Yearly Archives: 2005

Statehouse Rally for Equal Marriage Rights – March 8

In response to the State Legislature’s current bill (SJR 7) seeking to limit equal marriage rights for same-sex couples by amending the constitution, gay rights advocates and their friends and families are planning a Rally/Silent Protest at the east steps of the Indiana Statehouse on Tuesday, March 8 at 11 a.m. to protest this piece of legislation and several others that are currently under consideration. Organizers are expecting over 1,000 supporters to attend the rally.

This rally will also serve as a counter rally to the one taking place on the west side of the statehouse, held by the right-wing organization Advance America, founded by former political candidate and longtime lobbyist Eric Miller. Miller is a supporter of amending the Indiana constitution to prevent equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

The Legislation

A number of bills have been introduced into into the Indiana State Legislature this season that will have an effect on the lives of gay and lesbian citizens of Indiana. Here is a synopsis of three of them:

SJR 7 – EQUAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS: This bill seeks to amend the Indiana constitution to limit the possibility of marriage to a definition of one man and one woman, and additionally seeks to prevent any legal arrangements between same-sex couples that are intended to provide the same protections as marriage.

SJR 585 – ADOPTION/FOSTERING: This bill will prohibit gay people from being foster parents and adopting.

SJR 541 – DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS: This bill will limit eligibility under a state university health plan to an employee of the university and to the spouse and dependant children of the employee.

The first legislation, SJR 7 has already passed in the senate and will move on to the house in this legislative session. In the House of Representatives, SJR 7 is expected to be assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, which will conduct a hearing on the resolution in mid-March. A proposed constitutional amendment must be passed by two separately-elected legislatures, and then approved by voters in a state-wide referendum. The earliest such a vote could take place is November 2008.

Senators who voted no on SJR 7 include:
Anita Bowser (D-Michigan City)
Billie Breaux (D-Indianapolis)
John Broden (D-South Bend)
Glenn Howard (D-Indianapolis)
Tim Lanane (D-Anderson)
Earline Rogers (D-Gary)
Vi Simpson (D-Bloomington)
Sam Smith (D-East Chicago)

Additional Rally Information

Organizers describe the rally as a silent protest intended to emphasize the attempts by the religious right to silence the gay and lesbian community. They also ask attendees to remember that they want no noise, rude behavior or disorderly conduct, and that rally supporters are asked to stay off the Statehouse grass, to avoid blocking entrances to the Statehouse and foot traffic on the sidewalks. 15 to 20 organizers of the event will be on hand to provide crowd control and to help attendees maintain order.

There will be several speakers, including the possibility of Senators who opposed the legislation speaking or making an appearance.
Attendees of the Rally are encouraged to make signs. Organizers suggestions include: “SJR7 – The Hate Debate” or “SJR7 – Blatant Discrimination” or “Eric Miller -Conservative Approach; Extremist Agenda” or “Hate is Not a Family Value” or “It’s Our Constitution Too”
More information about the rally, including a map of the Statehouse, flyers that can be distributed, and parking information is available at [link deprecated http://www.stopthebigots.org] Stopthebigots.org.

Rally organizer Pepper Partin explains the motivation for the rally: “We are being persecuted because of our sexual orientation, and sexual orientation is no more of a choice than our height or our eye color or anything else that is part of our pre-determined make-up. So we must make sure people understand that we are not a subculture and this is not a lifestyle, and that is a big reason we must stop people like Eric Miller and his organization from making people think we are nature’s mistakes deserving of only table scraps beneath the table of equality. Our constitution is for everyone – not just for those who feel they are superior in some sense.”

Parking for the Rally

Attendees of the rally are urged to carpool to the event due to downtown parking and traffic considerations. Parking at Circle Center Mall may provide the best location.

Continue ReadingStatehouse Rally for Equal Marriage Rights – March 8

New Bush Social Security Strategy: Attack the AARP

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  • Post category:Politics

By now you probably know that the hugely powerful, hugely popular, non-partisan senior organization, the AARP, has done the math on the Social Security “Crisis” and realized that Bush’s plan will cost individuals huge money, while making a bundle for big businesses. So they are lobbying against Bush’s plan.

