Pam Spaulding's Blog, page 38

Happy Birthday, Harvey

Cross-posted at Daily Kos.

Today would have been Harvey Milk's 81st birthday. His famous "Hope Speech" was given at a San Diego dinner of the gay caucus of the California Democratic Caucus on March 10, 1978. In light of last night's vote in Minnesota, here is an excerpt of that speech.

Why are we here? Why are gay people here? And what's happening? What's happening to me is the antithesis of what you read about in the papers and what you hear about on the radio. You hear about and read about this movement to the right. That we must band together and fight back this movement to the right. And I'm here to go ahead and say that what you hear and read is what they want you to think because it's not happening. The major media in this country has talked about the movement to the right so the legislators think that there is indeed a movement to the right and that the Congress and the legislators and the city councils will start to move to the right the way the major media want them. So they keep on talking about this move to the right.

So let's look at 1977 and see if there was indeed a move to the right. In 1977, gay people had their rights taken away from them in Miami. But you must remember that in the week before Miami and the week after that, the word homosexual or gay appeared in every single newspaper in this nation in articles both pro and con. In every radio station, in every TV station and every household. For the first time in the history of the world, everybody was talking about it, good or bad. Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people's opinion. In those two weeks, more good and bad, but more about the word homosexual and gay was written than probably in the history of mankind. Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice. In 1977 we saw a dialogue start. In 1977, we saw a gay person elected in San Francisco. In 1977 we saw the state of Mississippi decriminalize marijuana. In 1977, we saw the convention of conventions in Houston. And I want to know where the movement to the right is happening.

Once you have a dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice. If we are going to win in Minnesota, and likely in North Carolina, we must, must come out. This has not changed in the 33 years since the Briggs initiative. The youth of this country are growing up with knowledge of their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered friends, family members, parents, and yes, role models. For the first time ever, a Gallup poll show that a majority in this country favors marriage equality. That's great, but it's not enough. This is another uphill battle. We cannot count on the DNC establishment to help us fight this atrocity. We cannot count on Democratic candidates to speak out against this. We cannot count on a huge coalition of progressive religious allies to speak out and raise millions of dollars to fight this.

What can we count on? With the Republican drive to disenfranchise voters who trend progressive, we can count on more difficult GOTV efforts. We can count on Maggie and Brian to recycle ads saying that LGBT people hurt children. We can count on millions of dollars of mormon and catholic money to pour into the state, along with a lengthy court battle to disguise donor identities.

But we can also count on ourselves. We have the legacy of Harvey Milk, Bayard Rustin, Frank Kameny, Barbara Jordan, Leonard Matlovich, Del Martin, Phyllis Lyon, and Sylvia Rivera to uphold. The current generation has its own heroes and trailblazers such as Kim Coco Iwamoto, Kecia Cunningham, Pedro Zamora, Micah Kellner, and Anthony Woods. We as a community have come further in the last 30 years than anyone would have thought possible. We have fought prejudice and discrimination enshrined into law, we have fought AIDS and the stigma and silence surrounding it, we have fought Don't Ask, Don't Tell, we have fought for our families and our lives time and time again. We will continue to fight, and we will still be here long after Maggie and her hateful minions have gone from this earth.

We're still here, still fighting, still carrying the movement forward. Happy Birthday, Harvey.

 

 

 

A statement from the Harvey Milk Foundation is below the fold.

 

Milk Foundation Statement on 2nd Anniversary of Harvey Milk Day

2nd Official Harvey Milk Day Statement, May 22, 2011 by Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk and Founder and President of the Harvey B. Milk Foundation

Today my uncle would have been 81 years old.  However he gave us his life 32 years ago, knowing that the first of any civil rights movement, who so clearly and loudly proclaim their right to equality, most often meets a violent and sudden end.  I am frequently asked if I am deeply saddened that my uncle Harvey did not get to see all those elected officials who would come to stand on his shoulders or all the places where the light of equality burns brighter than the darkness of antiquated prejudice, and I have long replied, he did see those open and proud candidates running for office and winning and he did see those cities and states and nations that would etch equality into both their laws and their societal values, for he could not have given his life without seeing and visualizing that dream, for he would leave us with a compass based on hope, hope born of bullets, not smashing into his brain, but smashing our masks and our fear of authenticity.

