Rights and Democracy
Housing is a Human Right
What part of “in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone my enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights and freedom” do our lawmakers reject?
U.S. Drug Policy Feeds Violence in Mexico
In March, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomatic officials traveled to Mexico to announce a “new phase” of U.S.-Mexico cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking. In her address, Clinton referred to increased funding for drug treatment programs in the U.S. and anti-poverty efforts in Mexico. Unfortunately, these positive developments were paired with a failure to recognize the inevitable outcome of any program that intends to crush drug violence with more violence: failure.
College Basketball Graduation Rate Insanity
Colleges prepare all year for the lucrative chance to send a team to the basketball championship tournament commonly known as “March Madness.” But, when it comes to making sure that student-athletes are academically prepared for the game of life, madness quickly turns to insanity.
Remembering Jaime Escalante
When Jaime Escalante died, we lost a pioneering teacher who changed people’s ideas of what children are capable of learning. Many people know about Escalante’s work from the popular movie “Stand and Deliver,” which depicted his success teaching Advanced Placement (AP) calculus classes to students at East Los Angeles’s Garfield High School. The Bolivian-born teacher died at 79 of cancer on March 30.
Palin’s Contract with Stanislaus
She stands up for the rest of us before retiring to her mandatory suite in a luxury hotel and an additional two single rooms for her entourage.
Obama’s Inauguration Didn’t End American Racism
It’s not that American racism ever went away. If things seemed to pick up for minorities during the artificial boom years, it had little to do with public intention. If African Americans had an easier time buying a house, it was more because the market was overbuilt than because of any greater tolerance. If mortgages were easily available, it was more due to the need for new swindle victims than to bankers experiencing a sudden vision of racial harmony.
Church’s Sex Abuse Scandal Reflects Deep Flaw
The sexual abuse scandal that began in Boston eight years ago, involving the Church hierarchy’s widespread refusal to protect youngsters from child-molesting priests, spread inexorably around the world–Canada, Brazil, Australia, Ireland, Germany–until it finally reached the heart of the Mother Church, the Vatican, where it now rests at the feet of the Pope himself, Benedict XVI.
School Resegregation
Eternal U.S.-Cuba Tensions Leave Families Weary
Regardless of which side you come down on, at least for now, we seem destined to continue the 50-plus year dance of mutual animosity between the two countries. The U.S. trade embargo will continue. The war of words won’t abate.
Yes, Virginia, Slavery Happened
McDonnell proclaimed April to be “Confederate History Month,” purportedly to honor soldiers who fought for the pro-slavery South in the Civil War. McDonnell sparked widespread outrage and criticism for failing to acknowledge slavery during his proclamation.
