Obama, Awkwardly, Does His Own Video

Days after Hillary stepped forward with her moving It Gets Better video, Obama did his own. I hope he was planning to do this anyway, but if not, I'm glad Hillary had the moral courage to do this first and hopefully inspire Obama to do the same. The timing is both good and bad. It's good in that it's toward the beginning of a YouTube campaign which has gone viral, and Hillary and Obama's contributions have taken it mainstream so that others may watch the many moving videos on it.

It's bad timing because some of Obama's words and messages to teens could be lost in his actions just days earlier, in which his administration fought a federal judge's ruling against DADT, a policy which Obama has said he would like to be appealed. He just wants it to be done very slowly, just by Congress and after the studies have been done by the military. Sometimes the time to act is now, however. DADT should have been dead long ago. Let it die.

Gay people deserve the same rights as anyone else. This was true yesterday, it's true today and it's true tomorrow. No more stalling and excuses. It is time.

Hillary Stands Firmly On Our Side, Unlike....Her Boss

Today we see two stark differences. First, we see President Obama asking for a reversal of Judge Phillips' order to stop DADT. By contrast, we see Secretary of State Hillary Clinton releasing this thoughtful anti-bullying video message to gay teens. She is truly and courageously leading, and making clear to LGBT people that they are worthy and that in HER department and in the future, they can be open and valued for who they are.

It just has to make you wonder.... would SHE have fought against DADT? I don't think so.



Thanks, Hillary. We always had faith that your promises would be backed up by your actions.
The same cannot be said, unfortunately, about your former opponent and current boss.

Obama could have done a video like this. He could have said that things really changed for African Americans and that things will also change for LGBT people. He could have let the judge's ruling stand instead of fighting so actively (and destructively) against it.

In this article, we learn that Obama's administration says it would be "enormously disruptive" to make this change now? REALLY, Obama? Is that more disruptive than releasing HUNDREDS of servicepeople (428 in 2009 alone) who are loyally serving their countries? Imagine the disruption that a discharge can cause not just for that person but their unit and the morale in that unit -- knowing their colleague was dismissed because the country for whom they are fighting will not fight for them.

At least Hillary is fighting for us, doing what she can. Thanks again, Hillary. You are a true leader.

Local Activist Gets Discriminated Against, Fights Back and Wins!

It's not every day that an act of discrimination gets called out and turned around so quickly. Caitlin Breedlove (left) and her girlfriend were recently asked to leave the Cameron Village shopping center in downtown Raleigh by a security guard for what he called "inappropriate behavior" -- which was showing a minor amount of affection - one arm around the other and a simple peck on the cheek. The couple had just enjoyed lunch on Wednesday, October 13th. Ms. Breedlove stated the security guard told the them that they were being inappropriate and that "nobody wants to see that here ...."

One could say that the security guard picked on the wrong person, as Caitlin Breedlove is a community activist for gay rights and the rights of others who face discrimination. She rallied her troops to call and email Cameron Village, who then apologized in writing, suspended the guard and plan to give sensitivity training to all of their security guards.

Yesterday, a crowd of 100 gathered at the shopping area to generate awareness about what happened and similar acts of discrimination and to promote tolerance -- especially on the heels of so many unfortunate suicides of young gay people who have heard too many hateful messages like the kind the security guard said. Local resident Tracy Hollister said, “These two women were doing nothing wrong.” She continued, “There should be a lot more kisses in this society than violence.”

A shout out to Caitlin Breedlove and those inspired to action by her courage -- and a victory for common sense, humanity, and tolerance.

Is DADT Finally Dead?

After US District Court Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that DADT must be immediately lifted, it was sad to hear Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicating that the White House is weighing their options to appeal. Unbelievable! Gates states that Judge Phillips ruling would have "enormous consequenses" for the men & women of the miltary and that permitting gay and lesbian troops to serve openly and honestly would require a lot of careful preparatin and "training." Oh, please! Being gay is normal, natural and NO BIG DEAL. How can a little non-job-related knowledge about a fellow serviceman or servicewoman (that you probably already knew) really impact you?

I'm trying to imagine how long the training course could possibly be and what they would say. I'm thinking something like these sentences and a hearty hierarchical command to behave nicely would do the trick: "As you know, those who serve in the military have different races, genders and sexual orientations, and as Americans it is our duty to judge people by their characters and not by any other criteria. Now that some of us can be honest about who we are, I ask that everyone maintain their professionalism and respect and continue to serve the military honorably and nobly."

Seriously -- what are they afraid of, other than fear itself --in the form of homophobia?

And the Federal government should not be sending a message to the general public that it's okay to discrimate or that policies should be based on fears and personal prejudices. This only validates the hostile attitude some have toward gay people.

It's time for an outdated policy to die a peaceful death. Let it rest in peace.

And Obama, you don't have to appeal this thing. Show us some moral courage and a little backbone. You've said you want this appealed. You've said it's wrong. You've said it's time for it to end. So let it end. Don't confuse everyone by saying one thing and doing another. Be the change you said you wanted to see in the world.

Mormans Put Gays Behind the 8 Ball

We all heard in the news about how actively the Mormans in Utah were funnelling money to the Yes on Hate/8 campaign our in California. The movie "8: The Morman Proposition" -- http://www.mormonproposition.com/-- reveals that they were even more actively involved than we thought, and for even longer than the Californa campaign in 2008. They starting their plots and plans to "protect the sanctity of marriage" with surveys and front groups in Hawaii in the mid-1990's and they are continuing their fight behind the scenes through other front groups, most notably the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) now. (Remember that silly parodied ad on "A Storm in Coming"? That was classic NOM.)

Watch this movie to see how destructive a hierarchical, authoritarian-based religious group can be in coercing its members to act and give and in how little they even try to understand a minority group that they see as an interruption and threat to their religious views of the world and authority.

What's more, they are involved in an active coverup of the extent of their financial involvement, which included professional web sites (see http://www.preservingmarriage.org/), video ads, yard signs, call centers and more which must have totaled millions and millions, yet they are only claiming $2,000 or so and $20K in legal service donations.

Why the coverup and front groups? Beacause what they are doing is illegal. Federal law prohibits involvement in political campaigns and substantial lobbying. See this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpartisan_(American_organizations)

But if all these allegations and all this evidence is true re the Mormans and Prop 8, then this is a blatant violation of the federal law prohibiting involvement in any political campaign and substantial lobbying. Watch more here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWCum9yQhTg&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/14/12346/2328/470/683973

And now HRC is calling on NOM to explain why its Ruth Institute is actively supporting a gubernatorial candidate in California -- Carly Fionina.

http://www.hrc.org/14962.htm

Is there no end in sight to the Morman's illegal and offensive intrusion into politics and the private lives of gays and lesbians? Who will stop them? Is the IRS strong enough? Is any Federal agency strong enough these days?