Even open thread

Tomorrow my tree goes up, and my 8 foot inflatable glowing Grinch :-) Read the rest of this post...

CBS Joins Bush Gay Bashing Campaign

John posted the news that CBS and NBC won't run the UCC ad. Read the language in the UCC release from CBS carefully....

Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks. (emphasis added)

This is really scary. What the fuck does anything the Executive Branch proposes have to do with what ads a television network will take? This is an amazing admission. CBS is cowering before the Bush Administration.

View the ad yourself. It does not say ONE THING about gay marriage. Yet, somehow, a proposal by the Bush Administration to ban gay marriage trumps an anti-discrimination ad from a religious group.

Maybe if the ad celebrated that fact that gays were being turned away, CBS would run it. Smacking gays around seems to be the new sport for the media. After all, as Americablog reported, The Washington Post was willing to publish a gay-bashing insert earlier this month.

If you are a gay American or have a gay relative or a gay friend and aren't really worried about the anti-gay fervor sweeping this country, you are not paying attention. Let's just call it what it is: gay bashing. And, the gay bashing is led by President Bush. He condoned it, he ran on it and he is fostering it.

What a truly amazing world it would be if our "born again" President and his hate filled party actually heeded the words of that guy, Jesus Christ, they are always talking about. The UCC ad notes quite accurately "Jesus didn't turn people away." And, if my memory serves me, Jesus also didn't use try to pit one group of people against another. In fact, his message was quite the opposite.

The irony of this would almost be too rich, if it weren't for the fact that in America, gay bashing has become acceptable thanks to the President. Unfortunately, it looks like the so-called independent media is willing to follow his lead.
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It's official: Jacques to leave Human Rights Campaign, largest gay rights lobby

FROM HRC:

CHERYL JACQUES TO LEAVE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN

HRC Boards Put Transition Plan in Place

WASHINGTON - Citing a difference in management philosophy, the Human
Rights Campaign's boards and its president, Cheryl Jacques, announced that she will resign from her position.

"Cheryl hit the road almost as soon as she arrived and has been an
effective advocate for our community," said HRC Foundation Board Co-Chair Lawrie Demorest.

Jacques led HRC through the successful defeat earlier this year of the Federal Marriage Amendment in the House and Senate, and through a period of significant growth in fundraising and membership, including a record $30 million budget for 2004, and a membership that now exceeds 600,000.

"My priorities were to defeat the Federal Marriage Amendment, expand the organization's membership and fundraising capacity, increase our diversity and maintain a strong voice in the media," said Jacques.

"Cheryl has achieved a great deal as HRC President," said HRC Board of Directors Co-chair Gwen Baba. "We will miss her leadership and
professionalism, but we understand her desire to move on to other
challenges. Cheryl was a member of the HRC family before she arrived in Washington, and she'll remain part of us."

The boards announced that HRC Board of Directors Co-chair Michael Berman and Hilary Rosen will lead the organization through the transition while a search for a new leader is underway. Berman is president of The Duberstein Group in Washington and Rosen led HRC's strategic efforts to defeat of the FMA. Rosen will be focused on internal, strategic issues and management.

"HRC has a very deep bench of experienced and talented senior staff who are already working on new strategies in the fight for equality," added Berman. "In addition to recalculating our political efforts, we will enhance our activities in the corporate world, in the media and, most important, in communities of faith."

The Board of Directors and the Foundation Board will meet with staff in early December in Las Vegas for their annual winter meeting to prioritize the agenda and organize the transition to new leadership.

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CBS, NBC refuse to air church's ad because includes pro-gay message

Apparently the United Church of Christ (those wild folks)can't run an ad on CBS or NBC because the ad mentions gay people in a positive light. CBS had the audacity to come right out and blame it on the gays:

"Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks."

Still think the media is left wing? We need to blow these bastards out the water. From the Washington Post to the major networks (e.g., ABC's "expose" on Matthew Shepard last week that including, well, nothing new), it's time to tell them that being anti-liberal doesn't make them objective.

You can watch the ad here for yourself. Yes, it's come to the point where an ad for pro-tolerance is now too controversial in America. Read the rest of this post...

Shiny tin-foil people holding hands...

And then some. New poll: Only a third of Americans believe evolution is backed up with solid evidence, and almost half think God created man only 10,000 years ago. Read the rest of this post...

Cold day in hell before blogger works...

I post, it chokes, I post, it chokes, I post, it chokes... Read the rest of this post...

Maria Shriver: Schwarzenegger Won't Be President

She doesn't say he doesn't want to run, or that he won't run if the amendment can happen quickly - rather, she says the amendment will take too long. But what if it doesn't?

From Reuters:

"Forget about it. It is not going to happen. The process takes years, and this is as far as it goes," Shriver, the niece of former President John F. Kennedy, told Vanity Fair magazine amid talk of amending the Constitution to allow the Austrian-born film star to run for president.

