Pam Spaulding's Blog, page 50

Head of National Black Chamber of Commerce calls Obama admin a bunch of Brown-Shirted Marxists

This clueless capitalist brother does not surprise me at all, though the level of @sshattery and batsh*ttery is supremely entertaining. (via Jonathan Turley):

Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, really needs to work a bit harder on his historical references. On The Laura Ingraham Show, Alford labeled the administration "Marxist" and "fanatical" and added that they "might as well put on the brown shirts and swastikas."

...The most aggrieved parties may be Marxists and Fascists, however. The Brown shirts were worn by fascists. Marxists often wore tasteful Mao jackets in the East or proletarian garb in the West.

And to think that this guy supported Obama in 2008. Turley also noted that "Alford has written such pieces as "Why Does President Obama Hate Black Businesses?" An article that curiously begins with "It is not about race."

Do you think Alford might be a teabagger?

MN: Marriage equality ban forges ahead toward the ballot box

I feel your pain, LGBT Minnesotans. Just like NC, the governor can't stop a marriage ban with a veto. If it passes in MN, it goes to the ballot. (Edge NY):

The 10-7 party-line vote by the House Civil Law Committee seemed almost preordained, with the panel's Republicans voting yes and Democrats no. Minnesota law already prohibits gay marriage and prevents the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries. But Rep. Steve Gottwalt, the bill's sponsor, said he wants voters to be the ones to define marriage in Minnesota, not lawmakers or judges.

"It is not about hate, it is not about discrimination, it is about defining in Minnesota's constitution the definition of marriage," said Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud.

..."How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether God actually wants them around?" said Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park, drawing applause and shushing from panel chairman Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake.

Just my 2 cents - both of these states are also battling against a lack of interest; most LGBT orgs are focusing on winning marriage or keeping it in place where it exists. I've seen little energy focused on stopping discriminatory amendments so far.

To my love - Happy Birthday, Kate!

She doesn't like anyone to make a big fuss...so I'll just share the "Happy Birthday" to a few thousand people on the Internets.

She deserves the recognition -- she puts up with my blogging at all hours, the time on the road, caring for me when surgery (and kept me from driving too soon), the fibromyalgia flares and neuropathy threaten to make me want to throw in the towel. She was my rock when the Righthaven mess was at its worst.

Happy birthday, hon. With much love.

--P.

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Oh by the way, the NYT has some reporting on Righthaven and its tactics. Finally.

NC: Asheville's Domestic Partner Registry Open for Business

Asheville City Council member Gordon Smith just Facebooked me the news; he blogged it over at Scrutiny Hooligans. You will not find a better ally than Gordon. Thank you!

While we wait for the world to catch up and stop discriminating against same-sex couples through marriage prohibition, the City of Asheville has a new mechanism that can help committed couples achieve legal status. I encourage all committed same-sex couples to register with the city and to let everyone know you did. It's my hope that businesses throughout the county will offer family discounts and other recognitions to those families who are legally recognized as Domestic Partners.

Blue Ridge Pride has details on how to get onto the registry; it went into effect on May 2.

The basics:

Where: City Clerk's Office, located on the first floor of City Hall, located at 70 Court Plaza

How much: A $45 fee is required, both applicants must be present

When: Couples may register from 9-11:30 a.m., and from 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

 

Rick Santorum: adopting children is a privilege - and gays aren't entitled to it

Rick Santorum , as we all know, is no friend to the gayz, but you'd think he'd at least try to pretend to give a non-answer on topics like this. No, the level of "family values" garbage is turned up to 11 in during an appearance in Iowa at a FAMiLY Leader conference. He declares that gay parents who wish to adopt are sh*t out of luck because adoption is a privilege, not a right and he and his fundies can say we're not entitled to it based on their say-so.

Igor Volsky of Think Progress/The Wonk Room had to sit through this flaming pile of...

A lesbian woman came up to me and said, 'why are you denying me my right?' I said, 'well, because it's not a right.' It's a privilege that society recognizes because society sees intrinsic value to that relationship over any other relationship.

Jennifer Chrisler, the Executive Director of Family Equality Council didn't hold back in her criticism of this garbage out of the piehole of the former senator from Pennsylvania.

"What planet does he live on?" asked Chrisler. "The simple truth is that today's modern American family is made up of all types of configurations. One in four children in this country is currently being raised by a single parent. Two and a half million families are headed by single dads and one a half million kids are being raised by grandparents. The only traditional family unit that exists is in the 1950's show Ozzie and Harriet and in Rick Santorum's head. How dare he question the ability of single parents to provide loving stable homes to their children? How dare he!"

