The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 79, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 19, 2004 Page: 7 of 16
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First lady: Gay marriages ‘very shocking’for some
President Bush troubled by gay marriages
The Associated Press
On another political subject, asked
declined to say if he would support a
“That's a much more up-close-and-
“He knows that he served honor-
lady—a title she finds “too artificial”
Massachusetts Supreme Court, or the
“I’m actually very disciplined,” she
Associated Press photo/J.S. Wedgeworth
FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH applauds a speaker Tuesday at first stop on a three-day trip of education and campaign
the Arend Arts Center in Bentonville, Ark. Bentonville, a fund-raising events In California and Nevada, as well as
fast-growing city in northwest Arkansas, was Mrs. Bush’s Arkansas.
cash for her husband’s campaign and
to talk about education.
The trip took her to California
By DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press
though the law states otherwise,”
Bush said at the White House. “I
have consistently stated that I’ll Sup-
port law to protect marriage
Francisco and by legal decisions in obviously these events are infhienc-
, A.. .....J ..... A. yjg jjjy (Jggjgiou ”
Bush didn’t answer directly when
WASHINGTON — President
Bush said Wednesday he was trou-
bled by gay weddings in San between a man and a woman.
Massachusetts that could clear the
way for same-sex marriage. .
He declined to say whether he asked whether he was any closer to
was more inclined now to back a endorsing a constitutional ban on
constitutional ban. However, he same-sex marriages, as conservative
spoke privately with conservative groupssaytheWhiteHousehaspri-
Catholics about the issue, and a con- vatety promised.
servative activist who favors such a “I’m watching very carefully. But
ban suggested the president would I’m troubled by what I’ve seen,”
soon announce his support. Bush said. “People need to be
“I have watched carefully what’s involved with this decision.
happening in San Francisco, where Marriage ought to be defined by the
licenses were being issued, even people, not by the courts.”
ruled that the state constitution permits
gay marriages.
At the White House on who allege he skipped out on his
Wednesday, President Bush said, National Guard duty. “I think it’s a have been feeling a bit “nostalgic” as
“I’m troubled by what I’ve seen” in political, you know, witch hunt, actual- they watch the Democratic candidates
Boston and San Francisco. But he ty, on the part of Democrats,"she said, campaigning in the snows of New
declined to say if he would support a The president served honorably in Hampshire and Iowa
constitutional amendment to ban gay the Texas Air National Guard during “That’s a much more up-close-and-
marriages, as conservative support- the Vietnam War and did report for personal campaign because you get to
ers expect him to do. duty in Alabama where he was briefly actually be with so many of the vot-
While declining to express her own assigned, she said. ers,” she said. “We both miss that”
opinions about gay marriages, Mrs. “He knows that he served honor- And she said that despite the lack of
Bush said, “It’S an issue that people ably,” she said. “He knows that he privacy that comes with being first
want to talk about and not want fte showed up the whole time.” lady—a title she finds “too artificial”
She says she has been hurt by alle- — she doesn’t feel as if she must con-
mayor of San Francisco to make their gations that he lied to the American stantty bite her tongue to keep her
choice for them. 1 know thatfc what the people about his Guard duty, and by opinions to herself.
president thinks. contentions that he misled the public “I’m actually very disciplined,” she
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Laura
Bush says gay marriages are “a very,
very shocking issue” for some people,
a subject that should be debated by
Americans rather than settled by a
Massachusetts court or the mayor of
San Francisco.
Asked how she feels about the issue
personally, Mrs. Bush replies: “Let’s
just leave it at that”
In an Associated Press interview,
Mrs. Bush also endorsed sexual absti-
nence programs for teens, which are
slated to get double their current fund-
ing under the president’s latest budget
proposal.
Abstinence should be extensively
discussed alongside contraception, she
said. “We know it works. Itfc 100 per-
cent fail-safe.”
Mrs. Bush discussed her views as
she flew across the country at the start
of a three-day trip to raise re-election realty want to do about the issue.” “Nobody likes that part of cam-
.... i j M's Bush’s demeanor is quiet and paigning — the personal attacks,”
matter-off-fact, yet she sometimes Mrs. Bush said, sitting on a couch in
serves as the president’s flak jacket theprivatesectionofherplane.“Icer-
where gay couples have been lining up when she’s on the road, especially now tainty don’t like it.”
to get marriage licenses in San as his approval ratings are drooping C_
Francisco. On the East Coast, amid Democratic attacks during the whether the president’s brother,
w j ; contentions that be misled the public
“I think people ought to have that about the extent of Saddam Hussein’s said. “I don’t really have to watch
opportunity to debate it, to think about weapons when U.S.-led troops went to everything I say because I’m pretty
it, to see what the American people war in Iraq. well-behaved”
to get marriage licenses in San as his approval ratings are drooping
Massachusetts’ highest court recently primaries. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, will ever run
j.. defended her husband’s credi- for president, she replied “I doubt it,
bility and took a shot at Democrats but I have no idea.”
