Thanks and Rememberance

Thanksgiving is a rare kind of American holiday, in that it grows neither out of religious observance nor a commemoration of violence and bloodshed. There are no made-up "wars" over its celebration, corporations don't start pushing Thanksgiving decorations in July, and no one is excluded based on belief or heritage. It doesn't commemorate the conquest of the New World, but rather partnership and cooperation between two very different cultures. Even if it didn't really happen the way we're told, it's an American myth worth celebrating - though some Native Americans probably have understandably mixed feelings about everything that came after dinner.

The point is, it's a time for everyone in America to pause and recognize our good fortune, and give thanks for what we have.

The ACLU lost two dear members of our family this year, each a champion of civil liberties. We remember them and give thanks for their dedication and their service: Spencer Coxe and Henrietta Hoffman.

Spencer was executive director of the Philadelphia ACLU through four decades, a board member for two, and a leader for much longer than that. He guided the ACLU through some of America's most turbulent times, and it is no exaggeration to say that Spencer helped shape American Constitutional law.  Though retired from civil liberties work, he visited our Philadelphia office from time to time, breathing life into stories from an earlier generation.

Henrietta was a volunteer in the Philadelphia office, showing up once a week for more than 20 years - longer than any member of our staff. With her regular partner Jean, Henrietta spent Tuesday mornings stuffing envelopes. If you've been a member of the ACLU of Pennsylvania at any time since the late 1980s, chances are it passed through Henrietta's hands. Both she and Spencer lived well into their mid-90s. Henrietta kept her regular Tuesday shift until the very end.

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Why James Carville was wrong about Pennsylvania

Every time I hear the quote it makes my skin crawl: Pennsylvania is Philadelphia in the east, Pittsburgh in the west, and Alabama in the middle. Political consultant James Carville said some version of this quip while working on Bob Casey, Sr.'s gubernatorial campaign in 1986. Today I hear it from advocates, including my own colleagues, on a nearly constant basis. It's usually said by people from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and is meant as a slam on those of us from the rest of the state.

There are all kinds of threads to pull apart with this quote, starting with the idea that being "Alabama" is a slam. (Carville claims that he only meant that in central and northern PA, people are conservative and churchgoers.)

The meaning that has been projected onto this line, that Pennsylvanians not from Philly or Pittsburgh are bumpkins who take positions on issues based on visceral reactions and fears, is wrong. And it's time for civil rights advocates and civil libertarians to retire the quote.

Carville was not talking about civil liberties, but let's consider the quote from a civil liberties perspective and why it doesn't work.

Philly ain't that great. The city of Philadelphia is responsible for many civil liberties problems. Example A just occurred a few weeks ago when a 17-year-old boy was hit with a Taser by a Philadelphia police officer after the boy ran onto the field at a Phillies game. The kid did something dumb, but he was not a physical threat to anyone. Philadelphia PD is notorious for using excessive force, and this was just another example.

The city has also cost the taxpayers of this commonwealth millions, maybe hundreds of millions, of dollars because the former, long-time district attorney, Lynne Abraham, insisted on pursuing the death penalty in nearly every homicide case she presided over during her 18-year reign as DA. As a result, a majority of people on death row are from Philadelphia.

The people of Philadelphia elected and re-elected Abraham four times.

Philadelphia is also now participating in the federal government's Secure Communities program. You know, we have to "secure our communities" from those robbing, raping, thieving illegal aliens. The city police department's arrest database is linked to ICE. It sounds good in theory, but there is a horrendous track record of racial profiling and harassment when local law enforcement and ICE work together.

Civil liberties belong to all of us. Our national executive director, Anthony Romero, once said that civil liberties don't belong to only the liberal wing of the Democratic Party or the conservative wing of the Republican Party. We have numerous examples of state legislators from areas of the state outside of Philly and Pittsburgh standing up for our rights. Four of the eight senators who voted to table the constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in March were from areas other than the southeast and southwest. Our greatest champions in opposition to the commonwealth implementing Real ID have been from the "Alabama" area of the state. The list goes on.

