January 16th, 2008 by Autumn Sandeen
The View from (ab)Normal Heights (http://transadvocate.com/autumnsandeen/archives/1366)
"As y'all might expect, my "deal breaker" issue is the inclusion of transgender people in LGBT civil rights legislation. If a candidate hasn't used the words of "gender identity" or some variant of the term "transgender" in a statement that supports equality for LGBT people, then I'm not going to vote for that candidate in my state's primary. And, I'm scheduled to vote in California's Democratic Primary, which is a "Tsunami Tuesday" (February 5th) primary — so my primary vote actually may mean something this year.
Let me publicly review, then, what the top tier Democratic Party candidates for president have said with regards to my "litmus test" issue."
This will anger some people I am sure, but I am not concerned with what the candidates stances are on the LGBT issues. I do not see any progress happening in the next few years regardless of who ends up in the White House. The issues that I am concerned with are: The war in Iraq, the restoration of the constitution, and the absurdly high energy prices. Once those things are addressed and then concentrate on the LGBT issues.
LGBT is a minor issue. Survival of the country is at stake, environment, economy, war, education, health and world affairs are much more important.
Quote from: lisagurl on January 16, 2008, 10:28:26 AM
LGBT is a minor issue. Survival of the country is at stake, environment, economy, war, education, health and world affairs are much more important.
Seconded
I am concerned about the candidates positions on the war, health care, economy and GLBT issues. All of these have an effect on my life.
y2g
I'm surprised you're so concerned, Karen. As a Californian you already have all the protections offered by both ENDA and the Hate Crimes bill. There are so many more pressing issues.
Health care is my deal breaker. My rank ordering of the candidates on this issue is John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and then Barak Obama. Oddly Edwards, the rich white guy, is more progressive on most of the issues than either of her opponents. I'm voting absentee and I'm having a hard time deciding between Hillary and John. Health care was what eliminated Obama. Hell, if the Shrub proposed a single payer system I'd even give him consideration!
What is your favourite teletubby. If they say Dipsy, forget 'em. Lala is obviously the best.
Nah, I wouldn't ask questions. You don't know what a person in power will do until they are in power. They don't know all the facts yet.
Quote from: Claire de Lune on January 16, 2008, 02:20:42 PM
I'm surprised you're so concerned, Karen. As a Californian you already have all the protections offered by both ENDA and the Hate Crimes bill. There are so many more pressing issues.
Hi;
1; I'm doing my job passing on relevant news items. I felt this one was more appropriate in the politics forum than in the general news forum.
2; I work on a military reservation. I lose my California protections when I drive on base to go to work. I've been told I have no right to correct someone who sir's me, nor to use the women's restrooms on base. (The people who 'sir' me, however, have a right to do that, I was told.)
3; I think healthcare should be national single-payer. Scratch HRC (the OTHER HRC) from my list...
Karen
QuoteI lose my California protections when I drive on base to go to work.
You must of lost them signing those enlistment papers.
I would prefer a candidate who has some sort of plan for doing something. Still waiting.
Education is one of my main issues since I'm going to become a teacher. I'm also concerned about family issues, the war and the state of the economy. LGBT issues are a concern but not one of my very important issues.
I'm still formulating a list of my top ten issues. I'm going whittle it down to my top five, then my top three. Possibly I'll explain why.
Gennee
:)
Quote from: tekla on January 17, 2008, 09:07:45 AM
I would prefer a candidate who has some sort of plan for doing something. Still waiting.
Ya, that would be nice.
Tell me the plan.
Not what they "stand for"
What do I need to know that for?
I wanna know what they are going to do!
Not what they like.
I coulnd't care less what they like.
I care about results.
Sara
and in particular what they would do about this
http://www.newstarget.com/z019659.html
If you can take econ papers, the one listed, done for the Federal Reserve, is very interesting.
That nasty stinking little war of King George's, and the gross mistreatment of veterans.
Well my first thing is that they can't be anti-LGBT. Which wipes out most of the republican field. After that Healthcare is probably my primary concern. Followed by the economy. And then the War.
Right now it's down to Obama or Clinton. And on those issues they are for the most part the same. Or at least close enough to the same that it won't effect that much if one or the other is put in in terms of what they are pushing for.
And my tie-breaker between those two was the LGBT debate, where I thought Hilary came off very warm, and seemed like she was amongst friends. Where as Barack seemed like he was trying very carefully not to show that much support, because at the time the supposed homophobia of the black vote was a big deal in the press. I was hurt at how dismissive he was at comparing the LGBT struggle for rights to the Civil Rights issues that African American's had to push for. I was hoping instead for him to reach in as someone who has experienced bigotry, to us as someone who understood. But alas. No.
But I'll vote for either Clinton or Obama, whichever of those two are in the general election.
I'm praying Romney isn't our president. The doomsday clock in my belly is telling me otherwise though.
Which wipes out most of the republican field.
