The American Civil Liberties Union has attracted Hollywood’s biggest stars for a fundraiser.
“Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” which will stream on Facebook Live on March 31 and be filmed live in New York.
“In these tumultuous times, we need our favorite actors, musicians, and comedians to do what they do best. Speak earnestly about politics? No!
Entertain you for a great cause?
Yes!” the Facebook event reads.
Celebrities including Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Ellie Kemper, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski, Jon Hamm and Mahershala Ali will all make appearances to raise money for the organization.
~The Story Behind the Statue of Liberty’s Famous Immigration Poem~
In the wake of Drumpf’s executive order on immigration Friday, January 27, many critics quickly took up a familiar rallying cry, lifting words from the Statue of Liberty that have for decades represented American immigration:
“Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
The poem, in its entirety
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The alt-right is a segment of right-wing ideologies presented as an alternative to mainstream conservatism in the politics of the United States.
The alt-right has been described as a movement unified by support for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, as well as opposition to multiculturalism and immigration.
The alt-right has no official ideology, but various sources have said it to be associated with white nationalism, white supremacism, antisemitism, right-wing populism,nativism, and the neoreactionary movement.
~Clinton Ties Trump to KKK Supporters in New Video~
Ahead of a Thursday speech, August 25, in which Hillary Clinton is expected to attack Donald Trump’s ties to the “alt-right” movement, her campaign dropped a video tying Trump to his most vocally racist supporters, including members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The video opens with a white-hooded KKK member saying in an interview that “the reason a lot of Klan members like Donald Trump is because a lot of what he believes, we believe in.”
The video then cycles through clips of white supremacists explaining their fandom for Trump, and pivots to footage of Trump unable to answer a question on whether he’d disavow the support of former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke.
It presents a precarious situation where the fabric of American Democracy may be up-ended.
The three branches of government are:
EXECUTIVE
JUDICIAL
LEGISLATIVE
As it stands, the wheels of Democracy may stop working properly, as the “Founding Fathers” intended, if the court vacancy isn’t filled soon.
There is “right” in this country. There is “wrong” in this country.
Throwing a wrench in the wheels of the checks and balances by which this country rules itself, its citizens and its procedures is simply wrong.
President Omaba still has 341 days in office.
He IS the president of the United States whether some like it and others don’t.
Not allowing him to carry the functions of his office is wrong.
It will be a huge stain in the history of this country, an unprecedented event, if the Republican controlled Congress carries on the threat emitted within two hours of Justice Scallia’s passing.
How Scalia’s death could upend America By Erwin Chemerinsky
As the nation is stunned by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the immediate question is what it will mean for the Supreme Court this year and in the future.
The court has an unusually large number of cases before it this term on controversial issues: abortion, affirmative action, the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act, the First Amendment rights of non-union members, immigration and voting districting.
The long-established procedure is that for a justice to participate in a ruling, he or she must be on the bench at the time the decision is handed down. Justice Scalia’s vote, therefore, will not be counted in any case this year that has not already been issued. Obviously, in any case where there is a majority without him, the decision still will be forthcoming.
~~GRAPHICS SOURCE~~
Google Images
Clay Bennett
Chattanooga Times Free Press
I do not own these images.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
I have been in a very committed relationship for 19 years now.
We both met while in college and when we were still very young and inexperienced. Life happened and we were separated for 24 years.
We reconnected in 1996 and have been together since. There was never any doubt about where we wanted to be once we reconnected.
It was where we wanted to be when life happened.
Life stops for no one.
Therefore we are not getting any younger. The wear and tear of our years are catching up and our bodies are telling us so. The things that concerned us when young have taken a back seat to the things that are concerning us now as senior citizens.
The issues concerning us now are not only physical.
They also have a legal background.
I never thought that this would be a reality in my lifetime.
Hence, the demand to have the same rights as heterosexual marriages.
Let’s face it – most of us don’t get married because of the legal recognition and benefits of the institution. We get married because we love each other and want to express that love. But, like it or not, the federal government uses marital status to determine lots of benefits, rights and privileges that aren’t afforded to those who are prohibited from marrying the person they love. In fact, as of 2004, there were 1,138 such benefits, rights and privileges specifically defining or including marital status as a factor contained within the United States Code.
(Jenn and Santos)
Category 1
Social Security and Related Programs, Housing, and Food Stamps
This category includes the major federal health and welfare programs, particularly those considered entitlements, such as Social Security retirement and disability benefits, food stamps, welfare, and Medicare and Medicaid. Most of these provisions are found in Title 42 of the United States Code, Public Health and Welfare; food stamp legislation is in Title 7, Agriculture.
Category 2
Veterans’ Benefits
Veterans’ benefits, which are codified in Title 38 of the United States Code, include pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, nursing home care, right to burial in veterans’ cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing. Husbands or wives of veterans have many rights and privileges by virtue of the marital relationship.
Category 3
Taxes
While the distinction between married and unmarried status is pervasive in federal tax law, terms such as “husband,” “wife,” or “married” are not defined. However, marital status figures in federal tax law in provisions as basic as those giving married taxpayers the option to file joint or separate income tax returns. It is also seen in the related provisions prescribing different tax consequences, depending on whether a taxpayer is married filing jointly, married filing separately, unmarried but the head of a household, or unmarried and not the head of a household.
