Politics: September 2010
Fight Back New York: There Are Consequences
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 30, 2010 3:00 PM |Editor's Note: Guest blogger Greg Rae got his start on political campaigns by taking over as tech lead for the No On 8 campaign. Since then, he has continued to advise organizations on online fundraising and outreach. He currently serves...Read More
Fight Back New York: There Are Consequences
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 30, 2010 3:00 PM |Editor's Note: Guest blogger Greg Rae got his start on political campaigns by taking over as tech lead for the No On 8 campaign. Since then, he has continued to advise organizations on online fundraising and outreach. He currently serves...Read More
This is what persecution looks like
Filed by Bil Browning | September 29, 2010 5:00 PM |There's been quite a bit of chatter over this video today. Many sites are proclaiming that the villain is a closet case and that's why he's so obsessed with a younger gay man. While he certainly sets off the ole...Read More
DADT's Hectic September
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 29, 2010 4:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Leslie Robinson hails from New England, lives in Seattle and is shacked up with a Southerner. Check out more of Leslie's humor columns at generalgayety.com Boy, there's been a lot of action around Don't Ask, Don't...Read More
DADT's Hectic September
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 29, 2010 4:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Leslie Robinson hails from New England, lives in Seattle and is shacked up with a Southerner. Check out more of Leslie's humor columns at generalgayety.com Boy, there's been a lot of action around Don't Ask, Don't...Read More
Candidate runs on queer youth homeless shelter platform
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 29, 2010 3:00 PM |Imagine a candidate running this season in the US including this in her platform: A candidate for Toronto city council is asking for the community's support to help create the city's first homeless shelter for queer youth. "We know that...Read More
I Am Not A Burned Down House
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 29, 2010 12:30 PM |I am not a burned down house. Like millions of Americans, I have a “pre-existing condition.” But I am not a “burned down house”, as Mike Huckabee and those who applauded his recent statement seem, to think. When Republicans attack...Read More
Ontario court rules in favor of sex workers' rights
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 29, 2010 11:30 AM |Ontario's high court just overturned several of the country's laws criminalizing various acts of sex work, like working together and indoors ("keeping a bawdy house") and soliciting: In a 131-page ruling, Judge Susan Himel found national laws banning brothels, solicitation...Read More
Join The Impact Chicago and GetEqual Flashmob Targets Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 29, 2010 9:30 AM |Yesterday, at 4pm, Join The Impact Chicago and GetEqual targeted Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois with a flashmob, calling on him to demand that Speaker Pelosi, whom he supported for her position, move a vote on ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination...Read More
Join The Impact Chicago and GetEqual Flashmob Targets Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 29, 2010 9:30 AM |Yesterday, at 4pm, Join The Impact Chicago and GetEqual targeted Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois with a flashmob, calling on him to demand that Speaker Pelosi, whom he supported for her position, move a vote on ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination...Read More
First transgender astronaut?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 28, 2010 5:00 PM |Check out this video interview by frequent Bilerico guest blogger and The New Gay founder Zack Rosen with Amy Weston, a NASA employee who stands a good chance of becoming America's first transgender astronaut....Read More
Grand Jury: IN Rep Secretary of State candidate faces more issues
Filed by Bil Browning | September 28, 2010 2:30 PM |After I posted about Indiana Republican Secretary of State candidate Charlie White's violations of state election laws while running to be the top election official in the Hoosier state on Huffington Post, the story has continued to grow. My article...Read More
An Interview with NOH8: The Silent Photo Protest
Filed by Leone Kraus | September 28, 2010 11:30 AM |I'm sure you've seen them by now, all the celebrities, public figures, and every day people posing in white shirts and 'NOH8' inked onto their faces. Instead of boring you with my explanation of who Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley...Read More
Why LGBT Hoosiers should vote for a Republican over a Democrat
Filed by Chris Douglas | September 28, 2010 9:30 AM |The Indiana Equality Political Action Committee is a statewide PAC established to elect candidates who will support and defend the needs of LGBT Hoosiers and their families. The committee is bipartisan and has now in 2010 issued endorsements of four...Read More
