LGBT POV

Is there such a thing as a polite slug-fest? That’s how Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina sparred in their first and perhaps only debate Wednesday night for the US Senate seat Boxer has held for three terms. Boxer has faced tough re-election battles before, but this one is particularly hard in an anti-incumbent year with a very rich opponent and an independent, Karl Rove-back 527 group swift-boating Boxer in TV ads on Medicare.

Right now, as Boxer pointed out during the debate, Senate Democrats need 60 votes to pass legislation and most of their Republican colleagues have just said “No” without offering solutions. Some pundits predict that if Boxer loses, the Senate will revert to 1994-style hard line conservative Republican control.

Please click inside to read more about my take on the debate.

California Sen. Barbara Boxer is in a tough re-election race against former HP CEO Carly Fiorina. Their first debate is happening tonight at 7:00pm Pacific on KTTV in Los Angeles, KGTV in San Diego and nationally on CSPAN and NPR radio affiliates. The one hour debate is expected to focus on jobs and the economy – which the Boxer campaign team thinks will show a “clear contrast” between the two women.  it depends on the three journalists on the panel whether they are asked about marriage equality, which Boxer supports. Another issue to watch for is climate change, an issue Boxer takes very seriously.

I worked at CBS News in November 1977 and watched in studio when anchor Walter Cronkite asked Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by satellite if he was willing to hold peace talks with Israel. Sadat said he was willing to go anywhere, including Jerusalem to address the Knesset. He just needed a formal invitation from Israel.  Cronkite immediately ordered up a satellite interview with Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin – considered a hard liner – who said he would issue an invitation via the Americans immediately. It was a stunning bit of journalism and I confess I cried when Sadat touched down in Jerusalem and hugged former Prime Minister Golda Meir - whom he called “a tough old lady” who also wanted peace. You didn’t have to be John Lennon or a hippie to think that if this could happen, that there really was hope for peace, justice and equality in the world.

Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 1, I watched on CNN as hard line Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting in the White House and called Abbas “my partner in peace.” Thursday, direct peace talks begin. Both Israel and its neighbors, including the Palestinians, have a common enemy in expansion-minded Iran so there is cautious hope here. President Barack Obama warned “this moment of opportunity may not soon come again.” Please click inside for a transcript of the remarks made by all the key parties.

Equality California had a fruitful year – getting 14 bills and resolutions passed through the state legislature. Seven bills now sit on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk but the Religious Right is pressuring the governor to veto at least two of them.

One of those bills, SB 543 – introduced by openly gay state Sen. Mark Leno and sponsored by EQCA – would allow young people 12 to 17 years old to access counseling without parental consent. While the Religious Right’s ongoing public relations efforts claim that parents and churches know what’s best for children – a  2006 survey of at-risk youth in Massachusetts says that LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers – often because of school bullying, religious stigma, or family rejection.

The bill is now on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk and the Religious Right is pressuring him to veto it. “To deny these youth mental health services because they are too afraid to ask their parents for permission is unconscionable,” says EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors.

Kors adds:

“Anti-LGBT organizations are also working to defeat a bill that puts into California code that clergy, acting on behalf of their religion, shall not be required to marry couples if such marriage is inconsistent with their faith. Although our opponents want clergy protected, they are opposing this bill as it will take away their ability to falsely claim that clergy will be required to marry same-sex couples as they did during the Proposition 8 campaign.  We are urging everyone to contact the Governor and urge him to sign these and all seven EQCA sponsored bills.”

There is an action alert set up at www.eqca.org for people to contact the Governor.

When gay journalist Rex Wockner and I covered the antigay pro-Prop 8 rally TheCall at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in 2008, I don’t think we had any idea how big this fringe Christian evangelical preacher Lou Engle would become.

Actually, as Engle notes in the video promoting TheCall rally in Sacramento this weekend, he’s been building his movement for 10 years, in particular leading “young adults into a lifestyle of radical prayer, fasting, and holiness.”

The event – to be broadcast “live’ on the GOD Channel is called an “Evening of Prophetic Worship.”  It takes place at the Raley Field on Friday, Sept. 3, with a “Joel 2 Solemn Assembly” at the Sacramento Capitol Mall on Saturday.  This is a reference to Joel 2:15, which says: “Blow the trumpet in Zion! Consecrate a fast! Call a sacred assembly.”

The LIVE webcasts at www.god.tv/live commence on Friday September 3 at 6:00pm Pacific, and on Saturday September 4 at 9:00am Pacific. The on- air broadcasts on channel 365 of DIRECTV and some cable stations (or www.god.tv/video via video on demand) start on Saturday at 4:30pm Pacific/7.30 pm (EST) and on Sunday September 5 at 3:00pm Pacific/6 pm (EST).

