Where’s the Outrage?

Conservatives have been attacking affirmative action and the 1964 Civil Rights Law since the Reagan administration.  The Supreme Court has reversed the lower court (Second Circuit Court of Appeals with Sotomayor).  More later…

From AP:

The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.

The ruling could alter employment practices nationwide, potentially limiting the circumstances in which employers can be held liable for decisions when there is no evidence of intentional discrimination against minorities.

“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his opinion for the court. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. (more…)

Update: One thing is clear. The Supreme Court did nothing to clarify the situation, but instead muddied the waters. The Supreme Court seems to be saying that if you did not intentionally discriminate, then no discrimination exists. This must be just my overly simplistic way of reading this decision. This is obviously a false hypothesis. It’s clearly possible to discriminate against blacks, women and other minorities without doing it “intentionally.” Proving intent would be nearly impossible in most discrimination cases.

This case also points out some of the problems I have with some conservatives who say that judges need to “interpret the law.” The Civil Rights Act of 1964 clearly states that you cannot discriminate based on race but then it goes on to say when an employer can discriminate based on a “protected trait.” So how do you balance these things? The mantra, “interpret the law,” rings hollow.

The Supreme Court focused on a test that was given to these firefighters. Now we know from years of testing students that some tests can reveal racial bias. We know from an elegant study by Stanford researcher that minorities will perform worse a particular test if they are told that this is a test of intelligence. If minority students are told that this is a problem-solving test these students do perfectly well. Their scores are as good as their White counterparts. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s arguments seem to be solid when she states, “In so holding, the Court pretends that “[t]he City rejected the test results solely because the higher scoring candidates were white.” Ante, at 20. That pretension, essential to the Court’s disposition, ignores substantial evidence of multiple flaws in the tests New Haven used. The Court similarly fails to acknowledge the better tests used in other cities, which have yielded less racially skewed outcomes.”

Finally, the Supreme Court has breathed just a flicker of hope into the anti-Sotomayor crowd. Over the next 24-48 hours, some conservatives will try to move quickly to capitalize on this momentum. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, they’ll say, is somehow unfit for the Supreme Court because she has a ruling that’s been overturned. This, of course, is a ridiculous statement. Nonetheless, I suspect conservatives will try to push this and get as much mileage out of this is possible. As Glenn puts it — In light of today’s ruling, it’s a bit difficult — actually, impossible — for a rational person to argue that Sotomayor’s Ricci decision places her outside the judicial mainstream when: (a) she was affirming the decision of the federal district court judge; (b) she was joined in her decision by the two other Second Circuit judges who, along with her, comprised a unanimous panel; (c) a majority of Second Circuit judges refused to reverse that panel’s ruling; and now: (d) four out of the nine Supreme Court Justices — including the ones she is to replace — agree with her.

Put another way, 11 out of the 21 federal judges to rule on Ricci ruled as Sotomayor did. It’s perfectly reasonable to argue that she ruled erroneously, but it’s definitively unreasonable to claim that her Ricci ruling places her on some sort of judicial fringe.

Update II: Balkination has more technical questions about this Ricci decision and how will it affect the Voting Rights Act.

Tags: Civil Rights, Supreme court by ecthompson
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Michael Jackson update — the cops are looking for a second physician.  Jackson’s primary physician Dr. Conrad Murray has lawyered up.  Randy Jackson appears to be making the funeral plans.  (Randy is the youngest brother.)  Michael Jackson will be on the cover of Time magazine.  The Jackson family may be looking to get a second autopsy. (TMZ has been two to four hours ahead of the MSM on this story.)

Last night the Washington Post reported that president Barack Obama was looking into writing an Executive Order continuing indefinite detention, without trial, on several detainees.  My stomach is beginning to turn.  Glenn, Joan and others have extensively commented on this craziness.  I understand about the responsibility to keep us safe.  I also understand about the rule of law.  Getting Congress to change the laws in spite the fact that these guys have been in our custody for several years just doesn’t smack of American justice.

