FBI/Police Certificates

Daniel wrote: "If I may, a question about the police clearance from Germany -- I have lived outside the U.S. as well. You said that you have it already; did you submit this with your application and this another one with a later date or is this the first time? The reason I ask is that it was hell getting this document for me and I have submitted it with our application. Will I have to go through that again because the first one 'expired'?" In response, I thought I'd post about that and clearances in general.

Unlike some of you, upon the advice of our attorney, we did not submit FBI, state, or foreign clearances/police certs with out original application. In April, 2006 - eleven months after applying - we were advised, in anticipation of the IA, to make application for FBI clearances. We did so and received them, date stamped 24 July 2006. As such, they will probably be sufficient for our visas because - barring some unknown disaster - they will be less than one year old when we submit remaining materials.

As I've probably mentioned, I was really, really, really hoping that we would not be asked to obtain state police certificates. The "official word" is that you will need them from each state in which you've lived for six months or more since the age of 18. For me that would have been six certificates. Ugh! But, again, we were advised to hold off because of the timeline. It also appeared - judging by those who have gone before, but gone recently - that they might not ask for them at all. That was, in fact, the case - and I hope it doesn't change or that will really throw a wrench into things!

Finally, I knew that having lived in Germany (then, West Germany) for over three years obligated me to get a police certificate from the Germans. Again, we were advised to wait a bit. Fortunately, the Germans were - no surprise - amazingly efficient. Clear info was available on-line and I received my certificate within two weeks of sending the application! It's amazing to me that I received the German cert from Germany in two weeks while the FBI cards took 13!

Funny side story - it cost 13 euros. It would have cost me $50 to get a wire for 13 euros so I took a 20 euro note that I had in my drawer and sent it in. I know it's risky to send cash through the mail, but I figured it beat paying my bank a small fortune. Not only was it no problem, but the Germans asked for the information they would need to wire 7 euros to my account. I've probably thrown the entire bureaucracy into a tizzy, but I took the "I'm so glad to have the cert, you can keep the 7 euros" approach. My German friend swears that some clerk is probably going buggy at not having received the exact amount or been able to post a credit.

I haven't seen info about expiration of foreign certificates, but here's my thought. What the other country is saying (you hope) is that you have no police record there. The request is based not on your travel to the country, but on having lived there. Thus, using my case as an example, although I have traveled to Germany since 1981, I've not lived there since 1981. So, if you can follow this logic, since they've already "reported" on my record, or lack thereof, for the period during which I lived there, it shouldn't "expire." Now, if I were living there now, I can see where that would be different. But, doing it again next year wouldn't produce a different result because the time period being addressed remains the same. This, of course, is not the case when it comes to living in the States and the FBI clearance. I feel like I should have written that better; hope you get the idea! All that being said, I don't know that logic prevails...

That's it for now! If you haven't visited in a while, be sure to scroll down as there's been a flurry of posting lately. Cheers!

Gay marriage debate set...

From globeandmail.com

Gay marriage debate set for next week
Tenille Bonoguore
Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press

Having just waded through the matter of Québécois nationality, the Conservative government is preparing to reopen the same-sex marriage debate.

Same-sex marriage will be back on the parliamentary agenda on Wednesday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivers on his promise to revisit the issue.

The House of Commons will debate whether to reconsider the current law permitting gay and lesbian couples to marry which was passed last year on the back of court rulings deeming it unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples that right.

The debate on Bill C-38 will be followed by a vote before the House breaks for the Christmas holidays.

The motion is not expected to directly challenge existing legislation but may ask if parliamentarians are willing to repeal or amend the law.

During the election campaign, Harper promised to hold a free vote in the Commons on whether Parliament should revisit the issue. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he is willing to abide by a decision by the Commons to let the current law stand.

Peace Wreath

The guys over at Life Wthout Borders had posted a story about the peace wreath. Here's a welcome follow-up:

November 29, 2006
Pro-Peace Symbol Forces Win Battle in Colorado Town
By Kirk Johnson

DENVER, Nov. 28 — Peace is fighting back in Pagosa Springs.

Last week, a couple were threatened with fines of $25 a day by their homeowners’ association unless they removed a four-foot wreath shaped like a peace symbol from the front of their house.

The fines have been dropped, and the three-member board of the association has resigned, according to an e-mail message sent to residents on Monday.

Two board members have disconnected their telephones, apparently to escape the waves of callers asking what the board could have been thinking, residents said. The third board member, with a working phone, did not return a call for comment.

