YES to Fluoridation…

When the whole issue of fluoridation for Portland water came up recently, I thought, naively, big woo.  Who cares?  Really is this an issue we need to be concerned about?  However, in the past six weeks, it has become a big deal, as I read the literature available and watched both campaigns for and against, I have to say I have come to strongly believe that we must vote YES on Fluoridation.

I have come around to this decision from a social justice and equity perspective.  While the campaign against make some interesting points and express legitimate concerns, the overwhelming scientific evidence and efforts toward equity in health care for Portlanders has won me over. Sadly, Oregon ranks in the top ten states for uninsured residents, with 35% of children having untreated tooth decay. Oral hygiene contributes to overall health in significant ways beyond tooth decay throughout life. While fluoride is especially helpful to children, it is important for low income and marginalized adults and seniors as well.

Portland is the largest (and one of only eight) major city in the country not to fluoridate its water. Opposition is mainly based on scare tactics that exploit and distort minor facts and half truths. The information that opponents use — linking fluoride to bone cancer, sick pets, and damaged wildlife — overlook two key facts. Significantly, the very data they use has been incorporated into the fluoridation proposal to ensure that levels will be safe and effective both. Second, many of the studies that are cited refer to other forms of fluoride, a natural mineral that — like many — can be beneficial or harmful depending on its form and its intensity.

Toothpaste and mouthwash aren’t enough, or Oregon (#48 nationwide in fluoridation rates) would not have the terrible oral hygiene problems that it does. The poor, elderly, and underserved are disproportionately impacted by not taking this simple, SAFE step. Again, I would point to the issue of equity.  If we remove barriers for underserved populations for tooth decay, pain, lost time in school, and periodontal disease, we are investing in everyone’s future by creating a stronger Portland with a stronger workforce. Dozens of organizations — including the ADA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the NASW — support this sensible move. Gov. John Kitzhaber, MD, has been a vocal advocate.

Portlanders should engage their civic spirit and sense of care for their fellows and vote yes on 26-151.

Women’s History Month 2013: Valerie Harper

Today I would like to honor another remarkable woman who has been a big part of my life for the past 40 years. As regular TSM readers know, I have always loved the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Part of me wanted to be Mary, but I’ve always had a lot of Rhoda in me. I actually put this in my essay when I applied to the school of social work. Her bold, outspoken nature and very human insecurities made her a wonderful character, and no-one could have brought her to life other than the incomparable Valerie Harper.

She was born in Suffern, NJ in 1939; her family moved frequently for her father’s work (including a couple of years here in Ashland, Oregon). When they left NJ, she moved to New York to pursue her dream of dancing. She obtained her degree and began chorus work, rising to lead roles and eventually moving into television after a bit part in the film version of a Broadway show she had appeared in. The casting agent for MTM saw her and knew that she had found her Rhoda. Nine years later, Harper had four Emmy awards, one Golden Globe, and seven nominations for her groundbreaking role.

More significantly, she had shown another kind of independent woman. Unlike Mary’s clear career path, Rhoda was always more of a free spirit. She had her own life and lived it proudly. She also went through one of the first prime time divorces, showing the difficulties of relationships in an honest way while retaining her quirky charm and joy. Harper also notes proudly that she was one of the first actors to use the word “gay” on prime time network television, on one of my favorite episodes of MTM, My Brother’s Keeper–a must see episode!

While acting on stage and television, she was also a strong advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment and women’s rights. She was as outspoken as her famous television persona and helped put a familiar face on these important issues. She also co-founded L.I.F.E. with Dennis Weaver, an LA organization that provided meals for the underserved and marginalized. In recognition for her work, the Women’s Film Institute awarded her their Humanitarian award in 1987.

Sadly, Valerie Harper is back in the news for tragic reasons. A lung cancer survivor, she recently discovered that the cancer has returned in a rare and nearly untreatable form of brain cancer. Rather than retreat, she is using her personal struggle to encourage others. In print and television interviews, she stresses how lucky she has been and encourages everyone to live their lives to the fullest while they can.

Don’t go to the funeral until the day of the funeral!

She also notes how lucky she is to have great health care through her union. Never shy, she reminds everyone that universal health care should be a right and expectation and that unions work hard to create a level playing field for all workers. Yes, it is obvious I love our  Valerie Harper.  I am confident that she will prevail.  I  thank you for your great work and thank you for allowing me to celebrate you during Women’s History Month!

Hero of the Week Award: March 1, Phi Alpha Tau Fraternity at Emerson College

Hero of the Week

Thanks to my friend Jennifer Carey for pointing me to this week’s heartwarming HWA. The brothers of the Phi Alpha Tau fraternity at Emerson College have demonstrated compassion, inclusion, and activism in a true call for social justice.

Donnie Collins is a new pledge to the fraternity. He is transgender, born biologically female. (Before attending Emerson, he went to an all-girls boarding school…) Unable to use his family’s insurance to cover hormone therapy, he has covered all the costs out-of-pocket. Sadly, Emerson’s student insurance is also trans-unfriendly, as most insurers are. Collins is also interested in beginning transition surgery, which is cost-prohibitive.

Enter his fraternity. It’s impressive enough that they were smart and open-minded enough to embrace Donnie, given the gross discrimination that the trans community faces. On top of this, they started an online campaign to raise money for Collins’ surgery. They want to use this opportunity to educate the public on the health care dilemmas faced by men like Donnie Collins. Three cheers for Phi Alpha Tau!

Honorable mention goes to all the groups and individuals who have filed amicus briefs in the two marriage equality cases rising before the Supreme Court. The deadline was yesterday, and dozens of these friend-of-the-court documents have been filed in favor of overturning DOMA and California’s Prop 8. The White House has filed briefs in both cases; dozens of companies have filed a shared brief — ironically taking advantage of Citizens United language — to demonstrate the toll on business morale and effectiveness that discrimination causes. Many politicians and public figures from both major parties have also joined the chorus. Amicus briefs seldom turn the tide, but they do contribute to the Court’s decision making. Let’s hope all this effort helps ensure justice for all.

Number 2 Bigot of the Year 2012: Republican Party Platform

Number 2 Bigot of 2012

There are those who claim that a party platform is just a bunch of words to rally the faithful and that what matters is each candidate. To them I say, words matter. Candidates who stand up under a party banner should note what they claim to stand for. This year, the Republican party approved a rancid Tea-soaked platform that slid even further backward into a viciously white, male, heterosexist hierarchy. With that being said, I still refuse to paint all Republicans with this tea stained brush.

It should come as little surprise that the platform was rabidly anti-gay. FRC President Tony Perkins was allowed to draft language that not only called for a national one-man-one-woman amendment but targeted all the progress made during the Obama administration for dismantling.

The War on Women showed up in the guise of a personhood amendment, the most egregious type of attack on reproductive choice. Trampling freedom of religion, the platform trumpeted the farthest right of so-called christian values, elevating the “rights” of a random assemblage of cells over even the life of the mother. How very pro-life THAT is–protect the fetus at all cost, but damn the mother and the child after birth.

The platform also attacked health care and called for dismantling the Affordable Care Act without proposing any alternative. It painted immigrants as greedy illegals, celebrating Arizona and Alabama-style immigration laws and demanding intrusive bureaucracies to force companies to investigate all potential employees. How’s that for smaller government?

The hypocritical, anti-everyone — unless they’re white, rich, christian, heterosexual men — document was a shocker even for the 21st Century GOP. Sadly, the candidates picked up the hateful flag and marched.

Dishonorable mention goes to four particularly loathsome GOP men. Mitt Romney leads the list, railing against the LGBT community, women, and the poor while pretending to tack to the center. His cruel detachment and willingness to do anything to win make him a perfect exemplar of this decaying party. His running mate, Paul Ryan, gets special notice for his Randian budget plans, a real “I’ve got mine so go to Hell” approach to governance.

Two angry men round out the list. Regular TSM bigot winner Allen West leaves office in a fit of petulance. Despite his clear loss, he prepared to waste thousands of dollars and ignore election law to try to change the results. Fortunately, he was so nuts that even in Florida he couldn’t make the case. Sen John McCain (R – Pleistocene) rounds out the list. His regular angry rants hit a new low when he targeted U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. He hypocritically attacked her integrity — after supporting Sarah (Gun) Palin and  Conoleezza Rice and her lying ways years earlier — in a blatant move to get John Kerry out of the Senate and give his mini-me Scott Brown another shot. What a sad, nasty creature our McCain (Gollum) is.

