TIME OUT: New York Magazine‘s cover story, Who Is Barack Obama, and why do people say such loopy, ugly things about him?, ostensibly has nothing to do with gay marriage. But it does look at, head-on (directly on the forehead obvs), the incredible lunacy of the lunatics. The birthers, the teabaggers, the Glenn Beck followers … Obama’s already received 400 times more death threats than George W. Bush (that’s an actual number). A frightening fringe still truly believes, erroneously, that this country’s root is The Bible. And by “The Bible” they mean “our screwed-up interpretation of the bible.” And here we are, being impatient with him for not acting on same-sex marriage yet. Now is not the time.
Look at these people and ask yourself what would happen to health care or education intiatives if Obama woke up tomorrow and repealed DOMA:
We have to keep wanting and working locally within our states. But perhaps it’s time we face the unfortunate reality: there’s a ton of insane Palinist humans who refuse to listen to anything/anyone besides their own crabby, manic pundits. The editor of factcheck.org, in response to the birther movement: “A video of Obama being born in Honolulu with Don Ho playing ukulele in the background would not dispel a thing with these people.” Similarly, Obama can repeat “Death Panels aren’t real” 500 times, they don’t care.
Thus here we are, without our gay marriage rights. The thing is; if you’re one of the ten bazillion uninsured unmarried American Homos, universal health care could fix a few of our ‘separate & unequal’ issues. So let’s see how that goes. Let’s hope for action on DADT sooner rather than later. And as we always say things will get better. They might not, but either way the best thing to do is just make out and wait for the next joke.
EDUCATION REFORM:What’s wrong with our schools? [T]he rest of the world has become so much more complex. Knowledge alone is not enough. Children know this. They hunger for active involvement in the learning process. Even though the teachers do not intend this to happen, the passivity of their methods causes students to turn away from commitment to the classroom. (@huffpo)
MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN MAINE: Stand for Marriage Maine, one of the groups rallying against gay marriage, is knowingly providing misinformation in their newest ad campaign. Those who made the commercial said the line in the advertisement is not meant to be taken literally. Instead, it’s meant to imply that, in their opinion, if schools currently teach about family life and marriage, discussions about same-sex marriage would likely be included. (@wmtw)
HILLARY CLINTON: How Hillary can serve women now. In addition to calling for the recognition of the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflict, the resolution asks for action against the use of rape as a tactic of war. It calls for the special protection of women and girls and notes, for the first time, that rape can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or even a constituent act with respect to genocide. (@dailybeast)
THE RIGHT WING: GOPers can be swayed on gay marriage A powerful and well-produced commercial can make even hardwired Republicans more sympathetic to the cause of marriage equality, according to a new study.
“Look at these people and ask yourself what would happen to health care or education intiatives if Obama woke up tomorrow and repealed DOMA” I am glad you said this, and I totally agree with that point. I think our president is going to do the right thing eventually, but seriously, he has his hands full right now. Of course there are things he could do in the mean time that would make us all feel better. Off to read the rest of the fix now.
I don’t think the Bible is the problem. The problem is some individuals’ misinterpretation of its teachings that is harmful. Not only is its blatant misuse damaging to the victims of discrimination but also to the Christians who are much more loving and open-minded than the uneducated and hateful groups whose legalism clouds their hearts. Just my opinion.
No, I totally agree with you on that.
Many many moons ago, in a location that cannot be revealed at this time, Lady Gaga travelled in a time machine and had a baby with Santa Clause, and that baby’s name was Riese. After a brief interruption by Kanye West, (who asserts that Madonna and the the Tooth Fairy had one of the best babies of all time… of ALL TIME), Ellen Page, Ellen Degeneres, and one other Ellen declared today an Autocelebration and thus a national holiday… duh. And so the legend goes that magical baby Riese turned everything she touched into gay. Other parts of the tale involving a blind rat, an old lezzy who lived in a shoe, and some magic peas have been left out of the story for the sake of realism at the request of Ilene Chaiken (executive dominatrix of life). The End. Happy Birth Legend
That was beautiful.
aw shucks
As a mom, the school issue makes my head hurt to think about. It’s so stressful to think about how much better I want her education to be than mine when I know it probably won’t be. That was a pretty good article about it though. Anyhow, Sapphicsass, that was AWESOME.
