| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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latest posts
August 31, 2004
"Marriage between a man and a woman isn't something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend."
[Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) - 2004 RNC - 08-31-04]
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August 31, 2004
Yesterday, President Bush had a pesimistic assessment for the American people on the war on terror: "I don't think you can win it."
But when appearing before a group of veterans today, President Bush told them what they wanted to hear: "we are winning, and we will win."
While the President was snowing America's veterans, he failed to explain his proposed budget cut of $1,000,000,000 from Veterans Affairs.
Bush amended his view less than three hours after an official of Kerry's campaign told reporters that the senator would hold a rally in Nashville Tuesday night to "talk about the war on terror, and ask why the president thinks we can't win it." Kerry, an American Legion member, will break with the tradition of suspending campaigning during the opposite party's convention and will address the group on Wednesday, on the eve of Bush's acceptance speech.
[Bush: 'We Will Win' the War on Terror - Washington Post - 08-31-04]
filed under: Flip-Flops
August 31, 2004
As if traffic in NY isn't bad enough, especially with a convention in town, the Human Rights Campaign has bought "four large billboard trucks with the message 'George W. Bush: You're Fired'" that "will roam the streets of Manhattan from Aug. 31, 2004, to Sept. 3, 2004, on 8-hour shifts, each sending the message that no one who tries to put discrimination in the Constitution should hold the Oval Office."
HRC could have saved literally thousands of dollars and reached hundreds of thousands more people from now up to the elections by advertising through BlogAds and OutletRadio.
HRC will spend upwards of $10 million on election-related activity this cycle - both to educate and turn out our supporters, and to fight attempts by the extreme right-wing to use marriage rights for same-sex couples as a 'wedge' issue.
[GEORGE W. BUSH: “YOU’RE FIRED”’ BILLBOARD TRUCKS HIT NEW YORK FOR CONVENTION - HRC - 08-31-04]
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August 31, 2004
Republican delegates handing out band-aids with "purple hearts" must feel the medals reward less than deserving actions by American veterans serving our country on the battlefield.
Donna Cain, an Oregon delegate, wore a purple heart bandage on her wrist."Probably a lot of people are handing them out because they are very symbolic," she said. Kerry, she said, "has made the war that he served in far more important than his recent records of the last 18 to 20 years."
"It is not in any way defaming of them, because I know people who have received Purple Hearts and I know that they're not boasting about their war record. They're proud of their serving their country. And, I mean, I just met a woman who lost her husband yesterday in Iraq. And there's a whole entirely different mood."
[Delegates mock Kerry with 'purple heart' bandages - CNN - 08-31-04]
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August 31, 2004
More on the split within the Republican party between its radically divisive platform and the moderate face presented by the convention's speakers.
"The voters in Nebraska and Kansas and Florida, they need to connect," said Lori Waters, executive director of the Eagle Forum, a conservative group originally founded by Phyllis Schlafly to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment. "I hope they'll get to watch more than the governors of a couple liberal states. If the party moves to the left . . . and just assumes they have the base, that's a dangerous assumption."
[Party practices balancing act - St Petersburg Times - 08-31-04]Five of the 11 prime-time speakers who will address the Republican National Convention in New York are gay-friendly, pro-choice figures who disagree with President Bush on such issues as federal funding for stem-cell research.
[A kinder, gentler Republican Party - Denver Post - 08-31-04]
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August 31, 2004
Human Rights Campaign has a nice television ad (watch the WindowsMedia ad) playing "in New York media" this week during the Republican National Convention. Here is a transcript:
Vice President Cheney: Lynne and I have a gay daughter. We have two daughters and we have enormous pride in both of them. [Vice President Cheney in remarks at a Davenport, Iowa town hall meeting — 8/24/04]Voiceover: The vice president spoke out against the Federal Marriage Amendment.
[USA Today, 8/25/04: “Cheney says he's against marriage amendment”]Vice President Cheney: That’s appropriately a matter for the states to decide — that’s how it ought to best be handled.
[Vice President Cheney in remarks at a Davenport, Iowa town hall meeting — 8/24/04]Voiceover: He spoke from the heart for millions of parents.
