The Progressive Puppy

Sugar's Rainbow: Bite-Sized Pieces

Wayne Besen, director of Truth Wins Out, has penned a stinging indictment against left-leaning political leaders who take the LGBT community for granted.  From Obama's Empty Words:  The Republican nightmare is over, so why do I still feel like I’m in the middle of a political Friday the 13th movie?  The Democrats took our money, our votes and our volunteer hours and now they tell us to wait patiently, like good little gays. As far as I’m concerned, if the donkeys can’t deliver now, they can kiss my ass.  The Democrats run the show in Washington and if they will not act like a majority party, then they do not deserve to be one.  (Recommended reading.)

D.C. Council member Marion Barry, Christian fundie and self-described "moral compass" of our nation's capital who spends his days railing against same-sex marriage, has just been arrested for stalking a women.     

The story of that ham-fisted raid at a Fort Worth gay bar which left a man hospitalized has been picked up by the New York Times.  Saturday's piece doesn't offer much new information, but it's nice to know that the incident is getting national attention.  And the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a good article about how local LGBT activists are using the TABC's Gestapo tactics to energize its normally laid-back community.

Federal Judge Vaughn Walker says that a lawsuit seeking to overturn California’s same-sex marriage ban will probably make it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Walker, a Bush appointee, indicated that he wants to put the hearing on an accelerated timetable since it involves serious civil rights issues.  (This is the case being brought by former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, a Republican, who two months ago came out in favor of Marriage Equality.)  Lawyers defending the constitutionality of Proposition 8 - aka Homobigots With A Religious Axe To Grind - are also said to be hoping for a speedy ruling.  (To my mind, this bodes ill.)

Bisexual reality TV star Tila Tequila is demanding that Obama end the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy once and for all.  (Well I guess it's settled now.  The President will have to act.)

Brokeback Superheroes?  In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' X-Men, characters Rictor and Shatterstar engage in a tender same-sex kiss.  Earlier issues had hinted at a relationship between the two, but their sexuality remained ambiguous until this month's illustrated lip lock. 

A new law in Uganda will criminalize anyone who publishes and distributes gay literature or advocates for LGBT causes.  Once the measure is enacted, gays will be forbidden to hold a press conferences or speak at public events.

Mr. Clucky Heads to Court

Mark Buckley found a white rooster in some bushes near his Miami Beach neighborhood.  The bird was seriously injured.  There was a gash on its head and part of its beak had been sliced off.  (Buckley believes the rooster escaped from a botched religious ceremony.)  The young man nursed the animal back to health and taught it how to ride on the handlebars of his bicycle.  He named the bird Mr. Clucky - and the two became inseparable pals.  For three years they traveled around the city promoting animal rights causes.  Crowds of tourists flocked to see them.  In 2008, Mr. Clucky was heralded as Miami Beach's "Activist of the Year" by MetroMix Magazine, and he was even awarded the post of Grand Marshal at last fall's King Mango Strut in Coconut Grove, Florida.

But then Mr. Clucky ran afoul of the law.  From ZooToo:  Mark Buckley, owner of the pet rooster, was cited for keeping a farm animal within the city on May 27.  This week Buckley replied to the violation by paying the $75 hearing fee and wrote "Mr. Clucky is a highly valued member of this community and any charges against us are unwarranted." ...According to Buckley, hundreds of letters in protest of the citation are pouring into City Hall...  In addition to public support, which comes from as far away as Germany, the media has jumped to cover the story, including a newspaper in New Hampshire and national TV morning shows...  While Buckley and Mr. Clucky wait to see which direction the court's decision will go, Buckley says he is happy knowing that the ordeal has already brought a community together.  This also includes a group of homeless vets which have vowed to Buckley that they will hold a vigil for Mr. Clucky the eve of the hearing "to put a stop to this" as they consider the plucky Mr. Clucky family to them.

Mr. Clucky is expected to appear in court on July 30 at 9 a.m.  (You can sign a petition on Mr. Clucky's website, here.)

Laws prohibiting people from keeping farm animals in urban areas are probably a good idea.  But it seems to me that Mr. Clucky should be given a special dispensation in recognition of all the good work he does. 

Your Honor, I'm begging you.  Pardon this chicken.

Expect violence when Phelps clan protests at Jackson's funeral.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed the odious Westboro Baptist Church a victory by refusing to consider a Missouri court's order barring the state from enforcing its new law restricting protests near funerals.  To Fred Phelps and his shrill band of homophobes, this was an Anything Goes permission slip allowing them to continue imposing their unique brand of hatred on grieving families across the country. 

I wonder if WBC realizes its members will soon be placed in an explosive situation that might easily result in violence - and possibly bloodshed.  (I do hope they're not stupid enough to put their children in harm's way.)

