Politics: September 2011
Falsification or Embellishment? Anti-Gay NC Lawmaker Lied
Filed by Matt Comer | September 30, 2011 5:00 PM |"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." It's a great lesson for children; one that should be applied practically as an adult. It's a lesson anti-LGBT North Carolina state Sen. James Forrester never really took to heart.Read More
Make Marriage Work Like Disappearing Ink
Filed by Yasmin Nair | September 30, 2011 4:00 PM |Mexico City lawmakers are contemplating issuing temporary marriage licenses. This is a perfect solution: Make marriage work like disappearing ink.Read More
Military Chaplains Can Marry Gay Soldiers
Filed by Bil Browning | September 30, 2011 3:00 PM |The Department of Defense issued two memos today clarifying that military chaplains can marry gay and lesbian soldiers and the couples can get married on base if the state allows same-sex marriage.Read More
Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise Trans Community
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 29, 2011 12:00 PM |"Voter ID" laws - which require citizens to present a valid form of photo identification in order to vote in elections - have been passed in several states, disenfranchising communities with legitimate reasons for not having those forms of ID - including trans people.Read More
US Catholic Bishops Threaten Obama Over DOMA
Filed by Father Tony | September 29, 2011 8:00 AM |In the context of this letter, the suddenly thunderous saber-rattling of the US Catholic bishops appears to be rooted in the prospect of lost funding rather than in the imaginary moral outrage of its flock.Read More
Republican Senator Collins Doesn't Know
Filed by Bil Browning | September 28, 2011 6:00 PM |Now that Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has co-sponsored the RMA and Collins is aware of the legislation, do you think she'll be the first Republican to co-sponsor it in the Senate?Read More
Q&A: Obama on DOMA's Future & Binational Couples
Filed by Bil Browning | September 28, 2011 5:00 PM |During an "Open for Questions" roundtable sponsored by the Latino community, President Obama was asked two LGBT-related questions. One interesting part that stands out.Read More
Signorile's Must-Hear Interview with NC Fundie Politician
Filed by Bil Browning | September 28, 2011 3:00 PM |Listen as Signorile eviscerates general jackass North Carolina legislator and doctor, James Forrester. The state senator has been the main force behind the state's proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.Read More
Photo: George Bush Goes to DC Gay Gym
Filed by Bil Browning | September 28, 2011 11:30 AM |As with his photo-op presidency, now W can claim he's down with gays and blacks. Someone alert Kanye West and John Aravosis.Read More
'Class Warfare' Smackdown
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 28, 2011 9:15 AM |Michelle Bachmann's answer to a young tea partier's question about taxes qualifies her as a contender and earns her a spot in the ring for a round of what I call "Class Warfare" Smackdown.Read More
Obama Heckled by Christian in West Hollywood
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 27, 2011 6:00 PM |Waiting in that shoulder-to-shoulder crowd was a bearded man on the front line - just feet away from the President. The guy yelled out: "Christian God is the one and only true living God, the creator of Heaven and the Universe."Read More
Rep Maxine Waters: Obama's Comments 'A Bit Curious'
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 27, 2011 11:30 AM |While this is a difficult re-election for progressives disappointed in Obama, it may be even more difficult for African Americans who expected - and hoped for - even more from America's first Black president.Read More
Rev Lou Sheldon's Pathetic Press Conference
Filed by Bil Browning | September 27, 2011 10:30 AM |Poor Sheldon didn't have much luck with his presser. No one showed up except three staffers from the Courage Campaign.Read More
Why Did Obama Engage GOP Candidates?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 27, 2011 8:00 AM |For all those who keep complaining as if Obama is the Worst. President. Evah. on LGBT issues, who would you rather have in the White House - one of those GOP fools or a President who shares your values?Read More
Indy Star Examines Gay City Council Candidates: Misses Big Story
Filed by Bil Browning | September 26, 2011 8:30 PM |While I touted the historical significance of the three openly gay City-County Council candidates in a July post, the Indianapolis Star has an article today highlighting how little attention the candidate's sexual orientation has garnered while glossing over one few important fact.Read More
