Politics: June 2010
Transgender Economic Empowerment Initiative Funding Restored: We Need More Programs Like This
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 30, 2010 7:00 PM |Unemployment and poverty rates among transgender people are far higher than the national average. In California, the rates are twice as high as the state average. That makes news from San Francisco especially welcome. According to the Los Angeles Times,...Read More
Video from the G20 protests
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 30, 2010 5:00 PM |Protestors at the G8/G20 conference in Toronto, if anyone cares to notice, are calling for "jobs" in addition to human rights protections, fairer trade, and action on climate change. It makes sense, since the conference is working on ways to...Read More
The "Intimidation" Argument: Far Right Hypocrisy on Parade
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 30, 2010 4:00 PM |There's a new cry of outrage coming from the far right of American Politics and conservative circles. As more of their arguments against social issues like LGBT equality get shown time and again to be based on personal bigotry, private...Read More
The Ethics of Outing Anti-Gay Hypocrites
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 30, 2010 2:00 PM |Last week on my personal blog I wrote about the closeted anti-gay Lutheran Pastor who urged his parish to leave the Evangelical Church in America ("ELCA") and used his pulpit to denigrate and pontificate against civil law equality for gay...Read More
Elena Kagan answers DADT questions
Filed by Bil Browning | June 30, 2010 12:30 PM |As the confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination continues, yesterday brought us something refreshing in a nominee. Instead of simply mouthing platitudes and telling the committee (and the American people) absolutely nothing about what they actually stand for,...Read More
On The U.S. Army's First Gay Discharge
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | June 29, 2010 8:00 PM |Well, Americans, it's been 234 years since our revered Founding Fathers declared this young nation independent. It has been a hard road, to be sure, and yet our democracy remains adolescent: rampant discrimination continues to plague our land, such as...Read More
Poverty is a Queer Issue
Filed by Gloria Nieto | June 29, 2010 4:30 PM |Over the weekend, as there were Pride celebrations in many parts of the world, I visited with old friends. What was completely astonishing to me was the state of poverty that we find ourselves in right now. All of us...Read More
Cry Sissy Cry!: Gay shame hosts a goth cry-in to poo poo corporate pride
Filed by R Conrad | June 29, 2010 3:30 PM |It's that time of year... Feeling depressed this time of year? Can't shake the sadness of seeing those horrifying USA/rainbow flags everywhere you go? Having trouble even leaving your bedroom for fear that you will be confronted by yet another...Read More
Montana's GOP joins Texas
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 29, 2010 1:30 PM |Montana's Republican Party platform has gone the same way as Texas: Homosexual Acts We support the clear will of the people of Montana expressed by legislation to keep homosexual acts illegal. I remember posting back in 2008 during the Obama/McCain...Read More
You Have The Right To Be Fired
Filed by Guest Blogger | June 29, 2010 11:30 AM |Editors' Note: Jude Stevens is a straight woman, a mom and has been married for 32 years to the same wonderful man.She is a molecular biologist, her best friend is a lesbian, and she believes that every human deserves equal...Read More
You Have The Right To Be Fired
Filed by Guest Blogger | June 29, 2010 11:30 AM |Editors' Note: Jude Stevens is a straight woman, a mom and has been married for 32 years to the same wonderful man.She is a molecular biologist, her best friend is a lesbian, and she believes that every human deserves equal...Read More
Judith Butler, identity politics, and Berlin
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 28, 2010 6:00 PM |Judith Butler was offered the Civil Courage Prize at Christopher Street Day in Berlin last week, and she rejected it. Love the awkward comments after her speech: Of course, because someone with a relatively high profile in the community decided...Read More
Iceland's Prime Minister gets married
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 28, 2010 1:00 PM |Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdottir (the first openly gay head of state government in the world) married yesterday, the first day same-sex marriage was recognized in Iceland. She and partner Jonina Leosdottir (right) had a civil union and then filed for...Read More
Pride in Paris in Photos
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 27, 2010 2:30 PM |Gay Pride in Paris yesterday was long. Four miles of marching in the heat, with a parade that was two to three hours long if you stood in one point and watched it go by. The crowd is estimated by...Read More
The biggest #SameSexSunday ever!
