"On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.
While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.
On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.”

- President Barack Obama

new hope but still a long road

Today is a great day in American history, the history of the world. The face of America has changed to one that greater represents who we all are as a nation of many. Tears came to my eyes last night after watching Barack Obama make his winning speech. He embodies the hope I have for this country, to turn away from failed policies to a brighter future.

This morning when I woke my happiness over the events from the night before became bitter sweet. California, the second state in the union for recognize the full rights of its Gay and Lesbian citizens wrote discrimination into its constitution under the guise of protecting the "family." Yet, how does protecting "family" then mean tearing apart the family of Gay and Lesbian couples? Are not Gays and Lesbians part of families or are we as a group separate from the greater nucleus of humanity?? It makes me wonder.

Social justice is not easy to create and it will be a long and hard road until every American is recognized and treated the same under the law. It is my belief though that in electing Obama we are sending a signal that we are finally on the path to true equality of all people. Brave citizens are already challenging the discrimination of Proposition 8 as I write this. We must be a bold unified people and fight for the rights of others and not just ourselves. When discrimination is allowed it does not just hurt the group that it wishes to remove from the larger social structure of America, but it damages all Americans. Hopefully with a leader like Barack Obama we as a nation can come together instead of separate, and remove hurdles that bar equality.

YES WE CAN! YES WE DID!

election night

So tonight is the big night. Thankfully I am going out with a friend for drinks and dinner so I won't be pealed to the television watching the results on t.v. biting my nails. I have been so on edge about this election. We as nation can not afford more of the same.

Whatever your reason is that is bringing you to the poles tonight make sure to vote smart and responsibly. Know the issues well before casting your ballot. Voting is not just a right but a responsibility.

I hope America has a collective wake up call and heeds to the promise of hope and change. Yes We Can!

Democratic Unity

This last Friday Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton came together at a rally in Unity, NH. The name of the town was significant to the purpose of the meeting and an opportunity to bring the supporters together and heal the Democratic Party after a divisive primary.

Clinton expressed her full support in elected Barack Obama to the presidency stating, "He will work for you, he will fight for you and he will stand up for you every day in the White House."

The rally came after a meeting between the once rivals in which Senator Obama offered to help clear Clinton's debt from her campaign. This gesture would then free up Clinton to be able to campaign for Obama instead of focusing on raising money to pay off her debt.

While this may seem like a finical win for Clinton, I hope that having her visible support for Obama will help keep her swing supporters from voting for John McCain. One in five of Clinton supporters have indicated they will vote for the Republican candidate come November.

Over the past few weeks since Clinton seceded to Obama many of her supporters, including women, have stated they would support John McCain. My opinion to that is get over it. I myself voted for Clinton and I thought she would be an excellent President, but in the end Barack won the nomination. John McCain is not the answer, if you are a woman or a minority you are not a part of the Republican Agenda and you should know that. McCain would replace moderate judges with right wing supporters that will try to further dismantle Roe Vs. Wade and take away a woman's right of autonomy. McCain would continue Bush's failed economic and foreign policies, and he would be no friend to civil liberties. It is adamant that Obama is elected President in the fall, it is my hope that Clinton will be by his side as VP but that is something we will just have to wait and see on. Putting ego's aside they would be an unstoppable team for good that is desperately needed by this lost nation.

When Democracy is Hijacked

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23 billion(£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

What is even worse is the U.S. has used a gagging order keeping any allegations of war profiteering and corruption under wraps and barred from open discussion. This order applies to 70 court cases against some of America's top companies.

To date no U.S. contractor have faced trial on mismanagement or fraud for work done in Iraq. This is another shame full example of corruption in the Bush Administration that has been rampant for the last eight years. Though, this should come as no surprise when Bush and his cronies would rather protect large telecommunication companies then the civil liberties of U.S. citizens. Click below for the full BBC report. BBC Report

Living History

This last Saturday, presidential contender for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton announced (click the link for the video) she was ending her presidential campaign.

Though she did not go all the way to the white house, she is living proof that a woman can be an actual real contender for the presidency. In front of cheering crowds Clinton said her thanks for the people that made her campaign so historical and important and expressed full support for rival Barrack Obama. She called for the uniting of the parties and for her supporters to put their energy and elected Senator Obama to the White House in November.