81 years ago Harvey came into this world with all the promise and potential that my grandparents Minnie and Bill could have imagined, and he also came into a world that soon would be rocked by a global war driven at its very core by fear, division, and separation.  My uncle was profoundly affected by the capacity of communities and nations to turn on each other when the narrative of lies and the myths of prejudice were fed around the globe during WWII.  He also was able to see at a young age, visible through his college writing, that we could learn through collaboration, understanding and inclusiveness that we are not weakened by our differences, in fact that our potential is only reached when the full diversity of all those that make up our communities are celebrated.  And today it is this celebration of our diversity that Harvey dreamed, the celebration of all of us, not in-spite of our differences, but because of our differences.  Today is the celebration not of a people or community or nation being better then another, but a celebration of the knowledge that we are so much less when we do not embrace, without qualification, all members of our unique and varied humanity.

My uncle’s legacy has many monuments, all those openly LGBT elected officials, all those who live an authentic and open life, all those strong allies, like Leader Nancy Pelosi, that fight to keep us embraced, and the books and the plays, and the operas, and the movies–both the academy award winning 1984 Documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk and 2008’s MILK have given new generations the central story of Harvey, of his dream, of his willingness to give his life for that dream, and by telling his story, young people just starting out in life, those of us in the middle of life, and even the elders of our communities were all given a strong reminder of hope, the hope to fulfill our potential of equality.  President Obama said it best,  “Harvey gave us hope, All of us, Hope unashamed, Hope unafraid” when he gave me Harvey’s Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Even more monumental has been the number of openly LGBT Presidential appointments made in these past two years and the unprecedented level of inclusiveness this White House has shown, not just to Americans but the global LGBT community. My uncle was very much with us as we watched the President and then Speaker Pelosi sign the Matthew Shepard Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell or when the President’s Department of Justice declared that laws that discriminate against LGBT Americans must be reviewed with a higher level of scrutiny in Federal courts to provide greater protection against discrimination.  These are the tangible monuments to Harvey’s legacy that have the impact to effect change, real societal change.

Today California is joined with fair minded communities across the country and out onto the global stage in celebrating not only the birthday of my uncle but also his dream, a dream that remains alive in so many of us.  The Harvey Milk Foundation set out this year to grow the recognition of Harvey’s story and the hope it inspires and to encourage a national and global celebration of that hope.  With a group of some 25 dedicated volunteers from around the country, mostly young, mostly filled with the belief in the possible.  With no paid staff the Foundation set out to reach around the globe in the belief that Harvey Milk Day can give hope to everyone, everyone who has ever felt different, or has felt that they did not belong, or were not welcome as who they really are. It is a day of recognition and appreciation of our own authenticity and that of others, a day to collaborate and reach out to those who still struggle with either self acceptance or societal acceptance.  A day to put hate and separation in their place, a place of learning of wrongs righted and reminders not to repeat them, a day to create the dream and vision of what is possible, even in the all too many places around the world where it is still so very hard to visualize that dream, as it was in the time is the US when my uncle spoke out over 35 years ago.  I humbly thank all of us who work collaboratively in dreaming what my uncle dreamed, for seeing, visualizing and striving to reach that day of full equality, equality that is unqualified.

New York Times launches 'Coming Out': Gay Teenagers, in Their Own Words project

On Monday, the New York Times will begin its look at the experiences of LGBT teenagers with its series 'Coming Out': Gay Teenagers, in Their Own Words. The Times is promoting the series -- its PR firm reached out to the Blend to promote its kickoff with a description of its scope:

The Times spoke with or e-mailed close to 100 gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender teenagers from all of parts of the country - from rural areas to urban centers, from supportive and hostile environments. The newspaper contacted them through various advocacy groups around the country, as well as through social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The Trevor Project, which provides counseling to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths in crisis, among other services, posted a call for teenagers to tell their stories to The Times, resulting in nearly 250 responses. At times, young people led us to others.