Vice President Cheney: My general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. … People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.
[Vice President Cheney in remarks at a Davenport, Iowa town hall meeting — 8/24/04]Voiceover: Freedom is for everyone. Discrimination is wrong. What if it was your child, Mr. President?
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August 31, 2004
Louis Hanson, a writer for the Virginia Pilot, did a sloppy job reporting the news of U.S. Rep. Ed Schrock's retirement, stating several times there was no proof offered to back up allegations he is gay.
A Washington-based activist claimed on his Web site that Schrock engaged in homosexual activity, but offered no evidence.The site did not offer any proof of its allegation that Schrock engaged in homosexual activity.
Locally, a Web site called Virginia News Source reprinted the claims and challenged Schrock to respond to them, but offered no corroboration itself.
No mainstream newspapers, television stations or Web sites published the allegations.
[U.S. Rep. Schrock drops re-election bid over ''allegations'' - Virginia pilot - 08-31-04]
BlogActive.com clearly provides what it calls "the audio file of Congressman Schrock seeking gay sex off of gay sex lines." Hanson's disingenuous failure to note that fact, and failure to ask Rep. Schrock's office to confirm or deny it is him, does a great disservice to the readers of Virginia Pilot.
Below is the transcript of the audio tape BlogActive claims is "the audio file of Congressman Schrock seeking gay sex off of gay sex lines."
Uh, hi, I weigh 200 pounds, uh 6 foot 4, laid back, blonde hair, very muscular, very buffed up, uh, very tanned. Um, I'd just like to get together with a guy from time to time just to, just to play. I'd like for him to be, uh, in very good shape, flat stomach, good chest, good arms, well hung, cut, uh, just to get naked, play, see what happens. Nothing real heavy duty, but just a fun time. Go down on him. He'd go down on me and just take it from there. Hope to hear from you. Bye.
Also read: BlogActive, Atrios, SlantPoint
filed under: Coming Out
August 30, 2004
The Washington Post is far too kind to not speculate on the unspecified "allegations" cited as reasons by U.S. Rep. Edward L. Schrock (R-VA) to abruptly retire.
In a five-paragraph release issued by his office, Schrock said he has "come to the realization that these allegations will not allow my campaign to focus on the real issues facing our nation." He continued: "Therefore, as of today, I am stepping aside and will no longer be the Republican nominee for Congress." The release said he would not comment further on his decision, nor did he comment specifically on the allegations he is facing.
[U.S. Rep. Schrock Abruptly Announces Retirement - Washington post - 08-30-04]
Maybe an outing campaign by activist Michael Rogers exposing Schrock as gay has something to do with it.
Before we move on to the next member of Congress and highly placed officials in the Bush Administration, here's the news on outed by blogACTIVE.com Congressman Schrock. Ed Schrock in a stunning turnaround has announced he will no longer be a candidate for his House Seat in November. "The time has come for these gay homophobes to step up or be outed...Schrock is the first...more will follow."
[Schrock faces accusations: CANCELS CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN - BlogActive - 08-30-04]
Listen to the shocking 33 second audio of "Schrock seeking gay sex." This audio is posted on BlogActive and is transcribed below.
Uh, hi, I weigh 200 pounds, uh 6 foot 4, laid back, blonde hair, very muscular, very buffed up, uh, very tanned. Um, I'd just like to get together with a guy from time to time just to, just to play. I'd like for him to be, uh, in very good shape, flat stomach, good chest, good arms, well hung, cut, uh, just to get naked, play, see what happens. Nothing real heavy duty, but just a fun time. Go down on him. He'd go down on me and just take it from there. Hope to hear from you. Bye.
See also: Beaverhausen Blog, Atrios, Back Country Conservative
filed under: Coming Out
August 30, 2004
If Golan Cipel really wanted to dodge looking like a fruit loop, maybe he should have issued the release in latin.
Cipel, in a statement written in Hebrew and released Monday by an Israeli public relations agency, said he had no doubt that he would have won a lawsuit and that the governor's resignation had vindicated him. "Despite my strong desire to prove my case in a court of law, I have decided not to proceed with my suit. The main reason is the governor's resignation and his admission of his acts. It's clear to all that McGreevey resigned because he sexually harassed me and that a man of his standing would not have resigned because of sexual orientation or have had an extramarital affair," the statement said.