Mrs. Bush said she and the president
Laura Bush on the issues
Nation briefs
»•
A
Twin rovers inspect holes
on opposite sides of Mars
LOS ANGELES — The Opportunity rover used
Its robotic arm to inspect a freshly dug hole on
Mars, while its twin, Spirit, rolled into a shallow
depression halfway around the Red Planet,
NASA said Wednesday.
Opportunity examined the 4-inch-deep trench
it scooped out with one of Its six wheels, mea-
suring the composition of the clumpy soil and
photographing it with a microscopic Imager.
The trench is intriguing because it is not uni-
form, with the bottom appearing different from
the walls, project manager Richard Cook said.
Scientists chose the trench site because earlier
observations revealed it is rich in hematite, un
iron-bearing mineral that typically forms in water.
Measurements should reveal whether the
mineral is limited to the surface or present
throughout the soil. Scientists could also turn
up evidence of other minerals that might point
to past water activity.
Martha Stewart lawver tries to
head off securities-fraud charge
NEW YORK—Martha Stewart’s lawyer
showed jurors a slew of twoyear-old news
reports Wednesday that speculated she sold
ImClone Systems stock on Insider information :
and even was romantically linked to its now-
jailed CEO.
r
>
*
items through airport security from $1,100 to »
$10,000. The TSA, which became part of i I
Homeland Security, issued the guidelines on
Wednesday spelling out the range of fines
applied to each violation.
rt
* ■
■:
.*
*
The defense introduced the material to show \
that Stewart was simply trying to discredit inac- -
curate reports and making smart business deci- <
slons in the summer of 2002 when she Issued ;
statements saying her ImClone sale was proper. ■
Stewart was never charged with criminal Insider :
trading, and she has denied having any romantic ;
relationship with ImClone founder Sam Waksal. Z
The government accuses Stewart of illegally '
trying to prop up the stock price of Martha -
Stewart Living Omnimedia — and therefore save *
her tremendous wealth — when she publicly pro- '
claimed her Innocence In the ImClone case.
That charge, securities fraud, carries a poten-
tial lOyear prison term. Four other counts
against Stewart accuse her, In various ways, of
lying to investigators about why she sold
ImClone stock. •
New fines for taking prohibited r
items through airport checkpoints
WASHINGTON — Anyone trying to sneak a
knife onto an airplane could be fined $250 and ;
a passenger with an explosive could get as
much as $10,000 under new guidelines.
Thousands of airline passengers board
planes every year carrying banned items such •. j
as cuticle scissors, box cutters and guns. -1 *
Tom Blank, assistant administrator for trans-: - i
portation security policy, testified before Congress, j
last week that the Transportation Security
Administration has Intercepted more than 1,6$6; ».
firearms, more than 3 million knives and more .*-; •*
than 57,000 incendiary devices since shortly: • • ?
after the terrorist hijackings on Sept 11,2001J > >
"Fines may help awaken a sleeping popula- -
tion here," said David Stempier, president of >
the Air Travelers Association.
“We have too many examples of people inad- j.
vertently bringing a gun In their canyon." :■
When Congress created the Homeland
Security Department last year, it raised the
maximum fine for trying to carry prohibited
Soace observatories catch
black hote ripping star apart
LOS ANGELES — Astronomers reported
Wednesday the first strong evidence of a super-
massive black hole stretching, tearing apart
and partially gobbling up a star.
The event had long been predicted by theory
but never confirmed.
A powerful X-ray blast drew the attention of y
astronomers to the event, located near the cen- -
ter of an otherwise Inconspicuous galaxy called ;
RX J1242-11. The galaxy Is about 700 milltori; ;
light-years from Earth.
The international team of astronomers
believes the blast was produced as debris from <
the destroyed star was sucked Into the black
hole. " /
“The last cry of help before the matter falls <
Into the black hole Is radiated In Krays, which <;
we have detected,” said Gunther Haslnger, of ’■
the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial /
Physics in Germany.
The Associated Press
1
Charges
against
Skilling
coming
By KRISTEN HAYS
The Associated Press
Anodatod Preu M photo
FORMER ENRON PRESIDENT
and Chief Executive Officer
Jeffrey Skilling testifies on
Capitol Hill in 2002. Federal
prosecutors are preparing crimi-
nal charges against former
Enron Corp, chief executive
Jeffrey SkMng for an Indictment
HOUSTON — Jeffiey
Skilling, the brash and some-
times volatile former Enron
Corp, chief executive who
resigned less than four months
before the company imploded
in scandal, is slated to face crim-
inal charges almost exactly two
years after telling Congress he
knew notiiing of serious prob-
lems at tile company, sources
told The Associated Press.
