Following the President’s lead, social media get their gay on

President Obama’s announcement that he supports marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples may be almost two weeks old, but the impact on the Internet is still reverberating. A recent AP story indicates that both posting and viewing of YouTube videos related to marriage equality rose sharply and remains strong.

In fact, on the day of the President’s interview, searches for “gay marriage” and “Obama” spiked 458% between 10 am and 6 pm. According to the AP

Following Obama’s announcement, more videos with the key words “gay marriage” were uploaded on YouTube than ever before, drawing more than 3 million views and 100,000 comments.

In fact, a quick look at a few search terms on YouTube and its parent company, Google, is very informative. Searching the term “gay marriage” (which tends to be the most common term used although the LGBT community prefers the more accurate “marriage equality”), YouTube has over 6,800 videos uploaded in the past month, accounting for 17% of all relevant videos. On Google, the term yields nearly 28 million hits in the past week. For the same week (May 15 – 22) in 2011, the number was just over one million. Interestingly, that week also had big news, with a Gallup poll showing majority support for marriage equality for the first time. Searching related terms like “same sex marriage” and “marriage equality” finds smaller numbers but similar trends. For those of us on Facebook, the issue of marriage equality has become a dominant theme.

The intersection of gay rights and social media is no surprise. The LGBT community were early adopters, as isolated or closeted people found powerful new ways to build social connections. Age is also a factor. While interactive online sites and tools are hardly the unique province of the 18 – 25 set, younger users tend to be more embracing of and more deeply engaged in them. This same demographic is also more broadly supportive of gay rights in general and marriage equality in particular as well.

Social media also allow a broader sense of engagement with the stories, which allows topics that might not otherwise rise to national attention to go viral. Iowa student Zach Wahls wound up creating his own website to handle all the attention he received when he made an impassioned speech asking lawmakers to recognize marriage for his lesbian moms. Nerdy Apple, aka “Daphne’s Mom,” got the surprise of her life when a sweet post about her son dressing as a female cartoon character for Halloween got the attention of gay rights supporters and opponents both.

Even people in the news can benefit or suffer from exposure of their civil rights stands on YouTube. Former presidential candidate Rick Perry’s ad “Strong” — in which he opposes the active service of gays and lesbians in the U.S. military — has over 8 million views. Likes = 26,448; dislikes = 768,696. He also inspired dozens of parodies and responses.

Marriage equality is hot topic like never before. Strong popular (and Presidential) support is at odds with ballot box success. Upcoming votes in Maine and Minnesota and possibly Washington will either continue or break the trend. Whatever the case, social media and personal engagement in the story is finally driving a narrative in the “mainstream” media and that’s a good thing.

Betty White Endorses President Obama

Cheers for Betty White!

If you have ever read TSM you know how much I love Betty White.  From her role as the delicious Sue Ann Nivens on the Mary Tyler Moore Show to her current role as Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland, Betty has won the hearts of many.  I have also loved her for supporting marriage equality–a matter of civil rights.

While Betty White typically steers clear of politics, yesterday she publicly endorsed President Obama, saying: how she “very, very much favors” President Barack Obama in this election.  White went on to say how much she appreciates “how he represents us.”   While I try not to get caught up in the lives of celebritiess, I so appreciate and respect the 90 year old Betty White for supporting a President who has a wonderful reputation globally and has the integrity to support and push forward civil rights; these qualities were severely lacking in W.  In fact, W managed to work hard against civil rights and made the US look like global bullies–what does it say that Romney has said he is even more conservative than W? Well done, Betty White!

Hero of the Week Award: May 11, President Obama

Hero of the Week

I must confess, Wednesday I found myself quite depressed because of the news about the bigots in North Carolina.  Fortunately, later in the afternoon, my friend and social justice super hero, Eva Hoffman grabbed my arm and told me President Obama just endorsed Marriage Equality.  I will tell you I broke down in tears of joy.  Never did I imagine that in my lifetime I would witness a U.S. President have the courage and integrity to push civil rights even further.

In an eloquent, clear statement during an interview with ABC news on Wednesday, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to fully endorse marriage equality for LGBT Americans — something I never thought I would witness in my lifetime. There are those who try to diminish this statement as a cynical plot for votes. Or perhaps its no big deal because we all really knew how he felt and he just had to use the “evolving” smokescreen to find the right moment. Some even say it was a mistake, risking the mythical undecided independent swing state voters. All these claims miss the point.

