(Reuters) CA's gay marriage ban could open the door to legal discrimination against unpopular groups now that the state Supreme Court has allowed the measure to stand, blacks, Latinos, Asians & other minorities said. Legal scholars say the measure, which defines marriage as between a man & a woman, breaks new ground by limiting the courts' ability to protect minorities. "They could take away any right from any group," said USC Law Professor David Cruz. "The entire purpose behind the constitutional principle of equal protection would be subverted if the constitutional protection of unpopular minorities were subject to simple majority rule," read a brief by black, Asian & Hispanic groups challenging the ban. "This case is not simply about gay & lesbian equality", pointing to segregation laws & one excluding Asian-Americans from land ownership as examples.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081124/ts_nm/us_gaymarriage_minorities
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The right thing to do... let things calm down for awhile, and build a better base...
Gay rights group will wait until 2012 to Challenge Prop. 8
Published: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 - 11:25 am
Last Modified: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 - 2:45 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 - 2:45 pm
Bowing to the advice of political consultants and pollsters, officials from a major gay rights advocacy group announced Wednesday that they will wait until 2012 to return to California voters with an initiative legalizing gay marriage.
The leaders of Equality California, which calls itself the largest gay rights advocacy group in the state, said they won't try to qualify a measure on the subject for the 2010 ballot despite demands from many gay and lesbian activists seeking quicker movement on the issue.
That decision, however, hasn't stopped a liberal advocacy group, Courage Campaign, from collecting signatures for a 2010 ballot initiative on the subject. According to that group's Web site, it has already raised about $136,000 to "invest in research, polling and focus groups to repeal Proposition 8," the ballot initiative passed last year banning same-sex marriage.
Other gay rights groups are also working to put a same-sex marriage initiative on the 2010 ballot.
Geoff Kors, Equality California's executive director, said in a conference call Wednesday that his group has "knocked on 500,000 doors" to survey voters statewide about the issue and determined that such an initiative would stand a better chance with more time. The group plans to spend the next three years launching outreach and education campaigns about the issue to convince voters.
Additionally, running the initiative during a presidential election year would bring out more young voters, who polls show are more likely to vote for legalizing same-sex marriage, said Equality California Marriage Director Marc Solomon in the conference call.
"Waiting until we're confident we can win is understandable but not acceptable," Solomon said. "We need to start doing the work now until we win marriage back."
Solomon said his and other groups would need to raise tens of millions of dollars to push through such a ballot measure, and donors haven't so far shown much appetite for a 2010 campaign.
"Pretty monolithically, they're not supportive of a return to the ballot with a $40 million to $60 million campaign," Solomon said.
Pro-Proposition 8 advocacy group ProtectMarriage.com responded in a news release Wednesday that any measure legalizing same-sex marriage would fail regardless of which year it was put on the ballot:
"Whether in 2010, 2012, or beyond, ProtectMarriage.com will be ready to defend marriage and emerge victorious again."