In its original letter to the couple, Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco, the association said some neighbors had found the peace symbol politically “divisive.”

A board member later told a newspaper that he thought the familiar circle with angled lines was also, perhaps, a sign of the devil.

The peace symbol came to prominence in the late 1950s as the logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a British antiwar group, according to the group’s Web site. It incorporates the semaphore flag images for the letters in the group’s name, a “D” atop an “N.”

Other people have said the upright line with arms angled down, commonplace in the United States in the Vietnam War, especially, has roots in the early Christian era, representing a twisted or broken cross.

Mr. Trimarco said he put up the wreath as a general symbol of peace on earth, not as a commentary on the Iraq war or another political statement.

In any case, there are now more peace symbols in Pagosa Springs, a town of 1,700 people 200 miles southwest of Denver, than probably ever in its history.

On Tuesday morning, 20 people marched through the center carrying peace signs and then stomped a giant peace sign in the snow perhaps 300 feet across on a soccer field, where it could be easily seen.

“There’s quite a few now in our subdivision in a show of support,” Mr. Trimarco said.

A former president of the Loma Linda community, where Mr. Trimarco lives, said Tuesday that he had stepped in to help form an interim homeowners’ association.

The former president, Farrell C. Trask, described himself in a telephone interview as a military veteran who would fight for anyone’s right to free speech, peace symbols included.

Town Manager Mark Garcia said Pagosa Springs was building its own peace wreath, too. Mr. Garcia said it would be finished by late Tuesday and installed on a bell tower in the center of town.

The Details

Thought that some of you might find this of interest:

The following documents have been requested for submission to the Canadian Consulate General in Detroit, by February 17, 2007:

1. Payment of the Right of Permanent Residence Fee. This is the landing fee, which must be paid before your visas can be issued. It is applicable only for you and P, and the total amount is USD$890.00 ($445 + $445), and should be paid by bank draft or money order, in favour of "The Canadian Consulate General".

2. Copies of your medical examination receipts.

3. Proof of Settlement Funds. You must be able to show that you possess a minimum of CAD$15,563.00 in funds that are unencumbered and easily transferable to Canada. The funds should be in your name, or joint bank accounts with your partner. Original and up to date bank statements and/or letters from your bank confirming the exact amount should be sufficient.

4. Original FBI Clearances for you and P. The clearances issued in July 2006 should be acceptable, as they are less than one year old.

5. Original Police Certificate from Germany for you. Please be reminded that if the document is not in English or in French it must be accompanied by a certified translation.

State police certificates have not been requested, and are therefore not necessary for submission.

********

Ask me how glad I am that they cut the RPR fee! And, before your heart stops, remember that the CAD$15,563 in settlement funds are for a family of three, not just two.

I'm glad that it looks like we won't have to get FBI clearances again and I'm really glad about the state police certs as I would have had to get six of 'em! I already have the cert from Germany.

We've made appointments for physicals for Monday, 8 January. I know that most folks want to rush out and get them right away, but I'd rather have a month to get through exams, etc. and relax - see early posts re BP! We'll still be within the time range and then we can go while 5YO is back in school. Make a day of it in the 'burbs!

I think that's it for now. Woo-hoo!!!!

Okay...

We're waiting for the materials that will tell us how much time we have for medicals, what we need to get now (e.g., proof of funds), whether we need new FBI cards (they're not four months old yet). The letter should be sent via FedEx in the morning so... soon!

I thought I'd post a note about the medicals here rather than as a comment. As folks suggest, there is a bizarre array of prices for the exam. There are only two places here that do them so shopping around isn't really an option. One place gets about $400 and I've heard good things about them. The other guy charges about $300 and seems creepy. I called one of the two people in Thunder Bay and he charges CAD120 plus CAD42 for the x-ray. But, it's 8 hours away. By the time we figure gas, hotel, etc. it's a wash and we only get to visit to beautiful downtown Thunder Bay. Now, if it were summer, or Toronto...

I checked nearby states and there is nothing in Wisconsin, one person in Des Moines, IA and one in Rapid City, SD. That's about 7 and 9 hours respectively. So, given that it's winter and the possibility that we get called back... I think we're just going to suck it up and go with the local for $400. You can't help but think that it's all about supply and demand when places with more providers are charging so much less. Grrrrr...

