Throughout my life time, I have had the pleasure and the experience to meet two intersex people. There are very few in society so they don’t get much notice. Intersex people also usually are identified as either a man or a woman, depending on their dominant sex.

My experience was limited but I did have a chance to talk to one of them and the other was someone who I grew up knowing as a child, who was an adult and so I never asked any questions about her intersex. The one I talked to actually surprised me because she seemed like such a very masculine male. But under some great embarrassment, I referred to her as a “him” and she corrected me politely.

Now we should not get a transgender person confused with an intersex person, there is nothing common about them. An intersex person is someone born physically and medically to some degree both male and female.

This question I propose to Christian conservatives: if someone is born with intersex, who would you suggest they be allowed to marry? Would you insist that intersex people only marry someone else who is also intersex?  That would definitely make it where intersex people have very few choices to find love in their lives, being that there are so few people who are born intersex. That just wouldn’t sound very fair to me or I would imagine most people would agree. They are born this way so there surely shouldn’t be any objections to their equal rights when it comes to marriage or any other right.

An even bigger question for my evangelical friends: What was God thinking when He allowed people to be born both male and female? Wouldn’t He know that those who called themselves His children would have a problem figuring out what moral law they could impose on those intersex people?

I might be being a little unfair to intersex people here;  to put them between this same-sex battle and who they are as people but it’s important to understand that all of God’s creation cannot live up to the religious edicts of Christian conservatives. People are unique; we’re all born with certain characteristics that make up who we are physically but also mentally.

Just because someone is different mentally, does not make their difference any less real than if it was a physical difference. Conservatives have assumed that homosexuals have chosen their sexual preferences, which is why they refer to the phrase “homosexual lifestyle”. When someone says that, I want to ask them if they’re referring to my lifestyle or my sexuality because they’re two separate things.

Gay people all have different lifestyles; I’m a homebody who likes to stay home and watch movies. I know other gay people who love to go out to bars and party and then other gay people who like to participate in sporting events and gay people who like raising a family and gay people who like to travel the world  and on and on; we all have our different lifestyles but it has nothing to do with what our nature is when it comes to our sexuality.

Yes, I said nature because gay people do not choose to be gay, no more than someone who is straight, or heterosexual chooses to be straight. For many of us, our sexuality is known at a very early age – mine was about nine years old. I didn’t understand it at the time but I remember being attracted to males by that time. I didn’t come to the realization of that sexuality until I reached my puberty and beyond until fourteen years of age.

All people, though they are gay or straight, black or white, male or female, intersex or non-intersex should be free to marry whoever they love. This idea that the joys of marriage and even the heartaches of marriage should only be limited to a majority of society; heterosexuals, is a denial of equal rights for everyone.

It also should not be left up to the majority to decide to share equal rights with a minority. It’s wonderful that now more than half the population approves of same-sex marriage but gay people should not have to depend on that majority to have the same rights as everyone else. We have a right to pursue happiness just like everyone and for many of us, marrying the one we love is all about our happiness.

Common sense would say that an intersex person should feel free to marry whoever they wish to marry, because they were born the way they are; no question there. Then it should also be common sense to accept that it’s very possible that gay people were also born the way they are, and if that’s possibly true, then the same thing should be applied to them.

Arizona is just the latest state to threaten to take Barack Obama off of the ballot. Republican Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett who says he’s not a “birther” but because of questions about Obama’s birth certificate, has threatened to remove him from the ballot. He says it’s because of a constituent’s request that he has asked Hawaii state officials to verify Obama’s birth certificate in lieu of a certified birth certificate.  Does this mean that if some other constituent questions Mitt Romney’s legitimacy as a human being and wants Mr. Bennett to ask for certified proof of his human DNA, we can count on the state secretary to jump right on it?

I thought the birther issue had been settled when President Obama produced an original copy of his birth certificate after being hounded by conservative media, right-wing extremist and political hacks for the first two years of Obama’s term. I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter how much certification Obama or anyone else gives that this president is an American citizens, there will always be someone standing in the wings wanting more proof.

What I do believe is that officials like Secretary Bennett are using the birther issue in hopes to actually block Barack Obama from being on the November 2012 ballot.  For one thing, Arizona is one state that Republicans only have a small lead in the polls and there’s a chance the incumbent, President Obama could carry that state.  So of course, it’s only natural that Republicans would want to do what they can to stop Obama from any chance of winning that state, even if it means taking him off of the ballot and thereby stealing Arizona’s right to vote for the president they want – they’d be stuck with Mitt Romney though they like it or not. You can call that “Stealing Democracy”.

