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President Obama Meets Democrats at the Newseum

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

WASHINGTON — Advising Democratic leaders to remember why they became involved in politics, President Barack Obama urged them Wednesday to "finish the job, even though it's hard."

Obama spoke at the Senate Democratic Conference Feb. 3 at the Newseum, following a similar question-and-answer meeting he held with House Republican leaders Jan. 29.

In his Q&A with the Democrats, Obama responded to questions on China, health-care reform, the budget deficit, energy policy and the holdup in confirming judicial and federal appointments.

Obama blamed partisanship on the gridlock in government and cited the top vacancy at the General Services Administration.

"They're blocking [the GSA administrator appointment] because of some unrelated matter, and that has to stop," he said.

Governing "can't be about just scoring points," he said. "If you want to govern, then you can't just say no."

Obama called for a "genuine spirit of compromise, instead of just shutting the place down."

He said the Democrats must "constantly have our cards out on the table and welcome challenges." He added that the more open and transparent Democrats are, the better off they are.

Obama acknowledged that Democrats have lost the public's trust, which he partly attributed to "bad timing" in the economic and financial collapse at the beginning of his administration. He made an analogy to a cartoon character that is handed a ticking time bomb, though he wasn't the one who created the bomb.

When asked how Democrats should respond when asked why they should be trusted, Obama pointed to past accomplishments.

"The last time the budget was balanced was under a Democratic president," he said. "We've got to constantly make our case and not play an insider's game."

Obama suggested the leaders turn off their television sets and "just go talk to folks out there," instead of being inside an "echo chamber" where the topic is constantly politics.

"The mistake I made last year was not getting out here enough," he said.

Obama said Democrats should not be afraid to explain their policies and explain to the American people that the problems are not going to be solved overnight.

"I'm confident that good policy over the long term is good politics," he said.

Will You Be My Co-Anchor?

Indulge your passion for news with a sweetheart of a deal Feb. 8-14 at the Newseum.

During this week of romance, buy one full price adult general-admission ticket and get a second ticket free. Plus, record your love message at the "Be A TV Reporter" station and get a free download to share with family and friends.

Mention "Will You Be My Co-Anchor?" at the admissions desk to take advantage of these hot deals.

This offer is not available online and cannot be combined with other discounts. Tickets must be used together on the day of purchase and are valid for two consecutive days.

With historic headlines, moving images and powerful interactive exhibits, the Newseum lets you experience some of the biggest events in history.

And you'll never know who you'll run into.

On Saturday, Feb. 13, join authors John Heilemann and Mark Halperin as they discuss their best-selling book "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime."

Seating is on a space-available basis.

Women Jurists Hold Court at Newseum

By Sharon Shahid and Andrea Silen

Watch Video:
• • The number of women in public vs. private practice is discussed.
• • Female attire in the Supreme Court is discussed.
• • The panel addresses balancing a career and a family.
• • Justice O'Connor says the gains women have made will not be reversed.

WASHINGTON — "What are we doing about it?"

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor posed that question to a panel of female lawyers regarding the subtle barriers women still face more than 130 years after Belva Lockwood became the first Supreme Court advocate in 1879.

O'Connor, who served 25 years on the Supreme Court before retiring in 2006, moderated the program held Feb. 28 at the Newseum and sponsored by the Supreme Court Fellows Program Alumni Association and the First Amendment Center.

Panelists Wendy Webster Williams, a professor of law at Georgetown University; U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Maureen Mahoney, a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C., participated in the program titled "Women Advocates of the Supreme Court Bar: Their Day in Court."

Issues such as the dearth of women jurists in many law firms — including inside the Solicitor General's office — balancing work and home, and even what women should wear in the courtroom, were issues they said women continue to confront.

"We're doing better, but it's still a rocky road," said Williams. "I'm impressed with how much hasn't changed."

The panel said women are more likely to represent public interest groups and public law offices at the Supreme Court. 

Kagan, who argued her first case at the Supreme Court in 2009, said women "always have to be aware of the way people are perceiving you." But "in the end, you have to be yourself and have people accept you on your own terms."

Mahoney, who has argued before the Supreme Court 21 times, suggested women "show up as the best prepared and wow them with your talent."

