Sexual Orientation

Joe Biden Starts Off Aggressively, With 30 Executive Orders In Three Days

Ronald 3 Comments

President Biden is starting off his administration with a series of quick actions through 30 executive orders in three days in office, and more to come!

These include:

14 on the Corona Virus

4 on the Economy

2 on the Environment

5 on Immigration

2 on Equity

1 on Ethics

1 on Regulation

1 on the Census Bureau

These include in detail:

Reinstating ties with the World Health Organization; Enforcing a mask mandate on federal properties and public transportation; Coordinating the national response to the COVID 19 Pandemic.

Halting construction of the Mexico Border Wall; Ending the Muslim Ban; Including non citizens in the Census Count; Protecting DACA immigrants from deportation; Stopping aggressive actions to find and deport undocumented immigrants.

Re-entering the Paris Climate Accords; Revoking the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline; Revoking rollbacks to Vehicle Emission Standards; Undoing decisions to slash the size of several National Monuments; Enforcing a moratorium on oil and natural gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Reestablishing a working group on the social costs of greenhouse gases.

Ending the 1776 Commission which distorted the role of slavery in American history; Rooting out systematic racism, and working to prevent discrimination based upon gender, sexual orientation or gender identity and promote equity and diversity in all government programs and agencies.

Extend a federal moratorium on evictions, and foreclosures on mortgages; A pause on federal student loan interest and principal payments.

Can Mayor Pete Buttigieg Gain Support Of African Americans, A Crucial Democratic Voting Bloc?

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was perceived as having done well in the first Democratic debate, but yet did not gain in public opinion polls, and a lot of it, beyond his being gay, is his inability, so far, to gain African American support, a key voting bloc for Democrats in any national election.

The racial situation in South Bend, where recently a black man was killed by a police officer, has made any attempt to improve Buttigieg’s standing among African Americans ever the harder.

But also, many African Americans are extremely devout Christians, and they have an issue with the idea of a gay President, who also has a husband.

So the question is whether Mayor Pete has any real chance of being the Democratic Presidential nominee if he cannot win over substantial African American support.

That will be a key factor in the turmoil surrounding the Democratic Presidential sweepstakes.

The Issue Of Punishing Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, White Supremacists, Alt Right By Firing Them From Their Jobs: Why It Is Proper To Do It!

Ronald 1 Comment

The issue has arisen about, in the aftermath of the Charlottesville, Virginia White Supremacy tragedy, whether it is proper for employers to punish Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, White Supremacists, and the Alt Right, by firing those who work for them. A number of participants have already been fired by their employers for participation in the despicable rally.

The argument is that they do not reflect the value systems of the companies they work for, and that their prejudiced views are worthy of dismissal.

Many of the young men at the Charlottesville rally were “outed” by social media, and became “victims” of the outrage of millions of Americans.

Certainly, anyone has a right to his or her own political, social, and economic views, but it is well known that employers have complete authority to hire and fire, and often do it on grounds that are unjust, including against women, gays and lesbians, Latinos, Muslims, African Americans and Asian Americans.

But these cases just listed are based on discrimination grounds, and should and are often fought in the courts under the civil rights laws.

So if one’s extremist views are the issue, it is not the same as one’s gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity.

Promoting hate, violence, and bloodshed is a very different issue, and IS justifiable grounds for dismissal from work.

Maybe these young men can reform themselves, when they see the visceral reaction of decent people, and the hope is that they will reform, and change, and repudiate their biased views, and then forgiveness can be considered.

Otherwise, they are on the road of criminality and federal and state prison, and a disgrace to their families, so this situation can be a learning experience.

Donald Trump Has No Concern For Human Rights Or Civil Rights On 49th Anniversary Of Martin Luther King Jr Assassination

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump clearly has no concern for human rights overseas or civil rights at home.

He embraces all the authoritarian dictators in other nations, including Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, and of course, Russia, while showing disrespect for the leaders of Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

He has nothing to say when his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, moves to undermine reform of police departments in many American cities, to prevent the victimization of racial minorities, and instead claims crime is at an all time high, when it has been rapidly declining for many years.

Trump’s clear racism and white supremacy views are helping to cause growing tension among racial and religious minorities in America.

Decades of civil rights advancements are being summarily revoked, as we move back to the era of America before the civil rights movement made such great progress in the past fifty years.

