[The Center for American Progress is co-hosting a two-day conference this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, entitled New Strategies for Southern Progress. The conference is convening more than 200 national, state and local political leaders, policy experts, journalists and academics to rethink critical issues facing the South and chart a new progressive vision for the region. ThinkProgress Team member Jon Baskin is on the scene]

Progressive religious voices at today’s third panel, “Rethinking the Role of the Faith Community,” argued over the legacy of the Civil Rights movement in the South. Congressman David Price (D-NC) said his social and political conscience was forged during the North Carolina sit-ins and harkened back to the Civil Rights movement as a moment characterized by interfaith coalitions and progressive ideals.

But Reverend Daphne Wiggins, the Assistant Pastor at Union Baptist Church, cautioned that even as pastors led mass movements to broaden rights and tear down segregation in the South, “in that same period, you had the emergence and increase of segregated Christian day schools. And older people of faith too, who had a particular agenda saying we’re not in the progressive movement, we’re not going to have desegregated schools.”

Wiggins was joined by Alabama Baptist Reverend James Evans in warning that many of the gains of the Civil Rights movement may not be as permanent as they once appeared. The modern Christian right wing, said Evans, wants to “refight battles its already lost. Evolution is back. they lost on Civil Rights but this battle over gay marriage is a way for white Christians to say, ‘by golly I’m right about this and I know I’m right.’” It also wants to dismantle the New Deal, said Evans.

Indeed, Wiggins emphasized the importance of not resting on laurels or “patting ourselves on the back” about past victories. “It seems to me that if we talk about what’s happening currently…good work once done is not being repeated in our pulpits, not being put in our Sunday school literature.” she said. “The people that went through [the Civil Rights movement] are not telling their stories. A generation of people are not getting the lessons.”

Quote That Made Me Hungry But Shouldn’t Have:

“It’s so hard when you have good sweet Anglo pastors who say, ‘Maria, we want to partner with your church and we want to be inclusive and we have decided, it’s taco night!’”

–Reverend Maria Teresa Palmer, founding Pastor of Iglesia Unida De Christo (United Church of Christ), explaining some of the benefits and challenges of inter-racial church activities

[The Center for American Progress is co-hosting a two-day conference this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, entitled New Strategies for Southern Progress. The conference is convening more than 200 national, state and local political leaders, policy experts, journalists and academics to rethink critical issues facing the South and chart a new progressive vision for the region. ThinkProgress Team member Jon Baskin is on the scene]

Our second panel today, “Rethinking Tax Policy,” focused on recent attempts to reimagine tax policy in several Southern states, most of which have been virtually bankrupted by economic dowturns and cuts in state aid under the Bush administration. You may not believe me, but this was an extremely interesting conversation, particularly the twin narratives of campaigns for progressive tax reform in Virginia (successful) and Alabama (unsuccessful).

Political consultant Robert “Sid” McAnnally told Alabama’s story. In 2003, Alabama Governor Bob Riley, a conservative Republican and Southern Baptist, proposed a $1.2 billion tax package that raised taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents and businesses and cut taxes on poor families. He had the backing of the state’s corporate conservatives, who realized the state had to deal with budget shortfalls in excess of $500 million. But millions of dollars were raised by groups, including significant factions from the religious right, to oppose the bill, and the Governor’s plan was badly defeated. Read more

When his administration isn’t pushing the dangerous drug nevirapine, President Bush touts an abstinence first ideology, both here and abroad, when it comes to dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. One of his favorite examples is the country of Uganda:

“I think it’s really important for us to focus on prevention. We can learn from the experiences of other countries when it comes to a good program to prevent the spread of AIDS, like the nation of Uganda. They’ve started what they call the A-B-C approach to prevention of this deadly disease. That stands for: Abstain, be faithful in marriage, and, when appropriate, use condoms. That’s what A-B-C stands for. And it’s working. I like to call it a practical, balanced and moral message. I say it’s working because Uganda has cut its AIDS infection rate to 5 percent over 10 years. Prevention works.”

Fellow conservatives joined him in this rhetoric and went so far as to liken the use of condoms to playing Russian Roulette:

“Condoms also do provide 85 percent protection against the HIV/AIDS virus, or roughly the odds one has of escaping unscathed when playing Russian roulette with a six-shooter with one chamber lethally loaded — if you’re interested in playing Russian roulette.”

Now, a decade-long study by several reputable health researchers on what’s really going on with condoms, abstinence education, and the country of Uganda presents a completely different story:

“Abstinence and sexual fidelity have played virtually no role in the much-heralded decline of AIDS rates in the most closely studied region of Uganda…Instead, the deaths of previously infected people, not dramatic change in human behavior, represent the main engine behind the ebbing of the overall rate, or prevalence, of AIDS in southern Uganda over the past decade…”

And far from the risky business that conservatives would want us to believe, in fact, “only condom use has kept the deadly [HIV] virus in check” in Uganda.

[The Center for American Progress is co-hosting a two-day conference this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, entitled New Strategies for Southern Progress. The conference is convening more than 200 national, state and local political leaders, policy experts, journalists and academics to rethink critical issues facing the South and chart a new progressive vision for the region. ThinkProgress Team member Jon Baskin is on the scene.]

During today’s first discussion, “The Mind of the South,” Dr. Susan Howell, the Director of the Survey Research Center at the University of New Orleans, set out an agenda for a successful version of “progressive populism” in the South. Progressive populism would emphasize:

– Health care insurance assistance
– College tuition assistance
– Controls on violence and pornography in the media
– Humanitarianism and the importance of a “giving, helping culture”

Progressive populism would set itself against:

– The corporate elite, which abuses working people
– Wealthy tax evaders who don’t pay their fair share Read more

In 2003, Former Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge warned Americans they needed to stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting if they wanted to stay safe from a terrorist attack. His advice incited panic and inspired a run on the items. Duct tape and sheeting flew off the shelves as Americans flocked to stores to stock up on as much as they could carry.

Ridge resigned as Homeland Security Director last December. So what’s he up to today? It was announced today that Ridge is joining the board of directors of Home Depot … national distributor of duct tape and plastic sheeting.

“Gannon didn’t write about gays.” — Ann Coulter, 2/24/05

“[John Kerry] might someday be known as ‘the first gay president.’ . . . The Massachusetts liberal has enjoyed a 100% rating from the homosexual advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), since 1995 in recognition of his support for the pro-gay agenda.” — Jeff Gannon, 10/12/04

“The brushfire ignited by Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) comments about the Texas sodomy case now before the Supreme Court continued to draw predictable reactions on Wednesday. Gay activists immediately denounced the remarks, likening them to words that drove Sen. Trent Lott from his Majority Leader’s position.” — Jeff Gannon, 4/23/04

“A month ago, the Associated Press quoted Herseth as saying, ‘I agree with the president on this issue. Marriage should be between a man and a woman’…Despite taking a conservative position on gay marriage, Herseth remains one of the star candidates supported by the liberal, pro-abortion group Emily’s List.” — Jeff Gannon, 3/30/04