Some Good News from the State Department

Celebrate:

I could not be more proud to announce Randy Berry as the first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons.

We looked far and wide to find the right American official for this important assignment. Randy’s a leader. He’s a motivator. But most importantly for this effort, he’s got vision. Wherever he’s served – from Nepal to New Zealand, from Uganda to Bangladesh, from Egypt to South Africa, and most recently as Consul General in Amsterdam – Randy has excelled. He’s a voice of clarity and conviction on human rights. And I’m confident that Randy’s leadership as our new Special Envoy will significantly advance efforts underway to move towards a world free from violence and discrimination against LGBT persons.

Defending and promoting the human rights of LGBT persons is at the core of our commitment to advancing human rights globally – the heart and conscience of our diplomacy. That’s why we’re working to overturn laws that criminalize consensual same-sex conduct in countries around the world. It’s why we’re building our capacity to respond rapidly to violence against LGBT persons, and it’s why we’re working with governments, civil society, and the private sector through the Global Equality Fund to support programs advancing the human rights of LGBT persons worldwide.

Too often, in too many countries, LGBT persons are threatened, jailed, and prosecuted because of who they are or who they love. Too many governments have proposed or enacted laws that aim to curb freedom of expression, association, religion, and peaceful protest. More than 75 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex activity.

At the same time, and often with our help, governments and other institutions, including those representing all religions, are taking steps to reaffirm the universal human rights of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. So while this fight is not yet won, this is no time to get discouraged. It’s time to stay active. It’s time to assert the equality and dignity of all persons, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity. And with Randy helping to lead our efforts, I am confident that’s exactly what we can and will do.

―U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

Not all the news coming out of the Beltway is bad.

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Kerry, John. “Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons”. U.S. Department of State. 23 February 2015.

A Reason for the Raising of the Wrist

We should probably take a moment to raise a glass to the one and only Steve Benen, oft-quoted at This Is, and celebrating twelve years as a professional blogger today. (It’s still today on the west coast, Steve.)

There’s a phrase we didn’t know would work out, back then: professional blogger.

Five questions Steve will never have to answer:

Idaho Style

Please, no.

No more. Please.

A North Idaho lawmaker drew national attention Monday when he received a brief lesson on female anatomy after asking if a woman can swallow a small camera for doctors to conduct a remote gynecological exam.

Dr. Julie Madsen, who was testifying in opposition to anti-abortion legislation that Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, supports, said no, explaining, “When you swallow a pill, it would not end up in the vagina.”

“Fascinating. That certainly makes sense, doctor,” Barbieri told Madsen, amid hoots of laughter from the crowd. The exchange came during a three-hour hearing on HB 154, which would add restrictions to medication-induced abortions in Idaho, specifically aimed at preventing them from occurring via telemedicine in what opponents dubbed “web cam abortions.”

But Barbieri said later that his question was rhetorical, and he knew the answer.

(Russell)

Please, Rep. Barbieri, and Republicans everywhere from sea to shining sea, and beyond, as such, er, you know, I mean, whatever, you know, never mind.

Just … stop.

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Image note: “Ukelele no good” ― Detail of frame from FLCL, episode 3, “Marquis de Carabas”, because, you know, now why was it, again?

Russell, Betsy Z. “Idaho rep’s question on abortion bill draws national attention”. The Spokesman-Review. 23 February 2015.

Bull O’Reilly

Right. This is going to go on for a while.

Move over, Brian Williams. You have company.

Sort of.

What?

I mean, we all knew this was coming, right?

No, seriously, name one news anchor you flat-out trust. If you can, I’ll bet it’s a pundit-show host. Or else you attend public broadcasting ....

Anyway, never mind. This is really happening.

A matter of inevitability, really, and regardless of how stupid it seems.

But come on. This was going to happen, and we all knew it.

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Lewis, Eric. “Animal Nuz #239: Bull O’Reilly Edition”. Daily Kos Comics. 21 February 2015.

A Profile in Political Courage (Bizarro Bonehead Mix)

It would be difficult enough to construct an infraction scheme for our political discourse, but at some point Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) needs some time in the penalty box. After ducking obvious questions about evolution and the ravings of a madman, the Badger-in-chief has once again stared into the eyes of a straightforward question and buckled.

