1in3Campaign.org: Alex from Advocates for Youth on Vimeo.
This is great. Advocates for Youth, Choica USA and SYRF collaborated to create the 1 in 3 campaign where people tell their abortion stories. It’s a fantastic way not only to remind the public about just how common abortion is, but also to humanize the act and put a face behind the number.
Transcript after the jump.
If all you saw in the mainstream media about President Obama’s speech to the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference Saturday night was the AP story, then you are woefully misinformed as to what the President actually said.
As soon as the AP story, “Obama Tells Blacks to ‘Stop Complainin’ and Fight” hit the wire, the narrative that the president “lectured” or “talked down to” black people emerged. In reality, the President delivered a fiery campaign style speech with the purpose of igniting his base of supporters who have been frustrated with the high levels of unemployment and overall dismal pace of economic growth. The first half of the speech addressed what the administration has been able to achieve so far, which is substantial and far surpassing his predecessors.
The second half of the speech addressed the critics which has included the CBC of late. Concerns in the CBC are completely valid. African American unemployment is ridiculously and inexcusably high and Washington, D.C. has been in a constant state of partisan gridlock since November 2010. Many African Americans are frustrated with the Obama administration and the most vocal critics, including some members of the CBC in the room during the speech, have called out the President for his so-called “failure” to adequately address the problems of many black Americans.
So what did President Obama actually say in his “lecture” to black America?
President Obama wants those critics to stop talking and get to work.
Here are some notable excerpts from President Obama’s speech with my commentary and emphasis added in bold below.
And I know at times that gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of you all. (Laughter.) I understand that. And nobody feels that burden more than I do. Because I know how much we have invested in making sure that we’re able to move this country forward. But you know, more than a lot of other folks in this country, we know about hard. The people in this room know about hard. (Applause.) And we don’t give in to discouragement.
(9)
Too bad the NFL wasn’t super public about this change, but glad to see the news nonetheless. Amanda Terkel reports:
The NFL has removed a hurdle for professional football players who may be thinking of coming out as gay, banning discrimination based on “sexual orientation.”
The new language was quietly put into the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, ratified by the players on Aug. 4, and first noticed by Pete Olsen at Wide Rights.
The contract reads: “Section 1. No Discrimination: There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA [NFL Players Association] because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.”
Terkel also notes that there are no openly gay professional sports player in football, basketball, baseball or hockey — every player that has come out did after they left their respective leagues. But while the purpose of this addition is about protection, it also gives me some hope that major league sports have the ability to evolve and transform sports culture from a space (and reputation) of toxic masculinity, homophobia and rampant sexism into one of respect and inclusiveness. We’ve seen indications of it in players and teams — hopefully more will follow suit.
(4)
If you love Leisha Hailey from The L-Word like I do, prepare to fume. Southwest Airlines, the airline company that loves to discriminate based on size and what you’re wearing (not to mention harass some women in the process) kicked the actress and her girlfriend off of their flight yesterday for kissing, with the reason being that Southwest is a “family” airline.
After tons of tweets by Leisha demanding an apology and a ton of news coverage, Southwest issued a public apology claiming that the flight attendant was responding to passenger complaints “characterizing the behavior as aggressive,” claiming the actions made weren’t based on the fact that they were gay, but because they were making out.
Which I call bullshit on. The airline has way too much of a reputation of discrimination — not to mention against a lot of celebrities, which also gives the impression that the airline is guilty of discrimination not just because they’re assholes, but to garner more attention (and hence, more business). It’s like they’re the PETA of the airline industry.
(2)
Samhita Mukhopadhyay 
Vanessa Valenti 
Miriam Perez 
Courtney Martin 
Chloe Angyal 
Jos Truitt
Lori Adelman
Shark-Fu 
Goddess Jaz 
Maya Dusenbery 
Zerlina Maxwell
Lady Gaga meets POTUS to push administration on anti-gay bullying
The Mother Monster was there to implore the President and his administration to respond to the recent suicide of 14 year old Jamey Rodemeyer after years of bullying. Rodemeyer even tweeted to Lady Gaga before ending his life. Gaga attended the fundraiser in order to raise awareness and to push for bullying to become a federal hate crime.
Gaga thanked the president and the White House for their Conference on Bullying Prevention earlier this year but pressed them to do more. Hopefully, Rodemeyer’s tragic death will lead to much needed anti-bullying legislation. I don’t know if it can or should be made into a federal hate crime, but much more serious penalties are necessary to stop this horrific cycle of homophobic bullying and suicide. There are too many young people ending their lives and there need to be more serious consequences for those disgusting individuals who live to make another child’s life a living hell.
R.I.P. Jamey.