There have also been challenges to Obama’s birth certificate in other states such as Georgia and Iowa to name a few.  It would seem that there are conservatives that would do anything to keep Obama from having a second term and it also looks like some state Republican officials in these states are using this birther issue as a possible method to win state elections by default.

Then there is the more real threat of Voter ID laws that have been passed across the nation after the 2010 election in which Republicans won big time on the platform that they would create jobs, which by the way; they have done everything but create jobs.

These Voter ID laws would effectively block many voters from being able to vote, mostly Democrat voters because it overwhelmingly affect poor people and seniors. It would seem Republicans see this as a way to possibly win certain states, thereby increasing their chances of winning the White House. Their claim is that the laws are meant to stop fraud but the truth is there just isn’t enough fraud out there to overturn elections.

Maybe the Republican agenda has moved so far to the right and has become so unpopular with so many people that they now need another way to win elections besides democracy. Their stand on issues such as the tax cuts for millionaires while cutting social programs that feed seniors and children and provides health care for millions of poor people, such as the Paul Ryan budget plan has put them to the right field of ordinary Americans who understand the importance of these programs to the needy.

They’ve pushed legislation to block abortions  and passed constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage in several states. This is what Republicans have been working on since taking control of state legislators and governor seats across the country, along with the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2010 election.

What I would suggest for Democrats is to find ways to overcome these Voter ID laws by seeing that millions, who don’t have ID, obtains IDs. Legally, it’s difficult to argue that IDs aren’t a good idea. The problem here is not the laws themselves but the effort that has been put behind these laws to affect the upcoming election this November.  It’s highly suspect that these efforts are to change the result of the election in Republicans favor.

If the only concern for these Republican legislators is to stop fraud, a phased in plan would be the best answer so that citizens without IDs would have a fair chance to obtain them. Passing the laws and then setting a future implementation date so that they would not affect this upcoming election would show at true desire to be fair with voters. Otherwise it has become quite obvious to anyone paying attention, Republicans don’t think they can win on their own record or agenda and so instead they’ve decided to cheat some Americans out of their right to vote.

Our right as Americans to vote is the most basic right and without it, our country goes to the highest bidder. We’ve already seen the result of having money poured into our campaign system to throw favor toward one candidate or the other, are we also to sit back and watch our democracy disappear before our eyes?

Our freedom to decide who represents us within our government must always be uplifted and protected for all Americans. Our peril will be the loss of democracy for all of us if we allow some of our citizens to be blocked from voting now. There is so much riding on this upcoming election in November and each American’s right to vote will be depended upon for the very freedom of us all.

The judge stated:

“This individual was not convicted of a hate crime. He was convicted of a bias crime and there’s a difference. I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi. He had no reason to. But I do believe that he acted out of colossal insensitivity,”

I believe the judge hit it on the nail with this statement. Obviously it was a cruel and insensitive thing for the Indian-born Ravi to do but did it rise to the weight of heavy prison time? Not in my opinion or obviously in Judge Berman’s opinion.

I don’t mean to throw politics into the mix here but if Ravi deserved ten years in prison, which was maximum sentence allowed, then we probably should arrest and imprison Mitt Romney for cutting a boy’s hair in high school because he thought it looked “wrong”. That was a form of bullying just as bad except for in Romney’s case, he actually assaulted the boy.

I understand more than most the need to have special hate crimes laws on the books for gay bashing, as I’ve been a victim and know what it’s like to take a beating for being gay. But, I also understand mercy.  I don’t believe that Ravi wanted to hurt Tyler by what he did. It was a college prank gone wrong.  It also isn’t the first time nor will it be the last time that a college student secretly records his or her roommate having sex.

Dharun’s mother Sabitha Ravi pleaded to the judge to be lenient toward her son saying “He doesn’t have any hatred in his heart toward anybody.” She related how she had tried to explain to Dharun’s younger brother about what was happening in which Dharun broke down and cried.

Dharun I believe has learned a valuable lesson about the feelings of others, though it’s a tragic way to learn that lesson.

I also believe he’s not entirely responsible for Tyler Clemente jumping off of that bridge, though he had his part in it. The question in my mind is, why was Tyler so insecure with the fact he was gay that he felt the need to take his own life? This surely wouldn’t be my son because I wouldn’t have allowed my son to feel so negatively about being gay in the first place.

