Thank You, Madame Secretary

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 12/6/11 at 11:20pm

I'm sure many of you have seen this but wanted to make sure Hillary Clinton's incredible speech in Geneva today. It's long but give it a read at least or a listen. Quite a brave speech.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/hillary-clinton-gay-rights-speech-geneva_n_1132392.html?ref=gay-voices&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

[madbrian]

Posted: 12/7/11 at 8:25am

Great speech. My favorite part:

"I speak about this subject knowing that my own country's record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect."

Maybe the best part is that it will become a talking point, and force the GOP presidential candidates to disagree with it.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/7/11 at 9:45am

Wow. I am highly impressed. I can't wait to see what FOX has to say about it.

They really should have made placed the teleprompters elsewhere. It was incredibly obvious she was staring off to the far sides once she really got into it.

[romantico]

Posted: 12/7/11 at 9:51am

Fox had plenty to say about it. They were STRONGLY against it. Christians are also NOT HAPPY with Obama or Clinton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Mdv-SetXk

On a positive note, Rachel Maddow gave a great commentary last night on the subject

http://www.joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/12/maddow-clintons-speech-was-historic.html

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/7/11 at 10:29am

That FOX piece looks like it should be on The Onion. I can't believe anyone takes people with these opinions seriously.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/7/11 at 4:59pm

A very nice speech, but I can't forget that it comes from an administration whose leader still denies equality to gay men and women in this country. It amounts to a colossal statement of "do as the USA says, not as the USA does."

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/7/11 at 5:02pm

Perfect statement.

Roscoe--did you even READ madbrian's post before making your knee-jerk criticism?

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 8:57am

Why yes, Pal Joey, I did read madbrian's post before making my entirely justifiable criticism of this administration's barefaced hypocrisy in expecting the rest of the world to do what it still refuses to do. Madame Secretary's little admission, as nice as it might be to the easily impressed, does absolutely nothing to mitigate that.

And no, I don't think that things would be better if John McCain had won.

Thanks for asking.

Updated On: 12/8/11 at 08:57 AM

[trentsketch]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 9:15am

Roscoe is right. How dare the first president in the history of the United States to not snap his fingers and make gay marriage legal support efforts to stop sexual identity from being a crime in other countries? He has a lot of nerve supporting major human rights issues when he didn't wave his magic wand and give everyone a gay marriage and a pony on his first day in office.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 9:28am

That's not what I'm saying at all, trent. Nobody, least of all I, was expecting Obama to snap his fingers or wave his magic anything, especially after Obama allowed Pastor Rick "Bigot" Warren to participate in his inauguration, and after all those ugly DOJ briefs defending DOMA kept being filed and filed and filed, and most especially after our Fierce Advocate had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do anything at all about DADT.

Yeah, this admin has done a lot for us gay folks. And no, I don't think things would be better under John McCain. But this admin's hypocrisy in its latest "do as we say not as we do" statement on gay rights cannot be shunted aside.

By me, at least. Evidently others think otherwise. I'll cop to getting a certain buzz out of seeing the usual bigots get all psycho about on the issue, and I actually thought for a moment that the statement might have been a deliberate ploy to raise GOP candidate's blood pressure and inflame even more bigoted responses from the likes of Rick "Porn Mogul" Perry and cetera.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 10:29am

Roscoe--your relentless negativity is part of the problem. It fosters despair and cynicism.

It's one thing to criticize this administration when it does something wrong, but you continue to criticize it for what it did wrong each time it does something RIGHT.

It's like if you were housetraining a puppy and each time it peed outside you yelled at it, "You horrible stupid BAD dog--why did you pee on the rug last week?"

Hillary's speech was brave and historic. Just focus on that for a moment.

And go pet a puppy.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 10:58am

And there's actually no hypocrisy here. The point is to encourage other nations to stop actually imprisoning, torturing and killing their gay citizens. This isn't about marriage or military service, wich are unimaginable luxuries to the people to whom this speech was addressed. Yes. I wish gay marriage were legal. And I don't think we should let up on this President (or any President, or any elected official) until it becomes a reality. But I live in a world in which the last three years has seen the largest advancement of gay rights in the history of this nation. As tough as it is. And as frustrating as movement forward can be (especially when it's slow), that is still simply the fact. It's not an opinion. It. Is. A. Fact. Now...you can feel however you want to about those facts. You can even ignore the facts. But that doesn't change the fact that these things are indeed facts.

Personally, when I get down and out, I like to think of the words of the great Edwina Monsoon, 'Cheer up, world. It may never happened.' Landed her the prozac campaign, ya know.

[Q]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 11:18am

*applauds Hillary*

...and PJ and Robbie, too

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 4:12pm

"Roscoe--your relentless negativity is part of the problem. It fosters despair and cynicism."

PalJoey, did you read my postings before you wrote your kneejerk criticism? Hardly "relentless." I did point out that they've done a lot for gay folks. Even I wouldn't deny that.

Glad folks are getting such a boost from the latest bit of hot air from Obama's administration. Enjoy, folks.

Updated On: 12/8/11 at 04:12 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 4:45pm

No, I'd have to say "relentless" is pretty apt.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 4:58pm

Roscoe...you picked a fitting avatar.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 6:06pm

Her speech was a landmark one and this policy will have a huge impact. It's all happening. I believe it.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 6:56pm

It is amazing to see what the Right is doing.... (Koff, Rick Perry... Koff) Coming out and showig their true (?) colors. Though I still feel we can find Perry on the business end of a Glory hole in a truck stop in Texas on his days off.

Updated On: 12/8/11 at 06:56 PM

[Q]

Posted: 12/8/11 at 8:37pm

This "hot air" was a first in history, and also announced actual action being taken.

You bet I'm enjoying it, and thankful for it, as well.