Enbattled Governor Mark Sanford has stated clearly that he will not resign… some sort of biblical analogy involving King David which really did not fit the situation.  Furthermore, I think that he has completely lost his ability to quote the Bible to anybody.  He needs to just sit down and read it for while.  He may comprehend some of its teachings and lessons.  (Psst… Governor. Start with the 10 Commandments.)  Sanford should be the second governor to be impeached this year for dereliction of duty.  Now I have not read the South Carolina Constitution but I’m sure it has something in it about being a complete moron.

The violence in Iraq appears to be escalating.  Motorcycle bombs killed 20 in separate attacks.  More than 250 people died in attacks this week.  It is sad that we’ve done such a poor job at creating an environment for peace.  We created a great environment from which Bectel, Halliburton and Blackwater can extract millions of dollars.

In a bizarre story, the wife of Representative John Conyers, the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, pled guilty to one count of corruption in Detroit yesterday.  Monica Conyers accepted two cash bribes of at least $3000 each.  Really? Seriously?  I mean, it if they don’t hand you a suitcase that has enough money in it for you to live in a Caribbean island the rest of your life, what’s the point?

The swine flu slowly but surely continues to march on.  It should not be forgotten nor taken lightly.  Currently in the United States there are 27,717 cases with 127 deaths.  I’ve not heard anything new on the vaccine.  It seems to me that it is very likely that the swine flu will spike again as winter approaches.  We must be diligent.  Frequent handwashing.  Stay home when sick.  This could be a huge problem.

Tags: Civil Rights, Domestic Issues, Entertainment, Healthcare, House of Representatives, Iraq, Torture by ecthompson
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From AP

With so much going on these days, especially with the passing of a musical icon, I must plead guilty to forgetting about everything else that is still going on in the world.

When I read the latest news online today and saw Jena 6 back in the headlines I instantly remembered the major controversy the case provoked. Back in December 2006, a young white man was attacked by classmates. As all of us may remember the fight lead to an enormous amount of racial tension between whites and blacks in the small Louisiana town and gained national attention. In addition to all of the attention, the school fight also prompted a march on September 21, 2007.

 

 The Jena 6 [3:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Editor’s Note: At the time, I talked about the Jena 6 case extensively. The original post is here with several follow up posts - here and here.

Thinking back to over two years ago, I felt the charges of attempted murder that were initially charged were a little extreme. I’m not condoning the fight but I seriously doubt the six young men were really trying to kill Justin Barker. School fights happen I’m sure everyday but are those students charged with attempted murder?

From AP:

Five members of the Jena Six pleaded no contest Friday to misdemeanor simple battery and won’t serve jail time, ending a case that thrust a small Louisiana town into the national spotlight and sparked a massive civil rights demonstration.

State District Judge Tom Yeager then sentenced the five, standing quietly surrounded by their lawyers, to seven days unsupervised probation and fined $500. It was a far less severe end to their cases than seemed possible when the six students — all of whom are black — were initially charged with attempted murder in the 2006 attack on Justin Barker, a white classmate. They became known as the “Jena Six,” after the central Louisiana town where the beating happened.

Tags: Civil Rights, Race by Blowfish
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It should be no surprise to anyone that members of the gay and lesbian community are upset and disappointed with Barack Obama. The community had high hopes for President Bill Clinton, who let them down on a number of occasions, including the laughable policy Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I think it is time for progressives to be truly… progressive. We cannot stand back and wait for change. We need make it happen. This is a civil rights issue. To this end, the gay and lesbian community needs to organize as they did in the mid-1980s. They need to march from Washington to Miami and from Houston to LA. They need to get support from the mainstream progressive community. We need to write Congress and force our congressmen to introduce legislation that would eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation. This would resend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act and would also eliminate Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I guarantee that President Barack Obama would sign such legislation. On the other hand, Obama is not to make the same mistake that President Bill Clinton did, which is to get out ahead of the public on gay and lesbian issues. Clinton lost standing with the Pentagon because he forced, or tried to force, equality in the military.