What’s important is that we create an environment for kids to grow up in that gives them positive role models when it comes to gay people or any other minority for that matter. We need to see that all gay teens have a place to turn to, that they know they’re not alone in the world and that they have no reason to feel ashamed for who they are.  If these things were affirmative for Tyler Clementi, then there’s nothing that his roommate could have done or said to change that.

Dharun Ravi’s attitude toward gay people is typical of many young men who haven’t been around gay people; he didn’t quite show hate toward Tyler, just ignorance which showed a bias. I speculate when I say this but it’s very likely that if Tyler hadn’t committed suicide and he and Dharun had stayed roommates, they likely could have become friends and Dharun would leave college with a different perspective of gay people.

It’s tragic that Tyler Clemente took his own life and nothing can change that. Dharun Ravi will forever be changed because of what his roommate did and his own involvement in it. Hopefully he will also let the judge’s leniency translate for him into compassion and respect for others who are different.

Tobacco use is an epidemic that must be stopped. Stepping outside, into a bar or restaurant, or a park is a dangerous.

That is why I push for the Stop Smoking Act which would make tobacco illegal and establish the Department of Health and Death (DOHD) whose goal is to protect the health of all smokers–and non smokers–and provide essential information on the dangers of smoking.

The Stop Smoking Act would help smokers protect themselves.

A 5% surtax would be enacted to fund the DOHD’s $447 billion budget for FY2013. Should the surtax fail to pass, as it may with the Republican House majority, the President must order a stimulus to cover the $500 billion. One section of the Stop Smoking Act enacts a 1.8% payroll tax, which would cover the expenses for any citizen, and non-citizen presently in the hospital for tobacco related reasons.

Also, with the help of the Additional Child Tax Credit, any one whose son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of any of these individuals, which includes your grandchild, niece or nephew, who is under the age 17, may be able to reduce your federal income tax by up to $1,000 to cover medical expenses of the said dependent.

With the use of the commerce clause, the federal government should make tobacco illegal and prohibit its use, sell and cultivation. Bi-monthly drones will survey land for further compliance with the law (thank God the Patriot Act was extended). Any information accidentally found with the use of drones, the Pentagon may keep the information not to exceed 90 days. If any citizen is found cultivating tobacco, under the Stop Smoking Act, that citizen or non-citizen is subject to a DEA raid.

Since the federal government’s role is to protect lives and liberties, it should especially protect non-smokers like me from being threatened by second-hand smoke. To prevent a black market from appearing, a provision in The Stop Smoking Act forces private property owners to be subject to a monthly inspection for any tobacco toxins.

To ensure everyone follows these newly enacted laws, each citizen and non-citizen is mandated to get examined by a panel of DOHD doctors. Examinations cost $20. Examinations include mouth and uteri (for females) checks, x-ray examinations, and urinary bladder examinations. All citizens who fail to pass the said checks will be fined $1,000. All citizens who refuse to comply with the mandate will also be fined $1,000. All religious institutions will be fined $1,000 a day per employee for not covering the examinations.

According to the Center for Disease Control, more deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, arson, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. Furthermore, smoking cigarettes, pipes, or cigars increases the risk of dying from cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, and oral cavity. 50,000 people die each year from second-hand exposure.

Republicans will support this measure because smoking is immoral and threatens family values. Democrats will support this measure because it offers medical assistance to all, and tobacco smoke emits carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants into the air. Both parties will support this measure because civil liberties and privacy isn’t a big deal and it would help the medicine companies who are the biggest lobbyers in Washington.

If one truly cared for the sick and the safety of the Republic, one would call their representatives and demand that they push for this legislation. To prevent any further deaths and ensure safety amongst the citizenry, we must act now and tell Washington to pass the Stop Smoking Act!

I invite you to join the conversation and subscribe to Minds Alike, follow me @BAdetiba, or e-mail me at BabAdetiba@gmail.com

At the end of those long and dreadful years of wars and narrow-minded politics ruling the day, after watching Reaganomic-style tax cuts that favored the wealthy, we of course ended up in the deepest hole we’d ever been. We suffered heavy job losses and people began to lose those homes they couldn’t afford as the housing bubble burst.

The Bush administration responded with a plea to Congress to put together a bailout package to give to the banks, without it they said, our country would suffer dearly for it.

In the meantime, candidate Barack Obama was energizing the country with a campaign of change, hope and vision of a better tomorrow. Then November rolled around and it was an easy win, thanks in no part to Obama’s charisma and the lack of it in his opponent McCain. Sen. McCain’s VP choice didn’t help the McCain team either.

