Archives – December, 2010
An original version of this post was published on Sunday, December 19th, 2010. We’ll be having an open thread every night of the week leading up to Christmas for submissions on your favorite pieces of the year.
By Adam Bink
Over at my home blog, OpenLeft.com, we on the management team like to take the holidays off to rest, recharge, etc. While folks are often driven to write anyway because of current events or inspiration, what we do to keep things lively is feature past pieces that our readers particularly like. We call them “Golden Oldies”.
My tenure running the shop here ends on Christmas, as I plan to recharge as well (and travel), although I may continue at some point in the future. In the meantime, I decided to bring the same idea to P8TT. For the upcoming holiday season between Christmas and New Year’s, I’ll be re-posting some of the more interesting/provocative/brilliant front page pieces from P8TT’s history. The reason is because not everyone has a chance to read every piece throughout the year. As many of you know, if you Google “Prop 8 Trial”, it takes you here, and many folks who came here because they did that during the 9th Circuit hearing, or simply because they just heard about the blog, haven’t had a chance to read some of the better, more insightful pieces from the blog’s history.
So, we’d like to open up the floor to you to recommend your favorite stuff. It could be live-blogging from the Judge Walker’s district courthouse. It could be NOM tour posts, whether the national tour or the California tour. It could be a commentary piece you find particularly insightful that I did, or Eden, Julia, Rob, Jeremy Hooper, Karen Ocamb, Arisha, Rick, or someone else. Just leave a URL in the comments and we’ll pick the best suggestions. And of course, the management has ideas of our own.
To help you find the URLs, I recommend using the Categories “tags” on the right side of the page you’re currently viewing (they say Community/Meta, DADT Trial… NOM Tour Tracker… etc.). And if you want to go back to find earlier posts beyond the page you’re viewing, scroll down to the bottom and hit the “Older Posts” button. You can keep doing that to scroll back and back. Or, you could just use Google, and I recommend inserting the words “Prop 8 Trial Tracker” in your query along with whatever terms you remember, such as the author or topic. If you simply can’t find it, try asking your fellow P8TTers to help in the comments. And if you like someone’s nomination, be sure to leave a comment “second!” or “third!” or whatnot so we know what the good stuff is. An example is here.
I’ll be asking you as an open thread each night throughout the week leading up to Christmas.
So, what are your favorites?
December 20, 2010
Cross-posted at Waking Up Now.
By Rob Tisinai
Maggie Gallagher is savvy. She leads her followers away from the truth, but usually through distortion, misdirection, obscure language, misinterpretation, and sins of omission. It’s rare to catch her in a simple, direct lie. But she be must in a snit , because the Southern Poverty Law Center has added 13 anti-gay organizations to their list of hate groups, and accused 5 more (including Maggie’s National Organization for Marriage) of pushing demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities – though it stopped short of calling these 5 “hate groups.”
On Sunday, Maggie quoted a Washington Post column by Matthew Franck:
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a once-respected civil rights organization, publishes a “report” identifying a dozen or so “anti-gay hate groups,” some for no apparent reason other than their vocal opposition to same-sex marriage.
This. Is. A. Lie.
Not one of these groups – not one – appeared on the hate-group list merely for opposing marriage equality. The SPLC specifies why it added each one. You’ll find more details at the end of this post, but in short, the organizations were guilty of offenses like:
- Distorting scientific research to demonize gays, even over the original authors objections.
- Calling for the criminalization of homosexuality
- Advocating the death penalty for gays.
- Accusing gay men of recruiting children and being more likely to molest them than straights.
- Holding gays responsible for Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
Maggie knows this. She includes a link to the SPLC report containing this information! We have no room to give her — or Mr. Franck — the benefit of any conceivable doubt. They may not think these items justify the “hate group” designation, but they’re committing outright deceit in saying that opposing marriage equality was the only “apparent reason.”
Maggie spread this lie in a piece called, “Is the Hate Card the Recourse of Those Unwilling to Engage the Debate?” I happen to agree that some activists play the hate card too readily, but Maggie needs to pick her battles. Death penalties? Pedophilia? Nazi Germany? There is hate here. (She ought to fight those battles more honestly, too, but I doubt that’s a winning strategy for her cause).
The rest of the column is mired in contradiction. Click through for more of that in the extended entry. (more…)
December 20, 2010
By Adam Bink
We finally got word of the schedule for the President. According to press secretary Robert Gibbs, via the NYTimes, the President will sign repeal on Wednesday morning. He may also hold a news conference, and I’m told to expect a formal signing ceremony.
I’ll be bringing coverage of the bill signing and/or news conference. Plus, we may have a special treat here at P8TT afterwards to help folks understand the next steps on certification afterwards. Stay tuned.
As many of you know, after the President puts pen to paper, no one can serve openly. The Pentagon will spend the next several months revising regulations and various policies, implementing training, and so forth. Then, the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs must send a joint letter to the Armed Services Committees is both houses of Congress, certifying repeal. There is no timeline or deadline on this process. Then, a 60-day waiting period inserted in the language of the bill by the late Sen. Byrd (before he passed) will take effect. When the clock runs out on those 60 days, members can join and serve openly.
