The Color of Change folks sent this along:
Their story has been forced into the mainstream media, the Governor was finally forced to speak on the issue, Mychal Bell is facing a new trial with a maximum penalty of 4 years instead of 22, and the systemic problem of unequal justice across this country is getting more attention.
As the fight moves to court trials, ColorOfChange.org members have helped put the legal teams on solid ground by generously contributing $212,399 to the legal defense of the Jena 6, $106,000 of which has already been spent at the direction of the families to help get investigators on the ground, bring in expert witnesses, and to secure the best legal counsel available for these young men.1.
Having well-funded legal teams and more media attention is important, but we can’t forget that these young men could be free of these charges completely if not for one man: LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters. He is still representing the State of Louisiana in the case and needs to be removed and disciplined for his misconduct immediately.
Can you file a letter of complaint with the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board asking them to investigate Walter’s conduct?
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/walters/?id=2097-69394
After nooses were hung from the “white tree” at Jena High School in September 2006, the adults in Jena could have taken actions to reduce tensions and help the community heal, but their actions only further aggravated tensions. Reed Walters was one of the main instigators. He came to the school and threatened Black students who protested peacefully under the “white tree.”2 He used his prosecutorial discretion to refuse to pursue incidents of white-on-black violence that preceded the beating of Justin Barker, and then abused that same discretion to overcharge the young men who allegedly beat Barker, claiming that tennis shoes were a “dangerous weapon” and the assault was attempted murder.3 From the day he threatened to “make [their] lives disappear with the stroke of a pen,” Walters has had a clear agenda, and has followed it aggressively, unfairly, and outside of the boundaries of his position.
Now he’s trying to cover his tracks. In a public statement on September 19, 2007, DA Walters claimed that there was no connection between the assault on Justin Barker and the hanging of nooses in the “white tree” several months before.4 In an op-ed in the New York Times, Walters claimed that the noose hanging “broke no law. I searched the Louisiana criminal code for a crime that I could prosecute. There is none.” 5 But two attorneys we’re working with easily found Louisiana Revised Statute 14:107.2, which creates a hate crime for any institutional vandalism or criminal trespass motivated by race. Walters was creative enough to turn a schoolyard assault into an attempted murder case; he surely could have figured out how to make nooses into hate crimes.6
After the massive protest on the 20th, Governor Blanco was forced to act, but sadly her only action was to give Walters cover to continue his aggressive prosecution. Blanco grandly proclaimed that Walters was not going to appeal the 3rd Circuit Court’s nullification of Mychal Bell’s conviction in adult court, and would instead prosecute him as a juvenile.7 Sounds good until you remember that 4 young men still face charges in adult court, and 2 are still facing charges as juveniles, for a fight that occurred at school. And Walter’s “generosity” sounds even worse when you remember that only one of the young men who attacked Robert Bailey three days before Justin Barker was assaulted was even charged; that he was charged with a misdemeanor; and that he has never spent a minute in prison.8
It is outrageous that Walters is still pursuing charges against the Jena 6, and it’s even more outrageous that he’s being given political cover by the Governor, by Louisiana’s District Attorney Association, and even by the New York Times. Anyone can file a complaint against an attorney by sending a letter to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, the organization that has the power to take action against Walters, and we want them to hear from as many of us as possible. We’ve prepared the letter. All you have to do is add your address and put it in the mail. When you send your letter, please let us know at walterscomplaint@colorofchange.org. If lots of you send letters, we’ll use those numbers to get the media to cover the story, adding more pressure on the Disciplinary Board to act.
If Walters can’t find any problem with a noose, he ought to refer to this memorable moment from oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Virginia v. Black:
Out of nowhere booms the great, surprising “Luke-I-am-your-father” voice of He Who Never Speaks. Justice Clarence Thomas suddenly asks a question and everyone’s head pops up and starts looking madly around, like the Muppets on Veterinarian Hospital. “Aren’t you understating the effects … of 100 years of lynching?” he booms. “This was a reign of terror, and the cross was a sign of that. … It is unlike any symbol in our society. It was intended to cause fear, terrorize.”
Walters is clearly abusing his power by his own admission. He needs to be removed from the case and his conduct investigated.
(h/t Phoenix Woman and Siun, and Howie Klein for the Mellencamp video)
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Jane!