In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, the Phelps clan - no doubt emboldened by this recent SCOTUS decision - has been busily making plans to protest the legendary pop star's funeral.  WBC just announced that church members will rally on July 7th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to denounce the singer's "sinful life" and "Praise the Lord" for sending him to hell.  If past demonstrations are any gauge, they'll be milling around with their cheap megaphones and offensive signs and tacky tee-shirts, shrieking their outrage at the United States of Sodom.  They will be loud and aggressive.  (Their main purpose, after all, is to inflict pain on those who have suffered the loss of a loved one.) 

Westboro's press release reads:  WBC TO PICKET FUNERAL OF FAG MICHAEL JACKSON AT THE STAPLES CENTER, 1111 S. FIGUEROA STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA  (Tue., July 7, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.) 

God Hates Fags, Fornicators, Pedophiles, Adulterers, Icons.  MICHAEL IS IN HELL.  DEAL WITH IT. 

The protest is unlikely to go unnoticed by hardcore Jackson fans, some of whom can be excitable in their devotion to the singer.  When Jackson's followers see that first "Michael Is Burning In Hell For Being a Fag" poster, there won't be enough police officers in the state of California to prevent the violence that will erupt. 

And the television cameras will be rolling.

This proposed rally is insane on so many levels.  But looking at the situation logically - or as logically as one can look at a situation involving Westboro Baptist Church - it might be that the Phelpses are actually hoping for violence.  If one of their demonstrators is injured, WBC will be able to sue the city for not protecting them.  And since the group's financial problems are abysmal, they just might feel that the pain is worth the gain.

Is Palin committing political suicide?

"I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and not so comfortable.  With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election, I've determined it's best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell."

Sarah Palin has quit her job.  She made the announcement at a press conference in Wasilla.  (The full text of her speech is here.)  The governor wisely took no questions.

While we're waiting for the other shoe to drop, let's see what 7 prominent conservatives are saying about Palin's decision to vacate the governor's mansion...

Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist:  "She has star power without any doubt. She has an extremely devoted following.  But she is not a serious candidate for the presidency.  You cannot sustain a campaign of platitudes and clichés over a year and a half if you’re running for the presidency."

Todd Harris, Republican media consultant:  "I think Sarah Palin is on the verge of becoming the Miami Vice of American politics:  Something a lot of people once thought was cool and then 20 years later look back, shake their heads and just kind of laugh." 

Glen Bolger, veteran GOP pollster:  "There is just no good way to say quitting has made her more qualified to run for higher office."

Bill Kristol, columnist:  "Haven't conservatives been lamenting the lack of a national leader?  Well, now she'll try to be that...  If Palin wants to run in 2012, why not do exactly what she announced today?  It's an enormous gamble - but it could be a shrewd one. After all, she's freeing herself from the duties of the governorship. Now she can do her book, give speeches, travel the country and the world, campaign for others, meet people, get more educated on the issues - and without being criticized for neglecting her duties in Alaska."

Nick Ayers, exec. director of the Republican Governor's Association:  "Part of her decision is she wants to spend more time campaigning for candidates." 

Fred Malek, political adviser to Palin:  "She’s not going to go hide in a cave.  She'll continue to be a major friend and force for Republican figures in this country."

John Weaver, former senior strategist for the McCain campaign:  "Good point guards don’t quit and walk off the floor if the going gets tough.  Today’s move falls further into the weirdness category.  People don’t like a quitter."

Progressive columnist Max Blumenthal reports on the other falling shoe, a yet-to-be-disclosed corruption scandal involving an Alaska building company called Spenard Building Supplies.  Apparently, SBS was awarded a contract by Palin to build a hockey arena in Wasilla.  In return, SBS helped construct Palin’s home.  (You can read the juicy details on Daily Beast.)

The ever-delusional Moms4SarahPalin are cheerily optimistic:  While we do not yet know the full reasoning behind this move, we can only hope we know what it means - and that will be change we can believe in!  (What. The. Fuck?)  Either way, we support the Governor. She has been treated worse than any political figure in the history of American politics. I wouldn't blame her one bit for just walking away.  We'll see.  Either way, we love you Sarah!

Over at Huffington Post, Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore notes that rumors of an "iceberg scandal" are circulating.

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reports that "people very close to Sarah Palin" said that the governor "told her supporters that she is out of politics, period.  She is fed up with politics.  She doesn't like her life."

Well, now that makes several gazillion of us.  If Sarah Palin can weather the upcoming storm, or if the clouds of scandal mysteriously disappear, I feel certain that she'll return to politics.  It is, after all, what she knows.  It's really all that she knows, besides how to kill wolves from helicopters and gaze suspiciously at Russia from her house.) 

(Image courtesy Zina Saunders © 2009)

Related Post:  Palin's Horrific AG Choice: Misogynist and Bigot

Related Post:  Sarah Palin: People lived alongside dinosaurs!