Did IN Republican Secretary of State candidate commit voter fraud?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 27, 2010 12:00 PM |Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is being touted as a 2012 presidential candidate by national media and conservative political pundits due, in part, to Indiana's controversial Voter ID law, one of the most restrictive voting laws in the entire country. Gov....Read More
Young Guns, Deadly Ideas
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 27, 2010 11:00 AM |When last we left our story, the young guns came galloping into a critical moment. The recession is over, and as the dust settles it reveals that the American economy and middle class lay bleeding: 45 million Americans are...Read More
Politics shouldn't be for hacks
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 27, 2010 10:00 AM |Here's a story that won't get much attention, and it probably shouldn't. But it demonstrates one my biggest frustrations with politics right now. A gay activist thought he'd host a fundraiser for a Democratic state senate candidate in New Paltz,...Read More
The Tea Party, Witches, & the Corporate Republic
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 27, 2010 8:30 AM |Editors' note: C.D. Kirven is a Lambda Literary nominated author of the book What Goes Around Comes Back Around, former Get Equal member and Co-founder of Get Equal Now. "Yet this is a year... in which America must examine not...Read More
The Tea Party, Witches, & the Corporate Republic
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 27, 2010 8:30 AM |Editors' note: C.D. Kirven is a Lambda Literary nominated author of the book What Goes Around Comes Back Around, former Get Equal member and Co-founder of Get Equal Now. "Yet this is a year... in which America must examine not...Read More
Challenging Obama's UN Speech: 'Democracy' Doesn't Mean 'Equality'
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | September 26, 2010 7:00 PM |Sure, President Obama used his speech at the United Nations last week in part to address Middle East peace, but the crux of his commentary revolved around the superiority of our democratic living. The president forgot to point out that...Read More
Good-bye Obama Yes-Men, And Now What?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 26, 2010 5:30 PM |Tobin Harshaw of the New York Times Opinionator blog discusses the traditional exodus of exhausted senior Administration officials at the two year mark, making a connection between that and the Administration's alleged out-of-touchness. "Larry Summers? Outta here. David Axelrod? Him,...Read More
Young Guns, Ancient Ammo
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 26, 2010 4:00 PM |In keeping with the western-themed title of Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders, allow me to set the scene: It’s well past high noon, and as the dust settles the economy lies bleeding. Looks like it’s all over...Read More
Discrimination on the ballot in Bowling Green, Ohio
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 26, 2010 1:00 PM |Editor's Note: Kim Welter Is Director of Programs for Equality Ohio. She's taking a leave of absence from Equality Ohio to serve as Campaign Director for ONE Bowling Green. On August 17, 2009, the Bowling Green City Council passed Ordinances...Read More
Discrimination on the ballot in Bowling Green, Ohio
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 26, 2010 1:00 PM |Editor's Note: Kim Welter Is Director of Programs for Equality Ohio. She's taking a leave of absence from Equality Ohio to serve as Campaign Director for ONE Bowling Green. On August 17, 2009, the Bowling Green City Council passed Ordinances...Read More
Interview: Model of Recovery
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 25, 2010 4:00 PM |Editors' Note: Robert Danforth is a Brooklyn writer for Boniface Now. His blog explores topics like homophobic bullying and male eating disorders and inspires people with a positive message. "Walking up and down the aisle of the supermarket, Richard selected...Read More
Young Guns, Half-Cocked
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 25, 2010 12:00 PM |A few things become clear upon picking up Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders, the new book by Republican House members Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy. First, "young" is apparently a relative term in the GOP....Read More
Worse Than 1994
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 24, 2010 4:00 PM |A new msnbc.com Voter Confidence Index tracks midterm trends, and what it shows is "nisht gut" for the Dems, as my Yiddishe grandma used to say. The index measures the country's mood as shown by three poll questions from major...Read More
Constitutionally Crazy
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 24, 2010 3:00 PM |Digby confirms a suspicion I’ve held since the Clinton years: part of the method to the right’s maddness is to exhaust their opponents with their insanity. It’s related to what I previously dubbed “The Tyranny of the Tantrum.” Those...Read More
Would we be calling Martin Luther King a civil discourse nut?