Due process ignored as trial date is set for Iranian Baha'i prisoners
| ||||||||
| GENEVA, 12 August (BWNS) - In yet another example of the denial to Baha'is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders - despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country. Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families - contact that did not begin until some five months' after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement. Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha'is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha'is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi. The writ of notification giving 18 August as the trial date was specifically addressed to Mr. Soltani, a well-known human rights lawyer and a principal of the Tehran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and has since last year undertaken to defend the seven Baha'is. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ebadi, the senior member of the legal team, remains outside the country. "The judiciary's decision to schedule the trial under these circumstances is an effrontery and yet another tactic aimed at depriving the seven Baha'i leaders of competent legal counsel," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "The Iranian authorities know full well who is serving as legal counsel for the Baha'is. Indeed, authorities have several times tried to pressure the seven to change lawyers. "It is the height of absurdity to issue a trial notice to a lawyer who has himself been unjustly imprisoned," she said. "The willingness of Iran's judiciary to flout the most fundamental internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence were brought to light in the widespread publicity attending the trial of Roxana Saberi. "More recently, the attention of the world has been focused on the show trial of scores of individuals arrested in post-election turmoil in Iran, also without due process and which has included 'confessions' that were clearly coerced through torture," said Ms. Ala'i. The Baha'i International Community has called for the human rights of all the people of Iran to be respected and upheld. "Today, then, we raise the call on behalf of our innocent co-religionists, whose only 'crime' is their religious belief, and who face the most severe punishments if they are found guilty of the trumped-up charges against them. "Instead of going on trial, they should be immediately released on bail, and, at the very least, be given adequate time for their attorneys to prepare a defense," said Ms. Ala'i. Ms. Ala'i also said that the 18 August trial date could not be taken as firm, noting that the families of the seven had been told in June they were to be tried on 11 July, only to have that date come and go. "Given the past history of this case, the utter lack of concern for procedure on the part of authorities, and the current situation in Iran, it is simply not possible to know when the proceedings will actually begin," she said. The seven Baha'i prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have since been held without formal charges or access to their lawyers at Evin prison in Tehran. Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic," charges that are rejected completely and categorically. The ongoing imprisonment of the seven and pending trial is particularly alarming because of their leadership position as the former members of a national-level coordinating group known as the "Friends in Iran." Some 25 years ago, other Baha'i leaders were executed after being rounded up in a manner similar to the way in which these seven were arrested last year. To read the article online, with a photograph, go to: http://news.bahai.org/story/725 For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to: http://news.bahai.org | ||||||||
Speak Up for the Baha'i Leaders in Iran
Todd Brogan sent a message to the members of Speak Up for the Baha'i Leaders in Iran.
--------------------
Subject: Trial Set Again for August 18th
Straight from the Baha'i World News Service - http://www.facebook.com/l/;BWNS.org -
GENEVA — In yet another example of the denial to Baha’is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders – despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country.
Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families – contact that did not begin until some five months’ after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement.
Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha’is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha’is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
Read the whole story at: http://www.facebook.com/l/;news.bahai.org/story/725
--------------------
To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1192679732445&mid=ece4e0G2c4faed8G2429dbfG0
--------------------
Subject: Trial Set Again for August 18th
Straight from the Baha'i World News Service - http://www.facebook.com/l/;BWNS.org -
GENEVA — In yet another example of the denial to Baha’is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders – despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country.
Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families – contact that did not begin until some five months’ after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement.
Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha’is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha’is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
Read the whole story at: http://www.facebook.com/l/;news.bahai.org/story/725
--------------------
To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1192679732445&mid=ece4e0G2c4faed8G2429dbfG0
Monday, August 10, 2009
Virtually the entire political conflict in America today is over who will control our government: entrenched wealth and corporations or the people?
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
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"Corporate Dominance of Every Aspects of Our Lives Is Suffocating us." Rescue Our Society: "Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back" (Hardcover) By Douglas Rushkoff
BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)
Remember, virtually the entire political conflict in America today is over who will control our government: entrenched wealth and corporations or the people.
The Dittoheads and Hannity Head Bangers are just tools used by corporate wealth to create a distraction and sense of victimhood that helps entrenched wealth achieve their legislative goals.
This is an important book to get your thinking to rise above the maelstrom of day-to-day politics and media.
Booklist:
Since the Renaissance, the corporation—the operating system of the market—has formed and controlled people, and Rushkoff describes how it has infiltrated all aspects of American life. In the twenty-first century, we continue to consider corporations as role models and saviors but engage other people as competitors to be beaten or resources to be exploited. The author bemoans extreme networking (called buzz marketing), which makes our personal, social interactions become promotional opportunities and the lines between fiction and reality and friends and market become blurred. Our lives are overextended, and there is no time, energy, or commitment to do anything but work and perhaps consider family. Rushkoff recommends that we fight back by “de-corporatizing” ourselves. His suggestions include thinking locally by participating directly with our neighbors in community activities and using various Internet sites that provide opportunities to contribute directly to a particular school or to extend a “micro loan” to a specific entrepreneur in the Third World. This is an excellent, thought-provoking book.
