"fierce advocate's" final f*ck up, part II

12 June 2009

TO: XXXX XXXX, XXXX County Democratic Party Chairman
From: David Greer, Precinct XXX Chairman
CC: XXXX County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Subject: Resignation


After long and serious deliberation, I feel it is necessary to resign my position as a Precinct Chairman. I cannot continue to support the current administration and its abdication of its campaign promises, particularly to the GLBT Community.


In 1996, now-President Obama declared his support, in writing, to Marriage Equality. As a candidate for President, he withdrew that support in favor of “Civil Unions”. This is tantamount to being diametrically opposed to the decision of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, establishing clearly, that “separate but equal” is unconstitutional. Today, by his actions, President Obama has told me clearly that he actually believes “separate but equal” is bad for everyone…unless you are gay.


Today, Obama’s DOJ has stood up to defend DOMA as Constitutional (after pledging to repeal DOMA), even going so far as to equate my 15-year relationship with incest and rape:


http://www.scribd.com/doc/16355867/Obamas-Motion-to-Dismiss-Marriage-case
(originally sourced via AmericaBLOG)

Obama’s DOJ invoked incest and people marrying children.

The courts have followed this principle, moreover, in relation to the validity of marriages performed in other States. Both the First and Second Restatements of Conflict of Laws recognize that State courts may refuse to give effect to a marriage, or to certain incidents of a marriage, that contravene the forum State's policy. See Restatement (First) of Conflict of Laws § 134; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 284.5 And the courts have widely held that certain marriages performed elsewhere need not be given effect, because they conflicted with the public policy of the forum. See, e.g., Catalano v. Catalano, 170 A.2d 726, 728-29 (Conn. 1961) (marriage of uncle to niece, "though valid in Italy under its laws, was not valid in Connecticut because it contravened the public policy of th[at] state"); Wilkins v. Zelichowski, 140 A.2d 65, 67-68 (N.J. 1958) (marriage of 16-year-old female held invalid in New Jersey, regardless of validity in Indiana where performed, in light of N.J. policy reflected in statute permitting adult female to secure annulment of her underage marriage); In re Mortenson's Estate, 316 P.2d 1106 (Ariz. 1957) (marriage of first cousins held invalid in Arizona, though lawfully performed in New Mexico, given Arizona policy reflected in statute declaring such marriages "prohibited and void").


Then in the next paragraph, they argue that the incest and child rape cases therefore make DOMA constitutional:

The fact that States have long had the authority to decline to give effect to marriages performed in other States based on the forum State's public policy strongly supports the constitutionality of Congress's exercise of its authority in DOMA.

Furthermore, his inability to speak out against DADT in strong terms, post election, leads me to believe that, once again, we will be given rhetoric without action. I can not sit idly by while highly skilled patriots are denied the right to serve their country because they feel a moral imperative to be honest.

One needs look no further than Lt. Col. Fehrenbach, a highly decorated Air Force pilot who was discharged, even though he was neither “asked” nor did he “tell”. Taxpayers spent $25Million to train him, just to kick him out of the service after 18 years.


Washington Monthly, May 20, 2009:

"Over the span of his career, he has flown 88 combat missions, including missions that were the longest mission sorties in the history of his squadron. He's logged more than 2,000 flying hours, nearly 1,500 fighting hours, 400 combat hours. Lt. Col. Fehrenbach is also highly decorated -- he's received nine air medals, including one for heroism. After 18 years of active duty in the Air Force, this experienced, decorated fighter pilot says he is ready and willing to deploy again. He's ready to do what his country and the United States Air Force ask of him."

Or West Point graduate First Lt. Dan Choi, one of 13 highly skilled Arabic translators (via ABC News):

"I got fired because I was being too honest," he said. "That has nothing to do with performance or going to war. I'm angry, not for myself, I'm ready for all the consequences. I'm really angry because my unit is so professional. ... They are the ones being punished. They are losing a member of their team."

These are but two examples of the TWO HUNDRED FORTY FIVE service members discharged under DADT since Obama took office. While our President continues to drag his feet, public support continues to rise for the repeal of DADT. Gallup released a poll on 5 June 2009, clearly indicating that 69% of ALL American adults favor the repeal of DADT. That figure includes 58% of conservatives and Republicans, 60% of regular Church goers and 77% of moderates.


Apologists say that our President’s hands are tied on DADT until Congress decides to act. That is a very thinly veiled smokescreen. Obama could have issued an Executive Order the day he was sworn in (or any day thereafter) to suspend enforcement of DADT until it was repealed through the legislative process. Instead, 245 careers have been destroyed. Many of those careers destroyed just as the individual service member was within months of retirement, thus losing the retirement benefits they were in the process of getting for their patriotic service.


I take it personally that our President has chosen to use the GLBT community as a punch line. At the recent fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, when asked about keeping his promises, he sarcastically answered “which ones?”. As there were hundreds of protestors outside the venue after Prop 8 was announced earlier in the week, it was very clear “which ones” were being referenced (to be completely forthright, there were other protestors but they were a significant minority to the Prop. 8 protestors).


Even more appalling were his comments at the Correspondent’s Dinner where he joked about his relationship with David Axelrod at the expense of a very valid civil rights issue.


As reported by Lisa Keen on 15 May 2009 in the Bay Area Reporter (emphasis added):

At the May 9 event in Washington, D.C., Obama was four minutes into a 10-minute requisite tongue-in-cheek salute to the freedom of press when he mentioned that he and his chief campaign adviser, David Axelrod, "have been together for a long time."


"I can still remember ... that day that I called Ax so many years ago and said, ’You and I can do wonderful things together,’" said Obama. "And he said to me the same thing that partners all across America are saying to one another right now, ’Let’s go to Iowa and make it official.’"

Lest I be characterized as a single-issue voter, I am also extremely disappointed in the appointment of Timothy Geithner, who it appears is as culpable as the Wall Street executives for our current financial crisis (after having served as the Chairman of the NY branch of the Federal Reserve).


I find the preposterous handling of the Financial/Insurance Industry bailouts while turning our backs on the Auto Worker’s Union in the face of the Auto Industry bailout unacceptable. I can’t wrap my mind around why it was NOT ok to break contracts with Finance/Insurance executives but it was perfectly acceptable to break contracts with blue collar factory workers as a component of the Auto Industry bailout.


The appointments of lobbyists to the Obama Administration are a complete capitulation to Obama’s campaign promise to not hire lobbyists in his administration.


Now, we are being asked to accept the decision to bring the health insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies to the table to craft health care “reform”. There has also been a very dangerous “courting” of those lobbies by virtually refusing to even consider a single-payer option, which is widely supported by the people. Have we learned nothing from Hillary Clinton’s attempts at health care reform over 20 years ago? This approach didn’t work then, it won’t work now and it’s not what the people want.

I still consider myself a Democrat and always will unless there’s ever a viable third party that reflects my personal social values. Unfortunately, our Party’s Platform and the actions of our elected officials are not harmonious. I don’t feel that I can continue to serve our Party as a “spokesman” when I have so many conflicts with our Party’s actions. In fact, I believe that speaking publicly (and using my name) is a violation of Texas Democratic Party Rules.


I love my Party. I have loved the time spent in service to the Party and to our local community. This is, without doubt, one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made and this is also one of the saddest days in my life.


With tremendous respect,





David Greer

"fierce advocate's" final f*ck up:

thanks to O's doj, i'm having a really messed up day.

more later when i've calmed down.

the art of aging: celebrating the authentic aging self

some people chase the fountain of youth with surgery or botox. this couple is embracing their true selves. a beautiful testament to living fully...in the moment.

marriage equality facebook group

if you have a facebook account, please click on the following link to join the "legalize same-sex marriage" group.

