Celebrating 42 Years! Issue 45 Volume 44
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SCOTUS will review Election 2016: Virginia Trans case What the polls show, and what they don’t
Photo courtesy of youtube.com
Gavin Grimm – Photo courtesy of stgeorgeutah.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US Supreme Court said on October 28 that it will review a Virginia case in which a Transgender high school student sued his school district to be able to use a re-
stroom corresponding to his gender identity. Gavin Grimm, now 17 and a senior in a Gloucester County, Va., high school, has identified as a boy for several years and began using the boys’ restroom at his school. see SCOTUS page 9
NAACP sues North Carolina for voter suppression
President of NAACP Rev. Dr. William Barber II – Photo courtesy of myajc.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The NAACP filed a federal lawsuit on October 31, charging the North Carolina Board of Elections with trying to suppress
the votes of African-Americans in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. Lawyers for the group say that election officials in three North Carolina counties see NAACP page 10
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The last day to vote is November 8. Want to know who’s going to win the election? Don’t look at the polls. Or if you do, look very carefully and don’t believe the
first number you see. A glance at the national polls shows numbers all over the place. CBS News has Clinton up three points. The LA Times has Trump up five. Rasmussen has Trump see POLLS page 21
Washington Secretary of State scrambles to correct voters guide error
Secretary of State, Kim Wyman – Photo by Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Washington Secretary of State is mailing out Spanish-language letters to 136,000 households in the state, notifying
them that their voters guides are in error. The problem is that the Spanish-language instructions sent to voters in Adams, Franklin, and Yakima Counties contain see ERROR page 6
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We must end gun violence by Congressman Adam Smith Washington State’s 9th District Special to the SGN The tragic events at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in last June demonstrated again that our national firearms laws are lacking and allow deadly weapons to be too easily obtained by dangerous people. Following this latest mass shooting, I joined 170 of my Democratic colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives to protest the reprehensible lack of any action to prevent gun violence by the Republican Majority. An assault weapons ban and multiple other common-sense bills await action in Congress; and I will continue to fight for legislation that will protect our communities for as long as I represent the 9th District in Congress. I am a supporter of stronger firearms laws and regulations. In Washington state, we’ve made important steps to protect people from gun violence. In 2014, I was an early endorser and strong supporter of I-594, which successfully mandated
universal background checks for firearm purchases. This year, I was an early endorser and strong supporter of I-1491, which allows law enforcement or family members to ask a court to remove firearms from people who may be a danger to themselves or others. Passing these initiatives in Washington state will help to save lives here, but there is much more that needs to be done nationally. I will continue to work every day in the House of Representatives to protect the whole of our country with the same common-sense policies we’re enacting in our state. At the federal level, I am pushing for legislation to strengthen background checks, close loopholes for gun shows, and stop straw purchasers and online sales. We must take mental health issues more seriously and better treat those who are affected by them. We must ensure intimate partner and family violence victims are protected from future harm. We must be allowed to lift restrictions on the study of gun violence as the public
health epidemic that it is. I also believe that military-style assault weapons have no place in civilian hands. A ban on these firearms is an important step to help eliminate gun violence. As the topranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, I focus a great deal on military equipment and weapons, and have a sound understanding of these arms’ purpose and capabilities. The destructive qualities that make them useful tools in war also can make them absolutely devastating in American towns and cities. In Congress, I will continue to advocate for sensible and effective firearms laws. We have an opportunity to save lives and prevent the devastation to communities, families, and individuals that results from the gun violence we have experienced throughout our nation. Adam Smith (D) represents Washington’s 9th District in Congress. He is the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee.
JESSE’S JOURNAL: Election Day Blues by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer According to a poll taken by the American Psychological Association, 52% of Americans polled said that the presidential election is a “significant source of stress” in their lives. As one American who has been stressed out by the most tumultuous election in my lifetime, I am surprised that more Americans have not been driven to the brink of insanity. We have unpopular candidates; an angry and divided nation; discredited institutions; a mistrusted press; and social media that brings out the worst in people. Though previous elections were not without controversy or scandal, they tended to remain in the background of our lives until Election Day (unless, of course, we were involved in a campaign). Today the 24-hour media keeps bombarding us with the crimes, follies and misfortunes of candidates, their families, staff and allies, until we are sick and tired of it. To run for office means having your life dissected by a basket of deplorables (to quote one of Hillary Clinton’s most unfortunate phrases) who spout their hatred on Facebook, Twitter,
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Instagram or Snapchat under the cover of anonymity. Whoever is elected President on November 8 will be hated by half the population, who with their supporters in office will try to make her administration a living hell. Faced by such an unsavory prospect, it is no surprise that many voters, especially Millennials, have given up on the whole mess. What’s the point of voting, they argue, if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are equally bad; and minority candidates Gary Johnson, Jill Stein and Evan McMullin have no chance of winning? Though I may sympathize with Millennial angst, having gone through it myself four decades ago, I truly believe that not voting is the wrong thing to do, for several reasons. First, voting is our duty, as citizens of these United States. There are many people in many countries (and even a few here) who wish they could vote. Second, there are other races that deserve our attention, and our vote. Third, those who think that Clinton and Trump are equally bad and equally unqualified are wrong. Clinton has her faults, from her e-mail fiasco to her alleged used of her job as Secretary of State to pro-
mote her husband’s foundation. But Clinton at her worst is nowhere as bad as Trump, whose business record, personal history and off-the wall opinions make him completely unqualified to be President. Trump brings out the worst in people. Clinton brings out the best in people. Clinton’s running mate is Tim Kaine, not the most exciting person alive but a dedicated public servant. Trump’s running mate is Mike Pence, a Religious Right stalwart and the most anti-LGBT governor outside of North Carolina. Clinton voters are mostly good people, who are appalled by the prospect of a Trump presidency. Trump voters, though not all “deplorable,” are infected with the virus of racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, germs that will infect our body politic if Trump is elected president. As a Baby Boomer, I regret the mess that our generation made when we took over. I hope Millennials and others do not make their own mess by not voting. Voting is important and it is essential. If we vote and win, we can congratulate ourselves on a job well done. However, even if we vote and lose, at least we did the right thing.
