Standing Up to the Madness:
Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times
by Amy & David Goodman
JK1759 .G585 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Back in March, I highlighted a new book on the topic of the violation of civil liberties and examples of people in their everyday lives experiencing these transgressions (view original post). In a coincidental follow-up to that post, this week’s New Stuff Tuesday puts the spotlight on people like you and me stepping up to the plate and challenging authority.
The Goodman siblings (Amy is host of Democracy Now! and David is an investigative journalist) detail the struggle of US citizens against the government. The individuals profiled are from across the country and have sought justice in the face of adversity. Stories include librarians (that’s right, LIBRARIANS!) that wouldn’t allow the FBI to violate patron privacy, the students involved in the Jena Six case, and the soldier that refused to be deployed to Iraq based on his claim that the US was engaged in an illegal and immoral war. All in all, it shows that people like you and me really can effect change.
Fat Rights:
Dilemmas of Difference and Personhood
by Anna Kirkland
KF4757.5 .O94 K57 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Civil rights and the struggle for equality have come a long way over the last century. This week’s NST book features one group commonly left out of the discussion for equal rights, but that might be changing.
Kirkland, assistant professor at the University of Michigan, tackles the topic in a bold way, starting with the title (in the preface, she addresses her use of the term ‘fat’ as opposed to ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’ because of their medical and pejorative nature). The book examines whether or not - to use the author’s words - fatness should be added to the list of protected classes like race and gender. Because of this, the book not only looks at the current issue, but also the general case of antidiscrimination laws and movements over the years. The author explores how our society and legal system decide what differences constitute added protection under the law. It’s an eye-opening study which incorporates real-life examples accompanying the text.
You Have No Rights:
Stories of America in an Age of Repression
by Matthew Rothschild
KF4749 .R68 2007
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Martha has a sign on her door that reads, ‘The FBI has not been here.’ She says that if it disappears, then agents have paid her a visit. Although made in jest, today’s featured book highlights over 80 breaches of civil liberties.
How would you respond to a visit from law enforcement because of possible left-leaning connections? One man responded, “I’m very liberal and sometimes my friends say I’m giving them some kind of paranoid, nutty stuff, and I agree, but then the FBI shows up,” after being reported for reading a leftist article in line for coffee. Rothschild, editor of The Progressive and Madison resident, has compiled stories from regular people that have experienced their rights being violated - all in the name of national security. These personal accounts put a face on the effects of the increased powers in the anti-terrorism age and require the reader to think, “How far is too far?”
As you may know, the University Library provides two subscription legal research databases (LexisNexis Academic and West’s Campus Research). There are also free legal research sites such as FindLaw; see the Library’s Law Resources web page for links.
A new free site, currently in beta, is The Public Library of Law. I haven’t played with it extensively, but it looks promising. Available there: federal and state court cases and rules, statutes and constitutions, regulations, and legal forms.
Senior Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. will speak in the Irvin L. Young Auditorium at 3:30 p.m. on January 23rd. This is the 22nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Event on the UWW campus, and you’re all invited!
The Honorable Sterling Johnson, Jr., has been United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York since 1991, where he presides over a heavy workload of cases on criminal and civil matters. His previous experiences include a stint as a marine and service as a police officer, Judge Advocate General (United States Naval Reserve), and Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City. More of his background is available online at the web site of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Perhaps his most widely publicized case is his 1993 finding that the detention of Haitian asylum seekers due to their HIV status at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, without access to legal counsel, visitors, telephones, etc. was unconstitutional. To learn more about this case and the issues involved, you could use some of the Library’s databases:
An additional brief summary, with a note about the subsequent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Federal government’s actions and links to related resources is provided online by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Also in honor of MLK, you may want to check out the tall display case in the Library’s lobby.
People elected to the U.S. Congress aren’t experts on everything! OK, you probably knew that already. So who can they turn to for factual briefings on unfamiliar topics?
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a big help to them, producing research and analysis on political, legal, and policy topics to help our elected Senators and Representatives make informed decisions. These reports can help you be better informed, too, and your taxes have already paid for them!
You can request a specific CRS report through your Senator or Representative, but some very helpful folks are sharing online the reports they’ve already obtained. Several online collections are listed at http://library.uww.edu/subject/govpubs.htm#colls. You can even add a report you’ve obtained to one of these collections, such as Open CRS.
Here are examples of recent report titles that you might choose to use:
- Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation (May 11, 2007)
- Immigration Fraud: Policies, Investigations, and Issues (May 17, 2007)
- North Korean Provocative Actions, 1950-2007 (April 20, 2007)
- U.S. Food and Agricultural Imports: Safeguards and Selected Issues (May 21, 2007)
- Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment (April 26, 2007)
- Foreign Direct Investment: Effects of a “Cheap” Dollar (May 11, 2007)
- Stem Cell Research: Federal Research Funding and Oversight (April 18, 2007)
Put your tax dollars to work for you! Take advantage of the research done for Congress to jumpstart your own research.
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
