Jive in the [415] Gay LGBT | News Analysis Political Commentary

Is Edward Snowden A Patriot Or A Traitor?

2013-06-18T03:30:00.000-07:00

Edward Snowden, 29, is the Maryland native who is at the center of a firestorm, because he revealed to The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers, that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) is actively engaged in two extensive classified electronic surveillance programs, that encompasses monitoring the electronic and digital communication of every American citizen and business.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said that Snowden’s revelations are an “act of treason.” Former vice president Dick Cheney said that he thinks Snowden is a traitor who could be a spy for China.

Snowden responded to Cheney’s unsubstantiated assertion by saying "It's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former vice president Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American."

President Obama is attending the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. He was asked about the NSA surveillance program, and claimed that he had appointed “a privacy and civil liberties oversight board, made up of independent citizens including some fierce civil libertarians.”

The Guardian’s Ewen MacAskill wrote about President Obama’s first public comments about the NSA surveillance programs.

In his first public comments in 10 days about the NSA disclosures, Obama also said he had set an oversight board made up of independent citizens and the ordered the declassification of documents relating to surveillance to allow the public to see the broader context.

Obama said: "My concern has always been not that we shouldn't do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances."

The president said it was a "false choice" to say that American freedoms needed to be sacrificed in the goal of national security. "That doesn't mean that there are not tradeoffs involved in any given program, in any given action that we take. So all of us make a decision that we go through a whole bunch of security at airports, which when we were growing up that wasn't the case … To say there's a tradeoff doesn't mean somehow that we've abandoned freedom."

When the president was asked about Edward Snowden, he said "The case has been referred to the DOJ for criminal investigation … and possible extradition. I will leave it up to them to answer those questions."

Edward Snowden had a security clearance in his various jobs, that granted him access to many of our nation’s most important secrets. Just a few weeks ago, he was a paid government spy mining secret data in Hawaii, and today he has to hide. The government’s public relations apparatus is in overdrive discrediting him, and branding him a traitor, while threatening him with criminal penalties.

Is Edward Snowden an American patriot or a deceitful traitor?

He’s neither. He’s a courageous whistleblower who exposed that our government systematically spies and snoops on it’s citizens. Was I shocked when I learned this? No. Does it disturb me? Yes.

We have certain guarantees under the Constitution related to unreasonable searches and seizures. While the Patriot Act might give the NSA authorization to snoop on Americans, it doesn’t mean that it’s a Constitutional law.

There was a time in our country when we embraced the values that a whistleblower represents. We cheered the underdogs, and the Daniel Ellsberg's of the world, for exposing practices that were inconsistent with the values inherent in our Constitution.

Army PFC Bradley Manning has been charged in a 22 count criminal indictment, and is facing the death penalty, for allegedly leaking classified diplomatic cables that are credited with being a catalyst for the Arab Spring. Manning also revealed that during the Iraq war, an American helicopter wantonly murdered 3 journalists, and then attacked a van that stopped to help the injured.

PFC Manning exposed a murder, and he’s facing the death penalty.

My real fear is that Congress is asleep at the wheel. Senator Feinstein and her committee is responsible for ensuring that our intelligence agencies don’t overstep their bounds, and the best she could do is call Snowden’s leaks an “act of treason.”

Treason is defined as a “crime betraying one’s country.” PFC Manning didn’t betray his country, and Edward Snowden hasn’t betrayed his country.

If Congress authorized these surveillance programs, they’ve betrayed their country and the people they represent, and that’s criminal.

Congress committed an act of treason - not Edward Snowden.

Straight talk indeed.

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Southern Baptist Convention's Anti-Gay Stance Is Incompatible With Christianity

2013-06-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Baptist Radio Personality Mike Huckabee’s Anti-Gay Views Are Incompatible With Christianity Too

Meeting in Houston, Texas, at their annual convention, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) approved a nonbinding resolution opposing the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) recent decision to allow gay young men in scouting. The SBC claims that “homosexual conduct” is incompatible with a scout’s oath to do his duty to God.

The resolution does not require anything specific of SBC member churches, but allows each church to decide individually whether they want to continue sponsoring scout troops. It’s estimated that seventy percent of the 100,000 BSA troops are sponsored by religious organizations.

Amanda Orr and Colleen Jenkins described the implications of the anti-gay resolution for Reuters.

The Southern Baptist resolution urges churches that continue with the Boy Scouts to work toward the reversal of the new membership policy and to advocate against any change in leadership and membership that "normalizes sexual conduct outside of the Biblical standards."

The Southern Baptist Convention has more than 45,000 churches and church-type missions with nearly 16 million members nationwide, according to the group's website.
A representative from the Boy Scouts was not immediately available for comment on the resolution.

Some religious organizations have accepted the Boy Scouts' new policy. The Mormon Church, the largest sponsor of scouting troops nationwide with about 430,000 youth members, expressed its support. The United Methodist Church, the second-largest sponsor, also plans to continue its role in scouting.

The national scouting committee for the Catholic Church, the third-largest sponsor of scouting troops, has noted that the policy change on gay members does not take effect until next January, providing "adequate time to study its effects."
There’s no theological or Biblical evidence to support this resolution, just as there’s nothing written in scripture to justify the bigotry that the SBC, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and the Roman Catholic Church, continually direct toward the LGBT community.

As Katie Halper notes at Salon.com, former Southern Baptist Minister Mike Huckabee is stomping mad and attacking any groups or individuals that call out homophobic people for their homophobia. Katie writes that Huckabee is “tired of homophobes being told that their views are, well, homophobic. And he’s tired of the homosexualist attack against heterosexuals.”

In an interview Huckabee had with Penny Nance of Concerned Women of America, a right-wing extremist group, he expressed his disdain for all things homosexual. He claimed that “every fear that people had has in fact come true, that this is being forced in textbooks on how marriage is depicted, we’re now even seeing television commercials portraying same-sex couples, that’s something I guess I didn’t expect to see anytime soon.”

Katie Halper continued:

When asked if LGBT people should be allowed to marry, Huckabee shared his nuanced view that “that would be like saying, well there are a lot of people who like to use drugs so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want to use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, should we accommodate them?”

The good news is that the Republican Party is set to follow Huckabee’s enlightened path. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in March that, when it comes to LGBT issues, Huckabee is “a model for a lot of people in our party … I always tell people, listen to Governor Mike Huckabee … I don’t know anyone that talks about [LGBT rights] any better.”

Discrimination is unacceptable, and the SBC is advocating discrimination which is harmful to kids in scouting! Their behavior is beyond insensitive, as it’s outrageous.

We expect Huckabee to make idiotic homophobic statements, because he’s been doing that for years. Since he’s so fond of the American values that were present in the 1840’s, and he doesn’t want to see gay people on TV, he should get rid of his television.

Huckabee and the SBC are exhibiting behavior that’s incompatible with Christianity, and that’s the truth.

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Happy 80th Birthday Joan Rivers!

2013-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

Legendary comedienne and gay icon Joan Rivers is 80 years old today, and I hope that you will join me in wishing her a happy birthday!

