael Glos.\nHorstmann said the network's safety mechanisms functioned perfectly, heading off a dangerous drop in the frequency of power supplies.\nRTE President Andre Merlin also insisted that Europe's power network had worked smoothly.\n"Despite the outages, we were able to avoid a total blackout yesterday," he told reporters on a conference call Sunday.\nHowever, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the incident suggested Europe needed to strengthen its coordination of power supplies.\n"My first impression is that there is a contradiction between having European (power) links and not having one European (power) authority," Prodi told reporters in his home town of Bologna. "We depend on each other with being able to help each other, without a central authority."\nItaly was the victim of Europe's last major power outage in 2003, when a short in a power line in Switzerland started a chain reaction that left 95 percent of Italy's population in darkness for several hours.\nA similar incident occurred in the United States in 2003, when tree limbs touching a power line in Ohio triggered a blackout that cascaded across the eastern part of the country and into Canada, affecting 50 million people.
(11/06/06 5:19am)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein was convicted Sunday and sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town. The ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted "God is great!" as the judge handed down the verdict.\nSaddam, his half brother and another senior official in his regime were convicted and sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal in one of the most highly publicized war crimes trials since the Nuremberg Tribunals for members of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime and its slaughter of 6 million Jews in the World War II Holocaust.\nAs the verdict was read, Saddam yelled out: "Long live the people, and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!" Later, his lawyer said the former dictator called on Iraqis to reject sectarian violence and refrain from revenge against U.S. forces.\n"The verdict placed on the heads of the former regime does not represent a verdict for any one person. It is a verdict on a whole dark era that ... was unmatched in Iraq's history," said Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's Shiite prime minister.\nSome feared the court decision could exacerbate the sectarian violence that has pushed the country to the brink of civil war, after a trial that stretched over nine months in 39 sessions and ended nearly 3 1/2 months ago. The verdict came two days before midterm elections in the United States, widely seen as a referendum on the Bush administration's policy in Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi officials have denied the timing was deliberate.\nThe White House praised the Iraqi judicial system and denied the United States had been "scheming" for the verdict.\nIraqis "are the ones who conducted the trial. The Iraqi judges are the ones who spent all the time poring over the evidence. ... It's important to give them credit for running their own \ngovernment," said Tony Snow, the president's spokesman.\nIn north Baghdad's heavily Sunni Azamiyah district, clashes broke out between police and gunmen. Elsewhere in the capital, celebratory gunfire rang out.\n"This government will be responsible for the consequences, with the deaths of hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands, whose blood will be shed," Salih al-Mutlaq, a Sunni political leader, told the Al-Arabiya satellite television station.\nSaddam and his seven co-defendants were on trial for a wave of revenge killings carried out in the city of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt on the former dictator. Al-Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, then an underground opposition, has claimed responsibility for organizing the attempt on Saddam's life.\nIn the streets of Dujail, people celebrated and burned pictures of their former tormentor as the verdict was read.\nSaddam's chief lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi condemned the trial as a "farce," claiming the verdict was planned. He said defense attorneys would appeal within 30 days.\nThe death sentences automatically go to a nine-judge appeals panel, which has unlimited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days.\nA court official told The Associated Press that the appeals process was likely to take three to four weeks once the formal paperwork was submitted.
