Progress Now Action

While the information sharing is legal, so long as the data do not identify individuals, civil liberties and Arab-American groups called it a breach of public trust and likened it to steps taken against Japanese-Americans in World War II, the newspaper said.

The conclusions bear out what several Arab and Muslim groups have been saying since the 9/11 attacks.

Even so, over 40% of the general population would support the detention of Arabs and Muslims without the evidence to prosecute them.

I had read in Reuters that Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP, had called groups like Project 21 "make-believe black organizations," and a "collection of black hustlers" who have adopted a conservative agenda in return for "a few bucks a head."

So I tuned into C-SPAN with interest to hear what a leading voice in the black conservative movement had to say.

...As the segment began there was an awkward Wizard of Oz moment as C-SPAN's Robb Harlston - himself black - turned to Project 21's Caucasian director, David Almasi, and said, "Um...Project 21... a program for conservative African Americans...you're not African American."

It was a remarkable moment. A flat tire had led to a nationally televised peek into what lies behind a murky network of interconnected black conservative organizations that seek ostensibly to bring more African-Americans into the conservative movement. But they're not just reaching out to the community. They also speak out publicly for conservative positions that might evoke charges of racism if advocated by whites.

...Almasi told me by phone that he is Project 21's only paid staffer, and that he works part-time.

...But Project 21 is a subsidiary of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), which, according to the liberal watchdog Mediatransparency.org, was formed in the 1980s to support Reagan's military interventions in Central America. NCPPR's leadership  president, vice president, executive director  are all white. Amy Ridenour, former Deputy Director of the College Republican National Committee and the organization's president, also sits on the board of Black America's PAC, an organization that claims to be nonpartisan but whose IRS filings state that its mission is to elect Republicans.

NCPPR's directors are also all white.

In the 1990s, NCPPR got into the business of denying that climate change warnings were based on sound science. If the connection between black conservative outreach work and environmental skepticism doesn't seem clear, that's because it's not. But it's logical considering that ExxonMobil donated $30,000 to NCPPR for "educational activities" and $15,000 for general support in 2002, and last year they hiked their operating support to $25,000 and kicked in another $30,000 for NCPPR's 'EnviroTruth' website, according to company financial records.

...The religious right has therefore achieved what they set out to achieve. The have used this issue to galvanize parts of the evangelical base, just as president Bush's political master-mind, Kark Rove, intended.

...The answer, alas, is that this president has decided it will help him politically to tear us apart. His base is restless over spending and Iraq, and this is a means to placate and energize them. If that means turning a tiny minority into a lethal threat to civilization, so be it. If that minority's sole crime is to seek to live up to the same responsibilities as everyone else, to uphold the family, to support responsibility, then that also is beside the point. In this battle, the president has shown his true colors. He is a divider, not a uniter.

His name was Abelardo Barrientos Delgado. Everyone knew him as Lalo. He was a poet, a teacher, a gentleman. He was one of the rare few in this town who earned the right to be called a community leader. He dedicated his life to it, to us, Latinos, Chicanos, Mexicanos. ... ...

"Lalo's name is a thread that runs through the women's movement, the children's rights movement, through the entire human rights movement."

with a big knife

in his steady hand

he doesn't want to knife you

he wants to sit on a bench

and carve christfigures

but you won't let him.

stupid america, hear that chicano

shouting curses on the street

he is a poet

without paper and pencil

and since he cannot write

he will explode.

stupid america, remember that chicanito

flunking math and english

he is the picasso

of your western states

but he will die

with one thousand masterpieces

hanging only from his mind.

- Abelardo Barrientos Delgado, 1969

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives outdid itself this past week by passing a make-believe bill that would strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over same-sex marriage cases.

...In reality, it was a political maneuver to polarize the fall campaign.

Set aside the social and moral implications of the gay marriage argument for a moment, if you will, and look at this bill at face value: Do we want Congress to tell the U.S. Supreme Court what it can or cannot review? What system of government is that? Lawmakers are attempting to rig the separation of powers and unbalance the three branches of government.

...It's preposterous. And don't expect any common sense on this issue from Colorado's Republican delegation. All five - Reps. Bob Beauprez, Joel Hefley, Scott McInnis, Marilyn Musgrave and Tom Tancredo - voted for this bill.

Mr. Bond repeated the criticism in a speech on Sunday, saying Republicans "preach racial neutrality and practice racial division.''

The vote was 48-50, 12 short of the 60 needed to keep the measure alive.

There is no "respectful" way to amend the Constitution to permanently assign one group of Americans to second-class citizenship.

There is no "compassionate" way to deny the children of gay parents the stability and legal protections that can only be offered by marriage.

...or years, Advocates for Youth, a Washington-based organization devoted to adolescent sexual health, says, it received government grants without much trouble. Then last year it was subjected to three federal reviews.

..."For 20 years, it was about health and science, and now we have a political ideological approach," he said. "Never have we experienced a climate of intimidation and censorship as we have today."