| 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
October 31, 2004
More polling witchcraft.
The Marine knows that there is a 100 percent correlation between the Washington Redskins win-loss record and the outcome of every presidential contest dating back to 1940. If the Redskins win their last home game prior to Election Day, the party in power stays in power. Conversely, if the Skins lose the game, the incumbent party is on the street.In 2000 - Tennessee Titans 27, Redskins 21: Bush defeats Al Gore.
In 1996 - Redskins 31, Indianapolis Colts 16: Bill Clinton defeats Bob Dole.
In 1992 - New York Giants 24, Redskins 7: Clinton defeats George H.W. Bush.
In 1988 - Redskins 27, New Orleans Saints 24: Bush defeats Michael Dukakis.
Therefore, forget about the Electoral College, voting irregularities in Florida, and missing weapons in Iraq. The fate of the free world, says one observer, rides on the Redskins versus the Packers on Halloween night.
[Spooky stats - John McCaslin - 10-31-04]
filed under: Polls
October 31, 2004
If the 'Anybody But Bin Laden' vote is looking for something positive in the latest Bin Laden tape, here's an optimistic try by Republicans.
"We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."
He called it "a little gift," saying it helps the President but doesn't guarantee his reelection.
[See tape as boost for Prez - New York Daily News - 10-30-04]
filed under:
October 31, 2004
On November 2, which team of lawyers stands a greater chance of inciting a rising tide of passions?
- A) Republican lawyers challenging the rights of voters
- B) Democratic lawyers defending the rights of voters
Seltzer told police he was exercising "political expression" when he aimed his car at Harris and campaign supporters as they stood at a busy intersection. He swerved onto the sidewalk; no one was hurt.
[Man in Rep. Harris car incident detained - Seattle Post Intelligencer - 10-27-04]Fort Lewis College student Mark O'Donnell said he was showing people his College Republicans sweat shirt, which said "Work for us now ... or work for us later," when Maria Spero kicked him in the leg at an off-campus restaurant.
[Colo. Teacher Sorry for Kicking Student - AP - 10-30-04]Lanny Phillips had a similarly sized John Kerry sign hanging from his house near 39th Street and Knox Road. He said vandals shot his dog with paintballs, climbed onto his roof, and cut the sign down and took it away.
[Vandals turn vicious in election sign thefts - Ahwatukee Foothills News - 10-30-04]A chunk of concrete was tossed through the glass door at 5610 Scotts Valley Drive, knocking down a life-size cardboard poster of President Bush, some time after volunteers locked up at 8 p.m. Friday.
[Vandals strike at GOP office, Yes on J business - Santa Cruz Sentinel - 10-26-04]Wentz said she was ''centimeters away'' from slicing her finger on one of five rusty razor blades taped Saturday to a Kerry-Edwards sign someone put in her Alburtis yard. Meanwhile, the sign she had purchased to support Kerry was stolen.
[Sign thefts a bipartisan problem - Morning Call - 10-30-04]Shanna Black was driving on Interstate 8 with a Bush-Cheney sticker on her car when she noticed a car coming up fast. The driver pulled alongside and held up a sign that included an obscenity about President Bush. Black's 8-year-old daughter was in the car.
[Campaign passions polarizing partisans - Union Tribune - 10-27-04]
filed under: Campaign Madness
October 31, 2004
What little I can remember about 1976 is red, white and blue. I was only 4 years old. Maybe it was the pageantry building up to our nation's bi-centennial, or School House Rock repetitiously explaining the democratic process in between Saturday morning cartoons. Whatever it was, America seemed united and proud of the process. I've never seen so many people excited, tense and electrified over an election than today, and I couldn't feel more proud to be an American.
TENSIONS:
A few weeks ago, a Democrat handing out flyers about the anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" outside an Episcopal church was set on by members of the congregation."When they saw what the flyers were for, they got furious. They circled the poor man, rolled up the papers into balls and pelted him with them," said a witness.
