CPAC Losing Social Conservatives Over GOProud

CPAC Losing Social Conservative Crowd

The Conservative Political Action Conference has veered too liberal in inviting the gay Republican group GOProud, according to two national antigay organizations that will not attend the February event in Washington, D.C.

Both Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council will not participate at the 2011 CPAC, according to WorldNetDaily. 

The "Radical Homosexual Agenda": "Two Down, Two to Go"

Barney Frank reveals the "Radical Homosexual Agenda"

President Obama Signs DADT Repeal

President Obama Signs DADT Repeal

OK, DADT is finally gone, now let's focus on the more important issues for gay equality:  marriage and discrimination.  We need to refocus on getting the Defense of Marriage Act repealed, continue to the fight for marriage equality, and pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

To the Gay Community:  Now that you can join the military, please don't

Laura Flanders:  Ask, Tell, Don't Kill

US Senate Repeals DADT

U.S. Senate Votes to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

In a historic action, the U.S. Senate on Saturday passed legislation that would end the 17-year-old law prohibiting open gays from serving in the U.S. military. 

Early in the day, the Senate voted 63-33 to invoke cloture on the legislation that would end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to move it to the floor. Later in the afternoon, the chamer approved the legislation by a vote of 65-31, effectively sending the measure to President Obama’s desk. 

For the cloture vote, six Republicans voted in the affirmative. They include Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), an original co-sponsor of the bill, as well as Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Scott Brown (R-Mass) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Each had indicated prior to the vote that they support the bill when it came to the floor. 

Additional GOP  support for the legislation came from Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio). Three Republicans didn’t vote: Sens. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). 

Action Alert: DADT Vote Saturday!

From Tennessee Equality Project:

The senate has scheduled a final vote on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal for TOMORROW.

Everyone in Tennessee needs to call both of their Senators RIGHT NOW! This may be the last chance to repeal DADT in Congress for several years.

Call Sen. Lamar Alexander at (202) 224-4944 and Sen. Bob Corker at (202) 224-3344 and tell them:

I'm counting on you to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Senator Corker had the audacity to tell a reporter that he would abandon support for the START treaty if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dared to bring up DADT for an up or down vote. Such statements place personal bigotry as a higher priority for Corker than national security.

It's time for Tennessee to let Sen. Corker that his tactics are shameful and that he must vote to repeal DADT.

When you make your phone calls remember to

1.       Tell the staff person who answers where you live so they know you're a real constituent.

2.       Tell them you want the senator to support the standalone bill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - and that you'll remember how they vote when they're next up for election.

3.       Thank them, hang up, and make your second call to the other senator.

Don't' stop there: save the Congressional Switchboard number - (202) 224-3121 - in your cell phone right now. Then hand it to a friend, then a co-worker, and ask them to make two calls. While you're at it, tell your family and your Facebook friends to call as well.

We need as many calls as possible in order to make this repeal happen in 2010.

I just placed my calls. Now it's your turn!

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cole

TEP Board Chair

Rachel Maddow Slams Log Cabin Republicans

Rachel Maddow exposes the Uncle Tom homocons at Log Cabin Republicans who supported the Republican candidate who supports DADT against the Democrat who led the fight to overturn DADT.

House Dems Pass DADT Repeal

A stand-alone "don't ask, don't tell" repeal bill, sponsored by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) and cosponsored by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), was introduced in the House of Representatives Tuesday. There is currently no timetable for when the legislation will be debated on the House floor. The Murphy bill is identical to the Senate repeal bill introduced Friday by Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

Where Does DADT Repeal Go from Here?

UPDATE: House passes DADT Repeal Wed

10 Hateful Anti-Gay Myths Debunked

Southern Poverty Law Center debunks 10 Anti-Gay Myths

Maddow Interview with Ugandan "Kill the Gays" Bill Author

Rachel Maddow Interivews David Bahati

Julie Bulcer, The Advocate:

David Bahati, the Ugandan parliament member who authored the bill that calls for the execution of gay people, told Rachel Maddow that he intends to protect children from being recruited into homosexuality, but he could not produce any facts.

Bahati, who spoke from Washington, D.C., said he had been granted a visa to attend a conference in the United States, but the event denied him entry over his bill. The bill, which is still pending in parliament, would impose life imprisonment for homosexual acts and the death penalty for instances of “aggravated homosexuality.”

Maddow asked him about the part of the bill that has prompted international outcry.

“I know there has been a lot of spin, negative propaganda about this bill, using that clause and I wanted to make the record straight,” he said. “I am not in a hate campaign. I do not hate gays. I love them but at same time, I must protect our children who are being recruited into this practice.”

Pressed for facts about what Maddow called the “foundational myth” of gay recruitment, Bahati could not defend his assertion.

“It is something that is factual and all you need is to get these facts,” he said.

Watch the interview in two parts

There Is A WAR Being Waged Against The Working Families Of America! Sen ...

The New American Oligarchy

SPLC Updates List of Anti-Gay Hate Groups

SPLC Designates Family Research Council and American Family Association as Hate Groups

From Evan Hurst, Truth Wins Out:

The Southern Poverty Law Center has updated its list of designated hate groups, and this year is significant in that some of the larger anti-gay outfits have made the cut. After a litany of ever more extreme statements from people such as Peter Sprigg and Tony Perkins of the FRC, Bryan Fischer of the AFA and Laurie Higgins of the IFI, the SPLC has determined that these groups all deserve to be designated as having gone beyond mere advocacy, and into full-blown hatred against the LGBT community. Especially after the recent spate of gay teen suicides elicited no remorse from any of these institutions, they have indeed earned their place in the halls of hate.

It is notable that Focus on the Family is not on the list. Though we at Truth Wins Out still stand in solid opposition to Focus’s mission, they have indeed made baby steps in the past year to moderate their message, which is in stark contrast with the growing extremism at FRC and AFA. Higgins and the IFI have always been awful, of course. These groups especially deserve recognition for their abject ignorance of facts and reality, choosing as they do to spread anti-gay propaganda at all costs, which indeed suggests that their “work” is inspired by little more than juvenile animus.

The list of anti-gay hate groups now includes the following:

1. Abiding Truth Ministries [Scott Lively]
2. American Family Association
3. Americans for Truth About Homosexuality [Peter LaBarbera]
4. American Vision
5. Chalcedon Foundation
6. Dove World Outreach Center [Terry Jones]
7. Faithful Word Baptist Church [Steven Anderson]
8. Family Research Council
9. Family Research Institute [Paul Cameron]
10. Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment
11. Illinois Family Institute
12. MassResistance
13. Traditional Values Coalition

18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda | Southern Poverty Law Center

Memphis Non-Discrimination Ordinance Fails

An ordinance to protect city employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity failed to pass on it's second reading. The ordinance had passes it's first reading Nov. 9.

The ordinance cannot be re-introduced for six months.

More at Memphis Gaydar

Jim Maynard

The Split-Screen Struggle Over Gay Rights

Good article by Arianna Huffington at the Huffington Post on the political struggles over gay rights, particularly the growing impatience of the LGBT community with the lack of progress on LGBT issues by Obama and the Democratically-controlled Congress.

And what's up with John McCain?  He can't seem to stick to any position on anything anymore, and is grasping at straws to stop the repeal of DADT.

13 Arrested at White House DADT Demonstration

GOP Urged to Avoid Social Issues

Gay conservative group GOProud joined forces with some Tea Party leaders to urge Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner to avoid social issues such as same-sex marriage and keep their congressional members focused on economic freedom and individual liberty.

According to a news release, GOProud and Tea Party leaders from at least 10 states sent an open letter to McConnell and Boehner on Monday morning. Part of the letter, which includes 17 signatories, reads:

“This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check.

“Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.

“We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.”

According to Politico, signatories like Ralph King, a Tea Party Patriots national leadership council member and Ohio co-coordinator, may be more motivated by limited government than they are pro-gay.

Memphis City Council Moves Forward on Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Memphis City gay/gender inclusive non-discrimination passes the first reading, and sets up a study of anti-LGBT discrimination in city of Memphis.

Memphis Flyer Gaydar
Discrimination Debate
TEP Grand Divisions

DOMA Lawsuites Filed

Gay civil rights groups trying to build momentum for a possible Supreme Court showdown filed two lawsuits Tuesday that seek to strike down portions of a 1996 law that denies married same-sex couples federal benefits.

The lawsuits were filed in federal courts in Connecticut and New York and come just months after a federal judge in Boston struck down a key component of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

The legal actions seek judicial declarations that the law enacted by Congress in 1996, when it appeared Hawaii would soon legalize same-sex marriage, was unconstitutional because it prevents the federal government from affording pension and other benefits to same-sex couples. Since 2004, five states – Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts – and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage.

ON a related note..

13 Ridiculous Laws States Would Rather Have than Gay Marriage

Pope Rails Against Same-Sex Marriae/Gays Kiss

BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Benedict XVI strongly defended traditional families and the rights of the unborn Sunday, directly attacking Spanish laws that allow gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier access to abortions as he dedicated Barcelona's iconic basilica, the Sagrada Familia.

It was the second time in as many days that Benedict had criticized the policies of Spain's Socialist government and called for Europe as a whole to rediscover Christian teachings and apply them to everyday life.

As he headed to the basilica, about 200 gays and lesbians staged a 'kiss-in' to protest his visit and church policies that consider homosexual acts "intrinsically disordered." Later, a few hundred women marched to protest their second-class status in the church and the Vatican's opposition to birth control.

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The Roman Catholic Church continues it's attempt to stop social progress and keep gays and women in their place

Election Setback for Gay Rights

While there were a few wins for gay/lesbian candidates, the 2010 Election was mostly a setback for LGBT equality.  With a Republican-controlled Congress, overturning DADT, and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act are now in doubt, or off the table until after 2012.  

Anti-gay Religious Right Groups Unseat Iowa Judges who Ruled for Same-Sex Marriage

Gay-rights Groups See Election as Big Setback

Don't Mourn, Organize!

The 2010 Election was a major setback for Obama and the Democratic Party, but it may be good for the progressive left. 
The failure of Obama and the Democrats to push a progressive agenda (e.g single-payer Medicare for All) and escalation o the war in Afghanistan suppressed younger and more progressive voters. 
But the Tea Party and the Republican Party are still unpopular and do not have popular support for their radical agenda of austerity and cuts to social programs like education and Social Security. 
John Boehner and the Republican Congress will soon loser favor with the Tea Party and the American people.
The progressive/left must learn from the Tea Party and take over the Democratic Party, or better yet build a movement for a viable third party.
As labor organizer Joe Hill said before he was killed, "Don't Mourn, Organize!"

Republican Blowout, But NO Conservative Mandate

It Didn't have to Be this Way--Progressives Must Be Bolder

7 Things Progressives Need to Keep in Mind about the "Bloodbath"

Comeback of the Republicans and the Rise of the Tea Party-Result of Democrats' Failure

Norman Solomon, Back to Basics

Election Day 2010

Eight Things Voters Didn't Know on Election Day

The Bad News is John "Boner" is Speaker of the House, and that could be good news, he is now the face of the TeaPublican Party...
And just wait until the TeaPublicans start CUTTING programs that the majority of American support, like Social Security...
And if Tea Partiers think Boner and the GOP will balance the budget anytime soon, or cut anything but small programs that benefit the poor, you will be disappointed..

Most people did not vote, because they hate both parties, and the GOP is still even less popular than the Democrats. Both parties are in the pockets of the corporate rich and Wall Street, and the Democrats failed to deliver real change, it was business as usual, and it still is.
We need campaign reform, and give third parties a chance!

Check out other election news on my other Blog,  Coffee Party Progressive