It didn't hit me until Obama was sworn in, Bush was gone, and the new administration got going with all kinds of new appointments and news conferences that I realized how much a gloomy fog has lifted. Obama certainly is a breath of fresh, a burst of clean ocean current in what is otherwise a gloomy cloudy horizon. I think we were all sagging under the Bushies backward looking leadership where everything good and decent seemed stilted and placed on a stinking shelf i.e. economic reform with teeth that can really help all of us, moving toward a green planet, keeping civil rights alive, making appointments at least with people in them who are not dinosaurs who will impede progress, will stop the torture, and keep the flames of equal rights for equal work going-witness the Letbetter bill, albeit that came out of Congress and Pelosi. appointing George Mitchell as an envoy to the MIddle East was a stroke of genius. Hope Mitchell can make things work for all our sakes. He has a great track record. Another first at least in a long time is that Obama mentioned the word unbelievers in a speech that included all forms of religious persuasion which really riled up Born Agains, some from the Afarican American community who said non believers should be considered less than not equal to as Obama had implied. Hail to the Chief on that remark which I think I heard him utter a second time. Amazing.
The job situtation is just terrible but at least it isn't a bad job situation with the Bushies and Cheneys around. Obama did slip up with the inaugural invitation to Rev. Rick Warren but I forgive him as it appears he wants to move in the right direction when it comes to Gay Rights. We all keep thinking it will happen soon, the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Some more federal protections for Lesbian and Gay folks and thankfully it seems the Obama administration will figure out a way to get rid of the Defense of Marriage Act that says there is now way the feds will ever approve our Gay Marriages in the States that now allow them. Obama is against that policy and he can remove it. He already removed the ban on offering contraception/condoms to medical clients in health care settings in Africa who are being treated for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Things are looking up. I can breathe again. We all can.
P.S. I was saddened to hear Obama compromised to the Republicans on the economic stimulus package. Heard he gave away the part on contraception and the Republicans voted against the package anyway. The Stimulus package was passed in the House by the Democrats. Now it has to go to the Senate. I do like the fact that Obama included the National Endowments for the Arts in his economic package. I hope he doesn't compromise on that aspect too as art teachers and artists and performers need to eat and pay their bills too.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Obama's Gay Rights Agenda (Catholic News Agency)
Obama administration reveals plans to advance gay agenda
Comments: 56
January 16, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama
Washington DC, Nov 23, 2008 / 07:48 pm (CNA).- Citing what they call America’s “promise of equality,” the Obama administration plans to push for homosexual rights by including protections of sexual orientation, “gender identity” and “gender expression” as civil rights. His office proposes expanding hate crimes statues and the adoption rights of homosexuals while supporting full civil unions for “LGBT couples” to give them “legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples.”
The proposals are announced under the Civil Rights section of their agenda presented at Change.gov, the web site of the Obama campaign’s self-described “Office of the President-elect.”
A section titled “Support for the LGBT Community” outlines the agenda for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered activists and quotes remarks Obama made on June 1, 2007.
“While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do,” Obama said, referring to riots which followed a police raid on a New York City gay bar.
“Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
According to the web site, President-elect Obama and vice-president-elect Joe Biden will support expand crimes legislation such as the Matthew Shepard Act. They also back the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which they claim will “prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.”
“While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy,” the web site states, referring to similar legislation sponsored by Obama in the Illinois state legislature.
Regarding civil unions and same-sex marriage, the site says “Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples.”
Advocating the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the agenda plans to “enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions.”
The site also references Obama’s Senate vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which, in the site’s words, “would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.”
On the subject of adoption rights, the Change.gov web site states: “Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.”
The Obama agenda further advocates the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell” policy barring open homosexuals from serving in the military.
Its AIDS prevention policies also pledge to enact a “comprehensive” national strategy including contraceptive sex education and “combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception.”
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
proposal lines of authority for oac
Proposal of Description of Lines of Authority for The Older Adult
Center Since Transfer from College of Health and Human
Services To The Sociology Dept. under College of Natural and
Behavioral Sciences.
