I read the piece on Huffington Post yesterday from Melissa Etheridge about her being in touch with Rick Warren and how they are now great pals and everything is hunky dory. He loves gay people. He has all her albums. She's invited him to her home. It's reported thatthe most egregious language from his website (comparing gay marriage to incest and pedophilia) has been removed, but how about a public apology for organizing thousands of people to specifically and legally deny civil rights to gays? Where is an explanation of his enlightenment, something he would surely want to share with his ministry so they might also embrace the LGBT family as warmly as their pastor? Where is a statement that the church's program to cure homosexuality has been officially dismantled? Warren reportedly said that "when there's harmony, there's nothing for the media to write about." If he truly believes in equality (including women's reproductive rights) and uses the power of his position to further our civil rights, well, I will eat my snow hat and mittens. The choice is up to Warren - when I see change, real change, I will welcome it. A link to the Courage Campaign:http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/content/dontdivorce
Some people don't get it.
It's not just about us queers getting married! It's about the animosity, judgement. and discrimination of homophobic people and the complicity of don't-rock-the-boaters that deprives us of our civil rights, full equality, and, sometimes, our lives.
In 1972 I started one of the first gay lib groups in Illinois, Springfield Gay Liberation, and we had three purposes: to educate, change laws, and provide social activities outside the bars. As a result, I lost my family, job, and lifelong friends. People spit on me and threw things at me, I had death threats and hate mail. In the name of change and freedom, we pressed on. I spoke in front of college classes and groups like Young Democrats to change people's minds and let them see a real, living, breathing, gay person. They asked tragic and nearly unbelievable questions: "Do lesbians have periods?, "Do gay people wear clothes in their house?" Once we were interviewed for a radio show in southern Illinois (we followed Rajah, the talking Mynah bird) and were bombarded with calls from screaming evangelicals who wanted to set us straight. Really straight. We left fearing for our lives. Later, when I considered adopting a child I was told that, as a gay person, I could only adopt a group of delinquent siblings or a severely disabled child. My partner was thrown in jail for a day during a custody case, where the sole basis for taking her children away was that she was a lesbian. The only gay role model I had when growing up was my great aunt, Norma, who, even as an adult, was kept locked inside her parent's home because she was a lesbian (her father was a police officer). Back then Springfield, Illinois was a small town, planets away from the nearest social revolution and definitely not a launch pad for unlikely Black guys on their way to the White House. We pressed on.
1972: that was the year Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to U.S. Congress, announced her candidacy for president as a Democrat, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, DNC offices at the Watergate were burglarized by Nixon operatives, George Wallace was shot, the song "I Am Woman" was released, light fell on the Tuskegee Experiment, DDT was banned by the EPA, "The Joy of Sex" was published, KKK rioted in Central Park, Nixon went to China, Irish protestors were shot dead on Bloody Sunday, Israeli athletes were taken hostage by PLO at the Munich Olympics and killed, and peace attempts in Vietnam failed. A lot was going on.
There's a lot going on today and some responders to this thread have pointed that out, suggesting we put the gay thing into perspective and not spoil the party. I worked harder for Obama than just about any other cause in my life. He is the first Presidential figure who, when talking about the American family, always includes "our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters". He said it in cornfields in front of farmers, where he had nothing to gain and everything to lose. As part of his speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Obama directly addressed homophobia in the African American community. I believe in Barack Obama not just because he is gay-friendly, but for the totality of what he represents and the dream of a Reasonably United States of America.
Many young gays are living on the streets today, their families having disowned or abused them. They're committing suicide because the essence of their souls is too heavy to carry and other LGBT Americans are being beaten, killed, drummed out of the military, and denied jobs, housing, and the benefits others take for granted. Rick Warren's church has a program to "cure" homosexuals and he compares gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. Through his ministry Warren perpetuates destructive stereotypes and fears that keep us apart. I not only have the right to disagree with the choice of Warren, it is my responsibility.
Of course I will celebrate on January 20th and it will be heartfelt. I will also regret that someone who so vigorously opposes change will be given prominence and validation. And, I will press on.
Last night was beyond historic and amazing. Tears of joy streamed down the faces of all the people that I love and those that I do not yet know at the election party I attended last night. That evening was the greatest election I have ever witnessed and oen of the best nights of my life. Thank you to everyone who worked towards this. I am going to plan on going to the inauguration in January. Anyone else going?
Yes we did!
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This letter was drafted by student (and parent) volunteers, some of whom are military families and have lived in areas where there is still ongoing racial tension. Please pass on.
