Immigration Bill Gives Same-Sex Families Equal Protection

Under a framework for proposed legislation, gay and lesbian Americans in committed partnerships with same-sex significant others could gain the same right to help their loved ones become citizens that is currently enjoyed by heterosexuals.

ELECTRON BOY

Make a Wish Foundation recipient gets his dream, to be a superhero for a day.

ACLU: Civil Unions Unequal to Marriage

The American Civil Liberties Union submitted an amicus brief for a lawsuit in New Jersey, which argues that civil unions are not equal to marriages.

According to a statement from the ACLU of New Jersey, the courts have allowed legislatures to enact separate systems of rights for minorities, but the ACLU contends that judges have always struck down those systems when they are shown to perpetuate disparities.

Vice Dean of Rutgers-Newark School of Law Ronald Chen authored the amicus brief on behalf of the ACLU-NJ and seven other notable minority rights and civil rights organizations.

"A separate system of rights for a particular minority group has once again failed to fulfill the actual promise of equality, as has been the case throughout history," he said in a press release on Monday.

The state began issuing civil unions in 2006, after a court decided that gay couples deserved equal treatment.

The other signatories to the brief submitted today are the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Garden State Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association, Legal Momentum, and the National Organization for Women of New Jersey.

Gay Marriage Challenge Back in D.C. Court

The D.C. Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in the lawsuit stemming from last year’s decision to reject a ballot measure that would have asked voters to weigh the legality of same-sex marriage.

According to the Associated Press, “In January, a D.C. Superior Court judge threw out a lawsuit by a Maryland pastor who wanted to put a measure on the D.C. ballot to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Bishop Harry Jackson sued after the Board of Elections and Ethics refused to approve the ballot initiative, saying it would violate the city's Human Rights Act. The judge said the city was right.”

In an unusual move, the appeals court hearing Tuesday will occur before the full court, the AP reported.

The marriage equality law passed by the D.C. Council last year took effect in March.

Congressman Compares Gulf Coast Oil Spill To 'Chocolate Milk,' Says It Will 'Break Up Naturally'

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) suggested over the weekend that people shouldn't be "scared" about the Gulf Coast oil spill and in justifying his claim compared the massive slick to "chocolate milk."

On Saturday, Taylor flew over the oil spill in a Coast Guard plane and at first glance declared that the site was "not as bad" as he expected it to be.

The Sun Herald reports:
Taylor flew over the site of the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig Saturday along with Department of Marine Resources Director Bill Walker and Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama. [...]

"At the moment, it's not as bad as I thought it would be," he said, shortly after returning from the three-hour tour.

After observing the oil spill from 1,000 feet, Taylor said in an interview with Biloxi's WLOX-TV that what many feel is an environmental and economic catastrophe is not "Katrina" or "Armageddon," adding that the "chocolate milk looking spill" is beginning to "break up naturally":
What I want people to know is this isn't Katrina. This is not Armageddon. I did this for the Coast Guard many years ago. Yeah, it's bad. And it's terrible that there's a spill out there. But I would remind people that the oil is twenty miles from any marsh. [...]

That chocolate milk looking spill starts breaking up in smaller pieces... It is tending to break up naturally.

All of this despite the fact that the spill has tripled in size over the past few days.

Antigay May Day Event: 'A Bust'

“May Day 2010: A Cry to God for a Nation in Distress” -- a religious event held Saturday in Washington, D.C., that featured leaders of the "ex-gay" movement like Tony Perkins (pictured) -- was a disappointment to organizers, writes gay rights activist Wayne Besen.

Besen is the founding executive director of Truth Wins Out, a group that advocates against the "ex-gay" movement. He was in attendance at the "May Day" event, which aside from the Family Research Council's Perkins, included speakers like Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth (About Homosexuality), a "group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda."

Besen believes only about 300 attended the gathering at the Lincoln Memorial and that organizers expected many more people at the $70,000 event.