(11/06/06 5:17am)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Less than 24 hours after he was fired from the pulpit of the evangelical megachurch he founded, the Rev. Ted Haggard confessed to his followers Sunday that he was guilty of sexual immorality.\nIn a letter that another clergyman read to the congregation of the New Life Church, Haggard apologized for his acts and requested forgiveness.\n"I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you," he said, adding that he had confused the situation by giving inconsistent remarks to reporters denying the scandal.\n"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he said.\nHaggard resigned last week as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, where he held sway in Washington and condemned homosexuality, after a man claimed to have had drug-fueled homosexual trysts with him. Haggard also placed himself on administrative leave from the New Life Church, which has 14,000 members, but its independent Overseer Board fired him Saturday.\nIn his letter, Haggard said "the accusations made against me are not all true but enough of them are that I was appropriately removed from (this) church leadership position."\nHe did not give details on which accusations were true.\nThe Rev. Larry Stockstill, senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, La., and a member of the board that fired Haggard, read the letter to the church.\nYoungsters were sent out of the room before elders began speaking about the church crisis.\n"Worshippers are always challenged by crisis. And when tragedy and crisis strikes, it is at that moment that you truly decide if you are a worshipper of the most high God. And today, as the worship pastor of this church, I am very proud of you," said the Rev. Ross Parsley, who has replaced Haggard.\n"I am so grateful for the government system in place here at this church. ... The speed with which things were dealt with this week has been a testimony to the godliness, to the integrity and authority of the overseers of the board of this church," he said.\nHaggard, 50, had acknowledged Friday that he paid Mike Jones of Denver for a massage and for methamphetamine but said he did not have sex with him and did not take the drug.\nThe Overseer Board, made up clergy from various churches, used stronger language.\n"Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct," the board said in a statement.\nThe NEA, representing 30 million evangelicals, named the Rev. Leith Anderson, senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minn., as its interim president.\nJones said in a telephone interview Sunday: "I am sad for him and his family. I know this is a tough day for him also. I wish him well. I wish his family well. My intent was never to destroy his family. My intent was to expose a hypocrite.\n"I hope the healing process can start. I welcome his request for forgiveness for me."\nHaggard's situation is a disappointment to Christian conservatives, whom President George W. Bush and other Republicans are courting heavily in the run-up to Tuesday's election.\nMany were already disheartened with the president and the Republican-controlled Congress over their failure to deliver big gains on social issues even before the congressional page scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley.\nHaggard, who had been president of the evangelical association since 2003, has participated in conference calls with White House staffers and lobbied Congress last year on Supreme Court nominees.\nHaggard founded New Life in the mid-1980s and held its first services in the basement of his Colorado Springs home.\nJones, who said he is gay, said he was upset when he discovered who Haggard was and found out that New Life had publicly opposed same-sex marriage -- a key issue in Colorado, with a pair of issues on Tuesday's ballot.\nAssociated Press reporter Robert Weller in Denver contributed to this report.
(11/06/06 5:12am)
We knew it wouldn't be this easy. Not our team, not with our history and certainly not when bowl eligibility could come this soon. \nThen again, it doesn't help when Minnesota quarterback Brian Cupito throws for 376 yards and four touchdowns, a sign that the Golden Gophers decided to play their best game all seasons. While Cupito showed potential as a decent quarterback, Minnesota defeated IU for its first Big Ten victory of the season. On paper, this game should have been over before it began. But, in the words of Chris Berman, "that is why they play the game."\nThe Golden Gophers played a style of football faster than Berman talks. Contrary to IU's advantage on paper, the Hoosiers were bumbling and stumbling all game long, unable to erase the Gophers' 35 unanswered points to start the game.\nFor one Saturday, the new-look Hoosiers were whipped around by a Big Ten opponent the way we would have expected from the old Hoosiers. For one Saturday, IU returned to its natural state -- a tortoise. No matter how productive the offense played, it remained unable to catch up with the much faster hare. For one Saturday, the Hoosiers watched the hare -- in the form of the Gophers -- take an early 35-0 lead and never look back. Contrary to the childhood tale, this slow and steady tortoise lost the game.\nThis will be the question answered in the remainder of the season: Which Hoosier team will show up, the old or the new? Will it be the tortoise or the hare? \nContrary to Saturday's team's role as the tortoise, IU quarterback Kellen Lewis was running around like he was the hare. Unfortunately, Lewis' rushing yards are usually an accurate measure of whether or not IU wins. If his yards surpass the rest of the IU rushing attack, it's been a long day for the offense. In three of the Hoosiers' five losses, Lewis was the leading rusher on the team. So Saturday was no exception. Despite throwing for a career-high 321 yards, Lewis also rushed for 75 yards, more than both IU running backs combined.\nI have only a few words of wisdom now for the IU football team. They are words that I have drawn from my native New Jersey tongue: Forget about it. Forget about the 63-26 loss. Forget that this was the easiest game remaining on your bowl-eligible schedule. Forget that Saturday ever existed and certainly forget about next week's game versus Michigan (seriously, forget about that one). Just forget it all and march on.\nContrary to the celebration prepared for the Hoosiers had they won, these formerly frantic turned fanatical fans are once more frantic. As true fans always are, the Hoosier Nation is left to hope for the best and expect the worse. Contrary to anything Frank Sinatra sang: "The worse is yet to come for IU with the Wolverines waiting to get a kick out of IU. The difference could be night and day." \nNonetheless, there are two games left and a possible bowl berth lingering in the late autumn air. All we can do is hope that the Hoosier hare shows up in the remaining Saturdays.\nThen again, there is the contrary.
