http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/ No government has the right to tell its citizens whom to love. The only queer people are those who don't love anybody. — Rita Mae Brown en-US Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:24:50 -0400 http://www.typepad.com/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification CitizenCrainhttp://feedburner.google.com http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/dDJUTWQy4sE/what-obama-can-learn-from-vt-gay-marraige-re-health-care-reform.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/08/what-obama-can-learn-from-vt-gay-marraige-re-health-care-reform.html What does trying to pass health care reform legislation have in common with trying to pass gay marriage in Vermont? Answer: in both cases there was/is a very vocal and energized opposition spewing lies about what passage would mean. There... Current Affairs Andoni Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:24:50 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/08/what-obama-can-learn-from-vt-gay-marraige-re-health-care-reform.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/pi6qjlsSExA/how-to-repeal-dadt.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/how-to-repeal-dadt.html We are 7 months into the Obama administration and DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) is still on the books. I believe anything the president does to initiate the repeal will cause a firestorm that is much, much greater than any... Military Andoni Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:53:22 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/how-to-repeal-dadt.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/ycK1_BuD4OQ/harvey-milk-to-receive-medal-of-freedom.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/harvey-milk-to-receive-medal-of-freedom.html The White House announced today that slain San Francisco gay rights leader Harvey Milk will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom - America's highest civilian honor. The award will be made posthumously at a ceremony on August 12. Lesbian tennis... Current Affairs Andoni Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:41:10 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/harvey-milk-to-receive-medal-of-freedom.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/rSzTV0-aiac/dadt-and-the-senate.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/dadt-and-the-senate.html UPDATE 2: Andrew Sullivan, back from his sabbatical, doesn't believe that the Dems are serious about repealing DADT. UPDATE: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced this morning that the United States Senate would hold its first ever hearings on the military's... Military Andoni Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:16:44 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/dadt-and-the-senate.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/of7NTG_dYvw/prejudice-has-no-place-in-the-united-states-of-america.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/prejudice-has-no-place-in-the-united-states-of-america.html Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy From President Obama's address today at the 100th anniversary of the NAACP (National Association of Colored People): "But make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt... Obama Andoni Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:11:52 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/prejudice-has-no-place-in-the-united-states-of-america.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/5abNsT7-1mw/did-sen-graham-endorse-gay-marriage.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/did-sen-graham-endorse-gay-marriage.html I was shocked and delighted at the way Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) approached his questioning of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor during the Senate confirmation hearings today. He seemed to be laying the groundwork for Justice Sotomayor and the Supreme... Marriage Andoni Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:59:09 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/did-sen-graham-endorse-gay-marriage.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/FDA8W-2qwVA/gratuitous-cruelty-on-the-part-of-the-us.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/gratuitous-cruelty-on-the-part-of-the-us.html "This is simply gratuitous cruelty. It serves no interest of the United States to be cruel to these people." That's how Congressman Jerrold Nadler describes the situation for the latest bi-national couple to undergo forced separation by the United States... Immigration Andoni Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:15:59 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/gratuitous-cruelty-on-the-part-of-the-us.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/Zs70fvx3cgo/update-president-palin-not-an-obituary.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/update-president-palin-not-an-obituary.html Anyone who read my original post should check out New York Times columnist Frank Rich's take on Palin today. It's worth a read. He makes the following points: 1. the Palin phenomenon is largely emotional, not rational 2. almost 75%... Current Affairs Andoni Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:43:13 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/update-president-palin-not-an-obituary.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/fKAK6b2wz38/our-new-straight-hero-on-dadt.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/our-new-straight-hero-on-dadt.html Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Congressman Patrick Murphy, a straight Congressman from PA, is taking the lead on repealing DADT. The above clip from the Rachel Maddow Show clearly demonstrates Murphy's passion and... Military Andoni Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:25:42 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/our-new-straight-hero-on-dadt.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/htUzqj_n_v8/gm-goes-beefcake-gay.