An update from Maine

I was in Maine since for the past couple days, because my family hosted a fundraiser for the "No on 1" campaign yesterday. I must say, it turned out to be a great event. Louise, from Pam's House Blend, who has been doing a kick-ass job writing about the Maine referendum stopped by so we could finally meet in person. Jesse Connolly, the campaign manager, and his finance director, Andy Szekeres, were there. The President of the Maine State Senate, Libby Mitchell, came, too. She helped pass LD 1020, the bill which provided marriage equality in the state. I was also very excited to meet Shenna Bellows, the Executive Director from the Maine Civil Liberties Union, who was a driving force behind the legislation. She's on the campaign's steering committee now.

As I mentioned in the open thread at AMERICAblog.com this morning, I've been struck by how many Maine Catholics are just disgusted by the actions of this state's Catholic Bishop. At our event, I had easily a dozen people tell me how upset they were. These are all devout Catholics who were at a "No on 1" fundraiser, donating to the campaign. Then, this morning, at breakfast, one of my mother's friends told her she was no longer going to be a lector at her church. She's had it. This is the Bishop's base -- and he's not only aggravating them, he's making them activists for "No on 1." That's my big takeaway from the weekend. (Jeremy Hooper heard the same thing this past weekend at a Bar Mitzvah in New Jersey -- and he posted Bishop Malone's latest admonition to vote yes. It's bizarre.)

Here's a picture of me with Jesse and Libby Mitchell after we gave our short speeches:


There's a lot going on in the campaign in the state. Amazing work. The campaign office in Portland was buzzing. The first week of Volunteer vacation is in full swing.

Also, today, courtesy of Jeremy Hooper, we learned that the Yes campaign is doing its phone-banking from GOP headquarters. One wonders what Maine's top Republicans, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, think of that development.

Also, Paul Hogarth from BeyondChron, who helped organize the Travel for Change program, is in Maine this week. He's got a great post here. Read More...

"Pressure mounts on Obama speech"

The Advocate has weighed in on the announcement that President Obama will be speaking at the HRC dinner this weekend, in the middle of the National Equality March.

Joe has already echoed my views. The days of Obama riding by on his oratorical skills are long since past. Yes, I'm sure he'll give a great speech. And yes, I'm sure the very-safe cocktail and weenie crowd will go ga-ga over the president, as they did in June when he bought them off with a few drinks at the White House, but gave them nothing substantive in return. But Obama needs to be careful. The "safe" gays no longer control the community as they once did. Obama is going to need to announce something big at the speech, or he's going to get some very bad press following it. As will HRC for inviting him, I suspect.

UPDATE: Andy Towle doesn't seem terribly impressed either.

FURTHER UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan is really not pleased:

If Obama wants to support gay equality, he knows what to do. If Pelosi and Reid want to support gay equality, they know what to do. If HRC believes in gay equality, they also know what to do.

So spare us the schmoozing and the sweet-talking and do it. Until then, Mr president, why don't you have a nice steaming cup of shut-the-fuck-up?

Wow. Read More...

FOX admitted its mistake in Jennings reporting. Will Sean Hannity?

Yes, believe it or not, FOX owned up to making mistakes in its reporting about Kevin Jennings. From Greg Sargent:

Fox News has now issued an online correction. But Hannity has been silent on this since Friday. It’ll be interesting to see if he corrects the record on the air. I’m checking with his producer and will keep you posted.

Media Matters compiled a video on Hannity's role in pushing lies about Jennings:

Is it even possible for Sean Hannity to acknowledge he was wrong? There does seem to be something of a Messiah complex at work there. Read More...

Mormon paper won't run ad for event honoring LGBT suicide victims

A Mormon-owned newspaper in Salt Lake City, The Deseret News, won't run an ad honoring LGBT victims of suicide. Seriously:

MediaOne, which handles advertising for both the News and The Salt Lake Tribune , accepted payment from the nonprofit Foundation for Reconciliation to run an ad, announcing a memorial service this Sunday, in both papers. But on Wednesday, a MediaOne employee told the group's Cheryl Nunn that the ad had been rejected by the News.

