I found this at the blog Sociological Images but I thought it was especially appropriate for today.
Pretty cool!
Today is April 15th, the day for Americans to file their 2009 tax returns. Like 98% of American households, my federal taxes for 2009 are lower than they were for 2008, thanks to the President Barack Obama tax cuts!
The Republican-dominated Arizona legislature has passed a bill which would require police officers in the state to issue citations to people whom they have a "reasonable suspicion" is an undocumented immigrant, and determine their immigration status. Gee, I wonder how many blonde haired, blue-eyed Canadian immigrants are going to be cited!
Pity. I really enjoyed visiting Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, but I will not be going to that state for as long as that state becomes law. Say, bye-bye to tourist dollars, Arizona!Currently, officers can inquire about someone's immigration status only if the person is a suspect in another crime. The bill allows officers to avoid the immigration issue if it would be impractical or hinder another investigation.
Citizens can sue to compel police agencies to comply with the law, and no city or agency can formulate a policy directing its workers to ignore the law -- a provision that advocates say prevents so-called sanctuary orders that police not inquire about people's immigration status.
The bill cements the position of Arizona, whose border with Mexico is the most popular point of entry for illegal immigrants into this country, as the state most aggressively using its own laws to fight illegal immigration. In 2006 the state passed a law that would dissolve companies with a pattern of hiring illegal immigrants. Last year it made it a crime for a government worker to give improper benefits to an illegal immigrant.
As of Date: 04/13/2010 Time: 23:04 Votes PercentThis means that on June 8, Mike will face the Republican candidate in the run-off to fill the rest of Krekorian's term through November 2010. He will also probably be the favorite to win the Democratic nomination (against Nahabedian) in the primary election which happens on the same day.
STATE ASSEMBLY 43RD TERM ENDS 11/10
MIKE GATTO DEM 10,584 32.34
SUNDER RAMANI REP 10,403 31.79
NAYIRI NAHABEDIAN DEM 7,298 22.30
CHAHE KEUROGHELIAN DEM 4,444 13.58
TOTAL PRECINCTS 225 PRECINCTS REPORTING 225 100.00
REGISTRATION 201,352
 |  |
| Nayiri Nahabedian | Mike Gatto |
Love Honor Cherish, the primary group behind the Sign for Equality campaign, has sent out a press release announcing that they have failed to collect the requisite 700,000 signatures for the November 2010 ballot.Bizarrely, that website has not been updated since November 2009. MadProfessah was with the diverse coalition of organizations and activists called Prepare to Prevail who said that we need more time to insure that the next time we go to the ballot to restore marriage equality for all Californians we are well-prepared, well-funded and well-positioned for victory. 2010 was too early for all three of those things to be aligned, although it is interesting that public opinion in favor of marriage equality has recently become a majority position in California polls.INITIATIVE TO REPEAL PROP 8 WILL NOT BE ON THE BALLOT IN 2010
All-Volunteer Petition Drive Triggered Conversations Across California
(LOS ANGELES - April 12, 2010)
Love Honor Cherish, which spearheaded an effort to place an initiative on the November 2010 ballot to repeal Proposition 8 and restore equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, announced today that the proponents did not gather the 694,354 signatures necessary to place the proposed initiative on the ballot. The group vowed to work toward the repeal of Prop 8 at the next general election in November 2012.
"This is a heartbreaking moment," said John Henning, Executive Director of Love Honor Cherish. "Despite the dogged efforts of hundreds of volunteers across California, we did not get the signatures we needed within the 150-day window set by the state."
Under California law, it is too late to mount a new effort to repeal Prop 8 in 2010. "Regrettably, Prop 8 will remain as a stain on our constitution until at least 2012, and perhaps later," said Henning. He challenged activists statewide to rededicate themselves and unify behind a 2012 repeal effort.
Prop 8 passed by a margin of 52 to 48 percent. However, polls taken since the vote have shown that a majority of Californians now support the right of same-sex couples to marry, indicating that a new ballot proposition to repeal Prop 8 would be likely to pass in November 2010. In March, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed a 6 percent increase in support for equal marriage rights in just the last year.
The proponents of the repeal initiative sought to seize the momentum unleashed by the passage of Prop 8 and parlay it into a victory at the polls. "This signature campaign was the right thing to do in the wake of Prop 8," said Love Honor Cherish board member Lester Aponte. "We were determined to act affirmatively to achieve equality and we will continue to do that until Prop 8 has been finally repealed. We had hundreds of thousands of conversations with California voters about the right to marry and we know that we have moved hearts and minds. In the process, we have set the foundation for a future repeal effort and brought hope to thousands whose hearts were broken by the passage of Prop 8."
Love Honor Cherish was one of more than 40 groups supporting the repeal of Prop 8 in November 2010, and was part of the Restore Equality 2010 coalition. The campaign utilized a unique web-based social networking tool, located at www.SignForEquality.com, which enabled volunteers to download the petition form, watch training videos and join teams.
