Frank Rich on Obama and Rick Warren.

Back from an internet-free holiday break. I hope everyone is having a peaceful and joyous holiday season.

Today's New York Times contains an excellent piece by Frank Rich. Here are a few exerpts. Do read the whole thing.

... for the first time a faint tinge of Bush crept into my Obama reveries this month.

As we saw during primary season, our president-elect is not free of his own brand of hubris and arrogance, and sometimes it comes before a fall: “You’re likable enough, Hillary” was the prelude to his defeat in New Hampshire. He has hit this same note again by assigning the invocation at his inauguration to the Rev. Rick Warren, the Orange County, Calif., megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and “an older guy marrying a child.” Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It was made with the certitude that a leader with a mandate can do no wrong.

[...]
But there’s a difference between including Warren among the cacophony of voices weighing in on policy and anointing him as the inaugural’s de facto pope. You can’t blame V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and an early Obama booster, for feeling as if he’d been slapped in the face. “I’m all for Rick Warren being at the table,” he told The Times, but “we’re talking about putting someone up front and center at what will be the most-watched inauguration in history, and asking his blessing on the nation. And the God that he’s praying to is not the God that I know.”

Warren, whose ego is no less than Obama’s, likes to advertise his “commitment to model civility in America.” But as Rachel Maddow of MSNBC reminded her audience, “comparing gay relationships to child abuse” is a “strange model of civility.” Less strange but equally hard to take is Warren’s defensive insistence that some of his best friends are the gays: His boasts of having “eaten dinner in gay homes” and loving Melissa Etheridge records will not protect any gay families’ civil rights.

Equally lame is the argument mounted by an Obama spokeswoman, Linda Douglass, who talks of how Warren has fought for “people who have H.I.V./AIDS.” Shouldn’t that be the default position of any religious leader? Fighting AIDS is not a get-out-of-homophobia-free card. That Bush finally joined Bono in doing the right thing about AIDS in Africa does not mitigate the gay-baiting of his 2004 campaign, let alone his silence and utter inaction when the epidemic was killing Texans by the thousands, many of them gay men, during his term as governor.

[...]
Warren’s defamation of gay people illustrates why, as does our president-elect’s rationalization of it. When Obama defends Warren’s words by calling them an example of the “wide range of viewpoints” in a “diverse and noisy and opinionated” America, he is being too cute by half. He knows full well that a “viewpoint” defaming any minority group by linking it to sexual crimes like pedophilia is unacceptable.
[...]
Since he’s not about to rescind the invitation, what happens next? For perspective, I asked Timothy McCarthy, a historian who teaches at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and an unabashed Obama enthusiast who served on his campaign’s National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Leadership Council. He responded via e-mail on Christmas Eve.

After noting that Warren’s role at the inauguration is, in the end, symbolic, McCarthy concluded that “it’s now time to move from symbol to substance.” This means Warren should “recant his previous statements about gays and lesbians, and start acting like a Christian.”

McCarthy added that it’s also time “for President-elect Obama to start acting on the promises he made to the LGBT community during his campaign so that he doesn’t go down in history as another Bill Clinton, a sweet-talking swindler who would throw us under the bus for the sake of political expediency.” And “for LGBT folks to choose their battles wisely, to judge Obama on the content of his policy-making, not on the character of his ministers.”

A Wonderful Use For Shoes

In Arab cultures, pointing the sole of the shoe at someone is considered to be an insult.

Right-Wing Christians, Lies, Hypocrisy, and an Opportunity for Schadenfreude

Well, they've done it again, just when I thought they'd reached the very bottom of their hypocrisy. Now they've managed to go even lower.

About a week ago, an organization named The Becket Fund launched a vile anti-gay website with a full-page ad in the New York Times. Typically, the ad and the website are full of the kind of false information in the form of scare tactics that we have come to expect from the religious nutcases. They whine on and on about Americans who protested the civil rights of GLBT Californians being voted away. They make immensely exaggerated claim about violent mobs of gays people roaming the nation despite the meager news reports of things like bits of vandalism, the case of a notorious anti-gay activist woman's styrofoam cross being broken when she pushed herself into the middle of a peaceful demonstration, and harmless white powder being mailed to a couple of Mormon churches (even though the source could just as easily been Mormons looking to play victim games. The source of the harmless powder has never been identified, to my knowledge). Another religious nutcase, the singer Pat Boone, went crazy enough to liken the demonstrations to the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

They certainly overlooked the news reports about violence coming from their own side. The video in this link shows a woman who received a black eye from Mormons ironically whining about being victims themselves. And they certainly don't mentioned the story about the vicious beating a Prop 8 opponent received after doing nothing but flipping off a house with a Yes on Prop 8 sign or any of the other stories in the news lately. They also "forgot" to mention recent statistics showing that anti-gay hate crime has been increasing over the last 2 years.

Anyway, one of the people who put signatures on the ad is a guy named Richard Cizik. At the time of the ad he was Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelists. Remember that for later.

The nutcases were especially outraged over the resignations of a California theater director and a California restaurant manager who resigned after being exposed as having made financial contributions to the campaign of lies about Calfornia GLBTs during the campaign to vote away their civil rights. The exposures led to boycotts, and thus the resignations.

But wait ... aren't these the same people who have boycotted everything from Disney to McDonald's to Ford Motor Company?

And now ... the Schadenfreude Opportunity

Just the other day we learned that Richard Cizik (remember that name? One of the people who put a signature on the anti-gay ad complaining about a couple anti-gay people resigning from jobs?) was booted out of the National Association of Evangelicals because he had the gall to say on a radio show that he was evolving on the subject of gay marriage and no longer has an objection to civil unions, although he's certainly still opposed to gay marriage. Well Dobson and the gang seized the moment to demand he be fired. (They've been after him for awhile anyway because he happens to be concerned about the enviroment, and they certainly cannot put up with anyone who doesn't approve of raping and pillaging the earth.)

