"If you're gay, lesbian, or bisexual, would you sacrifice for your trans neighbors and siblings? If you're trans, would you sacrifice for your gay, lesbian, or bisexual neighbors and siblings? It's something worth knowing about yourself and those around you." --Autumn Sandeen, 4/19/2010, the night before GetEQUAL's DADT repeal protest at the White House
Public Calendar
Press/media, organizations, and individuals send your time-based event info to: calendar@phblend.net
The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
It was inside that Bahrain kennel in July 2005 that Petty Officer Joseph Christopher Rocha, then 19 years old, says he was being terrorized by other members of his own division. "I was hog-tied to a chair, rolled around the base, left in a dog kennel that had feces spread in it."
Rocha says that beginning six weeks into his deployment, he was singled out for abuse by his chief master-at-arms, Michael Toussaint, and others on the base, once Rocha made it clear he was not interested in prostitutes. "I was in a very small testosterone-driven unit of men," Rocha says. "I think that's what began the questioning-you know-'Why don't you want to have sex with her? Are you a faggot?'"
"Petty Officer Rocha and another junior sailor...were instructed to go into a classroom by Chief Michael Toussaint, who orchestrated the entire training. And Chief Toussaint asked them to simulate homosexual sex on a couch," Hogan says.
In an update by Youth Radio , it appears that Toussaint has been allowed to get away with this behavior with a full pension and a censure.
Since it was announced last October, the terms of Michael Toussaint's retirement have come under scrutiny that is unprecedented for an enlisted sailor. The senior chief petty officer, who from 2005 to 2006 led a Bahrain-based canine unit that was plagued by widespread documented abuse, denied much of his alleged misconduct in February during a retirement board hearing, a proceeding normally reserved for commissioned officers.
The case will soon go to the desk of an assistant secretary of the Navy, who faces a choice: to approve the unanimous recommendation of the three board members who said Toussaint deserves to retire with a senior chief's pension; or to take a harder line and reduce him to a lower pay grade, as government lawyers had sought to do during the hearing.
Deciding against the retirement board's recommendation would be rare.
"I've never yet seen one (a board recommendation) that was overturned by a higher authority," said Eugene Fidell, a professor at Yale University and President of the National Institute of Military Justice.
And in what is another case of Lucy yanking the football away from Charlie Brown, those who sought harsher treatment are left flat on the ground with zero hope of seeing justice for those harassed, or even to see the assailant receive more than a wrist slap.
But advocates for the sailors who were abused under Toussaint's leadership said Navy officials had led them to expect a harsher judgment from the board hearing, which according to Navy guidelines determines the highest rank at which a sailor or officer has served honorably.
"I was surprised," said Aaron Tax, legal director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, "because we thought that the Navy believed this was someone who engaged in outrageous behavior." Tax said despite the board's recommendation, the Navy should lower Toussaint's pension to that of a first class petty officer, the rank he held before becoming chief of the Bahrain unit.
A column I read this morning in the American Spectator by Concerned Women for America "senior analyst" Janice Crouse had me reeling due to its audacity to deceive.
The goal of Crouse's piece was probably to demonstrate just how the recent Proposition 8 decision and gay marriage in general is hurting the black community.
However, what she accomplished was showing yet again how some on the right, especially the religious right, dishonestly manipulate facts and figures.
In her piece, Why Young Black Males Are Not Graduating High School, Crouse seems to be trying make a correlation between a recent report by the Schott Foundation (in which the overall 2007-08 graduation rate for Black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent) and the recent Prop 8 ruling:
What is remarkable about the reaction to the Prop 8 decision is that within the anger are the beginnings of admissions of defeat. The Right has won many important battles against gay rights, but they are losing the war...and they know it...[A]ttorneys for the Right Wing organizations backing Prop 8 could only manage to sputter tired prejudices barely disguised as legal arguments regarding the mythical damage to society caused by legal recognition of gay couples.
-- Michael B. Keegan, president, People For the American Way, "Losing Their Appeal: The Real Reason the Right Is Terrified by the Prop 8 Case," at Huff Post
The religious right may be having a conniption, but younger Republicans increasingly appear to believe that opposing gay equality is inconsistent with a belief in increased liberty and smaller government. Although the religious right will continue to be a strong presence in the GOP for years to come, changing demographics are not on the side of anti-gay forces and the GOP appears to be awakening to this reality.
-- RD, "The GOP Drops the Fight Against Gay Rights," at Frum Forum (RD is the pseudonym of a 10-year armed services veteran recently returned from Afghanistan)
I found these two articles interesting because they dovetail nicely regarding the topic of social conservative public meltdowns in the last week or so regarding the war to "save marriage."
In the case of WorldNetDaily's Joseph Farah, it's become a PR disaster with each e-blast from his computer taking Ann Coulter to task for keynoting GOProud's HOMOCON. They became more and more shrill (with her charging him with being a publicity whore and nutter birther), culminating in Farah making a hilariously deranged appearance on the Mike Signorile Show with him sputtering incoherently about the legal handwriting on the wall re: Prop 8 and the increasing public acceptance of marriage for same-sex couples.
The sorry-ass, religious, culture, and bias-based excuses to prevent opening civil marriage to lesbians and gays couldn't stand up to the reality-based legal standard, as Olsen and Boies smacked down the so-called "experts" who bothered to show up to testify. Just a peek at Walker's Findings of Fact alone put those ridiculous arguments completely to bed.
This is what Michael Keegan discussed on Huff Post - the real fear of the bible beaters is that the Prop 8 case will move forward:
A few days after Judge Walker's decision, the pseudo-historian David Barton, founder and president of the right-wing group WallBuilders, explicitly described the nervousness that has been behind much of the Right's outrage. The case against Proposition 8, Barton argued, could win in the Supreme Court...so opponents of marriage equality should sacrifice California in order to save anti-equality laws in 31 other states.
"Right now the damage is limited to California only," Barton told Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association during a radio interview, "but if California appeals this to the US Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court with Kennedy will go for California, which means all 31 states will go down in flames, although right now this decision is limited only to California...the problem is that instead of California losing its amendment, now 31 states lose their amendment. And that won't happen if California doesn't appeal this decision."
For Beck and other high-profile conservatives, it's simply "Game Over, Man" and time to cross this one off the list and move along to more useful targets focus on more pressing issues. RD @ FrumForum:
The list of conservatives supporting gay equality is growing - from the many Republican appointed judges who have ruled in favor of various gay rights cases, to GOP Solicitor General Ted Olson, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and even the ultraconservative former Vice President Dick Cheney. Nowadays Margaret Hoover of Fox News sits on the board of GOProud alongside conservative Grover Norquist; and even Elisabeth Hasselbeck has come out in support of gay marriage rights.
A growing list of conservative writers and activists have endorsed various gay causes as well. Philip Klein at the American Spectator and talking head Mike Gallagher oppose "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and pundit George Will has remarked that with changing attitudes and demographics, "homosexuality will soon be a non-issue in the military".
A telling incident occurred this past week when an Iowa Republican candidate made anti-gay remarks and the state GOP chairman publicly rebuked him, claiming his statements were "inappropriate and in no way represent the beliefs of the Republican Party of Iowa".
What is happening to the GOP? First our elected officials tire of bashing gays and now our pundits? Perhaps Republicans are beginning to see the writing on the wall.
Perhaps it won't add to their bottom lines anymore to spew anti-gay bile for votes and to fill organization coffers. I'd love to see how much longer some bottom-feeders of that movement like Peter LaBarbera can stay afloat as his boat sprouts new leaks once the real truth about homosexuality pokes holes in it.
I think classic common sense has left the building; as Right Wing Watch wryly Tweeted, "What could go wrong?" (CNN):
An armed Christian organization, Right Wing Extreme, will protect a church that is planning to host an "International Burn a Quran Day" on September 11, the church's pastor said Tuesday.
