Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 01:01AM You may or may not know that I am a strong proponent of Health Care reform, it is something that President Obama (and Hillary Clinton) campaigned on, it is something that the majority of Americans say they want - with a public option. Recently, Keith Olbermann commited his entire 42 minute show to it:
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 12:38AM Ok, I have decided I want to blog more, and that the focus of this blog is not going to be as politics oriented as it was when I started it. This is going to be a little more...whatever. It is going to be the "Camilo Post". and so it's just not known what Camilo will post, but it will be a post, and it will be from Camilo. It will still largely be political and current events, and whatever random thing I feel like ranting about.
Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:44PM 
I really don't think I can explain the effect of the death of Michael Jackson on me in 140 lame Twitter words or less. Nor did I want to post 20 different posts to say this. So I need to write more.
I have not cried, don't think I will, it's not like that for me. The feeling of loss, the sense of a changing of time does hit me. It is indeed the end of an era, the turning of a page in the music world. When I was 11 years old, on August 16, 1977, grown women cried and everyone said The King was dead. I did not understand what the big deal was about this guy named Elvis Presley dying. I was already into Earth Wind, and Fire, The Bee Gees, The Eagles, and The Jackson 5. Who was this Elvis guy? But it was huge. And now I understand the impact, nearly 32 years later, another King is Dead.
The King of Pop. The Jackson 5, The Jacksons and Michael Jackson were soundtracks to my life. The Jackson 5 to my childhood. The Jackson's “Destiny” and Michael Jackson's “Off the Wall” album were ones I played endlessly when I was 12, 13 years old. These were my songs. This was my music. Music then, as it is now, was a huge part of my life.
Then, “Thriller” came out. I was in high school, already getting into new wave and kind of not as interested in Michael Jackson, especially with the first single, “The Girl Is Mine” with Paul McCartney. Then came “Billie Jean” and “Beat It”, and I could not deny
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 07:48AM (parts are taken from Hank's Ramblings found here)
Yes, The DOJ recently compared homosexuality to incest and fuc& them for that. However, the DOJ is NOT Obama. Obama’s position on gay marriage has been consistent: On the federal level, against full marriage - for civil unions; Repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and leave the states free to extend marriage rights if they so choose. It’s exactly the same position, by the way, that Hillary Clinton took, except she only called for the repeal of Section 3 of DOMA. The fact is, there’s very little a President can do on this issue. On the Federal level, the issue is entrenched. Even if Obama were in favor of full marriage equality, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party would not be enough to carry such a bill – and the 3/4 of states required would never ratify it. As the President has no jurisdiction over state initiatives, states will continue to do as they please, and the gay community must focus their marriage in state-by-state battles. The war over same-sex marriage will be won or lost in the Supreme Court.
Did you know that Obama's Administration has “four broad legislative goals,” on LGBT rights which include the extension of “hate crimes” to include those against gay and transgendered individuals, securing the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits gays from serving openly in the military, and repealing DOMA.
“The pledge and the promise is that, this will be done before the sun sets on this administration,” vowed Berry. “Our goal is to have this entire agenda accomplished and enacted into law so that it is secure.”
Most people aren't aware of this because the anti-Obama activist queer media won't print it. The Catholics will though.
Rushed legislation is easily overturned. Be patient, and you will have lasting, permanent, and almost impossible to overturn change. Trust me on this. For something as complicated and tough to push through as the LGBT agenda, 5 months is not long enough to make the irreversible changes that need to be made and to have the buy in of all the necessary players. Obama even changed Army Commanders to one who is cool with the over turn of DADT.
It's all coordinated, calm, and planned, unlike the emotional, rash, demanding people who should be mad at their fellow Californians and not the POTUS. Focus your anger correctly. Obama was never a gay marriage knight in shining armor and never said he would be. He is still on track to deliver all he said he would. Yes, 5 months is too quick to judge on something as complex as the LGBT agenda.
Queer activists are not even beginning to choose to comprehend how Washington works. If you know history, we got DADT because Clinton gave into activist queers about gays in the military and DADT was actually a fucked up consolation. Do you want another fucked up consolation because you won't be patient?
We will be victorious. I'd bet my 401k on it.
Camilo J. Arenivar
What HAS Obama done for LGBT people?
He has named openly gay John Berry as director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), making him the highest-ranking openly gay official ever. He appointed a lesbian, Nancy Sutley, as chairwoman of the Council on Environmental quality. He named a gay man to head the Export-Import Bank. The State Department promised to give partners of gay and lesbian diplomats benefits such as diplomatic passports and language training. In April, gay parents were invited for the FIRST time to bring their children to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Today, the Obama administration today announced extension of some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees - further steps are limited by the federal Defense of Marriage Act (oh the irony of it all).
Is this everything he promised? Certainly not! Is it more in five MONTHS than Bush did in eight YEARS? You bet! Is Obama even one-fourth done with his first term? Not even. Am I worried? At this point, not at all. Let's talk in a year.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 05:56PM The State Supreme Court of California made a very plain ruling in May 2008 initially when it gave gays the right to marry. It's a travesty of California's ballot initiative process that the people were then able to vote away the rights the Supreme Court had awarded them.
This court was not activist, mostly all Republican and not inclined to rock the boat, but they did vote what they saw was the way the law was.
Today's decision was destined to happen because it was a weak case, the whole revision thing. Everyone involved should have gotten together and made the case a compelling one about the constitutionality of Prop 8, and maybe then we would have had a chance at winning instead of this lame argument of revision versus amendment.
This battle may have been lost, but the war is not over.
With many protests and rallies planned for today and the weekend, I thought I'd share this from OneStruggleOneFight.com, I tend to agree with it quite a bit:
Why Civil Disobedience?
There are no more elegant defenses of civil disobedience than King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, a letter written in response to white clergymen asking King and the Civil Rights Movement to wait and be patient for their hopes to be realized.
In his eloquent rebuttal, he wrote of the impossibility of such patience, when "'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never'" and that "justice too long delayed is justice denied." Civil disobedience, he explains, is a way of bringing about that justice by "creat[ing] such a crisis and foster[ing] such a tension...[that] it can no longer be ignored."
The long history of discrimination against LGBTQ people, a history that promotes gay bashing, bullying, suicide, and lives of shame and desperation, has made civil disobedience a fact of our existence. In countries and societies that outlaw homosexuality, simply living day to day is an act of civil disobedience. In the United States, the same applies to any LGBTQ person who seeks to join the military, provide benefits for a partner, wed, or donate blood. And until the Supreme Court intervened in 2003, homosexual sex was an illegal, jailable offense. To this day it is legal to be fired, denied housing, ousted from committees and political office, and denied the right to adopt children simply because of who we are.
In the midst of such a struggle, it is time to act. There are calls for patience and separate institutions while our right to live lives of dignity and equality is further diminished with every popular election. The failure of many, though not all, communities, states, and the federal government to recognize the civil rights of LGBTQ people calls for an outcry loud enough to have our voices heard and our needs made manifest.