WASHINGTON, May 28 (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.
Dracula-istic new restrictions threaten blood supply -- America's Blood Centers, a network of community blood centers providing nearly half of the U.S. volunteer blood supply, says it "could lose more than 300,000 donations ... after the first round of an FDA-mandated deferral policy goes into effect on May 31." The new restrictions have been imposed by the Food and Drug Administration to protect the blood supply against the theoretical risk of mad cow disease and focus mainly on contact with Europe.
Under the new guidelines, anyone who meets one or more of the following criteria will not be eligible to donate blood: If you lived in France for 5 years or more between 1980 and the present; if you have visited or lived in the United Kingdom for a total of 3 months or more between 1980 and 1996; if you received a blood transfusion in the UK between 1980 and the present; military personnel (current and former), and their dependents, who spent time in military bases in northern Europe during 1980-1990, or southern Europe during 1980-1996, for 6 months or more. ABC says "These restrictions, combined with an increased usage of blood because of an aging population, may cause a shortfall of about one million donations of blood by the end of 2002."
A message from the top -- A new poll and analysis from the Democracy Corps, a group founded by Democrat consultants Stan Greenberg, Bob Shrum and James Carville, says that accountability, "the word and the value," is "emerging as a central explanatory idea for what people are feeling as they watch unfolding events in diverse areas."
Linking the collapse of the Enron energy company, the pedophilia scandal inside the American Catholic Church and, by implication, the recent imbroglio over what if anything the Bush administration may have known about the Sept. 11 terror attack before it happened, the memo says: "All of that has come together in a widely shared sense that many in powerful positions operate irresponsibly, hurt people, and pay no price. They are not held accountable."
"Accountability, we shall see, is the vehicle for Democrats to talk about these abuses -- centered on certain big corporations and their political supporters -- who have given free rein to this conduct and who have allowed bad civic behavior to go unpunished."
The other dominant themes the three see shaping the elections this fall are: Rising health care costs; the protection of pensions and 401 (k) plans; the Social Security trust fund; and fiscal responsibility.
See you in court -- Controversial journalist and sometimes pundit Evan Gahr has filed suit against the his former employer, the Hudson Institute think tank, and its president, Herb London, for wrongful termination, breach of contract, defamation, and religious discrimination.
Gahr, who is asking for $1 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, alleges he was fired because he called Paul Weyrich a "demented anti-Semite" in response to an Easter message penned by the well-known conservative leader. The two men, who have come to know each other as a result of the controversy, recently toured the Holocaust Museum together.
In the past, London has attributed Gahr's termination to his acting in an "unprofessional way," citing his use of profanity in at least one media interview and his use of a stuffed animal as a prop in a television debate with conservative writer David Horowitz. "We look forward to responding to Mr. Gahr's charges in a court of law," Hudson Institute Washington director Ken Weinstein says.
Giving thanks -- The National Conference on Soviet Jewry, which played a major role in bringing the plight of Jews in the Soviet Union to the attention of the world, is expressing its thanks to President George W. Bush for emphasizing religious freedom during his visits to Moscow and St. Petersburg. On Friday, the president addressed a Moscow gathering of religious and community leaders where he said, "Freedom of religion and separation of church and state are so important, so important so that people can worship as they choose -- Jews, Muslims and all Christians, and all religions." NCSJ President Robert J. Meth thanked the president, saying, "Once again, the president has demonstrated his personal involvement and support on these important issues."
Is the GOP majority Ore-gone? -- The results from last week's Oregon primary election are in; party conservatives swept almost every GOP open seat. In the race for the gubernatorial nomination, conservative-Democrat-turned-Republican Kevin Mannix took 34 percent of the vote, beating out the two more favored candidates, Labor Commissioner Jack Roberts and Portland Attorney Ron Saxton. Mannix now moves on to face left-leaning Democrat Ted Kulongowski, a former state attorney general. In the Republican legislative primaries, five of the seven hotly contested "conservative v. liberal Republican" races -- including several where the establishment candidates were weighed down by their endorsement by "Basic Rights of Oregon," a homosexual rights organization. Republicans currently control both halves of the state legislature, but some party insiders are concerned that the conservative sweep could put control of the state senate at risk in the fall, especially in key urban seats in the liberal Portland area. In the U.S. Senate primary, Gordon Smith was unopposed and will now face Democrat Secretary of State Bill Bradbury in what will likely be an enormously expensive fall campaign.
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