A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
APA Council Votes to Move Its August Meeting Out of the Manchester Hyatt Hotel
(Washington, DC) — The Council of Representatives, the major legislative body of the American Psychological Association, will not meet at the Manchester Hyatt Hotel during the Association’s August 2010 Convention. In response to a donation to the Proposition 8 campaign by the owner of the Manchester Hyatt, Doug Manchester, a number of APA Divisions and members voiced concerns about APA’s use of the hotel during its annual meeting.
“Today’s decision allows Council to make an important statement that it stands in solidarity with the LGBT community and its allies in protest of Mr. Manchester’s political views. Members of our Council will now not be faced with having to choose between their responsibilities as members of Council and their wish to express their opposition to Mr. Manchester’s action by not entering his hotel,” said APA President Dr. Carol Goodheart.
APA is not calling for a general boycott of the Hyatt hotel but will make every effort to provide choices to members or groups who do not want to use the Hyatt hotel. Other lodging and meeting space will be available.
“It is important that we be respectful of the decisions of individuals; those who choose to stay at the Hyatt and those who do not,” said Goodheart.
In addition, APA plans to use the meeting to highlight the Association’s policy statement in support of same-sex marriage and the science that supports that position.
In stark contrast to the situation in America, last night British Prime Minister Gordon Brown thanked his nation's openly serving gay soldiers in a ceremony celebrating the contributions of LGBT people to Britain.
Brown told guests at 10 Downing Street, including a number of gay servicemembers, that there was a “debt of gratitude we can never fully repay”. He said that the pride they felt was “nothing compared to the pride we feel in them”. Mr Brown cited the current struggle in the US to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, saying he knew debate on the issue continued. In 2009, for the first LGBT reception at Downing Street, Mr Brown said that the ban on gay marriage in California was “unacceptable”. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the British military allowing out gay soldiers. Mr Brown said: “I promise you that no one need walk the road to equality alone again.” He also listed the achievements made for gay equality in the last ten years, such as gay adoption and fertility rights for lesbians, saying people had warned these things could not be done.
Lesbian speed skater Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands powered around the final lap to win the women's 1,500 meters in Vancouver. Wüst posted a time of 1 minute, 56.89 seconds to beat Canadian Kristina Groves by .25 seconds to capture her country's fifth speedskating medal of the Vancouver Olympics.
At the podium, Wüst broke down in an emotional moment as the Dutch national anthem surrounded the crowd.
It seems Pope John Paul II doesn’t mind conducting business with queers.
In a truth-is-weirder-than-fiction moment, a gay couple in Madrid told Typically Spanish they purchased their flat from the pope. Apparently, a devout woman left it to him in her will. He, in turn, put it on the market.
The couple, Alberto and Miguel Ángel, said “the Church does not love us, but is happy to do business.”
The Web site commented “The gay couple, who are now married, also against the Church’s wishes, now enjoy dinner parties showing the escrituras (deeds) of the flat with the name of the Pope.”
Today Media Matters and a coalition of LGBT and progressive groups co-signed a letter calling on the media to be truthful when covering the attempt to repeal DADT.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell proponents too often paint a distorted picture of what a repeal would mean. Today, Media Matters for America released a comprehensive reviewdetailing how opinion pages and cable news talk shows have been flooded with falsehoods and anti-gay rhetoric to support the dubious argument that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is working. Myths that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell would adversely affect unit cohesion, retention, or the HIV rate among servicemembers are not based in reality. Similarly, the anti-gay rhetoric permeating many of these arguments only serves to cheapen the national discussion on this important issue. Because news outlets continue to repeat these outrageous myths, a coalition of organizations is banding together to combat misinformation about the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law. As Congress moves forward on this legislation, we will be vigilant in ensuring that news reports are accurate and fair. The public deserves an honest debate -- not one marred by blatant falsehoods and anti-gay attacks.
Among the co-signers are the HRC, the Courage Campaign, GLAAD, and the NGLTF. Visit the Myths and Falsehoods page for a point-by-point refutation of the lies and misinformation being spread about the gays in the military and the repeal attempt.
What's one indication that the sport of male figure skating is going to emerge from the 2010 Olympics as more popular than ever? Conservative Catholics are starting to worry that the sport is going to take a nation of men and turn them into a nation of ... men who wear sequins.