Joan Rivers has been making people laugh for nearly 50 years! She appears on Fashion Police each week on E!, stars in the reality television show Joan & Melissa: Joan knows Best? on WE tv, designs and sells her jewelry line Joan Rivers Classic Collection on QVC, produces and hosts her new weekly talk show In Bed With Joan, and makes personal appearances across the country, and regularly performs her stand up act on both sides of the Atlantic.

She does all of that at 80 years old, and that’s absolutely amazing. There was a huge 80th birthday bash scheduled for last Wednesday night in New York that was sadly cancelled, because Joan’s sister Barbara Waxler, died on Monday.

ABC announced this week that Joan will be appearing on Celebrity Wife Swap this summer. She will travel to Alaska to switch places with Bristol Palin, where she will take care of Bristol’s 4 year old son Tripp. Bristol will be entrusted with Joan’s grandson Cooper.

In honor of Joan’s birthday, here are some of her most memorable one liners.

I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.

I blame my mother for my poor sex life. All she told me was 'the man goes on top and the woman underneath.' For three years my husband and I slept in bunk beds.

Before we make love my husband takes a pain killer.

My best birth control now is just to leave the lights on.

My obstetrician was so dumb that when I gave birth he forgot to cut the cord. For a year that kid followed me everywhere. It was like having a dog on a leash.

Boy George is all England needs - another queen who can't dress.

Elizabeth Taylor has more chins than a Chinese phone book.

Can we talk? Happy Birthday Joan! Thanks for the laughs and the memories, and I hope you have a fabulous birthday. We look forward to many more laughs in the years to come!

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Senator Marco Rubio Is A Fraud Like The "Emperor With No Clothes"

2013-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Rubio Is Against His Own Immigration Bill

After the Republican party experienced a disastrous defeat in November 2012, they attributed their loss to the changing demographics in the United States. Latino voters are the fastest growing minority, and they overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama’s re-election for President.

The brain trusts in the Republican party concluded that they had to do a better job communicating their message to Latino voters, and that Willard Mitt Romney’s rhetoric that undocumented immigrants should self deport, and not have access to healthcare or an education, was harmful to the future prospects of the party in national elections.

While it was a coalition of women, younger voters, the LGBT community, Latinos, and people of color, who joined together to support President Obama, and hand the GOP another defeat in a nationwide election, Republicans determined that Latinos were a crucial constituency that they needed to woo.

President George W. Bush received 44% of the Latino vote in 2004, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) received 31% in 2008, and Willard Mitt Romney received 27% in 2012.

In order to be more conciliatory, and improve the GOP’s image among Latinos, Republicans agreed to join Democrats in a discussion about the 12 million undocumented immigrants that are estimated to be in the United States.

Both political parties agreed that comprehensive immigration reform is a moral imperative. Republicans were motivated to address the issue because they’re afraid that if they continue to alienate Latino voters, they imperil the future of their party. Democrats have long advocated immigration reform because it’s the right thing to do.

President George W. Bush pushed Congress to address immigration reform in 2007, and his proposal was dead in the water because extreme right-wing Republicans had no interest in reforming immigration policy.

Last week President Bush said that Congress should fix immigration policy because as it stands it’s “inhumane,” and fixing it is the right thing to do. In an interview with the Huffington Post’s Jon Ward last week, President Bush commented on the current efforts to reform immigration.

"The right reason is it's important to reform a broken system. I'm not sure a right reason is that in so doing we win votes," Bush said. "I mean when you do the right thing, I think you win votes, as opposed to doing something that's the right thing to win votes. Maybe there's no difference there. It seems like there is to me, though."

"I mean we ought to be doing it. One, it's right. Two, because the system is broken," Bush said. "It's a system rife with corruption and the corruption being smugglers bringing individuals to do jobs Americans won't do. And it's, to me it's an inhumane system."

"Second it's important for our economy to have people here come on a regularized basis, not permanently necessarily," he said, referencing the guest worker component. "Of course the thorny issue is citizenship and that causes people to scream amnesty, and once the amnesty word gets into the debate, people recoil."

A “gang of eight” Senators in the US Senate drafted a bill (S. 744) that was introduced in April 2013, “to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and other purposes.” The 4 Republicans and 4 Democrats comprising the “gang of eight” in the Senate are Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO).

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was a vocal proponent of the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Rubio’s political roots are with the extremist tea-party movement, and political pundits say that he wants to run for President. In order to widen his appeal, he felt that he could be a leader on immigration reform. His parents are immigrants, and because of his national ambitions, he felt that he could capitalize on the goodwill that comes with being a sponsor of this legislation, and benefit from the free publicity that this hot-button issue generates in the press.

On Tuesday May 21st, 2013, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act by a vote of 13-5. While Democrats on the committee sold out the gay community by not including binational gay married couples in the bill, immigration reform advocates were largely pleased with the legislation. The next step in the process is for the full Senate to consider the bill.

In a radio interview earlier this week, Senator Rubio made news because he said that as the bill currently stands, he won’t support his own bill.

Speaking with radio host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday, Rubio said the Senate should “strengthen the border security parts of this bill so that they’re stronger, so that they don’t give overwhelming discretion to the Department of Homeland Security.” He said he was working with other senators on amendments to do just that.

Then Hewitt asked: “If those amendments don’t pass, will you yourself support the bill that emerged from Judiciary, Senator Rubio?”

Rubio answered, “Well, I think if those amendments don’t pass, then I think we’ve got a bill that isn’t going to become law, and I think we’re wasting our time. So the answer is no.”
As Jonathan Chait notes at New York magazine’s Daily Intelligencer blog, Rubio is playing both sides against each other.

Is the deal exactly what Rubio wanted? No. It wasn't exactly what anybody wanted. But, again, that's called "negotiation." That's why Democrats had to vote for utterly obnoxious provisions excluding gay couples. They didn't like the things they voted for, but were under the impression that both sides were bound by the terms of the deal. Now Rubio is saying only they're bound by it.

The question for Democrats is, at what point do they insist that a deal's a deal? The dynamic here is that Republicans have a mainly political objective, and Democrats a mainly policy objective. The Republicans do want some changes to the law that would benefit businesses, but mainly they want to take immigration off the table as an issue in order to give themselves an opening to court Latino voters. Democrats are willing to take the issue off the table in order to get a substantive policy accomplishment.

The most attractive resolution from the Republican point of view is to get Democrats to support a very weak reform. That enables them to accomplish the political goal at minimum cost of angering their own base. But at some point, the policy gain for Democrats is low enough that it isn't worth surrendering the political advantage.

Wonkblog argues that the changes to the bill Rubio is now demanding would bring its value close to zero. If that's the case, the Democrats' strategy is pretty easy. They need to hold firm to the Gang of Eight deal and dare Rubio to vote against a bill he has publicly championed.
Is Marco Rubio’s support absolutely necessary for this bill to pass in the US Senate? No it’s not. Should he fail to support his own bill, his presidential prospects will certainly be diminished.

Senator Rubio is an idiot, and he’s mocking the Senate, and the American people, and obviously has no interest at all in immigration reform. He’s like the “Emperor with No Clothes,” and from where I sit the view isn’t pretty.

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The Night Gay Marriage Died

2013-06-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

I heard my mama cry

I heard her pray the night gay marriage died

Brother what a night it really was

Brother what a fight it really was, glory be

Springfield, Illinois ---Amid excitement and fanfare on Memorial Day, Illinois Representative Greg Harris (D-Chicago) predicted that by the end of the week, the gay marriage legislation that passed in the state Senate on Valentine’s Day, would pass in the House. It was going to be a historic week.

Chicago Tribune reporters Monique Garcia, Rex W. Huppke and Cynthia Dizikes describe the excitement in the state:

For Illinois' gay marriage proponents, it was supposed to be a historic week culminating in a collective "I do" from Springfield lawmakers.

Thousands tuned in to social media and live streams throughout the day Friday, sending tweets and other messages of hope as they waited for the Illinois House to call a vote on the legalization of gay marriage. Gay couples who had traveled to the state Capitol were invited to view the action from the speaker's gallery. And during breaks, families paused to snap smiling pictures with sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago.

But as the hours wore on, the optimism and energy dissolved in the face of strong opposition from Catholic and conservative African-American church groups, leading Harris to rise on the floor and tearfully announce that he would not call the bill — there wasn't enough support after all.

His speech was greeted by the angry shouts of dozens of supporters who had been waiting all day to watch the history-making event.

"It felt like someone knocked me to the floor," said Robyne O'Mara, who has been in a same-sex relationship for the past three decades and took off work Friday to be at the Capitol. "They failed us."
Writing for The New Yorker, Richard Socarides weighed in:

Proponents of the bill reacted with shock, quickly followed by anger and some finger-pointing. Marc Solomon, the campaign director of the national-rights group Freedom to Marry, called the situation a “disgrace.” Jim Bennett, of Lambda Legal, which is suing in Illinois over same-sex marriage, called it “a stunning failure.” There has been a standing debate among advocates about whether, in cases like this, it is best to go ahead with a vote even if it is likely that it will fail: doing so has the advantage of putting lawmakers on the record, but it may give opponents a symbolic victory. In the end, Harris decided that a loss would be worse.

All of this proves how difficult passing same-sex marriage legislation continues to be in many places, and how patience and determination have proven to be the only strategies to consistently deliver results for marriage advocates. Many states with same-sex marriage laws now in place, like New York, went through unsuccessful legislative efforts first. The situation in Illinois is the same one that New York faced: in 2009, the New York legislature rejected a bill; it finally passed in June of 2011. The failure in Illinois is a reminder of just how hard fought the New York moment was.
Rep. Harris tearfully said "I have to keep my eye, as we all must, on the ultimate prize. We will be back and we will be voting on this bill during legislature, in this room."

The deadline for the bill’s passage was May 31st, 2013. House Speaker Michael Madigan extended the deadline to August 31, 2013, so there’s still a remote possibility that the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act could pass before summer’s end.

Then again, the US Supreme Court’s decision is just a few weeks away, and how they will rule is still anybody’s guess.

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TV Talk: WGA Names Best 101 Written TV Shows

2013-06-04T02:59:00.000-07:00

The Writers Guild of America (WGA), consisting of Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West - is the labor union that represents writers in television and film.

The WGA conducted a poll, and asked their members to decide the best written shows on television, past and present, and they’ve come up with a list of what their writers feel are the best 101 television series that have aired to date.

The Sopranos took the top spot, followed by Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All In The Family, M*A*S*H, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

I agree with their list for the most part, though I would rate Curb Your Enthusiasm higher, Absolutely Fabulous higher, Louie much much higher (one of the best shows on TV), Late Night with David Letterman higher, and Downton Abbey higher.

What do you think?

The complete list can be found below, after the break.

1. The Sopranos

Created by David Chase

2. Seinfeld

Created by Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

3. The Twilight Zone (1959)

Season One writers: Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson,

Robert Presnell, Jr., Rod Serling

4. All in the Family

Developed for Television by Norman Lear, Based on Till Death

Do Us Part, Created by Johnny Speight

5. M*A*S*H

Developed for Television by Larry Gelbart

6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns

7. Mad Men

Created by Matthew Weiner

8. Cheers

Created by Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows

9. The Wire

Created by David Simon

10. The West Wing

Created by Aaron Sorkin

11. The Simpsons

Created by Matt Groening, Developed by James L. Brooks

and Matt Groening and Sam Simon

12. I Love Lucy

“Pilot,” Written by Jess Oppenheimer & Madelyn Pugh &

Bob Carroll, Jr.

13. Breaking Bad

Created by Vince Gilligan

14. The Dick Van Dyke Show

Created by Carl Reiner

15. Hill Street Blues

Created by Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco

16. Arrested Development

Created by Mitchell Hurwitz

17. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Created by Madeleine Smithberg, Lizz Winstead; Season

One – Head Writer: Chris Kreski; Writers: Jim Earl, Daniel J. Goor,

Charles Grandy, J.R. Havlan, Tom Johnson, Kent Jones,

Paul Mercurio, Guy Nicolucci, Steve Rosenfield, Jon Stewart

18. Six Feet Under

Created by Alan Ball

19. Taxi

Created by James L. Brooks and Stan Daniels and David Davis

and Ed Weinberger

20. The Larry Sanders Show

Created by Garry Shandling & Dennis Klein

21. 30 Rock

Created by Tina Fey

22. Friday Night Lights

Developed for Television by Peter Berg, Inspired by the Book by

H.G. Bissinger

23. Frasier

Created by David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee, Based

on the Character “Frasier Crane” Created by Glen Charles &

Les Charles

24. Friends

Created by Marta Kauffman & David Crane

25. Saturday Night Live

Season One: Writing Supervised by Walter Kempley,

Harry Shearer; Written by: Ann Beatts, Chevy Chase, Tom Davis,

Al Franken, Rosie Michaels, Garrett Morris, Michael O’Donoghue,

Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Alan Zweibel

26. The X-Files

Created by Chris Carter

27. Lost

Created by Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof

28. ER

Created Michael Crichton

29. The Cosby Show

Created by Ed Weinberger & Michael Leeson and

William Cosby, Jr., Ed. D.

30. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Created by Larry David

31. The Honeymooners

Season One writers: Herbert Finn, Marvin Marx, A.J. Russell,

Leonard Stern, Walter Stone, Sydney Zelinka

32. Deadwood

Created by David Milch

33. Star Trek

Created by Gene Roddenberry

34. Modern Family

Created by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd

35. Twin Peaks

“Pilot,” Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch

36. NYPD Blue

Created by David Milch & Steven Bochco

37. The Carol Burnett Show

Season One: Written by Bill Angelos, Stan Burns, Don Hinkley,

Buz Kohan, Mike Marmer, Gail Parent, Kenny Solms,

Saul Turtletaub; Writing Supervised by Arnie Rosen

38. Battlestar Galactica (2005)

Developed by Ronald D. Moore, Based on the Series Battlestar

Galactica Created by Glen A. Larson

39. Sex & the City

Created by Darren Star, Based on the Book by Candace Bushnell

40. Game of Thrones

Created by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, Based on A Song of Ice

and Fire by George R. R. Martin

41. The Bob Newhart Show

Created by David Davis and Lorenzo Music

Your Show of Shows

Season One: Written by Mel Tolkin, Lucille Kallen, Max Liebman

43. Downton Abbey

Created by Julian Fellowes

Law & Order

Created by Dick Wolf

thirtysomething

Created by Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick

46. Homicide: Life on the Street

Created by Paul Attanasio, Based on the Book Homicide: A Year

on the Killing Streets by David Simon

St. Elsewhere

Created by Joshua Brand & John Falsey, Developed by

Mark Tinker / John Masius

48. Homeland

Developed by Howard Gordon & Alex Gansa, Based on the

Original Israeli Series Prisoners of War by Gideon Raff

49. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Created by Joss Whedon

50. The Colbert Report

Season One writers: Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Eric Drysdale,

Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Laura Krafft, Allison Silverman

The Good Wife

Created by Robert King & Michelle King

The Office (UK)

Created by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant

53. Northern Exposure

Created by Joshua Brand & John Falsey

54. The Wonder Years

Created by Neal Marlens & Carol Black

55. L.A. Law

Created by Steven Bochco & Terry Louise Fisher

56. Sesame Street

Created by Joan Ganz Cooney

57. Columbo

Created by Richard Levinson & William Link

58. Fawlty Towers

Written by John Cleese & Connie Booth

The Rockford Files

Created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell

60. Freaks and GeekS

Created by Paul Feig

Moonlighting

Created by Glenn Gordon Caron

62. Roots

Written by William Blinn, M. Charles Cohen, Ernest Kinoy,

James Lee; Based on the Book by Alex Haley

63. Everybody Loves Raymond

Created by Philip Rosenthal

South Park

Created by Matt Stone & Trey Parker

65. Playhouse 90

Season One writers: Edna Anhalt, Edmund Beloin,

Harold Jack Bloom, Marc Brandel, George Bruce,

James P. Cavanagh, Whitfiled Cook, Helen Doss,

Scott Fitzgerald, Devery Freeman, Frank D. Gilroy, Helen Howe,

Speed Lamkin, Ernest Lehman, Herbert Little, Jr.,

Don Mankiewicz, Elick Moll, Paul Monash, Dean Reisner,

Norman Retchin, Selma Robinson, William Sackheim,

Rod Serling, Leonard Spigelgass, Leslie Stevens,

Brandon Thomas, David Victor, Charles M. Warren, Hagar Wilde,

Cornell Woolrich

66. Dexter

Developed for Television by James Manos, Jr., Based on the

Novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

The Office (US)

Created by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant, Developed by

Greg Daniels, Based on the BBC Series The Office

68. My So-Called Life

Created by Winnie Holzman

69. The Golden Girls

Created by Susan Harris

70. The Andy Griffith Show

Episode 1, “The New Housekeeper,” Written by Jack Elinson and

Charles Stewart

71. 24

Created by Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran

Roseanne

Created by Matt Williams, Based on a Character Created by

Roseanne Barr

The Shield

Created by Shawn Ryan

74. House

Created by David Shore

Murphy Brown

Created by Diane English

76. Barney Miller

Created by Danny Arnold & Theodore J. Flicker

I, Claudius

Written by Rupert Graves and Jack Pulman

78. The Odd Couple

Episode 1, “The Fight of the Felix,” Written by Peggy Elliott &

Ed Scharlach

79. Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Season One writers - Gwen Bagni, Samuel Blas, Robert Blees,

Ray Bradbury, Richard Carr, James Cavanagh, Eustace Cockrell,

Francis Cockrell, Marian Cockrell, John Collier, Robert C. Dennis,

Mel Dinelli, Stanley Ellin, Fred Freiberger, Irwin Gielgud,

Gina Kaus, Terence Maples, Richard Pedicini, Louis Pollock,

Joseph Ruscoll, A.J. Russell, Stirling Silliphant, Andrew Solt,

Harold Swanton, Victor Wolfson, Cornell Woolrich

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Conceived and Written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese,

Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Neil Innes, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Created by Gene Roddenberry

Upstairs, Downstairs

Created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins

83. Get Smart

“Pilot,” Written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry

84. The Defenders

Created by Reginald Rose

Gunsmoke

Episode 1, “Matt Gets It,” Written by Charles Marquis Warren &

John Meston

86. Justified

Developed for Television by Graham Yost, Based on the Short

Story “Fire in the Hole” by Elmore Leonard

Sgt. Bilko (The Phil Silvers Show)

Created by Nat Hiken

88. Band of Brothers

Written by Erik Bork, E. Max Frye, Tom Hanks, Erik Jendresen,

Bruce C. McKenna, John Orloff, Graham Yost; Based on the Book

by Stephan E. Ambrose

89. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In

Season One: Written by Chris Beard, Phil Hahn, John Hanrahan,

Coslough Johnson, Paul Keyes, Marc London, Allan Manings,

David Panich, Hugh Wedlock, Digby Wolfe

90. The Prisoner

Premiere Episode: Written by George Markstein and

David Tomblin

91. Absolutely Fabulous (UK)

Episode 1, “Fashion,” Written by Jennifer Saunders, Based on

an Original Idea by Jennifer Saunders & Dawn French

The Muppet Show

Season One: Written by Jack Burns, Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl,

Marc London

93. Boardwalk Empire

Created by Terence Winter, Based on the Book Boardwalk

Empire by Nelson Johnson

94. Will & Grace

Created by David Kohan & Max Mutchnick

95. Family Ties

Created by Gary David Goldberg

96. Lonesome Dove

Teleplay by Bill Wittliff, Based on the Novel Lonesome Dove by

Larry McMurtry

Soap

Created by Susan Harris

98. The Fugitive

Episode 1, “Where the Action Is,” Written by Harry Kronman

Late Night with David Letterman

Season One: Writing Supervised by Merrill Markoe,

Writers: Andy Breckman, Tom Gammill, David Letterman,

Richard Morris, Gerard Mulligan, Max Pross, Karl Tiedemann,

Steve Winer

Louie

Season One: Written and Directed by Louis C.K.

101. Oz

Created by Tom Fontana

Voted by the members of the Writers Guild of America, West and Writers Guild of America, East

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As We Murder Our Environment, The Silence From Congress Is Deafening

2013-06-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hurricanes,Tornadoes, and Floods, Oh Why!

There were at least 5 tornadoes that touched down in the Oklahoma City area on Friday, and the death toll currently stands at 9 people. Just 12 days ago 24 people were killed in a devastating tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service reported that the strongest twister was categorized as an EF-3 just south of El Reno, Oklahoma.

These devastating weather events exact a toll far beyond the reported death toll. There’s grapefruit sized hail, thunderstorms that cause widespread flooding, with homes and businesses damaged and destroyed, and interstate highways littered with twisted cars and flipped trucks.

My heart, my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by these storms.

There are times that I think, why do people continue to live in an environment where there’s a high probability that these weather events will continue? It’s not easy to just pick up and move. People want to live near their family, or stay close to their roots. I live in an area that’s prone to earthquakes, and I can understand why people want to live where they’ve established their lives.

These horrific storms are a recent phenomenon, and as these tornadoes and hurricanes become more common, and global warming continues to increase the surface sea temperature, we will see the direct effect on atmospheric moisture, which fuels tornadoes and causes severe storms.

Whether people want to attribute climate change and global warming on man-made factors or not, we have to acknowledge that our dependence on fossil fuels is destroying our environment.

The mantra “drill baby, drill” made famous during the 2008 presidential campaign is one of the most ignorant and harmful political phrases in recent times.

