NOM seeks 2M4M

The 'National Organization for [heterosexual - ED.] Marriage", a/k/a NOM, has a new marketing campaign in their never-ending tilting with the windmill of marriage equality. What they no doubt think of as clever is fortunately just as hilarious as the numbskull tax protesters who call themselves "Teabaggers".

John Aravosis writes at AmericaBlog:

The new anti-gay initiative is called "Two Million for Marriage," and the organizers are calling it "2M4M" for short. Seriously. Now, anybody who's gay, or who has ever read a personal ad, knows that M4M is the call-sign for men seeking other men (and not for spiritual guidance). It's also the name given to chat rooms devoted to gay men hooking up for sex.

Andy Cobb has posted a YouTube vid which illustrates the unintentional farce that is NOM's new choice in campaign logo:

World Outgames Bombing

The camaraderie of the Outgames was temporarily broken this afternoon when unknown assailants tossed two explosive devices onto the track during the start of a relay. One runner who was in a starting position near the explosions sustained a minor injury to his hand and was treated at the scene by paramedics. The large crowd of athletes and spectators was stunned by what can only be described as a hate crime attack. Competition resumed after consulting with the athletes who were determined not to let this incident succeed in stopping the Outgames. Police were called to the scene and were searching the premises when two more devices exploded on the track. Shortly thereafter the police arrested a suspect who was seen fleeing from a nearby church tower where it is believed the attack was launched. Police are still searching for a second suspect.

More info from Outsports.

Soylent Green Is People!!!!

As a society, do we not have some kind of expectations for responsible speech which at least nods toward some honesty? Or are we merely a tabloid society that just eagerly laps up what our favorite hate-mongering demagogue sets in front of us?

Just Priceless

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Gayest Infomercial Ever

The Fox's Engraved Invite To The Henhouse?

This morning i awoke to find numerous news stories reporting that the Senate Finance Committee has moved closer to health care reform that does not require large employers to offer health insurance and that does not include a public option. Recent polls have indicated that better than 65% of Americans polled support a public option.

Today's news reports just made my stomach turn especially since Senator Jeff Bingaman, one of my elected representatives, is reportedly a member of the bipartisan group of six who "edged closer Monday to a health care compromise that omits a requirement for businesses to offer coverage to their workers and lacks a government insurance option that President Barack Obama favors, according to numerous officials."

i immediately surfed over to Sen. Bingaman's website. It contains the following:

With my strong support, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved a bill which contains a robust public option described below:

•Run by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Secretary of HHS would have the authority to negotiate provider payment rates that are no more than the local average private rates, which would help control costs. The government would provide funding for the first three months of the plan in order to get it up and running and make the public option available in all parts of the country. The funding would be repaid once the public option began operating.
•Public option would be one of the Gateway choices. The public option would be available to all Americans alongside private insurance options within the newly established health insurance “Gateways.” .
•States would help tailor a public plan to their needs. Each state would create an Advisory Council to recommend strategies for quality improvement and affordability. This would allow states to implement strategies that would provide efficient, affordable care to their residents.
•Participation would be purely voluntary; Americans would have the choice of participating in the public option but there would be no obligation to do so.

Wes just called Bingaman's office in D.C. and was told by a staffer that the news reports are wrong about our good Senator edging away from a public option. So who to believe, 'cause i don't trust any of the bastards, either in media or in the Senate.

Here's an interesting perspective from Jed Lewison over at the Daily Kos:

The Real Supermajority

So check this out:

•The 40 Republican senators currently in the Senate, all of whom are expected to filibuster a public option, received 44.2 million votes in their elections.
•The 5 Democrats (Conrad, Baucus, Lincoln, Landrieu, and Nelson) who seem most likely to filibuster health care reform including a public option received 2.5 million votes in their elections.
•The remaining 55 Senators (53 Dems plus Lieberman and Sanders), all of whom would likely vote for cloture on a reform plan including a public option, received 79.8 million votes (this includes votes cast for the Democratic predecessors in CO, NY, IL, and DE).
To recap:

•Votes for seats held by GOP filibuster supporters: 44.2 million
•Votes for seats held by Dems who may filibuster: 2.5 million
•Votes for seats held by Dems who would support cloture: 79.8 million
Obviously, there's a ton of ways you can slice numbers, but this analysis yields a fairly salient factoid: nearly twice as many people voted for senators likely to support a cloture motion than voted for a senator who is likely to thwart health care reform with a filibuster.

i don't see how any of the health care reform being debated can be effective without a public option, preferably one that becomes available no later than January 1, 2010. If you support REAL health care reform, head over to citizensforapublicoption.com, a joint project of Senators Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, and Chuck Schumer. i've signed their petition, and i strongly urge you to do the same.

And Then There's Homophobia...

This story from One Utah reminds me that racism isn't the only thing that can rightly be characterized as insidious.

The Invisible Slam

One of the most insidious things about racism and prejudice is that it can be invisible to people who aren't its target.

For several years i used to live in the Shadyside neighborhood in Pittsburgh with my former partner Jim, who is black. i'm one of those folks who love to shop - a regular retail therapy queen though i've learned to keep my spending under control. Jim hated shopping so usually i was on my own.

There was a nearby toy store on Walnut Street in which i loved to browse since they had so many unusual toys, some of which i couldn't resist. Those would end up as gifts for my niece and nephew. i'd been shopping there frequently for a couple of years, often just browsing without making a purchase and the staff was always friendly & helpful.

One day Jim and i were taking a walk through the neighborhood when we came abreast of the toy store. Somehow i talked Jim into stopping in to take a look around. It took me a minute or two to notice, but suddenly i was aware that we weren't being treated anywhere near the way the staff usually treated me. Instead, the very same people who were usually friendly, smiling & helpful were giving us dirty looks, closely following us around the store, repeatedly asking Jim "Can I help you" in a tone that was clearly insulting and obviously meant to communicate "You're not welcome here." After a few minutes of this i was livid. Jim persuaded me to just leave the store without confronting any of the store's staff.

i had never witnessed them treating anyone else like that before. Later i realized that i also had never seen any black people in that store before. Now i knew why black folks didn't shop there. If i hadn't been accompanied by a black man that day i would never had any idea that the staff was racist.

Over the 17 years that Jim & i were together as a couple, and even since now that we're just friends, i've borne witness to many odd little ways in which people enforce racial differences. It's not even conscious on their part, or so i've concluded.

It became a joke for us that anytime we'd walk together in public, we'd invariably hear car doors lock as we pass by and women would suddenly clutch their purses tighter when we pass. When out walking by myself those events were so rare as to be practically nonexistent.

i've learned to accept, to a degree, that some waiters/waitresses, store clerks, bartenders, etc., won't wait on Jim. Or that, even when Jim arrives first, they pointedly choose to wait on other (white) customers first. Since Jim doesn't make a big deal about it, i'm sure that sometimes it happens and i'm just not aware of it. Just based on when i am aware of it, i can say that it happens all too frequently.

Sometimes when i'm out & about and suddenly realize that i've never seen any people of color in the store, restaurant or other business i'm frequenting, i wonder - would i be treated differently here if i were black? The truth often is, i just don't know. i'm not the target of that particular flavor of racism, so much of the time it's invisible to me.

Here's what i've come to think: if you're in a big group of people and they all look like you, there's a reason; it might not be an immoral reason, but there's still a reason nonetheless.

God Bless Jon Stewart

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The Born Identity
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The Voice of the Birthing Wingnuts?

From Media Matters:

In the wake of Lou Dobbs' repeated claims on the July 15 edition of his radio show that President Obama needs to "produce a birth certificate" and that Obama's birth certificate posted online has "some issues," several of Dobbs' CNN colleagues as well as other members of the media have debunked Obama birth certificate theories, often ridiculing those who embrace such theories as "nut jobs" who advance "ludicrous" claims that are "more conspiratorial than factual." Indeed, according to the Los Angeles Times, CNN distanced itself from Dobbs' comments. Reporter James Rainey wrote: "[O]ne CNN employee reminded me several times that Dobbs' most pointed assertions were made on his radio program, which is unconnected to CNN."

