Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Hot Water
Campaign finance experts say Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have violated federal law by appearing in a television commercial advocating a response to global warming. Cybercast News reports the ad ran nationwide between mid-April and May 6.
The spot was planned and paid for by Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection. It may be a violation of the McCain-Feingold law that Pelosi enthusiastically supported. The law forbids candidates from appearing in ads run by an independent group — and mentioning the candidate's name — within 90 days of an election. Pelosi is on the ballot in the June 3 California primary — less than a month after the last ad ran.
Pelosi's office denied coordinating the ad with Gore's group — another possible violation. The conservative group Judicial Watch will file a complaint to the Federal Election Commission.
Unconventional Wisdom
A man described as an anti-nuclear, 1970s peace activist who opposes subsidies to the oil industry has written a book challenging conventional wisdom about global warming. Lawrence Solomon lays out arguments on both sides — including information that often goes unreported in the mainstream media.
The book is called "The Deniers: The world-renowned scientists who stood up against global warming hysteria, political persecution, and fraud* *And those who are too fearful to do so."
Among its topics, the fact that while some ice is melting at the North Pole, the South Pole is actually getting colder. Solomon also writes that while many scientists believe the sun plays a part in climate change, the U.N.'s global warming panel refuses to even consider it.
Forget Me Not
Chicago's handgun law requires all existing firearms to be re-registered every year. The Chicago Tribune reports proposals to re-open the registration window for people who forget, have been steadily rejected for nearly 20 years.
But now, Democratic Mayor Richard Daley says he's in favor of a one month amnesty. The change comes as longtime Democratic Alderman Richard Mell faces penalties for — you guessed it — failing to re-register what is described as his arsenal of shotguns, rifles and pistols. Mell helped pass the original law in 1982.
Daley says he advocates the amnesty to get a realistic handle on the number of guns in Chicago, not as a favor to Mell.
Religion in School
An update on a Grapevine about the public charter school in suburban Minneapolis accused of favoring Islam by holding Friday prayers and illegally delaying school buses until the completion of after-school religious classes.
The Minnesota Department of Education has told the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy to correct its actions. The school's director tells the Minnesota Star Tribune the order is actually a vindication, proving that the academy is not a religious school.
But, a local TV station says its news crew was attacked by angry school officials when it was doing its report Monday night. It says a photographer suffered shoulder and back injuries wrestling with two men over a camera.
— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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