The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
I was very surprised to hear the news that my friend Diego Sanchez is going to by Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) new Legislative Assistant -- a senior policy advisor to the congressman. Mr. Sanchez is going to be taking over for Joe Racalto at Rep. Frank's Washington DC Congressional office -- Sanchez's new workplace is going to be a congressional office in Washington DC's Labor Building.
As Rep. Frank's Legislative Assistant, Sanchez will be responsible for tracking LGBT, healthcare, veterans, and labor issues, as well as issues regarding the 2010 census. The confluence of LGBT issues and the 2010 census will be if or how LGBT couples are counted -- is the federal government going to count how many same sex couples' have formed domestic partnerships, civil unions, or marriages within states that recognize these unions? Are they going to count the children of these relationships in a way that reflects these children's legal parentage? Sanchez will be the one tracking this particular concern for Rep. Frank and our LGBT community, and working to see that our LGBT families are counted in a manner that accurately counts our families.
Just looking at his LinkedIn profile, there is just no doubt that Sanchez's 30-years of experience in Healthcare, HIV/AIDS, press relations, communications, and LGBT issues, as well as his experience as being on the DNC Platform Committee and an At-Large Delegate at last year's Democratic National Convention, shows that he's extremely well qualified for his new position.
So why report on this new hire in Rep. Frank's Office? Well, not only is Diego Sanchez a well-qualified candidate applying for a congressional job, but Sanchez is also Latino; Sanchez is also a transman. As a transman, he'll be the first out trans person to ever work as a senior staffer in a DC congressional office.
And, Diego Sanchez's hire by Rep. Frank not only breaks the DC congressional office barrier for trans people, but he breaks that barrier for trans people of color:
As a Latino, formerly as a Latina woman, and now as a transman, I've been a lot of 'firsts' but it doesn't make me token. It makes me first to get a chance and it usually feels tardy, for me and many others who are capable but don't get a shot.
--Diego Sanchez
Perhaps surprisingly, Sanchez isn't the first trans person to ever work as senior staff for a congressperson. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has employed SusanKimberly as his Chief of Staff in his home district office.
One of the things I hoped for when Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic convention, was that she would introduce people to the America that she came from, and that was the setting of her story. One of the biggest shames in the campaign - aside from the fact that political realities required this intelligent, accomplished woman to effectively bite her tongue for the last couple of months - is the lack of any honest discussion about the reality that we don't all live in the same America. It's one reality that both progressives and conservatives must grapple with between now and November, and beyond
Delivered on a night that carried the theme "One America," her speech should serve as a reminder that if we are to be America, we have to first acknowledge that what we have are three America's: yours, mine, and ours.
As I mentioned last week, while we were in Denver at the DNC it seems as though I was the subject of interviews by media outlets almost as many times as I conducted ones for the Blend. Must be that novelty factor...
The latest one up is by broadcast-turned-online journalist Tamika Thompson of Tavis Smiley's Young Voices on PBS. She approached me while I was at The Big Tent and shot this for the series "African American Bloggers: Beyond What you See on TV." I am glad that I had a chance to bring LGBT perspective to a program with a large POC following. Visibility does matter.
Pam's House Blend editor and publisher Pam Spaulding tells us how DNC access for bloggers changes the political landscape and discusses how LGBT issues have been addressed this election season.
More videos of black bloggers at the convention are at the PBS web site.
Also, catch Tamika's latest coverage of the police violence at the RNC, complete with photos of law enforcement pepper spraying and arresting anti-war protestors.
Discuss anything and everything. Here is an album from the Blend's convention coverage. It's a slideshow, but you can watch the videos in total or skip through at your leisure.
If the first decision a presidential candidate makes about who will succeed him/her in an emergency is an indication of overall judgment, John McCain is unelectable.
"But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell ya, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
- former Miss Alaska runnerup Sarah Palin, 8/1/08, on CNBC, "Kudlow and Company"
Mayor of a tiny town, two years as governor, and she is a promising addition to the ticket if you want a...