I personally took hope in Senator Clinton's message, and I still believe that she has what it takes to make this country great again. Let's hope that when Obama chooses his vice-president ego's are set aside and someone is chosen that has the capability to do the job and fight for what this country needs. I believe this country would prosper from an Obama/Clinton ticket. I am extremely proud of what Hillary accomplished, she is proofe that equality can be achieved. She may not have shattered the glass ceiling but she sure has made significant cracks for the next generation to shatter.

Somebody's Watching You

Although, I had heard of the movie a few times, I had not actually seen it until a few days ago. I came across the link on another blog and decided to check it out. I'm not even sure what to completely make of it all. I find many aspects plausible but then at the same time, some of the other theories hits a little too close to home and reminds me of too many religious prophecies. Check it out by clicking the link below.

Zeitgeist, the movie

Unite

An amazing and inspiring woman, Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (1924-2005) was an American politician, educator and author. In 1968 she was the first African-American Woman every elected to congress and served her constitutes from the New York 12th district for seven terms. In 1972 she became the first African-American Female candidate of a major party (Democrat) to run for the Presidency. She won 152 delegates.

Let us unite people not divide. Here are her words, which are very interesting in light of this current primary race:

• I was the first American citizen to be elected to Congress in spite of the double drawbacks of being female and having skin darkened by melanin. When you put it that way, it sounds like a foolish reason for fame. In a just and free society it would be foolish.That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black and a woman proves, I think, that our society is not yet either just or free.

• I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself.

• Of my two “handicaps” being female put more obstacles in my path than being black.

• I’ve always met more discrimination being a woman than being black.

• My God, what do we want? What does any human being want? Take away an accident of pigmentation of a thin layer of our outer skin and there is no difference between me and anyone else. All we want is for that trivial difference to make no difference.

• Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread and deep seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.

• We Americans have a chance to become someday a nation in which all racial stocks and classes can exist in their own self-hoods, but meet on a basis of respect and equality and live together, socially, economically, and politically.

• In the end anti-black, anti-female, and all forms of discrimination are equivalent to the same thing - anti-humanism.

Source: PBS.org

Clinton and her campaign are so racist!!

Or at least that is the rallying cry that has been said every few months through out this primary for the democratic nomination. This cry has been brought out again thanks to a comment that Geraldine Ferraro made regarding the fact that Obama would not be as far along as he is if he was not black. Is that really racist and is it really that shocking?? Ferraro's comment taken out of context and turned into a juicy sound bite for cable news pundits to denounce and decry, and there by denounce and decry Hillary Clinton would like us to think so.

Ms. Ferraro's comment which taken at face value is a racially charged statement, but placed back into the context in which Ferraro was actually speaking about the issue of racism becomes invalid to any rational mind.

“I think what America feels about a woman becoming president takes a very secondary place to Obama’s campaign - to a kind of campaign that it would be hard for anyone to run against,” she said. “For one thing, you have the press, which has been uniquely hard on her. It’s been a very sexist media. Some just don’t like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign.
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,” she continued. “And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” ~Geraldine Ferraro, March 7, 2008

This was the quote that set the whole thing off. Ferraro was giving a speech at Torrance Cultural Center in Torrance CA. Why is this woman racist, or the comment is made racist? Bringing up the legitimate issue of race in terms of Senator Obama's success is automatically racist? Does America thing that racism is so far behind us that to suggest that some one's race may play into a persons electability is automatically racist. Yet when people credit Clinton and her support from women this is a non-issue, as if Senator Clinton's gender had nothing to do with it.

If Barack Obama was a white man do you think he would get the large margin of the African-American vote in southern states over Hillary Clinton, which as a proven track record of support for civil rights and issues concerning African-Americans? This is not to say that support for Obama is solely based on his race, but you can not deny that it is an advantage in his favor. Obama has many great qualities. He does inspire and gives a sense of hope and his politics and stances on issues such as Health Care and the war in Iraq are almost mirror images of his democratic rival. Both candidates if elected would make history, so the fact that he is a bi-racial, but for this country's need a black man not be a driving force in his campaign? This is one of the problems within this country, we are not above racism or living in a post-racial society because of this any thing can be turned into a negative racial slur. This is something that again favors Barack Obama and why many people think he would do well in the general election. The Republicans would not have as much fire because they would run the risk of being called racist. So questions about is policies and political background would be left untouched, while Clinton would be fodder for the Republican attack machine. Sexism and sexist views which have been prevalent through Senator Clinton's campaign are never seriously addressed simple because sexism is still acceptable then a perceived racism.