The youths who participated were in different phases of coming out: some had come out only to themselves, some to people in certain realms of their lives, some to only one trusted friend or family member; some came out to their family or community and then, realizing they lacked the support they needed, rescinded the declaration - and came out again a couple of years later. Others spoke of hating themselves in the process of accepting who they are.

Some flaunted their sexuality, while others adhered to traditional gender norms. In English, Ind., one boy said that when he first came out, he wore eyeliner and skinny jeans. "But then when I stopped it and decided to be myself, it was like I no longer fit the stereotypes," he said.

In the face of competing messages, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths just want to be teenagers. While they envision a world where they can get married and have doors open to them, they do not want to be defined by their sexuality, regardless of how they are received by their community. It is just one part of their identity.

As 15-year-old Kailey Jeanne Cox said in her story, "I don't want to have myself being seen by people as 'Oh, she's, she's gay.' I want them to see me as, 'Wow, she loves God, who cares what kind of people she likes? She is a Christian, she leads by example and she's a wonderful person.' That's what I want people to think when they see me."

Or 17-year-old Joel Brimmerman, who cannot wait for the day he can begin the physical transition to male from female, summed it up this way: "I'd rather just get done with it and get on with my life. I mean, I have stuff to do besides transition."

There will be also be audio and photos featuring the stories of LGBT teenagers from around the country. It's interesting that in time where deep coverage of LGBT issues at this level have to compete for space in print mainstream media. Will there be missteps in the coverage? That we will find out.

I'm also sure this project will draw the attention of the anti-gay industrial complex and generate the usual, tired "teh homosexual agenda controls the media" nonsense.

The Rapture Readies get a reality check

For the guy who spent his life savings on the bus ads promoting the Rapture (and others like him), should we: 1)feel sorry for them; 2) write them off as sheeple -- just another example of the easily deluded, or 3) condemn yet another charletan, Harold Camping, and hope his @ss is sued out the wazoo? (PNJ):

When 6 p.m. came and went at various spots around the globe, including the East Coast of the United States, and no extraordinary cataclysm occurred, Keith Bauer - who hopped in his minivan in Maryland and drove his family 3,000 miles to California for the Rapture - took it in stride.

"I had some skepticism but I was trying to push the skepticism away because I believe in God," he said in the bright morning sun outside the gated Oakland headquarters of Family Radio International, whose founder, Harold Camping, has been broadcasting the apocalyptic prediction for years. "I was hoping for it because I think heaven would be a lot better than this earth."

...In New York's Times Square, Robert Fitzpatrick, of Staten Island, said he was surprised when 6 p.m. came and went. He had spent his own money to put up advertising about the end of the world.

"I can't tell you what I feel right now," he said, surrounded by tourists. "I don't understand it. I don't know. I don't understand what happened."

Also see:

* Are you rapture ready - fundie billboards say the end is near: May 21, 2011

* More Rapture-readiness: MN jeweler launches 50% off Second Coming Sale

* $140K flushed away: retired subway worker invests life savings in 5/21/2011 Rapture ads

Happy birthday, little brother!

Happy birthday to my little (5 years younger) brother Tim! Enjoy grading papers instead of a big celebration (as usual). I'm sure that Miranda, Mr. E and Mr. C will make your day special! :)

I love that pic of Tim in the tiny dashiki. That has to be around 1971.

Minnesota legislature debates marriage amendment during weekend session

Update from Laurel: According to Rex Wockner, the MN House passed the referendum bill 70-62.  Having passed previously in the Senate, the question of whether to amend the MN state constitution to ban same-sex marriage will now go to MN voters.So do you think that the bigots who want to protect opposite-sex marriage sleep or take a vacation for the Rapture? Absolutely not. As of 9PM ET on Saturday, the amendment is up for debate. You can watch live below.

uptakemnhouse on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

The 411 from LezGetReal:

Sources have told Lez Get Real the Minnesota House will take up the bill some time after 6 p.m. Minnesota Time tonight and that the bill was quietly was put on the house calendar earlier in the day to avoid large scale press coverage.

