President Obama has pledged to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And the House passed a bill last week that would make good on this promise.
But there is real opposition in the Senate — and some Republicans are vowing to do whatever it takes to block a vote. The only way to get them to back down is to speak up.
I just added my name to the growing list of Americans in support of repealing this discriminatory law.
Will you join me?
http://my.barackobama.com/RepealDADT-share
Thanks!
jason@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost ReportingVia Ken Layne at Wonkette, this is just the worst story in the world:
An Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who attend the school has been the subject of constant daytime drive-by racist screaming, from adults, as well as a radio talk-show campaign (by an actual city councilman, who has an AM talk-radio show) to remove the black student’s face, and now the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students to be changed to Caucasian skin.
F’ing hell. Read the rest of the details here. And here’s Richard Lawson’s reaction, at Gawker.
What can I say about this? We are talking about a bunch of mentally deranged adults, who have terrorized an elementary school, for daring to paint a mural featuring the faces of black and Latino children — actual black and Latino children who live in Arizona. And we’re also talking about a group of adults who have decided to send a stirring message to their students and the world: when a bunch of mentally deranged adults — and we are not talking about people who are particularly threatening, this is a bunch of utterly gutless mopes, yelling racial slurs from their cars, egged on by some pinhead city councilman cowering behind a radio microphone — threaten a bunch of children, the best thing to do is to accede to their psychotic, racist “demands.”
Seriously, educators of Prescott, Arizona, when some creep demands you whiten the faces of your own students on a mural, the correct response is to say, “No, we will not be doing anything of the sort.”
This story really should be blasted, far and wide. You cable news producers need to get this story in the mix with a quickness. And let me be clear to you all: there are no “two sides to this story.” This is not something you need to have a panel discussion about. CNN, I don’t want to see you plumbing the depths of your counterintuition on your website, or lending credence to the notion that the gutless mopes in their cars, shrieking racial slurs at the images of children have an interesting point of view that we should “hear out” because of the need to be “balanced.” This is your moment to decry, condemn, and brutalize these evil people.
Blast them to hell, or go jump in the Gulf of Mexico.
RELATED:
Arizona School Demands Black & Latino Students’ Faces On Mural Be Changed To White [Wonkette]
Wonkette : Arizona School Demands Black & Latino Students’ Faces On Mural Be C…
Altered mural fuels racial debate in Prescott
Arizona school asks artists to lighten face of Hispanic student on mural
Today, the President will be in Louisiana …the Gulf Coast to talk to those who live and work there. It is my opinion that it is not the Media’s job to sway or make sure we are all pissed at the President; their job is to report the News and time and time again we hear cable talking heads using the time to stir-up trouble. It’s getting tiring to see people like tamron hall and others possibly trying to get better rating numbers by joining the bash the President brigade. People in the Press and or Media need to stop pointing fingers and help get this thing solved. I say change the channel
…Lakers Win Game 1 109, Celtics 89; Game 2 is on Sunday at the Staples Center. The public or 60% of the public say they are upset with the President’s efforts on the Gulf Coast disaster… is it possible that the Media is not giving our President a platform… thank goodness Larry King did the interview …even though it is Larry’s 25yr celebration it was a moment that the public got to hear, see and realize how the President has been feeling as well as how he actually is handling BP and Associates. It can all be improved but clearly the government is not in the oil clean-up biz and anything said can possibly make the 3stooges abandon the site if pushed …they seemed to have decided to pay for damage control spots… odd because that money could be used to pay for the damages …to families of the dead, businesses dying and for more equipment to fight this spill… it should tell everyone exactly where these guys stand … and hopefully the President knows … BP seems to be putting Profits and damage control before the People.
The pictures and video’s of the oil goo, globs and blobs let alone the video of what some of the wildlife are going through was bad enough to make parents all over the country scream and turn the channel. The photos are outrageous and while people are yelling where are the people/ and people need to clean this up… who is letting the viewers know that the air is that bad; it’s so unsafe for folks to be working there without some sort of mask or more hardcore -that is why the area is empty; this is not being conveyed to the viewer …we all need to see the awful things; this should help Americans get it; we need to move toward Green Energy unlike how Gov Jindal seems to feel …we don’t like big Gov’t, we want less spending but on the other hand Govt is not acting fast enough or spending enough money to get us out of this mess. It is unfortunate that people on the state level turned their heads while a lot of deals and money exchanged hands; like the current reports of money being given to Republicans as recent as last week from BP and Halliburton and it’s offensive.