I have just one word of advice. The next time you run across someone getting in bed with control-freak Mormons about stripping GLBT citizens of their civil rights, just remind them what Mormon beliefs about marriage consist of.

Candied Ginger, Sticker Shock, and Other Stuff

I've been appalled speechless by the carryings on during Dub and Republican's last gasp lame duck session. I really don't know what to say about the shamelessness of it all. So I've just been quiet. I just want this nightmare to end.

And then the other day, something happened that gave me a case of sticker shock.. We had to get some more candied ginger for some holiday baking. We don't use it very much. I can't even remember how old the nearly empty container was. The new little bottle of candied ginger cost $9.99. The price sticker remaining on the old one said $3.99.

Other than that I survived a trip to the dentist with nothing more than just a routine cleaning and have been very busy in real life.

Falafel O'Loofah To Quit Radio Show

Starting early next year there will be less pollution on US airwaves. O'Reilly is calling it quits.

Could it be that the ratings hits he's been taking from Keith Olbermann and Rachel Madow have a part in his decision to spend more time on his Faux News television program?

(If you don't get the falafel/loofah reference, a quick quote is located here. )

"The media business is getting more and more intense," O'Reilly said Thursday. "We've got to keep the TV show at the level we have it now, and that means more and more time to keep it competitive and fresh. "

Vatican Wants Imprisonment and Execution of Gays to Continue

Apparently Ratzie enjoys the photos of teenage boys in Muslim countries being executed. Leave it to the RC nutcases to equate protecting teenagers from imprisonment and execution to destroying "traditional marriage."

Advocate is reporting:

The Vatican has come out against a United Nations resolution that calls on all governments to decriminalize homosexuality. The resolution, Archbishop Celestino Migliore said, would "add new categories of those protected from discrimination" and could lead to the decline of heterosexual marriage, Reuters reported Tuesday.

"If adopted, they would create new and implacable discriminations," Migliore said. "For example, states which do not recognize same-sex unions as 'matrimony' will be pilloried and made an object of pressure."

France will propose the resolution this month on behalf of the 27-member European Union. The Vatican is not a member, but it uses the Euro.

The article continues here.

Stupid Whiney Straight Guy Tricks

What is it about anti-gay nutcases that makes them continually attempt to equate the unequateable?

I'm sick of the latest whining about the protests against the organized Mormon effort to fund a vicious campaign of lies and distortion in order to strip civil rights from LGBT Californians. Why do these whiney straight guys seem totally incapable of understanding the fact that that Jews and Muslims did not mount such a campaign?

Today's LA Times published another of these misdirected whines from Jonah Goldberg today. Of course we do recall that his career was launched with a whine about the way media mistreated his infamous mother, Lucianne, during the Clinton years.

Did you catch the political ad in which two Jews ring the doorbell of a nice, working-class family? They barge in and rifle through the wife's purse and then the man's wallet for any cash. Cackling, they smash the daughter's piggy bank and pinch every penny. "We need it for the Wall Street bailout!" they exclaim.

No? Maybe you saw the one with the two swarthy Muslims who knock on the door of a nice Jewish family and then blow themselves up?

No? Well, then surely you saw the TV ad in which two smarmy Mormon missionaries knock on the door of an attractive lesbian couple. "Hi, we're from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!" says the blond one with a toothy smile. "We're here to take away your rights." The Mormon zealots yank the couple's wedding rings from their fingers and then tear up their marriage license.

As the thugs leave, one says to the other, "That was too easy." His smirking comrade replies, "Yeah, what should we ban next?" The voice-over implores viewers: "Say no to a church taking over your government."

Obviously, the first two ads are fictional because no one would dare run such anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim attacks.

The third ad, however, was real. It was broadcast throughout California on election day as part of the effort to rally opposition to Proposition 8, the initiative that successfully repealed the right to same-sex marriage in the state.

What was the reaction to the ad? Widespread condemnation? Scorn? Rebuke? Tepid criticism?

The article continues here.

The Sin of Voting For Obama

As if it wasn't bad enough to be taught that going into or looking through the windows of a Protestant church was a sin, now there seems to be an outbreak of wacked out Roman Catholic priests who are trying to convince people that exercising their right to vote is a sin if they don't vote for whoever the priest wishes.

The Modesto Bee is reporting:

Parishioners of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto have been told they should consider going to confession if they voted for Barack Obama, because of the president-elect's position condoning abortion.

"If you are one of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for [a pro-choice] candidate, you were clear on his position and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously," the Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's, wrote in a letter dated Nov. 21.

The letter was sent to more than 15,000 members of the St. Joseph's parish. It is one of 34 parishes in the Stockton Diocese, which has more than 200,000 members in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and four other counties.

Illo also delivered this message in a homily.

The article continues here.

BTW, it is true that Obama condones abortion? How does this priest know that? Or is he making an assumption?

Prop 8 Yes Voters Now Feel Differently

Keith Olbermann is reporting results of a Survey USA poll showing that 8% of those who voted to take civil rights away from California GLBTs would now vote no. Apparently, the recent demonstrations have made them think. He speaks with Candace Gingrich in this video.

Florida Adoption Ban Unconstitutional

A Florida court delivered another pie to Anita Bryant today when it ruled the state's ban on gay adoption unconstitutional.

