How Trump Will Betray the Coal Industry and Miners

Perhaps no one well for Der Trumpenführer's lies more completely than those dependent on the coal industry, especially in areas like Kentucky, West Virginia and parts of Southwest Virginia.  Between appeals to racism, white nationalism and toxic right wing religion, voters in these areas voted for Trump and Republicans that now push budget cuts that will hit these regions harder than many others.  Meanwhile, promises to bring the coal industry back to its glory days - which in truth, were not all that good for average coal industry workers - will likely turn out to be nothing more than promises of a carnival barker.  Between Trump's broken promises (assuming he meant anything he said) and a reactionary culture that makes these regions unattractive for modern progressive businesses, the economic future remains bleak with further pain to come from the policies of politicians that these regions put into office.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at the coming betrayal of those who voted out of hatred and an unwillingness to move toward the future and who continue to look backwards.  Here are highlights:

[T]he prognosis for Big Coal remains dim. . . . . President Trump has vowed to roll back environmental regulations that the industry says are part of a “war on coal.”

The stocks of coal companies have enjoyed a “Trump bump,” thanks to the president’s pledges to “bring the coal industry back” and “put our great miners and steelworkers back to work.” Half a dozen big companies have seized the moment to issue stock or sell bonds to raise money from investors willing to wager on the effects of a friendlier Trump administration. Peabody Energy, the nation’s biggest coal behemoth, hopes to win court approval to come out of bankruptcy in April.

But the obstacles on the other side of the ledger remain daunting: Coal-fired power plants continue to shut their doors. Bountiful supplies of U.S. shale gas are keeping natural gas prices low and competitive, and renewable sources of power generation are growing rapidly. Though most experts expect U.S. coal sales and output to top last year’s levels, they also expect the decline to resume in 2018.

“The coal industry is saying it’s back. It’s not back,” said Tom Sanzillo, director of finance at the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis. “This is a fool’s errand.” . . . . . Some coal companies will survive, and some could thrive. Metallurgical coal will be needed to make steel in India and China and in the United States, especially if there is a boost in infrastructure spending. And thermal coal will still be used to generate electricity for years, even if at lower rates.

But to show profits, coal operators will have to trim output from the oldest, least-efficient mines in Appalachia (where Trump garnered crucial votes in the election) and shift their focus to the Illinois Basin and the Powder River Basin in Wyoming.

“A lot of people conflate two primary things: the coal industry and coal jobs,” said Chiza B. Vitta, a coal analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “Even if the coal industry were to do better, that doesn’t translate into coal jobs. Over time the process has become more and more efficient, and they’re able to mine with fewer and fewer people working.”  Some analysts don’t even expect the industry to do better.

“The regulatory environment for coal should improve under Trump’s presidency,” the bank [CitiBank] said. But, it added, “comparative economics for coal, renewables and gas place clean coal firmly at the bottom of the stack in the U.S.”

[I]t will be hard for Trump to deliver. “To bring jobs back in Kentucky is a tough proposition unless there’s a subsidy, because it doesn’t make economic sense,” Vitta said.  That’s been true for years, notwithstanding some of the political rhetoric.

In Arizona, the Navajo Generating Station could also provide an early test for the president. Its owners have decided to close the massive coal plant. . . . . . the Navajo station produces electricity at rates about 50 percent higher than market rates.

“There’s no good economic reason to keep NGS on life support, and indeed the time for closure has come,” Sanzillo’s group said in a blog post. “The plant is emblematic of a core challenge facing the traditionally hidebound U.S. electricity-generation industry, as the market for coal-fired electricity is shrinking.”  And, he added, “that’s regardless of recent political events.”

 The take away?  Coal jobs will not return in these regions and the Trump/GOP budget will be savage to the residents of these areas who were basically played for fools and stupidly aided their own long term economic destruction.  Meanwhile, do not expect any progressive changes that will bring new, forward thinking businesses ot that will stop the flight of the most able younger generations to places that are the opposite of their home regions. The embrace of ignorance - think conservative Christianity - and bigotry carry a high price.

How Trump Played Rust Belt Voters for Suckers

I am not unsympathetic to the fears and financial mayhem that motivated white Rust Belt state voters to swing to Donald Trump.  That said, Trump played these voters for fools because the reality is that the the factory and assembly line jobs that once were an economic mainstay for these voters are gone forever and neither Trump nor any other president can alter the course of the trend towards robotic manufacturing or the exodus of jobs overseas.  Had these people used their minds rather tan raw emotion, they would have seen the falsity of Trump's promises.  Instead, they rallied to Trump's standard just as Germans flocked to Hitler simply because they wanted a change and unquestioningly accepted Hitler's demagoguery  that he would make Germany "great again."  Yes, 1930's Germans got the "change" they wanted but the ultimate cost was horrific.  A piece in the Los Angeles Times looks at the reality of the situation and the idiocy of those who supported Trump.  Here are article highlights:

Michael Smith is not used to stretching a paycheck. As recently as March 2015, the 42-year-old was earning nearly $100,000 a year as a district manager on oil fields for company based in Union City, Pa. Then oil prices dropped, and his company laid him off.

Smith, a father of four boys, now makes $12 an hour as an apprentice electrician. He is not a die-hard disciple, but voted for Donald Trump because he’s desperate for something new.

