OUT GOES PALIN, IN COMES JINDAL

But the new GOP-flavor-of-the-week doesn't seem to be sitting well with even the GOP!

Shocker.

LORD, PLEASE HELP US RID THE WORLD OF THIS ABOMINABLE FIDELITY!!

So, Ken Starr (yes, THAT SAME Ken Starr) -- and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund -- filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and attempting to forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year?

Yes, seriously? Forcibly divorce!! WTF? Because the commitment and dedication and love that these marriages represent is just too much for them to bear (or perhaps live up to), I guess.

So now, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 5, 2009, with a decision expected within the next 90 days.

The Courage Campaign has created a video called "Fidelity" to help give a face to the fight.

Over 1 million people have watched "Fidelity." The more people who see this video, the more people will understand the totally uncalled for and unnecessary pain and the complete waste of time and our and legal resources caused by Prop 8 and Ken Starr's shameful and wantonly litigious proceedings.

After you watch the video, please join me and over 300,000 people who have signed a letter to the state Supreme Court, asking them to invalidate Prop 8 and reject Starr's case. And, if you so choose, please forward this letter to others to ask for their support, too.

So, with the economy in the state it is, with the victims of Hurricanes's Rita and Katrina, and the various floods, and tornadoes, and the number of deaths by guns, and the kidnappings, and the child abuse cases, and the domestic abuse and random assaults, and hell, just the damn poverty that still exists in this country, THIS is what Ken Starr feels is the greatest threat to America.

Fucking pathetic.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Cross-posted at The Adventures of Saia & Chago

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Please click on the link below to thank Mr. Obama for standing by what is right and doing what he said he would do with regards to GITMO.

Within 48 hours of taking office, President Obama took decisive action to close the prison at Guantánamo, end the military commissions and stop torture. This is an important first step toward ending this national shame and restoring America's moral leadership in the world.

Show him your support as he begins to dismantle the Bush system of injustice. Go to www.aclu.org/thankobama to show your support and to encourage the Administration to stay on track.

THE ERADICATION OF HATE

Alrighty, Mr. President, game on:

Excerpted from the NEW AND MUCH IMPROVED Whitehouse.gov webpage.

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

And yes, tt's a tall order, but one that's long overdue and, for the first time, actually on the table.

So, let's just call it a good start for now as we remain cautiously optimistic for the future.

Welcome to a brand new day.

Cross-posted at The Adventures of Saia & Chago.

NATIONAL DAY WITHOUT A GAY!

DID YOU CALL IN GAY (OR GAY FRIENDLY) TODAY?

The Day Without a Gay mission statement reads:

"Gays, lesbians, and straight allies plan to call in “gay” to volunteer within their local LGBT communities on December 10, 2008 to protest passage of anti-gay constitutional amendments in Arizona, Florida, and California. Wherever possible, gay Americans and allies plan to volunteer for local gay and civil rights organizations across the country through a brand new national database at www.daywithoutagay.wetpaint.org.

Every day since Election Day, thousands have protested up and down streets in cities across California, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. A national, grassroots coalition of LGBT activists have followed in their footsteps. Now gay citizens and their allies are teaming up to show America and the world the compassion, the love, and the posititve spirit of the gay community through service.

On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating their time to a variety of different causes in order to raise public awareness of the need for LGBT equality in marriage and in other civil rights."

Personally, I'm still working through where I stand on the use and abuse of marriage as a general societal institution, but the fact that we're being discriminated against from a legal standpoint based on personal biases is just wrong, and for that I will stand up.

I really don't know what kind of impact this is actually going to have -- or how anybody could possibly even measure it. I don't particularly like the idea of protesting for the sake of protesting, and personally feel that this effort wasn't thought through all that well nor organized very effectively, which is likely how Prop 8 got passed in the first place.

But here it is just the same.

Stay home today if you can and try not to circulate any money.

We do deserve the same basic rights as everyone else. And that alone is worth joining the effort.

MOURNING HAS BROKEN

In severe mourning over Hillary's loss. Not quite ready to embrace the great black hope. I know he's a good guy. I know he's smart, carries himself well, and has so much potential. But he's not ready. And he's inexperienced. And it was her time.

And, honestly, when it comes to a battle of spouses, I'll take Bill over Michelle any day and twice on Sunday.

But I do know that I need to come around. And I know we need to throw our collective weight in his direction. And I'll be there. I will. I'm just not there today.

ELLEN ON A RECENT HATE CRIME

Pulled this from Mombian's website. It really struck such a chord with me. I was almost in tears. And I'm scared, so deathly scared, that we're going to make another wrong choice for the White House, and that this sort of nefarious behavior will be allowed to continue.



