Like Sands Through the Hourglass

I haven't disappeared.  Nor have I given up on my blog.  

Life has just gotten busy lately.  

I'm slightly overwhelmed by work.  While it's a blessing to have work to be overwhelmed by, it's still overwhelming.  

Our kitchen renovation is - I hate to repeat the same word, but... - also overwhelming.  And a full time job.  Again, I understand that it's a blessing to be overwhelmed by your renovated kitchen.  I'm aware of that.  But still...

And finally and most importantly, I currently have a few friends going through some difficult times - actually difficult, not the too much work/kitchen renovation variety I'm going through.  I guess I'd rather be there for them than blog.  Maybe there's a selfishness to being an artist that I just don't possess.  That's not to say that I'm not capable of more than my fair share of selfishness.  But there's a certain skill having to do with blinders that I just don't have.  I want to be there, as much as I can, for my friends.  Otherwise, what's the point?

One day, in the hopefully far, far distant future, I will leave this world.  I would love to leave something tangible.  Something human and provocative and so intimate and specific that it reverberates universally.  Something that connects us.

But I'd also love to leave this world having touched those that I love. 

So, considering that time is finite - considering that days are only so long and that choices must be made -  my blogging has suffered. 

Suffered.  But not been surrendered.

More, much more, tomorrow.

Hope

There is a small glimmer of hope in the fight against A.I.D.S.  A recent study found that a vaccine had some effect.  True, those words don't exactly conjure images of rejoicing in the streets.  However, when viewed in light of the fact that in the history of A.I.D.S. research there have been no vaccines produced that can even remotely be called successful, this is an incredible moment.  It seems that no one knows why it worked in some and not in most.  But it opens scientists up to new questions.  Hopefully to more specific and more complex questions.  And hopefully it is the beginning of the path that leads to the total eradication of this horrible disease.  There is hope.

You may recall from a few days ago (or was it yesterday?) a story I mentioned about a gay college student in North Carolina receiving a rather hateful note.  On Wednesday, roughly 400 people gathered to condemn this hateful act.  There is hope.

According to Rep. Steve King (R-IA), gay marriage is "a radical social idea" and "is a purely socialist concept in the final analysis."  This leap in logic is pretty astounding.  Until you realize that, sadly, it's not.  When you read about these people day in and day out you begin to understand how they think.  It's a little bit like being Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs.  I'm pretty sure the logic went like this:  "What will scare the hell out of my constituents?  What can I say that will make no rational sense whatsoever but will strike fear right into the very soul of my listeners?  I know, I'll use the words 'radical' and 'socialist.'"  Because...you know...socialist governments have historically been exemplary in their treatment of gay people (go to this link and scroll down to "state repression").  

He also makes a point of saying that we're pushing the issue of marriage equality because we "want access to public funds and resources."  Well, here's the thing:  Of course we do, Jackass!!!  Of course, when he says it it's scary and ominous.  Why?  Because it implies that we aren't already here, that we don't already pay taxes and that we aren't already part of the public.  The implication is that we'd be wanting something for nothing; that we'd be stealing from "real" Americans.  Maybe it's more David Copperfield than Clarisse Starling.  It's got a sleight of hand feel to it.  Or maybe he and his voting base think that everyone should pay taxes but only those people they like should have access to the services provided by that money.

A 51 year old census worker, substitute teacher and single father was found hung from a tree in Kentucky with the word "fed" written across his chest.  I'm always amazed at the things we are capable of doing to one another.

One of my heros, Barney Frank, testified before the House on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.  His simple, wonderful, brilliant testimony could be called "ENDA for Dummies."  There is hope.

The fight to repeal Prop 8 has begun.  You can read the wording of the proposed amendment to the California Constitution by clicking on this link.  There is hope.

