May 14, 2008
To John Edwards, re Barack Obama:
Courtesy of Blogtopus:
Four more, in higher-res, here.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: Barack Obama, Democrats, Election 2008, John Edwards
Four more, in higher-res, here.
Permalink | Trackback | Category: Barack Obama, Democrats, Election 2008, John Edwards
Calif. Supreme Court Marriage Equality Ruling TOMORROW, May 15, 10:00 a.m. PDT; Rally in San Jose 6:00 p.m. PDT
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From The Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center:
Marriage Equality Decision
& RallyThursday, May 15, 2008, 6:00pm
Santa Clara County Govt Building, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose
San Jose — May 14, 2008 — We have just learned that the California Supreme Court will be announcing its long-awaited decision on extending marriage equality to LGBT people. The decision is expected tomorrow, Thursday, May 15th, and we need you to join us at a rally in San Jose to react to the decision, regardless of what the court decides. Be a part of the celebration or protest — be a part of history!WHAT: Rally for Marriage Equality & In Reaction to California Supreme Court decision
WHEN: Thursday, May 15, 2008, 6:00pm
WHERE: Santa Clara County Government Building, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose
Background: The California Supreme Court is considering several consolidated lawsuits filed on behalf of same-sex couples who have been denied access to marriage licenses and who are arguing that they are not being treated equally under law and under the California State Constitution. This decision is final, based on the state constitution and cannot be appealed to the United States Supreme Court. For more information on the case, please visit the Equality California website.
Buffy and I are trying not to get our hopes up, but Queers United and others have a hunch the news will be good.
For those of you who believe in equality and pray, say a Novena (or the non-Catholic equivalent) for us, will you? For those who don’t pray, please send us good vibes. Me? I’m chanting as we speak, sweetie darling.
Related articles:
Same-Sex Couples Ask California Supreme Court to Strike Down Marriage Ban
March 4, 2008
California Marriage Equality in Danger
April 22, 2008
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: California, Events, Marriage Equality, Press Releases
If you want to take action against Phyllis Schlafly…
…and the ludicrous decision by Washington University to reward her lifelong commitment to homophobia and misogyny by way of an honorary doctorate, our good friends at Queers United have information on the official protest this coming Friday, May 16 — including what you can do to help, as well as links to the Facebook protest group, university and trustee email addresses, and other resources you can use to protest (and, we hope, stop) this travesty:
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: Education/Schools, Homophobia, Radical Religious Right, Women
“Dr.” Phyllis Schlafly: So, Washington University awards degrees for hatred and stupidity now?
 Homo-hater & gender traitor. |
Looks like all you have to do to get an honorary doctorate at Washington University is devote your life to harassing gay and lesbian Americans (after spending the 1970s crushing the Equal Rights Amendment).
It’s stuff like this that makes honorary “degrees” as worthless as the “degrees” you can buy online. Kudos to Washington U. students for protesting; if the school goes ahead with this, the graduates should walk out on their own ceremony:
PFLAG Urges Washington University to Reconsider Honorary Doctorate for Phyllis SchlaflyControversial Activist Has Long History of Anti-GLBT, Anti-Woman Positions
St. Louis, Missouri — Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) has joined calls by Washington University students and faculty, urging the school to reconsider its plans to honor controversial activist Phyllis Schlafly with an honorary doctorate at the school’s May 16 commencement ceremonies in St. Louis. Schlafly, founder of the conservative advocacy group The Eagle Forum, has been an outspoken opponent of equal rights measures for the women’s and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. In addition to her opposition to marriage equality for the GLBT community, Schlafly has also sought to block public school curriculums which present honest portrayals of GLBT people.
“Phyllis Schlafly has spent much of her life on a crusade to roll-back opportunities for millions of people, including many of the students at Washington University,” said Dr. Dean L. Rosen, president of PFLAG’s St. Louis chapter. “She has consistently opposed full equality for women and for gays and lesbians, and has pushed her anti-equality agenda in our schools and our state houses. As parents and allies of GLBT young people, we are alarmed that Washington University would honor someone who has such a long track record of attacking our children.”
In 2005, Schlafly, whose son is openly gay, wrote, in opposition to a proposed curriculum in Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools that, “Some teachers hang pro-homosexual posters in their classrooms, discuss their lesbian lifestyle in class, and refer students to gay, lesbian and bisexual organizations, while not allowing posters celebrating traditional families.” She has also opposed adoption rights for same-sex couples and allowing GLBT Americans to serve in the armed forces.
“Mrs. Schlafly has one of the longest track records opposing equal opportunity of any activist in America,” said PFLAG executive director Jody M. Huckaby. “She would gladly embrace any measure to block progress for gay Americans, including her own son, and she would welcome a world where some students are considered less than others. That’s unacceptable, and renders her unworthy of this honor. We encourage Washington University to find a more suitable person to applaud.”
Students and faculty have not asked that Schlafly be disinvited as a speaker for the commencement, but only that she not receive the proposed degree. A Facebook group of those united in opposition to honoring Schlafly now has more than 1,000 members, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. For more information, visit www.pflag.org.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: Education/Schools, Homophobia, LGBT Organizations, Press Releases, Radical Religious Right, Women
May 13, 2008
R.I.P. Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)
Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg dies in Fla. at 82; famed for ‘Bed,’ ‘Monogram’
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg’s mediums knew few bounds.
One of his most famous works or “combines” was “Bed,” created when he woke up in the mood to paint but had no money for a canvas. His solution was to take the quilt off his bed and use paint, toothpaste and fingernail polish for his creation. He was also a sculptor and a choreographer.
Rauschenberg died Monday of heart failure at 82, it was announced Tuesday by Jennifer Joy, his representative at PaceWildenstein gallery in New York. His use of odd and everyday articles earned him regard as a pioneer in pop art, first gaining fame in the 1950s. . . .
Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes, in his book “American Visions,” called Rauschenberg “a protean genius who showed America that all of life could be open to art. … Rauschenberg didn’t give a fig for consistency, or curating his reputation; his taste was always facile, omnivorous, and hit-or-miss, yet he had a bigness of soul and a richness of temperament that recalled Walt Whitman.” . . .
By the mid-1950s, Rauschenberg was also designing sets and costumes for dance companies and window displays for Tiffany and Bonwit Teller.
He met Jasper Johns in 1954. He and the younger artist, both destined to become world famous, became lovers and influenced each other’s work. According to the book “Lives of the Great 20th Century Artists,” Rauschenberg told biographer Calvin Tomkins that “Jasper and I literally traded ideas. He would say, ‘I’ve got a terrific idea for you,’ and then I’d have to find one for him.”
Born Milton Rauschenberg in 1925 in Port Arthur, Texas, and raised a Christian fundamentalist, Rauschenberg wanted to be a minister but gave it up because his church banned dancing. . . .
In recent years he founded the organization Change Inc., which helps struggling artists pay medical bills.
“I don’t ever want to go,” he told Harper’s Bazaar in 1997 when asked of his own death. “I don’t have a sense of great reality about the next world; my feet are too ugly to wear those golden slippers. But I’m working on my fear of it. And my fear is that something interesting will happen, and I’ll miss it.”
And we’ll miss you.
A few of our favorite Rauschenbergs:
Phoenix, Arizona
WOZA Africa
Favor Rites, 1988
At Leo Castelli’s, 1980
Earth Day
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: R.I.P.
From the Mail Bag
Re: “Certifiable Obamaniacs: Food Tasters for Obama“:
Name: wiznit
emailaddress: wizinit@—.com
Message: If you knew who Art Buchwald was, you would know that Food Tasters for Obama is pure political satire.You missed the main point of the story, however:
“theObama food tent will be large, with room for everyone. “We are fully inclusive and are sure there will be meaningful roles to play for supporters of all dietary persuasions. That includes kosher and halal, veggie and vegan, gluten- or peanut-free, and any other kind of food allergy. In fact, Steve from Norman OK, one of our most ardent members, is a lactose-inolerant soy latte drinker who stays awake all night thinking about getting started. I told him to switch to decaf until he gets the call.”
For you, I suggest prune juice.
Gee, I guess you made a fool out of little old me, didn’tcha?
Land-o’-goshen, now, let’s see: Why in the world would I give any credence at all to such a silly idea as “Food Tasters for Obama”? ‘Cause I’m just one of those dumb ol’ wimmin-types fooled by another one-a them smart, edumacated Obama folks?
No; it’s because your idea of satire is reality to the most extreme lunatic fringe inhabiting ObamaWorld™.
With his nearly universally humor-impaired supporters losing sleep for months over Obama’s safety, not-so-veiled threats against Hillary (can you say “projection”?), constant regurgitation of right-wing lies about the Clintons (can you say “Vince Foster”?), unparalleled feverish devotion to their Savior (there’s a reason for the “cult” comparisons; see Jonestown), and after endless paranoid lunacy such as this disgusting filth (in response to the question, “Why would Hillary want to be the VP??”)…
…which are only the most recent examples of this sort of thing I’ve seen, you convince me why would anyone put that kind of “thinking” past Camp Obama.
I’d like to tell you to consider it a compliment that your satire went over so well, but in truth, it fell flat because Obama martyrdom doesn’t sound like a joke at all; no one who’s paid attention to the True Believers this long would laugh it off, because the most deranged Obots are really saying this stuff, in all seriousness.
And how do you explain the fact that there really is a “Food Tasters for Obama” group awaiting approval on Obama’s site (still there as I write this)? If it’s a joke, it’s a pretty stupid one, as it makes Camp Obama look completely insane. (Doesn’t anyone over there have the good sense to scrub that page?) But it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to learn that someone who really believes all the KKKlintoons-Are-KKKillers lies was “inspired” by your satiric piece, and is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for The Anointed One.
In any case, I must admit you have the makings to be a pretty fair satirist — that is, if you can knock off the mean-spiritedness (and learn to use a spellchecker). Take a lesson from your idol, Andy Borowitz: He never ruins his own punch line by insulting the reader. You had a receptive audience in me until the crack about “prune juice” — which, by the way, you can save for the Hillary-is-a-murderer whackjobs, who are the ones full of shit — and who’ll need it to wash down their daily dose of Haldol.
P.S. I read Art Buchwald. I loved Art Buchwald. Art Buchwald never insulted his readers, either.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: Barack Obama, Election 2008, Hillary Clinton
May 12, 2008
From the Hate Mail Bag
Name: Angry Black Guy
emailaddress: marawls@—.com
Message: This is insanity.When the majority of progressive and feminist leaders come out and support Obama in the general election, people like you will be exposed for the extremist that you are.
You look at McCain and Obama and your response is “give McCain the presidency because Obama is so evil”?
Insanity.
I have been reading blogs like this for 2 days now and I have yet to hear a clear explanation of what Obama has done to make him the most evil candidate ever (or whatever the latest term of endearment for him is).
Hillary lost. Get over it. Sore losers weren’t cool in grammar school and they are less cool in elections.
Grow up.
Where does one begin to pick apart your tired old arguments (and I’m using the word “arguments” generously), when the pickings are so ripe?
Your first dead-wrong assumption is that I’m voting for McCain. If you’d bothered to read anything else I’ve ever written, instead of hitting me with the usual reactionary “If you’re not for Obama, you’re for McCain” knee-jerk, you’d know I’d rather poke sharp sticks into my skull than vote for McCain. (You’re welcome for the visual.)
Didn’t you learn the meaning of dicto simpliciter in your freshman debate class? (You must be a college graduate, or on your way, since, after all, only smart, highly-educated people support Obama, right?)
Next: Your hyperbole undermines any shred of credibility you might have. Where did I ever say “Obama is so evil,” or that he is “the most evil candidate ever”? Putting words in other people’s mouths is not, to use a word that seems very important to you, “cool.” If you want to be taken seriously, you need to set fire to that fallacious little straw man of yours and bury his ashes, posthaste.
If — again — you had ever bothered to read anything I’ve written about Obama himself, instead of succumbing to the usual (uncontrollable?) reactionary spasm (that knee of yours must be ready to fly right off your leg with all that jerking) — it would be plain as day, even to you, that Obama has no concern for us pesky homos, and patronizes us only as much as he is absolutely forced to, so he doesn’t look like a complete homophobe.
I know your eyes will roll back in their sockets at the sight of the names McClurkin, Meeks, and Caldwell, but until the day you come to terms with the fact that homophobia is as real, as damaging, and as valid as racism (a tragic blind spot for nearly all Obama supporters), you will just never get it. You’re an Angry Black Guy? Well, I’m an Angry Lesbian.
I’m also an Angry Woman, who’s more than had it with the rampant sexism from the Obama camp (which the Obama camp adamantly refuses to acknowledge, much less remedy).
If you think Obama is so “transfromational,” or even “progressive,” then you and I are at a complete impasse. There’s nothing new or transformational about him; he’s no progressive, by any stretch of the imagination; he’s the same old DLC offering, only in a bright, shiny package. And his style of politicking is hardcore old-school — specifically, Chicago-style politics. The only thing new and fresh about him is his oratory skill — which crumbles the second he’s not working from a prepared speech.
Finally, your last line is hilarious — you illustrate perfectly one of my many complaints about Obama supporters:
“Hillary lost. Get over it. Sore losers weren’t cool in grammar school and they are less cool in elections.”
You think I give a damn about being “cool”? Maybe being “cool” is all-important to the “American Idol” generation, but my list of core values doesn’t include a slot for “being cool.” Let me check… economy, war, healthcare, that silly little business about getting equal rights… Nope, I don’t see “cool” anywhere on the list.
And thanks for the “get over it” — you illustrated, perfectly, the biggest point on the Obamaniac Behavior Cycle wheel. See what I mean about predictability?
One last thing: I find it heartbreaking that so many of you Obama supporters see this as a game to be won or lost. If there is a winner, there must be a loser, right? I guess that’s what they teach you guys in gym (”Crush that defense! Kill! Kill! Kill!”) while they’re teaching us girls to play nicely together, and make sure everybody goes home as happy as possible at the end of the day.
Silly me. I once thought that the goal of most Democrats was to craft an outcome as close as possible to “win-win.” Obviously, I was mistaken in that notion. For you New Democrats, it’s “We win! You lose! We’re great! You suck!”
Which brings us to the erroneous belief that Obama is going to be the “President for all people.” Hogwash. He is the candidate for young, college-educated, white-collar, Christian heterosexuals — and the rest of us can go pound salt.
I know this, because people like you tell me that every day.
But that’s a moot point now, isn’t it? Because you’ve also been telling me, since day one, that unless I bow down at the Altar of Obama, you don’t need me in your party anyway.
Oh, and by the way, vapid threats about being “exposed as an extremist” might have worked on me when I was a child, but you’re talking to a grown-up who went through far worse threats of “exposure” as a gay teenager — thirty years ago.
And chew on this: I heard the same thing I’m hearing from you — and received far more threatening messages — from the hardcore Bush lovers back in the early days of the Iraq War, when I was speaking out against him and his legions of “If you’re not with us, you’re against us” loyalists. Meanwhile, the “anti-American traitor!” slurs thrown at me then have just metamorphosed into “You’re not a REAL Democrat!” now. Same song, different band.
Intimidation doesn’t work anymore. I’ve been through it, and I’ve learned that unless I’m dealing with an obviously demented and potentially dangerous person (in which case I just forward everything to the FBI and let them handle it), it’s all just more playground bullying.
See, I am the grown-up here. You’re the one who needs to chill. While passion is a wonderful thing, unbridled rage directed at people you cannot strongarm into conforming to your beliefs and doing what you want them to do is something else entirely. It’s just not “cool.” (It’s also the trademark of the classic, textbook-case — and frustrated — religious fundamentalist. But I’ll return to the frightening similarities between Obamanation and the Radical Religious Right another day.)
One last thing: If you’re getting so hot under the collar after “reading blogs like this for 2 days now,” maybe it’s time you stopped reading these blogs. You’re going to need all your energy to defend Obama once the Republicans go to work on him. Besides, we little non-Obamanauts are nothing but fly specks in the course of the Obama Cosmos — I know, because you keep telling us that, too.
Now, you go back to your echo chamber, wherever that is, and complain to your friends about the lesbian who was just too stupid, unreasonable, hysterical, and “insane” (that’s your word) to drink the Kool-Aid.
Playground bullies are not welcome here.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
Permalink | Trackback | Category: Barack Obama, Donnie McClurkin, Election 2008, Homophobia, John McCain, Radical Religious Right, Random Stupidity, Women
