First Nooses, Now Swastikas: What's Going On at Columbia?

Ivy school Columbia University is again at the center of a racist incident, this time involving a student and a professor. Early Wednesday morning, a swastika was found painted on the office door of Teacher's College's Prof. Elizabeth Midlarsky, a clinical psychologist who has done studies on the Holocaust, reports The New York Times. Midlarsky, who is Jewish, says this is the third time in weeks she's been the victim of religious-motivated hate. The first two times, anti-Semitic flyers were placed in her mailbox. This comes two weeks after Columbia's Prof. Madonna G. Constantine found a noose hanging from her door.

Bush Voting-Rights Head Slammed for Racist Remarks

House Democrats showed their dismay with Justice Department voting-rights head John Tanner Wednesday after Tanner made a series of racially motivated comments, including suggesting that voting affects whites more than blacks because blacks "die first," reports The Washington Post. In a tense appearance before the House, House members criticized Tanner for his tone and words; Tanner, in the same meeting, apologized for his behavior and comments made earlier this month about older Latinos. 

(See also: 'They Die First': Bush's Head of Voting Rights Doesn't Care if Older Latinos Can't Vote)

L.A. Reinstates LGBT-Discrimination Ban

The Los Angeles city council voted unanimously Wednesday to reinstitute policies illegalizing discrimination on the basis of orientation. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will re-issue an executive order first released by then-Mayor Richard Riordan banning discrimination in city agencies based on orientation, reports DailyNews.com. Los Angeles is among the first to pass such legislation.

(See also: Transgender Rights Reinserted in Controversial Gay-Workplace Bill)

GOP's Christian-Conservative Grip Slipping

GOP presidential hopefuls are losing footing with their Christian-conservative voting base, a Pew Research Center poll reveals. According to the poll, 55 percent of white evangelical Republicans said they would consider a conservative who ran as a third-party candidate; 42 percent said they would not, reports The Associated Press. The poll also showed that Republicans are less likely to than Democrats to say that their own party is concerned about people like themselves; can bring needed change; or is more honest or ethical.

Clinton Endorses Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants

A day after she double-talked her position on immigration reform, Sen. Hilary Clinton offered her support for New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to award licenses to undocumented immigrants, reports The New York Times. "Sen. Clinton supports governors like Gov. Spitzer who believe they need such a measure to deal with the crisis caused by this administration's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform," her campaign said. Spitzer proposed a blanket program of awarding full-fledged driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in the face of sharp opposition from Congress, which later passed legislation overturning the governor's plan.

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