If you question whether there is a media bias in this country, I would ask you to look no further than the Washington Post. They just fired liberal columnist Dan Froomkin. Their reasons for firing him are somewhat nebulous. He was never given the real status of a columnist. Instead, he was simply given a blog. The blog did not have a high profile (no links from the front page… can be found on the opinion page in the bottom left-hand corner). Yet he had a loyal following. I guess one of my questions is what does a columnist need to do in order to get fired? If a columnist is completely wrong on multiple occasions, does that get you fired? Charles Krauthammer’s been so wrong for so long it’s hard to imagine anyone being less correct. He continues to advocate for torture. So, if advocating for torture doesn’t get you fired… then maybe being a liberal and standing up for liberal principles may be the problem.

There was a very interesting story that the New York Times posted yesterday about their reporter David Rohde. He was kidnapped by the Taliban seven months ago. He somehow managed to escape and he found a Pakistani army scout who took them to a nearby army base. Congratulations to David. Unfortunately, his driver who was also kidnapped did not escape. It will be interesting to see if the Americans or the Pakistanis find the location of this Taliban base.

Finally, conservatives continue to complain that Barack Obama has not been outspoken enough about the Iranian uprising. If we’ve learned nothing from the past eight years we have clearly learned that words have consequences. After George Bush confronted the Iranian government and called them part of the Axis of Evil, they accelerated their nuclear program. They are now closer than ever to developing a nuclear bomb. George W. Bush inflamed Iranians and Muslims with his rhetoric. Barack Obama has been more cautious and thoughtful, in my opinion. He released a statement yesterday that some may describe as timid. Former Secretaries of State Burzynski and Kissinger have supported Obama’s approach. Even George Will has called criticism of Obama’s approach “foolish.” The death of this young Iranian woman at the hands of the Iranian police could have significant repercussions.

Graphic Video of a woman who died in the Iranian protests:

Tags: Civil Rights, Iran, Media by ecthompson
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I’m looking forward to a particularly grueling day at the office tomorrow. I am therefore going to try to hit the sack early tonight.

More white supremacist craziness, this time in Arizona.

The mass confusion and protests continue in Iran. The grand Ayatollah seems to be stuck. He has supported President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It seems clear that the election was rigged.
Watch the video:

Harriet Miers and Karl Rove seem to have a day in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Wow, could it be? Could the wheels of justice be turning? Nope, I must be dreaming.

I’m becoming more and more confused about the Obama White House. President Barack Obama seems to be following many of Bush’s policies on secrecy. Very disturbing.

Glenn Greenwald has more on this secrecy craziness:

On May 13, when Obama announced he would attempt to suppress prisoner abuse photos on the ground that their release would inflame anti-American sentiment, I wrote:

Think about what Obama’s rationale would justify. Obama’s claim . . .  means we should conceal or even outright lie about all the bad things we do that might reflect poorly on us. For instance, if an Obama bombing raid slaughters civilians in Afghanistan (as has happened several times already), then, by this reasoning, we ought to lie about what happened and conceal the evidence depicting what was done — as the Bush administration did — because release of such evidence would “would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.” Indeed, evidence of our killing civilians in Afghanistan inflames anti-American sentiment far more than these photographs would. Isn’t it better to hide the evidence showing the bad things we do?

Last Friday, when yet another dispute arose between local Afghan officials and the U.S. military over whether a U.S. airstrike caused a large number of civilian deaths, I wrote a post entitled ”Should the U.S. also suppress evidence of civilian deaths in Afghanistan?” and asked:

Using the standard that is now so accepted across the political spectrum in Washington — information that will inflame anti-American sentiment should be suppressed rather than disclosed so at to not endanger our troops — isn’t it better if we just cover-up, rather than learn the truth about, the civilian deaths we caused in Afghanistan? After all, news reports of dead Afghan women and children at the hands of American bombs obviously inflame anti-American sentiment and Endanger Our Troops at least as much as the disclosure of some additional torture photos would. By the prevailing reasoning of Washington, shouldn’t we want our government to hide the truth about what we did — lest anti-American anger and the risk of attack on Our Troops increase? Isn’t that the noble anti-transparency principle we’re now endorsing?

