http://www.ToTheCenter.com/ ToTheCenter.com's philosophy is simple. The average person may not recognize a political left or right; but rather, somewhere in between. Our mission is to keep our opinion and news "down the middle" for all. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11745 The fight over gay-marriage rights in Maine was resolved on Tuesday when it was rejected by the narrowest of margins in a closely contested vote. The same-sex marriage movement is now expected to turn its focus to New Jersey where there is a significant amount of pressure to have a bill that authorizes gay-marriage passed while Governor Jon Corzine is still in office. Gov. Corzine, who was defeated by Republican counterpart Chris Christie in Tuesday’s election, is slated to remain in office through the middle of January. President of the National Organization for Marriage Maggie Gallagher is under the impression that a potential gay-marriage bill will either be passed within the next few weeks or it will not be passed at all in the state of New Jersey. Republican Chris Christie, the future Governor of New Jersey, is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and that is an underlying factor behind the pressure that gay-marriage rights advocates are putting on Gov. Corzine to get a gay-marriage bill passed before his successor officially unseats him. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Tuesday’s gay-marriage vote in Maine marked the 31st occasion that state voters rejected same-sex marriage rights proposals. Although Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont are the only four states that currently grant gay-marriage, New Hampshire is slated to become the fifth in January of 2010. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11744 Officials from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced earlier today that there are more than 38 million doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine available. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the 38 million doses that are currently available is 11 million more doses than were previously available at this time last week and it doubles the number of vaccines that were available as of two weeks ago. Experts are predicting that as more supplies become available to help treat the devastating effects caused by H1N1 swine flu, we will be able to see a significant amount of progress. Flu activity is statistically as widespread as ever in the United States since it is currently prominent in 48 states and representatives from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention believe that virtually every case seems to be H1N1 swine flu. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is speculating that 114 doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine will be available by the time flu season has come to an end. They have announced that at least eight million more doses will be available as early as next week. Statistics indicate that 7.7 percent of patients who sought treatment at doctors’ offices over the past week were experiencing flu-like symptoms. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11743 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in London on Nov. 6 that Britain is committed to the War in Afghanistan, according to CNN.com. Brown emphatically spoke about Britain’s military commitment to the long-fought counterinsurgency battle in Afghanistan. He also emphasized the significance of a stable, uncorrupt Afghan government. “It is about having properly qualified men and women in the key jobs,” the prime minister said. Brown said that, as the war becomes more dangerous and complex, the Afghan military needs British troops to train their personnel. He also said that British troops are necessary to empower local authorities, enabling them to fight back the Taliban and al Qaeda. Despite criticism that fighting on the ground is too risky, especially with the growing presence of roadside bombs, Brown maintained that the British army would be most successful fighting terrorists on land. Brown asserted that Britain has been providing its troops with an adequate amount of resources. The prime minister reiterated that the majority of terrorist plots directed at Britain originate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, citing the war as a national security concern. "I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption," Brown said. There are currently 9,000 British troops in Afghanistan, and 93 British troops have died throughout the war. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11742 Orlando, Florida resident Jason Rodriguez, 40, returned to the Reynolds, Smith & Hills engineering firm that he had worked at two years ago and opened fire on employees earlier today, killing one person and injuring five others. He was taken into custody by authorities within a few hours after the tragic incident took place and according to police, Rodriguez chose to resort to shooting employees in the company’s building over frustration he had been experiencing due to his poor economic situation. CNN.com is reporting that Rodriguez filed for bankruptcy in May as a result of his inability to generate consistent income. At the time that he filed for bankruptcy, Rodriguez owed a substantial amount of money to several sources including limited to back taxes, child support, credit card debt, rent and phone service. After he was taken into custody by authorities, Rodriguez told them that he was under the impression that his former bosses at Reynolds, Smith & Hills had prevented his efforts to receive unemployment benefits by effectively blocking him. According to The Associated Press, Rodriguez had been employed as a part-time sandwich maker at a local Subway restaurant and became frustrated over the amount of hours that he had been working per week. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11741 According to Reuters.com, the U.S. consumer credit dropped by $14.80 billion in the month of September. This statistic was released by the Federal Reserve and this amount is significantly larger than the total that was predicted by a group of economic analysts when they were polled by Reuters prior to the information being released. The analysts who were polled forecasted a U.S. consumer credit drop of $10 billion, which is $4.8 billion less than the actual drop. The staggering decrease in consumer credit is a crystal-clear indication that American citizens continue to feel reluctant about spending and that they prefer to attempt to reduce their debt rather than dig themselves an even deeper hole. Forbes.com is reporting that our nation’s total consumer credit has reached its lowest total since June of 2007. Despite the belief that the economy is no longer in a recession, the U.S. consumer credit drop was largely impacted by the fact that banks have tightened their access to loans. With our nation’s unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, its highest percentage in over a quarter-century, financial experts are predicting that the economic recovery is going to be an incredibly lengthy process. Chief financial economist Chris Rupkey gave a statement in response to the drastic consumer credit drop, saying, “This is truly an ugly report in what it portends for consumer spending. If consumers are indeed the key to recovery, this economic