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[12/06/1997 – 01/12/1998]
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Tape Restoration Project (TRP) Email from the Default Bucket
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Fenceberry ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 6-DEC-1997 08:44:00.00
SUBJECT: Articles 12.6.97
TO: Paul J. Yandura (Paul J. Yandura@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN D
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
1. GARY POST TRIBUNE Letter: Time for persecution of homosexuals to stop
2. BOULDER DAILY CAMERA Local man composes requiem as his response to
AIDS
3. ABC (Australia) Tasmanian government rejects finding on transexuals in
sport
4. ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS Letter: Think Before You Write Or Sue
5. ASSOCIATED PRESS Gay Pride March - Candace Gingrich, "Ellen's" mom
to
attend gay pride festival in South Carolina
6. FEEDBACK A "navy violation website" (on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell
policy)
POST TRIBUNE, December 5, 1997
1065 Broadway,Gary,IN,46402
(Fax 219-881-3232)(E-MAIL: [email protected])
(http://www.post-trib.com/main.html)
Letter: Time for persecution of homosexuals to stop
About "the poster" when will it end?
I refer to the flap over the now infamous poster at Chesterton High
School.
I refer specifically to recent letters to the editor about some of the
people
on the poster being gay or bi-sexual.
Ed Gustafson of Chesterton writes that "Eleanor Roosevelt had five good
friends who were lesbian."
I've often read you are judged by the company you keep. He further says
"Michaelangelo was never married and fathered no children." That is a
fairly
good indication of his sexual identify. He further says "Errol Flynn was
"seduced" by homosexual friends once or twice. Give me a break! One grown
man
does not "seduce" another grown man into homosexuality.
I think twice is enough to a least admit he's bisexual. Gustafson
mentions
Virginia Woolf, whoever this is, that she had a brief lesbian affair with
a
famous lesbian friend, but she too, was not gay or bisexual. Come on people
get real!
It takes one to know one and after reading his comments I definitely
think
the people on the poster were members of the gay community.
The problem, it seems, is heterosexuals want to believe that one must be
straight to be of any value. They love to think all gay people are bad or
worthless.
Some people are born left-handed; most are born right-handed. I can
remember when society tried to force left-handed people to become right-
handed, so they would be normal.
I say there's nothing wrong with left-handed people or gay people or
people
with slanted eyes or various skin pigmentation. What is wrong is the notion
that we all must look and act and think alike.
If I am homosexual and I treat people decent, hurt no one, love children
and protect animals - why do you single me out to persecute? Why does who I
love bother you so?
Enough of this hatred. I'll say it once more: Accept it that one in 10
people are gay, lesbian or bisexual. That's a lot of people. If you can't
accept us, at least stop persecuting us.
-- Shirley Dronin, Valparaiso
DAILY CAMERA, December 2, 1997
1048 Pearl Street,Boulder,CO,80306
(Fax 303-442-1508)(E-mail: [email protected])
(http://www.bouldernews.com)
LOCAL COMPOSES REQUIEM AS HIS RESPONSE TO AIDS
Toby Tenenbaum is all too familiar with death.
His mother died in 1993, his nephew in 1994, his lover in 1995. He then
learned that he is HIV positive.
As a member of the gay community, he has known many who have died of
AIDS.
"I lost 20, 25 of my friends at a certain point," he said.
His response to the tragedies was to compose a requiem - music written
for
the dead.
During a vigil for World AIDS Day, he and a choir of almost 30 showcased
part of that work, "Requiem for chorus a cappella," composed during the
last
two years.
The full requiem will be sung for the first time March 29. Dozens of
community members showed up Monday at St. John's Episcopal Church downtown
to
listen to what Tenenbaum and his choir composed.
In the end, audience members - gathered in a candlelit room - rose to
their
feet, embracing the spirit of the piece.
"I know the people in there were really moved," Tenenbaum said later. He
said he hopes the piece will be used for anyone who has lost someone they
love.
"This is not about me saying, 'hey folks, I am dying of AIDS,`" he
said. "I
hope it is just a good piece of music."
Tenenbaum is not sure who the piece is dedicated to, but there were many
times he wondered if he would live to see the work finished.
"I feel deep down that I was writing my own requiem," he said.
The most unique part of the work is that - unlike in most requiems - the
choir is not accompanied by musical instruments. That's because Tenenbaum,
a
41 1-year-old piano teacher, wants his music to be easily used by any church
choir. He also hopes it will someday be available on CD, so it can be
listened
to at home or in a car.
ABC Australia - Online News, 4 December, 1997
TAS Govt rejects finding on transexuals in sport
The Tasmanian Government has rejected the findings of a Senate report
which
recommends that transexuals, who were formerly males, should be allowed to
compete in women's sporting events.
Minister for Arts, Sport and Recreation, Sue Napier, says the finding of
the
majority report by Labor and Democrat Senators is outrageous.
Mrs Napier says it is well known that there are physiological
differences
between men and women, which are not altered by a sex change operation.
The Minister says if adopted, the Senate finding could see women
competitors
competing against athletes who were born male and have biological strength
advantages.
ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, December 5, 1997
P.O. Box 149001,Anchorage,AK,99514-9001
(Fax 907-258-2157) (E-MAIL: [email protected])
Letter: Think Before You Write Or Sue
A few weeks ago I received a mailing for an upcoming Out North Theatre
production which showed an energetic trio, two males and a female, with the
female, unclad above the waist, discreetly unrevealing. The picture didn't
bother me, but I realized Anchorage Assembly members, looking at next
year's
funding assistance for this outstanding group, might hold other views.
Soon afterward, even closer to the Assembly hearing on FY99
recommendations
from the Anchorage Arts Advisory Commission -- which would include the Out
North stipend -- the local media began to cover the progression of the
sexual
discrimination lawsuit of Out North guiding lights Jay Brause and Gene
Dugan.
"Good timing, you guys!" came across my mind as it became obvious Brause
and Dugan had created an untimely controversy.
In its Sunday, Nov. 23, issue, the Daily News, in its main editorial
and an
arts editorial, seemed to be fanning the fire in a way certain to furnish
no
assistance to Out North, yet guaranteed to heat things enough to provide a
negative spinoff for all cultural organizations and educational arts
funding
during the upcoming legislative session. "Good timing, you guys!"
Over the past five years or so I have been trying to explain to good
friends who are liberals that the power of the right will continue to grow
in
the foreseeable future.
The editors of the Daily News should ask themselves this: If (as will
probably come to pass within the next four years) my tax money in the form
of
school voucher payments goes to a private school which teaches that God put
dinosaur bones in the ground to test my faith, or that homosexuals are
evil,
or that Jews killed Christ and ought to be forever held accountable, or
other
such nonsense, should we protest this use of our tax money? Should we
litigate? Should we work to get politicians more amenable to our views in
office?
If the answer to any of the above reactions is "yes," then the stance
of
the ADN on the current Out North issue strikes me as hypocritical.
It's time for some hard, pragmatic thinking at Out North -- and at the
Daily News.
-- Philip Munger, vice president
Arts for Healthy Alaskans
ASSOCIATED PRESS, December 5, 1997
Gay Pride March
Candace Gingrich, "Ellen's" mom to attend gay pride festival
By JEFF SHAIN
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) With a Village People concert banned by a
-
developer
worried about promoting homosexual values, House Speaker Newt Gingrich's
half-
sister said Friday she will attend this spring's gay-pride festival in
Myrtle
Beach to make a point.
"It's 1997 and denying people access to public accommodations should
be a
thing of the past," said Candace Gingrich, who will be there with Betty
DeGeneres, entertainer Ellen DeGeneres' mother.
Ms. Gingrich, a grass-roots coordinator for the Human Rights Campaign in
Washington, has openly declared her homosexuality.
Ellen Degeneres caused a stir this year when she said she was homosexual
and her television character also declared her homosexuality. Her mother
is a
spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project,
the
first heterosexual to have that role.
``I think these two are so significant," said Tony Snell, co-chairman
of
the South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement. "It's a sister of one
of
the most powerful men in America, and it's a straight mother of one of the
most famous celebrities in America."
On Thursday, Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc. nixed the proposed concert
promoted by an association of nightclub owners at its Broadway at the Beach
complex.
``It's still very disappointing to know that there are people in this
country to forget what country we're living in," Ms. Gingrich said.
"The idea that they feel they have a right to put pressure on tenants
and
a right to dictate who they should be doing business with - it's very
disappointing to know that's still happening."
The band once was known for drawing a large following among the gay
community, but band member Eric Anzalone said it now appeals to a larger
audience.
Festival organizers had worked for weeks to attract Ms. Gingrich and
Mrs.
DeGeneres, who was taping an episode of her daughter's comedy show on
Friday
and was unavailable for comment.
The ninth annual festival is scheduled for April 30-May 3. Last year it
was
held in Greenville, where the county council passed a resolution condemning
homosexuality, and in Columbia previous years.
Festival co-chair Linda Robertson said organizers were trying to find
another location for The Village People, the colorful six-man '70s band
riding
the wave of a disco comeback.
The group is best known for the songs "Macho Man," "Y.M.C.A." and
``In
the Navy." Each member dresses in costumes of a macho-male stereotype: a
biker, a serviceman, a construction worker, a cowboy, a police officer and
an
American Indian.
Anzalone, the biker, told The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News the group would be
willing to work out another deal to come to the festival.
"It's been awhile since we've had a cancellation," he said. "We've
never
had anything like this happen."
FEEDBACK Forwarded From: [email protected]
(Regarding website on Navy's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy)
Well, the lawyers have finally approved the web site and it is online
and
open to the public. I hope to start my e-mail campaign later on this
week. I
appreciate any help in spreading the word. Here is the link to the opened
web site. <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9241/index.html'>Navy
Violation Web site</A>
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 8-DEC-1997 13:23:00.00
SUBJECT: Civil rights activist Neas challenges Rep. Morella; HRC stands
TO: Paul J. Yandura ( Paul J. Yandura@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Washington Blade
http://www.washblade.com
December 5, 1997
Civil rights leader Ralph Neas challenges Morella
Human Rights Campaign says it will stand behind Morella, despite her DOMA
vote
by Kai Wright
Civil rights activist Ralph Neas announced on November 17 that he will
challenge five-term Republican incumbent Rep. Constance Morella next year
for Maryland's 8th district Congressional seat. Both candidates have been
strongly supportive of equal rights for Gay people throughout their
political careers.
Neas will enter the Democratic primary in the Congressional district, which
includes Montgomery County. Montgomery County Democratic Party chair George
Leventhal said one other person has expressed interest in entering that
primary, a farm worker named Don Deichman. Deichman ran a grassroots
campaign for the seat in 1994.
Human Rights Campaign political director Winnie Stachelberg told the Blade
that HRC, the nation's largest independent Gay political lobby group, will
endorse Morella in the race and that the organization has committed to
making a financial contribution to her campaign. Stachelberg said that,
while HRC does not have a "litmus test" in deciding which candidates it
will support, the organization decided to support Morella because of her
documented record of support for Gay civil rights during her five terms in
congress.
Stachelberg pointed to Morella's support for the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), of which she was an original co-sponsor, her
role in blocking an amendment to the 1997 Department of Defense
reauthorization bill that would have forced the discharge of HIV
seropositive servicemembers, and her contributions to securing increases in
federal AIDS funding over the years as proof of the moderate Republican's
"solid record" on Gay civil rights.
During the 1993 debate on the ban on Gays serving in the military, Morella
also voted for legislation which sought to block Congress' codification of
the current 'Don't ask, Don't tell' policy in that year's Department of
Defense reauthorization bill.
"The Human Rights Campaign has been a long time supporter of Connie
Morella, and will continue to support her," explained Stachelberg. "Connie
Morella continues to be a very strong voice for the Gay community in
Congress."
But Morella was among those who voted in favor of the 1996 Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA). Neas told the Blade that he strongly opposes DOMA.
"[DOMA] represents the worst of how Congress works," said Neas, "and it's
Gay and Lesbian bashing at its worst."
Neas also reaffirmed his support for ENDA. Since the summer of 1996, he
has served as a "strategic consultant" on ENDA for HRC. In addition, Neas
noted that he is opposed to the military's current policy of not searching
for Gay servicemembers but forbidding them from engaging in same-sex
sexual conduct or admitting their sexuality.
Maryland's Gay political action committee, Action in Maryland (AIM), has
not decided which candidate the group will support in the race, said AIM
chair John Bunting. Bunting said the group has been focusing on statewide
races but plans to discuss the 8th district race in the coming weeks.
The chair of Montgomery County's Gay and Lesbian Interests Consortium
(GLIC), Laura Butterbaugh, said GLIC had not taken a position in the
contest either. But she noted Morella's support for the local Gay
community.
"Connie Morella has been very interested in our community," said
Butterbaugh, pointing to her regular attendance at Gay events such as the
county's Gay pride festival.
Neas worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to two Republican senators in the
1970s, until he fell ill with a disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome at
the end of the decade. When he recovered in 1981, Neas left Capitol Hill
and became the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).
Under his 15-year tenure at LCCR, the organization helped successfully
fight the U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork and was involved in
several progressive causes throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, ranging
from the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the creation of
family-leave laws in the workplace.
In a speech announcing his candidacy, Neas cited these battles and noted
his support for Gay civil rights as LCCR's head.
HRC's Stachelberg acknowledged that support and noted that Neas was
instrumental in bringing HRC into the 185-organization coalition. And,
while noting HRC's "long standing relationship" with Neas, Stachelberg said
the group was excited to see a race with two supportive candidates. She
noted that one of HRC's goals is to create races such as this one.
In his announcement speech, Neas said that although Morella has "earned our
admiration and appreciation" as a moderate voice within the GOP, she has
failed to provide sufficient opposition to what he characterized as a drift
to the right in the Republican party since 1994.
"The era of the moderate Republican is over. In today's Republican party
there's no room for moderates or progressives," said Neas. "[The Republican
party] is the sworn enemy of civil rights and women's rights. It revels in
Gay and Lesbian bashing."
Until last year, Neas described himself as a "progressive Republican." In
1996, however, he registered as a Democrat.
The filing deadline for the 8th district will not come until next summer.
But, thus far, Neas seems to be the front runner for the Democratic
nomination.
"Ralph Neas is clearly the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination
in the 8th District," said party chair Leventhal.
Morella's Chief of Staff told the Washington Post after Neas' announcement
that the representative does not plan to begin her campaign for several
months.
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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To: (LGBT Political Activists)
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN D
CREATION DATE/TIME: 8-DEC-1997 16:33:00.00
SUBJECT: WOCKNER/INTL NEWS #189/8 Dec 1997
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN D
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Please do not forward to anyone for 2 weeks. My work needs to have a chance
to run in the newspapers that buy it before it is splattered all over
cyberspace. Violators, of course, will be summarily deleted from all
Wockner mailing lists. :-) Thanks, Rex
= INTERNATIONAL NEWS #189 - Dec 08, 1997 =
=
(c) Rex Wockner
=
BRITAIN TO LIFT GAY BAN
Britain will move this winter to lift its ban on gays in the
military rather than be forced to do so by rulings expected from
the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of
Justice.
Proposed legislation reportedly draws on the U.S.' failed 'don't
ask, don't tell' policy.
One of the European cases likely will open the floodgates for
about 4,000 gays and lesbians who were kicked out of the military
since 1978 to sue for damages -- at a cost to the British
government of up to $1.7 billion.
"As well as compensation for loss of pay and pensions, sacked gay
personnel will get massive punitive damages for being put under
surveillance, arrested, interrogated, imprisoned and humiliated,"
said gay activist Peter Tatchell of the group OutRage! "For every
week the government continues to defy the [European Union] Equal
Treatment Directive, the bill grows bigger."
BRITISH LIKE GAYS MORE THAN BEFORE
Forty-two percent of Brits believe gay sex is "always or mostly
wrong" according to a new Health Education Authority survey.
That's down from 74 percent in a 1987 poll.
HEA spokesman Rodney Amis called the results "encouraging"
because "a more tolerant attitude towards gay and bisexual men
will enable HIV/AIDS health promotion to be more effective."
The survey questioned 1,442 people.
GAY GROUP PICKETS NAZI GOLD CONFERENCE {photo sent}
Members of the gay group OutRage! picketed the London conference
on looted Nazi gold Dec. 2 demanding compensation for gay victims
of Nazism.
They were greeted with a smile and wave from British Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook as he entered Lancaster House.
"Robin Cook's friendliness was surprising because the Foreign
Office has opposed gay participation in the conference," said
OutRage's Peter Tatchell. "Invitations were refused to the World
Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations and to the
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).
In contrast, Jewish and Gypsy groups were officially encouraged
to participate, and are attending."
Outrage demanded that where owners of looted gold cannot be
traced, it should be used to compensate holocaust victims who
have been refused reparations by the German government, including
East European Jews, slave laborers and gays.
