Archive for the 'Human Rights and Equality' Category

San Francisco Pride

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 29th June 2014

Good morning!

Although the 44th year of San Francisco Pride officially began yesterday, the festivities started quite some time before. The LGBT community in San Francisco knows how to partē! And the celebration is not just here in our beloved San Francisco. In fact the Gay Pride Rainbow Flag is flying all across the world. Thanks to our awesome president Obama, he has taken the U.S. gay rights revolution global.

Here’s the write from Ctv News.

Obama flying the flag for gay rights worldwide

A U.S. flag is raised alongside a pride flag on the U.S. Embassy a day before the Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 12, 2014

WARSAW, Poland — U.S. President Barack Obama has taken the U.S. gay rights revolution global, using American embassies across the world to promote a cause that still divides his own country.

Sometimes U.S. advice and encouragement is condemned as unacceptable meddling. And sometimes it can seem to backfire, increasing the pressure on those it is meant to help.

With gay pride parades taking place in many cities across the world this weekend, the U.S. role will be more visible than ever. Diplomats will take part in parades and some embassies will fly the rainbow flag along with the Stars and Stripes.

The United States sent five openly gay ambassadors abroad last year, with a sixth nominee, to Vietnam, now awaiting Senate confirmation. American diplomats are working to support gay rights in countries such as Poland, where prejudice remains deep, and to oppose violence and other abuse in countries like Nigeria and Russia, where gays face life-threatening risks.

“It is incredible. I am amazed by what the U.S. is doing to help us,” said Mariusz Kurc, the editor of a Polish gay advocacy magazine, Replika, which has received some U.S. funding and other help. “We are used to struggling and not finding any support.”

Former President George W. Bush supported AIDS prevention efforts globally, but it was the Obama administration that launched the push to make lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights an international issue. The watershed moment came in December 2011, when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to the United Nations in Geneva and proclaimed LGBT rights “one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time.”

Since then, embassies have been opening their doors to gay rights activists, hosting events and supporting local advocacy work. The State Department has since spent $12 million on the efforts in over 50 countries through the Global Equality Fund, an initiative launched to fund the new work.

Just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defence of Marriage Act last June, consular posts also began issuing immigrant visas to the same-sex spouses of gay Americans.

One beneficiary was Jake Lees, a 27-year-old Englishman who had been forced to spend long periods apart from his American partner, Austin Armacost, since they met six years ago. In May Lees was issued a fiance visa at the U.S. Embassy in London. The couple married two weeks ago and are now starting a new life together in Franklin, Indiana, as they wait for Lees’ green card.

“I felt like the officers at the embassy treated us the way they would treat a heterosexual couple,” said Armacost, a 26-year-old fitness and nutrition instructor. “It’s a mind-boggling change after gay couples were treated like legal strangers for the first three centuries of our country’s history.”

Some conservative American groups are outraged by the policy. Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, calls it “a slap in the face to the majority of Americans,” given that American voters have rejected same-sex marriage in a number of state referendums.

“This is taking a flawed view of what it means to be a human being — male and female — and trying to impose that on countries throughout the world,” Brown said. “The administration would like people to believe that this is simply ‘live and let live.’ No, this is coercion in its worst possible form.”

The American efforts are tailored to local conditions, said Scott Busby, the deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the State Department. Ambassadors can decide individually whether to hoist the rainbow flag, as embassies in Tel Aviv, London and Prague have done, or show support in other ways.

While some gay rights activists say support from the U.S. and other Western countries adds moral legitimacy to their cause, it can also cause a backlash.

Rauda Morcos, a prominent Palestinian lesbian activist, said local communities, particularly in the Middle East, have to find their own ways of asserting themselves. She criticized the U.S. and Western efforts in general to help gay communities elsewhere as patronizing.

“It is a colonial approach,” she said. “In cases where it was tried, it didn’t help local communities and maybe made things even worse.”

