What's happening where you're at today? I'm on my way to Huntington Beach now to see my mother. Anything interesting going on?

When Is Torture Just That?

Good question. Someone should ask a certain judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who just happened to help in writing the now infamous "Bush Torture Memos".

EFCA Lite?

OK, so I think we're all familiar now with the fight over the Employee Free Choice Act (or EFCA) in DC. Basically the unions are fighting to get this passed so workers can choose over whether and how to unionize, while the "bidness lobby" is working hard to torpedo this legislation. The battle is heated now, especially with both sides amping up media advertising for and against EFCA.

But wait! What's that out on the horizon? A compromise! A compromise?

Three big retailers are expected to back an alternative proposal next week on a hotly contested bill that would make it easier to unionize workplaces, a move some experts said would bolster the legislation's chance of passage.

Costco Wholesale Corp., Starbucks Corp. and Whole Foods Market Inc. are supporting the alternative proposal, according to someone familiar with the effort. Ray Krupin, a management labor lawyer in Washington said the most likely compromise would allow employees to unionize if 70% of them sign union-authorization cards, as opposed to 50% as currently proposed in the Employee Free Choice Act.

On Saturday, a person close to the discussions denied that the proposal backed by the three companies included a plan to let unions organize workers if 70% sign cards.

It's unclear whether the proposal addresses a thorny section of the bill that would have a government arbitrator draw up a contract if unions and companies can't agree to terms within 120 days.

Charles Lemos has more details about it at MyDD. But so far from what I've seen of this compromise, I'm calling bullsh*t on it.

Why? First off, 70% is too ridiculously high a threshold to ask union organizers to overcome. With all the power these giant corporations still have to intimidate workers, it can be notoriously difficult to get at least 70% of them to ask for an official vote to unionize.

Secondly, they continue to act as if compromise is needed to "protect workers' right to choose" when really it isn't. In fact, that's why we need the Employee Free Choice Act! It would give workers the choice on unionization instead of the corporate executives.

And worse yet, one of the companies involved in this compromise deal doesn't exactly have a history of friendly relations with unions. Whole Foods puts on a nice "socially responsible" front, but in reality they are nearly as brutal as Wal-Mart in their union busting. Perhaps Costco and Starbucks are looking for a fair compromise, but I don't think I can even trust them if they're teaming up with Whole Foods on an EFCA compromise that would radically diminish the integrity of the bill.

So what are we to conclude on this "EFCA Lite" proposal? It may sound reasonable, but it still places too many hurdles on the path for workers to organize. I'm glad some companies are realizing that they're better off negotiating than fighting, but they still need to give more before I can really agree to whatever they offer.

Civil Rights Are Civil Rights. Period.

Props to NAACP's Julian Bond for standing up for civil rights... Including LGBT civil rights!



I especially liked these quotes from him:

• "When someone asks me, 'Are gay rights civil rights?' My answer is always, 'Of course they are.' Civil rights are positive legal prerogatives. The right to equal treatment before the law. These are the rights shared by everyone. There is no one in the United States who does not or should not enjoy or share in enjoying these rights. Gay and lesbian rights are not special rights in any way. It isn't special to be free from discrimination. It is an ordinary universal entitlement of citizenship."

• "The fact that many had to struggle to gain these rights makes them precious; it does not make them special and it does not reserve them only for me or restrict them from others. Because when others gain these rights, my rights are not diminished in any way. My rights are not diluted when my neighbor enjoys protection from discrimination. He or she becomes my ally in defending the rights we all share. For some people, comparisons between the African-American civil rights movement, the movement for gay and lesbians rights seems to diminish the long black historical struggle with its suffering, sacrifices, and endless toil. However people of color ought to be flattered that our movement has provided so much inspiration for others. That our movement has been so widely imitated. That our tactics, our methods, our heroes, our heroines, and even our songs have been appropriated or served as models for others."

• "Many gays and lesbians worked side-by-side with me in the 1960s civil rights movement. Am I now to tell them, Thanks for risking life and limb helping me win my rights, but they're excluded because of a condition of their birth, that they can't share now in the victories they helped me to win, that having accepted and embraced them as partners in a common struggle I can now turn my back on them, deny them the rights they helped me win, the rights I enjoy because of them? Not a chance. No."

GOP Polling Even Against Dems?

Maybe not. Look more closely at the internals. Oh yes, and take Razzy with a grain of salt. ;-)

Republican... SOCIALISTS??!!

Seriously. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has proposed a "Swedish like" solution to the financial catastrophe. OK, so does this sound too good to be true? Are Republicans now better on the economy than Democrats?

Doubt it. After all, they still don't want "mark to market accounting" that would ensure that we the people don't overpay for the banks' toxic assets. Oh yes, and they're still avoiding the one solution that can actually solve the problem, temporary nationalization.

So there you have it, Republicans only support socialism when it's "socialism for the socialites" that's bought & paid for by us poor plebes.

"Do As I Say, Not As I Vote"

Heh. Another Republican full of hypocrisy. "Look! AIG is all Obama's fault!" Really?

Btw, I'm trying out this new Blogger service that allows be to blog via text from my cell #. How's it looking?

I mean, isn't it interesting how we don't often hear about "Republicans in disarray" when they can't even have one message attacking Dems on AIG?

Is the GOP still in disarray? I guess someone in the RNC <a href="http://www.talkleft.com/story/2009/3/18/153641/504">forgot to send El Rushbo</a> the AIG memo.

Whither Geithner?

I think so. Mr. "AIG F*ck Up" needs to leave Treasury ASAP. Let him go & replace him with someone competent enough to realize that our tax dollars aren't being used wisely when greedy executives misuse our money to reward themselves.

President Obama's First Judicial Pick

Announcing his first federal appeals court pick, President Obama today reached for a moderate who already has the bipartisan support of both of his home state's senators. If confirmed, federal Chief District Judge David Hamilton of Indiana will get a seat on the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

So is this good news? Perhaps so. It's nice that we can finally stop worrying about how to block wacky ultra-right zealots and start hoping for better federal courts.

So the Religious Right Is Destroying the GOP...

Wow. Just wow. Ex-Christian-fundamentalist (or "Christianist") Frank Schaeffer explained so well last weekend on D.L. Hughley where we're at.



Now let me do my best to follow up.

As we saw last week when President Obama reversed the Bush Era restrictions on stem cell research, the religious right has yelled and screamed itself into a corner. While America hasn't fully recovered yet from "the culture wars", we as a society are quickly moving in that direction. We Americans are more willing to accept science, not reject it. We're becoming more accepting of LGBT people, not less. We're becoming more willing to let women make their own health care decisions, not less. Yet somehow, the Republican Party seems stuck in this early 1980s "Moral Majority" mentality. Why?

Basically, they've become captive to their drones. They promised the religious right that abortion would be recriminalized, queer people would be thrown in jail, and everyone (not arrested for being "degenerate heathens") would magically accept Jesus as their true lord and savior. And now, the religious right wants those promises fulfilled. And as much as their President Dumbya Bush tried, it wasn't enough.

However, there's a problem now. The radical right ideology has failed. Republicans are out of power. And as I mentioned earlier, Americans are getting increasingly sick and tired of the same old "everything will magically get better if we just bash teh gayz & crush teh abortionists & kill off teh feminazis!" song and dance routine.

The Republican Party is defeated. The religious right is irrelevant. So really, why are we still afraid of them?

Why is DOMA still preventing LGBT couples from accessing any basic rights and benefits on the federal level? Why are LGBT solidiers still being expelled from the military under DADT? Why is there still debate over letting women make their own health decisions? And why haven't we already guaranteed women the same equal rights we give to men? Here's a news flash: The culture wars are ending, and we are winning.

So as Congress soon considers legislation to end legalized discrimination, expand women's rights, and overall extend the promise of civil rights for more people, our Democratic leaders need to stop being afraid and start doing the right thing. Same goes for President Obama as he may soon be faced with a decision to actively support these bills. Let the religious right destroy the GOP. They're a shrinking minority. We somehow managed to win the last two elections for them. And as long as they keep their promises to us, we can do the same for them again in 2010 and 2012.

What??!! People Have Rights?

I just found this on Queerty, and I just had to share it with you all.



Why are we still debating this? Seriously?

Finally, change we can believe in.