"Some of the gold should be set aside to finance memorials,
educational programs and museums in honour of forgotten victims
of Nazism, such as Gypsies, the disabled, homosexuals, and black
people," the group added.
OutRage! also says gay community groups should receive a share of
the looted gold to finance a gay holocaust memorial and museum,
educational films about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals for
distribution to schools, and a hardship fund to support elderly
gay holocaust survivors.
IGLHRC Executive Director Julie Dorf called it
"unacceptable that there [was] no gay and lesbian voice officially
recognized" at the conference.
{Photo caption: IGLHRC Executive Director Julie Dorf. Photo by
Rex Wockner}
ANTI-GAY AUSSIE MP CAUGHT BUYING GAY PORN
Anti-gay Member of Parliament Mike Reed, the deputy chief
minister and police and fire service minister of Australia's
Northern Territory, is doing some fancy talking after being
caught buying gay porn on a trip to Sydney.
A Darwin man familiar with Reed's homophobic rants followed him
into a sex shop and observed the purchases.
Reed claims he bought the two videos and the magazine as
background material for parliamentary debate on lowering the age-
of-consent for gay sex.
But opposition MPs are not having it. "Nobody believed the deputy
chief minister in terms of his research story," said Opposition
Leader Maggie Hickey. "It was hypocrisy of the highest order
[and] we call on the chief minister to sack his deputy."
GREEKS SUPPORT OFFICIAL WHO HAD AFFAIR WITH TRANSSEXUAL
Eighty-two percent of 20,000 Greeks who called a TV-station
phone-in poll oppose the disbarring of Athens Deputy District
Attorney Giorgos Sakellaropoulos for having an extramarital
affair with a transsexual who used to be a transvestite hooker.
For his part, Sakellaropoulos, 44, is threatening to take his
case to the European Court of Human Rights.
"I'm guilty, but I disagree with my punishment," he said. "My
personal life concerns only me and nobody else."
SWEDISH MAN SUES EU FOR SPOUSAL BENEFITS
A Swedish man married under that nation's gay partnership law has
filed suit with the European Court of Justice's Court of First
Instance demanding that his employer, the European Union Council
of Ministers, grant benefits to his husband.
Gay-marriage laws in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden grant
all rights of matrimony except access to adoption, artificial
insemination and church weddings.
The man, who chose not to be identified, says the council's
inaction violates European law, the council's own staff
regulations and the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
HUNGARY HALTS ANONYMOUS HIV TESTING
Hungary's parliament has passed a law eliminating anonymous HIV
testing, and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights
Commission is mounting a repeal campaign.
"State medical authorities in Hungary have routinely failed in
the past to respect the privacy of sensitive medical
information," said IGLHRC Advocacy Coordinator Scott Long.
"Activists from the gay magazine MASOK have documented cases of
persons -- whether testing positive or negative for HIV -- who
were intimidated and threatened by staff at the State Institute
of Venereology to reveal names of sexual contacts. They have also
found evidence that medical files were conspicuously labelled to
indicate the subject's homosexuality. This new policy will open
the door to still greater abuses [and result in] fewer people
being tested for HIV, driving them underground beyond the reach
of counseling and treatment."
IGLHRC urges protests to the Hungarian Parliament (Magyar
Orszaggyules) at Orszaghaz, Kossuth ter 1-3, H-1055 Budapest,
Hungary.
-end-
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CREATOR: rwockner ( [email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 9-DEC-1997 18:31:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5581: AOL profile sinks sailor
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained *
*
--->
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
Washington Blade
Dec 5, 1997
Navy tries to oust sailor over AOL profile
HONOLULU Navy officials recommended the honorable discharge of the senior
enlisted official stationed aboard a Navy submarine in Pearl Harbor Nov.
7, after a civilian woman reported that the man described himself as "gay"
in a personal profile for America Online.
The man, Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh, said the Navy is
investigating him in direct violation of President Clinton ,S "don ,t ask,
don ,t tell" policy on Gays in the military. (This Timothy McVeigh is not
to be confused with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy J. McVeigh).
"There is a procedure that they are supposed to follow under the "don ,t
ask" policy, and clearly they did not," said Kirk Childress, whose
Washington, D.C.-based Servicemembers Legal Defense Network monitors
alleged violations of the policy and is assisting McVeigh.
Childress said McVeigh was charged with "sodomy and indecent acts" after a
civilian woman who works with McVeigh read an AOL profile that she
believed to be McVeigh ,S.
According to news reports, McVeigh ,S AOL profile included the word "Gay"
under a category that asked for marital status.
Neither McVeigh nor his attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Derek Cole, could be reached
for comment.
Speaking to a reporter last month, McVeigh said the charges against him
have not been substantiated and that he has never acknowledged being Gay,
the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported.
McVeigh told the newspaper that he included the word "Gay" in his AOL
profile because "I have dedicated so much of my life to the military, I
really didn ,t want to get married and be out to sea all the time. Nor did
I want to have children and not be there to see them grow up." He added,
"To me, [Gay] is a word. It wasn ,t put there as a statement at all," the
newspaper reported.
Cmdr. Betsy Bird, Navy spokesperson, would not comment on the charges
against McVeigh and said only that the Navy "is involved in an
administrative process" regarding McVeigh, according to the Star-Bulletin.
The Bureau of Naval Personnel is expected to issue a final decision
regarding McVeigh ,S status within the next 12 weeks, said Childress.
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CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:18-DEC-1997 16:06:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5654: Lambda beats DoD over gay school groups
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* The following material is not copyrighted and may be reprinted or *
* forwarded freely.
*
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Peg Byron, 212-809-8585, ext. 230, 888-987-1984 (pager), David
Buckel, 212-809-8585
Thursday, December 18, 1997
PENTAGON REVERSES DECISION TERMINATING GAY YOUTH GROUP
New Policy For Youth Support Groups in Civilian Schools Worldwide
(NEW YORK, December 18, 1997) -- Lambda has just learned that a lesbian
and gay youth support group is now safely back in place in Okinawa, Japan,
after the United States Department of Defense issued a new policy allowing
such groups in DOD civilian schools worldwide, reversing an order that
prohibited the group.
In October, 1996, a DOD official ordered the lesbian and gay youth support
group to stop meeting at a Pentagon-operated high school in Japan. He
cited the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in support of the order. The
youth were devastated, and a supportive teacher called Lambda for help.
Lambda, on their behalf, demanded that the Pentagon end the discriminatory
treatment and reinstate the group.
Lambda argued that DOD has consistently claimed that "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" is justified and applies only in the "unique circumstances of
military life," not to any DOD-related civilian population.
Congressperson Barney Frank (D- Mass.) wrote in support of the effort to
reinstate the group.
In October, 1997, the General Counsel of the United States Department of
Defense announced new "group counseling protocols" that establish non-
discriminatory ground rules, allowing for lesbian and gay youth support
groups, and other such groups, in the Pentagon's civilian high schools
worldwide. After following the new protocol, the Okinawa group now has
been reinstated.
"The group's counselor has just confirmed that the group is indeed safely
in place again," said David Buckel, one of Lambda's attorneys on the case.
"I got a note of thanks from the group this week, and one student said,
"This group helped me find out who I am, and now I'm finding out who I can
be."
"Especially so far from home, young gay and lesbian people need support to
cope with discrimination and harassment," added Buckel. "This group, led
by a teacher and a counselor, helps build self-esteem and enables the
students to get the most out of their DOD education. Harming young people
whose parents are in the military certainly cannot be justified by the
harsh Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law that applies to service members."
30
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:19-DEC-1997 16:12:00.00
SUBJECT: Navy Secretary denies witch hunt claims
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
HONOLULU ADVERTISER, December 18, 1997
P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96802
Fax 808-525-8037
[email protected]
SECRETARY DEFENDS NAVY ON GAY POLICY
By Jean Christensen, Advertiser Staff Writer
Navy Secretary John Dalton yesterday said he does not agree with
claims
that
witch hunts are being conducted to weed out gay and lesbian members of the
military in violation of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell' policy.
During a question-and-answer session with reporters at Pearl Harbor,
Dalton
declined to discuss a Navy investigation of Senior Chief Petty Officer
Timothy
R.
Mc Veigh, a Pearl Harbor submarine crew member who says he is being unfairly
charged with sodomy because of information he included in an America Online
user profile.
But Dalton, who ended a four day stay in Hawaii yesterday, defended
the
1993
Clinton administration policy allowing homosexuals to serve in the
military as
long
as they do not disclose their sexuality.
Gay, rights groups have criticized the policy, saying it has resulted
in
more service members being discharged for homosexuality than before it went
into effect.
"I do know that we have not been engaged in witch hunts and have no
intention to be engaged in witch hunts," Dalton said. "The policy that the
president
announced with the support of Congress several years ago is working, and I
think working well."
McVeigh, a 17-year Navy veteran, has said investigators concluded he
is
gay
based on an inquiry that was triggered when a civilian employee alerted
Navy
officials to his America Online profile. The profile, under the user name
"Tim," had
the word "gay" in the section for marital status.
McVeigh, 35, said his use of the term did not mean, he was claiming
to be
homosexual. He has declined to reveal his sexual orientation.
Dixon Osburn, co-director, of the Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network in
Washington, D.C., said Dalton's remarks about the "don't ask, don't tell"
policy were surprising because Defense Secretary Cohen has expressed
concern
about allegations of witch hunts and asked for a review of the policy.
Cohen "has taken very seriously the allegations that the witch hunts
continue, that the discharges continued," Osburn said. Osburn's group
provides legal aid to
members of the military who are identified as being gay and is assisting
McVeigh in his appeal of a Noverber recommendation that he be separated
from
the service and given an honorable discharge.
McVeigh's case illustrates that whatever the intention of 1993 policy,
the military is aggressive in going after gay and lesbian members, Osburn
said.
"Under 'don't ask, don't tell,' there is this concept of a zone of
privacy," he said. "Service members were supposed to have a little more
wiggle
room. One would think that private statements that are made on AOL are not
the
sort of thing that the military should be interested in."
McVeigh could not be reached yesterday for comment. U.S. Rep. Neil
Abercrombie, D-Hawai`i, who attended a breakfast with Dalton and 38
enlisted
sailors yesterday, said he has received letters about the McVeigh case and
has
looked into it.
"I think it is being investigated in a straightforward way, and I have
complete confidence in Secretary Dalton," Abercrombie said. "He is not a
dissembler. He'll tell you exactly what he thinks and how it's going. I
think the situation will be resolved."
Abercrombie said of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy: "It's the
president's policy, period. And in some respects, unless the Congress
wants
to start micromanaging the policies of the services--I don't think they
are--it's a question of making sure that, whatever the policy is, that it's
followed correctly and there's not some kind of subterfuge or a nod and a
wink
as to how it's enforced."
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:23-DEC-1997 20:04:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5680: "Gay Bowel Syndrome" doesn't exist
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 13:19:54 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Scarce <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: GAY HEALTH ACTIVIST CALLS FOR ABANDONMENT OF "GAY BOWEL SYNDROME"
GAY HEALTH ACTIVIST CALLS FOR ABANDONMENT OF "GAY BOWEL SYNDROME"
Binghamton, NY - December 23, 1997 -- In the latest issue of the Journal
of Homosexuality (Vol. 34, No. 2), gay health activist and scholar Michael
Scarce calls for the abandonment of the medical term known as "Gay Bowel
Syndrome (GBS)." First coined in 1976 by a group of New York physicians
in private practice, Gay Bowel Syndrome was used to refer to any anorectal
problem experienced by gay men.
The problems with the naming of GBS are numerous. None of the
conditions that constitute Gay Bowel Syndrome are gay-specific, not all of
the conditions are confined or specific to the bowel, and the collection
does not meet the medical definition of a syndrome. As a misnomer, Gay
Bowel Syndrome has lent itself to more than twenty years of stigma,
judgment, and discrimination against gay men under the thinly veiled guise
of medical authority.
GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency), the original name for AIDS,
was abandoned in the early 1980s when it became obvious that AIDS was not
specific to the gay community. However, GBS continues to be used today,
even in medical textbooks published as recently as this year. The
implications of this exceed the realm of pure semantics, however. Scarce
cites a case study in which a gay man was misdiagnosed with GBS when in
fact he had colon cancer. In addition, Gay Bowel Syndrome has provided
fodder for anti-gay attitudes for more than two decades. In his research,
Scarce notes, "The syndrome has been invoked in practically every
gay-related controversy in recent years, including the Colorado Amendment
2 hearings, the gays in the military debate, proposed legalization of
same-sex marriage, the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and
more."
Until now, gay and lesbian political movements have failed to
address Gay Bowel Syndrome or articulate an effective argument to counter
the negative effects caused by this medical falsehood. Scarce's article
sheds light on how social prejudices can be embedded in science: the case
of GBS illustrates how homosexuality is often wrongly equated with
disease.
To speak with Michael Scarce directly, contact (614) 292-0479.
###
The Journal of Homosexuality is published quarterly by The Haworth Press.
To request a sample copy or for more information, please contact:
The Haworth Press
Attn. Mark Camp
10 Alice Street
Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
Ohio State University Rape Education and Prevention Program
464 Ohio Union
1739 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-0479 phone
(614) 292-4462 fax
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN
CREATION DATE/TIME:23-DEC-1997 12:17:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5674: Waybourn buys Houston Voice
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Contact:
William Waybourn
(202) 223-0554
Chris Crain
(404) 876-1819
Window Media Purchases Houston Voice
Plans to Expand & Enhance Houston's Gay and Lesbian Newspaper;
Continues Window Media's Efforts to Boost Gay Media Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. - HOUSTON -- Crad P. Duren, M.D., and the principals of
Window Media, LLC, announced today the pending sale of Houston's gay and
lesbian newspaper, Houston Voice, to Window Media, owners of Southern
Voice in Atlanta. The newspaper will change ownership effective January
1, 1998.
Duren, owner of Houston Voice since 1993, said he is very optimistic about
the future of Houston Voice with Window Media. Since taking over with his
late partner Tad Nelson, the newspaper has dramatically improved in
content and advertising. Duren credits the talent and dedication of the
staff for this growth. Duren now looks forward to the Houston Voice
continuing its expansion as part of Window Media. "This affiliation with
Window Media will allow Houston Voice to become part of, at an early
stage, the premier gay and lesbian news organization in the country."
Window Media is the creation of William Waybourn, President of Window
Corp., a Washington, D.C. public relations firm. Waybourn most recently
served as Managing Director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD), a media watchdog group, and was founding Executive
Director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a successful gay political
action committee. In creating Window Media, Waybourn and his partners
share a common goal of funneling capital to promising gay and lesbian
media businesses. "Capitalizing on the successful acquisition of Southern
Voice earlier this year, we wanted to act on our second purchase,"
Waybourn said. "Houston Voice fits our criteria perfectly and we were
pleased that negotiations finalized quickly." "Other acquisitions are in
negotiations," according to Waybourn.
"The model we will look to when managing Houston Voice is the same
model that has worked well in Atlanta. A newspaper by the local community
for the local community," Waybourn said. Waybourn emphasized that the
Houston staff will manage the newspaper, and be responsible for its
content, while Window Media will offer additional resources to continually
improve its quality.
Waybourn is joined in Window Media by founding partners Chris Crain, Rick
Ellsasser and Chad Johnson. Crain, editor and publisher of Southern
Voice, is an Atlanta attorney formerly with the firm Alston & Bird. Rick
Ellsasser is a Vice President and partner in Window Corp., directing the
public relations firm's West Coast efforts. Johnson is an attorney with
the New York firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, in its
Washington, D.C. office.
"Editorial management of Houston Voice will remain at the local level,"
Waybourn said. "We are fortunate to be coming to Houston at an exciting
time. The recent election of Annise Parker as the first openly gay or
lesbian member of the Houston City Council is the next step in the
maturity of the Houston lesbian and gay community. We want to be a
participant in that process," he said.
"If you look at the work we've done at the Victory Fund and GLAAD, the
goal has always been to put national financial resources into the local
community. Of course, we have a number of exciting ideas to expand and
improve the newspaper. We believe Houston Voice has a strong role to play
in the community," he said.
Waybourn is a native Texan, born in Houston in 1947. Waybourn worked for
10 years as an editor for two Texas daily newspapers. A former Dallas
activist, he was president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance, and
instrumental in the growth of the lesbian and gay community there
throughout the 1980's. While in Dallas, Waybourn was fundamental to the
creation of gay and lesbian institutions including the community center,
AIDS clinic, food bank, credit union, credit card, and a young adult's
discussion and support group. In the early 1980's Waybourn, Bill Nelson,
Terry Tebedo and Craig Spaulding founded Dallas' Crossroads Market, a
multi-purpose store serving Dallas' gay and lesbian community.
Subsequent to selling Crossroads Market in 1991, Waybourn moved to
Washington, D.C., where he founded the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a
highly successful political action committee devoted to raising money for
openly gay and lesbian political candidates and served as its executive
director for four years. "Houston was an integral partner in the growth of
the Victory Fund," Waybourn said. "Thanks to early interest on behalf of
many Houstonians, including former board member Annise Parker, we were
able to help elect numerous openly lesbian and gay candidates to public
office," he said.
Three years ago, Waybourn formed a public affairs and marketing firm,
Window, to assist with positive interaction between mainstream
corporations and the lesbian and gay community. The Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) subsequently hired Window for two
years to restructure GLAAD from a loose confederation of chapters into a
single cohesive national organization. Today GLAAD maintains fully staffed
offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Atlanta and
Kansas City.
Last year, Window Media LLC was formed with partners Ellsasser and Johnson
-- who have worked with Waybourn since the early days of the Victory Fund
-- and Crain, who began working with the team during Waybourn's tenure at
GLAAD. Ellsasser manages the business aspects of Window Media, and
previously managed the day-to-day operations of both the Victory Fund and
GLAAD. A graduate of Drake, Ellsasser is a degreed accountant and also
serves as a partner in Window Corp.
Johnson, a graduate of Harvard Law School, serves as strategic and legal
counsel for Window Media. He is also the General Counsel of the Victory
Fund, national co-chair of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and a
Window Corp. partner.
Crain, also a graduate of Harvard Law School, manages the editorial and
operations aspects of Window Media and serves as editor and publisher of
Southern Voice. Crain's background in journalism, newspaper management
and law serves him well as publisher and editor of Southern Voice. Crain
edited three award-winning university publications, the Harvard Law
Record, the Vanderbilt Hustler, and Versus Magazine, and was a reporter
with The Tennessean, Nashville's morning daily paper. Crain has played
significant roles in several major gay civil rights cases, including the
first legal attack on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy to
reach the Supreme Court, and the child custody case of Sharon Bottoms, the
Virginia lesbian whose mother sued for custody after learning of Sharon's
sexual orientation.
A former attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. Crain moved
to Atlanta in 1995. While an attorney at Alston & Bird, he served on the
board of directors of Georgia's Stonewall Bar Association, was president
of GLAAD/Atlanta, and served on the national GLAAD board of directors.
Since Window Media's August purchase of Southern Voice, the newspaper has
grown from an average of 48-52 pages to 60-64 pages, and continues to grow
with increased advertising revenue and editorial content. In addition to
increasing the content and quality of the paper, Southern Voice remains
active in Atlanta's gay and lesbian community through event sponsorships
including AID Atlanta, AIDS Walk, Georgia Equality Project, Positive
Impact, AIDS Survival Project and many other community based
organizations.
Outgoing Houston Voice owner Duren is a Houston physician specializing in
internal medicine and HIV disease. He has worked in Houston since 1982.
Prior to medicine, Duren studied journalism while attending college at
Belloite College in Belloite, Wisconsin. Duren went on to receive his
medical degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In 1993,
Duren and Nelson purchased the Houston Voice, at which time Nelson took
over as editor. Following the sale of Houston Voice, Duren plans to devote
more time to his medical practice.
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: nobody ([email protected](
GTW
OWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME:29-DEC-1997 21:40:00.00
SUBJECT: Guest_Book_WH_WWW_MAIL
TO: guestbook ( guestbook@EOP [ UNKNOWN])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Remote host:
ww-tf06.proxy.aol.com
Remote IP address: 152.163.197.242
BROWSER:
IWENG/1.2.003
[Sender information]
PERSONAL-NAME: Bob Mauro
[Message information]
SUBJECT:
Vote of confidence for the President & Mrs. Clinton
[Message content follows]
Dear President & Mrs. Clinton:
I am sure that you are as tired of the harassment you rec. be from the
press and
others.
I just want you to know that I appreciate the difficult (' ditions that
RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: nobody ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY[UNKNOWN])
CREATION DATE/TIME:29-DEC-199721:40:00.00
SUBJECT: Guest_Book_WH_WWW_MAIL
TO: guestbook ( guestbook@EOP UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Remote host: ww-tf06.proxy.aol.com
Remote IP address: 152.163.197.242
BROWSER:
IWENG/1.2.003
[Sender information]
PERSONAL-NAME: Bob Mauro
[Message information]
SUBJECT:
Vote of confidence for the President & Mrs. Clinton
[Message content follows]
Dear President & Mrs. Clinton:
I am sure that you are as tired of the harassment you receive from the
press and
others.
I just want you to know that I appreciate the difficult conditions that
face you on a daily basis
and want you to know that even though some of your decisions have
disappointed me, I fully support
you and will abide with your actions. "Don't ask - Don't tell" was a
particular soft spot for me,
but I do realize that the National Armed Forces may not be ready at this
point.
I have seen the picture of the White House and the Christmas Tree and you
and Mrs. Clinton and also "Socks"
I wonder if it would be possible for me to arrange to receive a copy of
your photo by the tree to add to my collection of the two post cards you
have already maield me
to acknowledge my past correspondence wityou.
I would like to wish you and Mrs. Clinton, the very best New Year ever.
May it bring you good health, happines and good fortune.
Also, please Mr. President, could you see if you might make the media and
others begin to show some respect for you and your position.
It really ruffles my feathers, when I hear you and Mrs. Clinton referred
to as "Clinton" and Mrs. Clinton as "Hillary".
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Keywords: WWW-Correspondence; Guest_Book
Comments: Forwarded from White House WWW.
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Wockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:30-DEC-1997 14:49:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5711: Lambda 1998 forecast
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein (Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* The following material is not copyrighted and may be reprinted or *
* forwarded freely.
*
EMBARGOED FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1997
Contact: Peg Byron, 212-809-8585, ext. 230, 888-987-1984 (pager)
Civil Rights Stakes Will Be Highest Ever for Lesbians and Gay Men in 1998
Lambda focus includes marriage, military, employment, and AIDS
(NEW YORK, December 31, 1997) -- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
said Wednesday that the new year will see a record number of lesbian, gay,
and AIDS-related concerns in the country's highest courts.
Lambda, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 1998, has regional
offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and a headquarters in New
York.
"The United States Supreme Court and other high-level courts are expected
to address employment, the military, disability protections, family, and
other fundamental constitutional issues for lesbians, gay men, and people
with HIV in 1998," said Lambda Legal Director Beatrice Dohrn.
"Never have the stakes been so high for the civil rights of our community.
We expect an unprecedented number of decisions from top-level state as
well as federal courts, and they are likely to affect the way lesbians and
gay men are treated across the country for many years to come," Dohrn
said.
In 1998, among more than 50 cases on its docket, Lambda anticipates a
ruling from Hawaii's highest court that may make civil marriage available
to lesbian and gay couples for the first time in this country. State by
state, Lambda also is fighting child custody and adoption rulings that
discriminate against lesbian and gay families. In one such case, North
Carolina's highest court is expected to rule on whether Fred Smith, who is
gay, can have his two sons returned to his care, since his ex-wife won
custody because of his sexual orientation.
In the U.S. Supreme Court this spring, Lambda is coordinating amicus
briefs challenging a Maine dentist's refusal to treat a woman with
asymptomatic HIV. The case, Bragdon V. Abbott, brought by the Gay and
Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, could determine whether the Americans
with Disabilities Act covers hundreds of thousands of people who are
infected with HIV but show no sign of illness.
Also on Lambda's Supreme Court docket is a case on behalf of an Atlanta
lawyer, who was fired from the Georgia State Attorney General's office
because she is a lesbian and had a private, religious wedding ceremony.
Lambda and the ACLU are co-counsel for the lawyer, Robin Shahar.
Lambda awaits a Supreme Court ruling in another employment-related case,
Oncale V. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., for which it authored an
amicus brief joined by the leading women's organizations as well as gay
and other civil rights groups. In this same-sex sexual harassment case,
heard by the Court December 3, Lambda urges that the federal law against
sexual harassment at work be applied without regard to the sex or sexual
orientation of the harasser or victim.
Another challenge to the widespread problem of anti-gay employment
discrimination is one of the first cases to test California's protections
for lesbian and gay workers. Argument against California Casualty
Management's firing of salesman Dan Kovatch is expected before a state
court of appeals in the spring.
In the only active federal appeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Lambda, with
the ACLU, has just filed its brief in Able V. USA. A district-level court
rejected the policy as unconstitutional in July; the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit is expected to hear the government's appeal early
in 1998.
In a renegade decision last fall, a three-judge federal panel disregarded
the Supreme Court's ruling against Colorado's Amendment 2 and upheld
Cincinnati's nearly identical Issue 3, which would prohibit legislators
from approving discrimination protections for lesbians, gay men, and
bisexuals. Determined to put an end to the country's last remaining
anti-gay ballot initiative, Lambda and co-counsel have appealed for a
hearing by the entire Sixth Circuit Court.
Lambda, the oldest and largest lesbian and gay legal organization, itself
was born of a court battle. It incorporated in 1973 after defeating a New
York state court judgment that there was "no demonstrated need" for a
non-profit group defending lesbian and gay civil rights.
"Over the past 25 years, Lambda's lawyers have worked in courtrooms in
every state in the country as well as on U.S. Supreme Court arguments to
protect lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV," said Executive Director
Kevin M. Cathcart. "There is no area of lesbian and gay life unaffected
by Lambda's work from fighting discrimination against gay couples and
families to working to stop anti-gay initiatives and overturn anti-gay
military policies," he said.
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1
RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:30-DEC-1997 14:13:00.00
SUBJECT: WOCKNER/QUOTE UNQUOTE #109/1 Jan 1998
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN D
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Please do not forward to anyone for 2 weeks. My work needs to have a chance
to run in the newspapers that buy it before it is splattered all over
cyberspace. Violators, of course, will be summarily deleted from all
Wockner mailing lists. :-) Thanks, Rex
TO NEWS EDITOR
= QUOTE UNQUOTE #109 - Jan 1, 1998
=
=
by Rex Wockner
=
"We have not been engaged in witch hunts and have no intention to
be engaged in witch hunts. The ['don't ask, don't tell'] policy
that the president announced with the support of Congress several
years ago is working, and I think working well."
--Secretary of the Navy John Dalton at a Honolulu press
conference Dec. 17, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
"Ellen DeGeneres is Entertainer of the Year because, at a time
when an acknowledgment of homosexuality has entered all aspects
of popular culture, when diversity and acceptance are the words
of the day but by no means entirely the deeds, and when more and
more of the sizable population of homosexual men and women
working in the entertainment industry today are weighing the
risks of coming out themselves, DeGeneres allowed herself to
became a poster girl -- not for lesbianism, but for honesty. She
did good, important work, work that continues to shape the public
discourse."
--Entertainment Weekly magazine, Dec. 26.
"[The] new 'Ellen' is almost entirely about being gay in
America. The result has made some heterosexuals queasy ('Can't
she do a show that isn't about being a lesbian?'). But gay
viewers are nearly unanimous, and plenty of heterosexuals agree
with them, in the opinion that a candid 'Ellen' is much funnier
than her confused and closeted predecessor, something critics
have been saying in recent months as well."
--From The New York Times' "Television View" by Charles Kaiser,
Dec. 21.
"I think the climate has certainly changed for gays since Ellen
came out. I just went to the celebration of the 100th episode of
'Ellen,' and I stepped back and thought, this isn't just talking
about it. She did it, and [the series] is still on the air, and
it's 1997. It's a big thing, and we're right in the middle of
it."
--Actress Kathy Najimy (Veronica's Closet) in a Dec. 21
commentary in the Los Angeles Times.
{accent on first a in callate and o in maricon}
"Callate maricon." ("Shut up fag.")
--Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice of the pop group The Spice Girls)
to reporters and photographers who were booing the group Dec. 18
in Madrid at the opening of the new film Spice World. The
journalists were upset at being forced to sign over the rights to
pictures and video footage they shot at a Spice Girls press
conference.
"I'm gay and I'm proud."
--Six-term Ypsilanti, Mich., City Council Member Pam Cuthbert
Dec. 10 at a gay-bar fundraiser for the city's gay-rights bill,
which later passed.
"I was not making any announcement that anyone in the audience
didn't know. I didn't have any intention to make my personal life
a public story. I didn't want [this to result in] a [news]
story at all. I don't think it's the public's business. My
personal, private life is just that, personal and private. And
now it's about to be public."
--Six-term Ypsilanti, Mich., City Council Member Pam Cuthbert to
the Ann Arbor News, Dec. 24. Cuthbert said she spoke to the News
because two gay publications were preparing to report that she
mentioned her gayness at a fundraiser at a gay bar on Dec. 10.
"I think it's the glamour and the theatricality of it all. It's
larger than life. It's the power of it, too; they like a strong
woman, I think. Gay men are very creative and they admire
creativity in others. They know when something is sincere, they
don't just admire anybody. Look at Judy [Garland], she had a huge
gay following. She was larger than life on stage."
--Singer Shirley Bassey in an interview with London's Gay Times,
December issue.
"The leader of the British Conservative Party, Opposition Leader
William Hague, has been sent congratulations by the queer rights
group OutRage! on the occasion of his wedding to Ffion Jenkins
today, 19 December 1997, in the St. Mary Undercroft chapel in the
crypt of the House of Commons. Mr Hague married rather late, at
the age of 36. The announcement of his engagement to Ffion
coincided with his campaign for the leadership of the Tory party
in May 1997. He previously shared a house with another top
Conservative MP, Alan Duncan, who remains one of his closest
political advisors."
--From a press release from the London direct-action group
OutRage!
"The first gay person I saw on TV was a hero of mine, Liberace.
Of course Liberace never said he was gay -- he didn't have to,
did he, dear? And Liberace's glamour! My mother was
enthralled! He was what every straight person wants to think gay
people are like -- so camp, not at all threatening. In 1972 I did
the Royal Variety Show with Liberace. We shared a dressing room,
and I thought 'God, I'd better make an effort.' I had two
fabulous lurex suits run up. Then he wheeled in trunk after trunk
of costumes, including a suit covered with electric light bulbs.
I knew I was outclassed. How could he play the piano with all
those rings on? Maybe that's why he missed some of the notes. He
had fun. He said 'fuck you' to everyone."
-Elton John to London's Gay Times, December issue.
"[Gay Times] Man of The Year? Well, obviously. But Elton John is
the man of all our years. His life story has neatly mirrored that
of all gay men: repressed in the Sixties, a model of Seventies
hedonistic excess, a victim of the Right's homophobic backlash in
the Eighties, then fighting his way forward to something
approaching sainthood today. And he's done it all on pretty much
his own terms."
--London's Gay Times, December issue.
{photo sent}
"When I left the convent, like a lot of women, I came out. 1 was
fortunate that it coincided with Stonewall and the feminist
movement. Today, I am convinced that if I go to hell, it ain't
going to be because I'm a lesbian but because of some deficiency
in my character. Certainly not because I happen to love women."
--Presidential adviser Virginia Apuzzo to the Advocate, Jan. 20
issue.
"I understand from people close to him that he is not homophobic,
but shit, he's the President of the United States. He's a lame
duck. He could do anything he wants, so I question how deep the
belief goes. I think he's soiled his own nest."
--Gay San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano on Bill Clinton, to
Boston's Bay Windows, Dec. 26.
"In the case of marriage, we have always known it as between two
people of the opposite sex and I think that is what it is. A door
is a door and a marriage is a marriage, no matter how many names
you call it."
--Canadian Member of Parliament Tom Wappel, Liberal-Scarborough,
Ont., as he introduced the Defence of Marriage Act to ban gay
marriage, as quoted in Ottawa's Capital Xtra!, Dec. 12.
"Marriage is not, whatever its enemies say, a means to tame or
repress or coerce gay men and women. On the contrary. It is, in
fact, the only political and cultural and spiritual institution
that can truly liberate us from the shackles of marginalization
and pathology. It is the critical institution in our culture
related to the emotional and sexual attraction of one human being
to another--guaranteed under the Constitution to anyone who loves
another person, guaranteed to prisoners and rapists, to deadbeat
dads and the mentally incompetent, to murderers and even aliens.
And yet it is denied to gay men and lesbians. It is the
institution more than any other that links the equality of
politics with the intimacy of the heart. Which is why it is so
strange--but so telling--that we have avoided it as an issue for
so long."
--Writer-activist Andrew Sullivan, writing in the Jan. 20
Advocate.
"There are plenty of people--especially among a few activist
elites--who prefer to chant mantras of decades gone by and
pretend that somehow this is 1957 and straight America is
initiating a Kulturkampf against sex in parks and that somehow
this is the defining issue of our times. But this is nostalgia
masquerading as politics. It is not a 'sex panic,' as they call
it. It is a victim panic, a terror that with the abatement of
AIDS we might have to face the future and that the future may
contain opportunities that gay men and women have never
previously envisaged, let alone grasped. It is a panic that the
easy identity of victimhood might be slipping from our grasp and
that maturity may be calling us to more difficult and challenging
terrain."