Mahoney described what she called a "breadwinner mentality," where "men think they have to support their families financially, and women are much more likely to think, 'one of my key jobs in life is to nurture my children.'"

"The best thing that could happen," she added, is that [men develop] their "nurturing instinct, which leads to a discussion on paternity leave" and how that has been helpful.

The panelists agreed that an increase in female judges has changed the culture in the courtroom.

O'Connor said she did not think the opinions of female judges at the appellate level carried more weight than those of men.

"There are only so many members on an appellate court," she said. "You're going to take every vote you can get."

50 Years Ago in News History: Greensboro Sit-Ins

By Cynthia Rudolph

Feb. 1, 1960. Four African-American students in Greensboro, N.C., walked up to the lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth, quietly took seats in the "whites-only" section and asked to be served.

The students — Ezill Blair Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil and Franklin McCain — attended the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, a historically black college. When service was denied, they refused to leave the lunch counter, staying until the store closed at 5:30 p.m.

Their act of openly defying racial segregation marked the historic beginning of the student-led protest movement and put in motion a civil rights strategy that impelled future rallies and sit-ins.

The four men returned the next day with dozens of other students who were prepared to take their places at the counter. The students were given instructions in nonviolent behavior and were encouraged to dress professionally. The sit-ins soon ignited similar protests throughout the South.

Media coverage was varied. Some newspapers covered the demonstrations as Page-One news. Others buried the story on inside pages.

The students' persistence paid off.

By October, Woolworth's and several other variety store chains had integrated their lunch counters in 112 cities, including Greensboro. In the next three years, hundreds more cities followed suit.

The story of the Greensboro sit-ins, along with a section of the counter and two stools from Woolworth's, are currently on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

First Amendment Watch

Jury award to fired Ore. pastor upheld

By The Associated Press

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

PORTLAND, Ore. — An appeals court has upheld a $355,000 jury award to a fired pastor, finding that a church can't use the First Amendment as a defense in this case.

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Tim Tubra that a church can't rely on the First Amendment to defend against a defamation lawsuit if church officials accused the man of being a thief in front of the congregation.

Tubra was fired as interim pastor of the Vernonia Foursquare Church in 2004 after church officials accused him of misappropriation of church money. Tubra discovered later that church officials had made the accusation public in a letter read aloud to the congregation. He was never charged with a crime.

A Multnomah County jury sided with Tubra in his lawsuit, but the trial judge threw out the verdict, holding that because of First Amendment issues the court had no jurisdiction. Earlier the judge had rejected the church lawyers' efforts to get the case thrown out on that basis, but a motion after the verdict changed the judge's mind.

The appeals court said the defaming statements were not religious in nature and thus didn't qualify for First Amendment protection. The opinion written by Judge Rex Armstrong came late last month.

Defense lawyer John T. Kaempf said the ruling would be appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court. "The First Amendment protects a church's right to speak to church members about a church pastor's conduct without interference by secular courts," Kaempf said in an e-mail. "Until the Oregon Court of Appeals decision, this was the holding of every court in the country addressing similar facts."

John W. Whitehead, a lawyer who is president and founder of the Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal organization, said the key to a court's involvement in church matters is whether the issue is ecclesiastical.

The Portland Oregonian quoted Professor Steven K. Green from Willamette University as saying that a "zone of protection" that historically has surrounded internal church matters has been changing markedly.

"The decision puts Oregon on the vanguard in this area," Green told the newspaper. "Traditionally, employment disputes internal to a church have been off limits to courts because of the difficulty of determining what is theological." Green is the director of the Center for Religion, Law & Democracy at the school.

The attorney for the Foursquare Church said no charges were filed against the former pastor because officials wanted to resolve the issue within the church community.

According to the court file, the events in Vernonia involved a disagreement between Tubra and church elders about his compensation.

Tubra has served more than 20 years in ministry but was unable to find steady work as a pastor after what happened. He had to sell his house and he and his wife moved into a trailer, according to court documents. Tubra filed a defamation suit in September 2005 against The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.

Tubra's lawyer, Christopher G. Lundberg, said his client was heartened by the appeals court decision. "Mr. Tubra's rights have been vindicated again," Lundberg said. "This is big and very meaningful to him."