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OBITUARY
Andy Hill, one of three pro-equality Republicans, dies at 54 by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Andy Hill, a Republican state senator who broke with his party to vote for samesex marriage and against an anti-Trans bathroom bill, died October 31. He was 54. Although Hill was a nonsmoker, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and succumbed to the disease. Hill represented the 45th Legislative District, which includes Redmond and Kirkland. Hill joined fellow Republican Sens. Steve Litzow and Joe Fain to vote for marriage equality in 2012. The three also voted against SB 6443, a bill to ban Trans people from restrooms appropriate to their gender identity in February this year. On the other hand, Hill – like Litzow and Fain – voted for Republican leadership in the Senate, which enabled the GOP to block bills against conversion therapy. He also led the Senate Republican budget team, blocking a carbon emissions tax and increases in business taxes. Hill was not up for election this year, and his seat will be filled by appointment.
Andy Hill – Photo courtesy of nwprogressive.org
ERROR
continued from cover a potentially serious mistranslation that could lead some voters to believe they are disqualified from voting. The instructions as they were originally printed tell Spanish-speaking voters that they may not vote if they have been convicted of an “offense” (in Spanish, “delito”). What they were supposed to say is a “felony.” According to Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s spokesperson, Dave Ammons, the translators “left out a key modifier – the word ‘grave,’ meaning ‘serious.’ ‘Serious offense’ is as close as you can get to ‘felony’ in Spanish.” Previous versions of the voters guide gave a correct translation, but a new version commissioned by the agency from Tukwila-based Dynamic Language left out the key word. According to Ammons, once the Secretary of State’s Office was notified that the translation was misleading, they sent out a letter “to all the people who are in Department of Corrections (DOC) custody, but not for felonies.” Ammons added that according to the DOC, only six individuals were affected. The Washington State Democratic Party Central Committee and the immigrant rights organization OneAmerica Votes insisted that merely contacting six potential voters was not good enough, however. When the Democrats threatened to sue, Secretary of State Kim Wyman agreed to mail new information to all Spanish-speaking voters in the three counties. Because of the cost of printing and mailing voters guides – some $1 million for the English-language version, Ammons says – and the number of languages Washington state voters speak, the Secretary of State targets non-English voters guides to specific counties where non-English speakers are concentrated. Spanish-speaking voters are concentrated in Adams, Franklin, and Yakima Counties, so they are the ones getting Spanish-language voters guides and the new corrections, Ammons explained.
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Toby Guevin, director of civic engagement at OneAmerica Votes – Photo courtesy of seattletimes.com
Mailing the corrections will cost an additional $35,000, Ammons added. Democrat Tina Podlodowski, challenging incumbent Republican Wyman in the upcoming election, saw the error as part of a pattern of voter suppression conducted by Wyman. Wyman did not issue an apology or make adequate efforts to amend the mis-
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take until her office was threatened with the lawsuit, Podlodowski noted in a press statement. “While Secretary Wyman has denied accusations of voter suppression, in this case, actions speak louder than words,” Toby Guevin, director of civic engagement at OneAmerica Votes, added.
According to Guevin, Wyman has “done very little if anything to take down the barriers [to voting] folks face.” Wyman, for example, opposed the Washington Voting Rights Act in 2012 and took no position on it when it was reintroduced in 2016.
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HRC revokes endorsement of Republican Mark Kirk over racist quip by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer HRC announced on October 29 that it had “taken the unprecedented step” of revoking the endorsement of Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). Kirk is running for re-election against Democratic candidate Rep. Tammy Duckworth. In a statement, HRC said it originally endorsed Kirk “because he has been a strong supporter of our cause time and again, scoring 100 percent on HRC’s most recent Congressional Scorecard.” However, at an October 27 debate Kirk made a racially charged quip that HRC found unacceptable. In the debate, Duckworth – who lost both legs in combat in Iraq – recounted her family’s long military history, saying that members of “my family [were] serving on my father’s side since the American Revolution.” “I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington,” Kirk snapped back. Duckworth’s mother is Thai, but her father was a US citizen whose family did, indeed, have a history of military service going back to the Revolution. Her father,
(l) Tammy Duckworth & Mark Kirk – Photos courtesy of huffingtonpost.com & theblaze.com
Franklin Duckworth, was a US Army captain and Marine veteran who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
It took less than a day for Kirk to apologize for his remark, but it was too late. “On Thursday night, Sen. Kirk’s comments about his opponent’s heritage were
deeply offensive and racist,” HRC wrote in a statement. “His attempt to use Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth’s race as a means to undermine her family’s American heritage and patriotism is beyond reprehensible. Yesterday, Sen. Kirk tweeted an apology that failed to adequately address the real harm and magnitude of his words. So today, following a vote by our board’s committee, the Human Rights Campaign withdrew our support of Senator Kirk.” “Attacking someone because of her race and ethnicity is inexcusable for anyone, but especially for a sitting US senator. The diversity of our movement is our greatest strength, and Sen. Kirk’s remarks were an affront to our most fundamental values. We have therefore voted to endorse Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who has been a strong LGBTQ ally in the House of Representatives, and HRC will contribute the maximum amount to her campaign. We look forward to working with her in the Senate to secure full federal equality for all LGBTQ Americans.” The Real Clear Politics poll average shows Duckworth leading Kirk by more than 13 points as of October 31. Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump in Illinois by 16 points.
