There have been a rash of teen suicides as of late relating to bullying GLBTQ students. Samantha Kelly was none of those things. Samantha was a 14 year old student at Huron High School in Michigan. She reported having sex with an 18 year old student, which qualifies as statutory rape under Michigan law. In one interview, Samantha also made references that lead people to believe that the sex was not consensual.
The accused student, Joseph Tanopolski, admitted to a local TV station that he did indeed have sex with the 14 year old, essentially admitting to breaking Michigan state law.
Once this story became public, Samantha was forced to endure taunting and bullying by students in the school, many of them taking sides with her accused rapist. She was accosted, screamed at, chased, threatened, and they made her life a living hell.
On November 8, 2010, Samantha Kelly ended her life by hanging herself. She could no longer endure the treatment of her peers. After Samantha hanged herself, the prosecutors decided to drop all charges against her accused rapist saying that they were unable to move forward without Samantha's testimony. They have a confession on tape that was broadcast throughout the community and contributed to the eventual death of a tormented 14 year old girl and they chose to drop the charges. How convenient for Tanopolski.
There will apparently be no justice for Samantha Kelly. This is yet another glaring example of how Michigan, along with a handful of other states, are ignoring bullying in their youth and becoming a de facto contributor to the pain and brutality that they are enduring.
I hope that we don't have more stories about more Samanthas. Sadly, until people stand up and speak out, I fear that this is not the end of the needless loss of life.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Religious Right Concerned About TSA
Yes, you read that correctly. The religious right is concerned about the TSA and not in the way you may think. They are afraid that good, straight people are going to be unfairly subjected to searches by homosexual TSA agents.
Peter LaBarbera from the radical right wing religious organization Americans for Truth About Homosexuality has dedicated his life to curing homosexuality. He also said recently "The reality is, most traveling men would not want Barney Frank to pat them down at the airport security checkpoint," LaBarbera said. "Neither would it be fair to assign Ellen DeGeneres to pat down female travelers."
He went on to say that TSA workers should be required to declare their sexual preference so that it can be determined whether or not they are appropriate to perform security checks on passengers.
Apparently, this guy has never flown, or least not lately. A TSA pat down is as sterile as it can be. I was patted down just a week and a half ago and I can honestly say that I couldn't care less if she was a lesbian or a Muslim or a martian or Jewish or any other identifier. TSA agents perform their duties to the best of their abilities and in the most professional manner possible. The job of a TSA agent is to do their best to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it slightly irritating? Yes. Do I care who pats me down? No.
People like LaBarbera do nothing but incite fear into uneducated people. His accusations are baseless and ridiculous and should be treated as such. We have much bigger problems to worry about.
Peter LaBarbera from the radical right wing religious organization Americans for Truth About Homosexuality has dedicated his life to curing homosexuality. He also said recently "The reality is, most traveling men would not want Barney Frank to pat them down at the airport security checkpoint," LaBarbera said. "Neither would it be fair to assign Ellen DeGeneres to pat down female travelers."
He went on to say that TSA workers should be required to declare their sexual preference so that it can be determined whether or not they are appropriate to perform security checks on passengers.
Apparently, this guy has never flown, or least not lately. A TSA pat down is as sterile as it can be. I was patted down just a week and a half ago and I can honestly say that I couldn't care less if she was a lesbian or a Muslim or a martian or Jewish or any other identifier. TSA agents perform their duties to the best of their abilities and in the most professional manner possible. The job of a TSA agent is to do their best to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it slightly irritating? Yes. Do I care who pats me down? No.
People like LaBarbera do nothing but incite fear into uneducated people. His accusations are baseless and ridiculous and should be treated as such. We have much bigger problems to worry about.
I'll let Jon Stewart handle this one...
Let's take a look at The Daily Show's take on John McCain's stance on DADT.
Yep... That pretty much sums it up.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| It Gets Worse PSA | ||||
| ||||
Yep... That pretty much sums it up.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Update: A Message from the No H8 Campaign
Apparently causing some controversy is enough to make some people change what they believe - or at least what they say they do. After Cindy McCain appeared in a video for No H8, people were all a twitter about the differences and conversations that must be happening in the McCain household. In that ad, McCain says that "our political and religious leaders tell LGBT youth that they have no future." Later, she adds that "they can't serve our country openly."
People were looking at this as an interesting cases of people on the right being able to look at a situation in a manner that is outside of the status quo. From what we have seen over the last couple of days, some serious politicking is going on.
Friday, Cindy took to Twitter to let people know that "I fully support the NO H8 campaign and all it stands for and am proud to be a part of it. But I stand by my husband's stance on DADT." Her husband, Sen, John McCain (R-AZ) has been a vocal opponent to repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT). He stated on Sunday that there was no rift of opinion between them on DADT.
I wonder what could have happened to have changed her mind so drastically and so quickly?
People were looking at this as an interesting cases of people on the right being able to look at a situation in a manner that is outside of the status quo. From what we have seen over the last couple of days, some serious politicking is going on.
Friday, Cindy took to Twitter to let people know that "I fully support the NO H8 campaign and all it stands for and am proud to be a part of it. But I stand by my husband's stance on DADT." Her husband, Sen, John McCain (R-AZ) has been a vocal opponent to repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT). He stated on Sunday that there was no rift of opinion between them on DADT.
I wonder what could have happened to have changed her mind so drastically and so quickly?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
A Side By Side Comparison
Below, courtesy of The Washington Post via The Rachel Maddow Show, is a side by side comparison of the democrats proposed tax cuts and the republicans proposed tax cuts. As you can see, at the top of the charts, both plans are rather similar, off by only a few dollars from each other.
Check out what happens at the $500,000 - $1,000,000 level. The republican plan triples that tax breaks to this group of people. Now, look at the $1,000,000 + level. The proposed tax cut from the right is 17 times larger than what is being proposed by the democrats.
This shows you in black and white the difference between the two parties. One party wants to give fair tax cuts to all. The other wants to give exhorbitant tax cuts to the extremely wealthy. Who is on your side?
Check out what happens at the $500,000 - $1,000,000 level. The republican plan triples that tax breaks to this group of people. Now, look at the $1,000,000 + level. The proposed tax cut from the right is 17 times larger than what is being proposed by the democrats.
This shows you in black and white the difference between the two parties. One party wants to give fair tax cuts to all. The other wants to give exhorbitant tax cuts to the extremely wealthy. Who is on your side?
Friday, November 12, 2010
Mitch McConnell's Real Thoughts on The Iraq War
In his new memoir Decision Points, George W. Bush states that in September 2006, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) visited him in private and told him that the President's unpopularity was going to cost them the mid-term elections. When asked what the president could do to boost numbers, McConnell then told him to bring some troops home from Iraq. Bush goes on to say in the book that he told McConnell that he would not bring troops home until it was safe to do so and he would most certainly not do it for political gain. In fact, Bush did not only not take McConnell's advice, after elections he increased the number of troops on the ground.
Let me state it again - McConnell told Bush to bring troops home from Iraq in order to boost their popularity to maintain control of Congress. He wanted to use troops as political capital.
During that same time, while democrats were publicly speaking out on the need to reduce the number of troops overseas, McConnell and other congressional republicans were lampooning the idea as bad for America - as "waiving the white flag in the war on terror". Again, he was not concerned with the bloodshed, the wasteful spending, or worldwide ramifications - only the political consequences here at home.
At this point, McConnell has two options - he can publicly call Bush, a former leader of his own party a liar, or admit what he was doing. He can admit that he was attempting to use American soldiers and the emotional attachment that comes along with that to win an election cycle.
This behavior is deplorable. Politicians and leaders are to be held to a higher standard. They are expected to do what is best for the American people. They are not expected to do what is best for their political party, regardless of what is best for the country.
At this point, McConnell has not made any attempted to discount this information. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Let me state it again - McConnell told Bush to bring troops home from Iraq in order to boost their popularity to maintain control of Congress. He wanted to use troops as political capital.
During that same time, while democrats were publicly speaking out on the need to reduce the number of troops overseas, McConnell and other congressional republicans were lampooning the idea as bad for America - as "waiving the white flag in the war on terror". Again, he was not concerned with the bloodshed, the wasteful spending, or worldwide ramifications - only the political consequences here at home.
At this point, McConnell has two options - he can publicly call Bush, a former leader of his own party a liar, or admit what he was doing. He can admit that he was attempting to use American soldiers and the emotional attachment that comes along with that to win an election cycle.
This behavior is deplorable. Politicians and leaders are to be held to a higher standard. They are expected to do what is best for the American people. They are not expected to do what is best for their political party, regardless of what is best for the country.
At this point, McConnell has not made any attempted to discount this information. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Message from the No H8 Campaign
The No H8 Campaign (http://www.noh8campaign.com/) started as a silent protest in response to the passage of Proposition 8. In a little over 2 years, the campaign has featured over 5,500 faces, some famous, some not, but what they have in common is people voiceing their support for equal rights for everyone
Check out this video featuring Cindy McCain speaking out on the issue of bullying.
Wonder what conversations like this are like in the McCain household?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
This is what liberal politicians need to stand up and say!
How sad is it that we have to look to a fictional charecter to say what most of the democrats in America are thinking? Why can't we say this honestly and proudly. As Ed Schultz says, democrats need to get some heart, find their soul, and grow a spine!
What Have We Accomplished Under Obama
Since the right has been painting Obama as a useless leader that has driven this country into the ground, I thought I would list some of the notable accomplishments of this administration in its first 2 years.
1. Health Care Reform
2. Medicare Expansion
3. Added $4.6 billion to the VA budget for mental health care
4. Increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act
5. Lifted travel restrictions for Cuban Americans to visit family and send remittances
6. Eliminated student load middle men allowing more students access to loans for education
7. Increased national parks funding by 10%
8. Expanded Pell Grants to help low income students pay for college
9. Expanded hate crime law through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
10. Established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
11. Banking reform
12. Cut Medicare drug costs by 50%
13. Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
14. Extended benefits to same-sex partners for federal employees
15. The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan
16. Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years
17. Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history
18. Promoted social responsibility through creation of serve.gov, a national database of volunteer opportunities
19. Reversed 'global gag rule', allowing US aid to go to organizations regardless of whether they provide abortions
20. Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time
21. Signed New START Treaty - nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia
22. Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016
23. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers
24. Provided travel expenses to families of fallen soldiers to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
25. Reversed the policy of barring media coverage during the return of fallen soldiers to Dover Air Force Base
26. Launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse
27. Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which provides health care to 11 million kids -- 4 million of whom were previously uninsured
28. Issued executive order to repeal Bush era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
29. Developed stimulus package, which includes approx. $18 billion for non-defense scientific research and development
30. Issued executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay
31. Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations
32. Tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage
33. Tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance
There you go - the single most legislatively effective period in American history. More accomplished for more Americans than ever before and the right is still trying to play the same sad song. What will it take for people to wake up and realize that when Democrats are in power, they work to get things done for all of us?
I hope that they take advantage of this lame duck session and push through as much legislation as possible before the right comes into power in the house and stagnates any and all progress.
1. Health Care Reform
2. Medicare Expansion
3. Added $4.6 billion to the VA budget for mental health care
4. Increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act
5. Lifted travel restrictions for Cuban Americans to visit family and send remittances
6. Eliminated student load middle men allowing more students access to loans for education
7. Increased national parks funding by 10%
8. Expanded Pell Grants to help low income students pay for college
9. Expanded hate crime law through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
10. Established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
11. Banking reform
12. Cut Medicare drug costs by 50%
13. Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
14. Extended benefits to same-sex partners for federal employees
15. The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan
16. Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years
17. Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history
18. Promoted social responsibility through creation of serve.gov, a national database of volunteer opportunities
19. Reversed 'global gag rule', allowing US aid to go to organizations regardless of whether they provide abortions
20. Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time
21. Signed New START Treaty - nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia
22. Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016
23. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers
24. Provided travel expenses to families of fallen soldiers to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
25. Reversed the policy of barring media coverage during the return of fallen soldiers to Dover Air Force Base
26. Launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse
27. Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which provides health care to 11 million kids -- 4 million of whom were previously uninsured
28. Issued executive order to repeal Bush era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
29. Developed stimulus package, which includes approx. $18 billion for non-defense scientific research and development
30. Issued executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay
31. Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations
32. Tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage
33. Tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance
There you go - the single most legislatively effective period in American history. More accomplished for more Americans than ever before and the right is still trying to play the same sad song. What will it take for people to wake up and realize that when Democrats are in power, they work to get things done for all of us?
I hope that they take advantage of this lame duck session and push through as much legislation as possible before the right comes into power in the house and stagnates any and all progress.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Debunking the right wing
Everyone can have their own opinion - not everyone can have their own facts.
1. Obama is a secret Muslim on a mission to take over the United States
FACT: Obama is not a Muslim because he says he isn't. Even if he was, I wouldn't care and neither should anyone else. The First Amendment is a beautiful thing.
2. Obama's trip to India/Indonesia/etc is costing American tax payers $200 million dollars a day and he took with him 1/10 of our naval resources.
FACT: No, it isn't. While they do not release exact figures for security reasons, both the White House and the SecNav have stated that this is incorrect. Why do people believe it? If Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh repeat it enough, it must be true. Oh yeah - and Indonesia has the largest number of Muslims per capita so that proves number 1.
3. Increasing tax cuts for the wealthiest people boosts the economy and helps reduce the deficit.
FACT: No - it doesn't. 2+2 = 4. In order for the Republican strategy to work, 2+2 would have to equal -$730 billion. If you add something to something already existing, it doesn't get smaller. The subway gets more crowded, my pants get tighter, and the deficit grows.
4. Rand Paul (R-KY) is against earmarks.
FACT: When he ran for office, he was. Now that he is awaiting his oath, he has stated that he will work to get KY their fair share of earmarks and pork. Don't Republicans have a term for that? Oh, yes - flip flop.
More to come on this topic as I am quite sure that the right wing media will give us plenty to talk about!
1. Obama is a secret Muslim on a mission to take over the United States
FACT: Obama is not a Muslim because he says he isn't. Even if he was, I wouldn't care and neither should anyone else. The First Amendment is a beautiful thing.
2. Obama's trip to India/Indonesia/etc is costing American tax payers $200 million dollars a day and he took with him 1/10 of our naval resources.
FACT: No, it isn't. While they do not release exact figures for security reasons, both the White House and the SecNav have stated that this is incorrect. Why do people believe it? If Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh repeat it enough, it must be true. Oh yeah - and Indonesia has the largest number of Muslims per capita so that proves number 1.
3. Increasing tax cuts for the wealthiest people boosts the economy and helps reduce the deficit.
FACT: No - it doesn't. 2+2 = 4. In order for the Republican strategy to work, 2+2 would have to equal -$730 billion. If you add something to something already existing, it doesn't get smaller. The subway gets more crowded, my pants get tighter, and the deficit grows.
4. Rand Paul (R-KY) is against earmarks.
FACT: When he ran for office, he was. Now that he is awaiting his oath, he has stated that he will work to get KY their fair share of earmarks and pork. Don't Republicans have a term for that? Oh, yes - flip flop.
More to come on this topic as I am quite sure that the right wing media will give us plenty to talk about!
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