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 24, 2010 12:00 PM |I read Stride Toward Freedom a few weeks ago because Bob Somberby kept on telling people to. I saw this post on his site about a month ago, where he caught a bit of Ed Schultz on MSNBC interviewing Martin...Read More
Dressed up like a boy
Filed by Kate Clinton | September 23, 2010 4:00 PM |A recent New York Times article "When Boys Are Prized, Girls Live the Part" written by Jenny Nordberg, described the Afghani tradition of 'bacha posh' which translates as 'dressed up as a boy.' Since boys are so valued over girls,...Read More
On Fear: The Islam Edition, Or, Do You Know My Friend Wa'el?
Filed by Don Davis | September 23, 2010 3:00 PM |We last got together about ten days ago, when I put up a story that hoped to explain to the Islamic world that, Qur'an burning aside, we don't really hate either them, or our own Constitution. I pointed out that,...Read More
A Pox on Both Political Parties: So Where Do We Go From Here?
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 22, 2010 5:00 PM |In the wake of yesterday's debacle on the defense authorization bill which included DADT repeal and the DREAM Act as amendments, like many others, I felt like vomiting. The Democrats, naturally are saying it's all the GOP's fault. One Democratic...Read More
Did Chambliss aide make anti-gay death threat?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 22, 2010 3:00 PM |Right after the cloture vote failed on the repeal of DADT yesterday, blogger Joe Jervis reported getting a comment that said, "All faggots must die" from an IP address traceable to Senator Saxby Chambliss' Atlanta office. Senator Chambliss confirmed to...Read More
Florida appeals court finds ban on gay and lesbian adoptions unconstitutional
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | September 22, 2010 1:30 PM |In a long-awaited ruling, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, in In re Adoption of X.X.G. & N.R.G. (usually referred to as the Gill case), has declared the state's ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians unconsititutional. The...Read More
Log Cabin: What are they smoking?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 21, 2010 6:30 PM |Proving once again that gay Republicans don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, Log Cabin put out the following statement after today's failed cloture vote in the Senate. The Log Cabin Republicans are troubled by the parochial...Read More
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: the Invisibility of Male Couples
Filed by Jeff Sheng | September 21, 2010 5:30 PM |One of the most touching moments for me while working on my "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" photo series has been the photographing of couples. It dawned on me recently, that the element of relationships and couples, particularly of men, has...Read More
Castro triggered the American LGBT rights movement?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 21, 2010 4:30 PM |In a fascinating e-mail to Andrew Sullivan, longtime activist Frank Kameny gives credit to Fidel Castro for triggering the American gay rights movement. While, Castro had no notion, of course, of what he was doing in this context at that...Read More
DADT Repeal: Take a Breath
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | September 21, 2010 3:30 PM |The vote went down as predicted as early as last week when the procedure used to push voting on NDAA by Reid became known. We did not get cloture, and we lost. The "why" is a many-headed hydra that will...Read More
Liveblog with Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet
Filed by Bil Browning | September 21, 2010 2:00 PM |Please join us in welcoming Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet to a liveblog co-hosted by Americablog, OpenLeft, Good As You, and Pam's House Blend. The Mayor will be accepting questions from participants, so ask anything you'd like. He is running...Read More
Queers and Global (In)Justice
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | September 21, 2010 1:00 PM |I am often kept awake at night thinking about issues such as war, the international trafficking of women and girls, indigenous rights to land and water and the US's role as a global exporter and enforcer of colonialism and genocide....Read More
Queers and Global (In)Justice