SCOTUS
continued from cover During his sophomore year, some parents objected, and the school ordered him to use restrooms that corresponded to his “biological gender.” Grimm then sued with the help of the ACLU, citing the Obama administration’s finding that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects the rights of Trans students through its prohibition of sex discrimination. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed in an April ruling, but the school district then appealed to the Supreme Court. At the same time, 23 other states challenged the Obama administration’s interpretation of Title IX. Since only one appellate court has ruled on the issue so far, the Supreme Court could have waited for other courts to weigh in on the issue, but the justices decided instead to hear the Virginia appeal. The case is likely to be heard by April and decided by late June. “It would have been nice to spend less of my senior year worrying about where I’m going to be using the bathroom,” Grimm told USA Today. But he added that he’s ready for the fight at the Supreme Court “to make sure that trans kids that come after me do not have to go through this experience.” Grimm says that being forced to choose between a single-stall gender-neutral restroom or one in the school nurse’s office stigmatized him in front of other students. “They sent a very clear message to my peers that I was something different” and “not fit for common spaces,” he said. “The damage is done, and it’s been done significantly, and there’s nothing that will ever change that,” Grimm says of the school board’s decision. For him, school has become an unsafe, unwelcoming environment. “My favorite school activity,” he said, “is leaving school.” ACLU Legal Director Steven Shapiro said he hoped Grimm would soon be allowed to use an appropriate restroom. “We want to get it resolved for his ben-
Gavin Grimm – Photo courtesy of nyt.com
efit as fast as we can,” he said. “The Supreme Court’s ultimate decision in this case will have a profound impact on transgender youth across the country,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “While hundreds of school districts nationwide are already respecting the civil rights of their transgender students, some
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are unconscionably discriminating against students like Gavin. Every day that discrimination is allowed to continue, transgender students are put at even greater risk of harm. No young person should wake up in the morning fearful of bullying or discrimination during the school day ahead.” Eighteen states – including Washington
– have laws that open gender-appropriate restrooms and locker rooms to Trans individuals. If the Obama administration’s reading of Title IX is upheld by the Supreme Court, all schools that receive federal funds will have to allow Trans students to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identities.
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NAACP
continued from cover canceled the voter registrations of 4,500 voters based “exclusively on mass mailings that were returned as undeliverable.” On a call with reporters, Rev. Dr. William Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, called the cancellations “the worst onslaught against minority voting... since the days of Jim Crow.” “The NAACP is defending rights of all North Carolinians to participate in this election,” Barber continued. “We’re taking this emergency step to make sure not a single voter’s voice is unlawfully taken away. This is our Selma, and we will not back down and allow this suppression to continue.” US District Judge Loretta Biggs, who heard arguments in the case November 2, seemed to agree with the NAACP. The North Carolina challenge process sounds “insane,” she said. “This sounds like something that was put together in 1901,” she told lawyers for the state. The judge also said she was “horrified” by the number of removals in Cumberland County, which accounted for the majority of the statewide total. “It almost looks like a cattle call, the way people are being purged,” she told county attorney Rick Moorefield. He replied that election officials didn’t like the process, “but they felt compelled to follow the statute.” The hearing ended without a ruling. Biggs didn’t indicate when she would decide on the NAACP’s complaint but noted that time was running out before the November 8 election. North Carolina law allows any voter to challenge the eligibility of any other voter in his or her county up to 25 days before the election. The challenge can include a
US District Judge Loretta Biggs – Photo courtesy of ncpolicywatch.org
residency challenge. According to North Carolina election officials, “a small number” of voters challenged the registrations of “thousands” of other voters – disproportionately AfricanAmericans – on the grounds that they did not live at the addresses indicated on their
voter registration documents. The challenge came after a mass mailing sent to the excluded voters was returned marked “undeliverable.” Removing their names from the voter rolls is legal under state law, but federal law prohibits systemic voter removal programs
within 90 days of a federal election. The NAACP adds that many of the mass mailers were returned in error. “In many cases, voters purged by defendants still reside at the address where they are registered to vote, or have moved within the county and remain eligible to vote there,” NAACP lawyers argued. “Nonetheless, a single item of returned mail has resulted in their ultimate removal from the voter rolls.” One plaintiff in the suit, James Edward Arthur Sr., says that he had planned to vote but recently learned that his voter registration was canceled “as a result of a third-party challenge brought under North Carolina’s voter challenge statute.” Grace Bell Hardison, a 100-year-old African-American woman living in Beaufort County, is another plaintiff. In court papers, the NAACP argues that she has voted in nearly every election for the last 12 years but recently learned that her registration was challenged based on an alleged change of residence – even though she hasn’t moved since 2011. Her nephew was “ultimately successful” in presenting evidence of her residence, the NAACP said. North Carolina officials denied they were responsible for suppressing votes. Kimberly Westbrook Strach, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said the challenges cited by the NAACP came from private citizens and not state agencies, and were resolved through a “statutory process that ensures notice and an opportunity to be heard before the appropriate body within the county.” In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, she said, “The statutes at issue are decades old and are common across the country and widely regarded as compatible with the National Voter Registration Act. If the plaintiffs are right, then most states are wrong.”
