shutterstock_95581429.jpg 19th Century German statesman Otto von Bismarck once said, "If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made." The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), put on the map by the Center for Media and Democracy in its "ALEC Exposed" project, is the archetype of von Bismarck's truism. So too are the fracking chemical
Continue readingTag: California
CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: US anti-immigrant group blames immigrants for global warming
Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS), an anti-immigrant group, blames Mexican immigrants for increasing carbon emissions in the U.S. The group bases its startling claim on a bogus report by the nativist Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), which is linked the … Continue reading →
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Principal Disqualifies Student for Supporting Same-Sex Marriage
An assistant principal at Fullerton Union High School in California interrupted and disqualified a student competing for the title of Mr. Fullerton (A silly contest the school has going on, apparently) because the student said he hopes that same-sex marriage will be legal in California so that he can get
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Dustin Lance Black and Rob Reiner,
Thank you for writing and directing a play called 8 about the fight for marriage equality in California. Now that a reading of the play is available for viewing online, we can see stars like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, Jesse Tyler
Continue readingMolly'sBlog: Molly’sBlog 2012-02-11 18:26:00
AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA: HAVE A HEART: SUPPORT THE UFW IN CALLING FOR A BAN ON METHYL IODIDE; This Valentine’s Day give a gift to farm workers and rural residents in California and ask that the toxic fungicide be banned in the state of California. Here’s the article from the United
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: The Business of Risk – Insuring Against Climate Change
Insurance_Photo.jpg When it comes to assessing risk, the insurance industry is one of the leaders in the field. Whether it is health insurance, car insurance, or homeowner’s insurance, the industry is forced to analyze every possible scenario for a given person or structure, and impose a fee based on the
Continue readinggay persons of color: George Clooney astonished by "second-class" treatment of American gays and lesbians
George Clooney has signed on to star in the West Coast premiere of 8, a stage play written by Dustin Lance Black that chronicles the historic federal court trial (Perry v. Schwarzenegger) overturning Proposition 8, the ballot measure that denied gay and lesbian Californians the right to marry. From the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Congressmembers Implicated in Insider Stock Trading on TransCanada, Keystone XL Pipeline
shutterstock_89794186.jpg When it comes to TransCanada Corporation's Keystone XL pipeline approval process, corruption has been rampant, as well covered by DeSmogBlog as it unfolded. The Keystone XL pipeline, currently in limbo, would carry tar sands crude — a thick and dirty fossil fuel called bitumen — from the Alberta tar sands through
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Another LNG Deal Inked, Fracking Export Bonanza Continues
LNG Ship.jpg On December 7, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commision (FERC) granted a 30-year license to Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas), located in Coos Bay, Oregon, to transform its existing import terminal license into an export terminal license. It would be the first LNG export terminal on the west
Continue readinggay persons of color: Porn star Ryan Idol, aka Marc Anthony Donais, convicted of attempted murder
Ryan Idol, one of the most popular gay porn stars of the 1990s, was convicted of attempted murder Tuesday in Sacramento, two years after trying to kill his girlfriend. The bisexual actor, whose given name is Marc Anthony Donais, was accused of smashing…
Continue readingThings Are Good: California Bans Shark Fin Soup
There are tons of reason to ban shark fin soup, and it’s not just because it’s cruel to sharks.
“Sharks have been around for nearly 400 million years, and could be wiped out in a single human generation due to an increasing demand for their fins,” said Knights. ”Fisheries regulation on the ground has utterly […]
gay persons of color: Museum guard says holding hands not allowed for lesbian couple
Here’s some food for thought. A security guard working at the “Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories” exhibition at San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum last Sunday afternoon told a lesbian couple visiting the show that they were not allowed to hol…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Teaching gay history becomes law in California
On Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that requires all schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of LGBT people throughout history. The move makes California the first state in America to ensure that…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Oakland A’s suspend minor league prospect for gay slur
Photo from Checkoutmycards.comThe Oakland A’s nipped team homophobia in the bud Sunday by indefinitely suspending top minor league pitching prospect, Ian Krol, for tweeting what was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser as a “gay slur…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Watch: San Francisco Giants "It Gets Better" video
On Wednesday, the San Francisco Giants became the first professional sports franchise to release a video for the It Gets Better Project. Featuring pitchers Barry Zito, Sergio Romo, and Matt Cain, center fielder Andres Torres, and hitting coach Hensley …
Continue readingWise Law Blog: Proposed California Law Tackles Social Media, Privacy Concerns
A proposed new law in California would have radical implications for Facebook and other major social media sites:The bill, which would apply only to users in California, would prohibit sites from displaying users’ home addresses or telephone numbers wi…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Gay LAPD officer awarded USD $1.1 million in retaliation case
A jury on Thursday awarded $1.1 million to Los Angeles police sergeant and media relations spokesman, Ronald Crump (above left), who sued the city in 2010, alleging that his direct supervisor at the Los Angeles Police Department Media Relations Sect…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Former baseball player, Billy Bean, poses for equal rights
Former Major League Baseball player Billy Bean, who made news in 1999 when he came out openly as gay four years after he retired from the sport, has posed for the NOH8 Campaign, which raises awareness and funds for gay rights causes, including ending C…
Continue readinggay persons of color: San Francisco Giants to produce "It Gets Better" video
The San Francisco Giants will produce a YouTube video for the “It Gets Better” campaign, the hope project launched by Dan Savage in 2010 in response to several highly publicized suicides by gay teenagers in the United States, reports the Associated Pre…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Harris in support of marriage equality
Nic Harris, linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, has come out in support of equal rights by participating in the NOH8 Campaign, which is a photographic silent protest created by Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the discrimin…
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