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UPI's Capital Comment for April 5, 2002

By United Press International

WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.

Out -- Former Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry has abruptly put an end to his latest comeback bid. Renewed scandal caused him to drop out of his nascent bid for an at-large seat on the DC City Council.

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Barry served three terms as mayor of the nation's capital when a 1990 drug arrest and misdemeanor conviction derailed his political career. Following his release from prison, Barry used a successful race for a seat on the city council to propel him into a fourth term as mayor.

On March 21, U.S. Park Police discovered trace quantities of marijuana and cocaine during a search of Barry's car -- leading some to believe that the former mayor might have resumed his drug habits. On Wednesday, his fourth wife, Cora Masters Barry, announced that they were separating and that she was moving out of the couple's home.

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Absolut honors -- The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation passed out awards honoring members of the entertainment community earlier this week in New York City. Taking home the group's Excellence in Media Award -- given to someone who has "made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people" -- was actress Glenn Close, best known for her performance as a homicidal one-night stand in the film "Fatal Attraction."

The ceremony, presented by Absolut Vodka, also honored actor Nathan Lane, who received GLAAD's Vito Russo Award -- given to "a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender member of the entertainment or media community for their outstanding contribution in combating homophobia."


It must be in the genes -- Karenna Gore Schiff, daughter of former Vice President Al Gore and granddaughter of former Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., told the world she was considering a run for elective office, telling CNN's Jonathan Karl that "It's something that I wouldn't rule out."

Schiff was an active participant in her father's campaign for president, providing strategic advice and making appearances on his behalf. Schiff is the second member of the family to make political news in recent weeks. Her mother, Tipper Gore, recently gave public consideration to the idea of running for her husband's old seat in the Senate this fall.

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A tight squeegee -- Window washer Jan Demczur is giving the squeegee he used to escape from a World Trade Center an elevator on Sept. 11 to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Demczur and five other men were trapped in an express elevator on the 50th floor after a hijacked plane struck the building. "When they managed to pry the doors open, they faced not an exit but a sheetrock wall, three layers deep. The elevator normally did not stop on that floor. With no other tool available, Demczur, assisted by the other men, used his squeegee to carve a hole through which they could crawl. The men exited the building just five minutes before the tower collapsed," museum officials said in a release describing the donation.


The dirt on power plants -- U.S. PIRG, a Naderite consumer group, is leading an attack on energy generation in the release of its new report on the state of American power plants. "Darkening Skies" alleges that hundreds of power plants emit "more pollution today than just a few years ago, many increasing by thousands of tons per year." The report is available on PIRG's Web site.


Disrobing -- Florida State Supreme Court Judge Major B. Harding has announced he will retire Aug. 31, ending a 34-year career on the judicial bench. Along with his colleagues, Harding achieved national prominence after November 2000 as the court heard and ruled on the complex legal issues governing the counting and contesting of the state's presidential election results. His retirement gives Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is up for re-election this year, the chance to appoint the first Latino to the court. Bush will chose one name from among those that will be submitted by a nine-member judicial nominating commission.

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Mob on the Mall -- On Wednesday, April 10, actor Danny Glover and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., will lead "1,000 people with AIDS, public health experts, religious leaders and others" in a rally on the steps of the Capitol against what organizers are calling "the global AIDS catastrophe."

The assemblage is an attempt to influence the president's emergency supplemental budget request, which is due for a vote that day. The activists want Congress to approve $750 million in new spending for the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.


Taking Ventura to the mat -- Leaders of Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest women's public policy organization, have written to Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, asking him to "investigate the process that has turned the University of Minnesota Press into the most famous purveyor of pro-pedophile literature in America."

The group says the Press is set to release a book -- "Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex" -- by Judith Levine that questions the prevailing social taboo against sex between adults and children. They want Ventura to put a stop to it.

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According to the letter, the author told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune "that she favored the law in the Netherlands, where the age of sexual consent has been lowered to 12."


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