Key Senate Dems sell out on health care reform

Joe and I called it. They're caving folks. Total freaking mess. Interesting that the lead bad guy is Democratic Senator Max Baucus, whose former chief of staff is now the deputy chief of staff for who? President Barack Obama.

Kiss real health care reform goodbye.

This is what happens when you have a Democratic president and Congress who fear angering the right, who put "bipartisanship" - read: appeasing Republicans - above substantive policy. They cave on everything of importance that might cause "controversy." But hey, passing crap still lets you claim a victory, provided nobody reads the fine print (or in this case, gets sick).

Get ready for the health care version of the gay "benefits" bill. Less filling, tastes great. Coming to an Oval Office near you.

Now do you get why I made such a freaking huge deal about gay rights this past week on this blog. As Joe has been saying for a while now, we are the canary in the coal mine. Now it's another key Democratic constituency's turn to get screwed on the altar of political expediency.

UPDATE: Surprise! Guess who's plan is almost identical to Baucus'? The insurance industry! Read the rest of this post...

Woman fined $1.9m for illegally downloading 24 songs

I'm sorry, but that's absurd. Maybe I'm wrong, and I do understand the need to protect intellectual property, but isn't this excessive? Or is it a necessary lesson to stop others from downloading? Read the rest of this post...

Andrew Sullivan declares war on the DNC

Regardless of your opinion of Andrew, he's a player in both liberal and conservative politics. He was the White House's favorite blogger, and putatively their favorite gay. He's now out for blood. Taken in conjunction with the top gay Democratic organization pulling out of the DNC gay fundraiser and excoriating the party, it's not clear who the DNC and the White House have left in the community.

And lest the Democrats take solace in the few public or private gay apologists they have left, their apologists aren't running the show. The people are. The dogs aren't going to be called off, ever, until the party convinces the White House and the Congress that this has to stop, and ultimately, they give us what we want.

Let me quote Andrew's post (and I apologize, I'm just going to quote the entire thing, it's difficult to excerpt and do it justice), then a bit more analysis from me:

One way to get the Obama administration's attention on civil rights is for gay people to stop funding the Democrats. That's all these people care about anyway when it comes to gays: our money. If the Democrats refuse to support us, refuse to support them. This is a start. But we need to get more creative. We need actions to highlight the administration's betrayals, postponements and boilerplate. We need to start confronting the president at his events. We need civil disobedience. We need to tell him we do not want another fricking speech where he tells us he is a fierce advocate for our rights, when that is quite plainly at this point not true. We will not tolerate another Clinton. No invites to these people for dinners or fundraisers. No cheering him at events while he does nothing to follow up on his explicit promises. Of course these things can be done. If anyone high up in the Obama administration or the Pelosi-Reid Congress gave a damn, much would have been done.

We need to swamp Pelosi with phone-calls.

We need to target Reid for his inaction. We have to pressure Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin not to excuse the disdain that the Obama administration is showing toward gay equality, and their cynical use of our votes, money and passion to enforce real and potent discrimination against us and our families. And we have to refuse to attend White House signing ceremonies like yesterday's farce. Really: until they are serious, we should not be coopted and placated with pathetic sops. I am not a Clintonite. I worked my ass off to get this man to power. On many issues, I support him and will continue to do so.

But I am a proud, self-respecting gay man with HIV. And I am not going to take this crap for much longer on civil rights. Fight back. Act Up.

Now, sure, it's possible the White House is loving the headlines - the gays hate us, they might be saying, this brands us as true centrists! Perhaps. Or perhaps it brands the President as so young, naive and malleable that his advisers lead him, and he dutifully follows. If and when that happens, the Sista Souljah will be ours.

I don't look forward to this happening. But I see it happening on the present course the White House and the Democratic party have chosen.

In other news, I did an interview with CBS.com earlier today about the Obama mess.


Watch CBS Videos Online Read the rest of this post...

Of Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, and old wineskin

A reader weighs in on Barney Frank, Obama, the Democratic party and the past and future of gay civil rights. It's worth a read:

In thinking about the events of the past week - and especially Barney Frank's sudden and extremely transparent political volte face - I am reminded of certain parallels to Stonewall. My husband and I have been talking a lot about Stonewall recently, both of us having just finished David Carter's excellent history of that watershed event.