In the wake of the disastrous prayer offered by Bradlee Dean yesterday, it was expected that this referendum was going to be derailed, but never underestimate the power of money and bigotry in a Republicans held state legislature. Should it go through, Minnesota will cement itself as an anti-gay state, and one that open minded people and the LGBT Community will avoid with regards to jobs. Business leaders have been largely against this bill since it was first proposed.

Open Thread: Countdown to the Rapture!

Well, here we are- it's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!

Some last minute questions:

1. Do you have an exit buddy?

2. Did you choose the right religion?

Mormons - The Correct Answer

Lord of Chaos | Myspace Video

3. Are you braced for the man from Mars?

Okay, turning the thread over to all of you- and remember, don't fear the reaper!

For 'Christian news service,' homophobia replaces ethics

crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

I would never say that the American Family Association's One News Now practices decent journalism.

The online publication claims to speak for the "Christian perspective," and it probably would if this perspective was  totally devoid of accuracy or integrity.

Two articles point this out clearly.

One, Clinton's cries against pro-family 'hate', attempts to take Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to task for issuing a proclamation for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

And the article's only source is "Porno" Pete LaBarbera (so named because of his penchant of taking photos of gay men at "subcultural events" while ignoring the heterosexuals in attendance):

"A day against homophobia and transphobia -- what they're saying is Judeo-Christian morality is the equivalent of bigotry and irrational fear, and that is a false message."

And he points out that Clinton made a statement at the event that decried the cycle of hate.

"What they're saying essentially is if you are a Christian...a Muslim or a Jew, and you oppose sexual perversion or gender confusion, you are a hater; you are a bigot," LaBarbera assesses, adding that "this is the liberal message."

That's not what Clinton's statement said. It doesn't even mention religion. You can read the entire statement here but in part it says:

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am proud to reaffirm our support for LGBT communities at home and abroad, and to call for an end to discrimination and mistreatment of LGBT persons wherever it occurs. Whether by supporting LGBT advocates marching in Belgrade, leading the effort at the United Nations to affirm the human rights of LGBT persons, or condemning a vile law under consideration in Uganda, we are committed to our friends and allies in every region of the world who are fighting for equality and justice. These are not Western concepts; these are universal human rights.

Another article in One News Now - 'Gay' lifestyle = higher cancer rates - distorts a recent article in a medical journal which talks about gay men and cancer. On May 9th, I said that some in the religious right would exploit this study and there they go proving my point:

A study published in the journal Cancer reveals homosexuals are twice as likely to have had cancer than are heterosexual men.

While it is not the first research to come to that conclusion, Dr. Andre Van Mol of the Christian Medical & Dental Association says the one published in Cancer serves as verification.

“The study's main author, a Dr. Boehmer from Boston University, noted in an interview she did on this that the higher rates of cancer are both HIV-related and not,” states Van Mol.

In 1979 the book The Gay Report -- written by two authorities on homosexuality -- pointed to the lifestyle as a heavy contributor to cancer. “What the authors found was that the sexual practices common in the gay and lesbian communities were of a nature that would have unhealthful consequences,” according to Van Mol.

Van Mol, by the way, is the article's only source and it doesn't give a clear indication of his supposed expertise. It does say that he is a member of the Christian Medical & Dental Association.  However, this organization is not legitimate. It is a shell group created to give anti-gay lies a veneer of respectability. 


The Gay Report was published in 1979 and according to watchdog site Box Turtle Bulletin:

The Gay Report was modeled after many other informal sex surveys which were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Magazines like Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and Playboy often conducted reader surveys.

Twenty-five hundred responses came from a gay magazine questionnaire. The magazine, Blue Boy, was a softcore porn magazine. Because of this, said Box Turtle Bulletin, the authors of The Gay Report:

. . . have virtually guaranteed an exceptionally heavy biased towards the opinions and experiences of those who are much more sexually experienced.

In other words, it is the equivalent of claiming that those who respond to a sex survey in an issue of Hustler magazine are indicative of the American heterosexual population.

Even the authors of The Gay Report said:

We agreed at the outset not to pretend that these percentages represented the practices and views of all gay people—they reflected only our respondents.

