So many terrible things were said during this past election. I thought I had heard/read it all.
Until the President's speech last night.
Holy cow.
I started reading comments on Facebook and Twitter. Then I went to newspapers and TV websites. I have watched horrible things be said about our President and have always shook my head. What I have read in the last 24 hours just baffles me.
So much vile. So much hate. So many terrible words not only about the President but about immigrants, liberals, and anyone who might support anything the writer disagrees with.
I disagree with many when it comes to politics. And I agree with many. Those I disagree with I choose not to hate or demonize.
I'm much more about finding what we have in common and building bridges. Having a conversation. Debating our thoughts, ideas and solutions.
So I am going to be nice to those I disagree with. I am not going to become a person filled with negativity, judgment and hate.
I am just as powerful of an activist while filled with kindness.
Thanks for reading!
Zuma beach.
Showing posts with label President Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Obama. Show all posts
Friday, November 21, 2014
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
A little respect
Before you get too excited, let me tell you that this post is not about one of my all-time favorite songs by Erasure. Sorry.
This post is about basic respect of each other, especially online
There are two words I don't need to read from a communication from someone. One is the "F" word as in "F___ you" and the other is the "F" word used to dehumanize, threaten or attack a gay male.
Don't get me wrong, I have been known to use the first one, especially like "What the ___". What I am writing about today is the use of offensive words, offensive to me, in communicating any type of message via the web. Especially if you have not personally met me.
Both of these words, when coming from someone I do not know, are violent.
Being an out, gay blog, I have gotten the latter of the words many times, usually in an email. I have gotten called that at protests and at hearings. It's a disgusting word, one that tells me right away what the person saying is like.
Yesterday I posted a tweet about liking what President Obama said in regards to gay people. As far as I know it was the first time this was done in an inauguration speech. I loved it. I am aware that many do not like President Obama, his person, his policies, his beliefs, and my tweet was about this one part of one speech.
Of the hundreds of comments, emails, and feedback items that I get, it's always the one or two negative ones that get to me. When someone responded telling me to get some "f___ dignity" I was honestly blown away.
Does everything I post have to sit well with you? We all know the answer to that, especially if you are reading this blog. My blog posts are all over the place and many times include topics that many disagree on.
Can we all simply respect each other online? Can we debate or discuss without throwing out offensive language?
And if we openly support a cause or a belief, what do actions like this do for our cause?
As you know I was recently laid off and I am in day 12 of my job search. I at first thought that the reaction I was having was due to being a little more sensitive these days. That lasted for a couple of seconds before I realized that I simply felt disrespected. From someone who does not know me. At all. A second person communicated with me a similar position about my tweet, and this person isn't even connected with me anywhere!
Respect. It can be so easy.
And please, unless you have read it on my blog or interact with me in my personal life, do not assume you know me. My husband has been with me for years and years and is still learning things about me.
Thank you for reading!
This post is about basic respect of each other, especially online
There are two words I don't need to read from a communication from someone. One is the "F" word as in "F___ you" and the other is the "F" word used to dehumanize, threaten or attack a gay male.
Don't get me wrong, I have been known to use the first one, especially like "What the ___". What I am writing about today is the use of offensive words, offensive to me, in communicating any type of message via the web. Especially if you have not personally met me.
Both of these words, when coming from someone I do not know, are violent.
Being an out, gay blog, I have gotten the latter of the words many times, usually in an email. I have gotten called that at protests and at hearings. It's a disgusting word, one that tells me right away what the person saying is like.
Yesterday I posted a tweet about liking what President Obama said in regards to gay people. As far as I know it was the first time this was done in an inauguration speech. I loved it. I am aware that many do not like President Obama, his person, his policies, his beliefs, and my tweet was about this one part of one speech.
Of the hundreds of comments, emails, and feedback items that I get, it's always the one or two negative ones that get to me. When someone responded telling me to get some "f___ dignity" I was honestly blown away.
Does everything I post have to sit well with you? We all know the answer to that, especially if you are reading this blog. My blog posts are all over the place and many times include topics that many disagree on.
Can we all simply respect each other online? Can we debate or discuss without throwing out offensive language?
And if we openly support a cause or a belief, what do actions like this do for our cause?
As you know I was recently laid off and I am in day 12 of my job search. I at first thought that the reaction I was having was due to being a little more sensitive these days. That lasted for a couple of seconds before I realized that I simply felt disrespected. From someone who does not know me. At all. A second person communicated with me a similar position about my tweet, and this person isn't even connected with me anywhere!
Respect. It can be so easy.
And please, unless you have read it on my blog or interact with me in my personal life, do not assume you know me. My husband has been with me for years and years and is still learning things about me.
Thank you for reading!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
A new day - The 2012 Election
Mike and I were surrounded by friends, enjoying vegan tamales (with vegan mole!) and sangria at our election night party when we heard that Ohio had gone for the President and news organizations began calling the Presidential election for President Obama.
I was ecstatic.
And I still am. As we continued to watch the results that night and then also the next morning, it became clear that, based on our opinions, election night had produced some wonderful results:
President Barack Obama was re-elected. This was huge for us based on equality, women's rights, veteran care and the economy. It is great having a President who supports our marriage.
The Colorado State House became Democratic again. As of right now it is 38 to 27. What this means is that we are likely to have our first openly gay Speaker of the House in Colorado and any civil unions bill presented is sure to pass. The Republican house leadership has stopped it for a couple of years, even though there were enough votes for it to pass if it got to a floor vote.
Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay member of the US Senate, representing Wisconsin. I take issue with her past support of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and how that has affected animal activists, yet I am still happy for her.
Gay marriage passed in Maine and Maryland. This means these states actually voted on whether to legalize gay marriage, and they both said YES! In Washington state, voters approved marriage equality as well, supporting a law signed by the governor earlier in the year.
An anti-gay amendment to the Minnesota constitution was defeated.
Our US Congressman, Ed Perlmutter, and our State Rep, Max Tyler, were both re-elected.
Amendment 64, which legalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana in Colorado, passed. Even though political "leaders" were all against this, it passed. I am happy just for that, but also because I believe marijuana should be legalized (and the sale of it taxed). Too many people around the world die because of drugs being illegal.
In our county, Jefferson County, voters approved 3A and 3B which will raise tax revenues for our public schools.
Tea party scum in Indiana and Missouri were soundly defeated. I'm sure elsewhere too. It was a good night for religious extremists in this country.
Lots and lots of people voted. They waited forever in line to vote. They disputed being told they could not vote. They made sure their voice was going to be heard.
What was your favorite result of the election?
Before I close, I want to say thank you to our blog readers for putting up with our blogs written about the election. This election was just too important not to write about, or not to share who we supported and why. I'm sure it wasn't fun for all of our readers, but thanks for sticking with us and especially thanks for supporting us.
And thank you for reading this post!
I was ecstatic.
And I still am. As we continued to watch the results that night and then also the next morning, it became clear that, based on our opinions, election night had produced some wonderful results:
President Barack Obama was re-elected. This was huge for us based on equality, women's rights, veteran care and the economy. It is great having a President who supports our marriage.
The Colorado State House became Democratic again. As of right now it is 38 to 27. What this means is that we are likely to have our first openly gay Speaker of the House in Colorado and any civil unions bill presented is sure to pass. The Republican house leadership has stopped it for a couple of years, even though there were enough votes for it to pass if it got to a floor vote.
Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay member of the US Senate, representing Wisconsin. I take issue with her past support of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and how that has affected animal activists, yet I am still happy for her.
Gay marriage passed in Maine and Maryland. This means these states actually voted on whether to legalize gay marriage, and they both said YES! In Washington state, voters approved marriage equality as well, supporting a law signed by the governor earlier in the year.
An anti-gay amendment to the Minnesota constitution was defeated.
Our US Congressman, Ed Perlmutter, and our State Rep, Max Tyler, were both re-elected.
Amendment 64, which legalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana in Colorado, passed. Even though political "leaders" were all against this, it passed. I am happy just for that, but also because I believe marijuana should be legalized (and the sale of it taxed). Too many people around the world die because of drugs being illegal.
In our county, Jefferson County, voters approved 3A and 3B which will raise tax revenues for our public schools.
Tea party scum in Indiana and Missouri were soundly defeated. I'm sure elsewhere too. It was a good night for religious extremists in this country.
Lots and lots of people voted. They waited forever in line to vote. They disputed being told they could not vote. They made sure their voice was going to be heard.
What was your favorite result of the election?
Before I close, I want to say thank you to our blog readers for putting up with our blogs written about the election. This election was just too important not to write about, or not to share who we supported and why. I'm sure it wasn't fun for all of our readers, but thanks for sticking with us and especially thanks for supporting us.
And thank you for reading this post!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Why we ask you to vote for President Obama
Mike and I voted today!
I am starting this post with a line from within the post. It's towards the end and I want to make sure that anyone who even browses this post will read it:
The simple reality is that for gay people and women (especially poor women), life will be much different under a Romney/Ryan administration than under President Obama.
I clearly remember the day Mike and I went to vote in 2008. I was ecstatic to vote for Barack Obama. Election night was a thrill.
There were a lot of promises. I have heard them before. People have been talking about ending the ban on gays in the military for a long time. That's just one example.
I believed that he would close Guantanamo. I believed he would work for equality. I believed that the economy would get better.
It all hasn't come to be. And I am once again ecstatic to go vote for President Obama. Because we have a ton of readers in several of the "toss up" states, I wanted to write a blog asking you to vote for President Obama.
There is a huge difference between the President and Mitt Romney, more so with social issues. There are many reasons why I am voting for President Obama and not Mitt Romney:
I believe the economy will get better with the President's continued leadership.
I believe we will not get involved with wars we cannot afford with President Obama.
I believe that President Obama honestly wants to make our education system stronger, that he believes in strong, vibrant, innovative public schools.
President Obama believes in equality and will not attack my family or my marriage.
I believe President Obama (and his wife!) truly are concerned for veterans and the care they receive after military service.
President Obama ended the ban on gays and lesbians in the military.
A vote for President Obama is a vote for tolerance (in many forms). A vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for intolerance (in many forms).
I believe Mitt Romney is anti gay. His desire is to attack to my marriage by making it unconstitutional.
I believe Mitt Romney has no regard for women in regards to their own health and choices.
I believe Mitt Romney would cave to the religious zealots in our country.
Mitt Romney has said (when he was asked in Colorado) that he does not believe in civil unions for gays and lesbians if they (the civil unions) are "too close" to marriage.
Most of Mitt Romney's charitable giving was to the Mormon Church. The same church that funded Proposition 8 in California.
I believe that Mitt Romney seriously believes in what he said about the 47%.
I understand that many people support Mitt Romney for a variety of reasons and I also understand that many will disagree with my reasons. The simple reality is that for gay people and women (especially poor women), life will be much different under a Romney/Ryan administration than under President Obama. Not just different, Progress made towards equality will falter and the level of freedom for gay and lesbian people and for women will decrease.
I have heard from many people we know who want to vote for Romney, a third-party candidate or who will not vote at all. Please reconsider, and vote for President Obama. Your vote could mean the difference between an administration that fully supports equality and one that fully believes that gay people should not have equal rights (and that's putting it nicely).
Meanwhile, as we count down to election day, if we disagree let's disagree with love and kindness. There is a huge amount of vitriol out there and I know that me, Mike and our readers do not need to be a part of that.
Thank you for reading!
I am starting this post with a line from within the post. It's towards the end and I want to make sure that anyone who even browses this post will read it:
The simple reality is that for gay people and women (especially poor women), life will be much different under a Romney/Ryan administration than under President Obama.
I clearly remember the day Mike and I went to vote in 2008. I was ecstatic to vote for Barack Obama. Election night was a thrill.
There were a lot of promises. I have heard them before. People have been talking about ending the ban on gays in the military for a long time. That's just one example.
I believed that he would close Guantanamo. I believed he would work for equality. I believed that the economy would get better.
It all hasn't come to be. And I am once again ecstatic to go vote for President Obama. Because we have a ton of readers in several of the "toss up" states, I wanted to write a blog asking you to vote for President Obama.
There is a huge difference between the President and Mitt Romney, more so with social issues. There are many reasons why I am voting for President Obama and not Mitt Romney:
I believe the economy will get better with the President's continued leadership.
I believe we will not get involved with wars we cannot afford with President Obama.
I believe that President Obama honestly wants to make our education system stronger, that he believes in strong, vibrant, innovative public schools.
President Obama believes in equality and will not attack my family or my marriage.
I believe President Obama (and his wife!) truly are concerned for veterans and the care they receive after military service.
President Obama ended the ban on gays and lesbians in the military.
A vote for President Obama is a vote for tolerance (in many forms). A vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for intolerance (in many forms).
I believe Mitt Romney is anti gay. His desire is to attack to my marriage by making it unconstitutional.
I believe Mitt Romney has no regard for women in regards to their own health and choices.
I believe Mitt Romney would cave to the religious zealots in our country.
Mitt Romney has said (when he was asked in Colorado) that he does not believe in civil unions for gays and lesbians if they (the civil unions) are "too close" to marriage.
Most of Mitt Romney's charitable giving was to the Mormon Church. The same church that funded Proposition 8 in California.
I believe that Mitt Romney seriously believes in what he said about the 47%.
I understand that many people support Mitt Romney for a variety of reasons and I also understand that many will disagree with my reasons. The simple reality is that for gay people and women (especially poor women), life will be much different under a Romney/Ryan administration than under President Obama. Not just different, Progress made towards equality will falter and the level of freedom for gay and lesbian people and for women will decrease.
I have heard from many people we know who want to vote for Romney, a third-party candidate or who will not vote at all. Please reconsider, and vote for President Obama. Your vote could mean the difference between an administration that fully supports equality and one that fully believes that gay people should not have equal rights (and that's putting it nicely).
Meanwhile, as we count down to election day, if we disagree let's disagree with love and kindness. There is a huge amount of vitriol out there and I know that me, Mike and our readers do not need to be a part of that.
Thank you for reading!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Health care in the news
I am sure some of our readers are not political geeks like I am. I am also sure that the recent news of President Obama's health care law being deemed constitutional by the US Supreme Court might have some of you smiling or frowning.
The right wingers are having fun saying anything negative they can about this plan. Mitt Romney promises a full repeal if he is elected. This has become the most fun animal-free circus I have ever seen. And it's a huge bummer.
Mike and I have both always had health care. We are both in a position now where our employers pay 100% of our health care, and dental. We are totally fortunate, and grateful. I do not know what it is like to not have health care.
Not everyone has what we have. I don't know the number, but I am sure I can say that millions of US citizens do not have health care.
I applaud anyone who tries to fix a problem. I know President Obama had personal experiences around health care, that his mom was uninsured.
I do not know enough about the current health care plan just deemed constitutional but am stoked that people tried to fix a system that is definitely broken. I have read about many people who will be helped, some already have. I have read many good things about this plan. I have also read about the cost as well as fears that small businesses have in being required to offer health care.
Meanwhile, those who already have never liked President Obama have more ammunition and with their millions of dollars there is no doubt in my mind that we will be hearing and seeing their venom all over the place.
And hopefully a child will not lack for insurance because she had pre-existing conditions. And hopefully a recently graduated college student trying so hard to find a job can relax a bit knowing they will be covered by their parent's health insurance for a little longer. And so on.
I looked around for info on what the health care reform law looks like and this was one of the best sites I could find: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_reform_in_the_United_States
As this debate around health care continues, I hope that cool heads prevail and serious problems can be tackled. Demonizing each other will get us nowhere.
Thanks for reading!
The right wingers are having fun saying anything negative they can about this plan. Mitt Romney promises a full repeal if he is elected. This has become the most fun animal-free circus I have ever seen. And it's a huge bummer.
Mike and I have both always had health care. We are both in a position now where our employers pay 100% of our health care, and dental. We are totally fortunate, and grateful. I do not know what it is like to not have health care.
Not everyone has what we have. I don't know the number, but I am sure I can say that millions of US citizens do not have health care.
I applaud anyone who tries to fix a problem. I know President Obama had personal experiences around health care, that his mom was uninsured.
I do not know enough about the current health care plan just deemed constitutional but am stoked that people tried to fix a system that is definitely broken. I have read about many people who will be helped, some already have. I have read many good things about this plan. I have also read about the cost as well as fears that small businesses have in being required to offer health care.
Meanwhile, those who already have never liked President Obama have more ammunition and with their millions of dollars there is no doubt in my mind that we will be hearing and seeing their venom all over the place.
And hopefully a child will not lack for insurance because she had pre-existing conditions. And hopefully a recently graduated college student trying so hard to find a job can relax a bit knowing they will be covered by their parent's health insurance for a little longer. And so on.
I looked around for info on what the health care reform law looks like and this was one of the best sites I could find: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_reform_in_the_United_States
As this debate around health care continues, I hope that cool heads prevail and serious problems can be tackled. Demonizing each other will get us nowhere.
Thanks for reading!
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