News 6/22/10

(Today in hair, makeup, clothing, opera gloves, cocktails and astonishing attitude: Bette Davis as Margot Channing. "That's me just an old kazoo and some sparklers.")

• Turns out gay guys are better at remembering people's faces because we use both sides of our brains. Just like women, thank you very much.

• Itty Bitty progress at a glacial pace helps conservatives rally against real change for GLBTQ's. Just a teeny bit frustrating. We need commitment and follow - through from this Administration, and I'm just not seeing it.

• Gulf rig owner complains that six - month drilling ban "seriously impedes our ability to destroy the planet."

• "Maybe I shouldn't have called my boss and idiot who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground?" Gen. Stanley McChrystal regrets some of his recent comments ahead of meetings with the very people he yakked about.

• Only five days left to vote for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia). Thanks to all of you who have already voted in the Freedom to Marry Blog 4 Equality contest! Go vote again for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia). Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th.

New 6/20/10

(Oh, the horror...)

• Hideous photographs of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer used to terrify immigrants ruled "too ghastly" by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Her Honor, the Governor has also been ordered to find a good moisturizer for "constitutional reasons." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) 

•  Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has the courage to look at the Gulf spill and say what no one else has the courage to say: "Everything's fine!"

• Here in Portland, Oregon it's Pride Day and Father's Day. We always do it that way here in PDX, how about where you live?

• Thanks to all of you who have already voted! Go vote again for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 5:00pm every day to remind me.) We're getting a lot of wonderful people talking about Why Equality Matters. Bravo!

One Little Word: Marriage. Isn't That Special?

 (The Church Lady is the property of NBC or Lorne Michaels or Dana Carvey or something like that. Go watch NBC right now or purchase a DVD of the Best of Saturday Night Live to make up for my wickedness in posting this picture. Beats me where it came from. I have a lot of crap on my hard drive, OK.)

Thank you all for the outpouring of support for The Flaming Chef in my quest to share the importance of marriage equality with the whole, damn world.

Just chatting with a cousin of mine today about the irony of so many religious conservatives getting bent out of shape about gay marriage.  This dynamic is particularly galling when you consider the fact that our struggle for marriage equality is about changing civil law, not about changing anyone's religion.

Believe what you want.

I'm looking for equality under the law. Not under your God.

• Go vote for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 1:35 every day to remind me.)

News 6/17/10

(Adriaen Brouwer's 1631 painting: "Unpleasant Duties" Unangenehme Vaterpflichten.)

Today in laughable stupidity:


In closing arguments in the Prop 8 trial yesterday Mr. Cooper Esq. demanded that gay marriage be banned because it breaks the holy bond between "sex and diapers."


Tell that to David Vitter.


Do these people know how ridiculous they are?

The LA Times, and the SF Chronicle have some good summaries of closing arguments out this morning.


In other news:

• As we approach the 41st anniversary of the events that led to the start of the modern gay rights movement, the NYT reviews Kate Davis and David Heilbroner's new film "Stonewall Uprising." David Carter's book on Stonewall, upon which the film is based, was spectacular by the way. It made my pulse race and my blood boil and I consider it a must-read. Go to your local, independent bookstore and buy a copy today. Go now!

• Terrible: Flash floods in France kill at least 20.

• Following the President's Tuesday address to the nation, the White House tries to assert itself on climate bill. Is it just me, or is it that every time Obama speaks up, someone has to claim that the the President isn't backing away from his commitments?

• Go vote for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 1:35 every day to remind me.)

Prop 8 Closing Arguments: An Idea On Trial

 (Hey Anita, perhaps you can offer some bankruptcy tips to our dear friend Maggie Gallagher. I'm not sure where this picture came from. No copyright infringement intended.)

Well, today was the big day and I've started reading the transcripts for the complete closing arguments in the Prop 8 case. The prop 8 Trial tracker coverage starts here. The Firedoglake coverage can be found here.