Dems sue Trump and GOP, charge voter intimidation by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Democrats have filed a number of legal complaints against Donald Trump and the Republican Party, charging them with plotting to intimidate and suppress voters. On October 31, state Democratic organizations in Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania filed federal lawsuits against the Trump campaign for violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The Voting Rights Act prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The Klan Act bars people from organizing conspiracies to intimidate or threaten voters. Democrats are asking federal courts to enjoin GOP operatives from so-called “exit polling” and “citizen journalist” activities at election sites. Their lawsuits name state Republican parties, the Trump campaign, longtime Trump adviser Roger J. Stone, and a group called Stop the Steal Inc., formed by Stone, as defendants. “Trump’s calls for unlawful intimidation have grown louder and louder, and the conspiracy to harass and threaten voters on Election Day has already resulted in acts that threaten the voting rights of registered Pennsylvania voters,” the Pennsylvania
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Democrats sue Trump and GOP – Photo by Evan Vucci
complaint states. The lawsuits cite an unnamed GOP official’s comments to Bloomberg News on October 27 that the Trump campaign has three ongoing voter suppression operations that target African-Americans and other groups. The Democrats also note that Trump supporters have pledged to challenge voters at certain polling places where people of color are expected to vote. Meanwhile, on October 26 the Demo-
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cratic National Committee (DNC) filed a complaint in federal court charging that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has violated a long-standing consent decree that prohibits Republicans from engaging in “ballot security” measures that could intimidate minorities. As evidence, the DNC cites Donald Trump’s own statements calling on his supporters to monitor polling places and prevent supposed voter fraud.
The DNC lawyers are asking for a court order preventing the voter intimidation, and also a ruling that the RNC is in contempt of court for failing to abide by the existing consent decree. The decree was negotiated in 1981, after Republican officials allegedly engaged in intimidation tactics against minority voters in the name of “ballot security.” Under the terms of the decree, the RNC agreed not to engage in specific polling-related activities, including sending so-called “poll security” or “poll watchers” to polling places. Although the RNC has tried to distance itself from many of these vigilante tactics, DNC lawyers say there is now “ample evidence that Trump has enjoyed the direct and tacit support of the RNC in its ‘ballot security’ endeavors.” The DNC’s motion is also asking the court to enforce the consent decree with sanctions. The consent decree was expected to expire in 2017, but the DNC has asked for an eight-year extension based upon recent statements by GOP candidates. More than 23 million people across the country have already cast absentee ballots or voted early in person, according to the nonpartisan United States Election Project.
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Representing our Diverse Community, Fighting for our Progressive Values Proudly Endorsed by Barack Obama, Human Rights Campaign PAC, Equal Rights WA, & Pride Fund to End Gun Violence!
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I would be honored to earn your vote on November 8! Congressman Adam Smith Paid for by Adam Smith for Congress, PO Box 578, Renton, WA 98057
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Managing pain and living well with chronic pain by Sonja Braasch OTR/L Occupational Therapist Structured Functional Restoration Program Special to the SGN Swedish Medical Center A Typical Day for someone with Chronic Pain… Early Morning. You start to wake up and feel groggy and fatigue already, you have a headache and your body aches in all your joints. You tell yourself that you need to get out of bed, but all you want to do is hide under the covers. You slowly move your body and it takes 15 minutes to get out of bed. You tried several times to stand up and then you do and you convince yourself that a shower will help the pain. Morning. You are up, start to get dressed and struggle to get your socks and shoes on which takes you 20 minutes, you walk slowly into the kitchen to make breakfast which ends up being a cup of tea because that will calm your stomach. Mid-Morning. You need to run errands today because you haven’t been out of the house in 2 weeks, you get into the car, and head off, you run into traffic and wonder why people are not at work by this time. You wish you were at work, but haven’t worked in 10 years. You start having excruciating stabbing pain and spasms in your lower back and don’t know if you will make it home or take yourself to the emergency department. Noon. You are exhausted, you hurt, you are waiting for your medications to kick-in, you skip lunch and go to bed. Early Evening. Day is almost over for most, but you have slept for six hours and still feel fatigue. Some of your pain has gone, you decide to make yourself some dinner and watch TV, your legs and back are burning now and your toes are tingling, but you try to distract yourself with the TV. Evening. You find some energy to call your son, but he doesn’t seem interested to hear about your non-productive day. Night. You get ready for bed, and for a second wish things to be different and start to cry; and right now you realize you have felt the best all day and dred going to sleep and having to repeat this all over. This gives you an idea, what a typical day is for a person who suffers from chronic pain disorders. September is recognized as “Pain Awareness Month,” but our patients experience pain every day. In acute pain, pain lets you know that you may be injured or have a problem you need to take care of. It goes away. Chronic pain is different. Chronic pain is defined as persistent pain that lasts weeks, months, or even years usually after normal healing or recovery should have occurred. The original cause may have been an infection or injury or there may be an ongoing cause of pain, such as cancer or arthritis. But in some cases there is no clear cause. Chronic pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Chronic pain is multi-factorial, complex issue that creates physical and psychological problems that affect whether a person can engage in meaningful, purposeful ac-
Sonja Braasch, Occupational Therapist – Photo courtesy of Swedish Medical Center
tivities each day like your ability to work, to be active with family and friends and to pursue leisure activities. Pain can decrease a person’s coordination, strength, endurance, and independence in addition to causing stress that may lead to depression, anxiety, fear, and hopelessness. For many people, pain is a way of life. Living an active life however may seem impossible, but there is hope! Here at Swedish Pain Services Functional Restoration Center, we use an interdisciplinary “team” approach to better understand the factors contributing to your chronic pain. Our goal is to better help you understand and manage your pain by using medication and non-medication approaches, including exercise, physical and occupational therapy, psychological counseling, relaxation training and nursing education. How the program works is that an initial assessment will include a comprehensive evaluation by our pain psychologist and pain medicine specialist. During the visit, you and your provider will develop a treatment plan. The initial visit takes place over two to three hours. Your pain management treatment plan may include a range of services based on your needs. Here at Swedish Pain Services, we have a comprehensive program such as our Structured Functional Restoration Program (SFRP).