I'll just be glad to get it over with. I have BP issues (can ya' tell?) and here it is the end of the semester and the holidays. Oy! I'm hoping to be able to schedule them for the first week of January after a weekend in the country snowshoeing. Then, since the office is about 45 minutes away, I'm going to have P drive and listen to relaxation music - not the Dixie Chicks! - on the way down. Seriously. I have a plan. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm sure the follow-up would be fine, but I'd love to walk in there, get 80/120, and be done with it.

Well, off to class where tonight's activity is for the students who have returned from semester abroad programs talk with those getting ready to leave about the stereotypes about Americans that they encountered. Should be interesting to hear what they have to say!

Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!

Hot in via e-mail from the attorney's office:

"Your early Christmas present has arrived! I am very pleased to inform you that we have received a communication from the Canadian Consulate General in Detroit, advising us that your interview has been waived! You and are now asked to undergo your medical examinations, and submit additional documentation to the Consulate. Attached please find a scan of the first page of the original waiver notice..."

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. More soon, but just had to post that!

Molasses, er, Detroit

From our attorney's office:

Thank you for your patience.

To date we have received only one assessment from Detroit for an application with a May AOR. I can assure you that your application has not been lost, your application is still in process, and we should hopefully receive your assessment in the next month or so. I will keep you updated.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*******

Not the Thanksgiving e-mail I would have preferred...

Hope those of you in the States are having a nice day. Perhaps I'll post again later.

The Pentagon is Watching

The New York Times

November 21, 2006
Military Documents Hold Tips on Antiwar Activities
By Eric Lichtblau and Mark Mazzetti

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 — An antiterrorist database used by the Defense Department in an effort to prevent attacks against military installations included intelligence tips about antiwar planning meetings held at churches, libraries, college campuses and other locations, newly disclosed documents show.

One tip in the database in February 2005, for instance, noted that “a church service for peace” would be held in the New York City area the next month. Another entry noted that antiwar protesters would be holding “nonviolence training” sessions at unidentified churches in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The Defense Department tightened its procedures earlier this year to ensure that only material related to actual terrorist threats — and not peaceable First Amendment activity — was included in the database.

The head of the office that runs the military database, which is known as Talon, said Monday that material on antiwar protests should not have been collected in the first place.

“I don’t want it, we shouldn’t have had it, not interested in it,” said Daniel J. Baur, the acting director of the counterintelligence field activity unit, which runs the Talon program at the Defense Department. “I don’t want to deal with it.”

Mr. Baur said that those operating the database had misinterpreted their mandate and that what was intended as an antiterrorist database became, in some respects, a catch-all for leads on possible disruptions and threats against military installations in the United States, including protests against the military presence in Iraq.

“I don’t think the policy was as clear as it could have been,” he said. Once the problem was discovered, he said, “we fixed it,” and more than 180 entries in the database related to war protests were deleted from the system last year. Out of 13,000 entries in the database, many of them uncorroborated leads on possible terrorist threats, several thousand others were also purged because he said they had “no continuing relevance.”

Amid public controversy over the database, leads from so-called neighborhood watch programs and other tips about possible threats are down significantly this year, Mr. Baur said. While the system had been tightened, he said he was concerned that the public scrutiny had created “a huge chilling effect” that could lead the military to miss legitimate terrorist threats.

Mr. Baur was responding to the latest batch of documents produced by the military under a Freedom of Information Act request brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. The A.C.L.U. planned to release the documents publicly on Tuesday, and officials with the group said they would push for Democrats, newly empowered in Congress, to hold formal hearings about the Talon database.

Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U. in New York, said the new documents suggested that the military’s efforts to glean intelligence on protesters went beyond what was previously known. If intelligence officials “are going to be doing investigations or monitoring in a place where people gather to worship or to study, they should have a pretty clear indication that a crime has occurred,” Mr. Wizner added.

The leader of one antiwar group mentioned repeatedly in the latest military documents provided to the A.C.L.U. said he was skeptical that the military had ended its collection of material on war protests.

“I don’t believe it,” said the leader, Michael T. McPhearson, a former Army captain who is the executive director of Veterans for Peace, a group in St. Louis.

Mr. McPhearson said he found the references to his group in the Talon database disappointing but not altogether surprising, and he said the group continued to use public settings and the Internet to plan its protests.

“We don’t have anything to hide,” he said. “We’re not doing anything illegal.”

The latest Talon documents showed that the military used a variety of sources to collect intelligence leads on antiwar protests, including an agent in the Department of Homeland Security, Google searches on the Internet and e-mail messages forwarded by apparent informants with ties to protest groups.

In most cases, entries in the Talon database acknowledged that there was no specific evidence indicating the possibility of terrorism or disruptions at the antiwar events, but they warned of the potential for violence.

