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 had a chance to sit down with Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (aka the LGBT liaison)Brian Bond at the ENC Conference on Saturday, before his keynote address before attendees. In the White House food chain Bond reports to Valerie Jarrett, the senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Bond has been in contact with me several times over the last year to set up a meeting, but given my lack of proximity to DC and my schedule, it just hasn't happened until now.
Brian has been an elusive "get," by the way, when it comes to LGBT media, but Matt Hill Comer of Q-Notespublished a Q&A with Bond (via email) on policy questions you should click over to read. There are some standard talking points there, but here's a summary of what was covered by Matt...
Bond says the administration "will not waiver in their support for equal rights"
Asked about a timeline for a DADT repeal, Bond said the policy "will be repealed sooner than people think," that Obama has already begun to talk to the military and Congress, "but Congress will need to actually repeal it and we are committed to working with both the House and Senate."
On DADT, Bond says he "would hope people will take the president at his word and give him the time to do this right."
Bond said the administration has been working on a host of non-legislative issues, including pro-LGBT changes and initiatives in several agencies and departments.
Bond says, "...it took over a decade to get hate crimes done, I don't think it will take near that long to accomplish the repeal of DADT, and passage of ENDA"
So read the Q-Notes piece, my interview and watch the video of the keynote and assess for yourself if there's anything to read into his comments.
The Pam's House Blend interview.
(transcript below the fold.)
With that in mind on Saturday, I decided to take a different tack with Brian Bond. The interview I conducted focused on the strained relationship between new media/bloggers/advocacy journalists (I'm being charitable here), and the total disconnect between the Obama campaign's new media competence and the Obama White House's blindness, gaffes and outright unhelpful alliances that have potential to really damage progress for our movement.
What is puzzling is that Brian Bond didn't think he was going to be asked to go on the record with me, but I wasn't having that. Since I knew there would be talking point regugitated to obvious question I chose to ask him more philosophical questions about how this White House relates to new media, the lack of trust in engaging a large slice of the online LGBT community) and why more than one-way, highly massaged communication isn't working, and isn't believable when compared to this admin's actions.
During the course of the interview, Bond offered this definition of his role as White House Deputy Director for the Office of Public Engagement/LGBT liaison:
1) To advocate within the building, and 2) Let the people know where the President stands on LGBT issues and the work we are doing for equality under the law.
Well, given #2 is part of his job description, Bond has been invisible and inaccessible prior to now. His demeanor and openness about the schism, suggests the administration is under pressure to address these communication issues/problems of the White House's own making, but that no one is quite sure how to deal with it, thus this meeting and visibility of Brian Bond.
***
Brian Bond Keynote and Q&A from the 2009 Equality NC Conference
(No transcript yet). The breaking news here is his response to a question about transgender appointments to the admin in the first term. Bond said it will be "sooner than you think." (30:07) There is also a question and challenge (47:50) to the President for accepting the honorary title of Chair of the Boy Scouts, which kicks gays out of its organization .
NOTE: At some point during his Q&A, Bond steps off camera (which was on a tripod unmonitored) to answer questions, so you'll see only the empty podium; eventually he returns so he can be heard and seen via mic. Apologies.
This was chock full of talking points we've heard in the past, he told the attendees at the conference about accomplishments and promises, including:
* Hate Crimes Bill * Ryan White HIV Funding reauthorization * A fully-inclusive ENDA * DADT: it will be repealed (no timeline, of course). Bond said it "cannot be addressed with the stroke of a pen." * Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act * DOMA: Didn't mentions likelihood of passage other than "It will take a lot to get this done." Bond said in his opinion that a repeal of DOMA will need to have an inclusive ENDA passed and made into law. That, I also believe, makes strategic sense - but that doesn't preclude a vote to see where pols stand. * Health Care Reform. Issue of portability and pre-existing conditions are paramount and it's clearly relevant to LGBTs
He emphasized the type of leader Barack Obama is -- he means what he says and will hold true to his promises. He acknowledges that much needs to be done, but that there needs to be patience because the POTUS has only been in office 10 months.
He urged those in the audience to "push us and work with us." If change was easy, he said, we wouldn't need all of the advocacy groups we have -- he mentioned the NBJC, Servicemembers United, and several others, but notably, not HRC.
If you couldn't be there, this is the next best thing. Armed with my trusty video cam (and help from the Equality NC folks to get a place to set up the cam at the last minute), I recorded the main program of the Equality NC Gala. Video One: Opening remarks...
Video Two: ENC's Executive Director Ian Palmquist receives a surprise honor for his 10 years of service with the organization (around 12:45). He later presents State Senator Julia Boseman the legislative award for her leadership in getting the School Violence Prevention Act passed and signed into law. Not only that, she has represented the LGBT community in more ways than can be counted as our only out member of our General Assembly. There was a lot of laughter when Ian referred to that, since there are many closets yet to be kicked open in our legislature. (18:50).
He also noted that when the legislature was voting for a resolution honoring the late, vile, racist and homophobic former senator Jesse Helms, Julia was the ONLY lawmaker who voted No. When asked why she voted no), Boseman said the only reason that she voted no was because there was no "HELL NO." Everyone roared (at 15:55). Her acceptance speech starts at 22:25.
North Carolina State Senator Julia Boseman: Thank you. It has been quite a road. I have to tell you that ten years ago, when I decided to run...or people asked me to run, I was most concerned about how people would judge me, about how they would judge my sexual orientation. I had a friend coming to me over and over saying "Julia, you have to run, you have to run," and or "you're crazy, you're an open lesbian; I'll be eaten alive, you know. [unintelligible, laughter] But it's been a very amazing, trying, worrying journey to get here, and it's truly a gift to be here.
When I won this seat it didn't become my seat, it became our seat, and we've been able to accomplish a lot with our seat. And as Ian said, having a seat at the table has made a world of difference.
When I'm in that back room of the caucus and we're talking about the marriage amendment, it makes a difference that we're there. When we're talking about the bullying bill, it made a difference that we're there. When we have Republicans saying that comprehensive health education, sexual education means that you're going to teach all our kids how to be gay, it makes a big difference that we have a seat at the table.