In a press release, Engle said:

“We are calling the consecrated ones to call upon God in the Day of Trouble. We are praying for a new revolution of prayer that will move the heart of God for this nation, for without Him there is no hope.”

Actor and voice-over artist Ben Patrick Johnson hosted a fundraiser for Democratic candidate Brittany Novotny on Sunday, Aug. 29 at his home in West Hollywood.  Novotny is running for Oklahoma House District 84 against notoriously homophobe Sally Kern, the Republican state leader who says homosexuals are the number-one threat to America today. If elected, Novotny would become the first transgendered American elected to a state Legislature. Novotny’s platform is focused on local issues – jobs, transportation and schools.  See Ben Patrick Johnson’s  Facebook page for more information and how you can contribute. Here’s who showed up:

Log Cabin Republicans have been chatting up  this new “Young Guns” ad – which the Washington Post wrote about Tuesday. Funded Virginia  Republican House whip Eric Cantor’s political action committee (ERICPAC) and controlled by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the ad features the “hot guys” of the GOP – Cantor, Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). It’s kind of like the Republican version of Justin Timberlake “bringing sexy back.” It also promos a book by Cantor as well as a promo for new GOP candidates.

“America is at a crossroads, and Washington remains out of touch,” intones the “Voice of God” narrator. “There is a better way….A new team is ready to bring America back.” The “young guns” appear. “Together they are ready to make history. Together they are the young guns: innovative, energetic, forging new solutions.”

The conservative Pacific Justice Institute filed a petition with the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento on Monday to try to force the state – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown – to defend Prop 8 on appeal in federal court, the AP reports.

The state, as government-defendants in the Perry v Schwarzenegger case, has until Sept. 11 to file an appeal of Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling striking down Prop 8 as unconstitutional last Aug. 4. Both Schwarzenegger and Brown said they will not appeal. Protect Marriage, the defendant-interveners, appealed but there is a question about whether they have standing as private citizens in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit will hear arguments on that issue during the week of Dec. 6.

In a blog on their website, PJI posits failure to uphold Prop 8 as a “constitutional crisis:”

“California is teetering on the precipice of a constitutional crisis. Former bodybuilder, turned Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with former Governor, turned Attorney General, Jerry Brown, are putting their shoulders down to push California’s voters over the cliff. With them, the state’s republican form of government will fall.”

Lambda Legal’s Legal Director Jon Davidson makes an excellent point about “judicial activism:”

“This latest, desperate move by antigay forces recognizes that, without an appeal by Gov. Schwarzenegger or Attorney General Jerry Brown, the Perry case may be over and Prop. 8 a relic of the past.  It’s ironic that groups that regularly attack the judiciary are now asking judges to second guess the highest members of the state’s executive branch who correctly have decided that Prop. 8 so clearly violates the U.S. Constitution that it cannot in good faith be defended.  Those officials swore to uphold the federal Constitution which, under our federal system of government, overrides state law.”

Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors issued this statement in response to the PJI action:

“This is an outrageous attempt to try and force elected officials who have sworn to uphold the United States Constitution to defend a law that the Federal Court has found to be unconstitutional. It demonstrates their acknowledgement that the proponents of Proposition 8 lack standing to appeal, that the case should be dismissed and loving same-sex couples should be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to marry.”

Right Wing Watch reminds us how PJI President Brad Dacus at a Protect Marriage/Yes on 8 rally on Oct. 28, 2008 said “failure to pass Prop 8 in California would be akin to failing to stop Hitler.”

Courage Campaign Founder and Chairman Rick Jacobs said this:

“With California laying off teachers, police and firefighters amidst an unprecedented budget crisis, it is the height of hypocrisy for so called ‘conservatives’ to demand that California taxpayers foot the bill to defend a discriminatory law that has already been declared unconstitutional in federal court. This frivolous action shows just how out of touch and desperate those who seek to limit the freedoms of loving American families have become.”

MSNBC is reporting that actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor ’s husband, Frederick Prinz von Anhalt, called 911 on Tuesday because Gabor was “unresponsive.”  The 93 year old actress had been given last rites and returned to the couple’s Bel Air home to die.

Here’s an old interview with Zsa Zsa in a story by John Tesh:

The Republican Jewish Coalition, a national group that has held events in conjunction with Log Cabin Republicans and includes recently out Ken Mehlman on their board of directors and hosts Beverly Hills events with Karl Rove and Michelle Bachmann, is taking former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina to Israel this Labor Day Weekend for what’s being billed as a “personal trip.”

