Tag Archives: New York City

Coming soon: NY marriage equality vote!


What has HRC done for me lately?

NY – HRC delivers unprecedented 25,000 marriage equality postcards to New York lawmakers.

NY – HRC and 100+ volunteers pound pavement for marriage equality in New York over Memorial Day weekend.

US – HRC joins Dept. of Ed. at first ever LGBT youth summit.

US – HRC brings together religious leaders in support of LGBT equality.

US – HRC launches “Father of the Year” campaign. Deadline today!

NC – HRC joins Equality NC to battle anti-gay constitutional amendment.

More Info at www.hrc.org

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ACT

Stop anti-LGBT groups from hijacking a day of prayer!

Texas Governor Rick Perry has invited the governors of all 50 states to join him for “The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis” in Houston. The problem? The event is being sponsored by rabidly hateful anti-LGBT organizations, including the American Family Association (AFA), the International House of Prayer, and TheCall. Tell your governor to reject this hateful event!         http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=fO1Uq22NpdeoyAYGih29_w..

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SUPPORT       

 Help us cross the finish line in New York!   http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=2K8UWT29anMnPjSNzwGhCg..

Things are coming down to the wire in New York – and we’re pulling out all the stops to pass a marriage equality bill. Our campaign is running on all cylinders – but we need your help to get the message out with one last major advertising push that will help persuade undecided lawmakers and their constituents around New York.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=C17sX9Wrbf4tkFYH7a_tJA..

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NEWS

* House lawyers step up defense of DOMA
*Sen. Armed Services Cmte. considers Defense bill; DADT repeal-delaying amendments may be offered
*Civil unions take effect in Illinois
*CDC finds LGBT students at greater risk for unhealthy behaviors
*White House launches LGBT web page
*Openly-gay judicial nominee receives Senate hearing
*Nevada passes new transgender housing protections

 Sponsor Spotlight …

AA.com/rainbow

As you are making summer travel plans, consider flying with  American Airlines, the longtime official airline of HRC and a Platinum National Corporate Partner. When you book, make sure to enter the HRC Business ExtrAA number in addition to your personal AAdvantage number and we will both get valuable credit for the flight. The Business ExtrAA number is 527567.

Full list of National Corporate Partners »http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=0kSZxUul4k1KxOokXUaq8Q..

Official Google blog


The polls are open—vote for your favorite doodle! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/SVQwdy-QHzk/polls-are-openvote-for-your-favorite.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email  

Today, we’re thrilled to introduce the 40 Regional Finalists for this year’s U.S. Doodle 4 Google contest. This year we had a record number of submissions—more than 107,000 from talented student artists from every state across the country. We were amazed and delighted by not only the quantity of submissions but the caliber of this year’s entries.

For the second year in a row, we’re celebrating these winners in their very own schools. From Stilwell, Okla. to Woodinville, Wash., today Googlers are visiting the schools of our Regional Finalists to celebrate their incredible artwork along with thousands of their teachers, friends and classmates.

Our doodle team, volunteer Googlers and incredibly talented Guest Judges helped us determine the 40 Regional Finalists. Whoopi Goldberg, Evan Lysacek, Michael Phelps and Jim Davis (just to name a few) lent a hand to help find the cream of the artistic crop. Now comes one of the most exciting parts of the contest—your votes! From now until May 13 at 11:59 p.m. PDT, you can cast your online votes for your favorite Regional Finalist’s doodle (one vote for each of the four grade groups). On May 19, we’ll announce the national winner at our awards ceremony in New York City. The national winner will receive a $15,000 college scholarship and $25,000 towards a new computer lab for his or her school, and the winning design will appear on google.com on Friday, May 20. All of the top 40 Regional Finalists will also have their work publicly displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and at SFMOMA in San Francisco.

Our top 40 Regional Finalists weren’t the only winners today—we’d also like to congratulate the 400 State Finalists. Last but not least, we’d like to take the time to thank the teachers, parents and administrators who encouraged their students to dream big and put those ambitions on paper. Without you, this contest wouldn’t have been possible.

Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Product Management

NOM Exposed: A Facebook Swarm -from Kevin Nix


A door just opened, one that allows all of us to further expose and challenge the homophobia of the National Organization for Marriage.

You may have heard about Louis Marinelli, NOM’s online strategist who recently resigned because he supports marriage equality. He took all of the organization’s 290,000 Facebook fans with him. They’ve just begun to rebuild a Facebook fan base from scratch.

Here’s where you come in. If everyone on this list – after holding your nose – friended NOM, pro-equality supporters would outnumber NOM’s current anti-equality supporters 6 to 1.

But you know what would really make an impact? Leave a comment on NOM’s Facebook posts. Let’s saturate their page with positive, fact-based pro-equality messages. Some suggestions:

-Marriage for gays and lesbians will do nothing to religious freedom. Houses of worship will continue to decide whether they want to recognize gay marriages, or not. We’re talking about committed gay and lesbian couples going down to city hall to get married.

-Gay couples want to make the public commitment of marriage – and be held accountable for that commitment .

-Credible polls show a majority of American Catholics actually support marriage for gay and lesbian couples. People in the pews do not necessarily agree with the Catholic hierarchy.

You can get more ideas for comments in our “Fact” section of NOMExposed.org. But – please – don’t leave personal, ad hominem attacks. Don’t let them drag you into the gutter. No tit for tat. That gets us nowhere. We need elevated, positive conversation.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=5k_xjG_BkXX9ISoCeENCgQ..

One last thing. The fight for marriage in New York is heating up. While HRC and other LGBT groups just launched a new campaign in New York. NOM has too and is trying to mobilize its people. If you live in New York State, become a NY NOMWatcher. We need more eyes and ears on the ground and online.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=4anDOjLLVetvFWAvD1fd8g..

