human rights
October 9, 2008 -
More than 2 million Gulf Coast residents were evacuated from their homes as Hurricane Gustav barreled toward Louisiana and Texas.
September 16, 2008 -
Just as FEMA and other government officials were finishing patting themselves on the back for the heralded response to Hurricane Gustav -- which still had plenty of problems; see our coverage here -- Ike has revealed still-deep flaws in our nation's disaster response infrastructure.
June 5, 2008 -
Reports that 2008 could be a bad storm season has many along U.S. coasts nervous. But a growing number of immigrants are especially concerned in the wake of news that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents will check the immigration status of individuals fleeing a hurricane.
April 4, 2008 -
This week brought the news that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson would resign effective April 18 to "attend more diligently to personal and family matters." Those personal matters probably include staying out of jail, since Jackson is currently under investigation for political favoritism and corruption in the awarding of contracts as well as for lying to Congress.
February 25, 2008 -
With the March 4 Democratic primaries looming in Texas, much has been made of the Latino vote -- a significant 25% of the Democratic primary electorate there. But in a close race, the key block may turn out to be a relatively new demographic in the Texas political landscape: Katrina evacuees.
February 6, 2008 -
Later this month, representatives of the Bush administration will travel to Geneva, Switzerland to defend the the United States' human rights record before a United Nations committee. Meanwhile, human rights advocates charge that the administration is not only failing to comply with a treaty to eliminate racial discrimination but is trying to whitewash the reality of racial inequality in America -- particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
January 25, 2008 -
I just came back from a trip to New Orleans, this time to meet with leaders of the Interfaith Disaster Redevelopment Finance Fund -- a terrific initiative based at Mennonite Mutual Aid that is injecting badly-needed funds from faith groups in the the Katrina recovery to fill the gaps where Washington has fallen short.