The American Trial Lawyers Association

A new television ad against same-sex marriage is being slammed as deceptive and full of "half-truths" by gay rights groups. According to one report, $1.5 million will be spent to air the ads in four Northeastern states, which are considering gay marriage bills. The National Organization for Marriage's ad depicts individuals, from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, standing against a backdrop of stormy clouds. With lines like --- “The clouds are dark and the winds are strong” and “They want to bring the issue into my life,” and “My freedom will be taken away” --- the ad is filled with ominous hints that gay marriage advocates seek to impose their values on others. After suffering a serious setback in November with California voters' passage of Proposition 8, gay rights advocates have enjoyed a slew of victories in the last week. The victories include an Iowa Supreme Court verdict in favor of gay marriage, the Vermont legislature's legalization of gay marriage and a vote by the District of Columbia city council to recognize other states' same-sex marriages. If you haven't seen the ad, here it is…As you can see, they provide no specific examples of how their rights will be taken away, nor do they explain how this is a bad thing. Its just a bunch of close-minded people who want to take away the rights of people different from them.


In other news, according to a new investigation published this week, US military officers pressured Army medical personnel not to diagnose soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder in an apparent effort to save money and reduce benefits. Interviews conducted by Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna for Salon revealed that at least two Army medical personnel say they've been pressured by higher-ups to avoid giving wounded soldiers post traumatic stress diagnoses. The said that the VA has also jumped on board and has even stepped in after some diagnoses to claim that soldiers don't have PTSD, even though they clearly did. So why is the Army writing off PTSD diagnoses? A former Army psychologist who now chairs a Texas university psychology department explained that each diagnosis is an acknowledgment that psychiatric casualties are a huge price tag of this war, and its easiest to dismiss these casualties because you can't see the wounds. If they change the diagnosis they can dismiss soldiers at a substantially decreased rate.


And finally this week, in a stunning defense of President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, President Barack Obama has broadened the government's legal argument for immunizing his Administration and government agencies from lawsuits surrounding the National Security Agency's eavesdropping efforts. In fact, a close read of a government filing last Friday reveals that the Obama Administration has gone beyond any previous legal claims put forth by former President Bush. For the first time, the Obama Administration's brief contends that government agencies cannot be sued for wiretapping American citizens even if there was intentional violation of US law. Both the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union say the "sovereign immunity" claim in the context of the case goes farther than any previous Bush Administration claims of wiretap immunity. This story comes as a devastating blow to everyone who was expecting the criminal reign of the last 8 years to be over. This kind of makes you wonder if Karl Rove is still hiding behind the scenes pulling the strings.

Labels: Ad, Barack Obama, Diagnos, Doctor, Farron Cousins, Gay Marriage, George W Bush, Lies, National Organization for Marriage, Northeast, Post Traumatic Stress, PTSD, Telecom Immunity, VA, Veteran