AUSTIN, Texas -- Normally, I don't bother to follow the doings of the far right. Having lived in Texas all these years, I figure I don't have much to learn on that score. But I was much struck by a report in Salon, the online magazine, on the recent conference of the Conservative Political Action Committee.

It sounded no more than usually loony to me -- equating Islam with fascism and terrorism, attacks on feminazis, the dread environmentalists, family planning, Harry Potter and other menaces to civilization. No crazier than the John Birch Society or the militia movement I've known all these years. But reporter Michelle Goldberg noted one striking difference: The conference was attended by people in power. Vice President Dick Cheney gave the keynote speech, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao spoke, as did House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Senate Whip Mitch McConnell, Republican National Committee Chair Marc Racicot, etc.

In 1968, the Kerner Commission, a civil rights advisory board created by President Lyndon Johnson, warned that America was rapidly becoming "two nations," "black vs. white," "separate and unequal." The Kerner Commission Report was published only a few years after legal racial segregation had been outlawed. The "white" and "colored" signs indicating segregation in hotels, restaurants, and water fountains had disappeared. Yet despite these meaningful reforms, the deep patterns of structural racism were so profound and the economic chasm between African Americans and whites was so pervasive, that the Kerner Commission feared it might become insurmountable.

This January 2003, there was new evidence that the Kerner Commission's dire warnings have become reality. A study just released by the Federal Reserve System illustrates beyond any doubt that black Americans and many other racialized minorities are rapidly losing ground economically. The median income for all families within the U.S. was $39,900 in 2001; African-American household median income is only about 60 percent of the typical white family's annual income.

Two of my friends, Byron and Steve, are applying for a marriage license this Friday, Feb.14, at the Franklin County Courthouse at 11:00 am, 373 South High Street. Gay and lesbian people around the world are doing the same thing this Valentine's Day. This is a courageous action they are taking,; it comes out of their deep conviction for justice and fairness for  ALL people and out of the love they have for each other. Won't you join us to support them? Or perhaps you and your partner would like to also apply. Below are both their statement and Rev. Troy Perry's, founder of Metropolitan Community Churches. Thank you, Rev. Marj Creech, Pastor of God's Promise MCC of Granville

There's no doubt about it: Colin Powell is a great performer, as he showed yet again at the U.N. Security Council the other day. On television, he exudes confidence and authoritative judgment. But Powell owes much of his touted credibility to the fact that he's functioning inside a media bubble that protects him from direct challenge.

Powell doesn't face basic questions like these:

* You cite Iraq's violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions to justify the U.S. launching an all-out war. But you're well aware that American allies like Turkey, Israel and Morocco continue to violate dozens of Security Council resolutions. Why couldn't other nations claim the right to militarily "enforce" the Security Council's resolutions against countries that they'd prefer to bomb?

* You insist that Iraq is a grave threat to the other nations of the Middle East. But, with the exception of Israel, no country in the region has made such a claim or expressed any enthusiasm for a war on Iraq. If Iraq is a serious threat to the region, why doesn't the region feel threatened?

Aptly preceeding Colin Powell's screed for war in front of the United Nations and the world were a string of condolences for the death of yet another crew of astronauts killed aboard yet another crashed United States shuttle mission.

Instead, there should have been a string of criminal indictments for the inexcusable loss that mirrors the Bush Administration's latest push for war. 

Almost exactly 17 years ago, Ronald Reagan was about to give his State of the Union address.  His PR-minded handlers at the White House insisted the Challenger be shot into space that very morning.  Among others it carried a New Hampshire school teacher whose global appeal was meant to balance the image of a program being increasingly militarized. 

The Reaganauts wanted a Star Wars missile defense system that would mean tens or hundreds of billions for Boeing, Martin Marietta and other military contractors which today share responsibility for shuttle operations.  The Challenger seemed the perfect public relations foil for an administration determined to turn space into a lucrative armed camp.