As always, thanks for your interest and engagement.

Kevin Nix

Director, NOM Project

Breaking: House takes on gun checks …Michael Bloomberg


Yesterday on Capitol Hill, I joined members of Congress to announce the introduction of the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 in the House of Representatives. This marks another milestone in our mission to fix the national gun background check system.

I want to take this moment to thank you for your support – and to ask for your help in the work to come.

The Fix Gun Checks campaign has reached a critical stage. As we work to get this legislation passed and signed into law by President Obama, our representatives in Washington need to hear that communities across the country demand swift action to stop dangerous people like the Tucson shooter from getting their hands on guns.

Today, 34 Americans will be murdered by a killer with a gun. Tomorrow, it will be another 34. That is why we must call on Congress to pass the Fix Gun Checks Act

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=stzaUHE5rkmlYhFcjTLOy6wOoElb5xGD

The bill we announced yesterday would take two critical steps to fix our background check system:

Get all the names of dangerous people who should be prohibited from buying guns into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Require a background check for every gun sale in America.

Earlier this week, President Obama signaled his support for fixing background checks, adding to our campaign’s growing momentum.

But now that legislation has been introduced, we need to work harder than ever to ensure that Washington hears our clear message: we will not stand idly by while 34 Americans are shot and killed each day.

www.FixGunChecks.org/CallCongress

Right now, we have a moment of opportunity to make real change. I hope you’ll join me in asking Congress to do its part to keep our communities safe.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FvLaAasaD7qQSubEGl8mEhuMlkLr%2FtAS

Thanks for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Michael Bloomberg

Mayor, New York City

Official Google Blog


Official Google Blog


The YouTube Symphony Orchestra returns!

Posted: 12 Oct 2010 03:12 PM PDT

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)
The world’s first online collaborative orchestra is back, and this time a new round of performers will be playing their part onstage at the iconic Sydney Opera House.
It seems like just yesterday that Carnegie Hall was abuzz with a sold-out performance that made headlines around the globe. Ninety-six musicians arrived in New York City, from over 30 countries, to perform together after uploading an audition video and then being chosen by the YouTube community to be a part of the exciting event. We are thrilled to invite you to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011.
In addition to the new locale, this “second act” includes another new element: “Mothership,” a musical work from composer Mason Bates. Right now, it’s still missing something: an improvisation provided by you. Take a listen to it here and start planning your contribution.

This time there are two ways to audition, for the classical audition perform the pieces listed on the channel according to instrument. For the opportunity to contribute your own creation, choose the solo improviser—it doesn’t matter if you play trumpet, viola or didgeridoo. If you proceed to the final stages, you will join musicians from around the world in a week-long music summit with Grammy-award-winning conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who returns to guide the orchestra.

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 is a collaboration with partners the Sydney Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker and many other leading institutions of the classical music world. This event is being made possible by Hyundai.

Posted by Michele Flannery, Music Manager, YouTube

Be the next Gone Google ad

Posted: 12 Oct 2010 11:08 AM PDT

A little over a year ago, we began the “Go Google” campaign with just a single billboard in four U.S. cities. In the past year, we’ve grown from two to three million businesses and more than 30 million users on Google Apps; through the campaign, thousands have shared their Gone Google stories via tweets, photos and submissions to our community map. We’ve heard from companies across the country and around the world; from large enterprises such as Konica Minolta and leading global food retailer Ahold, to small businesses like Bowery Lane Bicycles in New York and Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss in Oregon, we’re excited to hear how Google Apps has helped your business increase productivity, reduce costs and innovate.

As we kick off the next wave of our global campaign this week in airports and train stations in 11 major cities in nine countries around the globe, we want to use this opportunity to invite the millions of companies and schools using Google Apps to tell us why your organization would like to be featured in our next global Gone Google ad campaign. For this contest, we’ll pick up to five companies/schools in each of the following regions: the Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific. The winners will be featured in an upcoming outdoor ad campaign in each region early next year.

To participate, tell us your organization’s Gone Google story, and create a “sample ad” using our template:


We encourage you to be creative and have fun with your ad! (You may want to check out some of our previous ads for some inspiration.) Once you create your ad, be sure to publish and share it with us. (Bonus points for tweeting it with the #gonegoogle hashtag.) For complete rules and details, visit our contest site. We can’t wait to see your ads, and look forwarding to putting your organization’s name in lights!

And if you are still thinking about going Google, we encourage you to check out the Go Google cloud calculator to learn more about the benefits of switching to Google Apps.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Google Apps Team

App Tuesday welcomes apps from around the world to the Google Apps Marketplace

Posted: 12 Oct 2010 10:59 AM PDT

Since our Google Apps Marketplace has been around, we’ve been working hard to bring you apps from all around the world. This App Tuesday, four apps launching in the Apps Marketplace are from companies that are not solely in the United States. Brightpearl joins us from the U.K., SprinxCRM is headquartered in the Czech Republic, and Clio calls Canada home. And even though Producteev is based out of New York, their founders are all from France. These apps join other international apps in our Marketplace, including apps from Australia, Bulgaria, Japan, Germany and 17 other countries.

We’re also excited to welcome our second education-focused app, PlanbookEdu, as well as our first legal-focused app, Clio. The apps launching this App Tuesday sport a number of advanced integrations that will make your business run much more smoothly. For example, Producteev, offers a Gmail contextual gadget that allows users to use its features right from the Gmail inbox.

Check out the Google Enterprise Blog for more information or go shop the Google Apps Marketplace.

Posted by Harrison Shih, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google Apps Marketplace Team