NY mandates H1N1 vaccination, CA schools mandate gay-friendly classes, Green Jobs Czar resigns

1) 'Green Jobs Czar' Van Jones resigns WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones quit late last night after pressure mounted over his extremist history first exposed in WND.  The last straw for Jones was being caught on tape in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking Republicans in the Senate who he said abused their majority position in the past to push legislation through. He admitted after the statements were released that the comments were "inappropriate" and "offensive." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109041 1a) NY Times Finally Picks Up Van Jones Story -- After He Resigns Van Jones, Obama environmental adviser and "green jobs" czar, resigned late Saturday night, the culmination of days of controversy (ignored by the mainstream media) after the Gateway Pundit blog dug up evidence of Van Jones being a "Truther." He signed a 911Truth.org petition in 2004 questioning whether the Bush administration "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen." And the New York Times does its first story on the matter -- the day after Van Jones resigned his administration post. Last month, the New York Times jumped on the conservative fringe of "Birthers" who question Obama's Hawaiian birthplace and thus his presidential eligibility, deriding the conspiracy theory as false and demanding prominent Republicans denounce the idea. Yet the Times maintained strict silence on the Van Jones controversy as it bubbled away for several days in the photosphere, with only the Washington Times and Fox News Channel willing to treat as a news story the fact that an influential member of the Obama administration thinks the government may have let 9-11 happen -- a far more incendiary charge than the question of Obama's birthplace. See: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/clay-waters/2009/09/06/ny-times-finally-picks-van-jones-story-after-he-resigns 2) Angry Parents Suing California Schools Over Mandatory Gay-Friendly Classes (a test case for schools around the country): A lawsuit in California that was filed last month by angry parents who object to a gay-friendly curriculum they say is being foisted on kindergartners could well become a test case for schools around the country. Parents in the Alameda Unified School District were refused the right to excuse their kids from classes that would teach all kids in the district's elementary schools about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender alternative families. The parents say they are concerned about "indoctrination" in the schools, but administrators say the course is needed to protect against sexual discrimination — and that the lessons are protected by laws in California and 10 other states. …The contested California curriculum includes an annual 45-minute LGBT lesson taught to kids from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The kindergartners will focus on the harms of teasing, while the fifth graders will study sexual orientation stereotypes. See: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,546280,00.html?test=latestnews 3) Obama blasts Israeli plan to keep on building settlements JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to approve the construction of hundreds of new homes in the occupied West Bank before he considers a freeze on building new Jewish settlements. The homes would be in addition to 2,500 houses that already are under construction in the West Bank.  The White House, which has called on Israel to halt all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel seized from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War, swiftly responded Friday with an unusually blunt statement. "We regret the reports of Israel's plans to approve additional settlement construction," President Barack Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement. …Officials in the previous Israeli government said the George W. Bush administration had agreed to continued construction in these blocs. Israel also has demanded that existing settlements be allowed to expand to account for natural population growth. See: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/74911.html 3a) Barak Approves Construction of 455 West Bank Homes (Update3) Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the building of 455 housing units in the West Bank, defying U.S. demands for a freeze on settlement construction.  The Palestinian Authority immediately condemned the move, saying it “undermines the belief that Israel is a credible partner for peace.” A settler leader pledged to fight any move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt further building.  President Barack Obama has demanded a total freeze of West Bank construction, and Palestinians say they won’t resume peace talks with Israel unless building is halted. Netanyahu says construction should be allowed in existing communities, though he’s agreed to rule out new settlements. See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aO1TKptOIJhQ 3b) Netanyahu not extreme on Jewish construction NEW YORK – Despite screaming headlines that the Israeli government's approval of hundreds of new Jewish homes in the strategic West Bank is defying U.S. and Palestinian demands, Arab countries and even the Palestinian Authority quietly recognize that there have been far fewer settlements built since Prime Minister Benjamin Netantanyahu came to office. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109134 3c) Toronto film festival ignites anti-Israel boycott Producer, writer and director David Zucker ("Scary Movie," "Naked Gun," "Airplane!" ) denounced as "left-wing crazies" the individuals who signed a letter called " The Toronto Declaration" to protest Israeli government policies.  Mr. Zucker said he is "outraged" that actors such as Danny Glover and Jane Fonda, along with about 50 other activists, would sign a declaration that condemns Israel as an "apartheid regime" and dismisses the work of Tel Aviv filmmakers as "Israeli propaganda." …The idea of an Israeli apartheid is also "a lie," said Mr. Jacobovici, noting that 1 million Palestinians live in Israel (about 20 percent of Israel's population), "while not one Jew lives in the Territories or is even buried there because they have disinterred those bodies." See: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/05/filmmakers-react-anti-israel-film-festival-protest/ 4) Local Nurse Won't Comply with State Vaccination Order A vaccine for the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, is still a month away at best. But health care workers are already being bumped to the front of the line. Those who work in health care are being strongly urged by the federal government to get immunized once the swine flu vaccine is available. The state of New York is taking it one step further by making vaccination a requirement (emphasis mine). …"Whenever you hear mandatory required, you start to get a little bit anxious," says Gerhardt. She's been a nurse for 15 years and has never had a flu shot. "I feel that everyone should have a choice," says Gerhardt. She recently learned she doesn’t have a choice. "It was just one day we were told you will receive the flu injection," says Gerhardt. The New York State Department of Health is ordering tens of thousands of health workers be immunized against seasonal and swine flu (emphasis mine).  …"This is just so surreal right now," says Gerhardt. "I don't know what I will do." She realizes she could lose her job for speaking out, but says it's important since she knows others in the health care field have the same concerns. See: http://rochester.ynn.com/content/top_stories/481772/local-nurse-won-t-comply-with-state-vaccination-order/?RegionCookie=2134