Bearnaked Joe

South Park '08

2008-10-10T14:52:00.003-04:00

Obama Asserts Control

2008-06-06T09:18:00.001-04:00

The Obama campaign lured the press onto its plane, then Obama had a private meeting with Hillary Clinton. The media is pissed about this, but I think it was good for Obama to put them in their place. This VP speculation is out of control.

Clinton, Obama meet in Washington - Hillary Clinton News- msnbc.com: "Reporters traveling with Obama sensed something might be happening between the pair when they arrived at his campaign plane after an event in Northern Virginia and he was not aboard.

Asked at the time about the Illinois senator's whereabouts, Gibbs smiled and declined to comment."

The Democratic Division Championship

2008-05-20T13:47:00.002-04:00

I love analogies...

The Democratic Division Championship

With a touchdown on the first possession of the game, Quarterback Barack Obama showed he came to the game to take out the team most favored to win, the Clintons. Quarterback Hillary, threatened with being sidelined, cried out a play that kept her in the game.

Through the second quarter, both teams put points on the board, but the story was how team Obama were proving to be worthy opponents, inspiring the fired-up crowd. With each passing touchdown and field goal, it was clear this was going to be a tough-fought battle for the championship.

But it would become clear that only the Obamas were prepared to go past halftime. During the third quarter, the Clinton offense fell apart. The multiple-touchdown lead that everyone assumed Hillary would rack up faded away as the Obamas ran the ball downfield several times, with a few long passes for show. The Clintons pulled the dreaded "kitchen-sink" defense at the end of the third, but Barack weaved in and out of their attacks to successfully pass another ball into the end zone.

If the Obamas could keep their momentum through the fourth quarter, their victory seemed assured, but the drama was really about to unfold. On Team Obama, an offensive lineman barely off the bench, Jeremiah Wright, was penalized with a personal foul, bringing morale down. Sports reporters on the sidelines questioned how Barack could stick with his longtime teammate. Hillary created her own problem for the Clintons when she twisted herself executing the "sniper-fire" offense. She lost a lot of yardage with a few big penalties. The climax of the quarter so far, was when Wright was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct prompting his team captain to finally get him off the field.

When the fourth quarter hit the two minute warning, Obama defensive lineman "Gastax Holiday" (these players have the funniest names nowadays) grabbed the ball from Hillary's hands during a fake and scored another touchdown, ensuring a few more field goals from the Clintons would not overtake his lead. Since this interception, the crowd has been heading for the exits.

"But!" Hillary cried, "if you remove the yards the Obamas covered while making field goals, and you add the yards I should have gotten when I was penalized, then I have about 75 more yards traveled. Nevermind that I don't have the points. Nevermind that I have fewer visits to the end-zone. Nevermind that the other team has a larger salary cap and fan base. Nevermind that I didn't strategize my game to win with the existing rules."

"I have more yards traveled," Hillary said. "If this were 'hide and seek,' I'd already be the winner. If we changed the rules, I'd barely be ahead. And that's what makes me more qualified to go to the Superbowl. Pick me!"

So now there's only a few more seconds remaining on the clock, and the Clintons have remaining time for only three plays. Unless she can pull off the never-before seen "Superdelegate Reversal," it will be the young quarterback Barack Obama who will go on to face a wounded-but-dangerous Republican team, and their warrior-quarterback John McCain.

Joe Is for Obama

2008-01-15T22:17:00.001-05:00

I saw Barack Obama for the first time when he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. I knew immediately I would one day be supporting his campaign for presidency.

I believe in my generation. I know that's an odd thing for an Xer to say, but it's true. Xers, also known as the 13th Generation, are going to lead the world. For a decade and a half I've believed it would be our destiny to clean up the mess created by the idealist generation before us.

From the 1990 book "Generations: The History of America's Future" by William Strauss and Neil Howe:

"Their Elders don't see it yet, 13ers themselves only dimly sense it, but this streetwise generation does indeed bring a bag of savvy tricks their elders lack - skills that may come in handy the next time America gets into real trouble. More than anyone, they have developed a seasoned talent for getting the most out of a bad hand."