The author of the cancer study made a statement to Reuters news service (a more legitimate news source):

Liz Margolies, executive director of The National LGBT Cancer Network, told Reuters that more information is needed to plan care and prevention strategies.

She pointed to research which suggests gay men, lesbians and bisexuals are more likely to smoke and abuse alcohol than straight people and said that LGB people are less likely to visit doctors for health check-ups, partly because of stigma.

“Health care facilities and social service agencies – any organisation that addresses the needs of cancer survivors — must understand the extra challenges that lesbian and bisexual cancer survivors and gay men have,” she said.

Van Mol has an answer for that - not a good one - but an answer:

The homosexual groups have contended the statistics would be better if their lifestyle were more accepted by society. Van Mol counters that argument.

“We see in Northern Europe and in Canada -- where the GLBT community enjoys very supportive governments, affirmation, and even celebration from liberal churches, and a public coerced into silence by hate speech codes -- that their health statistics are every bit as bad,” he concludes.

"Conveniently" Van Mol does not give any examples of this, so one would have to question the veracity of that statement.

But notice what is going on here. Van Mol has no problem with the conclusion of the cancer study (i.e. gay men are more likely to get cancer), but he has a problem with the reasoning behind this conclusion (homophobia).

Van Mol clearly cherry-picked the portion of the study because it reinforced his personal beliefs (i.e. homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle) but rejected the portion of the study (homophobia plays a role in the possibility of cancer in gay men) because it contradicted those same personal beliefs.

No legitimate physician would do this sort of thing. No legitimate Christian would do this sort of thing.

And above all, no legitimate news source would give anyone room to intentionally commit this error of intellectual dishonest.

Alcoa Corp Urges TN Governor: "Veto Anti-Gay Law HB600!"

Alcoa can't wait... to distance themselves from the part an Alcoa representative on the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce played in helping an awful anti-gay bill pass in that state.

In response to AmericaBlog initiated Netroots action, Alcoa has released a statement condemning the law and calling on Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee to veto it.

“Alcoa provides equal employment opportunity without discrimination and supports state and local legislation protecting the rights of all community members. We do not agree with the chamber on this issue and would ask that the governor veto the bill."

Alcoa responded 100% to the ask of the petition action, ask the Governor to veto it. The text of the petition:

We demand that you issue an immediate statement withdrawing your support for HB 600/SB 632, and that you tell Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to veto this bill.

So we can be very grateful to Alcoa for this unequivocal show of support and penance. Alcoa is a publicly traded corporation with nearly 60,000 employees and reported over $21B in revenues in 2010. They produce aluminum. Other companies that control board seats include; FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer and United HealthCare.

Three others have responded to the petition action, although, less impressively.

The Netroots call to action has put corporate America swiftly on the run to distance their involvement in lobbying for Tennessee's anti-gay bill, HB600/SB 632, which would strip away local LGBT non-discrimination protection, such as was recently enacted in Nashville, and prohibit it anywhere else in the state of Tennessee. Yesterday I wrote about the Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act. The state law purports to assert the State's ultimate sovereignty to define anti-discrimination protection only at the state level and enforce uniformity. But, it is really a naked attempt to strip away local and city level ordinances that protect LGBT residents of Tennessee from discrimination. It has passed both houses and awaits the Governor's signature.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce lobbied hard on behalf of the bill and as such, LGBT activists have called their board members and parent companies to do some explaining. Please tell us how stripping LGBT Americans from discrimination protection is good for business?

In just 48 hours this movement is already having an big impact. The petition has gain almost 7,000 signatures, it is here. It must be getting someone's attention. No less than four of the 13 companies targeted have issued statements of response.

The other companies releasing statements are Nissan here, FedEx here and AT&T here. They are not nearly as forthright as Alcoa's and contain a fair amount of spin.

The other statements seem more aimed at damage control than, you know, actually helping the LGBT citizens of Tennessee whose civil rights their companies representatives have thrown their weight behind stripping away.

None of the other three call on the Governor to Veto the bill.

FedEx's statement says:

FedEx did not lobby for SB632/HB600 – it is our policy not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. While FedEx is a member of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, we do not support every position proposed by the Chamber.

