This month's issue contains:
The News
- Elian Gonzolez remains in the U.S.
- Supreme court considers grandparents' visitation rights
- Disparity in men's and women's longevity on Federal roadmap
- DNA evidence is not enough
- Massachusetts provides state babysitters, helicopter for top working mom
- Law professors concerned over lack of conservative views
- Virginia uses pink boots to collect child support
- Clinton asks for funding to narrow the wage gap
- Kansas officials appeal to overturn dead-beat parants mandate
- Court rules Germany's ban on women in combat violates EU rules
Public Service
The news
Elian Gonzolez remains in the U.S.
In a story that has taken many twists and turns, 6-year old Elian Gonzolez remains in the United States away from his father, Juan Gonzolez who lives in Cuba. Elian is the center of an international political dispute, pitting anti-Castro Cuban expatriates and their political supporters against the wishes of his father and the Cuban Government. Elian was one of three survivors last November who were fleeing Cuba to seek asylum in the United States. Ten others died in the journey, including Elian's mother. Elian is now staying with relatives in Florida who wish to have permanent custody of the boy.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) representatives have visited the boy's father in Cuba and find him to be a competent parent, and recommends reuniting the boy with his father in Cuba. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno supports the INS position and authority in this matter. However, a Federal judge in Miami has blocked the return and ordered that the boy remain with his Florida relatives until a custody trial is held, now scheduled for March. A motion for a quick trial was denied. The INS states that it, and not the courts, has sole jurisdiction in the case, a position supported by the Justice Department. The INS has not acted to take charge of the boy at this point, in defiance of the court order.
Several opponents of sending Elian back to Cuba have managed to block it. House member Dan Burton (R-Indiana) issued a Congressional subpoena to the boy to prevent his return. Also, Representatives McCollum and Menendez introduced bills before the U.S. House that would grant Elian U.S. citizenship, thus making it hard for the INS to deport him. Concurrent resolutions were also introduced stating that Congress should respect the judgment of the INS and return the boy to his father. Congressional watchers expect that the citizenship bills will be slow to reach the House floor for a vote.
Both of Elian's Grandmothers have visited with him in Florida on "neutral" territory provided by the National Council of Churches who arranged the meeting. Worldwide and in the U.S. there is growing support for returning the boy, and condemnation of the U.S. actions so far. Protestors in Ottawa Canada charge the U.S. with kidnapping. Even some Cuban Americans, a stronghold of anti-Castro politics, are joining the call to return Elian to Cuba.
Sources
7 Jan 2000, USA Today
10 Jan 2000, The Washington Times
12 Jan 2000, The Washington Times
16 Jan 2000, The Washington Post
23 Jan 2000, The Washington Post
30 Jan 2000, The Washington Post
Reported often in most major newspapers.
What do you think? - Should Elian be returned to his father and grandparents in his homeland, or kept in the United States?
Supreme court considers grandparents' visitation rights
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Grandparents may sue for visitation rights in the state of Washington. Washington state law permits anyone to seek visitation rights, provided they can demonstrate that this was in the child's best interest. Similar laws exist in all 50 states. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that their law was invalid, thus denying Gary and Jenifer Troxel's appeal for the right to visit their granddaughters, ages 8 and 10, on a twice-per-month basis. The children's mother, Tommie Wynn, claimed that such frequent visits would be too difficult to arrange. Ms. Wynn is in her second marriage after the children's father committed suicide in 1993. The state court ruled that "a parent's constitutionally protected right to rear his or her children without state interference has been recognized as a fundamental liberty," and that "parents have a right to limit the visitation of their children with other persons."
Source
13 Jan 2000, Seattle Post Intelligencer
Editor's comment: it is sad that Ms. Wynn has taken this position. The larger issue is what affect, if any, the Supreme Court ruling might have on a father's visitation rights following a divorce.
