Monday, 17 June 2013
Earlier this month while First Lady Michelle Obama was speaking at a private residence in Washington, DC a person interrupted her remarks. The First Lady stepped down from the lectern to confront the individual. The person who interrupted the speech was identified as Ellen Sturtz, a woman associated with the LGBT activist group GetEQUAL.
I've read a lot of different opinions on this subject. I've seen the Facebook posts of some of the people associated with GetEQUAL praising Ms. Sturtz for her actions and other posts questioning why would someone would go after the First Lady when she has no role in the governing process. This sparked some good lengthy Facebook discussions.
My thoughts on this?
As Jonathan Capehart wrote in his opnion piece for The Washington Post, they are both right. Ms. Sturtz also authored this opinion piece for the same newspaper defending her actions. It is understandable why she did what she did:
As a gray-haired, 56-year-old lesbian, I don’t have time to wait another generation for equality — it’s been almost 40 years since similar legislation to ENDA (Employee Non Discrimination Act) was first introduced in Congress. And being polite hasn’t gotten us any closer to it becoming a reality.
LZ Granderson, one of the few openly gay sports writers and regular contributor to ESPN and CNN, had this to say in a piece:
Heckling the first lady wasn't fair because she isn't responsible for policy. But the incident sent a message to those who are responsible: We are people, not pawns.
Again, these people bring up good points by the parties involved. Both Ms. Strutz and Mr. Granderson highlight that at times the LGBT community is thrown under the metaphorical bus during the negotiating process in crafting legislation.
While the incident did shed light on the rarely discussed topic of job discrimination, it appears that it has backfired among liberal leaning persons and especially with the Black community.
Right now relations between the LGBT and Black communities are soured over of the fallout coming from the stalled Marriage Equality bill in the Illinois State House. Democrats controlled 60% of the 118-seat chamber but the bill was not put to a vote. The bill passed the Senate and Governor Pat Quinn stated he would sign the bill once it reached his desk. It appeared that Illinois was on the cusp of becoming the 13th State to embrace marriage equality and the third in the Midwest, but time ran out on the session. The bill has been given an extension to 31 August, but it is likely that again time will run out and the vote could come in the fall.
One of the stories that surfaced on why the marriage equality bill was scuttled is because of the false narrative over that it was the Black community who did not support this measure. Actually.... among the 20 Black members in the Illinois State House, 11 were prepared to vote yes with the undecided's and no's split 5-4. That's more than half and you don't have to be a math major to figure that out. The NBC station in Chicago pointed it out in this article and that less than a third of the state house's White members supported the measure.
And if you REALLY want to see someone lay down some knowledge, read this from my fellow pigskin prognosticator one Ms. Monica Roberts of Houston, TX.
One more thing, a poll conducted by NBC-Wall Street Journal from March 2013 shows that Black voters support gay marriage 51-37. The same question was asked in 2009 and it was a third giving support. This further shatters the myth that Blacks are not in favor of equal marriage rights.
The incident between the First Lady and Ms. Sturtz did not improve the rocky relationship between the two communities. University of Pennsylvania professor Anthea Butler made this observation where she criticizes GetEQUAL's tactics.
The logic employed by GetEQUAL to think that their wish to see ENDA enacted by forcing the issue with this type of protest backfired. Now, not only are they being criticized by other LGBT groups, they have the wrath of African-Americans who are weary and disgusted with the disrespect shown to the president and the first lady. Most importantly, they have found out that Michelle Obama is a real woman, with real feelings. Perhaps in all of their advocating, they have forgotten that point.
Now I get this statement made by some of the GetEQUAL members that we should hold our elected officials accountable. There is a problem with going after the First Lady: she is not an elected official. Does she advocate for some of spouse's positions? Did she give a keynote at the 2012 DNC? Yes, but she isn't the first person in the role of First Lady to do these things and she won't be the last.
Again, to quote Professor Butler, "Challenge the president, not his wife."
The reason why GetEQUAL is challenging this president is over the ENDA Executive Order that President Obama has yet to sign. While on the campaign trail during his first presidential run five years ago, Obama promised to sign such a document if elected when he was asked by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus back in February 2008.
The critiques of the ENDA Executive Order is that it would protect 16.5 million workers, mostly those who have contracts with the government. Many high profile companies have some form of non-discrimination policies on their books, but more can be done.
An ENDA Executive Order is a temporary solution as it protects only a portion of the workforce. The solution would be to craft legislation that protects the ENTIRE workforce.... ahem, pass ENDA in Congress.
Now in the Obama administration's defense when it comes to LGBT Issues, they have demonstrated an outstanding record compared to the previous presidential administrations in my lifetime (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and W. Bush) COMBINED.
This president has done more for the civil rights of the people that I hold near and dear to my heart. Can more be done? Yes, always.
However.... (comma)....
Time, resources, and energy would be better spent going after those who are fiercely anti-LGBT than those who are already supportive. I can think of 235 people in the United States House of Representatives and 45 people in the United States Senate who will not co-sponsor pro-LGBT legislation.
In addition, if we want nice things we need to give this President a Congress that will work with him; not a House that constantly votes to defund ObamaCare at every whim or a Senate that has a minority political party FILIBUSTER just to start debate on legislation.
In other words: vote the obstructionist Republicans out in 2014 so that we can return the Speaker's Gabble to Nancy Pelosi and increase our majority in the US Senate to 60 seats so that the GOP can no longer roadblock the things we need to function as a country.
Recently GetEQUAL had 8 of their members arrested at Speaker John Boehner's DC office to bring attention to ENDA legislation in Congress. It is a nice start, but it might be a method to deflect attention away from the fallout over the First Lady being heckled by one of their activists.
Right now everyone I know in the LGBT community and their allies are awaiting the rulings from the Supreme Court regarding the cases Hollingsworth v. Perry (Prop 8) and Windsor v. United States (DOMA, Defense of Marriage Act). The court could release the opinions later this morning or this coming Thursday or the last Monday of the month. I'm checking SCOTUSBlog every day to see what is going on. Lambda Legal has this infographicon their website listing the probable outcomes of the two cases.
While Minnesota, Delaware, and Rhode Island passed legislation embracing marriage equality, Nevada is on the path to put marriage equality on the ballot as soon as 2016, and Colorado passed a civil unions bill, for the most part various pro-LGBT legislation is stalled due to awaiting the outcomes of these decisions. The paths for Prop 8 victory have various paths. I would prefer if the court issued a wide ruling similar to what they did back in Loving v. Virginia (1967), but based on what I have been reading the court is probably going to go with a narrow ruling that affects California.
Then again.... the ObamaCare ruling last summer produced a 5-4 ruling with the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts. Sorting by ideology, Roberts is to the right of traditional swing vote Justice Kennedy. A lot of people on my side of the aisle were anticipating a 5-4 ruling OVERTURNING ObamaCare. The 5-4 ruling supporting AND Chief Justice Roberts authoring the majority opinion was a shocker. So, we don't know how these LGBT cases are going to be decided.
The best way I can sum up on how the Supreme Court will rule on these cases is from former NFL head coach Jim Mora. This is from his stint while he was with the Saints:
You think you know, but you don't know and you never will.
We're in a holding pattern right now because of the uncertainty surrounding how and when the court will decide these cases. Also, there are other cases that the Supreme Court is releasing this month most notably one concerning the role of Affirmative Action in college admissions and Voting Rights Act. Have you ever read a Supreme Court opinion? It puts some of my posts to shame. The court has to explain in great detail why they made the decision that they did and it is based on things like established precedents, other court cases, legislation, and most importantly, the US Constitution. That takes A LOT of research and writing.... a whole lot of writing. The court heard the DOMA and Prop 8 cases back in March 2013. That was two more cases added to the several other ones heard for this term starting in October 2012.
So, for now it has been the "Waiting Game." And understandable, folks like Ms. Sturtz can't wait.
The purpose of my post was to highlight the issues surrounding the First Lady being heckled by Ms. Sturtz. It is not as black-and-white as those who argue their sides. There are many complex issues surrounding this topic because people are inherently complex beings. I hope that both sides can see what the other side is arguing and look at some common ground to work towards instead.
Because maybe... both sides are right.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
So apparently there is a small vocal minority of people who are upset over this Cheerios cereal commercial.
Let's watch:
Did you see the controversy?!
Me neither.
The Supreme Court 46 years ago this month unanimously ruled in favor of Mildred and Richard Lovingthus overturning bans on marriages between people of different races. Today anyone who thinks that folks of difference races should not be allowed to marry each other.... well, they're idiots who haven't gotten that memo and they are even bigger idiots if they got it, but didn't read it.
The comments were getting so bad that Cheerios had to disable the commenting section on the YouTube video. For goodness sakes, they're trying to sell you some cereal.
Understandable this ad is a big deal to some people because it shows that those families are just like every other family in this country.
And for the record I have eaten Cheerios (and their variations: Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Cheerios) since I was a kid. I will continue to purchase and eat their cereal.
If cereal ads and children's cartoons get you all worked up, maybe you need to rethink your priorities about what is REALLY important in life.
So the misnamed National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is manufacturing " outrage" over this new cartoon set to air on the cable channel The Hub. The cartoon is called SheZow with the premise of a 12 year boy who finds a magic ring that transforms him into a superhero who is a girl.
I had to check my TV listings. Yup... apparently, I get that channel.
Here are the cartoons I used to watch as a kid: the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies shorts, Tom and Jerry, the Disney cartoon shorts, Batman The Animated Series, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
I also watched The Simpsons back when it was controversial and finally put the struggling little Fox network on the map.FORMER President George H.W. Bush once said, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."
Today, "The Simpsons" are tame in comparison to the other animated programs that air on television (Archer, South Park, Cartoon Network's [adult swim]).
Ask yourself this: would you let your kids watch any animated program saying "Executive Producer: Seth MacFarlane"?
If you answer yes, you are a bad parent.
And that is coming from someone who doesn't have kids.
Here are my television habits: sports, news, primetime animated programs, documentaries, and whatever is in my Netflix queue. I could care less what is on The Hub.
However, let me wield my opinion on NOM going after a children's cartoon.
First, who remembers the outrage that Jerry Falwell expressed over the Teletubbies? I do. Dear sweet baby Jesus...
I don't think their target audience (VERY small children) are aware of gender and sexuality issues that are prevalent in our society. And again.... he was getting upset over a CHILDREN'S PROGRAM!
There are two cartoons from my childhood that I'd like to discuss. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was about a bunch of mutated turtles that practiced martial arts in order to fight crime, lived in a sewer with their sensei who was a rat, and eat pizza. Take a guess which of those things I do.
How many times have we seen Bugs Bunny, that wascally wabbit, dress in drag in order to thwart his foe?
NOM, here is some friendly advice. I normally don't dispense advice to you, but in your case you need it.
There is this magical device that allows you to control what images you see on the television.
Try using it sometime.
In the aftermath of the May tornado outbreak in Texas and Oklahoma, responses by various government officials, relief entities, and ordinary citizens has been expected. First responders were deployed to assist with saving lives, restoring essential services, and cleaning up the storm damage. Volunteers have showed up with supplies. Folks from Joplin, MO which suffered a devastating tornado in 2011 showed up to help Moore, OK with recovery efforts. The American Red Crosshas been taking donations. Governor Perry (R-TX) toured Granbury, TX. Governor Mary Fallin (R-OK) deployed the National Guardto provide additional assistance to recovery and provide a stability presence. President Obama visited the region pledging the federal government will do what it can to help the area recover.
We expect these things because that is what we've come to expect as citizens of this county..
If you recall back in October 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the highly urbanized areas of New York and New Jersey. This happened during the highly competitive Presidential and various down ballot elections. Despite their political differences, President Barack Obama (a Democrat running for re-election) and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (a Republican who was a keynoter at his party's convention) joined together to ensure that the Garden State received the help it needed. At the start of the 113th Congress, a Hurricane Sandy relief package aid was passed with overwhelming support in the House (354-67).
About that vote in the House... 193 Democrats voted for the bill. Among the Republicans it was 161-67 in favor. Yes, 67 Republicans voted against Sandy relief. Among them was Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) whose district borders the Gulf of Mexico and Rep. K. Michael Conway (TX-11) whose district includes Granbury, TX which recently witnessed the destruction of an EF-4 tornado through their community.
When looking at the roll call vote, I was relieved that a majority of Oklahoma's House delegation voted for Sandy relief (3-2, but still a majority). Among those voting in favor was Rep. Tom Cole (OK-4).
Rep. Cole's district includes the city of Moore, OK.
Interesting enough, Rep. Cole praised the Obama administration for quickly responding to this disaster even though he is part of the Benghazi chorus.
And of course Oklahoma's Senators have a well documented history of scuttling disaster relief efforts for other places. To sum it up: "Oh well we can't give aid to New York-New Jersey", but then a bad storm hits their part of the country) "I WANT THAT MONEY!!"
Remember when Hurricane Irene hit the Mid-Atlantic in August 2011 and Rep. Eric Canton (House GOP Leader, VA-8) said that the only way that there will be disaster relief is there will be budget cuts?
It appears that both Oklahoma's Republican Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe are trying to walk back previous statements they made about voting against disaster relief for other locations while trying to get disaster relief for Oklahoma.
Oh and by the way.... Senators Tweedledee and Tweedledum Ted Cruz and John Cornyn John Cornyn and Ted Cruz voted against Hurricane Sandy relief despite that Texas sees their fair share of severe weather. So if they thought they were escaping criticism... HA!
I understand the job of an elected official is to fight for your constituents because you want to ensure they get what they need. Also, the electoral benefits as well.
But to say that one group shouldn't get aid from a disaster while trying to get aid for your group, that is one of the many definitions of hypocrisy.
Republicans like to say there has to be budget cuts in order for there to be disaster relief. I don't remember that ever entering into the disaster relief discussion in my lifetime. The very idea that if you want an area to get help and in return there has to be budget cuts is the worst kind of political hostage taking that Republicans have employed and should be shamed for engaging in these tactics.
The estimated monetary damage from the Moore, OK storm is expected to cost $2 billion. Politico reporter Marty Kady tweeted that FEMA has $13 billion in emergency relief funds for FY 2013. Anyone telling you that we don't have money for disaster relief is either an idiot, liar, or both.
All and all I hope that the people affected by the storms are able to return to a sense of normalcy before the events and then take a good hard look at those that represent them in Congress. Voting NO on disaster aid, regardless of where the storm hits, is NOT looking out in the best interest of our citizens.
President Barack Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently toured the Jersey Shore to highlight the continuing recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy. Even though they are of different political parties, the two have made a commitment to ensure that this region of the country recovers from that storm.The President said it best in his remarks about why we look after each other (boldness are my emphasis):
The work is not over, though. Seven months ago, I promised you that your country would have your back. I told you we would not quit until the job was done, and I meant it. I meant it.
Part of the reason I wanted to come back here was not just to send a message to New Jersey, but send a message to folks in Oklahoma: When we make a commitment that we’ve got your back, we mean it... and we’re not going to finish until the work is done. Because that’s who we are. We help each other as Americans through the bad times, and we sure make the most of the good times.
Saturday, 1 June 2013
On 1 August 2007, the I-35W bridge crossing the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN collapsed during the evening hours. 100 vehicles were involved in the bridge collapse. One the vehicles involved a school bus carrying 63 children returning from a field trip.
13 people were killed. Within the first 40 hours, 11 area hospitals treated 98 victims. 22 of them were children. In May 2008, the state of Minnesota reached a $38 million settlementto compensate the victims.
At the time of the collapse, the roadway was undergoing a repaving project. The bridge was given a sufficiency rating of 50 out of 100 and rated as "structurally deficient."
A new bridge, the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge, was built in its place and opened to traffic on 18 September 2008.
Now another bridge along one of the major north-south interstates has collapsed into a river. This time a portion of a bridge collapsed into the Skagit River along I-5 north of the town of Mount Vernon, WA. The cause of the bridge collapse was due to truck carrying an oversized load struck one of the support beams. The truck had a permit to carry oversized loads.
3 people were injured in this accident.
In 2004, my dad was my co-pilot while I was moving from the East Coast to meet my ship in Washington. I drove the first leg from Charleston, SC to Dallas by myself and then my dad rode with me the rest of the way. One of the things he pointed out to me on our trip was that we have roads that need fixing and he was right.
And he is still right to this day.
My father was born in 1961. Five years before that Congress passed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956and it was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 29 June 1956. It was the largest public works project in America at that time.
Eisenhower understood what could be if the nation was interconnected by a system of roads. In 1919 then-Lt. Colonel Eisenhower was part of the Transcontinental Motor Convoy, an Army unit that traveled 3,251 miles from Washington, DC to San Francisco, CA. It was a means to test the mobilization of American forces during wartime in their ability to cross the country. Eisenhower experienced the delays caused by poor roads and the damage they did the vehicles on this trek.
Eisenhower knew what good roads would mean not just for the military but also for commerce in getting goods and services from small towns to the nation's economic hubs. The interstate highway system was part of the reason why the United States emerged out of the Depression-World War II Era (1929-45) as one of the global economic powers. Because we built a road system that interconnected various cities and the lower 48 states into a larger national network businesses grew, the suburban areas expanded, and it allowed many generations of Americans to explore the country.
Take Texas for example. Dallas and Fort Worth were separate cities before the building of the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, or as we know it today Interstate 30, in 1957. That highway linked the cities together and greatly reduced travel time.
Now the cities and their suburbs almost blur into one another as there are three major east-west freeways that link Fort Worth and Dallas together: the above mentioned I-30, I-20 that runs to the south, and to the north Airport Freeway through the suburbs of Hurst-Bedford-Euless and Irving before linking up with I-35E in Dallas.
