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.
BY now, most high school dress codes have just about done away with the guesswork.
Girls: no midriff-baring blouses, stiletto heels, miniskirts.
Boys: no sagging pants, muscle shirts.
But do the math.
"Rules" + "teenager" = "challenges."
If the skirt is an acceptable length, can a boy wear it?
Can a girl attend her prom in a tuxedo?
In recent years, a growing number of teenagers have been dressing to articulate - or confound - gender identity and sexual orientation. Certainly they have been confounding school officials, whose responses have ranged from indifference to applause to bans...
The article goes on to talk about High School dress codes across the country. Recommended read.
The Senate held a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) this week. ENDA would enshrine special rights for homosexuals in the workplace, based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Craig Parshall, senior vice president and general counsel for National Religious Broadcasters, was the only witness to speak against the bill, although a number of pro-family groups are campaigning against it. Throughout the hearing, Parshall heard cries for fundamental fairness and rights.
"What about the civil rights, the civil opportunities and privileges of private enterprise," he said, "to conduct its business free of these exotic new value systems?" ...
Exotic? About half of the states in the country have nondiscrimination laws based on sexual orientation, and about a quarter of the states have nondiscrimination laws based on gender identity. Hardly exotic laws.
• Los Angeles Times' California's best years have passed, voters sayIn a survey of 1,500 registered voters, 80% say the state is on the wrong track. Respondents express little confidence in state politicians and candidates, even as support for Obama remains high.:
Frustrated at California's woes, voters are sharply pessimistic about whether the next governor will be able to move the state in the right direction, and most believe California is in the midst of a long-term decline, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll shows.
...There was little confidence that the next governor, whoever he or she may be, would be able to successfully battle California's problems. Voters were split over whether the winning candidate would be able to bring about "real change." More than half of voters said that California's problems are long-term in nature and will not ease substantially when the national economy recovers.
"I just feel like we are spinning our wheels," said Tracey Blair, a mother of two from Mar Vista who described herself in a follow-up interview as an independent-minded Democrat. "I don't feel like it's going anywhere at the moment. . . . It's a feeling of -- like we've peaked." ...
...Asked whether California was headed in the right direction or was on the wrong track, only 14% said the state was moving in the right direction. That was the lowest such finding since October 1992, when an equal percentage expressed dismay. It was statistically equivalent to the 17% level reached just before the 2003 recall swept out Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and installed Schwarzenegger. Altogether, 4 in 5 Californians surveyed said they felt the state was headed down the wrong track -- slightly worse than in 2003...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Men who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats may have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those who limit such foods, a large study of U.S. men suggests.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that among more than 175,000 men they followed for nine years, those who ate the most red and processed meats had heightened risks of developing any stage of prostate cancer, or advanced cancer in particular.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, add to a conflicting body of research on meat intake and prostate cancer risk. Because studies over the years have come to different conclusions, experts generally consider the evidence linking red and processed meats to the disease to be limited and inconclusive.
These latest findings do not settle the question. But they do suggest that processed red meats and high-heat cooking methods -- namely, grilling and barbecuing -- may be particularly connected to prostate cancer risk, according to Dr. Rashmi Sinha and her colleagues at the NCI...
So...I'm confused. Are wieners -- as processed red meat -- evil, or not so evil? Engh, never mind. Most are too fatty anyway.
The Queen of Hot Dog's in Vermont was honored Saturday.
Lois Bodoky, known to most as "The Hot Dog Lady", received red carpet treatment today.
For 28 years Bodoky operated a hot dog cart on Church Street.
She retired in 2005.
Saturday, the city unveiled a plaque outside Homeport, honoring her years of service to hungry customers. The location is where she operated the cart after her beauty shop burned down in the 70s.
Bodoky says she misses her customers, especially feeding the needy for free...
So anywho...It's an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?
And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because...it's an open thread! Woo-hoo!
Got this email earlier and wanted to share- with both of Maine's representatives being co-sponsors, I can only imagine how frustrating and infuriating for those with less supportive Congress Critters... Louise
Dear Louise,
The ENDA vote is coming.
We need your help to protect LGBT people from legalized workplace discrimination. And time is tight.
I'm sure you're feeling as disheartened as I am about the election in Maine. But if we crawl into a corner and lick our wounds, we're playing right into our opposition's hands. And today of all days, we can't afford to do that.
As we speak, the Senate is holding a hearing on the fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and the House could hold its first important vote on ENDA in the coming weeks.
This bill would end a bitter injustice in our country: In 29 states, it's legal to fire someone because they're lesbian, gay, or bisexual; in 38 states, it's legal to fire someone for being transgender.
It's a sinister threat hanging over millions of heads. And too many in Congress have stood in the way of workplace protections from passing.
This is one of the next big battles facing our movement. And it's going to be even tougher than passing the hate crimes bill was. Right-wing groups loudly claim that measures like ENDA grant "special rights" to LGBT people and take away the freedoms of people of faith. It's absurd; it's wrong; yet lawmakers listen.
If there's one thing the hate crimes victory showed us, it's that Congress can move at a glacial pace. There's only one thing that speeds up the process: direct, sustained pressure from ordinary people like you.
Even with the most supportive Congress and president our movement has ever had, it's an uphill battle. And we won't have this Congress and this president forever.
So we can't afford to miss this window of opportunity. If we can pass an inclusive ENDA, we will make it safer for millions of people to live their lives openly in America – and the hearts and minds they'll change will open the door for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal and more.
We've waited too long for this moment. Let's make sure LGBT workers don't have to wait a minute longer.