An extreme case has been Uganda, which in February passed a law making gay sex punishable by a life sentence. In enacting the bill, President Yoweri Museveni said he wanted to deter the West from “promoting” gay rights in Africa, a continent where homosexuals face severe discrimination and even attacks. In response, the U.S. imposed sanctions and Secretary of State John Kerry compared the policies to the anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany and apartheid in South Africa.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has waged an assault on what he considers the encroachment of decadent Western values and the government last year banned “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors,” making it a crime to hold gay rights rallies or to openly discuss homosexuality in content accessible to children. Afraid for their security, some Russian gay advocates try to keep their contacts with Western officials quiet.

The official U.S. delegation to the recent Winter Olympics in Russia included three openly gay athletes. Soon after that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow opened its basketball court for the Open Games, an LGBT sporting event which had been denied access to many of the venues it had counted on. The U.S. Embassy also operates a website where Russian gay and lesbians can publish their personal stories.

Jessica Stern, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, praised the U.S. policy but said there have been missteps along the way, citing a 2011 U.S. embassy gathering in Pakistan that prompted a group of religious and political leaders to accuse the U.S. of “cultural terrorism.”

And in Senegal a year ago, President Macky Sall bluntly rebuked the visiting Obama for urging African leaders to end discrimination against gays. Sall said his country was neither homophobic nor ready to legalize homosexuality, and in an apparent jab at the U.S., he noted Senegal abolished capital punishment years ago.

“The response in the local press was voluminous praise of the Senegalese president, maybe not actually for his stance on LGBT rights, but for effectively asserting Senegal’s sovereignty, yet the two became intertwined,” Stern said.

Busby, the State Department official, denied that increased harassment by governments is ever the consequence of U.S. advocacy, instead describing it as “a cynical reaction taken by leaders to advance their own political standing.”

In some countries, like Poland, the U.S. efforts are a catalyst for change.

The embassy there financed a 2012 visit to Warsaw by Dennis and Judy Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student who was tortured and murdered in 1998.

A group of parents who heard their story were so shaken by the Shepards’ tragedy that they founded a parental advocacy group, Akceptacja, which is fighting homophobia. The parents are now reaching out to their lawmakers personally, in what advocates say is the conscious adoption of an American strategy of families of gays and lesbians appealing to the hearts of officials.

“The killing of Matthew Shepard represents the fear I have that my son could be hurt for being gay,” said Tamara Uliasz, 60, one of the group’s founders. “I realized that what happened in Wyoming could happen here.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Readers: I applaud Obama…And as usual there are some who are against this. Thoughts? Blog me.

So hey, back to the celebration…If you’re feeling a little envious that perhaps you’ve missed out on so much fun, no worries it’s not too late to indulge in the celebration – today is the Pride Parade, and if you haven’t been, it is something to see.

Check out their website for details. If you attend, head out early – 1 million people are expected to join in on the celebration. Now that is a party! It should be a beautiful day around the bay - Have fun!!

xox

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Posted in Entertainment & Laughter, Health & Well Being, Human Rights and Equality, I'll drink to that! Let's eat!, Journeys within, Love, Sex & Relationships, Political Powwow, Travel | 18 Comments »

The Koch Brothers: Big Donors With Tiny __________

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 23rd June 2014

Good morning!

If you didn’t get enough of the Koch Brothers yesterday, I thought a dose of them on a Monday morning too, would give you the same jolt as coffee. Get used to these big smiling faces because if we don’t stop them in this momentum they’re trying to get going, we’re going to see them a lot more than we’d like, and with grins bigger than you can imagine

This was the closed-door gathering of big donors yesterday’s article spoke of.

From The Daily Beast:

Koch Brothers Unveil New Strategy at Big Donor Retreat

The Koch brothers’ financial network is planning on spending almost $300 million in the 2014 election, including a new anti-environment effort.