We live in a nation that is home to the best and brightest research scientists in the world, and I find it baffling that we haven’t found alternative sources of energy that won’t destroy our environment, to fulfill our energy needs.

When you consider that the United States spends more money on our military than the next 13 countries combined, I can’t help but question our priorities. What good is defending a nation that will crumble under the weight of climate change?

In March of 2012, during the heat of the 2012 presidential primaries, there were deadly tornadoes in the midwest, and I wrote:

When you think about the severe weather and tornadoes that have devastated the mid-section of our country over the past few years, with all of those vibrant lives lost, is it worth sacrificing more lives just for a small amount of oil?

When you see the devastation and destruction, and you know that climate change has a direct impact on our lives and these weather systems, do you say drill baby drill? If you do - you need your head examined.

When you know there's a link between all of these factors, and the dumb politicians keep saying drill baby drill (some of them with stock in oil companies) because it's good for them but not the people, isn't it time to send a message to the Republicans and these alleged smart men - and vote to send them home to play golf and spend more time with their wives and mistresses.

Now you can act to do what's best for you and your family. And drilling isn't it. This is pure common sense!
Over a year has gone by, and we’re nowhere closer to finding a viable alternative to our dependence on fossil fuels. From Hurricane Sandy to these tornadoes, how much more devastation do we have to see before our nation’s leaders wake up.

We’ve got to end our reliance on oil, and find an alternative fuel source that does less damage to the environment, and we’ve got to do it NOW.

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Happy LGBT Pride Month!

2013-06-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

There was a march organized by civil rights organizations, religious groups, and labor unions, in August of 1963, and it was billed as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. More than a quarter of a million people descended on Washington, D.C., in one of the biggest political rallies our nation’s capitol has ever seen. The participants were there to demand equality, and called for the same civil rights, and economic rights, that the caucasian majority took for granted.

On that hot and muggy summer day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and made his most famous speech “I Have A Dream.” He challenged the status quo, and the American people, with his soaring oratory. I remember being in a high school history class, when we were studying the civil rights movement, and our history teacher played a recording of the speech in class, when I heard it for the first time. The sentence that resonated with me most, and that I still think about today is this one:

I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Do people know that lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans want the same thing? What we do in our bedrooms isn’t anyone’s business, and we shouldn’t be judged because of who or how we love. We want to be judged by the content of our character, and we want the same opportunity to fulfill our own American dreams, that everyone else enjoys.

Our government oppresses us, and it’s shocking that they fail to recognize how we are oppressed. While gay couples can now be legally wed in 12 states, and there are 38 states where gay marriage is disallowed.

The federal government doesn’t recognize our relationships, but they collect our taxes. The federal government gives straight married couples 1,138 benefits, when gay married couples receive zero.

In 1974 there was a bill introduced in Congress called The Equality Act, which would have added sexual orientation as a protected class, covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil RIghts Act prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodation, and the legislation went nowhere.

In 1994, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was introduced in Congress, and has been introduced every legislative session since (with the exception of 2005-2006). The legislation passed in the House in 2007, without a provision for gender identity, and died in the Senate. There’s been no movement on the legislation since then.

Why is this legislation important? Because in in 29 states, there’s no state law protecting lesbian, gay or bisexual people from being fired just because of who we are, and the same is true in 34 states for transgender people.

LGBT people regularly experience discrimination, and verbal and physical assaults, because of our sexual orientation. We experience a high incidence of being victims of bullying as adolescents, and experience employment discrimination as adults.

Changing our laws won’t impact our culture immediately, but it will inspire those who are bullied and discriminated against, to stand a little taller, and smile a little wider, with the confidence that they too can pursue their dreams.

We’re taught in grammar school that everyone is created equal, and yet we learn as we grow up, that we’ve been sold a bill of goods. It’s a noble idea that we continue to fight for, because equality remains an elusive dream for many.

Today is June 1st, 2013 and marks the first day of lesbian, gay, bisexual. and transgender pride month.

Many people outside of the LGBT community wonder why we bother. Some people mock us, and say they’re celebrating heterosexual pride, or straight pride, which is insulting. When someone promotes “straight pride” it’s akin to endorsing “white pride.” Straight people haven’t been systematically denied their rights, or been murdered, beaten, persecuted, or harmed, because of their sexuality. Gay people experience that every day.

In President Obama’s proclamation declaring June 2012 as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month, he wrote:

Let us pay tribute to those who came before us, and those who continue their work today; and let us rededicate ourselves to a task that is unending ‑‑ the pursuit of a Nation where all are equal, and all have the full and unfettered opportunity to pursue happiness and live openly and freely.

We want to be treated equally, and we want to live openly and freely. We want to be able to work, and we want to be happy. Is that unrealistic? Is that too much to ask or expect of our families, friends and neighbors? Is that a concept that some religious leaders, and politicians, don’t understand or want to comprehend?

We celebrate pride for us, because it’s an opportunity for us to celebrate who we are, and who we love. We have a huge party for our community, and for our self-selected LGBT families, without fear, because we’re with our tribe.

We celebrate with humor, and we celebrate with music and dance, and we honor the memory of those who came before us, and we wildly applaud our friends and family and the wonderful people who march in the parades. Our visibility is important, because we have a responsibility to teach and inspire others, especially those who are just discovering who they are.

We celebrate proudly, and we exude love and pride, despite the fact that our nation is filled with haters. We don’t allow that negative energy to detract or diminish the love we have for each other, because our capacity to love lasts forever.

At the end of the day it's all about the freedom to love, and who can argue with that?

Happy lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month!

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Democratic Senators Tell Gay Community You Can Wait For Equality

2013-05-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

A bipartisan bill called the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) was introduced in the US Senate by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). The intent of the legislation is to address the disparity in the immigration policy of the United States. Current law excludes binational gay couples from obtaining lawful permanent resident status, in the same way that current law allows binational straight married couples a pathway to a green card and citizenship.

The LGBT community was given assurances by Senator Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), that the bill would be attached as an amendment to the immigration reform legislation currently being debated in Congress.

When it was time for the committee to vote whether to release the bill to the full Senate, crybaby Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told his Senate colleagues that if they included UAFA in the legislation, that he would sink the measure.

As Senator Schumer backed out of his commitment to gay binational couples, he said “I’m a politician. That means I have chosen my life’s work in the constraints of the system to accomplish as much good as I can. I accept the tough choices, the painful but necessary imperfection of compromise, which is a part of our system of government.”

As Chris Geidner explains at BuzzFeed, the Democrats on the committee abandoned the LGBT community and the principals of equality with their vote.

A little more than a month ago, marriage equality was the talk of Capitol Hill. Politicians, in Chief Justice John Roberts’ words, were “falling over themselves” to support same-sex couples’ marriage rights.

The current limits to that support were made apparent by 7 p.m. Tuesday, when Leahy withdrew his amendment to the pending immigration bill that would have allowed married same-sex couples to be treated the same as married opposite-sex couples for immigration purposes.

Leahy introduced the bill just a half-hour earlier, but then, as Immigration Equality executive director Rachel Tiven told BuzzFeed, “I was shocked — and I suspect he was too — that not a single member of that committee joined him in saying, ‘These are immigrant families, too. I care about these families.’”