''This is the forum where we try to heal children, find permanent families for them so they can get another chance at what every child should know and feel from birth, and go on to lead productive lives,'' Lederman said in court before releasing the order. ``We pray for them to thrive, but that is a word we rarely hear in dependency court.''

''These children are thriving;

The Miami Herald had the details.

Dianne Feinstein Evolves

The Advocate is reporting that Dianne Feinstein seems to be evolving in regard to the issue of equal treatment under the law for GLBT citizens.

“I started out not supporting [marriage equality]. The longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve seen the happiness of people, the stability that these commitments bring to a life. Many adopted children who would have ended up in foster care now have good solid homes and are brought up learning the difference between right and wrong. It’s a very positive thing."

Candice Gingrich Writes To Brother Newt

Candace Gingrich is mad, and I don't blame her one bit. She happens to have an astoundingly hypocritical brother who is a self-appointed defender of traditional marriage. Her brother, thrice-married Newt, dumped his first wife while she was in the hospital recovering from uterine cancer and then married a younger one he'd been having an affair with while his wife was ill. Once the divorce became final, he refused to make his child support payments. Gory details here.

This self-styled defender of marriage is just another slimeball hypocrite trying to drum up support by gaybashing.

Dear Newt,

I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protestors of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O'Reilly on FOX News. I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, "There you go, again."

However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked.

The truth is that you're living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as -- and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.

Welcome to the 21st century, big bro. I can understand why you're so afraid of the energy that has been unleashed after gay and lesbian couples had their rights stripped away from them by a hateful campaign. I can see why you're sounding the alarm against the activists who use all the latest tech tools to build these rallies from the ground up in cities across the country.

Read the entire letter at Huffington Post

The Essence of Cluelessness

This one is just too good to pass up. It's from last night's Countdown.

Be sure to pay attention to the headlines as they change throughout the video clip.

HT: AmericaBlog

Typealyze Your Blog

This is a gadget that runs an analysis of blogs.

Here's what Typealyzer says about this one. (Race cars? Ha! If they only knew.)

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts. The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like to seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

HT Joe.My.God

Celebrating 38 Years of 2nd-Class Citizenship

How time flies when you're busy destroying traditional marriage!

Tomorrow is our 38th anniversary.

I guess it's time to sit back and remember lots of good times starting way back, just a few months after Stonewall, when we met in a faculty meeting for graduate teaching assistants.

It has been a long road, but how did it happen so quickly?

The Most Unpopular Kid At G-20

Armband Religion

Well, sombody ultimately had to acknowedge the elephant in the room.

Today it finally happened in conservative Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker's editorial, Giving Up on God.

As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.

I'm bathing in holy water as I type.

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth -- as long as we're setting ourselves free -- is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

The choir has become absurdly off-key, and many Republicans know it.

But they need those votes!

So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners.

Short break as writer ties blindfold and smokes her last cigarette.

Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents, including other people of faith (those who prefer a more private approach to worship), as well as secularists and conservative-leaning Democrats who otherwise might be tempted to cross the aisle.

Do be sure to read this excellent article in its entirety.

Obama and Civil Rights

President-Elect Obama is still not ready to actively promote true equal treatment under the law for GLBT citizens. At this point in our history, I really do not understand how such a reasonable and intelligent man can hold so tightly to the concept of "separate and said-to-be-equal" that has been shown to be in error so many times in the past.

But at least he's indicating the he does not plan to stand in the way of true equality, and in fact he intends to remove existing obstacles at the federal level.

His website has posted the Obama administration's Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights. A bit of it is shown below.

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. '

Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

Seven Weeks To Equality

From Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and Dustin Lance Black screenwriter of the film "Milk," a powerful call to action.

Here is an excerpt.

It has been thirty years since Harvey Milk gave his life in our struggle for equality. We will not wait thirty years more. We demand that the Federal Government act immediately, decisively and unequivocally to ensure equal protection under law throughout the United States of America.

We can accept no compromise.

We call on President-Elect Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to draft and submit to the Congress comprehensive legislation protecting the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens in all areas including civil marriage, military service, adoption, social security, taxation, immigration, employment, housing and access to health care, social services and education.

We can wait no longer.

We call on President-Elect Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to speak out against the escalating campaign of harassment, violence and murder directed against our communities and pass legislation extending hate-crime protections to GLBT citizens.

Now is the time.

We call on President-Elect Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to take personal responsibility for involving our nation’s religious leaders and the GLBT community in a national dialogue to encourage understanding and reconciliation.

We also call on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to heed the call of Harvey Milk, when he spoke thirty years ago on the steps of San Francisco City Hall: “You must come out, my brothers and sisters, you must come out!”

We call on gay people everywhere to seize this moment, to understand that freedom will not come until we are willing to commit the full strength of our own voices, minds and bodies to the struggle. We must personally introduce ourselves to those who would discriminate against us. We must make ourselves visible.

We call on all supporters of equality to sustain and intensify the nationwide campaign of mass protests and non-violent civil disobedience, for seven weeks, starting on November 27, 2008, the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk, and to then gather together in mass, from all corners of our country, in Washington, DC on the morning of Tuesday, January 20, 2009, to honor the inauguration of our President, Barack Obama.

We call on all our people and all our allies to carry this message of hope and equality to every corner of our nation, to every place of worship, to every school and factory and shopping center, every city, suburb and farming town. We call on you to march together, demonstrate together, pray together and dream together of a future America where, finally, all are free.

Be sure to read all of it and sign the petition.

Cinemark CEO Donated $9,999.00 To Strip California GLBTs Of Civil Rights

Alan Stock, CEO of Cinemark Theaters, gave $9,999.00 to the campaign of deception and defamation leading to the revocation of civil rights of California GLBTs.

