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Zack Ford: Obama Administration Announces Executive Order Protecting LGBT Employees Of Federal Contractors
The White House announced Monday that President Obama will issue an executive order requiring that all companies who contract with the federal government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The order, expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, is an extension of orders previously issued by past presidents — most recently Johnson — similarly banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin among all contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in business with the government in any one year. The protections will reach over one million LGBT workers across the country, making it the single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history. There continue to be 29 states that offer no employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 32 with no protections based on gender identity, but many LGBT workers in those states will now have workplace protections for the first time ever. As many as 43 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace.
One of the largest companies that could be impacted by the executive order is Exxon Mobil, which last month voted down LGBT employment protections for the 17th time. The company claims to have a “zero tolerance” policy on the books for mistreatment, but that does not have the same legal force or consistency as the protections shareholders have voted down each year. As many as 9 out of 10 voters believe federal law already protects LGBT workers from discrimination. Though this isn’t true, many of the country’s biggest companies do already have corporate policies prohibiting such discrimination. Businesses of all sizes have found that nondiscrimination protections are good for their bottom line, improving the recruitment, retention, and productivity of talented employees and appealing to a wider customer base. A new Human Rights Campaign poll finds that 63 percent of voters support federal LGBT employment protections.
More here
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https://twitter.com/jacobdcombs/status/478566501536890880
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https://twitter.com/EvanMcSan/status/478566619132600320
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The Obama Diary 
furst
CR violation.
Crikey!! I was, on Nerdy’s behalf, going to post you a pic of Fabregas, but you already have him #HateYou
Cesc was suffering at Barca!! (Suck it, Xavi.)
Couldn’t get over how mean Barca were about him when they sold him, instead of wishing him the best – not very classy.
“Mes que un club” my ass.
Another WP glitch – your comment is timed at ‘1:25’, when it was clearly ‘1:27’. 🙄
Thank you sooooooooooo much Nerdy!!!
/smh/ You pushed your way in….AGAIN!
And I did it morally. Awesome, me.
Yea, and though my left foot’s hurting, AWESOME you! 🙂 😉
You’re welcome, Chips.
Looks good….very good!
Imagine how much more we could do with a DEM CONGRESS.
Hear hear!! Congrats on first, mighty LL.
12 World Cup matches played so far. Not a single draw.
Not to forget the OG’s.
OG’s have been a bit rampant this year.
It’s been brilliant, although if it lasted forever nothing would top Van Persie’s header #Sublime
PS Ooops: 4-0 Germany
Welp, I foresee another naked magazine cover in Ronaldo’s future.
If he scored as often as he looked at himself on the big screen today, Germany would be trailing by 17 goals 🙄
He is so doggone AWESOME ! Hellllooo TOD & and Happy Monday to everyone 🙂
I see President Obama is going to sign an executive order banning discrimination of federal employees.
Is it time to give Bill Clinton another award ?
http://www.glaad.org/contact
Great minds think alike, Linda!! 🙂
I don’t tweet, but I did send that e-mail….
Excellent, good work Linda!
Great work NW. Hello everybody.
Morning/afternoon/evening BFF!
Is that the headband with the swarovski crystals ?
Thanks, JER.
You are welcome NW.
Oh yea, they would fit in our Calif world very well. Look how rested they both look. hmmmmmm!
GGail, I just thought the same thoughts as I looked at our POTUS and FLOTUS. Their skin is just glowing with that sunshine from Cali.
Love them!!!HZ
wimmin are so colorful. #airportbirdwatching.
We’re fabulous.
Yes, this is what change looks like. Go, Mr. President.
IF the US can beat Ghana today, we have a good chance to make it to the next round.
Go Ghana! You have other sports. We have soccer! and we LOVE it.
Yipes! a lurker is standing up and speaking out 😯 😆
Thanks lurker – pls more
Hello GGail, I delurk once in a blue moon to comment 🙂
And poke LL in the eye in the process – you go Esi 😀
It’ll be World Cup war here today, although luckily Ghana-supporting Amk will be on a flight at the time #Phew
I am loving AMK right now! We are crazy football lovers in Ghana :).
Don’t tell him that Esi, his head will be swelled even more than usual!!
I need him (AMK) on my side! So I need ideas on how to swell his head. I grew up watching football on tv powered by car battery! Should I add I have a crush on Van Persie?, that header was delicious! Ok, I will stop talking about football but I am in heaven right now :).
Esi, while amk is absent, you’ll have to be the Ghana cheerleader today!