A recent dinner party turned ugly when a Republican guest inadvertently revealed his colors, prompting a Democrat to threaten to "upturn his rocking chair so he would fall on his head and suffer grave bodily harm," according to a guest.
[US Election Tensions Overflow in Mexico Expat Town - Reuters - 10-30-04]HIGH TURN OUT:
More than 1.8 million Floridians have cast their ballots through early or absentee voting - nearly 2 1/2 times the number of people who voted early in 2000.
[Nearly 2 Million Vote Early in Florida - AP - 10-31-04]DEAD HEAT:
Bush has solid leads in 23 states with 197 electoral votes and is favored in four more, which could bring him to 227. Kerry is equally solid in 13 states with 178 electoral votes and is favored in five states, which would bring him to 232. It takes 270 electoral votes to win
[Bush, Kerry in Reach of Electoral Win - Washignton Post - 10-31-04]DELAYED SPRINT:
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has coasted to easy wins in recent elections, but this year he is running hard as his once-ascendant political career has hit a rough patch.
[Embattled Texas Republican DeLay Running Hard - Reuters - 10-30-04]THE PLANETS ALIGN:
"Saturn, which is the lord of health and fortune for President Bush, has been eclipsed by the Sun, which is unfortunate and gives him a clear defeat," Lachhman Das Madan, editor of a popular astrology magazine, told Reuters."Kerry will win," said Madan, who is also known as "the emperor of astrologers." "It is cosmic writ that George W. Bush cannot become president of United States again."
[The Planets Have Made Up Their Mind: Kerry Wins - Reuters - 10-31-04]
filed under: Sunday Read
October 30, 2004
RealClearPolitics Poll Average
Right Track-Wrong Track/Direction of Country
Overall, do you think the country is heading in the right direction or the wrong direction?
|
Poll
|
Date
|
Right
Direction
|
Wrong
Direction
|
Spread
|
|
RCP
Average
|
10/20
- 10/29
|
41.0%
|
53.0%
|
-12.0%
|
|
10/27
- 10/29
|
39%
|
56%
|
-17%
|
|
|
10/27
- 10/28
|
42%
|
46%
|
-4%
|
|
|
10/25
- 10/28
|
41%
|
53%
|
-12%
|
|
|
10/21
- 10/22
|
40%
|
56%
|
-16%
|
|
|
10/20
- 10/22
|
43%
|
54%
|
-11%
|
filed under: Polls
October 30, 2004
Factor this: What do Rush Limbaugh, Michael Jackson, and Bill O'Reilly have in common? They all prove it's not "wrongdoing" when you can afford it. Obviously the words "wrongdoing" and "afford" are the key.
"Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight. Before we get to the "Talking Points Memo," I have something very important to tell you. All litigation has ceased in that case that has made me the object of media scorn from coast to coast. Today, lawyers issued a statement saying there was no wrongdoing in the case whatsoever by anyone. Obviously the words "no wrongdoing" are the key.
On a personal note, this matter has caused enormous pain, but I had to protect my family and I did. Some of the media hammered me relentlessly because, as you know, I'm a huge target, as is FOX News. All can I say to you is please, do not believe everything you hear and read.
The good news is that "Factor" viewers and listeners seemed to have given me the benefit of any doubt when some in the media did not. You guys looked out for me and I will never forget it. This brutal ordeal is now officially over and I will never speak of it again."
[Talking Points - Bill O'Reilly - 10-29-04]
[Bill O'Reilly? - Andrea Mackris's Complaint - 10-13-04]
filed under: Media
, Scandal
October 29, 2004
John Kerry takes the stage as a crowd of 35,000 rally to support him on the campus of the Ohio State University October 28, 2004.
[Photographer: Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer]
filed under:
October 29, 2004
DailyKos dug up a snapshot of where we were at this time in 2000.
CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 24-26 2000Likely Voters' Choice for President
Bush 52%
Gore 39
Nader 4%
Buchanan 1%Sampling error: +/-3.5% pt
[Tracking poll: Bush holds on to advantage - CNN - 10-27-00]
President Bush's Approval Rating from Newsweek via Polling Report shows the President's approval rating below 50%.
filed under: Polls
October 29, 2004
George W. Bush's business is the people's business.
