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Gay Rights And Obama’s State Of The Union: Was It Enough?

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President Obama’s State of the Union address last night — all sixty-two minutes, all 6820 words — was met with expected mixed success. Most on the Left were pleased, most on the Right were not. Depending on which flash poll you read, anywhere from 50% t0 77% to 92% of the American people thought it was a success. But his merely passing mention of gay rights has left some members of the LGBTQ community, however, are feeling rather… ambivalent.

No one is, and no one should ever suggest that gay rights take priority over all other aspects of American life. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders are all Americans, and are affected by all the challenges our heterosexual brothers and sisters face. Gay or straight, we all need jobs, financial security, protection from enemies — both foreign and domestic — and a safety net should we fall and can’t pick ourselves back up; in short, everything the founding fathers and our United States constitution promises us.

So is it incumbent upon our president to mention us specifically in every major speech? Was it important for Obama to have mentioned the LGBTQ community — more than he did — in this State of the Union? Did he acknowledge us enough?

Some in the gay community think yes, some think no. The Advocate’s Andrew Harmon, in “Obama: Mum on Marriage“ writes that “marriage equality, clearly the holy grail of civil rights advancements for national LGBT groups and an issue at the heart of multiple state battles, was not mentioned. That left some advocates, though perhaps not surprised, wanting more.”

“I thought it was a good speech, aspirational in many ways, as it should be, even though I thought the president missed an opportunity to build on the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and lead the nation forward toward full LGBT equality,” said Richard Socarides, president of Equality Matters and a former White House adviser to President Bill Clinton.”

Was it a missed opportunity to send a strong message to America that gay or straight, we all need jobs, financial security, protection from enemies, both foreign and domestic, a safety net should we fall and can’t pick ourselves back up; in short, everything the constitution promises us?

Gay men and lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders are all treated as second-class citizens by our government. We operate at a disadvantage: an economic and emotional disadvantage.

Gays and lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders can be fired in a majority of states just for being who we are.

We don’t have the economic or emotional protections of marriage. There are at least 1138 federal benefits our heterosexual brothers and sisters are afforded by the federal government that we are legally prohibited from enjoining.

That’s not fair, not right, and not American.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey on the issue of equality and Obama’s State of the Union address said, “The president should pave the way.”

“If the president is truly serious about job creation and boosting America’s economic well-being, he must provide leadership and action in helping to pass employment protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and ending the costly and unjust federal marriage ban.”

“Fact is, the state of the union for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people remains largely one of inequality, as we can still be fired from or denied employment in many parts of the country for nothing other than bias, and marriage inequality relegates our families to second-class status.”

Last night, President Obama said, “Our troops come from every corner of this country – they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.”

By the way, here are a few words President Obama didn’t say: marriage,  civil rights, DREAM Act, bullying, suicides,  equality,  lesbian,  climate change,  global warming, sexual orientation,  ENDA,  DOMA,  guns,  gun control.

Should our president have done more during the State of the Union address than mention he signed into law the bill that repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?”

Should he have mentioned ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would protect LGBTQ people from being fired for who they are?

Should he have mentioned his stated desire to repeal DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, the law that makes it illegal for the federal government to recognize married same-sex couples?

These issues are at the heart of financial, economic, emotional, and societal discrimination of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.

Some say that there is no way Obama will be able to give life to these critical pieces of the gay agenda with a Republican-controlled House, so why offer empty words? Others say that having a president keep these words and ideas alive is important. Both are correct.

On the issue of marriage equality not being mentioned in the State of the Union, Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart writes, “Stand in line, folks. He didn’t mention gun control, either. Would anyone suggest he didn’t really care about that issue or the folks who care about the issue?”

Saying, “Evolutions require as much patience as persistence,” Capehart adds, “When it comes to Obama and marriage equality, gays need to take a page from Obama and his handling of DADT repeal. Richard Socarides, former adviser to President Clinton and the new head of Equality Matters, told the Advocate, “Press him at every turn,” he said, “and do so creatively and strategically.”

Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen writes, “If the election were held today, Barack Obama would capture an overwhelming majority of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender vote. Indeed, I believe that the LGBT community will be his most loyal block of supporters other than African Americans — and maybe Latinos if Republicans insist on passing more Arizona-type immigration laws.”

Besen goes on to say “the state of the union with most LGBT voters — following a two-year rocky relationship — remains quite stable, although not entirely satisfying.”