Filed by Phil Reese | June 27, 2010 10:00 AM |Happy Pride from Phil Reese and Joe Mirabella on behalf of the SameSexSunday podcast! Download this episode (right click and save) And what a podcast Pride brings us! Hopefully you've bookmarked the page, or subscribed to the podcast so you...Read More
How I Became a Home Depot Defender
Filed by David Castillo | June 25, 2010 6:00 PM |I'm not usually in the practice of coming to the defense of many coporations, especially a giant retailer like Home Depot, but Media Matters for America's County Fair blog pointed out a World Net Daily report that promoted a homophobic...Read More
Dear Mr. President
Filed by Nadine Smith | June 25, 2010 3:00 PM |Tuesday night Equality Florida's deputy director, Stratton Pollitzer, and I attended the President's reception at the White House in honor of Pride Month. During his address President Barack Obama reinforced his commitment to ending DOMA and DADT and passing a...Read More
NV Senate candidate Sharron Angle's anti-gay newspaper insert
Filed by Bil Browning | June 25, 2010 12:00 PM |Before Sharron Angle was the Republican candidate for Senate from Nevada, she was a member of the far-right Independent American Party. Angle switched parties in 1997 when she wanted to run for statewide office. The Independent American Party is a...Read More
Supreme Court sends battle over release of petition signers' names back to lower courts
Filed by Nan Hunter | June 25, 2010 8:30 AM |The Supreme Court ruled yesterday in Doe v Reed that individuals who sign referendum petitions generally do not have a First Amendment right to remain anonymous. But the Court also held that courts should consider the particular facts in any...Read More
Breaking: Supreme Court Rules Names on Petitions Can Be Made Public
Filed by Joe Mirabella | June 24, 2010 8:00 PM |The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to in favor of Washington State's Public disclosure laws allowing petition signatures to remain public. This was a significant case originating from the Referendum 71 campaign in Washington State. Opponents to the Domestic Partnership law...Read More
Pride Toronto Reverses Censorship Decision on "Israeli Apartheid"
Filed by R Conrad | June 24, 2010 7:00 PM |Pride Toronto announced yesterday that it would not censor the term 'Israeli apartheid' from the upcoming Toronto Pride Parade as it had previously stated. This announcement comes after more than a month-long uproar over Pride Toronto's decision to ban the...Read More
Boy Scouts win right to $200,000/year government hand-out
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 24, 2010 12:00 PM |Philadelphia lost their court case and they're not allowed to charge the Boy Scouts rent to use one of their properties. That doesn't mean the city is giving up: The jury's answers to the 11 questions on the verdict sheet...Read More
Laughing all the way to the bank
Filed by Bil Browning | June 24, 2010 8:30 AM |Indiana congressional candidate Trent Van Haaften was added to the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program on Monday. The list of priority candidates is traditionally meant to flip Republican held seats to Democrat control. Van Haaften, however, isn't running to replace...Read More
The Nibbler-In-Chief Promises To Keep On Nibbling
Filed by Rebecca Juro | June 23, 2010 7:00 PM |As with his Pride Month Proclamation a few weeks ago, President Obama yesterday lauded the minor incremental baby steps his administration has taken to protect a relative handful of LGBT Americans while relegating the workplace rights of the vast majority...Read More
Closing arguments in the Prop 8 case: Seeing sex discrimination and substantive due process in the tea leaves
Filed by Nan Hunter | June 23, 2010 6:00 PM |Oral arguments make for great theater, but any experienced lawyer will tell you that they usually don't count for much. What matters far more to the outcome of a case is the quality of the record (i.e., the evidence) and...Read More
Two Moms Fight to Stay Together
Filed by Steve Ralls | June 23, 2010 5:00 PM |Breakthrough TV and RestoreFairness.org recently sat down with Shirley Tan, Jay Mercado and their family in Pacifica, California, for a powerful new video highlighting the urgent need to pass LGBT-inclusive immigration reform. Shirley came from the Philippines decades ago, and...Read More
NY Senate Passes Dignity for All Students Act 58-3: Why?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 23, 2010 4:00 PM |Yesterday, the New York State Senate passed the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). The bill empowers the New York Commissioner of Education to establish policies and prohibiting harassment and discrimination against students based on a number of categories, including...Read More
NOM launches summer tour; Freedom to Marry to respond in kind
Filed by Adam Bink | June 23, 2010 3:00 PM |National Organization for Marriage, the organization that has jumped into fights for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples around the country, is launching a Summer for Marriage tour. In announcing the tour, Director Louis Marinelli declares supporters to be...Read More
LOGO Coming to Bright House (Someday)
Filed by Jerame Davis | June 23, 2010 1:57 PM |In the never-ending battle to get our local cable TV franchises to provide some LGBT programming, a number of LGBT folks in Indy have been contacting Bright House regularly to request LOGO be added to the channel lineup. In the...Read More
Charlene Strong: President Obama is Serious about LGBT Equality
Filed by Joe Mirabella | June 23, 2010 10:30 AM |Charlene Strong met with President Obama on Tuesday afternoon at the White House, prior to the President's annual Pride speech. Her wife Kate's mother joined her. I spoke with Charlene shortly after her meeting with the President. She was incredibly...Read More
Video: White House LGBT Pride Reception
Filed by Bil Browning | June 23, 2010 8:30 AM |President Obama hosted several state-level activists and leaders yesterday evening for a Pride reception at the White House. I know there's a million and one reasons to be angry that more hasn't been accomplished under Obama's administration, but I'm still...Read More
What Hospital Visitation Rights Heroine Janice Langbehn Won't Tell Obama Tonight - She's in Pain and Financial Trouble
Filed by Karen Ocamb | June 22, 2010 5:00 PM |Janice Langbehn, the accidental activist most responsible for securing hospital visitation rights for LGBT families, will be a guest at the White House Pride event, which begins one hour from now. The White House is expected to webcast the reception...Read More
A wise ex-gay woman, the richness of her experiences, etc.
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 22, 2010 2:30 PM |Nan Hunter's right; Elena Kagan is like a Rorschach. That is, what people see when they look at her says more about them than it does about her. We want her to be a lesbian, the right wants her to...Read More
U.S. Supreme Court: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 22, 2010 12:30 PM |The U.S. Supreme Court is making less and less sense to me these days, particularly when it comes to speech. There have been thousands of U.S. Supreme Court decisions about speech, the freedom of speech, and its various forms and...Read More
Yes, Virginia, Rahm Emanuel Isn't Quitting
Filed by Bil Browning | June 22, 2010 11:30 AM |Yesterday I said that the news Rahm Emanuel might be stepping down as White House Chief of Staff after the midterm elections was like being told what your birthday present will be early. Today comes news that's much more like...Read More
An Elephant Doesn't Fit in a Closet
Filed by Guest Blogger | June 22, 2010 10:30 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Matt R. Salmon is an ASU Graduate with a Bachelor's in Psychology. He works in clinical research and is the chairman of the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans. In newspapers and blogs, on television and the Internet...Read More
At Black Tie Ceremony, Feith Passes Torch To Barton
Filed by Don Davis | June 22, 2010 8:30 AM |Honestly, I am absolutely sick of commercial air travel these days. Just dealing with security is bad enough, but then there's the airlines, and, hey, all you really need to know here is that there has to be a pretty...Read More
Good News: Rahm Emanuel Quitting White House?
Filed by Bil Browning | June 21, 2010 6:00 PM |It's not my birthday, but this is like getting told what your present will be early. The rumor mill is furiously reporting that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will resign after the mid-term elections. White House Chief of...Read More
Irish Law Moving To Recognize Transgender Identity
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 21, 2010 3:00 PM |The Irish government this week removed its objections to a 2007 Irish High Court judgment. The High Court held that the Irish government violated Irish law by failing to make provisions to recognize sex reassignment for transgender people. The Irish...Read More
Wikileaks source Bradley Manning considering transition?
Filed by Austen Crowder | June 21, 2010 12:00 PM |The Baghdad helicopter footage Bradley uncovered was as amazing as it was horrifying. However, new evidence in the form of chat logs shows that Bradly may be considering transition: (1:11:54 PM) bradass87: and... its important that it gets out... i...Read More
The Texas GOP cares about more than just banning marriage
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 21, 2010 10:00 AM |The part of the Texas Republican Party's platform making its way around the blogosphere says they want to imprison people who participate in marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples, even if those ceremonies have no legal meaning. It also calls for...Read More
Father's Day Thoughts - A Father's Gift
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 20, 2010 5:30 PM |I lost my father in the fall of 2006 - strangely, he died on my son's birthday, something that has made that date bittersweet ever since. On this father's Day I want to re-publish a post from over three years...Read More
SameSexSunday: Prop 8 Closing Arguments; Will Blogs Kill LGBT Print Media?
