C.L.I.C.K. for Justice and Equality is an agent of communication alerting our social community of injustices and inequalities among the socially disadvantaged and disenfranchised individual. C.L.I.C.K. developed and created this website to assist the socially disenfranchised or disadvantaged individual in litigating their issues in Federal and State courts.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Obama For Marriage Equality, Right-Wing Media Against It


Media Matters for America

Obama For Marriage Equality, Right-Wing Media Against It

http://mediamatters.org/research/201205090020
In an ABC News interview today, President Obama announced his support for marriage equality, saying, "I think same sex couples should be able to get married." Conservative media figures immediately accused Obama of declaring a "war on marriage" and the Catholic Church.

Obama: "I Think Same Sex Couples Should Be Able To Get Married"

On ABC, Obama Voiced Support For Marriage Equality. In an interview with ABC News correspondent Robin Roberts, Obama stated: "[A]t a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that same sex couples should be able to get married":
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or Marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married. [ABC News, 5/9/12]

LGBT Groups, Public Officials Cheer Obama Announcement

Former George W. Bush Solicitor General: "President Obama's Words Remind Us That Marriage And Equality Are Universal Values That Unite Us All." Ted Olson, a former solicitor general under President Bush and lead co-counsel for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, said the following in response to Obama's announcement:
"Today is a proud day for all Americans. ... The bedrock American principles of freedom and human dignity are central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. President Obama's words remind us that marriage and equality are universal values that unite us all. They remind us that we are all -- as a People and a Nation -- striving to form a more perfect Union." [American Foundation for Equal Rights, 5/9/12]
Human Rights Campaign: "In Supporting Marriage Equality," Obama Sends A "Message Of Hope." Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese released this statement following the announcement:
"Today, President Obama made history by boldly stating that gay and lesbian Americans should be fully and equally part of the fabric of American society and that our families deserve nothing less than the equal respect and recognition that comes through marriage.
His presidency has shown that our nation can move beyond its shameful history of discrimination and injustice. In him, millions of young Americans have seen that their futures will not be limited by what makes them different. In supporting marriage equality, President Obama extends that message of hope to a generation of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, helping them understand that they too can be who they are and flourish as part of the American community. And his words remind gay and lesbian families across the country, who, like their neighbors, struggle to afford healthcare and college for their kids, pay their taxes and plan for retirement -but with the added burden of discrimination -- that they do not face those challenges alone and unheard.
"Americans fundamentally believe in fairness, but many, like the President, have struggled to reconcile that core belief and the question of marriage equality. The President's words will no doubt inspire thousands more conversations around kitchen tables and in church pews.  We are confident that our nation will continue to move inexorably toward equality and we thank the President for so boldly leading us in that direction." [Human Rights Campaign, 5/9/12]
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network: "This Is A Great Day For Gay And Lesbian Service Members." President of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Aubrey Sarvis stated:
"This is a great day for gay and lesbian service members, who are living with the daily reality that while they are now able to serve openly, they and their families are treated as second-class citizens under laws like the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Certainly, the President's leadership in repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' laid the foundation for his reaching this positive outcome. We welcome the President's support for marriage and will work with him to repeal DOMA and all laws that undermine equality and treat our service members unfairly." [Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, 5/9/12]
Fox Anchor Shep Smith: Obama Is "Now In The 21st Century." After playing video of Obama's announcement, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith said: "The President of the United States, now in the 21st century." [Fox News, Studio B, 5/9/12 via Media Matters]