“Do I think Donald Trump is what this country needs and do I think he will make it great again? No,” Smith said. “Do I think he is a step in the right direction? Absolutely.”  

It was not poor Americans who made the difference in this election; it was people like Smith. Trump soared among white voters who earn decent wages, but have seen their pay decline and jobs in their industries disappear over the past 15 years.

But it will be almost impossible for Trump to fulfill his promise to bring back most of the assembly line gigs lost to globalization, economists say. The U.S. has moved toward advanced manufacturing, which employs highly educated people, and plants that once required manual labor are now manned by robots that work faster than people and cost less. U.S. factories are producing more than ever, with far fewer employees. 

Since 2000, American manufacturers wiped 5 million people off their payrolls, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Millions of those jobs went to China or Mexico, research suggests. 

For context, it took more than three decades for 560,000 mining jobs to disappear, after reaching a peak of 1.2 million the early 1980s.

The shock of losing so many middle-class jobs so quickly hit hardest in the Rust Belt states, which were crucial to Trump’s victory. Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania had among the steepest cuts in assembly line jobs across the country since 2000.

[T]he biggest losers after California were Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, which hemorrhaged a combined 1.2 million manufacturing jobs. That means that about a quarter of the total manufacturing job loss in the country since 2000 occurred in those four swing states.

Economists say that people like Germonto were already in trouble. Automation has been steadily decimating assembly line jobs, and as new plants come back to the U.S. they are increasingly staffed by robots.

Germonto, the former gear box inspector, said he didn’t vote on race issues, but they were on his mind.

“More people are hating on white Americans than any other race or any other walk of life,” he said. “I think white America is fed up with that.”

In reality, there isn’t a politician in the country who could turn things around for manual laborers in this country, economists say. Manufacturing output in the U.S. — the amount that we produce — reached a record high this year, after tanking during the recession. 

But jobs have only trickled back, and the ones that are appearing aren’t going to women and men who work with their hands — they’re going to highly educated engineers, programmers and MBAs.

“There is a reallocation away from traditional manufacturing, toward parts of manufacturing that are more intensive in tech and in human capital,” said Enrico Moretti, an economist at UC Berkeley. “Automation keeps reducing the need for blue-collar positions."

Still, many of Patterson’s former coworkers sided with Trump, because he said the right things, often and loudly.

“They hear it, it sounds good, and if they don’t have anything to base it on, well, that was what they have been waiting to hear,” Patterson said.

The take away?  These people voted to undermine our nation's constitutional form of government based on promises that can never be realized.  Trump played them for fools, played to their racism and bigotry and will leave them lying in the gutter.  The real questions is this: when will they realize that they were played, and what will they do once that realization sets in?

Bernie Sanders Cancels Meeting with HIV Activists

With both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders courting all aspects of the LGBT vote, especially in advance of the New York State primary last month, both Clinton and Sanders agreed to meet with HIV activists this month in Indianapolis.  Now, Sanders has cancelled and failed to reschedule or communicate with activist groups he had agreed to meet with.  The Washington Blade looks at the strange cancellation and cessation of communications.  Here are highlights:

Bernie Sanders has cancelled a meeting with HIV advocates his campaign affirmed days before the crucial New York Democratic primary he would attend, according to the activists who sought to arrange the meeting. The 30-minute meeting between Sanders and HIV advocates was set for May 13 in Indianapolis.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton also agreed to meet the activists, who say they’re are still on track to meet with her Thursday for one hour in New York City.

Hilary McQuie, director of U.S. policy and grassroots mobilization for the HIV/AIDS group Health GAP, told the Blade the Sanders campaign cancelled the meeting without explanation. “He did cancel — no reason given and they have not rescheduled,” McQuie said. “We feel a bit burned by the bern, and hope they will answer our emails now.”

Peter Staley, a New York-based gay rights and HIV advocate, told the Blade HIV advocates before the unexpected cancellation were in daily contact with the Sanders campaign. “They sent a ‘need to reschedule’ email last Sunday (for our Tuesday meeting), and then bizarrely stopped communications completely after that,” Staley said.

“We’ve been emailing and calling every day since then, including warning them days ago about our intent to go public.” According to a statement announcing the cancellation from the Brooklyn-based HIV and homeless advocacy group Housing Works, attendees were informed on April 30 the Sanders meeting was cancelled, which was two days after many of them purchased expensive, last-minute plane ticket to attend the event.

Although the Sanders campaign promised to “reschedule” as soon as possible, it has yet to propose a new date, time or city, the statement says. The Sanders campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment late Sunday to confirm the meeting with HIV advocates was cancelled or to explain why the event would be nixed.

Charles King, CEO of Housing Works, said in the statement he’s among Sanders’ supporters, but the candidate’s decision to cancel the meeting is “incredibly disappointing.” “I have been a supporter of Bernie Sanders, and was proud to vote for him in the New York primary,” King said.

“It is disheartening to see the ‘revolutionary’ candidate who claims to value grassroots organizing and visionary politics not make time in his schedule to meet with us. He is supposed to be the guy who walks the walk, but all we’ve heard the past six weeks is talk—and fairly tepid, reactive talk at that.”

Ramon Gardenhire, vice president of policy and advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, said Sanders should remain true to his word to meet HIV advocates. 

