I had dinner with my ‘Rents t’day. Oddly, one of the few visits we’ve had where politics aren’t argued discussed. My Mom had some treats for our dog “Little Otis” and so I followed them to their car to pick them up. This Jeep was parked next to my folks’ car and my Dad pointed to the bumper sticker and laughed at it.
… I grinned and said to my Dad: “Well, it would appear that ‘Healing’ has begun and going on swimmingly! Must be a sad day for the GOP seeing all of us “looney liberals” getting along so well, huh?!”
He sobered his heckling laughter really fast and got into the car. I kissed my Mom “good-bye”, took the treats dropped them off in my car. The folks were speeding out of the parking lot while I went back and took this picture with my cell phone.
Sorry about my thumb. I took two pictures, but this one was the only one that seemed to make it to the Verizon website. …They’re probably gonna charge me a hundred bucks for uploading the picture too….
This is Gay Pride Week. I’ve been so busy this week with GPW activities I could just scream. My husband partner is no exception; he’s complaining about his Gay Recruiting class size. This year, he has well over fifty heterosexual men who’ve decided they want to be gay, and he’s just swamped. And then there’s the night-classes for the Catholic priests he’s teaching too. Every night he has over 100 Catholic priests that he has to teach on “The Art of Seducing Alter Boys”. That Catholic church has really ramped up their battle against us, so even enticing those alter boys can be rather dicey.
It was just a week or so ago, there was a dust-up over at the John McCain campaign on the subject of Campaign Financing. McCain, according to the DNC is illegally flip-flopping on the subject by accepting those funds and then spending more than is allowed by law.
In order to receive matching funds, John McCain signed a binding agreement with the FEC to accept spending limits and to abide by the conditions of receiving those funds. The FEC requires that any request to withdraw from the agreement must be granted by the FEC. FEC Chairman David Mason made this clear in a letter to McCain advising him that the law requires the FEC to approve his request to withdraw from his contract – a move McCain ignored and cost Mason his job.
According to past Commission rulings, the McCain campaign would not be allowed to withdraw from matching funds because it already violated a key condition for being let out of the program – pledging matching funds as collateral for a private loan.
Obama — at a time when Hillary Clinton was the inevitable juggernaut rolling back to the White House — said he would stay in the federal public financing system if he did win the primary fight, as long as his GOP opponent did the same. McCain agreed immediately. The system gives candidates $85 million, funded by the $3 check-off fewer and fewer taxpayers choose to pay on IRS forms. But that’s the only money candidates who take the funding can spend after the nominating conventions. They can’t use campaign contributions from private donors. Now, awash in private contributions, Obama and his strategists are beginning to back away from his pledge to rely solely on public money.
So, McCain agrees: “We’ll take the public tax payer’s money and stay within the $85 Million as prescribed by law.”
[Handshake] …and “Deal”.
Now Obama doesn’t need the funds – so “screw ’em” he says. “I can raise my own money and not limit myself to the $80-odd Million the FEC mandates.”
McCain isn’t out of the woods:
McCain, meanwhile, took out a loan last fall that saved his campaign, giving him the money he needed for a last-ditch effort to win New Hampshire. He also declared himself eligible for a different public-financing program that gives candidates matching funds, keyed to the level of their private fundraising, for primary campaigns — and imposes strict spending caps in the process. Now that his financial picture has improved, he’s announced he won’t take the primary matching funds. But the head of the Federal Election Commission (a longtime critic of McCain’s campaign finance reforms) said last week that McCain may still be locked into taking the matching funds anyway.
Ooops.
But hold the phone here… Does anybody smell the rotting fish in this story?
His (Obama’s) decision makes him the first major-party candidate to opt out of the public structure for the general election campaign since it was created after the Watergate scandal more than 30 years ago. Republican John McCain, after initially saying he would consider opting out as well, said this evening he would taketaxpayer financing for his campaign.
Does that help?
The hypocrisies of the GOP is far too often ignored. Take your average John Q. Dolt who proudly hails himself as a Republican and talk about the poor on the welfare system in this country. You’ll get a thirty minute lecture on the laziness of these welfare recipients. And you’ll get an extra thirty minute lecture on the black woman’s status as “welfare queens” who are producing babies just to draw bigger welfare checks.
Where was James Cayne, Pesident and CEO of Bear Stearns, during the week before that company collapsed? Cayne is a champion bridge player. On the week while his giant-sized company was on the verge of collapse; Cayne was at a Bridge Tournament in Detroit.
