Colin Powell: More Support For Marriage Equality

More Support for Marriage Equality

In a wonderful surprise yesterday, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he does support Marriage Equality.  Powell now joins a series of African-American leaders who very vocally support marriage equality, including Russell Simmons, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and Jay-Z.

Support for Marriage Equality from the African-American community is now at an all time high of 59% according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll.

It looks as though Republicans are on the WRONG side of history.

Tags: African-Americans for Marriage Equality, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Civil Rights, Colin Powell, Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, Rev. Al Sharpton, social justice, Wolf Blitzer

Following the President’s lead, social media get their gay on

President Obama’s announcement that he supports marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples may be almost two weeks old, but the impact on the Internet is still reverberating. A recent AP story indicates that both posting and viewing of YouTube videos related to marriage equality rose sharply and remains strong.

In fact, on the day of the President’s interview, searches for “gay marriage” and “Obama” spiked 458% between 10 am and 6 pm. According to the AP

Following Obama’s announcement, more videos with the key words “gay marriage” were uploaded on YouTube than ever before, drawing more than 3 million views and 100,000 comments.

In fact, a quick look at a few search terms on YouTube and its parent company, Google, is very informative. Searching the term “gay marriage” (which tends to be the most common term used although the LGBT community prefers the more accurate “marriage equality”), YouTube has over 6,800 videos uploaded in the past month, accounting for 17% of all relevant videos. On Google, the term yields nearly 28 million hits in the past week. For the same week (May 15 – 22) in 2011, the number was just over one million. Interestingly, that week also had big news, with a Gallup poll showing majority support for marriage equality for the first time. Searching related terms like “same sex marriage” and “marriage equality” finds smaller numbers but similar trends. For those of us on Facebook, the issue of marriage equality has become a dominant theme.

The intersection of gay rights and social media is no surprise. The LGBT community were early adopters, as isolated or closeted people found powerful new ways to build social connections. Age is also a factor. While interactive online sites and tools are hardly the unique province of the 18 – 25 set, younger users tend to be more embracing of and more deeply engaged in them. This same demographic is also more broadly supportive of gay rights in general and marriage equality in particular as well.

Social media also allow a broader sense of engagement with the stories, which allows topics that might not otherwise rise to national attention to go viral. Iowa student Zach Wahls wound up creating his own website to handle all the attention he received when he made an impassioned speech asking lawmakers to recognize marriage for his lesbian moms. Nerdy Apple, aka “Daphne’s Mom,” got the surprise of her life when a sweet post about her son dressing as a female cartoon character for Halloween got the attention of gay rights supporters and opponents both.

Even people in the news can benefit or suffer from exposure of their civil rights stands on YouTube. Former presidential candidate Rick Perry’s ad “Strong” — in which he opposes the active service of gays and lesbians in the U.S. military — has over 8 million views. Likes = 26,448; dislikes = 768,696. He also inspired dozens of parodies and responses.

Marriage equality is hot topic like never before. Strong popular (and Presidential) support is at odds with ballot box success. Upcoming votes in Maine and Minnesota and possibly Washington will either continue or break the trend. Whatever the case, social media and personal engagement in the story is finally driving a narrative in the “mainstream” media and that’s a good thing.

Tags: Civil Rights, Facebook, Gay Marriage, generations, Google, homophobia, Marriage Equality, President Obama, social justice, Social Media, YouTube

U.S. House Votes for Ignorance

Daniel Detests Data

I need to thank an amazing social worker and advocate for social justice, Sarah Bradley for inspiring me to write this article.

In a little-noticed move last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to kill the American Community Survey. This move is the latest in a series of tea-soaked efforts to deny science and block information. The annual survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, is a critical information-gathering tool. The detailed information is used to understand funding, business, and legislative needs at the state, local and federal level. The information gathered also helps identify those populations in poverty and who are marginalized.  The people who rely on the information range from social workers to economists, from activists to business leaders. In fact, the move to abolish the survey was opposed by an unlikely alliance of players ranging from the NAACP to the American Chamber of Commerce.

The primary sponsor of the legislation was Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL). (You just know that the irony of someone with that name opposing the gathering of knowledge has the renowned orator and intellectual Rep. from Massachusetts spinning in his grave.) Babbling a scattershot of reasons for the move — all of which adds up to “we don’t like it” — Webster defies logic at every turn. He rails against the survey as too intrusive while using its data on his own website. He argues that it is anti-business when every major business organization in the country supports the use of the survey. And, in a remarkable display, Webster says

This is a program that intrudes on people’s lives, just like the Environmental Protection Agency or the bank regulators. We’re spending $70 per person to fill this out. That’s just not cost effective, especially since in the end this is not a scientific survey. It’s a random survey.