In an interview posted on Alternet, the author notes:
Doug Rushkoff: What happens is corporations like automobile industry have a need for roads or the energy industry has a need for regulation that doesn't let people use solar. So they go to government and get laws written that change -- they get laws written to get the things they want. So they basically steer the rail road through the real estate that they want to own or the automobile industry wants more people to use cars, so they get their guy in to be Secretary of Defense and he builds roads for cars and develop suburbs that require people to use cars to get to work. The next generation that grows up with things being that way, thinks that things just are that way. So the way we internalize corporate values is by assuming that the rules that are in place are pre-existing conditions of the universe rather than rules made by certain people at certain times....
Convincing people to stop outsourcing all of their economic activity, consumption and production to extremely inefficient long distance corporations that extract the human value without creating any values. You lose all your leverage. That's not to say that everyone has to do everything in some protest against every corporation out there but what if you reclaim the 90% of stuff that you can do locally or with friends and just give corporations 10% of what they need? It's the most activist thing you can do. Just the idea that people are now going to save maybe eight percent instead of three percent of their money has people shuddering in finance...
It persisted because kings rewrote laws to preserve corporations whenever I mean corporation. Corporations were invented by kings as a way they could make money by having money and creating no value themselves. So they granted monopoly charters to their friends in return for shares in those companies. And it persisted because the kings were able to write laws that gave corporations unfair advantage at every term. So whenever corporations have been threatened by some form of competition or another, the king or in our era government ends up rewriting the laws to favor corporate activity over competitive local, small business activity. It's just corruption.
Buy more progessive premiums to support BuzzFlash progressive news and commentary (we accept no advertising, corporate or otherwise to maintain our complete independence)by going to The BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace.
Read The Full Review >>>
http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/1790
BuzzFlash Accepts MasterCard Visa AmEx Discover and PayPal!
"Corporate Dominance of Every Aspects of Our Lives Is Suffocating us." Rescue Our Society: "Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back" (Hardcover) By Douglas Rushkoff
BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)
Remember, virtually the entire political conflict in America today is over who will control our government: entrenched wealth and corporations or the people.
The Dittoheads and Hannity Head Bangers are just tools used by corporate wealth to create a distraction and sense of victimhood that helps entrenched wealth achieve their legislative goals.
This is an important book to get your thinking to rise above the maelstrom of day-to-day politics and media.
Booklist:
Since the Renaissance, the corporation—the operating system of the market—has formed and controlled people, and Rushkoff describes how it has infiltrated all aspects of American life. In the twenty-first century, we continue to consider corporations as role models and saviors but engage other people as competitors to be beaten or resources to be exploited. The author bemoans extreme networking (called buzz marketing), which makes our personal, social interactions become promotional opportunities and the lines between fiction and reality and friends and market become blurred. Our lives are overextended, and there is no time, energy, or commitment to do anything but work and perhaps consider family. Rushkoff recommends that we fight back by “de-corporatizing” ourselves. His suggestions include thinking locally by participating directly with our neighbors in community activities and using various Internet sites that provide opportunities to contribute directly to a particular school or to extend a “micro loan” to a specific entrepreneur in the Third World. This is an excellent, thought-provoking book.
In an interview posted on Alternet, the author notes:
Doug Rushkoff: What happens is corporations like automobile industry have a need for roads or the energy industry has a need for regulation that doesn't let people use solar. So they go to government and get laws written that change -- they get laws written to get the things they want. So they basically steer the rail road through the real estate that they want to own or the automobile industry wants more people to use cars, so they get their guy in to be Secretary of Defense and he builds roads for cars and develop suburbs that require people to use cars to get to work. The next generation that grows up with things being that way, thinks that things just are that way. So the way we internalize corporate values is by assuming that the rules that are in place are pre-existing conditions of the universe rather than rules made by certain people at certain times....
