california at Brave New Films

The Hypocrisy and Racism of the San Diego Minutemen

2008-07-24T08:39:02Z

On July 13, 2008, the San Diego Minutemen protested the appearance of Barack Obama before the National Council of La Raza. Sporting signs with trumped up allegations that the National Council of La Raza is racist, the Minutemen, nevertheless engaged in horrific displays of their own bigotry.

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FORA.tv Office Tour

2008-07-24T08:26:46Z

Join Nick Ryan as he goes behind-the-scenes at FORA.tv's San Francisco headquarters, meets FORA.tv staff, and takes a brief tour of the city skyline as seen from the office roof. FORA.tv is located at 1550 Bryant Street, in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.

For a tour of the FORA.tv website, visit: fora.tv

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Would Jesus Support Gay Marriage?

2008-07-24T08:26:46Z

Complete video at: fora.tv Baptist Minister Rev. Peter Gomes discusses why he believes Jesus would have supported the idea of gay marriage.

TPMtv at Netroots Nation: Debbie Cook

2008-07-24T08:50:41Z

Debbie Cook

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Arnold Schwarzenneger Tells Us Why To Support McCain

2008-07-24T00:45:28Z

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

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Barack Obama at Annual NCLR Conference

2008-07-24T08:24:58Z

San Diego, CA
July 12, 2008

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Tim McMullen's "The Duke is Dead"

2008-07-09T13:13:14Z

This song anticipated the wild ride of California's governorship that has brought us to the current Californicator. With Obama already bearing the brunt of racist reactions, the Tom Bradley campaign in California is significant. Tom Bradley, the popular mayor of Los Angeles was running double digit leads for governor in the polls. Deukmajian ran a political ad that was incredibly simple: they just put the pictures of Deukmajian and Bradley (a black man) next to each other and ask "Who do you really want?" According to a Wikipedia note, "The discrepancy between the polling numbers and the election's ultimate results would come to be termed "the Bradley effect," which refers to the tendency of white voters to tell interviewers or pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for a black candidate, but then actually vote for his opponent." Al Campanis was the beloved general manager of the LA Dodgers who was forced to resign after an absurd comment that blacks were not good swimmers because they "weren't as bouyant." Racist stereotypes are still rampant and destructive. The rest of the Duke's hypocrisies are fairly self-explanatory.

The Duke is Dead
(For John Wayne & George Deukmejian, Retiring Governor of California)

The Duke is dead...Long live the Duke!
Just see the trail he blazes.
His great success is sure no fluke;
He's a hero nothing fazes.

Old John Wayne would've loved his campaign
Against that wimp Tom Bradley:
Just picture two faces and make it quite plain
That "his kind" does everything badly!
(Now, could such an approach really change the vote?
Ask old Al Campanis, "Hell, they can't even float!")

The Duke is dead...Long live the Duke!
Just see the trail he blazes,
His great success is sure no fluke;
He's a hero nothing fazes.

Just shoot from the hip, and don't take no lip
From those faggots, femmes, and "bleeders."
We'll drill the coast and then raise a toast
To more nuclear reactor breeders
(Sure, Big Business cronies fill our campaign coffers,
But we're equally open to anyone's offers).

The Duke is dead...Long live the Duke!
Just see the trail he blazes.
His great success is sure no fluke;
He's a hero nothing fazes.

Say, haven't you heard? He's a man of his word.
Now, just listen to that speech:
With a "Yup!" and a "Nope!" and an "I dunno'!"
He avoids the media's reach
("We'll refund the money... No, it can't go to schools!
Oops! A shortfall? Cut service—see the logic, You fools?")

But, he's made up his mind; the Duke has resigned,
And he's leaving us to our fate.
Now, where can we find someone likewise inclined?
How 'bout Reagan? Wouldn't that be great?
Maybe Tricky Dick could be our pick?
Even Wilson or Gates is a plus;
Just as long as he follows in Big Duke's boots,
We know he'll Californicate us!
(New for 1998)
Find a Tricky Dick-type to be our pick?
Both Lundgren and Davis are a plus
Just as long as they follow in Pistol Pete's boots,
We know they'll Californicate us!

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Boyda Supports New Off-Shore Drilling

2008-07-24T08:29:06Z

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (D-KS) explains why new off shore drilling hasn't happened and speaks out in favor of reversing that trend- as long as drilling is met with more more money spent on alternative fuel research.

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Reactions to Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

2008-07-24T08:51:34Z

The Minneapolis Pride Festival is the 3rd largest of its kind in the country. We asked people at Pride if the recent California Supreme Court ruling to allow same-sex marriage had affected them personally and their opinion on the issue in general.

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Re: GAy Marriage

2008-06-20T01:33:05Z

Video Cam Direct Upload

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ArmagedDOMA

2008-07-24T08:50:04Z

Why DOMA Must Fall

In 2002, same sex marriage was not yet legal in Massachusetts and any possible legal remedy related to marriage was not available. Genesio Oliveira "Junior" and Tim married March 3, 2005 as his case moved through the system. Despite the marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed into law by President Bill Clinton, prohibited Tim from sponsoring Junior as a permanent resident even though heterosexuals may do so.

The couple has begged for relief and has since exhausted all other potential remedies available to compel the U.S. government to enable Junior to return. Although the U.S. does not recognize the marriage under DOMA, it uses the marriage as a reason not to grant any other visa since the marriage is a reason why Junior might not leave the U.S.

With no resolution in sight, the couple has moved ahead with a head-on DOMA challenge. The aim is to topple that portion of DOMA that prevents Federal recognition of marriage and civil unions in those states where same-sex unions are legal. Before Federal courts may hear the matter, the couple's "I-130 Petition for Alien Relative" must be formally denied. The I-130 Petition is the same method used by heterosexuals to sponsor their spouses.

Alone in the Fight for Basic Fairness?

Here is the long delayed update to the story of my separation from Junior as a result of actions taken by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

First, some background. Junior was never an "illegal alien." Six years ago this year, Junior filed a petition for asylum with what was then the U.S. Immigration and Nationalization Service (INS). He made this filing before the end of the six-month stay authorized by his visa, thus keeping him "in status" in the eyes of immigration law. There are many reasons why the asylum application should have been granted.

As the law allows, Junior received his Social Security number and work authorization while his case made its way through the system. As the Department of Homeland Security was formed and Bush made ideological appointments, the government grew increasingly unfriendly to our cause. Even the U.S. State Department changed its longstanding position on a key issue bolstering the asylum petition.

Finally, during the Justice Department hiring scandal, a conservative ideologue was appointed to hear Junior's case. As the Washington Post reported June 11, last year:

The Bush administration increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting the judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, despite laws that preclude such considerations...

...another failed tax court nominee, Francis L. Cramer, a former campaign treasurer for Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), was appointed as an immigration judge. Cramer's bid for a seat on the tax court foundered after the American Bar Association's taxation section wrote a rare letter to the Senate Finance Committee, saying: "We are unable to conclude that he is qualified to serve."

Cramer was then hired by the Justice Department's tax division and was briefly lent to the department's Office of Immigration Litigation. Ashcroft approved him as an immigration judge in March 2004. The Government Accountability Office, a legislative watchdog, criticized the appointment, saying, "Converting a Schedule C [political] appointee with less than 6 months of immigration law experience to an immigration judge position raises questions about the fairness of the conversion."

Judge Cramer denied the asylum application and his decision was upheld by a single judge of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Junior was ordered to "voluntarily" depart the U.S. within 60 days and he complied with that order last August.

Since last year, we have exhausted all other potential remedies available to us to compel the U.S. government to enable Junior to return.

I also sadly report that the allies we expected -- GLAD, ACLU, HRC and others -- have not stepped up to the plate.

First Massachusetts, then California; now United Nations
Forcibly separated same-sex Mass. couple accuse U.S. of treaty violation at United Nations

Coco and Oliveira accuse the United States of violating the "Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment" by failing to grant asylum to Oliveira despite "substantial grounds" to do so and failing to appoint "competent" arbiter to hear the asylum case -- both are required under the convention, ratified by the US in 1994. In the 65-page complaint filed this week with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at United Nations office at Geneva, Switzerland, the couple argues their case is admissible because the US further "recognized the competence of the committee established under the relevant treaty to consider complaints from individuals."