[Lawyer: Cipel Will Not File Suit Against McGreevey - AP - 08-30-04]
filed under: Scandal
August 30, 2004
I don't know who this woman is, but I love her shirt. Fill in the thought bubble!
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August 30, 2004
The Log Cabin Republican's have quickly issued an awesome television commercial (hi-bandwidth RealOne) featuring Ronald Reagan and an online message drawing a line in the sand.
The Republican Party Platform is an outrageous insult to all of us and our families. The platform not only calls for an anti-family Constitutional amendment, but it also opposes civil unions and domestic partnerships. While thousands of courageous gay and lesbian Americans are fighting to win the war on terror, the platform also says, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service."
[Log Cabin Republicans - 08-30-04]
Oxblog's David Adesnik is not happy with an environment within the Republican party he says prevented NY Gov. George Pataki from saying the word 'gay' at a Log Cabin Republican event. Adesnik is in New York blogging the Republican National Convention.
Still, what he said just pissed me off. Talking about diversity is total bulls**t. I don't believe in gay marriage because I want affirmative action and political correctness in the bedroom. I believe in gay marriage because it is about equality before the law.
[Blog Cabin Republicans - Oxblog - 08-30-04]
Also blogging the RNC: BoiFromTroy
filed under: Gay Vote
August 30, 2004
Republican National Convention speakers Donnie McClurkin, Sheri Dew and Bishop Keith Butler accurately reflect the 2004 Republican Party Platform.
Mr. McClurkin, who will be entertaining from the convention stage on Thursday has accused gay Americans of "trying to kill our children" (The 700 Club, Sept. 23, 2003) and has called homosexuality a "curse" (Charisma Magazine, June 2002).In an article about same-sex marriage, Ms. Dew, who is speaking before the convention on Monday called for "a comparison between the atrocities of Hitler and what is happening in terms of contemporary threats against the family" (Meridian Magazine).
In talking about the "gay lifestyle," the Bishop Keith Butler, who is appearing on the convention stage on Thursday, has claimed that it "endangers family, children, and the core of society" (October 2003 press conference).
[GAY LEADERS CALL ON PRESIDENT TO REJECT INFLAMMATORY SPEAKERS - HRC - 08-30-04]
This is likely as close to a repudiation as we'll get.
Giuliani -- along with McCain and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who speaks in prime time Tuesday night -- is definitely the lipstick. These speakers are all out of touch with mainstream Republicans in various ways. Giving them a big window reflects a pragmatic decision by the Bush campaign to appeal to undecided independent voters rather than the party base.
[Giuliani, McCain outsiders in GOP, but public loves 'em - Robert Novak - 08-30-04]
Terry Randall, founder of Operation Rescue, and the father of a gay adopted son, wants his party back from these pesky moderates.
"The GOP has to decide if it is the party of Ronald Reagan-or the party of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudy Giuliani-they are not the same party. We must put principle first, the party second. That means that when we deny a place of honor to someone like David Duke because he is a racist, we must also deny honor to someone like Rudy Giuliani because he betrays the right to life of unborn Americans. Slaughtering innocent human beings is every bit as evil as racism is."
[Pro-Choice Republicans Poison the Party - Operation Rescue - 08-30-04]
Also read: Ex-Gay Watch, Atrios
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August 30, 2004
President Bush on Sunday defended the invasion of Iraq, calling it a "catastrophic success" despite continued violence and the lack of weapons that drove the country to war.
[FOX News - 08-30-04]
According to Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, the only "fundamental concern" left upon which Bush can declare "catastrophic success" is liberating the Iraqi soccer team.
Wolfowitz: -- there have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people.The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it.
[Paul Wolfowitz DoD Press Conference Transcript - 05-09-03]
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August 29, 2004
Smart read from Moderate Republican: GOP's Dead-End Future
"If the Republican Party wishes to have a future, it must come to grips with the fact that its stances on issues related to homosexuality, while perhaps not strategically risky right now, will prove disastrous in the future if they do not evolve. Voters under 30 are “gay friendly.” Half of us support gay marriage and a sizeable majority of us support full legal rights via civil unions. We can claim more openly gay friends, relatives, and coworkers than any other generation of Americans. We view any remark that hints of anti-gay animus with the same mix of disdain and ironic bemusement as we do retrograde comments endorsing racial supremacy.