Filed by Phil Reese | June 20, 2010 11:30 AM |This week on SameSexSunday with Joe Mirabella and Phil Reese, Metro Weekly Senior Political Correspondant and Law Dork blogger, Chris Geidner, shares his perspective on the Proposition 8 Federal trial closing arguments in Judge Vaughn Walker's San Francisco Court. His...Read More
Taking Back Pride: Putting the Politics Back in Pride Parades
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 19, 2010 10:00 AM |It's that time of year. Pride is in the air around the world for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and ally community. Parades, festivals, music, parties, shirtless boys, dykes on bikes, and more rainbows than you can shake your high...Read More
A sports fan at the Prop 8 trial
Filed by Gloria Nieto | June 18, 2010 3:00 PM |I went to the opening day and closing day of the Prop 8 trial. While not a legal type, I still have a huge investment in the outcome of this if nothing else besides being a lesbian living in California....Read More
Why Charlene Strong's Visit With the President Could Change Everything for the LGBT Community
Filed by Joe Mirabella | June 18, 2010 2:00 PM |ENDA's chances of passing this year are minimal. The LGBT community can still be legally fired for just being who they are for the foreseeable future. Don't Ask, Don't Tell's repeal remains in limbo. The repeal of the Defense of...Read More
General John Sheehan Says Gays in Military Would Spread AIDS
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 18, 2010 12:00 PM |General John Sheehan, retired four-star general of the U.S. Marine Corps and former Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, is back in the news with more bigoted anti-repeal talk about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Readers may remember Sheehan as the man...Read More
Getting Hired As a Millenial Queer
Filed by Austen Crowder | June 18, 2010 9:30 AM |In case you haven't heard the news, getting hired while LGBTQ can be a little difficult. I'm not going to talk about inequities here, as others on Bilerico have made pointedly clear. We need job protection, and we need it...Read More
Maggie Gallagher's Bare Feet
Filed by Joe Mirabella | June 17, 2010 5:00 PM |I realize there are far more important moments in the closing arguments from the Prop 8 trial Wednesday, but, frankly, these two moments are my favorite from Rick Jacob's live blog of the trial. C. It has become a desire...Read More
Our 1st Gay Super Lobbyist
Filed by Bil Browning | June 17, 2010 4:00 PM |Congratulations to SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis for being listed as one of Washington DC's top lobbyists of 2010. The leader has been key to getting any action on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell this year. While other...Read More
Virginia City Solicts LGBT Investors and Entrepreneurs
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 17, 2010 3:00 PM |Will Phoebus' Mellen Street be the next Rehobeth Avenue or Duval Street? While Virginia Governor "Taliban Bob" McDonnell and delusional Virginia AG Ken "Cooch" Cuccinelli endeavor to maintain Virginia's reputation as a non-gay friendly state, fortunately, there are elements within...Read More
Family Values: Who is it Trying to "Destroy Marriage" Again?
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 17, 2010 9:30 AM |In a move that isn't that surprising (but which nonetheless stings), Proposition 8 supporters want to 'revoke recognition' of the 18,000 legal same-sex marriages that occurred in California before the marriage ban went into effect. Removing any doubt about how...Read More
From the Courthouse
Filed by Kate Kendell | June 17, 2010 8:30 AM |Yesterday we heard compelling closing arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal challenge to Proposition 8. The National Center for Lesbian Rights was in the courtroom live-tweeting, making sure that you shared this historical moment with us. I was in...Read More
Why We Must Tell America the Truth About the Prop 8 Trial
Filed by Cleve Jones | June 16, 2010 8:00 PM |In his most famous speech, my good friend Harvey Milk urged LGBT people to come out of the closet. "For invisible, we remain in limbo," he said. Harvey knew that full equality would not become reality as long as the...Read More
Polls consistently overestimate voter support for marriage equality
Filed by Nan Hunter | June 16, 2010 3:00 PM |NYU Political Science Professor Patrick Egan has studied 10 years worth of public opinion polling conducted during election campaigns involving same-sex marriage ballot questions, and has found in a new poll on same-sex marriage ballot measures [pdf] that such polls...Read More
White House plans closeted Pride reception
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 16, 2010 2:00 PM |It's secret after the Pride reception (cocktails with senior staff to remember a riot!) caused controversy last year, but Kerry Eleveld has the anonymous sources: Anonymous sources have confirmed that a reception to commemorate Gay Pride Month will be held...Read More
Prop 8 Trial Live Twitter Feed
Filed by Bil Browning | June 16, 2010 12:30 PM |The federal Prop 8 trial will resume for closing arguments shortly. Attorney Ted Olson will deliver the closing for our side starting at 10am Pacific (1pm Eastern). With the Supreme Court ruling that cameras will not be allowed at all...Read More
Woman, Thou Art Loosed
Filed by Terrance Heath | June 15, 2010 5:00 PM |I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. George W. Bush might have been slightly better president if he’d listened to the women in his family. That’s become even more evident, now that he’s safely out of office, and...Read More
Half naked bloody Dutch men compete in beauty pageant
