MODERATOR: Kenneth Oye
More on Kenneth Oye
PANELISTS:
Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA): Congressman, CA 15th District
Congressman Honda's Home page
Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA): Congressman MA 4th District
Barney Frank's Home page
Merrie Najimy: Massachusetts Chapter President, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Massachusetts American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Margie Yamamoto: Past President, New England Japanese American Citizens League
Japanese American Citizen's home page
ABOUT THE PANEL DISCUSSION:
Merrie Najimy’s father told her that “making the right decision isn’t always popular but making the popular decision isn’t always right.” Each of the speakers on this panel has taken an unpopular stand following September 11th. Najimy believes that the Patriot Act codified anti-immigrant passions fired up by the terrorist attacks. She claims that more than 5,000 Arab and Muslim men are now in detention and 13 thousand have been deported – largely because of racial and religious profiling allowed by the new laws. Margie Yamamoto, who has known Congressman Honda since the 1960's briefly discusses details of the Honda family's internment and its aftermath.
Mike Honda, who was interned in 1942 at a Colorado camp with his family, says he had “flashbacks” to Pearl Harbor on 9/11. He anticipated that the same kind of civil rights violations suffered by the Japanese in the U.S. during World War 2 would be inflicted on Arabs and Muslims today. Honda says the Bush Administration and Republican leaders forged a Patriot Act that overreaches in terms of police powers. Barney Frank worries that the lack of judicial oversight in the bill has led to an erosion of basic rights, as witnessed by the indefinite detention of suspects not charged with any crime, the use of “sneak and peek” warrants and increased use of electronic surveillance. NOTES ON THE VIDEO (Time Index):
Video length is 1:58:59
Kenneth Oye introduces the panel.
Merrie Najimy begins at 4:40.
Margie Yamamoto introduces Mike Honda at 9:53.
Mike Honda begins at 13:22.
Kenneth Oye introduces Barney Frank at 42:08.
Barney Frank begins at 42:40.
Roundtable discussion begins at 1:07:50.
Q&A begins at 1:30:30.
The information on this page was accurate as of the day the video was added to MIT World. This video was added to MIT World on 2003-12-22.
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