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Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture
Badges Of Progress … CAP
The Military And The Boy Scouts Take Positive Steps Towards LGBT Non-Discrimination
Less than three weeks since the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land nationwide, two organizations with complicated histories surrounding LGBT equality—the United States Armed Forces and the Boy Scouts of America—have taken positive steps towards ending discrimination against LGBT individuals.
On Monday, Secretary Ash Carter announced that the Pentagon will allow transgender people to serve openly in the military. “We have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines — real, patriotic Americans — who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of service and individual merit,” Sec. Carter said.
Unlike Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which was a law passed by Congress, the trans ban is a military policy that can be changed by the Defense Department alone. When the new policy takes effect sometime within the next six months, the estimated 15,000 transgender service members currently serving in secret will be able to serve openly, and the ban on transgender enrollment will be lifted.
The military’s decision came in tandem with another group’s unanimous decision to expand equal rights to its members. On Monday, the Boy Scouts of America voted to end its longstanding ban on gay scout leaders. This follows another important development made in 2014 when the Boy Scouts lifted their ban on openly gay youth in the program. Beyond allowing new gay leaders to apply, the vote also opens the opportunity for previously removed leaders to seek their former positions. The decision prohibits regional governing bodies from discriminating by virtue of sexual orientation; however, it allows local troops to establish their own eligibility systems, which may also exclude gay applicants.
But these long overdue moments of inclusivity were not universally praised. The Family Research Council has opposed the military’s actions, claiming that “no new science” contributed to the military’s decision to lift the ban, even though the ban is incredibly outdated by all accounts. The Boy Scouts’ actions were also met with criticism, despite the fact that many chapters across the country had long opposed the ban .
Conservative opposition aside, these actions represent significant progress. But there is still much more work to be done. In 28 states, a same-sex couple can be legally married one day, and legally fired from their jobs the next. We must continue building on recent weeks’ progress to ensure comprehensive legislation to outlaw LGBT discrimination.
BOTTOM LINE: While the decisions by the Boy Scouts and the Department of Defense are steps forward for LGBT rights, the fight for equality is not over. These milestones remind us that whether it’s the uniform of a Scout or a soldier, comprehensive equality must be stitched into the fabric of our laws.
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Please sign this letter… VoteVets
Here’s the letter we’re submitting the Environmental Protection Agency to stop the big oil giveaway currently being considered by the agency.
Read it, and co-sign the letter before we submit it. You can do that here: http://action.votevets.org/epa-letter
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Docket ID Number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0111Please preserve a strong Renewable Fuel Standard — one that puts our national security, our environment, and American consumers ahead of the interests of Big Oil.
As veterans, military families, and VoteVets supporters, we know the cost of our dependence on foreign oil. The Renewable Fuel Standard has fostered a homegrown fuel industry that lessens our dependence on oil — the rising prices of which pay for weapons used against our men and women in uniform.
More than that, investing in cheaper, cleaner-burning renewable fuels has strengthened our economy — creating new jobs inside our borders, and saving Americans money with every fill-up.
Don’t allow oil industry lobbyists to put their interests ahead of the nation’s. Save the Renewable Fuel Standard, and keep our country on the road to a transportation future that depends less on the Middle East, and more on the Midwest.
Thank you,
[[Your Name]]
Sign the Letter here:
http://action.votevets.org/epa-letter
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NY State Laws get an Upgrade–Know Your New Rights!
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Women’s Equality Advances in New York
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“A hole-in-one on a 2-mile golf shot.”
this post was 18hrs ago
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This morning, the United States became the first country to reach Pluto — and the first country to explore the entire classical solar system: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
NASA’s New Horizons interplanetary probe has been making its way to Pluto since January 19, 2006, and has been providing the world with the sharpest photos ever seen of our Solar System’s most prominent “dwarf planet.” Today, it made its closest approach to Pluto yet — about 8,000 miles — at around 07:49:57 EDT.
Here’s the photo they took — which, despite traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), took four and a half hours to reach us here on Earth as it crossed the 3 billion miles between here and Pluto:
That we were able to get so close to Pluto today is a feat whose probability scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson likened to “a hole-in-one on a two-mile golf shot.” He’s right.
Every once in a while, a photo comes along that has the ability to shift not just how we see our place in the universe, but how we see ourselves — not just as Americans, but as citizens of Earth.
This is one of those photos, and I hope you’ll share it with someone today.
More soon —
John
Dr. John P. Holdren
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
The White House
@whitehouseostp
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