Despite waking up late (the dogs didn't wake us up!), Kate and I are here at the Equality NC Conference, held at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Attendance is robust today, with a lot of young people here. This year there is a great deal of good news to report about progress towards equality in the state:
Gains in 2009
* For the sixth year in a row, a proposed state constitutional marriage amendment was killed in committee. North Carolina is the last state standing in the South without an amendment. Give a cheer for that! We have to keep it at bay because the language in this discrimination amendment would not only deny same-sex couples marriage, but it would ban civil unions or any other kind of relationship recognition.
* The School Violence Prevention Act to address bullying and harassment in schools, including acts targeting LGBT students. It marks the first time sexual orientation and gender identity are included in North Carolina law. It is the first gender identity-inclusive law in the South.
* Another step forward is the passing of the Healthy Youth Act, that enables comprehensive sex education program in grades 7-9. Before this bill, abstinence-only education was the only option. Now parents will have to opt-out of reality-based sex ed.
* The state held the line on funding for HIV prevention programs and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program will continue to provide low-income patients with the medicine they need.
Ian Palmquist delivered his "State of the State" address just moments ago. Here's the video:
At 3PM, Mandy Carter, Jimmy Creech and and I will hold on a forum, "The Dallas Principles: No Delay, No Excuses." I haven't caught up with Mandy and Jimmy yet; I will be giving attendees a tour of the Act On Principles web site; it includes a Public Whip Count for ENDA, DOMA, and DADT.
The 2009 Courage Awards were an inspiring event, and it was humbling to be honored as one of the citizen journalists (the glamour word for bloggers, don'tcha know, since we didn't have PJs on). For an organization that handles calls 24/7 in support of those who need some place to turn to when they are the victim of bias crimes, the NYC Anti-Violence Project should be hailed for its essential work for the community.
NYC AVP Courage Awards Blogger Acceptance Speech
Bil Browning (The Bilerico Project), Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God.), Andy Towle (Towleroad), and Pam Spaulding (Pam's House Blend). Award presented by Michelangelo Signorile.
As prepared, November 9, 2009 (Andy Towle); delivered by Pam Spaulding.
Because crimes against LGBT people are seldom reported on a national basis, and covered mostly in local papers, if at all, we have a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about how severe and widespread these crimes are, and the frequency at which they occur. As one of the few forums, and perhaps the most effective, that exist right now to communicate these crimes to other gay people and our heterosexual allies, we can inspire them to take action.
We will never stop standing up for my fellow LGBT citizens when they are struck down by hate, and never ease the pressure on those who would choose to strike us down, whether by words or by fists. Whether it be a young trans woman in Colorado referred to as "it" by a lover she thought she trusted and struck down in a rage, or a bar goer who beats a gay man with his fist to the surface of a parking lot late at night after a night of drinking in South Carolina, or a man who decides he doesn't like the look of a lesbian couple in Provincetown so he decides to push them through a plate glass window, or two deadbeats in Laramie, Wyoming who decide to mete justice on a young gay man by beating him and leaving him to die on a frigid fence, we will continue to report each and every story.
We are humbled and challenged by the ability to communicate the amount of information we have regarding hate crimes to such a wide audience, and we will continue to be vigilant in my continuing coverage of violence against the LGBT community. It's a vigilance that would not be possible without my fellow bloggers Andy, Joe, and Bil. We cast a wide net and I am proud to be honored alongside them.
Also honored this evening was Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, who delivered a humorous, engaging speech (I'll have the transcript soon).
If only I had the juice (and cash) of sick, bloviating, untethered-from-reality-and-the truth Glenn Beck! The New York Times Opinionator Tobin Harshaw compares my call to shut down the gAyTM to the radical, racist, bigoted diatribes of Glenn Beck. His reasoning?
"We know that hard-line conservatives are riled up. But so are hard-left Democrats and their gay allies."
"Let's just say that a little leaked email proves LGBTs are seen as the easy gAyTM to the DNC that can be manipulated, ignored, and pickpocketed as mob rule strips us of civil rights without a finger being lifted to help at the eleventh hour," adds the influential gay blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend. "It's worse - stripping resources at the time of need."
She offers a call to arms along the lines of MoveOn's:
I don't know about you, but at the very least, it's a peek at the kind the two-timing that goes on in national politics with constituencies they find "troublesome" or a perceived "liability" (save the $$$, of course). The difference is that the peek inside makes you realize how easily you've been had ...
Shut the gAyTM down; only give directly to candidates and organizations you believe are truly working in your best interest. Not a penny to the DNC; it's the only leverage you have as an average citizen. The big donors in our community have to take a stand on this kind of nonsense, otherwise, they are enabling this kind of treatment of our community. It's party-building at our expense each and every time ...
Pam, you may not like to hear it, but that last line could just as easily have come from Glenn Beck. Just goes to show: it may be entertaining to watch your enemies rip themselves apart, but you might just want to keep an eye on the guy to your left.
WTF? It's time to lay down the crack pipe, Tobin. Let's see, how do you equate a call for spending one's donation dollars wisely and directly to a candidate that supports your issues to, say, riling up teabaggers to show up in DC waving racist/Nazi signs with the President's image, calling for a revolution, stoking the fears and anxieties of the working class who are losing their jobs and homes because of the massive f*ckups of the last eight years by the man who took off in the helicopter this January as the crowds cheered "Na na na na...hey hey hey...goodbye." Please.
At least the folks in the comments there had a good time shredding the comparison.
I say to Pam Spaulding: You go girl!
Excuse the dated language, but I'm a 62-yr old straight white woman. Sorry. ;)
Anyway, why the caution at the end of this entry? Pam is right.
I worked my butt off trying to get single payer insurance at least on the horizon, something I think should be a human right - healthcare for all of us (instead of bank CEOs with $1,000 cigars).
Then Pelosi, et al. put the kibosh on a straight floor vote that was promised publicly to Rep. Weiner, who supports single payer.
Don't support people who don't support you. That is the only way a representative democracy can work. Simple as that. What are we? Fools???
***
Pam Spaulding = Glenn Beck?? Um, no sir.
Do Beck & Limbaugh and Spaulding advocate for a certain set of political ideas? Well obviously. What are they supposed to do: advocate a certain set of policies and then back the pol who'll do just the opposite?
