A Local Impact
Yesterday I marched in Pomona, California as part of “Join the Impact”, an international series of demonstrations against the initiatives that were passed in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida during the November elections. We had over 300 people participating in this rally to show our new enthusiasm for bringing forth change in our communities and to promote visibility in the Inland Valley.
Only problem was we left our compatriots in Rancho Cucamonga behind because they had a more rocky experience than we had where one smart ass spilled some cherry soda on some women that were demonstrating in Rancho. Next time I hope we evenly distribute our supporters around the region. It is amazing what Internet social networking can do in a short notice.
The spectators were from many age groups, ethnicities and there was a good number of straight supporters who were there to help advocate for equal rights for ALL. Proponents of Proposition 8 would rather have us fade away and take it like a good second class citizen. We are not sore losers, just because a ballot measure is passed by the voters does not mean it should be the final law of the land. Ballot measures need to be constitutional before they can stand. Should we legalize housing discrimination just because voters approved it in 1964? Fortunately the US Supreme Court told the voters of California that was not constitutional and not accepted as law.
Civil rights should not be at the mercy of popular opinion. Minority rights should be protected from the tyranny of the majority. The constitution of the state of California should not be a sandbox for any religion, but it should be a document for all Californians straight and gay.
Customer Service, Retail and a Bad Economy
The realization that improved customer service leads to better business is no secret among the retail industry in the United States. Employees do not have the ability to behave like government employees when things do not go well. Best Buy had a memo leaked on the Consumerist, where if we want to survive the economic meltdown and not end up like circuit city we need to focus on good customer service.
A new car stereo or a big screen television is not essential right now, but if customers do make the decision to buy a nice big ticket item or even a small ticket item like batteries we should be appreciative and helpful in their buying decisions is what is read with the memo.
Its the same in my anonymous place of business with over 1000 stores as well. Four months ago they implemented a new customer centric program so customers can get in and get out and improve customer loyalty to their company.
Without customers we have no job. Without customers our businesses go down and shut down like other failed retailers such as Comp USA and Mervyns.
Usually good customer service makes both parties feel good and makes your day as an employee better and you will likely win a customer for a long time.
A Big Embarrassment
Impressions make a campaign succeed or die. The teacher who asked her kindergartener kids to sign a pledge about not using anti-gay slurs, did more damage to the No on 8 cause than the best advertisement from the Yes on 8 side. Stupid actions can set the equality movement back for years. It is understandable that we are tired of being perceived as second class citizens through the eyes of the voters. However our maturity will help speak through the eyes of all involved in this debate.
I know the Latter Day Saints helped to get Proposition 8 on the ground with 40% of its support, but domestic terrorism should not be on the menu. Boycotting donors to Yes on 8, and maybe yanking its tax-exempt status should be on the menu. Sending pretend anthrax to the LDS church office only sets the equality movement behind. However it might be an anti-gay activist wanting to frame the community.
I know we need to be visible, to make sure that voters know that there are LGBT Californians in all cities of our state big and small. The way we need to win the debate is to educate our friends and families about the importance of equality in our relationships. Another incident being used against us, is the assault on an elderly Yes on 8 protester. It may not of been wise that the Yes on 8 protester in Palm Springs went to the den of vipers. However we should not stoop to the level of our opponents and take the higher ground in our quest for equal rights. We need a headmaster to educate the people on our side about making the right impression.
It would of been better that one of the demonstrators on the No on 8 side should of politely ask to speak after the Yes on 8 demonstrator and the Palm Springs public could make their mind from there. However TV crews were there to show the humiliating action and its now spread across Youtube like wildfire. We are only giving fuel to the bigots that live in our state and I do not want to wait until I am 50 for equal rights.
Stay cool, talk to friends and family, respect the opposition and understand where they are coming from. America has a religious core and we should recognize this. Many voters are sensitive to the term marriage, even though a good number would support adding us into a parallel institution such as civil unions. The goal should be trying to explain to them why separate, but equal is wrong and why we should be merged under the marriage umbrella.
Do you still have political signs stored in your garage?
Election season over, and looking for new ways to make political signs useful instead of simply just throwing them in the trash? Fret not! Lifehacker has some information for you. You can make birdhouses with old political signs with directions from a Quebec blogger. Only caveat is you will need to convert Metric directions into Imperial measurements.
New Commenting System used at Inland Utopia
Intense Debate is a commenting service ran by the people who make the fine blog software called Wordpress. I am trying Intense Debate and see if it would be a good fit for my site.
If you want to find out the features that makes Intense Debate worthwhile, feel free to check out this site here.