It’s Friday, almost 2 months into what seems like an endless stream of bad news and photos from the Gulf Coast that prove what deepwater drilling does to the environment without proper equipment and lack of emergency procedures. It is another day that 11people need to be recognized and condolences made to their families; the truth behind the accident will show the lack of safety features and hopefully used to recoup funds from the 3stooges.
And as the next BP procedure gets adjusted and or new procedure has to be used; We the People wait for the video the live shot or the reporter lucky enough to get both. It’s not lost on me that the junkshot, topkill, tophat and caphat procedures only seem to happen when it’s dark … why? out of sight out of mind or maybe less stress? anyway, it’s frustrating not being able to see the procedure happen; if nothing else we would all get a better idea on how far technology has come when it comes to getting something that has the value of gold but prefer to take extreme risks where worker safety is concerned. There are reports stating profits from oil is insane; probably the only reason why folks get into the oil business, willing to risk the environment or the people vs absolute profits
Hurricane season is here and while those of us outside the Gulf Coast sit and wait for things, something, anything positive to happen the reality that at any moment the whole area will need to be cleared out because the next natural but nasty thing is going to make a major impact on the Gulf Coast. The weather is being watched closely by most weather experts and hopefully those responsible for the people on the Gulf Coast and their safety are as well because it’s clear being prepared not only is a cliché; it’s one of many missing elements that could have prevented this type of incident. It’s obvious this disaster has made more people actually consider our future ,consider solutions that do not include fossil fuels but about moving toward Solar, Wind Biofuel, smart grid, batteries and more.
immigration … after watching the press conference that the Gov of Arizona held it appeared like she was nervous and uncomfortable but tried to seem like she got the best of the President …maybe she thinks that the written word will stop police officers who now have to act like ICE agents from negative behavior; that the written word will keep their emotions in check but it won’t; racial profiling is used on a daily basis by the police and while against the law, it’s accepted behavior … It is a side of human nature most of us know is bad but it’s there and this Governor just doesn’t get it … the video of a Seattle Police Officer was definitely an example of how some police officers can and do act … no all police officers will cross that line but it’s 2010 and this guy yelled shouted and called the so-called pert a racial slur… he must have felt safe that he would not be caught on tape …21st Century technology kept him in check…the written word of a law is only as good as the officer who takes the words written into law seriously. Just ask people of colour who drive great cars and get pulled over; who visit parks and get questioned because they looked reasonably suspicious but there was no probable cause …this law seems unconstitutional, will alienate minorities and drive undocumented people back into the shadows which is bad for the overall good of the state of Arizona.
Other News …
**Private Sector Companies are starting or have been outsourcing jobs …sending the jobs to China
**Changes today to Gulf fishing closure due to oil spill effective 6pm; call 800 627 NOAA for info or view map at http://ht.ly/1UbJx
Though Republicans are seizing on the Gulf oil crisis to attack President Obama, their “embrace of offshore oil drilling and their skepticism of ‘big’ government may hamper the party’s efforts to gain politically” from Obama’s handling of the disaster. “They’re kind of stuck because they’re the party of ‘Drill, Baby, Drill,’” David Lanoue, head of the political science department of the University of Alabama, told Bloomberg News.TP
**Vann Jones will be on Bill Maher tonight
**Griffey will work for Mariners
**The Gov and Mayor got into a fight over the Tunnel … they mayor does not want the tunnel the Gov let the mayor know he was not listening.
**Republicans believe they will gain more govenors
**The cap is on but the vents have not been closed yet …doug suttles states they will do so later on today
Myanmar has reportedly acquired components for a nuclear weapons program, including technology for uranium enrichment and long-range missiles, according to a defector from the nation’s Army. “The purpose is they really want a bomb. That is their main objective,” said defector Sai Thein Win.TP
C-SPAN …
Democratic Governor’s Association 2010 Strategy
Eric Holder Remarks on Civil Rights
President Obama returns to the Gulf region today to assess the latest efforts to contain the largest oil spill in U.S. history. This is his third visit to the region since the spill began in April and the second visit in just under a week. The White House said yesterday that the government will be sending BP and other responsible parties a bill for $69.09 million for costs of the response and recovery operations relating to the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Yesterday, crews cut through the pipe from the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico and this morning BP said it has placed a cap on the pipe and that some oil is flowing thru pipes to tanker ships.
