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ne California Communities United Institute Newsletter
www.CalComUI.org
Activism With A Heart Justice |
September, 2011
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| Note: You can place this newsletter on your social networking site (such as Facebook ot Twitter) by clicking on the share button at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Court Vindicates Day Laborer's Rights |
 In a major victory for day laborers, and for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the full panel of the 9th US Court of Appeals declared that a day laborer law, adopted by the City of Redondo Beach, is unconstitutional. That city ordinance had banned curb side solicitation for work by day laborers.
To read the rest of this article click here.
Boyce Hinman ________ |
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Several Federal Government Actions Help LGBT People |
 The Obama administration is building an impressive body of actions and policies that benefit the LGBT community. Last year it agreed not to appeal a Federal Tax Court decision that said, with proper documentation, transgender people can take the cost of sex reassignment surgery as a tax deductible expense on their federal income tax returns. Last year, also, with the support of the Obama administration, Congress ended the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. To read about more new actions, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
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Join California Communities United Institute
The members of California Communities United Institute (CalComUI) get monthly E-mailed newsletters filled with information about legislation and other issues that affect each of the communities we serve. The newsletter helps you track the progress of the bills you care about.
Members also get E-mailed alerts about legislation of importance to the communities we serve. These alerts help members easily E-mail their elected officials on that legislation.
You can join CalComUI by visiting our web site and keying your E-mail address into the yellow box at the bottom. To start the process click here.
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Blacks Hit Hard By Economic Down Turn |
 Actually African Americans had serious problems even before the economy tanked. But the economic problems our nation is going through have hit African Americans particularly hard. Currently, according to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate stands at 9.1%. But, when you burrow into those statistics, you see the bigger challenges faced by African Americans. First of all, the unemployment rate for White non-Hispanic Americans is 8.0%. For Black Americans it is 16.7%. Things are worse for young job seekers. For young White job seekers the unemployment rate is 15.9%. For young Black job seekers it is 31%, and, for young Black men, it is 41%. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman __________ |
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Is Obama Doing Enough For African Americans? |
 When President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, 90% of African Americans voted for him. But recently, there have been increasing complaints, from some African Americans, that he has not done enough for them. Is this criticism justified? Some might say he should not single out African American's for "special treatment." They might say, to do so, would be unfair discrimination. But, as you will see in a separate article in this news letter, the LGBTI community has benefitted from an historic number of programs and policies initiated by the Obama administration. And there is certainly precedent for federal government actions targeted to the needs of specific communities. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
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SSA Offers Half A Loaf To Transgender People |
 For many years the Social Security Administration (SSA) has engaged in at least two practices that hurt transgender people, and even put them at risk of attack and death. Recently the SSA agreed to stop one of those practices but not the second one. The first practice is to notify employers when the gender of a new hire, shown on a W 2 form submitted by the employer to the SSA, is not the gender shown on SSA records for the Social Security Number on the W 2 form. The second practice is to require that a transgender person show evidence of sex reassignment surgery before the SSA will change that person's gender in the SSA's records. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
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Planned Parenthood Under Attack |
 Recently, Representative Cliff Stearns, Chair of the US House of Representatives subcommittee on oversight and investigations, of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, launched a major investigation of Planned Parenthood of America. Stearns has demanded that Planned Parenthood turn over financial and other records from every affiliate, nationwide, going back 12 years. Planned Parenthood has said it will comply with the demand. However, it will take a massive effort to do it, and it will be expensive to comply. Not surprisingly, Stearns is a Tea Party Republican. A web site which supports him (Friends of Cliff Stearns) notes that he joined the House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus in July of last year. It also brags that he won 90% of the Tea Party vote in Gainesville, Florida in October of last year. To read the rest of the article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
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Feds Study Lifting Ban On Blood Donations By Gay Men |
 Early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a federal government policy established a total ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men. Last year, the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety & Availability for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) voted to recommend that the ban be continued and cited insufficient scientific data to support revision to the policy. However, the committee also recommended additional research to study the advisability of allowing low-risk gay and bisexual men to donate blood. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
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