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.
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.
Meg Whitman, the pro Prop 8 Republican Gubernatorial wannabe, who landed in CEO butter a mere six months before EBAY went public, is now using those very consumer dollars- and an estimated 150 million of them to pony up an early bid to buy California. jump here to read the full article on Lezgetreal
That “nothing” was on full display this afternoon, when I got to ask Maggie Gallagher the question I’ve always wanted to ask her: What do you think that am I supposed to do with my life?
Suppose I found myself in agreement with her. Suppose I concluded that same-sex marriage was corrosive to society. Do I leave my husband? Do I send my adopted daughter back to the state? Enter ex-gay therapy, which isn’t likely to work? Tell my whole family that I’m single now, and that Scott shouldn’t be welcome at family events? Live my whole life alone, and loveless? Hide? Where is the life I’m supposed to live?
I probably wasn’t so articulate at the Cato event, but I do recall Gallagher’s very simple answer: “I don’t know.”
— Riveting stuff. Maggie Gallagher is the clearest and most dangerous representation of what we as gay people face as a politically active community in this country. She is smart, charming, and clearly has the courage of her convictions. She is, in a word, the Enemy. And she must be defeated.
Q: I've heard therapists say that a male adult who sexually abuses a boy isn't necessarily ‘homosexual.' This seems confusing: If he isn't homosexual, then why would he sexually molest boys, instead of girls?
This is a very good question, and there are several ways to respond to it. First, we need to clarify our definitions. When discussing sexual abuse and molestation of children, there's often conflict over terminology. One frequently quoted researchers on the topic of homosexuality and child molestation,Gregory Herek, a research psychologist at the University of California, defines pedophilia as "a psychosexual disorder characterized by a preference for prepubescent children as sexual partners, which may or may not be acted upon." He defines child sexual abuse as "actual sexual contact between an adult and someone who has not reached the legal age of consent." Not all pedophiles actually molest children, he points out. A pedophile may be attracted to children, but never actually engage in sexual contact with them. Quite often, pedophiles never develop a sexual orientation toward other adults.
"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East -- you're as good as dead." - Elton John, speaking to Parade Magazine.
Probably in response to Tuesday's blog swarm, the Human Rights Campaign today issued a five point plan regarding the repeal of DADT.
Guiding our work over the next months will be a number of key principles:
* Continued Presidential Leadership We have - and will continue to — call on the White House to include DADT repeal language in the 2011 Department of Defense authorization bill. HRC Legislative Director Allison Herwitt made that clear in this story by the DC Agenda on Jan. 11.
* Congressional Action in 2010 We believe that legislative action must run on a parallel track with the work of the DOD implementation review. We have — and will continue to — press the Senate to include repeal language in the final mark up of this year’s DOD authorization bill.
* Gates/Mullen review While the testimony of Gates and Mullen marked a historic and extraordinary move towards final repeal of DADT, HRC is advocating that the announced review is comprehensive and expeditious, and includes input from lesbian and gay service members and veterans. We will work to ensure the Working Group established by Secretary Gates will have all the data and information necessary to address any and all implementation issues.
* Strategic Partnerships HRC will continue to partner with key groups and Congressional allies working toward repeal including the Center for American Progress, Servicemembers United and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. By continuing to pool our resources, contacts and intelligence, we can meet the opposition head on and build even greater momentum for repeal.
* Voices of Veterans HRC’s “Voices of Honor” campaign is organizing veterans across the country to generate media, grassroots and grass tops pressure in key states that will be critical to the final votes in the House and Senate. The campaign builds on the work of the national “Voices of Honor Tour” last summer which led to 30 new Congressional co-sponsors and garnered national media attention to this discriminatory law.
Moments ago, the New Hampshire House resoundingly rejected an attempt to place a vote to repeal same-sex marriage on the November ballot.
CACR 28 defined marriage in this state by saying it can only be between a man and a woman. It was rejected by a wide margin, 201-135, short of a simple majority and far below the three-fifths majority -- 238 votes -- it needed to advance to the Senate. Sponsors tried to delay a vote on the bill until March 17, so local voters could weigh in on petitions at town meeting that ask for a popular vote on the amendment. "All we're trying to do here is put this on the ballot," Rep. David Bates, R-Windham, arguing voters should have their say.
Cheers to New Hampshire! We are wriggling with pleasure.
Sign this petition to repeal Prop 8 NOW. Show your support in allowing people to choose to marry the person they love. Right now, our brothers, our sisters, our co-workers, and our friends are being discriminated against just because they love someone of the same gender. Love isn’t something that should be regulated by the government. It’s more powerful than that and it’s something that everyone should be able to experience. Love makes us stronger as a community, and it’s worth fighting for.