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | September 21, 2010 1:00 PM |I am often kept awake at night thinking about issues such as war, the international trafficking of women and girls, indigenous rights to land and water and the US's role as a global exporter and enforcer of colonialism and genocide....Read More
Gay is not the new Black: Why replicating King's strategies won't work for the contemporary queer
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 21, 2010 12:00 PM |Yesterday I posted on Stride Toward Freedom, Martin Luther King's account of the Montgomery bus boycott, one of the most successful direct actions in American history. Why was it successful? I'll get more into that tomorrow, when I'll relate more...Read More
Four facts I didn't know about the Montgomery bus boycott
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 20, 2010 12:00 PM |It seems you can't shake a dead cat anymore without someone using Martin Luther King to prove their point. Conservatives claim he was one of them - he once said, "I have a dream that my four little children will...Read More
Guns Don't Kill People. People With Guns Kill People
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 19, 2010 4:00 PM |Or is it, “People kill people with guns”? Either way, there’s been a bit too much of it going on too close to home for my comfort. Now, people are being shot over speed bumps. No, seriously. A guy...Read More
How (Not) To Stop Gay Rights: Russian Activist Kidnapped
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 18, 2010 4:00 PM |The Associated Press is reporting that Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev resurfaced early this morning in Moscow. It's a strange story, and one never knows quite what to believe about such stories. But airport authorities confirmed that Alexeyev showed...Read More
Five Myths About Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 18, 2010 2:00 PM |I have long maintained that the real rational behind Don't Ask Don't Tell is religion and religion belief and the efforts of military leaders and Christianists to inflict their beliefs on all of society and in the military in particular....Read More
HRC Blames Prop 8 Trial Ruling, NOM for Possible Democratic Loss of Congress
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 17, 2010 3:00 PM |What is Joe Solmonese smoking? The President of the Human Right Campaign sent out a fundraising email Wednesday morning that appears to blame the possible loss of the Democrats majority in Congress on District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that...Read More
Three Questions, Pt. 4
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 17, 2010 2:00 PM |For all the noise they make extolling small town America and Main Street as the epitome of American values and the touchstone of morality, conservatism’s world view is much closer to that voiced by Phil Gramm, who once called Wall...Read More
GOProud, aka what happens when you build a gay FreedomWorks
Filed by Adam Bink | September 17, 2010 8:30 AM |I see that GOProud, an organization that was billed to be a new kind of Log Cabin Republicans but has turned into a hybrid Uncle Tom apologist for kind-of-pro-gay-but-only-when-people-ask-about-it, not-anti-equality-but-not-gay-bashing-either Republicans, is now working to take down Barney Frank. Today,...Read More
H.E.R.O., GetEQUAL Disrupt Senate Armed Services Hearing
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 16, 2010 6:00 PM |Today, GetEQUAL and H.E.R.O. - an Arizona-based grassroots group of community organizers - interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Members of the LGBT civil rights organizations stood up in the middle of the hearing in room SD-106 of the...Read More
Scott campaign: Feds should shut down Twitter & Facebook
Filed by Bil Browning | September 16, 2010 4:00 PM |My original story about Indiana Republican congressional candidate Marvin Scott's campaign manager grew legs and was reported all over the country and resulted in his termination from the campaign. The manager, Stan Solomon, repeatedly made anti-gay, xenophobic, and racist comments...Read More
Realizing The Dream
Filed by Steve Ralls | September 16, 2010 2:00 PM |Next week, the Senate is expected to cast a long-awaited vote on the Department of Defense Authorization bill. As almost everyone now knows, the bill holds a special significance for our community this year because of its potential to repeal...Read More
Will Tea Party climate repeal "Don't ask, don't tell"?