(11/06/06 5:07am)
D.J. White knows he'll get better. Kelvin Sampson knows it, too. But White's reaction to the IU coach as he addressed his power forward's lack of defensive aggresiveness in the first half against the University of North Dakota wouldn't tell you that.\nHe fidgeted with a towel as he sat to his coach's right, and after Sampson dropped this bomb, you'd think he was about to bury his head in it for good.\n"(His) defense in the first half was nonexistent," Sampson said sternly. "No. 54 (North Dakota forward Mike Gutter) I'm sure thought he was playing skeleton offense because there was nobody guarding him the first three possessions."\nDespite Sampson calling out his junior, the general tone from both White and his coach after Sunday's 95-50 whack-job against the Fighting Sioux was that they aren't worried. And they shouldn't be. After all, it's the junior's first game since Jan. 7 when he broke a bone in his foot against Ohio State in Bloomington. Sampson stressed that it's been two seasons since D.J. started out the year free of injury.\nIt's going to take time for White to get back into game form, where he's used to making moves in the post and hitting short jumpers or being an intimidating shot blocker under the rim. \nAnd Sunday's matchup was an exhibition. The early games are all about finding your stride and getting back into game form. They're about figuring out your spot within the team's offense (and in this case, a completely different offense from last year's under a new coach). White's return to form isn't going to happen overnight. But it will happen.\n"You can tell he's rusty," Sampson said. "I told him, 'Don't worry about any of this.' These exhibition games are what they are. You're supposed to develop some rhythm, get some chemistry on the court and just work to get better."\nD.J. had his looks; he just didn't hit many shots. At one particular instance, you could see his frustration after a close jumper he took rattled off the rim. He clapped his hands together and let out a yell as he headed back down the court on defense.\n"It's an off-night," said White. "They're shots I usually hit. Coach knows that. My players know that. I know that. I just didn't hit them. It's something I got to do to help my team."\nIt's not that D.J. played particularly badly -- he just didn't play up to the level he knows he can or that Hoosier Nation expects from him. He showed flashes of his former self with a perfectly executed pick-and-roll alley-oop slam from Earl Calloway for the game's first two points. He had a powerful block on the aforementioned Gutter early in the second half.\nAt times it looked as if he was almost trying too hard, flying around the court and trying to block every shot from the Fighting Sioux.\nWhen asked what he thought about his coach's assessment of him, White agreed.\n"He's right," the junior said. "Like he said, I was a little rusty. That comes along with it. I feel like as the games go on, I'll get my familiarity out there on the court and I should be fine. It's no worries."\nNo worries here either.
(11/06/06 3:40am)
Any book that has a main character questioning his or her belief in God is going to upset some people. "Born Again" by Kelly Kerney, a 26-year-old author who grew up in a Pentecostal household, is just such a book. \nMel, the main character in "Born Again," is a 14-year-old girl who has been raised by devout Pentecostal parents, and although she is well-versed in the Bible and attends church at least once every week, she has not yet felt the spirit overtaking her. So she starts to ask questions. She can't ask her parents because that is not allowed: Whenever she asks for clarification about the family's religious beliefs, her mom's response is a quick slap across Mel's face. \nTo complicate Mel's confusion, her family is in great denial about all of their deep, dark (against the literal teachings of the Good Book) secrets. But as the secrets slowly reveal themselves, Mel is left confused and lost with no adult to turn to who will answer her questions.\nSo when Mel has the opportunity to attend an academic summer camp, she must hide the fact that on the required reading list are books like "Wuthering Heights" and Darwin's "The Origin of Species." After all, according to Mel's mother and Pastor Lyle, all that is contained in "The Origin of Species" are lies insisting God does not exist and men are related to monkeys.\nMel forces herself to read "The Origin of Species" because she wants to hate the book and confirm the fact that the book is full of evil and sacrilegious thoughts. But as she reads, she begins to ask questions about the validity of her mother's claims. \n"Born Again" is not an attack on religion, but then again, with enough time and desire, anything can be used as a defense for one's beliefs. \nInstead, "Born Again" is the story of a young girl's journey through questioning her religion and, more importantly, the unerring perfection that young people expect from their parents.\n"Born Again" is not a book to fear (notice the theme running through the book) but, a book to read and ponder and discuss. It is a book that can be used to open lines of communication, or it can be used as an excuse to never discuss what individuals truly believe.