...Dove World Outreach Center Pastor Terry Jones has accepted the support of Right Wing Extreme, which he said offered to come to the church with between 500 and 2,000 men on September 11. He described the organization as an armed civilian militia group.
...[I]n a statement sent to CNN by the Dove World Outreach Center, Right Wing Extreme founder Shannon Carson said: "We fully support Dove World Outreach Center and its efforts to put an end to the notion that Islam is a peaceful religion. Islam is a violent cult with the goal of world domination."
What is going on in this country? Here's Terry Jones trying to explain his worldview. Batten down the hatches, people - this shiz is insane.
The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!
Dear Mr. President,
My name is Carlos and I'm a 23 year old undocumented immigrant from Caracas, Venezuela. I want to legalize my immigration status in this country through the passage of DREAM Act this year. For too long have I lived in the U.S. without papers. It has been over 20 years, now. I want to legalize my immigration status in order to fulfill my dreams of becoming a young professional in architecture.
(I have to say, Zack doesn't mind stepping in it, or rather jumping into the deep end of the pool. Pro-equality Catholic may seem a term rife with irreconcilable differences. Those who are practicing Catholics and believe in equality do have to help out those of us who just cannot fathom why one would set foot in a church (or worse, still contibute $ to the church) as long as it is a professional pedophile protection racket to its critics. An affinity for the rituals of Mass as a cultural Catholic is really hard to square with the ignorance, fear and bigotry represented by rule under Benedict. We'll see how the dialog goes in this thread. Keep it civil, people. - promoted by Pam Spaulding)
Catholics for Equality empowers pro-equality Catholics to put our faith into ethical and effective political action on behalf of the LGBT community and their families.
Something about "pro-equality Catholic" just doesn't sit right with me. There's very little in Catholicism that in any way resembles "equality" and Catholicism has never been known for being pro-anything. Let's hear a little bit more from their website:
Drawing on the rich tradition of Catholic social justice teachings, grounded in the Gospel message of Love, American Catholics are among the strongest supporters of equality for LGBT people of any religious group in the U.S.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HE HE HE HE HE HE HE!! WHOO! I'm rolling around on the floor. Seriously ROTFLMFAO!!! That's the best joke I've heard all day. You can't be serious, right? I mean, the Catholics come close, but it's definitely the Mormons who are the strongest supporters of LGBT equality, by far. Oh, that's rich, or it would be if it weren't so offensive to all the religious groups who do actually support LGBT equality.
Now, mocking aside, what they're talking about is that there is a rift between congregants and the leadership. Catholics for Equality is a group designed to oppose the bishops. The Catholic Church isn't exactly democratic or egalitarian in any conceivable way, so if congregants don't want to accept what the leadership is spoon-feeding, they have to form a separate group to represent their point of view, and this is such a group.
The question here is: what does it mean to be "Catholic?"
Oh, what a flock of boobs we have up here in Maine!
Not happy with simply amusing the American public back in May with their hijacking of the GOP platform, the Refounders decided to double-down on their lunacy yesterday- much to the collective hilarity and incredulity of folks on MSNBC.
Partial transcript here of Rachel Maddow, discussing the latest stunt of the Maine Refounders Tea Party:
MADDOW: This weekend is the anniversary of "I Have a Dream" speech, one of the most famous speeches, one of the most famous moments in America history. This year, on the 47th anniversary of the speech, a FOX News Channel TV host has decided to use the anniversary as an occasion for a rally of conservatives in Washington at the site of the speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
I don't purport to understand revising civil rights history so people will think conservatives were form civil rights and not against. I do not purport to understand these revisionist efforts. I'm just telling you that's what they're doing.
Right before they list the exact home addresses for a number of Democratic politicians- nice- they give tea partiers traveling to D.C. for this big rally, they give them some safety advice for how a visiting tea partier protestor should visit our nation's capital.
Quote,
"If you are on the subway, stay on the red line between Union Station and Shady Grove, Maryland.