"When those issues are embraced by the people, I'm going to not only talk to the Cabinet, I'm going to talk to the Congress and say the people have made their opinions known, now let's get forward on the people's business." [It Comes Down to Trust - Washington Post - 10-29-04]
filed under:
October 29, 2004
Christian conservative Gary Glenn is tired of democratic laws standing in his way. To Gary Glenn, committing tax fraud is very Christian, especially when it helps strip rights from American citizens and pays Glenn's contract fees.
Check the website for the American Family Association-Michigan (AFA) while you can. Gary Glenn is currently soliciting a "tax-deductible" contribution to directly fund a political television ad (watch video) urging voters to vote "yes" on Proposal 2, Michigan's Marriage Protection Amendment. All in a day's work for Gary Glenn.
After you've watched the commercial, your help is urgently needed. With only two weeks remaining before Nov. 2nd, please help us raise the money needed immediately to air this commercial on cable stations in Detroit, Flint, and other communities with a large African-American community, a key swing population on Proposal 2.Your contribution to AFA-Michigan is tax-deductible.
To make an immediate online contribution, click here. (Be sure to indicate "TV commercial" in the message space of the contribution form.)
[AFA Website - 10-29-04: 1:21p.m. ET]"Support for political contributions is not tax-deductible and what they are doing is a violation of both state and federal law," said Dana Houle, spokesperson for the CFM. "We just learned of this, but it appears from their website that the AFA has been deceiving citizens of Michigan throughout their entire campaign."
[Coalition For a Fair Michigan - 10-29-04]
filed under: "W" is For Wackos
October 29, 2004
Jim Bunning and his Republican colleagues in Kentucky want you to believe his Democratic opponent for U.S. Senate, Daniel Mongiardo, is queer. Or is it Mongiardo that wants you to believe that he believes that the Republicans want you to think he's queer? My head hurts.
"By him being on stage while they were saying these outrageous things, he approved them," said Mongiardo, adding that the remarks are "appalling and un-Christian.""These are the despicable acts of a desperate senator who is dangerously out of touch with reality," Mongiardo said during a campaign stop in Louisville on his statewide tour.
Bunning denied responsibility for the comments.
"I think you should go to Sen. Tori and Sen. Williams and ask them about the appropriateness of them. I didn't make the comments," Bunning said.
[Mongiardo says Bunning allies' remarks out of line - Courier Journal - 10-29-04]
What was said?
- Sen. Elizabeth Tori: "I'm not even sure the 'man' applies to him in the word 'gentleman.'"
- Senate President David Williams: "We don't want to trade that one-two punch for a limp wrist."
filed under: Political Subterfuge
October 29, 2004
Ru Paul thinks she's getting the cold shoulder lately because she's a black, gay drag queen.
Am I disappointed? Yeah, a little, especially after i read that MASE (the bible thumping rapper) was scheduled to appear on ELLEN last week. Does she owe me anything just because she's queer? Absolutely not. Doing what i do for a living has never been easy. i've had to fight countless battles in this game that the public has no idea ever happened. the biggest challenge has always been other people's judgment of men who use femininity as a palette. that was the focal point of the NYU conference i attended last week on the legendary singer SYLVESTER. it's fucked up how history remembers the contributions made by people of color, even worst for gay people of color. we must tell our own story for the generations that follow.US WEEKLY said they didn't have interest in reviewing my album, but would i consider joining there line-up for FASHION POLICE. no, thank you. that's like telling a black person that they're not welcome at the all-white party, unless they clear the table and wash the dishes. the message is: my only importance is how i can compliment their straight life...i.e. QUEER EYE... yet, we're all subjected to every riveting twist and turn of JESSICA SIMPSON'S fascinating life.
[Ru Paul - 10-13-04]
I will never forget VH-1's The Ru Paul Show and all the attention she got and deserved in the 1990s. With the exception to "My Love Sees No Color," her latest album, RedHot, is not that good.