Justice. And an end to hate.
segundo
Walters claimed that the noose hanging “broke no law. I searched the Louisiana criminal code for a crime that I could prosecute. There is none.” 5 But two attorneys we’re working with easily found Louisiana Revised Statute 14:107.2, which creates a hate crime for any institutional vandalism or criminal trespass motivated by race. Walters was creative enough to turn a schoolyard assault into an attempted murder case; he surely could have figured out how to make nooses into hate crimes.6
this guy has surely cooked his own goose.
Blanco’s political career is toast anyway (thanks to the Katrina fiasco), she should do the right thing and issue pardons (shades of the last thread!) to these young men.
It is heartbreaking to see the continued use of office misused for the continuation of hate baced on race in this day and age.
“Walters is clearly abusing his power by his own admission. He needs to be removed from the case and his conduct investigated.”
Walters has a real hard time discerning just what the law is ’cause: “Ah must’ve spilled a whole bottle of whiteout on this here law book.”
Mabel’s Wig Shack @ 4
I wonder if he will end up like Nifing?
looseheadprop @ 8
I seriously doubt it. Though the comparisons are obvious.
Bustednuckles @ 6
Apparently Walters didn’t learn anything from Nifong. What a damn shame.
MayDaze @ 5
that’s an excellent idea.
In other times, when the DOJ wasn’t itself under the jurisdiction of
racist Repugs“law and order” code-word types, I would have bet that the DOJ’s famed Civil Rights division would have been all over this travesty.It’s truly amazing just how far the most significant institutions of our country have fallen.
I didn’t know there were cliffs that tall.
Has anyone written an article comparing the media’s handling of Reed Walters lack of professionalism with their handling of Mike Nifong, the DA in the Duke laCrosse team case?
Joe Klein’s conscience @ 10
I assume you’re referring to this Nifong? Thanks for correcting the spelling, then. Wikipedia couldn’t make the connection to “Nifing”.
Mad Dogs @ 12
To get back on my broken record:
I want the real DOJ back, the rule of law DOJ.
When Bushco broke that institution, the chain reaction went on and on
looseheadprop @ 15
Along with the Bush efforts to politicize the GAO and various inspector general offices, this has had the effect of removeing the self-correcting mechanisms of the government. What this has done for me, as a non-lawyer, is that it has removed any confidence that our government will eventually do the right thing.
looseheadprop @ 15
Could it be, in the case of the Civil Rights division for example, as simple (and insidious) as a list of names to be fired, based on career employees hired since 2001?
Cujo359 @ 16
Exactly as planned – destroy the public’s faith in government as a whole, part of the bathtub drowning the ‘thugs dream about.
looseheadprop @ 15
We now have a Department of Injustice.
Who’d of thought they could get away with substituting “fool’s gold” for “real gold”?
When criminals to take over your law-enforcement institutions, you get law-unenforcement institutions.
Down is Up.
Wrong is Right.
Lies are Truth.
And the devil takes the hindmost.
newtonusr @ 17
After 3 years, you become a “career” employee, it’s kind alike getting tenure. Hard to fire.
Plus, if you purge, it just look slike patronage politcs as usual. This is so discouraging. I’m with Comey o nthis, it is almost unfathomable to try to figure out how the Departmetn gets it’s reputation back.
Jane’s emphasis on the Jena 6 and DOJ’s complicit silence stands in stark contrast to the FBI investigation made famous in Mississipi Burning
it would be great if justice in america was truly color-blind….
Are Parish DAs in Louisiana elected?
Reason I ask is … while the way in which Mr. Walters has exercised his prosecutorial discretion is certainly deplorable, the case hasn’t yet been made to my satisfaction that he has engaged in misconduct comparable to the misconduct for which Mr. Nifong was disbarred.
The more appropriate remedy may be to simply vote his ass out of office.
Has anyone seen a senate roll call on making Bush’s FISA action becoming retroactively legal?
looseheadprop @ 20
There’s only one thing that can rebuild the DOJs reputation: transparency.
When the nation can see that public corruption cases are pursued without favor, that will help. When the nation can see that corporate malfeasance is pursued without regard for the size of the corporation, that will help. When the nation can see that searches are undertaken only with a warrant properly signed by a judge, that will help. When the nation sees that DOJ employees who violate the law are help to account, that will help.
No more throwing dirt in the umpire’s eyes. Transparency. Without it, there will be no rebuilding of trust.
Peterr @ 24
Ding!
Ed*ard Teller has brought up the canard that Israel intentionally attacked the U.S.S. Liberty 60 years ago, although that claim has been thoroughly debunked. There is a reason why this libel has some currency, namely, the embrace of it by Ray McGovern, an apologist for the latest anti-Israel screed, The Israel Lobby.
