It's difficult to read a newspaper or watch television these days without hearing about two major U.S. policy debates: health care reform and how to combat the "Great Recession". For many these seem like two separate issues, but for the 22 million American women and girls living in poverty they...

As Lou Dobbs continues to fan the flames of anti-immigrant rhetoric, the American public is increasingly buying into a flawed premise: immigrants are criminals and local law enforcement must enforce immigration laws.  The effects of this rhetorical myth are devastating.  Communities all over the United States are sacrificing public safety...

On September 10, the Census Bureau published the official poverty figures for 2008. After the economic maelstrom of the past year, which brought massive lay-offs and stagnant unemployment to millions of Americans, the picture the figures paint is not a pretty one. The report indicates that the national poverty...

In terms of risk to women and girls, the country is at Code Red.

In the midst of record job losses followed with months of paralyzing unemployment, we are reminded of a basic pattern regarding violence against women and girls: incidents of domestic violence tend to rise during periods...

We've all seen the parade of "immigration" images on cable news networks and primetime exposes. Designed to evoke visceral reactions, they range from relatively benign -- day laborers gathered at convenience stores patiently waiting for work -- to overtly frightening -- scenes from the aftermath of drug gang violence in...

The effect of the United States Supreme Court's ruling last week in Ricci vs. DeStefano should not be understated: the decision threatens to undermine the vital function of the country's historic civil rights legislation.

Since its passage in 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act --...

The economic downturn is stretching the resources of families and individuals across America. Now, more than ever, we need a functioning social safety net -- one that helps families keep food on the table in times of crisis, while providing a toe hold to a more economically secure future.

Law is not math; it has neither the reliability of a quadratic equation nor the grace of a sin curve. Cases emerge from the pulp and pulse of real life, and their outcomes necessarily shape and mold how individuals and companies conduct themselves.

When a case makes it way...