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | September 16, 2010 1:00 PM |With the global kerfuffle about an Islamophobic minister, Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, threatening to burn the Koran on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, little attention last week was given to a federal district court judge's ruling that the...Read More
Australia allows transgender people to serve in the military
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 16, 2010 12:00 PM |It's really, really hard not to make a comparison to the US here: Chief of the Defence Force Angus Houston issued an instruction Monday revoking the policy that effectively banned transgender service members. The ADF is believed to be the...Read More
They Meant Well: Microsoft
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 16, 2010 8:30 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Leslie Robinson's brother-in-law works for Microsoft, and his attempts to educate her are downright noble. Check out more of Leslie's humor columns at generalgayety.com We've reached a point in America where many companies seek to do...Read More
Liveblog with NH Senate candidate Paul Hodes
Filed by Bil Browning | September 15, 2010 6:00 PM |Please join us in chatting with New Hampshire Senate candidate Paul Hodes. We're hosting this liveblog in conjunction with Americablog, OpenLeft, Good As You, and Pam's House Blend. You can follow along on any of the sites and various bloggers...Read More
Freedom of Religion and Non-Discrimination Law
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 15, 2010 5:00 PM |I'm writing a law review article about the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, and its interaction with non-discrimination statutes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Here's some of my introduction to the article, setting the stage...Read More
Freedom of Religion and Non-Discrimination Law
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 15, 2010 5:00 PM |I'm writing a law review article about the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, and its interaction with non-discrimination statutes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Here's some of my introduction to the article, setting the stage...Read More
Live at TBP tonight at 6 PM- Rep. Paul Hodes, NH Democratic nominee for Senate
Filed by Adam Bink | September 15, 2010 2:30 PM |Please join us at 6 PM EST tonight for a live chat with Rep. Paul Hodes, the Democratic nominee for the open Senate seat in New Hampshire. I am a big believer that if you're going to make a criticism,...Read More
Credit for Reid? Who Cares? Just Keep Pushing.
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | September 15, 2010 12:30 PM |Maybe this is bigger to me because I live and breath DADT repeal, but there's this slight debate over why Harry Reid announced scheduling. Was it the power of Gaga? Was it Alex's piece in The Hill? Did the LCR...Read More
On Election Day
Filed by Sara Whitman | September 15, 2010 10:30 AM |As I am way too often required to do, I was sitting filling out forms yesterday. Of course, the after school program that Jake goes to had me because today was his first day and if I didn't fill them...Read More
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," photography exhibition opens in Los Angeles, new photobook released
Filed by Jeff Sheng | September 15, 2010 9:30 AM |Many readers will remember a series of my posts from earlier this year about my "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" photography project, featuring currently serving closeted service members affected by the policy. I wanted to finally update everyone about the progress...Read More
Mercy-killing claim wasted police's time
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 14, 2010 6:00 PM |I heard that gay British TV gabber Ray Gosling got a suspended sentence for "wasting police time" because he said he mercy-killed his partner a few months back, and I thought, Wow, the British criminal justice sucks. They investigate you,...Read More
LGBT Equality Issues Take Center Stage in Most Watched US Senate Race
Filed by Nadine Smith | September 14, 2010 12:30 PM |Last night Equality Florida posted a statement from Governor Charlie Crist regarding LGBT issues that covered a wide range of topics, including: calling for an end to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, passage of the Uniting American Families Act and an...Read More
Smile for the gays
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 14, 2010 11:30 AM |Here's a way to start the day: On a sweltering day in June, a bunch of young people was handing out leaflets to passers-by. They wore badges with the Chinese characters "Tongzhi Nihao" and a smiling face printed against a...Read More
Republican campaign manager to be fired for anti-gay tweets?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 14, 2010 8:30 AM |After I reported that Stan Solomon, the campaign manager for Republican teabagger Marvin Scott's 7th congressional campaign, has been tweeting incredibly offensive anti-gay and xenophobic statements, Indiana Stonewall Democrats issued a statement calling for Solomon's termination. The Scott campaign, long...Read More
Letter From Rep. Chris Carney's District
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 13, 2010 5:29 PM |As I mentioned in my post last week about Congressman Chris Carney, who is being coy on his support of ENDA, I had worked with a constituent of his to meet with him on ENDA last year. I received an...Read More
Three Questions, Pt. 3: Should We?