If you want to get in the conversation at Inland Utopia, simply make an account at Intense Debate today and let us talk.
DUMB! Stupid moves by your California Republican Party
This is a blog post inspired by two blog entries on two different blogs.
First: On Orange Juice Blog, we have a commentary demonstrating reasons why President Obama should send Pete Wilson a thank you card for his Proposition 187 cheerleading. We have lost thousands of Latino voters thanks to our targeting of that demographic group in 1994. Even when we only spoke against illegal immigrants, many legal residents and citizens of Latino heritage called it an insult that we used their community as a wedge issue to drive home voters to the polls.
Just as how black voters stay away from the Republican Party, Latinos are becoming permanently entrenched into the Democratic Party. 18% of Latinos voted for John McCain, voted 47% for Prop 4 and 61% for Prop 8. Proposition 187 was our failed Southern Strategy that imperils our relationship with the Latino community.
In California we can not rely on white voters and demographics is not going to be our friend in our party. We are going to have to figure out how to reach out to the Latino voter while staying true to our principles when 1 out of 4 Americans will be Latino by 2050.
Then the issue of Proposition 8 is another problem with our party. Frank Schubert writes in the Flash Report explaining that we need to reach out to minority voters. However he mentions that black and Latino voters have supported his initiative for the elimination of marriage equality and the Republicans could gain votes from listening to them. However with statistics from black and Latino voters, they may have traditional values but they remain loyal to the Democratic party. Yes promoting economic opportunity and education excellence is vital, but when you cut public services and use Latinos as a wedge issue on immigration. It gives reason to understand why these people vote Democratic.
The RNC Leadership Race and the Future of the Party
Since the Republicans failed to win the election on Election Day, there is going to be an election at the RNC to elect the new leader of the party. However if you are a centrist in the Republican party this new direction does not include us.
When we look at the electoral map it shows that the south and the mid west of the United States voted for McCain while Obama cleaned the rest of the nation. Although McCain choose Palin to boost the base, he depressed the vote from all other groups that would lean towards the party. However the Republican anti-intellectualism movement is starting to alienate people within the party where the party would rather have leaders who would rather ban gay marriage, restrict abortion and spend like drunken Democrats like the eight years of the Bush administration.
Throwing the same agenda across this whole nation is only going to lead towards the Republicans becoming a pale imitation of itself. Lt.Governor Steele of Maryland is one choice I would not want to represent my party. Yes we need diversity in our party, but any warm body of color should not qualify as diversity. Having the chairman of our party as a black man is only symbolic, although he will speak weekly on the weekly political chat shows about the message of the party. People are not going to rush out and convert to the Republican party because our party leader is black. We have to have the substance to go with our symbolism in order for us to have an impact.
Voters in California from minority communities still voted Yes on 8 and voted for Democratic party members down the ticket. I hear stories from Republican politicians and pundits stating that minority communities share our social values, but they never vote for us. There are some good examples why they never vote for our party because we are perceived as the party of immigrant bashing and that the party used the Southern Strategy to get those racists into our party.
Yes, cultural issues are important to many voters. However economics should be just as critical in helping to shape our nation. If we are going to be known as the values party without any other issue to define us then we should pack up our bags and lay on the KY Jelly and get decimated by the opposition.
There are many issues to explore in the next coming months and I hope to go through them all.
Oh no! Assemblyman DeVore decides to run for US Senate
California needs a fresh face in the US Senate, but Assemblyman DeVore is just not the ticket for 2010 against Senator Boxer. Yes, Assemblyman DeVore is smart and knows his way around the issues. However he will scare off many of the voters we need to reach in order to beat Senator Boxer in the next election. From Matt Fong to Bill Jones Republicans have not found the right person to defeat this long term incumbent.
If our multi-millionaires in Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner want to run for governor I have the best option around to beat DeVore in the June 2010 primary, former congressman Tom Campbell. An economics professor and lawyer could reach out to more voters than the assemblyman could ever dream of.
Our mission is to attract voters to the party, not scare them away.
AIG and You
Did you know that our working Joe Baca is part of a very vital committee in congress?
He is part of the Financial Services Committee, its the committee that regulates financial institutions such as AIG.
AIG has siphoned off so much of our money thanks to the Federal Reserve’s attempt to stabilize the financial industry.
Our congressman advertises that he wants to work for the people of the 43rd congressional district.
Maybe Congressman Baca needs to hear from the people who actually live in his constituency demanding that we want accountability from our now owned companies thanks to the bail out that he should of rejected.
Protect Marriage, Restrict Divorce!
File under: Demonstrating absurdity by being absurd