For most Americans – at least all those who had voted for Barack Obama –expected great things from their dashing young black man in shining armor. He said he would get us health care and he did, but not exactly how we really wanted it; he also said he would end DODT and he did; he said he would reform banking regulations and he did; he said he would get Osama bin Laden and he did, and I can go on through a long list of accomplishments by President Obama.

He turned around the economy with a recovered stock market along with the auto industry and with improving job numbers.  The most amazing thing about this is the fact he done all of this while he faced complete opposition from Republican lawmakers.

For sure, President Obama is a man with flaws; but as far as I’m concerned, those flaws are few. He has been a great leader with strong conviction, along with a strong resolve and a true show of compassion for the needs of others.

As always, character is important in a man but then, we should never expect perfection because character is the very soul of each of us. I believe Barack Obama has shown a very gracious character; honorable and with integrity, selflessness and humility.

Along with character, we Americans look for inner strength in our choice to be president. Can this man who would be president make the important choices he needs to make in a time of crisis? How will he hold up to personal attacks and especially for Obama – how will the bigotry and hatred of those who oppose him wound him as man?

This is the man that we trust with all our lives by his national security choices, this is the man we have placed our hopes and dreams on; can he rise to the occasion and turn this divided country around and bring us back to prosperity for all, not just the few?

We’ve seen presidents come and go, they make campaign promises and hopefully they’ll at least keep a few of them. Barack Obama hasn’t kept all of his promises for sure but I do believe he has kept his fair share of them if not more. I also don’t believe that he was quite expecting such an overwhelming barrier of opposition to him as never in the history of American presidents.

If we are to reelect him, what are we to expect with a Obama second term? Will the economy continue to improve under his presidency? Will he work to end the Defense of Marriage Act and even though he’s said he’s not for legalization of marijuana, is it possible he might evolve on that issue and consider decriminalization? Will he keep us safe from terrorist and enemy nations to the best of his ability?

I’m going to go with yes on most of these questions and that’s with realizing he may even have a congress more difficult to work with in his second term than the first – or could it get any more difficult? President Obama has shown a true propensity in getting things done and looking out for the country’s interests, that tells me that he’s a good bet for a second term.

He surely has my vote; can I get a second on that?

http://roygeneable.com/2012/05/18/hate-is-easy/

Twice in my life I’ve been connected to people in various ways whose funerals were picketed by the people from Westboro Baptist Church. The first was Oral Roberts, the founder of my alma mater, and the second was Garrett Coble, a former professor at ORU who died in the plane crash last weekend that took his life and the lives of two other men I knew as classmates.

What, exactly, does God hate? (Photo: Westboro Baptist Church)

I don’t pretend to understand the logic of these people, who claimed that the plane was brought down by God as punishment. For one reason or another, they apparently believe that what they’re doing is important work. While most people look on them as unimaginably hate-filled and bigoted, some sort of twisted perception of the truth has somehow led them to believe that they are about the Father’s business, and, in light of that, I have a challenging word for everyone. Don’t worry if it’s hard to accept; it is for me too.

It’s easy to hate people who picket funerals of loved ones with signs that read “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” While their crimes are very different, it’s easy in much the same way that it’s easy to hate Joseph Kony or Ratko Mladic. They’re so unabashedly unrepentant in their wrongdoing that it makes sense, in fact, to hate them. It’s easy to hate Westboro in the same way that it’s easy to hate people who club baby seals, who set newborn puppies on fire for sport, or who let their children go hungry while squandering their money on drugs and booze. It’s easy because all strike us so viscerally in our souls and stomachs as wrong and because, really (really, really), they should know better.

Hate comes to human beings quite easily. It can be fed by and directed toward virtually anything and hatred that is both motivated and sanctioned by religion is among the most powerful of all. Its power is derived from the people who hate believing that their hate is not only justified, but mandated by some higher being. Islamic fascists hate the United States because it’s the incarnation of Satan upon the Earth. Anders Bering Breivick gunned down 77 young teens in Norway because he hates Muslims and multiculturalism. Violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims in India are common and countless people died in the religious clashes between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland that only ended in the past two decades.

Hate gets passed on from generation to generation like some sort of sick family heirloom. Hate knows no strangers and plays no favorites. Hate bombs abortion clinics with the same gunpowder that bombs terrorists. Bullets shot in hate pierce the flesh of black people, white people, Hispanic people, and essentially all people with the same deadly precision. Hate motivates more hate and counter-hate and counter-counter-hate in a runaway cycle that seems both endless and unstoppable.