Nonetheless, Dobbs has continued to repeat the "birther" claims on both CNN and his radio show, stating on the July 20 edition of his CNN program that the birth certificate questions offered by "passionate supporters" "won't go away because they haven't been dealt with, it seems possible to, straightforwardly and quickly," and saying on the July 21 edition of his CNN show, "We had people, including reporters from the LA Times, calling up because I referred to this. ... Instead of calling the White House to ask why they didn't do it, they're calling me to ask why I said I don't know what the reality is. No one does." Additionally, on the July 21 edition of his radio show, Dobbs criticized "certain quarters of the national liberal media that are just absolutely trying to knock down the issue of President Obama's birth certificate," stating that they are "focused on being subservient and servile to this presidency rather than being inquisitive and doing their jobs with, you know, the White House."

The plethora of reports that disprove the nutty conspiracy theories of these so-called 'Birthers' are easy to find - they're all over the place. Several times on Lou Dobb's own show:

* On the July 17 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, guest host Kitty Pilgrim said that CNN "found no basis" for the birth certificate claims and cited "overwhelming evidence that proves that his birth certificate is real, and that he was born in Honolulu," including Obama's birth certificate posted online by FactCheck.org.

* Later on the July 17 Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN contributor Errol Louis stated of the theory's proponents, "I think what we have here is a case where under the guise of saying, well, we can't trust whether or not he should be president because we don't have the evidence, it's actually the reverse. These are folks -- and there are a number of them, and some of them are raising money, like WorldNetDaily, which is as far as I'm concerned, running a scam, where they're selling all kinds of bumper stickers and stuff like that." Louis later said "They're raising legal fees from across the country and the reality is they don't accept -- they don't accept that the president is the president and, therefore, they work backward and there will never be enough proof to satisfy them."

* Also on the July 17 Lou Dobbs Tonight, The Daily Beast's John Avlon told Pilgrim, "You've offered a mountain of evidence in addition to two birth announcements. That's a pretty deep conspiracy." He also stated, "What we have here is Obama derangement syndrome. This is pathological hatred of the president posing as patriotism" and later said to Alan Keyes and Orly Taitz, who advocate birth certificate theories, "You guys are nuts."

Moderate conservatives also easily recognize how ludicrous the claims of Birthers are:

On the July 22 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-host Joe Scarborough cited evidence that Obama was born in Hawaii and said of the "conspiracy theorists" who say otherwise: "Now that is not enough for these people. They would rather be like sea lions barking at waves. They would rather, instead of trying to actually figure out what is happening to their country -- the terrible things that are happening economically to their country -- they embrace conspiracy theories. And they make themselves just look like cartoon characters." Scarborough also compared birth certificate conspiracy theorists to people who believe "the United States government blew up its own buildings and killed its own people on September 11" and believe that we "never landed on the moon."

So, despite the fact that the President DID produce a certified copy of his Certificate of Live Birth, and the fact that the original on file in Hawaii has been handled, authenticated and photographed by a non-partisan foundation, and the fact that it's been verified that there was a birth announcement published in a Hawaii newspaper at the occasion of his birth, these folks insist on trying to gin up a movement designed to paint our President as "not one of us."

Though normally i can't stand Chris Matthews, i don't think he's far off when he noted that what we have here isn't a documentation problem, it's a pigmentation problem.

Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland Trailer

Oh, wonderful!! i wish the wait wasn't so long, but it's something else to look forward to until Spring 2010 arrives!

GLSEN Pittsburgh presents PA youth conference

Pittsburgh will make history July 17-19 when it hosts “Unified for Youth,” Pennsylvania’s first statewide conference for LGBT youth, their families and straight allies.

The event is being sponsored by the Pittsburgh chapter of GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network] in cooperation with Persad Center, PFLAG, Dreams of Hope and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

Highlights include: workshops such as “What Is Gender Identity” and “Bullying—an Epidemic;” panel discussions; a keynote address by Stephen A. Glassman, chairman of the PA Human Relations Commission; and a sneak preview of Out in the Silence, a documentary produced by Oil City natives Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer.

“I think the ‘Unified for Youth” conference is a monumental accomplishment of GLSEN,” said Ian Syphard, co-chair of GLSEN’s board of directors.

“Even people who are sympathetic to gay and lesbian issues seem to forget about the American student population. Students who identify [as] LGBT or are even perceived to be LGBT are facing some of the toughest challenges right in their classrooms.”

This news story is from Outonline, the "Largest LGBT Website in the Region" and online presence for long-running Pittburgh's Out! Magazine.

Don't Ask, don't tell, don't know when.

President Obama may be changing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy addressing gays in the military but the process will be “measured” and deliberate, the nation’s top military officer said Sunday.

“I’ve conversations with him about that,” said Adm. Mike Mullen , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “What I’ve discussed in terms of the future is I think we need to move in a measured way.”
Click here to learn more!

Mullen, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said the current process of carrying out the policy includes making sure “that we’re executing it in the most humane way possible. It’s very clear what president Obama’s intent here is. He intends to see this law change.

Read the rest at CQ Politics.

Voting Equipment Blues

From the New Mexico Independent:

SANTA FE – New Mexico spent $18 million on a new paper ballot system just three years ago.

But state and county elections officials are so frustrated with the cost of maintaining New Mexico’s fleet of new voting tabulators and voting machines for the disabled that they’re considering scrapping the equipment in favor of leasing new machines.

Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo II told state lawmakers Thursday that his agency is investigating the idea of leasing equipment and, later in an interview, added that it was a “serious move.”

“We are investigating the possibility of completely changing systems,” Trujillo said Thursday following a legislative meeting at the state Capitol. “The county clerks have asked us to look at that possibility, as long as there isn’t a $20 million up front to buy a bunch of new machines. We wouldn’t expect the Legislature to buy into this.”

Trujillo mentioned Premier Elections as the firm that the state is contacting to see if it could supply such services.

DRG's Search for a New Diocesan Bishop

"We want a Bishop who sees us as an opportunity, a challenge and a gift." - Popular quote from the New Life reconciliation retreats held around the diocese as we've prepared to call a new Bishop to replace Jeffrey Steenson.


In the Standing Committee’s Charge to the Search Team, the following was emphasized:
- That the bishop is “called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the church; to celebrate and provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.”
- That the bishop is called to “share in the leadership of the church throughout the world.”
- That the Diocese of The Rio Grande has embarked on a reconciliation and healing process called “The New Life Process.” Our new Bishop will envision coming along side of us to join this process of building further, a healthy family of God.
- That in light of the New Life process, working towards reconciliation, nominees are urged to express, in writing, a commitment to remain in The Episcopal Church USA, and to uphold the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church USA and the Diocese of the Rio Grande.

And now, a picture of Gyllenhall

Just because....

Spinal Implant Needed

Democrats Grow Wary as Health Bill Advances

By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN (NYT)
Published: July 17, 2009

WASHINGTON — Three of the five Congressional committees working on legislation to reinvent the nation’s health care system delivered bills this week along the lines proposed by President Obama. But instead of celebrating their success, many Democrats were apprehensive, nervous and defensive.

Even as Democratic leaders and the White House insisted that the nation was closer than ever to landmark changes in the health care system, they faced basic questions about whether some of their proposals might do more harm than good.

And while senior Democrats vowed to press ahead to meet Mr. Obama’s deadline of having both chambers pass bills before the summer recess, some in their ranks, nervous about the prospect of raising taxes or proceeding without any Republican support, were pleading to slow down.

Let's not forget that every day that passes bears witness to more Americans suffering & dying because of a lack of access to even adequate healthcare. Or that with more folks joining the unemployed each week the number of Americans losing their health insurance grows ever more obscenely big. Perhaps Congress should consider forgoing the recess.

