Court Nominee Miers Indicated in 1989 Questionnaire That She Supported Banning Most Abortions
By DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged unflagging opposition to abortion as a candidate for the Dallas City Council in 1989, according to documents released Tuesday. She backed a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure in most cases and promised to appear at "pro-life rallies and special events."

Asked in a Texans United for Life questionnaire whether she would support legislation restricting abortions if the Supreme Court allowed it, Miers indicated she would. Her reply was the same when asked, "Will you oppose the use of city funds or facilities" to promote abortions?

Supporters of Miers' nomination said they hoped the single sheet of paper delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of a shipment of 12 boxes of documents would help reassure rebellious conservatives that she would not disappoint them if she takes a seat on the high court.

President Bush knew of the views she had held before he picked her for the court, spokesman Scott McClellan said at the White House. But he said the president "did not discuss with her or anyone else whether or not those were still her views."

One Democratic supporter of abortion rights responded warily. "This raises very serious concerns about her ability to fairly apply the law without bias in this regard," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. "It will be my intention to question her very carefully about these issues."

Miers also returned a lengthy questionnaire to the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday in which she wrote that the "role of the judiciary in our system of government is limited. ... And of course, parties should not be able to establish social policy through court action, having failed to persuade the legislative branch or the executive branch of the wisdom and correctness of their preferred course.

"Courts are to be arbiters of disputes, not policymakers."

Congressional officials said Tuesday night the committee probably will seek additional information from Miers.

They said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the panel, intends to announce on Wednesday that confirmation hearings will open the week of Nov. 7 and run for four days. Majority Republicans hope for a final vote in the full Senate by Thanksgiving. These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to provide details.

Bush nominated Miers three weeks ago to succeed retiring Sandra Day O'Connor, the justice who has cast the pivotal vote in a string of 5-4 rulings in recent years that sustained abortion rights, upheld affirmative action and limited the application of the death penalty. Many Republicans had hoped Bush would pick a prominent conservative with a long record on abortion and other issues rather than a 60-year-old White House counsel whose private law practice consisted almost entirely of representing corporate clients.

As a result, the appointment has created a political landscape unlike any other in the five years of the Bush administration tepid support at best from conservatives unhappy over a judicial nominee, with Democrats generally content to remain outside the fray rather than interfere in a remarkable round of GOP infighting.

There were some indications during the day that Miers might be gaining ground among Senate Republicans, none of whom has yet to announce plans to oppose confirmation.

Sen. Trent Lott, who spoke dismissively of Miers shortly after her appointment, told reporters it was "more than likely at some point I'll be satisfied. But I'm not there yet." The Mississippi Republican said his concern resulted from dealings he had with Miers over the summer that led him to question her competence. He declined to elaborate.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told reporters he thought Miers was making headway among conservatives.

"Grassroots Republicans that I talk to in Alabama feel positive about her," he told reporters. "I might have liked a different type of nominee but that's the president's. He gets to pick that."

At the same time, other Republicans remained decidedly unexcited. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who met with Miers on Tuesday, said afterward he would have preferred "someone who has stood in there and weathered the attacks and criticism from the left on some of these issues."

While the Texans United for Life questionnaire was unsigned and undated, senior Justice Department officials who briefed reporters said Miers herself had included it in material to be turned over to the Judiciary Committee.

The document consisted of 10 questions and asked candidates to indicate agreement or disagreement based on their views.

In each case, Miers indicated she supported the positions taken by the group. That included support of Texas' ratification of any constitutional amendment that cleared Congress banning abortions except where necessary to prevent the death of the mother and support for legislation "if the Supreme Court returns to the states the right to restrict abortion."

Miers also said she would oppose the use of public money for abortion except when necessary to prevent the death of the mother.

In a separate questionnaire completed for the Dallas Eagle Forum in 1989, Miers indicated she would not support any city ordinance requiring property owners and businesses to "provide accommodations to persons with AIDS ... and those perceived to have AIDS."

Hurricane Wilma blamed for 10 deaths in Haiti

CTV.ca News Staff
 
Updated: Tue. Oct. 18 2005 11:29 PM ET

Ten deaths in Haiti from mudslides have been blamed on hurricane Wilma, which has been upgraded to a category 2 storm.

Forecasters expect Wilma to grow into a Category 4 storm on a scale of five, with winds of more than 210 kilometres per hour when it crosses from the Caribbean Sea into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has the storm crossing southern Florida on Saturday -- although a hurricane's path is difficult to predict.

At 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Wilma was centred about 295 km south of Grand Cayman and about 325 km east-northeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border. It was moving northwest at about 13 km/h.

With maximum sustained winds near 160 km/h, forecasters expect Wilma to further intensify over the next 24 hours.

