tagged w/ California Politics
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Carly Schwartz
Posted: October 20, 2010 07:31 PM
How Jerry Brown has Been Fighting for Gay Rights Long Before Prop 8
This post was written with the help of Mike McQuinn, one of the leaders of Jerry Brown's LGBT movement.
There's been a lot of talk this election season about Jerry Brown's refusal to defend Prop 8 in court. As Attorney General, his utmost responsibility is to uphold the law, and he found the measure to be in direct violation of the constitution--plain and simple.
But you might not know that Jerry has been standing up for gay rights for decades. So in honor of GLBT History Month, here's a little California history lesson for you.
Back in the day, we had a discriminatory law in place that made consensual sex between two gay men a felony. In 1975, shortly after becoming governor, Jerry successfully repealed it.
Abolishing the measure proved to be a difficult undertaking. In fact, Jerry's Lieutenant Governor broke the tied vote in the State Senate. Controversy notwithstanding, when the repeal bill got to his desk, Jerry unflinchingly signed it.
Fast-forward three years to Jerry's re-election campaign. Alongside his name on the November ballot was an incredibly divisive proposition dubbed the Briggs Initiative. This initiative aimed to give school boards the power to fire gay and lesbian teachers solely based on their sexual orientation.
A typical politician running for re-election at the time (and maybe even now) would have ducked the issue and focused his energies on his own campaign. But Jerry was, and is, no typical politician, so he decided to take a bold public stance against discrimination.
With the likes of Supervisor Harvey Milk and President Jimmy Carter, Jerry campaigned to defeat the Briggs Initiative. Like the anti-sodomy law before it, Jerry knew such government intrusion into personal life represented the antithesis of the society he'd been striving to govern since his first day in public office.
The Briggs Initiative was annihilated at the polls. Jerry coasted to victory.
But he wasn't satisfied with the progress already made on his watch just yet.
After his re-election, Jerry supported legislation barring employment discrimination based on sexual orientation because, as he explained, the "diversity of our people can be a cause of hatred and anxiety or the source of strength and continued achievement. The choice is ours."
He also appointed five openly LGBT judges to the bench, including two firsts: the first openly gay and openly lesbian judges in United States history.
Although nearly 20 years passed before either another LGBT judge was appointed or the employment protections envisioned by Jerry became state law, none of these sweeping reforms would have been possible without his pioneering spirit and commitment to promoting equality.
Class dismissed.Carly Schwartz
Posted: October 20, 2010 07:31 PM
How Jerry... more
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It's very important that when you attend a political fundraiser, you gather at a place of incredible, filthy wealth. Which is how I found myself at the stunning Sowden House, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Hollywood. The event was for marriage equality, but I had only one thing on my mind: MEET JOHNNY WEIR.
After about a half-hour of making conversation in a sea of botox, I looked up and saw something even more stunning than the house -- a gazelle in low heels, black leggings, a blazer and a Tiffany shopping bag. Johnny. He was standing about ten feet away, surrounded by friends. His lawyer, who I knew slightly, was with him.
So I snuck up next to his lawyer and begged, "Introduce me to Johnny." He made a very nice introduction and then Johnny looked at me and said, "That's SO gay! That's SO gay!" Wow. Cloud nine.
I wanted to make my time with him as efficient as possible, so I asked if he was in LA that often and could he come by Current sometime so we could do something together. "I'm in LA every so often. But you know me, girl, I'm everywhere." I normally wouldn’t love someone calling me "girl," but with Johnny, it felt right.
So here's a pic of Johnny and me.
I look like his lawyer-father in this picture. Which is fine. How can you look good next to all that beauty?
If you couldn't make it -- and let's face it, if everyone could come to these things they wouldn't be so special! -- you can watch Johnny's delightful and smart speech on YouTube:
Johnny might have been too polite to plug his show (until prompted repeatedly by his host), but I'm not! If somehow you haven't seen That's Gay: Johnny Weir, now's your chance:
It's very important that when you attend a political fundraiser, you gather at a... more
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Carly Fiorina is already elevating the political discourse in California: The former Hewlett Packard CEO is emailing ads about that one time her opponent politely asked a general to call her "senator" instead of "m'aam," like an arrogant bitch.