Filed by Bil Browning | June 15, 2010 2:00 PM |Well, that's a post title I never imagined writing: "Half naked bloody Dutch men compete in beauty pageant." Yup. Never in my wildest. Thank goodness, the Mr. Gay Netherlands contest decided to help me expand my horizons, eh? The beauty...Read More
The Year of Magical Political Thinking
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 15, 2010 10:00 AM |I have spent the past year working intensively, day in and day out, on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I have learned a lot from this experience. One thing I have learned is this: the idea that politics or politicians are...Read More
More information on Kagan's views
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 14, 2010 4:00 PM |Duncan Osborne turned up a 1996 memo from Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan arguing that religious freedom should trump compliance with state anti-discrimination laws. A case involved a straight couple in California that wanted to rent an apartment so they...Read More
Holy Crap: Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) flips his cookies, attacks student
Filed by Jerame Davis | June 14, 2010 3:00 PM |The video speaks for itself, just watch: I don't know if it's the sense of entitlement going to his head or if this guy has always been a total dick, but the idea that he thinks he has a right...Read More
Dino Rossi Washington State's Biggest Loser Going for Thirds
Filed by Joe Mirabella | June 14, 2010 12:00 PM |Two-time gubernatorial loser Dino Rossi is going for thirds, but this time he's after Senator Patty Murray's seat. Rossi is Washington State's biggest douche-bag. That's quite the honor, because our state has no shortage of douche-bag Republicans who are desperate...Read More
Pucker Up: Great Global Kiss-In Video
Filed by Bil Browning | June 14, 2010 11:00 AM |The Great Global Kiss-In for the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia was a smashing success last month with over sixty cities taking part in the mass demonstrations for LGBT rights. Gays.com has just released this video compilation of smooches...Read More
Tijuana Pride Weekend: 15th Annual Parade & a New Festival
Filed by Guest Blogger | June 14, 2010 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Rex Wockner has reported news for gay media for 26 years in hundreds of publications. He focuses on on California politics and local life. Tijuana's 15th gay/lesbian pride march hits the streets Saturday, June 19, at...Read More
On Setting Things Straight, Or, An Open Letter To The United Kingdom
Filed by Don Davis | June 14, 2010 8:30 AM |Dear The United Kingdom, I just wanted to take a minute to say hello and to see how things have been for you lately, and to maybe bring you up to date on a bit of news from here. Well,...Read More
SameSexSunday blasts off
Filed by Phil Reese | June 13, 2010 7:00 PM |SameSexSunday is a new LGBT politics podcast by Bilerico Project contributors Joe Mirabella and Phil Reese that takes the concept of the Sunday morning political talk show, and takes it to the Castro. Listen to this episode Joe and Phil...Read More
Clear Channel censors Pride billboards
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 13, 2010 5:30 PM |One of the only pleasures of taking the metro to work is checking out all the ad-busting. There are lots of ads in the metro, and every now and then a clever person will have taken a marker to an...Read More
Cuccinelli "Attends" DC Pride - a/k/a Smooches for Cooch
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 13, 2010 2:30 PM |I have to admit it - I love the sense of humor of whoever came up with the idea of raising money and recruiting new members for LGBT causes by having gay folk kiss a large cut out photo of...Read More
Gay Rights Needs to Roll with Weed Reform
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | June 13, 2010 10:00 AM |Ganja, like gay rights, has fueled innumerable social battles, and both continue to inflame massive amounts of Americans.Read More
More Democratic Betrayal of LGBT Americans
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 12, 2010 4:00 PM |Nancy Pelosi has announced that there will be no movement on efforts to pass ENDA until the Senate acts of the so-called "repeal" of DADT. Which, given the fact that there's no guarantee of when the Senate will take up...Read More
More Democratic Betrayal of LGBT Americans
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 12, 2010 4:00 PM |Nancy Pelosi has announced that there will be no movement on efforts to pass ENDA until the Senate acts of the so-called "repeal" of DADT. Which, given the fact that there's no guarantee of when the Senate will take up...Read More
Long-Term Joblessness: Crisis or Correction?
Filed by Terrance Heath | June 12, 2010 2:00 PM |Like any parents, we want the best possible future for our children, and we're doing all we can to prepare them to attain it as our parents did for us. Being the grandson of sharecroppers and the son of 1st...Read More
Gay Street Beat Podcast (Featuring Me!) Talks About DADT, Taking Back Pride, Prop 8, & More!
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 12, 2010 12:00 PM |I was back on the new LGBT podcast "Gay Street Beat" this week for their Pride edition and wanted to share it with all of you! Be sure to download it free on iTunes and hear all the fun &...Read More
Gay Street Beat Podcast (Featuring Me!) Talks About DADT, Taking Back Pride, Prop 8, & More!
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 12, 2010 12:00 PM |I was back on the new LGBT podcast "Gay Street Beat" this week for their Pride edition and wanted to share it with all of you! Be sure to download it free on iTunes and hear all the fun &...Read More
Tony Perkins attacks Indiana Guv for being too liberal!