House Dems to Boehner: What's Up with DOMA?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 26, 2011 4:00 PM |A handful of House Democrats have sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner requesting a briefing on the Republican-led defense of DOMA. What's their next move? Read More
The Message: Time To Pay It Forward
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 26, 2011 2:00 PM |Elizabeth Warren recently answered conservatives' cries of "class warfare" regarding President Obama's new jobs agenda. What she said encapsulated precisely the message that every candidate appealing for Main Street votes needs to repeat from now until November 5, 2012.Read More
Gaga's Multi-Pronged Tribute to Jamey Rodermeyer
Filed by Bil Browning | September 26, 2011 11:45 AM |Lady Gaga's newest LGBT cause is teen bullying after Buffalo, New York teenager Jamey Rodermeyer died of suicide earlier this month after enduring months of anti-gay bullying.Read More
Atheism Continues Upswing in America
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 25, 2011 4:00 PM |Even as the Republican Party races to turn itself into a completely religious based party, the trend in the larger American public is away from religion.Read More
After DADT, Military Recruiters Target Gays & Lesbians
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 24, 2011 6:00 PM |From gay community centers to college campuses, military recruiters are taking advantage of the end to DADT, showing that DADT was in part repealed to broaden the population of people who are eligible to join the military. Read More
Congressional Candidate Speaks Out Against DOMA
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 24, 2011 2:00 PM |Mike Williams, a congressional candidate from Connecticut, spoke with The Bilerico Project about his personal Defense of Marriage Act story, his views on Obama's DOMA actions, and the hypocrisy of the "states' rights" argument. Read More
Is There a Death Penalty Compromise?
Filed by Don Davis | September 23, 2011 3:00 PM |If all the states want to limit the imposition of the death penalty to just the guilty, one way you could do it would be to make it a lot harder to prove guilt; that's what we have in mind for today's proposal.Read More
No 'Gay' in Google Word Cloud When People Think of Rick Perry
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 23, 2011 2:00 PM |Interesting that LGBTs just don't seem to be on the radar of people who think about Rick Perry - while we're kind of obsessed.Read More
Trans Rights Bills Read in New Canadian Parliament
Filed by Mercedes Allen | September 22, 2011 6:00 PM |In the first week of the 41st session of Parliament, two Private Member's Bills were introduced, both proposing explicit inclusion of transsexual and transgender people in the Canada Human Rights Act and the hate crimes clauses of the Criminal Code of Canada.Read More
Bill Hicks on Gays in the Military
Filed by R Conrad | September 22, 2011 3:00 PM |A little comedic antidote from years ago to offset all the pro-war, pro-military shenanigans that have taken over the headlines of LGBT news outlets.Read More
Taking Back The Vote
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 22, 2011 1:00 PM |When the tea party shouts their desire to take "their country" back, make no mistake the first thing they want to take back is the right to vote. They don't just want to take it back. They want to transform it, again.Read More
Cartoon: DADT RIP
Filed by Storm Bear | September 22, 2011 11:30 AM |The day before DADT was repealed and the day after...Read More
White House Response to Troy Davis' Pending Execution
Filed by Joe Mirabella | September 21, 2011 7:30 PM |Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed any minute. I asked the White House whether the President planned to intercede.Read More
Liz Mathis to Run for Open Iowa State Senate Seat
Filed by Joe Mirabella | September 21, 2011 6:00 PM |For political junkies, this race is the race to watch this November. Rarely is so much at stake for a local election. Read More
American Jobs Bill: NY Delegation Unclear
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 21, 2011 4:00 PM |The NY Congressional delegation seems to be having some problems getting on board for jobs. What are they waiting for? Read More
Santorum Demands Google Change Search Results
Filed by Bil Browning | September 21, 2011 9:30 AM |Presidential wannabe Rick Santorum has come out swinging against Google in a desperate attempt to mitigate what the mainstream media has dubbed his "Google problem."Read More
Death's Own Party, Pt. 2
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 20, 2011 2:00 PM |Even Republicans are having funny reactions to their last debate. One Huntsman staffer said she's "sick and sad" over the behavior of the crowd at the last two debates. Funny. "Sick and sad" is exactly how some of us would describe that behavior.Read More
Is Dan Savage Really This Naive & Uninformed?
