These are familiar words related to political power in the U.S.: incumbency (and its power); partisanship (party over policy); and though perhaps a bit less familiar, corporate dominated systems (the Corporate Duopoly / Legacy Parties; or as I still think makes sense, the Two Party Front for the Oligarchy). I came across two reports that [...]
Tag Archives | Liberally Independent
Queer Talk: Next Week SCOTUS Considers Marriage Equality [VIDEO]
The build-up to next week’s Prop 8 and DOMA cases being heard at the Supreme Court really is unlike anything I’ve seen in the world of Queerdom – among other things, significant mainstream coverage, daily releases from multiple organizations and projects, and the “evolution” of Electeds, on Left and Right, are indications that something important [...]
Queer Talk: Obama Administration Brief Urges Supreme Court to Strike Down DOMA
LGBTs and allies have strongly urged President Obama to act, and on Friday, his administration did, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed in 1996. At MetroWeekly, Justin Snow writes: Arguing that Section 3 of DOMA, which forbids federal recognition of same-sex marriage, violates the Constitution, [...]
Queer Talk: LGBT Protections Stripped from VAWA by House Republicans
Earlier this month, the Violence Against Women Act was passed by the Senate, 78 to 22. According to a HuffPo report, the bill had 62 cosponsors, and actually picked up “additional support from a handful of Republicans.” So, the next move was in the House, and yesterday, February 22, the House Republicans once again revealed [...]
The ‘2nd American Revolution’ Explained by Way of a Graph
Discussion of “income inequality” is considered an out of date topic by some, but it’s as real, as significant and if we’re looking with open eyes and not through Duopoly supplied blinkers, as in-our-faces at this moment as it was when, for the obvious example, the Occupy movement made it “news.” The graph is via [...]
A Question From Glenn Greenwald: ‘How Can Anyone Still Believe That America Is the Greatest Country on Earth?’
About a year ago (March 7, 2012, to be exact), I was thinking about, and still consider accurate, “the American Exceptionalism myth.” Nothing has happened in the last (almost) year to change my mind. Greenwald’s essay – How Can Anyone Still Believe That America Is the Greatest Country on Earth? – has a related focus, [...]
The ‘People’s House’ When ‘Corporations Are People’
It isn’t fair to focus on the House of Representatives, since the SCOTUS decision on Citizens United, popularized as “corporations are people,” is just as evident in the Senate and the White House. But that whole “People’s House” description of the House of Representatives makes it an excellent example of how the meaning of “people” [...]
Queer Talk: The Task Force, Creating Change for Forty Years Through Grassroots Advocacy [VIDEO]
In Atlanta, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, founded forty years ago, is now meeting for the 25th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. I very much regret I’ve never been able to attend one of these conferences. At least there’s a Conference feed. Below is the introductory video for this year’s conference. [...]
Queer Talk: Anonymous LGBT Group Funds Anti-Hagel Ad (VIDEO)
An anonymous group calling itself “Use Your Mandate” is running ads urging the rejection of Obama’s nominee for Sec. of Defense, former Sen. Chuck Hagel. At Huffington Post: Dubbed ‘Use Your Mandate,’ the group … raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to a source close to the group who declined to be named in [...]
Queer Talk: LGBT Protections in Vicco, KY and the Decline of ‘Homosexuality as a Sin’ Viewpoint
If you’ve read even a scattering of my QT posts, you’ve probably picked up on my ongoing frustrations with the “everyone should move away from places where gaining LGBT rights is a bigger struggle” argument. I do understand that for some, maybe many, a move from a town, city or even state that is less [...]
The Duopoly Has the Middle Class Wrapped Around Its Middle Finger
And the Oligarchy has the Duopoly wrapped around its middle finger. In both cases, Duopoly and Oligarchy regularly use that finger to signal what they think of all of us who don’t live at the top. The response of We the People, We the Electorate, We the Used and Manipulated very often includes participating in [...]
500 Years of Resistance [VIDEO]
Yesterday on Facebook I noticed a couple of posts making fun of the actions of Idle No More, a “worldwide indigenous movement,” and other groups acting in solidarity with INM. That came as I was thinking about what I’d read at Idle No More; at Roar Magazine, “A continuation of 500 years of indigenous resistance”; [...]
Queer Talk: Holiday Wish List and Reality Check
Actually, this is just a holiday spin on an existing Queer Wish List, and it’s a truncated version only, with only a couple of items in current DC thinking and happenings. I think my overall wish, related to our Electeds, is simple: they will all miraculously begin acting like responsible, thoughtful, caring adults in powerful [...]
Scalia Defends Anti-Gay Comments in Response to Student Question
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Prop 8 and DOMA cases. Obviously no one knows the outcome, but Justice Antonin Scalia provided yet another indication about his perspective on LGBTs, and they remain decidedly in the anti-LGBT side of things. At an appearance at Princeton University, freshman Duncan Hosie questioned Scalia about his dissenting opinion [...]
Queer Talk: FBI 2011 Hate Crimes Statistics Show Increase in Sexual Orientation Based Hate Crimes
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program focuses on hate crimes. The 2011 report revealed that hate crimes based on sexual orientation rose, and for the first time, were second behind the leading factor of race. The number of reported hate crimes committed against gay men and lesbians increased from 1,277 in 2010 to 1,293 in [...]
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