In the face of expanding energy regulations, stepped-up Democratic attacks and the ongoing fight over Obamacare, the billionaire Koch brothers and scores of wealthy allies have set an initial 2014 fundraising target of $290 million which should boost GOP candidates and support dozens of conservative groups—including a new energy initiative with what looks like a deregulatory, pro-consumer spin, The Daily Beast has learned.

This weekend, at a posh California resort near Laguna Beach, energy is expected to be among the topics as Charles and David Koch and their extensive donor network hold a semiannual fundraising and policy seminar. Political allies including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and libertarian political scientist Charles Murray are slated to speak, according to conservatives familiar with the Koch network.

The energy initiative is being created under the umbrella of the largest Koch network nonprofit in apparent response to a number of developments: the commitment by liberal billionaire Tom Steyer to steer $100 million into ads in several states to make climate change a priority issue in the elections; numerous setbacks at the state level where Koch network backed advocacy groups have been fighting against renewable energy standards; and the new EPA regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

The meeting will cap a frenetic fundraising season for the conservative donor network. This year the Koch network not only hosted a similar January conference, but several smaller gatherings in Palm Springs, Newport Beach, St. Louis, and other locales to attract new donors, according to an email from Koch fundraising honcho Kevin Gentry obtained by The Daily Beast In his email, Gentry called the Palm Springs event— which drew some 50 wealthy conservatives in March —a “highly successful recruitment reception” and encouraged other veteran donors to get involved by holding local gatherings in their areas.

Koch network operatives also have held periodic conference calls—sometimes with members of Congress on the line—to update loyal check writers on various issues and keep them in the fold, say conservative sources.

Now, hitting the $290 million goal seems within reach: almost $170 million of that total was pledged at the last big Koch donor seminar in January this year, say two conservative sources. The hefty haul will help fund a mix of politically active nonprofits like the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, and a newer outfit called the Libre Initiative that’s aimed at appealing to Hispanics with a small government, free-market message. AFP alone is expected to spend upwards of $125 million this year on a variety of political and advocacy projects including air and ground operations, according to Politico.

By comparison, in the 2012 presidential cycle, the Koch donor network raised more than $400 million to help underwrite 17 politically active nonprofit groups—including AFP and Libre Initiative— according to The Washington Post.

A few Koch network-backed nonprofit groups including AFP have long fought against climate change regulations, a carbon tax, and subsidies for renewable energy. But lately, the Koch universe seem to be facing bigger energy threats stemming from Washington, state governments and big liberal checkbooks.

The new energy initiative is the handiwork of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the Koch network’s central fundraising hub, which was established in late 2011 as a trade group, according to an email to the group’s members from Gentry. In 2012, the fledgling group —which claims some 200 members who each kick in at least $100,000 yearly— funneled over $230 million dollars to numerous other non-profits in the Koch ecosystem according to the group’s 2012 tax returns.

In an April 1 missive, Gentry invited Freedom Partners members to join an upcoming conference call about a “significant new Freedom Partners initiative” which he touted as one that would “drive the national narrative around energy and the tremendous benefits of reliable affordable energy for all Americans, especially for the less fortunate.” The email indicated that discussions about the energy project began last summer at another Koch donor event in New Mexico, which drew outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Rep. Paul Ryan among others.

Gentry’s email stressed that liberal donors, led by hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer, have plans to spend as much as $100 million on climate change issues and ads to make it a top-tier issue in the election. He noted that environmental groups had recently run a $5 million “clean energy” ad blitz in Iowa, Michigan, and North Carolina, all of which are considered “focus” states for Freedom Partners and among the states where Americans for Prosperity has spent over $35 million on attack ads against Democratic Senate candidates on Obamacare.

In a chagrined-sounding PS, Gentry opined that the “new multi million dollar campaign by environmentalists is arguably an effort to distract from the failures of Obamacare. But you and I know energy is a critically important issue for the United States.”

