I may at some point write commentary about the policy, but my real interest is illustrating what I am doing, as both an employee as well as an activist/advocate towards this issue of discrimination towards Trans persons at the University of Pittsburgh.
In the past few days, major corporate sponsors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have indicated they will not renew their memberships to the controversial conservative organization. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Intuit and Kraft Foods announced their departure amid mounting criticism over ALEC’s backing of “Stand Your Ground” gun laws, which have been implicated in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
A Hate Crime is a crime committed against a person or persons with the intent to create fear and intimidation within a group of people, such that the crime is one against persons as a group, for example, against Jews, or Blacks, or Queers. It isn’t clear if this crime meets that criteria or not, and in many ways it doesn’t matter (at least in my book) That a young man was beaten to a point that his friends feared for his very life is the same, no matter if this was a hate crime or not.
Scott Brown translation: I might vote for your equality sometimes and I might not vote for your equality at other times. Is that good enough for you? Not good enough for me.
The linked story is at Pam’s House Blend and deals specifically with a Louisiana bill, but it has ramifications for Pennsylvania, as we debate school vouchers and the rise in charter schools. So check out the whole post. It isn’t that vouchers are theoretically bad. The basic premise sounds as if it is a good thing, and the same holds true for charter schools. There is nothing about them in general which should be al[Read More…]
Saw this on NPR. Does anyone know how the congressional group seeking appeal is called “bipartisan”? I thought it was all GOP? Leave a comment and fill me in on the missing details. In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, declared a key section of the law unconstitutional. Judge Joseph Tauro found that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples[Read More…]
Note: While only about 15% of my readers are from the Philadelphia area, I wanted to pass along this press release I received today. Attacks on Philadelphia could soon be attacks on Pittsburgh/Allegheny County. Becoming aware of how myths are used to destroy faith in the system is important if we are to combat those who see to take our government away from us. New Report Shines Light on Philadelphia Courts, Exposes Myths PHILADELPHIA, PA[Read More…]
Follow the link below to see the whole story attached to this headline: KANSAS SPENDS HALF A MILLION DOLLARS DEFENDING ANTI-ABORTION LAWS Imagine what could have been done with half a million dollars for direct patient care or disease prevention. Instead it went to lawyers to support big intrusive government. This is not the GOP of yesteryear, but more like Big Brother. via Kansas Spends Half A Million Dollars Defending Anti-Abortion Laws | ThinkProgress.
See the folks who oppose our equal rights are loud, well funded and organized, but they are small in number. There are many many who might vote against our rights because they hear the lies and misinformation, but all it really takes is shining light against the lies, and these folks become our supporters. Men like these beautiful dancers , through their genuine willingness to be themselves educate the masses and increase the ranks of those who stand with us and see why we deserve full equality.
And I began to wonder how privilege sets the stage that allows libertarian ideas to seem as if they are a plausible solution for all people. In otherwords for those who have privilege, small government seems like a solution because from their perspective a bigger government that makes demands is meddling. But what about a person who is disenfrangised? These are, in my opinion those for whom government must be there to protect, right?