So ACORN had a big scandal and everyone in Washington jumped up and down and said this is unacceptable.  We can't fund pimping and prostitution.  This just won't do!  And they passed the Defund ACORN Act.  Makes sense.  Makes perfect sense.  Except that the Act was passed so hastily that its wording could conceivably take down the entire military-industrial complex.  An article by Jason Linkins also points out that the scope of ACORN's fraud is barely a blip on the radar screen when compared with some of the other fraud being investigated right at this very moment.

There is water on the moon.  There is hope.

More tomorrow.

One Phone Call at a Time

Tonight I made phone calls for HRC on behalf of the Corzine campaign.  Governor Corzine is supportive of equal rights for all New Jerseyans.  That includes my right to marry Rick, my partner of over 11 years.  Chris Christie, his opponent, is very clear that he will support no such legislation.  I am in no way a one issue voter, but this one carries a lot of weight for me.  Do you see me as equal or not?  It's very simple. 

I find making cold calls extremely nerve wracking.  There is a lot of information you need to keep at your fingertips.  And there's a conversational tone that you need to keep at the same time.  And, having gotten my share of calls at home, during dinner, I'm aware that solicitation calls of any kind might not be met with an open mind.  Suffice it to say, I don't much like doing it.  But it's important work.  And a beer helped calm my nerves.  

I spent a few hours finding out where people are in terms of their vote and if they'd be willing to volunteer.  I noticed that a lot of people are extremely busy at work and simply don't have time to help out.  Apparently the only people in the country right now who have work are the people one asks to volunteer.  Interesting.  But that's neither here nor there.  Doing something feels good.  Even something small.  Every little bit helps.  

These are some of the things I kept in mind tonight as I was going through my lists, making calls and hoping to change the world - one phone call at a time:

Annise Parker, a Houston mayoral candidate and out lesbian, had to contend with an email sent out by her opponent.  Here is a sample of some of the words used in that email:  "lifestyle," "role model," "Bible," "lifestyle," "scripture," "lifestyle," "God."

Today I came across this recycled add - literally - from Prop 8.  This time it's being used for Question 1 in Maine.  The gist of the ad?  Allowing marriage equality to continue in Maine will destroy Maine's children.  And by destroy I mean turn them gay.  The defenders of inequality do seem fond of going back to that well again and again and again.  And once again the argument is based on the idea that all people (children) are straight until they are taught (recruited) to be gay.  Taken to its conclusion, if we stop "teaching" kids that there are gay people in the world, then gay people will cease to exist, which is really the point of all of these campaigns.  

Now, does that bear any relation to anyone's sexual awakening or understanding?  Anyone?  Let me know.

ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act - an act that would protect against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity) had its first hearing in the House today.  Finally!  Here are some of the words and expressions used on thelastcrusade.org to describe this long overdue piece of legislation:    "perversity," "hell," "designed to strip all American business owners of their First Amendment rights," "forced," "deviant," "morality."  To be fair, most of the comments below the blog are in favor of equal rights for the LGBT community.  The way I see it, if the people reading thelastcrusade.org are in favor of marriage equality and ENDA, maybe things aren't so bad after all!

But then I saw these two hateful videos of Reverend Harry Jackson, Jr. speaking at the Values Voters Summit last weekend.  As with many things I post, there's too much to say.  I would love to say that he's not worth my time, but he awakens people's fears.  And I find that very much worth my time.  Spreading hate on the wings of fear is dangerous.  Listen to his words and the crowd's reaction.  It is horrific.

In South Africa, a lesbian football star was gang raped, brutally stabbed numerous times (which resulted in her death), dragged "naked towards a stream and dumped."   While some claim that the attack was not motivated by her sexuality, activists claim that it was a "corrective rape," something not uncommon in South Africa.  One of the men who took part in the attack will be going to jail for life.

Deviant.  God.  Bible. Perversity.  Hell.

In other news, Qaddafi stood up in front of the UN...alright, he really isn't worth my time.  He's an insane, brutal, murderous man - who stood in front of the UN and complained about how they haven't sanctioned or investigated insane, brutal, murderous men.

And finally, Obama is making a lot of headlines.  He's on a lot of talk shows.  He's everywhere discussing everything.  Or maybe not.  His education reform seems to be on the dl.  If doing this quietly is what it takes to get it done, then do it quietly Mr. President.  Wait.  Maybe I shouldn't be posting that article here.  

More tomorrow.

No Religion. No God.

Forgive me for not writing yesterday.  When they tell you that gutting your kitchen is "inconvenient," they're not kidding.  Of course it's difficult to whine about spending a lot of money on a brand new kitchen.  I'm sure I'm going to.  But I know that I shouldn't.

So, today...

The devil makes you gay.  If you have faith you can "overcome" same-sex attraction.  Through faith and prayer, you too can be made "normal."  Being gay is not in the DNA.  And the APA was wrong when it removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973.  That's pretty much what Elder Bruce Hafen, a member of LDS, told the 19th annual conference of Evergreen International, "a nonprofit group that helps Mormons 'overcome homosexual behavior' and 'diminish same-sex attraction.'"  Historically, faith and science have been at odds with one another.  Adversarial.  And yet here is Bruce Hafen bringing them together.  If you hate enough, you can overcome anything.  Facts.  Reason.  Logic.  Science.  Congratulations Bruce, for holding true to your prejudiced convictions in spite of any and all evidence!  

A gay college student in North Carolina had a note delivered to him via a rock through his window.  It read:  "You don't deserve life like the rest of the world. It's bad enough with out all the gay crap pulling people down. It's sick, unnatural, and death is almost too good for you. Almost."

Jan Brewer, Janet Napolitano's replacement as the Governor of Arizona, believes "that God has placed me in this powerful position of Arizona's governor to help guide our state through the difficulties that we are currently facing."

She has recently rescinded the domestic partnership benefits that then Governor Napolitano made a reality for state employees in Arizona.  Was it really fiscal responsibility that made her do it?  Or was it God?  Or was it a combination - fiscal responsibility paid for by treating Arizona's gay state workers as second class citizens because God told her that gays don't deserve equality.

As we fight for the right to marry, some must now fight for the right to divorce.  It seems that we just can't win.

I don't even have a comment for what Tom Coburn's (R-Oklahoma) Chief of Staff said at the Values Voters Summit last weekend.  There's just too much to say and it would take too much energy.

John Stewart of the Iowa Family Policy Center wonders why infertile couples, older couples, or couples who just don't want to have children would want to get married.  I agree.  It would be so silly to want all those laws and protections and responsibilities when you could just be roommates (wait, should unmarried couples live together?).  It would be so silly to stand up in front of friends and relatives and declare your love and commitment to one another if there aren't going to be any children involved.  What if you want children when you get married, but then change your mind?  Does the marriage dissolve?  Questions to ponder.

Ninety-two percent of Iowans report that marriage equality has brought "no real change to their lives."  That said, forty percent say they would vote for a constitutional amendment to ban it.  Now that's interesting.  It doesn't affect me, but I don't want you to be able to do it.  

I'm still waiting - and I imagine that I will be waiting for a very long time - for someone to give me one reason why my life is abhorrent or why I'm currently forced to fight for my equal rights as an American without using religion or God.  One reason.  No religion.  No God.  And just not using the words doesn't count.  If the argument is predicated on religion or God, the reason is disqualified.  No religion.  No God.  Go...

In fun news - no, no Michele Bachmann today, sorry - the brilliant Taylor Branch (author of the compulsively readable, exhaustive, and, oh yeah, Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy America in the King Years) interviewed President Clinton 79 times during his presidency.  Those conversations were so secret that Clinton told almost no one about them and kept the recordings (all of the interviews were taped) in the back of his sock drawer.  They were extremely hush-hush.  Until now!