FRC's Hasty Smear Campaign Against Gay Appointee

Religious conservative in the bigot brigade are now smearing Kevin Jennings, President Barack Obama's appointment to the Department of Education.  In Wingnut World, a gay or lesbian person that has anything to do with schools - much less this important government post - is bound to engage in all sorts of nefarious perversions.  Amanda Terkel observes:  Jennings has had a distinguished career as a teacher, author, and founder of Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an organization that works to make schools safe for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.  It is primarily Jennings’ work with GLSEN that has so outraged the far right. The Family Research Council (FRC) launched the "Stop Kevin Jennings" campaign this week, warning that he is a "radical homosexual activist" who has "worked tirelessly to bring the homosexual agenda into our nation’s classrooms...  His history demonstrates disregard for our obligations to safeguard the health and well being of the student population,” writes FRC President Tony Perkins.  (Think Progress deftly dismantles all of FRC's malign talking points, exposing the organization's accusations as lies clumsily disguised as "facts.")

Kevin Jennings will begin his new job as Assistant Deputy Secretary to the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools on Monday.  Although his appointment was announced about a month ago, fundie fanatics, curiously, decided to wait until only a few days before he starts work to commence their orchestrated bleating.  Tony Perkins conducts the symphony of sheep.  Perkins is one of the high-profile right-wing hysterics that regularly attack, condemn, denounce, decry, and vilify LGBT individuals who refuse to cower inside a closet of shame.  He is the (sometimes) golden-haired boy that sparks joyful palpitations in the cold dead hearts of professional bigots like Sally Kern, James Dobson and the wizened Pat Robertson.  Perkins' followers use Scripture to persecute those who don't cleave to their mean-spirited religious beliefs.  They exhibit no sense of shame, and show no remorse over ruining lives.

The FRC's illustrated web petition that fundies are using to slander Kevin Jennings is comprised of out-of-context quotes from the GLSEN director's autobiography about coming of age as a gay youth in the American south.  And it poses this scary question:  Would you choose this man to guide your children?

Here's a better question:  Would any sane parents choose to have their youngsters' lives "guided" by the maniacs at Family Research Council?  To these wingnuts, education is all about force-feeding faith, promoting intolerance and enabling bullies.  Change - or evolultion, for that matter - is simply not an option.  (Pictured:  Jennings, Perkins)

Related Post:  The Sarah Palin Elementary School: A Short Story

Sen. Landrieu objects to public option. So why should she care?

Dave Hornstein writes:  When every other industrialized country has a system of universal health care coverage while spending considerably less per capita on health care than the U.S., it should be obvious that there is something seriously wrong with private health insurance and it is time for the government to step in.  If some politicians have to be shamed into doing the right thing, so be it.

Lousiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, has received more than a million and a half dollars from private health insurance interests.  She has had taxpayer-funded insurance for most of her adult life.  Unlike many American citizens, she doesn't spend sleepless nights worrying about how the cost of a medical emergency would ruin her family's finacial future.  Even so,  Landrieu has become one of the most vocal opponents of comprehensive health care reform. 

But now a coalition of three progressive organizations are challenging Landrieu's position with a 60-second television spot that highlights contributions to the Louisiana lawmaker from insurance companies and other industry interests.  The ad shows post-Katrina crusader Karen Gadbois sharing her personal story and pointing out Landrieu's self-interested opposition to health care reform.  From Political Ticker:  The new spot is the latest element of a weeks-long campaign aimed at Landrieu and other senators who have expressed skepticism about or opposition to a public option as Congress weighs a massive overhaul of the nation's health care system. The effort has already included state-level phone campaigns, Web and radio ads...  Landrieu is also facing pressure from the right. Conservatives for Patients Rights, which opposes President Obama's health care plan, has gone on the airwaves in a dozen states — including Louisiana — that are represented by conservative Democrats or moderate Republicans viewed as possible swing votes. The spots urge viewers to call on their senators to reject any government-run option. 

Although GOP legislators and a surprising number of Democrats stubbornly oppose the public option, voters aligned with both parties see this as a necessary part of health care reform. Lawmakers who insist on defending the status quo do so at their political peril.  Watch the commercial that makes Mary Landrieu cringe...

Nowhere to Turn: Gay Sailor Murdered at Camp Pendleton

There are some indications that the gay service member found murdered at Camp Pendleton was the victim of a hate crime, and a U.S. representative from California has called upon the military to explore that possibility.  From the LA Times:  Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) said today he had asked the U.S. Department of Defense and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of a sailor, who was gay, at Camp Pendleton was a hate crime.  Filner, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he wanted a complete investigation of circumstances surrounding the death of Seaman August Provost, 29, of Houston. Provost's body was found about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in a guard shack on the western edge of the sprawling base...  Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, said Provost's family said the sailor had been harassed by other personnel on the base.  Filner said initial indications are that Provost was shot and his body burned.

From San Diego.com:  Provost's partner, Kaether Cordero, said Provost was openly gay but kept his private life quiet for the most part.  "People who he was friends with, I knew that they knew," Cordero said from Houston. "He didn't care that they knew. He trusted them." Provost had recently complained to family members about a person who was harassing him, so they advised him to tell his supervisor, said his sister, Akalia Provost of Houston.  (But he couldn't do that because he would have been fired from his job, President Obama.)  Provost's sister also said that her brother was "the type that if someone comes at him, he walks away. He never stands and argues. He didn't deserve anything but a good life."

