GLAA Forum

The hell I won't!

Okay, I admit it — I thought of this scene from the 1963 movie McLintock! because I was disgusted by the disrespect that has been shown toward the President, and I was thinking that he oughta forget about Jackie Robinson and belt someone in the mouth. Not gonna happen, but watching this made me feel so much better.

Ron Paul was deeply involved in production of newsletters, associates say

Surprise, surprise. The congressman is just lying.

HUD's Donovan announces final housing nondiscrimination rule at Creating Change

(HUD Sec. Shaun Donovan at Creating Change. Photo by Chris Geidner.)

Chris Geidner of Metro Weekly reports from the Creating Change conference in Baltimore:

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today told those LGBT advocates gathered for the Creating Change conference taking place in Baltimore, Md., "HUD has been a leader in the fight ... for equality." As part of that, he announced that the federal housing program anti-discrimination regulation announced in January 2011 has been finalized and will be published in the Federal Register on this coming week and go into effect 30 days later.

"Today, I am proud to announce a new equal access to housing rule that says clearly and unequivocally that LGBT indivduals and couples have the right to live where they choose," he told the audience, which rose to its feet with applause.

Donovan detailed that the rule, saying that it includes a new equal access provision that prohibits discrimination in HUD-backed housing programs. It also, he said, guarantees that LGBT individuals are eligible for HUD's public housing programs and states that discrimination is prohibited on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in all Fair Housing Administration-backed loans -- which Donovan said constituted 40 percent of all loans for Americans who bought a home last year.

Waiting for the right to show their true colors by screaming bloody murder. Also waiting for the all-or-nothing gay left to dismiss this as "crumbs."

ANC2F: Occupy D.C., Let Us Have Our Park Back

(Photo by Jonathan Wilson / WAMU)

Jonathan Wilson at WAMU reports that the National Park Service has ordered Occupy DC protesters to vacate McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza by Monday. He quotes one protester as refusing to leave. Those who refuse to remove their camping and cooking materials from the parks face arrest.

Nick Barron of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2F, which includes McPherson Square, politely asks the protesters to comply with the NPS order. As he observes, they have delivered their message, their neighbors have been either supportive or quietly tolerant of the months-long occupation, and it is time to move on to the next phase of their effort, one that does not involve monopolizing a public park. Indeed Mayor Gray and other D.C. officials have been supportive of the Occupiers. But the public's patience runs out eventually. Barron notes that McPherson Square had been refurbished in the fall before the occupation began, and the then-new grass has been destroyed by the encampment.

It is clear that many of the Occupy DC folks have nothing else in their game plan other than staying in these public parks. That's all they've got. That is embarrassing to the cause of reform. Someone needs to explain to them the concept of political organizing. I understand that the Occupy movement has garnered a lot of attention for the problem of income inequality in this country, including policies that result in the upward redistribution of wealth. But that point has been made. They can forget about any serious reform happening if the Republican champions of the wealthiest few win the election in November.

Many of the occupiers scorn the electoral process; all that means is that they have decided to replace the actually existing political process with magical thinking: if they occupy these public spaces long enough, somehow vulture capitalism will be defeated. They need to get real. And who do they think will be helped by a mass arrest? But such arrests are liberating, at least in the minds of some. Fine. Liberate them, and liberate the parks. Those people who are politically serious recognize what is at stake in the coming election, and will become involved accordingly. Do those who just want to continue the Occupation indefinitely prefer battles with the police? That worked so well for progressives in 1968.

(Hat tip: Joel Lawson)

NOM polling techniques

The National Organization for Marriage has announced Washington Survey Shows Strong Opposition to Same Sex Marriage; Voters Want the Right to Decide Marriage Issue.  They don't provide a link to the actual poll results, but you can find them here (via SLOG).  Here is the wording of thier question.

As you probably know, since 2010 Washington has had a civil union law which gives gay couples all the legal rights of married couples. Now some people want to pass a new law, which changes the definition of marriage, so that it is no longer between a man and a woman, but between any two people. Do you feel it is necessary or not necessary to pass now a new law which changes the definition of marriage in this way?
36% NECESSARY
57% NOT NECESSARY
7% DON’T KNOW/NO RESPONSE

Many polls show that a majority of voters support marriage equality.  So NOM pollers need go to great lengths to get favorable results.  The main value of polling is to show trends, and recently they have been toward marriage equality.  What isn't surprising is that QEV Analytics is the polling firm.  They are quite expert a delivering result that satisfy their client.  There are othere things odd with these results, such as 60% of the interviewees having a college degree or higher.

Gingrich needs to update his mailing list

Loose Lips reports that Newt Gingrich sent ANC 3F07 Commissioner and past GLAA president Bob Summersgill a fundraising message beginning "Dear Conservative":

For the record, Summersgill, who was one of the leading proponents of the District's marriage equality law and is active in the city's Democratic establishment, says he's unmoved by Gingrich's plea and doesn't plan to vote for him. "Gingrich said gay people shouldn't support him," emails Summersgill, likely referring to this exchange. "He said we should vote for Obama."

Yes. I am aware that exit polls from prior elections suggest that roughly one-fourth of self-identified gay voters will vote for Newt anyway (in the unlikely event that he gets the Republican nomination). At the same time, all-or-nothing gay leftists will stay home or vote for a third-party candidate because the most productive president on gay issues in history did not magically give them everything they wanted. You can make your best arguments, but in the end you cannot control other people's choices. That is all right. Be responsible for yourself. Stand up and be counted.