I have sensed Obama's directness over the years in interviews. He actually answers questions. He responds with an intellectual honesty that treats the American people with respect for their intelligence.

I have always hated how Boomers treat politics like a game instead of the means to govern. And now that their politics of personal destruction have scorched the political landscape, the American people are ready for a new way to run their own government.

Obama thinks he can bring the country together, be direct with the American people, and get citizens back in the process of running their country. It's a very Xer message: Cut the crap, and just do it.

"I think there is a great hunger for change in the country�and not just policy change," Obama told U.S. News...

... On December 10, in his debut speech in New Hampshire, Obama said, "America is ready to turn the page. America is ready for a new set of challenges. This is our time. A new generation is prepared to lead."

I believe American society will only progress when citizens take responsibility for their government. I believe Barack Obama knows this and is capable of bring Americans there. And that's why I'm for Barack Obama for President of the United States of America.

The 2008 Republican National Convention Logo

2007-10-05T00:43:00.000-04:00

You've all seen the new logo for the Republican National Convention 2008, which will be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul where Sen. Larry Craig was busted, right?

Dude, Where's My Army?

2007-09-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

Apparently, NATO was smoking some pretty powerful shit when they came up with the idea for an international reactionary military force. The buzz wore out Thursday, and the idea didn't seem so great...

NATO retreats from establishment of rapid-reaction force - International Herald Tribune: "BERLIN: NATO is backing away from establishing a combat force that would be capable of moving rapidly into conflict areas because it lacks the money, the troops and the equipment, officials said Thursday."

"Oh shit, dude... We can't build an army! We don't have any guns or stuff..."

A circuit board and battery is not a "Fake Bomb"

2007-09-21T15:46:00.002-04:00

Why is the mainstream media automatically labeling this poor girl as having a "fake bomb strapped to her chest?" She had a T-shirt on with a circuit board and a few LED lights as decoration. Way to label her as a terrorist right off the bat and ruin her life.

Here's the most fair article I've seen about this.

So again in Boston, the authorities are causing disturbances over a few blinking lights. This was hardly a hoax. This is simply a T-shirt with goofy stuff on it. Why are authorities and media so stupid to automatically equate "circuit board" with "bomb?" I'm sitting in an average room right now that probably has about nine items that use circuit boards. Seven of those have LED lights. None of them are bombs.

Check her out, sure. Maybe even stop her at gunpoint to investigate a threat. But when it's obvious that she meant no harm or hoax, why charge her? Why terrorize her, the airport, and the nation?

"This is a serious offense. We take it very seriously," state police major Scott Pare said.� What offense? She is being charged with disorderly conduct and having a hoax device. Where is the disorderly conduct? She went to the airport with an artistic T-shirt on and asked a question.

If reports are true, she never claimed it was a bomb. She wasn't trying to get attention or make a statement or create performance art. She only wanted to get some technology-related attention on career day, so she wore a tech-related t-shirt. This wasn't related to the airport. She didn't try to sneak anything through security screening. There was no threatening notice on the shirt - in fact the openly-displayed shirt self-identified as being school oriented. The only reason she is being charged is because an airport employee who has seen too many "Lethal Weapon" movies was ignorant enough to assume anything that blinks is a bomb.

This is part of government's continued "assault on reason" as Al Gore might say.

We've passed oppression down so that it not only comes from from the president denigrating whole classes of people to win votes (not to mention torture and secret imprisonment), but also the justice department rigging the vote, political advance men denying the right to assemble, security guards roaming publicly owned city streets forbidding first amendment rights (see: photography in Silver Spring), health care tied to corporate servitude, and the U.S. Senate voting to condemn free speech.

Now that freedom depends on the intelligence of an airport employee or the patience of a few taser-happy university rent-a-cops at a political discussion, we're fucked.

No Tips for Racist Cabbies

2007-09-14T13:09:00.001-04:00

Dear cab driver from last night,

Last night on my way home from the DC Shorts VIP Reception, I hopped in your cab and stated my destination and you took off, no questions asked. Thanks! But I had a problem with you about two blocks later when you picked up a young black man along the way (in DC, cab drivers can pick up additional fares).