As of this post, 755 contributions totaling $19,669 poured in to help Courage Campaign work to make sure things don’t drag out and the process doesn’t get derailed. If you’d like to help us hit $20,000 and really generate some press, you can do so here. We’ll be closely observing the process and mobilizing around it as it becomes necessary. No more waiting.
Update 1: Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade has some comments from Gibbs explaining the process.
“My sense, without having a specific time at this point, is that … the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will be signed by the president likely on Wednesday morning,” Gibbs said during a news conference.
But “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” won’t be off the books immediately after Obama’s signature. A provision in the measure requires that the president, the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the U.S. military is ready for repeal before open service is implemented.
Asked by the Washington Blade how long he anticipates before certification takes place, Gibbs didn’t offer a timeline, but said an implementation process will soon be underway. He said the recent Pentagon study predicts that implementing repeal “won’t be overly burdensome.”
“Again, I think that is part of what groups of people are going to working on,” Gibbs said. “But I would say this, we learned that — because of the attitudinal studies that the Pentagon conducted — we know that the vast majority of those serving in our military don’t believe this in any way will be disruptive. I think that points to an implementation process that won’t be overly burdensome.”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he wouldn’t certify “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal until training is instituted in the armed forces to handle open service and until he felt the military service chiefs were comfortable in moving forward. During testimony before the Senate, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said that repeal shouldn’t be implemented until 2012.
Additionally, after the president and Pentagon leaders certify, repeal still won’t take place until an additional 60-day waiting period has passed.
At the news conference, Gibbs maintained Obama administration attorneys are working on legal issues related to repeal as well as the path toward implementing open service in the U.S. military.
“There are a series of implementation and legal issues that lawyers in this building as well in the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice are working through — and, obviously, working though a longer and larger implementation policy process once the president signs the repeal into law,” Gibbs said.
Update 2: Courtesy of JD Smith at Outserve, the following internal communique is an example of the process laid out.
From: CSAF [mailto:redacted]
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 11:02 PM
Subject: Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Fellow Airmen,
Yesterday, the Senate passed HR 2965, a bill designed to repeal Section
654 of Title 10 of the United States Code, known as the “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” law. Once the President signs the bill into law, the
Department of Defense will proceed to implement the change in a
responsible, deliberate, and careful manner.
It is important to understand that the President’s signing of the new
bill into law does not mean the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law will be
repealed immediately. Instead, the Congressional language stipulates
that repeal occurs 60 days after certification by the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and the President that
the necessary policies and regulations have been prepared to implement
repeal and that repeal is consistent with standards of military
readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention of the
Armed Forces. To repeat, the implementation and certification process
will not happen immediately; it will take time. Meanwhile, the current
law remains in effect. All Air Force members should conduct themselves
accordingly.
In the coming days and weeks as we prepare for the repeal, we will
provide education and training material to help all Airmen understand
what is expected in a post-repeal environment.
Effective leadership, however, is key to implementing this change and
success will rest on the shoulders of senior leaders like me,
commanders, chiefs, first sergeants, and supervisors. The standards of
conduct we expect of all Airmen will not change. Moreover, we will
continue to treat each other, as members of the Air Force family, with
dignity and respect.
I know each of you will approach this issue professionally and that you
will continue to adhere faithfully to our core values of Integrity,
Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do. By following our
core values, we will successfully implement this change with the same
unparalleled professionalism we have demonstrated with every
transformation we have undertaken in peace and war.
NORTON A SCHWARTZ
Chief of Staff
December 20, 2010
By Adam Bink
I see NOM is trying to make a splash in the Chairman’s race.
Coming up, we have an important opportunity to help make sure that the Republican Party remains firmly committed to the cause of marriage. And we need your help.
On January 3rd, Americans for Tax Reform and the Susan B. Anthony List will be co-hosting the 2011 RNC Chairman’s Debate, giving the American people (and RNC voters) a chance to question the candidates on key issues ranging from national defense, to deficit spending, to protecting marriage and the family. The next RNC Chairman’s views on these issues will be a major factor in shaping party message, budget, and objectives as we begin heading into the 2012 election cycle.
Every question to be asked at the debate is currently being voted on at RNCDebate.org. The most popular questions will be asked at the January 3rd debate.
So please take a moment today to go to RNCDebate.org and vote for marriage. In just a moment, I’ll give detailed instructions for what we need to do.
Our own chairman Maggie Gallagher will be at the January 3 debate, and was invited by Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser to participate in a series of pre-debate interviews with various candidates for the RNC Chairmanship.
[...]
