The Mad Professah Lectures

CA-SEN: Boxer Has $4.6M Cash on Hand

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:48:00 +0000

California's junior United States Senator Barbara Boxer announced recently that she has nearly $5 million in cash on hand more than a year in advance of her 2010 re-election battle. Her only official announced Republican challenger is Chuck De Vore, although former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has made noises about challenging Boxer for the Senate seat. Fiorina is best known for being given a "golden parachute" of 21 million dollars to leave her job immediately plus another 21 million dollars in stock options and pension benefits.

One of Boxer's key strategies for fending off interested challengers has been to raise money early in the cycle. As of March 31, the Boxer campaign had $4.6 million on hand, to a paltry $350,000 raised by DeVore at press time.

Fiorina, if she runs, could potentially match Boxer financially from her own deep pockets. As for the governor, Schwarzenegger once had the star power to match Boxer's draw, but apparently he lacks the will following several years of bruising budget fights in Sacramento.

The polls are also leaning heavily in Boxer's favor. The Field Poll in early March found Boxer leading Schwarzenegger 54 to 30 percent, up from an October 2007 survey from the same polling firm that had Boxer trailing, 43 to 44 percent.

Against Fiorina, the numbers are even better for the incumbent. Boxer lead Fiorina 55 percent to 25 percent in the March Field Poll.

MadProfessah endorses Barbara Boxer for re-election in 2010.

Obama's First Term Is 1/8 Over!

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:36:00 +0000

Today is the 6th month anniversary of the beginning of the Obama administration. There is a Politifact website run by the St. Petersburg Times which tracks the 515 promises Barack Obama made during his campaign for the presidency. Here is a summary of what they call the "Obameter":

The Obameter Scorecard
Promise Kept 32
Compromise 10
Promise Broken 7
Stalled 12
In the Works 78
No Action 376

There have still been absolutely no legislative accomplishments on the LGBT rights agenda, although the Mathew Shepard Hate Crimes Act has passed both the House and Senate.

Eye Candy: Tom Duer

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:37:00 +0000

Tom Duer is a smoking hot fitness model who was featured at Queerty.com on July 8, 2009.

VIDEO: Obama Calls Out Black Homophobia in NAACP Speech

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:12:00 +0000

VIDEO: NY Sen. Tom Duane's Speech on HIV/AIDS

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Look at this post from Talking Points Memo:

Remember this?

President George W. Bush signed into law Thursday the first major piece of legislation of his presidency, a $1.35 trillion tax cut over 10 years.

Of the six senators begging President Obama to slow down health care reform, four of them -- Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- voted for those huge Bush tax cuts.

Their votes were cast on May 26, 2001. Bush signed the tax cuts into law on June 7, 2001. Here we are in mid-July, eight years later, struggling to get health care reform passed by the end of the year.

So whatever these four foot-draggers are saying about why they want health care reform slowed down (and Nelson, for one, was all over the place yesterday warning against "rushing into this"), it's not really about wanting to be more deliberative or avoid ballooning the deficit. All you have to do is look back to 2001. Their records speak for themselves.

VIDEO: Episcopalians Take Pro-LGBT Positions

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Maine Heterosexual Supremacists Claim Enough Signatures For

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:26:00 +0000

Joe.My.God reported last week that the Maine organization "Stand For Marriage" is claiming that they have enough signatures to place a referendum on the November 2009 ballot as to whether the marriage equality bill Governor John Baldacci signed into law on May 6th should go into effect after all.

"In just four weeks, we've gathered more than 55,000 signatures from Mainers who believe they, not the legislature and governor, should have the final say on the definition of marriage," said Marc Mutty, Chairman of the coalition. "There has been an extraordinary outpouring of support from voters across the state. This response gives us momentum that will lift us over the first hurdle of putting the issue before the people and, ultimately, carry us to victory in November."

All signatures must be certified by the Secretary of State for validity. Once certified, the issue is cleared to appear on the November 2009 ballot.

"The fact that we've gathered all these signatures in just a month to proceed with the People's Veto suggests that the people of Maine, like those in 43 other states, want to restore marriage to its historical and time-honored definition as between a man and a woman," said Bob Emrich, founder of the Maine Jeremiah Project and an Executive Committee member of Stand for Marriage Maine. ÒWe look forward to submitting the measure for certification and engaging Mainers in a vigorous defense of marriage. Traditional marriage has never lost on the ballot in any state. We expect it to prevail in Maine."