Convincing people to stop outsourcing all of their economic activity, consumption and production to extremely inefficient long distance corporations that extract the human value without creating any values. You lose all your leverage. That's not to say that everyone has to do everything in some protest against every corporation out there but what if you reclaim the 90% of stuff that you can do locally or with friends and just give corporations 10% of what they need? It's the most activist thing you can do. Just the idea that people are now going to save maybe eight percent instead of three percent of their money has people shuddering in finance...
It persisted because kings rewrote laws to preserve corporations whenever I mean corporation. Corporations were invented by kings as a way they could make money by having money and creating no value themselves. So they granted monopoly charters to their friends in return for shares in those companies. And it persisted because the kings were able to write laws that gave corporations unfair advantage at every term. So whenever corporations have been threatened by some form of competition or another, the king or in our era government ends up rewriting the laws to favor corporate activity over competitive local, small business activity. It's just corruption.
Buy more progessive premiums to support BuzzFlash progressive news and commentary (we accept no advertising, corporate or otherwise to maintain our complete independence)by going to The BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace.
Read The Full Review >>>
http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/1790
Saturday, August 8, 2009
To the members of The Bilerico Project
Bil Browning sent a message to the members of The Bilerico Project.
--------------------
Subject: Bilerico Weekly Reader 8/2-8/7
Without a doubt, Projectors - instead of contributors - gave us the best content of the week. If you haven't had a chance to read the moving and beautiful comment thread on my post, "Do you know someone who died of AIDS?", you're missing heartbreaking and yet uplifting threads in Bilerico history. (Link in the Bonus section.)
Bilerico Nation
If You Work for a Private Employer in DC, You Want to Know This
Filed by: Nancy Polikoff (Bilerico-DC)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;dc.bilerico.com/2009/08/if_you_work_for_a_private_employer_in_dc.php
Transgender Comics: Interview with Erin Lindsey
Filed by: Austen Crowder (Bilerico-Indiana)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;indiana.bilerico.com/2009/08/transgender_comics_interview_with_erin_l.php
Jesse's Journal: Do We Need "Role Models"?
Filed by: Jesse Monteagudo (Bilerico-Florida)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;florida.bilerico.com/2009/08/jesses_journal_do_we_need_role_models.php
Sunday
A Road Trip, Told as a Series of Pit Stops
Filed by: Paige Schilt
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/a_road_trip_told_as_a_series_of_pit_stops.php
Michelle's Garden: The Big Oops
Filed by: Patricia Nell Warren
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/michelles_garden_a_big_oops.php
Monday
What Were You Doing 25 Years Ago?
Filed by: Nadine Smith
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/what_were_you_doing_25_years_ago.php
Gay Self Hate
Filed by: Michael Buckley
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/gay_self_hate.php
Tuesday
LGBT Challenges: True Leadership
Filed by: Phil Reese
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/lgbt_challenges_true_leadership.php
A Supremely Ridiculous Argument
Filed by: Dana Rudolph
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/a_supremely_ridiculous_argument.php
Wednesday
Barbed Walls
Filed by: Sara Whitman
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/barbed_walls.php
Why "Sex Change" Surgery is Medically Necessary
Filed by: Mercedes Allen
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/why_sex_change_surgery_is_medically_necessary.php
Thursday
How A Feminist Found Her Sexism
Filed by: Guest Blogger Helen Boyd
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/how_a_feminist_found_her_sexism.php
He's in love with a GRAMP! (Gay, Rich, Alone, Middle-aged, Positive)
Filed by: Father Tony
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/hes_in_love_with_a_gramp_gay_rich_alone_middle-age.php
Friday
La orientación sexual no se puede cambiar
Filed by: Pedro Julio Serrano
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/la_orientacion_sexual_no_se_puede_cambiar.php
Queer music Friday - Matt Alber
Filed by: Alex Blaze
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/queer_music_friday_-_matt_alber.php
BONUS!
