Fascism 101: Why We Need To Spell It Out (tags)
We need to have a transformative vision that can compete with that of the far right, one based on genuine equality and genuine democratic empowerment that goes beyond the now discredited liberal democracy. Some call this vision socialism. Others would prefer another term, but the important thing is its message of radical, real equality beyond class, gender, and race.
FemApocalypse - How underprivileged is the institutionalized woman? (tags)
"Meglio un asino vivo che un dottore morto"... Before I join the canon, for the sake of my sexuality, that puts forward women's rights for Ilse Koch (Witch of Buchenwald), I am of the opinion that the issue of gender equality requires an objective analysis, because not only women and women, men and men, Men and women but according to Dr. Edith Butler up to 16 genders have different views on this dualistic construct at first sight. Before equality between men and women, however, for logic reasons, equality between men should first be achieved.
What is Joe Biden's Israel Policy, Exactly? (tags)
The Biden administration thought it could muddle through with the usual pro-Israel platitudes, but rising awareness of Israeli apartheid is making that impossible.
The misunderstood class warrior Martin Luther King (tags)
Today, 50 years after his assassination, Martin Luther King is more glorified than ever...The memory of the social revolutionary was politically instrumentalized, King was appropriated. Tto tell the story of the reconciled nation, the dissident had to be erased from memory.
Time on our Side by Anna Coote (tags)
In her opening essay, Juliet Schor argues that countries in the rich world cannot continue to grow their economies if they are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to sustainable levels. We must face up to a future with little or no economic growth.
Benjamin Tucker: Individualist Libertarian Market Socialist (Updated 2017) (tags)
American Individualist Libertarianism is a form of market socialism with self-employed individuals, co-operative businesses, and socialist employers. 1. (If your interested, please see: Benjamin Tucker’s State Socialism and Anarchism: Where they Agree and where they Differ) It differs from Mutualist market socialism because mutualist market socialism also has an agro-industrial federation and a regulated market (regulated market by the community or federation) to ensure equality of opportunity. 2. (If your interested, please see: Proudhon’s Principle of Federation)
Pope Francis: Pope Of The Poor, Of Mother Earth, Of Prisoners (tags)
Pope Francis is working to make the Catholic church a church for the poor.
Inequality and Liberal Democracy: A Disturbing Association (tags)
How do we bring fundamental reforms about at a time when organized minorities and disorganized, quiescent majorities appear to be the norm in both the North and the South?
Proposition 8, DoMA and the Supreme Court (tags)
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage passed by California voters in November 2008, and also the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA) that defines marriage under federal law as only between one man and one woman. But the current Right-wing Court is likely to uphold Prop. 8 as constitutional and leave the battle for marriage equality to state-by-state political and social campaigns.
Queer Democrats Celebrate Election Victories at Freedom Awards (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality celebrated recent election victories in San Diego County at their annual Freedom Awards November 17 at 1202 Club in HIllcrest. They also honored retiring State Senator Christine Kehoe, the first open Queer ever elected to office in San Diego County, for her19 years in elective office.
Freedom without Equality is Only Half Freedom (tags)
Social security guaranteed by welfare state institutions ensures security and freedom. Security is one of those resources that guarantees autonomy. Whoever can lead life free from anxiety is freer. Material privileges lead to a privileged access to power. Wealthy lobbies can buy laws today and normal citizens feel cut off.
S.A.M.E. Hosts Victory Celebration for Marriage Equality Protesters (tags)
The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) held a victory celebration September 21 at the Bamboo Lounge in Hillcrest after San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith dropped all charges against the Equality Nine, protesters who were arrested at the San Diego County Clerk's office August 19, 2010 for showing up to request marriage licenses or support others doing so, including same-sex couples who had appointments. The event featured five of the Equality Nine and also Queer-rights pioneers Leo Laurence and Pat Brown, who led militant Queer-liberation demonstrations in San Francisco months before the Stonewall riots.
Mitt "47% Victims" Romney Reveals His Allegiance to Wealthy (tags)
Despite his attempts to appeal to the 100%, Mitt Romney spoke his mind and heart by showing disregard for the 47% of people whom HE (NOT US) considers to be victims who want to live on welfare for their natural lives. If anyone is promoting class warfare it is Mr. Romney himself by appealing to the wealthy elites who will fund his commercials.
“EQUALITY NINE VICTORY CELEBRATION” AT BAMBOO LOUNGE IN HILLCREST SEPTEMBER 21 (tags)
San Diego's Queer community is celebrating the end of the Equality Nine case Friday, September 21, 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bamboo Lounge, 1475 University Avenue in Hillcrest. After having criminal charges hanging over their heads for more than two years, the six remaining members of the Equality Nine are finally free thanks to the city dismissing the case in late August.
S.A.M.E. & Centro Cultural Present Joint Event on Queer Immigrants (tags)
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) and the Centro Cultural de la Raza are presenting their first joint event on immigration issues and the Queer community Saturday, September 29, 6 to 9 p.m., at the Centro Cultural, 2004 Park Boulevard in Balboa Park.
San Diego City Attorney Drops Charges Against Marriage Activists (tags)
Six members of the Equality Nine, marriage equality activists arrested over two years ago for going to the San Diego County Clerk's office and demanding marriage licenses for same-sex couples, were vindicated August 24 when city attorney Jan Goldsmith filed a motion to dismiss all charges. Originally scheduled for April 30, the scheduled trial had already been delayed until September because the judge in the case found the prosecution had been discriminating against Queer potential jurors and dissolved the jury pool. The Equality Nine regard this as a victory for marriage equality and free speech.
