Still Fighting

Activism

Rainbow Law was created as a research tool, knowledge base and activist center. Rainbow Law is dedicated to fighting for the rights of Gay and Lesbian families. We encourage you to sift through the material they have listed, and then go here. Whether it's signing a petition, making a donation or just learning how to talk to someone who is against gay marriage, we're asking you to do your part to protect the civil rights of homosexuals in this country (for more information on why, see News #1 below).

News

Second Class Citizens. Last Friday, California voted to not uphold the legalization of same-sex marriage. Had the state assembly given 41 votes for "yea" (the bill only received 37), the bill would then have gone to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature. Whether or not he would have signed it is moot at this point. Among those voting "nay" for the bill were several state Democrats. The buzz running around Sacramento is that many of those who voted nay did so to preserve their political futures. They are cowards. With the vote, California sends the same message that Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah sent to their homosexual citizens: You are second rate, your civil rights don't count, and if we had our way, we wouldn't allow you to vote. Are we the only ones who remember the last group of American citizens not allowed to marry? (Hint - they are black). How can we expect progress when states like Alabama are so backward that it took until 2000 for the state to strike from its constitution a law banning marriage between African-Americans and whites? We're not here to draw the comparison between the battle for the rights of African-Americans and homosexuals (although we easily could). The point is that this country was created so that people could pursue their lives free of oppression. As Thomas Jefferson wrote,

We hold these truths to be self–evident,
That all men are created equal,
That they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Recognize that? How about Samuel Adams, in 1772?

Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these:
First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property;
together with the right to support and defend them
in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of,
rather than deductions from, the duty of self–preservation,
commonly called the first law of nature. All men have a right
to remain in a state of nature as long as they please;
and in case of intolerable oppression, civil or religious,
to leave the society they belong to, and enter into another.
When men enter into society, it is by voluntary consent.…
Every natural right not expressly given up, or, from the
nature of a social compact, necessarily ceded, remains.
All positive and civil laws should conform, as far as possible,
to the law of natural reason and equity. As neither reason requires
nor religion permits the contrary, every man living in or out of
a state of civil society has a right peaceably and quietly
to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience.

In 1776, the Southern "governed" owned slaves, and the Northern "governed" profited from the trade, and we all saw how well that worked out. It took centuries for us to get where we are today, and we still have a long way to go. How can Americans support such a pathetically ignorant view? How can Americans support politicians who stand on a false morality platform?

We Have a Governor! The judge has ruled, and the decision is "with prejudice," or final. Democrat Christine Gregoire is the Governor of Washington state. Republican challenger Dino Rossi failed to overcome the burden of proof for fraud or intentional bias. We're sure that won't stop Rossi from drudging up another lawsuit. Hey, while Rossi whines and complains, maybe he should stop and think that the state he professes to love would be better served with someone paying attention to it, instead of fighting off ridiculous trials. Then again, what do we know? Our state elected Bob Ehrlich.

While the Rich Get Richer. It should come as no shock to you that the rich are getting richer every day, and are constantly widening the gap between rich and poor. And thanks to Bush's tax cuts, the gap between the rich and the "hyper rich" is growing even larger. The hyper rich, for example (we're talking those that make a minimum of $87 million a year), pay the same Medicare, income and Social Security taxes as someone making $50,000 to $75,000. Those who make over $10 million a year pay less of their share of income taxes than those making $100,000 - $200,000. Bob Hebert released an editorial yesterday about this very subject, entitled The Mobility Myth. Herbert shows why there is no more upward class mobility in this country. But there certainly is room for downward mobility: What has Bush done for your safety net?

Editorials

Writing the History of the Revolution is Now Up to You. While we're on the subject of class, Bill Moyers recently spoke at the Take Back America conference. As with any speech, the opening isn't really the meat of it. Once he shows the video of "Minimum Wages: The New Economy," he gets to the heart of his speech - the economy. Moyers points out that, from 2004 through March 2005, wages failed to keep pace with the recession. It's the first time that that has happened since the 1990 recession. He states that America is second in GDP (behind Luxembourg), but "we rank dead last among the 20 most developed countries in fighting poverty and we're off the chart in terms of the number of Americans living on half the median income or less." All of this builds to the idea that liberals don't really get angry. Sure, we write blogs and sign petitions, but we don't get angry, like FOX News angry. Maybe getting angry will lead to constructive argument. It's hard to be truly passionate about something when you won't get angry when the opposite occurs. From Kenneth Tomlinson to DKNY sweatshops to Medicaid, there's plenty going on in the world to get angry about. Why aren't you?

Hope for Afforable Housing. As you're probably well aware, home prices are skyrocketing. But as the previous editorial points out, the wealth gap is widening. So, you see, we have a problem: Where are the growing numbers of poor people going to find housing, when it's getting increasingly more expensive? This editorial mentions a little amendment that might provide some relief, although it's interesting to note what a challenge it's been to even get the amendment brought to a vote. First of all, it took the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae financial scandals for Congress to even turn its eye to the mortgage business. And then, only because Republicans decided they needed a bit of Democratic support, Barney Frank (D-MA) was able to sneak in some legislation that would provide $400 million for affordable housing. The amendment failed to be defeated once, but who knows if it'll pass Congress. Of course, it's merely a step in the right direction, but two steps back and one step forward is better than two steps back and no steps forward.

Branch Rickety. We try not to post too much "Washington Insider" stuff, but it's important to be aware of what's going on in Congress, and often it's the little machinations that provide the most insight. Terence Samuel describes how Congress has been eroding its own independence because of the Republicans' marching in lock-step with the White House. Bush still hasn't exercised his veto (although he claims he will on the Stem Cell Bill), which is rather pathetic, when you think about it. We have three branches of government for a reason - they're supposed to check either others' actions and balance each others' power. Congress is not checking the executive power at all, and their power is aligned on the same side of the scale. Democrats have been able to fight Bolton by appealing to what little is left of the Senate's integrity, but we have to wonder how much longer that's going to work.