Iraq to Execute Gays!

Iraqi LGBT reports that Iraq is preparing to execute about 128 people for the "crime" of being gay!
Stop Execution of Gay Iraqis

Guess this is the "democracy" that the supporters of Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq promised us? Actually, this is a Shiite government like Iran's which can thank the U.S. for putting into power.

UPDATE: Two Gay Men Killed in Baghdad
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi police say the bodies of two gay men have been found in Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City after a leading cleric repeatedly condemned homosexuality.
A police official says the two men were believed killed Thursday by relatives who were shamed by their behavior.
The killings come after Shiite cleric Sattar al-Battat repeatedly condemned homosexuality during prayers, saying Islam prohibits homosexuality.
The official says no family members have claimed the bodies or demanded an investigation.
The killings come weeks after Iraqi police found four bodies near Sadr City with the word pervert written on their chests.

UPDATE: Six Gay Men Shot in Iraq (Clerics Urged Crackdown on Homosexuality

Progressives Vs. Obama

Progressives, who helped to get Obama nominated and elected, are increasingly voicing criticism of the centrist policies of the Obama administration. While Obama has reached out to conservative/moderate journalists, pundits and political groups in D.C., even the small but vocal "Blue Dog Democrats" who are threatening to kill any progressive legislation in Congress, Obama has yet to meet with the much larger Progressive caucus, or invite a progressive critic like Paul Krugman into his office.

On the economy, Obama is following the same policies as Bush and Clinton, even appointing Wall Street insiders like Timothy Geithner and Timothy Summers, to "bail out" the financial institutions who caused the Great Recession...

On health care, Obama has sided with insurance companies to oppose a single-payer public health insurance program and try another failed band-aid approach that will benefit the insurance companies. The Obama administration tried to keep single-payer advocates out of the "health care summit" in D.C.

In the "war on terror," Obama is not only continuing many of the unconstitutional programs of the Bush administration, he is even protecting and covering the crimes of the Bush administration. While he campaigned to end the war in Iraq, he is not going to pull the troops out as he promised, and is going to escalate the war in Afghanistan.

On gay rights, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress do not want to touch the military's failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy or do away with the Defense of Marriage Act. These were two of the big promises Obama made to the LGBT community. It looks like Obama will follow Bill Clinton's example and throw LGBT people under the bus of political compromise.

One of the most vocal progressive critics of Obama's economic plans has been Paul Krugman, who made some news this week, including the cover of Newsweek


Krugman continues to voice concerns about Obama's economic policies in his NYT Column
The Market Wizards Were Exposed as Frauds: Too Bad Obama Team Believes Their Magic

Krugman takes on Geithner/Obama on ABC's This Week

Krugman is not alone...more progressives are taking on Obama:
William Greider-- Obama's Economic Plan: A Version of Monopoly, but No One Loses

Have Geithner's "Zombie Ideas" Won? Krugman on the "Cash for Trash" Program

James Gailbraith: This Crisis is Way Bigger than Dead Banks and Wall Street Bailouts

Tom Hayden:
Why is a "Progressive" Think Tank Telling Obama to Escalate the War in Afghanistan?
Don't Go There Mr. President!

Jim Hightower: Obama to Send More Mercenaries to Afghanistan--Sound Familiar?

No Change on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Gates: No Change Soon on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't expect any change soon to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have "a lot on our plates right now." As Gates puts it, "let's push that one down the road a little bit."

The White House has said Obama has begun consulting with Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on how to lift the ban. Gates says that dialogue has not really progressed very far at this point in the administration.

The Pentagon policy was put in place after President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gay service members in 1993.

The policy refers to the military practice of not asking recruits their sexual orientation. In turn, service members are banned from saying they are gay or bisexual, engaging in homosexual activity or trying to marry a member of the same sex.

Gates appeared on Fox News Sunday.

The Associated Press
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Looks like the Obama administration will not even attempt to address the big LGBT issues in the next four years. Nothing on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, or the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). If this Democratic administration and Congress does not at least pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), they will loose even more progressive LGBT voters. Many of us are switching to parties that DO support equal rights for everyone without political compromises (like the Green Party and the Socialist Party USA).

