Scanner : bigotry

Transgender Marriage Struck Down By the Great State of Tennessee

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:08:00 GMT

In November 2007, a man and a woman walked into county clerk's office in Davidson County, Tennessee. Both had driver's licenses identifying them as "opposite marriage people"-- or, in logical land terms, a man and a woman. They were quickly married and promptly forgotten about by the state...

...until this past March, when a woman named Jo T. Rittenberry was arrested in a different county for assault and fraud. The police determined that she was actually a man and notified the state's marriage board, which this month invalidated the marriage from November 2007. In their announcement to the press, the state said that it doesn't matter if Rittenberry is male or female-- she was born a male, and thus this was a same sex-marriage, which is illegal...

While we strongly disagree with the judgment by the state-- there are more both-sex babies born in this world than people know and there's no valid reason to stop a gay marriage in the first place-- it couldn't have helped that Rittenberry, well... didn't really have sexual reassignment surgery, at least not successfully:

Rittenberry was born a man but identifies as a woman and claims to have had sex reassignment surgery. Although Rittenberry's Tennessee driver's license and Kentucky birth certificate say "female," both the Montgomery County Jail and the clinic where Rittenberry claims to have had surgery insist that Rittenberry is still biologically a man. [The clinic claims no operation was performed, according to the AP.]
"The marriage is real to me," Rittenberry said in a jail interview. "I could care less about the system. I just wanted me and Jeff to be together. He wanted to marry me and I said 'yes.'" [Leaf Chronicle]

Meanwhile, there's this story out of China:

Fu Shitou met Wei Jinhua through his sister-in-law and eventually the two got married. Recently, after three years of marriage, the couple had a doozer of a fight and Wei stormed out. Wei wandered the streets of Zhechuan in China until, by a series of unfortuate misadventures, she was picked up by police and strip searched! Hmm, that’s when the police discovered Wei was a he and not a she! Oh dear, I don’t know who broke the news to Fu but he was just as surprised as the police. Fu later confessed he had never had sex with his wife. OK, surely the fact that the toilet seat was never down…???? [Friggin' Loon]

Yes, if you're not going to ever consummate the relationship, you should at least peek at her when she's in the shower to find out for sure...

Seriously, though, we don't know what to make of either of these stories... more via the Nashville Post.

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This Week in Gayness: McDonald's Hates Gays... Again

Second Carrie Prejean Topless Photo Released... Will This Nightmare Ever End?

This Week in Gayness: The New Transgender Minister

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:16:00 GMT

Bloggers are defending Anderson Cooper's right to privacy. Can a "Leave Anderson Alone" YouTube video be far behind?

Four suspects have been arrested in that San Francisco lesbian gang rape case.

Meanwhile, also from San Francisco, some positive news...

First United Lutheran Church in San Francisco, the first Lutheran church to ordain an openly LGBT pastor in the 1990s, recently welcomed a new queer member of the ministry. Jay Wilson, now one of the few openly transgender pastors in San Francisco, was ordained by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and installed as a pastor at First United last month. [Bay Area Reporter]

Ruben Diaz, Sr., part of the Axis of Evil Democrats that are stand in the way of gay marriage in New York State, is under major pressure from unions, LGBT groups, and others to stop his insane power grab.

Believe it or not, the LGBT-friendly Hero of the Week? George W. Bush, who signed legislation that requires "businesses to roll over retirement benefits to a same-sex partner in the event of the employee’s death."

The ACLU is suing ass-backwards Arkansas for barring unmarried people, gay or straight, from adopting. As we said before: great, let's make it harder for people to be happy and for orphans to find homes. This was a top priority!

And that Richard Simmons clip we showed you earlier today? It means he isn't gay, according to Jossip, which obviously didn't even watch it.

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George W. Bush Attacks Our Vaginas

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:11:00 GMT

Gore Vidal predicted more than five years ago that George W. Bush would leave office the most hated President in history, and he was unfortunately right. (We would've been satisfied if Bush had simply been voted out in 2004 by any margin.) And it seems George is more than happy to accommodate this prophecy, regarding his legacy as little more than a few good days and some more money for his ultra-rich friends.

With his latest move, W. has now made it easier for you to be denied contraception...

Bush has now imposed a 127-page rule preventing any health care provider from being fired for refusing a patient medical care on religious grounds. Well, that's just great-- a rule that's supposed to let doctors and nurses avoid participating in abortions (hey, dumbass-- there's already a law for that, so that's not what this is about!) is actually a rule that will allow providers to avoid giving women access to contraceptives, ostensibly to keep them from having gay premarital ass sex... or something.

We all know what this is really about:

1) Preventing people from obtaining the pill from pharmacies

2) Preventing lesbians from conceiving

3) Preventing rape victims and others from receiving the morning after pill

4) Preventing women in danger of dying in childbirth from having abortions... and on and on and on.

If doctors are allowed to refuse to do anything "morally objectionable," does this mean a doctor could refuse to treat a gay man who has been the victim of an attack?

Barack Obama, are you reading this? What are you going to do, on your first day in office, after signing the bailout? We hope it's shooting down this order before it has time to do any real damage...

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This Week In Gayness: The Coming Out TV Series

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:15:00 GMT

Sioux City, Iowa decided not to vote on gay marriage because they're not sure they have the authority to do so. We wish Prop 8 supporters had realized the same thing.

Arizona can't even decide whether it wants to support equal judicial representation of gay people.

Headline of the week: "How gay are Philly athletes?" Answer: very.

The State Department has find an interesting way to stop gay marriage...

I've now seen a couple of different reports (here and now here) about how same-sex couples who legally change their names on their marriage certificates are unable to get the State Department to recognize that name change on the couple's passports. In these cases, the State Department takes the position that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents the government from recognizing a name change effected in conjunction with a same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, the State Department will recognize the name change if the couple takes the separate (and completely unnecessary) step of going to court to get a judicial name change or if the new name is used publicly and exclusively for a period of at least five years (and you can document such use).

Showtime is producing a reality show called Coming Out, which is, you guessed it, about people who come out to their bizarrely-clueless families.

New Jersey may have marriage equality in the near future.

"Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality." - Jon Stewart

Melissa Etheridge and Elisabeth Hasselbeck got into a fight about gay marriage on The View.

And another dumb kid wore a pro-Prop 8 shrit to school.

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eHarmony, Let The Gays Begin!

Scanner Matt — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:46:00 GMT

eHarmony, the online matchmaking site that infamously rejected the gay community (and Scanner Emily) now begrudgingly offers their services to love-seeking homosexuals (but not Emily).

After numerous lawsuits, eHarmony will be forced to service gays and lesbians (zing!). The AP reports that this is, in particular, due to a 2005 settlement in a suit filed by Eric McKinley of New Jersey who demanded not to be subject to discrimination when he was prevented from joining the site because he was gay.

But eHarmony couldn't actually let the gays use their site. The company has created a new agency (We know, it’s all very “Separate but Equal”) so passionately titled, Compatible Partners (we were expecting eCacophony) will launch this March, just in time for Valentine’s Day to be long gone.

Jerks.

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Photo: The Consumerist

This Week in Gayness: Ellen vs. the Bigots

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:21:00 GMT

Nutjob of the Century anti-gay activist Janet Porter actually believes Barack Obama will name Bill Ayers to the Department of Homeland Security and that his wife Michelle will read about the Weather Underground to schoolchildren. Do you think these people actually believe these complete exaggerations and lies or are they just trying to win at any cost?

In troubled times, the homeless suffer the most. In George Bush's America, the gay homeless suffer the most.

The internets wish there was more to this story of Gwyneth Paltrow agreeing to "help" Madonna get over Guy Ritchie...

A decade ago this headline would have been a lot hotter: Gwyneth Paltrow says she's "helping" Madonna get over Guy Ritchie. [Fark]

The New York Times thinks the Connecticut gay marriage fight will come down a fight at the constitutional level.

And you just knew Ellen Degeneres and Portia De Rossi would make a video to fight Proposition 8.