These two are also trans community voices whom I asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~
By Mila L-Pavlin and Jayna L-Pavlin
Yesterday, we awoke with the expectation of a day like any other, confident that we were safe in a place like San Francisco. The cold wind caught our wet hair as we scrambled to the car so we could get to work on time. The usual fun chatter in the morning with one another, and traffic that seemed endless filled the early hours with the usual grumbles mixed with perky jokes. Yesterday was different however, different in a way that still has not yet passed between the rational, analytic part to the emotional centers of our brain. Yesterday around mid day, someone 3000 miles away decided that they would pick up a pen and scrawl a name on a piece of paper. Someone 3000 miles away, decided that they would have compassion on us without ever knowing who we were. Someone 3000 miles away decided that we were human and worthy of the value that it implies.
Today we speak for the nameless ones who we would never know, but should be proud to call sister and brother. In every civil rights struggle, there is a basic threshold that must be reached. The idea that a group is more than an object to be laughed at and disposed of, to be used and dismissed, negotiated away to advance another group, and that the group deserves the basic right of life. The Hate Crimes Law does more than just add some wallop additional penalty to the sentencing at a criminal trial, or add a few extra dollars for crime prevention. It sends a message to our fellow Americans saying "think twice before you kill me, because someone 3000 miles away cares enough to recognize me. I am not an invisible object that will disappear when you throw me away. I am not a disposable doll that you can break without someone taking notice. I am not worthless, and I WILL be missed! Think twice when you hit me saying out loud 'it's not like it was a school teacher...or some upstanding citizen', think twice before you hit me again, calling me names and laughing to your friends. I AM HUMAN, at least to one person, with a pen, 3000 miles away, and those who did the hard work and got that piece of paper to that desk. People have shown they can care."
The world changes, and in such a dramatic way that no one may take notice at first. So dramatically that someone who is walking alone in the Midwest, who never owned a TV and can't get a job to pay their bill, may never know, but is affected. When that truck of reckless bullies drives their beat up pickup truck towards her, and fondles their baseball bats and crowbars, thinking of all the fun they will have beating up that poor defenseless "it", suddenly now, they may think twice, and SHE becomes human, and they keep driving, because someone 3000 miles away put ink to a piece of paper that they never saw. They may not pay attention to TV or have internet or listen to the radio, but the world has changed, and they will begin to know whether they are conscious of this change or not.
Cherish this day my fellow Transgender Americans. Today we are human in the eyes of federal law for the first time, a recognized minority worthy of protections long denied, and we should celebrate. We should raise our hands in praise for the thousands of fellow humans who now have a chance, because they are no longer disposable and easily forgotten by a government that has callously turned a blind eye to our very existence in the past.
The challenges are still many, as those that are about to live still are jobless. Many are still homeless and forced into lives that are less than. For the first time however, we were not cast aside, and for that we should be grateful. Now that we are human, perhaps others will listen when we tell them that we too have basic human needs, like food and homes. That yes, just like everyone else we should be able to live and make a living to support ourselves.
Our next great fight now that we are human, is a hope, that 3000 miles away, someone with a pen might say we are worthy of having our livelihoods protected.
It's an open thread! Pleeeeease feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread...
So, my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I mised a weekend post due to being like, y'know, really busy! However, "we" do have a post for today; This is what "we" have been looking at so far this week...
...Elder Dallin H. Oaks refers to gay marriage as an "alleged civil right" in remarks prepared for delivery at Brigham Young University-Idaho, a speech church officials describe as a significant commentary on current threats to religious freedom.
In an advance copy provided to The Associated Press, Oaks suggests that atheists and others are seeking to intimidate people of faith and silence their voices in the public square.
"The extent and nature of religious devotion in this nation is changing," said Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a church governing body. "The tide of public opinion in favor of religion is receding, and this probably portends public pressures for laws that will impinge on religious freedom."
...In an interview Monday before the speech, Oaks said he did not consider it provocative to compare the treatment of Mormons in the election's aftermath to that of blacks in the civil rights era, and said he stands by the analogy.
"It may be offensive to some -- maybe because it hadn't occurred to them that they were putting themselves in the same category as people we deplore from that bygone era," he said...
If the comparison were made instead compare the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) leadership to the oppressors instead of to the oppressed, I believe the comparison would have been more apt.
But, to say the least, if this is actually inspired teaching from the Mormons, it's fascinating -- in the crazy bad way of being fascinating!
Thanks to Chino Blanco for finding the video!
• Los Angeles Times' Politics as religion in AmericaConservatism has been converted into a religious belief, and now compromise doesn't have a prayer:
For decades now, liberals have been agonizing because conservatives seem to win even when polls show that the public generally disagrees with them. In their postmortems, liberals have placed blame on the way they frame their message, or on the right-wing media drumbeat that drowns out everything else, or on the right's co-opting of the flag, Mom and apple pie, which is designed to make liberals seem like effete, hostile foreign agents.
It's understandable that liberals prefer to think of their subordination as a matter of their own inadequacies or of conservative wiles. Theoretically, you can learn how to improve your message or how to match wits with adversaries, and a lot of liberal hand-wringing has been dedicated to doing just that. But it is becoming increasingly clear that liberals haven't just been succumbing to superior message control, or even to a superior political narrative (conservatives' frontier individualism versus liberals' communitarianism). They are up against something far more intractable and far more difficult to defeat. They are up against religion.
Perhaps the single most profound change in our political culture over the last 30 years has been the transformation of conservatism from a political movement, with all the limitations, hedges and forbearances of politics, into a kind of fundamentalist religious movement, with the absolute certainty of religious belief...
It goes without saying that the rest of this article is recommended reading.
