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• Barney Frank warns Obama about dissing the gays — 'Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told the Rothenberg Political Report Friday that he "would have a hard time voting for the [Democratic] ticket" if Sen. Barack Obama picks former United States Sen. Sam Nunn as his vice-presidential running-mate...
  
  'The Massachusetts Democrat cites a number of examples of what he calls Nunn's "real record of hostility" toward gays, placing greatest emphasis on Nunn's September 1996 vote against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which failed in the Senate by a single vote...
  
  'Frank argues that adding Nunn to the Democratic ticket would cost Obama support in the gay community and would make it impossible for the Massachusetts Congressman to be a strong advocate for the Democratic Presidential nominee.'
  
  (rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com)
  
  I'm glad to see someone as powerful as Frank bringing this issue up, and attempting to push it into the mainstream press. However, given what we've seen from Obama regarding gay rights - refusing interviews with gay press; choosing a right-wing preacher who'd formerly called gays murderers to be the key speaker at an Obama campaign event, where, nominally representing the campaign, he said homosexuality was a choice; refusing to appear with pro-marriage-equality politicians; and stating that marriage isn't for gay people - I'd be surprised if Frank's input matters.
  
  Now that Obama has announced his support for Bush's authorizing-unconstitutional-spying bill, it seems like straight people have started realizing he may not be the idealistic politician he sold himself as. I'm disgusted to see prominent so-called progressives like Atrios denouncing him on this, after they downplayed the pseudo-Realpolitik Obama demonstrated with McClurkin. The whole thing demonstrates that if you're willing to sideline the interests of the minorities that make up your base, you'll soon find yourself sidelined as well. That's something I thought progressives were supposed to understand viscerally by now.
  
  What concerns me is that these are the sorts of actions that I believe cost Kerry the election - not that middle America saw him as too far to the left, but that they saw that he wouldn't stand up for the left, and deduced he wouldn't stand up for anything. Which is precisely what it seemed to me, during the primary, that Obama supporters detested about Hillary. I don't think Kerry's vote for war authorization helped him in the presidential campaign. It certainly didn't help Clinton. I see no reason to believe that Obama's anti-gay-marriage rhetoric will help him - it certainly didn't win the White House for either of the last two people who spouted it. I don't think Obama's FISA vote will help, since it just plays into Rove's framing of national security as an area where the Republicans are always right. And I don't think choosing Nunn would be any more useful than Kerry choosing Liebermann. How many failures does it take mainstream Democrats to realize this? How many super-right-wing Democratic VP nominees who oppose the interests of the Democratic base will they choose before the light dawns?
  
  Grow a spine, and you'll win true cross-party respect - just as Bush enjoys, even with a 27% approval rating from the public. Demonstrate that you'll cave on any issue, and not only will your base detest you, your opposition and the undecided voters will as well.
  
  11:01PM, Thursday, December 6th, 2007
• Police brutality alive and well in Memphis — 'Surveillance video of the incident shows an unidentified officer hitting Johnson several times with handcuffs wrapped around his knuckles, as another officer holds Johnson's shoulders as she tries to protect herself.
  
  'After being struck repeatedly, Johnson rose to protect herself and was maced in response.'
  
  (advocate.com)
  
  And it's all on video.
  11:01PM, Thursday, December 6th, 2007
• Daughters of Bilitis founders, gay rights activists, finally legally wed! — 'Cheers filled San Francisco's City Hall shortly after 5 p.m. as longtime lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, partners for more than 50 years, began their second wedding - and their first legal union.
  
  'Mayor Gavin Newsom, who officiated the ceremony in the reception area of his office, said it was a fitting way to memorialize last month's state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in California, which took effect at 5:01 p.m.'
  
  (sfgate.com)
  
  We need more politicians like Newsom. And more good news about equality and progress, like this.
  05:00PM, Thursday, December 6th, 2007
• Willie Brown: Obama refused to be photographed with Newsom because of gay marriage — 'Just four years ago, current Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is said to have declined to have his picture taken in San Francisco with Newsom, who was then at the center of a national uproar over his decision to allow same-sex marriage in San Francisco.
  
  '"I gave a fundraiser, at his (Obama's) request at the Waterfront restaurant," said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. "And he said to me, he would really appreciate it if he didn't get his photo taken with my mayor. He said he would really not like to have his picture taken with Gavin."'
  
  (from sfgate.com)
  
  I remember Newsom saying what is referred to in the article -- that one of the top Dem. candidates refused to be photographed with him.
  
  Curious.
  05:01AM, Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
• Krugman on the media and comparisons to Reagan — Just go read the thing.
  
