Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (12111)	10/13/2003 4:06:16 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793820

Davis Signs Calif. Domestic Partner Law Mon Oct 13, 9:47 AM ET story.news.yahoo.com By ETHAN RARICK, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - California has became the first state to require businesses with large state contracts to offer domestic partners the same benefits that spouses enjoy, although the law will not take effect until 2007. Outgoing Gov. Gray Davis signed the bill enacting the measure, which had been a key goal of gay rights groups. Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, called the move "incredibly significant." "There are a lot of businesses that want state contracts, and in order to be eligible, companies will now have to give equal benefits," Kors said. In 1996, San Francisco became the first jurisdiction in the country to adopt such a requirement, prompting numerous companies to offer benefits to domestic partners, Kors said. Other cities have since followed suit, and California is the first state to approve such a law, Kors said. The measure narrowly cleared the Legislature earlier this year, passing the Assembly with the minimum number of votes needed. At the time, Democrats described the measure as a victory for fairness and civil rights, while Republican opponents said it would trample the rights of employers who objected to gay relationships. Davis signed the measure Sunday as he considered dozens of bills sent to him by the Legislature. He faced a midnight deadline to act on the measures. The governor, who was recalled by voters Oct. 7 but will remain in office until the results become official, had tried to appeal to California's large gay community earlier this year in an attempt to increase public support and keep his job. Davis already has approved a bill giving domestic partners most of the rights and responsibilities of married couples. The bill regarding state contracts was the other major gay rights bill passed by the Legislature this year, and gay rights groups had urged Davis to sign it even though he has been recalled. Gov.-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, had asked Davis to sign no more bills before leaving office, but has acknowledged Davis' right to do so. The new law will apply to contracts worth $100,000 or more, and may be waived in emergencies and cases where there is only one bidder. In 1999, California became the first state in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to register as domestic partners.

To: greenspirit who wrote (12111)	10/13/2003 5:58:38 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793820

Those tolerant Liberals vs those intolerant conservatives! That is an accepted idea, all right. And it comes back to your position on "Ethics" - what you should do. Which controls your thinking on (Greek Philosophy definition) "Politics" - how you should treat other people. I find all of this varies according to your "Standard of Value." We all start out with an innate Standard of Value. This is the standard we are born with. Our innate "Selfishness." Think of the two year old saying, "That's mine!" To this is added what we are taught by our parents, our relatives, our clan, our tribe, and/or our nation. The person who tends to be on the "Right" tends to have an exterior standard of value based on some sort of "God." They measure things on the basis of whither they are good or bad in the eyes of that "God." And that shifts with the "God" involved, but usually ends up being some sort of "Ten Commandments" plus a major sexual component that is usually treated a little differently. Most use a Priest of some sort for guidance. Usually pretty rigid. But that changes if the Priest interprets things differently. This is the Family or Clan value system. People on the "Left" tend to be secular, and their exterior standard of value tends to be based more on the sort of tribe/nation that they belong to. They believe in doing whatever that group approves of. This leads to a more variable standard of value, as the group's values change or differ. "PoMo" comes into play. You end up being more "Nuanced." :>) But none of us normally think about these things, and we jumble them all together, doing what we think is right unconsciously, based on a combination of our nature/nurture, without figuring out why we think that way. We feel we are free to do as we please, as long as our "archetypes," the "Tribal Chief" and the "Witch Doctor", say it's OK. And value judgements always end up "Grey." And are then applied in "Grey." My standard of value is interior, and it is my Life. I measure things in relation to whither they are good for my life or not. It is an effort to use that Standard of Value, because I have been indoctrinated with the other two. In order to do this I have to base it on a very rigid definition of "morality," - don't interfere with other peoples property - which is based on a very rigid definition of "property." - My life, and everything I morally own. So I end up saying, "do as you please with what you own, but don't you dare interfere with what anybody else owns!" This leave me free to do as I please also. With the proviso that I don't run into some stricture set up by the local "Tribal Chief" or "Witch Doctor" where I reside. But when I do run into them, I have a solid basis for questioning them. Thousands of books have been written on this subject by people smarter than me, and it is an endless source of debate. I could expand on it forever. And bore the hell out of everybody! And yes, I violate my code when I advocate the use of force. But at least I know it when I do. I think in "Black and White," and then apply it to "Grey." :>)