Simple Answers to Stupid Questions

First, a man kills 2 people and injures 6 others when he starts shooting up a children's musical performance at a Unitarian church. His motive? "Liberals are a pest like termites, millions of them...the only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is kill them in the streets, kill them where they gather." 

Then, someone else murders Dr. George Tiller in his church. Because for the people who think violence is the way to control women and their scary sexuality, life begins at conception and ends at birth.

Now, an 88-year-old man with white supremacist ties kills a black guard and injures another when he takes a gun into the U.S. Holocaust Museum and starts shooting.

So when do we start rounding up all the old white guys? Or is it only "terrorism" when it's Skeery Brown People doing the killing?

Don't answer that.

Who we lost today

I don't even know what to say about the assassination of Dr. George Tiller. But I do want to link to this, from one of my regular blogs.  It's a commenter talking about his wife's and his experience with Dr. Tiller at a time when they had to make one the most agonizing decisions imaginable.

ETA: If you're looking for something to do, I encourage you to drop some money toward Medical Students for Choice.

Tyranny of the majority

I called it after oral arguments. The CA Supreme Court doesn't have the gonads to actually say flat-out that the people were wrong, and that you can't amend the Constitution to allow the majority to take rights away from a minority. But because of the insanely fucked up ballot initiative process, apparently, you can take away rights from a minority. I want to start a ballot initiative to outlaw the Mormon Church.*

In all seriousness, though, while I Am Not A Lawyer, even I can tell that this ruling has a hole big enough to drive the Narada through. By allowing those of us 18,000 couples who'd already gotten married to stay married, the Court has just created two classes: LGBT people who are legally married, and LBGT people who can't legally marry. This would seem to be a direct violation of the equal protection clauses in the state constitution.

One thing I do know is that if we want a hope in hell of reversing this in 2010, the No on 8 side needs to do a much better job at presenting our case. We simply can't just react to the lies of the other side; we need to be proactive about explaining why banning same-sex marriage is bad policy, and show the actual people who will be hurt by this. Why didn't the "Don't Divorce Us" slideshow get done last August? Why did the No on 8 campaign hardly ever mention the words "gay" or "lesbian" in their ads, and rarely show actual GLBT people? 

Last night before we went to bed, I told Ruth that I didn't give a fuck what the Court said today: as far as I'm concerned, we're married until one of us says we're not. 

* Yes, I am aware that this wouldn't be upheld because it would violate the U.S. Constitution. But I'm feeling bitchy and vindictive and angry--which, again, illustrates why civil rights should never be put to a popular vote.

Letter to Amazon

After reading about the massive fail from Amazon, I fired off a letter:

I have been an amazon customer for many years. Recently I signed up for Amazon Prime, because I knew that the savings would pay for themselves within a few months.

Many of the books I buy from Amazon are gay and lesbian themed. I buy these at Amazon because they're difficult to find in my local Borders or Barnes and Noble. I have always appreciated the fact that Amazon does not treat GLBT literature like a dirty secret, something that has to be hidden behind the counter.

Apparently, that policy has now changed, and I am writing to express my disappointment. The excuse given to Mark Probst by customer service representative Ashlyn D that the removal of GLBT books from the sales ranking is because you "exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists" out of "consideration" for your customer base is weak at best. This "reasoning" fails to explain why "Heather Has Two Mommies" and "Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws" have been removed from the rankings; the only possible explanation is that you have now decided that any content related to gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people must be sexual in nature and therefore must be hidden away to "protect the children". I am appalled that in 2009, days after marriage equality was affirmed in two states, Amazon has chosen to adopt an attitude toward GLBT people that would not be out of place in 1959.

This policy is appalling, and until it is changed, I will not be placing any further orders with Amazon, even if it means having to order from other sources and pay more. It's worth it to me to do business with a company that doesn't believe my existence should be a dirty little secret.

Rest in peace, Natasha Richardson

Even though she was in one of my favorite movies, I actually didn't know who Natasha Richardson was until I started becoming a big fan of Liam Neeson. I always noticed how happy they looked together; this year was their 15th anniversary, and they still totally looked like they were head over heels for each other.