Hate hides behind lots of different labels, like white supremacist, Islamic fundamentalist, anti-Semite, culture warrior, and so on. Hate is cancerous. Hate eats at the heart. Hate darkens the mind. And, most importantly, hate grieves the Father. What’s more, hate requires little effort. It is, in a word, easy.

At my hooding ceremony when I was graduating from ORU a couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite and most respected professors delivered the faculty response. In it, she challenged the graduating seniors to do more about injustice than to just get mad about it. We could “curse the darkness,” she said, or we could “light a candle.” Hating those who hate is perfectly logical, more than justified, and quite understandable. It makes sense. But, then again, hate is hate and there’s no escaping that fact. It is cursing the darkness in a very real sense.

As I recall, hate is not among that trifecta of beautiful virtues that will withstand the end of the age. “Three things will last forever,” said Paul. “Faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” I think we all know what the Bible says about loving those who wrong us, caring for those who revile us, and praying for our enemies so I won’t get into that any further. I’m particularly leery of assuming a preaching tone since to do so would be hypocritical; hate has penetrated my own heart at various times and for various reasons. Indeed, I too have slept in the devil’s bed.

Hate is all around us. It occupies the airwaves, fills the opinion pages, and screams from the headlines. It creeps into our homes and churches, perverts our holy message, and makes us bedfellows with our enemies. The real question, I think, is what are we going to do about it? Curse the darkness? Or, light a candle? Make no mistake, in every way that hate is easy, love is, by contrast, extraordinarily difficult. In fact, it’s impossible for human beings to do on our own. And, bear in mind, we aren’t lighting a candle in a still and dusty attic; no, we’re doing it outside in a thunderstorm with gale force winds. Just a note in case you’ve never tried that, it’s hard to do.

Speaking about Westboro, I did hate hate them and the inclination to do so remains as strong as ever. But, that hate has mostly been replaced by pity, which, as I’m realizing, is impossible to feel without love. I pity them because they’ve believed a grotesque version of the truth for so long that they’re probably largely incapable of believing anything else. They likely have much in common with the Dwarves Who Refused to be Taken In from the final chapters of the last book in C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, whose “prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.” As Christ said in his Sermon on the Mount, “if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”

If history is any indicator, hate begets hate in a vicious cycle that continues day in and day out. The only hope for change comes when someone introduces a new variable into the equation. To hate is to stand spear in hand; to love is to be vulnerable. For the most part, the earliest believers didn’t take up swords to defend themselves when Roman legionnaires came to carry them off to the arenas to be crucified or fed to lions. Many of the ones we remember as Saints went into the stadiums holding their heads high and making the sign of the cross as big as they could so all the spectators would know why they were there. That dedication to the truth is part of the reason why Christianity took hold.

As natural as hate feels to us, Christ’s call is to do something more. It isn’t easy, but my guess is that it’s probably worth it.

I’ve heard the little tidbits of Reverend Wright’s sermons that some people find offensive – I don’t in the least. I was raised with a Pentecostal background so hearing a preacher like the Rev. Wright only reminds me of the many fiery sermons I’ve heard back when I was a child. I also know that what he said is the truth, no matter how much that might irritate some people.

We have a great deal of people in this country who believe that they have the handle on God. They also believe that God is always in their corner no matter what they do. If they perceive an enemy, such as a rogue nation, they will find it in their hearts to preempt a war with that nation, all the while believing that God is always on their side.

Reverend Wright spoke like Jesus would have spoken; with authority and spiritual insight of the very underbelly of America’s greed and arrogance and bigotry.   Preachers should say things to us sometimes that we don’t want to accept or like but is the truth and touches to the very heart of everything that really matters.

I have heard sermons of hate and deceit many times over the years. I also heard a sermon recently from a Baptist minister, Rev. Sean Harris who advocated punching a four-year old child if he acted effeminate. I know of another pastor; Pastor Rev Fred Phelps of a Westburo, Ks. Baptist church who brings his flocks to U.S. troop’s funerals so they can carry signs of protest saying “God Hates Fags” and “God Made I.E.D.s” and other such vile slogans that surely didn’t come from any loving God.