This is disingenuous, and bordering on a lie.

In fact, FedEx is more than a member, they're on the board of directors. Which would place them in the position to, ahem, direct the Chamber's actions. As such they cannot so easily wash their hands of this and say, "We didn't know what the Chamber was up to!"

Nissan's statement says:

HB600/SB632 has become more closely associated with eroding civil liberties than fostering a strong business climate and this we do not support.

And AT&T says:

However, the bill has become implicated in efforts to erode the rights of the gay community, which we do not support.

Actually, that was the whole point of the bill, to erode a hard-fought victory in Nashville. And a little due diligence on the parts of these companies before endorsing would have made that quite clear to them.

Nissan, AT&T and FedEx seem more concerned about the bill being "perceived" as an attack on gays than making any actual penance or reparations for their company's role in helping it pass.

And it isn't just a perception, this bill is very clearly an outright attack on LGBT Americans, designed specifically to strip them of protection from discrimination. It is a direct response to the LGBT community's hard-fought victory in getting LGBT non-discrimination protection in Nashville, Tennessee. Stripping those discrimination protections away was the impetus and the purpose of the law. And a cursory research before these companies' proxies endorsed and worked for it would made that very clear.

It was made quite clear by main bill backer Family Action Council's support for the bill, from their web site:

How will new legislation in Nashville affect family values across Tennessee?

Yes, "family values" because anything that is good for the LGBT is a threat to families. That's always a given isn't it? If a McDonald's manager can't fire the fry cook for being gay, you're going to have to let Elton John babysit your son.

The primary backer of the bill was the Family Action Council, a group with a very clear Christian right agenda:

Our Mission: To equip Tennesseans and their public officials to effectively promote and defend a culture that values the traditional family, for the sake of the common good.

Our Goals: Engaged Citizens ... Godly Officials ... Strong Families

If Nissan and AT&T are now genuinely surprised this bill became "associated" or "implicated" to be anti-gay, they just weren't paying attention. And just look at this TV advertisement Family Action Council produced in support of HB600/SB632. You'd have to be blind to miss the anti-gay animus and hateful demagoguery they were inciting to sell this bill to the public:

This is the most outrageously homophobic commercial I think I have ever had the misfortune of viewing. The message is simple: only passing HB600/SB632 can prevent your children from being molested in a public park by the gays. It's also a tried and true tactic of these hate groups. The soundtrack of blood-curdling screams of the little ones was a particularly classy touch.

One thing AT&T and Nissan might consider adding to their vetting process of deciding whether to endorse a piece of legislation, is seeing if it's a pet project of known Hate Group, identified by The Southern Poverty Law Center. Among the groups sending out Action Alerts of support is The Family Research Council. Family Research Council has been named a Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, adding them to the ranks of the KKK and Neo-Nazis, and with good reason.

One quote that earned them that spot was in criticizing American Airlines for providing LGBT partner benefits a spokesman, "What are you going to develop next? A pedophilia market?" Equating homosexuality with pedophilia is a constant refrain for these groups, as we see by the advertisement above. There is no scientific basis to suggest gays and lesbians are more or less inclined to molest children than heterosexuals, but the keep banging that drum because it works.

In the future, any group considering endorsing legislation might do well to cross-reference if a Hate Group is also strongly endorsing it (like the Klan or neo-Nazis, who also make SPLC's lists). If they are, the chances are pretty good it's not going end up being a bill you'd want your name associated with. And you can save yourself the trouble of walking back your support by issuing statements like this one from Nissan:

However, HB600/SB632 has become more closely associated with eroding civil liberties than fostering a strong business climate and this we do not support.

Nissan, AT&T and FedEx still need to step it up and do as Alcoa has done: Call on the Governor to veto this bill. That is, if they are sincere in their support of LGBT Rights.

Here is the original target list of companies, all are Board Members of the Chamber of Commerce, (not mere members as FedEx tried to say they were). Numbers are their Human Rights Campaign score on the Corporate Equality Index rating their gay-friendliness out of 100. Cross-outs indication companies that have tried to explain their company's involvement thus far.