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Gay Marriage: God Is Gonna Getcha... Claim Scary Freaks

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:40:00 GMT

Since I, Scanner Brian, originally hail from the Connecticut farm country, I have been watching with great interest as the rural rednecks, the city bigots, and the pro-gay holdouts react to the decision last week to allow homosexual marriages in the state...

Suffice it to say, so far, the victors have received no free ride...

From the Hartford Courant, which, in the interest of full disclosure, I wrote for from 1996 to 1999, here are two letters to the editor:

The state Supreme Court decision recognizing same-sex marriage in Connecticut [Page 1, Oct. 11, "Free To Wed"] is above all a victory for religious freedom.

Finally, the United Church of Christ, Unitarian, Episcopalian and other churches and religions that perform marriages for gay, lesbian and bisexual couples have the dignity, freedom and equality they deserve.

The government never should have been in the marriage business in the first place. This ruling puts marriage back where it belongs. Now each church can decide for itself!

Sara Ferah, Hartford

Two days in a row we have this front-page splash on the passage of gay marriage and all the elation and celebration. Do not forget, however, that this will not have a happy ending.

God is the creator of happy endings and he will have the last word, not the judges or politicians. When he acts, and that day is coming very quickly, it will make 9/11 and the economic crisis look like a walk in the park.

We, as a nation, have turned away from him and trampled on his commandments for too long.

Helen Ryan, Enfield

There is so much funny here that we won't even bother, but we do have to ask: when are these religious yahoos going to get it? People have been saying for thousands of years that "that day is coming very quickly" and that "the end is near" and yada yada yada... and nothing has come of it. Time to get with reality, folks.

(P.S.: Lee Bolin of the LGBT Caucus responds with kind of a cheap shot: [A hypothetical third letter: Dear Helen: I thought I'd be neighborly and let you know that some drunk has hacked into your e-mail account and is sending out crazy stuff in your name. -- LB])

Image via Flickr. Letters via the Courant.

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Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:32:00 GMT

Only 30-something percent of California voters are supporting the proposal to ban gay marriage there, but that doesn't stop the measure's wacky supporters from saying "elites" are denying the will of "the people."

Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr is such a nice, well-rounded individual, he won't let anyone use the words "gay" or "lesbian" on his website. Even in a positive manner.

We used to think Canada was the sane, folksy antidote to our crazy U.S. culture, but not after this guy burst onto the national scene there:

David Popescu is running in the 2008 elections as an independent candidate as part of Canada's federal election. Popescu is well known for his radical christian point of view, and his strong opposition to homosexuality, abortion, and stem cell research.
"A young man asked me what I think of homosexual marriages and I said I think homosexuals should be executed," he said. "My whole reason for running is the Bible and the Bible couldn't be more clear on that point." (Toronto Sun)

Bigotry reigns in... Texas. A group of high school cheerleaders were suspended for a routine that include Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl." Lawsuit, anyone? (The school, of course, declined to define its pep-rally-song standards for anyone, even after this national news story.)

A transgender politician in Georgia, accused of fraud and deception in a lawsuit for running as a woman, won that lawsuit... but lost the re-election match anyway.

The lesbian mommas case heads to the Montana Supreme Court.

And the Mad Men of Madison are finally producing television ads geared for gays and lesbians, although don't expect an episode about it on the AMC series anytime soon.

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Do Ten Shots Every Time Biden Mentions Indians And 7-11

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:51:00 GMT

We know the debate is tomorrow, but we wanted to tell you about MIT's hilarious drinking game (this one, unlike the previous incarnation, is actually doable) so you can stock up now on select booze... or Slurpee's... which is, of course, bigot Biden's favorite beverage...

Professor Robert alerted us to the Vice Presidential Debate drinking game... because you know you're going to need to be very, very loose to sit through all that insanity. In fact, we're betting that John McCain is going to be so nervous, he'll lose a vodka drinking contest to himself before you-know-who, the Republican VP nominee (in case you haven't noticed, I, Scanner Brian, have decided to refrain from further mentioning her already-overexposed name) even gets to answer any questions with total silence.

