Youngsters Treated to Lesbian 'Wedding'

Pro-family groups in California are pointing to a recent first-grade field trip as an example of the importance of passing Proposition 8. For the school-sponsored trip, 18 first-graders -- ages 5 and 6 -- were taken to San Francisco City Hall to witness the wedding of their teacher and her lesbian partner. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the school's principal said the field trip was "a teachable moment." In contrast, Frank Schubert, one of the managers for the ProtectMarriage.com campaign in the Golden State, describes the school-sponsored trip as indoctrination of young children. "I doubt the school has ever taken kids on a field trip to a traditional wedding," he quips. Officiating at the lesbian couple's wedding was San Francisco's pro-homosexual mayor, Gavin Newsom. In addition, news reports indicate some of the children who attended the wedding wore "No on 8" campaign buttons.

• JJ Commentary: The entire public school system has become indoctrination centers for the religion of secular humanism and the devil’s anti-family agenda. Christians should remove their children from public schools if at all possible and enroll them in Christian charter schools or do homeschooling.

Muslim Prayer Needs Lead to Work Disputes

Requests by Muslims to pray at work have led to clashes with employers who say they cannot accommodate the strictly scheduled prayers. The conflicts raise questions about religious rights on the job. Muslims say they are being discriminated against and are taking their complaints to the courts and the federal government. Employers say the time out for prayer can burden other workers and disrupt operations. Last year, 2,880 complaints of religious discrimination were filed with the EEOC, which enforces federal employment discrimination laws. Muslims filed 607 of them, more than double the annual number a decade ago.

Lawsuit Against God Dismissed

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has thrown out a Nebraska legislator's lawsuit against God, saying the Almighty wasn't properly served due to his unlisted home address. State Sen. Ernie Chambers filed the lawsuit last year seeking a permanent injunction against God. He said God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants." Chambers thinks he's found a hole in the judge's ruling. "The court itself acknowledges the existence of God," Chambers said Wednesday. "A consequence of that acknowledgment is a recognition of God's omniscience." Therefore, Chambers said, "Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit."

Bottled Water Contaminated

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants, including cancer-linked chemicals three times higher than California's health standard, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group. The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say. Lab tests detected 38 chemicals in 10 brands, with an average of eight contaminants found in each kind of bottled water. Tests showed coliform bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. The two-year study was done by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation. It bought bottled water in California, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

Hawaii Drops Universal Child Health Care

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is dropping the only universal child health care program in the United States just seven months after it launched. Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan. "People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. State health officials stated that most of the children enrolled in the universal child care program previously had private health insurance, indicating that it was helping those who didn't need it.

• JJ Commentary: In this fallen world, there will always be cheaters to spoil good intentions.

Economy (The Third Horseman)

WASHINGTON — When the sun set on the nation's capital Tuesday, it marked the end of one era in the nation's political economy and the beginning of another. American taxpayers had become partial owners of the nation's nine leading banks, with more to come. President Bush on Tuesday announced a $250 billion plan by the government to directly buy shares in the nation's leading banks, saying the drastic steps were "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it." "These efforts are designed to directly benefit the American people by stabilizing the financial system and helping the economy recover," he said. U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on news of the plan, following big gains overnight in Asia and Europe. Treasury will buy up to $250 billion in preferred stock from banks, including nine major financial institutions. The government will buy the stock "on attractive terms that protect the taxpayer," the administration's top financial leaders said in a statement outlining the program. Some of the nation's smaller banks will accept Washington's plan to buy stock in their institutions, but most will weigh concerns about financial stigma and Big Brother oversight before deciding whether to opt in, banking industry officials said Tuesday. Banks must decide whether to participate by Nov. 15.

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland followed the lead of other European countries and the United States on Thursday by announcing it would support its banking system with billions of dollars. The main recipient will be UBS, which is being offered up to 54 billion Swiss francs — $47.2 billion — so that it can part with securities that have gone bad since the start of the worldwide financial crisis. Switzerland's largest bank, which racked up losses and write-downs totaling about $40 billion over the past year, will also receive $5.25 billion from the government in return for mandatory convertible bonds.

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday the U.S. bank bailout was insufficient to quell investors' fears and the lack of confidence is contributing to the renewed plunge in global stock markets. After Wednesday's 700-plus-point Dow loss, Asia stocks followed U.S. stocks into the pit. Tokyo's benchmark index lost 1,089 points, falling to 8,458.45 — its second-worst day ever and worst since the Oct. 19, 1987 stock market crash. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 4.8%, South Korea's Kospi 9.4%, Singapore's Straits Times index 5.3%. In Europe, losses were lighter. In London, the FTSE 100 index was down 3.21% and had fallen below the 4,000 level in early afternoon trading. In Paris, the Cac 40 index was off 3.94%. In Frankfurt, the Dax had dropped 2.68%.