Remember, those in opposition to passing good legislation on healthcare reform before the recess were probably all too willing to drop their vacation plans to fly back and insert the government into Terry Schiavo's life & death. If that travesty of representation was so laudable, why not skip the vacation for the sake the remaining American citizens? After all, they are supposed to be working for us rather than for big pharma & health insurers, right?

Oh, snap! If they wait until after their summer recess, by then they'll have switched over to campaign mode. And of course all that big campaign money from their corporate masters will have even less influence over their actions then than now. Right? Wait a minute...am i saying that the calls for delays aren't based in some altruistic public servants' desires to craft a 'good bill'? Maaaayyyyyybe. Am i saying that the delaying tactics are intended to derail & weaken support for actual, effective, necessary healthcare reform?

Yes. That's exactly what i'm saying. What do you think?

Thank God There's Congressman Dennis Kucinich

From The Smirking Chimp:

Will Congress Ban States from Providing Healthcare?

by David Swanson | July 17, 2009 - 9:28am

The healthcare legislation under consideration in Congress would prevent states from improving on what Congress creates. An amendment is under consideration right now in a House committee that would change that, leaving the federal initiative as is but permitting states to do better. This battle pits states' rights against the much less spoken of insurance company rights. And it calls the bluff of every individual or group who opposes single-payer healthcare at the federal level on the grounds that it is not "viable." That argument would seem to provide no basis at all for denying states the right to create single-payer healthcare or any other solution they see fit.

In fact, the amendment now under consideration provides an opportunity for advocates of single-payer and proponents of a public-option compromise to join forces and work together in good faith against the forces of the insurance lobby. The amendment being considered in the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, is offered by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio). The amendment gives states the right to pass and implement state-based single-payer plans and would ensure the federal rules waivers required to allow that innovation. If a public option at the federal level can move the nation over time to a single-payer solution (a big if), the example of states getting there first should offer no hindrance. In Canada, it was the example of provinces that moved the nation to the single-payer solution now in place.

Read the rest of the article.

Apology #2 for the Rainbow Lounge Raid

Thanks to Andy Towle at towleroad.com i learned of this second apology for the Rainbow Lounge Raid.

From The Dallas Voice:

TABC chief apologizes

By Tammye Nash and John Wright
Jul 16, 2009 - 9:55:51 PM

Administrator Steen acknowledges his agents violated policies, says FW supervisor has stepped down

FORT WORTH — The administrator of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said this week that two TABC agents involved in a raid of the Rainbow Lounge on June 28 committed multiple “clear violations” of agency policy.

In an exclusive phone interview with Dallas Voice on Wednesday, July 15, TABC Administrator Alan Steen also said the supervisor directly responsible for the two agents — a sergeant in TABC’s Fort Worth district office — announced his retirement last week in the wake of the raid and amid an ongoing internal investigation. Steen didn’t identify the sergeant or the agents by name.

“I don’t think you have to dig very deep to figure out that TABC has violated some of their policies,” Steen said. “We know that, and I apologize for that. Like I said in my original press release, we have in the past and we will in the future act very swiftly in making sure that those issues are corrected. It’s real clear that however it is that we were doing business that night is not the typical TABC. ... I have good policy in place, I have good training in place, and I have good supervision in place to ensure that things like this don’t happen.”

[snip!]

Steen said he doesn’t think there was sufficient cause for the inspection, which apparently was based on the fact that one person had been arrested for public intoxication at the Rainbow Lounge on Thursday, June 25. Steen also indicated that the eight law enforcement officers and the paddy wagon that were present likely constituted an excessive show of force.

“You can read that policy and you can figure out really quickly, TABC shouldn’t have even been there,” Steen said. “If our guys would have followed the damn policy, we wouldn’t even have been there. … We have these conversations all the time, and we don’t participate in those kinds of inspections when there’s not probable cause or reasonable suspicion or some public safety matter to be inspected.”

Another Step Toward Justice

Senate votes big expansion of federal hate crimes

By JIM ABRAMS (AP) – 12 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes protections since the original law was enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The legislation broadens federal reach to protect those physically attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or a disability. Current law is limited to crimes motivated by race, ethnicity or religion.