Here are some of the better ideas from those smarty pantses at MIT:

When Biden begins the “I take the train home everyday story” being drinking. Don’t stop ’till he finishes.
When Biden makes an obvious gaffe: Spill your neighbor’s drink
When Biden patronizes or self identifies with the working class: Down some brew (Bonus points if you use Miller Highlife)
Every time [SP] cites Alaska’s proximity to Russia as “foreign policy experience”: Take a shot of vodka
When Palin claims she said “Thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere: Demand a new drink from your hosts, say “thanks but no thanks,” and then when no one’s looking, take it anyway, then claim you never wanted it.

The rest are here. We personally think you're going to need a lot of vodka for this one... especially if you're a Democrat. The expectations for She Who Must Not Be Named that she can't possibly lose this... think about it.

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This Week In Gayness: Discriminated By McDonald's

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:17:00 GMT

Besides Clay Aiken and Lindsay Lohan finally admitting their obvious gayness, there were a couple more newsworthy stories floating out there this week:

A teenage boy has been condemned to die in Iran because he is a homosexual.

The gay marriage fight in DC is nearing its end, as the City Council is almost ready to pass a bill making it legal.

Ian McKellen will tour British schools to teach kids about tolerance. And elves.

I’ve been busy at quite a few schools recently. I went to a wonderful co-ed faith school in Harpenden.
'They were Christians and absolutely determined that their pupils did not discriminate.
They invited me to come and give prizes to 13-year-olds in front of the parents and to talk, partly, about being gay.

'I said that we are all part of a minority group – be it for being short, or tall or fat or thin, or having red hair or whatever. I said hands up who thinks they are part of a minority group and all the hands went up.

A Queensland city agency has ruled a pro-gun, anti-gay nutjob is guilty of inciting hatred for a sticker he displayed that read: "Gay Rights? Under God's law the only rights gays have is the right to die."

A Lousville, Kentucky McDonald's employee is being investigated by the state's Human Rights Commission after the following incident:

Ryan Marlatt, Teddy Eggers, and three other friends had stopped for lunch at the McDonald's restaurant on July 26, 2008, while visiting Louisville for the weekend. While they waited for their food to be prepared, an employee behind the counter referred to them as "faggots" to another employee. Marlatt and Eggers asked to speak with a manager. As they waited for the supervisor on duty to appear, the employee who had called them "faggots" started arguing with them, repeatedly calling them "faggots" in front of other customers and calling one of them a "cocksucker" and "bitch."

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Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:20:00 GMT

A Maryland appeals court overturned a law that would've hurt protections put in place to help transgender people.

Billie Jean King does not support Sarah Palin, whom she calls "honest" and "real," and continues to lend her name to the Obama campaign.

An Ohio Church trashed Katy Perry for her UK #1 single by saying on a billboard: "I kissed a girl and I liked it... Then I went to hell." Perez Hilton posted a photo of that homophobic church's sign defaced: "God Adores You." Think about it: G A Y.

Those heathens: didn't they know about Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Two male Saxon warriors from around 466 to 1066 AD were found arm-in-arm in their grave. (Well, they couldn't just fall down dead that way in battle...)

A lot of people thought this was a joke, but it doesn't surprise us at all: there's a website called Gay Chubby Dating. And yes, it's a service.

While the rest of the country is starting to head toward the side that's winning, Florida meanwhile supports a ban on gay marriage, 55-45. (Or, if there's a vote on it, by 7 votes.)

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While You Were Sleeping: All The Harry Potter Kids Are Getting Naked

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:42:00 GMT

Wonderful: right as Michael Lohan is tearing his daughter's life apart, his father dies. Maybe Michael will reassess his values now that the guy had to go out right in the middle of an embarrassingly public family dispute.

We missed out on Michael Phelps giving swimming lessons at the Y.

Is David Duchovny having an affair of just trying to promote his show, Californication, with this latest shocking report?

