TURTLE THOUGHTS

Where Was This Woman Last Year?

Cindy McCain, the wife of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is coming out for gay marriage. Here she poses for the NOH8 campaign. NOH8 is a gay rights group challenging Proposition 8 passed by California voters in 2008 banning same sex marriage. (AP Photo/Adam Bouska/NOH8 Campaign)

World AIDS Day--December 1st

Today marks the 21st World AIDS Day, and it's a fair time to assess what's being done to combat the disease. This is from AIDS and human rights activist Michael Kavanagh.

Where is the $50 billion for global AIDS promised by President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary Clinton when they were campaigning for our votes? The 2010 budget certainly didn't have it.

Where's the promise to double the number of people on AIDS treatment around the world they pledged? With no new money we're hearing reports from Uganda and Nigeria of people being turned away from clinics because doctors cannot afford to start them on life-saving treatment.

And so on World AIDS Day activists have put together a report card, and the result is not pretty: a D+.

More Scientology Horrors

People are coming to their senses and realizing that the Church of Scientology isn't a religious organization but a money-making scheme. Several former members in Australia are charging that the cult abused them and even ordered forced abortions. Australian Senator Nick Xenophon shared letters from the victims with his colleagues in Parliament.

“These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels.”

Among the letters he tabled was one from a former follower from Western Australia, who was born into Scientology. The man wrote in a letter that as a member of the organisation in both Australia and the US he had participated in the “forced confinement and torture” of others. His letter also states: “Several abortions were ordered as well”.

This comes as France considers whether to ban Scientology outright. Despite my revulsion for it, I don't think Scientology should be banned. It just shouldn't have tax-exempt status. And it damned shouldn't be giving out incorrect and deadly medical advice.

See link for more info on Elli Perkins.
 

Tennessee State Representative Still a Moron

State Representative Stacey Campfield of Tennessee is one odd dude. Not only has he introduced legislation to grant a death certificate to each abortion granted in Tennessee, he's also been under scrutiny for being an alleged slum lord and falsely claiming that a political rival had been arrested several times for drugs. But you get a better sense of what kind of buffoon the guy is when you realize the fear-mongerer has never successfully passed a piece of legislation.

 
Now there's word that Campfield was escorted by security out of the stadium on October 31st when the University of Tennessee hosted South Carolina in Knoxville. Despite the 'no masks' rule enforced at the football stadium on that Halloween day, the State Representative--who is now running for a State Senate seat---argued with security officers who asked him to remove his luchador (or Mexican wrestler's mask...no word on why he chose this outfit.) Campfield complied by taking off the mask, but he continued to give the officers a hard time. When they asked to see his ticket, it turned out he wasn't even seated where he was supposed to be. His ticket was for section LL, but he'd been sitting in section B. So he was invited to take his luchador and go home.

Marriage Equality Voted Down in Maine

I wish this weren't a surprise. My only consolation is knowing beyond any doubt that those opposed to my right to marry my partner of 17 years are on the wrong side of history. Shame on them. Shame on anyone who denies that marriage is a civil institution that should be available to all Americans.  Religious-based opinions...or opinions based on irrational hatred, ignorance, or fear...should not trump equal treatment under the law for all Americans. This is not a religious argument, it's an equality argument, an AMERICAN argument.    

  And how long can we morally justify putting other people's civil rights to a vote?

Putting Civil Rights to a Vote

Tomorrow the citizens of the state of Maine will go to the polls to exercise their god-given right to vote on their fellow citizens' civil rights. They'll decide whether gays and lesbians can have the same rights as heterosexuals to marry the person they love.

The vote is expected to go the way such votes have gone in the past. It was a great day, for instance, when Americans voted to legalize marriage between blacks and whites. I'm thinking that strong majorities of people, especially in the Deep South, must have been really glad to grant that right.

And when everybody got a chance to vote on school desegration? That was cool too. Big majorities of people, especially in my home state of Mississippi, were very supportive of that. They had to be, or it wouldn't have passed, right? ...Right?

Naw, it didn't happen that way at all. It was courts who stepped in to protect the rights of the minority from the tyranny of the majority in those cases. Why weren't all those things put to a popular vote? Isn't that the American Way? No, it's not. And it shouldn't be.

Feds Will No Longer Interfere When States Allow Medicinal Pot

 
The Obama administration is letting states that have legalized medicinal marijuana continue the practice without fear of federal interference.

"The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws," according to new policy guidelines to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors, the AP reports.

"Prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws. The policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes."

"Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. ... A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent today to federal prosecutors in the 14 states and to top officials at the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. ... The government will still prosecute those who use medical marijuana as a cover for other illegal activity, the officials said."

I disagree with Obama on some key issues, but I'm with him on this. The feds have plenty to do already without wasting resources arresting seriously ill people who smoke pot to simply combat pain or allow them to eat without becoming sick. Having a rational president is a nice change.

  

Louisiana Official Refuses to Grant Marriage License to Interracial Couple

I wished this kind of news surprised me, but it really doesn't. A Justice of the Peace in Louisiana has refused to grant a marriage license to an interracial couple. Terence McKay, who's black, and Beth Humphrey, who's white, ended up getting married by another JP.

Meanwhile, Keith Bardwell, the elected official who refused to give the couple a marriage license, says he's not racist. No, he's just worried about the children. Get that?   Not granting them a license is for their own good. Bardwell doesn't believe it's right, so he's not upholding his duty as an elected official. His personal and religious beliefs trump the American rule of law. As an individual he can be as stupid and racist as he wants, but as an elected official of Tangipahoa Parish, he must treat all citizens equally and fairly. Since he won't, he should lose his job.

....and on a related note:

How Could That Possibly Be Dangerous?

    

There is a chain of bars called "Coyote Ugly" across the country based on a 2000 movie of the same name. It's customary at these places for female patrons to climb atop the bar and dance. (Believe me, it's not nearly as hot as you might hope.)  Last year, a Kentucky college student named Brittany Barnes went to the Coyote Ugly in downtown Nashville with some friends. At the end of the night, she clambered atop the bar to boogie and get her picture taken.

Lo and behold, this tipsy girl tipped over backward and fell to the floor, smacking her head. Now it's lawsuit time. Barnes' attorney, Rob Shelton, is acquiver with indignation. He talked to the Nashville Tennessean.

Shelton claims the bar should do more to protect those who venture up to the bar top, especially when they've been drinking. He said Barnes "had had a few drinks" but was not drunk.

"When you've just been invited to get up on a bar by the owners of the bar, I think you can presume it would be safe to get up on the bar," he said

The law is the law, of course, but the laws of physics are the laws of physics. Just because an establishment lets you climb onto its damp bar when you've been drinking doesn't mean the bar owner has made a deal with God to suspend the law of gravity till you get down safely. So now Barnes is hoping to get half a million dollars for being stupid.

But the best part?

Shelton said Barnes had lost her sense of smell as a result of her head injury.

Well, she should have been paying attention to her sense of touch when she was pulling herself up on that slippery bar. Or her sense of sight. Hell, she'd obviously lost her sense of taste already or she'd never even walked into that bar. So I'm thinking she just didn't have much sense from the outset.

                 

It all looks perfectly safe to me.

 

 

 

Gay Marriage Continues, World Keeps Turning

I realize that legalized gay marriage has probably resulted in untold numbers of hetersexual marriages to disintegrate (I mean, how could it not?) but they don't have the word yet in Iowa.

One of the most common arguments against marriage equality is that the legalization of gay marriage threatens the institution of traditional marriage. But a recent poll conducted by the Des Moines Register finds that 92% of Iowans believe that "gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives." The study comes just months after the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous decision to overturn a 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage.

Wow, I guess heterosexual marriage must be stronger than some people thought, huh?

Headline of the Day: Is Your Baby Racist?

Seems it's a just a tiny step from diapers to Klan robes for some babies. Beyond that, the Newsweek article by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman has some important points to make about children, parental attitudes, and race. It features work conducted by the Children's Research Lab at the University of Texas.

Vittrup also asked all the kids a very blunt question: "Do your parents like black people?" Fourteen percent said outright, "No, my parents don't like black people"; 38 percent of the kids answered, "I don't know." In this supposed race-free vacuum being created by parents, kids were left to improvise their own conclusions—many of which would be abhorrent to their parents.

The study took place in relatively liberal Austin, TX, where researchers got another surprise:

These parents were to discuss racial equality on their own, every night for five nights.

At this point, something interesting happened. Five families in the last group abruptly quit the study. Two directly told Vittrup, "We don't want to have these conversations with our child. We don't want to point out skin color."

Vittrup was taken aback—these families volunteered knowing full well it was a study of children's racial attitudes. Yet once they were aware that the study required talking openly about race, they started dropping out.

It was no surprise that in a liberal city like Austin, every parent was a welcoming multiculturalist, embracing diversity. But according to Vittrup's entry surveys, hardly any of these white parents had ever talked to their children directly about race.

The article's in-depth and goes on to talk about education, how kids group themselves according to race, and how topics like Black Pride have a significant impact.