As for LGBT parents, Chrisler added that the LGBT community will not be drawn into a debate with politicians who question their capabilities as parents. "There are 1 million LGBT parents in this country alone raising 2 million children," added Chrisler. "They are raising their children to love their country, respect their neighbors, worship a loving God and be valuable members of their community. There is now more than 30 years of research on this issue - all of which comes to the same conclusion - that children raised by gay and lesbian parents have the same advantages, developmental cycles and social and psychological adjustments as children raised by straight parents. Conservative politicians should stop trying to legislate some fantasy version of the American family and instead promote policies that support today's families.

Chrisler issued the response while in Washington D.C. to promote the reintroduction by Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act which would open up more homes to children waiting in foster care.

Michelle Malkin accuses lgbts of creating 'harassment lists' while omitting she did the same thing

crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

According to Equality Matters, right-wing firebrand Michelle Malkin recently threw a fit about how the "left tries to silence opponents:"

In an April 29 blog post, she criticized the Left’s attempt to “use campaign finance disclosure as a weapon to intimidate and silence political opponents.” The majority of her post was dedicated to attacking activists who planned to protest companies that have sent donations to Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker.

And she had the temerity to call out the lgbt community:

We saw it during the Proposition 8 traditional marriage battle in California, where gay rights avengers compiled black lists, harassment lists and Google target maps of citizens who contributed to the ballot measure.

We saw it when “progressive” zealots smeared Target Corporation and Chick-fil-A for daring to associate with social conservatives.

Equality Matters shot down Malkin by saying the following:

Free speech does not require that companies or people br shielded from criticism for their political activities. On the contrary, it requires that Americans not be restricted in their ability to mobilize, organize, and protest against activities that they disagree with.
And for the record, it’s not exactly accurate to say companies like Target and Chick-fil-A were attacked for “daring to associate with social conservatives.” Target donated $150,000 to a group working to elect a notoriously anti-gay Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate. Chick-fil-A donated over $1 million to some of the country’s most notorious anti-gay groups, including several known hate groups.
These companies were doing more than simply “associat[ing]” with social conservatives – they were actively involved in using money they had made off of their customers to prevent LGBT Americans from receiving equal treatment under the law. 
Significant doubt has already been cast on Malkin’s assertion that “gay rights avengers” harassed and targeted supporters of Proposition 8. Still, even in that instance, LGBT activists weren’t taking issue with anyone’s speech – they were taking issue with an orchestrated political campaign that ultimately succeeded in denying marriage rights to thousands gay and lesbian couples.

It was an excellent retort, but I am stuck on her claim about "black lists" and "harassment lists" because on December 7, 2009, Malkin did the same thing she accused "the left" of doing.

It was in the middle of the ridiculous attempt by folks on the right to get Obama to fire Kevin Jennings, his appointee to the Department of Education.

While others on the right were spinning all sorts of lies about Jennings "indoctrinating children into homosexuality,"  Malkin took it upon herself to compile a list of the companies which supported the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) - the organization which Jennings founded - and advised her readers to:

Make sure they know that you know what they’re helping put in public school classrooms.

So Michelle, what's the difference between what you did and what you are accusing "the left" of doing?

Or better yet, before you pick up another rock to throw, perhaps you check out the shape of your glass house.

The brilliance of Trump continues: compares marriage equality to taste in golf putters

Yes, another WTF from the bigoted billionaire and possible PHB 2012 GOP Clown Car occupant. After a sweet pummeling at the White House Corresspondents' Dinner, he lets loose with another whopper in a NYT profile. Think Progress's Zack Ford:

Declaring himself a "traditionalist," Trump compares same-sex marriage to long golf putters:

TRUMP: It's like in golf. A lot of people - I don't want this to sound trivial - but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It's weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can't sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.

His taste is a minefield of sexism bunkers and LGBT sand traps that have little to do with improving other people's lives. Trump's campaign hasn't even teed off yet, but he's already shanking his approach.

The best comment I've seen so far on this was on Facebook: Gil Gillon - "That's because a golf club is the hardest thing Trump's had in his hand since 1962."

Box Turtle Bulletin's Jim Burroway kicks all Righthaven-associated pubs to the curb

All I can say is Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin deserves a special flak jacket after putting up a well-reasoned, accessible account of the vile-but-lucrative activities of vampire legal copytroll known as Righthaven, LLC. Most bloggers have, during my recent legal exsanguination by the Nevada outfit, remained silent out of fear of being the next target on the list.

His post is also a declaration that BTB has editorially blacklisted all Righthaven-associated publications - as in will not link to or cite them in any BTB diaries.

And so to protect ourselves and this web site, we will no longer cite any content from Denver Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Salt Lake Tribune, or any of the other news sources listed here. There will be no links, no blockquotes, nothing. For the most part, it will be as if these sources simply don't exist.

