I Didn't Say It....

Jay Hayes, the captain of the NYU men’s volleyball team, in an "It Gets Better" video:

“Athletics is the next frontier for gay rights. When you look at the civil rights movement, it wouldn’t have been as successful if a person like Jackie Robinson hadn’t been there. I really hope that a gay athlete comes out soon. I think that professional sports these days are just a business and these players know that it could hurt the brand and the bottom line if they came out. Once we see a professional gay athlete come out and succeed, that will be monumental."

And, in my mind, it would have to be an athlete on a team, as opposed to say an individual sport athlete--gymnast or swimmer.

Then we can see how the rest of the team reacts to the openly gay player.

That'll be a big change, and I know it's coming.

Frank Bruni, on marriage equality, and homophobia:

"Voters in states with marriage equality on the ballot can tell us that we matter as much as anyone else. Or they can tell us that we don’t. Many of us--most of us, I hope--figured out long ago how not to root our self-esteem in the soil of popular opinion. But not everyone succeeds in doing that. Some people respond to the climate around them. They flourish when it’s hospitable. And when it’s hostile, they fail to, often falling prey to self-destructive behavior, and on occasion even ending their lives early. What sort of 'values,' family or otherwise, abet or turn a blind eye to that? 'Overt homosexuality' is a phrase with little currency today. But censure and condemnation of homosexuals still have traction. And a price."

More proof, though I didn't need it, that coming out is best for the entire LGBT community, and for the LGBT individual.

It's hard to demonize your co-worker, next door neighbor, or friend.

Oh, I know some people do, but it does get hard to demonize a gay person when they right next to you.

Anne Rice, on Facebook Easter Sunday:

"Happy Easter, Gay People of the World: you have indeed risen in the last few decades from centuries of persecution and oppression. May this be a great holiday for you all wherever you are. You are winning the battle for equal rights. And your victory over discrimination and hate is a victory for all oppressed persons. Happy Easter!"

It's another step in making sure that equality is for all of us.

Andrew Sullivan, on the rise of atheism: 

"What has happened since 1960 is that organized groups, like the Southern Baptist Council and other religious groups, have in fact become self-consciously political. They have become fused with one political party, the Republican Party--a party that is now defined by a particular religious faith, evangelicalism or far-right Catholic hierarchy. And that is making many people feel that faith in Jesus is about politics and power and partisanship, in ways that’s turning off an entire generation. The biggest growth in any belief sector in this country in the last ten years has been atheism."

Jesus was not a Republican.

Say it with me.

Jesus was not a Republican.

And, neither was he a Democrat.

Separation of church and state is a good thing, for these very reasons.

Rick Warren, on when he might evolve on marriage equality:

"Well, if the Bible is the word of God, then I don’t have the right to change it. Policies come and go over the years. And so if I’m unpopular for certain beliefs, well, then I’m unpopular for certain beliefs. And to me, the Bible is very clear that sex is for a man and a woman in marriage only...history shows that when the church accommodates culture, it weakens it. This is why there is a very weak church in Europe today. It’s almost non-existent in many areas."

Hmmm, I wonder if Rick realizes he shouldn't be shaving his facial hair, because, you know, the Bible, the word of God, doesn't like that.

Does he eat shellfish? God won;t be happy.

Wear clothing of mixed textiles? God won't be happy.

But then God knows that Rick Warren is a pandering hypocrite who hides his hatred in a book.

Mitt Romney, on Frothy's exit from the campaign:

"Senator Santorum is an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran. He has proven himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation. We both recognize that what is most important is putting the failures of the last three years behind us and setting America back on the path to prosperity."

Mittsy comparing himself to Santorum.

Yeah, that'll get him elected.

Oh, except that he'll change his mind on that point, too, and suddenly begin distancing himself form his severely conservative rhetoric.

Hilary Rosen, apologizing to Ann Romney [sort of]:
"Let’s put the faux ‘war against stay at home moms’ to rest once and for all. As a mom, I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen. In response to Mitt Romney on the campaign trail referring to his wife as a better person to answer questions about women than he is, I was discussing his poor record on the plight of women’s financial struggles. As a partner in a firm full of women who work outside of the home as well as stay-at-home mothers, all with plenty of children, gender equality is not a talking point for me. It is an issue I live every day. I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance."