What I do wish is that Ellen would continue to speak out like this. It doesn't have to be every day. I get that she doesn't want to turn her show into a gay political pulpit. But she has a responsibility to us all -- to speak for us, to speak for Larry -- before it's too late.

THIS ONE'S FOR ANN!!!

Come on, Texas! You can do this!!!

www.hillaryclinton.com

MATCH.COM FOR THE POLITICAL WHORE IN ALL OF US

Thanks for the link, Aunt Annie!

THE PERFECT LIBERAL STORM

Okay, I'm in literary love with this guy, this Mark Morford from the SF Chronicle.

Here are some snippets from a recent article entitled, "The woman vs. the black guy." But don't shortchange yourself. Read the whole article HERE.

Right now, the various spurts of venom aimed at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama from conservative pundits and politicos are, at best, scattershot and convulsive, with only MSNBC's Chris Matthews proving himself to be a consistent blowhard jackass in his relentless slamming of Hillary by claiming that she only made it this far due to adultery-survivor sympathy. Hey, Chris? 2001 called. It wants its puerile, sexist analysis back.

Nice, huh? No, wait, how do like this one?

I'm sorry, did you somehow miss the last seven years of brutal, testosterone-drunk war-sucking macho neocon hell? Did your noise-canceling headphones somehow block out the sound of those 10,000 tiny, clashing penises, banging like Satan's own baby rattle all the way from Osama's cave to the Oval Office to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's gay fetish dungeon in downtown Tehran?

Isn't that just perfection??? "10,000 tiny, clashing penises." It should be the name of a band.

Okay, one more and then you're just gonna have to go get the rest for yourselves.

Much in the same way Bush whored Sept. 11 to drag the nation to its lowest emotional, fiscal and political point in 100 years, so could the new wave of enraged, inspired voters leverage the Bush nightmare itself to bounce us as far as possible in the other direction. Hell, it could be even weirder than that: Hillary or Obama wins the nomination, chooses the other as running mate. Talk about your perfect liberal storm.

You said it, brother!!!

Read the article in its entirety at sfgate.com.

THIS IS NOT ANOTHER POST ABOUT BRITNEY!

So, here's my two cents...

Neither marriage nor the divorce rate is what's wrong with this country. Neither people's commitment to something that isn't really working nor their early bailing out of something that could potentially work is what's wrong with this country. Neither unions deemed blessed by God nor sworn to in an open field of flowers with or without someone or multiple someones of the same or opposite or mixed sex is what's wrong with this country. Neither the desire to have children nor the decision to abort pregnancies is what's wrong with this country. Neither the support for nor the rejection of higher taxes, or gay rights, or the war, or education is what's wrong with this country. Neither the vast disparity between the poor and the filthy rich or between the salaries of men and women is what's wrong with this country. Neither the overpopulation nor the oppressive and unambiguous xenophobia is what's wrong with this country. Neither the over abundance of information because of the internet nor the over exposure of our personal identities due to the internet is what's wrong with this country. Neither a person's nor an entire people's choice not to believe in a higher power nor their individual or collective belief in one god or many or variations on a theme is what's wrong with this country.

What's wrong with this country is that we're selfish.

We've become a progressively self-absorbed, self-centered, and egocentric society. And if we weren't so completely egotistical, and we tried -- for even one day -- to work from the outside in, to actually think first about how our words and actions might affect someone else, to really communicate concerns and ambiguities instead of assuming or judging, to listen first, and then to listen again but try to actually hear this time, to solicit and heed the advice of elders, to allow others to see and recognize and empathize and help with our own sticky situations instead of hiding from the truth and putting on fronts and pretending to be things or people or couples or ideals that we're not, then it wouldn't matter at all which, if any, of the above situations we found ourselves in, would it? We'd be able to navigate it just fine because we wouldn't ever have to feel, even for a moment, isolated, abandoned, or alone -- and we'd be able to make decisions based on the well being of everyone involved because everyone else would be making decisions based on that same logic, and, if that were true, then wouldn't we be able to push through issues, any issue, without damaging our emotional, psychological, and/or physical states in the process -- obviating the need for therapy, mental institutions, battered women's shelters, identity theft precautions, witness protections programs, home security alarms, small claims courts, attorneys in general, FEMA, government assistance, the foster care system, homeless shelters, student loans, public housing, humane societies...

I mean, really, can someone please tell why someone, ANYONE, has not stepped in to help Britney? That girl is publically drowning, and we're all just sitting around and watching it happen. She's a microcosm of Katrina, and, for that matter, of our own country. We all saw it coming. It was only a matter of time. And, what's worse, is that it was completely preventable.

What this country needs is a fucking intervention!

Okay, I think I past my two cents like $10 ago.