I'm a proud liberal, and I'm gay, and I've no problem with the conservatives asking their pols to vote a in certain way. There's nothing unreasonable or RADICAL for citizens to (gasp!) demand a certain voting record from their pols & parties after spending money, time and effort getting these people elected. And yes, as it should be, people are concerned with policy issues, not coddling parties and pols or spineless centrists.
So here are the real issues from a liberal perspective: the problem with Beck and Limbaugh is that they say things that many find bigoted and untrue; and conservative dems can't explain why progressives should be motivated to support them given they will not support many of the things we care most about.
- MabPharos
Back to your original, laff-a-minute political progamming.
For those who think the postings about the personal lives of the Pam's House Blend baristas are self-indulgent, this is probably a diary to skip. This is one of those save-for-the-weekend discussion kind of posts, and it's in the spirit of Pam's House Blend being a virtual lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender coffee house -- and in our PHB virtual coffee house, the baristas (I'm a barista!) will occasionally discuss what's going on in our lives.
So that said, on Saturday I posted my diary about finding out I have a normal male karyotype. Today is another a diary about another medical appointment at the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center, San Diego, from the past week.
Specifically, Friday was my last appointment at the Weight Control clinic -- they "released" me. For those who haven't been following my weight issues for the past two years, I had Gastric Bypass surgery on February 12th, 2008. From my peak weight of 296 pounds, I've lost about 125 pounds -- I've been maintaining my weight between about 165 and 170 pounds, and have been maintaining that weight range for slightly under a year.
The next "stop" in my treatment regimen is a consult to plastic surgeon for a possible tummy tuck. I have some excess skin around my waist, and I rash a bit underneath the fold of that excess skin. So, although the tummy tuck would be ostensively to treat the propensity I have to rash under the skin fold that came into being from relatively rapid weight loss, the obvious secondary result would be having the kind of stomach I could show off in a two piece bathing suit next summer.
Now that is an odd thought. From having a body seven summers ago where only wearing swim shorts was appropriate at the beach or pool, to having a body next summer where breasts and genitalia are appropriately covered in two pieces -- and skin shows between those two pieces -- at the beach or pool...well, that's an interesting change in life experience.
So, a tummy tuck would definitely help my body to become more hourglass shaped than it is now. And, even though that wouldn't be my reason to have a tummy tuck, it is the reason a number of trans women I personally know have had that particular surgery. This is something to think about, my cissexual lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) blender friends -- what's the last surgery you had to better become your L, G, or B self? There is money pit of surgeries that trans women (like me) and trans men may have -- beyond genital reconstruction surgery -- to reshape our non-stereotypically male or female bodies to the more stereotypical norms of male and female body shapes. Consider yourself lucky if you don't need 'em.
Pop open the bubbly! Think about the thousands of political blogs out there -- including ones on the right and left, ones that are general politics and niche political blogs (race, LGBT, etc.). Pam's House Blend lands at #40, according to Technorati. Here's how it determines ranking. (TechPresident):
Because most searches are looking for items less than a month old, we're going to narrow that window in a similar way. In the past, because the data window was so long, Authority and the Top 100 lists it powered were relatively static. With the new algorithm, the resulting Authority will better reflect the fast-changing nature of the blogosphere. Its new inherent volatility will also show which blogs are rising and falling in authority, rewarding authors on posting frequency, context and linking behavior, as well as other data inputs.
And here we go...
1. HuffingtonPost (1) 2. Boing Boing 3. Daily Kos (8) 4. CNN Political Ticker (3) 5. Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish (21) 6. The Caucus (New York Times) 7. Treehugger 8. Threat Level (39) 9. Think Progress (2) 10. 538 (10) 11. Talking Points Memo 12. Washington Wire (Wall Street Journal) 13. Michelle Malkin (14) 14. Ben Smith, Politico (22) 15. The Corner (National Review Online) 16. Pajamas Media 17. Hot Air 18. Political Radar (ABC News) 19. Crooks and Liars (13) 20. Newsbusters (5) 21. Glenn Greenwald (Salon) (4) 22. Marc Ambinder (The Atlantic) 23. Swampland (Time) 24. Powerline (9) 25. Redstate
26. Americablog 27. Firedoglake (20) 28. Gateway Pundit (11) 29. Matthew Yglesias (40) 30. Hit & Run (Reason) 31. Feministing 32. TruthDig 33. Buzzmachine 34. CQ Politics 35. Open Left 36. Hullabaloo (28) 37. Talk Left 38. Taegan Goddard's Political Wire (33) 39. Mother Jones 40. Pam's House Blend 41. MyDD 42. Balloon Juice 43. Stop the ACLU (41) 44. The Next Right 45. The Moderate Voice (33) 46. Feministe 47. Real Clear Politics 48. Atrios 49. Little Green Footballs 50. Wizbang
Now, TechPresident also notes something I immediately saw about the list that makes the Blend's status even more impressive is this coffeehouse is an independent blog (i.e., written by unfunded politically-minded, coffee-stained, PJ-wearing baristas), competing on the list against corporatized, institutional,media-backed and think-tank blogs on that list. If you removed all of those funded political blogs like The Politico, CNN's Political Ticker, Think Progress, et. al., the Blend would be in the top 25 political blogs in the nation.
That's quite terrifying to me on some level to see the blog's reach and influence; after all, 1) it's not generated from inside the Beltway or a major media market; 2) it's a diverse roster of contributors; 3) it's run by a black lesbian with a lot of LGBT and race-focused content.
I wonder what has been the reason for this success? I really don't have a clue when you see the Blend stacked up against all those other influential blogs.
Here we are, the big show, and we have the Pam's House Blend Chatroom open for you to engage with fellow Blenders.
We also have a widget for you to watch the speech via livestream on CSPAN 1 (either Windows Media or Real Player). President will be on around 8PM, but you never know how these longish, talky events will run.
While I may physically be in Austin, I'm going to be right there with you all virtually courtesy of SiriusOutQ's live coverage of the event doing commentary there. I'll be checking in the chat room to see your comments as well, so it will be an interactive affair.
UPDATE: Thanks to Blender Jon, who linked to video of the piece. I'm on around 2:05; there is a lengthy part with Cleve Jones.