And it's just another way Mittsy will shift focus from his flip-fopping record, by keeping this spat alive.
End it.
Ann Romney was a stay-at-home Mom who worked very hard raising five sons while her millionaire husband fired people and put money in banks in the Cayman Islands.
There.....all better now?


Bev Perdue, governor of North Carolina, on her opposition to North Carolina's Amendment One that would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships:

"Whatever your personal, moral or religious views might be, writing discrimination into North Carolina’s constitution is just plain wrong...It would ban the state from recognizing civil unions, strip away domestic partner benefits and it actually could eliminate legal protections for all unmarried couples in the state. This will harm the stability and security of North Carolina families like never before....The amendment I believe is dangerous for women. There is a real risk that some laws we have on the books now to protect the victims of domestic violence may no longer apply to many women in the state."


Keeping it plain and simple.
Discrimination.Is.Wrong.
Discrimination, as law, is unconscionable.
Thanks, Governor.

Mittsy Uses His Wife To Detail The Struggle Of Women In This Country

Here's the deal: Mittsy has changed from being a moderate Republican, who favors healthcare and same-sex-marriage, to being, as he dubbed himself, 'severely conservative'.

Here's the rest of the deal: Women, by a margin of 2-to1 favor Barack Obama and his ideas over Mittsy, because, most severely conservative politicians want to focus on birth control and contraception, and abortion rights, and most women know that those issues are personal and not up for debate by a rich white man.

Ann Romney

So, Mittsy has been trying to close the supposed gender gap between himself and Obama this week, mostly by releasing false 'facts' about what the Obama Administration has done to harm women in the last 3-plus years. But then Mittsy says he relies on his wife to tell him what issues are important to women, and where women stand on what a president should be doing.

His wife? Why not, oh, I dunno, ask the women of America? See, Ann Romney is not the poster child of women's issues in this country. She is not the normal woman, working outside the home and struggling to make ends meet while raising a family.

And, to that end, during a discussion on Anderson Cooper 360 about this so-called war on women,  Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen said she agreed with Mitt Romney's claim that women care more about economic issues than reproductive rights, but she felt that Mittsy's use of his wife's perspective shows how poorly the former Massachusetts governor connects with voters because, as Rosen said: "His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing."

Hilary Rosen

Now, anyone with half a brain, which is, apparently half again more than the Romney Campaign, knows that Rosen meant Ann Romney has never worked outside the home. Rosen was never implying that women who stay at home, working to raise a family, don't actually work.

But, hey, if Mittsy can spin it to make himself look good, then spin away.

First to fire back, Ann Romney, herself, who created a Twitter account just to respond: "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work." 

Guess what, Ann? No one is saying raising children isn't work. My mother did it, and it was hard work. i know, I helped make it hard for her. But most women, Ann, don't have the luxury of being married to a millionaire so they can stay home and have children and not rely on a second, outside income, to make ends meet.

Rosen was saying that you, Ann Romney, have never struggled like the millions of women who go to work outside the home everyday, and then come home to work inside the home everyday.

And there is a difference between your work, and the work of women who do two jobs a day. Which is something neither you nor your husband understand because you've never taken the time to take that silver spoon out of your mouth,  or out of your ass, to see how "real" people struggle.

Second to fire back, was Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, who also Tweeted about Hilary Rosen and wrongly called her an Obama adviser,. 

Hey Eric? That was a lie and you know it, and knew it, and said it just to make your candidate look good. Hilary Rosen is employed neither by the Obama campaign nor the Democratic National Committee.

She's a woman who works outside the home and has an opinion.

Third to fire back, surprisingly, were Obama's strategists, who instantly disassociated themselves and the campaign from Rosen's comments.

Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager, also Tweeted [sidenote: does no one actually talk any more?]: "I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off-limits. She should apologize."

And Hilary Rosen did apologize, saying she has nothing against Ann Romney, but that her comments were meant only to criticize Mittsy use of his wife as an "expert on women and the economy."

So, let me set this queer: What Rosen means is that, of all the people Mittsy could use to make a point about women's concern about the economy and jobs, he chooses a woman who's never had to rely on outside employment to make ends meet. He chooses the wife of a millionaire to tell us how women who work outside the home struggle.

Not really a good idea, Mittsy.

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