Yesterday he voted with the republicans against gays, and now he votes with them against the judicial branch of government to destroy the separation of church and state!

The 'Cue: Liberal helpings of slow-smoked Memphis Politics: Ford Jr. Votes With Republicans Again

HAROLD FORD JR. SCREWS GAYS (AGAIN!)

Once again, Harold Ford Jr. votes for the Republican anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment". Harold Ford Jr. has crossed party lines once again to support the Republican Right's attempt to write discrimination against gays and lesbians into the U.S. Constitution.

The Democratic Party Platform supports equality for LGBT families, and equal rights for gays and lesbians. Why does Harold Ford Jr. not support the platform of the Democratic Party?

Why should progressive Democrats support conservative Democrats who vote like Republicans? Tell me how voting for Harold Ford Jr. and him getting elected to the Senate will further progressive political action, gay rights, womens rights, etc??
It will not. Don't reward Harold Ford Jr. for his anti-gay votes on Aug. 3 or in November!

It wasn’t just Harold Ford Jr. EVERY TN DEMOCRAT IN THE U.S. HOUSE VOTED WITH THE REPUBLICANS TO WRITE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS INTO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION! We are not proud of the Tennessee Democrats today, they have failed to stand for social justice and equality, they have failed to defend our Democratic Values Democratic Values

Do Harold Ford Jr. and Gov. Phil Bredesen Represent "Democratic Values"??

Last week DNC Chair Harold Dean condemned the New York appeals court ruling reaffirming a ban on gay marriage as “bigoted” and inconsistent with Democratic values. “As Democrats, we believe that every American has a right to equal protection under the law and to live in dignity. And we respect the right of every family to live in dignity with equal rights, responsibilities and protections under the law.”

The platform of the Democratic Party states: “We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families” and “We repudiate Bush’s divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing the ‘Federal Marriage Amendment’.”

Yet, Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a candidate for the U.S. Senate, supports the very same anti-gay amendment to the Constitution the DNC condemns as “bigoted”. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen supports a similar amendment to the Tennessee constitution which the chair of the DNC says is “inconsistent with Democratic values.” The only conclusion is that neither Harold Ford Jr. nor the Democratic Governor of this state represent Democratic Values!

Progressive Democratic voters do have a choice in the Aug. 3 election. Vote for real “progressive” candidates, not political opportunists who sacrifice “Democratic Values” to win elections. Ask for a paper ballot to WRITE-IN your vote for a real progressive democrat.

Jim Maynard, Write-In Candidate
U.S. Senate

Repubicans & Christian Nationalism

Many "moderate" Republicans continue to believe that there is hope in their struggle to win the GOP back from the evil clutches of the Christian Religious Right. Give it up! Rudi Giuliani, one of the darlings of the "moderate" Republicans, has been traveling around the country supporting radical Christian Right Repubs, including Rick Santorum in PA, Ralph Reed in GA, and Asa Hutchinson in AR.

The fact is that the Republican Party, even the "moderate" country club rich Republicans, depend upon the Christian Right to win elections. The CR is one of the largest voting blocks in the country and they have won considerable poliitcal power in the Republican Party. Despite the attempts of "moderate/centrist/conservtive" Democrats to win them over, the Christo fascists are very faithful to the GOP, and the GOP continues to pander to them with "value issues" like the anti-gay marriage amendments, etc. And we can blame the "moderate" Republicans for going along with the Christo-fascist campaign to turn the United States into a theocracy.

In her book, "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism," author Michelle Goldberg examines how gay marriage has become "the mobilizing passion for much of the religious right." The book also charts how Christian fundamentalism is supported by Republican patronage and how under the Bush administration, it is increasingly shaping many aspects of public policy. Read all about it at
Democracy Now

DNC Chair Dean Blasts N.Y. Court Decision on Gay Marriage

Howard Dean has been doing a pretty good job of redeeming himself on gay and lesbian civil rights.
After his poor decision to go on the 700 Club and misstate the Democratic Party's platform on marriage and gays, he spoke at the National Stonewall Democrats convention and has publicly condemned the Bush/Republican anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment" as well as the recent New York court decision against gay marriage. The DNC has also been improving its outreach to the LGBT communty during Pride events and providing more support to the Stonewall Democrats.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called the rationale used
in a decision by the New York appeals court reaffirming a ban on gay
marriage "bigoted and outdated."

In a release issued last week, Dean characterized the decision as inconsistent
with Democratic values.

"As Democrats, we believe that every American has a right to equal
protection under the law and to live in dignity. And we must respect the
right of every family to live in dignity with equal rights, responsibilities
and protections under the law," the former Vermont governor wrote.

Raw Story

Who is Racist in the Shelby County Democratic Party?

Accusations of racism have been thrown at white Democrats by some black Democrats in the Shelby County Democratic Party. I find this ironic, since white Democrats have no chance of getting elected the overwhelmingly black voting districts, and as one important figure in the Shelby County Democratic Party told me about running in a largely black race, "a white candidate would not be taken seriously."

Many black Democrats are upset at the likely prospect that a WHITE JEW (Sen. Steve Cohen) may win THEIR Congressional House Dist. 9 seat, vacated by THEIR representative Harold Ford Jr., who is now pandering to white conservative rebel-flag waving rednecks across the state to win the Republican Senate seat. (Yes, this is the same BLACK politician who voted for the corporate anti-poor consumer bankruptcy bill and the big Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and all those poor black people's Estate Taxes.. wait, there are NO poor black people to benefit from that estate tax cut is there??)

Black Democrats support a black mayor who panders to WHITE Republicans and businesses.


There is Rep. Henri Brooks who recently told gay lobbyists in Nashville that gays were not a "significant' constituent in her district and that she was elected to represent BLACK CHURCHES. (Her Republican opponent, Novella Smith Arnold, actually took the time to return the Stonewall Democrats questionnaire, which was not even sent to her, and answered all our questions “ASBOLUTELY”! No response yet from Henri Brooks). SO I URGE REAL PROGRESSIVES TO VOTE FOR NOVELLA SMITH ARNOLD for County Commissioner, District 2, Position 2).

Black leaders, including the Tri-State Defender, are attacking Sen. Steve Cohen because he is a WHITE JEW!

Call me a racist is if you want, the problem with the Shelby County Democratic Party is not racist white liberals, it is conservative, fundamentalist, African-Americans who do not share the values of the Democratic Party's platform, which includes equal civil rights for gays and lesbians (including CIVIL UNIONS and the same rights as married couples), women's reproductive rights (yes, that includes the right to abortion). They do not respect the CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED separation of church and state, which means this is NOT a Christian nation, and people have the right to practice their religion NOT impose it on everyone else.

So spare me the "white racist" label please... those who support the Christian Right (both the Black Democrat wing and the White Republican Wing) are the bigots!

Courts Rule Against Gay Marriage..

Well this was a bad day for gay civil rights. The Court of Appeals in New York fuled 4-2 that the state's law allowing marriage only between a man and a woman was constitutional, thus killing the hope of gay activists that New York would be the next state to legalize gay marriages. In Georgia, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the ban on gay marriages (and civil unions) approved by three-quarters of voters in 2004, did not violate the state's single-subject fule for ballot measures.

While some gay rights activists have been talking positive about the movement for gay marriage, touting recent public opinion polls which show more acceptance, I am not optimistic at all. We are stalled in the courts, and public opinion is still overwhelming against our civil right to marry.. and in most states and the South, the Democrats and Democratic politicians f are running away from the issue and embracing Christo-fascism. It doesn' look good at all...

Now Tennessee will join about 20 other states an pass a constitutional amendment writing discrimination against gays in to our constitution.. with the support of Democrats and Republicans!

I'm getting very depressed...

We must fight the losing battle, however, and support the Vote No on 1 Campaign

World Overcomers Denigrate Statue of Liberty & U.S. Constitution

The “Statute of Liberaton Through Christ” at World Overcomers Church in Memphis has made it into the New York Times
here is the article, worth reading to see how dangerous this church is, especially their “Apostle” Alton R. Williams. This cult believes that this is a “CHRISTIAN” country, founded by “Christians” and that the government must follow the Word of God in the Bible! And they are not alone, most “Christians” probably agree with them!

Here is the link to the Statute of Liberation through Christ website


Notice that there is a store with merchandise coming soon... Interesting... What did Jesus do to those “money changers” in the temple??

Here is a link to the World Overcomers Church


If you click on their Petition on the Federal Marriage Amendment, you can read all about homosexuality and what God’s Apostle Alton Williams (GOD), says about it...
And get ready.. They WILL be putting more full page ads in the newspaper to support the anti-gay marriage amendment in TN... So who is starting the collection to counter it???

Why is it that the most right-wing, conservative, extremist churches are the BIGGEST and RICHEST churches in town???

Put Away the Flags
by Howard Zinn
Published on Monday, July 3, 2006 by the Progressive  


On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Is not nationalism -- that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder -- one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred?

These ways of thinking -- cultivated, nurtured, indoctrinated from childhood on -- have been useful to those in power, and deadly for those out of power.

National spirit can be benign in a country that is small and lacking both in military power and a hunger for expansion (Switzerland, Norway, Costa Rica and many more). But in a nation like ours -- huge, possessing thousands of weapons of mass destruction -- what might have been harmless pride becomes an arrogant nationalism dangerous to others and to ourselves.

Our citizenry has been brought up to see our nation as different from others, an exception in the world, uniquely moral, expanding into other lands in order to bring civilization, liberty, democracy.