Queer Democrats Make Defeating Prop. 32 a Priority (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality voted August 23 to make defeating Proposition 32 a priority race in the November 6 election. Proposition 32 is an effort to destroy the ability of organized labor to raise money for political campaigns, and it's being sold deceptively as a campaign finance reform measure even though its principal sponsors are multi-million dollar donors to Republican candidates and super-PAC's. On the eve of Women's Equality Day, the club also heard from professors Dr. Sue Gonda and Carla Kirkwood on the history of women's struggles for equality and their links to the Queer rights movement.
Real Queer Leaders Aren't Hypocrites (tags)
The frontrunner in this year's campaign for Mayor of San Diego is Carl DeMaio, a ferociously Right-wing Gay Republican who's built his entire political career bashing city workers, their unions and labor in general. When he was booed at the July 21 Pride Parade, his partner, Johnathan Hale, published an open letter blaming it on Queer people putting their loyalty to union politics above the Queer community. Yet DeMaio himself has built his mayoral campaign by appealing to influential Republican homophobes, including U-T San Diego publisher Doug Manchester, to support him.
Queer Democrats Host Love-Fest for Endorsed Candidates (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality turned their June 28 meeting into a love-fest for their candidates who survived the June 5 primary and moved on to the November 6 general election. In the first test of their new policy against endorsing or rating candidates who aren't 100 percent for marriage equality or reproductive choice, they also refused to consider an endorsement or a rating for socially conservative Democrat Juan Vargas for Congress in the 51st District.
Queer Democrats Demand 100% on Marriage, Choice (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality passed a sweeping change to its rules for endorsing or rating candidates May 24. The new rules demand that candidates seeking an endorsement or favorable rating from the club support full marriage equality for Queer couples and an eight-point agenda for protecting women's access to abortion.
Obama's Profile in Courage (tags)
Say what you will about President Obama's overall record, his recent endorsement of marriage equality for same-sex couples was an act of real political courage. It's not going to help him politically because the states in which it's going to win him more votes are large, cosmopolitan East and West Coast states he was going to carry anyway, while it's going to cost him votes in the South and so-called "swing states." It also dramatically contrasts him with Mitt Romney, who supports amending the U.S. Constitution to abolish marriage equality for same-sex couples.
San Diego Queer Groups Fight Proposition B (tags)
Queer organizations in San Diego, including Canvass for a Cause (CFAC) and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.), are uniting against Proposition B, a "reform" initiative sponsored by openly Gay Right-wing Republican City Councilmember and Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio that would destroy any hope of retirement security for city workers.
San Diego Marriage Equality Trial Delayed (tags)
A funny thing happened to the six remaining defendants in the Equality Nine case — members of the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) who were arrested while demonstrating for marriage equality at the San Diego County Clerk’s office August 19, 2010 — on their way to a trial that was supposed to begin April 30. Judge Joan Weber, discovered that prosecutors had systematically excluded Queers from the jury pool, and she threw out the entire jury pool and decided that the case would have to start over September 18.
BTL:In Historic Shift, Obama Declares His Support for Same Gender Marriage (tags)
Interview with John Lewis, legal director with the group Marriage Equality USA, conducted by Scott Harris
John Brooks: Occupy Inspires Neophyte to Run for Congress (tags)
John Brooks was a retired agent for the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife until he saw the Occupy San Diego protests on TV and was inspired to run for Congress as an alternative Democrat. Though he ran afoul of the San Diego Democrats for Equality's endorsement process, he's recently been endorsed by Progressive Democrats of America and his real views on Queer rights and women's choice are far more progressive than the Democrats for Equality's questionnaire made them sound.
Miss Hooker Beauty Pageant: Naked Facts about Women and Equality (tags)
Politics is where the power is, so if women desire that power, why does testosterone consume the room when it is time to affect change?
Queer Democrats Endorse Teachers’ Union Leaders for School Boards (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality have become virtually an appendage of the local labor movements in making their 2012 election endorsements. In January they rejected progressive Congressional candidate Lori Saldaña and endorsed her moderate Democratic opponent, Scott Peters, largely on labor's say-so. In February they rated anti-marriage Catholic Juan Vargas and marriage equality defender Denise Moreno Ducheny equally "acceptable" for another Congressional seat. And in March they picked teachers' union leaders for their school board endorsements.
Queer Democrats Split in 51st Congressional District Race (tags)
For the second month in a row, the San Diego Democrats for EqualIty refused to endorse a progressive Latina for Congress. This time they were unable to come to a consensus whether to support Denise Moreno Ducheny or Juan Vargas in the 51st Congressional District, currently represented by mayoral candidate Bob Filner, despite Vargas's opposition to marriage equality and his abandonment of previous support for single-payer health care.
Marriage Equality Activists Face Trial March 28 (tags)
The Equality 9 — nine members of the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) who sat in at the San Diego county clerk's office August 19, 2010 to protest the delay in implementing the federal court decision that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, are facing trial in San Diego County Superior Court March 28. They are asking for people to show up at 8 a.m. for a pre-trial march and rally and to contact San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to urge him to drop the charges.
Where's OUR Religious Liberty? (tags)
The recent controversy over whether institutions owned by the Roman Catholic Church should be required to include birth control coverage in the health insurance they offer employees, the attempt in Virginia to require women seeking abortions to submit to medical rape, and the radical Right's reaction to the 9th Circuit appeals court ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional raises the question: why does it seem as if only bigoted Right-wing churches have "religious liberty" in this country? Why are America's officially tolerated spiritual belief systems seemingly limited to those of the Roman Catholics, Mormons and Southern Baptist Convention?
Why Manning’s Identity Shall Remain Private (tags)
The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) and Zenger’s Newsmagazine support the struggle of alleged WikiLeaker Private Manning against a U.S. government that held him in solitary confinement for nearly two years under conditions so arduous they constitute torture, and now is putting them on trial in a court-martial even though President Obama has already compromised the process by declaring them guilty. S.A.M.E. and Zenger’s also support Private Manning’s right to choose their own gender identity, and as a result we will not assign them a first name or any gender-specific references.
Occupy Activist Recalls Police Brutality, Medical Neglect (tags)
At the annual holiday fundraiser of the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) December 9, activist and police brutality victim Michelle "Jersey" Deutsch recalled not only being Maced by police but being the victim of prejudicial treatment at the hospital once the doctors and nurses treating her learned that she was an Occupy San Diego activist who had been attacked by police at the occupation site.
Terrorizing Palestinians and Israeli Arabs (tags)
Israel
S.A.M.E. to Host Holiday Fundraiser December 9 (tags)
The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) will host its annual holiday fundraiser Friday, December 9, 7 to 9:30 p.m., at the Bamboo Lounge, 1475 University Avenue in Hillcrest. Half the proceeds will go to the defense fund for the Equality 9, nine S.A.M.E. members and supporters facing trial in March 2012 for their civil disobedience in support of marriage equality. The other half will go to pay medical expenses for Occupy San Diego and Canvass for a Cause activist Michelle “Jersey” Deutsch, who was beaten by San Diego police during one of their raids on the Occupy encampment in Civic Center Plaza downtown.
Queer Democrats Endorse Occupy San Diego (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality (formerly the San Diego Democratic Club) held their first regular meeting since the name change October 27 and overwhelmingly endorsed Occupy San Diego. The strongly worded resolution, based on one passed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, not only supported Occupy's right to protest and camp out in the Civic Center Plaza downtown but also ringingly endorsed the group's challenge to corporate power. The club also endorsed progressive Congressmember Bob Filner for Mayor of San Diego in the 2012 election.
Nico D'Amico-Barbour: Canvass for a Cause Organizer on Marriage Equality, Occupation (tags)
Nico D'Amico-Barbour, regional field director for the marriage equality organization Canvass for a Cause, discusses marriage rights, the Occupy movement and other progressive issues in this audio interview, scheduled for print publication in the December 2011 issue of Zenger's Newsmagazine.
Marriage Equality Protesters Have Day in Court Oct. 17 (tags)
The "Equality Nine," marriage equality protesters who were arrested in August 2010 for staging a sit-in at the San Diego County Clerk's office to protest the continuing denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, were back in court October 17. The city attorney, who has refused to drop the charges, has offered them a plea deal, but so far all but two have refused to take it.
What's in a Name? "San Diego Democrats for Equality" (tags)
The mountain labored at the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club September 22 and produced the club's new name: "San Diego Democrats for Equality." The push to change the club's name was sparked by several members who thought the original name, approved when the club started in 1974, was a relic of a more closeted age and the club needed a new name that more openly and proudly proclaimed its identity as a Queer-rights organization. Though the club voted overwhelmingly to change its name, there was considerable debate over what to change it to: out of the three proposed alternatives, the least openly Queer name, "San Diego Democrats for Equality," won a majority on the first ballot against "San Diego Stonewall Democrats" (after the event commonly, but inaccurately, thought to have started the U.S. Queer rights movement) and "San Diego LGBT Democrats."
Five Minutes of Geography ? (tags)
The late Lenny Bruce once joked that the radical Right's fears about ? shock! ? sex education in the public schools were unfounded because schoolkids weren't going to come home and tell their parents, "Today at school we learned five minutes of geography and ten minutes of cocksucking." The modern-day radical Right's campaign to get rid of SB 48, a bill recently passed by the California legislature to require middle and high schools to teach the role and contributions of Queer Americans (along with Pacific Islanders and people with disabilities), is driven by a similar paranoia and a disbelief that there even are such things as Queer people ? and so far the Queer community's response to the attack on SB 48 is all too faithfully copied from the losing campaign against Proposition 8: a "coalition" made up mostly of straight people and a whiny argument about how we supposedly need "role models" to keep from drinking, drugging or suiciding.
Free the Equality Nine! Action Sept. 28 in Downtown San Diego (tags)
Over a year has passed since the ?Equality Nine? ? members and supporters of the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) ? were arrested on August 19, 2010 at the San Diego County Administrative Center. Now the Equality Nine plan to present their petitions to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith at a rally Wednesday, September 28, 4 p.m. outside the City Attorney?s office, 1200 Third Avenue downtown. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday, October 17 in the San Diego County Courthouse downtown.
SB 48 Referendum: THE Epic Struggle for Queer Rights in California (tags)
Roland Palencia, executive director of the Queer lobbying group Equality California (EQCA), calls the radical Right's attempt to get rid of the FAIR Education Act, also known as SB 48, "the greatest threat in years to LGBT [Queer] Californians." The Act adds Queer people, people with disabilities and Pacific Islanders to the list of communities whose "role and contributions" to American and Californian history and society must be acknowledged in lessons and textbooks used by the California public schools. Radical-Right activists, including some of the same people who successfully eliminated marriage equality in California via Proposition 8, plan to make it a referendum on the very existence and legitimacy of the Queer community and will likely wage an ugly campaign based on many negative stereotypes of Queer people. Palencia's group is fighting back by setting up a broad, mostly non-Queer coalition, and he, EQCA regional field director George Zander and openly Queer San Diego Unified School District board member Kevin Beiser spoke at the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club August 25 to mobilize its members to join the campaign and help organize the grand coalition.
The Long and Winding Road of Marriage Equality Litigation (tags)
Seeking social change through litigation is not for the faint-hearted ? or the impatient. At the July 28 meeting of the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club, attorney Jason Molnar of the Southern Poverty Law Center talked about the history of marriage equality litigation and brought two flow charts showing the twisted route it's already taken through the courts ? and it's likely to get even more twisted before the U.S. Supreme Court rules one way or the other.