The Obama administration is cranking out a slew of regulations affecting businesses. Political appointees are in control at most Cabinet departments and regulatory agencies, and they're having an influence. Congress is also getting into the act, albeit more slowly. Most of the changes will boost labor protections against workplace hazards, discrimination, unfair pay policies and in other personnel disputes. For employers, it means more costs and red tape as they're forced to show they're in compliance.
"It's hard to believe that a widget maker will have any time to make widgets in this hyper-enforcement environment," says Rae T. Vann, general counsel at the Equal Employment Advisory Council, an employer group.
...Congress will OK several pro-labor bills next year over the objections of business groups...
...Employer groups are not opposing a bill to ban employer discrimination based on sexual orientation, and it is a good bet for passage. The legislation probably will not cover transgender individuals and won't apply to small business with fewer than 15 workers, the military or religious organizations.
What do they know that we don't know? -- Or are they just guessing based on 2007? I don't know.
Folks, we at The Blend are highlighting what Law Professor Jillian Todd Weiss is spearheading over at Bilerico because the work she's doing to have us speak out to our Senators and Representatives for a fully inclusive ENDA is extremely important for our broad community.
When the U.S. bishops meet next month in Baltimore they should scrap the entire text of the proposed pastoral letter on marriage and start fresh.
The primary problem with the draft, obtained by NCR and available for viewing on our Web site (read the draft pastoral here), is that it is not, as advertised, pastoral.
In fact, it reads as if it was written by someone who has never once engaged in a marriage preparation program, let alone actually ever been married.
The bishops should demand a text that is specifically useful in helping young people prepare for marriage. Young couples come to the church for their marriage ceremonies not only because churches make good backdrops for the wedding photographs. And even if they do come for that reason, marriage preparation presents an opportunity to evangelize, an opportunity to teach about the vocation of marriage and the way that it is tied to our Catholic sacramental understanding of salvation. The document should be something a pastoral minister or parish priest can hand to a couple during their first meeting for marriage preparation, a sort of guide to what they are actually asking of the church and the mystery the church is about to celebrate with them. Instead, the first section of the draft spends too much time talking about the threats to modern marriage, such as high divorce rates, cohabitation, same-sex unions and, of course, contraception (an "intrinsic evil")...
Pages 21 through 23 of the letter talk about Same Sex Marriage. The conclusion of the section:
While basic human rights must be afforded to all people, this can and should be done without sacrificing the bedrock of society that is marriage and the family and without violating the religious liberty of persons and institutions.
The legal recognition of same-sex unions poses a multifaceted threat to the very fabric of society, striking at the source from which society and culture come and which they are meant to serve. Such recognition affects all people, married and non-married: not only at the fundamental levels of the good of the spouses, the good of children, the intrinsic dignity of every human person, and the common good, but also at the levels of education, cultural imagination and influence, and religious freedom.
• Our Wiener Story Of The Day is from my hometown of San Diego! SanDiego.com's Dogs And More:
Sometimes you just want a hot dog. Not necessarily the finest cuisine you've ever tasted but it just sounds right. Where to go to indulge yourself, especially if you're trying to take it up a notch from the usual fast-food joints? First clue...not Costco. Look around, there are not many places promoting hot dogs on their marquee or menus. We have recently discovered a fun little hole-in-the-wall called HotDogs at 428 in the Gaslamp.
HotDogs at 428 is one of those "blink-and-you-will-miss-it" locations, especially when you're surrounded by restaurants of every genre and price point...
...Seventeen different types of dogs comprise the menu, if you also include the veggie and turkey dogs. Signature dogs sport the shmaltzy names hot dog joints have used for ages. Naked dog on bun (period!), Diego dog (salsa, jalapeno, avocado), Charger dog (mustard, sauerkraut), Padre dog (mustard, cheese, sauerkraut, jalapenos), Texas dog (BQ sauce, cheese, coleslaw), sushi dog (wasabi, ginger, soy sauce) and bacon dog (jalapenos, salsa) to name a few...
...We ravaged the chili cheese and bacon concoctions. How can you not love big ole messy hot dogs? Waistlines cause most to rarely partake due to the evil scale every morning, so these better be good. We were told the chili was homemade by "world famous chef Miko". Don't quite know who gave him the title but the chili, while good, was nothing close to being "the best"...
Hmm. I a good Chili Cheese Mustard dog...but oh that fat content!
So anywho...It's an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?
And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because...it's an open thread! Woo-hoo!
To my mind, this says [Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)] would have supported the sexual orientation only bill voted on last time, but she is not sure whether she can vote for the current bill and will have to "consider" it. This is exactly the type of "supportive non-support" that got gender identity pulled from the [Employment Non-Discrimination Act] last time. This should not be tolerated in 2009 or else we will wind up back in 2007.
-Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss
For those who aren't following Bilerico, Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss -- an Associate Professor of Law and Society at Ramapo College -- is running a campaign Facebook for an Inclusive ENDA. On Bilerico, she's listing a ENDA Targeted Legislator of the Day as a means for targeting our federal legislators who have not either co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA - S1584) or confirmed yes votes on ENDA -- some of those who have confirmed have only confirmed their support privately.
Prof. Weiss also has her own blog: Transgender Workplace Diversity. [Did I mention that she's a transgender woman whose working not only for transgender workplace civil rights, but for broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community's workplace civil rights?] In that blog she explains the ENDA legislation, with heavy emphasis on how legally, a fully inclusive ENDA will impact transgender people.
Earlier this week, the ENDA Targeted Legislator Of The Day was North Carolina's Senator Kay Hagan. In response to that post by Prof. Weiss, a transgendernews reader sent a e-letter to Senator Hagan -- of whom she is a constituent -- about the Senator's position on a fully inclusive ENDA. Sen. Hagan's staff sent a response, and it's below the fold.