AT&T: 100
DuPont: 100
Pfizer: 100
KPMG: 100
Whirlpool: 100
Alcoa: 100
Comcast: 95
Blue Cross Blue Shield : 90
Caterpillar: 75
FedEx: 70
Nissan: 50

Interestingly, Pfizer's Diversity and Inclusion page includes the following quote:

"Pfizer is committed to sustaining and expanding a culture of Diversity and Inclusion in everything we do."

"Everything" Pfizer? Including having your representatives lobby for a bill that strips LGBTs in Tennessee of discrimination protection? How does that track?

When we're experiencing impact this substantial it means it's time to double down. That a company the size of Alcoa, with major operations in the state of Tennessee, has called on the Governor to veto the bill is major news. I am optimistic we'll be seeing this story get national media coverage in the coming days. That four targets have felt the need to respond will provide pressure for the others to explain their representative's support for this awful and regressive piece of legislation, which the business community cannot have any reasonable explanation to have a stake in.

Please help us send a message to corporate America: "Keep your hands of LGBT American's Civil Rights." Please sign the open letter calling on all of these companies to tell the governor to veto the bill. If you have already please, post it on on your Facebook wall, tweet it or email it to a few friends.

Lt Dan Choi helped out last night, tweeting the link and added a timely and humorous aside:

Yes, time is running out! The Governor may sign this bill this week. Thanks to everyone who signed yesterday. Keep up the pressure.

 

Early Rapture Open Thread: Harold Camping prepares for The Big One

The Rapture madness is reaching fever pitch, peeps, and CNN interviewed the Master of Disaster, 89-year-old Harold Camping of Family Radio.  You can't make this sh*t up:

Based on your study of the Bible, you have determined that May 21, 2011 is Judgment Day-that God will completely destroy the Earth. What do you predict will happen as clocks turn to 6 pm?

We cannot say emphatically that it's 6 pm. There's a lot of information that looks at the probability of 6 pm in any city in the world-when that great earthquake will occur. It could be that it might be just one great earthquake, but there is enough evidence in the Bible that says it will begin at one point in the world, and it could be at 6 pm-that's a great possibility. Then as it gets to be May 21 in any other country-there will be a great earthquake there.

But we know absolutely, without any shadow of a doubt, that May 21 will be the day.

How are you feeling right now?

Well, I am trembling. I have never been at this place before. When we are only a few days away from the last thing that has to happen-the whole world destroyed by God-I have never been here before. Where can you get direction so you know how to feel?

So earthquakes could occur around the world for 24 hours?

By the end of 24 hours, the whole world will have been destroyed.

The purpose of the earthquake is three-fold: it will be enormously destructive as God is destroying the earth. Secondly, the people who died as true believers, they will come out of their tombs with their glorified spiritual bodies and will be caught up to be with Christ.

And the rest of the world's population becomes unconscious?

All of the remains of carcasses-the bones-will be thrown out of the grave and the way the Bible describes it, be like dung or manure-because they will be shamed in the eyes of God as a final of consequence of the wrath of God.

Which "Gay Friendly" Companies Are Working To Pass An Anti-Gay Law In TN?

Why are Nissan, and supposedly "gay-friendly" FedEx and AT&T and Comcast and DuPont and Pfizer and Blue Cross Blue Shield and Caterpillar and KPMG and Whirlpool and  Embraer and  Alcoa and United HealthCare helping the Relgious Right pass a piece of anti-gay legislation in Tennesse?

A draconian law that will have decades long implications for LGBT community is on it's way to being a done deal in Tennessee (and no, it's not the "Don't Say  Gay" law).

The last hurdle is a Governor's signature. There may still be time to head it off.

The Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act has passed both houses and awaits the Governor's signature. This bill asserts the State Sovereignty to define anti-discrimination protection only at the state level.

The law would rescind all local LGBT non-discrimination protection ordinances in the state of Tennessee and ban it moving forward. Though Romer v. Evans may provide precedence for legal challenge, it is functionally enough different it is not a violation of that Supreme Court decision. And will likely require years of expense, litigation to undo.