After he told you his destination, you thought about it, and made sure to ask him if he knew it would be twelve dollars. Why didn't you tell me my fare when I sat down? Is it because I'm white you expect me to pay, but because he was black you had to double-check him first? It wasn't like he was expecting a wild $100 fare; his was only a couple bucks more than my $9 fare. That's bullshit, man.

It just makes me mad and sad, man. Why did you do that to him? Why did you remind him that you don't trust him? Why treat your customer like a criminal? It just makes you look like a racist fool.

Though I suppose it's a step up from leaving him on the street corner waiting, it's still bullshit. That's why I asked you why didn't tell me my fare, and that's why you didn't get a tip. I don't tip racist or corrupt cabbies.

Will Larry Craig's tap dance bring tearoom cruising back in style?

2007-09-12T13:11:00.001-04:00

Will Larry Craig's tap dance bring tearoom cruising back in style?

Decades ago, before gay men began to come out, urinals were designed with no dividers between them. Men weren't afraid of other men checking out their stuff, I guess. But why? Is it because there was no out gay population, so hetero men were oblivious to male desire for dick? Is it because men were more likely back then to let another man jerk or suck him, as long as they didn't talk about it?

Before you dismiss that as a preposterous position, know that every day in America there are plenty of otherwise straight men out there who will get together with another guy for dick pleasure. Many years ago I had a straight boss who, from behind his office desk with an open fly, outright asked me to be his cocksucker. He hired me because he knew I was gay and was hoping for that kind of arrangement. "Gay men are just really the best at it," he told me. I turned him down, but we were still buddies.

Even Homer Simpson declared his appreciation for the glory hole, a hole found in a wall between two stalls or booths through which you pass your member for service. In cruisy places like parks or restrooms or bookstores, married men (who are not gay and have never been gay) arrive to get a little help from another guy. Quick and simple, one man standing and another on his knees, pleasure is given to another through the glorification of the man's penis - mankind's most celebrated yet feared body part. After an orgasm, a quick zip, and a couple of "thank yous" later, both men are back on the street, ignorant of one another and the world clueless about what just happened.

I think otherwise straight and married men prefer these places to cruising online, because there is no data trail. Online guys want a "pic." Sending a .jpg of your official Senate portrait to an anonymous Craigslist e-mail forwarder will get you a post on Blogactive for sure. And e-mails never die.

Public restrooms with sex are called tearooms, short for "toilet rooms." They've been around probably as long as men have been sharing toilets. They were easier to find until just about the time that gay awareness took hold and dividers began appearing between urinals. They were found by word of mouth, at least until cruisingforsex.com began listing places over ten years ago.

Every man who has cruised in a tearoom has said to himself, "Well I'm not doing anything overt. I'm just waiting here in a stall... occasionally tapping my foot. If a gay guy sees it and makes a return gesture, I've found someone who is up for some cock play. If a straight guy sees it, well, I'm just slowly tapping my foot. If a cop sees it, well how can he prove anything? I'm only tapping my foot." And so Larry Craig finds himself in the loudest tearoom bust in history, testing every cruiser's fantasy defense, the "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" defense.

For Sen. Craig, this is plan "B." Following direction from his arresting officer, the senator first tried to make it go away like many before him by pleading and hoping it would never be found. Sgt. Dave Karsnia typically used the gay angle of the occurrence to convince the Senator to plead. Karsnia says, "You're gonna get out of here. You're gonna have to pay a fine and that will be it. Okay, I don't call media, I don't do any of that type of crap." Karsnia lays it on even thicker with value judgments. "I expect this from the guy that we get out of the hood. I mean people vote for you," he said. (Apparently, they don't have a problem with guns or narcotics in the Minneapolis 'hood. The problem is all that damn toe tapping and gay cocksucking.)

So now that the secret is out and the codes of tearoom cruising are part of popular mainstream culture, will more people look for the signs? Will more men participate? If it's been weeks since you've felt release and the guy in the stall next to you is tapping his foot, are you going to tap back hoping for a little action? Are more straight men going to discover what my old boss knew about male head? Sen. Larry Craig is leading the legal charge to make cruising signals constitutionally protected. If he wins, tearoom trysts might once again become downright fashionable.