Boy, was this one weird day. I left my cell phone home this AM by mistake today. I never do this, even though I'm not really a person who's tied to it like a Crackberry. I figured, oh, so what, I won't need it anyway.
I was jamming along working on a database at the office when an email came in from a CNN producer for Anderson Cooper 360. I don't usually hear from broadcast media much aside from radio. She wanted to speak with me about my thoughts regarding the President and the HRC dinner and the march, LGBT rights, etc.
I emailed her that I couldn't make long-distance phone calls at work, so she'd have to call me when I took a break (to eat my lunch, an apple - yummy Fuji from Washington State, Lurleen). So the phone rang not long thereafter and we ran through a set of questions you'd expect, then as we're about to wrap up she asks me if I can do an on-camera interview. Ugh. See, the reason I'm not on the air much is because of the logistics. In Durham the only two places that I know have satellite uplinks are WTVD, which is not far from my office but doesn't allow CNN to use them for whatever reason, and I think the university has the capability as well, but I don't know how using that unit's services works.
Anyway, the only two appearances I've done for CNN required driving to the other side of Raleigh to a studio that is at least 30 miles away and the traffic is bad at that time of day. So she said she'd look into it to do something around 4-4:30. I figured that this was the nail in the coffin. She'll never find a way to do this.
For me the best part of attending my statewide Pride celebration (NC holds it in the fall since our summers are so damn hot) is capturing the batsh*t fundies along the parade route.
This year, I managed to do that, but I took the pix while riding in one of the cars in the parade this year, as I was asked to deliver the keynote address. Oy. Really, I don’t understand why people think blogger=public speaker, but not all of us are extroverts. More on that later.
This year’s crop of bible-beating losers was interesting.
Despite the reputation we have in the South as being backwards, the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) is progressive. Well, OK, Raleigh really isn’t; it’s the one point in the Triangle that needs a bit of ass-kicking.
I rode in the “celebrity” jeep with Stormy Ellis, who is the only out Assistant District Attorney in the entire state of NC—of course she is in Durham. The Grand Marshall of the parade, Mark Kleinschmidt, is an out gay Chapel Hill town council member who is running for mayor there this year.
Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez Sr., who is one rocking supporter of the LGBT community, spoke; the officers at the parade volunteered to be there and those on the force who are LGBT are not in the closet.
So in this environment, our 2009 fundies found themselves wildly outnumbered; poor Billy Ball didn’t even bring a bullhorn. Talk about unprepared. But we had these new ones (one reader called them Agent Smiths with “all their asinine Matrix sunglasses") who really wore the loser label quite well…
And the guy carrying this sign is a three-time attendee; he also shows up at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival here. Note the irony of Mormons on his list of Hell-bound groups; wonder if they realize all that help on Prop 8 and other marriage equality repeal efforts around the country won’t save them from Hell, according to the hardcore fundies.
In terms of the keynote, rewritten over and over up until the last moment, I was definitely nervous, since I wasn’t delivering a traditional rah-rah keynote. After all, if you give me the podium, knowing my content, you may be asking for trouble—or at least a generous amount of stepping on some third rails.
Last Saturday [9/20/2009] I had the incredible opportunity to hear civil rights legend Congressman John Lewis speak. This man of deep faith and principle has shed blood, has been beaten unconscious and risked his life and limb repeatedly during the civil rights movement.
He never hesitated, and the safety stakes were a helluva lot higher then. John Lewis believes in full equality for the LGBT community and walks the walk. Congressman Lewis recalled standing at the Lincoln Memorial where he stood with Dr. Martin Luther King. When Lewis took his turn at the podium, he said:
"You tell us to wait, you tell us to be patient. We cannot wait; we cannot be patient. " You want your freedom and you want it now.
No government, be it federal or state, should tell a person who you can marry or who you cannot marry. You have a right to fall in love and get married.
So our struggle is all one struggle. It is not a struggle that lasts just for one day, one week, or one month or one year. It is a struggle of a lifetime, to build a beloved community. A community at peace with itself that recognizes dignity and the worth of every human being.
But perhaps the most powerful message was to those in the LGBT community who are waiting for equality to come to them -- Lewis charged us to seize the moment, to not accept being told to wait your turn, it's time to demand your rights through your representative, and most of all take personal responsibility -- the message we all heard was loud and clear.
Too many people in our community are in the closet waiting for someone else to do the heavy lifting and LEAD. Many of us work for private businesses or institutions that provide protection from being fired for being openly gay, yet so many are still in the closet. They are socially out on the weekends, but have no interest in being out during the week.
As you see, I quoted the wise, uplifting and motivating words of John Lewis because it dovetailed so well with the message that I wanted to deliver at Pride.
There has been a tremendous response to the exclusive video that I shot while at the Equality Alabama gala. Louise, the keyboard-tapping barista that she is, did a transcript of the meat of Rep. Lewis's speech, so I wanted to re-post that video with the transcript here. It is below the fold.
During the Equality Alabama Gala on Saturday, several awards were handed out, including a media award, given to WBHM for its radio series "Gay and Straight in Alabama". Accepting the award was producer and reporter Bradley George. On the series:
It's been a whirlwind spring for advocates of same sex marriage. Four states -- Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire -- recognized such marriages. That flurry of activity is drawing attention to the concerns of gays and lesbians. But that conversation seems largely absent in Alabama.
And it's true -- the lives LGBT people lead in deep Red and even Purple states are largely ignored by folks in large gay metro areas where rights are often expansive and taken for granted, including civil unions, DPs, etc. These are rights LGBTs in Alabama can only dream about at the present time. The five-part series of reports (with another segment that was a call-in program) touched on these aspects of LGBT life in Alabama.
Domestic Partner Benefits. Diversity statements or equal opportunity policies are not unusual, but for some gays and lesbians those words are not enough.
Spirituality. For many gays and lesbians, coming out is an overwhelming experience. They face, family, friends, coworkers and sometimes the most daunting of all, their church. The message delivered from the pulpit leaves many at spiritual crossroads. Some feel obligated to be someone they're not. Others try to decide what part of their spirituality to keep and what to discard.
A religious black woman, Marie Sutton, discusses Gay Marriage. It's hard not to get excited about a wedding, especially if you're a woman who loves romance. But for WBHM commentator Marie Sutton one invitation turned into months of conversation about homosexuality, the bible and the meaning of "love thy neighbor."
