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7th Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down same-sex marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin

September 4, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Wow! That didn’t take long. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on August 26, 2014 heard heard oral arguments in the same-sex marriage appeals of Baskin et al. v. Bogin, 14-2386, 14-2387, 14-2388 (Indiana), and Wolf et al. v. Walker, 14-2526 (Wisconsin).

This afternoon, conservative icon Judge Richard Posner wrote the opinion for the unanimous court finding the Same-sex marriage bans in Indiana, Wisconsin unconstitutional:

A federal appeals court in Chicago has upheld lower court decisions that same-sex marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin are unconstitutional.

The swift decision comes just little more than a week after the 7^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments at which lawyers for the two states often found themselves on the defensive amid tough questioning from the three-judge panel.

In a 40-page unanimous opinion, Judge Richard Posner wrote that the key arguments supporting the ban — that same-sex couples and their children don’t need marriage because same-sex couples can’t produce children — is “so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously.”

“To the extent that children are better off in families in which the parents are married, they are better off whether they are raised by their biological parents or by adoptive parents,” Posner wrote. “The discrimination against same-sex couples is irrational, and therefore unconstitutional.”

Tea Party candidate for AZ House Jill Norgaard’s position on abortion is more radical than Cathi Herrod’s

September 4, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crossposted on DemocraticDiva.com

Arizona LD18, which encompasses Ahwatukee and parts of Chandler and Tempe, is where I used to live for over a decade and is believed to be a somewhat competitive district. Democrat Rae Waters got elected to the House there in 2008 and Democrats continue to express optimism that they’ll be able to turn the district in the near future. The Republicans who get elected there have tended to be very right wing but smart enough to avoid “legitimate rape” gaffes and occasionally vote against their caucus on something high profile, such as this year’s Medicaid vote. Guys like Bob Robson and Jeff Dial are not actual centrists (as their total voting records amply demonstrate) but they feign it well enough to pass muster since pleasantness is so often mistaken for moderation here.

#StrikeFastFood: Burger King Workers Walk Off Job in Tucson (video)

September 4, 2014 by Pamela Powers

Nationwide fast food workers are striking for a $15/hour wage.

Early this morning, workers at an east side Tucson Burger King walked off the job and joined supporters, faith leaders, a few Democratic Party elected politicians, and members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) outside. Approximately 60 people protested in front of the Burger King before boarding a bus for Phoenix to join striking fast food workers there. Unlike the McDonald’s protest last December when there was heavy police presence, there were no counter protesters today and only 2 friendly police officers.

SEIU has held multiple actions at fast food restaurants over the past year. The union and fast food workers have won important gains in their quest for better wages.

This summer, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that McDonalds is responsible for “wage theft”. The NLRB also recently ruled that Jimmy John’s couldn’t fire strikers who were protesting the lack of sick pay. More details and images after the jump.

Fast Food Workers in Tucson, Phoenix, & Nationwide to Strike on Sept 4

September 3, 2014 by Pamela Powers

“All across the country right now there’s a national movement going on made up of fast-food workers organizing to lift wages so they can provide for their families with pride and dignity. There is no denying a simple truth. America deserves a raise. Give America a raise. …You know what, if I were looking for a job that lets me build some security for my family, I’d join a union. If I were busting my butt in the service industry and wanted an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, I’d join a union…I’d want a union looking out for me.” — President Obama, Sept 1, 2014, Milwaukee, WI

Tomorrow, Thursday, September 4, fast food workers across the nation and right here at home will strike for higher wages and the right to organize.

From Service Employees Interntional Union (SEIU)…

TUCSON FAST-FOOD WORKERS TO STRIKE FOR FIRST TIME AS FIGHT FOR $15 AND UNION RIGHTS SPREADS

Local McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box Workers Among Those in 150+ Cities Expected To Walk Off Their Jobs

TUCSON – Coming off a convention at which they vowed to do “whatever it takes” to win $15 and the right to form a union, Tucson fast-food workers will walk off their jobs Thursday for the first time as their movement intensifies and continues to spread.

A day after President Obama highlighted their campaign in a Labor Day speech, workers said they will strike at Tucson’s major fast-food restaurants, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Jack in the Box. Clergy, elected officials and community supporters, including Representative Raúl Grijalva, will join fast-food workers on the strike lines.

WHO: Workers at Burger King, McDonald’s and Jack in the Box; Representative Raúl Grijalva, Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Rep. Bruce Wheeler; Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford; Former Sen. Paula Aboud; Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías

WHAT: Fast-Food Worker Strike

GOP war on voting goes to trial in Texas

September 2, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

A trial begins today in a federal courtroom in Corpus Christi, Texas to determine the constitutionality of the state’s voter identification law, which is widely acknowledged to be the most restrictive in the nation. The U.S. Department of Justice has joined civil rights groups in Texas to try to stop the state’s voter ID law, saying it has a disproportionate and discriminatory effect on minorities. The trial is expect to last two weeks and a ruling is unlikely before Election Day.

Paul Waldman at the Washington Post writes, Why voter ID laws pose long-term danger to GOP:

Passed in 2011, [the law] was struck down in federal court in 2012 as a violation of the Voting Rights Act. Then in 2013 the Supreme Court gutted the VRA. Now the law faces a new trial based on a different VRA section [Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act].

In the end, the Republicans who passed this law may prevail, particularly since the only racial discrimination the conservative majority on the Supreme Court apparently finds troubling is the kind that might affect a white person somewhere. But Republicans may have underestimated just how much damage they continue to do to their party’s image by trying, anywhere and everywhere, to make it as hard as possible for the wrong people to vote.