 

Ridge 'Fesses Up, But Only When It's Too Late to Make a Difference

Former Homeland Security director Tom Ridge reveals what a number of people suspected all along: The Bush administration used terror alerts to help Republicans win elections.

How is it that people like Ridge and former Secretary of State Colin Powell knew about this kind of stuff but didn't have the testicular fortitude to say something about it when it might have mattered? Political cowardice is the enemy of a democratic republic.

             

                Image from the.zzzone

Bill Clinton: He's Still Got It

 This is a few days after the fact, but I've been thinking about two very different but compelling pictures that came out of former president Bill Clinton's diplomatic trip to North Korea. Clinton met privately with N. Korean dictator/nutjob Kim Jung Il and persuaded him to release two American journalists being held captive there. After the meeting, this photo of Clinton and Kim Jung Il along with some of their lackeys was released to the public. It's pretty instructive.

      

As far as diplomatic photos go, this is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. No handshake, no smiles, no back pats. Just a picture that documents, "Yes, we did meet," but not much else. Clinton knows that Kim Jung Il was waiting around for the United States to kiss his Communist Butt and give him a little acknowledgement. Clinton knew if he did that, the journalists would be freed. Seemed to work.

The other picture is less instructive and more an oddity. Former President Bill Clinton and former VP Al Gore meeting with the returned journos and their families. But Gore wasn't there in an official capacity as the former vice-president. No, he was there as the founder of the cable network Current, which employs the captured journalists. It was just a coincidence that the diplomat who freed the women was the former president and the businessman who employs the women is his former vice-president. Kinda neat.

Jon Benet Ramsey Would Be 19 Years Old Today

Hard to believe so much time has passed since this little girl was murdered in her own home early Christmas morning as her parents slept upstairs.  I hope the case is eventually solved.

                        

Jon Benet Ramsey (August 6, 1990-December 25, 1996)

We Really Need to Listen to The Elders

Jimmy Carter proves over and over again that he is one of the most decent and wise men ever to hold the office of President of the United States. The former president is part of a worldwide group of leaders calling themselves The Elders, "...an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity." Writes Carter:

"We have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights and have recently published a statement that declares: "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable.

"We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world's major faiths share."

      

The Elders leave one seat empty for fellow Elder Aung San Suu Kyi at board meeting in Morocco. May 09 (Photo: Jeff Moore.)

It's Funny Cause It's True

"A group of elderly transvestites in embroidered gowns is opposing immigration equality for same-sex couples."

--quote from blogger Joe.My.God writing about American bishops' opposition to immigration equality for non-American partners of American gays and lesbians                                                                          A gaggle of American bishops admires the "Prada Pope" during Benedict XVI's recent visit to the U.S.

Stonewall Riots Began 40 Years Ago Today

On June 28, 1969, a group of gay men, drag queens, and lesbians had taken all the abuse they could stand at the hands of NYC's finest. At a gay pub called The Stonewall Inn, they fought back in what became the start of a series of protests leading to the modern gay civil rights movement. We wouldn't be talking about marriage equality today but for the courage Stonewall patrons demonstrated 40 years ago.

     The Stonewall Inn, 1969

Obama Thinks Gays Are Idiots

So Obama quickly throws together some lame signing event for a piece of half-ass policy that does absolutely nothing except show his contempt for my intelligence. "Domestic partner benefits for federal employees!  Yay!" Well, if you don't count health insurance as benefits, that is. What else is left? Retirement benefits? No, that's out, too. All it amounts to is some dumbassery about relocation expenses and other meaningless and insulting symbolism.

The only reason he even did that much is because a lot of high profile (rich) gays have pulled out of a DNC fundraising event later this month that's to commemorate Stonewall. They did so to protest the president's inexcusable record on GLBT civil rights.

Obama has done nothing about Don't Ask Don't Tell. Since he's been president, more than 250 gays and lesbians have been kicked out of the military for being honest about who they are.

Obama's Justice Department is defending the Defense of Marriage Act with a legal document comparing marriage equality to incest and pederasty. And his administration is standing behind that evil language.

And his spokesperson is using DOMA as the reason Obama isn't giving federal employees full domestic partner benefits. Many attorneys who know what the hell they're talking about say nothing in the DOMA language would prevent the president from getting around that if he really wanted to. He doesn't.

"Wait," I hear. "Just wait...the time isn't right. He can't do too much at once because it might piss off the religious right."  I'm sick of waiting. I wish I could take my vote back. Obama has yet to fulfill a single campaign pledge he made to lesbians and gays. He got plenty of our money for his campaign, but he's not going to be able to tap that well again.