Hey watch it. Ghana in da house right here, you forget. We will give US triple defeat to add to 2006, 2010 souvenirs. Yesterday my loyalties were split, but today native homeland juice is flowing through ma veins. Go Ghana!!!!!!! 😀
🙂 Okay, Zizi & Amk & Esi v The Rest of TOD (I’m neutral, of course) ….. bring it on!!!
I DEMAND you choose sides. If you are not with me you are “agint’ Ghana, and you shall smell pepper!!!!!! Soccer WAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!! I’m in touch with folks down in Brazil and the big talking drums are all well oiled and ready for the pitch this evening 😀 😀 😀 😀
😆 But I feel MUCH safer on the fence, Zizi!!
Chips, look what you started!
I think I’ll lurk now…
😀
I was simply trying to spread World Cup love GGail, but I’m sensing I’ll have to put 92.31% of TOD in spam during the game. #War
Alrighty! I forgot about you dear zizi 🙂
Ya better not forget EVAHHHHHH!!!!
FIRED UP/READY TO GO!!!!! {{{{{zizi2}}}}
I am clad in my Ghanaian jersey so are my kids, they are having to explain to their American friends why they are wearing jerseys. They think though that US will defeat Ghana :(.
Hi compatriot. We too are clad in our Ghana jerseys and WhatsApping folks in the supporter squad down in Brazil. Serious business!. Go Ghana!!!
Fired Up Ready To Win, {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Win 4 Zizi}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}HZ
The high cost of medical care in America.
I received an invoice for my co-pay of 867.11 last week for a surgery I had in March.
Since it was not detailed , I called for a detailed statement.
What a rip off…..they charged for the first 30 minutes of the Operating room and than for every additional 15 minutes after.
Same with the Anesthesia and the Recovery room.
I was there about 5 hours…the bill was over 15,000 just for the hospital part and it was outpatient surgery.
The Medicare contractual write off was of 12,000.00. A person without Insurance would have to pay the 15k ?
Linda, remember, we have the best health system in the world. Obamacare is completely unneeded.
Health care is immorally broken in this country. None of those charges comport with anything else in the world.
When I needed cataract surgery and had to pay out of pocket (self-employed, under or uninsured), I had to shop for doctors. The prices varied wildly; and I finally found a doctor who charged me what he would actually RECEIVE from the insurance company, which was at least half of what it would have cost me ‘retail’.
I saw one doctor religiously no matter what the cost: my asthma doctor. For 30 years. I was always willing to pay him whatever was necessary to keep my asthma under control. Paid for all my prescriptions – whatever he told me I needed.
Well, thanks to ACA, I finally have insurance – good insurance. The doctor tells me that I should have been receiving lung function tests but he never gave them to me because I didn’t have insurance. Now, understand — I was under or uninsured – we were never destitute or deadbeats. We find out now that my lung function is awful and there is probably residual damage that cannot be reversed.
Then I get the bill: The office visit was $220 (which I had been paying out of pocket) and the damned lung function test was a rollicking $215! I could have paid for that at any visit.
Then there was the insurance ‘discount’, my $15 co-pay, and the doctor received $146 from the insurance company.
he could have had the $435 from me instantly, all these years. But he decided for me that I shouldn’t have the lung function test because I was uninsured for asthma.
Of course I just found out he’s a damned Republican and his son is working for the tea party nit wit Rauner for Gov. here in IL and could very well win.
There is no way the actual cost of your surgery was $15,000 – these are inflated numbers with no regulation, benefiting insurance companies and for-profit hospitals. It’s despicable.
Well! My heart is in my mouth. For the FIRST time in his 21 years offspring just sat behind the wheel of a vehicle! He has NEVER shown any interest in wanting to learn to drive until about a month or two ago out of the blue when he did the written part of the test and got a stage 1 license. I didn’t even realize you actually got a license from doing the written portion. Just now I felt like rushing out the door to tell the driving instructor that this was his very, very first time behind the wheel, and was he sure he wanted to have him drive on the real road, or wouldn’t he prefer to take him to a secluded spot. That’s what I thought he would have done, you know. Take him to a quiet parking lot and have him practise a bit BEFORE the road show. No sense telling me that others have successfully done this every day and at an even younger age! *He* has never shown the least interest! This is supposed to be a 2hour session, so now I’m going to try to let TOD distract me for that time until he returns (heart’s still pounding hard though). [And if Amk ever uses that ‘wimp’ word I’ll strangle him when I see him!]
What is up with kids not interested in driving?!?! I hear it all the time. And the vast majority of kids in my sphere who are uninterested, are also not interested in public transportation.
Do they expect to be chauffeured by parents the rest of the their lives?