Here’s a link to the Navy Times summary of the U.S.S. Liberty issue.
The above referenced article presents both sides of the argument.
A U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry completed 10 days after the attack concluded it was a case of mistaken identity. Ten subsequent inquiries by Congress, the CIA and the Pentagon found no evidence pointing to a deliberate attack.
Notably, it points out that the USS Liberty was 14 miles off shore on the day of the attack, in a zone that the Egyptians had declared closed to neutral traffic. According to a State Department summary, the Liberty had been sent to the area by the National Security Agency to find out whether Soviet personnel were operating with Egyptian forces. Messages sent to the Liberty instructing it to remain 100 miles offshore were never received.
Since we all love a good conspiracy, let’s just assume that the Israeli intelligence had intercepted the instructions to the USS Liberty to remain 100 miles offshore, and then encountered a ship 14 miles offshore, viz, 86 miles away from where the Liberty was supposed to be, in a zone closed to neutral traffic. Is it impossible to believe that they would conclude that it was a different ship?
It is, to say the least, ironic, that everyone at FDL is tolerant of “false flag” theories regarding the World Trade Center, but if Israel makes a mistake – a justified mistake, as we have seen – about a false flag theory, they are accused of the most heinous and stupid war crimes. Note: I am not accepting that the Israelis attacked the ship on the theory that it was flying a false flag.
The idea that the Israelis would intentionally shoot at an American ship is bizarre. Ed Teller says “I doubt we will ever know the why.” Of course, the “why” is the difference between a tragic, though understandable, mistake committed in the fog of war, vs. a grievous crime, for which Israel’s only ally would have been right to sever all relations.
Not only do we not know the “why,” but no plausible hypothesis has ever been suggested. If you want speculation, here’s a bit for you: if anything the U.S. spy ship was supplying intelligence to the Israelis. Sound reasonable to you? It does to me. But for Israel to shoot the source of its intelligence for no apparent reason, well, not so much reasonable.
A key part of the “Israel intentionally shot up an American ship and the government kept it all hidden in spite of a dozen investigations that unanimously agree there was no evidence to support the allegation” conspiracy theory is that all of the evidence has been destroyed. But it is not so. The Navy Times article referenced at the start of this comment mentions a website that contains the actual transcripts of NSA captured transmissions by the Israeli Air Force. Clearly, the pilots thought the Liberty was an Egyptian ship.
They are difficult to read, being pdfs of 40 year old Xerox copies. You can check them out for yourself here.
For a minute by minute complete recounting of what occurred, the interested reader is referred to this web site. It is necessarily long and slow reading, and only recommended to people who have an interest in being fair about this.
ET makes an especially vile claim which is rebutted in the website, to wit:
ET has previously posted stuff in defense of Patrick Buchanan who was called an anti-Semite by someone you would naturally expect to defend his fellow conservative, namely, William F. Buckley. Well, that is within the grounds of legitimate debate. However, the stuff he posted was intended to show that Jewish Americans are less patriotic than others as evidenced by our lower representation in the military. To say he didn’t understand this is to insult his intelligence.
The other night, I got drunk and went onto a thread that had been quiet for two hours. On it I said, “I outlasted the fucking anti-Semites.” Drunkeness has a well documented capability of interfering with someone’s ability to judge his own funniness. Be that as it may, I have been effectively barred from political debate on the Lake.
It is okay to call Israel and her supporters Nazis. It is okay to call anyone who agrees with some small part of the Republican agenda a rascist. It is just fine to use expressions like “Israel-uber-alles” and heaven protect anyone who would dare to draw attention to some of Reverend Tutu’s most controversial statements. (Of course, it is just fine to attack religion in general, using the most condescending, inaccurate, and disdainful tones, but Desmond Tutu, is revered as a saint, in no small part because he is an Archbishop.)
All I want to know is when is it okay to call a spade a fucking shovel.
Note to mod: Well I guess I didn’t correct the linky thing. Sorry about that.
Mad Dogs @ 19
And if I may connect to the work Glenn Greenwald is doing this week, calling out the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center for their lack of action concerning Bill O’Reilly’s and others’ use of Nazis, Hitler, Holocaust comparisons to DKOS, Moveon, Jane Hamsher and FDL.
These comparisons are disgusting.
The Anti-Defamation League is not doing what its very name says it does.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is silent.
Our institutions are not OURS. They have become THEIRS.
Peterr @ 24
Fair enough. But the new AG better have himself_herself a huge IG staff, because the current miscreants will make life pretty difficult.