Really? Do you know what “scientific” means? It means RANDOM. And spending $70 per person to effectively determine where to channel BILLIONS of dollars is wasteful? And banking regulations are intrusive? It truly seems like the Devil and Daniel Webster’s Details.

So far the Senate has blocked efforts to kill the survey, but the equally info-phobic Rand Paul has promised to bring it forward again. Since it is attached to budgetary legislation, there’s an excellent chance that a compromise could significantly weaken the survey (such as making it voluntary, thus greatly reducing its usefulness). Anyone who is interested in an informed government should contact their congresspeople and insist that they not tamper with this important tool.

Tags: American Community Survey, Census, congress, Daniel Webster, hypocrisy, information, Marginalized Populations, Poverty, social justice

Bob Marshall Obsessed with Sodomy

I Can’t Stop Thinking About Sodomy

Thank you to my friend and LGBT ally, Jennifer Carey for inspiring me to write this story.  Regrettably, we have another bigoted story coming out of Virginia–another white heterosexual Republican male abusing his power and privilege.  Republican Bob Marshall took it upon himself to block  Tracy Thorne-Begland, an out and proud gay attorney, from becoming a judge.

Marshall asserts the following:

sodomy is not a civil right…the attorney’s past activism and outspokenness on gay rights could bias his decisions on the bench…He can be a prosecutor if he wants to, but we don’t want advocates as judges.

Bigotry prevailed against common sense and reason and the Virginia House of Delegates rejected Thorne-Begland’s bid for judge.

While there are SO many issues that really stick in my craw here, I will try to contain my anger with exceedingly significant points.  One: I will quickly point out that more heterosexuals engage in sodomy than homosexuals–not that it is anyone’s business what consenting adults do sexually! Apparently, Marshall feels it is his job to police gay sex. Two: I take issue with his assertion around activists judges.  Fortunately, Kim Forde-Mazrui, a University of Virginia School of Law professor also took issue with Marshall’s ignorance and offered this very sensible reply:

If you mean that people are always biased in favor of members of their own group then that would suggest that a straight male or a white judge could not be impartial in a case involving a crime between a straight and a gay person, a man and woman, or a white and black person – which would render most judges and juries suspect by his conception.

From Marshall’s statement, are we to assume that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is pushing a Jewish woman’s agenda on the Supreme Court? Are white hetero males the only voices to be trusted as judges?  I have to say it takes a great deal of chutzpah for a Republican to talk about “activist judges,” given the Famous Fecal Five corrupting the US Supreme Court.

Tags: bigotry, Bob Marshall, Civil Rights, Fecal Five, GOP, homophobia, hypocrisy, Judicial Activism, Kim Forde-Mazrui, Racism, Sexual Behavior, social justice, Tracy Thorne-Begland, Virginia

Celebrating Donna Summer

I was truly saddened to learn that the Queen of Disco had died. Donna Summer, a staple of the music of my youth and definer of a generation, succumbed to lung cancer at the young age of 63 last week.

LaDonna Adrian Gaines was born in Boston in 1948. She began singing in church and joined a band, Crow, while in high school. Crow failed to land a record deal and broke up, so she went to New York, where she auditioned for Hair in 1967. Losing the part to Melba Moore, Gaines accepted an offer to join the cast of the musical in Munich. She became fluent in German and began a successful singing career in Germany and Austria. She had a brief marriage to Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer, which gave her her daughter, Mimi, and the last name that — with a vowel switch — became legendary.

She hooked up with producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who helped her craft her sound. She had the bare bones of a song which they helped finish. In 1975, it became her first international hit, Love to Love You Baby, taking her to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the next three years she ruled the U.S. Dance charts (with eight top tens, five of which spent a total of 21 weeks at #1) but only managed one more pop Top 10, I Feel Love. In 1978, as disco fever began to sweep America, her persistence paid off.

Quickly gaining her crown as the Queen of Disco, Summer continued her Dance chart dominance and became a force to be reckoned with on the Hot 100, R&B, and Album charts. Unlike many other disco stars (such as the Bee Gees), she continued to evolve her sound, maintaining a strong chart presence into the 21st Century. Among her many awards were five Grammys (with an additional 12 nominations). Her Billboard chart performance is also remarkable.

• On the Hot 100, she was the #16 artist of the 70s (really only charting for three years of the decade), in the top 50 of the 80s, and comes in at #53 overall. She racked up four #1s, spending 13 weeks at the top, and another 10 Top 10 hits. She hit the top 40 every year from 1976 to 1984, a run beating the likes of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney and only exceeded by Elton John for those decades.
• On the R&B chart, she is the #76 performer overall, with two #1s and a dozen Top 10s.
• On the Dance chart, she comes in at #3 overall, beaten only by Madonna and Janet Jackson, whose careers owe much to the Queen. She had 24 Top 10s, 12 of which went to #1, spending an incredible 48 weeks at the top.
• On the Album chart she comes in at #137 with three #1s for eight weeks. She’s the #18 female solo artist on that chart and is the only performer to hit the top three times with double albums.

