Xordelia (dot) COM

So lately I’ve been hearing a lot about this so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” (Islamic Community center) and I really can’t believe how much media attention it is getting from both sides.

1. The “mosque” will be located in New York. New York is a state, not a country. Many of the most outspoken critics haven’t even BEEN to New York, yet care unduly for the affairs of another state?

2. The “mosque” is not located at Ground Zero. It is a few blocks away. Plans to build this mosque were in place even before 9/11.

3. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the religious leader behind the mosque, is a moderate Muslim, even liberal by Islamic standards. If we must tolerate religion in the US (it’s in our constitution) we need moderate religious people rather than fundamentalist nut-cases.

4. Yes, the people who attacked us on 9/11 were Muslim. But we’ve had Christians wreak plenty of havoc in the name of religion. Most Americans don’t consider Christianity to be as toxic as it is, so why have double standards with Muslims? The fundamentalist minority should not define the peaceful majority.

5. As an American who vividly remembers the details of 9/11 including where I was standing when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center, I agree that it is a little bit insensitive to build an Islamic Community cCenter so close to Ground Zero. But ultimately it isn’t up to me to decide what happens 1) in another state and 2) on private property. Maybe this Community Center will help us become more tolerant and move forward as a modern globalized nation.

6. The first amendment, the same amendment that allows Christians and the religious-right to spread hate in the name of religion, also gives Muslims the right to worship and build mosques wherever they choose. If religious liberty is eliminated for one group, it will have to be eliminated for all groups.

Lets take a look at what the first amendment guarantees all Americans:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That means that, just like civil rights, it isn’t up to the majority to decide on the rights of the minority. I’m sorry if you disagree with something, by all means scream and make a ruckus about it, but in the end Christians would be the ones screaming the loudest if someone denied THEM religious liberty. I guess this shows the ultimate hypocrisy of Christianity that many complain about.

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So I’ve held off on writing about the ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker in California that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Of course I was excited, no THRILLED that it was struck down, but I wanted to wait to see how the religious right would respond.

The Absurdity of Proposition 8 (to begin with)

2008 was a year of great victory for progressivism in America. We elected Barack Obama – our first non-white President – something unprecedented in American history. But on the same night – in California – arguably the most liberal state in the Union, citizens passed a law that amended the California constitution to make  gay marriage illegal. The Yes on 8 campaign was filled with lies and scare tactics to entice the ignorant-majority to vote in opposition to Prop 8. I even heard of people so confused by what Yes and No actually meant in regard to the proposition, that they voted opposite of how they intended to.

As Rachel Maddow so eloquently said this week on her show, when you put minority rights up to vote by the majority, the majority will subjugate the minority 100% of the time. 31 out of 31 states that put gay marriage up to a vote, voted against it. Rights should not be put up for vote, they should not be a matter of public opinion, even if many MANY people think they should be. Rights exist to protect people – if we didn’t NEED protecting there would be no need for laws. For example, look at universal suffrage for minorities and women as well as the civil rights battle in the 50s and 60s for minorities and women. Previously, they had a similar position in society as LGBTQ Americans and it took the government intervening to give them rights. Clearly the same was true in the case of Prop 8.

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The Overturn of the Discriminatory Law

Judge Vaughn Walker in California overturned Proposition 8 on Wednesday, August 4th 2010. An appointee of George Bush Senior (AKA Daddy Bush), Walker is assumed to be a conservative-leaning judge. Among other things, Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that “Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.” He also believes (and I agree with him) that “Denying marriage to gay people does not make heterosexual marriages stronger; it does not protect children; it does not have any ‘rational reason’ at all”. He further went on to say that it violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution on the basis of not providing equal protection.

Taken from Change.org:

“Excluding same-sex couples from marriage is simply not rationally related to legitimate state interest,” asserted Walker in his decision yesterday. And, in a direct strike to social conservative arguments on the “sanctity of marriage,” Walker ruled, “tradition alone, however, cannot form a rational basis for a law.” The old paradigm of rationalized, “reasonable” sexual norms was thus struck down, replaced by a new order, for now, that emphasized our historic “rationales” flaws.

To bolster his point, Walker contended, “The evidence shows that the tradition of restricting an individual’s choice of spouse based on gender does not rationally further a state interest despite its ‘ancient lineage.” Times have changed, he’s saying, and American law needs to keep up.

There’s no way Walker’s decision won’t be debated and discussed for years, perhaps even generations, to come. He totally reoriented previously entrenched ideas about “rational” sexuality and gender identities and placed them in a new context, a more relevant context.

Walker’s Proposition 8 reading totally revolutionized the nation’s idea of “rational reason,” and now there’s no turning back. Not that a reasonable nation would want to in the first place, right?

The Aftermath of Justice

Not unusual for the religious right, all was quiet on the bible belt front. They were so shocked that, for once, that they were silent. At least for a day. Now people on the religious right are calling for the impeachment of Judge Vaughn Walker. On what grounds, I’m not sure. I’m sure something along the lines of denying religious liberty – however, what they really mean is not passing laws derived from the chaos and brutality of the Old Testament.

According to the American Family Association, anything but an organization dedicated to preservingfamily, Judge Vaughn Walker should be impeached because:

(Taken from The Examiner)

• Walker’s decision overturning Prop 8 “frustrated the express will of seven million Californians who went to the polls to shape their state’s public policy on marriage;”
• “Judge Walker is an open homosexual, and should have recused himself from this case due to his obvious conflict of interest. “
• “Federal judges hold office only ‘during good Behaviour,’ and …Judge Walker’s ruling is not ‘good Behaviour.’”

While 6.8 million Californians voted for the Prop 8 gay marriage ban in 2008, more than 6.2 million voted against Prop 8. Moreover, the issue before Judge Walker was whether Prop 8 violated the U.S. Constitution, specifically, the 14th Amendment’s guarantees against deprivation “of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and of “equal protection of the laws.” As Judge Walker pointed out in his ruling, these Constitutional protections for minorities of all types are not subject to the whims of a majority of voters.

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution provides for the impeachment of “civil officers of the United States” (including federal judges) for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Judge Walker did not do anything illegal or even unethical. He will not be impeached. Stop wasting time and costing the tax payers money in order to force religion on Americans.

As usual the religious-right is just a bunch of idiotic buffoons who are unable to come to terms that society has changed since the Middle Ages. It’s time to move on. The rest of society, including many moderate Christians, have already moved on. It’s time for the far right to do so as well.

I’m sorry if conservatives disagree with gay marriage. In the 1940s, the majority denied the minority (blacks and women) rights. They disagreed that they were deserving of civil rights. In that case as well as this, the government had to step in. Now civil rights for women and minorities are just a fact of life.

I’m sorry if conservatives hold deep religious conviction that homosexuality is deviant behavior. But that’s just too damn bad. Church and State are separate in the United States. If they’d prefer a theocracy, they should move to Iran. Enough said.

Awesome parody video from The Onion -

New Law Would Ban Marriages Between People Who Don’t Love Each Other

I would love to know your thoughts on this.

Edit 19:20 August 6, 2010:

After posting my article I found an awesome article concerning Arnold Schwarzenegger and how he is an LGBT hero. Even the Republican governor of California supports marriage equality. You’d think, being Republican of all unpleasant things, he could be adamantly opposed to marriage equality. However, he praised the decision by Judge Vaughn Walker! And he’s not even up for re-election this year; it was genuine. Schwarzenegger pleaded that gays be allowed to marry immediately, opposing the stay requested by the far-right nutcases. You go Arnie! I love you and I’m proud to be a Californian and an American today!

Recently Target donated $150,000 to a Minnesota PAC supporting Tom Emmer, an anti-gay politician. Not only is Emmer anti-gay, but he supports a rockband who actually advocates death to LGBTQ Americans. As a national chain who has always been progressive in their support of LGBTQ employees with a 100% rating on HRC’s equality index, it baffles me that Target would support such a candidate.

Please stand with me (and the grieving mother in this video) in boycotting Target until they issue a public apology and make this right.

My e-mail to Gregg.Steinhafel@target.com

Hello Gregg,

My family and I have been long term shoppers and fans of Target. We were particularly impressed when you took a stand against the religious-right in not allowing certain dogmatic Christmas symbols. As a supporter of the HRC, I am also proud that Target has a 100% rating on the HRC Workplace Equality Index.

However, this recent news about supporting not just an anti-LGBT politician, but one who supports a rock band who encourages killing LGBTQ Americans, well that is just shameful. My family, friends and anyone who will listen to me will doing business elsewhere – at businesses who do not support hate with their money.

We would be happy to return our business to Target once there has been a formal apology to LGBTQ Americans and a promise to investigate candidates further before making donations in the future.

I’m hoping that Target makes the right choice.

