And yet even more voter suppression

NSFW
As David noted here, as of October 26th, radio ads falsely claiming that Pennsylvania voters had to show photo ID on election day were still running on KDKA radio (and who knows where else). And then there's this. Yesterday afternoon, while everyone was still bracing for what Sandy might bring to PA and while we were in an official state of emergency, the voter suppression was ongoing -- this time, on the streets of Pittsburgh. I saw this via Facebook from a co-worker (and someone whom I trust):

OMFG!!!!! There are state trucks driving around the city today with 30ft signs that say SHOW ID!!!! This is unbelievable!!!! Anyone know what numbers would be best to contact about this...if you dont know we DO NOT NEED to show ID on the 6th

Unfortunately, he was going in the opposite direction, so no photograph was taken.

Now, I don't know if the giant ads he saw had the fine print like the one below, but even if they did, what message are you really going to get (or literally see) from something on a moving vehicle?

According to Ngani Ndimbie of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, buses displaying signs like the one below -- even if they display the fine print -- are a problem for obvious reasons and add to the misinformation:

Reports from supporters/ voting rights advocates about the new "(small text) If you have it, (big text) Show it" bus ad campaign were the tipping point before we filed the latest complaint w/ Judge Simpson about the state misinforming voters.

On top of that, what an incredible waste of state resources!

If you happen to see one of these moving billboards, please take a photo and send it to the ACLU of Pennsylvania (and me!).

An example of the new, fine print added "show it" campaign:

Rallies and Protests and Press Conferences, Oh My!

Looks like folks are awakening to the assault on, well, everyone (who isn't super rich)! Women, children, union members, the middle class, the working class and the working poor, public transit riders -- unless you're Donald Trump -- the Republicans have some plan to screw you.

We're not "special interests" when we are the majority!

Please attend any of these that you can:

THURSDAY, 2/24/11
Impacts of Proposed U.S. Budget Cuts on Pittsburgh Jobs & Families Press Conference (This is for the media)
TIME: 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: WGF Office, Landmarks Building, 100 W. Station Square Drive, Suite 315
WHAT: Via press release [edited]: "Women and Girls Foundation hosts. Southwest PA organizations, their local workers and service recipients, would be directly impacted by the drastic cuts included in H.R. 1 which slashes billions of dollars of funding resulting in the elimination of millions of jobs and services for working families in our region. Federal programs impacted range from early childhood education and college financial aid to nutritional assistance for infants, veterans housing, public broadcasting, and reproductive healthcare. It eliminates federal funding for Planned Parenthood and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and it defunds the implementation of health care reform and EPA pollution enforcement. It now moves to the Senate for vote later this month. Representatives from the following organizations will speak: Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, Fair Housing Partnership, Just Harvest, WQED Multimedia, Women’s Center & Shelter, PennFuture, Planned Parenthood, Adagio Health, The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Community Services, Action United, ACLU Pittsburgh, SEIU, Women’s Law Project, New Voices Pittsburgh, National Council of Jewish Women, National Organization for Women, Pennsylvania Health Access Network, and Health Care for America Now. (Members of the media are asked to RSVP if you plan to attend.)"

MoveOn / Democracy for Pittsburgh: Invest in America!
TIME: 11:30 AM;11:45 AM
WHERE: Gather @ Aldo Coffee Shop, 675 Washington Road, Pittsburgh (Mt. Lebanon), PA 15228; Proceed to Office of Rep. Murphy, which is at 504 Washington Road, Pittsburgh (Mt. Lebanon), Pa 15228
WHAT: "We are going to go to Rep. Murphy and let him know that cutting billions from funding health care, education, and science will do nothing to turn our economy around, but it will hurt the other 98% of us that are barely getting through the worst recession since the Great Depression. We will go to the office of Rep. Murphy with our Invest in America message, and share our personal stories of why we need support for our broken economy and communities." Please RSVP for the event by clicking on the link below: http://pol.moveon.org/event/invest2011/112639

“Fighting For the American Dream” Rally
Stand in Solidarity with the Wisconsin Workers
TIME: Noon (lunch provided)
WHERE: USW International HQ, Downtown Pittsburgh, 5 Gateway Center, 60 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh PA
WHAT: "Our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and other states are in a fight for the very survival of their jobs and their union. This is our moment to stand and show solidarity with them and let their Governor and the extremist organizations financing these attacks know: WE STAND TOGETHER! "


FRIDAY, 2/25/11
People's Rally For Public Transportation
TIME: 8:30 - 11:30 AM
WHERE: Mellon Square Park, 6th & Smithfiled, Downtown Pittsburgh PA
WHAT: Protest the drastic cutbacks in public transit.


