Less than a year after seeing the push for civil unions vetoed, gay rights advocates cheered as Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed into law a bill legalizing civil unions and making Hawaii the seventh state to grant such privileges to same-sex couples.
Abercrombie signed the legislation at a ceremony today at historic Washington Place.
"E Komo Mai: It means all are welcome," Abercrombie said in remarks before signing the bill into law. "This signing today of this measure says to all of the world that they are welcome. That everyone is a brother or sister here in paradise."
"The legalization of civil unions in Hawaii represents in my mind equal rights for all people," he said.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
2011 Medal of Freedom recipients
The following individuals will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at today's ceremony (read their full bios here):
President George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States.
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Congressman John Lewis
John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the Civil Rights Movement.
John H. Adams
John H. Adams co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970.
Maya Angelou
Dr. Maya Angelou is a prominent and celebrated author, poet, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, who is currently the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is an American investor, industrialist, and philanthropist. He is one of the most successful investors in the world.
Jasper Johns
American artist Jasper Johns has produced a distinguished body of work dealing with themes of perception and identity since the mid-1950s.
Gerda Weissmann Klein
Gerda Weissmann Klein is a Jewish Holocaust survivor who has written several books about her experiences.
Dr. Tom Little (Posthumous)
Dr. Tom Little was an optometrist who was brutally murdered on August 6, 2010, by the Taliban in the Kuran Wa Munjan district of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, along with nine other members of a team returning from a humanitarian mission to provide vision care in the remote Parun valley of Nuristan.
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is considered the world’s greatest living cellist, recognized as a prodigy since the age of five whose celebrity transcends the world of classical music.
Sylvia Mendez
Sylvia Mendez is a civil rights activist of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
Stan Musial
Stan “The Man” Musial is a baseball legend and Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. Musial played 22 seasons for the Cardinals from 1941 to 1963.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell is the former Boston Celtics’ Captain who almost single-handedly redefined the game of basketball.
Jean Kennedy Smith
In 1974, Jean Kennedy Smith founded VSA, a non-profit organization affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center that promotes the artistic talents of children, youth and adults with disabilities.
John J. Sweeney
John J. Sweeney is the current President Emeritus of the AFL-CIO, and served as President of the AFL-CIO from 1995 to 2009.
***
PBS report
full program as seen on CSPAN [via lethean46]
President George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States.
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Congressman John Lewis
John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the Civil Rights Movement.
John H. Adams
John H. Adams co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970.
Maya Angelou
Dr. Maya Angelou is a prominent and celebrated author, poet, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, who is currently the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is an American investor, industrialist, and philanthropist. He is one of the most successful investors in the world.
Jasper Johns
American artist Jasper Johns has produced a distinguished body of work dealing with themes of perception and identity since the mid-1950s.
Gerda Weissmann Klein
Gerda Weissmann Klein is a Jewish Holocaust survivor who has written several books about her experiences.
Dr. Tom Little (Posthumous)
Dr. Tom Little was an optometrist who was brutally murdered on August 6, 2010, by the Taliban in the Kuran Wa Munjan district of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, along with nine other members of a team returning from a humanitarian mission to provide vision care in the remote Parun valley of Nuristan.
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is considered the world’s greatest living cellist, recognized as a prodigy since the age of five whose celebrity transcends the world of classical music.
Sylvia Mendez
Sylvia Mendez is a civil rights activist of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
Stan Musial
Stan “The Man” Musial is a baseball legend and Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. Musial played 22 seasons for the Cardinals from 1941 to 1963.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell is the former Boston Celtics’ Captain who almost single-handedly redefined the game of basketball.
Jean Kennedy Smith
In 1974, Jean Kennedy Smith founded VSA, a non-profit organization affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center that promotes the artistic talents of children, youth and adults with disabilities.
John J. Sweeney
John J. Sweeney is the current President Emeritus of the AFL-CIO, and served as President of the AFL-CIO from 1995 to 2009.
***
PBS report
full program as seen on CSPAN [via lethean46]
Friday, February 11, 2011
Mubarak steps down
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday and handed over power to the military -- three decades of his iron-clad rule ended by an 18-day revolution that could ripple across the Arab world.
In a somber one-minute announcement on state television, Vice President Omar Suleiman said Mubarak had resigned and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will "run the affairs of the country."
Tens of thousands of emotional Egyptians exploded in deafening cheers on the streets of Cairo, electric with excitement. It was a moment they had anticipated throughout long days of relentless demonstrations -- sometimes violent -- that demanded Mubarak's departure.
***
CAIRO — Cries of "Egypt is free rang out and fireworks lit up the sky over Cairo's Tahrir Square where hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium Friday after 18 days of mass pro-democracy protests forced President Hosni Mubarak to hand over power to the military, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.
Ecstatic protesters hoisted soldiers onto their shoulders and families posed for pictures in front of tanks in streets flooded with residents of the capital of 18 million people streaming out to celebrate. Strangers hugged strangers, some fell to kiss the ground, and others stood stunned in disbelief. Chants of "Hold your heads high, you're Egyptian" roared with each burst of fireworks overhead.
In a somber one-minute announcement on state television, Vice President Omar Suleiman said Mubarak had resigned and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will "run the affairs of the country."
Tens of thousands of emotional Egyptians exploded in deafening cheers on the streets of Cairo, electric with excitement. It was a moment they had anticipated throughout long days of relentless demonstrations -- sometimes violent -- that demanded Mubarak's departure.
***
CAIRO — Cries of "Egypt is free rang out and fireworks lit up the sky over Cairo's Tahrir Square where hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium Friday after 18 days of mass pro-democracy protests forced President Hosni Mubarak to hand over power to the military, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.
Ecstatic protesters hoisted soldiers onto their shoulders and families posed for pictures in front of tanks in streets flooded with residents of the capital of 18 million people streaming out to celebrate. Strangers hugged strangers, some fell to kiss the ground, and others stood stunned in disbelief. Chants of "Hold your heads high, you're Egyptian" roared with each burst of fireworks overhead.
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