[Below the fold: Sen. Hagan, in Prof. Weiss's opinion, is giving us "'supportive non-support' that got gender identity pulled from the bill last time."]
Today I woke up phenomenally early. For some reason my irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was in play while I slept -- which is all I'll say about that. I was oddly having a vivid dream as well about coming out as trans in my teens instead of my forties, and forgetting my High School class schedule.
So, an interesting way to wake up.
So I turned on MSNBC to Morning Joe to follow the news. One of the first things I heard about this morning was President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I had the same thoughts as the hosts as the hosts even before they expressed their thoughts: 1.) What exactly has the President done to merit that award at this point in his Presidency? -- and 2.) this raises the foreign policy expectations of the President for the future to fairly high heights. Of course too, NASA shot the Moon too. All I can say is I'm glad we didn't use Marvin-The-Martian's Illudium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
I also heard, at the top of the 4:00 AM PDT hour, how the House had passed hate crime legislation for "gays and lesbians." Shortly thereafter, I watched the CNN video attached to Pam's diary How I ended up videotaped for AC360 today, and listened to both Anderson Cooper and the reporter in the segment's header -- Randi Kaye -- repeatedly use of the phrase "gays and lesbians." No "bisexual"; no "transgender" -- No B or T in the opening reporting header for the segment.
As we've pointed out frequently here at Pam's House Blend, the federal hate crime legislation covers sexual orientation and gender identity. That means the bill covers the entire broad spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
I won't speak for the Bisexual Subcommunity, but I will say the Transgender Subcommunity has worked hard for full inclusion in federal civil rights legislation; we've worked very hard over the years to make sure that language that includes the broad spectrum of the LGBT community.
Words matter. If media doesn't include bisexual and transgender people as part of the LGBT issue constituency, then part of the broad spectrum of people who are actually impacted by the current swath of federal civil rights legislation are improperly erased from public discussion.
I'm one of Pam Spaulding's "baristas" -- I'm one of the front page bloggers who regularly posts to the blog "Pam's House Blend." I'm a transsexual; I identify as transgender.
It really irritated me when I saw the segment on "gay and lesbian" disappointment with Obama Administration progress on "gay and lesbian" civil rights issues. The community is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The phrase "gender identity" -- which in definition in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) includes gender expression -- is included in both the federal hate crime legislation and ENDA.
My trans peers and my existence within the broader LGBT community is being erased by how CNN and other news organizations are covering LGBT issues; is being erased from public discussion of LGBT civil rights legislation.
Please do my trans peers and I the favor of not scripting us out of the LGBT civil rights movement. We exist as part of the broader LGBT community, and it's somewhat erroneous to report on "gay and lesbian" issues without including "bisexual and transgender" as part of the issue constituency that's also impacted by federal legislation.
Maybe it's partially the IBS speaking, but there is something irritating about too frequently watching my peers and I being erased from the public discussion of broad LGBT issues.
~~~~~~
Part 2 will be a piece on erasure of subcommunity concerns regarding ENDA.
Update: Added some additional related information regarding Lindsey Douthit, who wrote the Concerned Women For America piece excerpted in this diary.
~~Autumn~~
Sometimes, the diaries write themselves. Of course since lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights are in discussion regarding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) -- the hearing in the House Labor & Education Committee had a committee hearing regarding ENDA on September 23rd -- some conservative "Christian" organizations have already expressed their unhappy feelings related to the ENDA, and especially the ENDA hearing.
So let's feel our happy feelings in reading their unhappy feelings, shall we?
...Only one conservative voice was allowed on the panel: Craig Parshall, senior vice president and general counsel of National Religious Broadcasters.
"ENDA, if passed into law would impose a substantial and crippling burden on religious organizations," he said. "In the cases I reviewed recently where there's a clash between homosexual rights -- sexual orientation being protected under discrimination laws on one hand and Christian religious liberties on the other -- Christian liberties lose and the homosexual rights win." ...
Well, "we" (royal version of me) get tired of hearing this tired dribble. We have a First Amendment in the United States, and as long as they can self-fund their messages to their audiences, the government will not silence them and their messages.
[Below the fold, what the Family Research Council, the Traditional Values Coalition, and the Concerned Women For America have to say about ENDA/the ENDA hearings.]
When a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person supports his, her, or hir own oppression -- his, her, or hir own community's opression -- that to me is just a bit sad and depressing. But, there is the libertarian argument rejects the idea that it's a function of government to involve itself in policing discrimination (emphasis added):
[I]t's wrong to discriminate against an employee just because he (or she) is gay, but it isn't the government's business to prevent business owners from doing wrong.
B. Daniel Blatt, at GayPatriot, wrote a piece entitled Would ENDA lead to forced "outing"? In the piece, he argues that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) isn't necessary, and may resort in employers outing their gay and lesbian employees in the workplace.
Should [ENDA] pass, how would a liberal Administration enforce it, would the Holder Justice Department bring "disparate impact" lawsuits against corporations that don't have the proper amount of homosexuals in their workforce. Would a lower percentage of gay people in the workforce (than in the surrounding jurisdiction) be evidence of discrimination as some liberals believe a lower proportion of minorities (than in the population at large) is prima facie evidence of discrimination? (See e.g., Sonia Sotomayor and the Ricci decision).
And how would an employer determine how many gays are in his employ (and a judge in his jurisdiction)? Would people be required to identify their sexuality when they take a job?
