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Found via Atrios. Marion County Superior Court chief judge Cale Bradford upheld a divorce provision thet barred a man and his ex-wife from exposing their son to “non-mainstreal religious beliefs and rituals.” Bradford, a Republican, had no comment. Judge Bradford’s contact information is available on the Marion County Superior Court page on IndyGov. I urge you to politely contact him ONLY if you are a constituent of his from Marion County/Indianapolis, Indiana^*.

More from the article in the Indianapolis Star below the fold.
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Juen 15th, 2005 SEIU Local 3 and Indianapolis Justice for Janitors will be holding a March For Justice, 4:45pm at Monument Circle, Indianapolis.

At the general membership meeting of the Indiana Democratic Club on May 24th, 2005 the following letter to the five Democratic Indianapolis City/County Councilors who voted against Proposal 68.

_{Coverage of the vote in the Indianapolis Star.}
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The Indiana Democratic Club held its general membership meeting for May this past Tuesday. here are some notes from the meeting.

May 24th, 2005
Sponsor: Honorable Rep. Julia Carson, IN-7
Guest Speakers: Debbie Driskel and John Spinks
Topic: The Relevance of Township Government in the 21st Century

State Representative David Orentlicher was in attendance. He remarked that the past session was tough, but hopefully the public will let their representatives know how they feel about what happened.

Becky Moran from Justice for Janitors was here to tell us about the Justice for Janitors rally to be held on June 15th at 4:45 in Indianapolis on Monument Circle. More information here.

Letty Oliver from AFSCME was there. She thanked (and was heartily seconded by the membership) Rep. Orentlicher for his service in the state legislature this difficult session. She also remarked that Governor Daniels is attempting to consolidate deputy claims to Indianapolis - forcing job losses around the state and forcing others to move to Indianapolis, as well as cutting down on personal service at the local level.

Our guests then spoke on the topic of the day.
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Details about tonight’s agenda here.

In this week’s Nuvo newsweekly, Fran Quigley (executive director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union) wrote an excellent editorial on the disenfranchisement that will be caused by Indiana’s new Voter ID bill and how it does nothing to solve the problem it was aimed to solve.

But like many government regulations, the new burden signed into law by Gov. Daniels last week will have its greatest negative impact on the most vulnerable of our neighbors. The government-issued photo ID requirement, which earns Indiana the dubious distinction of having the most restrictive voting barrier in the United States, will disenfranchise some of our fellow citizens.

Senior groups estimate that as many as one-third of all persons 75 years or older don’t have a current driver’s license or other photo ID.
…
Because of age or disability, many Hoosiers are confined to nursing homes or are otherwise unable to easily obtain new identification to comply with the voting restrictions. The difficulty can be compounded for those living in rural areas, where transportation assistance can be harder to come by and license branches farther away. Also, many other Hoosiers will have trouble affording the purchase of background documents, usually including a sealed birth certificate, necessary to obtain a state-issued ID. That hidden cost of reaching Indiana’s voting booths constitutes an indirect poll tax, and thus is far too reminiscent of the most ugly legacy in U.S. voting history.
(Source: Disenfranchising voters by Fran Quigley, Nuvo)
[Emphasis added]

There is much more goodness in the editorial.

Just a reminder to everyone to call Senator Lugar’s office abotu supporting the filibuster. More information here.

Via AFSCME Council 62:

Oppose Privatization of Indiana’s Prisons

Come out and find out how to fight the plan to privatize prisons at a rally by AFSCME Council 62, Unity Team, AFT and other unions!

Date: Saturday, May 21, 2005
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: Osborne Park, New Cassstle, Indiana

Private prisons ar ea danger to YOUR community! Governor Daniels plans to turn over state correctional facilities to for-profit companies based in other states. These companies run unsafe facilities, have a high escape rate, have inconsistent security systems, riots are common, and they are not accountable to the public - THIS MEANS YOU! Privatizing our prisons is a bad idea!

Please come out on the 21st and hear from your Regional Director, Steve Fantauzzo! He has fought privatization in Indianapolis - against Daniels’ good buddy - Stephen Goldsmith!

AFSCME Council 62

In addition, here is a PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) of research into the problem if privatized prisons, via UAW/AFT Local 9212

From the Central Indiana Jobs With Justice:

Workers’ Rights Board Hearing
Saturday, May 21, 2005
11 a.m.

North United Methodist Church
3808 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis

The Central Indiana Jobs with Justice Workers’ Rights Board will conduct a public hearing concerning GSF’s treatment of janitors in Indianapolis.

The Workers’ Rights Board, created due to the lack of an adequate legal framework to support worker and economic justice issues, conducts hearings and investigations on matters of concern to working people. The Workers’ Rights Board seeks to bring public attention and moral pressure to bear on violations of workers’ rights.

To get involved or for more information contact: Central Indiana Jobs with Justice, 317-917-0723

The Indiana Progressives PAC is holding a statewide meeting this Saturday, May 21st at 1pm. Information below the link:
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