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via Peter Henderson, Reuters The American Civil Liberties Union and four servicewomen sued the U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday to end a ban on women in combat, calling the military the last bastion of discrimination by the federal government and saying modern warfare has already put women in the line of fire. The civil rights … Continue reading
via Lisa Leff, Christian Science Monitor San Francisco lawmakers disappointed committed nudists last week by narrowly approving a ban on public nakedness despite concerns the measure would undermine the city’s reputation as a sanctuary for free expression. The Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 in favor of a public safety ordinance that prohibits exposed genitals in … Continue reading
via Tyler Kingkade, The Huffington Post Mitt Romney lost the youth vote by a huge margin, and with it, he lost the presidency. Sixty percent of young voters who cast ballots chose to reelect President Barack Obama, against the 36 percent who voted for Mitt Romney. That’s a six point slide in youth support for … Continue reading
via Shay O’Reilly, Campus Progress “Community, NOT commodity!” chanted an “OccuPride” contingent that interrupted—then joined—San Francisco’s Pride march this summer. Along with similar groups in Chicago and New York, the San Francisco group carried signs denouncing corporate sponsorship of Pride parades and events. Even as parade marshals shooed them away from the float of Pride … Continue reading
via Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times The University of California will pay damages of $30,000 to each of the 21 UC Davis students and alumni who were pepper-sprayed by campus police during an otherwise peaceful protest 10 months ago, the university system announced Wednesday. The agreement, which must still be approved in federal court, also … Continue reading
via Amy B. Dean, The Huffington Post “We are striking to improve the conditions in the schools. Right now the children are getting a raw deal.” That statement came from a striking member of the Chicago Teachers’ Union… in 1969. It still resonates in September 2012, when the CTU’s members have again walked a picket … Continue reading
via Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Diane Rado, and Bill Ruthhart, Chicago Tribune Delegates for the Chicago Teachers Union voted Tuesday to call off their seven-day strike, sending some 350,000 public schools students back to class Wednesday morning and ending the daily scene of teachers dressed in red picketing their schools. The overwhelming vote by the union’s … Continue reading
via Rick Hampson, USA Today Protesters will mark the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement today with rallies in more than 30 cities around the world, including a march on the New York Stock Exchange, not far from the park where the movement was born. But as the last of its urban encampments close … Continue reading
via Nick Wing, The Huffington Post President Barack Obama signed the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 into law last week, providing a wide-ranging package of benefits to military personnel and enacting new restrictions on protests of service member funerals. “We have a moral sacred duty to our men … Continue reading
via Thomas E. Ricks, The New York Times In late June, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, called for reinstating the draft. “I think if a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk,” he said at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “You make that … Continue reading
via Paige Lavender, The Huffington Post Mitt Romney said the protesters rallying against Bank of America in Charlotte this week are too young “to really understand how the economy works.” “Unfortunately, a lot of young folks haven’t had the opportunity to really understand how the economy works, and what it takes to put people to … Continue reading
via Mark Osler, The Huffington Post I’m a sinner. At one time or another, in the course of my own advocacy (on the death penalty and other issues), I have committed each of the five sins I am about to describe. In fact, so have most who work in advocacy, whether they are progressive, conservative, … Continue reading
via Tim Price, Next New Deal, Salon “If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date… Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in apparent distress, e.g., on the highway… In a pure meritocracy there would … Continue reading
via Ronald J. Krotoszynski, The New York Times Every four years, we witness the spectacle of the presidential nominating conventions. And every four years, host cities, party leaders and police officials devise ever more creative ways of distancing protesters from the politicians, delegates and journalists attending these stage-managed affairs. The goal is to trivialize and … Continue reading
via Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing Today I want to write about something that has bothered me for the better part of a decade. I’ve carved out no fewer than a dozen drafts of this post, all strangely unalike, all ultimately failing to accomplish the job I’ve set out to do. Truth is, I’ve been … Continue reading
via AP, Politico Police say more than 70 people were taken into custody following a rally at the park where the Occupy movement was born. Hundreds of protesters had returned to Zuccotti Park near Wall Street on Saturday to mark the six months that have passed since the movement began. They locked arms and sat … Continue reading
via David Allyn, Chicago Tribune We seem to be living in a time warp. Conservatives are denouncing not just abortion, but birth control. There was the Rush Limbaugh “slut” episode. Actor Kirk Cameron called homosexuality “unnatural,” “detrimental” and “ultimately destructive.” Meanwhile, Rick Santorum sees Satan lurking in America’s bedrooms. At first blush, such backwardness might … Continue reading
via Judd Legum, ThinkProgress Industry website radio-info.com has the scoop: When it comes to advertisers avoiding controversial shows, it’s not just Rush From today’s TRI Newsletter: Premiere Networks is circulating a list of 98 advertisers who want to avoid “environments likely to stir negative sentiments.” The list includes carmakers (Ford, GM, Toyota), insurance companies (Allstate, … Continue reading
via Kim Severson, The New York Times Fed by antagonism toward President Obama, resentment toward changing racial demographics and the economic rift between rich and poor, the number of so-called hate groups and antigovernment organizations in the nation has continued to grow, according to a report released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The … Continue reading
via Erin Skarda, TIME Despite their disguise as cookie-selling, campfire-making, s’mores-eating young girls, the Girl Scouts of the USA are actually a pro-sex, pro-abortion, “radicalized” group seeking to crush Christian ideals and corrupt the country’s youth, at least according to one Indiana legislator. Rep. Bob Morris sent a contentious letter to Indiana House Republicans over … Continue reading
via AP, ABC7 News Chicago A Chicago college is offering a class on the Occupy movement. Thirty-two undergraduate students are enrolled at Roosevelt University’s “Occupy Everywhere” class. It’s a three-credit political science course that looks at the movement that started last summer near New York City’s Wall Street and spread nationwide. The Chicago Sun-Times reports … Continue reading
via Somini Sengupta, The New York Times The unlikely coalition of companies and consumer groups that last week helped quash antipiracy legislation on Capitol Hill is now weighing the future of what might be called lobbying 2.0. Can the Internet industry, along with legions of newly politicized Web users, be a new force in Washington? … Continue reading
via Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune Show of hands: How many of you tried to go to Wikipedia on Wednesday and, instead of reading “List of Gilmore Girls Episodes,” were puzzled by the black and white screen that said “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge”? Every English-language article was blocked, the frivolous ones and the serious … Continue reading
via Luke Johnson, The Huffington Post The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), have ignited widespread online protests–yet there is considerable confusion surrounding the legislation. Here’s a rundown of how the bills would work: The legislation would allow copyright holders and the Justice Department to seek court … Continue reading
via Jasmin Melvin, Reuters Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation in its tracks on Friday, delivering a stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving bills. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would postpone a critical vote that had been scheduled for January 24 “in light … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 