The quote disempowers people. When my fellow advocates throw this quip around, the message to those of us in the middle of the state is, Give up. Before becoming legislative director, I was ACLU-PA's community organizer for central PA. It was clear that supporters of the ACLU's mission in this area of the state felt frustrated and had no faith in their fellow citizens. By quoting Carville, we advocates add to that disempowerment.

Carville was wrong about Pennsylvania. We are a striped state where no political ideology dominates. As civil libertarians, we must be willing to talk about our issues wherever the people are, and talk with them in their language, and not simply huddle in the big cities.

(I also recommend this piece from Politico, which quotes numerous PA political observers on the inaccuracy of the line.)

Andy in Harrisburg

Something is rotten in the state Senate

It's an election year. It must be time to find some people the state legislature can kick around.

Yesterday the PA Senate passed a bill to restrict the forms of acceptable identification for obtaining public benefits, from unemployment compensation to medical assistance to post-secondary financial aid. It's supporters framed it as a measure to stop those illegal alien invaders from fraudulently obtaining public benefits.

One small problem. Not only did the supporters not show a systemic problem but they couldn't point to a single case of an undocumented immigrant improperly acquiring benefits.

And the people who are most likely to be affected are those who need benefits. Studies show that those most likely to not have government-issued identification are the elderly, persons with disabilities, persons of low incomes, and racial minorities.

The pricetag? 19 million dollars.

"Gas is $3.50 a gallon, there are 250,000 working people who can't afford to get sick and the Senate is more concerned that an illegal immigrant might be applying to Penn State," House Democratic spokesman Bob Caton said.

Oh, but the Senate isn't done finding groups to kick around. Today in Pittsburgh there is a hearing on SB 1250, which would amend our state constitution to ban gay marriage. Now if our senators could just find some gay immigrants, I'm sure they'd be downright gleeful.

Andy in Harrisburg

The one where a bunch of people died, lost their homes, and were abandoned

In the days of "fair and balanced" newspaper coverage, shrinking news holes, and a seemingly round-the-clock obsession with Britney's oh-so-slight tummy bulge, journalism these days often seems to have abdicated its vital role in the workings of democracy.

But the work of The Times-Picayune's journalists and the sacrifices they made to record Hurricane Katrina's aftermath in New Orleans serves as a reminder of the importance that newspapers play in documenting injustice.

In a short documentary, Eyes of the Storm, made for the two-year anniversary of the storm, the editors and staff photographers of The Times-Picayune recalled the events of Katrina through their photos. The video is 25 minutes long, but well worth the time. One of the most poignant moments is when one photographer describes how a stranded woman desperately led him to the body of an old man - so that the world might see, and know, what happened there.



Doug Parker, the paper's photo editor said in the film's introduction, "People who work for newspapers...think that they can change the world."

New Orleans remains a long way from recovery, but the video serves as a moving reminder that journalism still matters when practiced by people who uphold a solemn responsibility to the First Amendment.

And while we're watching videos on the subject...

Another video documents the terrible conditions at the Orleans Parish Prison. Ashley, a 13-year-old runaway held at a youth detention center, was transferred to the adult prison for the approaching storm. In the video, she describes being abandoned by guards and left in waist-high water for days without food and water.



The clip is part of the ACLU's comprehensive report Broken Promises. Since the waters have receded, the ACLU continues to be inundated with reports of racial injustice and human rights violations in Louisiana and Mississippi. Broken Promises highlights stories of ongoing police abuse, racial profiling, housing discrimination, along with other civil liberties violations and the ACLU's continuing response.

Lauri in York

LAPD does it again

Once again, the Los Angeles Police Department has shown us the worst that government has to offer. If you haven't seen it yet, on Tuesday, the LAPD unleashed itself on a peaceful, pro-immigrant crowd, firing rubber bullets into a group of people that included children.



Look familiar?



I haven't watched any TV over the last few days, but if the media is giving this air time, perhaps this will be the galvanizing moment that pushes us in the direction of dignity for our immigrant friends. After all, 78% of Americans believe that undocumented immigrants deserve an opportunity to earn citizenship.