Bullying Gay Students. It's a phrase many kids use almost daily: 'That's so gay'. Experts say that the use of homophobic slurs in schools is on the rise. Two 11-year-olds recently committed suicide after being bullied with anti-gay taunts. And though a new law requires the Alabama Department of Education to come up with a policy prohibiting harassment, that new policy isn't likely to mention sexual orientation.
The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" culture in Alabama regarding sexual orientation. Don't ask, don't tell' is a phrase often associated with the military. But it also applies to the lives of gay and lesbian civilians living in Alabama. Those who are out face possible discrimination. Others spend their lives hiding their true selves.
At the links you can both listen to the pieces and read the transcripts.
Bradley George came up to me after the dinner to say that he reads PHB (and that he also lived in NC -- btw, in the district of horrorshow Virginia Foxx). Part of his research landed him at the Blend on my post about journalist Bob Moser's excellent article for OUT Magazine in 2004, "Unsweet Homo Alabama," which asked the pertinent and timely question "Is Alabama really the worst place to be a gay person in Bush's America?" He wanted to find voices in the state to talk about life as it stands now. I did a short interview with Bradley about this:
Surf over to WBHM and listen/read about the series and discuss...
***
I gave two talks at the conference earlier in the day. Obviously I couldn't blog or Tweet it; Zach at Sweet Homo Alabama did during "Online Activism."
It was an amazing evening with many old and new friends at Equality Alabama's Gala Saturday night. The highlight was keynote speaker Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who is a native of Troy, Alabama. His played a legendary fearless role in the civil rights struggles of the 60s -- and he is man who believes in LGBT civil equality with equal conviction -- he immediately signed on to DOMA repeal legislation.
This is significant in a day when there is a clear dearth of support in the religious black community; Lewis has the moral standing that a homophobe in the pulpit like Bishop Harry Jackson can never touch. John Lewis took batons to the head, was beaten to unconsciousness multiple times for equality -- courage and moral conviction that Jackson and his fellow charlatans of bigotry are bereft of.
Rep. Lewis spoke eloquently about the simplicity of the government staying out of the lives of gay and lesbian couples -- there is no need to "save" marriage from two people who simply want to love one another and be legally affirmed in the same way that heterosexual couples are when they marry.
But perhaps the most powerful message was to those in the LGBT community who are waiting for equality to come to them -- Lewis charged us to seize the moment, do not accept being told to wait your turn, to demand your rights through your representative, and most of all take personal responsibility -- the message we all heard was loud and clear. Too many LGBTs are in the closet waiting for someone else to do the heavy lifting and LEAD. We are all capable of leading by kicking that closet door open. The main meat of the speech begins around 5:00 -- and you will want to hear it all. The man had the audience spellbound.
John Lewis could have let someone else take the baton to the head for his rights. He didn't; his rights were too important to him to NOT lead by example. I asked State Rep. Patricia Todd thought of his wake up call to our community. She agreed that there is no excuse for our so-called leaders, our elected representatives who say they are our allies but lack the political spine to do the right thing should watch this speech as required education. But we also noted to one another that even more critical was Lewis's call to you - those of us who rail about what someone else can do to lead or move the ball forward and don't step up, or take even small steps to be interested in determining the fate of your civil rights. Where is the fire in the belly of our movement? It's not in DC, it's all of you, if you choose to do a tenth, hell, one-hundredth of what John Lewis showed in terms of personal courage to fight for his rights against hostility day and night.
Kate and I spoke briefly to the Congressman to thank him for the inspiring words that energized the room.
I asked Rep. Lewis what, as an LGBT person of color can do to encourage more of "us" to come out, to address the issues of faith and reconciliation with one's sexual orientation when there is both hostility toward faith in many slices of the out gay community and denial of the impact of the closet in the black community. As I'm about to deliver the keynote address
at NC Pride next Saturday, I sought his wisdom about the painful conundrum for out POC who trying to make a difference and are getting blasted on all sides. He said that as he travels to conferences he sees more and more out black and gay representation, steady, but still very slowly. He said that the walls are slowly breaking down among pastors who are seeing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" social policy within the community can not hold sway forever. As more than one person mentioned to me today, the same DADT about homosexuality exists not just in the religious black community, but in the Deep South at large.
Finally, the video of one of the interesting panels I was on at Netroots Nation has turned up (sorry no transcript). I did discuss the whole dustup over having to rewrite the Blend's TOS. Lots of fun listening to the trials and tribulations of how women who blog often pay much more attention to maintaining civility on their blogs (and seem to be expected to) whereas blogs by men often are a free for all.
A few years ago, male bloggers 'round the liberal bloglandia were wondering out loud, "Where are the women bloggers?" Many of the women in the feminist and progressive blogospheres responded with frustration—we were there, and had been, the whole time. Today, the blogosphere looks awfully different, as feminist bloggers are increasingly mainstreamed and able to exert stronger influence on online discourse. But "blogging while feminist" isn't always easy, and feminist bloggers have faced harassment and threats that are uniquely gendered and sexualized. Feminists who have been most successful at running bigger blogs have also been mostly young, white, heterosexual and middle-class—so their issues have been presented to the mainstream progressive movement as the whole of feminism. This panel will look at what has changed, what hasn't and who remains on the edges of progressive blogging. It will also examine how female bloggers—and feminist bloggers in particular—are treated in mainstream spaces, and what we can do about it.
NOTE FROM PAM: Lieutenant Dan Choi, the active duty Infantry officer, Iraq vet, and Arabic speaker who came out and was sent on the discharge path because of DADT -- under Commander in Chief President Barack Obama -- has penned a piece for the Blend about his view that a march on Washington is essential.
On Thursday, at Netroots Nation, former President Bill Clinton made it plain. The gay community did not deliver the political support in 1993 to prevent “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and DOMA. I personally take that as a challenge. I am marching on Washington.
I recognize that my perspective is different from others. I am new to the gay rights movement. It was less than two years ago that I fell in love and realized the true cost of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy – that my family was not really part of the Army family I had come to believe in. And it was only a few months ago that I came out publicly and, much to my surprise, found myself considered a “gay activist.”