Instead of uniting Americans, Donald Trump is moving to divide Americans by race, ethnicity, religion, gender and even sexual orientation.

And ironically, today is the 49th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and one can be assured, that were he alive today, he would be promoting mass marches by Americans to protest the massive reversal of human and civil rights.

What Do We Tell Our Children About President-Elect Donald Trump?

Ronald 3 Comments

Now that it is clear that Donald Trump is President-Elect, the question is what do we tell our children?

Do we tell them to respect a misogynist, racist, nativist, islamophobic President, and one who is not repudiating white supremacists and antisemites?

Do we tell our daughters that they have nothing to fear from boys and men, since Trump has shown total immorality about women?

Do we tell our sons that they do not need to respect girls and women, since Trump does not?

Do we tell our children of both genders, of different races, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations, that they can feel safe and accepted?

How do we make sure our children are not bullied at school and on the streets of America because they might be “different” than white Anglo Saxon males?

How can any family be secure that we will not have violence and bigotry manifesting itself under a President who has no ethical or moral base?

Can anyone tell me the answers to this concern?

A Donald Trump Victory’s Effect On Civility and Manners In American Society, Including Its Schoolyards: The Promotion Of Bullying!

Ronald 9 Comments

Donald Trump is such a destructive force in so many ways!

One of the worst aspects of the Trump success so far is its effect on civility and manners in American society, including its schoolyards.

Young people are seeing a candidate who uses foul language, and who says whatever comes to his mind without any filter, utilizing insults, and employing racism, nativism, xenophobia, and misogyny.

Trump makes bullying and narcissism and egotism seem normal and acceptable.

Rudeness and lack of consideration of the effect of language on others has become a norm.

The effect on young males of school age and even in colleges is to show less respect for others who are different than them in their race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.

Why should young men and boys have respect for girls and women when Donald Trump does not?

Why should bullies in school yards stop their harassing of others when Donald Trump is the champion bully?

The Trump effect will be to create new social problems for parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, and society in general, as boys and young men with heightened testosterone will have license to say and do whatever they wish, as, after all, Donald Trump has been accepted as the Republican Presidential nominee by hateful, ignorant, poorly educated people who represent the worst elements of American society.

God forbid that Donald Trump becomes President, as the cancer he represents will permeate American society and undermine American internal domestic security, as well as national security in dealing with the outside world.

We will have to worry that we will alienate our friends in the world; encourage military confrontations and war with our enemies; and face the likelihood of growing tensions and possible warfare at the US Mexico border of 1,989 miles!

Most certainly, we do not need problems with our neighbors, as we already have enough challenges with other nations around the world!

Two Different Directions: Wisconsin State Republican Party And Nevada State Republican Party

Ronald 6 Comments

The internal battle over the future of the Republican Party is in full swing, as we come up to the 160th anniversary of the Republican Party in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854, which actually took place on March 20. with a formal organization in Jackson, Michigan, on July 6.

For a long time, the Ripon Society has existed as an organization for “liberal,” mainstream Republicans, but of course, there is no such thing anymore known as “liberal” Republicanism. Even those who might consider themselves “liberal,” avoid use of that term like a plague!

The Wisconsin GOP, which once included “Mr. Progressive” Robert La Follette, Sr., and his brilliant sons Robert La Follette, Jr. and Philip La Follette, now, however, has become an extremist group on the far right, under Governor Scott Walker and Senator Ron Johnson, and the proposal is to add to their state party documents the concept of the right of the state to promote “secession’ if felt necessary, a sign of the old, ugly language that led to the Civil War and the loss of two thirds of a million men in combat, the greatest single tragedy in the nation’s history!

At the same time, the Nevada State Republican Party has made the decision to remove from its platform for 2014 two issues that the Christian Right has been promoting since their rise in the party apparatus nationwide since the late 1970s—abortion and gay rights and marriage. No longer will the party promote government intervention in the lives of women and their personal decisions about their bodies and reproductive rights. And no longer will they get in the way of a person’s happiness, as to his or her basic human rights, including marriage, and the right to one’s sexual orientation without any discrimination by government!

In the long run, what Nevada Republicans are doing will, if pursued elsewhere, lead to a long term revival of the GOP, while if Wisconsin is followed, it is the death knell and demise of the party of Lincoln, TR, and Ike!