I’m not understanding what these people are so pissed off about. When we protested Bush it was because he was about to wage a war on unfounded truths, or maybe it was because he was plunging our surplus into the worst deficit in history… I mean, there was a reason.
All Obama had to do was show up. I’m so confused.
Proof that they are crazy and we are not.
“…either way the best thing to do is just make out and wait for the next joke.”
always been my thinking!
Yes, I am going to be completely blunt, and say that (in my opinion) most of the people making dumb statements against Obama are unintelligent. It’s time for change. It’s time for the United States to get off its lazy ass and actually do something with itself, and so goes for its people. These are the times I wish our country was as intelligent as, say, Japan. I’m tired of idiots.
I agree! I mean, honestly, they simply must be stupid to believe that Obama was not born in America, that he is paying for abortions, that he is Muslim, all of these things. If a person believes those things, that person is either really really uneducated or just dumb, but these are the same people who think Al Gore invented global warming. I know there are lots of smart people out there who are just unfortunately born into the wrong place at the wrong time and get the wrong information, but whoever is in charge of disseminating these mistruths must be at least kinda smart to pull it off. And that’s just really, really fucking sad. the truth is these people are lucky to be in America ’cause no one else would put up with this shit.
I completely agree.
It SICKENS me, literally makes me close to puking, that so many people just so point-blank and absolutely unfoundedly despise Obama.
And then there are still those of us over on the queer side who are blaming him for ignoring us? BOOHOO. No, we shouldn’t be thrown under any bus, or whatnot. But is that really what he’s doing? No. He’s just taking things one step at a time. And clearly, he’s treading on really delicate ground.
I don’t think any president in the history of our US has had as difficult a time as he’s having.
Post-racial society? I don’t think so.
…
Okay, my vehement rant is over now. Hi! I think Tinkerbell should post her thoughts on the matter.
i know another thing that Bill clinton said on The daily Show and that Obama said on The Late Show the other night is that yeah, he had plans, but shit got really bad! And he’s doing his best to respond to these challenges. Bill pointed out, as the only person alive really qualified to speak on the topic, that when you happen to be president of the US you make promises and you make plans and it’s not that you necessarily go back on these plans, but new shit happens, new challenges arise, things aren’t how you expected them to be. I’m glad that Obama is so calm, like as a person.
man, fucking crazy!! check this comment:
“ummmmm, all of a sudden we should now START respecting the President or the man because last time I checked Americans had no respect for the President or the man but he was a Republican which I guess changes the rules of decency, right!”
i mean, that’s nothing if not self-explanatory.
“the advertisement is not meant to be taken literally.”
Really? I mean, really? Can I just start saying that about everything now?
Love the Tegan & Sara reference in the headline.
Speaking of big ass mistakes…
I’ve been thinking about this post for a few days, and while I agree that the loonies would be freaked out of their minds if Obama also tried to repeal DOMA right now, and that it could make passing health care reform an even greater challenge, I don’t think that is a good reason NOT to try. Why are we letting them set the agenda?
I’m reminded of Dr. King’s famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, which is super long but well worth reading. Here’s part of what he has to say about timing:
“More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this ‘hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to 6e solid rock of human dignity.”
I know they’re loud, and obnoxious and worst of all, willfully ignorant, but man, why do we let the freaky fundies get away with this by backing off of our issues just because there are other things on the agenda?
“The time is always right to do right.” Maybe it’s an impossible task in this current climate, but I believe Dr. King was right.
Just my two cents.
“Palinist humans”
Isn’t that a bit of an oxymoron?