I believe we may have arrived at another turning point. It is still early days, but I sense there has been a shift in the mood of a significant and highly vocal segment of our community as we have made the unpleasant and highly painful realization that we have - once again - simply been strung along by the Democratic party. There's a reason that "con man" stands for confidence - for the con artist trades on people's willingness to believe the lies they are told, to place their confidence in the swindler.

During the years leading up to Stonewall, Mattachine did the hard work of laying the foundation for the gay rights movement. They carefully cultivated relationships with politicians (who seldom reciprocated) and were careful to avoid rocking the boat too much. Mattachine knew well the hatred and ignorance that was out there, and they feared it. Their fear dictated their actions and their approach: cultivate a meek, unthreatening image, avoid confrontations with the authorities at all cost, and gradually build acceptance over time. Mattachine did achieve some successes, but it was a limited vehicle at best. The Stonewall riots horrified Mattachine and they did their best to try to pacify the community and stop the rioting. Within a matter of weeks after the riot, they had virtually ceased to exist. As Carter eloquently points out, the old wineskin was incapable of containing the new wine. Mattachine's successor organizations - the Gay Liberation Front and especially the Gay Activist Alliance - succeeded where Mattachine had failed, and for the simple fact that the new activist organizations refused to allow their fears to dictate their actions. By taking an in-your-face approach, choosing confrontation and "zaps" over accomodation, and nurturing the nascient lesbian and gay identity, GAA became the model for successful gay activism.

By making such a crass and transparently political calculation, Barney Frank has committed the same mistake that Mattachine made. He has overvalued his relationship with the Democratic power establishment over his relationship with our community - and in so doing, he has forgotten his roots. Had he spoken up for our community by giving voice to the pain that ordinary gay couples feel over DOMA, we would have rallied around him as a natural leader. But by defending Obama's indefensible legal brief, he has placed himself at odds with his own community. He will not lose everyone's support - our community is not monolithic - but at this very moment in history, Barney Frank was handed a rare opportunity to rise to the occasion and become a truly great leader. Instead, he has revealed himself as just another crass politician.

The old wineskin is incapable of containing the new wine.

Just as the community turned away from Mattachine after Stonewall, so we will choose other leaders if they will not reliably stand up for us. It will first happen silently, in people's hearts, then it will loudly explode in the blogosphere.

Homophobic hatred and ignorance cannot be overcome by avoidance or compromise. It must be confronted. Although the road difficult and painful, and paved with many setbacks, we will ultimately prevail. We always have. We did not get to this point as a movement by patiently waiting for supposedly "friendly" politicians to honor their campaign promises. During our great strides forward - Stonewall, the civil rights ordinances of the 70s and 80s, AIDS activism, and now gay marriage - our self-appointed "leaders" have all-too-often been found in the rear, urging us to slow down, be patient, swallow our anger and our pride, and not rock the boat. We have seldom, if ever, gotten anywhere by listening to such counsel, or by worrying about the potential for a backlash.

New wineskins for new wine.

Read the rest of this post...

Barbara Boxer schools general in sexism

Oh my. This is a great short video. Now, I feel a bit sorry for the general, because he may call all men "sir" and all women "ma'am." I don't per se find any problem with that. But still. I suspect women like Senator Boxer have been on the receiving end of sexist treatment for decades, so they know it when they see it. But damn, watch her in action. I wish our other Senators, and president, could find that kind of testicular fortitude in general.

Read the rest of this post...

News roundup

Hundreds of thousands protest in Iran, again.

Great article in the NYT about Obama's same-sex benefits signing yesterday. Very few journalists have seen through the BS like the Times on this story (well, Tapper at ABC has been great, as has Ben Smith at Politico and Greg Sargent at WashPost.com, among others).

Dan Froomkin out at Washington Post. We really like Dan, and loved his column.

CBS News reports on how well Obama's memo signing worked yesterday. The report is brutal (how often do you hear the words "incest" and "Obama" in the same news segment - twice! Watch it.

How Twitter took down Iran's propaganda army. Fascinating.