The storm's outer bands were already causing high winds, rain and surf on the Atlantic coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua.

Emergency crews in Honduras are preparing to evacuate 10,000 people from resort areas potentially exposed to the storm.

"All interests in western Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, and the Florida Keys should monitor the progress of Wilma during the next several days," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory.

The Keys were also planning an exodus.

Forecasters are predicting the storm will travel west and then turn toward the west-northwest, dumping roughly 10 to 15 cm of rain on the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, southeastern Cuba and Honduras.

The official long-range track has Wilma crossing the Gulf between southwest Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, before curving east toward Florida's southern Gulf coast over the weekend.

"There's no scenario now that takes it toward Louisiana or Mississippi, but that could change," Max Mayfield, director of the Hurricane Center told The Associated Press.

Prompting fears the hurricane could move in on the Gulf Coast, which has already been battered this year by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Dennis, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned residents they must be prepared for yet another evacuation.

On Monday, Wilma entered the history books as the season's 21st named storm, matching a 72-year-old record for the highest number of Atlantic storms in a single season.

The last time this many storms formed since record-keeping began 154 years ago was in 1933.

Having become the season's 12th hurricane, Wilma also ties a 1969 record for the most hurricanes in one term.

The six-month hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

Amen Willowbirch. Exactly the point.

[2]

GEEESH!!!  I'm gone for like *counts on his fingers* 2[/b] days and the thread grows to like *counts again*...alot of pages!  Too many for a busy man like me to read!!!

So sum up for me.  Is Cris a guy or a gal?  Is anyone gone to, or headed to jail for hijacking or other offenses?  And, aren't the Colts just the best NFL team around!?!?  

Did y'all miss me?  

I missed ya allinall, glad you're back!  
as for chris, let's just thank God he or she whatever the case may be, is Christian, even though he/ she has not been checking the spelling.
Thank God Cu jail is empty as far as I know.

Thanks!  But I'm going to have to pull out the ol' badge.  Yup.  It's 'bout time this town got cleaned up!  Too many varmits runnin' 'round!  So, I hereby arrest Mr....eh, Mrs...., eh...Cris for Gender Concealment With Intent To Confuse!  You have the right to remain silent on everything but your true gender.  Everything else I don't care about cause I gotta gun and you're goin' to the lockup.   Come 'long... (Not angry.  Just putting on the "bad cop" face  )

LOL .... now that is funny.

You were gone? He he.  (Just kidding)

I'll run away before I get in to much trouble.

Nice to see you back.

   That was funny!  

I didn't know you were gone either Allinall. Maybe that's because I didn't look "behind me".    

[2]

GEEESH!!!  I'm gone for like *counts on his fingers* 2[/b] days and the thread grows to like *counts again*...alot of pages!  Too many for a busy man like me to read!!!

So sum up for me.  Is Cris a guy or a gal?  Is anyone gone to, or headed to jail for hijacking or other offenses?  And, aren't the Colts just the best NFL team around!?!?  

Did y'all miss me?  

Hello Allinall,



First, YES, we missed you!

Second, the gender of Chris has been made a matter of National Security. I received an email from Carl Rove to not talk about this subject and to refrain from relaying anything he might have or might not have revealed about Chris.  

Third, we have all been indicted, and there is nobody left to serve the warrants and cart us all off to the CU jail. The staff of the CU jail has also been indicted, so there is nobody left to be in charge of us or feed us. So, we have a CONUNDRUM!  

I had a conundrum once.  But after the surgery and analgesic cream, I'm feeling much better!  

I thot dis is a conundrum.

"blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12)

Amen to all the points and may I add to this to pray for unity in "One Nation Under God".

I have ADD also....  and I just kepp adding and adding and adding more posts to the many I already have.

Dreamweaver,

Brother, we are all still praying for you. Just rest and heal up.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 104:33-34 NASB  I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.  Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD.

Amen.

Heavy Snow Falls On Mount Washington

POSTED: 11:16 am EDT October 17, 2005

MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. -- Just last week, the summit of Mount Washington was basking in 50-degree record temperatures, but that has all changed.

Winter weather came early to the highest point in the northeastern United States. As of Monday morning, more than 18 inches of snow and ice had accumulated on the summit, which was being hit by blowing snow and sleet.

Chilly winter forecast for U.S. Northeast - EarthSat


NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. households should brace for a frosty winter, particularly in the Northeast which is the biggest consumer of heating oil around, private forecaster EarthSat predicted on Monday.

"The current winter outlook is colder than last year and much closer to the 30-year normal for the national average expectation," EarthSat said in its revised outlook.

"The focus of the coldest anomalies should be more frequently toward the East Coast rather than the Mid-Continent," EarthSat said.

