Thursday, September 11, 2008
Daily Challenge
Okay, let's get to work. With only a few more than 50 days left before the election, we have a lot of work to do. If you aren't sure what to do, here are some strong suggestions I have for you:
1. Fight Amendment 2. If you didn't know, we have a blog dedicated to fighting the false "marriage" protection push from the religious right, The Hate Amendment. Link to it. Read it. Do what you can to learn more about the amendment and spread the word. Learn more about the amendment in Tuesday's video edition of the Word of the Day.
2. Get people to sign petitions for FairDistrictsFlorida.org. This is one of the biggest fights we should be engaging in right now. We get overly focused on the elections in front of us, but we need to keep the big picture in front of us. If you haven't done so already, download and sign the petitions. Tell your friends. Link to FairDistrictsFlorida.org.
3. Help Doug Tudor and other candidates who are being undercut by Debbie Wasserman Shultz. Call her at 202-257-3422 and demand she explain her "Don’t pull that populist stuff with me" quote to Tudor and ask her why she isn't doing more to help Florida's progressive Democratic challengers. It's her job. Read more about it...
Learn more about all three of these stories in last week's video edition of The Countdown.
1. Fight Amendment 2. If you didn't know, we have a blog dedicated to fighting the false "marriage" protection push from the religious right, The Hate Amendment. Link to it. Read it. Do what you can to learn more about the amendment and spread the word. Learn more about the amendment in Tuesday's video edition of the Word of the Day.
2. Get people to sign petitions for FairDistrictsFlorida.org. This is one of the biggest fights we should be engaging in right now. We get overly focused on the elections in front of us, but we need to keep the big picture in front of us. If you haven't done so already, download and sign the petitions. Tell your friends. Link to FairDistrictsFlorida.org.
3. Help Doug Tudor and other candidates who are being undercut by Debbie Wasserman Shultz. Call her at 202-257-3422 and demand she explain her "Don’t pull that populist stuff with me" quote to Tudor and ask her why she isn't doing more to help Florida's progressive Democratic challengers. It's her job. Read more about it...
Learn more about all three of these stories in last week's video edition of The Countdown.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Obama Responds to Ridiculous "Lipstick" Attacks
Governor Charlie Crist sounds a bit ambivalent about the Hate Amendment:
“I’ll support it, I’ll vote for it, move on,” the governor said of the Amendment 2 gay-marriage ban in an interview during a trip to tour flood-damaged areas in Central Florida. “It’s not top-tier for me, put it that way.”
When asked if he’ll spend time plugging Amendment 2, Crist said, “I don’t think so. I think I will campaign for candidates much more extensively — Sen. McCain.” The governor also reiterated his position of precluding the Republican Party of Florida from spending money to support the gay-marriage ban.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Dignity
Something disturbing was brought to my attention while attending the Democratic National Convention. I've also noticed this same thing at other political and social events, regardless of party or venue. Americans tend to treat people with disabilities as if they were invisible, as objects of pity, with open hostility or, as one woman with a disibility put it to me "as pieces of furniture" -- a nuisance to be navigated around.
All of these options are profoundly wrong. And the worst part is that some of this behavior comes from people who claim to be allies of Americans with disabilities.
The disabled people I've talked to -- probably more in number that the average American -- generally only want a few things. They want to be treated just like everyone else when it comes to human interaction. They want to be given the same respect as everyone else. They want to be able to, as much as possible, live the same types of lives the rest of us live. They what to be in control of their own destiny and they want to preserve their own dignity. They want help only when they truly need it and they want to everything else for themselves -- just like the rest of us. In short, there really isn't any significant difference between people with disabilities and people without disabilities (or as I've heard some people say, "people who don't have disabilities yet").
Figuring this stuff out isn't that difficult.
If you are planning an event, political or social, or you are opening an office or acquiring a location for such an event, there is law already in place to help you understand what you should do. Also, it would be a great idea to invite people with actual disabilities into the planning committee. They are likely to be able to know what they would need, and therefore what others might need. There are also experts in ADA law and compliance.
Some of this is just common sense, though. Entrances, exits, restrooms, seating, food and beverage serving areas, etc., should be accessible to people with a variety of disabilities. If not, people should be provided with assistants or be allowed to bring assistants with no additional cost or charge. Transportation can be an issue as well, so parking needs to be available for those who need it and transportation should be provided when necessary. There are many other small things that can be done that can greatly increase accessibility and openness. We demand it of politicians, we should demand it of ourselves, too.
Democrats and liberals go out of our way to be inclusive of a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and capabilities. We should guarantee we treat our friends with disabilities the same as everyone else and include them in our activities. I've been to events all over the country and the number of them that were ADA-complient were few and far between.
We run the risk of alienating our natural allies and an important segment of our big tent. We run the risk of pushing voters to the other side. We run the risk of making our events exclusive events only open to the "right kind" of people. We run the risk of alienating voters, workers and campaign contributors.
Most importantly, if we don't start addressing these problems, we aren't living up to our own values and we aren't making the morally-correct choice.
Some of our friends with disabilities are amongst the hardest-working and most dedicated members of our movement, and they deserve to be rewarded for that and they have the right to the same respect and dignity that we demand for ourselves.
All of these options are profoundly wrong. And the worst part is that some of this behavior comes from people who claim to be allies of Americans with disabilities.
The disabled people I've talked to -- probably more in number that the average American -- generally only want a few things. They want to be treated just like everyone else when it comes to human interaction. They want to be given the same respect as everyone else. They want to be able to, as much as possible, live the same types of lives the rest of us live. They what to be in control of their own destiny and they want to preserve their own dignity. They want help only when they truly need it and they want to everything else for themselves -- just like the rest of us. In short, there really isn't any significant difference between people with disabilities and people without disabilities (or as I've heard some people say, "people who don't have disabilities yet").
Figuring this stuff out isn't that difficult.
If you are planning an event, political or social, or you are opening an office or acquiring a location for such an event, there is law already in place to help you understand what you should do. Also, it would be a great idea to invite people with actual disabilities into the planning committee. They are likely to be able to know what they would need, and therefore what others might need. There are also experts in ADA law and compliance.
Some of this is just common sense, though. Entrances, exits, restrooms, seating, food and beverage serving areas, etc., should be accessible to people with a variety of disabilities. If not, people should be provided with assistants or be allowed to bring assistants with no additional cost or charge. Transportation can be an issue as well, so parking needs to be available for those who need it and transportation should be provided when necessary. There are many other small things that can be done that can greatly increase accessibility and openness. We demand it of politicians, we should demand it of ourselves, too.
Democrats and liberals go out of our way to be inclusive of a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and capabilities. We should guarantee we treat our friends with disabilities the same as everyone else and include them in our activities. I've been to events all over the country and the number of them that were ADA-complient were few and far between.
We run the risk of alienating our natural allies and an important segment of our big tent. We run the risk of pushing voters to the other side. We run the risk of making our events exclusive events only open to the "right kind" of people. We run the risk of alienating voters, workers and campaign contributors.
Most importantly, if we don't start addressing these problems, we aren't living up to our own values and we aren't making the morally-correct choice.
Some of our friends with disabilities are amongst the hardest-working and most dedicated members of our movement, and they deserve to be rewarded for that and they have the right to the same respect and dignity that we demand for ourselves.
Ammunition
The latest links to the information you need to counter right-wing spin...
The Five Biggest Republican Lies
Palin More Qualified Than Lincoln, Kennedy, Johnson, McCain!
Presidents Without Executive Experience
Fact Checking The GOP Convention
Romney mocks Gore for non-existent private jet
Gingrich Repeats Big Oil Lie, Reveals Propaganda Plan On Tavis Smiley
Associated Press - Palin stretched the truth in speech
The Five Biggest Republican Lies
Palin More Qualified Than Lincoln, Kennedy, Johnson, McCain!
Presidents Without Executive Experience
Fact Checking The GOP Convention
Romney mocks Gore for non-existent private jet
Gingrich Repeats Big Oil Lie, Reveals Propaganda Plan On Tavis Smiley
Associated Press - Palin stretched the truth in speech
Important Reading
Good stuff you all should read from bloggers in other states...
Chris Bowers: How Can We End The Compliments?
Chris Bowers: Disempowering Compliments
Chris Bowers: Maybe We Aren't Taking McCain Seriously Enough
Matt Stoller: Sarah Palin and Colbert's White House Correspondent's Dinner
David Sirota: Engaging In Dubious Battle
Chris Bowers: How Can We End The Compliments?
Chris Bowers: Disempowering Compliments
Chris Bowers: Maybe We Aren't Taking McCain Seriously Enough
Matt Stoller: Sarah Palin and Colbert's White House Correspondent's Dinner
David Sirota: Engaging In Dubious Battle
The Road to the White House
What are Florida bloggers saying about the presidential race? Here are the top 5 posts from yesterday...
1. Smashed Frog: So Sambo Beat the Bitch!
2. Miami-Dade Dems: Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor
3. tinylittledots: John Ridley: The Guide to the Conservative Palinguage Vol.2 — the People’s Edition
4. Lucky White Girl: gendered language
5. Pensito Review (Buck): Sarah Palin’s Secret E-Mails
6. Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): My Endorsement For President
7. Discourse.net: Some Things We Don't Throw the Book At
8. Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): Sarah Palin's Decision Chart: After the Water Broke
9. Bark Bark Woof Woof: Stop the Music
10. Blue Dot Musings in a Red Sea: What About the Other Guys?
1. Smashed Frog: So Sambo Beat the Bitch!
2. Miami-Dade Dems: Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor
3. tinylittledots: John Ridley: The Guide to the Conservative Palinguage Vol.2 — the People’s Edition
4. Lucky White Girl: gendered language
5. Pensito Review (Buck): Sarah Palin’s Secret E-Mails
6. Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): My Endorsement For President
7. Discourse.net: Some Things We Don't Throw the Book At
8. Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): Sarah Palin's Decision Chart: After the Water Broke
9. Bark Bark Woof Woof: Stop the Music
10. Blue Dot Musings in a Red Sea: What About the Other Guys?
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