The details and scope of the new energy initiative, which has not been announced, aren’t clear yet, but it’s expected to cost in the seven figures and be a topic at the Koch donor conference this weekend— especially in light of the Obama administration’s newly unveiled EPA regulations to curb carbon emissions from mostly coal fired power plants. Two sources familiar with Koch donor world told The Daily Beast that a new nonprofit group is being formed to help run the new energy initiative. Neither spokesmen for Freedom Partners or Koch Industries responded to requests for comment about the new initiative or fundraising efforts this year.

The Koch brothers combined net worth exceeds $80 billion, according to Forbes magazine, and is derived from their control of Koch Industries, the eponymous energy and manufacturing conglomerate

Based on Gentry’s email and recent energy drives by other Koch network groups, the initiative is likely to mix a minimalist regulatory and free-market message with a pro-consumer spin.

On its website, Freedom Partners explains its energy policy goals very broadly as “increasing access to affordable energy that helps societies-businesses, families and especially the poor—prosper and thrive.” It says that the role of federal government is to “administer smart and safe environmental regulations” but argues that too often there’s a lack of transparency and that “unsound science” is used to justify decisions without weighing costs versus benefits.

The new energy initiative may partly stem from setbacks in many states where advocacy groups funded by the Koch network like Americans for Prosperity and allies have been waging mostly uphill battles to roll back renewable energy standards. In these fights the conservative nonprofits have often portrayed renewable mandates as very expensive for consumers, a point that’s frequently been rebutted by independent groups.

Even in Kansas, the home of Koch Industries, the Koch-backed advocacy network failed to repeal the state’s renewable standards, which were enacted in 2009 Under Kansas’ Renewable Portfolio Standard, 20 percent of the state’s electricity is supposed to come from renewables by the year 2020.

The Kansas fight suggests part of the strategy that Koch-linked groups are expected to pursue to broaden their message and try to appeal to consumers. Alan Cobb, a former lobbyist for the company who also did stints with AFP and Freedom Partners, was hired this spring by the newly created Kansas Senior Consumer Alliance, which sent thousands of postcards to elderly citizens criticizing the renewable standards. The postcards, with pictures of worried-looking seniors opening their mail, said that there had been 15 rate hikes since 2009 when the renewable standards were enacted and urged seniors to contact their representatives to protest them.

A state commission has found less than 2 percent of recent rate increases can be attributed to the renewable standards.

Groups backed by the Koch network in several other states have also been rebuffed in their drives against renewables. But in late May, in a rare victory, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed off on a two-year freeze on the Buckeye State’s renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements.

On the 2014 electoral front, other Koch donor supported non-profit groups like the American Energy Alliance (AEA) have poured funds into ads targeting Democrats in close Senate and House races, knocking their opposition to building the Keystone XL pipeline. In May, the AEA spent over $400,000 on ads in Colorado attacking Sen. Mark Udall for his stance opposing the Keystone pipeline. AEA, which is run by former Koch Industries lobbyist Tom Pyle, has also been fighting to end wind energy subsidies. Last year, Congress ended a two-decade old tax credit for wind energy companies after vigorous lobbying by Koch-backed groups including AEA and AFP. This year, the groups have continued to fight against attempts to revive the credit.

The fight over climate change took a personal twist this spring when Tom Steyer challenged the Koch brothers to a debate about the issue and whether more regulations are needed to curb man-made pollution. The Koch brothers turned down the invitation. In an email to a local Kansas paper, Koch spokesperson Melissa Cohlmia explained “we are not experts on climate change.”

The Koch seminar this weekend is scheduled to feature a speech by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who last month sparked a small firestorm when he said that “I don’t believe that “human activity is causing these dramatic changes in our climate the way these scientists are portraying it.” Rubio, whose view is contradicted by many scientific studies showing that carbon dioxide emissions have accelerated global warming, added that he thinks proposed laws to deal with climate change “will only wreck our economy.” Rubio’s position should get a warm reception among the libertarian leaning donors at the conference.

*****

Readers: I HOPE you enjoyed the weekend! I certainly did. I noticed there were a flurry of comments from the ladies on Saturday, and a few from the boys too. I’m looking forward to catching up.