Gay tsunami slams Obama. Gay journalist Rex Wockner sums up the quotes from gay leaders on the Obama mess:

Where to start? What has he done that's good? He issued a nice proclamation for pride month and he extended a few spousal benefits to federal employees' same-sex partners -- sick leave and long-term care insurance, for example, but not health coverage, which he said June 17 is not within his power. That's the good news -- all of it.

NYT editorial says Obama's mini-me benefits memo was nice, but not nearly enough.

The Stonewall Riots police reports are online. Ah, yes, back when authority figures didn't respect our civil rights.

David Link's take on Obama's gay debacle. Two favorite parts:

What he did is satisfying enough, if you’re among the 2% of American workers who are federal employees, and also among the 3% or so of them who are homosexual, and also among the unknown percent of them who have a committed partner. I’m not a mathematician, but I believe the overlap of these three circles in a Venn Diagram would be quite small....

[T]he President’s compelled performance [at the gay memo signing yesterday] was matched by those in our community who had to grit their teeth and act as if they were grateful. Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force did everything but blink out S.O.S. with her eyelids in supporting the memo.

Read the rest of this post...

"The" gay Democratic organization pulls out of Biden DNC fundraiser

Let me explain this for straight Democrats, and straight media folks, out there. The Stonewall Democrats is THE gay Democratic organization. They are partisans to the core. They don't go against the party. And no offense to our friends at SD, but they're not exactly "gay activists" either. For this organization to announce that it is pulling out of the upcoming DNC gay fundraiser is not just a big deal for the fundraiser, it's a very troubling message for the Democratic party leadership.

Let me put this another way. And again, no offense to Stonewall Dems. But these are folks that sometimes, some of us, think are more Dem than they are Gay. For them to stick it to the Democratic Party is rather huge. It's should be a big red warning light to the leadership of our party that this rupture with the gay community is real, and getting worse by the day.

From Ben Smith:

The members of the Board and our membership put our hopes, our dollars and our time into ensuring the election of Barack Obama because we believed that he supported us. To now have his Administration refer to our relationships in the same terms used by our long time enemies such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson hurts on so many levels. To have our committed and loving relationships referred to as the moral equivalent of incest and pedophilia is not something that any of us ever expected from this Administration considering how hard we worked to be seen and respected. For that reason alone, advocating for attendance at a fundraiser to support the Administration and the DNC, while they have not condemned this hurtful language, is not something our membership will receive positively.

Read the rest of this post...

Online activists come to the aide of Iran

This is great. A reader just wrote me to say that the PirateBay, the Web's lead download site (judging by the name, I'm guessing their prices can't be beat), has changed its masthead. There is no masthead at all, but if you move your mouse up to the top half of the page, and let your mouse sit still for a few seconds, you'll see the phrase "The Persian Bay" appear. If you click, the site links to:

http://iran.whyweprotest.net/

And the masthead: Anonymous Iran.

You may remember "Anonymous." They're the guerrilla online activists taking on the Scientologists. Anonymous, with the support of the Pirate Bay, have set up a site to help Iranians interested in using the Internet to aide their battle - and you can tell it's real because it's the same URL that Anonymous uses. This is very cool. I'm just fascinated to see online, well, I won't say anarchists, but folks who aren't per se involved in politics, suddenly take up the cause of human rights in a country half a world away.

It's just terribly terribly cool.

Maybe they can help us next.

This is Anonymous' now-famous Scientology video on YouTube.

Read the rest of this post...

Cong. Jared Polis declined to attend Obama Oval Office event yesterday

UPDATE: Polis' office just called to say that he did not "boycott" the Oval Office benefits signing. The congressman was invited to the event, but Polis says that he had a very busy day, including a meeting with the Speaker, and then he had to be at a Congressional Baseball Game that conflicted with the Oval Office meeting. So instead of meeting with the leader of the free world, something that freshman congressmen rarely get, Polis chose to play baseball. (He reportedly did help his fellow Democrats beat the Republicans, 15-10). You can make your own judgment.

Hats off to Jared Polis. The new freshman Democratic congressman from Colorado, who is openly gay, boycotted turned down an invite to the Oval Office yesterday for the mini-me gay benefits signing.