It's not just LGBT issues, from continuing many of the Bush administration policies on the "war on terror" to escalating the military occupation of Afghanistan, not holding Bush administration officials accountable for their crimes, to snoozing up to the CEO's on Wall Street and continuing Bush policies to "bail out" the financial institutions that caused the Great Recession, Obama has not fulfilled his promise of CHANGE. While he has met with every "moderate-centrist" group in Washington DC, he has yet to invite the Progressive caucus to a meeting, and tried to shut single-payer health care advocates out of the "health care summit". From the economy and war to health care and gay rights, Obama is ignoring the progressives who helped get him elected. This is looking more and more like a repeat of the Bill Clinton fiasco. THIS IS NOT CHANGE!

LGBT Executives: How Much Are They Paid?

Washington Blade is reporting on the salaries of executive directors of the top LGBT organizations in the U.S.
How Much Do They Make?
Given the current scandals surrounding CEO salaries and "bonuses" in U.S. corporations, maybe the timing for this discussion is not good, or maybe it is. As an activist who organized and lead several LGBT organizations in my lifetime, with NO pay, I don't think anyone leading LGBT organizations should be in the job for money. I agree that many of the directors of these groups do important work and should be compensated, but $300,000? Should a "leader" of a LGBT organization like Human Rights Campaign, which begs me for $100 donations when I cannot pay my rent, be getting paid over $300,000? Why should directors of non-profit organizations be getting paid as much or more than the President of the United States?

The two LGBT groups I give money to when I can, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (Task Force) and Stonewall Democrats are LOW on this list, and I think Jon Hoadley is underpaid for Stonewall Democrats ($59,000), especially considering the bankrupt (in more ways than one) Log Cabin Republican director gets paid $142,000.

So as in the world of work in general, monetary compensation does not always relate to the value of work people do..

View Chart: Salaries of LGBT Leaders

UPDATE: HRC Seeks Pay, Benefit Cuts from Union Employees (Maybe HRC should cut the salary of Joe Salmonese from $330,000 down to under $100,000!)

Sponsor of TN Gay Marriage Ban BUSTED

ARRESTED: Former State Senator who Pushed Ban on Same Sex Marriage
Jeff Miller, the former Tennessee state senator who in 2005 successfully installed that state's ban on same-sex marriage, was arrested Wednesday for defrauding his home county in his position as tax collector.

Out & About Notes:
Miller’s advocacy for the sanctity of marriage rang hollow at a time when his wife of 15 years sued him for divorce, citing behavior that suggested Miller was guilty of extramarital philandering. Bridgett Suzanne Miller filed divorce papers in Bradley County Circuit Court on February 25, 2005 and accused her husband of “inappropriate marital conduct.”

New England: Less Religion, More Gay Rights

USA Today: Same-Sex Proposals Up in Less Religious New England States
Same-sex marriage proposals are sweeping into New England state legislatures this spring, particularly in places where organized religious opposition may be the weakest.

A USA TODAY analysis finds that states where the percentage of "nones" — people who say they have no religion — is at or above the national average of 15% are more likely to push expanding the scope of marriage, civil unions or same-sex partner rights.

Today in New Hampshire, where nones are 29% of the population, nearly matching Catholics (32%) and Protestants (30%), the House of Representatives is expected to vote to legalize same-sex marriage, and "it has a good chance of passing the Senate this week," says Marty Rouse of the Human Rights Campaign.

Friday in Vermont, a gay marriage bill that has passed the Senate goes to the House. Vermont has the highest rate of nones in the nation (34%), according to the newly released American Religious Identification Survey. Gov. Jim Douglas announced Wednesday that he intended to veto the bill if it passed.

Coming up: Legislatures in Rhode Island (nones 19%) and Maine (nones 25%) will hold hearings this spring on marriage "equality" bills. Nearby in New York (nones 14%), the Legislature could approve a bill "by the Fourth of July," Rouse says.

The religious identification survey's findings work in reverse, as well. The states with the highest rates of identification with conservative denominations — such as Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal and Mormon — were more likely to be among the 30 states where voters have approved constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.

Barry Kosmin, Trinity College sociologist and co-director of the survey, says the correlation is no coincidence. "Given that 25% of GenX (those ages 29 to 42) and GenY (ages 18 to 28) are nones, this is where we are headed," he says. "It's a standoff between young people with a tremendous sympathy for civil rights and what appears to be biblical injunctions from religion."

The more secular countries and states are, the more they support LGBT rights. Clearly, the future of gay rights requires a more secular society and a strong separation of church and state.

See Also: 15% of U.S. Non-Religious (Up from 8%)

UPDATE: NH House Passes Gay Marriage Bill

Wall Street Fights Back

The corporate elite on Wall Street are trying to fight back against the populist backlash to corporate greed and excessive corporate bonuses.

Wall Street Journal: On Wall Street, Talk of Trust and Civil War

Obama has been carefully trying to respond to the public's anti-corporate outrage while not offending the corporate elites. In fact, the Obama administration seems to be more afraid of a backlash from Wall Street and corporate America than they are of the populist uprising. Even in his second prime-time press conference tonight, Obama tried to express some anger at the AIG bonus scandals, while defending business and the "good" corporate rich. Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner has been meeting and talking with his friends on Wall Street trying to win their support for his bank bailout plan. In order to win their support, Obama is softening his tone toward them.

Wall Street: Obama Dials Down Wall Street Criticism

Maybe the corporate rich on Wall Street, and the Obama administration, should read Matt Taibbi's excellent article in the Rolling Stone explaning why Americans SHOULD be angry at Wall Street: The Big Takeover

Here's a peek:
"It's over — we're officially, royally fucked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far..."

Sen. Charles Schumer Supports Same-Sex Marriage

In another reversal, NY Sen. Charles Schumer says he now supports marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.

At a dinner with LGBT groups in New York, Schumer also backed a full reversal of the "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA), which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Rep. Barney Frank Calls Scalia A "Homophobe"

Rep. Barney Frank Calls Scalia a Homophobe
Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe" in a recent interview with the gay news Web site 365gay.com. The Democratic lawmaker, who is gay, was discussing gay marriage and his expectation that the high court would some day be called upon to decide whether the Constitution allows the federal government to deny recognition to same-sex marriages.

"I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," said Frank.

More of Frank's Discussion on the New Gay Agenda On 365gay.com

UPDATE: Barney Frank, "Why I Called Justice Scalia a Homophobe"

Obama's "Katrina Moment"

It's really amazing that a politician as smart and astute as Barack Obama would allow conservative Republicans to get ahead of the populist outrage over AIG and the whole tax payer bailout of Wall Street banks and financial institutions that created the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Once again Democrats have failed to be the party of the working class. Republicans have been able to (hypocritically) point out the financial and political connections between Democrats in Congress, and even the Obama Administration, and these corrupt "welfare queens" on Wall Street.

If Obama is going to be politically successfull, he MUST quit following the failed ideas of Wall Street Insiders like Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers and listen to the populist uprising and take on the corporate elite.

Frank Rich: Has a "Katrinia Moment" Arrived?
William Greider: Obama Told Us to Speak Out, but Is He Listening?
Paul Krugman: Zombie Financial Ideas
More Despair Over Geithner Plan
The Voters' Uprising: Pres. Obama, What Are You Thinking?

Poverty in the LGBT Community

Study Looks at Poor Among Gay & Lesbian Families

Lesbian couples are more likely to be poor than married heterosexuals, and children of same-sex parents are twice as likely to live in poverty as those of traditional married couples, a new report shows.
UCLA's Williams Institute, which studies gay issues, says its report out today is the first to analyze poverty among gay and lesbian couples.

The report is an analysis of the most recent data on same-sex unmarried partners from the 2000 Census and two smaller surveys that include questions on sexual orientation. Together, it argues, they debunk "a popular stereotype (that) paints lesbians and gay men as an affluent elite."

More:
Washington Blade: Gays/Lesbians More Likely to be Poor than Straights
Bilerico: The End of "Gay Affluence"

Vermont Step Closer to Gay Marriage

Today Vermont is a step closer to legalizing gay marriage.
Vermont Gay Marriage Bill Advances to Senate Vote

The Vermont Senate will vote next week on legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, following acceptance of the bill in committee on Friday. Hundreds of people filled the Statehouse as the Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 to advance the measure.
The measure would replace Vermont’s first-in-the-nation civil unions law with one that allows marriage of same-sex partners, beginning Sept. 1. Civil unions, which confer some rights similar to marriage, would still be recognized but no longer granted after Sept. 1.

UPDATE: VT Senate Approves Gay Marriage Bill

The End of Capitalism

Laura Flanders interviews Marxist scholar David Harvey and Alexander Coburn on Tim Geithner and the future of capitalism:

David Harvey is the author of Limits to Capital, and has been teaching Karl Marx's Capital for 40 years.
Get more of David Harvey's analysis of capitalism at Reading Marx's Capital with David Harvey

See Also:
In Defense of Marxism
Marxists Internet Archive
Marx/Engels Collected Works

AIG, Corporate Greed, and Right-Wing Hypocrisy

The scandal over AIG bonuses continues to unravel and explode, and it looks like the Obama administration may be one of the culprits. And what hypocrisy from the Republicans! Back when Obama and Democrats tried to limit CEO bonuses for firms that received TARP funds, they opposed "government intervention" in private businesses. They OPPOSED limiting bonuses for the CEOs we bailed out. Now, conservatives are blaming the Obama administration, specifically Sen. Chriss Dodd, for the AIG fiasco. GOP Blasts Obama Adminisration for AIG

Now it turns out that Sen. Chris Dodd was pressured by the Obama Administration (probably Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner and economic advisor Lawrence Summers) to take out the provision in the TARP plan that would have limited CEO bonuses!

What a mess! It is proof that Democrats, including high level Obama advisors like Geithner and Summers, have been trying to protect and cover their Wall Street pals all along. There will not be CHANGE in Washington until Obama dumps them and gets some real progressives on his economic team to fix this mess and protect American workers from bankers, speculators, and Wall Street greed!

The Republican Reich can't seem to get their story straight! The GOP's leader, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity are defending AIG and capitalism, and most Republicans in Congress OPPOSED attempts by Democrats to restrict CEO bonuses in the stimulus and TARP bills!

See Media Matters for the Right-Wing Lies and Hypocrisy on AIG

U.S. Signs On to UN Declaration on Gay Rights

Finally, the U.S. Will (Finally) Sign UN Declaration on Gay Rights
According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration will endorse a U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality that then-President George W. Bush had refused to sign.

The Roman Catholic Pope will join other anti-gay religious fundamentalists and Islamic countries which behead or hang gays to oppose the inclusion of gay people in the UN Declaration on Human Rights

But, Why is the Obama Administration pandering to the Christian Right?

Right Wing Watch: White House Rolls Out the Welcome Mat for the Religious Right

Tennessee "Don't Say Gay" Bill is Back

Tennessee Legislature Considers "Don't Say Gay Bill"

Rep. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) has introduced HB-821 which would ban any discussion of any "sexual orientation other than heterosexuality" in grades K-8.

Tennessee Equality Project Is On It

NAACP Chair Julian Bond: "Gay Rights Are Civil Rights"

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond gave a great speech to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Gala Saturday, and makes the case that "Gay Rights are Civil Rights!" Some homophobic black preachers need to watch this:


My only problem with Bond's speech is his emphasis on sexuality being an "immutable" trait like race, and that the constitution protects us from discrimination based on immutable traits. First, sexual orientation is NOT totally biologically or immutable (See Queer By Choice), and Second, our rights are not only based on biological characteristics. The Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee all citizens equal protection under the law and freedom of conscience--i.e., the freedom to CHOOSE our religious, political and yes choose our sexual identity/preference.
The liberal "biological" argument for gay rights leaves out bisexuals and those who do CHOOSE to be gay, bi, or straight.
Anyway, still a good speech that should persuade most rational people to support LGBT rights.

See Also:
Greg In Hollywood

Citizen Crain

(I wish people at the Human Rights Campaign would read David Richards' IDENTITY AND THE CASE FOR GAY RIGHTS to learn how to make the case for LGBT rights without resorting to questionable scientific claims about sexual orientation being a biologically immutable trait.)

Class War Report

Today's Class War update comes from several articles on Alternet:

U! S! A! We're Number.. 15!
A new report shows that in terms of aggregate health, education, purchasing power, security and general well-being (HDI: Human Development Index), The U.S. is in decline. The main problem--growing inequality!

More than Race, the South is About Exploiting Workers
The Heart of Southern conservatism is a preservation of a status quo that benefits economic elites.

Jim Hightower: Americans are Raring for a Fight Against Corporate Power

Obama's Economic Advisors Vs. Economic Reality

I think the Obama Administration has written it's own political obituary!
Obama Advisors-"The Fundamentals of the Economy are Sound" ?
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of President Barack Obama's economic advisers said Sunday that the economy is fundamentally sound, a striking reversal from the Democrat's campaign rhetoric as his administration now guides the nation's financial health amid dire conditions.
Obama's Democratic allies pleaded for patience for an administration hitting the two-month mark this week, while Republicans said the White House's plans ignore small business and the immediate need to fix what ails the economy.

During the fall campaign, Obama mercilessly mocked his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, for declaring, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." Obama's team painted the veteran senator as out of touch and failing to grasp the challenges facing the country.

On Sunday, economic adviser Christina Romer was asked during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press if the fundamentals of the economy were sound. "Of course they are sound," she replied.

"The fundamentals are sound in the sense that the American workers are sound, we have a good capital stock, we have good technology," she said. "We know that — that temporarily we're in a mess, right? We've seen huge job loss, we've seen very large falls in GDP. So certainly in the short run we're in a — in a bad situation."

Just a week ago, White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag declared that "fundamentally, the economy is weak."

"If we are keeping focused on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy, all the outstanding companies, workers, all the innovation and dynamism in this economy, then we're going to get through this," Obama said, striking a tone that his top aides mimicked.

Despite the new enthusiasm at the White House and on Wall Street, there was little solid evidence to suggest an end was in sight to the severe recession that has already cost 4 million American jobs, driven down home values and sent foreclosures soaring. Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said he was concerned about the safety of the estimated $1 trillion his country has invested in U.S. government debt.

Obama sought to downplay the worries.
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How can anyone in the Obama administration claim that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong" ??? Didn't that comment, which flew in the face of economic reality, do John McCain in? Has anything changed since then? No, the economy has gotten WORSE. American capitalism, WORLD capitalism, is in its greatest crisis since the Great Depression. The credit and housing crisis have pulled the rug out from under what was left of consumer demand. Workers are losing jobs (4 million) and wages.
Obama has appointed more Wall Street lobbyists and crooks (Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers) to solve the crises they and Clinton economic bigwig Robert Rubin helped create. (I believe the choice of Geithner and Summers to lead Obama's economic policies has doomed his administration.)

See also: Summers: "Excess Fear" About Economy Must Be Broken

Capitalism is in a CRISIS, with no end in sight. Obama and the Democrats are now the defenders of a failing economic system! Obama is continuing the Bush bailout of Wall Street, banks and financial institutions that created the crisis while proposing a stimulus package that falls too short and will not solve the crisis. The unemployment rate is skyrocketing to double digits. Yes, Obama inherited a crisis he didn't create, but both Republicans and Democrats (including the Clinton administration) did create it. Both capitalist political parties are part of the problem. The problem is CAPITALISM!

And it looks like the American people's frustration and anger are turning from Bush to Obama:
Obama's Poll Numbers Falling


See Also:
White House Braces for Bailout Backlash

Robert Kuttner: Will Obama's Economic Team Lead Him Off the Cliff?

Is the Religious Right Dead?

Boy Frank Rich nails the coffin shut on the Religious Right:
The Culture Warriors Get Laid Off

Not sure we can count the religious nuts out completely, like Vampires they seem to creep out when you don't expect them...
They survived PTL and Jimmy Swaggert...

But it is amusing listening to adulturers and drug addicts like Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh try to lecture Barack & Michelle Obama on "famlily values" !