Do you know someone who died of AIDS?
Filed by: Bil Browning
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/do_you_know_someone_who_died_of_aids.php
Don't forget:
Subscribe to the Bilerico Project Report to get all of the previous day's posts sent to you every night at midnight.
http://www.facebook.com/l/;feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=BilericoProject&loc=en_US
Follow Bilerico Project on Twitter for links to new posts, breaking news and contest opportunities.
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.twitter.com/bilericoproject
Subscribe to the Bilerico Project RSS feed to read posts via a feedreader like Google Reader or Bloglines, or include the feed in a customized homepage like My Yahoo! or iGoogle.
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To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1034684965639&mid=e793efG2c4faed8G23a3225G0
--------------------
Subject: Bilerico Weekly Reader 8/2-8/7
Without a doubt, Projectors - instead of contributors - gave us the best content of the week. If you haven't had a chance to read the moving and beautiful comment thread on my post, "Do you know someone who died of AIDS?", you're missing heartbreaking and yet uplifting threads in Bilerico history. (Link in the Bonus section.)
Bilerico Nation
If You Work for a Private Employer in DC, You Want to Know This
Filed by: Nancy Polikoff (Bilerico-DC)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;dc.bilerico.com/2009/08/if_you_work_for_a_private_employer_in_dc.php
Transgender Comics: Interview with Erin Lindsey
Filed by: Austen Crowder (Bilerico-Indiana)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;indiana.bilerico.com/2009/08/transgender_comics_interview_with_erin_l.php
Jesse's Journal: Do We Need "Role Models"?
Filed by: Jesse Monteagudo (Bilerico-Florida)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;florida.bilerico.com/2009/08/jesses_journal_do_we_need_role_models.php
Sunday
A Road Trip, Told as a Series of Pit Stops
Filed by: Paige Schilt
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/a_road_trip_told_as_a_series_of_pit_stops.php
Michelle's Garden: The Big Oops
Filed by: Patricia Nell Warren
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/michelles_garden_a_big_oops.php
Monday
What Were You Doing 25 Years Ago?
Filed by: Nadine Smith
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/what_were_you_doing_25_years_ago.php
Gay Self Hate
Filed by: Michael Buckley
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/gay_self_hate.php
Tuesday
LGBT Challenges: True Leadership
Filed by: Phil Reese
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/lgbt_challenges_true_leadership.php
A Supremely Ridiculous Argument
Filed by: Dana Rudolph
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/a_supremely_ridiculous_argument.php
Wednesday
Barbed Walls
Filed by: Sara Whitman
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/barbed_walls.php
Why "Sex Change" Surgery is Medically Necessary
Filed by: Mercedes Allen
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/why_sex_change_surgery_is_medically_necessary.php
Thursday
How A Feminist Found Her Sexism
Filed by: Guest Blogger Helen Boyd
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/how_a_feminist_found_her_sexism.php
He's in love with a GRAMP! (Gay, Rich, Alone, Middle-aged, Positive)
Filed by: Father Tony
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/hes_in_love_with_a_gramp_gay_rich_alone_middle-age.php
Friday
La orientación sexual no se puede cambiar
Filed by: Pedro Julio Serrano
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/la_orientacion_sexual_no_se_puede_cambiar.php
Queer music Friday - Matt Alber
Filed by: Alex Blaze
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/queer_music_friday_-_matt_alber.php
BONUS!
Do you know someone who died of AIDS?
Filed by: Bil Browning
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/do_you_know_someone_who_died_of_aids.php
Don't forget:
Subscribe to the Bilerico Project Report to get all of the previous day's posts sent to you every night at midnight.
http://www.facebook.com/l/;feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=BilericoProject&loc=en_US
Follow Bilerico Project on Twitter for links to new posts, breaking news and contest opportunities.