Dear Fellow Americans:
The tone and content of the McCain – Palin Campaign and seriously deteriorated to a level that we believe is dangerous and illegal because it is causing hatred and animosity to be increased so that Americans are committing hate crimes and exhibiting behavior that could lead to violence. We are appalled and outraged at their lack of responsible behavior.
This must be stopped..
Senator McCain and Governor Palin as representatives of our government and America have a responsibility to maintain civil peace and order and to not incite violence with statements that are misleading and derogatory especially when we are at war; putting fellow Americans lives at risk.
We urge you to contact your local representative and ask that action be taken.
If you witness or see a hate crime, please contact local law enforcement, as well as report it to the FBI. Link below:
http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm
We have laws and protections for all Americans regardless of sex, race, creed, sexual orientation and religion. We cannot allow fellow Americans to violate these laws leading to violence and hate crimes.
Sincerely,
Volunteers
Students
Parents
www.tacomapiercecountyforobama.net
Hello all,
It was great getting to know some of you last friday, I had a good time. I have created an event on facebook for the next Happy Hour so if you are on facebook please go to the event page and add your friends to the invitation. Lets keep getting bigger and bigger groups to come out each week!
http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33586004273
Thanks,
Jerry Watson
Obama Goes on the Offensive! This is what Obama/Biden Have to Do! Be AGGRESSIVE and CALL THEM OUT
Here is the first example and hope this is the strategy going forward!"The Democratic presidential nominee ridiculed John McCain and his running mate, the Alaska governor, for describing themselves as agents of change at this week's GOP convention.""Don't be fooled," Obama told the crowd surrounding him in a large barn. "John McCain's party, with the help of John McCain, has been in charge" for nearly eight years. "And suddenly he's the change agent? Ha. He says, 'I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.' Who is he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman, who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell his campaign manager, who was one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?""I mean, come on, they must think you're stupid," (Watch Barack's comments on You Tube)
This is so great! The Obama/Biden campaign need to run these clips as commercials!!!http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086
And this is very funny! “WSJ’s Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy Caught on Tape Disparaging Palin Choice: “Political Bullshit”, “Gimmicky” on MSNBC --- you can see the clip here and follow script here in this article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/03/peggy-noonan-mike-murphy_n_123647.html
The trial run Happy Hour was on Friday, the 29th, at Purr. The event was small, but went well. We got some people signed up to volunteer and generally worked the small crowd that was there. People were all a-buzz over McCain's choice of a runnning mate. I will simply say that it makes the team of Obama-Biden look strong by comparison. If "putting country first" and demonstrating good judgment are ways in which we measure the fitness of someone to be president then Barack Obama passes the test with flying colors.
The key question is where we go from here. The choice of Palin complicates the picture somewhat and it will probably take time for the realization to settle in that this is someone with a virulently hard right-wing perspective on the issues, someone with no grasp of the challenges confronting the nation at large and the beneficiary of a purely politcal maneuver designed, in part, to peel off disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters into the Republican column. I think this desperate move will backfire, but we can't just assume that this will be the case. We still have to continue to work hard, get people to volunteer, donate and by all means, register to vote.
Next Friday we will meet again at Purr at 5:00 and Seattle City Council Member Sally Clark will be on hand to speak. The goal is to build momentum and to keep people energized and involved. Washington state cannot be taken for granted as a "blue state". Please join us again on Friday the 5th at Purr and pass the word to your friends.
As 8-4-08 is Barack Obama's birthday, how about everyone making donations of $8.48 on that day? You can donate to the fundraising page of your favorite group, to your own fundraising page or that of a special friend.
Everyone can afford $8.48. I wonder what kind of total we would get if everyone made a donation of that amount on 8-4-08?
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's Unity Speech will go down in history as a fantastic speech! She did everything that she needed to do in a perfect delivery! All the pundits agreed that it was an amazing speech! Big support for Sentor Barack Obama! This is the start of uniting the Democratic party and others for a big win this November!! Watch out McBush!!
from The Huffington Post.com
WaPo: "A Full-Throated Endorsement"... Andrew Sullivan: "Did All She Needed To Do"... Jeremy Gerard: "A Great Speech And A Heroic One"... Hilary Rosen: "Cemented Her Place In History"...
John McCain keeps on trying to distance himself from Bush but he can't help it and it will contribute to a big victory for the Democrats in the fall!!