And my experience working against Prop 8 in my home state of California was eye-opening for me. It turns out there are many others like me, young LGBT people who have been galvanized by the visible injustice of DADT, Prop 8, and DOMA. We are horrified, we are electrified, we are ready and eager to enlist in this fight – but like any new recruits, we need to be trained, and we need to be mobilized.
The Equality March is absolutely essential to me for two reasons.
First, because, for so many of us, this is our first time raising our voices. We need to stand together, in our nation’s capital, and claim our place as part of this magnificent national movement, at exactly this moment. More experienced activists and leaders need to mobilize, motivate, and train the less experienced – we all have to feel in their bones how critical this work is. And we need to come together as a community, so that when we go back to our cities, suburbs, and small towns, we remain part of the larger effort that spans the country.
Training is critical, and Equality Across America is committed to using this valuable time to provide information, workshops, and networking so that those who attend will go home ready to make things happen in their communities and states.
Second, the Senate hearings on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” convene in October. For LGBT veterans, NOW is the time to be visible for those who are invisible, to be heard while others must stay silent. This is a “mandatory formation” for all vets who gave up their service because they could no longer live a lie, or who were hounded out because of who they loved, and for those who support them.
I understand why veterans of the LGBT rights movement feel that we don’t need a national march. The concern that this will divert effort from other important work – passing marriage equality at the statehouses, for one.
But I disagree with the notion that making the trek to DC will take away from our other efforts. In fact, it will focus and re-energize the work we will do when we get home.
2009 can be a milestone, a tipping point. This is the year when we step up to our full citizenship as Americans: marrying and raising families, serving in our military. Join us in Washington on October 11 to tell the whole nation.
My transcription of this interview now available under the fold.... Louise
"'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' clearly isn't working for our military, and it hinders national security and military readiness at a time when America is fighting in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. My time in Iraq taught me that our military needs and deserves the best and the brightest who are willing to serve- and that means all Americans, regardless of their orientation. Discharging brave and talented servicemembers from our armed forces is contrary to the values that our military fights for and that our nation holds dear." -- Congressman Patrick J. Murphy
On Friday at Netroots Nation I had the pleasure of interviewing the main sponsor of the legislation to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell (H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act), Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA-6th). I asked him about whether we'll be able to track public whip counts, Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness and whether he expects her to represent the opposing viewpoint on the Hill again during hearings, and his commitment to get rid of a law that is affecting our national security. I also asked him about his opposition to a stop-loss order while Congress addresses repeal.
On Friday at Netroots Nation I interviewed Krystal Ball, who is running to represent the 1st district in Virginia. She is a straight ally running a campaign with strong public support for LGBT rights and reproductive freedom.
We must have a balance of experience and idealism in Congress, with multiple generations represented. Right now, those under 30, with their unique perspective and combination of idealism and pragmatism have no voice in Congress.
Krystal will be the voice for grandparents, parents and young people; for anyone with an interest in the next generation. She will stand up for marriage equality, for education funding, for technology based rural job growth and for protecting the environment. When everyone in Washington talks about how "future generations" are going to have to live with the environmental mess, failure of social security and huge deficits, they are talking about a generation currently not represented in Congress. We have fewer women in Congress than Afghanistan or Rwanda! Let's change that.
She is running to unseat a real anti-gay winger, Rob Wittman. From his family values page:
As a member of the Values Action Team, I will continue to support pro-life, pro-family legislation. I will work in defense of parental rights, religious liberty, and the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Furthermore, I support efforts to curb internet pornography and obscenity.
As usual, he represents social conservatism that wants government out of business, but peeping in your bedroom and your doctor's office.
Krystle brings a lot of enthusiasm into this race (she's 27) and wants to encourage the youth vote, which usually needs quite a bit of motivation to vote consistently (outside of this last presidential election) and Ball has a novel motivator -- The Krystal Ball Student Loan Challenge. Whoever raises the most money for Krystal by September 30, 2009 will win something near and dear to their pocketbooks. Their student loans will be paid off -- up to $50,000.
This time, it was USAir, thank you very much. When we arrived at the gate the agent said that there was some sort of delay (not weather, not technical, not crew over hours), so I have no idea what the problem was. But get this -- when I asked her if there was a chance it would be cancelled, she said
"Oh no, the weather is fine, there's a good plane on the ground. It will just be about an hour before it leaves Pittsburgh, and the flight is 57 minutes to RDU."
So Kate and I went to wait. Grabbed an ice cream at Carvel, walked back to the gate and the sign just had the flight info on it, and an 800 number beneath. Not good. I called and got the brain-deadening -- "the flight has been cancelled." I hung up and laughed so loud Kate had to tell me to pipe down.
The line of weary people waiting at the gate for the agent to reroute them. I called that 800 number back and waited on hold for a while, but finally got an agent and she couldn't book me on any USAir flight today or on any other carrier today. So we're going on a 6:18 flight that will get there (hopefully) at 7:40 AM. That will not give me much time to get the luggage, cab it to the conference center to check in, get my NN09 registration and to my panel by 9AM ("From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States: Fighting for Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights Across America").
Of course we already boarded the dogs, so flush that $ down the drain.
***
Here's an item I came across while I was not airborne...a video of one of the local crazies. Facing South captures a teabagger/birther/nutbag protestor at a town hall held by Brad Miller (D-NC):
A protester at Rep. Brad Miller's "town hall" meeting in Raleigh, NC compares Obama to Hitler and says Democratic reform legislation will make people "55 and older will not be allowed to have hip replacements" and other surgeries. She also echoes erroneous claims that the legislation will allow government "grim reapers" (Sarah Palin's alleged "death panels") will tell the elderly to "take a pill and just die." She also bemoans the fact that she "was accosted by a woman who was Jewish.
I learned not too long ago that I will receive a 2009 Courage Award from the New York City Anti-Violence Project "for the significant contributions you have made to raising awareness about anti-violence work." I really appreciate the recognition of the LGBT blogosphere and its role in the fight for civil equality.