The outlook is bad news for Americans already facing record high prices for heating oil and natural gas.

The EarthSat forecast showed natural gas consumption-weighted heating degree days -- a measure of temperature below 65 degrees Fahrenheit -- averaging about 7.5 percent greater than last year for December through February.

The forecast will make this winter roughly in line with the 30-year average, but significantly colder than the five and 10-year averages, EarthSat said.

"We've had a very active hurricane season, a weak El Nino, and a hot summer. These things tend to translate into a colder winter," said EarthSat's Matt Rogers.

The U.S. West is expected to average warmer than normal.

Earthquake shakes southern Peru, no damages

Associated Press

Lima (Peru), October 18, 2005

A moderate earthquake has shaken Peru's southern coast, causing alarm in some cities and towns but no damage or injuries, the country's Geophysics Institute said.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck at 2.22 pm on Monday close to the town of Tarata, 930 kilometres southeast of the capital, Lima, the institute said in a statement.

Tremors were felt strongly in Peru's second largest city, Arequipa, 750 kilometres southeast of Lima, and in the country's southernmost city, Tacna, where people rushed from buildings into open streets and plazas, local radio reports said.

Earthquake shakes Greece's eastern Aegean islands
17 Oct 2005 06:50:22 GMT
Source: Reuters

ATHENS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring magnitude 6 rocked Greece's eastern Aegean islands at around 0545 GMT on Monday, but no injuries or serious damage were reported, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.

The earthquake's epicenter was located near the Turkish coastline, about 250 kilometres east of Athens and jolted the islands of Samos, Ikaria and Chios.

"So far no damage has been reported in Samos prefecture," the chief of the island's fire department told Greek TV.

Light earthquake reported off California coast
10.17.2005, 04:42 AM

LOS ANGELES (AFX) - An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale occurred late Sunday afternoon off the coast of California, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake struck 52 miles south-southeast from San Clemente Island, CA, and 70 miles west-southwest from Coronado, CA at 2111 GMT, the USGS said in a preliminary report.

The USGS described the temblor as a 'light earthquake.'

A spate of quakes, including one of 7.0 magnitude in June, has raised concerns about the possibility of a strong earthquake hitting the region.

Earthquake death toll could top 54,000
Last Updated Mon, 17 Oct 2005 19:37:33 EDT
CBC News

Officials from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir say the Oct. 8 earthquake's death toll will be "not less than 40,000" in that state alone, meaning that the disaster may have claimed more than 54,000 lives in all of Pakistan and India.

About 13,000 people died in other parts of Pakistan, with officials saying the toll could jump sharply as relief teams reach more remote villages. So far, 1,350 people have been reported dead in Indian-controlled parts of Kashmir.

The grim numbers were released Sunday, as heavy rain and lightning storms continued to ground helicopters trying to bring aid to northern Pakistan, where almost 2 million people are homeless because of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake.

Flooding on many roads also halted the delivery of aid by truck.

The storms eased on Monday, allowing deliveries to resume.

Survivors have hiked out from remote regions in search of aid, while soldiers, relief workers and volunteers continue to carry in supplies by foot.

About 65,000 people were injured in the earthquake. Many have yet to be treated, and there have been reports of infection and gangrene setting in.

One-fifth of ravaged villages still beyond reach

Nine days after the quake, both Pakistani government officials and the U.S. State Department estimated Sunday that one in five villages in the stricken zone had yet to receive any help.

A pilot for the U.S. military who had been flying over Kashmiri villages to try to assess the damage told Reuters news agency that many of them looked fine from above, but were actually only intact roofs lying on the ground.

Many survivors say nothing remains of their homes.

"The whole village is gone," said Rubina Mahmoud, whose village of Bandhi Thanoliya was wiped out by a landslide that killed 30 people.

"Three members of our family are buried under the mud," Mahmoud told CBC News.

"We'll never be able to rebuild," said Raveen Achtar. "There are big cracks in the ground. It will be difficult to go back to our land."

100,000 more tents needed, military says

Through the region on Sunday, many homeless survivors searched desperately for blankets and battles broke out over tents amid temperatures that have dropped to 5 C in most places and below zero in higher altitudes.

Relief agencies are also racing to set up shelter before winter sets in this month.

Maj. Gen. Farooq Ahmed Khan, the Pakistani relief commissioner, said 29,000 tents and 118,000 blankets had been distributed – but estimated that 100,000 tents were needed.

"There are bound to be casualties because of bad weather. How much? I don't know," he told a news conference.

Huge quantities of relief supplies have arrived during the past week and aid workers said there was enough food for everyone – but distribution was often chaotic.

More than 200 military personnel in Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) left by plane for Pakistan on Sunday. The team expects to be fully operational within days.