Here is a link to an article about the voting machines we use in SC, and their possible effect on our presidental primaries. Author Sean Flaherty works for Iowans for Voting Integrity, and the piece is posted on Vote Trust USA, a national network serving state-based organizations working for secure, accurate and transparent elections.
Brett Bursey
Activists meet for Network’s 12th annual Fall gathering
by Becci Robbins
Blogging last weekend’s Progressive Summit is late in coming. Sorry ’bout that. But these are heady, hectic days for the Network, and we’ve been distracted. We are in the process of buying a headquarters in downtown Columbia to house offices, meeting space and a social hall, a reprised GROW Cafe. The three-building complex, now occupied by Habitat for Humanity, is in a great location. It’s close enough to the college campuses to attract students, and the State House is just blocks away – the better to keep our eye on the scoundrels. More on this when we actually have the keys.
But back to the Summit. It was, judging by the feedback we’ve received, a smashing success. The statewide gathering may have been our best – most productive, most inspiring, most fun – since our founding conference in the spring of 1996.
One of our guest speakers, Angela Canterbury, outreach director at Public Citizen, said in an e-mail. “I am really impressed at the good work you all are doing. It was a great day – a little like a day at church, worshipping at the altar of hope and change.”
Nice.
The Big Apple, 1000 Hampton, downtown Columbia
Join grassroots activists from across the state for the SC Progressive Network’s 12th annual Fall gathering. Whether you’re concerned about social justice, global warming, the Iraq War, or the growing influence of money in politics, participants will seek common ground upon which to build a movement for progressive power in South Carolina.
“This is the Network’s most important event of the year,” said Co-chair Donna Dewitt, president of the SC AFL-CIO. “Our folks look forward to this weekend retreat, where they can reconnect with old friends, meet new allies, and be inspired by the good work going on all across South Carolina that rarely gets the attention it deserves. We hope to see lots of new faces.”
Bring Them Home Now Tour vigil, Columbia, Sept. 14, 2005.
Police Intimidation Threatens Peaceful Protest of Fund-raiser
Wade Fulmer, Columbia
On Friday, Nov. 2, activists had arrived by 10:30 on the sidewalk across the street from the entrance to the plantation on Garners Ferry Road where the Republican barbecue fund-raiser was being held. Participants ranged from college students to an 80-year-old WWII veteran, and were citizens or representatives of various peace groups. Activists and protesters were orderly, quiet, and held signs in protest of the Iraq War, to advocate for the care of our troops, and to insist that Bush-Graham politicians do not rush to still another war with Iran.
At about 10:45, Columbia police suddenly demanded that all protesters were to move down the hill to the far end of Woodhill Mall, which would take us and signs out of the view of traffic and politicians entering the barbecue. Upon asking an officer why, he said that the order was given to officers this morning by their captain. As an organizer of the demonstration, I asked why was such an order given. I reminded officers that Columbia city police have agreed and cooperated with us for four years in the exercise of our right to assemble and protest as long as there is no disturbance or interference with traffic. I asked to speak to the officer in charge. He approached and spoke angrily that we must move. He then told me that I had 10 seconds to move to the bottom of the hill.
From SC GLPM:
Our community has been rocked twice, first with the news of Sean Kennedy’s brutal murder, and second the shameful involuntary manslaughter indictment voted on by the Grand Jury. The Solicitor’s office acknowledged in its Oct. 22 press release the inadequacies of our state’s current statutes: “I hope the Kennedy family will join me to encourage the legislature to review their situation, and to modify our current statutory law so that we can address the present inadequacy in the law,” stated Robert Ariail, Solicitor of South Carolina’s 13th Judicial Circuit.
We are aware of the outrage that many of you feel regarding the indictment last Tuesday and the indefinite postponement of the arraignment, and many of us feel the same way. Therefore, the South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement has partnered with Sean’s Last Wish Foundation and the South Carolina Equality Coalition in order to foster awareness and educate the public at large of the need for hate crimes legislation in our fair state. We will continue to work closely with Elke Kennedy [Sean’s mother] as well as the staff and Board of SCEC, to determine our next course of action. These future actions may include coordinated press conferences with organizations throughout the state, forums to educate our local communities, and a vigil to be held the evening of sentencing for Sean Kennedy’s murderer.
Elke Kennedy has been brave these last few months, fighting a homophobic mindset ˆstatus quoˆ that has taken the life of her 20-year-old son. While Sean, a member of the gay community, was brutally murdered five months ago, she continues to travel across our state fighting for his dream of equality and inclusion. Do not let her fight alone; join us in helping to make Sean’s last wish a reality, and let not his death be in vain.
For more information, or to be kept informed on the actions, please visit the following web sites:
Sean’s Last Wish
SC Equality Coalition
SC GLPM
To join our email listserv, and be kept up to date with all activities at the Harriet Hancock Community Center, and to be kept aware of what we are doing for Sean Kennedy and his family, please join the listserv by emailing scpridevols-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Elke Kennedy, left, remembers her son at a vigil at the State House in Columbia. Since her son’s death, she has since been working to pass hate crimes legislation in South Carolina.
Gay community will protest Obama’s Columbia fundraiser
By Becci Robbins
Our Co-Chair Rev. Bennie Colclough left a Progressive Network meeting last night to dial into a conference call with the Barack Obama campaign and a handful of SC gay rights activists to discuss the rising controversy over a “healed” gay minister headlining a fundraiser in Columbia this Sunday. From all accounts, the call got heated and ended with two more calls: the Obama camp’s call to stand firm and the activists’ call to arms.
The latter has called for a protest of the event on Sunday at 5pm at the Township in downtown Columbia.
