Wednesday, March 24, 2010
From the Courage Campaign
| | We would like to share with you this open letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Cleve Jones, a pioneering equal rights activist featured in the film "MILK," creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Senior Advisor to the Courage Campaign.
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Dear Speaker Pelosi --
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I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for your relentless perseverance in the passage of health care reform. Along with President Obama, your steadfast leadership and personal commitment has fundamentally changed the lives of millions of Americans.
You and I have known each other for a long time, since we first met as political organizers in San Francisco. I was proud when you were elected Speaker and proud again on Sunday night when you gave a powerful speech on the floor of the House of Representatives about the meaning of health care reform, eloquently asserting that:
"When it comes to health care for all Americans, 'All politics is personal.' It's personal for the family that wrote to me who had to choose between buying groceries and seeing a doctor. It's personal to the family who was refused coverage because their child had a pre-existing condition..."
This profound statement about the power of politics to change the lives of everyday people touched me deeply. And it reminded me of the opportunity we have right now to transform the lives of Americans again -- the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
As shocking as it may be to believe in the year 2010, LGBT people can still legally be fired from their jobs in at least 29 states of our country simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That's why the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is so vitally important.
Once passed, ENDA would provide to all Americans basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As my friends at Pride at Work describe it, ENDA is "based on the labor principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits as a worker" and is similar in nature to other federal civil rights laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
We've seen the passion you've brought to the challenge of passing health care reform. Now more than ever, we need your passion and skill to achieve the passage of ENDA.
As you know, many Americans in the LGBT community -- especially young people -- are increasingly frustrated and cynical about the pace of progress in Washington.
We want you to show them that cynicism is not the response at this time. They need to believe in the process, Madame Speaker, and you can restore their faith in this process by moving expeditiously to bring ENDA to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
I know your values, Madame Speaker, and I know that you strongly support ENDA. Now I want these young people to know what is in your heart.
With the knowledge that health care reform has been achieved and that enough votes now exist in the House today to pass ENDA, will you work with Rep. George Miller, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, to ensure that ENDA is passed out of committee and brought to the floor of the house immediately?
I am writing this open letter to you and sharing it with my friends in the Courage Campaign and GetEQUAL communities, thousands of whom will sign a petition to you asking that ENDA be prioritized for passage now. You can read the petition -- and Americans can sign on to it -- here:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/SpeakerPelosi
Congratulations again on your historic achievement. Along with thousands of other people reading this letter, I wish you the best.
Cleve Jones
Senior Advisor, Courage Campaign
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
From JMG: Porno Pete's Americans For Truth Labeled Hate Site By Southern Poverty Law Center
Due to the lobbying of Chicago's Gay Liberation Network, Porno Pete LaBarbera's Americans For Truth About Homosexuality has been listed as a hate site by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the watchdog group that tracks hate groups in numerous categories. Via Andy Thayer at Feast Of Fools:GLN's Bob Schwartz:After years of vilifying gays as disease-prone and child molesters, the website of the Naperville-based anti-gay organization Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) recently became listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network (GLN) lobbied the Law Center to list AFTAH as a hate group so that its lies against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people could be exposed to public scrutiny and condemnation. The listing appeared in the most recent issue of the Law Center’s quarterly publication, Intelligence Report.
The criteria that the Law Center historically has used to determine whether or not an organization is a hate group is not merely that it opposes legal equality for gays or others, but whether or not they intentionally utilize discredited and slanderous propaganda to spread lies about a group of people. By repeatedly using the phony “research” of defrocked psychologist Paul Cameron, who is roundly condemned by every major professional psychological association, AFTAH’s website apparently met the Law Center’s definition of a hate group.
“Getting LaBarbera’s website labeled a ‘hate group’ is important because it helps assist the political marginalization of a man who has dedicated his career to denying others legal equality. Through demonstrating against LaBarbera and his organizations over the years, GLN and others have made LaBarbera gain the reputation of being a bigot, and thus radioactive in many ‘respectable’ circles. This most recent victory, getting the Southern Poverty Law Center stamp of disapproval for LaBarbera’s website, makes it less possible for him to garner support for future anti-gay legislation and initiatives.We can't wait to see LaBarbera's response.
Labels: AFTAH, bigotry, hate groups, hate speech, Peter LaBarbera, religion
From JMG: HomoQuotable - James Randi
"Well, here goes. I really resent the term, but I use it because it’s recognized and accepted. I’m gay. From some seventy years of personal experience, I can tell you that there’s not much “gay” about being homosexual. For the first twenty years of my life, I had to live in the shadows, in a culture that was — at least outwardly — totally hostile to any hint of that variation of life-style. At no time did I choose to adopt any protective coloration, though; my cultivation of an abundant beard was not at all a deception, but part of my costume as a conjuror."Gradually, the general attitude that I’d perceived around me began to change, and presently I find that there has emerged a distinctly healthy acceptance of different social styles of living — except, of course, in cultures that live in constant and abject fear of divine retribution for infractions found in the various Holy Books… In another two decades, I’m confident that young people will find themselves in a vastly improved atmosphere of acceptance.
"Before publishing this statement, I chose to privately notify a number of my closest friends and colleagues — none of whom, I’m sure, have been at all surprised at this “coming out.” I’m prepared to receive the inevitable barrage of jeers and insults from the “grubbies” out there who will jump to their keyboards in glee to notify others of their kind about this statement, which to them will be yet further proof of the perfidy of the rationalist mode of life that I have chosen. Those titters of joy will be unheard over the murmur of acceptance that I confidently expect from my friends." - Famed magician James Randi, coming out at the age of 81 after seeing the film Milk. "The Amazing Randi" was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson and now spends much of his time debunking paranormal and supernatural claims.
Labels: coming out, gay seniors, Milk the movie, the closet
From JMG: Dutch 'Pink Army' To Sue Gen. John Sheehan Over Genocide Allegations
Last week retired US Gen. John Sheehan ridiculously claimed that the Bosnian genocide of thousands of Muslim men and boys was the result of the homo-infested Dutch army. A group of openly gay Dutch soldiers has announced their plan to sue Sheehan for libel. “Gay reproach is world news,” reads NRC Handelsblad’s weekend headline. “The fall of the Balkenende cabinet hardly attracted any international attention, but an American former general who claims the Dutch army is weakened by homosexual soldiers is world news – from Al Jazeera to the New York Times.” At the end of last week former US general John Sheehan caused outrage by blaming the presence of gay soldiers for the Dutch army’s failure to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.(Tipped by JMG reader Alja in the Netherlands)
The fallout continues in Monday’s press, with de Volkskrant reporting that gay Dutch soldiers are planning to sue the retired general for libel. Communication strategist Peter Schouten has launched the Pink Army foundation on their behalf. Via the Pink Army website. He’s looking for Dutch soldiers to bring a class action lawsuit against General Sheehan in the Californian federal court. Pink Army is demanding that he should publish a full-page apology in the international press – and attend a course in “sensitivity training”.
Labels: DADT, John Sheehan, lawsuits, military, Netherlands
Sunday, March 21, 2010
From 365gay: Corvino: How the Sacred Heart decision makes sense
It is sometimes said, “Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.” Which may be why the recent Colorado story about Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish School, which expelled two pre-schoolers because their parents are lesbians, saddens me.
Although I’m now an atheist, I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools for a good chunk of my life. There’s much about that experience that I still value. Thus (unlike many commentators on this story) I “get” why lesbians would want to send their children to a Catholic school in the first place. The rich intellectual and moral tradition, the emphasis on fundamentals—these are valuable things, and they’re often hard to find in public schools.make the jump here to read the full text
From Bilerico: The Tea Baggers haven't changed, we have
Filed by: Alex Blaze
March 21, 2010 1:00 PM
I come from a part of the US that's full of tea-bagger types - middle- to upper-income white Republicans who think America sucks now but was a great place when minorities knew their place, who think they're the only people who work in the US, and who are paranoid that their tax money is going to pay for free gifts for the undeserving leeches on the system (who are everyone who isn't like them). So it really just sounds like these folks are letting their true colors show on the eve of health care reform passing:
Preceding the president's speech to a gathering of House Democrats, thousands of protesters descended around the Capitol to protest the passage of health care reform. The gathering quickly turned into abusive heckling, as members of Congress passing through Longworth House office building were subjected to epithets and even mild physical abuse.
A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.
But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.
The racial aspect of the tea bagger movement has been apparent to most people on the outside looking in, and they've been calling Barney Frank the faggot who ruined the economy since 2008. The only thing that's changed is now they're using the word "faggot."
Continue reading "The Tea Baggers haven't changed, we have" »
From JMG: Rep. Devin Nunes: Dems Brought Anti-Gay And Racist Slurs Upon Themselves
Because it's the Democrats' "totalitarian tactics" that are making people "act crazy" and shout racist and anti-gay slurs against members of Congress. And totally not because the teabaggers actually are the kissing-cousins of the KKK.
Labels: bigotry, health care reform, racism, Tea Party, teabaggers
From JMG: Acne Drug Found To Work On HIV
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the inexpensive acne drug minocycline works well to help suppress HIV replication, making it a potentially highly valuable addition to the HAART arsenal. “The powerful advantage to using minocycline is that the virus appears less able to develop drug resistance because minocycline targets cellular pathways not viral proteins,” says Janice Clements, Ph.D., Mary Wallace Stanton Professor of Faculty Affairs, vice dean for faculty, and professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “The big challenge clinicians deal with now in this country when treating HIV patients is keeping the virus locked in a dormant state,” Clements adds. “While HAART is really effective in keeping down active replication, minocycline is another arm of defense against the virus.” Unlike the drugs used in HAART which target the virus, minocycline homes in on, and adjusts T cells, major immune system agents and targets of HIV infection. According to Clements, minocycline reduces the ability of T cells to activate and proliferate, both steps crucial to HIV production and progression toward full blown AIDS.Johns Hopkins says the drug will greatly advance the goal of making HIV+ patients non-infectious.
Labels: good news, HIV, HIV/AIDS, science
reposted from JMGFrom JMG: Teabaggers: "Barney, You Faggot!"
At the behest of wingnut Rep. Steve King (R-IA), teabaggers are flooding the office buildings of Congress today. And things are getting very ugly. Things seem to be getting pretty heated in the Capitol with crowds of anti-Reform/Tea Party activists going through the halls shouting slogans and epithets at Democratic members of Congress. As our Brian Beutler reports, a few moments ago in Longworth office building, a group swarmed a very calm looking Henry Waxman, as he got on the elevator, with shouts of "Kill the bill!" "You liar! You crook!" Not long before, Rep. Barney Frank got an uglier version of the treatment. Just after Frank rounded a corner to leave the building, an older protestor yelled "Barney, you faggot." The surrounding crowd of protestors then erupted in laughter. At one point, Capitol police officer threatened to throw a group of protesters out of the building but that only seemed to inflame them more; and apparently none were ejected.None were ejected. After calling a member a "faggot" they still got to stay. Unbelievable.
UPDATE: The teabaggers also called Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) the n-word.
(Tipped by JMG reader Andrew)Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) claimed Saturday that healthcare protesters at the Capitol directed racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) as he walked outside. Carson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus along with Lewis, told The Hill that protesters called Lewis the N-word. Tea Party protesters held a rally outside the Capitol on Saturday, which included speeches by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and actor Jon Voight, and then proceeded into the halls to lobby members at the 11th hour.Lewis was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement alongside Martin Luther King. Jr.
Labels: Barney Frank, Congress, faggot, health care reform, Tea Party, teabaggers
reposted from JMGoeFrom Rescue Marriage: Build That Wall
As the supporters of Proposition 8 so astutely pointed out, gay people getting married destroys the sanctity of existing straight marriages. And although we successfully stemmed the tide of marriage-destroying gay unions here in California, CNN is reporting that, by a vote of 39 to 20, Mexico City’s legislative assembly revised the city’s civil code to permit same-sex marriages.
We are fully engaged fighting the menace of divorce within, we can’t afford to be distracted by a burgeoning population of happily married gay couples looking to penetrate our southern border and taint our innocence.
That’s why I am proposing that we build a rainbow-colored wall to keep out the inevitable flood of gay Mexican couples who will come up here and take traditional marriages away from hard-working Americans. It will be a difficult task, though. For one thing, who do you think will build and/or decorate that wall?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
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