Seaman Provost was no doubt too worried about being outed and subsequently discharged to report to his superior officers that he was being intimidated and harassed.  Such is the malignancy of DADT.  Pam Spaulding nails it:  How on earth are service members placed in this position supposed to ask for help?  I hope someone asks Robert Gibbs about this at the next presser - or the President or Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid.  How should a harassment dilemma of this kind should be addressed if one is to be truthful?  If Provost's death turns out to be a hate crime, the blood will be on their hands for the inaction - leaving gays and lesbians in uniform in harm's way for the sake of affirming homophobia in the ranks.

This brutal murder comes on the same day Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Pentagon hopes to make "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" investigations and attitudes toward gays and lesbians more "humane."  (Well, not firing somebody simply because they're honest would be "more humane" - but that's not what Gates is currently proposing.) 

As it's been said time and again, as Commander-in-chief President Obama has the power to halt these discharges with the stroke of a pen.  He could do it now.  Today.  He could do it tomorrow.  Or the day after tomorrow.  And once that temporary measure was in effect, he could press Congress to push through the legislation that will end this INHUMANE policy forever.  Obama could become the "fierce advocate" he promised us he'd be. But it would require more leadership and resolve than he's been demonstrating.  And more heart.

UPDATE:  The director of public affairs for Navy Region Southwest claims that at this time there is "no evidence" that the murder of August Provost was a hate crime (which won't surprise anyone familiar with the way military brass spin potentially embarrassing incidents).  But Capt. Matt Brown also admits they have no motive in the case.  Two "persons of interest" were taken into custody; one of them was released yesterday.  Provost's family members believe it was a hate crime, and they have ordered an independent autopsy.

(Pictured above:  Seaman August Provost, Defense Secretary Robert Gates.  Editorial cartoon by David Horsey.)

 

Thursday Kibble: Sanford, Gingrich, Thomas, Russian Brides, et al.

South Carolina Republicans are jumping ship on Gov. Mark Sanford over his adulterous liaison and misuse of public funds, with ten out of twenty-seven GOP senators now calling for his resignation.  Versha Sharma at Talking Points Memo provides the schadenfreude.  Conservative columnist William Bennett says Sanford should stop "embarrassing himself" and that "he is telling us way too much."  (Speak for yourself, Bill.  I'm still enjoying the sordid details.)

On Fox News Channel, a guest appearing on The Glenn Beck Program is hoping for another terrorist attack against America.  (This seems to be an evolving theme with some Republicans - and it will bite them on the ass.)  Crooks and Liar's David Neiwert snaps the leash.

Former house speaker Newt Gingrich says this about America's health insurance providers:  "They have done it well."  (If by "it" he means lining their pockets at the expense of patient care, then yes, they've done that extremely well.  But no, Gingrich is just sucking corporate teat.)  And he gets his facts wrong, according to Think Progress.

Ads for Russian Brides have been appearing all over ScienceBlogs, which is particularly offensive in light of their recent (and worthwhile) Silence is the Enemy campaign.  DrugMonkey and GrrlScientist object to the practice of accepting ads from companies that sell female flesh in the guise of finding wives for men too lazy (or scary) to obtain a mate in the usual way.  

The Delhi High Court has just overturned Indian Penal Code 337 that criminalized consensual gay sex.  Rex Wockner explains why this is marvelous news for equality advocates around the globe:  "India is the world's second-most-populous nation: 17.22 percent of all humans live there. That's 1,165,760,000 people."  
 
Todd S. Purdum of Vanity Fair has written a delicious expose about Sarah Palin.  With gossipy anecdotes and insider observations, the article shows why the Alaska governor was such a disaster as a vice-presidential candidate.  Some light is shed on Palin's delusions of grandeur:  More than once in my travels in Alaska, people brought up, without prompting, the question of Palin’s extravagant self-regard... When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it "Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father."  And I like Purdum's take on the political climate in Alaska:  It is culturally conservative: the local newspaper recently published an article that asked, "Will the Antichrist be a Homosexual?"  It is in this Alaska - where it is possible to be both a conservative Republican and a pothead, or a foursquare Democrat and a gun nut - that Sarah Palin learned everything she knows about politics, and about life. It was in this environment that her ambition first found an outlet in public office, and where she first tasted the 151-proof Everclear that is power.  (You really should read this in its entirety.)  Purdum's piece has prompted catfighting infighting among Republican strategists.  Over at Video Cafe there's a clip of Purdum discussing his article on Hardball.

Veteran correspondent Helen Thomas and CBS reporter Chip Reid take issue with the Obama administration's lack of transparency.  Their questions annoy White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.  Raw Story has video of the encounter.  (When Helen is riled, pit bulls tremble.)  Bill Dupray at The Examiner compares Gibbs to "a smart-ass 16 year old kid" and says he should resign.  (I second that.  Gibbs is consistently unprepared, and he's as snide as any spokesperson Bush trotted out to the public.)  Thomas also called Prez O. on the carpet for praising "the power of the images of brutality coming out of Iran" while at the same time refusing to release images of our own brutality against prisoners at Gitmo.  Obama brushed her off.  Glenn Greenwald at Salon notes the hypocrisy.

