Greene denies that he called anyone these things and stated “That’s not true. She is a troublemaker and she is not with my campaign.”

For his part, Bigger is not sure what to believe, but feels that it is rather disappointing. He stated “You try to do a public service for people. You try to respect the dignity of human beings and this is what you get. There’s no honesty, it seems like, in politics anymore.” He does not regret the York county forum where Greene came to speak and answer questions.

For her part, Maggart-Feldmen has apparently threatened to ruin Greene. That may be hard to do since he currently trails is opponent, Senator Jim DeMint by 44 points. Greene is also know for saying that he could turn the economy around by selling dolls of his likeness. Greene is also an unemployed veteran, and he is facing a felony charge for allegedly showing a University of South Carolina female college student pornography.

Source

http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=13087887

Where the Tea Party once split the Republicans between the Moderates and the Conservatives, now the social and civil issues are threatening to split the Tea Party with more and more people demanding that the ‘Jesus Freaks’ get the ‘hell’ out of the movement.

Blackwell and Klukowski are both appalled by the recent decision by Judge Vaughn Walker strike down “part of the California Constitution defining marriage as one man and one woman,” and by the recent decision by Ken Mehlman to come out of the closet and to start “pushing the Republican Party to support the homosexual-rights agenda.  Republican leaders are beginning to weigh in on where they stand, including on the agenda’s centerpiece: Redefining marriage.”

They went on to say :

“The Republican Party has an official position on same-sex marriage. It’s found in the 2008 GOP platform, which is the clear and uncontestable Republican position until the 2012 convention. When one of your authors (Ken Blackwell) was serving as vice chairman of the GOP Platform Committee, there was a singular focus on producing a party platform that fully reflects the vast majority of Republican Party members.

“The GOP platform could not be more explicit: Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The fundamental institution of human civilization should be preserved as it has been known through the entirety of American history and Western civilization. Supporters of same-sex marriage had the full opportunity to make their case to the party. They made it, and they lost.”

Of course, as always, they mean the Judeo-Christian-Greco-Roman part of Western Civilization since many outside of those regions had very different definitions of marriage.  Of course, they also begin talking about how there is no right to marriage equality in the US Constitution, and that it is a state issue.  This would be true if it were not for the fact that the Federal Government recognizes marriages given by states and the Constitution requires all states to recognize the laws and contracts entered into in other states.  Of course, their big problem is the supposed rewriting of the Constitution from the bench by ‘activist judges’, which is a very old and tired ploy.

On this point, the two men are absolutely correct

“Republican leadership is working hard to prevent a party split. Millions of Tea Party supporters are justifiably fed up with the GOP, and threatening to abandon the GOP in favor of a third party if Republicans do not fully attack out-of-control federal spending and power with a commitment to constitutional government.

“That danger cuts both ways.

“Social conservatives cannot be played as fools by the Republican Party. They are not “useful idiots.” If Republican leaders abandon social conservatives and the party platform, then they will face the same kind of disaster they could be facing if Tea Partiers abandon the GOP. — Millions of social conservatives will either stay home, or will vote for a third-party candidate who takes up the mantle of marriage, life, faith and family.”

They point to 1912 without actually explaining the events of that year.  In 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt and then President William Taft had a major falling out.  Roosevelt went on the war path, and when he was unable to take the Republican Party back from Taft, he formed a third party called the Progressive Party.  Roosevelt and Taft’s split ended up splitting the Republican party and President Woodrow Wilson was catapulted into the Presidency.

The GOP today is in a very dangerous spot.  In all likelihood, the split that their leadership is trying to avoid is coming, and it will not be pretty.  In fact, in the wake of Glenn Beck’s little revival on 28 August, that split is coming sooner than the leadership can cope with many Beck fans now wondering openly why they were at a Mormon revival.

Source

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and Republican senatorial nominee Carly Fiorina delivered a spirited debate tonight at St, Mary’s, Moraga, Bay Area, California.  Fiorina clearly on the defensive unable to lift her leg high enough to the tree with big Boxer, who sparred like a heavy weight, while deflecting the occasional light weight banter from her opponent.

Topics ranged from this year’s hot-button issues of the economy and immigration to the always-debatable subjects of gay marriage and abortion.

Yet no incumbent bloodshed over the biggest issue – relief for California’s struggling economy. Rather a pointed dagger at the heart of Fiorina’s tenure at HP where Boxer noted that the 30,000 jobs shipped abroad by Fiorina reflected the size of an entire Foster City; and with a payoff to Fiorina of $100Million.

Irony of Irony – that very money now being used to fund this very campaign!

“Each did her best to portray her opponent as out of touch with Californians’ needs. Fiorina cast Boxer as a 28-year officeholder with an unabashedly liberal, failed record that has been “devastating for this state.” Boxer defended her record while casting Fiorina as a failed “Wall Street CEO” who got rich while laying off thousands of workers and shipping their jobs overseas before being fired by her board of directors.” (Mercury news tonight)

When asked whether the war in Iraq was worthwhile and what lessons should be applied to Afghanistan, Boxer noted she was among 23 senators who voted against the Iraq war, yet she later voted for funding to protect troops and veterans; she said she wants a clear exit strategy for Afghanistan. Fiorina disingenuously admonished Boxer’s votes as being against the interests of troops several times. Yet Fiorina forgets she continues to tout the rhetoric of the very administration that got us into the war as well as tacitly endorsed the war through her silent acceptance thereof.

Fiorina, who has aired a campaign ad likening Boxer’s concern over climate change as a national security issue to worrying about “the weather,” refused to say despite the moderator’s insistence for a ‘yes or no’ answer– either during the debate or at the spin news conference afterward — whether she will support Proposition 23, which would roll back California’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions law. When Fiorina said she had not yet taken a position. Boxer jumped at her saying that she could not understand how Fiorina failed to take a position at this time on so important an issue;  ”If you can’t take a stand on Proposition 23, I don’t know what you will take a stand on,”   noting that the measure would cripple California’s burgeoning clean-energy economy and give other nations the lead.

Boxer jabbed “My opponent is kind of used to creating jobs in China and other places,” noting Fiorina is supported by the same oil and coal interests backing Prop. 23, and “They are hoping that I don’t make it.”

Asked about the status of children of undocumented immigrants, Fiorina said she supports the DREAM Act — bipartisan legislation providing such youths a path to citizenship through college studies or military service — but opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.

URGH no one ever asks about UAFA-The Uniting American Families Act – which could feasibly be introduced as a stand-alone bill together with the Dream Act.

Boxer insisted she has supported two bipartisan immigration bills in recent years, while Fiorina has called the battle for comprehensive reform “a distraction” from more important issues.

After the debate, Boxer said the two campaigns are working to schedule another faceoff.

Boxer wins on Knockout round 1.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fiorina Against Walker Ruling v. Boxer Supports Prop 8 Judgment (lezgetreal.com)
• Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (lezgetreal.com)
• Boxer vs. Fiorina: A Dead Heat in California Senate Race (time.com)
• Boxer Leading Fiorina In Latest Polling, People Like Her Hair More Too (lezgetreal.com)

Posted by Melanie Nathan; September 01, 2010

Senator Mark Leno has lent his support to LGBT issues in the State of California’s legislature; what many outside California may not realize is the importance and impact of  local leadership on the rest of the Country.

It is when one’s State Senator takes the time to fight for Resolutions pronouncing upon Federal legislation (e.g. Kevin de Leon CA State Assemblyman and Leno for Resolution AJR 15  that passed in California  calling for the enactment of the Federal legislation by Congress of the  Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)) – and now this Article sent out today by Senator Mark Leno, that  we realize – we may well underestimate the importance of the influence that local representatives can have on the National arena. After all when reading this all I could think about was the absurdity of the” Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) and the fact of its continued impact during this Congress consisting of a Democratic  President and a Democratic majority in both houses.

Senator Mark Leno: “Nearly two years after the passage of Proposition 8 in California, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the divisive measure denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry is unconstitutional, violating both due process and equal protection rights. In a landmark decision, the first ever on this issue in federal court, Judge Vaughn Walker upheld justice and equality, concluding there is no rational basis for preventing marriage between same-sex couples.

In his 136-page decision, Judge Walker eloquently dispels the myths promoted by Prop 8, including that heterosexual couples are somehow better than same-sex couples and more deserving of the universal recognition of marriage and that families led by two parents of the same gender are inadequate. Walker’s decision echoes the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 2004 findings when it ruled that there is no constitutional basis for denying same-sex couples marriage licenses and stated that by doing so we perpetuate a “destructive stereotype that same-sex relationships are inherently unstable and inferior to opposite-sex relationships and are not worthy of respect.” Do we really want our government determining that some people love better than others?

Based on overwhelming evidence presented at trial, Walker concluded that Prop 8 likely passed due to a “desire to advance the belief that opposite-sex couples are morally superior to same-sex couples” and that the proposition “enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples.”

While public opinion in California and across the nation continues to shift more in support of marriage equality, the moral opinions of the masses should not dictate such important issues, especially when it involves fundamental rights. In 1948, California became the first state in the nation to end the ban on interracial marriage, although about 90 percent of Americans at that time opposed these unions. As with marriage for same-sex couples, the California Supreme Court’s 1948 decision was controversial at that time, even though that ban clearly trampled on the rights of targeted minority groups and violated equal protection laws.

In 2004, I had the distinct honor of marrying Marvin Burrows and his lifelong partner Bill Swenor during the short time period when San Francisco granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Marvin and Bill had met as teenagers in the 1950s, fell in love, and spent 51 years together as a couple.

One year after Marvin and Bill were married, Bill unexpectedly died of a heart attack. While the men were domestic partners, their marriage license from San Francisco had been invalidated. Because they were not legally married, Marvin was denied Bill’s pension, veteran and social security benefits and his health insurance suddenly ended. As a result of Bill and Marvin’s inability to have their half century relationship honored and validated with a marriage license, in the midst of grieving Bill’s death Marvin was now homeless. Why would we want to kick senior citizens to the curb for the crime of loving someone of the same gender? While Marvin turned his despair into action and became an outspoken advocate for marriage equality, Marvin and Bill’s tragic story demonstrates the cruel and unfair consequences of inequality.

While it’s likely that the legal challenge to Prop 8 will continue to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the current stay preventing same-sex couples from marrying is justice delayed and denied, Judge Walker’s ruling is a giant leap forward for marriage equality. It deflates the prejudiced stereotypes that have long demonized gay men and lesbians and relationships between same-sex couples and their families. It attacks the blatant lies and fears that were fostered by the supporters of Prop 8 during the 2008 campaign. It upholds the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equal protection under law and restates that this fundamental right cannot be denied to any one group of people, regardless of the electorate’s majority opinion.

Finally, the August 4 U.S. District Court decision reiterates a fact that opponents of Prop 8 and supporters of marriage equality have long asserted. Denying loving same-sex couples the freedom to marry unfairly promotes inequality and the perception of inferiority. In the words of Judge Walker, “opposite sex-couples are not better than their same-sex counterparts; instead, as partners, parents and citizens, opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples are equal.”

By Senator Mark Leno who represents the Third Senate District of California, which includes portions of San Francisco and Sonoma Counties and all of Marin County. He can be reached via the web at www.sen.ca.gov/Leno Senator.Leno@senate.ca.gov.

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

The thing is, both men are not exactly the most supportive of same-sex marriage.  Instead, it is probably just a ploy by them to outflank President Barack Obama on the issue of LGBT rights, and they have no intentions of ever supporting the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act or Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or support the enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.  Cornyn even once likened homosexuality to “man on box turtle.”  He also opposes same-sex marriage, though he has backed off the extreme rhetoric and claimed that he was not trying to degrade the dignity of lesbian and gay people.

The Log Cabin Republicans may be trying to build bridges with their support of the Conservative movement, but they seem far from choosy when it comes to who they associate with and they have done very little to bridge the gap between the Republicans and the LGBT Community.  Many lesbians, gays and transpeople have been hurt by the Republican Party and they are far from willing to open up and accept their support just yet.

C.D. Kirven, the co-founder of Get Equal Now, released this statement regarding the LCR fundraiser:

“Mr. Sessions and other members of the Texas GOP have a ‘zero’ score by
the Human Rights Campiagn on supporting LGBT issues for years. Get Equal Now has protested TX GOP events and will protest Log Cabin Republican events that include candidates willing to accept money from LGBT citizens but turn a blind eye to repealing DADT or championing ENDA. My message to the TX GOP and their supporters is simple put your vote where your LGBT donations are otherwise we will remember in November. The rich just keep getting richer and with threats of a double dip recession middle class Texans can no longer afford to support candidates willing to take our money and blatantly ignore our struggle. Governor Perry’s unreported million dollar donation from Bob Perry was recently reported by various media outlets so Texans are waking up to the fact that some Republicans continue to play corporate games with the lives of middle class diverse families.  My advice to Mr. Session’s is understand when you attend LGBT events know that we will vote, protest and follow closely candidates that do not serve the public interests of all voters. If you come to LGBT events and take LGBT money, then LGBT activists will hold you accountable!”

Background source data

Mrs Gumpertz passed away last year of a heart attack. She is survived by her husband Donald, who has donated to the GOP repeatedly, including donating over $7000 to Vitter’s campaign this year, which may be a violation of the law.