Andy in Harrisburg

Send in the clowns

Actually, the clowns are already here.

Where do I start with the week's recap of bigotry? Well, you may remember Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), the immigrant and Muslim hater. He's back. In the midst of the House debate on the Iraq war resolution (not an ACLU issue), Goode said

supporting the anti-escalation resolution would "aid and assist the Islamic jihadists who want the crescent and star to wave over the Capitol of the United States and over the White House of this country." Moreover, he said, "I fear that radical Muslims who want to control the Middle East and ultimately the world would love to see 'In God We Trust' stricken from our money and replaced with 'In Muhammad We Trust.'"

Then there's Senator Barack Obama, who took shots this week that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann described as "sleek racism" from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Fox News' hilarious new yuk-yuk show The 1/2 Hour News Hour.
Limbaugh:

So are we to conclude here that he didn't define himself as black, that the way he looks does? (Sigh.) Okay. We’ve got Obama's wife in here. We've got John Howard from Australia coming up, but, "I'm not sure I decided it"? Well, if you didn't decide it, then how did it happen?

Well, when you look like that, that's what you are.

Well, renounce it, then! If it's not something you want to be, if you didn't decide it, renounce it, become white!

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Okay, back to our Barack Obama Audio Sound Bite Marathon. What are we up to now? Let's see. Oh, yeah. Obama just said he wasn't sure that he decided he was black, that if you look African-American in this society, you're treated as an African-American, and when you're a child in particular that's how you begin to identify yourself. If you don't like it, you can switch. Well, that's the way I see it. He's got 50-50 in there. Say, "No, I'm white."

Beck:

I was driving in today, and I was seeing -- because I saw this piece with him on 60 Minutes -- and I thought to myself, he is -- he's very white in many ways.

GIORDANO: Uh-huh.

BECK: And I thought to myself: Gee, can I even say that? Can I even say that without somebody else starting a campaign saying, "What does he mean, 'He's very white?' " He is. He's very white.

And the comedians at Fox News:

But in a shocking (to use one of FNC's favorite terms) contrast to Joseph Biden's controversial remarks about Obama being clean, FOX joked about a new magazine called "BO, Barack Obama magazine." With video.

But bigotry isn't just for the racists. No, sirree, the homophobes had to have their turn.

Retired NBA star Tim Hardaway, in response to the coming out of former NBA player John Amaechi:

"First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team," the former Miami Heat star said. "And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that is right. I don't think he should be in the locker room while we are in the locker room."

When show host Dan Le Batard told Hardaway those comments were "flatly homophobic" and "bigotry," the player continued.

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people," he said. "I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

The NBA removed Hardaway from its upcoming All-Star festivities this weekend.

And no lineup of hate would be complete without yet another visit by Fred Phelps to Pennsylvania, who visited us last weekend when York Suburban High School did a production of The Laramie Project. Thankfully, the community responded with a rousing reception for the play and more than 100 counter protesters.

Of course, as defenders of free speech, we support the right of these people to say these things. And we will use that same right to say loud and clear that no one deserves to be hated or intimidated on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation (among other things).

Now, I want to believe that this is the sound made by a dying animal. But today I was in a meeting that I regularly attend and learned that membership in "white supremacist" groups has gone up markedly in the last year. The reason, according to the person presenting the information, is the volatile debate over immigration.

We have come a long way, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

Andy in Harrisburg

Penn State students sit down for civil rights

Yesterday at University Park, a group of Penn State students held a rally and then staged a sit in at the administration offices for greater support for LGBT and minority students.

The students made several demands, including increasing and retaining minority students and increasing the budget and support of groups such as the Black Caucus and SpeakOut.

Because we are constantly thinking about strategy here at ACLU-PA, I flinched when I first read this but then thought, 'Good for them!' As a Penn State student myself, it's encouraging to see these young people standing up (and sitting down) for equality.

Andy in H-burg