David Duchovny has entered a rehabilitation facility for sex addiction. [His reps] declined to elaborate further.
Duchovny plays a sex-obsessed character on the Showtime series...

In Other News:

John McCain will announce his VP today in a bad to take Obama down a notch after last night's historic speech.

Talk about historic: a man proposed to his lady at Mile High, right as Al Gore took the stage-- and Wonkette was sitting right behind them!

BREAKING: The RNC is considering delaying the start of the convention because of Hurricane Gustav... they don't want a reminder of Katrina hanging over their convention... Scott McClellan thinks this will allow Bush to blow off the convention unnoticed, since he is a political liability anyway... read more at the Washington Post.

By the way, this is the greatest post you'll read all day. Even if you don't agree with its politics, you'll certainly (we hope) agree that sicko religious zealots should be laughed out of stadiums everywhere:

Y'all remember the AP report of a "short video produced by Focus on the Family Action shows a man with an umbrella talking about his wish for rain as he stands in front of Invesco Field [before Obama spoke there]. The man in the video explains his desire for rain by saying he's against abortion and gay marriage and says he's "just an ordinary guy" who's looking for people to pray for rain?"

And y'all remember how hurricane Katrina was supposed to be God's punishment for New Orleans sinful ways?

So what will y'all think if next week's Republican Convention (yawn) is eclipsed by landfall in the US of not one but two hurricanes?

Y'all think there's a lesson in there somewhere? [End of post - Ed.]

A school district near Atlanta lost its accreditation, the first such case in 40 years, mainly for ethics violations by board members.

And Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potsmoker movies, is doing his first stripping/naked/sex scene-- or something like that. He's "stripping off for"

his first sex scene for Cherry Bomb and is excited about the flick.
'I loved the script,' he tells The Metro. 'It was quite a challenge.'

Getting naked is nothing, Rupert. Hell, Daniel Radcliffe does that every night. (PS: Hmmm... Cherry Bomb, you say? How can we be sure it's not some Virgin Teens Dot Com movie or something?)

Image via AOL.

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This Week In Gayness: Sam Ronson's Gay Tell-All About Lindsay?

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:42:00 GMT

Any idea why more same sex couples are raising kids in the Bronx than any other borough in New York City?

San Diego Harbor Police were ruled to have committed a homicide in the death of a gay man on a pride cruise in July.

The Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal (R), is letting protections for gay and lesbian workers expire:

"I don't think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights," Jindal told reporters Wednesday. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination, he said.

If the state already protects those rights, as you claim, then why did everyone except you feel it was necessary to implement them? Scumbag.

Gays will be banned from taking in foster kids under a law likely to pass in Arkansas.

A woman was ejected from a Federal building in LA, where she had gone to pick up her son's social security card, after a guard objected to her shirt, which read: "lesbian.com."

And Michael Lohan, ever Lindsay's hero, says his daughter should break up with Sam Ronson because the DJ is a user:

A source tells Eonline, "She's certainly telling friends she's planning to write a book. It's supposed to be about her, allegedly. But come on, you know Lindsay will be all over that book. She's the only one people want to read about."
And the rumours have infuriated Lohan's father, who claims the DJ is just using his daughter to get her own slice of fame.
He says, "I've shut up about this long enough. She's using my daughter. People never even knew who Samantha Ronson was until she met Lindsay. She was just some Los Angeles DJ. And now she's writing a book?
"Let's just say I hope Lindsay starts opening her eyes and realises who the people using her are."

Via WENN.

Samantha Ronson and Her Trusty Fingers Take Care of Lindsay Lohan

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Town Rallies Behind Principal Who Discriminated Against Lesbian Student

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:16:00 GMT

Davis, at right, is seen here accepting an award back when he was only the assistant principal

In a Florida town near the Alabama border, a town is in an uproar not over the fact that a principal humiliated and outed a lesbian student, not over the fact that he retaliated unprofessionally against her supporters, but over the presence of the ACLU in the area...

