In fact I didn't even know my friend Jerry Sloan who did, and whose story this is, until years later. But I remembered his story well from news accounts. In what has become an annual tradition at Talk to Action, Jerry retells his famous story, which is an example of how dedication and smart activism can make for illuminating victories even in dark times. I am reposting this in its entirety with his blessing, and our hope that whatever your struggle, that you will find hope and inspiration and a smile.
Look, okay, I am fully up front about the fact that I am wholly biased when it comes to freshman Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA-8). I'm proud to call him a friend, but if possible, even prouder today.
For the first time since the policy was implemented in 1993, the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee held a hearing today to review the disgraceful "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy which prevents GLBT Americans from serving openly in our armed forces. One of the witnesses was Elaine Donnelly, President of the "Center for Military Readiness," who Pam Spaulding has properly identified as someone who "has never served in the military, and admits she has no qualifications or expertise on sexuality."
And after her inane testimony, Congress' only Iraq veteran was ready:
Nearly 800 specialists with critical skills have been fired from the military under DADT, including several linguists who speak Arabic.
U.S. taxpayers have paid $250 million to investigate and root out patriotic servicemen and women under DADT and as much as $1.2 billion in lost recruiting and training costs.
More than two-thirds of civilians support allowing gays to serve openly in the military. And despite the fear-mongering about unit morale, nearly 3 in 4 troops say they are personally comfortable serving side-by-side with gays and lesbians.
More on today's hearing here. DADT must end. Period. Full stop.
First, a confession: I often frequent news site message boards about some piece of pro-gay news when I'm bored or need something to amuse myself with. It's always a lot of fun to read these boards, because I can watch the logic of the anti-gay posters unravel almost before my eyes. But in reading their accusations and knee-jerk reactions to sober, reflective and logical commentary on issues such as Proposition 8, I've discovered something.
They really do think that people are all exactly alike, and think in exactly the same ways as they do. And if you look at the accusations they make against gays (and non-Christians of various stripes) you'll find that they really do believe that everyone lives in the same kind of paranoid, isolationist, terrified, conformist world that they do. It's really quite frightening to try to think about the world the way they do - and it's no wonder that they are so afraid, angry, and rigid when confronted with social change that doesn't conform to their dogmatic beliefs.
Come with me after the jump for a partial analysis of how fundamentalists, through projection, accuse everyone else of acting just like they do.
Q: President Bush believes that gay couples should not be permitted to adopt children. Do you agree with that?
Mr. McCain: I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.
Q: Even if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents.
Mr. McCain: I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents.
Q: But your concern would be that the couple should a traditional couple
You can't criticize him for moving to the center if he was always in the center to begin with. Despite the lengths he went to to disclaim memberhsip in the DLC, some of us knew, all the way back in October, that the brotha was not all the way down with the cause when he allowed one of the campaign's gospel concert-events in South Carolina to be MC'ed by Donnie McClurkin, who, despite being a gay black man himself, had started blaming his own homosexuality on having been molested as a child, and everybody else's on
-- well, could it be... SATAN ??
In his 2001 autobiography, he wrote about being glad that Jesus had granted him victory over homosexuality,
and espoused similar sentiments from the pulpit as the MC.
Lots of gay people (including both me and the person who is HRing me for this) eventually wound up supporting Obama despite this, but I wound up in disagreement with someone who was firmly convinced that this was just as great a sin (on Obama's part) as the FISA betrayal.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications has nominated James Dobson, one of America’s most intolerant voices, to its Radio Hall of Fame. The Focus on the Family leader has said that allowing gay people to marry will "destroy the earth." Focus on the Family hosts the nation’s largest so-called "ex-gay" conference – where they claim to convert homosexuals.
Dobson has also been accused by seven researchers in two years of twisting their work to promote his anti-gay political agenda. Clearly, Dobson lacks the character and integrity to be considered for the Radio Hall of Fame.
This effort is being led by Truth Wins Out; contact them at: http://www.truthwinsout.org/...
The Museum of Broadcast Communications should act responsibly and immediately withdraw Dobson’s name from consideration. Fight back by signing our formal request to have James Dobson removed from consideration:
I live in Connecticut, so I was worried when our neighbor to the north legalized gay marriage, but luckily, they only made it valid for in-state residents, so my wife and I were O.K.
The next blow was when our own state legalized civil unions between same-sex couples. Luckily, they didn't call it marriage, and same-sex couples still can't get the federal benefits of marriage. This one was tough, but my wife and I dug deep into our hearts and clung to each other. Somehow, our marriage survived.
Our marriage has survived the California ruling, but that may be only because the tsunami of bad marriage vibes hasn't made it to the east coast yet.
