As Liberals Move On, Rep. Hastings Hasn’t Forgotten About DADT
How long has it been since we’ve heard something from Washington about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? It was once a nonnegotiable plank in President (then Candidate) Obama’s platform, and now it’s…what? Seriously, what is it? Where are we? I have no idea. We’ve been so concerned about getting the economy back on track, trying to get something resembling health care reform, and fending off wingnuts and their filthy lies about death panels and abortion that we haven’t had a serious discussion about DADT since…when? I don’t even know. Last month? It’s been a while since Robert Gibbs has been grilled by a member of the press and has had to deliver some bullshit talking point about President Obama supporting a legislative repeal of DADT. Indeed, the mainstream liberal establishment has apparently forgotten all about the LGBT community. They needed us to get elected, and now we’re not even worth toothless rhetoric anymore. Washington, plain and simple, doesn’t give a damn about us.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Florida House Democrat Alcee Hastings is willing to be quite possibly (with the exception of the usual suspects, like Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin) the only progressive voice for the LGBT community in Congress. He penned an open letter to President Obama expressing deep disappointment that DADT, which he calls a “ridiculous, bigoted law,” has not been repealed, and also reminding him that, in June, the White House received another letter from 77 members of Congress. President Obama, the “fierce advocate” for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people, has yet to respond – and that just won’t do for Hastings.
With the recent addition of 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan and the possibility of another request for even more troops from General McChrystal in the coming weeks, I am sure that you will agree that we cannot afford to lose any of our dedicated, highly qualified service members to “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
This letter (which the pessimistic side of me thinks will never be answered) comes right after a report by the Advocate that the Pentagon is in no hurry to ease Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. There is no timeline, there is no deadline. Only spurts of rhetoric and promises of action, which we have to take at the Defense Department’s word. An occasional nod by President Obama. A few sweat drops from the forehead of Robert Gibbs. Talk, talk, and more talk. And then deafening silence. In the meantime, two soldiers per day get discharged – why? – because they’re gay. While most Americans, along with the majority of both the Democratic and Republican Parties, support full repeal of the antigay policy, Congress and the Pentagon drag their feet. There are more important things. There are bankers to be bailed out, working-class Americans to be screwed over by rogue health care reform. Who has time to worry about gays and lesbians?
Representative Hastings does. He should be commended. As should all the other members of Congress who actively support the full civil rights of LGBT Americans. While I have bad feelings about this administration and this Congress when it comes to LGBT issues, there is reason for optimism thanks to people like Alcee Hastings who just won’t give up.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
Cheney’s Pissed Again – This Time Over CIA Investigation
Dick Cheney reminds me of Jason Voorhees…or Michael Myers, perhaps. No matter how long he’s “dead” to the country – and, thanks to our pathetic mainstream media that keeps pandering to this murderous tyrant, that’s usually not very long – he just keeps coming back, more laughable than ever. Just when you thought you’ve seen the last of Cheney, he’ll be plastered all over CNN the next day.
He only comes out of his lair, though, when we start talking about torture. Could it be that he’s worried? Nah, surely he knows that the Obama Administration has no intention of prosecuting him for his war crimes. It makes me wonder why he keeps opening his mouth when, really, he should be cowering in a dark corner somewhere, hoping against hope that the law doesn’t catch up to him. But, like I said, he must know that the Obama Administration isn’t going to pursue justice, so he feels more than free to taunt us on television and in released statements, daring us to do something about it. This time, what got Cheney’s attention and took him away from his regular activity (mutilating puppies and eating their mangled remains raw) was the Monday release of the much-anticipated CIA Inspector-General report that outlines (gasp, horror) more torture and abuse perpetrated by the death machine otherwise known as the CIA, as well as the announcement that John Durham would be appointed to investigate the possibility (possibility? Really?) of CIA wrongdoing.
Well, first of all, most of us – here in the universe of sanity and logic – understand that this is an important first step. It’s nowhere close to what needs to be carried out, which is a full investigation and likely prosecution of crimes committed by upper-level Bush Administration officials (which Holder apparently does not want), but it’s a very important step in the right direction, and we’re certainly grateful for that. While we’re investigating the CIA, perhaps we should also investigate the reality that the CIA is responsible for much worse than threatening to sexually assault a detainee’s mother or firing a gun in another room – like annihilating villages, slaughtering children, overthrowing legitimate governments, destabilizing currencies, and the list goes on and on until one is ready to vomit blood. But, of course, that can never happen, at least not in this “democracy.” So I’ll take what I can get. But I’m not satisfied. This investigation might result in some prosecutions (if we’re lucky), but the blood-soaked despots in the Bush Administration likely won’t be so much as sniffed around, much less investigated.
So what is Dick Cheney so uptight about? Jeebus only knows. He has released a statement (as if we all give so much of a shit over what he has to say that he feels compelled to release statements) saying that the recent series of events fuels “doubts about this administration’s ability to be responsible for our nation’s security.” Son of a bitch. But wait, there’s more:
The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions.
That’s right. The people involved – i.e., the animals who got off on torturing and killing detainees, many (probably most) of whom were completely innocent of any wrongdoing – deserve our gratitude. Got that? They do not deserve to be the targets of…here’s the kicker…political investigations or prosecutions. Because, obviously, this has nothing to do with the fact that our own CIA committed war crimes on a gargantuan scale, murdered people, spat upon the rule of law, and denigrated the reputation (if it was possible) of the United States. Obviously, this is a political witch hunt by the Marxist, Muslim Obama Administration that targets the God-fearing Bush Administration defenders of freedom and democracy.
And he went on to spout his usual bullshit about how the “intelligence” gathered from these harsh interrogation methods thwarted terrorists and saved lives. You know the drill.
Dick Cheney has to be loving this. He can defend war crimes, claim responsibility for those war crimes, and even insult the Obama Administration – the same administration that is sparing this filthy bastard from criminal prosecution. And the Obama Administration won’t do a goddamned thing about it. He’s got it made in the shade. I have to wonder why.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
Wisconsin A.G. Defies Law, Says “Screw You” to Same-Sex Couples
According to an article that appeared in The Advocate today, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has proven what his haughty, bourgeois name implies – that he is, without a doubt, an asshole. The Republican (it almost goes without saying, doesn’t it?) chief law officer of the state made it clear on Friday that he did not consider a recent law granting same-sex couples domestic partnership benefits – which amount to a paltry one-fourth of the benefits available to married couples – to be valid under Wisconsin law, and therefore he is refusing to defend it against conservative opposition in court. Now, the future of this law remains uncertain as the state of Wisconsin is forced to look for outside legal defense against a lawsuit waged by the Wisconsin Family Council claiming that domestic partnerships are in violation of a 2006 constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.
Now, to be fair, we on the radical gay left (i.e., the perpetrators of the homosexual agenda) were in a tizzy when President Obama’s Justice Department defended the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act.” We scurried to refute the claim that the Justice Department must defend each and every law. So what’s the difference between the Justice Department refusing to defend an anti-gay law and the Attorney General of Wisconsin refusing to defend a pro-gay law, you may ask? The difference is that, while DOMA flies in the face of the Full Faith and Credit Clause and is thus unconstitutional, the law in Wisconsin granting same-sex couples a limited series of benefits contradicts no law – not even the 2006 constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage. Under the amended state constitution, same-sex marriage and anything substantially similar is not legally recognized by the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Family Council is making the unsurprisingly incoherent, illogical argument that giving same-sex couples one-quarter of the rights that legally married couples enjoy is somehow “substantially similar” to the institution of marriage.
Wisconsin same-sex couples might beg to differ. They might tell you that, no, they are nowhere close to married; rather, they simply enjoy a very thin veil of rights, including health coverage, taking leave for an ill partner, and end-of-life decisions. These are very, very basic rights – rights that one would expect the government to provide, even to same-sex couples. The Wisconsin Family Council, on the other hand, sees it as a direct assault on the 2006 same-sex marriage ban, and Van Hollen apparently agrees. And so Van Hollen, the man to whom all Wisconsans – gay or straight – look to when it comes to defending the laws of Wisconsin, is sticking up his proverbial middle finger and saying “FUCK YOU” to same-sex couples whom he appears to abhor. To defend this law would be a violation of the duties of his position, apparently (Van Hollen obviously has not a clue as to what those duties entail), and so the state is on its own. But he assures the citizens of Wisconsin that his decision to simultaneously deprive each and every gay and lesbian in the state of Wisconsin of civil rights was not based on a policy disagreement. No, no, I’m not a homophobe! Just an unbiased defender of the law!
That’s interesting, coming from the same guy who interpreted the state’s ban on concealed weapons as allowing open carrying of those same weapons. To interpret it otherwise, Van Hollen claimed, would be unconstitutional. For having such a thorough knowledge of the Wisconsin constitution, Mr. Van Hollen must have skipped over the first section, which states that:
All people are born equally free, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
This applies to gun owners, who are now free to their “pursuit of happiness” by showing off their guns on the streets of Milwaukee. Because, according to Van Hollen’s advanced legal reasoning, barring individuals from carrying guns in public would amount to a deprivation of their right to bear arms, even though they would still be free to keep guns in their homes and hunt and shoot and whatever else these small-penised morons do in their spare time. A liberal interpretation of the constitution is in order when it comes to gun owners, but a different mindset is required when dealing with the nasty homosexual perverts who have in mind the goal of decimating the sacred institution of marriage. The idea that depriving same-sex couples of their very basic rights – as deficient as they may be – just might be in violation of Section 1’s guarantee to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” does not even appear to be on the table.
So what next? Will the citizens of Wisconsin sit back and watch their Attorney General, Van-Whatever, shred the constitution and use it to wipe his elite, conservative ass? I think it’s time to demand the man’s resignation. But, hey, I’m not from Wisconsin, so who am I to make such demands?
However, I do think that it’s a sad reflection on the state and its populace if the Attorney General is allowed to shirk his duties in such a blatant manner without some sort of public outcry.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
More Chavez-Bashing, Courtesy of “U.S. Intelligence”
The word is out. Hugo Chavez is Satan.
If you didn’t distrust the brutal, fascist dictator of Venezuela before, just wait until you read about the report from “U.S. intelligence.” It’s enough to send a chill down your spine and make you thank your lucky stars that you were born in a real democracy (i.e., a country in which one of two corporate-controlled parties that have roughly the same economic agenda is allowed to win). According to “U.S. intelligence” – and we all know that we can trust U.S. intelligence when it comes to Venezuela (hehe) – Hugo Chavez has emerged from his lair long enough to close down 32 dissenting radio stations, after which he cracked the neck of a kitten and spilled its blood in a sacrifice to Lucifer. And now he’s seeking to punish (brace yourself) media crimes. This seals it. Hugo Chavez is a Nazi. What’s next? – does he want to turn the media into something that serves the public with unbiased, accurate information? Goddamnit, that’s not how democracy is supposed to work!
Here are the facts, courtesy of the Venezuelan Embassy. The radio stations that were shut down were in violation of the law according to the current standards of the Venezuelan legal code. It may or may not be true that some or all of the radio stations were critical of the Venezuelan government, but that does not exclude them from an equal application of the law. See, but this doesn’t matter to the corporate thugs (not to mention “U.S. intelligence,” which orchestrated the 2002 coup that temporarily toppled Chavez and installed an oppressive, anti-democratic government to serve corporate interests) who pump our news sources full of this bullshit. Chavez is probably the only leader in the Western Hemisphere who isn’t afraid to take on these sons of bitches in the media corporatocracy – you know, the ones who regularly feed our televisions with information that serves the capitalistic elites and the neoliberal governments rather than the public. Not only does he call them out on their current crimes, but he seeks to make it a crime to do what our media here in the United States does every single day, when it distorts information and destabilizes society with propaganda. And, predictably, the real “democracies” (of which the U.S. is king) are wagging their fingers and talking about freedom of expression.
Doesn’t it worry you that our media is going out of its way to portray the democratically-elected (and overwhelmingly popular) leader of Venezuela as some sort of fascistic bogeyman? It makes one wonder if our next military rendezvous – the sequel to the War For Oil in Iraq – will be in Latin America.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
“Obamacare” – The Largest Upward Transfer of Wealth Since Reagan?
Well, it finally happened. We knew it was coming, though, didn’t we? Didn’t we see this on the horizon? President Obama’s (now) well-established record of mediocrity continues, this time in the form of a stance just short of an outright rejection of the health insurance public option.
In recent weeks, the White House has been in the middle of the proverbial health care reform teeter-totter, with 46 million uninsured Americans on one side and big health insurance (along with its whores in Congress) on the other. But now a step has been made in the direction of corporate interests and the continuation of the worst private health care system in the industrialized world. The balance in Washington has shifted. The public option, which used to be an essential element but is now apparently unnecessary and merely desirable (if that), appears to be – in the words of a certain GOP Congressman who appeared on CNN on Sunday (can’t remember his name, but what does it matter? One fanged, bloodsucking vampire is no different from another) – a “dead duck.” Actually, a rotting duck, as it’s been dead for quite a while now (we’ve just been in denial). Can’t you smell it? No, it’s not a wild Republican wet dream. It’s for real. Take a whiff. The evidence is in the air.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius all but confirmed our worst suspicions when she made the following statement on CNN’s State of the Union:
I think there will be a competitor to private insurers. That’s really the essential part, is you don’t turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing.
And if you don’t believe her, the top White House spokesman (and jester), Robert Gibbs, repeated a similar line:
What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market.
And, to top it off (in case you’re still in denial), President Obama himself had this to say at a town hall on Saturday:
All I’m saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don’t have it, is not the entirety of health care reform. This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it.
Isn’t that peachy? The man who campaigned on the promise of offering Americans the same health care to which he had access, the man who at one point advocated for single-payer and then became a champion of the public option, now claims that the public option is “just one sliver” of health care reform. Just a sliver. Covering the 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance – just a sliver. Just an insignificant part of health care reform. There’s more! Like…like…well, competition! Choice! Even if you can’t afford it, goddamnit, you have choice! Choice We Can Believe In!
And the predictable wheels of health care reform turn, crushing all the hopes and dreams of those who had hoped that this history-making President could use his popularity to achieve true universal health care. What are we going to get instead? – after all, the public option is “just one sliver.” Glad you asked. Instead of having nasty old Uncle Sam sticking his fat fingers where they don’t belong (in the deep, overflowing pockets of health insurance executives like Edward Hanway of CIGNA, who made over $120 million as of April 30, 2008), we might be blessed with the spawning of non-profit health insurance cooperatives. At least, that’s the way it’s looking now. Supposedly, these cooperatives will drive down costs and allow many more Americans to buy health insurance. On their face, they don’t sound all that bad (at least, not as bad as what we have now).
One problem. Health insurance cooperatives are designed from the beginning to fail to compete effectively with the larger, for-profit health insurance companies. They simply aren’t large enough to make much of a difference, and they have little chance of becoming larger so that they can use their influence to drive down costs. In the end, the health insurance companies that we’ve become so accustomed to – like a cheesy monster from a bad series of horror flicks – will be back, and stronger than ever. Why? Because any bill that makes it to President Obama’s desk will almost undoubtedly contain a federal mandate that will require all Americans to purchase private health insurance.
The result? Possibly the largest upward transfer of wealth from the masses to the wealthy elite since the Age of Reagan. Once we realize that the cooperatives were a pile of bullshit, it’ll be too late, because we’ll be legally chained to the mega-corporations that dominate the health insurance industry, rip us off, and deny us coverage. Why the hell do you think the health insurance companies (and even Harry and Louise, for Christ’s sake) are pushing health care reform? It’s rigged, just like our current system. This is a game. And we were never meant to win.
