Politics: February 2007
An alternate legislative prayer
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 28, 2007 | 7:30 AM |I haven't checked recently to see where the Indiana ACLU's case against former Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma on legislative prayer is in the appeals process. However, the current debate over whether or not SJR-7 should be become part of...Read More
Bait and switch
Filed by Bil Browning | February 27, 2007 | 7:57 PM |Senator Brandt Hershman's Senate Bill 65 has passed the Senate. You know how they sometime name bills after dead children or fancy acronyms? Maybe they can call this one the "What domestic violence issue?" bill. Remember, Hershman keeps claiming that...Read More
Cleaning out the files - more non-SJR-7 diversion (almost)
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 27, 2007 | 11:15 AM |One thing I've discovered since becoming a contributor to this site, and searching the Internet for links or other material to support or embellish my offerings, is that I've managed to pick up some odds and ends that don't quite...Read More
Cleaning out the files - more non-SJR-7 diversion (almost)
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 27, 2007 | 11:15 AM |One thing I've discovered since becoming a contributor to this site, and searching the Internet for links or other material to support or embellish my offerings, is that I've managed to pick up some odds and ends that don't quite...Read More
RiShawn Biddle nails it
Filed by Bil Browning | February 27, 2007 | 11:14 AM |Since Senator Jeff Drozda's amendment forbidding gays and lesbians from adopting died yesterday, I'm a little late in pointing out this blog post on Expresso. But you know, some things are so good there's no expiration date. RiShawn has taken...Read More
Drozda: 0 - Equality: 1
Filed by Bil Browning | February 27, 2007 | 10:29 AM |You'll remember from my Statehouse Roundup post that one of the issues the LGBT community faced this legislative session was Republican Senator Jeff Drozda's amendment to an adoption bill that would have forbid courts from allowing otherwise qualified individuals to...Read More
SB289 - a stealth companion of SJR-7?
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 26, 2007 | 7:28 AM |We all know how proponents and opponents of SJR-7 are arguing over whether the text of that proposed "Marriage" amendment is crystal-clear or river-bottom muddy, what it means and what it doesn't. It now seems that a companion piece of...Read More
Indiana Statehouse roundup
Filed by Bil Browning | February 25, 2007 | 10:02 PM |It has been a busy and chaotic week over here at our house, so I appreciate the other contributors picking up and posting all week to cover for my lack of posts. One thing I wanted to make sure made...Read More
A short "time out" from SJR-7 - a 92 county perspective
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 25, 2007 | 7:48 AM |As you know many, if not most, of my posts have been on the subject of SJR-7. And I need a little break on a Sunday morning. So indulge me with a little diversion as I tell you about a...Read More
My objection over-ruled.....by me
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 24, 2007 | 8:28 AM |Yesterday I took issue with something in an item by Thomas Nolan, a Purdue student writing in the Purdue Exponent, appeared to imply about SJR-7 being unconstitutional. Fellow contributor Alex Blaze posted a comment saying he didn't think that was...Read More
So many thoughts...
Filed by Julien A. Sharp | February 23, 2007 | 2:33 PM |...so little time. I am preparing for my FIRST computer-free vacation with my beloved since July 2004. I have promised to leave said laptop at home (and as a freelance writer this is very hard to do!). We are even...Read More
Would SJR-7 be constitutional? yes, but......