The Elephantine Ego of Meghan McCain

John McCain's daughter Meghan has announced that she is writing a book, "half political, and it's half a memoir."  Not only that, she fully expects the book to made into a movie starring Hilary Duff.  The self-described "new face of the Republican Party" says that she's quite happy her Dad didn't win the presidential election:  "I'm so relieved. I did not get along with the Secret Service, so it's good that I'm not living there.  You know those Disney movies where princesses are always well guarded?  Life in the White House is just like that, except there were no cute guards.  Seriously, none of them were cute at all!"

And this is the young woman who believes that her many life achievements - and when I think of one I'll let you know - warrant memoirs and a Hollywood blockbuster.  From NY Daily News:  "I want Hilary Duff to play me. I think she's really hot - hotter than me - but I'd still want her to play me," Sen. John McCain's daughter confided to us at the Trevor Project's summer gala on Monday night at Capitale... The book, due next spring from Hyperion, will examine "what it means to be a progressive Republican in the party today," according to McCain.  While the release of the book may bring her family back into the spotlight, McCain believes any attention would be nothing compared to living in the White House - something she says the Obamas are handling with aplomb.

As GOPers go, Meghan is certainly more enlightened than the brainwashed Bible bobbleheads currently running the conservative movement.  Her manner is sweet and endearing.  I can't find fault with her views on social issues.  She's confident.  She's attractive, in a Rubenesque Barbie way. 

Ms. McCain recently appeared on The Colbert Report where she opened the interview talking about licking Stephen Colbert's face.  (She never actually did, although Colbert seemed up for it.)  Below are some snippets of Meghan Wisdom from the segment:

"The Democratic Party isn't necessarily a better place for the gay community than the Republican Party."  (Now I may be disappointed with the Dem's lack of action on LGBT rights, but please.  The party of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich is not a place where self-respecting gays and lesbians will ever be welcome.)  

"I am a lot more religious than I let on.  I have a great relationship with God, and I was raised to love people and not judge people."  (Tolerant Republicans are scarcer than evolutionary biologists at a creation museum, and should be encouraged.)    

"I don't believe Twittering is going to make anybody think the Republican Party is cooler.  At all."  (Well, she's right about that.)

"I believe that the Republican Party is an awesome party to be a part of.  I'm proud to be a Republican, but I was inspired by my father and I was on the road for two years, and I got to meet the most legendary, intelligent Republicans in this party - and not everybody gets that opportunity.  So all I'm trying to say is, it can be a party for a 24-year-old pro-sex woman.  It can be."

I'm willing to concede that Meghan McCain might be sincere in her advocacy for a new and improved GOP.  But appearing at some rallies and meeting "legendary, intelligent Republicans" does not a compelling book and movie make.  Well.  Maybe a Lifetime Network movie.  With a few accomplishments under her belt, though, who knows?  If Ms. McCain is able to breathe some sanity into the Republican Party, I'll be the first to offer her my heartfelt thanks.  It would be a Cinderella Story worth telling, even though Meghan's privileged childhood is as far removed from that particular fairy tale as I am from Uranus.  But at this point in time there's simply no book here, just a work in progress.

Police use pepper spray on guests at quiet backyard fundraiser.

"When the police behave like home invaders, who will protect us?" - Kimberly Green 

It's surprising how many of these incidents have cropped up during Gay Pride Month.  Or is it?

The Nuts and Bolts:  In San Diego County, a backyard fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby was being held at the home of a lesbian couple.  A neighbor showed up and started hurling anti-gay insults at the group of less than thirty women.  The heckler then called police to complain about the noise, which Busby says was not loud.  The police arrived, pepper-sprayed the guests, and arrested 60-year old Shari Barman, who was hosting the event.  Barman was thrown to ground by Deputy Marshall Abbott, injuring her shoulder.

Kimberley Beatty, 42, a stay-at-home mother who attended the fundraiser, said of the arresting officer:  "He had a raged look in his eyes, and his head was bobbing from side to side," which prompted her to call 911 and report that the deputy "appeared to be out of control."

Edge Boston:   A guest departing at the time of Deputy Abbott’s arrival, Tom DiCioccio, estimated that the crowd had already dwindled to 15; the DiCioccio also claimed that he saw Abbott stride right into Barman’s house without knocking.  Inside, guests indicated that Abbott behaved with excessive force. When Abbott asked Barman her age, she asked why that information was needed for a citation for noise.  Said Busby, "No one was refusing to comply," but Abbott evidently saw it differently: at that point, Barman was informed that she was being arrested.  When Barman attempted to walk away from Abbott, witnesses said, Abbott seized her by the arm and shoved her to the ground.  Witnesses said that Barman was clearly in pain at this point.  When Barman’s partner, Jane Stratton, 55, stepped forward to ask Abbott to be careful because Barman had recently had shoulder surgery, Abbot knocked her down, according to a statement later released by Barman.  Guests helped Barman up and escorted her away from Abbott, who then began to spray the attendees of the fundraiser with pepper spray.

