Memorial Day

Memorial Day is not about sales and buy new a new matress, and it should not be about glorifying war and jingoistic national patriotism. We should remember why war is bad, and remember the dead who speak to us from their graves:

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq: 4,718
icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 1,789

Cost of War in Iraq Afghanistan
$1,000,042,858,296

Falling Off the $1 Trillion Cliff


10 Things to Remember on Memorial Day

MLK vs. War

Dr. Martin Luther King spoke against the Vietnam War and American imperialism and tied the war in Vietnam and war spending to the neglect of the poor in the United States.

"Silence is Betrayal"

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Congressional leaders and the White House have worked out a compromise that will allow Congress to repeal the military's anti-gay "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, but allow the military until the end of the year to finish its review of how to implement the new policy.

The Democratic Congress and the Obama administration have been under increasing political pressure from gay activists to fulfill their promise to repeal DADT, while the military has been trying to get more time to "study" the policy and the effects of lifting DADT on military personnel.

The compromise has received mixed responses from gay activists, since the compromise, to be offered as an amendment to a defense authorization bill, would not immediately end discharges of gay and lesbian soldiers and would not end DADT until next year.

The military has been "studying" gays in the military for over 50 years. There is no need for more studies.

The military is supposed to be under civilian control, answerable to the Executive Branch. President Obama, the Commander-in-Chief, should issue an executive order immediately to stop discharges and the military should be ordered to replace DADT with a non-discrimination policy that protects the rights of LGBT people to serve in the U.S. military free from harassment and discrimination.

White House Seeks to Speed Up DADT Repeal

The DADT Deal

Another Year of DADT

Obama Heckled Over DADT

Get Equal Response to DADT Repeal

USA TODAY: DADT Affects Women, Minorities More

UPDATE: Congress Advances Repeal of DADT

The Senate Armed Services Committee and the House of Representatives have approved amendments to repeal DADT.

Happy Birthday Harvey Milk

Saturday May 22 is the 80th Birthday of Gay Rights rights leader Harvey Milk
Cities Across USA Observe Harvey Milk Day
In Honor of Harvey Milk

Malawi Court Convicts Gay Couple

Malawi Court Convicts Gay Couple

A court in Malawi has convicted a gay couple of gross indecency and unnatural acts.

Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested in December 2009 after celebrating their engagement ahead of a wedding planned for 2010.

They have been in jail ever since and now face 14 years in prison.

Their arrest had sparked international condemnation and a debate about homosexuality in the country.

Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa convicted both men of engaging in gay sex, which he said was "against the order of nature". They are to be sentenced on 20 May.

The Guardian News spoke with the couple to which Tiwonge said the following.

"I love Steven so much. If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here in prison. Freedom without him is useless and meaningless."
Next week they are to stand trial. They face up to fourteen years in prison and hard labor. This is an outrage. I am concerned that they will be killed in the prison either by disease or the inherent violence that is part of prison culture.

AP: Malawi Judge Convicts Gay Couple of Unnatural Acts, Gross Indecency

Malawi Police Arrest Two Men for Engagement Ceremony

Malawi Gay Couple to Be Imprisoned

Progressive/LGBT Activists Debate Elena Kagan

President Obama Nominates Elana Kagan for Supreme Court

Obama's choice of the current Solicitor General to replace justice Stevens on the Supreme Court is getting mixed reviews from progressives. Many were hoping for a bolder choice of a real progressive. Kagan is considered to be a moderate on many issues and perhaps conservative on issues like executive power. It is feared that anything less than a strong progressive would move the Court to the right.

LGBT activists are somewhat more supportive, though no one knows for certain if she will be a strong advocate for LGBT civil rights. She did oppose military recruitment as Dean of Harvard because of the military's discrimination policies against gays and lesbians. There is even some speculation that Kagan may be a lesbian, leading some gay activists to call for her to come out openly if she is gay, which could further complicate her confirmation.

The problem is that Kagan does not have much of a public record or written history for opponents or supporters to analyze. She has no judicial experience or written opinions to scrutinize. So far, the only thing right-wing opponents have come up with his her undergraduate thesis on the history of the Socialist Party, which seems to blame infighting among socialists for the demise of the SP in the United States.

6 Things You Might Not Know About Kagan

Norman Solomon, Kagan In Context: Shafting Progressive Values

Glenn Greenwald, The Case Against Elena Kagan

Elana Kagan Will Move Court to the Right

Gay Activists Applaud Kagan--Tepidly

Gay Marriage Opponents Mobilize Against Kagan

Kagan's Role Against Military Recruitment

Rally for Rights May 8

Memphis Rally For Rights
Manifestación para los Derechos Civiles
Saturday, May 8 :: Sabado, 8 Mayo
12:00pm - 2:30pm
National Civil Rights Museum
Museo Nacional de los Derechos Civiles

REFORM IMMIGRATION FOR AMERICA

Arizona Legalizes Racial Profiling
Boycott Arizona

Anti-Gay Activist Caught with Male Escort

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

TN GOP Candidate Says Gays "Were take care of" When He Served

Ron Kirkland

Ron Kirkland, GOP House Candidate Says Gays "Were Taken Care Of" When He Served in the Military

Tennessee Republican congressional candidate Ron Kirkland recently said that when he served in the military during the Vietnam War, gay service members "were taken care of" in ways that he could not begin to describe.

Kirkland's candid remarks came at a Tea Party forum last week when the GOP hopeful criticized the Obama administration's support for overturning the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Conservative House candidate Randy Smith offered a similar reaction to the measure at the event when he declared he "wouldn't want to share a shower with a homosexual."

Why are these "macho men" are so afraid of gay men seeing their pee pee in the shower?

TN Gay Students Stand Up for their Rights

Openly Gay Students in Tennessee Stand Up for their Rights

Cole GoForth, a 15 year old gay student in Rutherford County's Greenbrier High School, is fighting for the right to wear a T-Shirt that says "I Love Lady GayGay," after his school said the "pro-gay" T-Shirt was disruptive. He's one of many LGBT students in TN that are fighting back against bigotry and discrimination against LGBT youth in Tennessee public schools.