One entry on Mr. McPhearson’s group from April 2005, for instance, described a protest at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces at which members handed out antimilitary literature and set up hundreds of white crosses to symbolize soldiers killed in Iraq.

“Veterans for Peace is a peaceful organization,” the entry said, but added there was potential that future protests “could become violent.”

Short Rant

Thursday afternoon. Wrapping up some things at my desk. Pick up message. Return call. It's an acquaintance who, with her husband, has also applied for PR. I call back. Nice to hear from her. She has a few questions. She's a bit panicked because... they have received the request for their medicals and they had hoped things wouldn't move this quickly. Oh, did I say that they applied in January 2006? We applied in June 2005. We have a nice chat. I answer her questions. Good to hear from her. But, I've pretty much stopped looking at things like Trackitt because it's just so annoying. Now I hear it in real time. Grrrr... I fired an e-mail off to the attorney to see what the latest is that they're seeing. On 17 October they were seeing Detroit process AORs from April 2005. If they stay on track we'll hear something next month. I'm sure I'll get some formal "Yes, they are slow" response as has happened before. Detroit sucks. Then I go home. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say we have a sick dog. I got home at 4 to meet 5YO's bus and was still cleaning up at 6:30. He made it through the night without event. I hope today is better on all counts! ;-)

Jeanne "Linda" Michel - Casualty of War

This is a really long post, but it's an article I'm posting here in case the link disappears. People really don't understand the thousands and thousands of lives being hurt by this folly in Iraq. We hear about deaths in Iraq and every now and then theres a "human interest" story about someone overcoming very serious injuries to "survive." In my opinion, we're not hearing enough about those who are coming "home" with serious mental health issues and less "glorious" but debilitating physical injuries. BTW, the woman profiled in this story was originally from Canada.

A casualty far from the battlefield
For veterans, coming home from war can be harder than being deployed
By Kate Gurnett, Staff writer

Clifton Park-- Last month, Jeanne "Linda" Michel came home from Iraq. Back in the suburbs, she tried to feel normal.

She'd been homesick for months. She couldn't wait to see her kids, ages 11, 5 and 4. Between her husband's deployment and her own, the children had been with just one parent for nearly three years.

She was 33, with a bright smile and stubborn determination. Reuniting should be easy. In another month, she'd be discharged from the Navy after five years of service.

"She had come through a lot and she had always risen to challenges," her husband, Frantz Michel, said last week.

What her family didn't see, and what she herself may not have realized, was the enormity of what she faced.

Like thousands of others returning from Iraq, her mental state was fractured. And it went untreated. Within two weeks, Linda Michel would become a private casualty of war.

Re-entry into the world of peace can be harder than deployment, experts say. Picking up where you left off doesn't just happen.

Husbands and wives report feeling like strangers to each other at first, according to Military OneSource, a support Web site for military families.

"Family roles, rituals, dynamics have changed," said Helena Davis, deputy director of the Mental Health Association in New York State. "And the vet has changed. Bonds have been fractured and need to be re-established."

Linda Michel was no exception. A self-sufficient medic known to help others, she was uncomfortable asking for that help for herself.

But treatment and self-care are critical for returnees, Davis said. Without it, "the anxiety keeps them spiraling down." Some turn to alcohol, drugs or domestic violence. Or, Davis said, "they hurt themselves." August, three veterans in New York's Adirondack region committed suicide within three weeks, Davis told a recent gathering of mental health professionals.

And the third American female to die in Iraq, Army interpreter Spc. Alyssa Peterson, 27, of Flagstaff, Ariz., shot herself with her service weapon. A devout Mormon and Arabic interpreter, Peterson had objected to U.S. techniques after just two days of participating in interrogations.

Women experience stronger forms of post-traumatic stress disorder and have higher PTSD rates, experts say. In response, the Veterans Affairs Department launched a $6 million study of female veterans.

Seeking treatment -- seen by some as a weakness -- may be even tougher for women, who still feel the need to prove themselves to men in military service.

In Iraq, female troops experience attacks, mortar fire and critical injuries such as amputation. And, women soldiers also are more at risk for sexual assaults, up 40 percent in combat zones from last year, Davis said.

Camp Bucca, the U.S.-run military prison where Michel was stationed, was investigated after a female mud-wrestling match was staged there.

Two weeks after she got home to Clifton Park, Linda Michel shot herself to death, stunning her colleagues and family.

Like many women who are assigned to Iraq, Linda Michel wanted to serve.