Paulson also sought to send a calming message that the administration of President George W. Bush is on top of the turbulent situation. “The government is prepared to do what it takes” to ease turmoil in the financial system and minimize any damage to the U.S. economy, Paulson said during a series of broadcast interviews. The Fed’s intervention “was not a difficult decision. It was the right decision.“
It was the “right decision”.
Corporate welfare is rampant, and the Republicans put up a presidential nominee who’s sucking on the government’s teat and yet they won’t stop bitching about Barack Obama who does – exactly what a Republican preaches: He’ll raise his own funds, thank you very much!
Now let me get back to my responsibilities over at Gay Pride. I have some new recruits that I need to gather up from behind the roadside rests and the public toilets at the Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport. The Lesbian Liberation Army has promised my a special word on my behalf to the Supreme Bitch. I’m all excited and wonder how we’ll be rewarded for all of our hard work.
Gay and Lesbian entrepreneurs have had the NGLCC in their corner for quite a while now. IBM, one of the founding partners, was instrumental in creating the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC. For those of you who are not entrepreneurs, this subject will bore you to death: So, “Die Already!!”. For those who are gay and lesbian entrepreneurs, this subject is vitally important.
The NGLCC was created as an effort to not only represent the gay and lesbian business owner, but to also represent out interests within the halls of Congress. They were, admittedly, slow at building their base up, but they made a few moves that I thought were sound decisions. 1.) They absorbed all of the local gay and lesbian chambers throughout the United States four years ago and 2.) The created a Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and, ehem, “partnered” with them which formed a complete North American tour de force.
NGLCC has now launched a new project, an on-line magazine called “BIZ“. The magazine spotlights a particular local GLBT Chamber (first edition focused on the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) and carries a series of video blogs.
This isn’t their only venture. Some time ago, they launched the Women’s Business Initiative, a clearinghouse for Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered women for networking, mentoring and best practices.
To sign up and receive copies and notifications of each new issue, simply click here.
Congressman Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin have announced the formation of the newly formed Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“The mission of the LGBT Equality Caucus is to achieve the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence and the improved health and well being for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.”
So, I’m guessing you’re curious: “Gee Fruit!! What’s up with that?!?”
I’m glad you asked! And here’s the list of the 52 members of the GLBT Caucus:
Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Barney Frank (D-MA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Howard Berman (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Robert Brady (D-PA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Phil Hare (D-IL), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Doris Matsui (D-CA), James Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), José Serrano (D-NY), Chris Shays (R-CT), Pete Stark (D-CA), Betty Sutton (D-OH), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
Gotta love my buddy Keith!!! I’m so proud of him, I could just pee in my bloomers!! Err…Maybe; I’m so proud of him, I could bake chocolate chip cookies all day!! Hrm.. Ummm…hrmm!! Ummm…. “I’m so proud of him, I could just scream!” No…no no no… Umm… Lessee, ummm… “I’m so proud of my Congressman Keith Ellison, I could write a blog about it and tell everybody how proud I am!!”
Much better!! Don’t you think?!?
Pride Source notes a little bit more information on the subject:
Baldwin described the purpose of the caucus as both symbolic and substantive. “…symbolic because, historically, of all the member caucuses organized in the Congress over the years, none has ever been dedicated to equality for LGBT Americans,” he said. “The very existence of an LGBT Equality Caucus in Congress makes a strong statement about the values this Congress and this nation hold dear.”
The Chairs are, of course, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), but the Vice Chairs are:
Reps. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Xavier Becerra (D-CA) Lois Capps (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT)
Oh for pity’s sakes… That just makes me wanna cry!!!
I’m guessing that she’s pissed because Hillary ran such a shitty campaign. But that would only be a guess.
I wonder if they make spell-checkers for poster-board signs?
If gay people were in charge of FEMA; all of those people in New Orleans would not only have bottled water, but they'd also have sun-screen and ponchos in three different colors!
-The Agenda with Joe Solmonese on XM Radio
I had dinner with my ‘Rents t’day. Oddly, one of the few visits we’ve had where politics aren’t argued discussed. My Mom had some treats for our dog “Little Otis” and so I followed them to their car to pick them up. This Jeep was parked next to my folks’ car and my Dad pointed to the bumper sticker and laughed at it.
The Fruit Fly 