Thursday, July 24, 2008

Civil Rights Roundup: 07/24/08

Your daily dose of civil rights and related news

An interesting profile of the Prince Williams County Police Chief, who is tasked with enforcing his counties unusually harsh anti-immigrant policies.

Conservative columnist Robert "Hit and Run" Novak has a column up alleging Democrats are blocking legislation that would make it easier for soldiers serving abroad to vote. A bit later, he hints that the real problem is that Dems want to expand the legislation to include all American expatriates. But nonetheless, I certainly agree that everything feasible should be done to allow our men and women overseas (in uniform or out) to vote as easily and efficiently as possible.

Recently retired Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett has an editorial calling for an end to Don't Ask Don't Tell. There really seems to be a wave of pro-equality sentiment pouring forth over the past few weeks.

Speaking of gay rights, the Washington Post calls for ending the ban on HIV positive visitors to the United States.

Three illegal immigrants were rescued from a train car they were trapped inside of in Texas. The men called 911 from a cell phone -- a precaution that officers are saying more illegal immigrants are taking when making the dangerous trek across the border.

Though integration in the military has been one of America's great success stories, it appears that Black military officers have hit a bit of a glass ceiling in terms of achieving the highest ranks.

Massachusetts has taken the first step towards insuring all laws are written using gender-neutral language.

It's worth repeating for the ump-teenth time: If you care about women's rights, you'd have to be crazy to vote McCain.

French undocumented immigrants (many who hail from former colonies) are looking to come out of the shadows.

Michigan is looking at expanding its hate crime laws.

Among the many bills Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is holding up is the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which would aid prosecutors trying to re-open "cold" civil rights cases.

The House Judiciary is complaining that the Department of Justice is not adequately preparing to make sure the 2008 elections are conducted fairly.

Some interesting poll data reveals that Whites and Blacks still have a pretty big gap in how they view the impact of race in America.

No comments: