Category — Justice Now!

Jennifer Gale of Austin Texas was found dead on a walkway of the First English Lutheran Church where she slept most nights.  Jennifer ran for almost every public office in Austin and was a regular at City Council meetings speaking up for the homeless. In Austin as in many cities in America our Trans sisters and brothers have a real problem to find room at the Inn. According to news reports and blog pieces the Salvation Army in Austin is the only shelter that accepts women. (damn now that is another problem where are women suppose to go to sleep in a cardboard box?) The policy at the Salvation Army shelter is this. Jennifer would have to be grouped with the homeless men showering and sleeping with them, they would make her use her male name in disregard of who she is. 

If one can believe the outpouring of grief by city officals and the talk at this time then hopefully something will be done about these problems, as Jennifer was well respected in political circles according to reports from Equality Texas and an article posted on Queertoday.com, written by Vanessa Edwards Foster. For the article, “Having A Blue Christmas click HERE. 

For a another article about Jennifer from Bash Back News click HERE.

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On Tuesday, December 16th, there was a rally held in Boston in solidarity with the uprisings all over Greece. We protested outside the Greek consulate in a show of solidarity with all vicitims of state violence. This is the speech that I gave. (If you’ve been reading my posts you might notice that some of it was lifted from my speech at the Transgender Day of Remembrance.)

Dear comrades, it’s incredible to be here today! My name is Saffo, and I am a radical queer tranny from Providence, Rhode Island. I am part of the upcoming What Queer? radical queer collective in Providence. As I’m sure you all know, on Saturday, December 6th, 2008, the cops in Athens shot and killed a 15-year-old boy named Alexandros Grigoropoulos. I want to start by offering a moment of silence for the memory of Alexandros. (Thank you). To many of us, the violence of the Greek police is something that rings true to our own lives and experiences with the police in the United States and elsewhere. It is, in part, this commonality that brings us here today. This solidarity that we feel for those who are brutalized by the state, by any state, anywhere. We know that this kind of violence happens every day. But this time, the people struck back! These are incredible times we are living in. For instance, if you had asked me 2 years ago if I thought that today we’d see a union successfully occupying a factory in the United States, I would have said no way. I would have said, things like that happened in Argentina, but they would never happen here. But they did it! If you had asked me a year ago, would a group of queers ever dare to take direct action against a right-wing churhch, I would have said no. But they did! So here’s to the workers in Chicago. Here’s to Queers Bash Back! And here’s to the masses of anarchists, university students, high school students, and youth who have taken to the streets in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Crete, and all over Greece. It’s looking more and more every day that a revolution may really be just around the corner. [Read more →]

QWB thanks LeResse of A Better Way Foundation and Frank of People of Faith and QWB for sending this for posting. 

The mission of this cause is to shift state resources from the War on Drugs to the furtherance of public health, education, transportation, housing, youth programs, and treatments.

Positions:

1. Drug addiction is not a crime.

2. Fund public education and treatment.

3. Restore poor communities.

4. Reduce prison population.

5. Prison is for violent offenders. [Read more →]

Rally for the Goodwin Hotel Workers in front of the Goodwin Hotel, Asylum Ave. Hartford

Wednesday December 17 at 4:00 pm.

Join workers in demanding that Northland pay severance, reasonable health benefits and provide recall rights. In light of he recent victory by the Republic Windows and Doors workers in Chicago, this is a timely announcement of a rally in support of workers who will be laid off as a result of the closing of the Goodwin Hotel, here in Hartford. The Goodwin Hotel workers are represented by Unite Here, Local 217.

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This info just in from Friends of the RNC 8. QWB is proud to be standing with our comrades.

This Saturday, Ramsey County amended their complaint against the 8 to include 4 felony counts of conspiracy:

1. Count 1-conspiracy to riot in the second degree in furtherance of terrorism. (original charge)

2. Count 2-conspiracy to riot in the second degree (without terrorism)

3. Count 3-conspiracy to damage property in furtherance of terrorism

4. Count 4-conspiracy to damage property (without terrorism enhancement)

If convicted they are facing over 2 decades in prison. The RNC 8 have their next court date all together on Wednesday, December 17th at 1:00 pm. During this time, the 8 will sit down with their lawyers, the prosecution and the judge to begin scheduling the future dates of their trial. In solidarity with the 8 and other RNC arrestees facing felony cases, please take time to call or e-mail Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner’s office on Tuesday and Wednesday December 16th and 17th. We are demanding that all CHARGES BE DROPPED.

Be sure to read a full report by clicking HERE. on QWB.

****RNC 8 NATIONAL CALL IN DAYS OF ACTION:****

Tuesday, Dec 16 (9-5) and Wednesday, Dec 17 (8-1) - all Central TimeAs part of our pressure campaign against Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner we are calling attention to her 2010 run for governor of Minnesota on the Democratic ticket. She’s already starting to fundraise in the hopes of being another in a long line of politicians with rhetoric of change but with policies of repressing dissent. If she continues with the charges against the RNC 8 and the other 10 felonies in Ramsey County Court , let’s not let her campaign run in peace!Friends of the RNC 8 are asking you to again take five minutes of your time to demand that all charges be dropped against the eight alleged “leaders” of the RNC Welcoming Committee.  In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal Patriot Act, Ramsey

In today from Workers World.

by Jill White

Workers Occupy Chicago factory! Give your support!

