“Decency, security and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our Government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”
—Supreme Court Justice Brandeis, delivering his dissenting opinion in Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
March 2011
DON'T CAN THE VAN
PLEASE SIGN AND REBLOG. PLEASE GUYS. THESE PEOPLE HAVE HELPED SO MANY STREET INVOLVED AND AT RISK YOUTH. LOSING THEM WILL AFFECT SO MANY PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED THE HELP. IT ONLY TAKES A SECCOND!
LINK LINK LINK LINK LINK LINK LINK
The Street Outreach Van has been operating in Victoria, British Columbia for many years. Recently it has lost a large majority of its funding and is facing losing the rest. The Street Outreach Van provides mobile outreach services to homeless, at risk, and impoverished youth between the ages of twelve and twenty one. Some of these services including counseling and sometimes mediation between youth and their parents. They distribute blankets, clothing, and harm reduction supplies/ education. They advocate for youth, and make refferals to other apppropriate services such as medical, detox, and housing. They provide transportation, pet food and a daily meal and find funding to help spay/nueter pets. In addition to that, they lend a non-judgemental ear when needed. This is only a small selection of the services they provide as they do so much more for so many people. They provide invaluable services that are not available through any other organization in Victoria. To lose this service would mean kids now and in the future would not have anywhere else to turn for help at a crucial time of their development into responsible adults. We do not want to see this happen! Please help us save the Street Outreach Van!!!
Demand Jail Time for Heat Death of 17-Year-Old Maria Isabel →
change.org
Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez was 17 years old. She was engaged and pregnant. Now she’s dead, and the people responsible are about to walk away without a minute of jail time. Maria Isabel was a farmworker employed by Merced Farm Labor –– a company that was fined in 2006 for not having a written heat-stress prevention plan to protect its workers. They never did write that plan. On May 14th, 2010, Maria Isabel worked in a vineyard for nine hours straight. She was denied shade. She was denied water. She was denied rest. And when she finally collapsed in her fiance’s arms and was rushed to the hospital, her co-workers were instructed to lie to the doctors, to say that she had fainted while exercising. Maria Isabel died later that night. Her fever was 108 degrees. Now the San Joaquin District Attorney wants to let the people responsible for Maria Isabel’s death go with nothing more than community service. Click here to stand against this injustice. Merced Farm Labor is owned by Maria De Los Angeles Colunga, and its safety coordinator is Elias Armenta. Both Colunga and Armenta have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, but now San Joaquin District Attorney James Willett has offered them a plea deal where Colunga will most likely face 40 hours community service and a small fine and Armenta 400 hours. “Everyone needs to move along with their lives. My clients are very, very nice people and very remorseful,” said Merced’s attorney. But Colunga and Armenta didn’t display remorse for Maria Isabel’s death. In fact, the California Department of Labor had to shut the company down in July of 2010, because they still refused to provide their workers with the shade and water breaks required by California law, even after those same practices killed Maria Isabel. Maria Isabel’s family wants justice for her death, and they are working with the United Farmworkers Union to try to get it. We can help, but the sentencing hearing for Colunga and Armenta is scheduled for March 9th – and time is running out.
This happened HERE, in America. A young pregnant woman died because she was denied water, shade or rest while working outdoors. Just despicable.
Fucking despicable. When you are warned, warned again, have someone die and still don’t care enough to worry about the workers, you HAVE NO REMORSE. Remorse for yourself doesn’t fucking count. Don’t forget that the UFU is another Union the Republicans constantly seek to undermine, ignore and destroy. This illustrates exactly what Unions are there to do, and its to protect the life of the workers first and foremost.
Texas Nonprofit Gives Scholarships to White Males - ABC News →
abcnews.go.com
Because white guys are so underprivileged. Especially in Texas!
Petty, sexist, and racist much, Mother Jones? Let’s throw hypocritical in there, too, since you have no problem with other scholarships that are based on race and gender, but throw a hissy over one fucking scholarship — the first of its type — specifically designed for white men. My, how “progressive” of you. Unfollowed. — Ryking
Mother Jones must be crying right now over their loss. - The Noob Yorker
Oh Christ on a bike, what a shock…Ryking unfollowed someone that dared point out that white men are privileged and don’t need scholarships. Are you really still on that shtick, dude? Really?
And wow, a whole $500?? Bigoted and pointless.
February 2011
“
As we speak, Gov. Scott Walker & the Senate R’s are literally having the windows of the capital welded shut to keep people from passing food into the building to the people inside.
Our attorneys are collecting affidavits from the people who witnessed this, along with people who have been illegally denied access to a public, government, building.
We will be filing for a TRO [temporary restraining order] to open the Capitol.
” —AFL-CIO Political Communications Director Eddie Vale, who is at the WI Capitol and just posted this report on AFL-CIO’s website. (via pantslessprogressive)
Not to mention there most likely have to be approvals for altering government property, permits and guidelines for certain degrees of construction, and issues of public safety in the event of fires and emergencies to think about. This guy is acting like he fucking OWNS the state and everyone in it is a peasant, subject to his whim and rule.