(11/06/06 3:35am)
I have a love/hate relationship with my boyfriend, Denim. Sometimes he shrinks and doesn't perform very well. Sometimes he compliments my ass, so I let him get close and touch me inappropriately. Our relationship is unstable, but I know this much is true: I like skinny boys, but I love skinny jeans.\nBacktrack to the fifth grade when I got my first pair of wide-leg jeans. I had convinced my mom that Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale would never love me without them, and she finally caved and bought me two pairs of SilverTab wide-leg denim miracles from JCPenney. It was like the Messiah had come. \nTwo years later, I wouldn't be caught dead in them. Those wide-leg jeans were so far out of the closet, they might as well have been Lance Bass. Flares were in. Everyone who was anyone could have fit six machetes and a chain saw in the calf area of her jeans. And if you went to my junior high, you know they probably did. \nAround junior year of high school, the flare jean caught Mudd brand sleeping with the entire basketball team. Its reputation was tarnished. But thankfully, the bootcut fit came to its rescue. It still had sass, but at least it had boundaries. \nAnd now, in my junior year of college, it's all about the skinny jean. Finally. Tapered legs are hotter than Flavor Flav. And they make your ass look deelishus. \n"After years of bootcut denim dominance, slim cuts -- à la '80s punk rock -- are squeezing back into the fashion vernacular," wrote USA Today fashion correspondent Alison Maxwell in an April article. \nKate Moss wears 'em all the time. And everyone wants to be Kate Moss. Sure there's that heroin addiction and the fact that her boy Pete Doherty looks like an advertisement for suicide, but Kate is a freakin' bombshell in her teeny-tiny jeans.\nOne of the great things about skinny jeans is that they look good on a lot of people, not just Kate. Don't be deceived by the name. Skinny jeans aren't only for skinny people. If that were the case, they'd have to rename apparel made for fat people "velour fat pants" or "I'm-so-puffy vests." For most people, skinny jeans make the legs appear longer, creating an illusion of slenderness. \nRemember when your mom used to melt cheese on your broccoli so you'd eat it? The broccoli still tasted like broccoli, but it was covered in a deceiving layer of gooey pasteurized goodness that you just couldn't resist. Wearing skinny jeans is like covering your body in melted cheese. You just look better.\nAnd you know this trend is big when even the god-forsaken College Mall is selling skinny jeans. They sell them everywhere, from Macy's to Charlotte Russe. \nLucky magazine fashion director Hope Greenberg wrote: "A year ago, you couldn't even find them in the mall, and now it has absolutely trickled down."\nSo true. Last Christmas, I bought a long sought-after pair of skinnies at my favorite fashion-forward mecca, H&M, and people stared at me like I was walking a goldfish on a leash around campus. Now they're flying off the shelves at Forever21 faster than Ugg boots and cut-up sweatshirts in New Jersey.\nI have a feeling this trend is staying around, too. I mean, where else can it go? It started wide, but then it saw a photo of Calista Flockhart and started feeling bad about itself. And it has been sweating off the pounds ever since. Maybe when Calista breaks out of a size 00 -- or Kirstie Alley fits into it -- the trend can end.
