by TChris

Religious intolerance has reached an extreme in Pompano Beach, Florida, where a mosque seeks zoning approval to relocate and expand.

The new mosque would have a social hall, basketball court and playground, open to all. It would also be a storm shelter and a place to vote.

This civic asset would seem uncontroversial, but it's vehemently opposed by (among others) Rev. O'Neal Dozier, pastor of Worldwide Christian Center. Why? Because -- according to Dozier -- Muslims are categorically "dangerous" and "terrorists."

by Last Night in Little Rock

Pending in U.S. District Court in San Francisco is a suit against AT&T accusing it of collaborating with the Justus Department in the illegal surveillance of U.S. Citizens.

Thursday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced a bill to remove that case and any like it to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review in Washington where it could be heard in secret and only the Justice Department could be heard.

So much for transparency in government and open courts. Specter is no longer his own man, if he ever was one. He's now just another Bush Administration cover-up artist.

by TChris

The Maricopa County Sheriff's aggressive approach to the arrest of undocumented aliens resulted in a protest in downtown Phoenix this morning. About 300 people attended the rally.

"This is an injustice. We're not criminals, so we're here to show them that we have courage and that we're worthy of respect," Nadia Meza, 30, of Phoenix, a member of the group Immigrants Without Border that organized the rally.

by TChris

In 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Alaskans have a right to privacy in their own homes that is violated by laws criminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use within the home. The state legislature attempted to reinstate a broad marijuana possession prohibition, but a superior court judge struck down the law, ruling this week that criminalizing the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for personal use within a home was contrary to the state supreme court's precedent.

The state Department of Law argued that new findings of marijuana's increased potency since the 1975 decision justify reconsidering the issue.

The court essentially held that the Department of Law's attempt to demonize "potent" marijuana should be taken to the state supreme court. The superior court's decision is here (pdf). The ACLU of Alaska brought the challenge to the new law; its press release announcing the result is here.

In 2003, the Goose Creek police department conducted an outrageous armed raid on a S.C. high school looking for drugs which they did not find. The principal resigned and lawsuits were filed.

Yesterday, "a federal judge approved a $1.6 million class-action settlement to compensate students who were searched....in a lawsuit filed against the Berkeley County School District and the Goose Creek Police Department by students' families."

The students will split $1.2 million. Their attorneys' will receive the remaining $400,000. The exact amount each student receives will depend on the final number of claims, but could average between $6,000 and $12,000 apiece.

It was a year ago, after the London mass transit bombings, that New York City initiated a policy of requiring subway riders to submit to a search of their bags. It was supposed to be a temporary measure. Guess what? It's likely here to stay. As I always say, once you give the Government power, it rarely gives it back. How successful has the program been?

The program has resulted in five arrests - not for terrorism, but for drug possession, disorderly conduct and other minor charges.

My solution: A TalkLeft Fourth Amendment Subway Tote or Messenger Bag.

Let the 4th Amendment speak for you as you hand your bag over for a search by a subway or airline security guard. It's a silent protest and reminder to authorities that you consider searches without reasonable suspicion or probable cause to be an infringement of your privacy rights. Graphically challenged as I am, I designed them myself, so you can't get them anywhere else.

Larger photo here. Order here.

The New York Times reports Bush is considering compromising on immigration reform by agreeing to a bill that only addresses security enforcement and makes no provision for the undocumented or guest workers.

Republicans both inside and outside the White House say Mr. Bush, who has long insisted on comprehensive reform, is now open to a so-called enforcement-first approach that would put new border security programs in place before creating a guest worker program or path to citizenship for people living in the United States illegally.

Bush and Cheney got briefed last week on the "Pence Plan," proposed by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN.) Officially named the "Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act," you can read Pence's description of it here and here. It includes the creation of "Ellis Island Centers" where private firms will recruit guest workers.

America. Land of the free, home of the brave. I used to enjoy the 4th of July, with all its connotations to freedom and democracy. This year it rings hollow.