According to Northwest Florida's Daily News:

When a high school senior told her principal that students were taunting her for being a lesbian, he told her homosexuality is wrong, outed her to her parents and ordered her to stay away from children.
He suspended some of her friends who expressed their outrage by wearing gay pride T-shirts and buttons at Ponce de Leon High School, according to court records. And he asked dozens of students whether they were gay or associated with gay students.

Of course, the American Civil Liberties Union, as called in by victimized supporter Heather Gillman, easily won their lawsuit against the principal, costing the town $325,000. But the town blamed the parents for losing their tax dollars, never once expressing concern regarding the principal's actions or the well being of the children:

A Wal-Mart worker yelled at [Gillman's mother], accusing her of trying to "bankrupt" the school district... One of her friends has refused to talk to her because the lawsuit conflicted with the woman's religious beliefs.

"[Principal] David Davis is a fine man and good principal, and we are a gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented community... We aren't out to tar and feather anyone." [Um, but Davis kind of did, dude. - Ed.]

The lawsuit could reflect a division between the high school students who have grown up in an era of gay tolerance and the community's elders, said Gary Scott, a school board member. "But I think that's less of an issue here than in Miami or Minnesota," he said.

The judge's scathing rebuke left Scott questioning how his community's beliefs could be so different from the judge's opinion. "I guess I didn't realize we were this bad," Scott said.

Yep, but you are. Read more of this sad tale here.

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This Week in Gayness: Gay Men Overdoing It?

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:20:00 GMT

A story that may make you believe in a higher power, looking down and laughing at the stupids: In Arizona yesterday, a bill that would have put a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage fell in the Senate... by one vote. According to Lee Bolin of the LGBT Caucus:

Karen Johnson, the Republican who missed the vote, is so right-wing that she was a Buchanan delegate at the 1996 Republican National Convention. She must be gnashing her teeth right about now.

We should send her our thanks... although that might antagonize her enough to put this thing back up for a vote. Oh well, let's just enjoy it while it lasts.

The retirement of Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno of New York could put gay marriage in play again in the state.

Have anything against South Carolina? Some people do now. A man was killed by a blow to the head-- a gay man, that is-- and his killer got three years in jail. As some legal experts put it, in South Carolina, this was the best that could be done under the law, since the jury convicted him only of involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

An Oklahoma judge is fighting a new rule that would prevent him from belonging to an organization that "discriminates based on sexual preferences."

And the headline of the week, via Gay/Lesbian News: Newly Out Gay Man Overdoing It?

Seriously Now: Obama, Richard Price, And Race in America

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:41:00 GMT

Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia yesterday was designed to quell the "firestorm," as he put it, over Reverend Wright's "divisive comments ... in a racially-charged time." Did this bold move doom or revive his candidacy? And what does it say about race relations in America that this speech is, in fact, historic, if only because of the concept of the speech and not necessarily because of its ideals?

Obama's speech was met with an uncomfortable media reaction this morning. Most headlines and stories avoided direct comment on what the speech means for the campaign and, more importantly, for race in this country. “The racial wounds that remain,” boldly trumpeted Metro (New York), a headline accompanied by a picture of a crying black Obama supporter. Other than that, the general feeling among the press is that “It's 1964 all over again,” with Obama as a Martin Luther King figure, clashing against a stubborn past, marching toward a greater understanding that might be merely one landmark speech away.

“This was one of the tasks we set forth,” Obama said, echoing the civil rights era, “To continue the long march of those who came before us.”

Speaking solely for myself, I tend to believe this country has already begun the healing process. Surveys show 98% of the electorate would consider voting for a black Presidential candidate, although many still believe in that whole “but when they get in the voting booth and no one's looking, people are gonna get all racist” theory, which is based on no available evidence. (With that argument in mind, would racist Southern Republicans vote for Hillary Clinton if they entered the booth and saw Condolezza Rice as the VP on the conservative line? Just curious.)

This is not to say there isn't a large degree of racism and bigotry still prevalent today. The point is that perhaps our strongest tactic for quelling racism, for moving on, is to continue to lead by example. If Obama proves to be a great President, that would of course significantly help bring our nation together. However, having thirty minute speeches in Philadelphia about race is not only a bold yet risky political move (since it could be seen as Obama on the defensive, weakening in the eyes of the electorate), it may also be counterproductive: to bring back old dramas.