Barack Obama's Unmet Promise on Discrimination

As I have noted before in posts, securing  workplace non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals is high on my priority list.  Especially since I experienced first hand what it is like to suddenly find oneself unemployed simply because you're gay.  From my experience, we cannot trust businesses to do the right thing and even where some of the business owners are "friends," too often they turn out to be fair weather friends at best and will stand by silently as careers are ruined due to religious based bigotry or the cowardice of those who could object but fear "rocking the boat." Sadly, despite his promises to address employment discrimination injustices, Barack Obama has done nothing on this front.  Yesterday, the New York Times called on Obama to sign an executive order ENDA.  Here are editorial highlights:

President Obama has made repeated use of executive orders to advance the administration’s goals when Republicans in Congress refused to act. Last week, he signed two orders requiring modest but important steps by federal contractors to narrow the wage gap between female and male employees.

These useful measures made even more glaring his failure to honor a 2008 campaign pledge to ban discrimination by federal contractors based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A long-delayed measure to outlaw such discrimination by all employers, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, cleared the Senate five months ago with Mr. Obama’s support, but House Republican leaders are in no hurry to follow suit. John Boehner, the House speaker, has said that a law against that sort of discrimination would be “frivolous.”

Mr. Obama said in November that workplace discrimination “needs to stop, because, in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense.” An executive order barring discrimination by federal contractors would extend badly needed job protections to more than 11 million employees who work in states that lack such protections and whose companies fail to provide them voluntarily, according to the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law.

What Mr. Obama needs to do is act on his principles and issue such an order, without the religious exemption that was put into the Senate bill to lure Republican votes.

[A]s the Human Rights Campaign rightly noted, an “executive order first issued by President Johnson still, today, provides important and unique protections for employees of federal contractors against discrimination based on race, sex, religion — despite the fact that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against such discrimination in workplaces across the country.” The group argues that even if the Employment Non-Discrimination Act were enacted, an executive order would be needed to provide the same range of remedies currently available to other protected categories of federal workers.

The best way for Mr. Obama to advance the issue and prod the House to do the right thing is to lead by example, not by waiting.

Obama Ties LBJ's Civil Rights Legacy to LGBT Americans

In a speech at the Civil Rights Summit at Johnson's presidential library in Austin this week marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, Barack Obama tied the civil rights legislation spearheaded by Lyndon B. Johnson with today's struggle for full LGBT equality.  While the Christofascists - and their trained circus dog minions within the ranks of black pastors - disingenuously whine that the civil rights movement of the 1960's is not synonymous with push for legal equality and non-discrimination protections for LGBT citizens, it is telling that the ancestors of today's hate merchants similarly used the Bible to justify racism and anti-black discrimination.  MetroWeekly looks at Obama's comments (which sadly would be more meaningful and believable if Obama would sign an executive order ENDA).  Here are highlights:

President Barack Obama embraced Lyndon B. Johnson's civil rights legacy Thursday in a speech that credited the former president with helping to open the doors to equality for countless Americans, including those who are LGBT. 

"Because of the Civil Rights movement, because of the laws President Johnson signed, new doors of opportunity and education swung open for everybody -- not all at once, but they swung open," Obama said. "Not just blacks and whites, but also women and Latinos; and Asians and Native Americans; and gay Americans and Americans with a disability. They swung open for you, and they swung open for me. And that’s why I'm standing here today -- because of those efforts, because of that legacy."

Obama's speech at the Civil Rights Summit at Johnson's presidential library in Austin marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act was not the first time the nation's first African-American president has tied the Civil Rights movement to the LGBT-rights movement.

"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall," Obama said during his second inaugural address, repeating a phrase he used during a Barnard College commencement speech in May 2012.

When Obama marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington last August, he said that those who came to Washington in 1963 pushed the nation forward. "Because they marched, America became more free and more fair -- not just for African Americans, but for women and Latinos, Asians and Native Americans; for Catholics, Jews, and Muslims; for gays, for Americans with a disability," Obama said. "America changed for you and for me."

Where Obama has come up short — in refusing to sign an executive order protecting LGBT federal contractors from workplace discrimination — he has faced heightened criticism, in large part because of how out of character it is from his broader civil rights record. That proposed executive order, which Obama once supported as a candidate for president in 2008, is based on Executive Order 11246, which has been expanded by a number of presidents to prohibit federal contractors from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

In light of the setting for Obama's speech today, it is worth noting that executive order was first signed by President Johnson.
 
Obama's LGBT-rights legacy is certainly not lost on the president. And arguably nor is the work left to be done.

I am not ungrateful for the pro-gay things that Obama has done, but it would indeed be nice if he followed through on something he pledged to do 8six years ago.