All the awards aside, she’s also an icon. As the pre-eminent singer of the era when the gay community was finding its voice and before the AIDS crisis, she became one of the biggest gay divas. This relationship became strained when it was rumored that she used her Christian faith to bash the “gay lifestyle” but she fervently denied the charges and apologized for the misconceptions. She also raised money for AIDS causes and allowed free use of her song She Works Hard for the Money by feminist organizations. She leaves behind her three daughters and her husband of 32 years, Bruce Sudano.

I had left  Donna Summer behind by the time I met my husband thirteen years ago. She was a major part of his formative years –he even performed along to  Last Dance in his room in his platform shoes — so he reintroduced me to her music. It was a joy to learn her music again and enjoy it together. She was a powerful singer and a unique talent. Farewell, gracious Queen, let’s dim all the lights.

Tags: AIDS, disco, Donna Summer, Gay Icon, Last Dance, Lung Cancer, music, Number One Hits, She Works Hard For the Money

Are We Represented?

So Many White Male Faces

America has the benefit of being a very diverse nation. That’s right Conservatives, I said benefit. But, when I think about the U.S. Congress, all that comes to mind are white men who fight hard to keep the status quo. That is a problem because they do not properly represent the diversity America has. When I researched minorities in congress and did some number crunching, this is what I found.

Congress	House	Senate	Delegates
Women
Democrat	49	12	3
Republican	24	5	0
African American
Democrat	39	0	2
Republican	2	0	0
Hispanic *
Democrat	17	1	0
Republican	7	1	0
Asian American
Democrat	7	2	2
Republican	1	0	0
Openly LGBT
Democrat	2	0	0
Republican	0	0	0

* Puerto Rico also has one Independent Hispanic delegate

So let’s compare. The U.S. Congress has 541 members: 100 Senators, 435 Representatives, and 6 non-voting Delegates in the House.

Comparison	U.S.	Congress	Difference
Women	51%	17%	-34%
African American	13%	8%	-5%
Hispanic	16%	5%	-11%
Asian American	5%	2%	-3%
Openly LGBT **	8%	0.30%	-8%

** This is a conservative estimate since there are no reliable figures.

When looking at the numbers, the disparities are all too clear.

1)    Women are greatly under-represented. Even within other minorities, women tend to be less than half the count. Men dominate whether white or not.

2)    No wonder the war on women has been so easily won time after time. Men are 83% of congress. Can you believe that?

3)    When looking at the percentages in congress and percentages of US population, you see that the percentages are divided by at least half or more.

4)    There are fewer Republican minorities than Democrats. A lot fewer.

I looked into this because I was curious to see the numbers. Looking at them, it is clear that things need to change.

So many are comfortable with the status quo and will do anything to keep it that way. Many people – like Mitt Romney – see diversity as bad, so they spread fear about it while at the same time denying that they are racist. This country is getting less white and less straight as the years go by, and some of us are ready for it and others are not. This year at the ballot box please vote for your best interests. Let’s give those white guys who have plagued Congress for years some colleagues who can challenge their outdated and anti-diversity views.

Submitted by TSM Contributor, James Queale

Tags: homophobia, Racism, congress, social justice, Sexism, James Queale, Minorities, Representation, Diversity

Hero of the Week Award: May 18, Jay-Z and Argentina

Heroes of the Week

Thank you to my friend Jennifer Carey, LGBT ally and social justice advocate, for inspiring me to write about Jay-Z. This week we were lucky enough to have a tie for HWA, with two very disparate events that both merit celebration. What a nice surprise!

Hip hop superstar and businessman Jay-Z earns his share of the award with his staunch support of marriage equality and of President Obama’s supportive statements. Having just celebrated his own wedding anniversary, he reflected

I have always thought of it as something that is still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business… It is no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination, plain and simple… It was the right thing to do. It’s really not about votes. It’s about people. So whether it cost him votes or not, I think it was the right thing to do as a human being.

Given the rap industry’s history of homophobia and the black community’s uneasy relationship with LGBT rights, this strong support from a highly visible member of both camps is powerful indeed.

Meanwhile in Argentina… In a unanimous vote the Argentine Senate approved a law that makes it very easy for citizens to change their gender on legal documents in that country. Activists who track gender identity laws said that no other country has gone so far to embrace gender self-determination. In the United States and Europe, transgender people must submit to physical and mental health exams and must generally begin a physical transition to qualify to even petition for a legal change of gender. With this bold yet simple move, Argentina has become the most trans-friendly nation in the world, building on the progressive LGBT tradition begun two years ago with legal marriage equality. When will the U.S. catch up?

Tags: Argentina, Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Hero of the Week, hip hop, Jay-Z, Marriage Equality, social justice, Trans-Justice, transgender