Late Night Open Thread

What a day. Read More......

Cheney raises money for Sponsor of Gay-Bashing Amendment

Vice President Dick Cheney headlined a fundraiser for Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, the sponsor of the gay-bashing constitutional amendment. AP has the story:

Vice President Dick Cheney helped raise an estimated $200,000 Monday for the campaign of Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who is considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in Congress.

Musgrave, one of the original sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, has proved "to be exactly the right person for the job," Cheney told a crowd about 200 people who paid $500 to $4,000 to attend the luncheon in downtown Denver.

Uh-oh, Dick, does she know your daughter is a lesbian...with a girlfriend, no less??? Marilyn don't like the homos, Dick. You should read the email she sent out last year bashing the homosexuals. She doesn't like people who opposed her amendment, Dick. She thinks they are homosexual radicals. Doesn't that include you and your lovely wife, Lynn?

You know, after doing a google on Marilyn and reading all of her hatefulness towards gays, I couldn't help but notice the tone was very similar to Spokane Mayor Jim West's anti-gay tirades. Hmmm. Read More......

Breaking: Mayor West to take leave of absence -- with updates

Man, this story is getting more weird...and this guy is a disgusting creep. From the Spokesman- Review which broke the story and continues to uncover the sordid details:

Spokane Mayor Jim West told City Council members Monday that he would take a leave of absence amid controversy over his sexual behavior and use of the mayor's office. West said he would remain in close contact with Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch, who will take over leadership in his absence.

I have a feeling that the gay-hating Mayor might end up being somebody's bitch sometime soon.

UPDATE: The Spokesman-Review has a special section dedicated to the West scandal...including all the on-line chats....and, ah, yeah....sure reads like he was masturbating. For example, as the paper reports about the 3/29/05 chat:

This chat is the second of two where the participants engaged in online sex.

You have to read those for yourselves.

ANOTHER UPDATE: It's not his fault. He's been picked on by the Spokesman-Review. That's what AP is reporting:

West told the City Council that the allegations printed in The Spokesman-Review in recent days were false and that he would take his first vacation since taking office in January 2004 to prepare a response.

"I hope that you and the people will reserve judgment on me until the newspaper is done persecuting me and allow me to have the fair opportunity to respond to each of the allegations in due time," West said in brief remarks at the beginning of the council meeting.

OKAY ONE MORE UPDATE (8:41 P.M.): This one, from the Spokane-Review, is going to be real trouble for the gay-hating Mayor. He is really sleazy and nasty:

Ryan M. Oelrich, a 24-year-old openly gay man, said he was appointed by West to the city Human Rights Commission in April 2004, but didn't know at the time that West was the same man he'd met earlier in Gay.com using the screen aliases "Cobra82nd" and "RightBi-Guy."

Sometime after the appointment, Oelrich said he realized the mayor was the same person he'd been talking to online beginning in 2003. While on the commission, Oelrich said he rebuffed a series of sexually explicit online advances from West.

After appointing Oelrich to the policy-making Human Rights Commission, West "offered me $300 cash if I'd swim naked with him in my swimming pool," Oelrich said.

He declined West's offer as "being totally inappropriate,'' said the 2004 graduate of Gonzaga University.

Oelrich, who heads a gay youth organization in Spokane, said he knows of five or six other young gay men in the city who received "inappropriate sexual advances" from West. Of that group, two have been offered City Hall jobs by the mayor, Oelrich said.

Read More......

The Task Force calls on Mayor West to Resign

Very strong statement from Matt Foreman, Executive Director of NGLTF today calling on Mayor West to resign:

"Three victims of Mayor Jim West's predatory and appalling behavior have already come forward and, based on what we know about pedophiles, it's almost certain there are many more. Some media reports quote people as saying this is a 'tragic' situation for West and imply that his conduct showed he was 'uncomfortable with his identity.' Nonsense. Pedophilic behavior is always wrong and has nothing do with sexual orientation. This man - whether he's straight, bisexual, or gay - deserves nothing but scorn. He needs to resign immediately."

AP has more news on anti-gay Mayor West from Spokane. West admits there are probably more "abuse victims."

This is a sick story and getting worse. Sounds in many ways like the pedophelia scandal that rocked the Catholic Church:

Embattled Spokane Mayor Jim West told a newspaper editor he expects more allegations of sex abuse to surface, The Spokesman-Review reported today.

Spokesman-Review Editor Steven A. Smith told reporters that West called him at home early Sunday to deny the paper's report that day that the mayor had masturbated in his City Hall office during online sex conversations.

Smith said he took notes during the 30-minute conversation with West, who called to dispute the newspaper's story that West had told City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers that he had masturbated in his office.

Smith said he asked the mayor during the call if other men claiming to be abuse victims are likely to come forward. West said, “Probably so.”

“For some people, they'll do it for the thrill. Some people are confused. I need time,” Smith said West told him.

Read More......

NCFR says, "Marriage is great, as long as you're straight."

Everyone has heard about the 4parents.gov debacle, where the Bush Administration pushed its abstinence-only agenda under the guise of "information for parents" and told parents who think their kids may be gay to go to a therapist to fix them.

You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Next month, the Bush Administration will introduce an online clearinghouse on marriage research and resources. The National Council on Family Relations will be building the website and supplying the research. The Bush White House gave NCFR one condition -- absolutely no information on gay marriage, civil unions, or gay families. None. Nada. Don't even think about it. Marriage is great -- as long as you're straight.

Small problem -- NCFR has rules. Their rules say that NCFR's Executive Director shall NOT allow:

Practices, activites, decisions, or organizational circumstances which violate the Board's value that NCFR provide a context supportive of diversity by race, ethnicity, culture, age, gender, religion, physical ability, country of origin, and sexual orientation.

So you'd think, given their very clear rules, NCFR would say thanks, Bush White House, but no thanks.

You'd be wrong.

NCFR's Board of Directors -- the one with the "value" -- and its Executive Director decided back in September to take nearly $5 million (900K per year for 5 years) of your tax money to break its own rules and make sure everyone has the information they need to have healthy marriages, except gay people -- even though gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, civil unions are the norm in Vermont, and we're almost there in Connecticut. But they never bothered to mention they're breaking their own rules to do it.

So the NCFR has shown us their "values" aren't values when a sweet government contract is in play. And members is MA, VT, and CT - go screw. Oh wait, that violates the Bush abstinence-only policy.

We have an opportunity to let NCFR know we're not going to stand for this. NCFR lists contact information for their Executive Director and Board. Tell them to enforce their own rules, stand up for the values they claim to have, and reject this contract.

Executive Director: Michael Benjamin mbenjamin@ncfr.org 763-231-2891
President: Gay Kitson kitson@uakron.edu 330-972-6863
President-elect: Pamela A. Monroe pmonroe@lsu.edu 225-578-3885
Martha Farrell Erickson mferick@umn.edu 612-825-9496
Lawrence H. Ganong ganongl@missouri.edu 573-882-6852
Deborah B. Gentry dgentry@ilstu.edu 309-438-8748
Robert Reyes rreyes@messiah.edu 717-766-2511 x7297
Jane B. Tornatore jbtornatore@comcast.net 206-706-7714
Marcie J. Brooke marcie.brooke@spps.org 651-293-5330
Julie K. Kohler kohler@knightfdn.org 305-908-2638

We also should ask where the advocates stand on this, and what they'll say to NCFR. Read More......

Nine Troops killed in Iraq over the weekend

And this is how the widespread AP story covered it:

At least nine American servicemen were killed in weekend attacks.

Not a headline, no real details on who, where, when or how. Just a simple line in a much bigger story. No big deal.

But don't worry, we've got another new strategy to win says the Washington Post. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Ditto what John says below.... Read More......

John Kerry needs to go away

I've had it with this jerk. He was a lousy presidential candidate, couldn't find a consistent positio non the Iraq war if his life depended on it, and now the only consistent message he's been able to find post-election is to bash gays.

Note to Kerry: Go away. You were a crappy candidate, a milquetoast Senator (Kennedy always pulled your weight, anyway), and now you have the nerve to weigh in AGAINST gay rights in your own state? Grow a pair, buddy, then come back and we'll talk.

If you dare run for president again, I'll be telling the world loud and clear that I voted for John Kerry for president, before I voted against him.

From the Human Rights Campaign's press release:

WASHINGTON - The Human Rights Campaign denounced the statements of Sen. John Kerry yesterday, who called the decision of the Massachusetts Democratic Party adding support to its platform for same-sex marriage equality "a mistake."

"The Massachusetts Democratic Party is simply affirming the reality that 5,000 same-sex couples and families are stronger and more secure today because of marriage equality," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "As a husband, father and a long time supporter of the gay community Sen. Kerry should understand the importance of the stability and security that marriage provides to all families."

A recent poll by the Boston Globe showed that statewide, overall support for marriage equality is at 56 percent, with only 37 percent of residents opposing. The same poll showed that 71 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Independents, and 35 percent of Republicans all support equal marriage rights.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who is up for re-election in 2006, has also stated his strong support for same-sex couples right to marry.

In addition, several other state Democratic parties have adopted resolutions supporting marriage equality including New York, California, Washington, Iowa and Colorado.

"The majority of voters in Massachusetts, and the overwhelming majority of state Democrats, support treating all families equally, and we welcome the support of state parties across the country," said Solmonese. "The fact is that as more and more political leaders and organizations evaluate this issue-in red and blue states-they will come to the same common-sense decision, marriage is good for all families."

Read More......

Algeria wants apology for VE Day massacre

While Bush is busy ignoring 1945 realities and criticizing US policies in post-war Eastern Europe, one legacy that is worthy of criticizm has not been touched. The US and Allied countries made a massive mistake when they alllowed the continued colonial domination around the world. Algeria is right, France should apologize for the May 8, 1945 massacre as well as helping with the mine clearing program in Algeria and I suspect that with a little prodding, France will take action. In another losing battle to hold on to a colony, Vietnam lost over 2 Million people fighting for independence in a war that did not have to happen. Looking at the proxy wars that occured all over the globe during the Cold War, both the US and the Soviet Union played their part in dragging millions of people into wars that served little purpose.

If Bush wants to pick on post-war failures, that's where he ought to focus. A lot more people died and suffered in the developing world than anywhere else during that period of time. Read More......