Common Sense Democracy

Via the HRC:

With all that’s going on in Washington this week, I felt it was important to update all of you on the role that HRC has played in this unfolding story concerning Mark Foley.

Congressman Mark Foley’s sexually-charged communications with young congressional pages was reprehensible and we have strongly condemned it. We have also been equally quick to condemn some in the GOP for their attempts to blame this scandal on the GLBT community.

Just hours ago, following Speaker Hastert’s press conference, I sent a letter to him expressing outrage at the efforts of some in his party to scapegoat gay people for this unfortunate situation. You can read the full letter here.

At the beginning of the week, I issued the following statement to the press:

“Gay or straight, Democrat or Republican, it is completely inexcusable for an adult to have this kind of communication with a minor. Congressman Foley brought shame on himself and this Congress by his horrible behavior and complete lack of judgment. We strongly condemn his behavior.”

On Tuesday, we issued a press release condemning the Republican leadership for avoiding responsibility and for trying to blame our community. You can read the press release here.

On Wednesday, HRC Vice President, David Smith, appeared on MSNBC to combat Charmaine Yoest of the Family Research Council. Her group has been saying that the House Republican leaders were afraid to investigate the Foley matter because they were afraid of being labeled “homophobic.” That’s right! - the same members of Congress who have been trying to write our community out of the Constitution were supposedly unwilling to stop Foley because they were worried about their image as gay bashers. This is some of the most convoluted nonsense out there. David did an excellent job of going after FRC’s illogical and inflammatory statements. You can watch the clip here.

Yesterday, I also submitted an editorial to Huffington Post, the popular online website run by Arianna Huffington. We need to get the focus of this debate back on topic. It has nothing to do with Mark Foley’s sexual orientation and everything to do with the fact that the pages were teenagers entrusted to the care of Foley and the entire House of Representatives. You can read my column here.

Last night, I continued HRC’s full-on offense against the scapegoating and half-truths permeating this debate, when I appeared on CNBC’s “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.” Donny had an excellent show looking at how the media continues to perpetuate and exacerbate the more outlandish excuses for the scandal. (Foley was molested as a child; he was in the closet; and, so on. All of these issues are beside the point.) Click here to watch a clip of the show.

Keep up-to-date on developments and HRC’s aggressive response to the smearing and vilifying of our community by visiting www.hrc.org and please feel free to forward this message.

Sincerely,
Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign

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As a veteran myself, I just want to wish all those who have served in our military a happy Veteran’s Day. With so much going on in the world, it’s important to say thanks to those who are still fighting the fight. It’s also important to recognize the contributions of ALL veterans, not just the straight ones. There are over 65,000 gay and lesbians currently serving in the armed forces but they are not allowed to serve openly. The Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN.org) states,

According to the Pentagon, it has discharged more than 10,000 service members for being gay, including nearly 800 with skills deemed “mission critical” by the Department of Defense. Those who have been discharged include linguists, combat engineers, pilots, medical professionals and others. According to statistician Gary Gates, the armed forces could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits by repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” in addition to the 65,000 lesbian and gay Americans already on duty in the active duty, reserve and national guard forces.

This session of congress has finally introduced legislation to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, with 100 members of congress co-sponsoring the bill. The bill is called the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1059). If you want to learn more about the legislation you can check out the SLDN website.

Some may say, “hey this is Veteran’s Day, don’t hijack this holiday to push your own gay agenda, it’s about the veterans not about being gay”. Well it is about the veteran’s but it’s about all of us who served. Have you served? Did you get off your ass and stand up and do your time? If you didn’t, then don’t talk to me about hijacking Veteran’s day. I earned it. I served for 4 years and lived a misserable lie just because I felt being an officer was more important than being gay. With the ban on gays in the military, Veteran’s day is merely a holiday for “everyone else”. Gay veterans have served, fought and died to protect a way of life they could not themselves enjoy and until we are all equal under the law with the same opportunities to pursue our own careers along side everyone else, then there is no such thing as a nice quiet Veteran’s day.

You can take action and tell your representative in congress that you support the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Visit the Human Rights Campaign website for information on sending an email. You may not have served in the military yourself, but you can at least get off your ass this time around and send a simple email. As they say, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

And if you think the ban on gays and lesbians is justified and should continue, then head on down to your local recruiters office and sign up. There’s plenty of room in line for those allowed to serve.

We are a nation of smart, talented and skilled people. Imagine what we could accomplish if we were also equal.

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Governor Schwarzenegger is slated to veto the recent law that passed in California legalizing same-sex marriage. Via Political Animal:

In a careful statement, Schwarzenegger press secretary Margita Thompson invoked the voter approval in March 2000 of Proposition 22, which said: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

“The governor believes the matter should be determined not by legislative action — which would be unconstitutional — but by court decision or another vote of the people of our state,” the statement said. “We cannot have a system where the people vote and the Legislature derails that vote.”

….The California Supreme Court is likely to decide next year whether Proposition 22 and other state laws that define marriage are constitutional.

This is unbelievable. “The Governor believes the matter should be determined not by legislative action — which would be unconstitutional — but by court decision.” Didn’t we just go through this with Bush and all the republicans saying that activist judges were running rampant over the countries laws?? First they say that activist judges should not be left to interpret and mold the law as they see fit, now they are saying that things should be left up to the courts to decide. What a bunch of crap.

Apparently activist judges are only “activist” when it’s against the republican agenda.

Technorati Tags: CA, gay+marriage, same-sex+marriage, proposition+22, California+Supreme+Court, activist+judges

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A post at Proceed at your own risk: SCHINDLERS AND THE BUSH BROTHERS: ENEMIES OF MARRIAGE?.

How ironic is it that this horrific attack on the bonds of holy matrimony comes from the very people who almost daily claim to be the ones who are protecting the institution of marriage from such things as two same sex people in love who want to get married and raise a family. I suppose this inconsistency and hypocrisy is cut from the same cloth that has our President fighting stem cell research while at the same time authorizing the slaughter of innocents and our own troops in Iraq?

Shame on the Schindlers. Shame on Jeb Bush.

Well said.

Technorati Tags: Michael+Schiavo, Schindlers, Marriage, religious+right, Terry+Schiavo

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Via towleroad: The Hypocrite Speaks

Continuing coverage of the sex scandal with Spokane WA, Mayor James West. He appeared on the Today Show with Matt Lauer. He continues to claim that he is the victim here.

Let’s separate the gay rights issues from the sexual abuse and misuse of power issues. They are completely different things and for people to attempt to link this as some slanderous attack of a reasonable “closeted” gay man is ridiculous. He is accused of molesting underage boys and offering prominent jobs to gay men he met online on gay.com. These are not gay problems, they are a psychological and criminal problem.

You can view the full video clip at Crooks And Liars.

Technorati Tags: James West, Spokane, Gay.com, anti-gay discrimination

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The news surrounding the sex probe into the activities of the right-wing Mayor of Spokane, WA is spreading quick. (See previous post). A few updates have surfaced:

CNN reports that the computers of the Mayor have been seized.

The Seattle Times has published an editorial; West must resign as Spokane mayor.
Technorati Tags: gay rights, spokane, gay.com, city corruption, Jim West, Spokane Mayor

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A recent series of breaking news reports out of Spokane, Washington, say that City Mayor, Jim West, is being investigated for a series of claims involving gay sexual encounters with young boys. The Spokesman-Review news has published several reports from a 3-year investigation detailing allegations that the Mayor has used positions of public trust over the years to develop relationships with young men. He has served as a Army paratrooper, sheriff’s deputy, Boy Scout Leader, member of the state legislature and Mayor. Allegations range from using city computers to masturbate on gay.com in his City Hall office, having consensual sex with an 18 year old he met online, appointing young gay men to prominent positions within the government, as well as molesting a young boy when he was a sheriff deputy.

An 18-year-old Spokane high school senior meets someone who says he’s 53 in a gay chat room online.

After talking for several weeks using the online alias “Cobra82nd,” the older man suggests the two meet for a dinner date, and the teenager accepts.

The older man arrives in his late-model blue Lexus convertible on a warm June evening, and the two talk face to face for the first time over dinner at a trendy restaurant in north Spokane.

Afterward, the young man picks up the tab. He smiles as he’s given the keys to the convertible in the restaurant parking lot.

Minutes later, while driving curvy roads north of the city, he asks the older man, whom he doesn’t recognize, what he does for a living.

“He basically asked, ‘Can I trust you?’.” the young man said in a recent interview.

“I’m like, ‘Yeah,’.” he continued. “I think this guy’s crazy. What now? Then he says like, ‘I’m the mayor of Spokane.’

“I was kind of silent for a minute,” the young man said, recalling his disbelief, “but then it clicked: his face, TV commercials, stuff like that.”

Until that moment last summer, the young man, who asked that his name not be used, said he had no idea he was on a date with Spokane Mayor Jim West.

The evening ended with consensual sex, according to the young man, who has not told his family about his personal life. “I’ve never wanted to see him again after that.”

The Editor of the Spokesman-Review added a note to the readers saying,

This is not a story about sexual orientation. This is a story about alleged sexual abuse of children and misuse of power and authority. Using the trappings of office to lure and groom young sex partners, barely of legal age, is the public’s business whether those potential partners are men or women. West is the city’s second strong mayor, a powerful political force, the face of our city whose secret life could open him to blackmail or extortion attempts and compromise his ability to do his job.

This isn’t about about whether the Mayor is gay or not. It’s about his abuse of power. It’s about the hypocrisy of government legislating morality. This is another example of how prominent members of the conservative right fake their religous and political beliefs for personal gain while leading a secret life on the side, often pursuing aggressive legislative agendas to discriminate against the gay and lesbian community. Politicians who say one thing and do the other, pushing laws to make private consensual sex acts between members of the same sex, illegal, even in the privacy of their own home, while at the same time secretly luring young boys into their homes to perform these same illegal acts.

I think it’s important that people be made aware of stories like this. “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The problem is that the corrupt seek power.

Read the investigative reports at Jim West: Spokesman-Review Investigative Reports.
Technorati Tags: gay rights, spokane, gay.com, city corruption, Jim West, Spokane Mayor

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In a not-so-surprising reversal, given the recent heat they’ve received, Microsoft has announced that it has decided to publically renew its support for both federal and Washington State legislation prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender expression.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer commented in an email to Microsoft employees “…I’ve concluded that diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda. Since our beginning nearly 30 years ago, Microsoft has had a strong business interest in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest and most diverse workforce possible. I’m proud of Microsoft’s commitment to non-discrimination in our internal policies and benefits, but our policies can’t cover the range of housing, education, financial and similar services that our people and their partners and families need. Therefore, it’s appropriate for the company to support legislation that will promote and protect diversity in the workplace.”

I think this is a very smart move on Microsoft’s part; albeit late. It sends a clear message that if the religious right wants to use it’s influence, religious values and God to promote hate and discrimination that there is just as much influence on the other side to push back. Common sense will prevail. I think people are just getting sick of their church teaching hate.

I’m still not going to use Internet Explorer though. Mozilla rocks.

Update: Towleroad has posted the internal e-mail from Steve Ballmer in it’s entirety on his website. Read more at Towleroad.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, gay rights, anti-discrimination, religious right, Washington State

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Via The Stranger.

New evidence is emerging that appears to indicate that Microsoft is not being completely forthcoming about the timing of its decision to withdraw support for the Washington State anti-gay-discrimination bill.

Jeff Koertzen, an operations program manager and the secretary-treasurer of GLEAM, the gay and lesbian group at Microsoft that met on April 4 with Bradford L. Smith, the Microsoft senior vice-president and general counsel at the center of a furor over the company’s decision, spoke to The Stranger after giving notice on Monday, May 2. The six-year Microsoft employee said he could no longer work at the company, given his belief that Smith and other company spokespeople are not being honest about what happened.

