(no subject)
This pisses me off so, so much. It's bad enough that they've banned future same-sex weddings in California, but now this utterly hateful group wants to make all current same-sex marriages null and void? What the fuck?! What is the problem with just letting people be happy?! And then there's the fact that the U.S. was the only major Western country in the United Nations not to sign a declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality. Just...arg. I'm too furious to even be coherent about this right now.
On a related note, I'm not sure how I feel about Obama selecting Rick Warren to give the inaugural prayer. I have to admit that I'm disappointed that he picked such an openly homophobic pastor for the job. On the other hand, I doubt that Warren will be spouting homophobic rhetoric in the prayer, and I kind of hope that Obama's reaching out to him is so that he might potentially be able to change his mind on GLBT issues. (People also say it's because he doesn't want to alienate the religious right, which is probably likely as well.) It's kind of like when Bono "befriended" Jesse Helms -- at first I was pissed off, but then I realized that the fact that Helms was against just about everything Bono stood for was precisely why Bono was trying to reach out to him. Sometimes extending the olive branch can help change peoples' minds on issues, and I hope that's what Obama is trying to do here. He is after all our most gay-friendly president -- everyone's saying that the "don't ask, don't tell" military policy will probably be done away with at some point in his administration. Sooner is better than later (think of all the gays in the military who could be dishonorably discharged in the interim), but still...it's progress nonetheless.
I hate how the media is trying to sabotage Obama's presidency and paint him in a bad light before he even takes office. People are already trying to implicate him in the Blagojevich controversy, and now this. I may not agree with Obama's selection of Rick Warren, but it's small potatoes compared to other mistakes he could make. You all know I usually adore Anderson Cooper, but I was kind of pissed off because last night I turned on his show and they had the huge words "BREAKING NEWS" flashing across the screen while they discussed the Warren issue. Oh, please. I'm not happy about it either, but disagreement over Obama's selection of the pastor to give his inaugural prayer is not "breaking news."
Dr. Ezekiel "Zeke" Emanuel, Rahm's older brother and Director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the National Institutes of Health, has proposed an interesting plan for establishing universal health care in the United States. I've been pro-universal health care for a long time, but I've never before given it much thought to how it would actually work. I like how Dr. Emanuel's plan ensures that people don't lose their health care when they lose their jobs, and that they can't exclude you because of preexisting conditions. It's also interesting because vouchers are involved, which would ensure that insurance companies aren't eliminated.
Zeke is apparently joining the Obama administration as a senior counselor at the White House Office of Management and Budget on health policy (two Emanuels in the White House FTW!!). I wonder what Obama thinks of his plan and whether it has a chance of actually going into effect.
On a related note, I'm not sure how I feel about Obama selecting Rick Warren to give the inaugural prayer. I have to admit that I'm disappointed that he picked such an openly homophobic pastor for the job. On the other hand, I doubt that Warren will be spouting homophobic rhetoric in the prayer, and I kind of hope that Obama's reaching out to him is so that he might potentially be able to change his mind on GLBT issues. (People also say it's because he doesn't want to alienate the religious right, which is probably likely as well.) It's kind of like when Bono "befriended" Jesse Helms -- at first I was pissed off, but then I realized that the fact that Helms was against just about everything Bono stood for was precisely why Bono was trying to reach out to him. Sometimes extending the olive branch can help change peoples' minds on issues, and I hope that's what Obama is trying to do here. He is after all our most gay-friendly president -- everyone's saying that the "don't ask, don't tell" military policy will probably be done away with at some point in his administration. Sooner is better than later (think of all the gays in the military who could be dishonorably discharged in the interim), but still...it's progress nonetheless.
I hate how the media is trying to sabotage Obama's presidency and paint him in a bad light before he even takes office. People are already trying to implicate him in the Blagojevich controversy, and now this. I may not agree with Obama's selection of Rick Warren, but it's small potatoes compared to other mistakes he could make. You all know I usually adore Anderson Cooper, but I was kind of pissed off because last night I turned on his show and they had the huge words "BREAKING NEWS" flashing across the screen while they discussed the Warren issue. Oh, please. I'm not happy about it either, but disagreement over Obama's selection of the pastor to give his inaugural prayer is not "breaking news."
Dr. Ezekiel "Zeke" Emanuel, Rahm's older brother and Director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the National Institutes of Health, has proposed an interesting plan for establishing universal health care in the United States. I've been pro-universal health care for a long time, but I've never before given it much thought to how it would actually work. I like how Dr. Emanuel's plan ensures that people don't lose their health care when they lose their jobs, and that they can't exclude you because of preexisting conditions. It's also interesting because vouchers are involved, which would ensure that insurance companies aren't eliminated.
Zeke is apparently joining the Obama administration as a senior counselor at the White House Office of Management and Budget on health policy (two Emanuels in the White House FTW!!). I wonder what Obama thinks of his plan and whether it has a chance of actually going into effect.