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Five years ago this week, the plane carrying Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila, their daughter Marcia, and campaign workers crashed on the Iron Range. I can’t help but wonder how the past five years might have been different in Washington if Paul were still there representing the principles he so proudly upheld.and
You don't find many politicians like Paul Wellstone, in part because he never really started out to be one. His passion was teaching, and his lesson was one of empowerment. He knew that powerful interests would undermine the public good, unless average people knew how to organize to challenge that power— and that's what he worked to teach, both in the classroom and through hands-on training. For him, being senator wasn't about ego or money, it was about continuing his mission of empowering average people. Ultimately, Wellstone's message was an intensely hopeful one.Read Wellstone’s voice sadly missed in a spineless Congress
Five years ago today a plane carrying Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife Sheila, their daughter, and five other people crashed into the woods in northeastern Minnesota. All eight were killed, and Minnesota politics was thrown into chaos just days before the election. Since Wellstone's death he's been remembered in big and small ways.Read Five Years After His Death, Wellstone Still Inspires
Never separate the life you live from the words you speak.
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A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.
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If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them.
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The future will not belong to those who sit on the sidelines. The future will not belong to the cynics. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
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Sometimes, the only realists are the dreamers.
Compromise is the art of getting someone else thrown under the busand
The title of this post is a comment I found at MetaFilter. It's so perfect at describing the congressional haggling and backroom political smackdowns I've been privvy to in online and offline discussions about the current congressional session, that I just had to have it.
It was a comment that perfectly described Barney Frank's "thoughtful compromise" on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). That bill would have prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation AND gender identity; making it not only a crime to dismiss a worker for being a lesbian but also for firing a woman for looking like man (or vice versa).
Which brings me to Hillary Clinton and her throwing of documented and legal resident children and pregnant women under the Democrats political bus.and
Read closely, the senator's statement mentions the word proud none other than 8 times. When it comes time to mention the dropping of the Immigrant Children's Health Insurance Act from SCHIP, the only word she manages to muster is "disappointed"
Maybe it is too much to ask from legislators to be activists.and
Maybe it is too much to ask from presidential candidates to be put principle above power.
I don't believe it is unreasonable to consider that these two pieces of legislation are further changing the way we interpret equality to be under the constitution.Read all of Compromise is the art of getting someone else thrown under the bus
ENDA must remain inclusive of protections for trans people.and
JUST OVER A year ago, when a debate over supporting hate crimes legislation that was not transgender-inclusive started, the staff at PFLAG National went to work to educate our members about the problems with the bill. In the process, we got some interesting feedback.
An e-mail came from a mom in Iowa who informed us that she'd called her legislators and told them to vote yes only if the bill was inclusive of all members of our PFLAG family. She commented, "I don't think that I've ever met a transgender person, but it doesn't matter. I won't support anything that leaves them out." She did this knowing that no bill meant no coverage for her gay son, but as a parent, choosing which members of a family will get integral protections just isn't a choice.
The idea that leaving the T behind is a strategy to the bill’s passage actually isn’t a strategy at all. It is a validation of our opposition’s plans to divide and conquer, to make us satisfied with whatever we can get, and, worst of all, affirm the idea that some of us are more acceptable than others.
The idea that leaving the T behind is a strategy to the bill’s passage actually isn’t a strategy at all. It is a validation of our opposition’s plans to divide and conquer, to make us satisfied with whatever we can get, and, worst of all, affirm the idea that some of us are more acceptable than others.Read all of Don’t break up the family by Jody Huckaby, executive director of PFLAG.
‘Rep. Barney Frank is and has long been a great advocate for our community and we both have the same goal — to have a law that protects LGBT people from discrimination’That was here: Lambda Legal Responds to Representative Barney Frank.
New York, October 4, 2007) — Prompted by a press release issued late yesterday from Rep. Barney Frank's office, earlier today Lambda Legal sent an open letter to Rep. Frank further explaining the shortfalls in the most recent version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
"Rep. Barney Frank is and has long been a great advocate for our community and we both have the same goal — to have a law that protects LGBT people from discrimination," said Jon Davidson, Legal Director at Lambda Legal. "In our letter to Rep. Frank we clarified why we are concerned that the newest version may not provide the protection all LGBT people deserve."
Lambda Legal placed a call to Rep.'s Frank's office and sent a detailed letter further explaining its preliminary legal analysis.
Letter excerpt:
[removing gender identity] "diminished the bill not only by excluding transgender people — a consequence we oppose in itself. The cut also made the bill far weaker by denying protection of the earlier version to those who may not identify as transgender but who are discriminated against because they are perceived as gender nonconforming. Lesbians, gay men and bisexuals frequently are perceived that way."
Lambda Legal was also one of many LGBT legal groups signing onto a statement that further explains concerns about the most recent version of ENDA. For more information visit www.lambdalegal.org
View the entire letter to Rep. Barney Frank here (pdf format)
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Lisa Hardaway: 212-809-8585 ext. 266; Email: lhardaway@lambdalegal.org.
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.
It simply is wrong for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals to seek protection for themselves and leave transgender people in the dust.Thank you (again) Lambda Legal!
Suppose you live in a community where there is a community bomb shelter. As the bomb sirens begin to roar and the citizens file into the shelter, the community leaders begin to bar admission to a few. They tell those that they refuse admission to "Maybe next time. And if you survive you can work with us to be sure the larger community will allow you shelter the next time we are under attack."It is a basic right to be judged in the workplace by our qualifications and our job performance - not by the color of our skin, our religion, the country of our birth, our sexual orientation, OR our gender identity.
Subject: Re: WriteRep Responses
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 10:31:13 -0400
From: Representative Adam SmithDear Gabrielle,
Thank you for contacting me with your support for H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2007. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with me on this important matter.
Like you, I believe that it is wrong that someone can be fired or denied a job opportunity because they are, or are perceived to be, gay, lesbian, or bisexual. As a result of your letter and others like it, you will be pleased to know that I have agreed to co-sponsor H.R. 2015 again this Congress. As you know, H.R. 2015 was introduced by Representative Barney Frank on April 24, 2007. This bill would prohibit employers, employment agencies, and labor unions from using an individual's sexual orientation as the basis for employment decisions such as hiring, firing, promotion, or compensation.
ENDA simply extends basic employment discrimination law to include sexual orientation, thereby providing legal recourse in our state or federal courts. The bill prohibits preferential treatment and quotas, exempts small businesses, religious institutions, and the military and does not require employers to provide benefits to the domestic partner of employees.
This bill is a common-sense solution to this problem. Unfortunately, it remains legal in 33 states to fire or refuse to hire anyone based on sexual orientation. This legislation does not create special rights; ENDA would simply add sexual orientation and gender identity to the current list of federal employment protections that already ban discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability.
Currently, H.R. 2015 has the support of 165 Members, but must be reviewed in the House Education and Labor, House Administration, House Oversight and Government Reform, and House Judiciary Committees before reaching the House floor. Please be assured that I will support this legislation should I have the opportunity to vote on this bill.
Again, I want to thank you for contacting me on this important matter. If you have any additional questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you'd like to receive occasional e-mail updates from Congressman Adam Smith, please visit my website to sign up - http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/IMA/newsletter.shtml.
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