Round Up
Sorry - quiet week last week; much going on in various directions, including work and a rather unpleasant “falling out among friends” which got The Mrs (and me to a slightly lesser extent) quite upset. I may revisit the latter at some point soon.
Anyway, picking up briefly on some recent topics:
The Hate Crimes bill passed the first hurdle last week, but some dark clouds hit the horizon as President “Fierce Advocate” Obama has threatened to veto the Defense Bill to which it’s attached because it contains approval for spending on fighter planes that the US doesn’t need. Cynical minds began to suspect that attaching the amendment to this bill was a ploy to make it look like people (Obama specifically) were trying to make progress on hate crimes, but were forced to reject the legislation because they couldn’t sanction the wasteful expenditure.
Then today, Senator Jeff Sessions, all over the new last week because he heads the committee that oversaw the confirmation hearings for potential Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor (the same committee that once turned him down for a federal judgeship because he’s a racist), attached a series of further amendments designed to make the hate crimes parts of the bill harder to pass.
Just once, wouldn’t it be nice if a politician just said “I disagree with this measure, and will argue it on its merits, without trying it weaken it, filibuster it, or just plain old politic it out of existence. If my arguments are sound then I am confident I will sway others without need for deceit, distraction or dishonourable behaviour”?
On the Queer solidiers (etc) front, Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) is now the driving force behind the repeal of DADT. He did an online chat on Americablog last week that’s good reading, and an interview with Rachel Maddow that is also worth watching.
On the AIDS Walk: Did it - raised $500, which was my target. I could have done better if I’d worked more at it, but thank you to anyone who donated - the walk raised over $3.5million. Huge numbers of people, and I felt good that I’d actually gone out and done something - I used to volunteer, and get involved in things that help make a difference. These days I mostly sit back and give money to a few charities, and I’ve been feeling for a while that it’s not enough. The Walk was a move in the right direction.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:19 am
Well done!
Pictures of walk please.