my gay big toe...

wtf? no, srsly, wtf?



OK state rep, sally kern, poster child for bigotry.

a "bigger threat than islam"?

a "bigger threat than terrorism"?

srsly, ms. kern, if i knew i was wielding that much power i would have already taken over the universe!

and while i'm being "teh gay", may i suggest that liver is not a good lip color for you and you really should consider more than a $9 haircut at sports clips.

now, if you'll excuse me, i have to go cut off my big toe before it takes over my entire body.

i came across this searching for a needle in a haystack...

Labor Chief Deplores Defacing of Gay Pride Posters

it ain't much, but it's all we got folks.

that, and a pretty little speech to go with cocktails and canapes at the whitehouse.

presented without comment

...and still, we wait.

note to "fierce advocate": if we want a party, we'll throw it when we have equal rights

from the hill:
(emphasis added)

President Obama, under fire from some gay and lesbian groups for what they see as slow movement on two of their most important issues, is taking steps to keep that voting bloc in his column.

This week, the president will host an event at the White House "recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments" of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. The event comes just days after Vice President Biden was dispatched to extend an olive branch to the gay community.

dear fierce advocate,

nobody likes a party more than the glbt community. actually, a large segment of our community makes their living throwing parties...event planners, caterers, florists, designers...you know, all the "stereotype" types.

the dnc party last week and tonight's party are not what we're looking for. what we're looking for is RESPECT and DIGNITY. to be treated equally with our straight tax-paying counterparts.

how many "whits" does it take to make a dollar?

diane feinstein: criticism from left on health care "doesn't move me one whit"

Senator Dianne Feinstein has already taken a hammering from Dems and health care reform advocates for casting doubts on the prospects of President Obama’s health care reform efforts. MoveOn, for instance, aired an ad against her in California, demanding she show some leadership and fight harder to get the president’s reform plan passed.

Now Feinstein has hit back at the criticism from the left in an article about lefty groups targeting Dems for waffling on key components of health care reform:

“I do not think this is helpful. It doesn’t move me one whit,” she said. “They are spending a lot of money on something that is not productive.”

That sharply dismissive tone won’t exactly smooth over tensions.

Feinstein’s claim that criticism from the left is “not productive” also raises an important question: What does the White House think of the lefty criticism? Do White House advisers agree with Feinstein, and want the liberal groups to muzzle themselves, or are they tacitly happy about it?

wow, diane. talk about a kick in the teeth to your constituents. you might wanna rethink your public statement and while you're at it, you might have a little conversation about "constituent dismissal" with the "fierce advocate" while you're at it.

a fitting tribute, posted without comment.

justice is served

hope he rots.

Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years In Prison:

NEW YORK — Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives "in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I've created."

all i can say is that it's too bad that the judge that heard this case wasn't the judge presiding over the enron trials.

in honor of the stonewall riots

frank rich, NYTimes:

40 years later, still second class citizens



One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come here to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love!
One man in the name of love
In the name of love!
What more? In the name of love!

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resists
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more? In the name of love!

...nobody like you...there's nobody like you...

Mmm...mmm...mmm...
Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love...

if martin were alive, i know he would be marching with us now.

...same as it ever was...

ah, yet another day goes by and our current commander-in-chief continues acting like his predecessor, all the while maintaining his "change" mandate.

SIGNING STATEMENT:
from the hill:
(emphasis added)

Obama included a five-paragraph signing statement with the bill, including a final paragraph that outlined his objections to at least four areas of the bill.

President George W. Bush was heavily criticized for his use of signing statements, declaring he'd ignore some elements of legislation by invoking presidential prerogative.

EXECUTIVE ORDER:
via huffpost:
(emphasis added)

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

now, remind me "fierce advocate", why you can't issue an executive order to suspend DADT until it's been fully reviewed and overturned...

/crickets.

Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense:

why the insurance and pharma lobbies need to have their seat at the table removed...

...in the words of one that used to reside in the belly of the beast:

I know from personal experience that members of Congress and the public have good reason to question the honesty and trustworthiness of the insurance industry. Insurers make promises they have no intention of keeping, they flout regulations designed to protect consumers, and they make it nearly impossible to understand -- or even to obtain -- information we need. As you hold hearings and discuss legislative proposals over the coming weeks, I encourage you to look very closely at the role for-profit insurance companies play in making our health care system both the most expensive and one of the most dysfunctional in the world.

~ Wendell Potter, former CIGNA executive
in testimony to the Senate Commerce Committe re: Health Care Reform

noisettes ~ never forget you...

ok, i usually reserve friday and/or sunday for music but this one just hit my inbox and i'm doing a happy dance!

Noisettes - Never Forget You
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Explore more music videos.

when will "fierce advocate" realize that protections for GLBT federal employees isn't enough?

first, the "new" benefits that weren't really new (and didn't include the most important benefit of all: health care) and now protection for transgender federal employees.