The exact text of the question that will appear on the Tuesday November 3rd ballot will be:

"Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?"

The correct answer is NO. So, again, if you are in FAVOR of marriage equality, one needs to vote NO on the ballot question, a very similarly confusing situation like 2008's Proposition 8.

The main organization fighting the referendum is Maine Freedom to Marry, which has recently relaunched their website. Please support them!

Celebrity Friday (Extra): Whitney Houston

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Thanks to Maybe, it's me for the pic. Whitney houston's new album is called I Look To You and will be out in the fall (September).

Celebrity Friday: Jill Scott Has A New Baby (and Ex)

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:53:00 +0000

One of MadProfessah's favorite singers Jill Scott delivered her son Jett Hamilton Roberts on April 20th at 4:20pm. He weighed 7 and a half pounds at birth. Gee, I wonder if they will give him the nickname "Weed"? The father was her then-fiancé Lil Jon Roberts, a drummer she had been dating since 2007 (pictured above). The two have since broken up.

She tells Essence magazine, "He (Roberts) was there (for the birth) and for a couple of days afterwards while I stayed in the hospital, but John and I are no longer together.

"When you have a baby you're dealing with a lot of emotions and I don't know how much of it had to do with us breaking up, but it happens.

"We definitely love our son and we are co-parenting and working on being friends. I have hopes for (Jett) and I'm sure his father will do his part as well."

However, Scott admits she sympathises with other single mothers, especially youngsters who find themselves bringing up kids on their own.

She adds, "My heart and prayers go out to all single mums because it's tough, and I can't imagine any teenager dealing with a baby and all those hormones raging. I can afford to have this child at 37 because I have a support system... but I don't understand how any mother does it alone.

Jill has been starring in HBO's television series The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency (based on the best-selling books by Alexander McCall Smith) which is set in Botswana (and shot on location). She has done such a good job she was widely thought to be in line for an Emmy nomination, but alas only CCH Pounder received a nomination as a guest star.

MOVIE REVIEW: Away We Go

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Saw the latest movie directed by Sam Mendes called Away We Go starring Jonathan Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) written by the noted novelist Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.

Although it is not the most highly rated film of the summer, it has recieved reasonably good reviews.

The Other Half and I saw the film at the Laemmle Colorado Theaters in Pasadena over the July 4th weekend and quite enjoyed it.

Krasinski and Rudolph play Burt and Verona, a couple of "possible f*ck-ups" (in their own words) who are clearly in love but also about 6 months pregnant.

Eggers & Vida's script has a very distinct format; it is split into numerous different segments, which take place in Phoenix, Tucson, Madison, Montreal and Miami.

The most successful of these are the Phoenix and Tucson segments thanks to some inspired cameos by Allison Janney (of the West Wing and Juno) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) as two completely insane mothers. Gyllenhaal plays an über-Earth mother who is terrified that strollers will emotionally scar her child. Janney plays a mom who has absolutely no sense of boundaries with her children or anyone else--she is constantly talking at the top of her voice in public about completely inappropriate topics.

Krasinski and Rudolph are have great chemistry together. The nature of Rudolph's racial identity as a very light-skinned biracial person is brought up in a typically abrupt (but amusing) way, towards the beginning of the film, and race doesn't play much of a role throughout the film.
Krasinski, wearing owlish glasses and a faux hipster beard to distance himself from his widely known "cute guy in the office" role on The Office, does well to play against the audience's presumptions of his previous TV and roles. Rudolph is of course most well-known for her apearances on Saturday Night Live and although Away We Go is definitely a comedy, it is also a drama, and she has some fine acting moments, especially the final scene, in the "Home" segment.

The theme of the film is that it is a journey into how couples lead their lives and realize their dreams. By showing us five different views on how life can be for different couples the movie makes a profound statement which the audience can relate to and reflect on long after the movie is over.

Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Plot: B.
Acting: B+.
Visuals: C+.
Impact: A-.

Overall Grade: B/B+.