Interestingly enough, offspring took the bus daily, and never asked for rides; I offered to drop him at the train station on the occasions he had to get to college at a certain time and the bus wouldn’t deliver. He was paranoid about being late for class. [We live in an area that does not yet have a full service continuous bus service as you would in a big city.] He is far more familiar with the bus/train service than I am.
That’s great! The daughter of my best friend gets around everywhere by bus or el. She’s not interested in driving because she knows her mother will saddle her with a slew of family errands, and being on the bus is her only time in a busy day that she has to herself. I’m immensely proud of her.
But other friends – their kids just expect the parents and grandparents to chauffeur them around. You have one great, responsible kid there!
You are right, 57F – I mostly do, and I know it.
Awww vc, your baby is really spreading his wings this year!
You just keep breathing. He’s in good hands – God’s got him.
I’m proud of all of his recent accomplishments 🙂
I needed that ‘God’s got him’ reminder, thank you Gx2!
I think I’ll be proud too, once these sessions are over. One part of me knows it isn’t a big deal – all my friends kids (some of them younger) have been licensed for years. Another part of me thinks there was a reason he never once asked to sit behind the wheel or start my car for me. Ah me. I’ll grow up, eventually. 😉
(((((((((VC)))))))))) I know how you feel ~ hang in there.
TY for understanding, Sheri. How are a) your newest grand-d, and your youngest son? Is the latter on vacay already?
Youngest son is on first day of vacation… in his room on his laptop 🙂 tomorrow I put him to work ~ Newest baby granddaughter still gorgeous, son called me last night and said she is “magnificent” all good 🙂 Middle son has learned they’re having a boy- due in Nov. yippee… can’t have enough babies, imo 🙂 thank you for asking vc.
{{{{{ VC ❤ }}}}}
{{{{MP}}}} Hello; how did your final needle go and when will you know how your bod responded to the entire process?
First time I took my son out for a driving lesson when he got his permit as a teenager, I ended up saying to him, “Oh. I see you can drive already.”
#Don’tAskDon’tTell
Oh I’d be VERY surprised if offspring can drive already!
I lift my hat to you, JO’B – I definitely do not have the temperament to take anyone out for a driving lesson.
I’m not sure I would now, but I did then! Many years later, he actually retrained me how to drive “stick shift” and I was amazed at his patience – Ha!
Don’t worry (if that’s possible) about your son. My friend took me for my very first time behind the wheel ehvah onto a major local highway (it looked major to me – he called me after to say he had to have “work done” on his car, but I think he was kidding) and just said “Drive!” I’ve never been afraid to drive, since, so your son should be just fine and maybe even better off!
Well, he has returned! Said he was very nervous during the first part but felt a bit better near the end. (Doesn’t sound all that enthusiastic, if you ask me.)
I remember driving ‘standard’ – in fact all my cars were standard since I hated the automatic transmission. 🙂 Unfortunately I had no choice with this latest car because by the time I bought it they had made automatic the norm. Salesman said I’d have to special order if I wanted standard which ticked me off, but I couldn’t wait. I remember using my non-existent clutch while changing gears in the ‘new’ car! 😀 😀 Believe it or not, I still prefer (the thought of a) standard to the automatic I’ve been driving now for over 8 years. Go figure.
I’m so old I forgot it was called “standard” transmission – Ha!
But I just remembered that when my son re-taught me “standard,” I finally stopped braking with my LEFT foot. Oops. Now, I don’t think I could if I wanted to!
🙂 🙂 What I liked about it was that I could control the ‘play’ between the clutch and the gas pedal. Ah, fond memories! Of course, I may have forgotten the actuality in the cloud of my memories.
The last thing I’ve been thinkin’ about is “the play between the clutch and the gas pedal” … but, yeah, okay. #IGetIt
Ha! 🙂
I thought exactly the same vc – until we went on holiday and rented a manual – after only 3 years on an auto – I was hopeless using the gears – could not believe it!
Video Captures MI Police Struggling To Respect Gun-Toting Ranter’s Open Carry Rights
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/joseph-houseman-police-standoff
I’m trying to find the problem with what this guy did, he’s a gun lover and he has a right to carry a weapon, case closed. I wish he had a bazooka!
The People Who Broke Iraq Have A Lot of Ideas About Fixing It Now
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/06/16/3449243/iraq-planners-today/
As one comment says…..7 Liars….7 Losers…..and 7 Traitors……
Important statement by President Poroshenko, today …
“Active and firm enhancement of the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will also be a key element of my presidential politics and we can guarantee today the inviolability of Ukraine’s borders, including the border with Russia.
