Growing- Among Men

Beginning in the summer of 2007 I started try to form a men's support group here in Seattle where I live.   In December the group finally got its start with four of us, after I'd almost given up on getting enough men to start.    Last evening we had seven attendees - for the first time, with an eighth member out-of-town.    Our goal has been to have eight regular members.

Sizable numbers of supporters of feminism believe that equality will only be possible with the conversion of men to their side.   Often this belief rests upon men accepting feminism based upon seeing sexism for what it is and "doing better" - helping end domestic violence and rape as well as changing their own personal relationships with women.    Standing up to sexist statements and similar are an important part of this process.

While I agree with much of what I've described above, I believe that we men will only really change in sizable numbers when we start looking seriously at ourselves as men.    Empathy for women (alone),  while important,  does not seem to me to be sufficient to reach most men.  

Being male is hazardous to our physical and mental health.   As I wrote about previously here, we men - die at higher rates than women:  about a 23% higher rate during our first year of life and peaking at ages 15-24 when we are 261% more likely to die.   At all ages we are "weaker than women" in that we are more likely to die younger than women are.    See the statistics below for all our ages of life up to age 85.

Our ( U.S. ) mortality rates per 100,000 population (2004 data) are shown below:

AGE	Male	Female	%F/M
0-1	754	613	0.812997
1-5	32	27	0.84375
5-14	19	14	0.736842
15-24	115	44	0.382609
25-34	140	64	0.457143
35-44	244	144	0.590164
45-54	544	314	0.577206
55-64	1129	707	0.626218
65-74	2645	1761	0.665784
75-84	6394	4522	0.707226

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/births_deaths_marriages_divorces.html

I don't think that most men will really take seriously the needs of women and children until we see what we do to ourselves.   We kill and injure each other.   We also live lives which are self-destructive.   We start at birth a little "weaker" than baby girls - and get at our "worst" as teenagers and young adults, and though we do better as we age, we still are much more likely to die younger than women are.

My men's group with 8 middle-aged and older men is hardly going to change things in our larger world.   I can only hope though that More men will start moving towards other men in caring, supportive ways - so that we can eventually rebuild masculinity into a life affirming way of living.    Then, perhaps, hopefully - we will recognize Women and Others in General - as important equals - and really succeed in ending inequality.

Thanks!

REALISTIC – DIFFERENT – HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR THE U.S.?

With Democratic majorities in Congress and the election of Barack Obama there is at last a possibility of universal health coverage in our immediate future.   Absent significant changes in our health care system the costs of private coverage will continue to grow substantially and employers will increasingly drop health insurance coverage.  

Barack Obama has proposed a new system establishing initially required coverage for all children.   His plan has various incentives to encourage/cajole employers to have private health care for their employees.   His proposals rely upon having federal employee health plans eventually available for all as a backup to private health insurance plans.

Our current healthcare system relies upon employers and governmental entities paying substantial amounts of money to pay both for health insurance coverage and for medical treatment in general.    Healthcare costs in the U.S. are substantially higher than elsewhere because of various reasons such as: the extremely high bookkeeping/billing expenses, our high usage of various expensive diagnostic equipment, our high drug costs, the relative accessibility of (more costly) medical specialists easily, as well as a reliance upon many without health coverage upon emergency rooms for basic medical treatment.

While healthcare providers are often squeezed, there are few incentives to be highly cost-effective in general.   When I go to a physician and my cost is $20-30, I will logically choose to get “as much care as possible” for this relatively small amount of money.    Others who have poor or no healthcare coverage can not afford treatment at all.

Why shouldn’t employers be taxed based upon their revenues and incomes, rather than by the number of (full-time) employees they have?   Why should they need to be involved in medical care and treatment at all?

I would like to suggest a radically different model for health care reform which I think is better than any proposal I’ve heard elsewhere.    Much of what follows was initially in my blog entry of May 11, 2006 (http://www.geoisphere.blogspot.com).

Assume the following:

1.] Each citizen of the United States becomes entitled to national health insurance which includes a Family Identification Code and Individual Identifier within it.

2.] Medical Providers and Suppliers have their own separate identification codes.

3.] A Federal Agency is established to handle the new health care system probably through the existing HCFA (Health Care Financing Agency) which handles Medicare and Medicaid.

4.] The Federal Agency either independently or in coordination with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a new taxation management system.

5.] The Federal Agency together with contracted insurance companies handles the entire payment and reimbursement program with all medical providers.

6.] Individuals and Families pay their medical expenses on a yearly basis either as a part of their federal income tax or in a parallel tax tied to the income tax.

7.] The medical tax payments due are based upon the expenses incurred as well as the taxable income of the family/individual taxpayer unit.

8.]  Individuals and couples are responsible for paying for their medical costs for the prior taxable year by April, 15^th similar to their income tax liabilities.

9.] Individuals have a series of costs for medical treatment. Examples of this might be:

a. Deductible - $500 - Year - Total Expenses
b. Co-Payment per Doctor Visit beyond the deductible- $35
c. Co-Payment per Hospitalization beyond the deductible- $200
d. Co-Payment per Prescription beyond the deductible- $25

10.] (Catastrophic) caps on Costs might be:

a. Family Deductible - $2000 (would only apply if family had 5 or more members)
b. Prescription Costs - $300 once $500 deductible had been met
c. Individual Total Expenses - $2000
d. Family total Expenses - $5000

11.] The deductibles, caps and some other costs for the individual or family would be reduced as their taxable income was below certain levels - perhaps $30-60,000/year taxable income for a family of four. Thus a family with taxable income of $20,000 might end up paying a total tax of a token amount such as $100 perhaps.

12.] Medical providers would accept their patients based upon various guidelines and reimbursement policies, but with no necessary concern of them having health care coverage or any particular kind of such coverage.

13.] Cost containment policies, audits and related procedures would attempt to minimize fraud and waste.

14.] Liability issues for workers compensation would need to provide a simple method of requiring employers to reimburse the federal government probably only in cases of extremely high expenses (if liability for medical treatment would exist at all).

15.] Other than related to worker's compensation, if determined applicable, employers would have no expenses for medical insurance.

16.] Individuals could choose to pay 100% of the costs of any medical care outside of the national healthcare system if they chose to do so for whatever reasons they wished.

17.] Certain medical care might be not-covered by the national healthcare system such as elective plastic surgery that had no clear medical value.

18.] Medical providers could choose to not participate in the national healthcare system.  If they wished to treat both participants and non-participants in the system, they could Only treat patients outside of the system for conditions not covered by the system (example: routine cosmetic surgery).

---------------------------------------------------

In such a healthcare system:

 1.]  Poor and chronically ill people could get more equal medical treatment.

 2.] Almost no one would be bankrupted by catastrophic medical expenses.

 3.] Employers could afford to hire employees with pre-existing medical conditions.

 4.] Where individuals are healthy, there would be incentives to not "overspend" with the deductibles and co-payments they would need to pay.

 5.] Medical care providers – could have a single, coherent billing system

 6.] Cost containment and reviews for efficacy, efficiency etc. would be much easier to do with a single national record keeping system.

 Congress and President Obama could come up with a comprehensive single payer health plan based upon a model such as this by the end of 2010 which might be able to begin to be phased in starting in 2012.

The healthcare plan might initially  include all who are currently covered by existing federal health plans including Medicare, most Medicaid,  civil service and perhaps the military.    After several years others could be added so that the plan would include all of us within a few years.   Whether we should keep our veterans healthcare system or not is beyond the scope of this writing.

Obviously such a system is far more complex than my explanation can cover. It is a model for a future national health plan that I hope others will consider.

Thanks!

Thank the Goddess!

Thank the Goddess!

Hopes vs. the Past - Obama/Kennedy - for Example

The day before election day I feel confident that Obama will win.   Thinking of expectations for his presidency makes me think back to previous elections.   Clearly no president since Kennedy, when I was growing up, has brought the level of hopes so high.

Much of what I know of Kennedy is from later on, reading of him after his death mostly as an adult.

Kennedy's sexual escapades and health issues and the like - are really not of great interest to me.

The Myth that Kennedy was this - Great President - Who Brought About Civil Rights - equality - through his gallant efforts and was otherwise a Great Leader bothers me greatly.

Kennedy was 100% politician!    His political power rested upon keeping the Southern Democrats (the last of that era) on his side.   We forget (or never knew) of a South - where all the senators were Democrats - who used the filibuster to prevent serious efforts at Civil Rights for Blacks - really until 1964, after Kennedy was dead.    Kennedy had no majority without them.  The successes of Civil Rights efforts during the Kennedy era - related largely to the "crazy" in a way efforts of Many, Many Black people - heroic efforts- and the killings in Birmingham and elsewhere that shocked the world - despite Kennedy's lack of leadership.

Kennedy was a Cold Warrior - who had some good moments, but also - hardly embraced the freedom sought by African colonies - yes colonies - from their European oppressors.   

Kennedy - had ties to mobsters - as well as a tough relationship with J Edgar Hoover - who kept him - in a "check position" - due to his sexual escapades, mob ties, etc. - and compromised him on Civil Rights.

Kennedy, despite all this, did a lot of good, but was hardly the hero he's made out to be today.

------

Barack Obama obviously lacks a lot of the ghosts of Kennedy and others!

At the same time - he is a politician.   He also is a "realistic politician".   He hasn't been the success that he is from being a "diehard liberal" or crusader.   He has been a realist.   His statements on Afghanistan (and really Israel) - may be "political ploys" - but if not are a little scary.   Afghanistan is not "winnable" most likely.   Osama Bin Laden - is hardly - "the threat" - that we face - and his death - won't help us that much.

Obama has a lot of strengths.   We can hope that he will prove his greatness - first in dealing with our current economic woes.   Later on perhaps he'll lead us towards healthcare reform and other important positive changes.

Let us hope!   Let us though not be totally naive in our hope.

Thanks!

Health Insurance, Taxes, U.S. "Domination"etc.

As we approach an important election which hopefully will allow for some positive change, I think of some of the major issues we face.   I'd like to briefly discuss some of the important issues I see - saying things that I've often said in other postings here.

Health Insurance:  

I think that healthcare should be a right - and ideally should have No tie to one's employment status or lack thereof.   If employers had no issue of paying for health insurance there would be more incentive to hire additional workers with much less a marginal cost for each worker hired.   There would be less incentive to contract out work or hire part-time workers not covered by health insurance plans.

As I discussed in a much earlier blog entry here - I think that health insurance should be either under IRS or an agency similar to it - where we "owe" a yearly deductible and have co-payments to pay to the Government or its Carrier - similar to how we pay our income taxes.   We would have an incentive to Not overuse the system because of what it would cost us.   We would all have yearly maximum payment limits to cover potential catastrophic costs.   Medical providers would bill the Carrier and have no worries about our "coverage" or similar.  Lower income people would have lower deductibles and co-payments.

Clearly - if we have a seemingly "more realistic" health care system it needs to:

1.) Help pay catastrophic costs - so that individuals and families aren't bankrupted by medical costs,

2.) Figure out ways to cut down on our Excessive use of Expensive testing and similar when it's unnecessary - distinguishing between the needs of the Seriously Ill - from the rest of us,

3.) Figure out ways to cut the costs of those who are terminally ill or chronically ill (who disproportionaly spend a huge percentage of our medical costs) - while not cheating them out of what is best for them.

Taxes:

We could radically change our tax system in logical ways.   To do this we would need to eliminate nearly all deductions, perhaps even all except for dependents.   We would no longer "subsidize" the housing industry (perhaps lowering house sales costs), nor charities, as well as many other benefits of our socialized system (generally for the wealthy).

Assume that one's household income with a family with two adults and two dependent children is $100,000.   Such a household might have a deduction of $10,000 per adult and $5000 per child.  This would reduce their taxable income to: $100,000 - (2 x $10,000 + 2 x $5000 = $30,000) = $70,000.    Assuming that the first $50,000 in taxable income had a rate of 10% and beyond that was 30% - the taxes owed would be: 10% of $50,000 = $5,000 + 30% of $20,000 = $6000 = $11,000 in total or 11% of their gross income.

A similar household with a gross income of $50,000 - would owe $3000 = 6%

A similar household with a gross income of $200,000 - would owe $49,000 = 24.5%

A similar household with a gross income of $500,000 - would owe $139,000 = 27.8%

A single individual with a gross income of $30,000 - would owe $2000 = 6.67%

A single individual with a gross income of $100,000 - would owe $22,000 = 22%

One could argue about - specific tax rates and bend points for the tax rate changes, however such a system would be simple and progressive.    It would raise taxes in areas like capital gains and similar.

U.S. Domination:

I hope to live to see a day where the U.S. - actually helps other countries and doesn't feel a right to invade and decide What is best for others - generally reflecting naive, limited perspectives.   The European countries had colonies to exploit until the 1960's.   We've become the tyrant - sometimes doing good, but more frequently causing harm.

The so-called "terror" - that we face relates directly to how we are viewed by many - particularly Muslims in other parts of the world.

Let's - help make peace - in Palestine/Israel - with compromise and listening to the Palestinian cause - not being simply: "Pro-Israel".    Let's - let the Iraqi's work out their problems - withdrawing our troops and control in the coming months.   Let's leave Afghanistan's military affairs to its people - working with the Taliban if we can, but recognizing that we are destined to lose here as the Russians and others have done over many centuries.

Let's start making peace within the U.S. - helping our citizens with education, healthcare, and end to rape/domestic violence/child abuse and realistically look at a future where us getting older folks - the Babyboomers - are going to start needing much help as we age - and we can No Longer live beyond our means as a society.

Let's recognize the beauty of life - and respect others and ourselves!

Thanks!

Studs Terkel

I was sad to hear of the death of Studs Terkel!

He was a giant - in listening to others and eloquently and simply stating their words - telling their stories so brilliantly in many of his books.

He was also a "total person" in so many ways.

His first book, Giants of Jazz, was published in 1956. Ten years later his first book of oral history interviews, Division Street : America, came out. It was followed by a succession of oral history books on the 1930s Depression, World War Two, race relations, working, the American dream, and aging. His latest book, Will the Circle Be Unbroken : Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith, was published in 2001. 

( http://www.studsterkel.org/bio.php )

He talked of classism, racism and other serious issues through the people he talked with - in their words - and avoided the pontificating - "I know it all" - attitude we often have, particularly when we feel aggrieved or under pressures from others.

Reading the bio - above - I discovered that we shared a common birthday - he - 39 years older than me.

Thanks!

Thoughts of Injustice and Similar

"First they asked June Johnson, a sixteen-year-old from Greenwood, whether she was a member of the NAACP, and when she admitted it, one officer started slapping her around.   They asked who paid her and what kind of trouble her bosses were planning for Winona, and in the risking heat of the cuffings another officer hit her on the back of the head with a blackjack.  They took the wailing Johnson back to a cell and brought out Annell Ponder-tall, schoolmarmish, and fatefully dignified.  She said she and her friends did not hate them, she steadfastly refused their demands to say "sir" to them so long as they called her "nigger" and "bitch," and she admitted straightforwardly to the highway patrolman that she had been writing down his license number for a complaint to the federal government.   All these answers enraged men who already had stepped over the line of violence.  Cursing the name Bobby Kennedy, they kept beating Ponder to the floor and pulling her to her feet until her head was swollen and bloody, a tooth chipped, and one eye seemed knocked off line.   Ponder held unsteadily to the corridor walls as they pushed her back toward the cells.   She made a terrifying sight to her students, including Fannie Lou Hamer, who was next.   By then vengeance had consumed her captors.   They dragged Hamer into an empty cell, threw here face down on a cot, and ordered a young Negro prisoner to be her with a blackjack. ... "

p. 819, "Parting The Waters: American in The King Years 1954-63" - Taylor Bell, Touchstone Books, 1988 (an incredible book I'm reading slowly - taking in its incredible story)

The text above is in June, 1963 when Annell Ponder, and her students, trying to build voter registration in Mississippi got off a bus in Winona, Mississippi and went into the "Whites Only" waiting room and were arrested because of this.

It is often said: "Never Again" - referring to Not allowing another Holocaust similar to what Jews faced with Hitler during World War II.

I try to imagine what makes people angry so that they want to severely injure or kill others in various settings present, past (and in the future) and how these situations differ from each other.

I can imagine that White Men fearing Black People and killing them when they:  perceive impending "attacks", feel that they can kill without facing serious punishment and have peer support.

I can imagine police, soldiers and other "authority figures" facing repeated violence in their work may perceive All who in the moment appear to be "the enemy" as a threat to them and may kill innocent individuals and groups of people.

I can imagine Taliban members perceiving outsiders and those resisting their cause as needing to be killed.

I can imagine Palestinian teenage boys throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and even blowing themselves up killing Israelis and themselves feeling threatened by the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

I can imagine Israeli Jews feeling threatened by Palestinians who they fear may kill or injure them most any time.

Separating the "good guys" from the "bad guys" and knowing always what is "right" and what is "wrong" often takes a lot of serious soul searching as well as inqury.

As a Male, White, U.S. citizen, whose memories go back to around 1960 - I can acknowledge progress in some areas.   I'd be shocked today to hear of an incident similar to what Ms. Ponder and her students faced in 1963, the year my partner was born.   

It is also clear to me that killing others needlessly out of anger, fear, envy and similar is fairly equally common today both in the U.S. and elsewhere.   Stalkers and other men who don't let go emotionally of (former) partners, White (generally) Teen Male mass killers in high schools, and others contribute to a world that isn't safe often for many.

It is important that we learn our history - as Men/Women, White/Of-Color, as well as in many other areas - including religion, economic class, gay/lesbian/bi/transgender.   It is important that we learn to support positive change and do our best to face up to the oppressions we and others face today.   It is important that we learn to feel - to grieve, to laugh, to cry - and to be responsible for our own feelings - so we can reach out to others.

Thanks!

Reality - "The Great Liberal" - and Barack Obama

I have to laugh when McCain, Palin and others try to paint Barack Obama as "the most liberal senator" or similar - in an attempt to get middle-of-the-road/undecided voters and similar to vote against Obama.

Obviously Obama sets off "class warfare" by mentioning class at all and suggesting that having taxation policies which might be of increasing benefit to families with incomes less than $150,000/year is oh so radical.   

At the same time I really can't imagine how capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden is going to appreciably help you, me or others in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world.   While he obviously is our "voodoo doll" - the scapegoat to end all scapegoats - particularly since the death of Saddam Hussein I don't see How things would change appreciably if he were in captivity or deceased.

No doubt Bin Laden is no "angel" and perhaps is "dangerous".   At the same time he affects and reflects a world of "Islamist Extremists" who share a hatred of the U.S. Government, Israel and others.    Those Who are his allies will continue on with their cause with or without him.

As I understand it the 911 - bombers - acted primarily at least independently of Bin Laden.   Even if he did have leadership with that tragedy, we are confusing a Symbol with a Cause in making him into such a "Devil" in our minds.

Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and other neighboring countries - may someday find peace or at least a choice of their own path(s) when they can exist without U.S interference militarily and economically in their normal, everyday existence - when we are "a part" of their worlds, not "Numero Uno" - interfering.

Afghanistan's War, despite what Obama and McCain say is not "winnable".    The Taliban control at least in the range of 75% of the country.    There is no "democratic government" nor effective forces to counter the influence of the Taliban.

I suggest reading eloquent experts in these areas such as Robert Fisk:    

 (http://www.robert-fisk.com/  .

Perhaps Obama must speak as he does for political expediency - to win the election next month.  I hope that he is not naive enough to believe so much of what he says in such areas.

Thanks!

Those People

When my teenage (White) son was about to meet my (Black) partner he asked me about "Black People" - to try to ensure that he didn't mess up with her.    When I was around his current age (21) I met a Black Couple at an interstate highway rest station.  I presumed that Because they were Black and "older", that they'd be into Blues Music.   The man was patient with my naive presumptions and explained that they were into Jazz, not Blues.    They could also have been into classical music, country music or no music.

Frequently it is much easier to Presume that we know what people are like by what we See them being (on the surface).    The person may be seen in seemingly innocuous stereotypes such  as: "that incredibly tall skinny man" or "that tiny girl".     They may also be seen in stereotypes such as: "that Fat Black Woman with those noisy kids" which we may translate into: "the no-good welfare mother".

What do we presume with our initial impressions?   Why do "short men" have "the Napolean Complex"?   Could it be that others presume things by their shortness which they fight through who they become?   Or, do we see these men Not as they are, but rather as we make them out to be?  Are they really little different from other men?

How is the "Asian" affected when we presume:

1.) If female, that she is "exotic"?

2.) The student - must be "brainy"?

3.) They are "good" - (hardworking, middle-class etc.) --- (not like those No Good Black People who are Lazy)?

How is the "fat woman" affected with whatever presumptions we may make about her?

How is the "Young Black Man" affected by police, shopkeepers and others watching him constantly and suspecting him of committing crimes?

How do we Grow in our Coccoons when we don't see people beyond their surface appearances?   When do we Learn to Learn?    

How do we use our own "oppressions" - whatever they may be?   They may help to allow us to listen and move closer often to others we meet.   They don't need to be an excuse - to stay apart - ignorant and missing out.     Often our first impressions may be deceptive.   

Thanks!

Obama vs. McCain - How Different are We - as Voters?

As a “liberal/leftist” I listened to Sarah Palin and John McCain and others speak at the Republican Convention this past week feeling that I live in a “different world” from them. Hearing so much spoken positively about the speeches and similar bothered me when I felt that they were “bad” and ‘wrong” and similar. I would like to try to explore differences between the worlds of McCain and Obama – and why we as individuals may support either one.

Initially I will try to focus upon issues.

The Economy and Taxes:

John McCain talks quite clearly about the needs to continue the Bush tax cuts and to cut taxes in general. He speaks of how cutting business taxes, inheritance taxes and capital gains taxes will help create new, good paying jobs for U.S. citizens. He specifically mentions doubling the tax exemption for minor children to help families. He attacks Obama for his purported desire to raise taxes.

McCain also talks of how he understands the hard times and how he will work to make things better. He talks about cutting federal spending, eliminating waste. He is somewhat vague about how he will do these things besides by trying to continue tax cuts.

Barack Obama talks of increasing taxes for families with incomes of over $200,000 and cutting taxes in several ways for lower income families. He attacks McCain and Bush for cutting taxes primarily for high income families. He has various specified tax proposals for cutting taxes on new/small businesses and is clear that he doesn’t want to eliminate inheritance taxes and lower taxes which will primarily benefit higher income families.

Obama is somewhat vague on his proposals for tax increases in general.

Healthcare Reform:

John McCain talks of having a tax credit of $2500/individual, $500/family to pay for health insurance. His plans call for “free market competition” in healthcare with provisions made to allow people to keep coverage when they retire or leave an employer, not explaining how this would be done. He talks of working with individual states to ensure that “uninsurable” individuals will be able to get health insurance though he is vague about how this will take place.

McCain talks of various ways of making health insurance and health care costs more competitive including “tort reform” to shield doctors “who follow clinical guidelines and adhere to safety protocols”.

Barack Obama talks of requiring all children to have health insurance coverage. He talks of various incentives for employers to have health insurance plans for their employees including tax credits and being required to pay monies related to their payrolls towards a national health insurance plan if they don’t make substantive contributions to an employee health plan. Obama talks of allowing uninsured individuals and families to purchase health insurance at a “reasonable cost” (regardless of their health status) with a group of insurance plans similar to what Congress members have access to. He talks of assisting employer health plans when they incur catastrophic health costs if they pass such savings on to the premiums their employees pay.

Obama talks of cost savings such as through using more effective computer technology and similar not very clear ways.

The Iraq War and related issues:

John McCain speaks of the success of the “surge” and of “winning the war”. He supports George W. Bush’s most recent handling of the war and plans for the future reductions of troops without timetables. He attacks Obama for his opposition to the U.S. involvement in the War, being defeatist and not supporting the troops.

Barack Obama speaks of his opposition to the War and that he will immediately begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq upon taking office. Obama focuses significantly upon the need for political dialogue and for Iraqi forces taking over if war continues. Obama speaks of the need to confront Al Quaida in Afghanistan and to not have permanent bases or otherwise be overextended militarily through the Iraqi War.

Abortion Rights and Gays-Lesbians:

“John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.” http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm

Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case. http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues

Barack Obama opposes "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and supports the rights of gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly.

John McCain believes that gays and lesbians should not be in the military. He supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Currently only California and Massachusetts allow gay marriage. Several other states allow civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, but he is against gay marriage.

John McCain does not support gay marriage and campaigned for a state amendment that would have banned civil unions and domestic partnerships.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) does two things. First it says that no state shall be required to recognize the laws of another state in regard to same-sex marriage. Second, it defines the words "marriage" and "spouse" in Federal Law.

Barack Obama supports the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

John McCain voted for and supports the Defense of Marriage Act.

Barack Obama supports a hate crimes bill that will protect the LGBT community from bias-motivated violence.

John McCain has voted against hate crimes legislation three times.

Barack Obama supports adoption by LGBT people.

John McCain opposes adoption by LGBT people.

http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbianactivism/a/McCainObama.htm

Energy:

John McCain has emphasized opening up various areas to oil drilling. He proposes eliminating subsides for ethanol and allowing the free market to help reduce prices.

Barack Obama has emphasized promoting alternative energy. He has proposed a tax on “excess profits” aimed at oil companies and providing short term tax relief for American families

OTHER PERSPECTIVES – DO THE ISSUES MATTER?

For some Americans the differences in the issues are stark and make their choice for president very clear. For me I support Obama’s positions for the most part and oppose McCain’s positions most of the time. For others they may similarly support McCain and oppose Obama.

For other people “the issues” are not what matters most to them. “Change” is the buzzword this year for the candidates. For some “change” would seem to imply changing away from the George W. Bush administration. This however doesn’t appear to be the case for many.

For some “change” and simply feeling “good” about the candidate seems to connote “returning America to greatness” or “restoring traditional values” or similar. Senator McCain appears to many as “The War Hero” and the Man who will “Stand up for America”. Such supporters may support McCain’s “tough guy image in ridiculing Obama’s statements that he would meet with leaders of countries such as Syria and Iran’s leaders to try to reduce tensions between the U.S. and other countries.

For others “change” may be much different. Obama supporters often may feel that George W. Bush been a total failure and that change is something Very Different from Republican policies. Obama’s appeal to the young and others often doesn’t focus upon his issues, but rather his being “different” in many ways from leaders of the past.

Underneath the feelings about the candidates also are issues such as Racism – related to Obama and McCain’s age (72 – is it “too old”?).

I hope that our feelings will reflect the differences in the issues which face us. I hope that “undecided” and “independent” voters - the Reagan Democrats and others who shape election results will recognize the economic and war issues and how they will benefit or not from their support of one or the other candidate.

Thanks!

My Disconnect ?? - Re: Sarah Palin

Reading this morning that Sarah Palin's speech was rated highly by various parts of the news media shows me (I think ???) of a Great Divide between some of us and purported "mainstream America".

I found the speech pathetic! I heard virtually nothing of substance - and what might pass for substance - supported a narrow minded, right-wing view of the US and the world that seems myopic and just wrong to me.

Pandagon (blog) reports that 36 out of the 2380 delegates at the Republican Convention are Black. The world of that Convention seems a "different reality" from the worlds that I live in.

My partner managed a budget two jobs ago in programs for children in California - that was larger than the budget for the town that Palin was the mayor of. An introductory speaker spoke of the town of 10,000 - being of a similar size to "Many American Cities".

Palin's record on earmarks, teen pregnancy, and many other issues seems narrow and right wing. She seems to know little about many issues and what she believes in where she speaks speaks to a country that I'd rather not be a citizen of. Yes, we all want decency and respect, blah, blah, blah, but ....

I have trouble imagining how George Bush is seen as a terrible president - and yet John McCain - with policies very similar is somehow perceived as "different and better". McCain may be a "maverick" and Palin may be "unique" or "different" in some ways, but I hope that enough USians can see through their smoke and mirrors and fear based campaign to help us bring some real, positive change in our country.

Thanks!