Mrs. Gumpertz’ ghost appears to have also donated to the Republicans for Choice PAC and to Representative Paul Broun of Georgia. Since it appears that donations to candidates by ghosts are not allowed, it is unclear what will happen next.

Source

What appears to be odd in this case is that none of the three changed their votes on the legislation. Republicans John Campbell of California and Tom Price of Georgia both voted against the bill while Democrat Joseph Crowley of New York voted for it. What is more baffling is that the OCE appears to have provided no evidence that these men broke ethics rules or any laws. The ethics office also refused to ask for further investigations on five others, namely Democrats Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Mel Watt of North Carolina, and Republicans Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Chris Lee of New York, and Frank Lucas of Oklahoma.

All three Democrats voted for the bill, and all five Republicans voted against the bill that President Barack Obama signed into law on 21 July. While the law was suppose to rectify the failures that lead to the 2008 meltdown of the financial system, it only managed to rectify some of them.

Campbell felt “perplexed by OCE’s decision, as they have presented no evidence that would suggest wrongdoing.” He also maintains that he “always complied with the letter and the spirit of the law. To suggest otherwise is unfounded and untrue. In addition, my voting record and my opposition to a culture of taxpayer-funded bailouts has been and always will be unshakeable.”

The California Republican was joined in his bafflement by his colleague Price from Georgia. Price stated “There being no evidence of any wrongdoing or any inconsistency in my policy position, one can only guess as to the motive behind their decision or even why they chose to initiate a review in the first place. My constant allegiance to a transparent and conscious divide between my official duties as a member of Congress and my actions as a candidate is without question.”

Crowley, the Democrat from New York, also asserted that he complied to the “letter and spirit of the rules regarding fundraising and standards of conduct.”

The three did attend fundraisers in and around the time that their votes were cast, but this is normal for any politician given that they are often attending fundraisers right through the year.

Crowley may be the only one with any potential for a problem since he did attend a fundraiser and then turn around and vote against a Democratic sponsored amendment to the bill which could have toughened some financial regulations, but that seems more like a coincidence than a violation of the rules since a hundred Democrats also voted against it.

Source

The fundraiser is not a totally Republican-driven effort. Former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta will be there as well. The people attending just shows a growing divide between the fiscally conservative/socially liberal groups and the socially conservative/fiscally liberal groups. As one Republican put it

“I think there is a growing mass of people in Republican politics who are fundamentally sick and tired about being lectured to about morality and how to live your life by a bunch of people who have been married three or four times and are more likely to be seen outside a brothel on a Thursday night than being at home with their kids… There is a fundamental indecency to the vitriol and the hatred directed against decent people because of their sexuality. People have reached a critical mass with this.”

Lesbian and gay Republicans have long had problems within the wider LGBT Community which has tended to side with Liberalism and Democrats for a long time due to the support on the Left for LGBT Rights. Between President Barack Obama’s reticence over LGBT issues and a growing sense of distaste for social conservativism, the Republican Party is splitting on the issues that effect the LGBT Community.

Steve Schmidt, the former campaign manager for Senator John McCain stated “There is a strong conservative case to be made in favor of gay marriage. Marriage is an institution that strengthens and stabilizes society. It is an institution that has the capacity to bring profound joy and happiness to people and it is a matter of equality and keeping faith of one of the charters of the nation, the right to live your life. More and more conservatives are saying that opposition to gay marriage would not be a litmus test for membership in the GOP. And more conservatives are making the case that no more do you want big government conservatives in the bedroom than big government liberals telling you how to live your life.”

This split in the GOP is something that is causing more and more problems for the Party in the long run since many people who are advocates for LGBT rights are not well received by many supporters of the GOP. Conservative lesbians and gays also often face problems inside the LGBT Community as there is a long standing feeling of them being willing to work with those who would oppose the very rights that they deserve and hurting their fellow lesbians, gays and transpeople. It may be a long time before anyone forgives Ken Mehlman for his hand in orchestrating the restriction of marriage rights for America’s lesbians and gays.

Source

Melanie Nathan; 8-30-2010

Sen. Kirstin Gilibrand had pledged to fight for the LGBT community and has often spoken quite loudly for LGBT equality.

However the frustration of the LGBT community cannot abate for what remain mere words. At A Fire Island event this past weekend,  a few donors strongly urged the Democratic party to do more on LGBT issues. According to Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out “While largely supportive of the senator’s work, there was palpable frustration with the pace in Washington for repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell and passing ENDA.”  http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/08/10833/

Andrew Tobias, treasurer for the democratic party, made the case for supporting democrats in the upcoming elections, warning of the dire consequences for LGBT equality if Republicans win the House, Senate or both.

“Still,”  fellow blogger Besen asserts “think how much easier it would be to persuade LGBT voters to show up if ENDA had been passed or DADT repealed? The case AGAINST the more radical elements of the GOP is an easy one. However, the case FOR the Democrats is much more difficult and complicated to make. The Democrats have controlled Washington for two years and while there has certainly been progress on LGBT issues, the big prizes — other than hate crimes legislation — have so far been elusive.”

While this may be the case, it is my contention that very little pressure has been placed on our members in Congress even when President Obama has begged us to hold feet to fire.

The problem in my opinion is the self-marginalization that our community has succumbed to in response to the Bush ‘wedge issue’ political environment, preceded by the lets sneak in through the back door approach that followed Stonewall.

What we have done is carved a thinking that piecemeal legislation will serve us in the first place.  To date, it clearly has failed us and until we set our own standards a lot higher it probably will continue to fail us.

ENDA is a misdirected absorption of resources that we can no longer afford.  It has taken us off the path of a composite Civil Rights movement that should be seeking full equality for LGBT people under one Omnibus/ Civil Rights Amendment Bill.

Besen adds: “Fear will send many Democratic voters to the polls in November. However, scaring people into voting against the bad guys and Mama Grizzlies in the other party is not a long-term strategy. The Democrats, particualrly on LGBT rights, have to sharply define who they are, what they stand for and then fight like hell for their beliefs.”

I agree with Wayne on this, however find that our own community, save for a few voices, such as that of Todd Fernandez, Melanie Nathan, CD Kirven, and a handful more have yet to define what we truly stand for, in terms of a unified benchmark. See – http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

Do we stand for equal employment rights – well of course we do; do we stand for equal marriage rights- well of course we do; do we stand for a repeal of DADT, well of course we do. But what the hell are we doing fighting for each such right separately – we should be a one goal stop minority, – and our quest – One Hundred Percent Equality on every issue in respect of which our Constitution purportedly stands at the helm.

Plain and simple – we are a CIVIL RIGHTS Movement and we demand our FULL Civil Rights.  The ONLY way this can happen is via our inclusion (sexual orientation, et al,) in the Cvil Rights Statute.

While Wayne says that “prominent conservatives are speaking out in favor of marriage equality, the Dems have no more excuse to be timid. Whatever cover they felt they needed to be bold, they now have, thanks to Ken Mehlman, Ted Olson and even Glenn Beck.” I find little relevance with such assertion save to say marriage equality per se has served as nothing more than a red herring to detract form Civil Rights in general.

Marriage equality is a natural flowing concomitant of Full Civil Rights. We as a community have made the mistake of focusing only on Marriage, albeit a tremendously important fight and one that must continue.  We can only continue in its fight for as long as we detract from its religious significance and focus our advocacy talking points on “We Demand our Equal Civil Rights Now!”

So to Fund raising and support for democrats I say we ought not hold back our dollars; we must continue to fund our friends,  our only friends. When we can come out as a community with fully competent leadership at the helm of a ‘one stop’ movement, powerful enough to demand full equality and to hold our electeds accountable , maybe we will then found our true champions in Congress who will see less of the career risks and more of standing up for what is right.

Note: Written by Melanie Nathan, with Love and Respect for our Brothers at TWO  (Truth Wins Out)- thanks for encouraging the conversation and for your amazing work.

Melanie Nathan
Private Courts Inc.
Mediation, Human Rights, & Advocacy
nathan@privatecourts.com

http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

Related articles by Zemanta

• GLAA OF D.C. Candidate Ratings for 9/14 Primaries (lezgetreal.com)
• Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (lezgetreal.com)
• LGBT Equality: It’s the Economy, Stupid (gayrights.change.org)
• Call to Congress: No More Friends, Senator Gillibrand – Only Advocates! (lezgetreal.com)
• The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan – August 29, 2010-  Gay-supportive officeholders topped the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA) candidate ratings for the September 14 primaries. Ward 1 Democratic Councilmember Jim Graham and At-Large Democratic Councilmember Phil Mendelson earned perfect scores of +10. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, running for Mayor, earned +8.5, well ahead of the man he is challenging in the Democratic primary, Mayor Adrian Fenty, who earned +4. Ward 6 Democratic Councilmember Tommy Wells earned +8.5. Ward 3 Democratic Councilmember Mary Cheh, unchallenged in the Democratic primary, earned a +7.5. Ward 5 Democratic Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. earned +6, well ahead of his challengers.

Openly Gay Candidates Marc Morgan in Ward 1 and Tim Day in Ward 5 have protested the rankings from the non-partisan Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, which rates candidates based on their records and questionnaire responses.

“Morgan sent out a statement today accusing GLAA of engaging in a ‘high school popularity contest,’” reported the Washington Post on Thursday.

The GLAA indicated that being Gay was not a factor  that would earn overriding points.

The following are explanations of the individual ratings.

Mayor

Democrat and Council Chairman Vincent Gray earned +8.5. His strong score reflects his agreement with GLAA on all issues and his efforts in leading the Council in support of equal marriage rights, setting a tone and leading hesitant councilmembers by his example. Gray directed the solid legal work by the Counsel to the Council in support of marriage rights before the Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE) and in court. He worked with Councilmember Jim Graham and other colleagues in 2007 to achieve a compromise on legislation to help adult businesses relocate after being displaced by the ballpark.

Democrat and incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty earned +4. Fenty disagrees with GLAA on a number of issues, and his record is mixed. While his administration led the exceptional legal fight to keep and defend our marriage rights; they also spent nearly two years obstructing the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act, which is now a model law protecting the rights and responsibilities of LGBT parents. We were struck by the numerous promises made four years ago that were promptly broken. GLAA was excluded from the selection process for the Chief of Police and the Director of the Office of Human Rights. Fenty has given short shrift to GLAA’s concerns about Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s disregard for civil liberties as demonstrated in her Neighborhood Safety Zone Initiative, which was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2009. The HIV/AIDS Administration made remarkable gains in the past year; but the administration tried to remove protections for transgender people, and has failed to enforce the non-discrimination laws that were passed. For nearly every positive step, we found a negative. Overall, Mr. Fenty has earned a positive rating.

We note that Mr. Gray and Mr. Fenty share some credit for designating the 1600 block of 17th Street NW as Frank Kameny Way. This honor is neither minor nor merely symbolic. It is a tribute to our community’s greatest hero.

Democrat Leo Alexander earned -3. Alexander is running an explicitly anti-gay and anti-marriage-equality campaign. He has been endorsed by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and received a total of $2,950 in campaign donations from their overlapping anti-equality organizations. He also received $200 from Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum. He did not return a questionnaire.

Council Chairman

Democratic At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown earned +5.5 in his race for Chairman. Brown agrees with GLAA on nearly every issue, but offered limited substance in his questionnaire. He co-introduced the marriage equality bill and supported the marriage recognition bill before that; has marched with our community in response to hate crimes; and has a strong voting record in support of LGBT issues.

Democrat Vincent Orange earned +4.5. Orange is the most improved candidate in this election. For 8 years, Orange was the weakest member of the Council on GLAA’s issues. He railed against us on the nude dancing night clubs. He ignored GLAA’s concerns on domestic partner regulations and on the creation of the Office of GLBT Affairs. Four years ago he declared the other mayoral candidates morally unfit for office due to their support of marriage equality. He has also never before answered GLAA’s questionnaire. He has apologized several times for those statements and has atoned. He led the effort for the Democratic State Committee to take a position for marriage equality, and he has spent considerable time at the D.C. Center learning about their issues and concerns. He stated agreement with GLAA on nearly every issue, and showed a reasonable understanding of the issues.

Democrat Dorothy Douglas, who currently serves on the Board of Education, earned +2. She agrees with GLAA on many issues but lacks a record and showed a poor grasp of substance in her questionnaire responses.

Council At-Large

Democratic At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson earned a perfect +10 reflecting his extensive efforts in advancing the rights of LGBT people. Phil set the bar for the most extensive and detailed questionnaire demonstrating his in-depth knowledge of the issues and support of LGBT people in all areas. Phil is our greatest champion on the Council. He not only steered the marriage equality law through the council and greatly improved it. He wrote the marriage recognition bill, the domestic partnership parentage bill, a variety of domestic partnership laws, and personally testified before the Board of Elections and Ethics opposing four different ballot measures that would have banned marriages by same-sex couples. He carefully removed every obstacle in the law that would hinder our ability to defend marriage equality in court. More than anyone, Phil is responsible for the passage of the marriage law, and our ability to preserve it. Mendelson is a rare thing in this town in that he’s not all about himself. He set aside his personal ambitions to work on a quiet strategy that created dramatic advances in the rights of same-sex couples without seeking publicity or the credit that he richly deserved and earned.

Statehood-Green candidate David Schwartzman earned +6. Schwartzman is a thoughtful candidate who agrees with GLAA on every issue. He has a record of activism on the medical marijuana initiative and or human rights issues.