After biggest unemployment jump in 22 years, McCain vows more of the same
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/06/after-biggest-unemployment-jump-in-22-years-mccain-vows-more-of-the-same/
I have been attending a weekly community service event with other Obama supporters as often as I am able. I was not elected to be a delegate and with the loss of my job I was unable to run again due to my unstable financial state at the time. Basically, I did not know if I could afford to travel to the convention. If I had known that I would be working again so soon I would not only have run but I would have a discount ticket already whether I was elected or not. That being said, it is extremely maddening to hear that some elected delegates are not interested in participating in the process to the fullest. If I had been elected, I would be at every meeting, fundraiser, public event, rally, effin clam bake, whatever was necessary to be the best representative I could be for Obama and the ideals on which this country was founded. I would consider it a golden opportunity and so would many people I know who ran and were not chosen. Why did you run if you just wanted to go to Denver and not Spokane or any other primary events? Why not just give up your spot to someone who not only wants to go to Spokane, Denver and anything else in between, but will do so with grace, dignity and a sense of civic responsibility? I consider it completely irresponsible and arrogant for anyone to blow off these responsibilities in favor of a vacation to Denver. We are not on vacation. We are not electing a beauty queen for the county fair. We are electing a President. And not just a President but someone who has to "clean up" the mess that has accumulated and grown to a festering pile of our rotting rights and civil liberties that have been trashed over the last eight years.
As my boss, mentor and friend always says, "It's time to put up or shut up."
(Extended text did not work so I am trying this here again)
I am having a wonderful days filled with awesomeness.
Watch this video about Edwards endorsing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGzFtflx0S4
And Cai legalized same-sex marriage!
California's top court legalizes gay marriage
By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago
California's Supreme Court declared gay couples in the nation's biggest state can marry — a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.
Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after — religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.
"Essentially, this boils down to love. We love each other. We now have equal rights under the law," declared a jubilant Robin Tyler, a plaintiff in the case along with her partner. She added: "We're going to get married. No Tupperware, please."
A crowd of people raised their fists in triumph inside City Hall, and people wrapped themselves in the rainbow-colored gay-pride flag outside the courthouse. In the Castro, the historic center of the gay community in San Francisco, Tim Oviatt wept as he watched the news on TV.
"I've been waiting for this all my life. This is a life-affirming moment," he said.
By the afternoon, gay and lesbian couples had already started lining up at San Francisco City Hall to make appointments to get marriage licenses. In West Hollywood, supporters were planning to serve "wedding cake" at an evening celebration.
James Dobson, chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, called the ruling an "outrage."
"It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment. ... Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny," he said in an e-mail statement.
In its 4-3 ruling, the Republican-dominated high court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage and said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.
"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote for the majority in ringing language that delighted gay rights activists.
Massachusetts is the only other state to legalize gay marriage, something it did in 2004. The California ruling is considered monumental by virtue of the state's size — 38 million out of a U.S. population of 302 million — and its historic role in the vanguard of the many social and cultural changes that have swept the country since World War II.
California has an estimated 92,000 same-sex couples.
"It's about human dignity. It's about human rights. It's about time in California," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, pumping his fist in the air, told a roaring crowd at City Hall. "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It's inevitable. This door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not."
Unlike Massachusetts, California has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning gays from around the country are likely to flock to the state to be wed, said Jennifer Pizer, a gay-rights attorney who worked on the case.
The ultimate reach of the ruling could be limited, however, since most states do not recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere. Nor does the federal government.
The conservative Alliance Defense Fund said it would ask the justices for a stay of the decision until after the fall election in hopes of adding California to the list of 26 states that have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.
"We're obviously very disappointed in the decision. The remedy is a constitutional amendment. The constitution defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman," said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the organization.
Randy Thomasson of VoteYesMarriage.com, a campaign to amend the California Constitution to ban gay marriage, said the decision was in effect telling children that they have a "new role model — homosexual marriage, aspire to it.
"This is a disaster," he said.
Opponents of gay marriage could also ask the high court to reconsider. If the court rejects such a request, same-sex couples could start getting married in 30 days, the time it typically takes for the justices' opinions to become final.
The justices said they would direct state officials "to take all actions necessary to effectuate our ruling," including requiring county marriage clerks to carry out their duties "in a manner consistent with" the court's decision.
James Vaughn, director of the California Log Cabin Republicans, called the ruling a "conservative one."
"The justices have ensured that the law treats all Californians fairly and equally. This decision is a good one for all families, gay and non-gay," Vaughn said.
The case was set in motion in 2004 when the mayor of San Francisco — the unofficial capital of gay America — threw City Hall open to gay couples to get married in a calculated challenge to California law. Four-thousand gay couples wed before the Supreme Court put a halt to the practice after a month.
