politics 5:44 pm
Today’s Facebook status:
Reason #13 Why I’m a Democrat: I work with a staff of 6 incredible women. I believe each of them deserves equal pay for equal work, so I applaud President Obama’s signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Mitt Romney refuses to say whether he would have signed the bill into law, but the Republican Party opposes giving women a fair chance to prove discrimination.
politics 5:40 pm
Today’s Facebook Post:
Reason #11 Why I’m a Democrat: I’m fortunate that I’ve only once faced the possibility of being the victim of anti-gay violence. (In that situation, Pauland I were able to get into our car and lock the door before the guy caught up to us; he then proceeded to bang on my car with his fists until we drove away.) President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanding federal hate-crime laws to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. In 2003, Romney vetoed a bill funding hate-crimes prevention in Massachusetts. Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, also voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act when it passed through the House in 2009.
politics 5:41 pm
Today’s Facebook reason for being a Democrat:
Reason #12 Why I’m a Democrat: I was never bullied in school (the one time someone tried to bully me in junior high, I ridiculed him enough that he never tried it again), but many kids are routinely bullied in our schools. Some 160,000 children stay home every day, missing out on their education because they are afraid to face the abuse. President Obama formed the Interagency Council on Bullying Prevention and convened the first White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. In addition, he launched Stopbullying.gov, a website with resources designed to assist bullied youths and their advocates, including specific information on bullying against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has been exposed as someone who bullied gay kids when he was in high school and is at best indifferent to this issue.
politics 2:58 pm
Today’s Facebook post:
Reason #10 Why I’m a Democrat: While I would have been a disaster as a soldier (too uncoordinated), I believe that being gay should not disqualify someone from serving in the military. Indeed, gay men and lesbians have made important contributions to our nation’s defense for decades and now they can serve their country openly and without fear of court martial thanks to President Obama and the Democratic Party. As with many of his positions, Mitt Romney isn’t entirely clear on where he stands on this issue he supported repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” until he started running for president this cycle and then switched to argue that it should have been kept in place until the war if Afghanistan is over.
I have several family members who have been in or are currently in the military. Most of them are not gay, but I think it’s wonderful that all of them could now serve openly and proudly. Studies have shown that eliminating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” have had none of the effects conservatives claimed it would have. If anything, it’s made our military stronger.
politics 8:21 pm
Here’s today’s reason:
Reason #9 Why I’m a Democrat: Paul and I travel internationally as much as we can. Whenever we travel we take into account our safety as a gay couple, which limits where we would feel comfortable traveling in Africa and the Middle East. President Obama opposes laws in African countries that criminalize homosexuality. The Republican party platform advocates for these laws and even supports the imprisonment and execution of gay men in these countries.
One of my former students thought I was generalizing Africa too much, since South Africa has same-sex marriage and other benefits, but I think restriction of my thoughts to “African countries that criminalize homosexuality” and “advocates for these laws and even supports the imprisonment and execution of gay men in these countries” avoided that. No one else has chimed in on this debate so far.
politics 6:15 pm
Today’s Facebook Status:
Reason #8 Why I’m a Democrat: When I was 9 years old, my dad legally adopted me, giving him all of the rights and responsibilities of parenthood. (BTW, I wish my parents would have changed my name to Jeremiah when I became a Webster!) Pauland have occasionally considered adopting a child. We could certainly provide a stable, nurturing home to a child in need. One of the biggest inhibitors to adoption is that Ohio currently does not allow second-parent adoptions, meaning that the most likely scenario would be for one of us to adopt while the other would have no legal rights or responsibilities for that child, a situation that is unworkable for most families, not just gay parents.
Indeed, my own adoption by my dad would have been prohibited by Ohio law.President Obama has stated his unequivocal support for the rights of same-sex couples to adopt. Romney and the Republican Party are generally against individuals and gay couples adopting children.The Ohio law only applied to unmarked couples. So, I was wrong to think my adoption by my dad would have been prohibited.
politics 6:16 pm
Today starts a week of gay-related reasons:
Reason #7 Why I’m a Democrat: Paul and I have been together for nearly 18 years. We are married in every way except legally. President Obama and the Democratic Party support full marriage quality. Romney and the Republicans support an amendment to the Constitution that defines marriage as an institution between a man and a woman. According to his spokeswoman, Romney also believes that it should be left to states to decide whether to grant same-sex couples certain benefits, such as hospital visitation rights and the ability to adopt children. In other words, he believes that, if I were hospitalized the state rather than me should decide whether Paul would get to visit me.
politics 8:45 am
Here’s today’s Facebook post:
Reason #6 Why I’m a Democrat: One of the best parts of my job is fostering and learning about the innovative research being conducted today by tomorrow’s scientists. As 68 science Nobel Prize winners recently noted, “President Obama understands the key role science has played in building a prosperous America” and “has championed investment in science and technology research that is the engine of our economy.” Romney “supports a budget that, if implemented, would devastate a long tradition of support for public research and investment in science at a time when this country’s future depends, as never before, on innovation.”
As a dean who now works for help fund undergraduate research, this issue couldn’t be more important to me!
politics 8:48 am
Today’s reason isn’t very sexy:
Reason #5 why I’m a Democrat: I’ve wanted to be an educator since at least the second grade, and I’m fortunate to have a job where I can do all of the things I love to do: teaching, research, and administration. President Obama wants to help states maintain a strong roster of teachers by providing funds to hire 100,000 new teachers, who are desperately needed since states have balanced their budgets by laying off teachers instead of raising taxes on higher income people (like me!). Romney opposes this plan.
I doubt I’ll get a lot of Facebook responses!
politics 2:40 pm
Today’s reason hasn’t garnered much response on Facebook:
Reason #4 why I’m a Democrat: I have family members who have received unemployment benefits over the past couple of years. The president extended unemployment insurance–assisting 2.5 million Americans who lost their jobs in the recession. Romney thinks workers should pay for their own unemployment benefits through individual savings accounts. Romney even said it’s an “indisputable fact” that extending jobless benefits discourages people from finding work.
![IMG_8341[1]](https://live.staticflickr.com/8644/27753735444_2ca20d29d0_s.jpg "IMG_8341[1]")
This Gaudy Gilded Stage 