Brandy, You're a Fine Girl

2007-09-11T13:32:00.001-04:00

I have a playlist of songs mostly from the 70s that I love. It includes two songs back-to-back that are two of the saddest songs from the 70s: "Brandy" and "Wildfire." Let's talk about lovely Brandy.

Don't let the Jersey Shore frat-party pop sound fool you, "Brandy" is a tale of irony, impossible love, and loneliness. Brandy is a looker. She works in a local tavern in a busy harbor town. She's got beautiful eyes, and hundreds of visiting seamen a day are wooed by her charm. Brandy is so beautiful, any one of these sailors would make landfall permanently to be her man. But Brandy loves someone else...

One summer day a handsome, honorable, rugged sailor came to town and stole Brandy's heart. He fell for this fine girl, too. They had a short but magical time. She would stare into his eyes as he told her stories about his life on the sea, seducing her into lovemaking that was glorious and full of passion, yet laced with melancholy.

You see, Brandy knew she could not be with him. From the start he told her he would leave one day. She held out hope, sure, but she dreaded the day he would go. When the time came, they spent one final night together. He gave her a locket engraved with his name for her to remember him. Brandy cried as he held her in his arms, trying to understand how his true love was the sea.

And now every day late at night when the drunks are passed out on the street, she leaves the tavern at closing time. She survived another day of inebriated men who say they want her, need her, and pledge their devotion to her. As she walks silently through town, gently handling the locket around her neck, she can still hear the words from the one love she lost:

"Brandy, you're a fine girl... but my life, my lover, my lady is the sea..."

Pavarotti: The Passing of an Icon

2007-09-06T19:43:00.001-04:00

I am a little surprised how saddened I am to hear of the death of Luciano Pavarotti. I sang opera as a voice major in college, but his recordings had no special place in my studies or listening habits.

Still today when I read the news that he died, I loaded 25 Pavarotti recordings on my iPod and played them all day at work. I especially listened to my favorite, "Caruso." See the video below.

Tonight I plugged the pod to the stereo and cranked up "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's Turandot. His voice was incredibly powerful.

I gave up singing, and maybe because he is an icon of opera, his death reminds me of the death and disappointment of that part of my life. Maybe the loss just reminds me of all the emotion in his voice. I empathize with his fans and the professional classical music community. I'm sure many people are telling their Pavarotti stories tonight.

Below are lyrics written for Caruso, but tonight - they apply to Pavarotti!

Ah si, e' la vita che finisce
ma lui non ci pens� poi tanto
anzi si sentiva felice
e ricominci� il suo canto:
Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai...

But, yes, it is life that ends
and he did not think so much about it
on the contrary, he already felt happy
and continued his song:
I love you very much,
very, very much, you know...

"Caruso" [lyrics and translation]

"Nessun dorma:" [video] [lyrics and meaning]

Senator Craig, Closet Case, Doesn't Know "Gay Is Good"

2007-08-30T15:23:00.001-04:00

U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R - Idaho), who was recently caught using non-verbal signals to request sexual conduct in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, announced that he is "not gay." This is true. He is a closet case.

A closet case is a man who at one level or another craves sexual contact with other men, but because of personal "moral" convictions or societal pressures can never display an honest representation of his personal sexuality. A closet case is not just "in the closet." (Even a committed gay couple living together could be in the closet.) A closet case lives one public life, but hides his physical desires within the shadows of semi-public sexual meeting spaces. Gay folk singers Romanovsky and Phillips in their 1984 song "Closet Case" call these liaisons "ten-minute love affairs."

Senator Craig has constructed a life that consists of contradictions, denial, and compartmentalization. He must be struggling terribly. He knows deep down he has these feelings, but he only knows how to navigate this "upright" public persona he has crafted for himself over decades. He has prayed that no one would catch him during one of his compulsive bottom-feeding moments, but with the flash of a badge under a stall his future streamed before his eyes eliciting the cry: "No!" Now his own deep personal shame has become the punch line of every joke on the lips of everyone in America.

Imagine your own deep personal shame. Now imagine it as some hack joke on Leno.

