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This week on Uprising:

* Obama Edges Closer to the Nomination, Clinton Refuses to Quit
* Empire Notes on Obama and Hamas
* Largest ICE Raid Targets Central Americans in Iowa
* Black Agenda Report on Obama and Institutional Racism
* California’s Supreme Court Ruling Signals Victory for Same-Sex Marriage

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Obama Edges Closer to the Nomination, Clinton Refuses to Quit

GUEST: John Nichols, political writer for the Nation, co-founder of Free Press

Last Tuesday’s primary elections in Kentucky and Oregon still did not yield an official winner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Senator Hillary Clinton beat Senator Barack Obama 65-30% in Kentucky scoring 40 pledged delegates. Meanwhile Obama beat Clinton 59-41% in Oregon, adding 34 more delegates to his tally. According to CNN, Obama now has 1,961 delegates to Clinton’s 1,776. A candidate needs 2,026 delegates to secure the nomination and Obama is counting on his continued lead in the race to convince the Party’s superdelegates to back him. Only three more Democratic contests remain: Montana, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico.

Empire Notes on Obama and Hamas

GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is about Obama and Hamas.

Empire Notes is online at www.empirenotes.org.

Largest ICE Raid Targets Central Americans in Iowa

GUEST: Amalia Anderson, Program Director for the Mainstreet Project, community based organization in Minneapolis

ICE agents raided a kosher meat packing plant in northeast Iowa earlier this month, calling it the largest of its kind in the country. A lawsuit on behalf of 137 of the 390 people arrested has now been filed against the government, claiming that the raid violated the constitutional rights of workers. Of those arrested at Agriprocessors Inc in Postville, Iowa, 314 were men and 76 women, mostly from Guatemala. ICE agents showed up with loaded machine guns, blocked off exits and swarmed the rooftops of the plant. The lawsuit accuses the government of arbitrary and indefinite detention and notes that a number of children of those arrested have been stranded with baby sitters and other caretakers as a result of the raid. The meat packing plant was found to be exploiting its workers’ immigration status by withholding wages for so-called “immigration fees,” physically abusing them, withholding bathroom breaks, and refusing to pay overtime. Although the plant owners have not been arrested, reports suggest that they could be indicted in the near future. Immigration agents have raided meat companies in the past. In December 2006 nearly 1,300 workers were arrested at Swift & Co meat plants in six states.

Donations to families affected by the raid can be made out to “St. Bridget’s Hispanic Ministry” and mailed c/o Sister Mary Maculay, PO Box 369, Postville, IA 52162.

Black Agenda Report on Obama and Institutional Racism

GUEST: Bruce Dixon is a writer and radio commentator and the Managing Editor of The Black Agenda Report

This week’s commentary is about Obama and Institutional Racism. Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

California’s Supreme Court Ruling Signals Victory for Same-Sex Marriage

GUEST: Ben Patrick Johnson, sits on the Board of Directors of the Equality California Institute

The California Supreme Court last week in a 4-3 decision, overturned a state ban on same-sex marriage chalking up a huge victory for gay rights advocates across the nation. The ruling overturned Proposition 22 which was passed by Californian voters in 2000 as a result of a heavily financed effort by religious right wing groups. As part of its ruling, the state’s highest court said Proposition 22 barred the State Legislature from broadening marriage rights to same-sex couples without a vote of the people. But it also rejected an array of legal justifications for excluding gays and lesbians from marriage, including the arguments by the religious right that gay marriage weakens the institution of marriage. The court ruling could allow same-sex couples to tie the knot in as little as a month. But right wing groups are already mobilizing to put a constitutional amendment nearly identical to Prop 22 on this November’s state ballot to undo the Supreme Court ruling. All three presidential candidates oppose a federal bill legalizing gay marriage but support equality in legal benefits and for states to make their own decision on the subject.

For more information, visit www.eqca.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“As much as the social conservatives might not like to hear it, there will be a time when your grandchildren say: ‘What was the argument with gay marriage? Who cares?’ ” — openly gay Arizona Republican Congressman, Jim Kolbe, upon his retirement.