I work every day to free myself, and keep myself free, from prejudice of any sort, race being the most obvious.
The psychological sciences tell us that everybody has a tendency to develop prejudices at any time, about anything. I am continually amazed to find that about 1/3 to 1/4 people aren’t aware of this, and, even though professing themselves “Christian” people, don’t work to achieve the basic Christian goal of loving their neighbor as they love themselves.
Since this is Sunday, I’ll tell you here the whole doctrine of my church:
That which is hateful to you, do not do to another.
Trying to do that will keep you busy all day, and out of trouble.
I’m outta here, pups.
BigMitch @ 26
Hey, you forgot the Christofascists!
itwasntme @ 30
You don’t even need to be Christian to keep that in mind :)
For how long have the teen suspects been imprisoned before the courts intervened and under what conditions? Are they basically forced to drop out of school? Can they continue their education? just wondering if anybody knows
Bobby Jindal, LA rep and gov candidate, calls Jena 6 marchers “Outside Agitators”, a phrase directly out of the civil rights opposition of the 60’s.
http://righthandthief.blogspot…..tside.html
Ed*ard Teller @ 31
Be back soon, yes?
mark c. @ 35
rethug I assume?
“outside agitators”… you’d think these old dogs would’ve learned at least some new tricks over the last half century
looseheadprop @ 36
Please be back soon.
looseheadprop @ 36
See you soon I hope, ET. Old and wise souls are needed here.
Color of Change has crafted a wonderful letter. I would like to send it, but does anyone else share my trepidation about putting actual name and address to a piece of paper sent to a bunch of lawyers in Louisiana who ought to be policing their own?
I am not sure I trust the process, and while I have signed CoC’s petitions and appreciate their work, I do have fear about sending an actual letter. I am not sure I trust the body to whom the letter goes to protect my identity from those who might do me harm.
Do others share this fear? If there are many of us who send letters, should we be less fearful?
looseheadprop @ 36
Please.
TeddySanFran @ 40
No printer :/
TeddySanFran @ 40
Mixed here as well, Teddy. We shellac the bad guys here hourly, but the letters are another thing.
OTOH, I put my full info on Blue America payments, as do many here and elsewhere.
And I don’t kids to protect.
I’m in if you are.
“outside agitators” is a new and fairly ironic trick for bobby jindal, a first-generation American of East Indian descent. he lost the gov race against Blanco because he could not secure the white republican vote, largely in north louisiana, because of his race. he has been focused on making strides with this group, and i guess this is one way to try.
Blub @ 35
Why waste time developing new material when the old stuff still works so well?
TeddySanFran @ 40
Nope. Absolutely not. The people who regulate attorney misconduct are, by and large, unimaginative bureaucrats … the type of people who graduate in the bottom half of their class at third-rate law schools. What would their motivation be?
FYI, Book Salon is upstairs
looseheadprop @ 36
Briefly back inside to thaw a salmon fillet. It got down to 25 degrees last night, and will get at least that cold every night in the upcoming forecast. I’ve got about 4 or 5 bushels of carrots still in the ground, and our canoe and skiff will be stranded in the ice soon, if we don’t heft them up onshore. Today is probably the last day we can use a hose to wash and rinse stuff we’re putting away for winter.
Two weeks ago, I might have welcomed Mitchell up here to help, and for dinner afterward, and to work things out over tea, but I’ve become convinced he’s trapped in having to defend the quasi-fascist modality of militant Zionist expansionism. Having been unfairly categorized over the past three years, five months and 17 days as an anti-Semite, I am appalled whenever I see that term used carelessly – or even casually, especially by a person I once regarded as a friend, even if he was inebriated when he spewed it out.
outside agitators are probably sometimes ‘communist’ agitators , yes?
in other news (oh happy days):
BOISE (AP) — Sen. Larry Craig will be inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame next week, despite his well-publicized arrest and guilty plea in an airport sex sting, officials said.
Ed*ard Teller @ 31
If you must, but make it quick. Your return is an obligation you cannot refuse.
BTW, regarding that attack on the USS Liberty:
And to Big Mitch,
While I do defend your right to speak here or anywhere else, I gotta tell you that I’m gonna call your continous and constant “correlation” of views that differ from yours as either “anti-semitism” or “anti-Israel”, as insulting and offensive.
You’ve made the point that we ought all to be able call a spade, a shovel.
And so we should.
I find your knee-jerk animus to anything negative said about Israel or any part of the Jewish community, a shovel.