Yesterday was a tale of three openly gay congressmen. One was Barney Frank, the old former leader of our movement in Congress, who after getting a visit to the Oval Office, suddenly discovered that he loved Big Brother. The second was Tammy Baldwin, who attended the event with Barney, and who is now doing TV defending Obama's filing of the incest brief - we've all been wishing for a while that the day will come when Tammy visits the Wizard and he gives her a spine and a conscience. And finally, there's Jared Polis. Jared is the new guy on the block. He had an initial stumble early on when he misspoke about the status of gay rights legislation on the Hill. People were a bit ticked at him. But Jared made up for it yesterday. First he issued a blistering statement about the DOJ brief. Then today, his staff informed one of our readers that Jared boycotted the Oval Office benefits signing ceremony yesterday because he felt the signing of the memo was just not good enough. (As I indicated above, Polis' office says now that he simply had a conflict and chose to go the baseball game instead of meet with the President in the Oval Office.)

We still want Jared, Tammy and Barney to pull out of the posh and quite embattled $1000 a head gay fundraiser they're hosting next week for the DNC. Attendees are dropping like flies following a community-wide boycott of the event. But this is still a good first step for Jared. Perhaps we've finally found a leader in Congress after all. Read the rest of this post...

A lesson about politics

Yeah, it's another gay post, but it's actually much more than that. It's about why I often tell people that as much as you should hit people as hard as you can every single time they deserve it, you also should keep open the possibility that they can change (thus my post about Bush attorney Ted Olson now supporting gay marriage before the courts).

My old friend Michael Iskowitz, who used to work for Senator Kennedy, and handled gay and other civil rights issues, taught me, showed me, how even the worst people - staffers for the worst anti-gay Senators - would sometimes help you out on your issues, if you just reached out to them. No one (well most people) is all bad, and it never hurts to reach out to your enemy.

I raise this because of a blog post I read today from Stampp Corbin. He not only is yet another person to pull out of the gay DNC Fundraiser next week over the anti-gay incest-invoking DOMA brief, but he's a top Obama gay supporter (he was the former co-chair of the Obama LGBT Leadership Council during the presidential campaign), and he was defending Obama not six days ago on CNN. You might have caught him debating Dan Savage last Friday night. Stampp was so aggressive, so defensive of Obama, I was practically yelling at the TV. I figured him for a sell out. I never, in a million years, thought that he would care, truly care, about this issue in his heart - that he'd understand why we're all so upset.

And now he's announced he's pulling out of the fundraiser, and wrote a beautiful blog post about it. Let me quote a little:

President Obama, your legal brief was clearly a mistake, a big mistake. After Prop 8, my partner and I feel we are playing a tragic game of Wipeout. Traveling through an obstacle course that we must master to get our rights; making it to the end in California, only to be told by voters that heat didn’t count. I expected obstacles to be placed in our path by our enemies; I just didn’t expect it from the President. I thought he was on our side; I still want to believe that.

Unfortunately, I will see everything that the Obama administration does for LGBT Americans through the lens of the DOMA brief. Meaning, I will be waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop, while praying President Obama delivers on his promises.

Next week, I am boycotting the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council Democratic National Committee event honoring Vice President Biden to drive home my discontent. Many other prominent LGBT donors have also joined in the boycott. Is the announcement of benefits for LGBT federal employees to squash the boycott and the general uproar? Hmm…In politics, money talks. It is unlikely that Obama just put together this announcement in the last week to throw a bone to my community; it has been in the works for many weeks. I would have celebrated loudly had this been announced before the DOMA debacle, but now I will only give polite, muted applause. That pesky DOMA brief has ruined everything.

Mr. President, your DOMA mistake awakened a sleeping giant. He is mad as hell and is not going to take it anymore. You better get LGBT affirming legislation moving quickly or the coffers of the LGBT community will be slammed shut on the fingers of your administration and the DNC. You and the DNC may find themselves asking about our donations “if not now, when” as we have been asking about our rights for the last few months.

That’s simply the way I see it.

That's what you've done to us, President Obama. You've turned even your most ardent supporters into opponents. The Democratic Party had better take notice soon. Because you don't betray your friends and expect them to forget any time soon. Or ever.

UPDATE from Joe: I got the video of Stampp and Dan Savage the other night. John's right about Stampp's defense of Obama. Watch it and you'll see how huge this development is. And, you'll love Dan Savage even more.
Read the rest of this post...

A message for Senate Democrats: "Don't be the Republicans"

On health care reform, Jed Lewison lays it out for the Democratic Senators:

The Senate Dem's problems are mostly caused by a handful of senators hiding behind the crazy notion that health care reform should require a supermajority. Senators like Kent Conrad are pushing the nonsensical notion that the success of health care reform depends on votes from Republicans.

Al Franken will be the 60th Democratic Senator. You don't need 60 votes to pass health care -- you only need 60 votes to block a filibuster, and no Democrat who filibusters health care reform will manage to get through a primary.

If Senate Dems are banking on a "we're not Republicans" strategy to pass health care reform, they'll be sorely disappointed. Instead of playing procedural games, they had better get around to the business of joining President Obama in making the public case for health care reform.

If they don't, they'll learn how quickly electoral fortunes can change.

Listen to Jed.

Democrats were elected to deliver on issues. The American people want real solutions. But, something happens on Capitol Hill, especially on the Senate side. They get wrapped up in their own little world and lose touch with reality.

In 2006, there were 55 Republicans. Three years later, the GOP caucus is down to 40 members. Electoral fortunes do change quickly. Democrats won by offering solutions to real problems -- and whether zero Republicans are on board doesn't matter. The results do.

And, Obama really needs to lead on health care reform. This debate feels like it has gotten off track and it's way, way too important to screw up. Read the rest of this post...

When Republicans are better than Democrats on gay rights, the Democratic Party had better take notice

Governor Schwarzenegger in California has just announced that he won't be defending Prop 8, the anti-gay measure that repealed same-sex marriages in that state, in federal court. Compare that profile in courage to our own White House, with the loyal assistance of formerly gay Congressman Barney Frank, who together now claim that elected officials who oppose anti-gay legislation in court are no better than lawless Republicans, and that the only way to be better than the Republicans is to out-anti-gay them.

All snark aside, it's a sad day in America, and a dangerous day for the Democratic party, when Republicans are better than Democrats - and straight people are better than gay people - on defending gay civil rights. But kudos to Arnold. Sometimes it takes an immigrant to show us what an real American is. Read the rest of this post...

Lindsey Graham (R-SC) defends adulterer John Ensign (R-NV). (Lindsey is a sinner, too).

Republican Senators are coming to the defense of their colleague, that great defender of traditional values and marriage, John Ensign:

A born-again Christian and a crusader for traditional values, Ensign was a member of the Promise Keepers, a Christian evangelical ministry that emphasizes family values. In a statement, Promise Keepers said that the group “prays for John Ensign, and we are encouraged that he is pursuing reconciliation with his family.” Most Republicans withheld judgment, and none called on him to resign. Still, the story of his affair continues to unfold, and more damaging details could add pressure on the senator to resign, aides and strategists said.

“I think he will be welcomed back by his colleagues and go back to being a good senator,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who said Ensign shouldn’t have resigned his leadership spot.

Graham downplayed the political impact this would have on the GOP, saying, “Most Americans look at this as a personal situation.”

Graham let out a laugh and said: “I’ve got plenty of sins that I’m not going to share with anyone else.”

Really, Ms. Lindsey? Is that because they wouldn't let you back into the US military if you did share?

The GOP caucus gave David Vitter a standing ovation, but threw Larry Craig under the bus. (It's that sleeping with women vs. sleeping with men thing.) Which brings us back to Lindsey Graham. He's quite willing to let Ensign, who broke one of the Ten Commandments, off the hook. But, Lindsey's always willing to interfere when same-sex relationships are an issue. It's odd. But, then, Lindsey's odd in that way single men of a certain age are. Read the rest of this post...

Poll: Americans unimpressed with Obama on economy

To be fair to Obama, the economic problems are not his and another poll out today shows that Americans understand that point. Where Americans are uncomfortable is the Detroit bailout and the increasing budget deficit. On the deficit, Obama has not done a great job talking this point through with Americans so far. During the Reagan recession, it took a year and a half to see positive movement and the economy - especially the US economy - does not turn on a dime. The Republicans have definitely out maneuvered Democrats on this subject who have failed to talk openly and confidently about this needing time. Fixing years of mismanagement doesn't happen in a day.