Leahy received expected opposition from Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake to the provision, but the introduction also was opposed by four Democratic senators — Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer and Al Franken.

Senator Schumer tried to explain his rationale for excluding binational gay couples from the bill on his Facebook page. Senator Schumer writes:

The bottom line is that in the political reality in which we operate, the Senate and more broadly, the U.S. Congress, those who disagree with me have more than enough power to prevent passage, either as a stand-alone bill or as part of the immigration bill. And if we added it to S.744 in committee, they would have walked away and the bill would have failed.

They have said it publicly, they have told me privately, and I believe them. The result: no equality, no immigration bill. Everyone loses. What can be accomplished via this comprehensive bill for 11 million people in the shadows, for the security and prosperity of our nation is too vital, too rare to let fail. I know that this provides little comfort. But I want you supporters of this amendment to know, I will be here and ready to work with you to advance the cause of legal equality. This is far from the last battle.
What the Senators are trying to say is --- if you’re a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender American, you’ve been waiting all your life to be treated equally in the eyes of your government, and the law. If you have to wait longer, what difference does it make, you’re used to waiting.

For every law that’s passed that sends a message that tax-paying LGBT citizens are second class, and unworthy of equal treatment under the law, we will see more gay kids being bullied, more gay kids harming themselves, and children and adults being hurt and harmed by discrimination and violence. In my view that’s wrong.

It feels as though the Senators who expressed support for binational couples in the past, are extending their middle finger to the gay community after we’ve given them unequivocal support.

Writing for Reuters, Rachelle Younglai reports:

Some disappointed activists say they are yanking their support for the Democratic Party after Senate Democrats opposed a proposal in an immigration bill that would have allowed citizens to bring their foreign-born, same-sex spouses to the United States.

Jonathan Lewis, a Miami philanthropist who donated more than $35,000 in 2012, has stopped giving and is urging others to do the same until President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats stop breaking promises to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

"Now is the time to stop investing in Democratic cowardice and stand proud by withholding donations until we see our friends' actions and deeds align with their rhetoric," Lewis said in an email to Reuters.

"Pretty words about fairness and equality under the law from the president and Democrats in Congress do not absolve them from their moral duty to act," he said.
I applaud Jonathan Lewis, and thank him for expressing exactly how I feel. We need to make our feelings known in Washington, and demand that we be included in this bill.

Haven’t we all waited long enough? The time for equality is now.

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Right-Wing Wackadoo Is Crying About These Liberal Musicians

2013-05-31T02:59:00.001-07:00

An obscure blogger at the right-wing extremist website Townhall.com, has created a blacklist of 10 musicians that he claims are too liberal. The blogger, John Hawkins, thinks that Republicans grouse too much about “liberals boycotting the advertisers on conservatives’ shows and not enough time doing the same thing to the Left.”

The ten lucky musicians are Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Bruce Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks, Kanye West, Madonna, Moby, Psy, Sheryl Crow, and Rage Against the Machine. Do you think any of them are scared! Is this career suicide?

I have to admit that out of the 10 artists on the “conservative blacklist,” my large music collection contains albums recorded by 9 out of the 10 musicians (sorry Psy - I’m not a fan), that I’ve bought in the past.

Hawkins says that right-wingers should not go to a movie if the star is an advocate of gay marriage, or they’re pro-choice. He also thinks that the extremists should avoid patronizing businesses with a CEO that embraces “liberalism” by supporting marriage equality.

The blogger writes:

When it comes to musicians who attack conservatives, Christians, Republicans, America -- or alternately, embrace the Left, don't give them your money. Don't buy their albums or their T-shirts and don’t go to their shows. Even if you do like their music, don't pay for it and don't talk it up publicly. Fans are oxygen for these people -- starve them of it and let other musicians start to worry about the reaction if they go after us.

Because the musicians have gotten away with doing fundraisers for the Democrats, trashing us without paying a price and generally crapping all over everything we believe in while they trumpet liberalism to the skies, it would take an entire website to catalogue everyone who deserves to be on this list, but here are 10 to start with. It's a free country and these musicians can say what they want, but consumers can also spend their money where they want, too. Let some of these musicians start to see the impact of trashing us on their bottom lines and you will be surprised at how fast attitudes will begin to change.
Musicians have “gotten away” with performing at fundraisers for Democratic causes, and the right-wing extremist “conduct monitors” must have been sleeping.

He cites one of my favorite statements from the awesome band Rage Against The Machine, to justify their inclusion on his Nixon era enemies list.

"Don't mistake me, I clearly see that (Paul) Ryan has a whole lotta "rage" in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment. Basically the only thing he's not raging against is the privileged elite he's groveling in front of for campaign contributions." --

Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine after Paul Ryan said he was a fan of their band

Tom Morello spoke the absolute truth, and right-wingers have a problem with that.

The obscure blogger is clearly obsessed with “liberals,” and over the past three months, the titles of his blog posts reflect his disdain. Here are some actual titles that sound like they were written by a Bachmann speech writer, “25 Examples of Liberal Racism in Quotes,” “ 5 Types Of Liberals Who Need Sensitivity Training,” “ 20 Questions Liberals Can't Answer,” “ 20 Nasty, Weird and Sexist Liberal Cracks About Women,” “ The 7 Most Despicable Ways Liberals Have Attacked Sarah Palin,” “ 25 Reasons To Dislike Liberals,” and “ 7 Liberal Fascists Who Are Fine With Using the IRS to Target Political Enemies.”

In a blog post that’s entitled “7 Reasons Marriage Is Falling Apart in America,” he actually attributes one reason for the decline to “Increased Economic Options For Women” (that’s reason number 5). Get out the worry beads, ‘cause women are doing better than they did in the 1700’s.

And the Republican party wonders why women, people of color, Hispanics, and the LGBT community don’t support them?

We better be careful, because so many of us have gotten away with being human, and having empathy and compassion for our fellow citizens. That’s clearly a no no in the right-wing extremist “conduct monitor” police force handbook.

I wonder what else we can get away with?

VIA: The Advocate

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ExxonMobil Doesn't Want Gay LGBT Business

2013-05-31T02:59:00.000-07:00

Freedom to Work filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights that claims the oil giant ExxonMobil, discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, in its hiring practices, which violates the state’s laws

Freedom to Work is an organization committed to banning workplace harassment and career discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender Americans through public education, policy analysis, and legal work.

The complaint was filed on the heels of ExxonMobil’s shareholder vote to reject non-discrimination employment protections for LGBT employees, for the 14th time, at their annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Exxon Mobil spokesman Charles Engelmann told The New York Times that “ExxonMobil’s global policies and processes prohibit all forms of discrimination, including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in any company workplace, anywhere in the world. In fact, our policies go well beyond the law and prohibit any form of discrimination.”

Their record tells a different story. Writing for the Washington Blade, Chris Johnson reports:

The case, Freedom to Work v. ExxonMobil Corp., is novel because the employment discrimination alleged is the result of resume audit testing. Under the strategy, fictitious resumes are sent for the same job opening in an attempt to reveal a candidate belonging to a minority group is unable to land a position.

In the test for anti-LGBT bias at Exxon Mobil — which has no non-discrimination policy protecting LGBT workers and has long been criticized by LGBT groups for alleged discrimination in hiring — Freedom to Work sent two applications in December from applicants for an administrative assistant position in Pataka, Ill.