--Writer-activist Andrew Sullivan, writing in the Jan. 20
Advocate.
{photo sent}
"Sex with a condom is artificial sex. [But] I want people to stop
calling me an advocate of unprotected sex. It's about respecting
people's decisions."
--San Diego activist and key Sex Panic! figure Tony Valenzuela to
the Advocate, Jan. 20 issue.
{photo sent}
"I've been thinking about each of [my dead friends] so much
recently. Sadly, they come to mind as I've listened to younger
men advocating their right to fuck without condoms. A part of me
wants to support these individual choices (and I do), but another
part sees a generation pissing on the graves of my dead friends
who have already learned the truth about AIDS: it is a terrible
way to die. Last week, rubbing salt in my wounds, I bristled from
the latest mental breakdown of Larry Kramer (see the New York
Times op-ed page, December 12, 1997 ..) and found myself puzzled
at how fate would silence so many good and positive voices, but
leave us with hate-filled men like Kramer.
[M]any of us have
learned the need to be respectful of our gay brothers, even when
we stand on opposite ends of issues. It is a lesson Kramer needs
to learn desperately."
--www.cruisingforsex.com Publisher Keith Griffith, in a Dec. 20
commentary.
"If only he could be avoided. But it's impossible; every time we
begin assuring ourselves that he has sunk forever into the gloomy
miasma of his private demons, the manic half takes over and Larry
Kramer thrashes and lashes to life, like a hungry, demented
crocodile."
-www.cruisingforsex.com columnist John Fall, Dec. 20.
"I never cease to be amazed at the range of what are usually
referred to as 'rules' by which gay men negotiate sex outside
their relationships. There is the time-honoured route of
dishonesty; don't ask, do it anyway. There's the sex with others
is permitted, but don't ask, don't tell. There's sex with other
men but only when both partners are involved. There are men in
relationships who have other sexual lives entirely independent of
their partners. There's sex with other men, but only when out of
town. There's sex with other men, but keep it in the bushes,
don't bring it home. And the list goes on."
--Sex Panic! supporter Steven Maynard writing in Ottawa,
Ontario's Capital Xtra!, Dec. 12.
"The ANC [African National Congress] National Conference
tasks its representatives in all levels of government to
establish equality for lesbian and gay people in the following
areas in particular:
"EMPLOYMENT -- Equal rights for all workers, including lesbian
and gay workers in both the private and public sectors; The
recognition of same sex relationships for worker benefits (e.g.
housing, medical aid and bereavement leave).
"FAMILY RIGHTS -- Custody and access, maintenance, immigration
and adoption rights for lesbian and gay persons and the
recognition of lesbian and gay families; Establishing the equal
right to marry for people of the same sex.
"YOUTH -- The appropriate inclusion of lesbian and gay youth in
all youth programmes, policy and law; The protection of lesbian
and gay youth from discrimination at home, at school, on the
streets and in the media; Equalising the age of consent; Running
programmes to counter anti-gay prejudice and inclusive sexuality
education programmes for all scholars."
--From a resolution passed by South Africa's ruling African
National Congress at their 50th National Conference, Dec. 20.
-end-
-- Rex Wockner's "Quote Unquote" is archived from mid-1994 onward
at
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/wockner.html
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY. [ UNKNOWN
CREATION DATE/TIME:30-DEC-1997 21:00:00.00
SUBJECT: Times Square OK for military
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Navy Times, January 5, 1998
(E-MAIL: [email protected])
NEWS BRIEFS
Times Square OK for military
When a local politician declared war on military recruiters, New York
mayor Rudolph Giuliani came to the Pentagon's rescue.
In September, New York City Councilman Tom Duane, D-Manhattan, an
openly
gay politician, decided that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy
violated city laws protecting homosexuals. Duane wanted to force Navy,
Marine,
Army and Air Force recruiters out of the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in
Times Square, a kiosk recruiters have occupied since 1946.
Despite efforts by Duane and other gay-rights activists, Giuliani is
safeguarding the military's rent-free stronghold on 43rd Street.
In a letter to Giuliani Dec. 16, Defense Secretary William Cohen
wrote:
"For more than 50 years, the Department of Defense and New York City have
enjoyed a common heritage in having the Armed Forces Recruiting Booth
located
in Times Square. Not only is it one of the military's most viable
recruiting
stations, it is also an important symbol of American patriotism for Times
Square visitors."
Responding to Giuliani's public comments about the center's rundown
appearance, Cohen agreed that the 360-foot center could stand a facelift.
Cohen wrote, "we have requested (that) the New York District of the
Army
Corps of Engineers oversee renovation efforts of the recruiting booth in
the
near future."
Plans to renovate the center aren't available to the public yet, but
Army
Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Sue Hopkins said that the kiosk is
structurally
sound. However, she said, "we are aware that it needs to be fixed up."
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME:30-DEC-1997 21:56:00.00
SUBJECT: A look back on the news of 1997
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Forwarded From: [email protected]
I've gone through and created a list of the highlights from 1997 in the
fight for equal rights. It makes for some great reading to get you in the
mood
for a New Years Eve party! Reading it through really makes a person see
just
how far we've come in one short year.
I've attached the list below. I don't know if this is something you
might
be interested in sending out as a "special" or whatnot. If you don't want
to
send the whole list out, it is also located on the web at
http://www.turnleft.com/out/1997.html
January
*Lacey, WA enacts anti-discrimination ordinances protecting gays
*Tumwater, WA enacts anti-discrimination ordinances protecting gays
*Over 200 polities now have laws banning anti-gay discrimination covering
1/3
of the US Population
*Cobb County GA rescinds anti-gay resolution
*Openly gay congressman Kolbe (R-AZ) chairs appropriations subcommittee
*Fremont, CA schools ban anti-gay harassment
*MA jury awards man $1.2 million for anti-gay discrimination
*Travis County Texas swears in nations first out lesbian sheriff
February
*Christian Coalition denounces bombing of lesbian bar
*US AIDS deaths drop 27% in past 6 months
*CA court rules student newspaper may run ad for gay youth group
*MCC admitted to Ecumenical Council
*Washington marriage ban vetoed
*LAPD forced to pay $$ for anti-gay harassment
*Baseball great Al Kaline apologizes for anti-gay slur
March
*Alaska court grants DP benefits for University of Alaska
*First US Senator grants DP benefits for staffers
*Bank of America announces DP benefits
*St. Louis enacts DP registry
*NY court expands gay parents' adoption rights
*West Hollywood, CA elects gay majority to city council
*Number of gay-straight clubs at high schools up over 10 times from 5 years
ago
*Gay/Lesbian liason to President gets status boost to "Special Assistant"
April
*"Ellen" becomes first gay prime time lead, wins time slot
*Arizona enacts hate crimes bill protecting gays
*RI, WA, CA, LA anti-marriage bills all fail
*Catholic Church calls homophobia a sin, says celibate gays are "holy"
*Michigan man awarded 10 million in gay bashing suit
*Gay candidates win municipal elections in San Mateo and Redwood City CA,
as
well as Oak Park and Erie Illinois.
*SF 49ers become first pro sports team with DP benefits
*Several studies confirm lesbians make good mothers
*IL court strengthens lesbian adoption/custody in state
*Court strengthens Chicago's anti-discrimination law
*Court upholds New Jersey gay civil rights law
May
*Anti-marriage bills die in conservative Texas and Nebraska
*Santa Barbara, CA gains DP registry
*Maine enacts statewide anti-discrimination law protecting gays (pending
referendum scheduled for February 1998)
*DNC announces DP benefits
*University of Washington adds DP benefits
*St. Petersburg Times adds DP benefits
*City of Chicago adds DP benefits
*Wisconsin court upholds Madison anti-discrimination ordinance
*Chevron Oil adds DP benefits
*Northern CA's major utility company adds DP benefits
*Alabama ban on gay school clubs struck down
June
*Pride month ends, over 50 US celebrations with several million
participants
make it largest ever
*Clinton issues pride proclaimation, first ever from US President
*Ohio court rules sexual orientation should not affect adoptions
*Florida court upholds lesbian "pre-nuptial" agreement
*New Hampshire enacts state-wide anti-discrimination bill protecting gays
*Colorado anti-marriage bill vetoed for 2nd time
*Los Angeles unified school district adds DP plan
*City of New Orleans adds DP benefits
*Blue-Cross, HealthNet and PacificCare add DP coverage to insurance plans
*Historic San Francisco Domestic Partner benefits law goes into effect
July
*Virginia court OKs lesbian adoption
*Evanston IL expands anti-discrimination ordinance
*Episcopalians apologizes for mistreating gays
*Wells-Fargo adds DP benefits
*Union Bank adds DP benefits
*Ellen receives 5 Emmy nominations
*Clinton has high-level meeting with gay activists
*Delaware enacts hate crimes law including sexual orientation
*Gay and lesbian weddings OKed at Harvard chapel
*Gay and lesbian youth conference in SF largest ever
*Federal court strikes down ban on gays in US military (it is under appeal)
*Montana court strikes down state's sodomy law
*Connecticut bans anti-gay discrimination in school system
*Hawaii statewide DP registry/benefits take effect
August
*LAPD forced to pay for anti-gay harassment
*For Better of for Worse with gay subplot runs in 1000+ papers
*Chicago to spend 2 million on gay neighborhood
*Focus on Family co-founder apologizes to gays
*More gay characters on TV than ever, GLAAD reports
*American Psychological Association condemns anti-gay "therapy"
*Florida court OKs lesbian adoption
September
*Nebraska court rules in favor of lesbian in custody case
*MediaOne adds DP benefits
*Recent report shows 1-3 companies add DP policies every week
*MA court makes gay parents' adoptions easier
*Michigan State adds DP benefits
*Judge in Chicago upholds DP benefits law
*Upjohn Corporation adds DP benefits
*Pharmacia Corporations adds DP benefits
*Clinton first sitting President to attend major gay-rights banquet
*Knight-Ridder adds DP benefits
*Oak Park IL enacts domestic partnership registry
*Birmingham ABC station gives in and run Ellen's coming out episode.
*"In The Life" has 5th Anniversary
October
*EDS (Ross Perot's company) Offers DP Benefits
*New Jersey rules in favor of allowing gay couple to adopt
*Philadelphia Public Schools add DP benefits
*First openly gay ambassador nominated by President
*Lexinton Herald-Leader offers DP Benefits
*Gay press fastest growing ad market for 3rd consecutive year
*Mass. court rules for gay male couple in adoption case
*"In and Out" is mainstream smash hit
November
*U. of California system (USA's largest state university system) approves
domestic partnership plan.
*Emory University opens up its chapel to gay weddings (Harvard did this
earlier in the year)
*GLAAD forces re-write of controversial scene in "The Jackal"
*Anti-gay Disney Boycott abject failure, profits up record levels during
boycott.
*North Carolina court rules in favor of gay father in custody case for 2nd
time
*Georgia Supreme Court affirms Atlanta domestic partnership plan
*Founder of largest gay Christian denomination honored at White House.
*Gays and lesbians big part of White House hate crimes summit.
*A US President addresses gay rights group dinner, first time ever.
*Gay candidates win 83% (12 of 15) elections on Election Day 1997.
*Reform Judaism (US largest branch) passes resolution in support of
same-sex
religious and civil marriage.
December
*US Military forced to allow gay clubs in civilian schools on overseas
military bases
*NJ first state to allow joint adoption by gay couples
*Duke University gives benefits to same-sex partners of grad students
*Salt Lake City bans discrimination against gay city employees
*Ypsilanti, MI passes gay civil rights law
*Newton, MA passes domestic partnership law
*Pacific Exchange becomes first US Stock exchange to offer DP benefits
*Gay candidates win runoff elections in Houston and Atlanta.
*Madison, WI public school district grants DP benefits.
*Washington DC elects gay Republican coun
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ( [email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 3-JAN-1998 00:40:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5724: Timothy McVeigh, USN, seeks your help
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Subj: Request For Your Help
Date: 97-12-29 17:38:50 EST
From: [email protected]
Hello,
Let me introduce myself. My name is Tim and I have recently been
recommended for discharge from the United States Navy for merely having
the word "gay" in one of my America Online profiles and someone else's
interpretation of that profile. Because of the word gay in the profile, I
was read my rights and questioned, with sodomy and indecent acts being the
charges that were being investigated. With no other evidence, I was
relieved from my job as the senior enlisted man on a nuclear powered
submarine and transferred to Submarine Squadron Three. A print out of my
AOL profile is the only evidence the government presented at the discharge
proceedings. They contend that my profile is a statement of homosexuality
and intent to engage in homosexual acts. I contend that a profile on AOL
is not a statement of anything and that the proceedings are based on
homo-phobic reaction and were discriminatory in nature.
I am currently fighting this action with the help of my Navy appointed
attorney, LCDR Derek Cole, and Mr. Kirk Childress of Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network. I am also asking for your help and support to get this
word to President Clinton and several members of Congress. To do this,
first I ask that you provide this information to other people who are
concerned with human rights and the military's strict adherence to the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue policy.
While addressing the Human Rights Campaign on November 8th, President
Clinton said "We have to broaden the imagination of America. When we deny
opportunity because of ancestry or religion, race or gender, disability or
sexual orientation, we break the compact. It is wrong and it should be
illegal". I am confident that, with your help, this letter can make it
across the U.S. and be overwhelmingly heard in the White House and Halls
of the Capital Building. If you can forward it to just one person, you
will help double this mailing. That will get the word out. If you have
previously received this message, then you can be proud of the efforts of
persons like yourself.
NOTE: I am in no way connected or related to Timothy James McVeigh who
was convicted in the Oklahoma City bombing!
Then, I ask you to send the following message:
Dear Mr. President, Mr. Vice President and Members of Congress,
I am an informed and concerned citizen of the United States and am
appalled to hear that ETCS(SS) Timothy R. McVeigh, United States Navy, has
been removed from his job as Chief of the Boat on USS Chicago (SSN-721)
and is being recommended for discharge from the U.S. Navy simply because
the word gay appeared in one of his America Online profiles. Not a
statement, and no acts, but merely the word gay. Isn't there enough for
the military to do without wasting our time, money, and resources on
"witch-hunts" for "suspected" homosexuals; a practice the military now
adamantly denies it engages in after its long and well documented history
of carrying out such abuses of people's rights. I am especially appalled
that the investigation against ETCS(SS) McVeigh appears to violate the
rules established by 'don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue.' This entire
matter, due to the wholesale weakness of the evidence against ETCS(SS)
McVeigh, appears to be yet another "witch-hunt" to perpetuate the
existence of a "homo-phobic" mind-set in today's military. Please stop
this travesty and correct this injustice and similar injustices which
occur every day in our military. Discrimination of any sort should be
eliminated in our country, and especially in our military. Let's find
better things to do with our military, other than seeking to discharge
some of our best and brightest, all because the military insists on
conducting a clandestine and "homo-phobic" campaign to discharge those
members it believes to be homosexual. The military should not be engaged
in McCarthy-like tactics to identify and end the careers of its own
members. We, the people, were promised that such actions would end - once
and for all - by the implementation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
If I have provided my name and address below, I request to be
provided with a written response, under the Freedom of Information Act, 5
U.S.C. Sec. (1982), explaining why as a taxpayer, my tax dollars are being
used to process cases like this. I understand that under the Freedom of
Information Act, I must be provided with a response to this message from
each of the offices I am addressing.
Finally, Mr. Gore, I desire to know, what your stance on this issue
is, and what you intend to do about it. With an election coming up, there
will be many thousands of voters throughout the country who will be
interested in your response.
Sincerely,
Name or withheld:
Address:
Note: Name and address are only required if you would like a response to
this letter. You will receive an auto-response acknowledging receipt of
your message, but all reply mail is sent via snail mail.
To make it easier to send this message, I have included e-mail hyper text.
Click below and it will bring up the properly addressed mail. Then copy
and paste the above message into the text box. If you haven't done this
before there are instructions below.
To bring up the properly addressed compose mail box <A HREF="mailto:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]">click here</A>.
Please use Navy Violates Don't Ask Don't Tell as the subject line.
Instructions for copying and pasting the above message: After bringing up
the compose mailbox with the hyper link above, highlight the above portion
by holding down the left mouse button and scrolling through the message.
Once highlighted, right click on the mouse and choose copy, Then go to the
compose mail and right click in the text portion of the e-mail. Choose
paste and the text should transfer to the outgoing e-mail.
For more information please visit my web site at <A
HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9241/index.html">
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9241</A>.
Thank you for your time in this matter. I am certain with enough
response, a victory for all can be achieved and you will have played a
large part. I will update home page in an effort to try to keep you
informed of the status of this case.