Here is list of US Cinemark Theaters.

You know what to do.

Rachel Maddow, The New American Classic

For all Rachel Maddow fans, Suzan Colon of The Advocate has written a terrific article.

The New American Classic
Rachel Maddow’s not only bringing thinking back to TV news, she’s assuring herself a spot on the Mount Rushmore of broadcasting, right next to Murrow, Cronkite, and Brokaw.

Sworn Complaint Filed Against Mormon Church with California FPPC and 2 State Attorneys General

From Californians Against Hate

Fred Karger, Founder of Californians Against Hate, today filed a Sworn Complaint with the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). In the complaint he accused The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) of not reporting numerous non monetary contributions to ProtectMarriage.com – Yes on 8, A Project of California Renewal I.D. # 1302592.

Karger contends that The Mormon Church organized phone banks from Utah and Idaho, sent direct mail to voters, transported people to California over several weekends, used the LDS NewsRoom to send out News Releases to promote their activities, walked precincts, ran a speakers bureau, distributed thousands of lawn signs and other campaign material, organized a “surge to election day,” had Church leaders travel to California, set up very elaborate web sites, produced at least 9 commercials and 4 other video broadcasts and conducted at least 2 satellite simulcasts over 5 Western states. All of these actions were geared toward nonmembers.

In addition to the formal FPPC complaint, a letter was also sent today to FPPC Chairman Ross Johnson, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr. and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff expanding on the complaint.

In the letter, a copy of which is below, Karger stated that 2 other organizations that were also involved in the Yes on Prop 8 campaign, reported substantial non monetary contributions to ProtectMarriage.com. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) of Princeton, New Jersey reported $210,634,75 and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family of Colorado Springs, Colorado reported $83,790.00. No non monetary contributions could be found from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Here is the full text of the letter:

Gotta Love Whoopi

And about that Elizabeth person .... she makes my flesh crawl.

For Those Horrified By The El Coyote Boycott

Check out the video at Box Turtle Bulletin.

.... UPDATE ....

Here's an excellent piece written by one of those in attendance. El Coyote Boycott? Mormon Manager’s Faith Overrides “Love” For Customers

Bible Prophecy on Mormons and Proposition 8

From one of the Lavender Wolves ...

It is not often that the Bible reaches forward into the future to admonish a group of people who claim to revere that document, but it does exactly that when condemning the Mormons (Latter Day Saints) for their support of Proposition 8 and other DOMAs.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
1 Timothy 4
1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

The Mormons (Latter Day Saints) pride themselves on being the ones spoken of as being in the latter times. It is even incorporated in ther name -- Latter Day Saints. So clearly this passage speaks to them.

It also directly addresses their support of Proposition 8 and other DOMAs. When speaking of those people in latter days (and latter days are NOW) who wish to forbid others to marry, the Bible says they: "shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry

The names of those Latter Day Saints who worked so hard to destroy the lives and marriages of others are written large in the Book of Shame.

We can only hope and pray that they will come to their senses, throw out those leaders who have misled them so badly, and make restitution to those they have harmed.

Copyright November 13, 2008, by John Richards. All rights reserved,
except that free distribution via any medium is permitted as long as
author's credit is given and no profit is involved.

Cognitive Dissonance with *Fumbrage

Now here's a guy who donated $20,000 to the campaign of lies and defamation of California GLBT people who just can't seem to figure out why people are reacting negatively.
From the Sacramento Bee via AmericaBlog.

"I'm frustrated by what's going on," said Dave Leatherby, owner of the Leatherby Family Creamery in Sacramento, commenting on the protests and court battles."

Let's move on. I always told my children that once a rule was made, you have to abide by it. I think it should be the same in this circumstance."

Leatherby and his family donated about $20,000 for the passage of Proposition 8. A devout Catholic and father of 10, Leatherby supported the measure for religious reasons. He said his business has been targeted by bloggers as a result, and that he is particularly confused because his business has participated in the annual gay pride Rainbow Festival.

Um ... I suppose it didn't occur to him that the rule WAS made and that he paid $20,000 to have it changed. I supposed I should feel sorry for thoses children with such a homophobic father who sends such bizarre mixed messages.

*Fumbrage

Summing It All Up

I've been looking at a lot of photos from the recent demonstrations. I think this one just about sums it all up.

It is from one of the Lavender Wolves who shares her experience at last night's NYC protest here in the LW forum.

Jesus Had Two Dads

Early reports of the protest at New York's Mormon Temple this evening are coming in.

Whoopi was there, and although the text on her sign is cut off in the image, it says "For my friends, equal rights."

The estimates are that 10,000-15,000 attended tonight's rally.

One commenter wrote that his favorite sign said "Jesus Had Two Dads" (can't remember which blog has that comment)

The reports are popping up at Joe.My.God, Blabbeando, The Gist, Boy in Bushwick, Wockner, and probably more by the time I've written this.

Petition to Protect Marriage by Prohibiting Divorce

Check out this video

And then you can sign the petition here.

Mormons Resigning

Sign for Something is a site with a great number of letters written by Mormons who are resigning because they are so very much offended by the Mormon Church role in revoking the civil rights of GLBT Californians.

Outing the Mormons

No wonder the Mormons are so upset that their behavior is being protested.

Michelangelo Signorile brings our attention to a 10-year-old memo in which the Mormon strategy to align with Roman Catholics to wage war on gays is discussed ... along with the part where they want to try to avoid being "out front" in the war.

