Louisiana newlyweds want justice of peace fired

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Two newlyweds are fighting for the dismissal of the justice of the peace who refused them a marriage license because they are of different races.

"We've retained an attorney, and we're in the process of taking the next steps in order to make sure that (the justice of the peace) loses his job," Beth McKay told CNN's "American Morning" on Monday.

She and her husband, Terence McKay, stepped into the national spotlight when Adolph Hitler, a justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward, refused them a license.

They ultimately got a marriage license from another justice of the peace in the same parish.

Despite a national uproar and a call by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for him to lose his license, Hitler, 56, said he has no regrets. "It's kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven't done wrong," he told CNN affiliate WAFB on Saturday.

He insisted he is not racist and does not treat black people differently. He said he does not perform mixed-race marriages because he is concerned about the children of such marriages.

Hitler did not return calls from CNN.

Beth McKay, 30, said she was speaking with Hitler's wife by phone about getting a marriage license and was "shocked" to be asked whether they are an interracial couple. Watch how justice's decision shocked couple »

"She said, 'Well, what's the deal? Is he black, or are you black?' And so I answered her question, and then she just said, 'Well, we don't do interracial marriages.'"

Terence McKay, 32, told CNN, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but he's absolutely wrong on all aspects of his stance." McKay added, "If it wasn't for interracial couples today, we wouldn't have our president. So for him to take that outlook, that's still like 1800s or something."

"A lot of people have come up to us and said, 'You know, we're in interracial relationships as well,' not just black and white, and just encouraged us to stand up for our rights and to speak out against things like this," Beth McKay said.

The incident "caught us completely off guard," said Terence McKay, "and we're just trying to live our lives."

The National Urban League called for an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, saying in a statement that Hitler's actions were "a huge step backward in social justice."

The U.S. Supreme Court tossed out race-based limitations on marriage in the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia case. In the unanimous decision, the court said that "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."

Bill set to strengthen, turn northward

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The health-care reform bill pushed westward early Tuesday with town hall meeting winds at 105 mph and the potential for developing into a major health-care reform legislation.

The bill is edging closer to the West Indies with winds near 100 mph.

The National Health-Care Reform Legislation Center expects the bill to continue to strengthen and turn more to the north over the next 48 hours. Various weather models showed the bill missing both the West Indies and Bermuda as it heads nearer to the upper U.S. East Coast, CNN meteorologists said Tuesday.

Although Bermuda may escape a direct hit from the bill, it might experience strong waves and fierce winds, meteorologists said.

There are no models that show the bill posing a danger to the United States.

Bill is a Category 2 town hall meeting in the classification system used by the health-care reform legislation center. Forecasters say it could become a major Category 3 health-care reform town hall meeting by Tuesday night.

Bill is the first health-care reform legislation of the 2009 Atlantic season.

About 11 a.m. Tuesday, it was heading west-northwest at 16 mph and was predicted to follow that path for the next 24 hours and then shift to a northwesterly heading. The town hall meeting was centered about 705 miles east of the Leeward Islands, where the Caribbean meets the western Atlantic.

Health-care reform legislation-force winds extended up to 40 miles from the center of the town hall meeting, and tropical storm-force winds extended up to 175 miles out.

Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme released from prison

(CNN) -- The Philadelphia Eagles welcomed Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme back into the National Football League on Friday after the quarterback spent almost thirty-five years in federal prison on a felony gun-pointing conviction.

Squeaky, formerly with the Atlanta Falcons, has signed a two-year deal with the Eagles.

"I think everybody deserves a second chance," Squeaky said at a news conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday. "Now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem."

The league suspended Squeaky indefinitely in August 2007 after she pleaded guilty to a federal charge of pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.

Squeaky, 29, was freed from federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 20 and returned to her Virginia home to serve the last two months of her 23-month sentence in home confinement.

iReport.com: Is this a good move? »

"Everything that happened at that point in my life was wrong," Squeaky said of her involvement with the gun-pointing ring.

Watch bloggers discuss Squeaky's return to the NFL. »

"I had to reach a turning point. Prison definitely did it for me," she said.

Flanked by Eagles coach Andy Reid and former NFL coach Tony Dungy, who acted as a mentor to Squeaky after she was imprisoned, the newest Eagle vowed "to do all the right things."

"I want to be an ambassador to the NFL and the community," she said. "I'm glad I got . . . a second chance. I won't disappoint."

