American Forum

AMERICAN FORUM
By Barbara Powell

When the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment protecting free speech, they were fresh from the Revolutionary War, during which the vast wealth and power of England were overcome by 13 small colonies intent on governing themselves. The First Amendment was meant to protect a citizen’s right to dissent and to ensure that the minority is protected from the tyranny of the majority.

In the stunning Jan. 21 Citizens United ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that, contrary to years of state and federal law stretching back to Teddy Roosevelt’s crusades against the power of money in politics, corporations should be able to spend as much as they want to support or oppose candidates in national elections.

Here in Mississippi, just as in other states, we have seen first hand the corrupting influences of money in political campaigns. An egregious example was the 2000 Mississippi Supreme Court race in which Lenora Prather, a sitting justice, objected to attack campaign ads run supposedly in her behalf. She couldn't get the ads stopped, and even the secretary of state was unable to help. Prather lost the race. This, of course, is nothing in comparison to what Big Tobacco, Wall Street and the behemoths of the banking industry can do now that campaign spending regulations have been dismantled by the high court.

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AMERICAN FORUM

By Linda Meric

Last year, in our tough economy, many of us asked for necessities and basics as holiday gifts. Among the gifts that would mean the most to families is the passage of the Healthy Families Act, introduced by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, along with Representative Rosa DeLauro, in the 111th Congress this past May.

It wasn’t the first time that federal legislation guaranteeing workers a minimum number of paid sick days had been introduced. Previous efforts were unsuccessful. But now, the Healthy Families Act has 145 Congressional co-sponsors and has been endorsed by the Obama administration.

So health professionals, civil rights groups, labor unions, educators, faith organizations, elected officials and women’s groups like 9to5 are optimistic about its passage.

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TENNESSEE EDITORIAL FORUM

By Tony Garr

We are facing tough times. We’ve faced them before and pulled our neighbors and ourselves through by making people a priority. This is what the state needs to do now.

More than a quarter million Tennesseans have lost their jobs and their health insurance since the recession began. It is estimated that more than a million Tennesseans are uninsured and have few options for changing that in the near future. Yet, the state seems determined to continue to whittle away at public health programs that combine to serve as the medical safety net. It’s time to get our priorities straight.

Times are tough in each state, yet Tennessee is the only state to cease enrollment in the Children Health Insurance Program, which we call CoverKids and is viewed as a good program by policymakers from both the Right and Left. Forty-nine other governors understand that this is not time to be blocking health care coverage for children of low- to moderate-income working families. Tens of thousands of Tennessee children are eligible for CoverKids and Tennessee gets three federal dollars for each state dollar it invests in the program, so closing it to enrollment is simply penny-wise, pound foolish.

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AMERICAN FORUM

By Linda Gunter

It is perhaps no accident that the nuclear power industry chose a French word – “renaissance” – to promote its alleged comeback. Attached to this misapplied moniker are a series of fallacious suggestions that nuclear energy is “clean,” “safe” and even “renewable.” And, in keeping with its French flavor, a key argument in the industry’s propaganda arsenal is that the U.S. should follow the “successful” example of the French nuclear program.

France serves as a convenient sound bite for politicians and others advocating a nuclear revival (hypocritically evoked by many of the same people who insisted on “Freedom Fries” at the start of the Iraq War). A failure to challenge this facile falsehood has cemented the myth of a French nuclear Utopia in the minds of the public. It masks a very different reality.

France gets 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. However, this alone does not constitute a success. Rather, it results in the production of an enormous amount of radioactive waste that, as is the case for all other nuclear countries, has nowhere to go.

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MISSISSIPPI FORUM

By Rev. Jeremy Tobin

History often repeats itself. Contemporary movements for immigration reform have been driven by a push-back for human rights, fairness and the constitutional protections afforded everyone in America. But once again this nation is seeing a growing anti-immigrant movement fueled by fear, racism and a desire to have the cheapest workforce for maximum profits.

The backlash against immigrants and immigration reform has played into the hands of corporate interests who cut overhead by flouting workplace safety rules because workers are afraid to complain. Organizations that started out anti-civil rights have reinvented themselves to be anti-immigrant rights, and too often the media act as their propaganda wing. When the Republican Party consistently supports anti-immigration legislation it is allying itself with some very unsavory characters.

In Mississippi, the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA) has successfully killed about every piece of anti-immigrant legislation proposed in the statehouse for the last 10 years. In 2008, however, by agreement of the leadership in the Legislature and the governor’s office, SB 2988, a draconian bill to oppress immigrants, passed. The law makes it a felony for an undocumented immigrant to work in Mississippi. Punishment can range from one to five years in prison, with hefty fines of $1,000 to $10,000. SB 2988 also sanctions employers. The sanctions amount to fines, and are often waived if the employer cooperates with ICE. This opens the door for employers to discriminate against Latinos and others. To date, no one has been charged under SB 2988. Click here to read full op-ed