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SFRPs involve the coordination of care by a number of pain specialists and providers. Our interdisciplinary “team” model involves patients participating in four to five hour-long sessions, two to three times per week. During each session, patients visit with multiple pain providers and educators, sometimes individually and other times in groups. The program focuses on the selfmanagement approach, helping patients acquire new skills, improve function, tolerances, psychosocial status, and reduce pain. The overall goal is to achieve decreasing sensitization of the nervous system with pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. There is a strong emphasis on patient education and helping patients take a more active role in their care. No one stands alone – each discipline is needed to add to their part of the puzzle. As an Occupational Therapist, the job is to assist you with self-management of pain so you can improve your activity engagement and participation in all areas of self-care, work and leisure. Patients are encouraged to practice their newly acquired skills learned in the program and apply them to their daily activities so they can gain control and balance in their lives and engage in meaningful, purposeful activities. Chronic pain for many is a “tough nut to crack.” Chronic pain alters brain func-
tioning, leading to changes in normal processing of pain signals. It can cause sleep problems, depression, anxiety, and other unhelpful behavioral responses that can lead to ongoing suffering. Dr Steven Stanos, medical director of Swedish Pain Services, states that “pain” is not just a number on an 11-point scale. “The state of the art for comprehensive management includes medications, injections therapies, and multidisciplinary therapy based approaches balancing medications with physical and occupational therapy, psychological counseling, relaxation training, exercise, and pain education. Our interdisciplinary team model takes a multidisciplinary approach a step further, integrating all of the important disciplines to treat pain under one roof, with structured team-based programs. We learn more about our patients, and they learn more from us in gaining life changing skills that help them better manage pain, understand the unique attributes of their pain experience, and how to take a more active role in their recovery. To learn more, talk to your medical provider to get a referral or contact the Swedish Pain Services Functional Restoration Center directly at 206-386-6229, 1-800-SWEDISH (1-800-793-3474), www. swedish.org.
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You will go to hell if you vote Democrat, San Diego Catholic church says by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in San Diego sent out a flyer in its October 16 bulletin telling parishioners that they will go to hell if they vote for Democratic candidates. “It is a mortal sin to vote Democrat,” the flyer said in English and Spanish, adding that “immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell.”
The church flyer cited the five public policy issues from the “Voters Guide for Serious Catholics” and said that Democrats violate all of them, while Republicans cross none: support for abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, human cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. The political messages continued as early voting began in California. An article in the October 30 the church bulletin claimed that Clinton is influenced by Satan. The bulletin quoted a short piece of a
2015 speech by Clinton to make it appear that she was using Satanic intervention and techniques from community organizer Saul Alinsky to get Catholics to change their religious beliefs and support abortion. “The devil does this through tactics outlined by Saul Alinsky with the outcome as Hillary Clinton stated ‘And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs, and structural biases have to be changed,’ to draw us away from God’s teachings regarding the sanctity of life to those of the world and its prince,” the bulletin said.
The Diocese of San Diego has distanced itself from the parish, saying the Catholic Church takes no official position on elections. Over the years many Catholic bishops have indicated that they would refuse communion to Catholics who support reproductive choice, same-sex marriage, or other policies the Church condemns, but none have suggested that voters will go to hell for supporting Democratic candidates.
