Tweet
Hey, do you think the White House read my guest post on the web of horror related to Uganda's bill that threatened life in prison or the death penalty for gays and those with AIDS over on DKos? 
Seriously, this is a step that the White House and the President needed to take a long time ago. It's one thing to leave condemnation of this kind of action to your Secretary of State — you don't wait until the hate is so obvious, even to some Republicans (and Rick Warren) before you speak out on this human rights issue, particularly as a “fierce advocate” for LGBT rights. (The Advocate):
In its strongest statement yet, the Obama Administration condemned a homophobic Ugandan bill that would carry a death sentence for acts of homosexuality in some cases.
“The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history,” read the White House statement that came late Friday in response to an inquiry from The Advocate.
But according to reporting by Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin, the tide may be starting to turn on the bill. A senior advisor to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni penned an opinion piece Friday in the state-run newspaper that referred to the measure as “draconian” and concluded “…hunting down people for same-sex love, I believe to be a sin, against Love, one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. (I say all this without being a homosexual.) Parliament should not pass this Bill.”
Cynically speaking, the tardiness and timing of this appropriate response almost makes you believe there was a target level of opposition to this bill that needed to be reached before the President's statement would be deemed not a political risk.
However meaningful this statement may be, a real test of this President related to human rights in Uganda would be to call for a halt to aid until the institutionalized homophobia is stopped. After all, our taxes are going to fund bigotry.
45 Comments
Now you are starting to sound like the conservative republican gestapo propagandaCut the President some slack. He has had the administration out in front of this for a while and I feel he has chosen an appropriate time for a President of the United States to act. He shouldn’t be the first off the block on any issue and he should never come out swinging with threats. If you have been paying any attention at all, the man already has too many people who want to make everything he does out to be failure when he has done more in 8 months than most presidents get done in 4 or even 8 years. Just look at his predecessor! The Presidency of the United States is too powerful a position not to take one’s time on any issue, that is why he has an entire administration to move out front and make things happen before he gets into anything and its about time somebody gave him credit for what he is doing right regardless of how we feel on other issues. After all his last name isn’t Bush.
underwhelming change you can believe in
Oh, how sweet, another Friday night news dump!Oh golly gee, a whole toothless statement opposing genocide! And on a Friday night when no one will see it, and only after being pestered by the Advocate! Wow! Such courage! Such fierce advocacy! Someone give that man a Nobel Peace Prize!!
I suppose we should be grateful that the Obama White House signed the U.N. declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality at all. Even though a State Department spokesman went out of his way to publicize the fact that the Administration only signed it after an interagency legal review confirmed that it was toothless, nonbinding, and wouldn’t obligate the U.S. to actually do anything legally. Or even stand up for international victims of genocide.
This is why the Obama Administration is so often ineffective…Moving “against the tide of history” is rhetorical crap. This law would amount to the legalized murder of gays.
The US JUST PLEDGED a quarter-billion dollars in aide to Uganda.
The proper response is, “Though I’m certain the good people of Uganda are wise enough to defeat this without any outside influence, it is also obvious that no country that enacted this kind of law could ever expect assistance of any kind from the United States.”
wowSo economic action is gestapo propaganda? I suppose that an economic boycott of South Africa was a gestapo tactic too. Oh wait, the conservatives in the GOP opposed that…
add a new accolaid to your many titles…GESTAPO
two peas in a podArchbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also finally wedged into a larger interview the statement today that he thinks the bill is a bad idea. The fact that neither of these men bothered to make an unprompted stand-alone statement at a high-traffic news time speaks volumes to their disdain for gays.
What kudo451 REALLY meant to say:
KILL THE GAYS stays in bill sponsor says!
Per JoeMyGod:
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2…
I hope he “strongly opposes” this Ugandan bill more than……he “fiercely advocates” on behalf of LGBT Americans.
Because ‘strongly’ hasn’t nearly the sway of ‘fiercely’. And, apparently, ‘fiercely’ is an extremely pathetic word which means, essentially, nothing of any real consequence at all.
And, HOW does he strongly oppose it? Just by saying so? Notice there is no threat of any kind of action or consequence?
Talk is cheap Mr. President!
Actually, I was reffering to bashing him about his timing, Not the call for a boycottI am not only up for calling for economic sanctions but I would love to see an investigation brought about to figure out how so much money was funneled into the organization that are so anti-gay in the US and in Uganda Through Bush’s faith initiative and his PEPFAR funding.
But again I think it would be inappropriate for the President to make the threat or call for the investigation. Calling for sanctions would be Hillary’s job and I think she would do a very good job of it, with the Equality Caucus set to get the bill passed necessary to bring about the boycott and call for the congressional investigation.
LOL, guess I dexserved that one…But as mad as I am with the administration on many issues I am not going to stop backing Obama. He is doing a great job with what he was given to work with and I think it is time that was acknowledged. Not that I think others shouldn’t speak their peace. Do what you like, I just don’t feel like “what took you so long” is all that appropriate an argument in this one case.
small change you can believe inWill the WH back off its criticism if the bill “merely” criminalizes advocacy, as in Nigeria? Or merely drops the death-penalty and life-imprisonment provisions?
Never believe anything until it’s officially denied.
WH responds with the fast pace of Homer SimpsonObserve:
Whether or not the bill passes……it does give us a glimpse through the door of what the religious right really thinks, and demonstrates nicely just how far their hatred for us can really go. If some of these groups are pushing for this sort of thing in Uganda, it’s quite likely that they’d be happy to have the same thing over here too. On the other hand, (and I hope this is the case), people over here will start recognizing these groups for what they are, and their demise will be hastened.
file this under Godwin Law….FAILS
touche!excellent comment.
I don’t think you get to decide what’s apropriate for other people to express.As usual from this president, what we got was “all aid short of help.” Maybe lip service is enough for you, but don’t go telling the rest of us we should be content with still more of it.
It’s not just a matter of what they THINK.It’s what they are doing. And it couldn’t be much more obvious that they’ll try something similar here if they think they can get away with it.
For instance: If they manage to keep the Stupak amendment, or something like it, in the health care bill, the next thing they’ll try (and I’m predicting this very confidently) is to slip in an amendment about “conscience,” i.e. medical professionals don’t have to treat LGBT folks if their religious beliefs tell them we’re evil. Any bets? Think President Fierce would take a stand on that one?
Meet the New Boss — Same as the Old Boss
Kill the Gays in UgandaPam:
I’m an avid fan and have a site at: http://activecitizen54.wordpre… where I’ve gotten so incensed over this “Family,” Cult of Jesus crazies and Right Wing Republican Bigots meddling that I responded directly to Rick warren and then posted the letter in my 12/11/09 posting.
The letter is:
To the congregation of Saddleback Church and Mr Rick Warren:
The Carpenter from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, would and will upon your meeting him, determine your just reward.
There is no sin greater than that of the lies and frauds you perpetrate against those unable to defend themselves. Your Cult of Jesus acts in defiling a God-given attribute of life are reprehensible. Live as you desire but do not inflict your hypocrisy and fraud upon the free and loving spirits of the Ugandan people. The Cults of Jesus have perpetrated social genocide once too often in history and we will work to insure that is kept in the past and not perpetrated again.
Your addiction may be satisfied within your Cult but in God’s grace and divine will there are a vast diversity of humans who are valued as God’s creatures and your man’s words of God in the Bible do not provide you dominion now or ever.
Your cult of Jesus claims to be “the only path” and that enlightens all others to your arrogance and ignorance of the will of God the creator. You demonstrate that within your Cult of Jesus there is no shred of morality and continue to meddle in the affairs of others lives without provocation, justification and for God only know$ what personal endorphin cascade to continue your addiction and to addict others.
Within the United States we enjoy freedom of religion and a separation of church and state that is not true with your insistence of a “purpose-driven” nation in Uganda. Freedom from religion is as much a right within the United States as is the freedom to worship as we individually see fit. Keep your Taliban style Jihad / Crusade and rabid desire for theocracy among yourselves. The vast population of the United States sees clearly the seditious, treasonous and vile nature of your dominionist position and we are watching, will call you out, and know you for what you are regardless of your forced recantation now. We are everyones’ brothers and sisters who understand your childish need and desire to feed your addiction but not at the cost of one more human life.
Given your Cults of Jesus fear-mongering, hate-mongering and rabid justification of violence toward God’s creation in Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered children through your vile opposition to anti-bullying education, you domestically demonstrate this hate and encouragement of inflicting pain upon others as your right, duty and obligation within your Cult of Jesus purpose driven message. Not one more life.
There is more damage done to human lives from the vile and twisted interpretation of God’s will as you promote within your Cult of Jesus than can ever be told here and you are a graphic example of exactly why self-responsibility, a personal relationship with God, is paramount in any human’s life. We would encourage you to pray upon your acts, grasp your responsibility and bring yourself to a normal human position of acceptance and perhaps then you will overcome the addiction that provides only lip-service to the concept of “love thy neighbor” that Christ brought to deliver us from the repressive Hebrew laws.