-- Womb control advocate
-- an anti-LGBT activist
-- religious right fembot
-- creationist.
I am sorry, this is such a slam to women everywhere if McCain thinks the mere fact one has a vagina (and is a hottie in his book) is a qualification to run the country and "attract the women and youth vote". I don't want to hear one whit about the GOP slamming Hillary Clinton all during this campaign season.
I want to see how they spin this utterly absurd pick.
Highlights/lowlights of her record are below the fold.
UPDATE: 8:35 AM MT: CNN confirms that it's one-term Alaska Governor Palin. This will be fun. What a desperate Hail Mary.
7:30 AM MT: I leave Denver around noon, and I'm up trying to get my bleary eyes fully open with a diet Pepsi. My head cold is horrid, and I'm sore all over, but wouldn't have missed last night for the world. Use this as an open thread.
* Veep watch: so who's out? -- Tim Pawlenty: CNN reports his office confirmed that he received the "nay" call from McSame this AM.
-- Mittles: He's out. WCVB-TV, channel 5, Boston just confirmed that he got the thumbs down.
-- Huckabee: ruled himself out on his blog. He was never vetted by the campaign.
-- Sarah Palin (Alaska Gov): there are conflicting reports on whether she is in her state or in Ohio where McCain will announce the VP. She's been in office for only 2 years, so that would take the air out of any GOP argument about why experience is the end-all, be-all, particularly for McCain, since he turns 72 today.
* Aren't the Republicans just f*cked with the horror of hurricane Gustav heading for the Gulf Coast as they hold their convention? Autumn will have more to say about the predictions and prayer by Focus on the Anus for rain at Invesco that went bust. Why does God hate America (and has bad aim)?
* Another blogmistress interview. The WaPo's Jose Antonio Vargas did a profile of me that is in today's paper. It's below the fold.I include the pic only because it shows you how tired I was when he did the interview. It was at 11PM, just after I got off the shuttle bus from a long day at the Pepsi Center, reporting on the goings-on. The whole death-warmed over thing.
The bacon gained speed trotting down the runway and improbably soared, aloft in the clouds -- the reaction to Barack Obama's acceptance speech earned glowing reviews all across the political spectrum:
MSNBC Pat Buchanan - "It was a genuinely outstanding speech. It was magnificent. It is the finest - and I saw Cuomo's speech, I saw Kennedy in '80, I even saw Douglas MacArthur, I saw Martin Luther King - this is the greatest convention speech, and probably the most important because unlike Cuomo and the others this is an acceptance speech. This came out of the heart of America and he went right at the heart of America..."
FOX Bill Kristol - "Barack Obama faced very high expectations tonight and honestly I think he met them and I honestly think he exceeded them...He eloquently explained America's promise. He explained why the Bush Cheney administration had fallen short of that...I thought it was an awfully impressive performance."
CNN David Gergen - "In many ways it was less a speech than a symphony...It was a masterpiece"
MSNBC Tom Brokaw - "It was a wonderfully crafted political speech and the Republicans I'm sure were looking in and wondering what they're going to be able to do next week to match it"
CNN Paul Begala - "He went fearlessly at John McCain's greatest strength, national security. He went proudly into the social issue terrain that Democrats are usually so afraid of. He went boldly attacking the status quo of George Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain, and then he went very comfortably in your living room...This is my ninth convention, it was as very nearly a perfect convention speech as I can imagine..."
MSNBC Chris Matthews - "I thought it was amazing - I've written speeches all my life, of course nothing like this...It was a great way of throwing back the other side's best shot and saying it's full of crap"
Home base baristas Daimeon and Julien are ready to party hard in the coffeehouse tonight as the convention moves to Invesco field; join them! Click the icon below to participate.
4:30 PM: What an adventure getting into here this was. After meeting up with Chris Rabb of Afro-Netizen, we waited in line outside of the Hyatt to catch a delegate bus to the stadium. The line was massive and it was hot out there. All of a sudden an "out of service" city bus pulled up on the adjacent corner and the door opened and a cop stepped out and waved us over and we hopped on and were taken to Invesco.