If not all of it. A republican running on a gay friendly platform might as well be running as a third party. I sure have not seen any sympathy from any of them.
Given that, and given that there are more, It's gonna be Obama. The rest are in the dust as we speak. It's only fitting that given what the African population gave to this nation, its high time we give it back.
::) ::) this might sound stange but to me Politics. has always been like a carp shooters game. and
always plaiyed very drity . ::) ::) myself if i had a choice i would rather play the slots at lest i got a
bettter chance there then on a crap shooters game . haveing said that and to wating to waste my
right to vote . the only one that i can even seeing myself voteing for in anyway would have to be
hilary Clinton. the rest of them i could not see it in the cards ::) ::)
Like the slot machines, or a card game, or LSD, you can't win - if you don't play.
Quote from: tekla on January 29, 2008, 09:19:46 PM
Like the slot machines, or a card game, or LSD, you can't win - if you don't play.
well i dont know about lsd ::) ::) but i do know about slots and card games . and i,ll still take the slots
over the card games any day :P. but your right tekla if you dont play you cant win :P. so thats why
iam voteing for the one to me that feeels they will do the right thing. which btw i already said who that is
walks out of the room looking around ::) ::)
A deal breaker for me would be anyone who is openly anti-LGBTIQ. A second deal-breaker would be is if they brought someone onboard who was openly anti.
Things I would like to see are these.
A plan to get us out of Iraq without using Iran as an exit point is important, but it will probaly take 10 years before we can get everyone out. At least, that is what the troops who are going over are being told.
A reasonable healthcare plan is important. Why not buy a minimum contract for every American? If you want to upgrade your coverages, you have the right to do so. However, everyone would be covered.
Repeal of No Child Left Behind (aka No Child Moves Ahead) and then stay out of the way of the educators!
Repeal of the PATRIOT Act and the other such measures passed by Congress that stomp on the Constitution.
An ACTIVE alternative energy program that will a) find an affordable alternative to fossil fuels, b) convert the US economy to run on that alternative energy and c) find ways to minimize the impact when the economy tanks because we are out of oil. (It's a LOT closer than what people think it is! In fact, we may have already reached maximum possible worldwide output.)
An active space and oceanic exploration program. Kids today have nothing to spark the imagination - something that will interest them to go into math, science & technology. It's one of the main reasons why manufactureres are producing overseas - a better educated work force.
Chaunte
Quote from: tekla on January 29, 2008, 09:13:10 PM
Which wipes out most of the republican field.
If not all of it. A republican running on a gay friendly platform might as well be running as a third party. I sure have not seen any sympathy from any of them.
It's so dumb, because I bet half of them don't even actually care about LGBT enough to really be anti-. But because Bush made it such a big issue for the right, they all have to toe that line to have any hope of getting elected. Even crazy fringe republicans like Ron Paul are openly anti-lgbt.
I do think Huckabee is funny though. Even if he would put me in a concentration camp if he could.
Quote from: debbie.j on January 29, 2008, 09:17:41 PM
::) ::) this might sound stange but to me Politics. has always been like a carp shooters game. and always plaiyed very drity . ::) ::) myself if i had a choice i would rather play the slots at lest i got a bettter chance there then on a crap shooters game . haveing said that and to wating to waste my right to vote . the only one that i can even seeing myself voteing for in anyway would have to be hilary Clinton. the rest of them i could not see it in the cards ::) ::)
As far as I know , Carp shooting is illegal in all 50 states. It's not sporting after all. Get yourself a pole and some line ! ::)
As far as Crap shooting goes; while it moves very fast the crap table gives you the best odds in the casino. The house only has a 1.5% advantage on pass line bets and you have even odds when you back the pass line bet (a back bet). The same applies for don't pass. Every other bet on the table is a sucker bet where the house has a big advantage as they do on slot machines.
Quote from: Claire de Lune on February 01, 2008, 10:17:07 AM
Quote from: debbie.j on January 29, 2008, 09:17:41 PM
::) ::) this might sound stange but to me Politics. has always been like a carp shooters game. and always plaiyed very drity . ::) ::) myself if i had a choice i would rather play the slots at lest i got a bettter chance there then on a crap shooters game . haveing said that and to wating to waste my right to vote . the only one that i can even seeing myself voteing for in anyway would have to be hilary Clinton. the rest of them i could not see it in the cards ::) ::)
As far as Crap shooting goes; while it moves very fast the crap table gives you the best odds in the casino. The house only has a 1.5% advantage on pass line bets and you have even odds when you back the pass line bet (a back bet). The same applies for don't pass. Every other bet on the table is a sucker bet where the house has a big advantage as they do on slot machines.