TPM's Eric Kleefeld later spoke with the candidate:  Busby strongly denied that anyone at the fundraiser did anything to provoke violence by the sheriffs. (For their part, the sheriffs claim that somebody kicked an officer.) ... I asked her about a statement from one of the arresting officers, Sgt. Thomas Yancey, that Busby herself should have shown leadership in keeping the crowd in order.  She obviously disagrees. "Because first of all, nothing was happening until this woman was arrested. He put her in a restraint-hold and she fell to the floor," she said. "I walked in when all the confusion started, and he was spraying pepper spray in all their faces...and frankly someone told me, 'You need to get out of here,' because it was out of control.  He was not listening; there was no controlling this person. The people who asked him to stop hurting this woman were pepper-sprayed without warning, there was no talking to this man."  Busby made it clearer to me that these were not the sort of typically rowdy political demonstrators.  "They were middle-aged and above.  This is not a rowdy crowd."

According to Sheriff Bill Gore, an internal investigation into the incident will be conducted.  So, who's taking bets that this out-of-control deputy will be exonerated?  And the homophobic heckler who started everything by filing a false complaint?  Nope, no charges there.  (Pictured: Democratic candidate Francine Busby.)

Pious Sally's Economic Profundity

Oh. My. God.  Everything makes sense!  It was there, right in front of our noses, the entire time!

America's economic woes were not caused by imprudent bankers and greedy Wall Street executives - it's the fault of gays and lesbians!

Professional homobigot Sally Kern has been spending every waking hour peddling her Proclamation for Morality to Oklahoma state lawmakers, claiming that the ravaged economy is a direct result of our country's lax morals.  Sayeth Holy Sal:  "If we will take care of the Morality, God will take care of the Prosperity."  (We already know that Sally's husband, Pastor Steve Kern, wants to "take care" of morality by locking up gays in "treatment facilities."  One wonders if the Kerns' "final solution" for abortion providers might involve similar detention camps with giant gas-fueled Easy-Bake ovens.)

As it was delivered from God's tongue to Sally Kern's ear:

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and
WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and
WHEREAS, my magnificent bosoms are swollen with bountiful purpose for your delight...

Wait.  That last part is from Gov. Mark Sanford's inbox.  My mistake. 

You'll notice that, cleaving to the fundie extremist view, Kern lumps marriage equality to sex trafficking and child abuse.  But divorce?  Divorce is a debauchery?  I guess that means GOP leaders like Newt Gingrich, John McCain, and Rush Limbaugh are also responsible for the financial crisis.    

From Think Progress:  Last year, Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern (R) drew well-deserved criticism for an outlandish rant against the gay community, in which she compared homosexuality to "toe cancer" and said, "It’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.  Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades.  So it’s the death knell of this country."  ...Though Kern denies that her proclamation is timed to coincide with gay pride celebrations across the country, critics say otherwise.  Kern’s proclamation specifically criticizes President Obama for recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month.

The complete proclamaion has been posted on Dispatches From the Culture Wars.  Blogger Ed Brayton notes that the document contains two fake historical quotes, one from Patrick Henry and one from James Madison.  (See, that's how wingnuts operate.  If history doesn't suit them, they just make up shit.)

Sally Kern may be the most loathsome politician in America, and those Oklahomans who keep voting her into office do nothing but draw attention to the hideous face of Christian zealotry. 

I don't know whether or not there is an afterlife.  But I do know this:  Spending eternity with Kern and other religious fundies would be pure hell.

More Pretty Words from Obama at Teh Gay Parteeee...

Responding to ever-growing discontent from the nation's LGBT community, President Obama yesterday addressed a group of 250 POTUS-friendly gay leaders at a White House cocktail party event, supposedly commemorating the Stonewall Riots: 

"I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises that I made, but by promises that my administration keeps."  (And if the president ever gets around to keeping those promises - or starts showing any "fierce leadership" on LGBT issues - we will be thrilled to sing his praises.)

Joe Sudbay writes on AmericaBlog:  The President tells us that he's looking for a "practical" solution to Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  (We've also heard the solution has to be "durable" or "sustainable.")  But, it has to be an Act of Congress.  It really really really really has to be an Act of Congress and not a stop-loss order that could achieve the same thing by executive order immediately.  It's too bad that in the meantime two gay service men and women are kicked out every day... See, we're going to continue to ruin the lives of people who want to serve their nation, but, in the long run, that's okay.  Because we're perpetually at war.  But, someday we'll have a "practical" or "durable" or "sustainable" solution.  Although, it is funny how how "practical" and "durable" and "sustainable" weren't talking points on DADT during the campaign.  They sure are now that Obama is dragging his feet on every major campaign promise to the gay community...  He's the president now, not some candidate.  He can do more than talk...  And, while many of the so-called gay "leaders" in the East Room may be assuaged and bought off by the promise of champagne and a heartfelt "God bless you" from the man who promised much, lots more people are mad as hell and starting to think they're being taken for a ride.