Obama Says He Wants To "Change" Don't Ask, Don't Tell

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:00:00 +0000

The President sat down with Anderson Cooper over the weekend and talked about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays in the military:

In the interview, CNN's Anderson Cooper pressed Obama as to why his administration had not moved on a key promise it made to the gay rights community -- that it would overturn the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy crafted during the Clinton years.

"Look," the president replied, "I've had conversations with [Defense Secretary] Bob Gates as well as Admiral [Mike] Mullen about the fact that I want to see this law change. I also want to make sure that we are not simply ignoring a congressional law. If Congress passes a law that is constitutionally valid, then it's not appropriate for the Executive Branch simply to say we will not enforce a law. It is our duty to enforce laws.

"But look, the bottom line is, I want to see this changed," Obama added, "and we've already contacted congressional allies. I want to make sure that it's changed in a way that ultimately works well for our military and for the outstanding gay and lesbian soldiers that are both currently enlisted or would like to enlist."

"Do you personally have a timetable in your mind of when you would like to see [the law] changed?" Cooper interjected.

"I'd like to see it done sooner rather than later," Obama replied. "And we've got a process to not only work it through Congress, but also to make sure that the Pentagon has thought through all the ramifications of how this would be most effective."

VIDEO: WH Asked About Obama's Position on Marriage

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:48:00 +0000

As I reported earlier this week, Bill Clinton now supports marriage equality. Since the previous Democratic president changed his position on this crucial question, it was reasonable to find out whether the current Democratic president had a reaction to this development.

Watch White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs respond:

Obama Names Regina Benjamin U.S. Surgeon General

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Regina Benjamin is an African American doctor (who graduated from Morehouse School of Medicine) who won a $500,000 McCarthu genius grant in 2008 and was nominated by President Obama to become Surgeon General of the United States on July 13, 2009.

Dr. Benjamin first came to national attention as the first Black woman to be elected to the Board of Governors of the American Medical Association in 1995. She was also in the media when her Alabama-based health clinic was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Rod 2.0 notes that in her speech where Obama nominated her, Dr. Benjamin mentioned that her only sibling, an older brother died of HIV-related complications at age 44:

Public health issues are very personal to me. My father died with diabetes and hypertension. My older brother, and only sibling, died at age 44 of HIV-related illness. My mother died of lung cancer, because as a young girl, she wanted to smoke just like her twin brother could. My Uncle Buddy, my mother's twin, who's one of the few surviving black World War II prisoners of war, is at home right now, on oxygen, struggling for each breath because of the years of smoking.

As MadProfessah.com has noted multiple times, AIDS is a huge issue in the Black community and it is significant that Obama's Surgeon General nominee has a personal understanfing of the impact of HIV/AIDS on African Americans.

EQCA Responds To 2010 vs 2012 Controversy (Sorta)

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Equality California's Marriage Director Marc Solomon responded to both Jordan Rustin Coalition's Prepare to Prevail statement and Love Honor Cherish's response with a carefully written post on EQCA's California Ripple Effect blog which includes explicit benchmarks for when the LGBT community should return to the ballot to win marriage equality once and for all:

n late May, we told the community that, preliminarily, based on all we knew at the time, we believed we should return to the ballot in 2010. We also promised that we would not go back to the ballot on our own, but only together with coalition partners. And we said that, before we concluded what the right timing was, we would perform extensive “due diligence,” speaking with and listening to our coalition partners, volunteers in the field, donors, political consultants, pollsters, and many others. As we said in late May, a roadmap to victory includes:
A realistic and executable fundraising plan. We must be able to raise between $25 and $50 million, with a good portion of that coming early on in the campaign when much of the persuasion work needs to be done.
A governance structure that works. We need a campaign structure that engenders the confidence of the community and balances the need for inclusive representation with the need to act decisively and quickly.
A winnable campaign plan. Polling shows that we have approximately the same level of support for marriage equality as we did when Proposition 8 passed. We need to know that if we can raise the funds and have a solid governance structure, we have a well-thought out program of how we are going to prevail.
A commitment to doing the hard work. In order to move enough people to win, we must be out speaking to voters who are not yet with us, relentlessly. Tomorrow we will report on the results of our field efforts to date.