hi Claire de Lune i guess some how i miss spoke myself ::) well i already got the pole and line not sure
what i need it for tho ::) ::) and iam very aware of Crap shooting being illegal in all 50 states. and how
the numbers game runs on the casinos. um but that was not the point i was trying to make. ::)i was just
useing craps shooting games as a example ,ore or less ::) ::). now back on topic the way it is looking now
between Clinton or Obama getting the super tuesday vote hard to say there. it would be great if they
could be more clear on the view inregards to LGBT matters . as well as the rest of there plateform ::) ::)
Quote from: debbie.j on February 01, 2008, 06:14:20 PM
now back on topic the way it is looking now between Clinton or Obama getting the super tuesday vote hard to say there. it would be great if they could be more clear on the view inregards to LGBT matters as well as the rest of there plateform ::) ::)
Actually, I went to their official campaign websites. Senator Obama has posted his answers to the questionaire HRC sent him. I was very pleased with his answers. More importantly for us, he specifically included GENDER IDENTITY along with SEXUAL ORIENTATION in his answers.
(I know that HRC is a dirty word after ENDA, but it was still a good questionaire.)
Senator Clinton did not post her answers. I did send a couple generic LGBT questions to her via the website. If I should hear anything, I will post her reply.
On Super Tuesday, New York will probably give its delegates to Senator Clinton. Nevertheless, unless something drastic happens, I will be voting for Senator Obama.
Chaunte
So what does everyone think of the emerging field?
I think I like Obama the best, based on his rhetoric. You won't really know for sure how someone's going to behave until they get in the white house, but Obama at least seems to be talking about doing something and not just complaining about how bad things are. I haven't been paying that much attention to the news, but it seems like every time Hillary gets on TV she's just talking about how messed up everything is.
I'm not so sure about McCain. I agree with one of the earlier posters who said that basically, if you're running Republican, you have to be anti-LGBT, even if you aren't really. The one thing I do like about him is that he's at least against waterboarding.
I'd say of all the issues, that was the one that bugged me the most. Torture is torture, no matter how *safe* it might make us. The second thing is basically LGBT issues, including health care. I consider anyone that wants to turn the US into a theocracy to be a bad choice in that department, so I'm hesitant about the Republicans, especially with McCain trying to repair his burned bridges with the social conservative/evangelical/moral majority base.
There are so many points being made that seem redundant to just "me too" on, so I'll just try to list some of them: some sort of universal coverage, civil rights (including expression, identity, and not torturing, repealing PATRIOT Act, disengaging from unnecessary war), economic responsibility (including some tax hikes to help pay off our massive debt), and clean energy policy. I'll also tack on net neutrality and religious freedom (including atheists/agnostics). Actually, what I really like about this political discussion is that it really focuses on issues more than the politicians themselves (some of these political blogs are freakin' nuts).
Regarding Clinton v/ Obama (as that's what its down to at this point, because while McCain is the least offensive Republican, he's dumped most of his credibility as a moderate over the last eight years), I'm going to have to slightly favor Obama on the basis that he's gone to great lengths to explain his goals (even if not always specific policies) on a wide array of issues, and he's conducted himself well in a very heated race for the nomination (while hardly a deciding factor, the nuance he demonstrated in his pastor speech is very reassuring).
Quote from: tekla on January 20, 2008, 01:01:26 AMhttp://www.newstarget.com/z019659.html
Based on the content in the article, I'd question the prudence of eliminating the income tax in favor of a 33% sales tax. That comes in quite regressive (poor people buy goods, rich people buy services), and the US is already has the most inequality of all the developed nations. And the same goes with privatizing Social Security (imagine what that would have done back in 2000 right before the stock market crash). Squeezing the lower/middle classes will only accelerate a downfall by starving those groups of resources. Things *are* bad economically, but it's a little less dire than that (we are more likely to go out with a wimper of declining currency rather than a hard crash), and conservative solutions are essentially what got the US in this mess (national deficit as a percentage of GDP was stable/declining from the '50s to the '70s, but shot up under Reagan, Bush Sr, and Bush Jr).
Quote from: Chaunte on January 29, 2008, 09:38:22 PMKids today have nothing to spark the imagination - something that will interest them to go into math, science & technology. It's one of the main reasons why manufactureres are producing overseas - a better educated work force.
Regarding education in general, part of our success in educating children is having them be interested in it. It's not like there is anything intrinsically wrong with them -- however, many parents are often not taking an active role to support (not push, but support) them in this regard (sometimes out necessity due to other obligations, sometimes out of indifference), and you have the advertising market do their best to get their targets to put education aside and just buy buy buy without worrying about consequences.
Imagination and creativity in a broader sense can also be supported by (1) providing children a broader range of activities and possibilities and (2) having the wisdom to not prohibiting harmless behaviors (by actually caring to test and verify what's actually dangerous).
As for what government and schools actually have the power to do, obviously getting NCLB and other stratifying overhead out of the way will help, but introducing optional positive elements (adding a late round of bussing so that students can more easily participate in extra-cirricular activities, which will encourage and empower teachers to sponsor more of them, including a variety of seminars and surveys, formal and informal, on a variety of subjects... including voting methods).