"Forgive our nation for our sexual sin," LaBarbera said at "May Day 2010." "Forgive us for our excessive tolerance as a nation."

Chely Wright Is Gay: Lesbian Country Singer Comes Out In People

Country singer Chely Wright is the latest celebrity to come out.

Wright tells People she's gay and that nothing in her life has been more magical than the moment she decided to reveal her sexuality.

The 39-year-old says she experienced a community in which homosexuality was shunned and she "hid everything" for her music.

Wright is releasing her memoir, "Like Me," and her new album, "Lifted Off the Ground," this week.

British bishops in defection talks with Vatican

Three Church of England bishops traveled to Rome last week for talks with Vatican officials about joining the Catholic Church, according to two of the bishops involved.

The bishops told The Associated Press they went to the Vatican to find out more about Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to invite disaffected Anglicans to join the Catholic Church – a sensitive issue which has roiled relations between the two denominations and threatens to overshadow the pontiff’s visit to London later this year.

The Vatican’s spokesman said he had no information about the meeting.

Rev. Keith Newton, the bishop of Richborough, said the trip consisted of “nothing more than exploratory talks” and denied a report in The Sunday Telegraph that he and his colleagues had secretly promised the Vatican they were ready to defect to Rome.

“No decisions have been made,” he said.

The Vatican surprised many Britons last year when it unveiled plans to make it easier for traditional Anglicans upset over female priests and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church. The two issues have already pushed the Anglican Communion to the edge of a schism, and the Vatican’s intervention prompted some critics to say that Rome was poaching from the Anglican flock at a vulnerable time for the 80 million-strong religious body.

Benedict has defended the decision, saying the invitation was made in the spirit of ecumenism.

New Jersey's Derrek Lutz Wore a Dress to Prom. And Was Crowned Prom King

Fred Phelps' band of merry revelers is going to have a busy spring season. While they're already planning to picket Constance McMillen's graduation in Mississippi, now they've got to add New Jersey to their travel schedule, thanks to a male high school student's cross-dressing prom plan. Surely they want to visit his school?

Derrek Lutz says it flat out: "Yea, I'm a cross dresser." And he wanted to wear heels and a dress to his prom. "What makes me a woman is inside and it doesn't really matter what's on the outside. And everyone should really just be treated equally." Initially, school administrators weren't thrilled; they told him wearing a dress to Saturday's event would violate school policy. Cue the Facebook group, some internal discussion, and things were "resolved."

He posts to Facebook: "SO we won.. I got into prom with no problems… I also won PROM KING!… I'd really love to thank you all for supporting me. You all make me so proud to be alive and so proud to have so many people come together like this. Thank you all so so incredibly much and if you'd like to see tagged pics come to my facebook page."

Oh, did we mention Lutz last month performed this Gaga routine for the entire school?

Hawaii Civil Union Bill Passes Legislature

Hawaii is a step closer to joining a small group of other states in allowing same-sex civil unions.

In a move that still needs the governor's signature to become law, the House of Representatives Thursday night approved a measure that has drawn some of the state's biggest protest rallies.

Republican Gov. Linda Lingle hasn't said whether she'll reject it or sign it into law but her office said later that she will carefully review the bill.

The House voted 31-20 in favor of the legislation, which had been stalled but was unexpectedly revived on the last day of this year's legislative session. The Senate passed it in January.

The measure would grant gay and lesbian couples the same rights and benefits that the state provides to married couples.

If approved, Hawaii will become one of six states – along with California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington – to grant essentially all the rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself.

Five other states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage: Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The Aloha State has been a battleground in the gay rights movement since the early 1990s.

A 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling nearly made Hawaii the first state to legalize same-sex marriage before voters in the state overwhelmingly approved the nation's first "defense of marriage" constitutional amendment in 1998.

Prop 8 trial closing arguments set for June

Theodore Olson will deliver closing arguments in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case in June.

Timing for closings was discussed today in the courtroom of Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. An exact date and time will be set once the attorneys and the court hash out their schedules.