Disparity in men's and women's longevity on Federal roadmap
On Tuesday, January 25, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released Healthy People 2010, the nation's decade-long blueprint for health. According to Healthy People 2010, "men have a life expectancy that is 6 years less than women and have higher death rates for each of 10 leading causes of death. For example, men are two times more likely than women to die from unintentional injuries and four times more likely than women to die from firearm-related injuries."
For the first time, the highest health officials in our country acknowledged the existence of problem that has killed hundreds of thousands of American men in the previous 100 years. See Men's Health Action Alert for details and the 73 Healthy People objectives that document men's health disparities.
Source
29 Jan. 2000, Edward Bartlett, PhD, NCFM
Editors note: Unintentional injuries are 5th on the list of leading causes of death (4.1% of the total). These are the examples of health disparity that the DHHS report chose to highlight. The lion's share of causes of death remains heart disease, followed by cancers. It is a positive and long over-due development that men's health has been recognized as a problem in America.
What do you think? - Should longevity be a gender issue? What about race?
DNA evidence is not enough
Syndicated columnist Clarence Page reports for the Washington Times that proving innocence in a rape conviction is not as simple as producing DNA evidence. In the case of Clyde Charles, 46, he was released after serving 18 years for a crime he did not commit in a Louisiana prison. He was lucky because the evidence has not been lost or destroyed, as it has been in many other cases. The Innocence Project at New York's Benjamin Cardozo Law School, Yeshiva University successfully sued the state in 1998, allowing Charles to be retested. Retesting is not automatic. Mr. Charles had to agree not to sue the state for false imprisonment as a condition of being retested.
In neighboring Texas, Roy Criner, 34, remains in prison despite two DNA tests that refute the evidence against him. Criner, serving a 99-year sentence for rape and murder, has not been granted a retrial. Judge Sharon Keller in the Texas case was quoted saying, "Oh, I suppose that's a possibility [that Criner could be innocent], but he certainly hasn't established it." It is not enough that the state no longer has proof Criner is guilty, Judge Keller states, Criner must now establish that he is "unquestionably innocent." Criner's defenders restate the situation, "Innocence is not a basis for getting out of prison in this country."
Source
3 Jan 2000, The Washington Times
Massachusetts provides state babysitters, helicopter for top working mom
Massachusetts' lieutenant governor and foremost working mom, Jane Swift, found herself in hot water this month. Ms. Swift, a 34 year old Republican, apologized after a week of criticism for using state aides to baby sit, and for taking a state police helicopter home when her 14 month old daughter had pneumonia. Her apology came too late; local radio shows have been deluged with comments. Democrats have been swift to take advantage of the embarrassment. Swift stated during her campaign, "I'm convinced I can be a great statewide candidate and a good partner for the governor and be a mom all at the same time." Mrs. Swift's husband was described as a stay-at-home dad, and he typically takes care of the children during the day.
Source
14 Jan 2000, The Washington Times
What do you think? - Should government provide working women with child care services? Should it provide working men with child care services?
Law professors concerned over lack of conservative views
Several law professors are criticizing the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), saying the conference lacks diversity of viewpoints, particularly that of conservatives. The AALS has been active in developing "diversity" as it applies to race and gender, but in doing so it has effectively excluded conservative thinking, and a range of thinking on issues such as affirmative action. The most recent meeting of the AALS had the theme, "a recommitment to diversity," described as ironic by law professor Michael Krauss. Law professor George W. Dent notes that conservative attorney groups like the Federalist Society and the legal wing of the National Association of Scholars were not allowed to hold meetings at the conference. Harvard law professor Charles Fried notes, "as the roster of speakers and topic announcements make clear, diversity certainly does not mean - though this is supposed to be a meeting of scholars and intellectuals - diversity of ideas and points of view."
Source
6 Jan 2000, The Washington Times
Editors comment: this story reflects on gender issues and the legal system. The credibility of organizations such as the AALS and ultimately Government Departments like the Justice and Labor, is certainly undermined by the loss of critical dialog. It is important to recognize the technique by which dissenting and critical viewpoints are systematically excluded, thus undermining the academic process.