Our threshold has always been that we want to go back to the ballot at the earliest time that we have a strong chance of prevailing.

This is not inconsistent with what the POC groups are saying. One main goal in releasing Prepare to Prevail is to push the community to use data and facts to inform a decision on when to go to the ballot instead of desire and feelings.

I know that EQCA can not take an official position on 2010 versus 2012 until their next board meeting which is not until August 2, the day of their Los Angeles Equality Awards featuring (Massachusetts Governor) Deval Patick, (West Hollywood City Councilman) John Duran and (Congresswoman-elect) Judy Chu.

What do you think EQCA should do, and when do you think an initiative constitutional amendment to replace (and repeal) Proposition 8 should be on the ballot? 2010? 2012? 2014?

Serena Williams Meets President Obama

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:24:00 +0000

Reigning U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams met President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday night before her match with the Washington Kastles and his attendance at the All-Star Game.

"It was amazing," Williams said before her World Team Tennis match with the Washington Kastles. "I love President Obama; he has such an unbelievable presence, and he seems to be so normal -- and he noticed my shoes. I think that was the highlight of the whole day, was he liked my shoes."

Williams said she was wearing five-inch heels for the presidential visit.

"He asked me, 'Should I be wearing high heels?' So I thought that was kind of funny because he may have been right," Williams said. "Because it is a job hazard for me, but I insist on wearing them."

Williams got to meet Michelle Obama and the rest of the first family.

"I didn't know she had such an amazing personality," Williams said. "She had me cracking up and laughing. I knew she was a great person, but now I really understand how important this first family is to the United States. And the kids were just so cute and sweet, and the dog was nice."

No official White House photo of Serena and Barack yet, but I was able to find this picture of Serena's outfit (sadly, not showing the 5-inch Fendis rocked while meeting POTUS) on Flickr.

President Clinton Supports Marriage Equality!

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:51:00 +0000

The Nation is reporting that former President Bill Clinton has stated publicly his support for same-sex marriage:

Asked if he would commit his support for same-sex marriage, Clinton responded, "I'm basically in support."

This spring, same-sex marriage was legalized in Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. In his most recent remarks on the subject, Clinton said, "I think all these states that do it should do it." The former president, however, added that he does not believe that same-sex marriage is "a federal question."

Asked if he personally supported same-sex marriage, Clinton replied, "Yeah." "I personally support people doing what they want to do," Clinton said. "I think it's wrong for someone to stop someone else from doing that [same-sex marriage]."

The former president joins a string of prominent Democrats who have recently switched their position on the issue, including former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean, New York Senator Charles E. Schumer, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd.

"Bill Clinton joins other important public figures in stepping solidly into the twenty-first century in support of same-sex marriage equality," said the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's executive director Rea Carey. "We certainly hope other elected officials, including President Obama, join him in clearly stating their support for equality in this country. Same-sex couples should not have to experience second-class citizenship."

Clinton's reversal is the highest-profile one to date. It may also have political implications for the future of the Defense of Marriage Act. President Obama has pledged to repeal the law, but in June, the Justice Department filed a brief in federal court defending the law's constitutionality.

A recent Gallup poll found that a majority of Democrats favor same-sex marriage.

Notice that Big Dog can't actually say the words "same-sex marriage." It should also be interesting to see what happens when the media asks Secretary of State Hillary Clinton whether her position on same-sex marriage has changed.

CA-GOV: Whitman Donates $15M To Own Campaign

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:18:00 +0000

Former eBay CEO and Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman announced that she is donating 15 million dollars of her own money to her campaign to be California governor.

Whitman has now self-funded her campaign to the tune of $19 million, raising $6.7 million by June 30th.

Whitman's main Republican rival for the gubernatorial nomination (State Insurance Commisioner) Steve Poizner has raised $1.2 million and given his own campaign $4.2 million.

Courage Campaign Sticks To 2010; Task Force Says No

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:15:00 +0000

There are more developments in the intra-community debate over whether there should be an attempt to repeal Proposition 8 in 2010 or later. Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign has issued a statement re-iterating its support for going forward in 2010:

"We welcome the 'Prepare to Prevail' letter from API Equality, HONOR PAC, the Jordan Rustin Coalition and so many others as an honest, open contribution to the deliberations through which the community is participating.