Two sources close to the
investigation, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said
Wednesday that Skilling was
expected to surrender to the
FBI early Thursday and then
appear before a federal judge
on charges related to Enron’s
collapse.
Barring any last minute
delays, Skilling, 50, would be
the highest-profile former
Enron executive to date to face
criminal charges. One of his
lawyers, Bruce Hiler, spent less
than an hour in the federal cour-
thouse in Houston Wednesday
afternoon familiarizing himself
with its layout
Skilling’s only real rival on
the notoriety scale — Enron
founder and former chairman
Kenneth Lay — has not been
charged, and the sources said it
was unclear when or ifhe would
join his former protege as a
defendant
Both men, through their
lawyers, have staunchly main-
tained their innocence of any
wrongdoing since Enron col-
lapsed and went bankrupt in
December 2001.
Skilling in 2002 spoke for
himself, insisting during testi-
mony before two congressional
panels in February 2002 that he
believed Enron was financially
healthy when he abruptly quit
after only six months as CEO,
citing personal reasons he has
not explained.
|| B """""" |
J|
Howard’s End:
cover boy and unrivaled grass-roots
Municipal Employees — bailed out on
had cruised to 15 wins and seized the
Wisconsin presidential primary.
through the Internet
Exactly one month ago, Dean was
ByROSSSNEYD
The Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Vt — Faster than
you can say dotcom bust, Howard
Dean’s quest for the presidency ended
Wednesday as the Democrat, winless in
17 contests, bowed to political reality
and abandoned his bid.
Once the little-known former gover-
nor of a small Northeast state, Dean
took a summer ride to presidential cam-
paign heights, attracting scores of fol-
lowers and a Democratic record $41
Dean’s meteoric political rise ends in disappointing defeat
Historians will have the final say, but
votes were counted. he would no longer actively pursue the
Dean finished a poor third in Iowa, presidency, but “we will, however, con- Dean was the candidate who rose from
second in New Hampshire and man- tinue to build a new organization using obscurity to a main draw on the
aged just single digits in several states our enormous grass-roots network to Meetup.com Web site, newsmagazine
through early February. One of his continue the effort to transform the
biggest union backers—the American Democratic Party and to change our organizer. It never paid off in Iowa, and
Federation of State, County and country.” all that was remembered was a high-
striking the defiant tone that has octane concession speech that will live
the day of the Washington and been the hallmark of his candidacy, the on long after Dean’s candidacy.
His address Wednesday was quieter
but not much more reflective. It was a
Associated Press photo/Stephan Savoia -
—----------------------------OfflOCMTK PflESIOENTUl HOWUL
millinn in campaign dollars largely Wisconsin a must-win, then a not real- than 500 flag-waving supporters and Democrats to Congress and local ana former Vermont bov. Howard Deari .
ly. After the votes were tallied Tuesday, staff “Sending delegates to the conven- offices and unite to defeat President finishes his address to supporters/
tiie race had become what Dean had tion only continues to energize our Bush in the fall. announcing he will no longer campaign /
the candidate to beat—front-runner in predicted — a two-man contest — but party. Fight on in the caucuses. We are Although he encouraged supporters f°r the Democratic nomination •
national polls and poised to begin his between Kerry and John Edwards. on the ballots. Use your network to to continue voting for him, he did make Wednesday^ after he finished a disap?
primary romp with a win in the Iowa
on the ballots. Use your network to to continue voting for him, he did make weanesoay alter ne nnisneo a oisap:
A day after his distant third-place fin- send progressive delegates to the con- clear he would not seek to derail the pointing third place in Tuesday’s-
caucuses. It all crashed when the real ish in Wisconsin, Dean announced that vention in Boston.” party’s ultimate nominee. Wisconsin presidential primary.
Michigan caucuses. formerVermontgovemorurgedhisdel-
In the meantime, rival John Kerry egates of some 200 to stick with him.
“Keep active in the primary,” Dean call to build an enduring political move-
front-runner moniker. Dean dubbed declared to an overflow crowd of more ment that will help to elect like-minded
ly. After the votes were tallied Tuesday, staff “Sending delegates to the conven- offices and unite to defeat President finishes his address to supporters
Bush in the fall.
Although he encouraged supporters
Thursday, February 19,2004
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 79, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 19, 2004, newspaper, February 19, 2004; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1185076/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.