There are very few things Ru Paul can put behind her to move forward. Being a black, gay drag queen everyone loves isn't one of them. Having a terrible album is.
filed under: Media
October 29, 2004
The New York Blade, Washington Blade, and Southern Voice are re-writing history with the following claim:
PlanetOut made history on Oct. 14 when it became the first gay company to be publicly traded on NASDAQ.
[PlanetOut 1st on stock exchange - Window Media - 10-29-04]
PlanetOut definitely made history, but as the second gay company to go public on the NASDAQ. G Society was the first gay company publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol GSOC. It was also the first to fail. Hopefully PlanetOut will do much better.
filed under: Fact Check
October 28, 2004
John Kerry speaks to 80,000+ gathered for a rally near the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. Kerry was introduced at the event by rock music legend Bruce Springsteen. (Photographer: Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer)
filed under:
October 28, 2004
Bubbie is mad at her TV. Episode 1 | Episode 2
filed under: Media
October 28, 2004
Here is an email in response to my post Rosie and Cher a Flop With Florida Voters.
I would suggest a career in something other than journalism. In 101 they teach you to verify your story using three CREDIBLE sources. Matt Drudge is not credible, period. He gets paid to fire people up and people that lack in certain kinds of intelligence seem to flock to him. Have a good life!GayDave
filed under: Email
October 28, 2004
Bush-Cheney '04 spokesman Rudy Giuliani thinks America should blame the troops, not President Bush, for George Bush's "miscalculations" and missing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Rudy and fellow Republicans wouldn't dare ask the un-American questions of President Bush, "Did you send enough troops? Didn't you send enough troops?"
"No matter how you try to blame it on the president the actual responsibility for it really would be for the troops that were there. Did they search carefully enough? Didn't they search carefully enough?"
[Rudy Giuliani - Today Show - 10-28-04]
watch the video: Atrios
filed under: Catastrophic Success
October 28, 2004
Question: Why are Republicans in North Carolina warning voters that "Julia Boseman Seeks To Be: The FIRST Openly Gay or Lesbian State Senator in North Carolina History?"
Answer: Lesbians, like Julia Boseman and Mary Cheney, are destroying the fabric of American society with the homosexual agenda.
The Star-News suggested Friday that New Hanover County would be better served in the N.C. Senate by Woody White than by his opponent, Julia Boseman.That was before the Republican Party issued ugly and mindless campaign ads that focused on Ms. Boseman's sexual orientation and suggested she would pursue "a liberal, activist homosexual agenda."
[Woody White dives in the gutter - Star-News - 10-28-04]
filed under: Political Subterfuge
October 28, 2004
It's sad when cute people engage in criminal behavior. Research shows they are more likely to succeed on their good looks than they are criminal activity. Steven is a young Marine who was mad that his girlfriend was voting for John Kerry, so he roughed her up a bit.
He dragged Silveira into the house kicking and screaming, a police report said. Neighbor Lisa Belout was watching television, heard the commotion and called 911.Inside, Soper threw Silveira to the floor, spit in her face and bit her cheek, she said, pointing to the brown bruise on the left side of her face.
"He went and got a knife and put the knife in my hand and said, `Kill me because if you vote for Kerry I'm going to die anyway,'" she said while standing outside her home, which has a Kerry/Edwards campaign sign in the yard.
[West Boynton man allegedly threatens to kill girlfriend for backing Kerry - Sun Sentinel - 10-28-04]
filed under: "W" is For Wackos
, Campaign Madness
October 28, 2004
I'm back from Houston and New Orleans. I hope you enjoyed BoiFromTroy who guest blogged while I was gone. If you do, visit his blog at www.boifromtroy.com.
filed under:
October 27, 2004
Having feminine qualities, is, apparently, a bonus in the workplace these days:
Metrosexual.That's the buzz word, engendered by the popular TV show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," for a straight urban man who has become increasingly interested in appearance, grooming, home furnishings, the arts and food.
In other words, a man who pays more attention to his "softer" or "feminine" side.