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/225862?m=ccd59b48

i will only refer to it as "same sex marriage" when i'm referring to a specific group (like this one). it's time to start framing this cause for what it is...not special rights, but equal rights. that's why i will use the less inflammatory (at least to some who find it easier to support "marriage equality" than something that sounds like we're asking for "special rights".

we have the upper hand in the facebook world. the anti-marriage equality group has 277K members and has raised $3000.00.

the marriage equality group has 336,000 members and raised almost $8,500.00. funds raised through this group will go to the Human Rights Campaign Fund. depending on who you talk to, HRC is either the best thing to ever happen to the glbt community or a real detriment. i think they tend to take a very elitist/exclusionist stance. it's been reported that the HRC met with senior staff in the O administration and told them to "not worry about dadt". sorry, that just sends the wrong message.

if you have an issue with the recipient of the donations (as i do), doesn't necessarily preclude you from joining the group.

the million can march (counter to the teabaggers)

h/t to the blogfather, 'grain, at mock, paper, scissors for bringing this worthwhile endeavor to the attention of his minions, "teh scissorheads".

while the wingnuts are having fun teabagging (clicking teh link is NSFW) on the 4th of july, the progressive blogodrome and our friends will actually be doing something positive to help those less fortunate.

let them have their little party and rant and rave about us dirty socialists all they want. i had rather be a catalyst for positive change than be seen as someone who's eternally grumpy and in need of a good, cleansing, deep colonic.

as noted at the blog site that came up with this idea (there's linkage to the right in the side bar to read all about the million can march), contributions at food banks are at an all-time low. just think how tough things are for YOU. if you're sitting in front of a computer, i'm going to take a giant leap and assume you're not a.) homeless or b.) forced to rely on the kindness of strangers to put food on the table.

think about the types of items that can do the most good...any nonperishable item: canned goods, powdered milk, baby formula/disposable diapers (i learned how critical these items were when i was doing hurricane katrina relief), dried beans. heck, go one further and help a family have an entire meal: a jar of sauce and a package of spaghetti (a great idea from the originator of this plan).

while we're doing good, the teabaggers will be having their little tea paraties all over the country. this is what's happening in dallas...at...get this...SOUTH FORK (i always knew those damn ewings were repoobliCONS).

from the dallas observer:

Because Nothing Screams, "Happy July 4th!" Like Michelle Malkin at Southfork Ranch

By Robert Wilonsky in It's Gettin' All Political Up in This Piece

Just stumbled upon quite the shindig planned for July 4 out at Southfork Ranch -- something called America's Tea Party, which is being put on by the Dallas Tea Party folks (nawww) but features a cross-country list of speakers tentatively scheduled to rally the troops. Here's the roll call thus far:Featured speakers include American hero Scott O'Grady, blogger and best-selling author Michelle Malkin, former Heritage Foundation policy analyst Michael Johns, Center for Immigration Studies Fellow Michael Cutler, Empower Texans CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan, and Texas State Director of Americans For Prosperity Peggy Venable.

so, when you've finished your afternoon festivities, get thee down to your nearest food bank with a bag of vittles...heck, call ahead and ask if you can donate a couple of hours. it feels really good to help those who are down on their luck.

wielding a velvet hammer...

...lawrence o'donnell takes apart "conservatism" on teh mourning joke with joe and mika:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

"sluggahjells" diary at dKos is here.

"Liberals ended slavery, liberals got woman the right to vote, liberals created Social Security, Medicaid and a minimum wage, they wrote the Civil Rights Act, , the Voting Rights Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, they have done all of those things in at every moment, for every one of those things in this country, what did conservatives do, they opposed every one of those things, including your right to vote (pointing at Mika)."

All Scarborough could do is look at the camera, and bring distortions of a narrative which O'Donnell thankfully corrected.

O'Donnell brings up the hypocrisy of Jim DeMint and Scarborough not calling what Bush did in 04 socialism despite jumping on the bandwagon .

Ronald Reagan, he hit hard. Social security distortions, he hit hard. The Republican balancing the budget myth in 95-97 because "they care", he hit hard as well.

This wasn't your usual screamfest when Scarborough usually gets served, because O'Donnell wouldn't play true to the stupid, facetious building up of him being crazy by that joke of the crew, cheerleaded by Mika of course.

now if the rest of the talking bobble heads could just find a dash of o'donnell's hutzpah mojo, we might be changing the course of the dialogue.

is your nose growing...

...or are you just happy to see me.



h/t Joe.MyGod's blog

the knock out punch is delivered at the very end, where the facts are cited. facts; important to those of us fighting for equal civil rights...not so much so for hypocrites like maggie gallagher, pat robertson, et. al.

why can't i be this eloquent?

joan garry hits the nail on the head with her assessment of what's "missing" in her piece at huffpost. unlike joan, however, i'm afraid that "fierce advocate" just doesn't have an empathetic bone in his body when it comes to glbt issues. i hope i'm wrong. time will tell and the clock is ticking...

But I haven't heard evidence of empathy. Yet. And its absence has begun to create an air of suspicion -- a growing sense among bloggers and activists -- that we once again were courted for our votes and our dollars and then promptly left on the back burner. Or maybe not on the stove at all.

We have a right to be impatient. Let's remember. It was not very long ago that the former POTUS stood before the American people and announced that he was pushing for an amendment to the Constitution banning marriage equality. It was not so long ago that we could be charged as criminals in many states for who we love. We may be on TV and even hosting the Tonys but let's be clear. We are second class citizens. We have every right to make noise and to push.

But what we need most of all is a president who illustrates that he cares about us. A president who honors our struggle, honors our plight, honors those among us who have been fighting the good fight. We need a president who can weave a heartfelt narrative that reminds the American people that equality for gay Americans is not simply an issue of law, of right and wrong. But that as members of a global community, we have personal connections and obligations to the people with whom we share this world.

quelle surprise...

...or not.

NEW YORK — "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert has landed the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, where he talks about sex, drugs and his "Idol" experiences.

The 27-year-old singer from San Diego acknowledges in an interview that he's gay, and says it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

"I'm proud of my sexuality," he says. "I embrace it. It's just another part of me.

i'm like, totally, OMG! who knew?

...and he and kris were roomies in "teh mansion" and lambert found him to be "totally my type, except he's straight and has a wife". does it get any more precious than that? i mean, really.

rachel discovers "fierce advocate"...

who knew? well, dumpster readers have known for some time.


in your words as a candidate , "fierce advocate", you had this to say about dadt: "...all that is needed is leadership."

where is your leadership now?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

let's hope someone at 1600 penn. watches rachel, too. only when this becomes a pr nightmare will they pay any attention to us.

thank god for rush holt (d-new jersey) for introducing legislation in the house to overturn dadt. legislation that has more than ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY cosponsors.

note to "fierce advocate" and his advisers; THIS (in a TMP editorial) is what a "fierce advocate" looks like:

