Day: March 20, 2013

Hillary Clinton’s Endorsement Of Gay Marriage: What It Portends

Ronald 3 Comments

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has finally endorsed gay marriage in a strong public statement, mirroring her husband’s statement that the Defense of Marriage Act, passed during his Presidency in 1996, was a mistake, and that it was time for it to be repealed.

Hillary Clinton has always been a strong supporter of gay rights, but avoided gay marriage until now.

The question is why, and there are three answers:

The Supreme Court is about to hear a case that could transform this nation on the subject of marriage, unlike anything since Loving V Virginia in 1967, which finally declared interracial marriage to be constitutional. Extra pressure on the Court at a time like this cannot help but possibly influence Justice Anthony Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts, either or both who could be the decisive votes on the case.

Many Democrats have endorse gay marriage, including President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and potential Democratic nominees for President, including Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland, so if Hillary Clinton is soon to decide to run for President in 2016 she would, obviously, need to get into line on the issue.

Also, Hillary could be taking this step out of pure principle, and belief that the time is right for this significant social advancement.

No matter what the motivation, and it is probably all three, it is proper to salute Hillary Clinton for speaking up, once again, for human rights and human dignity!

CNN And The Steubenville, Ohio Rape Coverage: Disgraceful!

Ronald 1 Comment

CNN has been declining in quality rapidly, and is losing its reputation as, supposedly, the most “balanced” cable news channel!

To watch Anchor Candy Crowley and correspondent Poppy Harlow talk ad infinitum about the loss of potential in two young football players in Steubenville, Ohio, who were convicted of raping a 16 year girl at a party, taping it, spreading it through social media, and bragging over their conquest, was enough to make one want to vomit!

What is the matter with these women, particularly the fact that they are WOMEN, that they express no concern or empathy for the female victim of the rape?

Who cares about whether these two young men are now to be listed as sex offenders, and that they will have a police record that will haunt them for the rest of their lives? Who cares that they will be incarcerated for their horrific crime?

This is a sign of what has happened in our society, the lack of respect for women and their basic human rights!

And when you have Christian pastors and Republican politicians who make clear their contempt for the rights of women, and can even justify rape as possibly having its virtues, including requiring that a child conceived in rape should be taken to birth, it makes one understand that with all of the great advancements for women in the past fifty years, there is still a long road to true respect and equality for women, in relation to men who seem to think, whether they are high school football players, clergymen, or politicians, that they should, somehow, be able to control women and their every action, including their pregnancies, their manner of dress, and their overall behavior, as, after all, men should, somehow, not be held accountable for their own actions, statements, and behavior!

It is also way past time for the news media at all levels, including social media, to stop degrading women in all kinds of ways, and for women reporters and anchors to do so, makes it even worse, so SHAME ON YOU to CNN, and a profuse apology is required!