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.twitter.com/bilericoproject
Subscribe to the Bilerico Project RSS feed to read posts via a feedreader like Google Reader or Bloglines, or include the feed in a customized homepage like My Yahoo! or iGoogle.
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Elizabeth Bishop - One Art
|
The art of losing isn't hard to master; |
Thanks folks!
Current Country Totals
From 1 Jun 2009 to 7 Aug 2009
From 1 Jun 2009 to 7 Aug 2009
| United States (US) | 555 |
| Brazil (BR) | 44 |
| Canada (CA) | 32 |
| Australia (AU) | 19 |
| New Zealand (NZ) | 18 |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 18 |
| Netherlands (NL) | 17 |
| France (FR) | 10 |
| Germany (DE) | 7 |
| Israel (IL) | 6 |
| Belgium (BE) | 3 |
| Taiwan (TW) | 3 |
| Portugal (PT) | 3 |
| Austria (AT) | 3 |
| Morocco (MA) | 3 |
| Singapore (SG) | 3 |
| India (IN) | 2 |
| Indonesia (ID) | 2 |
| Russian Federation (RU) | 2 |
| Japan (JP) | 2 |
| Italy (IT) | 2 |
| Hong Kong (HK) | 2 |
| Afghanistan (AF) | 2 |
| Puerto Rico (PR) | 1 |
| Argentina (AR) | 1 |
| Denmark (DK) | 1 |
| Sweden (SE) | 1 |
| Ukraine (UA) | 1 |
| Malaysia (MY) | 1 |
| Spain (ES) | 1 |
| Jamaica (JM) | 1 |
| Barbados (BB) | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia (SA) | 1 |
| Venezuela (VE) | 1 |
| Cyprus (CY) | 1 |
| Korea, Republic of (KR) | 1 |
Friday, August 7, 2009
New Bedfellows
|
When two attorneys from opposing sides of the political spectrum argue that some issues transcend the differences between liberals and conservatives we must remember that, as nice as it sounds, none of us can afford the luxury of imagining ourselves above the political fray. Full article |
Marriage Equality USA Wants You to Weigh In Today...
David Janis-Kitzmiller sent a message to the members of Marriage Equality USA.
--------------------
Subject: Marriage Equality USA Wants You to Weigh In Today...
The Courage Campaign has issued a call for organizations to partner in an effort to finalize the wording for a 2010 ballot initiative to restore marriage equality using the most effective messaging for moving conflicted voters in support of marriage equality. Marriage Equality USA would like to be a part of any collaboration moving ahead and today, we want to see what our collective organizational interest is in participating in this venture.
In May, Marriage Equality USA polled our members and 64% expressed a desire to go back to the ballot box in 2010, 23% said 2012 and the remainder were undecided. Marriage Equality USA has also just finished organizing over 40 Get Engaged Tour events across California and feedback indicated passion on both sides of the timing debate, but no clear consensus on when to move ahead. What did come across loud and clear is that our community wants our movement to come together and collectively plan how we can WIN a marr! iage equality campaign in the future.
As demonstrated advocates for the grassroots community, Marriage Equality USA would like to ensure your voices are heard as we move ahead in the next campaign. Whatever you donate today through August 13th will be targeted and offered in support of this collaborative effort.
No matter when we collectively decide to go back to the ballot box, Marriage Equality USA is committed to empowering our local communities to be active partners in the next campaign. We invite you to continue to engage and reach out to fair-minded Californians by getting involved with your local chapter's ongoing efforts to change hearts and minds by organizing canvassing, tabling, public speaking, and other public education efforts. Together we CAN. Weigh in today in support of the 2010 effort by making a targeted donation today.
For more information, contact getengaged@marriageequality.org.
To make a donation http://www.facebook.com/l/;visithttps://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1001435&code=MEUSA%20Default
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Subject: Marriage Equality USA Wants You to Weigh In Today...