Democratic candidate Clark Ray earned +5.5. As Director of Parks and Recreation, he required departmental staff to take sensitivity training. He testified before the council hearing chaired by Phil Mendelson in favor of the marriage equality law. Ray’s embrace of Rev. Willie Wilson troubles us, given Wilson’s long and unrepentant record of vile homophobic and racist sermons and his action in blocking LGBT representation at the Millions More March. Ray agrees with GLAA on most issues, but his questionnaire does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the duties and function of the Council. His support for mandatory HIV testing in D.C. jails runs counter to the consensus of experts who have found mandatory approaches counterproductive, and ignores the highly effective voluntary testing program in the D.C. Department of Corrections which is touted as a national model by law enforcement, legal, and medical professionals.

Statehood-Green candidate Darryl Moch earned +5. Moch had a strong questionnaire agreeing with GLAA and demonstrating an understanding of the issues, but has no LGBT-related record that we are aware of.

Ward 1 Council

Democratic Councilmember Jim Graham earned a perfect +10. Graham has been a strong fighter for our rights and our community’s health for decades. GLAA has found him to be pragmatic and constructive. Graham excelled in helping gay businesses displaced by the baseball stadium — especially those offering nude dancing — to relocate. The legislation took considerable skill in negotiation and building support across the Council. The legislation is not the sort of thing that most politicians seek out, but we are especially grateful for the difficult work that Graham handled so deftly. Graham also led the effort to expand and advance the rights of transgender people in the District. In adding gender identity and expression to both the Human Rights Act and the Bias Crimes Act, Jim modernized and advanced D.C.’s civil rights laws, which remain models for the country. Graham was an early and outspoken supporter of marriage equality and worked with us to ensure a resounding victory.

Democrat Bryan Weaver earned +5.5. Weaver agreed with GLAA on most issues and showed a reasonable understanding of the issues. He has been supportive of LGBT rights in his campaign, but does not have an extensive record. We appreciate the letters endorsing marriage equality to the Council and the Board of Elections and Ethics representing his ANC.

Republican Marc Morgan earned +3. He agrees with GLAA on the issues but offered no substance in his questionnaire. We found only a minimal record.

Ward 3 Council

Democratic Councilmember Mary Cheh earned +7.5. She has been a strong advocate for LGBT rights, civil liberties, and marriage equality. She strongly opposed the appointment of Attorney General Peter Nickles, after he stated that he would not represent the people of the District, but instead only the Mayor. She spoke against Councilmember Yvette Alexander’s unsuccessful amendment to allow broad discrimination against LGBT people, and she pushed PEPCO to adopt domestic partner benefits.

Ward 5 Council

Democratic Councilmember Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr. earned +6. While he agrees with us on most issues, he opposed us on the club relocation bill, which let loose some very ugly anti-gay emotions from his constituents. However, he went out of his way to take a risk in supporting marriage equality. More than any other councilmember, Thomas risked his political future to do what he thought was right.

Democrat Tracey D. Turner earned +2. His questionnaire was often non-responsive and failed to demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues. He has no known record on LGBT issues.

Republican Tim Day earned +1.5. His questionnaire failed to show either a strong support of the issues or an understanding of them. He has no known record on LGBT issues.

Democrat Hunter Delano earned -2. He has been endorsed by NOM. He accepted $450 from them, and he attended the NOM bus tour rally at the Capitol. He did not return a questionnaire.

Ward 6 Council

Democratic councilmember Tommy Well earned +8.5. Wells is a consistent leader on our issues. He agrees with us on the issues and has a clear understanding of their complexities. He was very helpful on marriage equality, and a leader opposing vouchers, which largely fund religious schools outside of the protections of the Human Rights Act.

Democrat Kelvin Robinson earned -1. He was endorsed by NOM when he first ran for the At-Large Council seat. He said at the time that he thought there should be a vote on our right to marry. He refused to say how he would vote. After switching to the Ward 6 race he has not been endorsed again by NOM. He still opposes marriage equality, having recently repeated his call to place same-sex marriage rights on the ballot. He did not return a questionnaire.

GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10 to +10, based on their answers to our questionnaire and their record on behalf of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The questionnaire addresses a variety of issues on marriage and family, public health, public safety, human rights, youth, and protection for LGBT consumers and businesses. GLAA’s policy brief, questionnaire, and complete candidate responses are available online at www.glaa.org.

All candidates were provided with a copy of “Agenda: 2010,” GLAA’s policy brief on LGBT issues in Washington, D.C.

Ratings should not be interpreted as endorsements. GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan elections.

GLAA has rated candidates for office in every D.C. primary and general election since 1971. Independent mayoral and council candidates will be rated prior to the general election.

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., founded in 1971, is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights in Washington, DC. We are the nation’s oldest continuously active GLBT civil rights organization.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gay alliance set to make voice heard in elections (washingtontimes.com)

Melanie Nathan; August 29, 2010 -

Gov Charlie Crist running as an independent for the US Senate Seat for Florida met his match today on CNN’s State of the Union.  Run of the mill questions fueled the tough reality that this Governor  is nothing more than slick politician who wants to rise in ranks, while refusing  to commit to any real answers on important issues.

Except of course -the one and only commitment he was willing to make was about his views on LGBT rights and same-sex marriage equality.

When it comes to Gay and Lesbian, LGBTQI – forget any uncertainty- Crist is off the charts anti!  Still this one has me stymied beyond repair, with Crist saying  “ I am a live and let live kinda guy;  I support a constitutional ban of gay marriage; and I think Government should stay out of the lives of the people.”

I certainly would not vote for someone who cannot – perhaps even predict – let alone commit to whom he will caucus with if elected. The question: “Governor will you caucus with the Democrats or the GOP? “ I cannot answer that?   Until I have the honor to be elected!  Then I will decide what is best for the people of Florida? ” mmm..

Okay Florida are you going to allow this patronizing slickster to get away with his Paterfamilias state of righteousness? Ed Henry, guest host on Candy’s Crawley’s State of the Union pushed hard but got little in answers yet much in revelation!  This man is hiding his truth and he does not want to share it with voters. He wants you to close your eyes Florida and its hit or miss.

All said and done Crist is a self made disaster and whether pro gay or not, Floridians this is your worst nightmare!  Imagine electing someone who refuses to state who he will caucus with – he wants you to TRUST him yet he will not commit to you.

These type of independents are in no man’s land – if he does not caucus he will not get into any of the all important power making committees.

Typical of the cake and eat it types, this candidate slipped and slid around what was originally his on record ever vocal support for one Sarah Palin – he believed she would make a great a great President – or so he said! Now Crist refuses to comment on whether or not he stands by those words from the Presidential election.  “Do you think she will still be a good president?” asked Ed Henry  “ It does not matter what matters, says Crist, “is not Alaska but Florida “ (huh?)  “Can we assume no longer supporter of Sarah Palin?”  “Whats important to me is the Sarah’s of Florida my issue are about Florida and I care about my fellow Floridians.”

Florida -  in Solidarity !

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Crist Said Palin Could Be a Great President (politicalwire.com)

Melanie Nathan ; August 27, 2010

Media ABUSE of Freedom of Speech

There was only one city  in all of California where the City Council actually voted a resolution *in favor* of Prop 8;  Porterville, Tulare County.

So when a letter appears today in the County Newspaper, we may well assume that by its very publication the Recorder and its  editor are complicit in spreading hate and bigotery, albeit couched in the tacit notion of the First Amendment.

I know many an Editor who would refuse to give voice to such blatant distortions and yet this Publication now serves as the rah-rah for hate and anti-gay agenda.

This letter, entitled Society Should be Protected from Homosexuality”  was published yesterday in the Recorder OnLine – “Your South County News source” -

“Editor,
The tragic and destructive spread of homosexuality across the country is a major evil of our time. The John Birch society reported that thousands of boys per year are stolen from their parents to feed homosexual pornography.

I recommend that American citizens study anti-homosexual books available at Christian book stores. And to read anti-homosexual books which are out of print.

W. Cleon Skousen in 1958, wrote a warning about the communist conspiracy. The book was called, “The Naked Communist.” The book warned that the communists would set out to turn America into a moral cesspool, including corrupting America with rampart homosexuality, flooding America with pornography and sexual anarchy, and thereby seeking to destroy the family institution.

Not every homosexual is a communist, but every communist supports the militant homosexual war against mankind. Why? Because it attacks the family. Homosexuality, as well as every kind of heterosexual immorality, is a destroyer of freedom.

Many homosexuals are basically decent men and women who took a wrong turn. The gospel of Jesus Christ says satan is the prompter of all sexual immorality, including homosexual perversion therefore homosexuality is wickedness. Society should be protected from it.

Sam Usher
Porterville”

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Suddenly Laura Bush loves Gay marriage, Elizabeth Haselhof has tea with Melissa  and now supports same-sex marriage – then Rekers gets caught with rentboy  and the right wing is exposed for its ex-gay fraud- and now we have the RNC remnant from the Bush Era, the actual architect of the anti-gay Republican hate campaign, co- creator of the  wedge issue that targeted a minority community, used gays and lesbians as battle bullets,  coming out as a homosexual?

My G-d what is the world coming to? I ask!

Ken Mehlman, who headed the Republican National Committee between 2005 and 2007, has come out in an interview with the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder: Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview stating that he had grappled with this side of himself for over 43 years.

He agreed to answer a reporter’s questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would be asked about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California’s ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.

What a mindless mongrel if I may. You mean to tell me that this man was not having sex or fantasies of sex with men for the best part of those 43 years?  Who was he fantasizing about not being able to marry? George W. Bush?  Was there ever a rentboy between 2005 and 2007?  Come out Come out wherever you are? Was there a suspicious mama?  A phony fiance?

Is this guy short of money? Does he want to sell a book; I for one am not buying! Sorry Mehlman but you hurt my feelings, not to mention the harm to the LGBT community; and it will take a lot more than you “being happier” for me to get over it.

More and more years of Bush and his taking down of this country – and you did it in the name of us Queers?

Known as the Great Conciliator and a reputation for being most forgiving, I cannot wrap myself around your dishonorable conduct.  Now that I find out he is Jewish too – I ask the big question. Oy Vey Why?

You knew exactly what you were doing and how it impacted millions of lives.  You took an entire minority on the ride of its life, sacrificing your brethren like lambs to the slaughter.

“Here take this one’s rights while I continue to indulge in my CON-fusion!”

What makes it all so much worse for me is that like me, Ken Mehlman is Jewish.  While I can understand the pressures of a nice Jewish existence – including the expectations of his Momma Judith and Pappa Arthur, Ken Mehlman has not lived my ideal of what it means to be a good Jew- close to the Torah and its expectations of social justice – and WHAT ABOUT the mitzvoth!

He has not only betrayed the LGBT community but fueling the all white gay hating Christian existence certainly could not have served his Bar-mitvah covenant.

Go here to see Ken Mehlman on Charlie Rose – do not forget to throw up as in vomit. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/155

MelanieNathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Maggie Gallagher On Ken Mehlman (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Comes Out Of The Closet (lezgetreal.com)
• Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Confirms in Interview: I’m Gay (towleroad.com)

The male announcer intones “They fought in trenches … stormed beaches … cut sweltering jungles … marched over burning deserts. Our military has protected our soil and skies. Today, they’re drawn into a new battle. Harry Reid and homosexual activists are attempting to advance their political agenda by overturning ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Our military is for protection, not politics. Stop Harry Reid on Election Day.” Given that this is an attempt to drive people to the polls it is. . .oh what’s that word. . .POLITICS!

What Perkins’ group might be trying to do is to get Reid to push back the vote on the Defense Authorization Bill until the Lame Duck session when the Republican Party has vowed to make absolutely certain that nothing passes what so ever; however, not passing it is probably more of a problem for the Democrats anyway, and the Republicans would like it not to be passed so that they can then make all kinds of claims against the Democrats. Given that it is unlikely that the Republicans will win the House and Senate anyway, this tactic may not work.

Worse, Reid is beginning to pull ahead of Sharron Angle in the polls. People may not like Reid, but they like Angle even less.

Reid has promised to hold the vote on DADT’s repeal this September despite some antsy Democrats wanting to hold off until after the midterms. Who ever is feeding them the idea that holding off a vote on the Defense Authorization Bill until after the election must be smoking some very bad granola. Right now, the votes are there to repeal DADT with Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins prepared to vote in favor of it.

Of course, many people like Sharron Angle and Tony Perkins are busy trying to use the playbook put into action by former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman in order to topple Harry Reid in hopes that they can, somehow, someway, stop the repeal of DADT and the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. They believe that targeting lesbians, gays, and transpeople will help them reclaim Congress despite the fact that most Americans- roughly two thirds- support repeal of DADT.

Tony Perkins stated “It’s time for Senator Reid to go and be replaced by a senator who will respect and listen to our military leaders. We will continue to take this message to the Nevada airwaves and across the country. Our military is for protection, not politics.”

Having listened to all but one of them, they are open to repeal of DADT. Perkins, who is playing politics with the military at every step he takes despite decrying it, only listens to one- General James T. Conway, and since Conway is about to depart, he won’t have that crutch much longer.

Well, it’s time to tell Perkins that, if he wants some one to stop playing politics with the military, he should be the first.