Right Wing Nutcase Peter Labarbera Has Hissy Fit Over Obama's Meetings with Bishop Gene Robinson

From the good folks at Right Wing Watch:

Militant anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera is not happy that Barack Obama has been talking to Rev. Gene Robinson … in fact, this simple act along is enough to convince LaBarbera that Obama is “anti-Christian” and out to undermine the Christian faith:

A conservative Christian activist says it's a sad omen for the Obama administration and the United States that Barack Obama has been seeking guidance from the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop.

The Times of London reports that the president-elect sought out New Hampshire homosexual bishop Vicki Gene Robinson for advice three times during his presidential campaign. Robinson, whose ordination in the Episcopal Church has caused a deep rift within the Anglican Communion, was reportedly sought out by Obama to discuss what it feels like to be "first."

Robinson notes in their three private conversations, Obama voiced his support for "equal civil rights" for homosexuals and described the election as a "religious experience." Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, believes Obama's consultations with Robinson show the true tenor of his upcoming administration.

"It looks like Billy Graham has been replaced by a gay bishop. We're moving to, perhaps, our first anti-Christian president; it's beyond post-Christian. Gene Robinson advocates homosexuality as part of the Christian experience," he explains. "Now Bible-believing Christians cannot accept that. Homosexual practice is sinful, as taught by the scriptures. This man [Obama] pretends to be faithful to Christianity, even as he works very hard to undermine it."

Equality in Connecticut

Congratulations Connecticut!

Religion and the Election

Beliefnet has released the results of a survey among its readership.

Among the findings is that 52% of the religious people who voted for McCain think Obama is or was Muslim.

No wonder mainstream Christians cringe when they feel they're being compared to the stone-dumb right wing religious crazies.

Lots more interesting analysis at the site.

Gay Man's Home Torched in Hate Crime

The Newton, North Carolina Observer News Enterprise is reporting that a gay man's home was covered with anti-gay graffiti and then torched.

Melvin Whistlehunt was at work when he got a call from his mother at 2:30 a.m. Friday that his home was engulfed in flames.

As firefighters began hosing down the house at 1275 Buffalo Shoals Road, it became clear the home was set on fire intentionally. What they found launched an immediate hate crime investigation.

The fire was intense, but it didn’t keep Jason Drum, chief of the Bandys Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, from noticing graffiti written across the back of the brick home within five minutes of arrival. Someone used white spray paint to write a derogatory message referring to sexual orientation and race.

Drum asked Whistlehunt’s mother, who lives next door, if the graffiti had been there. She told him it was new.

Whistlehunt said everyone who knows him is aware he’s gay, but few people have outwardly criticized him for it.

“I don’t know of anybody who would go this far,” he said.

As soon as Drum found the writing, he called the Catawba County Fire Marshal’s Office. He said he felt that it was important to get them started on their investigation right away. The State Bureau of Investigation arson unit and the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office are also involved in the investigation.

“It is considered a hate crime,” said Karyn Yaussy, Catawba County emergency management coordinator.

SBI Investigator Mark Bivens used an arson dog to search for evidence of accelerants, however Yaussy would not comment on whether any was found. However, she said there were multiple indicators aside from the writing on the wall that the fire was set intentionally.

“I’ve been in the fire service 10 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Drum said.

The articles continues here.

Mormons Repeatedly Violate Agreement To Stop Posthumous Baptism of Holocaust Victims

AP is reporting that Mormons have repeatedly been ignoring a 13-year-old agreement to stop posthumous baptism of Holocaust victims. The Mormons claim they are making it more difficult to do this, but they haven't stopped. A representative of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, Ernest Michel, said the group is finished with attempts to negotiate with Mormons. Making it more difficult is not enough. They want the Mormons to reverse what they have done.

The Mormon practice of posthumous baptism extends to all people, not just Holocaust Survivors. Last May the Vatican ordered Catholic dioceses worldwide to refuse giving member lists to the Mormons in an attempt to prevent posthumous baptisms of Catholics.

"Baptism of a Jewish Holocaust victim and then merely removing that name from the database is just not acceptable," said Michel, whose parents died at Auschwitz. He spoke on the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-incited riots against Jews.

"We ask you to respect us and our Judaism just as we respect your religion," Michel said in a statement released ahead of the news conference. "We ask you to leave our six million Jews, all victims of the Holocaust, alone, they suffered enough."

There is additional information in a Salt Lake Tribune article.

Bush Cuts Health Care For The Poor

Now that the election is behind us, the Republican Culture of Greed has kicked back in for it's last hurrah.

New York Times

New U.S. Rule Pares Outpatient Medicaid Services

WASHINGTON — In the first of an expected avalanche of post-election regulations, the Bush administration on Friday narrowed the scope of services that can be provided to poor people under Medicaid’s outpatient hospital benefit.

Public hospitals and state officials immediately protested the action, saying it would reduce Medicaid payments to many hospitals at a time of growing need.

The new rule conflicts with efforts by Congressional leaders and governors to increase federal aid to the states for Medicaid as part of a new economic action plan.

President-elect Barack Obama has endorsed those efforts. At a news conference on Friday, he said that legislation to stimulate the economy should include “assistance to state and local governments” so they would not have to lay off workers or increase taxes.

In a notice published Friday in the Federal Register, the Bush administration said it had to clarify the definition of outpatient hospital services because the current ambiguity had allowed states to claim excessive payments.

“This rule represents a new initiative to preserve the fiscal integrity of the Medicaid program,” the notice said.

But John W. Bluford III, the president of Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, Mo., said: “This is a disaster for safety-net institutions like ours. The change in the outpatient rule will mean a $5 million hit to us. Medicaid accounts for about 55 percent of our business.”