Fiorina is trying to unseat Democratic Senate incumbent Barbara Boxer, who is Jewish, and the race is close. Fiorinia, who is strongly Pro-Life, is endorsed by both Tea Party hero Sarah Palin and the conservative gay group GOProud.

RJC maintains that the trip is not political, but the Los Angeles Times points out:

“It will serve to remind conservative evangelicals, a key Republican voter bloc that sympathizes with Israel, of Fiorina’s candidacy, and could also capture the attention of Jewish voters, who usually side with Democrats.”

The four-day trip just happens to start the day after peace talks are scheduled to resume between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and while RJC says that makes meeting top Israeli leaders difficult, The Times reports that Fiorina is hoping to meet with “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to ‘convey directly to the people of Israel that they will not have a stronger friend in the U.S. Senate than me.’”

Fiorina is leaving the day after a debate with Boxer scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 1 from 7:00pm-8-pm Pacific on KTTV, Fox Channel 11 in Los Angeles. It will also be broadcast on C-Span. The Times notes that during her primary contest with former congressmember Tom Campbell,

“Fiorina had to fend off criticisms about HP’s ties to Iran under her watch. She has said she was unaware that a Dubai-based subsidiary of HP sold printers to Iran, an Israeli adversary which that is subject to a trade embargo. During the campaign she has said HP complied with every export law.”

(Editor’s note: In part one of this three part series in response to Rev Eric Lee’s charges in the Huffington Post, I discussed racism within the LGBT community. In part two, I took a deeper look at Rev. Lee’s allegations and the circumstances that lead to them. Here LGBT leaders respond both on and off the record and I note that In The Meantime Men is sponsoring a meeting with and for the Black LGBT community on Tuesday – to which community leaders are invited. – Karen Ocamb)

Reaction from LGBT Leaders

Some LGBT leaders were taken aback by Lee’s strong reaction to what they thought was an accidental screw up by the guy tasked with inviting him. EQCA’s Marc Solomon (pictured here), who was not specifically named but whose presence was referenced as one of the groups who “ran the failed Proposition 8 campaign,” was among those sent me their reactions, trying to set the record straight from their perspectives.

Additionally, I wrestle with Lee’s perception of the “white male-dominated LGBT community.”

(Editor’s note: In part one of this series responding to SCLC Rev. Eric Lee charging the “white male-dominated LGBT community” with “unconscious racism” – I looked at racism within the LGBT community as it surfaced during the post Prop 8 rallies. Here I look more deeply at Lee’s charge and what precipitated it. – Karen Ocamb)

Lee slams LGBT organizations

Given SCLC’s General Counsel Dexter M. Wimbish’s statement to me that “we all would be better off as a country, not just as an organization” if SCLC and NAACP rejected their stand of “neutrality” against the segregation of marriage equality, how is it that SCLC’s Rev. Eric Lee can say in the Huffington Post that LGBT organizations are “holding all of us back in our movement for justice and equality.”

I spent many hours on the phone and on email with a slew of different people since the Huffington Post piece appeared on Friday trying to piece together what had happened to prompt this diatribe from LGBT straight hero, Rev. Eric Lee. Most people were willing to talk only off the record since the issue of race and inter-organizational politics is so delicate.

Please click inside to read more about why Rev. Eric Lee felt so insulted.

Two days before the 47th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Rev. Eric Lee, President of King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, posted an essay on the Huffington Post blasting the LGBT community for “unconscious racism.”

“There is a travesty of justice occurring within lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations that is holding all of us back in our movement for justice and equality.

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I believe that the cause of justice and equality also suffers when the unconscious racism of the white male-dominated LGBT community goes unchecked.”

My jaw dropped. I’ve known Rev. Eric Lee (pictured here at a post-Prop 8 rally) for two years – since he took his courageous stand in favor of marriage equality and against Prop 8. I know him to be a man deeply committed to justice and equality and very comfortable around gay people. So I was stunned that he delivered this painful broadside against the entire LGBT community – especially knowing how beloved and respected he is by that community – without explaining the specifics of what prompted the deeply troubling charge of racism – unconscious or not – or offering any solutions.

This is the first of a three-part series responding to Rev. Eric Lee’s charges. In the segment I look at racism within the LGBT community.

My friend Greg Hernandez was live-blogging during the Emmy Awards Show on NBC Sunday night and has the re-cap on his blog GregInHollywood.