LGBTQ characters hit record high on network TV by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor A record number of LGBTQ characters are featured on broadcast series, according to a GLAAD study released Thursday. But in a dark twist, the small screen can be deadly for female characters. For its annual report titled “Where We Are on TV,” researchers tallied the LGBTQ characters seen or set to be portrayed in the period from June 2016 to May 2017. Counts were based on series airing or announced and for which casting has been confirmed. According to the study, TV remains far ahead of film in LGBTQ representations. Still, say officials in the study, “the medium failed queer women this year by continuing the harmful ‘bury your gays’ trope.” More than 25 Lesbian and Bisexual female characters died on scripted broadcast, cable, and streaming series this year, GLAAD found in its report on small-screen diversity. It’s part of a decade-long pattern in which LGBTQ are seen as disposable. On the brighter side, the study, which in 2005 began examining other aspects of diversity on TV, found record percentages of people of color and people with disabilities depicted on broadcast shows. Among the detailed findings: • Broadcast TV includes the highest percentage of regularly appearing Gay characters – 4.8% – since Gay rights organization GLAAD began its count 21 years ago. Among nearly 900 series regular characters on ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, and NBC, 43 characters are LGBTQ, up from 35 last season. • Streamed shows included 65 regular
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and recurring LGBTQ characters, up six from last season. Lesbians, including characters on “One Mississippi” and “Orange Is the New Black,” account for the majority of characters, 43%, a far higher share than on broadcast or cable. • Cable series held steady with 142 regular and recurring LGBTQ characters, with a 5% increase in the number of Gay men but a 2% drop in the number of Lesbian characters depicted. • The number of Transgender characters in regular or recurring appearances on all
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platforms has more than doubled from last season, from seven to 16. • Characters with a disability represented 1.7% of all regularly seen broadcast characters, up from 0.9% last season. Each platform has at least one LGBTQ character who is HIV positive. • African-Americans will be 20% (180) of regularly seen characters on prime-time broadcast shows this season, the highest share yet found by GLAAD. But black women are underrepresented at 38% of the total, or 69 characters.
• The percentage of regularly appearing Asian-Pacific Islanders on broadcast TV hit 6%, the highest tally found by GLAAD and slightly more than the group’s US population percentage. Contributing to the increase are the Asian-American family shows “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Dr. Ken.” • Latino characters rose a point to 8%, equaling the highest representation found two seasons ago by GLAAD. That differs sharply from the 17% Latino representation in the US population as measured by the Census Bureau, the report said.
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“Who’s in charge of America?” Girl in Weiner probe joins criticism of FBI director Comey by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The teenage girl whose sexts with disgraced Rep. Anthony Weiner prompted an FBI investigation has joined the mounting criticism of FBI director James Comey. The girl, now 15 but 13 at the time Weiner sent her sexually explicit texts, unwittingly became part of the US presidential campaign October 28, when Comey revealed that Weiner’s laptop held emails sent by Hillary Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin and said his agency would begin reviewing them. The girl said she was “upset” about being connected to the Clinton’s email issues. “The FBI asked for me to speak to the media as little as possible. I have tried to stay quiet, but Comey has upset me,” the 15-year-old told BuzzFeed. “The last thing I wanted was to have this become political propaganda.” The girl said she first found out that her case was tied to the new investigation of Clinton after a reporter called her soon after Comey’s announcement. She had just been with local FBI agents for an hourslong interview, BuzzFeed reported. She and her father told BuzzFeed they found out that she was entangled in presidential politics from media outlets, and not from FBI agents. They said the FBI had not called or checked in with them at all. The father added that FBI agents later called to ask if he and his daughter “were OK, and asked if we had thought of leaving the area to avoid media scrutiny.” “I was having self-esteem issues when this whole thing started with Anthony Weiner,” the girl said. “Now as a result of
POLL
continued from cover ahead by three points, but Reuters has Clinton leading by eight. What’s going on? First, you should know that national polls are not going to be predictive of the outcome. That’s because our elections are not decided by the national popular vote. Remember that in the 2000 election Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election. US presidential elections are decided on a state-by-state basis. So what if a candidate is gaining in the national polls? If the gains only reflect more voters in a state where the candidate is already ahead, they don’t affect the outcome. Here’s an example. You can win Texas by one point, or you can win Texas by 21 points. Either way, you still win 38 electoral votes. The extra 20 percentage points don’t help you at all. In fact, if you put a lot of your resources into getting an extra 20-point margin in Texas, it might hurt you, because it would mean you took resources away from other states where you might have brought in enough votes to win by one or two points. It’s more predictive to look at state-by-state polling. But even there you have to be careful. Many polls, especially the state-by-state ones, are based on very small samples, sometimes less than 1,000 voters, so the polls will have built-in statistical errors. A typical mar-
FBI director James Comey – Photo courtesy of youtube.com
cations. It is incumbent upon him – or the leadership of the department – to dispel the uncertainty he has created before Election Day. It is up to the director to correct his mistake – not for the sake of a political candidate or campaign but in order to protect our system of justice and best serve the American people.” Mukasey denounced Comey both for his original decision to drop the investigation against Clinton and for his latest decision to revive it. Comey’s “authority extends only to supervising the gathering of facts to be presented to Justice Department lawyers” and not to any decision of whether or not charges should be brought,” Mukasey wrote in a Wall Street Journal piece. Noting that Comey wrote to Congress over the objections of both Lynch and her deputy, Mukasey wrote that “regardless of what is in the newly discovered emails, the current Justice Department will not permit a grand jury to hear evidence in this case. And because only a grand jury can constitutionally bring charges, that means no charges will be brought.” The chair of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, wrote a public letter to Comey. His letter to congressional leaders “did not go far enough” in providing details about the emails, Grassley told Comey. “Unfortunately, your letter failed to give Congress and the American people enough context to evaluate the significance or full meaning of this development,” Grassley wrote. “Without additional context, your disclosure is not fair to Congress, the American people, or Secretary Clinton.”