Here’s how Bush’s man Karl Rove is setting up the attack on the AARP: by creating a right-wing group called USANext, similar to the Swift Boat Veterans group, that will try to demonize the AARP as a “liberal” organization. Their opening salvo is ads placed on right wing websites like the American Spectator (see it in place in the right column, second position) — here’s the ad they created:

Bush Gay Marriage Attack Ad on AARP
Bush Gay Marriage Attack Ad on AARP

(source: original link, no longer active – http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_02_20.php#004857)

Now what this ad has to do with Social Security or the AARP is anyone’s guess, but this is what your pal George Bush is doing.

Considering that my grandparents are a part of the AARP, (and honestly, I think my dad might be, too) I’m guessing that this is one strategy that’s going to blow up in Karl Rove’s face.

UPDATE: They pulled the ad because of the controversy, but never fear, Josh Marshall has images of it in its original placement on the USANext website to prove it existed.

(source: original link, no longer active – http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_02_20.php#004865)

Continue ReadingNew Bush Social Security Strategy: Attack the AARP

My letter to the Indy Star about SJR-7

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  • Post category:Indiana

I’m writing to the citizens of Indiana regarding Senate Bill SJR-7, the anti-gay hate bill that just passed the Senate and will be moving to the house soon.

It’s fascinating to me that at the turn of the last century, Indianapolis was a mover and shaker on the national cultural scene. This city was at one time a hotbed for jazz music, a host of a major league baseball team, the home of nationally recognized artists (TC Steele, James Whitcomb Riley) and a breeding ground for national political figures. Indianapolis used to be a hot, hot town.

What happened to kill all of that? What turned us into the cultural backwater that we are today? The rise of the KKK and cultural conservativism in the 1920’s and the scandal and corruption that resulted from it. Bigotry and hatred sunk the state before, it’s going to do so again.

Gay rights advocates have been pointing out, correctly, that this bill will kill economic development in the state of Indiana, because companies will not be willing to move their businesses to a state where the goverment is bigotted to their employees. This bill’s strong wording WILL invalidate benefits that companies are currently providing for their employees, and that’s exactly the agenda that extremist hate groups like Eric Miller’s are aiming for.

It goes beyond big companies not moving to Indiana. If this state puts this hate and bigotry into the constitution, it means that people like me will leave the state. There will be a brain drain where thousands of the best and brightest pick up and move, and I will be one of them. And YOU NEED ME. If you want this state to recover and have a bright and healthy future, you need me, specifically, and thousands like me, to stay in Indiana.

You can start all the cultural initiatives that you want, you can move that “Big Red Arrow” all over the city, but if you don’t have people like me to attend your cultural events and write about them, to stimulate thought and ideas, to create art and visual work, to talk about the joy of living in Indianapolis and Indiana, it won’t mean anything.

Continue ReadingMy letter to the Indy Star about SJR-7

Marriage Discrimination Amendment Bill Passes Senate (SJR-7)

You may have read that yesterday the Senate passed SJR7, the bill designed to codify hate and discrimination against gay people into the Indiana Constitution. Soon it will pass the House, and then it will need to pass in another legislative season, and be voted on by the people of Indiana before it becomes the law of the land.

I fully expected it to happen, but I still felt almost knocked down by the shock of it. I want so much to be able to get married. It’s not going to happen in Indiana, apparently. My company has offices in Boston; it crossed my mind to look into getting transferred there.

This would not have happened if people I know had not voted Republican. And believe me, I’m not forgetting that. And I am holding a grudge.

Continue ReadingMarriage Discrimination Amendment Bill Passes Senate (SJR-7)

Funniest Fan Fiction Ever: The Daily Show with John Stewart Slash FanFic

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  • Post category:Books

Okay, after laughing out loud about this site in my cube at work, I was then required to explain the concept of Slash Fan Fiction to one of my co-workers, a guy who’s worked in the technology field for 9+ years. Who the heck hasn’t heard of slash fiction? I know most people don’t READ it (most of it’s unreadable anyway!) but most web-saavy people at least know what it is.

Regardless, the site itself is the funniest idea for slash fiction I’ve ever seen. I ran across it because the political site Wonkette blogged about it.