Chicago: Published December 6, 2008–This afternoon more than 250 community activists, union leaders, and others gathered in a rally in front of Republic Windows on Chicago’s northwest side. They were voicing their solidarity with the workers who have refused to leave the factory in protest over the shutdown of the plant. Speakers included members of the Service Employees International Union; Teamsters; Chicago Teachers Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and others. [Read more →]

Should previously incarcerated people be condemned to a life of unemployment?

No. We can’t afford that.

Join the Clean Slate Committee to pass a Hartford Ordinance to get rid of the job application box that asks about prior convictions. The Clean Slate Committee is working to end employment discrimination. Jobs are a RIGHT, not a privilege. We can win with enough People Power. We need your support.

Come out to the meeting:

Monday December 8, 2008 at 5:30 PM. The meeting will be held at the Institute for Community Research, 146 Wyllis [Read more →]

Partisan Defense Committee

23rd Annual Holiday Appeal Benefit 

Fundraiser for Class-war Prisoners

Saturday, Dec. 13, 4-8pm.

Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 236 East 3rd (between Ave. B and C)

Featuring a play: John Brown: Trumpet of Freedom, by George Wolf Reily and Norman Thomas Marshall. Directed by Reily and performed by Marshall.

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Join the Queers Without Borders Contingent December 7

as we say

NO TO WAR.

March and Rally 2:00 PM Hartford State Capitol Building

Bring The Troops Home NOW!

No War on Iran! No War on Pakistan!

End US Support to all Wars and Occupations!

Money for Housing! For Jobs! For Education!

For Pensions! Not For War!

Queers Without Borders joins with Queers from across the nation who are standing up and out against war and against state sponsored repression through the USA Patriot Act. We raise our voices up above the oppression, fear, and hate.

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Below is an excellent article about the impact of the Presidential election. It not only addresses the historic import and hopes that have been raised with the election of Barack Obama, but also makes a compelling call for advocates of economic and social justice to continue to fight for what we need. 

This issue of the Freedom Socialist newspaper also includes a great article, “Stoking global feminist rebellion” about the Radical Women conference that happened the first weekend of October. You can subscribe to the paper at http://www.socialism.com/fsarticles/newspapr.html [Read more →]

Duanna Johnson 

“(Memphis, Tennessee) LGBT civil rights groups are calling for an independent investigation into the shooting death of a transwoman who previously had been a victim of police brutality. Duanna Johnson was found shot to death in North Memphis just before midnight on Sunday, Nov. 9. There have been no arrests.”

 Click on over to 365 gay and read the full article. Thanks to queertoday.com for pointing out this article. Thanks to Kamora of True Colors for first alerting us about Miss Johnson’s murder and the call for donations to provide for a funeral for her. We send our sympathies to her mother, family and the trans sisters and brothers in Memphis. Rest in peace Duanna and know we will fight on for you. 

QWB stands with other groups calling for a full independent investigation into Duanna’s death.

For more information check out www.ttgpac.com. Also check out the links in our posting “Transsistahs & Transbrothas” by scrolling down our blog.

Check out Jack at AngryBownButch. Jack’s article “Can the LGBT Community Spare some out rage for Duanna Johnson” is a must read. Check out the comments also. For the article click here.

Unbeknown to most voters, last week’s election revealed many flaws with the statewide write-in ballot system. While the immediate response from most voters is that “the write in candidate isn’t going to change the outcome of the election,” further consideration would lead one to be more concerned. Whether someone chose to vote for a write-in or a major party candidate does not change the principal of “one person, one vote.”

My name is Todd Vachon, and I was registered [Read more →]

With all the uproar and pointing fingers of why Proposition 8 passed, it is worthwhile, IMHO, to take notice of the money trail behind Prop 8 and what this portends.  However, in this first of several blogs on this subject I thought it would be instructive to bring a discussion regarding the racial aspects of Prop 8  to the QWB blog.

With the failure of the well funded Proposition 8 No coalition there is much to question as to the effectiveness of their outreach and the current blame game by LGBT folks based upon a single poll on the voting demographics for this Ballot initiative. First, let’s put some numbers to this argument and take a look at the voting statistics, as best as can be done at this moment.

Total votes on Prop 8 - 10,842,073 (from Calif SOS site and all precincts reporting)

Total votes in favor of Prop 8 = 5,668,960
Total votes against Prop 8 = 5,173,113
Vote difference (for - against) = 495,847

Estimated number of black voters in California election (10%) = 1,084,207

If we take the numbers from the one poll that stated 70% of blacks voted for Prop 8 then we have:
black votes in favor of Prop 8 - 758,945
black votes against Prop 8 - 325,262
vote difference (for - against) = 433,683

And so if as the one poll suggests a full 70% voted for Prop 8, then if NO BLACKS voted on Prop 8 or Blacks were split 50/50 (essentially like whites) the measure would [Read more →]

QWB received this e-mail from our friends over at the HGLHC, who received it from Lori Jean of the Los Angles LGBT Center. This is one view of what happened in California where voters approved a “gay”-marriage ban. 

From Lori Jean, dated 11/5/2008 

I had hoped never to have to write this email.

Sadly, fueled by misinformation, distortions and lies, millions of voters went to the polls yesterday and said YES to bigotry, YES to discrimination, YES to second-class status for same-sex couples. [Read more →]