ETCS(SS) Timothy R. McVeigh, USN
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 3-JAN-1998 19:09:00.00
SUBJECT: The Bay Area's iconoclast
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Bay Windows
Boston, MA
December 26, 1997
The Bay Area's iconoclast
By Peter Cassels
Bay Windows correspondent
SAN FRANCISCO - When Colin Powell, the former chairman of the joint
chiefs of staff, visited recently, the city wanted to thank him for his
work in raising funds for youth projects. The Board of Supervisors
entertained a resolution commending the nation's highest-ranking African
American military man.
That's when the storm hit. Tom Ammiano, a gay comedian and former
teacher who has been on the board since 1994, was having none of it. He
gave the commendation the kiss of death. He sent it to committee. Calling
Powell a homophobe for his remarks about gays serving in the military and
his strong support of the Clinton Administration's "don't ask, don't tell"
policy, Ammiano is developing a reputation as the board's "bad boy," one he
doesn't regret, he told Bay Windows during an interview. "I'd do it again,"
he says.
The action drew heat from Mayor Willie Brown and the San Francisco
Examiner, among others, and was discussed on radio talk shows across the
nation. Brown called Ammiano's vote a political faux pas. The Examiner
said
Powell had been turned into a punching bag for the far left. Even some gays
protested the action. The Alice B. Toklas Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club
sent its own thank you to Powell and wanted to make it clear that Ammiano
doesn't represent every gay and lesbian in San Francisco.
"I felt it was a tremendous trivialization of the impact of
homophobia," Ammiano says. "What the man said and how he said it was
dehumanizing. The city has no justification in commending him. That aside,
it was a reckless resolution and not abandoned even after I tried to broker
it. "The irony is, the resolution commended him for work with youth. Let's
get real. What about gay youth? What about the names they're called, the
suicide rate? How does that jell with the things he won't recant on? "There
are at least three other ways that Colin Powell could have got a
commendation from the city and [still] give someone like me respect, after
30 years of fighting the gay civil rights struggle.I didn't invite the
dissonance and didn't want the acrimony, but don't fuck with [me]." A
Democrat, Ammiano still believes that President Clinton has betrayed the
community, despite his recent historic speech to the Human Rights Campaign.
When he was invited, along with other officials, to a function on one of
the president's many visits to San Francisco, he declined. "The party
doesn't seem to allow loyal opposition. Clinton's whole double message is
his refusal to file an amicus brief for Amendment 2 [in Colorado], his
signing the DOMA in the dead of night, both gratuitous gestures to the
right wing that in my mind did not have to be done or could have been
handled more graciously, definitely more honestly. When we went to the
White House and the guards wore those [rubber] gloves, I went ballistic
because I looked at that as a metaphor. I felt we were being talked down
to. I think he needed to be a little more forthright about that" What would
he say if he met Clinton? "Nothing that he hasn't heard before. [I'd tell
him that I have] a great dissatisfaction and a sense of betrayal on the
military issue. Don't promise something that you're not going to do. How
can we trust him? I understand from people close to him that he is not
homophobic, but shit, he's the President of the United States. He's a lame
duck. He could do anything he wants, so I question how deep the belief
goes. I think he's soiled his own nest." Ammiano moved to San Francisco
from his home town of Newark, N.J., in 1963, when he was 20 years old. He
had tried to join the Peace Corps and "was deselected because I was
somewhat feminine. They didn't quite use those words, but I knew what they
meant. So I got on the Greyhound bus and continued my journey. It allowed
me to be who I wanted to be and allowed me more parameters than perhaps any
other city, even New York I think." San Francisco was a different place in
the early Sixties. "It was pretty awful. Everything was very covert. Nobody
was really gay. There were a lot of repressive laws against gays, but then
there was a lot of looking away, too, particularly in the evening times.
Lots of gay bashings and lots of police repression."
Then came the hippie antiwar movement and the Summer of Love. Even
though the movement had some homophobia in it, it opened the way for
questioning authority, he says.
Ammiano received a master's in special education from San Francisco
State University and became a teacher. He taught in Vietnam for two years
during the war. "To me in a way it was like Pee Wee's Big Adventure. But
there was real suffering there and it was different for the people who had
to be there. The military was extremely pervasive in every phase of life. I
made friends [among the students] that I still have. A lot of them are now
over here [and] are grandparents now."
He taught developmentally disabled elementary school students when
he returned and became active in the gay movement. He joined Bay Area Gay
Liberation, "a kind of lefty organization", and helped start the Gay
Teachers Organization. And he was there for two gay community milestones
that must seem like ancient history to many younger lesbians and gay men:
Ammiano helped take on evangelist and orange juice maven Anita Bryant, and
he worked with slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. "We has big
demonstrations at the school board in 1975."
He also worked with Milk on his campaign for supervisor. "We
weren't intimates but we knew each other. I said to him once, el don't see
why you want to be elected. I'll never do anything like that. 'Famous last
words." After Milk's assassination, Ammiano ran for the school board in
1980 and did well, but didn't win.He tried stand-up comedy as an openly gay
man. "We had a comedy club here called Valencia Rose. We started to have
gay comedy night but if you were out, it worked against you even here in
San Francisco. Lots of homophobia and fag baiting in the straight clubs."
He made a decent living at it, playing clubs all over the nation and in
Canada and was featured on PBS and Entertainment Tonight. He still performs
occasionally, when time permits, at Josie's, a gay club in the Castro, and
does college gigs. "I really enjoy it."
In 1988 he ran a "non-serious" campaign again for the school board
and got 60,000 votes. He ran again as a serious candidate in 1990 and won.
"I did a lot of things: set up a counseling program for gay youth, got
condom availability, AIDS education. And that was all because someone who
was open was on the school board. I had been a donor and so I had a kid who
went to the public schools. So I had a real connection to the schools. And
my lover was a teacher."
He ran for supervisor in 1994, and finished fourth out of the top
six who won seats. It was a bittersweet victory, because his partner died
five days before the election. "I'm still sorting through that." During his
tenure, he has been a champion for people with HIV and has fought for
women's health issues. But perhaps his greatest legacy thus far is
authoring an amendment to the city's domestic partnership ordinance
extending it to businesses with city contracts. It's been controversial.
Small businesses say it's a burdensome expense and United Airlines has
filed suit. However, there has been more than 90 percent compliance,
according to Ammiano. He has witnessed much change on the board since his
first election. Frank Jordan, the former mayor, was a moderate and had to
deal with an often contentious, heavily progressive board. Things are
different with Willie Brown in the mayor's office.
"Brown is perceived as being progressive and on many issues he is.
He's an African American so you don't have to explain racism to him. You
don't even have to explain homophobia. There are a lot of advantages there.
But he also has circumstantially been able to appoint people to the board
because of people leaving. And then there's an allegiance to him, although
it would not be viewed that way. It makes it more difficult and he's a
straight man, but he's a control queen. And so disagreements are not as
tolerated.I like him and respect him, but we have a number of different
views on a number of different issues."
Brown will have the opportunity to appoint yet another supervisor
in January, when Susan Leal, a lesbian, becomes city treasurer. He would
like to see Brown appoint a gay to her seat. "But, no matter who is
appointed, I think the mayor will have control over the person and that is
not always good for me. I'm getting more uncomfortable with the mayor
appointing who he thinks is a gay leader. There's a lot of that happening
lately. People telling the gay community how gay to be and what's
appropriate." He says the challenge of the gay community is that we are all
so different. "We're pretty strong on class lines and lines of color and
gender. It's not that that cannot be dealt with, but it is a challenge. But
usually we are a community that under great crisis will come together."
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: ngltfcampus-request [email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 7-JAN-1998 10:36:00.00
SUBJECT: [GLB-PRESS] Embargoed for Dec. 31 - Civil Rights Stakes in 1998
TO: Christian M. Grantham ( Christian M. Grantham@EOP [ UNKNOWN D
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
Forwarded by Request:
Civil Rights Stakes Will Be Highest Ever for Lesbians and Gay Men in 1998
Lambda focus includes marriage, military, employment, and AIDS
(NEW YORK, December 31, 1997) -- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
said
Wednesday that the new year will see a record number of lesbian, gay, and
AIDS-related concerns in the country's highest courts.
Lambda, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 1998, has regional
offices in
Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and a headquarters in New York.
"The United States Supreme Court and other high-level courts are expected
to
address employment, the military, disability protections, family, and other
fundamental constitutional issues for lesbians, gay men, and people with
HIV
in 1998," said Lambda Legal Director Beatrice Dohrn.
"Never have the stakes been so high for the civil rights of our
community. We
expect an unprecedented number of decisions from top-level state as well as
federal courts, and they are likely to affect the way lesbians and gay men
are
treated across the country for many years to come," Dohrn said.
In 1998, among more than 50 cases on its docket, Lambda anticipates a
ruling
from Hawaii's highest court that may make civil marriage available to
lesbian
and gay couples for the first time in this country. State by state, Lambda
also is fighting child custody and adoption rulings that discriminate
against
lesbian and gay families. In one such case, North Carolina's highest
court is
expected to rule on whether Fred Smith, who is gay, can have his two sons
returned to his care, since his ex-wife won custody because of his sexual
orientation.
In the U.S. Supreme Court this spring, Lambda is coordinating amicus briefs
challenging a Maine dentist's refusal to treat a woman with asymptomatic
HIV.
The case, Bragdon V. Abbott, brought by the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and
Defenders, could determine whether the Americans with Disabilities Act
covers
hundreds of thousands of people who are infected with HIV but show no sign
of
illness.
Also on Lambda's Supreme Court docket is a case on behalf of an Atlanta
lawyer, who was fired from the Georgia State Attorney General's office
because
she is a lesbian and had a private, religious wedding ceremony. Lambda and
the ACLU are co-counsel for the lawyer, Robin Shahar.
Lambda awaits a Supreme Court ruling in another employment-related case,
Oncale V. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., for which it authored an
amicus
brief joined by the leading women's organizations as well as gay and other
civil rights groups. In this same-sex sexual harassment case, heard by the
Court December 3, Lambda urges that the federal law against sexual
harassment
at work be applied without regard to the sex or sexual orientation of the
harasser or victim.
Another challenge to the widespread problem of anti-gay employment
discrimination is one of the first cases to test California's protections
for
lesbian and gay workers. Argument against California Casualty Management's
firing of salesman Dan Kovatch is expected before a state court of appeals
in
the spring.
In the only active federal appeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Lambda, with
the
ACLU, has just filed its brief in Able V. USA. A district-level court
rejected the policy as unconstitutional in July; the U.S. Court of Appeals
for
the Second Circuit is expected to hear the government's appeal early in
1998.
In a renegade decision last fall, a three-judge federal panel disregarded
the
Supreme Court's ruling against Colorado's Amendment 2 and upheld
Cincinnati's
nearly identical Issue 3, which would prohibit legislators from approving
discrimination protections for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals.
Determined
to put an end to the country's last remaining anti-gay ballot initiative,
Lambda and co-counsel have appealed for a hearing by the entire Sixth
Circuit
Court.
Lambda, the oldest and largest lesbian and gay legal organization, itself
was
born of a court battle. It incorporated in 1973 after defeating a New
York
state court judgment that there was "no demonstrated need" for a non-profit
group defending lesbian and gay civil rights.
"Over the past 25 years, Lambda's lawyers have worked in courtrooms in
every
state in the country as well as on U.S. Supreme Court arguments to protect
lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV," said Executive Director Kevin M.
Cathcart. "There is no area of lesbian and gay life unaffected by Lambda's
work from fighting discrimination against gay couples and families to
working to stop anti-gay initiatives and overturn anti-gay military
policies,"
he said.
30
Great Lakes/Midwest GLBT College Network
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 8-JAN-1998 13:52:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5757: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't AOL
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
From a Newsclips reader.
Rex
Forwarded message
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 11:08:47 -0500
From: John
To: Rex Wockner <[email protected]>
Subject: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't AOL
Rex,
GLO radio/planetout did a radio interview last night with Tim McVeigh, the
US Navy guy who's being kicked out as a result of his member profile on
AOL. The site contains the radio interview that you can listen to at
<http://www.planetout.com/gloradio/index.html>
"On Hangin'OUT, John McMullen talks with Timothy R. McVeigh, who until
recently was the highest ranking enlisted man aboard the Navy's USS
Chicago submarine. McVeigh is now scheduled to be dismissed from 17
exemplary years in the U.S. Navy based solely on an AOL user profile, in
spite of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and AOL's supposed
commitment to confidentiality."
A rather shocking aside, I just got a copy of the court transcripts from
his discharge hearing and the Navy says, in 5 pages of sworn testimony,
that they had his AOL member profile but couldn't prove it was him, so
they simply called AOL and asked for his name and state of residence and
AOL gave it to them! If this is true, imagine the implications when AOL
now controls over 50% of the nation's email market -- what if employers
want to check up to see if their employees have raunchy (or gay) aol
profiles, what if someone wants to find the name and address of a profile
they find particularly interesting (or annoying), and what if someone
decides they want to track down the profile of a 12 year old kid.
Of course, perhaps the Navy lied -- the profile is the only piece of
evidence they offered at his hearing -- and in that case, the Navy would
have perjured itself for 5 pages of testimony under oath in order to
fabricate the only piece of evidence they had against this guy.
Pretty sick stuff.
JOHN
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 8-JAN-1998 13:55:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5758: Is AOL violating your privacy?
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
More from the same Newsclips reader.
Rex
Forwarded message
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 12:56:59 -0500
From: John
To: Rex Wockner: ;
Subject: Is AOL violating your privacy?
Is America Online violating your privacy?
If you're an AOL user and you think your screen name is secure, you might
want to check out <<http://www.planetout.com/gloradio/index.html> and
listen to an amazing RealAudio radio interview with one unfortunate
17-year highly-decorated veteran of the US Navy who says AOL basically
outed him to the US Navy, resulting in his imminent discharge from the
military.
Call this one: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't AOL."
According to the report, the US Navy had seen an AOL "member profile" that
they thought belonged to a gay US serviceman. But neither the screen
name, nor the rest of the member's profile, provided the member's full
real name -- they couldn't prove it was his. According to the sworn
testimony of US Navy staff legalman Joseph M. Kaiser, he called AOL and
immediately got the full real name and state of residence of the AOL
member who owned the profile in question.
That unfortunate AOL member was Navy submariner Timothy R. McVeigh (yes,
it's his real name, and no, he's no relation to the Oklahoma City bomber).
As a result of the information the Navy swears they received from AOL --
remember, this was McVeigh's personal civilian email account -- they are
now discharging McVeigh after an exemplary and much-decorated 17-year
service record.
Excerpts from the official court record, dated November 7, 1997:
US Navy staff legalman Kaiser: "I called AOL and talked to a gentleman
named Owen at Tech Services. I said that I am the third party in receipt
of a fax and wanted to confirm the [member] profile sheet, who it belonged
to. They said it came from Hawaii and that it was 'Timothy R. McVeigh' on
the billing."
McVeigh's defense attorney: "He gave you information that links [AOL]
members screen names with the member's actual name? Sounds like that's
what you have done."
US Navy staff legalman Kaiser: "Yes, that is correct."
[The transcript can be found at
<<http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9241/KAIS.HITML>],
If the Navy's sworn testimony is true -- and if it's not, they've
committed perjury in order to fabricate the only evidence they offered at
the discharge hearing -- then AOL provided the full real name and state of
residence of an AOL member to a stranger on the phone. This could pose an
enormous threat to the civil liberties and privacy rights of any of AOL's
millions of members who might prefer that strangers phoning AOL not have
access to their full real name and state of residence. Imagine the
implications of such a breach of privacy for a woman living alone, a man
who might prefer his employer not see his member profile, or a 12-year old
child going online for the first time. If anyone saw their profiles and
wanted to track them down
While AOL's privacy policy seems to explicitly prohibit the revelation of
such member information, the Navy has testified under oath that such a
revelation did in fact occur.
If you're concerned about the information the US Government, your
employer, or any stranger can obtain about you from AOL, perhaps you might
want to contact AOL and ask them to confirm in writing exactly what
happened in the McVeigh case, and more importantly, what their policy
really is with regards to the sharing of confidential member information
with strangers.
*** You can contact AOL's president Steve Case via AOL's Terms of Service
office at <<[email protected]>.
In addition, if this issue raises more serious privacy concerns for you --
not just about whether AOL is secure or not, but also about what the US
Government is doing snooping around US citizens' private email accounts --
feel free to email the following and tell them that you heard about this
case and you're concerned:
*** President Clinton, Navy News, Newsweek, Time Magazine, USA Today, and
NBC Nightly News -- you can simply cut and paste the following addresses
into the "TO" section of your email:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
And finally, if you know of anyone else who might find this case of
interest -- friends who use AOL, colleagues in the media, people who might
have some clout with the Department of Defense or the White House, or
anyone else who might want to get involved and help out, please pass this
message on to them.
Tim gets kicked out on January 16, and could use all the help he can get.
Thanks!
PS For more info, feel free to check out Tim's Web site at
<<http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9241>. The site includes a number
of documents, including the transcript where the Navy swears under oath
that they got the member information from AOL
<<http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/924I/KAIS.HTML. (The pages can be
hard to download, you might have to hit "reload" or "refresh" a few
times).
