Re:Action

About: How to learn more about, or get involved in, the issues featured in Mother Jones

Exodus
Borderline Samaritans
Humane Borders, a faith-based network of volunteers, makes 70 trips a week to restock water caches in the Arizona desert. Water Station—started by the brother of anti-immigrant California Republican congressman Duncan Hunter—maintains nearly 200 water stations in Southern California's Imperial Valley. Learn more about the groups at humaneborders.org and desertwater.org.

"A Death in the Desert"
PBS's FRONTLINE/World explores the story of one man's failed attempt to cross the border and its effect on his family in Mexico. Watch the episode at pbs.org/frontlineworld.

The Devil's Highway
Luis Alberto Urrea re-creates the "110 degree nightmare" of 26 Mexican men who trekked across the line (Little, Brown, 2004)

"Scrimmage on the Border"
Michael Scherer traced the movements and mentality of the Minutemen in the July/August 2005 issue of Mother Jones.

Just Try Voting Here Page
Watching the Electors
Keep on top of breaking state-level developments at blackboxvoting.org, the website of electronic-voting watchdog Bev Harris. Get instructions for setting up your own poll-monitoring station at countthevote.org.

Steal This Vote
Dirty elections and voter disenfranchisement are nothing new, as Andrew Gumbel shows in his history of the sleazy side of American democracy (Nation Books, 2005).

"Recounting Ohio"
In the November/December 2005 issue of Mother Jones, Mark Hertsgaard took a critical look at whether the 2004 presidential election really was stolen in Ohio.

Revolt Of The Elders
Sierra Club
Follow its campaign to stop "the Pombo Posse" headed by what it calls "the most frightening man in Congress" at sierraclub.org/pombo.(And check out its downloadable Pombo Halloween mask—creepy!)

"Power Trips"
American Radio Works looks into possible ethics violations by Pombo and other members of Congress who traveled widely on lobbyists' dimes in this investigative series. Listen to it at americanradioworks.org.

A Is For Afro
The Shame of the Nation
Author and activist Jonathan Kozol decries the persistence of segregation and "apartheid schooling" in America's urban public schools (Crown, 2005).

"Ghetto Life 101"
This still-fresh 1993 radio documentary presents the audio diaries of two teenage boys living in the projects on Chicago's South Side. Listen at soundportraits.org.

The Man Who Has Been To America
Enemy Combatant
In his memoir, British ex-detainee Moazzam Begg presents a detailed description of his three years of imprisonment in Afghanistan and Guantanamo (The New Press, 2006).

Guantánamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power
Joseph Margulies, a lawyer representing Guantanamo detainees, explains why the prison has become a "human rights debacle" (Simon & Schuster, 2006).

Center for Constitutional Rights
This New York-based legal group has been challenging the Bush administration's detention policies since the early days of the war on terror. Visit its Guantanamo Action Center at ccr-ny.org.

Cage Prisoners
This British-based Islamic human rights organization pushes for the shutdown of Guantanamo and collects information on individual detainees at cageprisoners.com.

Prime Suspect
The Center for Responsible Lending
Go to responsiblelending.org to learn how to spot predatory lenders before you borrow. The website also has links to community and legal organizations that can help if you've already gotten in over your head.

American Nightmare
Richard Lord exposes the dishonest appraisers, corrupt brokers, and greedy financial giants that have cashed in on the "foreclosure of the American dream" (Common Courage Press, 2004).

"Banking on Poverty"
Michael Hudson reported on big banks' profitable foray into high-interest loans for low-income customers in the January/February 2002 issue of Mother Jones.