The Obama health care reform is also struggling with support and again, the Democrats have failed to provide a very clear message. Americans understand the system is not working Democrats have not properly made the case yet. It doesn't help that they are moving in every direction including their bipartisan rubbish that again, is not offering real change. They are allowing Republicans and the insurance industry to control the dialog instead of talking about facts. Somehow Obama and the Democrats fail to see the election results from November when voters demanded change and want action.

A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, falls well below his job approval ratings.

A distinct gulf exists between Mr. Obama’s overall standing and how some of his key initiatives are viewed, with fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse, underscoring how his political strength still rests on faith in his leadership rather than concrete results.

Promoting the new stimulus bill is going to be a struggle unless Obama starts leading and delivering a clear message. Swatting flies is cute and it may be receiving plenty of attention online but there are bigger flies to swat out there that are much more serious. Read the rest of this post...

Campaign to save Maine's marriage law is launched. Opponents hired Yes on Prop. 8 campaign manager to kill our rights again.

Big news from Maine. On the plus side, the campaign to save Maine's marriage law has been launched -- and they've got a kick-ass campaign manager leading the effort. In Maine, new laws can be challenged via the referendum process. As I write this, the Catholic Church and its vehemently anti-gay allies are collecting signatures to get a measure on the ballot this November to repeal the new marriage equality law.

This won't be another Prop. 8 from our side. There won't be turf battles and outsize egos. It will be a sophisticated operation combining some of the best political talent with the excellent field operation already established by Equality Maine. The political action committee running the campaign will be called "Maine Freedom to Marry." And, this campaign really needs our help.

Meanwhile, the Press Herald confirmed from Catholic Church's gay-obsessed spokesman, Marc Mutty, that our opponents in Maine are going to hire the firm of Frank Schubert, who ran the Yes on Prop. 8 campaign, to run their campaign. Schubert knows where to find the money to fight us:

Less than two weeks before Election Day, the chief strategist behind a ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California called an emergency meeting here.

“We’re going to lose this campaign if we don’t get more money,” the strategist, Frank Schubert, recalled telling leaders of Protect Marriage, the main group behind the ban.

The campaign issued an urgent appeal, and in a matter of days, it raised more than $5 million, including a $1 million donation from Alan C. Ashton, the grandson of a former president of the Mormon Church. The money allowed the drive to intensify a sharp-elbowed advertising campaign, and support for the measure was catapulted ahead; it ultimately won with 52 percent of the vote.

That's what we'll be up against -- again. Schubert knows how to get that Mormon money.

But, we've got real pros running our campaign. From Maine Freedom to Marry's press release:

Numerous resources that have been vital to the marriage effort to date will now be coordinated under the auspices of Maine Freedom to Marry. These resources include the field organization and volunteer base developed by EqualityMaine, the legal expertise of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and the legal and public outreach capacity of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. Additionally, Maine Freedom to Marry will now take the lead in local and national fundraising to protect marriage equality at the ballot box in November.

The committee has hired Jesse Connolly to manage the referendum campaign. Connolly is a lifelong Mainer who now lives in South Portland. A respected professional in Maine politics, Connolly served as campaign manager for “Maine Won’t Discriminate” in 2005. In that successful campaign, the people of Maine voted by a wide margin to keep sexual orientation in the state’s non-discrimination policy. He also managed Governor Baldacci’s re-election campaign in 2006. Most recently, Connolly has served as chief of staff to Rep. Hannah Pingree, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Connolly is taking an unpaid leave of absence from the Speaker’s office in order to run this campaign.

Connolly said, “We enter this fight from a place of tremendous strength, with a lot of momentum. Having been on the inside of the legislative process, I can tell you that the campaign to win marriage has thus far been well organized, heartfelt, and extremely professional. We are assembling a first rate staff that includes professionals with deep expertise to keep this groundbreaking effort moving forward. I am proud to pick up this mantle and continue to work with Mainers across the state who have brought us to this historic moment.”

I've known Jesse for a long time. He's very good. Very good. He plays to win -- and, he wins. Nobody knows how to run a political campaign in Maine better than Jesse Connolly. And, as a side note, Jesse's dad, State Rep. Larry Connolly, co-sponsored the first piece of legislation for gay rights way back in 1977, long before anyone else thought we were worthy. Larry died way too young in 1995 and Jesse is continuing his legacy.