One resume, written for “Jennifer Priston,” demonstrated a candidate who was well-qualified for the position, but outed her as LGBT because she had volunteer experience working for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. The other resume, written for “Michelle Caland” was less qualified in terms of work experience and education, but offered no indication she was LGBT.Even though Caland was less qualified, she received multiple call backs in response to her application.

The result of the testing uncovering apparent anti-gay basis is consistent with a 2011 study at Harvard University that found LGBT applicants were 40 percent less likely to be granted an interview than a straight applicant.
It’s obvious that ExxonMobil has no interest in the support of the LGBT community, and NO ONE should buy any products from Exxon Mobil.

There should be a nationwide boycott of all ExxonMobil products immediately.

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Youth Equality Act Clears First Legislative Hurdle

2013-05-31T02:58:00.000-07:00

California state Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach) and Equality California partnered to introduce the Youth Equality Act (SB 323), and it passed in the Senate by a vote of 27-9. This is the first LGBT civil rights legislation to pass with a two thirds majority in the California state legislature

This senate bill eliminates the tax exemption for sales and use taxes, and also corporate taxes, for any non-profit organization that violates California’s non-discrimination laws.

Karen Ocamb of Frontiers L.A. writes:

"While the Boy Scouts of America took a step in the right direction to include LGBT youth, the standing ban on LGBT adults is premised on absurd assumptions and stereotypes that perpetuate homophobia and ignorance,” Lara said in a press release, paraphrasing his speech on the Senate floor. “Equality doesn’t come with an expiration date and we shouldn’t allow discrimination to be subsidized; not in our state, not on our dime.”

“Teaching discrimination against LGBT people can never be in the public interest, and the time to end it is now,” said John O’Connor, EQCA executive director, in a press release. “This is a historic milestone in California history - it is the first time one of the state’s legislative chambers has voted in favor of an LGBT piece of legislation with a two-thirds majority.”

This bill now moves to the state Assembly for consideration.

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Our Nation's Most Anti-Gay Politician Says "I Quit"

2013-05-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

Representative Michele ‘Bozo’ Bachmann (R-MN), one of the nation’s best known homophobes, surprised the political establishment today when she announced she will not seek reelection to the House in 2014. Bachmann sought the Republican nomination for President in 2012, in a very crowded field, and finished in last place.

Bachmann is under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics for allegedly misusing campaign funds, and the Federal Election Commission and the FBI is investigating her Presidential campaign committee.

"Be assured, my decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected to Congress. And rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff," Bachmann said.

Writing for the Atlantic Wire, Alexander Abad-Santos described how Bachmann’s star was fading.

The firebrand 57-year-old tax attorney's staunch pro-life, anti-gay, anti-Obamacare, and generally anti-government positions made her a Tea Party darling who won the Iowa Straw poll in a vacillating 2012 Republican presidential primary field. But after dropping out of that race last January and winning re-election to her seat, she became ensnarled in an investigation into her campaign finances that the FBI is now joining. And as Politico's Alex Isenstadt explained just yesterday, Democrat Jim Graves, who lost to Bachmann by just 1.18 percentage points in November and had major backing from his party, posed "the gravest threat to her political career yet" in 2014.

The chairman of the House Tea Party Caucus has accomplished very little in her 4 terms in Congress, and has never authored a bill that was signed into law.

Quite frankly, I’m going to miss having Bozo in Congress, because she’s such a polarizing figure in Washington, and she gives us so much material to have fun with.

She will still be a member of Congress for the next year and a half, so I imagine that you will read about her again in this space, before she officially says adieu.

RIP Bozo

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Michael Kinsley Claims Anti-Gay Bigots Aren't Monsters. I Say Bullshit!

2013-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

In a column for The New Republic, Michael Kinsley wrote an opinion piece that’s entitled “Being against marriage equality doesn’t make you a monster,” and I disagree with him wholeheartedly.

Kinsley makes excuses for the anti-gay forces who don’t support gay marriage, and defends the conservative Republican Dr. Ben Carson. Carson was supposed to speak at Johns Hopkins University’s graduation ceremony, and stepped down after his controversial anti-gay remarks created a firestorm.

On Fox News, Carson said "Marriage is between a man and a woman. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality -- it doesn't matter what they are. They don't get to change the definition."

Being the cheeky chap that I am, I sent Michael Kinsley an email to register my outrage.

Gawker’s Tom Scocca wrote about Kinsley’s column, and took Kinsley to task too.

Tom wrote:

Last week, peripatetic contrarian-liberal editor-pundit Michael Kinsley used his newish column in his old magazine, the New Republic, to complain about the closed-mindedness and intolerance that supporters of gay marriage have displaying toward their opponents.

Michael Kinsley is not against gay marriage, personally. He invented gay marriage, as he tells it, with the help of Andrew Sullivan.

The occasion for Kinsley's distress was the news that Dr. Ben Carson, the head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, would not be delivering the commencement address at the Hopkins School of Medicine.

Oh, but, look: It's next Tuesday now. What has happened since Kinsley made his case on behalf of the people who aren't yet ready to accept gay people as equal? Over the weekend, Mark Carson, a gay man, was fatally shot in the face in New York City, apparently murdered by someone who was offended by seeing him walking out in public with a man. Two more gay-bashing attacks reportedly happened in New York last night. Overseas, Georgian Orthodox priests led a rock-throwing mob against a gay-rights march. And the most pressing gay-rights issue is whether people are being too easily offended by homophobia? Hey, Michael Kinsley: Shut the fuck up.

This is my email to Michael Kinsley in full:

May 28, 2013

Dear Mr. Kinsley:

I hope this email finds you well. I have long admired your work, both in print and on Crossfire.

I read your recent column entitled “Being against marriage equality doesn’t make you a monster.” I agree that opposition to marriage equality in itself, doesn’t mean that someone is a monster. I do think that an individual who opposes same-sex marriage is biased, and without any rational reason to oppose gay marriage, they must be characterized as the homophobic bigot that they are.

By all accounts, Dr. Ben Carson is a brilliant neurosurgeon. By all accounts, Dr. Ben Carson equates homosexuality with bestiality and being a pedophile (NAMBLA), and I would call him a monster.

Dr. Carson’s apology and alleged support of civil unions doesn’t negate how he characterized the LGBT community. He apologized for his choice of words, but NOT for his position. Supporting civil unions doesn’t get him off the hook either. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in March, it’s “skim milk marriage,” and it’s an argument that promotes a “separate but equal” point of view --- and anything short of full equality is completely unacceptable.

Your assertion that the Johns Hopkins University dean failed to defend the “core value” that is tolerance is preposterous. Most Americans are very tolerant of divergent views, whether it’s religion or politics, or our favorite sports teams, or different cultures. We are taught to respect others, and are encouraged to be tolerant, both at home and school.

To suggest that Johns Hopkins University should be tolerant toward Dr. Ben Carson’s views of homosexuality, when he made his remarks on national television, as a Johns Hopkins medical doctor, denigrates his profession and the university. Carson didn’t support his point of view with medical facts or scientific evidence, he used lies and scare tactics that are usually the preserve of the monsters that comprise the organized opposition to gay marriage.

You suggest that because Dr. Carson “fixes children’s brains” that he should be given a break. Then you write “All he did was say on television that he opposes same-sex marriage.” Yes he said he opposes same-sex marriage, and he equated the gay community with bestaility and child molesters. Do you have any idea what effect that kind of rhetoric has on children? Do you know what harm that causes to LGBT kids around the country? Can you imagine what a parent might think when they hear a distinguished surgeon make those assertions?

In our free speech society, there’s anti-gay rhetoric everywhere. The intolerance reflected in the anti-gay hate speech that’s infected our churches, our news, and political rhetoric, adversely affects our society, and especially our children.

We hear about a rash of adolescent suicides, and a bullying epidemic in our culture. There are social scientists and medical professionals who have researched these problems, and there is a correlation between anti-gay hate speech and the mental health of adolescent LGBT kids.

With an inordinate amount of adolescent children who harm themselves, and in some cases, take their own lives, your suggestion that we should tolerate remarks like Dr. Carson’s is outrageous. How can you tell us to tolerate the incendiary propaganda and lies, when they have such a grave effect on so many people?

You can think that Dr. Ben Carson’s remarks were silly, while I find them reprehensible. When the next gay kid commits suicide, talk to their parents and explain that Dr. Carson’s rhetoric was silly. When a parent finds out that their child is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender teen, and they throw their kid out of the house, I’d like to hear you tell the homeless kid that what Dr. Carson said was harmless.

If I didn’t know any better Mr. Kinsley, I might mistake you for being a monster.

Sincerely,

Roy Steele

PS: The origins of gay marriage began in 1967.

Congress: Republican Intellect Is In Short Supply

2013-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jive 5: Five news stories people are talking about today.

Tuesday Topics: gay marriage, the no vacation nation, a Republican reality television personality with presidential ambitions, the GOP’s Ron Paul has internet ambitions, a Republican critter named Vitter is a bitter pill with no ambitions.

1. Is gay marriage coming to Illinois?

Illinois state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) is the chief sponsor of legislation to legalize gay marriage, and he told the Windy City Times that the state House will vote on the "Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act," this week.

Kate Sosin spoke with Rep. Harris last week, and reports:

"When I put it up on the board, it's going to go up to win," Harris said, adding that he would "absolutely" call for a vote on the measure before spring session ends May 31.

"This issue is at the front and center of virtually every conversation going on in Springfield," Harris said.Harris declined to offer a specific date for the vote or a count on the roll call.

The bill needs 60 votes to pass the House. It has already cleared the Senate.

Marriage equality could be a reality in Illinois sometime this week. Or not.....

2. Are we the no vacation nation?

The nonpartisan Center for Economic Policy and Research has found that the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn’t mandate paid vacation days or paid time off/holiday pay.

Countries in the European Union mandate at least 20 days of paid vacation each year.

In Ezra Klein’s Wonkblog at The Washington Post, he wrote:

So among richer workers, almost all employers offer paid vacation and holidays, and quite a bit of it. Among poorer workers, less than half get paid vacation, and even when they do, their employers offer a lot less of it. This is one more way in which the poor often end up working much harder than the rich.

3. A Republican reality television personality has presidential ambitions.

The reality television personality, and Obama-skeptic leader of the birther movement, Donald Trump, has spent one million dollars on polling and research, as he ponders whether to run for president in 2016.

The New York Post spoke with Trump consigliere Michael Cohen, the executive vice president and special counsel to the Trump organization.

They commissioned the $1 million in research into Trump’s standing in each state, and to gauge those he would need to win over.

“The electoral research was commissioned. We did not spend $1 million on this research for it just to sit on my bookshelf,” Cohen said. “At this point Mr. Trump has not made any decision on a political run, but what I would say is that he is exactly what this country needs. The turnout at these political speeches indicates his following remains very strong and is growing.“
Please please please run! The Republican party is dying to have another candidate who fancies himself as a pompous and wealthy blowhard. That worked out real well for Romney now, didn’t it?

4. A Republican loses an intellectual property lawsuit --- which is more evidence that GOP intellect is in short supply.

Every candidate for a political office sets up a website to promote their campaign, and to solicit donations to their campaign organization.

Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) couldn’t register his given name when he was running for political office, because the website domain names ronpaul.com and ronpaul.org were bought by his supporters. They were set up as fansites for the perennial Republican presidential candidate, and the former Congressman’s supporters were tireless advocates for his campaigns.

They offered to to give the domain names to the candidate for free, and asked that they be compensated for the large mailing lists.

Rep. Paul didn’t want to pay for the mailing lists, so he filed a lawsuit with the World Intellectual Property Organization to commandeer the domain names away from his supporters.

Gawker’s Max Rivlin-Nadler writes:

Both of the domain name disputes were dismissed because Paul still took his supporters to court, even though they offered to give him the sites for free (they only requested compensation for their very sizable mailing lists).

Not only did Paul lose both domain name disputes, but he was also found guilty of "reverse domain name hijacking," which is essentially being found guilty of wasting the court's time.

5. The Louisiana Republican critter called Vitter is a bitter pill.

I’m not a fan of anti-gay Senator David Vitter (R-LA), because he’s a vile creature with the intelligence of a gnat, and hypocrisy is his middle name.

There’s a Salon.com article written by David Dayen entitled "David Vitter’s hypocritical, punitive, horrible new amendment”. It describes Vitter’s punitive proposal as “Senator's new measure denies food stamps for life to certain classes of ex-convicts (solicitation not included).” The reference to “solicitation not included” is a reference to Vitter’s taste for spicy hooker’s, and his implication in the “D.C. Madam” sex scandal.

Republicans in Congress believe that if you’re hungry you should starve to death. Willard Mitt Romney said 47% of the country are takers --- and takers don’t pay taxes and expect government to take care of them. In that spirit, the GOP wants to find any reason they can to deny hungry Americans the chance to feed from the government teat.

David Dayan’s analysis of Vitter’s amendment is excellent, and worth reading. David writes [emphasis my own]:

The amendment was clearly created as a wedge issue, a perennial Republican effort to get Democratic senators to vote for something that can get used against them later in attack ads. Tom Coburn is a master of this; during the healthcare bill he offered an amendment banning sex offenders from receiving health insurance benefits for Viagra.

Vitter presented the bill as prohibiting “convicted murderers, rapists, and pedophiles” from food stamp benefits. And in general those are the categories – murder, rape, aggravated sexual assault, domestic violence where sexual assault is involved, child molestation, and so on. No senator would vote to “give” violent offenders federal benefits, and in this case they didn’t have to. Rather than put the amendment up for a vote, the manager of the farm bill, Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow, merely accepted the amendment into the base bill. The amendment was agreed to by unanimous consent, which is to say that nobody objected to it on the floor. In reality, it’s unlikely that most senators even knew the amendment’s contents.

“Some people say these are unsavory crimes, and I agree,” said Bob Greenstein, founder and president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, one of the first to notice the amendment’s passage. “But there’s a broader principle here. Suppose you did something terrible when you were 19, and you were straight the rest of your life, you paid your debt to society, now you’re 82 and living in poverty, should you be stripped of food stamps? Is this the right thing to do?”

Is this the right thing to do? In a word --- NO.

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