my frailty, this could take down the United States presidential election. I mean, come on, who’s in charge of America?” The girl, who remains unnamed because she is a minor, was just the latest in a string of public figures to attack Comey’s judgment. Two former attorneys general, Democrat Eric Holder and Republican Michael Mukasey, blasted Comey for his apparently politically motivated announcement of a re-
vived investigation into Clinton’s emails. “I fear he has unintentionally and negatively affected public trust in both the Justice Department and the FBI,” Holder wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “And he has allowed – again without improper motive – misinformation to be spread by partisans with less pure intentions… “In this instance, he has committed a serious error with potentially severe impli-
gin error for a well-constructed poll of average sample size is about four points. That means that any single number in the poll can be four points more or four points less than reported. So if the poll reports that Clinton has 50% and Trump has 50%, the “real” number could be 54% Clinton to 46% Trump, or 46% Clinton to 54% Trump. In tracking polls, where polling is repeated every day or every week to try to capture swings in public opinion, what looks like an eight-point swing could be nothing more than statistical error. One day the errors puffed up Clinton’s numbers, the next day they puffed up Trump’s, without any real change in voter preference. For polls like that to be something you should worry about – or celebrate – the swing would have to be pretty monumental, something on the order of 10 points or more. The other thing to know about polls is that before pollsters record people’s opinions, they have to decide what their sample will look like. In others words, before they ask the questions, they have decide whom they’re going to ask. If you pay attention to the news, you’re already familiar with the difference between “registered voters” and “likely voters.” A poll that questions only people who will probably vote will obviously be more predictive than one that asks people who won’t vote. But then you get into the problem of determining who is actually likely to vote, and figuring that out can be very tricky. Trump dismissed polling from late Sep-
tember and early October showing him down by double digits because Republicans were underrepresented in the polling samples – or so he claimed. By the same token, more recent polls showing Trump beating Clinton are based on samples with more Republican voters than are found in the general population. The reason is that pollsters sometimes try to base their predictions of who will vote – and therefore the composition of their samples – on the idea of “enthusiasm.” When they ask supporters of the two candidates how enthusiastic they about voting for their candidate, Trump’s people say they are more so than Clinton’s. Therefore, they conclude, more Republicans will show up to vote than Democrats, and more should be included in the polling sample. But in the end, habit may trump enthusiasm (pun very much intended). It’s a well-known phenomenon that some voters show up to vote at every election, year in and year out – almost by habit. Other voters will vote only occasionally, and still others only when they are particularly moved by a candidate or issue. The habitual voters tend to be older, wealthier, better educated, and whiter than the off-and-on voters, and usually that tends to favor Republicans. But this election may reverse that trend. Clinton seems to be winning college-educated middleand upper-middle class whites – especially women – by a very large margin, while Trump supporters tend to be poorer and less educated whites, who historically may
or may not turn out to vote. Another interesting wrinkle is party identification. Obviously Democrats support Clinton, by numbers approaching 95%. But Republicans support Trump only by numbers in the mid-80s. In fact, one poll of early voters in Florida suggests that as many as 28% of registered Republicans are defecting to Clinton. Most Americans now do not identify with either major party, but how they describe themselves can offer clues as to how they might vote. Self-described “independents” tend to skew right and will typically break for Republicans. This tendency is already showing up in polling, but it’s nothing to be worried about because that’s what usually happens. On the other hand, voters who call themselves “unaffiliated” tend to skew left. If they are telling pollsters they will vote for Trump, or just not vote, that would be a reason for Clinton’s team to be concerned. There’s another way to measure support that doesn’t involve polling but may be more predictive of success than even the best poll, and that’s fundraising. Hillary Clinton’s campaign raised $11.3 million online between October 28 and October 31, largely as a reaction by her hardcore supporters to new FBI inquiries into her emails. The “record-breaking” figure is the most Clinton has raised over a 72-hour period since she became the nominee at the Democratic convention in July, according to her campaign.
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New York police officer who made Gay porn suspended as investigators look into sex parties by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor A bizarre story came out of New York this week that seems more like it could have been concocted in Hollywood rather than reality. A police officer who allegedly made Gay porn with his boyfriend was suspended this week as investigators begin to look into the couple’s financial transactions. Schenectady, New York, police Sgt. Jonathan Moore was with Anthony Aubin, his boyfriend, when Aubin got busted trying to use a bad check to buy a $92,000 Jaguar, the Times Union reported this week. Aubin has an extensive criminal record, say investigators, which sparked a larger probe into so-called sex parties, or “breeding parties,” involving Gay police officers and underage teens. The paper reported that an officer with the nearby Albany, New York, police force may also be involved. Schenectady Police Department officials said told the New York Daily News that they “became aware of an investigation being con-
(l) Police Sgt. Jonathan Moore & boyfriend Anthony Aubin – Photo courtesy of totpi.com
ducted by the Colonie Police Department that involved fraudulent activity being conducted at a car dealership” in Colonie. Sgt. Moore has been suspended with pay “pending a de-
cision by the Colonie Police Department on whether to charge him in that case.” Schenectady police also said in their statement to the Daily News that there was no
mention of “breeding parties” or “underage drinking” during its interview with Aubin. According to Aubin, he’s known Moore for 10 years, reported the Times Union. The story goes that Aubin offered to help get Moore “out of debt” by making “gay porn” movies for a company in Florida. Moore said in a statement obtained by the Times Union, “I researched them and they are a legitimate company. Anthony accepted a contract with Bear Films, and I ultimately took a job with them as well.” According to the Times Union, Aubin also used a faux $15,000 check to buy a Jeep. Allegedly, Moore says he had no idea Aubin was passing counterfeit checks. “At no time did Anthony tell me that the checks issued to me from (our agent) Sandra were fraudulent or that the business transactions were illegal in any shape or form,” Moore’s statement said. “I even ran the routing number on one of the checks she issued us and it returned to Bank of America. As far as I knew, the transactions for the vehicles were legitimate.” The investigation continues.
