Miranda attends Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Shawano, Wisconsin, which is situated about six miles from the south border of the Menominee Indian Tribe Reservations. With a student body that is over 60% American Indian one could reason that this would be a school that would both welcome and encourage its diversity.

Instead it’s shown quite the opposite, with such bigotry being displayed to a bilingual seventh grader who was simply teaching another student how to say “hello”… Read more

Nearly two-thirds of Americans said they had donated money to charity, more than 40% volunteered their time, and close to three-fourths said they had helped a stranger. Of those numbers households earning less… Read more

While Perry’s strident anti-gay rhetoric has become a staple of his campaign his “war on… Read more

Black Friday 2011 came and went with no deaths on record; however, there was still an abundance of ugly incidents reported by authorities. International corporate conglomerate Wal-Mart can lay claim to some of the worst, two of which were shootings—one in California, another in South Carolina. In Little Rock, Arkansas, a $2 waffle iron caused a riot of mindless violence. Los Angeles saw… Read more

In a form of conspiracy-stoking that’s as well-trodden as it is insidious, Perry openly links himself to the birther movement. Bent on cultivating racial paranoia, the birther-movement placed the burden on our first African American president to prove what passed without query for our forty-three white presidents.

Perhaps it’s too obvious to say that the birthers’ insistence on Obama’s illegitimacy is based on racism. After all, aren’t we living in a post-racial America? And… Read more

On the heels of passing the so-called Protect Life Act, which prohibits women from buying health insurance plans that cover abortion under the Affordable Care Act and also makes it legal for hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women with life-threatening conditions, DeMint’s amendment would ban women and their doctors from discussing abortion over the Internet.

Where was this amendment filed, you ask? Well, it was tacked onto a bill related to agriculture, transportation, and housing, of course.

Specifically, the DeMint amendment… Read more

Along with fellow candidates Bachmann and Santorum, Perry signed the National Organization for Marriage Pledge, and committed himself to supporting a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage throughout the country; defending the Defense of Marriage of Act in court; appointing judges and a U.S. attorney general who “will respect the original meaning” of the U.S. Constitution; supporting legislation… Read more

Their signing deadline of August 1^st has come-and-gone, but not before GOP candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum both signed on the dotted line.

This pledge, which opposes marriage equality absolutely, declares homosexuality a choice, asserting that family life for pre-Civil War slave children was not only preferable today but also more beneficial, as children “were more likely to be raised in a two-parent household” than “an African-American… Read more

And lucky for her son Beckett he has a mother who loves him and spends quality time with him. However Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist, wrote an article for foxnews.com lambasting Lyons and accusing her of perpetuating something he calls “psychological sterilization.” He asserts that… Read more

The recent murder of Ugandan gay activist David Kato after a newspaper published photos of him and other activists next to the words “Hang Them” not only dealt a devastating blow to the cause but also illustrated the real danger these individuals face.

Despite the threat of violence internationally against the LGBTQ community, there continues to be brave individuals who are taking a stand for gay and immigrant rights, even at the risk of deportation to homelands where their lives may be… Read more

The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), along with a diverse… Read more

This year’s theme is “Universal Access and Human Rights” as part of the Light for Rights campaign. Created primarily to cut infection rates and stigmas associated with the disease, World AIDS Day was also established to shed light on past and present victims of this disease. An adversary for 30 years now, AIDS has claimed millions of lives and it is estimated there are close to 33 million people worldwide currently living with the HIV.

Although significant progress has been made in HIV prevention, treatment and care, the focus this year is… Read more

Groups like the National Organization for Marriage, major funders of campaigns opposing same-sex marriage, have been clear that although they don’t consider gay marriage “the number 1 issues these elections [it’s] still important and Republicans abandon it at their peril.”

This election marks the first time since the 1990s that no state ballot included a measure to ban gay marriage, but… Read more

Imagine you get on a train and the only seat open is next to a Rhode Scholar.  Even more impressive this scholar is a widely-celebrated writer with numerous literary awards.  He’s the father of three and a Professor at Brown University. This person is the recipient of a MacArthur genius grant.  But maybe you don’t know any of this.  Maybe you choose not to take the open seat next to this fascinating man because of the color of his skin.

Unlike John Edgar Wideman writes about in his New York Times piece “The Seat Not Taken,” I don’t have to think about race every day. I wake up in my comfortable condo, in… Read more

What’s disconcerting about this isn’t the growing, media-perpetuated confusion about the President’s faith, but the negative connotations  asserted in this poll. Of those 18% who believe Obama is Muslim nearly all disapprove of the job the President is doing. With the debate over the proposed mosque in lower Manhattan and the protests that went on over the weekend it’s clear the anti-Muslim sentiment is… Read more

The lack of said backbone became crushingly clear this week as Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign from her position with the USDA. The request for her resignation was prompted by a heavily edited video clip put into circulation by Andrew Breitbart, a right-wing blogger. In the 38 second clip, taken from a 43 minute speech, features Sherrod sharing an experience of… Read more

1). Cubs Welcome Arizona Immigrant Players. Repeal SB-1070!

2). Cubs Welcome All Immigrants. Repeal AZ SB-1070!

3). Cubs Welcome D-Backs Please Repeal Arizona SB-1070!

The response from the Cubs was as follows:

“Unfortunately we are unable to process your scoreboard request due to the content of the messages.”

Some have asked what does this law have to do with Major League Baseball? Well, in 2010 the National Republican Senatorial… Read more

More than half of food manufacturing plants haven’t seen an inspection for five years while the FDA overall inspects less than a quarter of U.S. food facilities each year. With 51,000+ facilities the FDA regulates it could seem daunting. But with the breakdown in the system the U.S. is shouldering $152 billion in health related expenses due to contaminated food.

The Peanut Corporation of America plant is a prime example. The facility had gone for years without an… Read more

“In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say what was the matter with them? You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible. And we’re right, we’re right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America’s soul. And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more

… Read more