In other words, maybe the best thing for Obama to do to quash the concerns of undecideds and Hillary supporters who fear racism will doom an Obama For President Democratic ticket is to temporarily act like racism is not an issue in this electoral cycle-- sure, a tough thing to call when that is partly what inspires so many people: the possibility of the First Black President. In any case, he should laugh when the press raises their ignorant questions about an "uncertain electorate." He could take a page from one Governor Eliot Spitzer: "Screw the racists. I'm steamroller and I'm gonna roll all over you!"

That being said, should the speech give Obama momentum again, most of this post's uncertainty about its contents is null and void. After all, it's all about the momentum. That is the true motive, however it appears on the surface, for his remarks yesterday: political maneuvering. No Presidential candidate has any other real motivation, when it gets down to it.

A coda: soon after Obama spoke yesterday, I listened to a Richard Price story from a recent Moth StorySlam. Richard Price, author of “Clockers” and several classic episodes of “The Wire,” is arguably one of the most formidable white writers on race relations in this country. His story, while comic in nature, also sheds some light on how far we've come and how ignorant we still are.

Thanks to Brian Lehrer at WNYC for the Obama speech link.
Thanks to Meg McIntyre at The Moth for the Richard Price link.

Crazy White Supremacists-- Gasp!-- Hate Obama

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:30:00 GMT

No one, thankfully, but your offensive and indictment-worthy insult to the First Amendment is not helping.

Barack Obama, excellently code-named "Renegade" by the Secret Service, has received protection for more than ten months, according to Bloomberg, while his wife, Michelle, brilliantly code-named "Renaissance," has gotten the same coverage since the beginning of the year. We wonder if this has anything to do with bad omens like the horrible above shirt or all the white supremacist garbage online:

"Our world will become unbearable with him as President," wrote a typical poster on a white power Web site [according to Oliver Willis.] "Maybe there will be someone who would take [a] chance and do a Lincoln on him? Is that our only hope?"

This kind of hatred has got the electorate all stirred up, and we're not just talking about Doris Lessing. Oliver Willis reader James Clay Jensen responds to the KKK:

CALL ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT AND TELL ME WHEN AND WHERE. BUNCH OF FUCKIN PUSSIES.
435 752-0839

That guy's actually got the right idea. Let's tell those pieces of shit when and where: Send e-mails to the owners of Apollo Braun, sellers of the above-pictured violence-hungry sweatshirt.

[Image via racked.com]

Anti-Gay Video From Your Friends At Focus On the Family

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:45:00 GMT

The anti-gay rights movement is still beating that whole talking point to death. You know the one: "Gay marriage, yuck. What next, my sister can marry my dog?" Yeah, that angle.

Now the fire and brimstone folks at Focus On The Family have released a video basically saying after gay marriage comes, um, children growing up to marry gay penguins? In any case, their humor is lost on us.

Dick Morris Calls Edwards Supporters Bigots

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:30:00 GMT

Colmes: Could Edwards right now have an effect on the outcome of this race if he wanted?

Morris: He might, but at the moment his voters are those that can’t decide which they don’t like more—a black or a women getting elected. And..

Colmes: Wait, wait, you’re saying his voters are bigots?

DIck Morris, the former Clinton advisor who turned to FoxNews for cash when he screwed the peach with a prostitute, was on Hannity & Colmes the other night. And what do you know, Colmes actually went toe-to-toe with somebody! The guy who's supposed to be the voice of reason to Hannity's voice of Christopher Lloyd, but I never hear him say a damn thing as the Republicans burn down the house.

Anyway, according to Crooks and Liars, Morris is seizing on the growing disunity in the Democratic party to attack its left wing and move the party to the center. He'd love to go up against Hillary Clinton: he knows the most about her, she has the highest negatives, and he can get away much easier with saying the garbage he says above.

C&L has the video here.