And this cultural phenomenon for men is "moving into the workplace at a rather fast rate," according to Nancy Halpern, senior vice president of The Strickland Group, an executive coaching organization based in New York that focuses on executive development.
Halpern, who has an MBA and has been in her profession since 1996, says the reason for the trend is--you've guessed it--the huge numbers of employed women.
"The impact of women in the workplace has had an enormous effect on how men are expected to behave as leaders," said the executive, who first noticed the change and the advent of metrosexuals in 2002.
I have to wonder, however, if the pheonomenon is limited to metrosexuals or whether honest-to-god homos see benefits as well.
Workplace Moves to Metrosexual Mode [MSN Careers]
filed under: Coming Out
October 27, 2004
Will the Baby Jesus cry if California courts grant marriage equality at a December 22 hearing? Probaby not, since it is just a beginning for a long process, but California's battle of the constitutionality of unequal marriage rights begins at Christmastime:
A San Francisco judge Tuesday scheduled a hearing for Dec. 22 to try to determine whether California's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional.Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer fended off suggestions by the city of San Francisco and other advocates to consider expert studies and personal accounts of the effects of the state law, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Instead, Kramer said he would try to resolve the case without a trial or fact-finding session by limiting the hearing to the legal issues: whether the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage amounts to discrimination on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, or violates the right of privacy.
He added, though, that if he can't resolve the case without deciding factual issues -- for example, the city's claim that the current law is based on pervasive discrimination against gays and lesbians, and the claim by opponents of same-sex marriage that studies show such marriages harm children and destabilize society -- a further hearing might be necessary.
Kramer was skeptical, however, about the need for such evidence. "My job is not to sit here and figure out ... who's right about their values,'' he said.
Judge sets hearing on same-sex marriage ban [SF Gate]
filed under: Equal Marriage Rights
October 27, 2004
Using the methods of extrapolation from SAT and other test scores that the New York Times relies on to compare the intelligence of George Bush and John Kerry, I can declare that, if the three of us were in a room, George Bush would get the median score:
To Bush-bashers, it may be the most infuriating revelation yet from the military records of the two presidential candidates: the young George W. Bush probably had a higher I.Q. than did the young John Kerry.That, at least, is the conclusion of Steve Sailer, a conservative columnist at the Web magazine Vdare.com and a veteran student of presidential I.Q.'s. During the last presidential campaign Mr. Sailer estimated from Mr. Bush's SAT score (1206) that his I.Q. was in the mid-120's, about 10 points lower than Al Gore's.
Mr. Kerry's SAT score is not known, but now Mr. Sailer has done a comparison of the intelligence tests in the candidates' military records. They are not formal I.Q. tests, but Mr. Sailer says they are similar enough to make reasonable extrapolations.
Mr. Bush's score on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test at age 22 again suggests that his I.Q was the mid-120's, putting Mr. Bush in about the 95th percentile of the population, according to Mr. Sailer. Mr. Kerry's I.Q. was about 120, in the 91st percentile, according to Mr. Sailer's extrapolation of his score at age 22 on the Navy Officer Qualification Test.
Linda Gottfredson, an I.Q. expert at the University of Delaware, called it a creditable analysis said she was not surprised at the results or that so many people had assumed that Mr. Kerry was smarter. "People will often be misled into thinking someone is brighter if he says something complicated they can't understand," Professor Gottfredson said.
Of course, with John Kerry, it isn't the words I have trouble understanding, it is the coherency of what he's saying...
Care To Compare the IQ of Your Presidential Candidates? [So Cal Law Blog]
filed under: Campaign Madness
October 27, 2004
First, the Log Cabin Republicans of California declared Governor Schwarzenegger's record on gay rights as "fantastic!" and encouraged their members to write him to say "Thank you."
Now, Equality California, a group which in the current election endorses zero Republican candidates (including none of the 7 gay Republicans running) gives the GOP Governator a perfect score for his record signing gay rights bills. That record is better than his predecessor, Gray Davis, who was ousted in a recall election one year ago.
