Proclamation

CHICAGO -- The five Republicans on the county board withdrew their names from a routine proclamation welcoming the 2006 Gay Games to Chicago. The Illinois Family Institute is urging Democratic commissioners to do the same. "There's a big difference between tolerating and celebrating homosexuality," said Peter LaBarbera, who is part of the group. "For governments to be using taxpayer money and big corporations spending money to sponsor this, we think the average Joe sees that as being just a little bit off. " The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the ceremonial...

A man who entered a burning building over the weekend to warn East Boston residents of a fire was recognized by Boston's mayor on Wednesday. The honoree said he was a "city guy" who was just doing what you do when neighbors are in trouble. Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared Wednesday to be Paul Antonino Day in the city. In a ceremony in his City Hall office, Menino gave Antonino a proclamation and thanked him for his actions Sunday, when he entered the building on Chelsea Street, helping to save elderly residents from a seven-alarm fire.

Governor Mitt Romney is declining to issue a proclamation recognizing a landmark 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing birth control for unmarried people -- the first time in 10 years a Massachusetts governor has passed on the proclamation. The decision is irking family planning and abortion rights activists. The case, Eisenstadt vs. Baird, is seen a precursor to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Last year, Romney signed the proclamation, but deleted a reference to Roe v. Wade.

The New Year arrived quietly here this weekend, with no public celebrations or fireworks or fanfare. But in one year, reverberations might still be in the air and ears might still be ringing with the aftereffects of what organizers hope will be an authentic re-enactment of the euphoria that struck the city Jan. 1, 1863. On that day, President Abraham Lincoln's historic Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the southern states took effect. Norwich, a hotbed of abolition sentiment, broke out in celebration.

At its Nov. 28 meeting, the Board of Selectmen read and signed a proclamation declaring this Saturday as International Human Rights Day. The proclamation, which is on display at the Town Hall, is part of a 63-year international tradition that began with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948. The declaration was a worldwide commitment to never again allow atrocities such as those seen during World War II to occur.

NEW ORLEANS — The dust-up over Virginia’s proclamation for Confederate History Month seems like a lot of noise over something that “doesn’t amount to diddly,’’ Haley Barbour, Mississippi’s governor, said in an interview aired yesterday. Bob McDonnell, Virginia’s Republican governor, apologized for leaving out of his proclamation any reference to slavery. He added language to the decree calling slavery evil and inhumane after being criticized for reviving what many Virginians believe is an insensitive commemoration.

A man who entered a burning building over the weekend to warn East Boston residents of a fire was recognized by Boston's mayor on Wednesday. The honoree said he was a "city guy" who was just doing what you do when neighbors are in trouble. Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared Wednesday to be Paul Antonino Day in the city. In a ceremony in his City Hall office, Menino gave Antonino a proclamation and thanked him for his actions Sunday, when he entered the building on Chelsea Street, helping to save elderly residents from a seven-alarm fire.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared yesterday "WBZ Radio Day" in Boston as WBZ-AM, the city's oldest radio station and the first commercially licensed station in America, celebrated its 90th birthday. In a proclamation read at the studios yesterday, Menino commended WBZ for its "outstanding commitment to the City of Boston's radio listeners. " The proclamation launched a daylong celebration at the station on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton. The high point may have been the induction of the late Carl de Suze, "the voice of New England," into the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame.

As Shakespeare put it, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. " To that list of possibilities, President Obama's detractors can now add: "and some piggyback on the greatness of others. " Footnotes added to presidential biographies on the White House website are giving conservatives new fodder for one of their favorite narratives — Obama's unchained ego. From Calvin Coolidge on, the Obama White House added information connecting the achievements of past presidents to the one currently in office.

The New Year arrived quietly here this weekend, with no public celebrations or fireworks or fanfare. But in one year, reverberations might still be in the air and ears might still be ringing with the aftereffects of what organizers hope will be an authentic re-enactment of the euphoria that struck the city Jan. 1, 1863. On that day, President Abraham Lincoln's historic Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the southern states took effect. Norwich, a hotbed of abolition sentiment, broke out in celebration.

At its Nov. 28 meeting, the Board of Selectmen read and signed a proclamation declaring this Saturday as International Human Rights Day. The proclamation, which is on display at the Town Hall, is part of a 63-year international tradition that began with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948. The declaration was a worldwide commitment to never again allow atrocities such as those seen during World War II to occur.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared yesterday "WBZ Radio Day" in Boston as WBZ-AM, the city's oldest radio station and the first commercially licensed station in America, celebrated its 90th birthday. In a proclamation read at the studios yesterday, Menino commended WBZ for its "outstanding commitment to the City of Boston's radio listeners. " The proclamation launched a daylong celebration at the station on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton. The high point may have been the induction of the late Carl de Suze, "the voice of New England," into the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame.

NEW YORK — A copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln and purchased by Robert F. Kennedy was sold yesterday for more than $3.7 million, an auction record for a US presidential document. Kennedy bought the printed copy of the 1863 document declaring all slaves “forever free’’ shortly after its centennial celebration at the White House. It was sold for $3,778,500 to an anonymous bidder at Sotheby’s by Kennedy’s widow, Ethel. The price included a buyer’s premium.

NEW ORLEANS — The dust-up over Virginia’s proclamation for Confederate History Month seems like a lot of noise over something that “doesn’t amount to diddly,’’ Haley Barbour, Mississippi’s governor, said in an interview aired yesterday. Bob McDonnell, Virginia’s Republican governor, apologized for leaving out of his proclamation any reference to slavery. He added language to the decree calling slavery evil and inhumane after being criticized for reviving what many Virginians believe is an insensitive commemoration.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI urged a world confronting a financial crisis, conflict, and increasing poverty not to lose hope at Christmas and to join in "authentic solidarity" to prevent global ruin. His message of salvation amid growing concern about the economic meltdown facing rich and poor nations alike was echoed across the continent in London, where Britain's Queen Elizabeth II called for courage in response to the rough times. Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists, and Romans in the square...

Governor Mitt Romney is declining to issue a proclamation recognizing a landmark 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing birth control for unmarried people -- the first time in 10 years a Massachusetts governor has passed on the proclamation. The decision is irking family planning and abortion rights activists. The case, Eisenstadt vs. Baird, is seen a precursor to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Last year, Romney signed the proclamation, but deleted a reference to Roe v. Wade.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI urged a world confronting a financial crisis, conflict, and increasing poverty not to lose hope at Christmas and to join in "authentic solidarity" to prevent global ruin. His message of salvation amid growing concern about the economic meltdown facing rich and poor nations alike was echoed across the continent in London, where Britain's Queen Elizabeth II called for courage in response to the rough times. Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists, and Romans in the square below, the pope...

CHICAGO -- The five Republicans on the county board withdrew their names from a routine proclamation welcoming the 2006 Gay Games to Chicago. The Illinois Family Institute is urging Democratic commissioners to do the same. "There's a big difference between tolerating and celebrating homosexuality," said Peter LaBarbera, who is part of the group. "For governments to be using taxpayer money and big corporations spending money to sponsor this, we think the average Joe sees that as being just a little bit off. " The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the ceremonial...