Also in fun news, what does your Facebook page say about you?  Is there anything you're keeping secret?  Think again.  And no, it's not hackers that can break into your account.  It's psychologists who can figure out all kinds of information about you just by looking at your peeps.  Big brother is watching.  Or at least inferring.  

More tomorrow.

 

Please Sir, May I Have Some More?

Alright, we're going to do this quickly:

Ahmadinejad still hates Israel, still thinks the Holocaust is like a unicorn and is still in power.  

Do you have gay hair?  I do.  I worry about the implications for my husband, who's bald.

Roughly three to five percent of the U.S. population identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.  Yet roughly 20-40% of our homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.  

I wonder why that is?

Could it have something to do with the Values Voters Summit hosted by the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. with speakers like NOM's leader, that fearless defender of inequality, Maggie Gallagher?

If an angel gets its wings every time a bell rings, I wonder if a parent kicks a gay child out of their house every time Maggie Gallagher opens her mouth.

Opponents of President Obama's health care reform often speak of "rationing health care."  That sounds horrific, no?  What if I need something and some government bureaucrat tells me that I can't get it?  Scary.  How about this:  what if I can't afford or qualify for health insurance which ultimately rules out any hope I have of accessing quality health care?  What if?  Well, it's likely that I'd die.  A study shows that 45,000 people die - DIE - each year - EACH YEAR - from lack of access to affordable health care.  I guess that when the opposition speaks of the fear of rationed health care - which, not for nothing, no one has suggested - the fear they speak of is for themselves.  They don't seem to mind that it has already been rationed for millions of others.

An incredible American photographer, the once derided Robert Frank, is having a major new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Propublica.org brings us the story of Triple Canopy, the private security contractor that replaced the now infamous Blackwater.  The problem?  Their scandal is at least equal to any of Blackwater's scandals.  For example:

Company employees told federal investigators that Triple Canopy swapped booze for weapons and supplies from the U.S. military. They said the company bought guns and other arms on the black market in Iraq. Some worried that the money was flowing into the hands of insurgents, records show.

I hate to be redundant, but just to make this perfectly clear, there are people in this country who are opposed to their tax money going towards someone else's health insurance, but not towards the funding of guns that will be aimed at our very own servicemembers.  I know I'm prone to exaggeration - to sarcastic flourishes that I find funny - so don't take my word for it:

"We're spending a lot of money on these rifles, millions of dollars -- where do you think that money is going to?” Ronald Boline, a former Triple Canopy manager, said in a lawsuit depositionvideotaped in June 2007. “Who are we supporting in doing that? We're supporting people who are trying to kill Americans is the logical conclusion."

I don't know about you, but I feel safer.

Bill O'Reilly is deeply concerned that someone might be teaching children not to bully other children who are perceived as gay.  I can understand that.  As a parent you don't want all the hard work and energy you've put into teaching your child to hate in the name of religion undone by some teacher.

There's so much more to talk about tonight.  I wish I had more time.  But I have to wrap it up.  So I'll leave you with my favorite person, Michele Bachmann.  She's not only concerned that Obama is going to ration our health care, she's concerned that Obama is going to ration our food.  This woman works in the Congress of the United States of America.  Surely if she can get there I can get another job on Broadway, no?

More tomorrow.

Racism: All Black & White?

Why does this country recoil from subtlety?  

Is it because we aren't capable of parsing shades of thought?  Is it because our attention spans are too short to take in layers of different perspective?  Is it just easier to digest black and white, yes and no, right and wrong as we're texting and running and working and calling and shopping than to sit down and understand something that maybe isn't quite so obvious or broad?  Is it that CNN and FOX have been feeding us sound bytes like sugary cereal in an effort to get to the next commercial for so long that we've lost the ability to deal with complex issues?  

A scary thought considering the times we live in. 

I don't know the answer to these questions.  