In an email to potential donors (below) first discussed by The Frisky's Jessica Wakeman, Fiorina's campaign manager touts a video (above) of her opponent Sen. Barbara Boxer talking to a general during congressional testimony. The brief conversation seems to have offended no one who was actually involved in it, but Fiorina's campaign calls the video "shocking" and said Boxer "disrespectfully demanded" to be called "senator." Her exact words:
Do me a favor, could you say 'senator' instead of 'm'aam?' It's just a thing. (Laughter.) I worked so hard to get that title. Thank you.
This "shocking" moment of terrible rudeness is obviously the most important issue in California right now. It's a good thing voters have a tough businesswoman like Fiorina to help them identify women who espouse feminist ideals only when it advances their own ego and political interests.
http://gawker.com/5401635/carly-fiorina-bravely-attacks-uppity-woman-senatorCarly Fiorina is already elevating the political discourse in California: The former... more
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A bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue for the cash-strapped state, according to an official analysis released Wednesday by tax officials.
The State Board of Equalization report estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes.
The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.
Ammiano has promoted the bill as a way to help bridge the state's $26.3 billion budget shortfall.
"It defies reason to propose closing parks and eliminating vital services for the poor while this potential revenue is available," Ammiano said in a statement.
The way the bill is written, the state could not begin collecting taxes until the federal government legalizes marijuana. A spokesman says Ammiano plans to amend the bill to remove that provision.
The legislation requires all revenue generated by the $50-per-ounce fee to be used for drug education and rehabilitation programs. The state's 9 percent sales tax would be applied to retail sales, while the fee would likely be charged at the wholesale level and built into the retail price.
The Equalization Board used law enforcement and academic studies to calculate that about 16 million ounces — or 500 tons — of marijuana are consumed in California each year.
Marijuana use would likely increase by about 30 percent once the law took effect because legalization would lead to falling prices, the board said.A bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California like alcohol would generate nearly... more
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A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to shorten the school year by five days is creating panic among educators across California, who say they barely have enough time to fit the state's academic standards into the existing 180-day calendar.
The idea to cut funding equivalent to five school days would save $1.1 billion at a time when California faces a massive budget deficit. But state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell called the proposal "devastating."
"It would particularly hurt our low-income students and students of color," he said, because affluent districts are more likely to be able to pay for the five days themselves while poorer districts will be forced to eliminate those teaching days. "The result would be a further widening of the achievement gap," he said.
Typical, How the hell did he become Governer? Why is Education always the first thing to be cut, even though it is the most important deparment of the State? This is America's Future, Education, not Military or other Programs that should be cut.A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to shorten the school year by five days is... more
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Kepano
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added this
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3 years ago
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"For the second time in three years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have established a government-run universal health care system.
Senate Bill 840 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, would have set up a single-payer system in which the state would assume the role that private insurance companies now play.
In his veto message, the governor said he could not support "a bill that places an annual shortfall of over $40 billion to our state's economy."...
...The veto came nine months after Kuehl, the chair of the Senate Health Committee, and other Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the governor's health care expansion program, which would have required most employees and employers to contribute to the cost of their health care...
...The governor did sign a companion measure - Assembly Bill 2569 by Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon -- that will require insurers to continue covering the family members of people whose policies have been rescinded
But he vetoed Senate Bill 981 by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, which would have prohibited hospital emergency room physicians from billing patients directly when there are billing disputes with their HMOs, a practice known as "balance billing."
In his veto message, the governor said SB 981 would have rewarded "non-contracting physicians by assuring their continued financial slice of the pie" without fixing California's "broken health care system."
In a statement, Perata, D-Oakland, said he was surprised "that a governor who aggressively pushed for health care reform would veto a measure that would have ensured a fair, uniform standard for handling disagreements over emergency room bills.""
It's a shame since, if this could get pushed through in California, the rest of the country would likely start to follow suit."For the second time in three years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday vetoed... more
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Brilliant letter by Michael Piotrowski to California Senator Dianne Feinstein.
"...Mark my words: you have perhaps a year, maybe two, before the riots start. High gas prices, high food prices, incompetent disaster relief, home foreclosures, lack of jobs, and a loss of faith in the system will combine to create chaos. If your aides were to look up my previous correspondance with you they will find that I accurately predicted the lack of WMD, the quagmire that is Iraq, and a number of other things. I'm sure you believe that if we can just get throught the election, everything will be better with a Democratic President. Wrong: whoever is president will soon discover that we are broke, the business class has no interest in rectifying anything, and we are bereft of influence. More people will lose their homes while you and your colleagues pump billions into corporations "that are too big to fail". Those corporations will take that tax money and invest it outside the United States. The kicker is going to be TV, in February '09. When you have millions of people with no home, no work, no money, hugely expensive gas and food, and nothing much to do besides watch TV, and you take THAT away from them what exactly do you think they will do? Vouchers for new TVs or adapters don't help if you can't afford to feed your children. The subsequent riots will spin completely out of control with most of the National Guard deployed overseas..."
See link for full letter...It's f*ing great. Thanks Mr. Piotrowski!Brilliant letter by Michael Piotrowski to California Senator Dianne Feinstein.... more
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"MAPLight.org brings together campaign contributions and how legislators vote, providing an unprecedented window into the connections between money and politics. We currently cover the California Legislature and U.S. Congress."
Pretty interesting."MAPLight.org brings together campaign contributions and how legislators vote,... more
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KasiaC
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added this
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4 years ago
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California is gathering signatures to put Al Gore on the state primary ballot, but we are now asking for donations to ensure we meet our deadline in this very large state. Hundreds of people have been contributing in the last couple days which has put us at #2 on ActBlue Today's Hot Page list. All states can help in this historic movement by donating even if you can't help with collecting signatures. Thanks and please pass it on!California is gathering signatures to put Al Gore on the state primary ballot, but we... more
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Yes... we are putting him there and you can help. Did you know Eisenhower was drafted into the presidency? After he was placed on NH's ballot (like we are doing with Gore in CA & several other states), he changed his mind and decided to run. We are doing the same thing with Al because the future of our country and the planet we live on hang in the balance. California Democrats, please download (link in the upper left hand corner), sign, & collect signatures to help (further directions below). We CAN do this! Al has very clearly left the door open to the possibility of running in the future (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/10/184837/05), so we need to give him a very convincing reason to go through that open door.Yes... we are putting him there and you can help. Did you know Eisenhower was drafted... more
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In his re-election acceptance speech, Arnold Schwarzenegger refers to his landslide win as a victory for all of California. He vows to protect the people's values and dreams in his "favorite sequel."In his re-election acceptance speech, Arnold Schwarzenegger refers to his landslide... more
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Democrats are fighting against a Republican charge to base California electoral votes on percentages instead of winner take all. The campaign is called the Courage Campaign and the the fight call is "No More Dirty Tricks!" For the record, I'm against this change... because it would give Republicans more votes. But I'm not against it in spirit. (And if they did it in Texas...) I mean... Why should a state that is split 45%-55% give all of it's electoral votes to one candidate. Yes, I know there are pros and cons to a state-by-state electoral election. So what do you all think?Separately, I'm annoyed that the fight against the hyperbole party of The Patriot Act and the Clean Air Act has lowered to that level and now launches the Courage Campaign. I know, its not an official party slogan, but it disappoints me that the only way to get any political traction these days it to take an issue and make it into an emotional struggle instead of an issues debate.Democrats are fighting against a Republican charge to base California electoral votes... more
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