Source

According to Think Progress’ Wonk Room, Mehlman was mentioned 19 times on CNN, and twelve times on MSNBC. He received no mentions on FOX. Of course, FOX tends to ignore stories that might embarrass the Conservative movement. For instance, they mentioned absolutely zero times the racial epithet laden rant by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Some Republicans have welcomed Mehlman’s coming out, including current RNC Chairman Michael Steele who said “His announcement, often a very difficult decision which is only compounded when done on the public stage, reaffirms for me why we are friends and why I respect him personally and professionally.”

Meanwhile, the monster he helped to create blasted his now push to help get same-sex marriage legalized. NOM released this statement regarding his coming out.

“We respect Ken Mehlman’s right to his personal life. Supporting gay marriage, however, is a very different and very public matter. The fight over same-sex marriage really isn’t about Mr. Mehlman’s personal life. Marriage, as a public legal status, is a man and a woman for a reason: It is the only civil institution that brings together the two halves of humanity to ensure the children they create have the best opportunity to be raised by their own mother and father. We will fight all attempts to redefine marriage to be something that it is not — a genderless, adult-centered sexual relationship centered on the alleged rights of adults and not the needs of children. The American people — including over 80% of Republicans and even 40% of Democrats — oppose same-sex marriage. NOM has already proven in races from New York to California that it is a particularly bad idea for Republicans to support gay marriage. The disconnect in Washington stems from politicans who refuse to pay attention to the values of the people they represent. If Mr. Mehlman wishes to help us elect pro-marriage GOP politicians, we welcome his support. If not, we welcome the victories that will come in the battle that must necessarily ensue.”

Many of us are awaiting the day when many of the people heading up NOM will be coming out of the closet themselves since it should be pointed out that up until he accepted his homosexuality, Mehlman was a fierce opponent of equality for the LGBT Community, and his behavior mimics the normal run of self-loathing behavior that many closeted and shamed lesbians and gays exhibit, and his behavior is not unlike that of the people running NOM.

Source 1
Source 2

Dayton: “Personally, I’m disappointed in that decision. I am very proud of what my father and his brothers, who are my uncles, and thousands of Minnesotans built as the Dayton-Hudson Corporation and Target is one of those subsidiaries. You know, my family’s been out of the operating side of the business for about the last, almost the last 30 years. I don’t hold any stock directly in Target in my own holdings. I don’t know the percent of my family’s holding in Target but I would estimate it is less than one percent of the actively traded shares in the company and certainly my family has no voice in the actions of Target corporation.”

Reporter: “Had your family still be involved do you think that Target would have given to MN Forward.”

Dayton: “I don’t believe so. No.”

Dayton made the remarks while at a press even announcing his endorcement by the Service Employees International Union.  The union has made a significant number of contributions itself, to liberal groups.  Javier Morillo-Alicea has stated that their local union chapter SEIU Local 26 is considering joining the Target boycott that has been called by MoveOn.org.

Meanwhile, Washington University has backed out of a partnered event with Target Corp in the wake of the donation to anti-LGBT Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.  The University administrators have canceled the Target After Hours Shopping Event.  The program has Target keep open various stores after hours and providing transportation for college freshmen to shop and receive prizes.  This was intended to be a part of their First 40 Days events at Wash. U for the incoming freshmen.

Source 1
Source 2

As is evident in the situation in New York where weeks of hateful rhetoric lead to the attack of a Muslim cab driver, Landwehr’s rhetoric has started to give the less tolerant of her constituents ideas of violence. On Saturday, Manning found on his door a crude death threat cut out of the newspaper. It read:

“DISTRICT 91 Democrat Dan N. Manning, 29, production supervisor, manningforkansas.com”
“2010 State House Election”
“Will DIE”
“FaGIT”
“Kill”
“HOMO”
“MURDER”
“Head OFF”

According to Thomas Witt, Chairman of Kansas Equality Coalition:

The note is clearly an offensive way to use threats of deadly violence in an attempt to intimidate and silence Dan and his campaign and, by extension, our entire community and our interests in Topeka. Dan has no intentions of backing down and has seen this latest example of bigotry as proof that his campaign must go on. He and his campaign team’s resolve is now stronger than ever.

The Kansas Democratic Party has been less than open in their willingness to help Manning win. Witt has several ideas for how Kansans can help to make the Democrats in the state help Manning.

The Note:

Source

IF REPUBLICANS WIN THE HOUSE – Lobbyists predict that defense bills will come to a screeching halt, which could spell doom for the already controversial defense authorization bill. They provide a couple of reasons: The level of partisan bickering is likely to intensify, and waiting and letting Republicans handle those bills next year will allow the Democrats to play the blame game. The one kind of legislation that’s likely to move, insiders say, is a continuing resolution.

Hm…where to begin.  First of all, the bill is likely to come up for a vote in September, not in December, which means that while there may be partisan bickering, it is unlikely to be in as much jeopardy as it might appear.  Secondly, despite what the lobbyists might be stating, the Republicans filibustering or voting against this bill would put them into jeopardy in November since this will make them vulnerable to the argument that they are weak on Defense and willing to abandon the troops while the nation is engaged in two wars.

While other budget bills are likely to end up with a continuing resolution, this one seems less likely because of the damage that filibustering it will do to the Republicans and not passing it will do to the Democrats.

Over all, it is likely that the bill will be passed by Congress in late September and fully through Congress by the middle of October before Congress goes into the flurry of getting through the elections.  In fact, part of the problem with this assumption that is being made by the lobbyists is that the Democrats will lose in November rather than win.  While this might seem likely looking at the polling, so was a victory by Lisa Murkowski.  Polling is wonderful, but it is not an absolute, and a lot of people are counting on voting patterns in the polling which are heavily favoring the Republicans.  The polling companies may even be over counting the Republicans who may turn out in fewer numbers in the end.

In the end, elections are harder to predict than people would like.

Source

Still, Huntley is convinced that the bouquet of death came from marriage equality supporters. Among the things that she said in a recent mailer “There are forces that have invaded our community who: Have threatened Shirley Huntley, our hardworking state Senator; Have contributed more than $100,000 from outside the district to her opponent; Care about one issue only — gay marriage.”

Of course, as NY Daily News’s State Capitol Bureau Chief Ken Lovett recently found out, Huntly is in trouble because she oversaw a $30,000 state grant directed to a group run by her daughter at the home address the two share.

Her opponent, Lynn Nunes, has declined to comment, though Huntley has stated that the mailer was not directed at Nunes despite the fact that Nunes has garnered a lot of support from LGBT groups.

Originally, Huntley did not say who she suspected of dropping off the threatening bouquet. Of course, one would have to suspect someone who is in the habit of watching movies about the Mafia since they tend to do subtle death threats like horse’s heads in the bed. Most people are direct and just give an actual death threat.

Source

In a recent Republican debate, Blakeman and the other two Republicans all stated that they would defer to the military leaders with regards to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Never mind that, with the exception of General James T. Conway, the outgoing Commandant of the Marines, the military leaders seem at least resigned to having this repealed, and that Admiral Michael Mullen, General Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are ready to get this law repealed.

Additionally, the vast majority of the American population, some 75% at most, and 59% at least support repeal. Keeping Don’t Ask, Don’t tell is not even a guaranteed winner for the Republican Party this election cycle despite their desire to keep plugging away at the anti-LGBT bigots the same way that they are hoping to capitalize on the racists who support profiling Hispanics as illegal immigrants and Muslims as terrorists.

Kirsten Gillibrand has put out a call for donations, though, in order to counter the attack ads being used against her in Upstate New York.

Source 1
Source 2

Font-Russell ran on a platform to use the planned enhanced rail system that is suppose to be going into Rutland to bring in economic development.  This would especially impact his district since the rail yards are within his district.

Font-Russell declared that “I plan to win this thing.”  The thirty year veteran airline attendant and resort communications manager wants to bring more industry to Rutland and promised his neighbors that he would keep their concerns in mind while in Montpelier.  There was some grumbling about Howard being less than attentive to the district which houses many of Rutland’s businesses.

“I still maintain that it’s all about jobs and getting jobs in the city.  That’s going to be my main focus,” the fifty-seven year old Font-Russell stated while facing off against his opponent Daniel White Sr.  The two were at Rutland’s American Legion hall.  He went on to say “If we attract more businesses, more opportunities, that will turn things around, from crime to infrastructure.”

Font-Russell is married to Roberto Font-Russell.  That Font-Russell is openly gay and married did not factor into the election to date.  Indeed, so far, none of the debate has centered around the recent enactment of same-sex marriages in Vermont, but rather the focus has been, as Herb Font-Russell noted, on jobs.

Source 1
Source 2

What this means for the Republican ability to capture the Senate in the long run is going to be impossible to fully account for, at least for the time being.  While Alaska is heavily Republican, the possibility is that the Democrats could be able to capitalize on this particular event in the same way that they did in 2008 with the defeat of the late Senator Ted Stevens and the victory of Mark Begich.

The victory of Miller is going to be hard to determine right away as there are some 16,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted, and that is more than ten times the number of votes that separate Miller and Murkowski.  Many of them may have been submitted before the recent push by Miller to paint Murkowski as being anti-life and pro-choice.  Thus, Murkowski could end up winning the election once all the ballots are counted.  Like Vermont, Alaska is a small state in terms of population and it can take a lot of time for a full victory to be assessed.  In Vermont’s Democratic Governor’s primary, the race was too close to call with almost all precincts in.

That Senator Leahy is going to remain as Vermont’s Senator seems more than likely. John McCain, another incumbent, was also declared the winner of the Republican Primary in Arizona. This is not a total shocker as his opponent, J.D. Hayworth, has been sinking in the polls lately. McCain abandoned many of his former positions in order to all but position himself to the right of Hayworth, including running against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’s repeal, something that he use to be in favor of. His Democratic opponent has yet to be announced.

The Florida Senate Primaries were not a surprise. Kendrick Meek and Marco Rubio won their respective primaries and the two will face off against the increasingly Liberal Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party to run as an independent.

Representative Peter Welsh will face off against Republican Paul Beaudry, who won the Republican House Primary.

Vermont’s Democratic Primary for Governor was undecided with Doug Racine, Peter Schumlin and Deb Markowitz trading the lead back and forth over much of the night. Which ever one of them wins will go on to face Lt. Governor Brian Dubie, who faces a major challenge in that the state has never had two governors of the same party back to back.

In Florida, the results were a shock for their Attorney General Bill McCollum. The man who had been, of late, in a bit of a pickle over the fact that he paid a lot of state money to Dr. George Rekers for testimony that was thrown out of court did not help his campaign very much. Additionally, his anti-LGBT tendencies and his absolute insistence of believing what Rekers, who has since been exposed as a fraud, has said regarding homosexuality likely did not endear him to the Florida population. He was beaten out, though narrowly, by Rick Scott. On the Democratic side, Alex Sink will be the nominee for the Governor’s race.

In Arizona, Jan Brewer won the Republican primary, undoubtably based upon her recent decision to plunge the state’s economy into ruin by going after Hispanics and illegal immigrants. She will face off against Terry Goddard, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Apparently, Diaz has been parking campaign vans and trucks in the parking lot of the Christian Community Neighborhood Church, which happens to be his. According to IRS guidelines, this could put the tax-exempt status of the church at risk, but more importantly, unless the free parking is listed as ‘in kind’ political donations, he would be in violation of state election laws.

What is more, the vehicles were purchased with campaign donations, but may have been used for church and personal business. Diaz, of course, insists that there is nothing imporper about the arrangement regarding the vehicles.

IRS’ regulations state that all nonprofits, incudling churches, are prohibited from direct or indirect participation in any political campaign.

Ruben Diaz has a long standing hatred of the LGBT Community. He opposed the 1994 Gay Games on the grounds that it would show young people that being lesbian and gay was alright and that there were no risks involved, but maintained that allowing it to happen in New York would contribute to the spread of AIDS. He also sued to prevent the Harvey Milk School from admitting only lesbian, gay, and transgender students based upon his belief that this restriction infringed upon the rights of heterosexual studnes.

He is facing Charlie Ramos, a pro-LGBT candidate. Unfortunately, Ramos is lagging behind on fundraising.

Source

CA Legislature Officially Endorses Repeal of DOMA

Equality California-sponsored resolution puts State of California on record supporting repeal of so-called “Defense of Marriage Act”

Sacramento – Today, the California State Senate approved a joint resolution, AJR 19, calling on the U.S. Congress and President Obama to immediately repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which explicitly forbids the federal government or any federal agency from recognizing state-sanctioned marriages between same-sex couples. Introduced by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D – Santa Monica) and sponsored by Equality California, the joint resolution was passed by a bipartisan vote of 22-12.

“The Defense of Marriage Act prevents the federal government from recognizing the relationships of loving same-sex couples, even when the states where they live recognize their relationships,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. “We’re proud of the California legislature for making the state’s opposition to DOMA official state policy. Now we must overturn this discriminatory federal law and pave the way for the marriages of same-sex couples to be recognized at the federal level.”

Under DOMA, which passed in 1996, married same-sex couples are refused the same federal rights and responsibilities as their heterosexual counterparts, resulting in inequitable and unfair implementation of federal laws governing a range of issues such as housing, immigration, tax and inheritance. A repeal of DOMA would result in the federal government recognizing legal marriages of same-sex couples, just as it currently recognizes legal marriages of heterosexual couples.