Here’s what McClatchy is reporting today (h/t Paul Tenny/GregMitchell):

Pentagon wavers on release of report on Afghan attack

WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials are debating whether to ignore an earlier promise and squelch the release of an investigation into a U.S. airstrike last month, out of fear that its findings would further enrage the Afghan public, Pentagon officials told McClatchy Monday.

The military promised to release the report shortly after the May 4 air attack, which killed dozens of Afghans, and the Pentagon reiterated that last week. U.S. officials also said they’d release a video that military officials said shows Taliban fighters attacking Afghan and U.S. forces and then running into a building. Shortly afterward, a U.S. aircraft dropped a bomb that destroyed the building.

However, a senior defense official told McClatchy Monday: “The decision (about what to release) is now in limbo.”

Pentagon leaders are divided about whether releasing the report would reflect a renewed push for openness and transparency about civilian casualties or whether it would only fan Afghan outrage and become a Taliban recruiting tool just as Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal takes command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Two U.S. military officials told McClatchy that the video shows that no one checked to see whether any women or children were in the building before it was bombed. The report acknowledges that mistakes were made and that U.S. forces didn’t always follow proper procedures, but it does little to reassure Afghans that the U.S. has done enough to avoid repeating those mistakes.

It should be painfully obvious that those defending the Obama/Lieberman/Graham rationale for photo suppression — that evidence of wrongdoing should be suppressed when it will “inflame anti-American sentiment” — are endorsing a dangerous mentality that is certain to justify concealment of far more than these torture photos.  Indeed, even before this week, that mindset had already begun to be applied to justify cover-up of government wrongdoing outside of the photo context, and is now — quite predictably — creeping into other areas.  That development is as inevitable as it is disturbing.

Tags: Bush Administration, Civil Rights, Domestic Issues, Obama administration by ecthompson
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As usual, there’s so much to talk about.  I start off discussing the California Supreme Court and its upholding the ban on same-sex marriage.  I readily admit that I did not read Proposition Eight.  I also must say that I’m not criticizing the court, but it is clear that this is an untenable situation.  In the United States we are supposed to be equal.  What ever the state recognizes as a union between two adults (whether that is marriage, civil unions or Vulcan mind melding) should be the same for heterosexuals as it is for homosexuals.  The state should not discriminate.  The benefits two partners get should be available to gays and lesbians.  To me it is a simple case of civil rights.  General David Patreaus was on FOX News.  I play a rather long clip of him as he explains why Guantánamo needs to be closed.  He also states that we need to trust our justice system.  I was very surprised and pleased by his statements.  Finally, I give an update on the swine flu (Influenza A: H1N1).  There are now almost 9000 cases in the United States.  They’re have been over 15 deaths reported.  The swine flu is not going away.  We need to continue to be diligent.

I interviewed Dr. Jonathan Kotch from UNC Chapel Hill.  He is part of a group called Physicians for National Health Program.  We discuss the important aspects of health care refor, how we need to improve patient access and patient care.  Whatever system we come up with needs to be portable and cost-effective.  One of the big questions is whether the single-payer plan would be a viable alternative.  If the reason for health care reform is primarily cost, then what value does insurance add?  This is an excellent discussion.

Linda Monk is a constitutional scholar and author of the fabulous book, Words We Live By.  She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.  I invited her on the show to discuss what we should look for in a Supreme Court Justice.  A candidate for the Supreme Court should interpret the law narrowly.  There shouldn’t be an attempt for broad, over-arching interpretations.  We also discuss Barack Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.  This is a great discussion and well worth a listen.

