sunday funnies

the white house parties like it’s 1999…

I loved this headline so much I stole it from Pam’s House Blend. The lesbian and gay community has reason to be at least a little disspointed with our new president. Yes, he’s had a full plate, but some of the things he could have done immediately wouldn’t take much more than the stoke of a pen. And there’s always that bully pulpit!

Here is what waymonhudson posted at Pam’s House Blend:

Yesterday, President Obama hosted a “celebration of Stonewall” at the White House, the first of its kind. While it may have been the first time a President spoke on LGBT rights in the White house for 20 minutes, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the reaction of the cheering crowd and by people online.

The speech wasn’t anything really different from his campaign promises: repeal DADT and DOMA (legislatively), we need respect for each other, we’re all equal, etc. It was more words with very little action to back it up.

Yet part of me was moved by the President speaking these words from the White House, acknowledging us and our struggles. That’s when I realized this reaction was part of what has given cover to our political leaders for years now, allowing them to lag behind the general public in regards to our rights and equality.

There was time when that speech might have been enough, but that time was years ago- before out elected officials, marriage equality in some states, employment protections from top companies, and a general trend towards inclusion.

It was a speech for 1999, not 2009.

In fairness, there are usually always at least two sides to every story. For another perspective on the day read: Welcome to Your White House, by Cathy Renna posted on The Bilerico Project Facebook page.

The title of this post is one of the first things President Obama said yesterday at the Stonewall commemoration at the White House yesterday. Were there cocktails? Yes. But this was not a typical cocktail party. Were there many “A-listers?” Yes. But this event should not be easily dismissed as an “A-list gay event.”

In the past few weeks, there has been a firestorm of debate and discussion about how we move our community forward under the current leadership. I have personally been very vocal about how our impatience should be a motivator, something to be channeled in a smart, assertive and effective manner.

Yesterday was another opportunity to do that the best way I could, so I did. Want to get past the sounds bites and headlines, as well as what I think is the less productive intra-community attacking that is happening? [...]

I had the singular honor or working with some of the White House staff to secure some Stonewall veterans for this event. Through our firm’s work with SAGE and other groups and individuals, we have spent the past few months doing a lot of work related to the 40th anniversary. We were fortunate and thrilled to have two real Stonewall veterans step forward and attend – Jerry Hoose and Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt.

They are decidedly not A-listers, but got treated better than the A-listers and with tremendous respect by all.

Their contributions were recognized by the President – along with others like Dr. Frank Kameny, who was also present.

Leah and I were even asked to take them back to meet with the President and First Lady prior to the speech.

It was, in the words of Jerry (pictured with me on the left), “one of the most exciting things I have ever done in my life.”

For someone who helped get this pioneer and still involved activist – who by the way got into the White House using his government-issued Food Stamp ID – it meant a lot to us to be part of helping make that happen.

bernard madoff gets maximum sentence

Mega-swindler Bernie Madoff will have 150 years to think about his crime, as U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant.

Historic swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives “in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I’ve created.”

Chin rejected a request by Madoff’s lawyer for leniency and said he disagreed that victims of the fraud were seeking mob vengeance.

“Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll,” Chin said.

The judge said the estimate that Madoff has cost his victims more than $13 billion was conservative because it did not include money from feeder funds.

“Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering,” he said.

Finally there is some justice for those who have suffered due to Madoff’s actions.

“Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can’t wake from,” said Carla Hirshhorn.

“He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values,” said Tom Fitzmaurice. “He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief.”

Dominic Ambrosino called it an “indescribably heinous crime” and urged a long prison sentence so “will know he is imprisoned in much the same way he imprisoned us and others.”

He added: “In a sense, I would like somebody in the court today to tell me how long is my sentence.”

I truly hope others who might have been tempted to follow in Madoff’s greedy footsteps will now think again. What he did was unconscionable, and it’s only fitting that he live the rest of his life in prison.

sunday funnies

supreme court says strip searching teen illegal

The tragic deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson have eclipsed what might have otherwise been a very big story — a US Supreme Court decision that strip searching a teen is illegal. THANK GOODNESS!

The Supreme Court said Thursday school officials acted illegally when they strip-searched an Arizona teenage girl looking for prescription-strength ibuprofen.

In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said that school officials violated the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches when they ordered Savana Redding to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear.

Redding was 13 when Safford Middle School officials in rural eastern Arizona conducted the search. They were looking for pills — the equivalent of two Advils. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.

The school’s search of Redding’s backpack and outer clothes was permissible, the court said. But the justices said that officials went too far when they asked to search her underwear. [...]

“What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear,” Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion. “We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable.”

Justice Souter’s opinion is what a reasonable person would assume — and then there is Clarence Thomas.

I have a wicked vision that I simply can’t get out of my mind, that of Justice Thomas reading the case in hand, with his other hand firmly planted under his robe. He is such a jack-ass.

In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas found the search legal and said the court previously had given school officials “considerable leeway” under the Fourth Amendment in school settings.

Officials had searched the girl’s backpack and found nothing, Thomas said. “It was eminently reasonable to conclude the backpack was empty because Redding was secreting the pills in a place she thought no one would look,” Thomas said.

No one except Clarence Thomas, the jerk.

In Memoriam – Michael Jackson

Now I really am feeling old. Losing Farrah Fawcett was expected, given her known health condition, but losing Michael Jackson is just surreal.

Michael Jackson, a fellow Hoosier, grew up in Gary, Indiana, and from there went on to become the King of Pop. There was no one better on the stage than Michael in his prime. Even dance great Fred Astaire admired Michael: “Oh, God! That boy moves in a very exceptional way. That’s the greatest dancer of the century.”

Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the “King of Pop” and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. He was 50. [...]

The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.

Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album “Thriller” — which included the blockbuster hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.

Michael Jackson was talented, troubled, eccentric, and generous. He was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback. I know this … it would have been a Thriller.

Rest in peace Michael.

Michael Jackson at 50: His Four-Decade Career in Photos

In Memoriam – Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett, best known as one of “Charlie’s Angles” has died at 62. Fawcett had waged a courageous battle against cancer.

“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.

Farrah burst on the scene in 1976 as one of three “Charlie’s Angles” — Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson were the other two. A poster of her in a swimsuit sold millions. Even I had one. And her hair style was emulated by women and girls all across the country. Farrah left the show after one season to pursue a film career, but never quite made the transition to the big screen.

She did, however, receive praise for her television film “The Burning Bed” — where she portrayed an abused wife.

She had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006. As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of O’Neal, who was the father of her now 24-year-old son, Redmond.

This month, O’Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed. They would wed “as soon as she can say yes,” he said.

Her struggle with painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks was recorded in the television documentary “Farrah’s Story.” Fawcett sought cures in Germany as well as the United States, battling the disease with iron determination even as her body weakened.

“Her big message to people is don’t give up, no matter what they say to you, keep fighting,” her friend Stewart said. NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly 9 million viewers.

Rest in peace Farrah, and sincere condolences to your family and friends.

a few thoughts

The NOW conference has ended, delegates elected a new slate of officers, and now the healing begins. That might seem like an odd thing to say considering NOW is a feminist organization, but sometimes organizations don’t always practice what they preach.

There were at least two people at the conference who bring a unique perspective to “the morning after” — and I’m one of them. Twenty-one years ago when I joined NOW I was part of the “majority caucus.” Caucus members were national officers, regional board members, and state and chapter presidents in many states. In other words, we were the power structure.

I remember seeing people at a national conference literally brought to tears because they dared to challenge the powers structure. Being part of that structure, I couldn’t truly understand why they were so upset. Slowly I learned.

There is a culture in NOW that says ‘if you are not with me, then you are my enemy — and I can’t just defeat you, I must destroy you.’ That destruction often includes the persons very lively hood.

There are people today who have for decades now been “insiders” who now are feeling a little lost. As an organization one thing I think we have not taught our members is how to graciously accept defeat and move on. Hell, some have not learned how to graciously accept victory!

One reason I think there might be hope for change is that some of the members of the newly elected leadership have now been on both sides.

Once you’ve been an outsider it’s easier to understand what your opponents are feeling. And hopefully, with the wounds of being an outsider still so fresh maybe it will make them less inclined to want to inflict that pain on others. I’m beginning to see that already.

To any of my NOW friends who might be reading this I just want to say: “There were no good people and bad people in this election — there were simply people who on any given day can fall into either one of those camps.” I know this because I have personally been the target of some very bad behavior from both sides.

My response has been to continue staying involved, to try and change the culture.

I hope the anger that some are feeling will begin to subside, and they, too, will work with me to change the culture within NOW. There is still far too much work to do to expend any time trying to destroy each other.

sunday funnies

back home again in indiana

It’s good to be back home, if only for a few days. I’m here for the NOW conference, which should be great fun. I’m also using this opportunity to catch up with old friends that I’ve reconnected with through Facebook. Also great fun!

This is an elections conference, where NOW members will elect officers who will serve for the next four years. I’ve only been here a few hours and already I can tell it’s going to be quiet a lively debate!

On another front, my sister had quadruple bypass surgery last week and I’m pleased to say she is doing quite well. She came through the surgery like a trooper, and her doctors are now in the process of getting some of the other health challenges she faces under control.

I’m so glad she made the decision to come live with me. I think it may have saved her life. I’ll update everyone again when I get back to DC.

Thanks to everyone who kept her in your thoughts and prayers.