Sexual Orientation

Pope Francis An Inspiration, But Like Barack Obama, He Will Have Major Critics Who Fear Change And Reform

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Pope Francis is a true inspiration to anyone who believes in the true teachings of Jesus Christ, concern for the poor, compassion for the sick, condemnation of materialism, and the understanding that all people, of whatever race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation, deserve equality and justice!

In so many ways, Pope Francis can be compared to Barack Obama, and just like Obama, he will engender hate and condemnation because he fights against prejudice and the evils of wealth, and the selfishness and greed which has arisen yet once again, on the basis of laissez faire capitalism and Social Darwinism, prevalent in the Gilded Age (late 19th century), the age of Imperialism, and resisted by the forces of change and reform in many nations in the 20th century.

But now, those evil forces have reared their ugly head again, and so the battle for progressivism is engaged in a great fight to combat those forces, within the Catholic Church, within organized religion in general, within the capitalistic economy which, in America, has no apparent problem , with the mounting acquisition of wealth by the top one percent, as poverty and the collapse of the middle class continually occur, with no conscience or concern by those who have the stack decked in their favor.

So the right wing forces, that include those who wish death on Barack Obama, will now focus also on the Pope, just as has always happened for those who promote reform and change, including in America, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and also Senator Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We should give thanks for the courage and compassion of our President, and even if we are not Catholic, the Pope, and pray for both men, that they will not fall before any attempted assassination threats of which Obama faces dozens every day!

We live in an age of great hate, and so much of it coming from so called “religious” people, who have no clue as to the true teachings of their faith, and are only out to enrich themselves!

The Ten Senate Republicans Who Supported The Employment NonDiscrimination Act

Ronald 2 Comments

The Employment NonDiscrimination Act was approved by the US Senate this week by a vote of 64-32, including 54 Democrats and 10 Republicans, who agreed that to allow discrimination against workers based on sexual orientation or gender identity was immoral, unethical, simply wrong in America in 2013.

At the same time, 32 Republican Senators continued to show no concern about such discrimination, and in so doing, condemned themselves in history, as much as those opposed to the Civil Rights laws passed over time to ban discrimination against Americans, based upon race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, and disability.

The House of Representatives majority would back such legislation, but it is clear that Speaker of the House John Boehner, personally opposed to the bill, will not call for a vote, because he knows a large percentage of his own party would vote against it, so it will likely languish until the Democrats can win a majority of the House in future years.

The honor roll of those Republicans who showed a conscience and principle include:

John McCain of Arizona
Susan Collins of Maine
Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire
Jeff Flake of Arizona
Rob Portman of Ohio
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Mark Kirk of Illinois
Orrin Hatch of Utah
Dean Heller of Nevada

Notice that not even one Senator from the South supported ENDA. One would have thought that, possibly, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, sometimes open minded on some issues, would have done so, but the power of the Tea Party, religious groups that promote prejudice and hate in the name of their brand of Christianity, and the reality of reelection contests for Alexander and Graham in particular, make that impossible.

After all, being reelected is more important than doing the right thing for the long run of history, right?

Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A True National Treasure!

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Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, appointed by President Bill Clinton 20 years ago, has suffered two serious bouts with cancer, and has lost her husband, but she continues to plug on at age 80, with no plans for retirement.

Since other Supreme Court Justices have stayed on in their 80s, it is not all that surprising that Ginsburg refuses to consider retirement.

Always very friendly and accessible, unusual in the history of the Supreme Court membership, Ginsburg has become more openly outspoken over the years, being the true champion of the progressive side of the Court, and critical in a gentle way of her conservative colleagues, while expressing respect for them as individuals.

And she set new ground by marrying two gay men in the past week, one of them being the President of the Kennedy Center, and the other a well known economist. And she also has spoken out now on the Constitution as the promoter of equal rights for all—race, gender, and sexual orientation—even though it might take a long time, many generations, for the promotion of equality to become the norm, in the story of American history!

Ginsburg is an inspiration to all who believe in equality, justice, decency, and fairness, and a great symbol to women, as to what they can attain, as she is the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, after Sandra Day O’Connor.

It is certainly clear that Ginsburg, O’Connor, and the only other two women appointed to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan have all contributed to the humanization of the Court, and advocated an open minded attitude, which will have a long range effect on Constitutional law!

Applause and commending of the role and significance of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is certainly in order!

America At Crossroads On Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Class

Ronald 10 Comments

After recent events in Florida on racial profiling; in Texas and other states on abortion restrictions; in Arizona and other states on legislation regarding undocumented immigration; the push for theocracy by the Religious Right; the move in many states to allow discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment; and the growing chasm between workers and management regarding labor rights and conditions, it is clear that America is at a crossroads on issues of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class!

African Americans, women, Latinos and Hispanics, those for separation of church and state, gays and lesbians, and the middle class and the poor face constant attack on their basic rights and their quality of life, as the Right is moving to curb advancements that have been made over the past 60 years since the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower onward by the Supreme Court, Congressional action on civil rights and civil liberties, and courageous Presidents of both parties who have seen the need to lower the barriers on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class!

We are at a crossroads in the constant struggle for American democracy and fair play, as even when progress is made, there is aggressive action to reverse the progress, trying to wipe out what has been accomplished!

The country is changing, but we have negative elements who are trying to return America to what it was many generations ago, and the fight for continued progress and advancement to a “more perfect Union” is a never ending one, and no one can give up their participation in the struggle, as that only advances the movement toward negativism, regression, and reversal!

What Demographic Groups Will Vote For Barack Obama And Joe Biden? And Who For Mitt Romney And Paul Ryan?

Ronald 7 Comments

It is clear that this Presidential Election of 2012 will see clear-cut splits in the population, unseen in modern history.

The following groups will clearly vote a majority (fifty percent plus one) for Barack Obama and Joe Biden:

Men–More Educated
Women-More Educated, Single
African Americans
Hispanics-Latinos
Asian Americans
Native Americans
Young People under 34
Middle Aged People 35-54
Jews–Less Religious
Catholics–Less Religious
Secular Voters
Labor
Gays and Lesbians
Veterans–Young and Middle Age
College Graduates
Intellectuals
Urban Residents
Suburban Voters
Civil Libertarians
Environmentalists
Northeast and New England
Midwest Except Indiana and Missouri
Mountain States Of Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico
Pacific Coast and Hawaii

Who will clearly vote in a majority for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan?

Whites–less educated, rural, men and women
Men–less educated and particularly from South
Women–less educated, married, more religious, rural
Wealthy–top two percent
Corporate World
Senior Citizens Who Are White and Christian
Voters 55-64 Who Are White and Christian
Religious Voters, Christian and Jewish
Cuban Americans
Rural Voters
Those With Less Than A Four Year College Degree
Southern States, except Florida and Virginia
Great Plains States
Portions of Midwest and Mountain States, and Alaska
White Working Class in South and Midwest
Tea Party Movement supporters
Conspiracy Theory Believers
“Racial Problem” Voters
High School Graduates or Dropouts

This represents the greatest divisiveness of our nation in probably the past hundred and forty years, and does not bode well for future cooperation in dealing with national problems, both domestic and foreign. Conflict, rather than consensus, is a very disturbing trend in our society!

Gay Republican Zach Wyatt Courageously “Comes Out” Against Hateful Missouri Legislation!

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The anti gay sentiment spreading through the Republican Party nationally finally convinced a Missouri Republican state legislator, Zach Wyatt, to condemn a bill being promoted in the Missouri state legislature that would ban any discussion in any classroom about gays and lesbians, including even the idea of fighting bullying.

This despicable legislation was courageously opposed by Wyatt, who also decided it was time to be honest to himself, and admit to the world that he was gay.

What a testimonial to courage and conviction, and it makes one wonder why so many gay Republicans, and there are plenty of them, do not speak out and fight against discrimination!

It is well known that there are many gay people who work for state legislatures and for members of Congress, and the question is how they can remain silent and only think about advancement of their careers!

It is also amazing that politicians themselves have no problem, in most situations, to the hiring of gay people, and yet they use gays and lesbians as an excuse to promote an anti gay agenda!

What is it about these political leaders and their staff members, that they exploit an issue and overlook discrimination and hate, simply to advance their own careers?

At least for now, let everyone applaud Zach Wyatt of Missouri for doing the right thing, and hopefully, helping young people tormented by guilt over their sexual orientation!