Dean of College of Natural Behavioral Sciences
(Charles Hohm)
I
I
Chair of Department of Sociology
(Clare Weber)
I
Secretary of Sociology
(Jennifer Agatep)
I
holds backup key to OAC
I
Faculty Director of the Older Adult Center
(Sharon Raphael) 6 hrs per week**
Supervises Student Director & Supprt Coordinator;
trouble shoots/ problem solving
I
Student Director
(Ritwik Nath M.A. Gero) 20 hrs. per week
approves/directs interns/volunteers
head of operation of office
I
I
/ \
Interns I Volunteers
I
Support Coordinator 15 hrs. per week
( Wanda Wyatt MFT student)
assists Student Director
helps with operation of office
assists with interns/volunteers
reports to Student Director & Faculty Director
Center Since Transfer from College of Health and Human
Services To The Sociology Dept. under College of Natural and
Behavioral Sciences.
Dean of College of Natural Behavioral Sciences
(Charles Hohm)
I
I
Chair of Department of Sociology
(Clare Weber)
I
Secretary of Sociology
(Jennifer Agatep)
I
holds backup key to OAC
I
Faculty Director of the Older Adult Center
(Sharon Raphael) 6 hrs per week**
Supervises Student Director & Supprt Coordinator;
trouble shoots/ problem solving
I
Student Director
(Ritwik Nath M.A. Gero) 20 hrs. per week
approves/directs interns/volunteers
head of operation of office
I
I
/ \
Interns I Volunteers
I
Support Coordinator 15 hrs. per week
( Wanda Wyatt MFT student)
assists Student Director
helps with operation of office
assists with interns/volunteers
reports to Student Director & Faculty Director
The Older Adult Center has been transferred from The College of Health and Human Services under Gerontology (Health Sciences) to The College of Natural and Behavioral Science under Sociology.
The mission of the Older Adult Center is to provide a welcoming environment for older * students, faculty, and staff on campus, to process the fee waiver which provides low cost fees to adults age 60 or over, and to help interns from social service oriented and related professions gain expertise working with and for older adults in an educational setting, and when appropriate to develop “ethically directed” research projects which enhance the purpose and goals of The Older Adult Center and The Sociology Dept.
The Older Adult Center is run by a Student Director under the auspices of a Faculty Director. There is also at present a Student Support Coordinator who reports both to the Student Director and the Faculty Director. The Chair of Sociology is the administrative last line authority of the unit under which the Older Adult Center operates. If there are problems, the Student Director and/or Support Coordinator report it to the Faculty Director. If the Faculty Director has a problem, she/he will report to the Chair of Sociology who report to the Dean of The College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences. Since 1981, there have been very few complaints brought to the attention of a Dean or Chair or to the Faculty Adviser for that matter. In the past, the faculty person directly in charge of the OAC was described as the Faculty Adviser.
I have changed the name to Faculty Director as the term adviser is ambiguous and puts the faculty person in a less than relationship in comparison to the new term Faculty Director. However, it should be understood at this time, that the Faculty Director has no units off to carry out the duties of the position which involve trouble shooting and problem solving and generally mentoring the Student Director and Support Coordinator in her or his work running and helping in the running of the Older Adult Center.
*the term “older” should be self defined but as matter of practice 45 and older is has been used in terms of average minimum age of people who participate in the Center. This does not mean younger adults are excluded especially if they are at the Centerto provide services or to receive information about older adults they require. In general,older adults (over 50) are given priority in terms of use of computers or attention fromstaff when there is a line up or competition for service at the OAC.
**hours of the Faculty Director 2 hrs. on campus per week /4 hrs.or plus on
phone ore-mail or in my office or in meetings with Student Directors.
The mission of the Older Adult Center is to provide a welcoming environment for older * students, faculty, and staff on campus, to process the fee waiver which provides low cost fees to adults age 60 or over, and to help interns from social service oriented and related professions gain expertise working with and for older adults in an educational setting, and when appropriate to develop “ethically directed” research projects which enhance the purpose and goals of The Older Adult Center and The Sociology Dept.
The Older Adult Center is run by a Student Director under the auspices of a Faculty Director. There is also at present a Student Support Coordinator who reports both to the Student Director and the Faculty Director. The Chair of Sociology is the administrative last line authority of the unit under which the Older Adult Center operates. If there are problems, the Student Director and/or Support Coordinator report it to the Faculty Director. If the Faculty Director has a problem, she/he will report to the Chair of Sociology who report to the Dean of The College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences. Since 1981, there have been very few complaints brought to the attention of a Dean or Chair or to the Faculty Adviser for that matter. In the past, the faculty person directly in charge of the OAC was described as the Faculty Adviser.
I have changed the name to Faculty Director as the term adviser is ambiguous and puts the faculty person in a less than relationship in comparison to the new term Faculty Director. However, it should be understood at this time, that the Faculty Director has no units off to carry out the duties of the position which involve trouble shooting and problem solving and generally mentoring the Student Director and Support Coordinator in her or his work running and helping in the running of the Older Adult Center.
