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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (91102)	12/17/2004 11:41:08 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793789

Norm Coleman Sends Warning Message On Rumsfeld By Captain Ed on National Politics Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, usually a staunch ally of the Bush administration, sent a message to the White House yesterday with a warning that explanations about the slow supply of armor to Iraq has not satisfied him. He said he didn't want to point fingers, but he intends on opening hearings if better explanations are not forthcoming: Sen. Norm Coleman said he had "serious misgivings" about the process of providing armored vehicles for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I have reservations about what the secretary and the Army have done in this regard," the Minnesota Republican said, but later added, "I'm not at the point of pointing fingers. I don't who did this. I don't know what happened." Coleman said he anticipates an Armed Services Committee investigation, but if that doesn't happen he would consider looking into the matter as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. This came at the end of a day where a number of Republican Senators gave unprecedented GOP criticism of Rumsfeld. John McCain, Chuck Hagel, and Susan Collins all belong to a centrist-left coalition that the Bush administration could conceivably ignore on Rumsfeld's status. Trent Lott, more conservative but at odds with Bush since his fall from the Senate leadership position, might also be easily written off as a sorehead. But Norm Coleman has been a loyal voice for Bush in the Senate, so much so that the freshman Senator was given the lead in the UN investigation and is the subject of speculation for the national ticket in 2008. If Coleman has lost confidence in Rumsfeld to the point of threatening an investigation over the armor issue, then the White House -- as I said yesterday -- has a potential meltdown with its own loyalists in the Senate. It's becoming apparent that the GOP expected Bush to replace Rumsfeld in the second term and are quite unhappy with his failure to do so. This has to be about more than up-armoring Humvees; something else is at play here. Whatever it is, the White House needs to either tamp it down quickly or start exploring its options for SecDef in 2005. The issues of Social Security reform and judicial nominations -- not to mention the successful prosecution of the war -- cannot be risked due to disunity over a Cabinet officer.

To: LindyBill who wrote (91102)	12/17/2004 12:04:36 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793789

here is a "news" version of the same story. Christian Protestors Face 47 Years in Jail for Encounter at 'Gay Pride' Event By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Editor December 16, 2004 (CNSNews.com) - Four people who were arrested during a confrontation at an annual homosexual pride event in Philadelphia could spend up to 47 years in prison for public reading of Scripture, an attorney for a pro-family organization said on Thursday. Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the American Family Association (AFA) Center for Law and Policy, is representing the group in court. He claims the Christian activists are being persecuted simply for exercising their constitutional rights. "They were exercising their First Amendment rights in a public forum, and we have videotape that demonstrates that," Fahling said. The case began on Oct. 10, when Repent America Director Michael Marcavage and 10 other persons preached and read verses from the Bible during an annual "gay pride" event known as "Outfest" in Philadelphia. Fahling said that a video of the confrontation showed Marcavage speaking through a bullhorn while he and his supporters were "being shouted down by irate gay activists." However, city officials told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the video did not show the start of the confrontation, when they said Marcavage tried to interrupt an onstage performance with his preaching and then disobeyed a police order to move to the perimeter of the "block party" to avoid the potential for violence. "They were not prohibited from preaching," said Karen Brancheau, a lawyer for the district attorney's office. "A reasonable request was made to prevent a situation from becoming dangerous to their own safety, as well as the safety of the participants." Charges were later dropped against seven people in the "Philadelphia 11" because they were not seen quoting Scripture on a videotape of the incident. However, the remaining four individuals have been ordered to stand trial on three felony counts -- criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation and riot -- and five misdemeanor charges. If convicted, Fahling said, they could face up to 47 years in prison. Charles Ehrlich, the city prosecutor in the case, has called the Christian protestors "hateful" and referred to preaching the Bible as using "fighting words." Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge William Austin Meehan has banned the protestors from doing any type of evangelism within 100 yards of any "gay and lesbian event." This past week, U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker denied emergency relief from prosecution despite video footage Fahling calls "undisputed evidence" that the group cooperated with police and were continually harassed by members of a homosexual organization called the Pink Angels. Then on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit turned down a similar appeal. Since the federal courts did not intervene, the last route for the group to avoid trial would be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Fahling said "First, symbols of Christianity are removed from the public square; now, Christians are facing 47 years in prison because they preached the gospel in the public square. Stalin would be proud," Fahling concluded.