Posts Tagged ‘Rights’

7 items.

Ground Zero

by Seraphine Khorana on August 21st, 2010
Posted In: Comics
Ground Zero

The United States Constitution established freedom of religion in America in 1791. The right is guaranteed in the First Amendment, along with freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Specifically, it says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Even though 60% of Americans currently oppose an Islamic Cultural Center near the World Trade Center site, freedom of religion is what makes America different from many other countries. If we deny some people the right to worship the way they please, then the nature of our society will change and none of us will truly be free again.

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are.
Quotation from President Barack Obama

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Shouldering all the World’s Problems

by Seraphine Khorana on July 24th, 2010
Posted In: Comics
Shouldering all the World’s Problems

I can’t do it alone. The poor can’t, the rich can’t. What’s needed is universal agreement on basic needs such as education, healthcare, housing, justice, resource management, fairness and human rights. We can no longer afford the hatreds of war, racism, sexism, intolerance and other inequities. It has been 65 years since the formation of the United Nations to promote economic development, social progress and world peace. Nothing of cooperative substance has happened since. Perhaps it is time to move the United Nations from New York City to East Jerusalem, making Jerusalem an international city accessable to all. If we put our minds together, even the most vexxing world problems could be solved.

“Freedom from fear” could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.
Quotation from Dag Hammarskjold

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In Your Face

by Seraphine Khorana on April 5th, 2010
Posted In: Comics
In Your Face

1) One would expect that 50% of all deaths are women. However, according to the CIA World Factbook, there are 107 men born for every 100 women. Since women live longer, the actual worldwide ratio of men to women is 1.01 to 1. Ergo, more men than women die. 2) A woman dies every minute from pregnancy complications and childbirth, mostly in poor countries. 3) Women never cry over nothing.

You did me
a favor
pushing me
out the window
I learned
how to
fly
Poem by Austin Straus

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Raise the Stakes

by Seraphine Khorana on March 18th, 2010
Posted In: Comics
Raise the Stakes

I hear people say we should raise the stakes in Afghanistan. Or we need to raise the stakes in the War on Drugs. But you rarely hear talk of raising the stakes in the war on poverty. Why is that? If we are going to “raise the stakes,” we should do so for jobs, women’s rights, the environment, health care, financial reform and schools.

Drug cartels exploit illegal immigrants by forcing them into economic bondage or prostitution. “Drugs are only sold once,” Rep. Loretta Sanchez, the chairwoman of the House Homeland Security border subcommittee, said in an interview. “But people can be sold over and over. And they use these people over and over until they are too broken to be used anymore.”
Quotation from Josh Meyer, Drug cartels raise the stakes on human smuggling
(The Los Angeles Times)

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In Memory of Coco

by Seraphine Khorana on March 9th, 2010
Posted In: Comics
In Memory of Coco

The photo of Coco in today’s comic was taken by Elaine, who has an awesome photo page called Elaine Remains. Coco passed away last Saturday.

Every dog carries an ID in his back pocket, so to speak. On each side of the rectum is an anal sac, which contains a strong-smelling fluid. This fluid is the equivalent of a dog’s thumb-print. With a quick sniff, dogs can tell more about each other than we could determine by rifling through one another’s wallets. Dogs can tell the sex, age, health, reproductive status, diet, and mood from those smells. They get all the information they need to decide whether they want to associate with that dog and what kind of relationship they ought to have.
Quotation from Dog Behavior: When Dogs Lick & Sniff “Private” Places (BestBetPetSupplies.com)

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A Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory of Ourselves

by Seraphine Khorana on July 25th, 2008
Posted In: Comics
A Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory of Ourselves

“I am no longer the Decision Maker,” joked President Bush. But
if the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would overturn
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is passed, he’s expected to veto it.

“Gays are not liberated yet. Their struggle is just beginning in an American culture that is still essentially fearful about homosexuality. But some mothers of gays now march proudly in Gay Liberation parades their children are just as precious to them as the children being defended by anti-gay forces. No matter how anyone feels on this explosive subject, mothers and their gay children are here to stay and everyone might as well get on with dealing with, understanding, and accepting this fact.”
Quotation from Liz Smith, The Mother Book

Civil Rights: Asking and Telling (ThinkProgress.org)
“Wall Street Got Drunk,” Bush Says (Reuters UK)
Alcoholics Anonymous’ Version of the 12-Step Program (12Step.org)

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She’d be prettier if she wore contacts.

by Seraphine Khorana on May 23rd, 2008
Posted In: Comics
She’d be prettier if she wore contacts.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1967 (Loving vrs. Virginia) that
anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. At that time,
38 states had laws prohibiting non-whites from marrying whites.

“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and
red, and he placed them on separate continents. The fact that he
separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.”
-Judge Leon Bazile, Caroline County (Virginia) sentencing Richard Loving
and Mildred Jeter Loving to one year in jail for being married (1959)

“There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely
because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal
protection clause” of the 14th Amendment. No state antimiscegenation
law will be able to stand in view of that unqualified, uncompromising finding.”
-Mr. Chief Justice Earl Warren, United States Supreme Court (1967)

Interracial Dating and Marriage (Asian-Nation.org)
California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban (Los Angeles Times)

“I think that gay marriage should be between a man and a woman.”
Quotation from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California

“Is it a sin, is it a crime
Loving you dear like I do
If it’s a crime, then, I’m guilty
Guilty of loving you.”
Lyric by Billie Holiday, Guilty

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