You see, this is the kind of society that the religious right wants. Men who desire women have constructed elaborate societal laws, organizations, and traditions to avoid the icky feeling they get when men desire men. Men who desire other men are supposed to suppress that basic truth (while women may only desire other women if it titillates). Men who desire other men and their female equivalents are not part of society: no equal rights, no marriage, no job security, no military service, no housing security, no relationship recognition. But you can't suppress sexuality, you can only hide it. The only way of satisfying sexual desires when you are not part of society is trolling the shadows for sex.

I feel bad for Senator Craig. As a closet case, he is a representation of a bygone era. In that era homo sex was never admitted. It was hidden in interstate rest stops, behind rows of library bookshelves, and under bushes at lightly-used public parks. Homo sex was found cruising malls and executed in cheap motels or back alleys. Sure, men had sex with other men, but they weren't "gay." They went home to their wives, after all.

That era is ending. Fifty years ago an astronomer got fired from his government job for admitting that he desired men. He proclaimed the truth was self-evident. "Gay is good," he said. He knew he had only one life, and he wanted to live it his way. Nobody was going to tell him different. His example was part of the beginnings of a social movement that agrees: Gay IS Good.

Even today under tremendous pressure when everyone knows better, Senator Craig cannot admit what he was trying to do. He formed his lifestyle believing gay is bad � "gay" only means hiding, fear, shame, attacks, and self-loathing. Out of fear, he chooses to live a life that contradicts his natural tendencies. He can not square his chosen lifestyle with his actual desires. As a result, a U.S. senator was willing to risk everything � life, marriage, character, fortune, high public career � to give a stranger a hand job under a stall.

Images from Bear Invasion 2007

2007-08-12T17:20:00.000-04:00

The District of Columbia Bear Club hosted the eleventh Bear Invasion run and contest this weekend, August 10-12, 2007, in Washington, D.C. events were held at the Holiday Inn on the Hill, Titan's Ramrod, the Green Lantern, and the Eagle.

Lindsay Lohan Has Ruined a Perfectly Good Song

2007-07-26T11:58:00.001-04:00

I love Lindsay Lohan's song "Rumors." At the time of its release, it was a rollicking retort to the media circus. Now, with her arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession after chasing her assistant, who was fleeing from Lohan down the highway, it just seems like a cry for help.

Saturday, stepping into the club
The music makes me wanna tell the DJ, turn it up
I feel the energy all around
And my body can't stop moving to the sound

But I can tell that you're watching me
And you're probably gonna write what you didn't see
Well, I just need a little space to breathe
Can you please respect my privacy

Why can't you just let me do
The things I wanna do
I just wanna be me
I don't understand
Why would you wanna bring me down
I'm only having fun
I'm gonna live my life (but not the way you want me to) ...

I just need to free my mind (my mind)
Just wanna dance and have a good time (good time) ...

Senator Hatch Supports Adultery and Prostitution, but not Gay Americans.

2007-07-11T11:58:00.001-04:00

Bullshit, Senator Hatch.

"'I've never judged a human being on those type of issues,' attested Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)" about Senator David Vitter's (R-Utah) recent announcement that his number was on the DC Madam's call list.

No, Senator Hatch, you won't judge a fellow rich white heterosexual male Republican if he cheats on his wife while championing typical BS "family values" from the Senate floor. You don't mind when heterosexuals form "Big Love" style families with two or ten moms ("I'm not here to justify polygamy. All I can say is, I know people in Hildale who are polygamists who are very fine people"). But you will judge and justify denying an entire population of people based on their sexual orientation. To you, gays are bad, indecent, and unclean. According to HRC's congressional scorecard, when your JOB is judging issues that affect human beings you have no problems judging based on sex; you vote 100% against gay and lesbian issues.

I have been thinking recently that there is this fundamental divide between progressives and Republicans. Progressives get SOOO mad at hypocrisy, as if hypocrisy itself is the issue. We consider hypocrisy itself enough evidence to show an argument to be wrong. The problem with that is, Republicans don't give a shit about hypocrisy. From the White House to your neighbor's house, it's part of normal operating procedure. Hypocrisy, intellectual dishonesty (you know, when facts and reality get in the way of even the basic structure of your argument, you just ignore them), and outright lies are what fuels Republican talking points.