But I do know that what Jimmy Carter said was this:  "...an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity towards President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man."  That, to me, is a relatively measured statement.  At no point does he say that any and all criticism of the president or his policies is based on the color of his skin.  And yet that's exactly what has been divined from his statement.  That is what has been repeated and repeated and debated.  That is what is now considered truth.  

That's all the ammunition FOX needs to martyr themselves on the cross of victimization.  People like Bill O'Reilly, who believe that the idea of the existence of racism is ridiculous, because we don't have a race issue in this country, are now jumping up and down claiming that Jimmy Carter said that to criticize Obama is to be racist.  To them, racism is not a reality, it's a political tool used at the president's behest to insulate him from criticism.  (Never mind the reality that he has almost compulsively distanced himself from the issue of race even when it was staring him in the face.  The one notable exception being his speech after the Revered Wright upheaval.)  In turn, it permits the Bill O'Reillys and Glenn Becks of the world to be the fighting underdogs.  The strong, noble truth tellers unafraid to be branded "racist."  The problem is, they've cast themselves in these roles based on either willful or accidental misunderstanding of the facts.  Jimmy Carter never said that criticizing the president always comes from a racist place.  That's simply not what he said.

You might agree with Jimmy Carter.  You might disagree with Jimmy Carter.  But at least base your opinion on fact.  Not overblown, exaggerated, convenient fiction.

It also seems that Joe Wilson yelling "You lie" was racist.  Again, what has gotten lost in that debacle is that it's not what he yelled, it was that he felt that he could.  Many presidents have stood in front of that body and in front of the nation and said all sorts of things.  Sometimes to applause.  Sometimes to silence.  But never to heckling.  It's simply not done.  

If we wish to discuss racism in this country, we must grow up and delve headfirst into that world of subtlety.  Sometimes it's not what we say or do, it's why we say or do it.  Joe Wilson felt that he could heckle the President of the United States in a setting that no one has ever heckled the President of the United States before.  At least not since the Age of Television began.  The question must be asked, why did he think that this course of action would be acceptable?  I don't know what was in his head.  After doing some research on him, I'm guessing not much.  But it certainly does seem that for some reason he didn't feel it necessary to forward the respect to President Obama that has been forwarded to every other president.  

There is one very simple question I'd like to ask him:  Why?

More tomorrow.

How Do I Love South Orange, Let Me Count the Ways

I love South Orange, N.J.!!!  I've loved it since we first came out here.  I love the people.  I love that our block parties bring together different kinds of people in different lines of work in different types of families.  I love that we have never once been the "gay couple."  We have always just been us.  And now, if it's possible, I love South Orange even more.  South Orange has passed a resolution which endorses the passage of a marriage equality bill in New Jersey.  The resolution is only symbolic, but for those of us who live here, it speaks volumes.  It makes the property taxes almost bearable.

All those horrific stories you've heard about insurance companies?  It turns out they're true!  Dropping an HIV positive teenager.  Dropping someone in the middle of chemo.  Health insurance companies giving bonuses to employees who rescind coverage.  I know, it's not news.  We all know these things happen, right?  But sometimes I think it's important to be reminded of the cost of cost before life.

Six months ago, the Obama administration nominated Tom Perez to head up the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, a division that was gutted, decimated by politics and obsessed with the idea of "reverse discrimination" during W's presidency.  What's the hold up, you might wonder?  Well, the GOP members of the Senate think Mr. Perez might just be very good at and extremely well qualified for his proposed job.

Meanwhile, the perpetually hateful, compulsively misleading and terminally bigoted Family Research Council has planned its annual summit to convene this weekend in Washington, D.C.  Not much of a story there, really.  I am, however, guessing that their motto "Defending Faith, Family & Freedom" really means Defending OUR Faith, OUR Families & OUR Freedom since it's pretty clear that few, if any, Jews will be in attendance at their fantastic, venom filled summit during Rosh Hoshanah.

More tomorrow.

What's the Strangest Place Mr. Sulu Has Ever Made Whoopie?