There are tons of good folks in Israel. There are tons of good folks who are Jews.
Heck, there are tons of good folks all over the place who are different from my race, creed, color or any other segmentation one could define.
That doesn’t mean that I will ever give a pass to someone or a group who does something wrong or bad just because you or anyone else might have some relationship to that person or grouping.
Finally, I do hope you can find some way to come to grips with the objective fact of your own animus.
It does you no good, and in fact, a bit of harm to what appears to be an otherwise intelligent person.
looseheadprop @ 36
ET—
Looking forward to talking with you soon about the Benson campaign. Your leadership there is making all the difference.
And thanks for taking a stand on behalf of what you feel is right even when others are scornful.
You are an inspiration to many of us here.
—egr
new post
ET, you fucking rawk. Thanks for standing up for accuracy and honesty about the deliberate murder of our armed forces forty years ago by our brave “ally” – the theocratic racist nation of Israel.
Never forget – the USS Liberty and Israel’s murder of our sailors.
burnspbesq @ 46
burns, I’m not trying to be a smart ass, but I’m not certain how to read your response to Teddy’s questions. Nope we should not be worried, or nope we should be fearful no matter how many send letters?
[btw - some days ago one of your comments suggested life was throwing you lots of curves even outside MLB. hope things are better.]
Thanks Jane for posting about this.
Big Mitch, you’re massively off topic. I have known ET’s posts for a long time and never known him to be anti-semitic. If there’s something you don’t understand about AIPAC, please ask.
TSF, you bring up understandable concerns. I am always edified by your willingness to put into practice what you believe. IMVHO, you have already paid your dues, many times over.
Very well said.
No one who is familiar with the 1933 Nuremberg laws, the Vatican’s complicity, and the 1941 “Final solution,” can at the same time ignore what’s been done to the Palistinians.
ET- you are one of the sanest and most knowledgeable voices at FDL. Remember, I have known you since your very very first comment. :)
You always speak in a way that allows difficult discussions to go forth. I have the utmost respect for you. We need your voice! xxoo VG
Boston1775 @ 28
And recall the pervasive attack of feminists with the phrase “feminazis”. And the use of the Nazi comparisons when it came to Saddam Hussein. Bush has felt not a bit of heat for his use of the utterly inappropriate term “Islamofacism” from those who freak out when it is applied in other circumstances. The use of the pejorative comparisons of Neville Chamberlain and “appeasers” to those who called on inspections…or more cautious approaches to Iraq and Iran. There seems to be no indignation at making THESE comparisons which devalue the greatest planned mass extermination of humans in the 20th century.
BigMitch @ 26
But you are the only only that has ever suggested such a “theory” on FDL ASFAIK. So I don’t comprehend why you would suggest it, and then say you aren’t supporting it? And Israel has never suggested that the Liberty was flying a “false flag”…or had been placed in the zone to instigate an attack from Israel.
And you just answered why it isn’t “reasonable”…and why the gunboats that went out to shoot the survivors? Why the “no survivors” approach to things?
Apparently not. I’ve seen several posts from you since, often…like this one…on topical branches that have absolutely nothing to do with the topic of Israel. And these are not the standard “Free For All” Late Night Topics. And many of these are copies of posts that you made on another topic, cut-and-pasted to raise the topic again on yet another branch.
The aspersion is frequently used when people ACT LIKE NAZIS. If Bush and his cronies can call those who opposed the Iraq invasion “Appeasers” and draw comparisons to Neville Chamberlain…and Saddam to Hitler…then I find the sensitivity to the use of the term has gone way down. In addition it’s being selective when comparisons are allowed for others that act like Nazis…but the IDF and the Israeli Government are exempt when they behave in a similar manner.
If that “small part of the agenda” is racist, yes! But ET points out thgat he “shockingly” agrees with something that Pat Buchanan says (like his continued opposition to the Iraq invasion) he becomes an anti-Semite, because Buchanan is????
I recall that ET’s comments were made as part of the cnversation regarding whether American Jews actually “support the war” in Iraq. Statistics were offered that showed that Jewish American levels of support were actually quite low, both before the invasion and afterwards…and ET offered up Buchanan’s comments about low recruitment levels in the military. It was NOT in my reading suggesting that American Jews are “less patriotic”…unless one holds that support for this war is mandatory to be patriotic.