Marching with S.A.M.E. at the San Diego Pride Parade (tags)
A lot of progressive Queers and Queer-friendly allies have written off the annual Pride events as overly commercial, corporate and mainstream. But that's not what it felt like to me when I marched with the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) in San Diego's Pride Parade July 16. In a mixed contingent that also included members of the Bradley Manning Support Group and the International Socialist Organization, I felt like part of a movement, participating in an island of militant political awareness that asserted the values on which Pride was founded that have largely got lost in the overall celebration. With nine S.A.M.E. members facing criminal charges for seeking marriage licenses following the federal district court ruling declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional, some of the signs the contingent carried linked their members -- and Bradley Manning -- to notorious American political prisoners of the past.
Rally Kicks Off San Diego Pride Events (tags)
San Diego's Queer (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Pride events kicked off Friday, July 15 at a rally on the pride festival site in Balboa Park. The featured speakers were New Age author and credentialed minister Marianne Williamson, who talked about marriage equality as a straight supporter who has performed same-sex weddings, and Daniel Hernandez, the young, openly Gay aide to Congressmember Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who saved her life when she was shot at an outdoor rally in January. But the most powerful speaker was former San Diego Democratic Club president Larry Baza, who powerfully expressed the history of the Queer rights movement and the challenges it faces in the future.
The vote of the New York legislature to legally recognize same-sex marriage has produced a backlash of unexpected ferocity and scope. It comes from an Iowa-based organization called THE FAMiLY LEADER (that's the way it's printed on their logo) and it's called "The Marriage Vow." It's a far-reaching set of principles that goes beyond attacking same-sex marriage and supporting a Federal Marriage Amendment to ban it nationwide. It targets African-Americans in particular and says Black children born during the slave era were more likely to be raised by their mother and father than African-American infants born since Obama's election. It also calls for bans on adultery, "quickie" divorces, Sharia Islam and laws that don't conform to the Judeo-Christian agenda. The aim of its authors is to get all the current candidates for President to sign it ? and two Republicans, Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, already have.
Back to the Ballot - Queer Activists Debate Whether to Seek Repeal of Prop. 8 (tags)
With the court challenge to Proposition 8, California?s voter-approved ban on legal recognition of same-sex marriages, mired in potential legal wrangling that could take years to resolve, Equality California (EQCA) revived their plans to take the issue back to voters and seek an initiative to repeal Prop. 8. But the 70 or so activists at the EQCA town-hall meeting in San Diego June 3 split over whether that?s a good strategy ? or whether EQCA, primarily a lobbying organization, is the right group to run such a campaign.
San Diegans March in Support of Chrissy Lee Polis, Transgender Rights (tags)
The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) and All Out at City, the Queer student group at San Diego City College, drew about 70 people to a march and rally they staged outside the McDonald’s in Hillcrest April 30 in support of Transgender rights. The rally was in support of Chrissy Lee Polis,the 24-year-old Transgender woman who was beaten up by two teenage girls in a women’s restroom at a McDonald’s in Baltimore April 18, while McDonald’s staff and customers looked on and only one person actually tried to stop the attack. One McDonald’s employee filmed the incident on a video-equipped cell phone and posted the clip to the Internet, where it “went viral” and shocked the conscience of many people who saw it. S.A.M.E., All Out at City and various individuals, many of them Transgender, seized the teachable moment to hold an event that held Transgender rights central to the overall struggle for Queer equality.
Oppose Brown’s cuts in California! Education must be a social right! (tags)
In his latest budget, California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is proposing drastic cuts that will affect the lives of students and workers throughout the state, including $1.4 billion in cuts to higher education. The net wealth of the 19 richest Californians is more than ten times the entire amount of proposed budget cuts!
State without Shame: Contradictions (tags)
The central question remains unanswered: why no society in the past could permanently guarantee freedom and equality. Are we lacking in brotherliness and human relations? Are we not equal to the size of the task? Or are we prisoners of structures that force us to act against our will?
Over 100 San Diegans Demonstrate for Marriage Equality on Eve of Court Hearing (tags)
Over 100 San Diego supporters of marriage equality took to the streets in Hillcrest Saturday, December 4 as part of a statewide mobilization, "Unite to Make It Right," two days before the scheduled Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on the legal challenge to Proposition 8, which banned legal recognition of same-sex marriage in California. The event consisted of two rallies and a march in between, and speakers called for more militant activism and more aggressive challenges aimed at President Obama and other elected officials who have talked the talk of Queer equality but have done little or nothing to bring it about.
“Equality Nine” Marriage Rights Demonstrators to be Arraigned Sept. 30 (tags)
The “Equality Nine” — Michael Anderson, Brian Baumgardner, Sean Bohac, Felicity Bradley, Kelsey Hoffman, Mike Kennedy, Zakiya Khabir, Chuck Stemke, and Cecile Veillard — are activists with the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) who were arrested at a sit-in outside the San Diego County Clerk's office August 19. They're scheduled for arraignment at the San Diego County Courthouse, 220 West Broadway downtown, Thursday, September 30, and they want supporters to come to the plaza outside the courthouse at noon that day to show support.
Not Heard on Grace Aaron/Ian Masters, Free Speech Radio KPFK (tags)
The Ann Arbor Socialist Equality Party Congress Presents: The Breakdown of Capitalism and the fight for Socialism in the United States: Program of the Socialist Equality Party
Zenger’s Newsmagazine Editorial on Proposition 8 Decision (tags)
Written before the most recent development in the federal case challenging Proposition 8 — the good-news, bad-news decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to delay same-sex marriages in California until at least December, but also to consider the all-important issue of whether the supporters of Proposition 8 even have legal standing to appeal — this editorial from the summer 2010 print edition of Zenger's Newsmagazine shows what a roller-coaster this issue has been and how the Queer community needs to be militant and ready for a long-term battle for full equality before the law, including marriage rights.
Marriage Victory Celebration Draws 3,000 to Hillcrest Streets (tags)
Account of the marriage equality celebration that occurred on the streets of Hillcrest, the San Diego neighborhood famous for its large Queer population, on August 4, 2010 — the day Judge Vaughn R. Walker announced his decision in the federal lawsuit challenging Proposition 8. Though Queer activists and allies have since been frustrated by the court-ordered delays in enforcing Walker's decision, they can be proud that a judge ruled that there is absolutely no rational basis for a ban on marriage between two partners of the same gender.
Pride Rally Reveals Queer Community’s Divisions Over Obama (tags)
The July 16 San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender pride rally, which opened the city's weekend of Pride events, revealed the deep-seated divisions within the Queer community over President Obama and the proper way of organizing. Stuart Milk, nephew of Queer martyr Harvey Milk, said he'd attended a meeting at the White House at which Obama endorsed virtually the entire agenda of the Queer rights movement — but Fresno-based activist Robin McGehee said that doesn't matter. McGehee and San Diego Transgender activist Autumn Sandeen, who joined together for a direct-action campaign against the White House over Obama's failure to seek repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that keeps openly Queer people from serving in the U.S. military, said that the Queer community should use nonviolent civil disobedience to confront Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate majority leader Harry Reid and other Democratic politicians who aren't delivering on their promises to the Queer community.
Capitalism and Democracy (tags)
Citizens are protected from incursions of the state and on the other side must accept the sovereignty of the state and the general law as prerequisites of property and security. Whoever has visions should be the physician. A good physician will urge changing one's way of life.
EMERGENCY COUNTER-PROTEST RALLY IN SUPPORT OF OUR LGBT VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY (tags)
EMERGENCY COUNTER-PROTEST RALLY TOMORROW MORNING Sat., Feb 13 @ 9AM in Little Saigon (Westminster) , to support the LGBT Vietnamese Community
Fernando Lopez: Marriage Equality Activist Looks to the Future (tags)
San Diego marriage equality activist Fernando Lopez discusses his own relationship history, his involvement with Marriage Equality USA, the heartbreak of the Proposition 8 defeat and his own critique of the No on 8 strategy, the current Perry v. Schwarzenegger case and his outlook for the future of same-sex marriage in the U.S. A longer version of the interview published in the February-March 2010 issue of Zenger's Newsmagazine.
Imperial County Enters Court Case Against Marriage Equality (tags)
The Board of Supervisors of Imperial County voted 3-2 last December to intervene in the federal court case challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which defines marriage in California as between one man and one woman. According to marriage equality activist Fernando Lopez, Jr., the board's attempt to intervene in support of Prop. 8 — which the court neither accepted nor denied before the case began — was significant because, by involving a government body in the case on the side of Prop. 8, it would allow the Prop. 8 supporters to appeal a ruling against them even if the state of California chose not to.
Passing the Torch of Equality to the Next Generation (tags)
Black Heritage Week, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his concepts of non-violence and equality.
Youth for Human Rights advocates join non-violent message of Martin Luther King Jr. (tags)
People of different races, cultures and religions walked to represent Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of non-violent change for equality for all.
The Anarchist School: Education For Equality (tags)
* The following text, published in # 57 of El Libertario, Venezuela, condenses the vision of the theme of the author, who died in the middle of 2009, who thanks to the work developed in her Free School Paideia, in Mérida, Spain, was a contemporary exponent recognized for the practice and the theory of libertarian education.
CLAIMS DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED! (tags)
I speak in behalf of the Justice for Filipino-American Veterans (JFAV) and AWARE (Association of Widows, Advocates, and Relatives for Equality) with chapters in key US cities. I want to echo the veterans and widows huge disappointment over the slow processing of the lump sum. While your office claims that 25% have received their lump sum both in the US and Philippines, many veterans here in the US feel that your office fails to deliver an immediate and 100% delivery of an overdue benefit. How many more months and years do these veterans have to wait after having waited for the last 63 years?
JFAV/AWARE MARKED 65th LEYTE LANDING, on October 22 at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical (tags)
The Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV), an alliance of veterans, widows, students and youth and community advocates in the United States and the Association of Widows, Relatives and Advocates for Equality (AWARE) in Los Angeles marked the 65th year anniversary of the Leyte Landing on October 20, 1944 with a commemorative rites at the AWARE general assembly last October 22, 2009 at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center Lecture hall.
Queer Democrats Can’t Agree on Marriage Strategy (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club discussed whether to seek the repeal of Proposition 8 in 2010 or 2012 at its regular meeting September 24 — and turned out to be as divided on that topic as the rest of California’s Queer community. The two major statewide Queer organizations, Equality California and the Courage Campaign, have taken totally different tacks on the issue. The Courage Campaign not only favors 2010 but is already organizing for the earlier date, while Equality California’s leaders are convinced that 2010 is premature. Both the club’s invited panelists and its own members differed widely on whether to go in 2010 or 2012, and both proposals for the club to take action on the issue were voted down by wide margins.
Marriage Equality Follies (tags)
The split between California's two leading statewide Queer equality groups, the Courage Campaign and Equality California, over whether to seek the repeal of the anti-marriage Proposition 8 in 2010 or 2012 is criminally stupid and a disaster for the Queer community. The Courage Campaign is energetically moving to create “facts on the ground” to force the rest of the community to join it in a premature push for a 2010 ballot initiative that will almost certainly lose. A later initiative would give the community more time to organize and build support — but a unified effort for 2010 would be better than a continued division that might produce not one, but two, losing initiative campaigns.
Queer Democrats Celebrate Women’s Equality Day (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club celebrated Women’s Equality Day August 27 with a program featuring the club’s women’s caucus chair Kate Lyon, California NOW president Patty Bellasalma, Congressional candidate Francine Busby and Assemblymember Lori Saldaña discussing the history of feminist activism in the U.S. and the continuing difficulty of electing women to public office. The club members also considered an initiative to impose term limits on the members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, but decided to delay taking a position on that for a month.