I've enjoyed how I haven't heard one word from the "liberal elite" media regarding the Respect for Marriage Act that was introduced yesterday.  Not one word.  Have you?  If you have, let me know. 

It seems that even without the media, the righteous defenders of inequality are already mobilizing to kill this bill.  The American Family Association sent out this email to 2.5 million people today.  These people fascinate me.  First of all, they don't feel compelled to manipulate the truth to fit their needs.  Because they don't actually deal in any kind of anything that could remotely be considered truth.  They make up facts that work on our animal instinct to be scared of the other.  Clearly, they are very good at what they do.  But in the long run the truth wins out.  It may not be flashy.  It may not be quick or glamourous.  But the truth always wins.  And secondly, does anyone else ever wonder why these people have chosen homosexuality as their focal point?  One might call it obsessive.  Of all the things that go on in the world on a daily basis, why white knuckle this one issue?  If you understand it, let me know.  Honestly, it confounds me.

In The Huffington Post, Rep.  Earl Blumenauer steps up and admits to the horrific mistake he made when he voted for DOMA in 1996.  It takes a strong, dignified person to admit wrongdoing.  My hat is off to Rep. Blumenauer.

Rep. Murphy of Pennsylvania, a veteran and a straight man who's one of the 166 co-sponsors of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, the bill that would repeal DADT, says that the bill might have hearings in the House as early as winter of 2010.

And in Ohio - Ohio? - yes, Ohio - a bill that would prevent employment or housing discrimination based on sexual orientation passed the House.  Time will tell if this bill gets past the Senate.  In the meantime, GOhio!!!

All this good news.  It means that we are moving forward.  And it means that the other side is going to continue to squeal louder and louder.  Just look at what's going on up in Maine.  My favorite words are being tossed about:  children, protect, traditional.  The lies are piling up.  Luckily, Protect Maine Equality seems to be doing a great job fighting back.  By the way, they need money.  Feel free to click on the link to learn about them and to donate.

Last week the Eagle in Atlanta was raided.  Cries of homophobia and civil rights infringement were rampant in the gay blogosphere.  I held my tongue, feeling that all of the facts had not been brought to light.  That still may be the case, but it's looking worse and worse for the Atlanta police department.  Today they released the complaints filed against the officers from many of the bar patrons and employees who were present that night.  There are two sides to every story, and I look forward to hearing the defense of some of the things that occurred in the bar that night.

Under the heading Things That I'm Fascinated By But Don't Fully Understand, scientists found a planet with a solid structure.  Corot-7B's (really, they need to come up with better names) discovery is "important...because Corot-7b is the first exoplanet — a planet beyond our solar system — orbiting another star that has been found to have the sort of solid structure that might harbour living things."  Cool.

And finally, Sulu and his partner (excuse me, husband), Brad Altman, will be the first gay couple ever on - wait for it - The Newlywed Game.  Of course they've been together for 22 years, but have only recently gotten married.  What took so long?

More tomorrow.

A Quickie

Just as The Advocate promised, The Respect for Marriage Act was introduced in the House today.  This bill, if passed, would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.  It seems that the bill is going to lay dormant for a while, but it's a start!

Just for fun, watch this nearly ten minute clip of the Tea Bagger (Tea Bagging?) protest that took place in Washington, D.C. on September 12.  These people literally don't have any idea what they're protesting.  And it's scary.  Because their anger is real, basically unhinged, but their facts are muddled.  At best.

Anger and fear are the easiest emotions to stir.  And the Republicans do it with aplomb.  I wonder if they ever worry about what they're unleashing.  I wonder if they ever feel the weighty responsibility of that First Amendment.  Judging from what I can stand to watch of Fox News, I'm guessing no.  John Avlon of The Daily Beast has a lot to say about this.

