Obama’s Plan For Gay Rights June 19, 2009

Sad but true.

Preeetty much, yeah (That’s a screenshot, btw, of the simple-yet-endearing http://www.obamasplanforgayrights.com).

So, this has been building for a while – ‘this’ being ‘Obama’s not as ‘fierce’ as he would like to think with the queers and their civil rights’ – and I haven’t said much, if anything, on it. Maybe a couple things. But nothing, really, on how he’s pretty much done jackshit on his ‘promises to the BTLG community’ shtick since getting into office. I’ve wanted to, yes! And the tension has only been building. But I haven’t, for a few reasons:

• I’ve been posting very sporadically in general
• I’ve been either busy (school) or destressing from said busy (cuddling with the dogs, and reading the entire ‘Earth’s Children‘ series by Jean M. Auel, which happens to be in my local library. Ayla and Jondalar FTW!)
• Lots of other shit has been going on, in the country and the world (WTF Iranian election?! I’ve been glued to Twitter since Saturday!) and in the dark corner of my head where I think up blog posts, i.e. abortion, patients’ rights, right-wing hate speech, misogyny in the media, ad infinitum.

Our Fearless Leader Speaks (about some things) April 5, 2009

Okay, so Obama has actually made a public statement about that law that stripped away women’s rights in Afghanistan, publicly condemning it while at the G20 conference (via).

I’m glad that he took a firm stance on women’s rights being human rights, and an important thing regardless of one’s culture or religion; only time will tell if his speaking out against the law will actually do any good. Karzai, for his part, has promised to review the law, but to me it doesn’t sound like he’s planning on actually changing anything rather than attempting to cover his ass (emphasis mine).

Karzai did not mention Article 132 [the infamous "marital rape clause"] during a news conference Saturday. But he said he had studied the law earlier in the day and that “I don’t see any problems with it.”

He complained that Western media outlets had mistranslated it [which would imply that the women's rights issues were exaggerated, except...]. He read an article of the law during the news conference that appears to restrict Shiite women’s right to leave their homes, though Karzai underscored a provision that allows women to leave in emergencies.

Call me a militant feminazi, but if the least misogynistic thing you can say about your new law is that it lets women leave the house when it’s on fire, you’re doing it wrong.

On Appeasement April 1, 2009

Today, we have two recent examples of political appeasement – one in Afghanistan, and one in the United States. In the U.S., Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, who is nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services, has signed into law a bill passed in the Kansas legislature, restricting women’s abortion rights (via).

As far as fetal ultrasound mandates go, I think Twisty says it best:

Because stupid ignorant women apparently don’t have the slightest idea what pregnancy is; they need this vital information, available only through a medical procedure, about what is really going on in their lady-ovens. If they are given the opportunity (i.e. forced) to endure a fetus-screening (”Here’s baby’s precious little beating heart, here’s his adorable little brain stem …”), they will see the error of their ways and comply with the godbag mandate to shut up and be punished for the sin of fornication by incubating to term, followed by a lifetime of child-rearing drudgery.

[...]For a woman seeking an abortion, this weepy ultrasound intervention, like most state and medical interference in private lives, is wildly inappropriate. It’s nothing but pressure to conform by shaming the woman into a culturally-mandated response. No “information” is imparted, only social cues. The only possible rationale behind any [...]anti-abortion bill is to make abortion as inconvenient, shaming, and difficult as possible.

“Pro-Life” Myth No. 3: Pro-choicers hate babies! January 25, 2009

This is a persistent one. Besides being chanted by every Planned Parenthood protester with a fetus picture, it got a lot of mileage during the latest presidential campaign. Basically, at a campaign event in March of last year, Obama said the following scandalous statement:

“I’ve got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old. I’m going to teach them first of all about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

I dislike his equating “values and morals” with abstinence and lack thereof with sex, but I do like that he’s encouraging contraceptive use (this speech was not actually about abortion at all). He also recognizes, as most reasonable people do, that being pregnant when one does not wish to be is distinctly unpleasant, and when this unpleasantness is the result of sex, a pregnancy (particularly a pregnancy that one is unable to get rid of) can reasonably be called “a punishment” for said sex.

Well. I’m sure you can guess how that radical sentiment worked out.

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey… January 24, 2009

Curse my lack of faith! The Global Gag Rule, officially known as the Mexico City Policy?

Buh-bye now.

To celebrate, please enjoy the following clip of the late and irrepressible George Carlin, on abortion rights:

Obamadinistration, Day 3 January 23, 2009

Feministe has a good post up listing some of Obama’s executive orders since he’s started working. He clearly came out of the gate running; one of the most interesting is that he has frozen all pending policies and legislation passed by the Bush Administration, subject to review. Among the affected policies? Our old favorite, the HHS “conscience clause” rule! According to California NOW,

While the regulatory process had been completed and the final regulations reported in the Federal Registry, HHS had not yet developed guidelines for implementation. [A contact at HHS confirms] the Department believes the regs. fall under President Obama’s executive order “freezing all last minute Bush administration regulations for review prior to final implementation”.

Woohoo! In other reproductive health news, yesterday was the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Newsflash: Obama wins! November 5, 2008

So, I’m sure that everyone reading this already knows that Obama won. Can I just get a quick ‘woot’? Thank you. I watched the CNN election results with bated breath; I realized at about 10:15 that Obama was going to win (right after he won Ohio), but none of my friends were around, so I couldn’t tell anybody! It was so suspenseful. And then, of course, we counted down the last seconds until 11 when the polls on the West Coast closed and CNN could officially project it all for Obama…after counting down, the ‘breaking news’ graphic flashed across the screen and then we just saw “Barack Obama Elected President”. Well, let me tell you. I have heard some screams in my day, but nothing approaching the screaming I heard in the academic building I was in. The room I was watching from was packed, but it was tiny compared to the main one (watching Comedy Central), not to mention all the people milling around in the halls, squished like happy sardines. Even now, at 12:40, I can hear people on the other side of campus, screaming (it probably didn’t help that the school provided us with a couple kegs. For once, I wished that I drank so that I could say my school gave me free alcohol).

Links Round-Up! October 23, 2008

I don’t feel like typing a lot today, as I have a midterm to study for and a mouse bite on my finger to nurse (yes, for serious. Yes, it hurt quite a bit. Yes, I’m milking it for all it’s worth). So, here’s some recommendations on some of the topics being bandied about the blogosphere today:

• The incomparable David Sedaris on the election:
  

  To put [undecided voters] in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

  To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

Debate Post-Mortem/Quick Hits October 17, 2008

Well, now that the dust has settled from the bloodbath that was Wednesday night’s debate (does that count as mixing metaphors?), some quasi-objective analysis may be attempted (if you haven’t yet, be sure to read the liveblog here).

• First, the man I know you’ve all been wondering about: Joe the plumber. In deciding to make him the lynchpin of McCain’s debate talking points, the campaign demonstrated the same thorough vetting capabilities as they did when selecting Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential nominee. Namely, Joe has a different first AND last name than McCain said he did, is not a registered plumber, owes more than $1000 on back taxes, and with his current income, would receive tax cuts under Obama’s plan. In addition, even if he were to buy a small business and end up making so much profit that his income was >$250,000, he would almost undoubtedly be better off under Obama’s plan, because there are only a couple percentage points between the two plans in that bracket and Obama’s comes with added breaks for small businesses. So….way to go, GOP! (It is mildly encouraging, though – they’re such awful liars, the quest for transparency in government would be that much easier to achieve).

Presidential Debatage 3.0 October 15, 2008

So tonight is the third (and last?) presidential debate, held at Hofstra University, in Some State Not Near Vaguely Near Me. Those In The Know say that McCain needs to unequivocally hit this one out of the park to have a snowball’s chance in Hell of a comeback. Those who are also In The Know say that such a resounding victory is unlikely, as expectations are high on both sides. McCain has said multiple times that he will “call Obama out” on the whole Ayers thingamajig, so if he doesn’t he will be viewed as weak and more talk-talking than walk-walking. However, if (when?) he does bring the matter up, he is almost positive to get trounced, as Obama will undoubtedly call McCain out on his racist and hate-filled speeches and movement within the Republican party, and also counter with the evidence that just surfaced about William Timmons, current member of his campaign team, having helped out Saddam Hussein. A valid criticism? Perhaps, perhaps not. But excellent for the whole “taste of his own medicine” idea.

Other things McCain is going to have to struggle to make look good: