The State of The Union

I enjoyed President Obama's speech this week. He seemed relaxed and in good humor. I've never agreed with everything he has tried to do, but for the most part, I still believe in him.

In his speech, he talked about how The Affordable Care Act has brought health care to many who did not have it before. He also said "We've got to make it easier to vote, not harder." And "We have to reduce the influence of money in politics, so that a handful of families or hidden interests can't bankroll our elections." While the Democrats applauded this line, the Republicans sat on their hands. I guess the "hidden interests" and "handful of families" are the people who run the Republican Party.

I love that he said "...we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love." I've been with my Joe for ten years now, and we have been married for more than seven. I know it's hard for people to accept that two men or two women can be married, but we are, and Republican candidates for president who would annul our marriage are only mean and hateful. Religious arguments do not trump my freedom.

Our junior Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and our Congressional representative, David McKinley, have voted time and again to overturn the Affordable Care Act, and expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court decision forcing West Virginia to recognize our marriage. They have fought the EPA on clean air, supposedly because of the potential loss of coal mining jobs, but they have allowed mining companies to get out of pension and health care obligations for retired miners. It seems they care about the coal mine owners, not the actual workers. Local politicians like to deny climate change. Scientists, even here in West Virginia, have noted changes in the plant and animal life in our state with alarm.

The Republicans from our district in the State Legislature promised to provide jobs and fix the roads. In the current legislative session, which just started yesterday, they have already proposed bills to limit abortions, to repeal prevailing wage and make West Virginia a "Right to Work" state. They say the last two will mean more jobs in West Virginia. The truth is it will line the pockets of corporate CEOs at the expense of workers, and will ultimately hurt the state's economy.

Last session, our local Republicans proposed charter schools, asked for a US Constitutional Convention to ban same-gender marriages, introduced a voter ID bill, and passed a bill to ease safety regulations in coal mines. None of these will fix the roads or provide jobs.

That's what made me sad about the President's speech. He is compassionate and progressive, wanting to really do something good for average Americans. I only get fear and loathing from the Republicans.

My candidacy for West Virginia State Legislature is a long shot. It would be great if I could bring some of President Obama's leadership to West Virginia, to defend his legacy in a state where he is often vilified, to conquer fear of the future. I want to respect West Virginia's legacy, but I want to move our state forward.

The Boy Scouts and the Newspaper

I read our local paper, the Dominion-Post, every day. When my husband Joe and I first moved here in the summer of 2012, I applied to be on the Community Advisory Board for the paper. We attended monthly meetings where we were able to discuss the paper and give advice. I don't think our advice was ever taken. More importantly, each of us wrote a column for the editorial page every twelve weeks. I wrote five or six in my time on this board, and I valued that, because I leaned how to write something interesting and keep the length down.

I often write letters answering other letters, or sometimes about a particular event. Typically my letters are about same-gender marriage. I wrote about how happy Joe and I were when the Fourth Circuit ruled that West Virginia had to honor our marriage, and I have answered religious conservatives who love to write about how sex between men is an "Abomination." Like eating pork.

The editorials in the paper, typically written by Randy Vealey, the Opinion Page Editor, have favored same-gender marriage and gay rights. My issue today is with some of the other things that get published.

I once responded directly to Christine M. Flowers, who is a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News. Her columns sometimes appear in the Dominion-Post. She is openly antipathetic to gay rights. She wrote back (which surprised me, as other columnists have not done that), and compared me to the Taliban and someone who did not believe in the First Amendment.

Her latest diatribe is about the Boy Scouts' decision to allow LGBT people to be adult leaders. She is against it. Her column appeared in The Dominion-Post on Friday, July 31.

"Up until now, gay and lesbian employees of the Scouts were welcome to participate in all activities and at all levels, just so long as they didn't talk about who they were sleeping with," she says. I don't believe this was true, and if it was, that meant that a gay or lesbian person could never mention that they were in a relationship. She points out that her mother, a former Cub Scout den leader, never talked about her sex life. I'm sure she didn't, but the kids knew she had a husband, didn't they?

Gay people who want to be Scout leaders don't go into that to broadcast about their sex life. That's an obvious lie meant to denigrate gay and lesbian people, especially those of us in relationships and those who work with kids.

I don't really care about Christine M. Flowers. As she pointed out to me in early 2014, she has the right to say whatever she wants, even if she demonizes a large class of citizens with blatant falsehoods.

What I need to know is who placed her in my hometown newspaper and why? This is not just a "difference of opinion" but slander. And the consequence could be that I stop reading the paper altogether, or that I continue to work to make sure this kind of crap doesn't get published. She can say whatever she wants, but she doesn't have a right to be published.