What about the issue of sexism/racism when Jesse Jackson, stomping for Obama in New Hampshire called African-American congressmen "Uncle Toms" for supporting Clinton's campaign over their racial brother. Is this not a racially charged statement? Can not these men vote for whom they think is the most appropriate candidate and not solely on the sharing of a perceived racial identity? How about when gospel singer/pastor McClurkin was brought onto Obama's campaign in the south to help suede black voters away from Clinton? McClurkin who is an out spoken homophobe and as publicly stated that "the gays" want to murder the children of America, where is the big out cry? Was this not a typical tactic to use homophobia to get the black vote that helped G.W.B. win in the south? We have Obama endorsed by Minister Farakan a man that is visceral in his anti-semitism and is admired by Obama's spiritual advisor, none of this seems to be a major concern to any one.

Is the double standard of it all becoming clear to any one yet?? WAKE UP AMERICA!!!

I also want to address Keith Olbermann's "special comment" on his cable news show. I am fan of Mr. Olbermann but recently his obvious bias for Obama and against Clinton has turned me off completely. For once I would like to just get the news without the presenters opinion whether liberal or conservative. Olbermann is quickly becoming the Bill O'Reily of the left, which in my opinion is a sad day. Instead of being a man of conviction he is turning into the very think he hates the most a ring leader in a dog and pony show. Big mouths shooting opinions without any true balance or evidence is bad no matter how closely those opinions may align with your own.

Hate with a Smile

The hate of middle America:

Sally Kern a representative of the state of Oklahoma talking about the dangers and the destructiveness in the spread of the "gay life-style." I think my favorite part of her speech is when she says she doesn't hate and isn't any type of gay basher, but she feels that gays are the last nail hammering into America's coffin. She also goes on to state that I being a gay man is more dangerous to this country than terrorists that attacked on 9/11. Sally Kern, you with your hate speech that springs forth from your lips are no different then those terrorists that wish to destroy America's freedom. You are no different then Hitler when he used the Jews as the sacrificial goat to bring about his fascist rule in Germany. You, Sally Kern are a disgrace and disgust me and you Sally Kern is the true danger to America and it's legacy of freedom.

The Comeback

"For everyone here in Ohio and across America who has ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone who works hard and never gives up, this one is for you," - Hillary Clinton

Source: BBC

Before I went to bed last night I checked the results of the primaries that were going on around the country, knowing that this could be the last shot Hillary Clinton had at gaining the Democratic nomination. At that time Obama had won Vermont with Senator Clinton having wins in Rhode Island and the important state of Ohio. The two contenders were still battling it out neck and neck for Texas. Barrack Obama had a 2% lead over Hillary and I prayed that during the night she would over take him. This morning I thought I heard Michael tell me that Hillary had won last night before he left for work, but I could not be sure if it was just a dream. I dreaded the idea that she might have lost Texas. So, when I woke up and saw that Senator Clinton had taken Texas I couldn't have been more happy or proud. There is still hope America that we can have both change and experience to lead this country to a brighter future.

A Message from Senator Clinton

As I have traveled around the country these past twelve months, what I sensed in my heart has been confirmed – America is embracing its LGBT sons and daughters with an acceptance and understanding as never before. On the campaign trail, a father of a gay son will ask about ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. A woman will ask why she can be discriminated against just because of who she is. Sometimes they wait furtively for the crowd to thin and then whisper their confidences in a soft voice and sometimes they stand up proudly at town meetings and want me to share my views on how I will help lead the change to assure that this country fulfills its promise to everyone.

Let me tell you what I have been telling voters across America. I am fully committed to the fair and equal treatment of LGBT Americans. For seven long years, the Bush Administration has tried to divide us - only seeing people who matter to them. It's been a government of the few, by the few, and for the few. And no community has been more invisible to this administration than the LGBT community.

I will change that. The best evidence of what I will do as President is what I have already done.