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 13, 2010 4:00 PM |In the previous post in this series, I wrote: To progressives, it seems a given that of course we must do something to alleviate the suffering that the financial collapse and economic downturn have the inflicted on millions of Americans....Read More
IN07: Campaign Manager Tweets Anti-Gay Slurs
Filed by Bil Browning | September 13, 2010 11:00 AM |Dr. Marvin Scott, an African-American Republican candidate for Indiana's 7th Congressional District, is no stranger to controversy. The perennial candidate, he is running against Rep Andre Carson, an African-American Muslim and has repeatedly faced charges of anti-Islamic bigotry by both...Read More
Florida Governor Charlie Crist Releases Position Paper on LGBT Issues
Filed by Nadine Smith | September 13, 2010 10:00 AM |Governor Crist and his campaign team reached out to Equality Florida several weeks ago to let us know of their intention to spell out the Governor's positions on federal LGBT issues and to get our input on the most important...Read More
Abraham Lincoln - Was He Gay? Part 2
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 12, 2010 1:00 PM |Last week I did a post here at The Bilerico Project that created quite a bit of commentary and several personal attacks in comments that I did not approve for publication because of their nastiness. I was particularly surprised by...Read More
SSS: Is Don't Ask Don't Tell Dead, or are we killing ENDA instead?
Filed by Phil Reese | September 12, 2010 10:30 AM |This week on SameSexSunday, we chat with YouTube icon Sean Chapin about Mark Bingham's legacy on the 9th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We also sit down with HIV+ same-sex binational partners who survived Hurricane Katrina, but will soon...Read More
Radical acts of queer love: some lessons from September 11th
Filed by Susan Raffo | September 11, 2010 4:00 PM |I had a crush on her for three years before anything happened. It was that gentle kind of crush - the tingly feeling of attraction that stayed pretty uncomplicated even while it was always there when we saw each other....Read More
9-11 Remembered: A Flight Attendant's Story
Filed by Waymon Hudson | September 11, 2010 12:00 PM |Author's Note: I was asked to repost my first hand recollection of September 11th again this year. I think it's important that we remember what happened and how we came together as individuals and as a nation, especially in light...Read More
9-11 Remembered: A Flight Attendant's Story
Filed by Waymon Hudson | September 11, 2010 12:00 PM |Author's Note: I was asked to repost my first hand recollection of September 11th again this year. I think it's important that we remember what happened and how we came together as individuals and as a nation, especially in light...Read More
A little justice for the patrons of the Eagle
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 10, 2010 3:00 PM |Last year, the Eagle in Atlanta was raided by 15 police officers who forced all 62 patrons onto the floor, where they were forced to stay for two hours. The patrons weren't told why they were being held. The police...Read More
Should GetEqual Have Targeted Rep. Chris Carney of PA for Playing Coy on LGBT Rights?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 10, 2010 2:00 PM |The direct action LGBT rights group GetEqual this week targeted Representative Chris Carney of Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District for his failure to support ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would prohibit job discrimination against LGBT people. They held a sit-in...Read More
Elections go homophobic and transphobic... this is nothing new
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 10, 2010 1:00 PM |This guy gets right to the point, doesn't he? A functional economy, a decent living, and solid infrastructure are for pussies. Real men spend all their money on war and stop silly sissies from giving away their hard-earned cash to...Read More
Gays, Welcome To The Tea Party?
Filed by D Gregory Smith | September 10, 2010 12:00 PM |I was the first blogger to break the news of the hateful dialog in which Montana Tea Party president Tim Ravndal was caught. In short, he appeared to advocate the torture/lynching of gay people, conjuring up the disturbing image of...Read More
So DADT's Unconstitutional. What's next?