Filed by Guest Blogger | September 20, 2011 12:00 PM |While appearing on the Lawrence O'Donnel Show on MSNBC, on the eve of the fresh demise of DADT last night and while answering questions about how he felt about the repeal, Dan Savage misstated the actual situation regarding DADT and transgender people in the military - on more than one occasion.Read More
Indiana to Reform Marijuana Laws?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 20, 2011 11:00 AM |Indiana Senate Democrats sent out an interesting e-mail this morning asking Hoosiers their opinion on weed reform. What do you think is the top answer?Read More
Special Election Puts Marriage Equality at Risk in Iowa
Filed by Joe Mirabella | September 19, 2011 5:00 PM |Iowa's equal marriage for gays and lesbians is in serious jeopardy. A special election scheduled for November 8 could hand Iowa's Senate to the Republicans, which would pave the way for a constitutional amendment to be passed through Iowa's legislature.Read More
California Sunshine: Prop. 8 Tapes to be Released
Filed by Jerame Davis | September 19, 2011 3:00 PM |Today, US District Judge James Ware ruled that the video of the Prop. 8 trial will be released to the public. Of course, the proponents of Prop 8, who fought to keep the trial from being televised originally, aren't very happy.Read More
Class Warfare, or Class Reconciliation?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 19, 2011 12:00 PM |By raising the cry of "class warfare" over reconciling tax rates for millionaires, the Republicans have revealed whose side of this alleged "class warfare" they are on. Read More
Countdown to DADT Repeal: Party Like Its 1993
Filed by Bil Browning | September 19, 2011 11:00 AM |Tonight at midnight Eastern time the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy will finally be consigned to the dustbins of history. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers will finally be able to serve openly in the US military.Read More
Financial Scandal Screws CA Dems, 'Wipes Out' Feinstein
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 18, 2011 4:00 PM |For many years, California Democratic politicians and elected officials trusted Kinde Durkee as their campaign treasurer. Now she's being compared to Bernie Madoff.Read More
Courage Campaign Flashmobs Bachmann
Filed by Bil Browning | September 18, 2011 2:30 PM |Friday evening the Courage Campaign staged a flashmob before Michelle Bachmann's speech to the California Republican convention. Seventy-five folks showed up to sing and dance to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" to protest Bachmann's ties to ex-gay therapy.Read More
Suffer the Children
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 18, 2011 1:00 PM |On Wednesday, the Census Bureau released its report on poverty in America. The numbers were particularly devastating for children.Read More
Britain Commits to Marriage Equality by 2015
Filed by Bil Browning | September 18, 2011 11:30 AM |While British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell isn't satisfied, Freedom to Marry was quick to point out how far the US lags behind.Read More
Hell No, I Won't Go: I Bleed Carolina Blue
Filed by Matt Comer | September 16, 2011 4:00 PM |I felt shamed and downright horrible inside. For the first time ever, I was ashamed of my home, the Old North State. There's been times I've dreamed of leaving home. Each time, however, was on a positive note.Read More
Jobs Bill: Learning From LGBT Rights
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 16, 2011 2:00 PM |The Administration must learn lessons from the fight for LGBT rights in order to pass the Jobs for Americans Act, and we should help. Read More
Rachel Maddow & New Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 16, 2011 1:00 PM |Respected consumer advocate and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren announced on Wednesday that she is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Scott Brown for the seat that was once held by liberal lion Ted Kennedy.Read More
The Ron Paul Drunken Fanboy
Filed by Bil Browning | September 16, 2011 10:00 AM |Cue the Paulites to come swarm the comment thread and remind us all that he's the anti-Christ or something like that.Read More
Trans Employees No Longer Under Threat from Social Security
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 16, 2011 9:00 AM |Transgender employees will no longer be outed to employers by the Social Security Administration. Read More
A Dream? A Lie? Or Something Worse?
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 15, 2011 5:00 PM |It doesn't come as a surprise to me that downward mobility is the trend that seems likely to dominate the next decade - especially if Washington continues its current trend.Read More
Queer Rising's 'Vindictive Prosecution' For Marriage Equality
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 15, 2011 4:00 PM |Five Queer Rising activists are being put through the wringer by the Manhattan DA's office for their protests in support of marriage equality. Read More
Why Literary Agents Pressure Authors to 'Straighten' Gay Characters
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | September 15, 2011 9:00 AM |The outrage of the moment is over an unnamed literary agent won't represent a young-adult book unless a gay character is rewritten as straight. As an author, I share the outrage, but there's a bigger story that needs to be looked at.Read More
Death's Own Party, Pt. 1
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 14, 2011 6:00 PM |Just when I think I've heard and seen it all, along come the Republican presidential debates. Judging by a couple candidates' of biggest applause lines, the GOP base is quite enthusiastic about (someone else's) death and apparently don't care who knows it.Read More
Why is Gary Johnson's Presidential Campaign Being Ignored?