Number 3 Bigot of the Year 2012: GOP Rape Apologists

Number 3 Bigots of 2012

There were plenty of examples of the Republican War on Women in 2012, ranging from battles over contraception to the stunning failure to renew the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act. Nothing was quite so vile, however, as the shockingly repeated misogyny regarding rape. No fewer than five candidates for Federal office said something appalling about rape victims, often relating to shutting down a woman’s right to choose.  For a party that consistently demonstrated how much it HATES women, the GOP was determined to own every vagina in the land.

The most famous are Senate wannabes Todd Akin (MO) and Richard Mourdock (IN). Let’s take a quick look at the whole fool’s gallery.

• “The right approach is to accept this horribly created, in the sense of rape, [...] gift of human life and accept what God is giving to you.” Presidential candidate Rick Santorum (PA), Jan. 20
• “If it’s an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room; I would give them a shot of estrogen.” Rep. and Presidential candidate Ron Paul (TX), Feb. 3
• “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” Senate candidate Todd Akin (MO), Aug. 20
• “It was really an issue of the Catholic church being forced to offer those pills if the person came in with an emergency rape.” Senate candidate Linda McMahon (CT), Oct. 15
• “When life begins with that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen.” Senate candidate Richard Mourdock (IN), Oct. 23

Sadly,the media largely overlooked the first two, but Akin’s bizarre comment went viral and sunk his nearly sure thing candidacy. The GOP tried to get him out of the race, but he stayed put. With all their hopes for the Senate evaporating, the GOP leadership stuck by Mourdock. That included another lovely “gift from God” quote from Sen. John Cornyn (TX) and an endorsement from Mitt Romney. Happily for the nation, sensible voters said no to false KKKristianity and blatant misogyny.

Dishonorable mention for misogyny even beyond the GOP standard goes to radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh. Not content to rail against the contraceptive provisions in the Affordable Care Act, he targeted Sandra Fluke, a woman testifying before Congress about the need for contraceptive coverage. Limbaugh called her a slut and raved about contraception in a remarkably ignorant way, even for him. He devoted days of his show to the topic, resulting in a costly backlash as sponsors fled from his toxic spew.

Number 4 Hero of the Year 2012: President Barack Obama

Number 4 Hero of 2012

It’s been a challenging year for President Obama. The hijinks of the obstructionist Republican leadership made even his best efforts challenging. Facing reelection with a still fragile economy, he also had to deal with steady criticism from the left. While there may be more he could have done, he still accomplished a great deal in spite of large obstacles. He also continued to rebuild the human face of the Presidency — mugging with Olympic athlete McKayla Maroney, hugging victims of hurricane Sandy and surviving family members in Newtown, and letting a small boy rub his head in the Oval Office.

What stands out most clearly, however, is his support of marriage equality. President Obama has worked hard for equality — dismantling Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, refusing to defend DOMA, extending same-sex benefits to federal employees — but nothing resonated like his interview in May. Never before had a President stated clearly that all loving couples deserve to marry. His words helped shift public opinion, with numerous polls showing a new, consistent majority for equality. His encouragement had a huge impact on the African-American community, arguably making the difference in marriage equality passing in Maryland. His courage and clarity, in a year where silence might have seemed a safer option until after the election, is notable and speaks to his character and leadership.

Now that he has a second clear mandate to lead real change in his second term, let’s hope for more of this. Not just for the LGBT community, either, but pushing back against the war on women and taking a strong stand against poverty and inequity. It’s been a good, if challenging, four years. Can the next four be even better? Yes, they can.

Because TSM was very fortunate to receive so many lovely nominations for Hero of the Year Award, I had to list many splendid honorable mentions. Honorable mention goes to all the grass-roots activists in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington who helped those states achieve historic victories for LGBT equality. Learning from mistakes of the past, they crafted clear, effective messages, raised funds $5 at a time, and pushed back the forces of bigotry to great effect.

Honorable mention also goes to two brave women. Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer was discharged from the military for being honest about her sexual orientation in 1992. She stood up for LGBT equality and fought discrimination and DADT for years. In the space of a year she saw that equality become a reality and was one of the first to marry her same-sex partner in Washington state when marriage equality became a reality there. Brigadier General Tammy Smith included her wife in the ceremony where she accepted her new rank, making her the first openly serving LGBT general in U.S. history.

Finally a sad farewell and honorable mention to AIDS activist Spencer Cox. He was instrumental in moving forward clinical trials of HIV fighting medicines in the 1990s, proposing protocols and helping shred bureaucracy to accelerate the availability of life-saving drugs. He died this month at the young age of 44.  Let us hope we get to Zero soon–zero new infections and zero AIDS related deaths.

World AIDS Day, 2012: Getting to Zero!

Let Us All Work to Getting to Zero!

December 1 marks World AIDS Day.  While the atmosphere is looking rather optimistic and we have a President who is supportive of health care for all, we must not grow complacent. We must remain ever vigilant if our goal is to get to Zero new infections and Zero new deaths due to the impact of HIV.

For those of us that were alive in the 1980s, we saw the devastation of the gay male community, where doctors would refuse to treat gay men impacted by HIV.  We had to witness President Reagan not even saying the word AIDS or recognizing the epidemic.

The Gay Community had double the stigma: being gay and impacted by HIV.  Most of us can talk about friends we lost.  Let us hope those types of conversations have been — or soon will be — relegated to the past.

Today is a great invitation to the world to stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters who are impacted by HIV.

Affordable Care Act Helping Women

Thank you to my friend and LGBT ally, Jennifer Carey, for inspiring me to write this article.  During this Republican War on Women, and for those ill informed detractors of the Affordable  Care Act, it behooves everyone to know some facts on how this act actually significantly helps women. Of course for those of us who actually took the time to read the ACA, none of this comes as a big surprise.

Scientific American, points out that as of August 1 the Affordable  Care Act requires private insurance companies to provide the following for free:

• approved contraceptives (per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recommended list, which includes major oral contraceptives as well as sterilization procedures) as well as contraceptive counseling;
• well-woman visits (those annual trips in to the OB/GYN to get everything checked out);
• breastfeeding supplies (such as breast pumps), support and counseling;
• STI (sexually transmitted infection) counseling—including HIV testing and counseling as well as genetic HPV (human papillomaviurs) testing for women 30 and older;
• screening for gestational diabetes (a condition which can increase the risk for complications and developing type 2 diabetes later as well as metabolic challenges for the child);
• and domestic violence screening and counseling.

It’s about time, given that during the Bush Administration Viagra was provided for free.

Kathleen Sebelius, the Director of Health and Human Services sums it up best:

These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need.

These preventive measures for women’s health (many already afforded to men) will save millions of dollars in the long run in health care costs.  If you are pro-woman and pro-woman’s health, I strongly encourage you to think about whom you will vote for this November.  Do you really want someone who has now stated that he will overturn Roe v. Wade and gut Planned Parenthood and work against civil rights of LGBT folk? Or would you prefer a President who has made it clear that women’s health issues cannot be ignored and has taken a strong stand for civil rights?

Hero of the Week Award: July 20, Eleanor Holmes Norton

Hero of the Week

This week’s hero is fighting oppression with tenacity just as she has her entire career. Eleanor Holmes Norton is the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, one of the most frustrating jobs in politics. Because DC is not a state, it is not constitutionally entitled to representation in Congress. As with Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, it has a Delegate who can sit on committees and speak on the House Floor but not vote. Given that DC is also under the direct supervision of Congress, Norton’s job is doubly frustrating as she regularly watches bills that directly affect her constituents receive votes in which she cannot participate. It’s a situation that has been even harder to swallow this year.

A nasty anti-choice bill, HR3803, would ban all abortions in the District at 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the mother. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ of course) has blocked Norton from testifying in the Judiciary Committee hearings on the bill. Despite the fact that the very people who would suffer from this misguided proposal specifically selected Norton to speak for them, Franks won’t allow it, probably because he knows how powerful and articulate Norton is, especially when opposed on her principles.  Need I point out the lunacy that a man is making decisions about women’s health and not allowing a woman to have a voice?

Norton is co-founder of African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom and an outspoken defender of women’s rights. Rising into her career under the tutelage of pioneers like Medgar Evers and participating in the formative years of second wave feminism, she understands how to speak truth to power in a way that the petty dogma spewers deeply fear. And she’s not happy about being left out of the conversation.