“President Obama has called this law abhorrent in the way it denies more than 1,000 federal rights to same-sex couples,” Assemblymember Brownley said. “Congress must act now to overturn DOMA, which is rooted in irrational and unfounded prejudice. Married same-sex couples deserve equal access to these benefits.”

Currently, there are eleven nations that recognize marriages between same-sex couples, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Five states in the U.S. grant same-sex couples the right to marry, including Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as Washington, D.C.

For more information about Equality California-sponsored legislation, please visit www.eqca.org/legislation.

“EQCA works tirelessly to pass California Resolutions and endorsements to support and influence legislation in Congress.” Melanie Nathan  nathan@privatecourts.com

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed over 60 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

Related articles by Zemanta

• IRS Issues New Policy For California Domestic Partners – Retroactive Refunds (lezgetreal.com)

Hagel has always been a moderate Republican, and garnered plenty of criticism from the Republican Party over his stances. Hagel went on to retire in 2008. He plans on joining Sestak on the trail in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as a way of making the endorsement official.

Recently, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also announced his support for Sestak. According to one average of the polling for that race, Sestak trails his opponent Pat Toomey by just under 4%, or 41.6% for Sestak and 45.4% for Toomey.

Source

The Senate is, and has been, a hard victory for the Republicans to obtain as they have blown their opportunity to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and to retain the seats held by Republicans in New Hampshire and Kentucky.  There is a strong probability that Florida will go to the increasingly Left leaning Independent Charlie Crist.  It is likely that the Republicans will capture Arkansas and North Dakota.

The House is harder to predict, but it is likely that the Democrats will lose many of the Conservative “Blue Dog” districts that were already vulnerable while picking up at least one seat in New Orleans.

Dean made what was, perhaps, the most salient point.  He stated “We simply have better candidates.”  The push from the Tea Party and the flap over the Muslim community center in New York may actually push many Moderate voters away from the Republican Party at a time when they are in most desperate need of those votes.  Additionally, while the Republican National Committee is strapped for cash, the Democrats have a lot on hand for the ground game in November.  The ancillary Republican committees may have money, but the bulk of that is for advertising.  Ads only get people so far on election day.

Governor Dean was far less kind when it came to his opinions regarding President Barack Obama. Candy Crowley, the host of “State of the Union” asked Dean “But certainly, you have voiced, on “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” and on the health care bill, some of the real misgivings that the left has had about some of the things the president has done. And it boils down to this, this fall, do you think the left sits home or do you think the left goes out to the polls? And what gets them there?”

Dean replied “Well, look, I don’t think that the left — what Gibbs was talking about with the so-called professional left — I don’t know what he meant by that. You know, I think — but that is a very small number of people. I think there are a large number — I think that the people around the president have really misjudged what goes on elsewhere in the country, other than Washington, D.C.  I don’t think this is true of the president, but I do think his people, his political people, have got to go out and spend some time outside Washington for a while. The average Democrat is a progressive. And, you know, there are some things that are upsetting about the kind of deals that were made by the president’s people on health care.”

When President Barack Obama was first elected, many people felt that they were witnessing an ushering in of a New Camelot, or a New New Deal.  Instead, they received the same kind of problems that the nation had faced under President George W. Bush, and while people did call for patience, Obama often tried too hard to compromise with the Republicans, who kept moving the goal posts, and the corporations who were far from sympathetic to the suffering of the people that they employed.  When conditions on the ground necessitated actual changes, Obama was less than capable of having his team explain why those changes were necessary.

Source 1
Source 2

Another person described the event “It means that we’re loud and we’re proud and we’re feeling equal.” ‘Treat us faily,’ appears to have been the common theme. The parade on Sunday was the culmination of a series of events focusing on LGBT pride. The events kicked off with a series of commitment ceremonies at the state’s capital.

Source 1
Source 2

Meg Whitman’s inarticulate Prop 8 response:  - “The issue right now is, as I understand is ‘Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals? And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through.  So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court;” emphasizes her lack of qualification for Governor, as she clearly has no grasp whatsoever on the law and how it works.

However she is danger personified and as a team with Cooley for Attorney General, potentially lethal to the California quest for marriage equality and the final demise of Prop 8.

While current California Governor Schwarzenegger and AG  Jerry Brown (running as Whitman’s Gubernatorial opponent) have decided not to appeal on the state’s behalf, if  Whitman wins could she make serious waves and  actually impact Prop 8.

Lambda Legal’s Legal Director Jon Davidson, suggests that if Whitman is  elected- she is only sworn in on January 3, a month after the December 6 hearing.  However he points out that the Whitman and Cooley camps can always figure out some legal maneuvers to impact the federal Prop 8 case.

Davidson’s analysis:

“At the time of the oral argument that has been scheduled for the week of December 6th, even were Whitman or Cooley to have won the election, they will not have taken office – the new officeholders don’t take office until Jan. 3. 2011.

In addition, at that point, the time to file an appeal from Judge Walker’s ruling will have long passed.  So, even were they to win, they would not be able to appeal Judge Walker’s ruling if Schwarzenegger and Brown do not – and they have indicated they will not.  In addition, Whitman and Cooley would not be able to participate in the oral arguments as parties.

They might seek to file amicus (friend-of-the-court briefs).  The deadline for filing such briefs is 7 days after the brief is due from the party you are supporting.  Amicus briefs in support of the proponents of Prop. 8 are due September 24th.

It would be unusual for a candidate for political office to file an amicus brief on a measure that they might be in more of a position to weigh in on were they elected, though I guess it could happen.

If they get elected, Whitman and/or Cooley might also seek to file an amicus brief after their election or after they are sworn in, which would be after the oral argument.  They would need to seek permission to file late.  There is no way of knowing whether the Ninth Circuit judges hearing the case would grant such a request to file late.

Once the 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit issues its decision, a party may ask that the case be reheard by the original 3-judge panel or, in the alternative that it be heard ‘en banc’ by a group of 11 randomly-assigned judges out of the 27 judges on the Ninth Circuit. I believe the presiding judge on the Ninth Circuit — Judge Alex Kosinzki — would be on the en banc panel regardless, if en banc hearing is granted.

After that, there is a very rarely procedure where someone could ask for a hearing by all 27 judges on the Ninth Circuit.  If no petition for rehearing and/or rehearing en banc is made, or if it’s made and denied, or if it’s granted, after it’s decided, then a party can ask the Supreme Court to hear the case.

If the Prop 8 proponents are denied standing and there has been no other appeal, they could at least appeal the denial of standing.  If the Ninth Circuit denied standing but went on to reach the merits of the case against them, the Prop 8 proponents would presumably try to brief the merits as well as part of their standing appeal.

So all said and done; the LGBT community must fight for Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris to the offices of  Governor and Attorney General respectively.

by Melanie Nathan
@oblogdeeoblogda
nathan@provatecourts.com

Picture: Prop 8 Plaintiffs

Related articles by Zemanta

• Lambda Legal Responds To Meg Whitman’s Planned Defense Of Proposition 8 (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Meg Whitman: I’ll Defend Prop 8 (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Judge Walker’s ruling today: NCLR Explains Same-Sex Couples in California May Not be Able to Marry On AUg 18 (lezgetreal.com)

Image via Wikipedia

“Jerry Brown has spent his lifetime resolutely committed to improving the lives of California’s working families,” said George Landers, executive director of the UFCW, Western States Council. “He stood with us when it came to good wages, strengthening the safety net, and fighting for workers rights. That’s why we’re standing with him by joining this coalition.”

UFCW has made a significant financial contribution to CAWF and joins dozens of other diverse individuals and organizations who are coalescing behind CAWF to provide a unified effort to help Jerry Brown in the 2010 statewide election, including the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the Courage Campaign, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, the California Professional Firefighters, SEIU California State Council, the Professional Engineers in California Government, the California Association of Professional Scientists, the California Teachers Association, the Democratic Governors Association, the California Federation of Teachers, and many others.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Powerful teachers’ union joins indy group backing Democrat gov candidate Jerry Brown (sfgate.com)

Oakland, California – The Small Business Action Committee (SBAC) – an organization run by paid Meg Whitman endorser Joel Fox and right-wing “birther” James Lacy – has launched yet another round of false attacks against Jerry Brown.

Brown and Whitman are facing off for the California Governorship in the 2010 November elections.

“There are no surprises in this ad, just the same debunked distortions of Jerry Brown’s record,” said Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford. “Joel Fox sold out to Meg Whitman and is trying to sell lies and distortions to California voters.”

Fox and the SBAC accepted $10,000 from Meg Whitman in March of 2010, two days before the SBAC formally endorsed Whitman in a press release that included a quote from Fox.

Despite an overwhelming consensus that Meg Whitman’s claims about Brown’s record as Governor are false, the SBAC repeats the same falsehoods. The facts are that Brown decreased government spending as a percentage of State GDP, cut the state budget, and out-performed every governor who followed when it came to job creation.

Just who is it funding this most recent attack on Brown? Voters don’t know, because the SBAC refuses to disclose the interests who funded the million-dollar ad buy. Is it the same Texas oil companies funding Proposition 23? Only Joel Fox knows, and he isn’t saying.

We do know, however, who runs the SBAC with Fox. In addition to Fox, the SBAC is run by James Lacy, a well-known right-wing activist who is also a co-founder of the United States Justice Foundation, which has filed multiple lawsuits challenging President Obama’s citizenship.

“I’m sure neither Meg Whitman nor Joel Fox want to admit their ties to ‘Birthers’, but there it is.” Clifford said. “This ridiculous ad is right on the level of Lacy’s absurd demands for the President’s birth certificate.”

Meg Whitman Associated with Birthers

Meg Whitman on LezGetReal

Whitman Spends Big On CA Gov Race, But Nets Little Return

Written on 3 Aug, 2010 in 08/03/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, is seeking to parlay her fortune into political office, and so far, the billionaire has spent $99 million to try and reach that goal. Meanwhile, Jerry Brown, her… (Continue reading)

Meg Whitman Barks Pit Bull Talk

Written on 21 Jul, 2010 at 3:47

WOOF WOOF  By Melanie Nathan  7-21-10 Meg Whitman is analyzed by Melanie Nathan via Fox interview. My analysis  – Judge for yourself – please do not import my thoughts.  Share your own these are mine….A mile a minute a voice like a… (Continue reading)

California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, A-DRAG

6-10-2010  Melanie Nathan. Meg Whitman a Drag in Auction Bid for California – This is a parody video in which Sordid Lives’ Dr. Eve and Brother Boy discuss masturbation to thoughts of California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg… (Continue reading)

Power Seller ‘OUTS’ MEG Whitman’s as a Pumper-Dumper

Written on 5 May, 2010 at 0:37    5-4-10 -MELANIE NATHAN A Power Seller on Ebay wrote a comment on Level the Playing Field and it caught my attention. The reason I am posting it without reservation, is because when I read it, it not only made… (Continue reading)

MEG Whitman CEO of California – Blinded by H8….

Written on 7 Apr, 2010 at 2:52

Lesbians, LGBTQI Let’s go Viral! 4-6-10; Melanie Nathan; Many  websites are springing up to expose Meg Whitman for who she is; and while this is indeed a great way to counter her GoliathVideo – Meg-a-Tar or Termin-a-Tar – What the &*&$% burp is the Difference?

Written on 23 Mar, 2010 at 2:21 in

Meg Whitman,  Campaigns for California Governor & Finds Fierce Foe Melanie Nathan; 3-22-10;  While Meg Whitman is set to ‘plop‘  200 million bucks into political ads (imagine how many kids in Africa that could feed; or homeless in California sheltered, or… (Continue reading)

Meg Whitman’s Insidious Spending Inspires Tool for True Democracy

Written on 8 Mar, 2010 at 22:52  Further, I am throwing up – from an LGBT perspective; imagine this billionaire spending her own $200 million dollars so that she can attain the governorship of California, to effectively veto any LGBT necessary legislation and hence our progress… (Continue reading)

Anti Gay Marriage, Meg Whitman, Mega Blitz to Buy the State of California

Written on 21 Feb, 2010 at 22:13  By Melanie Nathan 2-101-10.  San Francisco. 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… (Continue reading)

8/22/10-by Paula Brooks
A Florida Democratic congressional candidate was robbed at gunpoint Saturday, according to the North Miami Police Department.

Marleine Bastie, who is running in Florida’s 17th congressional district, told police she was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car with her sister when a car pulled up behind them as she prepared yesterday to speak at a campaign appearance. The robber then approached the car, pulled a handgun and demanded both women’s purses, saying “I’ll blow your heads off.”

Bastien, is seeking the House seat being vacated by Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is running for the Senate.

Neither of the women was injured, but the robbers did make off with both handbags, including cash, credit cards and personal items.

One would now have to assume, should she be elected, Bastien will be something of a law and order advocate in congress.

Congressional candidate robbed at gunpoint in Florida – CNN.com.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Police: Fla. congressional candidate robbed (sfgate.com)
• Police: Fla. congressional candidate robbed (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

The RNC spent $11 million, which is twice what they brought in. In fact, the Democratic National Committee raised about the same amount that the RNC spent in July. The RNC OK’d a $10 million line of credit in order to try and help their beleaguered finances, but it is not likely to be enough to finance the GOTV campaign. They are counting on third-party groups such as American Crossroads to try and help with the ground game, but those groups are not always staffed by people familiar with the ins and outs of GOTV campaigns. Some of them may not even be overly fond of the Republicans and may choose to sit out the election if their preferred candidate is not in the running.