Harry Truman once said, “When in doubt, do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Given his “evolving” stance, the President has been in doubt. Wednesday, he did right. Let’s be clear, no civil rights issue articulated by a sitting president has failed to become national policy within a generation. That’s huge. Whatever the additional hurdles, whatever the setbacks (like North Carolina), however carefully constructed the declaration, the President weighed in on a critical issue of civil rights and made his opinion, likely to lead the direction of his party, clear.

Same-sex couples should be able to get married.

Thank you, Mr. President. Count me both astonished and gratified. Regardless of what happens, President Obama has sent the world a clear message regarding equality and civil rights.  He will now and forever be on the right side of history, unlike the lying bigot that is Mitt Romney.

Very honorable mention goes to two members of the Obama administration for their support of equality. Vice President Biden stumbled into the debate with his trademark speaking style, but made it clear he personally supported equality over the weekend. President Obama has even credited Biden’s interview as a catalyst for his statement. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gets points for clarity. When asked on MSNBC’sMorning Joe if he thought same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry he said, without hesitation, “Yes, I do.” Nicely done, Mr. Secretary.

Buffett Rule or Reagan Rule: U.S. Senate refuses to even vote on tax fairness…

You mean I got one right?

Today is the day that most Americans are required to file their taxes. (Not Mitt Romney, of course, who has filed for an extension…) Thanks to President Obama and a strong push from fair-minded progressives, this requirement has sparked a lot of conversation about tax fairness and tax rates. Billionaire Warren Buffett also helped lead the charge, making a recommendation which has come to bear his name: The Buffett Rule. This would require that anyone making more that $1Million in a year would be required to pay a minimum tax rate of 30%. This proposal is wildly popular, polling at over 70% approval, including support from many of the people who would be required to pay the higher rate. Senate leader Harry Reid brought forward the Buffett Rule for a vote yesterday. It was denied cloture along mostly party lines missing the 60 votes required to move to a vote on the matter itself.

Why is the Buffett rule necessary? Sadly, the complex tax laws make it easier for people with large incomes to shelter money, engage in deductions, and take advantage of loopholes. A typical one- or two-income family making $60,000 or less per year simply doesn’t have the fiscal diversity to make the most aggressive use of the tax code. As President Obama noted this weekend, his secretary, whose income is less that 12% of the Obamas’ income for 2011, pays a higher tax rate because of the way the code works. This is wrong.

Why else is it necessary? It is, as the wonderful Elizabeth Warren reminds up, part of the social contract. Making vast sums of money requires the support (willing, intentional, or otherwise) of the whole of society. Paying that back is a reasonable request. It is also true that income inequity forces a larger tax burden on households headed by women and people of color. Of course the loudest voices in the Republican party disagree. The Ryan budget does nothing to address this inequity. Candidate Romney, who refuses to share more than one year’s worth of his tax papers with the country he wants to lead, is also a vocal opponent. Anti-tax goblin Grover Norquist, of whom many Republican legislators live in fear, is adamant in his opposition.

Ironically, as the President has pointed out, this isn’t a new plan:

I’m not the first President to call for this idea that everybody has got to do their fair share. Some years ago, one of my predecessors traveled across the country pushing for the same concept… So this President gave another speech where he said it was “crazy” — that’s a quote — that certain tax loopholes make it possible for multimillionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary. That wild-eyed, socialist, tax-hiking class warrior was Ronald Reagan.

But of course 21st Century Republicans in Congress can’t be bothered with inconvenient things like history, or facts…

Bigot of the Week: March 23, Stumpy’s Stickers and their Customers

Bigot of the Week

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It is hard not to wince in pain when you see it. Surely, I thought, this is a tasteless digitally edited bumper sticker joke. The Facebook photo that went viral recently showed a silver car with a red, white, and blue sticker featuring the famous Obama emblem and the following text:

Don’t Re-Nig In 2012. Stop repeat offenders. Don’t re-elect Obama!

Sadly, it was real. Far worse, it wasn’t just one hatefully creative racist bigot making a sticker, it was commercially produced and available on the web. A company named Stumpy’s Stickers offered this and several other shockingly offensive anti-Obama stickers. Curiously, after all the attention to their vile products, the website quietly vanished. Vile things don’t like the light of day.

