News nitrated

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

Label: Health

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.

A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.

Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.

In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.

King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.

Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."

Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.

In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.

Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"

"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."

Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.

That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.

"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.

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Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

Does creationism have a place at a public school?

Label: Business

Los Angeles Unified School District biology teacher Tom Phillips is retiring this month, but on his way out, he's decided to go public with a pet peeve. Phillips believes the continued Christian fundamentalist effort to debunk evolution is undermining science education in the United States, and he has seen evidence of that with his own students at Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington.

"Large numbers of Christian Evangelicals have flocked to this school because of its strong academics and have turned it into a publicly supported religious institution," Phillips, 64, said in an email that began several weeks of correspondence between us.

The evolution vs. creationism debate has a long history, dating back to the 1925 Scopes monkey trial in Tennessee. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that barred the teaching of evolution unless creationism was also part of the curriculum. But some states, at the urging of Christian conservatives, still encourage teachers to challenge evolution as part of teaching "critical thinking."

I'm willing to go out on a limb and suggest there's not going to be a "challenge evolution" movement any time soon in California. But Phillips believes some activities of the student-led Christian Club on his high school campus come close to violating the separation of church and state. A local clergyman often attends club meetings, Phillips said, and twice in the last few years, the club has heard presentations from Bill Morgan, a creationist of national prominence.

"He mixes with students saying, 'Hi, I'm Bill Morgan. Do you think we descended from monkeys?' Well, what do you think of this?' It was in the form of proselytizing," said Phillips.

He added that Morgan can be a persuasive debater, making students all the more vulnerable to indoctrination. Phillips said Morgan, an engineer whose beliefs and taped debates can be found at http://www.fishdontwalk.com, conducts his presentation as if he were a teacher.

"He says something and says, 'Now class, how did that go again?' "

Mattie Adams, the school principal, suggests Phillips is greatly over-stating matters, given how rarely the Christian Club has invited a creationist to school. She told me she passed along Phillips' complaints, and district officials determined that the club — which meets during lunch—has been operating within district guidelines, including those regarding guest speakers. A district representative pointed me to a policy statement that says "voluntary student initiated meetings are permitted, regardless of religious, political or other content."

I wasn't allowed to talk to students because they didn't have parental approval, but I was told that Christian Club members rarely discuss creationism, its variant, intelligent design, or other controversial topics. History teacher Brian Groven, the club sponsor, says the students generate the topics on their own, and they're more inclined to discuss generic teenage issues. Last week's subject had to do with the meaning of Christmas.

Even Phillips — who considers himself a conservative and was a career Air Force pilot and Vietnam vet before taking up teaching — said he believes there's a laudable "good citizenship" component to the club. But whether the students are being influenced at home, in church or through Christian Club connections, Phillips finds it disturbing to see them turn in class reports in which they question irrefutable evidence that Darwin had it right.

On Tuesday, I was in Phillips' classroom during his lunch break when Adams walked in, and a spirited discussion began.

"We're allowing students to exercise their rights on campus," said Adams, who later told me she challenged evolution as a young student and still believes "it's good for students to look at different versions of how man came to be."

"I believe they have a right" to exist, Phillips said. "But … when students are taught that science is a bunch of malarkey, and when people are trying to indoctrinate them with something that's not true," it's a disservice to students and a hindrance to science teachers.

Adams said there's a gay-lesbian club on campus, and she supports that, too.

Sure, I said, but is that a fair comparison? Mr. Phillips sponsors the school's military club, I said. If he invited speakers who contradicted historical fact by insisting the Holocaust didn't happen, would that be appropriate?

LAUSD policy says that "non-school persons may not conduct, control or regularly attend meetings." Ralph Girodano, youth pastor at Wilmington's Harbor Christian Center, told me he attends fewer than half the high school Christian Club's weekly meetings, so I'll let readers be the judge of whether he's in compliance.

Harbor Christian is an Assemblies of God church, with a website that proclaims: "We believe that Hell is real.... We believe that the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit … include divine healing, the gift of tongues, miracles, and signs & wonders."

Giordano told me he believes all those things, but doesn't preach them at Harbor Prep.

"It's a Christian club, so the Bible is the source of a lot of the discussion," said Giordano, who told me he believes in creationism and can't understand why Phillips or anyone else would be intolerant of a student's healthy inclination to challenge what's being taught.

But it isn't a healthy inclination at all, says Francisco J. Ayala, a UC Irvine biology professor who laments the creeping influence of creationists, with polls now indicating that nearly half of U.S. residents believe God created humans in their present form. Ayala, a decorated scholar, is a former Dominican priest who believes the natural process of evolution is not incompatible with a belief in a God who created the world.

But teaching intelligent design while denying the overwhelming evidence of evolution, Ayala said, is like teaching "alchemy rather than chemistry, astrology in contrast to astronomy, or witchcraft as an alternative to medicine."

Ayala also believes "the teaching of intelligent design is contrary to Christian doctrine."

"If we believe in God as the omnipotent and benevolent creator," said Ayala, "and that God designed human beings, he would have a lot to answer for."

steve.lopez@latimes.com

As Egypt’s Crisis Deepens, Morsi Turns to Muslim Brotherhood

Label: World

CAIRO — Facing the most serious crisis of his presidency, Mohamed Morsi is leaning more closely than ever on his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood, betting on their political muscle to push through a decisive victory in the referendum on Egypt’s divisive draft constitution.

As tens of thousands chanted for his downfall or even imprisonment in a fourth day of protests outside the presidential palace, Mr. Morsi’s advisers and Brotherhood leaders acknowledged Friday that outside his core base of Islamist supporters he feels increasingly isolated in the political arena and even within his own government. The Brotherhood “is who he can depend on,” said one person close to Mr. Morsi, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Mr. Morsi appears to believe that he and the Brotherhood can deliver a strong vote for the draft constitution in next Saturday’s referendum — strong enough to discredit the opposition, allow him a fresh start and restore some of his authority.

Struggling to quell protests and violence around the country, Mr. Morsi appeared to offer a new concession to his opponents Friday by opening the door to a possible delay in the referendum on the draft constitution, now scheduled for Dec. 15, and even potential revisions by the Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly.

But opposition leaders turned a deaf ear, reiterating their demands to begin an overhaul of the assembly itself. “He has to take these steps, and I hope that he listens to us,” Mohamed ElBaradei, the former United Nations diplomat and coordinator of the opposition front, said Friday in televised response.

But Mr. Morsi’s advisers said he held out little hope of reaching a compromise and planned to continue rallying his Islamist base, a strategy he displayed most vividly in a televised speech to the nation Thursday night. Addressing clashes between his Islamist supporters and their opponents that had killed at least six, Mr. Morsi all but declined to play the unifier, something he could have accomplished by sympathizing equally with those injured or killed on either side.

Instead, he struck the themes with the most resonance to his Islamist supporters, arguing that his backers outside the palace had come under attack by hired thugs paid with “black money” from a conspiracy of loyalists to the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, and foreign interests determined to thwart the revolution. And he also said that some of the culprits had “direct links” to the political opposition, calling on Egyptians “to stand up to these heinous crimes.”

Mr. Morsi’s turn back toward his Islamist base is a bet that the Brotherhood’s political machine can easily overcome even the re-energized secular opposition. And his advisers argue that achieving even an imperfect constitution will prove his commitment to the democratic rule of law and restore his credibility. But it also contributes to the paralyzing polarization now gripping Egyptian politics. It risks tarnishing both the Constitution and Mr. Morsi as purely partisan and unable to represent all Egyptians. And it makes Mr. Morsi even more dependent on the same insular group that plucked him from anonymity and propelled him to the presidency.

The result could be a hollow victory that perpetuates the instability of the political transition. “O.K., so you will have the referendum on Dec. 15 and you will end up with a ‘yes’ vote,” said Khaled Fahmy, a historian at the American University in Cairo. “On Dec. 16, Egypt will be infinitely more difficult to govern than it already is now.”