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 23, 2007 | 7:19 AM |Yesterday Bil posted and quoted extensively from an item written in the Purdue Exponent by Thomas Nolan, a sophomore in the School of Mechanical Engineering. I applaud and agree with Nolan's opposition to SJR-7 as being repugnant to the very...Read More
Read the Fine Print rally a success
Filed by Bil Browning | February 19, 2007 | 5:50 PM |Today's "Read the Fine Print" rally at the Statehouse was a success, I think. About 500-600 people gathered at the Statehouse rotunda to demand that Indiana's LGBT citizens get the same rights as other Hoosiers. Indiana Equality and HRC sponsored...Read More
Your Responsibility to Rally
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 18, 2007 | 11:00 PM |Tomorrow, Monday, at 1:00 pm, the glbt citizens of Indiana and our allies will Rally at the Statehouse in the North Rotunda against a right wing attack on the fundamental Constitutional guarantee that all citizens have to equal protection of...Read More
So Now They're After Carl Brizzi
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 18, 2007 | 2:31 PM |You know the crowd. You've got Eric Miller of Advance America, who ran for Governor of Indiana against Mitch Daniels in 2004 and lost the Republican Primary by an overwhelming margin. Miller, who was divorced for decades and living as...Read More
The Goebbels Experiment
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 17, 2007 | 5:06 PM |A Jewish community of generally European descent in Indiana has united in opposition to the leadership of an aggression perpetrated by some Hoosiers of Germanic name.... Brandt Hershman, James Bopp, Eric Miller, Brian Bosma, Jeff Drozda.... who claim virtue over a minority, and are starting by amending the Constitution so that it doesn't cover gays, part of their campaign also to deny benefits to domestic partners at our universities. We're hoping another Hoosier of Germanic name.. Bauer... will serve as a check on this indecent aggression. Maybe he will, but alas there is no reason to be optimistic. You think you are only a spectator, and not an active participant complicit in a monstrous outcome, which your silence makes possible. The Jewish community isn't silent. They've seen this movie before. They know it doesn't end well.Read More
100% Badass Queer People
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 17, 2007 | 3:48 PM |Rep. Barney Frank's speech on the non-binding anti-escalation resolution: Gosh, this feels weird, but h/t to kos....Read More
Connect the dots
Filed by Bil Browning | February 16, 2007 | 9:15 PM |Let's take a closer look at Brandt Hershman - author of SJR-7 and chief proponent. Good old Brandt has realized that he's no longer able to whip folks into a fury with the gay boogieman. Hoosiers point out that a...Read More
Conservatives can't tell jokes
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 16, 2007 | 2:44 PM |And aren't they always calling us "humorless liberals"? Here's a bit from the new conservative satire show on Fox News, 1/2 Hour News Hour (man, even the title's lame): I guess they couldn't even get a studio audience to laugh...Read More
Compare and contrast
Filed by Bil Browning | February 16, 2007 | 2:22 PM |I thought I'd share two interesting examples of the differences between some state senators. First the e-mail Sen. Glenn Howard is sending out to his constituents who wrote him about SJR-7: Dear Hoosier, Thank you for writing to express your...Read More
Disappointed, but not surprised...
Filed by Julien A. Sharp | February 16, 2007 | 10:18 AM |Please note that this post, and its opinions, are wholly those of the author of this post, and were not written at the request of, nor as the result of any interview with, either of the bloggers about which...Read More
Anti-Defamation League testimony
Filed by Bil Browning | February 15, 2007 | 7:16 PM |At yesterday's hearing on the hate crimes bill, several individuals testified about the importance of passing the bill. Testifying were: Carl Brizzi (Marion County Prosecutor)Earl Morgan (Director, Indianapolis Department of Public Safety)Abigail Seif, (Anti-Defamation League, Chicago office)Cornell Burris (President, Greater...Read More
Blog Wars: Indy Style
Filed by Jerame Davis | February 15, 2007 | 3:05 PM |This is too funny to leave alone... It seems that Jennifer Wagner of Taking Down Words (and former bilerico.com contributor) and Matt Tully of the Indy Star (and his own semi-blog) are having a bit of a blog war. Wednesday,...Read More
The Big Lie III: "Terms of Art" and other Social Conservative Red Herrings
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 15, 2007 | 6:55 AM |Hoosier social conservatives have called in their out-of-state hired guns, this one in the person of Chris Stovall, an attorney out of Arizona, who publishes in this morning's Indianapolis Star. (Arizona, incidentally, land of Goldwater western conservatives, voted down their...Read More
Hate Crimes Bill Passes Out of Committee on Bipartisan Vote
Filed by Jerame Davis | February 14, 2007 | 3:59 PM |HB1459, the "Bias (Hate) Crimes" bill passed out of the Courts and Criminal code committee in the Indiana House of Representatives 9-1 on a bipartisan vote. Two representatives, John Ulmer (R - Elkhart) and Vern Tincher (D - Riley) did...Read More
Just in: Queer people less honorable than criminals
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 14, 2007 | 2:12 PM |Check out this NY Times article: The number of waivers granted to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds has grown about 65 percent in the last three years, increasing to 8,129 in 2006 from 4,918 in 2003, Department of Defense records...Read More
The Big Lie II
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 14, 2007 | 6:00 AM |I think it's important for the media to understand the conflation of two strategies at work among Republicans, business interests, and academic interests in the legislature, whether friend or foe. As educated press rooms, editorial boards, reporters and blogs around...Read More
Did I shovel the drive-way this afternoon?
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 13, 2007 | 3:43 PM |The snow is piling up here in Indiana and quite a few of the schools are closed. So, instead of being locked in my house, I did what every respectable ex-urban does when it snows: I shoveled the drive-way. The...Read More
DNC issues continue
Filed by Bil Browning | February 13, 2007 | 2:36 PM |Does anyone know more about this internal DNC struggle? I'll admit, I'm a little lacking in knowledge of the background on this one... I know Howard Dean made some bad decisions after the election and the director of the Gay...Read More
I Have to Wonder...