“Kris, Sandy, Paul and Jeff, and millions of Americans like them, simply want to get married, just like their friends and neighbors can,” said American Foundation for Equal Rights Board President Chad Griffin. “Proposition 8 denies fundamental Constitutional rights and does so for no good reason. Today’s move toward closing arguments brings us that much closer to full equality for every American.”

The American Foundation for Equal Rights brought together attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies, who notably faced-off in Bush v. Gore, to lead this challenge to Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that stripped gay men and lesbians of their right to marry. Olson and Boies represent Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo and Kris Perry & Sandy Stier, two couples who want to get married but cannot because of Prop. 8.

After both sides presented their cases from Jan. 11 to Jan. 27, Chief Judge Walker said he would reconvene the trial for closing arguments after he analyzes the evidence and testimony that were presented at trial, as well as other filings with the court.

At trial, Olson and Boies demonstrated the unconstitutionality Prop. 8 through the presentation of 17 witnesses and revealing cross-examination of the defendant-intervenors’ witnesses. Put simply, the case against Prop. 8 was made by plaintiffs’ witnesses and those of the defendant-intervenors.

The trial proved that:

• Prop. 8 does irreparable harm to Americans
• Marriage has shed discriminatory restrictions over time
• Gay men and lesbians are entitled to the full protection of the 14th Amendment
• There is no good reason for Prop. 8’s denial of fundamental civil rights

Since the end of testimony, leading civil rights organizations, legal scholars, doctors, scientists, and religious organizations have also filed amicus briefs in support of Olson and Boies case against Prop. 8, including: the California NAACP, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF), Asian Law Caucus, National Black Justice Coalition, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California, ACLU, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Center for Lesbian Rights, retired California Court of Appeal Justice Donald King, family law professors from across the state, American Anthropological Association, American Psychoanalytic Association, National Association of Social Workers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter.


Specifically, Proposition 8:

• Violates the Due Process Clause by depriving Americans of fundamental rights
• Violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Singles out gays and lesbians for a disfavored legal status, thereby creating a category of “second-class citizens”
• Discriminates on the basis of gender
• Discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation
  

“More than 30 years ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized that marriage is one of the basic rights of man,” the suit against Prop. 8 states, referring to the Court’s decision in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down bans on interracial marriage.

Under Proposition 8, the State of California government unconstitutionally categorizes Americans into four separate and unequal groups:

• Those will full marriage rights
• Those with no marriage rights
• Those who married between May 2008 and November 2008 whose current marriages are recognized, but who cannot remarry if divorced or widowed
• Those who can marry in another state and petition California for recognition of their marriages
  

Focus on Family tones down anti-gay rhetoric

Conservative group Focus on the Family, under its new leader, Jim Daly, has stopped being involved directly in so-called "reparative therapy," as part of a general move away from its most extreme, anti-gay positions. Although the group is still against marriage equality, Daly said he is "not going to demean human beings" as part its activism.

The Supreme Court Didn't Take Kindly to Protect Marriage Washington. Does That Mean It'll Rule Against Them?

At the Doe. v Reed oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court, attorneys posed the situation as a battle between democracy and the First Amendment. Project Marriage Washington, which is fighting to keep secret the names of voters who helped put Referendum 71 on Washington State's ballot, claimed releasing the identities would invite harm to people who just wanted to exercise their rights. James Bopp Jr., attorney for PMW, insisted "no person should suffer harassment" by signing a petition. The justices weren't buying it.

The pullquote to walk away with comes from Antonin Scalia, who told Bopp, "Running a democracy takes a certain amount of civic courage. … The people of Washington evidently think that this is not too much of an imposition upon people's courage, to stand up and sign something and be willing to stand behind it." Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were adamant about getting Bopp and Washington's Attorney General Rob McKenna, representing Sec. of State Sam Reed to argue whether signing a petition was a legislative act, or political speech. And Sonia Sotomayor jumped in to quiz Bopp about how, if the court were to rule unconstitutional the state's disclosure laws, it would mesh with prior rulings affirming such disclosure laws in politics, particularly among candidates. Bopp's response? In those situations, disclosure is more important, and thus justified.

Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to support Bopp's arguments, but Samuel Alito was the only one to do it so vocally. Without Scalia's nod, however, it's unlikely PMW would be able to secure a five-vote majority.

It'll be many weeks before the justices issue their ruling, but it's notable that this will be Justice John Paul Stevens' last case he will hear in his multi-decade tenure; today was the last day of oral arguments of the court's season, and he's retiring this summer.

But if the tone and questioning was any indication, at least among the justices who spoke (which would be all but Clarence Thomas), the majority was quite aghast at PMW's claims.

Lawmakers Announce New Campaign Ad Limitations To Counteract Citizens United Ruling

Corporations and unions would have to identify themselves on political ads they bankroll, and the CEO or top official would have to make "I approve this message" statements under legislation being introduced in Congress Thursday.

The measures are a direct response to a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court in January that upheld the First Amendment rights of such groups to spend money on campaign ads – a decision that greatly enhances their ability to influence federal elections.

"At a time when the public's fears about the influence of special interests were already high, this decision stacks the deck against the average American even more," Sen. Charles Schumer told a news conference on the steps of the Supreme Court building.

The New York Democrat was joined by other Democrats, including Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, a campaign finance legislation veteran. He said the ruling in the Citizens United case was "one of the worst decisions in the history of this distinguished body."

The bill had no Republican sponsors, but Schumer said Democrats were talking to GOP lawmakers and "a good number" were favorably disposed.

A House group led by Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a member of the Democratic leadership, and two Republicans, will hold a similar news conference later in the day.

Opponents of the ruling say it overturned established law and that it dangerously tilted the power balance away from individual candidates and voters and in the direction of deep-pocketed corporations and unions. Supporters argue that in addition to abridging the freedom of speech, those seeking to limit campaign spending are serving the interests of better-funded incumbents.

President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address last February, said the ruling "reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections."

Saying "sunlight is the best disinfectant," Obama urged Congress in a statement Thursday to act quickly "so the American people can follow the money and see clearly which special interests are funding political campaign activity and trying to buy representation in our government."

Quote Of The Day - Laura Bush

"In 2004 the social question that animated the campaign was gay marriage. Before the election season had unfolded, I had talked to George about not making gay marriage a significant issue. We have, I reminded him, a number of close friends who are gay or whose children are gay. But at that moment I could never have imagined what path this issue would take and where it would lead.”

- Laura Bush, writing in her forthcoming memoir.The path this issue took, of course, was Laura's husband using the issue of gay marriage to demonize millions of gay Americans. Despite his "close gay friends."

California Lawmaker Seeks To Nullify Influence Of Texas Textbook Rules

Last month, the Texas Education Agency fundamentally changed how humanities subjects would be taught in schools.

Thomas Jefferson was removed from a discussion on the Founding Fathers, the term "capitalism" was stricken from economics lessons, the separation between church and state was glossed over, Joe McCarthy and Ronald Reagan replaced John F. Kennedy and the history of changing gender roles was tossed over concerns that it would lead students into "transsexualism."

A bill introduced recently in the California state legislature seeks to prevent these changes from seeping into textbooks in the Golden State. The bill, introduced by California State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) is largely symbolic, however, since California will not be purchasing textbooks in the near future due to budget cuts.

"There needs to be a counter to this," said Lee's chief of staff Adam J. Keigwin, referring to the Texas revisions.

Yee introduced SB 1471, which requires the state's board of eduction to examine all future textbooks so that none of Texas' new regulations would enter California schools. The bill is currently making its way through the state legislature.

"It goes beyond politics," Keigwin told the Huffington Post.