We may still be the home of the brave, witness the troops risking their lives in Iraq and Afganistan, but we are no longer the land of the free and now I feel sad when I see pictures of the Liberty Bell accompanied by the slogan, "Let Freedom Ring."

I blame President Bush and his administration of fear-mongers, willing to strike fear of terror in the heart of every American to fulfill his bid for unbridled exectuive power, for the demise of our civil liberties. We had an attack on 9/11 and yes, many people died. But that did not warrant taking away the very constitutional rights that made us the beacon of liberty in the free world. I also blame the radical right henchman in Congress, like James Sensenbrenner and Tom Tancredo, as well as xenophobic Americans, who would put a "closed" sign on the Statue of Liberty.

by TChris

My stay in Madrid happened to coincide with the city's annual gay and lesbian pride festival. From my balcony yesterday, I had a great view of the colorful parade, and of the thousands of onlookers lining the street. The celebration of unity and diversity was inspiring, but I was most taken by the absence of protest. There were no religious fundamentalists attempting to disrupt the parade, no counter-demonstrators claiming that any acceptance of LGBT rights will bring about the destruction of society. Just people enjoying the opportunity to support the right of every human being to live without oppression or discrimination.

Gay marriage, such a divisive topic in the United States, has been legal in Spain for about a year. The wild claims in the U.S. that gay marriage is a threat to the family are belied by all the heterosexual couples in Spain whose marriages have survived nicely since the law was changed. There are, of course, Spaniards who oppose equal rights for gay couples: a judge was recently censured for refusing to perform same sex marriages. But experience shows (in Spain as in Massachusetts) that gay couples function as family units just as well as straight couples. In fact, Spain recently had its first gay divorce -- just one, of the 1,300 same sex marriages performed in the last year. Let those who think that gay marriage destroys families explain that statistic.

University of Colorado interim chancellor Phil Stefano announced at a news conference today that Ethnic Studies Professor Ward Churchill has received a notice of termination. His written statement is here.

The decision follows his review of the 20 page report on Churchill submitted by CU's Standing Committee On Research Misconduct and recommendations from the school's provost and a dean. The committee voted six to three that Churchill should be fired as opposed to suspended without pay.

Live blogging the Chancellor's statement:

The issues initially were did Churchill's statements exceed the boundaries of protected speech and did he engage in research or teaching misconduct or fraudulent misrepresentation?

The finding was that the content and rhetoric about 9/11 victims were protected by the First Amendment. The allegations regarding plagiarism and research misconduct were referred to standing committee. After referral, the committee found that allegations of ethnic misresprentation did not warrant further action.

Arnold refuses Bush, who would have thought? The Associated Press reports that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has rejected Bush's request to send an additional 1,500 California National Guard troops to the Mexican border to fight illegal immigration.

Arnie says California needs them more.

Schwarzenegger said the request would stretch the California Guard too thin in case of an emergency or natural disaster.....Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn....said the governor believed sending more troops would create an inappropriate burden on the state and disrupt the guard's training schedule.

Earlier, Schwarzenegger agreed to send 1,000 troops to the border by July 31. 250 are there now. Under his executive order, they must leave by the end of 2008.

by TChris

An evangelical Christian, Randall Balmer, takes a thoughtful look at the relationship between evangelical Christianity and the Republican party. Among other questions raised in his essay, Jesus Is Not a Republican, Balmer asks why the religious right hasn't taken a stand against the Bush administration's reliance on torture.

Surely, I thought, this is one issue that would allow the religious right to demonstrate its independence from the administration, for surely no one who calls himself a child of God or who professes to hear "fetal screams" could possibly countenance the use of torture. Although I didn't really expect that the religious right would climb out of the Republican Party's cozy bed over the torture of human beings, I thought perhaps they might poke out a foot and maybe wiggle a toe or two.

I was wrong. Of the eight religious-right organizations I contacted, only two, the Family Research Council and the Institute on Religion and Democracy, answered my query. Both were eager to defend administration policies.

Balmer's conception of Christianity differs from that promoted by right-wing evangelists.