If you don’t point out that Bishop Tutu’s “controversial” quotes were directed at the Israeli GOVERNMENT policies towards Palestinians…things like closing off whole cities for weeks (a la the Warsaw Ghetto), the bulldozing of Palestinian homes and businesses as retribution for suicide bombings, and the control of Palestinian areas while giving them no opportunity to participate in the actual government that controls those areas for over 40 years (apartheid)…but imply that they were anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish, and even anti-Israel…you’ll be engaged in heated debate on that subject.
And when you imply that it’s alright that Bishop Tutu should not be allowed to speak at a University to offer those views, and support the removal of the Chair of the Peace and Justice Institute for her advocacy of Bishop Tutu’s opportunity to speak…well then you will be challenged on that, too.
And, ironically, Tutu was just as likely to speak about Darfur and Myanmar than Israel at that Conference. Tutu is not averse to speaking about human rights abuses whoever commits them…Black, White, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian. He realizes that such evils are not limited by race or creed…and are, in fact, anathema to the religions of those who perpetrate them. Seems you need to read some of Tutu’s speeches and writings in context, rather than those snippets of “controversial statements”. And did you ever wonder who supplied them to you? Who funds THEM?
Well…I’d point out that your adage essentially says…”when can I exagerrate and distort one thing into another” and do it using bombastic (”fucking”) language. I don’t think you are being asked to do anything other than to “tone down the personal attacks” by the moderators.
Blub @ 37
Well at least he didn’t call them “black agitators”. But it’s funny how some of these guys think that civil rights are a “State” function and that the Constitution need not apply across the borders of the Southern States.
Guess Rep. “Bubba” Jindal thinks that hanging nooses from a segregated “White Tree” as a signal to “uppity black kids” is perfectly okay. Maybe he’s in favor of beating Cajun kids who use a few words of French, like back in the good ol’ days?
BTW Can anyone tell me why these black kids attacked that particular white kid. Was he involved in the “noose hanging”? Or did he do something else to provoke them.
What are we being asked to defend here. Let’s look at what has come out so faar about the incident for which these six were charged. The victim, by all current accounts was doing nothing wrong when somebody knocked him unconscious. He was then attacked by some or all of the Jena 6, who repeatedly kicked him as he lay unconscious and defenseless. So far I am seeing facts which do not describe a “schoolyard fight”, a phrase which has popped up in letters from defenders of the 6 all over the media. As for “tennis shoes as deadly weapons”, that is a weasely way describing the act of a group of young men repeatedly kicing an unconscious victim lying on the ground. Death could well result from such an attack, and I don’t see attempted murder as a far-fetched charge. That’s speaking from my experience as a former public defender and as someone who has reviewed the propriety of hunreds of criminal convictions at the appellate court level.
If the Jena 6 have a different version of events let them present it at trial. If others should have been prosecuted for similar offenses, by all means lets investigate that and protest that injustice. But ginning up a defense fund based on these facts seems a tad much.
mark c. @ 44
Ironically, under Louisiana’s old segregation laws, largely eliminated because of the interest of “outside agitators” in the civil rights issues of the South, Jindal wouldn’t be allowed to vote or hold office.
Maybe “Bubba” Jindal wasn’t around during this period, and unfamiliar with why he is allowed to even be in the LA Statehouse?
He should also have it pointed out to him that “Hindoos” were often lynched for cavorting with white women. And that East Asians were subject to the same racial hatred that is on display in Jena.
And perhaps Jindal’s East Asian supporters should ask him if his craven comments about “outside agitators” means that he really doesn’t believe that the Federal government and others outside a state should help protect minority “equality under law”?
http://www.bellinghamherald.co…..70095.html
Jane thanks for focusing on this critical issue. Whether FDL folks want to admit it or not it took your team a very long time to get on this topic. But better late than never.
The amount of comments on this blog is an indicator as to how important this is to folks here.
You can sign petitions send money here.
http://www.freethejena6.org/
Let’s hope this case makes it all the way to the Supreme Court. Hope Oprah gets involved. Send money Oprah$$$$$$
BigMitch @ 26
OT
Ed*ard Teller @ 48
The I/P issue is such a delicate topic (and I know I may not always be successful at being sensitive to the history of Oppression and violence that Jews have suffered) but I try.
Mitch I hope you really try to understand that the criticism of Israel’s expansionist policies and unwillingness to play fair is not a criticism of the fact that “ISRAEL EXIST”. It is the boundary issue (UN resolution 242), expansion of illegal settlements, Israel’s massive stockpiles of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons that go unchecked, water rights, the Golan Heights etc etc. These are the issues.
PRO PALESTINE PRO ISRAEL…PRO PEACE
Kathleen @ 65
Pot, meet kettle…