Driving in, the number of people lined up in the hot sun to get in was enormous. I saw Dan Rather get off a bus and he got to ride a golf cart into a VIP area, I'm sure.
"The campaign is run by the same people who sell toothpaste, exactly the same PR agencies. And when they sell a candidate they do it the exact same way they sell a lifestyle drug. You don't put up information about the candidate, what you do is create delusional images that delude and deceive. The population knows it. A very small number of the population, about 10% of the voters, literally, knew (in 2004) the stands of the candidates on the issues. And it's not because they are stupid or uninterested. It's just like you don't know the characteristics of toothpaste."
The dark tentacles of Karl Rove are deep into the McCain campaign, it's not just a little light consultation. He's trying to strong-arm the VP selection, first to ensure that the Arizona senator does not pick Holy Joe under any circumstances.
Republican strategist Karl Rove called Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) late last week and urged him to contact John McCain to withdraw his name from vice presidential consideration, according to three sources familiar with the conversation.
Lieberman dismissed the request, these sources agreed. Lieberman "laughed at the suggestion and certainly did not call [McCain] on it," said one source familiar with the details.
"Rove called Lieberman," recounted a second source. "Lieberman told him he would not make that call." Rove did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Who is the veep apple of Rove's eye? The Ken doll, Mitt "Multiple Choice" Romney. McCain is to announce his choice tomorrow, so if it's Romney, we know that it's confirmation of more of McBush.
Speaking of McCain - have you heard about his $2 million parking lot?
I spent a couple of hours in the Blogger's Lounge at the Pepsi Center tonight. I never managed to get in to see my state delegation (sigh). It was another security mess this evening. I also twisted my ankle on an uneven stretch of pavement, but thankfully, I can still walk. I hate to think what I'll feel like in the AM.
You can see Bill Clinton's speech here. So do you think it was a convincing performance in support of Obama? When the nominee took the stage and called out Bill, the former president looked like he had agita, as if he was still thinking to himself "I should be up there with Hillary." By contrast, Hillary seemed comfortable and enjoying herself.
Joe Biden was nominated tonight, and he delivered an awkward, clunky, yet oddly moving speech. He went off-script a lot (I received a copy of the speech as prepared, and as delivered, it was, well, he probably could use a speechwriter's touch, lol.
I wasn't surprised that Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the end of the evening, joining Biden on stage with his family. Security was extraordinarily tight because of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, so that complication was one of the reasons I never got to the NC delegation tonight. A number of bloggers I spoke to were ambivalent about going to the Invesco field for the final night, considering all of the less-than-optimal logistics and security that will make getting around extremely difficult.
It looks like Daddy D won't get his wish - no rain is expected, but we sure could use some cloud cover so people don't bake out there.
BTW, Biden's remarks as delivered are below the fold.
Day three of the Democratic National Convention began with Autumn and Pam joining me and my sister* Karri for breakfast at a restaurant down the block from the Big Tent. We were quite impressed with the coffee...
We left Pam at the Big Tent, for she had to give her presentation on being a straight ally. Autumn had a number of transgender activists she wanted to interview and I hustled along to be her videographer. It was a little weird that of all the panels a scheduling conflict would keep me away from, it was the one on being a straight ally.
(I am proud this blog from my own Hoosier state. - promoted by Julien Sharp)
Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I've been a die-hard Hillary Clinton supporter since day one. This was supposed to be her year and I believed. So last night was very emotional for me, but the story of how I got to the floor for her speech is nearly as good as her speech.
I scored a floor credential from Marti Abernathey. She is an Obama delegate and was not interested in seeing the speech. She knew I was and in the interest of unity and friendship, she gave me her credential for the night - but that left a good friend who is also a Hillary supporter (whom I won't name, but most Indiana folks will know) without a floor pass.