Filed by Julien A. Sharp | February 13, 2007 | 2:06 PM |I have to wonder what goes on in the minds of people. As I see the legislature of the state in which I was born continue to steamroll discrimination into the constitution, I wonder what is it about two people...Read More
Russia, Russia, Russia
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 13, 2007 | 12:15 PM |It's times like these that even though things are looking down in my state of Indiana, that I can still be glad that there are places that I don't live. This time it's Russia. 365gay.com has the story:A bill introduced...Read More
My Fellow Central Indiana Republicans: Time to Smell the Coffee
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 13, 2007 | 8:00 AM |I sat yesterday sipping a drink with a fellow Republican holding close to vest the name of another Republican thought capable of beating Bart Peterson. In my opinion, it was delusional. I don't think the ramifications on Marion County politics...Read More
MAD as HELL over SJR-7!
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 12, 2007 | 4:59 PM |You likely just saw Bil's item advising that the full Indiana Senate this afternoon passed and sent SJR7 to the House of Representatives, 39 to 10. I was going to wait until I could determine how many Democrats voted for...Read More
Klan presence increases in Indiana
Filed by Bil Browning | February 12, 2007 | 3:58 PM |Well, color me surprised. Membership in the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana has soared. I wonder what could be causing that? Hmmmm. Let's think about what hateful, discriminatory laws and attitudes have been floating around the state lately? Hmmmmm. Could...Read More
SJR-7 passes the Senate
Filed by Bil Browning | February 12, 2007 | 3:35 PM |The Indiana State Senate has passed SJR-7, the proposed amendment to the constitution that would not only outlaw same-sex marriage, but would also strip all unmarried couples of hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights, domestic partner benefits, civil unions and domestic...Read More
Help Helen help you
Filed by Bil Browning | February 12, 2007 | 6:16 AM |This weekend at a dinner party I was talking to Carl Brizzi's Chief of Staff, Helen Marchal. We were talking about the proposed hate crimes law and I promised her that I would ask bilerico readers to help her to...Read More
Harvard Elects its First Woman President!
Filed by Carrie Wooten | February 11, 2007 | 8:14 PM |Today Harvard University announced that it has elected Drew Gilpin Faust as its new President, marking a turning point in its prestigious history. The former President, Laurence Summers, resigned after heated scrutiny surrounding comments he made regarding his opinion that...Read More
The Black Youth Project: Now that's something worth talking about
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 10, 2007 | 5:05 PM |Here's something interesting. The University of Chicago just did a comprehensive study of the political and cultural opinions of Black, Hispanic, and white youth. In many ways, it bucks the conventional (Bill O'Reilly) wisdom. Black youth are over 10% more...Read More
Understanding today's change in the Marion County Republican Party
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 10, 2007 | 2:16 PM |This morning the Marion County Republican Party met in convention to elect a new chair. The event is significant for the glbt community in Indianapolis, as well as for all moderates. Below I discuss the election, some background relevant to...Read More
Quote of the Day
Filed by Ed Team | February 10, 2007 | 1:17 PM |"The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to advance a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in the state. Committee members would have served their constituents better by addressing serious concerns about the proposal. They should have considered, too,...Read More
It's Not Just the Bigotry...
Filed by Sheila S. Kennedy | February 09, 2007 | 6:37 PM |It's the hypocrisy. By now, readers of this blog know that a Michigan court--ruling on language very similar to the language in "clause B" of SJR-7--said "The marriage amendment's plain language prohibits public employers from recognizing same-sex unions for any...Read More
Colombia's moving on up
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 09, 2007 | 5:17 PM |Like the Jeffersons, to the metaphorical East Side of equal rights for same-sex couples.... No, no, no, silly analogy, good TV show. Anyway, the Colombian Supreme Court ruled yesterday that same-sex couples should have the same property rights as heterosexual...Read More
How are you wrong? Let me count the ways.
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 09, 2007 | 5:11 PM |Oh man, this is awesome, awesome, awesome. Here's an article about Tonia and David Parker's lawsuit in Massachusetts by those parents who didn't want their kid to have read King and King. OK, the lawsuit isn't awesome, but at least...Read More
Hillary Clinton 2008
Filed by Carrie Wooten | February 09, 2007 | 12:57 PM |It is interesting to me, the apathy that I have witnessed towards Hillary running for President. A highly qualified, highly intelligent, highly respected woman who is being met with curious opposition from her own side in favor of less qualified...Read More
I guess she will
Filed by Bil Browning | February 08, 2007 | 6:10 PM |I was talking to a friend today about Anna Nicole Smith's sudden death when she said to me: "Anna Nicole. That bitch will do anything to get her face on camera, won't she?" I guess she will....Read More
Shakes keeps her job!
