Hi Fedi Family,
In 2008 Californians voted for Prop8 that defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the California constitution. While this was defeated in courts this draconian Prop8 language is still in the California constitution. Justice tHomas and the right wing SCOTUS is openly hinting at destroying precedent and trampling rights. If they overturned Obergefell - the Prop8 language in the California Constitution will act as a “trigger law”, raining havoc on queer families like mine across California.
Please spread the word to vote “YES” to repeal Prop8 (2008) from the California constitution in Nov 2024. Talk to your friends, family and colleagues about it.
I wrote something because I could no longer stay silent. I hope you won't either.
We hear echoes in 2023 America of the Nazi Party’s propaganda and the violence it wrought. Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, said, “We must always take a side. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
As environmental, social and humanitarian crises escalate, the world can no longer afford two things: first, the costs of economic inequality; and second, the rich.
“Half of Mexico’s Congress is #female. The cabinet is #gender-balanced. And now, #women have won the primaries of the two leading political blocs—making it likely that this traditionally macho nation will elect its first female president, ahead of the United States…
#Mexico ranks fourth in the world in female participation in national legislatures, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The US ranks 71st—just below Iraq.”
I've been on Masto for several years, but not very active. I recently changed instances, and never did an #introduction post before, so here we go!
I'm a photographer based on Halifax, NS, Canada, though my day job is as a software developer. My main interests are, in no particular order, #photography, home #baking & #cooking, #programming, #security, #equality, and #cats. Many others, but yeah.
My own posts will be mostly photography focused, and with that, here's a photo of my fluffy boy.
"Arrests are Almost Like Merit Badges" – Protesters Change History for Citizens with Disabilities:
Today, Out Of Exile – Invisible Disability Rights honors "The Gang of 19" and the disability rights activist group, "ADAPT" (Atlantis Community). Forty-five years ago this week, they demanded, and were instrumental in winning, independence for people with mobility disabilities across the country. This act, is considered by many, to be the birth of the disability rights movement in the US. The unique methods they used, make their story worth exploring… They're just that cool.
On July 5, 1978, as a Denver RTD bus was picking up passengers at Colfax Avenue and Broadway, a group of individuals rolled their wheelchairs in front of the vehicle. After a second bus pulled up to the stop, other wheelchair users maneuvered themselves behind it, forming a blockade. The buses remained trapped between the wheelchair users for the next 24 hours. Chanting, "WE WILL RIDE!", the protesters message of "TAXATION WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION" forced a nation to take notice of the disability rights movement. Are the tax dollars of persons are with disabilities worth less than the tax dollars of others? Are individuals with disabilities deserving of less public accommodations than their "abled" co-citizens? The demand: That one third of Denver city buses be made wheelchair accessible. Thanks to the courage of "the gang's" heroic actions, public buses across the country are equipped to provide accessibility, independence and a bit of equality for people with disabilities.
Check out the "Gang of 19" PBS documentary contained in the links below. You can also read more about the bus blockade, ADAPT's role in the Americans With Disabilities Act, or the time wheelchair user's pulverized a curb with sledgehammers thus, forging the way for inclines at crosswalks. In hindsight, it's outrageous that it took a sledgehammer demolition, to generate understanding about the barriers and safety concerns facing wheelchair users, just trying to cross the street. There is however, much more work to be done to better the lives of all people with disabilities.
Every year as fireworks explode in celebration, I raise a glass to toast the liberty that these "Denver Pioneers" fought to win, for so many with disabilities. The neurodivergent thinkers behind these creative acts of social defiance, are nothing short of legendary. The anniversary of the "Gang of 19" blockade is truly something to celebrate. It also serves as a reminder that, a loud voice or action is sometimes necessary in the fight for disability rights, equality and, to finally #TearDownTheWall.
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Martin Luther King Jr.