Forget about hypocrisy! Republicans don't care about it. The media doesn't care about it. As far as I'm concerned, Sen. Hatch wasn't being hypocritical, he was stating his support for Vitter's illegal, adulterous behavior.

Face it. Republican politicians know that "traditional family values" is a myth. It just happens to be a high-and-mighty myth that wins them xenophobic votes. When a party's fundamental tactic is deceit, is it any wonder all the perverts getting caught in office are Republicans?

Where is the Love?

2007-07-06T14:26:00.001-04:00

I have been discovering meanings to songs I've been listening to for years. This one doesn't actually fit in that category because I am thinking about songs that are like 30 years old. But I DID discover the song a bit late (I tend to do that). A few years after this song came out I finally litened to all of the lyrics. It's amazing. Other than the spiritual tones, these are the thoughts that run through my mind sometimes. Where is the love?

What's wrong with the world, mama?
People living like they ain't got no mama
I think the whole world's addicted to the drama
Only attracted to the things that bring you trauma
Overseas yeah we tryin to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA the big CIA the Bloods and the Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate
Yeah madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
You gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all

People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?

It just ain't the same all ways have changed
New days are strange. Is the world the insane?
If love and peace so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations dropping bombs
Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones
With ongoing suffering
As the youth die young
So ask yourself is the loving really gone?
So I can ask myself really what is going wrong
With this world that we living in
People keep on giving in
Makin wrong decisions
Only visions of them livin and
Not respecting each other
Denyin thy brother
The wars' going on but the reasons' undercover
The truth is kept secret
Swept under the rug
If you never know truth
Then you never know love
Where's the love y'all? (I don't know)
Where's the truth y'all? (I don't know)
Where's the love y'all?

People killing people dying
Children hurt and you hear them crying
Can practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father father father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm getting older y'all people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin
Selfishness got us followin the wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting their young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what the see in the cinema
Whatever happened to the values of humanity?
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality?
Instead of spreading love, we're spreading anomosity
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down
It's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under
I gotta keep my faith alive, 'til love is found

Ask yourself... Where is the love?

Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?

One world. That's all we got. One world.
And something's wrong with it...

Just keep chanting, maybe it will come true

2007-06-06T13:25:00.001-04:00

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ACLU Makes Progress on Bigoted Georgia Court Ruling

2007-05-22T13:38:00.001-04:00

A mother wants to allow her sever year old to be cared for by another woman. A judge inserts himself and decides the woman is unfit simply because she's a lesbian and he throws the child into the social services machine. The American Civil Liberties union fought for the mother and foster-mom, and Family Services returned the child. Still the judge wants the foster-mom and her lawyer to be thrown in jail! This is disgusting.

Are you a member of the ACLU? Join or renew right now. They fight bigots in own country for our freedoms.

After almost three months, a seven-year-old girl has been reunited with the woman in whose care she'd thrived for almost a year before being sent to live in a crowded foster home...

Although Emma's biological mother told the court that she wished for the child to be raised and adopted by Hadaway, Wilkinson County Superior Court Judge John Lee Parrott ordered that the child be taken away from her home when he learned that Hadaway is a lesbian...

On May 21, the ACLU argued that Wilkinson County DFCS must allow Emma to return home. The ACLU will brief the appeal of Judge Parrott's contempt order in the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday of this week.

Hadaway is represented by Weber and Maggie Garrett of the ACLU of Georgia, Choe and James Esseks of the ACLU's national LGBT Project, and cooperating counsel Dan Bloom of Pachman Richardson, LLC in Atlanta and Amy Waggoner of Aussenberg Waggoner, LLP in Alpharetta.

More information on the case, Hadaway v. Fowler-Dennard, can be found online at www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/29566res20070502.html.

Our rights depend on our willingness to defend them. Join the ACLU today.

Obama's Tough Love

2007-05-03T13:25:00.001-04:00

A friend in Republican recovery sent me an e-mail bemoaning Obama's "airing dirty laundry" of the African-American community , comparing it to Bill Clinton's Sister Souljah moment. He's convinced white voters who responded to Clinton's move wouldn't vote for Obama anyway, while black voters may punish him for speaking out about these (not just) black issues.