"The 'Prepare to Prevail' letter, along with Love Honor Cherish's compelling statement on moving forward in 2010, is part of a healthy, vigorous debate that should help to inform the community as we begin the process of choosing the best path to victory.

"We encourage everyone engaged in this movement to put forward their portions of the road map to victory so that together, we can all win.

"Back in May, we asked our members to vote on which year -- 2010 or 2012 -- the Courage Campaign should support going back to the ballot to restore marriage equality. The response was overwhelming -- 82.5% expressed support for a 2010 ballot measure.

"The Courage Campaign is doing its part by helping to build an electoral road map to victory, as are several other organizations that are laying the groundwork necessary to win back marriage equality. It is our responsibility to our members, who overwhelmingly told us that they want to go to the ballot in 2010, and it is our responsibility to the marriage equality community."

"That's why the Courage Campaign announced support for a 2010 initiative in May. While we respect other organizations discussing and deliberating this very important question, we have been building the infrastructure to win marriage equality rights at the ballot box sooner, rather than later. Our members are ready to do the hard work needed to win.

"Since January, the Courage Campaign has been training and empowering marriage equality activists across the state at 'Camp Courage' training events as well as building 44 "Equality Teams" in 23 counties across California -- serving the organizations and individuals that are fueling the movement toward marriage equality.

Meanwhile, several other organizations that were actually involved with trying to defeat Proposition 8 in 2008 have joined the Prepare to Prevail statement.

Three California chapters of the ACLU have released a statement opposing 2010 and today the first national LGBT organization, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has signed on.

LA TIMES Covers POC LGBT Groups 2010 Reluctance

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:35:00 +0000

Today's Los Angeles Times covers yesterday's release of the Prepare To Prevail: Why We Must Wait In Order To Win statement in an article entitled "Gay-rights coalition urges measured pace on same-sex marriage amendment."

MadProfessah is quoted at the end, explaining the main reason why several people of color LGBT groups do not feel we will be ready in 2010 to repeal Proposition 8. "Do the math!"

In the days after Proposition 8 banned same-sex marriage in California last fall, many grass-roots activists almost immediately began planning to get the question back on the ballot. In the spring, as states such as Iowa and Vermont legalized gay marriage, gay and lesbian activists said momentum was on their side.

But now many activists say they are trying to make the political calculations necessary to ensure victory -- which means enough money to wage a campaign and enough voter outreach to persuade some who voted against gay and lesbian unions to change their minds.

"We initially said we believe 2010 was the right time to go back to the ballot," said Marc Solomon, marriage director for Equality California, one of the state's biggest gay rights groups. But he added: "We've also made it very clear we will only move forward if we have a clear road map to victory. . . . The last thing we want to do is go back to the ballot and lose."

He said his group has sought advice from political consultants and polling experts and would present it publicly later this month.

Ron Buckmire, president of the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, one of the groups that signed the statement issued Monday, said the need for more time was made clear to him this weekend when his group went door to door to talk to voters about same-sex marriage in South Los Angeles.

"It was a huge success. We had 70 volunteers, working for five hours, knocked on 1,200 doors," he said. But after all that, they identified only 50 voters who moved in their direction.

"We have to move 300,000 voters," he said. "Do the math."

Let me be more specific. If it takes JRC working in coalition with Equality California and Vote for Equality 350 volunteer-hours (not including staff time, or travel time for the volunteers) to change 50 votes (from against marriage equality to undecided, or from undecided to in favor of marriage equality) and we have 6,000 times that many votes to move in 2010, then we will need 2.1 million volunteer-hours of effort to achieve that.

People who say that we can do that by November 2, 2010 (which is exactly 477 days away from today) need to demonstrate a plan for how they intend to pay for, lead and plan this work in that time frame, in the worst economy California and the United States have seen since the Great Depression.

Do the Math.

POC LGBT Groups Issue Statement Opposing 2010 Prop 8 Repeal

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Jordan Rustin Coalition, HONOR PAC and API Equality LA released a joint statement today endorsed by several other organizations called "Prepare To Prevail: Why We Must Wait In Order To Win" which counsels caution on rushing to the ballot in 2010 to attempt to repeal Proposition 8 with an affirmative ballot proposition to end the ban on same-sex marriage.

Prepare to Prevail:
Why We Must Wait In Order to Win

A public statement on how to win back marriage equality in California

July 13, 2009

Issued by: API Equality-LA, HONOR PAC, Jordan Rustin Coalition

www.apiequalityla.org | www.honorpac.org | www.jordanrustincoalition.org

Unlike Proposition 8 in 2008, any upcoming electoral campaign for marriage equality would be one of choice, not one of necessity in fending off an attack from religious-right foes. Timing is ours to determine. Going back to the ballot to remove the voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage from the state constitution in 2010 would be rushed and risky. We should proceed with a costly, demanding, and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win. We should choose to Prepare to Prevail.

We have much work to do before we proceed to the ballot. Many of us, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations and progressive allies, have been doing critical educational and organizing work for years, intensified it during the Prop. 8 campaign in 2008, and have continued to communicate with key constituencies after the election. We vow to intensify our efforts until we win back marriage equality in California. We invite all groups and individual leaders to sign on to this statement and join us in building a solid battle plan for equality. We must step up our work, collectively and in concert, as soon as possible.
Prepare to Prevail requires making progress on the following before proceeding to the ballot:

1) Winning requires full LGBT community support and a broad coalition of allies. Only a few segments of the LGBT community have announced their intention to pursue a “vote-yes” campaign next year. Energy and passion are a necessary prerequisite for any effective campaign but are not a sufficient substitute for a broad coalition with a clear strategy backed by ample resources. For California to win back marriage equality, broad segments of the LGBT and progressive community including critically important people- of-color groups, LGBT families, and other allies need to pull together. We should proceed when we have a unified strategy and a massive coalition of progressive non-LGBT allies ready to act in unison. Anything short of a broad coalition of allies would place our campaign in a strategic disadvantage from the onset.

2) We need to build strong majority support before placing the issue before voters. Popular support for marriage equality for same-sex couples has not changed since the last election. Today, California voters’ opinions on a constitutional amendment to overturn the voter-imposed elimination of marriage equality remain evenly split, according to all recent polls. In order to seek major investments of time and money from key stakeholders and allies in an affirmative ballot-measure campaign seeking a “yes” vote from voters, seasoned campaign experts advise against proceeding to the ballot without evidence of a strong majority in favor of the measure. Failure to begin with a sizable majority puts sponsors in a more likely position to lose. More than two-thirds of all ballot initiatives fail to pass on Election Day. Moreover, polls can overstate actual public support for LGBT rights because respondents may be reluctant to reveal their bias to pollsters. In 2008, some polls indicated majority support for marriage equality and against Proposition 8, which was not the result on Election Day. This was also true for Proposition 22, when opponents of the measure thought there was more support for marriage equality than the final vote demonstrated. In Washington State in 1997, some gay-rights activists pushed forward with a pro-active ballot measure aimed at outlawing antigay discrimination in the state. Despite having public opinion narrowly on their side, they lost 60 to 40 at the polls on the measure. It took nine more years for LGBT rights supporters to secure passage of a nondiscrimination law by the Washington state legislature. Proceeding with campaigns seeking a “yes” vote without support from a strong majority of voters holds foreseeable danger.

3) Campaign donors will be constrained given the current unprecedented economic downturn. Over $81 million was raised and spent by both sides in the Proposition 8 campaign, more than in any previous anti-gay ballot initiative. Many of the LGBT nonprofit organizations doing critical work for our communities have suffered layoffs and cutbacks in services. The current economic downturn has also reduced the capacity of campaigns both educational and electoral to amass multi-million-dollar war chests from small, large, and institutional donors. The scope of anxiety and human need in California means that individual donors are making hard choices about charitable dollars. Major donors, including foundations that provided funding for critical educational campaigns, have endured hits to their portfolios, and many are exercising caution. Any successful “vote-yes” campaign will require generous support from pro-LGBT institutional donors. These donors give=2 0based on evidence of likely success, which for 2010 is filled with grave doubts. It is unlikely that we will be able to raise the necessary funds to undertake an effective electoral campaign until after 2010.