[Republicans Are Forfeiting the Future - New York Sun - 08-19-04]"America is not Cobb County, Georgia, or Midland, Texas, writ large. Most Americans don't think government should be dismantled and abortion outlawed. They don't want creationism taught in schools or environmental regulations gutted. And, because of that, the Republican Party's very success has put it at risk. Though its rebirth as a Southern-based conservative party allowed it to capture the White House and Congress, it also hindered it from building a stable national political majority."
[Freed Radicals - The New Republic - 08-29-04]
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August 29, 2004
Now we know why protesters didn't swarm the Democratic National Convention. They couldn't possibly fit 200,000 people in their 'free speech zone'.
Vice President Cheney launched the Republican convention Sunday in a speech hailing President Bush's war leadership, as more than 200,000 demonstrators took to the streets here in protest of the Bush administration's policies.
[Over 200,000 Turn Out to Protest Bush in New York - Washington Post - 08-29-04]
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August 29, 2004
I saw this link on Wonkette and couldn't resist.
We, the Yale Cheerleaders for Truth, call upon Yale University President Richard C. Levin, to release the Yale Cheerleading Squad archives so that the American people can learn whether Bush's Varsity letter was justly awarded.
[Cheerleaders for Truth]
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August 29, 2004
Phyllis Schlafly doesn't see any controversy in the Republican party's newly professed call for a constitutional amendment banning abortion.
"We're reasonably happy," said longtime conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, who sat in the guest section's front row. The abortion issue, she noted, "caused big fights" at the previous three Republican conventions, "and it's completely noncontroversial now. There wasn't even a motion to alter it in any way."
[GOP Keeps Peace With Platform That Supports Bush - Washington Post - 08-27-04]
No one represents today's Republican party principles on abortion rights better than Phyllis Schlafly. So where is Schlafly's prominent speaking role?
filed under: Flip-Flops
August 29, 2004
I'm sure there are all kinds of reasons FOX is the only network with poll results showing Bush behind Kerry leading into the Republican National Convention. FOX wouldn't manipulate their fair and balanced polls to manufacture a large post-convention bounce, would they?
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August 29, 2004
I'm guessing about 17 of us gay D.C. area bloggers got together for lunch at Trios in DC, thanks to Chrisafer for getting us together. Scott was the first to show up, having flown in from NYC, where he is credentialed to blog the Republican National Convention.
Mike, whose radio show I produced, was on his way through D.C. to Dallas, so I caught up with him at Trios an hour earlier to talk over some ideas for a new project he's kicking around. That made my stay about a three hour tour! But it was made up for meeting some great guys.
I must not have made very much of an impression at all on these guys, as most everyone's entry rarely, if not at all, mention me. I wonder if I should have sent a six-pack of beer in my place :) Paul did a nice splash of photos. Edblog has a few more here. Scott took a pic of his sign-in list, but here is a list of people you can check out. I'm sure there were a few on the other side of the page?
* Scott - BoiFromTroy.com
* Ed - EdmondChang.com
* Dave - DaveTepper.net
* Chris - Chrisafer.com
* Paul - Archerr.com
* Christian - outletradio.com/grantham
* John - Beaverhausenblog.com
* Kyle - Sparkology.net
* Michael - art.loop.blogspot.com
* Ryan - DevilsAdvocacy
* Ed - Edblog.typepad.com
* Joe - DCJoe.com
* MathGeek.blogspot.com
* Bill - CuteYoBoy.blogspot.com
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August 28, 2004
Did the alleged "Israeli spy" share with allies classified policy assessments on what our government determined would be needed to justify war with Iraq?
The network said the analyst had ties to Rumsfeld's deputy Paul Wolfowitz and Defence Undersecretary Douglas Feith, both regarded as leading architects of the war on Iraq which President George W. Bush launched in March last year.