Booker: "We should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote"

Newark Mayor Cory Booker responds to NJ Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to put marriage equality on the ballot. Thank you, Mayor Booker.

Stray thought from the Republican presidential debate

Newt and Mitt should work together to ensure that when Fidel leaves the planet he doesn't go to the lunar colony. He'd only stir up trouble.

Also: Ron Paul says when he started in medicine there was no Medicare or Medicaid, & things worked fine. Once again he channels Scarlett O'Hara. Someone send him a copy of The Wind Done Gone to provide an alternate perspective of those halcyon days of yore.

Newt channels Dave Chappelle

Could Newt Gingrich have gotten his plan for a new space race from this old bit by Dave Chappelle?)

(Hat tip: Daily Kos)

Gov. Christie thinks civil rights in 1960s should have been handled by referenda

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the incredible historical ignorance of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who thinks that gay people's marriage rights should be decided by referendum, just as black people's civil rights should have been back in the 1960s.

Keep talking, troglodytes.

Barney Frank to marry Jim Ready

Metro Weekly and the Blade report. Congrats to Jim and Barney.

What did Newt say?

I'm sorry, did Newt Gingrich say he wants to fund NASA or Massa?

An act of disrespect that will backfire

You are probably aware of this story about yesterday's exchange on the tarmac between Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and President Obama, who dared to point out the inaccuracy of her description (in her book, Scorpions for Breakfast) of a meeting in the Oval Office.

This year's election is an excellent opportunity for all of us to say to the likes of Jan Brewer, in the unmistakable language of an electoral landslide, "Lady, get your goddamn finger out of my brother's face." Yes, he has the Secret Service, but in this matter millions of us need to have his back.

Arizona's disgraceful anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, which Brewer so enthusiastically pushed, and which the President challenged in court, has harmed the state's economy, and rightfully so. The bigotry and injured sense of entitlement of Brewer and her nativist and racist allies, embodied in their cry, "We want our country back," targets blacks, Latinos, Muslims, and gays — not to mention women. So let's keep our eyes on the prize and not take this election for granted just because of the GOP's current circular firing squad. Then at noon next Jan. 20, Obama can hand Chief Justice Roberts a printed copy of the presidential oath of office to help him out.

Let the People Vote

Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker has announced his opposition to putting marriage equality to a popluar vote.

"I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960s, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states," Booker said in a statement.

Voters have regularly held back various civil rights movement.  A New Jersey legislator noted that the last successful referendum in the state was in 1915 when voters repealed a bill allowing women the vote.  And laws forbidding discrimination in housing were revoked by voters in both California and Maryland as well as in many smaller municipalities.  The DC councilmembers disallowed referenda on groups covered by the Human Rights Act were well aware of this.

American democracy doesn't allow that government take away rights even if the majority favors it.  The Bill of Rights was added onto the Constitution to limit the reach of democracy.  Even if an overwhelming majority of citizens want Christianity declared our official religion itthey cannot.  Even if a majority of DC voters want guns outlawed they cannot do that either.  And in instances this has failed, such as when the Supreme Court upheld a law allowing for the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, it is held as a stain on our national honor.

Update:  Gov. Chris Christie has brought up the civil rights connectiion himself.  He has said:

"The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South."

This has sparked outrage.

(via JoeMyGod)

Gov. O'Malley announces marriage equality bill in Maryland

The State of Maryland has issued this video with the following description:

Governor O'Malley joined by advocates from a broad coalition of supporters discusses the Civil Marriage Protection Act of 2012. Marylanders of all walks of life want their children to live in a loving, stable, committed home -- protected under the law. The marriage equality bill balances equal protection of the law for every individual with free exercise of religion without government interference.

Metro Weekly reports here. the Blade reports here.

Ron Paul's blind spot on race

Chauncey DeVega has a smart take on Rep. Ron Paul and race. Here's a small sampling:

Ron Paul's desire to frame the Civil War as a tragedy for the South at the hands of a villainous North, a federal force that only wanted to take away the liberties of white people, is an ideal-typical example of libertarianism's failings on matters of race and justice. Ron Paul does not seem to identify slavery--the owning of black people by white people in perpetuity--as a de facto state of war and tyranny. If libertarians were to find a historic freedom struggle to claim as their own, one would think that abolition, accomplished by any means necessary, would be at the top of their list.

Tahrir Square, Jan. 25, 2012

Alex Nicholson writes:

A great set of video cuts from our day today. This is not stock footage... Jonathan [Smith] actually shot this footage while I dragged him around trying not to draw too much attention to the [only] two blue-eyed white guys around.

Rep. Giffords makes her farewell to Congress

Speaker Boehner for once has a good reason to cry. Get better quick, Gabby.

NJ Senate Democrats respond to Gov. Christie on marriage equality

Here is the description accompanying this YouTube video from New Jersey Democrats:

In this video, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, and Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, the prime sponsors of S-1, legislation to guarantee marriage equality for all couples, respond to Governor Chris Christie's suggestion that marriage equality should be decided at the ballot box, not by the Legislature.

National Gay-Straight Alliance Day message from Secretary Arne Duncan

Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality comments, "Wow. The Obama Administration speaking up for us again."