“Matalin, a Republican pundit and strategist, said the book would give Cheney a chance to give her thoughts on the issue — something she couldn’t do while working on the campaigns.”
Mary Cheney is writing a memoir with Mary Matalin. Nothing groundbreaking there. But I did find the above quote to be interesting.
“(Canton, Ohio) A state lawmaker from northeast Ohio says he’ll introduce a bill this week to close a perceived loophole in the domestic-violence law created by the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Democratic state Representative William Healy of Canton says his bill would define domestic violence as an act committed when individuals reside together, regardless of marital status.”
The article also says:
“However, the change in the law will only affect heterosexuals in non married relationships. The domestic abuse law will not apply to same-sex couples because of the constitutional amendment.”
Now wait, wouldn’t that be special rights?
After my interview with Michael Rogers, I emailed GayPatriot and requested an interview with him on the same subject, offering him space to respond in his own words. I made the request via email because that is the only way I had of contacting GayPatriot as we had exchanged emails earlier.
This morning I received this response from GayPatriot:
I appreciate the offer….and this is my official response: “On the advice of my legal counsel I cannot comment on the situation until it has been resolved through the proper channels.”
I thanked GayPatriot for responding to the email and told him basically that my offer stood. I will be glad to present GayPatriot’s side of the story, accurately and in his own words, when he chooses to speak on the record.
This evening I conducted a telephone interview with Michael Rogers of BlogActive.com. He agreed to an on the record interview regarding the situation between himself and GayPatriot. [writer's note: I refer to GayPatriot by that name because that is the name he wrote under. GayPatriot has since been identified but I chose to use his pen name. UPDATE: What follows is a recounting of that conversation not an actual transcript of the interview.]
The Hill interviewed Joe Solmonese, the incoming head of the Human Rights Campaign. [hat tip to rawstoryq]
“Q: Newt Gingrich’s sister works at HRC. Dick Cheney’s daughter is a lesbian. Do you think family members can have an impact on policymakers? Do you exploit that?
A: The simple answer is: unquestionably. It is at the core of what we need to do. When you know someone, whether it’s a co-worker, a family member or a friend, it influences the way you see the world. It is, I believe, the single most important thing in changing the hearts and minds of Americans.
Q: What do you think of outing campaigns?
A: Different people have different philosophies about this and approach it in different ways. If you’re outing someone on the Hill, are you doing it because you’re going to change their mind about their vote?… I think that I and the HRC focus on how people vote and what people say.
Q: Would you advise people who are waging outing campaigns to stop?
A: Well, I haven’t really had a long conversation with anyone who’s on this, so I can only speak to what I think.
Q: Can you say whether the campaigns are good or bad, helpful or unhelpful?
A: You ask yourself, good, bad, helpful or unhelpful in doing what? In doing what? I’d be curious to see how they would answer that sentence. Is it in causing someone to lose their job? Is it in changing a vote, changing the direction of Congress? That is the question I would ask.
Q: Have you seen votes changed as a result of outing campaigns?
A: No, I haven’t.”
“Colorado Gov. Bill Owens could face a tough choice deciding whether to sign a bill requiring hospitals to tell rape victims about emergency contraception. Fellow Republicans say the bill, passed by the Legislature on Tuesday, violates Catholic hospitals’ freedom of religion by forcing them to offer information about abortion.”
The Catholic Church chooses to be in the health care industry by operating Hospitals. Health care in this country should be based on sound, scientific practices and not religious dogma. If the Catholic Church wants to be in the health care industry, then they should have to abide by all applicable laws, regardless of the impact on their faith. Does it qualify as a violation of freedom of religion when any Church of any religion makes the free choice to enter any industry that is governed by laws? This goes hand in hand with other laws being passed that would allow any health care provider to refuse treatment to someone because to treat that person would violate their religious beliefs.
“In the summer of 1965, a group of about 40 gays and lesbians picketed in Philadelphia to remind Americans that gays did not have equal civil rights. Their stage, in front of Independence Hall, was significant because as the birthplace of the United States, it symbolizes freedom and equality. Now the annual ‘reminder’ marches held July 4 from 1965 to 1969 will be commemorated by a blue and gold historic marker issued by the state.”
This marker will commemorate a major step in the march toward equality. It is nice to see a piece of gay history recognized.
“The national director of programs for the Boy Scouts of America has been charged with receiving and distributing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s office here told NBC News on Tuesday.”
I was a cub scout and a boy scout. I never made Eagle but I earned my share of badges. I was a big supporter of the boy scouts until they made it clear that by virtue of my being a gay man, I would not be welcome.
“Democratic societies have a hard time dealing with extremists in their midst. The desire to show respect for other people’s beliefs all too easily turns into denial: nobody wants to talk about the threat posed by those whose beliefs include contempt for democracy itself.”
Paul Krugman wrote the above in his column today making the point that in a democracy extremism can come to power. Extremist usually use the democratic process, even profess to hold it’s tenets sacred, until power is obtained. As has been said, “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
I have no way of knowing if this is actually Michael Rogers who was referred to as a gay terrorist by GayPatriot. But this was left in my comment section:
Don’t believe everything you read. Just because something appeared on the internet does NOT make it so. Mike Rogers Homepage 03.28.05 – 2:29 pm #
I would agree with that which is why I qualified what I said. I have no idea if the story I linked to is accurate or not. But I stand by what I said. If it is accurate then it is beyond the pale.
I tried to backtrack this so I could ask this person:
1. Are you the Michael Rogers referred to in GayPatriots post?
2. What is your side of the story?
But I could not find an email address functional for the comment. I also could not find an email address on BlogActive. If this is the real Michael Rogers, please email the answers to these questions to centralfront@gmail.com. I would welcome your side of this story.
Betty DeGeneres writes:
“Just a few weeks ago, the idea popped into the back of my mind that it might be time for me to retire. And you know how that goes — once a germ of an idea creeps in, if the timing is right, the idea just grows and grows until it happens. At least, sometimes it happens like that. This is what has happened for me, and so this is my farewell column. I’ve been writing this column for six years now. It has been a challenge, an honor and a privilege. I thank you all for the love, trust and faith you’ve shown me. “
Her bio line reads:
Betty DeGeneres, mother of actress Ellen DeGeneres, is the spokesperson for the HRC Coming Out Project and an active member of PFLAG. She lends her expertise to PlanetOut as an advice columnist on issues of coming out and acceptance. She is the author of “Love, Ellen” and “Just a Mom.”
I want to wish Mrs. DeGeneres all the best. I will miss her column as it was heartwarming to read. Her books, writings and appearances have helped countless families come to terms and deal with the issue of a gay family member.
All is not lost however, for it seems that she will be working on a new book. Good luck on the new venture. Your regular column will be missed.
The recent fire at a club in Michigan made me think about the following:
“Since its founding in 1968, more than 20 UFMCC churches have been bombed or arsoned, while many others have been vandalized, desecrated or threatened. Proportionally, no other institution in America has been the recipient of as much arson, bombing, vandalism and desecration motivated by hate crimes as have the churches of UFMCC. An astounding and shocking seven percent of our congregations have been targets of bombing or arson.’ “
Gay persons have often been attacked with arson, especially if we dared to form a place where we could actually worship while being openly ourselves.