Terry McAuliffe Continues to Disappoint Those Who Put Him in Office

Broken Promises

Perhaps it is a good thing that Virginia Governors are only allowed to serve a single four year term.  Why?  Because Governor Terry McAuliffe seems to be hell bent to alienate those who put him in office.  True, a McAuliffe administration is far better than the batshitery that would have surrounded a Ken Cuccinelli regime, but McAullife continues to take actions that throw different elements of the base who elected him under the bus.  First he backed a chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia who opposes marriage equality.  Now he has signed a bill that contains a "conscience clause" drafted by the Christofascists at The Family Foundation ("TFF"). If I were Mark Warner and other Democrats facing elections in the fall I'd be very concerned about McAullife's actions which are demoralizing the base and aiding Republicans. Mother Jones looks at the bill McAullife signed with language hand crafted by the hate merchants at TFF.  Here are excerpts:

In February, when Arizona state lawmakers passed a bill allowing business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers on religious grounds, a ferocious national backlash forced Republican Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the legislation. But while Arizona legislators were catching heat, controversial "conscience clause" legislation quietly glided to passage in Virginia and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Now, certain health care providers in Virginia have the right to turn away gays or lesbians or to withhold test results that could cause a patient to consider terminating her pregnancy.

The law, the product of two highly similar bills signed by McAuliffe on February 20 and March 20, establishes new rules for licensing genetic counselors. These are the health care professionals who help couples assess their odds of parenting a child with a genetic disorder, test individuals for genes indicative of disease, or detect fetal anomalies after a woman becomes pregnant. Genetic counseling is a fairly new field that was not previously regulated in Virginia, as is the case in many states around the country. Critics of the new law say they support oversight of the profession, but they strongly object to the law's "conscience clause" provision, which, in the words of the ACLU of Virginia, gives counselors "a license to discriminate."

"This is Arizona-lite," says Tarina Keene, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. She and other opponents point out that the law not only gives genetic counselors the right to refuse to help gay, lesbian, or unwed couples, but it also frees them to withhold a patient's test results if the counselor suspects the information might lead her to have an abortion—although they cannot lie about the results. "The way the law is written, if a genetic counselor doesn't think a patient will make 'the right choice' with the information you give them, well, then you don't have to tell them," says Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, the executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.

The law does require genetic counselors who refuse their services to provide a list of alternative counselors. But it does not specify in what timeframe they must produce that list. In a March 10 letter to McAuliffe asking him to veto one of the bills that created the law, the ACLU noted that the measure shields counselors from lawsuits in cases where they have discriminated against patients—even when their actions may have caused someone physical harm.

The law now reads, "Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require any genetic counselor to participate in counseling that conflicts with their deeply-held moral or religious beliefs." For pro-choice activists, the new law is more than just another intrusion on reproductive rights. It represents a betrayal by McAuliffe. In 2013, when McAuliffe ran for governor against ardent abortion foe Ken Cuccinelli, abortion rights groups worked vigorously to help elect him. They believe McAuliffe owes them for generating high turnout among women voters who were disillusioned with the state's abortion-obsessed Republicans.

"We're extremely disappointed. We brought people power to that election. There was a 13-point gender gap" in favor of women, says Keene. "And you know why they were voting that way. We were hoping that this would be a new day, and our pro-choice partners at the legislative level would take this opportunity to do some proactive work."

First a betrayal of LGBT Virginians, now a betrayal of women.  One has to wonder what McAuliffe will do next to alienate minority voters.  The man is a major disappointment so far.  Yes, he's better than Cuccinelli, but he is not delivering what he promised. 

Obama Adviser Claims An ENDA Executive Order Is Again "Under Consideration"

With John "I'm a Douche Bag" Boehner stating that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a/k/a ENDA, will go nowhere in the GOP controlled House of Representatives, pressure is again mounting on Barack Obama to issue and Executive Order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation which would be binding on the federal government and perhaps more importantly all government contractors.  In the Hampton Roads area, such an order would have significant impact given the area's high number of defense contractors.  Now, White House counselor John Podesta says such an order is under active consideration.  Here are highlights from the Washington Blade:

In a departure from previous public comments from the Obama administration, White House counselor John Podesta said on Friday an executive order barring LGBT discrimination among federal contractors is “under consideration.”

During an interview with Bloomberg News’ Al Hunt, Podesta made the remarks when asked if President Obama would issue a heavily sought-after executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Well, what he said in the State of the Union was he was going to require federal contractors to pay a minimum wage of $10.10,” Podesta said. “The order that you’re talking about is under consideration at the White House. We’re looking at that.”

Asked by Hunt what Obama is likely to do, Podesta said, “Well, you know, I’m not going to prejudge that.”

Podesta’s assertion the executive order is “under consideration” is consistent with an email from Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andy Tobias leaked to the Washington Blade in June in which he said a “process” is holding up the directive. It’s also consistent with a one-time statement from White House spokesperson Shin Inouye that the administration “continue[s] to study the issue.”

Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, welcomed the comments from Podesta, but said the time for consideration of the executive order is over.

“It’s great to hear Mr. Podesta say that the LGBT executive order is still under consideration at the White House, and I know that many LGBT organizations plan to keep pushing until this long overdue campaign promise becomes a reality,” Almeida said. “But I don’t think there’s anything left to study or consider: both Republican and Democratic presidents before President Obama have signed orders banning discrimination at federal contractors and they’ve always been upheld in the courts. This order fits perfectly with the White House plans for a ‘year of action,’ and the time to sign is now.”

I agree: Obama needs to stop contemplating his navel and procrastinating and act.  Sign the executive order now!!