[FBI probes "Israeli spy" at Pentagon - Reuters - 08-28-04]
Newsday, citing government sources, says that agents are targeting an aide to Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith. Feith, an advocate for the Iraq war, had close ties to Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi.
[FBI investigating claims of Israeli spy - UPI - 08-27-04]
Could Israel have corroborated intelligence knowing key claims would lead the U.S. to wage a war against their Arab enemies Israel had been fighting for some time?
When Israeli intelligence confirmed Iraq's intention of producing weapons at Osiraq, the Israeli government decided to attack. According to some estimates, Iraq in 1981 was still as much as five to ten years away from the ability to build a nuclear weapon. Others estimated at that time that Iraq might get its first such weapon within a year or two. Prime Minister Menachem Begin felt military action was the only remedy. Begin feared that his party would lose the next election, and he feared that the opposition party would not preempt prior to the production of the first Iraqi nuclear bomb.
[Osiraq / Tammuz I 33°12'30"N 44°31'30"E - FAS - 10-09-00]
Could Israel be feeling the pressure of an impending cessation of billions of dollars annually in U.S. aid and what that will ultimately mean for Israel's ability to defend herself?
Israeli officials in Washington could hardly contain their glee this week when the Bush Administration confirmed that it would abide by an American-Israeli agreement hammered out by the outgoing Clinton team by which U.S. military aid to Israel is set for the next 8 years, rather than going up for renewal each year.
[Institute for Advanced Strategic & Political Studies - 01-26-01]
As Atrios also reports, Larry Johnson, a former CIA counterintelligence officer, said on MSNBC yesterday he believes the charges are tied to intelligence claims Iraq obtained nuclear material from Niger. Johnson also said this case was triggered from the government's investigation into the White House exposure a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame.
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August 28, 2004
Former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes can no longer bear the secret that he gave preferential treatment to George W. Bush when placing him in the National Guard during Vietnam. The only problem is that President Bush has denied ever receiving preferential treatment. Well, there's that and the well-known fact that things like that never happened during Vietnam.
"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was lieutenant governor of Texas, and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it," Barnes said in the 45-second video, which was recorded May 27 at a meeting of John Kerry supporters in Austin.
"I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas," Barnes said.
Watch Barnes: QuickTime | Windows Media
[Ex-Honcho: I Got Bush Into Guard - CBS - 08-28-04]
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August 28, 2004
The Council for National Policy is a shadowy conservative think-tank that doesn't want you to know very much about who and what they are. It's kinda like the Free Masons for conservative thinkers, minus the funny hats and with a hint of 12-steps to somewhere or another.
"The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before of after a meeting," a list of rules obtained by The New York Times advises the attendees.The membership list is "strictly confidential." Guests may attend "only with the unanimous approval of the executive committee." In e-mail messages to one another, members are instructed not to refer to the organization by name, to protect against leaks.
[Club of the Most Powerful Gathers in Strictest Privacy - New Tork Times - 08-28-04]
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August 28, 2004
Glynn Harper, pictured here back in the day, is the author of A Perfect Peace, a story of gay soldiers in World War II. Check out his book by clicking the ad to the right. Glynn is one of many American veterans who dedicated a great portion of their lives to serve our country.
In 1954, Glynn Harper became a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland and then commissioned an Ensign in the Navy June 4, 1958.Harper was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade after entering the U.S. Naval Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut in 1960, serving on the USS Bream (SSK 243). In 1962, Harper was promoted to full Lieutenant and did construction detail of USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN 617), a nuclear Polaris Missile submarine. In 1967, Harper resigned from the Navy to work by contract with NASA and then with an Exxon subsidiary. Harper entered the Episcopal Theological Seminary in 1973, graduating with a Masters of Divinity degree in May of 1977. After a long stay with the church, Harper was appointed vicar of St. Anna's by the Bishop of Louisiana in 1999 and retired as rector of St. Anna's in 2001.
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August 27, 2004
Who says Republicans don't have star power? Donnie McClurkin, an ex-gay award-winning gospel singer, will be performing at the Republican National Convention. Special thanks to Ex-Gay Watch for pointing this out.
