If a university opens its doors and allows someone to enroll in a special program, does that mean that student has matriculated there and deserves to participate in all aspects of college life? A federal judge in Michigan ruled that it does. U.S. District Judge Patrick Duggan of Michigan's Eastern District ruled that Oakland University in Rochester violated federal law by not allowing a learning handicapped student from living in a campus dorm-a battle the man has waged for two years Here's the story, courtesy of the Detroit News, and a longer story by the local Daily Tribune.
A lawsuit on the West Coast is accusing LA's California Science Center of canceling the October screening of the documentary, which promotes the theory of intelligent design - that an intelligent being or “designer” is responsible for shaping life on Earth, rather than natural selection - after being pressured by The Smithsonian and other academics. The suit was filed in October in Los Angeles Superior Court by LA-based American Freedom Alliance, which says it has no official position on intelligent design but says it was concerned that the scientific establishment was stifling debate.
Here's the story from LAT. We also recommend clicking here for Margaret Talbot's fascinating piece about Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, in which a federal judge heard the first case to test whether it was constitutional for public-school classes to present the argument of intelligent design. (After a 2005 bench trial, the judge ruled it wasn't because the theory was a form of Creationism.)
WSJ Law Blog December 29, 2009

FTC Approves Two Reports to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry
News release: "The Federal Trade Commission, as required by The Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007, has approved two reports to Congress: a biennial report focusing on the use of the Do Not Call Registry by both consumers and businesses, as well as the impact that new technologies have had on the Registry, and a one-time report on enforcement efforts and consumers’ perceptions of the Registry’s effectiveness . As detailed in the first report, the Do Not Call Registry now has more than 191 million active registrations, and more than 18 million new phone numbers were registered in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. During that time, approximately 45,000 sellers, telemarketers, and exempt organizations such as charities subscribed to access the Registry, paying fees totaling more than $15.5 million. In addition, during FY 2009, the FTC implemented a new procedure for tracking disconnected and reassigned phone numbers, which addresses problems that may arise as a result of new telecommunications technologies and the ease of transporting numbers from one telephone service provider to another. According to the second report, since 2003 when the Do Not Call Registry was put in place, research has consistently shown widespread public awareness of the program and a steady increase in the number of phone numbers registered. Together, the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission have collected penalties totaling over $22 million from Registry violators, and due to these enforcement actions and the agencies’ consumer education campaigns, consumers who have joined the Registry have reported dramatic reductions in the number of unwanted calls they receive."

Amtrak Struggles to Get on the Fast Track
Follow up to previous postings on high speed passenger rail transport in the U.S., via New York Times: But faster trains are critical to [Amtrak's] future. So while Amtrak got some desperately needed financing from the federal government this year, its forecasts suggest that speedier rail travel in the United States remains a daunting challenge. For the Northeast corridor alone, Amtrak estimates that it will need almost $700 million annually for the next 15 years to maintain the system and to tackle a backlog of maintenance projects and upgrades. Reducing travel times between New York and Washington to two-and-a-half hours and times between New York and Boston to three hours — goals that were established in the 1970s — will require straighter track, improvements to bridges and tunnels, increased capacity through Manhattan and newer trains, among other investments."
See also CRS Report, December 08, 2009 - High Speed Rail (HSR) in the United States: "There are a handful of routes in the United States where track has been improved to allow service at up to 110 mph, and there are a few places along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor where speeds of up to 150 mph are achieved for a relatively short distance. But there are no dedicated high speed lines in the United States comparable to those in Europe and Asia, on which trains travel at sustained speeds of over 150 mph."

Reader feedback to frequent spelling, pronunciation and writing errors
How about “Febuary” instead of “February”
Many people say libary for library.
It's sherbet, not sherbert.

The slang term "jones" means a strong desire. It first meant an addiction to drugs, and may have originated among addicts who lived in Great Jones Alley, off Great Jones Street, between Broadway and Lafayette Street in Manhattan. See more jargon, slang and niche vocabularies at: http://www.yaelf.com/slang.shtml

In olden days, if the children became restless during the service, grandmother took a handkerchief and tied it into a church baby, a faceless doll made of cloth. I f dropped on the floor, it didn't make noise and disrupt the sermon. A church baby may also refer to a child born on Sunday.

I recommend the movie Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It gives an uplift similar to More Than a Game with LeBron James. Both are inspiring biographical dramas stressing responsibility, change, teamwork, victory.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/3981

'One Life: Echoes of Elvis' exhibit opens at the National Portrait Gallery
It has been more than 30 years since Elvis Presley's death, and yet his place in pop culture's consciousness has only become deeper. The King's records keep selling, Graceland is still a destination and he continues to be a subject of fascination and interest. In celebration of Presley's 75th birthday (Jan. 8), a collection of portraits ranging from realistic portrayals to mythical, spiritual and earthly images goes on display with works by such artists as Andy Warhol, Ralph Wolfe Cowan and Red Grooms.
Open January 8 through August 29 National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-5285 http://www.npg.si.edu. Free
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/06/AR2010010601763.html