SATURDAY, 2/26/11
Rally to Save the American Dream, Harrisburg, PA
TIME: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
WHERE: Capitol Steps, 3rd St., Harrisburg, PA 17101
WHAT: "Americans who believe in the right to organize are standing up on Saturday. It's time to stop the dismantling of organizations opposed to the right wing agenda."
RSVP: http://www.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=112822&is_manage=1

New TSA Grab & Grope Screening Posse Announced

It's possible that I may have my stories mixed up.

Be that as it may, if you have objections to the TSA's Naked Photos Vs. Grab & Grope policy, you can voice your complaints/sign a petition at the ACLU website.

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco

. . . this ain't no fooling around


From the P-G:

Witold Walczak, the legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said, "It's hard to imagine a situation where a peaceful group that makes food . . . could attract this much firepower and police attention and not be harassment," he said.

What Walczak is referring to is a pattern of harassment by law enforcement against not only G-20 demonstrators, but those who would support them. And, the summit hasn't even started.

The Pennsylvania branch of the ACLU is documenting "problems G-20 protestors have encountered with law enforcement in Pittsburgh" here and Chris Potter's Slag Heap blog has also been doing yeoman's work on this issue as well.

Unfortunately, a judge has ruled in favor of City (over the people) albeit noting during his ruling:

But, he continued, "To be clear, we are not here to determine if constitutional violations have occurred," Judge Lancaster said.

Further, he said, that that while the complaint does not warrant injunctive relief, the plaintiffs can still seek monetary damages.

This, I'm afraid, will also be another pattern we'll see much of this week. A trampling of rights with the advice to seek redress later -- after the world is no longer watching.

[sigh]

Crossposted at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette G20 site.
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Debtors' Prisons Make A Comeback

There's a woman in jail in Escanaba, Michigan, United States of America.

She's in jail because she's poor -- too poor to pay her creditor.

Who is her creditor?

Her creditor is the court who says that she is liable for $104 for the monthly cost of incarcerating her 16 year-old son who is in a juvenile detention facility.

The woman is Ms. Nowlin. She was laid off from work, lost her home and is destitute. She survives by living with friends (along with her 14 year-old son) and picking up work when she can get it. She is $17,000 in debt and what money she can earn is garnished.

When Ms. Nowlin could not pay the $104 she was sentenced to 30 days in jail. She was denied a court appointed attorney.

She was given a day of work release three days after she was incarcerated so that she could pick up a paycheck for $178.53. She intended to pay the $104 with that paycheck.

However, the jail officials where she was imprisoned forced her to sign the check over to them to to pay for her "room and board."

When the 30 days of her current sentence are up she will be right back where she started -- unable to pay for the next 30 day stay for her son and able to be sentenced again.

This is one sad, sick world we live in.

The only thing that would make this story more Dickensian is if they had jailed her 14 year-old son along with her and if her 16 year-old son had been sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread.

The one bright spot is that the ACLU is now fighting on her behalf.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan web site.

The brief that they filed on behalf of Ms. Nowlin here (.pdf).

Daily Kos diary on this case here.
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12th Annual Banned Books Reading

A reminder.

The Annual Banned Books Reading, brought to you by the good folks at the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU, the Carnegie Library, and WYEP, is taking place tonight.

It's free and open to the public.

For some strange and as yet unexplained reason, they've asked me to be the MC.

UPDATE: This was a lot of fun and being master of ceremonies wasn't nearly as frightening as I thought. Did you know that a WHERE'S WALDO book had been banned? Along with the poem "Jabberwocky"? Me neither.

Interspersed in the live readings were video clips of other local Pittsburghers (Bill Peduto and Lynn Cullen included) reading from some other banned material (The Bible, Shel Silverstein and so on).

Read a banned book!

Banned Books Reading - THIS MONDAY

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Maria already posted about this, but I have to make a slight addition to the news. I'm now HOSTING the program. I'll be the guy introducing each reader and reading the bios to the audience.

And that also means that I'll be the one reading last. So to hear my reading you'll have to sit through the whole thing.

See you there!

12th Annual Banned Books Reading!

Hmmm, one of these names looks familiar:



More info at http://www.aclupa.org/events/12thannualbannedbooksreadi.htm