Marriage Equality To Become Law In Britain This Week

Gay marriage will become law this week in Britain, one of America's longest running allies.  It is already the law in France, another of America's first crucial allies which helped the United States win independence from Britain (the French fleet bottled up Cornwallis and allowed him to be defeated at nearby Yorktown, Virginia).   Yet even as its oldest allies embrace modernity and equality, America lags behind and in states like Virginia, LGBT citizens remain less than full citizens.  It's a travesty and yet one on many black marks of America's broken promises that betray the principles of the nation's founding documents.  Here are highlights from the BBC on events in Britain: 

The government legislation is now due to get royal assent, after which it is likely to become law later this week.

The Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaderships all backed the bill, after the Lords approved the changes on Monday.  It is expected that the first gay and lesbian wedding ceremonies will take place by summer next year.

Under the terms of the the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, religious organisations will have to "opt in" to offering weddings, with the Church of England and Church in Wales being banned in law from doing so.

Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said: "It's wonderful to see same-sex marriage achieve legal recognition. Quakers see the light of God in everyone so we respect the inherent worth of each individual and each loving relationship."

Mr. Parker's statement is the antithesis of how gays are treated in Virginia.  We still can be fired at will, face the potential of housing discrimination and our relationships receive zero recognition under Virginia law.   The current GOP statewide slate of extremists seeks to make the situation even worse.

Occupy Oakland Closes Port and Clash With Police

Some of us remember the 1960's and the rebellion against a social status that demeaned and marginalized large portions of the American public, including but not limited to non-whites and non-heterosexuals. Marginalization extended not only to the denial of legal rights but also to economic marginalization through employment policies and outright segregation in the South. Fifty years later we are witnessing a new kind of marginalization where the entire political and economic system of the country increasingly looks to be operated to benefit a tiny portion of the overall population and where the USA is plunging in terms of opportunity for social mobility compared to other nations and the middle class finds itself sliding rapidly in some cases to lower class status. It's easy to tell people to "get a job," but with five applicants for most openings, that's easier said than done. Moreover, older members of the unemployed ranks find a severe prejudice against older workers who are labeled as "over qualified" or given some other reason for being passed over. I experienced it myself in the aftermath of being forced from a law firm for being gay - hundreds of resumes and applications got me nowhere because younger hires were seen as more cost effective. I feel for those in the "Occupy" movement because we are losing our country in many ways. Here are highlights from the Washington Post on events yesterday in Oakland, California:

Occupy Wall Street protesters declared victory after thousands of demonstrators shut down one of the nation’s busiest shipping ports late Wednesday, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.

As a voice over a bullhorn said “The night is not over, yet,” protest organizers told demonstrators to head back to the downtown plaza where the Oakland movement has been based for more than a month.

At the Occupy encampment across the street from City Hall, which also was the scene of intense clashes with authorities last week, the protesters started a large bonfire in the middle of a street, leading to a confrontation with the police.

Dozens of police in riot gear moved in on hundreds of protesters as the flames leapt more than 15 feet in the air from several large metal and plastic trash bins that had been pushed together. Police warned protesters to clear out before firing several rounds of tear gas and “flash bang” grenades to clear the area.


In the aftermath of the police actions, protesters with cloth wrapped around their faces to protect them from the stench of the gas marched through the area chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets.” Some marchers wore gas masks.

The nearly 5-hour protest at the port the nation’s fifth-busiest shipping port, was intended to highlight a daylong “general strike” in the city, which prompted solidarity rallies in New York, Los Angeles and other cities across the nation. The demonstrations at the port were largely peaceful and police said there were no arrests.

The Oakland protests became a rallying point for the far-flung movement last week when an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police in riot gear that included multiple volleys of tear gas, reports of “flash bang” grenades and rubber bullets.

Military veterans marched in uniform in New York, angry at their dim job prospects. And parents and their kids, some in strollers, joined the Oakland rallies by forming a “children’s brigade.” “There’s absolutely something wrong with the system,” said Jessica Medina, a single mother who attends school part time and works at an Oakland café. “We need to change that.”

“There are so many students that are trying to get jobs and go on with their lives,” said Sarvenaz Asasy of Boston, who joined the march after recently graduating with a master’s degree and $60,000 in loan debt. “They’ve educated themselves and there are no jobs and we’re paying tons of student loans. For what?”

We are not living in the America of my youth where parents could anticipate their children having better and more prosperous lives than their own. I often doubt that my own children will ever be able to come anywhere near close to the lifestyle and level of financial security my parents enjoyed. Something is indeed wrong with the system not to mention the Hampton Roads area from which educated young people are fleeing.