Conservative Media Accuse Obama Of A "War On Marriage" And The Catholic Church

Rush Limbaugh: President Obama "Is Going To Lead A War On Traditional Marriage." Reacting to reports, before Obama's announcement, that Obama would come out in support of same-sex marriage, Rush Limbaugh said to a caller that Obama is going to "lead a war on traditional marriage." Following the announcement, Limbaugh stated:
LIMBAUGH: We've arrived at a point where the President of the United States is going to lead a war on traditional marriage. That's where we -- you want to call that winning? Your side is winning when the president has to lead a war on traditional marriage?
[...]
LIMBAUGH: Obama and people like [caller] are trying to turn traditional institutions on their head. And people like me who are minding their own business all of a sudden have to stand up and defend these traditions and institutions from people like you, and now the president, who's waging a war on traditional America.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: There's no other way to characterize it, Barack Obama is leading a war on gay [sic] marriage, just like he's leading a war on the Catholic Church, the war on stay-at-home moms.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: It's official. Obama has announced he supports gay marriage after talks with his wife and daughters, gay service members, and others. Pink smoke coming from the White House chimney. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 5/9/12]
Fox Nation: "Obama Flip Flops, Declares War On Marriage." In highlighting Obama's announcement on marriage equality, a Fox Nation headline read: "Obama Flip Flops, Declares War On Marriage." Hours later, Fox Nation changed the headline to remove the words "declares war on marriage."
[Fox Nation, 5/9/12, via Media Matters]
Jim Hoft: "Obama Continues Attacks On Christian Church." In a May 9 post on Gateway Pundit headlined "Obama Continues Attacks On Christian Church -- Throws His Support Behind Gay Marriage," Jim Hoft wrote:
You knew this was coming. After Joe Biden came out and supported gay marriage (something that is against his Catholic faith), and then Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education of all people, came out and endorsed gay marriage... You knew this was a planned strategy, promoted by Democrats and pushed by the liberal media, for Barack Obama to come out and support gay marriage too.
In an interview with ABC, Barack Obama just came out in support of gay marriage. He just threw MILLIONS of Christian Americans under the bus.
Personally, I don't have a problem with gay relationships. I don't have a problem with gay unions. I do have a problem with a president pushing a law on the people with the specific intent of punishing the Church and Christian Americans. [Gateway Pundit, 5/9/12, emphasis original]
Fox Regular Bill Donohue: Obama "Has Fully Broken With His Christian Moorings" Frequent Fox guest and Catholic League president Bill Donohue reacted to the news by urging for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between "two people who can naturally produce a family, namely a man and a woman":
In 1996, when Barack Obama was up for a state senate post in Illinois, he said he supported gay marriage. Eight years later, when he set his sights on the U.S. Senate, he discovered his Christian roots and said he was against it. In 2008, he said he was opposed to homosexuals marrying, but he also opposed a ballot initiative in California, Proposition 8, that affirmed marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman. In other words, his Christian roots were losing their grip. Since then he's been "evolving." Now the evolution is over and he has fully broken with his Christian moorings.
[...]
The time has finally come to pass a constitutional amendment affirming marriage as an institution reserved to the only two people who can naturally produce a family, namely a man and a woman. [Catholic League, 5/9/12]
MRC's Tim Graham: "This Is Not An 'Evolution.' It's A 'Devolution.' " In a May 9 tweet, Media Research Center director of media analysis Tim Graham wrote:
[Twitter, 5/9/12]
Contact:
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The Greatest Mothers Day Gift Ever; Second Annual Midwest Black Male Educational Achievement Conference


Black Star Logo
The Best Mothers Day Gift Ever
 
Join
The Black Star Project
for our
First Annual Mother/Son Dance
(The Day Before Mothers Day)
Saturday, May 12, 2012
at
The Black Star Ballroom
3509 South King Drive
Chicago, Illinois
3:00 pm to 5:30 pm
for young men 13 to 18 years old and their mothers
 
Please call 773.285.9600 to RSVP for the Mother/Son Dance or to learn how to bring a Mother/Son Dance to your city.
Black Star Logo
Second Annual Midwest Black Male Education Conference
 The Black Star Project
presents the
Second Annual Midwest
Black Male Educational Achievement Conference
Saturday, May 19, 2012
at the
Ramada Inn
4900 Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois
 
Featuring
Dr. Umar Abdullah Johnson
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
Black Star Logo 
Umar Abdullah Johnson:
 
Dr. Johnson is CEO of African American Psychological & Educational Services For Children and author of The Psycho-Academic War Against Black Boys and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Black Boys  
  
He will teach parents, community members and educators to keep Black boys out of special education and away from the psycho-chemical drugs designed to trap Black boys in a chemically induced slavery. 
 
