June... busting out all over, days getting hotter and longer, hay fever, pools open, Gay Pride month.
For the first time since the good old Clinton Days, a President of the United States has proclaimed June as Gay, Bi and Transgender Pride Month. Obama did it yesterday June 1.
Some excerpts:
LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities.
My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security.
Certainly it is a refreshing change of pace from the Bush Dark Ages when the month and the GLBT community was ignored completely. Not since Bill Clinton have we had a President proclaim GLBT Pride Month. Sadly, as was with Clinton, the words are stirring but they are words, and as we know, words sometime ring hollow.
You see, Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) is still military policy. The brass cry about lack of trained linguists and translators hampering their "war on terror". Yet they adhere to DADT and let valuable personnel go, simply because they are gay. The insidious Defense Of Marriage Act is still here, defending marriage against loving same sex couples but not contributing one iota to the staggering divorce rate and sham marriages of opposite sex marraiges. He was non committal about the original Proposition 8, saying he didn't really agree with it, but did agree a marriage is between a man and a woman. Was his lack of commitment a signal to the Black community that it was ok to vote against it? I did not see Obama jump for joy when marriage equality won historic victories in Iowa, Vermont and Maine. He was silent when Proposition 8 was upheld. Does he not realize that the same logic could lead to California stripping the Constitutional rights of Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Left Handed people, or any other group the people decide.
Obama is walking the "safe" middle, and in doing so is not gaining ground anywhere. I guess I should be happy he didn't ignore it completely or even come out against GLBT Pride. I am getting old, I am getting impatient, I am tired of hypocrisy. It is time for bold action domestically. The US can mobilize and go to war in an instant. Taking care of our own.... that is just too much trouble. Obama, you made history simply by being elected. While you have the chance, really make history. Reform health care, enact GLBT rights, end the war.... that would be real "Hope".
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
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[Don]: Obama is walking the "safe" middle, and in doing so is not gaining ground anywhere. I guess I should be happy he didn't ignore it completely or even come out against GLBT Pride. I am getting old, I am getting impatient, I am tired of hypocrisy. It is time for bold action domestically. The US can mobilize and go to war in an instant. Taking care of our own.... that is just too much trouble. Obama, you made history simply by being elected. While you have the chance, really make history. Reform health care, enact GLBT rights, end the war.... that would be real "Hope".
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Hell yes, indeedy! I don't think the man realizes that Americans are in crisis at every turn. There are NO jobs. People don't see any value in the cost of college anymore. Yet while he's leaving memos to Congress to "get healthcare done" and vacationing in France after only being on the job 130 days, we look around and the bankers and credit card companies continue their nonstop rape of the country.
I want to tell Obama: Get off your high horse, forget your [high] poll ratings, and get something done while you can. You make $400k/year. You don't need a vacation until your second term. Better, you'll have the rest of your life to vacation with all your millions.
Soon every little congressman will be running for reelection, not worrying about writing legislation, and you'll be left making 46-minute teleprompter readings that no one bothers to listen to. Even Jews and Arabs said after Cairo: "Nice speech, but we're all Missourians now, show us something rather than talk."
Oh, and since the military will always be with us, why is your justice department, Mr. Obama, "okay" with gays as long as they stay in the closet?
And just like you, Don, "I am getting old, I am getting impatient, I am tired of hypocrisy. It is time for bold action domestically." It's now okay to stay in Iraq? It's even better to fight a purposeless and endless war in Afghanistan? But wait, I thought Hillary was worse than Hitler for those inclinations and votes.
Just goes to show you, Bush had a mandate and did nothing except burn the country to the ground. Now Obama has a mandate in a progressive direction, and I'll be goddamned if he, Pelosi, or Reid have any sense of urgency to get anything done.
Why bother? The older I get, the more it seems it makes no difference. They only want to get in office to enrich themselves. Winning modern office is better than winning the lottery; you're guaranteed Easy street for the rest of your life by virtue of being a member of the club.
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