Enrique Iglesias Keeps His Promises - Unlike Barack Obama

I respect those who keep their promises. As for those who don't? I have a word: liars. Unlike our false "fierce advocate" in the White House, Enrique Iglesias recently kept the promise he made during the World Cup madness - he said he'd water ski across Biscayne Bay if Spain won the World Cup. I suspect that Enrique never expected to have to actually deliver on the "bet" but nevertheless he made good on his word, albeit at night to avoid the threat of being arrested for public indecency (not that I'd consider seeing Enrique naked something all that indecent). Would that the concept of keeping promise - even inconvenient ones - was embraced by the current occupant of the White House for whom the word liar seems to be the only apt term given his betrayal of most LGBT Americans. Here are highlights from The Advocate on Enrique keeping his promise:
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Spanish pop star Enrique Iglesias made good on his word late last week, indulging in a late-night joy ride despite admonitions from Miami police. And yes, there is a video.
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According to TMZ, Iglesias’s management deigned only to issue a vague statement: "We do not manage Enrique’s personal time schedule but we do know he was in Miami the last week of July.”
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Miami-Dade County police also reported to the celebrity news site in mid July that they were prepared to intervene in Iglesias’s nude stunt, emphasizing, "We enforce all laws here, regardless of what your status is in the Miami community."
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When questioned in late July as to why he had still not gone through with the stunt, the singer jokingly told People magazine, “I need to get my Brazilian wax before I do it.” He also expressed his anxieties about sharks in Biscayne Bay.
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Iglesias made his World Cup promise during the onset of the event, confirming after Spain’s win, “A bet is a bet.

U. S. Senate "Too Busy" to Worry About Gay Citizens

It is certainly unsettling to hear a U.S. Senator basically state that equality for all citizens and the elimination of religious based discrimination against LGBT Americans is of no import to the United States Senate. The poor senators are just too busy. Worse yet, the statement was made by a Democrat - Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Nothing like more or less telling LGBT citizens to go f*ck themselves. I hope and pray that the LGBT community gets the message and turns off the LGBT ATM machine completely. We are expected to give money, work on campaigns, and go out and vote for Congressional Democrats, but they are "too busy" to get off their fat asses and pass legislation that would make gays full citizens rather than second or third class citizens. My standard response to Democrats soliciting contributions is that (1) I don't have any money to give at this time and (2) even if I did, I would not/will not make ANY donations until Obama and the Democrats deliver on some campaign promises. They REALLY do not like the latter statement, but it is true. Here are some highlights from Politico where Durbin is throwing the LGBT community under the bus yet again:

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When gay rights advocates march on Washington in October, they’ll be confronting a bleak political landscape in their effort to allow gays to openly serve in the military. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the Senate is swamped and has little time on the schedule for this fight. The Pentagon brass is reticent and wants a go-slow strategy, while one poll suggests that there is still some resistance within the rank and file of the military to change the“don’t ask, don’t tell” law. With no Republican co-sponsors for a repeal, key moderate Democrats such as Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas remain uncommitted.

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“We have a very heavy, busy agenda and a few months left to do it,” Durbin said in an interview recently. “So it may not be now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be soon.” None of this is promising for a gay rights movement that raised a ton of money for President Barack Obama and believed that their moment was now.

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And absent a big push from the Pentagon and Obama, key Senate Democrats are signaling that there is little appetite to anger some of their more socially conservative voters at a time when election forecasters are signaling a tough 2010 election cycle for the party.

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And Kennedy’s death — already felt in the health care debate — has reverberated in the gay-rights community. Over the years, he’s been on the forefront in advocating for bills sought by gay-rights activists, pushing for legislation to prevent hate crimes against gays and bills to prohibit employers from discriminating against homosexuals.

Is Obama Tough Enough? Perhaps Not

Robert Reich has a post on his blog that looks at the growing cynicism and disinterest among those who voted for Barack Obama for president. One of the big issues is that Obama seems unwilling to forcefully fight for programs and policies and allows the GOP spin machine to bulldoze its way over him and the Congressional Democrats with deliberate lies and untruths that go unchallenged. It is all very disheartening and I believe one of the main forces that is hurting the Democrat tickets in Virginia and New Jersey that face much watched elections in November. To date, despite a clear mandate for change, Obama and the Congressional Democrats have kissed the asses of GOP demagogues under the guise of "bipartisanship" and dilly dallied instead of enacting the legislation that they were elected to get passed. Watching it all is driving many Democrats - this one included - to disgust and a feeling that supporting Obama was a waste of time other than keeping Sarah "Bible Spice" Palin out of the office of the Vice presidency. Something needs to change and change quickly or else I see a major debacle for the Democrats shaping up in Virginia. Here are some highlights from Reich's post:

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Latest word from the White House is that the President still supports a public option but is also standing by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's remark last weekend that a public insurance plan is "not the essential element" of health-care reform. So where, exactly, is the White House on the public option? Just about where it is on the question of whether it agreed with Big Pharma to bar Medicare from using its bargaining clout to get lower drug prices -- or didn't. In other words, we don't know.

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Universal health care is President Obama's biggest issue, and he needs strong public support if he's going to overcome the vested money interests in Washington. Which brings us to the question of where the people who voted for Obama stand on all this.

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My friend Sally also voted for Obama and still likes him, but she's increasingly upset about his policies. "He's giving away the store," she complains, pointing to his penchant for compromise. "He gave Wall Street $600 billion in bailouts and doesn't even want to regulate it, gave big polluters 85 percent of the cap-and-trade permits, and has promised the American Medical Association, Big Pharma, and private insurers whatever they want in return for their support of universal health care." Sally says she voted for Obama because he promised to change American politics, but she thinks corporate interests are more powerful than ever. Sally also doesn't see why Obama is so bent on bipartisanship.

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The widening gap between admiration for Obama and cynicism about his policies also reinforces passivity in Obama's base, which makes it even harder to advance a specific agenda. His presidential campaign strengthened the nation's political grass roots and spawned hope for a new era of public engagement, but Obama's reluctance to fight for any specifics is causing the base to lose interest. Neither the Freds who trust him nor the Sallies who have become cynical are motivated to do much of anything. But their activism is crucial. If it comes to a choice between trust and cynicism, America will never achieve lasting change.