Pantsless Progressive: Texas gov blocks reporters from Twitter, forgets about 35,000+ other followers →
pantslessprogressive.com
Mediabistro’s All Twitter blog has a post up about Texas Governor Rick Perry blocking certain reporters from following him on Twitter. Tom Benning of DallasNews.com attempted to follow the governor, and received a message saying
Could not follow user: You…
You are officially a fucking douchebag, Perry. How classly do you have to be to LIMIT WHO CAN FOLLOW you on Twitter? Pretty much confirms you have an agenda you need to hide from the people of this state.
“If a woman should be forced to see a sonogram of her unborn fetus before an abortion, shouldn’t military decision-makers be forced to visit the civilians they bomb?”
—
(via happinessnotstrength)
true story.
(via mismo-camino)
You have a tumblr, you are a sophisticated, educated cyber hippy
I prefer cippy, thanx u verr much.
To Block A Gay-Straight Alliance, Texas High School Shuts Down All Extracurricular Clubs
A Corpus Christi, TX school district has responded to a student’s request to create a Gay-Straight Alliance — by shutting down all extracurricular clubs on campus.
Flour Bluff Intermediate School District’s move comes after its high school gained national attention by blocking senior Bianca “Nikki” Peet’s request to start a GSA.
But Flour Bluff ISD Superintendent Julie Carbajal, in comments to The Daily Caller on Friday, said that there is no chance that district will approve the purposed Gay-Straight Alliance. She also has requested that the student group Fellowship of Christian Athletes meet off campus until they can determine if they are adhering to the 2005 school policy that only student groups tied to curricula are allowed.
By canceling all extra curricular clubs on campus, Flour Bluff ISD hopes to avoid the Equal Access Act — a federal law, passed in 1984, that requires schools receiving federal funding to offer “fair opportunities for students to form student-led extracurricular groups, regardless of their religious, political and philosophical leanings.” The district still maintains that they do not have to follow the Equal Access Law.
Superintendent Carbajal claimed, “We need to be fair and equitable to all,” but that is not how supporters of “Nikki” Peet see it.
From a statement from Paul Rodriguez, President of the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Gay Straight Alliance about the Flour Bluff ISD decision yesterday:
“What a sad, sad day in Corpus Christi. Hatred and intolerance prevails in Flour Bluff ISD. Rather than allowing the Gay-Straight Alliance to form at FBHS, Administrators have chosen the alternative route of dis-allowing ALL non-curricular clubs to meet on campus. Not only has this district turned its back on the students who could benefit from a GSA, but now has alienated the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and other non-curricular clubs on campus as well.”
Texas A&M had given Flour Bluff ISD two options: approve Bianca “Nikki” Peet’s request to form a GSA or disallow all extra curricula clubs at Flour Bluff High School. The group says that it is unfortunate that FBISD cannot — and will not — see that a GSA is essential to building that bridge of tolerance and unity amongst its students, and it’s now brainstorming other ways to help Peet start her club.
(Via: Change.org)
I think some asshats in Utah tried that for awhile. Gotta love the extent some folks with go to in order to support their hate.
If this shit happened in MY city, our GSA would hop all over that shit. Fuck no.
They would rather eliminate ALL clubs than allow the gays to openly congregate. AGAIN: it won’t make gayness go away!!!
Once again, I hate living in this state. That is, however, the most gif-riffic and appropriate gif I have ever seen. I love you for it.
"Don't Say Gay" Bill Proposed In Tennessee →
volunteertv.com
“You’re looking at legislation that is going to make sure that when you are talking about sexuality with students that it is age appropriate,” said Matthew Parsons, a father of seven children and founder of the group “Something Better.”
He says he’s in favor of the proposed bill that avoids talking about homosexuality to kids so young.
“If we’re talking about homosexuality, we are talking about specific acts that are going to be unhealthy for anybody to engage in outside of marriage.”
The bill, known as House Bill 229 or Senate Bill 49, says in part: “No public elementary or middle school shall provide any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.”
And…what “specific acts” would you need to talk about, Mr. Parsons? Kissing? Hugging? Being in love? Thinking someone is attractive? Please, throw me a fucking bone here, ‘cause I’m lost.
Not talking about gayness won’t make it go away!
What a fucklick this guy is.
Zoe and Amir would be BEST friends for reals.
Heck Yes!!!!
The Liberal Life: New Research Finds That Roundup Ready GMO Crops May Cause Animal Miscarriages →
liberal-life.tumblr.com
Here’s another reason the recent approval of GMO alfalfa and sugar beets was a bad idea: researchers claim that Roundup Ready GE crops contain an organism, completely unknown until now, that has been shown to cause miscarriages in farm animals.
The new organism was detected only after…
Fuck Monsanto.
“First they convinced the blue collars to scapegoat the Welfare Queens. Then the suburbanites scapegoated the blue collars and their cushy union factory jobs (hence NAFTA). Then the suburbanites started to cannibalize themselves: first the greedy retirees with their sweet benefits were redefined as Leeches, and now it’s the teachers and public sector workforce. While Americans in general have failed to notice how this game of “Find a new scapegoat every 3 years until there’s no one left with benefits or a salary over $10/hr ” has progressed methodically for several decades, the cops appear to have no illusions about what is happening. They are waking up to reality: “They’re going to come for us next.”
—
ginandtacos.com » Blog Archive » SELF PRESERVATION ENTERS THE BUILDING (via robot-heart-politics)
Good read.
(via stfuconservatives)
“
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.
-Dr. Seuss
” —(via biikayy)
You HAVE to listen to him. He’s a Dr.