Alan D. Aviles, the president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest municipal health care system in the country, said: “The new rule forces us to consider reducing some outpatient services like dental and vision care. State and local government cannot pick up these costs. If anything, we expect to see additional cuts at the state level.”

Carol H. Steckel, the commissioner of the Alabama Medicaid Agency, said the rule would reduce federal payments for outpatient services at two large children’s hospitals, in Birmingham and Mobile.

Richard J. Pollack, the executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, said these concerns were valid.

“The new regulation,” Mr. Pollack said, “will jeopardize important community-based services, including screening, diagnostic and dental services for children, as well as lab and ambulance services.”
[...]

Ann Clemency Kohler, the executive director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, said: “The new rule is a pretty sweeping change from longtime Medicaid policy. Since the beginning of the program, states have been allowed to define hospital outpatient services. We have to question why the rule is being issued now, three days after the election, with a new administration coming in.”

The rule was proposed in September 2007. It takes effect on Dec. 8, six weeks before Mr. Bush leaves office.

Ms. Kohler said the rule would cut “money going to the states, to safety net providers, at a time when states are really being stressed.”

“More and more people are coming onto Medicaid,” she said. “People are losing their jobs and running out of unemployment benefits. Some employers can no longer afford to provide health insurance to their workers.”

In the last 18 months, Congress has imposed moratoriums on six other rules that would have cut Medicaid payments. But the administration says Congress did not block the rule issued on Friday.

Larry S. Gage, the president of the National Association of Public Hospitals, said, “We will urge Congress to extend the moratorium to this rule, and we will ask the Obama administration to withdraw it.”

Melissa Etheridge's Tax Revolt

From The Daily Beast:

Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.

Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either.

Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away.

Oh and too bad California, I know you were looking forward to the revenue from all of those extra marriages. I guess you will have to find some other way to get out of the budget trouble you are in.

…Really?

When did it become okay to legislate morality? I try to envision someone reading that legislation "eliminates the right" and then clicking yes. What goes through their mind? Was it the frightening commercial where the little girl comes home and says, "Hi mom, we learned about gays in class today" and then the mother gets that awful worried look and the scary music plays? Do they not know anyone who is gay? If they do, can they look them in the face and say "I believe you do not deserve the same rights as me"? Do they think that their children will never encounter a gay person? Do they think they will never have to explain the 20% of us who are gay and living and working side by side with all the citizens of California?

I got news for them, someday your child is going to come home and ask you what a gay person is. Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away.

I know when I grew up gay was a bad word. Homo, lezzie, faggot, dyke. Ignorance and fear ruled the day. There were so many "thems" back then. The blacks, the poor ... you know, "them". Then there was the immigrants. "Them.” Now the them is me.

I tell myself to take a breath, okay take another one, one of the thems made it to the top. Obama has been elected president. This crazy fearful insanity will end soon. This great state and this great country of ours will finally come to the understanding that there is no "them". We are one. We are united. What you do to someone else you do to yourself. That "judge not, lest ye yourself be judged" are truthful words and not Christian rhetoric.

Today the gay citizenry of this state will pick themselves up and dust themselves off and do what we have been doing for years. We will get back into it. We love this state, we love this country and we are not going to leave it. Even though we could be married in Mass. or Conn, Canada, Holland, Spain and a handful of other countries, this is our home. This is where we work and play and raise our families. We will not rest until we have the full rights of any other citizen. It is that simple, no fearful vote will ever stop us, that is not the American way.

Come to think of it, I should get a federal tax break too...

Images From Los Angeles

I just had to borrow these excellent images from Towleroad.

Haloscan is Down

I have not turned comments off. Haloscan is down.

Mormon Fumbrage*

Watch Mormon thugs get violent and then say they feel "hurt" because people consider them bigots.

*Fumbrage

Protest at Los Angeles Mormon Temple

How I wish I could have been there.

Petition for Revocation of Mormon Tax Exemption

It's time to start hitting the Mormons where it will hurt, their bank accounts. I am hoping to gather some information on Mormon-owned and operated businesses to boycott, like the Marriot Hotel chain. That will come in a later post.

In the meantime, here's something quick and easy to do. This site has a petition to revoke the Mormon tax exemption. It also has copies of pre-filled IRS forms to print out and send directly to the IRS. (I noticed that the form is missing one bit of information, the Mormon EIN, but I was able to find it on another site that also has pre-filled forms. ) The EIN is 23-7300405.

BTW, if you're curious about the image in this post, click here.

Here's a bit extracted from the petition site, Mormons Stole Our Rights.

The Mormon church began in 1830 in New York. The first Mormons were persecuted by the American majority, and were compelled to emigrate to Utah where they could live unmolested, much like gays and lesbians who lived in the urban ghettos last century. Mormons had alternative views of what family meant, and were excluded and marginalized from the political process. In their arguments against the majority, Mormon Prophet Brigham Young wrote:

Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have. (Journal of Discourses, 11:268-9)

Much has improved for the Mormon people since then. Today, Mormons have powerful representation in the Senate, and ran a nationally viable candidate for the United States Presidency in 2008.

The Mormon story is possible because our country is a tolerant and forgiving place. America believes in the rights of its citizens to determine their own fates, and grants rights to individual communities to determine their own norms and values. The Mormon people have been able to flourish because of this country's generous spirit.

But now, history has reversed, and it is the Mormons who have become the oppressor.

The Mormons began with the Boy Scouts of America, originally a children's club meant to introduce boys and girls to the natural beauty of America. Mormons took financial control of the Boy Scouts by donating more than 28% of their global operating budget per year. Gays and lesbians are barred from participating in this group not just in Mormon troops, but nationwide, thereby turning our children into a political football.