Filed by Bil Browning | June 11, 2010 4:00 PM |Rightwing nutjob Tony Perkins is on the attack again. This time he's after my Governor, Mitch Daniels. Perkins has his knickers in a twist because Daniels told the Weekly Standard that whoever the next President is, they "would have to...Read More
LGBT Pride Month: What have you done today to make you feel proud?
Filed by Michael Crawford | June 11, 2010 3:00 PM |A recent CBS News poll shows something we should already know: increased LGBT visibility means increased support for LGBT people. The increasing visibility of gay and lesbian Americans appears to have contributed toward more positive perceptions of homosexual relations. Forty-three...Read More
Another out of control HIV prosecution
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 11, 2010 12:00 PM |I posted a few months ago about a poz Michigan man charged under anti-terrorism laws for biting someone (biting people isn't cool, but it's not terrorism), and the charges were dropped this week by a judge because they didn't fit...Read More
Two Worlds: The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | June 10, 2010 8:00 PM |I was born with a gift. I was born of Jewish/Muslim Arab descent. Yes, my friends, I am a clear headed, unconflicted Jewish Arab-American that deeply values and respects my Semitic roots and the histories and cultures of my peoples....Read More
Two Worlds: The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | June 10, 2010 8:00 PM |I was born with a gift. I was born of Jewish/Muslim Arab descent. Yes, my friends, I am a clear headed, unconflicted Jewish Arab-American that deeply values and respects my Semitic roots and the histories and cultures of my peoples....Read More
Is the Pentagon DADT Study Being Rigged?
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 10, 2010 4:00 PM |I have written before on my personal blog about insider e-mails that I have received from inside sources at Westat - the contractor conducting the DADT study for the Pentagon - that indicate that there are reasons to be concerned...Read More
Will Congressional Democrats let people with HIV/AIDS die?
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 10, 2010 12:00 PM |Congress apparently can't get it's act together on an emergency ADAP supplemental (money for low-income HIV-positive folks to get meds). A couple Republicans are playing politics with the money needed and saying that they'll support the funding if it comes...Read More
Woman fired for fornication
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 09, 2010 7:00 PM |This appeared in one of my Google alerts because of the name of the lawyer, but it's definitely a queer issue. It takes a lot of chutzpah to do this to a worker: Jarrestta Hamilton said April of 2009 was...Read More
President Obama, Are You Listening?
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 09, 2010 2:00 PM |From my perspective and that of many gays that I talk with, the answer to the question asked in the headline of this post is a resounding "No." Obama and far too many among the Congressional Democrat ranks have abandoned...Read More
President Obama, Are You Listening?
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 09, 2010 2:00 PM |From my perspective and that of many gays that I talk with, the answer to the question asked in the headline of this post is a resounding "No." Obama and far too many among the Congressional Democrat ranks have abandoned...Read More
Judge Walker's Interesting Prop 8 Questions
Filed by Bil Browning | June 09, 2010 12:30 PM |Yesterday Judge Vaughn Walker, the judge overseeing the federal trial on the validity of Prop 8, issued a series of questions he'd like the parties to address in their closing arguments. Rick Jacobs, chair of the Courage Campaign, wrote on...Read More
Canadian Politics, Not Queer Politics, At Issue In Toronto Pride Parade
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 09, 2010 11:30 AM |Yesterday, R. Conrad wrote about the Toronto Pride Parade's decision not to allow a banner reading "Israeli Apartheid" in the upcoming parade. In response, over twenty Pride Toronto honorees from the last decade have returned their awards. Noting that the...Read More
Thank you, Ike Skelton, for your honesty
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 09, 2010 10:30 AM |A couple of weeks ago (before the DADT deal was announced), Rep. Ike Skelton, the Democratic chair of the House Armed Services Committee, explained why he wouldn't move forward on DADT repeal: "You won't find any mention of the repeal...Read More
Poll: Voter Support Surges for Marriage Equality in Washington State
Filed by Joe Mirabella | June 09, 2010 9:30 AM |A new poll released by the University of Washington shows a surge in support for marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. The poll was unique in that it did not ask a binary question "Should gay couple's be allowed...Read More
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid turning up the heat on Pride Toronto
Filed by R Conrad | June 08, 2010 7:00 PM |Over twenty Pride Toronto honorees from the last decade have returned their awards in response to PT's banning of the term "Israeli Apartheid" (and thus the group QuAIA) from the upcoming pride march and festivities. Pride Toronto claims the decision...Read More
Same-sex marriage starts in Portugal
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 08, 2010 5:00 PM |Add Portugal to the growing list of countries that recognizes same-sex relationships (the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Canada, Spain, South Africa, and Sweden). Same-sex marriage started there yesterday. Helena Paixao and Teresa Pires, the first lesbian couple to get married in...Read More