I wrap up the show with more discussion on healthcare.  In my opinion, healthcare needs to be more integrated.  Physicians have to find a way to work together better.  As patients become more and more complex, there’s a need for better communication.

Enjoy the show.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-30-09 [52:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Civil Rights, Healthcare, Podcasts, Senate, Supreme court by ecthompson
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I was going to title this post “Snakes on a Plane,” but no one saw that movie so I decided against that.

You know this story. Two families are getting on a plane and discussing where the safest place to sit might be. They are overheard and reported to authorities. They are Muslim. They are summarily taken off the plane and interviewed by the FBI The FBI deems them safe, but AirTran will not let them back on the airplane. As a matter of fact, AirTran refuses to let them take any plane, anywhere.

So, we have the rights of an airline pitted against the rights of these American citizens.

From CNN: AirTran Airways apologized Friday to members of a Muslim family for kicking them off a plane and refusing to rebook them despite requests from FBI agents who had cleared them of wrongdoing.

The families of Atif Irfan, a tax attorney, and his brother Kashif Irfan, an anesthesiologist, were removed from a flight in Washington before takeoff Thursday after a passenger reported hearing Atif Irfan’s wife say something suspicious.

The FBI interviewed the family and cleared them of wrongdoing.

“We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did,” AirTran said in a statement Friday afternoon. “But we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount.” Read the full statement (more from CNN).

Tags: Civil Rights by ecthompson
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Tuesday Evening News Roundup

Probably the biggest news of the day was that Governor Rod Blagojevich has appointed former Lt. Gov. Ronald Burris to replace Barack Obama in the Senate. One thing I can say is that I would not want to play poker with this guy. This guy has nerves of steel, no doubt. (The other possibility is that he’s too stupid to understand that no one is going to accept this appointment.) The only winners here, seems to me, are the Republicans in the state of Illinois.

Mychal Bell, the teenager involved in the Jena Six debacle, has reportedly tried to commit suicide. Just last week, he was allegedly arrested for stealing clothes worth about $370. As you may recall, this young man was at the center of a media storm 18 months ago. The whole tale is so sad and so tragic.

Remember John Bolton, the really crazy guy in President Bush’s State Department who was appointed to the UN but never could get certified by the Senate? He stated yesterday on FOX’s Hannity and Colmes that we should attack Iran right now. At least John Bolton is consistently crazy.

I’m not sure that there is anything that Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson has done that has “fixed” our ailing economy. I guess the widespread panic we saw in late September and early October has somewhat subsided. Was that worth over $350 billion? (Note that this does not include what the Fed handed out in cash, which came out to over $1 trillion.) The Treasury Department is injecting $6 billion into GMAC. GMAC is being allowed to restructure the company so that it will now be a bank and able lend to a larger variety of customers… in theory. All of this is theoretical. We thought that infusing the banks with cash would “in theory” loosen up banks’ lending and it didn’t happen. GMAC should be able to lend more money to auto customers. That might help the auto industry.

Home prices dropped in 20 major US cities. It was the fastest drop on record. This kind of drop it has only been in the picture since 2001. The index dropped 17% from October last year to October of 2008. More details here.

Remember the lobbyist who was rumored to have had an inappropriate relationship with Senator John McCain? Vicki Iseman. She appeared in a New York Times article which I’ve mentioned occasionally. I considered the important thing about the article to be that John McCain was still extremely close to lobbyists. Well, Vicki has just filed a $27 million defamation suit against the New York Times. Where’s Judge Judy when you need her?

Senator John Cornyn (Republican, Texas) has suggested that the Republican Party intends to obstruct the seating of Al Franken in the Senate. Senator Cornyn, a George Bush protégé, sent out a inflammatory statement, basically accusing Al Franken of trying to steal the election. As this long recount continues Al Franken appears to be closer and closer to victory. Currently, it appears as if Franken is ahead by 4950 votes. There is still a dispute, though, about how to count some of the previously discounted absentee ballots which probably should not have been discounted. Question: Shouldn’t we have an election system where all of this would have been worked out a long time ago? Shouldn’t we know which ballots to count and which ballots not to count? We been electing people for local, statewide and national office now for over 250 years. Why don’t we have standards?

