On Wednesday July 12, 2011, Governor Jerry brown of California has increase the powers of the Board of Education in his state by signing a bill, (SB48) making California the first state in the nation to add lessons about gays and lesbians to social studies classes in public schools. The bill requires public schools to add to their social studies curriculum, contributions of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. A curriculum which will be adopted for the 2013-2014 school year. Brown signed the bill passed last week by the Democratic-majority Legislature. The bill basically passed on a party-line vote.

“History should be honest,” the governor said. “This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books.”
How is it that you would need to revise existing laws that already cover the original intent? While I believe in personal freedom and tolerance towards all people. this quote speaks to me as saying that a person’s sexual preference is now a factor. No matter who the person is, black, white, Jewish, Muslim, gay or straight, if they contributed to history, they should be acknowledged.

The Board of Education has been increasing it’s control over what our children learn and by what standard they will be held to. From President Carter creating the Department to George W. Bush signing the “No Child Left Behind Act”, it’s all been about control and spending more money in a program that hasn’t improve the quality of education in this county.

State Senator Mark Leno, a San Fransisco Democrat who is also the author of the bill, praises the signing of this bill as a step towards teaching tolerance. Supporters feel that this bill will teach students to be more accepting of lesbians and gays since there has been so much bullying towards homosexuals. Leno is quoted saying, “Today we are making history in California by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LGBT Americans”.

Since when have homosexuals been excluded? Is Leno saying that the LGBT community was being excluded from history? Again, if a person contributed to history, they should not be excluded whatsoever. And if homosexuals were being excluded, by whom were they excluded by?

Our school system has no Constitutional right in the first place to be controlled by the federal government, even if the Democrats feel it falls under the commerce clause. Since the creation of this department, Conservatives have been trying to abolish it. As a Libertarian, I feel it’s an invasion of our personal freedoms since it gives the federal government too much power.

The Department’s mission is: to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
The only thing the department has accomplished is ensuring equal access since even illegal immigrants are entitled to a good education. But that’s a whole other post.

Speaking of the left, seems a growing number of them are dissatisfied with Obama. Josh Gerstein from Politico writes;

Barely four months into his presidency, Obama is confronting growing dissatisfaction among members of his liberal base, who feel spurned by a series of his early decisions on issues ranging from guns to torture to immigration to gay rights. A few, like MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, have even hurled the left’s ultimate epithet – suggesting that Obama’s turning into George W. Bush. For liberals who viewed Obama as something of a savior after eight years of Bush, the discontents are piling up.

A growing number of organizations, bloggers and pundits, many of whom kept quiet about slights in Obama’s first few months, are now going public with their disillusionment.

Michael Meyers of the New York Civil Rights Coalition said many Obama supporters (with support from voices on the right) built him up to be more of a liberal icon than his public speeches and writings ever justified.

“They invested in Obama everything they wanted the next president to be. They thought, ‘He’s black, liberal, anti-Iraq War… urban, young.’ He was all of that and smart and he went to a radical church. They just knew,” Meyers said. “They exaggerated him. They saw him as a messiah. No president is a messiah.”

“He’s not the person that people thought he was,” Meyers said. “The left is finding that out and the right is finding that out.”

Also from Politico, Andy Barr writes about Republican leaders who are backing Cheney’s criticism of Obama;

Republican leaders on Sunday backed Dick Cheney’s attacks on President Barack Obama, calling the former vice president
a strong asset for the party.

“It doesn’t hurt us, it helps us,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” calling Cheney a “big member in our party.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said ” We know Obama changed his mind in Iraq and decided to follow the advice of the military generals, and we also know that he’s now ordered a surge in Afghanistan just like the one that was successful in Iraq. So I think the administration has responded to the critique of the vice president” that the country is moving in the “wrong direction on national security issues.”

“Is Change On the Agenda”?

On January 20, George W. Bush’s presidency will end.  President-elect Barack Obama will take office, having been elected on a platform of “change”.  Many Americans are eagerly waiting to see what the new Obama Administration will do; but we already know from his Cabinet picks that “change” is not really on the agenda.