I confess that while I follow The Closer and Glee - what self-respecting LGBT person would miss it? – I am not as familiar with Modern Family or some of the other TV shows up for awards. But here’s the thing: I was genuinely entertained by the Emmy show.

Perhaps that’s because the awards show itself was so gay or actually, gay inclusive. I really could not believe my eyes at this generational shift. Ten years ago, I would fixate on the screen to see which celebrities were wearing red ribbons symbolizing a commitment to fight AIDS.

But Sunday night – not only did openly gay actress Jane Lynch win Best Supporting Actress for Glee and thank her wife Lara Embry from the stage but the Emmy’s feature a photo of Lynch and Embry as part of their official Emmy coverage.This is a really important reminder of how culture changes the world.

There were other terrific and casually gay moments throughout the show. Openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris came out on stage to present an award and said, “I’d like to thank the Academy for allowing a gay man to host show two years in a row. Congratulatons Jimmy [Fallon] you’re doing a great job!” Not too long ago, the recipient of that joke would have grimaced and shaken his head vigorously to indicate NO! Instead, Fallon seemed to furrow his brow as if thinking, “Really?” Fallon was also very funny imitating Elton John during one number.

There was also a wonderful moment when straight actor Eric Stonestreet won Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for playing his half of a gay couple on ABC’s Modern Family. Apparently there’s some consternation over whether the gay couple, who have an adopted baby, should kiss. Stonestreet seemed to settle the matter by smacking his openly gay co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the lips in his enthusiasm over winning. It was reminiscent of the moment on Will and Grace when Eric McCormack’s character kisses Sean Hayes character on the “Today” show.  And no one gasped or thought anything of it. Funny shot of George Clooney in bed with the on-screen gay couple, too.

Same when Glee creator Ryan Murphy kissed his partner. when he won for outstanding writing in a comedy series. He was terrific in reminding everyone that Glee is really about the importance of arts programs in schools. Accepting his award, he said, “I’d like to dedicate this to all my teachers who taught me to sing and fingerpaint.”

One final note: Ricky Gervais, creator of The Office and a pretty funny guy – took a swipe at Mel Gibson that got a laugh that may have added yet another nail in Gibson’s career coffin. For those of you who may not remember – Gibson used to go after gays as well as African Americans and Jews. At the Emmys, Gervais included Gibson in a list of “scary” actors. Then – as a tongue-in-cheek reminder of how he went after Gibson at the Golden Globes – Gervais said: “I won’t have a go at Mel. He’s been through a lot.” Gervais paused. “Not as much as the Jews.”

Ben Patrick Johnson, one of West Hollywood’s favorite actor/activists, is hosting a fundraiser for Democratic candidate Brittany Novotny on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 4:00pm in West Hollywood.  Please see Ben Patrick Johnson’s Facebook page for more information.

Novotny is running for Oklahoma House District 84 against notoriously homophobe Sally Kern. You remember her – she’s that Republican state leader who says homosexuals are the number-one threat to America today, among other outlandish claims. If elected, Novotny would become the first transgender American elected to a state Legislature. Novotny’s platform is focused on local issues – jobs, transportation and schools.

For more on this – including a reminder of who Sally Kern is, click here.

In his Washington Post column, Eugene Robinson summed what’s happening Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech:

“The majestic grounds of the Lincoln Memorial belong to all Americans — even to egomaniacal talk-show hosts who profit handsomely from stoking fear, resentment and anger. So let me state clearly that Glenn Beck has every right to hold his absurdly titled ‘Restoring Honor’ rally on Saturday.

But the rest of us have every right to call the event what it is: an exercise in self-aggrandizement on a Napoleonic scale. I half-expect Beck to appear before the crowd in a bicorn hat, with one hand tucked into the front of his jacket.

That Beck is staging his all-about-me event at the very spot where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his immortal ‘I Have a Dream’ speech — and on the 47th anniversary of that historic address — is obviously intended to be a provocation. There’s no need to feel provoked, however; the appropriate response is to ignore him. No puffed-up blabbermouth could ever diminish the importance of the 1963 March on Washington or the impact of King’s unforgettable words.

Lincoln and King will always have their places in American history. Beck’s 15 minutes of fame and influence are ticking by.”

Here’s a portion of that speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Please click inside to read the entire MLK speech.

