Saturday, February 6, 2010

Surge in Women's Employment Brings Unemployment Rate Down to 9.7 Percent

Dean Baker, The Center for Economic and Policy Research: "The unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January, driven by a 0.4 percentage-point drop in the unemployment rate for women to 8.4 percent. The unemployment rate for men fell 0.2 percentage points to 10.8 percent. This drop came in spite of a reported loss of 20,000 jobs in the establishment survey."

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Friday, February 5, 2010

Quote of the Day

We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are – whether it’s here in the United States, or, as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.
- President Obama

American Prayer Hour Announcement: Moses

Thursday, February 4, 2010

From JMG: Obama Criticizes Uganda's "Kill Gays" Bill At National Prayer Breakfast

According to a tweet by CBS reporter Mark Knoller, this morning President Obama criticised Uganda's "kill gays" bill at the National Prayer Breakfast before the very GOP group responsible for backing the proposed law. The New York Times has the complete advance text of the president's planned speech, where no mention of Uganda or gay marriage is found, so it appears that Obama went off-script.

UPDATE: Here's the video, which includes Hillary Clinton calling out the Uganda bill. Interestingly, the presidents exact words are "we may disagree on gay marriage." What's this "we" jazz?

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another great find lifted from the daily JMG

American Prayer Hour Announcement: Bishop Gene Robinson

Saints Linebacker Fujita Tackles Gay Marriage

As New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita gears up for Super Bowl XLIV, Fujita talks to The Advocate about standing up for gay rights and against inequality, and about Tim Tebow's draft prospects thanks to Focus on the Family.


SCOTT FUJITA MAIN X390 (GETTY IMAGES) | ADVOCATE.COM
Scott Fujita is known for many things — being a "big white guy with the Japanese last name." as he says; his dedication to charities and community service; and, more recently, his unapologetic views on gay rights.

Fujita was adopted as a child by his Japanese father and white mother, and he grew up in Southern California. Even though he is not ethnically Japanese, Fujita says he is Japanese in his heart. After a standout student-athlete career in high school, Fujita was recruited by the Ivies but decided to play for the University of California, Berkeley, as a walk-on player.

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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

From JMG: REVERSAL: Colin Powell Joins Call For Repeal Of DADT

In a major reversal, Gen. Colin Powell, who opposed Bill Clinton's attempt to allow gay soldiers to serve openly, has joined the call to repeal DADT.
“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.” Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers on Tuesday that they supported President Obama’s proposal to repeal the 1993 law forbidding gay men and women to be open about their sexuality while serving in uniform.
Welcome, Gen. Powell.

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Courtesy of JMG

From JMG: Orrin Hatch: I Might Vote For DADT Repeal

He gave himself a bit of wiggle room, but Sen. Orrin Hatch, of all people, today said that he might be willing to support a repeal of DADT.

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Another great find from JMG

From JMG: Alber & Goss: This Is Who We Are

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."

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lifted from JMG

Shame on McCain...

Courage Campaign


"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.


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

Defining the Second Great Depression

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.

jump here to read

BREAKING: SHOCKING REALITY- Senator Chuck Schumer Is Planning To Exclude Gay And Lesbians From Immigration Reform Bill.

Charles Schumer, United States Senator from Ne...

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?

jump here to read the full article

From JMG: Family Research Council Calls For Criminalization Of Homosexuality

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.

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lifted from JMG

John McCain Caught Flip-Flopping On "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Clothing Drive

Howard Zinn's "Voices of a People's History of the United States: Second Edition (Paperback)." This is a Brilliant Companion Book to "A People's Histo


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The Late Howard Zinn
BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)
A terrific companion to Zinn's "A People's History."

"The purpose of Zinn's work, Voices included, is to engage in an act of political dissidence and activism. "What is common to all of these voices," Zinn and co-editor Anthony Arnove write in the book's introduction, "is that they have mostly been shut out of the orthodox histories, the major media, the standard textbooks, the controlled culture ... to create a passive citizenry." With Voices, Zinn and Arnove seek to address that malaise, showing that the impossible--slaves rising up against their slave masters, for example--is not only possible, but has occurred repeatedly throughout the country's history. "Whenever injustices have been remedied, wars halted, women and blacks and Native Americans given their due," they write, "it has been because 'unimportant' people spoke up, organized, protested, and brought democracy alive.""

“Voices should be on every bookshelf. [It presents] the rich tradition of struggle in the United States, from the resistance to the conquest of the Americas in the era of Columbus through the protests today of soldiers and their families against the brutal invasion and occupation of Iraq.”—Arundhati Roy

“In Voices, Howard Zinn has given us our true story, the ongoing, not-so-secret narrative of race and class in America.”—Russell Banks

“Gut-wrenching.”—Jon Stewart

“To omit or to minimize these voices of resistance is to create the idea that power only rests with those who have the guns, who possess the wealth, who own the newspapers and the television stations. I want to point out that people who seem to have no power, whether working people, people of color, or women—once they organize and protest and create movements—have a voice no government can suppress.”—Howard Zinn, from the Introduction

"Voices of a People’s History of the United States is the companion volume to historian Howard Zinn’s legendary best-selling book A People’s History of the United States. This second edition introduces four new voices: Camílo Mejia, the first U.S. soldier serving in Iraq to go public with his refusal to continue fighting Bush’s war; Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in action in Iraq, and whose speeches galvanized sentiment against the occupation of Iraq; Kevin Tillman, whose brother Pat, a former NFL player, was killed in Afghanistan in a case of “friendly fire”; and twelve-year-old Evann Orleck-Jetter, who testified before a 2009 public hearing of the Joint Senate and House Judiciary Committee in Vermont in support of equal rights for gay and lesbian families.

Historian and activist Howard Zinn's visionary telling of our history is widely considered one of the most important and influential of our era. In A People’s History of the United States, A Young People’s History of the United States, Voices of a People’s History of the United States, and, in Spanish, La otra historia de los Estados Unidos, Zinn affirms the power of the people to influence the course of events. Zinn’s other books include the newly updated The Zinn Reader, Terrorism and War with Anthony Arnove, the autobiographical You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train, and the play Marx in Soho."

****

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Monday, February 1, 2010

FRom David Mixner: Shame on John McCain....

John-mccain Just as the President is beginning to show serious leadership and courage on DADT, Senator John McCain of Arizona has announced he will lead the change against repeal. The senator knows better and we all know that he knows better. Most likely in the "Hanoi Hilton" there were gay prisoners of war being tortured with the senator. McCain most certainly has served with men and women he knew were gay and witnessed them serving with distinction. And there is no question in my mind that the senator really doesn't believe that the morale of the United States military is so low that allowing open members of the LGBT community to serve would make this nation weak.

jump here to read the full post

Goldie Sachs

From 365gay: Pentagon starts process of lifting gay ban

Pentagon starts process of lifting gay ban
February 1st, 2010

Pentagon starts process of lifting gay ban

By The Associated Press 02.01.2010

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.

Read more...