Make no mistake. No other president has ever done more for the LGBTQ community than Barack Obama. He is fulfilling his promises to us. Some think just not fast enough. Others think we risk alienating those in the White House who are trying to make things better for us.

What do you think?

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News

Trump Launches Bizarre Epstein Files ‘Scam’ Rant When Asked About Russiagate

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18 hours ago

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July 30, 2025

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After weeks of relentless coverage of the Epstein files crisis, President Donald Trump has seemed eager to change the subject—but when the opportunity arose, he couldn’t resist seizing on the scandal once again.

During a press conference on Wednesday, a reporter asked the President about a Fox News report that the FBI had found “Russiagate” documents in “burn bags.” The President, who at first said he did not know what she was talking about, then told the reporter to “speak up,” before launching into a conspiracy theory rant about the Epstein files.

“I don’t know that. I don’t know what you mean by that statement,” Trump told the reporter.

“Bags full of Russiagate documents,” the reporter repeated.

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“Oh, burn bags—I thought you said, ‘appointed a man named Burnbag.'”

“Well,” Trump went on after confirming the reporter had said “burn bags,” “I want it to be shown, you know, as long as it’s fair and reasonable, I think it will be shown, and it should be shown. And I think he feels that way, and I think Pam [Bondi] feels that way.”

“But it’s got to be, you know, it’s be stuff that really doesn’t hurt people unfairly, ’cause you have so many people involved, and if they can do that in a fair way, I think it’s great. I think it’s really great.

“It’s—the whole thing is a scam,” Trump continued. “It’s a scam set up by the Democrats, and they love talking about it, but, I would like to see people exposed that might be bad, and we’ll see how that all works out, but it’s getting to be very old news.”

“You know, if they had anything, they would have done it the week before the election, because they were losing by a lot, if they had anything, they would have done it. They controlled the file,” he claimed.

“The Democrats controlled it—Comey and all this, you know, sleazebags, every one of them that you read about all the time, and I guess they’ve got some problems now, having to do with yet a different scandal, very big one. But they controlled that file, so I would think that if they would have had something in the file, they would have released it about a week before the election, maybe two weeks.”

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It’s unclear why Trump would both say that the Epstein files are a “scam,” and that he wants it all to be shown.

This is not the first time in recent weeks that Trump has delivered an odd answer to a question.

Earlier this month, as The New Republic reported, “Trump took off on a winding rant about his summer vacation plans … when asked a crucial question about ‘Alligator Alcatraz.'”

TNR reported that the President was “clearly confused.”

The reporter had asked her question—how long will detainees spend in “Alligator Alcatraz”—and repeated it for Trump, but he replied, “I’m gonna spend a lot of—this is my home state. I love it. I love your government. I love all the people around—these are all friends of mine. They know me very well. I mean I’m not surprised that they do so well. They’re great people.”

Three weeks ago in Texas, asked about the early warning system failures and massive loss of life, Trump replied, “Only a bad person would ask a question like that, to be honest with you. I don’t know who you are but only an evil person would ask a question like that.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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Image via Reuters 

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‘Five Alarm Fire for Democracy’: Trump’s Texas Map Slammed as ‘Illegal Voter Suppression’

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21 hours ago

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July 30, 2025

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Texas Republicans have just unveiled new Trump-ordered congressional maps that eliminate five Democratic-held seats—deliberately shifting them to the GOP in a bid to lock down control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year. Critics are calling it illegal voter suppression and vowing to retaliate by redrawing maps in blue states.

Texas has 38 congressional seats. Twenty-five are currently held by Republicans. The new maps, if they go into effect, are expected to hand Republicans 30 seats.

Democrats are preparing to fight back, and House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reportedly is heading to Austin on Wednesday night.

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) responded to the newly unveiled maps, declaring that merging two districts is “illegal voter suppression of Black and Latino Central Texans.”

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“By merging our Central Texas districts, Trump wants to commit yet another crime— this time, against Texas voters and against The Voting Rights Act,” Casar charged. “If Trump is allowed to rip the Voting Rights Act to shreds here in Central Texas, his ploy will spread like wildfire across the country. Everyone who cares about our democracy must mobilize against this illegal map.”

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) issued a threat: “Hope it’s worth it! Say goodbye to [House Republican] Kevin Kiley and 5 other CA Republicans.”

“This is an attempt to steal the US House,” warned former Democratic spokesperson and strategist Jeb Fain. “The GOP knows they’re likely to lose the House next year, so they’re going to try to steal the election,” he added.

