The Repartee Room

A special comment for those who "hide" behind discrimination (David Tyree)...

Last week I was 'disappointed' when I heard that NY Giants Super Bowl hero David Tyree was against marriage equality. 

What it boils down to is I find it ironic that he and the President of the United States, both successful black men, have the boldness to support discrimination of any kind...given all they have thanks to the efforts of so many before them. But, as an American who embraces the spirit of Constitution, I respect their right to their opinion.

What I cannot respect or understand however, is Mr. Tyree's ignorance. In an interview this week, Tyree said that he would trade his infamous “catch,” which helped the Giants win the Super Bowl in 2008, to stop marriage equality. His exact quote was, “I'll lay down everything I am to preserve the honor and integrity of the God that I serve.”

What God do you serve, Sir? 

SO my special comment is this -- it takes a very special type of jackass to spit on all the people who gave their lives to make sure, you Sir, were afforded all that you have today. I know you don’t see it that way, and I know many like you don’t see it that way either, but at the end of the day, equal rights for all…is equal rights all. Proclaiming you would be willing to give up winning a football game so that others can be denied their rights, in the name of God, is beyond insulting to me, Mr. Tyree.

Denying a person or a group of persons their rights in the name of God, or because of the color of their skin is AND ALWAYS WILL BE discrimination.

No matter what excuse you hide behind.

 

President Asks Department of Justice to Stop Defending DOMA

Official Statement from Attorney General Eric Holder:

The Attorney General made the following statement today about the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman:

In the two years since this Administration took office, the Department of Justice has defended Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act on several occasions in federal court.  Each of those cases evaluating Section 3 was considered in jurisdictions in which binding circuit court precedents hold that laws singling out people based on sexual orientation, as DOMA does, are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment.  While the President opposes DOMA and believes it should be repealed, the Department has defended it in court because we were able to advance reasonable arguments under that rational basis standard. 

Section 3 of DOMA has now been challenged in the Second Circuit, however, which has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated.  In these cases, the Administration faces for the first time the question of whether laws regarding sexual orientation are subject to the more permissive standard of review or whether a more rigorous standard, under which laws targeting minority groups with a history of discrimination are viewed with suspicion by the courts, should apply.

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny.  The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional.  Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases.  I fully concur with the President’s determination.

Consequently, the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in the Second Circuit.  We will, however, remain parties to the cases and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation.  I have informed Members of Congress of this decision, so Members who wish to defend the statute may pursue that option.  The Department will also work closely with the courts to ensure that Congress has a full and fair opportunity to participate in pending litigation. 

Furthermore, pursuant to the President’s instructions, and upon further notification to Congress, I will instruct Department attorneys to advise courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the President's and my conclusions that a heightened standard should apply, that Section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard and that the Department will cease defense of Section 3. 

The Department has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of duly-enacted statutes if reasonable arguments can be made in their defense.  At the same time, the Department in the past has declined to defend statutes despite the availability of professionally responsible arguments, in part because – as here – the Department does not consider every such argument to be a “reasonable” one.  Moreover, the Department has declined to defend a statute in cases, like this one, where the President has concluded that the statute is unconstitutional. 

Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed DOMA.  The Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional.  Congress has repealed the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.  Several lower courts have ruled DOMA itself to be unconstitutional.  Section 3 of DOMA will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down, and the President has informed me that the Executive Branch will continue to enforce the law.  But while both the wisdom and the legality of Section 3 of DOMA will continue to be the subject of both extensive litigation and public debate, this Administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court.

 

Predictable...

So, the same Republicans who forced through a $700 billion tax cut for some of the wealthiest Americans, now want to cut billions of dollars from programs that aid some of the poorest Americans.

Who could have seen this coming? Mr. Magoo, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder all come to mind.

But I'm just thinking off the top of my head.

Calling on The West Wing

I believe the idiocy of the impending new Congress, led by a band of (grumpy) misguided and spiteful Republicans, who appear hell bent on defunding the poor in order to fund the rich, is the cause for my constant craving of the The West Wing of late.

As I read story after story about how Republicans plan to try to defund healthcare and financial reform (both which would only benefit their biggest donors while further crippling our economy and adding to our out of control national debt) I'm reminded of a terrific CJ Cregg quote.

In order for President Obama to win reelection next year, he is going to need to attempt to work with these same Republicans who have made it clear there is nothing more important to them than defeating him in 2012.