That self-deception started early.

When the first English settlers moved into Indian land in Massachusetts Bay and were resisted, the violence escalated into war with the Pequot Indians. The killing of Indians was seen as approved by God, the taking of land as commanded by the Bible. The Puritans cited one of the Psalms, which says: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession."

When the English set fire to a Pequot village and massacred men, women and children, the Puritan theologian Cotton Mather said: "It was supposed that no less than 600 Pequot souls were brought down to hell that day."

On the eve of the Mexican War, an American journalist declared it our "Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence." After the invasion of Mexico began, The New York Herald announced: "We believe it is a part of our destiny to civilize that beautiful country."

It was always supposedly for benign purposes that our country went to war.

We invaded Cuba in 1898 to liberate the Cubans, and went to war in the Philippines shortly after, as President McKinley put it, "to civilize and Christianize" the Filipino people.

As our armies were committing massacres in the Philippines (at least 600,000 Filipinos died in a few years of conflict), Elihu Root, our secretary of war, was saying: "The American soldier is different from all other soldiers of all other countries since the war began. He is the advance guard of liberty and justice, of law and order, and of peace and happiness."

We see in Iraq that our soldiers are not different. They have, perhaps against their better nature, killed thousands of Iraq civilians. And some soldiers have shown themselves capable of brutality, of torture.

Yet they are victims, too, of our government's lies.

How many times have we heard President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld tell the troops that if they die, if they return without arms or legs, or blinded, it is for "liberty," for "democracy"?

One of the effects of nationalist thinking is a loss of a sense of proportion. The killing of 2,300 people at Pearl Harbor becomes the justification for killing 240,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The killing of 3,000 people on Sept. 11 becomes the justification for killing tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And nationalism is given a special virulence when it is said to be blessed by Providence. Today we have a president, invading two countries in four years, who announced on the campaign trail last year that God speaks through him.

We need to refute the idea that our nation is different from, morally superior to, the other imperial powers of world history.

We need to assert our allegiance to the human race, and not to any one nation.

Howard Zinn, a World War II bombardier, is the author of the best-selling "A People's History of the United States" (Perennial Classics, 2003, latest edition). Email to: pmproj@progressive.org

© 2006 The Progressive

Harold Ford Jr.'s Second Chance

The House of Representatives is going to be voting on the anti-gay “Federal Marriage Amendment” the week of July 17.

In 2004, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. crossed party lines to vote FOR the Republican proposal to write discrimination against gays and lesbians into the U.S.Constitution.
Although he stated that he thought the issue should be left to the states, he voted for the Republican amendment anyway.

Memphis Stonewall Democrats urges everyone to contact Rep. Harold Ford Jr. and ask him to stand with the Democratic Party, and Republicans like Sen. John McCain, and oppose the “Federal Marriage Amendment.” Keep discrimination out of the U.S. Constitution!

Representative Harold Ford
Democrat of Tennessee, District 9
325 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 16306
Phone: 202-225-3265
Fax: 202-225-5663
Website:
Ford Website
E-mail Rep Ford
email: rep.harold.ford.jr@mail.house.gov

Memphis Stonewall Democrats Endorse Cohen & Mulroy


MEMPHIS STONEWALL DEMOCRATS ENDORSE COHEN AND MULROY FOR AUG. 3
ELECTION

The Memphis Stonewall Democrats endorse Steve Cohen for U.S. Congress
(House District 9) and Steve Mulroy for the Shelby County Commission
(District 5).

“Because of the commitment of these two candidates to social justice
and equality for all Americans, Memphis Stonewall Democrats urges our
members and progressive voters to support the campaigns of Steve Cohen
for Congress and Steve Mulroy for County Commission,” states Jim
Maynard, Vice President of Memphis Stonewall Democrats.

You can donate and volunteer for Steve Cohen for Congress at:
Cohen for Congress

Steve Mulroy for County Commission at:
Mulroy for District 5

Remember to vote for Steve Cohen and Steve Mulroy on August 3!

Memphis Stonewall Democrats is affiliated with the National Stonewall
Democrats and committed to working through the Democratic Party to
advance the rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or
gender identity.

Memphis Stonewall Democrats
P.O. Box 42041
Memphis, TN 38174
Email mphsstonewalldem@yahoo.com
Memphis Stonewall Democrats

World Overcomers Statute of Theocracy

From Thursday's Commercial Appeal
Church Constructs monument to Christianity in likeness of Lady Liberty
Photo by Hilly Schiffer/The Commercial Appeal

The World Overcomers Church erects a $260,000 State of Theocracy!
They replaced the torch of freedom with the Cross of Christ and "give me your tired, your poor.." with the Ten Commandments! Screw the tired and the poor!
This is the same church that spends thousands of dollars on full page ads attacking the civil rights of gay people!
"What Would Jesus Do?" Spend $300,000 mocking the State of Liberty and secular constitutional government, or feed a few hundred people?

Dems Court Evangelical Christians

There was a headline story today about Sen. Barrack Obama chastising Demcrats for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and going on to say that the Democratic Party must compete for the support of evangelicals and church going people... He also criticized "secularists" on issues like the Pledge of Allegiance.

I suppose that out of political necessity, the Democratic Party does need to reach out to evangelicals, IF they can make the case that liberal/progressive values are not incompatible with Chrsitianity or religion, as the Republican Reich argues. However, I am very uncomfortable with pandering to homophobic christo-fascists.

Obama is giving in to the Ann Coulter argument that liberals (and Democrats) are "godless". Where is the evidence of this?
I see just the opposite. From Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, the Democrats have been TOO religious for me. And wasn't Jimmy Carter a more spiritual/religious President than Ronald Reagan? Didn't Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Lieberman quote a lot of Bible verses in their speeches? Did Clinton ever make a speech without quoting the Bible.

No, I believe the Democrats have failed to defend the separation of church and state, and have failed to defend secular government, and now they are pandering to the religious fanatics who want a theocratic government.

What is really going on? Like the "liberal media" mantra of the Republican Right, the "godless" liberal mantra is a lie being used to force the Democrats into embracing Christian nationalism and to further erode the wall of separation between church and state. The Democratic Party must not be coerced into giving in to the debate on church/state separation and embracing the Christian Nationalism that has taken control of the Republican Party.

It is not Christians and church going people who are under attack.. it is secular humanists and non-theists who are under attack! It is scary that both political parties are pandering to the religious majority and ignoring at best the secular non-theists. As if current events in the world do not demonstrate that religion divides people into waring tribes, the future of humanity requires secular governments and more rational approaches to nature and society. Religion is destroying the human race!

Leon Gray/"Progressive Talk 680"/What is a "Progressive"?

I hate to say it, but I'm so glad Leon Gray is no longer on "Progressive Talk" 680 am. He was a very nice person, but sometimes listening to him was almost as frustrating as listening to Mike Flemming on the conservative talk 600 AM. In fact, I doubt many people could tell the difference between them if they listened to them side by side on issues like gay rights, abortion, school prayer, creationism v. evolution, etc.

It was on the issue of gay rights that Leon Gray really dropped the "progressive" ball. I've never heard anyone, conservative or liberal, become so unintelligible on the issue of homosexuality and gay rights as Leon Gray. He clearly had some personal religious hang ups that kept him from being able to fully understand gay issues or defend the civil rights of gays and lesbians. He just couldn't do it, despite some attempts, genuine I think, to learn about and reach out to the gay community.

The main problem for Leon Gray and many in the African-American community is that they do not want to "equate" the civil rights of gays with the civil rights struggle of African-Americans. Granted, there are some differences between blacks and gays. Being black is not the same thing as being gay. BUT, being black is also different from being Jewish, female, poor, buddhist, atheist, ect... All of these groups, including gay people, have been oppressed because of their "differences." Like all social minorities, gay people have been singled out for prejudice and discrimination because of their "difference" from the powerful majority. Leon Gray, and evidently, many African Americans, just cannot see the common theme of oppression of all social minorities

The issue, the basis, of civil rights, is NOT whether people can "choose" to be gay, etc., it is the social oppression of these groups! People can CHOOSE to be Christian fundamentlists or atheists, but they all have CIVIL RIGHTS. I'm tired of having the same old arguments about whether people "choose" to be gay or not.. it is IRRELEVANT! It is a smokescreen to confuse the real issues!

Another problem I see for the Democratic Party (especially in Shelby County) is that a large part of the African-American community is dominated by conservative religious fundamentalist churches and preachers. It is shocking to hear some of the anti-gay, anti-liberal rhetoric coming out of some of these black churches. (Some even take out full page ads in the newspaper attacking gays and lesbians!) The problem is that the predominantly fundamentalist black churches are part of the right-wing Religious Right! They share the same political and social beliefs as the Christian Right in the Republican Party!
How can the Democratic Party defend the separation of church & state, gay rights, abortion rights, etc. when a large part of its "base" is part of the Religious Right??

This is why Howard Dean went on the 700 Club to pander to the anti-gay religious fundamentalists, even "misstating" the Democratic Party platform on the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. This is why Harold Ford Jr. and other Democratic politicians in Tennessee are campaignign AGAINST the civil rights of gays and lesbians, including but not limited to marriage. It is a BIG problem which the Republicans are exploiting very successfully. The Democratic Party must either stand up and defend the principles of equality and social justice, or pander to the bigotry of the Religious Right and the Republican Party.

Back to Progressive Talk 680 AM, my advice is that Progressive Talk 680 AM replace Leon Gray with a REAL PROGRESSIVE. We need someone to take on the Republican and Religious Right. What does it mean to be "liberal" or "progressive"?? Leon Gray accused people like me of being too "intolerant" of different points of view among "progressive" Democrats. I don't think all progressives and liberals should or can agree on 100% of every issue, but there are some basic principles which should define what a "progressive/liberal" viewpoint is on an issue, and here are some very basic ones we SHOULD be able to agree on:

Separation of Church and State! This is NOT a Christian country! Defend the First Paragraph in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution! The government should NOT be promoting Christianity, the "Ten Commandments" or creationism in our public schools and institutions! Furthermore, the government cannot limit the reproducitive rights of people based on religious interpretations of scriptures!

Social Justice and Equality. This applies to ALL oppressed groups, including gays, lesbians, transgender people, women, blacks, hispanics, Jews, atheists, buddhists, etc... Civil Rights are for all, not just black people! And civil rights are not based on biological differences that people cannot choose or change! Whether people can choose to be gay, transgender or jewish is NOT the issue! Progressives should support social programs to promote the "social welfare" of its citizens, especially the poor, children, etc. Progressives should support the principle that basic necessities like healthcare, food and housing are a basic human right of all people.

Peace. Progressives and liberals should stand for peace, and oppose war unless absolutely "necessary" to DEFEND the United States. Progressives should oppose wasteful military spending and oppose illegally attacking on invading other countries.


There are a few basic principles "progressives" should agree on and defend.

I Hope Progressive Talk 680 will choose a local radio host who shares these principles. Leon Gray did NOT.

(I'm available on weekends :)

Jim Maynard

Write-In Voting Changes!

Unfortunately, the election commission has DISABLED write-in voting on new voting machines, so if you want to write in a vote you MUST ask for a paper ballot!

Apparently, I've been told, the SCEC, believes that having the option to write in votes on the voting machines would complicate things with the big ballot in this election... hmm... would having an option to push a button to write in a candidate be more complicated than trying to get a big complicated paper ballot from an election volunteer who probably will not be able to find one ?


From the Shelby County Election Commission:

It is Commission policy that write-ins be disabled on the voting
machines. Any person choosing to write-in a candidates name for an
office will need to do so on a paper ballot.

You may address your concerns in written form to our Administrator of
Elections, James Johnson, and he will forward them to our Commissioners.
Our address is the Shelby County Election Commission, 157 Poplar Ave -
Suite 109, Memphis, TN 38103.

CLASS WARFARE!

Let's see... the Republicans killed an increase in the minimum wage ($5.15 an hour!), but cut estates taxes on their way to totally elminating what they call the "death tax" on millionaires, and the Economic Policy Institute publishes a study showing that CEOs now earn 262 times the pay of the Average worker... now WHO IS WAGING CLASS WARFARE???!!!

It's time Democrats quit running with their tails between their legs when the fascist republicans accuse them of waging "class warfare" against the rich! It is the other way around! Slaves were not the slave-owners, and workers are not waging class warfare!

Capitalists are waging class warfare!

It's Official!

I have been certified by the State Office of Elections as a Write-In Candidate for US Senate in the August 3, 2006 State and Federal Primary Election.

In 2004, Rep. Harold For Jr. switched his stated position against the “Federal Marriage Amendment” and crossed party lines to vote for the Republican anti-gay amendment, contradicting his stated position that the issue should be left to the states. This put him in opposition to the position of the Democratic Party presidential candidate, John Kerry, and the DNC. Harold Ford Jr. has sided with the Republican Party and the anti-gay Religious Right to support writing discrimination against gays and lesbians into the U.S.Constitution.

Now Harold Ford Jr. is running for the U.S. Senate, and he is running as a conservative. He is running AGAINST gay civil rights! He is running AGAINST women’s reproductive rights! As a progressive gay Democrat, I cannot support a candidate who is campaigning against my civil rights to win an election!

This is not the only issue in which Harold Ford Jr. has sided with the conservative Republicans and George W. Bush. He has done so on many issues: the Iraq War, using public money to fund Bush’s “faith-based” initiatives, eroding the separation of church and state, privatizing social security, cutting taxes for the corporate rich, cutting estate taxes, etc.

Progressive Democrats need a voice in this primary election! I am offering my name as a write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate to give progressive and liberal voters a real choice when they vote on August 3.

Please vote August 3, and write-in Jim Maynard for the U.S. Senate!

Jim Maynard
http://www.jimmaynardforcongress.com
Email jmaynard2@yahoo.com

P.S.
I also urge all progressive Democrats to vote for Steve Cohen for the House of Representatives, Dist. 9. Let’s put a real progressive in Congress!

Uncle Tom Republicans Honor Schwarzenegger

The Log Cabin Republicans are organizing a party June 29th in Hollywood to honor CA governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who recently vetoed a bill passed by the California legislature that would have given gays and lesbians equal marriage rights.

According to The Advocate, among the "honorary host committee" is Duf Sundheim, chairman of the California Republican Party, which states in its platform that "homosexuality should not be presented as an acceptable 'alternative' lifestyle in public education and policy. We oppose granting to homosexuals special privileges, including marriage, domestic-partnership benefits, and child custody or adoption"

The Uncle Tom Republicans continue to support a political party and a military that still classifies gay people as sick and immoral.

Party up boys!

Candidates at MidSouth Pride

Several Democratic Candidates made an appearance or spoke at this years Midsouth Pride last Saturday in Peabody Park:
Gail Mathes, Candidate for District Attorney
Judge Paula Skahan, Candidate for Criminal Court-Div. 1
Wayne VanDeVeer, Candidate for Judge, General Sessions 4
and
Rep. Steve Cohen, Candidate for Congress (House Dist. 9)
In his speech, Cohen mentioned one of his opponents (i.e., Ed Stanton), has been attacking him for his vote against the Tennessee anti-gay marriage amendment in phone-bank calls.
Shame on Ed Stanton for attacking a fellow Democrat for voting against writing prejudice and bigotry into the U.S. Constitution!

[I LEFT OFF LEE HARRRIS, candidate for Congress, House Dist. 9 ]
He was there too...

Gov. Bredesen Betrays Progressive and Gay Democrats!

TN Gov. Phil Bredesen says he opposes gay marriage and will vote FOR the Tennessee anit-gay marrriage amendment.
Is this man really a Democrat?
This is why the Democratic Party in Tennessee is a joke!

Bredesen Support Anti-Gay Amendment

I'm moving closer to joining the Socialist Party and telling the Democrats to Fuck off!

Senate Rejects GOP Anti-Gay Amendment

The U.S. Senate rejected the Republican anti-gay marriage amendment today, with only one Democratic vote. It will be debated and voted on again in the House next month. Will Harold Ford Jr. make the right decision this time or will he cross party lines again and vote with Republicans to write discrimination against gays and lesbians into the Constitution?

How I wish Ford Jr. had the political backbone and progressive principles of Sen. Russ Feingold, who spoke out against the amendment, and was one of the few Democrats to actually support the right of gay couples to legally marry, and not just oppose the amendment for technical reasons.

Read Feingold's speech here and imagine if Ford Jr had his courage and principles:

Russ Feingold Speech

Ann Coulter is a Fascist Bitch

Ann Coulter has a new trashy anti-liberal book (GODLESS: THE CHURCH OF LIBERALISM) and continues her nasty, hateful attacks on liberals. In prior books and statements, she has mocked Vietnam Veteran Max Cleland and joked about his loss of body parts in battle, and called him a coward. Now she calls the widows of 9/11 victims "witches" and accuses them of getting joy out of their husbands deaths and using them for political gain.

Ann Coulter is an evil fascist bitch! I hate this woman. She is a right-wing nut-case who needs psychological help.
She is a big hypocrite! She is no Christian! First, how can she be taken seriously when she looks like a slut on her books covers and barely covers her wafer-thin body with clothing in public! And since she is single, she is either a lesbian or a whore, because I doubt she has been celibate out of wedlock, so that makes her a hypocrite.

She obviously writes these horrible books and says crazy things for profit. I doubt she really believes any of this crap.

Die in hell BITCH!

I'm an atheist, but I hope there is some eternal torment for people as evil as Coulter!

Bush Invites Ex-Gay Group Leaders to White House Ceremony

While Queer Action Coalition was holding demonstrations against the "ex-gay" cult Love in Action in Memphis, George W. Bush invited leaders of the ex-gay organization Exodus International to the White House ceremony to push the anti-gay "Marriage Protection Act" today! According to a press release from Exodus International, the group was invited by the White House to participate in the 10-minute ceremony. Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas of Exodus International took part in the ceremony to write discrimination against gays and lesbians into the Constitution of the United States.

Bush and the Republican Party have declared war on us!

GOP Stole 2004 Election (Gore and Kerry both won!)

While it was pretty evident that Al Gore won the 2000 Presidential election and Florida's electoral votes were stolen from the Republicans, even I was skeptical about the argument that Bush also lost the 2004 election, until now. In the current issue of Rolling Stone, Bobby Kennedy lays out the disturbing fact that our 2004 election was also stolen from John Kerry by the Republican pollitical machine in Ohio.

Read it for yourself

Republicans have broken every election law in the books in the past decade to steal elections from American voters, including jamming Demcratic phone banks, purging black (democratic) voters from voting lists, etc.

When will the American people wake up? Can we save our democracy from Republican Facsism??

Bush Panders to the Christo-Fascist Religious Right

Little Georgie is trying NOT to make the mistake his daddy made and piss off his right-wing Christo-fascist base. So W, Frist and the GOP are going to push the anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment" out again next week, and Bush will hold a ROSE GARDEN Press Conference to reiterate his support of the amendment and pander to the anti-gay Religious Right and try to keep them on board his sinking ship. If he loses these religious wackos, he is toast!

UPDATE: Prez. Bush also used his Saturday radio message to push the anti-gay FMA, and attacked "activist" liberal judges.
Sounds like a script from right-wing nuts Pat Robertson, Rush Limbaugh, Jerry Falwell, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, etc....

Let's see, didn't "activist" liberal judges strike down popular laws that discriminated against women, blacks, etc. ???

The Republican Party is lost folks! It is a fascist party!

Welcome Back Wendi Thomas

Welcome back to the Bible Belt Wendi Thomas! You wrote a reasonable column in the Commercial Appeal (May 16) asking why a lesbian couple and their child could not get a “family” membership at a YMCA and the local Taliban attack you. You should have learned by now that you cannot reason with people who think the earth was created in seven days, ten thousand years ago, by a jealous sky god who commanded that homosexuals (along with adulterers and disobedient children) should be stoned to death. Don’t forget this is a “Christian Nation” founded on the Ten Commandments and that civil rights are only for blacks, since they can’t help being black. (Homos and atheists don’t need civil rights!)

Welcome home.

TN Republican Party Pushing Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment

As expected, the Tennessee REPUBLICAN PARTY is pushing the anti-gay Marriage Amendment to get their conservative anti-gay Christian base out to vote.
Here's the evidence!
Here is their website:
TNVictory.org

It is VITALLY IMPORTANT that progressive Democrats speak out AGAINST this unnecessary amendment to the Tennessee Constitution!
Please visit the Vote No on Amendment 1 and join the fight against discrimination and bigotry in Tennessee!
VoteNoTN

>
>
>Dear Friend:
>
>Soon, on June 7th, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear arguments on
>whether or not to allow voters to cast their vote this November on the
>Marriage Protection Amendment .
>
>During the 2005 session the Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly
>passed
>legislation that would allow voters, like you, to decide whether we should
>amend our Tennessee Constitution to define marriage as the union of "one
>man
>and one woman."
>
>But the ACLU, gay-rights organizations, and even Democrat Legislators like
>Reps. Tommie Brown, Larry Turner, and Beverly Marrero have filed a lawsuit
>to stop the Marriage Protection Amendment, because they don't want you to
>have a voice in setting the standards for marriage in Tennessee.
>
>This is outrageous!!
>
>We have already seen how activist courts have created new definitions of
>marriage in states like Massachusetts. The only way we can ensure that
>marriage is protected in our state is to allow Tennesseans to cast their
>vote in November in Defense of Marriage!!
>
>How You Can Help??
>
>1. Print this petition and ask 10 of
>your friends or neighbors to sign it saying that they, too, want the right
>the vote to amend the Tennessee Constitution and
> Protect Marriage.
>
>2. Reply
>>tect%20Marriage> to this email and we'll send you a list of 10 people in
>your community so you can tell them about the Marriage Protection
>Amendment.
>
>Only with your help can we keep liberal special interests from corrupting
>our courts and destroying our values.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Charlie Schneider
>Tennessee Victory 2006
>
>
>Copyright C 2006 Tennessee Republican Victory 2006..
>
>
>
>Paid for by Tennessee Republican Victory 2006.
>www.tnvictory.org
>Not Authorized By Any Candidate Or Candidate Committee.

Gay Rights: Democrats v. Republicans

Well the war over gay marriage and civil rights is heating up with battle lines being drawn between the Democratic and Republican Parties. DNC Chair Howard Dean has apologized for misstating the Democratic party's platform on marriage and will be speaking at the Stonewall Democrats national convention in a few months. Gay Republicans tried to score some pollitical points on Dean's misstatement of the party's platform, but they have no room to criticize Dean when THEIR party, the GOP, is the party behind the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment and the anti-gay marriage campaigns across the states. Sure, some Democrats don't have the spine to stand up to the conservative REPUBLICAN attacks on gay marriage, and the GOP will continue to use the issue to beat Democrats in the South. Gay Republicans need to read their party's platform, which opposed ANY legal civil rights for gays and lesbians, and compare it to the Democratic platform which explicitly supports EQUAL civil rights for gays and lesbians, including civil unions, domestic partnerships, and non-discrimination laws, all oppposed by the GOP!

Laura Bush spoke out against the FMA, sort of, she cautioned Republicans not to make it a major campaign issue, which they will. Not sure if she supports it or not. Like her husband, they probably don't really want to support it, but the Republican party has to give something to their Christo-fascist base to get them out to vote in 2006. They don't have much else to win elections with..

Just in time for the 2006 elections, the Republicans in Congress are reintroducing the Federal Marriage Amendment, to "save" marriage from us homos! The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines 10-8 (Republican for it) to send the anti-gay amendment back to the Senate floor. Hurray, again, for Sen. Russ Feingold (WI) who got into a fight with the Republican chair of the committee, Arlene Spector, and stormed out of the committee meeting in protest. And hurray for the Democrats for voting AGAINST this REPUBLICAN attempt to write discrinination against gays into the U.S. Constitution!

VP Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary Cheney, has reluctantly began speaking out against the FMA and promoting her new Book, MY TURN. She says she supported G.W. Bush despite his push for the FMA because she thought the "war on terrorism" was more important. Most Uncle Tom Republicans use this issue, TERRORISM, as their excuse for supporting Bush and the GOP, despite the FACTS that Bush and Cheney FAILED to defend us against terrorism! Bush/Çheney IGNORED the intelligence warnings of a terrorist attack, including using planes to fly into buildings, and they MISLED Congress and the AMerican people into an ILLEGAL invasion of IRAQ (which did NOT attack us!), and now we have MORE terrorism and increasing anti-American sentiment throughout the world, especially the Muslim world, which will no doubt lead to MORE terrorist attacks against Americans. So much for this lame excuse for supporting Bush and the Republican Party!

And what about those "moderate" Republicans like John McCain? He's been making nice with the Christo-fascist he once called "intolerant", he met with Jerry Falwell and spoke at Liberty University, now he's campaigning for former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed in Georgia... The Republican Party is definitely NOT the party of Lincoln anymore.. it hasn't been since.. well, Lincoln !

Dean Courts Evangelicals/Misstates Party Platform on Gays

What the crap is going on with the Democratic Party??
Hillary Clinton is kissing up to Rupert Murdoch and praising George W. Bush (30% approval rating!), and Howard Dean, the chair of the Democratic Party goes on Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network to court conservative evangelical Christians, and cannot even accurately defend the platform of the Democratic Party, which supports FULL EQUALITY for gays and lesbians! The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force called him on this and he has acknowledged that he was wrong.
NGLTF has returned a $5,000 donation from the DNC in protest.

Howard Dean’s recent actions have undermined the support of gays and lesbians for the Democratic Party! He recently closed the Democratic Party’s Gay Outreach Department, and fired his gay outreach advisor Donald Hitchcock after he criticized the Democratic Party for not doing enough to fight the anti-gay marriage referendums across the country this year. Hitchcock has been replaced, reportedly by Brian Bond, who recently accepted the National Stonewall Democrats executive director position.

Check out Doug Ireland’s blog for more information on Dean’s mixed record on gay issues:
DIRELAND

Dean and the Democratic Party want to try win over some of the evangelical Christian voters who have jumped to the Republican Party, but they should not focus on courting the Republican Party’s base and ignore their own base! That is why they keep losing to the Republican Party!

I agree with Tennessee Guerilla Women , Harold Dean should resign now!

Leon Gray and the Anti-Gay Black Religious Right

"Progressive Talk" 680's Leon Gray was at it again today, questionning teaching about sexual orientation in public schools, and it was a frustrating drive home from work listening to caller after caller voicing anti-gay bigotry and attacking the "gay agenda." What is it about Memphis and anti-gay religious fanaticism? It crosses party lines and seems just as ingrained in black churches as the White Republican Christian Right.. their anti-gay rhetoric is identical.

Too Bad Leon Gray gets tongu- tied every time he tries to discuss gay issues and always agrees with the religious fanatics who dish the Separation of Church and State and preach the anti-gay theocratic gospel. Why can't 680 am offer a real "progressive" voice on Memphis radio? Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear someone on Memphis Radio stand up to the religious fundamentalists and theocrats and DEFEND the separation of church and state, and gay rights without reservations?

And 680 AM needs to quit that crap about how Leon Gray speaks "Truth"... give me a break!
He doesn't even understand science or the Constitution of the United States!

I'm sorry, anyone who does not support teaching Evolution and sex education in public schools, the Separation of Church and State, women's reproductive rights, and FULL civil rights for gays and lesbians is NOT "Progressive"!

Speaking of Gay Cons & Uncle Tom Republicans--Mary Cheney

Mary Cheney *fianally* comes out and defends gay rights against Bush and her dad's fascist administration in a new book out Tuesday "My Turn"...
Too late honey!
Mary Cheney is an embarrassment, and an example of an "Uncle Tom Republican".
She has been sitting on the cabin porch along with the Log Cabin Republicans, supporting this heterosexist, fascist administration, while it attacks gays and lesbians. She has been quiet and silent too long. This book is not enough to make up for the past five years of her silence and complicity in the fascist takeover of this country by Bush/Cheney and the Christian Republican Party.
Mary Cheney is a priviledged, white daddy's girl who has profited from the Republican war on gays.
Like Log Cabin Gay Cons, she puts her own class and economic interests about the well-being of the gay community, as well as the American people (poor, workers, etc..)

I despise Uncle Tom Republicans!

Gay Cons (Uncle Tom Republicans)

Here’s a good article by Surina Khan with Political Research Associates (which monitors the right-wing in the U.S.) on Gay Conservatives

Gay Conservatives: Pulling the Movement to the Right
By Surina Khan
Gay Conservatives:Pulling the Movement to the Right

It was written in the late 90s and is a little out of date in terms of the present leadership of the Log Cabin Republicans and the Gay Right, but it is important information for anyone who wants to understand what the Uncle Tom Republicans are doing to the gay movement.

Iraq Joins Iranian War on Gay People

Very disturbing news from Iraq... As in Iran, fundamentalist Muslim clerics are inciting violence against (and killing of) gay people or people suspected of being”homosexual”. What is the U.S. Government (and our occupying forces) doing about it? Nothing!

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0505-06.htm

Published on Friday, May 5, 2006 by the Independent / UK
Iraqi Police 'Killed 14-Year-Old Boy for Being Homosexual'
by Jerome Taylor
 
Human rights groups have condemned the "barbaric" murder of a 14-year-old boy, who, according to witnesses, was shot on his doorstep by Iraqi police for the apparent crime of being gay.

Ahmed Khalil was shot at point-blank range after being accosted by men in police uniforms, according to his neighbours in the al-Dura area of Baghdad.

Campaign groups have warned of a surge in homophobic killings by state security services and religious militias following an anti-gay and anti-lesbian fatwa issued by Iraq's most prominent Shia leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Ali Hili, the co-ordinator of a group of exiled Iraqi gay men who monitor homophobic attacks inside Iraq, said the fatwa had instigated a "witch-hunt of lesbian and gay Iraqis, including violent beatings, kidnappings and assassinations".

"Young Ahmed was a victim of poverty," he said. "He was summarily executed, apparently by fundamentalist elements in the Iraqi police."

Neighbours in al-Dura district say Ahmed's father was arrested and interrogated two days before his son's murder by police who demanded to know about Ahmed's sexual activities. It is believed Ahmed slept with men for money to support his poverty-stricken family, who have fled the area fearing further reprisals.

The killing of Ahmed is one of a series of alleged homophobic murders. There is mounting evidence that fundamentalists have infiltrated government security forces to commit homophobic murders while wearing police uniforms.

Human rights groups are particularly concerned that the Sadr and Badr militias, both Shia, have stepped up their attacks on the gay community after a string of religious rulings, since the US-led invasion, calling for the eradication of homosexuals.

Grand Ayatollah Sistani recently issued a fatwa on his website calling for the execution of gays in the "worst, most severe way".

The powerful Badr militia acts as the military wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which counts Ayatollah Sistani as its spiritual leader. Another fatwa from the late and much revered Ayatollah Abul Qassim Khoei allows followers to kill gays "with a sword, or burn him alive, or tie his hands and feet and hurl him down from a high place".

Mr Hili said: "According to our contacts in Baghdad, the Iraqi police have been heavily infiltrated by the Shia paramilitary Badr Corps."

Mr Hili, whose Abu Nawas group has close links with clandestine gay activists inside Iraq, said US coalition forces are unwilling to try and tackle the rising tide of homophobic attacks. "They just don't want to upset the Iraqi government by bringing up the taboo of homosexuality even though homophobic murders have intensified," he said.

A number of public homophobic murders by the Badr militia have terrified Iraq's gay community. Last September, Hayder Faiek, a transsexual, was burnt to death by Badr militias in the main street of Baghdad's al-Karada district. In January, suspected militants shot another gay man in the back of the head.

The US State Department has yet to document the surge in its annual human rights reports. Iraq's neighbours, however, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are often criticised for their persecution of gays.

Darla Jordan, from the US State Department said: "The US government continues to work closely with our Iraqi partners to ensure the protection of human rights and the safety of all Iraqi citizens."

© 2006 Independent News and Media Limited

###

Democratic Socialists of America Chapter Forming

I'm trying to organize a Memphis DSA Chapter (Democratic Socialists of America).
Visit our website to learn more about DSA:
Memphis DSA

DSA is not a political party, we are primarily left-wing Democrats trying to pull the party to the left, away from the conservative DLC...
It would be nice to have a Democratic Socialist Party, but we have to build a movement for it.
The Democratic Party must move left and challenge corporate capitalism or die.
We can start with Universal Health Insurance...

Shelby County Primary Election

Well there was not a lot to celebrate in the Shelby County Democratic Primary, especially given the very low (9%) turnout. I was disappointed that Rep. Henri Brooks beat progressive candidate Reginal Fentress for the Dist. 2 County Commission seat. You may recall that Rep. Brooks told gay activists that gays were not a significant community for her to be concerned with and that she represented black churches in her district. She does not represent the Democratic Party or her district very well.

The good news is that Steve Mulroy beat Gibson for the Dist. 5 Commission seat, and will likely win the general election.

Now we have to try to get a real (progressive) Democratic candidate for the Dist. 9 House seat vacated by Ford Jr., who will sadly be the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

Neil Young's "Living With War"
Neil Young is my hero! He has made a brillliant anti-war/anti-bush album, a soundtrack for the anti-war/Impeach Bush movement!
Its only available online at this time, hopefully he can get it out through a record company and radio stations will play “Impeach the President”
The album should be available for digital purchase on iTunes May 2.

One of Neil Young’s best albums.. Too bad not many other artists have stood up!

Go here and listen to Neil Young’s BRILLIANT, ANGRY, anti-bush/anti-war album:
Living With War

Racist Theocrats in Democratic Party

The Republican Party is not the only party with theocrats trying to tear down the Wall of Separation between Churcha and State. While the largely white Christian Right has worked in the Republican Party to push their theocratic agenda (anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, school prayer, creationism, etc.) we seem to have a similar problem in the Democratic Party, but among largley African-American churches and clergy who also oppose abortion rights and civil rights (i.e. marriage) for gays and lesbians.
We should be alarmed by a group called the "Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association" or something like that which is concerned that a white candidate (i.e. Steve Cohen) could win the 9th Dist. House seat formerly held by Harold Ford Jr. These racist theocrats seem to be concerned that there are too many black candidate (who "have no chance of winning") who may cancel out the black candidates and allow a white candidate to win. Just imagine if these were white churches trying to stop a black candidate from winning!
These black churches need to (a) stop working with the Republican Christian Right to impose a Christian theocratic government in the U.S. and (b) stop practicing racist politics.
They should have learned by now that just because a candidate is black, that does not make them the best candidate to represent African-Americans!

Impeachment of Bush/Cheney

The movement to impeach Bush & Cheney is growing. Repubilcan strategists are worried that if the Democrats gain control of the House or Senate, there will be hearings that would have a good chance of leading to Impeachment. I hope they are right. For this to happen, however, the leadership of the Democratic Party must show some backbone and quit running scared. If a Democratic president was guilty of they lies and crimes of Bush/Cheney, Republicans would have already impeached them!

There are many organizations and websites pushing the impeachment of Bush/Cheney, but the main ones are:

Impeach Bush
Impeach Pac

Impeach Pac's site has a citizens guide to impeachment, with lots of sample resolutions for local and state governments.
I'm sure about this, but I've heard that if a STATE legislature sends a "Petition for Impeachment of the President" to Congress, Congress will have to debate it. So there is a rush on to get a STATE resolution passed and sent to Congress.
Vermont may be the first state legislature to do this, since several cities there have already passed impeachment resolutions.
Now, could we get a resolution passed by the City of Memphis and the Tennessee legislature?

Christians Fight Tolerance/Push Theocratic Agenda

This item in the paper today, "Christians Sue to Fight Tolerance"
Ruth Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to vocally condemn homosexuality..
She has filed a suit demanding that Georgia Institute of Technology revoke its tolerance policy which protect gays and lesbians from harrassment.
While Christo-fascists claim they are the ones being persecuted, it is they who are promoting intolerance!
Anytime their theocratic agenda is challenged, they cry that they are being persecuted!

A few items in the news:


Georgia OKs Bible Classes, Commandments
April 20, 2006 7:50 PM EDT

ATLANTA - Georgia became what is believed to be the first state to offer government-sanctioned elective classes on the Bible, with Gov. Sonny Perdue signing a bill into law Thursday.

The governor also signed a bill permitting the display of the Ten Commandments at courthouses, an issue that has raised thorny constitutional questions.

Critics say the measures blur the line between church and state. National civil rights groups said they want to see how the laws are implemented before deciding whether to challenge them in court.

The Bible is already incorporated into classes in Georgia and other states, and some local school districts have passed measures permitting classes devoted solely to the Bible. But education analysts say the law in Georgia is the first time a state government has endorsed such courses.

The new law allows elective classes on the Bible to be taught to high school students. Local school systems will decide whether to teach the courses.

The state Education Department has until February to craft curriculums. The law requires that the courses be taught "in an objective and nondevotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students."

The state's new Ten Commandments law was prompted by controversy over the posting of the commandments at the Barrow County Courthouse. A federal judge ordered the display removed in July.

Backers of the law made clear they were trying to craft a statute that would survive any constitutional challenges.

In a split decision last June, the U.S. Supreme Court declared exhibits of the Ten Commandments constitutional if their main purpose was to honor the nation's legal, rather than religious, traditions, and if they didn't promote one religious sect over another.

Both bills passed the state Legislature by comfortable margins.


CLOSER TO HOME:

Hernando: Medlin favors display of Ten Commandments on county property
Posted by: will on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 01:01 AM
County Supervisor Jessie Medlin thinks it might do some good if the Ten Commandments were posted in the Courthouse and Administration building in Hernando.

He broached the subject at Monday’s board meeting.
“I think we ought to take a stand on it,” he said.
Putting the Ten Commandments, or any other religious words or symbols, on public property has been a lightning rod for controversy for years and has been challenged in federal court any number of times.
Supervisor Bill Russell asked board attorney Tony Nowak what he thought of the proposal.
“It is a highly litigious area,” said Nowak.
He did say that the Supreme Court ruled recently that the Ten Commandments placed on public property as part of a historical presentation was acceptable.
The Court ruled in June 2005 that a display on the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin was legal because it was “a passive historical monument and not a religious monument.”
The Commandments were on a six-foot monolith along with other material and was one of 17 historical monuments and 21 markers.
The Court ruled “the state had a valid secular purpose” in putting the marker on the Capitol’s grounds which did not promote religion.
Medlin said at Monday’s meeting that he realized placing the Ten Commandments on public property could prompt a legal challenge.
“You are going to have someone protest everything,” he said.
Medlin said Tuesday that he had been thinking about making such a proposal for some time and was feeling the board out to see how they felt about it.
“If I believe in something I take a stand,” he said.
Medlin said he feels that most of the people in the county would support him on the issue.
“A lot of people talk about things but then sit back and do nothing,” he said. “I’m tired of the majority not being able to run things.”
Medlin did not make a motion at Monday’s meeting to place the Commandments at the two sites but said he might in the future if he feels there is support on the board.

Rino Dolbi / DeSoto Times News Staff

The Theocrats are pushing “10 Commandments Day” on May 7, and the Council on Secular Humanism and the First Amendment Project are countering with 10 Amendments Day, check it out:
Ten Amendments Day

HFJr. is to the RIGHT of John McCain!

John McCain reiterated that he opposes the anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment", as long as states are free to make their own laws defining marriage (thanks to the "Defense of Marriage Act" DOMA, signed into law by Bill Clinton, another Democrat who sold out gay voters who helped elect him..)

This means that Harold Ford Jr., who voted for the FMA, is now to the RIGHT of Republican John McCain!

Harold Ford Jr. Has "It"


The HFJr Campaign sent this out on their email list today.
Notice that Jr. is running not only against equal civil rights for gays and lesbians, he is running AGAINST the Democatic Party!
He is stabbing the Democratic "leaders" who endorsed and support him in the back! This is what makes being a Democrat today so painful! Why do they support candidates that run against THEM and pander to the Republican base??

As expected, Jr. is using his vote FOR the Republican anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment to court the anti-gay Republican base, never mind the Democratic Party base, never mind the Democratic Party “dogma” that believes that equality and social justice are more important than winning an election at any cost!
What ever happened to “values”?

The reporter who wrote this piece of Harold Ford Jr. propaganda does not know what “it” is that Jr. has, but I can think of a few things to call “it.”

Leftwing Cracker says they left off the first two letters :)


Jim Maynard, write-in candidate, US Senate
Jim Maynard for Congress

This reporter must have been paid for his political ad disguised as "news":

------------------------

From the Knoxville News Sentinel:
 
Korda: Ford campaigns with a healthy share of "it"
By GEORGE KORDA
April 15, 2006 

 
 Whatever 'it" is, Harold Ford, Jr. appears to have a healthy share.
 
"It" is a quality that separates average politicians from political stars, or those who have the ability to reach such heights.
 
Seeking the U.S. Senate seat held for 12 years by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is a political life-changing undertaking for Ford in more ways than just personal. If he's successful it will alter the national political structure within Tennessee.
 
Some 200 pumped-up people were at Knoxville's Foundry on April 11, awaiting the entrance of the not-quite 36-year-old, five-term congressman from Memphis. They were there not just to hear him speak on energy independence, but for something else.
 
To feel "it."
 
Energy surrounds Ford and his campaign. Ford's campaign staff members have the excited look of Kentucky Derby entry owners whose horse, they're sure, is the biggest and fastest in the race.
 
With State Sen. Rosalind Kurita dropping out of the contest, Ford now has a potential distraction off his plate. He can focus exclusively on the issues he wants to promote while letting his potential Republican opponents battle it out for their party's nomination.
 
Ford and every state political observer fully expect the Republican mantra to be that he's a liberal out of the Tennessee mainstream. His father, Harold Ford, certainly established a liberal voting record during his 22 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thus, a topic of regular political discussion is whether Ford's stated political moderation is a result of pragmatism or conviction.
 
If he's not sincere, he's doing a remarkable job of presenting himself as someone who is sincere.
 
In his Tuesday talk Ford spoke about how he upsets some Democrats because of his positions that run counter to the national party's dogma. For example, he says he opposes gay marriage and gun control.
 
That doesn't mean Ford is to the right of Republicans Ed Bryant, Bob Corker or Van Hilleary. But he's defying being pigeon-holed on the left, either.
 
The people in the room on Tuesday didn't care that he isn't in lock-step with Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi (who Ford ran against for the Democratic House leadership) or Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.
 
Ford is not going to adhere to the national media's or the national party's image of what a Democratic candidate should say or believe. He can't do that and win in Tennessee.
 
What Ford wants is to engage. He's like a combat soldier who wants to close with the enemy. Both during and Tuesday event and in a conversation afterwards, he brought up issue after issue and said, "We need to debate these during this campaign, and I look forward to it."
 
More than something he looks forward to, such engagement is something he clearly craves.
 
On Tuesday he was straightforward about his thoughts on Social Security and younger workers. He advocates reforming Social Security in part by telling Americans under 40 years old not to expect a Social Security check until they're 70 as a means of helping the system.
 
He says he would like to see pork barrel spending by Congress eliminated until the country again has a balanced budget.
 
Ford spoke about having been to Iraq four times as he called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.
 
And, as many candidates do, he said the U.S. must wean itself from dependence on Middle East oil.
 
Ford referenced several times how he sometimes upsets Democrats with his positions. He means Democrats way over on the left, the kind of voters who, if a candidate panders to them, will cost that candidate an election in Tennessee.
 
Ford understands that elections are won and lost in the center mass of the electorate. Gone are the days when an Albert Gore, Jr. could present himself as a moderate-to-conservative in Tennessee and turn hard left when he got back to Washington. Tennessee and its political nature have changed.
 
Whether the Republican candidate is Bryant, Corker or Hilleary, he is going to have his hands very, very full with Harold Ford, Jr., who has carefully and adroitly positioned himself to defy easy categorization.
 
When they hit him, he's going to hit back, articulately. He does not have any intention of letting his opponents define him. Over the next few months, Tennessee is going to get a good dose of "it."
 
We'll see how "it" works for Harold Ford, Jr.
_____

Hmmm...what a piece of crap! This article is filled with propaganda and "bull **it"
It is another example of he CONSERVATIVE medias attempt to paint "liberals" as out of the mainstream and move the political "center" over to the right. And it looks like HFJr is buying into it and playing along.

Getting Serious

First, thanks to the Leftwing Cracker for pushing my write-in campaign against Harold Ford Jr. in the Demcocratic primary for the U.S. Senate.
Like many progressive/liberal Democrats (and I'm a gay one on top of that), I have a serious problem with supporting a centrist/conservate Democrat who sacrifices gays and lesbians to win an election. That is what Harold Ford Jr. did. Knowing he would be running for the U.S. Senate, he voted with REPUBLICANS for the anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment" back in 2004, just before that election, so that the Republicans would not accuse him of supporting gay marriage when he ran for the Senate. It didn't work.. they still accused him of supporting gay marriage anyway! Of course, now he can, and did, respond by calling the GOP on this and bragged about voting WITH REPUBLICANS for the REPUBLICAN anti-gay amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Keep in mind, the Democratic Party and it's Presidential candidate John Kerry, were publicly OPPOSING this Republican amendment. The DNC was courting gay voters by opposing the amendment. John Kerry even spoke against it in his acceptance speech at the DNC. But Harold Ford Jr., a "Democrat" voted with the Republicans, with the Republican Party, With Tom Delay, with the Christian Coalition, etc. and voted to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution, for the first time in the history of the United States of America.

Now, I realize that "gay marriage" was used by the Republicans as a wedge issue, which they used very successfully to divide the "base" of the Democratic Party, pitting conservative Christian African-Americans against gays and lesbians, and forcing the Democratic Party to choose between the different legs of its base. And they are doing it AGAIN! The GOP is getting ready to bring the Federal Marriage Amendment back up for a vote in time for the 2006 election! Why should I support Harold Ford Jr., when he has already voted for this Republican amendment to write discrimination against gays and lesbians into the U.S. Constitution. Can the Ford people please explain to me why I should vote for him??
Why should gays and lesbians keep supporting the Democratic Party (next to African-Americans we may be the most loyal democratic voters!)
I don't think gays and lesbians are the only part of the "Democratic base" asking this question. The DLC conservative/centrist Democrats are more interested in appeasing the Republican base than they are the Democratic base!

I had not planned on running for the U.S. Senate. I had thought about making a serious run for the House Dist. 9 seat being vacated (abandoned) by HFJ, but I decided to wait it out and support a more experienced progressive, like Steve Cohen. Thanks to Steve Cohen, we now have a real Democrat to support for that office.

I knew I did not have a chance to run for the U.S. Senate, and like many other progressive/liberal Democrats, I had planned on voting for Rosalind Kurita, even though she was not as liberal or progressive as I am or as I wanted her to be, but she seemed more progressive than HFJ. Now she dropped out and we had no opposition candidate against HFJ in the Democratic Primary.

I heard from many progressive and gay Democrats who were dismayed about the situation, and I made a last-minute decision to run as a write-in candidate. I know I will not and cannot win this election against Harold Ford Jr., but as Leftwing Cracker and autoegocrat (see PeskyFly blog) have eloquently stated, liberal and progressive Democrats in Tennessee must stand up and make a stand.

Maybe we can send a message that our votes will NOT be taken for granted. Maybe the Democratic Party (especially in Tennessee) willl stop ignoring us.

We must get organized for the next time, so we won't be forced into this situation again. Let's gete some REAL progressive Democrats on the ballots!

Jim Maynard
Write-in Candidate
U.S. Senate
Jim Maynard for Congress

GOP Election Plan: Flag-Burning, Gay Marriage Amendments

Here they go again! USA Today reports that Senate Republicans are laying out their election plan and, surprise!, it will be to push for the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment and resurrect their old chestnut "anti-flag burning" amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and of course more restrictions on abortion rights.

Let's see...we are in a "war on terror", a quagmired military occupation in Iraq, a criminal scandalridden Republican Congress and White House, American workers are falling behind in the "class war," and these are the issues the Republican Reich think matter the most to American voters!

Unfortunately, there are many of those poor workers who do consider these issues more important than their economic well-being, but (hopefully) they are not the majority of American voters.

Senate Majority Leader, and likely presidential candidate Bill Frist (R-TN) has promised a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment in time for the upcoming election. However, the other likely GOP Presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he is still opposed to the amendment (unless the courts strike down the Defense of Marriage Act which allows states the right to define marriage themselves). But, given McCain's backstrokes to kiss up to the Christian Right (he recently jumped in bed with Jerry Falwell), I expect he will change his position to win the GOP nomination, which requires the support of the GOP's christo-fascist base.

Once again, the GOP will attack queers to win the election... and the Democratic Party will try not to be trapped into supporting gay marriage again, while still expecting the support of gay voters.

As a gay person who has not considered the heterosexist institution of "marriage" at the top of the "gay agenda," I'm beginning to think that gay marriage is not worth another fascist Republican congress or another Republican administration. Is there anyway to "postpone" the gay marriage thing? I guess not. We are forced to stand up for the equality and social justice, even if it means losing a few elections, but will the cost be too high?

Should we have to choose between the future of U.S. Democracy, the Constitution and the planet over equal rights for gays?
Scratching my head..

Ford Jr. and the Future of the Democratic Party

Harold Ford Jr. made an appearance at his East Memphis Headquarters last Thursday. Jackson Baker reports in the Memphis Flyer that Ford said:

”I’m not a Democrat,” he said at one point, ‘running up to Washington yelling ‘Democrat, Democrat, Democrat, Democrat.’ Somebody’s going to go, and I know I make some Democrats upset at times because I’m just a believer if it works, you have to support it.”

Jr. is trying to distance himself from the Democratic Party base and win the support of Republicans and Independents. Funny how Democratic Party "strategists" seem more concerned about reaching out to the Republican base than their own base, while Republicans focus on their base...

Jr. and the TN Democratic Party think that they will be able to win enough republican support to win the Senate, but they are wrong. The Republicans will red-bait Ford Jr. despite all his denials of being one of those "liberal" nuts who support equal rights for gays, or abortion rights, or "class warfare," etc..

Anyway, you can read more about Ford Jr. and the centrist sell-out of the Democratic Party and its liberal/progressive base over on the PeskyFly and LeftwingCracker blogs...
Be sure to check out Autoegocrat's wonderful essay on the Peskyfly blog: "Where we Are, How We Got Here, and How Can We Get Out of This Mess" for a brilliant analysis of Harold Ford Jr. and the sell-out of the Democratic Party.

Write Me In for U.S. Senate!

With the announcement that Rosalind Kurita is withdrawing from the primary election for the U.S. Senate, there is no progressive Democratic opposition to Harold Ford Jr. in the Democratic primary August 3. I have decided to offer my name once again as a write-in candidate for those Democrats who wish to vote for a real progressive, liberal Democrat in the primary election. I want Democrats to win in November and take back control of the U.S. Congress, therefore I will support Harold Ford Jr., or whoever wins the Democratic primary, in the general election. But I and many other Democrats want a choice in this primary election, and an opportunity to offer an alternative vision for the future of the Democratic Party.

Some background:

On Sept. 30, 2004, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. reversed prior position statements and voted for the anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment" (H.J. Resolution 56), which would amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit states from allowing gay and lesbian couples to enjoy the legal rights of marriage.  Because Rep. Ford  has voted against gay and lesbian civil rights, because he has voted with opponents of gay and lesbian equality, and because he voted against the position of the Democratic Party and its Presidential Candidate John Kerry, I decided to oppose him as a write-in candidate in the Nov. 2, 2004 election.  ( I received 166 votes.)

While Rep. Ford has consistently opposed gay marriage, he has also taken the position of John Kerry and the Democratic Party that it is wrong and unnecessary to amend the U.S. Constitution to block the right of states to allow gays and lesbians to marry--until Sept. 30, 2004 when he caved in to a campaign of intolerance waged by anti-gay churches and clergy in Memphis.  I and many other gay and lesbian supporters of Harold Ford Jr. were very disappointed with his betrayal.

This is not the first time he has endorsed conservative positions.  He has supported President Bush's "Faith-based Initiatives" which violate the First Amendment's anti-establishment clause and the constitutional separation of church and state.  He supported the Iraq War and wasteful military spending.  I have decided that I can no longer support him or vote for him and believe that voters deserve a better choice, someone who stands up for his beliefs and principles, defends civil rights, equality and social justice for all, and supports the separation of church and state.

It is now clear that Harold Ford Jr. crossed party lines and voted for the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment in anticipation of running for the U.S. Senate 2006.  His campaign for the Senate has emphasized his vote for the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment and his opposition to gay marriage, as well as his votes to restrict the right of women to abortion, and he has indicated that he supports some version of the Republican plan to "privatize" Social Security, as he has supported much of the Bush Administration's conservative policies. 

Progressive Democrats must challenge Harold Ford Jr. and the "centrist" Democratic Party establishment that supported him over his main Democratic opponent, Rosalind Kurita, who has withdrawn from the race for lack of money and party support.  It is very disturbing to me that candidates who cannot compete against other candidates with large corporate and other political establishment donors are forced to drop out of the political process.  People with money and family name recognition should not be automatically entitled to political office.

I still believe that PROGRESSIVE Democrats deserve a real choice in this election and so I offer my name as a write-in candidate for the August 2 primary for Democrats who share my unwavering belief in the progressive Democratic principles of peace, social justice, equality and the separation of church and state.   I still believe in the Democratic Party and urge progressive Democrats to join me in the fight for the heart, soul and future of the Democratic Party and our country.

Jim Maynard for U.S. Senate
Jim Maynard For Congress

Sen. Russ Feingold Takes on Bush AND Support Gay marriage!

Hurray for Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) who became the third national Democratic leadeer to publicly support equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians! Feingold came out this to support gay marriage rights and to oppose a constitutional amendment in Wisconsin that will prohibit same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Feingold also stepped up to the plate and sponsored a censure resolution against George W. Bush for his illegal wiretapping and other crimes. Unfortunately, he got little support from the rest of the Democratic "leadership".

Hopefully Feingold will run for President... I would love to vote for a true progressive Democrat with courage and conviction (NOT Hillary Clinton!)

Steve Cohen Running for House Dist. 9

TN State Sen. Steve Cohen announced Monday that he is running for the U.S. House Dist. 9 seat being vacated by Harold Ford Jr. who is running for the U.S. Senate. Steve Cohen ran unsuccessfully against Harold Ford Jr. about 10 years ago. I ran against Harold Ford Jr. as a write-in candidate in 2004 after Jr. voted for the Republican anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment. I had considered running again this election, but decided to wait and see if a progressive candidate runs that I can support and that has the political experience and resources to win. I had begged Steve to run and am glad he is. Cohen is one of the few politicians in Tennessee I can support enthusiastically. He is well qualified to for House of Representatives, and he is a progressive Democrat who stands up for his principles. I urge everyone to support him!

Rep. Henri Brooks

Recently representatives of Tennessee Equality Project and
Initiative:Fairness met with representatives in Nashville to discuss
gay/lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. I was disturbed to hear that
one of our "Democratic" representatives, Henri Brooks (Rep. Dist 92) voiced
her opposition to gay rights and said that her constituents were black
churches and that the glbt community was not "predominant enough" for her to
support glbt-friendly legislation.

As a gay Democrat, I am embarrassed that Henri Brooks represents our party
in the state of Tennessee, and I hope her constituents and progressive
thinking Democrats will reconsider supporting her political ambitions.

Here is a link to her website with contact information:
Rep. Henri Brooks

And her is a letter I sent her:


------ Forwarded Message
From: Jim Maynard
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 21:45:36 -0600
To: rep.henri.brooks@legislature.state.tn.us
Cc: Maynard Jim
Subject: Disappointed

Dear Rep. Henri Brooks,

Representatives of Tennessee Equality Project and Initiative:Fairness,
organizations advocating civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people, met with you to discuss your lack of support for
glbt civil rights legislation. They have reported that you stated that
the GLBT community is not "predominant enough" for you to support
GLBT-friendly legislation, and that your constituents were
African-American churches.

It is very disturbing that a Democratic representative would make such
a statement and disregard not only the civil rights of gay and lesbian
people, many of whom live in your district, but that you would limit
your representation to black churches.

I would like to remind you that you represent all the constituents in
your district, including gays and lesbians, and I hope that when
progressive-thinking Democrats learn of your prejudice against gays and
lesbians that they will reconsider supporting your political ambitions
in the future.

Sincerely,
Jim Maynard

McCain Panders to the GOP Christo-Fascist Base

The anti-gay Republican Christian Right continues its war on gays...Supreme Court Justice Scalia said in a recent speech that there is no constitutional right to "homosexual conduct"; the christo-fascist American Family Association is threatening to boycot Walmart for selling "Brokeback Mountain" DVDs; and it looks like future Republican presidential candidate John McCain (Sen. Ariz) is going to try to make amends with the Christian Right. He is reported to be meeting with Jerry Falwell and other religious right leaders.

I never understood why McCain is considered to be a "moderate" or "liberal" in the Republican Party: he's anti-choice, pro-military, pro-war, etc. Even gay Republicans have supported him, even though he doesn't support any gay rights legislation or policies, and has not even opposed the "don't ask don't tell" anti-gay military policy which he is not likely to take on.

The Log Cabin Republicans supported McCain against Bush, but will they continue to support him after he works to get the support of the anti-gay Christian Right to win the GOP nomination??? Probably...Uncle Tom Republicans still support Bush, and the anti-gay Republican Party!

Polls Suggest Americans More Supportive of Gay Rights

A poll by the Pew Reserach Center released last Wednesday whos that opposition to same-sex marriage dropped sharply across the U.S. the past two years. The poll found that just over half (51 percent) of Americans still oppose allowing gays to marry, and 39 percent support it. However, opposition is down 12 percent from 2004, when 63 percent opposed it. The poll also found that the public is evenly split on allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt children--46 percent in favor, and 48 percent opposed. (In 1999 38 percent were supportive and 57 percent opposed).

So, while the trend is going in the right direction, we still have a way to go before the people of the United States fully embrace equality ("life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness") for gays and lesbians...

The neo-fascist Republicans will continue to fuel the flames of homophobia and opposition to gay marriage in conservative places like the south and mid-west, but they are going to run out of anti-gay steam in a few years... Hopefully the Democratic Party will grow a stronger backbone to support equal rights for everyone.

The U.S. continues to lag behind most western democratic societies in supporting gay and lesbian rights, and even behind a few "third world" countries to the south of us..

Protest at the Republican Southern Leadership Conference

The fascist Republicans had their Southern Leadership Conference in Memphis today. I and about a dozen other activist had a little protest against Bush and the Republican Party’s neo-fascist agenda. We got a lot of positive response from people driving by, a few not so positive, but the real shock for me was engaging these ignorant republicans who still support Bush (the 36 % or so left who do). Would you believe these sheep still believe the LIE that Bush invaded Iraq because they attacked us on 9/11 ?! They think Bush has been protecting us from terrorism? Scary.... sheep!

Harold Ford Jr. came by (he came out of Peabody, not sure what he was doing inside), he shook our hands and said he support us, until I told him who I was and that I ran against him as a write-in candidate in 2004. He said I disrespected him, and I told him to run as a Democrat and quit running as a Republican and get a backbone.

Also saw Chris Matthews from MSNBC’s Hardball, but didn’t speak to him. He probably wouldn’t have liked what I had to say either.

You can see pics at my My .mac website

Wake Up Democratic Party! Impeach Bush!

What is wrong with the "leaders" of the Democratic Party? Bush's poll numbers are in a deep dive, over 50 percent of Americans think George Bush should be IMPEACHED for lying us into an illegal war, and the DLC suits warn Democratic candidates NOT to make impeachment of Bush a campaign issue in 2006!

Bush is a WAR CRIMINAL! He Lied! He has violated the Constitution, U.S and international law!
If the Republicans had the nerve to impeach Clinton for lying about his private sexual affair with a consenting adult, why can't the Democratic Party find the backbone to impeach a WAR CRIMINAL???

Well the Republicans will be in Memphis this weekend for the Republican Southern Leadership Conference, and I plan to protest with other angry progressive/leftists and REAL democrats Saturday 10 AM-2 PM.

I've had enough!

Oscars Sucked!
This was one of the worst Academy Awards prorams I have ever seen.. they keep getting worse and worse.
I only watched it to see Brokeback Mountain win, and it lost best picture to Crash ??? Crash may be a good movie, with a message about racism and intolerance, but there is no way it was a better movie overall than Brokeback Mountain.
At least Ang Lee won for Best Director and made a good statement for gay and lesbian rights.

And how in the hell did that horrible rap song by 666 Mafia win best song???

What is happening to the Academy of Motion Pictures? And they wonder why more people are staying home and renting DVDs...

Right-Wing Strikes Back
Now that the right-wing controls the Surpeme Court (with Bush's appointment of Samuel Alito and John Roberts), they are striking back against Roe v. Wade and reproductive rights. South Dacota has passed the most retrictive law against abortion, outlawing all abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, except to save the life of the mother. This law is designed to go to the Surpeme Court and overturn Roe, which there now appears to be enough votes to do.

People for the American Way published a letter from Samuel Alito to James Dobson, leader of Focus on the Family, thanking him and FOTF for supporting his nomination....Alito tried to hide his true beliefs and views during the confirmation hearing but now we see the real Alito--a right-wing religious fanatic who will join with Roberts and the other conservative justices to overturn Roe and continue to erode the separation between church and state..

Welcome to Bush's America!

Right-Wing Conservatives and Liberal Funerals

I'm so sick of the right-wing cons whining about liberals and progressives being too "political" at the funderals of great progressives. They complained about the political jabs against Republicans at the funderal of the great progressive liberal Sen. Paul Wellstone, and now they are whining again about politcal comments made by Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Joseph Lowery at the funeral of Coretta Scott King.

First, I don't think conservative Republicans like George W. Bush should be speaking at the funderals of great liberals like Coretta King. Why do conservative Republican's give lip service to great liberals like Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King while they are doing everything they can to work against the liberal values they lived and died for?

The political speeches at the funderals of Coretta Scott King and Paul Wellstone were more than appropriate, they were necessary to remember the lives and the values of these great progressive leaders.

Maybe conservatives are just too embarrassed to face the truth about how they are destroying the dreams and visions of these liberal leaders?

Christo-Facisim Breeds Homophobia

The teen wanted in connection with the attacks on a gay bar in New Bedford Mass. was caught today near my hometown in Norfork Arkansas. He killed a police officer in my hometown of Gassville and was shot by police, but not killed. He was flown to a hospital in Springfield MO. A woman riding with him was also killed.

There are several white supremecist groups in N. Arkansas (between Mtn. Home and Harrison), and I belive the national headquarters of the KKK is located near Harrison.
When I taught at ASU in Mtn. Home I had a student who wore a KKK T-Shirt to class!
My mother told me that a preacher in Mtn. Home has been making noise trying to get people to boycott at new Walgreens being built there because, according to him, they support gay rights.

The ani-gay climate promoted by white supremecists and fundamentalist Christians in north Arkansas is one reason I moved to Memphis TN, which isn't much better but because of its size, has a more visible gay community.

Jacob Robida, the teen who attacked the gay bar in New Bedford Massachusetts and caught and shot in Norfork, Arkansas yesterday, died today in a hospital in Springfield Mo.

I tracked down his web page on myspace.com (the media is using a picture of him from it), trying to figure out why he would drive 1,500 miles to Mountain Home, Arkansas.
Here’s his webpage:
http://www.myspace.com/jakejekyll
I don’t suggest you go there unless, like me, you are curious about why people do bad things like this, and unless you are want to see how messed up some of our youth are.
I hope this kind of alienation and hatred, and fascination with death, killing and dying, and Nazism, is limited to a small number of teens, but it is scary!
If you scroll down his webpage to his “friends” and their messages, it is even more scary. These teens, in New Bedford Massachusetts!, are the most alienated people I’ve ever seen. They hate their parents, their teachers, the government, everyone! But they have created a subculture of “Juggalos” who support each other.
At first I thought he might have been fleeing to one of the white supremacist groups in North Arkansas, but most of them are “Christian” KKK groups who do not accept atheists..
Here’s the website of the KKK, LLC in Compton Arkansas:
http://www.kukluxklan.bz/faq.html
I don’t think he could have been part of that group..
So I don’t know how he ended up in North Arkansas.. Maybe it was just a coincidence ...


Jim Maynard
http://home.earthlink.net/~jmaynard2
http://queernotes.blogspot.com

Sundown on the Union

Bush's SOTU speech was one of the worst ever. He once again lashed out at "activist judges" who want to "redefine marriage," pandering to his Christo-fascist base.

It was reported today in the press that Bush is requesting a Defense budget of $440 billion and $120 billion more for the Iraq/Afghanistan wars.

In the meantime, the GOP Congress CUT $40 billion from Medicare, Medicaid and student loans... This is "compassionate conservativism" ???