The Mynx

"I think that we've proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don't believe in gay adoption."

...although it is clearly meant, and will be interpreted, as satire by the readers of the New Yorker, the potential for it to go viral in a negative way is significant.

And that's what concerns me. I don't like the cover. I do find it offensive but, more importantly, I believe it trivializes the more subtle but very real concerns that many of us have about Senator Obama. This cover perpetrates the notion that non-supporters are afraid because "Obama is muslim", "Michelle is a militant black supremacist," etc. In other words, it allows the Obama campaign to focus on non-issues, thus deflecting the narrative from more substantive issues such as, what does this guy really stand for? Is he going to support the issues that are important to me?

Obama has given so many conflicting statements that it is very difficult to be certain where he stands on a great many issues that are important to me. I would far rather that the media concentrate on forcing the senator to define his stance on these issues rather than giving him these kinds of easy outs. Who thinks we'll hear anything about his real position on Iraq as long as he has these ridiculous strawmen to denounce?

I'd also add that anyone swayed by this absurd cover was never going to vote for Obama anyway.

In an interview this week with "Relevant," a Christian magazine, Obama said prohibitions on late-term abortions must contain "a strict, well defined exception for the health of the mother."

Obama then added: "Now, I don't think that 'mental distress' qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term."

medical judgments about the need for an abortion could include physical, emotional and psychological health factors.

"A health exception must also account for the mental health problems that may occur in pregnancy. Severe fetal anomalies, for example, can exact a tremendous emotional toll on a pregnant woman and her family."

In a statement, NARAL Pro-Choice said Obama's magazine interview is consistent with Roe v. Wade.

"Sen. Obama has consistently said he supports the tenets set forth by Roe, and has made strong statements against President Bush's Federal Abortion Ban, which does not have an exception to protect a woman's health," the organization's statement said.

David N. O'Steen, the executive director of National Right to Life, said Obama's remarks to the magazine "are either quite disingenuous or they reflect that Obama does not know what he is talking about."

"You cannot believe that abortion should not be allowed for mental health reasons and support Roe v Wade," O'Steen said.

police force has apologised to the Muslim community after its ad campaign featuring a puppy sparked an outcry.

A picture of Rebel, a 29-week-old black alsation, featured on postcards promoting a new non-emergency telephone number.

But the choice of the image, which shows Rebel sitting in a police officer's hat, was questioned as Islamic tradition warns Muslims against contact with dogs because they are seen as impure.

Last night Mahmud Sarwar, trustee of the Scottish Islamic and Cultural Centre and the Dura Street mosque, appealed for calm.

He said he had no problems with the postcard and called on homeowners and local businesses to display them as it is in the public interest.

“I’ve not heard anything about that from members of the community,” Mr Sarwar said.

“I was round some shops today and at the mosque and nobody has said anything about it.”

Mr Sarwar said that religious sensitivities would prevent him from displaying the postcard on a building of religious significance but there was nothing to stop them being displayed in shops.

Rev. Lucien Larré said he means no disrespect to the Governor General, but said he must return the Order of Canada because Morgentaler's appointment degrades the award for those who believe in the sanctity of life.

But in 1992, a Saskatchewan jury convicted [Rev. Lucien Larre] on two counts of physically abusing children in his care at Bosco, according to Canwest News Service. Canwest said one of his convictions revolved around the accusation that Larré forced pills down the throat of a teenager to teach her a lesson about drug abuse.

In a letter to San Francisco's Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, the presumptive presidential nominee said he opposed "the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution" and similar efforts in other states.

For both campaigns, the decision to get involved in the same-sex marriage debate carries political risks.

Still, the Obama campaign didn't go out of its way to announce the senator's position on a controversial California ballot measure that will have repercussions across the nation. Instead of a splashy public endorsement ceremony, complete with beaming supporters of same-sex marriage, Obama announced his support midway in his letter, which was read at the club's annual breakfast.

But Prop. 8 supporters accused Obama of trying to have it both ways by coming out publicly against same-sex marriage, but opposing any efforts to ban those unions.

"His position makes very little sense," said Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, California. "If he's opposed (to same-sex marriage), he should just say so. Instead, he's trying to appease the wealthy elite who support gay marriage."

First, he reversed course and capitulated on FISA, not just turning back on the Constitution, but on the whole concept of "leadership". Personally, I like to see presidents who 1) lead, and 2) uphold their promises to protect the Constitution.

Then, he took his not-so-veiled swipe at MoveOn in his "patriotism" speech.

Finally, he reinforced right-wing and media talking points that Wes Clark had somehow impugned McCain's military service when, in reality, Clark had done no such thing.

The Obama brand has always been about inspiration, a new kind of politics, the audacity of hope, and "change we can believe in." I like that brand. More importantly, voters -- especially unlikely voters -- like that brand.

Pulling it off the shelf and replacing it with a political product geared to pleasing America's vacillating swing voters -- the ones who will be most susceptible to the fear-mongering avalanche that has already begun -- would be a fatal blunder.

"If Morgentaler had any integrity, he would refuse the medal," Mary Ellen Douglas of the coalition said in a news release. "This presentation should be given to people who have made Canada a better place to live and the elimination of thousands of human beings who would have contributed to the future of Canada is a disgrace, not an honour."