Dan Balz and Robert Costa of the Washington Post explain the latest fold:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a prospective Republican presidential contender, said Saturday he does not know whether President Obama is a Christian.

“I don’t know,” Walker said in an interview at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, where he was attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.

Told that Obama has frequently spoken publicly about his Christian faith, Walker maintained that he was not aware of the president’s religion.

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said, his voice calm and firm. “I’ve never asked him that,” he added. “You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

True, the proposition of “dog whistle” politics is always a sketchy one; we prefer to call it by its name, which is “bigoted” politics. But given an example of this basic function, it really is the proper indictment.

But here’s the thing. The governor responded that “this is a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press”, a point reiterated by spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster when she called the Washington Post to try to salvage the governor’s performance:

“Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian,” she said. “He thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing as governor of Wisconsin to make the state better and make life better for people in his state.”

Mr. Walker and his staff, including Ms. Webster, need to recognize that they are asking to play at the highest valence of American politics, and cheap excuses are unproductive. To explain it as simply as possible for both their benefits: When the eventual answer is, “Of course he thinks ____”, it would behoove the candidate to say so in the first place.

And this is where the dog whistles come in.

Almost Unbelievable

Mr. Walker likes to present himself as a man of courage, based on his record in Wisconsin, but maybe facing down public-sector unions doesn’t tell you all that much about the bravery of a Republican governor. On two occasions in recent days, he has proved himself incapable of saying basic truths that might offend some of his potential voters: First, that evolution is real, and second, that an honorable politician criticizes his opponent’s policies, not his patriotism.

―The Washington Post

This is an ugly tale.

Indeed, a personal barometer of any given political news story is what we might refer to as the “GMA Test”^α. That is to say, when last week’s news percolates to get a mention on Good Morning America, one might rest assured that the story has arrived. Whether or not anyone will care is an entirely separate question, but there is more going on here than just Rudy Giuliani being an idiot, or Scott Walker a coward.

For instance, there is Bobby Jindal, who wants to one-up them both.

But let us start with the basic outline, from Dana Milbank of the Washington Post:

As the world now knows, Giuliani, the former New York mayor, said at a dinner featuring Walker, the Wisconsin governor, that “I do not believe that the president loves America.” According to Politico, Giuliani said President Obama “wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up, through love of this country.”

And Walker, just a few seats away, said . . . nothing. Asked the next morning on CNBC about Giuliani’s words, the Republican presidential aspirant was spineless: “The mayor can speak for himself. I’m not going to comment on what the president thinks or not. He can speak for himself as well. I’ll tell you, I love America, and I think there are plenty of people — Democrat, Republican, independent, everyone in between — who love this country.”

But did he agree with Giuliani? “I’m in New York,” Walker demurred. “I’m used to people saying things that are aggressive out there.”

This is what’s alarming about the Giuliani affair. There will always be people on the fringe who say outrageous things (and Giuliani, once a respected public servant, has sadly joined the nutters as he questioned the president’s patriotism even while claiming he was doing no such thing). But to have a civilized debate, it’s necessary for public officials to disown such beyond-the-pale rhetoric. And Walker failed that fundamental test of leadership.

Something about ugly goes here.

The Reason Why

Only twenty-seven?

Your number of the day. We did not bother reading the article. No, really, if there are twenty-seven “important moments” from the Oscars, well, where does that fall in the range? Is it a mean? That would make 2,349 important moments from eighty-seven Academy Awards ceremonies, but that projection is probably unfair since our age of mass media means we can increase the number of important things per second.

Still, though, where are we going to fit in all those important things? Arts education is already woeful in these United States, and nobody really seems to like history despite it being both one of the easier courses on the curriculum and also one of the most important a person can learn. Maybe if we cram it into a business education sequence.

Because that, more than whatever twenty-seven things, is the important lesson to learn: Growing the brand. It is why we teach kids math, not so they can grow up to take pretty pictures of the sky. Pretty pictures are pretty and all, but they don’t put food on the table.

And don’t give us any of that excremental hippie line about math and science saving lives. You can’t save lives if you don’t grow the brand.

Priorities, people.

That’s why twenty-seven.

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Image note: Detail of BuzzFeed “More News” sidebar, 23 February 2015, 07:28 PST.

Going Downhill from Here

Something about multiple choice. ‘Nuff said.

Detail of Bug Martini, by Adam Huber, 23 February 2015.