There are a lot of intersecting issues that I plan to explore over the next few days as I sift through the record.

The first thing that springs out at me from Olsen's closing argument is that the proponents of Prop 8 do not have a rational reason for the passage of their gay marriage ban. All they have is fear that marriage equality "might" harm society "some how."

Pretty flimsy. Especially since that's not how they sold Prop 8 to the people of California.

Their messaging leading up to California's vote was that Prop 8 was necessary to protect children from the idea that gay people are OK. But during the trial, they kept trying to imply that the passage of Prop 8 had nothing to do with animus.

How can you claim that the idea of me is enough to damage vulnerable children, and then turn around and claim you have nothing against me?

You can't.

Win or lose, this case is a game changer for the entire GLBTQ movement.

More tomorrow. I'm going to go make dinner now.

Steak!

And...

Go vote for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 1:35 every day to remind me.)

Freedom to Marry Voting Clarification

Just a reminder:

You must follow the link, choose me and fill in your name and zip code to be sure that you vote completely.

And remember to vote not once, not twice but once every 24 hours from now until the 25th.

I've set the alarm on my phone to remind me every day.

Pat Nixon and I thank you.

News 6/16/10

 (Today in hair: Flo. This image comes from the Florence Jean Castleberry fanpage on Facebook and is certainly the property of someone more powerful than I. No copyright infringement intended.)

Go vote for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 1:35 every day to remind me.)

Closing arguments in the Prop 8 Trial today. The Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Firedoglake and JoeMyGod, among others, will be liveblogging as everything unfolds. I will post updates later today as well. Riveting drama, n'est pas?

Balls. As part of their final filings in the case, anti-equality lawyers not only want Judge Walker to uphold Prop 8 but they want him to strike down the 18,000 marriages the CA Supreme Court already upheld. (Via JMG)

In other news...

It's like Camelot all over again. First Lady and daughters visit LA with much attendant hoopla.

Winking? Two Marines face possible hate-crimes charges for nearly beating a gay man to death "because he winked at them." I guess I'll tape my eyes open the next time the Fleet is in town.

"Discrimination is expensive" say Scouts. Boy Scouts of America back in court to defend their right to exclude queers (at taxpayer expense) in Philadelphia. At stake: a sweetheart, $1-a-year lease on a property that should cost them $200,000 annually.

The Flaming Chef says:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Homophobia is a business and as much as we are fighting to change the law, we are fighting to make that business model unprofitable.

Having my marriage recognized will be a victory, but the day Maggie Gallagher has to get a real job will be truly sweet...

Go vote for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 1:35 every day to remind me.)

Deja vu, right?

The Flaming Chef Needs Your Help

OK Flamers, the Chef needs your help.

Go to Freedom To Marry's Blog for Equality Contest page and vote for me, Jason Zenobia. Do it now while I wait here sipping my coffee.

(sip) Aah. That's good coffee...

Done? OK, good. The Flaming Chef is one of ten finalists and three of us Equality Bloggers will be chosen to attend the Netroots Nation Conference in Las Vegas.

Now, here's the tricky part: If you haven't voted, I need you to vote now and if you've already voted, I need you to vote again.  That's right, vote again. Not once, not twice, but once a day - every 24 hours until and including the 25th. That's 10 more days of voting and every, single vote counts.

I've set my phone to ring at me every day at 1:35 from now until the 25th to make sure I don't forget.

And if you haven't already done so, head over to the Freedom to Marry site and consider helping them out with a financial contribution. It's the big, red button on the upper right-hand side of the page. They've been tireless in their efforts to bring the truth of the Prop 8 Trial to the general public, even as anti-equality forces have fought to keep the whole process in the dark.

For the price of a prune Danish and a twelve-ounce mocha (with a shot of hazelnut syrup) you could help out Freedom to Marry - and we need your help as tens of thousands of families still aren't recognized by the states we live in or by the federal government.

My family, in fact.

We're fighting over whether or not we exist, and we need the help of everyone who cares about justice.