President Obama’s Official Statement On DOMA, Prop 8

Yes we can!! (Photo credit: TijsB)

Obama: “I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it. We are a people who declared that we are all created equal – and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.

This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents’ marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better.

So we welcome today’s decision, and I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.

On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital. How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions. Nothing about this decision – which applies only to civil marriages – changes that.

The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free. ”

Cebull Resignation/Impeachment Petitions Update

Mar20 by D Gregory Smith

When I first looked at the internets regarding public discontent regarding Richard Cebull’s lack of professional judgment, (Cebull Petitions Pepper The Internet- And They Should) there were 5 petitions circulating in the informational ether.

Now, the number is up. On Change.org alone there are 10.

Will anything happen? Will the complaint by the Montana GOP (against Senators Baucus and Tester for filing an investigation request with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to take a look) get any traction? Will the story just fade away?

Nope.

Not as long as I have a computer and internet access….

The Call For Cebull To Step Down Gets Louder- Petition Edition (dgsmith.org)
MT Federal Judge Admits Racist Obama Email (dgsma.wordpress.com)

Racist Judge Makes The Washington Post

Mar1 by D Gregory Smith

I was worried that the bestiality-inferring racist email sent by Federal Judge Richard Cebull of Billings might go unnoticed by most of the national media- thank God I was wrong.

The Washington Post today picked up the original GF Tribune story, as did the Los Angeles Times, which added this:

The Tribune said it received the email after it had been forwarded several times in a chain that began at its original recipients. Cebull said he was “surprised” it had been passed along with his name attached to it, the newspaper said.

The Colbert Report ticket (Photo credit: eszter)

Again, he’s not sorry he did it, just sorry he got caught. And probably wondering which one of his buddies or (buddies friends) turned him in.

Dare I hope to see this story on tv tonight? -at least The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. Cross your fingers, light a candle and forward, retweet and write about this as often as you can….

In any case, this story warrants two new categories here on the site: Hypocrisy At Work and Conduct Unbecoming.

MT Federal Judge Admits Racist Obama Email (dgsma.wordpress.com)
Federal Judge Sends Disgusting, Racist Anti-Obama Email to Six of His “Old Buddies” and Acquaintances (pubcit.typepad.com)
The Sickness on the Right (The Daily Dish)

MT Federal Judge Admits Racist Obama Email

Feb29 by D Gregory Smith

Richard Cebull, Chief U.S. District Judge for the State of Montana has admitted he sent racially charged emails about the President to “a few close buddies” from his chambers. From USA Today:

Image from Wikipedia

Cebull, of Billings, was nominated by former president George W. Bush and received his commission in 2001 and has served as chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008.

The subject line of the e-mail, which Cebull sent from his official courthouse e-mail address on Feb. 20 at 3:42 p.m., reads: “A MOM’S MEMORY.”

The forwarded text reads as follow:

“Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

“A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?’ ” the e-mail joke reads. “His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’ ”

Cebull admitted Wednesday to sending the e-mail to seven recipients, including his personal e-mail address. The judge acknowledged that the content of the e-mail was racist, but said he does not consider himself racist. He said the e-mail was intended to be a private communication.

“It was not intended by me in any way to become public,” Cebull said. “I apologize to anybody who is offended by it and I can obviously understand why people would be offended.”

Cebull said his brother initially sent him the e-mail, which he forwarded to six of his “old buddies” and acquaintances.

“The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan,” Cebull said. “I didn’t send it as racist, although that’s what it is. I sent it out because it’s anti-Obama.”

Travis McAdam, executive director for the Montana Human Rights Network, said the e-mail is highly racist rhetoric unbecoming of a federal judge.

“It’s one thing if the judge is not a fan of President Barack Obama, but you would think someone in his position would articulate that in a way that criticizes his policy decisions or his position on issues,” McAdam said. “We have a hard time believing that a legitimate criticism of the president involves distributing a joke that basically compares African Americans with animals.”

Cebull said he does not consider himself prejudiced against people of other races or ethnic backgrounds, and that his actions in his courtroom have demonstrated that.

“This is a private thing that was, to say the least, very poor judgment on my part,” Cebull said. “I did not forward it because of the racist nature of it. Although it is racist, I’m not that way, never have been.”

The White House declined to comment Wednesday on the incident.

My two cents: Cebull’s statements don’t seem to indicate any remorse or regret- it’s simply an expression of the depth of prejudice that can’t distinguish between racism and partisanship. I think this needs to be a big deal- and he needs to go.

It’s disgusting.

Update The Bozeman Chronicle’s lead-in: Montana’s chief federal judge said Wednesday that he forwarded an email that contained a joke involving bestiality and President Barack Obama’s mother, but he did so because he dislikes the president and not because he’s racist.