Fake Candidates?!: Join the Live Chat
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Here's something to think about when you step into the voting booth and vote for a third-party candidate - Is he, or she, really a legitimate candidate, or just a bogus one, put on the ballot to help one of the other two? We're looking into allegations of fake tea parties and stealth candidates. Plus, tonight's other headlines.
Want more details on what covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
Scroll down to join the live chat during the program. It's your chance to share your thoughts on tonight's headlines. Keep in mind, you have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules.
Here are some of them:
1) Keep it short (we don't have time to read a "book")
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5) Watch your language (keep it G-rated; PG at worst - and that includes $#&*)
Evening Buzz: School Official's Anti-Gay Rant
Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
A school board official in eastern Arkansas is under fire for an anti-gay rant on Facebook.
Clint McCance, the Vice President of the Midland School District, was apparently not happy with a call last Wednesday to wear the color purple to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.
Before I share McCance's tirade on Facebook, I want to warn you. You might find the language offensive.
Also keep in mind, what you’ll read is his misspellings.
Here's his posting:
"Seriously," McCance writes, "They want me to wear purple because five queers committed suicide. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this word have gotten this stupid."
McCance goes on, "We are honoring the fact they sinned and killed thereselves because of their sin. REALLY PEOPLE."
Six people actually pressed the 'like button on that post. But others fired back.
McCance responded in part with this:
"It pisses me off though that we make special purple fag day for them. I like that fags can't procreate. I also enjoy the fact that they often give each other AIDS and die."
Dean Stanley, superintendent of Midland School District denounced McCance's comments.
"This post does not reflect the thoughts of the board or administration of the Midland School District," said Stanley
in a statement.
"The district strives to foster an environment that discourages all forms of bullying and an environment that encourages a safe and productive educational climate of all of our students. The district is very diligent in pursuing and addressing bullying of any variety on our campuses," he added.
The state Department of Education and Arkansas School Boards Association also released statements against McCance's comments.
The Department of Education pointed out because McCance is an elected official it has no way to deal with him directly. So, should disciplinary action be taken against him? We'll talk with Anthony Turner, a graduate of Midland High School, who wrote a letter to the school board about McCance, and Rosalind Wiseman, author of "Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World", the best-selling book that was the basis for the movie "Mean Girls."
There are also developments in Haiti where Dr. Sanjay Gupta is tracking the deadly cholera outbreak. There are more deaths and more anger. This all could have been prevented. Too many patients are waiting for supplies. We're Keeping Them Honest.
And here at home, we're tracking some of the dirtiest races as we countdown to Election Day - just six days away.
Join us for these stories and much more starting at 10 p.m. ET. See you then.
Testing the Tea Party: Will the movement live or die?
Shannon Travis
CNN
Editor's note: Who and what makes up the Tea Party movement? Don't miss CNN's unprecedented documentary "Boiling Point: Inside the Tea Party," Saturday and Sunday night at 8 ET on CNN.
(CNN) - In a few days, Americans could carve out a monument to the Tea Party's power - or etch out the movement's political tombstone.
The outcome of the midterm elections will either validate the Tea Party as a national force or cause both Democrats and Republicans to second-guess the movement's impact. But dead or alive after Election Day, the Tea Party has earned a place in history.
The movement was born of frustration and anger at the political establishment and steeped in economic anxiety. It now bubbles with the hope of electoral success in the midterm elections.
But how did it get here?
Beat 360° 10/27/10
Ready for today's Beat 360°? Everyday we post a picture you provide the caption and our staff will join in too. Tune in tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite! Here is the 'Beat 360°' pic:
Democratic candidate for governor and California Attorney General Jerry Brown and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during a discussion at the Women's Conference 2010 on October 26, 2010 in Long Beach, California. (Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Have fun with it. We're looking forward to your captions! Make sure to include your name, city, state (or country) so we can post your comment.
Update: Beat 360° Winners:
Staff
Sam Meyer
“On a clear day, you can see Sacramento.”
Viewer
Brandon K. Millbury, MA
"Brown: There must be hundreds of women out there.
Arnold: Ya, and you are a girly man."