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | September 10, 2010 9:00 AM |Note: Cross-posted on Pam's House Blend. Yesterday a ruling was finally issued on the years-old LCR vs. USA case declaring DADT to be unconstitutional and placing an injunction on discharges. I still remember the day - after a meeting with...Read More
Equality Means Business Launched
Filed by Nadine Smith | September 10, 2010 8:30 AM |Today, my organization Equality Florida is thrilled announce the launch “Equality Means Business,” a project to spotlight employers in Florida that demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting diversity and that specifically provide protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trandgender (LGBT)...Read More
Enthusiasm gap
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 09, 2010 5:00 PM |Nate Silver at the NY Times looked up what Democrats and Republicans are talking about in 29 competitive House races. Here's what he found: There's a lot that's interesting in that chart, but I'm just going to focus on the...Read More
Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Alex Sink commits to develop HIV/AIDS strategy
Filed by Michael Emanuel Rajner | September 09, 2010 1:00 PM |In Florida, statewide, the LGBT community is engaging more and more in the political process to ensure candidates for public office are held accountable to represent the unique needs of marginalized and underserved communities when elected. As a gay man...Read More
On Living With Idiots, Or, An Open Letter To Islam
Filed by Don Davis | September 09, 2010 8:30 AM |Dear Islam, You know, it seems like every time I write a letter I have to begin by apologizing for not having written in so long, and that’s the case again today. We only get a few days of real...Read More
Craigslist Adult Services Censored by Government
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | September 08, 2010 5:00 PM |Over this last weekend, those who relied upon Cragslist adult services got a rude awakening. Without any warning, and with no official statement yet, Craigslist removed the adult services section from all US sites and replaced it with a small...Read More
Tea bagger quits party because they fired "hang fruits" guy
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 08, 2010 4:00 PM |Last week Greg posted about Tim Ravndal, the president of the Montana Tea Party, saying on Facebook that he endorsed killing gays: Over the weekend, Ravndal was dismissed by the group. The Montana Tea Party's secretary and house candidate, Kristi...Read More
Divided by Law
Filed by Steve Ralls | September 08, 2010 11:30 AM |Roi Whaley probably never imagined the United States government would play a role in ripping his family apart. The Gulfport, Mississippi resident has deep roots along America's Gulf Coast. He worked, for 17 years, at one of Gulfport's best-known casinos....Read More
GOP Candidate Scott Rigell Led Anti-Gay Split of Historic Episcopal Parish
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 08, 2010 9:30 AM |I have written previously concerning the far right religious views of Scott Rigell (right), GOP candidate for the Virginia 2nd Congressional District. With the election getting closer, it is timely that I more fully document Mr. Rigell's extremism and just...Read More
Queering the Mayor Daley announcement
Filed by Phil Reese | September 08, 2010 8:30 AM |Yesterday, Mayor Richard M. Daley--the son of infamous Chicago Machine mayor Richard J Daley--announced he would not seek a second term, allowing his dad to keep the title of longest-serving Chicago mayor (by a smidge). I can't tell you how...Read More
Choice
Filed by Mercedes Allen | September 07, 2010 2:30 PM |We spend a lot of time fighting the "choice" meme. Which is understandable, given the fact that who we're attracted to and who we identify as are not things that we can switch on or off like a light. The...Read More
GOP, What Have you Done for me Lately?
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 07, 2010 12:30 PM |Editors' note: C.D. Kirven is a Lambda Literary nominated author of the book What Goes Around Comes Back Around, former Get Equal member and Co-founder of Get Equal Now. Is that homophobia in your pocket or a gay campaign contribution?...Read More
Nerd Masculinity
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 07, 2010 10:30 AM |I'm teaching a class this semester on Gender, Work and Family. My class of thirty-one bright-eyed bushy-tailed students and I talked about nerd masculinity, also the subject of the first article in the reader. It's called "Being the 'Go-To Guy':...Read More
Three Questions, Pt. 2: Should We?