The Courage Campaign has issued a call for organizations to partner in an effort to finalize the wording for a 2010 ballot initiative to restore marriage equality using the most effective messaging for moving conflicted voters in support of marriage equality. Marriage Equality USA would like to be a part of any collaboration moving ahead and today, we want to see what our collective organizational interest is in participating in this venture.
In May, Marriage Equality USA polled our members and 64% expressed a desire to go back to the ballot box in 2010, 23% said 2012 and the remainder were undecided. Marriage Equality USA has also just finished organizing over 40 Get Engaged Tour events across California and feedback indicated passion on both sides of the timing debate, but no clear consensus on when to move ahead. What did come across loud and clear is that our community wants our movement to come together and collectively plan how we can WIN a marr! iage equality campaign in the future.
As demonstrated advocates for the grassroots community, Marriage Equality USA would like to ensure your voices are heard as we move ahead in the next campaign. Whatever you donate today through August 13th will be targeted and offered in support of this collaborative effort.
No matter when we collectively decide to go back to the ballot box, Marriage Equality USA is committed to empowering our local communities to be active partners in the next campaign. We invite you to continue to engage and reach out to fair-minded Californians by getting involved with your local chapter's ongoing efforts to change hearts and minds by organizing canvassing, tabling, public speaking, and other public education efforts. Together we CAN. Weigh in today in support of the 2010 effort by making a targeted donation today.
For more information, contact getengaged@marriageequality.org.
To make a donation http://www.facebook.com/l/;visithttps://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1001435&code=MEUSA%20Default
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To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1030914670477&mid=e63e79G2c4faed8G0G0
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wise Latina Confirmed
Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice today in a partisan vote of 68-31. All Democrats approved, as well as nine Republicans. Sen. Ted Kennedy was too ill to be in the chamber. The GOP's ugly smear campaign against Sotomayor may have repercussions in the next election.
From the moment Mr. Obama chose her in May, many political strategists warned Republicans that opposing the first Latina nominated to the Supreme Court would jeopardize the party in future elections. In the waning days of the debate, some Democrats sought to portray Republican opposition as a grave insult to Latinos. “Republicans will pay a price for saying ‘no’ to this judge,” Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, said in Spanish at a news conference Wednesday.
Party in the Bronx tonight!
Lifted from JMG
Census plans to count same-sex marriages
August 3, 2009
The Washington Post is reporting that the U.S. Census Bureau plans to count same-sex marriages in the 2010 decennial census. Up to now a same-sex partner that identified him/herself as a husband/wife was counted as an "unmarried partner". The policy change follows a recent legal opinion by Commerce Department lawyers that the Defense of Marriage Act does not prohibit the Bureau from publicly releasing such data.
today's pretty good quote
"Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings."
John Updike
thanks WollieBear
Friendly Voices - Brad Pitt
"I have love in my life, a soul mate--absolutely. When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it--hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment." - Brad Pitt, speaking to Parade Magazine.Labels: Brad Pitt, Friendly Voices, marriage equality, movies
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy
Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy
NEW YORK – The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday
that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can
become straight through therapy or other treatments. Instead, the APA
urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from
celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual
orientation and religious faith conflict.
In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing
council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research,
the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in
opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change
sexual orientation.
No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report,
and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be
harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.
The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member
task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on
sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive
report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where
the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.
The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of
how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal
to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.
Judith Glassgold, a Highland Park, N.J., psychologist who chaired the
task force, said she hoped the document could help calm the polarized
debate between religious conservatives who believe in the possibility
of changing sexual orientation and the many mental health professionals
who reject that option.
"Both sides have to educate themselves better," Glassgold said in an
interview. "The religious psychotherapists have to open up their eyes
to the potential positive aspects of being gay or lesbian. Secular
therapists have to recognize that some people will choose their faith
over their sexuality."
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