___________________________________________________________________________
Cholera death toll near 300 in Haiti
CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) - The death toll from Haiti's cholera outbreak has risen to 292, the Haitian government said Wednesday. There are 4,147 confirmed cases.
Crucial to curbing the crisis are education, more primary care centers and a network of cholera treatment centers, said Jon K. Andrus, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization.
The 1991 cholera epidemic did not reach Haiti and many other Western Hemisphere countries, Andrus said, indicating citizens thus did not learn about crucial sanitation measures.
"We are seeing a very rapid, very explosive outbreak with a very steep academic [learning] curve," Andrus said during a conference call Wednesday.
Health aides are in Haitian camps, educating people about proper food, water and waste treatment, he said. Oral rehydration salts are saving lives, he added.
The goal is to provide 24-hours-a-day medical care, Andrus said.
"It will take some months to turn the tide," he said, indicating health officials can expect cholera cases in Haiti for the next several years.
Government warns schools that bullying can violate civil rights laws
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Tom Cohen
CNN
Washington (CNN) - Bullying and harassment in schools often includes violations of federally protected civil rights, the federal government warned Tuesday in new guidelines for educators on how to address the problem.
If school administrators fail to properly deal with harassment based on gender, race or other issues, they risk being cited for contributing to a pattern of civil rights violations that could, in extreme cases, lead to a cut in federal funding, according to top officials who spoke to reporters on a conference call about the new guidelines.
"In extreme cases, schools could be stripped of their federal education monies if they don't comply with all of our civil rights laws," said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights. Also on the call were Arne Duncan, secretary of education, and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes.
The issue of harassment gained prominence this year after a spate of suicides by students who were being bullied. President Obama has called for greater awareness of the problem, saying the nation must "dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up."
The guidelines were part of a letter that began "Dear Colleague" sent Tuesday to thousands of schools, colleges, universities and school districts around the country that included examples of bullying and harassment cases that constituted violations of federal civil rights laws.
20-year-old woman becomes top cop in violent Mexican municipality
Arthur Brice
CNN
(CNN) - Some headlines are hailing her as the bravest woman in Mexico. Marisol Valles Garcia, all of 20 years old, says she's just tired of everyone being afraid.
Valles Garcia, a criminology student, became the police chief this week of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent municipalities in the border state of Chihuahua. She was the only person who accepted the top job in a police force whose officers have been abducted and even killed.
"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia said Wednesday in an interview with CNN en Español. "It's like all human beings. There will always be fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility and security."
There's good reason for the fear. Just this past weekend, a 59-year-old local mayor, Rito Grado Serrano, and his 37-year-old son, Rogoberto Grado Villa, were killed in a house in which they they were hiding in nearby Ciudad Juarez. Another area mayor was killed in June.
Juarez is the bloodiest city in Mexico, with a reported 2,500 people killed in drug violence this year. Praxedis G. Guerrero is located about 35 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez. Both are in the state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas.
Nationwide, the federal government says, more than 28,000 people have lost their lives since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels after taking office in December 2006.
Valles Garcia sees a non-violent role for her 13-member force, which will be mostly female and unarmed.
Letters to the President: #646 'The convenience of shared blame'
Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent
Reporter's Note: President Obama accused the Republicans of undermining the whole political process; they accuse him of undermining the economy. And umbrage at the accusations becomes a convenient excuse for each side to avoid changing its ways.
Dear Mr. President,
Something that always surprises me is the tendency of adults to act like four-year-olds when they are caught doing something wrong, to point at their nearest peer and say, “Oh, but he did worse!” The implication, of course, is that “I should not be held accountable for my misdeed, because there are more egregious offenders around.”
By this rationale, I suppose no one would ever get a speeding ticket because certainly someone else on the same highway was going a mile-per-hour faster at the moment the blue lights came on. (Hmmm…I may try that one next time.)
I mention it because the party faithful on both sides is rolling that trick out so furiously right now, with so little regard for the “truth,” that you’d think they were all members of Congress. If we put a report on the air saying someone from the Party of Flying Squirrels was caught stealing, you can bet your boots that within an hour some defender would pop up saying “Two people from the Ground Squirrel Party were caught!”
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