Oh…by the way…like the title? Did you fill in the missing word? I couldn’t help but say it because the only thing these “big donors” have is “big bucks,” and they are doing the darnedest to make sure the black man with a “big pair +,” fails at his last term in getting anything accomplished. There is no way they will let Obama, a black man, go down as the best president we have ever had. Oh…and let me remind you, their plans to do whatever they need to is all at the expense of the American people. BECAUSE THEY DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE BUT THEM AND THEIRS.

The solution is simple – we know what we need to do.

PeAceOuT

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Posted in Aliens, Health & Well Being, Human Rights and Equality, Political Powwow | 37 Comments »

What’s Happening On The Bench This Month

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 19th June 2014

Good morning!

Speaking of rulings…

From Think Progress:

Seven Big Cases The Supreme Court Will Decide In June That Could Change America

“The generally accepted notion that the court can only hear roughly 150 cases each term gives the same sense of reassurance as the adjournment of the court in July, when we know the Constitution is safe for the summer.”

– Future Chief Justice John Roberts, April 19, 1983

It’s Supreme Court month again. According to the Court’s official calendar, the final day of the Supreme Court’s current term is the last day of this month — which means that, barring extraordinary circumstances, we should know how the justices intend to resolve each of the issues currently pending before them by June 30.

Among the issues facing the justices are the president’s power to fill top jobs in the face of a recalcitrant Senate, a legal attack on public sector unions, a case questioning when police can search all the data that can be accessed on a person’s cell phone, and an attempt to give employers sweeping immunity from laws they object to on religious grounds. Here are some of the most important cases to be decided this month:

Recess Appointments

On the eve of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, a case that could effectively eliminate the president’s constitutional authority to temporarily appoint government officials while the Senate is in recess, the Obama Administration’s position looked grim. In the lower courts, judges split entirely on partisan lines when they considered this issue — and there are five Republicans on the Supreme Court and only four Democrats. Yet the oral argument in Noel Canning went even worse for the administration than the partisan results in the lower courts would suggest. Clinton-appointed Justice Stephen Breyer said that he could not find anything in the Constitution that will “allow the president to overcome Senate resistance” to a nominee. Obama-appointed Justice Elena Kagan suggested that “it was the Senate’s job to decide” when it’s in recess.

Though there are two possible ways that the justices could snuff out the recess appointments power, the distinction between them is largely academic — in either event a Senate that was determined not to permit recess appointees from taking office will be able to do so. That means that the impact of this decision could be felt in 2015. If Republicans take back the Senate, and the Supreme Court cuts off his recess appointments power, President Obama will be defenseless if Senate Republicans refuse to confirm anyone that he nominates to any job.

The biggest impact of a decision against the administration, however, could be felt in 2018. The reason why President Obama made the recess appointments that triggered this lawsuit in the first place is because the National Labor Relations Board — which has sole authority to enforce much of federal labor law — was about to lose the minimum number of members it must have in order to operate. Though this impasse eventually broke in 2013 when Senate Democrats threatened to change the Senate’s rules if necessary to confirm nominees to the NLRB, the members of that board only serve five year terms. Thus, if Republicans control the Senate in 2018, they could shut down the NLRB by refusing to confirm anyone to fill its empty seats — andshut down most of the legal protections that allow unions to exist in the process.

Harassment at Women’s Health Clinics

A Massachusetts law creates a 35-foot buffer zone around the entrances to abortion clinics that no one may enter unless they have legitimate business within the clinic or are just passing through to reach another destination. This law prevents abortion protesters, ranging from the plaintiffs in McCullen v. Coakley — who claim that they “try to engage women who may be seeking abortions in close, kind, personal communication, with calm voices, caring demeanor, and eye contact” — to much more aggressive opponents of abortion from getting in the way of women seeking care within the clinic. They also make it harder for clinic workers to become victims of violence. According to one abortion rights activist, “[w]hat began as peaceful protests in the 1970s escalated to blockading clinic entrances, arsons and bombings, acid attacks, stalking and kidnapping doctors and their families, and even murdering reproductive health care staff.”