I absolutely love Justice Jackson. From her dissent in the UNC case:
“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces "colorblindness for all' by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”
I have finally read Justice Sotomayor's powerful dissent in 303 Creative. In the end, she reaches for our better angels. "But that does not mean that we are powerless in the fact of the decision. The meaning of our Constitution is found not in any law volume, but in the spirit of the people who live under it."
I do not have Justice Sotomayor's optimism right now.
Researchers recently published a shocking statistic about the Australian education science curricula for grades 11/12 - a clear bias in the gender representation of scientists with only one female scientist listed.
Dr Shanika Galaudage, a co-author of the study, comments on the key findings and talks about these results and the importance of the IncludeHer movement.
This is my new #introduction. I have been exploring Mastodon since late 2022. Just migrated here from ThePettingZoo as it is closing down and over there I was previously know as Alaskan49. My politics lean "liberal", probably less flame than some, but I strongly believe in #equality and there is plenty of work we can all do to help on that.
I am a mature gay man who believes in democracy and working towards a more verdant world for all. I married my husband in 2008, but we have been together over 40 years. I live on sacred lands of the Auke Kwaan and Taku Kwaan of the Tlingit peoples in present-day #Alaska.
I am not a big social media person, but so far Mastodon has been more fun than most I have tried.
"DOJ and EEOC Warn: Employers’ Use of Artificial Intelligence Can Violate the Americans with Disabilities Act"
Tools used by employers that rely on algorithms or artificial intelligence, like computer testing of job applicants and software to "score" resumes, "may result in unlawful discrimination against people with disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)", according to the US DOJ.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) both released "technical assistance" documents, warning employers and providing guidance about potential disability employment discrimination. The ADA requires employers to provide "reasonable accommodation" to applicants and employees that suits their disability. The EEOC provided examples in their "assistance document" (linked below), one of which, seems to be a challenge I might face with one, or more of my disabilities.
"A job application requires a timed math test using a keyboard. Angela has severe arthritis and cannot type quickly. Typing quickly is not necessary for the job. Angela will fail the test if she takes it without a reasonable accommodation. The reasonable accommodation could be speaking the answers or having more time for the test."
In my case, having one fully functioning hand, using a keyboard with speed and accuracy is no longer an option, so AI would screen me out. I'm fortunate to have quality voice recognition software to dictate and control computer function. Speaking the answers would be a necessary accommodation to my limb difference disability but, other disabilities and factors can come into play.
For example, a person with brain injury or autism may require a different accommodations, as would someone who is hearing or visually impaired. The ADA document "Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Disability Discrimination in Hiring", gives another example:
"… if a county government uses facial and voice analysis technologies to evaluate applicants’ skills and abilities, people with disabilities like autism or speech impairments may be screened out, even if they are qualified for the job."
Considering ableism, ignorant attitudes and discrimination from humans, people with disabilities face enough barriers. The last thing we need is to be further excluded by artificial intelligence and machines. The releases below from the DOJ, EEOC and ADA also offer guidance about recognition, rights and what to do if AI discriminates against you.
This statement by #MAGAMike is disqualifying for the 2nd in line for the presidency. The rule of law is sacrosanct in America. House Dems shouldn’t save his speakership again. Speaker Johnson is lawless, & not worthy of serving in Congress. Ditto for the other traitors in the Senate & the House.
"TFG becomes first ex-president convicted of felonies in election fraud case."
-D Rothkopf
Another Russian opposition leader murdered by Putin. Is there any doubt #Navalny was murdered? Putin murdered him because he finally feels comfortable doing so. Why? Because donaldtrump is inviting attacks on #NATO, fascist tucker carlson is cheering Putin, the #gop is blocking aid to Ukraine, so time to kill Navalny.
Putin, a hostile foreign intelligence agent, is one of the most infamous cold-blooded killers in human history. Dictator Vladimir Putin is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (#ICC). The court #Arrest#Warrant states he responsible for #genocide of Ukrainian children and unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
Hundreds were arrested around the funeral. The FSB shut down the internet, and interrupted the funeral service --dragging the coffin away, before taking it to the grave site. This is what republicans worship.