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Democrats Seek to Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Military Policy

As long as gays and lesbians keep quiet about their sexual orientation, they may serve in the military in what otherwise is known as the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. But Congress plans to re-introduce legislation to repeal the military policy. The current policy states that gays and lesbians may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation private. Commanders are prohibited from asking subordinates about sexual orientation, and gay service members may not speak about their sex lives. While many Democrats have criticized the policy as discriminatory, many Republicans have supported it. The House Armed Services is expected to hold a hearing on the issue. Read more.

NYC Bans N-Word

The New York City Council is calling on all hip-hop artists and movie producers to stop using the N-word in rap lyrics and film scripts. A resolution urging New Yorkers to stop using the racial slur finally was approved yesterday. However, even though the ban was approved by a 49-0 vote, the resolution is a symbolic ban and therefore carries no legal weight and will not be enforced. Lawmakers say the reason the N-word is especially prevalent in music and movies is because when spelled with an "a" ending rather than an "er," the racial slur sounds less offensive. Read more.

Bill Would Ban 'Illegal Aliens'

One state legislator whose district is home to thousands of Caribbean immigrants wants to ban the term "illegal alien" from the state's official documents. Democratic Sen. Frederica Wilson of Miami said she is personally offended by the word "alien," especially when applied to children. "An alien to me is someone from out of space," Wilson said. The bill would provide that state agencies and officials not use the term in official state documents; however, there would be no penalty for using the words. DiversityInc's editorial policy is to use the terms "undocumented immigrants." Read more.

Obama Gains Black Vote

An increasing amount of black voters are now favoring Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton. According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, Clinton continues to lead Obama and other rivals in the Democratic race, but during the past month, her domination over Obama is now half as much, largely because of Obama's growing support among black voters. In the latest poll, 70 percent of blacks said they favored Obama compared to 54 percent in last December and January. Obama's ratings among all Americans have also improved over the past month, with 53 percent in favor of him and 30 percent who aren't. Read more.

Presidential Candidates Choose YouTube

Who would've thought YouTube and politics would collide? YouTube has introduced You Choose '08 (http://www.youtube.com/youchoose), which would give 2008 presidential candidates—including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani—their own YouTube channel, allowing them to control how they exchange views with voters. Candidates can post videos addressing individual political issues, and in return, the public will be able to post video in response to the issues. Read more.

Shelter Insurance Accused of Bias

After Paul Bergersen, a former insurance agent, told the Kansas Insurance Department that his company, Shelter Mutual Insurance Co., was treating Latino auto policyholders differently than others, there was little evidence proving the insurance company policies were racially motivated. An investigator for the Kansas Insurance Department said Bergersen's complaint was the first time the department ever launched an investigation of racial discrimination. The case was referred to the U.S. Justice Department's civil-rights division, which declined to investigate, stating the matter was outside its jurisdiction. Bergersen, who was fired a few months after filing his complaint in May 2003, also alleged his former company discouraged agents from writing policies for Latinos and as a result handled those accounts differently. Shelter Mutual maintained Bergersen's claims were "absolutely false. Read more.

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