Nevertheless, it is likely that the Supreme Court will strike this Massachusetts law down. At oral argument, even Justice Kagan seemed concerned that the 35-foot buffer zone may be too large. The biggest question inMcCullen, however, isn’t whether Massachusetts’ law will survive, it is whether any similar buffer zone law will also be declared unconstitutional. In its 2000 decision in Hill v. Colorado, the Supreme Court upheld a Colorado law prohibiting anyone from “‘knowingly approach[ing]‘ within eight feet of another person, without that person’s consent, ‘for the purpose of passing a leaflet or handbill to, displaying a sign to, or engaging in oral protest, education, or counseling with such other person.’” Hill was a 6-3 decision, but two members of the Hill majority — Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor — have since been replaced by the more conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. If the Roberts Court’s new majority chooses to overrule Hill they probably have the five votes necessary to do so.

Cell Phone Searches

As a general rule, the police must obtain a warrant before they can search a person’s possessions. One long-standing exception to this rule, however, is that police may make a warrantless “search incident to arrest” — that is, when a person is lawfully arrested, the police may search the person being arrested and anything they find on the person.

When this rule was developed, however, cell phones did not exist and modern-day smartphones were not even imaginable. For this reason, the justices who created this rule had no conception of a world where police could arrest someone for a minor crime — potentially something as minor as jaywalking — and then go on a fishing expedition through a person’s entire email inbox, the text messages they sent to their friends and their romantic partners, and any apps they may have downloaded onto their phone to help them manage their finances. One case currently pending before the justices, Riley v. California tees up the question of if and when the police may search the information contained on a suspect’s smartphone without obtaining a warrant. A companion case, United States v. Wurie presents the related issue of whether police may search an ordinary cell-phone’s call log without a warrant.

Public Sector Unions

Public sector unions operate under two legal restrictions: they may not require non-members to fund the union’s political activity and they must bargain on behalf of every worker in a unionized shop — even if a particular worker does not belong to the union. Thus, the union may not encourage non-members to join by bargaining for benefits that only apply to union members. To recoup the costs of bargaining on behalf of non-members, however, the union may charge those non-members what are known as “agency fees.” These agency fees are now under attack in a lawsuit known as Harris v. Quinn.

The purpose of these agency fees is to prevent non-members from free-riding off the dues paid by their co-workers who do join the union. The benefits of collective bargaining through unions are significant — according to one study, unionization raises worker wages by about 12 percent — but, without agency fees, each individual worker would have little incentive to pay for the collective bargaining services that make these high wages possible.

In a 2012 case called Knox v. SEIU, the five conservative justices indicated that they were ready to declare agency fees unconstitutional — at least when it comes to public sector unions. At oral argument, however, Justice Antonin Scalia appeared surprisingly sympathetic to the pro-union arguments. The fate of public sector unions, in other words, likely rests with Justice Scalia.

The Viability of Treaties

Bond v. United States is, if nothing else, a testament to legal conservatives’ ability to play the long game. A vengeful spouse named Carol Anne Bond, who stole toxic chemicals from her employer and used them in a failed attempt to poison her husband’s mistress, is represented by Paul Clement — the de facto Solicitor General of the Republican Party — as part of an effort to undermine the United States’ ability to comply with its own treaty obligations. Bond’s actions violated a federal law implementing the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, which makes it a crime to “receive, stockpile, retain, own, possess, use, or threaten to use” a chemical weapon. Clement argues that applying this law to his client is unconstitutional, because that would require Congress’ power to be read too expansively.