NY GENDA B-team Goes Down In Flames At Senate Judiciary Hearing
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 08, 2010 1:30 PM |UPDATE: Hearing webcast available after the jump, and New York Daily News article reports on Democratic allegations of double cross by Senators Lanza and Maziarz. A hearing was held today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill was voted down...Read More
Evan Bayh's the kind of guy who covers his kids' eyes if two dudes are holding hands in the park
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 08, 2010 12:30 PM |Evan Bayh, Indiana's (thank God) out-going Senator, was on Morning Joe in a rather brain-dead segment talking about Sandra Bullock and Scarlett Johanson kissing. If you want to know how un-cool Bayh is, while everyone's making silly, forgettable, and dorky...Read More
Let's Call The Democrats What They Really Are: The Nibbler Party
Filed by Rebecca Juro | June 08, 2010 9:30 AM |Have we had enough yet? I don't know about you, but I certainly have. This past Sunday, I went to Asbury Park and attended Jersey Pride. As is the norm for this annual event, the heat was oppressive, the festival...Read More
Let's Call The Democrats What They Really Are: The Nibbler Party
Filed by Rebecca Juro | June 08, 2010 9:30 AM |Have we had enough yet? I don't know about you, but I certainly have. This past Sunday, I went to Asbury Park and attended Jersey Pride. As is the norm for this annual event, the heat was oppressive, the festival...Read More
IRS gives some same-sex couples a tax break
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 07, 2010 6:30 PM |The IRS ruled that same-sex couples with domestic partnerships in California must put down the average of their incomes when they file federal income taxes, reducing federal income tax liability for same-sex couples where one person makes significantly more than...Read More
Long Live QueerBomb!
Filed by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer | June 07, 2010 4:00 PM |My favorite sign at last Friday's "QueerBomb," the alternative pride march in Austin, Texas, was, "STONEWALL WAS A RIOT, NOT A TRADE SHOW." Queerty gets many of the facts right, but they are wrong to say that QueerBomb made people...Read More
Queers Without Borders
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | June 07, 2010 10:00 AM |The oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico is keeping me up at night. The destruction, ignorance and inaction are just so HUGE. For generations to come the waters, plant life, fish... well let's just say the entire fucking ecology...Read More
Queers Without Borders
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | June 07, 2010 10:00 AM |The oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico is keeping me up at night. The destruction, ignorance and inaction are just so HUGE. For generations to come the waters, plant life, fish... well let's just say the entire fucking ecology...Read More
Robin McGehee, Kip Williams and Me on GetEqual
Filed by Karen Ocamb | June 06, 2010 7:00 PM |I confess, my jaw dropped when I read that GetEqual's Robin McGehee was making $89,000 as co-director of the new activism group, GetEqual. After all, I work in the LGBT press for enough money for food, rent and to take...Read More
Sex Ed: A Reader From Peru Writes
Filed by Bil Browning | June 06, 2010 2:30 PM |A Projector from Peru writes about a surprising discovery. I've redacted names so no one gets in trouble. My name is Kirsten. For the past three months, I've been living in Peru as an exchange student. In the US, I've...Read More
Building a Network of Gay Entrepreneurs
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 06, 2010 1:00 PM |On May 20, 2010 Hampton Roads Business Out Reach ("HRBOR") held its third anniversary event, which was a huge success. The number of attendees was in the 200 range and included local elected officials, Jessica Sandlin, a gay-friendly Republican running...Read More
On Responding To Oil, Or, "Disaster, Or Emergency, Or Neither?"
Filed by Don Davis | June 05, 2010 4:00 PM |We're now into day way too many of the BP oil spill, and the President has just yesterday been down on the Louisiana coast - again. There have been suggestions that the Administration should take action to essentially push BP...Read More
Solidarity in the Archives: Hope and Inspiration in South Africa
Filed by R Conrad | June 05, 2010 2:00 PM |This past May I received a post-graduate research travel grant from the Maine College of Art to work with the folks at Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) in Johannesburg, South Africa. I was familiar with some of their...Read More
Religious Based Discrimination Wins in Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History Case
Filed by Michael Hamar | June 05, 2010 12:00 PM |The Washington Blade has a story on the Michael Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History case wherein the Supreme Court of Virginia refused to hear Moore's appeal. For those not familiar with the case, Moore was fired by the...Read More
The Backbone of Our Work
Filed by Kate Kendell | June 05, 2010 10:00 AM |Most of you know I'm the Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Thirty-three years ago, we were founded by two attorneys seeking to help secure the parenting rights of lesbian mothers who were losing their children when...Read More
Oil Spill: What Can I Do?