That being the case, the American people will have to choose between a leader (who I admit, still has a way to go to becoming a proven leader) or those "perceived by the American people to be irresponsible, untrustworthy, partisan, ambitious and thirsty for the limelight. Am I crazy or is this not a job for the U.S. House of Representatives?"

Thank you Claudia Jean Cregg!

Simplifying the DADT "Debate"

Close your eyes and imagine John McCain in a chair answering point blank questions about the U.S. Military --

• How mighty are our Armed forces?
• Are members of our Military expected to follow orders?
• Are there consequences for those who don't follow orders?
• Do/will people if orders are disobeyed?

I think its safe to say we know what his answers would be.

Now, open your eyes, and replace McCain with Jack Nicholson and you have the ending of the movie A Few Good Men.

Simply put, the answers don't change...our Armed Forces is the best in the world, YES members of the military ARE expect to follow orders, YES there are serious consequences for those who disobey orders, and YES its quite possible people can/will die if orders are disobeyed.

So when you look at it that way, isn't this DADT "debate" is absurdly funny and horrifically sad?

2010 Voting Booth Facts

In case you’ve been in a bubble for the past two years, today is the first of two days Republicans have had circled on their calendar since the night America elected Barack Obama President of the United States. (The second date -- Election Day 2012)

For the past several months, I and many like me have been screaming at the top of our lungs – “Don’t be Duped!”

Yes, the country is still struggling, but this group of Republicans who have done NOTHING for the past two years but filibuster and vote NO on every piece of important legislation aimed first and foremost at helping the country recover from the economic atrocities they created, is now banking that the American people will have amnesia when they go to the polls today.

I’ve done enough yelling, screaming and bad mouthing of the Republicans. On this, the day of judgment, I present to you five major financial accomplishments by the President and the Democratically led Congress over the past 21-months, and 10 additional accomplishments with links so you can read further about how the President has "blown-it" according to Sarah Palin.

January 2009 – Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

The very first bill signed by President Obama, restored employee rights to challenge pay discrimination. During the bill signing the President said, “…signing this bill today is to send a clear message: that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody; that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces; and that it's not just unfair and illegal, it's bad for business to pay somebody less because of their gender or their age or their race or their ethnicity, religion or disability; and that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook.”

February 2009 – Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act

This bill expanded the Health and Human Services program which provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children. The bill passed by Congress and signed by President Obama added 4 million children and pregnant women to the program, including for the first time legal immigrants without a waiting period.

February 2009 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

This is the “evil” stimulus bill that Republicans “claim” was a waste of taxpayer money. Here are the facts of how the money has been spent (as of the end of September, 2010)…

• $551 billion (70% of the $787 billion total) have already been paid out, and $687 billion (87% of the total) have already been allocated:

• $243 billion (85% of $288 billion total) in tax rebates/relief to individuals and corporations have been paid out;

• $146 billion (53%of $275 billion total) in discretionary grants, contracts and loans;

• $162 billion (72% of $224 billion) in entitlement programs (e.g. unemployment benefits, food stamps, and other aid to individuals and states)

This spending is estimated to have helped create or save between 1.4 and 3.3 million jobs (according to the Congressional Budget Office estimates) and increase real GDP between 1.7 and 4.5 percentage points in the second quarter of 2010.  If these estimates are accurate, it means that the ARRA was instrumental in getting the economy out of the recession and in preventing the unemployment rate to increase much above the current rate of 9.6%.   

NOT ONE Republican in the House of Representatives (178 of which 176 voted NO) voted for the stimulus bill. In the Senate, only 3 Republicans voted for it. Is it any wonder they are trying like hell to make everyone believe the stimulus failed?

May 2009 – Credit Card Act of 2009

Comprehensive credit card reform legislation that establishes fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and contains “The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights” which is aimed at limiting how credit card companies can charge consumers.

March 2010 - Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

This is the other “elephant” in the room so to speak when it comes to the reasons Republicans believe they must be put back in power to right the ship (they sunk). 

* Will expand healthcare to 32 million people (by 2019)

* Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27^th  birthday

* Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions

* No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage

* Free preventative care for all

* Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. These pools won’t be cheap, but they are still a lot better than being excluded. And there is expected to be some advantage due to the wider pool of the uninsured.

* Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50 percent of what they pay for their employees’ health insurance.