On a sad end note, the final report on the Space Shuttle Columbia was issued by NASA today. The most surprising thing in the AP account of the report was that “the spacesuits, restraints and helmets of the Columbia crew were not equipped to handle such an extreme catastrophe.” I find such a statement mind-boggling. Even the most novice of scientists (this includes me) knows that the two most dangerous times of the whole shuttle flight are takeoff and reentry. The fact that their protective equipment did not really protect them makes me sick to my stomach. The full report can be found here. MSNBC has a nice interactive of the whole disaster here.

Tags: Civil Rights, NASA, Obama administration by ecthompson
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As everyone knows by now, Barack Obama has chosen the hugely successful but quite controversial Reverend Rick Warren to perform the opening invocation at his inauguration. The gay and lesbian community has been outraged over this choice. It has been noted that on his website he has stated that unrepentant homosexuals will not be accepted as members of his Saddleback Church. These harsh statements have disappeared from his website, but does this mean that the Reverend Warren has changed his mind about homosexuality? I doubt it.

This has become a very big deal in the Progressive community. The dustup over Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich really did not affect the Progressive community. Republicans were up in arms, but Progressives really did not believe that Barack Obama or anyone within his inner circle would be involved in selling Obama’s Senate seat. On the other hand, true Progressives believe in equality. We believe in equality amongst the races and in equality concerning sexual orientation. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have clearly stated that they also support gay rights but do not support gay marriage. (I’m not sure that I have yet resolved this conflict in logic but many “progressive” politicians have these illogical thoughts. “I support gay rights, but I can’t support gay marriage.” It doesn’t make a bit of sense to me, but then again, I’m not a politician.)

Here’s the problem. The gay and lesbian community embraced Bill Clinton and his presidency. In 1996, the Republican Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act.  Republicans were hoping to trap Democrats and a weakened President Clinton into arguing against this bill, but Democrats supported this bill overwhelmingly and President Clinton signed it into law. The gay and lesbian community thought that they were thrown under the bus, and they were. So now, 12 years later, the gay and lesbian community thought they had an ally in Barack Obama. (see Rachel Maddow’s video clip. She is really pissed at Obama for choosing Rick Warren.)

Personally, I believe Barack Obama was caught between a rock and a hard place. Because of his choice in Jeremiah Wright, I think Obama and his team must have thought that choosing a well-known black minister would have brought Obama’s old Reverend again to the forefront. Choosing an unknown minister would have caused everyone to scratch their heads and ask why Obama couldn’t get someone with “star power.” I think that Barack Obama sought, therefore, the least offensive popular (white) minister. (I understand that “least offensive” is subjective and really depends upon who is being affected by it.) I’m not saying that this was the best choice or even someone I’d have considered. I’m just saying that I think I understand the reasoning behind it.

I also believe that Barack Obama continues to support legitimately the cause of equality for the gay and lesbian communities. I think that he supports 95% of the gay and lesbian agenda but that this is the way it’s going to go over the next four years. Not just for gays and lesbians, but for all Progressives. Obama is really going to try to walk the tightrope between progressive and conservative Americans. The black and Latino communities, as well as supporters of women’s rights, will get their (our) feelings hurt in the coming months and even years. In spite of some hurt feelings,though, I think Barack Obama will do more for our collective causes than any other president has over the past 30 years.

Tags: Civil Rights, Obama administration by ecthompson
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First, let me apologize for not covering this story much, much earlier. My attention was on the presidential race and on several races here in North Carolina. Proposition eight was a proposal to ban same-sex marriages. Remember, in California, same-sex marriage was legal. So, a right has been taken away.