Some Mormons send their own gay teenage children to "conversion camps," where these children are forced to endure shock therapy and given psychotropic drugs. The emotional stress of such experience drives many to contemplate suicide. The Mormon Church has yet to repudiate these activities.

Now the Mormon Church has set its target on gay and lesbian adults of California. They have started by amending our constitution to deny equal protection to gays and lesbians. [Note from Mike in Texas: Actually they have been targeting gays for many years, starting with marriage in Hawaii back in 1988. See here and also here.]

Ask the Jews about how freedoms are lost. The concentration camps were not built in a national referendum. They were the product of a systemic reduction of freedoms, year after year, one at a time.

We as citizens of California, Americans, and persons of various beliefs and faiths will not allow this to happen.

LA Police Beat Protester At Pro-Gay Rally

From BBC: Aerial footage appears to show Los Angeles police beating a protester in their custody at a rally against the banning of same-sex marriage last night.

UPDATE WITH MORE VIDEO FROM WOW REPORT

No You Cannot

Drop Dead, GOP (Greed Over People)

Something Momentous

This morning I experienced a familiar feeling while watching the news on TV.

In 1991 we took a cruise of the Baltic just days after the fall of the Soviet Union. The highlight of the trip, of course, was the stop in Leningrad. We'd planned the trip a year earlier. When the Soviet Union fell, we were told that we might not be able to stop in Leningrad and that if things were highly unsettled, we would not even be able to go into the Baltic. As it turned out, 2 days before we left here we were told everything was okay, and we would be visiting Leningrad.

We were not prepared for what we saw when we got there, the flag of old Russia flying in place of the Soviet Union flag. We'd seen a number of ships flying the Soviet flag in Stockholm, the stop before Leningrad, and because of that, we didn't expect to see anything different in Leningrad.

And by the time we left, the name of the city had been changed back to St. Petersburg. It was a very exciting and emotional time for us.

And that brings me to this morning. That feeling came back to me as I watched Barack Obama and his family in the voting booth this morning. I was surprised to feel so moved.

Something momentous is happening today.

Early Bird New Hampshire Towns Choose Obama

Since 1948, two small New Hampshire towns have had the tradition of being the first towns to cast and tally their votes. All residents eligible to vote gather and cast their votes at the stroke of midnight.

Obama was the winner in both towns.

Dixville Notch, NH cast 15 votes for Obama and 6 for McCain. This is the first time Dixville Notch has voted Democrat since 1968.

Hart's Location, NH cast 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain, 2 for Ron Paul, and 0 for Ralph Nader.

Today's Electoral Vote Predictions

According to Chuck Todd, McCain will lose if he picks up all of the tossup states. He must have New Hampshire to win.

However, according to the most current polling, he has a looong way to go. According to Electoral-Vote.com, Mcain is currently polling only 40% in New Hampshire compared to Obama's 53%.

Montreal Comedians Prank Call Sarah Palin

Montreal's Masked Avengers made a prank phone call to Sarah Palin, convincing her she was speaking to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The Masked Avengers have a regular show on Montreal radio station CKOI.

Today's Electoral Vote Prediction

From Electoral-Vote.com

Lots more information on the site.

Postcard From Sarah and John's Non-Socialist World

An Aria for Grandmère Mimi, the Bayou Blogging Gumbo Granny

Wounded Bird, Mimi's blog from the bayou, can be found here.

Flummoxed Fumbrage*

This is absolutely brilliant.

McCain hack Michael Goldfarb, who writes posts for McCain's blog, was interviewed by Rick Sanchez on CNN today about McCain's latest bizarre attack on Obama.

It starts as follows:

SANCHEZ: Now, is the -- I need to parse this out as best I can from you, Michael. The fact that John McCain's organization gave $448,000 to this group that was founded by Mr. Khalidi, is there no reason for some to be critical of as well just as some might be critical of Barack Obama for being at a meeting with some girl who read a poem for example?

GOLDFARB: Look. You are missing the point again, Rick. The point is that Barack Obama has a long track record of being around anti-Semitic and anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric.

SANCHEZ: Can you name one other person besides Khalidi who he hangs around that is anti-Semitic?

And then the fun begins. Watch the little weasel make a complete fool of himself.

*Fumbrage

McCain Staffer Tells Us How Bad McCain's Insurance Plan Is.

From CNNMoney.com:

Changing the tax treatment wouldn't hurt the employer-sponsored system and would allow more of the uninsured to buy their own coverage, [the McCain campaign says]. Also, his advisers say a McCain administration would keep an eye on the credit to make sure it didn't lag behind the cost of coverage, while also working to lower the rate of medical inflation.

Younger, healthier workers likely wouldn't abandon their company-sponsored plans, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's senior economic policy adviser.

"Why would they leave?" said Holtz-Eakin. "What they are getting from their employer is way better than what they could get with the credit."

So then, as the good folks at Health Care For America Now tell us:

The entire premise of McCain's health care plan is that people can do better on the free market. That's why you get a tax credit. That's why you would be able to buy insurance across state lines. The market supposedly makes health insurance cheaper, makes your health insurance company offer better coverage, and makes buying the insurance you need easier. And things like tying health insurance to employment are anti-free market, which is why the McCain plan taxes employer health benefits to encourage people to get insurance on the individual, free-er market.

Of course, tying health care to employment is the way we've done things in America for generations, and it turns out it's also pretty popular. (Not to mention that insurance companies have to cover you through an employer health care plan, while they can deny you for pre-existing conditions on the individual market.) And so, in the face of political pressure, you have Douglas Holtz-Eakin admitting the truth.