Democratic Texas state Senator Roland Gutierrez declared, “Trump is ordering Texas Republicans to rig the maps in a desperate power grab so he doesn’t have to answer for his failed policies. This special session should be about flood relief for Texans. Not partisan b——-.”

Democratic Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones calls the Republicans’ new map “a racial and political bloodbath.”

“Pitted Democrats of color against each other,” she wrote. “Gave Trump more than he asked for,” and concluded: “This isn’t redistricting. It’s retribution.”

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) slammed Texas Republicans who, she wrote, “just rolled out their proposed Congressional map that cut 5 Democratic seats out of thin air. Let’s be clear: these maps are not about representation, it’s a power grab to silence voters and suppress votes. They know their policies are unpopular, and they are afraid of losing. So what do they try to do? Cheat. If your big idea is ‘cheat harder,’ maybe it’s time to rethink your politics.”

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Veteran journalist Lydia Polgreen warned, “SCOTUS has basically said this is a-ok so Democrats are suicidal if they do not fight fire with fire.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Office wrote: “Texas just released a map so rigged it might as well have been drawn at Mar-a-Lago. California won’t be sitting on the sidelines.”

Congressman Casar is calling the move a “five alarm fire for democracy,” and charges that Trump has no plan to win the midterm elections, rather, he has “a plan for rigging the rules.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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Image via Reuters 

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Redistricting Strikeback: As Trump’s Texas Gambit Progresses Blue States Ready Retaliation

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23 hours ago

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July 30, 2025

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Immediately after President Donald Trump ordered Texas to create five new GOP-majority congressional districts in a nearly unprecedented mid-decade redistricting effort, Lone Star State Republicans leapt into action, setting off blue state Democrats who vowed to respond in kind. Today, Texas is expected to unveil its new congressional maps, handing the President exactly what he demanded.

Currently, Texas has 25 Republican-held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and thirteen seats that were won by Democrats.

According to Punchbowl News‘ Wednesday morning report, Governor Abbott’s new map would increase the number of (likely) Republican-held House seats from Texas to 30, and reduce the number of (likely) Democratic-held seats to just eight.

Five GOP seats alone, in theory, could hand Mike Johnson another term as Speaker of the House.

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“It’s huge news in Austin and on Capitol Hill,” Punchbowl News reported. “It may help the GOP keep control of the House in 2026 — or trigger redistricting fights in other state capitals as Democrats retaliate.”

There might be drawbacks for Republicans.

“Democrats have declared that Republicans are at grave risk of spreading their voters too thin and creating districts that could flip blue in a bad year for Republicans. This kind of redraw is known as a ‘dummymander.'”

But the five new likely GOP districts Texas has drawn all show Donald Trump having won those voters by double-digits, making it more difficult for Democrats to flip them.

Texas moving forward with their redistricting plan means that several blue states may also attempt to redraw their congressional maps: California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Minnesota, and Washington reportedly are all in various stages, from initial conversations to drafting legislation.

Last week, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) warned, “if they’re gonna go nuclear in Texas, I’m gonna go nuclear in other places.”

Maryland House Democratic Majority Leader David Moon, who is drafting new redistricting legislation, told Politico, “it seems very clear that self defense is something we have to put as a priority.”

“If that’s where we are, and that’s where we’re forced to go, then I think that’s where Democratic states need to be prepared to go,” he added.

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House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has indicated he wants to reorganize the congressional maps in at least five states, to help Democrats pick up as many seats as possible.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is in support of redrawing California’s maps: “I don’t like redistricting in the middle of a decade, but if that’s the game that Republicans want to play, we have to make sure that they know we’re going to put everything on the table,” she told NewsNation, as The Sacramento Bee reported.

Texas is not the only red state expected to move forward with redrawing its maps.

Punchbowl News last week reported that while “Democrats are desperate to push back against President Donald Trump’s brazen attempt to shift the House map in the GOP’s favor…Republicans are trying to muscle through new maps in Texas, Ohio and Missouri, with more red states potentially on deck.”

Legal challenges aside, “some Democrats believe they could squeeze as many as six new seats out of California between a remapping and a good stiff anti–White House midterm breeze,” New York magazine’s Intelligencer reported.

Democrats have in their favor strong anti-Trump sentiment and the fact that the party in control of the White House usually loses seats during the midterms—a fact Trump is trying to negate by ordering the redistricting. But Democrats also have tied their own hands. In the name of good governance, many blue state have independent redistricting commissions, and they may need to go to court to reach their goals.

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Image via Reuters

 

 

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