caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

This past Monday Venezuela held parliamentary elections in which the opposition Democratic Unity Movement (MUD) claimed a sizable majority.

One of the winning candidates was transgender woman Tamara Adrian. The 61-year-old lawyer managed to do this in a country which does not recognize gender reassignment.

She became only the second transgender legislator in the western hemisphere, after Michelle Suárez of Uruguay.

The lawyer and activist was one of the 99 Democratic Unity politicians to win a seat at the National Assembly. She received an incredible 74.25% share of the votes.

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Saturday December 11, 1915
Paterson, New Jersey: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Found "Not Guilty" of Inciting to Riot

On Tuesday November 30th, Fellow Worker Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was found "not guilty" of inciting to riot in Paterson, New Jersey. Hellraisers will be covering this story over the next few days. We begin our coverage with this report from the Chicago Day Book of December 1st:

Paterson, N. J., Nov. 30. - "The constitution of the United States is on trial-I'm not!" So said Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, I. W. W. orator on the eve of her appearance in Paterson court for "inciting to personal violence"-a charge that grew out of her attempt to deliver a speech in a Paterson hall when the police did not want her to.

"It is free speech, that right guaranteed to every American by the constitution of our fathers, that Paterson seeks to abridge," she went on.

Judging is easy. Understanding is hard

When you look at a crowd of Donald Trump supporters, several things stand out.
They are white.
They are often older.
They are angry.

You've no doubt never heard of Multnomah University. It's in Northeast Portland, on Glisan between 82nd and the 205.

Heck, I grew up in a suburb of Portland and I'd never heard of it until now.

Multnomah University is a non-denominational Christian university in Portland, Oregon. Multnomah consists of a college, graduate school, seminary and Degree Completion Program, and the university offers bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees.

MU's President G. Craig Williford wrote a letter to the US Department of Education in February saying that MU "affirms the dignity of all human beings."

Then he basically asked the Department of Ed to agree with him that transgender people deserve no compassion, because evidently they are not human.

The tiny, 79-year-old nondenominational university is one of a growing number of religious schools around the country asking the federal government for an exemption from anti-discrimination laws where gender identity is concerned.

Basically, the school's arguing its religious beliefs don't allow it to accept or employ transgender people, but that should have no bearing on the federal funding it happily accepts each year.

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features r&b and jump blues musician Peppermint Harris. Enjoy!

The strike of the Chicago garment workers which began at the end of September is now in its eleventh week. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers remain firm in their intention to continue the battle to a successful conclusion. The Day Book is collecting funds to assist the strikers, and the Chicago Federation of Labor stands with the strikers despite the fact that A. C. W. of A. is not a member of the C. F of L. nor of the A. F. of L.

The December issue of the International Socialist Review includes an article by Leslie Marcy on the strike which tells of mass arrests of strikers at the hands of a corrupt police department, and dwindling strike funds with winter coming on fast. Yet, the strikers remain unified and determined to win a living wage and shorter hours.

Various Locations, largely ongoing

“There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school, where they do well,” Antonin Scalia said.

“One of the [legal] briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.”

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features the half-brother of Big Bill Broonzy, singer and washboard player Washboard Sam. Enjoy!

A consortium of philanthropic foundations has pledged to contribute $20 million to transgender charities across the US and the world over the next five years in order to

In their press release the foundations point out that

Globally, more than 1,700 transgender murders have been reported in the past seven years alone and many cases have involved extreme violence and torture

In the United States, transgender people are twice as likely as other Americans to earn $10,000 a year or less

In the United States, 20% of transgender people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.