Washington, D.C.

Gore accuses Bush of ‘Big Brother’ policy

Former Vice President Al Gore accused President Bush on Sunday of failing to make the country safer after the Sept. 11 attacks and using the war against terrorism as a pretext to consolidate power.

“They have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, ‘Big Brother’-style government — toward the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book ‘1984’ — than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America,” Gore charged.

Gore, who lost the disputed 2000 presidential election to Bush, said terrorism-fighting tools granted after Sept. 11 amount to a partisan power grab that have led to the erosion of the civil liberties of all Americans.

New Hampshire

Gay Episcopal bishop begins his ministry

The Rev. Gene Robinson began his ministry as the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop on Sunday by saying he wants to bring the message of God’s love to “those on the margins.”

He also said the church should speak out on issues of social justice, including the lack of access to health care for many Americans.

“How dare we in this country spend $87 billion on war when 44 million people have no health insurance?” he said in his sermon.

After the service at All Saints Church in Peterborough where he was married to his former wife, Robinson said he hoped that people who disagree with his confirmation will remain within the Episcopal Church, instead of breaking away.

New Orleans

Former journalist dies

Bill Crider, a former newsman with The Associated Press, died Sunday after a long illness, his family said. He was 83.

Crider had been living in Sky Valley, Ga., since his retirement in 1985. He returned to New Orleans earlier this year when his health failed, family members said.

Crider covered hurricanes, riots and politics during his career with the AP. He also was a member of the AP civil rights team in the 1960s.

In 1962, he was shot in the back during the riots over integration at the University of Mississippi.

Surviving the incident, he went on to covered the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers and the slaying of three civil rights workers at Philadelphia, Miss.