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 9-JAN-1998 17:25:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5775: Yet more on McVeigh's AOL/Navy mess
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained *
*
--->
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
Subject: One-pager for press pitch on McVeigh
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 12:31:39 -0500
From: John Aravosis <[email protected]>
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
Friday, January 9, 1998
Summary: Did America Online ) with over 50% of the email market --
illegally share confidential information with the US military, getting one
of its subscribers fired?
Don ,t Ask, Don ,t Tell, Don ,t AOL
Did America Online ) with over 50% of the email market -- illegally share
confidential information with the US military, getting one of its
subscribers fired? That ,S the question millions of AOL subscribers are
asking after the Navy testified under oath at a recent hearing that AOL
divulged confidential subscriber information to the US military, costing
submariner Timothy R. McVeigh (no relation to the Oklahoma City McVeigh)
his 17-year career.
The Navy believed McVeigh to be the owner of an AOL "member profile" that
they thought looked "gay" ) but had no concrete proof that is was
McVeigh ,S. Navy legal staff testified that they called AOL, and without
meeting any of the explicit exceptions detailed in AOL ,S written terms of
service, were told by a Tech Services staffer that the profile in question
belonged to Timothy R. McVeigh of Hawaii. The military is discharging
McVeigh the end of next week for "sodomy," based exclusively on his AOL
profile. In a new twist to the case, cyber civil liberties lawyers are
today crying foul, calling this a clear violation of federal privacy law
on the part of both the Navy and AOL. Federal law explicitly limits the
manner in which the government can obtain information on citizens from
private companies. Reportedly, the law ,S requirements were not met by
either AOL or the Navy in this case.
McVeigh was until recently the top enlisted man on board the nuclear
attack submarine, USS Chicago, stationed out of Hawaii. He is a
highly-decorated veteran, having earned the Navy Commendation Medal, three
Navy Achievement medals, four Good Conduct medals, three Battle E ,S, four
sea service ribbons, and recognition for his service in Southeast Asia and
the Arctic.
Internet industry experts fear the imminent discharge of McVeigh would set
a dangerous precedent for cyber civil liberties. "If the US Navy is
allowed to fire someone based on information illegally obtained from AOL,
then who ,S next? Can a private company call AOL to investigate an
employee, and then fire her?" asked John Aravosis, founder of Wired
Strategies, a political Internet consulting firm in Washington, DC. "I
use AOL every day," said Aravosis, "but I ,m going to think twice before I
risk getting mugged by the thought police in what I thought was a safe
online environment."
Contact Information:
1) Timothy R. McVeigh - 17-year and highly decorated Navy veteran being
discharged - email <[email protected]>.
2) John Aravosis - Internet policy expert with Wired Strategies in
Washington DC <202/328-5707>, <www.wiredstrategies.com>.
<[email protected]> - online advocacy adviser to Timothy McVeigh,
and commenting on the case's online privacy angle and implications for AOL
and the online community at large.
3) Kirk Childress - one of McVeigh's attorneys with the Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network in Wash DC, a non-profit organization assisting
servicemembers caught up in the Don ,t Ask Don ,t Tell policy <202/328-3244>.
4) Derek Cole - McVeigh's military lawyer in Hawaii <808/474-6014 x303>.
5) Deirdre Mulligan - Center for Democracy and Technology - legal expert
on online privacy, will confirm that Navy ,S and AOL ,S actions violated
federal law <202/637-9800>.
6) David Sobel - Electronic Policy Information Center - online privacy
expert <202/544-9240>.
John Aravosis
voice: 202-328-5707
Wired Strategies
fax: 202-328-5708
1884 Columbia Rd., NW - Suite 1006 email: [email protected]
Washington, DC 20009
web: http://www.wiredstrategies.com
** Online community-building, advocacy, research, training. **
CLIENTS INCLUDE:
US Department of HHS
Georgetown University Law Center
AIDS Action
National Education Association
Widmeyer-Baker Group
Institute for Women's Policy Research
MicroStrategy
National Perinatal Association
America's Promise
National Environmental Trust
HandsNet
US Senator Robert Torricelli
American Civil Liberties Union
Recording Industry Association of America
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead -
-end-
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNCTWY UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:10-JAN-1998 01:24:00.00
SUBJECT: Nation editorial critical of Clinton's HIV record
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
THE NATION
January 5, 1998
pp. 4-5
H.I.V. Negatives
Editorial by Doug Ireland
Just a few days after Bill Clinton announced that he was planning a tax cut
-- obviously designed as a booster shot for Al Gore's presidential
candidacy -- the Department of Health and Human Services said it was
scotching a plan to extend Medicaid to provide those infected with H.I.V.
the drugs that help prevent development of full-blown AIDS. The reason? The
measure would not be "revenue-neutral. "The H.H.S. decision came just
seventy-two hours after Clinton, at a $10,000-a-head fundraiser with gay
fat-cats that collected $275,000 for the Democrats, had promised to "do
everything I can" to get the drugs to those who need them.
For his part, Gore told the audience at a dinner this past April sponsored
by AIDS Action that he had "ordered" H.H.S. to report back to him within
thirty days on setting up a pilot project to provide the drugs. Eight
months later, not only is there no pilot project but the life-saving
initiative seems dead in the water.
The overwhelming majority of new H.I.V. infections occur among people too
poor to afford the new $15,000-a-year drugs (more than 70 percent of new
cases are people of color, especially women). They're caught in a Catch-22:
covered by Medicaid only if they're disabled or already dying from AIDS but
not eligible for the drugs that can stave off or reverse the progression to
full-blown AIDS. And although the Clinton Administration's decision could
mean a death sentence for tens of thousands, it received infinitely less
media attention than the choice of a name for Clinton's new dog.
In the wake of the H.H.S. decision came a blistering report from Clinton's
own Advisory Council on H.I.V./AIDS that lambasted the "diminished priority
for AIDS issues during the President's second term." On the drugs question,
the council let out a collective scream of pain, proclaiming that it was
"deeply disappointed" by the "absence of personal leadership from [H.H.S.]
Secretary [Donna] Shalala and by the mixed and conflicting messages from
the Administration of its true intentions."
The council charged that the White House and H.H.S. have "failed to exhibit
the courage and political will needed to pursue public health strategies
that are politically difficult but that have been shown to save
lives. "That's especially true of Shalala's stubborn refusal to lift the ban
on federal funds for needle exchange programs. According the Centers for
Disease Control, the sharing of dirty needles and syringes for drug
injection accounts for a third of new H.I.V. infections. Medical science
has known since the eighties that trading dirty needles for clean ones
dramatically cuts the spread of H.I.V. Take Los Angeles, where, with the
support of Republican Mayor Richard Riordan, needle exchange programs have
cut the rate of new H.I.V. infections from dirty needles to only 10 percent
of the total, while in New York (where G.O.P. Mayor Rudy Giuliani
militantly opposes such programs) the rate is 50 percent. Yet although she
has had Congressional authority for five years to make a public health
determination authorizing federal funds for such programs, Shalala has
failed to do so ) despite endorsement of needle exchange by the American
Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the National
Conference of Mayors and the national Institutes of Health.
Pointing out that 25 percent of all H.I.V. infections occur among those
under 22, the President's AIDS council also criticized the Administration
for maintaining "outdated restrictions" prohibiting explicit
AIDS-prevention information for school-age kids, with the result that "many
H.I.V. prevention educators must censor themselves with an eye to retaining
their funding rather than providing the most effective prevention message
possible. "Or, as Sean Strub, editor of _POZ_ (the national magazine for the
H.I.V.-infected), puts it, "Remember when Clinton's H.I.V.-positive aide,
Bob Hattoy, told the Democratic National Convention that America needed a
President who wouldn't be afraid to say the word 'condom'? Clinton still
hasn't said the word."
Gays raised millions of dollars for both Clinton/Gore campaigns, but except
for a gaggle of mostly low-level patronage jobs they've little to show for
their money but broken promises, the failed Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy
that has encouraged anti-gay witch hunts in the military, the gay-bashing
Defense of Marriage Act (which Clinton featured in '96 campaign ads), the
ban on H.I.V.-positive immigrants (which breaks up families) and a campaign
of intimidation against doctors who prescribe marijuana to relieve the
suffering of their AIDS patients. Yet much of the institutional gay
leadership has been effectively co-opted. Perhaps the H.H.S. decision and
the President's AIDS council's report will open their eyes.
Doug Ireland has been a columnist for_The Village Voice_,_The New York
Observer_and the Paris daily _Liberation_ His weekly "Clinton Watch"
column is syndicated by the Minneapolis_City Pages_.
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ( [email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME:10-JAN-1998 09:48:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5778: Who's lying? AOL or the Navy? (SF Chronicle)
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained *
*
--->
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
Saturday, January 10, 1998 ú Page A3 1998 San Francisco Chronicle
DISCHARGE FOR ONLINE GAY PROFILE
Sailor says Navy got info improperly
Elaine Herscher, Chronicle Staff Writer
The Navy is set to discharge a highly decorated senior enlisted man after
he
anonymously described himself as gay in an America Online profile.
The Navy says it got the sailor's name from AOL, but the online service
insists there's no way it could have happened.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh (no relation to the man
convicted of bombing the Oklahoma City federal building) said yesterday
that
the online reference was the only evidence the Navy had to accuse him of
committing sodomy and discharge him for homosexual conduct.
1cVeigh has served in the Navy for 17 years and had planned to retire in
seven
years. Until recently, he was the highest-ranking enlisted man aboard the
nuclear attack submarine Chicago, stationed in Hawaii. His honorable
discharge
entitles him to some benefits but will leave the 36-year-old sailor, who
joined the Navy out of high school, without a pension.
Internet industry experts allege that the Navy violated the 1986 Electronic
Communications Privacy Act because, according to testimony from a Navy
paralegal, the service obtained McVeigh's name by a simple phone call to
AOL
-- not through a court order, warrant or subpoena.
``If the U.S. Navy is allowed to fire someone based on information
illegally
obtained from AOL, then who's next?" asked John Aravosis, founder of Wired
Strategies, a political Internet consulting firm in Washington, D.C. `Can
a
private company call AOL to investigate an employee and then fire him?"
McVeigh said his case dates to the first week of September, when he sent
an e-
mail to a civilian about a toy drive for his shipmates' children. The
civilian, a woman who represents Navy wives, called up his screen profile,
which is publicly available and contains such information as birth date and
hobbies. She found the word "gay" under McVeigh's marital status.
The woman showed the profile to the Navy's legal department. In testimony
at
McVeigh's discharge hearing in November, legal assistant Joseph Kaiser
said he
had called AOL and spoken to a man named "Owen" at technical services.
Owen
said the account belonged to Timothy R. McVeigh, who lives in Hawaii,
Kaiser
testified.
But AOL spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said there are so many levels to
safeguard
privacy that the conversation the Navy describes could not have taken
place --
and there is no evidence that it did.
"We don't release this information unless we're presented with a court
order,
subpoena or an administrative subpoena," Goldberg said. "We are confident
that all our internal procedures were followed
The only way they
could
have obtained information from AOL is if it was publicly available."
McVeigh said his full name was not in his user profile, and he was shocked
when the Navy confronted him with a printout of his screen profile when he
returned to the mainland September 12.
``I was read my rights by a legal officer, and I was told I was being
suspected of sodomy and indecent acts. I had no idea what she was talking
about," McVeigh said. ``I couldn't believe it. I knew there was no
proof."
McVeigh will not say whether he is gay, but Kirk Childress of the
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, who is helping with McVeigh's
defense,
said it is irrelevant.
"What is important is that the Navy is using civilians to do
investigations
they can't do on their own," Childress said. ``He has a chest full of
ribbons. He's a really good sailor. What are they doing going through all
this
time and energy to get rid of him?"
Although McVeigh and his lawyers strongly disagree, the Navy views his
case as
a straightforward application of President Clinton's ``don't ask, don't
tell,
don't pursue" policy.
"Timothy McVeigh is being separated from the Navy because an investigation
concluded a propensity to engage in homosexual conduct," a Navy spokesman
said.
McVeigh said the only evidence against him was the word "gay" in his
profile. He said he was not asked any questions regarding his conduct or
sexual orientation at his separation hearing. He said he created four other
screen profiles that did not contain the word "gay," which the Navy did
not
consider as evidence.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has submitted an appeal to Navy
Secretary John Dalton asking for a delay in McVeigh's discharge until
there is
a review of whether the Navy followed ``don't ask, don't tell" policies.
Childress said Dalton is the only person with the authority to reverse
McVeigh's discharge. At least four of Hawaii's state legislators have asked
the Navy to review McVeigh's case. They have received no reply.
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY. UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:11-JAN-1998 00:25:00.00
SUBJECT: NC5780: C|Net UPDATE on AOL & SAILOR
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
-- UPDATED STORY -- AOL CANCELS SAILOR'S ACCOUNT --
-- SEE LAST TWO GRAFS --
AOL ACCUSED OF PRIVACY VIOLATION
By Janet Kornblum
January 9, 1998, 4:45 p.m. PT
America Online (AOL) may have violated its own policy and perhaps the law
when it allegedly revealed the identity of a member to a Navy
investigator.
The United States Navy is recommending that a U.S. sailor be discharged
for "Homosexual Conduct Admittance" because he typed the word "gay" on his
member profile under "Marital Status."
But the sailor, Timothy McVeigh of Hawaii (no relation to the Timothy
McVeigh convicted of bombing the federal building in Oklahoma), and his
attorneys said that the Navy may never have been able to legally link him
with the profile if an AOL employee hadn't provided his identity to a
Naval investigator, violating AOL's own privacy policy.
The Navy linked the profile to McVeigh, a 17-year veteran of the submarine
force who held the rank of senior chief, after the military investigator
called AOL and said he wanted to find out the identity of the person who
had sent him a fax belonging to the screen name. Without identifying
himself, he said an employee named "Owen" revealed the name of the account
owner as McVeigh along with his state of residence, according to
transcripts of sworn military testimony provided by McVeigh's advocates.
AOL spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said AOL does not release the identity of a
user unless it is "presented with a search warrant, a court order, or
subpoena. Federal law prohibits release of any personal information. We
take this in our members' policy very seriously.
"Our policies are all well-known by all our representatives and we believe
our policies are followed by them," she added. "There is nothing in the
transcript to suggest we gave out private information."
However, some who have read the transcript think otherwise.
"AOL appears to have violated its much-touted privacy policy and destroyed
a subscriber's life," said David Sobel, an attorney with the Electronic
Privacy Information Center. "Every AOL subscriber needs to be concerned
about this incident."
The investigator said he called AOL and asked for the identity of the
person who owned the screen name, according to the transcripts. The
investigator, who did not identify himself, said that on September 12 an
employee in "tech services" revealed to him that the owner of the account
was named "Timothy R. McVeigh" and that he lived in Hawaii.
That information was enough to get McVeigh drummed out of the military. On
January 5, the chief of naval personnel approved the recommendation to
discharge him. Privacy advocates now are concerned about other AOL
members.
AOL's policy states it will "not to disclose identity information to third
parties that would link a member's screen name(s) with a member's actual
name, unless required to do so by law or legal process served on AOL, Inc.
(e.g., a subpoena)."
Deirdre Mulligan, a staff attorney with the Center for Democracy and
Technology, said that when the Navy investigator called AOL seeking to
connect the screen name with McVeigh, it also violated a federal law: the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which requires that a government
agency seeking information about an individual's online communication or
subscriber information must go through an "appropriate legal process in
which, at the very least, they seek an administrative subpoena."
"The military clearly violated the law," she said. "They are not just
allowed to call up and say who they are and seek information about an
individual."
She added that AOL may also have violated the law, which prohibits private
companies from giving that information to a government agency. According
to the hearing transcripts provided by McVeigh's advocates, the Navy
investigator said he called AOL and asked for the identity of the person
who had sent an email message without identifying himself.
That may not matter when it comes to the question of the law, she said.
"From the transcript, this person said he asked for information and it was
provided without any check of who he was and his right to get
information," she said.
Sobel added that this incident underscores the need for Congress to pass
laws that specifically protect privacy online. He worries that online
companies can collect detailed information about people, such as where
they like to surf, what they like to read, what kinds of goods they
purchase, and even the substance of their conversations, and then could
release it.
If AOL did reveal McVeigh's identity, as the Naval investigator testified,
then this instance shows how that information can be used against people.
"A lot of people come to AOL and stay on AOL because they are given the
option of using their own screen names that AOL tells them are anonymous,"
Sobel said.
In the debate over whether laws should protect privacy, "The industry
keeps saying you can't point to anyone who has been harmed by disclosure
of personal information. We now have an unusual circumstance that has led
to a sworn statement in a legal proceeding that demonstrates that harm.