The DNC had some $10.8 million on hand and had $3.5 million in debt.

The other committees are bringing in more money, but that funding traditionally goes to advertising. The National Republican Congressional Committee brought in more than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The NRCC brought in $8.5 million to the DCCC’s $6.2 million; however the DCCC has some $36 million in the bank and the NRCC has only $22 million. The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised $4.2 million and the Democrat’s Senatorial committee raised $4.4 million. Both have some $20 million on hand. The Republican Governors Association has significantly more money than their Democratic counterpart, including a recent $1 million donation from News Corp.

Trying to put some positive spin on this, the RNC’s spokesman Doug Heye noted that the DNC raised only $5 million in July 2006 before they captured Congress; however, it should be noted that the party actually raised $4.6 million as some $900,000 came from an insurance settlement. Additionally, the DNC was headed by Howard Dean at the time. The former Vermont governor was pursuing a low budget strategy which included focused races in all fifty states. He was far better at organizing and running the DNC than Michael Steele has been in running the RNC this year. It is likely that, should the Republicans not capture the House and/or the Senate, Steele will be pushed out of the chairmanship for losing what has been one of the biggest opportunities that the RNC has had in the last four years.

Source

The suit is being brought by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, an anti-choice group, and two others who, as Minnesota Solicitor General Alan Gilbert put it, are “attempting to gut the disclosure requirement.” He maintains that it is constitutional to require all donations to be open to the public.

US District Judge Donovan Frank has stated that he will rule on the motion by 20 September with regards to a preliminary injunction on enforcement of the law. That is one day before the next round of public reports is due on corporate spending. Both sides feel that any injunction could allow corporations to ignore the reporting deadlines that exist between now and the November election. According to Assistant Hennepin Count Attorney Dan Rogan “There will be no disclosure when Target, 3M, Cargill, whoever, decides to make independent expenditures in October.”

The law in question was passed this year in the wake of Citizens United and requires corporations to file two reports before the primary and two before the general elections. The merits of the claim may end up being on the site of the state, in the end. The Supreme Court and other courts have ruled that laws regarding disclosure of donors to PACs must be made public, as well as that those who sign petitions must also be made known to the public.

Source

“I’m more hopeful about the lame duck session. I have faith that we’re goingt o repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Quigley has said. It is believed, though, that the Defense Budget will be voted upon next month, likely towards the end of the month.

Republicans, afraid of losing the Christian Conservative vote, have objected to the repeal based upon the old saw of how it will disrupt unit cohesion. Neither the military nor the government have actually been able to prove that to be the case, and up to 75% of Americans support repeal of DADT, including many in the Republican base.

The compromise repeal language was voted into the Defense Authorization Bill, which is the budget for the Pentagon and the military. It is hard to justify filibustering or voting against it even though Senator John McCain has vowed to do so largely in part because he is still having a snit at losing the election and now opposes anything and everything that President Barack Obama stands for.

The GOP has continued to try to use the repeal of DADT and the legalization of same-sex marriage as platforms on which to run even as popular support for those change. Current polling shows a vast majority of Americans support the repeal of DADT and more Americans support same-sex marriage than ever before.

Source

President Obama made the decision to appoint four people, and Sorian was one of them. Sorian is also openly gay. Within the press release issued by the White House, President Obama stated “At a time when our nation faces so many pressing challenges, I urge members of the Senate to stop playing politics with our highly qualified nominees, and fulfill their responsibilities of advice and consent. Until they do, I reserve the right to act within my authority to do what is best for the American people.”

The White House background on Sorian states:

Richard Sorian is currently a Senior Adviser to the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, he was Vice President for Public Policy and External Relations for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), where he directed the organization’s media relations, policy development and advocacy, and relations with employers, consumers, and other key stakeholders.

Before working for NCQA, Sorian was Director of Public Affairs for the Center for Studying Health System Change and a Project Director at the Georgetown University Institute for Health Care Research and Policy. From 1993 to 1998, Sorian was a Senior Advisor for Health Policy Communications in the Office of Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala. In that capacity, Sorian focused on health care reform, HIV/AIDS policy, and health care quality improvement. From 1997 to 1998, he served as Deputy Director of the President’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry, where he directed work on the Patient’s Bill of Rights.

From 1980 to 1993, Sorian was an award-winning journalist covering U.S. health care policy development. He was editor of Medicine & Health and the Journal of American Health Policy. He is also the author of three books: The Bitter Pill: Tough Choice in America’s Health Policy (1989); A New Deal for American Health Care (1993); and The Health Care 500 (1988). He is a graduate of George Washington University and, in 1989, was awarded a Fellowship for Advanced Studies in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The recess appointments are, undoubtably, going to upset several people in the Republican Party. Unfortunately, they have been holding up appointments for people not normally considered the least bit controversial.

Source

Senator McCain had vowed to repeal DADT should, say, General Colin Powell come forward and say that it was time to repeal it; however, his decision to oppose it came after he lost in the general election and became, to some observers, obsessed with opposing President Barack Obama at every turn even if it meant abandoning everything he had been supporting prior to this time.

There are few details about the email except that it is going out to OFA’s Arizona list.  The full House and the Senate Armed Services Committees have already voted on the Murphy Amendment and added them to the Defense Budget Bill.  In essence, McCain will have to filibuster money for the troops if he wants to oppose DADT.

The email states “’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ isn’t about politics — it’s about discrimination. And when Republicans defend discrimination of any kind, they need to know that their constituents are watching and ready to respond.  Call Sen. McCain at 602-952-2410 now and tell him Arizona supports the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”

The Defense Budget is expected to be voted upon almost right after the Senate goes back into session in September.  Because it is difficult to politically oppose the Defense Budget, it is unlikely that McCain’s filibuster attempt will work, but the political fall out of his attempt will probably hurt him in the upcoming general election as he tries to retain his seat in November.

The Full Email:

Friend —

We are closer than ever to bringing an end to the discriminatory policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

In June, the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to repeal the practice — but now Senator John McCain is standing in the way.

He recently blocked action on the repeal, calling it “a betrayal,” “disgraceful,” and “purely a political promise.”

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” isn’t about politics — it’s about discrimination. And when Republicans defend discrimination of any kind, they need to know that their constituents are watching and ready to respond. If we send Sen. McCain a forceful message, we can make him back down.

Call Sen. McCain at 602-952-2410 now and tell him Arizona supports the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Senator McCain has not always been opposed to [repealing] “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Until recently, he claimed to defer to military leaders on the issue. But military leaders support repeal, and McCain is still reversing course.

As the President has said, we must end this practice “because it is the right thing to do.” A majority of Americans agree that those who are brave enough to stand up and serve our country deserve to do so openly.

Call Sen. McCain today at 602-952-2410 and tell him to support repeal.

Thank you,

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Source

Gutiérrez Montaño, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Guadalajara, told reporters “Mr. Ebrard has the liberty to proceed as he wishes.” Regarding the threat of a slander complaint “There is no fear from this threat. He [the cardinal] also has the right to exercise what he thinks he should do if any calumny is raised against him.”

Cardinal Iñiguez made the charges against Mayor Ebrard and “international pro-abortion groups”, for some reason, of ‘feeding’ the justice ministers with ‘gifts’ in order to have them rule in favor of same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption rights.

The socialists and the Catholic Church leadership have closed ranks on opposing sides of this particularly thorny issue. Cardinal Noberto Rivera has also come under attack for his statements condemning the decision which required all of Mexico’s thirty-one states to recognize same-sex marriages from Mexico City. The leaders of the Mexico bishop’s conference wrote in a statement

“We express our solidarity and our feelings to Cardinals Norberto Rivera Carrera and Juan Sandoval Iñiguez regarding this delicate topic. The bishops of Mexico, sensitive to the majority opinion not only in Mexico City, but in the whole country, express, in the exercise of the liberty of expression guaranteed by our democratic political regime, our total disagreement with the verdict issued by the SCJN [Suprema Corte de Justica de la Nación]. We believe that equalizing these unions with the name of matrimony is a lack of respect, both for the very essence of marriage between a man and a woman, expressed in the Constitution of the country in its article 4, as well as the customs of the culture itself that has reigned over us for centuries.”

Jesús Ortega, leader of the socialist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), however, called on Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez to retract the accusation that the local leader [of Mexico City] bribed the ministers of the Suprme Court of Justice of the Nation.”

Ebrard stated that he will file charges against the cardinal in local court. He stated “He knows perfectly well that he is lying, that what he is saying is false and he is going to have to confront that process.” He has also called upon the Secretariat of Governance and the Federal Electoral Commission to investigate the cardinal.

The Catholics feel that same-sex marriage is worse than narcotics trafficing. Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico, denounced the Supreme Court’s decision stating that “[Marcelo Ebrard] and his government has created laws that are destructive to the family, that cause worse damage than narcotrafficking. Marcelo Ebrard and his party, the PRD, have endeavored to destroy us.”

Ebrard responded to Valdemar by asking for the federal government to prosecute him as well as the cardinal for violating the Constitution which was put into place in 1917 and which prohibits any participaton in politics by any of the nation’s clergy. It is not often enforced, but it remains there.

Source

In Wyoming, State Representative Cathy Connolly won an unopposed primary.

In total, some fifty openly LGBT candidates endorsed by the Victory Fund face primaries between now and November. Wisconsin Representative Tammy Baldwin faces a general election race in which supporters of her opponent tried to discredit her status as a citizen of her district. They were unsuccessful in that attempt. It is also likely that Representative Barney Frank will return to the House in November. It is unlikely that Colorado Representative Jared Polis will loose his bid for reelection.

Mark Kirk, who has tried to deny that he is gay, has an unclear future regarding his possible election to the Senate from Illinois.

Source

Meek stated “I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign.  I’ve been a strong defender of LGBT rights and am proud to continue working with the LGBT community in the fight for equality. From fighting against Florida’s ban on gay adoption to consistently opposing the military’s discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I will continue putting the well-being of all Floridians before the politics of division as Florida’s next U.S. Senator.”

How much of an effect the endorsement will have is hard to gauge as the HRC is not universally supported by the LGBT Community.

HRC President Joe Solmonese stated “Kendrick is a leader who has stood on the front lines of Florida’s fight for equality. An outspoken opponent of the state’s ban on gay adoptions and a longtime advocate for equal protections legislation, Kendrick’s record shows he is a steadfast ally of Florida’s LGBT community. Floridians deserve leaders who take principled stands and aren’t afraid to fight for what they believe in. For years, Kendrick has fought for equality. Now, it’s time to stand with him.”

Meek has been a vocal supporter of LGBT rights.  He has vocally opposed the ban on gay adoptions in Florida, and believes that adoptive parents should be evaluated based upon their capacity to provide a loving home.  He was also opposed to Amendment 2, the 2008 ballot initiative which defines marriage in the Florida Constitution as being between a man and a woman, and outlaws recognition of any other form of partnership between couples.  In 2007, he was named “Legislator of the Year” by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

While the Human Rights Campaign has been called the largest LGBT group in the country, it has been heavily criticized over the last few years because of their ineffectual nature and their lack of willingness to get involved head on in the fight for LGBT rights.

Source

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2010/08/hrc-endorses-kendrick-meek-for-us-senate.html#ixzz0wz5DtRW8

Yeah, I said it. I would say it to her face, to her father’s face, to her partner’s face. Mary Cheney, daughter of ex VP Dick Cheney and partner to Heather Poe and mother to children being raised by two dogs…I mean women. Raw Story is reporting that Mary donated $500 to a republican candidate who wants to ensure that same sex marriage never happens.

Cheney gave $500 on April 1 to Kelly Ayotte, a Republican 2010 Senate candidate from New Hampshire, according to the election records database Newsmeat. Ayotte is seeking to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Judd Gregg.

Ayotte told the Concord Monitor last August that she is “against same-sex marriage and believes marriage is between a man and a woman,” the paper reported.

The New Hampshire news station WMUR 9 also notes Ayotte opposes same-sex marriage. “Support traditional marriage,” reads her stance on the issue, as defined by “one man, one woman.” Three of the other four Republican hopefuls have expressed similar views. [Source]

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Mary is a millionaire, she doesn’t need the benefits that marriage equality affords. She can take care of her partner, ensure her partner has health care, ensure her partner will be taken care of should anything happen to her, ensure that her child and property will go to Heather if anything happens to her, etc. So she doesn’t care about lesbians who are struggling, lesbians who have lost their jobs during the economic downturn who can’t put their partner on their health insurance or make sure that they will gain ownership of their property should the worst occur. She is selfish, she is homophobic, she is a snake.

Mary: You are a horrible excuse for a human being.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Prop 8 is Defeated: A Look Back at How it Affected One Couple (lezgetreal.com)
• President Obama: Glad Prop 8 is Repealed, Still Believes in Separate But Equal (lezgetreal.com)
• Lady Gaga Celebrates Prop 8 Victory with a Song (lezgetreal.com)
• Perez Hilton Starts Mass Tweeting @BarackObama for Marriage Equality (lezgetreal.com)

In his letter Frank said, “Under any circumstance, the decision to discharge Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach would be not only completely unfair, but a distortion of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Now that we have agreement among the President, the House and the Senate Armed Services Committee that the policy should be abolished, it would be an unbelievable travesty of justice to discharge him. I strongly urge you to end the proceedings against Lt. Col. Fehrenbach.”