He indirectly suggests the tool for this would be "outing." He cites how the HRC's new Corporate Equality Index (CEI) report, entitled State of the Workplace, indicates that the number of corporations providing benefits for "gay and lesbian employees" is increasing without government mandating antidiscrimination through federal law.
Let me just point out that Mr. Blatt left out that the HRC CEI report also covers bisexual and trans employees; the HRC CEI report, as well as and ENDA, are written to recognize that employment nondiscrimination isn't only about gay and lesbian employees.
Obviously, Mr. Blatt is not really experiencing discrimination himself, he seems more invested in a libertarian ideology than the people who experience discrimination. So, we have a significant difference of perspective on the function of government: I strongly believe preventing employment discrimination is a function of government.
So let's focus just on the "transgender portion" of the legislation question that is addressed with the use of the phrase gender identity.
• Double the rate of unemployment: Survey respondents experience unemployment at twice the rate of the population as a whole.
• Near universal harassment on the job: Ninety-seven percent (97%) of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job.
• Significant losses of jobs and careers: Forty-seven percent (47%) had experienced an adverse job outcome, such as being fired, not hired or denied a promotion.
• High rates of poverty: Fifteen percent (15%) of transgender people in our sample lived on $10,000 per year or less-double the rate of the general population.
Vandy Beth Glenn was fired from her Georgia state legislative job when she told her supervisor she was transitioning from male to female. She testified at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2009 on September 23, 2009.
~From the EdLaborDemocrats description of Vandy Beth Glenn testimony before the House Committee on Education & Labor Hearing on ENDA.
Excerpt:
My editorial skills had not changed. My work ethic had not changed -- I was still ready and willing to burn the midnight oil with my colleagues, making sure that every bill was letter-perfect. My commitment to the General Assembly, to its leaders, and to Mr. Brumby had not faltered. The only thing that changed was my gender -- and because of that, the legislature I'd worked so hard for no longer had any use for my skills. I was devastated.
[Full text of her opening statement below the fold.]
The link to video of the entire hearing is here.
~~Autumn~~
There is no more reason to discriminate against someone because he or she is transgender than because he or she is gay or lesbian or any other category.
~Rep. Barney Frank (as quoted by the Washington Blade) at ENDA House Committee Hearing
...Let me just say to my colleagues -- there's nothing to be afraid of. These are our fellow human beings. They aren't asking you for anything other, in this bill, than the right to earn a living. Can't you give them that?
If you don't like them, if you don't want to be friends, I think you're missing out on something but that's your choice. But how can we, as the people who make the laws in this wonderful country, under our great constitution, say to one small group of our fellow citizens - "You know, there's something about you that some people don't like, so you are not eligible for work? You can be fired. You can't get a promotion."
I cannot understand why anybody would want to say that to a group of our fellow citizens. And that's all that this bill does. Thank you.
UPDATE FROM PAM: Tony Perkins erupts below the fold.
Without ENDA, these Americans do not have basic protections against workplace discrimination.
~Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, House Committee on Education and Labor, September 23, 2009
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin Testimony on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017) House Committee on Education & Labor Hearing - September 23, 2009:
Complete Statement:
“Thank you Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Kline and members of the Committee for allowing me the opportunity to testify today.
I am a strong supporter of H.R. 3017, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009.
As many of my colleagues know, twenty-five years ago, my own state of Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to add sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination statutes. At the time – and this was in 1982 – only 41 municipalities and 8 counties in the entire United States offered limited protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Wisconsin’s efforts to pass the nation’s first sexual orientation anti-discrimination statute were supported by a broad, bipartisan coalition, including members of the clergy, various religious denominations, medical, and professional groups. The measure was signed into law by a Republican Governor (Lee Sherman Dreyfus), who based his decision to support the measure on the success of municipal ordinances providing similar protections.
Since Wisconsin passed its statute in 1982, twenty additional states and the District of Columbia (roughly 44% of the population) have passed similar protective measures. Twelve states and Washington D.C. also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. In addition to state and local measures, hundreds of American companies have enacted policies protecting their LGBT employees. Currently, 85% of the Fortune 500 companies extend protections based on sexual orientation and more than one-third do so on the basis of gender identity.
Update: Mike Kruger, Online Outreach Specialist for the Committee on Education and Labor, graciously sent us some links and resources related to the committee hearing. Links provided below the fold.
The link to video of the entire hearing is here.
~~Autumn~~
There is no more reason to discriminate against someone because he or she is transgender than because he or she is gay or lesbian or any other category.
~Rep. Barney Frank (as quoted by the Washington Blade) at ENDA House Committee Hearing
Here's the link to Bilerico's feed for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) House Committee Hearing live blog. Besides just having the text of those participating in the conversation, Bilerico had all of Twitter tweets with the hashmark for ENDA (#enda) included in their live blog thread.
Attorneys in the thread are Dr. Jillian T. Weiss, profsusurro, Abby Jensen, and chrisgeidner. Activists live tweeting the event included HRC staffer allysonrobinson, tonei, Bil Browning, HRCBackStory, kerryeleveld, Meghan Stabler, rea_carey, vvillano, R. Zeke Fread, and TheTaskForce -- among many others.
Many captured some good quotes from the hearing that was live fed on the internet -- no doubt want to cull out some quotes later.
If I find a link to a video to the hearing, I'll post it as an update to this diary.
Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, September 23, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B Washington, DC U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today announced that on Wednesday, September 23, he will hold the first full committee hearing in the House of Representatives on legislation to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees. Currently, it is legal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation in 29 states and in 38 states based on gender identity. Witnesses:
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Hon. Stuart J. Ishimaru Acting Chairman U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
William Eskridge John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence Yale Law School
Vandy Beth Glenn fired from her Georgia state legislative job when she told her supervisor she was transitioning from male to female
Camille Olson Partner Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Craig Parshall (fundie; see video inset) Senior Vice President and General Counsel National Religious Broadcasters Association
Rabbi David Saperstein Director The Religious Action Center
Brad Sears Executive Director
Williams Institute UCLA School of Law
Additional witnesses TBA
In the video, they discuss: "Why the fight over the definition of marriage in California could affect the laws in all 50 states. How newly elected government leaders could drastically change our religious liberties. How new leaders could institute new hate crime laws that could make it a criminal offense to teach or practice certain biblical principles. How government regulations and investigations of Christian ministries could drastically increase as a result of newly elected leaders." Also, here's more info about Craig Parshall from another interview...
What makes you feel passionate about Constitutional law? What is at stake?
I don’t believe we derive our most fundamental rights from government— instead, I am convinced that the source of real freedom is from God. The role of government is to recognize, and protect, those rights in practical ways. The Bill of Rights is not just an abstract statement of philosophy—it is a pragmatic way to insure that our political system operates in a way that is consistent with God’s design. For example, the 4th Amendment protects our homes from unlawful searches and seizures. It is not designed to hide criminals, but to reinforce the sanctity of our homes—and by extension, our families, from arbitrary government intrusion. The 1st Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion has a human face. When I recall former clients who lost jobs, suffered a loss of liberty—sometimes even wrongful arrest and jail time— because they were obedient to the gospel, I realize how incredibly important these issues really are. Do you believe Christianity is on trial today and if so, why?
I think Christianity is on trial in two ways—neither of them very new historically. I believe that there is strong opposition to Christian principles when they are articulated and practiced in the marketplace of ideas. Many of these attacks are subtle, but persistent. The second area in which Christianity is on trial presents us with a tremendous opportunity. The world is always wondering if the claims of Jesus Christ are true—did the Resurrection really happen, whether Scripture contains accounts that are historically reliable. Beyond that, people really wonder, deep in their souls, whether there is a God who exists, who knows them, and who cares about them. The gospel of Jesus Christ has an answer to anybody who is truly searching.
Professor Tobias Wolff of the University of Pennsylvania Law School submitted a timely guest post to the Blend about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and gender identity citing a case that is a key example of the need for this to pass.The re-introduction of ENDA promises to bring with it a renewed discussion about the importance of federal statutory protections for gender identity and expression. In the past, much of that discussion has focused on our trans brothers and sisters. And indeed anti-trans discrimination ought to be enough by itself -- more than enough -- to justify including gender identity and expression within ENDA. But there is a danger of drawing artificial divisions within our community when we assume that protection against discrimination based upon gender identity or expression is exclusively about trans people. That has never been the case. Those protections are designed to safeguard all of us against being punished because we somehow fail to conform to another persons's expectations about gender.
In the hope of arming people with information to help them make that important case, I am attaching a decision that was handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit the other week, Prowel v. Wise Business Forms, concerning the harassment and discrimination suffered by a man named Brian Prowel. Prowel was fired from the factory where he had worked for 13 years. He is, as he describes himself, an effeminate gay man. Throughout much of his time at the factory, he was subjected to horrible mistreatment. As so often happens, the mistreatment focused both on the fact that Prowel is gay and on the way in which he presents and expresses his gender. As Prowel explains in his own words, he took more care with how he dressed than his male co-workers, drank gin and tonics instead of beer, and generally did not conform to the expectations of his co-workers about how a "man" acts. The abuse and harassment based on his sexual orientation was bound up closely with the abuse and harassment because of his gender expression -- they called him "princess" and "rosebud" at the same time that they called him "faggot."
Under current federal law, employees have protection against discrimination based upon sex or gender. There is a Supreme Court precedent making it clear that gender discrimination includes discrimination based on a failure to conform to gender stereotypes. Nonetheless, lower federal courts have been inconsistent in their willingness to recognize that principle. In one notorious case, for example, a woman was fired from a casino job because of her refusal to wear make-up and was then denied relief for discrimination based upon gender stereotypes, despite the fact that men in the casino with her same job were not required to apply foundation and rouge every morning. Federal courts have been even more inconsistent in their willingness to recognize that anti-trans discrimination constitutes a form of gender discrimination, with some courts rejecting the claim altogether and others creating convoluted rules for when anti-trans discrimination counts as gender discrimination. Thus, people who are transgender or gender non-conforming have received inadequate protection from current federal law, if any.
Momentum is building for Congress to pass the first major civil rights act protecting gays and transsexuals, supporters say, and one of the stars in the debate is a barrier-breaking transgender staffer on Capitol Hill.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, would prohibit workplace discrimination -- including decisions about hiring, firing and wages -- based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would exempt religious organizations, the military and businesses with less than 15 workers.
The driving force behind the bill has been Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the longest-serving of the three openly gay members of Congress. He expects hearings on the measure to be held this fall...
The transgender staffer is Diego Sanchez, Rep. Barney Frank's Legislative aide...
...Diego Sanchez is the first transgender person hired for a senior congressional staff position on Capitol Hill...
More of us are contacting our congressmembers; and we're letting them know when we call that we want a fully inclusive ENDA. That President Obama has indicated he'll sign a fully inclusive ENDA too, and that doesn't hurt either.
And probably as importantly, everyone remembers how the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activist community rose in anger in 2007 when ENDA became less than fully inclusive of the entire LGBT community. My sources have told me how Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was personally unsettled that trans people and their allies protested outside her office round-the-clock in 2007 because ENDA wasn't fully inclusive.