LIVE Undersea ROV Cameras Adm. Allen (6/3)
LIVE NOW: WJ on unemployment numbers
BLS May Report:
David Hoffman, former Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post, begins the evening when he recounts the final decade of the Cold War and the nuclear and biological munitions that remained following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Dead Hand was the recipient of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. Then, author T.J. Stiles outlines the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was central in the ascendancy of the American corporation and whose fleet of steamships and railroad holdings allowed him to possess one of the largest fortunes in world history. T.J. Stiles’ The First Tycoon won the 2009 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. And finally, Liaquat Ahamed recounts four of the world’s central bankers who attempted to rebuild the global economy following WWI in his 2010 Pulitzer Prize book for history, Lords of Finance .
JUSTICE — PRESIDENT OBAMA DIRECTS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO EXTEND BENEFITS TO EMPLOYEES’ SAME-SEX PARTNERS: Last June, President Obama ordered each federal agency to conduct a thorough review of employee benefits to identify any that can be extended to LGBT employees under existing law. Yesterday, the President released a memorandum announcing that the agencies “have identified a number of benefits,” and they should provide them “to their employees’ same-sex domestic partners [and their children] as permitted by law.” The benefits extension includes credit union membership, hardship transfers, counseling services, family assistance services, access to medical treatment, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Also as a result of Obama’s June 2009 order, the Office of Personnel Management announced on Tuesday that partners of gay and lesbian federal employees, U.S. Postal Service workers, and federal retirees can start applying next month for long-term health-care insurance. “For far too long, many of our Government’s hard-working, dedicated LGBT employees have been denied equal access to the basic rights and benefits their colleagues enjoy,” Obama said in yesterday’s memo. “This kind of systemic inequality undermines the health, well-being, and security not just of our Federal workforce, but also of their families and communities.” The President also urged Congress to pass the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, which would extend the full range of benefits currently enjoyed by Federal employees’ opposite-sex spouses to those of the same-sex.
Washingtonians woke up this morning having to accept the news that Ken Griffey Jr decided to retire. It was a very sad announcement but most of us here in Seattle were glad he came back and finished his unbelievable career here. It’s a day that deserves a peaceful start possibly repeated throughout the day … so reach up slowly breathe in deeply be still be calm and slowly release your breath as you lower your arms head shoulders and waist while bending your knees …repeat as needed.
Lets be clear —the stuff going on now was not started during the Obama Administration the rules and de-regulations started long before President Obama took the reigns; now is the time to fix the problems and he is trying but without the cooperation of Congress we will continue to have fires sprout up only to spray them out temporarily … we need the change that 53% voted for and the man to do it is President but the right keeps stalling blocking and making our lives very difficult… now the Gulf Coast is at risk because of the de-regulation that Republicans like, need and continue to vote for … We need Reform People and the Democratic Party has been trying but the Political Party of NO is on the side of Big Oil Corporations, Big Banks, Big Insurance and Wall Street… the very people that helped drive this country into a financial ditch which effected everything else associated
The President will be meeting with Gov. Jan Brewer… lets hope he does whatever to relax before the meeting begins because her latest comments gave some of us the impression that she was in it to fight; not to examine the constitutionality of the law, negotiate or realize what she and lawmakers of Arizona have done by implementing SB1070, the birther law and maybe other laws that permit the police to legally practice discrimination and as a brown person; where does it end? Just ask people of colour in other places about reasonable suspicion or probable cause as we drive walk and or loiter being black on any given day gets pulled over. This law will give police the right to act as an ICE agent which takes money, training and efforts that will take away from the every day criminal behavior and applying the rule of law; comprehensive immigration cannot happen without a pathway for people to become American citizens.
The latest reports about BP and the procedure that didn’t work … is that they were able to cut the pipe but a jagged edge was left and might prevent them from getting a good seal making them decide to go with another type of dome. There were reports that BP was able to restrict flights going over the Gulf Coast oil spill though the FAA has stated they were not… reports of code words for nasty air def health risk situations are now called “bad air days” which are becoming more often… and more light is being shown on the lack of safety for workers; as Tony Hayward stated that the worker illnesses were due to “food poisoning.” There are people who have firsthand experience with what is going on and are reporting that the President might not have been given all the information about what BP is doing and what they actually have control over.
