Someone at the USOC needs to be fired
The USOC of course being the United States Olympic Committee. Why? Because someone made the decision to give the contract for Team America’s official uniform to Ralph Lauren, and then Ralph Lauren turned around and got the garments made in China.
China. Team America is being outfitted by uniforms manufactured in China.
Some people use the lame excuse that “Well, the US wants cheap clothes, so we don’t make anything here anymore.” Tell that to the pair of “Union Made in the USA” jeans I’m wearing right now, along with a great shirt made by King Louis America. Two great American shops who could use a break, and would have proudly made Team USA’s apparel if given the chance, I bet!
So shame on you, USOC! Your poor choices bring shame to our nation!
Is Mitt Romney the most insulting person to ever run for President?
You wouldn’t think so, from someone who is supposedly so “milk toast-ey”. But I think this may be one of the last straws.
So everyone knows that Romney spoke to the NAACP yesterday, and that he got soundly booed. But his reaction to this? He basically insulted every single person who has ever had to rely on public assistance, didn’t have a wealthy benefactor like his dad, or believe in a progressive movement. He said:
…if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy-more free stuff.
Mitt Romney just called every person who believes in justice for all, not just for those that have they money, a freeloader. It’s exactly what he said, and exactly what he means. And he’s unapologetic about it.
You’re a disgusting human being, Mitt Romney, and you bring nothing but disgrace to the 2012 race.
Shame on you, Lindsey Graham!
Oh this is just disgusting…
We all know taxes are a necessary thing; if you want the ability to call the police, call the fire department, drive on a road, or do just about anything else in our society, you have to pay your share of taxes. I agree with Joe Biden from the 2008 campaign trail – paying your fair share of taxes is patriotic (for which Sarah Palin made fun of him).
But that’s not what Linsey Graham, the Republican Senator from South Carolina thinks. He thinks it’s patriotic to NOT pay your fair share. His quote?
Seriously, Senator Graham? You’re disgusting. You think it’s patriotic to short people like firemen, policemen, and teachers? Patriotic to not help pave the roads that you drive, and not monitor the airspace that you fly in?
You know what I’d like to see? A bunch of policemen, firemen, air traffic controllers, teachers, and all sorts of people line up to meet Senator Graham, and tell him to his face how hateful and disgusting his belief is.
Go read this now!
The awesome blog Towleroad put together a great post about the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, as well as other organizations, and the amicus brief that was filed in the case against DoMA, the egregious “Defense of Marriage Act” passed by the Congress and signed into law by Bill Clinton on the 1990s.
Go read the article, which includes scientific proof that gays and lesbians enjoy the same relationships as their heterosexual counterparts, as well as showing their children aren’t harmed by same-sex parents, but are harmed by laws like DoMA.
Some good news about marriage equality
Here’s a good roundup of the three good pieces of news for marriage equality.
First of all, Washington United for Marriage, the group that’s fighting to keep marriage equality on the books, raised more than seven times as much as the anti-gay pro-discrimination group Preserve Marriage Washington. In June 2012, they raised $952,000 while the pro-discrimination group raised just $135,000. Way to go, Washington United for Marriage!
Secondly, in Maine, where it’s also going to the ballot, a recent poll has marriage equality beating out discrimination by 57% to 35%, with 8% marked as “undecided”.
Finally, Maryland, which like Washington State, passed a marriage equality law that was immediately challenged. The Maryland Board of Elections just certified the signatures, saying that there would be a ballot measure to let the voters decide on the outcome. Like in Maine, a large majority – 57% to 37% – say they would like to keep marriage equality on the books.
This is all good. But the fact remains, the public has no right to vote on people’s civil rights.
Two Complimentary LGBT Equality Organizations
In the past few days, there’s been a push for two new LGBT equality charities, one of which comes from a company you know, and the other I’ve found only because I read other blogs (thanks, GoodAsYou.com!). And both of these deserve people’s attention, respect, and money.
The first one came about a few days ago, from Google. Google happens to be a strong advocate of GLBT rights, and has offices around the world. They have a lot of brilliant people that work for them, and sometimes they need to place people around the world in different offices. But what about if they had to put a gay man or lesbian woman at an office in Uganda, home of the “Kill The Gays” bill? They wouldn’t do that.
When the Google project “Legalize Love” originally hit the airways, lots of people mistakingly thought it was to push for marriage equality across the globe. Honestly, that wouldn’t be a good use of their efforts. I mean, just look at how fractured we are here in the United States? No, Google’s “Legalize Love” program is to push tolerance. Their press release says it better than I can:
And it’s an awesome idea.
Quick on the heels of that, I watched a video interview of John Barrowman where he speaks of the Kaleidoscope Trust, and their push to point out anti-LGBT laws and injustice throughout the world. The interview is below, and it includes a quick commercial that really drives home the injustices that GLBT people face, just because of who they are.
If you have some time or money, look to both of these groups, and offer to help out – be it time or money. Because we all deserve equal justice under the law.
Something beautiful out of a bad situation
By now, we should all know about Tyler Clementi, and his tragic suicide due to his college roommates “prank” of recording a video of Tyler making out with another man.
But there’s a new chapter to the story, and this one brings hope. Tyler’s parents have set up “The Tyler Clementi Foundation” to help decrease teen suicides and to combat bullying. They’re just starting out, and are raising funds. If you have a little extra cash, drop some their way – and maybe help out a kid in danger.
Click on the picture to head over to their page, and give what you can.
Texas GOP: Let’s repeal the 1965 Voting Rights Act
The good people over at ThinkProgress.org had strong enough stomachs to read the entire Texas GOP platform for 2012. One nugget that was in there, was Texas GOP’s desire to repeal the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
I’m sorry – isn’t Texas one of the 9 states that had such egregious acts that kept minorities from voting that basically caused the 1965 Voting Rights Act? Yes it is. And isn’t Texas one of the 9 states that has to get approval before updating their voting laws? Yes again!
We’ve already seen blatant claims that the GOP is pushing for votes for Romney and suppressing votes for Obama for the 2012 election. This is just another line in their “screw everyone but Republicans” playbook.
Minnesota anti-equality group to gays: You should be put to death
Something really interesting happened over at the Minnesota for Marriage Facebook page yesterday. Someone posted a verse from the Christian bible chapter “Leviticus” that calls on gays to be put to death. And the outcome? Their supporters loved it. There were 30 likes by the time a screenshot was captured, and over 50 as I write this. Here’s the original image of the posting.
Their response? They were hacked.
Now here’s the thing. If you get hacked, the first thing you do is to take your accounts offline and remove the offending items. But they actually are refusing to remove it. And the comments and likes on the post keep going up and up. (Click for larger)
So you can’t have it both ways. Either you stand by what you said, or you take down the post.
NOTE: The posts in question are public posts, meaning you do not have to “Like” the organization to read them (just be a Facebook member), and thus, the responses are public. That’s why I have not blanked out any names.
