Masculine Monday: Presidential Edition

So while deciding today's MM, I briefly considered making it the 1980 Olympic Hockey team because I just watched the movie Miracle today, but then I realized that I haven't yet given big O his due for finally getting shit done this week! It seems like, since he first got sworn in (actually, since he first got voted in) Obama has been working constantly but not making any particular amount of progress. Then, BOOM, this week he comes out getting done not only health care, but also signing legislation that helps college students get loans and puts some checks on the banks, and signing off on new off-shore drilling, AND putting in much more stringent regulations on fuel efficiency in new vehicles, AND going into nuclear arms agreements with Russia.

Now, I'm not super pleased about the off-shore drilling because, I mean, I'm just not particularly in favor of more drilling, particularly in fragile underwater ecosystems (I'm a tree-hugging liberal), but at the moment I'm willing to trust that he knows what he's doing and is using the drilling to distract Republicans into voting for better environmental legislation in the long run (because from everything I've read/seen about this off-shore drilling, it's a very short-term fix and won't even be a viable source of energy for a few years. So it's like, dude, what's the point? I mean, it has to be a chess move. It has to be). But all the other stuff? Reducing arms in two major nuclear powers, helping our population become more educated with less debt, helping the ill afford aid, and decreasing the U.S.'s impact on the environment on a major way? Not a bad freaking week. PLUS there was actually an increase of a few hundred thousand jobs in March, which shows that we might slowly be climbing our way out of this recession.

Obama, it took you a year for us to see some of the change you promised us, but at this point, I like what you're giving me. Keep up the good work. (I like your railway idea too - let's do that after you put some major restrictions on banks and credit card companies. Ok?) So in what I hope will be the first of many Masculine Monday: Presidential Editions, I say kudos and keep going, and for God's sake let's keep a Democratic Congress this fall so the progress doesn't get backtracked, because the Republicans are being nothing if not unhelpful. And on THAT ridiculously partisan note, goodnight.

Health Care Reform, Keith Style

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Hey all from London town where I have finally settled for my study abroad. Despite my distance from "The States," I know there's big political shit going down, and even though it's not about gay people I wanted to stay informed because health care affects everybody. With that in mind, I went over to msnbc.com to watch Countdown. Keith Olbermann wasn't in the most recent episode, but they did talk health care, and Dennis Kucinich, Argumentative Guy's favorite person, was a big headline because he finally agreed to vote yes on the health care reform bill (he previously was going to vote no because he didn't think the bill did enough). Anyway, after I watched that I went over to the Special Comment part of the site, where I found the above video clip. It's not particularly easy to watch; in fact, it made me cry. But it's worth seeing. It's a discussion of Olbermann's father and his recent health care struggles, "death panels," and insurance companies. It's from quite a while ago - February 24 - but with the vote so close I thought I'd post it. Also below is the hour-long Special Comment on health care that was replayed in memory of his father, Theodore Olbermann, who passed away on Sunday. I know these videos aren't examples of impartial journalism, but I love Keith's passion and I agree with a lot of what he says.

Also, on a personal note, my Great-Aunt Ruth died about a week ago, while my sister and I were abroad. I hope very much that her end-of-life care was as good as Keith's dad's.

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Viral Video Vendsday.

So Massachusetts just elected some new senator that's a Republican. Now the Democrats don't have the SUPER majority. Still a majority, just not the super kind. I acknowledge all the hard work Ted Kennedy did during his time in senate. But just because the Democrats don't have the Super Majority doesn't mean healthcare still can't change. Do I want it to change? On principle, yes, nationalized healthcare is a good thing. But in reality, I can see why it is so difficult. But it doesn't help when idiots like this are allowed to voice their opinion. We only need free speech if your speech is the same is my speech, ya dig?





Also, let's talk about the new Republican senator Scott Brown's centerfold spread in Cosmo magazine in 1982. He apparently won the title of "America's Sexiest Man." Gross. But my point is, WHAT A HUGE FUCKING DOUBLE STANDARD. If this were a female coyly hiding her balls behind a limp wrist, people would be calling her a slut and shaming her name all over the media. But all Senator Brown gets are blushing cheeks and praise for how confident he is. This article on Jezebel really spells it out. (Thanks for the tip MM.)

Rachel Maddow also talks about the lack of women politicos in the state of Massachusetts and different stereotypes the supposedly "liberal" state defied this week.

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Bless God, and Bless the Gays

This kind of stuff makes me purr with pleasure a little bit internally. The above video is Lady Gaga (of WTF outfit and sexually ambiguous video fame) speechin' at a Gay People Rally in Washington D.C. Though Ms. Butterface Crazy Pants usually gets nothing but mockery from me, today I would like to golf clap in her direction. This is because, one, she actually gave a pretty good speech, two, I love seeing her stand up for the gays over and over again, and three, I LOVED her promise to stand up against misogyny and homophobia in the pop industry! Fucking finally! SOMEONE has to! No more rap videos with "vixens" writing in the background unless the rappers are just as hot, naked, and oiled up. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

This second video is of Cynthia Nixon, who was always my favorite of the Sex and the City crew (I think we all knew she was a little dyke-ish. I mean, come on, she wore suits with skinny ties) and who solidified her place in my heart today. She does an even better speech, which really gets to the core of the entire issue of gay marriage: it's not about whether or not gays can get married. It's about the fact that treating people as if they deserve less than others sends the message that they are WORTH less than others. Taking away rights dehumanizes people. It makes it ok to hate or hurt them, because they're not as good as you, anyway. If they were, they'd have the same rights as you do, wouldn't they? But they don't. And until we're all equal, our government is supporting the alienation and endangerment of a huge part of our population. This rally is fucking awesome. Bless the fucking gays. Watch the video.

Working Already?

Christ, I think the day after the Inauguration was nappy- and possibly golf- time for Dubya. Apparently Obama is vampire-like and has no need for sleep - he's already gettin shit done. Last week couple of my friends who are more liberal than me (it's possible) were complaining about how much he'd gone back on his promises already. My opinion was, hey, let's wait til he gets in office to be disappointed by him, ok? Well turns out, this promise he's keeping. Obama's spoken out against the detention center at Guantanamo Bay for a long time, and he's using his new power to do something about it. He's circled a draft executive order that calls for a Gitmo shutdown within a year, and he's halting war crimes trials in the meantime. I know people don't like waiting and a year seems like a long time, but 1. It's a hell of a lot shorter than "indefinitely," which was the Bush plan, and 2. Shit takes time. They have to figure out where to put all these people, some of whom may in fact have committed crimes. According to the draft order, there are approximately 245 current detainees, some of whom have been held there as long as six years. That's a long-ass time to live without a speedy trial or the rights afforded to war criminals by the Geneva Convention. Here's to getting shit done! Now let's fix the economy/environment/human rights inequalities/educational system!