Although Obama didn't actually apologize for that grotesque DOJ brief defending DOMA, he did seem to acknowledge its inappropriateness:  "Now, I want to add we have a duty to uphold existing law, but I believe we must do so in a way that does not exacerbate old divides."  Well, yes, equating committed gay unions to incest and pedophilia is an old divide... for wingnuts.  But it's not something we would have expected of your administration, Prez O.

From the Boston Globe:  His supporters say he does not want to alienate conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans, whose votes he needs to pass major legislation on healthcare and other priorities.  (Which presupposes that these righty Dems and mod Repugs would find equality so distasteful that they'd use it to hold up other legislation.)  But critics and some gay activists say he is turning his back on some of his most loyal backers.  (We're used to it.)  Earlier this month, Obama did sign a presidential memorandum, extending benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees in the civil service and the foreign service.  (Relocation expenses are nice, but health care would have been something to crow about.  I know I know, hands tied, act of Congress, yada yada.)  ...Boston University law professor Robert Volk says that short of overturning the "don't ask" and anti-gay marriage laws, "Obama is very limited in the steps he can take to reverse discrimination.  Absent repeal of these laws, however, the president could ease up enforcement of the 'Don’t Ask' policy by halting legal actions to discharge gay or lesbian soldiers.  He could also stop defending DOMA in the courts."  

Yes He Can.  But No - snap! - No He Diddent.

UPDATE:  At one point during the event, Obama spoke privately to a decorated fighter pilot who is being discharged under DADT.  The President told Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach that even though roughly 75% of the public supports ending the policy, it's hard to accomplish because because of a "generational gap."  (Is Obama waiting for 115% public support before he does anything?  Or do we have to wait until all those elderly warhawks have died of old age?)     

Nutty's Prayer

To the backyard squirrels, I am God ...

Police raid on Texas gay bar leaves man hospitalized.

A surly group of police officers raided the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, leaving one bar patron hospitalized with a fractured skull... 

Tammy Nash writes on the Dallas Voice:  Kristy Morgan, sister of Chad Gibson, just called me to give an update on her brother. Chad is the man who was hospitalized after being thrown to the floor by police during a raid last night on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth... a second CAT scan performed this afternoon showed that the bleeding in his brain had increased.  "We won’t know anything more until tomorrow when they do more tests,” she said.  Kristy said Chad has awake today, but that he has no memory of the incident in the bar and that his memory of events today have been spotty. She said he remembers her being there, but that he doesn’t remember talking to the doctor this morning, and he doesn’t remember visits by some of his friends during the day.  Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns has issued the following statement:  "I  am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation of the actions of the City of Fort Worth Police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in relation to the incident at the Rainbow Lounge earlier this morning, June 28, 2009.  It is unfortunate that this incident occurred in Fort Worth and even more so to have occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall protests... I am working together with our Mayor, Police Chief, the City of Fort Worth Human Relations Commission, and our State Legislative colleagues to get a complete and accurate accounting of what occurred...  Every Fort Worth citizen deserves to have questions around this incident answered and I am working aggressively toward that end."

I'm old enough to remember when the HPD routinely raided gay establishments in Houston.  I was hauled off to jail during one of these raids and my partner and I were present when several others went down.  This harassment was not uncommon even two decades years ago.  Raids usually happened when a bar owner couldn't afford to grease the palms of cops patrolling the area, or wouldn't hire an off-duty officer for "protection."  It was always the same.  HPD accompanied by TABC goons swept into a club, supposedly looking for liquor violations.  They made a big show of examining the club's permit to sell alcohol.  If they couldn't find any infractions, they started arresting people at random - usually for public intoxication.  They would make clubgoers stand against a wall, and one of the cops would walk down the line and point:  "You" and "you" and "you" and "you."  And then it was off to the slammer.  (Yes, the cops were rough, and often there were injuries.)  Thing is, many of the patrons they took to jail were sober.  But the police knew that gays would likely pay their fines and keep quiet.

In Texas, homobigots are more common than cattle.  But something like this happening in 2009, at this particular time of the year, just smells.  It smells like vengeance against the gay community over recent advances in LGBT equality.

UPDATE:  According to the Houston Chronicle, Fort Worth Police are now saying that "two intoxicated individuals made sexually explicit moves toward officers and a third grabbed a TABC agent’s groin." 

This claim is not only offensive, it's totally absurd.  When a raid is going on, bar patrons are thinking of only one thing:  "I want to get the hell out of here without being arrested."  Facing a night in jail, no one is interested in fondling some fat cop.

UPDATE:  Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead says that he's "happy" with the restraint used which left Chad Gibson hospitalized.  Dan Savage at Slog translates Halstead's public statements into "Them faggots in that thar bar touched mah officers and now they're complainin' about some rough stuff and one little ol' faggot with a brain injury? Those perverts should be grateful they're alive."