Though transgender men and women are not believed to make up more than a fraction of a percent of the federal work force, their inclusion in the discrimination guidelines is seen as a breakthrough by transgender and gay rights advocates.

i am the LAST person to buy into the meme, "oh, isn't O brilliant!?!? he's extending all these benefits to federal employees so that all those other glbt folks will have viable cases to take to court to get civil rights based on the 'separate but equal' constitutional amendment."

that said, it looks like that's what he is setting himself up for and it WON'T be pretty.

john aravosis is my hero...and howard dean discovers a "scheduling conflict"

h/t Americablog

i am absolutely convinced if john hadn't been a bull in a china closet on steroids over this asinine, panderfest, it would have gone off without a hitch. this just goes to show us...ALL of US...that we have a voice. john has proven he can be a one-man wrecking crew.

here are some great examples of great blogger journalism/activism:

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/howard-dean-pulls-out-of-dnc-gay.html?dsq=11686656#comment-11686656

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/sldn-invited-lt-col-victor-fehrenbach.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/best-letter-to-obama-on-gay-issues.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/obama-wont-use-executive-power-to-end.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/former-riaa-head-hilary-rosen-wont.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/jennifer-chrisler-and-family-equality.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/white-house-gay-call-participant-what.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/while-white-house-holds-secret-gay.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/sldn-to-join-protesters-outside-dnc-gay.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/white-house-prepares-to-talk-to-gay.html

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/protest-at-second-dnc-gay-fundraiser.html




awesome. just awesome.

wow. the day before "teh big gay dnc fundraiser", former head of the dnc, howard dean, discovers a "conflict".

was it:
a.) time to have the prius serviced?
b.) laundry day?
c.) mow the lawn day?
d.) clean out the fridge day?
e.) pick up the dry cleaning day?
f.) shampoo day?

whatever the reason (and i think we all know the real reason), good for you dr. dean!!!

pam spaulding of pam's house blend and joe over at joe.my.god are also to be commended for keeping this issue in "prime real estate" on their blogs, as well.

kudos for a job well done.

too hot and tired to blog...

yes, today was spent rescuing the okra from the weeds...tomorrow, thurs. & fri. will be black-eyed/purple hull pea rescue days. and it's HOT here. if hell's this hot, i know i don't wanna go!

so, enjoy these pix from late may:



these were taken on may 27, the day i REPLANTED the okra and peas (planted too early the first time to germinate). in less than a month, the peas are past knee-high and the black-eyes are contemplating blooming!!!

EXPAND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964!

The Power Online:
sign the petition



why we fight, the suicide note:



the heart wrenching response, from a brother named "steve":



an educated mind is an open mind. we've been stagnant for 40 years.













THANK YOU, "fierce advocate" for awaking the militant beasts that refuse to be second class citizens any longer. MY time is NOW.

thanks, chris...now would you please speak to "fierce advocate" for us?

h/t Joe.My.God via Pam's House Blend, where you can read a more substantial piece.
(emphasis added by me)

"Public officials aren’t supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it’s important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting with members of the gay and lesbian community from across the state, I had the opportunity to tell them what I’ve learned about marriage, and about equality. While I’ve long been for extending every benefit of marriage to same-sex couples, I have in the past drawn a distinction between a marriage-like status (“civil unions”) and full marriage rights.

"The reason was simple: I was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And as many other Americans have realized as they’ve struggled to reconcile the principle of fairness with the lessons they learned early in life, that’s not an easy thing to overcome. But the fact that I was raised a certain way just isn’t a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore. The Connecticut Supreme Court, of course, has ruled that such a distinction holds no merit under the law. And the Court is right." - Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), posting on his official site that he has reversed his position and now supports full marriage equality for LGBT Americans.

thanks, chuck...

from the AP, via huffpost:
(emphasis added)

Schumer told The Associated Press Sunday night that those efforts have proved frustrating, saying that he and his Democratic colleagues now may have to go it alone.

The co-ops were seen as perhaps the last hope for compromise on the notion of a public health care option, a contentious issue that threatens any remaining prospects of bipartisan support for President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to remake the health care system.

"I don't think I could say with a straight face that this (co-op proposal) is at all close to a nationwide public option," Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday. "Right now, this co-op idea doesn't come close to satisfying anyone who wants a public plan."

"may now have to go it alone". schumer is stating the obvious...unfortunately, "fierce advocate" and the vast majority of dem's on the hill think they're still wandering in the desert. WAKE UP D.C. DEMS. you have a HUGE mandate from the vast majority of americans...it's time to start spending capital! that capital doesn't have an unlimited shelf-life. use it or lose it.

72% in favor of universal health care
70% in favor of repealing DADT

those numbers don't sound anything like a "center right" populous...not even a "center left" populous.

why can't elected democrats get it through their thick skulls! defy the conservative majority. STOP talking about "we must have 60 votes". on that meme, i call BS. if you never force them to filibuster, congressional dems will never have any power.

one failed filibuster and the repoobliCONS would learn their place.

it's about time to replace the dem. donkey with a jellyfish.

texas' state board of education...or...

...why i remain a democrat (as there's no viable choice for real progressives):
(emphasis added)

"The flip side of Obama’s ‘empathy’ is apparent hatred and contempt for white people, traditional families, small business owners, evangelical Christians, conservatives, and everyone else that liberals call the ‘racist, heterosexist, nativist, Christianist, capitalist, homophobic power structure’ in America. In other words, what most of us call normal people. These radical leftists regard folks like you and me and our children as the enemy, and it’s their mission in life to put us in our supposed place, which to them means at the back of the bus. They’re in charge now, and they fully intend to use their power to remake America in their image. If the Senate approves Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, Obama will know that he has carte blanche to escalate his all out war on traditional Americans."

-- Peter Morrison, a member of the Lumberton Independent School District Board of Trustees in Southeast Texas who was appointed to the State Board of Education's social studies curriculum writing teams by board member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, responding to President Obama's appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

note to mr. morrison: members of the SBOE like yourself are why i'm actively supporting a voice of reason. that voice is LORENZO SADUN.

the undelivered speech seen through rose-colored glasses:

the "fierce advocate" in his own words:

"These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/obamas-major-speech-on-lgbt-rights.html

yeah, when monkeys fly out of my a$$.

Swingin' Saturday w/Michael Buble'

Sway:



Feelin' Good:



Jane Monheit & Michael Buble ~ I won't Dance: