Faith Organizations Saddened By Gulf Coast Tour

By Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

Members from many faith-based organizations toured the Gulf Coast coast Wednesday and told reporters they are concerned with how Gulf Coast citizens are handling the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“We are seeing a significant increase in the issues, the mental health issues, the depression, people are tending to fall apart now, it’s really ramping up, the loss of composure, particularly for people who have been self-reliant for most of their lives,” said Patty Whitney of Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing.

The faith-based organizations expressed growing concern that after BP caps the spewing well in the Gulf of Mexico, Americans will continue with their lives and forget about the residents of the Gulf who will be affected for decades.

“It is said that America has an eight day memory.  Something happens and we get all involved in [it], and in eight to ten days, it passes over,”  said Rev. Gerald Durley. “I think we have a moral and a spiritual obligation across faith to keep this at the forefront of the American conscience.”

Rev. Canon Sally Bingham said her most moving experience was seeing the damage being done to America’s Gulf Coastline.

“I think unnecessary risk was taken with nature, and now we’re faced with the worst case scenario,” Bingham said. “Human lives have been lost, creatures destroyed, and some habitats will never recover.”

Today At TRNS

The Washington Bureau will be covering:

Community and Faith Leaders from Arizona hold a 24 hour vigil in front of the White House.

The Brookings Institute “Rethinking Immigration Policy in the United States.”

Tennis player Venus Williams delivers an address on topics such as her Wimbledon experience this year and her new book.

The Heritage Foundation discusses Supreme Court decisions during the 2009-2010 term.

The Sierra Club holds a conference to discuss experiences touring the oil damage in the Gulf with religious leaders.

International Pressure Could Prevent Iranian Mother's Stoning, Says Author

Robert Hune-Kalter-Talk Radio News Service

Sakineh Mohammandi Ashtiani could be stoned to death at any moment. This sentence comes after a 2006 court in Iran found the 42 year old mother guilty of adultery.  Ken Timmerman, an author and Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, says the international community has the power to prevent this death sentence.

“The Iranian regime is not a regime of law, it is an arbitrary regime. Anything can happen, in any direction.  The woman could be suddenly acquitted should there be a tremendous amount of international pressure on the regime.  They could acquit her tomorrow,” Timmerman said in an interview with Talk Radio News.

Stoning was reinstated by the Ayatollah in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution.

According to Timmerman, The supporters of stoning in Iran are the hardline supporters of the Islamic regime under Ali Khamenei, the Republic’s supreme leader.

“They are young people, as well as old people.  They are the people who benefit from the regime, predominantly in rural areas, socially conservative areas, and areas of a male dominated society,” Timmerman said.

Feinberg Outlines Reimbursement Process For Gulf Coast Victims

Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund, outlined the process for reimbursing business owners hit hard by the oil spill in the Gulf Coast during his testimony Wednesday before the House Small Business Committee.

Mr. Feinberg said there are two important prerequisites for securing compensation through the fund.

“One, is the claim eligible, is it even appropriate to file a claim.  Even if you have an eligible claim, corroborate it.  You have to corroborate your claim.  You can’t come in and say ‘I’m out of work,’ ‘I’m losing $5 thousand a month, pay me.’  Show me you are out of work,” said Feinberg.

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) asked what can be done for motel and restaurant owners who live in his district, where no tar balls have rolled up on the beaches, but because of perception tourism is down 50 percent.

“This is a very tough issue, I mean there is not enough money in the world to pay every single small business that claims injury no matter where or when,” Feinberg responded.

Feinberg will draw from $20 billion escrow fund established this month to offer small businesses long-term lump sum payments instead of month-to-month emergency payments. There are currently 35 claims locations located in the Gulf Coast Region. Claims can also be filed online.

“I welcome and urge all eligible claimants to file a claim with this facility that has been established under my direction,” Feinburg said. “Anybody, any private individual, or company who feels that they have a valid claim to draw out of this facility, should file a claim.” 

White House Anticipates Smooth Confirmation For Kagan

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

The White House predicts that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's confirmation next week will go smoothly, despite unease among Republican Senators over still unreleased documents.

In a conference call Friday with David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the President, and White House Counsel Bob Bauer, the two emphasized the backing Kagan has received from both parties.

“One of the more striking features ... is the breadth of support that Elena Kagan ... has received from Democrats and Republicans and from lawyers on any side of the political divide,” Bauer said.

While there were initial rumors that Republicans could boycott the hearings over 1,600 documents withheld from the Committee from Kagan's days as a Clinton appointee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has promised that the minority party will be in attendance when the hearings open. However, during an interview with ABC, Sessions would not reject the possibility of a filibuster against the nominee.

In addition to the documents, some in the GOP are worried over Kagan's background. Axelrod dismissed concerns that Republicans could use the hearings to cast Kagan as a “judicial activist” for her history as a political appointee during the Clinton administration, arguing that her experience studying, teaching and practicing law while working as Solicitor General of the United States and working as Dean of the Harvard Law School will outweigh the label.

“I don’t think this is going to be the issue at the end of the day on which this nomination rests,” said Axelrod.

Kagan goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday. According to Axelrod, Kagan, who once described the confirmation process as a "ritual dance," will be well prepared.

“In the last week or so, she has spent several hours a day fielding questions,” said Axelrod. “She has thought a lot about these issues.”