we saw that...

House Passes Job Bias Ban Against Gays
Nov 7, 6:51 PM (ET)

By ANDREW MIGA
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House on Wednesday approved the first federal ban on job discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act came despite protests from some gay rights supporters that the bill does not protect transgender workers. That term covers transsexuals, cross-dressers and others whose outward appearance does not match their gender at birth.

The measure would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation. It would exempt churches and the military.

After the 235-184 vote, supporters are expecting a tough fight in the narrowly divided Senate, where Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy plans to introduce a similar version.

A veto from President Bush is expected if the proposal does pass the Senate. The White House has cited constitutional concerns and said the proposal could trample religious rights.

Backers of the House bill proclaimed it a major civil rights advance for gays. "Bigotry and homophobia are sentiments that should never be allowed to permeate the American workplace," said House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C.

The decision by Democratic leaders to exclude protections based on gender identity created sharp divisions in the party and among gay rights activists.

Republicans, meanwhile, said the bill could undermine the rights of people who oppose homosexuality for religious reasons and lead to an onslaught of dubious discrimination lawsuits.

"This is, frankly, a trial lawyer's dream," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn.

Protections for transgender workers were in the original bill. But Democratic leaders found they would lose support from moderate and conservative Democrats by including transgender employees in the final bill.

"That's a bridge too far," said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. "It's better to take it one step at a time."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, however, said excluding transgender workers was shortsighted.

"As we have seen in many states, the failure to include the transgender community in civil rights legislation from the beginning makes it more difficult to extend protections later," said Nadler, D-N.Y.

Rep. Barney Frank, one of two openly gay members of Congress and an important supporter of the bill, urged colleagues not to let the dispute over transgender workers doom an important gain in civil rights.

Frank, D-Mass., said he hoped the bill would send a message to "millions of Americans who are gay and lesbian that they are not bad people, that it is not legitimate to fire them simply because of who they are."

He also pledged to continue to fight for a bill to protect transgender workers.

Job discrimination based on factors such as race, gender and religion are banned under federal law. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have laws against sexual-orientation discrimination.

Only nine states specifically protect transgender people from discrimination: New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Mexico, California, Illinois, Maine, Hawaii, Washington. The District of Columbia has a similar law.

By January, laws also will be in effect in Iowa, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon.

Dear We Saw,

I am contacting you on behalf of John Fleming for Congress. I am writing because this campaign respects your impressive website which showcases your immense talent.
(awww we bet they tell that to all the bloggers lol. seriously though the email is time-stamped 3:00 am on a saturday night-sunday morning so maybe they were half asleep or buzzed or something when they stumbled across wst...)
Blogs are underutilized in politics. This campaign is interested in developing a strong relationship with blogs across Louisiana and the nation, yours included. Please contact upon receiving this e-mail, as I would like future communication.

Sincerely,

we are in receipt of your email and thank you very much for it. we have to be honest in that we do not believe that this is a good year to run for office as a republican. the republican party with help from the democrats, have done much harm to this country, to our constitution and to the world. however, according to dr. fleming's bio he is a veteran of the united states naval service as are we (boatswainmate's), so he cant be all bad LOL. therefore, we will at least listen to what he has to say with an open mind.

'In this business of legislation, your members of Congress will lose the restriction of not imposing excessive fines, demanding excessive bail, and inflicting cruel and unusual punishments. These are prohibited by your Declaration of Rights. What has distinguished our ancestors? That they would not admit of tortures, or cruel and barbarous punishment. But Congress may introduce the practice of the civil law, in preference to that of the common law. They may introduce the practice of France, Spain, and Germany,-of torturing to extort a confession of the crime. They will say that they might as well draw examples from those countries as from Great Britain, and they will tell you that there is such a necessity of strengthening the arm of government that they must have a criminal equity, and extort confession by torture, in order to punish with still more relentless severity. We are then lost and undone. And can any man think it troublesome when he can, by a small interference, prevent our rights from being lost? If you will, like the Virginian government, give them knowledge of the extent of the rights retained by the people, and the powers of themselves, they will, if they be honest men, thank you for it. Will they not wish to go on sure grounds? But, if you leave them otherwise, they will not know how to proceed; and, being in a state of uncertainty, they will assume rather than give up powers by implication.' [217 U.S. 349, 397] emphasis added