*the term “older” should be self defined but as matter of practice 45 and older is has been used in terms of average minimum age of people who participate in the Center. This does not mean younger adults are excluded especially if they are at the Centerto provide services or to receive information about older adults they require. In general,older adults (over 50) are given priority in terms of use of computers or attention fromstaff when there is a line up or competition for service at the OAC.
**hours of the Faculty Director 2 hrs. on campus per week /4 hrs.or plus on
phone ore-mail or in my office or in meetings with Student Directors.
Monday, January 12, 2009
http://www.thankyoujonstewart.com/
Sharon Raphael says go to http://www.thankyoujonstewart.com/ if you want to send a message to stop the horrific bombing and killings going on in Gaza.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
What Is Happening in Gaza: Lack of Collective Conscience in Israel
I feel that what is happening in Gaza, the bombings and killings of innocent civilians on such a large scale is unconscionable on the part of Israel. It is not that I think the Palestinian people are without responsibility in this situation. Palestinians as a people are not totally innocent of a kind of collusion with Hamas, after all it was the Palestinian people who fairly overwhelmingly put Hamas in power in The Gaza Strip. But my take on it all says that people living in what is a basically occupied territory though Israel does not admit this fact have good reasons to want to fight what they see as their sworn enemy- The State of Israel. Israel claims it has no vested interest in hurting Palestinians as a people and that its gripe is with the anti Israeli forces of Hamas which advocates the destruction of the State of Israel. But Israel's move into Gaza is very reminiscent of the War it commenced in Lebanon in 2006 which ended in very little results for Israel and caused great resentment of Israel around the world.
It appears that Israel's citizenry is also divided on the wisdom of sending Israeli troops, tanks, and soldiers to engage Hamas militants and inadvertently to affect the entire Gazan population with what appears to be massive bombing raids and tank
driven battles in the densely populated areas of Gaza. The media people to a person covering the Gazan War albeit from a distance seem sickened themselves by the events transpiring day by day. It does appear to be David against Goliath and American and Western media tends to identify at least on an emotional level with the Davids of the world. Roseanne Barr is quoted as saying "The destruction of the Jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in Gaza," Barr writes on her blog. "Exactly as its Nazi mentors did to the Jews of Warsaw, Israel now bombs innocent civilians who have been imprisoned in concentration camps in Gaza!" She continues, "The Zionists look German! The Palestinians look like the Jews of Poland! The Jewish people have destroyed themselves in Gaza." She also calls Israel "a Nazi State" bent on torturing the souls of the Jewish people". Roseanne has a way of getting to the core truth of a contentious issue that is hard to dismiss. I don't want to agree with Roseanne or really accept her seemingly exaggerated pronouncement that this is the beginning of the end of Israel. But on another level, Roseanne is right, the seeds are planted, the route chosen clear, the answer: " Brutal Warfare" is totally and outrageously wrong. Jews of conscience all over the world must arise in ever larger numbers and protest this abomination.
It appears that Israel's citizenry is also divided on the wisdom of sending Israeli troops, tanks, and soldiers to engage Hamas militants and inadvertently to affect the entire Gazan population with what appears to be massive bombing raids and tank
driven battles in the densely populated areas of Gaza. The media people to a person covering the Gazan War albeit from a distance seem sickened themselves by the events transpiring day by day. It does appear to be David against Goliath and American and Western media tends to identify at least on an emotional level with the Davids of the world. Roseanne Barr is quoted as saying "The destruction of the Jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in Gaza," Barr writes on her blog. "Exactly as its Nazi mentors did to the Jews of Warsaw, Israel now bombs innocent civilians who have been imprisoned in concentration camps in Gaza!" She continues, "The Zionists look German! The Palestinians look like the Jews of Poland! The Jewish people have destroyed themselves in Gaza." She also calls Israel "a Nazi State" bent on torturing the souls of the Jewish people". Roseanne has a way of getting to the core truth of a contentious issue that is hard to dismiss. I don't want to agree with Roseanne or really accept her seemingly exaggerated pronouncement that this is the beginning of the end of Israel. But on another level, Roseanne is right, the seeds are planted, the route chosen clear, the answer: " Brutal Warfare" is totally and outrageously wrong. Jews of conscience all over the world must arise in ever larger numbers and protest this abomination.
The Movie The Reader (Kate Winslet's performance is Brilliant)
I just saw the movie
The movie is more about action and inaction and human intent than about the Holocaust. It highlights the dilemma of people being caught in situations where there is an expectation of a moral action without a specific understanding of the whole picture which none of us ever really have at any one time. As a result of his early relationship with Hanna and assumedly other factors also, Michael becomes a man unable to share intimacy with others. Hanna cannot see the whole picture (achieves a conscience) until near the end of her life and when she does, she does take action. Michael lets guilt and confusion over his relationship with Hanna take over his whole life. Near the end of the story, Michael goes to New York City to talk to a Holocaust survivor whose Mother was a witness at the trial of Hanna. He appears to be on a quest to make some kind of amends for both Hanna and his own behavior. The woman survivor responds to Michael in a very matter of fact way. She sees him through the only lens she can. She is not unkind nor is she kind to him. The woman survivor is a truthteller or is she? One line that stands out is "Do you think the camps were some kind of university where we went to learn something. There was nothing to learn there as there is nothing there, nothing. " ( I am paraphrasing)
Another troubling aspect of the movie which we are supposed to be troubled by is the reality that Michael is still involved emotionally with Hanna. He cannot let her go completely. The woman Holocaust survivor seems in much better emotional shape than Michael. She knows the Holocaust is always there but she moves forward every day and lives her life. The Holocaust is her past. In Michael's case, Hanna is still in his present and until he lets go, nothing really can move forward in his life. If you are looking for answers to the why of the Holocaust, there are glimpses there too. You can see simple answers in the person of Hanna played briliantly by Kate Winslet. Answers are there plain and painfully simple to understand through Winslet's performance.
Sharon Raphael
The Reader. I hesitated before I made the decision to go see The Reader because I knew I might come back from it kind of depressed which is what happened to me after seeing it. The storyline has been retold so many times in other reviews that I will only mention the simple highlights. There are two main characters, a former female guard of a Nazi concentration camp and a 15 year old boy who is depicted as both an adult by Ralph Fiennes and the young man he used to be is played by David Kross. The fact the main female character (played by Kate Winslet) named Hanna was a former prison guard "responsible" for the deaths of many Jews is unknown to the young nearly 16 year old, Michael, who is seduced without any protest by Michael into a sexual relationship with rather one way romantic overtones (romantic feelings of Michael toward Hanna" . During the entire relationship, Michael reads books to Hanna. Later it becomes clear that Hanna is illiterate and uses people to read to her and then disposes of them. As a law student, Michael takes a legal course on the Holocaust from a Jewish Professor and finds himself at a trial which takes place in 1966 where Hanna turns out to be one of the 5 defendants on trial for the murder of 300 Jews as a result of a fire in a church where Jews were held during the Long March away from Auschwitch. Hanna is sentenced to life in prison and serves 20 years. She is the only one of the 5 defendants handed down a long sentence because of a series of admissions to the court that may or may not be "factual" in terms of intent to kill.
The movie is more about action and inaction and human intent than about the Holocaust. It highlights the dilemma of people being caught in situations where there is an expectation of a moral action without a specific understanding of the whole picture which none of us ever really have at any one time. As a result of his early relationship with Hanna and assumedly other factors also, Michael becomes a man unable to share intimacy with others. Hanna cannot see the whole picture (achieves a conscience) until near the end of her life and when she does, she does take action. Michael lets guilt and confusion over his relationship with Hanna take over his whole life. Near the end of the story, Michael goes to New York City to talk to a Holocaust survivor whose Mother was a witness at the trial of Hanna. He appears to be on a quest to make some kind of amends for both Hanna and his own behavior. The woman survivor responds to Michael in a very matter of fact way. She sees him through the only lens she can. She is not unkind nor is she kind to him. The woman survivor is a truthteller or is she? One line that stands out is "Do you think the camps were some kind of university where we went to learn something. There was nothing to learn there as there is nothing there, nothing. " ( I am paraphrasing)
Another troubling aspect of the movie which we are supposed to be troubled by is the reality that Michael is still involved emotionally with Hanna. He cannot let her go completely. The woman Holocaust survivor seems in much better emotional shape than Michael. She knows the Holocaust is always there but she moves forward every day and lives her life. The Holocaust is her past. In Michael's case, Hanna is still in his present and until he lets go, nothing really can move forward in his life. If you are looking for answers to the why of the Holocaust, there are glimpses there too. You can see simple answers in the person of Hanna played briliantly by Kate Winslet. Answers are there plain and painfully simple to understand through Winslet's performance.
Sharon Raphael
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