The problem with this argument is that the Court established nearly a century ago that, when the United States enters into a valid treaty, “there can be no dispute about the validity of the statute [implementing the treaty] . . . as a necessary and proper means to execute the powers of the Government.” Should the Court limit or overrule this previous decision, the immediate impact would be relatively small compared to what could follow later — Congress still has considerable power to make laws under its power to regulate commerce and its other constitutionally granted powers, though Clement’s has also fought to shrink these powers as well. If the justices ultimately embrace the broader conservative effort to shrink the government’s authority until it is small enough to be drowned in a bathtub, a decision in Bond’s favor could make it difficult for the United States to comply with environmental treaties and other international obligations.

Your Boss and Your Bedroom

Finally, the most watched case this term is likely to be the Hobby Lobby litigation, which raises the issue of whether religious employers can refuse to comply with a federal rule requiring their health plans to cover birth control. If the oral argument is any indication, supporters of this rule should not be optimistic. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the only member of the five justice conservative bloc who expressed sympathy for the government’s arguments, later accused Solicitor General Don Verrilli of making an argument that could enable Congress to require corporations to pay for abortions. Given that Kennedy, with one exception, has avirtually unblemished anti-abortion record since joining the Supreme Court, this is an ominous sign for the rule at issue in this case.

Nevertheless, the question of how the government loses this case is almost as important as if it loses. Clement, who argued this case on behalf of the religious employers, called for a truly sweeping rule — laws burdening a corporation’s purported religious faith must survive the “most demanding test known to constitutional law.” At times, plaintiffs invoking “religious liberty” have claimed exemptions from a wide range of laws, including laws banning race discrimination, bans on gender discrimination, the minimum wage, Social Security and most recently, laws protecting LGBT Americans. Though these aggressive kinds of religious liberty claims have historically not received a sympathetic ear from federal judges, Clement’s broad rule could give at least some of them a second life.

It’s not at all clear that the Court will give Clement what he asked for, however. Though Kennedy seemed inclined to rule in Hobby Lobby‘s favor, he also worried about what would happen to the rights of employees who might be hurt by their boss’ decision not to follow the law. This suggests that Justice Kennedy may hand a victory to Hobby Lobby without endorsing the sweeping legal immunity for businesses that object to the law on religious grounds that Clement called for in his brief. Nevertheless, however the Court decides, the issue of whether anti-gay business owners can invoke “religious liberty” to discriminate against LGBT Americans is not going away. Indeed, it’s likely that a raft of bills seeking to expand religious conservatives’ ability to ignore the law will follow the Court’s decision in Hobby Lobby, regardless of what the justices decide.

*****

Readers: There are some big juicy issues here. Pick one that is especially meaningful to you and start talking. Blog me.

Peace & Love…

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

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“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Posted in Health & Well Being, Human Rights and Equality, Political Powwow | 57 Comments »

ENDA For LGBT: Obama’s Got Your Back

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 17th June 2014

Good morning!

Here’s one for the LGBT community, and another feather in Obama’s hat.

From The MaddowBlog.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) joined North Carolina business leaders in Charlotte during a press conference to show support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, July 9, 2013.

Obama making bold move on ENDA protections

Last week, we saw something unusual. Rep. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey announced he would add his name to the list of co-sponsors of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, becoming only the eighth Republican to do so. He brought the new total for the pending legislation, which has already passed the Senate, to 205 co-sponsors – well within striking distance of the support needed to pass the GOP-led chamber.

Except, that won’t happen. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he will not allow the House to vote up on (sic) down on ENDA, falsely claiming, “People are already protected in the workplace.”

With Republicans refusing to budge, the White House has been under pressure to issue an executive order. As of this afternoon, President Obama is prepared to do exactly that.

President Barack Obama has directed his staff to draft an executive order that would ban workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees of federal contractors, a White House official told The Huffington Post.

The move is the clearest indication to date that the administration is prepared to take action on LGBT rights where Congress has fallen short. Notably, the official would not say whether the president will sign the order into law on Monday – suggesting the White House is leaking the news to warn lawmakers that they have a limited window to pass more sweeping workplace discrimination legislation before he acts without them.