She grew up in Montreal, with her parents and five sisters. In the states, she married Frantz Michel, a native of Haiti who grew up in Rockland County and became a State Police investigator. They had three children, two boys and a girl, and lived in a quiet Clifton Park development dotted with kids' bicycles and basketball hoops.

By 2004, Frantz, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army National Guard, was serving in Iraq with the 42nd Infantry Division.

Linda had joined the Navy in 2001.

"It was the best fit for her," Frantz said. It meant they likely wouldn't be deployed together. And her chances of being assigned to a combat zone were slim.

When Linda was called up in 2005, she didn't want a deferment.

"She felt she needed to do it," Frantz said. "So I couldn't stop her."

What she hadn't expected was a shortage of Army personnel that forced Navy and Air Force members into land-based and combat areas.

Linda went to Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, the largest U.S. military prison there and the site of a 2005 riot that saw four prisoners killed by guards.

Inevitably dubbed "Doc" by her patients, she worked hard "doing her part to accomplish a mission many people said the Navy could not do," Rob Hallmark of Virginia Beach, Va., wrote in her on-line memorial guest book. "She was always a bright shining light in such a dark, dark place."

"She was more than 'Just in the Navy' or just a 'Corpsman' or 'Sailor,' she was there for us," added Linda's Camp Bucca roommate, Tammy Cartwright, of Anchorage, Alaska. "She was the one that helped me get out of bed every morning when all I wanted to do was give up and go home."

But in private, Michel faced demons. She saw a Navy doctor and was diagnosed with depression. The doctor prescribed Paxil.

Frantz Michel knew his wife's days were long and grueling. But he didn't know about the Paxil.

Studies have linked Paxil to adverse effects, including suicide, sparking an FDA warning in May.

When Linda came home, the Navy discontinued her medication. Again, Frantz Michel wasn't told.

"I just wish the Navy would have done some more follow-up, instead of just letting her come home," said Frantz, who is on the division staff of the Army National Guard. "If somebody needs Paxil in a combat zone, then that's not the place for them to be. You either send them to a hospital or you send them home and then make sure that the family members know and that they get follow-up care."

Talking his way up the Navy's chain of command, Frantz sought answers. "Why wasn't she sent to a facility to resolve the issues? Not keep her in Iraq and give her some antidepressant medication and then just send her home. So those are the answers that I don't have. Which makes me a little angry because I know what is supposed to occur."

Duty Officer Chris Pratt of the Navy Operational Support Center in Albany could not be reached for comment Friday, a holiday.

Linda Michel's suicide drew pages of on-line condolences, from California to Iraq.

Her death came amid rising demands for counseling from veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A 2005 Government Accountability Office study called services inadequate.

Lots of resources for vets aren't utilized, Davis said. Often, veterans don't retain what they hear during two-day stateside demobilization sessions. "They don't have the focus. All they want to do is get home."

Health care visits every four to six weeks aren't enough, she said.

Frantz Michel wishes the Navy hadn't cleared his wife for re-entry, or left her alone to withdraw from Paxil.

"You look (back) at things," he said last week. "I just wish that I had more information."

Linda Michel was given a full military funeral Oct. 23 and buried in the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery. Friends donated to a fund for the Michels' three children.

Shortly before she died, Linda attended a Navy weekend drill. Fellow reservist Robert Stanziano saw her there, and waved, but never got a chance to talk.

When she was mobilized "we were extremely proud ... and sent them care packages from time to time," he wrote in her memorial guest book. "We couldn't wait for them to return. Now she is gone and I'll never get the chance to ask her how it was over there.

"She was a great sailor, soldier, hospital corpsman, mom and a great woman of war for our country," he wrote in her memorial guest book. "Shipmate, I never had a chance to say this to you. Well done! Goodbye and farewell shipmate, you will be dearly missed."

********

I've deleted the info about PTSD, etc. To see more, as long as the link is live, go here.

Window on the World

Today's New York Times has a a piece, "Designs on America." The caption to this one is: "Apart from indicating love for one’s country, this window also provides an undeniably American view of the world." I thought it was funny.

But, on this Veteran's/Remembrance Day, an article that I missed last April begins: "Prime Minister Stephen Harper faced a storm of criticism on Tuesday for his decision to halt the flying of the flag at half-staff for Canadian troops killed in Afghanistan, and for refusing to allow news coverage of the return of the bodies of four soldiers recently killed there."

The beat goes on...

"We choose not to work for homosexuals"

I know you couldn't have made it through the day without this little tidbit... But, seriously, what do you think?

November 11, 2006
Landscapers Cause Furor by Shunning Gay Clients
By Ralph Blumenthal

HOUSTON, Nov. 10 — Last month, a local landscaping firm prompted a furor here by telling a gay couple in an e-mail message, “We choose not to work for homosexuals.”

The message quickly made its way around the Internet, and the company, Garden Guy Inc., was bombarded with threats and hate mail. But since then, the company’s owners say they have gained far more business than they have lost.

In an interview Friday, Sabrina Farber, 34, co-owner of the company with her husband, Todd, 37, said the company had picked up $40,000 in new business in the past two weeks, while losing only two clients worth about $500 each a year.

“I’m not saying that to gloat,” said Mrs. Farber, who described the frenzy as ugly and emotionally draining. But she said they would not do it differently and deserved credit for not masking their refusal with excuses.

“Why can’t people handle it when you say the truth?” she said.

One of the two gay clients, Gary Lackey, said, “We’re hoping things would die down” and declined to comment further in a telephone interview. The other member of the couple, Michael Lord, did not return a call.

The law appears to be on the Farbers’ side, said Lisa Graybill, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

“The federal law of public accommodations says if you hang out a shingle or open your door you don’t get to say, ‘Only to whites,’ ” Ms. Graybill said. But sexual orientation is not protected. And while some localities, like Seattle, have adopted ordinances extending antidiscrimination protection to gay men and lesbians, she said, Houston has not.

The uproar began after Mr. Lord contacted Garden Guy, whose Web site contains this slogan: “Treating you with respect and honesty are the cornerstones of our reputation.”

It also carries citations from the New Testament — Mrs. Farber volunteered that her husband was Jewish and now practices Christianity — and a message against same-sex marriage that the gay couple evidently overlooked: “The God-ordained institution of marriage is under attack in courts across the nation and your help is needed.”

Mrs. Farber and Mr. Lord talked business on the phone, but after Mr. Lord’s references to his “partner,” Mrs. Farber e-mailed Mr. Lord to cancel their appointment.

“I am appreciative of your time on the phone today and glad you contacted us,” she wrote. “I need to tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work for homosexuals.”

In the ensuing uproar, the family had to change its private phone numbers, Mrs. Farber said, and turned over to the police copies of threatening messages like “I will sodomize their children.”

Mrs. Farber said her husband, who holds a degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University, had done landscaping for gay clients before but had become increasingly “grieved” over visiting their homes to discuss design and plantings.

Dumbfounded by the e-mail message, Mr. Lord and Mr. Lackey forwarded it to friends, and it circulated widely on gay Web sites. A copy reached The Houston Chronicle, where a columnist, Rick Casey, broke the story on Oct. 20, suggesting that the Farbers “should refuse to do business with all sinners.”

With the affair spreading to the radio airwaves, Houstonians have piled on.

“It seems to me the Farbers must be a little naïve,” a letter writer, Joseph Carroll, wrote The Chronicle. “Don’t they realize they are probably doing business with homosexuals every day? They should check out their pharmacist, hair dresser, bank teller, the nurse at their doctor’s office, the waiter at their favorite restaurant and the church secretary.”

The Association of Professional Landscape Designers condemned the action of the Farbers, whose membership has lapsed, and instituted a requirement for members to abide by an antidiscrimination clause.

In addition to the criticism of the Farbers, there was also widespread support. Mrs. Farber cited one e-mail message from “Eric in St. Louis,” who wrote: “Life to the Farbers who have planted themselves like solid oak trees against these strong winds of perversion.”

Mrs. Farber said she and her husband never claimed to be perfect.

“We’re sinners, Todd and I,” Mrs. Farber said. But she added: “My husband made a personal choice, according to something he felt in his heart. It was never a judgmental choice or a hating choice or even a choice that said, ‘Well, we’re better than them.’ ”

Mixed Bag

It looks as though Webb will be declared the victor in VA giving the Democrats control of the Senate as well as the House. Lots of good wins. And, I am particularly astounded that my former state of Arizona became the first state to defeat an anti-same-sex marriage ballot measure. I am glad that South Dakota, although they passed such a measure, defeated the attempt to prohibit virtually all abortions. Then, there's Rummy's departure. It's almost too much to process. But, as suggested by my friends at Canadian Hope and Life Without Borders, it's hard to celebrate the good news when our families are getting slapped in the face by thousands upon thousands of US voters who feel the need to amend their state constitutions to protect marriage. Fuck them. And don't even get me started on the complete nutcase that the MN 6th has put in the House. Check this out if you want to know more. She's a complete wack-job. I'm glad that the DFLers (Democratic-Farmer-Labor party) in Minnesota have control of both chambers in our legislature. I'm glad that it appears that the Democrats will have complete control of the US Congress. I'm glad that Bush got his ass kicked. I'm glad some really decent people will be in Washington. But, I still can't wait to get out of here.