Dr. Ivory Toldson
Washington, D.C.
Black Star Logo 
Ivory A. Toldson:
 
Dr. Toldson is an associate professor of the Counseling Psychology Program at Howard University, senior research analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and current editor-in-chief of "The Journal of Negro Education.  He is also author of In Breaking Barriers: How School Leaders Can Help Black Males Achieve

Dr. Ivory A. Toldson will review the findings from national surveys and explain how they can be used as classroom solutions. His research discusses the importance of personal, emotional, social and school factors and how those factors impact academic success for black males.  
 
and
Dr. Garrard O. McClendon
Chicago, Illinois
Black Star Logo
Garrard O. McClendon:
 
Dr. McClendon is an Emmy winning journalist, television host, author of
"Ax or Ask?: The African-American Guide to Better English." and has a doctorate in education from Loyola University.
 
Many schools have difficulties creating an environment and designing programs that motivate parents to invest in their child's learning.  His presentation will teach educators and administrators how to effectively engage parents in ways that empower them to be more involved with their child's education and school activities.  
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Parents, educators and community activists from St. Louis, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa;  Detroit, Benton Harbor, Lansing, Battle Creek, Flint and Ann Arbor - Michigan; Milwaukee, Madison, Racine and Beloit - Wisconsin; Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Rock Island, Kankakee, Waukegan, Joliet, Elgin, Decatur, East St. Louis, Danville, Quincy, Champaign and Chicago - Illinois; Indianapolis, Gary, Fort Wayne, Hammond, Michigan City, East Chicago and South Bend - Indiana should attend this conference.
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Join us for one of the best conferences in the United States on educating Black male students with workable ideas and concrete solutions.  The cost for this one-day conference is $200.00.  This is one of the last chances for schools to use their parental involvement funds for this school year.  Please call 773.285.9600 for more information or to RSVP.
 
Click Here to register for the conference.
 
Click Here for special hotel accommodations at the South Loop Hotel, a Black-owned hotel. 



Thursday's Daily Brief: Why Obama Endorsed Gay Marriage, Syria Bomb Blasts, Collapsing Home Prices, Plus Marlo Thomas, Howard Fineman, Robert Reich

Thursday, May 10, 2012
WORLD
Deadliest Bomb Attack In Syrian Uprising
CRIME
Medicare Paid $5.6 Billion To Drugstores For Questionable Billings
BUSINESS
10 Cities Where Home Prices Are Collapsing
TECHNOLOGY
What Apple Looks Like In Numbers (INFOGRAPHIC)
DC
PHOTOS: Which Members Of Congress Have Tattoos?
BLOG POSTS
Marlo Thomas: Mother's Day: A Time to Remember
Mother's Day is approaching again, and whether your mom is still with us or gone, it's a time when we all can't help but stop for a moment, and recall all of those memories about her that we still hold in our hearts -- the touching ones, the inspiring ones, the sad ones and the funny ones.
Robert Reich: Of Bedrooms and Boardrooms
America's real problems have nothing to do with what we do in our bedrooms and everything to do with what top executives do in their boardrooms and executive suites. Our crisis has nothing to do with private morality. It's a crisis of public morality.
Robert L. Borosage: Obama's "Bend Toward Justice"
Personally, I salute President Obama for his statement, for speaking out for equality. Now he needs to be the defender of Social Security and Medicare and not the advocate of a "grand bargain." He needs to champion making it in America, not peddle more corporate trade pacts.
Howard Fineman: Election 2012: The End of the Middle of Everything
Dick Lugar was a nice guy who stayed too long. But his crushing loss is also a valid data point in a profound and troubling trend, obvious not only in politics but in every other aspect of American life. We are losing the mediating middle of everything.
Anthony D. Romero: Obama and Marriage: A Turning Point in Presidential Politics
Whatever led Obama to fully evolve, the fact that a sitting president proclaimed that we should be free to marry whomever we love and want to share our live with is a big deal worthy of celebration, but only to a point. The civil rights reality for gay couples remains mixed.
Advertisement



President Obama and Same-Sex Marriage



Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer:

I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I hope you'll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality:

http://my.barackobama.com/Marriage

I've always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.

But over the course of several years I've talked to friends and family about this. I've thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, I've gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.

What I've come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.

Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn't dawn on them that their friends' parents should be treated differently.

So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.

If you agree, you can stand up with me here.

Thank you,

Barack




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