And finally (just a quickie tonight), two books that I'll be running out to buy this weekend:  Jon Krakauer (author of the riveting Under the Banner of Heaven) has written a biography of Pat Tillman (Where Men Win Glory:  A Biography of Pat Tillman), a man who, after 9/11, followed his sense of duty, left his job with the N.F.L. and joined the Army.  He was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.   It is easy to think that we already know Pat Tillman.  From his vocation to his decision to join the Army to his treatment by the media and right down to his looks, he seems to fit easily into a jock/pro-war/conservative box.  Apparently that was not the case.  Not the case at all.

Also of interest for old school liberals like myself, Teddy Kennedy's memoir True Compass.

I can't wait for the weekend to curl up and read!

More tomorrow.

And On the Seventh Day, Oprah Rested

A member of Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is thinking about quitting.  It seems his Faith isn't being considered enough when it comes time to make policy decisions.  Is it just me?  Am I the only one still horrified that there is such a thing as the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships?  Am I the only one who's happy that the president doesn't appear to be paying too much attention to members of the clergy when formulating policy?

Maureen Dowd, with whom I often disagree, seems to have hit the nail on the head in her NY Times article, Boy, Oh, Boy.  I'm not fond of the knee jerk reaction of calling everything racist.  Or even homophobic.  Believe it or not, there are a lot of stories I come across everyday that I don't post here, because all of the facts haven't presented themselves yet.  I learned a big lesson about myself during the Duke Lacrosse scandal.  I had no doubt that those guys did something wrong.  I rushed instantly to judgement.  And I was wrong.  Point blank.  Now I tend to be more circumspect before using such powerful words.  But from the outrage at Obama speaking to our children to "You lie;"  from the cavalier way people carried guns to town hall meetings where he was present to Glenn Beck's paranoid, yet creative, rant about Obama's oligarhy, you have to wonder:  is it simply because some people just can't forward the respect that comes with the office because the man occupying it is black?  It seems that some people just can't see him as the president.  It's becoming more and more clear.  It's scary.

Over at The Huffington Post, Lincoln Mitchell is wondering why there is such a stunning silence from the Republican leadership with regards to the reprehensible behavior by the far right wing of the party.  

Even David Frum, "a conservative author and speechwriter for President George W. Bush" is deeply concerned that the inmates have taken over the asylum. 

The torture and murder of gay Iraqis has gone high tech.  Those who wish to kill gay men, and, less frequently, women, have discovered that the internet is a fantastic tool in the hunting, torturing and killing of gay people.  Apparently this violence "against gays started in the aftermath of the invasion in 2003."  Not for nothing, aren't we supposed to be protecting people over there?

D.C. may be getting marriage equality in the not too distant future.  I literally can not wait to hear what that "moral politician" Marion Barry has to say about this.  

And now for my favorite quote of the day.  Oprah Winfrey on Obama:   "I wanted him elected, and I think I did that."  Is there another way to understand that quote that I'm just not seeing?

More tomorrow.

Silence is Golden

Forgive me.  For I have sinned.

It's been two days since my last blog.

I feel like I've been gone for a year.

Between our kitchen and a dear friend who's currently in the hospital, there just haven't been enough hours in the day.

But here I am.  Back on this perfect fall Sunday.

The Advocate claims that this coming Tuesday, September 15, a bill calling for the full repeal of DOMA will be announced.  Look for the press conference at 11am.  Barney Frank has said that he is not in favor of the legislation.  He seems to think that this is a battle that can't be won.  Yet.

Under the heading Better Late Than Never, "Gordon Brown issued an unequivocal apology last night on behalf of the government to Alan Turing, the second world war codebreaker who took his own life 55 years ago after being sentenced to chemical castration for being gay."

Obama is considering sending more troops to Afghanistan.  Could someone please explain to me how sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan is change.  Change, to me, suggests making different choices.  Not enlarging the same ones.  We hated the Iraq war under W.  Why do we seem to like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars under Obama?  Who knows, maybe with a Democrat in the White House pushing the war, the Democrats in Congress will feel free to vote against it.  Go figure.