Some are debating whether House Republicans have been engaging in a “war on women” in our country. What is not debatable is the fixation of the Republican majority on depriving the women of the District of the reproductive rights that all other Americans enjoy. This bill, however, is another abuse of power and denial of democratic rights. The committee, acting at the insistence of special interest organizations, is using District women to abet a national campaign to defy Roe v. Wade, the law of the land. Instead of introducing a nationwide post-20-week abortion ban, the campaign has taken the bill to conservative states and to Congress, but only for District women. [...] H.R. 3803 is unprincipled twice over. As to the District, it is the first bill ever introduced in Congress that would deny constitutional rights to the citizens of only one jurisdiction in our country. It is also the first bill ever introduced in Congress that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Its application to District women is a cover for its underlying purpose: to undermine Roe v. Wade in other jurisdictions in the United States.

This is a woman who fought Newsweek’s “men-only” reporting policy in 1970 and won. She led the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Carter and crafted landmark regulations clearly defining sexual harassment as a form of discrimination. To test her own mettle as a free speech advocate, one of her first cases was defending an aggressively racist group, right up to the Supreme Court. She won, and reflects on the reasons for taking the case admirably:

I defended the First Amendment, and you seldom get to defend the First Amendment by defending people you like … You don’t know whether the First Amendment is alive and well until it is tested by people with despicable ideas. And I loved the idea of looking a racist in the face—remember this was a time when racism was much more alive and well than it is today—and saying, “I am your lawyer, sir, what are you going to do about that?”

If Rep. Franks thinks blocking this powerful woman from a committee is going to silence her, he has another thing coming.

Mitt Romney: The “Bain” of Our Existence

Oh my! Poor old, sad old, dear old Mitt.  Bless his heart. He just can’t seem to remember what he said, where he was, or what he believes in at any given moment. I know his detractors will simply dismiss him as a sexist, egotistical, lying hypocritical bigot, as though he were Mr. Hart from 9 to 5.  Perhaps the poor dear really does not remember what he believes from day to day and he is not lying?

Here I shall endeavor to try to help poor old, sad old Mitt. Dear heart, you said that you had retired from Bain Capital in 1999.  You stated this on August 12, 2011. However, Bain Capital filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as late as 2002 reporting that you were the  ”sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president” of the company. Massachusetts financial disclosure forms also report that you earned at least $100,000 as a Bain “executive” in 2001 and 2002 and owned 100% of the company as of 2002. Oh mercy! Well this certainly does not look good. I’m not quite sure how to spin this one for you Mitt, so let us leave this ugliness and try to help you out of some other bits of confusion. We wouldn’t want the American people to think they were electing a liar as the leader of the Free World, now would we?  Maybe we could call you a Pioneer–yeah, that’s the ticket. As early as 1985 you were buying up vulnerable companies, gutting them, firing all of the American employees and then setting up shop in other countries–you were just a pioneer for outsourcing.

As a gay man, I was glad to see that as early as 1994 you reported that you would be “the most friendly LGBTQ supporter.”  Of course, I’m a mite confused here in 2012 when you signed a pledge that would eliminate any rights I would have as a gay man here in the United States–so much for the 14th Amendment. Oops, I’m not sure how to navigate you out of this mess either, Mitt. Let us move on to another issue where I’m sure I can be of some help.

In 1994, you said you believed that all women should have the legal right to an abortion and you supported Roe v. Wade. Now in 2012, you said “the next step is to overturn Roe v. Wade.”  Well dagnab it. I’m not quite sure how to get you out of this lie either. Let us move on to something far easier where I’m certain I can help you.

Earlier in 2011, you stated that President Obama was “copying” your idea for the health care plan you designed for the state of Massachusetts. Now in 2012 you refer to the Affordable Health Care Act as “Obamacare” and tell us that it is bad news and you will work to repeal what the U.S. Supreme Court has sanctioned. Well, who cares if millions of Americans can’t afford health care?  As some folk at one of the debates you were at said, “Let him die!” Strangely you did not address this cheer for death. Okay, so I’m having trouble getting you out of this particular spot as well.

On a more positive note for you, at least you have an enormous fortune backing you.  Most of the Wall Street Big Boys are throwing millions of dollars your way. That pesky Supreme Court did you one favor with Citizens United and let shady corporate donations fund your SuperPACs without anyone knowing where the money comes from.  Maybe you can just buy yourself the Presidency. But do you think you could stick with just one version of yourself for four whole years?