Obama Responds to David Kato's Murder

Obama responded to the murder of David Kato, the Ugandan gay rights advocate who was outed in a Ugandan newspaper last year. (The newspaper released the photos of several people they claimed were gay with the headline "Hang Them")

I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of David Kato. In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work.

At home and around the world, LGBT persons continue to be subjected to unconscionable bullying, discrimination, and hate. In the weeks preceding David Kato’s murder in Uganda, five members of the LGBT community in Honduras were also murdered. It is essential that the Governments of Uganda and Honduras investigate these killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.

LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness, and equality for all.

Socialized Health Care in 1798?

Tea partiers and what have you are always yelling about what the framers of the constitution did and did not want. A major criticism of the health care law is the unconstitutionality of the mandate, and that the Founders would be rolling over in their graves.

Well maybe and, then again, maybe not. They were not, it turns out, totally opposed to the idea of government healthcare:

In July of 1798, Congress passed – and President John Adams signed - “An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.” The law authorized the creation of a government operated marine hospital service and mandated that privately employed sailors be required to purchase health care insurance.

Keep in mind that the 5th Congress did not really need to struggle over the intentions of the drafters of the Constitutions in creating this Act as many of its members were the drafters of the Constitution.

Now, that doesn't seem exactly the same to me, but I bet it would surprise some Tea Partiers. There has, not surprisingly, been some controversy stirred by this article. Here is someone else's article who went and talked to knowledgeable university folk, who said things like:

There's no proof from the historical record that Adams would have backed the idea behind the individual mandate in particular. But it is fair to conclude, the professor says, that the founding generation supported the basic idea of government run health care, and the use of mandatory taxation to pay for it.

Word Cloud

A Dish reader created word clouds from the Arizona speeches by Palin & Obama.

It's the difference between a political speech and a eulogy.

Shirley Sherrod

Not up-to-date on this whole Shirley Sherrod debacle? Here's the quick and dirty: Sherrod, a current USDA official, told a story about THINKING about treating a white farmer unfairly in 1986, but ended up doing the right thing and saved his farm. Some website showed a heavily edited video of this and it looked like she currently did things to screw over whitey. Then she got fired. Except maybe not. Except maybe she doesn't want her job back. Anyway, here's another, more detailed, albeit rambling, version from Rachel Maddow.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama Calls Palin

Amusing.

Fact Check

Fox News, Bachmann, & Palin continue their crusade against facts.

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Obama is Insensitive

....according to Michael Carl over at WorldNetDaily. See, Obama's gone and started making fun of his critics -- you know, those critics who've compared him to Hitler and whatnot. And this is just unacceptable. Funny though.

"There has been plenty of fear-mongering and overheated rhetoric," he told a crowd of supporters in the Portland, Maine, Expo Center this week. "And if you turn on the news, you'll see that those same folks are still shouting about how the world will end because we passed this bill.

"This is not an exaggeration," Obama said.

"Leaders of the Republican Party have actually been calling the passage of this bill 'Armageddon.' They say it's the end of freedom as we know it," he continued.

"So after I signed the bill, I looked up to see if there were any asteroids headed our way. I checked to see if any cracks had opened up in the ground. But you know what? It turned out to be a pretty nice day," Obama said.

Clinton on Israel

I love Obama, because he creates situations where speeches like this are possible. And Clinton did a great job.

"Ten days after harshly rebuking the Israeli government for a new housing plan in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that the Obama administration would push back 'unequivocally' when it disagreed with Israeli policies, but that America’s support for Israel was 'rock solid, unwavering, enduring, and forever.'"

Health Care: Down to the Wire

This article in the New York Times reads like a political thriller. We'll find out about the cliffhanger today sometime.

Fun Graph

Rate of job loss in Bush & Obama administrations.

DNC losing LGBT support

More prominent gay supporters are boycotting the DNC LGBT fundraiser to express their anger over the Justice Department defense of DOMA.

Obama & the Gays

Hey, Obama! Stop being a doofus about gay rights. They are peeved and so am I.

Andrew Sullivan on Gay Rights, Obama, & Cheney

I love Anderson Cooper...I don't even begrudge him his glass closet.

Obama not THAT popular

Hey, guess what, Obama isn't actually that popular. Turns out, his "sky-high" approval ratings among blacks makes him appear more popular than he actually is. Remember, black opinions only count for 3/5 of a real opinion.

Go Tar Heels!

Obama picks YOU!

Tanya Harding is still a nutjob.

How dare Obama speak Tanya Harding's name? WHAT THE HELL IS IMPORTANT IN THIS WORLD TODAY??




via Wonkette.

Young Barack

NPR found a 1994 commentary by that dude, Barack Obama.

Stimulus Bill

After all that haggling, it looks like what Obama asked for in the first place:

But as a deal emerged from the tumultuous negotiations of the past two days, the bill followed remarkably closely to the broad outline that Obama had painted more than a month ago. The overall cost is just $14 billion more than his original top-end target, while the portion of tax cuts comes to 36 percent, only slightly below his initial goal. (Washington Post)

Iranian President Pretends He'll Meet with US

In a speech given at the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, the Iranian president claimed he would meet with the US if "fundamental changes" were made in US policy. He also included this: "The world does not want the dark era of [George Bush] to be repeated. . . . If some people seek to repeat that experience... they should know they will face a much worse fate that Bush's." Um, so yeah, no one liked Bush, but to that little threat, I say, SUCK IT, AHMADINEJACRAZY. What an irritating pipsqueak. (BBC)

Hahaha

Hillary disses Bill's attempt at a kiss and gets a kiss from Obama instead! She's a real team player.