Speaking of new Republicans [California Insider]
filed under: Gay Vote
October 26, 2004
Because of his comments about how the American contractors in Falluja deserved to be hanged, on my own site, I refer to DailyKos as "He-who-must-not-be-linked"...but Christian's site can, especially when it pertains to gay issues.
ScottMaui reports on comments by Robb Finberg, a Pastor for the Christian Fellowship Church, Republican running for the Hawaii State Senate:
Finberg was interviewed by Forrest Bradford, who has a show called Religious Phonies on local cable access channel AKAKU.After explaining his creationist views of history's timeline and how gays don't actually exist, Finberg was asked: "If there was a law that supported the execution of people found guilty of performing homosexual acts, would you support that law?"
After stating "Unfortunately, nearly 300,000 Americans have suffered the death penalty as a result of homosexual activity," Finberg answered, "Yes, if it were the law of the land. Yes."
It is hard, even for me, to say that, well, if something were the law of the land, then it should be enforced. For example, abortion is legal, and even though I hate to see one human being die, it is the law of the land.
Perhaps this is a concerted effort, now that polls show Hawaii as a swing state, to cast President Bush as a moderate...compared to these guys, he seems like a Massachussets liberal.
Video: Republican candidate supports EXECUTION of GAYS [Kos]
filed under: "W" is For Wackos
October 26, 2004
Several years ago, California's State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D - Santa Monica) struggled to pass legislation that would ban the harassment of gay and lesbian students in public schools.
Officials in one Orange County-district decided they disagreed with that ban and refused to re-write their local policies, at the risk of losing their state funding:
For months, Helena Rutkowski, Judy Ahrens and Blossie Marquez stood together. At meeting after meeting, the three Westminster School District trustees sat stone-faced and unmoved as they endured a seemingly endless barrage of anger hurled by parents and teachers infuriated over their stance against a state antidiscrimination law.Tension mounted as the three fired the district's longtime lawyer in order to hire one aligned with their conservative beliefs, and all but dared state officials to withhold millions in funding. And even when, at the last minute, the three backed down, the saga did not end...
Angry parents and teachers launched a recall petition drive against Ahrens and Marquez. They ignored Rutkowski, because her term was coming to a close this year.
The petition drive failed. And now, opponents of that board majority say the only way to break it up is to unseat Rutkowski, who is running for reelection.
The Westminster district, which serves 10,000 students from kindergarten through sixth grade, erupted in turmoil last winter when the three trustees refused to rewrite district policies to adhere to the state law that protects gays, transsexuals and others from discrimination on campuses. Citing Christian beliefs, the three said the law's wording immorally allowed people to define their own gender and would open the door to cross-dressing teachers and Peeping Tom students. The three eventually relented but still plan to sue the state over the gender definition.
Although behind the Orange Curtain, Westminster is unique in The O.C. because of its large Vietnamese immigrant population, which would explain why the Christian conservatives have taken to calling the teachers' unions "communists." Let's be realistic...teachers' unions are not communists; they are greedy.
Trustee's Stance on Gender Law Targets Her for Ouster [LAT]
filed under: Campaign Madness
October 26, 2004
How else could people justify voting for the President, unless they did not know any better?
That, at least, is the hypothesis behind a story in today's New York Times 'voter guide', which says:
Only about half the respondents could typically identify which candidate took which position. As a result, the respondents actually agreed with President Bush more than they realized on three issues (eliminating the estate tax, making recent tax cuts permanent and allowing workers to reinvest some of their Social Security contributions in the stock market).The respondents agreed with Senator John Kerry more than they realized on the five other issues (abortion rights, eliminating tax breaks for overseas profits of American companies, allowing drugs to be imported from Canada, making it easier for labor unions to organize and easing restrictions on federal financing of stem-cell research).
A follow-up Annenberg survey right after the debates showed that on average, about 8 percent more respondents could correctly identify a candidate's position.
Finally, an explanation for flyover people being Republican that the liberal elitists on the Coasts can understand--they don't know any better!