I was determined to get her onto the floor and the comedy of errors that ensued almost cost me seeing the speech. We tried to find our friend a floor pass, but it just wasn't panning out. So, my friend and real Indiana Clinton delegate Lori, and I cooked up a scheme to take Lori to the floor and then I would take Lori's pass back out to our friend and bring her back with me. It was a great plan, but the execution was less than flawless.
I walked into the convention hall today, on my way to the LGBT Caucus (and on my way to pick up a credential to get me into the Pepsi Center today), when I saw San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome. After what he did in San Francisco, and what came of it on the California Supreme Court, I couldn't just pass him by. (It didn't hurt that he was taller and more handsome in person than he is in his pictures.) I had to stop and thank him.
I told him, I was just on my way to the LGBT caucus and that just wanted to stop and thank him. To which he responded "Thank you!" One of his aides overheard me say where I was going, and invited me to walk with them since they were going to the LGBT caucus too.
And then we stepped into the hall, and heard the announcement that Del Martin just passed away. She died quietly, surrounded by her family and friends. There was a gasp, and a moment of stunned silence.
And as I thought about Del, I realized that before she died she got to do something that perhaps she never thought she would: after 55 years together, she got to marry the woman she loved. Something Gavin Newsome helped happen, and something that some people with deep-pockets want to keep us from doing.
Here is the future First Lady's speech (Blend coverage of yesterday's event is here; it was hat tipped by the Obama blog). Michelle Obama spoke yesterday in a surprise visit to the lunch for LGBT delegates hosted by Rep. Barney Frank, with Rep. Tammy Baldwin, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Human Rights Campaign.
Barack believes that if we come together, and work together, we can build the world as it should be.
In the world as it should be:
We work together to repeal laws like DOMA and Don't Ask Don't Tell, and we oppose divisive constitutional amendments that would strip civil rights and benefits away from LGBT Americans--because discrimination has no place in a nation founded on the promise of equality.
Anyone willing to put in an honest day's work can make a good living and support their family--and employers are held accountable for discrimination against LGBT Americans.
The federal government fully protects all of us--including LGBT Americans--against hate crimes.
In the world as it should be, we recognize that equality in relationship, family, and adoption rights isn't an abstract principle, but goes directly to whether all Americans can lead lives of dignity and freedom.
...from my very good friend Mario. He is a kick a*s guy, did all the photography for my NYC cabaret last year, is right with me in supporting everything about Radical Russ's favorite platform, and a progressive's progressive. We met four years ago right around this time, when I was blogging on Julien's List. After last night's coverage he sent me this:
Great speech by Hillary tonight...the Dems are 2-2 this convention..can't wait to see what the Cleanup hitter (Obama ) will do.
My friend and I came up w/ the perfect Obama campaign slogan today:
OBAMA:
ONE WIFE ONE HOUSE ONE NATION
UPDATE: Was informed in the comments that this slogan is already thought of and selling on T-shirts! Great idea!
Sixty years ago, Hubert Humphrey "urged the Democratic Party to 'get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights'" (wikipedia).
Humphrey's minority plank was contentious, and the walkout by Southern states (who nominated Strom Thurmond for president as part of the States Rights party) nearly cost Harry Truman the re-election.
In 1948, there was little risk in allowing states to continue to marginalize people of color. No one was going to lose an election because the "coloreds" weren't being treated as fully human. Yet Humphrey saw an issue that didn't necessarily translate into political power, and decided it was important anyway.
"But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell ya, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
4:30 PM: What an adventure getting into here this was. After meeting up with Chris Rabb of Afro-Netizen, we waited in line outside of the Hyatt to catch a delegate bus to the stadium. The line was massive and it was hot out there. All of a sudden an "out of service" city bus pulled up on the adjacent corner and the door opened and a cop stepped out and waved us over and we hopped on and were taken to Invesco.
I spent a couple of hours in the Blogger's Lounge at the Pepsi Center tonight. I never managed to get in to see my state delegation (sigh). It was another security mess this evening. I also twisted my ankle on an uneven stretch of pavement, but thankfully, I can still walk. I hate to think what I'll feel like in the AM.