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In my view, it looks increasingly likely that Obama and the Congressional Democrats are throwing away a perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity for systemic change - and if that happens, I believe the Democrats at booth the national and state levels will find themselves paying a huge price before it is all over.

Decorated Airman to Be Sacrificed on Altar of DADT

The Washington Post has a story on Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach who is about to be discharged from the military because of the religious based discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Fehrenbach's pending discharge shows the idiocy of a policy where qualified members of the military are discharged literally daily at the same time that the military is recruiting gang members, those with felony records, and individuals without a high school education. When the disingenuous arguments of the Christianists and far right are stripped away, the only purpose is to keep LGBT Americans inferior under the law so that our enemies can then point to such inferiority as a justification for their bigotry. DADT needs to be abolished NOW. Here are some story highlights:

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For Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, time is running out on efforts to overturn restrictions on gays serving in the U.S. military. The weapons system officer -- who during 18 years of service has flown combat missions in F-15E fighters and other aircraft over Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia, and now serves as assistant director of operations for an Air Force squadron in Idaho -- faces discharge after a civilian reported to authorities last year that Fehrenbach is gay.

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Fehrenbach, who has nine Air Medals, including one for heroism under fire during an enemy ambush near Baghdad in 2003, intended to resign. But he changed his mind last fall with the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency. As a candidate, Obama promised that the law would be overturned, . . .

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In April, a review board ruled against Fehrenbach, and unless Air Force Secretary Michael Donley rejects the recommendation, he will be dismissed. If he is unable to retire with 20 years of service, Fehrenbach will lose nearly $50,000 a year in retirement pay as well as medical benefits. More disappointing, Fehrenbach said, is being unable to serve the country in a time of war.

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More than 13,000 service members have been discharged from the military since the law was passed, though the number of annual discharges has declined by almost half since 2001. "When we need you, your sexual orientation seems to be less of a factor," Sarvis said. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network estimates that 326 service members have been discharged since Obama was sworn in.

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No doubt Elaine Donnelly and similar gay-haters are nearly having orgasms over the thought of Fehrenbach being thrown out of the armed forces. Donnelly and those like her are truly sick and vile people.

Will Obama and Kaine Turn Virginia Red Come November?

From time to time I get contacted by political campaigns either to ask that I cover issues or opposing candidates or for my thoughts on how to reach out to the gay voters - not that any of the Virginia statewide Democrat candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general have done much reaching out to date. I expect that to change very soon in the case of Jody Wagner, candidate for lieutenant governor, who I have previously endorsed and who has a gay-friendly track record. The same holds true for Steve Shannon the candidate for attorney general who publicly opposed Virginia's anti-gay marriage amendment and even wrote an editorial as to why the amendment should be voted down. As for Deeds, I unfortunately expect no outreach efforts to LGBT Virginians and I very much fear that he will lose to Bob McDonnell in November.

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Despite Deeds' shortcomings, the biggest problem that these three Democrat candidates face - and Wagner and Shannon are excellent candidates - is the dis-engagement of many Virginia Democrats who feel that they worked their hearts out and dug deep in their pockets to elect Barack Obama and elect addition Democrats to Congress and have received NOTHING in return for their efforts. LGBT Virginians have received nothing from Obama - ditto for Governor/DNC Chair, Tim Kaine. For gays and non-gays alike the same problem exists. With a Democrat in the White House and Democrat majorities in the House and Senate, little has been accomplished because of the ridiculous efforts for "bipartisanship" - i.e., reaching out to members of the GOP who will NEVER cooperate and who seek only to torpedo any real change. The public gave the Democrats all the tools they need to effect change and they have bungled it badly. Campaign visits to Virginia by Obama will not have the effect he believes - people are looking for delivery on promises, not more pretty words.

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Yesterday, when an aide from one of the state wide campaigns called me, I expressed the above stated view and to my surprise the aide acknowledge that it was a major concern that the failures of Obama and the Congressional Democrats to deliver would potentially severely compromise the statewide Democrat candidates. I expressed my view that unless Obama signs a stop loss order to suspend Don't Ask, Don't Tell or delivers on some other promise to LGBT voters BEFORE election day in November, he will have convinced LGBT Virginians that voting Democrat is a worthless effort - basically pissing into the wind - because the Democrats simply talk a good game but fail to deliver. Other core Democrat constituencies have likewise been left feeling they were lied to.

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I truly hope someone carries this message to the White House and Congressional Democrats because they are clearly putting Virginia at risk for a GOP sweep - something that will set the state back dramatically and allow McDonnell to appoint all kinds of Christianists and extremists to state positions. The mere thought of it makes me shudder.

Harvey Milk to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

Belatedly - and likely as another sop thrown to betrayed LGBT Americans - President Barack Obama has announced that the late Harvey Milk will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom as one of "16 Agents of Change." Please, do not get me wrong. I truly believe that Harvey Milk deserves the award and it's very sad that he isn't here to accept it because of homophobia that lead in part to his murder. The same kind of homophobia that Obama refuses to refute by real substantive action to end DADT and DOMA, enact ENDA, etc. Obama is certainly not the "agent of change" that he lead us all to believe he would be while he campaigned. Would that LGBT Americans had a leader like Harvey Milk today instead of the generally spineless leaders at major LGBT rights organization.