There's clear cause and effect here. It raises the point of how prevalent
is this kind of disclosure. That's why every AOL subscriber needs to be
concerned about this," Sobel said.
Both Sobel and Mulligan said that even if people don't care about the
particulars in this case, they should worry about privacy issues in
general.
"What if they had called up and asked for the identity of your kid's
screen name?" Mulligan asked. "What if it was me and somebody wants to
know who I was and where I live?"
AOL's Goldberg stressed that the online service takes privacy "extremely
seriously," and that members should feel safe on the service.
But those involved in the case are far from comforted.
"Legally speaking, there was no proof that this was his email account,"
said John Aravosis, an Internet consultant helping to bring attention to
the case. "This was his email account. They called AOL and AOL gave the
absolute proof that this was his email account. That should never happen."
Kirk Childress, staff attorney with the Service Members Legal Defense
Network, which is helping with McVeigh's defense, said that without the
link between McVeigh and the screen name, the government's case would be
much weaker, and they might not have been able to make it at all.
"It is doubtful to me that a court would have issued a subpoena under
these circumstances," he said.
As it is, he added that people make up information about themselves all
the time when they write online profiles, and someone saying anything
about themselves online does not necessarily mean it is true.
Plus, he added, using a person's screen name on AOL to toss him out of the
military brings the so-called don't ask, don't tell policy regarding
homosexuals in the military to a new level.
McVeigh, 36, was serving as chief of the boat on the USS Chicago, the head
enlisted person on a submarine, when in September he returned from a brief
tour out at sea to be confronted with allegations that he had declared his
homosexuality and was under suspicion of sodomy and indecent acts based
solely on the AOL user profile, said McVeigh, who developed a Web page to
publicize his plight.
"They removed me from my job without anything," McVeigh said in a
telephone interview. "They said they would commence an investigation and
[the investigator] felt she had enough information to remove me from my
job."
The profile, he said, "said marital status, 'gay.' I have five different
profiles. They didn't ask about any of the other screen names."
Just before he went out to sea he had emailed an ombudsman, a Navy wife
who served as a contact for enlisted men sent out to sea, asking her to
collect names and ages of children of the submarine crew so he could then
help arrange for them to get Christmas presents, McVeigh said.
She then logged onto AOL and looked up the screen name under which McVeigh
had sent the email message, he said. She found the profile with the word
"gay." It also listed his occupation as the "military" and said his name
was "Tim." There was no other identifying information, he said.
The ombudsman then turned over the profile to the military, McVeigh said.
From there, the Navy conducted an investigation in which it linked the
screen name in question to McVeigh. It also verified that McVeigh had
never been married, a fact that it used as evidence, he said.
McVeigh would not discuss his sexual orientation. Saying one is homosexual
is grounds for dismissal under military law.
But even if he were gay, the Clinton administration policy was not
designed to seek out people who are private about it, Childress said.
"The policy was supposed to give people a zone of privacy," he said. "It
was supposed to mean they weren't going to go out and hunt up information
about you.
"A civilian took it upon herself to look up information and turn it in to
his command," he said. "His profile didn't have his name on it. It was
something that was private. It was a private communication."
To complicate matters, last night AOL canceled McVeigh's account, accusing
him of writing chain letters, said his mother, Teri McVeigh. In fact, on
his Web page, McVeigh offers people a way to request a letter to send to
various officials, including the president. His mother said that several
requests made this morning went to a dead AOL address.
Timothy McVeigh said he hasn't had time to call AOL's community action
team, since he is busy trying to get reinstated in the Navy.
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Subject: 1998-1-12 McCurry Briefing
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 12, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING
BY MIKE MCCURRY
The Briefing Room
1:22 P.M. EST
MR. MCCURRY: Thanks to General McCaffrey for that.
Where in the world do you want to start first?
Q Iraq.
MR. MCCURRY: Iraq.
Q
What is the United States' reaction to Iraq's
announcement that he will bar -- stop the rest of his team from
carrying out their activities?
MR. MCCURRY: We have heard provocative statements from
the government of Iraq on the constitution of U.N. inspection teams
over and over again, and they have been made -- met with the same
resolved response of the international community that has been
expressed repeatedly by the United Nations Security Council.
Now, that said, what the government of Iraq says and
what it does is very often different. And successful inspections
have been conducted by UNSCOM and we will wait to hear from Chairman
Butler as he reports to the Security Council what's actually going to
be the status of inspections as they go forward. But we are clearly
watching the progress that the inspection teams are making. We have
a very significant force deployed in the region in furtherance of the
President's determination to see that the United States can pursue
its objectives in the region. And beyond that, I don't know -- I
think it's a watchful period that we're going to be in as we see what
happens as the inspections go forward.
Q
When did Butler make that report?
MR. MCCURRY: He is expected, I believe, to report in
coming days, and then if I'm not mistaken, he's scheduled to meet and
Tehran with officials from the government of Iraq within the next
week -- Baghdad, Baghdad. Tehran has been on our mind recently, too.
Q
Mike, wasn't the Ritter team composed specifically
to provoke a reaction from the Iraqis?
MR. MCCURRY: The Ritter teams is composed as the United
Nations sees fit. They draw on scientific technical experts from
around the world, and the United Nations really has to tell you how
they make the composition of those teams up. They break into units
from time to time. There is a significant U.N. presence in Iraq now,
and they constitute their teams differently depending on what the
circumstances of an inspection are. So you really have to go to the
U.N. and let them tell you what -- how they conduct their individual
inspections.
Q
But the Iraqis have complained about Ritter
bitterly for many months now. Isn't this a predictable reaction from
the Iraqis?
/,
MR. MCCURRY: I believe, as Mr. Ritter has indicated, he
has been there for six years and has worked with many of these same
people, and it's not quite clear what their complaints or their
objections are based on.
Q
Mike, you said that this is a watchful period as
these inspections go forward, so it's your understanding and your
belief that these inspections would continue to take place even if
the Iraqis were, for example, blocking one team?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, you've seen them try to provoke a
response from the international community in the past. They have
blocked inspections in the past. We've been there, done that. We'll
have to see what kind of response we have in the days going forward.
Q
But if I could follow up, what I'm saying is, if
the inspections proceed with Iraq saying no to one team, aren't they
dictating the terms of the inspections?
MR. MCCURRY: We've made it clear over and over again,
and the United Nations has made clear, that the constitution of these
inspection teams is not at the whim of the government of Iraq. The
United Nations is the sole determinative of how those teams are
constituted, and that will remain the case.
Q
But you call these provocations; do these
provocations continue? And is it your view that at the end of the
day we will always get our way?
MR. MCCURRY: They continue, the provocations and the
difficulty with which the United Nations has to conduct its
operations continues. But that's been true really for years.
Q
Do you think the American public will say that
that's a policy that we should continue to pursue?
MR. MCCURRY: I think the American public is very
supportive of the significant deployed force we have in the region,
which is there to maintain options available to the President and to
the United Nations.
Q
But if I may just be allowed one more -- but you
know there is some portion of the public that believes the
administration is not acting firmly enough, that Saddam is getting
away with murder.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, he is getting away with willful
violations and harassment of U.N. objectives there. And the U.N. has
responded to that and we have pursued what we think is a concentrated
diplomatic effort to address the behavior that we've seen, working
with others and doing it through the U.N.'s authorized inspection
team there.
But at the same time, the President has made clear that
we are determined to see the objectives of the world community
fulfilled there because those are significant U.S. interests as well,
and he has never ruled out other options that may or may not be
available.
Q
Will the President be making any phone calls to
world leaders to generate a unanimous U.N. Security Council
resolution if it comes down to that?
MR. MCCURRY: He has been in contact with counterparts
from time to time on this subject. I'm not aware that his foreign
policy advisors have recommended that he do anything now in response
to this, but we are watching very carefully the progress that the
Chairman of the U.N. Inspections Committee makes as he both
supervises the inspections that need to occur and as he conducts his
own dialogue with the government.
Do you know, has there been any progress at all on
the inspection of the Presidential palaces, irrespective of this
current decision to block the --
MR. MCCURRY: Well, you should direct that question,
more appropriately, to the United Nations, but I suspect that's a
subject that Chairman Butler wants to pursue in his visit.
Helen?
Has the President heard anything, any report from
his Asian delegation?
MR. MCCURRY: He has. Let me tell you a little bit
about that. Mr. Bowles convened this morning kind of an update
review of a team that's been meeting on and off during the period of
our work on the Asian financial situation consisting of, among
others, the National Economic Advisor, Gene Sperling; the National
Security Advisor, Sandy Berger; Secretary Albright; Secretary Rubin;
Dan Tarullo from the National Security Council working on
international economic issues; and others.
They were able to get a phone report from Deputy
Secretary Summers in Asia on the status on some of his work. He has
been in Singapore and arrived this morning, our time, to Jakarta, and
expects to begin his meetings with Indonesian officials probably late
tonight, our time, which would be the beginning of the work day in
Jakarta. This was reported to the President. When he arrived here,
he got an update from some of the same members of that working group.
And he's following very carefully and closely the work that the IMF
is doing in region, and the work, obviously, that the Deputy
Secretary of the Treasury is doing.
Q
Sounds like you're very concerned if you have that
high level a meeting.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, it's on an off during this period.
We've had roughly that same contingent of officials monitoring this,
sometimes in person, sometimes through there chief deputies,
depending on what other subjects their covering. But it's a
significant issue because the regional economic stability of Asia is
something that impacts directly on the American people, with so much
of our commerce directly tied up with the work that we do in that
region, that there are millions of American families that are
affected by economic conditions in Asia. Thus, it's very appropriate
for the President and many of his key advisors to be involved in
this.
Q
How serious is the problem, the Asian money
problem?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, it's quite serious. As you know, in
some sense, the markets have been telling us. At the same time, we
believe that a very strong and potentially effective program of
response has been developed through the International Monetary Fund.
And the United States will continue to work with other industrialized
nations and with the IMF to address exactly the things that we think
have led to instability in the markets because, ultimately, the
program that they've developed, the reforms they've recommended, the
economic changes that some of these nations will make and many have
indicated they are willing to make, will be the source of a return to
long-term economic stability in the region.
Q
But does the renewed instability in Asian markets
indicate that perhaps those initiatives aren't working?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, it indicates that there's a lot of
work that needs to be done by the governments that need to fulfill
the obligations that they've rendered to the International Monetary
Fund. And there's work that needs to be done by international
monetary officials and then the governments acting independently to
work with these governments to encourage them to implement the type
of economic reforms that will lead to stability.
Q
Is the White House concerned about Congressional
opposition to U.S. participation in these bail out programs? Senator
Faircloth is having a Wednesday meeting for congressional staffers
against it. Senator D'Amato has made statements against it. Jim
Leach is going out this week to the region to investigate.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, we encourage members to explore for
themselves the reality of what is happening in those economies and
the significant interest we have in seeing the success of the
international programs that have been developed carried out, because
that is, ultimately, we believe, very important to the livelihoods of
millions of Americans, certainly millions of constituents that many
of those critics represent.
But at the same time, there will be a vigorous debate on
this. I think members of Congress made that clear. And we will
welcome being a part of that debate because we think the case for
active involvement by the United States is a very good one. We have
longstanding, deeply-held interests in that region that we have
pursued very actively for many, many years now, and we're not about
to give up what we think is the important sense of presence and
strategic interest that we have in that region.
Among other things, in addition to having the Treasury
Secretary in the region meeting with economic officials, as you know,
the Defense Secretary is there now to remind governments in that
region and the peoples of that region that we will remain engaged
with them, and that the security of the Asia Pacific region is of
vital U.S. strategic interest as well.
Q
Mike, does Summers have any assurance from
Soeharto, from any of the other officials in Indonesia, that they are
taking the reform steps that the U.S. is demanding? And what is the
level of concern here? As a follow-up, what is the level of concern
here about social unrest in Indonesia and serious problems like that
spreading even further to other Asian countries?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, without betraying the confidence of
discussions that the President has had, he had a very good
conversation with President Soeharto on exactly that subject. I
think it's safe to say that we believe Deputy Secretary Summers'
meetings would be constructive and useful. And we would not have
believed that if there wasn't at least some indication that the
government of Indonesia takes seriously the program of activity it
has pledged to the IMF.
As to the internal political situation in Indonesia,
that's really a matter for the people of Indonesia and for the
leaders of Indonesia. They have elections scheduled in March, and
it's up to them to make those determinations. But the conditions
upon what they would be able to exercise their judgments and make
those kinds of decisions are certainly enhanced if there is a return
to economic stability in the region, which is in our interest and
ultimately in their interest.
Q
Are Asian governments moving too slowly to
implement the kinds of reforms --
/,
MR. MCCURRY: There are a number of different
governments in the region that have made different sets of
arrangements with the IMF and we are working case by case to address
many of those situations. The Deputy Treasury Secretary will be in a
number of places other than Indonesia, and we will work all those
governments in the region to fulfill the kind of program that we
think has the maximum chance of success.
Q
Is the administration working on a fall-back
position if the pace of reform is not satisfactory?
MR. MCCURRY: You've heard the Treasury Department
describe what is sort of a second line of defense that is available,
but at the moment we are encouraging people to make use of the IMF
facilities that have been constructed and that are available.
Q
Mike, with regard to the IMF facilities, it wasn't
enough in South Korea. The United States agreed to put in another
$1.5 billion because of their liquidity crunch. Is the United States
standing ready to provide more funds from the U.S. Treasury for any
of these countries that fail to proceed?
MR. MCCURRY: Do you want to see if I can move markets
around the world? I can't answer that other than to say that we are
in a position to work through the IMF and with other countries to
address the type of economic market conditions that come about when
there is a lack of long-term economic stability. But I think we've
been pretty clear that we can't talk about specific commitments, but
we can talk about the type of work that has been designed by the IMF
and by the governments involved.
Over the weekend, Bruce Babbitt's interview with
the Times, I think it was, was published, in which he said, "I've
made a lot of mistakes" in this Indian casino business. Does the
President still have complete confidence in him? And does the
President believe that Babbitt handled the matter properly?
MR. MCCURRY: Yes, and yes, although he did instruct the
Chief of Staff to explore the matter further and to get a better
understanding. I would also point out over the weekend the Secretary
of the Interior was applauded for his management of difficult water
issues in the West, and he continues to do extraordinarily good work
in addressing the nation's environmental resource management
questions, even as he handles some of these other issues that have
been raised.
Q
Well, help me out. Is this old that the President
had instructed the Chief of Staff to explore the matter further?
MR. MCCURRY: That happened quite some time ago. We
reported on it here.
May I just -- when is the Chief of Staff going to
report to the President, conclude his investigation?
MR. MCCURRY: It happened some time ago.
Why can't he ask that?
Mike, is there any concern at the White House --
I'm unclear, Mike --
MR. MCCURRY: The point of what we told you back a
couple months ago was that the Chief of Staff did explore this, did
talk to the Interior Secretary, and did report back to the President.
I think we covered that in some detail.
/,
So your answers did not come after the Babbitt
interview, this was something that came before?
MR. MCCURRY: No, no. This came up quite some time ago,
and we --
So after the Babbitt interview, the President is
still satisfied with the situation?
MR. MCCURRY: I haven't talked to him specifically about
the New York Times interview, but I'm not aware of any change in his
thinking.
Mike, is there any concern at the White House that
this devastating ice storm in the Northeast may just be a precursor
of a totally wacky weather year that's going to throw all the
budgeting of emergency assistance funds --
MR. MCCURRY: You mean, with the arrival of El Nino and
we've got a front coming in over this -- look, it's hard to talk
about how isolated meteorological effects reflect overall climate
changes. But we do know that there has been significant overall
climate change and that is a source of concern. It does take us back
to the need to pursue the kinds of regimes we talked about with other
members of the world community.
A little update -- as you know, I think the President
declared several counties in upstate New York disaster areas. And
while we haven't received any official requests from the governors of
Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, there are some preliminary damage
assessments that are being done by FEMA in those states now that
develops the kind of material that could be in support of a request
for disaster assistance if one came, and we're working very closely
and cooperatively both with the state government in New York and then
with the governors and emergency response officials in the states
that have been affected.
I believe also we've got some FEMA presence out in the
Pacific Northwest, too, that's been looking at some of the storms
there.
But the question was, are you sure that FEMA has
enough money to deal with whatever might happen for the rest of the
year?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, they've had a difficult year, but
they've been able to, I think -- they got a supplemental, didn't
they, Barry?
MR. TOIV: No, not for this fiscal year.
MR. MCCURRY: Not for this year. Last year, in the
period when they've had to deal with floods, earthquakes, fires,
they've had difficult taxing of their resources, they've been able to
get the kind of supplementary appropriation from Congress that's
helped them do the work that's so important.
Can we go back to Iraq for a second? You folks
have insisted for many months now that Saddam Hussein is in a box,
and yet you just said a minute ago that he's getting away with
willful violations and harassments of the U.N. weapons inspection
team.