Know Where He Stands? Guess Again [NYT]
filed under: "W" is For Wackos
October 25, 2004
In his Good Morning America interview, President Bush goes farther than he ever has in offering support for partnership rights:
"I view the definition of marriage difference (sic) from legal arrangements that enable people to have rights. And I strongly believe that marriage ought to be defined as between, a union between a man and a woman," Bush said. "Now, having said that, states ought to be able to have the right to pass … laws that enable people to you know, be able to have rights, like others."
While not quite going as far as John "You Have to Introduce It" Kerry in advocating federal partnership rights, it should be noted that even though Kerry told The Advocate he wanted to introduce federal partnership rights legislation, in his twenty years in the U.S. Senate, he has yt to do so.
Bush on Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage [ABCNews]
filed under: "W" is For Wackos
October 25, 2004
The Stonewall Democratoc Club in the Coachella Valley (that's Palm Springs to you and me) and its Chairman George Zander are under fire for a recent email sent by their chairman last week trying to drive a wedge between the gay community and local leaders, reading:
"Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley are our home turf! Our home court! Make these whiny, weasly (sic) b-----ds stand up and take notice! WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS S--T ANYMORE! We control Palm Springs City Council...We effectively control the Cathedral City City Council (re-elect Greg Pettis!!!!!"
The email message, targeting moderate GOP Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, ended up in the email accounts of her teenage children. Garcia, seeking re-election, was one of four Republican Assembly Members to vote for SB 1234 (Kuehl) at the urging of the Log Cabin Club of California, a hate-crimes bill signed by Governor Schwarzenegger this September.
Stonewall Democrats e-mail crosses line from politics to hate [Desert Sun]
filed under: Campaign Madness
October 25, 2004
Three years ago while visiting Toronto for their annual Pride Festival, I became angry when I saw a float touting "Free Palestine!"...it's not that I am against a free Palestine, but the gays would be much worse off in a free Palestine than they are in an occupying Israel today.
Recently, the Zionist Organization of America invited a closeted Palestenian activist to speak to students at Georgetown University...and caused quite a stir. Palestenians on campus were incensed:
"It is not the place of GIA (Georgetown Israel Alliance) to address issues of Palestinian society," Bayann Hamid (SFS '07), Vice President of SJP said. "That the position of gays in Palestinian society was the focus of the talk was wrong in my view. If the speaker focused on gays in Israeli society, that would have been acceptable."
The Pseudonymous 'Ali', however, was simply speaking about the need to expose homophobia in the Palestenian society:
“There is no freedom to speak about my homosexuality,” he said. “That’s what I’m experiencing in my Palestinian society as in the rest of the Arab world.”According to Ali, a word for homosexuality does not even exist in the area’s native language. He said he only discovered his sexual orientation while studying in Jerusalem.
He claimed the opportunity never presented itself under Palestinian control, where he could have potentially been “subject to random arrests, torture and random killings” if he revealed his homosexuality. [The Hoya]
Ali, however, failed to mention the irony that the same week that the Bush Administration began advocating the Federal Marriage Amendment here in the U.S., it unveiled an Iraqi constitution with no such discriminatory language.
filed under: Free Speech
October 25, 2004
Traditionally, the week before the election, campaigns launch a final attack. Held back for months, at times, the "October Surprise" can often turn an election.
In 2000, George Bush's lead over Al Gore was eliminated when the DUI records were revealed and his campaign stumbled through their response. Conversely, when the Los Angeles Times launched its Gropensmear on Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003, voters rallied to the man and elected him Governor.
Since voters and campaigns have come to expect an October Surprise, the impacts have been mitigated. Mickey Kaus attributes this, in part, to how fast the news cycle has become--any October Surprise launched after the Thursday before the election seems tacky, and any launched before that date loses its impact as the news cycle moves on.