Former Obama Adviser Attacks Him at Freedom Awards (tags)
Steve Hildebrand has been described as Barack Obama's closest Gay friend and the person he listens to on Gay issues, but at the August 22 Freedom Awards, the main fundraiser for the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club, he bluntly said, “The problem is Obama isn’t listening enough.” At the event, Hildebrand delivered a slashing attack on Obama and the Democrats in Congress -- both the so-called “Blue Dogs” in the House and the “moderates” in the Senate, as well as leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid who are letting them get away with hijacking Obama’s agenda and pushing him to the Right. Hildebrand predicted that the Democrats will lose their Congressional majority if they continue to tack Rightward and fail to do the things they were elected to do.
Queer Democrats Endorse Busby for Congress — Barely (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club narrowly endorsed Francine Busby in her fourth attempt to unseat an incumbent Republican Congressmember in San Diego North County's 50th Congressional District. Her supporters promoted her as the most electable candidate because she's built up a large following of volunteers and contributors in the district; her opponents said she'd fudged the question of same-sex marriage equality on the club's questionnaire while her primary opponent, Tracy Emblem, had answered it forthrightly.
SAME Meeting Challenges Queer Establishment, Democratic Party (tags)
The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) hosted a meeting at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center June 23 that was billed as a response to Proposition 8 and a discussion of the future of marriage equality in California — but it also turned into a radical response to the Queer establishment in general and the Courage Campaign in particular. Lesbian activist Robin Tyler, who was one of the lead plaintiffs in the suit that briefly won marriage rights for same-sex couples in California, criticized the strategies and tactics of the Courage Campaign and denounced the Democratic party as having screwed over Queer people for 35 to 40 years, She called for the Queer community to cut ties with the Democrats once and for all.
Don’t Rush Back to the Ballot on Marriage (tags)
The Queer community in California is asking itself the wrong question in the current debate over whether to try to repeal Proposition 8 at the ballot box in 2010 or 2012. Either date is too early, Mark Gabrish Conlan argues in this editorial from the July 2009 Zenger’s Newsmagazine. Rather than launch a premature initiative drive we will likely lose, organizing around this issue needs to occur outside the electoral process and take the form of nonviolent direct action and public education efforts to convince a majority of Californians that denying legal marriage to same-sex couples is an intolerable form of discrimination.
Over 70 Activists Stage Marriage Equality Sit-in at S.D. County Clerk’s Office (tags)
Over 70 marriage equality activists occupied the office of the San Diego County Clerk Wednesday, May 27 as a protest against the California Supreme Court’s ruling that Proposition 8, which restricts marriage in California to one man and one woman, is constitutional. Michael Anderson and Brian Baumgardner led the action by demanding a marriage license, and other Queer couples followed suit. The event ended peacefully, with no arrests, when the crowd dispersed an hour after the official closing time of the building.
“MARRY US OR JAIL US” DARE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE EQUALITY ACTIVISTS (tags)
An estimated 500 people (many of them high school youth) participated in a passionate protest organized by Latinos for Equality Alliance of East Los Angeles reacting to this morning’s announcement of the California Supreme Court’s decision to allow Proposition 8 (the gay marriage equality referendum) to stand as law.
MP3 Audio – Jorge Amaro, of Latino Equality Alliance Reacts to Court Prop 8 Ruling (tags)
MP3 Audio – Jorge Amaro, of Latino Equality Alliance Reacts to Court Prop 8 Ruling
Prop 8 Challenge Legal Team to Hold Press Conference Following Supreme Court Ruling (tags)
(Los Angeles, May 22, 2008) — The California Supreme Court has announced that it will rule Tuesday, May 26, 2009, on whether Proposition 8, passed by a slim majority of voters on November 4 and eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry, was a valid amendment to the California Constitution.
San Diego Hosts Meeting on Same-Sex Marriage Equality (tags)
The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center hosted a town-hall meeting April 2 to discuss the future of marriage equality in the wake of the upcoming California Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in the state. Speakers included Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, other professionals and grass-roots activists like Fernando Lopez, whose group is organizing people to go talk to individuals one-on-one to make them aware of how Queer people suffer from not having access to civil marriage.
Assemblymember Marty Block Defends Prop. 8 Stance to Queer Democrats (tags)
Assemblymember Marty Block appeared before the San Diego Democratic Club March 26 to explain why he voted against a legislative resolution instructing the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8, the initiative passed by voters last November to restrict marriage in California to opposite-sex couples. Block said that, as a former judge, he didn't think it was appropriate for the legislature to tell a court what to do about a pending case, whether it's the Right telling judges to uphold restrictions on abortion or progressives telling the court to preserve same-sex marriage equality.
Over 500 Turn Out for Marriage Equality Demonstration (tags)
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and his Lesbian daughter Lisa (pictured) led off the San Diego installment of "March Forth on March Fourth," a series of rallies and demonstrations held statewide on the eve of the California Supreme Court's oral hearings on the legal challenges to Proposition 8. Mayor Sanders endorsed same-sex marriage equality last year after deciding he couldn't tell his daughter that her relationship was less important than his.
We are slightly annoyed by the fact we are commodities
“No on 8” Actions, Discussions Continue (tags)
The fight against the anti-marriage Proposition 8 has lasted quite a bit longer than the election, in which the same-sex marriage ban passed by a five-point margin. Queer and allied activists are still holding demonstrations against the initiative and meeting to discuss where the fight will go next. But their discussions are stronger on building communications strategies than actually plotting a course to reverse the ballot measure.