The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) will hold its 13th annual Courage Awards on Monday, November 9, 2009. AVP’s Courage Awards were created over a decade ago to honor outstanding individuals, organizations and corporations whose work on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) communities—particularly on behalf of victims and survivors of bias and hate violence, police misconduct, domestic violence, sexual assault, rape and police misconduct—has made a profound impact on all of our lives. This year’s Courage Awardswill be held on Monday, November 9, 2009. The evening includes cocktails and a light supper for approximately 400 attendees and a program featuring the award presentations.
At this year’s event, AVP has the privilege of honoringPulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes and The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures, for his truthful and cutting edge political writing and analysis; Weblog creators Bil Browning (Bilerico.com), Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God.blogspot.com), Pam Spaulding (pamshouseblend.com) and Andy Towle, (towleroad.com) in recognition of the impact of LGBTQH weblogs have made in the fight for civil rights and against violence in our communities; and Clifford Chance, for their commitment to LGBTQH rights and extensive work on behalf of the communities AVP serves.
AVP was founded 29 years ago as a community response to a number of hate-motivated incidents targeting gay men in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Today, AVP is the nation's largest victim services assistance and advocacy agency for the LGBTQH communities and the coordinator of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
Past Courage Award honorees are: The Ali Forney Center, Rose Arce / CNN, “Bash’d: A Gay Rap Opera,” BRAVO TV, Sam Champion /Eyewitness News and Good Morning America, Alan Cumming, Lea DeLaria, Deutsche Bank, New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane, Verna Eggleston, Eve Ensler, Law & Order: SVU , Linda Fairstein, Harvey Fierstein, HBO, Richard Haymes, Barbara Hughes, Howie Katz, Surina Khan, Bruce Kogan, New York State Assembly Member Deborah Glick, In The Life, Matt Foreman, Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, Kenneth Monteiro, MTV: Music Television, Honorable Gavin Newsom, NY1 News, NYPD Special Victims Unit, NYS Assembly Member Daniel J. O’ Donnell, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, NYPD Sally Osborn, New York City Council Member Bill Perkins, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, People of Color in Crisis, Inc., Frank Rich, Edgar Rodriguez and GOAL (Gay Officers Action League), Mariana Romo-Carmona, Safe Horizon, Cristina Saralegui, Regina Shavers, NYPD Detective Tosano (Tony) Simonetti, Judy Shepard, Richard Socarides, Showtime Networks, Inc., Stonewall Community Foundation, Sundance Channel, Tim Sweeney, Emil Wilbekin, Willow House and George C. Wolfe.
There's a lot of hard work and committed activism going on in virtual space, a medium that is alternately rendered invisible and deemed irrelevant by political groups and institutions, or seen as troublesome or a threat, depending on which way the wind is blowing on a given day. It is gratifying and humbling considering that it's also also a movement without a structural permanent base of support to legitimize it.
Very few bloggers can make a living doing what we do, and it's almost frightening that such a tenuous slice of the movement can garner such kudos when any of us, due to life circumstances, might just have to put the keyboard down and walk away leaving a void.
All we have to do is look at Steve Gilliard, a bright light in the progressive blogosphere, who was here one day writing and then gone.
But while we're here, we are working hard to make a difference for the future in the real world.
Autumn Sandeen and your blogmistress will represent the Blend at Netroots Nation, held this year on August 13-16 at the David L. Lawrence convention center in Pittsburgh, PA. This is the fourth annual gathering of the progressive Netroots (the first two cons were known as YearlyKos). This year, Kate will join the fun as well.
It's a few days of blogger madness, attended by powerhouse full-time bloggers, part-time keyboard jockeys, readers, fans, politicians, authors, journalists and MSM types. This is a really large conference, with so many sessions, caucuses, screenings and parties it's hard to make decisions on which to attend.
I am on three panels this year and co-hosting the LGBT caucus.
Wednesday, August 12th LGBT Blogger Summit New Organizing Institute
Autumn will arrive a day early to participate in a pre-Netroots Nation LGBT blogger summit hosted by the New Organizing Institute and in partnership with Chris Bowers of Open Left and Mike Rogers of PageOne Q. This summit focuses on important upcoming legislative fights around the country. (I would have loved to attend this, alas, I didn't have enough paid time off available to add another day onto the trip. I try to look on the bright side -- given the economy, at least I can say I have a job.)
From the passage of Prop 8 to the election of Barack Obama to the White House, the 2008 election had a profound impact on the fight for full LGBT equality in all 50 states. This panel will tackle how we win and defend marriage equality state-by-state and how we build momentum for full LGBT equality across America. What are the lessons learned from the Prop 8 loss in California that Maine and other states can learn in their battle for marriage equality? How will we restore marriage equality to California? And how can the netroots help win these battles?
Thursday, August 13th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM LGBT Caucus, 310 Michael Rogers, Pam Spaulding
Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.
A few years ago, male bloggers 'round the liberal bloglandia were wondering out loud, "Where are the women bloggers?" Many of the women in the feminist and progressive blogospheres responded with frustration—we were there, and had been, the whole time. Today, the blogosphere looks awfully different, as feminist bloggers are increasingly mainstreamed and able to exert stronger influence on online discourse. But "blogging while feminist" isn't always easy, and feminist bloggers have faced harassment and threats that are uniquely gendered and sexualized. Feminists who have been most successful at running bigger blogs have also been mostly young, white, heterosexual and middle-class—so their issues have been presented to the mainstream progressive movement as the whole of feminism. This panel will look at what has changed, what hasn't and who remains on the edges of progressive blogging. It will also examine how female bloggers—and feminist bloggers in particular—are treated in mainstream spaces, and what we can do about it.
This panel will discuss police abuse, racial profiling in stop-and-frisks, the Rockefeller drug laws and mandatory sentencing, immigration sweeps and detention, and opportunities for organizing online and offline. What, if any, steps has the Obama administration taken to address these problems, and what legislative and economic actions should our government take? How do the issues intersect in their effect on people of color? What political, legislative and organizing opportunities are there to challenge these policies?
On Friday I'm definitely attending this:
Friday, August 14th 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Screening Series, 406 Screening: Outrage Michael Rogers, Michelangelo Signorile
From Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) comes OUTRAGE, featuring journalist/blogger Michael Rogers and Sirus/XM radio host Michelangelo Signorile. The film is an indictment of closeted politicians who campaign against the LGBT community and reveals the hidden lives of some of the nation's most powerful policymakers. OUTRAGE looks at the harm they inflict and profiles those who seek to expose their hypocrisy. The film probes the psychology of these double lives, the ethics of outing, and the double standards that the media upholds in its coverage of the sex lives of gay public figures. A Q&A with Rogers and Signorile will follow the screening.
