Posts Tagged → Civil Rights
ALRLC Secretary to hear eminent domain testimony with US Civil Rights Commission on Wednesday in Montgomery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen Gordon
stephen@forwardfocusmedia.com
(256) 874-2985
(BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – April 27, 2009) On Wednesday, April 29, the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will be conducting a panel entitled “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama.”
“The Commission’s current focus on the ramifications of eminent domain abuse regarding minorities and other protected classes touches on an issue that effects most residents in Alabama,” said ALRLC Secretary and Alabama Advisory Committee member Shana Kluck. “Property rights are a bulwark of a free society and it saddens me that these rights are often ignored or even threatened by the very government that was created to protect them. Considering this is the state where the Civil Rights movement began, it’s time for Alabama to eradicate one of the last bastions of racial inequality and at the same time ensure the protection of property rights for all Alabamians.”
In addition to serving as a member of the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as Secretary of the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus, Shana Kluck also serves on the state GOP executive committee and is president of the Alabama Republican Assembly. She recently served as the Alabama Field Director and the national Homeschooling Coordinator for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.
Confirmed speakers include State Senator Scott Beason, Birmingham community activist and City Council candidate Kim Rafferty, Rev. John E. Smith of the Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, representatives of the Alabaster Alabama community, Montgomery business owner Jim Peera, Montgomery business owner Jimmy McCall, Montgomery attorney Norman Hurst, ADECA Compliance Officer Paula Murphy and Jefferson County Land Development Department representative Michael Morrison. Members of the community negatively impacted by Alabama’s eminent domain policies will be providing testimony to the panel.
The panel will be conducted from 9AM to 5PM on April 29 at the Montgomery Campus of Troy University in the Gold Room of the Whitley Conference Hall. The street address is 231 Montgomery Street, Montgomery, AL 36104.
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Conservative stewardship outperforms partisan sniping
As there has been a lot of conversation about the framing of conservative messaging and how to deal with with race issues on this site, I thought I’d bring up two articles I wrote for another website today.
The first article deals directly with the first issue I’d like to raise. A host of elected Republican officials are rightfully calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to submit her letter of resignation. While I’m sure someone has, I’ve yet to see someone provide a politically viable suggestion to replace the DHS Secretary, though.
It’s one thing to take political swipes at the opposition. It takes leadership to find a solution which might be acceptable to the Obama administration, Republicans and a general public that is generally more concerned with good government than with the latest political barbs.
My solution to this situation may not be the best one, but at least I’ve offered a host of reasons as to why Judge Andrew Napolitano could be a very suitable replacement for Janet Napolitano. The American public has been crying for solutions, not partisan bickering. The GOP could have easily stepped up to the plate on this one, but didn’t.
The other issue I’d like to cover is race. On rare occasions, there is an element of truth to cries from the left about racism on the right. Most of the time these allegations couldn’t be farther from the truth.
However, assuaging one’s conscience by casting a vote for Michael Steele and then disregarding the black community for the next several years will not win Republicans votes from the African-American community. Like any other votes, these have to be earned.
In Alabama, two Republicans are making a difference in the African-American community on a solidly conservative issue: property rights. If you aren’t aware, in the land of Rosa Parks, black people are frequently taken advantage of when it comes to eminent domain abuse. A few years back, nationally syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz heavily publicized one such case in nearby Alabaster, Alabama.
I’d like to quickly highlight these two Republicans who aren’t afraid to step out of their own comfortable communities to help those with fewer political or financial resources. The first is Alabama State Senator Scott Beason, who will sit on a panel next week at an Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights panel entitled “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama.” Senator Beason is highly respected throughout the state, and it’s easy to see why.
A key driving force behind this panel is Shana Kluck. Shana is not only a member of the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, but she also serves on her state GOP executive committee, is president of the Alabama Republican Assemby and serves as Secretary of the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus. When she’s not busy homeshcooling her four children, consulting on Web 2.0 projects, engaged in Eagle Forum activities, attending various political meetings around the state and working behind the scenes on a variety of conservative and libertarian causes, she is busy helping me on campaigns.
Considering Shana’s schedule, very few of us have grounds to offer the excuse that we are too busy to become more involved in the African-American community.
Instead of sitting around complaining about how black people voted in previous election cycles, Senator Beason and Ms. Kluck are taking leadership roles in providing justice for members of the African-American community.
If I may be so bold as to provide two solutions for the conservative movement, they are:
- Instead of merely attacking the opposition with nuisance fire (appropriately called sniping) to exploit a weak spot in their battle line, maximize your attack by actually providing a viable politcal solution.
- If you aren’t active in your local African-American community, you’ve no right to complain if you receive very few of their votes on Election Day.
Personal responsibility is a key component of conservativism and just stewardship should be a part of conservative leadership. Hopefully, Republican Party leaders will take these sorts of messages to heart. Otherwise, one can expect the GOP to walk through the wilderness for another 38 years.
Cross-posted from The Next Right
