Posts Tagged ‘politics’

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Marriage is Marriage


24 Jan

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage, Politics, Racism | Comments Off

I want to say that I am proud ofWashingtonstate, and I am. At the same time, I still can’t believe it has taken us this long. Yesterday the first hearings were held for both the state Senate and House bills that will bring marriage equality to our state.

I don’t even want to call it gay marriage, because it’s not like it’s a separate thing. It’s marriage. Making interracial marriage legal did not change marriage. It was not a separate thing from same race marriage. This isn’t about gay rights. It’s about equal rights. And it’s about time.

Respect for Marriage Act


21 Jul

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage, Politics | 1 Comment »

Respect for Marriage. I like that. Because really, did marriage ever actually need defending? When people are willing to fight for the right to marry, I’m pretty certain marriage is in good shape.

Diane Feinstein has cred on this issue. She was one of only 14 Senators  who voted against DOMA to begin with. And, now, unsurprisingly, she’s the one to sponsor the bill to repeal DOMA.

Thank you, Senator, for the respect you’ve shown on this issue.

The fact that Obama is endorsing the Respect for Marriage Act is the icing, but you’re the baker.

Equal means equal, always.

Healthcare = Happiness


10 Jul

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Posted in Healthcare, Politics | Comments Off

Recently the results of the first year of an ongoing study about the effects of providing people with state run healthcare were released. This is run through a lottery that allowed some people who normally wouldn’t be eligible to apply for Medicaid.

Short term findings: Providing health coverage cost the state more. People given coverage accessed preventative care but still used ERs just as often. However, those people took fewer sick days from work and reported greater overall happiness.

It’s a promising start, and I look forward to long term results, when I suspect costs will start to go down.

No purpose other than discrimination


07 Jul

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage, Politics | Comments Off

The Obama administration has not been perfect. I’ve had problems with some of their decisions. However, there are others that keep hope alive for me, and this is one of them.

The Administration has sent a brief to a California court, urging it to find the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, and to rule in favor of a federal employee who is suing over health insurance benefits for her same sex spouse.

So now, not only is the Administration refusing to defend DOMA, its actively working to bring it down. This makes me very happy. This I can support.

“God says No” vs “God is Love” – Gay Marriage in NY


21 Jun

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage | Comments Off

Take God out of it. We aren’t deciding church policy, we’re deciding a state law in theUS-a place that clearly spells out in it’s founding documents a distinct separation of Church and State. God doesn’t matter when it comes to our laws.

As for the “religious exemptions” the Republicans are supposedly asking for, do they not know how the law works? A church already has the right to refuse to marry anyone. The only thing they can’t do is refuse to rent their church out for a gay marriage if they rent it out for other random marriages.

Bonus Current Events Content: Just because you’re gay…


15 Jun

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage, Racism | Comments Off

Why do some people seem to think that the historically most prejudiced people out there (straight white males) are the only ones capable of being impartial?

Given the legal precedents, I did not really expect this ruling to come out any differently. Still, it’s nice to hear our legal system affirm being gay does not invalidate Judge Vauhgn Walker’s ruling in the California Prop 8 case. It was treated by reviewing Judge James Ware just like any other discrimination case. Women are capable of presiding over gender discrimination cases; blacks and Hispanics are capable of presiding over racial discrimination cases.

Goodbye DOMA, Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Ass on the Way Out


24 Feb

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Posted in Discrimination, Gay Marriage, Politics | Comments Off

Wednesday morning, President Obama, acting on the advice of the Attorney General, decided that discrimination based on sexual orientation should be presumed unconstitutional. This created a snowball effect which as the Department of Justice concluding that the “Defense of Marriage” Act is also unconstitutional and an illegal law.

I am going to let that sink in for a moment. DOMA = unconstitutional

Repealing DOMA means that all states would have to recognize all marriages from other states. It means a couple from Utah can get married in Massachusetts, and Utah has to accept the marriage, even if they’re both men.

Local Politics


23 Feb

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Posted in Politics | Comments Off

I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago when she mentioned that she knew more about international politics than local politics. I said I was lucky in that after writing to me local state representative, I’m on his mailing list, so I get regular newsletters. I’m also subscribed to his Facebook feed. It makes keeping up to date easier.

Given what’s happening in MA, with a county defunding Head Start, we’re being reminded that caring about what happens on the international and national stages is good, but we also really need to pay attention to our own backyards.

 

I Heart the Constitution


29 Jan

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Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »

I love the Constitution, every word and 2/3s. I love the Federalist Papers, and I even love the Articles of Confederations. Why? Because they aren’t perfect. Because nothing and no one is perfect.

So our founding fathers struggled, and their successors struggled, and have continued to struggle, to this very day. We grow, we adapt, and our government changes! But we don’t throw out the old, we keep it; we keep it for everyone to see. We keep it, because our government is based on a solid principal, the goal of forming “a more perfect union”, and we’re getting there.

Split Government


20 Dec

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Posted in Politics | Comments Off

I like a split government. I would actually like it even more if we had more than two major parties. I think more gets accomplished when the differing sides have to work together. This is the way our government is supposed to work. I may not like all of the compromises, but they almost certainly better represent the American people than just doing what I would want done. And, I’m not always right. It is good to hear the arguments from all sides. I don’t think either party should ever be able to hold the government hostage to its whims.

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