Dear Daniel, Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" requires strong, decisive actions from our President and Congress, which means that our community and allies must put the pressure on and keep it on. This week, the message from our community was clear: the time for repeal is here, and we hold our leaders accountable for delivering it. Earlier this week, General David Petraeus, the Commander responsible for our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, declared that the time has come to consider changing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In addition, two accomplished veterans, Major Michael Almy and Lieutenant Junior Grade Jenny Kopfstein, provided the Senate Armed Service Committee with compelling testimony about how Don't Ask, Don't Tell failed them. Unfortunately, however, we were appalled by the committee testimony of former NATO commander General John J. Sheehan. General Sheehan, who only spent 3 of his 35 years of service under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, made the baseless claim that the presence of openly lesbian and gay service members in the Dutch army led to the massacre of Muslims in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995. This groundless claim was not only an insult to a U.S. ally, but also a disservice to our national debate on a serious policy issue. We can make good laws and policies with truth; lies have no place in lawmaking. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee and a supporter of repeal, rejected General Sheehan's assertions and fought back against his baseless claims during the hearing. The Dutch ambassador to the U.S. also set the record straight and gave openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) service members the respect that they deserve by saying, "I take pride in the fact that lesbians and gays have served openly and with distinction in the Dutch military forces." Health care reform is at the top of Congress's agenda this week, as lawmakers consider the Senate-passed version of reform. HRC has been lobbying for important health care protections for our community, and saw them included in the House bill passed last fall. We are deeply disappointed that the House, in taking up the Senate-passed bill this week in the reconciliation process, will leave these important provisions –like ending the unfair taxation on domestic partner benefits— behind. Like all communities, we expect Congress to make the system better for us. We work as hard and contribute as much as every other American, but we face severe disparities in health care. While we believe the health reform bill will help all Americans, including LGBT people, and should pass, we will not stop pushing Congress for the policies that we need. HRC partners with civil rights organizations to promote matters of social justice that reach beyond the LGBT community. A free and just society does not happen when communities are isolated from one another. We are all interdependent, and no one group can achieve our goals alone. Every community is stronger when their neighbors have equal rights. As LGBT Americans work for equal rights, we rely upon our allies to stand with us and make change happen. At the same time, we commit to promote the wellbeing of all communities. This Sunday, March 21st, the Human Rights Campaign staff, members and volunteers will rally side by side with our many coalition partners in support of comprehensive immigration reform. March for America will bring together tens of thousands including labor unions, religious organizations, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, as well as activists, families and individuals, immigrants and U.S. nationals alike. Please join the HRC family as we unite with other civil rights organizations linked to our common struggle for equality with the immigrant community. Our partnerships for equality also include a census project. Starting next week, HRC steering committees and volunteers will be working to promote Census participation in Latino/a communities through community assistance forums, canvassing efforts, social networking sites and other online media. This Census marks the first time that the Census Bureau will be recognizing both same-sex married and unmarried couples. To learn more, please visit www.ourfamiliescount.org and check out this YouTube video featuring the faces and voices of a diverse group of LGBT people. Also see HRC Backstory for more. Sincerely, Joe Solmonese President, Human Rights Campaign

Joe Conason | Right Wing Gone Wild

Joe Conason, Truthout: "Demagogues often prosper under the rules of democracy, intimidating the moderate and preying on the weak-minded. But in a healthy society, such figures cannot cross a final threshold of decency without jeopardizing their own status - and today's right-wing nihilists seem to be on the verge of doing just that."

Read the Article

From Huffington

Rob Smith: Did Dan Choi Jump the Shark, or Has the Gay Community Forgotten What Real Activism Is?

People keep wondering who's going to be the Martin Luther King of the gay rights movement, and that I still don't know, but I think yesterday's actions may have put us one step closer to finding our Malcolm X.

VIA JMG: HomoQuotable - Rob Smith

"Dan Choi will always be that rock star activist that handcuffed himself to the gates of The White House. Of course Dan Choi jumped the shark, and he did it in his military uniform for all the cameras to see. You know what, though? I think what we needed was to see something like this to light a fire under each and every one of us that cares as deeply as he does about Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, and about full equality in general. This movement needs him as much as it needs me, or Jarrod Chlapowski, or Lt. Col Victor Fehrenbach, or any of the other gay veterans who share our past of silent service knowing that it reflects the present of thousands of gay soldiers currently serving. Maybe it's time to act up all over again. Maybe the rumblings of this being a part of a more coordinated activist effort are true. Maybe it is time to Get Equal.

"People keep wondering who's going to be the Martin Luther King of the gay rights movement, and that I still don't know, but I think yesterday's actions may have put us one step closer to finding our Malcolm X." - Huffington Post blogger and armed services veteran Rob Smith, who says he finds Dan Choi's action yesterday to be both inspiring and baffling.

a repost from JMG

Via JMG: We Can Do It

Reichen Lehmkuhl appears in a new campaign from the Open Artist Movement along the lines of the NOH8 photo series.

We Can Do It! is a photo campaign to build solidarity and personal strength through positive messaging. The goal is to bring to life modern iconic individuals, by depicting them as powerful and not victims in support of the global LGBT movement worldwide.

Prints sell for $10 and you can be photographed too, although it's not clear how much that costs. Hit the link above for a gallery of other well-known activists. I like this, but I'm not about to showcase my ballerina arms.

(Via - Towleroad)

another great repost from JMG

Via JMG: Friendly Voices - Miley Cyrus

"There has been so much controversy sometimes about what I’ve said or done because I believe there are no mistakes because God is the only one who can judge us. That’s the reason I deleted my Twitter account because I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other, and I got such hate mail about my being a bad person." - Teen pop star Miley Cyrus, talking to People Magazine.

Miley adds: "I don’t really watch television at all. But there is one show I’m addicted to: RuPaul’s Drag Race. I love me some RuPaul. I love RuPaul’s motto. It goes something like, ‘A real lady is never bitchy, a real lady is sassy.'"

(Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Traditional Values Coalition: Massa Attack

Andrea Lafferty at the Traditional Values Coalition took a little longer than expected to issue this bit of predictable blather.

The ex-Congressman from New York is now the new poster child for upholding the 1993 law banning gays and lesbians from serving in the military. His former Navy colleagues are coming out of hiding to expose his decades-long habit of trying to seduce his subordinates – known as “snorkeling” in the Navy. As the public learns more about Massa’s aggressive homosexual advances toward his subordinates, his former Navy colleagues are going public with lurid tales of his gay exploits aboard Naval vessels.

Here is a clear case of a gay sexual predator assaulting his subordinates in the Navy and getting away with it. Massa’s shipmates were afraid of turning him in for fear of retaliation. If the Congress overturns the 1993 law banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military, lechers like Massa will have free reign to aggressively stalk and conquer young subordinates. Does Congress really want to legalize the predatory behaviors of such men? Overturning the 1993 law will give gays and lesbians license to go after young soldiers, sailors and Marines. Men like Massa will then multiply in the Armed Forces – undermining unit cohesion and military readiness.

Lafferty omits the extremely inconvenient fact that Eric Massa is a straight-identified opposite-married man with four children. Just the type that commits the very offenses she claims to fear and someone that would be unaffected by a repeal of DADT.reposted from JMG

From JMG: Gen. John Sheehan: The Bosnian Genocide Happened Because Of Gay Soldiers

Retired Gen. John Sheehan testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, claiming that openly gay soldiers in the Dutch military were partially responsible for the failure of the NATO peacekeeping action in Bosnia, a failure which resulted in the genocide of thousands of Muslims.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin, pressed him to clarify his comments about Srebrenica. "Did the Dutch leaders tell you it (the fall of Srebrenica) was because there were gay soldiers there?" asked an incredulous Senator Levin. "Yes," Gen Sheehan said and added: "They included that as part of the problem." Gen Sheehan, who retired from the military in 1997, said he had been told that by the former chief of staff of the Dutch army. Senator Levin vehemently rejected Gen Sheehan's allegation, saying that drawing a connection between the massacre at Srebrenica and gays in the Dutch military was "totally off-target". The failure of the Dutch UN troops to fend off an attack by Bosnian Serb forces had "nothing to do with sexual orientation" but was related to "their training and the rules of engagement", Senator Levin said. Nearly 8000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after Serb forces captured the eastern town on July 11, 1995, in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.

posted by Joe

From JMG

The HRC Wants You To Know Their Side

Concerned about the "Lt. Dan Choi Kanye'd the HRC" story being reported on some blogs (including this one), the HRC has posted the following elaboration of their earlier comment.

Singer Tom Goss kicked off the event followed by the first American wounded in the Iraq war, retired Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva. Also speaking were Ben Mishkin of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Alex Nicholson of Servicemembers United. Finally, Kathy Griffin took to the stage, talking about her experiences this week in Washington, welcoming Lt. Dan Choi to the stage to make a few remarks and then calling for a moment of silence to honor our troops who serve in silence.

There’s been some confusion about Lt. Dan Choi’s role in the rally. As Joe Solmonese was walking to the stage, Lt. Choi asked Joe if he could have a speaking role. Joe explained that it wasn’t his sole decision to make on the spot given that there was already an established program that included Kathy Griffin, other organization and veterans. After Choi then spoke with Kathy Griffin, she agreed to bring him up on stage and speak to the crowd during her remarks.

So basically, it appears that it was Kathy Griffin who made the call to override Joe Solmonese and bring Choi to the podium. Good for her. I have to wonder why a DADT protest in the nation's capital wouldn't have included the nation's most famous and well-spoken gay veteran in the first place. (Not to disparage Sgt. Eric Alva in the least, whom I think is fantastic.)

UPDATE: John Aravosis at AmericaBlog says the HRC statement is "utterly untrue."

That is simply untrue. I was there, standing next to Dan, about 10 feet from Kathy Griffin and Solmonese. They were behind a rope line, to keep them from the rally attendees. They looked over at Dan when he asked them, for the second time, to come with him to the White House (mind you, they had no idea that he was planning to handcuff himself), and they just stared back at him. They were not helping engage the rally about how to build pressure - the rally was over, they were already off the stage, behind it actually, getting ready to leave behind a secure rope line to separate them from the crowd. I'm sorry, but this statement is flat out untrue. They were getting their photos taken. Unbelievable.

UPDATE II: It looks like Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo will be spending the night in jail.

another repost from JMG

From JMG

Ranker's Top Ten Anti-Gay Activists Caught In The Act Of Being Gay

Ranker.com has posted their list of the top ten anti-gay activists who've been caught in the act of being gay. Go to the site for photos and how each were caught. Here's their list of self-haters, all of whom have been exhaustively covered on this here website thingy.

1. Troy King
2. Jim West
3. Richard Curtis
4. Bruce Barclay
5. Roy Ashburn
6. Larry Craig
7. Ed Schrock
8. Robert Allen
9. Ted Haggard
10. Mark Foley

List-topper Troy King's story was hilarious, but my personal favorite remains Richard Curtis' night of shame.

reposted from JMG

FRom JMG: Joy Behar At The GLAAD Awards

GLAAD is trickling out the video clips from Saturday's Media Awards in NYC. This one is pretty good for Joy Behar's digs at Barbara Walters, Eric Massa, Sarah Palin, and John McCain. Joy also gives credit for her success to the gay clubs in the West Village. NSFW for Joy's potty mouth.

a repost from JMG

Michael Buble - SNL

JMG Quote Of The Day - Rep. Alan Grayson

"As the Knave's horse says in Alice in Wonderland, 'dogs will believe anything.' I'm sure Sarah Palin knows all about politics in Central Florida, since from her porch she can see Winter Park. I look forward to an honest debate with Governor Palin on the issues, in the unlikely event that she ever learns anything about them." - Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), responding to Sarah Palin's attack on him. (Winter Park is just north of Orlando.) This bit from Grayson's site is priceless too:

Palin, the former half-term Governor, current-nothing and future-even-less, charmed the all-Republican audience with her folksy folksiness and her homespun homespunnery. Atypically, Palin was wearing clothes that she had paid for herself. At the end of the event, she shared her recipe for mooseface pie. In response to Palin's attack on Rep Grayson, Grayson actually complimented Palin. Grayson praised Palin for having a hand large enough to fit Grayson's entire name on it. He thanked Palin for alleviating the growing shortage of platitudes in Central Florida. Grayson added that Palin deserved credit for getting through the entire hour-long program without quitting. Grayson also said that Palin really had mastered Palin's imitation of Tina Fey imitating Palin. Grayson observed that Palin is the most-intelligent leader that the Republican Party has produced since George W. Bush.

(Tipped by JMG reader Craig)

reposted from JMG

Will Phillips' Acceptance Speech at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York

Will Phillips, 10-Year-Old, Won't Pledge Allegiance To A Country That Discriminates Against Gays (VIDEO)

Will Phillips Shines at GLAAD Media Awards

Watch: Fierce 10-Year-Old Advocate Will Phillips Demands Obama Do More for Gay Rights

From JMG: Alber & Goss

This Is Who We Are

Gay singer/songwriters Matt Alber and Tom Goss team up on This Is Who We Are, which they are offering for download in return for a donation to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Last month I posted a early version of the song.

Singer-songwriter buddies Matt Alber and Tom Goss teamed up recently with videographer Zack Rosen of Washinton DC’s TheNewGay.net to shoot the video for their anti-DADT (Don't Ask Don't Tell) anthem, “Who We Are.” The video features discharged servicemen Mike Almy and David Hall. Matt and Tom are offering the song as a free download in return for a donation to The Service Members Legal Defense Network, the organization spearheading the effort to repeal DADT. David Hall, mentioned above, is now Development Director & Information Technology Manager at SLDN. Following the download/donate link is a brief Q&A with Matt and Tom about "Who We Are."

Visit the official site for the single for more information and the SLDN donation link.

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Barney Frank on DADT

The White House Doesn't Want DADT Repealed This Year

According to Rep. Barney Frank, the reason the DADT repeal wasn't attached to a defense appropriations bill is that the White House doesn't want it repealed this year. Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate:

As Rep. Barney Frank told me Friday, “I’m disappointed with the administration talking about delaying legislation for a year. But I’m working with Patrick Murphy [the lead sponsor of the House repeal bill] on it and I’m hoping we can push ahead.” Like many pro-repeal advocates, Frank has consistently pinpointed the National Defense Authorization Act as “the only vehicle” for overturning the ban legislatively. When I noted that the White House has failed to designate the defense authorization bill over a stand-alone bill as its preferred method for repealing the policy, Frank responded, “That’s because they don’t want it done this year, not because they want it done separately.” If Frank is correct, that would help clarify two things: (1) why administration officials declined to comment on the introduction of Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s new repeal bill — because they actually prefer the defense authorization act over a stand-alone bill; (2) why they haven’t advocated for a repeal measure to be included in this year’s authorization act — because they would prefer the issue recede into the shadows until next year.

(Via - AmericaBlog)

another great find reposted from JMG

J.Genoino, Deputado (São Paulo) ILGALAC Curitiba 2010

Exclusive video: Olson and Boies Q&A on Prop 8

Last Wednesday, the New York Times hosted an intimate question and answer session with the lawyers currently working to overturn Proposition 8 in California, Ted Olson and David Boies. (Our earlier recap of the discussion).

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Even if you’ve read stories about the evening, Boies and Olson speak with such passion and persuasion that the video is worth watching. Being in the same room with them was like being in the presence of history.

The Times was kind enough to send us over the video – we’ve encoded it below. Pix on the post are courtesy of Sara Krulwich from The New York Times.

Watch Gay Video & Lesbian Movies

From JMG: Texas Rewrites History

Christianist extremists have successfully rewritten American history. Here's just a few of the textbook changes approved by the Texas State Board of Education.

-The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”

-"Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state." “I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”

-The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.”

-McCarthyism will be taught as an example of how communism was rooted out of the federal government.

-Students will learn about the "patriot movement" of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association.

-"Board members also rejected requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while the late President Ronald Reagan was elevated to more prominent coverage."

The TSBOE is by far the most influential in the nation, which is why religious extremists have stacked the board with its members. Textbooks manufactured in Texas are sold to school systems nationwide.

reposted from JMG