While Pope Benedict XVI hasn't issued an edict denying Communion to male figure skaters yet, the sport has clearly gotten under the nerves of at least one Catholic columnist, Louie Verrecchio. He writes for Catholic News Agency, and in his latest column he takes male figure skating to task for not being NASCAR on ice.
Singer Melissa Etheridge rails against the passage of the gay-marriage ban in California—and she won't be paying the state a dime.
Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.
A billboard company in Colorado Springs (home to Focus On The Family, numerous megachurches, and a completely devastated city infrastructure) has banned a bus stop campaign for Avenue Q. Because it shows puppet cleavage.
The puppet's name is Lucy the Slut. She's a pink Sesame Street-like puppet in the touring Broadway show “Avenue Q.” "Avenue Q" is a Tony-winning musical about twenty-something New Yorkers, both human and puppets, searching for life and love. The show addresses issues like sex, drinking, and surfing the Web for porn. Lamar Advertising rejected the ad for bus shelters, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper. "We were in the process of putting it on the presses when one of the top execs saw it and said, ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate for the Colorado Springs market,’" according to Kristy Maple, marketing director for New Space Entertainment.
Nationally ranked college wrestler Hudson Taylor is a passionate advocate for LGBT rights, to the point where he even competed with the HRC logo on his headgear. Via Outsports:
When Hudson Taylor proposed to Lia Alexandra Mandaglio, it was fitting that it was the same night they saw the movie "Milk." The story about a pioneering gay rights advocate meant a lot to the couple. Back at Mandaglio's condominium in Washington DC, Taylor, a University of Maryland wrestler, presented her with a signed edition of Martin Luther King's book "Why We Can't Wait." She didn't wait, and said yes. They will be married on Sept. 24, 2011. Taylor proposed to Lia Alexandra Mandaglio the same night they saw "Milk." "The proposal is a big event not to be taken lightly," Taylor said. "We're both very progressive and very outspoken in LGBT and feminist issues." The book "symbolized how we felt and how we would act," and was "very fitting for the engagement." Being outspoken and passionate is nothing new for Taylor, 36-2 this season and ranked No. 3 in the country in the 197-pound NCAA wrestling weight class. In addition to being a champion wrestler, he is an academic All American with his eye on law school and a possible future political career.
(AUGUSTA, ME) Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown, who run the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and their $1000.00 per hour attorneys from Indiana, continue to run afoul of Maine's election laws. NOM still refuses to report the names of all its $100 and up contributors who gave nearly $2 million to ban gay marriage in the Pine Tree State. Now they are trying to halt the investigation and subpoena into their finances and fund-raising.
NOM has tried this before when it asked Federal Judge D. Brock Hornby to allow it to avoid all reporting laws. Judge Hornby again ordered Maggie and Brian to report their contributor's names to last fall's Yes on Question 1 campaign. State Attorney General Janet Mills did the same late last year, but the New Jersey based NOM will not obey Maine's election law and refuses to report where all its money came from.
Every other religious organization that supported Question 1 obeyed the Maine election law and filed as a PAC when they raised over $5,000 except NOM. NOM raised and gave over $1.9 million - 2/3 of all money raised and well above the $5,000 threshold! NOM even tried unsuccessfully to end the state of Maine investigation into its alleged money laundering, but the Ethics Commission turned that down, too 4 to 1.
"Who are they trying to protect?" asked Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, who filed the original complaint with the Maine Ethics Commission last August. "Every other donor to Yes on Question 1 complied with the law, but NOM refuses."
The California Fair Political Practices Commission also has an active investigation of NOM underway (Case #08-735), as well as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church). The investigation has been going on for the past 16 months. NOM has been widely reported to be a front group for the Mormon Church in its crusade to ban gay marriage throughout the U.S.
Here's the story from the Bangor Daily News by Kevin Miller:
AUGUSTA, Maine — More than three months after Mainers voted down same-sex marriage, the organization that provided much of the money to the traditional marriage camp is still fighting to block the state from forcing disclosure of their donor lists.
This past week, the National Organization for Marriage lost another skirmish in the larger legal battle over its campaign finances.
U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby in Portland overruled NOM’s objections to having to turn over donor lists and correspondence between NOM and Stand for Marriage Maine regarding the campaign to repeal Maine’s gay marriage law. The court has yet to rule on the larger case challenging Maine’s campaign reporting laws, however.
The documents being sought — and what they say about who donated to NOM and why — are key to a Maine Ethics Commission investigation into whether the group’s failure to disclose donors violated state campaign finance laws.
