Cupid's Month

First thing's first--February birthday shout-outs go to:
Ramona Talamantez Garcia (my grandmother's 85th) from Pecos, TX...Feb. 4th
Michelle Hernandez (Dora's niece) from Big Spring, TX...Feb. 9th
Celeste Martinez (Dora's great-niece and Michelle's daughter) from Big Spring, TX...Feb. 26th
Rain Ryan Garcia (my uncle) from San Antonio, TX...Feb. 28th

February is here. As usual, everyone is making plans for that special day when "I love you's" are heard every second of the day...the candlelit dinners, the cards, the flowers, the candy, the kisses, you name it. But it's not just a time to celebrate Valentine's Day or President's day. It is also Black History month and if you don't think that has any significance to you because you may not be African American, then you are seriously mistaken. History, regardless of the type, touches EVERYONE. If you know anything about the Civil Rights Movement, you will know that the Greensboro 4 will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2010. Who are the Greensboro 4? The brave youngsters who were determined to eat at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro! Dora a great video clip of this incident on her political blog. During this month, we are also reminded of the courageous Freedom Riders. As a grad student, I had the privilege of assisting one of my former professors with his book Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides. Another grad student and I developed the index, which was fun and challenging. The book is a great read and the experiences of the Freedom Riders is truly inspiring. They were bold and they were brave. These rides were intricately planned to the very last detail. And these plans were carried out with such determination on behalf of social justice, equality, and freedom; hence the name Freedom Rides.



Speaking of civil rights, I'd like to touch upon the civil rights of the LGBT community. President Obama alluded to the gay and lesbian community in his State of the Union Address when he said he would work with Congress and our military to "repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." These means repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that has proven to be a complete failure. Personally, I have only one problem with that. Obama may have urged Congress to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, but he did not make a commitment to suspend the practice in the interim nor issued a deadline. Time is of the essence Mr. President. Without a moratorium on the witch hunts and expulsions, lip service just won't cut it. More attention and more leadership is required to win repeal. Gays and lesbians are not second-class citizens and our rights are not second-term problems. Please do remember that the gay and lesbian vote helped you win in 2008. We do have a voice and will use it to the fullest extent. Think about it Mr. Presidsent. Your relationship with us thus far has been rocky at best. It certainly didn't help when you invited evangelist Rick Warren, a supporter of California's Prop 8, to participate in your Inauguration. Bad move Barack!
As for the remainder of the Address, I enjoyed it. But I've got my eye on you.