If you are on the blue or orange line, do not go past Eastern Market, Capitol Hill, toward the Potomac Avenue stop and beyond.
Stay in northwest D.C. and points in Virginia.
Do not use the green line or yellow line.
These rules are even more important at night."
There is, of course, nothing wrong with many other areas, but you don't know where you are, so you should not explore them. Do not use the green line or the yellow line. It is dangerous. It is scary.
Here is Rachel Maddow and Eugene Robinson on TRMS last night, discussing this "guide" and what it really represents:
Being as dumb as posts, the Refounders decided today to further illustrate their image as a gang of illiterate, ignorant countryf*cks, an image that they have given the nation, time and again...
I thought you all might find this interesting. I don't want Maddow, but I was given the heads up by a friend of mine who informed me that us Maine Tea Partiers really pissed her off tonight. Of course, she is pulling the weak stunt she attempted on Rand Paul, by somehow painting us as racist.
DC's population includes refugees from every country, as the families of embassy staffs of third world countries tend to stay in DC whenever a revolution in their homeland means that anyone in their family would be in danger if they went back. Most taxi drivers and many waiters/waitresses (especially in local coffee shops like the Bread and Chocolate chain) are immigrants, frequently from east Africa or Arab countries. As a rule, African immigrants do not like for you to assume they are African Americans and especially do not like for you to guess they are from a neighboring country (e.g. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) with whom they may have political or military tensions. It's rare to meet anyone who gets really offended, but you can still be aware of the issue.
Many parts of DC are safe beyond the areas I will list here, but why chance it if you don't know where you are?
Tonight's Chris Matthews Show (with guest WaPo's Clarence Page) discussed the racism, and Ed Schultz blasted away as well, especially as the Refounders felt fit to post the addresses to Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's DC digs, with a note:
(Feel free to protest!)
Oh, and the guide also tells the hick from Maine how to ride on an escalator. REALLY.
... when riding one of the few working escalators in Metro stations, if you're going to stand still and ride it down, stand on the right half; leave the left half clear for folks to walk down.
They say that summertime is the political "silly season"... so it would seem to be true.
-- A private religious school in Texas has denied admission to the daughter of a lesbian couple who wanted to enroll the child in preschool, citing its "clear teaching of the Christian faith" for the refusal.
St. Vincent's School as a ministry of St. Vincent's Cathedral upholds the clear teaching of the Christian faith, the Holy Bible, and the Anglican Church in North America," the Rev. Ryan Reed said.
It's actually the New Anglican Chuch, which broke away from the Episcopalian Church over the Episocalian Church's stance on homosexuals. Apparently, the Episcopalians' attitude is too permissive for the New Anglicans. Of course, the Episcopalian Church itself split from the Anglican Church (Church of England) after that whole Independence thing.
This school has a history of hardline Christian social engineering, having:
rejected an earlier preschool applicant who came from a gay household, fired an unmarried teacher who became pregnant and removed a man "from leadership roles in the school" after he left his wife for another woman.
My only question is, what federal monies are these people taking that can make them vulnerable to be spanked for their social engineering?
Check out the mass email below the fold sent out by the Maine Republican Party- apparently THEY DON'T KNOW, EITHER!
Yet they do know where Congressional candidates Dean Scontras and Jason Levesque are scheduled to appear and proudly share those schedules in the same email... TOO FUNNY!
Up here in Maine, we have an unbelievable gubernatorial candidate, the darling of the Maine Tea Party, that has ducked out of the first 3 debates and avoided the press for over a month.
In fact, he went (follow me carefully now!) on the record with the press via a radio call-in show on WVOM as saying he would no longer be talking directly to the press.
It's not as if he's been seen and photographed driving around in little silly race cars at a fundraiser, or hopping aboard a fundraising Crazy Train To Nowhere or like he were up a creek without a paddle...
Oh. That's right. He did all of those things.
So if anyone locates our missing Republican candidate, could you please let the press in Maine (as well as the voters!) know where he's been hiding? Thank you so very much...