The Senate approved the measure on a voice vote immediately after voting 63-28 to overcome Republican-led opposition to considering the measure an amendment to a defense spending bill. Sixty votes were needed to clear that procedural hurdle.

The House in April passed a stand-alone hate crimes bill that is similar to the Senate legislation.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

i'm happy to recognize that BOTH Senators from New Mexico (Bingaman & Udall) voted in favor of this legislation. Next, prepare for Republican attempts next week to pare away the protections in this amendment. CALL YOUR SENATORS! Thank 'em if they voted 'aye' and dog them (respectfully) if they voted 'nay'. tips-q.com has an article listing the vote breakdown by Senator.

Bwaaaa-haaaa-haaaaa-ha-ha!!!!!

i'm no fan of The View, but this is spectacular.

The Absolute BEST Sotomayor Hearing Commentary

From the Rude Pundit:

So the Republicans are left with portraying her as some kind of Manchurian judicial candidate, ready to finally reveal the tentacled liberal inside as part of her nefarious plot throughout her life to get on the Supreme Court so that she could weave her relativistic, Latina ways into the American mainstream. So said John Cornyn today, sounding like every laconic donkey fucker ever to come from the prairie.

[snip!]

Let's end with another line from Sonia Sotomayor's "wise Latina" speech, a remark that is about being humble and self-aware as a judge: "I am reminded each day that I render decisions that affect people concretely and that I owe them constant and complete vigilance in checking my assumptions, presumptions and perspectives and ensuring that to the extent that my limited abilities and capabilities permit me, that I reevaluate them and change as circumstances and cases before me requires. I can and do aspire to be greater than the sum total of my experiences but I accept my limitations."

What Judge Sotomayor was saying was that, as a non-white and as a woman, others were always looking at her to see if she was being biased, in a way that they would not look at white male judges. She was saying that the paradigm is wrong, that all biases need to be on the table. Unfortunately, those questioning her cling to that sinking raft of false objectivity.

Comments specifically about the questioning from Senator Jeff "Jefferson Davis" Sessions, R-AL:

Sessions doesn't actually give a fuck what she says or how she answers. He is trying to get her to crack, like if she is pushed, she'll bring out maracas and yip and trill her voice, revealing the whitey-hating freakin' Rican within.

[snip!]

Isn't most of what's being asked of Sotomayor just obvious?

- Oh, yeah, Sessions is gonna act like he's got something, because the knuckledraggers back home need to see him beat up a Hispanic woman. You ever spent time with white Alabaman guys - natives, not the people who move to Huntsville to work? There's a reason why stereotypes of backwards ass country fucks exist. Sit on the couch on their front lawn and you'll learn. (Good liberal caveat: yes, there are native white Alabamans who are not racist, just like there's many a rat that doesn't carry disease.)

Rainbow Lounge raid aftermath continues

By The Associated Press
07.15.2009 8:09am EDT

(Fort Worth, Texas) Forth Worth’s mayor has apologized for a June raid on a Texas gay bar that sparked claims of brutality and procedure violations.

About 250 people packed City Council chambers Tuesday and another 150 watched on televisions in the hallway or overflow rooms as officials briefly discussed the June 28 raid that left one man hospitalized with a serious head injury.

At one point during Tuesday’s meeting, someone in the audience called out for an apology.

Mayor Mike Moncrief then said: “If you want an apology from the mayor of Fort Worth: I am sorry about what happened in Fort Worth.” The crowd erupted in applause and stood.

The Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and Fort Worth Police Department are investigating the raid, which was conducted jointly by their agencies.

Fastest fingers

IntegriTV GC2009-Day 7

Deconstructing Palin

It won't be a shock to people who actually know me, but i value sensible conservative viewpoints. Even (and often especially) when i might not agree with them. Here's a bit of a recent column by Peggy Noonan, from the Wall Street Journal. i think she nails the whole Palin phenomenon pretty squarely on the head.