Two dozen gay couples then sued, along with the city and gay rights organizations.
Thursday's ruling could alter the dynamics of the presidential race and state and congressional contests in California and beyond by causing a backlash among conservatives and drawing them to the polls in large numbers.
A spokesman for Republican John McCain, who opposes gay marriage, said the Arizona senator "doesn't believe judges should be making these decisions." The campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton said they believe that the issue of marriage should be left to the states.
Ten states now offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex couples — in most cases, domestic partnerships or civil unions. In the past few years, the courts in New York, New Jersey and Washington state have refused to allow gay marriage.
Outside the San Francisco courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news spread of the decision. Jeanie Rizzo, one of the plaintiffs, called Pali Cooper, her partner of 19 years, via cell phone and asked, "Pali, will you marry me?"
Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights said same-sex marriage advocates could not have hoped for a more favorable ruling by the Republican-dominated court. "It's a total victory," Minter said.
California already offers same-sex couples who register as domestic partners many of the legal rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples, including the right to divorce and to sue for child support.
Citing a 1948 California Supreme Court decision that overturned a ban on interracial marriages, the justices struck down the state's 1977 one-man, one-woman marriage law, as well as a similar, voter-approved law that passed with 61 percent in 2000.
The chief justice was joined by Justices Joyce Kennard and Kathryn Werdegar, all three of whom were appointed by Republican governors, and Justice Carlos Moreno, the only member of the court appointed by a Democrat.
In a dissent, Justice Marvin Baxter agreed with many arguments of the majority but said that the court overstepped its authority and that changes to marriage laws should be decided by the voters. Justices Ming Chin and Carol Corrigan also dissented.
California's secretary of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors gathered enough signatures to put the gay-marriage amendment on the ballot.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has twice vetoed legislation that would have granted marriage to same-sex couples, said in a statement that he respected the court's decision and "will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."
___
Associated Press writers Terence Chea, Jason Dearen, Juliana Barbassa and Evelyn Nieves in San Francisco and Liz Sidoti in Washington contributed to this report.
Today I was lucky enough to come across three gems.
1. John Edwards endorses Barack Obama. Finally! :)
2. Keith OBerman: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24635229#24635229
3. Saturday Night Live gets it right (amazingly enough): http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=250052
I am so excited that Obama is ahead in superdelegates and the popular vote. He is our candidate in my book.
Please visit this link to urge our remaining undecided Superdelegates in Washington to support Obama and end this thing once and for all.
http://www.petitiononline.com/wasprdel/petition.html
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright's defense of himself ought to be welcomed asan exercise of his rights. We have no idea how it will actually playinto the campaign. But as pundits suggest, any mention of Sen. BarackObama's pastor leads to the media's Pavlovian response: Run sensationalvideo loops, check ratings, charge advertisers. Repeat.Aspredictable as that may be, it's up to voters to decide how to respond,especially in deciding what, if any, significance the whole overhypedsubject has to the Democrats' primary battle. Most will never like theexcerpts but many already view them in a wider context ofAfrican-American history, religious and civic. A wider acquaintancewith Wright and his work may neutralize the discussion.We'recertainly no experts on Wright, his congregation or Chicago. But thenarrative of a wild, angry anti-American extremist doesn't ring true.As some have noted, Wright volunteered to join the Marines in the early1960s, went on to become a Navy cardiopulmonary technician and earnedletters of commendation for his White House service. A white congregantrecently wrote about how Wright took hours to talk his African-Americanfiancée out of breaking their engagement over concerns about marryingoutside her race. They've been married 25 some years.Over thecourse of a long public career, Wright has misspoken a time or two.Americans can listen to him directly address the criticisms and go onto have a presidential election that revolves around greater matters.
First, please watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHi32mKjkSo
I have thought long and hard about Obama, the people that I know in my life, the people that have touched me both via YouTube and in real life (www.youtube.com/missdivinestalls) and I think that Obama has served as the last straw for me. I have decided that I am going to go to the national campaign headquarters for Obama and volunteer my paid weeks vacation. I am willing to work 14 to 16 hours a day for this man. And not just for him. But for us. There is no us vs them (i.e. have's and have nots, the two America's that Edwards tlaked about in 2004). I HAVE to do something. I don't care if I make a penny out of it. What will I achieve from it? I dunno. I will find out. I am on a pilgrimage for peace, for equality, for freedom of self. Live brave. I have to live brave.