What is this man's problem? His Marines are already bunking and showering with teh homos and nothing has occurred. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway is obsessing so hard over this -- this has to be at least the third time he's made a public comment about needing separate quarters -- that he must be having very vivid man-dreams at night about how it could all go horribly hornily wrong. (Igor Volsky at Think Progress):
NBC's Jim Miklaszewski is reporting that Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway has reiterated his position that if Congress repeals Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Marines who "don't want to room" with openly gay soldiers should be allowed to live separately:
On a different, but related subject, Conway suggested that if the "Don't ask, don't tell" law is repealed, the Marines may consider allowing Marines not to share quarters with homosexuals. Conway said the Marines may make such housing arrangements "voluntary" to accommodate any "moral concerns." He said many Marines are "very religious" and because of their moral concerns "don't want to room" with homosexuals.
Even the Pentagon thought Conway was a bit paranoid and attempted to distance itself from his "messaging." Igor spoke with Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morell who said: "no one is considering 'separate but equal' bathing or living facilities for you know, gay and straight troops. That's just not ever a consideration."
Conway at least has given up on wholly separate barracks, but is very concerned about man-to-man relationships when it comes to shut-eye quarters. He wants, in a post-DADT world that there must be the flexibility to opt out of bunking with the guy you were bunking with the night before he came out of the closet.
"Well, I think, as a commander, you try to satisfy the requirements of all your Marines. And if the law changes and we have homosexual Marines, we'll be as concerned about their rights, their privileges, their morale, as we will Marines who feel differently about that whole paradigm." He added that local commanders will be required "to assist us in making sure that every Marine is provided for and is focused on the fight at hand."
I thought this shite was dead and buried, and now here we have the resurrection of 'Ebonics.' You might recall that this was the nonsense perpetrated by "well-meaning people" in Oakland back in the 1990s to recognize the slang used in black neighborhoods as language or dialect.
This has now reached an epic level of FAIL in the administration of the first black President as the Drug Enforcement Agency is officially hiring for agents fluent in "Ebonics." Jonathan Capehart at the WaPo tipped me off on Twitter:
Pam_Spaulding
@CapehartJ Oh jesus, you are not kidding me. #Ebonics is back. (hangs head).
CapehartJ
RT @Pam_Spaulding: @CapehartJ Oh jesus, you are not kidding me. #Ebonics is back. (hangs head).//WORD.
So I clicked over to the source material Jonathan cited, the always-interesting Smoking Gun, and no, it's not a joke.
AUGUST 23--The Department of Justice is seeking to hire linguists fluent in Ebonics to help monitor, translate, and transcribe the secretly recorded conversations of subjects of narcotics investigations, according to federal records.
A maximum of nine Ebonics experts will work with the Drug Enforcement Administration's Atlanta field division, where the linguists, after obtaining a "DEA Sensitive" security clearance, will help investigators decipher the results of "telephonic monitoring of court ordered nonconsensual intercepts, consensual listening devices, and other media"
The DEA's need for full-time linguists specializing in Ebonics is detailed in bid documents related to the agency's mid-May issuance of a request for proposal (RFP) covering the provision of as many as 2100 linguists for the drug agency's various field offices. Answers to the proposal were due from contractors on July 29.
In contract documents, which are excerpted here, Ebonics is listed among 114 languages for which prospective contractors must be able to provide linguists. The 114 languages are divided between "common languages" and "exotic languages." Ebonics is listed as a "common language" spoken solely in the United States.
Ebonics has widely been described as a nonstandard variant of English spoken largely by African Americans. John R. Rickford, a Stanford University professor of linguistics, has described it as "Black English" and noted that "Ebonics pronunciation includes features like the omission of the final consonant in words like 'past' (pas' ) and 'hand' (han'), the pronunciation of the th in 'bath' as t (bat) or f (baf), and the pronunciation of the vowel in words like 'my' and 'ride' as a long ah (mah, rahd)."
Holy crap. This is so absurd that I cannot believe I'm reading this. Slang and pronunciation common to "the black community" (whatever that is) is not a language; in fact if we're going to even entertain the subject of "Black English" -- it doesn't deserve it, but let's "go there" -- how can you determine what it is? Slang and pronunciation are highly regional, cultural, and constantly changing just like fashion. How the F can you recruit for that? And, as Jonathan noted:
First, of all, it ain't even a real language. A dialect? Sure. But a language like Spanish, Vietnamese or Korean, which the Atlanta office also needs help with? Seriously? Then that would make me and other African Americans you know bilingual. After all, I can lop off words and run them together with the best of them when 1. I'm comfortable with you and think you can hang; 2. I'm with family, 'cause that's how we talk; or 3. I've had a third martini -- and I don't care.
...I have three questions. How is proficiency measured? Who does the testing? What are the courses like? Last I checked "Ebonics" was not offered by Berltiz or Rosetta Stone. But I must say I'm impressed with the DEA's moxy. Or is it chutzpah? As Mrs. Cleaver said, "Chump don' want nah help, chump don' get da help."
Man, Joe Farah's minions at WND must have to spend a lot of time mopping his phone and keyboard because of his untethered spittle-filled tantrums over conservatives defecting on the issue of marriage.
Mike Signorile had him on the show and it was a doozy. You can hear it at The Gist. Mike:
Farah eventually admitted that the left was right all along about Coulter and her lies ("My eyes have been opened") and had to acknowledge that his comrades on the right -- from Coulter and Laura Bush to Glenn Beck and Elisabeth Hassellbeck -- are now shifting on support for gays ( he said conservatives always "give up.")
He also seemed a little bewildered about Prop 8 and its future when I suggested that the people might well vote for marriage soon as polls are shifting across the country. The right's mantra of course has been that the people were usurped by the judges, but now would they accept it if people voted for marriage? No, he said, but clearly realizing he was contradicting himself. At that point, he turned to Jesus.
Bwahahahahaha...FAIL, Farah. Jesus won't help you on that one.
(Washington, D.C.) – While on the Michelangelo Signorile Show attacking Ann Coulter’s appearance at Homocon 2010, World Net Daily’s Joseph Farah admitted that he wasn’t a conservative. In response, Christopher R. Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board, issued the following statement:
“I am sure the irony of going on a left wing gay show to complain about Ann Coulter speaking to a right wing gay group is lost on Mr. Farah, but it isn’t lost on the rest of us. His appearance on the Signorile show was his second appearance on a gay radio show in the last few days. Apparently, only Ann isn’t allowed to speak to gay audiences.
“It is, however, good to see that Farah has finally come out of the closet and admitted that he isn’t actually a conservative; and there was no better spot for Farah to finally come out of the closet than on the left-wing Signorile Show on Sirius’ gay themed channel - OutQ.”
It's the first time that I've seen this historical reference to the President's political dilemma in dealing with this social issue -- President Wilson's foot-dragging regarding women's suffrage. And it's a past mistake that Obama might want consider reviewing as he continues to foolishly tap dance around marriage with "god in the mix" and defenses of the status quo.
In November 1916, The New Republic excoriated Wilson for his weak stand on the issue. During his reelection campaign, TNR wrote, Wilson had told a group of suffragists that "[h]e was with them," even as "he confessed to a 'little impatience' as to their anxiety about method." From this, the magazine concluded that the president had "at best a vague, benign feeling about [the issue], and no conviction whatever that woman suffrage was creating a national situation which called for thorough sincerity, nerve and will."
An evasive stance on a controversial civil rights issue from a liberal president; an insistence that the issue is primarily local, rather than national, in character; a complete failure of sincerity, nerve, and will: If these things sound familiar in 2010, it is because Barack Obama is taking exactly the same approach on gay marriage.
My colleague James Downie has assembled a fascinating timeline of Obama's statements on gay marriage over the past 14 years, stretching from 1996 to earlier this month, when the White House responded to a judge's ruling on Prop 8 by reiterating that it opposes same-sex marriage. What the timeline shows is a pattern that can only be described as illogical and cynical. Obama argues that he is against gay marriage while also opposing efforts like Prop 8 that would ban it. He justifies this by saying that state constitutions should not be used to reduce rights. (His exact words: "I am not in favor of gay marriage, but when you're playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that that is not what America is about.")
Obama appears to be saying that it is fine to prohibit gay people from getting married, as long as the vehicle for doing so is not a constitution. Presumably, then, he supports the numerous states that have banned same-sex marriage through other means, without resorting to a constitutional amendment? If so, he might be the only person in the country to occupy this narrow, and frankly absurd, slice of intellectual terrain. Obama has also said he favors civil unions rather than gay marriage because the question of where and how to apply the label "marriage" is a religious one. This argument makes even less sense than his stance on state constitutions, since marriage, for better or for worse, is very much a government matter.
That's right -- this President is tangled up in a giant web of FAIL. Political fail, honesty fail, and constitutional fail.
* Does Barack Obama, as president, have an opinion on the constitutionality of those amendments than bar gays and lesbians from marrying?
* If it is up to his DOJ to weigh in, does he believe defending DOMA is a necessity?
* Does he believe that separate is equal when it comes to marriage?
* Does Barack Obama believe that the Full Faith and Credit Clause (in Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution) does not apply to same-sex marriages? It did when Loving v. Virginia was decided -- a marriage license for an interracial couple became as portable state-to-state as a drivers license as a result. What about these legal marriages -- not civil unions -- in Iowa, Massachusetts, etc.?
This president is going to have to fish or cut bait with the cases winding their way to SCOTUS or he will be another Wilson in the history books. What an ignominious record it will be for a constitutional law professor and a man who is the product of an interracial marriage. Sad.
The hot mess of insults and bad reporting starts out with this headline on the site of Baltimore's ABC2 news site:
Baltimore City firefighter faces charges after alleged attack on transvestite
Both men arrested after hammer & scissors attacks
Never mind the GLAAD media reference guide, this is completely off the hook offensive in many newsrooms. How many people's eyes were on this copy:
"It was alleged that Mr. Majette actually hit the other party in the head with a hammer and there was physical evidence of that," said Lt. Robert McCullough, "The other party involved in this also assaulted Mr. Majette with a pair of scissors."
Complicating matters is the fact that the woman who faced off with the firefighter, 30-year old Tamara King, is a self-described transvestite who has not completed all of the necessary surgeries to change his sex from male to female.
"Did you think King was a male or female?" we asked his neighbor, Ford.
"As far as I thought, I thought it was just a young girl," she replied, "You know. A young girl starting out on her own. I didn't know it was male, female or whatever. I just thought it was a young girl."
Police say the transvestite claims the two had stripped off their clothing to have sex when the firefighter backed out and attempted to rob him.
The reporter, Jeff Hagar. This editorial team there need some schooling and a copy of the GLAAD media guide sent to them. Here is the contact link, which includes News Director Kelly Groft (groft@wmar.com).
With the Pentagon's family survey now in the field, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), will release a letter each day this week from family members and spouses of former service members impacted by DADT. As the Pentagon reaches out to 150,000 straight couples on how their lives are impacted, these letters will share the perspective of those forced to serve under this law alongside their loved ones. SLDN is urging supporters of repeal to call, write, and schedule in-district meetings with both their senators as the defense budget, which contains the repeal amendment, moves to the floor just weeks from now. www.sldn.org/action.
August 24, 2010
Hon. Jeh C. Johnson
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
General Carter F. Ham
Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
Dear General Ham and Mr. Johnson:
My name is Nancy Manzella and I have been a mother for 34 years. My husband and I live in rural Western New York where we have made our home at a grape vineyard and have raised three wonderful sons. We now have beautiful daughters-in-law and grandchildren. We are proud to say that we are the all American family.
I also was a military mom for six years. Our son, Darren Manzella, served two tours in the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Soldier in the United States Army. He was promoted to sergeant, was a team leader of a medical squad, and conducted more than 100 12-hour patrols in the streets of Baghdad, treating wounds and evacuating casualties of sniper fire and roadside bombs.
Darren was awarded the Combat Medical Badge, honoring him for treating American and Iraqi troops while under fire. He saved lives while putting his own in precarious situations by treating gunshot wounds to blast injuries and more. He was "out there" and our family knew he was in constant danger.
As anyone who is familiar with our military knows, service takes tremendous sacrifices, not only for those who serve, but for their loved ones they leave behind. Our family was always concerned for Darren's safety, as all military families are for their sons and daughters in uniform. We were also concerned for him because he was openly gay while he served his second tour. We knew that anyone in a war zone was at risk of being harmed at any time, but we also understood that because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Darren was especially vulnerable. He could be fired, forced out of the Army, and potentially face harassment and abuse. The stress was incredible.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" not only affects the gay and lesbian service members' lives, but also throws their loved ones, friends, and all family members' lives into a stressful nightmare. We cannot get to them if they need us for support, as they are thousands of miles away. The ban impacts so many lives adversely. It causes unbearable stress on everyone concerned, especially with the constant fear that we may slip up, we might inadvertently "out" them even in a simple letter from home. The "All American Families" who have gay or lesbian service members serving are living with this stress every day.
As parents, this law offends us deeply. It tells us that our gay and lesbian children who are in uniform and putting their lives on the line every day, saving lives, are not good enough to serve their country. The law discriminates against family members, forcing fear and anguish into their lives. Our sons and daughters should be judged on their performance, loyalty to country and bravery, not their sexual orientation.
We need to support all American military families - straight or gay.
Our son was fired under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and I still believe to this day he would willingly serve his country again if this law ended. I can tell this discharge not only affected his military career, but caused him to question his self-worth. Under the law it doesn't seem to matter how good you are at your job; how many lives you save or people you support; or how patriotic and dedicated you might be. If you happen to be gay or lesbian, this law says you are somehow "less than."
The Army teaches honor and integrity and holds those values dear. Despite these values, the Army still isn't allowed to let our gay and lesbian troops live up to that potential because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Under this law, troops are forced to be dishonest, to put integrity to the side, and to live in the closet - with their families closeted beside them - denying who they are.
They need the opportunity to "Be All That They Can Be."
I am urging you to support the repeal of this unjust law. The values that we gave our kids, and the values the Army told Darren they believe, are really the values we should strive for. But until this law is gone, those values are undermined by unfairness, discrimination and prejudice. I realize that our country is in the midst of great change having to make many crucial decisions. I also understand that the Administration has "a lot on their plate" right now. I'm an American, too, and have many concerns about our country. But, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal cannot and should not be pushed down the road.
Sincerely,
Nancy S. Manzella
CC: U.S. Sen. Carl M. Levin
Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee
U.S. Sen. John S. McCain
Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee
U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman
Member, Senate Armed Services Committee
Last September
Oh, what a flock of boobs we have up here in Maine!
Check out the mass email below the fold sent out by the Maine Republican Party- apparently THEY DON'T KNOW, EITHER!
Then we had 
What is this man's problem? His Marines are already bunking and showering with teh homos and nothing has occurred. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway is obsessing so hard over this -- this has to be at least the third time he's made a public comment about needing separate quarters -- that he must be having very vivid man-dreams at night about how it could all go horribly hornily wrong. (Igor Volsky at 
Mike Signorile had him on the show and it was a doozy. You can hear it at 
It's the first time that I've seen this historical reference to the President's political dilemma in dealing with this social issue -- President Wilson's foot-dragging regarding women's suffrage. And it's a past mistake that Obama might want consider reviewing as he continues to foolishly tap dance around marriage with "god in the mix" and defenses of the status quo.
Dear General Ham and Mr. Johnson:
