CURRENT EVENTS
By John Smith

Guess which ONE of these stories is not true.
The answer is at the bottom.

1.  Nov 14 - Forbes Magazine usually publishes a list of the wealthiest people.  Now it has published a list of the world’s 67 most powerful people.  The list includes the US President, the Pope, Rupert Murdock, Bill Gates, and, number 41 on the list, Joaquin Guzman.  Don’t know him?  You’re excused.  Guzman is the head of Mexico’s largest Telecom Company. LA Times

2.  Nov 14 - China has ignored complaints against it’s use of lead in everything from toys to house paint.  But now, the Henan Province, south of Beijing, where much of the world’s lead is produced, has become so polluted that dozens of villages are being evacuated and thousands of people have become ill. LA Times

3.  Nov 22 - On at least two recent occasions, FOX News has accompanied news reports with the wrong video.  Both times, the videos showed crowds at conservative rallies that were much larger than the crowds that actually attended.  One report, which was noticed by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, showed crowds in Washington on a clear day, and then  on a cloudy day, both in the same report!  FOX has apologized. CNN

4.  Nov 22 - Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, a lesbian couple with three children, were in Florida getting ready to take a Caribbean cruise, when Lisa suffered a brain aneurysm. However, the hospital refused to allow Janice to be with her dying partner. Some nurses have since apologized, but the hospital refuses. Also, a lawsuit was dismissed because Florida is an anti-gay state. LA Times

5.  Nov 23 - Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (Dem - Missouri) is a former minister.  He sent a letter to his fellow members of Congress asking them to support his idea for a “complaint free day” prior to Thanksgiving.  Instead, he was attacked by the right wing. LA Times

6.  Nov 23 - Thomas Tobin, a Catholic Bishop in Rhode Island, has decided to escalate the war over reproductive choice by asking Congressman Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Ted Kennedy, not to receive communion.  Kennedy and Tobin have been exchanging harsh words for nearly three years. LA Times

7.  Nov 24 - A gang member in Orange County was convicted of murder, and, at his own request, was sentenced to death instead of life in prison.  He said that conditions on Death Row were far better than those of life sentences in regular prison.  Plus, death sentences are rarely carried out. LA Times

8.  Nov 24 - Incidents of hate crimes have increased in the United States.  In 2008, crimes against people due to sexual orientation went up almost 11%.  Crimes against various religions went up almost 9%. LA Times

Eli Chezar  1920 - 2009
Eli passed away on November 15, 2009, in Fullerton, with his family at his bedside. Eli was a Founding member of the RFK and was a political activist for many years. He was the recipient of the first RFK President’s Award in 2004. A memorial service is being planned for January.  Details will be announced.

Howard Jacobson
Howard was a lifelong Democrat.  He was one of the first members of La Mirada’s Arts and Cultural Committee during the 1960’s before moving to Glendale. He joined the RFK through his long-time friendship with Sherill and Cathy Moses and attended many of our Founder’s Luncheons. At Howard’s request, there will be no services.

Donna Neill
Donna Neill passed away on November 28, 2009, while visiting her family for Thanksgiving in Bullhead, Arizona. Donna was a Charter Member of the RFK, was recently elected to a second term as 2nd Vice President, and was Chair of the Phone Tree.  Donna was the recipient of the RFK President’s Award in 2008. Services will be announced soon.

ED ASNER AS FDR

Mark your calendar and RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW for March 20th, 2009.

The RFK Democratic Club has reserved a block of tickets to see this award winning actor as he portrays one of America’s greatest presidents.  Tickets are $50 and reservations are a must. Call 562-943-8527 NOW to reserve your place as soon as you can. When the tickets are gone, they’re gone! Payment will be collected in January, 2010.

Ed Asner, recipient of seven Emmy Awards ("Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Lou Grant") and 16 nominations, five Golden Globe Awards, member of the TV Academy Hall of Fame, and the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's newest film, Up, will star in the solo performance drama, FDR based upon Dore Schary's Broadway hit Sunrise at Campobello, which ran 70 weeks on Broadway.

FDR explores the life of one of America's best-loved presidents and the events and decisions that shaped a nation. This powerful play follows the iconic president as he reflects on his years in office, from inauguration to the trials of World War II.

My Sister’s Keeper?
by Paton Marshall

”Am I my sister’s keeper?” is not the question Cain asked defiantly after his fratricidal attack on Able. He had not had a sister anyway, and authors of the Good Book from which this story comes were not much concerned about men’s attitude toward women. 

There are some stories of strong, heroic, and faithful  women in the Bible, but men’s attitudes  about their opposite sex are pretty well summed up in  the stories of Susanna and Bathsheba - lechery, treachery, and conquest.

Move a couple of thousand years forward, throw in many generations of the Christian doctrine of love, and move to a new land of freedom for all and respect for the individual: You'd think that attitudes might have become more civilized.

Less than a hundred years ago, the Commonwealth of Virginia was throwing women  into the prison at Occoquan for agitating for the right to vote. And there are these contemporary incidents:

A woman raped by fellow employees of her American military contractor and locked away in a trash bin cannot sue for damages. Thirty Federal legislators, all Republican, voted against an anti-rape amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill. Twenty formerly pro-choice Democratic Representatives preparing a national Health Care Reform Bill voted to deny women access to abortion. And then there are the common everyday stories of abuse and sinister disappearance of females of anywhere from five to sixty-three in our daily news reports. Surely these raise a sense of concern for the welfare of our sisters?

There is concern that we cannot leave Afghanistan, abandoning women and girls to the peculiar doctrines of the Taliban. That may seem to be a noble motive for continuing to battle in that remote arena. Still, there are sisters close to home whose rights and lives are worth defending. 

Just ask yourself, “Am I my sisters’ keeper?"

CURRENT EVENTS ANSWER...

#1 was changed. Joaquin Guzman is the head of Mexico’s largest drug trafficking cartel, responsible for billions of dollars of cocaine and other drugs entering the United States and other countries.