Karl Denninger wrote:...He has no duty to apologize. Not only that, his political activity is protected speech under California law and he is entitled to engage in it without being penalized in the workplace for doing so, just as it is equally-protected to lobby for or donate to political causes that advocate for same-sex marriage.
Note: As always, for the record, I don't give a flying fuck if you like boys, girls or pink elephants!
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=228921 - 2014-04-09 10:14 by Karl Denninger wrote:Recently the CEO of Mozilla (the free software folks that produce, among other things, Firefox) was "fired" because, allegedly, he donated money in 2008 to a political campaign to pass Proposition 8.
That proposition would have banned same-sex marriage; it passed but was struck down by a court.
When this came out into the public eye it was met with immediate loud calls for Eich to be forced out. Various left-wing pundits have pontificated that this is really about promoting a "divisive" man to lead the company; witness what Think Progress said:http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/04/07/3423638/mozilla-standard-equality/ wrote:The important distinction lost in the conversations since Eich stepped down is that this was a protest about Mozilla more than it was about Eich. The company violated its commitment to openness and inclusion by promoting Eich to be its figurehead, and Eich himself decided that Mozilla's work could only proceed if he stepped down.
Uh huh.
Here's the problem for the Gay Lobby folks: The very laws that they demanded and got passed to protect gay people from discrimination apply here, and that "resignation", which was quite-clearly coerced, almost-certainly violated California law.
Specifically:http://www.vtzlawblog.com/2014/04/articles/discrimination/termination-of-mozilla-ceo-likely-violated-california-law/ wrote:§ 1101. Political activities of employees; prohibition of prevention or control by employer
No employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy:
(a) Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office.
(b) Controlling or directing, or tending to control or direct the political activities or affiliations of employees.
§ 1102. Coercion or influence of political activities of employees
No employer shall coerce or influence or attempt to coerce or influence his employees through or by means of threat of discharge or loss of employment to adopt or follow or refrain from adopting or following any particular course or line of political action or political activity.
Well well.
Donating money to a political cause is, of course, fundamental to political activity. Indeed there is little that one can state is more fundamental than the act of voting itself.
But now the so-called "tolerance groups" are doubling down on their claims. From the same article:Eich's resignation represents the increasingly heightened standard for "equality." For Mozilla's community, 99 percent equality - the company's inclusive policies and Eich's commitment to upholding them - was not enough. He did not apologize for his Prop 8 donation and he refused to say whether he'd give to an anti-gay campaign again in the future.
He has no duty to apologize. Not only that, his political activity is protected speech under California law and he is entitled to engage in it without being penalized in the workplace for doing so, just as it is equally-protected to lobby for or donate to political causes that advocate for same-sex marriage.
That sauce for the goose tastes awful good on the gander.....
Maybe the guy got death threats. I don't really care about this story though, because just like anything else, people are going to forget about it quickly. It's already gone from the headlines. Now, as for my opinion? Your past can always come back to haunt you. Always think twice about any decision that may put your future in jeopardy. He should have donated anonymously unless he felt like not doing so was worth the potential outcome of what now has happened. Some people do things which may not be popular in the public eye, yet they carry them out anyway. I think that's the best way to be, but that's just me. I have no problem with anybody supporting traditional marriage, but Mr. Eich was a lone wolf in a crowd of antagonists that wouldn't stop until he was gone. I actually feel sorry for him.