I can't imagine how devastating this must be for Liam, and for Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson. I can imagine all too well what it's like for her 12 and 13 year old sons, though, when one minute your mom's right there and then....she's not. It's taken me over 20 years and a lot of therapy to even start getting closure on my father's death, and I still take the occasional Egyptian river cruise. ("What do you mean, Daddy wasn't perfect!")

She was 45, and she died as the result of what everyone, including her, thought was a minor accident that she got up and walked away from. She will be missed.

I do not think that means what you think it means.

This post, about the so-called "Chicago Tea Party" to protest the stimulus package, is truly comedy gold:

When we reached the Michigan Ave Bridge, a tea bag was broken open and dumped into the river to signify the birth of a new American Revolution.

A. Tea. Bag.

That'll show 'em!

And don't even get me started on these fuckwits.

Amen.

Bishop Gene Robinson gave the invocation at the opening inaugural event today. His selection was supposed to make up for Rick Warren giving the main invocation at the inauguration. For those of you who don't follow the ongoing Anglican Drama, Gene Robinson is a partnered gay man who was elected by the people of his diocese to be their bishop in the Episcopal Church. This was the last straw for some of the conservatives in the Anglican Communion, many of whom still haven't gotten on board with the whole women's ordination thing, which happened back in the early 1970's. Rick Warren reacted to Robinson's consecration (to which he had to wear a bulletproof vest under his vestments) by inviting conservative Episcopalians to come to his church where they wouldn't have to deal with Teh Icky Gay.

Anyway, while HBO showed almost all of the event today, strangely, Bishop Robinson's invocation wasn't part of the broadcast. Pam Spaulding posted the full text on her blog; it's also available at the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire website. It's worth reading, and I'll venture to say that it's more profound than anything the Money-Driven Hypocrite is going to say on Tuesday.

A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God's blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will...

Bless us with tears - for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger - at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort - at the easy, simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience - and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be "fixed" anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility - open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance - replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity - remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln's reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters' childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we're asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand - that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

Don't Divorce

In response to the lawsuit filed by Ken "Panty-Sniffer In Chief" Starr and the Yes on 8 contingent to nullify the 18,000+ same-sex marriages that took place in CA between May and November, the Courage Campaign of CA is soliciting photos of couples, families, individuals and pets all spreading the message, "Don't Divorce Us/Our Friends/Our Parents/Our Families/Californians/People Who Love Each Other."

Our contributions:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/couragecampaign/3133905828/in/set-72157611501972510/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/couragecampaign/3133906458/in/set-72157611501972510/

Leaving SGA: "Vegas" [spoilers]

Just watched the penultimate (originally the last of the season) episode of SGA, which was leaked online.

It's well-written, well-acted, even well-filmed.

It's also the whitest episode of SGA ever. And that's saying something. Rachel and Jason aren't there at all. There are no other PoC's as extras; here's one brother who plays a Marine, and he doesn't get any lines. Based on this episode, you would assume that everyone on Earth--or at least, in Las Vegas--was white.

Which, you know, since that's been the implied message for the entire run of the show...I supposed at least they're being up front about it.

This, though, is why I'm really not sorry that the show's been cancelled. It's bad enough to have no people of color on the screen--see also: Avatar casting foolishness--but when they have them and completely ignore them?

Fuck you, Cooper and Wright.

This. This is why it matters

I was going to do a post about Obama asking Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration, and why I'm disappointed. But right now, I can't. I'm too upset.

For everyone who doesn't get why Obama asking Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration is a big deal? This is why:

The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.

I'm sitting here at my desk in tears, because these fucking assholes can't even let me be happy with having made it in before Prop 8. No, they want to rip up my marriage license--and you know I'm not getting my $171 back!--and make it real clear that I'm just a fucking dyke who doesn't deserve to be happy or treated just like anyone else.

That's what Rick Warren is saying, although he makes it sound nice and not like the hateful bigotry that it is. And Obama is saying that telling me I'm not worthy of being a full citizen is just a "disagreement".