Fehrenbach, a decorated F-15 pilot and 19-year veteran of the Air Force, filed a federal lawsuit last week in Idaho, arguing that the government cannot establish that his continued service on active duty hinders “morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion,” and is therefore a violation of the “Witt Standard” set forth by the US 9th District Appeals Court.

The Witt Standard stems from Witt v. Department of the Air Force when Margaret Witt’s case was brought before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Part of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in looking at Margaret Witt’s discharge under DADT, which is now referred to as the Witt Standard, says the government has to show that a gay or lesbian’s presence (in this case, Maj. Witt’s) constitutes a threat to unit readiness and cohesion.

Fehrenbach’s lawyers claim the government has not met that standard.

Earlier this week Fehrenbach reached an agreement to prevent his discharge under DADT, at least until after Aug. 27, and also gave Fehrenbach a full hearing on his discharge.

That agreement insured that Fehrenbach couldn’t be discharged until a decision is reached and should he eventually be discharged under DADT, will give Fehrenbach a 21-day notice to seek an injunction preventing his discharge from the courts.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Col. Fehrenbach Will Not Be Discharged Pending Full Hearing On Restraining Order (lezgetreal.com)
• Highly Decorated Combat Air Force Aviator Files Injunction in Federal Court to Block “DADT” Discharge (lezgetreal.com)
• DADT: Is the Witt Standard Alive and Well? (lezgetreal.com)
• Fehrenbach reaches agreement with Air Force and DOJ to prevent imminent DADT discharge (americablog.com)

Gallup’s latest update on 2010 congressional voting preferences finds 50% of registered voters saying they would vote for the Republican candidate in their district, and 43% for the Democratic candidate, if the elections were held today.

The vote among independent registered voters averaged 47% Republican to 34% Democratic, a 13-point GOP advantage.

Republicans have led in each of the past three weeks, and their current 50% vote share and seven percentage-point lead represent their best showings thus far in 2010.

Republicans typically turn out to vote in greater numbers than Democrats do. So their current seven-point advantage among all registered voters could represent the lower bound of the margin they could expect to win by (in the national two-party vote) if the elections were held today.

A strong Republican showing this fall would be consistent with Gallup’s recent research indicating that the party of a president with approval ratings below 50% tends to suffer heavy seat losses in midterm elections. The Republicans’ larger lead on the latest generic ballot coincides with a new low weekly job approval average of 44% for President Obama.

The Gallup survey also said, in addition to — or perhaps because of — increasing disappointment with the president, Republicans owe their renewed strength in August to two factors: greater parity with the Democrats in Americans’ political affiliation and slightly more support for Republican congressional candidates from independent voters.

via GOP Shows Strongest Positioning Yet in 2010 Vote Test.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gallup: GOP Edge With Registered Voters in Generic Congressional Edges Up to 6%, from 5% (minx.cc)
• Gallup: Democrats Better Brace Selves For Big Congress Losses (themoderatevoice.com)

Melanie Nathan; – 0816-10

WASHINGTON – One year after the Obama administration pledged to create a “truly civil” immigration detention system, the American Civil Liberties Union today said that significant reforms still need to be made in order for that promise to be realized.

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made some progress under the guidance of its newly-established Office for Detention Policy and Planning, major improvements in four vital detention areas – mental disability, health care, sexual abuse and mandatory and prolonged detention – need to be undertaken if ICE is to make good on the stated commitment of John T. Morton, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for ICE, to address “the vast majority of complaints about ICE’s immigration detention system.”

According to an analysis released today by the ACLU, an over-reliance on mandatory and prolonged detention practices continues to deny detainees the most basic element of due process by incarcerating immigrants who pose no danger or flight risk without making individualized determinations about whether they can be released on bond. The level of medical and mental health care provided to detainees continues to be substandard. Recently exposed incidents of sexual abuse of detainees by ICE contractors illustrate an urgent need for improved ICE oversight. And immigrants with mental disabilities, many without the mental competency to represent themselves, languish in detention for years.

The following can be attributed to Joanne Lin, Legislative Counsel for the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“ICE deserves credit for having taken some positive steps in what needs to be an ongoing process to reform our immigration detention system. But there is still a great need for enhanced oversight and accountability. ICE’s model of self-policing has proven, time and time again, to be a failure. In order to establish a truly civil detention system, ICE must promulgate detention regulations and be subject to independent external oversight.”

The following can be attributed to Vanita Gupta, Deputy Legal Director for the ACLU:

“While ICE has made some reforms in its sprawling detention system over the past year, they are insufficient. ICE detainees around the country continue to be subject to poor medical and mental health care, prolonged detention, and sexual abuse and assault. True detention reform requires that ICE address these systemic problems while cutting back on its excessive reliance on detention without due process, particularly of individuals who pose no flight risk or danger to public safety.”

A copy of the ACLU’s analysis is available online at: www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights-prisoners-rights/aclu-analysis-obama-administrations-progress-improving-immigratio

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Post dedicated to Britta/

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Arizona Effect – It Spreads Like a Disease from State to State…. (lezgetreal.com)
• Class Action Lawsuit Filed for Detainees With Mental Disabilities (immigration.change.org)
• ACLU Report: Obama Enshrining Bush-Era Torture Policies (alternet.org)
• Reforming Immigration Detention: Change We Want To Believe In (alternet.org)
• Public Counsel & Partners File First Class-Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Detained Immigrants with Mental Disabilities (prnewswire.com)

Melanie Nathan: August 16, 2010.

But we want marriage now – in terms of our current constitutional right.

Ninth Circuit has granted the stay yes we are angry BUT the good new it expedites the appeal and the entire process…

“Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED.

The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal.

This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California. The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010. In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. See Arizonans For Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66 (1997). IT IS SO ORDERED. [7441574] (JS)“

The Ninth Circuit has asked for opening briefs by September 17th and that parties must discuss why the appeal should not be dismissed due to lack of standing.  Also, the schedule for the briefs are similar to what Plaintiff attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies requested.  And oral arguments should begin by the end of this year.

So it’s not what we wanted, at this time, and yes we were headed for the aisle on Wednesday; but at least we will be closer to getting the journey’s conclusion.  I for one  believe in the unconstitutionality of the Prop 8 Vote, just as as Judge Walker ruled in his Judgment which overturned the the 2 % of Californians who were swayed by Gay Hate dollars – (and Only at that moment in TIME-) that Gays and lesbians should be denied their rights.

The stunning legal team  for the equal right to marry include the  brilliant lawyers of the City & County of San Francisco.  We have a fact-based district trial court decision that overwhelmingly explains why Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.  And we know that are winning.  Actually may I opine – we have won – they just have us on hold; pending appeal.  (URGH – it really should be the other way around. Are they afraid of another 18,000 of us? What harm have we done.  Probably lower divorce rate than our heterosexual counterparts.)

The  good news in California is we are now on the Fast track; NCLR’s Shannon Minter: The delay is very hard on couples, but the case now positioned about as strongly as it possibly could be for our side.”

What the hell can they come up with to change this – because if the do it would open the door to a State proposition vote where I bet a lot more than 2% of Californians would love to Vote against the right to bear arms – I mean after all – look at all those automatic weapons out there – they are killing our kids – what could be more harmful than that?

“I am extremely disappointed that couples will have to wait even longer to get married. It’s unfair and unfortunate. But I am confident that we will restore the right to marry once and for all,” says Geoff Kors of EQCA (Equality California)  who does well to express his disappointment that marriages are on hold at this time.

I cannot accept that  same-sex marriages would be stayed during the period of time where a Court of such esteem has held it unconstitutional.   It should be the other way around. We should be allowed to marry pending a different outcome, from a non-expedited process!!

Kors explains, “This means that, regrettably, same-sex couples will have wait longer to get married and are still being denied their fundamental right to do so.

This is not the end – far from it. The appeals process still needs to play out, and the court is expediting the process. The case is expected to be heard in December.

We need to work together to do what it takes to ensure a favorable outcome.
Here’s what you can do:

Email the Governor and Attorney General and urge them to stand strong against the attacks they are receiving from anti-LGBT groups.

Make a donation to elect a governor and attorney general who will refuse to defend Prop. 8 in court.

Volunteer in your area. We are building on the majority support we have, which is so critical to winning marriage back, either in the court or at the ballot box.

Imagine if President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Team Democrat would come out now and have the courage to repeal The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)  that restricts marriage between one man and one women, on a Federal level.

It would be an imperative correction of a bad bad mistake, at this point.  Senator Feinstein of California had the courage to VOTE no on DOMA.  Congressman Barney Frank believes DADT and ENDA should be repealed before he signs on to Congressman Jerold Nadler’s  House repeal Bill – The Respect for Marriage ACT.

Wake up and shake things up AMERICA – Now is the time.  No DOMA and we can sponsor our bi-national spouses for immigration; we can stop the exile of our citizens and The FEDS will show the STATES that it can get rid of legislated inequality via repeal legislation.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts

Related articles by Zemanta

• BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Court Grants Stay Of Prop 8 Overturn Pending Appeal (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Federal Appeals Court Grants Stay of Prop 8 Decision (towleroad.com)
• Ninth Circuit Issues Interim Stay in SSM Case (volokh.com)
• Ninth Circuit: Marriages on Hold (advocate.com)
• Judge Walker’s ruling today: NCLR Explains Same-Sex Couples in California May Not be Able to Marry On AUg 18 (lezgetreal.com)
• Prop 8 Plaintiffs File Motion With Ninth Circuit, Jerry Brown Once Again Pushes For Same-Sex Marriages To Resume (towleroad.com)
• Prop 8: Will the Real Appellants Please Stand Up (towleroad.com)
• Video: LGBT Clergy Protest against NOM in Clayton, MO (lezgetreal.com)

The HRC will now devote $150,000 to helping elect a pro-marriage quality governor and legislature in Minnesota raising questions about why they were not doing this prior to this fiasco of a donation by Target. So far, Best Buy, which also supported MN Forward, the PAC supporting Emmer, has not responded to the HRC’s offer.

As a result of the Citizens United, corporations are able to donate unlimited amounts of shareholder money to certain PAC’s; however, it is not necessarily a good thing as this has caused a major backlash.

Of course, Joe Solomnese, president of the HRC, stated:

“All fair-minded Americans will now rightly question Target’s commitment to equality. If their initial contribution was a slap in the face, their refusal to make it right is a punch in the gut and that’s not something that we will soon forget. However, with full marriage equality hanging in the balance in Minnesota, regardless of Target, it’s important that we as a community send a message that we will work tirelessly to elect pro-equality candidates.

“Target and Best Buy have – and no doubt will continue to have – model employment policies for LGBT people. We will continue to support those efforts. But before they can regain that exalted status among their consumers, they need to make things right in Minnesota. The nation’s LGBT community has shown these two companies enormous customer loyalty. Now it’s time for that faithfulness to be returned.”

Source

Melanie Nathan – August 14, 2010

Best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert will join Immigration Equality in lobbying Congress for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), reports  ON TOP Magazine.

My question is – will it be for UAFA as a stand alone or for the inclusion of UAFA into Immigration Reform. Maybe Immigration Equality sees that the choo choo train to reform ought to be via the equality Bill, UAFA, alone  instead of through Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

“Gilbert, whose film adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts opened nationwide on Friday, is half of a binational couple herself. She chronicled her experience in her follow-up book Committed.

Immigration Equality has been lobbying for passage of the UAFA, a bill that would allow gay Americans to sponsor an immigrant partner for citizenship. Currently, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) forbids any federal agency from recognizing married gay couples, reports OUT.

However their report fails to note that for the past year and two months Immigration Equality has taken UAFA out of the realm of a stand-alone Bill with over 120 Sponsors in Congress and spent its time and resources on the currently  nowhere journey through a very controversial crash course with Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).  UAFA is an equality amendment to the Immigration & Naturalization Act.that would include committed permanent partners instead Immigration Equality has pursued the idea of including UAFA in CIR – and cost desperate bi-national couples another year- in limbo – with no guarantee of inclusion, and constant same-old promises.

The House CIR  Bill by Congressman Luis  Gutierrez  (D -IL) specifically excluded UAFA and although Gutierrez has since said in public and the press that he believes NOW (flip flop) that Uniting American Families Act should be  included in CIR  – there is no amendment or action yet in sight.

From the Senate side – we have yet to see more than a framework for the Bill, which does include mention of UAFA.

Immigration Equality assured its supporters over a year ago the CIR was imminent, yet all we have from the Senate and Chuck Schumer is yet another a campaign motivated promise in the form of a framework, clearly a rushed direct response to the recent Arizona Immigration debacle.

Gilbert will apparently join IE September 30 to talk to lawmakers about the inequity,  reports IE.

As an avid activist myself for UAFA – I am hoping that Gilbert will be a proponent for an immediate stand-alone Bill for UAFA and that while we have a majority in congress, Gay and Lesbian couples should be given priority treatment under an equality banner rather than waiting for (yes the much needed) immigration reform for all.

