Via The New Gay, singer/songwriters Matt Alber and Tom Goss sing This Is Who We Are, which is in "dedication to any service member that has been discharged for who they are."
Labels: DADT, gay artists, Matt Alber, The New Gay, Tom Goss
lifted from JMG
"No matter how I look at the issue...I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens...For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."
-- Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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In the war over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the battle lines have been drawn: It's Republicans vs. the military. And John McCain vs. John McCain.
On Tuesday, Admiral Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave game-changing testimony to Congress strongly supporting President Obama's effort to repeal DADT. Then, this morning, Colin Powell -- the man who made DADT possible -- announced his opposition to this discriminatory policy, saying that "attitudes and circumstances have changed."
That isn't stopping recalcitrant Republicans like John McCain from flip-flopping on the stance he took in 2006 to follow the lead of our nation's top military brass on DADT.
You can watch the embarrassing blow-by-blow in the "McCain vs. McCain vs. Mullen" video linked below. After you watch, please sign our letter to Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who vocally opposed McCain and other Republicans on Tuesday in support of repealing DADT.
To allow soldiers like Lt. Dan Choi to serve their country, Sen. Levin needs to immediately take the lead on including DADT repeal in the defense budget bill. Please sign our letter to Sen. Levin right now -- and help us get to 500,000 total Courage Campaign letters against DADT:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/DontWait
Here's what John McCain said back in October 2006 on MSNBC's "Hardball":
"I listen to people like General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and literally every military leader that I know... The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, Senator, we ought to change the policy, then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to."
Seems pretty clear, right? Or did we miss the " * Void if Barack Obama is President" fine print?
Obviously, John McCain and his Republican colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee are not listening to Colin Powell, a man McCain says he admires "as much as any man in the world." Or to Admiral Mullen or Secretary Gates -- both originally appointed by George W. Bush.
Chairman Levin can't let Sen. McCain get away with delaying justice on DADT. Sign our letter to Sen. Levin right now asking him to immediately include DADT repeal in the defense budget bill -- and help us reach 500,000 total Courage Campaign letters against DADT:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/DontWait
Colin Powell gets it. Admiral Mullen gets it. Secretary Gates gets it. Even Cindy McCain and her daughter Meghan get it, having come out strongly in favor of same-sex marriage a few weeks ago.
Help us spread the word by forwarding this email to more people who get it -- so we can save Lt. Choi's job and defeat John McCain's obstruction.
Thanks for helping us bring equality to our armed services, one action at a time.
Eden James
Managing Director, Courage Campaign
If Democrats can't stand up and clearly articulate the nightmare scenario we were saved from, then the economic disaster that Republicans caused may well be the same disaster that helps them surge back into power.
By Melanie Nathan, San Francisco, February 3, 2010
Binationals and activists have been waiting patiently for Senator Chuck Schumer to introduce the enigmatic Immigration reform bill, and the LGBT binational community, whether in exile, living apart or hiding in fear, has been desperate for the answer. Will immigration reform be truly comprehensive; will it include (UAFA) a provision that will allow for LGBT Americans (citizens or lawful residents) to sponsor their spouses (Permanent Partners) for immigration to the USA?
Echoing the words of the American Family Association, Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council said tonight that the Supreme Court decision to overturn sodomy laws was "wrongly decided" and that homosexual behavior should be outlawed. Sprigg appeared on Chris Matthews' MSNBC show tonight to debate Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network about today's DADT hearings in the U.S. Senate. Sprigg also repeated FRC head Tony Perkins' claim that overturning DADT will lead to gay men raping straight soldiers.
Labels: assholism, bigotry, DADT, Family Reseach Council, military, Peter Sprigg, religion
A special investigation into how the ban can be repealed without hurting the morale or readiness of the troops is expected to be announced Tuesday.
In a front page story, today's San Francisco Chronicle notes the success of the SF Gay Men's Chorus as it tours California's central heartlands in a peace-making tour after the acrimony of Proposition 8. They came. They sang. They wore pink cowboy hats. When the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus embarked on its Freedom Tour into the heart of Proposition 8 territory over the weekend, there were concerns. Would red-state towns like Redding and Chico turn out to see gay men in tuxedos singing "Over the Rainbow"? Would there be protests, threats or fear-mongering from Shasta County's fundamentalist community? But chorus artistic director and conductor Kathleen McGuire asked: "Who is afraid of a choir?" Make no mistake, this isn't a tour. It's a groundbreaking political action. In the upcoming months, they'll visit Bakersfield, Fresno and Tracy, all strongholds for Prop. 8, the measure that banned same-sex marriage. They hope their music will help personalize the fight for gays to marry.The tour resumes in May with dates in Fresno, Tracy, and Bakersfield.
It is more than a small gamble. They could face protests, fights or even worse - complete indifference. "When the tickets didn't sell at first, I thought, 'Oh God, no one is going to show up,' " said Amy Andrews, a welfare worker in Redding, who helped arrange the show at the 1,000-plus-seat Cascade Theatre. "And then tickets just took off. I have never been prouder of my hometown." Saturday's show was a sellout. So was Sunday's 450-seat event in Chico, where they received a standing ovation.
Labels: California, good work, Proposition 8, San Francisco, SF Gay Men's Chorus
SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile appeared on CNN this weekend to talk about DADT and President Obama's recent recommitment to its overturn. Charles "the president loves terrorists more than gays" Moran of the Log Cabin Republicans appears as well.
Labels: Barack Obama, Charles Moran, CNN, DADT, Michelangelo Signorile
Equality California
During last night’s State of the Union Address, President Obama included a brief mention of the ongoing struggle against discrimination that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community continues to face under his watch.
“This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.”
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Joe's advice is sensible. Don't say anything in a comment that you wouldn't say when writing a signed letter to a newspaper.
The specter of gay violence has been with me for many months as the advocates for gay rights have mobilized in challenging the homophobic religious bigots who would deny us equal rights. It's as if the breath of righteous indignation could any minute cause the embers to burst into flame.
As LGBTIQ persons, many of us feel estranged from or alienated by organized religion. We can feel hurt, misunderstood, persecuted and sometimes afraid because of religious positions, teachings and practices.
Personally, I have always made a distinction between being religious (observing a particular religion) and being spiritual (belief that you are connected to the universe somehow). I've known and read about LGBT persons who have actively shunned anything spiritual because of their negative experience with religion, and I think that's unfortunate. There seems to be an important component in the human experience that can often only be defined as "spiritual," and in that sense, I believe it's worth exploring - despite, or perhaps because of intellectual stances of agnosticism, atheism or indifference.
For me, it's not simply a question of God. It's a question of exploring and finding my place and the place of others in the workings of the universe. That can happen with or without a concept of God. In fact, I would argue that it's happening every time we work for civil rights or environmental responsibility, or simple justice....
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