(11/06/06 3:30am)
'Tis the season.\nMarked by falling leaves, crisp air and flocks of scantily clad freshman women in huddled masses walking toward frat houses, fall is in full swing. As someone with impeccable taste, let me say that, though the cash reserve accumulated by a summer's hard work is dwindling fast, there are some things this season worth the splurge.\n• Seasonal beverages. Treats like the Pumpkin Spice Crème latte at Starbucks or the Fireside Cocoa at the Copper Cup are a delight. They are also temporary, so let them help you get in the spirit of the season. If you are looking to entertain or want DIY fall libation, pick up some cider, and heat it on the stove top. Add a little ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Yum. That's fall.\n• Scarves and hats. These are the gifts that keep on giving. Nothing adds more style, color and texture to a boring jeans-and-coat combo like a great scarf and hat, not to mention the warmth they provide when you're making the trek from Teter to Swain West. \n• A pair of boots. Nothing will make a person grouchier than cold, wet feet, so boots are a must. You will be happier, which will make you nicer, and nothing makes other people happier than people who are nice to them -- except maybe cash or free stuff. But there's only so much we can do.\n• A good thermos. If you are indeed looking to save money, and you drink half as much coffee as I do, a thermos is a must. In this cold weather -- and at this time in the school year when the workload can seem insurmountable -- coffee is necessary in large quantities and served hot. I recommend the cup-as-lid, pop-and-pour variety. It makes for very hot coffee, pleasant drinking and something to keep you occupied if a lecture gets boring. As in every season, quality coffee is a must. That means no Folgers, not even that shoddy excuse for "gourmet" it's put out. I recommend, for fall, Starbucks' Caffè Verona or the perennially delicious Blackbeard's from Soma.\n• Dinner for your friends. This can get pricey (especially depending on the size of the invite list), but I have always found it to be a worthwhile experience. The cold weather lends itself to warm get-togethers with delicious food and a few big bottles of Pinot. Cooking is a skill that can only be achieved by practicing, so why not let everybody win? You learn, they eat free, and everyone has a fine time. Plus, it can be done in an affordable fashion. Keep it intimate, and check out what deals are happening at the grocery store. There is always a meat on sale, and vegetables aren't too expensive. Food, drink, friends and good conversation -- these are the fine things in life, and fall just isn't fall without them. If you want to survive the chill of the season, let these things keep you warm inside and out, and have a classy fall.
(11/06/06 3:24am)
"Baby girls with a passion for fashion!"\nSuch is the slogan for Bratz Babyz, a very progressive and educational toy targeting young girls by MGA Entertainment. \nExcept, that's an enormous lie.\nThe dolls don heavy eyeliner, bright pink lipstick, long hair (it's as long as their entire body ... ?) and midriff-bearing tops. And, for Pete's sake, they look tanned. They are supposed to be 2 years old. \nYeah, gross.\n"Look sexy." From early on in recent years, little girls have received this message loud and clear. From the toys created for them. From the TV shows they watch. From the clothes produced for them.\nBut another very contradictory message persists as well: Don't talk about sex, and certainly don't engage in such activities. Then, of course, you'd be a big, fat slut.\nHistory tells us women's sexuality has been regulated across the world since the beginning of time. When Latin American countries were being colonized in the 16th century, ideas about "purity of blood" were essential for a family's honor. Men largely had the freedom to cheat on their wives without persecution; women were responsible for maintaining honor. \nIn the Victorian era, women were called upon to be beacons of morality, to uphold ideas about sexual purity -- and to influence men to do so, as well.\nAs late as the 1970s, Puerto Rico had one of the highest rates of women's sterilization in the world. Most of the surgeries were conducted between the 1930s and 1960s, when the country underwent a massive campaign to control a "population problem." Many of the women sterilized weren't informed of the consequences of the procedure. In some cases, the government had women's husbands sign the papers. \nAnd constraining ideas about women's sexuality perpetuate. A recent qualitative study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine indicated that, while young women (in many countries, including South Africa and Sweden) are aware of the necessity of condom use and other sexual protective practices, they are wary of carrying condoms because of what it would imply for their reputation.\nThey could be known as sluts.\nI don't support irresponsible sex or promiscuity, but I do support one's enjoyment of her or his own sexuality without being chastised, judged and persecuted or ... sterilized. \nWhat's at stake for women and men in sex is the same.\nIt is true that women have the whole "potential to have a human growing in her uterus" thing to think about. But it took equally a man and his sexuality to create such a thing.\nBasically, it takes productive discussion and open minds to challenge culturally constructed ideas about gender and sexuality. We must take responsibility for our actions and our bodies, unlearn and deconstruct limiting ideas, and, if you're bold enough, talk to your friend about what they mean the next time they call someone a "ho-bag."\nAnd passing value judgment should always be avoided. \nUnless it is upon those Bratz dolls. They are so creepy!