 

And to hell with Barney Frank for giving him cover.

 

 

              

             The President unloads his campaign promises to gays and lesbians.

     
UPDATE: I edited this post to dial back some of my spittle-flecked rage. Yeah, I know, it's still pretty bad, but I'm so weary of being told that my relationship of 16 years is inferior and isn't as meaningful or important as, say, Brittney Spears' 55-hour marriage to her first husband. Give me a friggin' break!  Oh, there I go again, gettin' uppity and expecting equal treatment under the law. Where do I think I am, America or someplace?

Call the EPA! Does Something in the White House Drinking Water Make President Lie?

Wow, it sure was nice getting a Democrat in the White House, right?  Maybe nice for lots of people, but not so much for gays. On the same month that Barack Obama releases a proclamation commemorating LGBT Pride Month, his Department of Justice compares the desire of loving couples of the same sex to get married as akin to incest and pederasty. 

While the haters react predictably against the proclamation, they are railing against a meaningless gesture. It's what Obama hasn't done for gays that should make the haters happy.  On an issue that's actually relevant to the lives of LGBT Americans, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (which Obama opposed when he was a candidate) is now a law that his DOJ is defending. And not just defending, but doing so with the most offensive language imaginable.

So when did Barack Obama decide to let a diehard Mormon Bush appointee speak for him on an aspect of marriage equality?  Candidate Obama (you know, the one who promised to do away with Don't Ask Don't Tell and who has gone on record as being "unequivocally" for gay marriage before realizing, conveniently after the election, that maybe he's not)...anyway, Candidate Obama had my respect and support. President Obama is putting his reputation at stake. Maybe he really *is* trying to 'Sistah Souljah' the gays.

                     

More Rightwing Domestic Terrorism

Earlier this year, when the Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning about the dangers of increased rightwing extremism, you'd have thought they'd called for the ritual slaughter of every GOP firstborn. The "shock" and faux outrage at being singled out was both loud and predictable. Bunch of morons. And then some rightwing nutjob kills Dr. George Tiller in Kansas. And today, some other crazy rightwing terrorist opens fire at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Were these acts just coincidental to the report's release? 

Republican political leaders like Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, and Sean Hannity have spent years working their base into a lather about the dangers of terrorism and extremism. But for them, there's just one kind of terrorist--he's brown and he's Muslim and he "hates us for our freedom."

There are some terrorists out there who match that description, I'll give you that. But the other terrorists--the white, Christian, rightwing, domestic kind--are the ones who have been killing Americans lately. 

Going After Terrorists

What does being a terrorist actually mean?  How do we define 'terrorist?' Does it hinge on actions you commit or are in the process of planning to commit? Or does it have more to do with who you are, what you look like, and what you happen to believe?

Reasonable people would agree that it's an act of terrorism which defines a terrorist. That should be a no-brainer, until you realize that the United States government has two sets of rules for dealing with suspected terrorists. As Jack Balkin points out, the treatment afforded the alleged killer of Dr. George Tiller is very different from the way we treat other people suspected of terrorism. 

Should the United States be able to hold Roeder without trial in order to prevent him from returning to society to kill more abortion providers? If we believe that Roeder and other domestic terrorists will plan further attacks on abortion providers and abortion clinics if we let them free, can we subject them to indefinite detention?

...One of the most important reasons for detaining terrorists (suspected or otherwise) is to obtain information about future terrorist attacks that may save lives and prevent future bombings. To procure this information, can the government dispense with the usual constitutional and legal safeguards against coercive interrogation? Should it be able to subject Roeder to enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding and other methods, to determine whether Roeder knows of any other persons who are likely to commit violence against abortion clinics or against abortion providers in the future? Would your answer change if you believed that an attack on an abortion provider or a bombing of an abortion clinic was imminent?

Hilzoy over at Washington Monthly has some cogent thoughts on this topic as well. (And it's not just a matter of treating suspected domestic terrorists one way and suspected foreign terrorist another, American citizen Jose Padilla being a prime example.)

 

Singer Rob Thomas: "I Have a Big Gay Chip On My Shoulder"

Singer/songwriter Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 fame (and don't forget that cool "Smooth" song he did with Santana) writes an essay as good as any hit song.

There isn't one person who is against gay marriage that can give me a reason why it shouldn't be legal without bringing God or their religion into it. Still, I'm amazed at the audacity of a small, misdirected group of the ultra-conservative Christian right wing, to spend millions of dollars, in a recession, on advertisements to stop two men or women who love each other from being able to be married, but when you present any opposition to them, they accuse you of attacking their religion. Isn't it funny that the people who are the quickest to take someone's basic rights to happiness are always the loudest to scream when someone attacks their right to do so?

Writing on Huffington Post, Thomas says just as in previous civil rights struggles when whites fought for African Americans or Christians for Jewish Americans, straight people must stand up and be a voice for gay people. And that's just what he's doing.

             Rob Thomas with wife Marisol (and friend)

I Really Don't Think Jesus Wants Anybody Tortured

Some things you just know are true. You don't even need to see any proof for it, but you know it's true anyhow. Then some evidence comes along to turn your thoughts upside down.

That's happened to me this week on two separate issues. The first--and I know many people will think I'm an idiot for admitting this--is how Christians view torture. I know there are some gung-ho, nationalistic, religio-political types who think torture is necessary, but most rational people do not. So I was saddened to learn that nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Christians are more likely to support torture than people who don't go to church.

A survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that white evangelical Christians are more likely to support torture than people who rarely or never attend religious services.

The survey said that 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants say that the use of torture against suspected terrorists can be often or sometimes justified in order to gain important information.

Religious studies professor Charles Kammer of The College of Wooster in Ohio says the news does not surprise him.

Kammer says that despite Jesus' own commitment to nonviolence, Christianity as a whole has never embraced nonviolence. He says some evangelicals also confuse patriotism with piety. "What's good for America has often been seen as God's will," says Kammer."They think the torture of evil people is not bad, but may be morally required as a way of protecting the good people."

Kammer said he is a Christian and does not support torture in any circumstances. He considers waterboarding torture. "If we're ever going to provide any moral leadership in the world," he says, "we have to live in the world in a particular way. We can't criticize our enemies for doing what we're doing."

The second thing that I thought I knew but found I didn't has to do with charitable giving. Who gives the most?  You might assume it's the people who have the most money, as I did. Wrong. Figures from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics prove that the less money you make, the greater the percentage of your income you're likely to donate to those even less fortunate.

"The lowest-income fifth (of the population) always give at more than their capacity," said Virginia Hodgkinson, former vice president for research at Independent Sector, a Washington-based association of major nonprofit agencies. "The next two-fifths give at capacity, and those above that are capable of giving two or three times more than they give."

One of the best predictors of charitable generosity is being a person of faith, according to the article linked above from McClatchy. I think we need to find these people and encourage them to start some serious conversation with their torture-enthusiast brethren and sistren. (I thought sistren wasn't a word--something else I thought I knew but didn't! But it turns out Chaucer said it, so I can too. Besides, I like the way it sounds.) 

CA Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Marriage Equality--But Already-Married Gays Can Stay That Way

*UPDATED BELOW*

In what was widely expected to be the case, today the Supreme Court of the State of California upheld the passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages in the state on a 6-1 vote.

Prop 8 passed after 18,000 GLB couples had already become legally wed, and today's decision allowed those wedded couples to remain legally married. The State Supreme Court was unanimous in that decision.

But doesn't this create yet another constitutional issue?  Don't presently unmarried gays and lesbians in California constitute a separate and unequal class of people when compared to the gays and lesbians who are enjoying marriage equality?  

The lesson here is, you don't allow people to vote on other people's civil rights.  Do you think school desegregation would have happened if it had hinged on a popular vote?  What about miscegenation?  This is no different. We need the courts to step in and protect minorities from 'the tyranny of the majority.' 

UPDATE: Two of the nation's most prominent attorneys--David Boies and Ted Olson--who were on opposite sides of the Gore v. Bush 2000 presidential election--are now joining forces to represent two gay men and two lesbians who are arguing that the California ban on marriage equality violates the U.S.Constitutional guarantee of equal protection and due process.

Obama Picks Sotomayor to Become First Hispanic US Supreme Court Justice

U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor is likely to become the next justice on the US Supreme Court. If confirmed by the Senate, she'd become the third woman and the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.

The Bronx-born Sotomayor has already been through the ringer with a series of unsubstantiated rightwing attacks on her intelligence and suitability to be on the High Court. It says a lot about the Obama administration that those scurrilous pre-emptive attacks didn't influence his decision.  The Republican National Committee wasted no time getting out a bunch of anti-Sotomayor talking points to its list of spokesbots, but they stupidly included media addresses on the list, so now the RNC is looking even more inept than usual today. Go Michael Steele!

Despite the expected wailing and gnashing of teeth by diehard Republicans, Sotomayor will, by all serious accounts, be a slightly left-leaning centrist and not much of a difference from the person she'll be replacing, Justice David Souter.