NEW YORK (AP) — The government's report that retail sales plunged in September 1.2% — almost double the 0.7% drop analysts had expected — raised the possibility that consumers may not be as willing to reach for their wallets in the coming months as they worry about a shaky economy. The Commerce Department report is sobering because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

WASHINGTON — The manufacturing sector, reasonably strong until lately, is taking a severe tumble to recessionary levels as credit tightens, exports slow and domestic demand falls. Manufacturing production fell 2.6% in September, the biggest monthly decline since May 1980, when the USA was in recession, the Federal Reserve said. Factories cut production of wood products, machinery, electrical equipment, appliances and furniture. Business-equipment production fell 7% last month, suggesting companies were cutting spending even before the financial turmoil intensified in recent weeks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Construction of new homes fell to a 17-1/2 year low in September and the worsening housing slump and growing turmoil in financial markets helped pushed permits for new homes to a nearly 27-year low. With falling home prices, soaring foreclosures and financial turmoil curtailing the availability of mortgages for prospective home buyers, builders in September were clearly bracing for a deeper downturn. The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage this week hit 6.46%, up from 5.94% last week, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The average retail price for gasoline fell 33.3 cents over the last week to $3.15 a gallon, the biggest price decline ever recorded by the government, the Energy Department said on Tuesday. The national price for regular unleaded gasoline is the cheapest since Feb. 25, but is still up 39 cents from a year ago. Consumers were getting a break at the pump because of dropping gasoline demand and falling crude oil costs. As of Friday, the average price had fallen even more to $3.04 per gallon.

WASHINGTON — Neither President Bush nor the two men vying to succeed him, John McCain and Barack Obama, has won the confidence of a majority of Americans that he and his advisers will be able to "fix" the nation's economic crisis, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. Two-thirds of those surveyed say their personal financial situation has been harmed by the mortgage meltdown and the stock market's fall, and even more expect to suffer long-term damage. They are braced for more bad news: 73% call the economy "poor," a record high, and 84% predict it's going to get worse. A record 91% say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States, the highest in the three decades.

Weather Signs

WASHINGTON — Autumn temperatures in the Arctic are at record levels, the Arctic Ocean is getting warmer and less salty as sea ice melts, and reindeer herds appear to be declining, researchers reported Thursday. The report, compiled by 46 scientists from 10 countries, looks at a variety of conditions in the Arctic. The region has long been expected to be among the first areas to show impacts from global warming. Autumn air temperatures in the Arctic are at a record 9 degrees above normal. The study also noted a warming trend on Arctic land and increase in greenness as shrubs move north into areas that were formerly permafrost.

California Wildfires

LOS ANGELES — Strong desert winds gusting to as much as 70 mph whipped up wildfires along the northern edge of Los Angeles on Monday, destroying homes and forcing hundreds to flee. Two deaths were blamed on the fires in the San Fernando Valley. County Fire Inspector Frank Garrido said the dry Santa Ana winds became "a blowtorch" as the flames whipped through canyons that separate suburban homes from the mountainous Angeles National Forest. City and county firefighters were battling one fire that had consumed 5,000 acres along the northeastern edge of the San Fernando Valley when another erupted to the west above the Porter Ranch area. It also had consumed about 5,000 acres as of Monday night. Freeways and other roads around the northeast edge of the city were closed. Flames jumped the Foothill Freeway, an eight-lane thoroughfare that firefighters had hoped would provide a natural line to stop the fire's advance. At least 1,200 people were evacuated from about 400 homes. County Fire Capt. Mark Savage said 37 or 38 mobile homes were destroyed by the Marek Fire. TV news helicopter crews reported seeing perhaps 10 homes destroyed by the Sesnon Fire. As of Friday, the two fires were almost fully contained, but had destroyed more than 50 homes and blackened over 25,000 acres.

A respite in Santa Ana winds allowed firefighters to beat back flames that continued to whirl dangerously close to homes Wednesday morning along the city's northwestern suburbs. The fire, one of three major blazes that have burned 34 square miles of Southern California, was 20% contained late Tuesday night. More than 250 firefighters helped corral a wildfire on an island in San Francisco Bay Monday. The blaze on Angel Island, which started around 9 p.m. Sunday, had grown to 380 acres by Monday afternoon but was 75% contained. Smoke spread across the bay and the smell of flames permeated surrounding communities. The 740-acre island is the largest in San Francisco Bay and is home to scores of historic buildings, including an immigration station that was the first stop for many people coming to the U.S. in the early 1900s. None of the buildings was damaged, according to Dave Matthews, park superintendent.

No. 2 al-Qaeda Leader Killed in Mosul

BAGHDAD (AP) — The No. 2 leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Moroccan, has been killed in the northern city of Mosul, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The death was a major blow to the terror network as American commanders have warned it remains a significant threat despite recent security gains. The insurgent leader became the senior al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of northern Iraq in June 2007 and had "historic ties to AQI founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and senior al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan," the military said.

Combat Breaks Out at Thai-Cambodian Border

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A gunfight broke out Wednesday between Thai and Cambodian troops at a disputed border zone near a landmark 11th-century temple, killing two Cambodian soldiers and escalating a conflict that has raised fears of war between the neighboring countries. They were the first deaths in four months of fighting — the latest flare-up in a decades-long dispute over a contested stretch of jungle near the Preah Viheara temple. The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but sovereignty over some surrounding land has never been clearly resolved. A Cambodian army official said Thursday that Thai and Cambodian military commanders have agreed to stop fighting a day after a deadly gunbattle between troops at a disputed border.

Clashes in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Thousands of Kashmiris demanding an end to Indian rule clashed Friday with government forces who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them, leaving 18 people injured, police said. In Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir, thousands of Muslim protesters took to the streets after offering noon prayers in city mosques. They hurled rocks at police who also chased them with batons. There also were peaceful street demonstrations in Baramulla, Sopore and Anantnag, key towns in the Indian portion of Kashmir, police said. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where most people favor independence from mainly Hindu India or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan.