74 posts tagged “barack obama”
Barack Obama The Movement For Change Collectible Express Train Collection
(actually this one is sort of neat)
This is from the official whitehouse.gov website. The site has been updated and under Agenda>Civil Rights I found this. Thank You President Obama.
Support for the LGBT Community
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007
- Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
- Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
- Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
- Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
- Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
- Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
- Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
- Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.
The selection of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson for Sunday's event follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama's decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Warren backed the ban on same-sex marriage that passed in his home state of California on the November ballot.
Robinson said last month the choice of Warren was like a slap in the face. In an interview with the Concord Monitor, he said he doesn't believe Obama invited him in response to the Warren criticism but said his inclusion won't go unnoticed by the gay and lesbian community.
"It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way," Robinson told the newspaper for a story in Monday's editions. "Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters."
Clark Stevens, a spokesman for the inaugural committee, said Robinson was invited because he had offered his advice to Obama during the campaign and because of his church work. When asked whether Robinson was included to calm the Warren complaints, he said Robinson is "an important figure in the religious community. We are excited that he will be involved."
Robinson, 61, said both Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will attend the event, and Obama is expected to speak. As for himself, Robinson said he doesn't yet know what he'll say, but he knows he won't use a Bible.
"While that is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans," Robinson said. "I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer. This is a prayer for the whole nation."
Robinson said his prayer will be reflective of the times...
via Americablog:
Yesterday, the Obama transition team included a
question about DADT in their weekly online Q&A with incoming White
House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. In that Q&A, Gibbs reads a question from Thaddeus in Lansing, Michigan. Thaddeus asks:
Gibbs answers:
"Is the new administration going to get rid of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy?"
"Thaddeus, you don't hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it's 'Yes.'"
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama is officially the next president of the United States, Congress declared Thursday in fulfilling its centuries-old constitutional duty to certify and tally the electoral college vote from each state.
Republicans joined Democrats in a standing ovation as Vice President Dick Cheney, in his role as speaker of the Senate, announced from the podium that Obama had achieved a majority of votes and would be the 44th president on Jan. 20.
Speaking before a joint session of the House and Senate, Cheney confirmed the results of the Nov. 4 election, that Obama and next Vice President Joe Biden had received 365 electoral votes while the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin garnered 173 votes...
I just ran across this. If it's true... dissent will come to this VOX page.
Delay in repelling Don't Ask Don't Tell
...Today’s Washington Times features an interview with Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Rather than aggressively advocating for an immediate repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” he is instead advising Obama’s transition team to wait until 2010.
That doesn’t sound like activism – it sounds like spineless appeasement. If John McCain had won the election and told gay rights advocates to wait a couple of years before addressing the military’s gay ban, we’d howl with derision at his homophobia. But because Obama is a Democrat, our supposed advocates give him cover. Obama promised to repeal the discriminatory gay ban, a position endorsed by scores of retired generals and admirals and supported by a majority of Americans according to recent opinion polls.
It’s 2008, not 1993. Times have changed since President Clinton caved to pressure and enacted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We will never experience the change that was promised if our activists accede to every demand of the Democratic Party. More than 12,000 careers have been destroyed because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Why should brave service members have to wait years longer to simply serve their country openly?
There is no rational justification for prolonging the repeal effort any longer. No more waiting, no more excuses and no more cover for duplicitous, squeamish politicians from our timid activist groups.
I love my neighborhood. Germantown / Freeland Station - Nashville, TN November 04, 2008
Barack Obama, the first black major party nominee, is positioned to win the largest share of white voters of any Democrat in more than three decades...
...44 percent of non-Hispanic white voters presently support Obama — the highest number for a Democrat since 47 percent of whites backed Jimmy Carter in 1976.
No Democrat has won a majority of white voters since Lyndon Johnson in 1964...
If Obama's share holds, it would top the 43 percent of white voters who backed Bill Clinton in 1996, when the Democrat won a plurality among white females and 38 percent of white men, the best performance by a Democrat in all those categories since 1976...
The Tennessean's Endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President:
This newspaper believes Obama would be an inspiring choice at an extraordinary time for the nation. The country needs a fresh, energetic face in the White House. Every race for president is important, but the current confluence of events, including the war on terror, mountainous challenges in the economy and a growing strain upon the nation's health-care system make the current race a call for vigorous new approaches and enthusiasm.
Obama has managed to put a tone of optimism in his campaign at a time it would be very easy to be downhearted, worried and pessimistic. That characteristic alone goes a long way in demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs.
Obama has made the case effectively that his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, represents too much of the same failed policies that have plagued the nation during the Bush administration. McCain, it must be said, is a genuine military hero and an honorable candidate. His years of service both in the military and in Congress are traits any American should admire. But at this time, at this juncture, McCain does not embody the motivational leader Americans deserve for such crucial issues.
There is no question the economy is foremost on the minds of many Americans today. People are witnessing a financial system in chaos, and they are seeing their personal lives in upheaval because of the problem. People are fearful about their jobs, their retirement, their ability even to meet day-to-day needs. At the moment, the nation is still trying to get a handle on exactly what is happening in its economy, as some of the best economic minds in the country try to sift through possible solutions. Obama offers no magic wand, but he has been effective in linking the crisis to failed economic policies, and he expresses a keen understanding of how the crisis is creating hardship on American families.
Obama correctly makes the case that the nature of the war must change. He wants to see the United States shift its flawed strategy in Iraq toward a more effective approach in Afghanistan, the original front in the aftermath of 9/11. McCain insists the military surge in Iraq has succeeded. But citing success with the surge fails to acknowledge the mistakes that led to the surge that McCain wants to celebrate. Obama has articulated the bigger picture on the war better.
Further, Obama demonstrated sound judgment in selecting as his running mate Sen. Joe Biden, whose experience and knowledge of foreign policy prepare him to step in if need be as chief executive. McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin, by comparison, may have shown political savvy, but at the expense of offering a vice president the country could rally around.
It would be nice to say one of the two major candidates has a sure way to fix the nation's health-care problem. Each has outlined a plan — Obama on a theme that emphasizes more access to coverage and McCain on a dramatic twist geared to allow people to shop more among private plans — but neither seems to be a convincing solution by itself. The health-care issue must remain high on the next president's agenda.
In a historical context, support of Obama might be expected to focus on his race. He is the first African-American to head a major party ticket for the presidency, which should be a source of great pride for the candidate and the country. It must be noted here. But the times and the candidate do not signal such a narrow view, where race is the overwhelming story of Obama's candidacy. Throughout a lengthy, trying campaign, Obama has simply emerged as the right person at the right time to lead the nation when leadership is at a premium. The nation could ask for no more. Obama has the opportunity to lift the United States at a time when its burdens are heavy. His campaign has carried a theme of "Yes We Can," which is exactly the message the nation needs to hear most now.
For the first time ever the LA Times has endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate. It also the first time since 1972 the paper has endorsed any candidate in a presidential election.
From the endorsement:
It is inherent in the American character to aspire to greatness, so it can be disorienting when the nation stumbles or loses confidence in bedrock principles or institutions. That's where the United States is as it prepares to select a new president: We have seen the government take a stake in venerable private financial houses; we have witnessed eight years of executive branch power grabs and erosion of civil liberties; we are still recovering from a murderous attack by terrorists on our own soil and still struggling with how best to prevent a recurrence.
We need a leader who demonstrates thoughtful calm and grace under pressure, one not prone to volatile gesture or capricious pronouncement. We need a leader well-grounded in the intellectual and legal foundations of American freedom. Yet we ask that the same person also possess the spark and passion to inspire the best within us: creativity, generosity and a fierce defense of justice and liberty.
The Times without hesitation endorses Barack Obama for president...