	May 8, 2009
	By U.S. Rep. Rush Holt
	This week, our nation's armed forces suffered another casualty--the loss of 1st Lt. Dan Choi, an Iraq war veteran and a member of the New York National Guard. On March 19, on the Rachel Maddow Show, Choi announced he was gay. That triggered the Army to begin the process of separating Choi from the military under the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Choi is an Arabic linguist--exactly the kind of critically-skilled soldier and leader his infantry platoon needs if they deploy to a country in which Arabic is the common language. Bluntly stated, his dismissal from the military--and the dismissal of other gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) servicemembers--will put lives at risk. Our national security is heavily dependent on translators, specialists, and interpreters within the intelligence community, the diplomatic corps, and the military. Prior to September 11, 2001 our intelligence community was at only 30 percent readiness in languages critical to national security. The government revealed after the 9/11 attacks that it had a 123,000-hour backlog of Arabic language recordings waiting to be analyzed. The last thing we should be doing is telling Arabic linguists in the military that they are not needed. I have worked successfully in Congress to pass legislation to require the federal government to invest in the creation of a workforce possessing requisite language skills needed to combat terrorists. We need to produce more, not less, specialists like Dan Choi. I know the President does not support the current discriminatory policy. He stated so plainly in a handwritten note to another Army officer dismissed under the current policy that he inherited --2nd Lt. Sandy Tsao. This is a situation where the President needs the help of Congress in correcting this policy. I am an original cosponsor of a bill (H.R. 1283) that would overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We have 140 cosponsors on this bill at the moment, more than enough to justify moving it expeditiously through the House Committee on Armed Services and to the House floor before the July Fourth holiday. In the meantime, the President could issue an executive order announcing a study of the current policy. During that time, there could be a moratorium on any investigations or prosecutions of LGBT soldiers. Overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not simply about providing truly equal rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. It's about preventing the hemorrhage of critical military talent from an already-overstretched American military engaged in two simultaneous wars. It is about ensuring we don't lose men like Dan Choi who would help our military address a critical need. Ending this misguided policy will strengthen, not weaken, our armed forces. My colleague - the great Civil Rights hero John Lewis - often quotes Martin Luther King in saying that it is always the right time to do the right thing. To ensure that men like Dan Choi can help keep our country safe, now is the time to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

we've become republican lite...

via huffpost:

Conservative House Democrats agreed to a set of health care principles late last week that angered advocates of a overhaul of the health care system.

The Blue Dog Coalition issued a statement that said it would only support the public health care option as a fallback measure that would be triggered sometime down the road if private insurers don't meet a particular set of goals.

The backsliding took advocates of reform by surprise because 20 members of the coalition had previously signed a pledge expressing their support for a public option without a trigger. The statement was written and organized by the reform coalition Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which strongly opposes a trigger and sees it as an industry plot to strangle a public option in the crib.

Blue Dogs, by their charter, need two-thirds of their 51-member caucus to approve a position before it can be officially adopted. With 20 Blue Dogs backing a public option, they would be short several votes if everyone stuck to their pledge in the closed-door meeting.

A senior Blue Dog staffer, however, said that when the coalition first met to discuss the set of principles, they decided to stake out a negotiating position rather than draw a firm line

oh, well...less time spent playing activist within the party structure means more time to advocate without restrictions.

it's official...

i no longer recognize my party.

our platform has become a joke when examined under the microscope of reality.

this is really a sad thing for me. countless hours of volunteering, raising money, supporting candidates, doing gotv work, block walking...and for what?

from ap:

WASHINGTON — Senior House Democrats drafting health care legislation are considering slapping an unspecified financial penalty on anyone who refuses to purchase affordable health insurance, a key committee chairman said Monday.

who defines "affordable"? my partner and i live on disability and retirement income. we have significant financial responsibilities that were incurred prior to disability/retirement. will those be taken into consideration? if any other "social programs'" requirements are taken into account, the answer is NO.

fyi ~ in order to qualify for HIV/AIDS assistance under the "ryan white act", it is a requirement to disclose a partner's income. yeah, you'll know how much i make when i can enter into a civil marriage, receive the same benefits as heterosexual married couples and file a joint tax return.

the numbers are with us...

...where's O, the (apparently) spineless "fierce advocate"?


(clickety clack to supersize)

yeah, yeah...i know i posted about this development earlier, but this graphic is really powerful. look at the internal numbers! particularly amongst church attendees, republicans and self-identified "conservatives".

i *heart* neil patrick harris

what a way to close the tony awards:



now, if we can just get some new musicals written, developed and produced. do we really need to have "guys and dolls" revived for the umpteenth time?

