The Bilerico Project

Introducing Fairness Works

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:00:00 -0500

I was very happy to get a facebook invite yesterday for Join The Impact's newest campaign: Fairness Works.

Join The Impact is the grassroots organization that was able to, with zero money, mobilize millions of LGBT people to march in the streets to protest the passage of Proposition 8 last November, all through the power of the internet.

Now they are lifting up a campaign to knock-out job discrimination with a three pronged punch. Their campaign focuses energy on the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).

On July 25th, in communities around the country, a grassroots army of people will be holding dream-ins, part mis-mash of events, part teach-in, part protest, part direct legislative lobbying, and part- testimony, to lift up voices of discrimination in our community and how ENDA and EFCA and the repeal of DADT can bring fairness for all workers.

For those in the community who have been using the rallying cry of "no more excuses" here is an excellent way to put our anger and energy to action.

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Your Healthcare Stories Are Needed

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:00:00 -0500

The AFL-CIO is doing a health care survey to help determine priorities as they move forward, working with the administration to push through health care reform. Last year, there was a good response from the LGBT community telling the stories and discrimination you face as an LGBT person in the health care system. Please take a moment and take the 2009 survey and tell your story. It will help Pride At Work make sure that our issues are at the table as the AFL-CIO and the labor movement push forward an ambitious health care reform agenda.

Rep. Virginia Foxx Says Matthew Shepard Wasn't a Victim Of Hate Violence

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:30:00 -0500

From our tremendous friends over at Media Matters:

Summary: On April 29, 2009, in a speech on the House floor, Rep. Virginia Foxx claimed that Matthew Shepard's death was merely the result of a robbery gone bad. While his killers Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson did rob him, they also admitted that they were well aware of his sexual orientation and pretended they were gay to lure him away from the bar he was in at the time. The most striking feature of the case, of course, is that during the course of a normal, simple robbery, the victim is not generally beaten, tied to a post, and left for dead.

You can watch the video of her disgusting statements after the fold.

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Two Words That Dare Not Speak Their Name: Income Inequality

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Like many Americans, I was outraged about the AIG bonuses that were lavished on executives that have brought ruin to so many Americans, hell, the world. Outraged, but not surprised.

We all know there are separate rules for our separate classes. For the majority of us, the 99%, if you don't do your job, you don't meet performance minimums, you're fired. No bonus, no severance, you're at will - not yours but your employer's. But for the top 1%, there are different rules. Fuck up the financial system for the entire world, well, you'll still get a bonus - just maybe 2 or 3 million dollars less than you expected.

Its outrageous of course, but our current dialogue is a typical Washington, DC dog and pony show. Watch as the House votes to tax back those bonuses, watch as the Senate stymies, but regardless, the witch hunt over the AIG bonuses is a lovely diversion and it does nothing to fix the systemic problems that run through the bedrock of the country, and that, unless fixed, will just doom us to further misery.

The two words that dare not speak their name: Income Inequality.

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National AFL-CIO Calls On California Supreme Court To Invalidate Prop 8

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:30:00 -0500

From Pride At Work:

Miami, Florida- As the AFL-CIO Executive Council gathers in Miami this week, hearing addresses from Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis dealing with the economic crisis and its impact on workers across the country, the Executive Council has spoken up again for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers by passing a resolution, in unanimity, calling on the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8.

The full statement after the jump...

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Maryland Transgender Civil Rights Bill Advances

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:30:00 -0500

Transgender equality is making advances in Maryland, where the House of Delegates will soon vote on House Bill 474.

HB 474 is more expansive in scope than the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. HB 474 would add "gender identity" to existing protections that protect Marylanders from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and credit.

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Finally A Good Bank: Bank Ad Teaches Transgender Inclusion

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:30:00 -0500

A friend passed this you tube posting of an Argentinian bank advertisement that is simply jaw-dropping and touching. What an interesting take for an advertisement - a bank being generous to you, makes you reconsider your own bigotry and lack of compassion. Wow and definitely worth the thirty seconds it takes to view it.

GMU Elects Drag Queen As Homecoming Queen

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:30:00 -0500

From The Washington Post:

Ryan Allen, a popular host of the George Mason University's yearly drag show, was elected its homecoming queen over the weekend in an emotional crowning ceremony at halftime of the sold-out GMU vs. Northeastern basketball game at the Patriot Center. He beat out two female finalists after a student e-mail poll last week.

Allen -- or, rather, his drag queen alter ego, Reann Ballslee -- assumed the title of Ms. Mason wearing a large green-and-gold bow sewed for him by the theater department's costume shop and visible even in the cheap seats, as well as a wig, lamé blouse and black skirt and heels.

Congratulations to Ms. Ballslee!