Equality and Parity II: Acción de prevención y cuidado médico de VIH para Transgéneros (tags)
Estamos ofreciendo becas para la conferencia Equality and Parity II: Acción de prevención y cuidado médico de VIH para Transgéneros a nivel Estatal, como una manera de apoyar a quienes, de otra manera, no podrían costearse los gastos para asistir a este evento tan importante. Alentamos a las personas que presenten solicitudes de beca, a que exploren otras fuentes adicionales de financiamiento.
AJLPP Support the Protest , Nov. 15 in LA (tags)
ight for equality and against discrimination should come out this Saturday in Los Angeles to protest the passage of California' Proposition 8. This Saturday, November 15 10:30 AM, BE THERE and Gather at Los Angeles City Hall, down town Los Angeles 90029 The AJLPP-USA is deeply angered by the well-funded right-wing campaign of bigotry that is trying to push millions of LGBT people back into the closet. What the right cannot win in a fair elections are being done by deceit and manipulations through vaguely worded propositions like PROP 8! AJLPP expresses militant solidarity with those who came out in a massive mass action last night in Los Angeles and in San Francisco against Prop 8. We promise more mass action and other means to fight these wrong and unjust measures.
AJLPP support the the Emergency Protest & Rally No More Hate! Overturn Prop. 8! (tags)
The AJLPP is deeply angered by the well-funded right-wing campaign of bigotry that is trying to push millions of LGBT people back into the closet. What the right cannot win in a fair elections are being done by deceit and manipulations through vaguely worded propositions like PROP 8! AJLPP expresses militant solidarity with those who came out in a massive mass action last night in Los Angeles and in San Francisco against Prop 8. We promise more mass action and other means to fight these wrong and unjust measures.
Rancho Cucamonga Youth Demonstrate Against Proposition 8 (tags)
October 25, 2008 RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Student leaders of local high school Gay-Straight Alliances banded together this Saturday to demand equality for LGBT people and spread awareness about the insidious proposition 8. They were joined by teachers, community members, and families. Prop eight, if passed, would eliminate the legal right for same-sex couples to marry. Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court decided that the right to marry was guaranteed by the state constitution, and could not be superseded by initiative.
Marriage: Some Good News, More Bad News (tags)
The October 10 Connecticut Supreme Court decision endorsing marriage equality for same-sex couples was good news, but it was far overshadowed by the devastating new poll results on Proposition 8, which seeks to overturn the similar ruling last May by the California Supreme Court. Not only has Yes on 8 taken the lead, but they've done so by organizing younger voters — whom marriage equality supporters had assumed would be a bulwark of their coalitiion.
Socialist Equality Party Announces Southern California Meeting (tags)
Socialist Equality Party Vice Presidential Candidate Bill Van Auken Will Speak in Santa Monica on Saturday, October 25, 2008. The Socialist Equality Party is the party of the World Socialist Web Site, www.wsws.org
Pacifica Los Angeles KPFK Listeners Ask:Will Censorship of Socialist Perspectives Continue (tags)
With candidates of socialist perspective taking the lead on issues in the 2008 election, listeners of self-proclaimed Pacifica "Revolutionary Radio" KPFK wonder if the station will continue to censor their candidates and positions and ignore their core point that, as a matter of empirical fact, liberal reform has failed and shows no prospect for success with an Obama election.
Queer Marriage Advocates Launch "Decline to Sign" Drive (tags)
Faced with a well-funded campaign to permanently ban same-sex marriage in the California constitution, Queer and Queer-friendly Californians are joining forces to mount a volunteer campaign to keep marraige equality opponents from getting the signatures they need to get their initiative on the ballot at all.
CDIR Marks Martin Luther King Day, January 21, 2008 (tags)
The Coalition In Defense of Immigrant Rights (CDIR)-USA pays tribute to the great African American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today January 21,2008. “While we commemorate Dr. King and his greatness and the American people’s struggle, for justice and equality, the CDIR is however militantly preparing for the surge of anti-immigrant scape-goating in the face of the current economic recession in the United States”, the CDIR-USA coordinator Arturo P. Garcia said.
CALL YOUR REP. RE VOTE TRANS INCLUSIVE ENDA BILL (tags)
National Center for Transgender Equality, the West Hollywood Transgender Task Force, and many other LBGT organizations urge you to ask your Congressperson to vote YES on HR 2015 [Trans inclusive ENDA, and NO on HR 3685 [phony "ENDA' bill that excludes Trans folks].
S.F. Assemblymember Leno Speaks on Same-Sex Marriage (tags)
San Francisco Assemblymember Mark Leno was the keynote speaker at the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club's Freedom Banquet fundraiser October 6. He talked about the bill for marriage equality for same-sex couples he's pushed through the California legislature twice, the likelihood that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto it (as he did in 2005) and the various radical-Right initiative proposals to ban marriage for same-sex couples in California forever.
Gnomes, Smiley Faces and the LA Gay Debate (tags)
I attended the televised Democratic debate in Los Angeles, which focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. The evening’s theme was about moving towards a necessary equality
Transgenders Criticize LGB Choice of Film for Festival (tags)
This Saturday, July 21, Outfest is showing the controversial new film, GENDERCATOR at the Village, 1125 N. McCaden Pl, Hollywood, @ 6 pm. It has been labeled alarmingly transphobic (towards trans men) by many, and was even pulled from San Francisco's film festival, Frameline.
The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger.
Women, please be patient - still (tags)
I posit the radical notion that the denial of rights and oppression of women is equally important as the denial of rights and the oppression of any other group in a society. Underlying this notion is that women ARE those other groups and one cannot separate them out from “the rest of the population” seeking a better life.
Anti-Immigrant Minutemen Defeated in Hollywood (tags)
Protesters Outnumber Racists, Demand Equality for Immigrants
Community and the commonalty are not necessarily the same. Equality is not the same as levelling. E-quality is quality on three levels as symbolized by the letter E.