In "Charisma" magazine, McClurkin explains how his own rape by an uncle led to years of homosexual feelings: "A seed had been planted--a seed of homosexuality that I would struggle with for many years to come. I was not born with these sexual tendencies. It wasn't chromosomal and had nothing to do with my DNA. These tendencies surfaced because a broken man thrust an 8-year-old boy into this whirlwind. Thus my first sexual relationship was with a man. Before I could ever know the purpose or pleasure of a woman, have my first date or even my first kiss, the wound was inflicted, and the seed was planted."
[McClurkin's War on Gays - EUR - 08-27-04]
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August 27, 2004
Virginia Delegate Robert G. Marshall swore he was protecting children with his Marriage Affirmation Act. He could have protected children more by outlawing divorce. But what do we care about subjecting children to divorce when the parents are straight?
Despite the fact that the two women raised the child together, Prosser has decided that only the Virginian, Lisa Miller-Jenkins, has any rights as a parent. Activists worry that law-abiding decisions like Prosser’s could lead to a flurry of gay custody battles being decided by crossing Virginia’s border, instead of being decided on what’s best for the child.
[Anti-gay law erodes custody protections - The Virginian-Pilot -08-27-04]
filed under: Equal Marriage Rights
August 27, 2004
Republicans refused to use the word "unity," but said they are willing to "respect and accept" that they need your votes.
Ann Stone, who leads Republicans for Choice, said the "respect and accept" solution was insufficient but it was preferable to simply being recognized. "Three words are better than one," she said wryly.
[GOP agrees to 'respect and accept' dissent - CNN - 08-26-04]
filed under:
August 26, 2004
If you thought conservatives were against "special rights," then you haven't read the 2004 Republican Party Platform.
The delegates backed language endorsing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and opposing any legal recognition or benefits for same-sex civil unions. The platform said that right should be reserved for "that unique and special union of one man and one woman."
[Republican Party Platform Backs Gay Marriage Ban - Reuters - 08-26-04 06:15 PM ET]
filed under: Equal Marriage Rights
August 26, 2004
Republicans in NY be ware! This gives a whole new meaning to Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." (thanks SkyPanther)
Andrew says that he still struggles with past desires. Recently, Andrew and his wife, Annette, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary by going to New York City. While they were there, they had time to reflect on how God healed each of them of personal brokenness -- Andrew of homosexuality, and Annette of childhood sexual abuse -- and how God has blessed their lives. However, Andrew found himself being seduced by homosexuality in the New York City culture. Andrew "came to his senses," and he and Annette asserted their identities in Jesus Christ and prayed for the people in that area of New York to turn their lives over to Jesus.
[Ex-Gay Encourages the Church to Welcome the Sexually Broken - CBN - 08-25-04]
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August 26, 2004
Why engage in intellectual debate and challenge the message of those excercising their right to free speech when you can censor them? According to President Bush, he prefers only the Democrat and Republican parties have the Constitutional right to speak about politics.
QUESTION: McCain says he's fed up with these Swift Boat ads. Is the President willing to go any further than what he said the other day?MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, thank you for bringing that up. The President, also, on board Air Force One, called Senator McCain this morning. And the President said he wanted to work together to pursue court action to shut down all the ads and activity by these shadowy 527 groups. And the President said if the court action doesn't work, then he would be willing to pursue legislative action and work with Senator McCain on that.
[White House Spokesman Scott McClellan - 08-26-04]
filed under:
August 26, 2004
update to previous post | Comedian Margaret Cho has words for Republicans, and will share them in her "State of Emergency" tour starting this Saturday at the Apollo Theater. Last month, Cho was disinvited to the Human Rights Campaign's "Unity" event during the Democratic National Convention.
"They work overtime to ensure misery for gay and lesbian Americans," says Cho, who will air "Behind the Revolution," a documentary about her last tour, on the new gay and lesbian cable network, Logo.
"Gay marriages, for example, do not affect the daily life of people," she says. "I can't imagine drag queens breaking into their homes and stealing their wedding photographs and Champagne glasses.
"[Social conservatives] are constantly fighting against what they call 'Satan,' but the face of Satan is intolerance. Every time they process injustice, another demon gets its wings."