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/gm-goes-beefcake-gay.html UPDATE AT END GM developed an ad aimed at gay buyers with two hunky guys in briefs washing a Camaro (read the original story here) then without explanation while I was writing this post, pulled it from YouTube (read the... Current Affairs Andoni Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:54:35 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/gm-goes-beefcake-gay.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/7CwUlP-69xA/steve-hildebrand-on-obama.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/steve-hildebrand-on-obama.html Steve Hildebrand may be the closest gay person to Barack Obama. He was deputy national campaign director for Obama's presidential campaign last year. In a remarkable interview with Hildebrand, Rex Wockner gets to the bottom of some of the issues... Obama Andoni Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:54:54 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/steve-hildebrand-on-obama.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/7LYjqtC09NU/president-palin-not-an-obituary.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/president-palin-not-an-obituary.html I'm a little nervous that a lot of the liberal chattering class is proclaiming the death of Sarah Palin's political career. I'm old enough to remember a similar situation with Richard Nixon in 1962 after he told the press that... Palin Andoni Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:03:14 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/president-palin-not-an-obituary.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/JVSFXfo5mSc/special-rights-result-when-gays-are-forbidden-to-marry.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/special-rights-result-when-gays-are-forbidden-to-marry.html We are all familiar with the right wing mantra that gays are asking for "special rights" when in reality we are only asking for equality. Well, here's an example that turns the "special rights" argument on its head. In some... Marriage Andoni Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:22:05 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/07/special-rights-result-when-gays-are-forbidden-to-marry.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/RiUUeYv8NF0/white-house-hosts-gay-reception-today.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/white-house-hosts-gay-reception-today.html UPDATE: Watch a video of the speech here. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, President Obama has invited 250 LGBT leaders from across the country to the White House for a cocktail reception today. Brian Bond, Deputy Director of... Current Affairs Andoni Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:01:18 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/white-house-hosts-gay-reception-today.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/CkgMjrIdJY8/credit-card-scams-again.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/credit-card-scams-again.html I've reported before on the various shady ways credit card companies and currency exchangers (posing as ATM machines) are using to bilk customers and earn questionable extra profits. Well, last night at a restaurant at the Bangkok Airport, I encountered... Current Affairs Andoni Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:52:07 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/credit-card-scams-again.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/Sob1fpv3q54/sanfords-crime-against-morality.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/sanfords-crime-against-morality.html Following the admission by Republican Gov. Mark Sanford that he had disappeared to Argentina as part of an extramarital affair, some have been minimizing the legal dimension of his offense. Unlike Republican Sen. David Vitter (La.), who admitted to having... Funny-HaHa Chris Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:22:50 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/sanfords-crime-against-morality.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/ZTTRdfdDz4w/lgbt-goes-missing.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/lgbt-goes-missing.html Update at the end of this post: Tongues are wagging about the apparent delisting of Planet Out, Inc. -- which trades under the symbol LGBT -- from the Nasdaq stock exchange. A post today on Queerty speculates that Planet Out's... Media PlanetOut Chris Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:02:34 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/lgbt-goes-missing.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/rX4-ZALQJGw/obamas-major-speech-on-lgbt-rights.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/obamas-major-speech-on-lgbt-rights.html Before you get too excited, this hasn't happened yet. When I was sitting on the island of Symi, Greece I was getting despondent over the inaction in Congress on LGBT rights. Remembering the president's promises during the campaign, I thought... Obama Andoni Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:12:21 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/obamas-major-speech-on-lgbt-rights.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/E8CdV6oPoMQ/defending-obamas-indefensible-defense.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/defending-obamas-indefensible-defense.html ... of the Defense of Marriage Act. OK not really. But at the risk of being labeled (once again) as an Obama apologist, I want to add a bit more context to the excellent analysis done by Andoni and others... HRC Marriage Obama Chris Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:59:00 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/defending-obamas-indefensible-defense.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenCrain/~3/exTF4kQV7do/the-doma-fck-up.html http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/the-doma-fck-up.html ADDENDUM AT END: (THE NEW YORK TIMES AGREES) As you can read here and here, the Obama Justice Department filed a brief defending DOMA. This was no ordinary brief. It was way over the top with arguments that could have... Marriage Andoni Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:47:39 -0400 http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2009/06/the-doma-fck-up.html