• Hillary Clinton, Obama’s choice for Secretary of State, ran a hawkish campaign and will continue her husband’s aggressive pursuit of “free trade” agreements which have undermined human rights and the American economy.
• Robert Gates, Obama’s pick for Secretary of Defense, is a carryover from the Bush Administration, and has overseen continued human rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
• Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s new Chief of Staff, is an extreme Zionist and hawk, whose presence on Obama’s staff, combined with Clinton’s, undermines any serious potential for Middle East peace.
• Tim Geithner, Obama’s selection for Secretary of Treasury, has been heavily involved in the ongoing bailout of financial firms, and began his career working for Henry Kissinger’s firm.

These choices for the most critical of Cabinet positions make it clear that the only “change” Americans can expect on the major issues of the day out of the Obama Administration are that different people will be in charge of selling out the poor and middle class.

And get this:  with an administration in place that is pro-war, pro-bailout, pro-nuclear power, anti-equal rights, and anti-universal health care, the so-called “opposition” party in Washington will be the Republicans.  No “opposition” party will have ever had it so good.  But, of course, we know that come January 20 there will be one real opposition party:  The Green Party.

With your support, an invigorated Green Party can reach new heights in the number of candidates we run and elect in 2009 and 2010, candidates who will be fighting the Democrats in control of Washington on issues that matter to people:

• Bringing our troops home. The Green Party opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before they began.  Now Obama wants to move troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, without pulling the plug on either war, while simultaneously rattling the sabres at Iran and Pakistan.
• Demanding single-payer universal health care – now. The Obama plan might well insure more Americans, but most of those benefits will go to the insurance companies, not to the people who have been economically crippled by a corrupt health care system.
• Legalizing marriage for all people. While the Obama Administration opposed same-sex marriage, the Green Party remains in staunch support for extending equal rights to all people
• Bailing out working Americans, not fat cat executives. As unemployment rises, the same corporations who have been responsible for costing so many Americans their jobs whine about needing more money to keep their doors open.  Greens have long opposed corporate welfare and trickle-down economics as practiced for the last 28 years, and want to see an end to free trade agreements and other mechanisms which pad executives’ pockets at the expense of working Americans.
• Insisting on a real green energy policy. There is no place for mountain top removal or nuclear power in a serious 21st Century energy policy based on renewables and efficiency.  Greens have long understood this.  But Democrats waffle because they receive so much cash from electric utilities and other corporations.

Without serious, sustained, principled opposition from the Green Party, the Obama Administration will have a blank check to continue to push the “political center” to the extreme right, just as Bill Clinton did.  The Green Party needs your support to stand up for Americans and keep America from inching even closer to energy and economic catastrophes.

Celebration also follows the defeat of the attempt by anti-gay groups in Connecticut to try and call a constitutional convention so they could write marriage discrimination into the state constitution. Sixty-percent of Connecticut voters cast ballots to support their high court’s decision to uphold the freedom to marry and now, marriage equality is preserved in Connecticut. Same-sex couples can begin applying for marriage licenses on November 12th.

“Californians were bombarded by a massive $40 million anti-equality campaign of deceptive scare-tactics and lies. No matter the final vote on Prop 8, the campaign will not be the last word,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People’s Right to Marry. “Public opinion moves in favor of fairness, we have truth on our side, and 2009 will see advances toward marriage equality.”

Legal groups in California today filed a challenge to Proposition 8, in case it passes, telling the State Supreme Court that the state’s “initiative procedure cannot be used to undermine the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone.”

“The effort to defeat Prop 8 and attacks on gay families in other states inspired an unprecedented and tremendous outpouring of volunteers, donors, and supporters, gay and non-gay, from across California and around the country,” said Wolfson. “With the dawn of a new political era in America, this diverse and engaged movement for justice will seize opportunities to redouble the conversations that move people to fairness, win victories in 2009, and soon restore the freedom to marry in California as we advance toward marriage equality for all.”