She [Palin] went on the trail a sensation but demonstrated in the ensuing months that she was not ready to go national and in fact never would be. She was hungry, loved politics, had charm and energy, loved walking onto the stage, waving and doing the stump speech. All good. But she was not thoughtful. She was a gifted retail politician who displayed the disadvantages of being born into a point of view (in her case a form of conservatism; elsewhere and in other circumstances, it could have been a form of liberalism) and swallowing it whole: She never learned how the other sides think, or why.

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

Ms. Noonan's column is far more extensive than this, and i encourage you to surf over & read it in its entirety.

Critiquing the Current Political Theater

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
White Men Can't Judge
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Common sense, courtesy of Mr. Sullivan

07 Jul 2009 11:52 am
Flame Off

The Cajun Boy at Gawker describes a bloggy truth:

After a while, writing on the internet thickens your skin to the point where you're easily able to easily differentiate between valid criticism and hateful venom-spewing. At some point, the hateful venom-spewing fails to even faze you any longer, while the valid criticisms are accepted and processed rationally and learned from.

Felix Salmon agrees. Me too. It's a bit of a shock at first, but once you get into the water, it feels bearable after a while. My silent mantra to myself whenever I read some particularly nasty missive or blogpost: it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as it isn't true. If it is true, then learn from it.

From Andrew Sullivan's blog, The Daily Dish.

The saga continues...still awaiting justice

From Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin:

More reports of injuries are coming to light from last week’s raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Ft. Worth, Texas. That raid resulted in Chad Gibson being sent to intensive care for a severe head injury with bleeding in the brain. Doctors say he will probably continue to experience severe headaches for the next two years.

The New York Times reports that another patron suffered broken ribs, and a third had a broken thumb resulting from aggressive actions by Ft. Worth police and agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The Dallas Voice reports that another man who was taken in to custody experienced severe bruising and muscle strain in his shoulder and back. He was charged with public intoxication, even though he says he was not drunk and police did not perform any sobriety or blood-alcohol tests on him.

This practice of charging people without evidence goes against the very foundations of our country’s system of justice, but it is just one more example of how Texas policy on Public Intoxication is an open ticket for abuse. Ft. Worth Police Department has since announced that they are suspending operations with TABC.

Happy Independence Day

Though at times it seems as if the great American experiment in democracy is heading off the rails, i still believe in the American spirit. That with a good measure of common sense, ingenuity, intelligence, and a sense of shared destiny, we can always reinvent ourselves and live up to our best ideals. With liberty & justice for all.

And now, a story about a Scotsman

From the 'Beeb':

Gay minister inducted at service

The Reverend Scott Rennie said he was looking forward to the role

The gay minister whose appointment sparked a furious debate in the Church of Scotland has been formally inducted in Aberdeen.

The Reverend Scott Rennie was introduced to his congregation at a service at Queen's Cross Church.

Hundreds of ministers and thousands of Church of Scotland members signed an online petition opposing the move.

After arriving in Aberdeen, Mr Rennie said he was looking forward to serving God in the city.

The issue had gone to the General Assembly which narrowly voted in favour.

Update on the Rainbown Lounge Raid

On Thursday, Chad Gibson's sister informed the media that his blood alcohol level the night of the raid was 0.2, which confirms that he was intoxicated at the time of the Rainbow Lounge raid, but also confirms that he was NOT suffering from alcohol poisoning, as the FWPD statement claimed.

Here's a Friday update from Joe.My.God:

Continuing to backpedal from their involvement in the raid of the Rainbow Lounge, the Fort Worth police department says they are suspending "bar checks" in conjunction with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

The announcement by Chief Halstead came four days after a raid at the Rainbow Lounge by six Fort Worth officers and two Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents left one patron hospitalized with a head injury. "I think it's an excellent first step," said Todd Camp, founder of Fort Worth's Q Cinema gay and lesbian film festival. "I'm glad to hear that both departments are conducting investigations. As a long-time resident of Fort Worth, I look forward to working with the police department to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

Rainbow Lounge patron Chad Gibson, who suffered a head injury during what witnesses described as an unnecessarily rough arrest, is scheduled to be released from the hospital today. Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead has ordered multicultural training for his officers, probably with an eye towards coming civil lawsuits as an internal investigation of the raid continues.