So, what do we have here? Someone racist enough to dream up this slogan and disgusting enough to make it into stickers and then sell them. On top of that, we have people who are willing to buy them and put them on their cars. Anyone still think we live in a post-racist America?  How sad that our country has so far to go regarding racism and civil rights for all.

Election 2012: Compare the Candidates with Your Own Positions

Let the voter beware!

As the nation prepares to have the Republican slate of Presidential candidates become even more confusing with today’s Iowa Caucuses, TSM has found a useful tool for understanding where all the hopefuls stand on eleven key issues. This very useful matching tool presents a simple question (as it might be framed in a debate) and then gives a number of possible answers. After selecting the best match for each topic, the user is presented with a top three match. The candidates included are the seven active Republicans (Bachmann, Gingrich, Huntsman, Paul, Perry, Romney, Santorum) and President Obama. This provides one with the opportunity not just to see where the Republicans stand, but to see just how different our President is than those who would compete with him.

As with any tool, this one has its flaws, but they are minor given how clearly it illustrates the intentions of the candidates. TSM’s biggest objection is the heavy focus on things that have cropped up in recent budget battles (taxes, Medicare, Social Security, Defense) at the expense of any mention of job creation and the limited presentation of civil rights (marriage equality, but nothing on reproductive choice (talk about misogyny) or freedom of speech and assembly). Based on the way the tool works, this is probably a result of needing clear statements from all the candidates on any issue presented, but it still leaves some big questions about all eight included hopefuls. The other challenge  also arises from the way the answers are provided. In at least three cases, we were unable to pick a single answer that matched our preferred position and had to select “None of the above” (For example, the question on immigration I checked “none of the above” because all of the options were blatantly racist, as none of the options regarding marriage equality were acceptable). This is because the options given are real answers from the candidates. If your answer isn’t there, none of them would be a perfect match. It is easy, however, to highlight each candidate’s stand on each issue for more information.

Come November, we’ll have to choose between President Obama and one of the sailors on the Republican ship of fools. There will be a lot of noise and confusion between now and then. Let’s be careful to remember where the candidates really stand on the important issues.

Click here to take the quiz yourself.

Wednesday Word of the Week, October 5: Purity

Great for soap, lousy for candidates.

This week’s word is PURITY

being undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material

This quality is being used by the Republican base to measure their candidates for President. In this case they are not judged to be necessarily pure

having no faults; sinless

but adherent to all the tenets of the most vocal and virulent members of the party.

Given the rabid nature of these candidates, it should be terrifying to any thinking, compassionate, or reasonable person that any of them are insufficiently pure. Yet somehow, they are. To brew a sufficiently bitter cup of tea, one must

• Oppose any form of equality for LGBT Americans
• Refuse to allow women to make any choices about their own bodies and health care
• Oppose any approach to immigration other than deportation
• Protect corporate interests at all costs, despite the impact on the average American
• Reject any increases in taxes or revenue, even when levied against the wealthiest 1% of Americans

Rick Perry? He’s been nice to brown people (plus there’s that whole vaccination scandal, which, while it served a corporate donor, involved forced medication and was therefore socialist). Michele Bachmann? Pretty pure, but mysteriously her favorables fell rapidly when Perry, initially an equally nutty candidate who had the benefit of a penis, showed up. Herman Cain? He talks about taxes a lot and, well, the GOP is a big tent and all, but he’s >gasp< black. Rick Santorum? He sure hates gays enough, but his tax record is a bit weak. Mitt Romney? Does he really stand for anything other than getting elected? He’s too shallow even for the Republicans. Get the picture?

Democrats are faced with a more nuanced problem. We know who our candidate will be, but many of us are disappointed and frustrated with his approach to leadership. That’s all well and good, but we cannot afford to let that frustration turn into apathy. As we pointed out on TSM earlier this week, President Obama has done a great deal already, enough to merit our support. A whole, charmingly-titled website is devoted to reminding us that, flaws aside, our President has done much of what he promised on the campaign trail.

Could he do more? Could he lead more forcefully? Certainly. But we are not Republicans.

Let the Teahadists bloody all their candidates. Let them strive for so much ideological purity that they present such a distasteful disaster that even the rightward center is repulsed. It may be early, but the election season is, sadly, in full swing. Democrats need to show we support the man who will clearly be the best choice come December 2012. Once he’s back in office, we can continue to push him. While he needs our enthusiasm, however, let’s show the Republicans that there is something more important than artificial purity

something difficult that you succeed in doing, especially after working hard over a period of time

ACCOMPLISHMENT.