It's is the opposite of small government, local rule and an example of big government footprint overriding local decisions.

And it is a way for Red States to ensure there are not even a single small oasis in their state where LGBT people can feel a just a little safer, in their jobs, in their homes and in their person. Say goodbye to your progressive values, Austin, your Red County representatives are going to tell you you're doing it wrong.

Worse, it was the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce that worked to push it through:

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce has come out in support of a bill that would reverse Metro's ordinance barring discrimination against LGBT employees.

On April 25, House members voted 73-24 in favor of the proposed legislation (HB600). Sponsored by Republican Glen Casada of Williamson County, it would nullify a Nashville ordinance prohibiting companies that discriminate against gays and lesbians from doing business with the city. The companion bill in the Senate (SB 0632) is currently awaiting vote.

In his speech during that House session, Casada claimed that the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry had lobbied actively for the bill. Sponsors of the Metro non-discrimination law---Jamie Hollin, Mike Jameson, Erica Gilmore and Megan Berry---sent a letter to the organization inquiring as to their position.

It has nothing to do with "Intrastate commerce" and everything to do with bashing gays.

As as John Aravosis said on AmericaBlog:

Make no mistake, this was legislative gay-bashing at its worst.  The legislation was crafted by the religious right in order to repeal Nashville's new ordinance protecting gay and trans residents from discrimination.

We all cheered last year when Nashville, Tennessee passing non-discrimination protection for gays. It seemed a real change may be sweeping America when even Southern states were willing stand up for the LGBT community. This is how the far right will stop that change.

John Aravois and Joe Sudbay have a plan, make the companies who control seats on the Chamber of Commerce answer for this action:

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce - chaired by Nissan, and whose other board members include such companies as FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare - actively lobbied for a religious right bill in the Tennessee legislature that would rescind Nashville's civil rights protections for its gay and trans citizens, and which bans every city in Tennessee from passing any civil rights laws, for anyone, ever again.

I think they're on to something. Time to ask these companies whose company reputation earns them that seat on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, "Is this what your company stands for? Do you really want Nissan to stand for picking on gays?" This is a disgusting, discriminatory law, and do these companies really want their names associated with it? Are their companies really going to throw their weight behind passing it?

Make no mistake this is the right's next tactic to stop the LGBT community. This measure is the next round of 2004 gay marriage ban ballot initiatives. If this succeeds—with the help of local Chambers of Commerce across the country—it will  metastasize to other states and sweep the Red States. And the small havens in Texas, Oklahoma and other states will become less safe their LGBT citizens once again.

Chamber of Commerce Chair, Nissan, has a rather poor record on LGBT issues. Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index rating is merely a 50 out of 100. (You can find HRC's documentation here.) This is a look at Corporations' commitment to LGBT non-discrimination policies, partner benefits and other policies that are of interest to the LGBT community.

The same, however cannot be said of other corporations that control seats on the Tennessee Chamber of Congress, here are their ratings on HRC's 2010 Corporate Equality Index, on a scale of 1-100:

AT&T: 100
DuPont: 100
Pfizer: 100
KPMG: 100
Whirlpool: 100
Alcoa: 100
Comcast: 95
Blue Cross Blue Shield : 90
Caterpillar: 75
FedEx:  70

It's time to hold these companies feet to the fire.

It's time to ask them, what are their company values really? Do they condemn LGBT discrimination in their own work force, while helping to promote anti-gay legislation in the state houses across the country?

Are they really just pretending to be friends to the gays, while working behind the scenes to marginalize, stigmatize and undermine them?

As we saw with the Target story, this is really an a question Human Rights Campaign needs to consider when, as they speak on behalf of the gay community, they endorse these companies as "gay friendly" in their Corporate Equality Index ratings.

Why would these companies endorse this law?

Please, take a minute to sign the petition, let's show corporate America we have our eyes on what their representatives on the Chamber of Commerce are up to.

From the text of the petition:

TO: Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG. Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare:

Your companies' embrace of this blatant discrimination is un-American and bad for business.

We demand that you issue an immediate statement withdrawing your support for HB 600/SB 632, and that you tell Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to veto this bill.