Virginia uses pink boots to collect child support
The state of Virginia has started using pink and powder blue car boots as a weapon to collect child support payment from delinquent parents. The program started in Fairfax County in 1998 and has gone statewide. Virginia statistics indicate there are 100,000 parents (mostly men) who collectively owe $1.65 billion. The state already tows offenders' cars, suspends licenses, and issues posters featuring the "Delinquent Dozen." Kent Willis of the ACLU describes the boot as another example of humiliation as punishment, stating, "This is part of a whole trend to reverse the way we do criminal justice and civil justice to a system we were using in the 17th century."
Source
4 Jan. 2000, The Washington Times
Clinton asks for funding to narrow the wage gap
Clinton held a Whitehouse press event this month to support a $27 million requested increase in funding to support his new "equal pay initiative." $10 million will go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to pursue cases filed by women seeking pay commensurate with men. The remaining $17 million will go to the labor department to train women in non-traditional jobs, and to encourage industry to retain and promote women. The total EEOC budget requested by the Whitehouse is $322 million.
Labor Secretary Alexis Herman stated that women earn 75 cents for every dollar earned by men. Contrary to research by the Independent Women's Forum, the National Science Foundation, and others, Herman also stated that differences in experience, training, and occupation did not explain the gender gap in pay. Clinton repeated this claim in his speech to reporters and members of Congress in attendance. Clinton also made the point that women live "a few years" longer than men, thus many more elderly women have less savings and social security to depend upon in retirement. Congress will now consider the proposed Federal budget, which, if approved, should take effect on October 1 of this year.
Source
24 Jan. 2000, The Washington Post
Editors note: Women currently live an average of 6 years longer than men in America. This is further discussed in our story titled, "Disparity..." above.
Backlash Editor's note: When the total income earned by American women is divided by the total income earned by American men, the proportion is 75%. However, even the most incompetent statistician would not attempt to use this as a basis for making an "apples-to-apples" comparison as the only relevant comparisons are within job category by wage or salary for actual work done. Moreover, truly accurate comparisons can be done only on a case-by-case basis - the salary of a female CEO at a brand new start-up cannot be compared to the salary of the male CEO of a well-established multi-billion dollar corporation.
What do you think? - What about the earning disparities due to race, geographic origin within the U.S., and other factors? Should the government be involved in addressing this issue? If so, to what extent? Why?
Kansas officials appeal to overturn dead-beat parants mandate
Kansas state officials filed an appeal in Federal court in an attempt to overturn congressional mandates directed at deadbeat parents. The state says Congress overstepped its authority by threatening to withhold more than $130 million annually in funds to Kansas if the state doesn't overhaul its system of collecting child support payments. The appeal states that the mandates unduly interfere with states' rights. The Kansas Attorney General's office says, "Under the guise of cracking down on so-called dead beat dads, the Congress has required the states to carry out a massive and intrusive federal regulatory scheme by which personal data on all state citizens." The data would include employment, bank account and utility records of "all state citizens" so they can be located at any time. At issue are a total of 94 mandates, ranging from restricting or denying licenses to punish dead beats, to requiring employers to provide information on newly hired employees.
Source
22 Jan. 2000, The Topeka Capital-Journal
Court rules Germany's ban on women in combat violates EU rules
The European Union's (EU) high court ruled this month that Germany's ban on women performing combat duty violates EU legislation requiring equal treatment of the sexes. Tanja Kreil, 23, brought the case after being refused an army job working on weapons systems in 1996. Currently, German forces allow women only in army hospitals or as musicians. Some leaders of the conservative Christian Democratic party expressed concern that the court's decision was a "flagrant" violation of basic national constitutional law as well as European law. These same leaders also acknowledge that the ban on women bearing arms no longer fits the times and that constitutional changes may be needed.
Source
12 Jan 2000, The Washington Times
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