The Sanctity of Marriage

You may recall Britney Spears' first venture into marital bliss.

From CNN, more on the sanctity of marriage...
"Britney Spears files for divorce from her husband Kevin Federline, citing irreconcilable differences."

A Death in Iraq

I'm on a listserv that focuses on issues concerning women in/and the military. A link to this story arrived this morning. I thought that some of you might find it of interest; sad, but of interest.

Soldier opposed interrogations
Ariz. specialist killed herself in Iraq weeks after objection
FLAGSTAFF - A Flagstaff soldier who in 2003 became the third woman to die in Iraq killed herself two weeks after objecting to the interrogation techniques being used on Iraqi prisoners, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

Spc. Alyssa Peterson, 27, an Arabic-speaking interrogator who trained at Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona, was assigned to a unit at Tal Afar Air Base in northwestern Iraq. According to a criminal investigation report recently released by the military under the Freedom of Information Act, Peterson had been in Iraq for two weeks and participated in two interrogations in late August 2003.

She objected to interrogation techniques after the first session, the documents show, and after the second session she told her supervisor that she "could not carry out" the interrogation methods that were being used and asked to be reassigned.
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Her objections came seven months before the prisoner abuse allegations at Abu Ghraib prison in central Iraq became public.

The investigative report states that a sergeant and team leader both "detailed the aversion she had towards applying the interrogation methods to detainees."

Peterson's first sergeant, identified as James D. Hamilton, told investigators, "It was hard for her to be aggressive to prisoners/detainees, as she felt that we were cruel to them," the report states.

Army representatives declined to comment on Peterson's death or describe the interrogation techniques she objected to. Valerie Florez, Freedom of Information and Privacy Act officer at Fort Campbell, Ky., said all records of those techniques have been destroyed.

She attended a routine suicide-prevention training Aug. 29 and shortly afterward was reassigned to a base gate where she was directed to monitor Iraqi guards for duplicitous behavior. She also used her language skills to interpret for Iraqi civilians in liaison work.

However, her fellow soldiers reported that she kept to herself and did not make attempts to integrate herself into her team environment.

She avoided eating with her interrogation team and spent time reading at her desk when she did not have other assignments. No one in the unit reported signs of impending suicide.

On the evening of Sept. 15, 2003, she got off work at about 9 p.m. and was not seen again that night. According to the documents, the company executive officer heard two gunshots at about 9:30 p.m. but did not investigate.

At 9 the next morning, an aircraft passing over the nearby landing zone reported seeing Peterson's body in a grassy field next to her service rifle.

Documents disclosed that she had two gunshot wounds - her weapon apparently had been set on burst - beneath her chin.

Although the criminal investigations report concluded Peterson killed herself with her M-4 service rifle, the autopsy report has not been released. The military investigation offers no explanation of why Peterson would commit suicide.

Family members did not want to comment. A family spokesman, who asked not to be named, said family members did not want to know the details of her death.

In an interview a year after her death, Peterson's family told The Arizona Republic how their daughter was born in a leap year, on Feb. 29, 1976, in Greeley, Colo.

Because her "real" birthday came only every four years, her father would threaten to wake her up at midnight between Feb. 28 and March 1 to celebrate. But he never did.

In elementary school, she played the clarinet, was a standout soccer player and excelled in academics.

Her family moved to Flagstaff when Peterson was in fifth grade. She quickly joined soccer and ran cross country in junior high. In high school, she was a peer counselor.

She worked at McDonald's, saved her money and went to Northern Arizona University on a full academic scholarship, eventually graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

At 21, she served a mission in the Netherlands for the Mormon Church.

When she was told where she would be going, she bought books and tapes to learn Dutch and showed a remarkable aptitude for foreign languages that would serve her later in the military.

While in school, Peterson also attended classes at the Flagstaff Institute of Religion for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

David C. Jay, director of the institute, remembered her as very unassuming. "

She was reserved to the point of being what some people would perceive as shy," Jay said in 2004. "But she was such a wonderfully gifted young lady. "

Initially you would never have suspected that here this little girl would go off and learn to speak these difficult languages in parts of the world we know so little about," Jay said.