An Aug. 24 Rasmussen Reports poll has longtime California Sen. Barbara Boxer and recently political Republican challenger Carly Fiorina in a statistical dead heat.  Political strategists now call this a “toss-up” rather than a safe win for Boxer – despite the fact that Fiorina is Pro-Life and more conservative that the state that voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama (60.94 percent to John McCain’s 36.91) might suggest. The poll puts Boxer at 44 percent compared to Fiorina’s 43 percent – with 5 percent preferring someone else and 8 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4 points.  When “leaners” are counted, Boxer leads 49 percent to 44 percent. However, 52 percent of those polled view Boxer unfavorably compared to Fiorina’s unfavorables at 42 percent, with 11 percent not sure.

What may be of particular concern to Boxer is that an independent group called Crossroads GPS – that the Sacramento Bee identified as backed by GOP strategist Karl Rove – just launched a $1 million week-long TV ad blasting Boxer for voting for Medicare cuts included in the federal healthcare reform bill. Given Boxer’s liberal record on healthcare issues, including Medicare, this sure seems like the “swiftboating” of Barbara Boxer to me – targeting senior and sick Californians who are staying indoors during the August heat wave.

The Boxer campaign has not yet responded on the campaign website’s front page or in their “Setting the Record Straight” page, which hasn’t been updated since July 2. However, the Bee reported, Los Angeles County Democratic Party’s Kam Kuwata “slammed the ad buy, saying Fiorina is “getting rewarded by Karl Rove and Texas oil billionaires for supporting tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs overseas.”

Here’s the ad entitled “Worried:”

The Daily Caller reports that PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who is gay, will co-host GOProud’s “Homocon” event with controversial author Ann Coulter at Thiel’s home in New York City on Sept. 25. “We are thrilled to have Peter’s support for our organization and excited that he will host this great event,” GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia told the conservative site.

Coulter’s participation generated some publicity after WorldNetDaily dropped her as a speaker from one of their events – while keeping her column – in disapproval. In response, Coulter called WND editor Joseph Farah “a swine” and a “publicity whore.”

The event’s sponsors include a number of prominent gay and straight conservatives, such as conservative radio host Tammy Bruce, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover, John Hawkins of Right Wing News, CPAC Director at the American Conservative Union Lisa DePasquale, and former General Counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee Craig Engle. No word yet on whether newly out Ken Mehlman will attend.

Lisa DePasquale of the Conservative Political Action Conference told TheDC that she thinks there has been a shift in conservatives’ attitudes towards gays: “The movement in general has been supportive of lots of different groups. Part of it has to do with younger generations of people now running the other [conservative] groups and I think that probably helps. Most people seem to be okay with it.”

Where were you when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast five years ago?

Like many of you, I was stuck to the television watching the city of New Orleans torn apart before my eyes – first the rain, then the flooding, then the fight to rescue the stranded residents. I grew angrier by the minute learning President Bush was on vacation and had to watch a prepared DVD to be brought up to speed, after which he did a flyover. When he finally did visit the devastated region, he commended incompetent Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown with the now infamous words, “You’re doing a heck of a job, Brownie.”

Heck of a job? We watched dead bodies float in the floods, people stranded without food or water on rooftops waving signs “Help Us!” Dehydrated babies dying in their mother’s arms. Was this OUR America? We drop necessities from helicopters in war torn areas around the world – but we couldn’t do the same in New Orleans? We couldn’t bring truck loads of supplies to the Superdome? From here it looked like abject racism.

Like so many of you, we at Frontiers tried to help – chipping in to send volunteers from St. Thomas Episcopal Church Hollywood to Biloxi, Mississippi to help a “sister” church there. And we teamed up with some good Samaritans from Long Beach to fly in a lesbian couple to re-join some of their gay friends rescued earlier. This was particularly poignant since one was in a wheelchair and the other had to pose as her healthcare provider in the small church that first took them in, lest they suffer even more indignity than losing everything in the storm.  Did they ever go home? I don’t know.

As usual, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow has produced some remarkable stories about Katrina in New Orleans, five years later – especially how it continues to impact the poor. But as someone who sees my job as a journalist as a public service – I want to bring you Rachel’s interview with Garland Robinette, the  ”voice” of radio station WWAL that provided a community service by giving information and connecting families.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tony Perkins, head of the antigay Family Research Council, is “saddened” by the news about former GOP heavy weight Ken Mehlman coming out as gay, according to an email to supporters he sent during a break from his vacation.  Perkins (pictured) says that Mehlman has “chosen” to identify himself as gay. I guess Perkins didn’t read Mehlman’s interview with The Atlantic or skipped that part where it took Mehlman 43 years to “choose” that identity.

But there are so many other interesting tid-bits in Perkins’ email. Please click inside to read Perkins’ email and the questions that arise from it.