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 05, 2010 12:00 PM |Two weeks ago, I wrote this: The fundamental differences between the left and the right -- between conservatives and progressives -- comes down to how we answer three simple questions: “Can we?,” “Should we?” and “What do we mean, ‘We’?”...Read More
Historians' Changing View of President Lincoln's Sexuality
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 04, 2010 4:00 PM |In 2005, the late C.W. Tripp posited that Abraham Lincoln was secretly a homosexual in his book, "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln." Not surprisingly, many historians and those on the far right were aghast - as if somehow being...Read More
Wars always have tragic consequences
Filed by Davina Kotulski | September 03, 2010 3:00 PM |Wars always have tragic consequences. Over 4,400 American soldiers were killed during the 7 years of combat missions in Iraq. Thousands more were wounded. These men and women dedicated their lives to defend and serve our country which is self-sacrificing,...Read More
Hillary 2012 ad starting to air
Filed by Bil Browning | September 03, 2010 2:00 PM |A Chicago dentist has taken to the airwaves with the first 2012 Presidential campaign ad. While the next election is still a few years away, I guess there's something to be said for getting started early. Clinton has not responded...Read More
Pacific Justice Institute's weird suit rejected
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 03, 2010 8:30 AM |The suit to force California to appeal Judge Walker's Prop 8 decision from earlier this week has already been rejected: A California court has refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a ruling that...Read More
Parallels Between Priestly Celibacy and Afghanistan's "Dancing Boy"
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 02, 2010 4:00 PM |Having been raised Roman Catholic, I grew up well versed in the Catholic Church's obsession with all things sexual, and the sometimes less than subtle message that women were temptresses looking to corrupt men and/or dirty. After all, Eve was...Read More
Police exonerate selves in report on entrapment of gay men
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 02, 2010 1:00 PM |Two years ago the police performed some incredibly sketchy prostitution stings in porn shops and video stores in New York in which an undercover agent flirted with a man, proposed consensual sex, and then offered money. If the men didn't...Read More
Glenn Beck's Cynical Invasion of D.C.
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 02, 2010 10:30 AM |Editors' note: Maya Rupert is the federal policy attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, where she has worked since Spring 2010. She graduated in 2006 from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), and has...Read More
Why The TBLG Community Can't Sit Out The 2010 Midterms
Filed by Monica Roberts | September 01, 2010 7:00 PM |I'm noting the volcanic level anger within elements of the GLBT community at the Democrats over the pace of the community's political agenda. While I'm angry at the Dems for different reasons and some of y'all within the GLBT community...Read More
More Than a Linguist: SU Web Ad 3
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | September 01, 2010 5:00 PM |So we have our first active duty web ad. The fact that we're using someone still in is compelling - as it's meant to be - but only as a means to gain attention. The deeper talking point here is...Read More
Gay, Muslim, roll-back, and demonization
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 01, 2010 3:00 PM |I won't name names, but I've been reading enough mainstream and gaystream media for the past couple weeks to have come across the "Homophobia is over" thesis a few times. Ken Mehlman came out, AFER won their case against Prop...Read More
Scorecard of Mehlman mentions: Fox News 2, HRC & NGLTF 0
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 01, 2010 12:30 PM |Editors' Note: From San Francisco, Guest blogger and advocate Michael Petrelis reports stories the mainstream media choose to ignore. Michael has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, CNN, ABC News, and National Public Radio. He has been quoted by The New...Read More
California sued to appeal Prop 8 ruling
Filed by Alex Blaze | September 01, 2010 11:30 AM |Karen Ocamb has a great post on her site about the Pacific Justice Institute's attempt to sue the state of California into appealing Prop 8. Two weeks ago I wrote, "[I]s the next step for them to sue the state...Read More
New Gay Street Beat Podcast (Featuring Me!) Talks the New Documentary "Bullied", LGBT Youth, Media, & More
Filed by Waymon Hudson | September 01, 2010 10:30 AM |I was back on the new LGBT podcast "Gay Street Beat" this week for their latest edition and wanted to share it with all of you! Be sure to download it free on iTunes or listen to it on the...Read More
New Gay Street Beat Podcast (Featuring Me!) Talks the New Documentary "Bullied", LGBT Youth, Media, & More
Filed by Waymon Hudson | September 01, 2010 10:30 AM |I was back on the new LGBT podcast "Gay Street Beat" this week for their latest edition and wanted to share it with all of you! Be sure to download it free on iTunes or listen to it on the...Read More
The Fierce Urgency of Now: Queers Must Challenge Islamaphobia
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | September 01, 2010 8:30 AM |My great-grandfather was one of the founders of the mosque in Quincy, Massachusetts. My grandfather, his son, was also a practicing Muslim. Although I was raised as a Jew, I have not forgotten the fact that many members of my...Read More
