READY TO FIGHT: Veteran Democratic political operative Jon Haber is taking the reins of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America as it prepares to fend off any attempts by Congress to impose limits on medical malpractice lawsuits??¢â???¬ ¦quot;potentially cutting off millions of dollars in donations to Democrats in the process. President Bush spent three straight days in January hammering ??¢â???¬?????junk lawsuits,??¢â???¬ which he blames for increased health-care costs. Haber brings a r???? ©sum???? © with years of loyal service to Democrats. He got his start in 1980 working as an advance man on Massachusetts Sen. Teddy Kennedy??¢â???¬â???¢s failed presidential bid. He also served stints on the Democratic presidential campaigns of former Vice President Walter Mondale, former Rep. Dick Gephardt (Mo.), President Bill Clinton and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. Haber??¢â???¬â???¢s top priorities for the trial lawyers??¢â???¬â???¢ group will be raising money and crafting a coherent message. ??¢â???¬?????This is not about ??¢â???¬????frivolous lawsuits,??¢â???¬â???¢ it??¢â???¬â???¢s about people having the right to a trial. It??¢â???¬â???¢s not about driving doctors out of business, it??¢â???¬â???¢s about corporate greed,??¢â???¬ he told the Washington Post.
OSCAR SNUB: The Passion of the Christ was nominated for three Academy Awards??¢â???¬ ¦quot;for makeup, cinematography and original score??¢â???¬ ¦quot;but it was noticeably left out of the prestigious best picture and best director categories. Conservative Christians have taken note. ??¢â???¬?????There??¢â???¬â???¢s no question that bigotry and prejudice is rank among the liberal elite of Hollywood,??¢â???¬ the Rev. Louis Sheldon, founder of the Traditional Values Coalition, told Religion News Service. Catholic League President William Donohue added: ??¢â???¬?????So how do we explain the three nominations, even if they are second-tier categories? Chalk it up to Hollywood guilt.??¢â???¬ The film, directed by Mel Gibson, grossed $370 million in the United States and more than $600 million worldwide.
PASSION BAN LIFTED: Two weeks ago, HUMAN EVENTS reported on the decision of Florida??¢â???¬â???¢s Indian River Community College to prohibit a student-organized screening of The Passion of the Christ. That decision was reversed last week after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) took the case public. The Christian Student Fellowship, which wanted to show the film, forced the college to issue a statement admitting it hadn??¢â???¬â???¢t enforced its policies on public expression consistently and according to constitutional guidelines.
GOP WINS AGAIN: The presidential campaign is long over, but Campaign Solutions, a website design firm, was honored for the best overall website of the 2004 presidential cycle for its production of www.GOPConvention.com. The Pollie Awards are given by the American Association of Political Consultants to honor excellence in the consulting field. Campaign Solutions also won first-place awards for best Senate website (Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina), best House website (Rep. Katherine Harris of Florida), best gubernatorial website (Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri) and best online ad (DumpDaschle.com) among others.