Back during the Bush administration, before going to war with Iraq, I was so very opposed to that war. I knew it was a mistake in my heart. I saw how easy it was for most Americans to be led like sheep to the slaughter and many of the ones at the head of the pack are those who call themselves Christians. They have convinced themselves that God has put His stamp of approval on that war because they wanted it so bad. What actually was going on with them is that their heads had swollen to the size of watermelons and that was because they just went to war with Afghanistan and it was so successful that it meant that God was on their side, so why not take it to Iraq too?

It is this belief in God that I question. Terrorist get on planes and fly them into buildings or load themselves down with explosives and blow themselves up in crowded places so that they can kill innocent people, because they believe God is on their side. Powerful nations wreak destruction on other nations in the name of God – tens of thousands of people die and hundreds of people suffer from hunger and disease and lose everything, all in the name of God.

Who is this God that needs His people to do certain things, to carry out His will to destroy the infidel, or to start war with the enemy with weapons of mass destruction – tens of thousands of men with ships and planes and billions if not trillions of dollars spent along with thousands of lives lost, all in the name of God?

The God I know is all-powerful; He doesn’t need anyone or any nation to do what He can do with just a word. The only thing God can’t do is make people love Him, we must do that on our own, without provocation and without force. When we act in the name of God, it should always be in the name of Love for it is the most powerful force in the universe.

War and destruction are not God’s plan for America or the rest of the world. If God had His way about it, we would all be sharing with each other; there would be no hunger, no hate and no war. If God had His way about it, America would be a place of compassion and inclusiveness and for the rest of the world, we would share our prosperity to all the hungry and needy and no one would be without. If God had His way, there would be no need for social programs because we would all take care of each other and not expect some to fall beneath our feet.

God is also God of everyone, not just the Christians or the Muslims or the Jews. His love has no boundaries, and to Him, there are no black, white, Hispanic, male, female, gay or straight. To God, we are His children if we just choose to believe in Him.

There will always be those who will come in the name of God, though they call their God Allah or Jehovah – it just doesn’t matter as they will bring a message of hate and deceit and call for destruction. They’re fruits of labor will always speak the loudest of who they are. If what they do with their ministries is cause division and stir up hate and bigotry, then they’re not ministers of the loving God I know about.

When those in our government use their seats of power to satisfy those with wealth and in their wake they leave hunger, despair and destruction, they’re not the emissaries of Christ or Mohamed, but agents of greed and strife. Evil has no political party name or affiliation but lives in the hearts of those who would think themselves righteous over others.

Jeremiah Wright in my opinion is God’s minister. If Barack Obama got any influence at all from the man it has made him a better person for it. And though I’m a huge Obama fan, I was disappointed in his response concerning his association with his former pastor. But, I don’t expect a perfect president, I got God for that. I do expect integrity and inner strength to stand up to anything, though it be a missile crisis with an enemy state, a natural disaster within our borders, or the kind of strength that chooses the hardest path if he believes it’s the best path – President Obama fills that expectation.

As far as who is the God of America; I would hope He is the same God I go to on my knees every night before bed; the God I call my loving Father and ask Him to let me walk in love and have no grudge against anyone and let me forgive as I’m forgiven. A God that’s powerful enough to take care of my enemies and my friends and loved ones, who can bring the high road low and the low road high and has no respect of persons. Any other God, I don’t know him and neither should you.

Jay Rosenberg, former AIPAC employee, made a blog post listing those (House and Senate) who voted for and against the measure where even so-called Progressives like Jackson-Lee, Grijalva, Baldwin, Cleaver, Chu, Clay, Doggett, Johnson, Bass, Beccerra and Rangel voted for the measure.

The part of the bill which raises eyebrows is that of section 6 which reads that the House of Representatives (or Senate) “(6) rejects any policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran.” Rejects any policy that would rely on containment? What alternative is their to containment?

Rosenberg, like most reasonable people, thinks this is a foolish idea because the containment policy has worked with North Korea, China and Pakistan.

Presidential candidate Ron Paul, who has recently decided to stop campaigning but continue collecting delegates, made the effort to come to the capital to cast a NO vote against the measure.

(While writing this post, I found a transcript of speech from 2006 where he predicts Iran is the next country on our target. Another interesting thing: one can look at the map of the Middle East where we encircle Iran with naval bases and occupy their neighbors, Iraq and Afghanistan)

Tonight, Senator Lindsey Graham even featured on Greta van Susteren Show on Fox News to continue the propaganda about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Sen. Graham lied about Iran’s nuclear capability, lied about the President “throwing Israel under the bus,” his “weak” tactics against Iran and many other things.

I wonder how these politicians plan to pay for war; certainly not by raising taxes. By dumping the cost on the taxpayers either through higher taxes or inflating the currency, the former being the very least likely.

Unfortunately, the propaganda has worked here in America. Our own Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently said during a committee hearing, “the intelligence does not show that they’ve made the decision to proceed with developing a nuclear weapon.” So, contrary to the defense, intelligence and nuclear community’s advice, a CNN/Gallup poll revealed 70% of Americans already think Iran possesses a nuclear weapon.  Several polls show Americans support a strike on Iran. On the flipside, several polls I’ve found (here is one; do the research yourself for others) indicate Israeli’s do not support a strike on Iran.

Source: CBS News. March 7-11

If the Republicans continue to paint the President as weak on foreign policy, one can only imagine what a Romney administration would look like. Mind you, Romney’s foreign policy team is full of neo-cons and former Bush advisors like Robert Kagan, Eliot Cohen, Jim Talent, Walid Phares, Kim Holmes, and Daniel Senor, for instance — “that gives little reason for comfort. Their involvement suggests Romney’s general commitment to an imperial foreign policy and force structure,” Doug Bandow brilliantly dissects the presumptive nominee’s foreign policy in “Mitt Romney: The Foreign Policy of Know-Nothingism.”

Again, the Democrats have miserably failed to show us how they differ from Republicans on issues of foreign policy; and, again, the President’s supporters have failed to voice their anti-war sentiments as they did during Bush terms, the Afghan surge in 2009, the invasion of Libya and the drone attacks. Part of this can be blamed on the media, who marches in locksteps with the bipartisan neocons efforts to bring us to doom. I’m afraid their is nothing we can do, for their is no anti-war movement and both parties seemed determined to start another war.

I have called and emailed my representative on this issue maybe a dozen times in the past three months and surprisingly she casted a present vote on this bill. My senators voted otherwise, as they have on the others bills. I advise you do the same and let your representatives know a strike is foolish and to choose peace. Like Iraq, I fear this war will be based on lies and mistruths, and the belief that we can just march in and out, which always turn into an invasion into occupation. Unlike Iraq, Iran’s military is more powerful, three times bigger in size and almost three times greater in population; all in all, an Iran invasion will not be a cake walk.

Then who knows, maybe in 2020 another Presidential candidate will run promising to bring the troops home who has no history of opposing wars or their funding, like then Senator Obama who slightly (and I use the word slightly strongly) opposed Iraq’s invasion but voted for all the appropriations. Then, we’ll experience another decade of war, more dead soldiers, another trillion dollars down the drain and more stupid voters voting for someone with no intentions on bringing the troops home, until, say, 2024. One side, with their belligerent rhetoric veiled behind American exceptionalism, will be painted as the war party and the other, same in policy but different in words, as the doves. And Americans will fall for it all and forget the three decade long wars that had just occurred.

I invite you to join the conversation and subscribe to my blog Minds Alike, follow me @BAdetiba, or e-mail me at BabAdetiba@gmail.com

The mother I’m referring to is 33-year-old Tonya Thomas who shot her four children to death and then took her own life Tuesday. The children were Joel Johnson, 12; Jazzlyn Johnson, 13; Jaxs Johnson, 15; and Pebbles Johnson, 17.

Ms. Thomas texted a friend around 3a.m., requesting that she would like to be cremated along with her children. An hour and a half later she takes a gun after her children. Three of them showed up at a neighbor’s door for help with one of them wounded and bleeding. Tonya Thomas the mother, then called for the children to return home, which they did, she killed all of them.

I’m not sure that all the mothers who have either killed their own children or at least attempted to, have done it all for the same reasoning. I would like to point out that with this specific case, about the fact the mother asked that she be cremated with her own children. This last request would leave me to wonder if she had wished for or expected or believed in maybe, that she would spend eternity with her kids in another world – in heaven possibly. Or maybe it was just some kind of sentiment – who knows.

With this particular case, it’s also curious why these children chose to return to the mother after at least one of them was wounded, most likely inflicted by her. Is a mother’s bond so strong with their children that even with good reason to fear her, the children will still obey their mothers?

These children were not toddlers either; they were all 12 and up with the oldest at 17. Usually a child in their teen years begins to pull away from their mothers and start seeking some independence, you would think. I have a hunch there’s a hole in this story so far and it has to do with these kid’s obedience to their mother after what obviously she had already done to them.

There have been plenty of mothers who have murdered their children, not all sought to commit suicide afterwards, such as Tonya Thomas just did. So obviously there are some differences. Some mothers even murder their children for selfish reasons, which is the case for Diane Downs who shot her three kids; two survived – Danny, 3; Christie, 8 and then a 7-year-old Cheryl who died. The mother told the police that a man waved her down and then shot her kids. Later it was discovered that she had killed them herself because they got in the way of a love affair.

Andrea Yates on the other hand supposedly drowned her five kids because she was insane. It was also presumably, after she watched an episode of “Law and Order” in which a woman drowned her children and then was found to be insane. Maybe Andrea just needed an alibi for herself or maybe she was really just insane. To me, killing your own kids isn’t a sane act in the least, even for selfish reasons.

Children pay a heavy price in this country and in this world because of their dependency on grownups, particularly their parents. Parents make mistakes and then some parents are just abusive. Many times children, who find themselves in a bad situation with their parents when it comes to abuse, never speak out because of fear; fear of what their parent/parents will do to them or fear they will lose their parents somehow. Even if the parent is abusive, the child still depends on that parent for everything. The last thing on a child’s mind is that this person; their mother, would end up murdering them.

The Tonya Thomas story will unfold further as we find more out about this mother and her children. Reports by police and statements by neighbors point to a family that was already in turmoil. It breaks our hearts to hear such a story and yet we know we’ll continue to hear of stories like this, with children being murdered by a parent. Still, it will never be clear to us the motivation behind anyone who would end the life of something as precious as their own children.

Of course, Republican gay people confuse me in the first place of why they’d want to support a party that doesn’t support them; sounds rather moronic to me.

I know the Log Cabin Republicans support gay marriage and even if they felt Obama’s timing was off – and to which I might even agree with them to some extent – the very idea of an American president speaking clearly and without reservations, stating that he supports gay marriage is something that went to my very core. I do know what I felt at the very moment as I heard Barack Obama say that people like me should be able to marry who we loved. I also heard in my heart from this man of high distinction and the most powerful man on this Earth at the moment, say that we gay people should have a reason to dream for love and happiness, and to have the same rights as everyone else; yes finally.  

I’m sure my conservative gay brothers and sisters should be able to feel what I just said with the very fiber of their beings. I believe it is all about politics to them right now; supporting their party and showing themselves the true fiscal conservative Republicans they are. I would hope that being gay would mean more to them than being Republican but it looks as though my hopes were dashed.

President Barack Obama has done more for gay people than any president has ever done. His hand has been outstretched to gay people since he took office and he should be respected for that by all gay people, no matter their stripe. As far as I’m concerned, his support among gays should be one hundred percent.

I want my Republican gay friends to understand that a Mitt Romney presidency would surely mean that gay marriage is not likely to move forward on a federal level at all, not even an overturning of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Is this what they want to do; help block gay Americans from marriage for at least four more years and maybe even eight?

There are suggestions Obama did what he did for political reasons; this makes no sense to me at all. Why would an intelligent man like Obama put his re-election in jeopardy with a high gamble of an open support of same-sex marriage, especially since he already has the gay vote? If I think his timing was off, it’s to me why not wait until the election is over but he obviously had other ideas.

President Obama at this very moment I’m sure, doesn’t really know what his announcement concerning his support of gay marriage is going to end up doing; helping him or hurting him. Certainly, it did open the door to some donations pouring in, yet I’m also certain that all those donations don’t add up to the loss of possible votes on Election Day.

The black vote, which is Obama’s most solid support, are historically against gay marriage more than even whites – 39 percent African-Americans to 47 percent white. That in my opinion is not a very politically sound idea, to risk the losing some of his biggest supporters.

Fortunately, black people will still support him though they agree with his stance on gay marriage or not. Those black people who won’t vote to reelect Barack Obama after his announcement concerning his new stance on gay marriage, are probably the same black people who wasn’t going to support him anyway; we’ll wait for further results.

As far as President’s Barack Obama’s timing of announcing his support for gay marriage, right after the North Carolina vote banning same-sex marriage; it would seem to me that our president simply threw down the gauntlet and said to himself, “In for a penny; in for a pound”. So my view is lot more noble of this man who has kept many of his promises, including the repealing of DODT, another issue that Log Cabin Republicans supported, overwhelmingly.

What I do hope of my gay Republican friends is that when they step into the ballot box this next November, and they see those two names before them to choose as their next president; Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, that they realize that one will fight for their right to marry whoever they love and the other will try to see that it never happens. I hope they choose wisely.