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Also receiving the award are American tennis great Billy Jean King, who is openly lesbian, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who has championed LGBT equality throughout his political career, and Desmond Tutu who has forceful condemned anti-gay bigotry and discrimination. Here are some highlights from the White House Press release:
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President Obama today named 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom. America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. This year’s awardees were chosen for their work as agents of change. Among their many accomplishments in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to politics and public policy, these men and women have changed the world for the better.
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They have blazed trails and broken down barriers. . . . they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.
"Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive.
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Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor. Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.
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Very nice words Mr. President, but substantive action to make gays fully equal citizens that would thrill Harvey Milk would be much more appreciated.

More Back Sliding by Obama on Repealing DADT?

Just last night I posted about the neo-nazi types and racists being recruited into the U.S. military - along with felons and gang members - even as the military discharges on average two LGBT members of the military for being gay. All in essence because of the religious based discrimination that is the real underlying reason for Don't Ask, Don't Tell. As John Aravosis discusses at AmericaBlog.Gay, in an interview with Anderson Cooper, President Obama seems to be signaling that he's about to throw LGBT Americans further under the bus. How so? He is now making noises that DADT is perhaps constitutional just as the Justice Department recently argued in the nefarious DOMA brief a few weeks back. Again, if one looks at the true reason behind DOMA and DADT it is religion plain and simple thus making a mockery of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Here are highlights from John's piece:

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In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, President Obama presented several new excuses today as to why he can't do anything on Don't Ask Don't Tell. He also seemed to again signal that he would be pushing to change, rather than repeal, Don't Ask Don't Tell:

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1) The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy is constitutional, and the president never disobeys a policy that's constitutional. Obama told Anderson: If Congress passes a law that is constitutionally valid, then it's not appropriate for the executive branch simply to say 'we will not enforce a law'. It is our duty to enforce laws. That is, unless he issues a signing statement, as he did the other day, giving notice that the has no intent to obey the constitutionally-valid law because he thinks - thinks - it's unconstitutional.

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Of course, the big news here is that Obama is now saying he thinks the military's discrimination and bigoted DADT policy is constitutional. You'll recall that in the anti-gay DOMA brief the president said that DOMA is constitutional. And while some said that the president had to say that, even if he didn't believe it, the president did not have to tell Anderson Cooper today that DADT was constitutional. Oh but there's more.

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2) President Obama specifically told Anderson Cooper that his stop-loss powers don't permit him to retain service members who are leaving the military under a constitutional policy. Neither Joe nor I have ever heard this excuse before, nor are we familiar with anything in the law enacting the Stop-Loss policy stating that Stop-Loss can not be invoked when a service member is being discharged under a policy that is constitutional. Today is the first time the administration seems to pulled this new excuse out of its hat.

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[T]he promise to repeal DADT was wiped out, but after much consternation from the community, finally came back as a promise to "change" DADT in a sensible manner. After much more consternation, the White House finally went back to the original language, to "repeal" DADT. Subsequently, the president and his top spokesman both suddenly started talking about "changing" DADT, rather than repealing it. The only exception was the White House gay cocktail held a few weeks ago to make amends for the anti-gay DOMA brief debacle.

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Sadly, it seems increasing that LGBT Americans cannot believe a word that Obama says now about all of his campaign "promises" that were used to secure our votes and money. Once again, the LGBT community needs to turn off the LGBT ATM machine until Obama and the Congressional Democrats deliver enacted pro-gay legislation. The time for promises has passed.

PFAW Calls Out Obama on DOMA and LGBT Rights

People For the American Way ("PFAW") founded by Norman Lear is dedicated to making the promise of America real for every American: Equality. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right to seek justice in a court of law. The right to cast a vote that counts. One of the things PTAW does is work to counter Christianists and their efforts to impose their perverted version of Christianity on all Americans. Through its Right Wing Watch blog a spotlight is maintained on the machinations of the Christianists and the anti-freedom allies. Yesterday, PFAW called out President Obama on the crumbs he has thrown to some LGBT couples while continuing to fail to deliver on his campaign promises:

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Tonight, President Obama announced that he is moving administratively to provide some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. This is a very small step in the right direction, but it's really just a token, and tokens are no longer enough. What stands in the way of real progress for all same-sex couples is DOMA, which denies the most important benefits -- healthcare, retirement, health insurance and more -- to anyone but "spouses" under DOMA's definition of marriage (ie. married heterosexual couples).

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And sadly, the administration has not lived up to the president's earlier calls to repeal DOMA. On Friday, the Justice Department filed a legal brief in which it went far above and beyond simply defending DOMA as a federal policy against a court challenge. The brief cited laws regarding incest ... it called DOMA a policy of government "neutrality" (which it is clearly anything but) ... and it justified the government's continued discrimination on the basis that it's cheaper than expanding fundamental rights and protections.

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There is no defense for the Defense of Marriage Act. Help spread the word that less unequal is still unequal -- help get others to sign the petition at DumpDoma.com.

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If you have not done so, please sign the petition and make your thoughts heard.