I have changed my avitar but not my candidate

[dsc]

Gays and lesbians are under attack this night. For the first time in the memory of just about anyone alive today, the President of the United States used the State of the Union to advocate an amendent to our Constitution to take away rights from a group of people for all time. Later today Ohio may well join the list of states with their own DOMAs. This makes Howard more important than ever. I don't trust anyone else to fight this battle because Dean has fought it and no one else has. I deserve to be a citizen. I will fight like Hell to be one. But I also support Dean.

But for now I have to be a gay man who happens to support Howard Dean instead of a Dean supporter who happens to be gay. That is why the switch in avitar.

On edit. Though I do think Dean's support of civil unions and his up front advocacy of gay rights in his literature puts him above Kerry in this regard Kerry deserves credit for fighting the fight in Congress. He is the only other candidate that I currently have confidence in to fight this fight to some extent.

[Lady President]

1. Could you elaborate?

" Later today Ohio may well join the list of states with their own DOMAs."

Do you have a link or anymore information on this? Thanks.

[dsc]

2. Bill has passed the House

voted out of Committee in the Senate. A vote is scheduled for tomorrow. We are hoping that delaying tactics can be employed.

[Lady President]

8. Unreal

I love Ohio, but this is just embarrassing. Don't the politicians realize that there is a large gay population and an even larger number of gay rights supporters in Ohio? Nevermind... They're just following the Good Book. :eyes:

Thanks for the update. I always read the paper and watch the news and haven't heard anything about this.

[AP]

11. Rs win either way with this debate as it's framed now. They're not idiots.

The debate which would hurt them is if liberals said marriage is for churches and government should only grant CU to everyone. If you can find a church to marry you feel free to call yourself married, but the governement is not in the business of mediating spiritual relationships. It's only interested in mediating legal relationships between individuals.

As I read it, this is the direction Edwards is trying to push people towards thinking.

[Lady President]

21. CUs for everyone makes sense

Actually, we already have a system where everyone who legally gets "married" really has a civil union. You could say "I do" in front of a religious leader every day of the week, but if you don't have a valid license, then you don't have the right to file joint taxes, survivor benefits, etc. (Common law marriage is an exception, but that practice is becoming more outdated every year.)

As a single, straight woman, I would prefer to have a civil union. I'm not religious, so the signing of a license is the part that's real from a logical and legal perspective. The word "marriage" just sounds antiquated to me.

[AP]

23. Every state in the nation requries licnese + ceremony

and provides a "civil ceremony" as a quasi-religious subsitute. Taxpayers might waste millions of dollars in time and in paying for JoP salaries to perpetuate this facade that a license isn't enough.

the government should say we're no longer interested in pretending the civil ceremony means anything. We issue licenses which trigger rights. President Edwards tells us that we can't provide different rights to gays and lesbians, so any two people who want the rights and burdens this license confers can sign up for one.

If you want to find a church which calls you 'married' have at it. Your spiritual relationship is between you two and your god.

You know why that isn't the way we debate this? Because of Andrew Sullivan and becuase it will work to make ordinary people's lives happier and more productive and wealthier and healthier.

[dsc]

13. Sadly it passed by me too

I found out about the House bill too late to contact my rep. I did see him at the caucus though and told him I was disappointed in his vote. He was one of a handful of Democrats to have voted for it. He then told me I was the first person who told him that. To say I felt shitty is an understatement. He had gotten no letters and no calls against that bill. He got several in favor.

[JI7]

3. can't you put up both ?

use your sig line space to put up a dean pic or sign. then you can have both.

[dsc]

4. would that be using the same name as for the avitar?

I am not that up on this.

[JI7]

14. what you do is

on your sig line space, you can put a link to a pic which will show the picture when you post something. or you can just write something , maybe a quote or whatever that shows you support dean. i'm not sure if you can use the avitar name for the sig line, but you should try. if not just find a pic or sign from anywhere else and put that link on the lig line space.

[dsc]

16. Thanks

I have the link there now but it just shows the link. I will have to play with it tomorrow.

[JI7]

18. some help

right click your mouse on the picture on my post. and select properties. this will bring up info on the picture, and copy the address(url) which starts with http and ends with jpg and paste that onto the sig line. the pictures arent allowed to be that big as this pic was in full size in the sig lines, so i'm keeping it small.

[dsc]

20. Thank you so much

It took me a bit but I got it.

[lazarus]

5. I respect that

Just for your perusal, another candidate is fighting for you as well:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=151203

[dsc]

7. I appreciate his words

but Clinton often said the right things too and look where he left us. I wish I had some way to know that Clark would really fight for us. I don't blame Clinton for DOMA or Don't Ask Don't Tell but I do blame him for no ENDA and no hate crimes. He said the right things but he then didn't actually fight. If Clark is that way it will be a disaster.