Schadenfreude of the Day: Fox News Host Vs. Lansing Mayor

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:30:00 -0500

Showing poor judgment, I hopped over to The Drudge Report to do some of my daily opposition research, and stumbled upon an article where a CNBC host laments Obama's mortgage plan, asks the question should taxpayers have to pay for someone else's mortgage, and then calls for a Wall Street tea party. All with no sense of irony.

I'm constantly amazed at the furor of people on Wall Street regarding bailouts of Main Street and salaries of blue-collar and white-collar workers, with no reflection on the asinine amounts of money they make.

Then a friend sent me this YouTube clip of Mayor Virg Bernero tearing into a Fox News host and it just put a smile on my face. After living through 30 years of conservative market-driven politics, its nice to see a new fierce populism raising its lovely head. I thought I would pass it on.

President Clinton Sleeps With The Wrong People (Again)

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:30:00 -0500

LGBT-Rights Pioneer, Cleve Jones recently posted to The Huffington Post an article entitled, "What Would Harvey Milk Say About President Clinton's Speech at the Manchester Hyatt?"

In it, Jones states,

"This Sunday, President Clinton is scheduled to give a paid speech at the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego to the annual convention of a major political action committee, the International Franchise Association.

To give this speech, President Clinton will have to violate a union boycott and labor dispute - the workers at the hotel lack job security and the housekeepers face onerous workloads. He will also offend gay and lesbian Americans, including myself - the owner of the hotel, Doug Manchester, contributed $125,000 in early seed money to the Proposition 8 campaign. President Clinton should move this speech."

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Business Gets Behind Mary Beth Maxwell

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:00:00 -0500

Its not only the labor and LGBT communities getting behind MB Maxwell's candidacy for Secretary of Labor, business is stepping up as well. From insurance company, American Income Life:

Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of working with American Rights at Work and Mary Beth Maxwell. As a CEO, I believe the culture of an organization is created through leadership. Mary Beth Maxwell , Executive Director of American Rights at Work, has not only been an advocate for workers - she has been a proponent of both promoting and recognizing responsible companies who respect their workers. I believe the Secretary of Labor should be able to balance the needs of both workers and business. Mary Beth Maxwell has the unique experiences as a grassroots organizer , an articulate spokesperson, and a leader of workers who listens to both the worker and business perspective. She would make an excellent Secretary of Labor.

Roger Smith
CEO and President
American Income Life Insurance Company
1200 Wooded Acres
Waco, TX 76710
254 761 6601

From The AFL-CIO Blog: Nurses March For Marriage Equality

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:00:00 -0500

From the official AFL-CIO blog:

Members of the California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) joined several thousand LGBT, civil rights, labor, community and religious activists in San Francisco in recent days in a demonstration calling for marriage equality.

To read the whole story, please visit the AFL-CIO blog, and leave a supportive comment!

Senator Richard Shelby: Creator of the First 21st Century Great Depression

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:30:00 -0500

The auto industry bailout was the topic du jour on all the sunday talk shows this weekend, and the hypocrisy of those conversations is something I can simply not let go unanswered.

To be clear, I believe the first Wall Street bailout was a complete one over on the American people and another corporate welfare giveaway to Wall Street. If the bailout would actually work I would have had no problem with it. But as I've learned at Pride At Work , rarely can you solve a problem by simply throwing money at it.

This bailout does nothing to solve the problems that have gotten us to this place; the extinction of financial regulation and oversight, the incredible disadvantage American companies have providing health care, as most industrial nations provide health care through the government, and finally, income inequality levels not seen in this country since before the last great depression.

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California Supreme Court Could Rule This Week On Prop 8 Lawsuit

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:00 -0500

I've been traveling on the road, so apologies if this has been posted, but it seems to have slipped through the radar screen nationally. According to The Sacramento Bee, California Supreme Court Spokeswoman Lynn Holton says that the Court could issue a ruling on the lawsuits that seek to invalidate Prop 8 as early as this week.

You can read the article here.

My crack team of friends in the know in Sacramento see the court taking on this case so quickly as a promising sign, signaling that the court wants to deal with this disgusting situation now rather than later.

Of course, we won't know until we hear from the Court, but it looks like the wait won't be long.

With the Governator and over 40 state legislators stepping up and speaking out against Prop 8 through public statements and friend of the court briefs, it looks like the California political community is coming together and saying resolutely, that putting the civil rights of a minority up for the vote of the majority is a disservice to all Californians, not just LGBT ones.

Somebody Gets Trans-Inclusion

jbishop@bilerico.com (Jeremy Bishop) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

For those of you looking for a dream job in the President-Elect's administration, you should visit, the Change.gov website.

And good news for our community. Look at their anti-discrimination clause:

The Obama-Biden Transition Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law.

I guess we should savor the small victories.