Wingate civil rights trial reveals victim traumatized; former SPD officer Whitlatch claims devastation by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Cynthia Whitlatch, a former Seattle police officer, broke down on the witness stand in federal court Tuesday, insisting race played no part in her arrest of a 69-year-old Black man, William Wingate, who was carrying a golf club as a cane that she viewed as a dangerous weapon, according to the Seattle Times. Whitlatch was called to testify in a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by Wingate. She told jurors Wingate swung the golf club toward the open driver’s side window of her patrol car as she drove past him on Capitol Hill on July 9, 2014. Wingate denied he had done so when confronted by the officer, sparking a yelling match between the two captured on patrolcar video that emerged as key evidence in the civil-rights suit seeking at least $750,000. Wingate continually asks for the officer to calm down and to call a supervisor. The reason he asked for a senior officer to come out to the scene is because, as video footage clearly shows, Whitlatch had become extremely agitated and had lost her temper. Robert Christie, who represents Whitlatch, questioned his client, who sobbed as she told jurors Tuesday that her testimony represented the first time she’s had a chance to tell “my side of the story.” Whitlatch was fired by Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole over the incident and says her family has suffered. She claims that her wife divorced her in part over the fallout and that she has been personally humiliated and unable to defend herself. Whitlatch maintains that her arrest of Wingate had “nothing to do with his race.” She told the jury that his arrest was motivated solely by her concern that he represented
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Cynthia Whitlach – Photo courtesy of twitter.com
a threat to her and, potentially, the public. Whitlatch did acknowledge, however, that she didn’t immediately alert other officers to any danger when they responded to help her. She explained that she had no initial plans to arrest him and ultimately just wanted to hear Wingate’s explanation for what she accused him of doing. However, Wingate was arrested after he didn’t comply with commands to drop the golf club, Whitlatch said. Whitlatch did acknowledge that she harmed her case through various actions after the incident, including a now-infamous Facebook post in which she referred to “black peoples (sic) paranoia” among other racially charged statements. Additionally, she also admitted she had acted wrongly when she suggested a black judge had dismissed the criminal case against Wingate and that Seattle Deputy Police Chief Carmen Best had apologized on behalf of the department to him because she is also black.
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“I lashed out because of the situation,” she addressed jurors. Whitlatch explained the circumstances of an email she forwarded to herself, which documented the use of what she called the “N word” (she was forced to fully use the word in court Monday in discussing the email, but the actual word is allegedly not in the email, according to the Times) in what she considered an offensive video posted on Facebook by a colleague. Whitlatch testified Tuesday she was “very, very offended” by the video. But she said she didn’t want to get another officer in trouble, so she only kept a record in the email sent to herself. In her attempt to repair her reputation, Whitlatch tearfully revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by a relative beginning at age 9 and separately by another man at age 13. She described that history as a “driving force” in her decision to become a police officer and “protect those who can’t protect themselves.” Whitlatch recalled how she had gone after an active shooter in a bar, unconcerned about the racial makeup of the patrons inside because “I don’t care about those things.” According to the Times, she also described her personal efforts to care for an elderly woman she found living in squalor, including bathing her and finding a nursing facility, and her purchase of shoes, socks, a backpack, and jacket for a homeless man who later wrote her a letter saying it was the kindest thing done for him during 14 months on the street. Whitlatch said that by the time she found herself in front of Chief O’Toole before her firing, she was “in shock” and that she fully expects to win back her job on appeal. “I love police work and I’m good at it,” she told the jury.
Wingate’s supporters aren’t buying it. “Two lives are connected that day and his is forever changed,” Wingate’s attorney Susan Mindenbergs said in opening statements of the civil rights trial, October 31, in which she maintained her client had been severely traumatized by the confrontation. Wingate denied swinging the club on that day, and still now, but he was arrested for investigation of unlawful use of a weapon and obstructing a police officer and held in jail for 30 hours. City prosecutors pursued only a weapon charge, and Wingate agreed to a continuance of his case, under which the misdemeanor charge would be dropped in two years if he met court conditions partly because he says he didn’t really understand what was happening and was in shock. Prosecutors later moved to dismiss the entire case after a former state representative raised questions about the arrest. A judge accepted the dismissal. Mindenbergs said Wingate served in the Air Force Reserve and drove a King County Metro bus for 35 years, during which time he developed a working relationship with police officers. “He’s a different man” now, Mindenbergs said, alluding that her client went from someone who trusted police to being afraid of them. The suit also named the city as a defendant. But US Judge Richard Jones, who is presiding over the case, dismissed the city, ruling that Whitlatch’s action didn’t stem from city policies or long-standing practices. However, the city is required to pay Christie, because Whitlatch’s actions occurred while she was city employee. It is important to note that when Police Chief O’Toole fired Whitlatch last year, the chief labeled Whitlatch as someone who demonstrated overly aggressive policing practices.
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