  I continue to be astounded that any Democrat thinks it's a good idea to speak positively about Reagan's leadership. Did these people sleep through the 80s? Do they remember thinking we were all going to die in nuclear armageddon when we started bombing Libya? Do they remember the budget deficit, the crappy economy of the late 80s, the blatant government homophobia involved with ignoring AIDS, the racism of the war on welfare (and the war on drugs, for that matter), the lying to Congress, the illegal arms sales, the propping up of Saddam Hussein, the opposition to the ERA? Seriously, have they forgotten these things? My recollection of the Reagan years is not of an "optimistic" era. It's of a daily dread of fiery death, and a constant war on the poor, on minorities and women, on anyone but rich white businessmen.
  
  Reagan hagiography is not about optimism, it's about revising history. I don't recall Bush speaking reverently about Carter while he was running, so why is it not considered shocking for Obama to talk about Reagan this way?
  09:01PM, Saturday, December 1st, 2007
• How did I miss this? Beverly Sills died last year. — She was a great artist and a great advocate for classical music, and for the New York City Opera. Out of the compendious Times obituary, perhaps most notable is this: 'In the spring of 1976 she sang Violetta in “La Traviata” at the Met, having gotten the company to agree to invite her longtime colleague Ms. Caldwell to conduct, making her the first woman to take the Met’s podium.'
  
  Good for her.
  
  (from nytimes.com)
  08:01AM, Saturday, December 1st, 2007
• EPA administrator overruled recommendations of his underlings to block CA's greenhouse emissions initiative — 'Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson overruled the unanimous opinion of his legal and technical staff in blocking California's effort to cut greenhouse gases from cars and trucks - a new revelation that California officials say shows his decision was based on politics, not the law.'
  
  (from sfgate.com)
  
  Is the Bush admin. intentionally setting out to portray themselves as comic book villains?
  09:00PM, Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
• CIA destroys evidence and obstructs investigations to shield itself from consequences of breaking the law — 'The CIA destroyed video evidence of the coercive interrogation of al-Qaida operatives held under its secret rendition programme in order to shield agents from prosecution, it was revealed yesterday...
  
  'Officials from the September 11 commission told the New York Times yesterday they had formally requested from the CIA evidence of interrogations, and had been informed that all materials had been handed over.'
  
  (from guardian.co.uk)
  07:01AM, Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
• 'Renaissance in plesiosaur research' yields dividends — 'Initial excavation of a site on the Svalbard islands in August yielded the remains, teeth, skull fragments and vertebrae of a reptile estimated to measure nearly 40 feet long, said Joern Harald Hurum of the University of Oslo.
  
  '"It seems the monster is a new species," he told The Associated Press...
  
  '"We are regularly seeing new species of plesiosaurs popping up — in a way because, in the past 10 or 15 years, there has been what we call a renaissance in plesiosaur research," Evans said by telephone.'
  
  (AP via sfgate.com)
  04:01AM, Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
• Military demands return of signing bonuses from soldiers wounded in the line of duty — 'Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.
  
  'A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.
  
  '"I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they're telling me they want their money back," he explained.
  
  'It's a slap for Fox's mother, Susan Wardezak, who met with President Bush in Pittsburgh last May. He thanked her for starting Operation Pittsburgh Pride which has sent approximately 4,000 care packages.
  
  'He then sent her a letter expressing his concern over her son's injuries, so she cannot understand the U.S. Government's apparent lack of concern over injuries to countless U.S. Soldiers and demands that they return their bonuses.'
  
  (from kdka.com)
  05:01AM, Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
• More...

Latest articles:

• Why I'm Not an Obama Fan — Friends, acquiantences, and strangers have assumed that I was an Obama supporter often enough that it's time for me to articulate why I'm not.
  05:01AM, Thursday, December 6th, 2007
• We're doomed — MoveOn just endorsed Obama for president. I've got the same sinking feeling I had when it became clear that Kerry would be the democratic nominee.
  01:01AM, Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
• Upgrade problems: PHP and Leopard — After upgrading to Leopard, PHP doesn't work. It took me a while to figure out why.
  01:01AM, Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
• Flag Day Phew: Marriage Survives a Vote — On Thursday June 14th, the 40th anniversary week of Loving v Virginia, legislators in the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention voted (surprisingly) not to put a measure on the ballot that would have allowed straight people to vote to change the Constitution to make marriage discrimination against gays and lesbians legal. (Got that all?) I tried to visit my Representative, and saw a bit of a circus.
  03:01PM, Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
• You all know that Rudy Giuliani has a thing for dressing in drag, right? — I assumed it was common knowledge that Giuliani, Republican front-runner for the 2008 presidential nomination, had a long record of cross-dressing - but I was recently talking to a bunch of people who hadn't heard about this.
  11:02AM, Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
• More...

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