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 14, 2011 5:00 PM |Gary Johnson, who consistently polls alongside Huntsman, Santorum, and Cain, is nearly always excluded from GOP debates. The candidate spoke with Bilerico about his exclusion, stances on LGBT issues, and thoughts on third parties.Read More
Video: Rep Nancy Pelosi on Democrat's Achievements
Filed by Bil Browning | September 14, 2011 3:00 PM |House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi won the Americans for Democratic Action's Frances Perkins Award for Government Service and I've clipped out ten minutes of her acceptance speech that mentions LGBT rights.Read More
Victory Fund Endorses 3 Gay Congressional Candidates
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 14, 2011 2:30 PM |Yesterday the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund announced endorsements for three openly gay congressional candidates, including U.S. House of Representatives hopefuls from Washington, California, and Wisconsin.Read More
Trans Servicemembers: Coming Out May Cause Discharge
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 14, 2011 9:00 AM |NCTE and SLDN team up to warn trans service members that the repeal of DADT isn't for them. Read More
NC Senate Passes Marriage Amendment
Filed by Bil Browning | September 13, 2011 3:00 PM |If you thought the special session of the North Carolina legislature would focus on assisting those devastated by the recent hurricane or address record unemployment, think again. Read More
Our Own Private Disasters
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 13, 2011 1:00 PM |What's even scarier than natural disasters? The tea-party-conserva-tarian dystopia of the future - where there is no more public sector and there are no more public workers.Read More
Most. Exciting. Debate. Ever.
Filed by Bil Browning | September 13, 2011 12:00 PM |Watch some of the best clips of the snide put downs, bribery insinuations, and the night's most gasp-worthy moment.Read More
NC House Passes Marriage Amendment
Filed by Bil Browning | September 13, 2011 10:00 AM |North Carolina joins Minnesota and Indiana in the race to the bottom.Read More
Barney Frank: It Gets Better
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 12, 2011 5:00 PM |Representative Barney Frank has made an It Gets Better video.Read More
First Gay Irish President (Redux)?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 12, 2011 4:00 PM |Earlier this year Irish Senator David Norris seemed almost certain to be Ireland's first gay President, but a scandal forced him to withdraw his candidacy. Now he might be back in the game.Read More
The GOP Neither Puts Up Nor Shuts Up
Filed by Terrance Heath | September 12, 2011 3:00 PM |Well, he did it. President Obama went big. Big for him, anyway. While the presidents plan isn’t bold enough to satisfy many progressives, he accomplished something that may cause Republicans some regret if the president presses his advantage.Read More
DNC Elevates Transgender Member
Filed by Mike Rogers | September 12, 2011 2:00 PM |The Democratic National Committee has broken new ground. This weekend the DNC elected Babs Caspar Siperstein to its Executive Committee - a groundbreaking election as Babs is the first out transgender member of the committee.Read More
Milquetoast Unite: Pawlenty Endorses Romney
Filed by Bil Browning | September 12, 2011 9:30 AM |Former GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty formally endorsed Mitt Romney this morning. You could hear America yawning from outer space.Read More
I'm Not Posting on 9/11: I've Got a Desk to Clear
Filed by Don Davis | September 11, 2011 2:30 PM |You can help fix the world, you can help spread the word about energy subsidies for fossil fuels, and maybe you can help someone get off a waiting list that, at the moment, is leaving them waiting for death. Read More
Facebook Co-Founder Takes On NC Legislature
Filed by Bil Browning | September 10, 2011 12:00 PM |Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has thrown down the gauntlet to North Carolina legislators agitating for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships.Read More
MD Senator Mikulski Comes Out (for DOMA Repeal)
Filed by Bil Browning | September 09, 2011 11:00 AM |Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski has announced she will co-sponsor the bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Mikulski has long been rumored to be a closeted lesbian.Read More
US Senate Candidate Tammy Baldwin Talks to Rachel Maddow
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 08, 2011 9:00 AM |Rachel Maddow leads into an interview with openly lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin with a discussion of how President Obama and Vice President Biden have finally joined the fight by unions to retain their right to collective bargaining.Read More
Ill-Legal Workers Commercial
Filed by Bil Browning | September 08, 2011 8:00 AM |Here in DC this commercial ran a few times during the MSNBC Republican presidential candidate debate. Did it run in your area of the country too? After it aired Jerame just looked at me with his jaw on the floor.Read More
Bilking the Sophisticated: We're Suing Banks!