Peterson enlisted in the Army in July 2001, telling her parents afterward, "It's already done."

"We were resigned to it," her mother said in the 2004 interview. "We feel strongly that evil exists. That you cannot escape from it, but have to stand up to it."

Peterson got the best score on a language skills test that the local recruiter had ever seen, and she was chosen for military intelligence training at Fort Huachuca after basic training in Fort Sill, Okla.

After Fort Huachuca, she was sent to the Presidio of Monterey in California for a 15-month course in Arabic so she could help with interrogations and translation.

In August 2003, she shipped out to Iraq with the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division.

Her parents did not know she was in Iraq at the time of her death, thinking she was still stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.

After she died, her company commander called her family and said she had been a great asset to the unit.

He said she was well-liked and had never been happier than when she was talking with the local residents, helping to make their lives happier. He said she exemplified compassionate service.

Her death has been difficult for the Petersons, who went to Phoenix to meet their daughter's coffin.

"When the door of the cargo hangar opened, and that casket was there with a flag on it ... that was hard," her mother said.

Alyssa Peterson was buried with full military honors in Citizens Cemetery in Flagstaff.

Kevin Elston is a reporter for National Public Radio station KNAU in Flagstaff, which originally aired this report.

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Republicans Today

I have no idea who gets credit for this - probably a consortium of folks around the globe - but I thought that if it hasn't already appeared in your mailbox, you'd find it entertaining.

Things You Have to Believe to be a Republican Today
1) Jesus loves you - and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary.

2) Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

3) Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

4) The United States should get out of the United Nations - and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

5) A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all humankind without regulation.

6) The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7) If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

8) A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

9) Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

10) Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

11) A president lying about an extra-marital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

12) Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

13) The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

14) Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

15) What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

No news...

I hadn't posted in a bit so thought I'd write something. I've been enjoying the posts in our little ex-pat cyberworld, but with no movement on our end, alas, there simply hasn't been much to say. It's really frustrating to see other US citizens who applied through Buffalo later than we did, and didn't get transferred, receive their visas and land. I keep reminding myself that, given our plans, it's actually not a problem for us to be delayed, but you do hit the point where you think that, surely, they've simply lost your file.

Anyway - what's new? I just submitted almost the 50% of the book manuscript that was due by today. That's a relief. I've been working on chapter four today, but decided to take a break. Perhaps it was writing about Australia, Canada, and Great Britain having lifted their bans on gays and lesbians in the military that has me restless.

I've been busy the last few days dealing with bureaucracy of the public schools. For quite a while we debated, agonized, etc. over where to enroll our son for kindergarten. Although, with open enrollment there are, quite simply, too many choices, we had narrowed it down to a "traditional" neighborhood school, a French immersion program, and a year round school that focuses on "environmental science and community cultures." We opted for the latter, but, for a variety of reasons, decided that we should have gone with French immersion. I visited the school last week and now we're jumping through hoops to get him transferred. It's tough because we just love his current teacher, but thinking longer term we're really excited about the immersion program. Stay tuned.

I'm also starting to work on my courses for the next two terms. I juggled things so that, with these manuscript deadlines, I had a light load this term - one and a half courses. That means that next term I'm teaching three and a half. But, mostly they are things about which I'm jazzed. Namely - Social Problems with a new text, Global Problems: The Search for Equity, Peace, and Sustainability. In our Social Justice program I'm teaching Sexuality and the Law, also with a new casebook. And, I'll again do Crossing Borders II. It's a reflection-based course required of those students returning from a semester abroad. And, in the "not so jazzed but it can be fun" category is another round of Senior Seminar.

Then, I have to - yes, sometimes the lead time time kills me - start prepping for a fall course. But, I'm really looking forward to this one! It's a course for first year students where the content is really just the vehicle for getting them up to speed on "college" (i.e., skill development in critical thinking, oral presentation, etc.). We can create a course around any topic we wish because the goal is skill building, not the acquisition of a set body of knowledge. The tentative title for my course is - a take-off on part of our mission statement and clearly influenced by the Social Problems text - "Making the World a Better Place: Paths Toward Peace, Justice, and Sustainability." I want to introduce them to a potpourri of things like restorative justice, global volunteerism, co-housing, etc. We'll see... If you have an idea about something you think I should include, do tell! Really!

So, that's the latest. Not exactly immigration-related, but it's what's happening in my world. Hopefully I'll have something to report by the new year, but I'm not holding my breath.