When you listen to the rhetoric of those who oppose same-sex marriage, it sounds frighteningly similar to the rhetoric of those who opposed integration of the races.They talked about these classic institutions that would collapse if blacks were allowed to marry whites (and in some states blacks to marry blacks).

I’m not sure why we are so resistant to doing the right thing. Just think about our history and how at every step of the way there has always been significant resistance to doing the right thing. Consider when women were fighting for the right to vote. Why was there such resistance? All men and women should be treated equally under the law. It is mind-boggling that there was such contention. With gay marriage again we see the resistance. It is not hard for us to see what is the right thing to do.

For those who object on religious grounds, let me say this: civil rights, too, were strongly objected to on religious grounds. If you and your church do not want to include homosexual marriages as part of your congregation then that is your right. It is not your right to prevent others from getting married in a civil ceremony. I’m extremely disappointed in so many religious leaders who came out, as it were, in favor of this proposition.

Gay marriage will happen. It will happen within our lifetime because it has to happen. We can not, must not, formally discriminate against any group. We simply can’t.

Finally, I am not worried about the institution of marriage. I’m also not worried about my own marriage. My own marriage will fail or survive based on my actions and the actions of my wife. If a gay couple moves in across the street the strength of our relationship will not be changed. My wife and I love each other. Our love is not based on whether or not a gay couple lives across street. So, if a marriage does break up because a gay couple moves in the neighborhood, there was something else wrong with that relationship before the new neighbors arrived. America, it is time for us to stand up, once again, and do the right thing.

Tags: Civil Liberty, Civil Rights by ecthompson
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Liberals, including myself, are waiting for the final word on voting screw-ups. How many people were not allowed to vote? Actor, human rights and voters’ advocate Tim Robbins was turned away from the polls. He went to the City Board of Elections and got proof that he was registered. Now that’s crazy!!!

Tags: Civil Rights, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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One of my readers is a Republican who continually needles me on Obama and the Democrats. Now the Dems aren’t perfect and they make mistakes. I’m not perfect and I will post an erroneous something or other from time to time, too. I try not to jump on too many bandwagons.

Today, the question is where did John McCain state that he was anti-union?. The Employee Free Choice Act is something that the unions have been pushing for years. It would hamper Big Business’ ability to bust unions before they can form. McCain is against this bill.

From TP:

But this is — we’ve been talking about it for a long time — this is a threat to the fundamental of labor-management relations. It’s fundamental to democracy, the right to have a secret ballot.

The way that Senator Obama envisions — and the unions, and this is their big push, they’ve gotten commitments from Senator Obama and Senator Biden — union organizer goes to your house and says, Hey, Joe, can I sign you up for the union?

That is — we all know what that opens the door to. It’s dangerous for America, it’s dangerous to small business. And I think it’s a threat to one of the fundamentals of democracy.
McCain added that he would veto the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in a “New York minute.”

Tags: Civil Rights, Economy, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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From Glenn Greenwald:

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff’s department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than “fire code violations,” and early this morning, the Sheriff’s department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.

Jane Hamsher and I were at two of those homes this morning — one which had just been raided and one which was in the process of being raided. Each of the raided houses is known by neighbors as a “hippie house,” where 5-10 college-aged individuals live in a communal setting, and everyone we spoke with said that there had never been any problems of any kind in those houses, that they were filled with “peaceful kids” who are politically active but entirely unthreatening and friendly. Posted below is the video of the scene, including various interviews, which convey a very clear sense of what is actually going on here. (more… )

Firedoglake has more - here and here.

Tags: Civil Liberty, Civil Rights by ecthompson
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You see. George W. Bush isn’t all bad just mostly. President Bush has nominated Lt. General Ann Dunwoody to become this nation’s first 4 star general. She will need to be confirmed by Congress but congratulations to her and all American women as glass ceilings continue to break in this country.

