Civil & Human Rights

The Voting Rights Act is imperiled by the conservative activist Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On the same day that a statue honoring Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks was unveiled in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, Rosa Parks statue unveiled at Capitol, paying tribute to a woman whose name became synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement, down the street the "Felonious Five" conservative activists of the U.S. Supreme Court were signaling their willingness to legislate their ideological views from the bench and to disregard the legislative judgment of the people's representatives in Congress by striking down the enforcement mechanisms of the crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, echoing the segregationists' battle cry of "states' rights." Supreme Court conservatives express skepticism over voting law provision:

The Supreme Court’s conservative justices strongly suggested
Wednesday that a key portion of the Voting Rights Act is no longer
justified, and that the time had come for Southern states to be freed
from special federal oversight.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked Solicitor General
Donald B. Verrilli Jr. whether it was the federal government’s
contention that “the citizens in the South are more racist than
citizens in the North.”

Verrilli said that was not the government’s argument, but that
Congress decided in 2006 that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was
still needed to protect the voting rights of minorities. The section
requires nine states, mostly in the South, and local governments in
other states to “pre-clear” any changes in voting laws with federal
authorities.

U.S. Supreme Court cements the Surveillance States of America

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The Fourth Amendment has been on life support since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Bush-Cheney regime instituted a massive electronic surveillance program in secret that was warrantless, bypassing the FISA Court, that monitored Americans’ electronic communications. It was unconstitutional and illegal. When this electronic surveillance program was exposed by the media, Congress retroactively "legalized" it in 2008. The FISA Amendments Act. (Ex Post Facto laws are prohibited by Article I, Section 10, Clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution). The FISA Amendments Act was renewed in 2012 with the support of the Obama administration.

John Nichols: What Challenges Face Labor & Progressives in the Future? (video)

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John-nichols

by Pamela Powers Hannley

John Nichols, political writer for The Nation and regular contributor to MSNBC, returns to Tucson on Saturday, March 9, 2013, to discuss the progressive movement, our mutual goals with labor, and the challenges ahead. 

With intransigence in the Congress and sequestration cuts swirling around our heads, Nichols will provide us with lively commentary and new insights into American politics. 

Nichols spoke to a packed house last year in Tucson. If you attended that event, you know he is both entertaining and thoughtful in his analyses of the news and the political climate.

This free event is sponsored by the Tucson Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), in collaboration with the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF). It will be 6-8 p.m. at the IBEW Hall, 570 South Tucson Blvd. 

For a taste of what you will hear, check out this video from last year's event– after the jump.


Promise Arizona plans comprehensive immigration reform events

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Republic reported today that Immigration advocates seek new strategy after previous backlash (excerpts):

On Tuesday, the immigrant-advocacy group Promise Arizona is launching a five-day bus tour that will make stops at the offices of Arizona’s nine House members and two senators, as well as other stops in Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma, said Petra Falcon, the group’s executive director. Riding on the bus will be immigrants who will share their stories about their families being split apart by deportation, Falcon said.

The bus tour will kick off outside Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, where Ricardo Arjona, a Guatemalan rock star, will perform. Arjona’s 2005 Latin pop hit “Mojado” pays tribute to illegal immigrants.

Falcon said Promise Arizona also plans to send about 15 members to Washington, D.C., for a pro-immigration-reform demonstration at the Capitol on April 10.

The demonstration will take place on the seven-year anniversary of the single largest day of protest in U.S. history, when more than 1 million people in multiple cities marched in support of immigration reform.

Civil Rights legend John Lewis: Why we still need the Voting Rights Act

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Bloody_sundayRep. John Lewis (D-GA), is a legend of the Civil Rights Movement who was almost beaten to death by Alabama state troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on "Bloody Sunday" (March 7, 1965), on the March from Selma to Motgomery, Alabama to secure the right to vote for African-American citizens.

The televised brutality of this attack galvanized the nation and led to the enactment of perhaps the single most historically significant and effective pieces of legislation in U.S. history, the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This week, the Voting Rights Act is under attack from conservative organizations and Tea-Publican controled states (including an Amicus Brief of Arizona (.pdf) filed 1/2/13 by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne) under the old battle cry of "state's rights."

These conservative organizations and Tea-Publican controled states are appealing to the conservative activist court of Chief Justice John Roberts to disregard more than 15,000 pages of evidence and congressional testimony and the judgment of Congress, which overwhelming voted to renew the Voting Rights Act in 2006 (the fourth such renewal since 1965), by a margin of 390-22 in the House of Representatives and 98-0 in the Senate. This congressional judgement is entitled to due deference from the Court.