Etc., etc., etc. …...

Coming in future issues…..

Progress Report on Fontenelle Trees

Nebraska Byways:
Stories about
Nebraskans

WESTERN ARCTIC
GETS REPRIEVE

NRDC and our partners have scored a major courtroom victory for Arctic wildlife. In late September, a federal judge blocked the Bush administration from proceeding with oil and gas development in more than 1 million acres in the Western Arctic Reserve, including a pristine nesting area for migratory birds and the calving grounds for the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd.

The court ruled that the Interior Department failed to consider the cumulative environmental impacts of oil and gas drilling on this sensitive ecosystem. In tandem with our courtroom campaign, BioGems Defenders have sent more than 100,000 messages urging the Bush administration and Congress to uphold protections for important habitat areas within the reserve.

COURT UPHOLDS STRICT LIMITS ON DEADLY SONAR

A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush administration's attempt to turn back a landmark NRDC courtroom win that limits the peacetime deployment of a powerful low-frequency active sonar system. According to the Navy's own studies, the LFA sonar system generates noise so intense that dangerous levels of sound travel more than 300 miles -- posing a deadly threat to whole populations of whales and other marine mammals that depend on their hearing to survive.

Three years ago, a lower federal court sided with NRDC and our partners and ruled that the Navy's plan to deploy this powerful new sonar system across 75 percent of the world's oceans violated a host of federal laws. In the wake of the appeal court's decision, the Navy must continue to adhere to an agreement with NRDC, which limits LFA testing and training to an area in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

More WPA stories about Nebraska by Nebraskans

In the Your Tax Dollars at Work Dept: The Republican congress slipped in a $20 million provision in the Defense Department budget to stage--sometime next year- a "victory" party and parade welcome to Iraq veterans coming home as we declare "mission accomplished (again)….Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), already enmeshed in the ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) page scandal, now faces a new controversy as a former staffer has sued his office for sexual harassment….Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee drew criticism from a Jewish Democratic group yesterday for jokingly crediting his 100-pound weight loss to a stay in a concentration camp…Disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff won't report to federal prison until 11/15, one week AFTER the mid-term elections. The bad news? A judge is allowing Abramoff to serve time in a Cumberland, MD, prison, so he can be within driving distance of DC, allowing him to "continue to assist prosecutors while in prison."…..Nebraska's Ben Nelson isn't exactly shaking in his boots. Despite a non-stop ad war between Nelson and millionaire Pete Ricketts since the day after the primary in May, Nelson's lead has shrunk to only 20 points over Ricketts in the face of $10 million of personal money dumped into the campaign by Ricketts…."If I know anything, I know scary," horror novelist Stephen King was quoted as saying. "And giving this president and this out-of-control Congress two more years to screw up our future is downright terrifying. Thankfully, this national nightmare is one we can end with--literally--a wake up call…..Sixty five active duty service members are officially asking Congress to end the war in Iraq -- …..As you know, just two days before Americans go to the polls this November, a verdict is expected in one of Saddam Hussein's trials. You've got to be extraordinarily naïve to believe that the timing isn't intentional…..The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported

retired educator and author Steve Porter (D-PA) filed a lawsuit in state court against the campaign of Congressman Phill English (R) for television and radio ads that claim Porter wants to legalize prostitution and supports the sterilization of people who have drug/alcoholic problems and parents who have special needs children…..Congressional Quarterly has moved all three Nebraska House races from Solid Republican to Lean Republican due to the aggressive nature of the Democratic nominees. Candidate Jim Esch, not accepting any PAC or party money, has spent a year in the 2^nd district shaking hands door-to-door and building a grassroots organization much like 3^rd district candidate Scott Kleeb. Meanwhile in the 1^st district Maxine Moul has surprised everyone with her ability to raise money….Best Nebraska campaign commercial goes to Scott Kleeb in the 3^rd district for his Marlborough Man type of commercial…. Most entertaining Nebraska campaign commercial goes to Pete Ricketts for his "don't use the clicker yet" commercial…..

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson: Phone: (202) 224-6551  Fax: (202) 228-001240, Suite 5 Dirksen Basement (Temp)
Washington, DC 20510
senator@bennelson.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel: Phone: (202) 224-4224  Fax: (202) 224-5213
346 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
chuck_hagel@hagel.senate.gov
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry: Phone: (202) 225-4806, Fax (202) 225-5686   1517 Longworth House Office Bldg. Washington,DC 20515
Rep. Lee Terry:Phone: (202) 225-4155  Fax: (202) 226-5452  1513 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
talk2lee@mail.house.gov
Rep. Tom Osborne:Phone: (202) 225-6435  Fax: (202) 236-1385
507 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

SEC. B, p2
Senate Moments

SEC. B, p3
HISTORY
SCRAMBLE