— Freedom to Marry Staff

Here are the important battles and the right way to vote , alongside the presidential and other key races:

CALIFORNIA: Vote No on 8

FLORIDA: Vote No on 2

ARIZONA: Vote No on 102

CONNECTICUT: Vote No on Question 1

ARKANSAS: Vote No on Act 1

“Sen. McCain is no George Bush when it comes to gay issues. We are much more optimistic and enthusiastic about Sen. McCain,” Patrick Sammon, the president of The Log Cabin Republicans.

They have released this press release:

Log Cabin Endorses Sen. John McCain for President;
McCain is an Inclusive Leader Who Will Appeal to Independent Voters

(Minneapolis, MN)— Log Cabin Republicans today announced its endorsement of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for President of the United States. Log Cabin’s national board of directors voted 12-2 to endorse the Republican nominees for President and Vice President. Log Cabin announced the decision at its “Big Tent Event” during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

“On the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade—the federal marriage amendment—Sen. John McCain stood with us. Now we stand with him,” said Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Sammon. “Sen. McCain is an inclusive Republican who is focusing the GOP on unifying core principles that appeal to independent voters.”

“Sen. McCain showed courage by bucking his own party’s leadership and the president—twice voting against the amendment. He gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, calling the amendment ‘antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans.’ He paid a political price for his vote,” said Sammon.

“Log Cabin Republicans is a grassroots organization and our membership overwhelmingly supports endorsing Sen. McCain,” said Log Cabin Board Chairman Pete Kingma. “Our board and staff members have spent recent months getting input and feedback from our members. The consensus among our members is strongly in favor of an endorsement because of his inclusive record. Our members also support him because he’s a maverick; a trait most recently on display with his decision to select Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.”

“In recent years, too many Republican politicians have used divisive social issues in an effort to win elections. Sen. McCain is a different kind of Republican. He understands the GOP lost its majority in Congress in 2006 largely because the Party focused on divisive social issues. Sen. McCain knows the politics of fear and division will damage our Party and our nation so he’s focusing the GOP on unifying core principles such as limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense,” said Sammon.

“We have honest disagreements with Sen. McCain on a number of gay rights issues. Log Cabin will continue our conversation with him and other Republican leaders about issues affecting gay and lesbian Americans. We will speak out when there’s disagreement—either during the upcoming campaign or when John McCain is President,” said Sammon

Sen. McCain has had a long and friendly association with Log Cabin Republicans, dating back to the organization’s opening of a national office in the mid-1990s. “Sen. McCain has always shown a willingness to reach out and engage in dialogue with Log Cabin, while considering all sides of an issue,” said Sammon. “We know that will continue when he is President.”

“Progress in the fight for LGBT equality requires support from both Republicans and Democrats,” said Sammon. “Log Cabin’s endorsement of Sen. McCain will ensure our community has a strong voice making the case for gay rights to John McCain when he is President.”

According to the organization’s bylaws, Log Cabin endorses only Republican candidates. Log Cabin Republicans endorsed then-Governor George W. Bush in 2000, but declined to endorse President Bush in 2004—largely over the president’s push for a federal anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment and his decision to use gay people as a wedge issue in winning re-election.

“I expect Sen. McCain will receive strong support from gay and lesbian Americans,” said Sammon. “LGBT people are not single-issue voters. Gay rights issues are a critical part of the equation, but so are many other issues impacting our daily lives—foreign policy, the economy, jobs, energy policy, health care reform, and taxes. Gay and lesbian Republicans believe Sen. John McCain is the most qualified person to lead our country.”

From The Advocate:

Steve Schmidt, senior campaign strategist for the McCain campaign, stopped by a Log Cabin Republican luncheon Thursday to welcome the group to the convention. “I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign’s respect to your organization and to your group,” said Schmidt, who many view as the new architect of the Republican Party. “Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party.”

In his brief remarks, Schmidt weaved in a personal anecdote about his lesbian sister and her relationship to him, his wife, and his children. “On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children’s life,” he said. “I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come.”