Since you're not contributing to Obama and the DNC (and no self-respecting LGBT American should be), help secure full equality by giving to Maine Freedom to Marry. No doubt, with Schubert at the helm, the other side will have an unlimited supply of cash via Salt Lake City. But, Maine is different. It's a small state where a sophisticated Maine-based operation can and will defeat well-funded opponents. And, with Jesse Connolly running the operation, this will be a sophisticated campaign. If you're one of our many, many straight allies, please help us by supporting Maine Freedom to Marry at our ActBlue page. This will make a real difference. We've seen over the week that we can't just rely on elected officials to get us our rights. We have to do it with the help and support of those who really do love and support us. Help win in Maine..

And, you know the other side will be running ads featuring Barack Obama's oft-repeated opposition to same-sex marriage. He's become their best messenger. Read the rest of this post...

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

So, here we are. I have to admit, late last year, I was really looking forward to 2009. I figured after the past eight years, we'd finally make some progress and have some fun. I was wrong. This isn't fun. I guess Rick Warren should have given us a heads up, but I really never expected Team Obama to treat gay Americans like we're a toxic political issue. They sure didn't act that way during the campaign and I imagine many who talked to Obama about LGBT issues are shocked, just shocked. Also, "everyone" thinks the Obama people are the smartest people in the world (starting with those Obama people.) So, we have to make sure their circa-1993 conventional wisdom doesn't become pervasive. Obama is 47. He's a different generation. He was supposed to be a different politician. Not so much. Yeah, this isn't fun.

Let's roll... Read the rest of this post...

CNBC: new regulations could hurt bank profits that were actually losses

Some days I can better enjoy CNBC's craziness than others. Today I actually burst out laughing reading this article. It's predictably CNBC with the full throat defense of Wall Street special interests over investors. For networks such as CNBC, investors are worthless piles of cow dung who don't matter. Then again, the same could easily be said about the new Obama regulations which do very little to help actual investors.

The mindset both among the Wall Street cheerleader crowd as well as the White House is that the global recession and the loss of billions from retirement programs was a tough break but not worthy of significant change. Oh sure, there's big talk about reform such as the feeble "say on pay" that amounts to nothing and now there are new proposed reforms that come with splashy announcements but where's the substance? Is change really about asking those who created this recession to write the new reforms? Really? That's change? This is what makes the CNBC groaning even more funny in a not-so-funny way. Big headlines but little substance. There's a lot of that going around in the White House these days and it's getting old. Leadership means making tough decisions, not same old, same old.

With that, onto the CNBC who feels Wall Street's pain.

US banks could become less competitive—and less profitable—from President Obama's proposed financial overhaul, analysts say.

As details of the sweeping plan emerged, there was worry among investors that the sector—which has been recovering in recent months from last year's financial crisis—could take another hit.

Among the biggest concerns: that increased regulation would reduce risk and leverage—which have been the main engines of growth in recent years.

"These regulations are so sweeping, so comprehensive and so expensive there's no question about the fact that they will lower the profitability of the industry," says Richard Bove, banking analyst with Rochdale Securities. "As part of these regulations there's a demand to increase capital almost consistently, which lowers the leverage of the bank and lowers its potential profitability."

While Wall Street had been expecting the administration to take a much stronger hand in regulating the financial sector after the subprime meltdown, the Obama plan still came as a surprise.

Worry among investors? Investors? Wait a minute. Is CNBC talking about the investors who were crushed by greedy banks who make horrible decisions and forced their banks to become insolvent, thus making their value worth nothing and required bailouts from governments around the world? Gosh, I don't think I'm following this line here because actual investors would do much better with steady profits - real profits - instead of bogus numbers that led to the failure of the banks. But as always, CNBC isn't really worried about actual investors. They're worried about the Wall Street powers who implemented the failed system.

The "growth" that CNBC refers to fails to clarify that it was not growth at all. It was as fake as Sammy Sosa. It all collapsed and millions of Americans paid the price when they watched their retirement plans get crushed and then started worrying about their jobs. The worst of it is that Obama's plan is much too gentle. When you ask Wall Street types to write new regulations, how tough is it really going to be? Think about how well self-regulation has worked and then take a guess at how tough the new regulations will be for Wall Street. Wall Street wasn't alone in expecting much stronger regulations. Day after day, it becomes clearer that this administration is more about business as usual than any significant change. Read the rest of this post...