The Gaybee Gap

CNN -- Jesse Levey is a Republican activist who says he believes in family values, small government and his lesbian mothers' right to marry.

Jeff DeGroot on hiking trip with his mothers, Elisabeth, on his left, and Meg Grear, on his right.

Levey is part of the "gayby boom" generation. The 29-year-old management consultant is the son of a lesbian couple who chose to have a child through artificial insemination. He's their only child.

Critics of same-sex marriage say people such as Levey will grow up shunned and sexually confused. Yet he says he's a "well-adjusted heterosexual" whose upbringing proves that love, not gender, makes a family.

"You can imagine what my parents thought when I was 13 and listening to Rush Limbaugh everyday," Levey says. "But my family had strong family values. I was raised in a loving, caring household that let me be a free thinker."

This is quite a good article; i highly recommend checking out the entire thing at cnn.com

Fort Worth raid update

From the Dallas Voice:

TABC announcement and a request from Chief Halstead
June 30, 2009

I just got back from the Fort Worth Police Department’s East Fort Worth Community Forum. Although this was an already-scheduled event to allow East Fort Worth residents to speak with Chief Jeffrey Halstead and other officers, a number of people showed up to question the chief about the raid Sunday morning at the Rainbow Lounge.

It was a two-hour meeting, and there was a lot going on. I am just going to recap a couple of the highlights here.

First: after the meeting had started, Chief Halstead announced that the director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission had just issued a statement acknowledging that Chad Gibson, who has been hospitalized with a head injury since the incident, was injured while in the custody of TABC agents.

Chief Halstead said that determining who was responsible for Gibson’s injury has been the priority of his department’s investigation so far.

Now that that is settled, the chief said, the focus for his department will turn to getting as much information as possible regarding the actions of FWPD officers during the incident.

To that end, he is asking that anyone and everyone who was at the bar that night and was an eyewitness to the events contact Capt. Garcia at 817-392-4270 to give their account. He said it is vital to a thorough investigation to get as much information as possible from those who were there.

Chief Halstead, who only recently came from Phoenix to take the top spot in the FWPD, also said he wants to meet with LGBT community leaders, that he intends to appoint a liaison to the city’s LGBT community and that he wants to institute sensitivity training.

So now, on a personal note: I understand people in our community are angry and frustrated. We want answers, and we want them now.

But folks, we also have to understand that if we really want THE TRUTH, then we need to give Chief Halstead and his command staff the opportunity to conduct a complete and thorough investigation, and those who were there need to cooperate with that investigation.

Chief Halstead said tonight he knows the LGBT community wants to know the truth, and that he DEMANDS to know the truth. If, when all is said and done, he hasn’t lived up to his promises, then we take it from there. But we have to at least give him time to do what he has said he will do.

— Tammye Nash

Judge to Allow D.C. Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages to Go Ahead

From Andy at Towleroad:

A request for a stay preventing the D.C. Council's decision to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere was denied by a Superior Court judge on Tuesday:

Dc "Judge Judith E. Retchin ruled that she would not a grant a stay preventing the law from taking effect Monday, as requested by opponents. However, the effective date is likely to be delayed by the need for congressional approval. Attorneys for the group said they needed more time to research and argue their position before the law takes effect. Opponents, led by Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, and seven other D.C. voters want a referendum on the issue, but the D.C. elections board said that would be illegal under the District's Human Rights Act. Although Retchin decided against delaying the law's enactment, she said opponents could seek to amend the law after the marriage provision takes effect."

Jackson and his homophobic law firm, the Alliance Defense Fund, have announced they plan to file an appeal to have the law overturned.

Survey: 60% of gays say faith is important to them

From USA Today:

A significant majority of gays and lesbians — six in 10 — say faith is important in their lives, but heterosexuals generally state such commitments more often, according to a new survey by a Christian research firm.

"People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts," said George Barna, founder of the Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif.-based research company.

"A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Christ active in their life today."