Currently, there are two competing candidates for the October Surprise:
- George Bush's 1973 "community service" may not have been charitable; and,
- Kerry never met with members of the Security Council
Yawn. I guarantee neither of these is the "October Surprise" and if they are, well, they will not influence the election--unless they are part of a bigger story, like if George Bush was doing community service because he was caught in violation of Texas sodomy laws...but we trust Mike Rogers would have told us that by now!
filed under: Scandal
October 25, 2004
I'm leaving in a couple of hours for the great state of Texas and then on to Louisiana for the next two days. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy guest blogger BoiFromTroy. BFT is a popular gay Republican blogger who is obsessed with the Trojans. For all you non sports fan, I don't mean condoms, but he could be a fan of those, too. You can visit his blog at BoiFromTroy. Here is what a few people have said about BFT:
"Boi from Troy ... has been incredibly useful."
- WashingtonPost.com"I guess I couldn't have resisted."
- Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit"We like to think of him as like Andrew Sullivan, but funny."
- Wonkette
filed under:
October 25, 2004
Conservative media is having a field day over content broadcasting on France's first all-gay cable television channel, Pink TV. Like its predecessor in Canada, the now defunct Pridevision, Pink TV airs latenight porn. Check out how South Africa's The Star describes the channel.
The most written-about aspect is Pink TV's obsession with sex - most notably its four gay pornographic movies to be screened each week after midnight.The lesbian side of the formula will kick off next month with Madame and Eve, according to the station's programmers, who have made no secret of their hopes that straight viewers will also be drawn to their line-up.
Sports coverage, fittingly enough, will be handled by a tall transsexual in heels and a skirt known as Brigitte Boreale.
[France's first TV station for homosexuals to rely heavily on spicy fare - The Star - 10-25-04]
filed under: Media
October 25, 2004
It's an innocent mistake, but it's funny in a race where Thune supporters are rabidly anti-gay.
Thune's campaign bought the ad, running on top of some Internet sites, in an effort to reach South Dakota voters between 18 and 34 years old. The Students for Thune group aims to persuade them that Thune, not Daschle, the Senate Democratic leader, can best speak for younger voters.Thune boasts of what he calls his "South Dakota values," including supporting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
So the Daschle campaign was quick to alert reporters when Democrats received an anonymous e-mail pointing out the Students for Thune banner ad on a site titled "Shirtless Just4U," which featured explicit pictures of men posing naked and in their underwear.
[Thune ad on Web goes awry - Argus Leader - 10-25-04]
filed under: Political Subterfuge
October 24, 2004
Many Democratic 527s have spent millions of dollars to register new voters and project high voter turnout at the polls November 2. But if this weekend's disappointing turnout to two voter rallies in Florida is any indication, George W. Bush will win by a landslide.
According to Matt Drudge, Cher and Rosie O'Donnell openly expressed dismay this weekend directly to their audiences when hardly anyone showed up. The events were separately sponsored by Democratic 527s MoveOn.org and Americans Coming Together.
The harshest criticism came from Cher.
"There were supposed to be thousands of people here tonight. I'm not sure why that didn't happen, obviously the people putting on this thing were just not very good at it," Cher reportedly told the crowd. "When I was coming down the steps, I thought 'Oh shit, well I'll just go out there and give it my best.'"
The press release for both the events issued by D.C.-based Fenton Communications boasted "an estimated crowd of 2,000 young Americans" would attend Cher's appearance at Miami's trendy Crobar in South Beach. As Cher took the stage, only 200 people bothered to show up.
"I am aware that she was very disappointed," Fenton's Kawana Lloyd told Outlet Radio. "We did the PR for the event and were expecting a lot more people. I think it was probably poor planning. We were told about Cher's appearance late Thursday night." MoveOnStudentAction event organizers did not return our calls.
Despite Rosie O'Donnell's venue located within minutes from Florida Atlantic University, the event, sponsored by Americans Coming Together (ACT) and Emily's list, was even more disappointing.
"You know, there's only like, you know, maybe 38 of us here and maybe we can just like tap a keg and put on some disco, and totally party," O'Donnell reportedly joked with the audience.
If Cher, Rosie and threats of disco are hardly a draw for gay and lesbian Florida voters, let's hope 527s have spent their money wisely turning them out for Kerry.
filed under: Exclusives
, Gay Vote