Here's what the paper rejected:

The foundation's memorial, "From Despair to Hope," honors lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) suicide victims as well as "those who have successfully overcome conflicts involving their sexual orientation and the LDS Church," the ad states. The event features a video appearance by actor Will Swenson, known for his roles in Mormon-themed films "Sons of Provo" and "The Singles Ward."

Peter Danzig, a Salt Lake City spokesman for the foundation, called the newspaper ad "innocuous."

"There's nothing anti-Mormon," he said. "We tried to create an event that would be welcoming to everyone on either side of the issue."

Danzig hopes remembering the "suffering" of those who have taken their own lives because of despair felt from conflict arising between their sexual orientations and Mormon faith and families will "compel" attendees "to create hope for other people."

Apparently, in Mormon world, anything LGBT-related is anti-Mormon. But, even for the notoriously anti-gay Mormons, this seems beyond the pale. Read More...

NY Times: Obama will speak at HRC dinner this weekend

The New York Times just broke this news:

President Obama will speak to a gathering of gay rights activists this weekend, a day before thousands of people are expected to march on Washington in a demonstration calling for greater legal protections for gays, lesbians and transgendered Americans.

Mr. Obama’s appearance on Saturday at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights advocacy group, represents a significant show of support for gay rights at a time when many prominent gay and lesbian activists have been questioning the president’s commitment to their issues.

Many gay rights activists have become increasingly vocal about their frustration over what they see as tepid support from Mr. Obama. While the president has professed support for overturning the ban on gays in the military and called the law that precludes federal recognition of same-sex marriages discriminatory, he has not engaged on gay rights issues as actively as some had hoped.

I'd include John and me in the list of those who have been vocal about our frustrations over the lack of support we've gotten from President Obama. He has not engaged at all, really. And, this weekend, his National Security Adviser took a step backwards on the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

So, this is my favorite line in the NY Times article:

While it remains to be seen what Mr. Obama’s appearance at the dinner will do to his standing in the eyes of gay rights activists, his speech may mollify some of their concerns.

We've had speeches. We're not mollified. We need actions, not words. The days when a speech from Obama making everyone think everything is hunky-dory are long past. Read More...

NBJC named its new Executive Director: Sharon Lettman

Congrats to Sharon Lettman on her appointment as the Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition. From the NBJC press release:

"We must bring our families together," Lettman said. "Gay and transgender people are our children, our brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, parents, co-workers and friends. They are a vital part of the black community, and it is time for everyone to recognize the real issues we all face when our brothers and sisters are denied full participation in the life of our community.

"What has always drawn me to this work, and to the people I've been proud to stand alongside, is the knowledge that we must work together to create the better future we seek," Lettman continued. "In my new role at NBJC, that means lifting the voices of our community, building bridges so that all who experience discrimination can understand the common ground we share, and walking across those bridges together in greater and greater numbers toward equal rights for all."

Lettman’s efforts to advance the conversation of race, religion, and sexual orientation have shown remarkable progress through the African American Religious Affairs Program she led at People For the American Way Foundation that addressed Homophobia in the Black Church. In addition, The Gill Foundation highlighted Lettman in its 2008 annual report as a “key ally” for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality movement. She is also on the board of directors for National Stonewall Democrats.

Read More...

White House sees no reason to clarify what National Security Adviser James Jones said about DADT repeal

As John reported in the post below, yesterday, President Obama's National Security Advisor James Jones said that Obama is really busy and will work to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" at the "right time." The "right time" sure doesn't sound like it will be anytime soon. John's post concluded:

In the end, don't think that Jones is simply freelancing. There is no way a senior administration official goes on TV and keeps screwing up like this. At first it's a screw up. After this many times, it's part of the plan. And the plan is to move the goal posts again and again and again until Obama can pass his gay rights promises to the next president, assuming we get a Democrat elected again this century.

Well, today, we learn that, in fact, the White House does stand by the remarks of Jones. Greg Sargent asked the White House for a comment:

A White House spokesman declined comment in response to a request for clarification, which essentially means Jones’ quotes stand.

So, Jones did state the White House policy.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader wrote a letter to Obama asking for him to engage in the effort to repeal DADT. We posted Obama's one-line response here. Seems that Obama's letter should have really said:

The President got the Majority Leader's letter, but he has an awful lot on his desk and we're engaged in two wars so don't expect anything anytime soon despite the President's numerous promises during the campaign to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

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