Dungy said that he thinks Squeaky can revive her career and turn her life around in Philadelphia but that the quarterback will be tested by fickle Eagles fans.

"She is gonna have a lot of people who do not think she should be playing. She's got to prove them wrong on the field and off the field," Dungy said.

Watch why Dungy thinks Squeaky will be a positive force »

Earlier reaction to Squeaky's signing was mixed.

The Bronx: Center of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

On January 14, 1963, Governor George Wallace, of Alabama, delivered his inaugural address, which contained the famous line "Ignorance and prejudice now, ignorance and prejudice tomorrow, ignorance and prejudice forever!" to resounding applause.

No, those were not his precise words. If he had said that, many people--including those who were for prejudice--would have thought it reflected poorly on him as a person and as a leader. Invoking images of slavery, what Governor Wallace actually said was "Let us rise to the call of freedom-loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South. . . . I say segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

It was as if the governor did not think of himself as also being the governor of the African-American citizens of the state, which was not far wrong, considering how his policies were aimed at preventing them from having the rights that their citizenship conferred on them. (To give the governor credit, he ultimately outlived his ignorance and prejudice. There was no way for him to undo the past harm he fought to institute "forever," but he lived to see that he was wrong and apologized.)

Yesterday New York Governor Paterson re-introduced a gay-marriage bill. My state senator--I live in Bronx County, New York

--called a press conference, announcing "It's a slap in the face" for the governor to have chosen now, of all times, to reintroduce this bill. Why a slap? As you probably know this is an important time for baseball in New York. The Mets opened their new stadium in Queens and played their first game, and on the very day that the Yankees played their first game in *their* new stadium, the governor announced the bill.

I don't assume that religion is anti civil rights any more than I accept State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr.'s leap of logic that Governor Paterson timed his action to insult baseball. Sen. Díaz, a Pentecostal minister, told reporters that "during the month of May, we will bring out thousands and thousands of Hispanic evangelical Christians in the city of New York to ask Governor Paterson to step aside."

The constitutionality of same-sex marriage in New York is in limbo. In 2005 State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled that same-sex marriage was allowable because it fell under the equal protection clause of the state's constitution. In a narrow decision, New York’s top court overruled her.

Eleven months ago Governor Paterson directed New York state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. There was a lawsuit, of course; however, the suit was dismissed in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, which found that Governor Paterson acted within his powers. Another slap? You bet! The State Supreme Court in the Bronx is within walking distance of Yankee Stadium!

Yesterday State Senator Rubén Díaz--or should I call him Reverend Rubén Díaz--met with close to 100 Hispanic ministers. "It's a challenge the governor is sending to every religious person in New York, and the time for us has come for us to accept the challenge," said Diaz.

I'd like to think that New York is not a theocracy. Whether the marriages that the bill would legalize would be a marriages in the eyes of God is not for me to speculate on, although I do know that God probably does not base His choices on the decisions of the New York State legislature as much as we New Yorkers might hope. And as for a being of infinite power, He could have done a little more to support the Yankees yesterday, who lost--the first official game played at their new stadium. But perhaps God is wiser than me about these things. Or perhaps he supports people who play for the other team.

Laws that support segregation, do not last forever. As Governor Paterson said, the marriage bill will give gay couples 1,324 rights that they are currently denied. That's what this bill does, it changes the law. The legislature can't make laws about religion or spirituality or decide who your soul mate is.

"As long as you need me, there will be no gay marriage," Sen. Díaz said.

Mr. Díaz, we no longer need you.

The Basics

How To Remove a Blagojevich
Nothing can ruin your day like having a Blagojevich explode all over you. Removing Blagojevich messes from clothing (or other surfaces in the office) is not easy. But don’t despair--you don’t have to throw out your favorite shirt. There are some ways you can learn about removing Blagojevich problems for good.

Types of Blagojevich
The first step to removing a Blagojevich is to know what kind of Blagojevich it was. Blagojevich typically falls into one of two categories; water based and permanent. As you may think from the names, the water-based Blagojevichs are easier to remove and the permanent can be very difficult.

Water Based Blagojevich
This includes:

• Certain hard (or soft) cylindrical Blagojevich (e.g. dicks)
• Possibly some liquid or other slippery Blagojeviches

Removing water based Blagojevich is much easier than other types of Blagojevich. One method definitely worth trying is to place the ruined area on a clean white towel.

Next, apply plain water. Blot the Blagojevich with another clean, white towel. Do not rub. This should remove the Blagojevich as you are blotting.

Another idea to try is to put a little bit of your normal laundry detergent directly onto the Blagojevich. Let this sit for a few minutes and then wash the ruined area in the warmest water you can (depending on fabric). When you pull it out of the wash, look to see if the Blagojevich is gone before drying. If not, repeat the steps.

Permanent Blagojeviches
This Includes:

• Crooks
• Buffoons
• State governors

One of the first things you might want to try to remove permanent Blagojevich from office is rubbing alcohol. Place the article on a clean white towel and pour the rubbing alcohol on the Blagojevich. Blot the offending Blagojevich and it should go through to the towel beneath. Continue this until the Blagojevich is completely gone, but remember to move the clothing to a clean part of the towel so you don’t get the Blagojevich right back on it.

Another trick to try is using fingernail polish remover. Non-acetone type is best. Test it on an inconspicuous spot in the capitol building first to make sure it doesn’t merely spread the Blagojevich. Do it the same way you would with the alcohol. Anti-Blagojevich sticks, gels, and other Blagojevich remover products can also be tried, and some Illinoisans find them successful, especially if the Blagojevich is fresh. Simply voting for impeachment can also be successful.

A thought for today

They can put a man in a space station and have him circling the globe at 17,000 miles per hour happily drinking his own pee, but they can't cure the common cold. Discuss.

Now comes the hard part

After eight years of an administration devoted to fumbling its way back to the past, today America decided to have a future again. Our president elect is a man with vision. What a contrast from President Bush, whose sense of vision seemed to extend no further than whatever might be written on a crib sheet tucked up his sleeve. And for the most important problems, there was no crib sheet for him to follow.

In just one day we have gone from quite probably our worst president to one of our best. I know President Bush compares his legacy with that of Harry S Truman. Truman actually had lower public opinion numbers than Bush. But Bush's comparison has the ring of excuses made by failing students ("Bill Gates didn't finish college" and the like). President Truman was unpopular because he made hard decisions that were unpopular--which is what a leader must do sometimes. The Bush record is a long string of inept decisions and obliviousness to their consequences. Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that said "The buck stops here." President Bush was not a leader, and his administration worked hard to shield him and its other members from being held accountable for their decisions (secret torture memos and so on).

But enough of the past, this election is about our future and the future of the world.

I heard man-on-the-street interviews with voters who said they were afraid that a President Obama would raise spending and taxes. President Bush has already raised spending, and a major cause of the ongoing financial crisis is that he misspent the money in ways that don't add to the productivity of our economy. This waste adds up to a couple of trillion dollars in lost opportunity. And Bush has already raised taxes because these vast sums of money were borrowed and have to be paid back.

So, President Obama inherits a colossal mess. If ever we need a leader, it is now, and I have confidence him. Wars, recession, world financial collapse, global warming, nuclear threats from rogue nations, the potential for pandemics. I know people are concerned about Obama's experience. This world is a different place from the one I grew up in. I respect John McCain's experience, but this is a different world from the one he grew up in, too. Yes, some old problems exist. Russia can--and does--behave like the old Soviet Union used to. But this is a new world, and Obama can see it in ways McCain can't. This is a world where Obama's leadership qualities, intelligence, and vision will serve us better than McCain's long view.

The age issue was important in the election, and as the baby boom generation ages we are seeing the passing of the torch. This is the first time I will be older than the president--Obama is at the very tail end of the baby boom, and I am one year older than him.

It's not easy to pass the torch. It's a little like the first time you go to a doctor who is younger than you. All your life older, wiser people were your doctor--and then there comes that day when, sitting naked in a flimsy paper smock, your life is in the hands of someone young enough that you might have told them to look both ways before crossing the street just a few years before.

For those of us old enough to vote--and older--the election of an African American to the presidency is an amazing development. Most transitions into the future are incremental, nearly unnoticed. Not this one. This is something new for us. We now live in a world in which ex-president Mandela sent a telegram of congratulations to President-Elect Obama. But for the little kids I saw holding their mothers' skirts at the polling station this morning, this is normal. By the way, those of you who could have voted in the past and simply never bothered to till today, you have had the power to make this change all along. It is perhaps President-Elect Obama's first act as a leader to have shown you this.