Secret document declares Mousavi winner

The question is whether it was real or fake but for the moment it almost doesn't matter. It's feeding another round of protests and more are expected today in Tehran. Robert Fisk:

For the photocopy appeared to be a genuine but confidential letter from the Iranian minister of interior, Sadeq Mahsuli, to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, written on Saturday 13 June, the day after the elections, and giving both Mr Mousavi and his ally, Mehdi Karroubi, big majorities in the final results. In a highly sophisticated society like Iran, forgery is as efficient as anywhere in the West and there are reasons for both distrusting and believing this document. But it divides the final vote between Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi in such a way that it would have forced a second run-off vote – scarcely something Mousavi's camp would have wanted.

Headed "For the Attention of the Supreme Leader" it notes "your concerns for the 10th presidential elections" and "and your orders for Mr Ahmadinejad to be elected president", and continues "for your information only, I am telling you the actual results". Mr Mousavi has 19,075,623, Mr Karroubi 13,387,104, and Mr Ahmadinejad a mere 5,698,417.

Could this letter be a fake? Even if Mr Mousavi won so many votes, could the colourless Mr Karroubi have followed only six million votes behind him? And however incredible Mr Ahmadinejad's officially declared 63 per cent of the vote may have been, could he really – as a man who has immense support among the poor of Iran – have picked up only five-and-a-half million votes? And would a letter of such immense importance be signed only "on behalf of the minister"?

Read the rest of this post...

'Buy China" in China stimulus plan

But wait, I thought this only happens in America. Take note of any condemnations from around the world because whoever is complaining is probably ignoring their own protectionist plans. In twenty years of international business I have yet to find a country that does not have protectionist laws in place. It's helpful to limit those measures but at the same time, a stimulus plan is there to help move a local economy and it's paid for by its people. China has to know that an economic recovery is going to be a real challenge since Western economies are not going to rebound with strong buying any time soon.

Either way, how much cheaper will products be from outside of China? They will still probably have to find a way to buy certain specialized high tech items from overseas. It's interesting to note China's previous whinging about the "Buy American" measures in the US stimulus bill and I would hope someone in Washington would make a fuss about it to return the favor just to make a point.

Projects must obtain official permission to use imported goods, said an order issued by China's main planning agency and either other government bodies.

Foreign business groups worry that foreign suppliers of construction equipment and other goods might be excluded from projects financed by Beijing's 4 trillion yuan (US$586 billion) stimulus. Foreign producers of wind turbines say they have been shut out of bidding on a $5 billion stimulus-financed power project, even though their factories are in China.

"Government investment projects should buy domestically made products unless products or services cannot be obtained in reasonable commercial conditions in China," says the government order. "Projects that really need to buy imports should be approved by the relevant government departments before purchasing activity starts."

Maybe Western businesses that sold their soul to the Beijing government weren't quite as entrenched as they suspected after all. Tough break there. Read the rest of this post...

Scientists discover social learning in sticklebacks

Once again we learn that nature isn't as dumb as some like to suggest. If you live in an isolation tank it must all be terribly shocking to see there is intelligent life out there. Go figure.

The discovery of this sophisticated type of social learning in sticklebacks, known as a "hill-climbing" strategy, suggests that such cognitive tricks might be more common among non-human animals than previously thought.

The study also shows that big brains like humans' might not be the only way to produce a cumulative culture within a species.

"Small fish may have small brains but they still have some surprising cognitive abilities," said Jeremy Kendal from Durham University's anthropology department. "Hill-climbing strategies are widely seen in human society whereby advances in technology are down to people choosing the best technique through social learning and improving on it, resulting in cumulative culture. But our results suggest brain size isn't everything when it comes to the capacity for social learning."

Kevin Laland of St Andrews University, who also took part in the study, said: "Nine-spined sticklebacks may be the geniuses of the fish world. It's remarkable that a form of learning found to be optimal in humans is exactly what these fish do."

Read the rest of this post...