...and i was really appalled at the lack of historic accuracy in the costuming and men's hair in the number from west side story...dammit, if i had to slick back my hair to play chino in university summer repertory, then so do these guys!!!

clean energy petition from MoveOn.org:

fellow dumpsters,

please consider signing this petition and making a contribution to MoveOn.org. they really need our help in holding "fierce advocate's" feet to the fire on more than just glbt issuees!!!

here's the skinny from MoveOn.org:

It's 2009. Democrats have ample majorities in both houses of Congress. President Obama campaigned on the promise to tackle climate change and boost our economy by investing in clean energy.

So why on earth is Congress considering an energy bill that:

• Would weaken current law, repealing President Obama's authority to crack down on dirty power plants,¹ and
• Doesn't actually require the creation of new solar or wind power? (The Union of Concerned Scientists has concluded that the clean energy standards won't make power companies produce more clean energy than is already in the works.)²

Why? Because Big Oil and Coal have teamed up with conservatives in both parties, and they've been successful in weakening the bill.

These are major flaws, but the bill has a lot of really good provisions, too. The key thing is that Congress can still strengthen it—if there's a public outcry. But we don't have much time: Congress is expected to vote on this bill in less than three weeks.

Can you sign this petition to Representative Michael McCaul today? Eighty thousand MoveOn members have already signed. We need to double the number of signatures by Wednesday—that means we need 3 more signatures in New Ulm. MoveOn members will personally deliver this petition to many congressional offices the next day.

click here for the petition linky-dink.

you don't have to live in mike mccaul's (r-clear channel) TX-10 congressional district to play...that's just the way the targeted e-mails come to me.

hey, O, now you're on the verge...

...of being to the right of repoobliCONS.

if O doesn't "do the right thing" by the end of june re: doma, he'll be receiving pink monopoly money from this past contributor. in fact, i'm hoping to make the pink monopoly money idea go viral. can ya' help a brother out?

(emphasis added to magnify our "fierce advocate's" lack of spine)

A new Gallup poll shows that 69 percent of Americans are now in favor of openly gay men and women serving in the military, up from 63 percent five years ago. Support among liberals and Democrats remains high -- around 86 percent and 83 percent respectively -- but the biggest shift in support occurred among conservatives and Republicans. Fifty-eight percent of people who identify as conservatives say they support gays serving in the military, up from 12 points from 46% in 2004. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans support what is essentially a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

ok, O, it's no longer a political hot potato to support "teh gays"...you can come out of your closet now. try it, sir, it's a very liberating experience.

h/t HuffPost

right wing nut...

..."unscrewed" by someone that was in the trenches with our troops:

"we report, you decide"

oh, bill, this is going to leave a mark!

...it was bound to happen

...sorry, but today i have nothing to offer.

it's hot.

i had to put in a "command appearance" at a barbecue that i really didn't want to attend. did i mention it was hot?

i've got a few ideas in the pipeline for future posts but they just don't deserve to be written while i'm in this funky mood.

in the meantime, enjoy these pix of "rex teh wonder pit" and "roxie teh pitty princess". (don't get me started on "breed specific bans"!!!)

friday music gems...UPDATE*

*darn it! why one should always preview posts...i duplicated the embed html for leann rimes and didn't get "cheater cheater" embedded properly. fixed now. to make it up to joey+rory, here's a linky to their site: http://www.joeyandrory.com/

(their version of "free bird" is not to be missed...yeah, that "free bird", as you've never heard it.)


ok, i admit it. i like country music. alot.

we'll start with leann rimes. one of the most amazing "instruments". it's just a shame that she's allowed others to derail her career.

amazing grace:



...and now for the diametric opposite of "amazing grace"...this is joey+rory (a husband/wife duo...i think he's "teh hawt"...and a great song writer).

cheater cheater (yes, it actually got significant radio play...even with the line "where'd you meet that white trash ho"):



...and what fun would country music be without a song about alcoholism and suicide? i've loved allison kraus since she was unknown outside the bluegrass world and brad paisley is one of the most incredible guitarists, regardless of genre.

whisky lullabye: