liberty

UCC Under IRS Investigation

shaktinah — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:13:19 -0700

If by chance you haven't heard yet:
PastorDan on Street Prophets tells us that the IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ (UCC) because Barack Obama addressed their General Synod last year.

Five Years of Gitmo

shaktinah — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:52:06 -0700

Five years ago today, the Guantanamo Bay detention center was born. That's when the first 20 detainees arrived. Now there are 400, being held without charge.

New Jersey Repeals the Death Penalty

shaktinah — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:24:22 -0700

Just excerpting the New York Times article:

Gov. Corzine signed into law a measure repealing New Jersey’s death penalty on Monday, making the state the first in a generation to abolish capital punishment.

...

Corzine declared an end to what he called “state-endorsed killing,” and said that New Jersey could serve as a model for other states.

...

read more

One Step Closer to Equality II

shaktinah — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:12:46 -0700

One of the most grievous inequities of our legal system is the drug sentencing laws. And one of the most blatant examples of bias is the sentencing guidelines for crack versus powder cocaine. Chemically speaking, there is very little difference between crack and powder. One is not more dangerous nor more addictive. Yet federal sentencing regulations for possession of crack, used predominantly by blacks, are significantly harsher than for coke, used predominantly by whites.

One Step Closer to Equality

shaktinah — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:16:24 -0700

For years now there has been a gross disparity between the sentencing guidelines for those convicted of possession of crack cocaine versus powder even though the potency of the two forms of coke are not significantly different. Indeed the only real difference between crack and powder is who uses them - the former being used predominantly by black Americans and the latter being used predominantly by white Americans. Yet sentencing for possession of crack has been significantly stiffer than for possession of powder. Go figure.

Sanity and Insanity

shaktinah — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:35:05 -0700

On the same day that the Supreme Court refused to listen to a case of wrongful abduction and torture by our government, the president of the UUA, Bill Sinkford, delivered over 13,000 signatures to Congress from UUs from all 50 states (and DC) calling on them to end the unj

Congress Has Been Busy

shaktinah — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:55:18 -0700

Wow, I came into work today to find that Congress had been working during the weekend. Shocking. So what was this most pressing issue that had our lawmakers working on a Saturday? Why it was to quietly and quickly further erode our civil liberties.

Chinese Justice

shaktinah — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:18:29 -0700

The recent head of China's State Food and Drug Administration was executed today. Zheng Xiaoyu, 63, was convicted of accepting bribes constituting $800,000 U.S. to approve tainted and dangerous products, and sentenced to death in May.

As an American, who is used to people sitting on death row for years if not decades, the news came as a shock. Even by Chinese standards the execution was swift, designed to tell the world that China was taking the recent export scandals seriously. Designed to save Chinese face preceding the Olympics and the Chinese economy in general.

Desperately Seeking Habeas

shaktinah — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:44:35 -0700

I didn't get back from Portland until almost midnight last night, an entire day of sitting in planes and airports. And I came back to a steam bath.