Continue ReadingFunniest Fan Fiction Ever: The Daily Show with John Stewart Slash FanFic

The Jeff Gannon/James Guckert Scandal

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For those of you who may not have followed the whole story…

First, On February 9th, Keith Olbermann aired on MSNBC a report about a “reporter” named “Jeff” who routinely sat in White House press conferences and asked questions that were clearly intended to promote a right-wing agenda, even addressing a question a few weeks ago to the President himself. Olbermann aired eight clips of the reporter’s questions, and then revealed that the “reporter” named “Jeff Gannon” wasn’t a real reporter at all, but a writer for Talon News, a website owned and run by the GOP. And what’s more, “Jeff Gannon” wasn’t even the guy’s real name — it’s James D. Guckert.

Second, Guckert didn’t have the press credentials to attend White House Press briefings; having been denied a press pass by Congress because he couldn’t pass their security clearance, he wasn’t eligible for one at the White House either. He was attending all these press briefings by using a more easily obtained “daily” pass each day; one that is intended for temporary use and not repeated attendance for months at a time.

While attending the press briefings, Guckert interrupted questions from legitimate reporters and wrote inflammatory articles on White House critics and opponents of the administration, including articles that were notoriously anti-gay.

On top of that, it’s not clear whether the passes were issued under his fake name of Gannon, or his real name of Guckert. Scott McClellan clearly addresses him by his fake name and has since mentioned that he didn’t know his real name, so the question is, how did he get a pass, and if it was under his real name, why was he getting called on by his fake one?
Wait, it gets worse.

1. Turns out that Guckert was attending press briefings long before the “Talon” website that was his “beat” was even in existence. He’s seen in a press briefing on February 28th, 2003, and the Talon wasn’t online until May 2003. Considering that to get even a daily pass, he would have to show clips from a news source, how did he get one?
http://c-span.org/

2. While Jeff Guckert was sitting in press briefings asking questions of the President and White House staff, he was also involved in a business under his real name where he created websites soliciting male prostitutes, and even had numerous photos and solicitations of himself as a male prostitute online. The guy who wrote inflammatory anti-gay material is gay himself, and involved in illegal activities.
http://americablog.blogspot.com

3. Guckert claimed to have seen confidential memos regarding the White House’s exposure of CIA agent Valerie Plame, something he had no clearance for whatsover.

4. Guckert knew about the invasion of Iraq four hours before it happened, long before legitimate news sources had access to the information.
http://rawstory.com/

5. Guckert bragged about passing on the scoop about Bush’s faked national guard memos, something he couldn’t have known with out White House connections.
http://www.freerepublic.com/

6. Guckert also worked with two South Dakota bloggers, again writing as an “independent” news source, to discredit Tom Daschle, who eventually lost his senate race.
http://www.salon.com/

7. Guckert’s connections in the White House got him invited to the White House Christmas Party, and at least one other “invitation-only” event; something that only Washington insiders can do, and an invitation would have to come from the president’s press secretary.
Media Matters article

“So what” you say?

Here’s what — this guy got into the White House over and over for months and did so to disrupt regular news reporting. There’s no way he could do that through White House security without someones help, which means he had some special relationship to someone in the White House. He also had access to confidential, privileged information.

How’d he get it? Some folks at Daily Kos have some pure speculation:
http://www.dailykos.com/
But the stuff at the Nashua Advocate seems a lot more plausible.

Continue ReadingThe Jeff Gannon/James Guckert Scandal

Exhibit: Glimpses of the African-American Artist

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  • Post category:Indianapolis

My friend Chizoma Sherman has some art which will be featured at the Collective Art Gallery (1043 Virginia Ave, just before the fountain in Fountain Square on the corner of Virginia and Woodlawn) in their exhibit titled Glimpses of the African-American Artist, a juried art competition for African-American Artists. The exhibit is open until February 26th. There will be an opening reception from 5:00 – 9:00 PM tonight (Friday, February 18), during which time all the artists in the exhibit will schmooze with people, drink wine, and say interesting things about art and the world at large.

Continue ReadingExhibit: Glimpses of the African-American Artist