From Common Dreams:
Dems Spark Alarm with Call for National ID Card
“A plan by Senate Democratic leaders to reform the nation’s immigration laws ran into strong opposition from civil liberties defenders before lawmakers even unveiled it Thursday.
Democratic leaders have proposed requiring every worker in the nation to carry a national identification card with biometric information, such as a fingerprint, within the next six years, according to a draft of the measure.
(snip)
The national ID program would be titled the Believe System, an acronym for Biometric Enrollment, Locally stored Information and Electronic Verification of Employment.
It would require all workers across the nation to carry a card with a digital encryption key that would have to match work authorization databases.”
This sets my paranoia off something fierce. If this is what Democrats do when in power then I’m going to start identifying as an Independent.
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From Amnesty International:
Widespread abuse of migrants in Mexico is ‘human rights crisis’
“The Mexican authorities must act to halt the continuing abuse of migrants who are preyed on by criminal gangs while public officials turn a blind eye or even play an active part in kidnappings, rapes and murders, Amnesty International said in a new report released on Tuesday.
Invisible Victims: Migrants on the Move in Mexico, documents the alarming levels of abuse faced by the tens of thousands of Central American irregular migrants that every year attempt to reach the US by crossing Mexico.”
Oh this was a sad report. But it shows how immigration is a complex and layered issue. A good read.
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From Michael Moore:
Michael Moore to Broadcast Kent State Truth Tribunal for 1970 Campus Shootings of War Protesters
“On May 1-4, 2010 filmmaker Michael Moore will livecast the hearings of the Kent State Truth Tribunal, streaming in real time the accounts of participants, witnesses and family members of the 1970 Kent State shootings that left four students dead and nine injured. The livecast is the first real-time broadcast of a truth-seeking initiative of this kind and will air on www.MichaelMoore.com from 10am-7pm daily eastern.
The Kent State Truth Tribunal was convened by family members of students killed at Kent State in order to record and honor the stories of those directly affected by the shootings. The Ohio National Guard who opened fire on the protesters has never publicized the findings of its investigation of command responsibility for the shootings. And there has never been a public inquiry to hear, record and preserve the stories of those directly impacted by what happened on May 4th, 1979 at Kent State.”
Excellent idea. Many people nowadays don’t know about Kent State. But it was such a tragic event and a perfect demonstration of the increasing police state.
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From Tim Wise’s Facebook page:
Imagine: Protest, Insurgency and the Workings of White Privilege
“Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure—the ones who are driving the action—we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.
So let’s begin.
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters–the black protesters–spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government. Would these protesters–these black protesters with guns–be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.”
This is a pretty good essay. I can’t find a non-Facebook version so you have to log in to read it.
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This one isn’t breaking news but I just learned about this.
From Lilith Fund:
“What is The Lilith Fund Vision?
We envision a society in which equal access to abortion is guaranteed for all women, regardless of economic situation. The Lilith Fund believes in reproductive equity. The right to choose an abortion is meaningless without access to abortion services. Restrictions on abortion access and funding are discriminatory because they especially burden low-income women. We oppose all efforts to restrict abortion rights and are committed to fighting for access to abortion for all women.
What Does The Lilith Fund Do?
The Lilith Fund assists Texas women in exercising their fundamental right to abortion by removing barriers to access. Lilith provides:
Direct financial assistance and counseling to empower women seeking to terminate an unwanted pregnancy
Education and outreach within the community about reproductive rights
What a great organization. If only there were one in every state.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:05 PM CDT