Tags: Civil Rights, Military by ecthompson
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Okay, how about this. You come to work every day, you work hard every day, but your sales just aren’t the same as everyone else’s. Maybe you have a terrible client list. It may be what you do on the job. It may be that you’re selling a terrible product. But the fact is, your sales continue to lag behind the others. My question is — would it be okay to waterboard in order to motivate yourself? Seriously.

Waterboarding as a motivational tool… Who knew? A company of Provo, Utah actually tried this on an employee. Surprisingly, the employee volunteered. As you can no doubt figure, this clearly ended up in court.

Tags: Civil Rights, Domestic Issues, Torture by ecthompson
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It is kind of amazing. 40 years ago. I was 7 years old. I was old enough to understand the feeling that hung over my house that day. The feeling that something terrible had happened.

There have been a lot of comparisons of Barack Obama and Martin Luther King. Although they were both Black men with extreme intelligence, they were both products of their environment. King grew out of the church. Obama has grown out of America’s educational system. They aren’t the same man. They are both leaders.

I’m looking forward to the special on the History Channel.

Tags: Civil Rights, Race by ecthompson
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Michael Savage wants all Muslims to be deported. For more information, click here.

 

 No Michael Savage [1:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Civil Rights, Religion, Talkin' out Loud by ecthompson
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I don’t know if Mitt Romney truly believes what he says or not. After several of the comments that I got on this story, I thought that I would post the video and ask those Romney supporters to defend this.

Tim Russert asks Mitt Romney about race and his faith. Romney supports his faith. This is good. Governor Romney could have stopped there but he didn’t. He added that his father marched with Martin Luther King. His father walked out the Republican convention in part because Goldwater was not embracing civil rights. He continued that his mother was also a champion of civil rights.

Let’s look at each of these points individually. First there is a claim that George Romney marched with Martin Luther King. A story in the on-line journal Politico states that several witnesses saw Martin Luther King walk hand-in-hand with then Governor George Romney. One witness, Ashby Richardson, states, “The press is being disingenuous in terms of reporting what actually happened. I remember it vividly. I was only 15 or 20 feet from where both of them were.” Then there is the account by David Broder of the Washington Post and Stephen Hess in the 1967 book, The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P. On the other side of the coin where are the civil rights leaders. Where is Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young? They were there, weren’t they? They would know. There should also be some pictures. [Read more →]

 

 MTP - So was Romney truthful? [1:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Civil Rights, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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Of all Martin Luther King’s sermons, the one I’ve found the most instructive is “Unfulfilled Dreams.” It offers solid perspective on the disappointments we all face in life.

Unfulfilled Dreams is the title given to the sermon in the excellent audio collection of King’s speeches called “A Knock At Midnight.” I’d suggest purchase of this collection to anybody. Play these sermons in your car as you commute and go about your affairs, and they might change your life.

In a print collection of King’s sermons titled ” Strength To Love“, this sermon is called “Shattered Dreams.” While the text between the audio and print versions has some differences, the message is the same. ( Here is a link to the full “A Knock At Midnight” text of Unfulfilled Dreams.)

Strength To Love is the best book compilation of King’s sermons.

Here are excerpts and observations from Unfulfilled Dreams—

King begins by discussing how King David wanted to build a temple to honor God. He talks about how important it was for David to finish this temple and how David would not be successful in this undertaking.

[Read more →]

Tags: Books, Civil Rights, Religion by Texas Liberal
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When you look around the country there are several race based crimes that are really ugly.  The rally was to bring attention to the number of hate crimes in America.

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From CNN.com:

Thousands of demonstrators encircled Justice Department headquarters in the nation’s capital Friday to demand the government crack down harder on hate crimes.

“We have so many people, we surrounded the Justice Department and two blocks more,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told CNN as the orderly crowd marched around the building where newly sworn-in Attorney General Michael Mukasey was working.

“This is a real outcry, a real outrage from people around this country,” Sharpton said.  (more…)

 

 March against hate [2:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Civil Rights, Race by ecthompson
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