Civil Rights

One of the proudest moments I had as a Member of the United States Congress is when I voted to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday; recognizing that he is the only person to have a national holiday who is not a former United States’ President. When I think about how he changed the course of this country with his non-violent strategy, it really means a lot to me. When I think it is because of his involvement we now have 44 African-American Members of the U.S. Congress, this would not have happened if not for the activity of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today we celebrate and commemorate the life of a man of peace, a man of love, a man of nonviolence who must be considered one of the founding fathers of the new America.  Because of his dedication to the cause of justice and the imperative of human dignity, he wrestled with the soul of a nation and challenged it to reach its highest destiny. He injected new meaning into the very veins of American society and gave his life to make our democracy real.

What he did, what he said, and what he sacrificed inspired an entire generation, and its power still rings throughout this nation and the world. We are a different country today; we are a better people today because Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in the power of love over hate, the power of nonviolence over violence, and the power of peace over war.

If Dr. King could speak today he would tell us to stop this madness and bring our troops home.  He would say that war is an obsolete, ineffective tool of our foreign policy.  He would say that we must struggle against injustice, we must stand up for what we believe, but if peace is our goal, then peaceful ends can only be secured by peaceful means.  He would say as a nation and as a people we can do better; we must do better.  We must find a way to live together as brothers and sisters or we will perish as fools.

With his total intolerance of intolerance, Martin Luther King brought us closer to the ideal of equality that is America's heritage and hope.  Today our nation is facing different tests of our commitment to the values that make our nation great.  But Dr. King's powerful message of justice rings equally true today.  Now we must recommit to finishing his work.

On the third Monday of January, we honor the work of Dr. King - not just in word, but in deed.  Martin Luther King Day is not a holiday, but rather a day of service, in which we are called to carry the work of Dr. King forward with labor of our own.

More than 40 years ago, Martin Luther King came to Washington to say, 'We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.  This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off....Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God's children.'  It is not enough to keep Dr. King's spirit alive in eulogy.  It is not enough to reflect on his work and ideals.  We must make them our own, with the fierce urgency of now.

Imagine being a Canadian citizen connecting at JFK Airport in New York on your way home from a flight overseas and being grabbed by CIA agents.  Before you know it, you're in a jail cell in Syria, a country the U.S. acknowledges practices torture, accused of being a terrorist.  After ten months of torture, your captors admit you don't know anything about terror and let you go.

Of course, it's widely known that this is exactly what happened to Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, in 2002.  Yesterday, I sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking the Administration to provide the legal basis for this revolting practice known as extraordinary rendition.  (In fact, I asked him for this at a hearing last April, at which time he promised to get back to me.  He hasn't). Read more...

I am saddened by the death of former President Gerald R. Ford, who ably served our country following the tumultuous days of the Watergate scandal.

He also led the nation through the end of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the mediation of a cease-fire between Israel and Egypt, the signing of the Helsinki human rights convention with the Soviet Union and the signing of an arms limitation agreement with then-Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev.

As a U.S. Congressman, he will be remembered for his vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and for his opposition to the poll tax that helped open the doors of equality for future generations.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Mrs. Betty Ford and the entire Ford family during this difficult time.

President Ford will be missed.

The civil liberties community let out a collective sigh of relief when the 109th Congress adjourned for the last time.  The midterm elections and resulting leadership changes makes the ACLU optimistic about the prospect of increased oversight and better protections for civil liberties and fundamental freedoms.  However it certainly won’t be clear sailing in the 110th Congress for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Lawmakers in the 109th Congress failed to act as an adequate check on the Bush administration’s excessive abuses of power.  Some of the resulting losses for civil liberties include:

•    Military Commissions Act passage;
•    Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s conformation;
•    Real ID Act passage;
•    Patriot Act reauthorization without necessary changes; and
•    Cybercrime Treaty ratification. Read more...

