Cruel and unusual punishment - 8th amendment does not apply for prisoners - according to Judge Clarence Thomas

I was disturbed to read in the NY Times today, a report regarding the 8th amendment. According to the report, Judge Thomas believes that the 8th amendment is not designed to protect prisoners. I read of one prisoner who was chained to a post for 7 hours without sustenance or bathroom breaks. Another was thrown to the floor and beaten by a guard after requesting a form to file a complaint, yet another was beaten while shackled and lost teeth and was bruised and bloodied.

Judge Thomas does not feel that prisoners have rights vis-a-vis the 8th amendment - "Cruel and unusual punishment" do not apply to them in terms of their rights. Why is it that we conveniently forget that prisoners are human being and deserve the same civil rights granted to others under the Constitution and Amendments?

I have a couple of close family members who are currently incarcerated and to think that they could be subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" at the hands of an overbearing zealot of a prison guard, without room for recourse makes me sad and frustrated - even downright mad!

Let's flood the office of Clarence Thomas with emails and phone calls and let him know of our displeasure. After all, Mr. Thomas claimed to have empathy for prisoners in the article and even stated "There but for the grace of God go I" - how quickly we forget the laws of statistics.

Iowa court ruling legalizes gay marriage

It was only a matter of time. We GLBT allies have been waiting a long time for this.

Here is the link to the story that posted just over an hour ago on AOL news via the AP: http://news.aol.com/article/iowa-gay-marriage/411448

On the eve of the assassination of Doctor ML King 41 years ago, we are celebrating civil rights victories. And now, the Iowa supreme court has ruled that gay marriage is legal in that state. This comes on the heels of Vermont's ruling yesterday evening.

For years, gays have been marginalized, maligned and mistreated just for their sexual orientation. They have been subjected to discrimination that only a few years ago would have been unconscionable were they directed towards the black community.

Friends, it is a question of patience - It is my fervent hope that Proposition 8 will likely be overturned in California, and gay marriage is debated on and voted on in the NY State Senate, and other states will have to finally begin to accomodate gay couples and therefore, gay marriage.

What a wonderful day!

Army fired 11 soldiers in January for being gay

"Don't ask, don't tell."

Many of us are familiar with the verbiage - we are, however not necessarily familiar with the concept behind it.

Here is an excerpt from the story, but as always, I encourage you to check out the link and see the story in its entirety as posted on AOL earlier today: http://news.aol.com/article/army-fired-11-soldiers-in-jan-as-openly/380286

Denying ones sexuality, not engaging in homosexuality or gasp - trying to get married. Can you imagine the fallout amongst hetorosexuals were they to be told that for 20 years of their military career, they could not be true to themselves, literally denying their very essence for the sake of political expediency?

For years, women struggled and fought alongside men for the right to be seen as something other than property in order to achieve the right to vote. For years, blacks and whites marched in civil disobedience so that slaves could be free and so that blacks would have the right to vote.

The Gay issue is the civil rights issue of our times - we all know someone - a friend, a family member or even a co worker who is gay - at times like these, we need to stand tall - write to your elected official and tell them enough of this - no more firing good and decent men and women from the armed services simply for daring to be openly gay!