NOM, which is based in New Jersey, said it donated more than $1.9 million to Stand for Marriage Maine from its war chest for fighting gay marriage nationwide. But critics contend NOM was raising money specifically for the gay marriage fight in Maine, which, if true, would trigger the state’s donor disclosure rules.
This Thursday, the Ethics Commission will decide whether to push forward with subpoenas for the documents. Hornby’s decision appears to clear the way for the commission to reiterate its demands from NOM.
Jonathan Wayne, the commission staff’s executive director, offered this explanation for why the documents are important: “NOM donated almost $2 million in support of the referendum. The commission needs to understand how NOM solicited the funds in order to determine whether campaign finance reporting was required.”
Regardless, the list of donors would only be made public if the commission rules NOM was legally obligated to file the information with the state.
Gay Politics in Britain What's one difference between conservatism in the United Kingdom and conservatism in the United States? Look to the issue of gay rights. In the UK, conservatives have made bold efforts to reach out to LGBT voters, while in the U.S., radical religious values dominate. Gay Rights blogger Nathan Tabak writes that with a history of supporting homophobic legislation, including ballot measures banning gay marriage, the GOP and gay voters have to do some serious soul-searching as to whether there's a place for gay people inside conservatism. (Read more)
Recently we've seen been nonstop support for the repeal of DADT from the upper echelons of the armed services.
The top commanding general in Iraq says he thinks everyone - gay and straight - should be allowed to serve in the military "as long as we are still able to fight our wars." The comment by Gen. Raymond Odierno (Oh-dee-AIR-no) is among the first to come from a senior military leader currently leading troops in battle since the Pentagon announced earlier this month that it will study the issue. Odierno helped lead a troop buildup in Iraq that reduced violence and has paved the way for a planned reduction of U.S. forces.
Yet today White House spokeswaffle Robert Gibbs refused to commit to a 2010 repeal attempt.
Conventional political wisdom says that conservatives benefit politically from making national security a vital issue. Implied is the notion that though everyone suffers from terrorism, conservatives can gain from it, at least on the political stage. While that would be an abominable approach to encourage, the growing stake of Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal in News Corporation, the parent company of FOX News, suggests FOX benefits more directly from a man with a questionable background, raising the ire even of fellow conservatives.
Al-Waleed has long held some portion of the News Corp. stock, but as he has risen to the fourth-highest shareholder in the company, criticism for his involvement with the company has grown. Joseph Trento reports that while Al-Waleed regularly defends his home nation as pristine, interviewers tend to ignore the large donations to the families of suicide bombers he reportedly makes. Generally, organizations or governments pay the families of suicide bombers as a kind of reward for the actions of their deceased relatives. As such, Al-Waleed's donations would, in effect, count as supporting terrorism, a particularly onerous recognition for the "fair and balanced" news source. Somehow, Glenn Beck managed to miss connecting those dots on his chalkboard.
The prince and FOX have had scuffles in the past. After 9/11, FOX personalities excoriated the prince for offering a check for millions of dollars to help rebuild New York because the prince had suggested U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East may have had something to do with the attacks. Subsequently, FOX wrote off the check as "blood money." Strangely, though, FOX later accepted Al-Waleed's cash for a piece of the company and allowed the prince the right to manipulate FOX stories, a power he boasts of having over the network.
FOX's unusual pairing with someone with alleged ties to terrorism have caused conservatives like Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily to lambaste the alliance, as well. The ever-present calls for profiling and subtler demonization of Islam within conservative circles and perpetuated on FOX make the prince's stake in the company a confusing one. However, Rupert Murdoch's ties to China, maintained in spite of his employees' bashing of communism, illustrate that while FOX may have a willingness to force a focused, biased narrative onto the public, it is nonetheless a narrative with elements for sale to people with enough cash, no matter how authoritarian the regime or dubious the money's origins.
Funding from the Saudi prince will assuredly warrant more investigation as his influence in the company grows ever larger. If Al-Waleed does, in fact, fund terrorism, one would expect that a network that nearly drapes itself in the American flag would recognize some internal conflict worth addressing. Unfortunately, too much of FOX's investigative powers waste time literally barking at the president. As FOX refuses to keep its viewers duly informed, everyone else has an obligation to spread the truth about its owners -- and choose to Turn Off FOX.
I was reading about all the teabaggers and their leader, Sarah Palin, and how they all think it’s not the right time for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to be repealed.