The recent swearing in of Robert Gates as America’s new Secretary of Defense should be the beginning of real change for those prisoners held in U.S. custody at home and abroad.  To that end, the ACLU is urging Secretary Gates to launch investigations into the treatment of those who suffered cruel and inhuman conditions at the hands of the U.S. military, including Jose Padilla.

The New York Times published pictures of Mr. Padilla earlier this month in the midst of sensory deprivation, wearing goggles to block the light and headphones to block any sound.  Additionally, he was subjected to extreme isolation with no natural light, sleep deprivation and had little human contact.  Mr. Padilla was also forced to ingest hallucinogenic drugs.  Such conditions, compounded by sensory deprivation devices, may constitute torture.  In a slap to American values, these tactics were employed on a Navy brig in South Carolina.  These shameful abuses were conducted in America by American forces.

Throughout the Bush administration and the 109th Congress, the Constitution and its guarantees have been severely curtailed and redefined.  America's standing in the world is the lowest ever.  Those labeled “enemy combatants

Yesterday's New York Times tells the story of two American citizens who were detained for several weeks by the U.S. military while working as contractors in Iraq.  According to the report, the two men were not permitted to speak with attorneys; their families were not informed of their whereabouts; and they were mistreated while in custody.  In fact, one of the Americans was detained after reporting possible misconduct by the Iraqi company for which he worked to the F.B.I.

For several years, this administration has been insisting that its detention policies apply only to unlawful enemy combatants, not American citizens.  Americans, we were told, have the right to contest their detention in court.  When Congress considered the Military Commissions Act, many of us expressed concern that the bill was written so broadly that it would allow the government to grab anyone, even an American, anywhere in the world, and detain him or her indefinitely without the benefit of a hearing.

Now our worst fears have been confirmed.  This administration has flouted the Constitution and the laws of the United States.  The President has shown a reckless disregard for the rule of law.

The American people are entitled to know the facts, not just the evasions and misrepresentations of this administration.  When the new Congress begins in January, I will call for hearings obligating the administration to explain what it has been doing and I will insist that the detention laws be reviewed in order to stop this President's lawless behavior.

An important report was released recently by the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. The report is titled, "The North Korean Refugee Crisis: Human Rights and the International Response," and it provides sound insight on the deplorable conditions faced by the North Korean people, and what the international community can do to address the situation. The full report can be found at http://www.hrnk.org/.

Those living in freedom throughout the world have a duty to stand up and fight for the basic human rights of those living under terrible oppression. Millions of North Koreans live under such oppression every single day, and this report provides a sobering account of the injustices they are forced to endure. It is a wake-up call to the international community and a must-read for anyone with an interest in doing something to improve the grim situation facing the entire North Korean population, particularly North Korean refugees.

I recently posted about the debacle that has engulfed the race to represent Florida’s 13th Congressional District and the lawsuit filed by Sarasota County voters calling for a revote. Because of computer problems, poorly designed touch screens, and elections officials unwilling to take action to fix the problem, more than one in six Sarasota County voters was prevented from casting a ballot in the congressional race.

After the election, when public officials in charge of running elections refused to hear voters’ complaints, People For the American Way Foundation held a public hearing and invited Sarasota County citizens to make their concerns known and speak out on the disenfranchisement that characterized the election. The response that night was overwhelming. Hundreds of voters filled the hotel ballroom and spilled out into the hall. We heard from citizens of every age and race, all outraged that so many voters were prevented from casting a ballot. We’ve put just a few of the comments online. I encourage every American concerned with voting rights to listen to what these voters have to say.

For voters in Florida, the right to cast a vote that counts is tenuous at best, but the sad truth is that residents in many other states face similar threats to their rights. As we look ahead to the 2008 elections, Congress should take substantive steps to fix our country’s election system. The problems that we’re seeing in Florida should be all the reminder we need that democracy is only as strong as the trust that citizens have that their voice, and their vote, can make a difference.