'Hi! It's the Gay One!' Ellen's Call to Lawmaker Who Said LGBTs Worse Than Terrorists

"Hi! It's Ellen DeGeneres. The gay one." That's part of the message talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres attempted to leave on Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern's office voicemail, reports Alternet. DeGeneres made the call after airing Kern's comments in which the state representative said gay and lesbian people are indoctrinating toddlers into the "homosexual lifestyle," that societies that have accepted gay and lesbian people were extinct within decades and that "homosexuality is the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam." After playing the clip of Kern's comments, DeGeneres said to her studio audience, "I feel like there's some misinformation going on here and--I think I need to call her. She's clearly just mistaken. She's talked to someone who's confused her." Kern's mailbox, however, was full, so DeGeneres broadcast the message on her show instead. What did she say?

India to Permit Richard Gere to Visit

India's Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice R. V. Raveendran indefinitely stayed the arrest warrant issued against actor Richard Gere, reports The Associated Press (AP). The warrant was issued last year after Gere embraced and kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty on her cheek at a public AIDS-awareness event in New Delhi. Following Gere's public display, Hindu hardliners alleged he and Shetty had offended the sensibilities of India's traditionally conservative culture, reports AP. In general, however, Indians responded with indifference. Read how Indian immigrants revitalized a small town in New Jersey.

N.Y.'s New Gov. Paterson Faces 4-Year-Old Bias Lawsuit

As David Paterson prepares to take over as New York's governor Monday following the fall of Elliot Spitzer, he still faces allegations that in 2002 he fired a white Senate staff photographer to hire a Black photographer, reports Recordonline.com. Paterson, who is legally blind, said in court papers that because of his visual impairment, he did not know the race of the photographer. Paterson also said the new photographer was hired because Paterson was concerned that the white photographer had worked for his political rival and could be disloyal. Read The White-Male Question: Are You a Victim of Reverse Discrimination? to learn more about this phenomenon. For a profile on the soon-to-be new governor of New York and to find out about his stance on issues important to DiversityInc readers, check out N.Y.'s Next Governor: Black, Blind Paterson Lauded as Consensus Builder.

Business Struggles as Immigrant Work Force Cut

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and its allies are blocking voting on legislation that would allow employers to rehire foreign seasonal nonagricultural workers independent of a 1991 quota to win support for a comprehensive immigration overhaul, reports The New York Times. The result is fewer H-2B visas permitting immigrant labor. While the government issued more than 120,000 H-2B visas for foreign workers last year, this year the government is limited to issuing 66,000 seasonal work visas--33,000 for winter workers and 33,000 for summer workers. Employers say that unless Congress acts soon, they will have to scale back operations because the labor pool in many resort areas is not deep enough to provide new workers, and many people do not want seasonal jobs. Read "The Business Case for Immigration" in the September 2007 issue of DiversityInc magazine to learn why immigrant workers are so critical to our nation's economic vitality. Also check out What's the Biggest Cause of Bias Against Latinos?

Report Urges Changes in Teaching Math

American students are at best mediocre in math achievement when compared with students in other countries, according to a new report by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. The report recommends that schools focus on key skills that prepare students to learn algebra, reports The New York Times. "The sharp falloff in mathematics achievement in the U.S. begins as students reach late middle school, where, for more and more students, algebra course work begins," the panel reported, according to the Times. "Students who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college compared to students with less mathematical preparation."

Do Asian-American Students Support Affirmative Action?  

Asian Americans are conflicted over affirmative action. On one hand, Asian-American students are overrepresented at some universities and allegedly face tougher scrutiny from admissions counselors. For example, Kie Riedel, 20, a mathematical economics major at Colorado College, was the valedictorian of her high-school class and graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, but she did not get into Harvard, Princeton or Yale, she told New American Media. Riedel added, however, that her SAT scores were below the average of the typical Harvard student. Conversely, Asian-American students, particularly those from Southeast Asian countries and newer immigrants, are underrepresented and do benefit from affirmative-action programs. "Clearly, Asian Americans have had a mixed experience with affirmative action," said Al Muratsuchi, the Japanese American Citizen's League's former regional director who lead the organization's fight against California's anti-affirmative-action Proposition 209. Anti-affirmative-action groups have launched "Super Tuesday for Equality," which aims to get anti-affirmative-action initiatives on the November ballots in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. "On the one hand, there is clearly the perception, if not the reality, that some Asians lose more than they gain from affirmative action, particularly in the context of admissions to highly competitive schools. On the other hand, Asians continue to suffer from discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment and promotions," said Muratsuchi, the current vice president of the school board in Torrance, Calif. Get all the latest affirmative-action news on DiversityInc.com.

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