4) Educational, voter-ID (not electoral) campaigns with specific goals should begin immediately. To reach a threshold of support for marriage equality suitable to begin an electoral campaign, supporters need a voter-ID campaign aimed at moving an identifiable subset of California voters. Vote-no campaigns typically seek to plant doubts and promote confusion among voters about measures. Several arguments used to pass Proposition 8 have not been widely rebutted and thus retain their appeal as attack strategies with particular currency as part of a vote-no campaign. A campaign of changing hearts and minds of selected groups of voters requires time, diligent research, and targeting of specific communities. The worst time to attempt to educate voters is in the midst of a heated campaign, which makes it difficult to rebut lies and fear-mongering. The voter-ID campaign should precede the electoral campaign aimed at mobilizing support to remove from the state constitution the discriminatory language already approved by voters.

5) We need time to build a coordinated data infrastructure that can support a winning campaign. We need time to establish robust get-out-the-vote (GOTV) data systems and a statewide online voter contact database to make and measure contacts with California voters in a coordinated fashion with participation from the many pro-marriage stakeholder groups across the state. Unlike narrow special interests, our cause is a broad-based movement that will require coordinated data collection among multiple groups working in concert. Many individual groups have started this work, but winning will require buy-in and participation in a singular statewide and coordinated data system. Agreements and accountabilities need to be worked out and trust needs to be rebuilt. Time and true collaboration are vital to developing organizational partnerships and the data systems needed to tap and deploy our grassroots network and measure our progress toward specific voter-contacts goals.

6) Time and greater effort is needed to build trust and relationships in communities that represent the full diversity of California voters, including limited-English-speaking voters and voters of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. The 2008 campaign against Prop 8 did not adequately reach non-English-speaking vot ers and failed to engage or empower allied groups poised to communicate with millions of such voters. The Yes-on-8 campaign, in taking its victory laps, bragged about the many tongues into which it translated its materials and the diverse congregations whom it mobilized. This lapse must be overcome in a future campaign to win back marriage equality. We must learn from our mistakes made during the last campaign and not repeat them. Doing so will require deepened relationships with partner organizations and leaders who can reach diverse racial, ethnic, and non-English-speaking communities. It will require working to increase the ability of LGBT parents and caregivers with children across these communities to effectively communicate the impact of marriage equality on their children. We must establish the communications capacity needed to achieve cultural competency as well as fluency in persuading immigrant, people-of-color, an d non-English-speaking communities to support marriage equality. Most of all, it requires time to build trust and relationships in targeted communities in order to succeed.

7) Labor, religious allies and communities of color are indispensable to winning. More time is needed to convert general support into full organizational backing to secure increased grassroots engagement, resources, and votes. Coordinate d outreach with labor and religious institutions remains crucial to building a strong majority for marriage equality in California. Forging lasting collaboration with and among these organizations must be a top priority for both the education and electoral campaigns. In addition to traditional civil-rights and community groups, as well as entertainment and sports celebrities, the same labor and religious organizations already highlighted will be critical in mobilizing people of color voters to support marriage equality. Rather than simply asking for support from allies, a winning campaign must be prepared to welcome these entities to the planning table and demonstrate reciprocity with them in the course of the long campaign to regain marriage equality. Winning a majority of “yes” votes on a future ballot measure will not be easy. But it will be impossible if we work in isolation or avoid competent and fluent communication with California’s diverse voters.

8) More time means more “yes” votes for marriage equality. The demographics of opinion on marriage equality indicate that natural changes in the state electorate, with new and younger voters replacing older voters, contributes over time to increased support for marriage equality. In weighing the options of presenting a ballot measure on statewide ballots either next year, in 2010, or in a future year, the latterp ortends a much greater capacity by marriage equality supporters to leverage and benefit from the natural shift in voter opinion.

THE UNDERSIGNED COMMIT to PREPARE to PREVAIL. Evidence and data should guide political strategy. Running and winning a statewide ballot-measure for a “yes” vote on marriage equality depends not on haste, but on preparation. Expanding public support and developing the infrastructure to mobilize our communities should be our top priorities. We commit to continuing the hard work of identifying the partnerships, commitments, and resources to launch necessary public education campaigns and setting the foundation for a solid and winning campaign. We call on all interested organizations to join in a collective body to coordinate the critical educational work that we must do. When we go back to the ballot, we intend to be active players to ensure its success just as we have always participated i n the fight for marriage equality. Please join us in winning back marriage equality in California.

WE CHOOSE to PREPARE to PREVAIL

ACLU of Northern California

ACLU of San Diego and Imperial County

ACLU of Southern California

API Equality-LA

API Equality-Northern California

Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team

Asian Pacific American Legal Center

Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Women/Transgender Activists (AQWA)

Ballot Initiative Strategy Center Foundation

Chinese Rainbow Association

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)

Elections Committee of the County of Orange (ECCO-PAC)

Equality Action Project (Santa Cruz)

Gamba Adisa Quilombo

Gay-Straight Alliance Network

Harvey Milk Stonewall Democrats of Orange County

HONOR PAC

Imperial Court of Los Angeles and Hollywood

Inland Counties Stonewall Democrats

Jordan Rustin Coalition

Martin-Lyon Leadership Institute

Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO

Our Family Coalition

SATRANG, South Asian LGBT Organization

Robert Chacanaca, President, Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO*

Kerry Chaplin, Interfaith Organizing Director, California Faith For Equality*

Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong, Interfaith Organizer, California Faith For Equality *

Jerry Sloan, President Emeritus, Lambda Community Fund, Sacramento*

-list in formation-
*affiliation listed for identification purposes only.

WIMBLEDON 2009: Men's Final Highest TV Ratings Since 99

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:44:00 +0000

The win by Roger Federer over Andy Roddick was the most watched Wimbledon final in over a decade:

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick’s epic Wimbledon final last Sunday was the most-viewed men’s final at the All England Club in 10 years.

NBC said Thursday that an average of 5.71 million people tuned in to watch Federer win his record-setting 15th Grand Slam title. The number was the highest since Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in the 1999 final, attracting 5.85 million viewers.

The 3.8 rating and 10 share was the best for a men’s final since Sampras defeated Patrick Rafter in 2000, and surpassed last year’s classic between Federer and Rafael Nadal by 9 percent.

Federer beat Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 in a match that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes. The fifth set was the longest in major final history.

VIDEO: Serena Williams on Letterman

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:48:00 +0000

BOOK REVIEW: Joe Haldeman's CAMOUFLAGE

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Joe Haldeman is one of science fiction's most honored writers. His book, Camouflage, won the 2005 Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, beating out the more celebrated debut novel from Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which won the Hugo Award for that year.

Haldeman also has the rare honor of publishing two novels which have won the Nebula and the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction novel of the year: The Forever War and Forever Peace.

Haldeman has a very readable, simplistic style of writing which makes his work easy to underestimate but very easy to consume.

The plot of Camouflage is quite clever; it involves following the lives of two alien creatures that are living among us: the chameleon and the changeling.

The chameleon is the "bad alien." It is able to mimic any humanoid form and appears to have an innate desire to kill humans. The changeling is able to change its shape more completely, even into non-humanoid forms (like a shark), although the process is painful.
It seems to have innate desire for knowledge and earns multiple degrees at Harvard.

The plot is sparked by the discovery of an artifact deep in the Pacific Ocean which appears impermeable to human instruments. Both the changeling and chameleon are attracted to the artifact.

Haldeman has an engrossing, very readable, somewhat simplistic writing style that makes his books fun to read and Camouflage is no exception.

OVERALL GRADE: A-.

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: B+.
IMPACT: A.
WRITING: A-.

Busy Day For JRC Today

madprofessah@gmail.com (Mad Professah) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:36:00 +0000

Today is a busy day for the Jordan Rustin Coalition, the leading Black LGBT advocacy organization in Southern California that MadProfessah heads.

JRC is serving as community collaborators for a movie called "Rivers Wash Over Me" at OutFest today at 1:30pm at the Directors Guild of America, and at exactly the same time (from 10am to 3pm) JRC will be participating in a voter canvass with Equality California, Vote For Equality, Equal Roots and others. The idea is to talk (and listen) to voters in South Los Angeles (Ladera Heights, Leimert Park and View Park, mostly) to find out what their views are on LGBT people, same-sex marriage and homophobia in general.