“In addition to being unjust and cruel and unconscionable,” Gilbert said in June, “these laws [separating LGBT families] are stupid because they are taking away some of the best and brightest minds and prospects out of the country … they are forced to do nothing but fight for their lives. And they are in a fight for their lives. And I am proud to be part of that fight; I’m humbled and honored to be part of that fight.”

Elizabeth Gilbert’s life story, the best-selling author, who traveled millions of miles in what ended up being a search for her own, centered self, caused a sensation with her diary of personal discovery, also known as Eat, Pray, Love.

The book, which became a sort of holistic prescription for self-empowerment via self-fulfillment, was passed from person to person and ended up – in a life-changing moment amidst a story full of such karmic twists – in the hands of Oprah Winfrey.

At its peak, Love was at the top of the best-sellers’ list, and was hailed by millions as the holy text for embodying “la dolce vita.” (I learned about it when a friend sent me a Barnes & Noble gift certificate, and proclaimed, “Use this to buy Eat, Pray, Love!”) Readers have debated its place in the lexicon of feminist literature . . . organized book clubs to swoon over its lush storylines . . . and spent more than a few hours daydreaming about throwing caution to the wind, and following in Gilbert’s footsteps, in pursuit of a more perfect union (with themselves).

In short order, the book’s title – Eat, Pray, Love – became a mantra for the masses. And now, it has become a Hollywood blockbuster, too.

Beginning today, movie-goers are expected to flock to theaters to see Gilbert – played by screen icon Julia Roberts – eat, pray and love her way across Italy, India and Indonesia. But when the film stops rolling, another inspiring and empowering chapter in Gilbert’s life will just be beginning: Her selfless work on behalf of lesbian and gay immigrant families.

Continue reading this article at HuffingtonPost.com . . .

So now we are still no where and Bi national couples wait desperately.  By September 30th I know two American citizens who will have already exiled for other countries, one who would have had life threatening major heart surgery without his partner at his side, and probably another 100 e-mails from 2nd class American residents and citizens.

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
www.privatecourts.com

@oblogdeeoblogda

Related articles by Zemanta

• Elizabeth Gilbert: In Her Own Words (observer.com)
• ‘Julia Roberts Doppleganger’: ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Author Elizabeth Gilbert On Good Morning America (huffingtonpost.com)
• Kudos to Elizabeth Gilbert (gaypatriot.net)
• Steve Ralls: Engage, Lobby, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert’s Passionate Advocacy for LGBT Immigrant Families (huffingtonpost.com)
• Eat, Pray, Love … and Fight For LGBT Families (gayrights.change.org)

Berchot 45, died early Friday morning after he and his husband, Gustavo Garcia, became the first gay couple to marry in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata.

According to the Buenos Aires newspaper Clarin, Berchot fainted during his wedding reception due to high blood pressure, and was pronounced dead at approximately 7 a.m. at a local hospital.

Argentina last month became the first Latin America country to legalize same-sex marriages.

Gay Man Married in Argentina Dies at His Wedding, Newspaper Says – Bloomberg.

Anti-Gay Laura Schlessinger, now apparently a racist too?  Someone should strip that mean spirited ego centric piece of dangling doo-doo apology for a human of her doc-tatorship – or whatever the hell it is she has placed before her name “DR.”   She is Dr. NO or NO Dr.!

Who would have dreamed it?  “DON’T NAACP ME” asserted ‘the better than thou’ Schlesinger, in a tirade exposing her for exactly who she is – an angry bigot – no more no less… or maybe  more – time will tell.   “I thought once we had a Black President the attempts to demonize whites hating blacks would stop.  But it has not I don’t get it.  Its hasn’t and It’s all about power: She ranted on after the shocked caller, a self described “black woman married to a white man” called for advice about being treated with disrespect through racist remarks perpetrated by family and friends.

The conversation went haywire when Schlesinger challenged the caller ‘s gripe and proceeded to throw out three consecutive “N’” words – what is this woman thinking.  No surprise to me.  I have listened to her show and am astounded by her popularity. She berates most of her callers anyway with her condescending pernicious soliloquies  - all in an attempt to elevate her sorry nothingness to an attempted something-ness.

Goodness, who sponsors this trash?

Read/ hear audio  - you be the Judge.   I think she should be banned off the air- if they did it to The guy with the cowboy hat – why not do it to the woman with the wig?

After a break, the caller said she was appalled by Schlessinger’s use of the word. “Oh, then I guess you don’t watch HBO or listen to any black comedians,” she said. “My dear, the point I am trying to make…we’ve got a black man as president and we’ve got more complaining about racism than ever. I think that’s hilarious.”   Schlesinger and the caller then got into an exchange about the use of the word:

CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
DR. LAURA: It depends how it’s said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it’s ok.
CALLER: But you’re not black, they’re not black, my husband is white.
DR. LAURA: Oh, I see, so a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can’t do much about that.
CALLER: I can’t believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the n***** word, and I hope everybody heard it.
DR. LAURA: I didn’t spew out the n***** word!
CALLER: You said “n*****, n*****, n*****” and I hope everybody heard it.
DR. LAURA: Yes they did, and I’ll say it again: n*****, n*****, n***** is what you hear on HBO.
[Crosstalk]

DR. LAURA: Why don’t you let me finish a sentence? Don’t take things out of context. Don’t NAACP me, leave them in context. “If you’re that hypersensitive about color and don’t have a sense of humor, don’t marry outside of your race,” Schlesinger said after hanging up with the caller.

She apologized the next day, opening her show with an apology.

“Yesterday, I did the wrong thing,” she said. “I didn’t intend to hurt people, but I did. And that makes it the wrong thing to have done. I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the “n” word all the way out – more than one time. And that was wrong. I’ll say it again – that was wrong.”

Schlessinger said she “was so upset [she] could not finish the show.”

“I pulled myself off the air at the end of the hour,” she said. “I had to finish the hour, because 20 minutes of dead air doesn’t work. I am very sorry. And it just won’t happen again.” Boo Hoo Laura Remember your an-gay days – when you said the following and now you want us to believe YOU ARE NOT a Bigot.

And so it should not get her outa here!  She is NOT qualified to Counsel a fly!

According to various sources, Dr. Laura Schlessinger has said or written the following anti-gay slurs, which promoted the website - http://www.stopdrlaura.com/laura/

“A huge portion of the male homosexual populace is predatory on young boys.”

“If you’re gay or lesbian it’s a biological error.”

“I call homosexual practices deviant.”

“The First Amendment is not the 11th Commandment. Its protection does not extend to ALL speech.”

“When we have the word ‘homosexual,’ we are clarifying the dysfunction, the deviancy, the reality.”

“….[reparative] therapies which have been successful in helping a reasonable number of people become heterosexual.” 7

“…I believe that homosexual behavior is deviant; that when homosexuals adopt children, these children are intentionally robbed of a necessary mom and dad…”

“I’m sorry, hear it one more time perfectly clearly: If you’re gay or a lesbian, it’s a biological error that inhibits you from relating normally to the opposite sex.  The fact that you are intelligent, creative and valuable is all true. The error is in your inability to relate sexually intimately, in a loving way to a member of the opposite sex – it is a biological error.” Quoted from Dr. Laura’s Website, 1998-DEC-8

ON MATTHEW SHEPARD

“You know what was largely responsible for that guy’s [Matthew Shepard's] death? Those two guys who killed him did not go out looking for a homosexual to kill that night. They were shooting pool. He went to the bar. He left with two guys he thought he was gonna have sex with. He got murdered. How many women has that happened to? How many women have left bars thinking they were gonna get some action with some guy who raped and murdered and tortured and murdered them?

Far more women than homosexual men have ended up dead that way, I would guess. Is that a hate crime against women? I think so but they specifically picked the woman who was willing to leave for sex. If Matthew hadn’t been willing to leave for sex, he might still be alive. That certainly doesn’t make him responsible for his own death but when you put yourself into a situation of going off to have anonymous sex with people you meet at a bar, what kind of person is gonna leave with you? Usually scum…. This was a terrible tragedy but it’s also one that might have been avoided if he had simply gone home with his friends instead of thinking he was gonna get a little.” – Dr. Laura radio show, April 16, 1999 (quoted by CBSC).

By the way – her apology weights low against the extent  of the Tirade. “I should not of said that” in no way excuses the lengthy and non stop verbosity of the rant.  Its not as if she said mere words – here insensitivity and her lack of basic sense outweighs her nebulus apology.  Fire her- its about time!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Dr. Laura: ‘Sure wish I hadn’t said that’ (capitolhillblue.com)
• Dr. Laura apologizes for using N-word (cnn.com)
• “Dr. Laura Apologizes For Using N-Word On Radio Show (AUDIO)” and related posts (stupidcelebrities.net)
• Radio host Dr. Laura apologizes for N-word use (ctv.ca)
• Dr. Laura apologizes for saying N-word on air (abclocal.go.com)
• Dr. Laura Schlessinger N-word Rant: Drops N-bomb, Then Apologizes (nowpublic.com)
• America , Back To Its Racially-divided ROOTS? (dave-lucas.blogspot.com)
• Dr. Laura Apologizes For N-Word, But She’s Still A Racist [Race Matters] (jezebel.com)

Gay and Lesbian Couples will NOT be getting licenses today to get Married. People have been Lining up outside the Courthouse since early this morning. If there is a likely immediate appeal there may only be a small window of opportunity only – because the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals may issue a STAY based on an appeal of the stay! However the Judge has avoided that by setting Stay lift for 18th.

San Francisco, Today Federal Court  Judge Vaughn Walker agreed with Attorneys for Plaintiffs in the recent Perry v. Schwarzenegger case which overturned Proposition 8,  that a STAY of the immediate resumption of same-sex marriages in California, would do more harm than good.

This is released at the same time that the Judge formally  enters his Judgment overturning California proposition 8.

The Judge, having reviewed briefs from interested Parties, ruled to lift the temporary stay, refused a long term STAY; and has opened the door for marriages to commence immediately in California.

The Stay is lifted with EFFECT AUGUST 18th 2010

Order:- “None of the factors the court weights in considering a motion to stay favors granting a stay.  Accordingly, proponents’ motion to stay is DENIED.  The clerk is directed to enter judgment forthwith. That judgment shall be STAYED until August 18th at 5pm…at which time all persons under their control or supervision shall cease to apply or enforce Proposition 8.”

UPDATED  According to National Center for Lesbian Rights in a subsequent Release this means: In practice, this means that the proponents of Prop 8 have a chance to file a motion for stay with the Ninth Circuit, and the Ninth Circuit has a chance to grant or deny that motion, but it must do so by August 18. If it does not, marriages will automatically start again at that time.

The Plaintiffs’ and Plaintiff Intervenor’s in their joint opposition to Defendant-Intervenors’ motion for a stay pending appeal, under  case no. 09-cv-2292 vrw, provided vigorous opposition to the motion for the stay of same sex marriages, stating:

“After a full and fair trial on the merits of Plaintiffs’ constitutional claims,” on August 4, 2010, Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates Plaintiff’s due process and equal protection rights and they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8.”

The Court ruled in its Judgment to the Trial that Plaintiffs are entitled to entry of judgment permanently enjoining enforcement of that unconstitutional enactment.  As the Court also explained in its initial ruling, “California has no interest in waiting and no practical need to wait to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.” (Page 128 of the Prop 8 original Judgment)

“The arguments on which the motion to stay was attempting to stop Gay Marriage-  “fly in the face of the detailed and thorough findings,” made by Judge Vaughn Walker, asserted the Plaintiffs in their opposition to the Stay.

Relief for the stay to remain in effect would have required an extraordinarily high burden of proof.

Proposition 8 proponents and the Defendants  failed at trial to show how same-sex marriage could cause any harm and tried to use those same adjudicated arguments to justify a stay of the immediate licensing of marriage that would in effect have denied Californians their Constitutional rights to equality in marriage.

The STAY would have been more harmful to society than if marriages did not commence immediately.

If the Judge did not throw out the stay, he would in effect be ruling against himself as the Defendants failed to provide any compelling reason why marriages should not commence immediately.  One cannot simply use the de facto (factual) right to appeal vs. the de Jure (the law) standing of same-sex couples who would like to marry now.

Think about the 18,000 already married before the law changed.  There is not a single instance of how these marriages have impacted society in a detrimental fashion so even if Judge Walker’s ruling were overturned by SCOTUS – in the future – there would be no harm in adding another 18,000 plus to our ranks.

Couples have been lined up since earlier today to Marry and Local television has been keeping us on the edge of our seats through the morning wait.

EXPECT Appeals….

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

@oblogdeeoblogda

MAIN PICTURE: Picture Press Conference Dennis Herrera
San Francisco City Attorney

Related articles by Zemanta

• Prop 8 Appeal Process & Timing (lezgetreal.com)
• Michele Bachmann, Steve King Back Resolution Against Prop 8 Ruling (lezgetreal.com)
• BREAKING NEWS Judge Vaughn Walker Rules Proposition 8 is OVERTURNED (lezgetreal.com)
• Critical California Frontier – Prop 8 & this November (lezgetreal.com)
• American Bar Association Backs Gay Marriage (lezgetreal.com)
• BREAKING NEWS Judge Vaughn Walker Rules Proposition 8 is OVERTURNED (pinkbananaworld.com)
• BREAKING -Prop 8 Hate Want to Dissolve the 18,000 California marriages (lezgetreal.com)