You know that one of the points of today meeting of the National Security and Defense Council is the accomplishment of the return of control over the Ukraine’s border with the Russian Federation. I can say that drastic changes occurred in the situation on that border last week. The control was regained over more than 250 kilometers of the border and the checkpoints were established. On my instructions today the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council has held a press conference where he determined the new checkpoints, new locations of the Armed Forces together with border guards that now will allow to say that the ways of getting into the territory of the Ukraine of military units, tanks, multiple rocket launchers, artillery, recently freely crossing the border, are now closed on two most dangerous parts of this road. We are going to restore the security of the state border by decisive actions this week. I hope that we will manage to do it fully.
I honestly say that it is the only limiting factor for the implementation of the cease-fire. Once the border is closed, we may immediately declare a cease-fire system. To declare a cease-fire on the open border is irresponsible regarding the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk. And today, I will say it again, the level of combat capability, the level of determination of the Armed Forces, border guards, the National Guard gives me grounds for cautious optimism about the dates of implementation.”
Full report on proposed Constitutional Amendments – decentralization – and proposed elections in Donetsk & Luhansk here: http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/30524.html
PM Yatsenyuk on Russian expansion of aggression against Ukraine …
““We aren’t going to subsidize Russian Gazprom. The Ukrainian citizens won’t take out of their pockets USD 5 billion a year to enable Russia to buy for this money weapon, tanks, planes targeting to bomb Ukrainian territories,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk urged.
“We have demonstrated to the entire world: we were ready for a compromise. The compromise elaborated by the European Commission and Ukraine was rejected by Russia on exceptionally political reasons. Everything suggested by us wasn’t just market, but profitable including for the Russian Gazprom,” the Head of Government stressed.”
http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article;jsessionid=22A0F267E671C8403018320D3336D13D.vapp63?art_id=247391585&cat_id=244314971
Heritage Hosts Birthers, Islamophobes For Benghazi “Accountability” Panel
A coalition of Islamophobes, birthers, and conspiracy theorists led by a prominent supporter of impeaching President Obama will assemble at the Heritage Foundation this afternoon to discuss the September 2012 attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya.
The event, titled “Benghazi: The Difference It Makes Is Accountability!” will be co-hosted by the Benghazi Accountability Coalition. In a post at National Review Online, Andrew McCarthy, a conservative commentator and former federal prosecutor, identifies himself as the chairman of that new “volunteer organization.”
McCarthy is the author of a new book that seeks to build “the political case” for President Obama’s impeachment. The book includes a draft Articles of Impeachment detailing “The Benghazi Fraud.”
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/06/16/heritage-hosts-birthers-islamophobes-for-bengha/199738
You mean a bunch of white people are holding a meeting to figure out a way to put the blame on the black guy, America at its usual self.
“Brownie*, you’re doing a heckuva job.”
*Or Bremer and the other fools.
Thanks, Bush. Go away, the lot of ya.
Guess Ari should have deleted this tweet before he opened his yapper recently ….
I’m glad he got the award, I wish the prize was a billion dollars. These motherfuckers fucked this country up.
The lying liars amongst the GOPers are numerous.
So very true!
Thanks Bob
Just explained the group round to our assistant. Even her non-soccer-watching family is watching this WC.
Can someone tell me why GLAAD or any other organization that fights for the rights of our gay brothers and sisters aren’t holding a fucking parade for this President? Seriously!?!? What the fuck is going on man! This President has spent his entire time in office fighting for the inclusion of gays, and what does he get for his efforts, I’ll tell you what gets. He gets “what took him so long,” he gets “he should have done it his first year in office.” This is some bullshit, the white President that didn’t do a goddamn thing for gays get awards falling out of his ass, hell; even his wife gets awards also. I am so tired of this bullshit!
Presidentin’ while Black
This President continues to work for equality for all Americans and I am sure He does not give a shit what GLAAD thinks!
X 2
There is a LGBT publication in Chicago called Windy City Times. I heard the editor interviewed on progressive talk a few weeks ago. She, for one, is furious at the LGBT community who seemed to care about their one issue and are not supporting candidates and other progressive issues. A lot of candidates put themselves at risk voting for LGBT rights and marriage equality. She flat out said that, without the support of progressives of all sexual orientation, they would not have the rights they have now. And that PBO and other hardworking Dems deserve their support.
Maybe this is why Malia didn’t leave Cali.
http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/06/malia-obamas-summer-job-is-cooler-than-yours/372864/
Help Chips, please free me. my last comment went into moderation. i don’t know why?
Found you and freed you Zizi! Problems with the spam detector today, putting all kinds of good people in spam, grrrrrr.
Nerdy’s new post!
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/06/16/obamacare-good-news-all-around/
GOLD for LL, YES!