A White House official told the Huffington Post that the president order, which is still being drafted, would “build upon existing protections, which generally prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

Just as an aside, I’d note that Vice President Biden hinted last month that this might happen, becoming the latest instance in which Biden accidentally telegraphed where the White House was headed.

For those who need a refresher on this debate, under federal law, employers can legally fire employees if they’re gay, or even if they think the employees are gay. Some states prohibit this kind of discrimination, but most don’t.

The proposed remedy has been the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Current law already prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, or genetic information, but ENDA is needed to extend protections to include sexual orientation and sexual identity.

There’s ample evidence that most Americans believe LGBT Americans are already protected against employment discrimination, but those folks are mistaken.

With the House Republican leadership simply unwilling to even hold a vote, and with the odds of a Democratic takeover of the House very low, Obama was left with a choice: allow nothing to happen for the foreseeable future or issue an executive order. If Boehner won’t allow Congress to act, the president appears to prefer the latter.

Remember, however, that the executive order in this area, like a similar move on the minimum, wage, has a limited reach. Obama can’t apply ENDA’s goals to all employers, but he can ban discrimination among employers who do business with the federal government.

That’s a lot of people who are poised to benefit from new workplace protections, but in order to apply these rights to all Americans, Congress will still need to act on ENDA.

Obama will speak tomorrow at the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT gala in New York. I’d expect this topic to come up in his remarks.

*****

Readers: This write was posted yesterday. Therefore Obama will be speaking on this TODAY. Looking forward to what he has to say.

Blog me.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Posted in Health & Well Being, Human Rights and Equality, Political Powwow | 14 Comments »

Money Matters

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 16th June 2014

Good morning!

Okay, so it’s Monday. And although Father’s Day has come and gone (I HOPE all of you had fun with your father!) – thanks to all those Dads who help in sharing childcare responsibilities – Flashback Friday, is still happening everyday for women.

Here’s the write.

Flashback Friday

Our Workplace Policies Are Stuck In The Mad Men Era. It’s Time For Progress.

Fifty years ago, 25 percent of women were their family’s primary breadwinner or co-breadwinner. Today, that number has more than doubled to nearly two-thirds of women. Yet, our workplace policies — from equal pay for equal work to policies for paid medical and family leave — have failed to keep up.

So for today, we’ve put together some graphics that explain just how stuck in the past we still are. Pick your favorite — or all three — and share them on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #timeforprogress!

women_cap2

Women are consistently paid less than their male counterparts and make up a disproportionate share of low-wage workers. Enacting stronger equal pay protections is a key step — it will hold employers more accountable for their practices, ensure vigorous enforcement, and empower women to uncover discrimination and negotiate for salaries they deserve.

women_cap

More and more women are entering the workplace as a primary breadwinner or co-breadwinner for their families. Yet there are no laws in place to prevent a parent from getting fired if they need to stay home and take care of a sick child.

WHSummit-1965

Father’s Day is this Sunday. Here’s a reminder that fathers are spending more time than ever before sharing childcare responsbilities. But workplace leave policies are not reacting to the changing roles in our society as women assume a greater role in the workplace and men elevate their familial responsibilities.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s time for progress when it comes to policies that make women, men, and their families more secure. We’ve been stuck in the Mad Men era for too long.

****

Readers: Yep, it’s time for progress. Which one are you going to post today? Ladies, let’s get our sisters in the House (Congress!) so we can make some real changes. Blog me.

Howie: How are you? Anything up to report?

LK: Of course. Please give me a few days. Thank you. Wishing you and yours safety.

Asabi: My pleasure. So happy to hear that from you, and that it has been such a big help for your people. I thought it was a huge. Sending you and all of the women so much love.

Peace out.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Posted in Health & Well Being, Human Rights and Equality, Love, Sex & Relationships, Political Powwow | 21 Comments »

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Our Workplace Policies Are Stuck In The Mad Men Era. It’s Time For Progress.