Gather 9am at US Supreme Court - across from Capitol *See www.bamn.com for more information*
Uniting the Liberals, Lefties, and Progressives (tags)
Ever since the classic revolutions that begun the current epoch of ‘democracy’, and more importantly capitalism, there have remained an inherent disunity among those loosely defined as progressives. Why this lack of unity exists, and why our political opponents do not seem to suffer from the same ailment is something worth examining.
Christopher Street West Parade This Sunday (tags)
OUR AGENDA: LOVE, EQUALITY, PRIDE This year’s Christopher Street West Parade will take place this Sunday, June 11th at 11:00 a.m. along Santa Monica Blvd. from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd.
March with ANSWER in LA's LGBT Pride Parade (tags)
Be a part of the struggle for LGBT equality and against war and racism. March in LA's Pride Parade this Sunday!
Protest Racist Minutemen in Downtown LA - Sun, May 21, 11 am (tags)
This Sunday, the racist Minutemen are marching through downtown LA. Join progressive, pro-immigrant organizations to protest against them. Also, participate in informational community leafletting.
ALL OUT FOR April 15 Mass Student Action and May 1 Nation wide Boycott (tags)
All out for April 15 and may 1 Great American Boycott! It's important at this critical moment for us- the Coalition in Defense of Immigrant Rights (CDIR)-People’s Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment(People’s CORE) and the ANSWER Coalition to keep up the pressure and continue to focus on the streets and the mass action of the people and never allow the politicians to decide how much equality or how much inequality, or how much repression, should be meted out to the millions of hard working immigrant families.
SEP candidate in California: Extend full rights to all immigrants! (tags)
The following is a statement issue by John Burton, SEP candidate for Congress, 29th District of California During the past week, millions of immigrants, documented and undocumented, have taken to the streets throughout the country to demonstrate their opposition to the punitive and repressive anti-immigrant legislation being debated by the US Congress. Thousands of students, outraged by the injustices being perpetrated against their parents, friends, relatives and neighbors, have walked out of their schools and marched in support of immigrants’ democratic rights. As a socialist candidate for the US House of Representatives, I support the full extension of democratic rights to all immigrants, regardless of how they entered the country.
"The social state is dismantled in favor of the globalization of industry..The democratic idea of equality is incompatible with ever-greater inequalities..If globalization produces third world conditions, theology of liberation logically becomes universal.."
Take to the Street Tonight for Equal Rights - Protest Arnold's Veto (tags)
Emergency Response to Arnold's veto of Same Sex Marriage
N.Y. Judge Orders Gay Marriage (tags)
"It is clear that moral disapproval of same-sex couples or of individual homosexuals is not a legitimate state purpose or a rational reason for depriving plaintiffs of their right to choose their spouse."
COINTELPRO has a new name in the North East. They call it "feuding." Next thing you know, they'll call rape "what she had coming to her."
Gwen Araujo Mistrial: Town Hall & Demonstration (tags)
the jury that heard the case against the murderers of Gwen Araujo, the young transgender women who was killed last year in Newark, California, were unable to agree on a verdict and the judge was forced to declare a mistrial.
Same-sex marriage: Its time has come (tags)
The struggle for marriage equality saw its first major victory last month as Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"TAX us? Then MARRY us!" 33 Cities Join Tax Day Protests for Equal Marriage Righ (tags)
33 cities will be demonstrating for equal marriage rights at post offices around the country on Tax Day, Thursday, April 15th. The protests will highlight the fact that marriage is a civil contract issued by the government which should be available to all consenting adults.
Genuine libertarianism is to be found in a very special place and condition, the nexus overlap of both Equality and Liberty, a place where all liberties are rights, not licensed privileges to rend ones neighbors of their equal liberty.
GOVERNOR DAVIS SIGNS CALIFORNIA'S HISTORIC GENDER IDENTIY RIGHTS BILL (tags)
Landmark Measure by San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno is first of three LGBT Bills to Reach Davis' Desk
Equality for California Transgendered Citizens! Governor Signs Bill Into Law (tags)
California Governor Gray Davis presented the gift of freedom to thousands of his fellow Californians on Saturday, August 2nd. In signing AB196, which clarifies the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act by including gender-identity and expression, Governor Davis brings California into a leadership position of a growing human rights struggle. California now becomes the most populous jurisdiction to enact equal rights for transgendered citizens.
Lessons from the Lott exposé (tags)
The Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) scandal did more than expose the racist underbelly of the former Senate majority leader and the Republican Party. It also showed the growing importance of the struggle for equality and against racism in the political life of the nation.
THE ENEMY OF THE STATE AND THE DESTRUCTION OF CAPITALISM (tags)
LIGHT YEAR AHEAD
NAVIGATE THE REVOLUTION (tags)
THE COLLAPSE OF THE USA FORST
Farmworker March for Equality begins tomorrow (tags)
The California legislature just passed a bill that will help level the playing field between growers and farmworkers, but Gov. Davis is threatening to veto it. Tomorrow the UFW starts a 10-day "March for Equality" from Merced to Sacramento, ending with a big rally on Aug 25. Please join the rally in Sacramento, if you can!
JOIN PEACEFUL OC MAYDAY EVENT IN FRONT OF LORETTA SANCHEZ OFFICE ON MAYDAY (tags)
BRING YOUR KIDS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR THIS FUN, FEASTIVE, PEACEFUL CELEBRATION OF INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAYS
Subject: That Lovable Zizek Guy (tags)
>The catch was that it was prohibited to state clearly that he was the boss.
Scott, Student Alliance for Equality (SAFE) Co-Founder (tags)
Scott, a young Gay man who co-founded San Diego County's Student Alliance for Equality (SAFE) and was cited as a role model by fellow SAFE activist Amy Frye and educator Ernie McCray at the August 19 San Diego Scouting for All rally, participated in the post-rally leafleting on the Balboa Park esplanade.
what is a democracy? an investigation into american representative democracy on the eve of another election.