There is tremendous pressure from inside-the-Beltway, establishment Republicans to water down the party’s commitment to marriage, compromising with gay marriage advocates or trying to sweep the issue under the rug in hopes that it will go away. But it isn’t going anywhere – not with a Supreme Court ruling likely looming in the next two years – and we need a RNC Chairman who is willing to make the case for marriage, religious liberty and the proper role of the judiciary, investing resources to advance the cause of marriage both nationally and at the state and local level all across the country.
Out of all the candidates, I don’t know of a single one so far who’s pro-freedom to marry for same-sex couples, so I don’t think there will be much of a debate or drama over the issue. I also don’t know of much “inside-the-Beltway, establishment Republican” pressure on this. But it is noteworthy that NOM is doing their utmost best to make this issue a litmus test.
Here’s the question they’re asking folks to vote for:
“Surveys uniformly show that over 80% of Republicans support the traditional definition of marriage. GOP candidates who support gay marriage like Dede Scozzafava, Bill Binnie and Tom Campbell have been trounced in GOP primaries. In the 31 states where marriage has appeared on the ballot, including in deep blue states like California and Maine, the voters in every state have rejected gay marriage and voted in favor of traditional marriage. Yet most candidates have been encouraged by the RNC to avoid speaking up on the marriage issue. Will you continue this policy or will you encourage candidates to make their position on marriage clear to voters?”
There’s a lot wrong with those assumptions, starting with the notion that every candidate loses because of his/her position on marriage, or that every ballot test is lost because the voters firmly reject the principle of marriage equality (I’m not alone in believing a better-run Prop 8 campaign could have won). If you feel like registering, you can vote on which questions you think should be asked. Hopefully there’s a write-in option to ask questions that might actually make a strong impact on most Republicans.
December 20, 2010
By Adam Bink
Some very good news for those of us in the trenches tonight. Media Matters for America is launching “Equality Matters”, a website that tracks along the same work MMFA has been doing on tracking right-wing bias in the media, except with an emphasis on LGBT issues. I’m normally skeptical that more national groups are the answer, but in this case, I think it will fill a needed niche role in joining GLAAD to report and push back on anti-LGBT media decisions. Plus, it’s more an outgrowth of an already-existing successful model, so they’ll have less problems that new organizations often have getting off the ground.
The even better news is that my colleague Kerry Eleveld, the Washington and White House correspondent at The Advocate is going to join them and run the new website, http://equalitymatters.org. It’s always a good thing when someone who has been on the inside of the press and journalism world can hop over to the direct advocacy side of the fence we’re on, and there are few people I’d like to do it more than Kerry. She’s fantastic. I once asked Kerry a simple question on how to get traditional media to use the term “same-sex marriage” or “marriage equality” instead of “gay marriage”, and she gave me a 20-minute answer on the obstacles from the journalist’s and editor’s point of view that I found incredibly enlightening. She gets this world very much.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg at the NYTimes has a longer piece on the new group’s formation.
Cross-posted at my home blog, OpenLeft.com
December 19, 2010
By Adam Bink
Over at my home blog, OpenLeft.com, we on the management team like to take the holidays off to rest, recharge, etc. While folks are often driven to write anyway because of current events or inspiration, what we do to keep things lively is feature past pieces that our readers particularly like. We call them “Golden Oldies”.
My tenure running the shop here ends on Christmas, as I plan to recharge as well (and travel), although I may continue at some point in the future. In the meantime, I decided to bring the same idea to P8TT. For the upcoming holiday season between Christmas and New Year’s, I’ll be re-posting some of the more interesting/provocative/brilliant front page pieces from P8TT’s history. The reason is because not everyone has a chance to read every piece throughout the year. As many of you know, if you Google “Prop 8 Trial”, it takes you here, and many folks who came here because they did that during the 9th Circuit hearing, or simply because they just heard about the blog, haven’t had a chance to read some of the better, more insightful pieces from the blog’s history.
So, we’d like to open up the floor to you to recommend your favorite stuff. It could be live-blogging from the Judge Walker’s district courthouse. It could be NOM tour posts, whether the national tour or the California tour. It could be a commentary piece you find particularly insightful that I did, or Eden, Julia, Rob, Jeremy Hooper, Karen Ocamb, Arisha, Rick, or someone else. Just leave a URL in the comments and we’ll pick the best suggestions. And of course, the management has ideas of our own.
To help you find the URLs, I recommend using the Categories “tags” on the right side of the page you’re currently viewing (they say Community/Meta, DADT Trial… NOM Tour Tracker… etc.). And if you want to go back to find earlier posts beyond the page you’re viewing, scroll down to the bottom and hit the “Older Posts” button. You can keep doing that to scroll back and back. Or, you could just use Google, and I recommend inserting the words “Prop 8 Trial Tracker” in your query along with whatever terms you remember, such as the author or topic. If you simply can’t find it, try asking your fellow P8TTers to help in the comments. And if you like someone’s nomination, be sure to leave a comment “second!” or “third!” or whatnot so we know what the good stuff is. An example is here.
I’ll be asking you as an open thread each night throughout the week leading up to Christmas.
So, what are your favorites?
December 19, 2010
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