No jail time for cop who assaulted three people.

"It was terrifying to be attacked by such a big man. I tried to protect myself, but I was helpless. I thought about the beating a lot. I had nightmares about it..."  - Karolina Obrycka

A Chicago off-duty police officer who was videotaped savagely beating a female bartender (along with two other people) has been found guilty of aggravated battery.  But thanks to Judge John Fleming, this out-of-control cop will not be serving any time behind bars.  From Chicago Breaking News:  Anthony Abbate was sentenced to two years probation for beating Karolina Obrycka in February of 2007.  He could have gotten up to five years for the attack, which was captured by the bar's security camera and shown around the world.  Judge John Fleming said he decided against jail because he did not believe the crime was serious enough and throwing Abbate behind bars would not be a deterrent to others...  In arguing for prison time, prosecutors produced a previously unseen video from the bar hours before Obrycka was attacked showing Abbate beating someone else.  In the video, a man in the bar can be seen speaking with Abbate for a few seconds, after which Abbate grabs the man, slams him against a wall and then throws him across the room.  The man crashes to the floor and into the bar stools, and Abbate stands over him as the man tries to shimmy away on his back.  Assistant State's Atty. LuAnn Snow said the attack was one of three unprovoked assaults in the span of 6 hours, a violent window into "a day in the life of Anthony Abbate."  ... Snow said it was "by the grace of God" that Obrycka wasn't more severely injured.  (You can see video of the original assault here.)

The article goes on to state that Abbate was facing other charges including intimidation, communicating with a witness, and official misconduct - but that the prosecutors dismissed most of them before going to trial (probably thinking a brutal assault that was taped was enough to put this cretin away).  Judge Fleming himself dismissed the two counts of official misconduct. Thanks, yer Honorful!   

Although the Independent Police Review Authority has recommended that Abbate be fired from his job, an organization called the Fraternal Order of Police is willing to let bygones be bygones.  FOP head Mark Donahue says, "He had his day in court, and like it or not, the results are what they are."

After sentencing, Judge Fleming offered Abbate a chance to say something to his victims.  The police officer declined.  He breezed out of the courtroom with his fiancé, refusing to acknowledge the woman he had assaulted. 

Obrycka said, "I'm very disappointed that he didn't apologize for what he did."  (AP photos.)

Rowdy's Roundup: Sanford, Bachmann, Climate Change Bill, etc.

Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini argues that Gov. Mark Sanford should remain in office and insists that "Sanford's affair cannot be a factor in determining whether he stays or goes."  When Rufffini talks about the hypocrisy of his fellow religious conservatives, he smugly puts the word 'hypocrisy' in quotation marks.  He wails about an imaginary double standard that exists between Gopers and Democrats:  "This is a structural disadvantage that, on the margins, hurts Republican officeholders, forcing them into resignation or disgrace more easily than their equally adulterous Democratic counterparts."   On Alternet, Steve Benen promptly counters that horseshit:  I tend to see this differently.  For one thing, I'm not at all sure that Republicans are forced into "resignation or disgrace" more easily than unfaithful Dems.  In fact, I get the sense that's backwards - the only recently caught adulterer to resign from office was Eliot Spitzer.  Sanford, Ensign, Vitter, Craig, et al were all caught while in office, and each one ignored calls to step down.

Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly are howling piteously about liberals' reaction to Sanford's adulterous ways.  David Neiwert at Crook and Liars muzzles those two hounds.

During an interview on Fox News, Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann stupidly suggests that the Obama administration might use census data to imprison Americans in concentration camps, and she says that she will refuse to answer most of the questions on the national survey.  The Census Bureau politely informs Ms. Bachmann that non-compliance is not an option.  Amanda Terkel reports for Think Progress.

Is our new president morphing into George W. Bush?  According to an article in the Washington Post, the Obama administration wants the power to detain terror suspects indefinitely.  On Kos, David Walkman offers an instant analysis.  Ken Guide at Wonk Room calls it "a big step in the right direction."  (It's certainly a step in the right-wing direction.)

Madfloridian takes a look at White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's "go Right to win" philosophy, and how it relates to legislative inaction on immigration reform.

The former mayor of Gainesville, a Republican who once served as deacon at the First Baptist Church, has been busted for public nudity.  Pam Spaulding sniffs out the story on Pam's House Blend.

Over at Politico, Lisa Lerer and Patrick O'Connor provide a good rundown on the political maneuvers surrounding that historic Climate Change Bill which was narrowly approved by the House, 219-212.

On Bilerico Project, Austin Crowder responds to 5 common arguments made by those who oppose transgender equality.

Greg Laden writes about Bible thumpers getting arrested at the Minneapolis Gay Pride Fest.

Ed Brayton calls it "the weirdest bits of video ever produced by Fox News."  Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly affirm their nuttiness by using Barbie dolls to explain ACORN.  (So what's next?  GI Joes re-enacting the Iraq War?)