When the bill cleared an early legislative hurdle last week, Yee said in a statement: "Our kids should be provided an education based on facts and that embraces our multicultural nation."
Texas and California are the states with the two largest K-12 student populations in the country. With millions of potential textbooks to be sold, publishers will more often than not cater to the demands of the two states, who have often acted as counterbalances on textbook politics.
Keigwin called the new textbook guidelines coming out of Texas "quite alarming."

"Not only is it not appropriate for students in Texas to face this, but potentially students all across the country even though their representatives didn't vote for this," he said. "They know a lot of this history is not true. They may have communities of color who want to have that history taught in the schools, and it may not happen because of poorly written textbooks."

Keigwin said he hopes that other states will follow California's lead: "Every state should do it."

California Assembly Removes Archaic State Requirement That Health Officials Seek 'Cure' for Homosexuality

A measure to remove an archaic California law that required state health officials to seek a cure for homosexuality which was approved by an Assembly committee in early April, was passed by the full Assembly yesterday, CBS5 reports:

"In 1950, the state Legislature directed the Department of Mental Health (then known as the Department of Mental Hygiene) to conduct research into the causes and potential cures of homosexuality. The law was part of a larger investigation into sexual deviance. It classified gays as sexual deviants and required the state to conduct research to find the causes of sex crimes against children. One research paper from the era completed as a result of the law noted that gays might 'engage in criminal aggressive behavior' as they strive to 'overcome strong homosexual drives.' The 80-member Assembly voted 62-0 to modify the law, removing all references to homosexuals in the provision that calls for research. It now goes to the state Senate. 'It's time to get this phony cure off the books,' said Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who is gay. Supporters said the change was long overdue. The law was written in 1950 in reaction to a series of sex crimes, including the molestation and murder of a 6-year-old girl in Los Angeles."

The bill was authored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal after being brought to her attention by Equality California.

Stewart Hammers Arizona Lawmakers For Immigration Bill

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House Speaker pledges to hold vote to end military ban in 2010

The U.S. House will vote on a measure to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tel" law before the end of 2010, according to the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In the Senate, however, a repeal measure is "still short of some critical votes" on the panel's Armed Services Committee, said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

RNC Census Mailer Spurs Mail Fraud Report

The Nebraska Democratic Party filed a mail fraud report against the Republican National Committee on Monday for sending out deceiving mailers that appear to be a "Census Document." A member of Congress has also confirmed that the U.S. Postal Service was investigating the matter.

In a letter sent to the Postal Inspection Service on Monday, Victor Covalt III, a bankruptcy lawyer and Nebraska Democratic Party official accused the RNC of "attempting to wrongfully trade off and profit from the 2010 Census."

He also charged the Committee with violating a recently-passed law, by not including "an accurate return address including the name of the entity that sent such matter," in its deceptive mailers.

The filing by Covalt represented the first legal action taken against the RNC in the wake of reports that it was continuing to send misleading census mailers even after Congress had passed a law to stop the practice. On Tuesday, however, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle heaped criticism on the GOP group. Two senior members of the House Oversight committee -- Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and William Clay (D-MO) -- sent a letter to the Postmaster General, urging him to "act swiftly" on the matter. And Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) confirmed to The Plum Line's Greg Sargent that the postal service was investigating whether laws were broken.

"They're trying to be deceptive, and it outrages me," Chaffetz said.

Covalt was actually the recipient of one such mailer himself. The Nebraska Democratic Party state chair got an RNC fake census document in his mailbox last Wednesday, after which he decided to file a mail fraud report to the Postal Inspection Service.

"I can't believe that a national party such as this would stoop down so low that there is even any argument about it. Where is there honor? Is there no honor in the Republican Party," Covalt said in a brief telephone interview with the Huffington Post. "Republicans claim to be the constitutional party. Yet they are the first ones to insult the constitution with this low-ball play. That's what is going on. It is trash. That is what it is."