* The “doughnut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors. The government would offer a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries to help pay their prescription drug costs when they hit the “doughnut hole.” Next year, Medicare beneficiaries would see a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs to further close that gap.

* All insurers will be required to post balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.

* Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.

* No more rescissions. Effective immediately, you can’t lose your insurance because you get sick.

An additional component of this "wasteful" bill was the passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which drastically altered the way student loans are carried out, increased award money for needy students and extended significant financial support to community colleges. In short, made it easier for students to wade through the red tape to get much needed funding to go to college.

While I remain disappointed in The President on several fronts, you cannot deny the amount of legislative achievements he and the Democrats have had over the past 2-years, while Republicans sat on the sidelines. At the end of the day, it’s just sad that he and the Democrats haven’t been able to convey their accomplishments with a loud enough voice.

So it's up to you to do it for them. Please vote Democratic today. The continued growth of our Country depends on it.

Thanks as always for reading.  As promised, here are 10 additional accomplishments I invite you to review.

^{March 30, 2009 - Omnibus Public Land Management Act}

^{April 21, 2009 - Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act}

^{May 20, 2009 - Helping Families Save Their Homes Act}

^{May 22, 2009 - Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act}

^{June 22, 2009 - Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act}

^{June 24, 2009 - Supplemental Appropriations Act, including the Car Allowance Rebate System (Cash for Clunkers)}

^{October 28, 2009 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act}

^{November 6, 2009 - Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act}

^{February 12, 2010 - Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act}

^{March 4, 2010 - Travel Promotion Act}

^{March 18, 2010 - Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act}

 

Please, don't vote out of spite. Educate yourself!

If you're a reader of my Blog, one of my Twitter followers, or a Facebook Friend, then you know on more than one occasion I have called out President Obama for failing to come through on a number of issues that were promised to us during the election of 2008. I have been particularly hard on him when it comes to his promise of ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe it’s going to happen, but it’d be nice if it were a priority to a man who knows all too well the disadvantages of being treated differently.

There is also the fact that his promise of bringing change to Washington has fallen way short of expectations. Now I will admit, I never really bought into the whole idea of change.  Washington is what it is and no one is ever going to change it. However, I think the President and his team missed out on a golden opportunity to make inroads given the mandate he was elected with. 

That having been said, in the two years President Obama has been in the White House things have changed. The country finally has health care reform that favors people...not insurance companies. Was it perfect...far from it, but you have to start somewhere and I’d say the 32 million people who didn’t have health care prior to passage of HRC would agree.

He has a great deal more to do, and he knows this better than anyone. And that's why this Tuesday, we must vote in force to dial back and prevent the Republican/Tea Party drive to repeal health care reform, return our nation to the same failed economic polices that created the economic nightmare we’re still trying to recover from, AND stop these “thugs” from playing fast and loose with the Constitution. 

The President isn't on the ballot on Tuesday. The Democrats who have worked with him during this economic fiasco created by the Republicans are. These are the people responsible for passing health care reform and the stimulus package that helped prevent a second depression. They are the ones who are in jeopardy of losing their jobs for choosing to do what's best for the country...not for their job security.

Now I could sit here and give examples why people like Rand Paul, Sharon Angle, John Raese, Christine O'Donnell, Mark Rubio, and Ben Quayle are people who should NOT be elected to office and reasons why John Boehner and Mitch McConnell don't deserve to become Speaker of the House and Majority Leader of the Senate respectively, but as important as this is, I don’t have that kind of time. So do yourselves a favor…educate yourselves -- Google them.

Regardless of what side you favor, if you remain objective and read up on these individuals, it won't be hard to see why any of them deserve to be propelled into any position of power that could ultimately set this country backwards economically and socially. 

The bottom line is simple...in times of crisis you don't abandon your friends...even after they've let you down. President Obama while not perfect, and by the way who is, is our friend. And by 'our friend' I mean any person who is struggling to pay the bills, needs a job, is gay and hopes to be respected...and so on and so on. 

Do not let yourself get caught up in this mass hysteria of misrepresented anger. President Obama and the Democrats aren't the ones who created this economic mess. Yes, things are still a mess, and if you're someone currently out of work, then you know this for a fact.

But if you listen, read and research what independent economists have said, you will learn for yourself that the steps taken by President Obama and the Democrats helped stop the downward spiral we were in.

