[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Maya Harris
Executive Director
ACLU of Northern California

by Linda*in*SFNM [courtesy of Blog for America]

Al Gore has been quite busy this past week. Many have been asking for him and wondering what he's been doing, so I thought I would share some of what I have learned.

The week started out with two new videos being uploaded to Current.com

It actually took many days before it went viral and now one of the videos has become all the buzz.

I guess we could call these Rights. The first video, no doubt in honor of the anniversary of Roe V Wade, titled "Who Makes the Decision", reaffirming his position that a woman should choose her medical decisions, including on abortion. And as important it is now days to reaffirm that right and position, it was the 2nd video that thrilled everyone, with Mr. Gore's passion and detailed reasoning for why he believes that "Gay Men and Women should have the same rightsL" and endorses marriage. I couldn't agree more. And having a politician, especially of Mr. Gore's standing, advocate for same sex marriage was a breath of fresh air.

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

New York Is Top State in Dollars Per Student

New York again leads all other states in school spending per pupil, according to the latest census figures. Nationwide, public school districts spent an average of $8,701 per student on elementary and secondary education in the 2005 fiscal year, 5 percent more than in the previous year. New York, which also came in highest last year, spent $14,119 per student, followed by New Jersey at $13,800, Vermont at $11,838 and Connecticut at $11,572.

Possible legal ramifications for Roe v. Wade: Her embryos or his?

Webster, Texas — AFTER two years of infertility treatments — from temperature monitoring and artificial inseminations to hormone injections and laparoscopic surgery — Augusta Roman felt her last, best hope for bearing a child was only hours away. Her doctor had retrieved 13 eggs from her ovaries, and six had been fertilized with the sperm of her husband, Randy Roman. Ten hours before the embryos were to be implanted in Augusta's womb, Randy emerged from their study and broke unfathomable news: Despite all she had endured, he couldn't go through with it.