LGBT Pride and History Month 2014: Rachel Maddow

Today we honor and celebrate Dr. Rachel Maddow, a woman who is trying to bring real discussion back into television journalism.  While a freshman at Stanford University, she was outed in a campus paper interview before she was able to tell her parents.

I always love papers that out people just for the sake of outing them–my what code of ethics does that follow?  Where is the journalistic integrity in outing people for no reason, save that it makes money, or causes a scandal, which just colludes with the dominant discourse? It would be different if they were outing someone with power that was using that power to hurt the LGBT community, but such was not the case with our Maddow. Fortunately, her family were supportive, and she has been out and proud ever since.

After receiving her degree in public policy from Stanford, she was awarded a Rhodes scholarship, becoming the first openly LGBT Rhodes scholar. She received her Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University with her thesis entitled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons.

These early events clearly hinted at her outspoken nature and her dedication to open discourse. She won a contest to become a radio announcer shortly after returning to the U.S., launching her broadcast career. She worked in radio for local Massachusetts stations and then joined Air America. Unabashedly liberal, she has observed the rightward drift of this country’s politics with the quip

I’m undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I’m in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform.

While still on Air America, she began regular guest spots on MSNBC’s nightly programs. Soon she was offered her own show, a TV version of her radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show. This made her the first openly LGBT host of a major prime-time news show in the U.S. She also routinely has her network’s most highly rated show – in what still remains a “white hetero male dominated” industry.

Her program is a wonderful mixture of straight news, opinion, and interviews–all offered through a social justice lens. In fact, I’m not sure there are other national programs that stand in such solidarity with those that are marginalized and oppressed by those in power and charged with the task of representing all Americans.  I love that Maddow holds these hypocrites’ feet to the fire.

Maddow’s work has been consistently recognized for its quality and insight. She has been repeatedly nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism, winning in 2010 for her expose on Uganda’s horrific anti-gay efforts. Both the Advocate and Out magazine regularly include her in their lists of the most influential out media personalities. Her coverage of health care netted her a Maggie Award from Planned Parenthood in 2010, the year she was also awarded the Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award. It’s nice to see that an outspoken media voice with an interest in social justice can be recognized for her important work.

I’m also grateful for her visibility as a lesbian, for the more visible we are individually and collectively, the more difficult it is to target and marginalize us! Brava, Ms. Maddow!

Women’s History Month 2013: Rachel Maddow

Today we honor and celebrate Dr. Rachel Maddow, a woman who is trying to bring real discussion back into television journalism. Maddow was born in California in 1973. While a freshman at Stanford University, she was outed in a campus paper interview before she was able to tell her parents. I always love papers that out people just for the sake of outing them–my what code of ethics does that follow?  Fortunately, they were supportive, and she has been out and proud ever since. After receiving her degree in public policy from Stanford, she was awarded a Rhodes scholarship, becoming the first openly LGBT Rhodes scholar. She received her Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University with her thesis entitled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons.

These early events clearly hinted at her outspoken nature and her dedication to open discourse. She won a contest to become a radio announcer shortly after returning to the U.S., launching her broadcast career. She worked in radio for local Massachusetts stations and then joined Air America. Unabashedly liberal, she has observed the rightward drift of this country’s politics with the quip

I’m undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I’m in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform.

While still on Air America, she began regular guest spots on MSNBC’s nightly programs. Soon she was offered her own show, a TV version of her radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show. This made her the first openly LGBT host of a major prime-time news show in the U.S. She also routinely has her network’s most highly rated show–in what still remains a “white hetero male dominated” industry.

Her program is a wonderful mixture of straight news, opinion, and interviews–all offered through a social justice lens. In fact, I’m not sure there are other national programs that stand in such solidarity with those that are marginalized and oppressed by those in power and charged with the task of representing all Americans.  I love that Maddow holds these hypocrites’ feet to the fire. She has no tolerance for liars or people who put talking points above reality. Her no-holds-barred approach to discussing critical events is very refreshing. The media need more people who stand up and say “that’s not right!” Hooray for Rachel Maddow for showing that caring about the truth can still matter to the viewing public.

Hero of the Week Award: December 23, Rachel Maddow

Thank you to my friend Jay for this week’s nomination for HWA.

Hero of the Week

I usually find Rachel Maddow both entertaining and informative, but her humor in how she exposes the hypocrisy of Sarah Palin and Fox News earns her this week’s HWA.

Palin and Fox news took umbrage to President Obama’s Christmas card and went down the very tired and worn out path of “the attack on Christmas.”  Maddow does a marvelous job of showing just how ludicrous these modern day Carnival folk are.

Click here to see Maddow and the ghosts of Christmas Cards Past.

Herman Cain: Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical, Bigot…

I Paid Good Money for Them to Keep Their Mouths Shut

If you have seen the movie 9 to 5, you recognize the stream of adjectives, as they aptly described Franklin Hart.  How sad that 31 years later and 20 years after the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, we see a black Republican running for President who has said explicitly that he will make sure no Muslim holds a place in American government, that us gays “chose” to be gay, and now we have learned that he sexually harassed several women and paid them not to come out and expose him.  To sum up Cain’s response to the allegations of sexual harassment: “But what about all of the women I did not sexually harass? Why don’t we focus on them?”  Really? Really? That is your response?

What alarms me is the current state of misogyny and that we have learned nothing from history.  Apparently, it is okay to sexually harass a woman and still go on to become an incompetent bigoted Supreme Court Justice with no ethics.  Are we to presume that a man guilty of discrimination against Muslims, the LGBT community, and even calling Black people racist if they don’t support him–is this Presidential material?  If so, sign me up to move out of the United States.

Our Rachel Maddow does a marvelous job of exposing Herman Cain for the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot that he is.  Click here to see the video of Maddow.

Take Action: In this huge ball of Crazy known as the Republican Presidential candidates, get accurate information–which means turn off Faux News.  Read up on the sexual harassment allegations on Herman Cain or his bigoted statements that alienate much of the 99% of Americans, but let’s face it–the current crap, I mean crop of Republican Presidential candidates are all working exclusively for the 1% of Americans.

Nothing like those self loathing Log Cabin Republicans…

It is very difficult for me not to have bitter contempt for the Log Cabin Republicans in a time when we do not have the luxury of self-hate.  The very courageous congressman Patrick Murphy (D) Penn. was the brave soul that introduced the bill in the House to repeal DADT.  Bravo!  Boo-Hiss to the Log Cabin Republicans for rewarding Murphy by endorsing his Republican opponent.  Yes, they voted against their best interest.  What kind of self-loathing selfish, materialistic, bastards are these people.  Have they no interest in helping pave the way for future LGBTQ people?  Here is the very disturbing video of the Rachel Maddow show I found on Jeremy’s blog.