More information at:
www.reunitethisfamily.com

This full movie can be found there too.

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Gays get married in California!!!!!

2008-07-18T20:24:16Z

Dozens of Gay and Lesbian Couples Marry in California

In California, dozens of gay and lesbian couples were married Monday night as the state performed its first legally recognized same-sex weddings. California is the second state, after Massachusetts, to marry same-sex couples, but it is the first ready to grant licenses to couples from any state. [includes rush transcript]

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Gay Marriage Arrives in California

2008-06-25T18:46:51Z

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

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Authors@Google: George Lakoff

2008-07-24T08:26:36Z

The Authors@Google program was pleased to welcome author and professor George Lakoff to Google's New York office to discuss his new book, "The Political Mind".

George Lakoff is Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Rockridge Institute, a think tank in Berkeley, CA. He is author of "Don't Think of an Elephant!", "Moral Politics", "Whose Freedom?", and coauthor of "Thinking Points: A Progressive's Handbook", as well as many books and articles on cognitive science and linguistics. In this talk Professor Lakoff speaks about his latest work The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain. In "What's the Matter with Kansas?", Thomas Frank pointed out that a great number of Americans actually vote against their own interests. In "The Political Mind", George Lakoff explains why.

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NRDC's Ann Notthoff Discusses Global Warming Policies in CA

2008-07-24T08:38:43Z

NRDC's California Advocacy Director, Ann Notthoff, discusses policies in California to fight global warming, including AB 32, The Global Warming Solutions Act, & SB 375.

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NRDC's Ann Notthoff Discusses California Ballot Initiatives

2008-07-24T08:38:43Z

NRDC's California Advocacy Director, Annie Notthoff, discusses 2008 ballot initiatives in California, including Props 98 & 99.

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Video: Undocumented Students at UC Davis

2008-06-30T12:49:37Z

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GAy Marriage

2008-07-24T08:49:38Z

Is Georgia next in line to adopt gay marriage?

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Vote for Change: Los Angeles

2008-06-19T20:38:48Z

Obama supporters in Los Angeles discuss what voter registration means for this campaign and the nation's future, during the Vote for Change national kick-off on 5/10/08.

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Ron Shepston Interview: Election Integrity, Daily Kos, etc.

2008-07-02T10:45:38Z

Ron Shepston is an airplane engineer who is challenging the ethically challenged Republican Gary Miller for California's 42nd (Orange County) Congressional seat. In this interview he answers questions from me about election integrity, Daily Kos and the issues most important to him.

You can learn more about his campaign at www.ronshepston.com

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Oxnard Combats "Clearwater Port"

2008-07-24T08:40:10Z

Community leaders speak out against an LNG terminal proposed by Houston based Northern Star Natural Gas

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John McCain Faces off with Ellen Degeneres

2008-06-18T03:33:49Z

McCain appeared on Degeneres' show to talk about his beliefs on gay marriage.

Watch the entire show at www.theyoungturks.com

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Fox News Spins Gay Marriage Ruling

2008-07-09T13:19:20Z

It wasn't quite a "no spin zone" when Bill O'Reilly brought Megyn Kelly on to the May 15, 2008, edition of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" as the legal expert to analyze that day's California Supreme Court decision in favor of marriage equality, as I show with the clips and commentary in this video. You can find the full text of, In re MARRIAGE CASES, the California Supreme Court decision striking down California's ban on gay marriage, at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov

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Justly Married - Together Again

2008-06-09T15:35:25Z

A document of the marriage ceremonies at San Francisco city hall. 2/15/04

Together again thanks to the California Supreme Court. 5/15/08

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Marriage Equality - One Step Closer but a Dream Still Deferred

2008-07-24T08:48:16Z

The California Supreme Court in a monumental 4-3 decision overtuned the voter ban on same-sex marriage today, making California only the second state to approve marriage equality.

I hesitated about posting this news here but since it is undocumented youth space, OUR space, and it does affect some of our lives, I had to share my elation. We have straight and gay DREAMers in our community who cried with joy at this news along with our brothers and sisters because even if it doesn't mean immigration equality, it means we are one step closer to achieving it for same-sex couples. As Gavin Newsom said in his press conference today, when California rolls, the rest of the nation rolls with us.