A gay man was found strangled in Jamaica.  The police think it might have been a hate crime.  On his body they found a note that read, “This is what will happen to ALL gays.”  

A gay man was found beaten in Florida.  The cause of the attack?  He was gay.

In case you were wondering if the U.S. poverty rate hit an 11 year high in '08, let me solve that riddle for you.  It did.

Are you interested in learning more about "protecting marriage?"  Well look no further, you can start by reading the 2010 CA Marriage Protection Act, which seeks to outlaw divorce.  Makes sense, no?  

The WSJ explains just how costly it will be when NYC winds up under water.  Fantastic.

Bob Dole explains that the only reason he was against health care reform during the Clinton administration was because he thought it would hurt him politically.  He's now in favor of health care reform.  Does anyone give a rat's ass about us?

And finally, I didn't blog on the 11th.  That was a conscious decision.  I'm not sure that I have anything new to add.  I'm not sure that I have the words to illuminate that day.  So I did something I rarely do, and shut my mouth.  

Sometimes I think silence is best.

Public Option, Or No Public Option. That is the Question.

The first thing I'd like to mention about the president's speech is this:  when the president addresses Congress, the Speaker and the Vice President are staring at the back of his head.  For the sake of the camera, they really never look down or away.  But they are sitting directly behind him.  They are the worst seats in the House.  Literally.  I'm always amazed that they can maintain an air of interest when they are really just staring at the back of his ears.

But I digress.  

Yes, our president is probably one of the best speakers, if not the best speaker, any of us will hear in our lifetimes.  He has a gift.  It is undeniable.  And I was transfixed watching him last night.  Whenever he speaks I want to live in the world he's creating.  That's how he won.  

Roughly eight months into his term, I wonder if he can get us there.  I have been deeply disappointed in him with regards to his dealings with the gay community.  And I was deeply disappointed that he allowed the health care debate to be dictated by people carrying "Get Your Guv'mint Hands Off My Medicare" signs.  Thankfully he showed up last night with an incredible speech.  I hope his speech was enough to stanch the bleeding.  I hope his arrival on the scene wasn't too late.

The most interesting aspect of last night's speech was just how brilliantly he played both sides of the fence with regards to the politically dreaded public option.  He spoke of how it is necessary in order to promote competition.  How it is incredibly important in order to bring costs down and change some of the policies that have been holding the American public hostage for generations.  

He also spoke of how it is just one item on a laundry list of reforms, which had the effect of making the public option less important.  

This way, his political gamble is lessened.  This way, no matter what happens to the public option, he can claim himself a winner in heath care reform, which will be necessary when he runs for re-election.

What he left out was this: he failed to mention where the public option stands on the list of reform priorities.  There are many people who think that it is number one, myself included.  It is the only way to give the other reforms teeth.  Otherwise, this will simply have been a summer when we got to see how easily people can come unhinged when plied with questionable facts and a heavy dose of fear.  But we will wind up with a health care system not dramatically altered from the one we have right now.

I also found the end of his speech interesting: 

I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road - to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.

But that's not what the moment calls for. That's not what we came here to do.  We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it's hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history's test.

Because that is who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.

I know that he was talking about health care reform, but I heard it in terms of the LGBT fight for civil equality, an area where he has frequently "defer[red] reform."  Indeed, the fearless leadership that he refers to here is what has been so remarkably frustrating about his presidency.  He has made great speeches, but in practice he has been timid.  At best.   I would like to send this part of the speech back to him and tell him that indeed it is time.  Indeed it is not appropriate to "kick the can further down the road."  I want to call him and say, "You 'can act even when it's hard.'"  I want to tell him to take the lead, to no longer grant the misinformed and fearful the power to shape the debate, much like he did last night.  I want to tell him that it is time.  It is time for us to be given our full rights in all civil matters under the law and it is time for him to "meet history's test" by doing everything in his power to ensure that that happens.  

More tomorrow.