The scope and operation of the Fourteenth Amendment have been fruitful sources of controversy in our constitutional history. 8 However, in view of its historical [309 U.S. 227, 236] setting and the wrongs which called it into being, the due process provision of the Fourteenth Amendment-just as that in the Fifth-has led few to doubt that it was intended to guarantee procedural standards adequate and appropriate, then and thereafter,9 to protect, at all times, people charged with or suspected of crime by those holding positions of power and authority. Tyrannical governments had immemorially utilized dictatorial criminal procedure and punishment to make scape goats of the weak, or of helpless political, religious, or racial minorities and those who differed, who would not conform and who resisted tyranny. The instruments of such governments were in the main, two. Conduct, innocent when engaged in, was subsequently made by fiat criminally punishable without legislation. And a liberty loving people won the principle that criminal punishments could not be inflicted save for that which proper legislative action had already by 'the law of the land' forbidden when done. But even more was needed. From the popular hatred and abhorrence of illegal confinement, torture and extortion of confessions of violations of the 'law of the land' evolved the fundamental idea that no man's life, liberty or property be forfeited as criminal punishment for violation of that law until there had been a charge fairly made and fairly tried in a public [309 U.S. 227, 237] tribunal free of prejudice, passion, excitement and tyrannical power. Thus, as assurance against ancient evils, our country, in order to preserve 'the blessings of liberty', wrote into its basic law the requirement, among others, that the forfeiture of the lives, liberties or property of people accused of crime can only follow if procedural safeguards of due process have been obeyed. 10

The determination to preserve an accused's right to procedural due process sprang in large part from knowledge of the historical truth that the rights and liberties of people accused of crime could not be safely entrusted to secret inquisitorial processes. The testimony of centuries, in governments of varying kinds over populations of different races and beliefs, stood as proof that physical and mental torture and coercion had brought about the tragically unjust sacrifices of some who were the noblest and most useful of their generations. The rack, the thumbscrew, the wheel, solitary confinement, protracted questioning and cross questioning, and other ingenious forms of entrapment of the helpless or unpopular had left their wake of mutilated bodies and shattered minds along the way to the cross, the guillotine, the stake and [309 U.S. 227, 238] the hangman's noose. And they who have suffered most from secret and dictatorial proceedings have almost always been the poor, the ignorant, the numerically weak, the friendless, and the powerless. 11

according to house roll call vote #993 of 23 october 2007 for H.R.1955 with the exception of piyush "bobby" jindal who didnt bother to vote, every other congressman from louisiana voted for this bill:
rodney alexander - yea
richard hugh baker - yea
charles boustany - yea
wm. jefferson - yea
jim mccrery - yea
charlie melancon - yea

This bill is completely insane. It literally allows the government to define any and all crimes including thought crime as violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism. Obviously, this legislation is unconstitutional on a number of levels and it is clear that all 404 representatives who voted in favor of this bill are traitors and should be removed from office immediately. The treason spans both political parties and it shows us all that there is no difference between them. The bill will go on to the Senate and will likely be passed and signed into the law by George W. Bush. Considering that draconian legislation like the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act have already been passed, there seems little question that this one will get passed as well. This is more proof that our country has been completely sold out by a group of traitors at all levels of government. ~ rogue government link

During the past couple of months we have continued to keep you apprised on an extremely important piece of legislation that will effect all of us in Louisiana - Rep. Brett Geymann's HB 715.

I am pleased to report that, on Tuesday morning, the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works voted without objection to send HB 715 to the House floor for a vote.

If passed on the floor, HB 715 would reject the Real ID Act which Congress passed in 2005.

The Real ID Act of 2005 requires that states comply with a federal government mandate to create a national identification card. This unfunded federal mandate is not only a direct threat to our privacy and civil liberties but it is also a blatant disregard of our 10^th Amendment rights!

It is a great sign and a good initial step that HB 715 passed through the Transportation Committee with unanimous support. However, the battle has just begun. I urge all of you to take a moment to call your legislators and ask them to vote in favor of Rep. Geymann's bill - House Bill 715!

"...the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." ~ daniel chapter twelve verse ten.