Filed by Bil Browning | February 08, 2007 | 5:54 PM |It looks like Melissa gets to keep her job after all. From the JohnEdwards08 blog comes Edwards's statement on the bloggers: The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwan's posts personally offended me. It's not...Read More
SJR7 goes a step further in the Indiana Senate
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 08, 2007 | 3:41 PM |The full Indiana Senate considered Senate Joint Resoution 7 (SJR7) on second reading today. Second reading is where amendments to a particular piece of legislation are considered by the full chamber. Senator John Broden (D-South Bend) offered an amendment to...Read More
SJR7-Watch your Indiana legislators in session
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 08, 2007 | 7:01 AM |It's likely that Senator Hershman will bring up SJR7 for second reading in the Indiana Senate this afternoon (Thursday 2/08). If approved it will be eligible for third reading which I understand would likely happen next week. Live sessions of...Read More
SJR7-Watch your Indiana legislators in session
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 08, 2007 | 7:01 AM |It's likely that Senator Hershman will bring up SJR7 for second reading in the Indiana Senate this afternoon (Thursday 2/08). If approved it will be eligible for third reading which I understand would likely happen next week. Live sessions of...Read More
Don't you make me! (updated)
Filed by Bil Browning | February 08, 2007 | 12:00 AM |Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, has been having a hissy fit over Shake's new job. Welcome to the wonderful world of presidential politics, my friend. Right after the Edwards campaign announced they had hired Amanda Marcotte and Melissa...Read More
Rally at the Statehouse!
Filed by Carrie Wooten | February 05, 2007 | 8:00 PM |This coming Thursday, Planned Parenthood will be holding a rally at the Indiana Statehouse to advocate for "Prevention First" legislation. The proposed legislation aims at fighting right-wing religious doctrines that are currently invading sexual education curriculum. It also serves to...Read More
SJR-7 roundup
Filed by Bil Browning | February 05, 2007 | 12:58 PM |There is a lot more chatter about the marriage discrimination amendment this year than there was two years ago. That's an improvement... A quick roundup of some of the better clips from around the web lately surrounding SJR-7: A mean-spirited...Read More
SJR7 - Did Senator Hershman mislead the Senate Judiciary Committee?
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 05, 2007 | 8:30 AM |This past Wednesday both proponents and oppontents of SJR7, the so'called "Marriage Amendment to the Indiana Constitution, presented their arguments to the Senate Judiciary Committee, dominated by Republicans. The outcome, as most had preducted, was 7-4 in favor of the...Read More
Way to go Shakes!
Filed by Bil Browning | February 03, 2007 | 1:04 PM |I'm finally free to spill the beans! Melissa McEwan, more commonly known as Shakespeare's Sister, has joined the John Edwards presidential campaign as the Netroots Coordinator. Shakes and I e-mailed back and forth about her decision to join Edwards's team...Read More
Teresa Lubbers and Jeff Drozda?
Filed by Bil Browning | February 03, 2007 | 6:00 AM |Copyright 2007 David Honig David sent this in yesterday and asked me to mention his new site for "lefty cartoonists," Left 'Toon Lane. You can submit your own 'toons at the site - they've had a few cartoons picked...Read More
Our first podcast with Candace Gingrich!
Filed by Bil Browning | February 02, 2007 | 9:00 AM |Allow me the pride and pleasure of introducing bilerico.com's latest arrival, "WordSalad" - our new podcast show! WordSalad will be a biweekly feature focusing on LGBT issues. I'll be interviewing individuals important to our community about the topics that concern...Read More
"Read The Fine Print": Part II - SJR7 and the fresh eggs dilemma
Filed by Don Sherfick | February 02, 2007 | 8:30 AM |Wednesday I re-commenced a series designed to try and put SJR7, the so-called "Marriage Amendment" proposed to become part of the Indiana Constitution, into more "non-lawyer friendly" language. To begin, let's forget about SJR7's second paragraph for a moment (a...Read More
The Tide Turns
Filed by Chris Douglas | February 01, 2007 | 5:54 AM |I believe that yesterday was the nadir of our effort to defeat the Constitutional aggression under way in Indiana. While the aggression was at flood tide in the Indiana Senate yesterday, the signs appear now of a tide turning. The...Read More