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Same-gender marriage in South Africa?

Hmmm...

A lesbian couple's appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal to have their marriage legally recognised and registered succeeded on Tuesday.

The court, in a majority decision, declared that under the Constitution the common law concept of marriage was to be developed to embrace same-sex partners.

The appeal, brought by Marie Fourie and Cecelia Bonthuys, in essence challenged the definition of marriage under South African common law.

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Valuing families, not so much

Daily Kos reports:

Apparently a Filipino-born man who married a US citizen is having his application for citizenship denied because the US citizen had a sex change 24 years ago. Making her really a "man," I guess. Meaning that this is a gay marriage, which can't be recognized by the US government. Meaning he has to be deported.

I'm curious what the legal status is of post-op transgendered people in the US or the various states. Anyone? Read the rest of this post...

HRC rumored to have fired its executive director

More to come. Read the rest of this post...

Court: Colleges can bar bigoted military recruiters

Wow, and they even used the Boy Scout case, in part, to justify it. This is good news. The decision, by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, can still be appealed to the full appeals court or it can be appealed to the US Supreme Court. In the meantime, unless the court issues a stay, colleges are free to kick the anti-gay recruiters off of campus. Check with your college, make sure they're aware of the new court decision, and pressure them to kick off the military recruiters NOW. Read the rest of this post...

Happy 20th Birthday West Hollywood

A birthday shout-out for West Hollywood, where the mayor and a majority of the City Council are openly gay, celebrating their 20th anniversary of cityhood this week. Next year they can drink. Read the rest of this post...

Another Blogger-from-hell day

Blogger is having issues, again. I've been trying to post all morning. Argh. Consider this an open thread, if it posts. Read the rest of this post...

The USSR is back

Socialism is alive and well in Mother Russia, where the oil industry has been re-nationalized. Yukos Oil, Russia's largest oil producer, and for a time, arguably the most "western" company in the way it ran its business, is about to be repurchased by Gazprom, another company that is owned and controlled by the Russian government.

Yukos was once responsible for nearly two percent of the world's oil production. But that was before its CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, spoke out in favor of more personal freedoms and private ownership in Russia, and supported Vladimir Putin's opponents in elections. Shortly after Khordokovsky's public dissent, he was thrown in jail and Yukos was hit with tax evasion charges the international business community has universally condemned as bogus. The company would keep paying the fines, because they can't defend themselves in Putin's kangaroo court, but now Putin is forcing the company into bankruptcy. Of course, by forcing the sell-off of Yukos' core assets before it's less essential ones, Putin is breaking his own laws. But then, rule of law has never really been an issue in the Soviet Union.

Of course, the US government has done next to nothing, maybe because our president once claimed he "looked into Putin's soul" and saw a kindred spirit. (I wonder what folks in Chechnya think of Putin's soul.) Maybe because the US wants Putin to keep quiet over Iraq.

But this can't be denied -- Vladimir Putin wants more control over the oil supply, and he's willing to break the law to do it. The Russian bear is getting ready to growl again. And this white house is caught with its fly down.

The white house has already demonstrated its failure on this issue. Will Congress repeat this failure when Russia demands membership in the World Trade Organization later this year?
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UK embassy issues warning about declining safety in Iraq

I believe that the British embassy in Iraq forgot to run this one past the Pentagon spin team who tells everyone that the situation is improving.

The embassy says a bomb was discovered on a flight inside Iraq on 22 November. It shows that insurgents have been able to penetrate the stringent security at Baghdad airport.

The warning is in sharp contrast to more optimistic statements from US military commanders after the capture of Fallujah in which they have spoken of "breaking the back of the insurgency".

The embassy says that the road between Baghdad and the international airport, perhaps the most important highway in the country, is now too dangerous to use.

The airport road is littered with evidence of previous attacks: the twisted cars used by suicide bombers and craters from roadside bombs.

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Annan has to go, unfortunately

I am in no way anti-UN and I believe in the value of the institution and want it to succeed but this latest story about Koffi Annan's son taking money from a company involved in the Iraq oil-for-food period tells me that Annan has to go. People like this only undermine the legitimacy of the UN and give fodder to the anti-UN crowd. Sadly I don't believe Annan when he says he was "very disappointed and surprised" because he has been downplaying serious allegations for a while now. Now it seems pretty clear why he was so short tempered about the investigations.

I truly want the UN to succeed but I am also fed up with waste and corruption. Annan already came into this job with the failure of Rwanda on his shoulders and this one is just too much to tolerate. The UN is not there to make your family and friends rich or to have plush jobs, it is there to bring the world together and to help people.
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November on verge of being a record month

Too bad it's on the verge of being a record for US deaths in Iraq. It's unfortunate that our fearless media is unable to stop humping the leg of the Pentagon and report on Iraqi deaths as well, but I suppose they're not like us anyway so who cares?
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