Today, we will face our biggest test. We have been invited to a barbeque at my son's friend's house, and he has two Mommies. How will we hold up?
The American Family Association has apparently decided to boycott McDonald's for, well, sponsoring an ad during a gay pride parade. You can find out more at http://boycottmcdonalds.com/
Yesterday, as I reflected on the 44th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, I thought about how far we have come in the fight for equality and how much work we still have ahead of us. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of the progress we have made as a nation all around us – none more visible than the Democratic Presidential Primary race between Senators Clinton and Obama. But even as we celebrate these victories we must keep in mind those who have been left behind in the struggle for equality.
As the recent California Supreme Court decision allowing gay marriage demonstrated, there are people and places in this country that are ready to correct the injustice being visited on gay Americans and support marriage equality. Many of the most ardent opponents of gay unions claim to be "defending marriage" as though allowing two people of the same gender who love each other to get married somehow weakens the institution of marriage.
In the closet. Yep, this web site for gay Republicans (a concept sort of like Jewish Nazis or Lakota cavalry scouts, as far as I can tell) is all excited that the Republican nominee actually deigned to talk to a homosexual.
It does not seem to bother them, however, that the meeting was not on McCain's published schedule and in fact, happened in secret. Nor is there any word on what they discussed.
This is the third in a series that has thus far included Why the Left is Right on... The Death Penalty, and Why the Left is Right on... Abortion. In it I will explore the status of gay rights, as well as the reasons that I feel that the left is right when it comes to teh gheyz (of which I am one - full disclosure). This diary will not explore the argument of marriage versus civil unions - though there are very valid points one could make on the subject, it is simply not the focus of this entry.
The Heinz corporation has pulled an ad featuring two men kissing each other goodbye as one heads off to work. Anyone who's seen the ad, easily viewable on Youtube, will get the joke. One of the men is clearly supposed to be "Mum", but is instead a New York City deli guy. It's a cute commercial and offensive only to people with small minds and no sense of humour, IMHO.
The commerical has aired for just over a week and already Heinz has pulled the ad and issued an apology for offending viewers. Why? because 202 people complained to the Advertising Standars Authority. 202 people..deciding is suitable viewing for the rest of the millions of people who live in the UK.
... A Message From the Self-Appointed Straight Ambassador to Gaytown =)
On February 12th Lawrence King, 15, was fatally shot by fellow student Brandon McInerney at school. Why? Lawrence asked to Brandon to be his valentine. The incident went virtually unacknowledged by the MSM. Even the supposedly liberal-biased New York Times gave the incident a one line mention the day he died—Valentine’s Day—and didn’t specify that it was a hate crime.
The horrible underlying message here is that hate crimes are not a big deal because the gay people are inferior. If a kid was killed in America for being straight there would be an absolute uproar and Rush Limbaugh would be on the radio screaming ‘straight crime’ before he could put down his bottle of OxyContin.
Two California physicians, sued for refusing to treat a lesbian, are attempting to justify their decision on religious grounds.
The matter which is now before the California Supreme Court originated 10 years ago. Justices will need to weigh whether the civil rights of the patient are more important than the relgious beliefs of the doctors.
In what may be a first, the Christian Civic League has suspended its signature gathering campaign. The attempted referendum would have repealed the gay rights legislation upheld in 2006. In addition, it would have prevented a same-sex couple from adopting children, prohibited the state from recognizing a same-sex marriage or civil union from another state, and cut funding for the Attorney General's civil rights teams.
The PPH/MaineToday.com has a brief blurb on it here.
Talk about talent! This guy has been able to simultaneously alienate gay marriage advocates, the Mormon Church, and the fundamentalist polygamous Mormon sects unaffiliated with the current LDS church; not to mention any people who have been troubled by the recent news about these polygamous sects.
It all started on June 11 with Gordon Smith's answer to a question about his position on gay marriage, DOMA, etc.:
Part of what I fear, as you start defining marriage -- we have a long history of doing that in this country, and my Mormon pioneer ancestors were the victims of that. They were literally driven from the United States in the dead of winter for following their religious beliefs. I don't want that coming back.
Warning: Strong snark ahead. Includes mocking of gay stereotypes (or at least playing on the Religious Right's fear) and unsavory happenings. Nothing here represents my actual views on homosexuals and them being able to marry. In fact, I'm gay myself, and think the CA rule is awesome.
My attempt is to, well, show how absurd fear of homosexual marriage is. The demons that plague the minds of those on the Religious Right are many. Sometimes I wonder if this is not what they imagine.
Sacremento, CA
Overwhelming Crowds at Town Halls
Scores of same sex couples are flooding town halls across California for the second day of legal same sex marriage. The demand has grown so fast that many town halls have hired extra staff and worked longer hours.
