Barbie's World

August 31, 2008

Though not the overriding concern at the Democratic National Convention, GLBT issues have already been hard to ignore. Tonight Sen. Kennedy spoke of Barack Obama's ability to overcome a number of cultural fissures, among them straight vs. gay.

The GLBT presence is palpable to those attending the convention. 6 percent of the delegates come from our community, the highest percentage ever. That number includes 2 delegates from Tennessee, which is a first. By the way, I just saw one of them, Marisa Richmond, on CNN, and it's clear she's having the time of her life.

The opposition is on hand, of course. Bartholomew Sullivan of the Commercial Appeal noted this message in the streets of Denver:

A religious contingent in the streets warned Democrats variously that they were doomed to hell and that they should follow the dictates of the Bible. Among their banners: “Homo-Sex – A Threat to National Security.”

Obviously the way the Democrats are framing their message on GLBT issues is more palatable to the general public than looking at them from the fantastical point of view of national security. The question is whether the Democratic message of bridging the divide can go head-to-head with the Republican strategy of either ignoring these issues or framing them in terms of the definition of marriage, an issue I think the Democrats will ignore.

But these strategies are gambles. The Democrats need GLBT votes, volunteers, and money, but they can't appear to be lurching too far to the left. The Republicans need to fire up their base, but saying too much about the definition of marriage will make them seem out of touch with most voters and perhaps even punitive.

http://grand-divisions.blogspot.com/2008/08/to-bridge-or-to-define-dealing-with.html

August 24, 2008

In the recent debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, McCain said that marriage is between a man and a woman. He also said that he wants to “defeat evil.” If a group of people are not allowed the same rights as other people in our country, then there must be a reason for it. This reason, in the minds of the religious right, is always that they are “evil.” “Evil” in their minds encompasses everything from the prostituted child driven by parental abuse to survive on the street, to the desperate drug user with no other medicine to assuage pain, to people who don’t put the penis in the right place, at least according to the religious right (grotesque as it is, what else is it about if not that?)

bestgayblogs.com

August 21, 2008

This year’s presidential race is opening up more and more opportunities for bloggers. The national progressive blog Daily Kos along with the Colorado’s largest progressive group Progress Now, GOOGLE & others are sponsoring a 9,000 sq. foot two story facility. The facility is for journalist, bloggers and new media content producers to work out of.

There will be a Digg Stage with prominent national leaders, as well as a Google Retreat with a YouTube kiosk where bloggers can make their own YouTube videos. The Big Tent will be open throughout the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 25- 28. The facility will be located steps away from the Pepsi Center which will play host to the 2008 Democratic Convention. In addition to live feeds from the convention floor, high speed internet access, food & beverages and entertainment, the big tent will also host daily discussion panels featuring some of the top progressive leaders in the country.

Middle Tennessee new media producer Valerie Reynolds host of AVALON FARMCAST & AVALONFARMBLOG will be covering GLBT news from the convention including interviews with Tennessee’s first transgender Delegate Marisa Richmond, members of Denver’s Gay & Lesbian Center and HRC’s Premier Convention event: Rock the Vote, a concert featuring Melissa Ethridge, Cindy Lauper and others yet to be announced.

A former Florida radio & TV professional Ms. Reynold’s is also a graduate of M.T.S.U’s mass communications program. She produced and hosted Nashville’s Gay TV on community access TV for 5 years and in Nashville is perhaps best known as a singer/songwriter. She performed regionally with her 5 peace blues band : The d Cactus Blues Band in the 90’s and received a Grammy nomination for her CD GOOD WOMAN BLUES in 1995. Reynolds currently is in post production on a documentary about Nashville’s 1960’s R&B music scene that included a guitarist yet to be known as Jimi Hendrix. During the upcoming convention, Her blog entries may be accessed at avalonfamblog.wordpress.com with additional guest blog entries at Tennessee Equality Project’s (TEP) new blog, grand-divisions.blogspot.com. Her podcasts will be at avalonfarmcast.com and on itunes (AVALON FARMCAST) and her videos from Denver can be downloaded at youtube.com/avalonfarms.

You can also help support the bloggers by making donations here.

Bestgayblogs.com

August 5, 2008

It’s got Karl Rove written all over it. It smacks of the lowest form yet of sleazy Republican intimidation tactics to disenfranchise voters and influence the outcome of the November election. And it’s got right-wing spinmeisters whipped into a mouth-foaming frenzy.

We’re talking about the behemoth retailer Wal-Mart’s alleged threats against its employees if they vote for the Democratic presumptive nominee for president, Sen. Barack Obama. It’s all about jobs. So is the world’s largest retailer really trying to scare the bejesus out of its 1.4 million workers? “Vote for Obama and you could be fired.” Is this what it’s all coming to?

http://huffingtonpost.com

August 4, 2008

I know a thing or two about gay-baiting. I've been working on gay civil rights issue since the early 1990s, when I helped Senator Kennedy's office prepare for the gays in the military hearings, and legislation, in 1993. Since then, I helped Kennedy on the ENDA hearings in the mid 90s, and then moved into my own civil rights advocacy work regardings Matthew Shepard, Timothy McVeigh (the gay one), Dr. Laura, Mary Cheney, Ford, Microsoft and beyond. It's fair to say that I have a pretty good nose for anti-gay bigotry. And McCain is trying to gay-bait Obama.

Of course, McCain isn't stupid. As he's surrounded himself with senior gay male advisors since at least the 1990s, McCain is usually careful about overt gay-bashing (though he did promise the religious right a few weeks ago that he'd be more publicly anti-gay, and just last week said he didn't think gay people should be able to adopt children (he then backtracked, kind of)). Instead, McCain and his people are attempting to define Obama as "gay" by describing him as the stereotypical gay man. Yesterday, a McCain spokesman described Obama as fussy and prone to hysterics. A few days earlier, we were told that Obama was "flitting" around Europe. And before that, a GOP operative called Obama "a fancy lad." Also, who is Obama compared to in the latest McCain ad? (An ad that independent fact-checkers say is totally false.) Two women, and kind of ditzy women at that - Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Let's review. A fussy, fancy lad who flits around Europe, is prone to hysteria, and reminds you of ditzy blonde chicks. Sorry, but that's a stereotypical gay guy. And as I said, McCain knows his gay guys. He's surrounded by them.

americanblog.com

August 3, 2008

I admit to having a weakness for McDonald’s french fries. There’s just something about those thin slivers of golden-fried potatoes, seasoned with just the right amount of salt. I know too much of them isn’t good for me but figure it’s OK to indulge every now and then.

McDonald’s fries might not help my cholesterol count, but eating them does have one benefit: It annoys the Religious Right.

McDonald’s is officially under boycott from Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association (AFA). The AFA, a Mississippi-based Religious Right outfit best known for obsessing over sexual content on cable and network television and its vociferous opposition to the “homosexual agenda,” has been going crazy lately because McDonald’s has made it clear that its family-friendly policy includes gay families.

gayagenda.com

August 2, 2008

The GLBT community is very excited about the upcoming DNC. There are many ways they believe the convention will impact Denver’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens. The DNC’s political trainings for field staff included essential outreach to the GLBT community by educating thousands of political operatives and activists from state party staff down to the precinct level.

bestgayblogs.com

August 1, 2008

It is, of course, an election year. While many of us are thinking about the presidential election, there are many seats in political office open this year and you can make a difference. Your own level of political action and involvement is personal, of course, and may be decided based on your own priorities, your time and more. You may want to volunteer for a local politician or work through your local gay and lesbian organizations in order to help publicize issues that matter to you. Not only might you want to consider who you’re voting for and who you’re working to get into office, but also the issues, including ENDA, don’t ask don’t tell, marriage legislation and more.

One of the best options for political action this year is to work locally. Working locally is often more motivating, more relevant and can allow you network within your community. You may find that there is a local political group that works specifically on GLBT issues and this can be a good jumping off point. Local activities sponsored by moveon.org can be another possibility within your community. You can also find information about the local organizations for the Democratic Party at democrats.org/local . Conveniently, working with these sorts of organizations on a local level can help you to stay informed about issues that may matter within your community specifically. Often, local organizations need help on the phones, in person, or even with tasks you may be able to work on from home when you have time.

http://dailydoseofqueer.com