But if it happens that, for example, the Denver Post has an exclusive story that no one else has, we will do what the Associated Press does whenever the New York Times breaks a story. We will write about the story by paraphrasing the Post's article, but we will not quote from it or provide a link to it - just like the Associated Press does. There will be however one tweak from standard AP practice: we will provide a link, but it will be to an explanation as to why there is no link. It will look something like this:

"The Denver Post (no link) reports blah, blah, blah..."

FAs I've said many times, the relationship between mainstream media publications and blogs is symbiotic. Jim agrees:

Newspaper chains, in particular, have struggled mightily with this changing environment, and not altogether successfully. Some journalists have come to view bloggers as parasites. They say bloggers wouldn't exist without the reporting done at newspapers. I think that is an exaggeration. At BTB, we do try to provide our own analysis and, in some cases stories, which are independent from what we find in the news media. But to be certain, probably about 90% of what we post has as its origin a story we find published in a newspaper, television, radio, or other online news organizations. And when we find those stories, we provide direct quotes (often in the form of blockquotes) with links back to the where we found it.

We believe that this practice is important. By providing blockquotes, we let the source material speak for itself without any inadvertent inaccuracies or biases which may creep in if we were to paraphrase it. And by providing links, we allow you, the reader, to click through for more information. Of course, we cannot copy the source material in its entirety, nor can we copy major portions of it. That would violate copyright laws, which is a very serious issue. But copyright laws do allow us to copy small portions of source material for commentary and discussion purposes.

As I said, copyright laws - or more specifically, copyright lawsuits - are serious business. And now, three newspaper chains have discovered that filing copyright lawsuits can become yet another profit center. The problem is, their definition of copyright infringement not only contradicts copyright law, but also poses a serious threat to bloggers and other online outlets everywhere.

Jim also covers matters already in the public domain about Righthaven (largely unread by many bloggers) on legal web sites, mentioning some of the newspapers profiting off of RH's legal maneuvers, such as the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Denver Post, Salt Lake Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Detroit News, El Paso Times, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and Charleston Daily Mail.

What distinguishes Righthaven's practices from more reasonable measures against copyright infringement is that Righthaven has never issued a takedown notice to any of their targeted web sites. Instead, the first inkling a web site owner has that there is something wrong is when he or she receives a summons announcing that a lawsuit has been filed in federal court. There is no warning whatsoever. And Righthaven's demands are excessive: $150,000 for a single infringement and the surrendering of the domain name to Righthaven. That last demand, which has no basis in copyright law whatsoever, is the hammer Righthaven uses to extort money from some of the more significant web sites. Major victims include the Drudge Report, Democratic Underground, Free Republic, and Raw Story Media. Imagine if they had been forced to surrender their domain names. They would immediately cease to exist.

And of course, this hammer has made many bloggers like myself, decide to settle for very large (undisclosed) sums rather than deal with battling RH in a state far away with an attorney on the clock.

Righthaven has been slowed down by recent rulings, and it shows by the number of lawsuits filed - Only two Righthaven victims in the month of April; down from 25 in March, 10 in February and 34 in January: http://tinyurl.com/3gv9ffy

Netroots Nation Scholarship Applications Open - sign up!

So, you've always wanted to take your blogging up to the next level... You've wanted to meet lots of other bloggers like yourself... You'd like to be a part of the largest online activist/blogger/journalist conference...

This just might be your chance!

I am pleased to announce scholarships for Netroots Nation, the nation's preeminent and largest gathering of bloggers, citizen journalists, online activists, and traditional media. The conference dates are June 15-18/19. In Minneapolis.

Important: the scholarship programs provides support for LGBT bloggers, citizen journalists, and online activists. In order to be eligible for a scholarship, you must have a site that you post to regularly (at least five times per week).

Application here.

Congressman Jerry Nadler on Osama bin Laden's death; 'it is simple justice'

In the wake of the demise of Osama bin Laden, one's mind drifts back to the first-responder heroics down at Ground Zero. It is located in Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler's district (NY-8). He went on the air to share his thoughts on FOX 5 NYC, calling it "simple justice."

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On a related note, I was surprised last week by a voicemail from Rep. Nadler, inviting me to serve on a marriage equality panel during this year's Netroots Nation in Minnesota (June 16-19 in Minneapolis). I missed that call, but this morning I did get to speak with the marriage equality advocate and author/sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act to thank him for tapping me for the panel. I'm looking forward to vigorous discussion!

The Plan to Advance Marriage Equality, Inside and Outside of the 112th Congress

This panel will gather experts from the various fronts of the marriage equality struggle--the courts, Congress, state campaigns and online media--to answer the question: how do we work together to advance marriage equality in a challenging political environment? Too often activists, lawmakers and litigators work independently and don't communicate effectively with each other. Congressman Jerry Nadler, author of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), will join other leaders in the fight for marriage equality to build awareness and solidify alliances and strategies for moving forward.

Co-moderating will be my good friend over at Americablog, Joe Sudbay.