It would be a guess on my part, but my guess would be that Diego Sanchez was hired by Rep. Frank, and Allyson Robinson was hired by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) because of the 2007 ENDA revolt. Whether my guess is accurate or not, I can't say I'm displeased with trans identified staffers now being visibly included in places they weren't visible before. I'm definitely not displeased about the good that Mr. Sanchez in not only doing for trans people, but for the broader LGBT community as well.
This is a good bit of history told from a personal perspective that shows the character and commitment of Sen. Kennedy. Thanks, Tanya. -- Pam.
Remembering Ted Kennedy for his Compassion and Courage
By Tanya Domi
In the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, I will always remember him for his deep compassion and strong support for members of the gay community.
I had the opportunity to work with Kennedy's office on the introduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as the legislative director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 1994.
Kennedy agreed to introduce the ENDA in fall 1993 shortly after the adoption of Don't Ask Don't Tell in fall 1993. All of us working on the military ban took the defeat badly. But we picked ourselves up and got to work quickly. In less of a month after DADT was adopted, along with the then-Human Rights Campaign Fund and my colleagues Dan Zingale, Nancy Buermeyer and Cathy Woolard we began building a coalition of groups to support ENDA with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, led by Ralph Neas, its executive director at the time. LCCR supported ENDA, historically supporting for the first time gay rights legislation by the most imminent group of civil rights organizations in America.
The first hearings were scheduled in the Senate with Senator Kennedy chairing, arranged by Michael Iskowitz, his diminutive aide on gay and disability rights. Republican Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, who had strongly opposed lifting the military gay ban, also served on the labor committee, but we did not expect him to attend the hearings.
Before the hearings began, we had gathered in a conference room behind the hearing room to finalize preparation of our witnesses, Cheryl Summerville, who had been fired by a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Tennessee for being a lesbian and Ernest Hopkins, a postal worker from Cincinnati, Ohio, who had been beaten unconscious in his work place by co-workers for being gay. Suddenly, a significant number of black men, who had been standing in line to enter the hearing room, wearing orange buttons which said "they are not equal" were led through the conference room by a Coats' aide. With no Capital police present, they began yelling epithets at Cheryl and Ernest and our group, pushed and shoved Ernest, jostling Cheryl as a number of us jumped in to stop the hitting and moved them out of room. A very upsetting event and a despicable tactic employed by Coats' staff, which was simply a violation of Senate protocol in everyway imagined.
The hearings began shortly after this disturbing event. Senator Kennedy entered the hearing room and began his opening remarks. He called on Cheryl Summerville to make her opening remarks, who was crying, so upset by what had just transpired behind the hearing room.
In a soft voice, Kennedy applauded her courage and told her that she was very brave to come to the Congress to testify about her experience at Cracker Barrel. He said that she should take her time and take a deep breath. Somehow, Cheryl pulled herself together and delivered her testimony.
I was sitting next to Tim McFeely, the executive director of HRCF, softly crying, along with Tim who had red eyes. We were all very upset. But Cheryl testified and so did Ernest, telling their compelling stories of unquestionable employment discrimination. We got through the day with Kennedy putting into the record lesbian and gay stories and their experiences of on-the-job discrimination for the first time in history. That is the Senator Ted Kennedy I will always remember. May he rest in peace.
Tanya Domi worked for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 1992-1994, serving as the director of the military freedom project and legislative director. She teaches human rights at Columbia University as an adjunct professor of international and public affairs and lives in the City of New York.
UPDATE: CWFA has removed the threatening picture from their front page. Lucky Andy Towle preserved this nice screen shot for posterity. He summed it all up very nicely:
Looks like the Concerned Women for America are taking a cue from the angry right-wing mobs flaunting their weaponry at town halls. Lurleen at Pam's House Blend notes the use of a gun in a teaser for an article deriding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on the group's website. Not to mention the article itself is six kinds of crazy. And if you can figure out what the sentence means in that teaser above, you win a prize.
H/T HS
Concerned Women for America have posted a deranged article on ENDA written by their former lead "concerned woman", Robert Knight. They only have the kindest of intentions and the most Christian of thoughts about gays. No really! Don't believe me? Just look at the image (right) they used to promote the article. No, that isn't a dog whistle for violence against gays, nooo, uh uh.
Meanwhile, the promoters of Referendum 71 in Washington state, which trumpeted the CWA as a major endorser, ran crying "Intimidation! Threats!" as an excuse to try to keep the signers of their public petitions secret and to refuse to divulge the names of their campaign donors as required by law. This of course after they found so many unintimidated people to sign the petition that they had enough signatures to submit to the state.
Hey if you'd like a peek into the mind of the insane, read Knight's article. It's supposed to be an article about ENDA, but somehow it's really about marriage...or Ozzy Osbourne...or something. Skip the theocratic appetizers:
To put it more simply, a statute that directly contradicts God's moral law is illegitimate.
and go straight to the crazy-brain candy.
Societies that lose respect for marriage eventually lose creative energy derived from the delayed gratification that strengthens families. Instead, people strive for immediate, sensory pleasure, and societies become less dynamic and fertile. Government grows bigger to pick up the pieces and create grounds for even greater hegemony.
Our very survival is at stake, not just our economic well-being. When a spirited crowd rightly puts the screws to our rulers over their financial profligacy, someone needs to ask them as well why they're serving as crew members on cultural bombers piloted by Pelosi, Obama and Kennedy.
Robert, didn't your English teacher ever tell you that if you mix too many colorful metaphors, you end up with muddy-brown prose?