The 50th Anniversary Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Commemorated By Four Presidents!

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It has been a half century since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the greatest accomplishment of President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his five years in the Oval Office.

This week, four American Presidents are honoring this achievement at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, including Barack Obama, and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush (the former Presidents, ironically, all Southerners).

This half century old law is one of the massive and historic turning points in American history, and yet the challenge to civil rights, as the Reverend Al Sharpton has stated, is not over, as there continues to be discrimination in many southern and other states governed now by Republican legislatures and governors.

So the battle for civil rights continues for the protection of people based upon race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and sexual orientation, and we cannot sit on just praise of what has been done, but fight for more of the same in the present and the future!

Gay Athletes In Professional Sports: Time To Demand Appropriate Respect!

Ronald 11 Comments

Professional sports are businesses, and it is time for all of the teams and the commissioners of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League to demand appropriate respect for any gay athletes, in the “closet” but wanting to come out, as well as Michael Sam and Jason Collins, the first gay athletes to come out while still playing their sport!

Under no circumstances should any player on any team, or any manager or coach, or any front office personnel, or any team owner be permitted openly to harass, intimidate, discriminate or mistreat in any way any athlete because of his sexual orientation, whether perceived or real!

The answer should be that if one wishes to have the honor of playing, managing, or working in professional sports, he or she must overcome their public prejudices and do what workers do all the time at work, do their job and shut their mouths, and keep any prejudices or biases they have in their heads, but not expressed or acted upon.

No player, no matter how great he is, is entitled to mistreat or do any other type of harm to teammates or opponents because of their own religious or other beliefs which create tension in the locker rooms or on the field or in any public social situation!

if one cannot control his or her behavior, then he or she should face expulsion from the sport, and it should be part of every work contract, as no matter how talented, such a open bigot should understand that he or she cannot abuse his known talent to be ugly or reprehensible in his or her conduct.

Just as players and managers and front office personnel have had to overcome racial and ethnic prejudices, so should be the same for sexual orientation, meaning behave or else you are gone!

John F. Kennedy And Barack Obama Comparisons

Ronald 14 Comments

The more one studies John F. Kennedy and witnesses the Presidency of Barack Obama, the more one can see comparisons.

Both John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama represented new directions in the office of the Presidency. The following comparisons can be made between the 35th President and the 44th President.

Both of these Presidents represented a revolutionary change, with Kennedy being the first Catholic President and Obama being the first African American President.

Both of these Presidents faced the vehement opposition of the Southern states, although both won key states in the South and had most of their opposition from the “deep” South.

Both of these Presidents were charismatic and great orators of their visions.

Both of these Presidents had young children in the White House years.

Both of these Presidents had very attractive First Ladies, who added a lot to their Presidencies.

Both of these Presidents dealt with the issue of civil rights, with Kennedy focused on race and Obama on sexual orientation controversies.

Both of these Presidents engendered great hatred and were considered dangerous to the nation by critics, and the number of assassination threats grew dramatically.

Both of these Presidents had a Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson and Joe Biden, with a reputation of being exceptional legislators who knew how to get things done in Congress.

Both of these Presidents were young, and offered new hope for a new generation.

Both of these Presidents faced major challenges, Kennedy with the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Obama with finding Osama Bin Laden.

Both of these Presidents faced tough times dealing with the Soviet Union under Kennedy, and the Russian Federation under Obama.

Both of these Presidents emphasized the need for health care as an important federal goal, with Kennedy unable to accomplish Medicare, but Obama able to accomplish ObamaCare, with conservatives being the crucial opposition in both situations.

Both of these Presidents promoted the concept of peace as a goal, rather than war, with Kennedy attempting moves toward ending the Cold War, and Obama attempting moves to end the war on Terrorism.

Both of these Presidents appealed to our better natures, rather than the lowest common denominator.

Both of these Presidents attempted to fight poverty and promote the middle class as the way to progress for society.

Both of these Presidents became models for young people, and gave them hope in a better America and a better world, as they were seen in an idealistic manner as overcoming cynicism common in both eras.

With Obama having about three years to go, and with constant, persistent death threats, it is hoped and prayed for that he will finish his term unharmed, and avoid the tragedy of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Let all of us wish him the best!