You can help reverse marriage discrimination by signing this petition. There are organizations out there that say they support marriage equality, but they're hesitant to take a stand and fight for it now. We're going to collect all the signed petitions and deliver them to these organizations, and ask that they step up to support marriage equality now.
When Olson and Boise decided to take marriage equality to the federal courts, some big LGBT organizations argued against it, saying that it was “too soon” to fight for marriage equality on the Federal level. These same organizations are also saying that it’s “too soon” to fight for marriage equality at the State level in California.
It's not right for these organizations to tell Obama that there are no excuses in delaying the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and that there are no excuses in delaying the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, while at the same time they argue that LGBT residents in California should wait more than 2 years to be equal. Demanding equality in the army while putting off equality in marriage is a compromise. Full equality is not something to be earned over time or given through concessions.
Let's stand together and tell these organizations that there is no such thing as partial equality! The time is now and we are the ones we've been waiting for. No one should be told to wait in line for their turn to be equal.
Tell these organizations to stop delaying LGBT equality, and unite in the fight to restore marriage equality now. Tell them to support Restore Equality 2010's efforts in repealing Proposition 8!
Manhattan's decade of fascination with the "upscale" cupcake emporium has been well-documented. And years after Sex And The Citywent off the air, the lines at the pointedly downscale Magnolia Cupcakes mysteriously remain. Therefore, it seems, we were long overdue for a gay take on the phenomenon. Enter the Butch Bakery.
Butch Bakery was born when David Arrick felt it was time to combine a masculine aesthetic to a traditionally cute product -the cupcake. When a magazine article mentioned that cupcakes were a combination of everything "pink, sweet, cute, and magical", he felt it was time to take action, and butch it up. He decided to create a company where "Butch meets Buttercream". David is delighted to bring this exciting culinary product to market.
A one-dozen booze-infused "Butch Box" of cupcakes will set you back $48. I love that they've trademarked "Butch it up." I'm totally going to copyright "You go, girl!"
The Olympics are all about stories that tug at our heart strings and renew our faith in both a little redemption and a little humanity. And there might be nothing more heart-warming than to see Brian Burke, the General Manager of the U.S. Hockey Team, in attendance at the games. Burke lost his son, openly gay Miami University of Ohio student Brendan Burke, in a car accident last week. When Brendan told his father he was gay, his father not only stood by him, but marched next to him in Pride parades. A few months ago, Burke used his son as an example of courage when talking about homophobia in sports. It was clear that this father loved his son more than anything, sexual orientation be damned. That's the way it should be. Of being at the Olympics, Burke simply said, "My son would have wanted me to be here." Sure, it'll be hard for Team USA's hockey team to surpass the miracle win of 1980. But it sure would be great to see them win this year for Brendan.
Face it, there's no escaping the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Whether it's non-stop coverage of Johnny Weir's outfits, or the constant replay of those two South Koreans crashing on the speed-skating track, February is all about covering the glitz and glamour of winter sports.
And if you haven't noticed, there's also something a little LGBT-friendly about this year's games. Are they the Gay Games? No, not in the least. For really LGBT-inclusive sports, stay tuned for the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne, Germany later this year. But in its own way, the Vancouver Olympics are making little LGBT imprints. Here are five ways the Olympics are getting their gay on this time around.
The European Parliament has reaffirmed its policy that EU member states must support LGBT rights. Turkey, Macedonia, and Croatia are moving closer to admission, but all three continue to violate the EU's requirements.
The three candidate countries were reminded that the protection of all minorities is a non-negotiable condition to access the European Union. “I am happy that our amendments in favour of LGBT rights in the progress reports for Macedonia and Croatia were adopted by the European Parliament,” Ulrike Lunacek MEP, co-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights, said this evening. “We have reaffirmed that anti-discrimination standards must apply in candidate countries, and Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement, has assured us of his support on this issue. We count on the Commission’s work in this area to make sure fundamental rights are respected in the European region.” The other co-president, Michael Cashman, said that accession critera are “crystal clear”. ”Minorities must be protected from discrimination as laid out in Article 19 of the Treaty—and that includes sexual orientation,” he said. “This is not an à la carte menu: it is at the core of the European Union, and we will be rigorous in its application.”
Together with the New York Times, CBS has released the results of their latest poll in which they attempt to gauge support for repealing the military gay ban 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Interestingly, they found that more people support letting gays and lesbians serve in the military than support homosexuals. What? It seems that, at least in the minds of some respondents, words, and the emotions evoked by those words, really can make a difference. Here's a brief summary of the CBS poll (click here for the full article):