(All definitions courtesy of Macmillan Dictionary Online)

Why I’m Still Supporting President Obama

Obama 2012

After talking with many of my intelligent, thinking, compassionate friends in Georgia this past week, who are quite fearful of all of the bigoted GOP candidates, and after reading one of Towleroad’s best articles, I felt I had to chime in about why I’m still supporting President Obama.

When I reflect back on the past three years, I am rather ashamed of the United States as a whole, specifically of the Teahaddists and the Birthers, who have given a new and explosively loud voice to blatant racism. I reflect on the civil rights that President Obama has fought for in the face of grotesque misogyny and homophobia, the face of John Boehner and his “Super” congress. I don’t think that word means what they think it means.

President Obama has worked to ensure all Americans have health insurance, like any civilized nation would.  He worked hard to repeal DADT, in the demonic face of John McCain.  President Obama also continues to promote the repealing of Clinton’s legacy, DOMA.  He also: introduced hate crime legislation, lifted the travel ban on people with HIV (a Bush Sr. legacy), worked for hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners, and introduced the “first comprehensive national strategy” to combat HIV/AIDS. I was also glad to see that Obama helped make it easier for our transgender brothers and sisters to change their passports. He has also spoken out against the rash of bullying-related suicides of LGBT youth, including making a Presidential It Gets Better video.

While I’m somewhat disappointed that Obama has not called out the racists’ bad behavior, I am exceedingly happy that he did call out the nothing less than monstrous behavior of the GOP Presidential candidates for their deafening silence during the debate:

We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s okay for a stage full of political leaders – one of whom could end up being the President of the United States – being silent when an American soldier is booed. We don’t believe in that. We don’t believe in standing silent when that happens… You want to be Commander-in-Chief?  You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it’s not politically convenient.

I can’t help but reflect that if this incident had occurred at a Democratic debate, the people that booed and the candidate would have been pursued out of the theater by torch-wielding villagers.  We should not forget the candidates’ silence when people were cheering for Death when given the option of helping or a 30 year old man or letting him die at the first GOP debate.

Yes, I do want a President that stands up for civil rights for all!  A leader who stands up for civil rights here at home also sends the message to the rest of the world that all of us must stand up to oppression where ever we see it. Click here to see Towleroad’s article.

Hero of the Week Award: July 22

Hero of the Week

Late Tuesday afternoon, Senator Patrick Leahy (D – VT) sent me and many others an email to let us know that President Obama not only played a huge role in working to repeal DOMA, but that:

moments ago, the President went a step further by endorsing the Respect for Marriage Act I’ve put forth to repeal DOMA and restore the rights of all lawfully married couples to receive the full benefits of marriage under federal law.

If this did not bring a tear to your eye, I’m not sure what would. My heart was overfilled with joy witnessing President Obama, Patrick Leahy, and Dianne Feinstein showing true leadership as they push for civil rights! Obama’s endorsement of the Respect for Marriage Act  earns him this week’s HWA.  Bravo, President Obama.  Years from now, we will see that Feinstein, Leahy, Gillibrand, and President Obama were on the right side of  history!  How nice to see True Leadership in the face of cowardice and fear-mongering from the Tea Party. I hope we see full marriage equality in all 50 states within my lifetime. But let us remember that We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest Until It Comes!

President Obama: How Very Dare You

Quit Protecting The Rich

As our employees the congress have to work during this holiday weekend, only because they had to be shamed into doing so, our President has the chutzpah to bring up cutting tax breaks again.  What nerve.  Is he insane? Has he been drinking?  President Obama had the unmitigated gall to propose adjusting the tax breaks for those that own their own jets.  This lunacy is tantamount to my husband telling me if I want to lose weight I need to eat less and exercise more.  Rubbish!  If that were true everyone would be doing it. If the answer to our deficit problem were as easy as cut tax breaks for the wealthiest of the wealthy in the country and raise taxes that have not increased since 1950, then of course Congress would implement such an obvious and easy solution.  They are the leaders, the intelligent people we hold accountable to help and protect all of the citizens of America.

Just look at how smart they are!  John Boehner wants to spends millions of tax dollars to discriminate against the LGBT community and Miclele Bachmann who can’t even spell the word history.  Oops, maybe these are not good examples of “leaders” in congress.  Maybe we do need to listen to President Obama.  Maybe we just need to pay attention!  Click here to see the full article.