Civil & Human Rights

Never, Mr. President?

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Posted by Bob Lord

Joe Nocera's column in today's Times, Is Force-Feeding Torture?, exposes the cynical hypoccirsy of Presdent Obama's statements regarding Guantanamo and torture. 

First, Nocera leaves no room for argument in making the case that the force-feeding of prisoners at Guantanamo is torture, and illegal under international law. 

But not long ago, Al Jazeera got ahold of a 30-page document that detailed the standard operating procedures used by the military to force-feed a detainee. The document makes for gruesome reading: the detaineeshackled to a special chair (which looks like the electric chair); the head restraints if he resists; the tube pushed painfully down his nose; the half-hour or so of ingestion of nutritional supplements; the transfer of the detainee to a “dry cell,” where, if he vomits, he is strapped back into the chair until the food is digested.

Detainees are also apparently given an anti-nausea drug called Reglan, which has a horrible potential side effect if given for more than three months: a disease called tardive dyskinesia, which causes twitching and other uncontrollable movements. “This drug is very scary,” said Cori Crider, the legal director of Reprieve, a London-based group that represents more than a dozen detainees. “My fear is that it is being administered without their consent,” she added. Although the military refuses to discuss the use of Reglan — or any aspect of force-feeding — that’s a pretty safe bet.

Poverty by the Numbers Report Reveals a Cruel Nation

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Flag-99-862-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

As Republicans in Congress are poised to cut billions from the food stamp program, a new report about poverty in America reveals how many millions of Americans need social safety net programs like food stamps.

Ever since President Lyndon Johnson declared the War on Poverty in 1964, capitalists and their Republican lackeys have been working hard to dismantle the collection of progressive policies that Johnson and the Democratic Congress passed– food stamps, Head Start, Medicaid, Medicare, low-cost student loans, work study programs and more.

In 1964, the rate of poverty in the US was 20%; with the War on Poverty in full swin, it had dropped to 11% by 1973. Now, thanks to the slow dismantling and defunding of anti-poverty programs, the US poverty rate is 15%, according to the new report published by The Nation and Bill Moyers; 46.2 million Americans are living in poverty. This translates to a family of three with an income of less than $17,916. The most impoverished Americans are children with 22% of all American children living in poverty; this includes 39% of African-American children and 34% of Latino children. Women are far more likely to be poor than men, and that scenario is gradually worsening.

Highlights– or lowlights, depending upon how you look at it– of the report after the jump.

Planned Parenthood wins defunding case

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from Indiana in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals involving that state's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood from use of federal Medicaid funds on the theory of "indirectly subsidizing" abortions (state and federal law bans use of these funds for abortions).

The Indiana law is nearly identical to the Arizona law that seeks to defund Planned Parenthood on the same specious grounds, which is on appeal before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Arizona Republic reports today, Supreme Court declines to hear abortion case:

In a decision that may have implications for Arizona, the
Supreme Court refused to consider Indiana’s appeal of a lower-court decision
striking down its denial of Medicaid funds to health-care providers that
perform abortions. The law was challenged by Planned Parenthood.

A similar Arizona abortion law is on hold pending appeal
to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A hearing in that case is
scheduled for June 12.

* * *

The Indiana law aimed to deny Planned Parenthood funds
from the joint federal-state Medicaid health program for the poor that
are used for general health services, including cancer screening.

PDA Calls on Members to Fight Against Food Stamp Cuts

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2013-02-24 16.52.57by Pamela Powers Hannley

Earlier today, I posted a story about Republicans’ draconian and racist amendment to the Farm Bill that would deny food stamp benefits for ex-convicts– for the rest of their lives. (Obviously, a great way to pump up recidivism.)

But ex-cons are not the only people that Republicans want to starve. Overall, they want to cut billions from the food stamp program (while working behind the scenes to lessen the burned of regulation on the banksters. Who elected them? I thought it was real people– not corporate persons– who elected them.)

Below is an action alert from the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). It’s time to call your elected Congressional representatives and tell them thatAusterity is Not an Option! Starving people, taking their jobs, taking their houses, reducing benefits… these austerity measures haven't worked in Europe. They won’t work here.

From PDA…

Extremists in Congress want to slash funding for Food Stamps (aka SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). We must stand up against this heartless effort. Call and write your Senators and Representative, and tell them to oppose the Farm Bill unless full funding for food stamps is restored. We must do more to end hunger, not less.

Please watch this video in which I interviewed PDA Advisory Board member, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts about the upcoming Farm Bill–and the despicable plan to cut food stamps in a time of great hunger. Call and write your Senators and Representative, and tell them to reject the Farm Bill if it contains these hunger-causing cuts.

In the video, Rep. McGovern describes what he calls “a defining moment.” More details about food stamp cuts after the jump.