Obama's Agenda and The People Who Hate Him For It

The Agenda

Each President is confronted with new and unique challenges. Learn more about the Obama-Biden Administration's positions on everything from health care and the economy to alternative energy and foreign policy.

Neocons and Christofascists hate change - unless the change is in their direction - usually in reverse.We knew that organizations like the Family Research Council run by James Dobson's toady, Tony Perkins would jocky for position to shoot down absolutely everything President Obama proposes. The thing that scares the Christofascist Right is that Obama is working exceptionally fast to undo eight years of mismanagement, cronyism and corruption. Yes, the administration is using a steamroller and the Right was off guard licking Sarah Palin's wounds while Obama's transition team segued seamlessly into the next generation of Americans.

I've annotated Perkins' latest "frantasy" (frantic fear mixed with delusions of an America that never was)

(From Tony Perkins and The FRC, Jan. 22, 2009)

Alhough the Obama administration is a little over 24 hours old, the new President has already set to work undoing years of pro-life and pro-family policy. Minutes after Obama took the oath of office, the transfer of power was made complete on the White House website. The page, once home to a host of family values (1), now welcomes an extreme collection of anti-life, anti-woman,(2) and anti-family agendas(3). Under the caption "civil rights," Obama pledges to fight for nationwide civil unions (4), repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, homosexual adoption(5), the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (6), expanded "hate crimes,"(7) and over 1,100 costly same-sex benefits (8). He promises to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"(9) as well as block a federal amendment to preserve marriage(10). In exchange for the support of groups like Planned Parenthood, the abortion business is also due for a rich payoff from the 44th president, including his support of abortion-on-demand(11), more funding for "family planning" programs, embryonic stem cell experiments, and tax-funded abortion(12).

1. "Family values" in this case would be George W. Bush's family of big business and old cronies.

2. Anti-woman? President Obama and Vice President Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. Oh, right, tha'ts sooo anti-woman.

3. There's nothing in the Agenda that is anti-family. Perkins: go look somewhere else.

4. Obama bent your way, Perkins, when he could have gone all-out gay marriage and infuriated you. The attack aginst civil unions only makes FRC and its supporters look like right-wing bigots (which, of course, they are).

5. Perkins still dreams of "Leave it to Beaver" as the model for all American families. Get over it, Perkins! Loving, caring, nurturing families can be made out of single parents, and diverse pairings of couples and groups.

6. This act merely extends the laws of discrimination to the LGBT community. Again, Perkins just looks hated-riddled and homophobic.

7. Hate crimes are hate crimes, for God's sake. They could (and should) be expanded to be inclusive of everyone who is a group which is specifically targeted for violence. Perkins has blood dripping from his fingers from this one.

8. "Costly" to whom? Perkins wants to shield big business, that's all.

9. "Don't Ask Don't Tell" weakened the military because it helped to kick out some very valuable military men and women. Gays can't help it if they were better trained to do some things, like translating Arabic - something which military dimwits didn't think about and now are babbling pidgeon-Urdu, Arabic and Farsi to people who laugh at them.

10. "Preserve Marriage" - that was DOMAs silly job. You and Rick Warren are one-note hate-mongers with your Marriage = One Man One Woman for 5000 years. This is total bullshit that you're feeding to the unwashed masses (esp. unsuspecting trailer trash).

11. "Abortion on Demand"? Huh? Nothing like that in the Agenda.

12."Tax-funded" abortion. The small amount that the government gives to programs like Planned Parenthood is usually portioned to programs other than abortion. By the time you get down to it, "tax-funded abortion" is practically nothing!

And so with this little guideline, boys and girls, we can see that Christofascists all over the country are opining for the "good ole' days" that never were. And they'll stoop the lowest and stop at nothing to achieve their own AGENDA.

Just a thought.

Ab-O: The Program That Keeps Failing and Failing and Failing

TEENS: Abstinence Is Cool!!
"HUH"?!?!

(Nina Funnel - Sydney Morning Herald)

In the US and Britain, girls as young as 10 are being invited to attend dances known as "purity balls" where, escorted by their fathers, they sign contracts promising to remain virgins until their wedding nights. In return, the fathers also sign a contract, pledging "as high priest in the home", to protect and provide for their daughters, on the provision that they remain virgins.

For thousands of years, telling teens to abstain from sex is talking to the proverbial brick wall. How dense do some people have to be to stop from banging their heads against that same wall? And how stupid are parents who think that their teenagers will stick to abstinence-only programs, take "The Pledge" and rely on their parents to tell them all they need about sex? When will we get to the point that, the day after the wedding the bride's father exhibits the bloodstained sheet in the public square?

In her book Princesses And Pornstars, the feminist author Emily Maguire claims that by bowing to economic pressure, many US schools may end up mortgaging the health and safety of students.

Citing numerous studies, Maguire argues that while there is no evidence to suggest that abstinence-only programs succeed in reducing the likelihood of teenagers having premarital sex, there is significant evidence to suggest these programs reduce the likelihood of sexually active teens practising safe sex.

The problem is that students given the "abstinence-only" line often miss out on vital information regarding contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Not only does this place teenagers at a much greater health risk but it also contributes to a culture of ignorance and secrecy about sex.

Sounds a lot like the United States, where rates of teen pregnancy were dropping steadily until abstinence-only sex ed became all the rage. Now study after study shows that while such programs may help kids put off losing their virginity for a little while, it makes them much less likely to use birth control when they do start having sex, thus increasing the risk of pregnancy and the spread of disease.

I'll have more about Rick Warren and Africa in the next post.