Economic Progress In YOUR Zip Code Pass It On October 15, 2010March 19, 2017 But first . . . IT GETS BETTER If every 12-year-old in the country – and every parent – took a few minutes to watch this Fort Worth City Councilman, there would be more happiness in America and, at the extreme, fewer teen suicides. The irony of course is that the worst bullies are those who are gay themselves (whether they yet have become fully aware of it or not), and who resort to verbal or physical gay-bashing to “prove” this could not possibly be the case. (Hey, just look at Senator “wide stance” Larry Craig’s 100% anti-gay voting record.) I’ve always thought that if that irony could become common knowledge – the irony that if you’re disparaging one of your classmates that way it probably means you’re gay – the public disparagement would cease. What would be the point in trying to hide your own homosexual feelings by bashing others if that very bashing would make you suspect? I was never bullied in high school for being gay – I was one of the guys with the varsity jackets. (A terrible soccer player, albeit with heart; such a mediocre swimmer that Coach Kramp – true name! – suggested I go out for wrestling instead; a wrestler who made the varsity only because the guy ahead of me had his neck broken early in the season.) But even without being bullied it was tough knowing – and knowing I would always have to keep secret – that I was unacceptable. Things have gotten so much better since then, thanks to innumerable wonderful people like you, who get it. But as the Councilman’s clip shows, we still have a long way to go. Watch it? And pass it on? And now . . . PROGRESS If yesterday’s list was a little clunky (though substantive), click here for elegant. It’s a just-launched site that shows the progress we’ve made – nationwide, or by state, or even down to your own zip code. And you can drill down to see, for example, all the tax breaks given to small business. Don’t miss this. And pass it on? Finally . . . APPEAL The Administration is well on its way to repealing Don’t Ask / Don’t Tell. Repeal passed the House and would have passed the Senate had not all 41 Republican Senators voted to prevent it from coming to the floor. My guess is that the Senate will pass it in December before adjourning for the year. In the meantime, a California Federal District Court judge ruled the law unconstitutional – and said the ruling, which would normally apply only within that district, applied worldwide. The Justice Department yesterday asked for a stay of the ruling – and a lot of people are wondering why. If the Obama Administration wishes to get rid of the policy, why appeal this verdict? And, for that matter, why appeal the pro-LGBT marriage rulings in Massachusetts and California? You’ll find one explanation here. “The short version,” says the author (“no apologist for Obama”), “is that the US legal system often works in ways that are deeply counter-intuitive. We should not only expect that these cases will be appealed, we should desire that they are. . . . The sky is not falling. We are not doomed. Do not panic about these (or similar) appeals. That’s how the US legal system works. It’s long and slow sometimes, but taking shortcuts isn’t how to win the day.” If the full analysis resonates with you, pass it on, too.