I've really never been one to be pessimistic. However, with Health Care reform seemingly in the throws of death, what do the rest of you see occurring with ENDA, DADT and DOMA?
My personal view is, the rats have already left the ship and we've flat wasted our best opportunity in possibly a generation to get these things passed and/or repealed. I don't think there will be more than a handful of politicians willing to stick their collective necks out for these efforts from here to the end of the next decade. Those whom would have voted for us by holding their breath are now going to have their heads shoved so far into the sand that the only way they'll see daylight is to transplant eye balls on their asses!
The only way we are ever going to achieve these goals (that I can see), is now by being as vocal and visual as possible. Lobbying state by state for legislative efforts and to continue suet's through the courts. That is a long, long and painfully slow, as well as expensive process. Much as we're seeing played out now with the suet challenging Prop 8's constitutional validity over fairness of equality.
These efforts will now tax each of us even more to get involved. If we really want what we say we do; then we have to. I would hope there are a great many more out there that will take up the challenge to do so. We will need to build an army of activists that can hit the fundamentalists on all fronts. How nice it would be to see a coalition of trans and human rights organizations come together in one combined effort in order to achieve these necessary goals. Instead of staying splintered into small factions with no real voice to be heard. Will this ever happen? Most likely not. It seems no matter what type of organization develops, it always has a political nature to it and then you're left kicking the same political football around, only at different levels. If only there were a way to take the power away from government; much in the same way that the Tea Party folks (I don't support them, yet, I admire how effective they are) have begun to orchestrate so effectively. We need to keep the power in our own hands in order to determine our own destiny. We just cannot trust politicians any longer (as if we ever did) to do the right thing.
Yeah, I know, I'm a dreamer. But hey, dreams sometimes come true! I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts.
Well, I guess it's time to roll up my sleeves and get to work!
Dawn
You're right, Dawn. I'm working on ENDA here in New York State and DADT with my veterans group.
Gennee
:)
The attacks on the British NHS by these people a while ago were generally met with outrage here.
I am truely sorry for Americans. A state funded health care system makes economic sense. A healthy workforce is a more productive workforce.
How, forcing people into bankrupcy to pay for medical bills can be acceptable is beyond me.
Quote from: spacial on January 22, 2010, 02:23:47 PM
The attacks on the British NHS by these people a while ago were generally met with outrage here.
I am truely sorry for Americans. A state funded health care system makes economic sense. A healthy workforce is a more productive workforce.
How, forcing people into bankrupcy to pay for medical bills can be acceptable is beyond me.
The republicans call that having choice.
You can choose to be healthy or you can choose to be bankrupt. This, according to them, is what the founding fathers wanted.
And of course freedom of religion states it must be a *christian* religion too.
I'll step off the soap box now...
-Sandy
I recently got turned down for Medicaid , here in Oregon, because I make to much on unemployment. Unemployment! Excuse me, but I am suppose to pay $600 a month for COBRA? What moron decided that.
I'm right there with you Dawn.
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I'm starting to look at the Dems the same way I look at the Chicago Cubs.
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I wouldn't root for any other team, but after a while it gets really frustrating watching the games anymore. No matter how good things look, they always have a way of choking when the chips are down. :( This last year could have been the first productive year in a long time...instead, they wasted the opportunity and squandered their political capital squabling among themselves about trifles...in the end accomplishing nothing because of it.
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The same kind of inneptitude that makes a Cub's fan say..."Well...maybe in another hundred years." I think you're right about it being back to the state/local level now...which means things will take a lot longer in the long run.
Just to keep a candle in the window, keep your eye on Congress. I believe that they are still working on health care. Al Franken seems to be taking a lead in a process called Reconciliation. The goal is to get 51 senators (all that is needed) to agree to a group of changes demanded by house dems. It will be a seperate bill. The senators vote and pass them. THEN, the house will vote for the original Senate Health bill, which they hate but it will have been moderated by the reconciliation items. Then they will vote on the reconciliation items. Two bills rather than one.