MR. MCCURRY: I did not say that. I said that we would
be watching very carefully to see what he does. He has from time to
time failed to fully comply --
Q
You did say that.
/,
GENERAL MCCAFFREY: Well, he's failed to fully comply
with the stipulations that have been placed on him by the U.N.
That's been true now for six years.
Q
Right, so how is he -- I don't get how he's in a
box.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, he is motivated we believe in part
by a desire to escape from the effect of the economic sanctions that
are still placed upon him. Those sanctions remain in effect and
there's absolutely no indication that there's any change in the
posture of the world community to keep those sanctions in effect.
Let me follow up if I may. To the extent that the
American people care whether or not Saddam Hussein is in a box, they
care because of the threats that you folks have articulated about
weapons of mass destruction --
MR. MCCURRY: Absolutely.
Q
So how is it -- has anything changed since late
October until today in terms of our ability to find out what he's
doing in chemical or biological weapons?
MR. MCCURRY: In a sense, yes, because -- I don't know
the exact number, but at the time in October he had expelled certain
U.N. inspectors from Iraq that had led the United Nations to withdraw
the entire inspection team. We were in the middle of a significant
problem at that point; inevitably Saddam backed down, the teams went
back in, they've done hundreds of inspections since. But they are
continuing to work on a problem that has not produced all the answers
that they want or that they find sufficient. And there is going to
continue to be that effort and they're going to continue to be
pressed. And no doubt when Chairman Butler reports on his meetings,
at that point we're going to have to make some assessments about what
other steps need to be taken.
Q
If the American team is pulled out, if the American
team is kicked out, is it the position of the United States that all
the teams should leave again?
MR. MCCURRY: The position of the United States is at
that point supportive of the United Nations. When that's happened in
the past, the response of the United Nations and of the Chairman of
the U.N. Special Commission has been quite swift and quite
appropriate in our view.
Mike, the Iraqis allege that Scott Ritter is a spy.
MR. MCCURRY: He has said that is ridiculous and so have
many others. And the United Nations has made clear that he is hired
because of his technical background. He is someone who is
indisputably and expert. And he works for the United Nations. He's
not -- he is a U.S. national, but he works under the direction and
the supervision of the United Nations at this point.
Q
And does not work for U.N. intelligence at any
level?
MR. MCCURRY: He's very clear that he does not. He has
said so himself and others have said so as well.
Q
Mike, to what degree was the White House aware of
complaints from gay rights group about a legal loophole in the '86
Privacy Communications Act where a sailor was essentially outed from
the don't ask, don't tell policy and AOL apparently violated its own
privacy standard by giving information to naval investigators which
led to --
MR. MCCURRY: Chip, I saw that story this morning and I
have to confess to you I failed to make an inquiries at the Pentagon
about what their reaction is. I can -- we can see if we can take
that and see if the Pentagon has said anything on that today.
On a totally unrelated matter, what is the White
House position on Senator Kennedy's proposal to raise the minimum
wage?
MR. MCCURRY: The Senator has made a number of
interesting and important proposals and a number of them are being
looked at at this point. You know, historically, this President's
commitment to seeing that the minimum wage is a meaningful wage for
people who are working. Very often -- people are working hard and
very often doing so and staying off forms of public assistance, and
we have had an interest -- we've successfully achieved an increase in
the minimum wage, but at this point that's an idea that we have to be
looking at carefully and have to be thinking about as we think of
other things that we are pursuing with respect to macroeconomic
policy.
Q
If I could just follow up, do you anticipate that
that would be something that's possibly going to be included in the
President's State of the Union?
MR. MCCURRY: I'm only anticipating at this point that
it will remain under review.
Q
Mike, the Northern Ireland peace talks resume today
in Belfast. Do you think they have any chance of success given the
recent violence there? And secondly, do you foresee any direct U.S.
involvement in the talks in the weeks and months ahead?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, do I see any prospect for success?
Yes, because the peoples of Ireland are so manifestly committed to
peace and are so upset about the tragic return to violence that
they've seen. At the same time that there has been violence and
there's been a return to the kind of troubles that people in both
families lament, there has also been very determined work by the
government of the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland to advance common
thinking about how progress can be made at Stormont. And the United
States government applauds the work that both governments are doing
to table a proposal. We think that that demonstrates the seriousness
of purpose with which they take the talks, and we encourage the
parties themselves to make best use of this inclusive process to
address the issues that members in all sects face.
Mike, The Washington Post had a story this morning
that it's being said that Mack McLarty is going to leave the
administration after the Summit of the Americas. Is there anything
to that?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, you know, Mack has extended his stay
here at the President's request and done an extraordinarily good job
as an ambassador and envoy in that region. The President knew that
1997 would be a very significant year for our policy in Latin America
and I think, using his powers of persuasion, encouraged Mr. McLarty
to remain here so that he could help lead the agenda that we pursued
last year Now, that was all about preparing -- doing the work that
we did in the President's travels through a lot of our other
diplomacy last year to prepare us for the second Summit of the
Americas in Santiago coming up in a few months.
What Mr. McLarty's plans will be beyond that will be up
to him. But I know that he probably yearns for the life that he
thought he was going to get after the end of the first term and as
the President managed to subvert by getting him to stay.
Q
In other words, he's leaving. (Laughter.)
MR. MCCURRY: I think I said that very elegantly.
(Laughter.) You'd have to check with him.
Q
Speaking of the President's powers of persuasion,
has he had any luck convincing Senator Feinstein to run for governor
of California?
MR. MCCURRY: I think he thinks very highly of her. But
if they talked recently and had a conversation about -- talked to her
recently and had a conversation about politics in California, I
imagine that he would want me to keep it between the two of them.
Q
But were she to run, his efforts out there would be
pretty --
MR. MCCURRY: I think that people who know politics in
California say nothing but that she would be a very strong candidate.
Q
How about Panetta?
Q
Can you confirm that the President's deposition
with Paula Jones' attorneys will not be taken here at the White
House?
MR. MCCURRY: I can't say anything about that subject.
Q
Well, if the President were to travel from the
White House grounds on Saturday, am I correct that a travel pool
would necessarily go with him?
MR. MCCURRY: Usually, when he tries to travel around
here people know about it pretty quickly, so I imagine they would.
Q
Mike, one loose end on Iraq. If the American team
MR. MCCURRY: Without necessarily saying that's what is
going to happen. I don't, frankly, know the answer and I'm not even
sure that there is an answer at this point. But the court would be
the only one who would properly determine what kind of public comment
can be made.
Q
Well, our information is flatly it has been decided
it will not be here at the White House.
MR. MCCURRY: You're giving out the scoop in public?
What are you doing?
Q
This isn't a big scoop. It's not like a big huge
story -- don't you think?
MR. MCCURRY: I personally don't think so. But I'll
leave you to make your own judgment. (Laughter.)
Q
Has the President seen or talked to Bennett lately?
MR. MCCURRY: He's talked to him from time to time. I
don't know -- I mean, they've had to have talked during this
discovery period.
Q
But doesn't he have to prepare for a deposition?
MR. MCCURRY: Normally, if you're going to give a
deposition, you prepare with your attorney. I can't imagine the
President wouldn't.
How did the President react to being in the same
room with Paula Jones?
MR. MCCURRY: His attorney has addressed that. I don't
really have anything to add to what he said.
Did you find out if Robin Williams was at Camp
David with the President this weekend?
MR. MCCURRY: I do believe that's true. And I think
they were up with some of the other cast members. And the President
and the First Lady are going to be doing some more entertaining and
socializing up there. So I wouldn't be surprised if they go up from
time to time.
Why?
MR. MCCURRY: The main reason is they want to use --
they want to make more use of Camp David. They found it hard go up
there when their daughter was still here because she'd be away from
her friends and they didn't use it as much as they'd like. But they
like being up there. I imaging they'll go up there more often.
Q
Do you know what other members of the cast joined
Robin Williams?
MR. MCCURRY: No, and I'm not -- to be honest with you,
I think the President is entitled to invite who he wants to go up
there to be his private social guests and I don't intend to report on
the guest list on such occasions.
Why?
MR. MCCURRY: Because I think it's just good -- I mean,
they do -- they have during -- when they screen movies and do stuff
over at the residence all the time and we don't pester them about it
and I don't intend to.
Q
Well, just to tie up a loose end on that for
interest of those who watch Show Biz Today -- (laughter) --
MR. MCCURRY: What time does that come on? (Laughter.)
When's that on?
Q
It comes on at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. (Laughter.)
MR. MCCURRY: At 5:30 p.m. Eastern. (Laughter.)
What time is that Central Time? (Laughter.)
Q
Are you anchoring that now? (Laughter.)
Q
No, I'm not. (Laughter.)
MR. MCCURRY: You never know, Wolf, they might have
already announced it. (Laughter.)
Q
To the best of my knowledge. Do they have a movie
theatre at Camp David? Where do they watch these kinds of movies at
Camp David?
MR. MCCURRY: They have -- I think they do. I defer
that -- I'm sure they do because I think previous Presidents have
very often gone up there and shown movies and that sort of thing.
Q
The Republicans have proposed appropriating money
to fund 100,000 new teaching positions and I'm wondering what the
White House reaction to that is and why you haven't proposed that
yourselves.
MR. MCCURRY: We're in favor of teachers and we are in
favor of thinking about --
Q -- 100,000 new ones on the street?
MR. MCCURRY: -- thinking about ways in which we might
do it. And, who knows. He's a very clever fellow, that Congressman
Paxon. Maybe he caught wind of some things that we were thinking
about.
Forget McLarty. Are you leaving anytime soon?
MR. MCCURRY: If you let me out of here, I will, yes.
(Laughter.)
No, I mean in the White House staff.
Hold on. Can we just finish the teachers thing?
MR. MCCURRY: No, I dropped a hint there. You've got to
pursue it on your own.
Yes?
The race panel is headed to Phoenix this week where
one of the things they're going to do is take up the concerns of
Native Americans. There's been a lot of criticism that that's late
in coming and incorporating them into the discussion. Can you
comment on that?
MR. MCCURRY: There are many communities that the
President has been reaching out and talking to. In fact, if I'm not
mistaken, John Echohawk is one of the participants in the session
that we're having this afternoon with the President. I think the
President does see this effort to understand and embrace the
diversities in American, one that extends to many, many different
kinds of constituencies and communities. And while there are some
unique aspects to race that involve the relationship between black
and white America, I think we've said all along that the rich
diversity that's going to be America in the 21st century requires an
approach and a willingness to listen to and hear many, many other
communities. And SO the President's session today is one such
opportunity, and there will be others.
Mike, does the President support the DNC's action
over the weekend to allow non-citizen residents in the U.S. to
contribute to the party?
MR. MCCURRY: Yes, he does.
Did he say during the campaign, though, that
contributions ought to be limited to those who can vote in elections?
MR. MCCURRY: He sees, as the DNC said, I think,
yesterday, sees these people as likely potential new voters soon.
Does he feel like he made a mistake a year ago when
he endorsed the DNC's --
MR. MCCURRY: Presidents don't make mistakes, they have
Q
Mistakes are made. (Laughter.)
/,
MR. MCCURRY: They have further thinking that is bought
to a subject.
Q
Seriously, Mike, he gave a speech and said --
MR. MCCURRY: No, I think the President agrees with a
lot of what was said yesterday, that the unintended consequences of
that policy has been to make some communities feel like they are not
worthy participants in the political process. And I think the
President feels that was a bad outcome of a policy that was well
intentioned. And when the DNC approached the White House about the
change in the subject, I think the President understood the
rationale.
Q
How much money can he get from them?
MR. MCCURRY: The DNC can tell you more about it. I
don't know.
Q
The United States has had very little luck
convincing the French and the Russians in the Security Council to
take stronger action against Iraq. Is today's incident going to be
something that the United States takes into the Security Council and
uses as an avenue of argument to convince them to take stronger
action now?
MR. MCCURRY: It will certainly be cited by the United
States as reasons why we have to remain very firm and determined in
dealing with the government of Iraq. That is not lost on the
governments of France and Russia and others in the Security Council.
They understand the provocations that Saddam has rendered, and they
also have joined unanimously with the U.N. in supporting Security
Council Resolutions 1134 and 1137. And that remains the stated
position of those governments, and we will continue to work to pursue
the objectives that are expressed in those recent unanimous
declarations of the world community.
Q
But isn't this exactly what the United States
warned the French and the Russians was going to happen if they didn't
take stronger action?
MR. MCCURRY: We've had a number of conversations with
those governments stressing the need to remain resolved and united as
we address this real issue.
Q
There is a line of thinking that Saddam feels more
ability to maneuver this month because of the Muslim holiday of
Ramadan. Would you disabuse him of that notion?
MR. MCCURRY: Yes.
Well said. (Laughter.)
I'm just wondering after today if the President has
run out of items to preview for State of the Union, or are they
planning more --
MR. MCCURRY: No, we've got all kinds of boxes under the
tree.
If you could tell us, is there anything more this
week that he's going to unveil?
MR. MCCURRY: I don't know. What is the status of our
leaks these days? (Laughter.) Let's go call Rahm and find out where
he's -- no, I think there's not -- I'm not anticipating this week
additional discussions of things that have budgetary impact. The
President in the State of the Union is going to be talking about a
lot of things that are fundamentally important to the country. He
will be talking later in the week about race in America and the
struggle for civil rights, and acknowledging some of the heroic
leadership of those that are going to receive the National Medal of
Freedom. And that's the kind of thing that in a sense previews parts
of what I think he wants to lay before Congress in January.
Q
I was talking about policy initiatives.
MR. MCCURRY: In policy initiatives, I'm not aware at
the moment of any, but who knows? You're all good reporters.
Q
On the budget, you said this morning you would look
into the report about the division of the revenues from a national
tobacco settlement --
MR. MCCURRY: What I got back on that was pretty much
the same answer that I gave you when we talked about the general
question of tax incidence that would be reflected in the budget. We
really are not going to be in a position to get into the specifics
until the budget is delivered to Congress in February, although we
would say that we credit the states' attorneys general for the very
important work they did in bringing litigation, and it would stand to
reason that we would want to share the proceeds from any settlement
with the states. But exactly what the percentage would be or how we
would do that, we're not at liberty to discuss until the President
unveils his budget.
Q
So are you saying the Wall Street Journal is wrong,
or just that you're not in a position to confirm --
MR. MCCURRY: No, I sort of said that we weren't going
to confirm what they had.
Can I come back to the DNC for a second? Are you
saying that the President no longer supports a unilateral ban on
this, or any ban?
MR. MCCURRY: I'll direct you to the DNC on that. He is
supportive of the work that they did over the weekend.
Q
The President's position on the acceptance of money
from legal aliens, it's one thing to say we no longer will
unilaterally do it, but still support legislation.
MR. MCCURRY: Legal permanent residents, I believe is
the term we prefer.
Okay. Does he still support legislation that would
ban them, or he no longer supports that either?
MR. MCCURRY: I don't believe that is part of the
pending legislation that we've expressed support for.
Q
He supported it in '96.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, I'll ask him what his views are on
that specific question.
Q
Mike, it's reported today that Dennis Scolabrini
(phonetic), the FBI agent who testified on behalf of Billy Dale at
the Travelgate trial says he was harassed by Clinton aides in
retaliation. What is your response?
MR. MCCURRY: If I understand correctly, that is a
sealed deposition and we'll honor the court's decision to seal
whatever testimony he gave.
/,
Q
On to weapons of mass destruction and proliferation
-- the conference committee has come out with a report talking about
it, saying the problem is worsening, criticizing the White House,
saying a lot of talking really hasn't backed it up. Has the White
House been effective in this?
MR. MCCURRY: I'm not familiar with the report. I don't
know specifically what area of concern they raised. But we spent
most of this briefing talking about the various extensive work that
the United States is doing, including the hard work that 37,000 young
men and women are doing in the Gulf to pursue our concerns about
weapons of mass destruction. And I think it's fair to say that
there's not a question in the post-Cold War pantheon of foreign
policy that the President takes more seriously than efforts by
countries that are outliers in the world community to acquire weapons
of mass destruction. We've spent a lot of time on that issue here
and the President certainly has done a lot of hard work on the issue.
But I'll see if anyone knows of the report in particular.
Q
Do you expect the President to address the issue of
employer based pensions prior to the State of the Union?
MR. MCCURRY: Expanding retirement income security
opportunities for Americans, which it increasingly in the next
century is going to depend on shoring up Social Security, making sure
the people have got a variety of private sector based employer
provided pension arrangements, and encouraging Americans to make
their own savings and their own arrangements for retirement. It's
going to be a very real key part of work. We've already done a great
deal to address and underpin the strength of the private sector
pension insurance system and I expect in the -- that we will want to
say some more on that subject. I wouldn't rule out that there will
be a -- some focus on that in the weeks ahead, but I don't know
whether prior to January 27th.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
MR. MCCURRY: Thank you, Helen.
END
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