As we continue the discussion about the LGBT-related legislation before this Congress the one that will have the most impact on the most people is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (H.R. 3017 and S. 1584), which will protect LGBTs in states and municipalities that have yet to join the 21st century in recognizing that prejudice and bigotry have no place in the employment process and policies when it comes to LGBTs. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is collecting your stories about discrimination in the workplace:
We and our coalition partners (Human Rights Campaign, National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and statewide LGBT groups that are working on this issue) will use your answers to convince the new Congress that LGBT workers need to be protected. We are looking for people from all walks of life and who have held all kinds of jobs: from fast food to brain surgery. What matters is that you were fired or refused a job for being LGBT - and that that should never happen again.
You can submit your info here. Hat tip to HRC Back Story. This is a good Blend Q of the day as well -- Have you ever faced workplace discrimination? And I want to broaden this to include based on gender and race, since we all know that this country is neither post-feminist or post-racial. Note: we're on the internets, so don't post anything you don't want to be read by the entire planet -- and the Blend is not a legal forum for any kind of advice. This is just to spur a discussion of the wide-ranging ways discrimination affects the community.
***
To help get your legislators on the right page, join the Inclusive ENDA Facebook page, moderated by Dr. Jillian Weiss and its related U.S. Legislator of the Day page to tell undecided legislators in your district to vote for job equality.
Today's Legislators of the Day are Ohio's Voinovich, Austria and Tiberi. We are coming into the second week of August, and support for ENDA among legislators is slowly inching up. Here's the status.
**HOUSE**
In the House, where we need 218 yes votes, there are 171 confirmed yes, and another 36 who will probably vote yes, though they have not yet confirmed this, making a total of 207 likely yes votes. Not enough. 76 Representatives are unconfirmed either way, and these need to be persuaded by you. You can see the spreadsheet with this info at http://bit.ly/Q5YMJ
**SENATE** In the Senate, where we need 60 yes votes because of the likely Republic filibuster that requires 60 votes to stop, there are 46 confirmed yes votes, and another 11 likely yes votes, making a total of 57 likely yes votes. Not enough. 53 Senators are unconfirmed either way, and these need to be persuaded by you.
You can see the spreadsheet with this info at http://bit.ly/14TDll
**WHAT YOU CAN DO** The key fight is going to be in the Senate. Please take whatever time you can to call the Senate swing votes, which you can find here: Senate - http://bit.ly/45WGMc
As you know, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate yesterday by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with Senators Kennedy (D-MA), Snowe (R-ME) and Collins (R-ME) as lead co-sponsors. We have 34 other Dems on the co-sponsor list, but look at who didn't sign on. Time to start the phone calls...
* Baucus, MT - (202) 224-2651
* Bayh, IN - (202) 224-5623
* Begich, AK - (202) 224-3004
* Bennet, CO - (202) 224-5852
* Byrd, WV - (202) 224-3954
* Carper, DE - (202) 224-2441
* Conrad, ND - (202) 224-2043
* Dorgan, ND - (202) 224-2551
* Hagan, NC - (202) 224-6342 * Johnson, T., SD - (202) 224-5842
* Kaufman, DE - (202) 224-5042
* Kohl, WI - (202) 224-5653
* Landrieu, LA - (202) 224-5824
* Lincoln, AR - (202) 224-4843
* McCaskill, MO - (202) 224-6154
* Nelson, Bill, FL - (202) 224-5274
* Nelson, Ben, NE - (202) 224-6551
* Pryor, AR - (202) 224-2353
* Reid, NV - (202) 224-3542
* Rockefeller, WV - (202) 224-6472
* Stabenow, MI - (202) 224-4822
* Tester, MT - (202) 224-2644
* Warner, M., VA - (202) 224-2023
* Webb, VA - (202) 224-4024
Uh, what was that from Senator Hagan during the campaign that she doesn't believe in discrimination? Chris@LawDork tells it like it is.
Well, make your calls, folks. It's no good having 60 votes if we only get a few more than half of the caucus on a matter of basic fairness like employment non-discrimination.
And, for all the "why isn't Obama doing more" folks, this is why. If this is what we get on ENDA, imagine the response to a Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal bill or - goodness gracious - a Defense of Marriage Act repeal bill in the Senate. Crickets.
We've got some work to do in the Senate. Sixty isn't sixty even on health care - it sure as hell isn't sixty on LGBT equality measures.
*Sigh*
If the comparison were made instead compare the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) leadership to the oppressors instead of to the oppressed, I believe the comparison would have been more apt.
Folks, we at The Blend are 
a good Chili Cheese Mustard dog...but oh that fat content! 
I also heard, at the top of the 4:00 AM PDT hour, how the House had passed hate crime legislation for "gays and lesbians." Shortly thereafter, I watched the CNN video attached to Pam's diary 
What makes you feel passionate about Constitutional law? What is at stake?
The re-introduction of ENDA promises to bring with it a renewed discussion about the importance of federal statutory protections for gender identity and expression. In the past, much of that discussion has focused on our trans brothers and sisters. And indeed anti-trans discrimination ought to be enough by itself -- more than enough -- to justify including gender identity and expression within ENDA. But there is a danger of drawing artificial divisions within our community when we assume that protection against discrimination based upon gender identity or expression is exclusively about trans people. That has never been the case. Those protections are designed to safeguard all of us against being punished because we somehow fail to conform to another persons's expectations about gender.
Remembering Ted Kennedy for his Compassion and Courage
H/T HS
No, that isn't a dog whistle for violence against gays, nooo, uh uh.
As we continue the discussion about the LGBT-related legislation before this Congress the one that will have the most impact on the most people is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (H.R. 3017 and S. 1584), which will protect LGBTs in states and municipalities that have yet to join the 21st century in recognizing that prejudice and bigotry have no place in the employment process and policies when it comes to LGBTs. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 