If the apparent abandonment of the public option isn’t a deal-breaker, I don’t know what is. Any bill that does not include a public option needs to be defeated, even if it means delaying health care reform. We can’t afford to screw this up.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
More Good News for Health Care Reform
Not.
Word has come in that Sen. Dick Durbin, the #2 Democrat in the Senate, has dropped hints that he may be open to a health care reform bill without a public option. Then, not to be outdone, our great liberal President Obama has been quoted as saying that “the Canadian (health care) model won’t work in the United States.” Yes, “we’ve got to develop a uniquely American approach to this problem,” because…well, we’re Americans. We’re too good for that Canadian socialist crap.
Jesus Christ. With Democrats like Sen. Durbin and President Obama, who needs Republicans trying to derail health care reform? The health care reformers are doing a pretty damned good job as it is.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
Sotomayor Confirmed, Along With Republican Irrelevance
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s position as the first Latina justice on the Supreme Court wasn’t the only thing to be confirmed today on the Senate floor.
In fact, her ascension to the highest bench in the land was perhaps overshadowed by the sheer, screaming irrelevance of the Republican Party that was on full display as the Senators cast their votes. In all, 31 Republicans set aside an objective review of her qualifications as a jurist and voted against her confirmation. Why? Because she’s a liberal. Because she’s an activist judge. Because of affirmative action. Because of gun control. Because of property rights. Undoubtedly, because of pressure from religious groups concerned about one issue and one issue only (aside from keeping gays from loving each other): abortion. 31 GOP Senators blatantly ignored Sotomayor’s impartiality and qualifications as a judge, choosing instead to obstruct President Obama’s first Supreme Court nomination based upon right-wing talking points and baseless claims of judicial activism.
And I’m glad. I’m glad that 31 Republicans stood up and attempted to derail Sotomayor. Because they failed, and Judge Sotomayor was confirmed, along with the stupidity, racism, sexism, ignorance, and (above all) irrelevance of the Republican Party. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had this to say of the occasion:
Years from now, we will remember this time, when we crossed paths with the quintessentially American journey of Sonia Sotomayor, and when our nation took another step forward through this historic confirmation process.
Yes. And, years from now, we will remember this time with a sense of disdain for the Republican Party, which will almost undoubtedly be reduced and confined to the Deep South and Utah. This is truly an historic moment – both for Judge Sonia Sotomayor and for the GOP, which now faces an even quicker slide into demise. The Party of No just confirmed its permanent status as a whites-only club.
And, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a beautiful thing.
The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.
-
Recent
- Some Thought’s On Obama’s Afghanistan Speech
- Orwellian Much?: Nobel Peace Prize Winner to Explain Decision to Escalate Deadly, Unwinnable War
- Conservatives Win, Democracy Loses In Honduras
- More Child Abuse Cover-Ups Found In Anti-Gay Catholic Church
- U.S. Lags behind Rest of the World, Refuses To Join Ban on Landmines
- Not Even Ronald Reagan Would Pass RNC’s Purity Standards
- Opt-Out Madness
- WTF: Dana Perino?
- KSM’s New York Trial Is Not Enough
- Rhode Island Gov Vetoes Gay Burial Rights
- Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish – Lou Dobbs Leaves CNN
- Obama Can Learn From Governor Paterson
-
Links
-
Archives
- December 2009 (2)
- November 2009 (17)
- October 2009 (18)
- September 2009 (22)
- August 2009 (13)
- July 2009 (12)
- June 2009 (16)
- May 2009 (11)
- April 2009 (14)
- March 2009 (12)
- February 2009 (12)
- January 2009 (14)
-
Categories
- 9/11
- Barack Obama
- Church-State Separation
- CIA/Torture/Terrorism
- Corporate America
- Criminal Justice
- Economic Issues
- Elections
- Environmental Issues
- Foreign Affairs
- George W. Bush
- GOP/Right Wing
- Health Care System
- Immigration
- Iraq/Afghanistan
- Israel/Palestine
- LGBT Issues
- Media/Journalism
- Racial Issues
- Religious Right
- Reproductive Rights
- Supreme Court
- Uncategorized
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
