Random Thoughts, Notes, & Incidents

Well, another disappointment: Last night was not the finale of Joe Millionaire, as I had said in my post yesterday. A wasted hour and another week to go before we find out who Ethan chose.

Meanwhile, on a more serious note - From TomPaine.com:

SAY THAT AND SIT ON THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE?

Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.), chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, affirmed in a recent radio interview that the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II were necessary. "We were at war. They [Japanese-Americans] were an endangered species. For many of these Japanese Americans, it wasn't safe for them to be on the street."

Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), a Japanese-American interned in World War II camps in the United States, has responded to Cobble's comments: "If we were incarcerated for our safety, why were we inside the barbed wire fences, and why were the gun towers facing us?"

Advocacy groups, including the Japanese American Citizens League, have called for Rep. Coble to resign his post on the Judiciary committee and apologize. Reps. Coble and Honda's press secretaries have said that further announcements are forthcoming.

Interestingly, Rep. Coble sat on a bi-cameral committee that addressed Italian Americans and their internment in WWII, and eventually passed the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act. This provides a track record for what Coble has done legislatively regarding World War II internment. He certainly considered the injustices for Italians -- he sat on the hearing committee. Rep. Coble also led the Congressional effort against the legislation that apologized and paid reparations to Japanese Americans that were interned.

Perhaps Coble will address his selective enthusiasm for American war-camp justice in his future announcements.

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