Believe it or not, something good.
Who would have thought something good could happen? But it has. In fact, three good things right here in my home state of New Jawk.
1. Eliot Spitzer, The Man, announced for Governor. He, barring unaccountable (but thankfully not uncountable, since NY still uses good old mechanical lever voting machines) things, whould win it. I don't want to jinx him, but Pataki has been the gov FOREVER and I think most people are over it. Rudy I think seeks higher things, so that leaves Spitzer, who just may be the Real Deal.
2. After decades of struggle (really - decades!) NY State has finally softened (not repealed, but it's a start) the Rockefeller drug laws. These were the horrible set of laws that forced judges to impose mandatory and incredibly harsh sentences on drug offenders. Even if they were first time, and even if they were non-violent. Mandatory sentences are still bad, but finally it's a start. There is still a lot of work to be done, and we shouldn't let this lull us into inaction on the issue, but this is a great thing.
3. And finally, the republican controlled State Senate overruled Pataki and finally RAISED THE MINIMUM WAGE! This is an issue that I actually went out to the 'burbs and knocked on doors with a bunch of hard-partying college students this summer to get passed. The NY State minimum wage was $5.15/hr, the same as the federal minimum. I don't need to tell you that it costs a hell of a lot more to live in NYC than, say Mississippi (which has the same minimum wage). After a monumental organizing effort, much of it by the awsome Working Families Party, and a bitter defeat when Pataki vetoed the bill, we have triumphed. The minimum wage will rise in two steps, ending at, I believe, $7.15/hr in 2007. This is awsome news, not just for the working poor of NY (and the majority of NY's minimum wage workers are adults, not kids at McDonald's) but for anyone who believes int he power of grass-roots organizing.
Feel free to go and celebrate, just so's you rememeber how.
1. Eliot Spitzer, The Man, announced for Governor. He, barring unaccountable (but thankfully not uncountable, since NY still uses good old mechanical lever voting machines) things, whould win it. I don't want to jinx him, but Pataki has been the gov FOREVER and I think most people are over it. Rudy I think seeks higher things, so that leaves Spitzer, who just may be the Real Deal.
2. After decades of struggle (really - decades!) NY State has finally softened (not repealed, but it's a start) the Rockefeller drug laws. These were the horrible set of laws that forced judges to impose mandatory and incredibly harsh sentences on drug offenders. Even if they were first time, and even if they were non-violent. Mandatory sentences are still bad, but finally it's a start. There is still a lot of work to be done, and we shouldn't let this lull us into inaction on the issue, but this is a great thing.
3. And finally, the republican controlled State Senate overruled Pataki and finally RAISED THE MINIMUM WAGE! This is an issue that I actually went out to the 'burbs and knocked on doors with a bunch of hard-partying college students this summer to get passed. The NY State minimum wage was $5.15/hr, the same as the federal minimum. I don't need to tell you that it costs a hell of a lot more to live in NYC than, say Mississippi (which has the same minimum wage). After a monumental organizing effort, much of it by the awsome Working Families Party, and a bitter defeat when Pataki vetoed the bill, we have triumphed. The minimum wage will rise in two steps, ending at, I believe, $7.15/hr in 2007. This is awsome news, not just for the working poor of NY (and the majority of NY's minimum wage workers are adults, not kids at McDonald's) but for anyone who believes int he power of grass-roots organizing.
Feel free to go and celebrate, just so's you rememeber how.
posted by chiniqua at 7:44 PM
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