Love Honor Cherish is a Los Angeles-based grassroots organization committed to repealing Prop 8 and to developing a new generation of leadership on this issue. Formed in May 2008 to defeat Prop 8, it raised over $500,000 for the No on 8 campaign and mounted its own outreach and media efforts. After the passage of Prop 8, Love Honor Cherish began working immediately to secure its repeal by means of a new ballot proposition. For more information, visit www.LoveHonorCherish.org.
Some amazing shots of James Furlow, found via Dark Flex, who also appreciates Black and Latin muscular models. James is 34 years old, 6 foot 2, 2000 (oops, 200!) pounds and seems to also go by the name "Hitch." You can check him out on Myspace.
John Paul Stevens, was appointed to the courtI have my money on Elena Kagan, who would also be the first openly gay member of the Court. Other lesbians under possible consideration are Kathleen Sullivan, 54, former Dean of Stanford Law School and Pamela Karlan, 50, another Stanford Law Professor.
Merrick B. Garland
57 years old
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Harvard College, 1974; Harvard Law School, 1977
A former federal prosecutor now on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Judge Garland is well regarded by Democrats and influential Republican senators like Orrin G. Hatch of Utah.
Diane P. Wood
59 years old
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago
University of Texas at Austin, 1971; University of Texas Law School, 1975
Judge Wood opposed some abortion restrictions and is respected for standing firm against strong, conservative judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She and President Obama were colleagues at the University of Chicago.
Elena Kagan
49 years old
Solicitor general
Princeton, 1981; Oxford, 1983; Harvard Law School, 1986
With no judicial record, Ms. Kagan is less known. As dean at Harvard Law School, she hired conservative professors to expand academic diversity and has supported assertions of executive power.
Jennifer M. Granholm
51 years old
Governor of Michigan
University of California, Berkeley, 1984; Harvard Law School, 1987
Ms. Granholm is nearing the end of her second term as the first female governor of Michigan. As governor, she has generally opposed legislation to restrict abortion and twice vetoed bans on partial-birth abortion. She was born in Canada and became a United States citizen at age 18.
Janet Napolitano
52 years old
Secretary of Homeland Security
Santa Clara University, 1979; University of Virginia School of Law, 1983
A former Democratic governor in Republican-dominated Arizona, Ms. Napolitano takes pride in defying easy labels and is as strongly supportive of abortion rights as she is of the death penalty. Her prospects might be hurt by criticism that she portrayed a thwarted Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airline as a test that the air safety system passed.
Martina Navratilova, probably the greatest player male or female to ever play the game of tennis, announced this week that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The prognosis of the 53-year-old living legend is good since she has a noninvasive form of the disease, called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS.
The list of nominations for the 2010 Hugo Awards has been announced and the nominees for best science fiction novel are:On Tuesday AB 2199 passed out of the Public Safety Committee of the Assembly with all Democrats except Anthony Portantino (AD-44) voting for the bill and the Republicans merely voting present (which has to be regarded as an improvement on Republicans generally voting no on any legislation Equality California sponsors).An act to repeal Section 8050 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to mental health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2199, as introduced, Bonnie Lowenthal. Sexual deviation:
research.
Existing law requires the State Department of Mental Health,
acting through the superintendent of the Langly Porter Clinic, to
plan, conduct, and cause to be conducted scientific research into the
causes and cures of sexual deviation, including deviations conducive
to sex crimes against children, and the causes and cures of
homosexuality, and into methods of identifying potential sex
offenders.
This bill would repeal those provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8050 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
8050. The State Department of Mental Health, acting through the
superintendent of the Langley Porter Clinic, shall plan, conduct, and
cause to be conducted scientific research into the causes and cures
of sexual deviation, including deviations conducive to sex crimes
against children, and the causes and cures of homosexuality, and into
methods of identifying potential sex offenders.
In the year since then: Sirdeaner Walker has become a national advocate against bullying, appearing on Oprah, Ellen and AC 360, as well as testifying before Congress. Walker has also championed Massachusetts' proposed anti-bullying legislation. The state House and Senate recently passed anti-bullying bills and it's now in conference committee for final approval. Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to sign that bill later this month and Walker says she's planning to be at his desk when he does it.You can take action by supporting the federal Safe Schools Improvement Act, H.R. 2262.
Hans Johnson, president of Progressive Victory; Mike Gatto, Democratic Party-endorsed candidate for California's 43rd Assembly seat; Luis Lopez, president of HONOR PAC; and Jimmie Woods Gray, UTLA and former chair of the L.A. County Democratic Party
Buried in the recesses of the new poll from The Los Angeles Times/USC is this little nugget of information that for the second time in two weeks indicates that a majority of Californians support marriage equality.
More stunning photographic work from Carlos Arias. The model is Ike Love, a straight, "ethnically ambiguous" 29-year-old from Brooklyn, NY. Ike is another find by David Dust.