I made the comment below in the reposting of the Trans-ghettoized diary. Pam commented to me privately this past Tuesday on how this comment should likely be unburied from that comment thread, and put on the front page. Dyssonance made the same comment a week ago Friday. So, I'm unburying this -- but I waited for the weekend when we take a little more liberty to do personal diaries.
Basically, this was a response to a comment by Eshto, where that blender commented that the Trans-ghettoized seemed to be a post that called for civility towards trans blenders, and that Eshto thought some of the comments behind why I originally wrote the Trans-ghettoized diary were really over the line. Here's how I responded a week ago Friday to Eshto's comment in that thread:
It's like mothering. We think of mothering as a virtue, but the reality is that you can over-mother a child.
Definitely, the pendulum has swung very widely in the past two weeks. As a group, we at PHB went from piecemeal, sometimes "over-mothering" of threads to, as a group, not "mothering" the threads at all.
I know for me, saying "I'm sorry for my many mistakes" at this point is part of being civil. But, being sorry for "over-mothering" our threads really isn't enough.
It's the repenting that's the more important part. Sure, changing the system we use to moderate will minimize the chance that a "cis- scenario" repeats here. But too, maintaining awareness of my personal potential to over-reach and "over-mother" -- especially when I feel personally stressed -- is going to be another part.
So, it's sort of a two-part fix. One part is The Blend's systematic fix for moderating. The other part is more personal -- changing my perspective and my actions. It's the repenting of my past mistakes that is going to be key for my part in maintaining my own personal civility here at PHB.
As if there were safety in stupidity alone. --Henry David Thoreau
The systematic fix to how we moderate was implemented on Monday, July 13th with the update to the Pam's House Blend Terms And Conditions Of Service (TOS), as well as the blenderReport TOS Violations section (and its Submit Report button) up in the top of the right column.
But, I guess I need to clarify something. And that is, if I actually express that I've made a mistake, or express I was wrong, implicitly I'm saying I'm sorry, and I'm already thinking about repenting -- about how to change my thoughts and behavior so I don't repeat my mistakes.
Sometimes, I don't say the words "I'm sorry" because I think that's understood in admitting I've made a mistake; that it's understood that I have a habit of alwaysrepenting of my admitted mistakes.
But, you blenders shouldn't be expected to attempt to figure out what I implicitly meant. During these past weeks I should have explicitly stated that "I'm sorry." I should have also stated that I have been working out with Pam and my fellow barists systematic fixes to the moderation problem, and that my act of repentance -- that change of my thoughts and my behavior -- was intended as a follow-on to that should-have-been-expressed "I'm sorry."
Basically, I didn't clearly state what I should have clearly stated.
So, I've listened (and listen) to Pam, and I've listened to Dyssonance. So here that comment from the Trans-ghettoized has made it to the front page as its own diary.
So, if it's not clear what I'm saying:
• I made many mistakes at The Blend in "over-mothering" our comment threads for civility.
• I'm sorry I made those mistakes.
• Pam and my peer baristas have implemented a systematic change to way we moderate so the moderation will be more clear, fair, and even-handed with our new Terms And Conditions Of Service (TOS).
• I'm now very aware of my tendency to want to "over-mother" our threads to tamp down anger. Between those systematic changes to the TOS, and that new awareness of that "over-mothering" tendency of mine, my approach to moderating has changed dramaticly.
It really is the repenting of my past mistakes that is going to be key for my part in maintaining my own personal civility here at PHB.
I had a chance to sit down with Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (aka the LGBT liaison) 
Despite waking up late (the dogs didn't wake us up!), Kate and I are here at the Equality NC Conference, held at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Attendance is robust today, with a lot of young people here. This year there is a great deal of good news to report about progress towards equality in the state:
The 2009 Courage Awards were an inspiring event, and it was humbling to be honored as one of the citizen journalists (the glamour word for bloggers, don'tcha know, since we didn't have PJs on). For an organization that handles calls 24/7 in support of those who need some place to turn to when they are the victim of bias crimes, the NYC Anti-Violence Project should be hailed for its essential work for the community.
"We know that hard-line conservatives are riled up. But so are hard-left Democrats and their gay allies."
This is one of those save-for-the-weekend discussion kind of posts, and it's in the spirit of Pam's House Blend being a virtual lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender coffee house -- and in our PHB virtual coffee house, the baristas (I'm a barista!) will occasionally discuss what's going on in our lives.
So, although the tummy tuck would be ostensively to treat the propensity I have to rash under the skin fold that came into being from relatively rapid weight loss, the obvious secondary result would be having the kind of stomach I could show off in a two piece bathing suit next summer.
Pop open the bubbly! Think about the thousands of political blogs out there -- including ones on the right and left, ones that are general politics and niche political blogs (race, LGBT, etc.). Pam's House Blend lands at #40, according to Technorati. Here's how it determines ranking. (
Here we are, the big show, and we have the 
While I may physically be in Austin, I'm going to be right there with you all virtually courtesy of 
Boy, was this one weird day. I left my cell phone home this AM by mistake today. I never do this, even though I'm not really a person who's tied to it like a Crackberry. I figured, oh, so what, I won't need it anyway.
For me the best part of attending my statewide Pride celebration (NC holds it in the fall since our summers are so damn hot) is capturing the batsh*t fundies along the parade route.
Last Saturday [9/20/2009] I had the incredible opportunity to hear civil rights legend Congressman John Lewis speak. This man of deep faith and principle has shed blood, has been beaten unconscious and risked his life and limb repeatedly during the civil rights movement. 
During the Equality Alabama Gala on Saturday, several awards were handed out, including a media award, given to WBHM for its radio series "
Why I support the March on Washington
This time, it was USAir, thank you very much. When we arrived at the gate the agent said that there was some sort of delay (not weather, not technical, not crew over hours), so I have no idea what the problem was. But get this -- when I asked her if there was a chance it would be cancelled, she said
As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