Texas has 9 interstate highways (10, 20, 27, 30, 35, 37, 40, 44, 45)... well.... if you include the auxiliary routes (35W, 35E, 110, 345, 410, 610, 635, 820) and the future I-69 that's expected to run from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Houston and through East Texas into Louisiana. And I just learned that US-83connecting Harlingen to McAllen will be designated Interstate 2. Also, Interstate 69 will split into two branches in The Valley: East (I-69E) will end in Brownsville and Central (I-69C) will end in McAllen making it the first interstate highway to have a letter designation since the practice was phased out in 1980. There is a branch called I-369 which will be on the west side of Texarkana, TX and travel 115 miles south and intersect I-69 at Tenaha, TX.
I REALLY hope they double bolt those I-69 signs.
Millions of drivers (including yours truly) use these highways to get from one end of Texas to the other ranging from a short drive into Dallas to a road trip down to Austin to check out the happenings in the Capitol.
Now, fellow drivers in Texas you've noticed that there are quite a few road projects going on in our state. In the Metroplex, LBJ/635 is undergoing a project that will put express lanes UNDERNEATH the freeway. The interchange north of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airportis almost complete. The North Tarrant Express project is well underway.
Why is there all this construction between Dallas and Austin on I-35?
Contrary to popular belief, Texas is a very suburban state. Most of the people in Texas live in the Metroplex, San Antonio-Austin Area, and Houston Metro. We need these roads to support our growing population. If you recall, Texas gained FOUR new congressional districts after the last Census. Texas's population is growing all right. The 10 US cities with the largest population increase from 2011 to 2012, five are in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth.
And those cities are on Interstates 10 (San Antonio to Houston), 35 (Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin to San Antonio) and 45 (Dallas to Houston) comprises the Texas Triangle. There is also the mini-triangle of Austin-San Antonio-Houston that consists of I-10 and I-35 and US-290, but on the Interstate Highway map the 10-35-45 triangle is very recognizable.We need our infrastructure to recognize and support our growing population.
And we are needing it.... bad.
Most of the highways in this country are approaching 60 years old. Remember, the interstate highway system was built starting in the 1950s. Roads and bridges are exposed to various elements ranging from the weather to cars and heavy trucks. These things wear down after continual usage.
Almost two months ago President Obama was in Miami, FL discussing the importance of infrastructure. He gets why having quality roads and ports are good for business.
That's the REAL trickle-down effect on the economy; not the ridiculous notion of that if we give rich people tax breaks, they'll create jobs. No, what will create jobs is investing in tangible usage items like roads, utilities, ports, and other infrastructure projects AND most importantly... maintaining that infrastructure and that means TRAINING workers in THIS country! Businesses can trust that American roads are of sound quality and ensure that their goods and services can get from Point A to Point B without any disruption. They won't have to spend as much time (and importantly money) on having to repair their vehicles damaged by shitty crappy low quality and worn out roads.
The bridge disasters in the last 6 years should not have happened but Republicans were steadfast in that we don't need to be investing any money in this country and are now crowing that Americans should embrace austerity. In addition, they enjoy blocking President Obama's agenda.
Again one of the largest infrastructure projects that this country saw was created by Dwight D. Eisenhower, A REPUBLICAN!
Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican leader, KY) opposed a bill that would bring America's roads and bridges into the 21st Century. And a bridge spanning the Ohio River, the Sherman Minton Bridge to be specific, was closed for 4 months in 2011-12. This isn't an ordinary bridge. This bridge carries I-64 into McConnell's home city of Louisville, KY. I-64 runs from St. Louis, MO through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia to its eastern terminus in Hampton Roads, VA. Hampton Roads, VA is home to one of the largest US Naval Bases and shipping ports in the country.
At the time of the bridge closing, 34% of Kentucky's bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Upgrades were made to bring the bridge up to code, but there was an economic loss as traffic had to be rerouted as a result of the construction.
You know... if I was the Kentucky Democratic Party I would be running ads about how Senator McConnell has let their state's infrastructure fall apart. And I would keep running those ads until 4 November 2014. And then the next day start running them again but replace McConnell's name with Senator Looney TunesRand Paul as he is up for re-election in 2016.
For too long we have put off investing in our infrastructure long enough. We are (both literally and figuratively) at a breaking point.
Instead of investing money into finding ways to make our roads better in the last 30 years, we invested money into cutting taxes for the wealthiest 1% which according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service's study released in September 2012 they discovered no evidence that cutting taxes on rich people helps grow the economy.
Eventually we're going to have to repair our roads and it will end up costing us more if we continue the practice of pushing back repairs instead of undertaking a large wide scale repair and replace project as President Obama suggested.
We built big things in this country once and we took pride in it.
We can do it again.
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