[Politically charged Cho will go on - NY Daily News - 08-25-04]
filed under:
August 26, 2004
Besides echoing the Republican party's lament of democratic procedures that allow for debate over issues, Robert Novak also says the 2004 Republican Party Platform wasn't a hard sell to "Phyllis Schlafly and other conservatives." Did anyone expect it would be?
While Democrats went through a seemingly democratic procedure to create a sham platform skirting contentious issues, Republicans have a real platform that was handed down like the Ten Commandments. The subcommittee chairmen got their first glimpse of it last weekend, but it was kept from the other 100-odd committee members until after their opening reception Tuesday night. ...
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the platform chairman, dispatched aide Bill Wichterman to the Shelburne Hotel Tuesday night to sell the document to Phyllis Schlafly and other conservatives perusing a bootlegged copy. Most of it did not require any selling.
[Bush skips GOP protocol, lays down the law - Robert Novak - 08-26-04]
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August 25, 2004
The Republican Party has a message for Vice President Dick Cheney: You are no longer welcome.
"Today's decision— refusing to unite our party and refusing to recognize that people of good faith can disagree over contentious social issues, sends the wrong message to fair-minded voters," said Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director, Patrick Guerriero. "This was a chance to unite the party and demonstrate that the GOP's inclusiveness doesn't end with the prime time speaking lineup," said Ann Stone, National Chair of Republicans for Choice. "It was their chance to show George Bush as a uniter not a divider," she added, "but clearly they have failed."
[Draft GOP Platform Language Divides Party - LCR - 08-25-04]
filed under:
August 25, 2004
In response to Max Cleland trying to deliver a letter to President Bush today, Bush/Cheney '04 demonstrated a pattern of using veterans to do their dirty work with a letter of their own.
According to the veteran that Bush/Cheney '04 asked to deliver the letter to Cleland, their letter was written by Bush/Cheney '04 who sought veterans to sign it as their own.
Jerry Patterson is the current Texas Land Commissioner and Vietnam Veteran. His appearance, immediately following Cleland's in Crawford, TX, begins with reporters asking him to tell them how he became involved with today's response.
Is it any coincidence that the wealthy Texas home builder that funds Swiftboat Vets For Truth, Bob Perry, gave Jerry Patterson, Republican for land commissioner, $150,000? (thanks wtfwjd?)
Transcribed by OutletRadio.com.
PATTERSON: I was driving to Dallas for another function, and I was called by, uh, I forgot who it was, a guy in the Bush campaign in Waco that said, "You're a veteran? A Vietnam Veteran?" And I said, "Yes."MEDIA: (inaudible questions about whether it was the White House that called)
PATTERSON: He works for Ken Millmen (ph)
MEDIA: What time was it?
PATTERSON: I don't know. It was this morning! He said that, uh, Mr. Senator Clelland, a honorable, clearly an honorable - an American hero, a guy who gave far more than I did, and I was there only six months when the war ended. I left the day of the cease-fire. I was going to come and, uh, deliver a letter, and uh, that they had a letter signed by veterans and if I would be also a signatory. And I said, "yes." And he read me the letter, and I got it, uh, you know, uh right here, and that basically, uh that basically says what we're talking about here.
MEDIA: And did you speak with the President?
PATTERSON: And I spoke to the President after this was all, you know, a done deal and the letter drafted, and he said uh, "thank you for your service," and I know the Presdient because he was the Governor when I was a state senator here in Texas.
MEDIA: Who wrote the letter?
PATTERSON: We all, the letter was drafted by Bush/Cheney '04 and we, all of us signatories, which are myself, Duke Cunningham (ph), Duncan Hunter, Sam Johnson, General Palmer, Robert O'Malley (ph), a marine Medal Of Honor recipient, James Flemming (ph), another Medal of Honor recipient, and Colonel Richard Castle agreed to have our names on it. And we're saying basically in the letter 'You can't have it both ways.' I could read it to you.
MEDIA: Were you working on Veterans' strategy with the Bush campaign before today?
PATTERSON: I've never worked on anything with the Bush campaign. I'm a volunteer, and will probably do more volunteering.