Some senior Brotherhood leaders have acknowledged that the bruising battle may hurt their party’s fortunes in the next parliamentary elections, which are set for February if the constitution passes. “I don’t think we will have the same level of trust, and I think our numbers will probably be affected,” one senior Brotherhood leader said Friday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Some who know Mr. Morsi’s track record as a Brotherhood political leader say his personality may also be a factor. “Morsi is a stubborn guy,” said Shadi Hamid, research director of the Brookings Doha Center and a close observer of the Brotherhood. “He is not known for being very responsive to the people he disagrees with.”

Two employees of The New York Times contributed reporting.

New iPad mini orders will be delivered in time for Christmas

Label: Technology

Susan Powell's Father-in-Law Secretly Took 4,500 Pictures of Her

Label: Lifestyle

12/07/2012 at 07:30 PM EST

Wrapping up a year that has brought unimaginable frustration and heartbreak, Susan Powell's family marked the three-year anniversary of her disappearance at a ceremony this week near where her two sons are buried.

"It's a hard time of year," Susan's father, Chuck Cox, tells PEOPLE. "Our daughter's still missing. Someday, we will find out what happened to her."

He added that he is not sure what to make of a West Valley City, Utah, police announcement Thursday that their investigation into Susan's Dec. 6, 2009 disappearance remains active but "has been scaled down," with a reduction in the number of full-time investigators working the case.

The announcement came at the same time that more evidence emerged of the alleged obsession Susan's father-in-law, Steven Powell, had toward her. Authorities released nearly 4,500 pictures that they say he secretly took of her at home and elsewhere.

Cox says he's hopeful that the police are still doing everything possible to solve Susan's case, but he hasn't ruled out suing the department for failing to arrest Susan's husband, Josh Powell, for her murder.

More than two years after Susan's disappearance, Josh on Feb. 5 murdered the couple's two sons and committed suicide by blowing up his house.

Cox's lawyer, Anne Bremner, says Cox "goes back and forth" over whether to sue West Valley City. "He wants them to find her. A lawsuit can have a chilling affect on things."

Cox and Bremner say they do plan to file a lawsuit against the state of Washington for continuing to give Josh visitation with his children despite what they claim were mounting concerns regarding his mental stability.

Although Cox and the police believe that Josh Powell knew more than anyone what happened to Susan, they also strongly suspect that his father, Steven Powell, should still be looked at more closely.

Susan Powell's Father-in-Law Secretly Took 4,500 Pictures of Her| True Crime, Susan Powell

Steven Powell

Ted S. Warren / AP

The Coxes hoped Steve Powell's voyeurism trial in May would unearth some answers but it did not. Powell invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked in jail about Susan.

In numerous interviews with PEOPLE, Steve and Josh Powell denied any involvement in Susan's disappearance and have suggested that she ran off with another man.

Steve Powell was prosecuted for surreptitiously photographing his neighbor's young daughters (and is serving a 30-month sentence), but the investigation also unearthed journals in which Powell described his interest in his daughter-in-law, as well as the thousands of photos, which were released Thursday to the Associated Press.

In a journal entry, Steven Powell recalls a sexually charged dream in which Susan asks him, “Do you think I would make a good wife for you?” None of the pictures show Susan naked, although there are images of her crotch and backside.

"We think he knows exactly where our daughter is," Cox says.

Once Susan disappeared, Josh sold the family's home in Utah and moved with the boys into Steven Powell's house in Puyallup, Wash., only about two miles from the Cox family.

On Thursday, families streamed to Puyallup’s Woodbine Cemetery to remember the Powell boys and other children who died tragically and to dedicate a memorial: a bronze angel inspired by the novella The Christmas Box, in which strangers learn the value of love following a child’s death.

The novella's author, Richard Paul Evans, also attended the dedication. The memorial is on a hill overlooking the boys' gravesites 75 yards away.

"We get a lot of support from a lot of people and we're going to make it through," Cox says.