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August 1, 2008 5:00 am | By Willard
Matching the Right’s Passion
This week gave me a sobering reminder of just how motivated and organized the Radical Right is. I think it's a real challenge to us to match their passion and commitment. On Wednesday, national and local Religious Right leaders convened…
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July 25, 2008 5:00 am | By Willard
Rededicating Ourselves to Human Dignity
I'm writing to you today from San Francisco, where it's been an energizing, thought-provoking week. Last night, Ambassador James Hormel, a member of People For's board, hosted an event at his home to help me get acquainted with some friends…
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July 24, 2008 9:08 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Fourth Circuit Victory For Religious Liberty
If you read my post back in March after the oral argument before the Fourth Circuit in Turner v. City Council of Fredericksburg, Virginia, you know that it was quite an honor to have had retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra…
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July 11, 2008 5:00 am | By Willard
Staking Out Our Principles
A lot of my friends and colleagues — and political journalists and bloggers — have spent a good chunk of time this week debating whether or not Barack Obama is "shifting to the middle," or how much he is shifting,…
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July 4, 2008 5:00 am | By Willard
The Muppets Take Philadelphia
Happy Fourth of July! After a busy week traveling to Pittsburgh and San Francisco, talking to activists about the Supreme Court and to donors about People For's work, I'm using the long weekend to spend some much needed time with…
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June 27, 2008 5:00 am | By Willard
The Power of Culture
What do seven dirty words, Big Bird and Archie Bunker have in common? George Carlin, the envelope-pushing, line-crossing comedian was probably most famous for "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." That routine provoked countless conversations about censorship and…
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June 26, 2008 9:07 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Five Years Later: Decriminalizing Gay People
Many people probably don’t recall much, if anything, about June 26, 2003, but I recall a great deal. That’s because it’s the day on which the Supreme Court issued one of its most important rulings in the area of individual…
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June 26, 2008 5:00 am | By Judith Schaeffer
Five Years After Lawrence: Decriminalizing Gay People
Many people probably don’t recall much, if anything, about June 26, 2003, but I recall a great deal. That’s because it’s the day on which the Supreme Court issued one of its most important rulings in the area of individual…
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June 20, 2008 5:00 am | By Willard
History Being Made
It was an incredibly moving week for me. Couples in California who have been denied equality for so long began to get married — in weddings recognized by the largest state in the nation. It's one of those rare moments…
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June 11, 2008 5:00 am | By Stacey Gates
97-Year-Old Arizona Woman Disenfranchised by Voter ID Law
Shirley Preiss was born in Kentucky in 1910 — a full 10 years before American women gained the right to vote. She first voted in a presidential election in 1932, for FDR. She’s voted in every presidential election since, but…
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June 10, 2008 9:08 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Supreme Court Narrows Protections for Public Employees
In a 6-3 ruling on June 9, the Supreme Court made it harder for public employees who are victims of arbitrary or malicious firings to obtain justice. In doing so, the Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, rejected…
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May 29, 2008 9:05 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Ledbetter v. Goodyear and Fair Pay, One Year Later
As a Senator, John McCain has helped George W. Bush pack the federal courts with right wing judges, judges who serve for life and who will extend the legacy of President Bush for decades to come. In fact, it seems…
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May 12, 2008 9:05 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Brown v. Board of Education: a 54th Anniversary Reminder of the Importance of the Supreme Court
As George Orwell might put it, all Supreme Court decisions are important, but some are more important than others. And in the history of our country, there can be little doubt that one of the Court’s most important decisions was…
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May 6, 2008 9:03 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Reflections on Mildred Jeter Loving, an American Hero, and the Importance of the Supreme Court
A very heroic woman died yesterday. She probably never wanted to be a hero. She did want to be a wife, though. But back in Virginia in the late 1950s, when Mildred Jeter, a black woman, fell in love with…
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April 28, 2008 9:02 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
The Supreme Court Makes It Harder To Vote
The state of Indiana has the most restrictive voter I.D. law in the country. Show up at the polls without a currently valid, government-issued photo I.D., and you can’t vote. I realize that to many Americans, that doesn’t sound like…
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April 16, 2008 9:02 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
The Supreme Court: What a Difference an Election Makes
April 18, 2007 is the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling upholding a federal ban on certain abortion procedures even though the law did not include an exception to protect a woman’s health. And that ruling, which significantly…
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March 27, 2008 8:56 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Court Allows FedEx Age Discrimination Case to Go Forward
In a 7-2 decision today, the Supreme Court held that current and former employees of FedEx who had sued the company claiming age discrimination could proceed with their lawsuit. At issue before the Court was whether one of the employees…
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March 26, 2008 9:01 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Been Stuck on a Plane With Overflowing Toilets Lately?
Well, thanks to a ruling yesterday by a trio of judges put on the federal bench by President George W. Bush, New York State's efforts to give a modicum of human dignity to airline passengers stuck in planes for hours…
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March 20, 2008 9:00 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Reflections on Fourth Circuit Oral Argument in Church-State Case
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit does not inform those who argue before it of the identities of the judges on the three-judge panels who will be hearing specific cases until the very morning of the…
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March 18, 2008 8:59 pm | By Judith Schaeffer
Religious Right Using Lawsuit in Attempt to Undermine Church-State Separation
In 2006, the Rev. Hashmel Turner, a member of the Fredericksburg City Council, took the bizarre step of suing his own City Council. Councilor Turner’s complaint? As an elected government official, he wants the special right to begin City Council…