for the california readers/voters: NO on 90!!!!

Someone posted this to a listserv that I'm on, and it is a good summing up 
of what's wrong with Proposition 90. VOTE NO ON 90.

I want to add that Prop 90 has special and terrible relevance for the 
queer community and for San Francisco. Sponsored by right-wing 
libertarian billionaire Howie Rich of New York,  Prop 90 says that any 
time any government regulation costs anyone any profit, that business 
or person can sue the city or state. (It's supposedly applicable only 
to new legislation, but attorneys I've checked with say it could easily 
be used against regs already on the books.)

So if having to hire in a nondiscriminatory fashion costs a business 
money (because, for instance, the biz could import workers from some 
poverty-stricken area instead), goodbye fair treatment for queers, 
people of color, women, etc. Forget any new advances in protection for 
lesbians and gays,  transfolk, queer families, etc.  Insurance coverage 
for PWAs? Sayonara. (In fact, since the city and the state both have 
minimum-wage laws, those could disappear, too. No joke.)

Prop 90 also means the end of any environmental enforcement, which is 
particularly scary for women--Megan Siler's film Toxic Bust details the 
connection between chemicals and breast cancer.

For San Franciscans, Prop 90 will means not only the death of Prop H 
(more realistic relocation payments for no-fault evictions) but, even 
worse, PROP 90 KILLS  RENT CONTROL If your landlord can argue in court 
that he could make $2300 a month for your $1350 unit if it weren't for 
rent control--well, multiply that by 10,000 landlords all suing for the 
difference in profit, and guess whether the city will pay up the 
difference or waive the rent control law.

Homeowners across the state will suffer, too. For instance, the hidden 
provision means that if  environmental law prevents your next door 
neighbor turning his lot into a toxic dump, he can sue for the loss of 
profit.--and the city or state must pay or waive. Ditto the developer 
prevented by zoning laws/height restrictions from building a 10-story 
condo tower and blocking all your sun; he'll sue for the lost value of 
those seven stories . . .  and the tower will get built.

Prop 90 will not only kill us economically, it will kill us physically: 
 Workplace safety regs, out the door. DBI strictures on landlords, out 
the door.  And through that open door will gallop untested prescription 
drugs, unlabeled Frankenfood, even a nuclear power plant. (This last 
idea has been floated more than once for  the Bayview district. . . )
Be afraid, be very afraid, and not just cuz it's Halloween.

To see a horrific example of what will happen if Prop 90 passes, look 
at Oregon, which voted in the very similar Prop 37, also (surprise!) 
funded by Howie Rich. The Oregon courts are clogged with $5 billion in 
lawsuits, and SO FAR OREGON HAS WAIVED EVERY LAW OR REGULATION THAT HAS 
BEEN CHALLENGED.

Spread the word!

For more info:
http://www.noprop90.com/
Pull-down menu under "Get the Facts" is especially helpful in showing
Prop 90's harmful impact on public safety, social justice, business, 
labor, homeowners, agriculture, etc.

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2006/09/even_the_califo.html
How Prop 90 will hurt taxpayers

http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3743#more
Excellent article explaining the unusually broad coalition opposing 90

http://www.betterca.com/node/2004
"Prop 90 does more damage than eminent domain could ever do"--a short
but good examination of the "yes' arguments point by  point.

http://tinyurl.com/y8vyl2
The best investigative article the Chron has done in a long time traces 
how New Yorker Howie Rich uses fake "advocacy groups" to funnel money
in to affect California law.
"A network of tax-exempt advocacy groups -- all with ties to a New York 
real estate investor [Howie Rich] -- is funneling millions of dollars 
to the campaign for a California property rights measure in a way that 
cloaks the identity and number of financial supporters. The intricate 
financial web is the source of nearly all the money used to promote 
Proposition 90." (It's worth enlarging and checking out the amazing 
chart included.--M.)

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/09/22/
monster_stomping_the_states.php
Kristina Wilfore explains what Howie Rich's real agenda is.