With liberty and justice for ... Anna Mae?

Let's make one point clear from the beginning: Anna Mae Weems is an important civil rights figure in the Cedar Valley. At the height of the struggle black people went through to end discrimination and gain equality throughout our society, she was out there fighting the good fight. In the decades since, she has continued to be a voice and a presence on civil rights issues. Perhaps she should have been appointed to the Waterloo Human Rights Commission earlier this month. That doesn't excuse how her daughter Frieda Weems responded --- presumably with Anna Mae's blessing, since she got in on the act, too. Frieda's two-week harangue before the Waterloo City Council included cries of conspiracy and illegal voting as well as calls for resignations of elected and appointed officials. See stories from The Courier's coverage here and here. If she was arguing for the rights of a downtrodden group in the community, such outrage could be warranted. But to win a position for herself? Let others (not your daughter) make the case in more somber tones and leave it at that. Such self-serving indignation does little for her well-deserved legacy.

The Big Dummy

It's disingenuous for Gov. Chet Culver to say Democrats stood firm on civil rights by not allowing debate on gay marriage and then assert a belief that marriage should only be between one man and one woman. Culver has avoided a lot of distasteful things, though: speaking against any faction (pro-gay marriage or anti-gay marriage), challenging the court's gay marriage decision, adding discriminatory amendments to the constitution that he claims to personally believe in, and pursuing a more nuanced policy that would protect the civil rights of homosexuals (including acknowledgement of monogamous gay relationships) without giving short-shrift to his (and many other people's) belief about marriage. That last one, if done the right way, would deprive Republicans of an important wedge issue. Those who opposed equal rights for homosexuals after the marriage issue had been stripped away would be shown as driven by hate and prejudice. To read the story containing Culver's comments in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier follow this link: http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_94f81826-3cfd-11df-a4b1-001cc4c03286.html