* I am proud of my record as First Lady, as a U.S. Senator and as a candidate for President in working toward the fair and equal treatment of LGBT Americans.
* I am proud that as Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee in 2006, I worked closely with LBGT community to develop a smart strategy that defeated the Federal Marriage Amendment. I am proud of fighting the FMA as divisive wedge politics at its worst.
* I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligation Act which would grant the same benefits (including health insurance) to domestic partners of federal employees that are currently offered to employees’ legal spouses.
* I am proud to have authored the Early Treatment for HIV Act, which expands access to vital treatment options for low-income individuals living with HIV, and fought to fully fund the Ryan White CARE Act.
* I am proud that I hired a National Director of LGBT Outreach within a month of announcing my candidacy for President and to have openly gay and lesbian staffers serving at all levels of my campaign.
* I am proud to have a National LGBT Steering Committee of over 130 that includes openly LGBT elected officials, Board members and opinion leaders on issues ranging from transgender rights, to HIV/AIDS, to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”.
* I am proud to have marched in Gay Pride parades as both First Lady and as Senator and to have spoken in front of so many LGBT audiences ranging from the Human Rights Campaign, Empire State Pride Agenda, the Hetrick Martin Institute, PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis), and the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
* I am proud to have fought Republican efforts to demonize and marginalize the LGBT community, and I will continue to do that as President.
We have so much work to do. When I am President, we will work together to make sure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and that nothing stands in the way of loving couples who want to adopt children in need. We're going to expand our federal hate crimes legislation and pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and assure that they are both fully inclusive of all people. And finally, we will put an end to the failed policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice – the traits that define our men and women in uniform – have nothing to do with sexual orientation.

My father was a conservative Republican, who held very traditional views for much of his life. Yet in his last years, it was a gay couple who lived next door who provided much of the compassion and comfort he and my mother needed as he grew ill. And it was that same neighbor who held his hand as he died. If my father can move, America can move.

To each and every LGBT American, I say this. You have done so much to help this country understand your lives by simply being open and honest about who you are and living your lives with dignity. Thank you for your courage. It is time that we recognize your hard work. I know that this country is ready for changes in the law that reflect the evolution in our hearts.

America deserves a President who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a President who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. I want to be that President. I want to be your President.

Source: HillaryClinton.com

Girl Power (Viacom can Suck It)

I already posted this clip of Tina Fey earlier this week, but I noticed that it was removed from YouTube. Most likely because Viacom is very protective of their products and hates the notion of ideas being available for free. So, I reposted it with a new video. I have to say I was really happy to see Tina Fey speak out for Senator Clinton since the media and major news outlets have pretty much removed even a farce of neutrality and have been giving Senator Obama a free ride. I like Obama, but I voted for Clinton mainly because in the fucked up world we are currently living in (hats off to you again George W.) and the amount of issues America faces on the international scene (Kosovo, Iraq, Iran, N. Korea, the rise of China as a super power). I feel it is imperative that we have someone in office leading the country that actually has foreign policy experience. Bush was elected with no foreign policy experience and look at the situation this country is in now. Also, I get the sense that Obama feels that he himself is unstoppable and it is that same cult of personality and ego that we have seen in Bush over the last eight years. I would hate to have similar mistakes repeated because the new Actor for America is not seasoned enough to know how to navigate this country through the complex waters of international relations. So once again here is the amazingly talented and funny Tina Fey from 30 Rock proclaiming that "Bitch is the new Black!"

The View

I was watching "The View" today and the ladies brought up an article that appeared in the New York Times and the Washington Post regarding John McCain and a woman lobbyist and their possibly unseemly connection. This is when Hasselback loses her Republican cool and calls the NY Times a tabloid rag. If Ro O'Donnell could not help this chick nobody can. In a way I can understand Hasselback's concern with the fact that the article really had no point nor actually sources that were justifiable, but for me what was inherent in the article was the questioning of McCain's self proclaimed impeachable ethics. The issue here is simple John McCain of the "Straight Talk Express" may not be so straight talk as he would have us believe. Personally I would never vote for McCain, but I have always had respect for him. He is an American Hero and has never been afraid of breaking party ties to do what is right. But, recently it seems to me that there is another side to the Republican front-runner. For me it all began when he spoke the commencement speech at Liberty University. Pandering to the wacko far-out Christian right that wants to turn America into some sort of bizzaro version of Sharia Law, was one of the forces that McCain was opposed to the radicals on both the left and the right. That was until he wanted to become president.

One of the things I have always respected about John McCain was his stance on torture. He was one of the only well known Republicans in Washington to stand up like any decent person that values human life should and state that torture is unacceptable any time any where. That seems to have changed now with the white house closer in his grasp. For me what the article comes down to his connection to a lobbyist and not that they may have had an extra marital affair but how that lobbyist may have using her familiarity with McCain may have shaped his policy. So, yes Mrs. Hasselbeck attacks the Times ethics and rightly so for printing out an erroneous article with no clear evidence or direction but not to question the ethics of McCain boggles my mind.