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August 25, 2004
Bush/Cheney '04 campaign attorney Benjamin Ginsberg understands the dilemma of advising both Bush's re-election campaign and the Swiftboat Vets For Truth, the 527 that the White House calls a "shadowy group."
"I have decided to resign as national counsel to your campaign to ensure that the giving of legal advice to decorated military veterans, which was entirely within the boundaries of the law, doesn't distract from the real issues upon which you and the country should be focusing," Ginsberg wrote in a letter to President Bush.Atrios asks, "How long until this resignation is turned to question Kerry's campaign?" And Blogs For Bush answers.
[Bush Campaign Lawyer Resigns Over Ties to Group - Reuters - 08-25-04]
Now it's up to people like Joe Sandler, a lawyer for the DNC and MoveOn.org, and Robert Bauer, counsel for America Coming Together and the Kerry campaign, to step up to the plate and do the right thing. More importantly, Terry McAuliffe and John Kerry should demonstrate leadership and responsibility and specifically address this themselves.
Lawyers simultaneously advising political campaigns and 527s on the law is as rediculous as political consultants advising both on strategy.
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August 25, 2004
As the Republican party begins building a platform that actively seeks to deny equal rights to gays and lesbians, they may want to pay attention to history's regrettable echo.
Homosexuals convicted by Nazi military courts under a harsh 1935 anti-gay law will also for the first time be eligible for compensation, said the statement.
[Berlin boosts aid to Nazi victims - Expatica - 08-25-04]
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August 24, 2004
An update to an earlier post | At one time, Swiftboat Vet For Truth John O'Neill believed he was close enough to Cambodia to say he was there. Take a look at what he told Richard Nixon on a segment from the notoriously famous Nixon tapes played this evening on CNN's Newsnight with Aaron Brown:
O'NEILL: I was in Cambodia, sir. I worked along the border on the water.NIXON: In a swift boat?
O'NEILL: Yes, sir.
I wonder if O'Neill would deny the crew of that aircraft carrier upon which Bush landed the right to say they served with honor and courage in Iraq? Bush thinks they were stationed close enough to Iraq, and I do to. They were just as much "in" Iraq as John O'Neill and John Kerry were "in" Cambodia.
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August 24, 2004
Given President Bush's recently professed disdain for "that ad" and all 527s, I wonder what President Bush thinks about his re-election campaign attorney, Benjamin Ginsberg, advising the Swiftboat Vets For Truth?
This should be very easy for President Bush. Either his re-election campaign attorney, Benjamin Ginsberg, will join President Bush "in calling for an end to all of this unregulated soft-money activity by these shadowy groups," including his own activities advising Swiftboat Vets For Truth, or President Bush can tell Benjamin Ginsberg he's fired.
Benjamin Ginsberg's acknowledgment marks the second time in days that an individual associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign has been connected to the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which Kerry accuses of being a front for the Republican incumbent's re-election effort. [Attorney Works for Bush, Anti-Kerry Group - AP - 08-24-04]"Senator Kerry should join us in calling for an end to all of this unregulated soft-money activity by these shadowy groups. And we call on Senator Kerry again today to join us in calling for a stop to all of these activities."
[White House Spokesman Scott McClellan - White House briefing - 08-24-04]
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August 24, 2004
Vice President Dick Cheney was for a discriminatory amendment to the United States Constitution... before he was against it.
CHENEY - January 2004
"At this stage, obviously, the president is going to have to make a decision in terms of what administration policy is on this particular provision, and I will support whatever decision he makes," Cheney told the Post.
[Cheney would support constitutional ban on gay marraige - USA Today - 01-10-04]BUSH - February 2004
"If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America. Decisive and democratic action is needed, because attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country."
[Remarks by the President Calling for Constitutional Amendment Protecting Marriage - White House - February 24, 2004]CHENEY - August 2004
"My general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want," Cheney, 63, said in response to a question at a campaign "town hall" meeting in Davenport, Iowa.
[Cheney Says Does Not Back Federal Gay Marriage Ban - Reuters - 08-24-04]
filed under: Equal Marriage Rights
, Equal Marriage Rights
, Flip-Flops