Rev. Donnie McClurkin claims to be sexually reformed, and now preaches that homosexuality is a choice. For a flavor of the man, check out his web site. (Be patient while it loads all its bells and whistles.)
The last-minute inclusion of Rev. Andy Sidden, the openly gay Pastor of Garden of Grace United Church of Christ (a Network member) has done nothing to appease the gay community.
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said he thanked Obama for including Sidden but said he was disappointed McClurkin will remain part of Obama’s program.
“There is no gospel in Donnie McClurkin’s message for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies,” he said. “That’s a message that certainly doesn’t belong on any presidential candidate’s stage.”
Obama is on record speaking against homophobia. He supports civil unions for same-sex couples but not gay marriage.
In a letter to the Obama campaign that was cc’d around, SC GLPM’s Tony Snell put it bluntly: “Adding a gay minister at the McClurkin concert is a weak attempt to appease the LGBT community. It’s like asking Julian Bond to speak at a Klan rally in order to ease the pain. I was told by a campaign staffer yesterday that your umbrella had to be expanded to cover many people with differing opinions. I say the Obama umbrella has a big hole in it – providing little to no refuge for gays and lesbians. It feels like we’re getting soaked wet and left out to dry!”
Today SCEC issued this press release:
According to the Obama campaign website, “With the help of many talented, spirit-filled supporters, Barack Obama’s campaign is hosting Gospel concerts throughout South Carolina on October 26, 27, and 28 to bring South Carolinians together for a few evenings of song and praise.”
While Senator Barack Obama may be committed to bringing people of all faiths together, he has chosen to ignore the concerns of the LGBT community and its allies in the clergy. Against the recommendations of South Carolina Equality Coalition (SCEC) to remove Donnie McClurkin, a self-proclaimed “ex-gay” from their upcoming gospel concert and fundraiser in Columbia, the Obama for America campaign is proceeding with the event as planned.
Climate Warming Causes Drought-Fueled Mega-Fires
By Tom Turnipseed
Published @ Common Dreams
Five years ago my wife and I discontinued using our lawn irrigation sprinkler system. Now we only water our small vegetable garden. Facing evidence of climate change, we are trying to do our part to save water.
With water supplies rapidly shrinking, Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia declared a state of emergency for 85 counties and asked President Bush to declare it a major disaster area on Oct. 20. A drought of historic proportions is affecting Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, as well as parts of North and South Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia. Meanwhile, drought is feeding a fiery fiasco in California.
In the past five days, parts of southern California have become out-of-control, raging infernos as another hot dry summer turns dehydrated forests into combustible tinderboxes.
Pay attention!
By Becci Robbins
Tonight we got a call from Jennifer Tague seeking counsel after her son, Tommy, was muzzled today on the grounds of Dutch Fork High School in Columbia.
Tommy Gordon is a 14-year-old in the 9th grade. He has uppity roots. His grandmother is Harriet Hancock, the Columbia lawyer and longtime Network member and gay rights activist who has been shaking up the state’s homophobic and closeted communities since her son came out in the ’80s, when it was still dangerous to so. It’s still a harsh culture for gay folks, but is much less so over the past decades in large part because of Harriet and others who have made it their life’s work to seek parity and respect for all people.
That’s just background for this account of the incident, along with a photo of a friend (his political polar opposite) sporting her message:
today at school a lot of kids who are pro-life wore shirts reflecting that view (shirts with big red lettering that says PRO LIFE, SILENCED FOR THOSE WHO WILL BE SILENCED or things of that nature.). i heard that kids were doing this so i made myself a Pro-Choice shirt that reads:
pro life is sexist. a woman should have the right to choose what she does with her body.
i was stopped while i was walking toward my first class of the day by an administrator who said: “We don’t do that here! Go to the office and change your shirt now!” and was forced to put a bright-orange shirt on with the words “Today I Violated The Dutch Fork High School Dress Code”.
i understood and wore the shirt all day. meanwhile the people who were wearing their Pro-Life shirts did not have to censor their shirts. i was deeply humiliated to have to wear this shirt that marked me as a rule-breaker while other kids who had done the same thing as i, but held different views about the issue than i did, were allowed to continue wearing their shirts.
my mom told me to email you about this.
thanks!
Tommy Gordon
this is an example of what the pro life people were wearing today. its a picture of my friend alix, in her pro life shirt, taken from her myspace site. the lettering on the shirt is backwards because the picture was taken with a camera phone.
**************
While it’s no surprise that Tommy has decided to make waves at Dutch Fork, my favorite part of the story is that, after wearing the dreaded orange tee all day, he was allowed to take it off during 6th Period, when his teacher instructed him that as long as there was a pro-choice shirt being worn in the classroom (there was) there would be equal exposure for tees of a different political hue. Kudos to Mr. Geliske.
Profound thanks to the good professor, who understands that democracy is not a spectator sport. And hats off to Tommy and Alix, who understand that friendship trumps ideology.
We could all learn something here.
Hello peacebuilders,
I received a link to this news report today through a list serve with Dept. of Peace State coordinators. I have read the letter, and encourage you to do as well. It is a report of a letter written from Muslim leaders of all the major sects of that religion, to all of our religious leaders in the Christian faith. It shows us that the movement that we are a part of is working, and that there is a thirst for peace among this world’s religions. It brings tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart to know that there are religious leaders taking the time to research and demonstrate the similarities between the Muslim faith and Christianity. The work that you are all doing in your own hearts and communities is not in vain, and we will see a world that knows peace.
Keep up the good work and the faith!
In Pursuit of Peace,
Dee Partridge, Charleston