Leaders

There’s been much consternation recently about the position that the President has and hasn’t taken on many issues, including that of marriage equality. I could rehash all the arguments I’ve read, all the anger I’ve witnessed, the disappointment I’ve felt, but you’ve already seen that. On this issue and many others, I’m disappointed that my president won’t step forward and say what we know he believes. I’m disappointed that in fear of losing re-election, he has decided that his full-throated support is not available to us. I’m reminded of a line from “The West Wing” where Joey Lucas (played by the brilliant Marlee Matlin) is discussing the recent polling on gun control:

“You say that these numbers mean dial it down. I say they mean dial it up. You haven’t gotten through. There are people you haven’t persuaded yet. These numbers mean dial it up. Otherwise you’re like the French radical watching the crowd run by and saying ‘There go my people, I must find out where they are going so I can lead them.’ “

- The West Wing, Season Two “The War at Home”

He’s the President of the United States. Arguably one of the most visible and influential people in this country. Polls already show that marriage equality is becoming a majority opinion. He doesn’t even have to push that hard. The moderates on the other side of the aisle are already shifting quietly.

I voted for a leader. I hope he shows up soon.

Challenger

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Someone shared the story of one of the astronaut’s whose life was cut short on that morning. And I wanted to pass it along.

Astronaut’s Brother Recalls A Man Who Dreamed Big

McNair was only the second African-American to visit space. He’d been there once before, aboard a Challenger mission in 1984. On that trip, he played his saxophone while in orbit.

As his older brother, Carl, recalls, McNair started dreaming about space in South Carolina, where he grew up. And he wanted to study science. But first, he needed to get his hands on some advanced books. And that was a problem.

“When he was 9 years old, Ron, without my parents or myself knowing his whereabouts, decided to take a mile walk from our home down to the library,” Carl tells his friend Vernon Skipper.

The library was public, Carl says — “but not so public for black folks, when you’re talking about 1959.”

I’ve always believed the NASA and space exploration are as much about hope and inspiration as scientific discovery. Stories like this one are why we must keep looking beyond our horizons. Because when we accept that Earth is just a small part of a larger universe, it might just make us see past what makes us different and focus on moving forward together.

 

Oh, look. More social media!

I’ve created a tumblr.

For all those little things that I want to share, but don’t have any comment to share so a blog post seems silly.

BensTumblr

Sunday Reading

A few interesting pieces I found this morning.

Horoscoped – Do all horoscopes really say the same thing? A blogger dug in to find out.

Then two pieces that highlight what is and isn’t changing in Washington in the wake of Tuscon.

New Congressional Seating for the State of the Union – While a show of bipartisanship to be sure, does the seating arrangement at the President’s annual address really make a difference?

Saner Gun Laws – A NY Times op-ed

Asked last week about the administration’s positions on these matters, Mr. Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said the White House was focused on “the important healing process.”

Healing is good, but what about making sure this tragedy (and the so many other gun crimes that happen every day) doesn’t have to be a part of our future?

What are you reading?

Saturday Reading

Here’s some articles I read this morning that I wanted to share:

Olbermann Leaves ‘Countdown’ on MSNBC – The ongoing story of last night’s media headline. I’m sure this story is far from over.

According to several senior network executives, NBC’s management had been close to firing Mr. Olbermann on previous occasions, most recently in November after he revealed that he had made donations to several Democratic candidates in 2010.

[EDIT/UPDATE]: As more information has come out about this, it seems that it is as “amicable” as a split of this nature could be. No “evil Comcast” silencing of Olbermann. No “corporations hate liberals” attempts to stifle the other side. As my better half tweeted last night: 

Apparently there is a spot labeled “Comcast” on people’s Jump to Conclusions mat.

What ‘Modern Family’ Says About Modern Families

“We used to talk about how cellphones killed the sitcom because no one ever goes to anyone’s house anymore,” said Abraham Higginbotham, a writer on the show. “You don’t have to walk into Rachel and Ross’s house, because you can call and say, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ We embrace technology so it’s part of the story.”

What are you reading around the web today?

Asking, Telling

A piece from the Washington Blade interviewing gay servicemembers and how they’ll handle the impending end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

The co-director of OutServe, a global network of LGBT service members, who goes by the alias J.D. Smith to avoid being outed under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” said he’s already seeing an “interesting trend” of gay service members starting to come out to their families and others with whom they’re close.

“I think the process is people are coming out to people in their units,” Smith said. “People are coming out to their close friends that they trust because they know that it’s about to happen, so I think the coming out process in general has begun even with the law still in effect.”

Smith said he knows gay service members who for the first time brought home their significant others over the holidays to introduce them to their families as a result of Obama signing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.

 Equality marches on.

Marriage

Funny how it seems even more absurd when presented in this format.

“Raise the Level”

If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don’t, why not?), you probably know about the numerous Twitter accounts of characters from the West Wing that I follow (I retweet them often).  The account of CJ Cregg recently started a blog “Raise the Level” to encourage discussion about the issues that too often lead to shouting matches. The first issue she took on was Guns. The author lays out her own view on guns that I’d say fairly matches my own, and lays out an idea that honestly seems like a decent proposition.

Why don’t we require skill-based licensing for owning a gun? That’s not rhetorical, I simply don’t understand, and I don’t understand why anyone would think it’s dandy to have people running around with guns when they don’t know how to use them.

What do you think?

What is enough?

What I fear will happen in the wake of Tucson: Nothing.

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Tucson Shooting Memories – Esquire.

This moment should have been transformational. This should have been a moment of diamond-tipped truth. This is part of who we are. This is a part of our politics. This is something to look at, honestly, and admit to ourselves that, pushed by our own dread and anger, whether or not they are skillfully stoked by demagoguery or not, this is what we can do to each other. This is what we will do to each other.

Second-Class

Larry Kramer: AIDS is a plague allowed to happen

I won’t say that I agree with all of this piece, but it did make me pause to reflect. And then I read the comments on the article and the vitriol that was spewed behind the anonymity of the internet.

Most striking is the following quote from his article:

– They also tell us we can’t get legally married.

– They also tell us that we cannot legally adopt children.

– They also tell us religions will not recognize us.

– They also tell us we can’t serve our country yet.

– They also tell us our real history cannot be taught in schools.

– They also tell us that gay students cannot organize in schools.

– They also tell us that people who murder us are not committing hate crimes.

– They also tell us we cannot insure our partners.

– They also tell us our partners are not legal.

– They also tell us we cannot have equal opportunities.

– They also tell us we can’t kiss each other or hold each other’s hands in public.

– They also tell us that our Supreme Court doesn’t want to know about any of this, doesn’t want to make us free and equal, doesn’t want to honor the Bill of Rights.

If you want to know why AIDS is a plague, I have just told you why.

Welcome to Second-class America.