Category 4
Federal Civilian and Military Service Benefits
This category includes statutory provisions dealing with current and retired federal officers and employees, members of the Armed Forces, elected officials, and judges, in which marital status is a factor. Typically these provisions address the various health, leave, retirement, survivor, and insurance benefits provided by the United States to those in federal service and their families.
Category 5
Employment Benefits and Related Statutory Provisions
Marital status comes into play in many different ways in federal laws relating to employment in the private sector. Most provisions appear in Title 29 of the United States Code, Labor. However, others are in Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining; Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters; and Title 45, Railroads. This category includes laws that address the rights of employees under employer-sponsored employee benefit plans; that provide for continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits after events like the death or divorce of the employee; and that give employees the right to unpaid leave in order to care for a seriously ill spouse. In addition, Congress has extended special benefits in connection with certain occupations, like mining and public safety.
Category 6
Immigration, Naturalization, and Aliens
This category includes federal statutory provisions governing the conditions under which non-citizens may enter and remain in the United States, be deported, or become citizens. Most are found in Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. The law gives special consideration to spouses of immigrant and non-immigrant aliens in a wide variety of circumstances. Under immigration law, aliens may receive special status by virtue of their employment, and that treatment may extend to their spouses. Also, spouses of aliens granted asylum can be given the same status if they accompany or join their spouses.
Category 7
Indians
The indigenous peoples of the United States have long had a special legal relationship with the federal government through treaties and laws that are classified to Title 25, Indians. Various laws set out the rights to tribal property of “white” men marrying “Indian” women, or of “Indian” women marrying “white” men. The law also outlines the descent and distribution rights for Indians’ property. In addition, there are laws pertaining to health care eligibility for Indians and spouses and reimbursement of travel expenses of spouses and candidates seeking positions in the Indian Health Service.
Category 8
Trade, Commerce, and Intellectual Property
This category includes provisions concerning foreign or domestic business and commerce, in the following titles of the United States Code: Bankruptcy, Title 11; Banks and Banking, Title 12; Commerce and Trade, Title 15; Copyrights, Title 17; and Customs Duties, Title 19. This category also includes the National Housing Act (rights of mortgage borrowers); the Consumer Credit Protection Act (governs wage garnishment); and the Copyright Act (spousal copyright renewal and termination rights).
Category 9
Financial Disclosure and Conflict Of Interest
Federal law imposes obligations on members of Congress, employees or officers of the federal government, and members of the boards of directors of some government-related or government chartered entities, to prevent actual or apparent conflicts of interest. These individuals are required to disclose publicly certain gifts, interests, and transactions. Many of these requirements, which are found in 16 different titles of the United States Code, apply also to the individual’s spouse.
Category 10
Crimes and Family Violence
This category includes laws that implicate marriage in connection with criminal justice or family violence. The nature of these provisions varies greatly. Some deal with spouses as victims of crimes, others with spouses as perpetrators. These laws are found primarily in Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, but some statutory provisions, dealing with crime prevention and family violence, are in Title 42, Public Health and Welfare.
Category 11
Loans, Guarantees, and Payments in Agriculture
Under many federal loan programs, a spouse’s income, business interests, or assets are taken into account for purposes of determining a person’s eligibility to participate in the program. In other instances, marital status is a factor in determining the amount of federal assistance to which a person is entitled or the repayment schedule. This category includes education loan programs, housing loan programs for veterans, and provisions governing agricultural price supports and loan programs that are affected by the spousal relationship.
Category 12
Federal Natural Resources and Related Statutory Provision
Federal law gives special rights to spouses in connection with a variety of transactions involving federal lands and other federal property. These transactions include purchase and sale of land by the federal government and lease by the government of water and mineral rights.
Category 13
Miscellaneous Statutory Provisions
This category comprises federal statutory provisions that do not fit readily in any of the other 12 categories. Federal provisions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status are included in this category. This category also includes various patriotic societies chartered in federal law, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the Gold Star Wives of America.
This is why same-sex couples need your help.
We need equal access to the law in order to protect our families, just like you!
THIS IS WHAT WE FIGHT FOR … THIS IS WHAT WE DEMAND
As I gathered this information and trolled through the internet, I’ve learned quite a bit. There are so many benefits; much more than the ones I listed on my own.
Here’s my short list:
Social Security benefits
Inheritance tax
Power of attorney
Hospital visitation rights
Medical insurance benefits
Last will and testament
Combined tax returns
Car insurance
Money managing/Finances
Pension benefits
Deed mortgage/Secure loan
I listed eleven benefits … come to find out I had left 1,127 out!
Maureen Hennessey lived with the love of her life, Mary Beth McIntyre, from 1984 until Mary Beth’s death on May 18, 2013, at the age of 55. Together they raised three children in Philadelphia. While Mary Beth was suffering the physical and emotional pain of end stage cancer, she had the additional burden of worrying about how Maureen would manage financially after she was gone.
Because their marriage is not recognized in Pennsylvania, Maureen must pay a 15 percent inheritance tax on half of their shared property, including their home. And unless their marriage is recognized in Pennsylvania before Maureen turns 65, Maureen will not be eligible to receive Mary Beth’s Social Security benefits.
When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; When the air does laugh with our merry wit, And the green hill laughs with the noise of it.
Just another traveler on life's highway hanging out in the slow lane. It's quiet. It's peaceful. Beyond the horizon is rest calling my name. Green pastures, still waters, my cup overflows.