Much work still needs to be done, and come Tuesday you need to decide who you want doing that work. The President and the Democrats who are dedicated to restoring the Nation to prosperity for all, or the Republicans who have promised to undo health care reform -- thus re-un-insuring millions of Americans, making it possible for insurance companies to drop sick people and raise rates on a whim without explaining why...all while returning to the same failed economic policies that created the disaster they created.

As an American the choice is ultimately yours. All any of us can ask is that when you vote, do so with a clear understand of who and why you're voting for a particular someone. That doesn't mean that anger can't be a part of the reason. It just means don't vote out of spite. Because as always, nothing good will come from it. 

Thanks as always for reading. 

 

Pledge to (cut one million jobs) America

As predicted by anyone who actually remembers who is responsible for the mess we're in AND can count, the Republican party's latest economic farce, the 'Pledge to America' is BAD economic policy.

The first of what I'm sure will be many nonpartisan scorings of their 'plan' was released yesterday by the Economic Policy Institute.

For all their talk about job creation, EPI's analysis shows if the Republicans have their way, their plan would cost one million jobs.

One million jobs.

One million jobs.

One million jobs.

That seems about right...

---------------

News from EPI: Boehner’s “job creation” plan would result in a loss of one million jobs nationwide

For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 23, 2010

A new Economic Policy Institute analysis of Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner’s recently-proposed two-step job creation plan finds that it would have a net job impact of one million fewer jobs nationwide. Boehner’s plan, which calls for a cut in non-security-related spending to fiscal year 2008 levels and a two-year freeze on all current tax rates, would drastically reduce the budgets of basic human needs and investment programs while extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. At a cost of one million jobs, this plan would reduce the deficit by a negligible amount – less than 5.5% in 2011. If his proposed tax policies are made permanent, as he has advocated, it would significantly worsen the long-term budgetary outlook.

Source: Economic Policy Institute - http://www.epi.org/newsroom/press-entry/news_from_epi_boehners_job_creation_plan_would_result_in_a_loss_of_one_mill

Don't Buy It!! (UPDATED) #DADT

UPDATE: As you know by now, the Republican filibuster was successful is denying a debate on the bill yesterday.  What you may not know is that Sen. John McCain, who passionately led the filibuster -- based on a belief that the Senate should wait until the Department of Defense completes it's report (survey) on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy -- has ALREADY switched gears.

So like the car salesman I called him yesterday, McCain said the following after the successful filibuster...

''Obviously, I need to know how this survey was conducted, I need to know how complete it was, I need to know all of the aspects of it, and that's how I've always operated and how I'll continue to operate.''

His words...IN FULL CONTEXT.

So McCain is ALREADY changing the game plan in the event the report (survey) doesn't say what he hopes it will say. 

I'm shocked. STUNNED even. 

(via Metro Weekly - http://www.metroweekly.com/poliglot/2010/09/mccain-at-the-gates-its-not-th.html)

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A car salesman (most, not all...especially those who are Canadian ;) will do or say just about anything to sell a car.

The same can be said for Senate Republican's who are now up in arms that Democrats are 'forcing' them to vote on a critical piece of human rights legislation later today.

John McCain and Mitch McConnell want the American people to believe that if the Defense Department's report on ending the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, due in December, recommends it's termination, they'll be all for it.

DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT!!!

It's yet another stall tactic by Republican's who HISTORICALLY have found ways of stalling human rights legislation.

Get on the phone!! Call your Senators!!! Remind them that the Republicans, who are so concerned with maintaining a strong and viable military, continue to weaken it by denying good Americans who happen to be gay, from defending the country they love...even though they continue to be treated as a second class citizens.

Here is the phone number to the Capitol switchboard – (202) 224-3121. If you don't know who your Senator is, tell the operator where you live. They will connect you.

Take a stand. Don't let these car salesmen make a sale today.

Harry Reid Fires Back at John McCain on DADT

"Sen. McCain and anyone else who thinks the DREAM Act is not directly related to our national security should talk to the brave young men and women who want to defend our country but are turned away.  Sen. McCain should know better than anyone that patriots who step up to serve our grateful nation should be offered a path to citizenship, and that anyone who volunteers to serve should be welcomed regardless of their sexual orientation. I hope that he will do the right thing and support this bill . "

Read the whole story here - Sens. McCain and Graham Oppose Defense Bill Over Repeal of Gay Ban