And if BP has more control than being reported; we need to ask the Obama Administration why and maybe it is time to seize BP as suggested by Progressives on TV Cable and Radio; is the 6 month moratorium enough time to evaluate, make big oil Corporations reinforce changes or provide equipment for emergencies because clearly they have none; should we adopt the same rules as Canada?. There are a lot of folks on the left telling the Administration, NOAA and the EPA that they need to separate themselves from BP insist on more action than is being done currently; and no that does not mean nationalizing this thing because the government is not in the oil cleaning business.. But- the talk from credible people like riki ott continues; is an expert and is speaking up and out about what is going on the Gulf Coast; maybe the Obama Administration should listen.
because…
Riki Ott stated during a Reuter’s interview that “A friend in New Orleans is concerned about the oil fumes now engulfing the southern part of town. He says it “smells pretty strong–stronger than standing in a busy mechanics shop, but not as bad as the bus station in Tijuana.” State health officials are warning people who are sensitive to reduced air quality to stay indoors, but anyone who experiences the classic symptoms of crude oil overexposure–nausea, vomiting, headaches, or cold or flu-like symptoms–should seek medical help.” This is serious: Oil spill cleanups are regulated as hazardous waste cleanups because oil is, in fact, hazardous to health. Breathing oil fumes is extremely harmful.”
last …the info below is from Think Progress and the comment from the Los Angeles Times; though totally on point it just seems like Americans aren’t getting the progress being made or the fact that we are finally moving into the 21st Century … obvious more needs to be done but the step forward is there... Congress is racking up a record of landmark policy changes in health care, financial industry regulation, economic policy and more, reports the Los Angeles Times. Nevertheless, Congress is facing high levels of disapproval because “they have not done a good job communicating the virtues of their policies, even to potentially receptive voters.”
Other News …
The Obama Admin sent a $69million prelim bill to BP and other responsible parties/operations
**Sellig will not give the perfect rec to the pitcher though everyone knows the referee call was bad
**BP has put out new flying restrictions… no cameras over oil spill and do we wonder what that is… reports that the bad air days are up …
**Gov Jan Brewer meets with President Obama today
**Blagojevich has his first day in court
*”At least 11 states have passed laws this year regulating or restricting abortion,” giving anti-choice activists “an unusually high number of victories.” Approximately “370 state bills regulating abortion were introduced in 2010, compared with about 350 in each of the previous five years, and 250 a year in the early 1990s. At least 24 of this year’s bills have passed,” and the final total may hit the 2005 high of 34. TP
**President Obama is arguing that the Gulf oil catastrophe highlights the need to pass clean energy reform in the Senate. A clean energy future depends on “putting a price on carbon pollution,” Obama said. He added that “the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months.” TP
C-SPAN
South Carolina Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Debate
Defense Briefing on Afghanistan
Pres. Obama on Economy Transcript of Pres. Obama’s Remarks GOP Boehner & Allan Meltzer Statement
The United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) was officially activated in May. The agency is responsible for launching attacks on enemy computer networks as well as defending U.S. military systems. At a discussion at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency, spoke on U.S. cyber security policy and the role of USCYBERCOM.
CSIS: From Earlier
United States Cyber Command
Today, crews managed to cut through the pipe from the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. The next step is to proceed with plans to cap the pipe and begin pumping oil to tanker ships.
Also, the White House announced that President Obama will return to the Gulf region tomorrow.
In a letter to the British oil company’s chief executive, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked BP to suspend plans to pay shareholder dividends until the cleanup cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is calculated. So far, BP PLC has paid out an estimated $1 billion to clean up the leak and is expected to spend billions more. The dividend is reportedly worth an expected $10 billion.
Adm. Allen: From Earlier WJ on Implications of the Gulf Oil Spill
LIVE Spill Cam
The National Governors Association (NGA) and The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) held a press conference to release the biannual Fiscal Survey of States. The spring edition reflects actual figures from fiscal 2009, estimated fiscal 2010 numbers and recommended fiscal 2011 state budget data. The data examines state spending, state revenue actions and year-end balances.
Press Briefing: Available Later
Nasbo Website NGA Website
Be a Seed for Change 
You must be logged in to post a comment.