Proud

Christian Singer Talks To Larry King About Her Coming Out

One-time popular Christian rock singer Jennifer Knapp has been away from the music scene for several years but she's back with a new album. Much to the surprise to her original fan base, she's recently revealed that she is a lesbian and appeared on Larry King last night to discuss her faith as well as her coming out.

Also on the show was Pastor Bob Botsford from the Horizon Christian Fellowship, who has referred to Knapp's homosexuality as "self-destructive behavior." Botsford has known Knapp on a personal level for years and has also been aware of her sexual orientation for some time.
He said to King and Knapp on the program: "I prayed for a lot of years having been told of Jennifer's same-sex decision and relationship. And so, I didn't say a word to anybody, kept it quiet, did not go public with anyone except the Lord in my prayers for Jennifer until it came public last week in the articles that she just mentioned to you that she gave. And then I said, well, hey, this is not right."

Ted Haggard also popped up to give his two cents. Watch a clip of the show, including a moment where King asks Botsford if he thinks Knapp is going to hell for being gay,

Gays Conspicuously Absent from Obama DNC 2010 Video

In new video taped on Friday by President Obama to coincide with an email blast to 13,000 people from DNC Grassroots project Organizing for America and DNC Chair Tim Kaine, LGBT people are conspicuously absent from a list of groups Obama is specifically counting on in 2010 Democratic reelection efforts. In the past, gays and lesbians have been included in lists such as these.

Says Obama in the video, in part: "So that's what we're going to do. ... It will be up to each of you to make sure that the young people, African Americans, Latinos, and women, who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again. ... If you help us do that – if you help us make sure that first-time voters in 2008 make their voices heard again in November – then together we will deliver on the promise of change, hope, and prosperity for generations to come."

T-News: the good and the bad

Transgender Candidate Runs in Florida

Donna Milo, a transgender Republican businesswoman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is in the race for the 20th congressional district seat, running on a platform of conservative values in government.

"I'm concerned about the way the government is growing —all of the overregulation, all of the taxation," Milo told CBS4, a Miami television station.

Milo has never held public office and hopes her transgender status does not deter voters.
"It's one of my characteristics, but my campaign and platform, what I'm all about is the conservative values that made this country a great country that made this country a beacon of hope for many people, including my family," Milo said. "My friends and family have been very supportive. I've been blessed."

In addition to being a mother and a candidate, Milo is a homebuilder and a pilot.
Milo, along with six other candidates, is trying to unseat incumbent congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who is running for reelection.


Transgendered student attacked on LB campus

Police are asking for the public's help to find the person who attacked a transgender student on the California State University, Long Beach campus.

Authorities say that the 27-year-old victim was approached in a campus bathroom April 15.

According to police, the suspect pulled the victim's T-shirt over his head, pushed him into a stall, and then slashed his chest with a sharp object. The attacker then fled the area.

The victim was treated at a hospital and released. Police believe the attack was an isolated incident.

The suspect is described as a white male in his 20s, 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a thin build and dark colored hair. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with dark khaki shorts.


Transgender Woman Murdered in Puerto Rico

Ashley Santiago Ocasio was found dead in her home in Puerto Rico last week, raising concerns of increasing hate crimes against transgender women on the Caribbean island.

Santiago, a 31-year-old beauty salon owner, was shot in the head in the central mountain town of Corozal, the Associated Press reports. Although her car was missing, no signs of a break-in were apparent. Her killer remains at large.

“The grisly scene at Santiago's home raised suspicion that she may have been targeted because of her gender identity,” reports the AP. “A common characteristic of hate crime killings is excessive violence done to the victim, and there was so much blood spattered on the walls and floors that police initially believed Santiago had been stabbed repeatedly.”

Police have yet to determine whether the evidence warrants investigating the murder as a hate crime. An autopsy is pending.

Gay teenager Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was found decapitated and burned in another small town in Puerto Rico in November. His killer, who confessed to stabbing Lopez after he discovered he was a man, faces a charge of first-degree murder, but he is not charged with a hate crime.