I think, in the end, he won't pick up any of those white voters Clinton did, and he's going to permanently lose a lot of black voters who were questioning just how "black" he is.

in my opinion, while these issues affect the black community, it's not just the black community. Education and self-respect is an issue in every community, maybe especially in poor and minority communities. When people speak out, they get backlash, but inevitably there comes a time when people who need leadership will begin to listen.

This was my reply to him:

I think you're being too cynical. There's no evidence this is just a political move. He isn't saying anything near radical. These are common themes discussed regularly, including by him in the past. Plus he's not doing this to distance himself from anyone, like Clinton was.

Maybe he doesn't want people to throw trash out of their window not because he wants to pick up white voters, but because it's correct. I see that kind of littering don't-give-a-crap-about-my

-front-yard mentality every day, and it's always in neighborhoods that are a wreck - people dumping their Filet-O-Fish boxes on their own front steps.

If anything, maybe he's calculating that he can pick up black support by talking about issues that are resonating with black voters. I think black leaders are tired of their own constituents' attitude as well. I've seen it firsthand. I've covered events in my neighborhood where this very thing was discussed. "Stop killing each other."

Stop thinking like a Republican. Not everything is a cynical move. Sometimes things are about leadership.

Eastern Market

2007-04-30T13:29:00.001-04:00

I am just devastated over the fire at Eastern Market today. I can't even put my thoughts in order. Let me try to just enumerate them.

1.) I am very thankful no one was hurt. But the lack of human casualties bring the loss into focus. This was the destruction of something so important in the lives of countless Washington residents. I used to live a couple blocks from the market. Today, I am across town and don't visit as regularly as I have in the past, but I still feel a great connection to one of the heartbeats of Washington.

2.) Reading Marc Fisher in the post... He used all past tense. "Eastern Market was..." No, Marc, it is. The building is still standing. The merchants are still around. Eastern Market must be repaired. The merchants must have a place to survive in the meantime. The businesses who have been hit and will have to wait to reopen will need our support badly. Now. In the meantime. How can we help them?

3.) The building is still standing. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to the DCFD. The Post reported 160 firefighters fought the blaze until they had to leave the building then continued to fight it for hours after. Knowing our DC firefighters, they fought aggressively to put this out at great risk to themselves. It is only because of their dedication to our community that the building may rise from the ashes and was not a total loss. A monument should be erected during reconstruction thanking them for saving the historic landmark.

4.) The fire started in a dumpster behind the market. Another dumpster fire was reported last night, too, not too far away. Was this arson? I am against the death penalty, but can we beat the living tar out of the person who did this, if there was one?

5.) The loss of a building or a massacre of people devastates us because it happens in our backyard, but we feel guilt for our grief. Our local events cannot compare with the totality of destruction and loss in places like Iraq or Darfur. Are we even allowed to grieve?

John McCain on The Daily Show

2007-04-25T12:19:00.001-04:00

America's court jesters, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, are able to bring to the surface and speak truth to power because comedy is a powerful way of communicating with people's instinctive selves. When Stephen Colbert says ironically to Sean Penn, "Why should I care what any actor says about politics or international relations other than Ronald Regan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Fred Thompson?" he's speaking volumes about the hypocracy of the Right, the foolishness of their arguments, and the fakery of their leaders. Colbert so rocked the foundations of the White House Correspondents Association dinner last year that Washington is still feeling the aftershlocks in the form of the comedy stylings of Rich Little. But you can't BLAME Rich Little for bombing. His was a different time, and his material is stuck there. He's a walking "Best of" act from another era. This is the new millennium, a time of take-no-prisoners communication.

Jon Stewart sat down with John McCain last night and asked pointed difficult questions and gave blowback when McCain dodged the issues. Stewart's comedic relationship with McCain allowed for an interview that you would not see on a Sunday morning, where political talk shows are more about getting someone on the record instead of honestly debating issues. And it was infinitely deeper than most cable-talk "gotcha" shows that Stewart himself derided while a guest on the set of the thankfully-cancelled "Crossfire."

