Caught on Campaign Trail: Is Clinton Inflating Her Support Among Black Ministers?

Is Hillary Clinton inflating her support among South Carolina's black ministers? An Associated Press review of the senator's South Carolina endorsement list, which was supplied by her campaign, found that some of the backers were not ministers as she said but people affiliated with religious ministries and outreach groups rather than churches. Also, some endorsers were wives of ministers; two were church elders and at least two were not members of the churches listed beside their names, reports black americaweb.com. Only 50 different groups were represented in the endorsement list; Clinton's campaign had initially implied that more than 80 congregations were represented. Read the upcoming Jan./Feb. 2008 issue of DiversityInc magazine to learn who's really winning the black vote and why.

(See also: What's Hillary Clinton's Promise to Black Voters?)

Major Misstep! Hams for Hanukkah in New York City

No, it is not a joke, and yes, it happened in New York City. A New York grocer made a holiday faux pas when it advertised hams as "Delicious for Chanukah," reports FOX News. For the uninformed, ham is not part of the Jewish kosher diet and Hanukkah is the eight-day Jewish holiday that began Tuesday evening. Pictures of the mistake by the Balducci's store in Greenwich Village were posted on a blog over the weekend. Jennifer Barton, director of marketing, told The Associated Press Thursday that the signs were changed as soon as the error was noted. Barton released a statement apologizing for the mistake on the company web site and said Balducci's would review its employee training.

Why Is Socialized Medicine a Loaded Phrase?

Socialized medicine is the new four-letter word on the presidential campaign trail. When used, it is supposed to conjure fear of incompetent European-style healthcare. The term has been used as a scare tactic in the United States since the American Medical Association's fights against national health insurance in the early decades of the 1900s, reports National Public Radio. It was used against Medicare in the 1960s and prenatal care in the 1920s and 1930s. "When you talk about Europe, and you talk about a British system where the hospitals are owned by the government and the doctors are directly employed by the government, then you might say that's socialized medicine," says Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina. None of the leading Democratic candidates, however, has proposed anything like a single-payer system, much less a fully government-run program like Britain's National Health Service, reports NPR. But Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is an advocate of a single-payer, nonprofit healthcare system.

(See also: Healthcare Disparities: Does Class Trump Race? and What's the Rx for the Top Health-Insurance Companies?)

Imam Talks About Reaction to Muhammad Teddy Bear Teacher

Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Mich., says the British teacher who was jailed and then pardoned after she permitted her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad, the name of the Muslim prophet, is guilty of cultural incompetence, reports National Public Radio. Qazwini says the teacher should have been given the benefit of the doubt, but her actions in the minds of the Sudanese recall the times when the country and other Muslim and Arab countries were under the colonial rule of the British. That past British occupation causes many Sudanese people to mistrust British people, Qazwini told NPR.

Qazwini also spoke to NPR about the woman in Saudi Arabia who was raped and then punished by the government for meeting with a man without her husband present. That incident is really about religious freedom and women's rights, Qazwini told NPR. Women in Saudi Arabia have few rights, which Qazwini says has less to do with the religion of Islam and more to do with the Saudi Arabian government. He points out that the woman is a Shiite and the ruling Wahhabists "don't have so much passion for the Shiites." Qazwini said to NPR that "many people believe the sentence was politically motivated just to punish a Shiite member of that very society. I believe there is a great concern about how Saudi Arabia is treating its citizens. For example, Shiites are not even allowed to be judges. This is about religious freedom."

(See also: 'A Teddy Bear Named Muhammad')

A Win for Gender-Identity Protection

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a law that protects employees in the state's executive branch from discrimination and harassment based on "gender identity or expression," reports CCH Business and Corporate Compliance. The directive adds "gender identity or expression" to a list of other prohibited forms of discrimination and harassment, including religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, height, weight, marital status, partisan considerations, disability and genetic information. Check out the DiversityInc Top Companies for GLBT Employees to learn more about what corporate America is doing to engage this community. 

(See also: Commentary: Why Gender Identity Must Be Included in New Law)

Parents of Matthew Shepard Dismayed at Stalled Hate-Crimes Bill

Judy and Dennis Shepard, parents of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was brutally killed because he was gay, talked about their disappointment that hate-crimes legislation has been withdrawn. "We are truly dismayed to find that Congress now will put aside its leadership on passage of federal hate-crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity," said the Shepards on Matthew Shepard.org. "We are dedicated to redoubling our efforts next year to achieve our vision of a hate-free America that truly includes everyone. This has never simply been about Matthew Shepard and our family, this legislation is a gift delayed but never forgotten for all America's families."

(See also: Will Clinton and Obama Push to Get Gay-Rights Bill Through Senate?)

U.S. Border Towns Call Fence Idea 'Wasteful, Inefficient'

Hard-line politicians are calling for more border control, including creating a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border, but people who live in border towns are not thrilled with the idea. Pat Ahumada, mayor of Brownsville, Texas, calls the border fence the government wants to build in his town "wasteful and inefficient," reports National Public Radio. "Somebody wants to get into your house, they are going to get into your house," Ahumada told NPR. Ahumada suggests widening the Rio Grande, which he says will keep out more undocumented immigrants than a high fence. To quash talk of undocumented workers being dangerous, a group called the Texas Boarder Coalition plans to issue a report that will show that the border town of El Paso was recently ranked the second-safest city in America. Meanwhile, the nation's capital was ranked the second most dangerous.

(See also: 'Sanctuary City'? More Immigrants, More Political Lunacy and How Does Your State Measure Up on Immigration?)

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