Michael R Brant

Today I was reading an article on Change.org about a church in Michigan who outed one of their gay parishioners and socially isolated him. Having been through similar treatment at a church I went to in high school, I found this article infuriating. Like a lot of Christians, I was very unhappy being gay. In fact, I was self-hating from about 13 years old until late high school. It took me until I was 20 to come out. When I went to this church, I got very involved and became a youth leader. I spent most of my summer volunteering at the church and working hard for – not what I believed in – but for a feeling of belonging, a purpose.

I don’t know that I ever actually drank the Judeo-Christian kool aid. I think it was more of a socio-cultural thing for me. I was born and raised as a Christian and went to church a lot, so I thought that’s just what you do. I never much cared for the church I grew up in, but was very enthusiastic about a church I found in high school. As I said above, I got involved quickly. Like most Christians, I had perpetual feelings of guilt. I never felt like I was good enough for God (read: conservative Christian far right culture) so I was went up for alter calls almost every week at church, trying to make myself worthy in the eyes of God. Talking to friends and family, I’m not the only one who felt like this. But it made me feel very guilty to be gay; I wanted to be cured. So I talked to my “mentors” at church about praying with me, etc.

Like most Christians, they subscribed to the belief that homosexuality is a “choice” and that the “gay lifestyle” is a very negative thing. They prayed with me for some kind of divine intervention to cure me. When no divine intervention came from their fictitious God, they removed me from every program I was involved in and socially isolated me to the point of excommunication. Since it is a big church in a big town, they couldn’t go as far as publicly excommunicating me but they made it uncomfortable to the point of forcing me to (voluntarily?) leave.

In the end I’m just thankful I live in California or I may have been sent to one of those horrible deprogramming camps that permanently damage people for the rest of their lives.

Here is the article in question, entitled: Michigan Church Outs, Then Expels Gay Man:

A man from Williamston Michigan is battling her church over his sexuality.

The man, who wishes not to have his name used, says that by discussing her sexuality with the pastor of Lighthouse Community Church in Williamston, a small bedroom community east of Lansing, he has been targeted for excommunication from the church.

In a June 28 email to the man, Pastor Thurm Payton wrote, “I want to make one more appeal to you to turn from the lifestyle you’ve chosen to deal with the feelings you have wrestled with for many years. I can’t escape the truth that you’ve taken a severe detour in God’s plan for how your life is to be lived.”

He further states,”I would deeply regret it if the effect of my trusting friendship with you was to slowly enable you to accept a lifestyle that is against God’s Word.”

But the man was not interested in denouncing his homosexuality, as Payton plead with him to do.

So when the man declined, Payton, evidently worried with accidentally “enabling” his homosexuality, decided in conjunction with pastoral leaders Jimmy Gretzinger, John Newman, Mark Harbison and Tom Blaylock that it was necessary to excommunicate the man.

Sounds like a story that happens to hundreds of thousands of LGBT people everyday. Except the “leadership team” decided that excommunication was not enough. The sent a four page letter to the congregation announcing the man, as well as a person accused of adultery, would be subjected to a public excommunication.

The letter outed the man to the church.

“This is literally a scarlet letter, designed to isolate and humiliate the members accused of impropriety,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “It is absurd that the church claims that its intent is not to injure the alleged sinners. They are clearly engaging in a vindictive game of mean-spirited psychological attacks causing grave harm to the individuals singled out and targeted.”

“This church has the right to hold self-righteous and backwards ideas on sexuality,” said Besen. “However, what they are doing is immoral and their actions should be brought to light. With such a medieval mindset, it should be no surprise that many Americans are turning away from such barbaric churches in droves.”

And the kicker to all this? The Williamston Public Schools are renting the middle school cafeteria to the church, thus supporting the group with tax payer funded locations.

Editor’s note: The gender of the person involved in this case was accidentally identified as female, when in fact the victim of the church’s excommunication is a male. We apologize for this error.

This is truly sad, that in this day and time, middle Americans are still so ignorant about LGBTQ issues. The worst part is that they don’t care about LGBTQ issues; most of them do not WANT to become educated on LGBTQ issues. In general, Christians pick and choose the parts of the bible that they want and ignore the parts that inconvenience them. I still fail to understand why Christians make such a big deal out of homosexuality but eat unclean meat, wear clothes of mixed fabric, work on Sundays, tolerate divorce and allow their wives to leave the house. If you read Leviticus all of these things are mentioned, but on these issues they take a liberal approach to Leviticus and decide that the things they dislike are no longer relevant. Maybe homosexuality is irrelevant today too?

Jesus was a loving man who never mentioned homosexuality once, on the contrary he blessed and loved Mary Magdalene – a prostitute. So why the witch hunt on “fags”? Shouldn’t Christians be focused on preserving marriage within their own church and preventing divorce? If marriage is such a sacred institution that they want to deny it to homosexual couples, then why not focus on making marriage more successful?

Here are some comments that were follow ups to this article, these two I found especially profound

The first one is by Dave Hershey:

Dear Pastor Thurm Payton,

I just read on a website about a gay man that you and your church excommunicated. I understand that you wish for him to change his sexual orientation. However, according to the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and nearly all other various medical, psychological and psychiatric organizations have stated that it is dangerous to alienate people based on their sexual orientation.

There are two things that your treatment of this man leads me to believe, you are not only going against what Jesus taught, which is love and acceptance (remember the prostitute Jesus saved from stoning?) and that by outing him to the entire congregation you are also a very vindictive person and untrustworthy person. (The shame should be ALL on you!)

I’m sure you have wondered why so many LGBT citizens have turned away from the church, it is this VERY reason! Because of the hatred shown toward them, and the lack of love and acceptance.

You and the pastoral leaders of your business (I refuse to refer to your business as a church because it is far from being a place of solace and peace as it should be) ought to be ashamed of your actions, but somehow I know you are likely not.

I would like to recommend a piece I read months ago that I think explains why so many LGBT citizens have left the church. And I also think it may help you understand more about the LGBT community as a whole and why we have rejected your “hate the sin, love the sinner” meme that you like to use. It can be found here: http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/04/02/21575

It is my hope that you will read this piece and open your eyes to the truth, and that is we are very loving and caring people. That we come from all walks of life. And no matter how much you want us to conform to YOUR worldview, that will never happen until you start accepting us for who and what we are, your fellow human beings, your neighbors, and members of your earthly family.

By the way, I would like one question answered for me, when did you make a conscious decision to be heterosexual? My guess is that you never had to make a conscious decision to be heterosexual, just as we never made a conscious decision to be LGBT.

Best Regards and may YOUR God have mercy on your soul!

The second one is by William Stoddart:

Right on, Dave.!!  I am in total agreement with your post comments.  There is absolutely no such thing as a, ‘GAY LIFESTYLE” anymore than there is a. “STRAIGHT LIFESTYLE.”   Homophobes delight in constantly using the word “lifestyle” as a part of their demagoguery.  To them “lifestyle” revolves entirely around whom a person is sexually attracted to.  I am positive that if you were to ask any straight male, “What kind of a lifestyle do you lead?”–that their solitaryanswer would not be, “I like to have sex with women.”  Any person’s sexual orientation is just one very small part of the tapestry which defines their life.  The homophobic use of the word “lifestyle” when referencing gays and lesbians is offensive and demeaning.  In a way it conveys the warped idea that all we think about, or do, 24 hours a day is to have sex.

Then, the equally offensive word constantly used by these homophobic evangelists is, “CHOICE..”   Scientific, medical, and biological studies have consistently concluded that being gay or lesbian is not a ‘CHOICE”—no more being born black, or being born with blue eyes is a ‘CHOICE”   Unfortunately, hard core homophobes, will never have the capacity to understand that sexual orientation IS NOT A CHOICE! It is the way are born.  Note that I did not use the phrase sexual ‘PREFERENCE”.   By sometimes using the word PREFERENCE instead of ORIENTATION, they intentionally confer the idea that we CHOSE to be the way we are.   When a homophobe engages me in their demented “choice” philosophy, I always ask them how they went about “choosing” to be straight?  I ask if they perhaps “flipped a coin.”   Or I may ask if they tried both types, and then decided that being intimate with a female felt the best. (kind of like trying on a pair of shoes)  Invariably, they are not able to explain why they are either going with, or married to a person of the opposite sex.  They will usually simply end the discussion with, “That’s just the way I am.”   So, if it’s so very easy for them to understand that “it’s just the way they are” why then is it so difficult for them to understand that our sexual orientation is, “just the way we are.”   If being gay or lesbian was truly a choice–there most likely would be none.   If it was simply a matter of choice, who would consciously choose to be gay—knowing in advance that they would face a life of constant ridicule and rejection?

Hopefully these articles are eye opening to you. Hopefully it helps you to see that homosexuality is something, although maybe not natural, isn’t a choice. Where do people get off thinking they can tell us to reject our innate urges and live a lie?

I find this letter truly touching and I wish that more Americans felt like this writer. If more people felt like this, so much discrimination and pain could be avoided.

Taken from LGBT Noise (lgbtnoise.ie)

Helen Doody wrote this touching letter about the Civil Partnership Bill to the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern. She wrote this letter in response to a letter her gay son posted on facebook.

Dear Mr Ahern,

My name is Helen Doody, you have already received and failed to reply to a letter that my own son Declan sent to you a week or so ago. So like any good and decent parent I am now trying to get you to listen to and protect my child – it is the very least that any mother would do for her own children.

I read Declan’s email and everything he said to you in the e-mail was true. He had a very tough time growing up in Abbeyfeale, I can still picture him crying in the mornings before he went to school because he was afraid of the people who were going to be waiting for him – bullies who would beat the living daylight out of him, people who crushed the very spirit within him. I tried numerous times to help him, I spoke to teachers, to the parents but the problem got a quick-fix but a weeks later it just continued on.

Declan was always a very shy and quiet boy but as the bullying continued he became more and more invisible. His Dad and I spent nights talking about him, wondering would he go to school in the morning, would he come home that evening with a ripped jumper or would his school copies be destroyed, we tried so hard to get him the help he needed but as the bullying continued, he started to shut his family out.

All of this began to change however the day Declan came out to me. I am not going to pretend that I handled it like a saint, it is a shock to the system, you don’t think about your child being gay, you just assume they are straight and when Declan told me I didn’t know what to do. I thought I had done something wrong, I thought it was my fault, I really thought that this was it for my son, when people started to find out that he was gay his entire world would turn into a living hell but it didn’t.

Over the coming weeks he began to change, I finally started to see him smile again and there was something different about his heart too. I saw my son reach a very dark and lonely place at the age of 16 but even at his lowest my son, had the courage and strength to come out and say he was gay.

He went to college with a new look on life, he finally seemed to be enjoying himself and it was only then I realised that there was nothing wrong with Declan. If my son was happy, if he was no longer worried about what other people thought about him then I knew that there was nothing wrong with being gay.

For many years he had kept a secret from me and his family because he thought we would reject him, like so many people had done to him before and now at the age of 23 he has graduated with a degree, a higher diploma and a masters. He has become the fine young man that his father and I are so very proud to be able to call our son.

When I heard on the news that gay people would now finally be able to register the relationships like any married couple I finally thought things had changed and I suppose many other people around the country like me thought the same. However I have now realised that what you plan on doing is nothing short of telling the gay community that they are still not equal. You will not tell my sons that they are not equal to their brothers, friends and the rest of society. Your Civil Partnership Bill is not good enough for my family, and hundreds, thousands of other families in this country. I might not be the smartest person in this country but even I can tell you that this bill is all but worthless and will only further the opinion that gay people are not the same as everyone else.

I have been there for all my sons when they have had their hearts broken by girlfriends and boyfriends. I helped them pick out gifts on Valentines day and shopped around for a Tux for the Debs. I have met boyfriends and girlfriends, I have liked some and been frosty to others. I have thought about each and every single of them getting married to someone that they love and who will love them back as much as I do.

I have six sons Mr Ahern, six very beautiful boys who became six very beautiful and upstanding young men!

Two of my boys are gay. Four are straight. Two are firemen. Two love playing video games. One loves to cook. Three of them love cars. Five of them have had their tonsils out.
All of them are my sons.

You have the power to change this country so do the right thing and change this country for the better, wake up and realise that there is still time to clean up this mess and give gay couples the same rights as straight couples.

I am asking on behalf of my gay children, their gay friends, my gay friends, my family, I am asking you as a member of this country, as a taxpayer but most of all I am asking you as a mother, to help my children and revise this Bill so everyone in this country can be equal.

Yours truly,

Helen Doody

I was a bit shocked and surprised when I heard of President Obama being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and then winning it. As an American I am very wrapped up in our culture and our politics and not as aware of international affairs as I should be.

At first I found it a bit shocking and analogous to spitting in the face of other Noble laureates such as Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandella, Mother Theresa, Kofi Annan, Elie Wiesel, etc. My response was “what has Obama done other than talk?” Obama did not snap his fingers and pull us out of Iraq during his first 6 months in office, he did not magically resolve the problem in Afghanistan and he wasted time in Europe trying to get the Olympic games to be held in Chicago.

What I failed to realize is that these are all American issues and the Noble foundation is not concerned with American politics. They are concerned about issues on a global scale and Obama has certainly climbed a lot of mountains when it comes to international problems.

We as Americans need to unite together, let our political affiliations go and support our leader so we can make the world a better place. Obama is a great leader and a dynamic speaker, but he is still one man. He cannot magically solve problems, it falls us to citizens of this globalized world to make a difference.

My friend sent me this on Facebook, which changed my mind about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

By the number of adamantly negative responses out there, I was almost convinced that Obama has not done one productive thing since having been inaugurated. Then, I actually checked up on his presidential act…ions since being in office, and was reminded that he indeed has done quite a bit of good since going into office. It’s so bemusing to me that when someone simply lists facts (not vague opinions on issues, but indeed solid facts) in support of the “wrong” cause, one is immediately deemed a hater. So, please spare me the childish sarcasm and cynical-minded comments. The following is simply a list of facts for those who would like to find out more about what Obama has actually done since his inauguration.

Check out: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/PresidentialActions/
for a more detailed list,
And for my die-hard republican friends, go ahead and check fox news too. Apparently, Fox News also reported that during his first 100 days in office alone, President Obama was responsible for:

Ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay military detention facility and abolishing “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

Setting a fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq.

Ordering 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and enlisting, with modest new assistance, European allies in a new multi-layered strategy there and in Pakistan.

“Returning science to its rightful place” by lifting the Bush restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

Signing laws to expand children’s health insurance.

Signing a law meant to improve the ability of women who allege pay discrimination to sue their employer.

Diminishing the role of lobbyists in the White House.

“Forge a meaningful statement from the United Nations” criticizing North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile.

Lifting travel and remittance restrictions for Cuban Americans who seek to travel more frequently to the island and send more US currency to their immediate family.

Engaging world leaders in Europe, Turkey, Latin American and the Caribbean with “strength and humility.”

(http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/21/adviser-says-obamas-days-productive-fdr/)

Before, I start listing facts, please be reminded that each of the following does not simply require signing a piece of paper. Anyone who has actually been in an administrative leadership position will understand all the difficulties, politics, and follow-through headaches that go with setting agendas and orders on a small scale… now imagine doing it for the nation.

Also, considering the number of the issues that need to be fixed in our system of government, without delegating and establishing committees, how can the best and most thorough resolution be reached? How can we possibly reach congruity in our policies and more comprehensively aware solutions to our societal problems, without the aid of a leader (like Obama), who has made many successful efforts at coordinating communication between various departments in order to make sure that policies do not infringe upon the rights of otherwise neglected members of the population (i.e., The White House Office of Urban Affairs and the White House Council on Women and Girls).

Further, nearly all if not all of Obama’s policies and strategies have come with specific and immediate timetables. Not only has he established this on the domestic level, but also on a global level as he has successfully opened discourse with countries that we previously neglected to engage.

Some people say that all he does is talk, but if to progress on issues of “peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture,” we need diplomacy… and diplomacy is defined as “the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states” and “[finding] mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge,” then the G-20 Summit, the 60th Anniversary NATO Summit, and the U.S-E.U. Summit (plus all the other talks with various other leaders) are blaring evidence that Obama is doing his job successfully (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomacy and http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign_policy/).
Is diplomatically and successfully changing the world-perspective of America not in itself a great accomplishment?
How can we expect to have a roof (i.e., the end-all solution to world peace, hunger, and our horrible economic situation) without a proper building foundation (i.e., talking with world leaders, talking through with other policy-makers about the best method to achieve such goals, etc.)? And after several years of detrimental national policies, the cleaning up done so far is laudable in and of itself.

As our President, Obama has also had to spend quite a bit of time appointing the best people to fill numerous offices. Further, setting the foundation for future actions always takes longer than simply issuing laws, because there is also the accompanying pressure of determining the best policy, while taking into consideration its long-term effects.

In response to the outcry over Obama’s winning the Nobel Peace Prize, here is what he has done for foreign policy:

As far as foreign policy is concerned, President Obama:

Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Announced a plan to responsibly end the War in Iraq.

Announced a new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat.

Agreed to negotiation of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.

Established a new “U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue”.

Announced new policy steps towards Cuba.

(copied directly from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign_policy/. See this link also for very specific links and more information on each.)

Further, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html), Obama won the prize for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” A huge feat that the American people seem eager to disregard.

“The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” Apparently, coming to agreement on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia (18 years after the last one was signed) was a task any one could have accomplished and is not good enough to win a prize either.

“Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized the tremendous work Obama has already put forth into the realizations of anyone’s dreams for a better society, but apparently, we can’t.

“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.”

The world has his attention, but we can’t give him a moment of ours. We are not eager to work with him or to do our part for a more peaceful world, while the rest of the world is grateful that America is finally getting off its high horse and recognizing it needs the rest of the world to help improve humanity.

“The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that ‘Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.’

The sad part is that we’d rather tear his appeals apart and remain bitter cynics.

Ok, so the rest of the world appreciates what he’s done for global progress. Here’s what he’s done for America:

As far as energy and the environment is concerned:

$11 billion for a bigger, better, and smarter grid that will move renewable energy from the rural places it is produced to the cities where it is mostly used, as well as for 40 million smart meters to be deployed in American homes.

$5 billion for low-income home weatherization projects.

$4.5 billion to green federal buildings and cut our energy bill, saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

$6.3 billion for state and local renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts.

$600 million in green job training programs – $100 million to expand line worker training programs and $500 million for green workforce training.
$2 billion in competitive grants to develop the next generation of batteries to store energy.

Increasing, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products.

The President issued a memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year.
Supporting the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide.

On Earth Day 2009, the President unveiled a program to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner.

(copied directly from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy_and_environment/; look here for specific links and more information)

That, was only for energy and the environment, the list goes on if you continue to peruse through the very accessible whitehouse.gov.

If the above wasn’t specific enough for you, I’ve also included a very few of the many specific executive orders and presidential determinations that Obama has passed, also directly from the White House website:
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/PresidentialActions/)

September 14: Set a policy regarding human trafficking, by stopping certain funding to several nations for the fiscal year 2010, including but not limited to Zimbabwe and Burma, until their governments decide to comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Determiniation-regarding-major-illicit-drug-transit/)

October 5: President Obama signed an Executive Order that set “sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy and economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce fleet petroleum consumption; conserve water; reduce waste; support sustainable communities; and leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.”
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-signs-an-Executive-Order-Focused-on-Federal-Leadership-in-Environmental-Energy-and-Economic-Performance/)

October 1: President Obama signs an Executive Order for “Federal Government-wide prohibition on the use of text messaging while driving on official business or while using Government-supplied equipment” to “demonstrate Federal leadership in improving safety on our roads and highways and to enhance the efficiency of Federal contracting.”
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Federal-Leadership-on-Reducing-Text-Messaging-while-Driving/)

June 12: Set up a national policy that ensures the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources, that enhances the sustainability of ocean and coastal economies, preserves our maritime heritage, provides for adaptive management to enhance our understanding of and capacity to respond to climate change, and is coordinated with our national security and foreign policy interests.”
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Oceans-Month-and-Memorandum-regarding-national-policy-for-the-oceans/)

May 12: Furthered the efforts of the Clean Water Act of 1972 by issuing a timed strategy for the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, working towards ending pollution of “the largest estuary in the United States and one of the largest and most biologically productive estuaries in the world.”
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Chesapeake-Bay-Protection-and-Restoration/)

April 8: “Established the White House Office of Health Reform”
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Establishing-The-White-House-Office-Of-Health-Reform/)

March 9: Issued an order to remove limitations to “fund and conduct human embryonic stem cell research, to expand NIH support for the exploration of human stem cell research, and in so doing to enhance the contribution of America’s scientists to important new discoveries and new therapies for the benefit of humankind.”
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Removing-Barriers-to-Responsible-Scientific-Research-Involving-Human-Stem-Cells/)

I hope this assists in clearing up some of the confusion out there about Obama’s time in office. And I sincerely hope that, at some point, we too will realize the importance of the values that Obama has held himself and his staff to since being in office.

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/ethics/) The world recognizes these values as integral to the causes of human rights, environmental protection and sustainability, and international peace efforts. What we do with regards to our domestic and foreign policies affects not only our future but also our future world standing and the future of other countries. It’s about time that America’s leader embraces the help of fellow peacemakers and leaders worldwide to endorse humanity’s progress and not simply be satisfied with self-centered, sectarian interests.

All of that said, I think he really does deserve the prize and I wholeheartedly regret doubting his ability as my President.

It is weird to use a phrase that Bill O’Reilly coined, but it is very true. Racial Witchhunter (noun) – one who tries to find racism and discrimination in the most petty things.

I saw the following comment on Facebook today and couldn’t help reply. I admit, I did not know how they meant their statement, so I did jump the gun a bit on assumptions, but I still stand to my comments.

Racial Witchhunter: “Cali is most def. not the place for me…it’s more racist folks here than it is in the backwoods of Mississippi! At least down south you already know wat the deal is…people are just so damn IGNORANT”

Me: “I hate to be devil’s advocate here, but everyone is racist in some way. I know a lot more black people who hate white people than the other way around. And yes I know that my ancestors enslaved them, but I didn’t personally so for them to hate me is pretty silly. But overall I think CA is a lot more accepting than anywhere else. Except for the idiots in like Lakeside and Santee I don’t know of too many overly racist people here.”

Racial Witchhunter: “michael first off you really do not know wat the hell you are talking about! i did not say anything about YOU or YOUR ancestors, or anybody hating you or white people for that matter and you have know idea wat i experienced or went thru o make any comment on the matter… I am the last one to blame the entire white race for wat happened in the past. your comments are without merit and furthermore not everyone is racist, period. And you also made an assumption that I was talking about white people, so the next time you decide to coment on an issue you know absoutely little to nothing about, DON’T!”

Me: “I did not accuse you of having any of those sentiments, I was generalizing racism as I see it in California and in the US. IE: my opinion, not a fact. I am sorry you are so angry but people disagree on things it is part of life. It’s pretty childish to explode on them.”

Racial Witchhunter: “Actually its pretty ignorant to go in or comment on any situation in which you have zero to little knowledge. I do not disagree with you because you have no grounds to stand on. I could say that I know plenty of white people who hate black than you know black people who hate white people, but THAT would be childish of me. And f.y.i, just because the observations you partake in within California does not negate the experiences other peole go thru let alone negate the fact that it exists. Obviously your world is much more sheltered than me and for that you must feel O SO LUCKY!“

Me: “It does exist and it sucks. I felt it every day at CPH being the huge ethnic minority. But you’re right, I don’t know the background on your comments and making assumptions is obviously bad, so I apologize if my musings offended you.”

I should have known better than to comment on something about racism coming from 1) an African-American female and 2) someone with the political views “if it ain’t Obama, it ain’t no good” but I couldn’t help myself. I’m used to educated people who can listen to other people’s opinions even if they disagree.

The facts as I see them: everyone is prejudiced in some way be it sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, weight, age etc. Society programs us to favor straight 20-something fair skinned upper-middle-class males.

If not prejudiced or “racist” in some way, this racial witchhunter is at least very hostile with a lot of bitterness toward people who disagree with her. But I would go as far as to say has some kind of hard feelings toward white middle-class males since she reacted in the way she did. Perhaps males in general. She reminds me in so many ways of Chima from Season 11 of Big Brother on CBS.

She accuses me of making assumptions about her but then turns around and makes assumptions about me that I am 1) accusing her individually of being racist and 2) accusing her of thinking all white people are evil for enslaving her ancestors. I said no such thing, I was speaking in a generalization of racism in California and America as I see it.

Next is her comment that I know nothing about “racism”. I went to a predominately hispanic high school where I was discriminated against every single day. Walking down the halls I would be called things like “pinche guero” (fucking whitey) every day. On top of that I am gay, so I know a lot more about being discriminated against than she does. She can at least get married and have children legally.

Next is a personal attack on me. She assumes I am sheltered because I have different opinions than she does. Honestly, I did have a sheltered life, but I’m a pretty cultured person as well. I have traveled a lot, I have friends from all different walks of life, many of them African-American friends. I worked with a friend on an African-American clothing line and I voted for Obama. I was raised to be color blind and I still am. I judge people on ignorance and rudeness, not color or any other factor out of their control.

In the end I was the bigger man and apologized if I offended her. Life is too short to get so upset over something so insignificant. It would have been fruitless to continue the virtual argument because it would have only got me deleted from her Facebook account.

Based on this huge overreaction I would say her “racism” is more due to ignorance than her race. If she blows up on people for disagreeing with her and hates other groups (which she obviously does) then who can blame people for being rude to her?

It is ignorant to call California a racist place; it is more accepting than anywhere else in the United States that I have been. It has more opportunity than anywhere else I have been. But the sad reality is that no matter where you go, not everyone will like you. People will always find something wrong. Such is life, get over it, accept reality, move on and enjoy life for what it is: an awesome adventure.

It is a shame, in this day and time, especially in a place as liberal as California that Proposition 8 was upheld in court. I would think that everyone, even super conservative christian bigots would want others to be happy. Equality should be for everyone, unconditionally, not just for people who support the conservative agenda.