But even before the heat began, McCain began his interview with a joke about him wanting to kick a dog, and with a joke about bringing an IED (improvised explosive device) back from the infamous Iraq market stroll as a gift for Stewart to put under his desk. No, really, he actually said this. These are the comedy styling of John McCain, the man whose run for presidency ended before it began. At least he wasn't the entertainment at the White House Correspondents Association dinner.

Don't spend it all in one place

2007-04-17T18:41:00.001-04:00

OK So I am hardly one to get things done early. I just completed my tax filing online. I owe the Feds $90. The District owes me $103. I paid $12.95 to file both electronically, so at the end of the day I have a nickel left. Now that's what I call tax planning!

Note to Media, Re: Sanjaya and Divas

2007-04-04T17:04:00.001-04:00

Dear Media,

When Sanjaya doesn't get kicked off this week, will you PLEASE lay off the "What's wrong with American Idol?" stories. The media have created this rolling-snowball effect. Each week when he doesn't get kicked off, the media have a huge outcry about it, which brings more people into the "let's vote for Sanjaya" fold.

Initially, Sanjaya didn't get the boot I suspect for purely innocuous reasons. He's the first person of his ethnicity to make it to the top weeks, so he probably got a big boost from those voters. He's got a true fan base; don't ask me why. But heck, even I voted for Kevin last year just cause I thought he was adorable, but not the most talented. Plus Sanjaya had gotton a boost from the "vote for the worst" crew and Howard Stern, but I doubt those numbers were enough to really make a huge difference.

Then the crying girl was thrust upon an unsuspecting nation by Idol producers when 13-year-old Ashley Ferl was invited to sit front and center for the live show after she demonstrated her teary-eyed abilities in the dress rehearsal. While young Ms. Ferl didn't narrow her fandom to only Sanjaya, Idol cameras focused on her and her balling during his performance on "British Invasion" week. With this special attention given to Sanjaya, the media began to ride the wave.

Now every week when Sanjaya doesn't get kicked off, newscasters berate the show for its supposed faults. They jokingly encourage people to vote irresponsibly, because Idol "obviously" deserves it. They speculate that all of the voting is "of course" rigged. So why not just rig it so Sanjaya loses? Funny how the talking heads find fault with a fraudulent activity that they have no evidence happens, but then suggest the producers undertake fraudulent activity to reject someone who, for whatever reasons, is getting the votes.

Look, Sanjaya will lose. The sheer numbers of votes by people who actually care about the results will eventually overtake any naysayers. But this outrageous media attention is helping him last this far.

Idol has been accused in the past of racism because of voting results. Oddly, the media cared less about the racist 2004 election returns in Ohio than they did about why Jennifer Hudson got the boot in season three. Simply put, in many seasons Idol has what I call a "Diva upset." Sure, everyone loved Jennifer and Latoya and Fantasia. But even if the majority of people voting love a diva, eventually the divas will split the vote and one will go home. This usually happens when the divas get so popular that voters don't make the calls because they think their favorite diva is "safe."

This will happen again this year when either Melinda or LaKisha will be sent home before their time. They will split the diva vote, and one will be ousted early. The media will declare "racism!" and "vote rigging!" My prediction: LaKisha will get the boot and end up in fourth or fifth place. But will she beat Sanjaya?

Don't be afraid to let them show...

2007-03-20T13:52:00.000-04:00

I know HRC is again under fire from the gay blogging community, but is anyone else planning on going to the "True Colors" tour at Merriwearher Post pavillion?

http://www.truecolorstour.com/

True Colors Tour 2007
The Human Rights Campaign has joined forces with legendary performer Cyndi Lauper to launch a national tour in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. The True Colors 2007 Tour will feature Cyndi and other incredible artists including Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls and Margaret Cho as well as a variety of special guests, including Rufus Wainwright in certain cities. In addition, HRC will receive a portion of every ticket sold.

Photos this weekend

2007-03-19T11:49:00.000-04:00

The story about this weekend's counter-protest wasn't the Iraq war, it was really about the Wall. I made it to the protest area as the march was leaving DC to go to the Pentagon. I decided not to follow the march because I got caught up talking to some people who came to DC to counter-protest. My report didn't exactly come together as I had expected. I spent a lot of time at the Wall.

Also... I missed the action at the Pentagon, but I caught some protesters as they returned to DC to get arrested.