Recant and deny but you are seen, you are exposed and we recognize you as a hypocrite and fraud. You denied taking a position on Proposition 8 in California and that was an outright lie, you’ve lied about your involvement in Uganda and as a man who presents himself as a representative of God you leave much to be desired. You, sir are unable to tell the truth.
Know that we will tirelessly work to insure that the tax-free status of religion, the church, any church is removed and that you, the church, will pay through taxes for your rights to free speech as we free citizens pay for ours.
Thanks for listening,
Kevin
PS: Put your money where your mouth is and give up a couple of your meals a week to help feed the hungry globally. Corpulence is a clear sign of the manifestation of one of the 7 deadly sins (gluttony) within your person.
Let those among you who are without sin cast the first stone.
That Americans of any political bent would promote this kind of bigotry and hate is repugnant and disgusting. These creatures deserve removal from office now, why wait till elections? Grassly, Inhof, Brownback and all the members of the C-Street (whore) house “Family” are disgusting and you know I’m working with my friends in their home districts to insure these creeps are gone from public office sooner rather than later.
Hot PotatoI’m guessing Rick Warren officially passed the hot potato to Obama and so it was POTUS’ turn to officially ‘denounce’ the Uganda bill.
As for the timing…
Warren condemned it, so the President has godly permissionbecause where we are concerned, god is always in the mix and the ministers decide our fate
But this is about the death penality really isn’t it?…You really know when Bush has left the white house when the new president vocally condemns the death penalty.
But this is about humanitarianism, not just gay rights. Both concepts are totally lost or in flux in the mainstream american political psyche.
Maybe now we civilised nations can petition the US to abolish their own barbaric death penalty for young and quite often, possibly innocent or socially marginalised, mostly african-american men who are worryingly over-represented on death row as we speak? It’s not simply that they are cold blooded dangerous killers… many of them have clung on to innocence to the last breath…. See More
It is because they have been subject to so much discrimination and injusitce since before they were even born no matter what informed choices they were able to make in their lives they would have come to the same fate, the cards are stacked against them so high but the state takes no responsibility for that whatsoever.
Regardsless of the “crime” I find it a bit unsettling the US feels it has any clout in comdemning the dealth penalty elsewhere, especially to an African nation.
7 minutes ago · Delete
WWT FSM D?You know, the Flying Spaghetti Monster has never done anybody harm (heartburn, sometimes, but that’s another story). It’s a pity that we can’t bring Rick Warren to find his salvation in Pastafarianism. Certainly, there’s another book in it for him — The Pasta-Driven Life.
In the name of the Pasta, and the Sauce, and the Holy Vino, amen.
You’re Being Too IndulgentSweden has already acted against Uganda on this and even Rick Warren has been badgered into condemning the bill. The Whitehouse should’ve been on this as soon as it came up. No excuses.
Kind of the pot calling the kettle black huh?
I disagree.And no, I’m not American.
First, I firmly believe we all have a responsibility to speak out against injustice, anywhere.
Second, there is no possible way to deny that is was prominent Americans – elected federal politicians, highly publicized and popular christianist leaders who worked hard, directly, to bring this return to Nazi-era politics against us with denunciation, torture and murder about.
What else should the president of the US do, except to reject the death penalty and this appalling legislation? Given the hour of the day (the damnable text has been written and read and will soon be voted on) I feel one may criticize the American government for not acting sooner, but to protest that a country whose own house is not in order has no basis to object to injustice elsewhere is to accept that a powerful voice is then lost for the oppressed.
Like it or not, America is the one country which might just have the clout to stop this single-handed. Should Britain and France have rejected help from the UdSSR to stop Hitler, just because Stalin was a monster?
Not 30 minutes walk from where I am typing this, tens of thousands of gays, Jews, Sinti and Roma, alongside many others were murdered. As a European, I am not in any position to go around America bashing.
Their house isn’t in good order, no.
Unless, however, you happen to live in some country I have never heard of where milk and honey flows, maybe it is time to rethink whether it isn’t precisely this categorical thinking (America bad, everywhere else better) that led to this disaster for our brothers and sisters in Uganda?
Strangely enoughI fully agree with this senitment. When the next president is elected (using a pro-GLBT stance proclaiming support for repeal of DOMA, DADT and enactment of a gender inclusive ENDA) I’m sure Obama will wonder why his stuff is being moved out… may even show up for the first day breakfast of pancakes and waffles.
I am dismayed…that this president that I helped elect keeps waiting to stand up and speak out. He’s waited until another country to stand up and speak. The US should be the first to speak for life, liberty and freedom, not the second. The fact that he waited unitl another country spoke up, that a Ugandan politician stood up and spoke out, that he waited until homobigot Rick Warren finally spoke out… he’s showing his true colors.
Lets face it, he spoke AFTER Warren did. AFTER! He’s letting himself be led and he is not leading. Look at everything he’s doing, he’s being led. He has a Democratic majority and is letting it founder with out leadership. He’s taken a hands off approach to goverment and it is SO obvious. He’s only around for the photo op’s.
blech, NEXT!
You think of yourself as a cooking implement?
What about all the other provisions to the billConcentration…oops, reparative therapy camps, penalties for not snitching, etc.
And a 1-2 sentence statement ofn a Friday evening.
Fierce advocate my black ass.
Absolutely.. STUPAK is a FAMILY Member too remember..As are Coburn, Ensign, Grassley, Sanford etc etc etc. No next it will be taking away womens suffrage I think. …….and I want to know what % of NOM $$ is from the FAMILY.
Fuck Godwin!Godwin’s ‘Law’ is just a way of stifling discussion on things that perhaps need discussion. The Uganda thing has some pretty apt parallels with the Nazis. Maybe we do need to talk about that, so that it can’t happen again.
People should remember George Santayana instead.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905
Forced “reparative” “therapy”…Could be worse than death. At least death is quick and an end to pain. ”Reparative” “therapy” in the U.S. has included conscious electroshock with electrodes in the mouth and/or anus and urethra, insulin shock “therapy” where the “patient” is injected with massive amounts of insulin producing pain that is beyond comprehension, the use of massive doses psychedelics along with scare-tactics to produce a terror-state, the use of hormone “therapy” that had in many cases caused the “patient” to commit suicide after physical changes to the body.
I doubt they’ll have glbt Ugandan’s whacking pillows with a stick as is the current craze in the U.S., much more likely they will employ the above “treatments” which were popular in the U.S. and Britain in the 50′s and 60′s. This is the greatest untold story of our movement — the systematic institutionalization and torture (my, how that word has lost meaning) of our people.
WE NEED TO TELL THOSE STORIESPeriod.
Just like I have heard quite a bit from older gays and lesbians about real “gay Jim Crow” practices (but we never thought to take a picture of those “No Faggots Allowed” signs.
Well, this sign was a little nicer than that…
http://www.queerty.com/this-ba…
Here’s one…The legendary [and misspelled] sign that was in WEHO’s Barney’s Beanery for decades until gays zapped it in 1970…less, by that time, for any overt discrimination against customers but for the insult it constantly telegraphed. Initially the owner resisted, handprinting more signs, etc., until finally local officials convinced him to take them all down. The original ended up in the possession of one of the organizers of the zap, gay pioneer Morris Kight, and is now in the archives of the ONE Institute.
Just before I logged on, a few minutes ago,I caught a few minutes of “The World Over,” the interview show on Catholic channel EWTN hosted by closet-case Raymond Arroyo. Raymond interviewed Stupak and slobbered over him like a teenage girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. Then he brought on a panel of Catholic physicians and bloggers (one of whom was almost as obviously gay as Raymond, if you can imagine such a thing). And they spent almost their entire segment barracking for…”freedom on conscience” for Catholic health professionals.
It’s not just that they’re evil; it’s that they’re so damn predictable, it’s boring.
Mr. Obama, I will not forget the tardiness in you and your administrationin addressing this issue, or the fact that you have been all talk and no action, when it comes to ALL issues affecting GLBT people here, and around the world.
There’s only one way to do that –Cut off all U.S. aide to Uganda.
Barry’s not about to do that.
EVER!
The reference to the Third Reich SS wasn’t about the genocide in Uganda which would be aptThe SS comment was about criticising OBAMA, (it was as presidential as FDR…telling a boat full of Jews to return to Vichy Occupied France.)
“After All, our taxes are going to fund bigotry”And what’s new about that? That is exactly why we need to fight for federal legislation or a SCOTUS win so that NONE of our TAXES goes to bigotry against us.
But, it is what he should do if he is truly a “Fierce Advocate”
All of this roundly comes back to the Prayer BreakfastHow can Obama go to a prayer breakfast with prominent hate groups invited? I cannot fathom going somewhere where religious bigotry reigns supreme.