Filed by Don Davis | September 07, 2011 3:00 PM |I took a break to enjoy the holiday, as I'm sure many of you did, but my inbox kept busy, and on Friday came a doozy, courtesy of the Washington Post.Read More
NC & MN Voters Oppose Marriage Amendments
Filed by Bil Browning | September 07, 2011 1:00 PM |The results from North Carolina and Minnesota polls about their respective state constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage may surprise you.Read More
NY Marriage Equality Could Mean Big Money for Cuomo
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 07, 2011 12:00 PM |NY Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's advocacy for marriage equality in New York earlier this summer has already paid off with enormous support from the gay and lesbian community. But soon, his work could translate into serious bucks from gay and lesbian donors. Read More
Bachmann: Adoption Orgs' Religion Trumps Gay Rights
Filed by Adam Polaski | September 07, 2011 10:00 AM |At the American Principles Project Palmetto Freedom Forum this weekend, Michele Bachmann once again invoked her opposition to "activist judges," this time responding to a question about the rights of gay and lesbian couples in civil unions to adopt. Read More
Arizona Can't Repeal Same-Sex Benefits
Filed by Bil Browning | September 07, 2011 8:00 AM |The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals has ruled that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer cannot revoke domestic partner benefits already provided to same-sex and opposite-sex unmarried couples.Read More
NYT: Gays Discharged Under DADT Seek to Re-Enlist
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 06, 2011 3:00 PM |The New York Times has a good story out Monday about how some of the more than 13,000 LGBT servicemembers discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" want to re-enlist but face many obstacles to doing so. Read More
Streaming: Live Coverage of Court Hearing on Prop 8
Filed by Bil Browning | September 06, 2011 1:00 PM |The American Foundation for Equal Rights alerts us that the California is currently addressing the issue of standing in the Proposition 8 challenge.Read More
Why Are the Extremists Proclaiming President Obama's Political Demise?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 06, 2011 10:00 AM |Yes, I'd like to have seen President Obama practice his extreme wrestling skills this past week, but we have a long way to go before the elections. Read More
Rep Tammy Baldwin Announces Senate Run
Filed by Bil Browning | September 06, 2011 8:45 AM |America's only (openly) lesbian Congresswoman, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), announced this morning that she will run for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Herb Kohl.Read More
The Bachmanns: Just for Laughs
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 04, 2011 2:30 PM |Thanks to the Iowa State Fair and the joy of corn dogs, this parody is considerably more risque than Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin. Can't help but wonder how Bachmann's base feels about these jabs.Read More
Dan Choi Is No Hero: Rage, or the Lack Thereof
Filed by Yasmin Nair | September 04, 2011 12:15 PM |If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, is Dan Choi insane?Read More
Obama Coming to LA for Two Fundraisers on Sept 26
Filed by Karen Ocamb | September 03, 2011 12:00 PM |President Obama is coming to Los Angeles on Sept. 26th for two invitation-only reelection fundraisers geared to different income levels.Read More
What The Hung Jury Means In The Larry King Murder Case
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 02, 2011 8:00 AM |The "gay panic" defense is alive and well and living in California. Read More
The Choi Trial: Latest Attack on Peaceful Protest
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | September 01, 2011 7:00 PM |Make no mistake - protest is going away as an American tool for change.Read More
Is VA Guv Allowing Religious Group to Direct Abortion Policies?
Filed by Michael Hamar | September 01, 2011 1:00 PM |The deputy secretary of health and human resources for Virginia who heads the office that will interpret new anti-abortion regulations is none other than Matt Cobb, husband of religious extremist Victoria Cobb, President of the Family Foundation.Read More
So Do You Still Beat Your Wife?
Filed by Bil Browning | September 01, 2011 10:00 AM |We've all heard the joke about reporters asking politicians, "So, do you still beat your wife?" For once, this seems to be an accurate question to ask.Read More
