A few weeks ago, my 82-year-old grandma expressed her dismay at Glenn Beck’s racist attacks against the President and asked me ‘What’s happening to this country?’ Since then we’ve watched in horror as Beck went on a crusade against Van Jones and a new book reports that death threats against Obama are four times

Sex and gender have been making headlines. Last month on a flight to California, I saw a segment of Larry King Live discussing trans issues with Alexis Arquette, sister to the well-known Patricia and David, and Isis, former contestant on America’s Next Top Model, getting into it over how to identify as a transperson.

RSVP: Compact for Racial Justice Race and Immigration forum call Last week I made my first trip to New Orleans for The Accidental American reception with Danny Glover, Rinku Sen and Fekkak Mamdouh.

ARC’s Rinku Sen weighs in on the country’s racial dialogue with an Obama administration from the Washington Post. Top Officials Expand The Dialogue on Race Month’s Celebrations Evoke a Mix of Views By Krissah Thompson When the country’s racial chasms seemed to threaten President Obama’s election, his team had to tread carefully.

I want to thank Joe Arpaio. He puts the proper face on sadistic anti-immigrant groups across the country. The Maricopa County Sheriff has brought the issue of immigration and inhumane detention centers to the forefront. Placing over two-hundred immigrant detainees in a Tent City, segregating them from US born incarcerated people, he has exposed our modern day internment camps.

By Roberto Lovato Originally posted to New America Media Guantanamo Bay isn’t the only prison crisis that President Barack Obama will have to deal with. There’s another crisis growing — in the many immigration detention centers carpeting the interior of the country.

One week ago, Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) organized over a thousand immigrant rights supporters to march and rally in Washington, DC on Obama’s first day in office.

Via Towleroad.com To all those who say we have reached a post-racial era…

The Garden A few years back, my favorite documentary of the year (Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple) didn’t made the shortlist for best documentary but was cut in the end (it was robbed, in my humble opinion, by Al Gore’s PowerPoint presentation on film.) Needless to say, I am ecstatic that two of my favorites made it to the top of the list this year.

Over a thousand people are gathered in DC, a day after inaugurating our new president, to demand A New Day for Immigration. Led by Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), immigrants are marching to demand an end to the raids on their communities. More to come from the rally.

With the appointment of several key folks to Obama’s inner circle and his meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, immigration is making a comeback. Last week, immigrant rights advocates in both faith and labor communities were hopeful about the possibility of comprehensive immigration reform within the coming year.

Tune in tonight at 7:40PM EST to hear Rinku Sen and Fekkak Mamdouh live at www.ksfr.org. They’ll be talking about their book, The Accidental American, with Diego Mulligan, host of The Journey Home.

There’s certainly something in the air making crazy things happen. Yesterday, Mukasey stripped immigrants of their right to counsel and due process. Today, the Supreme Court has ruled to reevaluate whether the 1965 Voting Rights Acts is necessary to protect voters of color.

Buried deep in the Health Tips section of South African Airways website is a small notice from the World Health Organization that requires them to disinsect the cabin of certain aircraft. They don’t tell you this when you buy your ticket or even before boarding the plane.

I’m not going to pretend that I have a full understanding of the bailout plan the auto industry requested from Congress yesterday. I haven’t read enough yet. That said, I was disturbed by Mitt Romney’s Op Ed in the New York Times this morning.

Seems like everyone has been weighing in across the country on the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Out of that has grown a disturbing trend to blame Black voters who came out in support of Obama for the anti-gay legislation.

PS 10 polling place was relatively quiet today compared to PS 9 across Park Slope where hundreds of people lined up early this morning to vote. More than 10 districts were represented at the Brooklyn school which created some confusion.

After ending its self-deportation last week, ICE outdid itself with the largest single-business raid in US history, beating its previous record set earlier this year in Pottsville, Iowa detaining nearly 600 people.

This post originally appeared on The Huffington Post. Too Poor to Parent? by Gaylynn Burroughs A child accidentally falls off his top bunk. His mother worries. The child says his knee hurts, and it looks like a bruise is forming on his arm. His mother wants a doctor to see the child, but hesitates for a moment about taking her son to the hospital emergency room.