Faced with the fact that destroying our employer-based health care system isn't exactly a priority for most Americans, he argues that the McCain plan wouldn't actually destroy the employer-based system. Why? Because the tax credit McCain is offering wouldn't buy a decent health care plan, even for the young and healthy!

Let's unpack this a little bit more. According to Holtz-Eakin, John McCain doesn't actually want to dismantle the employer-based health care system. But, McCain's plan would tax any health benefits you'd get through work. So, if Holtz-Eakin is right in saying you'd get better coverage through work than you'd get with the tax credit on the individual market (and he probably is), and if he's right in saying most workers won't drop their employer-based insurance for the individual market because they're getting a better deal at work, then John McCain is simply proposing a tax on your current health care benefits without giving you anything in return. That's the worst kind of tax increase.

Shorter Douglas Holtz-Eakin: John McCain's health care plan won't destroy the employer-based insurance system because McCain's plan doesn't work.

Remember John McCain: Less jobs, more war? Well now it's John McCain: More tax, less benefits.

Hatred California Style

The Face of Proposition 8 From Theremina

It is important that this be witnessed, so I am posting it here.

This footage was recorded 10/23/08 in Oakland, CA, on a public street corner near Lake Merritt. I was on my way home from the Lakeshore district when I encountered this group of supporters of Prop 8 (proposition to ban gay marriage). After turning my vidphone on, I was screamed at, physically intimidated and eventually attacked by one of the sign-wavers.

About two dozen men and women were standing under the I-580, chanting "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" and "Mom and Dad, not Dad and Dad", etc. There were at least three counter-protesters present as well.

For several minutes prior to shooting this footage, I watched from a distance. One of the Prop 8 supporters lunged at a solitary man holding a "Vote No on Prop 8" sign. She didn't actually touch him, but she got right up in his face, screaming. She was loud enough that you could hear her several blocks away. As far as I could see, he hadn't provoked her in any way beyond the dissenting opinion stated on his sign. The man seemed to remain quiet and calm throughout. Witnessing this, I decided to turn on my phone's video application and approach.

Proponents of Prop 8 have gone to great lengths in their propaganda to try to deny the inherent fear, anger and bigotry fueling their camp's desire to ban gay marriage. However, these Prop 8 supporters (and many other protesters I've seen in recent weeks) were visibly enraged and screaming themselves hoarse in their righteous indignation over the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in the state of California.

Having documented this clash between fellow Oaklanders, I'm putting it online because I think it's important to convey to as many people as possible --supporters and dissenters alike--- just how irrational, hysterical and potentially dangerous the situation actually is. This is bigotry and blind, senseless hatred of the saddest kind, and it is everywhere. Even in the bay area, in a neighborhood full of lesbian and gay families.

Something to keep in mind: when I hit the record button, I hadn't said a single word to anyone, or interfered with the rally any way. I stood a fair distance away from the sign-wavers (remaining at least four feet away from all of them...until they approached me). But as soon as they noticed me filming them, I was greeted with curses and threats of violence. "Get that shit out of here. I'll knock it out of your hand." None of these folks knew me, yet they instantly knew they hated me.

Eventually, as you can see, some of the protesters surrounded me and began poking at me with their signs. Others, some of the most visibly angry and hysterical among them (apparently minors), hid their faces behind their banners while continuing to scream at passing traffic.

I asked the most aggressive woman (who was not underage) "are you afraid to be online?" She answered, "oh, no, they already videotaped me, but these kids don't want to be online, cause they're [unintelligible] loaded on a sexual perv profile and [unclear] look at my little cousins." Fair enough. I'm all for protecting the innocent. (Not that there's anything particularly innocent about screaming hate speech in public.)

"Go away, Nasty Nasty. Nasty, nasty, nasty, nasty."

The woman continued to poke at my face with her sign and call me "nasty." Genuinely disturbed by the complete lack of rational behavior I'd seen up to this point, wanting to look into her face and possibly connect on some level with her as a fellow human being, I pulled a corner of the sign down away from my eyes and asked "why are you calling me nasty?"

That's when she attacked, clawing, grabbing and then shoving. I didn't fight back; she was much bigger than me. After calling me a "nasty fucker" and threatening to kick my ass, she pried my phone out of my hand and tried to break it in half while her friends egged her on.

Please note that I never touched or threatened her in any way (unless you want to consider my pulling the edge of her sign out of eye-poking territory a threatening gesture).

After she took away my phone, I stood there stunned, not really sure what to do. One of the counter-protesters (the woman who you see saying "No on Prop 8" towards the beginning of this clip) intervened and calmed the attacking woman down enough that I felt safe enough to dart forward to try to take my phone back. After a second or two of grappling, she let me have it back and went back to screaming at cars from a lawn chair near the side of the road.

(Big love and gratitude to the kindly counter-protester who pleaded for calm. I don't think my phone would have survived without you!)

I stood there for another minute or two, checking the phone's applications for damage. One of the other sign-wavers, a teenage boy standing nearby, leaned over and whispered "fuck you, dyke."

Even though I wasn't hurt besides a small scratch on my hand, and my phone was okay, being attacked definitely shook me up. I was a bit tearful. Call me naive, but I never thought I'd actually be in physical danger just for shooting footage and pulling the edge of a person's sign out of my eyes. Verbal insults, sure. But attacked? Yikes.

The man holding the "Vote No" sign noticed that I was in tears and approached me. We hugged to a chorus of jeers, exchanged some reassuring words, and I turned to leave. Someone screamed after me: "keep crying, and keep walking."

So that's exactly what I did.I'm voting no on Prop 8. I'll take love over hate any day.