[lazarus]

10. understood

But realise that Clark is the one candidate that we have that can actually appear on the cover of the Advocate without being assaulted by the media. I dunno why, but he's got some weird stealth Jedi thing going; he can say the most liberal stuff, and he's still called a conservative or moderate.

But I'm not asking you to switch from your candidate during the primaries. Simply know that there is another candidate out there who is aware of your primary issues and is speaking out on them. I'm busily ranking the rest of the candidates myself, although I'm so firmly ABB I really won't need any coaxing; once more, as I've done for as long as I can remember, I'll be voting straight party.

[VolcanoJen]

28. Extremely well said, lazarus.

:-)

[sandnsea]

6. They have laid down the gauntlet

There is no doubt about it with that speech. But you do know I take HUGE exception with your assertion that no one else has fought the battle. It is an absolute slap in the face to John Kerry. Maybe you have forgotten what the climate was like in this country in 1985. Perhap you have forgotten the discrimination gays were facing because of AIDS. John Kerry was right there, almost alone. It is just insulting that you would write the kind of post you have.

[dsc]

9. I should edit to give Kerry some credit

but I have to say that it is way different to be the focal point like Dean was and what Kerry did. Kerry is the only other candidate that I have any trust in though on this issue.

[sandnsea]

15. How do you know?

Thank you for the edit.

I have a feeling that if Kerry got death threats he stuck them in a drawer and ignored them. What are they going to do, put him in a war zone? Not saying anything against Dean and what he went through, it's just Kerry is a different person. Things were bad in 1985, really bad. You must remember.

[dsc]

17. Yeah I have a pretty good memory of it

I was still in high school and frankly was scared to death to be found out. I had had a rough middle school and early high school experience and finally got people convinced I was 'normal'. I didn't cover myself in glory to be sure. My point mainly is though that legislators are never the focal point as they aren't the ones who are the face on a change like that. Kerry has been a true friend and I do trust him to be one.

[sandnsea]

19. Good

I remember the country being totally freaked out, schools worried about kids with AIDS, how it was transmitted, the blood supply, all of it. And I remember people fighting against discrimination because they couldn't get housing or jobs. I knew there was legislation in Congress and I remember the arguments. I just didn't know it was John Kerry who had introduced the legislation. Just like I knew Vermont had the civil unions law going on, but never heard the name Howard Dean in conjunction with it. So I expect John took his fair share of hits on it. And he kept going with the Ryan White Act, criticizing don't ask don't tell, DOMA, Global AIDS. He can absolutely be trusted to defend gay rights.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. Thanks for the edit.

Now, I don't feel I need to get in an argument with you anymore, lol!

Keep the faith!

[dsc]

22. thanks should have had it there at first

but it is late and I am still a little upset.

[sandnsea]

25. I was horrified

I know for you it's personal. I suppose for me it would be like if they announced testing for who could and couldn't have kids. Something that would just cut to the core of me.

But to be honest, when he said it, I knew beyond doubt they were going to just rip this country apart. They don't care. They'll do anything to have their way. Go to any lengths. Because those monsters in the Administration could honestly care less about people. George Bush doesn't care if you're married or not, you're just not that important to him. Nor am I. The only reason he's doing that is to make a huge issue that'll put the country in an uproar and take the focus off of his horrible policies. They're willing to destroy the country to have their way. I knew it at that moment. I turned to my son and was crying and told him he better tell everyone of his friends that this is it. Nobody can be out of this fight, nobody can stand on the sidelines.

And I'd love to say I'm so magnanimous as to be standing up for you. But I'm more selfish than that. The fight is for everything, absolutely everything, the soul of this country. And you, poor dear, are going to be right smack in the middle of the ugliest fight this country has seen since the civil war.

At least that's the way I see it.

[Cheswick2.0]

24. dsc, please keep us informed on this vote

I hope everyone concerned comes off the campaign trail to vote on this.

[dsc]

26. It was on commitee not the floor

I hope to find out later today what the vote was. I guess the other vote was a sub committee.

[davsand]

27. We are blessed that we have more than one brave candidate this year.

I understand your decision to carry the triangle right now. I firmly think that the more of them the wingnuts see, the better. They need to realize that the GLBT community is not powerless, nor are they alone in this fight. Anyone who has much support for basic human rights should be up in arms right now, and i would urge them to get active.

I am not supporting Dean in the primary, I'm supporting Clark. I fully intend to support any candidate the Dems put up in this election. My heart will be behind anyone who can--and will--stand up for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.

We have to win this election to protect so much that is right about this country.


Laura

[dsc]

29. I have no choice at this point

I wish I didn't have to. It is a profoundly sad statement that I have to choose between being gay and my country. I don't think I am to blame for that. I think that has been forced upon me.