The DADT Repeal and Other Farces

Yesterday Pams House Blend ran a breaking news post that DADT could possibly have been voted on that very day...after languishing in committees and being studied to death, Harry Reid was going to grab everyone by the short and curlies and make them come in for a vote....."Dam" I thought, "That's big news". So I held off blogging to see if I would have big news to share with all of you...and I waited....twitter campaigns were launched...senators were called...and I waited some more. By evening, nothing had manifested. To say I was underwhelmed by the lack of action would be putting it mildly..completely unsurprised would be closer to the truth.

This morning brought an avalanche of blog updates about what went on behind the scenes and most of it is laughable if not downright obscene. A vote is again scheduled for today, 12:00 eastern time. Which means that it could be happening literally as I am writing this blog post...or it could be yet another pause in what I have come to think of as the Don't Ask Don't Tell Comedy hour...if only it wasn't so close to tragedy. You'll, laugh till you cry!...or mostly just cry...

Perry vs. Schwarzenegger..Ninth Circuit Appeal...Day one

Today is the day...In just a few short minutes C-SPAN will begin live coverage of the Ninth circuit appeal of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, challenging the constitution of California's Prop 8 state constiturional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

I haven't found any embeddable live feeds yet but C-SPAN does offer livestreaming on their website found..here.

The Courage Campaign is also running a live thread and chat on their Trial Tracker that can be found at prop8trialtracker.com.

Good luck everyone.

*(update)* livestream via goodasyou.org...much thanks to them for the feed.

Warrior...Show Me The Way..

How would you feel if everyone was talking about whether or not you should be allowed to exist?

You already exist, it's a plain fact..and everyday you do a dam good job of being you. However one day you decide to speak up and say, "Hey, I'm here and my life matters." To which everyone else then feels the need to discuss every aspect of your life, from who you love to the specifics of your moral character and how they relate to going to the bathroom and showering as if your being was contagious. Talking about you as if you just are not there and literally debating whether or not they will allow you to be who you already are. Would you be outraged? embarrassed? mortified to have you life subjected to a microscope to determine whether what you are is acceptable to everyone else?

Isn't this exactly what we are subjecting gay and lesbian soldiers to by purporting to study the effect that allowing them to serve openly would have on the military?

Hatred...Whats In A Name?

The American Family Association....The Family Research Council...Dove Outreach...Illinois Family Institute..American Family Association...All of these names would lead the reader to believe that these are benign, altruistic organizations who's only intent is to help families. Indeed, the image of a dove is synonymous with peace for most of us. Add in the word "American" and it would seem to indicate patriotism and national pride...what could be bad about that? And the word "Family" leaves little intent as to whom the actions of these groups are directed toward.....right?

Except you would be wrong.

What all of these groups have in common is not just their naming conventions but a designation by the Southern Poverty Law Center(SPLC) as hate groups. They spend all their  time and resources lobbying against The GLBT community in Washington, spreading  false and damaging information about the gay community, work to block basic legal protections for LGBT people  and foment discrimination at every opportunity. These are the people who publicly call for us to be criminalized, Blame us for HIV/AIDS, call for us to be placed on deserted islands, and liken us to the greatest danger this country has ever known. These are organizations that, despite their names, work to make an enviroment in which its o.k. to practice violence, discrimination, and utter hatred in the name of religion...in the name of family...and in the name of truth.

And boy are these guys angry now. After years of making gays and lesbians a target...they certainly don't like being treated the same way. Their protests sound like the keening like dying animals....