“I believe [Smith] is lying based on statements he made to us,” Koertzen said. “My principles do not allow me to work for a company that does that.”

Technorati Tags: The Stranger, microsoft, gay rights, Bradford Smith

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Crooks and Liars posted a video clip of Microsoft accepting the Corporate Vision Award in 2001 for their leadership in advancing the cause of gays and lesbians. The recipient in the video is Ben Waldman, a former Vice President at Microsoft and a good friend of mine. I have many friends who are both current and former employees of Microsoft and, as you can imagine, they are very dissappointed with Microsoft’s recent decision to “remain neutral” on the Washington State anti-discrimination law. The law failed to pass by one vote.

As many have said before, this isn’t a social issue, it’s a civil rights issue. I think Microsoft has grown so large that it has lost touch with it’s founding principles and the core values that made it such a popular company to work for in the 80s and 90s.

View the clip at Crooks and Liars.
Technorati Tags: Microsoft, gay rights, anti-discrimination, gay and lesbian

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Crooks and Liars has posted a video clip of the Gay Watch segment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He gives a wrap up of the latest gay rights decisions and stories going on around the world. If you are fan of The Daily Show, you’ll love this clip.

View the blog post and video clip at Crooks and Liars.
Technorati: Microsoft, The Daily Show

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More follow-up on the Microsoft story. In case you haven’t run across this aleady… Towleroad has posted a new draft letter from Microsoft employees to the executives of the company.

Read the letter at towleroad: Microsoft Employees Draft Letter to Executives
Technorati: Microsoft, gay rights

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The New York Times reports that Bill Gates has said he may reconsider….

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, has indicated he may reconsider his company’s decision not to support a Washington State gay rights bill amid the growing firestorm inside and outside the company that exploded after the recent disclosure that Microsoft had changed its position on the bill.

Read the full article at The New York Times
Technorati: Microsoft, gay rights

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Another follow-up post about the Microsoft story. This post comes in from an employee at Microsoft who sent a reply to Steve Ballmer’s memo on their recent lack of support for the WA State anti-discrimination Bill that failed to pass by one vote. I know I’ve blogged quite a bit about this whole Microsoft story but I lived in Seattle for 7 years so it’s close to me and many of my friends. I also think it’s an example of what is happening in this country with the battle over church and state and just how much religious pressure people will put up with. It’s not about faith or religious values, it’s about religion and government and what happens when they merge. This isn’t about whether you believe in God, it’s about forcing everyone to believe in your God. I think the Microsoft story is important, not only because of what Microsoft did (or failed to do) but also because of the fallout, much of it very passionate, as a result.

You can read the full reply to Ballmer’s memo at Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger
Technorati: Microsoft, gay rights

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A follow-up to the Microsoft Anti-discrimination legislation story. towleroad has posted new information about an internal memo from Steve Ballmer clarifying their position and responding to the increasing attacks. I think it’s a well positioned memo and may help Microsoft ease the bludgeoning media and blog attacks. I think think, however, that Microsoft could have still come out in support of the legislation. Afterall, if they already have a corporate non-discrimination policy, why would supporting this new legislation surprise or offend anyone? The people that work for Microsoft with strongly held beliefs of the opposite viewpoint, would not be working for Microsoft in the first place if they were so bitterly against this type of support for diversity. It’s not like Microsoft would have been taking an extreme turn into some previously untalked about issue. They are already on record for this type of thing, why go neutral?

Read the entire Steve Ballmer memo at towleroad.

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Interesting post via AMERICAblog.com.

Apparently the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, the largest gay and lesbian organization in the world, has issued a press release asking that Microsoft return the Corporate Vision Award it recieved in 2001. The award was given to Microsoft because of it’s support of anti-gay initiatives.

This is the type of reaction I was talking about in my previous post. The fallout from Microsoft’s decision not to support the WA State legislation could begin to spin further then they expected.

Read more at AMERICAblog.com.
More at Technorati: Gay Rights, Microsoft

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