Filed by Sara Whitman | June 04, 2010 4:00 PM |One Million Gallons of Oil a Day. Since April 20th. ONE MILLION GALLONS A DAY. And still, the oil gushes. Did you know this particular site was tried before and actually did the same thing but it was a shallower...Read More
LA County Votes to Boycott Arizona After Public Hearing with Gay Testimony
Filed by Karen Ocamb | June 04, 2010 1:00 PM |The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard hours of contentious public testimony Tuesday before voting 3 to 2 to boycott Arizona over SB 1070, the state's controversial "Papers, please" illegal immigration law that requires law enforcement to ask anyone...Read More
LA County Votes to Boycott Arizona After Public Hearing with Gay Testimony
Filed by Karen Ocamb | June 04, 2010 1:00 PM |The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard hours of contentious public testimony Tuesday before voting 3 to 2 to boycott Arizona over SB 1070, the state's controversial "Papers, please" illegal immigration law that requires law enforcement to ask anyone...Read More
A Queer Renaissance in Austin, Texas?
Filed by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer | June 04, 2010 9:30 AM |One of my first visits to Austin was in October of 2005 when my film Life in a Box was screened in aGLIFF -- the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival. (A testament to the great appeal of Austin,...Read More
In Anti-Gay Letter to Karger, a Test for the GOP
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | June 03, 2010 6:00 PM |There's no doubt our nation's changing its collective mind on the gays. A recent Gallup poll showed that 52% of Americans believe same-sex love is "morally acceptable." Sure, it's not an astounding number, but it's still the highest in history,...Read More
Videos: Larry Craig, Charles Djou, and Bill O'Reilly
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 03, 2010 5:00 PM |Here are a few videos I wanted to put up here but don't have much to say on. First, here's The Daily Show interviewing Evan Bayh and Larry Craig. Good to see Larry Craig is still doing well and has...Read More
The Many Faces of Charlie Crist: Flip Flopping in Florida
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 03, 2010 2:00 PM |Florida Governor and US Senate Charlie Crist just can't seem to make up his mind about who he is. The so-orange-he-could-outshine-John-Boehner politician has long been a man of shifting values depending on who he's talking to and what political race...Read More
The Many Faces of Charlie Crist: Flip Flopping in Florida
Filed by Waymon Hudson | June 03, 2010 2:00 PM |Florida Governor and US Senate Charlie Crist just can't seem to make up his mind about who he is. The so-orange-he-could-outshine-John-Boehner politician has long been a man of shifting values depending on who he's talking to and what political race...Read More
Obama shifting responsibly for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | June 03, 2010 8:30 AM |Last week, with a vote of 230 to 191, the House of Representatives voted to repeal former President Bill Clinton's 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that bars lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer service members from serving openly in...Read More
Will Mark Kirk's outing stick?
Filed by Phil Reese | June 02, 2010 4:00 PM |Tuesday morning, HBO's Outrage! subject Michael Rogers sent the gay/progressive blogosphere abuzz when he revealed that Rep. Mark Kirk had been sexually involved with two men in both his undergraduate and law school years. According to Rogers, these two men...Read More
ENDA postmortem: We just don't care about jobs
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 01, 2010 6:30 PM |Jill, Joe, and Rebecca have all written about why ENDA didn't get passed this Congressional session, even with massive public support, even with strong Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, even with all the work citizen activists put...Read More
ENDA postmortem: We just don't care about jobs
Filed by Alex Blaze | June 01, 2010 6:30 PM |Jill, Joe, and Rebecca have all written about why ENDA didn't get passed this Congressional session, even with massive public support, even with strong Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, even with all the work citizen activists put...Read More
Arizonans March Against SB1070
Filed by Bobby Parker | June 01, 2010 2:30 PM |Pictures are worth a thousand words. I've attached some from Saturday's huge rally and march in Phoenix after the jump. One little guy, Luis, about five years old, grabbed a hard hat and a bullhorn and marched up and down...Read More
Rand Paul Wants It Both Ways
Filed by Terrance Heath | June 01, 2010 11:30 AM |When I heard Rand Paul’s statement about the civil rights act, I had a sense of deja vu. Not only that I’d heard them before, but that I run into the peculiar conservative phenomenon they represented: wanting have it both...Read More
Underlying Cause of ENDA's Failure: Not MSNBC, Messaging, Or Apathy
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | June 01, 2010 8:30 AM |We have been speculating here at The Bilerico Project as to why ENDA failed in this Congressional session. Of course, the fight for ENDA isn't over in this session, but even if it passes the House, it's likely too late...Read More