expansion from the recession could be the weakest and most jobless one yet.” http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11740 Earlier this morning, news broke about a tragic office shooting in Orlando, Fla., that resulted in the death of at least one individual and significant injury to five others. According to The Washington Post, the suspect who is believed to have terrorized Orlando’s Gateway Center, 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez, has been found and taken into custody at his mother’s house just a few hours after the shootings occurred. Information about Rodriguez’s background has been released by the police and Rodriguez’s former employer and it appears that he had been fired from his position at Reynolds, Smith & Hills Inc. as a result of insufficient performance. According to Police Chief Val Demings, all of the victims that were shot in this incident were employees of one company. In contrast to earlier reports that surfaced that indicated four of the victims were in ‘extremely critical’ condition, CNN.com is reporting that five of the victims who had been injured in the shooting are currently in stable condition. Demings provided a comment in response to this terrifying incident that occurred just one day after one of the most tragic occurrences of soldier-on-soldier violence in U.S. history at Fort Hood. Demings told the media, "This is a tragedy no doubt about it, especially on the heels of the tragedy in Fort Hood that is on our minds. I'm just glad we don't have any more fatalities or any more injuries than we currently have." http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11739 ABC News, The Associated Press and MSNBC are reporting that there has been a shooting at an Orlando, Fla., office building that has resulted in the death of at least two individuals. Six others have been injured and according to The Houston Chronicle, the condition of four of them is being described as ‘extremely critical’. The victims have been transported to the Orlando Regional Medical Center for immediate care. The shooting occurred earlier this afternoon at the Orlando, Florida based Legion Place Gateway Center and the building has been placed on lock down. The suspect remains on the loose and early indications from authorities are that there is only one shooter and they have described him as an armed male wearing blue jeans and a light blue polo shirt. Although only eight people have been confirmed to have been shot by the gunman, authorities are speculating that there may be more victims who have yet to be discovered. The SWAT team on the scene is currently continuing the process of removing people from the building. The Legion Place Gateway Center, which is the office building in Orlando where the shooting occurred, is a 16-story high-rise structure that was built ten years ago. According to reports from MSNBC and ABC News, Interstate 4 at SR-50 has been closed in both directions and Orlando’s Edgewater High School has been placed on lock down. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11738 The New York Yankees and their fans are celebrating the franchise’s 27th World Championship with a ticker-tape parade at Lower Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes this morning. The New York City Mayor’s Office is reporting that approximately 500,000 to one million people are expected to attend today’s ticker-tape parade. The Yankees won their 27th World Title on Wednesday night when they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series. A ceremony will be held at 1 PM EST where the Yankees players will be honored by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who will reportedly give them the key to the city. According to officials from the event, there were Yankees fans chanting and screaming in support of their favorite team as early as 4 AM EST at the scene of today’s festivities. In a city that has been drastically affected by our nation’s economic downturn, today mark’s a rare cause for celebration that will certainly serve as a temporary distraction for those who support the New York Yankees. Mayor Bloomberg declined to elaborate on how much the parade would cost but he did mention that it would be paid for by the city as well as by private donors. http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11737 Democratic leaders announced earlier today that they expect to delay the pending vote on their final health care bill in response to their inability to generate enough support from members of the House of Representatives. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer stated that the vote on the reform bill could potentially be delayed until Sunday or until early next week in order to provide notable Democratic leaders with an opportunity to add necessary changes that they feel will sway undecided House members. Fox News is reporting that Republican House representatives are unanimously opposed to the Democratic Party’s health care reform bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi originally indicated that the bill would be posted online for the American people to visualize 72 hours before lawmakers would be slated to vote on the proposal. However, as a result of the changes that are expected to be made to the bill it appears that the House will not be living up to its initial pledge. Michael Steel, a spokesman for Minority Leader John Boehner, gave a statement on behalf of Boehner that reads, "If Speaker Pelosi intends to address critical issues like taxpayer funding for abortion in the rule, they should make it available for the American people to read for 72 hours. Transparency means putting the whole bill online for 72 hours.” http://www.ToTheCenter.com/news.php?readmore=11736 U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, who is now more commonly referred to as the Fort Hood gunman, is in stable condition after he was shot four times and subdued by Sergeant Kimberly Munley on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hasan shot and killed 13 people including 12 members of the military and one civilian. In one of the most appalling and tragic incidents of soldier-on-soldier violence to ever take place on U.S. soil, the Fort Hood killer maliciously took out his frustrations over a pending assignment in Afghanistan as well as abusive treatment that he received from other members of the military. ABC News is reporting that Hasan had been labeled as a ‘camel jockey’ by others in the military and he had been experiencing many of the same stresses that he had expertise in treating as a U.S. military psychiatrist. Relatives of Hasan have shed light on his traumatized state of mind as a result of his military service and negative perspective on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Former FBI Agent Brad Garrett described his opinion of the tragedy by elaborating on his belief that Hasan did not want to survive the Fort Hood killings. Garrett said, “It is one of those things where he went and wanted to kill a lot of people and commit suicide maybe in his own mind that he's saving peoples' lives. As illogical as that sounds, in his mind, that would be quite logical." As of late last night, Hasan had been unconscious on a ventilator in a hospital and he is expected to make a full recovery from the injuries he sustained during the altercation with Sergeant Munley.